Comparison critique of 2 famous speeches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparison critique of 2 famous speeches - Essay Example In Kennedy’s address, he used both ethos and pathos to convince the audience that under his leadership significant ties that allegedly bind the country to other foreign governments would continue through his offer and pledges of loyalty, hope, good deed, and a call for peace. They both exuded the air of confidence during the whole duration of the speech and assuming ample preparedness prior to the delivery. Though both were glancing at some previously prepared notes on the speech, it was clearly evident that they knew most of the contents of the speech and frequent glancing was enough to ensure that the delivery flowed perfectly and effectively. Their appearances were both sublime and very professional; donning formal suits with respective neckties and hair perfectly groomed. Likewise, both employed sustaining a particular tone that uses emphasis and clarity in pronunciation, diction and use of flawless grammar. Both speakers, during their course of delivery, were intermittent ly applauded by the audience, to signify conformity and approval to their points of assertions. Both Reagan and Kennedy knew the effective use of body language that employs glancing at the audience, looking at them through their eyes, briefly glancing on their notes, changing their facial focus to the right, the middle and the left portion of the audience, and using the appropriate tone and marks of emphasis, as needed. Likewise, in terms of audience orientation, it was evident in both speeches that the audience impact and appeal were both positive. Intermittent claps were heard, especially when the speakers noted some relevant arguments that were appropriately supported; or when figurative languages were used. The fact that these speakers were the ones who delivered the speeches resulted in an enhanced credibility and audience appeal. If the speech were delivered by somebody else, it could have significantly affected audience impact, depending on the person’s character, the manner of delivery, air of confidence, and manifested authority, among others. Concurrently, there were disparities between the delivery, style, and focus or thrusts of these two speeches. In Reagan’s speech, he did not begin the speech by acknowledging the presence of personalities who were present; unlike Kennedy’s speech which begun with acknowledging the following: â€Å"Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens† (John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address par. 1). Reagan’s introduction was simply to acknowledge gratitude from the audience by repeatedly saying â€Å"Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you and good evening† (A TIME FOR CHOOSING (The Speech – October 27, 1964) par. 1). Likewise, the speed of Reagan’s speech was faster, as compared to the slower paced and significantly rehearsed pacing by Kennedy. The total number of words

Effective Approaches to Leadership Essay Example for Free

Effective Approaches to Leadership Essay There is talk that the nursing shortage is over, but the facts show that there is a substantial nursing shortage which is projected to intensify over the next several years. This fact alone will increase the demand on the remaining nurses leading to nurse burn out and increased turnover rates. Nurses are the largest group of health care professionals in America, but the majority of the nurses are close to retirement age (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010). This paper will address the issue of nursing shortage, nurse turnover and how nurse leaders and managers are approaching these issues, along with the personal and professional philosophy of nursing of the author of this paper. There are many reasons why a nursing shortage exists, and why it is only going to get worse over the next several years. The median age of the nursing workforce is 46 years of age and almost 50 percent of all nurses are close to retirement, which will substantially impact the nursing shortage (American Nurses Association, 2013). The Affordable Care Act of 2010 ensures that every American have access to affordable health care (U. S. Department of Health Human Services, 2013). This places an additional demand for nurses, and further increases the shortage. The results of the advances in medicine has increased the average life span, increasing the number of people living with chronic illness, and also increasing patient acuity levels which in turn increases the demand for advanced educated practioners. Nursing colleges and universities across the county are struggling to expand their enrollment levels in order to meet the rising demand for nursing care (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2012). Reductions in nursing budgets together with the growing nursing shortage has resulted in nurses working more, taking care of sicker patients and at risk for making mistakes. This further complicates the nursing shortage as this type of environment only drives the current nursing force away from the bedside. The current Registered Nurse turnover rate is 14% (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2012). One incentive that management and leadership nurses should be aspiring to is Magnet Status. The American Nurses Association in 1990 developed the Magnet status in an effort to reward hospitals that attract and retain nurses who demonstrate excellence in nursing practice (American Nurses Credentialing Center, 2013).

Latar Belakang :: Foreign Language Essays

Latar Belakang Kasus pembobolan Bank BNI menjadi isu yang mengejutkan masyarakat Indonesia di akhir tahun 2003, dimana Bank BNI mengalami kerugian sebesar Rp 1,7 triliun yang diduga terjadi karena adanya transaksi ekspor fiktif melalui surat Letter of Credit (disingkat L/C). Kasus ini menjadi fenomenal karena selain merugikan keuangan Bank BNI tetapi juga berimbas pada keuangan negara secara makro. A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Profil Singkat Bank BNI Bank BNI didirikan pada tahun 1946. Perusahaan publik ini mayoritas sahamnya dimiliki oleh Pemerintah Republik Indonesia. Bank BNI merupakan bank terbesar nomor 3 di Indonesia setelah Bank Mandiri dan BCA dengan total aset pada tahun 2003 sebesar IDR. 131,49 triliun. Visi Menjadi Bank kebanggaan nasional yang unggul dalam layanan dan kinerja Misi Memaksimalkan stakeholder value dengan menyediakan solusi keuangan yang fokus pada segmen pasar korporasi, komersial dan konsumer Budaya Perusahaan 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BNI adalah bank umum berstatus perusahaan publik. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BNI berorientasi kepada pasar dan pembangunan nasional. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BNI secara terus menerus membina hubungan yang saling menguntungkan dengan nasabah dan mitra usaha. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BNI mengakui peranan dan menghargai kepentingan pegawai. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BNI mengupayakan terciptanya semangat kebersamaan agar pegawai melaksanakan tugas dan kewajiban secara profesional. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ringkasan Kasus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Awal terbongkarnya kasus menghebohkan ini tatkala BNI melakukan audit internal pada bulan Agustus 2003. Dari audit itu diketahui bahwa ada posisi euro yang gila-gilaan besarnya, senilai 52 juta euro. Pergerakan posisi euro dalam jumlah besar mencurigakan karena peredaran euro di Indonesia terbatas dan kinerja euro yang sedang baik pada saat itu. Dari audit akhirnya diketahui ada pembukaan L/C yang amat besar dan negara bakal rugi lebih satu triliun rupiah. Penjelasan mengenai L/C fiktif BNI tersebut adalah sebagai berikut : -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Waktu kejadian : Juli 2002 s/d Agustus 2003 -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Opening Bank : Rosbank Switzerland, Dubai Bank Kenya Ltd, The Wall Street Banking Corp, dan Middle East Bank Kenya Ltd. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total Nilai L/C : USD.166,79 juta & EUR 56,77 juta atau sekitar Rp. 1,7 trilyun -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beneficiary/Penerima L/C : 11 perusahaan dibawah Gramarindo Group dan 2 perusahaan dibawah Petindo Group -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Barang Ekspor : Pasir Kuarsa dan Minyak Residu -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tujuan Ekspor : Congo dan Kenya -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skim : Usance L/C Kronologi : 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bank BNI Cabang Kebayoran Baru menerima 156 buah L/C dengan Issuing Bank : Rosbank Switzerland, Dubai Bank Kenya Ltd, The Wall Street Banking Corp, dan Middle East Bank Kenya Ltd. Oleh karena BNI belum mempunyai hubungan koresponden langsung dengan sebagian bank tersebut di atas, mereka memakai bank mediator yaitu American Express Bank dan Standard Chartered Bank. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beneficiary mengajukan permohonan diskonto wesel ekspor berjangka (kredit ekspor) atas L/C-L/C tersebut di atas kepada BNI dan disetujui oleh pihak BNI.

Influences on Belizean Youths

Influences on Belizean Youths As we the year passes by it is less common to see any youth showing how proud they are of their culture by dressing and practicing the aspects that their culture represents. It is more common to see the influences that other countries have brought into our country and which have caused a cultural erasure especially in the lives of us the young one. However, society tends to see these changes and take in mind as it doesn’t affect our origins and from where we initiated. Presently today it is very rare to see any youth dressing according to their culture, listening to cultural music and eating cultural food that once used to be the delicacy and cuisine of Belize. For the way of dressing of the youths in Belize, there is more skinny jeans and miniskirts than garifuna headbands and maya mipils. The clothing used here in our country has been influenced by the clothing weared in the United States or other foreign countries. It is visible anywhere because the only ones wearing cultural dressings are the elderly who live in villages but rarely anyone living in towns and in the city. At school you can see that every youth will be dressing fashion according to other societies of the foreign. Now a day’s young girls and boys only speak about Emporio Armani and E- hardy. At stores you can see that there are only important clothing brands on sale of which the designers are foreign and very famous. Music plays an important role for a young adult because that is the way they identify themselves. In this generation most youngsters will listen to hip-hop, rap, regeaton, rock, reage, etc. but for sure never any Rancheras. The closest cultural music found in our country is Punta. Closest I say because today Punta has been mixed with foreign music in order to form Punta rock. The present artists in our country would be Supa-G, Gilhary 7 and Youth Connection Band, which all of them base their music in Punta. Also the influence of music can be seen in our same Belizean arists. Those who participate in Duets and K-TV Latino would only perform foreign songs and never any cultural presentation. It is sadly that our most famous artist, Andy Palacio, who stuck to his culture and sang in Garifuna his Punta songs, has passed away. Will there be any other who would want to follow Andy’s example? Even the food here in Belize has changed as the years passes by. The influences in Belizean diets comes from England, the US and Mexico especially for the youths. At school you can see that students prefer to buy food that is not Belizean such as enchiladas and quesadillas. The most common Belizean cousin that has not lost popularity in our country is the rice and beans although some still prefer Chinese burger or fry chicken. It is true that foreign cousins have a delicious flavor and are very appetizing but so is the food prepared that once our elderly used to cook for us, being 100% Belizean. Belize is a very beautiful home land for us Belizeans and we should appreciate such heritage given to us by our ethnic groups. It is very clear that our culture is being left behind and that the influences of other countries are impacting our youths. The way they dress, the music they listen to and the food they eat all can be seen that there is foreign influence. Belizean youth must not forget that they form part of an ethnic group and that they represent the future of Belize so if they forget their origins so will Belizean history.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Another day spent wandering the city with the angel, another dream of the woman standing at the foot of my bed, and I awoke finally – after all these years – to understand what Joshua must have felt, at least at times, as the only one of his kind. I know he said again and again that he was the son of man, born of a woman, one of us, but it was the paternal part of his heritage that made him different. Now, since I'm fairly sure I am the only person walking the earth who was doing so two thousand years ago, I have an acute sense of what it is to be unique, to be the one and only. It's lonely. That's why Joshua went into those mountains so often, and stayed so long in the company of the creature. Last night I dreamed that the angel was talking to someone in the room while I slept. In the dream I heard him say, â€Å"Maybe it would be best just to kill him when he finishes. Snap his neck, shove him into a storm sewer.† Strange, though, there wasn't the least bit of malice in the angel's voice. On the contrary, he sounded very forlorn. That's how I know it was a dream. I never thought I'd be happy to get back to the monastery, but after trudging through the snow for half the day, the dank stone walls and dark hallways were as welcoming as a warmly lit hearth. Half of the rice we had collected as alms was immediately boiled, then packed into bamboo cylinders about a hand wide and as long as a man's leg, then half of the root vegetables were stored away while the rest were packed into satchels along with some salt and more bamboo cylinders filled with cold tea. We had just enough time to chase the chill out of our limbs by the cook fires, then Gaspar had us take up the cylinders and the satchels and he led us out into the mountains. I had never noticed when the other monks left on the pilgrimage of secret meditation that they were carrying so much food. And with all this food, much more than we could eat in the four or five days we were gone, why had Joshua and I been training for this by fasting? Traveling higher into the mountains was actually easier for a while, as the snow had been blown off the trail. It was when we came to the high plateaus where the yak grazed and the snow drifted that the going became difficult. We took turns at the head of the line, plowing a trail through the snow. As we climbed, the air became so thin that even the highly conditioned monks had to stop frequently to catch their breaths. At the same time, the wind bit through our robes and leggings as if they weren't there. That there was not enough air to breathe, yet the movement of the air would chill our bones, I suppose is ironic, yet I was having a hard time appreciating it even then. I said, â€Å"Why couldn't you just go to the rabbis and learn to be the Messiah like everyone else? Do you remember any snow in the story of Moses? No. Did the Lord appear to Moses in the form of a snow bank? I don't think so. Did Elijah ascend to heaven on a chariot of ice? Nope. Did Daniel come forth unharmed from a blizzard? No. Our people are about fire, Joshua, not ice. I don't remember any snow in all of the Torah. The Lord probably doesn't even go to places where it snows. This is a huge mistake, we never should have come, we should go home as soon as this is over, and in conclusion, I can't feel my feet.† I was out of breath and wheezing. â€Å"Daniel didn't come forth from the fire,† Joshua said calmly. â€Å"Well, who can blame him, it was probably warm in there.† â€Å"He came forth unharmed from the lion's den,† said Josh. â€Å"Here,† said Gaspar, stopping any further discussion. He put down his parcels and sat down. â€Å"Where?† I said. We were under a low overhang, out of the wind, and mostly out of the snow, but it was hardly what you could call shelter. Still, the other monks, including Joshua, shed their packs and sat, affecting the meditation posture and holding their hands in the mudra of all-giving compassion (which, strangely enough, is the same hand gesture that modern people use for â€Å"okay.† Makes you think). â€Å"We can't be here. There's no here here,† I said. â€Å"Exactly,† said Gaspar. â€Å"Contemplate that.† So I sat. Joshua and the others seemed impervious to the cold and as frost formed on my eyelashes and clothing, the light dusting of ice crystals that covered the ground and rocks around each of them began to melt, as if there was a flame burning inside of them. Whenever the wind died, I noticed steam rising off of Gaspar as his damp robe gave up its moisture to the chill air. When Joshua and I first learned to meditate, we had been taught to be hyperaware of everything around us, connected, but the state that my fellow monks were in now was one of trance, of separation, of exclusion. They had each constructed some sort of mental shelter in which they were happily sitting, while I, quite literally, was freezing to death. â€Å"Joshua, I need a little help here,† I said, but my friend didn't move a muscle. If it weren't for the steady stream of his breath I would have thought him frozen himself. I tapped him on the shoulder, but received no response whatsoever. I tried to get the attention of each of the other four monks, but they too gave no reaction to my prodding. I even pushed Gaspar hard enough to knock him over, yet he stayed in the sitting position, looking like a statue of the Buddha that had tumbled from its pedestal. Still, as I touched each of my companions I could feel the heat coming off of him. Since it was obvious that I wasn't going to learn how to reach this trance state in time to save my own life, my only alternative was to take advantage of theirs. At first I arranged the monks in a large pile, trying to keep the elbows and knees out of the eyes and yarbles, out of respect and in the spirit of the infinitely compassionate Buddha and stuff. Although the warmth coming off them was impressive, I found that I could only keep one side of me warm at a time. Soon, by arranging my friends in a circle facing outward, and sitting in the middle, I was able to construct an envelope of comfort that kept the chill at bay. Ideally, I could have used a couple of more monks to stretch over the top of my hut to block the wind, but as the Buddha said, life is suffering and all, so I suffered. After I heated some tea on Number Seven monk's head and tucked one of the cylinders of rice under Gaspar's arm until it was warm, I was able to enjoy a pleasant repast and dropped off to sleep with a full belly. I awoke to what sounded like the entire Roman army trying to slurp the anchovies out of the Mediterranean Sea. When I opened my eyes I saw the source of the noise and nearly tumbled over backward trying to back away. A huge, furry creature, half again as tall as any man I had ever seen was trying to slurp the tea out of one of the bamboo cylinders, but the tea had frozen to slush and the creature looked as if he might suck the top of his head in if he continued. Yes, he looked sort of like a man, except his entire body was covered with a long white fur. His eyes were as large as a cow's, with crystal blue irises and pinpoint pupils. Thick black eyelashes knitted together when he blinked. He had long black nails on his hands, which were similar to a man's except twice the size, and the only clothing he wore at all were some sort of boots that looked to be made of yak skin. The impressive array of tackle swinging between the creature's legs tipped me off to his maleness. I looked around at the circle of monks to see if anyone had noticed that our supplies were being raided by a woolly beast, but they were all deeply entranced. The creature slurped again from the cylinder, then pounded on the side of it with his hand, as if to dislodge the contents, then looked at me as if asking for help. Whatever terror I felt melted away the second I looked into the creature's eyes. There wasn't the hint of aggression there, not a glint of violence or threat. I picked up the cylinder of tea that I had heated on Number Three's head. It sloshed in my hand, indicating that it hadn't frozen during my nap, so I held it out to the creature. He reached over Joshua's head and took the cylinder, pulled the cork from the end, and drank greedily. I took the moment to kick my friend in the kidney. â€Å"Josh, snap out of it. You need to see this.† I got no response, so I reached around and pinched my friend's nostrils shut. To master meditation the student must first master his breath. The savior made a snorting sound and came out of his trance gasping and twisting in my grip. He was facing me when I finally let go. â€Å"What?† Josh said. I pointed behind him and Joshua turned around to witness the full glory of the big furry white guy. â€Å"Holy moly!† Big Furry jumped back cradling his tea like a threatened infant and made some vocalization which wasn't quite language. (But if it had been, it would probably have translated as â€Å"Holy Moly,† as well.) It was nice to see Joshua's masterful control slip to reveal a vulnerable underbelly of confusion. â€Å"What†¦I mean who†¦I mean, what is that?† â€Å"Not a Jew,† I said helpfully, pointing to about a yard of foreskin. â€Å"Well, I can see it's not a Jew, but that doesn't narrow it down much, does it?† Strangely, I seemed to be enjoying this much more than my two semi-terrified cohorts. â€Å"Well, do you remember when Gaspar gave us the rules of the monastery, and we wondered about the one that said we were not to kill a human or someone like a human?† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, he's someone like a human, I guess.† â€Å"Okay.† Joshua climbed to his feet and looked at Big Furry. Big Furry straightened up and looked at Joshua, tilting his head from side to side. Joshua smiled. Big Furry smiled back. Black lips, really long sharp canines. â€Å"Big teeth,† I said. â€Å"Very big teeth.† Joshua held his hand out to the creature. The creature reached out to Joshua and ever so gently took the Messiah's smaller hand in his great paw†¦and wrenched Joshua off his feet, catching him in a hug and squeezing him so hard that his beatific eyes started to bug out. â€Å"Help,† squeaked Joshua. The creature licked the top of Joshua's head with a long blue tongue. â€Å"He likes you,† I said. â€Å"He's tasting me,† Joshua said. I thought of how my friend had fearlessly yanked the tail of the demon Catch, of how he had faced so many dangers with total calm. I thought of the times he had saved me, both from outside dangers and from myself, and I thought of the kindness in his eyes that ran deeper than sea, and I said: â€Å"Naw, he likes you.† I thought I'd try another language to see if the creature might better comprehend my meaning: â€Å"You like Joshua, don't you? Yes you do. Yes you do. He wuvs his widdle Joshua. Yes he does.† Baby talk is the universal language. The words are different, but the meaning and sound is the same. The creature nuzzled Joshua up under its chin, then licked his head again, this time leaving a steaming trail of green-tea-stained saliva behind on my friend's scalp. â€Å"Yuck,† said Joshua. â€Å"What is this thing?† â€Å"It's a yeti,† said Gaspar from behind me, obviously having been roused from his trance. â€Å"An abominable snowman.† â€Å"This is what happens when you fuck a sheep!?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Not an abomination,† Josh said, â€Å"abominable.† The yeti licked him on the cheek. Joshua tried to push away. To Gaspar he said, â€Å"Am I in danger?† Gaspar shrugged. â€Å"Does a dog have a Buddha nature?† â€Å"Please, Gaspar,† Joshua said. â€Å"This is a question of practical application, not spiritual growth.† The yeti sighed and licked Josh's cheek again. I guessed that the creature must have a tongue as rough as a cat's, as Joshua's cheek was going pink with abrasion. â€Å"Turn the other cheek, Josh,† I said. â€Å"Let him wear the other one out.† â€Å"I'm going to remember this,† Joshua said. â€Å"Gaspar, will he harm me?† â€Å"I don't know. No one has ever gotten that close to him before. Usually he comes while we are in trance and disappears with the food. We are lucky to even get a glimpse of him.† â€Å"Put me down, please,† said Josh to the creature. â€Å"Please put me down.† The yeti set Joshua back on his feet on the ground. By this time the other monks were coming out of their trances. Number Seventeen squealed like a frying squirrel when he saw the yeti so close. The yeti crouched and bared his teeth. â€Å"Stop that!† barked Joshua to Seventeen. â€Å"You're scaring him.† â€Å"Give him some rice,† said Gaspar. I took the cylinder I had warmed and handed it to the yeti. He popped off the top and began scooping out rice with a long finger, licking the grains off his fingers like they were termites about to make their escape. Meanwhile Joshua backed away from the yeti so that he stood beside Gaspar. â€Å"This is why you come here? Why after alms you carry so much food up the mountain?† Gaspar nodded. â€Å"He's the last of his kind. He has no one to help him gather food. No one to talk to.† â€Å"But what is he? What is a yeti?† â€Å"We like to think of him as a gift. He is a vision of one of the many lives a man might live before he reaches nirvana. We believe he is as close to a perfect being as can be achieved on this plane of existence.† â€Å"How do you know he is the only one?† â€Å"He told me.† â€Å"He talks?† â€Å"No, he sings. Wait.† As we watched the yeti eat, each of the monks came forward and put his cylinders of food and tea in front of the creature. The yeti looked up from his eating only occasionally, as if his whole universe resided in that bamboo pipe full of rice, yet I could tell that behind those ice-blue eyes the creature was counting, figuring, rationing the supplies we had brought. â€Å"Where does he live?† I asked Gaspar. â€Å"We don't know. A cave somewhere, I suppose. He has never taken us there, and we don't look for it.† Once all the food was put before the yeti, Gaspar signaled to the other monks and they started backing out from under the overhang into the snow, bowing to the yeti as they went. â€Å"It is time for us to go,† Gaspar said. â€Å"He doesn't want our company.† Joshua and I followed our fellow monks back into the snow, following a path they were blazing back the way we had come. The yeti watched us leave, and every time I looked back he was still watching, until we were far enough away that he became little more than an outline against the white of the mountain. When at last we climbed out of the valley, and even the great sheltering overhang was out of sight, we heard the yeti's song. Nothing, not even the blowing of the ram's horn back home, not the war cries of bandits, not the singing of mourners, nothing I had ever heard had reached inside of me the way the yeti's song did. It was a high wailing, but with stops and pulses like the muted sound of a heart beating, and it carried all through the valley. The yeti held his keening notes far longer than any human breath could sustain. The effect was as if someone was emptying a huge cask of sadness down my throat until I thought I'd collapse or explode with the grief. It was the sound of a t housand hungry children crying, ten thousand widows tearing their hair over their husbands' graves, a chorus of angels singing the last dirge on the day of God's death. I covered my ears and fell to my knees in the snow. I looked at Joshua and tears were streaming down his cheeks. The other monks were hunched over as if shielding themselves from a hailstorm. Gaspar cringed as he looked at us, and I could see then that he was, indeed, a very old man. Not as old as Balthasar, perhaps, but the face of suffering was upon him. â€Å"So you see,† the abbot said, â€Å"he is the only one of his kind. Alone.† You didn't have to understand the yeti's language, if he had one, to know that Gaspar was right. â€Å"No he's not,† said Joshua. â€Å"I'm going to him.† Gaspar took Joshua's arm to stop him. â€Å"Everything is as it should be.† â€Å"No,† said Joshua. â€Å"It is not.† Gaspar pulled his hand back as if he had plunged it into a flame – a strange reaction, as I had actually seen the monk put his hand in flame with less reaction as part of the kung fu regimen. â€Å"Let him be,† I said to Gaspar, not sure at the time why I was doing it. Joshua headed back into the valley by himself, having not said another word to us. â€Å"He'll be back when it's time,† I said. â€Å"What do you know?† snapped Gaspar in a distinctly unenlightened way. â€Å"You'll be working off your karma for a thousand years as a dung beetle just to evolve to the point of being dense.† I didn't say anything. I simply bowed, then turned and followed my brother monks back to the monastery. It was a week before Joshua returned to us, and it was another day before he and I actually had time to speak. We were in the dining hall, and Joshua had eaten his own rice as well as mine. In the meantime, I had applied a lot of thought to the plight of the abominable snowman and, more important, to his origins. â€Å"Do you think there were a lot of them, Josh?† â€Å"Yes. Never as many as there are men, but there were many more.† â€Å"What happened to them?† â€Å"I'm not sure. When the yeti sings I see pictures in my head. I saw that men came to these mountains and killed the yeti. They had no instinct to fight. Most just stood in place and watched as they were slaughtered. Perplexed by man's evil. Others ran higher and higher into the mountains. I think that this one had a mate and a family. They starved or died of some slow sickness. I can't tell.† â€Å"Is he a man?† â€Å"I don't think he is a man,† said Joshua. â€Å"Is he an animal?† â€Å"No, I don't think he's an animal either. He knows who he is. He knows he is the only one.† â€Å"I think I know what he is.† Joshua regarded me over the rim of his bowl. â€Å"Well?† â€Å"Well, do you remember the monkey feet Balthasar bought from the old woman in Antioch, how they looked like little human feet?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And you have to admit that the yeti looks very much like a man. More like a man than he does any other creature, right? Well, what if he is a creature who is becoming a man? What if he isn't really the last of his kind, but the first of ours? What made me think of it was how Gaspar talks about how we work off our karma in different incarnations, as different creatures. As we learn more in each lifetime we may become a higher creature as we go. Well, maybe creatures do that too. Maybe as the yeti needs to live where it is warmer he loses his fur. Or as the monkeys need to, I don't know, run cattle and sheep, they become bigger. Not all at once, but through many incarnations. Maybe creatures evolve the way Gaspar believes the soul evolves. What do you think?† Joshua stroked his chin for a moment and stared at me as if he was deep in thought, while at the same time I thought he might burst out laughing any second. I'd spent a whole week thinking about this. This theory had vexed me through all of my training, all of my meditations since we'd made the pilgrimage to the yeti's valley. I wanted some sort of acknowledgment from Joshua for my effort, if nothing else. â€Å"Biff,† he said, â€Å"that may be the dumbest idea you've ever had.† â€Å"So you don't think it's possible?† â€Å"Why would the Lord create a creature only to have it die out? Why would the Lord allow that?† Joshua said. â€Å"What about the flood? All but Noah and his family were killed.† â€Å"But that was because people had become wicked. The yeti isn't wicked. If anything, his kind have died out because they have no capacity for wickedness.† â€Å"So, you're the Son of God, you explain it to me.† â€Å"It is God's will,† said Joshua, â€Å"that the yeti disappear.† â€Å"Because they had no trace of wickedness?† I said sarcastically. â€Å"If the yeti isn't a man, then he's not a sinner either. He's innocent.† Joshua nodded, staring into his now-empty bowl. â€Å"Yes. He's innocent.† He stood and bowed to me, which was something he almost never did unless we were training. â€Å"I'm tired now, Biff. I have to sleep and pray.† â€Å"Sorry, Josh, I didn't mean to make you sad. I thought it was an interesting theory.† He smiled weakly at me, then bowed his head and shuffled off to his cell. Over the next few years Joshua spent at least a week out of every month in the mountains with the yeti, going up not only with every group after alms, but often going up into the mountains by himself for days or, in the summer, weeks at a time. He never talked about what he did while in the mountains, except, he told me, that the yeti had taken him to the cave where he lived and had shown him the bones of his people. My friend had found something with the yeti, and although I didn't have the courage to ask him, I suspect the bond he shared with the snowman was the knowledge that they were both unique creatures, nothing like either of them walked the face of the earth, and regardless of the connection each might feel with God and the universe, at that time, in that place, but for each other, they were utterly alone. Gaspar didn't forbid Joshua's pilgrimages, and indeed, he went out of his way to act as if he didn't notice when Twenty-Two Monk was gone, yet I could tell there was some unease in the abbot whenever Joshua was away. We both continued to drill on the posts, and after two years of leaping and balancing, dancing and the use of weapons were added to our routine. Joshua refused to take up any of the weapons; in fact, he refused to practice any art that would bring harm to another being. He wouldn't even mimic the action of fighting with swords and spears with a bamboo substitute. At first Gaspar bristled at Joshua's refusal, and threatened to banish him from the monastery, but when I took the abbot aside and told him the story of the archer Joshua had blinded on the way to Balthasar's fortress, the abbot relented. He and two of the older monks who had been soldiers devised for Joshua a regimen of weaponless fighting that involved no offense or striking at all, but instead channeled the energy of an attacker away from oneself. Since the new art was practiced only by Joshua (and sometimes myself), the monks called it Jew-d;, meaning the way of the Jew. In addition to learning kung fu and Jew-d;, Gaspar set us to learning to speak and write Sanskrit. Most of the holy books of Buddhism had been written in that language and had yet to be translated into Chinese, which Joshua and I had become fluent in. â€Å"This is the language of my boyhood,† Gaspar said before beginning our lessons. â€Å"You need to know this to learn the words of Gautama Buddha, but you will also need this language when you follow your dharma to your next destination.† Joshua and I looked at each other. It had been a long time since we had talked about leaving the monastery and the mention of it put us on edge. Routine feeds the illusion of safety, and if nothing else, there was routine at the monastery. â€Å"When will we leave, master?† I asked. â€Å"When it is time,† said Gaspar. â€Å"And how will we know it is time to leave?† â€Å"When the time for staying has come to an end.† â€Å"And we will know this because you will finally give us a straight and concrete answer to a question instead of being obtuse and spooky?† I asked. â€Å"Does the unhatched tadpole know the universe of the full-grown frog?† â€Å"Evidently not,† Joshua said. â€Å"Correct,† said the master. â€Å"Meditate upon it.† As Joshua and I entered the temple to begin our meditation I said, â€Å"When the time comes, and we know that the time has come for us to leave, I am going to lump up his shiny little head with a fighting staff.† â€Å"Meditate upon it,† said Josh. â€Å"I mean it. He's going to be sorry he taught me how to fight,† I said. â€Å"I'm sure of it. I'm sorry already.† â€Å"You know, he doesn't have to be the only one bopped in the noggin when noggin-boppin' time rolls around,† I said. Joshua looked at me as if I'd just awakened him from a nap. â€Å"All the time we spend meditating, what are you really doing, Biff?† â€Å"I'm meditating – sometimes – listening to the sound of the universe and stuff.† â€Å"But mostly you're just sitting there.† â€Å"I've learned to sleep with my eyes open.† â€Å"That won't help your enlightenment.† â€Å"Look, when I get to nirvana I want to be well rested.† â€Å"Don't spend a lot of time worrying about it.† â€Å"Hey, I have discipline. Through practice I've learned to cause spontaneous nocturnal emissions.† â€Å"That's an accomplishment,† the Messiah said sarcastically. â€Å"Okay, you can be snotty if you want to, but when we get back to Galilee, you walk around trying to sell your ‘love your neighbor because he is you' claptrap, and I'll offer the ‘wet dreams at will' program and we'll see who gets more followers.† Joshua grinned: â€Å"I think we'll both do better than my cousin John and his ‘hold them underwater until they agree with you' sermon.† â€Å"I haven't thought about him in years. Do you think he's still doing that?† Just then, Number Two Monk, looking very stern and unenlightened, stood and started across the temple toward us, his bamboo rod in hand. â€Å"Sorry, Josh, I'm going no-mind.† I dropped to the lotus position, formed the mudra of the compassionate Buddha with my fingers, and lickity-split was on the sitting-still road to oneness with allthatness. Despite Gaspar's veiled warning about our moving on, we again settled into a routine, this one including learning to read and write the sutras in Sanskrit, but also Joshua's time with the yeti. I had gotten so proficient in the martial arts that I could break a flagstone as thick as my hand with my head, and I could sneak up on even the most wary of the other monks, flick him on the ear, and be back in lotus position before he could spin to snatch the still-beating heart from my chest. (Actually, no one was really sure if anyone could do that. Every day Number Three Monk would declare it time for the â€Å"snatching the still-beating heart from the chest† drill, and every day he would ask for volunteers. After a brief wait, when no one volunteered, we'd move onto the next drill, usually the â€Å"maiming a guy with a fan† drill. Everyone wondered if Number Three could really do it, but no one wanted to ask. We knew how Buddhist monks liked to teach. One minute you're cu rious, the next a bald guy is holding a bloody piece of pulsating meat in your face and you're wondering why the sudden draft in the thorax area of your robe. No thanks, we didn't need to know that badly.) Meanwhile, Joshua became so adept at avoiding blows that it was as if he'd become invisible again. Even the best fighting monks, of whom I was not one, had trouble laying a hand on my friend, and often they ended up flat on their backs on the flagstones for their trouble. Joshua seemed his happiest during these exercises, often laughing out loud as he narrowly dodged the thrust of a sword that would have taken his eye. Sometimes he would take the spear away from Number Three, only to bow and present it to him with a grin, as if the grizzled old soldier had dropped it instead of having it finessed from his grip. When Gaspar witnessed these displays he would leave the courtyard shaking his head and mumbling something about ego, leaving the rest of us to collapse into paroxysms of laughter at the abbot's expense. Even Numbers Two and Three, who were normally the strict disciplinarians, managed to mine a few smiles from their ever-so furrowed brows. It was a good time for Joshua. Meditat ion, prayer, exercise, and time with the yeti seemed to have helped him to let go of the colossal burden he'd been given to carry. For the first time he seemed truly happy, so I was stunned the day my friend entered the courtyard with tears streaming down his cheeks. I dropped the spear I was drilling with and ran to him. â€Å"Joshua?† â€Å"He's dead,† Joshua said. I embraced him and he collapsed into my arms sobbing. He was wearing wool leggings and boots, so I knew immediately that he'd just returned from one of his visits into the mountains. â€Å"A piece of ice fell from over his cave. I found him under it. Crushed. He was frozen solid.† â€Å"So you couldn't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua pushed me back and held me by the shoulders. â€Å"That's just it. I wasn't there in time. I not only couldn't save him, I wasn't even there to comfort him.† â€Å"Yes you were,† I said. Joshua dug his fingers into my shoulders and shook me as if I was hysterical and he was trying to get my attention, then suddenly he let go of me and shrugged. â€Å"I'm going to the temple to pray.† â€Å"I'll join you soon. Fifteen and I have three more movements to practice.† My sparring partner waited patiently at the edge of the courtyard, spear in hand, watching. Joshua got almost to the doors before he turned. â€Å"Do you know the difference between praying and meditating, Biff?† I shook my head. â€Å"Praying is talking to God. Meditating is listening. I've spent most of these last six years listening. Do you know what I've heard?† Again I said nothing. â€Å"Not a single thing, Biff. Now I have some things I want to say.† â€Å"I'm sorry about your friend,† I said. â€Å"I know.† He turned and started inside. â€Å"Josh,† I called. He paused and looked over his shoulder at me. â€Å"I won't let that happen to you, you know that, right?† â€Å"I know,† he said, then he went inside to give his father a divine ass-chewing. The next morning Gaspar summoned us to the tea room. The abbot looked as if he had not slept in days and whatever his age, he was carrying a century of misery in his eyes. â€Å"Sit,† he said, and we did. â€Å"The old man of the mountain is dead.† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"That's what I called the yeti, the old man of the mountain. He has passed on to his next life and it is time for you to go.† Joshua said nothing, but sat with his hands folded in his lap, staring at the table. â€Å"What does one have to do with the other?† I asked. â€Å"Why should we leave because the yeti has died? We didn't know he even existed until we had been here for two years.† â€Å"But I did,† said Gaspar. I felt a heat rising in my face – I'm sure that my scalp and ears must have flushed, because Gaspar scoffed at me. â€Å"There is nothing else here for you. There was nothing here for you from the beginning. I would not have allowed you to stay if you weren't Joshua's friend.† It was the first time he'd used either of our names since we'd arrived at the monastery. â€Å"Number Four will meet you at the gate. He has the possessions you arrived with, as well as some food for your journey.† â€Å"We can't go home,† Joshua said at last. â€Å"I don't know enough yet.† â€Å"No,† said Gaspar, â€Å"I suspect that you don't. But you know all that you will learn here. If you come to a river and find a boat at the edge, you will use that boat to cross and it will serve you well, but once across the river, do you put the boat on your shoulders and carry it with you on the rest of your journey?† â€Å"How big is the boat?† I asked. â€Å"What color is the boat?† asked Joshua. â€Å"How far is the rest of the journey?† I queried. â€Å"Is Biff there to carry the oars, or do I have to carry everything?† asked Josh. â€Å"No!† screamed Gaspar. â€Å"No, you don't take the boat along on the journey. It has been useful but now it's simply a burden. It's a parable, you cretins!† Joshua and I bowed our heads under Gaspar's anger. As the abbot railed, Joshua smiled at me and winked. When I saw the smile I knew that he'd be okay. Gaspar finished his tirade, then caught his breath and resumed in the tone of the tolerant monk that we were used to. â€Å"As I was saying, there is no more for you to learn. Joshua, go be a bodhisattva for your people, and Biff, try not to kill anyone with what we have taught you here.† â€Å"So do we get our boat now?† Joshua asked. Gaspar looked as if he were about to explode, then Joshua held his hand up and the old man remained silent. â€Å"We are grateful for our time here, Gaspar. These monks are noble and honorable men, and we have learned much from them. But you, honorable abbot, are a pretender. You have mastered a few tricks of the body, and you can reach a trance state, but you are not an enlightened being, though I think you have glimpsed enlightenment. You look everywhere for answers but where they lie. Nevertheless, your deception hasn't stopped you from teaching us. We thank you, Gaspar. Hypocrite. Wise man. Bodhisattva.† Gaspar sat staring at Joshua, who had spoken as if he were talking to a child. The old man went about fixing the tea, more feebly now, I thought, but maybe that was my imagination. â€Å"And you knew this?† Gaspar asked me. I shrugged. â€Å"What enlightened being travels halfway around the world following a star on the rumor that a Messiah has been born?† â€Å"He means across the world,† said Josh. â€Å"I mean around the world.† I elbowed Joshua in the ribs because it was easier than explaining my theory of universal stickiness to Gaspar. The old guy was having a rough day as it was. Gaspar poured tea for all of us, then sat down with a sigh. â€Å"You were not a disappointment, Joshua. The three of us knew as soon as we saw you that you were a being unlike any other. Brahman born to flesh, my brother said.† â€Å"What gave it away,† I said, â€Å"the angels on the roof of the stable?† Gaspar ignored me. â€Å"But you were still an infant, and whatever it was that we were looking for, you were not it – not yet, anyway. We could have stayed, I suppose, and helped to raise you, protect you, but we were all dense. Balthasar wanted to find the key to immortality, and there was no way that you could give him that, and my brother and I wanted the keys to the universe, and those were not to be found in Bethlehem either. So we warned your father of Herod's intent to have you killed, we gave him gold to get you out of the country, and we returned to the East.† â€Å"Melchior is your brother?† Gaspar nodded. â€Å"We were princes of Tamil. Melchior is the oldest, so he would have inherited our lands, but I would have received a small fiefdom as well. Like Siddhartha, we eschewed worldly pleasures to pursue enlightenment.† â€Å"How did you end up here, in these mountains?† I asked. â€Å"Chasing Buddhas.† Gaspar smiled. â€Å"I had heard that there lived a sage in these mountains. The locals called him the old man of the mountain. I came looking for the sage, and what I found was the yeti. Who knows how old he really was, or how long he'd been here? What I did know was that he was the last of his kind and that he would die before long without help. I stayed here and I built this monastery. Along with the monks who came here to study, I have been taking care of the yeti since you two were just infants. Now he is gone. I have no purpose, and I have learned nothing. Whatever there was to know here died under that lump of ice.† Joshua reached across the table and took the old man's hand. â€Å"You drill us every day in the same movements, we practice the same brush strokes over and over, we chant the same mantras, why? So that these actions will become natural, spontaneous, without being diluted by thought, right?† â€Å"Yes,† said Gaspar. â€Å"Compassion is the same way,† said Joshua. â€Å"That's what the yeti knew. He loved constantly, instantly, spontaneously, without thought or words. That's what he taught me. Love is not something you think about, it is a state in which you dwell. That was his gift.† â€Å"Wow,† I said. â€Å"I came here to learn that,† said Josh. â€Å"You taught it to me as much as the yeti.† â€Å"Me?† Gaspar had been pouring the tea as Joshua spoke and now he noticed that he'd overfilled his cup and the tea was running all over the table. â€Å"Who took care of him? Fed him? Looked after him? Did you have to think about that before you did it?† â€Å"No,† said Gaspar. Joshua stood. â€Å"Thanks for the boat.† Gaspar didn't accompany us to the front gate. As he promised, Number Four was waiting for us with our clothes and the money we had when we arrived six years before. I picked up the ying-yang vial of poison that Joy had given me and slipped the lanyard over my head, then I pushed the sheathed black glass dagger into the belt of my robe and tucked my clothes under my arm. â€Å"You will go to find Gaspar's brother?† Number Four asked. Number Four was one of the older monks, one of the ones who had served the emperor as a soldier, and a long white scar marked his head from the middle of his shaved scalp to his right ear, which had healed to a forked shape. â€Å"Tamil, right?† Joshua said. â€Å"Go south. It is very far. There are many dangers along the way. Remember your training.† â€Å"We will.† â€Å"Good.† Number Four turned on his heel and walked into the monastery, then shut the heavy wooden gate. â€Å"No, no, Four, don't embarrass yourself with a sappy good-bye,† I said to the gate. â€Å"No, really, please, no scenes.† Joshua was counting our money out of a small leather purse. â€Å"It's just what we left with them.† â€Å"Good.† â€Å"No, that's not good. We've been here six years, Biff. This money should have doubled or tripled during that time.† â€Å"What, by magic?† â€Å"No, they should have invested it.† He turned and looked back at the gate. â€Å"You dumb bastards, maybe you should spend a little less time studying how to beat each other up and a little more time on managing your money.† â€Å"Spontaneous love?† I said. â€Å"Yeah, Gaspar'll never get that one either. That's why they killed the yeti, you know that, don't you?† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The mountain people. They killed the yeti because they couldn't understand a creature who wasn't as evil as they were.† â€Å"The mountain people were evil?† â€Å"All men are evil, that's what I was talking to my father about.† â€Å"What did he say?† â€Å"Fuck 'em.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"At least he answered you.† â€Å"I got the feeling that he thinks it's my problem now.† â€Å"Makes you wonder why he didn't burn that on one of the tablets. ‘HERE, MOSES, HERE'S THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND HERE'S AN EXTRA ONE THAT SAYS FUCK ‘EM.'† â€Å"He doesn't sound like that.† â€Å"FOR EMERGENCIES,† I continued in my perfect impression-of-God voice. â€Å"I hope it's warm in India,† Joshua said. And so, at the age of twenty-four, Joshua of Nazareth did go down into India.

Introduction and Overview to World War I

Introduction and Overview to World War I World War I was a major conflict fought in Europe and around the world between July 28, 1914, and November 11, 1918. Nations from across all non-polar continents were involved,  although Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary dominated.  Much of the war was characterized by stagnant trench warfare and massive loss of life in failed attacks; over eight million people were killed in battle. Belligerent Nations The war was fought by two main power blocks: the Entente Powers, or Allies, comprised of Russia, France, Britain (and later the U.S.), and their allies on one side and the Central Powers of Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey, and their allies on the other. Italy later joined the Entente. Many other countries played smaller parts on both sides. Origins  of World War I European politics in the early twentieth century were a dichotomy: many politicians thought war had been banished by progress while others, influenced partly by a fierce arms race, felt war was inevitable. In Germany, this belief went further: the war should happen sooner rather than later, while they still (as they believed) had an advantage over their perceived major enemy, Russia. As Russia and France were allied, Germany feared an attack from both sides.  To mitigate this threat, the Germans developed the Schlieffen Plan, a swift looping attack on France designed to knock it out early, allowing for concentration on Russia. Rising tensions culminated on June 28th, 1914 with the assassination of  Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand  by a Serbian activist, an ally of Russia. Austro-Hungary asked for German support and was promised a blank cheque; they declared war on Serbia on July 28th. What followed was a sort of domino effect as more and more nations joined the fight. Russia mobilized to support Serbia, so Germany declared war on Russia; France then declared war on Germany. As German troops swung through Belgium into France days later, Britain declared war on Germany too. Declarations continued until much of Europe was at war with each other. There was widespread public support. World War I on Land After the swift German invasion of France was stopped at the Marne, the race to the sea followed as each side tried to outflank each other ever closer to the English Channel. This left the entire Western Front divided by over 400 miles of trenches, around which the war stagnated. Despite massive battles like Ypres, little progress was made and a battle of attrition emerged, caused partly by German intentions to bleed the French dry at Verdun and Britains attempts on the Somme. There was more movement on the Eastern Front with some major victories, but there was nothing decisive and the war carried on with high casualties. Attempts to find another route into their enemy’s territory led to the failed Allied invasion of Gallipoli, where Allied forces held a beachhead but were halted by fierce Turkish resistance. There was also conflict on the Italian front, the Balkans, the Middle East, and smaller struggles in colonial holdings where the warring powers bordered each other. World War I at Sea Although the build-up to war had included a naval arms race between Britain and Germany, the only large naval engagement of the conflict was the Battle of Jutland, where both sides claimed victory. Instead, the defining struggle involved submarines and the German decision to pursue Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (USW). This policy allowed submarines to attack any target they found, including those belonging to the neutral United States, which caused the latter to enter the war in 1917 on behalf of the Allies, supplying much-needed manpower. Victory Despite Austria-Hungary becoming little more than a German satellite, the Eastern Front was the first to be resolved, the war causing massive political and military instability in Russia, leading to the Revolutions of 1917, the emergence of socialist government and surrender on December 15. Efforts by the Germans to redirect manpower and take the offensive in the west failed and, on November 11, 1918 (at 11:00 am), faced with allied successes, massive disruption at home and the impending arrival of vast US manpower, Germany signed an Armistice, the last Central power to do so. Aftermath Each of the defeated nations signed a treaty with the Allies, most significantly the Treaty of Versailles which was signed with Germany, and which has been blamed for causing further disruption ever since. There was devastation across Europe: 59 million troops had been mobilized, over 8 million died and over 29 million were injured. Huge quantities of capital had been passed to the now emergent United States and the culture of every European nation was deeply affected and the struggle became known as The Great War or The War to End All Wars. Technical Innovation World War I  was the first to make major use of machine guns, which soon showed their defensive qualities. It was also the first to see poison gas used on the battlefields, a weapon which both sides made use of, and the first to see tanks, which were initially developed by the allies and later used to great success. The use of aircraft evolved from simply reconnaissance to a whole new form of aerial warfare. Modern View Thanks partly to a generation of war poets who recorded the horrors of the war and a generation of historians who castigated the Allied high command for their decisions and ‘waste of life’ (Allied soldiers being the Lions led by Donkeys), the war was generally viewed as a pointless tragedy. However, later generations of historians have found mileage in revising this view. While the Donkeys have always been ripe for recalibration, and careers built on provocation have always found material (such as Niall Fergusons The Pity of War), the centenary commemorations found historiography split between a phalanx wishing to create a new martial pride and sideline the worst of the war to create an image of a conflict well worth fighting and then truly won by the allies, and those who wished to stress the alarming and pointless imperial game millions of people died for. The war remains highly controversial and as subject to attack and defense as the newspapers of the day.

Free Essays on National No-Call List

National No-Call List â€Å"The commission remains committed and determined to defend the choices of the American people† (Hughes). That coming from FCC chairman Michael Powell who is right in the middle of a debate in which many Americans have taken serious interest too. A heated debate is raging throughout the country right now, involving almost every household and American consumer. This is one debate that has gone through the hands of the FCC many times and even ended up in state courts. This war waging between big time companies and your every day American Joe is the one over the National Do-Not Call list. While the telemarketing companies complain that their first amendment right of free speech is being taken away, the opposing party claims that it’s the peoples right to decide if they want to be called at their place of residence. It is my belief that the Do-Not Call list is a positive thing for all American consumers. However, these telemarketing companies have clever ways into tricking the everyday American into opening themselves up to the phone calls even if they are on the do-not call list. Some will send surveys in the mail and if you’re lucky enough to be one of those who fill them out and not read the fine print, then you’ll have automatically just signed a waiver for the call list. This is just another deceptive way the telemarketing companies are trying their pitch, which obviously needs some adjustments. The companies may also try to say that their rights are being violated, however most Americans have agreed that if they are paying for the phone bill, then they should decide who they want calling. Some might tell you to look at all of the jobs that will be lost in the telemarketing industry. However, the industry has been dropping in number for years so in essence this is only speeding up the process. This national No-Call list is a win-win for all American consumers who have been frustra... Free Essays on National No-Call List Free Essays on National No-Call List National No-Call List â€Å"The commission remains committed and determined to defend the choices of the American people† (Hughes). That coming from FCC chairman Michael Powell who is right in the middle of a debate in which many Americans have taken serious interest too. A heated debate is raging throughout the country right now, involving almost every household and American consumer. This is one debate that has gone through the hands of the FCC many times and even ended up in state courts. This war waging between big time companies and your every day American Joe is the one over the National Do-Not Call list. While the telemarketing companies complain that their first amendment right of free speech is being taken away, the opposing party claims that it’s the peoples right to decide if they want to be called at their place of residence. It is my belief that the Do-Not Call list is a positive thing for all American consumers. However, these telemarketing companies have clever ways into tricking the everyday American into opening themselves up to the phone calls even if they are on the do-not call list. Some will send surveys in the mail and if you’re lucky enough to be one of those who fill them out and not read the fine print, then you’ll have automatically just signed a waiver for the call list. This is just another deceptive way the telemarketing companies are trying their pitch, which obviously needs some adjustments. The companies may also try to say that their rights are being violated, however most Americans have agreed that if they are paying for the phone bill, then they should decide who they want calling. Some might tell you to look at all of the jobs that will be lost in the telemarketing industry. However, the industry has been dropping in number for years so in essence this is only speeding up the process. This national No-Call list is a win-win for all American consumers who have been frustra...

50 Idioms with Single, Double, and Triple

50 Idioms with Single, Double, and Triple 50 Idioms with Single, Double, and Triple 50 Idioms with Single, Double, and Triple By Mark Nichol The following is a list of idioms about multiplicative numbers (single, double, and triple) and their meanings. 1–2. at a single blow/stroke: with one movement 3–4. at/on the double: quickly 5. body double: someone who stands in for another, especially in a performance 6. double: two servings of an alcoholic beverage, a two-base hit in baseball, or an identical person or thing 7. double as: serve in two capacities 8. double back: return to a starting point 9–10. double bill/feature: a performance involving two works or two performers or groups of performers; a separate meaning of â€Å"double bill† refers to being charged the cost of something twice 11. double bind: a dilemma 12. double booked: committed for two events, or scheduled for two people or parties at the same time 13. double cross: an act of cheating or swindling 14. double date: socialize as two couples, or the act of doing so 15. double digits: the numbers 10 through 99 16. double down: originally, double one’s bet in blackjack; by extension, exert twice the effort 17. double dribble: use both hands to bounce a basketball, or bounce a basketball again after stopping, or the act of committing either penalty 18. double Dutch: a difficult language; also, a game of jump rope involving two ropes swung in different directions 19. double duty: said in reference to something that serves two functions at once 20. double entendre: a word or phrase with more than one meaning, one of which is obscene or sexual 21. double in brass: see â€Å"double duty† (from a reference to a musician who performs on more than one instrument during a performance) 22. double life: a life in which one assumes two identities 23. double nickels: the number 55, often in reference to a speed limit (from the value of a nickel) 24. double or nothing: a type of bet in which a person receives double the prize or nothing 25. double over: bend over, as if in laughter or in pain 26. double standard: principles or values hypocritically applied differently to different people or situations 27. double take: a reaction in which one looks twice at something or someone because one is confused or surprised 28. double talk: comments made to avoid telling the truth 29. double tap: a repeated touch, or repeated firing of a weapon 30. double time: move twice as fast, or cheat; as a noun, a rate of pay that is twice the normal rate, or a type of tempo in music 31. double trouble: a difficult person or thing, or two difficult people or things 32. double up: pair up or share; also, see â€Å"double over† 33. double whammy: an occurrence of two bad things at a time 34. double-bagger: a person considered so ugly that two nested grocery bags should be placed over the person’s face to conceal it 35. double-decker: a vehicle with two levels, or a two-layer sandwich 36. double-dipper: one who earns two salaries or collects both Social Security payments and a federal pension; also, one scoops half-eaten finger food in a dip or sauce at the risk of introducing germs 37. double-edged sword: something that might be advantageous but also dangerous 38. double-tongued: deceitful or hypocritical 39. doublespeak: deceitful or misleading language 40–41. H-E-double-hockey-sticks/toothpicks: a euphemism for the oath hell, from the resemblance of the uppercase letter l to hockey sticks or the lowercase letter l to toothpicks 42. of a single mind: in agreement 43. see double: see two of everything, as when affected by dizziness 44. single: an unmarried person, or a one-base hit in baseball 45. single file: a reference to a line of people or things, with each one standing behind another 46. single out: focus on or identify one thing 47. triple: a set of three, or a three-base hit in baseball 48. triple threat: someone talented in three areas 49. triple whammy: see â€Å"double whammy† 50. triple-bagger: see double-bagger Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should Know50 Idioms About Roads and Paths5 Examples of Insufficient Hyphenation

Summary of the documentary film ( Control Room ) Essay

Summary of the documentary film ( Control Room ) - Essay Example Rushing who works as a press officer for CENTCOM, a correspondent of NBC, CNN, BBC, journalist from the Syrian region and Al Jazeera (Noujaim, 2004). The documentary shows the various opinions proposed by the journalists of Al Jazeera which is a Qatar based news television network. The documentary shows that the Secretary of Defense of US named Donald Rumsfeld participates in various public conferences claiming that Al Jazeera was not showing the true picture of the war on Iraq and was propagating against US. On the other hand the documentary shows that the information minister of Iraq claims that the news channel Al Jazeera is working with US and is propagating against Iraq and is not portraying what is really taking place in Iraq. On the other hand the correspondent of CENTCOM makes accusations that the Qatar based news television channel is biased and is showing only the negative actions of US and the number of people killed in Iraq, later in the documentary he states that the US based news network named Fox News is even doing a similar biased job by carefully selecting the material before airing it on their channel and he poi nts out the more important points that both the Qatar based and US based television networks have not shown. The documentary mainly tries to portray the role that Qatar based news network has played in changing the society of Arab. The senior producer of the Qatar based channel named Samir Khader states that the channel is working with the aim of shaking the infrastructure of the society of Arab which is quite rigid in nature. He states that the channel is trying to change the society of Arab which lacks in different parts of life such as technology, culture as the society does not tolerate perceptions and cultures of other societies. Throughout the documentary the film maker shows that the media is biased, she portrays this message by showing the Rushing is mourning that the channel Al Jazeera is working in a biased manner. Rushing

Polymerisation of alkenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Polymerisation of alkenes - Essay Example Oil is important because it helps in relaxing. One single sofa has about 60 litres oil (Idem, 2003). The world consumption of oil is rated at 14 billion litres. The industrial process of crude oil results into environmental pollution. One such negative impact to the environment is referred to as the global warming. Carbon dioxide from the manufacture of crude oil is released in the environment. A high accumulation of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to the depletion of the ozone layer thus leading to the depletion of the ozone layer, which in turn leads to global warming. The paper explores the chemistry behind the industrial manufacturing process of crude oil. For crude oil to be separated into different chain length, it goes through the heating process up to a relatively high temperature. The involved temperature is set in a manner that the carbon chain length fractions of twenty and below are evaporated to form a mixture of crude oil. This temperature can never be set higher than this level since there would be some risks of ignition of the lighter fractions. The liquid that remains in the fractioning tower is made up of heavier factions. The fractions are passed to a second location, where they are heated to a temperature similar to the initial temperature but at a reduced pressure. The fractions of the heavy hydrocarbon will evaporate. The distillation tower functions by being progressively cooler beginning from the bottom to the top. The fraction of hydrocarbons begins in the form of gas since they would be heated to that point. The gas will then rise to the top part of the tower. The mixture of the gas encounters some barrier that only opens in the bubble caps. The mixture of the gas would then be forced to go through the liquid before it moves upwards. In the fist tray, the liquid will be at a cool enough temperature to get the heaviest fractions of gas that will condense

Obesity Epidemic in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity Epidemic in America - Research Paper Example The causative factors of obesity are, lifestyles, eating habits, genes, workplace conditions, hormonal metabolic factors and recreational practices. Consequences of obesity include ailments, mental and emotional disorders, negative psychological outcomes, and hinders individuals’ performance. Obesity prevalence varies significantly across ethnic and racial disparities as well as socioeconomic status in the American population. In conclusion, obesity can be alleviated using pharmacological intervention, energy variation, public education, behavioral therapy, community-based initiatives and political-oriented solution. Introduction Obesity, weight gained or overweight has remained a contingent issue for a considerable time in health care, among scholars, the US Government as well as the community at large. Obesity is one of the most prevalent health care issues, which is causing worries in the United States. Obesity rates have relatively amplified over the years with its effects experienced in various population groups, and states. To offset the ever-increasing rates of obesity, it is important to evaluate the causes and effects of obesity in the American population. In view of this, obesity is associated with a number of negative physical and psychological consequences. It is attributable to several diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, psychological disorders including withdrawal syndrome, and overall personal degradation. On the other hand, obesity is caused by a range of factors, which include eating habit, sedentary work, genetics, inert recreation and individuals lifestyle just to mention but a few. In this paper, obesity is analyzed at length with respect to its prevalence, causes, consequences, and ways of solving the epidemic. Prevalence Several researches conducted on the prevalence of obesity in America indicate that the rates at which individuals are becoming overweight are ever increasing. In the period between 1986 and 2000, s evere obesity prevalence shifted to the proportion of 1 in 50 Americans from former status of 1 in 200. Besides, extreme obesity has greatly increased at an approximate rate of twenty percent in adults. Decades ago, obesity was a significant health issue among adults, but the situation has changed with time to include adolescents and children. Recent researches reveal that fifteen to twenty five percent of adolescents and children in America are obese with about nine million children aged above six years being obese. According to CDC’s data and statistics on obesity in America, obesity has dramatically increased over the past twenty years and rates remain high. In 2010, state based obesity prevalence ranged from twenty-one percent to thirty four percent in Colorado and Mississippi respectively. All states had obesity prevalence above twenty percent. Thirty six states had twenty five percent or more prevalence with states such Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana Michigan, Kentucky, and Oklahoma having thirty percent or more prevalence. Regional prevalence was a follows; South 29.4 %, Northeast 24.9 %, Midwest 28.7 % and West 24.1 % (CDC, 2012). The findings of the analysis conducted, in 2009-2010 in the US indicate that, approximately forty-one million women and over thirty-seven million men aged twenty years and above were obese. Amidst children and adolescents aged two-nineteen years, about seven million boys and

Comparison and contrast of 2 composers of the Boroque period Essay

Comparison and contrast of 2 composers of the Boroque period. (instructor has 5 composers to chose from - Essay Example In Rome, George Frederic Handel is believed to have survived Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) music career who was the bestselling Baroque musician in Rome. Henry Purcell from England at the same time was the bestselling baroque musician in England. Although he did not live for long before he met his death, Purcell made the very best from the flowering music career. Many prolific composers of the baroque period traced their roots from Rome and Handel was no exception. Most of their compositions was purely based on the roots, and tried to connect their current happenings with their past lifestyles. This approach made their works unique, because it was not an imaginary composition, but they composed on real life situations which made a lot of difference in their lives. His predecessor Corelli was highly appreciated and his influence was to later extend to the entire Europe continent. Corelli’s influence, which could not have been ignored by anyone interested in becoming a composer in the entire Europe. This is because he had a good grasp of happenings and his approach to lifestyle music was capturing big audiences. Handel is later reported to have partnered with young Scarlatti whom they performed together before Cardinal Pietro Ottoborni in Venice. This was a huge milestone for Handel and his blend with Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas was unmatched. The 1600s was a period of political upheavals in England where they were changing from autocratic to parliamentary monarchy. During this change in leadership, a musical leader was born, and a history would have it, the born leader would later carry the music mantle and end up being one of the finest at his time. Henry Purcell was born in the year 1969 and didn’t live for long. However, his years on earth were of great impact to the music industry. Much of his time was accorded to writing operas which were musical dramas and incidental stage music. His passion for music

Wilkerson Company Variance Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wilkerson Company Variance Analysis - Case Study Example However, one cannot give the real reasons behind this loss without first analyzing the data and comparing it with the standard target set by the company. If we look at the data we might see that the variance between the actual and targeted price may have caused the profit to decline. We can see that the company was able sell valves at a price which was $.15 below the budgeted price. Since the total production of valves was 7500 units, the company incurred a negative variance of $1125. Similarly, if we look at the data of pumps, we can, again, see that there has been a massive variance among targeted and actual price. This variance amounts to $20.69 for each unit the company sells. Therefore, total variance based on the production of 12500 is $258625.This is a negative variance and it has resulted in the budgeted profit to go down. However, there is good news for the company in their third product flow-controllers, as the price of this product is rising. Therefore, the variance in this case is positive which is a good sign for the company. The variance in this case is $9.62. The total effect of this variance is $38480. From the above information, it can be said that the company should focus more on producing flow controllers than other products because of rising prices in this commodity which will ultimately lead to higher profits for the company. Now, let's look at the machine hour variance. ... This means that highest degree of efficiency is being maintained in machine processes. Similarly, same degree of efficiency is being maintained in the production of pumps and flow-controllers. This shows that there is been absolutely no variance among the actual and budgeted financial indicators, and the company is doing well here. Wilkerson management is also using the direct material very efficiently and there's no direct material usage variance. Now, let's look at the gross profit margin of products that are produced by Wilkerson Company. In case of valves, we can see that there's a little change in this ratio. The budgeted margin was 35% whereas Wilkerson Company's actual margin is 34.9%. This small decrease in profit margin is a result of declining prices. The company is selling its products at 15 cents less than the budgeted price due to competition in the market. According to Randall (1996) there are various factors which might cause the company's gross profit margin to decline. These factors include: failure to control the cost of manufacturing, bad supervision of employees and wastage of resources etc. Looking at the gross-profit margin pumps, the budgeted gross profit margin was 35%, whereas Wilkerson's actual gross-profit margin is around 19% only. This massive decline again has been caused, again, by the price decline that has taken place in the industry due to stiff competition. As a result, firm has experienced ma ssive reduction in gross profit margin. However, if we look at the data of flow-controllers, there has been an increase in the profit margin to 41% from the budgeted margin of 35%. This again is a result of

Comparison and contrast of 2 composers of the Boroque period Essay

Comparison and contrast of 2 composers of the Boroque period. (instructor has 5 composers to chose from - Essay Example In Rome, George Frederic Handel is believed to have survived Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) music career who was the bestselling Baroque musician in Rome. Henry Purcell from England at the same time was the bestselling baroque musician in England. Although he did not live for long before he met his death, Purcell made the very best from the flowering music career. Many prolific composers of the baroque period traced their roots from Rome and Handel was no exception. Most of their compositions was purely based on the roots, and tried to connect their current happenings with their past lifestyles. This approach made their works unique, because it was not an imaginary composition, but they composed on real life situations which made a lot of difference in their lives. His predecessor Corelli was highly appreciated and his influence was to later extend to the entire Europe continent. Corelli’s influence, which could not have been ignored by anyone interested in becoming a composer in the entire Europe. This is because he had a good grasp of happenings and his approach to lifestyle music was capturing big audiences. Handel is later reported to have partnered with young Scarlatti whom they performed together before Cardinal Pietro Ottoborni in Venice. This was a huge milestone for Handel and his blend with Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas was unmatched. The 1600s was a period of political upheavals in England where they were changing from autocratic to parliamentary monarchy. During this change in leadership, a musical leader was born, and a history would have it, the born leader would later carry the music mantle and end up being one of the finest at his time. Henry Purcell was born in the year 1969 and didn’t live for long. However, his years on earth were of great impact to the music industry. Much of his time was accorded to writing operas which were musical dramas and incidental stage music. His passion for music

An oil dependent economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

An oil dependent economy - Research Paper Example Brown points out many aspects in his article to support the fact that the rising cost of fossil energy is driving the American economy back into its local communities. Every product produced that ends up in the hands of the consumer is directly effected by the use of fossil fuels. Past decades of inexpensive oil has created this dependency which in turn has given rise to the way our society lives. There is virtually no limit to the distance that food can travel to the consumer. Many of the products that we consume daily travel from China, an emerging country, also, have seen a growing dependency on fossil fuels. In their effort to become more capitalistic, backward agricultural methods have been replaced with modern machinery dependent on oil. Dependency on oil not only creates higher cost in food; it also creates a constant flow of filthy air back into the environment. Therefore, with these notable factors, should the government make policies that drive the consumer back toward the local economy? It’s a question of individual initiative in most instances, but most of us look to the government for guidance just as a child looks to its parents. Should the government be involved at all in the daily lives of the consumer? Policy is not treated in the same fashion, as are laws. Policies put forth to a society as a whole give suggestions and positive influences that are more readily accepted by the majority. A policy is a more tactful way of achieving an end result without the rigors of law. Consider our food safety! Where do our foods originate? What are the safety factors involved in transporting foods from such long distances? What are the positive factors of focusing more on local grown foods? The Food and Water Watch states, â€Å"Our current food system is broken, and it didn’t happen by accident.†

Different learning styles Essay Example for Free

Different learning styles Essay Equality means that we should all have equal access and equal opportunities to learn and be successful regardless of gender, race, religion, and ability. Diversity refers to the fact that we are all different. Some of us are male, some female, some tall, some short, some dark skinned, some light skinned. We come from different cultural backgrounds, different faiths, and different family groupings. And we have different learning styles, different personalities, etc. Because we are all different, or diverse, from each other, every classroom is diverse and every teacher must be prepared to work with a great variety of students. Inclusion is the practice of including differently abled learners into a mainstream classroom of students with primarily standard abilities. Discrimination refers to the practice of treating someone differently due to characteristics beyond their control, or for which they should not be treated in a negative manner. Some people discriminate against others because of their sex, their age, or the color of their skin. This sounds silly, but a lot of us do it without even realizing we are doing it. We need to accept people at face-value instead of judging them based on minor circumstances or superficial characteristics. The Children Act (2004) places a duty on all services to make sure that every child has the support they need to achieve .Inequality and discrimination can stop children from reaching these outcomes, so we have a duty to challenge this. Equality Act 2010 Disability Act 2005 Employment Equality Act I actively encourage and support young children in embracing both diversity and equality. I make sure each child feels a sense of belonging. I observe and listen to children’s play and adult interaction to identify any bias or discrimination then develop methods to deal with issues that arise. Every aspect of the setting comes into play: how children relate to each other, and how language is used, how and what discussions take place, and what activities are undertaken.

Two Means Of Mass Communication Media Essay

Two Means Of Mass Communication Media Essay Is print either superior or inferior to video? How would one decide such a matter? When superficially comparing two means of communication largely used nowadays, namely print and video, one could venture stating that the latter is better just by looking at the audience rates for each medium. However, the issue of deciding which type of medium is better is far more complex, starting even from establishing what better means. Being in no position to offer a clear-cut answer to the essay question, in the following lines I will draw some theoretical guiding lines and then outline and discuss some of the important advantages and disadvantages of using print and video as message conveyers, guided by the idea that each medium has its characteristics and each person has to decide which one better suits him or her. The focus points in comparing the two media will be related to the audience rates for each medium and their possible causes, the characteristics of the two media and of the media pr oduct on offer and, lastly, to the impact on the two types of media consumers. Marshall McLuhans famous phrase the medium is the message (1964: 7) represents a suitable starting point in comparing print and video. It indicates that the medium through which a message is conveyed has high importance in the reception of the meanings of the text. Moreover, it implies that each medium shapes the messages it transmits to the audiences according to different factors which I will later present. In discussing these two media in this essay I will mainly refer to newspapers as being representative for the print medium and to television for video. Moreover, the media products which will be addressed will be non-fictional, i.e. not movies or literature. However, it should be noted that print is actually referring in general to the written messages, no matter which is the medium through which we gain access to them (P. David Marshall, 2004). Each medium, nevertheless, inscribes different characteristics on the message it conveys, as I shall attempt to demonstrate in this ess ay. Firstly, I will cast my attention on the audience rates of the two media and on how these could be explained. As stated in the introduction, one could fall into the trap of considering video better than print only because of the number of media consumers each medium has. Indeed, the number of audiences is relevant when studying a medium, especially the effects it can have on people, an aspect which could help one decide which medium is better. The data presented by McQueen indicates that British people spend an average of over 25 hours watching television a week, with, on a typical day, 80 per cent of the population tuning into television (Cultural Trends, 1997, quoted in Glastier, 1997) (1998: 3). Barwise and Ehrenberg draw a more generalised conclusion: people in many countries spend between a third and a half of their free time with television, more time than we spend on anything else except sleep and work (1988: 12). Moreover, the specific example Bourdieu (1998) gives about Fren ch TV viewing being more popular than all newspapers is eloquent. Bourdieu also draws the attention on the possible dangers of the large number of audiences: television poses no less of a threat to political life and to democracy itself (1998: 10). Not only does television manipulates through its nature (Hall, 1996), but it also alienates its audiences, according to the data presented. Audience rates reflect the particularities of print and video consumers. The difference in audience rates is due mainly to the fact that television does not require the audiences to be literate in order to become television consumers: television offers viewers a variety of subject matter, requires minimal skills to comprehend it, and is largely aimed at emotional gratification (Postman, 1987: 88-9). Moreover, the two media have different target consumers. Newspaper reading is similar to other intellectual activities: it is habituated in the youth and then it becomes a custom (Putnam, 2000), the readers choosing certain newspapers due to their clearly defined policy with which its readers can identify themselves [†¦] [because newspapers] express the feelings and hopes, often unexpressed, of its millions of readers (Hornby, 1965: 102). Even if television viewing creates dependence, TV viewers are more flexible than newspaper readers, surfing the TV channels in search for suitable programmes which will attract them, as well as new television viewers. Furthermore, print has always been addressed to older, educated people, to the literate (Putnam, 2000), whereas by its nature the video medium creates the illusion of reality (Hall, 1996) and thus appeals to all people, disregarding their social status, sex, age or race. Extensive research shows that people consider watching TV mainly as a time-passing, relaxing activity, as Barwise and Ehrenberg note: television is so popular because it provides large amounts of distraction and relaxation at a trivial cost with minimum effort to the viewer (1988: 19). By contrast with printed material, video media products have the advantage of being more entertaining. If newspapers have the aim of informing their readers more than other media (Monaco, 1978), TV producers have to create entertaining programmes that can attract audiences and keep them tuned in. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to have access to multiple resources, including equipment, a setting, money, a team etc. In this respect, print is more cost-effective, less constrained than the video medium and more at the disposal of media consumers. Nevertheless, newspapers are not the only form of print, the contents of some magazines and tabloids being more similar to TV programmes than any other print medium, because they have the same role: to entertain their public. If different in audience rates, the two media, print and video, are also dissimilar in what concern the social effects they determine. Putnam (2000) argues that TV viewing alienates the media consumers in different respects, such as determining them to be passive and encouraging less social communication in all its forms written, oral, or electronic (2000: 231). Whereas texts conveyed by print engage their audiences in a one-to-one process, video media facilitates social interactions indoors, in front of the TV, as McCullagh argues: [t]elevision may, for example, facilitate family communication and talk, but the content of the talk and conversation often has little relationship to what is on the screen (2002: 169). Nevertheless, McCullagh pursues his line of argument by stating that the increased time spent in front of television must reduce the time that is available for other forms of social activity, especially those outside the home (2002: 172), while newspapers can be read ever ywhere, at any time. After having discussed a few important social issues regarding the two media which could balance the weight in favour of one of them when judging which is better, I can now look at other characteristics of both media. According to Postman, televisions conversations promote incoherence and triviality (1987: 81), while print is seen by him as a serious, coherent place, capable of management by reason, and of improvement by logical and relevant criticism (1987: 63). His line of thought is developed by Fiske and Hartley: The written word (and particularly the printed word) works through and so promotes consistency, narrative development from cause to effect, universality and abstraction, clarity, and a single tone of voice. Television, on the other hand, is ephemeral, episodic, specific, concrete and dramatic in mode (Fiske and Hartley, 1978, cited in Abercrombie, 1996: 9). Moreover, print texts offer the readers the possibility to have much more control: skipping, pausing, re-reading, and so on (Barwise and Ehrenberg: 1988: 129), unlike video which is an ephemeral medium. This does not imply, however, that television is inferior in all respects to print. One of the matters concerning each medium is related to the amount of time it takes to transmit information to the public and between the occurrence of an event and the moment when the public is informed. In what concerns the video medium, information is transmitted faster to the audience, even if it is usually presented more briefly. Due to the technological characteristics of broadcasting which permit transmitting live footage 24-hours a day, television can deal with todays news, or even news as it breaks, unlike most daily papers which can report only yesterdays events (McQueen, 1998: 100). Another aspect of transmitting news through the video medium compensates this advantage: [f]acts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation (Postman, 1987: 71). There is the risk of loosing the complexity of a news story because of being constraint by time, similar to the lack of space for newspaper news: a television script (e.g. fo r the news) can be more succinct, using fewer adjectives and adverbs because the pictures convey much of the detail (Barwise and Ehrenberg: 1988: 128-9). However, the effect of this simplification of news is that we are presented not only with fragmented news but news without context, without consequences, without value, and therefore without essential seriousness; that is to say, news as pure entertainment (Postman, 1987: 102). Postman further argues that the short length of TV news reports has the role not to let the viewers engage too much with a particular subject, because if they do, they can lose the entertaining sense of the news programme. Spending approximately a day a week viewing TV, people happen to find out more on a particular topic without necessary having in plan to; hence, watching video materials doesnt always involve a voluntary engagement with the subject of the broadcast. Therefore, TV audiences are more likely to be passive because of the longer periods of time in contact with this means of communication, unlike the limited interaction with written texts, which is more likely to be a voluntary action, being more personal as well: the mood of reading is quieter and more reflective (Hornby, 1965: 32). Due to the limited number of pages and the one-to-one character of reading a written text, the reader is more of an active media consumer while a TV viewer could engage in other activities while the TV is on. Moreover, as Monaco argues, in order to read a text, one has to be willing, to invest a more intense intellectual effort because he has to supply his own images [and sound] (1978: 6), whilst to hear or se e something on television does not need such a mental effort. Hence, a written media text is more likely to be read in an active manner than a TV broadcast. This does not imply, however, as McCullagh (2002) argues, that newspapers cannot be read in a distraught way. Related to the issue of active/passive audiences is also the creativity of the media consumer. Print texts encourage people to be creative more than when viewing video materials, in which case the media consumer is a mere spectator, not the essential constitutive element of forming the mental image suggested by the text. News broadcasts comprise reading previously written news (news scripts), (motion) pictures, sounds and testimonies. By contrast with reading texts, where one has to imagine what he reads, the synchronisation voice-over with images [†¦] makes it appear as if the images speak for themselves declare their own transparent meaning, without exterior intervention (Brunsdon and Morely, 1996: 14-5). Ellis notes the characteristics of the video medium, which makes use of images as its main support: it helps communication by providing more redundancy, and provides emphasis by doubling information in both sound and image (2000: 97). Hence, the technologies the video medium is using can bear advantages over the print medium, making the former as popular as it is. The human resources for what is conveyed through a medium are an important part in offering a qualitative product. With regard to print, written texts have authors who express their opinions, their own views, and state their knowledge about different subjects in order to inform the readers. Hence, the articles are more personal than video media products which usually have a team to produce them. If an article is signed by its creator, the news are presented in an impersonal, but not necessarily objective, manner; this is the case of news broadcasts presented by anchors, not of broadcasters whose TV shows are associated with the style, manner and personality of their presenters (Hall, 1996: 9). The video broadcasts are varied in the way they are presented, in the way information not witnessed by the audiences is mediated to the public. This aspect could also influence the viewers due to the complexity of the stimuli conveyed through video. Apart from the statistics on audience rates and the features of the two media there is a great concern with the effects of media on audiences, which mainly derive from the technological characteristics of the medium. Unsuitable material presented on TV is more damaging than in the case of printed texts because, unlike print, video offers a more convincing image of reality. Thus, the impact on audiences is higher over a short period, which, however, cannot challenge the place of the newspaper as the medium that daily records in some detail, life in all its aspects (Hornby, 1965: 98). In print, words and a limited number of images cannot present an exact picture of an event because all is filtered through the mind of the journalist; thereby, the reader receives second-hand information. The video medium offers a more exact image of the world, due to the images, comments and interviews presented. However, both perceptions of the world are biased because they are presented by people. There could be said much more about print and video, two different types of media, which, I would agree with Putnam, are complements, not substitutes (2000: 219). Therefore, it is hard to decide which one is better. Each media is good at responding to the expectations of its target audience and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages, some of which I have discussed in this essay. To conclude, I will emphasise once again the role of the two media: print mainly informs, whilst the video media mainly entertains. It rests with each person to decide which one is more suitable for them and if they can cope with the negative aspects of the specific medium. Student No: 0831496 Module: Media Sociology Word count: 2375 Mark: 65 (Mid Upper 2nd) Date of submission: 28.04.2009