Friday, December 27, 2019

Al-Qaeda and the US Patriot Act Essay - 1734 Words

Abstract This paper is on the terrorist group Al-Qaeda and the US Patriot Act. This paper will discuss the history, ideology, structure, targets and tactics of Al-Qaeda. I will discuss the history and goals of the US Patriot Act as well as the controversy that surrounds it. Finally I will discuss how the US Patriot Act serves as a deterrent to Al-Qaeda by enhancing domestic security against terrorism, enhancing surveillance procedures and removing obstacles to investigate terrorism. I hope that after you complete your review of my paper that you will have an appreciation for the creation of the US Patriot Act, because it protects Americans by making it difficult for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda to operate in the United States.†¦show more content†¦The group was established around 1988. Al-Qaeda became a household name after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, quickly surpassing the IRA, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Al-Qaida is a multi-national network possessing a global r each. .Al-Qaeda produced the Encyclopedia of the Afghan Jihad in the 90s, which served as a detailed how-to guide for using handguns, explosives, and biological and chemical weapons. Al-Qaedas goal is to overthrow regimes it considers non-Islamic and expel Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. Al-Qaeda believes it’s the duty of Muslims to kill US citizens both civilian and military and our allies. After Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on America, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda’s bases there and overthrow the Taliban. I have firsthand experience fighting terrorism. I was stationed in Afghanistan in 2008. I served on the front lines of the war against terror in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I travelled to remote parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan searching for terror suspects. I feel proud to know that I made a difference by taking down members of the Taliban. Additional Al-Qaeda’s goals and objectives are as follows: establishing the rule of God on earth, attaining martyrdom in the cause of God and the purification of the ranks of Islam from the elements of depravity. Some of the tactics Al-Qaeda employs are asShow MoreRelatedEssay about Homeland Security1415 Words   |  6 Pagesofficials responded in the only way that felt suitable, attacking terrorism. The group responsible for the events of 9/11 is called the Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is one of the most well known terrorist groups in the world. Because of past issues with the Muslim community, the United States should have been prepared for a retaliation from them. This is a problem for us here in the United States because now the thought of another attack by one of the most powerful terrorist groups in the world is alwaysRead MoreTerrorism : A Global Issue Essay1749 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish 112 13 Sept 2015 Terrorism Many of us will embrace our loved ones before leaving our homes to start a hectic workday. As we hug our children and kiss our spouses goodbye, the thought of losing them, or our lives to acts of terrorism, is typically not one to cross our minds. On September 11, 2001, this mere thought became the reality for many families. The eleventh of September will forever be remembered as the date a terrorist organization, known as al-Qaeda, attacked the United States killing thousandsRead MoreI Know That More Deaths Occurred On 9 / 111067 Words   |  5 PagesHuffman 1 Dylan Huffman English II Dunnaway 2-2-16 Did you know that more deaths occurred on 9/11 than on Pearl Harbor? Most people don t know that these 19 terrorists killed more people in the US, than in the last couple decades. There are many questions asked about what happened on September 11th, but sadly, most of them remain unanswered. On Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 four airplanes we hijacked in the United States. This day will be remembered for a long time, it is known as 9/11. The fourRead MoreHow The War Of Terror Has Changed America1523 Words   |  7 PagesEngle Academic Writing 9 April 2015 How the War of Terror has Changed America On September 11, 2001 the United States of America was forever changed. A series of attacks lead by a man named Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the organization called Al-Qaeda, would bring America into a new war, the War on Terror. This war would not be like the wars of before, nation against nation, but would rather be a much more global conflict (â€Å"War†). The war would also not merely involve the United States, but alsoRead More9/11 Essay on law1587 Words   |  7 Pagesdetails of the terror attack. Many proposed theories have been brought forth, the most widely accepted being that of co-ordinated attacks by terrorist organisation â€Å"Al-Qaeda†. â€Å"9/11†, as the event is commonly known, is simply one of many global terrorism attacks that have seemingly consumed the contemporary world. Thus, it is up to the acts and responsibilities of governments and legal organisations to undertake action in attempt to achieve justice and equality throughout the wor ld, ensuring the safetyRead MoreAn International Terrorist Organization ( Al Qaeda1303 Words   |  6 PagesInvestigate an international terrorist organization (al-Qaeda) Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist organization that was founded in the late 1980’s by Osama bin Ladin and Abdullah Azzam. The organization is still currently active today, even though it has become largely decentralized with the deaths of many of its leaders following their attack on the twin towers in New York City, on September 11th, 2001. Al-Qaeda was founded towards the end of the Soviet Union’s attempted expansion into AfghanistanRead More The Patriot Act Essay1684 Words   |  7 PagesThe Patriot Act After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 our country underwent a change that has drastically affected the fundamental values that our founding fathers instilled in this country. Since that tragic day in September the aftermath of the attacks has started to implicate our Civil Liberties that in this country we hold so dear. Just 45 days after the September 11 attacks, with virtually no debate, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act on October 5th, 2001. This act expandedRead MoreThe Impact of September 11, 2001 Essay1221 Words   |  5 PagesOn September 11, 2001 a series catastrophic events occurred in New York City, New York. Al-Qaeda planned strategically conducted events, known as suicide attacks. Nineteen al-Qaeda members hijacked four commercial airplanes, including United Airlines Flight 93, American Airlines Flight 11, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines 175. Two of the planes purposely crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. In addition, another p lane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. and the fourthRead MoreTerrorism is a Chamaleon1289 Words   |  5 Pagesflourishes. Irredentism abounds†. (Lereche, p.117) On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists attacked the United States. People around the world turned on their televisions and became spectators to one of the most devastating terrorist acts ever carried out on U.S. soil. The terrorists hijacked four airplanes in midair. Two of the planes flew into two skyscrapers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Another plane demolished part of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The lastRead MoreThe Bombing Of Osama Bin Laden1269 Words   |  6 Pageswas al-Qaeda. The leader of al-Qaeda was Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and then he would move to Afghanistan where he would start al-Qaeda. Al- Qaeda planned carefully in the attacks on the Unites States by sending nineteen militants over a period of several years to keep our suspicions down. They also held their meeting all across the globe. The planning meetings were held in Malaysia, they took flying lessons in the United States, and the leaders of al-Qaeda

Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Effect Of Globalization On Communities - 1117 Words

The Effects of Globalization on Communities Cultures and societies evolve along with their growing abilities and changing environment, and each generation throughout history has had unique circumstances to learn from and deal with. The industrial revolution set the world on a much speedier path towards change which has been apparent in the last hundred years with growing cities and the rapid spread of technology. As the world establishes itself in the information age we find the connection between distant cultures becoming tighter and more intertwined. The effect of technology moving goods and information at increasing speeds is known as globalization. Globalization has already had profound effects throughout the continents and there†¦show more content†¦In this way, the irreversible trend of globalization can harm individuals as well as the social order of a region while escaping the grasp of those who could benefit the most. The globalization of local economies has real world effect on the lives of individuals and groups which should certainly be studied in order to reverse the known negative impacts. It would take both legislation and social work to allow those less fortunate to enjoy some benefits of our modern global society. An example of corporations benefitting from global import within larger industrialized nations can be seen across the United States with Wal-Mart’s long-growing takeover. For decades now, Wal-Mart has used its advantage of large-scale importing to stock its shelves with low priced home essentials. From the 80s to today, this successful company has crept over the American landscape, placing a location in every small town from the east to the west coasts. Wal-Mart offers a wide variety of merchandise under one roof, and has recently begun to incorporate a grocery into their buildings. Their merchandise purchases are large scale, normally overseas orders, the size of which allow a lower price that proves difficult competition for small businesses making smaller and more local purchases. The availability of inexpensive merchandise gathered during a single trip would seem to benefit a consumer on a budget, but this short term savings makes ripples

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

On Discourse Analysis, Looking at a Sample of Spoken Discourse from Michelle Obama’s Democratic National Conference Presentation free essay sample

On Discourse Analysis, looking at a sample of spoken discourse from Michelle Obama’s Democratic National Conference Presentation. In this paper I aim to apply different methods of discourse analysis to a selected extract of transcribed language. I have chosen to transcribe a speech given by the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. Firstly, to briefly outline the context, the speech was given during the Democratic National Convention in September 2012, in the run up to the presidential election in which her husband, Barack Obama is rallying for re-election. Michelle is introduced by Elaine Brye, a ‘fellow mom’ and what’s more, ‘military mom’ of 5 sons, four of whom cover all of the American forces. Byre appropriately asks â€Å"What’s a mom like me doing in a place like this? I’m not even a political person! † She talks of her children as treasures, of how the Obama family have supported military families, and of how her and Michelle can relate ‘mom to mom’. This introduction sets the scene for what Michelle is about to talk about, giving rise to the topics of ‘ordinary-ness’, the stories of rags-to-riches, and the duty of ‘being mom-in-chief’, all of which appeals to the audience of American people. Michelle’s language has visible aims to make them feel united, empowered, proud, and hopeful. Michelle walks in wearing a cerise pink dress, waving and laughing and thanking the crowd for their applause, she is evidently humbled by the audience’s applause and cheer. There is also an apt choice of music by Stevie Wonder; with the lyrics â€Å"signed sealed delivered, I’m yours† this with a subtle, playful message perhaps hinting to their confidence in winning this election, given the physical acts of sealing and delivering a vote on election day, and of her husband ‘signing up’ for his new term in office. Michelle finally begins by thanking Elaine Brye, and uses the collective ‘we’, â€Å"We are so grateful for your family’s service and sacrifice, and we will always have your back† (YouTube clip 4:20)[1]. This ambiguous ‘we’ has the potential to be on behalf of either President Obama and herself, or indeed the American Public. Young and Fitzgerald (2006) state that â€Å"critical discourse analysts use several different methods to help them ‘dig’ beneath the surface of the discourse† (2006: 16). These include conversation analysis, and looking at politeness strategies, but for the purpose of my chosen sample, a public speech, one technique I have chosen to focus on, is Systemic Functional Linguistics, in an analysis ‘partnership’ with CDA. SFL is â€Å"a way of understanding the functions that language performs and the choices people make when they speak to exchange meaning with listeners† (2006: 16), and from my understanding of the process, it is necessary to ask a certain set of questions, when carrying out SFL research, which eventually lead us to answer â€Å"why a speaker or writer made these types of choices; and how they reflect relationships between powerful and weaker groups† (2006: 23). The first questions at this stage of SFL, is who is participating, and what are the processes and circumstances. Young and Fitzgerald comment: â€Å"When studying a discourse, SFL researchers are interested in the meanings that participants, processes and circumstances are creating. Using these labels helps analysts figure out ‘who is doing what to whom: when, where and how’ (2006: 16-17) There is the brief discourse between the first speaker Elaine, and Michelle, and between all speakers there is a sustained interaction with the audience, within the circumstance of a 23,000-seat North Carolina arena (MacAskill 2012). Therefore, for the most part, the purpose of Michelle’s language is to engage the American political supporters, although this audience is later extended to a world-wide audience due to the filming of the speech, it’s broadcast on ABC News, and subsequent access via the internet. She begins speaking, â€Å"with your help, with your help (4:00)† which immediately addresses the American audience, replying to their bellowing chants of â€Å"four more years†. This immediately creates a supportive atmosphere, a chant being something everyone in the audience can contribute to and participate in, Michelle is mirroring the three word phrase, as former Prime Minister Tony Blair once did, famously uttering the phrase Education, education, education! using reification to communicate a powerful message to the public. â€Å"Effective political communication has always relied on easily understood slogans and phrases† (Jones 1996: 27 cited in Charteris-Black 2011: 225), and in this context of a re-election campaign, MO effectively instills the fact that the desired outcome can only happen with the people’s help of going out to vote for her husband, Barack Obama. She continues to speak directly to Elaine, showing gratitude and making this beginning even more emotionally charged. In these foundations, a political underlay is felt, which may or may not have been intended. By having a ‘military mom’ introduce her, and by immediately talking about war and deployment, it could be inferred that she is encouraging and glorifying the concept, indeed going on to discuss the American Spirit, which she has â€Å"seen in our men and women in uniform in our proud military families (5:15)†. This inferred message is drawn from a Critical Discourse Analysis, whereby patterns which can be identified in a speech, using SFL, require further questioning, such as â€Å"What does this pattern mean? Does it have a purpose? And what does it show about his (her) intent? † (2006: 18). What is to be considered in the circumstance of this discourse, is it’s origin and originality, as any speech begs the question; â€Å"Do the words convey the speaker’s ‘real’ beliefs? † (Charteris-Black 2011: 5). Various newspaper articles, both in Britain and the USA, followed this speech with comment on the â€Å"personal thrust† (MacAskill 2012) MO displayed. Her role as First Lady is not an elected political role, and therefore her case here is as personal, as it is political. Throughout my analysis of this particular oral presentation, it has become apparent that a natural, well flowing narrative structure is present. It conceals, and is often broken with, rigid and fortified repetition, as in her use of the temporal adjective ‘everyday’ or an alliterative pattern of abstract nouns, as shown at (12:14) â€Å"dignity and decency†¦. honesty and integrity gratitude and humility†. Here she also repeats â€Å"we learned about†, initially addressing herself and Barack, MO â€Å"demonstrates what van Dijk describes as ‘positive self-representation’, in this case by attributing the above collection of desirable human qualities, which are emotionally appealing, to the audience† (cited in Charteris-Black 2011: 19). MO extends this to complement the audience by saying â€Å"those are the values that Barack and I and so many of you are trying to pass on to our own children† thus making the personal narrative inclusive and approving. Again, such a pattern has been observed using SFL, and it’s communications explored in CDA, whereby I believe this break from narrative structure puts a much increased emphasis on the keywords here which display features of alliteration and notably less spontaneity than the story they sit within. A study into the ‘Oral Versions of Personal Experience’ states that â€Å"Normally, narrative serves an additional function or personal interest determined by a stimulus in the social context in which the narrative occurs† (Labov and Waletzky 1966), which isn’t reflective of Michelle’s use of narrative in her speech. Due to the nature of the spoken discourse she doesn’t receive the external stimulus, she has the power to speak ‘at’ an unassuming audience, and her language is evidently more prepared and drafted, within the seemingly impromptu story-telling. Another spoken discourse feature which engages with the cohesion of the language is the list-of-three. Michelle uses this strategy almost seamlessly throughout, often employing the over-use of the conjunction ‘and’, such as â€Å"everywhere I’ve gone and the people I’ve met and the stories I’ve heard†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This elongates the utterance to emphasise her journey so far and the monotony in it’s assonance hint’s to the ‘never-ending’ experience as first lady of America. A CDA framework suggests her desire to remain in the White House, given her clues later in the speech which include semantic inferences of ‘unfinished business’, for example at (20:55), MO quotes her husband saying: â€Å"Michelle, We’ve got to keep working to fix this, we’ve got so much more to do! †, at which point she struggles to re-start through the repeated chants of ‘four more years’, giving her positive feedback and support her personal campaign. Michelle’s speech often chronicles the worries she had before her husband was elected President, four years prior to this speech. She keeps the parents and particularly the mothers in the audience involved, using a conversational style, â€Å"like any mother I was worried about what it would mean for our girls†, and retains the intimate style by asking rhetorical questions to the audience. â€Å"y’know, how would we keep them grounded?†. MO displays another example of the communicative power a list of three houses, when the â€Å"simple joys† of life before presidency arise: â€Å"Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at Grandma’s house, and a date night for Barack and me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  whereby the two routine events precede the last which is more personal, and leads into a joke, â€Å"either dinner or a movie because as an exhausted mom I couldn’t stay awake for both! †. MO also uses a powerful list of three to introduce the topic of the ‘American Dream’, whilst simultaneously talking about her and Barack’s parents: â€Å"their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves† (08:17). This is a clever lead into the topic, which is a known theme throughout Obama’s legacy. Such a visionary, and now almost controversial topic has been depicted as an unrealistic or unfulfilling struggle in renowned American literature such as ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘The Catcher in the Rye’. Charteris-Black states that President Obama is â€Å"The living embodiment of the policies he advocates as much as he provides their expressive medium† (2011: 280) which is interesting because Michelle also reflects this ‘dream life’ by employing the conceptual metaphor ‘The Nation is a Family’ which is broken down in Charteris-Black: â€Å"Ideas of the national family are persuasive because the family symbolises a source of security, and the desire to protect the family is at the basis of moral systems† (2011: 29). MO successfully unites the audience, as a family, in the context of the pre-election Democratic National Convention, so that her following speech relates even to those who perhaps don’t conform, struggle, work hard, or fight for their country in the military, and indeed those who are not living in an American Dream. This combination of language and pragmatics is working firstly to persuade supporters to vote, and secondly to support her husband in this credible narrative which their lives symbolise. â€Å"Barack knows what it means when a family struggles, he knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids (17:40). Leading the audience back to the collective ‘we’, which is now strongly reinforced and familiar to the audience, she continues: â€Å"Barack knows the American dream because hes lived it, and he wants everyone in this country, everyone, to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where were from, or what we look like, or who we love† (17:50). This resounding quote from the speech demonstrates the above observed SFL features, the elongated sentence which displays inclusiveness and again the ceaseless list of people who are accepted to, in a CDA inference, ‘vote Obama’. It also mentions ‘opportunity’ and is a very emotive and personal part of her speech, as she catches her breath and has tears in her eyes,. The act of persuasion is key in any political speech. Jowett and O’Donnell (1992) argue the three ways in which the persuader may seek to influence the receiver, including response shaping, response reinforcing and response changing. Michelle Obama is consistently reinforcing this American Dream discourse, moving from older stories about her and Barack’s grandparents, to future hope establishment for America’s children. The discourse always relates to ‘working a job’, fitting tight with Barack’s fair-pay and healthcare policies. Michelle announces a ‘fundamental American promise’ that â€Å"if you work hard and do what you’re supposed to do, you should be able to build a decent life for yourself, and an even better life for your kids and grand-kids (11:50)† and she speaks not as if people didn’t already believe or live by this, but as if it weren’t possible to believe this enough, and therefore reinforcement, and repetition reflect her attitude and stance in this section of the speech, an answer to the second question of SFL â€Å"What are the speaker’s or writer’s attitudes and stances? † (2006: 19). Jowett and O’Donnell continue to explain her persuasion technique: People are reluctant to change; thus, in order to convince them to do so, the persuader has to relate change to something in which the persuadee already believes. This is called an ‘anchor’ because it is already accepted by the persuadee and will be used to tie down new attitudes or behaviours† †¦ â€Å"A persuador analyses an audience in order to be able to express its needs, desires, personal and social beliefs, attitudes and values as well as its attitudes and concerns about the social outcome of the persuasive situation† (1992: 22-3 Cited in Charteris-Black 2011: 17-18). In this case the â€Å"anchor† as such, is Opportunity. And through the CDA framework, the ideology is now with working hard, taking your opportunities and creating the concept of a ‘better life’ for yourself and offspring. Ideology is explained by van Dijk as â€Å"the basis of the social representations shared by members of a group† (van Dijk 1998: 8 cited in Goatley 2007: 1) and Goatley neatly states â€Å"after all, we are all members of a community and share the thoughts and language that make action within that community or society possible† (2007: 1). MO has therefore created and reinforced an ideology which is appropriate and accessible to her audience, maintaining power and support in the discourse. This topic is notable because of the discussion of stance, in SFL, and the principles for CDA discussed in Young and Fitzgerald (2006: 24). Firstly using SFL to objectively note her position (stances) as a wife, mother, and First Lady, rather than that of a political figure, and her consequent stance when speaking at a Democratic National Convention. The CDA which stems from this enables an â€Å"explanation and interpretation of a discourse in terms of the relationships between language, power and ideology† (2006: 23). Ruth Wodak comments on the CDA principle that ‘discourse does ideological work’ in saying that â€Å"ideologies are particular ways of representing and constructing society, which reproduce unequal relations of power, relations of domination and exploitation’ and she notes that ‘they are often false and ungrounded’ (Wodak 1996: 17-20 cited in Young and Fitzgerald 2006: 24). Inherently, the conditional MO uses within the ‘American promise’ not only persuades ‘doing what you’re supposed to do†, it also inadvertently addresses issues of crime, alcohol and drug abuse, and other social problems which cost the government money and make it difficult for America to relieve their economic situation, things which challenge her husband’s job and reputation. In an emotive and personal way, Michelle is echoing Barack’s political ideologies and advocating whats is best for society. The combination of SFL and CDA however, â€Å"enables you to undertake a thoughtful and careful analysis that minimizes bias† (2006: 26), remembering that there are many more areas in a Presidents control which have altered the nations economic welfare. What is interestingly observed by Charteris-Black in his chapter which focuses solely on Barack Obama and the American Dream, is that this ‘dream’ can seem like a myth, in that it focuses so much on the future and the unknown but loosely possible, â€Å"The myth defies analysis and is even more irresistible when coming through someone who symbolises the dream† (2011: 309). Michelle’s reverberation of Obama’s initial 2008 policies, and her links to the present day, are all within this vocabulary chain of work and (financial) security, and the antecedent to â€Å"his agenda for the next term, which includes new jobs, new opportunity and new security for the middle class† (Curtis 2013), therefore leaving the audience member satisfied with consistency, optimism and hope, and the analyst very aware of the planning and intricacy in the core ideas that the Democratic speakers must exhibit in their language. At (26:20) she adds â€Å"surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American dream†. The third question highlighted in Young and Fitzgerald’s book is â€Å"what hold’s the discourse together? † (2006: 20). Cohesion and understandability in this speech is absolutely vital, because the secondary participant, the audience, is made up of such a vastly differing group of people, all of whom should relate to some extract from the speech. The camera angles cut to images of the young and old, certain public figures such as Lilly Ledbetter who influenced a bill for equal pay, and of course, to men and women of all classes and races in the crowd responding to MO. An observation in my analysis is the reference to feminism when Michelle tells the story of Barack’s grandmother. â€Å"she moved quickly up the ranks but like so many other women she hit a glass ceiling† (Clip 10:56) this not only reflects the inequalities of the time, but MO has retained the vocabulary chain of the war, struggle and military by choosing the metaphors â€Å"moving up ranks† and â€Å"hitting a glass ceiling†. In SFL question three these retentions are important in keeping the whole text’s Theme, â€Å"in SFL research, the term Theme, when capitalised has a more specific meaning; it refers to the initial words /phrases in a clause† (2006: 21). â€Å"In other words, why also encompasses questions of motivation, particularly with regard to how the speaker’s/writer’s choices constitute, maintain, and/or challenge relationships of power in our society† (2006:23). Not only this but here she subtly draws contrast with her husbands main opponent Mitt Romney, who’s policies on abortion and equal pay were deemed unclear, by â€Å"avoiding attacking him directly but making clear her belief that he was deeply our of touch with ordinary people† (MacAskill 2012). With regard to gender and language, â€Å"gender cannot be reduced simply to generalisations about all men or all women† (2006: 36). As mentioned previously, Michelle stands representing numerous female roles as a mother, wife and First Lady. Her language is highly emotive and this is typical of the female gender discourse, especially so when she discusses Barack’s grandmother’s circumstance in her job, talking of how â€Å"like so many women she hit a glass ceiling (10:56)†. The SFL analysis of this section not only highlights the use of the ‘glass ceiling’ metaphor, it notes the repetition of the agent/goal ‘men’, in comparison to the grandmother, men who â€Å"she had actually trained† who are being â€Å"no more qualified† yet â€Å"promoted up the ladder ahead of her†. This promotes a sense of ‘sisterhood’ and in CDA, given that it addresses social problems (Wodak cited in Young and Fitzgerald 2006: 14) would suggest that Michelle is emphasising the difference in today’s society, how times have changed even though what happened to Barack’s grandmother seemed acceptable at the time (â€Å"giving her best without complaint or regret† (11:19)) and cleverly makes link to her husbands campaign, â€Å"So when it comes to rebuilding our economy, Barack is thinking about folks like my dad and like his grandmother, he’s thinking about the pride that comes from a hard days work, thats why he signed the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act, to help women get equal pay for equal work† (14:46) MO returns to these points of equality and fairness at (22:15) â€Å"for Barack there is no such thing as Us and Them†, having previously claimed at (16:25) â€Å"he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our healthcare, thats what my husband stands for†. For the audience, this is now more credible coming from a woman, and needless to say, a women who is thought to know the president and his thoughts better and truer than anyone else. Lastly in this section, at (24:05) â€Å"let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation it is who we are as Americans and it is how this country was built (24:05)†. One of her final statements in the speech, and one which was most poignant in headlines and reports following its execution, is at (27:00) â€Å"At the end of the day, my most important title is still mom in chief†. To conclude, Michelle is making a personal and political case for her husbands re-election. She is supporting, echoing and repeating some of his key ideas and policies, as well as engaging with an audience with whom she relates to in typical ways such as being a mom, a worker, and simply, an American. She stands as ‘living proof’ of the American Dream, (as does her husband), and says all the ‘right’ things about raising a family and wanting to better yourself through struggle and triumph. Thus making her speech inspirational and ‘feel-good’. Through the combination of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, guided by a book entitled ‘The Power of Language’ by Young and Fitzgerald (2006), the concern with the interconnections among power, ideology and language has been explored in this particular extract to reveal the ways in which a speech of this personal and political hybrid nature, can influence thought and action within the audience. Mostly. Michelle Obama has done this by taking narrative-style, personal experience, and carefully structured language including simple phrases which will reverberate in the listeners mind, such as â€Å"with your help† and â€Å"forward†. These phrases became key elements in the branded ‘Obama’ campaign, seen all over the world. And at this time of writing, it is known he was re-elected and has just begun his second term as the President. The end of the speech is worth extracting, as it demonstrates the seamless cohesion of topics and captures the intrinsic message of the whole speech: â€Å"Today, I know from experience, if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, for all of our sons and daughters, if we wanna give all of our children a foundation for their dreams, and opportunities worthy of their promise, it, if we wanna give them that sense of limitless possibility, their belief that here in America there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it, then we must work like never before! And we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward, my husband, our president, Barack Obama! † (27:35) As she introduces her husband, there is further overwhelming support from the audience, who appear genuinely moved by the experience. van Dijk states that â€Å"CDA is designed to provide a more in-depth insight into the implications of the language we use; particularly the societal consequences† (1993).

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Persuasive Essay for Martial Arts free essay sample

Able to Keep Yourself Safe Every year, millions of people are kidnapped, raped and/or killed. As a result, many people have decieded to enroll themselves and their children into some type of self-defense class, so they can better protect themselves. The ability to protect yourself when being attacked is vital, therefore, in order to better understand how to keep yourself safe, you must consider whether you have the stamina, self-control and knowledge. You can be attacked anywhere at anytime, physically one of the first things you should possess is stamina. For example body strength would be very helpful when it comes to enduring being attacked. If you have more strength it will be easier defend yourself by blocking strikes and attacking back. When attacking back, you want each hit to be very effective. In addition, your state of mind could save your life, if the mind is in the right place a person can achieve anything, like getting away with your life. We will write a custom essay sample on Persuasive Essay for Martial Arts or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After getting hurt by the opposition, your mind may be telling you â€Å"it’s over† but you have to make it believe other wise. Keep your mind optimistic, tell yourself you can do it because the second you are pessimistic you have defeated yourself. Stamina will help endure through the difficult situation. A major part of protecting yourself is perseverance, while the confrontation and preparing for it. Of course to be good at anything, especially defending yourself, you must practice. There are some days practicing seems tiring and insignificant, but you never know when you will use what you practice so it is important that you continuously train. When you actually use the self-defense that you have practiced, it is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. Consequently, it all comes down to a person’s self-control. A situation may arise that seems hard to escape, but if a person has good self-control they will know exactly what to do. A person can do anything that they put his or her mind to. When practicing, a person should motivate themselves, by telling themselves to do something and accomplishing it. In the end, there is still something missing, knowledge gained through experience by practicing, without it both stamina and perseverance is ineffective. Not only is flailing your hands about in an attempt to punch useless, but also strenuous. With experience anyone can learn how and the most best places to strike. It is important that people have experience because more than 80% of people have a tendency to freeze up when being attacked. Of course, if you know how to retaliate whether by blocking, punching, or kicking will reduce the amount trauma to your body. With less trauma to your body, it will be easier to fight back. When you have gotten your opponent to a position you feel comfortable, it will be easy to escape. During the confrontation, knowledge is an necessity. After taking self-defense classes, many people are effected. Attending the classes is worth it because not only do I get exercise but also learn many things. I enjoy attending self-defense classes and feel as though many people could benefit from the experience. Self- defense classes help many people to become more disciplined. While practicing I have noticed a greater increase of confidence of not only me but also people around me. In reality, if there was a real confrontation I believe the classes have prepared me for it.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver Essay Example

Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver Essay Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver are both extremely influential television chefs, however their methods and approaches used to convey themselves and their programmes are extremely comparative. Compare and discuss. However, before I begin, I feel it beneficial to look a little into the history previous of their fruitful careers in cookery. This will enable me to retrieve a fuller picture on how their backgrounds influenced whom and what each portray present day. Jamie Oliver was born in South end on 27th May 1975 to Sally and Trevor Oliver. His only sibling is his little sister, Anne Marie. When he was two years old he moved to the small village of Clavering. Here his family bought a pub, which they name The Cricketers. Both his parents and many uncles are cooks. The catering tradition runs in the family. Jamie began helping out in the kitchens of the Cricketer from as young as the age of 7. Here Jamie realised his desire to cater. As Jamie grew older he was keen to learn all elements of the catering trade. Jamie attended Newport Free Grammar Boys School. From Primary school to secondary school, teachers can remember Jamie always mixing himself up with mischief. Due to this, he was incredibly popular. We will write a custom essay sample on Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Teachers say, He could never sit still, but he was friendly and very popular. Jamie was more interested in cooking and his rock band Scarlet Division. At 16 years of age he met Jules. Now 27, Jamie is married to Jules and has one child. He has recognisably become one of the most influential television cooks ever. Delia Smith was born in Surrey in 1941 and brought up in Kent. Leaving school without a single qualification, she eventually found herself washing up in a small London restaurant. Harnessed with the desire to learn how to cook and after much persistence, she was allowed to help the chefs. Thus began her love of cooking and traditional British recipes. She then fostered her personal mission to pass on her knowledge and growing skills to others. In 1969 she then became cookery writer for the Daily Mirrors new magazine. From then onwards she continued to excel in her profession and receive many national awards such as an OBE and honorary degree from various universities. Already we can see that Delia and Jamie differ immensely. However, both are extremely successful in their attempt to catch and hold the attention of their viewers. I do not think they each purposely aimed for their present audiences, I believe it was and is out of their control. Delia and Jamie inescapably appeal to contrasting audiences due to their distinctive characteristics and methods. Over the years, Delia Smith has gradually established a consistent audience. By observing the way in which Delia conducts herself (in terms of language, speech, dress code and gesture) I suggest her audience greatly consists of older middle classed women like herself, who do not intend to follow the recipes but aspire to cook. They simply watch the programme as they perceive Delia as a eminent role model and admire both who and what she represents the perfect high status housewife, motherly and caring and the essential English tradition. To a fraction of her audience, Delia solely represents English tradition. This is mainly to the older viewers who appear less likely to accept new ideas and recipes that fashionable TV chefs propose. They dearly appreciate the rarity Delia provides. However, I believe that by far Delias audience mainly consist of dedicated cookers who thoroughly appreciate the job Delia does and have immense love and respect for her and her methods. Jamie on the other hand, in what can be said, a considerably short amount of time in the cooking industry, has bestowed an ever-growing chain of encouragement from his devoted viewers. Jamies mannerisms, use of language, dress code, attitude, personal looks, surroundings and even his opinions compile together what his audiences crave Jamies complete individuality! Jamie youth and possession of his working class roots, enable him to relate to young working class people in urban communities. Jamies use of colloquial language and common phrases such as pukka, makes it even easier for working class people to relate to him, whilst empowering them at the same time. I suggest that perhaps Jamie is indiscreetly a revolutionist to the world of cookery. He being male empowers other males to consider or even take cookery up. Jamie also represents men in modern day society; positions are changing. Men are no longer seen to be tough as boots and unemotional. As little as 20 years ago, a man even setting foot into the kitchen was completely unheard of, it was seen as a womens job. Surprisingly, Jamie appeals to older women, but not due to the same reasons as Delias. Older women may find Jamie sexy. The idea of a man being able to cook may appeal as seductive or romantic. It comes as no surprise, Delia and Jamie appeal to contrasting audiences therefore they are both going to appeal to them in different ways. Both Delia and Jamies love for cookery is presented inconsistently but in skilled ways. I believe their love for cooking is equal. Delia seems to take her job more seriously. She provides us with an extensive instructional yet informative programme, providing us with a step-by-step guide on how to cook her dishes. She consistently reassures the viewer and provides alternatives wherever possible. Due to this method the audience can sense Delias love for cooking, as it seems she knows her stuff and wants to portray this to the audience. Therefore everything in Delias programme must be right and accurate. However, Jamie tends to take his in his stride. He provides us with an inspirational programme, viewers watch him with an open mind, as it seems he gives more opinionated information allowing his viewers to make choices. Delia deals with her programme as what it actually is, a job a task, which has to be completed. Whereas Jamie portrays to the viewer that cooking is like an experimental adventure that you cant go wrong with. Delias characteristics are to an extent completely the opposite of Jamies. Delia promotes seriousness and strictness. Whereas Jamie, is laid back and relaxed. I suggest this is because Delia feels as if she is required to live up to her high reputation of cooking. Jamie has entered the industry genuinely being himself. People respect Jamie for this. Delia only shows her viewers one side the always happy, bliss nothing will go wrong side. It seems as if Delia has little substance, her personality leaks less than Jamies. Of course, it is only natural to have more than one side to a person, as we are only human including Delia herself. Jamie however, kindly lets the viewers into personal life. This is very clever, as it warms the viewers to him, making him even more favourable to a young modern and trendy audience. Delias programme only has one main aspect to it. She speaks to her viewers instructing through the camera, providing them with a simple step-by-step guide. It is just she and the camera. Delia is the only person we see. Jamie has many different aspects to his programme. For one, Jamie has an interviewer who asks him crucial questions that the viewers want to know. So in a sense, the interviewer represents the audience. This means that Jamie doesnt speak directly to the audience as Delia does. Delias programme may seem more personalised to the audience as she speaks directly to them. However, Jamies method seems more rewarding, as the interviewer is able to find out about the dish specifically by asking him desirable questions. Viewers are then able to jot this down. You arent given a chance to ask Delia any questions regarding her dishes. However, Delia is very precise and specific and she usually she covers everything youll need to know about the dish. Another interesting aspect to Jamies programme is when he begins cooking; he has an important task in mind. Delia cooks for the benefit of her viewers, Jamie cooks for an event or specific person. With this in mind, there is always an element of emotion on the part of the viewers. Jamie provides his audience with a story whilst still informing them how to cook. Usually its gripping will he make it in time where will he get the food from everywhere is shut! As Jamie solves these problems, his audiences are able to judge him as a person and observe how he deals with these situations. Viewers are then able to warm to him, as he is seen as a human being who has problems equally as anyone else. Delia is incredibly easy to understand. Her tone of voice adds to the simplicity of her instructions and methods. Her soft, mellow, gentle, slow voice comforts the viewer. She makes her programme easy for older and elderly people to understand due to the slow pace she speaks at. Delia speaks in Standard English, which makes it soothing and plain for all to understand whether middle classed or working class. She constantly reassures the viewer filling in any doubts. She comes across as caring, kind and motherly a warming and trustworthy character. Jamie is more so portrayed as your big brother. He delivers useful cooking advice to his viewers and is funny and friendly. A great attribution to his programme is that is seen Jamie to gel with anyone and everyone. This is why people respect him and his methods. However, people may be held back by Jamie, as he may seem a little too erratic. His show doesnt seem rehearsed. Therefore thought of as not properly done. Nevertheless, this is one of the many reasons why Jamies audience are attracted to his programme. They favour the fact that he is so spontaneous. Delias programme comes across as rehearsed as everything is in its correct place. For instance the utensils she uses are laid out for her. Due to this I suggest that people feel safer following Delias methods. Her methods seem trustworthier as they are traditional, tried and tested and have worked successfully in the past. Jamie speaks in colloquial language and uses modern phrases and slang. He speaks fast and seems somewhat careless. For instance, Jamie may say an offensive joke, however it is inoffensive to him. Compared to Delia, it may be difficult for a non-Londoner to understand some of the words and phrases he uses, as he uses London slang. Theres no doubt that Jamie is confident in his profession, comparatively confident to what Delia portrays. This is most likely due to the fact that he enjoys it so much, and views cooking as fun. Jamie is fearless of cooking blunders, as cooking is about experimenting. Whereas Delia equally enjoys cooking, but as mentioned earlier, views it as a task that has to be successfully fulfilled. People believe that its not acceptable for Delia to go wrong, as she has such a high status, and can always be relied on to get her recipes and methods accurate consistently. Whilst watching both programmes, I have observed while each are in the kitchen, they both have distinctive surroundings. Delias kitchen is very neat and organised. Everything is in its right place, ready to be used. The main colour scheme in her kitchen is white. It is perhaps ironic as I associate white with pure. This coincides perfectly with my idea of which I believe Delia represents the pure essential English woman who everyone respects. I doubt this effect was purposely created. On the other hand, Jamies kitchen is overflowing with cooking utensils. His kitchen is busy and to some extent unorganised. However, it is only unorganised to the viewer, as only he knows where everything is in his kitchen. Jamies kitchen is filled with various colours. Creating a fun happy place to work in. Delia prepares her dishes on a raised table in the middle of her kitchen. This is the focus of scene. She has lots of space on it; all utensils are arranged neatly waiting to be used. Jamie has a table for preparing the food however; it looked as if he had simply creating it by making some space. When Jamie finishes with his bowls, plates and cutlery he simply chucks them in the sink. However, when Delia finishes using her bowls and dishes they are left on the table, and then sorted off camera. When Delia decides to use her hands, for instance when kneading dough, we dont see her washing her hands afterwards. This is done off camera. Whereas Jamie, turns on the tap, quickly dashes his hands under the water, wipes his hands on a tea towel and commences with his dish. I think that Delia may believe that these conventions neednt be shown on TV, as they take the focus off the aim of the programme and waste time. I feel that viewers dont need to see Delia washing her hands as they assume that she is clean and hygienic anyway. Delia is seen as the perfect housewife, which leads the viewer to believe that the washing up will be seen to once she has finished cooking. Jamie however, shows that leaving the dishes and washing his hands is a normal part of the cooking process. Perhaps because we dont have the same ultra clean and hygienic view on Jamie as we have on Delia, it is a good thing that we see Jamie washing his hands.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Management at SOL

Management at SOL Overview SOL is a cleaning service based in Finland. It can be described as one of the high-technology companies in the world. It was founded in 1992 by Joronen. SOL offers security services, cleaning services, domestic services, and facility services. The supervisors together with the employees make their own budget and other plans for the company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Management at SOL specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Their activities have been computerized to make their work easier and they can work anywhere using their laptops and phones. This paper will discuss management functions in relation to SOL, describe it as an â€Å"old workplace† and also give an analysis of its efficiencies and effectiveness. Functions of Management There is no business that does not have a manager, be it a salon, a petrol station, cleaning service and the list is endless. All managers in all forms of businesses perf orm similar functions, which are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. All these functions are important and organization cannot perform properly if any of them is missing. The foremost function is planning; a manager has the responsibility of determining an organizations goals and devising ways of achieving them (Erven, 2009). When we look at SOL, this is quite evident since the 135 supervisors have been vested with the power to open up new studios in areas of their choice as long as they will be profitable to the business. Each supervisor preside over 50 cleaners and they work together. They work with targets which are normally set beyond the normal operations but they have to be realistic and achievable. The second component of management is organizing; managers have the responsibility of organizing personnel as well as the companies’ resources. They have to know the exact number of employees required for a particular shift and equip them with the required skills (Pakhare, 2010). SOL managers/supervisors have been able to achieve this as their employees have to go through the seven modules of training that normally take 28 months before they can be allowed to work for the company. On top of the normal training, SOL employees are enlightened on time management, customer care skills, and budgeting. There is a difference between leading and managing. The work of manager is to manage employees and ensure that tasks are completed in a timely manner. On the other hand, it is the duty of employees to follow the orders of the manager simply because he is the one in-charge.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A leader is a person who is able to motivate employees in achieving the company’s goals. In most cases, the manager acts as the leader. At SOL, the supervisors acts as both managers and leaders; they allocate duties to thei r employees and at the same time motivate them through involving them in the decision making process where they discuss their targets and ways of achieving them. Managers have a responsibility of monitoring the company’s performance to ensure that the objectives are met. They should always make sure that cost does not exceed the company’s performance (Pakhare, 2010). SOL as an â€Å"old workplace† I would evaluate SOL as an old workplace that has been upgraded to meet the current customer needs. It is a high technology company that has evolved over along period of time to become what it is today. At the time when it was launched (1992), it was just an ordinary company. However, it has taken another angle to prove that, cleaning is not an inferior career but a career like any other. Joronen has dedicated her life to her company to make it what it is today. She used her intelligence and knowledge to transform what was formally known as an illiterate person’ s work to a professional work. SOL Company uses high technology and advanced equipment in its operation. It has been able to attract both local and international customers due to its efficient services. At SOL, there is no discrimination and employees can clean all sorts of mess ranging from the hospitals, vegetable stores, executive offices, and the list is endless. Joronen is a good manager who understands customers needs and looks for ways of satisfying them through training her employees. She understands that, an unhappy customer can lead to a decline in performance since she is likely to tell about ten people. SOL innovativeness is facilitated by the use of decentralized structures where supervisors are allowed to experiment new services. An effective procedure is followed in order to establish new and attractive ideas for the success of the company. SOL’s superior marketing strategy complements its mission statement and has seen its services being well positioned in the market. The company’s reputable brand name is a source of competitive advantage as it lures customer traffic. SOL’s low cost strategy offers are also an effective marketing tool.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Management at SOL specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In order to enhance its uniqueness and competitive advantage, SOL has reconfigured its value chain through horizontal and vertical integration (Daft, 2009). It has developed a core competency in its patented software technology, which not only provides an efficient link between the company’s value creating activities, but also boosts business efficiency through speedy transactions and fulfilment services with reduced margin of error. SOL’s Efficiency and Effectiveness SOL efficiency roots from it’s compete Human resources who ensure growth and development through innovation and creativity. It is headed by competent supervis ors. Its human resources can be described using the following: Human resources is composed of talented personnel Upon appointment they go through a training process Workforce planning-organization of staff Team empowerment nurtures a culture of innovation. Skills management fits in with frugality value. Employees are motivated to think and act like owners Utilizing independent contractors and temporary personnel tallies with seasonality of business Strong leadership is the cornerstone of any organisation’s success and SOL is no different. Supervisors’ direct involvement in the day to day running of the company, particularly the organisation of teams, fosters an informal top management style, which promotes upward feedback and effective deployment of human resources according to proficiency. SOL has realised a high turnover growth which offsets its low profit margins and enables sustainability of the cooperation’s price-based competitive advantage. In addition to reinvestment of margins, SOL has achieved differentiation through its services as well as imperfect mobility of its brand name, which is inimitable. Hence, SOL enjoys market dominance and first mover advantages through technological innovations (Brewer, 2010). From its initial existence, it has developed its strategy through; Market Penetration, Consolidation, service development, Market development and related diversification. It has therefore capitalised on its core competencies through vertical integration, horizontal, and geographical diversification. In line with its marketing strategy, SOL uses products that are environmental friendly with the aim of conserving the natural resources. The employees understand their ethical responsibility to the community and they always aim at satisfying their customers as well as being environmental friendly (SOL website, 2009). The internal expansion focused on improved services for existing customers and new markets. This has generated (a dditional) value into SOL’s existing business thus increased competitive advantage. Reference List Brewer, D. (2010). Management efficiency effectiveness and economy Web.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Daft, R.L. (2009). Organization Theory and Design. Cengage Learning, Wiley and Sons. Erven, B. L. (2009). The five functions of management. Ohio State University Extension Web. Pakhare, J. (2010). Management Concepts- The four functions of management Web. SOL website (2009). Sunny SOL at your service Web.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Development of 3D printing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development of 3D printing - Essay Example The 3D printing technology is a technology that has undergone quite a series of changes since the period of implementation. It involves the creation of printable 3D models with the use of computer-aided design software (CAD) or through the use of what is called a 3D scanner. The modeling process of 3D geometric data does not have a significant difference from the common plastic applied in different parts of the world today. A process known as 3D scanning is applied before printing, and it involves the collection and analysis of digital data in reference to the shape of a real object. The complexity nature of both the manual and automated 3D printable models to normal consumers is what has caused the emergence of the 3D printing places located in different places. The most interesting part of the concept is the printing part. Before the commencement of the printing, the file that is known as the STL file must under processing that is a task performed using the slicer software. The slicer does the conversion of the model into several systematic thin layers and produces a command or rather instruction known as the G-code that is now sent to the printer. The printer then systematically in accordance to the instructions lays down the layers of the material used t produce the desired object. The major advantage of the technology is that it can produce almost any desired provided the required instruction is well fed to the printer (Lipson & Kurman,  2013). Several changes have taken place in the quest to achieve more efficiency in the application of the technology. The first development is on the provision of low-cost printers. In the past, the 3D printers were extremely expensive, and the majority of the people willing to invest in the same could not be able to afford a printer. The other development is a 3D modeling software. In the past, the software used was complex and tough

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Reflection on effective partnership with parents to support children's Essay

Reflection on effective partnership with parents to support children's learning and development - Essay Example This essay will discuss models of parental involvement. It will give the strengths and weaknesses of the preferred model. Then it will compare the preferred model to the approach in practice and investigate practices that can be changed. There are five models that highlight the involvement of parents in a Childs learning and development (The Open University, 2010, p. 53). They include the expert model, consumer model, transplant model, empowerment model and negotiation model. The expert model entails giving the teacher or professional a lot of responsibility for leaning and development while the parent remains passive. The teacher is considered knowledgeable and; hence all decision making is done by the teacher. The parents together with the child rely on the instructions that the teacher will give. Interaction between the parent and the teacher is low. The teacher communicates formally to the parent about progress and as they give instructions. The teacher in return does not show any concern in partnership and continually uses professional language to communicate. The transplant model is characterized by an overstraining on the part of the parent, in place of partnering with the instructor or teacher. The teacher being in control shares the task of teaching with the parent. For instance, a parent is shown how to teach by the teacher to assist the child learn. The parent is involved in impacting knowledge yet they could play their part by interacting with the child. Consumer model places interest on the partnership of the parent and the teacher. Parents initiate participation in school progress and then raise their concerns. Parents get to know their children’s environment and bring them to learning institutions as well as pick them later in the day. Relationship between the teacher and the parent is formal. Parents desire informal situations in the learning

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Comparing and contrasting India, China, and Indonesia music cultures Essay

Comparing and contrasting India, China, and Indonesia music cultures - Essay Example This "Comparing and contrasting India, China, and Indonesia music cultures" essay outlines the cultural differences between this countries. China has the longest standing history of its culture among all countries in the world; with archaeological evidence indicating that China is one of the foundations of mankind. Dating back to the 4th BC, the Chinese people began living together in large groups which resulted in the cultivation of land, domestication of animals, building of pit dwellings and emergence of pottery. Chinese cultural history is recorded according to the different dynasties that make up its culture as it is today. The Chinese people today show much pride in the Han culture which saw them make great scientific discoveries, most of which even the Western countries were not aware of. This culture is most renowned for the introduction of the art culture practiced in China today. The ancient Chinese music, which dates back to the 3rd millennium, was slow and solemn with lar ge orchestras heard in the background. The Chinese people value the single tone produced in their music more than they do the melody itself. Their musical instruments used are divided into eight groups depending on the materials they are made of. The musical notations used are all an indication of rhythm. Indian culture is attributed to the various religious groups that exist in India. The religions include Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. The ancient architectural monuments of India are a testament of the existence of these religions., all of which held different cultural beliefs and practices. The religions also introduced the traditional food of India from their different cuisines at that time. During the Stone Age period, early man in India began drawing animal figures and painting them in the caves he lived in. This has evolved to modern day art of painting where Indians decorate their front house porches. India is braded the land of many great philosophers, scho lars and thinkers due to its ancient literature. Indian language has evolved slowly, leading to the writing of many Indian plays and literature works. The characteristics of Indian music depend on the type of music being played; classical, folk, Lavani or the Rabindra Sangeet. The most frequent used instrument in all these musical types is the Sitar which resembles a guitar. They also use the table, a small drum that is played using the fingertips. The most unique characteristic is that every type of music has a spiritual or meditative connotation. Cultural background and musical characteristics of Indonesia Indonesia is known for its multiethnic and diverse religious nature. It is believed that the Indonesian culture is highly influenced by the Indian and Chinese cultures due to migration of the people during the ancient years. Indonesian culture id determined by the region that one is studying. For instance the North Sumatra and East Java are ethnically mixed while the South Sumat ra and South Kalimantan have similar art, dressing, social and political cultural affiliations. There are two distinct agricultural methods practiced in Indonesia; the permanent irrigated rice farming and the rotating swidden rice farming; both of which aim at farming of rice, the staple food in many parts of Indonesia. Due to the many ethnic groups in the island, there are many local languages but the Malay

Friday, November 15, 2019

Impact Of Social Networking On E Business Information Technology Essay

Impact Of Social Networking On E Business Information Technology Essay Social networks have changed the way internet users communicate, search for and share data today. For example, increasing the relations between e-businesses and social networks can improve user satisfaction. Using data from blogs, forums and online journals, the evaluated impact that social networking has on e-businesses and e-commerce sites. The results show that while the majority of users do engage in social networking, those e-businesses and e-commerce site that transact with the social networking sites generally obtain significant benefits in the form of product promotion, branding and higher user satisfaction that the ones that dont. This is clearly shown by the illustration and graphs shown in this research paper. Introduction In its early years, e-business was used for uploading basic information about products and services and now it provides corporate information on sites that sell goods and services on the internet. If compared to e-commerce, the purchases made online are unlimited. E-commerce involves online financial transactions Top social networking sites like Facebook, Hi5, Friendster and MySpace have made a significant impact on how todays internet users communicate, search and share data. Users join these social networks, publish and maintain their own profiles by using publishing tools, they also establish links to their friends. The social links are evidence that trust has been established between the connected users. The marketing strategies of social networks can have a huge impact on e-business, for example, users can become members of both the social network and e-business. For example, users who buy or sell items on Ebay can leave links of their products on their MySpace account. To guide their financial decision-making, the social networks and e-business offers users information on how they are connected to each potential transaction partner. Since majority of internet users engage in social networking sites, those who do business with friends of friends end up benefiting from higher user satisfaction. The analyzed results show that social networking has a positive impact on e-business. Outline of the paper This paper is organized as follows: Section 2: Introduces Social Networking Section 3: Introduces E-business Section 4: Introduces E-commerce Section 5: Outlines the impact of social networking on e-commerce and e-business Section 6: Conclusion Social networking Social networking has always been known for its interactive communication with online participants who are brought together electronically to share views, upload images and so many other features. Social networking is free and all it takes is commitment, it has a short learning curve and provides access to global market. TagWorld social site was the first to embrace e-business and that has revolutionized social networking, it has also given them a competitive advantage over their rivals like MySpace and Facebook. TagWorld members can post items for sale in the new classifieds section, which can be searched by tag similar to a subject or catagory, keyword or zip code radius. Multiple images of an item can be included with the ad, as well as a payment model. Sellers can choose a fixed price or mark the item negotiable which allows buyers and sellers to haggle over a price. PayPal is integrated into the site to make paying for items easier. Items appearing in the classifieds can also appear in storefronts that members can incorporate into their personal Web pages. Mello (2006) T [8]Below is the size and growth of the top social networking sites. Profiles 12 months Growth Hi5 98.9m 33.6m 51.6% Facebook 50.1m n/a n/a Friendster 50.9m 19.6m 62.5% MySpace 184.1m 82.7m 81.5% Size Growth There are two types of social networking services they are, internal and external. Internal Social Networking These are for private communities like companies, organizations or associations. Most companies want their staff to stop using external social networks since its unproductive, so they block the external social sites. [2]Their staff can communicate with each other or even with different departments. [1]External Social Networking This is a public network, where all web users can access it. Most social networking sites are used to attract advertisers. A good example is Facebook, Hi5, Friendster and MySpace. Social Networking Analysis This is the mapping and measuring of relationships between people. It is used for the analysis of social structures. A good example of a social networking analysis tool is the Sentinel Visualizer product [5]. The tool is used to measure the degree of centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness and Eigenvalue. Degree centrality This is simply the number of direct relationship that a user has. If a user has more relationship, he or she is an active player in the network as shown below. In the above illustration, Alice has the highest degree centrality, which means that she is quite active in the network. For her to get to Rafaels clique she has to go through him [5]. Betweenness Centrality This identifies a users position within a network in terms of their ability to make connections with other groups in the network. The user with a high betweeness centrality has a big influence in the network as shown below. In the example above, Rafael has the highest betweenness because he is between Alice and Aldo. Alice and Aldo have a slightly lower betweenness because they are essentially only between their own cliques. Closeness This measures how fast a user can access more users in a network. A user with a high closeness has a high visibility as to what is happening in the network. Eigenvalue This measures how close a user is to other highly close users within a network, this is measured globally. Some companies like SAS Institute have come up with a system called SASÂ ® which detects and prevents fraud on social networks [4]. The same system measures productivity and provides other information to help manage the site efficiently and effectively [4]. E-business This is basically a way of conducting business electronically. E-business involves business processes like electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners. E-business involves a business cycle of production, sales, procurement, distribution, payment and marketing so its not hard for it to work for any business. There are several applications that can benefit e-business, these are blogs and forums. These will show the e-business how its users like their products by viewing their comments. E-commerce This basically means conducting business electronically, mainly via the internet. E-commerce has impacted sectors in governments such as the cultural and information sector. Another industry that may have a large future growth via e-commerce is banking. With the continuity of ecommerce, there will be futuristic issues like social, economical and privacy. Most of the internet users fear buying from online businesses since they often have limited guarantee about the privacy of their information. If such problems are resolved, e-commerce can play a positive role in improving the world business. Some applications that are used in e-commerce are email, online banking, teleconferencing and newsgroup. With e-commerce, users can conduct business anytime, access the global market, allow customers self service or customer outsourcing. There are constraints of e-commerce, they are: Time for delivery of physical products, e-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not locally available thus taking time and money, this is due to the buyer and seller being from different countries. Physical product supplier delivery uncertainty, most of the time e-commerce purchases are made on trust. This is because having access to the product physically is not possible, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is and its condition. Another reason is that supplying businesses is conducted across the world, a user or buyer cannot be sure whether or not the supplying businesses are legitimate and are not just going to take his or her money. Perishable goods: Goods bought and sold through the internet tend to be durable and not perishable, they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the purchasing business or consumer. Limited and selected sensory information: Whatever a user buys, all they can see is the images of the product and its description. They cannot smell, weigh or even inspect it as they would if it was in a local store. Returning: Returning goods online can be difficulty since most e-commerce business has stated that in their return policy. Privacy, security, payment, identity and contract: Most of the time e-commerce businesses have issues of privacy of information, security of the same information and payment details. One would think that the availability of goods online would increase competition and lower prices, but this doesnt always occur. A good reputation may allow a seller or a retailer to control his or her area of market. [7] Below is a diagram of the complaints made by Australians e-consumers: Impact of social networking on e-commerce and e-business E-businesses and e-commerce sites cannot compete in todays market without collaborating with social networks. There are several impacts that Social networking has on e-business and e-commerce, such as economical and social impacts. These are shown below: Economical Impacts One of the main advantages social networks have is millions of users, e-businesses and e-commerce sites have come up with ways of pulling or attracting those users to their sites. For e-businesses and e-commerce sites to actually benefit from social networks, they need to use the following marketing strategies: Driving internet traffic for ad revenue Brand building Link building for traffic and Search engine optimization Promotion of goods and services Affiliate Marketing Pay Per Click Advertising Driving Internet Traffic for ad revenue Driving traffic to a site is very inexpensive. Hence, e-commerce and e-business sites have to be attractive with rich contents so as to ensure user interactivity. This strategy will benefit both the social networks and the e-business/e-commerce sites. Benefits of Driving Internet Traffic for ad revenue: It is far better than pay per click as you already direct viewers to the page If an e-commerce or e-business site uses this strategy, it will be able to view their competitors, their products, services and their current strategies Link building for traffic optimization E-businesses and e-commerce sites can place links in social networking sites which will actually boost the traffic of their websites. Benefits of Link building for traffic optimization: This strategy can help e-business or e-commerce sites build trust by having multiple one-way links to their sites. It is a cheap way of driving traffic to the e-business or e-commerce sites. Promotion of goods and services This can be done by providing information to educate clients about the products. The information can be promoted by advertising on social networking sites. Benefits of Link building for traffic optimization: Clients have a better understanding of the goods and services. Goods and services can be commented on or criticized by clients. Affiliate Marketing This is one of the most efficient methods of promoting the e-business or e-commerce sites. Affiliate marketing is risk free since its marketing costs are only paid for actual results. This method eliminates the need for having an advertising budget or employees since the cost of using the affiliate marketing method is commission based. Benefits of Affiliate Marketing: This strategy allows the e-business or e-commerce to track visitors, this helps in E-businesses and e-commerce sites have access to a wider audience thus generating more goods and services. Pay Per Click Advertising This is a type of advertising where the advertiser pays depending on the number of times the published ad is clicked on. It is a very effective way of targeting specific users and it also provides a reliable way of measuring the effectiveness of the advert. Benefits of pay per click advertising: It targets users more accurately It can show what keywords users have clicked on to view its site. It is also simpler in targeting users who live in different geographical spots. The economical impact on e-business and e-commerce helps in building credibility. It is easier for the e-business and e-commerce sites to gain clients confidence if they connect with them on a personal and professional level. Social Impacts When it comes to social impacts, this mainly refers to productivity of employees in e-business and e-commerce sites. This is the biggest concern in e-businesses since it can lead to network security risk and damage to reputation. Negative employee blogging or inappropriate posts about the workplace on social networking sites presents a new, confusing and often very daunting challenge for many smaller employers, said Jackie Breslin, director of human capital consulting for TriNet. Business owners need to stop and ask themselves some important questions regarding their employees personal online usage of this growing technology in order to safeguard the companys reputation and protect themselves from liability if legal and harassment issues arise. Justin (2008) The solution to this problem is internal and an external custom social network. These are organizational or private social networks where only staff members and clients have access. This improves teamwork, collaboration and productivity within the staff members. When it comes to clients, it will improve loyalty and retention and most of all, increase the response time for enquiries. There are several negative impacts that social networks have such as Technical threat, online scams, cyber-stalking and identity theft. Malicious users are constantly trying to post or load their contents containing [6] browser exploits and then convinces users to view their contents. They also post scripts on the social networking sites that will run inside the browser of the users that view the content. A good example of this is cross-site scripting, this is basically a security exploit in which the attacker inserts a malicious code into a link that appears to be from a trustworthy source. Once a user clicks on the link, the embedded code is submitted as part of the clients web request and it executes on the users computer thus allowing the attacker to steal information. But the technical threat has preventive methods such as filtering scripts, and updating the web applications, antivirus and antispyware. The solution that millions of internet users trust is Secure Socket Layer certificates. A social networking site has to have a Secure Socket Layer installed for it to safeguard its members. The same applies to the e-business and e-commerce since the solution will ensure that clients online payment information will be submitted securely to its payment gateway and merchant account, it will also protect the website in case payment information is compromised. Secure sockets layer has other advantages like: It encrypts important information. Each secure socket layer certificate has unique, authenticated information about the certificate owner. SSL is used only where sensitive information is exchanged in order to provide privacy/security. So its a must have for both the e-business and the e-commerce. This means that secure socket layer certificate have no negative impact or disadvantage since its only used to encrypt important or vital information. 5. Conclusion While this research paper presents an evaluation of the impact of social networking on e-business. It seems that social networks have positive impacts on e-business even though some threats have been identified, such as security and privacy. Privacy has the most negative impact since almost all users write things about themselves which they wouldnt have in a social meeting. This makes it easy for hackers and malicious attackers to target them. Even with the integration of the social and e-commerce users, this has still created a new target for hackers and malicious attackers. Since e-commerce users post links in their social network account which will redirect anyone who clicks it to the products page in their e-commerce account, you may find that fraudsters or even hackers will place links that will actually give them access to information of both the e-commerce and social network accounts of the targeted user. It would have been better if further understanding of the structural differences between social networks and e-business were made. The observed differences could be attributed to the e-businesss nature of the network transactions, a further user behavior analysis on e-business or e-commerce could be carried. The findings could better the understanding of the motivation of the users socially and business wise.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Dbq: Us Constitution

From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation failed to provide the United States with an effective government. It acted as though a loose confederation, or â€Å"firm league of friendship. † The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government that linked the thirteen states in common problems such as foreign affairs, and a judicial arm. Although, there was no executive branch, which meant no leader to enforce laws. Also, the Congress was weak (it was designed that way), and therefore the government could merely advocate and appeal.The United States faced two main problems: the lack of the central government’s power, and its inability to collect and/or create revenue. Each state was in fact not very coherent with the central government. Nor were the states coherent with each other. The states possessed more control than the central government, as the Articles of Confederation forbade the government to command, coerce, or control. It could not act directly upon the individual citizens of sovereign states. Also, the government could only recommend laws, taxes, and other pieces of legislation to a state.Most often, when the government advocated for a law to be passed in a certain state, the state would reject the recommendation, like Rhode Island had done in 1782 (Doc. A). Moreover, the central government had no power to regulate commerce. This is due to how reluctant the states were to hand over control of taxation and commerce, after they had just won it from Great Britain. Without a central power to control these two aspects of the economy, the states were free to establish different, and often conflicting laws regarding tariffs and navigation. This led states to become only farther apart from each other, rather than more unified.Additionally, despite the weak, unsuccessful government, to make any change to the Articles of Confederation required unanimous ratification. Unanimity was near impossible, meaning that the Articles could ne ver be amended. With a government this weak, people would lose confidence in it, and won’t realize the benefit of the liberty they won from the British (Doc. G). Next, the Articles of Confederation failed to allow the central government to collect revenue. In addition to the central government already being weak, it could not effectively collect taxes.Congress, dealing with a large war debt, could not even pay its own soldiers their promised money (Doc. C). Congress needed some form of revenue to get out of debt, so it established a tax quota for each of the states. It then asked each of them to contribute to their share on a voluntary basis. The government, lacking a president (executive branch), had no way to enforce this tax. Congress was lucky if they received one-fourth of their desired tax amount. Furthermore, Congress could not tax trade or any commerce; as for they did not set the regulations for it.Despite not fully â€Å"paying federal taxes†, states still sc rambled to get money, and some ended up having to foreclose farms of debtors. Events like this in Massachusetts (along with the high taxes issued by the state), caused Shays’s Rebellion. This was occurred when a group of debtors demanded that the state issue paper money, lighten taxes, and suspend property takeovers. Even though the rebellion was crushed, it was a sign that in order for the United States to survive, a new constitution with a stronger federal government must be created.With a government so weak and ineffective, it is clear that the United States could not survive without a new constitution. This is evident through the lack of the central government’s power, and its inability to generate revenue. As time went by, more and more people began to realize this, which soon began the pursuit of the U. S. Constitution. Therefore, it is obvious that from 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation did not provide the United States with an effective government. (Am erican Pageant was textbook used)

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Not Only The Jews

The first research in the late 1940 s and early 1950s focused on the Jewishness of the Holocaust. Modern research has begun to deal with the suddering of other victims of the Nazi genocide. For example, homosexuals, Gypsies, prisoners of war, Russians, poles, Catholic priests, Jehovah s Witnesses and other were more or less systematically murdered as the Holocaust continued. By the end of the war, as many as 6 million of these people had been killed, along with between 5 to 6 million Jews. Roma (Gypsies) were among the groups singled out on racial grounds for persecution by the Nazi regime and most of its allies. The Nazis judged Roma to be â€Å"racially inferior,† and the fate of Roma in some ways paralleled that of the Jews. Roma were subjected to internment, forced labor, and massacre. They were also subject to deportation to extermination camps. Mobile killing units killed tens of thousands of Roma in the German-occupied eastern territories. Further, thousands were killed in the Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka extermination camps. The Nazis also incarcerated thousands of Roma in the Bergen-Belsen, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Mauthausen, and Ravensbrueck concentration camps. There were nonetheless several deportations of Roma. About 2,500 Roma were deported to Poland in April and May 1940. Most of them were starved and worked to death. Those who fell sick or became crippled were shot. Another 5,000 Roma were deported to Lodz, where they were held in a separate area within the Lodz ghetto. Those who survived the horrible conditions in the Lodz ghetto were later deported from the ghetto to the Chelmno extermination camp, where they were killed in gas vans. Roma in Germany were deported to Auschwitz, where a special camp was designated for them in Auschwitz. Gypsy family camp. † Entire families were incarcerated together. Twins and dwarves, however, were separated out and subjected to medical experiments under SS Captain Dr. Josef Mengele. Nazi physicians also used Romani prisoners in medical experiments at the Ravensbrueck, Natzweiler-Struthof, and Sachsenhausen camps. In German-occupied areas of Europe, the fate of Roma varied from country to country, depending on local circumstances. The Nazis generally interned Roma and later transported them to Germany or Poland for use as forced laborers or to be killed. Many Roma from Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Yugoslavia, and Albania were shot or were deported to extermination camps and killed. In the Baltic states and the German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, mobile killing units killed Roma at the same time that they killed Jews and Communist leaders. Thousands of Romani men, women, and children were killed in these actions. Many Roma were shot along with Jews at Babi Yar, near Kiev, for example. The â€Å"Gypsy family camp† at Auschwitz was riddled with epidemics–typhus, smallpox, and dysentery–which severely reduced the camp population. In May 1944, the Germans decided to liquidate the camp. As the SS surrounded the camp, they were met by Roma armed with iron pipes and the like. The Germans retreated and postponed the liquidation. Later that same month, the SS transferred about 1,500 Roma who were still capable of work out of the family camp. Almost 1,500 more were transferred in August. The remaining Roma, about 3,000, were killed. At least 19,000 of the 23,000 Roma sent to Auschwitz died there. It is not known precisely how many Roma were killed in the Holocaust. While exact figures or percentages cannot be ascertained, people estimate that the Germans and their allies killed between 25 and 50 percent of all European Roma. Of the approximately one million Roma living in Europe before the war, up to 220,000 were killed. After the war, discrimination against Roma continued as the Federal Republic of Germany decided that all measures taken against Roma before 1943 were legitimate policies of state and were not subject to restitution. Historians in Germany argue about how universal the historical character of national socialism was. One conservative faction would like to view the communist system as responsible for fascism. Because Marxism was victorious in Russia, the Fascist parties were able to win in Italy and Germany. This speculation claims that the destruction of social class distinctions by the Bolsheviks prepared the way for racial murders of the Nazis. The extermination of the Jews is presented as a distorted copy of a previous model, rather than as a unique occurrence. Other social scientists have protested against viewing Nazi crimes in such a relativistic way. They see an aura of normality being created and fear that the basic anti fascist consensus in the Federal republic might end. They are also apprehensive about the analogy to current politics and warn against a restoration by means of history. Extermination or Reeducation? The concentration camp was one weapon in the campaign to bring state and society into conformity with fascism. If physical extermination formed the most frightful instrument of that policy, it was not the only one. A range of attempts were made to isolate people and to use fear to inhibit â€Å"undesirable† behavior. Whatever the reasons for imprisonment, all ncarcerations were the result of Nazi ideology and posed a danger to the prisoner’s life. The categories of prisoners differed from one another in how they were selected and treated. Those groups whom the Nazis deemed inimical but not racially undesirable were not completely rounded up, but taken only in random samples They also fared differently within the camps. Homosexuals, political prisoners, and Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the groups who were sent to the concentration camps for reeducation. They were supposed to renounce their particular orientation. The very fact of their incarceration estrained their ideological comrades outside the camps from becoming active in the struggle against Nazism. Democratic freedom makes pluralism possible. In democracies, deviations from the norm concern not only criminality but also sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and attitudes toward work. The Nazi system was concerned with deviations in all these areas. It classified political, sexual, religious, and working-attitude deviations in separate categories. In all probability, the Hitler state required these definitions of the enemy and was, in its own terms, correct in its choice of these groups. Within a society, minority and separation groups represent a seedbed of possible revolt. Homosexuality has always and everywhere existed. Hitler considered homosexuality as a predisposition that could not be changed. It was assumed that a homosexual orientation could not be eliminated, that only its manifestations could be blocked. Thus, the pink triangle worn by the homosexual in the concentration camp represented the Nazis’ intention to reeducate him. No credence was placed in a simple change of opinion by homosexuals, such as was granted to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were not taken entirely seriously, or even to political prisoners. Two categories were seen among homosexuals: the constitutionally hard-boiled homosexual and the occasional offender. Since in neither case was the Aryan status of the homosexual in doubt, all could remain alive. If necessary, homosexuals were to be castrated, but they were permitted to continue to work. As a matter of policy, extermination was therefore restrained. In practice there were other contrary impulses on the part of the SS, and those who wore the pink triangle met an unusually harsh fate. The social controls directed at homosexuals within the camp represented a continuation and an intensification of social controls imposed by society at large. A nation with many children can gain supremacy and mastery of the world. A pure race with few children already as one foot in the grave; in fifty or a hundred years it will be of no significance; in two hundred years it will be extinct. It is essential to realize that if we allow this infection to continue in Germany without being able to fight it, it will be the end of Germany, of the Germanic world. Unfortunately this is not the simple matter it was for our forefathers. For them, the few isolated cases were simply abnormalities; they drowned them in bogs. Those who found bodies in the mire did not know that in 90% of the cases they found themselves face to face with a homosexual who had been drowned with all his belongings. This was not punishment, more the simple elimination of this particular abnormality. It is vital we rid ourselves of them; like weed we must pull them up, throw them on the fire and burn them. This is not out of a spirit of vengeance, but of necessity; these creatures must be exterminated.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Functions with the T-Distribution in Excel

Functions with the T-Distribution in Excel Microsoft’s Excel is useful in performing basic calculations in statistics. Sometimes it is helpful to know all of the functions that are available to work with a particular topic. Here we will consider the functions in Excel that are related to the Student’s t-distribution. In addition to doing direct calculations with the t-distribution, Excel can also calculate confidence intervals and perform hypothesis tests. Functions Concerning the T-Distribution There are several functions in Excel that work directly with the t-distribution. Given a value along the t-distribution, the following functions all return the proportion of the distribution that is in the specified tail. A proportion in the tail can also be interpreted as a probability. These tail probabilities can be used for p-values in hypothesis tests. The T.DIST function returns the left tail of Student’s t-distribution. This function can also be used to obtain the y-value for any point along the density curve.The T.DIST.RT function returns the right tail of Student’s t-distribution.The T.DIST.2T function returns both tails of Student’s t-distribution. These functions all have similar arguments. These arguments are, in order: The value x, which denotes where along the x axis we are along the distributionThe number of degrees of freedom.The T.DIST function has a third argument , which allows us to choose between a cumulative distribution (by entering a 1) or not (by entering a 0). If we enter a 1, then this function will return a p-value. If we enter a 0 then this function will return the y-value of the density curve for the given x. Inverse Functions All of the functions T.DIST, T.DIST.RT and T.DIST.2T share a common property. We see how all of these functions start with a value along the t-distribution and then return a proportion. There are occasions when we would like to reverse this process. We start with a proportion and wish to know the value of t that corresponds to this proportion. In this case we use the appropriate inverse function in Excel. The function T.INV returns the left tailed inverse of Student’s T-distribution.The function T.INV.2T returns the two tailed inverse of Student’s T-distribution. There are two arguments for each of these functions. The first is the probability or proportion of the distribution. The second is the number of degrees of freedom for the particular distribution that we are curious about. Example of T.INV We will see an example of both the T.INV and the T.INV.2T functions. Suppose we are working with a t-distribution with 12 degrees of freedom. If we want to know the point along the distribution that accounts for 10% of the area under the curve to the left of this point, then we enter T.INV(0.1,12) into an empty cell. Excel returns the value -1.356. If instead we use the T.INV.2T function, we see that entering T.INV.2T(0.1,12) will return the value 1.782. This means that 10% of the area under the graph of the distribution function is to the left of -1.782 and to the right of 1.782. In general, by the symmetry of the t-distribution, for a probability P and degrees of freedom d we have T.INV.2T(P, d) ABS(T.INV(P/2,d), where ABS is the absolute value function in Excel. Confidence Intervals One of the topics on inferential statistics involves estimation of a population parameter. This estimate takes the form of a confidence interval. For example the estimate of a population mean is a sample mean. The estimate also possesses a margin of error, which Excel will calculate. For this margin of error we must use the CONFIDENCE.T function. Excel’s documentation says that the function CONFIDENCE.T is said to return the confidence interval using Student’s t-distribution. This function does return the margin of error. The arguments for this function are, in the order that they must be entered: Alpha – this is the level of significance. Alpha is also 1 – C, where C denotes the confidence level. For example, if we want 95% confidence, then we must enter 0.05 for alpha.Standard deviation – this is the sample standard deviation from our data set.Sample size. The formula that Excel uses for this calculation is: M t*s/ √n Here M is for margin, t* is the critical value that corresponds to the level of confidence, s is the sample standard deviation and n is the sample size. Example of Confidence Interval Suppose that we have a simple random sample of 16 cookies and we weigh them. We find that their mean weight is 3 grams with a standard deviation of 0.25 grams. What is a 90% confidence interval for the mean weight of all cookies of this brand? Here we simply type the following into an empty cell: CONFIDENCE.T(0.1,0.25,16) Excel returns 0.109565647. This is the margin of error. We subtract and also add this to our sample mean, and so our confidence interval is 2.89 grams to 3.11 grams. Tests of Significance Excel will also perform hypothesis tests that are related to the t-distribution. The function T.TEST returns the p-value for several different tests of significance. The arguments for the T.TEST function are: Array 1, which gives the first   set of sample data.Array 2, which gives the second set of sample dataTails, in which we can enter either 1 or 2.Type - 1 denotes a paired t-test, 2 a two-sample test with the same population variance, and 3 a two-sample test with different population variances.