Compare and contrast critically the views of distributive justice Essay

Compare and contrast critically the views of distributive justice presented by Rawls and by Nozick. Which is the more convincing account - Essay Example This section will attempt to highlight some of the different perspectives touching on distributive justice with regard to the two philosophers’ account of understanding. In the various perspectives, there are different positions held by the two philosophers either in the affirmative or opposition. According to Rawls, Justice for the individual tends to be overlooked for the general well being of the society. This position of understanding distributive justice therefore usually generates an egalitarian approach. Based on equitable grounds, a decision concerning separate individuals has to weigh available options on the utility that each of the actions would bring to the society. Utilitarianism guides the principle of distributive justice where the overall good for the society determines the worth of pursuing a particular course of action. Robert Nozick postulates the â€Å"original position† where all parties stand to benefit in a social decision making platform (Hendin, 2010). Inequalities are weeded out by distributing them among the society members so as to avoid some disadvantage on some while others benefit (difference principle). Nozick’s position is however a contestation and opposition of Rawls view under the two situations; difference principle and original position. In order for these provisions to hold true, ignorance must guide the society. Nozick argues that arbitrary scenarios guide the direction of the social decisions regarding distinction of persons based on their resource endowment if Rawls’ observations are true (Leif, 2008). Nozick instead argues that some form of sacrifice is involved where people willingly opt to dedicate their rights for the general good of the society. Different individuals make up the society and their rights are as well distinct from each other’s. In order for the rest to benefit from one individual, the person must be

State of the Union Address Essay Example for Free

State of the Union Address Essay State Of the Union Address 2013 While President Obama will primarily focus on discussing the economy and jobs for Americans, here are five hot topics you can expect President Obama to address in his annual State of the Union address. 1. Immigration: With immigration reform picking up major traction, Obama will likely encourage continued bipartisan action to move towards comprehensive immigration reform. Current proposals by the Gang of Eight would bring about tough and fair reform for over 11 million undocumented immigrants to move towards citizenship. In 2007, the Congressional Budget Office rated the plan as generating $48 billion in additional revenue over 10 years, while costing about $23 billion in additional welfare and health care payments. 2. Foreign policy: From the security of U.S. diplomatic posts to the U.S. policy towards Syria, Obama should have lot to say about the countrys foreign policy agenda. It will be interesting to see if Obamaa speechwriters will address the recent breaking news out of North Korea, where a successful third nuclear test was reported. President Obama called the action a highly provocative act that demands swift and credible action by the international community against North Korea. Of note are quick condemnations from Russia, Britain, South Korea and the United Nations. Will Obama use primetime to address the recent actions? Is the Iranian nuclear program of greater concern than North Korea? 3. Drones: Obamas drone program came under fire since last weeks Senate hearing regarding counterterrorism adviser John Brennans nomination to become director of the CIA. Will Obama use tme to justify the administrations policy of deploying unmanned drones to kill Americans suspected of being Al-Qaeda allies? 4. Gun violence: Background checks have picked up significant momentum across party lines and Obama is well on his way to pushing for comprehensive gun control and gun violence prevention. The NRA has been very vocal about Second Amendment rights, and recent events have pushed gun violence into national spotlight. Is this issue big enough to address in his primetime address? Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, mother of slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton, and a young girl from Newtown, Connecticut will be present inside the Chamber when Obama delivers his address. 5. Climate Change: Obama came out strong during his January inaugural speech on addresssing climate change. He expressed the need to deal with the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. However, his address tonight will likely cover climate change as it relates to energy technology, new industries, and economic growth. With all these issues that need to be addressed, you can expect some mention of the above. Count his words and see how many times Obama addresses the above topics. But expect it all to be overshadowed by the big issue that has carried through Obamas tenure as president the economy, jobs and economic recovery.

Buffalo Soldiers :: essays research papers

Daily Life on the Western Frontier Daily life for the troops of the 9th and 10th Cavalries was harsh, but, for the most part, it was similar to that of their White counterparts. During the 1860s and 70s, the frontier forts resembled little more than rundown villages, and the enlisted men's barracks were often poorly ventilated, insect infested hovels. The only bathing facilities usually consisted of the local creek. As a result, diseases such as dysentery, bronchitis, and tuberculosis were a common problem. Rations throughout the Indian campaigns consisted mainly of beef or bacon, potatoes, beans, fresh vegetables from the post garden, and sometimes fruit or jam. The work week was seven days, with the exception of the fourth of July and Christmas. The monthly pay for a private was a mere $13. When available, many of the African-American troops spent leisure hours in schools established to alleviate the illiteracy mandated by slavery. The schools were normally run by chaplains assigned to the Black units, for this purpose. Other leisure activities were few, especially for the African-American troops stationed in west Texas. Only a small percentage of enlisted men were able to bring their wives with them to the frontier posts. The small villages which grew up around the forts were usually little more than a collection of saloons and gambling parlors, inhabited by some of the more unsavory characters on the frontier. Here, partially due to the federal government's harsh reconstruction policies, racial prejudice by both local citizens and law officers was severe. When disputes arose among Buffalo Soldiers and locals, the local law and juries consistently sided against the troops. The most serious problem faced by the Army during the Indian War period was desertion. In 1868, the desertion rate for enlisted personnel was approximately 25 percent. Desertions among White regiments were roughly three times greater than those among Black units.

Impact of Foreign Maids on Young Children

Project work Preliminary idea draft 3 -Qian Mengyuan 13s210 Choice of topic: access The problem: too much access to foreign maids Nowadays, due to the fast-paced work life, parents don’t have enough time to take care of their own children, hence they employ foreign maids to help them look after their children and manage household chores. As there is easy access [1]of maid service, there will be some impact (table 1) on the young children. Hence this project aims to reduce the negative impact and improve the quality of maids. Impact | |(+) | |Reduce the burden of parents | |Parents can be focused during work. | |Young children will not be lonely when parents are working. | |Enough infant education. | |(-) | |Children become lazy & cannot grow up independently. | |Maids are Unwell-trained-influence young children with bad habits e. g. azy, smoking. | |Very dangerous. Children may be hurt by the maids[2]. | |Poor relationships between parents and their children. | |Over-reliance of maids[3], | |â€Å" lazy society†[4] | Table1: the impact of easy excess maid service on young children and their parents. |Stakeholders |Why they ooperate | |? Parents who are too busy to look after their children |Safer and better environment for children to grow up. | |? the agencies[5] of foreign maids |Better quality will attract more customers. | |? students who study advertising &public relations in Temasek |Improve their advertising and publicity skills. | |polytechnic | | |? eighborhood committee of |Its their duty to ensure better life in the community. | In doing so, the collaboration will minimize the harmful impact as mentioned above. Proposals |Highlight plan: parents awareness day |Action plan: training plan | |Organization involved: |Organization involved: | |? +? |? | |Target audience: |Target audience: | |? Foreign maid who will be employed to take care of children. | |Objectives: | | |To raise the awareness of parents about their care of children. |Details of plan: | |Details of plan: |-connect with the maids agencies to train them by giving them | |- collect information of family with maids from the |certain lessons and conduct examinations after the lesson. |neighborhood committee |-after passing the exam they can then sign a guarantee. | |- let the children to write cards, make small gift and make |-certain amount of fine will be asked by the agency if maids | |videos -what they want to say to parents (done by ? ) to show |are complained. | |their need of parents. |-therefore maids will be more careful. | |- organize a â€Å"i want to say† session between parents and |-teach the maids how to help the children to grow up | |children to allow parents to know more about their children. independently by teaching them do simple housework with prize, | |- The committee educates parents about the importance of taking|but not do everything for them. | |more care of children. | | |-date:1/6/2013 | | |-place: meridian pri mary school(rent a room) | | Rationale: (+): -children will grow up independently, happily and learn to care about others | |the quality of maids will be ensured> more requirement | |the safety and good environment of young children will be ensured | |- Closer relationship between children and parents. | |(-):-the price for employing a maid will be increased because of the training. | [pic] Figure 1. [pic]Figure2 the â€Å"I want to say†¦Ã¢â‚¬ card for children to write down what they want to say to their parents. [pic] The paper heart shape made by children to show their love and need to their parents. [pic] Figure 3 Word Count: 496 [Excluding titles, headings/sub-headings (underlined) and footnotes] ———————– [1] Figure 1 [2] Malaysia – Indonesian maid hurling baby onto floor. http://videocombo. com/video. php? v=678&error=access_denied&error_code=200&error_description=Permissions+error&error_reason=user_denied &state#_=_ [3] Figure 2. A Singapore soldier’s shame? His maid carries his rucksack. ttp://translate. google. com. sg/translate? hl=zh-CN&sl=en&tl=zh-CN&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. globalpost. com%2Fdispatches%2Fglobalpost-blogs%2Fthe-rice-bowl%2Fsingapore-soldiers-shame-his-maid-carries-his-rucksack&anno=2 [4] But go-getter Singapore appears particularly reliant on its 200,000-plus maids. http://translate. google. com. sg/translate? hl=zh-CN&sl=en&tl=zh-CN&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. globalpost. com%2Fdispatch%2Fnews%2Fregions%2Fasia-pacific%2F120529%2Fsingapore-maid-domestic-servant-labor-rights&anno=2 [5] 1. Filipino maids agencies 2. Maid Agency in Singapore 3. Filipino maid

Gender and Racial Issues

The main character in the novel Ti-Jeanne had been trying to avoid Rudy, a man who apparently have a child with her. The relationship of both characters from the past towards the present has actually displayed the different issues that gender differences are subjected to right now. Women are likely understood by the human society as the weaker vessel in the human community. Most often than not, this fact has made it easier for the society to present women as the gender division in the society that comes only as the second important group of population in the human community.Today, media is considered to be the most influential matter in the society today. Likely, the said medium of entertainment has directly affected the ways by which people react upon the different norms in the society today including that of the issues regarding gender differences. For this study, the process by which media presents women through movies and television programs shall be discussed with clarity and ca reful understanding. Considerably, this study shall present the different impacts by which media intends to point out the differences between men and women in the society today.During the 1950’s just after the world war events, women were rather presented in a much traditional manner that made them appear accustomed to the household activities. Their roles during the war years were also presented in a much more radical approach showing that though they were considered weak, they made so much to contribute to the strength of the people who are fighting for the freedom of the human society during the said era in the human society. Ever since that particular era, the role of women in the society had been changing gradually.Likely, the said series of changes had also been shown through media presentations. Aside from that, the advancement of technology towards the modern society has actually made it possible for the presentation of the women population to be more practical and re alistic. In the novel of Hopkinson, it could be observed that the women culture has been presented in a rather developing way, whereas a supposed weak individual who is faced with all the necessary adjustments that needs to be dealt with in becoming more familiar with a new community gains power through confidence.On Racial Differences The entire reading in the said book could be separated within four particular sections that present the major focused thoughts of the authors of the said material. The said divisions are as follows: †¢ Each individual is rightfully disposed to have his or her own thinking with regards a certain issue in the society. The differences of the people make it easier for each person to see the importance of the said right towards each individual. The opinion of each person is particularly a reflection of his or her own experiences in life.†¢ As for this matter it could be observed that the election of the American society is divided in several ways that the opinions of people with regards who the rightful person to rule the nation wins the position of the most important authority who would have power over the different authorities of the nation altogether. †¢ In terms of several social issues, it could be observed that the American society have different opinions altogether that coming up with a single acceptable opinionated view about several matters is a certain sort of clash of ideas between individuals.†¢ Political issues in the American society appear to be among the largest element of diversity of the said community of different individuals. The background of each person and their wants as well shapes their decision in taking part in the society’s political standing today. †¢ Aggressiveness of the people towards having the best kind of government available is something that needs to be strongly identified by each individual who are taking part in the electoral practices at present.Constantly consid ering the differences of the individuals and giving them the rightful attention that they are due regardless of their race or their color may not be that easy to apply through this particular process of equalizing the social system. This is especially true when it comes to understanding the situation in a normalizing manner. Actual application of being fair to everyone regardless of their racial division is not an easy task to accomplish.Through the attention given to the needs of everyone else in the population of people concerned in the situation, it could be noted that the main aim of the system is to make equalizing programs work for serving the best values of the individuals concerned (Wyle, 2003). People are likely to be divided because of their cultural beliefs. This likely involves the importance of the major consideration given to the cultural diversity of each individual from the others who are present in a certain institution.Seeing them as persons having the same level o f needs of respect and same demands of attention shall equip the administrational authorities with the rightful skill and capability of handling such cases of differences in terms of race and culture. It should then be realized that deeply understanding the situation through narrowing the elements of effect through identification of human behavior as individuals and not as people divided by race, is the main key towards the successful application of the said proposed program or event.(Wyle, 12) From this outlined summary, it could be observed that the book points out that the diversity of the people today in the American society makes the political status of the said nation rather aggressive and progressive in several important ways. Further Implications of the Reading The society is mainly composed of many different individuals each having their own characteristics, social background, and cultural affinity producing diversity among the people.The unique personal characteristics of each individual radiates in the formation and development of the society as the former manifests as the foundation of the latter. As people compose the society, their unique and personal characteristics affect the formation and development of it including the differences in most major social factors and concepts. Included in this is the issue of race and social ethnicity. Race is mainly defined as the social characteristics localized within a certain social group that is shared through both biological characteristics and regional factor.Among the commonly included characteristics in this concept are the shared physical features in a certain social group such as color of skin and others. The concept of race is commonly used as the background factor in the personal identity of each individual. Ethnic background on the other hand plays more on the side of cultural affinity rather than on the physical manifestation. This concept similarly serves as the identity factor for each individua l as the ethnic background manifests as the primary link of an individual to his or her roots.On a sociological aspect, ethnic relations are formal and mandatory as associated with the birthright of an individual though the relationship of the subject with his or her ethnic background on a cultural aspect is viable wherein he or she can choose to deviate from it and affiliate him or herself to other cultural groups. Indeed, the concept of race and ethnic background serves as the anthropological factor determining the roots and family background of the involved subject.Another important factor associated with the concept of race and ethnic background is the issue of inequality and discrimination. Social groups are mainly formed through the unison and association of different unique individuals sharing a common factor, which can be of regional location, physical characteristics, blood relationship and cultural background. The people sharing a similar denominator established themselves together as a single social group with their own cultural identity.However, on a general sociological perspective, each social group based on race and ethnic background manifests to be a unique unit in the larger context. As the social race opens their group to the larger social aspect, issues of differences pertaining to their cultural issues, shared physical appearance, and anthropological factor as now brought up into the context (Rothenberg, 2001). As influenced by these issues, aspects of discrimination and social inferiority play now in the picture wherein the social groups in the general society are now segregated among the superior and inferior ones.The issue of discrimination in the sociological context is always based on a certain factor causing the said mentality or personal perspective. Commonly in the present society, physical appearance and cultural differences are the main fuels that affect the discriminative view towards the other social groups classifying the super ior from the inferior class. Indeed, the issue of race and ethnic factor becomes the basis for the segregation and discrimination in the people wherein the established inferior unit becomes oppressed compared by the superior class.This often manifests in the course of the development of each social groups in several aspects. An example of this concept is the racial discrimination that is dominant in the American society segregating the groups of the whites and the blacks wherein the former are considered superior than the later (Rothenberg, 2001). This discrimination often manifests in the several important social institutions such as the employment sector wherein most blacks are not qualified to be hired for higher executive positions because of their racial background.Another is the racial harassment that the blacks are receiving from most white factions who wants to further undermine and take advantage of the inferiority of the black people. However, this issue of discrimination is not based of the common connoted definition of the concept of race, which is through skin color. Instead, the real significant roots of the discriminative behavior within this society manifests to be from the anthropological and historical relationship of the two social groups namely the period of the slavery of the blacks and the social impression this has left on the mentality of the people.Indeed, the blacks were once victim of the physical oppression of slavery from the white people and this historical period has left a cultural and sociological scar on the impression of their race (Rothenberg, 2001). As these people are victimized and oppressed, their once status in the society still influence the perspective of the people in the present which comes in conflict with the pride and status of the other social groups.Because they were once slaves, other social groups do not want to be mixed and be on the same level with the black people thus, their cultural perspective develops to undermine the capacity and capabilities of the black people to hinder their equal social ascension (Rothenberg, 2001). This concept is widely prevailing in the present and most oppressed social minorities are still fighting their way against this discriminative behavior. Other oppressed social groups are those who are foreign to the land of the dominant race wherein the former were viewed to be inferior compare to the later.Victims of these views are the Hispanics, Irish, and other immigrants and refugees in the American society (Rothenberg, 2001). The dominant race allowed the intrusion of the foreign social group however, a demarcation line must still be implemented wherein the dominant will stay to be the superior in most social institutions and fields. This in part, manifested to have an oppressive effect on the minority faction wherein the superior class hinders their development and integration in the general society.Indeed, the issue of racial discrimination is not mainly attributed to the racial, ethnic and social differences of the involved parties but on the unresolved conflicts and issues between the involved social groups. Indeed, racial perception is not on the significance of the color of skin or cultural practice but on the personal perception and view of the people looking into the context. Indeed, the issue of racial discrimination is laid not oniological and sociological inferiority complex but instead on the concept regarding the social development between the two social groups.Because of this, the issue of racial discrimination indeed becomes illogical and unethical as something occurred in the past is not applicable on the present context. Instead, the discriminated social groups must be entitled to social affirmative actions as part of the assistance to the development and reintegration of the oppressed social groups. Instead of discriminating the oppressed social groups, social minorities must instead be assisted in their integration and association in the general social context to achieve a positive social status for both the involved social groups. Overall ReactionFrom the reading that has been presented herein, it could be noted that the people of the American society are indeed much directly concerned of the ways by which their thoughts and opinions are given high regard by the major sources of power in the nation, particularly that of the political sectors of the society. Form this particular learning, it is undeniable that the truth behind the importance of diversity indeed affects the progress of the entire country as one nations standing for further progress in the future. Reference: Brown Girl in the Ring, Nalo Hopkinson, Warner Aspect, 1998, 250 pp.

The Economic Explanation for Americas Depression

The Economic Explanation for Americas Depression Free Online Research Papers In present day America, 25% of the entire population has been diagnosed with and is undergoing treatment for some type of depression [â€Å"One out of Four Diagnosed† www.minefully.org]. Because it is such a common occurrence, the American people have seemingly accepted depression, whether minor or major, as a social norm. What the general public has failed to recognize is that most U.S. Pharmaceutical companies promote their products for the sole financial benefit of their company versus the diagnosed individual. The relatively recent occurrence and contemporary rise in the amount of people diagnosed with depression is far too coincidental with that of Pharmaceutical stocks and their net worth, currently booming the billions. Reviewed and analyzed in this essay are the glitches in the system and tips on how not to fall into the traps of the modern day medical industry. Depression is generally single-handedly diagnosed by either a physician, who medically treats depression, or a psychiatrist, a specialist in human emotion. The saying â€Å"Never go to a Doctor whose office plants have died† [Greenberg 36] relays a strong message of the importance of professional looking practices. Anytime you walk into a doctor’s office, you are bound to be surrounded by advertisements, pamphlets, and even free samples for various prescription drugs; it is almost like shopping in a â€Å"Sam’s Club†! All of those things have a purpose for being there, and that purpose is to influence people to use medication to solve their health problems. Behind the array of display cards and informational packets lies one thing: pharmaceutical companies and their interest in the American people’s money. Members of our society are exceedingly consumed with appearance and embody a materialized sense of perfection that blinds them from seeing the mo tivations behind corporate actions. All medical examiners, from psychotherapists to pediatricians, benefit from advertising for Pharmaceutical companies, and vice versa. In California’s Official Health Care Report, the quality of statewide health care appeared to vary greatly by general popularity [â€Å"CA Quality Health Care Report† www.opa.ca.gov]. Much like adolescents select brand named clothing over generics, the most sponsored and commercialized health care facilities happened to lead the charts when it came to the number of patients, but not necessarily in their recovery rates [â€Å"CA Quality Health Care Report 2003-2005† www.opa.ca.gov]. Pharmaceutical companies unfairly benefit the â€Å"name brand† consumer over the â€Å"generic† consumer by offering larger discounts with higher premiums and by callously denying sometimes vital medications to those who simply cannot afford them. Two of our nation’s principal misers, doctors and pharmaceutical companies monopolize the market, essentially scheming our people without a hint of remorse. Not only are the individuals behind the diagnosis often corrupt, but so are the tests in which they gather their information. In the diagnosis there are no blood or urine samples taken, only personal information gathered and questioners answered. Originally used to diagnose depression, the HAM-D (Hamilton Department Rating Scale) was a biased test that produced flawed results and in turn many incorrect diagnoses’. For those reasons it was revised by medical experts; the result of those revisions was the popular and extensively accredited SCID (Structured Clinical Interview). Although it is presently the most commonly used form of diagnosis, it only increased diagnosis accuracy (patient success rates) by about 20% overall [â€Å"CA Quality Health Care Report† www.opa.gov]. Perhaps the reason the success rates haven’t notably inclined is because the tests genuinely have no guarantee of any accurate result. Asking indirect questions and taking natural emotional occu rrences to extremes, the tests seem more of a persuasion tactic than a supposed step toward recovery. Basing the test on the assumption of the individual, it asks similar questions in a repetitive fashion, focusing on casual neurovegative signs like sleep and appetite. Declared a hoax by psychotherapist and freelance writer Dr. Gary Greenburg, he commented that â€Å"Whatever my score on the SCID, it was hard to believe that (Dr.) Papakostas really thought I had Major Depression† [Greenburg 37]; involved in a study, Greenburg himself was mistakenly diagnosed with depression. On a test where the symptoms are all to casual, uncertainly is not an option; all questions require either a direct yes or no answer bubbled onto the answer sheet. Due to the lack of dedication to and interest in creating fair and legitimate tests, it could be said that government funded research has fizzled down to the sloppy and unsure collection of raw data that our doctors need to keep their sponsors happy. Shooting at a specific target with no set aim, one must question the legitimacy of a test issuing 2 of 17 points to a patient for merely denying they are ill at all. Last but not least is the issue of personal reaction to both prescription anti-depressants and their treatment plans. Anti-depressant medications are essentially chemicals that enter the body directly, altering its chemical makeup and supposedly achieving a desired balance. Ironically enough, a major argument by both Pharmaceuticals and doctors alike in the defense of prescription drugs is one that questions patient hope for and dedication to their recovery. If prescriptions were chemical solutions to chemical problems, then such factors would be irrelevant when it came to patient recovery. This concretely defends the psychological factor in depression treatment, also known as the Placebo Effect. In the same study involving Mr. Greenburg, it was found that in over half the trails used to approve the leading anti-depressant meds, the drugs failed to outperform their placebos. Even more shocking, the minimal advantage of the successful prescriptions over the placebos was an average of two points on the HAM-D scale [Greenburg 40]; this two point difference could be altered to the placebo’s benefit by a heartier meal or deeper sleep. In conclusion, the groundbreaking claim that 80% of prescription drug effects are actually placebo effects [Kirsch 40] isn’t so hard to believe after all. Furthermore, the American people have been brainwashed by the United States’ medical industry as a whole, and one must question what it will take to reverse that. In the last 40 years alone, there have been 100 new afflictions added to the lists diagnosing depression, and the number will only continue to grow; we cannot let the belief that any amount of happiness is enough work its way into our consumer economy. One day, people will come to embrace this phrase voiced by Norman Cousins: â€Å"The human body experiences a gravitational pull in the direction of hope. That is why patients` hopes are the physician’s secret weapon. They are the hidden ingredients in any prescriptions†. When we come to recognize the economics behind depression and embrace the power of the human mind, our people will discover the innate solution to man’s most agonizing illness. Research Papers on The Economic Explanation for America's DepressionMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)The Effects of Illegal ImmigrationInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesTwilight of the UAWPETSTEL analysis of IndiaQuebec and CanadaThe Project Managment Office SystemResearch Process Part OneGenetic Engineering

Free Essays on Wrinkle In Time

A WRINKLE IN TIME By Madeline LÂ ´ Engle In Willstead town, in North Carolina strange things are happening. Do you want to know more? Well in A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle a wonderful writer tells all the weird things that are happening. Madeleine LÂ ´Engle was born in 1918 and she is still alive, she was born in New York (USA) and she is famous for his fantastic novels and fiction books, and her familiar stories for children. After she graduated from the Smith University in 1941 she extended hers studies in the Social Investigations School (1941-1942) and in the University Of Columbia (1960-1961). Madeleine LÂ ´Engle worked during some years in the Theater and later as a teacher. The setting of this story is in North Carolina, in the town of Willstead in the year of 2005. One day Margaret was left by the Aliens when she was two- months old in the planet Earth, and was found by the Murries, a nice couple, that had one year of marriage. Several years had passed and Margaret grew up like a normal girl. Now she had twin brothers and a Collie dog. At school everybody thought that she is a freak, but she is a ten-year-old girl, with beautiful eyes and a lot of intelligence. She is an alien but no one knows not even she. Margaret came to Earth by a computer fraud that caused a wrinkle in time. An old woman called Mrs. Whatsit came to Earth with the job to take Margaret back. She visits Margaret and buys her nice things to win Margaret’s confidence. Mrs. Whatsit lived in the middle of the woods. One day a robbery had been reported to the police. It was a missing blanket and the thief was Mrs. Whatsit because she needed a lot of warmth because planet Earth was too cold for her. The Tesseract that is the name of the species that Margaret and Mrs. Whatsit belong to, they are from from other planet. At school some rare people that were of the same species as Margaret went to do a contest. Margaret won the contest but th... Free Essays on Wrinkle In Time Free Essays on Wrinkle In Time A WRINKLE IN TIME By Madeline LÂ ´ Engle In Willstead town, in North Carolina strange things are happening. Do you want to know more? Well in A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle a wonderful writer tells all the weird things that are happening. Madeleine LÂ ´Engle was born in 1918 and she is still alive, she was born in New York (USA) and she is famous for his fantastic novels and fiction books, and her familiar stories for children. After she graduated from the Smith University in 1941 she extended hers studies in the Social Investigations School (1941-1942) and in the University Of Columbia (1960-1961). Madeleine LÂ ´Engle worked during some years in the Theater and later as a teacher. The setting of this story is in North Carolina, in the town of Willstead in the year of 2005. One day Margaret was left by the Aliens when she was two- months old in the planet Earth, and was found by the Murries, a nice couple, that had one year of marriage. Several years had passed and Margaret grew up like a normal girl. Now she had twin brothers and a Collie dog. At school everybody thought that she is a freak, but she is a ten-year-old girl, with beautiful eyes and a lot of intelligence. She is an alien but no one knows not even she. Margaret came to Earth by a computer fraud that caused a wrinkle in time. An old woman called Mrs. Whatsit came to Earth with the job to take Margaret back. She visits Margaret and buys her nice things to win Margaret’s confidence. Mrs. Whatsit lived in the middle of the woods. One day a robbery had been reported to the police. It was a missing blanket and the thief was Mrs. Whatsit because she needed a lot of warmth because planet Earth was too cold for her. The Tesseract that is the name of the species that Margaret and Mrs. Whatsit belong to, they are from from other planet. At school some rare people that were of the same species as Margaret went to do a contest. Margaret won the contest but th...

Learn About Education and Schools in Virginia

Learn About Education and Schools in Virginia When it comes to education and schools, all states are not created equal. States and local governments possess almost all of the power when it comes to governing education and schools.   Because of this, you will find key differences in education-related policy across all fifty states and the District of Columbia. You will continue to find distinct differences even between neighboring districts thanks to local control. Highly debated educational topics such as the Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluations, school choice, charter schools, and teacher tenure are handled differently by almost every state.   These and other key educational issues typically fall along controlling political party lines. This ensures that a student in one state will likely be receiving a different variation of education than their peers in neighboring states. These differences make it virtually impossible to accurately compare the quality of education   one state is providing compared to another. You must utilize several common data points to make connections and draw conclusions about the quality of education any particular state is providing. This profile focuses on education and schools in Virginia.   Virginia Education and Schools Virginia Department of Education Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction: Dr. Steven R. Staples District/School Information Length of School Year: A minimum of 180 school days or 540 (K) and 990 (1-12) school hours are required by Virginia state law. Number of Public School Districts: There are 130 public school districts in Virginia. Number of Public Schools: There are 2192 public schools in Virginia. **** Number of Students Served in Public Schools: There are 1,257,883 public school students in Virginia. **** Number of Teachers in Public Schools: There are 90,832 public school teachers in Virginia.**** Number of Charter Schools: There are 4 charter schools in Virginia. Per Pupil Spending: Virginia spends $10,413 per pupil in public education. **** Average Class Size: The average class size In Virginia is 13.8 students per 1 teacher. **** % of Title I Schools: 26.8% of schools in Virginia are Title I Schools.**** % With Individualized Education Programs (IEP): 12.8% of students in Virginia are on IEPs. **** % in Limited-English Proficiency Programs: 7.2% of students in Virginia are in limited-English Proficient Programs.**** % of Student Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunches: 38.3% of students in Virginia schools are eligible for free/reduced lunches.**** Ethnic/Racial Student Breakdown**** White: 53.5% Black: 23.7% Hispanic: 11.8% Asian: 6.0% Pacific Islander: 0.1% American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.3% School Assessment Data Graduation Rate: 81.2% of all students entering high school in Virginia graduate. ** Average ACT/SAT score: Average ACT Composite Score: 23.1*** Average Combined SAT Score: 1533***** 8th grade NAEP assessment scores:**** Math: 288 is the scaled score for 8th grade students in Virginia. The U.S. average was 281. Reading: 267 is the scaled score for 8th grade students in Virginia. The U.S. average was 264. % of Students Who Attend College after High School: 63.8% of students in Virginia go on to attend some level of college. *** Private Schools Number of Private Schools: There are 638 private schools in Virginia.* Number of Students Served in Private Schools: There are 113,620 private school students in Virginia.* Homeschooling Number of Students Served Through Homeschooling: There were an estimated 34,212 students that were homeschooled in Virginia in 2015.# Teacher Pay The average teacher pay for the state of Virginia was $49,869 in 2013.## Each individual district in the state of Virginia negotiates teacher salaries and establishes their own teacher salary schedule. The following is an example of a teacher salary schedule in Virginia provided by the Richmond Public School *Data courtesy of Education Bug . **Data courtesy of ED.gov ***Data courtesy of PrepScholar. ****Data courtesy of the National Center for Education Statistics ******Data courtesy of The Commonwealth Foundation #Data courtesy of A2ZHomeschooling.com ##Average salary courtesy of National Center of Education Statistics ###Disclaimer:   The information provided on this page changes frequently.   It will be updated regularly as new information and data becomes available.

Impact of Technology on Sales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impact of Technology on Sales - Essay Example W. Pergault. The company spent $20 million upgrading its website but this change did not have a great impact on sales and profitability. Managers are not interested in website and online sales because they "don't earn any commission". On the other hand, customer did not like the new website because of "distracting graphics", "the bells and whistles" (Spiro et al 2004). Resistance comes from the customer since they are not the beneficiary of organizational changes. Some of the reasons for resistance to change are; excessive focus on cost, failure to recognize benefits, lack of organizational synchronization, and individual uncertainty denial and fear of loss. In order to improve the e-commerce plan, Celia Fiorni, the company president, should restructure current compensation system and reward those managers who use the website and sell products through the Internet. Also, Celia Fiorni should encourage and motivate sales representatives to use the Internet and sell products through the Internet. Training programs will help to improve skills and knowledge of employees and reduce resistance to change. Salespeople will accept the new initiative ensured in fair compensation and computer skills. Technology can create new design options for various processes because it can be used to challenge longstanding as assumptions about work arrangements that used to inhibit organizations. Good understanding of end-user needs by system developers is another important factor, as are mechanisms for communication with the business users of the system. Senior management sponsorship and commitment is another success factor, but dependent also on the existence of a champion. Technically, the requirements of the system change to include reliability and its delivery to users in a suitable form. This process of continual selection and rejection of potential projects contrasts strongly with the tendency in many companies towards early formal approval of information technology projects whose costs and benefits are assumed to be certain. The results from the research broadly confirm that the factors identified for technical innovation also apply to information systems projects. For G. W. Pergault, CRM plays a crucial role helping to improve customer service and meet customers' needs and expectations. "G. W. Pergault offers more than 500,000 different products, which can be overwhelming to sort through. Sutton believes that some of his reps may have trouble finding specific products on the website" (Spiro et al 2004). An established information technology infrastructure obviously helps provide a base for delivery as well as making it clearer when new hardware and system software will be needed. Personnel should be connected directly to the concept of CRM, an approach that stresses the importance of developing long-term partnerships with customers. In developing personal and relationship strategies on an international level, the representative is wise to take a step back and understand how CRM strategies will likely fit in the environment. CRM requires an organization to first develop a transformation system that

Wiccan Religion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wiccan Religion - Research Paper Example Some of the Basic Tenets/Principles of the Wiccan Religion Are;1. The Wiccan holidays are based on the phases of the moon and earth’s rotation. Apart from the monthly esbats, there are eight primary sabbats in the Wiccan religion.2. The environment should be taken care of and honored. As such, it is the Wiccan follower’s personal responsibility to conserve the environment and promote ecological balance since the environment is divine.3. The divine power in the Wiccan religion contains both the male and female aspects. Hence, both genders are held to be equal. Therefore, the Wiccans honor or worship both the male god and the female goddess.  4. The Wiccan religion has no central authority figure. They believe that all people/ members are sacred and can communicate with the gods. In other religions, only the priests or pastors are honored to communicate with the gods.5. Each and every person must take responsibility for his/her actions. Hence, they should readily accept the outcomes of their actions.Beliefs Concerning Life and DeathAccording to the Wicca religion, material life begins in the womb. Next, they believe that in life, they should strive to live peacefully by not intentionally causing any harm to others. What a person does in his/her life will be repaid thrice in the afterlife. This implies that they believe in karma. The Wicca religion believes that there is an afterlife after death. When a person dies, he /she transitions into a different life where he/she will be reincarnated back in different forms.

Judicial Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Judicial Review - Research Paper Example The increasing relevance and growth of judicial review is as a result of the growth of the administrative functions and powers in the modern world and can be understood from a historical perspective. The period before 19th century was characterized by a societal mode of life known as laissez faire which connotes total individual freedom, contractual freedom, a free individual enterprise which diminish the government control and functions. In a laissez faire society the role of the state is negative and is limited to defending the country especially from external aggression. The advent of industrial revolution in the 19th century manifested that the bargaining power of individuals was not equal and that un-controlled bargaining power would lead to exploitation of poor majority by the rich minority. This makes it important for the State’s intervention in individual matters. The state thus took more positive and active role in matters which affected the citizens directly. This le ad to the birth of the Social Welfare State, whose advent led to a phenomenal increase in scope and content of the functions and powers of the State. The state from then on, through the machinery of state corporations and executive arm, took over a very large portion of what was matters of private individuals and started to profoundly control what remained in the private domain. (Jain, 3) an administrative law author summarised the functions of the state in a social welfare system as follows: â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.the state today pervades every aspect of human life; it runs buses, railways and postal services; it undertakes socio-economic planning, improves slums, plans urban and rural life, looks after health, societal morals and education of the people, generates electricity, works mines and operates key and important industries; acts as an active instrument of socio-economic policy, regulates individual life and freedom to a large extent; benefits its citizens and imposes social control and regulation over private enterprise.† A state has three organs which are the judiciary, the executive and the legislature which perform independent and different functions. Increase in the state functions would obviously mean increase in work for all state organs. But this is not the case as the largest range of the powers and functions of the state has been taken by the executive arm which is also known as the administrative arm of the state. In the modern times the executive arm performs functions which are ex facie and which belong to the other organs of the state. The executive performs the legislative power by making a plethora of rules, orders, by-laws and regulations. This is designated as subordinate or delegated legislation. The executive also performs adjudicative powers over disputes through the commissions, tribunals and many other quasi- judicial bodies which have diversified jurisdiction, structure, powers and procedures. They make binding decisions li ke those of ordinary courts. The reason for subsidiary legislation is that the legislature lacks time and expertise to handle the mass all the legislative detail required to govern a state. The

Quiz two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Quiz two - Essay Example The average cost of repairs under warranty is $45 for labour and $75 for parts per unit. During 2012, 2,500 exercise machines were sold at an average price of $800. During the year, 60 of the machines that were sold were repaired at the average price per unit. The opening balance in the Warranty Liability account is zero. 30. Taylor Companys payroll for the week ending January 15 amounted to $50,000 for Office Salaries and $120,000 for Store Wages. The following deductions were withheld from employees salaries and wages: On January 1, 2010, Andrews Corporation issued $900,000, 8%, 5-year bonds dated January 1, 2010, at 100 (this value was assumed as it was not given in the document) to yield 9%. The bonds pay semi-annual interest on January 1 and July 1. The company has a December 31 year end. On January 1, 2010, Callahan Corporation issued $600,000, 9%, 5-year bonds, dated January 1, 2007, at 104. The bonds pay interest semi-annually on January 1 and July 1. The company has a December 31 year end. Assume amortization of $1,700 and $2,100 respectively for the first two semi-annual interest periods. Hanna Manufacturing Limited receives $240,000 on January 1, 2010 when it issues a 6%, 3-year note payable to finance the purchase of equipment. The terms provide for annual payments each December 31. The first payment is due December 31, 2010. (a) Hillman Corporation purchased $150,000 of its bonds on June 30, 2011, at 102 and immediately retired them. The amortized cost of the bonds on the retirement date was $137,700. The bonds pay semi-annual interest and the interest payment due on June 30, 2011, has been made and recorded. (b) Dalton, Inc. purchased $200,000 of its bonds at 96 on June 30, 2011, and immediately retired them. The amortized cost of the bonds on the retirement date was $196,500. The bonds pay semi-annual interest and the interest payment due on June 30, 2011,

How cloud computing will affect businesses Research Paper

How cloud computing will affect businesses - Research Paper Example Cloud Computing is a term that has gained popularity within last couple of years. Figure 1 shows the trends in the usage various computing terms, the figure is indicative of the fact that the terms like grid computing and distributed computing are dropping in usage where as from 2008 onwards the term cloud computing has picked up at an exponential rate. Cloud computing has been defined as â€Å"†¦.a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)†¦.† (Search Cloud Computing). The term Cloud is a metaphor of Internet as Internet it is represented as a cloud in schematics and diagrams Figure 1. Trends of usage of term Cloud Computing. Cloud computing has numerous benefits and these beneficiaries not only include the users but also the companies. Cloud computing is beginning to change the way businesses are done. The following are the key benefits of cloud computing: Cloud Computing enables the users to access information (files and data) remotely, that is from their home or office, during working hours or even beyond working hours. Cloud computing is relatively cheaper with respect to the resources, for smaller companies and companies in resource limited settings cloud computing provides low cost solutions because these users need not procure expensive software and hardware. The companies just need to pay for the services and infrastructure when it is required, thereby reducing the costs. Since cloud computing is all about online or virtual resources, resources like storage space etc. for the companies into cloud-based services is limitless. Monthly subscription fee takes care of the growing needs of the companies . In other words, cloud computing offers such advantages capable of posting the companies, those adopt cloud computing, in all together a different league because the scales and economics are a class apart. Figure 2. Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing (Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe) Although cloud computing presents numerous benefits, quite like any other entity or technology, cloud computing has its share of shortcomings. These include concerns like the additional costs for transfer of data; lack of control over security, reliability of the hardware where the data and applications reside, because the hardware and software etc. are owned by third party; since cloud computing is a service oriented technology, quality of service of each vendor can vary, hence this technology can not be considered to be free from qualitative aspects like, security issues, etc. Figure 2 gives an idea of the pros and cons of

Weight trining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Weight trining - Essay Example The article recommends routine training and after every 12 weeks, one takes a week off of weight training to cure any minor injuries and to give the central nervous system a rest. Cheating arises when one uses a weight that is too heavy for them to lift, but go ahead to lift the weight and forgo form to do it. This not only confines the gains one can make, but can cause injuries. Lifting heavy weights while still young can lead to premature growth plates (epiphysis). The website goes ahead to explain how low rep ranges prepare muscular strength, which in turn helps little in increasing muscular size. The site has helped me realize that not all people are the same and should not therefore copy another person’s routine so as to get the same results. Another important thing I have learnt from the site is that one does not necessarily need to fast to achieve his/her goal. When you starve yourself, the body holds onto any fat it has, therefore, one will lose muscle instead which is very unhealthy. One should also not neglect carbohydrates and fats in their foods as well as relying so much on the supplements. Finally, it is important that before embarking on weight training, one should undertake extensive research to facilitate attainment of his or her goals. Remember nothing takes place immediately and one should be

How cloud computing will affect businesses Research Paper

How cloud computing will affect businesses - Research Paper Example Cloud Computing is a term that has gained popularity within last couple of years. Figure 1 shows the trends in the usage various computing terms, the figure is indicative of the fact that the terms like grid computing and distributed computing are dropping in usage where as from 2008 onwards the term cloud computing has picked up at an exponential rate. Cloud computing has been defined as â€Å"†¦.a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)†¦.† (Search Cloud Computing). The term Cloud is a metaphor of Internet as Internet it is represented as a cloud in schematics and diagrams Figure 1. Trends of usage of term Cloud Computing. Cloud computing has numerous benefits and these beneficiaries not only include the users but also the companies. Cloud computing is beginning to change the way businesses are done. The following are the key benefits of cloud computing: Cloud Computing enables the users to access information (files and data) remotely, that is from their home or office, during working hours or even beyond working hours. Cloud computing is relatively cheaper with respect to the resources, for smaller companies and companies in resource limited settings cloud computing provides low cost solutions because these users need not procure expensive software and hardware. The companies just need to pay for the services and infrastructure when it is required, thereby reducing the costs. Since cloud computing is all about online or virtual resources, resources like storage space etc. for the companies into cloud-based services is limitless. Monthly subscription fee takes care of the growing needs of the companies . In other words, cloud computing offers such advantages capable of posting the companies, those adopt cloud computing, in all together a different league because the scales and economics are a class apart. Figure 2. Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing (Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe) Although cloud computing presents numerous benefits, quite like any other entity or technology, cloud computing has its share of shortcomings. These include concerns like the additional costs for transfer of data; lack of control over security, reliability of the hardware where the data and applications reside, because the hardware and software etc. are owned by third party; since cloud computing is a service oriented technology, quality of service of each vendor can vary, hence this technology can not be considered to be free from qualitative aspects like, security issues, etc. Figure 2 gives an idea of the pros and cons of

Exam Of Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam Of Economics - Assignment Example a. The average total cost is given for the inpatient services. The economic cost of a decision depends on both the cost of the alternative chosen and the benefit that the best alternative would have provided if chosen. The given ATC does not take into consideration the cost of the alternative, i.e. where else these costs could have been incurred instead of inpatient services example, for outpatient services. The given cost can represent the accounting cost but not the opportunity cost. Thus, the costs stated represent half of the economic costs. b. The graphical representation of the average total cost curve is shown belowThe graph above illustrates that the total average cost ATC for both the hospitals is the same. However, the total cost of the two hospitals varies. The reason is evident. The cost is directly proportional to the number of patients. As ACME hospital deals with 8000 more patients than Saving grace hospital, the cost of ACME produces at a higher cost.c. The reasons fo r the higher average cost of production for ACME hospital are:- There might be higher variable costs for ACME Hospital. Inpatient services differ from patient to patient as per the requirement to overcome the given disease. This is higher will lead to a higher average total cost.- There may be declining productivity that implies higher per unit cost. This is so because the average cost is inversely proportional to the productivity- There may be higher average fixed costs, again may vary according to the output. The factor of diminishing returns is reflected in rising average cost. d. The sole basis of the comparison is to compare for profits. It is to see how much is the difference between revenues and costs for each hospital. Once, the assumption is removed, the comparative analysis will get muddled. There may be a possibility that the two hospitals operate on same fixed costs or the cost of charging patients may be the same. There will be no variable costs and only fixed costs will exist. Once that, the number of units (number of patients) will be a direct indicator of the profit and there will thus be no need for

Land of Bondage, Land of the Free

Land of Bondage, Land of the Free Essay The tao does not come here tonight to be judged, but to judge, Hear then his accusations and his sentiments. I indict the Spanish encomendero for inventing taxes impossible to bear. I indict the usurer for saddling me with debts impossible to pay. I indict the irresponsible radical leaders who undermine with insidious eloquence the confidence of my kind in the government. You accuse me of not supporting my family. Free me from bondage and I shall prove you false. You accuse me of ignorance. But I am ignorant because my master finds it profitable to keep me ignorant. Free me from bondage and I shall prove you false. You accuse me of indolence. But I am indolent, not because I have no will, but because I have no hope. Why should I labor if all the fruits of my labor go to pay an unpayable debt? Free me from bondage and I shall prove you false. Give me land. Land to own, land unbeholden to any tyrant, land that will be free. Give me land for I am starving. Give me land that my children may not die. Sell it to me. Sell it to me at fair price – as one free man sells to another – and not as a usurer sells to a slave. I am poor, but I will pay for it. I will work, work, until I fall from weariness for my privilege, my inalienable right to be free. But if you will not grant me this last request, this ultimate demand, then build a wall around your house. Build it high, build it strong. Place a sentry on every parapet. For I, who have been silent there three hundred years, will come in the night when you are feasting – with my cry and my bolo at your door – And may God have mercy on your soul!

History and Methods of Chemical Warfare

History and Methods of Chemical Warfare Cori Haws In this report I intend to investigate from the perspective of a chemist the history and development of chemical weapons systems focusing primarily on their development, and the usage throughout the 20th century to present day and the means to which they act. As a starting point it is important to clarify what is meant by a chemical weapon or CW. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons defines a chemical weapon as a toxic chemical compound or its precursor which can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical reaction. Delivery devices designed for the delivery of chemical agents, filled or unfilled, are also considered as such. For the purpose of this report I will be focusing on the chemical agents themselves opposed to the systems used to deliver such agents. Chemical warfare generally involves the use of the known toxic properties of chemical substances in the intent cause damage to life. This is distinct from conventional warfare, most of which requires the ‘self-destructive’ properties of particular chemical reactions (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene with Oxygen), and different from Nuclear, Radiological and Biological weapons such as Hydrogen bombs, Atom bombs and weaponised Anthrax in the method of action. There are many classifications for Chemical Weapons and are defined by the way of which they in fact act on an organism. These sub-categories include; choking agents, impede a victims breathing; blister agents, irritate and poison tissue; blood agents, inhibit the ability to transfer and utilise oxygen; nerve agents, inhibits nervous system operation, and riot control agents, short term lasting low risk to life agents. It is important to mention that while some substances are inherently toxic not all are considered chemical weapons. For example raw materials, substances for medicine, herbicides and insecticides all are able to cause significant harm to life but under controlled and regulated conditions are not significantly dangerous to be classified as chemical weapons. Brief History of Chemical Weapons While chemicals have been used for warfare for a considerable amount of time, albeit in highly primitive and at the time for yet unexplained reasons. (I.e Poison arrows, molten tar and arsenic smoke), most of the use of chemical weapons in modern history is limited to World War I where Chlorine and phosgene gasses were released in large qualities during trench warfare. Notably the first use was 22nd April 1915 on the town of Ypres in Belgium, overseen by Fritz Haber, the chemist who developed the process for production of ammonia. This attack resulted in the death of 5,000. During the war several different types of chemical weapons were developed primarily by German scientists, probably the most well-known being mustard gas and derivatives. Throughout the course of the First World War it is estimated that over 90,000 were fatally wounded by chemical weapons for a total of over a million injuries by use of approximately 124,000 tons of chemical agent. The idea of the danger posed by c hemical weapons as demonstrated by the Great War was influential in the coming years as although most countries felt reluctant in developing them the fear of even deadlier weapons being used in future conflicts. Although Chemical weapons were not used during World War II, it is know that both axis and allied powers possessed chemical weapons for use in retaliation. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union developed and maintained large stockpiles of chemical weapons in fear of use. Statistics show that at the time both superpowers possessed enough chemical agents to destroy most organic life on the planet. It is noted that during the Iraq conflicts that Saddam Hussein used a variety of agents namely Mustard Gas and nerve agents possibly including what is considered the most potent nerve agents ‘VX’, against the Kurds in 1988. This prompted the Geneva Convention to prohibit the production and prompt the destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpiles. The most recent examples of Chemical Weapons use were the terrorist attacks in Matsumoto, Japan and in Tokyo involving the nerve agent known by its name of Sarin (GB). Sarin was also reportedly used in Syria on the residents of the Ghouta agricultural belt around Damascus on the 21st August 2013 resulting in an estimated 350-1500 deaths. Choking Agents As stated previously the most notable Choking agents which have been used in warfare originate from WWI. Chlorine as we know is a strong oxidant agent due to its high electronegativity. This fundamentally is the reason to which it is dangerous. Being highly reactive means it is likely to react with most other elements to form chloride compounds. The second reason being that in standard conditions it is a gas meaning that containing it is difficult. The preface of which Chlorine gas works as a chemical weapon is by the means of inhalation. The respiratory system itself is highly sensitive tissue surrounded by a mucus membrane. The mucus membrane is a high percentage water. When Chlorine has been inhaled especially in high concentrations it will react with the water of the mucus membrane to form Hydrochloric Acid, which causes serve irritations within the lungs, generally causing secretion of fluid into the lungs eventually resulting in what is called secondary drowning as a result of Pulmonary Edema. In extremely high concentrations even two or three breathes of chlorine gas can be fatal due to serve tissue damage. Though due to Chlorine gases reactivity it can easily be filtered from air using activated carbon which is a form of processed carbon which has pores to increase surface area to around 500m2 per gram. The chlorine will simply react with the carbon before doing any damage to human respiratory tissue. Phosgene, the second Choking agent developed also works by means of reacting with water to form Hydrochloric acid. The reaction was generally slower but unlike Chlorine gas, did not have a distinguishable odour and usually killed it’s victims within 24 hours of inhalation. Mustard/Blistering Agents Blistering agents were developed at around the same time as the previously stated choking agents. Mustard Gas was developed in 1916 for the Imperial German Army and could be synthesised in a variety of ways including reacting Sulphur Dichloride with Ethene (1), reacting Sulphur Monochloride with Ethene (2) or using Thiodiglycol and Chlorinating with Phosphorus Trichloride (3). The third reaction was generally used by the British when creating mustard. It was a cleaner way to produce it as the purity was approximately 96% whereas the second method was fast but was only 70-80% pure and as a result did not keep for long periods as it decomposed, increasing the pressure of the containers it was in meaning it generally leaked. SCl2+ 2 C2H4→ (Cl-CH2CH2)2S 8 S2Cl2+ 16 C2H4→ 8 (Cl-CH2CH2)2S + S8 3 (HO-CH2CH2)2S + 2 PCl3→ 3 (Cl-CH2CH2)2S + 2 P(OH)3 Mustard gas is a blistering agent as it bonds an Alkl group to guanine in DNA, damaging the DNA and preventing cellular division and results in cell death or development of cancer. Due to this method of acting upon a subject it was rare for a victim to suffer immediate symptoms as the damage would not be evident until the effected cells die and fail to regenerate. As Mustard gas is not very soluble in water but is highly soluble in fats resulting in rapid absorption through skin tissue. After 24 hours skin irritation would occur then large blisters would form anywhere the mustard agent came into contact with the skin resulting in chemical burns. At the time of WWI serve mustard burns where 50% of the body was burned were often fatal. A victims eyes would also become greatly effected becoming sore and swelling causing blindness. At high concentrations blistering of the respiratory system would result in internal bleeding leading to pulmonary edema much like choking agents. While many people during have been killed by the use of Mustard gas and its derivatives, it also had done the world a large amount of good as it was discovered from autopsies of mustard gas victims that there was reduced white blood cell count and after further research Nitrogen Mustard was eventually used as the first chemotherapy drug to treat diseases related to the white blood cells such as lymphoma and leukaemia. Cyanide and Blood Agents The most well-known blood agent is Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN). HCN is produced on an industrial scale as it is a vital precursor to many useful chemicals in pharmaceuticals as well as in polymers. Cyanide ions are responsible for the effects of poisoning due to the fact cyanide ions interact with the mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome c oxidase by binding to it and reducing its effectiveness effectively halting cellular respiration. As a result the cells of an organism become unable to use the oxygen in the blood generally leading to hypoxia.

Beowulf V. 13th Warrior :: compare contrast poem movie film

After reading the epic poem Beowulf and watching the movie The 13th Warrior, I find that the differences greatly outnumber the similarities. However, the theme of good versus evil reflects the values of the Anglo-Saxon people in both the poem and the movie. Numerous differences exist in the poem and the movie including the characters, the bloody battles, and the deaths of the heroes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many differences occur in the poem and movie. The difference in the heroes names becomes obvious. In the poem the heroes name is Beowulf. In the movie, Boulvine is the hero’s name. Another difference occurs in the monsters. In the poem the head monsters name is Grendle. In the movie though, the monster is called the leader of the Ven. Also, in the poem, Grendle is just one person. In the movies the Ven consist of a group of humans that act like animals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another difference in the poem and movie is the bloody battles. In the poem, Beowulf has supernatural powers when he is at battle. In the movie, Boulvine battles with human strengths and power. In the poem Beowulf fights all of his battles alone. In the movie Boulvine battles with several men. One of the famous warriors is the 13th warrior, played by Antonio Banderes. He helps Boulvine fight the Ven. In the poem Beowulf does not fight his third battle until 50 years later. In the movie Boulvine fights his third battle immediately after the second. The last difference that occurs is the difference in the deaths of the heroes. In the poem Beowulf dies form a slash to the throat from a dragon. In the movie Boulvine dies from poison. Beowulf dies as an old man in the poem. In the movie though, he dies as a young man. In the poem, Beowulf kills Grindle and then Grindles mother.

Energy Conservation Mitigation Plan

Energy is one of the world’s greatest inventions of all time. We use energy on a daily basis for just about everything. Our way of life is based upon energy and how we use it. We use large amounts of energy for transportation and electricity. Due to the limited supply of resources available to us we need to make sure that we conserve them wisely so that these resources will be around for future generations. It is imperative that consumer start to take responsibility for their actions. There are two ways to conserve energy; one is by using energy efficient technologies and the other is by changing our habits. Individual efforts combined with governmental support will assist in decreasing energy usage which will in turn create a better environment for everyone. According to the EIA, the U. S energy consumption is 100 quadrillion btu/year and is projected to rise by 37 percent within the next 20 years. The U. S is also currently building 151 coal-fired electrical generating plants in order to keep up with the current demand (Holness, 2008). In 2003, 422 quads of energy were used in the world and 92 quads within the U. S alone. According to the report â€Å"Cutting Global Energy Demand Growth,† it is predicted that in the year 2020, the world will be at 613 quads. This report also states that by becoming energy efficient we can reduce this number to 478 quads in 2020 (Schirber, 2008). Some non living factors that contribute to energy consumption are the sun and the earth’s atmosphere. The sun produces large amounts of heat which creates heat. Humans tend to elude the heat by turning up their air conditioners. This increases energy use. Energy emissions that are released into the earth’s atmosphere can cause major health problem to humans and are very harmful to animals and plants. Living factors that contribute to energy consumption are plants and animals. If plants are affected by high energy consumption, than it will create a problem for the animals, which will than create a problem for the humans. The whole food chain could be distorted. Humans are the main living factor that contributes to energy consumption. We are dependent upon certain items such as fossil fuels for heat and energy. This is affecting our atmosphere causing problems for all types of living organisms. The greatest positive impact that energy conservation has is that natural resources will still be around for future generations if we start conserving now. Energy conservation will also have positive effects on our environment. It will also prevent health problems associated with burning fossil fuels and coal needed for energy. Humans also have a negative impact on energy usage. Most people do not realize the amount of energy they waste in any given day. Simple steps such as fixing lighting structures, planting trees around your house, and by driving less will help curve the energy abuse. All of these are very important steps in energy conservation. Leaving lights on when not in use is a negative impact on energy consumption. According to Laird (2009), people from all different occupations have been trying to find a way to better use our resources. For 20 years, our nation has been trying to come up with a plan to reach sustainability. The government is only a part of the equation. Everyone including innovators, government, firms, and nonprofit organizations need to come together. Simply put, they are not doing enough to make sure that energy sustainability is feasible for average consumers. Laird states that they need to create policies that are flexible and create institutions that can learn and change from mistakes. According to Laird (2009), â€Å"The level of funding, public and private, for renewable energy R&D is abysmally low, when seen in the context of the size of the energy market. † One of the most recent programs, Cash for Clunkers, was initiated by the government to assist individuals in buying more energy efficient vehicles. According to CARS (2009) over 700,000 clunkers were traded in for more fuel efficient vehicles in less than 30 days. My sustainability plan will primarily focus on citizens and what they can do to help conserve energy. I believe that in order to reduce energy consumption, we first need to start at the bottom which is in your homes. My plan will include researching the affects of energy abuse, educating citizens on how to conserve energy, plan meetings to distribute literature, and last but not least, showing citizens how they can help our environment and save them money as well. The first step in my sustainability plan is to do research to find out what basic steps can be taken at the consumer level to conserve energy. In the first two months I will gather all of the data necessary to present to citizens on how to conserve energy. In month two I will do informational surveys to see how many citizens are aware of the energy problem. This survey will also help me see how many people already are conserving energy in particular areas so that I can focus on areas that need more assistance. In month 3, I will than present the information to the citizens at a meeting. I will show them the following chart so that they can see how energy is consumed in the typical household. This chart will also assist me in showing residents where they can start making a difference at. This will show them areas they need to concentrate on in order to conserve energy and save them money. EIA. (2005). U. S household electricity report. Retrieved November 3, 2009, from www. eia. doe. gov I would make it imperative to the citizens to follow some basic guidelines in order to conserve energy. Some examples would be to use less wattage bulbs or even switch to fluorescent light bulbs that last ten times longer than other bulbs. Make sure you turn off lights when leaving a room. To cut energy on heating, residents can close curtains, lower thermostats, and seal out drafts. Some ways to conserve in the kitchen is to use adequate size pots and pans and turn down the flame if it is visible. Try not to preheat and use microwaves when feasible. If you have older appliances, replace them with newer, energy efficient appliances. Hang dry clothes when the weather permits. Other areas that you can improve energy consumption in are by lowering air conditioner temperatures. If you plant trees outside your home, it will create shade, making the temperature in your house cooler. I would end this meeting letting citizens know that they can always call their utility companies to come and do a home audit to show you how you can conserve energy. My final part of my plan would be to assist anyone who needed personal assistance with energy saving techniques. In this last month I would go to homes to see that they are doing their part in making sure they are conserving energy. If they needed help or additional information I would make that available to them. The biggest challenge in my plan is to show how purchasing these energy saving technologies is cost efficient to the buyers. Some people look at the initial cost and think that it is too high and don’t want to do anything about it. I would have to argue that some of the techniques are free and only require determination. Another challenge is gaining interest. I have to make sure that I get everyone involved. My goal would be to get one community started and then work on another community. I would need advocates to speak on behalf of energy conservation. The more people involved and committed to the plan, the better it will work. Benefits of my plan are obvious. We will not only be saving ourselves some money in the long run, but we will also be helping the environment out in a major way. We need to save our resources so that we have enough to last us a life time. Not to mention, we will be cutting down on pollution which is another environmental problem. In order to make a difference in our communities, we need support from not only the residents, but from the government as well. The government needs to step up and start mandating that certain codes are in effect on buildings. One successful program available to consumers and business is the ENERGY STAR Program. This program enables Americans to purchase products that saves them money and helps the environment. â€Å" In 2008, Americans with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2008 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 29 million cars — all while saving $19 billion on their utility bills† (ENERGY STAR, n. d. ). ENERGY STAR is a program of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Department of Energy. Their mission is to help us all save money and protect the environment by offering energy efficient products. More programs such as this need to be implemented in order to achieve our goal. We need to conserve energy to save money, especially in a struggling economy. The best part about doing this is that we are also doing something for our environment. Implementing plans to lower energy consumption is a difficult task, but not a task that is unachievable. Our nation cannot afford to waste natural resources that are rapidly diminishing. We need to change our way of life to conserve what the Earth has given us. Our Earth can no longer tolerate the misuse of energy if we want it to be around for many generations to come. Energy conservation is essential due to the limited supply of natural resources. Jenny Powers of NRDC states â€Å"The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy you don’t use. † Let’s help break the cycle. As citizens we need to do our part by embracing an energy efficient lifestyle and slow down our demand for more electricity. References CARS. (2009). Cars allowance rebate system. Retrieved November 3, 2009, from www. cars. gov ENERGY STAR. (n. d. ). About ENERGY STAR. Retrieved November 3, 20009, from www. energystar. gov Holness, Gordon V. (2008). Improving Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings. ASHRAE Journal, 50(1), 12-14, 17-18, 20, 23-24, 26. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1415301201). Laird, F. (2009) A Full-Court Press for Renewable Energy, Issues in science and Technology, 25 (2), 53-56. Retrieved October 30, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier Database. EBSCO Schirber, Michael. (2008). Whatever happened to energy conservation? Live Science. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from www. livescience. com

Audience Analysis

The ACA Open Knowledge Online Guide Tyrone L. Adams, Ph. D. [[email  protected] edu] D’Aquin Professor of Journalism and Communication Department of Communication University of Louisiana, Lafayette and Peter A. DeCaro, Ph. D. [[email  protected] edu] Department Chair and Associate Professor of Communication Department of Communication California State University Stanislaus The Significance of Audience Analysis: Strategically Considering Your Target Populace It cannot be said often enough: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!Knowing your audience—their beliefs, attitudes, age, education level, job functions, language and culture—is the single most important aspect of developing your speech. Your audience isn’t just a passive group of people who come together by happenstance to listen to you. Your audience is assembled for a very real reason: They want to hear what you have to say. In public speaking, the audience is the entire reason This module helps you understand: Th e critical importance of understanding your audience. The various methods used in analyzing a given audience.The five layers of any given audience analysis. you are giving the speech; thus, the audience is the most important component of speechmaking. We analyze our audience because we want to discover information that will help create a link between the speaker and the audience. We call this link identification. Aristotle loosely called it â€Å"finding a common ground. † This isn’t a one-way process between the speaker and the audience; rather, it is a two-way transactional process. When you ask an audience to listen to your ideas, you are asking them to come partway into your experience as a speaker.And, in return, it is your obligation to go partway into their experience as an audience member. The more you know and understand about your audience and their needs, the better you can prepare your speech. For example: Bob Mullins, a local bank officer, was preparing fo r a speech at the Rotary Club in Dallas, Texas on â€Å"finding the right loan† for a diverse ethnic audience. He knew his topic extremely well, had put a lot of hard work into his research, and had his visual aids in order. One of the things he had not completely considered, however, was the audience to which he would be speaking.On the day of the event, Mr. Mullins delivered a flawless speech on car and home loans, but the speech was not received well. You see, on this particular week, a major segment of the audience consisted of the â€Å"Junior Rotarians† who wanted to hear about â€Å"personal savings accounts† and â€Å"college savings plans. † It was a critical mistake. Had Bob considered the full nature and makeup of his audience prior to the event, he might not have been received so poorly. A hard lesson learned. This module is dedicated to understanding how a speaker connects with an audience through audience analysis.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3. 0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3. 0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. I. How Do I Analyze My Audience? Whenever thinking about your speech, it is always a good idea to begin with a thorough awareness of your audience and the many factors comprising that audience. In speech communication we simply call this â€Å"doing an audience analysis. An audience analysis is when you consider all of the pertinent elements defining the makeup and characteristics of your audience. There are many elements to consider, too, such as: age, gender, education, occupation, language, ethnicity, culture, background knowledge, needs and interests, and previously held attitudes, beliefs, and values. Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list. But, it does help you get a good general understanding of the demographics shaping up whom, precisely, you will be addressing.From the Greek affix demo (of the people) we come to understand that demographics are detailed accounts of human population characteristics. These accounts are usually rendered as statistical population segments. Demographics are widely used by advertising and public relations professionals to analyze specific audiences so that their products or ideas will carry influence. However, all good public speakers consider the demographic characteristics of their audience, as well. It is a, if not the, fundamental stage of preparing for your speech.So now you may be saying to yourself: â€Å"Gee, that’s great! How do I go about analyzing my particular audience? † Well, first you need to know that there are three overarching methods (or what we like to call â€Å"paradigms†) for doing an audience analysis: (1) audience analysis by direct observation, (2) audience analysis by inference, and (3) audience analysis through data sampling. Once you get to know how these methods work a bit better, you should be able to select which one (or even combination of these methods) is right for your circumstances.Audience Analysis by Direct Observation Audience analysis by direct observation, or direct experience, is, by far, the most simple of the three paradigms for â€Å"getting the feel† of a particular audience. It is a form of qualitative data gathering. We perceive it through one or more of our five natural senses—hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Knowledge that we acquire through personal experience has more impact on us than does knowledge that we learn indirectly. Knowledge acquired from personal experience is also more likely to affect our thinking and will be retained for a longer period of time.We are more likely to trust what we hear, see, feel, taste, and smell rather than what we learn from secondary sources of information. All you r eally need to do for this method of observation is to examine the broad composition of your audience working in its natural state. If you are lucky enough to be able to do this before speaking to your audience, you will be able to gather some basic reflective data that will help you arrange your thoughts and arguments for your speech. One excellent way to become informed about your audience is to ask them about themselves.In its most basic form, this is data collection. In the classroom situation, you should have had ample time to get to know your fellow classmates and become familiar with who they are on a personal level. Through class conversations—and your unmonitored small-group conversations before and after class—you will be able to get to know and appreciate each class member as both a human being and an audience member. You will come to understand what interests them, convinces them, or even makes them laugh.Do not discount even a simple form of data collection such as distributing a three- or four-item questionnaire before class. You might arouse interest and curiosity in your topic while you also gain valuable data. Knowledge acquired from personal experience is also more likely to affect our thinking and will be retained for a longer period of time. Clearly this cannot be done in every speaking situation, however. Often, we are required to give an unacquainted-audience presentation. Unacquainted-audience presentations are speeches where you are completely unfamiliar with the audience and its demographics.In these cases, it is always best to try and find some time to sit down and talk with someone you trust (or even multiple parties) who might be familiar with the given audience. These confidantes can be very constructive in helping you understand the context in which you will be speaking. You see, not understanding the basic demographic characteristics of an audience, or further, Who is it that I am going to be talking to? that audienc e’s beliefs, values, or attitudes about a given topic, makes your presentation goals haphazard, at best.Look around the room at the people who will be listening to your speech. What types of gender, age, ethnicity, and educational-level characteristics will you be appealing to? What expectations does your audience have for your presentation? These are all important questions you should be asking yourself before you begin doing your research and drafting your outline. Who is it that I am going to be talking to? What, exactly, makes them, as listeners, tick? Audience Analysis by Inference Audience analysis by inference is merely a logical extension of your observations drawn in theWhat, exactly, makes them, as listeners, tick? method above. It is a form of critical thinking known as inductive reasoning, and another form of qualitative data gathering. An inference is when you make a reasoned tentative conclusion or logical judgment on the basis of available evidence. It is best used when you can identify patterns in your evidence that indicate something is expected to happen again or should hold true based upon previous experiences. Do you need to learn how to interpret information and draw conclusions? Absolutely! We make inferences—or reasonable assumptions—all the time.For example, when we hear someone speaking Arabic, we infer that they are from the Middle East. When we see this person carrying a copy of The Koran, we infer that they are also a follower of the Muslim faith. These are reasoned tentative conclusions that we make based upon the evidence available to us and our general knowledge about people and their traits. When we reason, we make connections, distinctions, and predictions; we use what is known or familiar to us to reach a conclusion about something that is unknown or unfamiliar for it to make sense. Granted, of course, inferences are sometimes wrong.Here’s a familiar example: Some of your classmates recommend a part icular course to you, telling you that it is relatively simple. You’ve heard similar things from other students, so you take the course and discover that they were, indeed, right. These same classmates recommend another course allegedly just as trouble-free as the last one. Only this time, you discover the opposite to be true. The course was insanely difficult. You inferred, or made a reasonable assumption based on information from your fellow classmates, that the course they recommended would be easy. Hey! You aren’t alone in this regard.Everybody makes these types of mistakes. It’s a normal part of processing information. Audience Analysis by Data Sampling Unlike audience analysis by direct observation and analysis by inference, audience analysis by data sampling uses statistical evidence to quantify and clarify the characteristics of your audience (data is the plural form of datum). These characteristics are also known as variables, and are assigned a numeric al value so we can systematically collect and classify them. They are reported as statistics, also known as quantitative analysis or quantitative data collection.Statistics are numerical summaries of facts, figures, and research findings. Audience analysis by data sampling requires you to survey your audience before you give your speech. You need to know the basics of doing a survey before you actually collect and interpret your data. The Basic Questionnaire There are a great number of survey methods available to the speaker. However, we will cover three primary types in this section because they are utilized the most. The first type of survey method you should know about is the basic questionnaire, which is a series of questions advanced to produce demographic and attitudinal data from your audience.You can easily gather information from your audience, using questions similar to these below: My academic level in college: I currently have: no children 1 child 2 children 3 or more ch ildren I can best be classified as being: Caucasian Black or African American Hispanic of Asian descent other My marital status is: single married divorced/separated widowed These questions probe more deeply into the psyche of your audience members, and will help you see where they stand on certain issues. reshman sophomore junior senior My age is: less than 18 years of age between 18-21 years of age between 21-25 years of age over 25 years of age Clearly, audience members should not be required to identify themselves by name on the basic questionnaire. Anonymous questionnaires are more likely to produce truthful information. Remember, all you are looking for is a general read of your audience, you should not be looking for specific information about any respondent concerning your questionnaire in particular. It is a bulk sampling tool, only.While you can gather basic demographic data (as shown above) easily, we need to adjust our questions a bit more tightly, or ask more focused qu estions, in order to understand the audience’s â€Å"predispositions† to think or act in certain ways For example, an attitudinal extension on the basic questionnaire might ask some of the following questions: I regard myself as a: conservative liberal socialist independent I believe that: there is a God there is not a God there might be a God, but I’m unsure none of the above These questions probe more deeply into the psyche of your audience members, and will help you see where they stand on certain issues. Of course, you may need to change these questions a bit to get to the heart of your specific topic. But, once you do, you’ll have a wealth of data at your disposal which, ultimately, will tell you how to work with your target audience.I believe that abortion is: wrong, and should be illegal wrong, but should remain legal okay, but should be illegal okay, and should remain legal none of the above Value Hierarchy by Ordered Categories Another method of finding out your audience’s value set is to survey them according to their value hierarchy. A value hierarchy is a person’s value structure placed in relationship to a given value set. The way to determine a person’s value hierarchy is to use the ordered categories sampling method. In ordered categories, the surveyor lists a number of values on a piece of paper, and asks the respondent to order them on another piece of paper, according to their importance to the respondent (the respondent is the person who fills out the questionnaire).What occurs is that the respondent takes a series of values and, in turn, develops them into a concrete self-ordered The way to determine a person’s value hierarchy is to use the ordered categories sampling method. list. Each response is different, but when analyzed by the speaker, common themes will present themselves in the overall data. Accordingly, the speaker can then identify with those common value themes. See the exa mple below for a given speech on â€Å"homeland security initiatives:† Targeted Value Set Life Liberty Safety Freedom Justice Family Faith Patriotism Democracy Likert-type Testing of Attitudes The final method of assessing your audience’s attitudes deals with Likert-type testing.Likert-type testing is when you make a statement, and ask the respondent to gauge the depth of their sentiments toward that statement either positively, negatively, or neutrally. Typically, each scale will have 5 weighted response categories, being +2, +1, 0, -1, and -2. What the Likert-type test does, that other tests do not do, is measure the extent to which attitudes are held. See how the Likert-type test does this in the speech example on â€Å"unsolicited email† below: UNSOLICITED EMAIL 1. Unsolicited email should be illegal 2. Making unsolicited email illegal would be fundamentally unfair to businesses 3. Making unsolicited email illegal would be a violation of the First Amendment (Free Speech) 4. I usually delete unsolicited email before ever opening it 5.I sometimes open unsolicited email when I am bored Strongly Agree 1 Agree Neither agree nor disagree 3 Disagree Strongly Disagree 5 Ordered Value Set 1. Freedom 2. Democracy 3. Liberty 4. Safety 5. Justice 2 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 A small Likert-type test will tell you where your audience, generally speaking, stands on issues. As well, it will inform you as to the degree of the audience’s beliefs on these issues. The Likert-type test should be used when attempting to assess a highly charged or polarizing issue, because it will tell you, in rough numbers, whether or not your audience agrees or disagrees with your planned advocacy. †¦ re your audience members literally â€Å"speech captives† who have somehow been socially or systematically coerced into hearing you? II. The â€Å"Five Layers† of Audience Analysis No matter which of the above inquiry methods you choo se to do your audience analysis, you will, at some point, need to direct your attention to the five â€Å"layers† of audience analysis. These are the five layers through which you will learn to better appreciate your audience. Let’s now examine these layers and understand the variables and constraints you should use to estimate your audience’s information requirements. Layer 1: The Situational Analysis The situational audience analysis layer considers the situation for which your audience is gathered.This layer is primarily concerned with why your audience is assembled in the first place. Are they willingly gathered to hear you speak? Have your audience members paid to hear you? Or, are your audience members literally â€Å"speech captives† who have somehow been socially or systematically coerced into hearing you? These factors are decisively important, because they place a major responsibility upon you as a speaker, whichever the case. The entire tone an d agenda of your speech rests largely upon whether or not your audience even wants to hear from you. Many audiences are considered captive audiences in that they have no real choice regarding the matter of hearing a given speech. In general, these are some f the most difficult audiences to address because these members are being forced to listen to a message and do not have the full exercise of their own free will. Consider for a moment when you have been called to a mandatory work meeting. Were you truly happy to listen to the speaker, in all honesty? Some might say â€Å"yes,† but usually most would rather be doing something else with their time. This is an important factor to keep in mind when preparing your speech: some simply do not want to listen to a speech they believe is compulsory. The voluntary audience situation, in stark contrast, is completely different. A voluntary audience is willingly assembled to listen to a given message.As a rule, these audiences are much easier to address because they are interested in hearing the speech at hand. To visualize how this works, reflect upon the last speech, concert, or show you’ve attended of your own accord. While the event may or may not have lived up to your overall expectations, the very fact that you freely went to the occasion speaks volumes about your predisposition to listen to—and perhaps even be persuaded by—the information being presented. There’s something else to be said about captive versus voluntary audiences, as well. Modern communication researchers have found that captive audiences are more heterogeneous and that voluntary audiences are more homogeneous.In other words, when captive audiences are gathered, the audience is typically heterogeneous or characterized by many demographic differences among individuals. On the other hand, when voluntary audiences assemble, by and large, they are populated by homogeneous groupings, or, audiences which are characteriz ed more by their demographic similarities than their differences. Sometimes audiences are mixed in their situational settings, too. For instance, take the everyday classroom situation. While college is pronounced to be a voluntary listening situation in that students choose to attend higher education, many people in the college classroom environment sadly feel as if they are still â€Å"trapped† in school, and would rather be elsewhere. Obviously, this erception colors how information is being processed—and in some cases, not being processed. On the other hand, some students in college are truly there by choice, and attentively seek out knowledge from their teacher-mentors. What results from this mixed audience situation is a hybrid captive-voluntary audience, with those who are only partially interested in what is going on in the classroom and those who are genuinely involved. Of course, this leaves you with a difficult set of circumstances when preparing for your cla ss speeches. Both you and your professor are well aware that the audience you will be speaking to Would you be more inclined to talk to issues bearing upon id not enroll in the course to hear from you, specifically. However, this difficulty of speaking to a hybrid captive-voluntary audience does present you with an excellent opportunity: you will have the good fortune of speaking to people who do and do not, fully, want to hear from you. What a prospect! You literally get to hone your speech skills on both types of audiences, thereby learning a skill set that many never get to exercise. You should begin this wonderful opportunity by considering ways to inform, persuade, and humor a mixed situation audience. Think of it as a learning occasion, and you’ll do just fine. Layer 2: The Demographic Analysis those gender, age, and race qualities?The second layer of audience analysis is demography. As mentioned before, demographics are literally a classification of the characteristics of the people. Whenever addressing an audience, it is generally a good idea to know about its: age, gender, major, year in school, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, et cetera. There are two steps in doing an accurate demographic analysis: (1) the gathering of the demographic data, and (2) the interpretation of this demographic data. Sometimes, this information is gathered by the questionnaire sampling method, and is done formally. On other occasions, this information is already available in a database and is made available to the speaker.Some noteworthy speakers even have â€Å"scouts† who do demographic reconnaissance on an audience prior to a speaking event, and make ad hoc interpretations on that audience based upon key visual cues. For example, congresspersons and senators frequently make public appearances where they use stock speeches to appeal to certain audiences with specific demographic uniqueness. In order to know what type of audience he or she will be addr essing, these politicians dispatch staff aides to an event to see how many persons of color, hecklers, and supporters will be in attendance. Of course, doing ad hoc interpretation of demographic characteristics is, indeed, more an art form than a science. Still, it is a common practice among many professional speakers.Consider for a moment how valuable knowing that your audience will be mostly female, between the ages of 25 and 40, predominantly married, and Caucasian, could be to you as a public speaker. Would you change your message to fit this demographic? Would you be more inclined to talk to issues bearing upon those gender, age, and race qualities? Or, would you keep your message the same, no matter the audience to whom you were addressing? Frankly, the smart speaker would shift his or her message to adapt to the audience. And, in a nutshell, that’s the purpose of doing demographics: to embed within your message the acceptable parameters of your audience’s range of needs.This, of course, raises an extremely important ethical issue for the modern speaker. Given the ability to do demographic data analysis and interpretation of an audience, does a speaker shift his or her message to play to the audience entirely? Or, on the other hand, does a speaker not shift his or her message so as to remain true to his or her motives? It is a delicate balancing act, for certain. Demographic information not only has the ability to truly enlighten a speaker, it also has the ability to modify a speaker’s original intent. Only you will be able to alleviate the tension between a speaker’s need to adapt to an audience and his or her need to remain true to form.Some political critics have even argued that our modern leadership no longer â€Å"leads,† it merely speaks according to demography and issue polls. Layer 3: Psychological Description: On Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values Unless your selected speech topic is a complete mystery to your aud ience, your listeners will already hold â€Å"attitudes, beliefs, and values† toward the ideas you will inevitably present. As a result, it is always important to know where your audience stands on the issues you plan to address ahead of time. The best way to accomplish this is to sample your audience with a quick questionnaire or survey prior to the event. This is known as the third layer of audience analysis, or psychological description.There are three things you seek to identify when performing a description: the audience’s (1) attitudes, (2) beliefs, and (3) values. They are your calculated allies †¦ it is always important to know where your audience stands on the issues you plan to address ahead of time. in understanding how your audience thinks. 1. Attitudes What exactly is an attitude? In basic terms, an attitude is a learned disposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a person, an object, an idea, or an event. Attitudes come in different forms. You are very likely to see an attitude present itself when someone says that they are â€Å"pro† or â€Å"anti† something.But, above all else, attitudes are learned and not necessarily enduring. Attitudes can change, and sometimes do, whereas beliefs and values do not shift as easily. Let’s examine a sample list of attitudes below: Pro-war Anti-affirmative action Pro-choice Pro-business Anti-discrimination Anti-war Anti-slavery Pro-gaming Anti-government Pro-capital punishment Pro-diversity Pro-life Anti-gambling Anti-drugs Anti-capital punishment These are just a small range of issues that one can either be â€Å"for† or â€Å"against. † And, while we are simplifying the social scientific idea of an attitude considerably here, these examples serve our purposes well. Remember, attitudes are not as durable as beliefs and values.But, they are good indicators of how people view the persons, objects, ideas, or events that shape their world. 2. Beliefs Beliefs are principles. Beliefs are more durable than attitudes because beliefs are hinged to ideals and not issues. For example, you may believe in the principle: â€Å"what goes around comes around. † If you do, you believe in the notion of karma. And so, you may align your behaviors to be consistent with this belief philosophy. You may not engage in unethical or negative behavior because you believe that it will â€Å"come back† to you. Likewise, you may try to exude behaviors that are ethical and positive because you wish for this behavior to return, in kind. You may not think this at all, and believe quite the opposite.Either way, there is a belief in operation driving what you think. Let’s now turn to examine some sample beliefs: – The world was created by God. – Marijuana is an addictive gateway drug. – Ghosts are all around us. – Smoking causes cancer. – Anyone can acquire HIV.  œ Evolution is fact, not fiction. – Marijuana is neither addictive nor harmful. – Ghosts are products of our imagination. – Smoking does not cause cancer. – Only high-risk groups acquire HIV. 3. Values A value, on the other hand, is a guiding belief that regulates our attitudes. Values are the core principles driving our attitudes. If you probe into someone’s attitudes and beliefs deep enough, you will inevitably find an underlying value.Importantly, you should also know that we structure our values in accordance to our own value hierarchy, or mental schema of values placed in order of their relative individual importance. Each of us has our own values that we subscribe to and a value hierarchy that we use to navigate the issues of the world. Truth be known, we really aren’t even aware that we have a value hierarchy until some of our values come in direct conflict with †¦ we make decisions small and grand, based from our value hierarchi es. each other. Then, we have to negotiate something called cognitive dissonance, or the mental stress caused by the choice we are forced to make between two considerable alternatives. For example, let’s assume that you value â€Å"having fun† a great deal. You like to party with your friends and truly enjoy yourself.And, in this day and age, who doesn’t? However, as a young adult now experiencing a significant amount of independence and personal freedom at college, you have many life options at your disposal. Let’s also say that some of your close personal friends are doing drugs. You are torn. Part of you wants to experience the â€Å"fun† that your close friends may be experiencing; but, the more sane part of you wants to responsibly decline. In honesty, you are juxtaposed between two of your own values—having â€Å"fun† and being responsible. This real life example is somewhat exaggerated for your benefit. Realize that we make dec isions small and grand, based from of our value hierarchies.Let’s look at some basic values common to people around the world: Accomplishment Aesthetics Authority Competency Creativity Learning Flexibility Health Independence Intellectual stimulation Leisure Material Status Peace Power Security Teamwork Layer 4: Multicultural Audience Analysis Demography (as outlined in Layer 2) looks at issues of race and ethnicity in a basic sense. However, we believe that in our increasingly diverse society, it is worthy to pay particular attention to the issue of speaking to a multicultural audience. Odds are that both your classroom audience and any real world audience that you encounter will have an underlying multicultural dimension.As a speaker, you need to recognize that the perspective you have on any given topic may not necessarily be shared by all of the members of your audience. Therefore, it is imperative that you become a culturally effective speaker. Culturally effective speak ers develop the capacity to appreciate other cultures and acquire the necessary skills to speak effectively to people with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Keep these issues ever-present in your mind: Language: Many people speak different languages, so if you are translating words or phrases, make sure that your translations are correct and that you are using concrete language instead of slang or jargon, which can be confusing.Advancement Affiliation Broadminded Competition Economic Return Family Freedom Helping others Influence Intellectual status Loyalty Moral fulfillment Physical work Prestige Self-expression Variety Adventure Appearance Community Cooperation Education Fast Pace Friendship Honesty Integrity Leadership Management Order Pleasure Recognition Travel Wisdom Cognition: Realize that different cultures have different cultural-cognitive processes, or means of looking at the very concept of logic itself. Accordingly, gauge your audience as to their diverse ways of thinking and be sensitive to these differing logics. Ethnocentricity: Do not assume that your culture is dominant or better than other cultures. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture or ethnicity is superior to others. Remember that, in many cases, you will be appealing to people from other cultures. Ethnocentric viewpoints have the tendency to drive a wedge between youKnowing that culture does play a major role in interactions between you and your audience is a good step in becoming an effective communicator. and your audience. Values differ greatly: Not only do individuals have value systems of their own, but societies promote value systems, as well. Keep in mind the fact that you will be appealing to value hierarchies that are socially-laden, as well as those that are individually-borne. Communication styles differ greatly: While you are trying to balance these language, cognition, cultural, and value issues, you should also recognize that some cultures prefer a more anima ted delivery style than do others.The intelligent speaker will understand this, and adapt his or her verbal and nonverbal delivery accordingly. Audience Analysis and the Multicultural Audience Today’s speakers face many cultural challenges. These challenges include ethnocentrism, stereotyping, verbal and nonverbal misinterpretations, differences in information processing, and translation difficulties. Ideally, it would be wonderful to be able to master every culture and language, but we cannot be superhuman. Still, there are some universal cultural attributes you can identify through audience analysis that will give you a basic understanding about your multicultural audience.Knowing that culture does play a major role in interactions between you and your audience is a good step in becoming an effective communicator. The key is for you to find alternative approaches to delivering your message, with both verbal and nonverbal elements of communication, that are more in line with your audience’s cultural instincts. There are three areas of cultural orientation we will explore: (1) cognitive styles: how we organize and process information; (2) decision-making: what we accept as evidence; and (3) communication patterns: how we communicate verbally and nonverbally. 1. Cognitive Styles The word cognitive means thought. So, â€Å"cognitive styles† refers to thought patterns.Studies of cognitive styles suggest that people fall into open-minded and closed-minded categories. The openminded person seeks out information before making a decision. They are more likely to see the â€Å"relatedness of issues. † They admit that they don’t have all of the answers, and they need to learn more before they can draw a conclusion. The closed-minded person has tunnel-vision—he or she sees only a narrow range of data and ignores the rest. They accept information only if it conforms to their established mindset. Another aspect of cognitive styles is how people process information. We divide such processing into associative and abstractive characteristics. A person who thinks associatively is filtering ew data through the screen of personal experience, such as in direct observation. New data can be understood only in terms of similar past experiences. This person’s mind is generally closed to all information that does not reflect established values. Individuals that display abstractive characteristics think very analytically, and concepts are abstracted quickly. Innovation often takes precedence over tradition. So you can see how understanding these differences will help you develop your speech. And a third cognitive process is how we actually link information in a chain to come to a conclusion or decision. Generally, there are two types of thinking: linear and systemic.Linear thinking means that we process information by creating an associative link, that is, we first begin with A, then go to B, then to C, and so on, until we have created a chain of reason in order to come to a conclusion. Individuals who process information systemically consider all of the information at one time, mulling it over. This type of person may holistically consider A, B, C, and D, at the same time in order to come to a conclusion. Each type of cognitive process requires a different style of organization and delivery of your speech. The trick is to know how If they think that you are a credible speaker, chances are you can influence their decision-making process. and when to use both styles, and that’s where audience analysis comes in. 2.Decision-making Members of different cultures arrive at decision-making in different ways. These ways can be described as faith, fact, and feeling. The person who acts on the basis of faith is using a belief system which can be a religion or political ideology. Presenting facts in your speech that do not reflect religious or political beliefs can be a waste of time. His or her faith operates independently from facts. People who believe in facts want to see evidence to support your position. They can be the most predictable to persuade. People tend to accept scientific evidence rather than question or reject it. And finally, people who believe in feelings are the most common throughout the world.These are the people who â€Å"go with their gut instincts. † If they think that you are a credible speaker, and they develop a â€Å"liking† for you, chances are you can influence their decision-making process. 3. Communication Patterns Verbal Communication Each culture has a system for communicating. Hall has indicated that these systems can fall into two categories: low-contextual communication and high-contextual communication. Cultures that express themselves in a high-context communication system emphasize how intention or meaning can best be conveyed through the context (e. g. , social roles or positions) and the nonverbal channels (e. g. , pa uses, silence, tone of voice) of the verbal message.The high-context system is also known as an indirect verbal style, or indirect communication, verbal statements tend to camouflage the speaker’s actual intentions and are carried out in a softer tone of voice. Rules for speaking and behavior are implicit in the context. What this means is that much of the communication is expressed through nonverbal behavior—a slight nod of the head, a simple hand gesture as acknowledgement, a brief smile. Compare this to a low context communication system, where exchange of facts and information is stressed. Information is given primarily in words and meaning is best expressed explicitly. The lowcontext system is also known as a direct verbal style, or direct communication, verbal statements tend to reveal the speaker’s intentions with clarity and are enunciated with a forthright tone of voice.Generally speaking, low-context communication (LCC) refers to communication patterns of direct verbal orientation: straight talk, nonverbal immediacy, and sender-oriented values (i. e. , the sender assumes the responsibility to communicate clearly). In the LCC system, the speaker is expected to be responsible for constructing a clear, persuasive message that the listener can decode easily. In comparison, high-context communication (HCC) refers to communication patterns of indirect verbal orientation: self-humbling talk, nonverbal subtleties, silence, and interpreter-sensitive values (i. e. , the receiver or interpreter of the message assumes the responsibility to infer the hidden or contextual meanings of the message).In the HCC system, the listener or interpreter of the message is expected to â€Å"read between the lines,† to accurately infer the implicit intent of the verbal message, and to decode the nonverbal subtleties that accompany the verbal message. Nonverbal Communication As the global village continues to shrink and cultures co-mingle, it is essen tial for public speakers to become more sensitive, more aware, and more observant to the nearly limitless numbers of motions, gestures, and body language that surround us every day. And as we cross over cultural borders, we should learn to respect, learn, and understand more about them. Nonverbal communication is a powerful form of human expression. It is everywhere.People all over the world use their hands, heads, and bodies to communicate expressively. Nonverbal messages are often the primary means of relating our emotions, our attitudes, and the nature of our relationships with oth- Eye contact is an important channel of communication. ers. Nonverbal messages can express what verbal messages cannot express and are assumed to be more truthful than verbal messages. Some major areas of nonverbal behaviors include: eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture and body orientation, proximity, paralinguistics, and humor. Eye contact is an important channel of communication. It si gnals interest in others and for some, eye contact with your audience increases the speaker’s credibility.You’ve heard the statement â€Å"Look at me when I’m speaking to you,† or you are taught in public speaking to make â€Å"eye contact† with your audience. This is another culturally dependent orientation. Among the Japanese, one way to show that you are listening is to close the eyes in contemplation and nod the head slightly, up and down. The Japanese are not ignoring the speaker nor are they taking a nap. It is one way to show concentration and attentiveness. The Japanese prefer indirect eye contact; they avoid direct or prolonged eye contact as mush as possible. Making eye contact with your audience is important, but knowing who to make that eye contact with is equally as important.Remember, some audience members expect you to look them directly into their eyes, while others may prefer indirect eye contact. What about something as simple as a hand gesture – say the â€Å"thumbs up† with a closed fist? In the U. S. it can mean support or approval, â€Å"O. K†. or â€Å"Good Job! † It is also used for â€Å"hitch-hiking† in the U. S. In France this same gesture means zero. In Japan it means money or coins. In Nigeria it is a rude gesture. In Australia, if pumped up and down, is an obscene gesture, and in Germany and Japan it is the signal for â€Å"one. † Here’s where you walk a fine line—if you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff, and unanimated.A somewhat lively and animated delivery may entertain your audience and demonstrate your confidence about your knowledge of the speech material. On the other hand, if you emphasize certain nonverbal gestures that one or more segments of your audience find offensive, you may wind up alienating them. We can make some general assumptions about Low-Contextual and High-Contextual cultures. The e xchange of facts and information is stressed with members of Low-Context cultures. Information is given primarily in words and meaning is expressed explicitly. There is a stress on task performance, and the communication style is considered to be unemotional and impersonal, with a high degree of objectivity.Low-Context individuals are also informal communicators, where dispensing with ceremony and rigid protocol is accepted, if not the norm. Reasoning is deductive; based on theory and logic. And members prefer analytical thinking, which breaks problems into small chunks. Direct eye contact is expected from both the speaker and audience. In High-Context cultures, shared experience makes certain things understood without them needed to be stated explicitly. Rules for speaking and behaving are implicit in the context, as is the preference for implicit communication. The communication style is emotive and personal, with a high degree of subjectivity and a stress on relationships. There is a high emphasis on protocol and social customs.Reasoning is based on experience and experimentation, with a preference for holistic thinking that is focused on the big picture and interrelationships between components. Indirect eye contact is expected from both speaker and audience. Remember that no two people behave in precisely the same way. Nor do people from the same culture perform exactly the same gestures and body language uniformly. For almost any nonverbal gesture there will probably be someone within a given culture who might say, â€Å"Well, some might attach that meaning to it, but to me it means†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and then they will provide a different interpretation. It is not only what you say in your speech that is important, but it’s how you say it that can make a difference to a multicultural audience.Gestures and body language communicate as effectively as words, and at times, even more so. Do we expect other cultures to adopt our customs or are we willing t o adopt theirs? We may not have time to study a language, but taking time to learn the nonverbal signals is a powerful communicator. We want to create a safe, inclusive environment for all audience members. Even though we have these cultural differences, people come together because they share similar interests. The success of your speech depends upon you, your research, and the quality and accura- †¦ you want to put your best work forward, and let your audience see your confidence and preparation shine through. cy of your information.Remember, communication always takes place between individuals, not cultures, but understanding cultural orientations will always help you become an effective speaker. Without nonverbal communication, our world would be static and colorless. Layer 5: â€Å"Topic Interest† and â€Å"Prior Knowledge† Analysis Finally, you want to query your audience for their interest in, and prior knowledge of, your topic. If the goal of your speech i s to deliver a unique and stirring presentation (and it should be), it would make perfect sense to know ahead of time if your audience: (1) is interested in what you have to say, and (2) has any prior knowledge regarding your topic.It stands to reason that you do not want to give a boring or trite speech. That much is clear. Instead, you want to put your best work forward, and let your audience see your confidence and preparation shine through. And, it also stands to reason that you don’t want to make a speech that your audience already knows a lot about. So, your job here is to â€Å"test† your topic by sampling your audience for their topic interest and topic knowledge. Defined, topic interest is the significance of the topic to a given audience; oftentimes related precisely to the uniqueness of a speaker’s topic. Likewise, topic knowledge is the general amount of information that the audience possesses on a given topic.These are not mere definitions listed fo r the sake of argument; these are essential analytical components of effective speech construction. Unlike multicultural audience analysis, evaluating your audience’s topic interest and topic knowledge is a fairly simple task. There are two ways to go about doing this: (1) through informal question and answer dialogue in class, or (2) more formally through an actual survey. Either way, it is best to have some information, rather than none at all. Imagine if you will, the laundry list of topics that people have heard over and over and over, ad nauseam. You can probably name some yourself, right now, without giving it much thought.If you started listing some topics to yourself, please realize that this is the point of this section of this module; your audience is literally thinking the same exact thing you are. Given that, topic preparation is strategically important to your overall speech success. Again, do not underestimate the power of asking your audience whether or not you r topic actually interests them. If you find that many people are not interested in your topic, or already know a lot about it, you have just saved yourself from a potentially mind-numbing exercise. After all, do you really want to give a speech where your audience could care less about your topic—or even worse— they know more about the topic than you do yourself? Not at all!The purpose of this section is to help you search for the highly sought-after public speaking concept called uniqueness, or when a topic rises to the level of being singularly exceptional in interest and knowledge to a given audience. We know that you wish to excel in giving your speech, and indeed you shall. But first, let’s make sure that your audience is â€Å"turned on† by your topic and hasn’t already heard the subject matter so much that they, themselves, could give the speech without much (if any) preparation. One final note: There’s an old adage in communication studies that reasons: â€Å"know what you know; know what you don’t know; and, know the difference between the two. In other words, don’t use puffery to blind your audience about your alleged knowledge on a particular subject. Remember, there is likely to be someone in your audience who knows as much about your topic, if not more, than you do. If you get caught trying to field an embarrassing question, you might just lose the most important thing you have as a speaker: your credibility. If you know the answer, respond accordingly. If you do not know the answer, respond accordingly. But, above all, try and be a resource for your audience. They expect you to be something of a de facto expert on the topic you choose to address. Conclusion Obviously, when thinking about what kind of topic you are going to select, it is compulsory for you to keep your audience in mind.Not doing so will put your speech at risk of not corresponding â€Å"Fail to plan, plan to fail. † with the information needs of your audience and further jeopardize your credibility as a speaker. In this module, we have covered (I) how to analyze an audience and (II) the five layers of audience analysis. In sum, this information equips you with the foundational knowledge and skill-set required to ensure that your topic complements your audience. And, after all, if we are not adapting to meet the needs of our audience, we are not going to be informative or convincing speakers. There’s a contemporary maxim that runs strong: â€Å"Fail to plan, plan to fail. We, your authors, believe that if you have failed to fully consider the nature, make-up, and characteristics of your audience, you are—for all intents and purposes—neglecting the spirit of the public speaking exercise. Confidently speaking to audiences can be somewhat addictive. The experience, when properly executed, can be empowering and help you succeed personally and professionally throughout your life . But, you must consider whom you are addressing first, and take their every requirement into account. We are linked to, joined with, if not bound by, our audiences. And, your main speaking ambition should be to seek identification with them, and for them to, likewise, seek identification with you. Works Consulted Bem, D. J. (1970).Beliefs, attitudes, and human affairs. 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To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3. 0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.