Porpyria’s Lover

Porphyria’s Lover – Critical Essay by Scott Jackson Q – Choose a poem that is written in the form of a dramatic monologue. Explain how the poet exploits the features of a Dramatic Monologue in order to create a memorable impression of a character or event. In the poem ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ by Robert Browning the poet exploits the features of the of the poem style of dramatic monologue to create a memorable impression of the main character.The first device used to create the memorable impression is pathetic fallacy in lines two, three and four where the writer says; â€Å"The sullen wind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦Tore the elm tops down for spite†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦Did its worst to vex the lake:† respectively. These techniques are used to show the main character’s very negative and very depressed emotions at the start of the poem before he sees Porphyria.The effectiveness of this being in a dramatic monologue is we are able to view all of his emotions on a more personal level this in turn makes the character of the lover more memorable to the reader. This idea continues onto line five where the reader says, â€Å"†¦With heart fit to break† this is again another insight on a personal level to the characters emotions showing that he is extremely saddened and it emphasizes the character more within the reader as we are seeing things purely from the character’s point of view.Another device used to create an impression of the character within the reader was in line six when the writer says â€Å"and glided in Porphyria† this shows that the character of Porphyria is very gracious and also very beautiful through the eyes of the main character it also shows the character has emotional feeling towards Porphyria in the sense that he is in love with her which gives the reader insight into the mind of the main character and aids in making them more memorable to the reader through th e use of dramatic monologue to display emotions.The main characters emotions are displayed through onto line 7 when the main character feels now quite pleased that Porphyria has arrived; the writer says, â€Å"She shut the cold out and the storm, And kneeled and made the cheeriness grate. † This again shows that the main character is in love with Porphyria as it has been shown through the dramatic monologue that she was able to change his mood from being somewhat depressed and unhappy to suddenly becoming quite cheerful.The reader is able to notice the strong emotional changes that occur in the main character and this helps create a more memorable impression of him. The main character develops a high level of sexual excitement and felt like the character of Porphyria was finally falling in love with him. In lines fourteen to twenty-one the writer says, â€Å"†¦ She sat down by my side And called me. When no voice replied, She put my arm around her waist, And made her sm ooth white shoulder bare, And all her yellow hair displaced,And stooping, made my cheek lie there, And spread o’er all, her yellow hair, murmuring how she loved me† Repetition of the word ‘and’ at the start of every line is used to display the build up of excitement within the main character as he watches every movement of Porphyria the main character believes that Porphyria is now in love with him and later in the poem even expresses that she now ‘worships’ the main character this is said at the pinnacle of the main characters sexual excitement.The writer uses the dramatic monologue to exploit the sexual feelings that the main character has towards Porphyria and thus the reader knows more about the character from an emotional perspective and this aids in creating a lasting impression on the reader. The tone of the poem changes in line 40 when a new development occurs and the reader is given more of an insight into the main character in the sen se that he has a psychotic impulse to murder Porphyria the writer says in line 40, â€Å"†¦ And strangled her; no pain she felt. The motive behind the strangulation of Porphyria is possible to have been a sexual incompetence in the main character and due to this it is required if he is to have any sexual pleasure at all he must inflict pain on the victim, in this case Porphyria. Also another way of knowing he is insane is when he says she felt no pain, he of course would not know if she had felt any pain however the reason given in the poem is in line 43 where the writer says, â€Å" I warily opened her lids: againLaughed the blue eyes without a stain. † The main character uses this as justification as to why she felt know pain it also in a way shows that he still cares for Porphyria, as he was concerned about her feeling pain when he took her life. The writer has used dramatic monologue to display the insanity within the main character the shock of this development has created a new impression of the main character on the reader and this was only done through the narrative style of the poem.In conclusion the narrative style of dramatic monologue has been exploited by the writer to create a lasting impression of the main character on the reader and has been done very effectively through the use of pathetic fallacy in the first few lines to display the characters emotions and the sudden change of personality in the character to create a lasting effect and made the character more memorable to readers.

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 12

They were all on their feet by now. Keller's early warning system was screaming hysterically. â€Å"I can't stand it anymore,† Diana hissed. â€Å"What's going on?† Just then, Nissa said in a quenched voice, â€Å"All right, we will. Yes. â€Å"Bye.† She carefully replaced the handset. Then she turned very slowly to face the others. Or not to face them exactly. She was looking down at the floor in an unfocused way that scared Keller to death. â€Å"Well, what is it?† Keller growled. Nissa opened her mouth and raised her eyes to look at Winnie. Then she looked down again. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said. â€Å"Winnie, I don't know how to say this.† She swallowed and then straightened, speaking formally. â€Å"The Crone of all the Witches is dead.† Winnie's eyes went huge, and her hands flew to her throat. â€Å"Grandma Harman!† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"But how?† Nissa spoke carefully. â€Å"It happened yesterday in Las Vegas. She was outside her shop, right there on a city street, in broad daylight. She was attacked†¦ by three shapeshifters.† Keller stood and listened to her pounding heart. Winnie breathed, â€Å"No. That's not possible.† â€Å"A couple of wolves and a tiger. A real tiger, Keller, not any smaller cat. There were human witnesses who saw it. It's being reported as some bizarre escape from a private zoo.† Keller stood rigid. Control, control, she thought. We don't have time for grieving; we've got to figure out what this means. But she couldn't help thinking about Grandma Harman's good old face. Not a beautiful face, not a young face, but a good one, with intelligence and humor in the keen gray eyes. A face with a thousand wrinkles-and a story to go with each one. How would Circle Daybreak ever get along without her? The oldest witch in the world, the oldest Hearth-Woman. Winnie put both hands to her face and began to cry. The others stood silently. Keller didn't know what to do. She was so bad at these emotional things, but nobody else was stepping forward. Nissa was even less good at dealing with emotion, and right now her cool face was sympathetic and sad but distant. Iliana looked on the verge of tears herself, but uncertain. Galen was staring emptily across the room with something like despair. Keller awkwardly put an arm around Winnie. â€Å"Come on, sit down. Do you want some tea? She wouldn't like you to cry.† All pretty stupid things to say. But Winnie buried her strawberry-blond head against Keller's chest, sobbing. â€Å"Why? Why did they kill her? It isn't right.† Nissa shifted uneasily. â€Å"Paulie said something about that, too. He said we should turn on CNN.† Keller set her teeth. â€Å"Where's the remote?† she said, trying not to sound rough. Iliana picked it up and punched in a channel. An anchorwoman was speaking, but for a second Keller couldn't take in what she was saying. All she could see were the words on the screen: â€Å"CNN SPECIAL REPORT: ANIMAL PANIC.† And the footage, rough video from somebody's camcorder. It showed an unbelievable scene. An ordinary city street, with skyscrapers in the background-and in the foreground ordinary-looking people all mixed up with†¦ shapes. Tawny shapes. About the same size she was in panther form, and sinuous. They were on top of people. Four of them†¦ no, five. Mountain lions. They were killing the humans. A woman was screaming, flailing at an animal that had her arm in its mouth to the elbow. A man was trying to pull another lion off a little boy. Then something with a white-tipped muzzle ran directly at the camera. It jumped. There was a gasping scream and for an instant a glimpse of a wide-open mouth filled with two-inch teeth. Then the video turned to static. â€Å"-that was the scene at the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles today. We now go to Ron Hennessy, live outside the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Keller stood frozen, her fists clenched in helpless fury. â€Å"It's happening everywhere,† Nissa said quietly from behind her. â€Å"That's what Paulie said. Every major city in the U.S. is being attacked. A white rhino killed two people in Miami. In Chicago, a pack of timber wolves killed an armed police officer.† â€Å"Shapeshifters,† Keller whispered. â€Å"Yes. Killing humans openly. They may even be transforming openly. Paulie said that some people claimed to see those Chicago wolves change. She took a deep breath and spoke slowly. â€Å"Keller, the time of chaos at the end of the millennium†¦ it's happening now. They can't cover this up with a â€Å"private zoo† story. This is it-the beginning of the time when humans find out about the Night World.† Diana looked bewildered. â€Å"But why would shapeshifters start attacking humans? And why would they kill Grandma Harman?† Keller shook her head. She was rapidly approaching numbness. She glanced at Galen and saw that he felt exactly the same. Then there was a choked sound beside her. â€Å"That's the question-why,† Winnie said in a thick voice. Usually, with her elfin features and mop of curls, she looked younger than her age. But right now, the skin on her face was drawn tight, and her birdlike bones made her look almost like an old woman. She turned on Keller and Galen, and her eyes were burning. â€Å"Not just why they're doing it, why they're being allowed to do it. Where's the First House while all this is going on? Why aren't they monitoring their own people? Is it because they agree with what's happening?† The last words were snapped out with a vicious-ness that Keller had never heard in Winfrith before. Galen opened his mouth, then he shook his head. â€Å"Winnie, I don't think-â€Å" â€Å"You don't think! You don't know? What are your parents doing? Are you saying you don't know that?† â€Å"Winnie-â€Å" â€Å"They killed our oldest leader. Our wise woman. You know, some people would take that as a declaration of war.† Keller felt stricken and at the same time furious at her own helplessness. She was in charge here; she should be heading Winnie off. But she was a shapeshifter like Galen. And along with the ability to transform and the exquisitely tuned senses, they both shared something unique to their race. The guilt of the shapeshifters. The terrible guilt that went back to the ancient days and was part of the very fabric of Kellers mind. No shapeshifter could forget it or escape it, and nobody who wasn't a shapeshifter could ever understand. The guilt was what held Galen standing there while Winnie yelled at him, and held Keller unable to interrupt. Winnie was right in front of Galen now, her eyes blazing, her body crackling with latent energy like a small but fiery orange comet. â€Å"Who woke that dragon up, anyway?† she demanded. â€Å"How do we know the shapeshifters aren't up to their old tricks? Maybe this time they're going to wipe the witches out completely-â€Å" â€Å"Stop it!† It was Hiana. She planted herself in front of Winnie, small but earnest, a little ice maiden to combat the witch's fire. Her nose was pink and swollen, and she was still wearing those teddy bear slippers, but to Keller she somehow looked valiant and magnificent. â€Å"Stop hurting each other,† she said. â€Å"I don't understand any of this, but I know that you're not going to get anywhere if you fight. And I know you don't want to fight.† All at once, she flung her arms around Winnie. â€Å"I know how you feel-it's so awful. I felt the same way when Grandma Mary died, my mom's mother. All I could think of was that it was just so unfair.† Winfrith hesitated, standing stiffly in Diana's embrace. Then, slowly, she lifted her own arms to hold Iliana back. â€Å"We need her,† she whispered. I know. And you feel mad at the people who killed her. But it's not Galen's fault. Galen would never hurt anybody.† It was said with absolute conviction. Hiana wasn't even looking at Galen. She was stating a fact that she felt was common knowledge. But at the same time, now that she was off her guard, her expression was tender and almost shining. Yes, that's love, all right, Keller thought. And it's good. Very slowly, Winnie said, ‘I know Galen wouldn't. But the shapeshifters–â€Å" â€Å"Maybe,† Galen said, â€Å"we should talk about that† If Winnie's face was pinched, his was set in steel. His eyes were so dark that Keller couldn't distinguish the color. â€Å"Maybe we should talk about the shapeshifters,† he said. He nodded toward the kitchen table, which was still strewn with the parchments. â€Å"About their history and about the dragons.† He looked at Diana. â€Å"If there's any chance of-of a promise ceremony between us, it's stuff you ought to know.† Iliana looked startled. â€Å"He's right,† Nissa said in her calm voice. â€Å"After all, that's what we were doing to start with. It's all tied together.† Keller's whole body was tight. This was something that she very much didn't want to talk about But she refused to give in to her own weakness. With a tremendous effort, she managed to say steadily, â€Å"All right. The whole story.† â€Å"It started back in the days humans were still living in caves,† Galen said when they were all sitting down at the kitchen table again. His voice was so bleak and controlled that it didn't even sound like Galen. â€Å"The shapeshifters ruled then, and they were brutal. In some places, they were just the totem spirits who demanded human sacrifice, but in others†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He searched through the parchments, selected one. â€Å"This is a picture of a breeding pen, with humans in it. They treated humans exactly the way humans treat cattle, breeding them for their hearts and livers. And the more human flesh they ate, the stronger they got.† Iliana looked down at the parchment scrap, and her hand abruptly clenched on a tissue. Winnie listened silently, her pointed face stern. â€Å"They were stronger than anyone,† Galen said. â€Å"Humans were like flies to them. The witches were more trouble, but the dragons could beat them.† Iliana looked up. â€Å"What about the vampires?† â€Å"There weren't any yet,† Galen said quietly. â€Å"The first one was Maya Hearth-Woman, the sister of Hellewise Hearth-Woman. She made herself into a vampire when she was looking for immortality. But the dragons were naturally immortal, and they were the undisputed rulers of the planet. And they had about as much pity for others as a 7. rex has.† â€Å"But all the shapeshifters weren't like that, were they?† Iliana asked. â€Å"There were other kinds besides the dragons, right?† â€Å"They were all bad,† Keller said simply. â€Å"My ancestors–the big felines-were pretty awful. But the bears and the wolves did their share.† â€Å"But you're right, the dragons were the worst,† Galen said to Iliana. â€Å"And that's who my family is descended from. My last name, Drache, means ‘dragon.' Of course, it was the weakest of the dragons that was my ancestor. The one the witches left awake because she was so young.† He turned to Winnie. â€Å"Maybe you'd better tell that part. The witches know their own history best.† Still looking severe, Winnie thumbed through the parchment scraps until she found one. â€Å"Here,† she said. ‘It's a picture of the gathering of the witches. Hecate Witch-Queen organized it. She was Hellewise's mother. She got all the witches together, and they went after the shapeshifters. There was a big fight. A really big fight.† Winnie selected another piece of scroll and pushed it toward Diana. Diana gasped. The parchment piece she was looking down at was almost solid red. â€Å"It's fire,† she said. ‘It looks like-it looks like the whole world's on fire.† Galen's voice was flat. â€Å"That's what the dragons did. Geological records show that volcanoes all over the world erupted around then. The dragons did that. I don't know how; the magic's lost. But they figured that if they couldn't have the world, nobody else would, either.† â€Å"They tried to destroy the world,† Keller said. â€Å"And the rest of the shapeshifters helped.† ‘It almost worked, too,† Winnie said. â€Å"But the gathering of witches managed to win, and they buried all the dragons alive. I mean, they put them to sleep first, but then they buried them in the deepest places of the earth.† She bit her lip and looked at Galen. â€Å"Which probably wasn't very nice, either.† â€Å"What else could they do?† Galen said quietly. â€Å"They left the dragon princess alive-she was only three or four years old. They let her grow up, under their guidance. But the world was a scorched and barren place for a long time. And the shapeshifters have always been†¦ the lowest of all the Night People.† â€Å"That's true,† Nissa put in, her voice neither approving nor disapproving, simply making an observation. â€Å"Most Night People consider shapeshifters second-class citizens. They try to keep them down. I think, underneath, that they're still afraid of them.† â€Å"And there's never been an alliance between the shapeshifters and the witches,† Keller said. She looked directly at Diana. â€Å"That's why the promise ceremony is so important. If the shapeshifters don't side with the witches, they're going to go with the vampires-â€Å" She stopped abruptly and looked at Galen. He nodded. â€Å"I was thinking the same thing.† â€Å"Those animal attacks,† Keller said slowly. ‘It sounds as if the shapeshifters are already making their decision. They're helping to bring about the time of chaos at the end of the millennium. They're letting the whole world know that they're siding with the vampires.† There was a shocked silence. â€Å"But how can they decide?† Winnie began. â€Å"That's just it,† Nissa said. â€Å"The question is, is it just the ordinary shapeshifters who're doing it, or is it official? In other words, has the First House already decided?† Everyone looked at Galen. â€Å"I don't think so,† he said. â€Å"I don't think they'll make any decision yet, at least not in public. As for what they're doing in private, I don't know.† His voice was still flat; it made no excuses. He looked around the table, facing all of them. â€Å"My parents are warriors. They don't belong to Circle Daybreak, and they don't like the witches. But they don't like the vampires, either. More than anything, they'll want to be on whichever side is going to win. And that depends on which side gets the Wild Powers.† â€Å"I think they want something else,† Keller said. â€Å"like?† They want to know that the witches are treating them fairly and not just trying to use them. I mean, if they thought that Circle Daybreak had found the Witch Child but wasn't going to promise her to their heir, well, they wouldn't be happy. It's not just a matter of having a kinship bond with the witches. It's a matter of feeling they're being treated as equals.† Nissa's light brown eyes narrowed, and she seemed almost to smile. â€Å"I think you've summed it up very well.† â€Å"So what it all comes down to,† Keller said pointedly, â€Å"is what happens on Saturday night. If there's a promise ceremony, it means the witches have found the Wild Power and that they're willing to tie her to the shapeshifters. If not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She let the sentence trail off and looked at Hiana. There, she thought. I've put it so plainly and simply, you can't deny it now. And you can't help but see what's at stake. Diana's eyes were like faraway violet storm clouds. Keller couldn't tell what she was thinking. Maybe that the situation couldn't be denied but that she herself wasn't involved. Winnie took a deep breath. â€Å"Galen.† Her face was still drawn and unhappy, but the burning anger in her eyes was gone. She met Galen's gaze directly. Tm sorry,† she said. â€Å"I shouldn't have said those things before. I know you're on our side. And I'm not like those people who don't trust the shapeshifters.† Galen smiled at her faintly, but his eyes were serious. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe you shouldn't trust us. There are things in our blood-you can't get rid of the dragon completely.† It was strange. At that moment, his eyes looked not only dark but almost red to Keller. Exactly the opposite of their usual golden-green. It was as if a light were smoldering somewhere deep inside them. Then Winnie abruptly extended her hand across the table. â€Å"I know you,† she said. â€Å"And there's nothing bad in your blood. I won't mistrust you again.† Galen hesitated one instant, then reached out with something like gratitude and took her hand. â€Å"Thanks,† he whispered. â€Å"Hey, if I were the Witch Child, I'd promise to you in a minute,† Winnie said. Then she sniffled, but her smile was much more like the old Winnie's smile. Keller glanced at Iliana almost casually and was riveted by what she saw. The girl had changed again. Now she didn't look like a princess or an ice maiden but like a very young soldier about to go into battle. Or maybe a human sacrifice who could save her tribe by jumping into a volcano. Her hair seemed to shine, silvery and pale, and her eyes were deep, deep violet in her small face. Her slight shoulders were back, and her chin was determined. Slowly, staring at something invisible in the center of the table, Iliana stood up. As soon as the motion drew their attention, the others fell quiet. It was obvious to everyone that something important was happening. Iliana stood there, her hands clenched by her sides, her chest rising and falling with her breathing. Then she looked at Galen. Finally, she looked at Keller. Tm not the Witch Child any more than Winnie is. And I think you know that by now. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She took a breath, steadied herself. Keller held her own breath. â€Å"But if you want me to pretend to be, I'll do it. I'll go to the promise ceremony with Galen-I mean, if hell do it with me.† She gave a half-embarrassed glance at Galen, looking shy and almost apologetic. â€Å"Will he ever!† Winnie said enthusiastically. Keller could have kissed her. Galen himself didn't rise to the occasion properly at all; instead, he opened his mouth, looking uncertain. Fortunately, Iliana was going on. â€Å"Then I'll go through with it. And maybe that will be enough for the shapeshifters to join with the witches, as long as they don't find out I'm a fake.† She looked unhappy. She was so adamant that for a moment Keller was shaken. Could it be she wasn't the Wild Power? But no. Keller knew she was. She just hasn't awakened her power yet. And if she continued to deny it, she never would. She said, â€Å"Thank you, Iliana. You don't know how much, how many lives you're going to save. Thank you.† Then the excitement got the better of her, and she took Iliana by the arm and gave her a sort of shaking squeeze of affection. â€Å"You're a trooper!† Winnie said, and hugged her hard. â€Å"I knew you'd come through all the time, I really did.† Nissa smiled at her with genuine approval. Galen was smiling, too, although there was something in his eyes†¦ â€Å"There's just one thing,† Iliana said a little bit breathlessly, rubbing her arm where Keller had gripped it. â€Å"Ill do this. I said I would. But I have two conditions.† Keller's excitement deflated. â€Å"Conditions?† â€Å"You can have anything you want,† Winnie said, blinking away happy tears. â€Å"Cars, clothes, books†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No, no, I don't want things,† Diana said. â€Å"What I mean is, I'm doing this because I can't just stand around and not do anything when stuff like that is going on.† She shivered. â€Å"I have to do anything I can to help. But. I'm still not the right person. So the first condition is that while I'm pretending to be the Wild Power, you guys have somebody out looking for the real one.† Keller said smoothly, â€Å"I'll tell Circle Daybreak. They'll keep looking and checking other Harmans. They'll do it for as long as you want them to.† They would, too. It was a small price to pay. â€Å"And the other condition?† Keller asked. â€Å"I want to go to Jaime's party on Saturday.† Instant uproar. Even Nissa was talking over people. Keller cut short her own exclamations and gestured for everybody to shut up. Then she looked Diana dead in the eye. ‘It's impossible. And you know it's impossible. Unless you've found a way to be in two places at once.† â€Å"Don't be stupid,† Diana said. That small, determined chin was tight. â€Å"I mean before the promise ceremony thing. I want to go just for an hour or two. Because she's one of my very best friends, and she's gotten attacked twice because of me.† â€Å"So what? You're already making it up to her. You're saving her life and her twin brother's life and her parents' lives-â€Å" â€Å"No, I'm not. I'm faking being a Wild Power when I know it isn't true. I'm acting a lie.† There were tears in Diana's eyes now. â€Å"But I'm not going to hurt Jaime's feelings, and I'm not going to break my promise to her. And that's that. So if you want me to go through with your little charade, I'll do it, but I want to go to the party first.† There was a silence. Well, she's stubborn, I'll give her that, Keller thought. Once she decides on something, she absolutely won't be budged on it. I guess that will be helpful when the Wild Powers fight the darkness someday. But right now, it was simply infuriating. Keller drew a very long breath and said, â€Å"Okay.† Winnie and Nissa looked at her sharply. They hadn't expected her to give in so fast, and they were undoubtedly wondering if their boss had some trick up her sleeve.

Manchester United Essay

We aim to increase our revenue and profitability by expanding our high growth businesses that leverage our global community and marketing infrastructure. The key elements of our strategy are: Expand our portfolio of global and regional sponsors: We are well positioned to continue to secure sponsorships with leading brands. Over the last few years, we have implemented a proactive approach to identifying, securing and supporting sponsors. In addition, we are focused on expanding a regional sponsorship model, segmenting new opportunities by product category and territory. As part of this strategy, we have opened an office in Asia and are in the process of opening an office in North America. These are in addition to our London and Manchester offices. Further develop our retail, merchandising, apparel & product licensing business: We will focus on growing this business on a global basis by increasing our product range and improving distribution through further development of our wholesale , retail and e-commerce channels. Manchester United branded retail locations have opened in Singapore, Macau, India and Thailand, and we plan to expand our global retail footprint over the next several years. In addition, we will also invest to expand our portfolio of product licensees to enhance the range of product offerings available to our followers. Exploit new media & mobile opportunities: The rapid shift of media consumption towards internet, mobile and social media platforms presents us with multiple growth opportunities and new revenue streams. Our digital media platforms, such as mobile sites, applications and social media, are expected to become one of the primary methods by which we engage and transact with our followers around the world. In addition to developing our own digital properties, we intend to leverage third party media platforms and other social media as a means of further engaging with our followers and creating a source of traffic for our digital media assets. Our new media & mobile offering s are in the early stages of development and present opportunities for future growth. Enhance the reach and distribution of our broadcasting rights: The value of live sports programming has grown dramatically in recent years due to changes in how television content is distributed and consumed. Specifically, television consumption has become more fragmented and audiences for traditional scheduled television programming have declined as consumer choice increased  with the emergence of multi-channel television, the development of technologies such as the digital video recorder and the emergence of digital viewing on the internet and mobile devices. The unpredictable outcomes of live sports ensures that individuals consume sports programming in real time and in full, resulting in higher audiences and increased interest from television broadcasters and advertisers. We are well positioned to benefit from the increased value and the growth in distribution associated with the Premier League, the Champions League and other competitions. Furthermore, MUTV, our global broadcasting platform, delivers Manchester United programming to 54 countries around the world. We plan to expand the distribution of MUTV by improving the quality of its content and its production capabilities. Diversify revenue and improve margins: We aim to increase the revenue and operating margins of our business as we further expand into our high growth commercial businesses, including sponsorship, retail, merchandising, licensing and new media & mobile. By increasing the emphasis on our commercial businesses, we will further diversify our revenue, enabling us to generate improved profitability. The five forces model of Michael Porter looks like the following if applied to Mu Ltd.: SUPPLIER POWER High diversity of suppliers Volume is important to supplier MU differentiates of inputs Inputs have a high impact on costs and differentiation Switching costs of firms in the industry are low There is a low Presence of substitute inputs BARRIERS TO ENTRY There is quite an easy access to inputs The is a government policy promoting quite free entry in case certain registration type of requirements are fulfilled There is economies of scale High capital requirements There are strong brand identity in the succer sector of the sports industry Switching costs are high Easy access to distribution Low expected retaliation THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES Low switching costs Buyers are not highly inclined to substitute Price-performance, to a certain level, has no influence on the preffered team Trade-off of substitutes DEGREE OF RIVALRY High exit barriers Low industry concentration High fixed costs/High value added Low industry growth Low product differences Low switching costs High brand identity High diversity of rivals BUYER POWER Bargaining leverage is neither high, neither low Buyer volume upon successful times are high Buyer information can be considered high Brand identity is strong Price sensitivity is not extremely high Product differentiation is very high Buyer concentration vs. industry is low Many substitutes are available Source: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml Key Performance Indicators (KPI) The other, as mentioned before, is the KPI, or key performance indicators. As the Affiliated League Club lists, the KPI of a sports klubs must be the following( p.3,http://nemjfa.homestead.com/BUSINESSPLAN.pdf ): Sound business plan Stable administration, close communication between all levels of Club Management High quality coaches at both senior and underage levels High profile and acceptance within the community Strong Club presence in schools, both primary and secondary Sound oval management, high standard of club facilities Sound financial management, expenses kept in line with income base Development of Juniors, particularly local based players Manchester United Ltd. is a very professional company, and is in possession of these characteristics. It actually needs so, if it wants to achieve its declared goal, „to be the most successful teem in football† (http://ir.manutd.com/manutd/about/bustrat/). As to the last part of the question, identifying internal and external factors, please refer back to the Porter’s Five Forces Model above Major cost categories of the company, the drivers behind these costs, and the internal and external factors that influence costs the most There are three major cost categories, those related to the operation and development of the corporate Manchester United, the costs related to the operation and development of the sporting club, and other, related costs. The corporate costs include such costs as dept and maintance costs, and costs related to the commercial activities of the company. Examples of club related cost include the compensation of the players and staff, and purchase of new players and stuff. The other costs include, for instance infrastructural costs, such as the maintance and development cost of the stadium of MU, the „Old Trafford†. The drivers of the costs of Manchester United, and the internal and external factors that influence the cost structure and levels of these cost in all the three major categories can be observed in the second part of question 1, in the Porter’s Five Forces Model. What companies are comparable companies Other English football club corporations like Chelsea and Arsenal of London, Everton, and Liverpool. Companies operating football clubs are very dinstinct from companies of other industries, and the larger football clubs are probably very similar to each other in how they conduct their business, all having some income sources, tickets, clothing, that are the same. Method most appropriate to assess the value of the company, advantages and disadvantages of the relative and the DCF methods. If we are looking at the performance of the company, probably the profitability is the measure that should be used, because it measures the efficientcy of the financial performance of the company. DCF Method: Advantages: As DCF analysis is based on the assumptions of the CAPM, it is an analytically correct valuation method. In contrast to the Comparable Companies analysis, volatile market conditions do not have an impact on the results. DCF therefore is often used as an additional point of reference. Since the discount rate is usually derived from the WACC, the DCF takes account of the relative riskiness of the projected cash flow. Accounting rules do not influence this approach, as valuation is based on projected cash flow. growth period period of stable growth. Multiples appropriate for the comparison of the company with other comparative companies, what financial and non-financial measures should be a basis of compari Probably the best multiple to measure the success of a club is the games won to the sum of tied and lost games. This is important, because the more games a club can win, the more the corporate club can achieve in its merchadising, and the more sponsors it will be able to attract. This multiple would be considered to be a non-funancial measure. A financial measure applicable to football corporations would be profitability if the company, as it, though with limmitations, measures how efficiently the club is operating. Another financial measure would be the revenues per players in a complete season. Shortcomings: Since the terminal value often represents more than 50% of the entire DCF value it is therefore highly sensitive to the underlying assumptions, especially regarding the growth component in the terminal value and the discount rate. Using historical stock returns when estimating the beta depends heavily on the choice of the index. For volatile companies the beta is very high, resulting in a relatively high discount rate and a low net present value of cash flows. Estimating a â€Å"correct† value by applying the DCF approach therefore depends to a large extend on the expertise and industry knowledge of the person doing the valuation. Moreover, the DCF approach neither considers different management options nor future investment opportunities. It only works if cash flows are subject to little uncertainty and the company is managed by a static management team. It does not capture the â€Å"true† value if there are large initial losses, highly  volatile earnings or immense initial growth rates.† (WEITZEL, GELLINGS, BEIMBORN and KÃâ€"NIG, 2003, IS Valuation Methods- Insights from Capital Markets Theory and Practice –, p.5-6.) Relative method: Advantages: As the comparable companies method is based on public information, market moods and perceptions are reflected, since it measures the relative and not the intrinsic value. Relative valuation is based upon fewer assumptions and can be conducted faster than DCF valuation. Shortcomings: The simplicity of valuation by multiples is its deficiency [Benninga/Sarig 1997, 305]. Since no value determinants are analyzed, it is important to carefully select comparable firms. Also, outside variables like mergers and acquisitions in the respective sector can influence stock prices. Figures often fail to capture intangible assets, like quality of management. Hence, CC based valuation should provide a valuable â€Å"sanity check† to assure the validity of a DCF analysis, but it should not be the only valuation method used [Benninga/Sarig 1997, 305].† (WEITZEL, GELLINGS, BEIMBORN and KÃâ€"NIG, 2003, IS Valuation Methods- Insights from Capital Markets Theory and Practice –, p.7-8.) Limitations of applying the relative and the DCF methods to the evaluation of the company, what can be done to overcome this problem There are a number of limitations of applying the relative and the DCF methods to the evaluation of the company. For instance, purchasing new players and coaches cost a lot of money; it is not rare that that amount of money reaches one million euros. As it was seen in the above summary of the disadvantages of the DCF method. A possible solution to this problem, though not very humane, the cost of these players and coaches could be depreciated over the time frame of the contract involved, just as it is done in the case of new infrastructural expenditures. In the case of the Relative method, the problem is that the progression of the team in the national, that is in the Premier League, and in the international cups and championships, were much different both in the near past and will probably be in the future also. This increases the risk of the cyclicality of the business. This cyclicality can be much different in the case of the different corporate clubs, which makes the incomes and thus other results of the companies very difficult to  compare. Links for more information Porter five forces analysis – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Porter’s five forces is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. It draws upon Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determi Performance indicator – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a measure of performance. Such measures are commonly used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress towards its long-term Manchester United Official Web Site The official site with news, transfer rumours, online ticket sales, live match commentary, video highlights, player profiles, mobile content, wallpapers and more. Manchester united  Manchester United (ManU) is one of the leading football clubs in the world. ManU has won many titles in the football competition making the club to be the most successful football club in the world. The success of this club is contributed by the good management of Sir Alex Ferguson who has been the manager since 1986 when Ron Atkinson left (Official website, ManU). Introduction The football industry in UK has become popular because of the first successes in the industry, an attribute that made it a viable business. The main aim of this report is to analyze the SWOT and PEST analysis of Manchester United. From this analysis, it will be possible to identify both the internal and external strengths of the company. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis can be used to know the success factors of ManU as well as to identify the strategies to be overcome the club’s weaknesses. Moreover, SWOT analyses will enable the company to identify the opportunities to improve performance. SWOT analysis of Manchester United is presented below: Strengths The key strength of Manchester United is its well recognized brand all over  the world. ManU has achieved such good brand name by heavy advertisement through the internet, TV and magazines (Andrews, 2004). This massive advertisement has made the club to get various sponsors. This means that whenever the company raises any merchandise in the market, indicating their name and symbol, it will be identified by its funs all over the world. Strength of the club is the presence of a big fan base which has improved the financial stability of the club. This big fan base has made a very high purchase figure whenever the tickets are being sold. Furthermore, Manchester United has various distribution channels which enable it to deliver new products introduced into the market. Furthermore, these channels can be used by the Manchester United to obtained feedback from the market concerning their products and performances. Weaknesses From the website of the company, it shows that the major weakness is the products and product variety. It is evident that the company has been introducing many diverse products at different occasions. All these diverse products have been introduced from the jersey to credit cards indicating that the company has exploited the available sources of income within the company. This action needs to be researched as soon as possible so as to help the company to situate and analyze it products, adopt the use of effective instruments such as the Boston Matrix which will help the company to identify that the products are doing well in the market. Lastly, the club has been so affluent, and it is still operating on such a high level, there is a worrying within the management of the company that it will loose its origin, which has a diverse concentration of the club from football to the proceeds. Such moves might have a great effect to its fans because the fans come from all over the world. Oppor tunities Penetration of the Manchester United to the American market has been one of the major opportunities to the company. The company will in future structure its club by entering into coalition with the New York Yankees. The New York Yankees is one of the well-off teams in the world. This will assist the company by ensuring that exclusive distribution channels are established in the United States of America. Through this the company will be in a position to enter and present their products in a new market. Furthermore, the  Manchester United will be in a position to lead all the football clubs in the America, though there will be superior height of risks concerned. The managers believe that by entering a coalition with the Yankees, this threat will be reduced (CNN, 2010). Threats Manchester United operates under a great threat in this field because other big teams like Manchester City and Arsenal which are currently improving in their performances. These and other teams have become very big competitors to the club. Furthermore, the Manchester United FC has been facing internal threats to the team. There is a frequent change of leadership in the company making the club to be disunited. Nonetheless, this will affect the sale of merchandise. Lastly, the club is lacking enough finances for financing academies and junior football, so that they can train the best footballers to ensure smooth succession in the future. PEST Analysis of the Manchester United The club’s decision has been affected by macro-environmental factors such as the changes in taxes, new laws, demographic changes and the changes in government policy. The managers of Manchester United can classify these as the political, economical, social and technological factors. Political factors This comprises of the laws which govern the issues affecting the activities of the club. Currently the team is undergoing a problem of paying out its debts which amount to $1.5 billion, a figure which was misappropriated by the greedy owners. The fans of Manchester United from England are preparing to join their efforts to force legislators to consider pro-football legislation in parliament which will aim at fighting the total arrears which has not being paid because of corrupt owners who misuse the funds of the club. Such an action has exploited the loyalties of fans of Manchester United. Economical factors The club has boosted the economy through employment opportunities which have been created to the players and the officials. The positive effect of Manchester United FC is felt globally because they employ the best players globally. Secondly, this soccer club has been a catalyst in the regional development because of the positive financial flows which are generated by the supporters of the team across the world. Lastly, the club has a positive influence on the economy because its officials are thrown from all over the world. These officials spend an average of 15on basic needs such as food, drinks etc. in a single match. If the supporters are from foreign countries they bring in foreign currencies which will eventually boosts the Balance of Payments in the country Technology Technology has contributed positively to the foot ball games since the players are capable of playing at night due to the availability of electricity. Furthermore, technology has facilitated various people from different parts of the world to watch football irregardless of there locations. Technology has facilitated fans of the club to obtain information from the internet concerning the performances of the company. This has benefited those Manchester United fans to get updates incase they had missed to watch the game. Social Manchester United just like any other football team has united many people especially the funs of football. People have interacted all over the world because of football. People from different age groups normally watch football because it is either their favorite game or because they want to watch just for leisure. Football has become part of the society in the current world, everybody in the world talks of football, either English Premier League or the world cup championships. This is very important since it has affected the society in a positive way i.e. it can create employment in the region. For example, the world cup will be in South Africa this year. The South African government will collect a lot of revue in terms of taxation, sales of tickets and any other taxable stuff. This will have close relationship with the social cultural factors though indirectly (Masterman, 2009). Manchester United has contributed a lot in the context of the social cultural factors as it employs play ers from different parts of the world. They normal select stars from different leagues and employ them. From a research done by Masterman, Manchester is the leading club in the payment package they offer to its employees. Business strategy The team has carried research concerning their product development in the market. This is very important as it will help the team to improve their performance in their product in the present market before strategizing on how to enter the new market. Conclusion Manchester United is the leading team in the football industry and to maintain this position, they have to focus on the market and the needs of its clients and followers. The company has further improved on their product through carrying research; these improvements have brought success in the club and improve the support of the team. The board of directors has also done their best by employing the best players to represent the club. This will make the team to perform well in the field whenever they have a game. Furthermore, these directors ensure that the discipline is well maintained in the company because the fans and its competitors are closely watching what is going on in the company. Bibliography Andrews, D. L. (2004) Manchester United: a thematic study. Routledge: UK. Barthold, D. 2009. The Business of European Football. GRIN Verlag, (3). Pp 36-38 Masterman, G. 2009. Strategic Sports Event Management: Olympic Edition Hospitality, Leisureand Tourism Series. Butterworth-Heinemann, (2). Pp 65-67 Manchester United. 2008. The Official Manchester United Annual 2009 Official Manchester The Manchester United Football Club is one of the most popular football clubs in the world. This English football club has its base at Old Trafford Stadium, which is located in Trafford, Greater Manchester. Manchester United is the founder member of 1992 Premier League. Being the second most successful team in the entire history of English football, Manchester United Football Club has over 330 million fans globally. The club has been participating in the top division English football since 1938. The Manchester United Football Club is also popular by its nickname, â€Å"The Red Devils†. In November 1986 when Alex Ferguson became the manager of the Club, Manchester United reached to the peak of success and won 20 major titles. The Manchester United Football Club has won the Premier League and First Division 17 times and is trailing behind Liverpool by just one title. Manchester United became the first English Football Club to win the European Cup in 1968. The Club has the record of winning maximum number of FA Cup titles. From late 90’s until date, Manchester United remains one of the richest football clubs with a total value of  £897 million. In 1998-99, Manchester United became the first ever and the only club to win the Treble. In the year 2000, the club became a founding member for the G-14 group. This is a group of the Big European football clubs. In the year 2005, American businessperson Malcolm Glazer took a controlling interest in Manchester United. With the Red Football Ltd as the investment vehicle, Malcolm took 75% control of the club and the club was de-listed from the Stock Exchange. Initially the jersey of Manchester United was yellow and green in color but in 1902, the club changed it to red jerseys with white shorts and black socks. Manchester United has sponsorship deals with various companies. AIG, Nike, Audi, Budweiser, Betfred, Xfm Manchester are some of the sponsors for the club. The Manchester United football club has its own football ground at Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The stadium opened on 19 February 1910 and the total capacity of the stadium is 76,212. It is a difficult job to determine the greatest rival of Manchester United Football Club. According to some people, Liverpool is the biggest rival of Manchester. Leeds, Manchester City and Arsenal are also the other known rivals of the Club. So far, the Club has bagged 3 European Cup/ UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup and 1 European Super Cup. Manchester United Football Club has also won 1 Intercontinental Cup/ World Cup Championship. Facts:  · 5% of the world population is the supporters of Manchester United Football Club.  · The Club has won 10 Premier leagues, 7 First division leagues and 2 Second division leagues.  · Manchester United won 11 FA Cups, 2 League cups and 16 FA Charity/Community Shield. In the next few articles, let us understand about the sports team’s brand-building strategies. The most common strategy followed by most of the teams is: Sponsorship with other global brands  Being associated with other international brand names lends global presence to brands as they go worldwide. If we talk about the most richest soccer club, Manchester United, they have 44 official sponsors associated with the club. One of the biggest tie up then in the year 2002 was Manchester United’s tie up with Nike. Both Manchester United and Nike gained in global stature after the announcement of their global tie-in 2002. Now such is the case that Nike has to discuss a  £303 million kit supply deal with Manchester United and they might well have to anyhow shell out this huge sum of cash if they want to maintain their association with Manchester United. One month from now, this strategically important meeting will be talking place and the American sport wear company will have to come up with an enormous sum to satisfy the club’s owners. The ‘Swoosh’ logo has adorned some of the greatest teams and players in the history of the game, including Manchester United legends Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo. Of the current squad, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, the Da Silva twins, Chris Smalling, Patrice Evra, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand all wear Nike boots along with the standard kits. In recent years, Manchester United has formed commercial alliances with a number of global players in other industries: Vodafone, Pepsi, DHL and Aon were all added to the clubâ₠¬â„¢s sponsorship list. Under these arrangements, the club gains from sponsors’ international reputations and sponsors gain from their association with a such big sports brand. And Manchester United is talking full advantage of this to reach out to new segment of soccer fans and in turn helping in strengthening its brand equity. In July, United announced a staggering  £357 million deal with General Motors for the Chevrolet logo to be worn on their shirts for seven seasons from 2014. Chevrolet’s eight-year partnership with Manchester United kicked off this summer with a series of friendly matches, bringing the world’s favourite football team to their fans in South Africa, Europe and China. The support for, and commitment to Manchester United and its passionate fans worldwide will go far beyond the pre-season games as General Motors look to join the fans in celebrating all that is beautiful about the game. One of the biggest logistics company which is present in 220 countries and territ ories worldwide has tied up United in 2011. DHL were made responsible to undertake a range of logistics services on behalf of Manchester United for three years. Just like DHL, Manchester United stands  for passion, teamwork and can-do spirit. And it’s those same characteristics that have enabled both DHL and Manchester United to remain at the top of their game and thus join together and build its brand. The last two deals done recently by Manchester United were with the two sponsors from China (Wahaha, a soft drinks manufacturer and China Construction Bank (CCB). Both have tied up for a three year deal. CCB will hold the exclusive rights to produce the official Manchester United branded credit card in Mainland China. Wahaha has been the largest beverage producer in China for the past 11 years and will be the club’s first official soft drinks partner in the country. This is just one of the many strategic decision taken by this 135-year-old soccer club from Britain. In the coming article, I would write about Manc hester United’s Asian Strategy, mainly highlighting its entry into the Indian market.

Innovation and Business Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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Critically disscuss the principles underpinning the doctrine of Essay

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Article Summary and Reaction Paper - Essay Example There were attempts to make the customers satisfied with the services that the company will offer. The hearing of the case occurred on November 30, 2011 after the company had filed the protection plea through its lawyers and other legal advisors. The airline had fought to escape the filing for bankruptcy and hoped that the court would help it to regain its status in the industry. The article expounds on the term bankruptcy. It also introduces Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 2015). The chapter provides for reorganization under bankruptcy situation, mainly involving partnership or cooperation. The chapter helps in the reorganization of businesses that have seriously high burden of debts. Under the chapter, the debtor proposes a plan to that would ensure profitability after bankruptcy. The article outlines the best case in which Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. The article outlines the applicability of the code in helping organizations restructure and present a plan for profitability. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. (2015). Reorganization Under the Bankruptcy Code. Retrieved April 13, 2015 from

Spirit Myth and Sacredness in Architecture Essay

Spirit Myth and Sacredness in Architecture - Essay Example Shortly after the Buddha's death, history records a scramble for his remains amongst monks from across the Indian subcontinent. His remains were finally divided into eight portions, each being placed in one of the twelve original Stupas that were built. Few of the original stupas still survive, but stupas continued to be built long after the Buddha's death with progressive modification of subsequent design as its meaning became more and more symbolic. However, the building of Stupas began long before the Buddha himself, as relic holding monuments of rulers. The symbolism was acquired at a much later date. To quote authors Thurman and Leidy (1997) : "Stupas began in pre-Buddhist India as hemispherical burial grounds that marked the remains of temporal rulers. At an early stage in the development of Buddhist art, they became symbols of the Buddha's continuing immanance as well as representations of his mind........the fourteen rings around the spire (that are seen in all "modern" stupas) are all that remainn of the royal umbrellas often found in earlier stupas. They symbolise the fourteen stages traversed in the attainment of buddhahood; the four tantric stages added to the ten bodhisattva stages." In its basic essence, a stupa represented the sitting posture of saints and the Buddha as shown in Figure 1, as it was customary for saints to be buried in a sitting posture. However, the Buddha wished to be cremated and his ashes to be distributed to eight kingdoms after his death to be housed in Stupas. Therefore the stupas were built according to a basic plan of the Buddha seated for meditation, to encourage generations afterwards to seek salvation through spiritual practice. Figure 1. The sitting Buddha However, after his remains were distributed to the eight kingdoms, the differences in Stupa architecture represented the eight different stages of his life as shown below in Figures 2. This was the original basis of symbolism based on the Buddha's life, but with time, the interpretations and further embellishments changed the architectural pattern of the Stupas. Figure 2. The eight original Stupa plans Deconstructing the Symbolism of the later Stupa All stupas are built basically according to the principles that govern the process of Enlightenment that takes place during the acquisition of the Buddha-mind. Figure 3 shows the basic philosophical interpretations of the elements that made up a Stupa in its Figure 3. Basic Stupa elements. entirety - (a) the ornamental pole of parasol or canopy, representing wind , (b) the cone or harmika , representing fire, (c) the hemispherical round dome representing water, (d) the square base, reprenting the earth, and (e) the parasol itself, representing space. At a higher order of understanding, these basic elements can be interpreted as Higher States of the Buddha mind as explained by the Buddhist master Dilgo Rinpoche :" These are the essential attributes of a fully realised human being: the base of the stupa signifies earth and equanimity; the dome, water and indestructibility; the spire, fire and compassion; above the spire, wind and all-accomplishing action; and at the very top, the jewel represents space and all-pervading awareness. The stupa is a mandala, or sacred arrangement, containing all of these enlightened qualities." However, the

Dose Animal Farm Will Different When Change Napoleon to Snowball Essay Example for Free

Dose Animal Farm Will Different When Change Napoleon to Snowball Essay Power can change a kind personal to selfish person or make a person who is full of conceit become arrogant and greedy. In the animal farm, Napoleon is kind of a person, who is conceited and become greedy when he get all the political power. There is no alive democratic in the farm. But, when we change the chief of the Animal Farm, changing the Napoleon to Snowball, the animalism in the farm will revive. This short easy will analyze why Animal Farm will become better when Snowball has power. In the book, Napoleon is symbol of the dictatorship and Snowball is the symbol of the democratic. Cancel the animal assembly, build a cabinet, change the rule and build an arm to control the animal is what Napoleon did. But Snowball as a clever leader, he focus on the constructive work in the animal farm, building a windmill and set up a democratic policy which is every decision need discuss among the animal. Furthermore, snowball is quicker in speech and more inventive than Napoleon. He is the one who organizes the animals into various committees: the Egg Production Committee for hens, the Clean Tails League for the cows and erc. Snowball also has the wisdom in the battle and has prestige among the animal, success organizing animal to against Mr. Jon and his man. Although Snowball and Napoleon both agree they should drink milk and eat apple and both want to set up an arm, but Snowball not thought everything should be done for himself. When the animal farm has the problems, he tries to solve it and set up an education institution for animals. Moreover, combining with the history, Snowball represents figure of Leon Trotsky who draft the Soviet Union’s economic construction plan. Thus, if Snowball has a power, the society of animal farm would become flourishing.

Listening Distractions Essay Example for Free

Listening Distractions Essay Distractions are the divided attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention, onto the source of distraction. Distractions are caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or alertness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources and internal sources. â€Å"Art of Public Speaking† by Stephen E Lucas In this assignment I will focus on five listening distractions and effective ways to combat them. In order to become an effective speaker, it should be known that success comes from being an effective listener. By understanding barriers to listening the speaker can eliminate or reduce distraction prior to delivery of the speech. Some distractors are listed below. 1.Noise: Intrapersonal, Semantic and Situational a.Intrapersonal; this comes from a listener’s internal dialog, daydreaming, or focusing on their internal thoughts â€Å"day dreaming†. By listening to their internal speech, the listener will lose concentration on the speaker and miss points and topics of the speech. b.Semantic; these are words or phrases used by the speaker that my trigger a process of thought out of line with what the speaker intended. These â€Å"trigger† words are based on several different aspects of the audience’s make-up, from gender to ethnical or country of origin and religion. c.Situational; this is the physical noise distraction that may come from the design of the lecture hall, an open door or window that allows outside noise to enter, or the rustling noises associated with the audience, i.e. cell phones, coughing, side bar conversation. 2.Speaker Perception a.This is the perception the audience makes in reference to the speaker, how the speaker presents themselves, does the speaker use filler words such as, â€Å"umh† or â€Å"you know†. Does the speaker utilize a slow methodical pattern which bores the audience, calling into question the speaker’s intellect? 3.Self-Perceptions and Personal Biases a.Comprises anything that is a barrier to understanding the speaker’s message an includes egocentrism, Ethnocentrism, and dogmatism I. Egocentrism focuses on the self-centeredness and may limit the listener because of the feeling â€Å"this doesn’t pertain to me†, â€Å"I’ve already heard this message†, or â€Å" I am too important to be listening to someone like that† II.Ethnocentrism is based on the perception of because we don’t share a creed, color, or back ground, the speaker cannot understand the message from â€Å"my† point of view. Likewise the speaker focuses, or centers their speech in a manner that is ethnically limiting. III.Dogmatism the problem of holding opinions without questioning the validity or ethical value. Unquestioned opinions can lead to defensiveness or the attitude of, â€Å"I know it all† This behavior can cause the listener to take offense to the message the speaker is conveying. 4.Physical discomfort caused by poor seating, temperature, or length of the speech without break for restroom or smoke breaks. 5.Lack of interest the speaker has lost focus, changed topic without smooth transition, and maintains a monotone which in-turn shifts the listener’s attention. May also be due to the speaker’s lack of interest in the topic resulting in poor public speaking techniques. The key to contending with these distractions are to practice the speech, become comfortable with the topic, know how long the speech will last, film the practice session and identify personal traits that may cause distraction. Have someone listen to the speech to identify patterns or behaviors that may be offensive or controversial. Understand the message, what is the purpose of the speech; focus on the transition of thoughts and ideas to ensure a smooth process. Avoid monotone voice patterns unless it is an essential part of the delivery. Have fun with the topic, the speech and the audience. Before speaking conduct a walkthrough of the lecture hall, identify distractors and eliminate them or strategize how to overcome them. Bottom line, be prepared.

Importance of Declaration of Independence: Internet Freedom

Importance of Declaration of Independence: Internet Freedom Khoi Dao Relevance of Declaration of Independence In America’s revolution history, the Declaration of Independence wrote by Thomas Jefferson is one of the most iconic document. For most Americans, the Declaration of Independence describes the ideal government, one that works for its people and for their liberty, equality and happiness. Although our found father wrote the Declaration of Independence hundreds of years ago, this document is still relevant today because it gives us a blueprint to protect our â€Å"Internet’s right.† Internet is the most important invention in 20th century. There is not a better place for information and knowledge to be shared than on the World Wide Web. Internet is like supermarket of information and knowledge as it provided for everyone a fast access to practically limitless amount of data. Some people view it as a multimedia haven, some gush at the opportunities it will afford them to complete homework assignments, and for young adolescent boys it serves as a makeshift girlfriend. The Internet, and social networks by extension, is helping to spur an idea that seemed impossible a mere twenty years ago. Language barriers once prevented the average person from talking with someone in Asia or Europe, but now we have tools to communicate with someone in an entirely different language. A good example of this is Busuu.com, a site much like Facebook, where you can practice learning a language with people from different countries. The more humanity integrates over the web, the more soc ial borders dissolve. You might remember a time when the Internet did not exist, but the younger and upcoming generations will never know what it was like to live without web service. The internet service is a must have in nowadays society. Living in this age of technology without access to Internet is like living in a house with no electric. The most fundamental idea of the Internet is the freedom to share information. However, in recent years, the government proposes the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Internet Protocol Act) bills to further regulate the internet. The goal of these acts is to stop illegal downloading and protecting intellectual property rights, but they will do more than that. The entertainment industry wants to have the power to shut down an unauthorized site or person to protect its property. The SOPA and PIPA will introduce a vast potential for censorship and abuse on making the web less safe and frigid. Websites like Youtube and Facebook will be in the scope of these bills because these websites have huge base of users that express themselves, make arts and produce videos that have lots of copyrighted video clip and music mix in. The video of your baby that you post online will be taken down just because you have music playing in the background. Our politicians tamper with the basic idea of internet, the freedom to share information, just to make the entertainment industry happy. Government involvement in the net is comparable to talking on the phone to your girlfriend while your parents listen in. You can say a few of the things you want, but a lot of the content will be restrained. The notion of censorship is the elimination of the individual liberties of free speech as guaranteed by the American Constitution, prohibiting the right to individual interests and denying personal accountability. The Internet has become the next main target of government regulation and statism. If humanity allows the best symbol of freedom to be interposed upon the results could be catastrophic to the future of our race. The rules and regulations of Internet censorship are oddly close on the side of oppression. Government regulation of the net is comparable to placing D.U.I. checkpoints at every corner to make sure you remember to follow the laws and never consider deviation. While any regulation law introduced to society is always proclaimed to be done for the greater good, the greater good in this scenario may actually lead to the demise of the Internet as we know it. The government mandating Internet censorship will be the fall of democracy. We, as Americans, value freedom, especially speech, above most everything else. Our founding fathers set up our country to ensure that our right to freedom would forever be protected. Soldiers fight constantly to protect our ability to maintain freedom and not allow us to fall under the control of invading governments. Freedom of speech allows us to create our social identities. Communicating our ideas and beliefs, no matter how strong they may be, makes us unique. The Internet is one of the biggest platforms for freedom of speech and banning it as a place of free speech would cause great uproar. If the government had passed this bill it would serve as the tipping point for allowing censorship of speech in our society. While there are those who abuse the privileges of free speech on the Internet this can only lead to a dreary finish. Who is to say that the Internet is the only place where speech should be reg ulated? The government would then examine different places where they can implement restrictions and soon we may lose basic rights. Internet censorship is also contributing to creativity suppression. This creativity could potentially help the human race in the form of innovative new ideas. The Internet forms parallels to the enlightenment era of the 18th century. A big advancement back then was the new coffee shops where a person could pay a penny for a cup of coffee and sit down with other fine gentlemen. This was an interesting time because now a person could be around those of higher intelligence and imbibe the discussions concerning things like the natural sciences and philosophy. This era managed to reform society using reason rather than tradition, faith, and revelation, which lead to an explosion of learning and inquiry. It is almost like these were the prototype for todays Internet, but instead of coffeehouses of we now have sites like Khan Academy, Facebook, and YouTube to share ideas and these sites reach an audience of millions all from the comfort of their own homes. With every social and technologica l innovation the ease and speed of human interaction increases paving the way to greater strides in innovation and thought. If we censored the things said in these cafes who knows what kind of marvelous inventions we would be without today. I could be carving this paper into a rock right now like Fred Flintstone. Nevertheless, pro censorship lobbyist are more concerned with stopping pirating and not worried about the collateral damage all this meddling will have with the people who are actually contributing useful material. The Internet, like a blossoming flower, can truly something beautiful if we allow it to be. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, â€Å"governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.† This statement is still true in today society. Since the government proposes the SOPA and PIPA bills, people were angry and frustrated. The online community bands together, and organizes the largest protest in Internet history to stopped the SOPA and PIPA bills. Numerous websites began discussion, educated its users about these bills and encouraged them to contact their representatives to stop these acts. Some websites even proposed a â€Å"internet blackout† to protest against these bills. On January 18, 2012, there are more than 100,000 websites participated in the protest. Websites participated in the black out included Reddit, Craiglist, Twitte r, Tumblr, and many more. These websites blackout its websites for 24 hours, and provided links for the users about the SOPA and PIPA bills. Google also participates in the protest as well. Google placed a censor bar over their Goodle doodle, and connected its users to page with information about SOPA and PIPA, and at the end of the day they got 4.5 millions of signatures on their petition. The protest was the huge success, the blackout lead to at least 18 senators withdrawing support of the bills. On January 24, which is the initial date the Congress would vote on these bills, the vote was postponed and the SOPA and PIPA bills are being stopped when people spoken loud and clear. This protest proved that Jefferson’s statement is still relevant to this day. Internet is the wonderful tool that we used it in everyday life, sometimes we even take it for granted. The government proposes SOPA and PIPA bills to censor the Internet, these bills are the biggest threat to the Internet freedom as we know it that’s ever existed. The online community came together and successfully stopped the bills. The Reluctant Fundamentalist | Analysis The Reluctant Fundamentalist | Analysis The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Mohsin Hamid, young celebrated writer who had very intricately woven the story around a young Pakistani, Changez, who faces a post 9/11 situation in the United States. The novel is his monologue: a quietly told, cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America, set on the deceitful fault lines of east/west relations, and finely tuned to the ironies of prejudice and misrepresentation. This gives an insight into the post 9/11 scenario and what the Muslims had to face in the United States. It is a deeply provocative, excellent addition to the post September 11 novels. But it would be an understatement to merely term it that. The novel is rich in irony and intelligence. It is beautifully written and superbly constructed. It is more exciting than any thriller Ive read since long, as well as being a subtle and elegant analysis of the state of our world today. It seems that Mohsin Hamid would have us understand the novels title ironically. It has a double meaning likewise the title has one person with two different personas. We are provoked to question whether every critic of America in a Muslim country should be labeled a fundamentalist, or whether the term more accurately describes the capitalists of the American upper class. Yet these queries seem blunter and less interesting than the novel itself, in which the fundamentalist, and potential assassin, may be sitting on either side of the table. Even at the end of the novel the writer closes with the narration, He writes: I hope you will not resist my attempt to shake you by the hand. But why are you reaching into your jacket, Sir? Therefore, it can be gauged that the American even after all the hospitality does not shrug off the suspicion he had in the beginning. The writer starts the sentence in the second line which is self explanatory of the perception of Muslims in the United States post 9/11. It says: Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. Throughout the novel we will come across instances where the writer tries to establish how the Americans perceive the Muslim world no matter how and what their contributions and emotions have been towards The United States. Authors Background: This book is written by Mohsin Hamid, born in 1971 in Lahore. After studying at Princeton and Harvard Law, he worked in New York and London, first as a management consultant with McKinsey and then as managing director of Wolff Olins. He now lives and writes in Lahore. His first novel, Moth Smoke- 2000, dealt with sex, drugs, and class conflict in 1990s urban Pakistan. It inquires the reader to judge the trial of an ex-banker and heroin addict who has fallen for his best friends wife. Moth Smoke became a cult hit in Pakistan. It was also the winner of a Betty Trask Award and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. This second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist -2007, explored the fear and suspicion that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In it an American, encounters a bearded Pakistani who has left behind a high-flying career and love affair in New York. The novel became an international bestseller, won numerous awards, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Mohsin also writes essays and journalism for the Guardian, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Dawn, La Repubica, and other publications. Mohsin Hamid started writing the novel in 2000 before even 9/11 struck and then after it stuck he weaved the story around the same man Changez who went to study in America and built it in the aftermath of the fall of the twin towers. Because the writer has been living in the United States and also studied at the same institutes that he has mentioned therefore there is a likelihood that his personal observations would have come into play too. Target Audience: The audience that the writer caters is general public. The fall of the twin towers in the United States shook the world and a war was inflicted in the name of War on Terror bringing Muslims under its crunch. Therefore this book especially focuses on the youth, as the post 9/11 situation affected mostly the young working and studying in the US. Summary: The novel begins a few years after 9/11. Mohsin Hamid has very intricately woven the story around a young bearded man, Changez who happens upon the American in Lahore, invites him to tea and tells him the story of his life in the months just before and after the attacks. In 2001, as he explains, Changez was hardly a radical, as he now appears, not from within, but from without. That monologue is the substance of Hamids graceful and unnerving novel. Fresh out of Princeton, Changez was living in New York City and working as a Financial Analyst. At Princeton he was one of only two Pakistanis in his class who did exceptionally well there: I reached my senior year without having received a single B. The man who hires him is also something like a mentor: Jim is an American who rose from poor circumstances to become a very successful man, and he sees a similar hunger in Changez, though Changez doesnt think they are that similar. The fundamental motivation is slightly different: I did not grow up in poverty. But I did. His indoctrination, however, was never total. Starting with his job interview at Underwood Samson to a post-graduation trip to Greece with friends from Princeton, Changez maintains an outsiders double perspective. On the trip he is infatuated with Erica, one of the other travelers, but is also bothered by his rich friends extravagance and the arrogance with which they give orders to anyone theyve paid for a service: I found myself wondering by what peculiarity of human history my companions many of whom I would have regarded as upstarts in my own country, so devoid of refinement were they were in a position to conduct themselves in the world as though they were its ruling class. Yet even as he recognizes the shortcoming of that ruling class, Changez, who comes from a high-status family, moving downwardly, also aspires to join it. Given his oft-mentioned phenomenal aptitude for his new job and a talent for winning over other people, that goal seems all but guaranteed. Has he sacrificed his identity in pursuit of his status? Is he an ignorant master or a shrewd subaltern? Changez has already begun to ask himself these questions when he sees the towers fall. And in the wake of the attacks, as tensions escalate between India and Pakistan, and the United States is caught up in patriotic displays that strike Changez as a dangerous form of nostalgia, he loses interest in his work. Assigned to help appraise a publishing company in Valparaiso, Chile, he spends his time visiting Nerudas house and lunching with the publisher, who compares Changez to a janissary one of the Christian youths captured and then conscripted by the Ottomans, compelled to do battle against their own civilization. He appears to hide himself and his emotions completely, until his reaction to the attacks through the sudden smile, pierces the shell. It seems to have come as a surprise even to him and while hardly endearing, it sets his tale in motion. Changez has a particular way with words, especially regarding the American. Rather than stating the obvious, he offers a more agreeable alternative one that permits both him and the American to continue their pretense. And that it is a charade right from the beginning. Come, tell me, what were you looking for? Surely, at this time of day, only one thing could have brought you to the district of Old Anarkali and that is the quest for the perfect cup of tea. Have I guessed correctly? In the last lines of the 1st page the writer pens the American mindset, he writes: You prefer that seat with your back so close to the wall? He then adds satirically explaining to the American that the Pakistanis are not all terrorists and to be feared: You would have been surprised by the sweetness of his (Waiters) speech, if only you understood Urdu. Mohsin Hamid also talks about the dilemmas of the Pakistani society and narrates: Status in any traditional, class conscious society declines more slowly than wealth. He also talks about the suspicion with which the Americans view the Pakistanis, he tells him that the food is not poisoned and therefore offers an exchange of tea cups also to shrug all suspicions. The writer continues reflecting on the American mind and how they view the Muslims and adds to the tale: The American says: Although I like Pakistanis but the elite has raped that place well and good, right? And fundamentalism, you guys have some serious problem with fundamentalism. The writer through the mind of Changez feels bridled but accepts that there was nothing overtly objectionable in what he said. But the offence that he took made him restrict his response to Yes there are challenges but my family is there and I can assure you it is not as bad as that. Readers may be led to believe that the conversation over tea and dinner is merely a framing device, and that the true heart of the novel is the life-story Changez recounts, but that narrative is interrupted too often. Changezs life-story holds clues to what brings these two men together here for what is surely meant to be a fateful encounter which the writer pulls that off to some extent. Two things follow the turning point in the novel: Changez begins his introspection about Americas hegemony and power and the city he had embraced with such joy only a few months before begins to view him with mistrust and suspicion as the public mood and climate change. Changezs life begins to unravel quickly. Erica slips away from him, is confined to a mental asylum and eventually disappears. He is fired from his job. He returns to Lahore, bitter and disillusioned about the United States, and begins to teach at a university. His exposition of US behavior in its grief-crazed, wounded state offers a sort of postscript to this novel. As a society, you retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world Such an America had to be stopped in the interests not only of the rest of humanity but also in your own. Changez does not let on exactly what he does to stop America once he is back in Pakistan though he admits that is his mission. Hamid keeps the ending of the novel open and faintly ominous. It is hard to tell how reliable a narrator Changez is. Analysis: Mohsin Hamid is a young celebrated writer. A less sophisticated author might have told a short narrative of an immigrants experiences of discrimination and ignorance. But Hamids novel is distinguished by its portrayal of Changezs class aspirations and inner struggle. For, to be an American is to view the world in a certain way. Ericas obsession with the past engineered to dovetail with Americas nostalgia and with Changezs yearning for a lost Lahore while her disappearance neatly parallels his departure from America. Hamid, who himself attended Princeton and worked in corporate America, aptly captures the ethos and hypocrisies truly and intricately. We never learn the American mans identity, yet Changez regularly interrupts the story to address him. Perhaps he had been pursuing Changez, who has become a leader of anti-American protests. Apparently, the man is on a mission and he may be carrying a weapon, as indicated in the last lines. The use of monologue in The Reluctant Fundamentalist allows the writer intimate access to his central characters mind. Not without its limitations, monologue is used here with great effectiveness, particularly in helping to build suspense. Changezs tone, which is sometimes exaggeratedly polite, sometimes darkly menacing, is laced with the bitter irony. The precise, rather classical orchestration of symmetries and reciprocities is both a strength and a weakness in the book. It fosters the kind of concentratedly astute cultural observation at which Hamid excels. At frequent intervals the narrative executes a nice flourish in the form of some densely symbolic image or succinct remark. Changez meaningfully summarizes, for instance, the experience of every happy Manhattan transplant when he declares: I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker. Conclusion: The nature of fiction here is closer to reality. The east/west scenario, the discovery of ones patriotism and a morally superior set of values leaves Changez with a sense of decision to leave the United States in the wake of September 11 attacks. He, therefore becomes a potentially fascinating character, what his creator would have intended. This is undoubtedly a great novel written out of the anguished material of these kinds of east/west encounters. This book and its author (who won a Betty Trask award for his first novel, Moth Smoke) certainly has the potential to produce more world class novels. It gives an insight into the American mind and how the world in a post 9/11 circumstances view the Muslims. It also enhances feelings of patriotism when the other partys intentions become evident. My critical analysis of The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a testament to its genuinely provocative nature, and it remains, at the very least, an intelligent, highly engaging piece of work.