The American Of American Identity Essay - 1520 Words

As America approached the 20th century, it had achieved great prestige in the world for having a prosperous economy built on a free market system. The facets of an American identity mostly revolved around corporate power and stability. The corporations grew at a national scale effortlessly, and within years, international; the United States was following similar footsteps of the British East India Company to emulate it’s exploits in the western hemisphere. Contracted railroads, lands, and farms were the crux of American imperialism in the continents. The strengthening grip of the corporations on the government gave America a series of questions that it dealt with in the early 1900s. The two front-runners to answer the puzzling questions were the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, and the 28th president Woodrow Wilson. They both wanted the betterment of America, both domestically and at the world stage. However, unlike Woodrow Wilson, the assertive nature of Theodore Roosevelt made him an exemplar of American ideals and democracy for American and rest of the world. Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt were vastly different by nature, one a macho, military-man, explorer, and the other, an academic by profession. Given their polarizing life experiences, they were bound to have conflicting worldviews. In the context of 1900s, they were faced with challenges that demanded answers in order to achieve the same end-goal. With a growing global influence, the United States wasShow MoreRelatedAmerican Identity And American Identity1350 Words   |  6 Pagesand faced ethnic issues, our true identity shines through with our fight for freedom, the ability to create our own-and americas- path through american ingenuity even in times of great distress. Through the workings of Jackson Pollock, showing how not to conform, and through the Jazz evolution; the american identity has always shown its fight for freedom and independence the country contains. Ever since the Puritans landed on this continent, the american identity was established, illustrating theRead MoreIdentity Of American Identity1101 Words   |  5 Pagesliberty, and the pursuit of happiness established over two centuries ago by the nation’s forebearers. Being American is about anticipating change and being provided with the environment to dream. Americans have dreamed of a more equal union, where Women obtain the right to vote and African Americans are social equals. The country’s images of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller inspire the American dream, where individuals are not satisfied with their socioeconomic standing and have the opportunityRead MoreAmerican Identity822 Words   |  4 PagesIs the American Identity still alive? Has it died? The issue concerning the American identity is has it died. Many claim that new cultures, new races, and new traditions have degraded the American identity. Although some people that the American identity h as been lost because of new cultures and traditions, the American identity is still alive because those factors have not changed any original American traditions or the way they are celebrated. Many people claim that the has been lost becauseRead MoreAmerican Identity1566 Words   |  7 PagesMy American Identity The five key values that were studied and learned about in class were civic engagement, freedom, equality, patriotism and democracy. I do not believe that one of these values is more American than the other though three of these mean more to me personally than others. Patriotism, freedom, and equality. Together they make the United States of America unique from any other country. Yes, some countries have freedom, but no other country in the world is like ours because we holdRead MoreThe American Identity2684 Words   |  11 Pagescommonly characterized as the greatest country in the world, the glorious â€Å"land of the free and the home of the brave†, â€Å"indivisible, with liberty and justice for all†. This idealization of the American identity conveniently focuses on what people want to hear and blurs out most everything else. In reality, Americans do not live up to the dreamscape created by our views, and we never really have. America is no longer characterized b y its freedom and democracy, nearly every first world country can affordRead MoreAfrican Americans And Identity Of African American1169 Words   |  5 PagesIn the year of 1619, the largest oppressive legal structure in American History came about, the institution of slavery. Although slavery was abolished in the year of 1865, African Americans are still enslaved by intuitional racism. There are systems in place to keep minorities at a disadvantage. This system of oppression is carried by a number of factors such as; the segregation of black people in urban areas referred to as ghettos, mass incarceration rate for people of color, large educational gapsRead MoreThe Identity Of The American Revolution1527 Words   |  7 PagesThe identity of the American colonists prior to the American Revolution was still work in progress because there were certain events that helped shape their identity and led to the American Revolution. The American colonies were trying to break away from the B ritish control because they wanted to become independent and be their own nation. Once the British began to realize the intentions of the colonists, they began to create laws, acts, and other forms things to keep the colonists under their controlRead MoreAsian American Identities Of Asian Americans Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pagesthat Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through itsRead MoreImportance Of American Identity1547 Words   |  7 PagesBased on course content, research, and interviews the American Identity can best be described using the words freedom, pride, and importance. When America formed, people immigrated to this country in search of freedom. America is built on the basic principle of freedom. One of the main reasons people immigrate to America from their home country is because of all the freedoms we have. America is thought of as the land of free. There is freedom of education, religion, expression, speech, and beliefRead MoreEssay on American Identity956 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican Identity Works Cited Not Included American identity has been created by many events throughout the course of history. This country was founded on the clashing and mixing of many different cultures and lifestyles. One of the most important periods of time for this country was during the period of conflict between Americans and Native Americans over land rights. Americans had an idea of manifest destiny and that this land was theirs for the taking. The Americans were going to walk through

An International Student At Swinburne University - 1615 Words

Reflective Essay Thio Eric Adiputra Tresno - 1716506 Part 1 As an international student at Swinburne University, I have felt how what is it like to be a minority. This situation teaches me how much important it is to hold up fairness within an organization. Over the course, I found that HRM theories have helped me to develop my ethical conscience. I gained significant knowledge of practical theory of ethic during the lecture. In the tutorial, we did case studies analysis that give me insight about that is the today’s HRM challenges within the workplace. In the tutorial, we discuss the set reading together in the class and give me understanding many the HRM issues in the past and how to solve it. Most of the issues arise from the†¦show more content†¦In addition, this writing will also analyse, evaluate and evaluate the HRM issues and provide recommendation for HRM to increase organization effectiveness. Diversity acknowledge that people are differ in many ways, such as age, gender, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity and culture (Kossek, Lobel Brown, 2005). Nowadays, diversity has increasingly become the most valuable aspect of HRM areas. Develop countries such as Australia and New Zealand hold multicultural workforce as one of the most important dimension of diversity, where there are a large number of international migrants with different cultural backgrounds (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto Monga, 2009). Studies from McLeod, Lobel and Cox (1996) and Wilson Iles (1999) point out that a diverse workforce has a better-quality solution to brainstorming task, display more cooperative behaviour, and can raise organizational efficiency, effectiveness and profitability. Hence, utilization of diversity allows organization to increase the organization cooperative behaviour and competitive advantage (Cassell 1996). However, in groups where people from differen t cultural and ethnic background are working together, differences may occur in management styles, attitude towards hierarchy, approaches to group work, and ways of expressing

Reform and Development of Health Services

Questions: 1. Do you think the control knobs framework can be used to describe the main elements of the reform? 2. What do you think were the major drivers of the Affordable Care Act in the United States? 3. Who supported it? Who opposed it? Why? Answer: 1. The health system framework comprises the interactions which are associated with the final goals which are to be achieved by the system. Thus, the framework has control knob which enable the policy makers to achieve these goals. These knobs are also used in Obama care, where it focuses on quality improvement, lowers the cost of health care by making plans of financing and health service payment (2). Within the framework, it also focuses on efficiency. responsiveness, access and equity of the system. 2. An increase in the health care cost, the growing profit of the health care corporations, growing demand of uninsured people and deficit in national debt are the major drivers of the Affordable Care Act in the United States (1). Thus, this Act was made so that the American get could get better treatment. The health insurance has also become more affordable to the lower and Middle Americans through this Act. The implementation of this Act is just a stepping stone toward the health reform. 3. By 2010, 55% people disapproved and 41% people approved this act. Among the Republicans, 88% disapprove it, and only 10% approved it. The reason cited by them was that there is too much involvement of government in the health care. Among Democrats, 73% approved while 24% disapproved it. The reason given by them was it has all law requirements which a system needs (1). Post graduates (58%) are in favor of this act while the college graduates (48%) are not. The reason for this educational difference is that it gives coverage to the uninsured people. I am writing this comment regarding my classmate's post for the stated part "Therefore, the reform was believed to cover all the deficit and provides better and equal healthcare for all Americans." In my opinion, I don't think this is correct because the health care facts show that this Affordable Care Act was an effective program but it was not enough to reform the three trillion dollar US healthcare industry and it according to the National Health Expenditure Projections, the American people would spend around five trillion by 2022. Thus, this Act could curb down the expenses for reform but could not completely finish it. References: Health Care Facts: Why We Need Health Care Reform [Internet]. Obamacare Facts. 2016 [cited 3 August 2016]. Available from: https://obamacarefacts.com/healthcare-facts/ User S. Control Knobs [Internet]. Healthdatanavigator.eu. 2016 [cited 3 August 2016]. Available from: https://www.healthdatanavigator.eu/performance/frameworks/control-knobs

The Article, Love the Right Chemistry Essay Example

The Article, Love: the Right Chemistry Paper The Right Chemistry, Outfoxes mainly talks about love related to chemistry. The fact that human species, considered as sexual organs, possess own characteristics contributes to each Individual with a unique attraction. The term love has created the new way of making It ? a sexual relationship. Also. The concept of love nowadays seemingly depends on an individuals appearance. According to the author, romance is an essential element that leads men and women to long-term relationship: however, the idea that true love remains forever seems to fade out gradually. To exemplify, the author quotes Fisher as saying that each would find a new partner in four years, which reflects in todays divorce rate. In short, romantic love is not everlasting. Furthermore, PEA, stands for phenylalanine, is increased in the early of passionate romantic love; the body builds up rapidly as long as we are needed. Essentially, it is a natural amphetamine that stimulates and increases both physical and emotional energy. The attraction causes people to produce more PEA, which results in those dizzying feelings associated with romantic love. However, the amount that our body produces PEA is exclusive in two or three years. Moreover, each person has a unique subliminal guide to the ideal partner so-called a love map, so a man and woman can not fall in love with two people at the same time. Through the article, I assume the contrast between passionate and compassionate love. We will write a custom essay sample on The Article, Love: the Right Chemistry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Article, Love: the Right Chemistry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Article, Love: the Right Chemistry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The author quotes Mark and Walsh as saying that early love is based on when you love the way the other person makes you feel, while mature love depends on when you love the way the other person is. I obviously do not see what Is deferent, and It gives me such an aftereffect to think whether I am still immature. Also, one word that comes up most often about love Is chemistry, which conjures up a powerful feeling and images for anyone seeking a love relationship. Therefore, I also claim that the chemical Increases a desire to be physically close and Intimately connected. In act, physical attraction generally begins during the first connection, but It does not pass as one person moves Into a deeper connection. The Idea that men look for maximal fertility a sexual relationship, whereas women seek for security, resources, status, and willingness to father children Is definitely reasonable: men easily fall In love quite rapidly. Nowadays, even In Korea most women put more emphasis on the ability that reflects how much he can supply resources rather than appearance. The question I have while reading the article is whether it is right to say a man ND woman fall in love with one person rather than two or more. Because we sometimes approach a special person, considered as an Inconstant lover, loves more than one person at the same time, it is hardly to say the idea of Walsh. Also, I expected that the author would give us her own experience on love compared to perspectives of experts; however, the author Just analyzes love based on the scientific point of view, and she does not conclude chemicals can explain why people are initially attracted each other.

The Rolling Stones vs. The Beatles essays

The Rolling Stones vs. The Beatles essays By the summer of 1965, the so-called British Invasion of pop music was at its peak. And while there were many worthy UK groups occupying the number 2 and below slots, the Beatles at 1(A) and arguably, the Rolling Stones at 1(B),were, well, musically number one. The Rolling Stones and the Beatles are inextricably linked together. Linked by time, place, overwhelming popularity, and surpassing musical importance, they seem opposite in every other respect. (Campbell s core than these two bands. The Beatles were brought up by provincial working class families whose successful careers represented several steps up in class. The Rolling Stones came together in London, the center of British culture. They defined their image by stepping down in class. (Campbell s Night created their images. Unfortunately, the Beatles played their last concert in 1966. The entire band began to grow apart, both musically and personally. Their album, the White Album, confirmed this idea. The band broke apart 4 years later. On the other hand, the Rolling Stones have stayed together since the beginning and are still working as a band. They continue to tour which still attract large amounts of fans. The Stones and the Beatles were polar opposites. This was evident in what they conveyed and how they did it. The Beatles exemplified high spirits and good, mostly clean fun; they were pranksters at worst. In contrast, the Stones ¾by design ¾crossed the line. They turned impudence into insolence, peace and love into aggression and overt sexuality. (...

50 Motivational Thoughts That Will Push You to Succeed

50 Motivational Thoughts That Will Push You to Succeed Need a kick in the pants? A fire under your proverbial bottom? Feeling in need of a little inspiration? Here are 50 motivational thoughts you can turn to when you need a little energizing positivity! Keep these in your back pocket and turn to them when a ray of sunshine is nowhere to be found.1. You can do anything.It’s a rather simple mindset, but if you convince yourself that you can do anything, you’ll start to believe it.2. †¦And here’s why.After you start to believe that you can, justify those reasons. Example: â€Å"I can become a cook because I love food and I cooking is my passion†.3. You deserve more.Whether it’s a better job, relationship, or healthier body, you deserve a better life. You’ll probably have to work for it, but 9 times out of 10 it’s true.4. It’s never too late.It’s always possible to get a fresh start. No matter how old you are, you can start something new and succeed. Want to start a blog? G o for it. Want to learn how to code? Go for it. Developed a recent passion for photography? Buy a decent camera and let your hobby consume you.5. Challenges are a constant.Nobody said it was easy. Don’t let one setback get the better of you. Keep your head up and don’t lose sight of what you want.6. The time may never be â€Å"right.†Don’t wait too long for the perfect moment and let the other moments pass you by. Sometimes the perfect will never arrive and you just have to make due with what you’re given.7. The plan may never be perfect either.Sometimes you just have to say â€Å"go† and figure out the kinks as you go.8. You have to start somewhere.It might as well be today–right here, right now.9. Baby steps. One at a time.Break it down into smaller steps. Don’t get overwhelmed with doing everything at once.10. You have nowhere to go but up.Thinking about only soaring higher helps in the darkest moments! Since you’re s tarting out from the bottom, there’s no where to go but up!11. Failure isn’t forever.Look at your failure as one step towards success- just in the other direction. At least you know which way to turn!12. You can learn from your mistakes.Each mistake you make is an opportunity to learn, grow and become better.13. Take it one day at a time.Many forms of mediation preach placing your mind, body, and spirit in the present moment. Today is the only thing you can control- not the future, not the past.14. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth doing.And everyone would have done it already.15. Seize the day.â€Å"Someday† may never arrive. Why not today?16. Negative thoughts are only thoughts.Don’t let them hold you back.17. I’ve beat worse odds before.And did you make it to the other side? Of course. So what’s the big difference this time around? Exactly, nothing. You can do it again!18. You gotta earn it.If you didn’t, would you reall y feel good about your success?19. If you have to regret something, regret action.It’s better  than inaction. At least you’ll have tried.20. Don’t ask permission.Just go for it. If people think you’re nuts, that’s their problem.21. You control your life.Your destiny is yours to determine, no one else’s.22. No one is grading you.Life isn’t a letter grade. It isn’t even pass or fail.23. Boring is boring.Playing it safe can sometimes set you back. Take a risk.24. Risk can be rewarding.Knowing the risks is one thing, but you should also think about the benefits. Taking risks can be very rewarding.25. Discipline feels good.A whole lot better than regret!26. The best ideas usually seem impossible at first.Steve Jobs anyone? Why should yours be different? Dream big!27. People have your back.Friends, family, colleagues. This is why we have networks.28. Experience is invaluable.Even if you fall short of your goals, you’ll walk away with more experience.29. Work is its own reward.Again, attempts are at very least proactive.30. Make every day matter.Every day is one step closer towards achieving your goal.31. Your perspective is the only one you have.Prioritize it. Forget about what other people think. They don’t have the same vision as you because they’re wearing a completely different pair of shoes.32. Every problem has a solution.You just need to figure it out.33. Ordinary equals ordinaryOrdinary actions will lead you down a path to mediocrity. Don’t let that be your future.34. Everything could be better.You always have the opportunity to improve yourself, your situation, your project†¦35. What you don’t know, you can learn.Education is out there.  The age of the internet is upon us. You can spend 6 hours on Youtube learning HTML and come out knowing more than you did.36. Practice makes perfect.If you need to master something, just get to work on it.37. Willpower is up to you.And in your head. You just have to want it.38. You know what you want.Start visualizing it actually happening. Then make it happen.39. Feelings come from thoughts.Even the scary ones can be neutralized by  taking control of your thoughts and rethinking your thought process.40. Don’t do  nothing.Trying and failing is much better than not trying.41. You are who you decide to be.If you don’t like it, decide different!42. You can’t win unless you try.Results are a product of effort. If you try, you have a chance to win. It’s not guaranteed, but if you don’t put in effort, your chances of winning are 0%.43. Your life is determined by your choices.Make good ones.44. You’re better today than yesterday.You’re older, wiser, more experienced, and more mature!45. Greatness doesn’t happen overnight.Have patience.46. Just start; the rest will get easier.That first step is always the hardest. Once you get ball rolling, you’ ll find motivation and start seeing results.47. You will be rewarded.Even if only by yourself, for reaching your smallest goals. Treats are on their way! Progress is being made!48. You’re not just in it for you.Don’t forget your external motivation- your friends, family, broader altruistic goals†¦ that can be powerful.49. You’ll always have more chances.If you screw up or fail, trying again is almost always an option.50. If all else fails, you’ll have a story.You’ll walk away with  experience and interesting party jokes and anecdotes!Hopefully these thoughts have helped motivate you on your path to success. The power of positive thinking is a powerful tool. The rest is up to you!

Week 5 response papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 5 response papers - Essay Example Taking this into account, it would not be logical to ask the developing countries to bear an equal burden in solving a problem that has hugely been caused by their developed counterparts. By making their positions clear, the developing countries are in no way trying to manufacture their way to development status. Regarding voluntary governance, I strongly agree with the student. Citizens across the world are learning how important the environmental conservation and sustainability is and will definitely opt for products that are produced by self governing organization (Soederbaum, 2008). However, this move may be hampered if cost is a major issue as poor people will prefer to buy cheaper products even if their producers did not care about the environment. Considering the above fact, compulsory governance of the environment is appropriate as its effects equally far reaching considering that organizations will prefer to do the right thing than to face the law and have heft fines imposed upon them for non-compliance. While my view regarding the application of similar emission standards to developing and developed counties does not tally with the student, it is held that both types of countries contribute harmful emissions in the environment. The student has effectively introduced the notion that various alternatives can be applied in resolving the dilemma. Jia’s (2009) suggestion that the deployment of clean technology be used as a measure seems realistic and is worth consideration in my view considering that developing countries will be more motivated to embrace new technologies as opposed to paying when forced to incur high costs associated with the popular suggestion of introducing caps. It is common knowledge that acts done voluntarily often draw a lot of attention and reaction. Voluntary sustainability actions, in agreement with the student, can have far reaching effects as stakeholders such as consumers are given the opportunity to

Compare between the story ( A long way gone) and the movie (Hotel Essay

Compare between the story ( A long way gone) and the movie (Hotel Rwanda) - Essay Example Life takes us all through many ups and downs. What one does with the experience is what makes the difference. At the age of twelve, this soldier boy, kind, loving and sweat at heart, realized that he was capable of evil acts. It was not his fault however. At such a young age, he was picked up by the government to fight in a war on his way to a talent show. He was very talented, singing and doing rap songs with his brother and friend. However, he realized something was not right when he attempted to get home to his family. He waited until it was the right time and eventually learns that the only safe way out is to join the war. How was he to know what this entailed? Nevertheless, he found out sooner than later as he started doing things which made the insides of his body cringe and his inner soul cry out. He could not understand what truly was happening. He was fighting in a war and he was being asked to be the murderer. Beah’s story is different. It is not often that a soldier boy survives and lives to tell his story. His story is unique and an inspiration to all. He gives a literary voice to a tragedy that happens leaving, all readers breathless and wanting to know more of not just his survival, but also the details of the war itself. Even though he experienced ghastly behaviors and mortally lucid sights, somehow, he comes out with his mind intact. The violent and graphic things he was forced to do and see only made him a stronger person. Reading the accounts of his loss brings people to tears, his account of him surviving and being rehabilitated, brings his readers to their knees and feet as they praise and thank the higher power that has his hand on this boy. Now, a 26 year old boy is able to stand tall and tell the story of his life from orphan to soldier and then to leader and conqueror. Hotel Rwanda is a story about mass genocide and political unrest. This story, unlike Beah’s is a story that is based on true events that happened back in 199 4. The main character attempts to save his fellow citizens from the Rwandan Genocide. As Paul Rusesabagina tries to save his family and many others, he allows the citizens who are running from the horrible acts of violence to stay at his hotel for safety. The story exemplifies intense political corruptions and attempts to confront the repercussions of the violence, which is at hand. The story is extremely intense and drives one to experience, vicariously, the life of these people as they run from one burial ground to the next. As many plead for their lives, they realize that there is little hope. The issue of race, and gender leads one to feel more power over the other, eventually leading to mass murder and the wiping out of an entire generation. War breaks out in both stories. The difference in both of these wars, though is that they are both set in Africa, one of the stories is told from his own perspective as he lives, breathes and resided in the terrors of war. He experienced, s aw and felt his brothers and sisters as they slipped away into utter darkness. He cried with them, and then in many cases, had to do away with them himself. Hotel Rwanda is slightly different. Though many children were affected by such horrors, the main character in the story was a grown man who attempts to save others. Beah could not save others as he was one of those who caused so

Is Our Country Too Small to Sustain so Many Professional Sports Teams Essay Example for Free

Is Our Country Too Small to Sustain so Many Professional Sports Teams Essay Is our country too small to sustain so many professional sports teams? This question is being asked and written about a lot lately. New Zealand sport is fairly strong in places but there are a lot of negatives. But many great sporting triumphs have come out our tiny sports crazy country. But it is debatable wether or not provincial sport is going well at the moment. Teams are dropping out of competitions and are running out of money. On the other hand our country has had some great sporting milestones and our provincial sport is a stepping-stone for some of our world-class athletes to make their mark on the world. Firstly many provincial teams are losing money or are in debt. This either forces teams to drop out of an upcoming season or completely fold. For example the Otago Nuggets had to drop out of the NBL (National Basketball League) in 2009 because of financial reasons. But thanks to their major sponsor Oceania Gold they are back in the League. The Otago Rugby Football Union who over four years lost nearly $4 million and have just announced they may go into liquidation and miss the 2012 ITM Cup. This all starts because unions are spending more money to buy players, coaches, staff, flights and accommodation than what they can afford. With teams going into debt they cannot afford to buy their star players, buying star players maybe good for the team in the short run but can end badly in the long run. This is bad because with a team pulling out does not give locals the chance to get recognised on the big stage where their career could start. This is also bad for big sports fans in a region, as they do not have a team to support. With all the negative points there are positives like there is so many sporting milestones being reached. For such a small country we compete very well against the rest of the world, in some cases we are even world champions. This makes me proud to be a New Zealander. E. g. The All Blacks finally won the rugby world cup after a 24-year drought, 3 times loosing to France. Or the New Zealand Breakers winning the Australian National Basketball League and becoming the first New Zealand team to win an Australian competition beating the Warriors in the NRL for rugby league and the Phoenix in the A-league for soccer. Or The Silver Ferns Beating the world champions in the final of the netball in the commonwealth games and finally the Kiwis who won the last Rugby League World Cup showing that national sport in New Zealand is very strong. It is important having strong national teams as it is a good reputation to have as a country, and for such a sports crazy nation it is good to see New Zealand win. Lastly, for great sportsmen and women provincial level is where is all begins on their journey to greatness. Many great sportsmen have been recognised from sports in New Zealand. E. g. Brendon McCullum who plays cricket for Otago and New Zealand got a contract for US$900,000 by an Indian cricket club, the Kolkata Night Riders. McCullum is now one of the best Twenty/Twenty players in the world. Another example is Kirk Penny. Penny had a great season for the New Zealand Breakers basketball team. A European club, Madrid Fuenlabrada signed him and he is now making his mark in Spain. This is important as it helps world-class athletes from New Zealand be known to the rest of the world. In conclusion we see that professional sport in New Zealand has its downsides being that teams are going broke or defunct but many positives like our national teams doing well and New Zealand players being recognised worldwide. We can see there are many positives and negatives but most professional sports in New Zealand are strong and I believe New Zealand sport is great.

Hand Guns Must Go :: essays research papers fc

Handguns Must Go People own hand guns for many reasons. Some keep handguns for protection; others collect them as a hobby. There is a substantial amount of people in America that own handguns for one specific reason, to commit crimes. Usually they are committing a crime just by having a gun in their possession. The person is breaking current laws anyways; making tougher gun control laws will not change the fact that they are committing a crime. How can guns be kept away from criminals? By taking away their guns, and stopping them from getting replacements. Guns are an easy to use, low cost killing device. One pull of a trigger and a person can intentionally or unintentionally take the life of another. The only way to stop violent crimes committed with the use of guns is to have a complete band on handguns and automatic weapons, and stop the production of any further except for police use. First, handguns are deadly devices that can easily cause thousands of accidental deaths a year. To be exact â€Å"Guns annually accidentally kill three thousand Americans a year† (Desuka 422). Some of these guns that accidentally kill are in a home because they are collected as a hobby. Collecting guns is a dangerous hobby that can have a disastrous outcome. For the same reasons the government does not allow a person to collect nuclear bombs they should not let people collect handguns. Just because a nuclear bomb would kill thousands of people if accidentally set off, and a gun usually only kills one does not mean the government should allow people to collect handguns and automatic weapons. Moreover, guns that accidentally kill are in a house for protection. With regard to burglaries, â€Å"90 percent of America’s burglaries are committed when no one is home† (Desuka 422). In the ten percent of burglaries that people are at home during, threatening a robber with a gun puts the victim more at risk of a violent attack than doing nothing would do. Taking guns out of households would lower the chances of them being a cause of an accidental death or injury. Next, if handguns were outlawed the murder rate would decrease. â€Å"Sixty percent of all murders are caused by guns, and handguns are involved in more than seventy percent of theses† (Desuka 422). Police would need to have a massive crackdown on criminals in order to take their handguns away.

Spirit Bound Chapter Seven

â€Å"NOT WITH YOUR TEETH,† I added hastily. â€Å"Throw yourself at me. Swing your shackles. Whatever you can do.† Victor Dashkov was not a stupid man. Others might have hesitated or asked more questions. He did not. He might not know exactly what was going on, but he sensed that this was a shot at freedom. Possibly the only one he'd ever get. He was someone who had spent a large part of his life masterminding complicated plots, so he was a pro at slipping right into them. Holding his hands up as much as he could manage, he lunged at me, making a good show of trying to choke me with the chain between his cuffs. As he did, I gave a bloodcurdling shriek. In an instant, the guardians were there to stop this crazy prisoner who was senselessly attacking a poor girl. But as they reached to subdue him, I leapt up and attacked them. Even if they'd expected me to be dangerous–and they hadn't–I had so much surprise on them that they had no time to react. I almost felt bad at how unfair it was to them. I punched the first hard enough that he lost his grip on Victor and flew backward, hitting the wall near Lissa as she frantically compelled Northwood to stay calm and not call anyone in the midst of this chaos. The other guardian had slightly more time to react, but he was still slow in letting go of Victor and turning on me. I used the opening and got a punch in, forcing the two of us into a grappling match. He was big and formidable, and once he deemed me a threat, he didn't hold back. A blow to my shoulder sent shooting pain through my arm, and I responded with a swift knee in his stomach. Meanwhile, his counterpart was on his feet heading toward us. I had to end this fast, not only for my own sake but also because they would undoubtedly call for backup if given a moment's chance. I grabbed the one closest to me and pushed him as hard as I could into a wall–headfirst. He staggered, dazed, and I did it again, just as his partner reached me. That first guardian slumped to the ground, unconscious. I hated doing that, but part of my training had been learning to differentiate between incapacitating and killing. He should only have a headache. I hoped. The other guardian was very much on the offensive, however, and he and I circled each other, getting in some shots and dodging others. â€Å"I can't knock him out!† I called to Lissa. â€Å"We need him. Compel him.† Her response came through the bond. She could compel two people at the same time, but it took a lot of strength. We weren't out of this yet, and she couldn't risk burning herself out so soon. Frustration replaced fear within her. â€Å"Northwood, go to sleep,† she barked. â€Å"Right there. On your desk. You're exhausted and will sleep for hours.† Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Northwood slump, his head hitting the desk with a thump. Everyone who worked here would have a concussion by the time we were through. I threw myself at the guardian then, using my full weight to get him within Lissa's line of sight. She pushed her way into our fight. He glanced at her in surprise, and that was all she needed. â€Å"Stop!† He didn't respond as quickly as Northwood, but he did hesitate. This guy was more resistant. â€Å"Stop fighting!† she repeated more forcefully, intensifying her will. Strong or not, he couldn't stand against that much spirit. His arms fell to his sides, and he stopped wrestling me. I stepped back to catch my breath, straightening my wig back into place. â€Å"Holding this one's going to be hard,† Lissa told me. â€Å"Hard as in five minutes or five hours?† â€Å"Somewhere in the middle.† â€Å"Then let's move. Get Victor's key from him.† She demanded the guardian give her the key for the shackles. He told us the other guardian had it. Sure enough, I frisked the unconscious body–he was breathing steadily, thank God–and retrieved the key. Now I turned my full attention on Victor. Once the fight had started, he'd stepped out of the way and simply observed quietly while all sorts of new possibilities undoubtedly formed in his twisted mind. I approached and put on my â€Å"scary face† as I held up the key. â€Å"I'm going to unlock your cuffs now,† I told him, in a voice both sweet and menacing. â€Å"You're going to do exactly what we tell you to do. You're not going to run, start a fight, or in any way interfere with our plans.† â€Å"Oh? Are you using compulsion nowadays too, Rose?† he asked dryly. â€Å"I don't need it.† I unlocked the shackles. â€Å"I can render you unconscious as easily as that guy and drag you out. Makes no difference to me.† The heavy cuffs and chains fell to the floor. That sly, smug look stayed on his face, but his hands gently touched each wrist. I noticed then that there were welts and bruises on them. Those shackles weren't meant for comfort, but I refused to feel sorry for him. He glanced back up at us. â€Å"How charming,† he mused. â€Å"Out of all the people who would attempt to rescue me, I never would have expected you two†¦ and yet, in retrospect, you're probably the most capable.† â€Å"We don't need your running commentary, Hannibal,† I snapped. â€Å"And don't use the word rescue. It makes it sound like you're some wrongfully imprisoned hero.† He arched an eyebrow, like he believed that might indeed be the case. Instead of disputing me, he nodded toward Bradley, who had actually slept through the fight. In his drugged state, Lissa's compulsion had been more than enough to knock him out. â€Å"Give him to me,† said Victor. â€Å"What?† I exclaimed. â€Å"We don't have time for this!† â€Å"And I have no strength for whatever you have in mind,† hissed Victor. That pleasant and all-knowing mask vanished, replaced by one vicious and desperate. â€Å"Imprisonment involves more than bars, Rose. They starve us of food and blood, trying to keep us weak. Walking here is the only exercise I get, and that's effort enough. Unless you really do plan on dragging me out of here, give me blood!† Lissa interrupted any response I could make. â€Å"Be fast.† I stared at her in astonishment. I'd been about to deny Victor, but through the bond I felt an odd mix of feelings from her. Compassion and†¦ understanding. Oh, she still hated him, absolutely. But she also knew what it was like to live on limited blood. Mercifully, Victor was fast. His mouth was at the human's neck practically before Lissa finished speaking. Dazed or no, feeling teeth in his neck was enough to wake Bradley up. He woke with a start, his face soon moving into the delight feeders took from vampire endorphins. A short burst of blood was all Victor would need, but when Bradley's eyes started to go wide in surprise, I realized Victor was taking more than a quick drink. I leapt forward and jerked Victor away from the scattered feeder. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?† I demanded, shaking Victor hard. It was something I'd wanted to do for a long time. â€Å"Did you think you could drain him and become Strigoi right in front of us?† â€Å"Hardly,† said Victor, wincing at the grip I had on him. â€Å"That's not what he was doing,† said Lissa. â€Å"He just lost control for a second.† His bloodlust satisfied, Victor's smooth demeanor had returned. â€Å"Ah, Vasilisa. Always so understanding.† â€Å"Don't make any assumptions,† she growled. I shot glares at both of them. â€Å"We have to go. Now.† I turned to the compelled guardian. â€Å"Take us to the room where they monitor all security footage.† He didn't respond to me, and with a sigh, I looked expectantly at Lissa. She repeated my question, and he immediately began to leave the room. My adrenaline was running high from the fight, and I was anxious to finish all of this and get us out of here. Through the bond, I sensed her nervousness. She might have defended Victor's need for blood, but as we walked, she kept as far away from him as possible. The stark realization of who he was and what we were doing was creeping up on her. I wished I could comfort her, but there was no time. We followed the guardian–Lissa asked his name; it was Giovanni–through more halls and security checkpoints. The route he led us on went around the prison's edge, not through the cells. I held my breath almost the entire time, terrified we'd run into someone. Too many other factors were working against us; we didn't need that too. Our luck held, though, and we ran into no one–again probably a result of doing this near the end of the night and not passing through a high-security zone. Lissa and Mia had gotten the Court guardian to erase the security footage there too, but I hadn't witnessed it. Now, when Giovanni led us into the prison's surveillance room, I couldn't help a small gasp. Monitors covered the walls, and consoles with complex buttons and switches sat in front of them. Computer-covered desks were everywhere. I felt like this room had the power to blast off into space. Everything in the prison was in view: each cell, several halls, and even the warden's office, where Eddie sat making small talk with Theo. Two other guardians were in here, and I wondered if they'd seen us in the halls. But no–they were too fixated on something else: a camera that had been turned to face a blank wall. It was the one I'd adjusted in the feeding room. They were leaning toward it, and one of them was saying how they should call someone to check down there. Then they both looked up and noticed us. â€Å"Help her subdue them,† Lissa ordered Giovanni. Again, there was hesitation. We would have been better off with a â€Å"helper† with a weaker will, but Lissa had had no idea when she chose him. Like before, he eventually sprang into action. Also like before, surprise went a long way in subduing these two guardians. I was a stranger–immediately raising their guard–but still appeared as human. Giovanni was their coworker; they didn't expect an attack from him. That didn't make them easy to take down, though. Having backup went a long way, and Giovanni was good at his job. We rendered one guardian unconscious pretty quickly, Giovanni using a choke hold to briefly cut off the guy's air until he collapsed. The other guard kept his distance from us, and I noticed his eyes continually shifting toward one of the walls. It had a fire extinguisher, a light switch, and a round silver button. â€Å"That's an alarm!† exclaimed Victor, just as the guardian lunged for it. Giovanni and I tackled him at the same time, stopping the guy just before his hand could brush the button and send a legion of guards down on us. A blow to the head knocked this guardian out too. With each person I took out in this prison break, a knot of guilt and nausea twisted tighter and tighter in my stomach. Guardians were the good guys, and I couldn't help but keep thinking I was fighting on the side of evil. Now that we were left to ourselves, Lissa knew the next step. â€Å"Giovanni, disable all the cameras and erase the last hour's worth of footage.† There was a greater hesitation on his part this time. Getting him to fight his friends had required a lot of forceful compulsion on her part. She was keeping her control but growing weary, and it was only going to get harder making him obey our commands. â€Å"Do it,† growled Victor, coming to stand beside Lissa. She flinched at his proximity, but as his gaze joined hers, Giovanni complied with the order and began flipping switches on the consoles. Victor couldn't match Lissa's power by a long shot, but his small burst of compulsion had strengthened hers. One by one, the monitors went black, and then Giovanni typed in a few commands on the computer that stored digital footage from the cameras. Red error lights were flashing on the consoles, but there was no one here now to fix them. â€Å"Even if he erases it, there are those who might be able to recover it from the hard drive,† noted Victor. â€Å"It's a chance we'll have to take,† I said irritably. â€Å"Reprogramming or whatever isn't really in my skill set.† Victor rolled his eyes. â€Å"Perhaps, but destruction certainly is.† It took me a moment to get what he meant, but then it clicked. With a sigh, I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and beat the computer to a pulp until it was nothing more than a pile of plastic and metal fragments. Lissa winced at each blow and kept glancing at the door. â€Å"I hope that's soundproof,† she muttered. â€Å"It looks sturdy,† I said confidently. â€Å"And now it's time to go.† Lissa ordered Giovanni to return us to the warden's office at the front of the prison. He complied, leading us back through the maze we'd gone through earlier. His codes and security card got us through each checkpoint. â€Å"I don't suppose you can compel Theo into letting us walk out?† I asked Lissa. Her mouth was set in a grim line. She shook her head. â€Å"I don't even know how much longer I can hold Giovanni. I've never used someone as a puppet before.† â€Å"It's okay,† I said, trying to reassure both of us. â€Å"We're almost done with this.† But we were going to have another fight on our hands. After beating up half the Strigoi in Russia, I still felt good about my own strength, but that guilty feeling wouldn't leave me. And if we ran into a dozen guardians, even my strength wasn't going to hold. I'd lost my bearings from the blueprint, but it turned out that Giovanni's route back to the main office was taking us through a block of cells after all. Another sign read overhead WARNING–NOW ENTERING PRISONER AREA (PSYCHIATRIC). â€Å"Psychiatric?† I asked in surprise. â€Å"Of course,† murmured Victor. â€Å"Where else do you think they send prisoners with mental problems?† â€Å"To hospitals,† I responded, holding back a joke about all criminals having mental problems. â€Å"Well, that's not always–â€Å" â€Å"Stop!† Lissa interrupted him and came to an abrupt halt before the door. The rest of us nearly walked into her. She jerked away, taking several steps back. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked. She turned to Giovanni. â€Å"Find another way to the office.† â€Å"This is the fastest way,† he argued. Lissa slowly shook her head. â€Å"I don't care. Find another, one where we won't run into others.† He frowned, but her compulsion held. He abruptly turned, and we scurried to keep up. â€Å"What's wrong?† I repeated. Lissa's mind was too tangled for me to pull out her reasoning. She grimaced. â€Å"I felt spirit auras behind there.† â€Å"What? How many?† â€Å"At least two. I don't know if they sensed me or not.† If not for Giovanni's clip and the urgency pressing on us, I would have come to a stop. â€Å"Spirit users†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lissa had looked so long and hard for others like her. Who'd have thought we'd find them here? Actually†¦ maybe we should have expected this. We knew spirit users danced with insanity. Why wouldn't they end up in a place like this? And considering the trouble we'd gone through to learn about the prison, it was no wonder these spirit users had remained hidden. I doubted anyone working here even knew what they were. Lissa and I exchanged brief glances. I knew how badly she wanted to investigate this, but now wasn't the time. Victor already looked too interested in what we'd said, so Lissa's next words were in my head: I'm pretty sure any spirit users would see through my charms. We can't risk our real descriptions being discovered–even if they came from people who are allegedly crazy. I nodded my understanding, pushing aside curiosity and even regret. We'd have to check into this another time–say, like, the next time we decided to break into a maximum-security prison. We finally reached Theo's office without further incident, though my heart pounded furiously the entire way as my brain kept telling me, Go! Go! Go! Theo and Eddie were chatting Court politics when our group entered. Eddie immediately leapt up and went for Theo, recognizing it was time to go. He had Theo in a choke hold as efficiently as Giovanni had managed earlier, and I was glad someone else was doing this dirty work besides me. Unfortunately, Theo managed a good yelp before passing out and falling to the ground. Immediately, the two guardians who had escorted us in earlier charged the office. Eddie and I jumped into the fray, and Lissa and Victor got Giovanni in on it too. To make things more difficult, just after we subdued one of the guardians, Giovanni broke out of the compulsion and began fighting against us. Worse, he ran to the wall where I discovered–too late–there was another silver alarm button. He slammed his fist against it, and a piercing wail filled the air. â€Å"Shit!† I yelled. Lissa's skills weren't in physical fighting, and Victor wasn't much better. It was all on me and Eddie to finish these last two–and we had to do it fast. The second of the escort guardians went down, and then it was just us and Giovanni. He got a good hit in on me–one that knocked my head against the wall. It wasn't good enough to make me pass out, but the world spun and black and white spots danced before my eyes. It froze me up for a moment, but then Eddie was on him, and Giovanni was soon no longer a threat. Eddie took my arm to steady me, and then the four of us immediately ran out of the room. I glanced back at the unconscious bodies, again hating myself for it. There was no time for guilt, though. We had to get out. Now. Every guardian in this prison would be here in less than a minute. Our group ran to the front doors, only to discover them locked from the inside. Eddie swore and told us to wait. He ran back to Theo's office and returned with one of the security cards that Giovanni had often swiped at the doors. Sure enough, this one let us out, and we made a mad dash for the rental car. We piled in, and I was glad Victor kept up with all of us and made none of his annoying comments. Eddie stepped on the gas and headed back toward the way we'd come in. I sat beside him in the front. â€Å"I guarantee the gate guy's going to know about the alarm,† I warned. Our original hope had been to simply leave and tell him there'd been a paperwork mix-up after all. â€Å"Yup,† Eddie agreed, face hard. Sure enough, the guardian stepped out of his gatehouse, arms waving. â€Å"Is that a gun?† I exclaimed. â€Å"I'm not stopping to find out.† Eddie pushed hard on the gas, and when the guardian realized we were coming through regardless, he jumped out of the way. We crashed through the wooden arm that blocked the road, leaving it a mess of splinters. â€Å"Bud's gonna keep our deposit,† I said. Behind us, I heard the sounds of gunshots. Eddie swore again, but as we sped away, the shots grew fainter, and soon, we were out of range. He exhaled. â€Å"If those had hit our tires or windows, we'd have had a lot more to worry about than a deposit.† â€Å"They're going to send people after us,† said Victor from the backseat. Once again, Lissa had moved as far from him as she could. â€Å"Trucks are probably leaving right now.† â€Å"You don't think we guessed that?† I snapped. I knew he was trying to be helpful, but he was the last person I wanted to hear from at the moment. Even as I spoke, I peered back and saw the dark shapes of two vehicles speeding down the road after us. They were gaining quickly, leaving no question that the SUVs would soon catch up to our little compact car. I looked at our GPS. â€Å"We need to turn soon,† I warned Eddie, not that he needed my advice. We'd mapped out an escape route beforehand, one that took lots and lots of twisty turns on these remote back roads. Fortunately, there were a lot of them. Eddie made a hard left and then almost an immediate right. Still, the pursuing vehicles stayed with us in the rearview mirror. It wasn't until a few turns later that the road behind us stayed clear. Tense silence filled the car as we waited for the guardians to catch up. They didn't. We'd made too many confusing turns, but it took nearly ten minutes for me to accept that we might have actually pulled this off. â€Å"I think we lost them,† said Eddie, the wonder in his voice matching my feelings. His face was still lined with worry, his hands gripping the wheel hard. â€Å"We won't lose them until we clear Fairbanks,† I said. â€Å"I'm sure they'll search it, and it's not that big.† â€Å"Where are we going?† asked Victor. â€Å"If I'm allowed to ask.† I squirmed around in my seat so that I could look him in the eye. â€Å"That's what you're going to tell us. As hard as it is to believe, we didn't do all that just because we missed your pleasant company.† â€Å"That is hard to believe.† I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"We want to find your brother. Robert Doru.† I had the satisfaction of momentarily catching Victor off guard. Then his sly look returned. â€Å"Of course. This is a follow-up to Abe Mazur's request, isn't it? I should have known he wouldn't take no for an answer. Of course, I never would have guessed you were in league with him.† Victor apparently didn't know I was actually in the familial league with Abe, and I wasn't about to enlighten him. â€Å"Irrelevant,† I said coldly. â€Å"Now, you're going to take us to Robert. Where is he?† â€Å"You forget, Rose,† mused Victor. â€Å"You aren't the one with compulsion here.† â€Å"No, but I am the one who can tie you up by the side of the road and make an anonymous call back to the prison with your whereabouts.† â€Å"How do I know you won't get what you want from me and then turn me back in anyway?† he asked. â€Å"I have no reason to trust you.† â€Å"You're right. I sure as hell wouldn't trust me. But if things work out, there's a chance we might let you go afterward.† No, there really wasn't. â€Å"Is this something you want to gamble on? You'll never get another opportunity like this, and you know it.† Victor had no witty quip for that. Score another one for me. â€Å"So,† I continued, â€Å"are you going to take us to him or not?† Thoughts I couldn't read churned behind his eyes. No doubt he was scheming about how he could work this to his advantage, probably figuring out how to escape us before we even reached Robert. It was what I would have done. â€Å"Las Vegas,† Victor said at last. â€Å"We need to go to Las Vegas.†

Language and atmosphere Essay

Analyse the importance of chapter one of Great expectations with regard to character, plot, theme, language and atmosphere  In modern society, when our children feel boredom creeping over them, they can turn to the technological wonders of our time, such as computers and televisions, and other gadgets and gizmos that have become commonplace in everyday homes. However, in 1861, the time of the great Charles Dickens, there were no such contraptions, and so children and adults alike turned to the entertainment that books had to offer, and would lose themselves in worlds of imagination, fantasy and the impossible. Dickens’s Great Expectations is an excellent example of 19th century literature and was even published by serialization in Dickens’s own magazine; ‘All the year round’. It is a bildungsroman tale that tells the story of a young, poor boy, who is known throughout the novel as ‘Pip’, that has fantastic, and eventually realised dreams of b ecoming a respected gentleman. In chapter one, we are introduced to the rather ‘larger than life’ character Magwitch, the stereotypical criminal who the Victorians all love to hate. Our first impression of Magwitch is, just as Charles Dickens intended, of a frightening and dangerous man whose â€Å"terrible voice† terrifies Pip and immediately turns us, the readers against him. Dickens does this to reinforce the fact that he is, after all, a criminal, and to highlight the clichd views of the general public. This could even be viewed as bitter sarcasm, as, although Dickens is bowing to the public mood, he makes it clear for those who look more closely that he does not share the same opinion. On the other hand, Magwitch is also shown in a comical light, â€Å"I wish I was a frog. Or an eel!† and we even see a kinder and more vulnerable side, â€Å"a man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones†¦who limped and shivered.† The author shows us these different qualities so that we can obtain a greater understanding of the character and view him in a fairer, more sympathetic light. In addition to this, Dickens gives us subtle hints throughout the chapter that Magwitch, like all people shows weakness; â€Å"he hugged his shuddering body in both arms† and, through Pip’s narration; â€Å"A man whose legs were numbed and stiff†, he tries to make us feel that perhaps even criminals deserve a second chance to be respected pillars of society. It is very important that Magwitch is introduced in the first chapter, rather than a later chapter, as this establishes tension and atmosphere, and creates a compelling hook that will ensure that the following chapters continue to be purchased. And of course, adding a typical â€Å"bad guy† to the equation gives all readers, particularly of the Victorian era, a desperate need to see him beaten! Possibly the most important role that Magwitch plays in Great Expectations is that of the ‘instrument of justice’. When we first meet Magwitch, he is intimidating Pip in the churchyard, and shouts at him that he will only stop his dangerous accomplice from harming him, if he brings him food. When Pip fulfils his end of the bargain, Magwitch returns the favour, only years later, becoming Pips benefactor and enabling him to start a better, wealthier life. Magwitch, however, is not shown justice, as after months of supporting Pip, he is captured, thrown in a jail cell, and later dies of exhaustion. Once again, this underlines the harsh views of the Victorians and the severe attitude towards criminals in the 19th century. We are also introduced to Pip in the opening chapter; the main character in Great Expectations, and the novel’s narrator. The story opens with him remembering himself as a boy, standing alone and crying in a churchyard near the marshes; â€Å"the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip†. Dickens depicts him as a harmless, caring boy, so as to draw sympathy from the reader, even though at that point in the story, Pip is content with his common life. When Magwitch is introduced, the narrator Pip presents an interesting relationship between himself and the bullying man. At first, the relationship appears to be based solely on power and fear. The man yells at Pip to get what he wants, a file and some food, and Pip responds, only because he fears for his life. And yet, after they part, the young Pip keeps looking back at the man as he walks away. The image of Magwitch holding his arms around him is remarkably familiar to the initial image of young Pip, holding himself in the cold, alone in the churchyard with the stones of his dead parents. For a moment, the relationship seems to warm. They share a common loneliness, the orphan and the escaped convict. Even while he is afraid, Pip instinctively displays a sympathetic reaction. This initial meeting, between a small boy and a convict, will develop into the central relationship in the book, which will cause Pip’s great expectations of himself to rise and fall. The author’s decision to assume the character of Pip, and therefore write using first person narrative, proves to be very significant in the development of the story.

Mystery Writing Contest for Unpublished Novelists

Mystery Writing Contest for Unpublished Novelists Mystery Writing Contest for Unpublished Novelists Mystery Writing Contest for Unpublished Novelists By Maeve Maddox The Debut Dagger is a crime writing competition sponsored by the Crime Writers Association. According to Liz Evans, contest chair, 18 Dagger entrants have landed publishing contracts since the annual competition began in 1998. The bad news: If youve already had a novel published commerciallyin any genreyou cant enter. The good news: If your entry makes the short list, youll receive a professional assessment of your entry, even if you dont win. First prize is  £500, tickets to the CWA Daggers Awards and a nights stay in a top London hotel. The entry fee of  £25 is payable by credit card or PayPal. The deadline is February 6, 2010. Even if you are not eligible to enter, you may want to check out the CWA site. It offers a lot of useful writing tips. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Exquisite Adjectives55 Boxing Idioms10 Tips for Clean, Clear Writing

How to Solve Algebra Problems Step-By-Step

How to Solve Algebra Problems Step-By-Step Solving Algebra word problems is useful in helping you to solve earthly problems.  Ã‚  While the 5 steps of Algebra problem solving are listed below, this article will focus on the first step, Identify the problem. Use the Following Steps to Solve Word Problems: Identify the problem.Identify what you know.Make a plan.Carryout the plan.Verify that the answer makes sense. Identify the Problem Back away from the calculator; use your brain first.  Your mind analyzes, plans, and guides  in the labyrinthine quest for the solution. Think of the calculator  as merely a tool that makes the journey easier.  After all, you wouldn’t want a surgeon to crack your ribs and perform a heart transplant without first identifying the source of your chest pains. The steps of identifying the problem are: Express the problem question or statement.Identify the unit of the final answer. Step 1:  Express the Problem Question or Statement In Algebra word problems, the problem is expressed as either a question or a statement. Question: How many trees will John have to plant?How many televisions will Sara have to sell to earn $50,000? Statement: Find the number of trees John will have to plant.Solve for the number of televisions Sara will have to sell to earn $50,000. Step 2: Identify the Unit of the Final Answer What will the answer look like? Now that you understand the word problem’s purpose, determine the answer’s unit. For example, will the answer be in miles, feet, ounces, pesos, dollars, the number of trees, or a number of televisions? Example 1: Algebra Word Problem Javier is making brownies to serve at the family picnic.  If the recipe calls for 2  ½ cups of cocoa to serve 4 people, how many cups will he need if 60 people attend the picnic? Identify the problem:  How many cups will Javier need if 60 people attend the picnic?Identify the unit of the final answer: Cups Example 2: Algebra Word Problem In the market for computer batteries, the intersection of the supply and demand functions determines the price, p dollars, and the quantity, q, of goods sold.Supply function: 80q - p 0Demand function:  4q p 300Determine the price and quantity of computer batteries sold when these functions intersect. Identify the problem:  How much will the batteries cost and how much will be sold when supply and demand functions meet? Identify the unit of the final answer: The quantity, or q, will be given in batteries. The price, or p, will be given in dollars. Here are some free algebra worksheets for practice.

Storm Drainage Design Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Storm Drainage Design Project - Essay Example ertical axis using different scales, but their horizontal coordinates are the same based on hourly readings from the midnight of October 12 to 11:00 in the evening of October 15, 1998. Rainfall data was plotted using millimetres (mm) and the given observations were used as is. On the other hand, river data, which is usually plotted as a discharge in a unit of volume against time (cubic meters per second or liters per second) is drawn as a function of the given river width (B) and the velocity (V) of flow of the river (since discharge is a product of area and water flow velocity in this case) per hour of observation. The highest point (peak) of the blue line graph is 0.658 meter-BV per hour. The scale used was 1 x 10-1 m, such that 0.658 is represented as 6.58 x 10-1 m. This should explain why the highest number in the vertical axis is 7. It may be gleaned from Figure 3 that although observations were plotted every hour, the time markers were presented every three hours due to space limitations.). However, the data were analyzed using the original values and units of the river level per hour of observation. Prior to the rainfall in 4:00 on October 13, the average reading of the river height from the start of given observations for 28 consecutive hourly readings is 0.262 mm. This will be the basis of the base flow. After seven hours of rainfall, the first peak was observed at 11:00 of October 13 with a height of 1.2 mm. This marks the initiation of the rising limb of the river flood where the height of the river also started to rise compared to base flow. The rainfall data had twin peaks, with the second peak occurring at 21:00 of October or 10 hours after the first rainfall peak was observed. At 9:00 of October 14, 12 hours after the second peak of the rainfall, the peak flow of the river was recorded at 0.658 m. The amount of time for the peak flow to return back to base flow or base flow time is 46 hours. Several factors which influence the characteristics of

Born to Dance-Ballet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Born to Dance-Ballet - Essay Example Mr. Carreno won the 1987 New_York International Ballet_Competition and the International_Ballet Competion’s Grand Prix contest. In terms of dance uniqueness and high_point, Carreno mastered the classical ballet dance style. The style includes pas de_bourree, pas couru, and coupe movements. The style incorporates the pieds and echappe jumps. The dance style includes both croisee and efface body_poses (Vaganova, Basic Principles of Classical Ballet). In 2004, Carreno received the prominent Dance_Magazine Award (Roca 187). At 43 years of age, Carreno retired from the American_Ballet Company during 2011(Sulcas 1). In terms of big events performed, Carreno was the principal classical ballet_dancer during the 1990’s prestigious English_National Ballet theatre, the Royal_Ballet theatre during 1993, and the American_Ballet theatre from 1995 until 2011 (Singer 1). Carreno was the principal dancer in the Diana and Action without a shirt (Fuhrer 1). Xiamara Reyes played the leading Ballerina in the dance routine (Sulcas, Theater Pulls out the Showstoppers 1). In terms of biography, Carreno is Cuba’s top ballet dancer, coming from a family of ballet enthusiast. After seriously taking up education at the Cuban_National Ballet_School, Carreno won the Gold_Medal award in the New York Ballet_competition (1987 and the Gran_Prix award in the Jackson,_Mississippi International_Ballet Contest (Singer 1). In terms of what made Corella important, Spain’s Angel_Corella is one of the best ballet dancers of his time. Corella received countless awards for his excellent delivery of the ballet steps. Corella won the Concours International_de Danse de_Danse de Paris as well as the Gold Medal. The two awards led to Corella’s acceptance into the American Ballet Theatre (Jacobs 1). As to high point, Corella became a welcome artist in several prestigious ballet entities. The ballet

Digital Media Platforms and Education Assignment - 10

Digital Media Platforms and Education - Assignment Example It was important to analyze this in order to come up with all the causes of global warming and a solution to the problems its causes. It has previously been understood that human actions contribute a lot to global warming. However, I found out that the extent to which human CO2 factors into the total CO2 generated by planet earth on a yearly basis is only four percent. This was quite informative and changed my way of looking at the whole issue (Archer, 29). This fact does not relieve humans of their responsibility towards the planet. Instead, it helps in putting into perspective the precise scope of the problem and the means by which it should be rectified. From my research, it has been scientifically proven that it is not only CO2 levels that determine global temperature but even the sun and the world’s oceans do. The oceans seventy percent coverage of the earth’s surface gives them a profound effect on regulating our global system’s temperature. Scientists have also recently proven that the global temperature levels have been dictated by the world’s oceans more so than was previously recognized. This is due to a number of observations (Archer, 49). I also learned that technology has contributed to new inventions and learning greatly. Digital media promote new technologies that enrich learning abilities and enable for better skills like in the case of music. Communication has been made easier and more interesting even in classrooms. The rise of social media platforms has enabled me and other people exchange ideas and learn from each other. Digital media has also enabled me and my friends produce and share information that has been helpful both academically and socially. My experience during this course was great and I got to learn about different devices used and how to use them effectively. (Archer, 57).

What Is Sales Forecasting Marketing Essay

What Is Sales Forecasting Marketing Essay Forecasting is a little more scientific than looking into the crystal ball . The scientific basis of forecasting lies in studying past , present and future trends , present and future actions and their effects . What happened in the past is relevant to what is happening now and what could happen in the future . Forecasting  is defined as the process of making statements about the events whose actual outcomes have not yet been observed . A common example might be  the estimation  of some variable of interest at some specified future date .  Prediction  is similar , but it is more general term. Both might refer to formal statistical methods employing   the time series ,  cross sectional  or  longitudinal  data and alternatively to less formal judgemental methods . Usage can differ between areas of application for example in  hydrology , the terms forecast and forecasting are sometimes reserved for the estimation of values at certain specific  future  times , while the term prediction is used for more general estimates , such as the number of times the floods will occur over a long period . WHAT IS SALES FORECASTING ? SALES FORCATING : Sales forecasting is estimating what a companys future sales are likely to be , based on the sales records as well as  the market research . Information used for sales forecasting must be well organized and may include information on the competition and the statistics that affect the businesses customer base . Companies conduct sales forecasting in hopes of identifying the patterns so that the revenue and the   cash flow  can be maximized . Sales forecasting is a difficult area of management . Most managers believe that they are good at forecasting . However , forecasts made usually turn out to be wrong . Marketers argue about whether sales forecasting is a science or an art . The short answer is that it is a bit of both. Sales forecast should be conducted regularly and all the forecasting results need to be measured , so that the future methods can be adjusted if necessary . Before the forecasting process begins marketing , sales or other managers should determine how far ahead the forecast should be done . Short term forecasting is a maximum of three months and is often effective for analyzing budgets and markets . Intermediate sales forecasting is between a period of three months and two years and may be used for schedules ,  inventory and production . Long term forecasting is for a minimum of two years and can be used for long term forecast period and is good for dealing with growth into new markets or new products . Basically sales forecasting is analyzing all the parts of a business from total inventory to the strengths and weaknesses of sales people . Managers must think about changes in customer sales or other changes that could affect the forecasting figures . They must be competitive when they are assessing the competition and how they can surpass the competition to better meet the needs of the target market . IMPORTANCE OF SALES FORCASTING Sales forecasting is the basis of all the business activities . All the business activities may it be a sales related matter , production related matter , finance , advertising etc depend on sales forecasting . Any business firm starts its plan with sales forecasting . Sales forecasting is a self assessment tool for a company . A sales forecast reports , graphs and analyzes the pulse of any business . It is a vital basis for a companys budget . The future direction of the company depends on the sales forecasting .   Sales  are the lifeblood of the business .  Its what helps you pay employees , cover operating expenses , buy more inventory , market new products and attract more investors . Sales forecasting is a crucial part of the  financial planning  of the business . Its a self assessment tool that uses the past and the current sales statistics to intelligently predict the future performance . Sales forecasts are also an important part of starting a new business . Almost all new businesses need loans or start up capital to purchase everything necessary to get off the ground office space , equipment , inventory , employee salaries and  marketing . You cant just walk into a bank with a bright idea and lots of enthusiasm . You need to show them numbers that prove your business is viable . In other words , you need a business plan . The importance of Sales forecasting can be stated as follows : 1 . Overstocking and the under stocking of materials can be maintained by a good inventory control. 2 . With the help of sales forecasting , sales opportunities can be found out on the basis of the forecast . 3 . All the activities in an organization , are controlled on the basis of forecasting . 4 . Advertising and sales promotion expenses are based on sales forecasting . 5 . Sales forecasting is also important in the field of personnel department . The number of sales persons , executives etc can be increased or decreased on the basis of sales forecasting . 6 . Sales forecasting is the basis for financial Planning . 7 . In the field of production , with the help of sales forecasting , producer is able to adjust his production schedules and avoid idle time which leads to efficiency . 8 . Supply and demand of the products can be easily adjusted .   9 . It helps in knowing when and how much to buy . 10 . It helps in the product mix decisions . SALES FORECASTING ON THE BASIS OF PAST Many businesses prepare their sales forecast on the basis of their past sales . Past years Sales forecasting is done with the help of Time series analysis . Time series analysis involves the breaking of past sales down into the four components : The trend are the sales growing , flat lining or are in decline ! Seasonal or cyclical factors Sales are affected by the swings in the general economic activity . Seasonal and cyclical factors occur in a regular pattern . Erratic events these include strikes , fashion fads , war scares and other disturbances to the market , which need to be isolated from the past sales data in order to be able to identify the more normal pattern of the sales . Responses the results of the particular measures that have been taken to increase the sales (e.g. a major new advertising campaign) . Using the time series analysis to prepare an effective sales forecast requires the management to : Smooth out the erratic factors . Adjust for the seasonal variation . Identify and estimate the effect of the specific marketing responses . SALES FORECASTING ON THE BASIS OF PRESENT MARKET As a starting point for estimating the market demand , a company needs to know the actual industry sales that is taking place in the market . This involves identifying its competitors and estimating their sales . An industry trade association will often collect and publish the total industry sales , although rarely listing the individual company sales separately . By using this information , each company can easily evaluate its performance against the whole market . This is an important piece of analysis , Say for example that Company A has sales that are rising at the rate of 10% per year . However , it finds out that the overall industry sales are rising by the rate of 15% per year . This must mean that Company A is losing the market share , its relative standing in the industry . Another way to estimate the sales is to buy the reports from a marketing research firm such as AC Neilsen , Mintel etc . These are usually good sources of information for the consumer markets where the retail sales can be tracked in great detail at the point of sale . Such sources are less useful in the industrial markets which usually rely on the distributors. SALES FORECASTING FOR FUTURE MARKET So far we have identified that how a company can determine the current position . How can the future market demand and the company demand be forecast ? Very few products or the services lend themselves to easy forecasting . These tend to involve a product whose absolute level or the trend of sales is fairly constant and where the competition is either non-existent ( e.g. monopolies such as public utilities ) or stable ( pure oligopolies ) . In most of the markets , the total demand and company demand are not stable which makes the good sales forecasting a critical success factor . A common method of preparing the sales forecast has three stages : Prepare the macroeconomic forecast   what will happen to overall economic activity in the relevant economies in which a product is to be sold . Prepare an industry sales forecast   what will happen to overall sales in an industry based on the issues that influence the macroeconomic forecast . Prepare a company sales forecast   based on what management expect to happen to the companys market share . Sales forecasts can be based on the following three types of information : What the customers say  about their intentions to continue buying products in the industry . What the customers are actually doing  in the market . What the customers have done  in the past in the market . There are many market research businesses that undertake surveys of the customer intentions and sell this information to the businesses that need the data for sales forecasting purposes . The value of the customer intention survey increases when there are a relatively small number of customers , the cost of reaching them is small and they have the clear intentions . An alternative way of measuring the customer intentions is to sample the opinions of the sales force or to the consult industry experts .

René Descartes Argument on the Existence of God Essay -- Philosophy G

Renà © Descartes' Argument on the Existence of God The problem with Renà © Descartes' argument about the existence of God has to do with his rationalist deductive reasoning. Descartes deduces that truth about the existence of God lies within his idea of a perfect God and God's essence (as a perfect being who must exist in order to be perfect). A rationalist philosopher, Descartes discounts human knowledge as a product of our sensory data (our senses) but supports the epistemological stance that our knowledge is obtained through the reasoning processes of our own minds. Because Descartes believes deductive inference is the only path to absolute certainty, he endeavors to use logical arguments and principles (a mathematically natured process of reasoning) to validate the existence of God. But how can principles of logic be used to prove the existence of God? Descartes' attempts to stay deductive when attempting to prove the existence of God are indeed laudable, but some of his arguments are lacking. In proving the existence of God, hi s two main arguments are as follows: the idea of a perfect, infinite being in his own head could only have been created by God Himself, and God's existence cannot be separated from His essence . Descartes must first prove that he exists. He writes, ?For example, during these few days I was examining whether anything in the world exists, and I noticed that, from the very fact that I was making this examination, it obviously followed that I exist? (84). Essentially, a being can be certain of its existence if it can think. Descartes also adds that ideas (thoughts, imagination, etc.) are objectively real: ?For whether it is a she-goat or a chimera that I am imagining, it is no less true that I imagine ... ...ply does not stand. Descartes loses his grasp on certainty by failing to prove God's perfection and that God was the only creator of his idea of perfection. By unsuccessfully proving the existence of God through pure deductive reasoning, Descartes' system may sadly be forever doomed to uncertainty in this particular endeavor. And because Descartes' project of certainty about the existence of God was unsuccessful, the same would follow for his deductions about the sense world. But there is always hope. Perhaps the existence of God was never meant to be proved through deductive reasoning and logic. There is always something to be said about believing in the existence God with nothing more than pure faith. Work Cited Descartes, Renà ©. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy . Trans. Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1998.

A Background on William Blake Essay

A child of the Romantic Period, William Blake was a poet born into the lively grounds of Soho, England. Since childhood, people observed in him a keen sense of imagination. This recognition then encouraged his parents to support his career path as an artist (Merriman n. p. ). Blake was largely considered as eccentric or demented by his contemporaries, causing him to be denied in his lifetime the recognition he deserved. However, literary critics now consider him an influential force in the development of Romanticism (Barker n. p. ). Blake’s works and style of writing cannot be classified into a single category or genre. However, his works showed recurring themes of knowledge and innocence, heaven and hell, external reality and internal reality, and most of all, good and evil (Merriman n. p. ). Most of his works are expressed with simplicity, except for some of his later works. With this simplicity, Blake was able to portray opposing aspects of human nature. He achieved this superbly by using one literary piece to present the negative side of another earlier literary work. Sorrow: the Antithesis of Joy This style of Blake was highlighted in his two poems Infant Joy and Infant Sorrow. Infant Joy was presented to dwell on the joys of life, childbirth, and existence. Then, in contrast, Infant Sorrow came to life to demonstrate the sadness of life and human existence. Content Comparison. In Infant Sorrow, the infant’s realization that the world is an unhappy place to live in summed up human existence. This poem renders a bleak understanding of human conditions and strongly contrasts with the earlier poem, Infant Joy. This other poem celebrates childbirth, as shown by the infant christening herself as ‘Joy. ’ The voice of her mother celebrates with her baby too. However, the poem’s too-evident joyfulness invites suspicion. The mask of exaggeration can be unfurled to reveal a deeper understanding of human existence. Both poems share similar strong emotions in describing birth, and both use little to no figurative language. However, they differ in structures and in the portrayal of human oppression. The poems both describe the sentiments that surround the birth of a child. Infant Joy portrays the happiness of an infant for being alive (Blake 4-5). There is a sense of gladness because human existence is worth celebrating. When one is born, he/she is given civil rights and freedoms that are worth being born for. Nonetheless, the infant cannot realistically even be aware of herself in such a way. A source even notes that it is still the mother who provides the infant’s voice: she merely projects herself unto her baby’s seeming happiness (Gilham 3). Still, the mother’s voice (as herself) is also present in the poem. She also feels exuberant, so she sings for her baby (Blake 11). On the other hand, Infant Sorrow depicts the infant’s feelings of lack of safety and security, as well as experiences of oppression (Blake 5). The parents in this poem also express resounding emotions, as the â€Å"mother groaned† and the â€Å"father wept† (Blake 1). This first line of the poem emphasized the parents’ sadness and misery about the baby’s birth. Thus, both poems explore the avalanche of powerful feelings that come with childbirth. Use of Figurative Language. Both poems similarly employ little to no figurative language. For Infant Sorrow, the most striking figurative language is the simile, â€Å"Like a fiend hid in the cloud† (Blake 4). This indicates that the baby is like a criminal in the clouds of happiness. The irony stands out: here is a two-day old infant who normally feels peaceful and happy, but in reality should really feel like another criminal who cannot hide anywhere, not even in the comfort of his dreams. Another figurative speech is the pun of â€Å"sulk,† instead of â€Å"suck† (Blake 8). The baby sulks in being fed by her mother, which is confounding, because there should be a natural connection between feeding and existence, a connection that is more positive than depressing. For Infant Joy, there are no evident figures of speech. This makes the poem very straightforward to some extent. Curran calls this as having no word â€Å"in excess† (6), which have made the poem a pithy rendition of childbirth happiness. Structure and Rhyming Patterns. The poems also diverge in different aspects, beginning with their dissimilar rhyming patterns. In Infant Sorrow, Blake uses a regular AABB rhyme scheme for its two stanzas, but in Infant Joy, he utilizes ABCDAC for the first stanza and ABCDDC for the second. The dissimilar rhyming patterns depict the underlying chaos behind the sweet joy of the infant. This rhyming style suggests the incongruence that exists between what is said and what is not said in Infant Joy. Furthermore, the most distinct pattern in Infant Joy is the double rhyme that recurs in lines three, six, nine, and twelve. This rhyming pattern contrasts with the more stable rhyme of Infant Sorrow. As pointed out already, this signifies an uncertainty in the voice of the mother in Infant Joy, as she wishes her child a happy life. The mother could be suppressing the reality that happiness is rarely attainable, when human existence cannot be described as joyful at all. Other Structures. Both poems possess different structures that also impact their meanings. These poems use different strategies in illustrating human oppression. Infant Joy uses two voices of happiness and the theme of innocence to mask the latent doubts of insecurity in the mother’s voice. The voices come from an infant and mother who believe that human life is joyful and so being born into it must be a cause of cheerful disposition. The poem portrays the happiness of an infant in being born: â€Å"I happy am. /Joy is my name† (Blake 4-5). The mother feels high-spirited also and she sings for her baby. The poem also celebrates innocence by repeating the phrase â€Å"sweet joy† five times over in lines 6, 8, 9, and 12. The repetition emphasizes the sweetness of being born and being so young. Infant Joy, however, somehow masks an uncertainty. The mother keeps on saying that the baby is only two days old. In a way, it indicates that this is the main reason why the baby feels too happy; she is still too young to experience the harshness of living. Furthermore, there is a tone of wishful thinking about happiness from the mother. When she says â€Å"Sweet joy befall thee! † (Blake 12), it is more of a benediction rather than a conviction (Gilham 3). In here, human innocence has resembled a mask, a charade for a mother who wishes a form of short-term happiness for her baby. Blake undermines the happiness of human existence through Infant Sorrow, which directly assaults human innocence through dark symbolism, imagery, and figurative expressions. It is quite shocking that an infant would describe a new world as dangerous, one where the infant’s parents would weep or groan, as if in terror. Parents should be happy when they see their baby, but this poem paints an extremely contrasting picture. This point of view can be explained by the fact that Blake lived in a time of war (Curran 6). Thus, in the author’s context, he was right to say that a child born in such a society only â€Å"leapt to a dangerous world† (Blake 2). An infant described as a fiend is also hardly anticipated. This image is quite perplexing, because innocence has been plunged into the murky waters of evil (Blake 4). At the same time, the infant, who has just been born, already feels â€Å"bound and weary† (Blake 7). A baby should be free of the world’s numerous worries, but this infant is like an adult who has been disillusioned by the burdens of human life. The infant even sulks upon his mother’s breast. â€Å"Sulk† is a pun for â€Å"suck,† which renders a different interpretation of depending on a mother for nurturance (Carson 150; Bender and Mellor 300). â€Å"Sulk† underscores the resistance to the passive role of the baby in society (Gilham 4). The struggles of the infant symbolize the struggles of adults against the oppression from political and economic forces of society. The â€Å"swaddling bands† indicate how people also struggle to fight the institutions that make it impossible for them to enjoy their civil liberties. Infant Sorrow, hence, takes the voice of an adult who has briskly shaken off the pretensions of modern liberties. Blake used infants as the starting point of his argument about human existence. Conclusion Infant Joy and Infant Sorrow may directly oppose each other in the choice of words, structure and rhyming pattern.  Underneath them, however, are the same strong human emotions, portrayed simply with little use of figurative language. These poems possess the voice of a weary and dissatisfied adult who wants to escape but cannot wholly leave society. The innocence and happiness was a mere mask for the realities of life. They also express inconspicuously the voice of a human being who constantly fights the battle against dominant social institutions that trample on civil liberties. Ultimately, both poems remarkably render in diverse ways, the tortures of human existence.

Integrated Marketing Communication

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) received considerable attention from practitioners and academics alike, and that interest has continued into the new millennium (e. g. , Bearden and Madden 1996; Cornelissen and Lock 2000; Duncan, Schultz, and Patti 2005; Garretson and Burton 2005; Nowak and Phelps 1994; Schultz and Kitchen 2000a; Schumann, Artis, and Rivera 2001). As the marketplace has become more fragmented over the years, organizations have embraced IMC as a means to effectively and efficiently target and attract the splintering mass market through the transmission of a unified message across all â€Å"contact points† between organizations and their consumers. Whether the contact point is product packaging, a Web advertisement, or any other â€Å"information bearing experience that a consumer or prospect has with a brand† (Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993, p. 1), the goal is to present a message to an audience that is consistent (Duncan 1993) and/or to generate valuable customer information (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002; Yarborough 1996). In short, utilization and coordination of various promotion and communication tools is necessary to assure optimal market coverage (Stewart 1996) and to develop a strong marketing program (Nowak and Phelps 1994). Despite its potential contributions, debate still exists regarding the significance of IMC as a practice (e. g. , Cook 2004; Cornelissen and Lock 2000; Gould 2001). Questions pertaining to the prevalence of IMC in the marketplace (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002) and regarding its differential applicability across product type (e. g. , Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996) remain. This study was designed to help answer these questions. In recent years, the concept of IMC has made its way into the mainstream of the marketing literature (Duncan and Caywood 1996; Nowak and Phelps 1994; Schultz 2003; Schultz and Kitchen 1997, 2000b; Zahay et al. 2004). This has occurred despite the fact that, in reality, there is no universally agreed upon definition of IMC (e. g. , Cornelissen and Lock 2000; Kliatchko 2005; Schultz and Kitchen 1997; Stewart 1996) and IMC appears to be an evolving concept (Duncan, Schultz, and Patti 2005). While a â€Å"working definition of integrated marketing communication is hard to come by† (Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993, p. xv), one simple characterization of the phenomenon poses IMC as the coordination of communication tools for a brand (Krugman et al. 1994). Central to the concept of IMC is the notion that effective communication is accomplished by blending various communication forms–for example, advertising, publicity, sales promotion, and so forth–into a single, seamless entity (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). Furthermore, when it is well devised, IMC can generate information that can be used to identify and target different types of consumers with customized communication (Schultz 1997) and, ultimately, help to build a strong relationship with them (Duncan 2002). In a sense, then, IMC involves a process that is circular in nature–a sort of two-way communication between organizations and consumers that gathers and stores responses to communication and uses that information to effectively target consumers in future efforts (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002; Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993). A review of the phenomenon in practice performed by Nowak and Phelps (1994) uncovered three broad manifestations of integrated marketing communication: IMC as â€Å"integrated communication,† IMC as â€Å"‘one voice' communication,† and IMC as a â€Å"coordinated marketing-communication campaign. † While the distinction among the three manifestations is sometimes hazy, each one poses a slightly different approach that organizations may take to create messages that are uniform in tone and look (Duncan 1993). The â€Å"integrated communications† approach involves promoting brand image and direct audience behavior simultaneously by coupling devices such as brand advertising and public relations communications with consumer sales promotions and direct response tools within an organization's marketing-communication materials, particularly advertisements (Peltier, Mueller, and Rosen 1992). For instance, an ad that contains a direct-response tool (e. g. , a coupon), a public relations appeal (e. g. , support of an esteemed social cause), and brand advertising (e. g. depiction and description of the offering) would reflect the integrated communication form of IMC. A key outcome of this approach is the acquisition of consumer information that is captured when consumers respond to direct-response tools, sales promotions, and the like (Nowak and Phelps 1994). The â€Å"one voice† approach reflects a firm's focus on a single positioning strategy that emphasizes unity among brand/ image advertising, direct-response advertising, public relations, and consumer sales promotions at the outset of a promotional campaign (Reilly 1991; Snyder 1991). In this approach, the position, message, or theme is what ultimately guides an organization's IMC decisions, which ostensibly could be rendered independently by the firm's advertising, public relations, and sales promotion agencies (Nowak and Phelps 1994). The third approach, â€Å"coordinated marketing-communication campaigns,† stresses the need to integrate the activities of different marketing-communication disciplines (e. g. , sales promotions, advertising, and public relations) in order to reach multiple audiences with a synergistic effort (Rapp and Collins 1990; Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993). The â€Å"coordinated marketing communication† approach differs from the â€Å"one voice† manifestation of IMC in that it does not simply focus on a single brand position; rather, multiple positions are the norm (Nowak and Phelps 1994), with a goal of targeting multiple audiences (Rapp and Collins 1990). A further comparison of the three forms of integrated marketing communication reveals that the â€Å"coordinated marketing-communication campaign† and â€Å"one voice† approaches to IMC involve an organization's communication activity at a broad level of application, whereas the â€Å"integrated communications† manifestation encompasses a more microlevel application. More precisely, the first two manifestations involve integration across communication campaigns, whereas the latter one entails integration within particular communication devices, such as advertisements. For example, early indications following Super Bowl XL suggested that the ads broadcast during the event were successful not only in terms of their brand advertising, but also in terms of direct response, as evidenced by the increased traffic to the advertisers' Web sites (Horovitz 2006). Of the three forms of IMC, it is the integrated communications† approach that appears to be the one most often utilized in practice (Phelps, Plumley, and Johnson 1994) and the one that is the focus of this study. One broad goal of our research is to discern how the â€Å"integrated communications† form of IMC is manifested in practice. Integrated Marketing Communication Research While the phenomenon of integrated marketing communications has received widespread attention over the past 15 years, there have been very few empirical investigations of its incidence and application. The scant research findings that are available suggest that IMC is perceived to be valuable by practitioners (Duncan and Everett 1993; Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002) and that its utilization seems to be increasing. For example, one early study found that approximately two-thirds of consumer product companies employed IMC in some manner (Caywood, Schultz, and Wang 1991), while a later investigation reported that 75% of the organizations surveyed had adopted IMC in one way or another (Phelps, Plumley, and Johnson 1994). A more recent investigation revealed that 95 % of Fortune 500 executives responding to an inquiry indicated that their company used IMC to some degree and that nearly the same percentage was at least somewhat satisfied with its results (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002). It bears noting that most of these findings are based on respondents' perceptions and may not reflect IMC as actually practiced. In general, most of the examination of IMC has focused on its perceived value and beliefs regarding its potential among packaged or durable-goods marketers. By comparison, there is little documentation of the actual existence or prevalence of IMC in these or other market contexts (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). The scant published research on the actual practice of integrated marketing communication suggests that organizations involved in green marketing have been slow to adopt IMC principles in their advertising (Carlson et al. 1996). Meanwhile, retail and consumer service organizations appear to use media and message delivery elements associated with integrated approaches, yet lack strong coordination among these IMC components (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). In a further examination of IMC across different business firms (i. e. , business-to-business, retailing, services, and consumer product), it was discovered that coordination among IMC components does indeed exist, yet the selection of specific marketing communication activities differs significantly among the business types (McArthur and Griffin 1997). Given the contradictory results and scarce empirical research, there appears to be a need for further examination of IMC and marketers' activities to plan and execute its implementation (Duncan and Everett 1993; Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002). Integrated Marketing Communication and Product Type Based on the research results discussed above, IMC appears to be a practice that is used across business contexts, but in different ways (e. g. , McArthur and Griffin 1997; Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). McArthur and Griffin observe, â€Å"different product-market situations demand different communication tools and techniques† (1997, p. 5). Hence, it is not surprising that a study of media usage within IMC programs revealed differential emphasis on some media when comparing services and retailing firms (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996) or comparing across services, retailing, business-to-business, and consumer product organizations (McArthur and Griffin 1997). There is even some indication that consumer product firms lag behind others in terms of the degree of attention they accord to IMC (McArthur and Griffin 1997). In addition, and as suggested by Duncan (2005), IMC may be particularly relevant within the services sector. Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that the nature of the product that an organization offers may affect the emphasis it places on IMC and its utilization of different communication materials. Further supporting the notion that the nature of the promoted product may be related to the adoption of IMC is a body of literature that indicates that the advertising of services differs substantively from the advertising of physical goods in several ways (e. g. , George and Berry 1981; Grove, Pickett, and Laband 1995; Legg and Baker 1987; Mittal 1999; Shostack 1977; Stafford and Day 1995). For example, since services are essentially performances (Gronroos 1990; Grove and Fisk 1983) and not things that can be displayed (e. g. , insurance, health care, an airline flight), it is difficult for organizations to communicate about them and for customers to grasp what it is they are likely to receive (Lovelock and Wirtz 2004; Shostack 1977; Zeithaml 1981). Many years ago, in her seminal paper establishing the nature of service products, Shostack (1977) stressed that marketers must strive to â€Å"integrate† evidence of service offerings to compensate for their innate intangibility. She argued that such an effort should involve controlling a broad range of potential clues to foster a concrete, â€Å"total impression† of the service. Essentially, that effort entails coordinating various communicative devices associated with a service and its delivery, including the content of service advertising. George and Berry (1981) similarly argue for the importance of presenting a uniform message as one of the six guidelines for advertising a service. From their viewpoint, â€Å"advertising continuity,† that is, continually using distinctive symbols, formats, and/or themes can reinforce a service's image and differentiate it from the competition. Ostensibly, the creation of a consistent and uniform perception of the service product might also be accomplished as one outcome of effective integrated marketing communications. Yet in a comprehensive overview of the services advertising literature several years ago, Tripp (1997) identified IMC as one of several phenomena related to service advertising's message structure and execution that needed further study. A recent examination of advertisements across various categories of services found a high incidence of IMC portrayed within the ads (i. e. , over 60% of the ads reflected IMC), yet argued that there was room for improvement in terms of the degree of integration that was present (Grove, Carlson, and Dorsch 2002). However, a comparison of advertisements for goods versus services with respect to incidence and character of IMC has yet to be performed, despite the potential applicability of IMC in the area of services promotion (Duncan 2005).