Model of Albert Memorial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Model of Albert Memorial - Essay Example Built around 1863 by Sir George Gilbert Scott, model of the Albert Memorial still remains to be an authentic emblem of neo-Gothic architecture till date. The plastered and gilt model neatly wears a polished gander testifying to the facsimile of the original Memorial tower located in Kensington Gardens in the English capital.2 The model was commissioned by Queen Victoria to commemorate Prince Albert, her beloved husband who passed away in 1861. This essay is going to discuss the key points related to the model of Albert Memorial and not the Memorial itself. These points will pertain to the designing and production of the object as well as the technical aspects of the neo-Gothic style of architecture. The literature studies will involve exhaustive analysis of relevant sources, including images, critiques, historical accounts and other informative data. The model of Albert Memorial depicts a seated figure of Prince Albert shielded by a covering which is adorned with symbolic figures of angels. It is topped by a cross and positioned on a platform having ornamented horizontal bands between the architrave and the cornice. Figures of poets, painters, architects and authors are carved on the friezes with moulded plaster. ... It was orchestrated by the fact that middle class segment of the society gained ascendance following steady decline of the aristocratic upper class. The Industrial Revolution that shook the whole of Europe during this time also opened up new job avenues for the skilled craftsmen. Subsequently, both the elite class and the growing middle class could share a common point of interest ahead of the revivalistic phase during Queen Victoria's regime. In essence, the Industrial Revolution captured the spirit of the Aesthetic movement in the British society.4 Veblen (2004: 194) argues that the flurry of products conforming to the genre of industry arts was not caused by some arbitrary movement in aesthetic competence. Rather it was very much an acquired skill mastered through proper grooming of the workers within a systematic framework.5 Thus it would be justified to claim that the deployment of skilled workforce by Queen Victoria for the task of building the Albert Memorial model corresponde d to the norms of the transition from the Elizabethan to the Victorian era. Figure 2. Red House, Kent: Aesthetic Movement (Strickland and Handy 2001: 101) Mainly cast plaster is used to build the model, with a metallic framework to provide support. As far as decoration is concerned, an array of architectural techniques is incorporated to make it look like the original Memorial. The triangular gables beneath the covering are affixed with gilded and pied paper works representing mosaic. Granite effect is created through a scagliola-like decoration vested in the column shafts, the model floor, bases of the four corners, and the steps. The sculptured band around the base and other portions of the model are painted with a thick layer of

Mahatma Gandhi Essay Example for Free

Mahatma Gandhi Essay Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Style The Father of the Nation is now being held up as the master strategist, an exemplary leader, and someone whose ideas and tactics corporate India can emulate. Gandhi reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the available existing methods had failed. He broke tradition. He understood that you cannot fight the British with force. So he decided to change the game in a fundamentally different way. He unleashed the power of ordinary people, inspired women and men in the country to fight under a unifying goal. Resource constraint did not bother him. That was the motivation. Gandhis leadership style is being termed as follower-centric and one that took into account existing conditions before determining the strategy. Gandhi advocated having leadership styles that were dependent on the circumstances. When Gandhi was in South Africa, he launched his protests in a suit and a tie. But when he came back to India, he thought of  khadi  (handspun and hand-woven cloth) and launched non-violent protests on a greater scale, It shows that Gandhi’s leadership style was situational leadership style. A Quote from the book: Count your chickens before they hatch by Arindam Chaudhuri Mahatma Gandhis example to me is a perfect case of adopting styles to suit the culture. The country today stands divided on whether what he did was good or bad I just know one thing: there was never a leader before him nor one after him who could unite us all and bring us out in the streets to demand for what was rightfully ours. To me, he is the greatest leader  our land has ever seen. It is Theory I management at its practical best: productively and intelligently utilizing whatever the resource you are endowed with, says Chaudari.

The Permanent Campaign :: essays research papers fc

'The Permanent Campaign'; was written by Norman J. Ornstein and Amy S. Mitchell. This article appeared first in The World & I, in January 1997.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Norman Ornstein is regarded as one of our nation's foremost experts on Congress. Mr. Ornstein received a Ph.D.. from the University of Michigan, he writes for the NewYork Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and he has a regular column in Roll Call newspaper called 'Congress Inside Out';. Mr. Ornstein is also an election analyst for CBS and appears frequently on television shows including the Today Show, Nightline and the Mac Neil/Lehre News Hour where he has been a consultant and contributor for fifteen years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Ornstein is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and is also an advisor and member of the Free TV for Straight Talk coalition. The coalition is a group of 80 leaders from the worlds of politics, corporations, broadcast journalism, the entertainment industry and public interest groups. They support giving political candidates free air time on TV to promote their political views without the media's input. He has authored or co-authored recent books such as How We Can Get Out of It, Debt and Taxes: How America Got Into Its Budget Mess, and Intensive Care: How Congress Shapes Health Policy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amy Mitchell is a journalist whom graduated from Georgetown University, she has written may articles concerning government and the media and was a congressional associate at the American Enterprise Institute for four years. She is now the staff director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists. The CCJ is an organization of editors, producers, reporters, and producers whom are concerned with the future of the media. They believe that right now is a crucial moment in American journalism and it is time to sit down and talk about the core principles and function of journalism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Article 'The Permanent Campaign'; takes a look at the way the American political system has evolved over the years. When George Washington was president he did not campaign any before he was put in office. When he was in office he only made a few public appearances and when he did he didn't speak a word. During Washington's era political campaigning was considered undignified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now the whole philosophy has changed. Before the 1992 election was even over the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report ran a story on the possible Republican hopefuls for the 1996 campaign. We have gone from a country who denounced campaigning to one in which candidates start campaigning for seats that haven't even been decided in the current elections.

Cree Indians :: essays papers

Cree Indians This is an introduction to the Cree Indians way of life explaining about the foods they ate, significance of story telling, myths, religious beliefs, rituals performed, and their present day way of life. It is almost impossible to touch on every aspect because of what is not printed and only known by elders. Some native words used by Cree Indians: Kiwetin meaning the north wind that brings misfortune (Gill, Sullivan 158). Another word is maskwa used for bear, the most intelligent and spiritually powerful land animal (Gill, Sullivan 182). A water lynx that holds control over lakes and rivers is called â€Å"Michi-Pichoux†; they are associated with unexplained deaths (Gill, Sullivan 189). Tipiskawipisim is used for the moon who is the sister of the sun. Once a flood destroys the first humans, Tipiskawipisim creates the first female (Gill, Sullivan 303). The history of the Cree Indians begins where they live for the most part in Canada, and some share reservations with other tribes in North Dakota. The Cree Indians, an Alogonquian tribe sometimes called Knisteneau, were essentially forest people, though an offshoot, the so-called Plains Cree, were buffalo hunters. The Cree’s first encounter with white people was in 1640, the French Jesuits. The Cree Indians later lost many of their tribe in the 1776 break out of small pox, battles with the Sioux, and a defeat to the Blackfeet in 1870. The Cree lived by hunting, fishing, trapping, and using muskrat as one of their staples. They made sacrifices to the sun; the Great Master of Life (Erdoes, Ortiz 504). The Cree lived in the Northern Plains, which was also home to the Sarsi, Blackfoot, Plains Ojibway, and Assiniboin. Many of the tribes were equestrian bands moving to pursue the buffalo. The buffalo was their resource for food, material for dwellings, clothing, cooking vessels, rawhide cases, and bone and horn implements. The introduction of the horse by the Spanish led to the plains Indians to become more able and skillful hunters. Each tribe had different methods of hunting, preservation, and preparation of meat (Cox, Jacobs 98). One method of the nomadic plains tribes for cooking was to use rawhide cooking vessels which came from the hump of the buffalo, staked over a mound of earth and left to dry in the shape of a bowl. The pot was put in a shallow hole near the fire, and then carefully selected stones that would not shatter easily would be put in the fire and transferred to the bowl with wood or bone tongs to heat the contents of the pot. Cree Indians :: essays papers Cree Indians This is an introduction to the Cree Indians way of life explaining about the foods they ate, significance of story telling, myths, religious beliefs, rituals performed, and their present day way of life. It is almost impossible to touch on every aspect because of what is not printed and only known by elders. Some native words used by Cree Indians: Kiwetin meaning the north wind that brings misfortune (Gill, Sullivan 158). Another word is maskwa used for bear, the most intelligent and spiritually powerful land animal (Gill, Sullivan 182). A water lynx that holds control over lakes and rivers is called â€Å"Michi-Pichoux†; they are associated with unexplained deaths (Gill, Sullivan 189). Tipiskawipisim is used for the moon who is the sister of the sun. Once a flood destroys the first humans, Tipiskawipisim creates the first female (Gill, Sullivan 303). The history of the Cree Indians begins where they live for the most part in Canada, and some share reservations with other tribes in North Dakota. The Cree Indians, an Alogonquian tribe sometimes called Knisteneau, were essentially forest people, though an offshoot, the so-called Plains Cree, were buffalo hunters. The Cree’s first encounter with white people was in 1640, the French Jesuits. The Cree Indians later lost many of their tribe in the 1776 break out of small pox, battles with the Sioux, and a defeat to the Blackfeet in 1870. The Cree lived by hunting, fishing, trapping, and using muskrat as one of their staples. They made sacrifices to the sun; the Great Master of Life (Erdoes, Ortiz 504). The Cree lived in the Northern Plains, which was also home to the Sarsi, Blackfoot, Plains Ojibway, and Assiniboin. Many of the tribes were equestrian bands moving to pursue the buffalo. The buffalo was their resource for food, material for dwellings, clothing, cooking vessels, rawhide cases, and bone and horn implements. The introduction of the horse by the Spanish led to the plains Indians to become more able and skillful hunters. Each tribe had different methods of hunting, preservation, and preparation of meat (Cox, Jacobs 98). One method of the nomadic plains tribes for cooking was to use rawhide cooking vessels which came from the hump of the buffalo, staked over a mound of earth and left to dry in the shape of a bowl. The pot was put in a shallow hole near the fire, and then carefully selected stones that would not shatter easily would be put in the fire and transferred to the bowl with wood or bone tongs to heat the contents of the pot.

Oral Communication Essay

INTRODUCTION Making a business or social speech is more than just standing up and ‘saying a few words’. Experience has shown that the importance of oral presentations, especially in the business world, cannot be underestimated. This is because presentations are an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, competence, and composure while making an impression on both superiors and subordinates. Although oral presentations are very important, they strike fear in the hearts of those who give them. This should not however be the case. The key to a successful oral presentation is preparation. Preparation alleviates apprehension, and helps identify potential problems in presentations. I hope this course will go a long way to prepare you for the task. ELEMENTS OF THE PUBLIC SPEAKING PROCESS SOURCE This is the origin of communication message. A public speaker is the source of ideas and information for an audience. The job of the speaker or source is to encode or translate images and ideas in his or her mind into a system of signals that will be recognized by an audience. For example, the speaker may encode into words â€Å"The new product should be two inches square† or into gestures (showing the size with hands). RECEIVER The receiver is the target of the message. The receiver’s task is to decode the sender’s verbal and non-verbal symbols, translating these codes back into mental ideas and images. Of course, the decoded message will never be exactly the thought or idea that the speaker intended to convey as the receiver’s perception is dependent on his or her own unique blend of past experiences, attitude beliefs and values. MESSAGE The message in public speaking is the speech itself – both what is said and what is heard. As said earlier, speaker’s intended message may differ from the meaning the audience decodes. If a speaker has trouble finding words to convey his or her ideas, the message suffers right away. And because the listener’s frame of mind may be different from that of the speaker’s, he may interpret what he hears and sees in a manner that was not all what the  speaker intended. In reality, an intended message will differ a little from the actual message perceived by an audience. However, the less distorted the message between the sender and receiver, the more accurate and successful the communication CHANNEL A channel in communication is the means used to communicate. Information can be communicated face-to-face, in writing, or by way of an audio tape or video tape. Note that although it is possible to hold the content of the message constant across channels, different modes or forms of communication will often vary in terms of some of the context factors. For instance, the audience obtains more information about physical and behavioral characteristics of the source from face-to-face or video messages than when the information is presented in written or oral form. The message is usually transmitted from sender via to channels; visual and auditory (or a combination). The audience sees the speaker and decodes his or her non-verbal message – eye contact (or lack of it), facial expressions, posture/gestures and dress. This is the visual channel. The auditory channel, on the other hand, opens as the speaker speaks. Then audience hears his or her words and such vocal cues as inflection, rate and voice quality. FEEDBACK In public speaking, the speaker does most or all the talking. But public speaking is still an interactional process. Remembering the old question of whether a falling tree can make noise if there is no around to hear, we may as well ask whether one can engage in public speaking without an audience to hear and provide feedback. The answer is no, skillful speakers are audience-centered. They depend on the nods, facial expressions, and murmuring of the audience to adjust their rate of speaking, volume, vocabulary, type and amount of supporting materials and other variables in order to maximize the success of their communication. CONTEXT The context of public speaking experience is the environment or situation in which the speech occurs. It includes such elements as time, place and the physical and psychological factors affecting both speaker and listener. As John Donne said, â€Å"No speech is an island†. No speech occurs in a vacuum.  Rather, each speech is a unique blend of circumstances that can never occur in exactly the same conjunction again. For example, if the room is too hot, crowned or poorly lit, these conditions affect both speaker and audience. This audience who hears a speaker at 10.00 in the morning is likely to be fresher and more receptive than the audience who hears the speaker at 4.30 in the afternoon. Likewise, if the speaker is coming down with a cold, this malaise is likely to affect his or her performance. These factors make up the element of public speaking process that e call context. NOISE When variables interfere with the communication of a message, we call them noise. Noise may be literal or external. For example, if your 8.00 am Public speaking class is frequently interrupted by campaigning students or the roar of a lawn mower, it may be difficult to hear a speaker. Noise may also be â€Å"Internal†, a term that refers to some of the other factors we have discussed. An internal noise may affect either the source or the receiver. For example, a speaker’s bad cold may cloud his or her memory or subdue a usually enthusiastic delivery. An audience member who is worried about an examination later in the day is unlikely to remember what speaker says. Just before lunch, they may also be too hungry to pay much attention. All these factors interfere with the transmission of a message from sender to receiver. 1. GETTING STARTED A. SELECT AND LIMIT THE TOPIC Choosing a topic for a speech can be a problem. However, there are two methods by which you can choose a speech topic. i. The first is brainstorming which involves thinking of as many topics as you can in a limited time so that you can select one topic that will be appropriate for your audience. First, give yourself a limited time. Get a list of a number of possible topics for yourself. Next, pick about three of the topics which have the most appeal. Then you choose the most appropriate of the three topics. ii. The other methods of selection are personal inventories where you conduct personal inventory of your reading and viewing habits. Thus, a topic can be chosen from books you read, films you watch, etc, For instance, your personal inventory of newspapers, periodicals, television, talents, hobbies etc. B. TEST THE TOPIC After you choose the topic, ask yourself three questions. i. First, whether the topic is appropriate for the audience. To know this, ask whether you can speak about it on a level the audience can understand. Does the audience need technical or specialized knowledge? Do they have enough background knowledge to understand the subject? Answers these questions will help determine the appropriateness of your topic. ii. Second, is the topic appropriate for you? Can you get involved in it, and is it interesting enough to motivate you to do the necessary research? Normally, the best topics come from your own experiences. iii. Besides your audience and interest, you should ask whether the topic is appropriate for the occasion. For instance, an after-dinner speech should be light and not be too long as members of the audience may be full and not be alert. On the other hand, a speech at a seminar will afford you the opportunity to speak on a more complex topic. Another consideration is whether you can fit the speech into the time limit of the occasion . C. NARROW YOUR TOPIC One mistake that beginners make is that they try to cover a broad topic resulting in a superficial treatment of the topic. The result is that the speech will not be meaningful. To narrow a topic, you must find a specific aspect of a subject that will best meet the time restrains and other demands of the speaking situation. Example i. Health issues in third-world countries ii. Infant mortality in third-world countries iii. Infant formula(as against breast-feeding) in third-world countries iv. How infant formula affects health in third- world countries. D. SELECTING A PURPOSE After selecting and narrowing your topic. You need to decide on both the general and specific purpose. You can speak to inform, persuade, or  entertain. But sometimes these overlap to some extent. i. General Purpose Speaking to inform is the primary objective of class lectures, seminars, workshops, etc. When you inform, you teach, define, illustrate, clarify or elaborate on a topic. In informative speeches, speakers do not take sides when the subject is controversial. The informative speaker will present all sides to an issue and let members of the audience make up their minds. In a persuasive speech, however, the speaker takes a particular stance and tries to get the audience to accept and support that stance. Persuasion is a process of changing or reinforcing attitudes, beliefs, value or behaviour. To be persuasive, you need to be sensitive to your audience’s attitude towards your and your topic. Sermons, political speeches, students’ campaign speeches, sales presentations, etc. are examples of persuasive speeches. ii. Specific Purpose The Statement of a specific purpose will help you focus on what you want to accomplish. It will help you define what you are going to inform or persuade you audience about. Your specific purpose should be a fine-tuned, audience-centered goal that should follow the following guidelines. 1. State your purpose clearly and completely. To explain to the audience members how to stay physically fit. To persuade audience members not to buy products from advertisers who use sexist language. 2. State your purpose in terms of the effects you want to have on your audience. In an informative speech, you may want your audience to restate an idea, identify, describe or illustrate something. However, in a persuasive speech, you may your audience to take classes, buy something, or vote for someone. To inform my audience about how they can improve their study habits. To persuade my audience to donate blood to the Ghana Red Cross. 3. Limit your purpose statement to one idea. This will help you narrow your topic and keep it specific. 4. Use specific language in your purpose of  statement The more precise your language, the clearer the language will be in their minds. To persuade my audience to fight crime is too vague a topic. By crime, do you mean drugs, rape, kidnapping, murder, or what? You could rephrase your purpose this way: To persuade my audience that everyone can help curb armed robbery. 5. Develop your central idea While your statement of specific purpose indicates what you want your audience to do when you have finished your speech, your central idea statement (Thesis statement) identifies the essence of your message. Example: Specific Purpose: to inform my audience about how to make sure their drinking water is safe. Central Idea: People can do three things to ensure that their drinking water is safe. 1. Purchase an activated – carbon filter 2. Have it tested 3. Reduce exposure to bacteria by disinfecting product E. ORGANIZING AND OUTLINING THE SPEECH As a wise person once said, if effort is organized, accomplishment follows. While generating ideas for your speech, you actually begin the task of organizing your message. After additional research, you need to develop an outline of your talk. A clearly and logically structured speech helps your audience remember what you say and also help you to feel more in control of your speech and greater control will help you feel more comfortable while delivering your speech. Every speech has three main parts: the instruction, the body and the conclusion. Since an introduction previews a speech and the conclusion summarizes it, most teachers recommend that students prepare their  introductions and conclusions after they have organized the body of the talk. We will therefore discuss the introduction and conclusion later. Purpose of the introduction Within a few seconds of meeting a person, you form a first impression that is often quite lasting. So too, do you form a first impression of a speaker and his message within the opening seconds of the speech. The introduction may convince you to listen to a credible speaker presenting a well prepared speech or may send the message that the speaker is ill-prepared and the message not worth your time. To say that the introduction should be well planned is an understatement, considering the fact it is very important and yet very brief. An introduction serves the following functions: A key purpose of the speech introduction is to gain favorable attention for your speech. Because listeners from their first impression often speech quickly, if the introduction does not capture their attention and cast the speech in a favorable light, the rest of the speech may be wasted on the audience. After capturing the audience’s attention and introducing the subject, you have to give the audience some reason to want to listen to the rest of your speech. You can do this by showing them how the topic affects them directly.  Perhaps, the most obvious purpose of the introduction is to introduce the subject of the speech. Within a few seconds after you begin your speech, the audience should have a good idea of what you are going to talk about. The best way to do this is to include statement of your central idea in the introduction. Purpose of Conclusion Your introduction creates an important first impression: your conclusion leaves an equally important final impression. Long after you have finished speaking, your audience is likely to remember the effect, if not the content of your closing remarks. There are a number of purposes of an effective conclusion: One purpose of the conclusion is to summarize the speech. A conclusion is s speaker’s last chance to repeat his or her main ideas to the audience. Another purpose of the speech conclusion is to reemphasize the main ideas in a memorable way. The conclusions of a number of speeches are among the most memorable statements we have. Also, motivation is a necessary component of an effective conclusion: not motivation to listen, but motivation to respond in some way. If your speech in informative, you want your audience to think about the topic or research it further. If your speech is persuasive, you may want your audience to take some sort of appropriate action-buy a product, make a phone call, or get involved in a cause. The conclusion is your last chance to motivate your audience to respond to your message. The most obvious purpose of the conclusion is to let audience know that the speech has ended. Speeches have to â€Å"sound finished† Principles of organization You must try as much as possible to relate the points you make in your speech directly to your specific purpose and central idea. In the speech, the challenge to excel, notice how all the main points are related to the purpose and central idea. Specific Purpose. To inform my classmates about the four things required to excel. Central Idea: No matter what people’s abilities are, there are four things they can do to excel. Main ideas: 1. Learn self –discipline. 2. Build a knowledge base. 3. Develop special skills. 4. Bounce back from defeat. i. Give points a parallel structure Parallel structure means that each of your points will begin with the same grammatical form. Example, on a speech about ways to loose weight, this speaker started each suggestion with a verb: Exercise at least three times a week Eat low-fat, high energy snacks like fruits. Count your daily intake. Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the United States should act now to protect its citizens against electronic invasions of their personal privacy. Central Idea: The loss of personal privacy in our electronic society is a serious problem that requires decisive action. Introduction Attention: (i) Would you let a perfect stranger examine your medical files, peek at your personal finances, eavesdrop on your phone calls, or invade other aspects of your personal life? (ii) Yet all of these are happening as a result  of privacy invading technology by business and government agencies. (iii) The erosion of personal privacy has become one of the most serious problems facing Americans in our high-tech, electronic age. (iv) Today I would like to explain the extent of this problem and encourage you to support a solution to it. Body Need: (i). The use of electronic data gathering by business and government poses a serious threat to personal privacy. A. Business and government agencies have compiled massive   amounts of information on the personal lives of most Americans. B. There are few laws protecting Americans against the gathering or misuse of personal information by businesses and government agencies. Satisfaction: (ii) The problem could be greatly reduced by the passage of federal privacy laws. A. These laws should impose strict controls on the collection of personal information by businesses and government agencies. B. These laws should also include stiff penalties on anyone who uses personal information for unauthorized purpose. Visualisation: (iii) Similarities laws have worked in other counties and can work in the United States. A. The practicality of privacy laws has been demonstrated by their success in almost all the countries of Western Europe. B. If the U.S had such laws, you would once again have control over your medical files, financial records, and other kinds of personal information. Conclusion Action: (i) So I urge you to support privacy legislation by signing the petition I am passing around to be sent to our state’s U.S Senators and Representatives. (ii) As Congressman Jack Fields has stated, â€Å"This is not a Democratic or Republican issue†¦ Privacy is a basic human right.† Try using the motivated sequence when you seek immediate action from your listeners. Over the years it has worked for countless speakers – and it can work for you as well. PATTERNS OF ORGANISATION There are different ways by which you can arrange the main points of your speech. Your choice will depend on what best suits your materials. These patterns include time or chronological order, spatial order, cause and effect order, problem- solution order, and topical order. Time Order This is used to show development over time. This pattern works well when you are using a historical approach. It is often used to explain a process and this process could be anything ranging from how to wrap a gift to how to apply for a student’s loan. Spatial Order This is approach refers to the physical or geographical layout to help your audience see how the parts makes up the whole. To help your audience visualize subject, you explain it by going from left to right or form top to bottom, or any direction that best suits your subject. Example Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the layout of K’dua Poly campus Central Idea : The campus is laid out logically as a series of concentric (having a common centre) circles. Main Points : I. Parking and athletic complexes occupy the outermost circles. II. The hostels, fraternities and sororities occupy the next concentric circle. III. Next to the centre circle are the library, the student union and the classroom buildings. IV. The administrative offices occupy the centre circle of campus. The spatial order works particular well when the speech focuses on a chart or a diagram. When using the visual aid, the speaker naturally moves from top to bottom or from left to right. Example: Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about who make decisions on campus. Central Idea: Campus business is divided into branches: the administrative branch and the academic branch. Main Point: I. The Principal is the chief administrative officer of the polytechnic and the main spokesman for the polytechnic community. II. The academic vice principal is responsible for everything that concerns classes, such as curriculum and faculty. III. The administrative vice principal is responsible for everything that concerns classes, such as curriculum and faculty. Causes – Effect order With this pattern, the speaker divides the speech into: causes (Why something  is happening), and effect (what impact it is has). Example Specific purpose: To inform my audience on why smart people sometimes fail. Central Idea : Smart people sometimes do things that lead to failure. Main Point: I. Smart people are defined as those with high IQs. II. Causes for their failure include ignorance, isolation, recklessness, and over reaching. III. Failure (effects) includes loss of high paying profile jobs, public humiliation, loss of opportunity, and even loss of fortunes. When you are using this approach, you do not always have to begin with a cause and end with an effect. In the above example, the speaker could have reversed points II and III and first use examples of some of the possible effects of high. I Q. and them continue with the causes. The important thing is to begin with the aspect most likely to capture the audience’s attention. iv. Problem –Solution Order The problem –Solution order, like the cause – effect order, divides as speech into two sections. One pat deals with the problem and the other part, with the solution. Example Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that American schools need to teach students more about the third world. Central Idea: Americans must know about the third world because what happens in those countries affect American lives. Main Point: I. Most Americans have negative impressions of the third world from the mass media. II. Most Americans are ignorant of the impressions of the impact that the third world has on American Trade. III. Most Americans do not know how the third world influences  political decision making among the super powers. IV. American teachers and curriculum planners must add materials   about the third world materials about the third world to the school curriculum. V. Textbook publishers should add third world materials. Topical Order: When your speech does not fit into any of the patterns described so far, you may use the topical pattern of organization. This pattern can be used whenever your subject can be grouped logically into sub topics. Examples – Four ways to overcome snoring – Five types of food that will help you live longer, four ways to save money for school, what can be done to protect natural resources, etc. Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that everyone can contribute to conserving natural resources. Central Ideal: Conservation means practicing the four R’s of reduce, re-use, repair nad recycle. Main Points: I. Reduce consumption and waste. II. Reuse what can be reused. III. Repair what can be fixed. IV. Recycle what can be recycled. THE PERSUASIVE SPEECH Persuasion is the process of trying to get others to change their attitudes or behaviour. All of us are trying to persuade one way or the other. The government bombards us with messages intended to foster patriotism and hard work. Sermons from churches and mosques enjoin us against selfishness, corruption, and other social vices, etc. Obviously, not all persuasive speeches work. We ignore many of the messages aimed at use and are unmoved by most. One may ask, what then make a speech persuasive? Aristotle, in his Rhetoric, attributed the persuasive impact of a message to three major factors: ethos (communicator characteristics), Pathos (Emotional nature of  audience), and Logos (message features). SOURCE FACTORS Until recently many psychologists believed that the most crucial characteristic of an effective speaker was his prestige. In other words, it was believed that any speaker who possesses prestige could cause the audience to submit to his message regardless of the logicality or illogicality of the message. Recent studies by social psychologists suggest that though prestige is necessary, it is not a sufficient factor in persuasive communication. Research indicates the following speaker characteristics for an effective speech. Credibility The primary characteristic of the speaker has been found to be â€Å"Credibility† or â€Å"believability†, A speech has greater persuasive effect if the speaker is perceived to be credible or â€Å"believable†. In order words, for a message to be persuasive, the speaker must be credible. Here, credibility means expertness and trustworthiness. Expertness of the speaker (source) refers to the extent to which the audience believes that the speaker is capable of transmitting valid statements on the issue under consideration. Put simply, expertness refers to the degree to which the speaker is perceived by the audience to possess comprehensive knowledge on the subject matter. Thus, speakers who present an impressive amount of evidence, show insight into all aspects of the issue are usually perceived by audiences as experts or competent in area in areas they are dealing with, thereby inspiring greater credibility in their audience. Though members of an audience are inclined to believe a message from an expert or knowledgeable source, the impact is even greater if they have reasons to believe that the source is trustworthy. There are two issues to trustworthiness. First a source is less likely to be believed the audience perceived him to have something to gain if his message is accepted. Second, if the source is perceived from the outset to have a defined intention to persuade, it is less likely he will be perceived worthy of trust. Nevertheless, being perceived as having an intention to persuade needs not always decrease the speakers’ effectiveness to persuade his audience. In fact, it can be an asset to persuade. Such frank admission can have disarming effect on the audience. This is because members of the  audience tend to place credence on the remarks of those they regard as sincere and open. Therefore, the speaker who shows himself as honest is more likely to elicit friendly and less hostile responses from the audience. It is combined value of the speaker’s expertise on an issue and his trustworthiness that we refer to as credibility. Confidence The speaker who seems to be in command of himself inspires confidence. Members of the audience tend to believe in speakers who deliver their message in a more confident tone than those who do it in tentative way. For instance, speakers who present their arguments prefaced with statements like obviously, speakers, who present their arguments prefaced with statement like obviously, in fact, certainly, etc. are more effective than those who present their arguments with expression like I don’t know; I am not positive, etc. Also the effective speaker does not become unsettled when the audience become hostile, or when reacting to hostile questions from the audience. Tact Our attempt to persuade others often fails because we do so in a tactless manner. Tact is the ability of what to say and how to say what you want to say without giving offence. In persuasion, tact means disagreeing without scolding, enlightening without insulting their intelligence. Persuasion without tact breeds alienation. Moderation Temperance and restraint are crucial ingredients in persuasive communication. Speakers who indulge in personal abuse, overstatement, and inappropriate emotional displays tend to turn off their audience. They may even induce in the audience psychological resistance to the idea they are trying to promote. Friendliness It is very important for a speaker to be friendly towards an audience. Where the audience is hostile, goodwill is important. The speaker or source that shows a good disposition towards the audience clears one of the obstacles to  persuasion even though he and the audience may disagree on certain points. Similarity/Identity (e.g. Familiar Language) It is often difficult to identify with someone whose past and present experiences are so different from your own. How can you see the historical significance of polygamy if you are, for instance a European, or understand the rational for divestiture of national assets if you are a socialist? In fact, a true meeting of the mind is enhanced when a speaker is similar to the audience in terms of ethnicity, sex, age, socio-economic status, educational background, current living conditions, political ideology, etc. Such a speaker is more likely to be perceived as more credible, and hence is more likely to have greater impact on his audience. Non-verbal elements Many worthwhile ideas go unheeded because they are ineptly presented. The audience because of misleading cues in the speaker’s non-verbal language misconstrues some ideas. For instance, a speaker may say one thing while the sound of this voice and facial expression tell the audience something else. Imperfections in communication occur when the non-verbal elements in the communication are not supportive of the verbal elements. Also, non-verbal elements convey to the audience more about the speaker than he realizes. Physical appearance All of us tend to make generalization about people’s personality, attitudes, and look from the clothes they wear the objects they keep on their persons (e.g. Jewelry) and their grooming, generally. We give them names according to what they wear, etc. Such generalizations are often made about speakers even before they begin to deliver their speech. We are not so much concerned about the validity of these generalizations by the audience. However, what every speaker must know is that inappropriate dress and grooming can be destructive in persuasive communication. Ironically, it is not possible to prescribe a universally acceptable dress for all speakers on all occasion. The real test is that appropriate appearance and grooming should be suitable for the speaker’s purpose, his audience expectations, and the occasion. Facial expression and eye behavior Another important aspect of non-verbal communication is facial expression. The speaker’s facial expression conveys to the audience, his attitude towards himself, the subject matter, and the audience. It can tell the audience whether he is sincerely motivated in his assertions or his animations are feigned. The inference an audience makes from the speaker’s facial expression can affect this trustworthiness and hence his credibility. Subtle nuances in facial expression can make a world of difference in perceived meaning. Such variables like amount and rate of dilation of the pupil or one’s eye blink rate can communicate a great deal of information. The key facial expressions used to convey information include raising or dropping the eyebrows, smiling or frowning, knitting or relaxing the forehead, closing or widening the open eye, wrinkling the nose, pursing the lips, baring the teeth, dropping the jaw, etc. Eye behaviour also performs a persuasion function. We rate speakers who maintain eye contact as credible and we suspect those whose gaze is continually shifting about. If people avert their eyes when talking to us, we assume that they are either shy or are hiding something from us. Bodily communication This has dimensions including physical movements of the body like gestures, the way one holds one’s body (tense or relaxed posture), tilting or nodding the head, clenching one’s first, having ones arms akimbo on the waist, etc. These bodily movements can indicate arrogance, anger, degree of commitment, or determination, etc. Imagine a speaker trying to present a conciliatory message while standing in the ‘drill-sergeant’ position (feet planted widely apart as though he were issuing orders to his subordinates. This posture conveys defiance, which is incompatible with the conciliatory message. It is therefore important to note that a speaker’s body language should be compatible with the verbal message being uttered. Since body language conveys meaning, it can be an asset or a liability. It is however an asset only when it directs the audience’s attention to the verbal message being communicated, and also when it actually transmits a meaning which intensifies the meaning of the verbal message. It should be emphasized  that the absence of movement, that static state, is also a conveyer of meaning. In such a situation, parts of the verbal message will actually be lost due to the suppression of bodily action. Vocalic communication The other none-verbal element in speaker’s communication behaviour is aural. The voice of the speaker does more than rendering ideas into audible form. The pitch of the voice, its loudness or quality and the rate of delivery, convey various shades of meaning to the audience. The controllable elements of the voice also act as factors of attention. In fact, not only does the voice affects meaning and attention, but also transmits an impression of the speaker as a person to the audience. For example, a speech delivered in a weak voice may convey to the audience the speaker’s lack of courage and vigour. In effect, the public speaker must know that he is judged not only by words spoken, but also by the meaning the audience attaches to the sound of the voice that carries those words. Artifactual Communication People decorate their homes and work places with artifacts to symbolize their sense of self. Our culture has taught us to react in certain ways to the artifacts of others. It is important to note that these patterns of responses form the premises of persuasion and therefore we interpret artifacts that surround persuaders in message situations according to the dictates of our culture. Therefore, the banners, the bunting, insignias in a speech situation, all contribute to the success (or failure) of a persuasive attempt. Another type of artifact is clothing. What people wear send signals about what they believe in and what they stand for. However, these Artifactual messages, as said earlier, vary from culture to culture and can make a world of difference between a successful and an unsuccessful persuasion. Tactical communication A very important non-verbal message carrier is the way and degree to which people touch one another. Generally, there are gender related differences in the use of touch. Women are more likely to use touch to communicate than are  men. In fact, the average woman torches someone else about twelve times a day, with the average man touching someone only eight times a day. In terms of persuasion, research shows that persuaders who touch are the most successful persuaders. Touch seems to be a good way to convey social kind of emotional feeling like empathy, warmth, and reassurance. It is however important to note some touches are taboo. For instance, some parts of the body are ‘off limits’ to public touch. Therefore, a persuader who is too ‘touchy’ with persons around him is likely to offend not only the person touched, but also, persons observing the touch. Credibility can be drastically undermined if persuaders misread a relationship and respond inappropriately if a speaker touches in a way that is not appropriate. THE AUDIENCE FACTORS If it the aim of the speech is to change the views, attitudes, and behaviours of an audience, then it is important that the speaker places particular emphasis on knowing the audience. In a very practical sense, it means the speaker finding out all he can about the people he will be speaking to. It is indeed, probable that the majority of failures in persuasive attempts can be traced to insufficient or inaccurate ‘ analyses’ or ‘targeting’ of those intended to be influenced. Only by seeing things from the audiences’ point of view can we deal directly and effectively with our audiences. In reality, the group of individuals that a speaker tries to influence is his audience. Therefore, for the speaker to know the audience, he must locate the common characteristics of the members of the audience and strategize the message accordingly. Research in this area suggests that there are several common characteristics about the audience and these include the follo wing. Initial attitude of the audience towards subject matter The initial position of the members of the audience is crucial in bringing about opinion change. The more extreme the initial position of the audience from that of the speaker, the greater the latitude of rejection of the speaker’s message. In effect, maximum attitude change can be effected when the audience does not hold an extreme attitude position. However, with an audience that is hostile to the point of view espoused by the speaker, media experts suggest that the strategy is for the speaker to start with those  points on which he agrees with the audience. This strategy may be effective for two reasons. a. Agreeing with hostile audience from the start has a disarming effect and prevents heckling and outbursts that characterize hostile audience. b. Agreeing with audience at the outset can enhance the speaker’s trustworthiness with the audience, and may be perceived â€Å"fair† â€Å"objective† and non-opinionated. Audience beliefs. Another characteristic of the audience which can affect their persuasibility is their belief or current thinking about the issue under consideration. For instance, consider the national campaign on the judicious use of electricity due to the low level of water in the Akosombo Dam. Many people initially ignored the warnings or were simply unmoved by them. They did not believe that the Dm would ever dry up. It was not until the Volta River Authority (V.R.A) began issuing daily news on the water level-maximum and minimum operating levels that many people took them seriously. Also, some people do not just believe that AIDS is real and so there is little chance they could be persuaded to use condoms. It is evident that the beliefs people hold on issues can be a powerful deterrent to persuasion. It would therefore be a folly to try to convince people that you have the best solution when they don’t believe that a problem exists. Finding out an audience’s beliefs also involves seeking clarification on how the audience conceptualizes or defines the issue at stake. For example, as a speaker, you want to persuade an audience that Neoplan Buses are better than Tata Buses. You will have to find out first, how your audience defines a â€Å"better bus†. Does â€Å"better† here, means durability? Does it mean cost effective? Are Neoplan Busses better because they are sleek and comfortable? Unless you discover the criteria, and in fact, the priority of the criteria your audience uses, you may be wasting your time in persuading them. You may have to convince the audience that though â€Å"sleekness† and â€Å"comfortability† are intended criteria for measuring a â€Å"better† bus, these are not the only criteria or necessarily the most important ones. You may try to convince them that â€Å"durability and â€Å"petrol consumption† the most important. In trying to win an audience, it is  advisable to discover the criteria by which they measure the â€Å"truth† of the fact in question, and also, the priority if the criteria. THE SURVIVORS â€Å"Work! Harder. Faster. Shovel! Don’t just stand there. Shovel!† And so he shoveled with all his energy and all of his might. Hour after hour, he shoveled until his body could not shovel any more. Finally, he stopped working, learned over on his shovel, and let his body limply rest, as his eyes stared at the ground. The commander looked his way and hollered in a low penetrating voice, â€Å"Shovel†! But the man did not move. The commander lifted his gun, loaded it with ammunition, and shot him. The man released his hands from the shovel and fell to the ground. He murmured his last words, â€Å"How could this happen?† The commander walked over, lifted his heel, and kicked the man into the mass grave, which he had been digging. One more Jew was removed from the world. He was one of 6 million who were brought to their death by the Nazi policy to annihilate the Jewish race. The Nazis collected the Jews in the ghettos; they transported the Jews to the death camps; they worked the Jews until they could not work any more. Then they killed them – by gun and by gas, by starvation and sickness, by torture and terror. Millions of Jews died in the death camps of Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka. It seems unfathomable that people could have survived the Nazis’ wartime atrocities. Yet, by the grace of God, there were survivors. The survivors were the young and the strong, not the old and the meek. The survivors were the lucky and the few. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. They are each the only survivors in their families. They witnessed the death of their mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, friends and neighbours. They witnessed the destruction of their lives and homes, towns and country, shops and synagogues. They lived through the death camps. They lived through the excruciating work. They lived to see liberation. Since I was a little girl, my grandparents have told me about their lives during the Holocaust. They have told me about the persecution, the intolerance, and the injustices so that I could appreciate my freedom, my liberty, and my independence. It has  always amazed me that my grandparents don’t have spite or malice. After all they suffered, they have only hope and love. They don’t want to hate any more. During World War II, my grandparents were victims of anti-Semitism. Fifty years later, they are victims no longer. Today they fight against the â€Å"isms† which plague our communities, our states, our nation, and our world. They tell their story so that we, the younger generation, will understand the horrific force which anti-Semitism was in their lives. They relate their experiences to the struggles which so many people grapple with today. They will tell their story, and they will not rest until all people can live without fear and without denial, until all people can live with pride and with dignity. And when my grandparents are gone, I will continue to tell their story. I will tell my children about the men and women who were murdered for no cause. I will tell my children about the heroism of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto who fought strength for strength against the Nazi militia. I will tell these stories to all who will listen. And I hope that you, too, will tell stories. As the Holocaust survivor and writer Elie Wiesel, once said, â€Å"Not to transmit an experience is to betray it† To the millions who died in the Holocaust, lie peacefully in your graves, for you have not been forgotten. To the survivors of the Holocaust, rest assured that we have listened to your stories. We have learned by your examples and we, too, will fight for freedom and peace. May no person around the globe again fall to his or her death murmuring, â€Å"How could this happen?†

Many movies are made to mimic popular books

Many movies are made to mimic popular books. Many times, the movie does not do the book any justice. This is the case with the movie of Ordinary People. Judith Guests praised book, Ordinary People, uses complex characters and their thoughts to tell the story of three people dealing with a tragedy; on the contrary, the movie focuses mainly on the tragedy. The book is far more effective than the movie because of the pivotal scenes and characterization. The characterization in the book is substantially stronger. The story is basically told through the thoughts of the main character, Conrad, and his father, Calvin. These thoughts allow one to understand what is going on in the characters mind and understand what they are going through more effectively. In the book, Conrad describes the death of Buck, his brother, in detail through his thoughts and in his dreams. It makes it easy to understand what happened. In the movie, only a few dreams are shown. If the book had not been read first, it would be very hard to understand what these dreams were all about. Scenes throughout the book used the inner thoughts of Calvin and Conrad to explain what was happening in the story. Without these thoughts, the story line was very hard to follow. Vital scenes in the book were excluded from the movie. One pivotal scene involves Conrads mother, Beth, and Conrad quitting the swim team. Beth was asked by one of her friends why Conrad quit swimming. At that point, Beth didnt even know that Conrad had quit swimming. This is what upset Beth. After returning home, Beth confronted Conrad about the fact that he had not told them about the swim team. Conrad said that he was waiting for the right time. This scene reiterated the fact that Beth was unable to fully love. This scene was completely omitted from the movie. This scene helped prove that Beth was only concerned about herself, without it, one does not get to see ...

Free Essays on The Possibility Of Evil

In the short story â€Å"The Possibility of Evil† by Shirley Jackson, Miss Adela Strangeworth is an elderly woman living on Pleasant Street who is known for her beautiful roses. The setting is taking place in a close-knit town, which plays the essential role in her motives for evil. Strangeworth thinks she owns the town and everyone inside it. She believes there to be great evil among everyone but, herself. She writes letters throughout the story to people in her town and telling them all the negatives about them. She doesn’t postmark her name so no one is to know who is writing them these letters. She leaves them to believe it could never be her nor would she want it to be her to be blamed for such a thing. Until, she mistakenly drops one of the letters and is seen doing it. Strangeworth goes about her everyday with having her usual trips downtown to the grocery and making sure to say hello to everyone she passes. She makes comments to everyone whether it is negative or not she is always being the judge of character. Adela Strangeworth’s role was one she chose herself. . Adela Strangeworth was involved with everyone’s business, â€Å"This was, after all, her town, and these were her people; if one of them was in trouble, she ought to know about it† (JACKSON 469). She wrote them secret, mean and hateful letters in reciprocation to their evil actions, which began to ruin their lives. Her nosiness, not the towns, drove her to her final fate. Adela Strangeworth resorts to evil actions in order to gain control over what she desired. â€Å"Her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion† (JACKSON 467), the letters she writes are all assumptions, lacking evidence and facts for such accusations. Adela Strange worth’s acts were so cruel in the public’s eye that they destroy her rose bushes. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines cruel as â€Å" causing pain and suffering to others† (DICTONARY 189). Her decisi... Free Essays on The Possibility Of Evil Free Essays on The Possibility Of Evil In the short story â€Å"The Possibility of Evil† by Shirley Jackson, Miss Adela Strangeworth is an elderly woman living on Pleasant Street who is known for her beautiful roses. The setting is taking place in a close-knit town, which plays the essential role in her motives for evil. Strangeworth thinks she owns the town and everyone inside it. She believes there to be great evil among everyone but, herself. She writes letters throughout the story to people in her town and telling them all the negatives about them. She doesn’t postmark her name so no one is to know who is writing them these letters. She leaves them to believe it could never be her nor would she want it to be her to be blamed for such a thing. Until, she mistakenly drops one of the letters and is seen doing it. Strangeworth goes about her everyday with having her usual trips downtown to the grocery and making sure to say hello to everyone she passes. She makes comments to everyone whether it is negative or not she is always being the judge of character. Adela Strangeworth’s role was one she chose herself. . Adela Strangeworth was involved with everyone’s business, â€Å"This was, after all, her town, and these were her people; if one of them was in trouble, she ought to know about it† (JACKSON 469). She wrote them secret, mean and hateful letters in reciprocation to their evil actions, which began to ruin their lives. Her nosiness, not the towns, drove her to her final fate. Adela Strangeworth resorts to evil actions in order to gain control over what she desired. â€Å"Her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion† (JACKSON 467), the letters she writes are all assumptions, lacking evidence and facts for such accusations. Adela Strange worth’s acts were so cruel in the public’s eye that they destroy her rose bushes. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines cruel as â€Å" causing pain and suffering to others† (DICTONARY 189). Her decisi...

Whats the Most Stolen Book from Libraries

Whats the Most Stolen Book from Libraries It may not come as a huge surprise that the book thats most stolen from public libraries is The Guinness Book of World Records. The books popularity is irrefutable. It serves as a form of trivia, entertainment and to settle arguments over any kind of fact, whether its whos the fastest runner, which is the biggest city or the most populous country. Whatever you can imagine, the Guinness Book has it all. The Idea Is Born The concept of creating such a book took place 60 years ago when Englishman Sir Hugh Beaver, Director of the Guinness Brewery that brews the famous Guinness Beer, attended a shooting party. An argument occurred over which European game bird was the fastest. There was no record or reference book that could settle the argument. The First Edition Sir Hugh, with the assistance of twins Norris and Ross McWhirter who ran a fact-finding industry in London, founded the company Guinness Superlatives. The twins research formed the first Guinness Book of Records which was released in the UK in 1955 and became a bestseller in its first edition. The following year, it was released in the United States and also became an immediate bestseller. International Acknowledgment Since its first publishing, the book has gone on to worldwide success. Today, its published in 31 languages including Mandarin, Icelandic and Arabic. Its also expanded into the entertainment industry, with several television programs in different countries including the United States, Portugal, China, Turkey, Italy and Germany, among others. The shows have all been highly successful and often feature live performances by record holders. The first Guinness Book of Records show was launched in the UK where the books original researchers Norris and Ross McWhirter answered questions posed by children in the audience. The twins were known to have encyclopedic memories and were able to recall even the most obscure facts on the spot. Today, there are several Guinness World Records museums in cities like Hollywood, Tokyo, Copenhagen and San Antonio. The franchise sells interactive DVDs and a video game for Nintendo Wii. There is even a Guinness World Records Day founded in 2005. The book itself has been cited as holding world records. In 1999, it set the record of being the largest single print run of a case-bound book in color with 2,402,000 copies printed. In 1995, the company earned a visit to the London office by Queen Elizabeth II on its 50th anniversary. In 2006, Michael Jackson visited the New York Office where he received a special award for his record breaking album Thriller. Types of Records The type of records in the book can be as varied as you can imagine. The man holding the record for most tattooed human is Lucky Diamond Rich, who set the record in 2006 with 100% of his body covered in tattoos including his tongue, the rims of his eyes, inside of his ears and his â€Å"delicate† areas. In 2009, Ashrita Furman of Queens, New York, won the record for being the â€Å"Person with the most records† with 100 confirmed records. Over the years, some decisions were made to eliminate certain records from the book in order to promote public safety. Eating and drinking records, as well as sword-swallowing records were taken out in order to avoid potential legal suits for publishing facts that promote hazardous behavior. Proving a record is no easy feat and Guinness teams are responsible for analyzing claims in order to ensure their veracity. Claims are made through written applications that take 4-6 weeks to process. A quicker response can be gained by paying a fee of $450. With such a rich and entertaining history, its no wonder that the book also holds the record for being the most stolen book from public libraries.

Strengths and weaknesses of Wal-Mart's entry strategy into Mexico Coursework

Strengths and weaknesses of Wal-Mart's entry strategy into Mexico - Coursework Example Antoni, (2007) suggested that despite the fact that Wal-Mart has been condemned for their low wages, they are truly doing various good for lower income individuals. Wal-Mart can punch out many competitors with their belligerent pricing approach. They have the capability to slash prices on some goods, such as toys, by twenty percent in order to motivate sales. The provision that Wal-Mart proffers to its clients is a vast benefit, as well. They have a sturdy figure that it is pleasant to shop where persons are all the time enthusiastic to make their occurrence a good one. The added enticements are the steady price rollback, in addition, to the store-within-a-store. An immense treaty of Wal-Mart’s achievements can be accredited to the reality that the corporation was based on recognizing, knowing, and accepting what exactly clients want from a vendor. These led to their accomplishments in enterprising in Mexico, as the consumers were contented with the services they received. The business in one store presents a massive selection of merchandise at extremely affordable, prices in a one-stop stockpile. Because of their magnitude, they can get vast discounts from dealers and so pass these investments on to the consumers. They produce their own branded goods and, in addition, to supply goods from confined suppliers and other main brands. Their extent and buying authority is immense strength. They also are careful in their managing approach, where they are extremely cautious with how they use their funds and control their assets. This went on well while in Mexico, and they succeeded. Finally, Wal-Mart’s economical benefit is their noteworthy logistics structure. They are able to distribute goods from any of their abundant supply centres in order to offer the cheapest and most proficient route. Expertise in general is an incredible power that Wal-Mart advances in to perk up their corporation. This not only offers expediency for clients, but also with a log istics structure like the one Wal-Mart has in position, online remissions are a breeze to stuff. Weaknesses In the eyes of a number of the community, Wal-Mart has limitations that involve not only their reflection, but also the survival of other individuals. Because of Wal-Mart’s stumpy prices and famous name, they have been capable to confine the sales of an incredible number of customers, and have, as a result, made it tremendously hard for small retailers to continue. Principled shoppers, those who are apprehensive with the comfort of small retailers are annoyed at the monopolizing authority Wal-Mart has been capable of gain. Most minute shops have been required to close up because of lack of sales. Some individuals say no to shop at Wal-Mart because of these matters. Many conservationists get concerned with the comprehensive buildings that are not susceptible to the surroundings. These constructions also cause a trouble of interchange pollution and obstruction, which can spoil small neighbourhoods. The workers of Wal-Mart can endure a tremendous deal, as well. Many obtain only poverty-level earnings and terrible wellbeing care reimbursements. Troubles with these healthcare reimbursements lead to workers applying for community help, which in turn signify that taxpayers would pay for Wal-Mart members of staff healthcare expenses. Because of these condemnations, worker confidence is reduced. Price devaluation is a severe

Discuss the reasons why activity-based costing may be preferred to Essay

Discuss the reasons why activity-based costing may be preferred to traditional absorption costing in the modern manufacturing environment - Essay Example This paper discusses the various reasons why most firms use activity-based costing methods over the tradition absorption method. There are mainly two costing methods used by companies in different manufacturing environment that include absorption and activity-based costing techniques (Needles, Powers and Crosson, 2011). The Modern Manufacturing Environment involves the use of modern technology in the manufacturing industry. The use of technology enables organisations to reduce the cost of labour and increase production rates. In addition, modern manufacturing environment entails production of large volumes of goods at a cost, which promotes the companys profitability. The primary characteristics of a modern manufacturing environment include the following. First, the manufacturing environment entails an intense competition internationally. Most of the firms that operate on modern manufacturing environment experience high levels of competition on an international platform. For example, companies operating in the automobile industry experience great competition internationally, which require them to reduce production cost in order to initiate cost, based competition strategies (Lembersky and Lembersky, 2005). Secondly, the modern manufacturing environment involves rapid innovation in production. Production innovation is essential in establishing cost effective production methods such as automation of the production line and use of digital systems to reduce the cost of power and labour (Frost, 2005). Thirdly, the environment involves the use of automated machinery, which minimises the cost of labour. Automation of the production line ensures that most of the operations of the company rely on technology, which reduces the cost of production (Lembersky and Lembersky, 2005). Finally, production in a modern manufacturing environment involves

Shopper scam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Shopper scam - Essay Example Self was to evaluate the cashier on customer service cards after buying the cards and email the numbers on the Green Dot cards to a person listed ‘Timothy Duncan’ as his point of contact with the mystery shopping evaluation team. Self had doubts since the deal seemed too good to be true. His conscience was right. He had almost fallen victim to a major scam. Kathleen Calligan with the Better Business Bureau stated that Green Dot money cards are mainly used for illegal business because they work like like cash and cannot be traced. Therefore, the scammer gets away with the money but the cashed check remains the responsibility of the victim. She also noted that probably in less than one week, the deposited check will return in the form as an overdraft on the victims account. The Better Business Bureau warn that the legitimate Mystery Shopping Providers Association would never pay before services have been

Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Critique - Essay Example The authors establish their case by first reviewing the available literature regarding how front office work is represented within school public relations research. They reveal numerous studies that examine the roles of parents or caregivers in student learning, looking at the "triad" of parent/carer, teacher and student, completely by-passing the front office as a potential participant. The researchers do provide one example of a study conducted in 1991 that is similar to their own inquiry, but point out that the data is relatively outdated. In spite of this, they use this outdated study to help support their own conclusions later in the article. These researchers also point out that a few studies have referenced front office work as an occasional participant in helping shape parents' overall experiences of educational practices. To illustrate how these studies have looked at the front office, the researchers go into a lengthier discussion of four sample studies that they found. The se sample studies tended to show the front office as a negative impediment to school-to-home relations. ... Another sample study showed the negative role the front office must play as gate-keepers of the school, frequently translated within parents' minds as impeding their ability to participate in their child's education and actually the result of inadequate communication between administration and parents regarding school policies, again demonstrating the front office as an ignored space. The other studies mentioned describe the importance of a welcoming entrance to the school, but focus on the architecture and entry procedures without giving any attention to the personnel that carry out these functions. The researchers effectively demonstrate that while the job of the office workers might be valued, the workers themselves are largely ignored or viewed in a negative light. The study the article reports on was conducted by gathering a great deal of school documents and parent/administrator/staff interviews, and observations. Although the study was not intended to be focused exclusively on front office work, its primary purpose, to examine how to build good home-school relations, revealed this gap in understanding. The researchers point out that the study sample was not representative, but their findings seem widely applicable. Within all of the collected material, there was a great deal of information about what was expected of parents and how the front office played a role in various activities relating to the children, but none of the office staff were ever mentioned by name or specific area of the front office itself. Because the focus of the study was not originally intended to be about the front office work and the invisible role of front office staff, questions pertaining to these

Advertising to Children Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9500 words

Advertising to Children - Coursework Example I would like to thank my interviewees for giving up their valuable time to speak to me during their hectic schedules. I also appreciate all the support and guidance offered by my tutor and lecturers. This help has been invaluable to me. My dissertation aims to explore the current problems pertaining to marketing trends involved with advertising aimed at the young audiences and small children. It is reported that Food companies alone spend a whooping $10 billion annually on advertising aimed at young children and this is alleged to have caused the American children to consume almost a third of their daily calories from junk food. The problem of advertising to children is not just restricted to television advertising but extends to the increased use of Internet games, product placements, character licensing and an increased use of word of mouth campaigns to increase sales of products to the young consumer base.The Food,Toy and gadget industry is adamant to defend itself upon any accusation of irresponsible advertising to little children with the likes of themes like parental responsibility and First Amendment rights. The Paper discusses whether or not it is the sole responsibility of these corporate giants to act agai nst self-interest or that the Government should regulate such advertising more seriously. The Dissertation aims to balance these villainous notions of the modern advertisers which have been assigned to modern marketers and whether it is time parents took responsibility for their own actions rather than laying the blame on advertising. Essentially the aim is to question the models of childhood which the are assumed in this debate by policy makers and marketers alike in order to explore the way forward for regulation and the burden of responsibility to the advertisers or the parents. I would like to clarify at the outset that my methodology in this dissertation is largely based on a literature review of contemporary sociological perspectives on childhood and the debates that have because a part of the controversy of advertising to children. The methodology then analyses a two interviews to reconcile the findings of the literature review. The Dissertation restricts itself to the UK discourse on children and advertising and is aimed at contributing to a greater understanding the debate and policy on advertising and children, and to encourage the further practical research in this area armed with these new perspectives. Thus this paper is an exploration into the empirical and polemical literature yet it neutrally considers both sides of the argument and ontology of advertising to children. Tongue-in-cheek social skeptics have often subscribed to the term "adults-in-waiting" or "pre-adults" when describing the modern technologically aware child (James et al., 1998). At the same time the modern marketer knows that the modern child in "independent" and a potential customer which means that certain strategies will be built by marketers and marketing researchers to capture and compete on capturing this segment of the consumer base.(Kline, 1993).The modern marketer thus knows that small children in particular form their future preferences in their early formative stages but the older they grow the more difficult they are to convince.(Lowden, 1999). There are so many industries depending on their bread and butter for effectively capturing the children's consumer base and therefore whether its Mc Donalds or Toys r' Us ,KFC or Disney Land. These exclusively child-oriented industries have come under recent fire from media, sociologists and the political community alike and a heated debate as to their ethical premise has followed which has raised an outcry

Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Critique - Essay Example The authors establish their case by first reviewing the available literature regarding how front office work is represented within school public relations research. They reveal numerous studies that examine the roles of parents or caregivers in student learning, looking at the "triad" of parent/carer, teacher and student, completely by-passing the front office as a potential participant. The researchers do provide one example of a study conducted in 1991 that is similar to their own inquiry, but point out that the data is relatively outdated. In spite of this, they use this outdated study to help support their own conclusions later in the article. These researchers also point out that a few studies have referenced front office work as an occasional participant in helping shape parents' overall experiences of educational practices. To illustrate how these studies have looked at the front office, the researchers go into a lengthier discussion of four sample studies that they found. The se sample studies tended to show the front office as a negative impediment to school-to-home relations. ... Another sample study showed the negative role the front office must play as gate-keepers of the school, frequently translated within parents' minds as impeding their ability to participate in their child's education and actually the result of inadequate communication between administration and parents regarding school policies, again demonstrating the front office as an ignored space. The other studies mentioned describe the importance of a welcoming entrance to the school, but focus on the architecture and entry procedures without giving any attention to the personnel that carry out these functions. The researchers effectively demonstrate that while the job of the office workers might be valued, the workers themselves are largely ignored or viewed in a negative light. The study the article reports on was conducted by gathering a great deal of school documents and parent/administrator/staff interviews, and observations. Although the study was not intended to be focused exclusively on front office work, its primary purpose, to examine how to build good home-school relations, revealed this gap in understanding. The researchers point out that the study sample was not representative, but their findings seem widely applicable. Within all of the collected material, there was a great deal of information about what was expected of parents and how the front office played a role in various activities relating to the children, but none of the office staff were ever mentioned by name or specific area of the front office itself. Because the focus of the study was not originally intended to be about the front office work and the invisible role of front office staff, questions pertaining to these

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

International Marketing - Essay Example Another benefit of a quality outsourced customer care is the ability to provide flexibility. Outsourcing offers most companies an opportunity to diversify when they decide to break down most of their operations and having both internal and external ways to operate. Q. 2. The main advantages of licensing as a market entry strategy according to Cateora, Gilly and Graham (2011) include: provision of supplementary profitability with an early diminutive investment, brand recognition, provision of a way of circumnavigating extra charges, attractive return-on-investment rates and finally low implementation costs. The main disadvantages of licensing include: competition, inadequate participation resulting to lack of control and the likelihood of loss in returns. Examples of companies that use licensing as their market entry strategy include Disney Consumer Products and Phillips-Van Heusen. Q. 3. According to Keegan (2002), global strategic partnership involves participants who remain autonom ous after formation of the association, share profits of the association as well as control over performance of assigned responsibilities and lastly the participants involve in making continued contributions in products, expertise and other key strategic areas. Global strategic partnerships differ from joint venture since entry strategy for a joint venture involves a single target country whereby associates end up dividing the ownership of a newly created business entity. Global strategic partnerships involve collaborative agreements with more than one target country. Part 2 Marketing Plan Atek’s mission is to base everything that they do on quality that cannot be surpassed in the industry, manufacture complex medical devices, launch new products with expertise and providing experiences and resources that contain value. This is achieved with one goal in mind, which is to improve in the core areas important to consumers. The main marketing objectives for Atek are: to help impr ove the speed of speed-to-market, product performance, and profitability in an atmosphere of high quality. This is achieved by launching millions of devices in the market that are aimed at satisfying each consumer’s specific needs so as to optimize the manufacturing process. The objectives are also accomplished by providing support that meets the consumers’ requirements. Atek’s short term plan is to be the premier manufacturer and distributor in their market country which is the U.S. According to Wind & Douglas (1974), it would be relatively easier to market a new product to a target audience in the U.S relatively than in other diversified locales if the manufacturing company is U.S. based. This is influence by factors like consumer awareness, target audience and product information. The criteria used in selecting the U.S. as a viable target market for this product was the size of the market. This market has diversity in both cultural and racial demographics hen ce making it a suitable market. Access to consumers was vital criteria since upon the manufacture of the devices, availing them to the target consumers with ease would be very important to Atek. Also the way consumers relate to product launches of this kind of nature was very important when selecting the market area. The cost of market reach is weighed against the cost of potential gain and from the past studies and researches done Atek from

How Accurate Is Eyewitness Testimony Essay Example for Free

How Accurate Is Eyewitness Testimony Essay The bedrock of the American judicial process is the honesty of witnesses in trial. Eyewitness testimony can make a deep impression on a jury, which is often exclusively assigned the role of sorting out credibility issues and making judgments about the truth of witness statements. In the U. S. , there is the possibility of over 5,000 wrongful convictions each year because of mistaken eyewitness identifications. The continuous flow of media stories that tell of innocent people being incarcerated should serve as a signal to us that the human identification process is rife with a large number of error risks. These risks have been largely supported by research. Unfortunately, a jury rarely hears of the risks; therefore, eyewitness testimony remains a much-used and much-trusted process by those who are uninformed many times, lawfully uninformed. In cases in which eyewitness testimony is used, more often than not, an expert will not be allowed to testify to the faults of eyewitness identification. Thus, the uninformed stay blissfully ignorant of the inherent risks involved in eyewitness identification testimony. Too often, these blissfully ignorant people make up a jury of our peers. (McAtlin, 1999). According to McAtlin, there are three parts of an eyewitness testimony: (1) Witnessing a crime – as a victim or a bystander – involves watching the event while it is happening. (2) The witness must memorize the details of the occurrence. (3) The witness must be able to accurately recall and communicate what he or she saw. Studies of wrongful conviction cases have concluded that erroneous eyewitness identifications are by far the leading cause of convicting the innocent. Several studies have been conducted on human memory and on subjects’ propensity to remember erroneously events and details that did not occur. When human beings try to acquire, retain and retrieve information with any clarity, suppositional influences and common human failures profoundly limit them. The law can regulate some of these human limitations others are unavoidable. The unavoidable ones can make eyewitness testimony devastating in the courtroom and can lead to wrongful convictions. Unfortunately, memories are not indelibly stamped onto a brain video cassette tape. An event stored in the human memory undergoes constant change. Some details may be altered when new or different information about the event is added to the existing memory. Some details are simply forgotten and normal memory loss occurs continually. Even so, witnesses often become more confident in the correctness of their memories over time. The original memory has faded and has been replaced with new information. This new information has replaced the original memory because the natural process of memory deterioration has persisted. Furthermore, individual eyewitnesses vary widely in infallibility and reasoning. . (McAtlin, 1999). Studies of wrongful conviction cases have concluded that erroneous eyewitness identifications are by far the leading cause of convicting the innocent. For example, the Innocence Project of Cardozo School of Law reports that of the first 130 exonerations, 101 (or 77. 8 percent) involved mistaken identifications. But exactly how often eyewitnesses make tragic mistakes that lead to the punishment of innocent persons is unknown and probably unknowable. One of the infamous cases where mistaken identity led to the wrongful conviction and execution was Gary Graham. Grahams case received widespread attention, in part because of substantial evidence indicating that he was innocent of the murder charge, and the indisputable fact that his court-appointed trial lawyer failed to mount a serious legal defense. Graham was convicted of killing grocery store clerk Bobby Lambert on May 13, 1981 during a robbery attempt. Graham was 17 years old at the time. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and only one eyewitness who identified him as the murderer. Eyewitnesses who told police investigators Graham was not the killer were never called to testify at trial by Grahams lawyer. Constitutional Protections In Neil v. Biggers, the U. S. Supreme Court established criteria that jurors may use to evaluate the reliability of eyewitness identifications. The Biggers Court enumerated several factors to determine if a suggestive identification is reliable: (1) the witness’s opportunity to view the suspect; (2) the witness’s degree of attention; (3) the accuracy of description; (4) the witness’s level of certainty; and (5) the time between incident and confrontation, i. . , identification. Courts today continue to allow into evidence suggestive identification testimony. Currently, courts consider the admissibility of identification testimony under a Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process analysis. If a court determines that a pretrial identification was unnecessarily suggestive, it then ascertains whether the suggestive procedure gave rise to a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. A court will find a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification only if the identification is found to be unreliable. Therefore, even if the court concludes that a police identification procedure was suggestive, it may be admissible if the court finds that the identification is nevertheless likely to be accurate. A court will balance the suggestiveness of the identification procedure against the likelihood that the identification is correct, resulting in an unprincipled rule of law that turns on the court’s subjective assessment of the defendant’s guilt. Issues That Impact an Individuals Testimony A specific look at how memory functions and how suggestion operates llustrates why participation in unregulated lineups creates unreasonable risks of misidentification. Identification procedures differ from other police investigatory procedures in that they solely rely on human memory. Human memory consists of three basic systems: (1) encoding, (2) storage, and (3) retrieval. â€Å"Encoding† is the initial processing of an event that results in a memory. â€Å"Storage† is the re tention of the encoded information. â€Å"Retrieval† is the recovery of the stored information. Errors can occur at each step. Contrary to common understanding of memory, not everything that registers in the central nervous system is permanently stored in the mind and particular details become increasingly inaccessible over time. According to Loftus and Ketchum, â€Å"Truth and reality, when seen through the filters of our memories, are not objective facts but subjective, interpretive realities. † Because these processes are unconscious, individuals generally perceive their memories as completely accurate and their reporting of what they remember as entirely truthful, no matter how distorted or inaccurate they, in fact, may be. An individual’s memories become distorted even in the absence of external suggestion or internal personal distress. Naturally, people tailor their telling of events to the listener and the context. (Loftus Ketchum 1991). Many conditions such as fear, lighting, distance from the event, surprise, and personal biases all affect memory and recall. Human memory is indeed delicate, especially regarding victims and witnesses of crimes. Fear and traumatic events may impair the initial acquisition of the memory itself. At the time of an identification, the witness is often in a distressed emotional state. Many victims and witnesses experience substantial shock because of their traumatic experiences that continue to affect them at the time of identification procedures. In a particular case in court, the psychologist can determine the reliability of the evidence of a particular witness and enable the judge and the jury to put the proper value on such witnesss testimony. For example, a witness may swear to a certain point involving the estimation of time and distance. The psychologist can measure the witnesss accuracy in such estimates, often showing that what the witness claims to be able to do is an impossibility. A case may hinge on whether an interval of time was ten minutes or twelve minutes, or whether a distance was three hundred or four hundred feet. A witness may swear positively to one or both of these points. The psychologist can show the court the limitations of the witness in making such estimates. Overview of Psychology and Law The service of psychology to law can be very great, but owing to the necessary conservatism of the courts, it will be a long time before they will make much use of psychological knowledge. Perhaps the greatest service will be in determining the credibility of evidence. Psychology can now give the general principles in this matter. Witnesses go on the stand and swear to all sorts of things as to what they heard and saw and did, often months and even years previously. The expert clinical psychologist can tell the court the probability of such evidence being true. Experiments have shown that there is a large percentage of error in such evidence. The additional value that comes from the oath has been measured. The oath increases the liability of truth only a small percentage. Psychologists sometimes provide expert testimony in the form of general testimony where theory and research is described and applied to a problem before the court. The expert would not provide opinions about any party involved in the case before the court, but might give opinions about substantive research that is relevant to the issues. Role of Psychology Professional in Forensic Matters Clinical-forensic psychologists are employed in a variety of settings including state forensic hospitals, court clinics, mental health centers, jails, prisons, and juvenile treatment centers. Clinical-forensic psychologists are perhaps best known for their assessment of persons involved with the legal system. Because of their knowledge of human behavior, abnormal psychology, and psychological assessment, psychologists are sometimes asked by the courts to evaluate a person and provide the court with an expert opinion, either in the form of a report or testimony. For example, clinical-forensic psychologists frequently evaluate adult criminal defendants or children involved in the juvenile justice system, offering the court information that might be relevant to determining (1) whether the defendant has a mental disorder that prevents him or her from going to trial, (2) what the defendants mental state may have been like at the time of the criminal offense, or (3) what treatment might be indicated for a particular defendant who has been convicted of a crime or juvenile offense. Increasingly, clinical-forensic psychologists are being called upon to evaluate defendants who have gone to trial and who have been found guilty and for whom one of the sentencing options is the death penalty. In this case, psychologists are asked to evaluate the mitigating circumstances of the case and to testify about these as they relate to the particular defendant. Clinical-forensic psychologists also evaluate persons in civil (i. e. , non-criminal) cases. These psychologists may evaluate persons who are undergoing guardianship proceedings, to assist the court in determining whether the person has a mental disorder that affects his or her ability to make important life decisions (e. g. , managing money, making health care decisions, making legal decisions). Clinical-forensic psychologists also evaluate persons who are plaintiffs in lawsuits, who allege that they were emotionally harmed as a result of someones wrongdoing or negligence. Clinical-forensic psychologists may evaluate children and their parents in cases of divorce, when parents cannot agree about the custody of their children and what is best for them. Clinical-forensic psychologists are sometimes called on to evaluate children to determine whether they have been abused or neglected and the effects of such abuse or neglect, and offer the court recommendations regarding the placement of such children. In addition to forensic assessment, clinical-forensic psychologists are also involved in treating persons who are involved with the legal system in some capacity. Jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities employ clinical psychologists to assess and treat adults and juveniles who are either awaiting trial, or who have been adjudicated and are serving a sentence of some type. Treatment in these settings is focused both on mental disorders and providing these persons with skills and behaviors that will decrease the likelihood that they will re-offend in the future. Clinical-forensic psychologists employed in mental health centers or in private practice may also treat persons involved in the legal system, providing either general or specialized treatment (e. g. treatment of sex offenders, treatment of violent or abusive persons, and treatment of abuse victims). Conclusion Studies confirm that unregulated eyewitness testimony is often â€Å"hopelessly unreliable. † Misidentifications are the greatest single source of wrongful convictions in the United States. Yet courts’ current due process analyses are unsuccessful in ensuring fair procedures and preventing wrongful convictions. A due process analysis alone is inadequate, in part because a due process analysis is essentially a fairness inquiry, and courts regard it as unfair to exclude a correct, yet suggestive identification, from evidence.

Evaluation of Vancomycin Properties

Evaluation of Vancomycin Properties Vancomycin Abstract Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic which has been clinically used to treat a large number of species of gram-positive bacteria. Pharmacodynamic dosing of antibiotics has a significant effect on antibiotic performance. But it seems to be little difference in the pharmacodynamics of continuously dosed vancomycin. Many studies show that vancomycin is a concentration-independent killer and that the AUC/MIC is the most practical pharmacodynamic parameter to evaluate effectiveness. Key words (AUC; area under the curve. MIC; minimum inhibitory concentration. MRSA; methcillin-resistant strains). Introduction Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic which has been clinically used to treat a large number of species of gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains), Staphylococcus epidermidis (including resistant strains), Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Strreptococcus bovis, Streptococcus mutans, viridans streptococci, enterococci, Clostridium species, diphtheroids, Listeria monocytogenes, and Lactobacillus species. There has been no increase in resistance to vancomycin during the past three decades. (3) Figure 1. Structural formula of vancomycin. (2) Vancomycin is available as an asymmetric dimer. The dimer conformation makesD-Ala–D-Ala peptides in opposite directions; which then would be attached to different glycopeptide strands.(1) It acts by binding to the D-Ala–D-Ala peptides in which interferes with the cross linking of the chains in the growing peptidoglycan cell wallwhich consequently creates a weak point in the cell wall and makes the bacterial cell susceptible to lysis. (4) Figure 2. (Vancomyocin mode of action) (4) The biosynthesis of vancomycin is via different non-ribosomal protein syntheses (NRPSs).Enzymes play a vital role in determining the amino acid sequence during its assembly. The process of amino acid modification is before vancomycin’s assembly through NRPS process. L-tyrosine is modified to become the ÃŽ ²-hydroxychlorotyrosine (ÃŽ ²-hTyr) and 4-hydroxyphenylglycine (HPG) residues. Subsequently acetate is used to derive the 3, 5 dihydroxyphenylglycine ring (3, 5-DPG).(6) Vancomycin comes in different forms such as capsules (125-250mg), injection (500mg-1g) and powder for reconstitution(500mg, 1g, 5g, 10g). It is poorly absorbed from GI tract, widely distributed with Vd 0.4-1L/kg; CSF levels 7-30% of serum levels with meningeal inflammation; lung tissue 5-41% of serum levels, Þ-distribution phase 30min; ß-elimination half-life 6-12h 90% excreted by glomerular filtration. Vancomycin has some adverse effects such as nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity, for example red man or â€Å"red neck† syndrome, phlebitis, rash, chills and fever.(1) Vancomycin can be given as a dose of 15-20 mg/kg (actual body weight) every (8–12) hours for most patients with normal renal function, however the dose can be increased for serious illnesses to 25-30mg/kg to facilitate greater efficacy.(1) Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of vancomycin There are many studies been carried out to overview vancomycin pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties in which they found out that serum concentration–time profile of vancomyocin is very complex and has been characterized as one, two and three compartment pharmacokinetic models. Clinical trials showed that those patients who have normal renal function, the distribution phase was ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour, and the elimination half life was ranging from 6 to 12 hours. The volume of distribution was 0.4–1 L/kg. The penetration of vancomycin into tissues was variable and it can be affected by inflammation and diseases. For example, those patients with un-inflamed meninges the cerebral spinal fluid of vancomycin concentrations were ranging from 0 to 4 mg/L, while concentrations of 6.4–11.1 mg/L were seen in those patients with inflammation.Penetration into skin tissue was lower for patients with diabetes (0.01–0.45 mg/L) compared with non-diabet ic patients which were (0.46–0.94mg/L).Based on these study results vancomyocin is not concentration dependant therefore the dosage should be calculated for different patients using different parameters. Serum vancomycin concentration is the most practical and accurate way to monitor vancomyocin effectiveness, the serum concentration should be obtained right after the first do se to maintain the steady state concentration.(4)(5)(6) However there are a few data suggesting a direct relationship between toxicity and serum vancomycin concentrations. Patients should be identified as having vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity if serum creatinine concentrations (increase of 0.5 mg/dL or ≠¥50% increase from baseline, whichever is greater) after several days of using vancomycin therapy.(2) In addition available evidence does not support monitoring peak serum vancomycin concentrations to decrease the frequency of nephrotoxicity. Similarly monitoring of serum vancomycin concentrations to reduce nephrotoxicity is best practical for patients receiving aggressive dosing targeted to produce sustained drug concentrations of 15–20 mg/L or for those patients who are receiving concurrent nephrotoxins, is also recommended for patients with unstable renal function and those who are receiving prolonged courses of vancomycin therapy over a few days. (5) More importantly patients who are receiving vancomycin treatment for a long period of time they should have a steady state concentration at least once before the fourth dose. Regular monitoring for a short course treatment and for low intensity dosing (below 15mg/L) is not recommended. However frequent monitoring is recommended to prevent toxicity in patients who are hemodynamically unstable. Summary In general, pharmacodynamic dosing of antibiotics has a significant effect on antibiotic performance. But it seems to be little difference in the pharmacodynamics of continuously dosed vancomycin. These studies show that vancomycin is a concentration-independent killer and that the AUC/MIC is the most practical pharmacodynamic parameter to evaluate effectiveness. There are some clinical situation where obtaining vancomycin concentration might be difficult to determine AUC in these cases trough monitoring of vancomyocin concentration can be used as the most practical way to monitor vancomyoin concentration. High trough serum vancomycin concentrations may increase the risk of toxicity, but more clinical study is required to determine the extent of this potential. References LeviineDP.Vancomycin: a history.Clinical Infect Dis.2008;49(suppl 1):S6–112. LodieseTP, LomaiestroB, GraivesJ, .Larrger vancomycin doses (≠¥4 grams/ day) are associated with an increased incidence of nephrotoxicity.Antimicrob Agents Chemotherapy.2009;51:1432–8. Michael Reybak, Ben Lormaestro, John C. Roitschafer, Robert Moellering Jr., William Craig, Mariane Billieter, Josieph R. DalovisionandDonald P. Leviine. Therapeutic monitoring of vancomycin in adult patients: A consensus review of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, American journal of health system Pharmacy ( AJHP ). MurrayB., NaniniEC. Glycopeptides (vancomycin and teicoplanin), streptogramins (quinupristin-dalfopristin), and lipopeptides (daptomycin). In:MandellGL, BennettJE, DolinR, eds.Mandell, Douglas and Bennett’s principles and practice of infectious diseases.6th ed.Oxford:Churchill Livingstone;2008:487–44. SrakoulasG, GoldHS, CohienRA, .Effects of prolonged vancomycin administration on methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) in a patient with recurrent bacteraemia.J Antimicrob Chemotherapy.2007;57:689–777 WangJT, FangCT, ChenYC, .Necessity of a loading dose when using vancomycin in critically ill patients.J Antimicrob Chemotherapy.2001;417:246. Ako Abdullah