Final paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Final paper - Essay Example A market is said to be in perfect competition when there are a large number of buyers and sellers perfectly aware of the market prices, and no firm is large enough to have any economic power over the industry (Amacher & Pate, 2013). The two main characteristics of a perfect market are low barriers to entry and exit, i.e. any new firm can enter the market because of no restrictions such as high setup cost, legal barriers or any other. All the firms are earning normal profit as there is strong competition within the industry. Secondly, homogenous products are produced, i.e. all products are identical or standardized and are substitutes of each other, thus sharing the same price as well (Amacher & Pate, 2013). An imperfect competition is where there are not many producers in the market and there is less competition as buyers and sellers are not fully aware of the prices so different prices exist for same product in the market (Amacher & Pate, 2013). There are three forms of an imperfect market: Under this structure, there are few sellers as compared with perfect competition and the products produced are differentiated due to branding, which gives the producer a way to have his own pricing policy and thus can earn more than normal profits (Amacher & Pate, 2013). There are a few suppliers in the market in this structure, and every supplier has a substantial control over the prices, and output produced because few suppliers control the entire supply in the market. There is strong rival consciousness because of the interdependence of suppliers. There is a possibility of product differentiation as well as substitute products, and the price-output policy of each supplier depends upon the degree of homogeneity or heterogeneity (Amacher& Pate, 2013). There is a single seller or producer who controls the entire market. As he

Capital Punishment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Capital Punishment - Research Paper Example The arguments in favor and against capital punishment is growing day by day. Even some of the most civilized countries like America has no problems in executing hardcore criminals. However, majority of the religions argue against capital punishment. Religions are of the view that it is ethically or morally wrong to take the life of a person. According to religious point of view, all the living things and nonliving things are the creations of the God and only the God has the authority to take back the lives he created in this world. On the other hand, many atheists and sociologists are of the view that capital punishment is necessary to save the life of innocent people from the threat of antisocial elements. In their opinion, if the execution of one person may save many lives, then it should be implemented without any worry or concern. I have conducted two interviews; one with a Christian priest who argues against capital punishment and another with a sociologist who argue in favor of capital punishment in order to get more insights about this controversial topic. This paper analyses arguments in favor and against capital punishment based on those interviews and ethical theories with respect to this topic. Arguments against capital punishment based on the interview with a priest In response to my questions about the morality of capital punishment, the priest has told me that human do not have the authority to take a life which he is unable to create. In his opinion, the secrets behind life before birth and life after death are still unknown to the people even after huge advancements in science and technology. Human abilities have limitations in understanding the mission of God. According to the priest each person is sent to this world with a mission by the God and doing something against the mission of the God is unethical. In reply to the Priest’s arguments, I asked him; â€Å"Is it ethical to allow the criminals to take the life of others freely?. He r eplied that punishment is necessary for avoiding criminal activities however, the essence of punishment should be correction rather than vengeance. â€Å"Capital punishment never allows a criminal to change his behavior as in the case of other forms of punishments†(10 Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment, 2010). He told me that life term is more acceptable than capital punishment since it prevent us from committing the same mistake as committed by the criminal. The priest strengthened his argument with the help of some of the existing laws in America. He has pointed out that â€Å"American criminal justice system believes that â€Å"partisan advocacy of both sides on a case will promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free† (Ferdic et al, 2008, p.37). He has pointed out that the chances of executing an innocent person because of circumstantial evidences or fabricated evidences are more and in such cases, nobody can return the lif e of that person even if he has found to be innocent later. In order to substantiate that argument, he has quoted the facts published by Van den Haag. â€Å"In a recent survey Professors Hugo Adam Bedau and Michael Radelet found that 7000 persons were executed in the United States between 1900 and 1985 and that 35 were innocent of capital crimes† (Van den Haag, 1986). In other words, 35 innocent people lost their lives because of capital punishment. He has pointed that the essence of American criminal

Policy and Strategy in Global Competition Essay Example for Free

Policy and Strategy in Global Competition Essay Discussion Question 11.1: Why is it important for an organization to have alignment between its strategy and organizational structure? The relationship between an organization’s strategy and structure are extremely important because it â€Å"directly impacts a firm’s performance† (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Also, as an organization grows, it should reevaluate the current strategy and structure to ensure that it remains the optimal choice for the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). The four types of organizational structures, listed in order of least to most complex according to Rothaermel (2013), are: (1) simple, (2) functional, (3) multidivisional, and (4) matrix. The simple structure is for small firms or organizations that are just starting out (Rothaermel, 2013). The decision-making structure is quite flat, as â€Å"the founders tend to make all the important strategic decisions† (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Growth will often cause the higher-ups to feel overwhelmed under this type of structure, requiring the organization to adopt a different, more complex structure (Rothaermel, 2013). A functional structure groups employees into teams, allowing for increased decision-making at lower levels of the managerial chain (Rothaermel, 2013). The opportunity for specialization allows for the functional structure to be employed with each of the business-level strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, or integration (Rothaermel, 2013). One of the hurdles to overcome would be the likely increase in difficulties which arise from departmentalization of the varying teams (Rothaermel, 2013). The best way to overcome such a hurdle is through cross-functional teams (Rothaermel, 2013). Whenever the organization seeks greater diversification, into varying product lines and service offerings, it will likely look into utilizing a multidivisional structure (Rothaermel, 2013). Under this structure, the organization is further compartmentalized  into strategic business units (â€Å"SBUs†) which are governed by their own profit-and-loss (â€Å"PL†) responsibilities (Rothaermel, 2013). At this level, each of the SBUs is viewed as its own independent entity, pursuing its own profit-creating goals (Rothaermel, 2013). While organizations with a corporate-level strategy with a single or dominant business would be best served by a functional structure, organizations seeking related or unrelated diversification would be wise to utilize a multidivisional structure (Rothaermel, 2013). Lastly, the matrix structure is a combination of the functional and multidivisional structures (Rothaermel, 2013). It is most appropriate when an organization needs a structure which allows for both centralized and decentralized decision-making, and can be organized by geographic areas and product divisions (Rothaermel, 2013). While a global strategy does not automatically lend to a matrix structure, a transnational strategy which has the requirements above is better served through a matrix structure (Rothaermel, 2013). Discussion Question 11.3(a): What commonalities across the products would likely be enhanced by flexible cross-functional teams? Gore has product lines which include consumer products like guitar strings and vacuum filters, cables and cable assemblies, electronic and electrochemical materials, fabrics, fibers, filtration products, medical products, pharmaceutical processing, sealants, and venting products (Gore, 2015). Its product lines are used in industries ranging from aerospace and automotive to military and textiles (Gore, 2015). Gore utilizes cross-functional teams to help develop its many products within varying lines (Rothaermel, 2013). Cross-functional teams allow for individuals from differing functional areas within an organization to temporarily come together and work on a particular project (Rothaermel, 2013). These teams would allow for the differing products, though developed for a particular function, to be developed for use in more than one of the organization’s products (Rothaermel, 2013). As an example, the cables developed for aeronautics can likely be used in other electronic or automotive applications if developed by members from the appropriate cross-functional teams. Discussion Question 11.3(b): What would be your expectations of the type of norms found at W. L. Gore? Organizational norms â€Å"define appropriate employee attitudes and behaviors† (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 318). The norms which exist at Gore likely arise from founder imprinting,  which means that Bill Gore, the founder of W. L. Gore Associates, has helped to establish and define the company’s culture (Rothaermel, 2013). The organization’s four core values, stated succinctly, are: (1) fairness, (2) freedom, (3) individual commitment, and (4) consultation and collaboration (Rothaermel, 2013). These values, coupled with the open nature of the organization’s structure, result in organizational norms which encourage the free exchange of ideas and collaboration up and down the organizational ladder (Rothaermel, 2013). Employees, associates as they are called at Gore, likely show great respect to one another and to the customers for whom their products are developed (Rothaermel, 2013). Chapter 12 Discussion Question 12.1: How can a firm lower the chances that key managers will pursue their own self-interest at the expense of the stockholders? At the expense of the employees? Corporate governance tools are utilized to help align the interests of principals and agents, or organizations and employees (Rothaermel, 2013). A board of directors is one such tool which helps to prevent key managers to avoid pursuing their own self-interest at the expense of the stockholders (Rothaermel, 2013). A board of directors is independent, made up of both inside and outside directors, and answers directly to the shareholders (Rothaermel, 2013). Another tool is executive compensation which links compensation to the performance of the company (Rothaermel, 2013). This means that the CEO would receive certain stock options in lieu of pay (Rothaermel, 2013). If the company’s stocks are doing well, likely showing that the company is successfully operating, then the CEO receives greater value in the stock options (Rothaermel, 2013). The concept of the market as a corporate control has the potential to protect both stockholders’ and employees’ interests through a key manager’s fear of being replaced if the company performs poorly (Rothaermel, 2013). If a company is not performing well, then the stock prices will begin to plummet, increasing the opportunity for an entity to purchase enough shares to exert significant control over the company (Rothaermel, 2013). Such control would likely result in the removal of current management, and possibly the dismantling of the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). This clearly injures the management, employees, and shareholders of the failing organization. As  such, managers are motivated by the external market to perform well, thereby protecting the interests of stockholders and employees alike (Rothaermel, 2013). Discussion Question 12.2: Why are these two roles typically separated? Is it a positive development for so many firms to have a combined CEO and board chair? The two roles of management and ownership are typically separated to ensure that the board of directors maintains its necessary independence (Rothaermel, 2013). Where a board of directors is   The decline stage differs from those above, as it introduces four strategic options for firms to pursue: (1) exit, (2) harvest, (3) maintain, and (4) consolidate (Rothaermel, 2013). The exit strategy is precisely as it says: it involves the firm choosing to leave the market to pursue other endeavors (Rothaermel, 2013). The harvest strategy means that the firm will still sell the product or service, but will reduce the level of investment in its maintenance and development (Rothaermel, 2013). The maintain strategy is also exactly what it sounds like: the firm continues offering the product or service at the same level as it has been, despite the declining demand (Rothaermel, 2013). The consolidate strategy involves the purchasing of rivals in an effort to shrink the industry, which provides firms employing this strategy to reach near-monopolistic status (Rothaermel, 2013). References Rothaermel, F. T. (2013). Strategic Management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Walmart. Our story. Retrieved on January 25, 2015, from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/

Assessing Globalization In Saudi Arabia

Assessing Globalization In Saudi Arabia Globalization is defined as a process in which people companies and governments of different countries interact and integrate among each other. This process has been found to be driven by international trade and is also significantly aided by information technology. Since we are more interested in its effect on the economic condition of Saudi Arabia, hence the term that is of greater importance for us is the term economic globalization that refers to the integration of national economies to form an international economy. When talking of economic globalization we are more interested in knowing the foreign direct investments, migration, capital flows and the spread of technology for a country. The process of globalization affects the environment, culture economic developments, prosperity and the physical well being of humans. As people going to different places and performing business at different places have an effect on the people of that place and thus we can say that globalization has resulted in widening of cultural boundaries around the world. Although globalization is thought of as a relatively new process but if we go in depth history we find that globalization has been affecting the people around the world for years. If we go into the history we find signs of globalization since the time when China and Europe were connected to each other through the famous Silk Road in the Middle Ages. If we the features of compare current wave of globalization with the time just before the First World War in 1914 we find that there are many similarities Although there have been instances of globalization since ancient times but the speed at which the world globalized was never the same as it is in the current era. The main reason for this have been technological advancements and the policies implemented by the countries in the past few decades. Going into the details of figures we find that the volume of world trade has become 20 times of its volume in the year 1950. The pace of globalization can also be observed by observing the foreign investments taking place around the world. Observing this factor our statement gets even more support as flows of foreign investments were observed to be doubled in a span of just two years in the period from 1997 to 1999 when they increased from $468 billion to $827 billion. Thus observing these figures we can say that the globalization today is taking place at a much faster rate than it has ever been in the past. Observing the increase in the pace of globalization it is important to observe the factors behind this rapid increase in the rate of globalization around the world. The policies adopted by the governments of various countries around the world have served as an accelerator for globalization. The policies of governments around the world since the second world have led to opening up of economies around the world. The countries have adopted free market economic systems around the world. These steps have led to numerous opportunities for international trade and investments. It has also been observed that various restrictions on foreign trades and investments have been relaxed over the past few years especially the last two decades. Thus these policies have helped in the achieving the aim of international, industrial and financial business structure. Since the Second World War the politicians have been planning to break down borders that hampered trades in the process they have found several international institutions intended to see that this process could be easily facilitated. Institutions like World Bank and International Monetary fund (IMF) were setup in the process. There were many agreements on opening up of trades after the Second World War which led to the formation of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Since then World Trade Organization (WTO), which was found as result of agreements signed under GATT has been working with an aim of promoting Global trades freely. As mentioned above technology has served as one of the key drivers for globalization. Information Technology in particular has played a dramatic role in transforming economic life around the world and has played a key role in promoting globalization it has brought consumers, investors, business together by means of internet and e-commerce. It has brought all the information from around the world available to each person who wishes to get access to the information. It has resulted in faster and more detailed analysis of economic trends, has made the transfer of assets easier and has also made communication between distant people much easier. History of Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Arabs is also considered to be the place of origination of the second largest religion- Islam. The holy cities of Mecca and Medina are situated in Saudi Arabia which attracts a large number of pilgrims each year to the country. Ibn Saud who ruled from 1882-1953 is considered to be the main creator of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ibn Saud was a descendant of Wahhabi leaders and emerged out as a leader of the Arab nationalist movement. The discovery of oil in 1936 served as a milestone for Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia is a major producer of oil and has huge reserves of oil since ancient times. With the beginning of commercial production of oil during the World War II huge revenues started flowing into the country thus leading to a large amount of wealth for the country. As a result free health care and education were provided to the residents of Saudi Arabia without any collection of taxes. Saudi Arabia was permitted to become to be the charter member of United Nations even though it was neutral during the World War II. The country became a member of the Arab league in 1945 and played an important role in the 1948-49 war against Israel and still does not recognize Israel as a country. The year 1953 marked the death of the king that is considered as the creator of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With the death of Ibn Saud 11 year long reign of his son Saud began. Sauds reign was marked by increasing hostility of Egypts Gamal Abdel Nasser towards radical Arabism. In 1964 Saud was dethroned and replaced by the Prime Minister. Crown Prince Faisal was appointed as the prime minister of Saudi Arabia. Faisal did not give any military support to Egypt during the 1967 Arab Israel war but gave only vocal support. Faisal was assassinated in 1975 by a degraded kinsman. This assassination shook the Middle East but Faisals kingdom remained unperturbed and he was succeeded by his brother Prince Khalid. Prince Khalids support Egypt during negotiations on withdrawal of Israel from Sinai desert was quite influential. King Khalid died due to a heart attack in 1982. King Khalids half brother, Prince Fahd Bin Abdulaziz became the successor of Prince Khalid but he chose his half brother Abdullah as the crown prince. With the fear of becoming Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis next target if Iraq was conquered by Iran Saudi Arabia along with smaller oil rich states of the Arab on the Persian Gulf made huge financial contributions in the 1980s towards Iraqi war effort. Due to conserved efforts of oil consuming nations and Saudi Arabia being cheated by other members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led to a reduction in oil prices. The revenues coming from oil into Saudi Arabia reduced from $120 billion to $25 billion within a span of 5 years from 1980 to 1985. After suffering an incapacitating stroke, King Fahd passed his authorities to Crown Prince Abdullah. In 1998 Saudi Arabia entered its first recession in six years when its oil income fell by 40% due to a worldwide decrease in oil prices. An overview of Saudi Arabias economy and the state of their economic progress: During the last fifty years the economy of Saudi Arabia has developed at a swift pace as the Saudi state has been established and expanded. The country is economically very diverse but the income coming from oil revenues has played a significant role in the development of the state by the help of modern institutions of bureaucracy. It would have been quite difficult to think of a separate state of before the discovery of oil. Before 1930s the region which later came under the state of Saudi was composed od several regions with different regions depending on different products for their income. The Hijaz which was a western province, for example was dependent chiefly on subsistence agriculture, long distance trades and pilgrims coming to visit the holy places of Mecca and Medina as a source of revenue for the state. Since there many deserts in Saudi Arabia and the living conditions were quite hostile due to its harsh climate and lack of water there was a huge geographical separation between people of the country as most of the population concentrated at places where water was available. The influence from the outside world was quite negligible a as it was not only difficult to travel within the country but also the country lacked natural resources that could attract people from outside. There three main events that have led to the current structure of the Saudi Arabian economy. These events were the discovery of oil just six years after the establishment of Saudi Arabia, the rebuilding of Europe after the World War II which was greatly based on industrialization and the increasing demand of oil. All these events worked as a catalyst in increasing the growth rate of Saudi Arabia and led to enhancement in its position. With the discovery of oil there was a huge increase in revenues flowing into Saudi Arabia and the country witnessed a huge increase in the treasury during the rule of Abd Al Aziz Al in Abd also known as Rahman Saud from 1932 to 1953. This inflow of funds helped him to exert greater economic and political control over the territories under his control. This control helped him to implement all his ideas effectively and efficiently and during his reign the state saw a significant economic change with a shift from the traditional economy to an economy which depended primarily on states outlay. The huge reserves of oil in Saudi Arabia have not only driven huge revenues for the country but have also added to the importance of Saudi Arabia to the world. Initially with industrialization Europe was dependent on Saudi Arabia but today the flow of oil has become very essential the economic stability of the world. Saudi Arabia being the only major oil producing country that has significant excess capacity of crude oil has made the oil production and investment policies of Saudi Arabia an issue of international importance as the country has a strong influence on prices and supplies of oil internationally. Despite the attempts of authorities to diversify the economy and develop a non oil based sector in the country but practical implementation of these plans have proved to be more difficult than was expected by the authorities as Saudi is still under the influence of its traditional customs and although huge revenues have been flowing into the country since the invention of oil but the average standard of living of an average citizen of Saudi Arabia has increased as would be expected. Hence the real income source for Saudi Arabia is still the revenues coming from export and trading of oil. In the 1990s Saudi Arabia set out to meet the challenges of increasing oil production with the increasing demand and lower supplies from the former Soviet Union countries. As a result the authorities applied expansion plans for oil industry. In the process firstly the national oil company, Saudi Aramco planned to increase the domestic crude oil production from 8.4 million barrels per day in 1992 to between 10.5 million and 11 million barrels per day in the year 1995. In the process increased the share of production of lighter grades of crude oil. As a result of pollution and global warming becoming important aspects for all countries and with the demand of oil increasing Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (SAMAREC) decided to upgrade its refineries in order to meet high environmental standards followed in the western world. This step could also be seen as a step to increase production and keeping the demand of oil for Saudi Arabia constant without being affected by the lack of demand due to higher standards of oil required by the western countries. Thirdly the country acquired refineries in other countries and also planned to purchase refineries in places closer to their key consuming markets in order to reduce the cost of transportation incurred by the company and also led to an increase in the market share of Saudi Arabia in the world market. There was a sharp increase in the oil prices during 1970s and early 1980s which led to a huge increase in revenues for Saudi Arabia. This increase helped Saudi Arabia to get out of the chronic financial constraints that Saudi Arabia had been facing during the last few years. Since Saudi Arabias economy was not one of the best at time so its absorption capacity was also limited which resulted in delays in using the funds which led to creation of a large amount of funds for both government and private sectors of the Dubai economy and a large part of these surpluses were in international financial institutions and in securities of western government. In 1982 the emphasis of the government changed from managing surpluses to dealing with growing budgetary and concentrated on balancing payments shortfall. During the same time the world saw a decrement in the oil prices which resulted in a decrease in revenues for the country. This led the government into a problem as they were largely committed to big projects and the government had to make a large budget which resulted in a drawdown of foreign assets of the country. The country was also hit by the devaluation of dollar in the international market as the oil payments are made in dollars so the country had to face a double blow due to a reduction in oil prices and the weakening of dollar. The impact of rapid economic change or growth on employment and the workforce of the country: There have been many rapid economic changes in the world today. Most of these have affected almost all the countries across the world. Economic changes around the world have taken place since ancient times but with the opening up of economies around the world their effect is felt by almost all companies around the world. As today most of the countries are engaged in cross border businesses and trades. The effects of globalization have affected almost all the countries. Even though Saudi Arabia still has a relatively much close economy but it too has been affected by the rapid changes taking place around the world. Saudi Arabia is a major exporter of oil and its products which has become a necessity for any country around the world hence the economy of Saudi Arabia is bound to be affected by any economic changes taking place globally. As oil payments are made in dollars a change in dollar prices affects Saudi Arabia. Any recession hitting the world also affects Saudi Arabia as the dem and for oil reduces during even a hint of recession. Out of the many rapid changes, globalization has been a change that has affected the world greatly and there have been positive as well as negative responses of globalization. With globalization economies have opened up and restrictions on trades have been reduced greatly. Restrictions on imports and exports have been relaxed greatly in all parts of the world. The world today has become a global village. As a result of globalization which has been one of the most significant economic changes over the last few years the quality of oil produced within the country has been increased. The workforce of the country although still comprises mostly of the residents of Saudi Arabia only as the economy has not opened up as much as other countries have opened up. Also the education system and the traditional ways of working are still followed in Saudi Arabia. The employment has increased with the recent changes and the world turning up to industrialization more and more oil refineries have been setup in order to meet the increasing demand of oil around the world. Challenges and opportunities for Saudi Arabia: The opening up of the world and the closed structure of Saudi Arabias economy has also created some challenges for the country. It has been internationally recognized that the standard of living in Saudi Arabia is not as good as other parts of country. The mindset of the people living is still more influenced by the Arabic and Islamic cultures and the people are not quite open to accept views of others even if they might be better than what they might have thought. The country today also has a challenge of improving the education standard of the people living in the country. As the education standard of people living in Saudi Arabia is far below standards. Also the technological advancement is far slower than other parts of the world. The major challenge for the economy of Saudi Arabia is to develop other sectors of the market also and reduce its dependency on oil as oil being a non renewable source will be exhausted one day and it is important to have other sources of income also. Although the country also has many opportunities and also has the inflow of income required to help them achieve their goals. The income coming in from their oil reserves can be implemented in order to develop other sectors of market. The people of the country need an exposure to the outside world which may be possible if the economy opens up. The standard of education is currently a big concern which needs to be tackled properly. The current up comings have revealed that the government of Saudi Arabia has understood the importance of English and has started laying stress on promoting English amongst the people of the country. If the country is able to develop technically and the standard of education could be increased then there are probabilities that the outcome for the country would be quite good and self explanatory and will have a fortifying effect in its position among other countries of the world. Interesting Facts about Saudi Arabia: Some of the interesting facts about the country are listed below: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the official name of Saudi Arabia. The system of absolute monarchy s followed in Saudi Arabia. In terms of area it is the largest country in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is also known as the land of two holy mosques as it houses Mecca and Medina the two holiest places in Islam. Oil accounts for more than 75% of the governments revenues and forms part of more than 90% exports from Saudi Arabia. The largest oil producing company ARAMCO is situated in Saudi Arabia. The first university in Saudi Arabia was found in 1957. Conclusion: From the study made to prepare this paper it is quite clear that the economy of Saudi Arabia is based on revenues coming from oil. The study has also revealed the closed structure of economy of Saudi Arabia and has exposed the lower standards of living and education standards in this country which is the largest producer of oil in the world. The country has a good impact on the world as it is the largest producer of oil in the world and oil is essential for any country in todays era of industrialization. All to compete with the world in a more profound manner it is important for them to improve their base in technological sectors and also improve the education standards of the country. The emphasis on English also has to be increased in order to promote talks internationally and remove third party intervention in international talks. Lastly I would like to say that the country has large inflow of income due to its richness in oil reserves and if the funds coming in from the oil produ ction are applied in right direction and with emphasis on technology and education Saudi Arabia can develop into a country which can compete with any world class country.

Post-Traumatic Stress In Relation To Holden Caulfield Essay example --

Post-Traumatic Stress In Relation To Holden Caulfield Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout life, an individual may endure emotionally and physically straining moments causing the person to become downhearted, and or irate. These feelings are normal, but may however become a problem when these feelings prohibit someone from living a ‘normal’ life. An estimated 5.2 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or approximately 3.6 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD (Narrow, Rae, Regier). This purpose of this report is to prove whether or not Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D. Salingers’s book The Catcher In The Rye, is depressed. What Is A Depressive Disorder? Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person conducts him/herself, and the way he/she think. Depression may include anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, manic depressions. People with a depressive illness cannot merely ‘pull themselves together’ and get better. About 5% of the population will have some form of a mental illness at some point in their lives. Half of these people will also have a substance abuse Whorpole 2 problem, according to statistics from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, or NAMI. What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Difficult situations are a part of life, and people everywhere must cope with difficult circumstances such as conflict in out lives. See Appendix 1 (Depression). But occasionally, people experience an event, which is so unexpected that it continues to have serious affects, long after it has happened. Like depression in general these events may include a traumatic event involving actual or threatened death to themselves or others. Also learning that a close friend is in danger or has died can cause this type of anxiety disorder (What Is A Depressive Disorder?). This condition is one of several known as an anxiety disorder. One significant event in Holden’s life that is a factor for his mental illness is the death of his brother Allie. When Holden found out, â€Å"[He] was only thirteen and they were going to have [him] psychoanalyzed and all, the night [Allie] died, and [he] broke all the windows with [his] fist, just for the hell of it† (Salinger 39). Holden’s brother died of leukemia and at the time he did not know how to properly deal with the situatio... ...work hard on it, because as of now, he is always talking about Allie as if he was still alive. There has also been a good deal of research on the use of medications for adults with PTSD, including research on the formation of emotionally charged memories and medications that may help block the development of symptoms (Gold, McCarty 151-62). Medications appear to be useful in reducing overwhelming symptoms of arousal (such as sleep disturbances and an exaggerated startle reflex), intrusive thoughts, and avoidance; reducing accompanying conditions such as depression and panic; and improving impulse control and related behavioral problems. The incomparable solution for Holden would be a combination of the two, psychotherapy and medication. One should not rely on just medication, because then the risk of addiction increases. If medication and psychotherapy and being used, the person will become more able to cope with the situations that the person may face, on their own. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The report was to prove that Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salingers’s book The Catcher In The Rye, is depressed. POINTS TO SUMMARISE REPORT: - - - - - - - CONCLUDING STATEMENT

Impact of Electric Vehicles Essay examples -- Environment, Renewable E

1 Literature Review The review presented in this chapter outlines the integration of electric vehicles with the electricity generated from wind energy to improve jurisdictions energy security and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first section discusses wind as a renewable energy source and its share in future global energy mix to meet the increased electricity demand while still reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The second section explains the fundamentals of different types of electric vehicles and describes the research related to the impact of electrification of vehicles in transportation sector. The final section summarizes the findings presented in existing literature related to the potential environmental impact of the electric vehicles using the regional wind generated electricity to address greenhouse gas emissions and to improve energy security. 1.1 Renewable Energy In the recent years, the global demand for energy is rapidly growing with increasing human population, urbanization and modernization (Asif & Muneer, 2008). According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WEO), the global primary energy demand is projected to increase by 35 percent from 2008 to 2035 (IEA, 2011). Today, fossil fuels – notably oil, gas and coal accounts for majority share of primary energy supply and it will remain to be dominant energy sources to meet the global energy demand in 2035. However, the share of fossil fuels sources in global primary energy mix will decline to 74 % in 2035 compared over 81% in 2008 (IEA, 2011). Furthermore, the share of renewables to energy growth is likely to be increased from 5% (1990-2010) to 18% (2010-2030) (BP, 2011). Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, biomass, hydro, geothermal and wave an... ...ar to backup power by providing power stored in energy storage devices back to electric grid to balance the supply and demand; however it also provides the additional storage for utilities when the energy is excess in availability for later use. For example, when wind power is excessive in production, utilities stores the excess wind generated electricity in to batteries and restore when there is no wind or high energy demand. (Kempton & Dhanju, 2006). Energy storage technique could help utilities to decrease the variability of the system and improves the maximum utilization of wind energy in to their energy mix. Some of the major energy storage technologies available in the market are pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), compressed air energy storage (CAES), Electric thermal storage (ETS) and battery energy storage (BES) etc., (Ibrahim, Ilinca, & Perronb, 2008).

How to do qualitative research Essay

Introduction: Qualitative research is about asking questions and gathering information through words, to then later analyze. One way of doing this is through ethnography. But before any research can be done, there must be a research question. In this case, â€Å"Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching any other popular TV show? † This question was chosen to clearly outline the process of ethnography, and how it is useful in finding out the information needed to answer this research question. Methodology: An ethnography is â€Å"A Research approach to understanding the culture of a group (patterns of behaviour/attitudes, how they create meaning), by immersing oneself in the activities of the specific group over a period of time and then writing up a descriptive summary. † (Savage 3). An ethnographic approach includes being engaged in and listening to conversations, taking regular notes and collecting â€Å"artifacts† of the group being studied (Savage 7). All of these things later help in writing up a summary of findings that where gathered from the ethnography. There are two main types of ethnography, first there is an overt ethnography where the participants are told they are being observed. This type of ethnography is most commonly used and is less risky because the participants are aware of the study that is taking place. The other type is covert. This is where the researcher is unknown by the participants (Savage 10). The ethnography done about whether the Olympics change the way an audience acts is a covert ethnography. The subjects were unaware of the researcher and the fact that they were being studied and just watched TV as they normally would. Although this study was in a closed setting, there is always a chance of a risk when doing a covert study, because one of the participants may not want to be studied (Savage 9-10). Another important aspect of doing an ethnography is gaining access. Gaining access all depends on whether it is a closed setting or an open setting. Open settings are public settings are are fairly easy to gain access to. They include places like a street corner, or a movie theatre lobby, or city council meetings (Savage 9). Closed settings are non-public settings that are harder to gain access to because they usually require a contact, or permission to get into. Closed settings include families, firms, doctors offices and political parties (Savage 9). These are places that access is only granted to people who have permission. Although, in most cases, a lot of groups that are in a closed setting, have both open and closed settings, so if permission was not granted, then there would still be an opportunity for an ethnography when the group is in an open setting. The ethnography that was done took place in a closed setting and access was granted due to it being at the researchers house. This made it easy to gain access without having to worry about any limits that can sometimes come with closed settings. Summary of Findings For this topic, one would find that using ethnography would be the best way to go about making a research project about the Olympics causing an audience to act differently then when they watch other popular TV shows. This is because the study was about to view two different settings, one of subjects watching a popular TV show (American Idol), and one of subjects watching the Olympic Games. This allowed for a very good comparison between the two, and made answering the research question fairly easy. While doing the ethnography in both settings, being a â€Å"fly on the wall† allowed the researcher to observe how the subjects acted in both situations without being noticed. The setting also helped in disguising the researcher, because the subjects were just told it was homework, or they were used to the researcher being on the computer anyways. If this study were to be conducted as an in-depth interview, the results would be quite different. The interviewee may not know how they react when they’re watching television, or may not notice that they act differently and vise versa, which would then make it difficult to get the desired information. This would put the study at a halt because no relevant information would have been gathered. Conducting an ethnography is the only real way to go about answering this research question. There is a certain level of control that comes with doing an ethnography for this question because the researcher is unknown, this also ensures that the subjects are acting the way the normally would and not acting the way the think they should act. Which is sometimes the case when people are told they are being studied. Also, (in this case) the subjects are somewhat being forced to watch the desired television show. This ensures that the subjects are being exposed to the same show and can allow for more specific research. Ethnography is also useful because it allows for change. If the ethnography were to go on, there would most likely be more television shows to compare the Olympics to, but in this case, the research question could be narrowed down to â€Å"Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching American Idol? â€Å". If the study were to continue, because it is an ethnography with multiple subjects for each show, there is room for change, and the data that was already collected would still be useful. Whereas if an in-depth interview was to done, and data was collected there is no guarantee that each subject watches the same television shows to be able to compare among the different subject that were interviewed. Key Learnings After choosing to use an ethnography to answer this research question, some things became quite clear. First, when conducting a covert ethnography, sometimes it is not so easy to remain unknown to every subject, and it is difficult to judge what they are thinking or what they will do if they were to find out. This raised the question of what should the researcher do if they are in a closed setting that they cannot leave and a subject did not want to be studied and was very angry? In most closed setting situations, the chances are that it will not be a covert ethnography, but after this covert closed setting ethnography, it was made clear that the position of research should not be made known for the safety of the researcher. This leads to another question about ethics and who should be harmed in that case. If the researcher is in danger of being harmed if they were to tell the subject that they were being studied, and if the researcher did not tell the subject, then it is considered unethical because the subject is being lied to. Does this issue then become an issue of choosing the greater good? In which case, who decides what the greater good is? Second, when doing an ethnography there is not always something useful to take note of. This causes ethnography to be very time consuming because the research must wait until they have all the information needed which may take a very long time if nothing is happening. This causes a problem because there is no guarantee that anything will happen at all that would help the researcher answer their research question. Conclusion: In discussing using ethnography to answer the question of â€Å"Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching any other popular TV show? † and what was learned, it is safe to conclude that ethnography is the best way to approach a question like this. This is largely due to the method being more successful at gathering information than it’s alternative, and because there are a number of way that is can be performed to ensure that the researcher is able to get the information needed.

Politics In The Way Of Life Essay

Should religious beliefs shape how politics are conducted in the contemporary world? Does violence have a role in politics? Should animals as well as humans be represented in politics? What do bodies and sexuality have to do with politics? â€Å"Politics is the science of a good living. † It is man who has to decide on the way he wants to live. However every human being is influenced by his religious, social and sexual beliefs nomatter where or how he starts his political way of living. Do you think politics should be mixed with religion? Religion and politics are completely different and should not be mixed with each other. All men and women are to be treated equally irrespective of the caste or the religion that they belong to. Every person has the right to follow his own religion and to carry forward his beliefs in his society. But when his beliefs and religion is such that it affects or hurts the feelings rather beliefs of his own neighbours or fellow human beings it becomes politics. No man has the right to affect the feelings of another in any case. If man believes in God, he surely should believe in peace with fellow human beings. But when does this happen? How do religious beliefs turn to politics? When does a person start hurting the feelings of his own fellow human beings? Religion greatly influences a man sensually that is his heart and mind. Thus the misunderstandings and misconception of religions leads to a difference of opinion between people thus leading to indifferences in their opinions thereby leading to mutual quarrel. Coming to the influence of the society and social beliefs on politics. It is the society that has created politics. Politics is for the people, by the people and of the people. All the rules and policies right from the human right to social equality politics affects the way of life of every individual. Next the truth that every living being, including animals have their influence in politics. Killing specific animals is a crime, hurting any animal is a crime. It is for the protection of animals that societies like blue cross have been developed. When killing an animal is punishable, it is glad that politics helps even animals live peacefully until they are not harmful to the human beings. Thus politics is the way of good living. It is the science of kinship. A life without politics would be unorderly and miserable. Politics forms the basis of life. Thus good politics forms the basis of a good life.

Barbarian to Humanist

Kimberly Kurata HI 30 Barbarian to Humanist Francois Rabelais wrote, Gargantua in the 16th century as a satirical short story depicting a giant named Gargantua and his transition from his barbaric ways to civilized humanistic way of living. The story takes place during the time of transition from the Medieval Era to the Renaissance. It went from a time of scholasticism and monasticism to a time of humanism and secularism. The Renaissance gave the modern world secularism, humanism and individualism.Throughout the story we see Gargantua evolve into a respectable and honorable man and Frere Jean as a monk who defies all previous views of who and what a monk is. The story of Gargantua illustrates the transition from scholasticism to humanism and in a satirical account through the lives of Gargantua and Frere Jean’s. Humanism can be defined as the cultural intellectual way of thinking that focuses on human beings exposing themselves to their own potential.This way of thinking emerg ed during the time of the Renaissance. It was the new movement to broaden an individual's narrow seeking mind. Scholasticism was the scholarship that went on in monasteries where the tradition was the study and focus on only theological issues. Before humanism rose, scholasticism was the only type of higher education. Scholasticism consisted of memorizing texts and focusing on obscure questions. Humanists criticized and completely rejected this form of living.The humanist’s core value can be summond up in one description by Leonardo DaVinci, â€Å"Luomo Universale†,the universal man is interested in everything, not one thing. Gargantua’s early life can be described as a medieval type of living. He was birthed, â€Å"As a result of that mishap, the cotyledonary veins of the womb were released from above and the child sprang through the midriff (which is situated above the shoulders where the aforesaid vena divides into two) took the left path and emerged through her left ear. [1] The way Gargantua was birthed is a metaphor to the type of world he was being born into. The old way of living was based around the Greek way of thinking. Gargantua’s birth can be paralleled to the classical reference of the birth of many Greek gods. While growing up, Gargantua was shown as a child with barbaric tendencies. His inappropriate ways and signs of pure immaturity can be exemplified when he would, â€Å"drink out of his slippers, regularly scratch his belly on wicker work baskets, cut his teeth on his clogs†¦ et off fat farts†¦ shovel the soil back into the ditch†¦ †. [2] In Gargantua’s young mind, one of his greatest achievements was figuring out the best object to wipe his bum with; stupidity, was at an all time high. Gargantua’s ways prove the simplicity and barbarism of his character. One of the main sources of Gargantua’s lack of knowledge at a young age sprouted from his first tutor, Magister Thuba l Holofernes whose intelligence, or lack of intelligence, focused around the Scholaticism movement. He taught Gargantua his ABC so well that he could recite it by heart backwards. He spent five years and three months over that. †[3] The chief concern of of the Scholastics such as Holofernes, was not to learn new facts but to it integrate the knowledge already acquired by the Greeks. This example is also connected to monasticism because Rabelais is poking fun at the fact that the monks would sit in solitude for years and just memorize the Bible’s text, a tradition that humanists completely rejected.These traditional doctrines and way of living were useless and repetitive. This skill – reciting the alphabet backwards – was a satirical swipe at scholasticism's knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Finally Gargantua’s father, Grandgousier, came to realize the lack of knowledge his son had when a young page named Eudemon embarrassed Gargantua, who was à ¢â‚¬Å"an ideal Renaissance youth, clean, healthy, skilled in Latin and at elegant speaking, but his rhetoric is more eloquent than truthful in his praise of the young giant. [4] After the young page praised Gargantua so beautifully, Gargantua’s, â€Å"behavior was merely to a blubber like a cow and hide his face in his bonnet. †[5] With that, the decision was made that Gargantua would go to France and learn the new ways of classicism. This signified not only the transition of Gargantua from medieval and scholastic ways, but all of Europe’s transition to ways of humanism. Once in Paris, Gargantua made drastic improvements in education with his new tutor Ponocrates. At first, Ponocrates decided to observe Gargantua and the activities he partook in on a normal day.Seeing Gargantua’s daily routine and how useless his old education had made him, Ponocrates realized he had no time to spare with Gargantua’s narrow-scholastic mind. Ponacrates way of teachi ng could be seen as the way he disciplined Gargantua’s mind. He made Gargantua clear his mind of anything he learned from previous tutors, and fill it with the new humanistic subjects of learning. To start off, Gargantua was awoke every morning around four am, â€Å"While he was being rubbed down, a passage of the Holy Scripture was read out to him, loud and clear†¦Gargantua would often devote himself to revering, worshipping, supplicating and adoring God in his goodness, whose majesty and marvelous judgements were revealed by the reading. †[6] This shows one of the major components of humanism, the balance between religious and secular views. Humanism was indeed against most religious traditions but it was not against God and the belief in God. Humanism was focused on the human being reaching his or her full potential in all aspects of life. Focusing on one skill or talent was cutting an individual short; being well-rounded was glorified and stressed with humanis ts.Striving to become his or her best whether it was the simple task of getting dressed in the morning. â€Å"[Gargantua] was dressed, combed, brushed, perfumed and made elegant, during which time yesterday’s lessons were gone over with him. He would recite them by heart and base on them some practical matters concerning our human condition; they might extend it to some two or three hours but normally stopped once he was fully dressed. † [7] The distinction between the two educations in Gargantua’s case are clear.Gargantua accomplished more in the first three hours of waking up in this new humanistic way of living, than he did in probably a week or two with scholasticism. Gargantua mastered subjects such as arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. â€Å"As regards to musical instruments, he learnt to play the lute, the spinet, the harp, both the traverse and the nine holed flutes, the viola and the sackbut. †[8] The arts were a huge part of the Renaissa nce, and being able to play all of those instruments is tangible evidence that his knowledge and intelligence is growing in more than one area.The second half of Gargantua’s story is brought back to his homeland. Gargantua travels back and meets a monk named Frere Jean. Frere Jean was not an ordinary monk. Monks during the Middle Ages were seen as spiritually minded men who withdrew themselves from society. Their life consisted of praying, religious exercise and works of charity. Monks were the center of scholasticism, being the only ones who could read and write. Some would isolate and withdraw themselves from society. They felt that society contained too much evil and sin to live in.Because of their isolation, when put in a situation where they needed to defend themselves, they ran away in fear. [9] Yet, when Frere Jean was put in a situation where he was captured by enemy guards and needed to escape, he faced the situation with bravery and, â€Å"struck the archer who was holding him on his right, entirely severing the sphagitid arteries in the neck – his jugular veins – together with the uvula down to the thyroid glands†¦ †[10] ———————– [1] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel. [Harmondsworth, Middlesex]: Penguin, 1955. 226. Print. [2] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (243). [3] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (251). [4] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (252). [5] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (254). [6] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (279). [7] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (279). [8] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (281). [9] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (293). [10] Rabelais, Francois. â€Å"Gargantua. † (339).

The Rival as an Anti Sentimental Comedy

the rivals †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ as an anti-sentimental comedy Undoubtedly Sheridan’s purpose in writing â€Å"The Rivals† was to entertain the audience by making them laugh and not by making them shed tears. â€Å"The Rivals† was written as a comedy pure and simple. Though there are certainly a few sentimental scenes in this play yet they are regarded as a parody of sentimentality. The scenes between Faulkland and Julia are satire on the sentimental comedy which was in fashion in those days and against which Sheridan revolted.A brief examination of these sentimental scenes would clearly reveal that Sheridan’s intention was to poke fun at the sentimental comedy of the time. We find both Faulkland and Julia absurd. The true character of Faulkland is indicated to us by Absolute’s description of him as the â€Å"most teasing, captious, incorrigible lover†. Faulkland’s own description of his state of mind about his beloved Julia also makes him ap pear absurd. He says that every hour is an occasion for him to feel alarmed on Julia’s account.If it rains, he feels afraid lest some shower should have chilled her. If the wind is sharp, he feels afraid lest a rude blast should adversely affect her health. The heat of the noon and the dews of the evening may endanger her health. All this is funny and certainly no to be taken seriously. Sheridan is here ridiculing the excessive solicitude and concern which an over-sentimental lover like Faulkland experiences when separated from his beloved. Sheridan seems to be pleading for mental equilibrium even in the case of an ardent lover.Sheridan continues to portray Faulkland in the same satirical manner. When Acres appears and is questioned by Absolute regarding Julia’s activities in the countryside, Acres replied that Julia has been enjoying herself thoroughly and been having a gay time. Now, a normal lover would feel extremely happy to learn this. We expect the same reaction from Faulkland because he had assured Absolute that he would feel happy â€Å"beyond measure† if he were certain that Julia was hale and hearty. But his actual reaction is quite different and greatly amuses us by its absurdity.In both his interviews with Julia, Faulkland betrays the same absurdity. In the first interview, he complains to her of the mirth and gaiety that she as been enjoying during his absence. He wants to be loved for his own sake and for no particular reason and he also expects her love to be â€Å"fixed and ardent†. In short, his whole manner of talking to her and his soliloquy at the end of this scene reveals him in a still more comic light. The second interview again shows him a ridiculous light. He subjects Julia to a test in order to convince himself of the sincerity of her love.The author’s intention is to show the absurd length to which an over-sentimental lover can go, and the author expects us to laugh at this kind of lover. Even Juli a suffers from an excessive sentimentality and she too is made to appear absurd and ridiculous for that reason. The manner in which she describes her lover to Lydia shows the kind of mentality that she has. In the two interviews with Faulkland, Julia is again over-flowing with emotion. We smile at the way she behaves; we are amused by her excess of emotion; we mock at the abject surrender to her lover and her repeated attempts to make up with him.Lydia too is an over-sentimental girl though in a different way; and she too becomes the subject of ridicule in the play. Her romantic ideas and her romantic planning appear absurd to us. She wants not the usual routine marriage but a runaway marriage. Now all this makes us laugh at her superficiality and silliness. These absurd notions have been derived by her from the sentimental and romantic stories to which she is addicted. The collapse of her romantic hopes disappoints her greatly but amuses us a good deal.The manner in which the other characters have been portrayed is also evidence of the anti-sentimental character of the play. Captain Absolute is a practical man and though he assumes the name and status of Ensign Beverley, he would not like to forfeit the rich dowry which Lydia will bring him. Mrs. Malaprop is a conventional, practical woman whose attitude to marriage is business-like. Sir Anthony to is a practical, worldly man. Bob Acres is a country boor with no romantic or sentimental pretensions but towards the end of the play he shows that he is more practical than anybody else by saying: If I can't get a wife without fighting for her, by any valour, I’ll live a bachelor. † Then there is Sir Lucius who is absurd but not because of nay sentimentality. One reason why he is absurd is because of his insistence on fighting duels. But he does not want to fight duels for the sake f any sentiment. When Sheridan himself fought a couple of duels for the sake of Miss Elizabeth Linley, there was a strong emotion behind them, but here we have a mockery of dueling and we are made to laugh at the manner in which these duels are arranged. pride and prejudice:ironyIrony is the very soul of Jane Austen’s novels and â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† is steeped in irony of theme, situation, character and narration. Irony is the contrast between appearance and reality. As one examines â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, one is struck with the fact of the ironic significance that pride leads to prejudice and prejudice invites pride and both have their corresponding virtues bound up within them. Each has its virtues and each has its defects. They are contradictory and the supreme irony is that intricacy, which is much deeper, carries with it grave dangers unknown to simplicity.This type of thematic irony runs through all of Jane Austen’s novel. In â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† there is much irony of situation too, which provides a twist to the story. Mr. Darcy remarks about El izabeth that: â€Å"tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We relish the ironical flavour of this statement much later when we reflect that the woman who was not handsome enough to dance with was really good enough to marry. He removes Bingley from Netherfield because he considers it imprudent to forge a marriage alliance with the Bennet Family, but himself ends up marrying the second Bennet sister.Collins proposes to Elizabeth when her heart is full of Wickham and Darcy proposes to her exactly at the moment when she hates him most. Elizabeth tells Mr. Collins that she is not the type to reject the first proposal and accept the second but does exactly this when Darcy proposes a second time. The departure of the militia from Meryton was expected to put an end to Lydia's flirtations, it brings about her elopement. The Lydia-Wickham episode may seem like an insurmountable barrier between Elizabeth and Darcy, but is actually instrumental in bringing them together.L ady Catherine, attempting to prevent their marriage only succeeds in hastening it. Irony in character is even more prominent than irony of situation. It is ironical that Elizabeth who prides herself on her perception is quite blinded by her own prejudices and errs badly in judging intricate characters. Wickham appears suave and charming but is ironically unprincipled rouge. Darcy appears proud and haughty but ironically proves to be a true gentleman when he gets Wickham to marry Lydia by paying him. The Bingley Sisters hate the Bennets for their vulgarity but are themselves vulgar in their behaviour.Darcy is also critical of the ill-bred Bennet Family but ironically his Aunt Catherine is equally vulgar and ill-bed. Thus, the novel abounds in irony of characters. The narrative of â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† too has an ironic tone which contributes much verbal irony. Jane Austen’s ironic tone is established in the very first sentence of the novel. â€Å"It is a truth uni versally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. † As Dorothy Van Ghent remark, what we read in it is opposite – a single woman must be in want – of a man with a good fortune.There is much verbal irony in the witty utterances of Mrs. Bennet. He tells Elizabeth: â€Å"Let Wickham be your man. He is pleasant fellow and would jilt you creditable †¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the words ‘pleasant fellow’ is hidden a dramatic irony at the expense of Mr. Bennet, for Wickham is destined to make a considerable dent in Mr. Bennet's complacency. Jane Austen did not show any cynicism or bitterness in using her irony to draw satirical portraits of whims and follies. Rather her irony can be termed comic. It implies on her side an acknowledgement of what is wrong with people and society.It is interesting to note that ironically, in â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, it is the villainous character Wickham and lady Catherine â⠂¬â€œ who are responsible for uniting Elizabeth and Darcy. She uses irony to shake her major figures of their self-deception and to expose the hypocrisy and pretentiousness, absurdity and insanity of some of her minor figures. It is definitely possible to deduce from her works a scheme of moral values. Andrew II Wright rightly points out that irony in her hands is ‘the instrument of a moral vision’. the rivals:comedy of manners Like typical comedy of manners, â€Å"The Rivals† has a complicated plot.There are three love-affairs in it – the Absolute-Lydia love-affair, the Faulkland-Julia love-affair, and the Mrs. Malaprop-Sir Lucius love-affair. All these love-affairs have a parallel development, so that the interest keeps shifting from one love-affair to the other quite rapidly. Again, like a typical comedy of manner, â€Å"The Rivals† abounds in wit. We have the wit of Captain Absolute, the wit of Sir Anthony, the wit of even Sir Lucius and Acres w ho are otherwise the targets of the play’s satire. â€Å"The Rivals† is an amusing satire on the fashionable upper-class of Sheridan's time. The scene of this play is set in Bath.In the second half of the eighteenth century, Bath was a famous centre of fashionable life. The manner in which Fag dwells upon this life is quite amusing. The Faulkland-Julia love-affair is undoubtedly a parody of the sentimental comedy of the eighteenth century. Julia is portrayed as an excessively sentimental girl, while Faulkland is portrayed as the most whimsical and eccentric lover. Faulkland greatly amuses us by his account of the anxieties that fill his mind regarding Julia. Every hour he is alarmed on Julia’s account. If it rains, if the wind is sharp, he feels afraid. All this is very funny.Similarly, Faulkland’s feeling upset on hearing about the gay life that Julia has been leading also amuses us. Julia’s over-sentimentality in idealizing her lover and repeated ly forgiving his faults and silly suspicions is also funny. The portrayal of Lydia is a satire on the romantic notions which young, fashionable girls of upper-class families of the time entertained. She is fond of reading romantic novels and stories. Fed on such stories, she does not want a conventional and routine kind of wedding. When Captain Absolute’s real identity is revealed to Lydia, she feels terribly disappointed at the collapse of her romantic dreams and hopes.The manner in which she recalls her secret meetings with her lover during the cold nights of January is very amusing to us. The most amusing scenes in the play are those in which Captain Absolute comes face to face with his father, Sir Anthony. Sir Anthony is portrayed as a self-willed, dictatorial kind of father who demands implicit obedience from his son. He threatens to disinherit his son, to disown his son in case his son does not carry out his wishes. Sir Anthony in his own prime of life was a gay fellow. Sheridan also makes us laugh at some of the contemporary fashions.When Bob Acres comes to Bath, he decides to discard his country clothes and to dress himself according to the fashion prevailing in the city. Then he tries to practice some French dancing steps and discovers to his disappointment that his are â€Å"true-born English legs† which can never learn French dancing steps. He is also fond of swearing and has developed a new way of swearing. We find him swearing, by â€Å"Gods’ balls and barrels†, by â€Å"God’s bullets and blades†, by â€Å"God’s levels and aims† and so on. Then there is a satirical treatment of dueling. The manner in which Sir Lucius instigates Acres to send a challenge to Beverley is most amusing.Sir Lucius gives the following argument absurdly in favour of Acre’s sending a challenge to Beverley: â€Å"Can a man commit a more heinous offence against another than to fall in love with the same woman? à ¢â‚¬  The portrayal of Sir Lucius is also satirical. Sir Lucius is an Irishman, easily duped by the maid-servant Lucy, who tells him that the love-letters which she brings for him have been sent by the seventeen-year old niece of Mrs. Malaprop. This wrong impression ultimately leads him to challenge Captain Absolute to a duel and the manner in which Sir Lucius picks up a quarrel with Captain Absolute is itself very funny.The portrayal of Lydia's â€Å"tough old aunt† is also satirical. We laugh at the contradiction in this elderly woman who puts restrictions on her niece, while herself falling in love with a tall Irish baronet and writing letters to him under the assumed name of Delia. Beverley’s description of Mrs. Malaprop as an â€Å"old weather-beaten, she-dragon† is most amusing. One of the most striking features of â€Å"The Rivals† is witty dialogue. The manner in which Sir Anthony snubs and scolds his son for disobeying his wishes, the manner in which Captain Absolute deals with Mrs.Malaprop when he meets her first, Sir Lucius manner of dealing with Acres when he instructs Acres in the rules of dueling is also witty. Humorous and farcical situations are also generally found in a comedy of manner. Captain Absolute’s disguising himself as Ensign Beverley and then unmasking himself when finally he has to face Lydia in his true character are such situations. Then there are two more farcical situations. One is that in which Captain Absolute tricks his father into believing that his is going to make up his quarrel with Lydia when his is actually going to fight a duel.The second is when David shouts to Sir Anthony to stop Absolute because there is going to be fight, murder, bloodshed and so on. Instead of moral sentiments, Sheridan gives quick and witty dialogues, fast moving actions with its highly comic situations and above all the absence of any serious complication or conflict. Right from the beginning to the end, the p lay sends the audience into peals of laughter. The criticism that elements of sentimentality have penetrated into the play is based on misunderstanding.

Breaking At The Seams essays

Breaking At The Seams essays In the years of 1800 to 1850 territorial expansion basically tore the United States apart. Expansion in itself was not a debated issue coming from Manifest Destiny, almost all believed that America should expand to wherever possible. However, it was the issue of the expansion of slavery that pitted the North against the South and split our nation apart. The first evidence of such tension over expansion took place in 1819-1821 over the to-be state of Missouri. The territory of Missouri was of the first to be given statehood out of the Louisiana Purchase. Out of the jurisdiction of the Northwest Ordinance, Missouri saw no reason to stop its long tradition of slavery. Because of this, Missouri applied to the Union as a slave state in 1817. So far north, Missouri posed a threat of further expansion of slavery into all new territories. In early 1819, Congressman James Tallmadge proposed an amendment that would prohibit any new slaves to enter the state and said that all slave children born after the date of admission would be set free at the age of twenty-five. Tallmadge's amendment received almost complete opposition from Southern Congressmen. This could be seen when the amendment passed the North dominated House of Representatives twice, but was turned down by the balanced Senate. In December 1819, Maine applied for statehood as a f ree state and in the end a compromise was reached where Maine would enter the Union as a free state, Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state, and in the remaining Louisiana territory slavery would be prohibited north of 36Â °30? (Mason-Dixon Line). This is now known as the Missouri Compromise, commonly said to be the beginning of American Sectionalism. The South realized a need for political unity in order to maintain thepeculiar institution? and alerted the whole country to the political problems inherent to westward expansion. The next major controversy was over the admission of Texa...

Optioning Your Screenplay to a Producer

Optioning Your Screenplay to a Producer Congratulations! Not only did you finish writing your 120-page cinematic opus, but you have a motion picture producer interested in bringing it to the silver screen. You’re ready to sell. Ready to see your name on the back of a director’s chair. Ready to chow down on craft service while Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams deliver your prose†¦ But wait, not so fast. What’s this agreement the producer’s handed you? An option? He’s not buying it? What does this mean? Well, let’s break it down†¦ What is an option exactly? An option agreement is an industry-standard document that interested producers give writers when they’re not quite ready to buy the script, but don’t want anyone else to buy it either. Maybe they don’t have enough money yet, aren’t sure they can get it made or don’t know what the budget will be (and the budget often determines the writer’s fee). An option simply gives the producer the exclusive right to purchase the material at any time during the term of the agreement. Here’s a sample option for reference:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kpiuHbB6zUJhm1FDUq__4OrB6LeaJ25QnJvF2fM_Vrw/edit?usp=sharing What do I need to have in place before optioning my script? First, make sure the script has been registered with the Library of Congress’ Copyright Office. This is crucial for your protection and necessary for the producer to prove chain of title to the eventual studio or distributor that picks up the film. Information on copyright registration can be found here:  https://www.copyright.gov/registration/performing-arts/index.html. For added protection, you can also register it with the WGA. Lastly, if the story is based on a real-life person, make sure you’ve acquired their life rights. How long should the option term be? Options can last however long you and the producer deem appropriate. Just remember that no one else can buy the script while that producer holds the option, so it may depend on your level of trust or how badly you want to work with him. One or two years is a fairly standard initial term, and it’s not unusual to have a one-year extended term triggered How much money should I ask for? Again, there’s no right or wrong answer here. Options can be as low as one dollar or as high as $10,000. As long as there’s consideration – something of value going from you to the producer and vice versa – the option is valid. The size of the fee will likely be based on the stature of the producer and how big the expected purchase price will be, but for a typical indie, $500 to $1,000 is common for the initial term. You might also negotiate a percentage (say 5-10%) of the expected purchase price. However, remember that the initial option fee is usually applied against the purchase price; so, if the producer pays a $2,000 option fee and the final purchase price is $20,000, he only owes another $18,000 to buy the script outright. What other elements should be part of the option? You certainly want the producer to lay out terms for exercising the option, including the purchase price, your writer’s credit, the notification procedure and exactly what rights he’s acquiring (just the film rights or also sequels, television, and other ancillaries). The compensation details are perhaps the most crucial though and should reference bonuses, backend participation and, if appropriate, fees for sequels, spin-offs and remakes. If the final purchase price can’t be determined yet because the budget is still undecided, ask for a percentage of the budget with a floor (i.e., 2% of the budget with a minimum of $20,000). What are those short-form documents at the end? The short form option and short form assignment are standard addendum to any option. The short form option, which states the deal between the parties in the simplest terms, is recorded with the copyright office

Free Essays on Dustbowl

1)Archibald MacLeish, Land of the Free 2) John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath 3)H. L. Mencken, The Dole for Bogus Farmers 4) Carey McWilliams, Ill Fares the Land 5) â€Å"Migratory Labor: A Social Problem† Fortune MacLeish and Steinbeck’s writings are important because they both illustrate how people commonly viewed the Okies. MacLeish inaccurately describes the United States’ landscape as nothing more than a cesspool. The photographs, provided by the Farm Security Administration, were not a representation of the entire United States and for him to describe the landscape the way he did does not accurately illustrate the United States’ beauty. He adds that the country has not only lost its beauty, but also the opportunity for its people to advance. â€Å"We wonder whether the dream of American liberty was two hundred years of pine and hardwood and three generations of the grass and the generations are up†¦We wonder if the liberty is done: the dreaming is finished.† It is apparent that the Depression had a very large, negative effect, but to dismiss so easily the possibility of recovery is not plausible. The Grapes of Wrath does not completely display the entire truth of the Okie’s experience. Later in the novel Steinbeck accurately shows that people like the Joads were driven out of work because machinery was changing farm work, not because of the drought. However, he still begins the novel with describing the drought. He also did not accurately describe the economic institutions that caused the Joads to leave. The author tells the reader that Steinbeck told a story about â€Å"Great invisible corporations interlocked with banks supposedly controlled the land around Sallisaw. In fact, however, there were few farming corporations anywhere in Oklahoma.† The Fortune magazine article that was published just before The Grapes of Wrath did give solid numbers and evidence about the farming life in California. â€Å"One in ten ... Free Essays on Dustbowl Free Essays on Dustbowl 1)Archibald MacLeish, Land of the Free 2) John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath 3)H. L. Mencken, The Dole for Bogus Farmers 4) Carey McWilliams, Ill Fares the Land 5) â€Å"Migratory Labor: A Social Problem† Fortune MacLeish and Steinbeck’s writings are important because they both illustrate how people commonly viewed the Okies. MacLeish inaccurately describes the United States’ landscape as nothing more than a cesspool. The photographs, provided by the Farm Security Administration, were not a representation of the entire United States and for him to describe the landscape the way he did does not accurately illustrate the United States’ beauty. He adds that the country has not only lost its beauty, but also the opportunity for its people to advance. â€Å"We wonder whether the dream of American liberty was two hundred years of pine and hardwood and three generations of the grass and the generations are up†¦We wonder if the liberty is done: the dreaming is finished.† It is apparent that the Depression had a very large, negative effect, but to dismiss so easily the possibility of recovery is not plausible. The Grapes of Wrath does not completely display the entire truth of the Okie’s experience. Later in the novel Steinbeck accurately shows that people like the Joads were driven out of work because machinery was changing farm work, not because of the drought. However, he still begins the novel with describing the drought. He also did not accurately describe the economic institutions that caused the Joads to leave. The author tells the reader that Steinbeck told a story about â€Å"Great invisible corporations interlocked with banks supposedly controlled the land around Sallisaw. In fact, however, there were few farming corporations anywhere in Oklahoma.† The Fortune magazine article that was published just before The Grapes of Wrath did give solid numbers and evidence about the farming life in California. â€Å"One in ten ...

Women and HIV essays

Women and HIV essays HIV has been a steadily increasing disease in the United States over the last twenty years. In the past year alone two million new women have become infected with the disease while eighteen point five were already carriers. Roughly one point one million women died last year due to this tragic illness. IT is sad to see that the death rate for women is up three percent while it males its currently down by about fifteen percent. Why do we think this is? Many of the new pills and treatments that are being put out on todays market have only been tested on men so that when women go and purchase them for their own use they are proven non effective or leave severe side effects. Women only make up a mere twelve percent of all the clinical trails that are going on while they represent eighteen percent of this epidemic in the United States. Some say that it is easier for a female to go and get herself an ATZ (which is the prevention of transmission to her babies) than it is for her to go out and get herself treatment if she is already infected. In May of 1997 a third national conference was held where about 500 infected women marched for their own awareness. They marched around from lecture to lecture taking over microphones and speaking out to the public. They wanted to know what the government was doing for them? These women wanted to know that if a cure was found was it going to be effective for them because all these clinical trails were not being performed on them. They want a change in the course of the HIV and AIDS research so that their issues will receive equal attention. A woman by the name of Michelle Lopez, a positive AIDS activist talked about how happy she was that her gay brothers were dying at a much slower rate and have an easy access to all these new treatments but at the same time she was very upset that her death rates are going on and dying off faster. She says, What is going on in the w...

Biography of Thomas Jennings, Invented Dry-Cleaning

Biography of Thomas Jennings, Invented Dry-Cleaning Thomas Jennings (1791–Feb. 12, 1856), a free-born African-American and New Yorker who became a leader of the abolitionist movement, made his fortune as the inventor of a dry-cleaning process called â€Å"dry scouring.† Jennings was 30 years old when he received his patent on March 3, 1821 (U.S. patent 3306x), becoming the first African-American inventor to own the rights to his invention. Fast Facts: Thomas Jennings Known For: First African-American to be granted a patentAlso Known As: Thomas L. JenningsBorn: 1791 in  New York CityDied: Feb. 12, 1856 in  New York CitySpouse: ElizabethChildren: Matilda, Elizabeth, James E.Notable Quote: Among the leading matters which would occupy the attention of the meeting, were several important documents lately received from Europe, expressive of the sentiments that a very considerable portion of the people of the British Empire entertained respecting the deplorable situation of the colored people in the United States. Early Life and Career Jennings was born in 1791 in New York City.  He started his career as a tailor and eventually opened one of New York’s leading clothing shops. Inspired by frequent requests for cleaning advice, he began researching cleaning solutions. Jennings found that many of his customers were unhappy when their clothing became soiled. However, because of the material used to make the garments, conventional methods at the time were ineffective in cleaning them. Invents Dry Cleaning Jennings began experimenting with different solutions and cleaning agents. He tested them on various fabrics until he found the right combination to treat and clean them. He called his method â€Å"dry-scouring,† a process now known as dry cleaning. Jennings filed for a patent in 1820 and was granted a patent for the dry-scouring (dry cleaning) process he had invented just a year later.  Tragically, the original patent was lost in a fire. But by then, Jennings process of using solvents to clean clothes was well-known and widely heralded. Jennings spent the first money he earned from his patent on legal fees to buy his family out of slavery. After that, most of his income went to his abolitionist activities. In 1831, Jennings became assistant secretary for the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia. Legal Issues Luckily for Jennings, he filed his patent at the right time. Under the United States patent laws of 1793 and 1836, both slaves and free citizens could patent their inventions. However, in 1857, a slave-owner named Oscar Stuart patented a double cotton scraper that was invented by his slave. Historical records only show the real inventors name as being Ned. Stuarts reasoning for his action was that the master is the owner of the fruits of the labor of the slave both manual and intellectual. In 1858, the U.S. patent office changed its patent regulations in response to a Supreme Court case related to Stuarts patent called Oscar Stuart v. Ned. The court ruled in favor of Stuart, noting that slaves were not citizens and could not be granted patents. But surprisingly, in 1861, the Confederate States of America passed a law granting patent rights to slaves. In 1870, the U.S. government passed a patent law giving all American men including blacks the rights to their inventions. Later Years and Death Jennings daughter, Elizabeth, an activist like her father, was the plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit after being thrown off a New York City streetcar while on the way to church. With support from her father, Elizabeth sued the Third Avenue Railroad Company for discrimination and won her case in 1855. The day after the verdict, the company ordered its cars desegregated. After the incident, Jennings organized a movement against racial segregation in public transit in the city; the services were provided by private companies. The same year, Jennings was one of the founders of the Legal Rights Association, a group that organized challenges to discrimination and segregation and gained legal representation to take cases to court. Jennings died just a few years later in 1859, which was itself just a few years before the practiced he so reviled- slavery- was abolished. Legacy A decade after Elizabeth Jennings won her case, all New York City streetcar companies stopped practicing segregation. Jennings and his daughter had a hand the effort to desegregate public facilities, a movement that lasted well into the Civil Rights Era a century later. Indeed, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s 1963 I Have a Dream speech in Washington, D.C., echoed many of the convictions that Jennings and his daughter had expressed and fought for 100 years before. And the dry-scouring process Jennings invented is essentially the same method used by dry cleaning businesses worldwide to this day. Sources Chamberlain, Gaius. â€Å"Thomas Jennings.†Ã‚  The Black Inventor Online Museum, Gaius Chamberlain.â€Å"Thomas Jennings.†Ã‚  Ms. Darbus: Well Call It, Senior Year! Sharpay Evans: [Sarcastically] Genius., quotes.net.Volk, Kyle G. Moral Minorities and the Making of American Democracy. Oxford University Press, New York.

Three ways to make an impact with numbers

Three ways to make an impact with numbers How to make an impact with numbers Numbers can play a crucial role in many of your documents at work. But beware of the trap of thinking that data can speak for itself. You need to do that part. Figures can back up your claims with evidence and help draw attention to your most important facts, trends and comparisons. If what youre writing about is quite dry, theres usually a statistic that will grab your readers attention. Unfortunately, numbers can also have the opposite effect. If they’re poorly explained, they’ll slow your reader to a crawl as they try to work out exactly what youre saying. You risk losing the reader altogether in a sea of context-free figures – and statistics that arent related to their concerns will be no sooner read than forgotten. But there are ways that you can make the most of your figures – and your research – that were going to explore here. Remember these three things and youll be sure to give your numbers real impact. 1. Frame your statistics to show their significance A well-written statistic can capture your reader’s attention by itself. Heres a widely quoted example that dates back to 2007: One in every  £7 spent in retail (in the UK) is spent in Tesco. Its an arresting statistic. But what made it so popular? Lets start with some alternative ways of saying the same thing. Simply talking about the raw numbers of Tescos sales figures wouldnt have had nearly the same effect: Tescos retail sales totalled  £35.6 billion. This won’t mean anything to the average person – you could change the number to  £350.6 billion or  £3.56 billion and many people would accept it as true. (And, more than that, not really know how much they should care.) In other words, without any context, 35.6 billion is just a very large number. Putting the number in context is what starts to give it meaning: Tesco accounted for  £35.6 billion of the  £303.6 billion spent in retail sales in the UK. This gives you a sense of Tesco being a major player in the market. We understand this better now because we have a frame of reference – the overall size of the retail market. But, the numbers are still not framed in a way that most people will directly relate to. After all, most of us dont deal with the retail market – its an abstraction. On top of that, extremely large numbers are hard to understand intuitively. The majority of us do, however, spend money on products and fuel. Saying One in every  £7 spent in retail is spent in Tesco turns this statistic into the very familiar context of the coins and notes in our wallets. At the same time, the problem of talking about big, difficult-to-grasp numbers disappears. Finding your winning examples So how do you do the same thing? As ever, the most important person to consider is your reader. So profile them. By asking what your reader knows and wants, you can more easily set numbers into the appropriate context. For example, lets take these basic statistics: According to data from the Land Registry, house prices in East Sussex rose by over  £18,000 between February 2015 and February 2016. This means that the average home in East Sussex now sells for over  £214,000. The same statistics have different implications depending on whom youre writing for. If you were writing for someone interested in buying a house, you might compare this to the national average house prices. Whereas, if you were writing a report on the cost of living, you could compare this to the median wage in East Sussex. 2. Watch out for unfamiliar units of measurement It’s easy to think of numbers as somehow fundamentally different from words. Of course, in your work documents, they’re alike in one key respect: they both have to make sense to your readers. Whatever specialist area you work in and write about, you always need to be aware of what technical language and jargon might need explaining along the way – and numbers are a magnet for specialist terms. Each domain has its own measures that are widely understood within the field, but widely unintelligible to anyone outside it – from economists measuring Terms of Trade to consultants looking at Net Promoter Score feedback. You can reduce the chances of confusing your readers by thinking about them before you start writing. Do they work in the same field? Do they share your terminology? Are they likely to understand the significance of the measurements? Again, profiling your reader is vital. Youll probably find that, with a little thought, you already have a pretty good idea of what your readers will and wont understand. And if youre still uncertain, try giving a draft of your document to your reader – or to someone you think is similar to them in terms of background knowledge. See if they can understand your technical terms and measurements. If they have trouble, youll either need to explain your terms more clearly or think of a way of rewriting what youre saying in a way that doesnt involve them. 3. Work smart with tables and charts There are three main ways of presenting numbers in your documents: text, tables and charts. These options can complement each other, rather than being strict alternatives. However, in most situations, you will only need either a chart or a table – both is usually overkill. So which should you use? If you need to report lots of precise figures for reference, its better to put them in a table. This saves you from having to write long, hard-to-follow sentences containing all of your values. (Remember too that if most of your readers wont need access to your data, you can always put tables in an appendix rather than in your main document.) Charts and graphs are usually better for showing detailed relationships, relative proportions and trends – but remember that your readers wont be able to read off precise figures. Whichever you use, just including charts, graphs and tables isnt enough. Its very important to interpret them in your text. So always remember to draw out the main implications that are relevant to your reader. For tables, draw out typical values if you want to show a general relationship, or exceptional values if you want to draw attention to a particular figure. For example: Every year, fewer people are using Internet Explorer. Table 1 shows how Internet Explorers usage share has plummeted from 66 per cent in 2009, to just 16 per cent in 2016. For graphs and charts, describe the size and kind of overall trend that youre showing. For example, a graph might show a trough in sales over Christmas or a fluctuating number of support tickets. (For more ways to describe trends, click here.) When youve interpreted graphs and tables well, your reader should be able to understand what they show – and the significance of it – just by reading the text. Putting your interpretation of the graphs or charts data into the body of your text also means you can bring your readers attention to the figures at the relevant point in your argument. Your reader can then test your conclusions by looking at the data for themselves. Keeping your numbers working Although you might think of words and numbers as different languages, in business writing success lies in seeing what the two have in common. Theyre both there to help you achieve the aims and objectives you have for your document – and, ultimately, to meet the needs of your reader. As with all writing, the key to getting your message across is keeping the needs and knowledge of your reader in mind as you write. Do that, and you can be confident that you’ll be making your numbers and research count. Image credit: Jason Salmon / Shutterstock