Belonging: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Essay

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a set of fictional diary entries written by Stephen Chbosky. Charlie is the adolescent narrator who is in his tenth year of high school. Charlie decides to write anonymous letters to someone simply because he wants someone to listen and to not question his thoughts. The letters began after his only friend Michael committed suicide. Not belonging to a community can cause alienation and marginalisation. When Charlie started High School, he knew nobody. Starting at a new school shortly after his best friend died contributed to Charlie’s rational thoughts. ‘Some kids look at me strange in the hallways because I don’t decorate my locker, and I’m the one who beat up Sean and started crying about it after he did it’. The reflective tone and accumulation explain to the audience why he does not belong to a group within his school community. A couple of weeks into school, he met a senior named Patrick during shop class. At the Saturday football match Charlie and Patrick recognised each other and slowly began to develop a relationship. ‘The nice thing about Big Boy was the fact that Patrick and Sam didn’t throw around inside jokes to make me feel like an outsider’. The euphoric quote recognises how relationships can form a sense of belonging and how they have the ability to improve someone’s happiness. Belonging is often the result of sharing common values. In result of Sam (Patricks sister) having such an outgoing personality, Charlie began to learn about their simular interests. ‘Sam and I began to really get along, just like Harold and Maude in the book Mr Anderson just asked me to read’. The simile helps identify their relationship and indicate that this may develop during the book. Throughout the book, Charlie grows closer to Patrick and Sam. While trying to belong to a new community, he starts to understand that there are many secrets that people hide fro m the surface to avoid judgement. At the formal after party, Charlie saw Brad and Patrick ‘making out’. When Brad saw Charlie he reacted negatively in a dramatic way. ‘WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?’ the capital letters and question mark express to the reader how embarrassed Brad was. After two weeks Patrick explained to Charlie why Brad reacted the way he did. Brad was the in the football, and therefore was stereotyped by the whole school. Brad was so embarrassed that he would only be affectionate with Patrick behind closed doors, at parties, while he was either drunk or stoned. Brads parents then sent him away to rehabilitation for the summer to overcome getting stoned and/or drunk on a regular basis. After he returned, he barely even looked at Patrick. ‘I asked Patrick if he felt sad that he had to keep it a secret, and Patrick just said that he wasn’t sad because at least now, Brad doesn’t have to get drunk or stoned to make love’. The deep emotional tone incorporated by Patrick emphasises his care for how others feel. Brad and Patricks relationship demonstrates how belonging to a particular group and culture can prevent individuality. In the conclusion of the book, Charlie starts to lose control over his emotions. Belonging to a group can bring support in times of need to help overcome life barriers. After Charlie passed out in Sam’s arms, he had a dream where his Aunt Helen was still alive. ‘Everything was in slow motion. The sound was thick. And she was doing what Sam was doing’. The visually, auditory imagery and short sentences explains to the reader the truth in his relationship with his Aunt. During the beginning of the book Charlie had a sexually dream of Sam on top of him, and now he was having the same about his aunt. She sexually assaulted her nephew during her last months before passing away. This quote clarifies why Charlie is so emotional troubled and contently ‘blacks-out’ when he overwhelms himself with emotions. ‘You’re my best friend, was all I could say in return. She kissed my check, and for a moment it was like the bad part last night didn’t happen’. The contrast from last night and how he was feeling now emphasise s the dramatic effects of relationships. Stephen Chbosky explores the aspects of belonging throughout The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The sense of not belonging, belonging to a group, power on one’s identity and being allowed to express yourself within a culture was explored constantly while incorporating many obstacles for each character. b) Compare both Strictly Ballroom and the Perks of Being a Wallflower Strictly Ballroom is a film production directed by Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann focuses on film techniques when emphasising the belonging aspects in his film, while Chbosky focuses on literally techniques. During the opening scenes of Strictly Ballroom, the main character Scott, demonstrates his fear and need to express himself artistically. Scott belonging to the ballroom community repressed his individuality which made over coming obstacles very difficult for Scott. Fran was one who shared a common interest and gave Scott courage to express his individuality through his artistic ability. Close-ups were used to show Scott’s frustration and anger in not understanding why he cannot dance ‘his’ way. In complete contrast Charlie in Perks of Being a Wallflower maintains his identity, but does not fit in with a group because of how different he is. In the State championships Scott had the opportunity to dance with Fran and show the audience his ability. Barry Fife is the Machiavellian character who uses his persuasive techniques and power to locate obstacles in Scott’s path. Patrick and Brad in Perks of Being a Wallflower also are thrown many obstacles by the community. Brad is like Scott and is too frightened to show their personal identity. In the denouement of Strictly Ballroom Scott and Fran finally have the ability and courage to stand up the Barry Fife and the Ballroom community to show their ability and dance the way ‘they think is right’. Quick editing, close ups and non-diabetic music was used in this scene to maintain excitement and hope for Scott and Fran. Charlie stays true to himself throughout the story and comes to terms with all the traumatising events in his life that have caused him to have mental problems.

Advertising and News Environment in Media Communications

The advertising and news environments in media communications are catered to the interests of the targeted audience. Companies advertise toys on channels that children watch as a means of influencing them to ask their parents to buy a specific item. Advertisements on a channel that broadcasts programs about the outdoors will have the products that are most interesting to people who enjoy the outdoor experience. â€Å"This language of advertising, although less apparent to communicator and audience alike, is firmly anchored to cultural norms and often says more about a society’s psyche than the more obvious stereotypes of content† (Unwin, 1974, p. 4). The news environment in media communications is often more diversified because people who watch the news often belong to a wider variety of consumers from teenagers to parents. The concept of media planning is important so that the advertisements reach the company’s targeted audience. â€Å"The purpose of media plan ning is to conceive, analyze, and creatively select channels of communication that will direct advertising messages to the right people in the right place† (Arens, 2009, p. 280). To gain a better understanding about the decision made by the advertising and news environments in the industry of media communications, it is necessary to determine the influence of advertising and news on society. Commercials often focus on introducing a product or service to the public, or providing subliminal messages inspiring brand loyalty whereas the information from a news press release provides vital information about upcoming events to both the internal and external publics of an organization. During the â€Å"Anderson Cooper 360 degrees† talk show, the advertisements seemed to focus on regular advertisements, but one of the major focuses was cellular devices. This segment covered the latest information available on the George Zimmerman, Treyvon Martin case. The controversy associated with the cellular phone calls placed by George Zimmerman and Treyvon Martin prompted cellular companies to attempt to capitalize on the focus of cellular phones. The most dominant advertising force during the program was the computer and electronic device giant Apple Inc. The iPhone 5 advertisement’s intentions were to continue to establish the Iphone as the best option for smart phone users. In June 2007, the Apple Corporation released one of the newest smart phones with the intentions of crushing the efforts of its competition including the creators of the Blackberry and Android cellular phones. The targeted audience was cellular customers who wanted more from their smart phones. The ad reads â€Å"Touching is believing† encouraging people to enjoy the benefits of a cellular phone, iPod, and computer compatible with Apple computers both laptops and desktops. The effect of the advertisement is intended to spark interest in its targeted audience and continues to establish brand loyalty during this cellular phone revolution. The commercial that ran almost every commercial break implies that at this point nothing else matters but trying the new iPhone 5, upgrading a person’s cellular phone experience, and an attempt to divert the attention of one of the newest cellular devices, the Galaxy S4. The advertisements for the Galaxy S4 focused on the phone’s ability to send messages, search the Internet, and use social networking websites during on a phone call. Was this another subliminal message that focused on the phone conversation that Treyvon Martin was on during the altercation ? If he had a better phone could he have altered someone about the guy following him before it was too late. Regardless of the intentions, specific, or indirect, of the Galaxy S4 the actions influenced by the agenda setting theory used by the company focused on the differences between the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone. These differences are often the determining factor between why a person picks one product over another. Even though an issue in the George Zimmerman case was the issue of the cellular phone conversation, the majority of the commercials were not directly related to the news story contained in the program. The news environment associated with the program â€Å"Anderson Cooper 360 degrees†, focused on the objectivity of the jury on the evidence presented in the case. The information presented had a balanced approach to the situation because some guests sided with the family of the victim whereas others were focused on the issue of self-defense. This balanced pproach questioned issues such as sensationalism, persuasion, and journalistic ethics. Because this case is a sensitive subject sparking questions of racial profiling, self-defense, and the protocol of a neighborhood watchman there were many issues intended to catch the attention of the audience. One area of focus were the laws associated with self-defense in the state of Florida. â€Å"These laws, commonly referred to as castle laws, stand-your-ground laws, or shoot first, ask questions later laws, have the common feature of strengthening legal protections for those use deadly force in self-defense† (Holliday, 2012, p. 07, para. 1). The â€Å"shoot first, ask questions later† approach of George Zimmerman was criticized because of the recording of the phone call where the 9-11 operator told Zimmerman not to follow the individual. One of the major points of Anderson Cooper was that even though George Zimmerman had the right to protect himself, he was instructed to leave the situation alone because a police unit was on the way to investigate the so-called suspicious individual. Had Mr. Zimmerman followed the instructions he would have been in a situation in which he believed he had to defend himself. CNN’s program, â€Å"Anderson Cooper 360 degrees† focused on the sensitive elements and evidence associated with the George Zimmerman case. The program touched on the areas of objectivity, persuasion, sensationalism, and self-defense. The commercials had an indirect association with the information provided in the program. The frequent advertising of cellular devices was a subliminal tactic to establish brand loyalty, and make users question, or appreciate their current cellular phone carriers. However, outside the phone conversations held by Treyvon Martin with a friend, and George Zimmerman with the 9-11 operator the commercials during the program were random focusing on the average audience member’s interest. The news environment portrayed a surprising balance of opinions whereas the guests focused on the facts, laws, and any situational analysis conducted on the evidence available for the George Zimmerman case. The influence of advertising and news on society has a general approach with subliminal sodalities.

Case Study: Air Quality Systems Inc.

Quality Systems Inc. Was founded in 1984 and is based out of Richmond, Virginia. Their mission is to increase the customers quality of life by creating, manufacturing, and marketing innovative energy-recovery products. They manufacture ventilation, air-cleaning, and heating equipment for residential and light commercial applications. Sales have been Increasing consistently and were expected to reach $12 million for the year.The 4 key areas ASS specialize in are design, assembly, steel fabrication, and the manufacturing of aluminum heat recovery ventilators. The Hers accounted for 2/3 of the projected $12 million sales. 60% of parts were procured from suppliers and the other 40% were produced In house. Patrick Wallace Is the plant manager and is in charge of quality control. He watches over 2 technicians who are supposed to do quality checks and testing. Issues: 1 .The problem is the foam insulation for a batch of Hers manufactured at the plant is peeling, leading Pat to believe the e quipment would malfunction. 2. Suffolk, a local manufacturer, whom ASS has never had a quality problem with, supplied ASS with he malfunctioning product. 3. Some customers may have already received defective products and all production has to be ceased In order to make sure quality Is on point. What cause the Issues: 1 . A lapse In Judgment on the 2 technicians who are supposed to do the quality checks and tests.The defect should have been noticed on the 1st HER that came through. And definitely should have been noticed before any orders went out. 2. Possibly the growth of business and sales. This could lead Suffolk as well as Ass's quality control team to maybe be overwhelmed. Missing where they had made the mistake. Recommendations: e wise to give Patrick a team of 5 technicians instead of only 2. This would give him the ability to assign each technician a specific job. For ex.Having 1 technician inspect at the beginning of the job, another at the end, one specifically to focus on the HER adhesive, etc. To solve your issue with Suffolk you could approach them with the malfunction you've 1 OFF contract with them. As far as dealing with the orders that have gone out that may malfunction, you would have to do a recall for any product that's been sold. Dating back to when the order from Suffolk that you noticed the malfunction from, came in.

Strategic Management Report on Acer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Management Report on Acer - Essay Example The general trends and strategy of the industry and the strategy of Acer will be compared and contrasted briefly. Reasons for Acer's growth and some recommendations for the strategic direction of Acer will be discussed. Towards the end of the paper the success and the factors that accounted for Acer's success will be put in the picture. There are more than a dozen PC manufacturers who lead the computer industry. In such a competitive environment only that manufacturer can survive who has got competitive edge over its competitors. When Acer first entered the PC industry, there was already fierce competition in the industry. Price cutting was the major trend in the 1990s, instead of differentiating their products from others, the players in the industry indulged into price wars. Technology in the PC industry was changing rapidly; observing competitor's moves and strategic responses to those moves were changing the global PC industry. Strategic direction of most of the producers of PC at that time was to design their own PC and sell it through their distribution channels according to the demand forecast. As the existing players in the industry were in the business for several years now, they marketed their product with competitive price and fresh technology. And now after so many years in the market of notebooks and PCs, Acer is able to reduce its costs to levels beyond that of Dell and HP. It was able to do this because it distributes the products through only retailing and e-tailing, while others use direct selling and corporate selling. Acer has also outsourced its manufacturing and assembly to reduce costs. Now Acer has competitive edge of price over its customers and Acer is following price cut strategy to win over Dell and HP. Acer is a Taiwan based company, and as all Asian produces inherited cost advantage over the companies based in Europe and US, Acer also had advantage of lower costs because of availability of labor, no heavy taxes from government and no propriety laws. The first product that Acer started producing was Microprocessor I, then after a few years it established a new company which manufactured and supplied computer parts to other companies in the industry. Acer wanted an independent brand name; to achieve it, Acer established a retail computer chain too. With a retail chain of its own and a parts supplying company under its brand name, Acer eliminated any dependencies on other firms. Acer's success was driven by product innovation; it started producing new technology ahead of IBM. The Acer's OEM business Acer Peripherals Inc. was of a huge advantage to Acer in the global market. Acer could speed up the deliveries of PCs and cut cost of its PCs because it was producing the parts itself. While Acer was self-dependent, other companies in the industry such as IBM and Compaq were getting their supplies from Acer Peripherals. Through its innovation and self-dependency, it created competitive edge in the form of fast deliveries and lower costs, and by 1990 it became 13th largest manufacturer of PCs. In the beginning, Acer was cunning enough to not confront global PC producers such as IBM and Compaq, and it mainly marketed its products in Europe and Asia. But in late 1980s it entered the US market and partnered with two companies to establish the

Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Questions - Assignment Example Christianity triumphed in the Roman Empire following the unity that Christians exhibited. The religion remained open to new converts, thereby giving it the potential to grow and expand in numbers. At the same time, the influence of Christianity was significantly being felt across the empire and beyond. As a result, Christianity became integrated in the Roman Empire. Judaism, Greek philosophy, and Hellenistic mystery religions influenced early Christianity in one way or another (Marshall 132). They gave Christianity an aspect of organization, growth, and development, given the fact that they preceded the start of Christianity. The values they stood for also shaped Christianity. Morals that had been previously ignored by sects and prior religions were accounted for by Christianity. Christianity moved swiftly to embrace virtues across all its teachings, and so did Greco-Roman humanism. In some instances, flaws were overlooked in both contexts, although the extent to which the flaws were overlooked differed. On the same note, new ideas were influenced by just a few individuals who stood out over the rest. However, the practices of both Christianity and Greco-Roman humanism were based on different beliefs (Marshall

Cultural Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example The poor in this scenario adapt based on the environment. The manner in which a person survives the social and economical complexities will determine their success. The nature of survival is attributed to adaptive strategy in that those who positively adapt would survive the complex environment. The society bases itself along the social hierarchy. According to Stack (1974), the society within which poverty prevails adapts a risk and opportunity sharing strategy. This strategy implies that members within a certain community collectively solve issues in an effort to reduce the costs incurred while performing particular functions. In this case, family members are used as a single unite. The self-help strategy at the family level ensures the community survives while fostering relation among family members (28). The strategy highlights the importance of unity along the family setting. According to the author, the unity and risk sharing are an adaptive strategy adapted by people lining in the Flats to overcome poverty and survive the harsh environments. The risk-sharing concept created by friends. These friends exchange basic goods and ensure fair distribution of basic commodities (33). The author acknowledges the close ties among the society members. This relation ensures that people develop a tendency of exchanging goods. The sharing culture ensures that the society enjoys commodities that are within the environment and hence limit the effect of poverty within this setting. The model ensures people within the Flat setting deal with social and economical challenges through sharing. The sharing aspect limits the amount of cash required to possess material elements. The culture ensures those who have surplus of given commodities share with others in the spirit of togetherness and social balance. The author highlights the tactics deployed members of the social setting as based on extended family

Reaction paper about Blackfish documentary Essay

Reaction paper about Blackfish documentary - Essay Example As such, the theory postulates that crime and deviance occur because of the lack of adequate constraints. The lack of clear laws that govern the handling and use of wild animals is a fundamental factor that could have led to the criminal behavior of the management of SeaWorld. Orcas are dangerous animals belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. While dolphins are always friendly to humans, the animals are temperamental and their behaviors are always unpredictable. Killer whale is among the largest of the family. They have teeth and are always aggressive especially when agitated. Additionally, the animals are large and travel for up to 160 kilometers in a day. The animals therefore require adequate space and depth to move and live freely. The management of SeaWorld has made a number of decisions some of which may have led to the death of the three individuals killed by the killer whales. The need for increased profitability compelled the management to overlook the safety of the employees and freedom of the animals. Additionally, the pressure to deliver is a fundamental determinant that could have compelled the trainer, Dawn Brancheau, to stress the animal thereby causing his death. Ever since the release of the Blackfish film, SeaWorld has promised to make a number of changes. On 13 May 2014, The Dodo ran a story that explained the spotting of a 103-year-old whale moving around the West Coast of Canada with her children and grandchildren. The spotting of the whale would cause problems for SeaWorld. The company had claimed that the life span of orca to be around 20 years. SeaWorld made such claims to justify the fact that most of their orcas die before reaching the age of 20 owing to the deplorable treatment and the environment in captivity. The company has since promised to increase the capacity of its tanks in order to provide the animals with more space Despite the changes, the company promises

Why World War 2 had the most importance in the 20th century Essay

Why World War 2 had the most importance in the 20th century - Essay Example Post Second World War, the belt of dictatorship became loose. Dictatorship had been a major cause that had led to the rise of the war. Additionally, the war did usher a period of Atomic age. Utilization of the atomic bombs did indicate the advancing nature of weaponry in wars. It was the turning point of many societal issues (Dorn, pg. 540). Many opportunities did erupt after the war, and any person who grabbed them did benefit greatly. Women were the greatest achievers and beneficiaries. The symbol of the women during the war period was Rosie the Riveter. She demonstrated the woman’s worth. She was a strong woman walked head high with super self-esteem. She reversed the mentality that the place of a woman is in the kitchen. Women became a part of the team involved in welfare. They did work as hard as men, and sometimes even harder than the way men did. They had skills to operate heavy machines (Sokoloff, pg. 315). The summation of the war ended up with a third of the women as part of the army fighters. During the war period, women were granted better privileges at work. They were the backbone of the economy. They could build and maintain heavy machinery, as well as operate them. They received a pay increase. The event was detrimental to the position of woman in the society. The African Americans were beneficiaries of the event. There was a down surge in the discrimination levels after the war. Prior to the war commencement, the whites detested any assistance from their black Americans counterparts. In fact, they did hang a big notice in their stores â€Å"No Help Wanted.† After the war, they changed it to â€Å"Help Wanted.† Many African Americans did secure a job and made them earn a decent living. The order from the American president in 1941 even paved a great path for the elimination of discrimination. The President made an order that four businesses linked with the government should support racial equality. In the war, the black

Cultural background Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cultural background - Essay Example My father is a Spanish who lived in Venezuela and travelled a lot to Spain. It is a common tradition for Hispanics to stay with relatives while on short vacations and so my father did. Being a capable member of the family, he took the responsibilities of every extended family member experiencing financial difficulties, sicknesses, and other life issues. In Hispanic culture, individual in the same family are vested with the responsibility of taking care of those unfortunate in the same family. Hispanic parents instil the importance of honour, respect for the elderly, good manners, and respect to authority to their children right from their childhood. Some common etiquette includes a handshake, a hug and a kiss on the cheek to signify greetings. The Hispanics have common attire that is worn to various important places including the church, or social gatherings. From the Hispanic culture, I have learnt the importance of placing great value on my looks as a sense of honour, pride, and dignity. I am a religious person and most of the Hispanic’s are, most of them professing the Roman Catholic faith. My mother being from Venezuela, we have adopted some of their cultures like love for Venezuelan fine arts, music and dances, and

Prostitution Is a Problem Caused by Men Essay Example for Free

Prostitution Is a Problem Caused by Men Essay Prostitution is a problem caused by men. There arent any prostitutes for women. Its men who create the problem and men who make the laws. We have to admit that this is the reality. Although threr is a Gender equality law which was passed a long time ago (since the 1920s), women still have to suffer unequal treatment in many fields especially in creating the laws and prostitution is one of the most contraversial problems. We all know human beings have a desire for sex, except for sick or impotent people and cloisterers as well as monks. That is a normal physical demand. Sex is also the manifestation of love but in this case, we are just discussing a basic instinct. Men always have a stronger need for sex than women. That does not mean women do not, it is because of their shyness and social morality that keep them from expressing their desires. And men also keep the right to make the laws so that is the reason why prostitutes are for men only. I totally disagree with legalizing prostitution. It draws a guilt free road for men, especially married men. Some men vindicate that prostitutes help them clear out the stress that they get from work and meet their demands completely when their wives can not. But in fact, everything they do is worse. If prostitutes are just for fulfilling sexual needs, it is okay, but in many cases, men are addicted to prostitutes and spend most of their time relaxing with them. They do not care about what their wives think, give lots of money they earn to call-girls and treat their wives and children badly especially when their wives or children discover the bad things they do. And the two most dangerous consequences of prostitution are that men can bring sexually transmitted infections to their wives and many families might or have to cope with the breakdown when the wives can not stand their husbands’ behaviour any more. The other negative side of prostitution is the unequal field. There are just red light districts for men but not for women. Women and men have the same biological needs, so why do they not have their own playplace? Because of morality or the number of women in Congress and also the number of women holding a leadership position in a country is smaller than men? It is common even in the most developed nation The United States of America. In our history, only two queens have been able to control men and really spread equality all over their nations, they are Cleopatra of Egypt and Wu Zetian of China. I extremely admire them. If there were a person like them existing in this world, humanity’s history could change in another way and I am really sure it would be magical.

Passenger To Freighter Conversion Of Aircrafts Engineering Essay

Passenger To Freighter Conversion Of Aircrafts Engineering Essay The purpose of the report is to provide detailed description for future aerospace engineers on how and why a P2F (also known as PTF or Passenger-to-Freighter) conversion is carried out. 1.2. Background Ever since the new millennium started, P2F conversions on aircrafts have become more common in the civil aviation industry. Major civil aviation industry companies (Airbus, Boeing, etc.) started researching with designs on how to modify an airframe structure of their ageing passenger jets to cargo freighters. In conjunction with the current economic situation, civil aviation logistic companies are trying to find ways to cut down expenses on replacing older cargo freighter aircrafts- buying P2F converted aircrafts. Furthermore, P2F conversions extend lifespan of passenger jets, providing first-hand quality P2F cargo aircrafts at second-hand cargo freighter prices. Since there is an increase in demand in the cargo freighter industry more companies will look at P2F conversions .Mainly because it is more economical for the company and they can gain the same amount of revenue at the same time. 1.3. Methodology The information was gathered from a few websites through the internet, books and magazine references .The content was retrieved from websites like http://www.eads.com , books like, magazines like. 1.4. Scope The Focused areas are mainly about the structural differences between a freighter aircraft and a passenger aircraft. In addition, the report will include structure of freighter planes. In addition, it will include the pros and cons of P2F and how the conversion is carried out. Lastly, this report includes the technical effects to the aircraft structure. 2. P2F Conversion Procedures There are various types of P2F conversion procedures. The various procedures are basically created by primary manufacturers (Boeing and Airbus) and assorted conversion companies (EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) and SIAEC (Singapore International Airlines Engineering Company)).As a result , there are many different procedures for a P2F conversion to be complete. The following procedures will be according to the 4-month conversion of the Airbus A310 wide-bodied airliner into the Airbus A310-200F by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW).In the following few paragraphs I will discuss about the different procedures carried out during a P2F conversion procedure. (SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/a310-200f/) 2.1. Preparation before conversion The airplanes paintwork is scraped off. Thereafter, a fraction of the passenger cabin is taken out. The aircraft is then jacked into a neutral stress point for 4 weeks for the modification of the airframe. With the plane partially empty it is jacked up into a neutral stress point for 4 weeks for the adjustment of the aeroplanes body. (SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/a310-200f/) 2.2. Plug windows Now that the aircraft does not carry any more passengers, windows in the aircraft are useless. The windows previously used for passengers to look out of the aircraft are now plugged (covered up). As u can see in the image below, there are no more windows in a freighter aircraft because it saves time on maintenance and for safety reasons. Therefore the windows are plugged.(Marcel van Leeuwen, 2006, Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter Arrives in Seattle [online]. Civilian aviation news. Available from: http://www.aviationnews.eu/2006/09/17/boeing- 747-large-cargo-freighter-arrives-in-seattle/) Figure 2.6: Plugging of Windows (Airbus Freighter Conversion, 2010) 2.3. Removal of unwanted material Anything in the aircraft that is not needed anymore is removed from the aircraft. Passenger- related facilities and structure (like seats and carpet flooring) is take out of the as it does not come in handy for a cargo freighter. This is to make room for the installation of the new freighter equipment. With the removal of redundant material it creates space for the cargo. (SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/a310-200f/) 2.4. Fitting of cargo door The front-end of the fuselage section is opened up in 2 stages for the installation of the cargo door. The upper frame shell is held at its position and is secured by riveting the frame to the fuselage. The old lower frame shell section is substituted with a new lower frame shell that is lowered into the prepared cut-out location and incorporated strongly to the airframe. The frames forward and aft of the cut-out are entirely replaced by reinforced frames. After the installation of the frames, electric components and hydraulic systems are added for the cargo door to operate with ease. (SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.aerospace- technology.com/projects/a310-200f/) Figure 2.1 à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Cargo door of Boeing 747-200BDSF http://www.iai.co.il/sip_storage/files/6/34576.wmv, 2002 2.5. Installation of new flooring The normal flooring on a passenger aircraft cannot be used. Hence, the flooring on a passenger plane has to be removed and reinforced with a higher strength floor to resist heavy cargo loads. To move the cargo in the aircraft easily, ball mats and roller tracks are installed onto the cargo flooring. With the new flooring the aircraft can carry more load and be tough at the same time and move the cargo within the aircraft easily.(SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from:http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/a310-200f/) Figure 2.2-cargo loading system of airbus http://www.eads.com/eads/int/en.html 2.6. Final checks after conversion Once the body of the aircraft has been converted and all thatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s left to do is to do a final check on the whole aircraft. Firstly, the aircraft avionics is adjusted before tests are carried out. Thereafter, the customer inspects the flight to make sure everything is in working condition. However, before the aircraft is handed over to the customer the documentation for the conversion is finalised. With all these procedures done, the P2F conversion is complete. (SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/a310-200f/) 3. P2F conversionà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s cost impact 3.1 Replacement of ageing Freighters by P2Fs. Since the current condition for the economy is not at a very healthy condition, many aero- logistic companies would scout around for second hand cargo freighters. However, second-hand freighters have now reduced in numbers so drastically that most of them will stop flying within a few years. Hence, P2F conversions will help solve the problem of ageing cargo freighters in the near future. In 2009, airbus presented their 20-year forecast of their future freighter fleet. In their statistics shown in Fig3.1, Airbus emphasised on P2F conversions as the way to go to solve the problem of freighter insufficiency Therefore, by 2028 more than half the freighters around the world will be P2F converted. This is because P2F conversion requires low cost, shorter time and less material than manufacturing a freighter from scratch, making it a cost effective solution. (J. Leahy, L. Rouaud, 2009. Global market forecast 2009-2028 [online], 164.Avaialable from: http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm ?onglet=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=page= .) Figure3.1: graph of PTF in demand (Airbus 2009) http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=page= 3.2. Demand of P2F aircrafts P2F conversion will take the freighter industry to a whole different level. In addition, the wider range of freighter types from P2F conversion will create a new generation of small jet freighters (e.g. Airbus A320 P2F).Besides that ,majority of Airbus freighter demand will be aided with P2F conversion as 96% of freighters in 2028 will be P2F aircrafts. This shows that the future of the P2F conversion industry will have a bright future. (J. Leahy, L. Rouaud,2009. Global market forecast 2009-2028 [online], 164.Avaialable from: http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=page=.) figure3.2: graph on small jet freighters (Airbus 2009) http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=page= 4. Benefits and limitations of P2F conversion Despite its many advantages such as its ability to save money time, material and manpower needed. Alongside, it helps extend an aircrafts life and replaces ageing freighters in the market. However, its disadvantages include acceptable use of market price as well as availability of aircraft. The next few paragraphs will explain and elaborate more on the benefits and limitations of P2F conversion. 4.1 Benefits 4.1.1 Saves cost Companies around the world who are looking to purchase freighter cargo aircraft would most likely try to save up on anything they can save on. One of the benefits of P2F conversions is that it helps companies save money. A P2F converted aircraft costs nearly one third of a freighter aircraft made from scratch. Since ità ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s just part of the aircraft that is reconstructed, it will help save cost on the amount of material used. When there is less work to be done, less manpower is needed. Hence; they can save cost by employing fewer engineers to work. Therefore, P2F conversions help save money for companies. (According to Phillip Securities Research (2005), initiating coverage Singapore) 4.1.2 Extends aircraft life A P2F conversion helps extend an aircrafts life span as well. When an aircraft is almost reaching its age of retirement it can either be scrapped or reborn again. In this case the aircraft is sent to companies that deal with conversions. The old structure is replaced with new structure in order for it to fly safely. Therefore, P2F conversions help extend the lifespan of an aircraft.(EADS media centre, Rising (like a phoenix [online], available from: http://www.contentforce.de/iptv/player/macros/_s_eads/_x_s- 35848193/mediacenter.html?height=500HYPERLINK http://www.contentforce.de/iptv/player/macros/_s_eads/_x_s- 35848193/mediacenter.html?height=500width=1024attrs=scrolling=noHYPERLINK http://www.contentforce.de/iptv/player/macros/_s_eads/_x_s- 35848193/mediacenter.html?height=500width=1024attrs=scrolling=nowidth=1024HYPERLINK http://www.contentforce.de/iptv/player/macros/_s_eads/_x_s- 35848193/mediacenter.html?height=500width=1024attrs=scrolling=noHYPERLINK http://www.contentforce.de /iptv/player/macros/_s_eads/_x_s- 35848193/mediacenter.html?height=500width=1024attrs=scrolling=noattrs=scrolling%3Dno) (SIA engineering company websiteprovides information on what P2F conversion is) 4.2 Limitations 4.2.1 Acceptable used market price P2F conversions serve as a form of investment for airline companies. If the cost of the conversion is more than the proposed price to sell the aircraft, the owner selling the P2F converted aircraft will incur a loss. In addition, different models of aircraft go through different kinds of conversion processes. Hence, the standard of quality and the workmanship to set prices for the P2F aircrafts vary widely, which might lead to underpriced P2F planes. (Hamilton, http://museair.googlepages.com/ThePassingofanUnrecognisedIndustryGi.pdf , 2007) 4.2.2 Airframe availability In order to perform a P2F conversion, there must be available airframes. The airframe needs to be from an airworthy passenger jet which is not in service anymore. If not, it would make no sense just to make an aircraft and convert it. Therefore, the number of used jets there are out there is limited to availability. (Hamilton, http://museair.googlepages.com/ThePassingofanUnrecognisedIndustryGi.pdf , 2007) 5. Conclusion The P2F conversion procedure may seem simple to digest. However, it is much more sophisticated compared to the other areas in the aeronautical market. Regardless, the freighter market is shinning their spotlight on P2F conversions to give old passenger aircrafts a second chance to fly again as freighters. In addition, P2F aircrafts are able to perform almost as well as new freighters made from scratch. No matter how advanced P2F conversion gets, there are limits for the acceptable used market price. Otherwise, the conversion will result in heavy loss financially. 6. Recommendations P2F conversion is a very profitable market to invest in. Companies dealing with P2F can take one more step by making use of more advanced technology when they are converting aircrafts. It can help save cost by using less material and maybe even with efficiency. Therefore P2F conversions can take one more step ahead by doing more research in this industry as there will be a rise in demand for freighter aircrafts in the future. III. References SPG Media Limited, 2010. Airbus A310-200F Freighter Aircraft-Aerospace Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/a310-200f/ [Accessed 16 august 2010] Marcel van Leeuwen, 2006, Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter Arrives in Seattle [online]. Civilian aviation news. Available from: http://www.aviationnews.eu/2006/09/17/boeing-747-large-cargo-freighter-arrives-in-seattle/, [Accessed 16 august 2010] J. Leahy, L. Rouaud,2009. Global market forecast 2009-2028 [online], 164.Avaialable from: http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=HYPERLINK http://www.airbus.com/en/gmf2009/appli.htm?onglet=page=page= .[Accessed 16 august 2010] like a phoenix [online], available from: http://www.contentforce.de/iptv/player/macros/_s_eads/_x_s-35848193/mediacenter.html .[Accessed 16 august 2010] SIA engineering company websiteprovides information on what P2F conversion is. [Accessed 16 august 2010] Hamilton,http://museair.googlepages.com/ThePassingofanUnrecognisedIndustryGi.pdf , 2007 [Accessed 16 august 2010]

Man and Nature in The Grapes of Wrath Essay -- Grapes Wrath essays

Man and Nature in The Grapes of Wrath   Ã‚   In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses both obvious references and subtle contrasts to emphasize the main theme of the novel: the sanctity of man's relationship to the natural world and to each other.    Machines have no place in this relationship. They act as a barrier between men and the land. They are dangerous because they perform the function of men with greater efficiency, but they lack the spiritual element that makes the land so valuable. Chapter five uses imagery to detail the evil inherent in the plowing of land by a machine:    "Behind the tractor rolled the shining disks, cutting the earth with blades-not plowing but surgery, pushing the cut earth to the right where the second row of disks cut it and pushed it to the left; slicing blades shining, polished by the cut earth. And pulled behind the disks, the harrows combing with iron teeth so that the little clods broke up and the earth lay smooth. Behind the harrows, the long seeders- twelve curved iron penes erected in the foundry, orgasms set...

cold war :: essays research papers

1991 Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev announces that he is resigning as president of the Soviet Union. In truth, there was not much of a Soviet Union from which to resign--just four days earlier, 11 of the former Soviet republics had established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), effectively dismembering the USSR. The Soviet Union, for all intents and purposes, had already ceased to exist. In his farewell speech to the nation, Gorbachev indicated that the recent establishment of the CIS was the primary motive for his resignation, claiming he was "concerned about the fact that the people in this country are ceasing to become citizens of a great power and the consequences may be very difficult for all of us to deal with." In words that were sometimes prideful, sometimes resentful, Gorbachev stated that he stood on his record of achievement. He had, he claimed, overseen the Soviet Union's trip down the "road of democracy." His reforms "steered" the communist economy "toward the market economy." He declared that the Russian people were "living in a new world" in which an "end has been put to the Cold War and to the arms race." Admitting "there were mistakes made," Gorbachev remained adamant that he "never had any regrets" about the policies he pursued. In reality, Gorbachev had lost much of his power and prestige in the Soviet Union even before the establishment of the CIS. The economy was unstable. No one seemed pleased by Gorbachev-some opponents demanded even more political freedom while hard-liners in his government opposed any movement toward reform. In August 1991, he survived a coup attempt only through the assistance of Russian Federation

Shakespeare Moot Court Project Essays -- William Shakespeare

Shakespeare in My Canada Desmond Manderson and Paul Yachnin created the Shakespeare Moot Court Project in 2002, aimed at exploring the interpretative nature of law and literature in relation to Shakespeare. In this court, Shakespeare is law; his plays and sonnets form a body of law used to argue cases of various topics. In 2003-2004, the project took on the issue of same-sex marriage in â€Å"Love on Trial: Same Sex Marriage and the Law of Shakespeare.† Halpern v. Attorney General of Canada, a case from 2002 that challenged the heterosexual definition of marriage in Ontario, was the starting point of the project. The legality of same-sex marriage according to Shakespeare was considered in relation to the meaning of the institution and the necessity of heterosexuality within it (Manderson 479). The case was initially decided in favor of same-sex marriage, and later was appealed and heard for a final time on 27 September 2004 at McGill University to a packed audience, an event which is the subject of this paper. While â€Å"Love on Trial† is an exercise in the connections between law, literature, and the social function of Shakespeare, it also performs a cultural function in its connection to a contemporary Canadian social issue. The blending of Canadian concerns regarding same-sex marriage and the authority of Shakespeare are joined in this project to create a forum to discuss the national issue in a literary context. The arguments for both sides of the appeal were previously published in the McGill Law Journal and are thus referred to here. Desmond Manderson’s first argument for the legality of same-sex marriage is the â€Å"Armenian argument†: both same-sex marriages and marriages between Armenians do not occur in Shakespe... ... issue that was nonexistent in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though the trial is interested in looking at law, literature, and the interpretations of both through Shakespeare, in this case it becomes a forum to discuss a particularly Canadian issue. Thus Manderson’s and Yachnin’s adaptations of Shakespeare are related to issues of the nation. This tie between Shakespeare and Canada has been present throughout the history of the country, and â€Å"Love on Trial† suggests the continuing importance of Shakespeare in Canada. 6 Works Cited: Fischlin, Daniel and Mark Fortier. â€Å"General Introduction.† Adaptations of Shakespeare. Fischlin, Daniel and Mark Fortier, eds. London: Routledge, 2000: 1-22. Manderson, Desmond and Paul Yachnin. â€Å"Love on Trial: Nature, Law, and Same-Sex Marriage in the Court of Shakespeare.† McGill Law Journal. 49.3 (2004): 475-514.

Black Cat Essay

Symbols abound in works of fiction and are used by authors to convey their message or produce a certain effect on the reader. In the horror genre, master story teller Edgar Allan Poe uses negative as well as ordinary symbols to evoke dread, revulsion, and fear that gradually and inevitably lead to a terrifying climax. Poe manipulates symbols to suit his purpose – to frighten and horrify – and he does it gradually and almost imperceptibly. In his The Black Cat and The Fall of the House of Usher – two classic tales of Gothic horror – Poe uses negative symbols out of the commonplace as a surrealist painter draws seemingly bizarre shapes out of ordinary things to create an eerie, haunting atmosphere which grips the reader inescapably as the story unfolds. Poe creates sharp contrasts doubtless to make the transition from light to sombre to horrible more appalling. He begins The Black Cat by a distraught rambling statement about something that has left him terrified, tortured and destroyed. Thus, the reader immediately is put on guard about something sinister to follow. But in the next paragraphs the pall dissolves for a moment as the narrator recalls the past where he was known for his â€Å"docility and humanity† of disposition. The foreboding air quickly returns as Poe proceeds to transform the cat’s master from a gentle animal-loving person to a homicidal maniac. The cat, although remarkably good-looking is depicted as an ordinary house pet, doted upon by its master. It does not cause any alarm other than the common superstition that black cats bring bad luck, or the ancient notion, voiced out by the wife, that they are actually witches in disguise. An object of pity as its once caring master, now slave to the bottle, stabs its eye, and finally hangs it to death, the cat morphs into a malevolent creature, at least in the imagination of the narrator. The black cat with the splotched breast that takes its place is lovable too at first until its master comes to hate it and wants to kill it too but murders his wife instead. In this tale, Poe uses the negative symbol of the black cat to suggest that indeed something supernatural has occurred. The white splotch on the cat that comes to live with them after the first is killed soon becomes recognizable by the narrator – or perhaps he imagines it – as an image of the gallows, a fate to which he was destined after his crime was discovered, commensurate with his deed of hanging the cat by the limb of a tree. It conditions the mind to accept the idea of an avenging demon. The first negative symbol used in The Fall of the House of Usher is that of the old mansion of the Ushers, which evokes foreboding as it sat in the midst of a dreary landscape. Observes the narrator: â€Å"I looked upon the scene before me – upon the mere vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges – and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees- with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to . . . the hideous dropping off of the veil. † By itself the image of the old mansion disturbs an otherwise peaceful mind, but Poe heightens the gloom by describing its weird image reflected on the adjoining black tarn as the narrator gazes â€Å"upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows. † Here Poe probably plays on the age-old superstition about mirrors being capable of trapping the human soul, or perhaps the ghastly description is only meant to heighten the aura of gloom pervading the mansion – â€Å"an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn – a pestilent and mystic vapour, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued. † Poe gives an indication of impending doom awaiting the structure: â€Å"a barely perceptible fissure, which, extending from the roof of the building in front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it became lost in the sullen waters of the tarn. † As a breaking mirror is said to bring about bad luck, the reflecting water of the tarn swallowed the mansion in the end. It may be noted that the tarn as a negative symbol also appears in Poe’s Ulalume, where the poet wanders through the â€Å"dank tarn of Auber. † Usher’s dread of his ancient dwelling is depicted in his ballad of The Haunted Palace: a place of beauty and happiness until â€Å"evil things, in robes of sorrow† renders it forever desolate. One senses his awareness of the unseen – or of the forthcoming evil – in his description of the doomed palace, wherein are found Vast forms that move fantastically To a discordant melody; While, like a rapid ghastly river, Through the pale door, A hideous throng rush out forever And laugh- but smile no more. Apart from the mansion, Roderick Usher’s purported illness – â€Å"a morbid acuteness of the senses† – also serves as a negative symbol. If the cat’s master in The Black Cat is an alcoholic, the narrator in The Fall of the House of Usher is a hypochondriac, living in perpetual morbid fear. The former is terrified of the cat owing to the strange markings in its breast, the fear that it might be an incarnation of the animal he killed; the latter is prey to â€Å"an anomalous species of terror. † The former is afraid of retribution for what he had done to the cat; the latter is afraid of struggling with fear itself. I dread the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results. I shudder at the thought of any, even the most trivial, incident, which may operate upon this intolerable agitation of soul. In have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect- in terror. In this unnerved-in this pitiable condition-I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR. If Roderick Usher’s mental illness is cause for depression, that of the Lady Madeleine’s wasting disease induces sorrow and pity for the afflicted woman. Poe makes brother and sister twins, perhaps to suggest according to the common belief that twins are bound to share the same feelings, experience the same pain and suffering. Being a twin and possessing acute senses, Roderick might have known his sister was only comatose when she was laid on the mansion vault – must have sensed her struggling, clawing her way out of her tomb. One feels deep revulsion for Roderick Usher, who, knowing his twin sister had been buried alive just kept it to himself. As in Usher, a cadaver is deposited without the benefit of a public burial in The Black Cat. Whereas a cataleptic is entombed alive in the former, a cadaver with an animal not yet dead is walled up in the cellar in the latter. The Black Cat is somewhat reminiscent of The Tell-Tale Heart where the murderer hides the body if his victim under the wooden planks of his apartment, but is found out by the police as they were about to depart, convinced of his innocence. In that story, acuteness of senses – the ability to hear the hideous beating of the old man’s heart – similar to Roderick Usher’s hearing the struggles of Lady Madeleine in her coffin – gave away the murderer. Having painted a dark scene, Poe proceeds to sustain the sense of impending doom. As readers we know something sinister and evil is about to befall the house but just as we brace ourselves for the onrush of terror, the master of horror places us at ease, enabling us to lower our guards. Thus, we become most vulnerable when the terrible thing is unleashed when we least expect it. The sudden announcement of a terrible thing, like the emergence of a killer from the dark when its victim thought she was safe, has a forceful impact on the reader. Poe’s masterful use of this technique employs the manipulation of symbols, in this case the breaking of the planks of a wooden door, the mortal cry of a beast, and the clanging of a metal shield – all to induce terror. Feeling troubled and unable to sleep during a stormy night, the narrator reads an antique volume to Roderick Usher. It is titled Mad Trist where Sir Ethelred, the hero of the tale, breaks down a hermit’s wooden door, slays a dragon, and causes a brazen shield to fall clanging at his feet. Waylaid and distracted, the reader is frightened by what Roderick Usher reveals: â€Å"Not hear it? –yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long-long-long-many minutes, many hours, many days have I heard it-yet I dared not-oh, pity me, miserable wretch that I am! – I dared not- I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb! It turns out that the breaking of the hermit’s door, the death-cry of the dragon, and the clanging of the brazen shield corresponded to the breaking of her coffin and her struggle to let herself out through the coppered archway of the family vault. Through his acute senses Roderick knows she has managed to come out: â€Å"Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door! † Alcohol in The Black Cat is used to explain the demented state of the narrator’s mind. Did the alcohol unleash the man’s capacity for evil, or is man innately wicked, capable of the vilest deeds, alcohol or no alcohol? Not a moralist, Poe delves into the darkness of the human heart, but does not inquire into such matters. The narrator in The Black Cat may have come upon the theory it was the black cat that brought about his downfall in the same way people justify their most unspeakable crimes by heaping the blame on others, pointing to someone or something else that impelled them to their deed. Poe uses symbols to create a fearful atmosphere, utilizing people’s tendency to attribute occurrences to the supernatural. Faced by the unknown, people are easily conditioned to accept what may be illogical to them in their rational moments. As the narrator in Usher puts it: â€Å"†¦ while beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. † WORKS CITED Poe, Edgar Allan. â€Å"The Black Cat†. 31 October 2008. —â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†. 31 October 2008.

Barclays Bank PLC Is A Multinational Company Essay

Amenities to attract highly skilled and creative persons at all important levels ? Tradition of closeness to key customers and target customers A business can differentiate itself by performing its existing value activities or reconfiguring in some unique ways. And the sustainability of that differentiation will depend on two things: a continuation of its high perceived value to buyers and a lack of imitation by competitors. There are many alternative strategic directions in which Barclaycard could implement in their current strategy of differentiation. These may include technology innovation or product/ service differentiation. Product/service differentiation Product differentiation occurs â€Å"when, owing to differences in physical attributes, ancillary service, geographic location, information, and/or subjective image, one firm’s products are clearly preferred by at least some buyers over rival products at a given price† (, 1990, ). For firms seeking to make their demand curve less elastic, successful differentiation provides an insulated position against competitors by enabling firms to sell a larger quantity at a given price or by allowing the firm to create brand loyalty in customers resulting in lower sensitivity to price. This uniqueness may build an entry barrier for competitors to overcome (, 1992; , 1980). However, being unique may require a trade-off with investment if achieving differentiation requires costly effort such as extensive research, product design, high quality materials, or intensive customer support. Thus, the firms employing the differentiation strategy cannot ignore costs and risk (, 1980). Horizontal product differentiation focuses on differences in attribute variety among competing brands. It occurs â€Å"when one brand contains more of some attributes but less of some other attributes in comparison to another brand† (). Consumers’ different tastes will exploit differing strong and weak points among brands given identical prices (, 1992). The shift towards consumerism is accelerating with significant implications in many of the markets in which we operate. Fundamentally, our view is that consumerism involves a shift in power from institutions towards consumers. The rapid transformation of the credit card industry – first with the severing of the traditional tie between bank accounts and credit cards and second, with the emergence of credit as a true commodity in the credit card industry – illustrates this so well. Consumers in the past were grateful if they received credit – it was seen as a right granted to a special few by a bank and hence banks held power over individuals. The value proposition was the availability of credit. Technology Innovation In the case of Barclaycard, it is could improve its operations and competitive advantage through real time design data driven tools. This tool would improve their credit limit strategies and increase their interest earning balances. A Fair, Isaac Model Builder for the decision trees may be used as this tool uses historical data to assist in identifying optimal account management strategies. Fair, Isaac Model Builder for Decision Trees is a PC Windows based application designed specifically to support data driven strategy design. It gives lenders the power to rapidly create new strategies in real time using multiple performance dimensions, to process large datasets rapidly so strategies at any point for greater understanding of the portfolio and transfers strategies to and from production application with ease, putting new strategies into production faster. This real time, highly interactive approach dramatically shortens the time between strategy creation and roll out. With Barclaycard objectives of the new strategies to increase interest bearing balances, increase turnover, control bad debt, and address attrition, Fair, Fair Isaac can be a big help for the organization. While the average number of cards in a person’s wallet has increased over the last five years, the value to an individual of having multiple cards will diminish in an environment where credit is a commodity.

Hrm-595-62172 Negotiation Skills

FIELD ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING THE KEY PARTIES AND THEIR ROLE IN A NEGOTIATION Instructions: For purposes of this assignment, assume that you are the negotiator who is tasked with a salary (on call time, step increases, overtime for captains and majors) and benefits (insurance while employed, insurance after retirement, accrual of leave time, retirement multipliers) dispute between a large municipal county with a strong mayor and the sheriff’s department for the county. You are negotiating the contract on behalf of the sheriff’s office.The purpose of this activity is to give you an opportunity to construct a field analysis on your relationship with a specific other negotiator. This tool should be helpful when negotiators have to consider multiple parties—on their own side and on the other side—who can affect a negotiation outcome, and whose needs and interests must be considered. YOU/YOUR TEAMOTHER/OTHER’S TEAM 1. Who is on my team on the field? (A) —Me —The Sheriff’s office 2. Who is on their team on the field? (B) —Large municipal county Mayor 3. Who is on my sidelines who can affect the play of the game? (C) —Back up players (Captains, Majors, Retirees, Insurance Company, Community Organizations, National Sheriff’s Association, Court Agents) 3. Who is on their sidelines who can affect the play of the game? (C) —Back up players (Unions, Employees, Councilmen/Freeholders, Business Owners) 4. Who is in my stands that are involved and interested, either directly or indirectly? (D) —Residents —Business Owners —Employees —Media 6.Who is in their stands that are involved and interested, either directly or indirectly? (D) —Residents —Business Owners —Employees —Media 7. What elements outside the stadium have an interest in the game, or can affect our game in positive or negative ways (E): —Depending upon how a Sheriff is a ppointed, an election can +/- affect the rules in our negotiation; —Change in climate can come from community support and national association lobbying —Concession from the mayor and municipality —The police department can be a competitor . What elements outside the stadium have an interest in the game, or can affect their game in positive or negative ways (E): —Depending upon how a Sheriff is appointed, an election can +/- affect the rules in our negotiation; —Negative media coverage highlighting the mayor when there may be a large constituency in favor of the Sheriff’s point of view, may change the climate —Other competitors may include a mayoral candidate seeking to gain support and using the negotiations as a platform to garner support

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm Performance in Mauritius

Introduction Corporate governance is a field in economics that investigates how to secure/motivate efficient management of corporations by the use of incentive mechanisms, such as contracts, organizational designs and legislation. This is often limited to the question of improving financial performance, for example, how the corporate owners can secure/motivate that the corporate managers will deliver a competitive rate of return. (Mathiesen, 2002). Another definition is â€Å"Corporate Governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The corporate governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society† (Sir Adrian Cadbury in ‘Global Corporate Governance Forum', World Bank, 2000). According to La Porta et al. (2000) â€Å"corporate governance is to a certain extent a set of mechanisms through which outside investors protect themselves against expropriation by the insiders†. The problem is to see whether the corporate governance standards adopted by firms in Mauritius are positively, negatively or more affecting the firms’ performance. Research will be made on a sample of firms operating in Mauritius. Literature Review Related searches in other countries It has been argued that as ownership concentration increases, the incentives and the abilities of shareholders to properly monitor managers increase too. This creates beneficial effect for firms in the sense that performance or profitability improves (Morck et al. 1989)). There are studies which find that higher ownership concentration lead to detrimental effects for corporations in the sense that large blockholders and managers can collude to extract rents from small shareholders (Lehman and Weigand (2000)). The study by Demsetz and Villalonga (2001) provides evidence that there is no significant relation between ownership structure and firm performance. Chhaochharia and Grinstein (2007) looked a t the impact of the 2002 governance rules established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on firm value. They found that less compliant firms earn positive abnormal returns compared to more compliant firms. They also found that less compliant large firms earn positive abnormal returns but less compliant small firms earn negative abnormal returns. Bhagat and Bolton (2008) examined the relationship between corporate governance and performance, and found that better corporate governance, board members’ stock ownership, and CEO-Chair separation are positively related to operating performance. They also found that the probability of management turnover is positively related to board members’ stock ownership and board independence when firms perform poorly. Patibandla (2006) examined the ownership structure and firm performance on Indian firms by separating large investors into private foreignin stitutional investors and government-owned local financial institutions. Patibandla found a positive relationship between private foreign institutional investors and firm profitability and a negative relationship between government-owned local financial institutions and firm profitability. Aims & Objectives of Research The aim of this investigation is to make a research on the impact of corporate governance on the performance of firms in Mauritius. The research is going to see the contribution that corporate governance has made on the firms’ financial performance. The research seeks to evaluate the performance of firms in terms of: †¢ Firms’ financial performance †¢ Firms market value The research aim at looking standards which are contributing to high mprovement in firms’ performance and to look also those standards that are contributing to poor performance. The objectives are: †¢ Identify the causes that contribute to high or poor firms’ performance †¢ Measures that can be used to improve the poor performance of firms by comparing their corporate standards adopted by firms experiencing high performance. Research Methodology Sample A sample size of 10 firms is to be selected operating in the private sector of Mauritius. Data The data will be obtained from annual reports for the year 2007 and 2008. Questionnaire A questionnaire will be sent to those firms via letters. The questionnaire will contained defined questions that are relevant to the related research. The questionnaire should be filled by the executives of the respective firms. Methodology Some data will be obtained by looking at secondary data and the other data will be received by letters (Questionnaire). These primary and secondary data will be input in the SPSS software which will analyse and give the result of the analysis of the collected data. Tentative Grant Chat |Activities |9-Sep |9-Oct |9-Nov |9-Dec |10-Jan |10-Feb |10-Mar | Introduction |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Literature review |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Research Methodology |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Analysis of data |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Conclusion |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | | References †¢ Bhagat Sanjai, and Brian Bolton, 2008, Corporate governance and firm performance, Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 14, pp. 257-273. Chhaochharia Vidhi, and Yaniv Grinstein, 2007, Corporate governance and firm value: The impact of the 2002 governance rules, Journal of Finance, Vol. LXII, No. 4, pp. 1789-1825 †¢ Demsetz, H. and B. Villalonga, 2001, Ownership structure and corporate performance, Journal of Corporate Finance, vol. 7, 209-233. †¢ La Porta, Lopez-de-Silannes, Shleifer, Vishny. Investor perfomance and corporate governance. Journal of Financial Economics. 58 (2000). 3-27. †¢ Lehman, E. and J. Weigand, 2000, Does the governed corporation perform better? Governance structures and corporate performance in Germany, European Finance Review,vol. 4, 157-195. †¢ Mathiesen (2002) http://corpgov. net/library/definitions. html †¢ Morck, R. , A. Shleifer and R. Vishny, 1989, Alternative mechanisms of corporate control,American Economic Review, vol. 79, 842-852. †¢ Patibandla Murali, 2006, Equity pattern, corporate governance and performance: A study of India’s corporate sector, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol. 59, pp. 29-44. †¢ Sir Adrian Cadbury in ‘Global Corporate Governance Forum', World Bank, 2000

Evaluation of the English File Intermediate Essay

Evaluation of the English File Intermediate - Essay Example Based on the framework suggested by Cunningsworth, the guide line one will address the aims and objectives of the course work. The Aims and Objectives of the course work are normally set and that would decide on the kind of course book that one might use for the course. Course books better be servants than masters, says Cunningsworth. More in line with this, the choice of the course book will depend on the nature of the students, the level their currently in and they would like to achieve in addition to their learning capabilities. These points need to be considered before laying out the course contents and, subsequently, the course book. Some books might not present the aims and objectives explicitly. But then, there is an implicit referral to the content of the book and the nature of audience for whom the same is addressed. In line with this, most books need to be analyzed as to the aims and objectives of the book and whether the book meets up to the level expected out of it.

The Summary of Krugman Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Summary of Krugman Article - Essay Example The firms where served by the slaves working in these firms. Unlike the 17th century, America of today is more urbanized and is characterized by metropolitan environment with no small towns. The urbanization of America has led to mass rural-urban migration with people leaving villages for the urban environment in search of modern and industrial jobs (New York Times, July 5, 2013). In addition, the author compares the ethnicity and religion evolution of the 17th century and 21st century. During the 17th century majority of the Americans were WASP with only a few Protestants, today majority of Americans have European and Britain ethnicity. Krugman (72) concludes by comparing the history of American democracy of today to that of the 17th century. Unlike the 17th century, America remains the best country in terms of democracy, freedom, and protection of human rights (New York Times, July 2, 2013). Summary of Holcberg In the article, â€Å"Human Organ for Sale† Holcberg describes t he need for well-wishers and good Samaritans to take part in rescuing over 80,000 suffering individual who need some body organs. The calls out for public response purposely to donate their body organs to other Americans who cannot afford to buy given the high costs of these body organs. According to Holcberg (51), this legal trade on the human body organs is founded on personal beliefs and choices that must be made by the patient. The patient has the choice to evaluate the degree of the risks that are associated with organ transplant, including surgery and financial costs. This would guide the patient’s choices before accepting organ transplant. Secondly, Holcberg (52) argues that personal and constitutional freedom must be exercise. Therefore, everyone has a right to donate or not donate his or her organs to the needy people. The law should not only recognize the right to organ donation but also the freedom to sale these organs (Holcberg 54). He further emphasizes on the ne ed to educate the poor people so as to enable them make informed and rational choice in life. By educating the low income members of the society, their ability to participate in informed decision-making process are enhances. Education s the poor with the knowledge and social skills including the right to sell or donate their body organs at will. He concluded by asserting that the solution to lack of organ related suffering among the Americans would be realized through legalization of organ trade in American (Holcberg 32). In his view, saving human lives starts with giving freedom and rights to people to trade in organs at will with the constitutional protection behind them. Sale of Human Organ in Support of Life Many people lose their lives yearly because of organ related conditions that would have been avoided had organ sales been legalized. Deplorable health conditions and poverty cause many thousands to die yet these deaths are avoidable and can be saved. The concept of organ don ation has dominated a number of legal debates with respect to its legalization. According to Holcberg, legalization of organ trade and donation would be a fundamental life saving step. Legalization of this trade will play a role in improving the quality of life for the donor and the recipient. For instance, a family member with the right to organ donation may opt to sale one of his organs (kidney or liver) to finance better treatment for one of his or her family member (Holcberg 53). Under such circumstance, legalized organ sale would prove beneficial in financially empowering the family at large. Any restriction on organ sale is likely to leave the family in deplorable financial condition with no hope for tomorrow yet a sale of one organ would generate financial

Training and development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Training and development - Essay Example Specific skill development includes change management, facilitation and presentation skills, customer education, team building, leadership, product knowledge, creativity, and the cultural diversity aspect especially the French language, tradition, and custom. There are two mostly practiced approaches towards training and developing an individual in a business entity namely; Traditional and Modern approach. It is very important that the management should train employees on these approaches. Even though most organizations use techno-based, it is worth training on all aspects including traditional approaches, since it assist where possible especially culturally as described by John (2005 p.75). Traditional methods of training encompass mentoring and coaching- this involves experts and employees working together, the expert provides knowledge, support and encouragement; manuals and lectures. Modern methods include e learning, podcast, and teleconferencing. Acquisition of these methodolog ical skills is very important since it creates confidence in employees. As a summary, the following methods can be taken be used to effectively developed objective based outcomes: Ð ¡oaching- it is the process whereby a leader and specifically manager of group leader takes the initiative of providing guidance, opinion and suggestion, control and as well as critics. Coaching would be very much successful if the leader or coach is of competent and intellectual character as enumerated by Landale (1999 p.120).

660 questions 11 and 12 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

660 questions 11 and 12 - Assignment Example s in exchange to the things of value, such as rewards, praise, resources or avoidance of disciplinary action; so that they move towards achieving the goals of both the leader and followers (Sashkin and Sashkin, 2003). The difficulties and complications associated with the present state of affairs are explained to the followers. Then, the leaders urge the followers’ value system for bringing about the change. Thus, an emotional bond between the two is formed in transformational leadership. Such bondage ensures long term success to the leader. However, transactional leaders do not address such emotional or personal issues of followers, but motivate them to achieve the required goals in return to a reward or in order to avoid punishment. The emotional bondage is missing and is based on the positional power and influence of leader. The efforts of leaders only gain short term benefits (Hughes and Curphy, 2012). Transformational leaders are visionary and are skilled in creating lasting impressions, thus, exhibit certain leadership capabilities. This clear expression or possession of leadership skills is not found in transactional leaders. Transformational leaders also help the followers draw up a link between the solutions to their individual setbacks and the organizational goals. In the course of leadership, the followers are encouraged to actively participate in the transformational processes and empowered to grow into leaders in future. In contrast, though the benefits accorded to followers motivate the latter to improve their performance, the resultant positive energy is not completely employed towards organization in the upcoming period, as the leaders are not skillful and visionary enough to make such an attempt (Hughes and Curphy, 2012). Both transactional and transformational leaders focus on leader and member exchange, be it the things of value in the former case or emotional exchanges in the latter form. Both the forms of leaders appeal to the needs of the

Research Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Research Project - Essay Example The new start up retail organization is seeking for required funds from several effective funding bodies in order to start the new business in the potential industry. There are two major funding options for the organization, such as lending capital from renowned commercial banks and borrowing funds from the angel investors. However, it is important for the organization to develop an effective business plan so that the funding bodies can believe that the particular business has huge potentiality. The new kitchen appliances retail organization can propose different financial institutions and commercial banks in order to borrow the start up business capital. It is true that the commercial banks and several financial institutions generally offer both secured and unsecured landings for business start up in order to meet the working capital requirement. The commercial banks usually offer unsecured loans to the start up business organizations depending upon the management’s judgement (Leach and Melicher, 2011, p.110). On the other hand, the banks generally offer the secured loans against the organizations’ deposited collaterals and securities. However, the unsecured loans usually do not demand any kind of collateral or security from the start up business organizations against the lending of loans as start up business capital. The commercial banks or different financial institutions usually provide unsecured loans to the business organizations in the form of corporate credits and overdrafts. Several angel investors are also can be considered as the important funding bodies for the start up kitchen appliances Retail Company. The angel investors are also considered as informal investors or business angels. These angel investors used to have vast experience about several business forms. These investors generally belong to the wealthy and rich businessman segments. The rich and affluent angel investors or the business angel generally provide the

Pros and Cons of Introduction of Information Technology Essay

Pros and Cons of Introduction of Information Technology - Essay Example Since economy, education, society, psychology, religion, education and science and technology are reciprocally interconnected, the change in one directly influence the change in other. In the current paper, the evolution of information technology and the affect of introduction of Information technology on various spheres of human life have been studied. The impact of information technology on some of the common features such as productivity, health and democracy has been studied. The advantages and disadvantages of introduction of information technology in these areas have also been discussed. Evolution of Information Technology: The invention of mechanical computer by Charles Babbage, an English mathematician in 1822 opened the door for modern computing. During 1840’s the electrochemical age made a steep progress and thus the conversion of information to electric impulse harnessed the computing and later Herman Hollerith made an electromechanical computer in the year 1880. Howard Aiken, a research scholar at Harvard University made first modern computer in 1942 that was 8 feet tall and 51 feet long and it is known as first generation computer (Kumar, 2003). In the year 1948, first high speed general computer called as ENIAC (Numerical integrator and computer) was developed by the researchers at United States. It was having many vacuum tubes and it was having large size. Transistors were developed in the year 1943 and these were later introduced in the computers during 1960s.

Case analise Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analise - Case Study Example However, the presence of a larger company developed to cater to the same market – You Bar – presented a challenge as the company was still in a stage of infancy (Shein, 2011). Another huge issue is the nature of the business which operates in the food sector rather than being a technological startup which comparatively attracts more investment. The company which caters to the organic market possesses a great potential for growth. The market segment catering to health conscious consumers of food is untapped and offering organic foods will help the company develop a hold. Hence, the company has a great potential for growth as consumer preferences have affirmed the need for having organic food products in the market, especially organic energy bars. The best possible way for Miller to achieve financing is to convince venture capitalists of the value of the company. Asking a bank for a loan without material assets will not be good option. However, Miller could use his persuasive presentation skills in order to convince venture capitalists to invest in the company. Additionally, Miller could have the startup entered into an accelerator that could give capital in return for a certain percentage of equity. In this way, the business could also get mentorship to enhance the business that could help the business grow. The valuation of Element Bars is indeed a difficult task due to the lack of any company owned equipment. The fact that the company uses ovens from a wedding baker and does not won its own equipment makes the calculation difficult (Shein, 2011). Also, the fact that the company is not a technological startup and an fact a business dealing in tangible food products necessitates the presence of a sizeable inventory or some equipments that are required during production. I would therefore estimate the net worth of all the production inputs and additional effort by the founders involved. As such its net worth should be

FIFA World Cup 2014 - Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

FIFA World Cup 2014 - Brazil - Essay Example At the same time, FIFA was very arrogant about it. Opposition politicians were very angry with the bill that was drafted, but it was passed by the government anyway. What this shows is that corporate might has the power to change the laws of a host country whenever it is favorable. Another cause of the FIFA World Cup is that many poorer Brazilians were made homeless after they were removed from their homes. Many of these people had nowhere else to go. The reason why they were evicted is because the Brazilian government needed to build infrastructure, such as roads and highways, leading into the stadiums of major cities. According to the evictees, the government was not interested in cooperating and in some cases gave residents as little as five days to leave (Daibert). Brazil has signed many treaties with regards to adequate housing, but unfortunately in the lead-up to the World Cup violations were committed in a haste to prepare for the event. It could be said that this FIFA World Cup in Brazil has caused up to 250,000 Brazilian citizens to become homeless. In cases where residents have been given new housing, the conditions have been significantly worse than the original residences. International law dictates that when people are evicted from their homes the y should be moved to housing of the same level or even greater. In some cases compensation has been given, but only to a level of 20 to 40 percent of the value of the houses (Daibert). The last line of the article sums it up because these people wish that the World Cup had never even come to Brazil. It has been estimated that 3.7 million tourists attended the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (Heitner). All of these tourists, both domestic and foreign, spend money that contributes directly to the Brazilian economy. Since the average tourist is expected to spend close to $2,500

Adjusting to Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Adjusting to Terrorism Essay Due to significant changes within the criminal justice system in the United States of America, the effort to combat terrorism has grown to be more effective. The terrorist attack that occurred during September 11, 2001, this terrorist attack happen to take place on American soil and become and monumental period in American history. Prior to September 11, 2001, the United States was more in a relax mode when regarding to a federal, state, and local problems. The resources were not leveraged in certain cities and the capacity tended to focus on terrorism. The changes that required significant analysis on the attacks reflected how the country and local agencies around the country have adjusted to the threat of terrorism. A major component in the criminal justice system has contributed to the adjustment of the attack for the Department of Homeland Security. See more:Â  The 3 Types of Satire Essay I would consider using the Patriot Act which is defined as a response to terrorist attacks to September 11th, significantly reduced restrictions in a law enforcement agency. The intelligence of gathering information is for the United States of America. The combat efforts that I have gathered to aid my situation and provision of the Patriot Act are to prevent another catastrophic attack on United States soil. I have already proved extraordinarily beneficial for the war on terrorism that we have to the opportunity to use and tackle it head on. By resulting in a free flow of information that can be retrieve and coordinated between different law enforcement agencies can help produce the intelligence information that is need to show the expansion of our ability to use all appropriate resources to prevent terrorism. My next step is trying and improves the technology in the US. Many experts tend to think that it is unnecessary for us to focus on vehicle crossing the borders. Majority of the vehicles crossing the border could be the most dangerous, because they will be transporting massive equipment to cause disruptions in the United States. The process to stay alert and aware of the different types of technology will be critical for us to stay afloat. Reference FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov

Using Roleplay To Help Students Learn English

Using Roleplay To Help Students Learn English 1. INTRODUCTION The more students talk, the better they learn; Speaking skill is not given special significance in the teaching of English in Vietnamese universities. Traditional English education in Vietnam focuses heavily on reading skill. Also, many Vietnamese students and even teachers have examination-orientation. In the first semester, students start the elementary level with the textbooks Lifeline set (Hutchinson, 2001). The textbook cover four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. The assessment at the end of each semester is based on a written test involving reading and writing skills only. As a result, pre intermediate students spend more time improving reading and writing skills and mostly ignoring listening and speaking skills. This fact happens at not a single university in Vietnam but across the country. In the first semester, pre intermediate students do not have many chances to communicate in English; therefore, their speaking skill is restricted with lack of naturalness, reaction and pronunciation. Many are shy to speak out in English as they are afraid that listeners cant understand well what they say. Role play is considered one teaching method which motivates pre intermediate students to get involved in speaking lessons. In opinion of James G. Clawson (1997, p.2), role play is a superb vehicle for bringing the distiction between concept and reality to the fore. During role play, students are motivated to perform and act and speak in English class. They are challenged to use their English words in mind to apply into simple conversation in daily life. This indeed enables them to get familiar with normal conversation in their real life. Also, motivation influences how and why people learn as well as how they perform (Chin Chun Shih, 2001). While role play contributes to affect students attitudes positively and improve their English speaking skills, there is little research examining its effectiveness towards pre intermediate students in universities. In Vietnam, much of the research focuses on role play aiming at junior high schools students in foreign countries like Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. There is little research that indicates how role-play could influence students learning attitudes directly. Scarcella Oxford (1992, p.54) also pointed out that most researchers talk about using cooperative learning activities or student-centered learning in order not to put too much pressure on an individual student in front of the class. Therefore, this particular research is intended to focus on the effectiveness of role play in teaching speaking skills for pre intermediate students. Based on the above rationale, this research tends to seek answers to two below research questions: What are pre-intermediate students attitudes toward the role-play activity? In what way does role play improve pre-intermediate students speaking skills? Generally, this research aims at making clear two important aspects of role play: affecting attitudes positively and improving speaking skills properly. Firstly, this research shows how role -play has a direct effect on learners attitudes. Secondly, this research intends to point out how role play help improve their speaking skills in particular. The structure of this research includes the context and methodology as the qualitative method. Data will be collected via oral test, interview and observation, which will then described and analyzed in item data analysis. Next, the content of reflection shows what is gained and which possibly further research questions are. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Definitions of terms Role-play can be divided into role and play. Gillian (2002, p.7) refers role as to play a part (either their own or somebody elses) in a specific situation. He also indicates that Play represents the role is taken on in a safe environment in which students are as inventive and playful as possible (p.5). This teaching method enables students to enjoy the experience of having conversations with people in real life so as to develop their social communication. The function of role-play in language learning Teaching English in Vietnam mostly concentrates on grammar translation methods and is examination oriented. Adian Doff and Maxwell (2002, 1997) pointed out the problems of those English teaching methods, and argued that there is a need to develop more diverse English teaching methods or activities. Vietnamese students have common weakness reportedly as their speaking ability. They have little chance to practice conversation, even in the second language classrooms. In order to encourage students to speak in public, role -play is often used by teachers as one of the teaching methods. Maxwell (1997) holds the opinion that the purpose of role-play is to improve students verbal and nonverbal communication skills and to link and use previously built schemas, in both structured and improvised situations (p.1). This viewpoint shows that role -play could improve students in verbal or nonverbal communication while they are performing the roles in the dialogue. James G. Clawson (1997, p. 4) pointed that A common theme in the benefits of using role play is that the techninque can bring abstract discussions alive, make them live, and in so doing, open up students willingness to learn When taking part in the dialogues created by teachers or extracted from the text books, students will be required to act as the characters in the dialogues, therefore, they will find it easier to use the conversation in daily lives. Daily conversation will create lots of unpredictable situations that make students confused how to deal with. As noted by Salies (1995, p.6), role-play helps learn ers to deal with unpredictability, motivating them by adding emotion and increase the awareness of the listeners. Accordingly, role-play helps create a safe environment for students to practice their language skills. The influence of role play on attitudes Attitude plays an important role in learning English speaking skill. Without adequate and appropriate attitudes, pre-intermediate students are usually unwilling to learn what their teachers try to teach them. To make a change about students learning attitudes, teachers can use role play to increase their confidence because role-play proves to be a good choice for them to understand and handle the learning content. James G. Clawson (1997, p4) indicated that role play helps improve learners abilities to communicate their thoughts and feelings in effective and productive ways among peers. They will find themselves better motivated to learn if they are recognized as a part of the class. Motivation is important because it helps create good start. Role-play can also help reinforce students knowledge gained through constant practice and acting. Also, students learn to how to cooperate well with each other through working and discussing English together, which will lead to mutual affection. He pointed that emotional climate is a good motivation during learning process (Ray, 1992, p.9). Students can gain more confidence in a safe environment brought by role play method. The learning environment ha s become particularly important for students. Ray (1992) also agreed that students prefer a consistent learning environment with good order at which they feel safe. (p.5). In other words, students can learn better in a little pressure environment. Furthermore, role-play helps create peer relationships which have become very important in improving attitudes. Ray said that the main motivational factor for pre intermediate students is the social incentives reflected in peer relationships (1992, p.13). The speaking and practicing subjects would be their classmates, who are familiar to the students and cause them less pressure and nervousness. Students work in small or big groups and there is a competitiveness among these groups. By this kind of stimulus, students are able to increase their learning attitudes, and to learn the second language further. Therefore, in the context of this research study, the findings above show that role-play could affect students attitudes positively in four aspects: improving students confidence, motivating their participation, creating interest in speaking lessons, and improving peer relationships through moderate competition. In conclusion, the literature above may lead to the fact that the main function of role-play is to help students improve speaking skills. Below context will indicate that there is a need to examine how role-play can facilitate students speaking ability in Vietnams education environment. 3. CONTEXT In Vietnam, the teaching of English has been criticized with lack of practice and heavy focus on written examination. In most universities in Vietnam, students are tested in written form, meanwhile, oral tests are ignored since they are time consuming and too difficult for students. Many pre- intermediate students are reported with lack of English communicative ability due to their emphasis on the written exam in previous grades. Adian Doff (2002) stated that teachers would look at prior tests to assure that they covered the subject matter of the test or test objectives (p.2). The Entrance Exam is the main examination for high school students to enter university. There are two parts of questions. The first part include multiple choice grammar questions for each of which students must choose the best answer. The second part is a reading comprehension assessment that includes cloze tests (Ministry of Education and Training, 1999). Thus, students focus on writing and reading rather than speaking skills. Also, starting their learning in universities, pre-intermediate students are lack of chance to improve their speaking skills. They feel shy and can hardly speak and listen to English in their daily lives. Although they are taught the curriculum Lifeline set (Hutchinson, 2001) with four skills, the speaking skills are often ignored due to limited time in one period. Grammar or reading exercises are taken greater priority. Besides, teaching speaking seems to put a lot of effort into and not every teacher will be successful in a speaking lesson. As a matter of fact, so many teachers of English in Vietnam universities are trained with grammar translation method. That is the reason why they will face a big challenge to create an environment in which students are given more opportunities to use English as a means of communication. It has become more and more difficult for Vietnamese teachers when they have to work with large classes which are more suitable to give lectures instead of asking students to work in small groups. Teachers of English make it impossible to control such large classes if they have intention of teaching English in communicative way. A serious problem teachers in Vietnam have to tackle is that although there is a number of a method of teaching speaking skill, it is not easy at all to find out appropriate methods which help Vietnamese students, especially those at pre-intermediate leve l make some improvements in speaking skill. Researchers argue that role-play can help learners improve it. Firstly, role-play helps improve students listening ability. In viewpoint of Salies (1995, p.8), role-play makes students aware of the listener. Therefore, listening ability is as important as speaking ability and role-play might help to improve this skill. Secondly, role -play contributes to improve speaking ability. In order to speak well in a daily conversation, one should take consideration about the pronunciation as well because clear pronunciation helps speaking become two-way communication. In this case, while students are performing in speaking lessons, teachers will be able to listen to each students pronunciation and correct him/her individually during speaking sessions. In conclusion, the context above is critical because it indicates that there is a need to examine how role-play can facilitate pre intermediate students speaking ability in Vietnams universities. 4. METHODOLOGY According to C. Pope and N. Mays (1995), the goal of qualitative research is the development of concepts which help us to understand social phenomena in natural (rather than experimental) settings, giving due emphasis to the meanings, experiences, and views of all the participants. In the researchers viewpoint, qualitative method is proper to discover pre-students attitudes towards role play and how role play motivates them in speaking lessons. This part presents subjects, data collection instruments consisting of oral tests, interview and observation via two role play activities. 4.1. Subjects Participants Six students are randomly chosen. All are between the age of 19 and 20 and study English at pre-intermediate level. Students at pre-intermediate level but not other levels are chosen as they have more chance to take part in communication activities. In order to get an exact result, the participants English speaking ability is different. The backgrounds of participants are stated below. Name Sex Background English Level Nam Male He is quite good at English. He performs enthusiastically and confidently in English class. Good Mai Female Her English is at medium. However, she is willing to learn and perform in class. Medium Trung Male He is a person who is enthusiastic in English lesson even though his English is not as good as others. Medium Hoa Female Her English level is medium. She is very shy. She likes English, especially English speaking skill. But she is too shy to perform in class. Medium Sy Male He likes taking part in all games in class. Although his English is not good, he is not afraid to speak English. Not good Phuong Female She likes to talk loud in class, but not in English. Due to her weakness at English she seems to be very quiet in English lessons. Not good Teaching materials The main pilot teaching material is The New Headway Pre-intermediate textbook compiled by Liz John Soars. There are two dialogues used in this research. The researcher asked the informants to play the roles of the dialogues. Students are voluntarily encouraged to contribute their own ideas to make the play role activities more creative and interesting. 4.2. Instruments of data collection 4.2.1. Oral tests and Interviews Two oral tests and interviews were conducted for this study with the participation of six students. The first oral test was done before the two-week experiment, and the second oral test was held after the experiment of the two-week experiment. Moreover, during the interview the researcher asked them related questions to clarify the purpose of the study. Yes-no questions and WH- questions that students have to answer are included in oral test questions. Yes-no questions are for students who can not have long answers, and WH- questions are for students who are at better learners. The questions are displayed in Appendix A. After finishing the pre-oral test, the study proceeded to the main part, which was role-play. During role-play, I interviewed every student individually. The interview questions were based on some basic questions but might be changed to adapt the situations and students reactions (see Appendix C). Moreover, students were interviewed in their mother tongue so that they felt at ease to express their feelings. When the pre-oral test, two role play activities and interview were finished, it was time to examine how students improve their speaking ability. And the post-oral test was done to compare the students performances from the beginning to the end (see Appendix A). 4.2.2. Observation The researcher observed six pre-intermediate students participation during two role play activities. The observation in this study was done via my note-taking or keeping diary, and tape-recording through the pilot teaching. The purpose of this part is to see what pre-intermediate students behaviors are when role play is employed as a speaking activity. Furthermore, during the pilot teaching, tape recording was also carried out to get the data for the research. The students utterances were recorded and analyzed later to find out how the role play was used and how it motivated students. 5. DATA ANALYSIS Descriptive data are analyzed by qualitative method. 5.1. Descriptive data of oral tests The oral tests were arranged and conducted at the participants convenience. The oral tests (see Appendix A) were given before and after the two-week experiment. In order to give descriptive data of oral tests, interviews and observation, I have based on seven criteria to review pre-intermediate students English speaking ability including: 1) the influency of speaking, 2) the frequency of using words that have been taught, 3) the accuracy of grammar application, 4) the listening skills absorption, 5) the anxiety of students, 6) the accuracy of pronunciation, 7) the pause while interviewing. The oral tests showed that students speaking ability did improve after the use of role-play. Specifically, three fourth of the participants spoke more fluently. While doing the oral test, I also felt that students would try hard to answer in English. They might not give complete sentences, but they would manage to use the words they had learned. They also tried to use correct grammar when giving answers. However, some students who were not good at English such as Sy and Phuong sometimes produced wrong grammar sentences. Moreover, students not only understood what I asked during the oral tests, but also tried hard to listen to whole sentences and digested them. I, myself, had a strong feeling that students tried very hard to pay attention to the post-oral test, because most students had enthusiastic responses with me. Moreover, students anxiety had been decreased during the second oral test. One of the reasons that the researcher postulated was that students were familiar with the res earcher, and might not be afraid to speak English. They also learned how to pay due attention to their pronunciation while performing in front of their classmates. This also made them have better pronunciation during the oral tests. Some of them even tried to improve their pronunciation by making repetition of what they spoke. The pause frequency of interviewees was really high during the first oral tests, but it seemed lower during the second. Some students said I dont know or I have no idea when they could not find the answers to the questions. In general, the oral-tests showed that role-play had a positive influence on pre-elementary students speaking skill. Most students might not have the ability to answer in complete sentences, but they showed positive attitudes during the oral tests. They paid due attention to the questions, and answered the questions using the vocabulary they had learnt, which showed their willingness to attempt to learn English in general and speak English in particular. Therefore, I can conclude that role-play not only stimulated students when they learned English in speaking lessons, but also made them eager to learn more. 5.2. Descriptive data of observation In order to assess the participation and effectiveness of using role-play in speaking lessons, I based on four levels: 1-3 (bad), 4-6 (medium), 7-9 (good), 10 (excellent). In this part, I would like to use two dialogues and asked participants to play role (see appendix B). For the first role play activity, the researcher used the telephone conversation between the receptionist and client in book New Headway Pre-intermediate by Liz and John Soars (p.77, unit 9). I asked the participants to work in pairs which mean three couples did the same role play. In order to make the role play more effective and to have an exact observation, I asked Nam to work with Mai, Trung with Phuong, and Sy with Hoa. Nam, Trung, Sy played the role of the receptionist whereas Mai, Phuong, Hoa played the role of the client. The researcher instructed first and three pairs presented in turn. During the role play activity, I would observe, take notes, and record. The first role play is easy and simple so that students can feel comfortable and confident to take part in. The results of observation basing on the four levels are presented as below. For the second role play activity, the researcher used a more difficult role play activity which was extracted from the book New Headway Pre-intermediate by Liz and John Soars (p.57, unit 7). This role play was an interview with the band Style. Participants had to play the role of an interviewer a journalist and the role of two interviewees Suzie and Guy. In this part, students worked in group of three. Nam, Mai, Sy were the first group. Trung, Hoa, Phuong were the second group. Nam, Hoa who are better at English were the interviewers. The rest were the interviewees in which Mai, Phuong played the role of Suzie, and Sy, Trung played the role of Guy. Similar to the first role play, the researcher instructed first, and the two groups presented in turn. The results of observation from the second role play activity basing on the four levels are stated as below. The second role play After experiencing the two role-play activities, the researcher found that the pre-elementary students English speaking ability has been improved. Specifically, four out of six participants made a clear progress in the influence of speaking ability, and the ability of expressing him/her self. Moreover, half of participants used grammar more correctly. Also, half of participants became more confident such as Mai, Trung, Sy. In addition, Nam the best participant at English speaking improved his vocabulary. Thus, the observations results show that pre-students English speaking skill has been improved when the researcher uses the role play in speaking lessons. 5.3. Descriptive data of interview The interview was conducted during and after role play. All the students were interviewed once. Additionally, the interviews were conducted in Vietnamese. During the interviews, the whole procedure was recorded and taken notes. The questions of interview are available in Appendix C When being asked to compare the traditional teaching method most of the students answered that they really like the role-play teaching method. They explained that role-play gave them a joyful feeling and avoid being sleepy in class. In general, most students feel that role play is an interesting teaching activity and they really like it. In other words, their feeling of this teaching method is positive. For example, one of the interviewees, Hoa, expressed that: Well, I extremely like this teaching activity. It helps me be more confident in speaking English. Especially, it makes me more interested in lesson instead of being sleepy. I always feel bored and sleepy in lessons which are given in a traditional way. Another participant Nam said that: I think using role play in speaking lessons is good because we get more confident when playing role and speaking in front of other friends. I like this teaching method than the traditional method. For the second question Do you think that your speaking skill has been improved after doing role-play in class? all participants answer Yes. For example, Sy pointed out that role-play can help him improve his speaking skill: I thinkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ my speaking is better after doing role-play several times. My speaking ability seems to be more fluent. Andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.I feel more confident. When replying this question, Trung also determined that his speaking English skill had been improved. He said Ummà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.You know that now I can speak English a little bit fluently. I feel more confident to speak in front of other students. Does it mean that my English speaking skill has been improved? Furthermore, I asked the participants whether there are any negative sides when applying role-play in class. And most of them answered that the problem is the class order was not very good in that case. Sometimes, there was too much noise for students to act in class. Participants, however, still show a positive attitude. Mai said: I think noise is unavoidable when we learn speaking skill. I really like this kind of teaching activity. It is fun. It makes me want to study English and want to speak English in class. However, in order to add to the negative sides of using role play in class, Hoa stated that Sometimes role play takes much time. In my opinion, it is a negative side of role play. I asked the students if it was tiring or stressful for them to plan the dialogues beforehand. As a result, most students showed a positive response to the preparation. Phuong who is not good at English expressed that I feel difficult to have a good preparation at first. My English is not very good. I can not study it at home without teachers instruction. However, after preparing for the class for several times, I start to feel that preview is really important. I know the lesson prior to class and I can understand what the teacher talks about in class. Furthermore, as I have had preparation before class, I become less nervous and shy when speaking on the stage in English. Similarly, Trung said eagerly: Well, my teacher also asked us to prepare in advance. For the first time I felt quiet tired because I didnt get familiar with this learning method. But for the third time, everything seemed to be better. And now I have no problem with preparation in advance. When observing participants doing the first role-play, the researcher recognized that some of the students were very extroverted. However when they were asked to perform the role play in class, they started to keep avoiding from this opportunity. I wanted to know what resulted in such a reaction. Some students told me that they were really shy; some of them could not find out the proper way to act. However, after doing the second role-play the participants responses seemed to be more positive. They participated to the activity more enthusiastically. They did not appear to be shy any more. For example, Trung said that I am an extroverted person. However, I dont feel confident when speaking English in class because I know that my English is not good and as a result, I dont want to speak English in class. But now I feel better. After doing the first and the second role-play activities I recognize that theres no reason to be shyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦please take part in the activity, please spea k. Wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is really good. In short, most of the participants hold the positive attitudes to the role-play teaching activity in speaking lessons. For example, students showed more interest in learning speaking English with the role -play activity, students agreed that role-play helped improve their speaking skills, and they showed higher willingness to perform in public. 6. REFLECTION This study was designed to research the effectiveness of using the role-play to motivate pre-intermediate students in speaking lessons. There were six participants in the research. Also, the researcher used qualitative method to do the research in which oral tests, interviews, and observation are used to collect data. Based on the results of the study, the findings have been drawn. These findings are: (1) participants have a positive attitude to role-play in speaking lessons. (2) Role-play motivates pre-intermediate students in learning speaking. Moreover, the findings of this study may offer three practical implications for English teachers in Vietnam to help students develop speaking ability. The first implication for English teachers is that they should apply a communicative teaching technique in English speaking classes such as role play. However, role play should be merged with the traditional English teaching. The second implication is that teachers can affect students learning attitudes/motivation positively by lively activities. The last implication is to provide a safe environment with tender discipline in class because this will make student feel more comfortable and eager to learn, especially to speak English in class. In other words, English teaching in Vietnam should be added lively and interesting communicative teaching methods in class, especially in English speaking class. I believe that the study is successful. Also, it is proper to use the qualitative method for this study. However, there is one limitation which may influence the outcome of the study. The limitation referred in this study is time limitation. Because of limited time, I can only give two role-play activities to experience and test the effectiveness of role-play on pre-intermediate students. Suggestions for further research In order to have a more accurate and complete result, further study can be done with the cooperation of the involved students English teacher. Working with the English teacher is advantageous as he/she might help me understand every students English level in a short time. Moreover, it would be better to have two instructors to review students during oral tests and performances. Besides role-play, I would like to add some other activities to class and think of some interesting topics for students to act in role-play. It would be boring if the whole period of class was proceeding in the role-play teaching activity only, thus, added activities may help students concentrate in class more effectively. The dialogues in students textbooks did not really attract them. Students already had those contents in their regular English classes. It would affect students attitudes/motivation positively if there were more interesting topics for students to discuss and act. Last but not least, in a future research, I may have more chances to videotape the whole process of the experiment which includes the oral tests, interviews and performances. Students gestures, facial expressions or body languages could serve as the sources to interpret their intentions as well. Besides, some non-verbal languages could appear beyond expectation, so those expressions are also important for descriptive data. 7. CONCLUSION I would like to conclude my research in two aspects. Firstly, role play is not beneficial only for the pre intermediate students but even students of upper levels as well as lower levels. Role play proves to be a good way to motivate English learners to speak out what they want to say. In fact, students have to experience different situations in real life. The final and the most important goal of teaching English is none other than helping students use English in those situations. Role-play creates many daily situations for students to practice their English. In addition, it really creates a safe environment and productive learning environment in language class which would be interesting to absorb knowledge. Secondly, although role play works well in speaking lessons as well as with pre-intermediate university students, it is not the only method for teachers to apply in every lesson. In other words, there are numerous different ways Vietnamese teachers are offered to apply to motivate students communicate in English naturally and effectively, to affect their attitudes positively and to increase s