The Brethren Book Report Essay Example for Free

The Brethren Book Report Essay The Brethren, written by John Grisham, takes places at Trumble, a minimum-security federal prison in Florida. The Brethren is a group of three judges in the prison that started meeting together to settle disputes among the other inmates. Meeting in the library at Trumble, their section of the prison, the three plan a scam to earn a little money while serving time. Their plan for earning the money is the Angola scam. The Angola scam works by putting an advertisement in a gay magazine saying they are searching for a pen-pal. Writing as a young gay male named Ricky living in a rehab facility; the Brethren try to pick out rich closeted gay males, who have a lot to lose if this information were to be revealed. In order for the closeted male’s homosexuality not to be revealed to the public, the group demands large sums of money to be wired into their bank account. The Brethren’s lawyer, Trevor, also plays a crucial part in the scam. He is the one who brings the mail in and out of Trumble, and he also runs the offshore bank accounts in the Bahamas where the scam money is wired into. Helping with the scam, Trevor receives thirty-three percent of all the earnings. While the Brethren are running their scam in Trumble, Presidential campaigns begin to kick in high gear as the Presidential election nears. Teddy Maynard, the director of the CIA, believes that future Russian attacks are inevitable and maybe even a third world war. With military cuts continuing to happen, he believes that the United States need to increase the size and strength of their military. His goal is to get a presidential candidate into the White House that will increase the military budget. Teddy finds his answer with Aaron Lake, a Congressman from Arizona. Seeming to have a clean background, Teddy proposes what he believes will happen in the future and promises to get Lake into the White House as long as he increases the military’s budget once president. Lake agrees to the terms and jumps into the election as an independent. Though Lake is now in the presidential race, he is at an extreme disadvantage from the rest of the field as no one in the country knows who he is. Luckily though he has an incredible supporting cast surrounding him and what seems to be an endless supply of money. Aaron Lake looks as if he has an excellent shot at winning the presidency as long as nothing comes to jeopardize him as a candidate. Repeatedly checking the background of Aaron Lake many times before backing him with his presidential campaign, Teddy Maynard and the CIA thought they had not missed anything. Aaron Lake had been a man living the later part of his life in mostly solitary. His wife had died a few years before and he did not have the motive for much of social life anymore. Aside from his job he would occasionally attend socials and parties but this was only to keep his face familiar with people. Though he did not go out on a limb much, Lake did write two letters to Ricky, both of which the CIA did not know about. Not knowing that Aaron Lake was Teddy’s presidential candidate, the Brethren try to hook and obtain money from Lake with their Angola scam. Trying to stop what the Brethren had managed to do, the CIA works hard trying to cease the damage. Unfortunately it is to late though, as a leak of the situation has gotten out. In order for Aaron Lake not to be exposed to the public, Teddy uses all of his experience in illegal maneuvering to save Lake, his candidate. Sensing as they cannot trust Trevor anymore, the Brethren decides to fire him. Through a series of unfortunate events, Trevor ends up being killed by people from the CIA while he was in the Caribbean. Eager to find out the masterminds behind the scam, the CIA traces the scam to Trumble where they place man inside of the federal prison. The Brethren is finally caught for their running of the Angola scam. After working out a deal, the group is pardoned by Lake and only lose their money in the process. Once the Brethren gets off the hook for their scam they decide to leave the country. They begin to travel in Europe until ultimately re-starting their work with the Angola scam.

Discourse Analysis of Opening Speeches at Shangri La

Discourse Analysis of Opening Speeches at Shangri La INTRODUCTION Rationale Under the growing trend towards globalization, English is known as the most preferable language used in every field of mans life. No one can deny the usefulness of this language in enhancing international communication among individuals, organizations, as well as nations in this fast-changing world. Not surprisingly, English is a tool for countries all over the world to participate fully in the international network. Giving speech play an important role in any kind of forums, especially in summit conferences like Shangri-La Dialogue. A good speech will show the intentions, feelings, emotions, expectation and even the criticism of the speaker to his audiences. Thus, in order to have an effective and successful speech Shangri-La Dialogue, the speakers have to provide clear and relevant messages. In addition, their intellect, understanding, political stance and consistency need to be performed when the speakers give speech. Besides, the speakers attitude also plays an essential part in making the address more effectively, vividly and persuasively. Not only that the goal of persuasion, the messages are more persuasively and powerfully delivered. I realize that there are so many interesting things that need to be studied in speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues. There has been no research so far in Vietnam, to my knowledge, offering a discourse analysis of speeches in Shangri-La dialogues. From these factors, I have decided to choose Adiscourse analysis of opening speeches at Shangri-La dialogues as the topic of my M.A thesis because of its importance and significance. This thesis is carried out with the hope that the research will be a contribution to present linguistic knowledge and provide Vietnamese learners of English, especially students in the press and diplomatic fields with some useful information about the linguistic features of speeches in political forums. Aims and objectives Aims of the study The study aims to investigate the discourse features of opening speeches at Shangri-La dialogues in terms of their discourse topics, cohesive devices and stylistic devices. Objectives This paper is designed to aim at the following objectives: To examine the discourse features of opening speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues in terms of their discourse topics, cohesive devices and stylistic devices. To study the significant effect of discourse features on opening speeches ( the contents of speech, the intention and attitude of the lecturerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) To discuss about the results of the findings so that a generalization of the language can be made. To suggest some implications for teaching English to Vietnamese learners especially students of the diplomacy and press fields. Scope of the Study Within a limited scope of an M.A thesis, this research will focus on studying the discourse topics, the cohesive devices and the stylistic devices of opening speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues. Research questions In order to achieve the above mentioned aims and objectives, the research will seek to the answers for the following questions: What are the discourse features of opening speeches at Shangri-La dialogues in terms of their discourse topics? What are the discourse features of opening speeches at Shangri-La dialogues in terms of their cohesive devices? What are the discourse features of opening speeches at Shangri-La dialogues in terms of their stylistic devices? Organization of the study The study is organized into five chapters as follows. Chapter 1, Introduction presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, the research questions to solve, the scope and the organization of the research. Chapter 2, Literature Review and Theoretical Background consists of two parts. The first part is a review of previous studies related to this thesis. The second one is concerned with theoretical concepts of terms : discourse topics, cohesive devices and stylistic devices. Chapter 3, Methods and Procedures concerns itself with the research method, procedure of data collection, description of samples, data analysis and research procedures. Chapter 4, Findings and Discussion discusses the main purpose of conducting this study. It focuses on answering the research questions about the discourse topics, cohesive devices, and stylistic devices of opening speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues. It presents the results and discusses the findings of the study. Chapter 5, Conclusion and Recommendation draws conclusions and suggests some implications basing on the results in previous chapter. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Literature Review Discourse Analysis (DA) is a modern linguistic discipline that covers a wide variety of different fields. Discourse analysis examines language in use both written texts of all kinds and spoken data from conversation to highly institutionalized forms of talk. Analysis of discourse looks not only at the basic level of what is said, but takes into consideration the contexts which it is used. Thus, discourse analysis not only study language use beyond the sentence boundar, but also analyze naturally occurring language use. It means that discourse analysis is one of the aspects which attract the interest of many linguists and researchers all over the world. Under the heading of discourse analysis, there have been a lot of studies dealing with a wide range of its subfields such as coherence, cohesion, context, conversation analysis, information structure, speech act theory and theme-rhyme. Up to present, many foreign scholars including Halliday and Hasan [30], Brown and Yule [18], Cook [21 ], Hatch [31], Nunan [33] have made great contributions to the field in different approaches and methods. These publications focused on one or another aspect of discourse analysis theory which gave us an overall picture of theoretical background to examine how language is in use. In Vietnam, many linguists have made great contributions to the study of discourse analysis. Tran Ngoc Them [10] has investigated in detail cohesion in Vietnamese texts with Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœng lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n Tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t and Văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n và   Lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t trong Tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t. Nguyen Duc Dan [4] and Nguyen Thien Giap [5] studied discourse analysis from a pragmatic view. Diep Quang Ban [2] has given an overall view of text and utterance especially above the sentence level. Nguyen Hoa with Nghià ªn cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©u dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  chà ­nh trà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ xà £ hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i [6] and more recently Nguyen Hoa with Phà ¢n tà ­ch dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n phà ª bà ¬nh [8]. Besides, there have been a number of master theses dealing with political speeches including: Le Thi Hoang Van [32] made an investigation into Linguistic Features of Antithesis in Political Speeches in English and Vietnamese. In this research, she investigated argumentation power of antithesis and stylistic features of rhetorical devices in antithesis in English political speeches and Vietnamese political speeches. Pham Khac Thu [36] did a research on Modality Markers Used in Political Speeches by US Presidents. The author investigated a wide range of modal expressions used in all the inaugural speeches of the US presidents. Nguyen Thi Hanh [35] investigated into the structure of Theme Rheme in English and Vietnamese political speeches. The study focuses on the structure of Theme Rheme in English and Vietnamese political speeches in terms of characteristics, semantic and pragmatic aspects. Nguyen Uy Dung [34] carried out an investigation into Stylistic Devices in Political Speeches by US Presidents. The study highlighted the use of Stylistic Devices in political speeches by US Presidents. Most of them studied the discourse or a small aspect of political speeches being well-prepared in written texts by the politicians. All study above gave me a useful brief knowledge about discourse and help me have an overview of language definition, language development and its branches in general, and language characteristics in details as well. Beside that, I also recognized that there are some fields which others theses do not deal with. I, myself, would like to contribute my little more effort into them. To the best of my knowledge, up to now, there is little evidence that any research on discourse analysis of opening speeches in dialogues about political issues has been done. Thus, A discourse analysis of Opening speeches at Shangri-La dialogues would be conducted with the aim of contributing a minor part to the overall picture of this field. Theoretical background The study will make use of a theoretical framework based on these following fundamental concepts. 2.2.1. Concepts of Discourse 2.2.2. Concepts of Discourse Analysis 2.2.3. Discourse topic a. Topic framework b. Presupposition pools c. Sentential topic and the presupposition pool 2.2.4. Cohesion and Coherence a. Cohesion b. Coherence 2.2.5. Stylistic Devices a. Definition of Stylistic Devices c. Notion of Common Stylistic Devices in speech b. Function of Stylistic Devices 2.2.6. An overview of a speech 3. METHOD AND PROCEDURE Research Design Descriptive method seems to be the most popular tool in doing any linguistic research since linguistics is by nature a descriptive science and the analytic method is typically used to clarify and justify their features. As mentioned above, the aim of this study was to describe and analyze speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues. Descriptive and qualitative methods were used to give a detailed description of their discourse topics, cohesive devices and stylistic devices of speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues. Quantitative information was also collected to show the frequency of the discourse features of speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues along with qualitative information about the discourse features of a speech. Data collection and data analysis Data Collection The data of the study appeared in the form of transcripts of Shangri-La dialogues on the Internet which are based on the criteria defined. They were selected mainly from the following website on August, 2015: https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri-s-la-s-dialogue/speeches https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/sld12-43d9 https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2013-c890 http://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2011-4eac https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2010-0a26 https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2009-99ea https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2008-2906 http://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-diaogue-2007-d1ee https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2006-f1a5 https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2014 Data Analysis In this study, more than 14 samples of speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues selected for the analysis are in the form of written texts in the sources provided. After collecting these samples of answer, they are analyzed in terms of their discourse topics, cohesive devices and stylistic devices. All samples are shown in the following table: Order Date of Opening Dialogues Speaker Length 1st 30 May 2003 Lee Kun Yew 41:32 2nd 30 May 2003 Lee Kun Yew 37:26 3rd 4 June 2004 Goh Chok Tong 40:35 4th 3 June 2005 Lee Hsien Loong 32:45 5th 2 June 2006 Lee Hsien Loong 37:12 6th 1 June 2007 Lee Hsien Loong 45:23 7th 30 May 2008 Lee Hsien Loong 28:50 8th 29 May 2009 Kevin Rudd 36:48 9th 4 June 2010 Lee Myung-Bak 43:15 10th 3 June 2011 John Chipman 30:22 11th 1 June 2012 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono 26:18 12th 31 May 2013 Nguyen Tan Dung 25:00 13th 30 May 2014 John Chipman 50:17 14th 29 May 2015 Lee Hsien Loong 38:16 Research procedures The research was conducted with the procedures as follows: Identifying the research topic to study by reviewing the previous studies thoroughly. Collecting documents related to the research in the library and other sources from the Internet. Collecting samples of speeches used in Shangri-La dialogues from the Internet. Presenting, describing and analyzing the data in order to find out discourse feature of speeches. Suggesting some implications for language users and further research. The study will be carried out following these steps: Time Work Place April-Sept, 2015 Working on proposal literature review Ä aklak Sept-Nov, 2015 Data collection + initial analysis Ä aklak Nov-Dec, 2015 Analysis Ä aklak Jan, 2016 Update literature review Ä aklak Feb-May, 2016 Writing up Ä aklak June, 2016 Completing first draft Ä aklak July, 2016 Updating first draft Ä aklak July, 2016 Finishing writing MA thesis Ä aklak Aug, 2016 Presenting MA thesis Ä aklak Reliability and Validity In terms of reliability, the source selected to be analyzed is derived from the Internet in English. Regarding validity, this study meets all required criteria. In order to answer the two formulated research questions, the observation and investigation techniques have been chosen to be the main instruments for data collection. The samples are taken from famous English political speeches by a large number of prominent representatives of each nation. REFERENCES In Vietnamese [1] Dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡p Quang Ban (1999), Văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n và   lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t trong tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t, NXB Già ¡o dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c, Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [2] Dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡p Quang Ban (2003), Giao tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿p, văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n, mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡ch là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡c, lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t, NXB Khoa hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Xà £ hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [3] Dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡p Quang Ban (2009), Giao tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿p, dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n và   cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥u tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡o cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §a văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n, Nxb Già ¡o dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c. [4] Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c Dà ¢n (1998), Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c, Nxb Già ¡o dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c, Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [5] Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Thià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n Già ¡p (2000), Dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯, Nxb Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Quà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœc gia Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [6] Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Hoà   (1999), Nghià ªn cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©u dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  chà ­nh trà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ xà £ hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i trà ªn tÆ ° lià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡u bà ¡o chà ­ tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Anh và   tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t hià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i, Luà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­n à ¡n tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¹ Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ văn. [7] Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Hà ²a (2003), Phà ¢n tà ­ch dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n: Mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ và ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥n Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  là ½ luà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­n và   phÆ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡ng phà ¡p, Nxb Ä HQG Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [8] Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Hoà   (2006), Phà ¢n tà ­ch dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n phà ª bà ¬nh, Nxb Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Quà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœc gia Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [9] Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Hà ²a (2008), Phà ¢n tà ­ch dià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n ngà ´n: Mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ và ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥n Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  là ½ luà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­n và   phÆ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡ng phà ¡p, Nxb Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Quà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœc gia Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. [10] Trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §n Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Thà ªm (1998), Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœng lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n Tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t, NXB Già ¡o dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c. [11] Trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §n Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Thà ªm (1985), Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœng lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t, Hà   Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i: NXB KHXH. [12] Trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §n Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c Thà ªm (2000), Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœng lià ªn kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t văn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t, NXB GiaÃÅ' o duÃÅ' £c. In English [13] Algeo, J., Pyles, T., Wadsworth, T. (2005), The Origins and Development of the English Language, Heinle. [14] Austin, J.L. (1955), How to do things with words, Oxford University Press. [15] Beaugrand, R. and Dresser, W. (1981), Introduction to Text Linguistics, London / New York: Longman. [58] Pham Khac Thu (2010), An Investigation into Modality Markers Used in Political Speeches by US Presidents, MA Thesis, The University of Danang. [16] Biber, D., Conrad, S. Leech, G. (2002), Longman student grammar of spoken and written English, (3rd Ed.) England: Pearson Education Limited. [17] Borsley, R. (1999) Syntactic Theory, Second Edition, Arnold, A Member of the Hodder Headline Group [18] Brown, G. and Yule, G. (1983), Discourse Analysis, Cambridge University Press. [19] Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Cambridge University Press [20] Coates, J. (1983), The Semantics of Modal Auxiliaries, London/Canberra: Croom Helm. [21] Cook, G. (1989), Discourse, Oxford University Press, Oxford. [22] Crystal, D. (1992), Introducing Linguistics, Penguin, Harlow. [23] Dontcheva-Navrà ¡tilova, O. (2005), Grammatical Structures in English: Meaning in Context, Brno: Masaryk University. [25] Erhman, M. (1966), The meanings of the modals in present-day American English, The Hague:Mouton Co. [26] Galperin, I.R. (1977), Stylistics, Moscow: Higher School [27] Gee, P. (1999), An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method, London, Routledge [28] Gee, P., Green, J. (1998), Discourse analysis, learning, and social practice: A methodological study, Review of Research in Education. [29] Goffman, E. (1981), Forms of talk, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. [30] Halliday, M.A.K., Hasan, R. (1976), Cohesion in English, London: Longman. [31] Hatch, E. (1992), Discourse and Language Education, Cambridge University Press. [32] Le Thi Hoang Van (2008), An Investigation into Linguistic Features of Antithesis in Political Speeches in English and Vietnamese, MA Thesis, The University of Danang. [33] Nunan, D. (1993), Introducing Discourse Analysis, Penguin Group. [34] Nguyen Uy Dung (2010), An Investigation into Stylistic Devices in Political Speeches by US Presidents, MA Thesis, The University of Danang. [35] Nguyen Thi Hanh (2012) , An investigation into the structure of Theme Rheme in English and Vietnamese political speeches, MA Thesis, The University of Danang. [36] Pham Khac Thu (2010), An Investigation into Modality Markers Used in Political Speeches by US Presidents, MA Thesis, The University of Danang. [37] Widdowson, H.G. (1978), Teaching English as Communication, Oxford. [38] Widdowson, H.G. (1994), Linguistics, Oxford University Press. [39] Wright, L. Hope Jonathan (1996), Stylistics-A Practical Course Book, Routledge. [40] Yule, G. (1996), Pragmatics, Oxford University Press. [41] Yule, G. (1997), The study of language, Cambridge University Press. [42] Yule, G. (2006), Oxford practice Grammar Advanced with Answers, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Websites [43] https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri-s-la-s-dialogue/speeches [44] https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/sld12-43d9 [45]https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la dialogue-2013-c890 [46]http://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2011-4eac [47]https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2010-0a26 [48]https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2009-99ea [49]https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2008-2906 [50]http://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la diaogue-2007-d1ee [51]https://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la dialogue-2006-f1a5

Manipulation Of Images In Media Texts Media Essay

Manipulation Of Images In Media Texts Media Essay There are many arguments and concepts towards manipulation of images in media texts. The manipulation of images is seen every day by everybody who picks up any kind of media text from newspapers and magazines to internet articles, retouching photos is happening. Whether its changing how a person looks, changing the dominant characters surroundings or deleting parts of the image this all adds to the audiences perception of the text which the media has given them. There is no right or wrong answer unto whether the manipulation of media texts is actually something that should happen and should carry on happening throughout texts, some people think it is wrong to change the way people look, however some people believe that the changing and manipulation of media texts is all part of the media process. There are more arguments throughout the world of media which say the retouching their images is misleading for young people and manipulates them to believe this is how you should look. I want to see regular girls that look like me in a magazine thats supposed to be for me. For the sake of all the struggling girls all over America, who read Seventeen and think these fake images are what they should be, Im stepping up (Bluhm, 2012) Julia Bluhm is a 14 year old American teenager who understood the manipulation of texts and how the retouching and development of photos will influence teenage girls lifestyles and make them change the way they look at themselves because of the fake images portrayed by the media. For young girls like Julia photo manipulation could potentially make them change the ways they look at themselves due to the retouched images, young girls tend to idolize celebrities and icons in magazines. The retouched photos which may lead them to believe their own imperfections are abnormal influencing them to even turn to anorexia and body issues. Many people believe that the manipulation of images in media texts also leads to many people having low self-esteem issues which may also cause self obsessions and body issues within ones self. Theres no end of studies that show that consistently seeing airbrushed images makes women feel worse about themselves. (Crisell, 2010) There have been many articles written to show how the retouching of images affects the lifestyles and health of people, especially women. Many psychologists have studied the effects of the manipulation of media texts and how it reflects on a persons health; many say we are more likely to compare ourselves to these images due to the excessive exposure we have to them. We live in a current society which consists of a high percentage of people living with high body dissatisfaction and manipulation of images in media texts could potentially increase this percentage. Some people may disagree and believe that the retouching of images in media is a normal thing to do and is all part of the media process. No longer is it about  just  taking pictures.   Editing is involved. (Boutwell, 2012) Today, many photographers and people involved in the media believe there is a lot more behind an image and it isnt about just taking a photo anymore, editing is used in the images in media to enhanced the beauty of the image and to potentially get the most out of it. My opinion is that Photoshop is a major reason why photographers make so much money. (Boutwell, 2012) From getting the most out of the image that is possible some people say, like Allison Boutwell, that this is how photographers and the media make more money and sell more which is a process that every worldwide business want to do and this is just the way the media achieve this. Every business and company wants to make a profit, and by selling the manipulated images is the way the media do this. Arguments can show that the manipulation of images in media texts is just the way the media are trying to earn a living so to say. The retouched images seem to show more public interest than the non retouched images due to the public wanting to see the eye catching beautiful celebrities on the cover of their favourite magazines. Beauty-retouching is a quite deceptive art. (Metzmacher, 2008) Like Metzmacher some people disagree that the manipulation of images is wrong due to the idea that retouching images is only enhancing beauty of people and is seen as an art form. Today, 23 percent of women ages 25 to 29 now retouch their own personal photo and even more concerning, 41 percent among those ages 18 to 24 now retouch their photos too. Figure like this now may begin to suggest that women now begin to feel compelled to retouch their own photos due to manipulation of media images in order to fix their own personal self-esteem problems that the media have persuaded them into. Research shows that many women globally have all started editing their own photos in order to try and fit their own personal needs. Although only 43 percent of women agree with retouching photos, higher figure show that women edit their own photos. The media assist in this process subconsciously to the public, but it may lead to potential problems in the future like women becoming too obsessive with having the perfect figure and generating the perfect photo to feel they are meeting the need of the media also. Overall, the manipulation of images in media texts and be misconstrued in both directions, there are many positive and negative aspects to retouching photos. In my opinion, i do think that redevelopment of images can be seen as an art form and is only trying to enhance the beauty of the image in order to grab the audiences attention. I think that the media have in somewhat gone too far with the retouching of photos and can convey ideas to young girls and change the way they look at themselves to try and can potentially cause them problems like anorexia and low self-esteem because of the fake images which are too perfect to even be real.

Professional Sports - Free Agency is Causing the Slow Death of Baseball

Free Agency is Causing the Slow Death of Baseball    What ever happened to the old days? This is a comment that my Dad and Grandpa are always saying when it comes to major league baseball in this era. Like clockwork, at the beginning of every baseball season my Dad says, "Every year my team has all new faces. How am I supposed to root for this team if I don't even know who is playing for them." Now, more than ever, this comment is true. It is true because of free agency in baseball. Free agency is destroying the fabric of the baseball blanket in America. This is the same blanket that many of us sports fans have grown up with and have drawn accustomed too. Baseball is our national pastime. If something is not done to change free agency in baseball it may not remain our national heritage in the future. Baseball is the sport that every kid growing up has a dream to play. These same kids also look at major league baseball players as their role models. If free agency runs the same course that it has been running it will destroy baseball. If nothing is done to change free agency all that we, as baseball fans, will remember baseball as is a pastime. According to Rick Reilly, a freelance writer for sports magazines, free agency (which he broadly defines as an athlete's ability to offer his services on the open market to the highest bidder,) is a threat to baseball (108). However, free agency does have a few restrictions that do not allow just any player to file for it. A player with zero to three years of experience must negotiate his salary with club management; a player with more than three but less than six full years in the majors has an option of submitting a salary dispute to an independent arbitrator; and a player with si... ...blanket that fans of the sport have become attached to like a security blanket. What free agency is doing to baseball should not be tolerated by us, the fans. It should not even be tolerated by anyone associated with the sport. Free agency it could end up destroying the future thoughts and dreams of baseball fans yet to come. If something is not done to free agency in baseball, which is considered our national pastime, will not be considered that by future generations to come. Works Cited Gelin, Dana. " Fish Tale." Sports Illustrate Commemorative Issue 1997: 28- 30. Kurkjian, Tim. "Blueprint For Success." Sports Illustrated Commemorative Issue 1997: 16-19. Reilly, Rick. "Fishing For Marlin Fans." Sports Illustrated March 9, 1998: 108 Worsnop, Richard L. "Pro Sports Big Challenge." Editorial Research Reports 9 Feb. 1990, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 82-94

Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel Essay -- Exploratory Essays Researc

In the study of a scientist's life, it is important to recognize several key elements. Scientific contributions are of utmost importance. Following mention of those, it is then possible to look at his or her life, family, and religion as well. However, for Albert Einstein, these elements must all be looked at collectively. Einstein will no doubt go down in history as a great theoretical physicist. His work is compared in importance to that of scientists such as Galileo Galilei, Nicolas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton. Some would even say that his contributions to science were greater. However, it is impossible to paint a complete picture of Einstein without examining his life, his religion, and his personality. His science was his life, and his religion gave him insights as to how to approach science. By observing his innate curiosity, desire for simplicity and elegance, humble outlook, and desire to seek answers, we can see what elements reached the center of his being . Though Einstein was one of the greatest contributors to physical science of our times, he was by no means the most brilliant theorist or experimenter. Competent specialists within the field of physics could have better accomplished some of his mathematical deductions. In fact, he needed the assistance of a friend, mathematician Marcel Grossman, to wield the tools necessary to develop his general theory of relativity. Einstein shined brightest within a theoretical context, but, despite the fact that his relativistic theories were most revolutionary, the study of quantum mechanics made a larger impact on the way physics is studied today. What, then, set Einstein apart? Curiosity was the key factor. As Einstein said, "I have no special gift - I am o... ...manner of man he was. Albert Einstein's lifelong quest was to seek the answers to questions his curiosity posed. His religious inspirations and intuitive nature helped set him apart from other scientists, and aided him in finding the solutions he sought. He was just as unique a man, possessing a world view many have come to respect. In short, Einstein was a man who was much greater than the sum of his equations. It is in this light that he will be forever remembered. It is also because of this truth that Einstein is considered one of the most revolutionary men of our time. Works Cited Duxbury, Philip. "Physics concepts, physics careers" lecture notes. East Lansing, 1996. Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam, 1988. Hoffmann, Banesh (with Helen Dukas as collaborator). Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel. New York: Viking, 1972.

Morality †Macbeth Essay

Morality is the reference to codes of conduct that are brought forward by a society. It is evident in the play Macbeth that making moral decisions is superior to making immoral choices. In the end of the play the result of the characters moral and immoral choices all comes to fruition. Consequently the actions of those who acted morally dealt with their situation much better than those who did not. Morality is the reference to codes of conduct that are brought forward by a society. It is evident in the play Macbeth that making moral decisions is superior to making immoral choices. In the end of the play the result of the characters moral and immoral choices all comes to fruition. Consequently the actions of those who acted morally dealt with their situation much better than those who did not. There were some characters in the play that knew exactly what was right and wrong, but still chose to ignore their integrity. Lady Macbeth demonstrates immoral behavior throughout the whole play which results in a tragic conclusion for everyone. For instance, she devised the plan to kill the king knowing very well that it was wrong to do so. In addition, she was tempted by the opportunity for power and convinced Macbeth to go along with the plan even though he was thinking about not doing it. â€Å"What beast was’t, then, /That made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you were a man;† (Shakespeare. 1. 7. 48-50). Macbeth was mainly depicted in the play to be immoral however he did seem to have some good morals in the beginning. He was perceived as a great warrior and was thought so highly of that Duncan granted him the title of Thane of Cawdor. Throughout the rest of the play there is a decline in Macbeth’s character after he immorally killed the King for no good reason other than power. â€Å"I am settled, and bend up/ Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. † (Shakespeare 1. 7. 80). This decision sparked a whole bunch of murders which resulted in a catastrophic ending for both Macbeth and his wife. There is some evidence in the play that would suggest that acting immorally will bring you good results. For instance, Macbeth knew that he would not become king since Duncan already revealed that his son Malcolm would be the imminent king. In order to fulfill the ambition that he was feeling he knew he had to act immorally. This turned out to be a great decision because Macbeth ended up with what he wanted which was to become the king. â€Å"Thou has it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all. † (Shakespeare. 3. 1. 1). Although Macbeth did get what the witches prophesied, the immoral behavior had its consequences. For example, towards the end of the play everything had turned against him including his own people and his wife committed suicide. â€Å"The Queen, my lord, is dead. † (Shakespeare 5. 5. 17). In Macbeth it is very blatantly depicted that choosing to indulge in immoral behavior will result in negative consequences. It is apparent at the end of the play that all of the immoral actions that took place resulted in a very disastrous ending.

Profesional Manager Essay

What are the Institution Building Skills of the Top Executives in organisational set up? Explain with examples from various Institution Building Personalities quoting their role relating to various skills which contributed in Institution Building. Briefly describe the organisational history you are referring to. Most of the institution building activities require attending to some very important functions. The chief executive has to maintain his position of a leader of the organisational management. Apart from the efficiency of the organization top executive has to be equally concerned about satisfaction of employees, their welfare, their development which will create an impact on the society and their morale. Managerial skills that help in building an institution or organization the skills of the top executive are broadly categorized as follows: i) Identity Creating Role: You create a special place for your organisation by making it unique in one or more than one respect. You may have good employee welfare measures that make your employees happy. You may also be known for your technological innovations and users of your technology outside your organisation are happy about it. Thus, you are known with your identity with the above two areas which are created and you have also made or established your organisation’s identity that way. Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance, employee satisfaction, goodwill, transparency,. ii) Enabling Role: The chief executive has to develop various kinds of resources such as men, material, facilities for work as well as a good work atmosphere. Employees have to be trained and updated in their skill and materials so that outputs can be multiplied. Also, he has to give employees a very challenging/satisfying atmosphere to work by knowing their ability as well as willingness to work by this means efficiency of the employees can certainly be increased as well as morale. Involvement of employees in decision making. Focused participation, development of resources (men, materials, machinery and money etc.). Breakeven point. iii) Synergising role: Synergy is working together of two or more people, organizations, or things, especially when the result is greater than the sum of their individual effects or capabilities. Collectively resources – men, material, money and machines contribute to the goals of the organisation. Ensuring proper utilisation of the available resources particularly when such resources are scarce is very important role of the top executive. Also, this role of the top executive is very challenging one because he has to uniquely combine available resources with their optimum utilisation in order to achieve the predetermined objectives. iv) Balancing Role: The role of the top executive is to make subordinates conform to rules, expectations, regulations or procedures to achieve the goal of the organisation. Such conformity may not be so much stressed that it destroys the creative potential of the subordinates/employees. Allowing employees to be creative, to be able to move in new directions and respond to the new challenges and pressures from the environment gives them autonomy without causing damage to their potential. Thus, a balance between the conformity and creativity should be maintained. v) Linkage Building Role: As a top executive, realizing the social obligations of the organisation to the benefit of other organisations as well as the community and society at large he link the organisation with other technical or financial organisations or government agencies or policy making bodies which may have similar goals. For example, research and development unit of the industry can have link with a similar unit in educational or research organisations. He has to get support from financial institutions to develop research and development activity in his organisation. Linking the organisation’s activity with the community where he works. A rural development centre’s activity at a technical education institution can be very well linked with community development programmes in rural areas on issues like health, sanitation, education, etc. vi) Futuristic Role: This is role is very vital because the very future of the organisation will be at stake, if let loose. Top executive has to take decisions to expand or diversify or change or reorganise his organisation  for meeting new demands and challenges. He should be prepared for the importance of the role his organisation can play in future. vii) Making impact: This means making an impact of one’s organisation on others. A leading manufacturing organisation of a product can be very influential in several ways to influence the policies in the field in which it operates. Examples of electronic goods such as television, transistors, calculators and computers are not rare, where superior technology in the manufacturing process is ever on the increase. viii) Super ordination to the employees working under a top executive. You can done by giving a sense of fulfilment to the members of your organisation by building in them a sense of pride that they are working in a very important field of work, which is so important for the society. For example, members of a fertiliser or oil or steel organisation would be very highly motivated and satisfied people as their work is of importance to the society. This sense of pride has to be brought out by you as a top manager. xi) Team Building: Building an efficient and strong team of people at the middle management level so that they can really work for him and the organisation. Being chief executive he can always encourage some persons to learn some of his management as well as managerial skills to keep the organisation functioning by their strong and mutually supporting activities. x) Monitoring and Reviewing: Monitor and review the functioning of the organisation at different time intervals to ensure correct way of functioning. You may also make sure that your team of people are open to problems of their own group as well as appreciate problems of similar kind occurring at various levels in other organisations. Many times we are successful in resolving our problems concerning people or their work by borrowing experience of others. xi) Quest for Talent Search: This role of a top executive assumes high importance. This role involves a constant monitoring and search for competent people at all levels and reward them for their competence and  dedication. Search of competent personnel in a significant way to enhance the competence of the organisation. xii) Sharing ideas: To keep in touch with and share ideas with policy makers and planners as well as intellectuals who bring in deep insight to understand and plan for the future. This role of chief executive is very crucial as sharing of ideas and the feedback from them to join meetings and debates of such nature which will make you think about your own skills in this regard. xiii) You may like to develop in yourself a kind of skill to be involved with the organisation yet remain detached about it. In India, this sense of remaining detached, yet knowing what is happening is one of the very important work values existing in our culture and tradition. You may be deeply involved to become a very effective top person in the day-to-day operations of the organisation and its results. Yet you should also be detached from people and situation to observe your own activities and experiences to learn about a different approach to your organisation. Container Corporation of India Limited – a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways had made its humble beginning in 1988 with its one and only one ICD at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi – with various institution building measures of its various Chief Executives right from Mr. R.D. Sharma to Mr. Anil Kumar Gupta (current CMD) over a period of 25 years now the company enjoys a near monopoly status in multimodal logistics business despite Ministry of Railways granting licences to the private container operators. The tenure of Mr. Ashwini Kumar Kohli and Mr. Rakesh Mehrotra the ex-CMDs has seen a commendable development scenario because of all the above explained roles being played by them despite facing the odds during the period of economic slow down i.e. in 2008. As we are all aware during this period the export import (EXIM) trade as well as the domestic trade was severely hit. But the strategic role played by the top/ chief executive in reducing the freight tariff slightly had given boost to the domestic as well as exim trade while maintaining the upward trend in profitability.