Tips for Finding Your Memoir’s Theme

Tips for Finding Your Memoir’s Theme Writing memoir: Tips for Finding Your Memoir’s Theme - By Julia Scheeres Julia ScheeresA few months ago, we had an interesting piece on our blog from our Reedsy editor and advisor Rebecca Heyman  on why authors should think twice before writing a "memoir". We believe that in a subjective industry like this one, it's important to showcase a variety of opinions. So when we interviewed narrative non-fiction author Julia Scheeres a few weeks ago, we asked her if she would contribute a blog post on writing memoir.  Julia is the bestselling author of Jesus Land  and one of our best memoir editors on Reedsy.  She luckily  accepted our  offer, and  leaves  us with some great nuggets of wisdom on finding your memoir's theme. Memoir authors, this is for you.My students often look stricken when I ask them this question:â€Å"What’s your memoir about?†I don’t blame them – I also struggled with this question, even after my memoir was published. During dozens of radio interviews about Jesus Land, the host - who frequently di dn’t have time to read my book – would bluntly ask: â€Å"So, what’s your book about?† and expect a zippy answer. I so dreaded that question. How was I supposed to reduce a 350-page book down to a single sentence or word?â€Å"What’s your memoir about?† is also a confusing question because it can be answered two ways. The asker may merely want to know the general plot, or story arc, of your book, which you probably had figured out a long time ago. But she’s also usually curious about something deeper - the emotional story you’re trying to convey. Not just the what, but the why.It was only in honing my sound bytes for radio interviews that I understood what my theme was. â€Å"Jesus Land is about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.† That’s the emotional story. The longer version hints at the plot: â€Å"Jesus Land is about the unbreakable bond between a brother and a sister raised in a hostile envi ronment.†Like me, you may not be able to put your theme into words until after several drafts of your book. But if you’re able to sort it out beforehand, you’ll waste a lot less time with superfluous events and characters. Most memoirs are essentially survival stories. The author survives an ordeal - a harsh childhood, cancer, alcoholism, divorce, a loved one’s death, kidnapping, a plane crash - and lives to tell the tale. The theme therefore conveys something the author learned by enduring the experience: inner peace, resilience, empathy.Examples of famous memoirs' themes:Some memoirs are easier to categorize than others.Mary Karr’s third memoir, Lit, for example, is about battling alcoholism with prayer;Wasted is about Marya Hornbacher’s struggle to overcome a nearly-fatal eating disorder;Tracy Ross sums up the theme in The Source of All Things, which details her painful relationship with her stepfather, in a single word: forgiveness.Having an identifiable theme gives your memoir universal appeal. Readers who’ve likewise struggled to overcome a hardship will relate to your book and want to read it, feeling they share a commonality with you and may learn something about c oping from your experience. And readers who’ve had the Hallmark card version of life will also read it to broaden their worldview and experience some vicarious drama.Writing memoirs: tips for finding your memoir’s theme:Tell someone your story. Note which parts arouse their curiosity and the questions they ask. The more you talk about your memoir, the clearer your theme will become in your mind.Think about how you were changed by your experiences. You start your memoir at point A and end up at point Z. What did you learn between those two points?Ask yourself, â€Å"why am I writing this book?† or â€Å"what do I want to say?† Lodge these queries in the back of your mind. The answers may come when you least expect them, such as at 5 a.m. or when you’re doing laps in the pool - moments when you’re relaxed and undistracted.Consult someone who knows your story well. Ask them what they think are the most moving/ dramatic parts of your experience and why. As memoirists, sometimes we can be so close to our material that we become myopic - we can’t see the bigger picture or recurring threads that weave through our work. You may hear them say something like, â€Å"how did you survive xyz?† or â€Å"you were really abandoned as a child† - comments that could help you articulate your theme.Write down the major events of your life and see if there is some connection between them. In doing so, you may well find the beats of your story. You may find it takes several drafts before your true theme emerges. (Hint: it’s hidden in the events that you find yourself obsessing over the most, or that place where your deepest shame resides). When you figure it out, you’ll be able to slice off the flab – all the digressions and superfluous material that bogs your narrative down.For me, it took several rewrites to figure out what Jesus Land was really about. I narrowed down my material to my dramatic teenage years. But I didn’t know which aspects of those years to focus on - moving to the countryside, my strict Christian household, the seething racism of rural Indiana, trying to fit in at a new school or being sent to a reformatory with my brother David. As I wrote, I kept coming back to David - my adopted black brother. My parents adopted David when he was 3 and I was a few months older. I gradually realized my relationship with David should be my â€Å"through line,† or the one constant ag ainst which all the other elements (racism, religion, abuse) unfolded.Once this became clear, I was able to go through my pages and cut out the extraneous details that watered down the book’s central focus (such a long sections involving my high school boyfriend or various cliques). The result, I believe, is a more powerful and poignant book.Narrative nonfiction must have a focused, deliberate arc and structure. As a memoirist, it’s your job to impose order and meaning on the chaos of life. That’s the art of writing memoir.

apocope - definition and examples of apocope in English

apocope - definition and examples of apocope in English Apocope is a  rhetorical term for the omission of one or more sounds or syllables from the end of a word. Also called end-cut, apocope is a type of elision. Etymology: From the Greek, to cut off Examples and Observations In many poor neighborhoods, the Sandinista Front has more street cred than the local youth gang.(Tim Rogers, Even Gangsters Need Their Mamas. Time magazine, Aug. 24, 2007)Season your admiration for a while with an attent ear.(William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene 2)Loss of sounds from the end of a word is known as apocope, as in the pronunciation of child as chile.(Thomas Pyles and John Algeo, The Origins and Development of the English Language. Harcourt, 1982)After he left the city, thousands of people toasted him with beer at a barbie, an Australian barbecue.(Pope in Australia, The New York Times, Dec. 1, 1986)Newspapers have their own style and it is important that your feature matches it. For instance, it would be pointless writing a feature for a staid weekly in the style of something more suitable for a lads mag.(Susan Pape and Sue Featherstone, Feature Writing: A Practical Introduction. Sage, 2000) New Words and Names Quite a few English words have resulted from apocope, among them cinema (from cinematograph) and photo (from photograph). Names often undergo apocope (e.g., Barb, Ben, Deb, Steph, Theo, Vince).(Bryan Garner, Garners Modern American Usage. Oxford University Press, 2009) Lost Vowels Apocope is a process that deletes word-final segments, including unstressed (reduced) vowels. In Middle English, many words, such as sweet, root, etc. were pronounced with a final [e], but by the time of modern English, these final reduced vowels had been lost. We still see signs of final reduced vowels in the archaic spelling of words like olde.(Mary Louise Edwards and Lawrence D. Shriberg, Phonology: Applications in Communicative Disorders. College-Hill Press, 1983)Oliver Sacks on His Favorite WordOne of my favorite words is apocopeI use it (for example) in A Surgeons Life: . . . the end of the word omitted by a tactful apocope (Anthropologist on Mars, Vintage, p. 94).I love its sound, its explosiveness (as do some of my Tourettic friendsfor when it becomes a four-syllable verbal tic, which can be impaired or imploded into a tenth of a second), and the fact that it compresses four vowels and four syllables into a mere seven letters.(Oliver Sacks, quoted by Lewis Burke Frumkes in F avorite Words of Famous People. Marion Street Press, 2011) Pronunciation: eh-PAHK-eh-pee

ABC COMPANY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

ABC COMPANY - Essay Example The company will now move to a Cell Manufacturing Process Plant. A thorough analysis was transpiring for the re-engineering of obligatory business process and the preliminary efforts intense on essentials up to five years hallucination. But prior to endeavor of re-engineering processes by their trade allies, ABC, initially, wanted to improve their internal systems. The first step ABC took in this regard was the installation of monetary software. After that exemplary action several steps in the same track were taken gradually with more advance software modules as per their requirements and the progression is still going on. The main reason for the success of ABC is their implementation of the advance techniques of pricing and distribution in their business. To congregate the supply chain necessities ABC’s management decided to come up with two way solution, first they use radio frequency based data capture to support the on-line communication runs inside the company and then use the bar coding facility, to make it more authentic at their prime retail customers side. For combine podium of B2B communication, ABC and its trade cohorts were selected the Microsoft’s Biztalk. To implement this facility, external experts were brought in with the stern idea of in-house development to stay autonomous on their leaving. 1. Identify the different strategies you will employ to each of the 4 categories of suppliers and material/equipment purchased. Discuss the body of knowledge that surrounds supply chain strategies. (15%) The purchasing of new plant equipment requires selection of qualified suppliers and preparation and evaluation of bids. Since the product is new and the supplier not pre-qualified in most of the cases, hence the due diligence step in the process has to be carried out. This process is timely and energy consuming since loads of insight has to be put into the process before

Artists transform what were originally oral and literary stories into Essay

Artists transform what were originally oral and literary stories into images - Essay Example example is that to consumers who were viable to be being swindled by different financial institution, the act required that they were to be given credit counseling before being asked to sign any document (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education., 2005). This prevents against such occurrences like surrendering homes because one is not capable to pay up his or her mortgage. The Act has created awareness and as such foolish decisions which were taken by the consumers in the past like loan problems and challenges in meeting credit card payments have been properly addresses as everything is now understand to consumers in a clearer language than it used to be in the past. The Act exists to ensure that there is a debt reaffirmation agreements between the debtor and creditor, limits the lien stripping and tightens the discharge rules on claims thus making the Act effective in the both the development and well being of both parties involved. American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education. (2005). Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005: ALI-ABA course of study materials. Philadelphia, Pa: American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional

Luxury Market in China Essay Example for Free

Luxury Market in China Essay China is positioned to become the world’s largest luxury market in five years and a study by Datamonitor reported China’s luxury goods market was worth $9. 4billion by the end of 2009, which accounted for 27. 5% of the world’s luxury goods market. [1] They also predict that by 2015, China’s market will be valued at $14. 6billion. The main driver of this growth in the luxury gods market is the extreme wealth creation that China has experiences in the past ten years as its GDP has grown 10% annually on average, which is three times more than the global GDP. Investment Week quotes a recent World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini stating that there are 477,000 Chinese millionaires and China is also leading the world with the number of billionaires (Investment week. [2]) The combination of the staggering growth of the Chinese economy creating such great private wealth and the political and social evolution China has gone through over the last 30 years has created a tidal wave of opportunity for luxury retailers. Politically, China has gone through many changes over the last thirty years that has primed the economy and citizens for a surge in individualism and the pride in the ability to afford and purchase luxury goods. In 1976 Mao Zedong passed away and in 1979 the One Child Policy was introduced and applied by China’s new leader, Deng Xiaoping. China’s population was growing at an alarming rate and in order to curb this growth rate, Chinese were limited to having one child per household. Fast-forward thirty years and these only children, who have been raised by 6 parents, has created a â€Å"little emperor† mentality where their every desire it met, and is recently being satiated by Western goods. They now have buying power and they are spending it on high priced goods. The choices and options available today are a stark contrast to the limitations their parents experienced thirty years prior in a vastly different political time. Socially, China has always been a country deeply embedded in traditions such as gift giving, saving face and the respect for the hierarchal society. These traditions all stem from â€Å"guanxi,† the all-important notion of relationships, which is what drives business and social status. The culture of relationships is paramount for being successful in China so the combination of mass wealth and the traditions all surrounding Guanxi has attributed to the exponential growth of the luxury market in China. Although the Chinese have been known to be a culture of saving, the tides have shifted and the 20-30 something’s have created a society of excessive spending due to extravagant purchases to support their new tastes as well as these traditions. The new breed of buyers are young and are embracing their freedom to purchase in their capitalistic society, which is a far cry from their parents socialist upbringing. Therefore both social and political changes have created this perfect storm of excess, which is fueling the luxury good market in China and for many years to come. Mao Zedong, the leader of China from 1949 until his death in 1976 is still regarded as a controversial figure but his rule and communist policies molded the beliefs of many parents and grandparents living in China today. Under Mao’s rule there was no individualism and consumption was controlled. Mao is regarded as a great leader in China as he is thought to have laid the groundwork for China becoming the great power that it is today as a result of his leadership of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. While he did create the building blocks for present day China, he has been compared to communist leaders like Hitler and Stalin. He urged citizens to reject capitalism and even at one point â€Å"proposed the Socialist Education Movement (SEM) in an attempt to educate the peasants to resist the temptations of feudalism and the sprouts of capitalism that he saw re-emerging in the countryside. †[3] The citizens living in these times are now parents and while their lifestyles are very conservative, they are raising children in a very different political environment. Their children didn’t have a communist ruler and therefore have different views on modesty and consumption. While there is still a strict focus on studying and discipline, the focus on success and showing that you are successful has been morphed into an obsession with Western brands showing pride in ones accomplishments. Even as young children the Western culture is quite alluring, with children asking to be rewarded for good grades by going to McDonalds as we were told by one of the speakers. Today in China, people are who they wear. Even as Nicole from LVMH mentioned, the Chinese are obsessed with showing that they are wearing designer brands that you will see some wearing clothes and sunglasses with the tags still on them to show who the designer is. These â€Å"nouveau riche† are the products of parents who didn’t have any choices and now they are embarrassing their freedom to chose. Forbes reported â€Å"the average Chinese luxury consumer will spend roughly 11% of her income on luxury handbags along. †[4] They also go on to say that these consumers are â€Å"highly educated and highly motivated to identify products that will complement his or her individuality and rising power. †4 Parents of these kids weren’t allowed to have individuality, but now their children are not only wanting it but also seeking it with huge spending power. Spending 11% of your income on a luxury bag shows the emotional and mental bond to these luxury items. In the US simply to qualify for a loan for a mortgage, your total debt can’t be more than 45% of your income. To think that a quarter of that goes towards handbags alone not even included likely purchases like luxury cars, wines etc makes me think if this type of spending is going to be sustainable for the Chinese market. In China, there were many nice cars, but I didn’t think that perhaps these people are driving cars they can’t afford. I am used to the United States where living on credit is a way of life, but this takes it to a whole new level. The millionaires are able to afford this, but if a middle class person is spending such a high percentage of her income on something like handbags, its going to create an economy where nobody can afford to buy a house and retirement is never attainable. One of the Bentley students that sat with us at lunch mentioned that she wanted to buy a house but that she couldn’t without her parent’s financial support due to the 50%-70% down payment required. She and most young people are lucky that their parents have saved and will be able to help them, but for those in the younger generation who aren’t saving won’t be able to help their kids and there might be a whole future generation who can never afford to own property. These younger generations parents grew up in a communist and socialist society, where there isn’t the ability to care about status, but status and luxury has now become the currency in China. The millionaires in China are younger with an average age of 39. [5] These young millionaires enjoy showing their status with nice things from great bottles of wine, cars to handbags. They are achieving success and are looking to reward themselves with nice things, which also shows status among their peers. A report on the watch market, mentioned that men â€Å"need a watch of a certain quality to be part of the social circle. †[6] The need to show status and create a sense of belonging in a social group has become so apparent that retailers are taking notice and even creating products specifically for the Chinese buyer. Mercedes Benz is even making a car with a longer wheelbase for the Chinese businessmen who are chauffeured around and need to have more room in the back which is a big difference from the rest of the world where carmakers are creating smaller cars that consume less energy and are more economical. [7] The retailers and manufacturers of world are taking note that the new Chinese buyer is very different from their parents given all of the political changes of the past few decades. While the political changes are one factor in the shift of buying trends, policy has also been a great factor and one specifically is the One Child Policy, which was introduced in 1979. This policy has created what many call, the â€Å"Little Emperor† society as a result of one child being raised by 6 parents (on immediate and two sets of grandparents. ) These children have grown up being catered to and supported by six people and now their wants and needs are changing, as they get older. Where as their parents likely gave them the best they could afford, these 20 and 30 something’s are becoming obsessed with Western brands, which cost a premium. Even with a 30% import tax, individuals who grew up getting what they wanted are buying these Western luxury brands, at times spending their entire months salary on a handbag. Although their parents had a culture of saving, this new generation tastes for highly taxed Western goods to show status has greatly changed this cultural norm. For this generation to keep up with their friend, they have forgone the notion of saving in replacement of a life full of luxury goods with no savings. I spoke to Mico about this on the bus and she mentioned that her friends spend all of their money on luxury goods and there’s now a saying in Chinese that means that you spend all of your money that you make that month. She mentioned that buying fakes is a faux pas and that they only buy the real things, which is what leads to them spending all of their money. She noted that this was very different from the upbringing of her parents who were brought up saving almost 40% of their money. In the popular market that we went to in Shanghai, there were almost no Chinese in there and when we asked Mico if she went to the market to get knockoffs, she said that knockoffs’ were â€Å"so three years ago. † It quickly became apparent why That is there where Chinese people in the markets; they are in the real stores buying the real thing. In the streets it was quite apparent that everyone had designer bags and clothing on, but this was mainly in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou. In Xi’an there was still a feeling of communism, everything was still grey and there weren’t many people sporting their designer clothes. The opportunity right now is in the 1s tier cities and many retailers are trying to expand to the 2nd and 3rd tier cities. The opportunity in China purely based on the enormous populations in these cities. The first focus for the retailers were the tier 1 cities and now the 2nd and 3rd tier cities will be paramount for companies to sustain this continued growth. While political changes have made way for the change in buying and spending trends of young Chinese buyers, tradition has maintained an important part of the culture across all generations of Chinese and the luxury market surge has been fueled by these traditions. Guanxi, the focus on relationships as part of the Chinese culture has many components, one of which is the value of gift giving as a sign of respect. Gift giving is a huge part of Chinese culture, most prominent around the Chinese New Year, but a very large part of life socially and professionally year round. According to the authors of the book â€Å"The Cult of the Luxury Brand,† â€Å"quanxi†¦is the single biggest factor spurring the growth of luxe in China. †[8] When you give a gift to someone in China, it means you are thanking him or her for helping you but also solidifies your â€Å"guanxi† with them and continues the future relationship. Luxury items are now raising the bar in gift giving as recipients truly appreciate the luxury gifts and merchants have reported â€Å"frantic levels of spending† 8 all at once by shoppers who are looking to purchase gifts for their business partners and friends. The culture of saving face plays into this as well since the more luxurious the gift, the better. If you are looking to show great gratitude and â€Å"save face† then you will purchase a luxury item as a gift. In business face is extremely important so even Western brands are also learning this culture of gift giving, as they know the importance of partners in their business so they are making sure to take care of them by giving great gifts. In addition to the culture of gift giving that has fueled the luxury market growth, the culture of hierarchal respect has also attributed to this. Many Chinese of the younger generation believe that luxury products â€Å"mark where you have traveled up to but they also give you permission to continue succeeding. †[9] In a culture where you are competing with so many people and success is so important, it’s easy to see how luxury products represent achieving a certain social status and also denotes the fact that you will stay in that status. As Nicole from LVMH was speaking to us she noted that there are usually 40-50 students in each classroom. Students from an early age learn to be one in a large crowd, but as they get older and look to prove to the world what they have accomplished, and they use designer goods to reflect their status. The irony of this is that one would think that after growing up being one in a crowd, one would think that they would want to show status and individuality, but the items they purchase to show their status is exactly what their peers have chosen, which is likely a Louis Vuitton handbag. For instance, although it was quite conducive to the weather, when we were in China, every single person had Ugg boots on. In the US while Ugg is a popular brand, there are many more brands being worn, as there are many more tastes expressed by individuals. It was very interesting to see that there was a proliferation of a small number of brands, namely Louis Vuitton, as I came to quickly realize that the Chinese want to wear brands that are recognizable. While they are moving towards a more individualistic society, their tendency to be one of a group is still quite prominent. They do value the luxury brands to show status, but their need to be part of a group, albeit a high status group, is still quite unmistakable in the sea of Gucci and Louis Vuitton purses that were worn like a badge of honor by the women of China. The trip to China was quite eye-opening form the perspective of a Westerner who is used to a more modest lifestyle with an abundance of variety. The flashy cars and purses were immediately apparent from Beijing through Shanghai, but as I sit here thinking about the political and social changes that China has gone through in the past few decades, I only with I was smart enough to somehow capitalize on this. China is a fascinating country to visit given its great history and culture that is evident today, but it’s also great to have visited a country that is still going through many changes and evolving at such a rapid rate. While the rest of the world is clearly evolving, China is doing so at an exponentially quicker rate than most and that was quite clear with the sea of cranes in every city putting up buildings everywhere. I do believe that culture will always be a part of the Chinese people and lifestyle, but it will be interesting to see when this locomotive of luxury obsession begins to ebb or if China will meet its own credit crunch in the coming years given the drastic change in spending habits that the younger generations have adopted. [1] Chinese appetite for premium products growing despite slowing economic activity. Datamonitor July 20010, English ed. : 16. Print. [2] Andrea Gerst and Scilla Huang Sun, â€Å"China’s passion for luxury goods increases,† Investment Week, September 6, 2010. [3] â€Å"Cultural China,†http://history. cultural-china. com/en/46H9449H13452. html [4] Evelyn Rusli, â€Å"What Chinese Shoppers Want,† Forbes, March 8, 2010. [5] Andrea Gerst and Scilla Huang Sun, â€Å"China’s passion for luxury goods increases,† Investment Week, September 6, 2010. [6] Florent Bondoux, â€Å"Luxury watches find booming market in China,† Media, September 10, 2009, 17. [7] â€Å"Lengthened Mercedes-Benz E-Class to hit Chinese shores† http://www. benzinsider. com/2010/04/lengthened-mercedes-benz-e-class-to-hit-chinese-shores/ [8] â€Å"China Luxury,† http://app1. hkicpa. org. hk/APLUS/0710/p24_29. pdf [9] â€Å"Is Chinas Luxury Goods Market a Pot of Gold for Marketers? † Knowledge at Wharton, assessed July 27, 2007, http://english. cri. cn/2946/2007/07/27/[emailprotected] htm.

Efforts to Break the Stalemate on the Western Front Essay -- Papers

Efforts to Break the Stalemate on the Western Front There are five main factors that are crucial in explaining the development of a stalemate on the Western Front. All the armies and navies of Europe faced each other across fortified front lines. The pre-war plans had succumbed to the technological surprise of 1914-15: that the withering firepower of machine-guns, cartridge rifles, and rapid-fire artillery favoured the defence. Infantry in deep trenches, fronted with mines and barbed wire and backed by artillery, could not be dislodged by frontal attack. Accordingly, military and political leaders spent the war groping for means of breaking the stalemate in the trenches. First, neutrals might be enticed to enter the war, perhaps throwing enough weight into the balance to provide victory. Second, new weapons, tactics, and theatres might break the deadlock or achieve strategic goals elsewhere. Third, more and more men and material might be squeezed out of the home economy to tip the balance of forces or wear down the enemy by economic attrition. The first of theses means determined much of the diplomatic history of the war. The second stimulated technological developments such as poison gas, tanks, and submarines, as well as the peripheral campaigns of southern Europe and the Middle East. The third determined the evolution of war economies and the character of what came to be called total war. In 1916 German strategists again turned west with the expressed intention of bleeding France white and breaking her army's spirit. The object of attack was to be the fortress of Verdun, and the plan called for substitution of ordnance for manpo... ...arose. The Schlieffen plan represented a pristine militarism: the belief that all factors could be accounted for in advance, that execution could be flawless, that pure force could resolve all political problems including the plan itself. By October 1914 all the plans had unravelled. After the German defeat in the battle of the Marne, the Western Front stabilised into an uninterrupted line for 466 miles from Newport on the Belgian coast south to Bapaume, then Southeast past Soissons, Verdun, Nancy, and so to the Swiss Frontier. Both sides dug-in, and condemned themselves to four years of hellish stalemate on the Western Front. I conclude that the most important three factors are none of them; they all are equally the same as they play their different roles in the development of a stalemate on the Western Front.

Five Forces

————————————————- Re:The Cable Industry Conditions Are Ambiguous The cable industry’s conditions are quite ambiguous for new firms thinking to penetrate the market. The cable industry consists of firms that operate in the wired, third party distribution systems for broadcast programming. These cable operators offer television programming from cable networks or local television stations to consumers via cable infrastructure on a subscription basis.It is important to note that the industry is different from satellite providers, Internet service providers, or VoIP services, whose main difference is in infrastructure. Main players in the cable industry operate on a nation-wide basis. The biggest threat to this industry is high barrier to entry. This is due to a number of factors. First, capital requirements are high because infrastructure is costly such as the fiber-opti c lines that have been introduced to offer customers higher-priced, enhanced or bundled services.There is a medium level of industry concentration as the top four companies construct around 55% of the industry overall. Government regulations are also high, since operators must be licensed by the FCC through extensive registration. Thus programming rights, infrastructure investment, and high regulations present significant expenses and hardship for new firms entering. Barriers to entry, unlike all other factors in the five forces model, actually raises profits in a five forces analysis. This is because high barriers to entry prevent firms that could easily come into the market and take away profits.Other forces such as supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitutes, and industry rivalry, have moderate power in this industry. This would usually present a case of relatively lower profits in the industry – however we see that industry profitability is way above the industry a verage. It seems that the established firms in the industry are profitable because there are both high barriers to entry and many firms have consolidated with content suppliers. Thus profitability in this industry is quite ambiguous.

President Jackson Guardian of the Constitution

With good intention of building a nation based on principles of freedom, opportunity, and equality, the United States early leaders had many struggles in doing so. A utopia world can be imagined and planned out, but tribulations will always occur, making a utopia impossible to be created. The Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the Constitution, individual liberty, and equal opportunity, but then again, tribulations are inevitable. Jacksonian Democrats took on the duty of defending the country from mostly outside powers, but also from problems that take place in the country. The Declaration gives the American man many rights, which can be, and will be abused. Document A explains how the Jacksonian's recognized this, and again, with good intent, they have assigned themselves as an organized party, with leaders of high meaning to protect any misuse of the said freedoms in the Declaration. President Jackson takes a commanding step in his faith of defending the country in his veto of the United States Bank re-charter showed in Document B. He gives a good argument for why the Bank is disrupting and harmful to the United States, and his veto is because he is trying to protect the United States. Document D shows how the United States was already very prospering, and the document really emphasizes the amazement of individual liberty. Never before, anywhere else in the modernized world was the a working democracy, but the United States seemed to be a very able country even with individual liberty. The writer claims she was â€Å"painfully amazed† when the question was up-rose of whether the people are encouraged to govern themselves, she was surprised because it looked as if it was a great environment. Document E tells of how a riot broke out in Philadelphia because of the issue of slavery, and black discrimination. This is a struggle that will always haunt those in power. The issue of slavery completely goes against the Democrat belief of individual liberty. The very unmoral view of the situation will claim that blacks are not considered humans, but property. Document E shows that South Carolina moves to suppress the non-slave states' publishing and printing. Document G shows how the United States took the rights of the Indians in the Indian Removal Act, which led to the Trail of Tears. The Indians were forced out of their living space, and had their rights abused. In Andrew Jackson's veto explained in Document B, it shows how he is defending the equal opportunity of the United States. He says, â€Å"It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of governments to their selfish purposes. † He is defending the common man and in doing so, he is also defending the Constitution. Equal Opportunity is also shown in Document F. South Carolina accepts the views of the non-slave states, but they realize the influence of of the non-slave states may be seen in the slave states, so they set restrictions on what they can print and publish in newspapers and pamphlets. They do not want the non-slave states to interrupt with their potential. The Jacksonian Democrats claimed to be defenders of the United States. They defended the Constitution, individual rights, and equal opportunity the best they could. But arguments and problems are always on the horizon, and sometimes defending them can turn someones actions on what they previously claimed their beliefs. For this, the Jacksonian Democrats were continuously challenged on their position on different subjects.

The troublesome life of Joshua essays

The troublesome life of Joshua essays Joshua lay awake, staring blindly towards the roof in this cold damp room. His wife was lying fast asleep next to him. It was raining outside, the wind was blowing to. He could hear the screeching noise of branches against the window and the rumble of rain drops bombarding the roof. It was one of those cold and scary nights, in which you were grateful to have someone close to you. He wrapped the coverlet tightly around him, trying to keep himself warm, and it was comforting. He felt isolated, not only from the cold, but from whatever that might be outside, in this house, in this room. He was a fragile old man, and he had never been quite happy with himself or his life. He had always worked on his farm; ever since his father died he felt he had to take care of it. His days had always been the same, until he met Sarah. Then things started to change, the farm wasn't as he used to remember it. The memory of his father had faded away, and the frequent visiting neighbours had seemed to dec rease. A bolt of lightning shone brightly from the sky, accompanying it a great air-breaking thunderous noise. But Joshua didn't notice at all. Not the lightning, but what it had revealed, out, in the dark night. He had already fallen asleep, and where he was now, it was much darker than anyone could imagine... Wake up Joshua, breakfast is getting cold! He sat straight up. Morning, he thought. The large beaming sphere of light called sun had spread its tender beams. These moments is those he liked the most. Not really the breakfast itself, or getting out of bed, but just being able to wake up. Im coming! The kitchen was dull and pale. It consisted of old furniture from the last century, from when his dad had owned the farm. Joshua had never gotten the chance to buy any new furniture, or buy anything at all to be honest. His wife took care of those sorts of things. Joshuas life was grim. Your eggs are getting...

Ask Questions in English Class to Help You Learn

Ask Questions in English Class to Help You Learn Here is a list of some of the most common phrases used for asking questions in the classroom. Learn the phrases and use them often! Asking to Ask a Question Can I ask a question?May I ask a question? Asking for Something  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Can I have a pen, please?Do you have a pen for me?May I have a pen, please? Asking about Words  Ã‚     Whats (the word) in English?What does (the word) mean?How do you spell (the word)?How do you use (the word) in a sentence?Can you use (the word or phrase) in a sentence? Asking about Pronunciation How do you say (the word in your language) in English?Can you pronounce (the word)?How do you pronounce (the word)?Wheres the stress in (the word)? Asking about Idioms Is there an idiom for (your explanation)?Is (an idiom) an idioms? Asking to Repeat Could / Can you repeat that, please?Could / can you say that again, please?Pardon me? Apologizing  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚      Excuse me, please.Im sorry.Sorry about that.Sorry Im late for class. Saying Hello and Goodbye Good morning / afternoon / evening!Hello / HiHow are you?GoodbyeHave a good weekend / day / evening / time! Asking for Opinions What do you think about (topic)?Whats your opinion about (topic)? Practice Classroom Dialogues Arriving Late for Class Teacher: Good morning class.Students: Good morning. Teacher: How are you today?Students: Fine. How about you? Teacher: Im fine, thanks. Where is Hans?Student 1: Hes late. I think he missed the bus. Teacher: OK. Thank you for letting me know. Lets get started.Hans (arriving late): Sorry Im late. Teacher: Thats OK. Im glad youre here!Hans: Thank you. May I ask a question? Teacher: Certainly!  Hans: How do you spell complicated? Teacher: Complicated is complicated! C - O - M - P - L - I - C - A - T - E - DHans: Could you repeat that, please? Teacher: Of course. C - O - M - P - L - I - C - A - T - E - DHans: Thank you.   Understanding Words in Class Teacher: ... please complete page 35 as follow-up to this lesson.Student: Could you say that again, please? Teacher: Sure. Please do page 35 to make sure you understand.Student: Excuse me, please. What does follow-up mean? Teacher: Follow-up is something you do to repeat or continue something youre working on.Student: Is follow-up an idiom? Teacher: No, its an expression. An idiom is a full sentence expressing an idea.Student: Can you give me an example of an idiom? Teacher: Certainly. Its raining cats and dogs is an idiom.Student: Oh, I understand now.   Teacher: Great! Are there any other questions?Student 2: Yes. Could you use follow-up in a sentence? Teacher: Good question. Let me think ... Id like to do some follow-up to our discussion last week. Does that make sense?Student 2: Yes, I think I understand. Thank you. Teacher: My pleasure. Asking about a Topic Teacher: Lets talk about the weekend. What did you do this weekend?Student: I went to a concert. Teacher: Oh, interesting! What kind of music did they play?Student: Im not sure. It was in a bar. It wasnt pop, but it was nice. Teacher: Maybe it was hip-hop?Student: No, I dont think so. There was a piano, drums and a saxophone. Teacher: Oh, was it jazz?Student: Yes, thats it!   Teacher: Whats your opinion of jazz?Student: I like it, but its kind of crazy. Teacher: Why do you think that?Student: It didnt have a song. Teacher: Im not sure what you mean by song. Do you mean that no one was singing?Student: No, but it was crazy, you know, up and down. Teacher: Maybe it didnt have a melody?Student: Yes, I think thats it. Whats melody mean? Teacher: Thats hard. Its the main tune. You can think of the melody as the song you would sing along with the radio.Student: I understand. Wheres the stress in melody? Teacher: Its on the first syllable. ME - lo - dy.Student: Thank you.

Describe bar charts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Describe bar charts - Essay Example In the same period, sales in US remained almost equal throughout the year, and an insignificant decline was experienced during 3rd and 4th quarter. This bar chart is a representation of buying behavior of clothes among teenagers and adult men and women during the period of 1998 in terms of percentage. During the 1st quarter of 1998 the total purchases of clothing items made by teenagers was between 40 to 45 percent; this figure experienced a decline in the second quarter, but continued to rise during the 3rd and the 4th quarters. The percentage of the 3rd quarter was less than the percentage of the 1st quarter, but the percentage of the 4th quarter exceeded the percentage of the 1st quarter. In case of adult men, the percentage of sales was nearly 25%; this figure continued to rise during the next two quarters but declined significantly during the last quarter. In case of adult women, the 1st quarter experienced a sale of women clothing of more than 30 percent; later, the figure continued to decline and rose significantly during the last quarter from the figure of 20%+ of the 3rd quarter to 40% in the 4th quarter. This bar chart represents travel expenses incurred during the months starting from January and ending in June. Food expenses incurred, as a part of travelling expenses, experienced an increase during the month of March and were at the lowest end during the months of January and May. The highest amount of money was spent on Gasoline during the period of March, and the lowest amount of expenditure on gasoline was experienced during the month of April. In case of Motel expenses, the biggest amount of money was spent during February and the smallest amount of expenditure was recorded during January and April. This figure is a representation of a comparison between the production and distribution cost with the final profit

Research English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research English - Essay Example According to Horvat et al (2003 p319) â€Å"...social classification involves the grouping of people in society on the basis of the collective features of individuals...† This implies that social classification involves the grouping of individuals in society based on common social features. Based on these characteristics, social scientists and other interest groups in the society can identify similar characteristics and make generalizations which can help in the improvement of lives in the society. There are many possible ways of classifying people in the society. Historically, the most popular basis for the classification of people in the American society has been race (Thompson & Hickey, 2005). In other words, people were grouped into various categories based on their skin color and race-related features like facial features, hair types amongst others. For generations, this remained convenient because the skin/racial features offered the most conspicuous method of identifyin g individuals uniquely. However, in the 21st Century, the classification of people into groups based on their racial features has been found to be unconstitutional, unfair, illegal and unacceptable. Due to this development, people are classified into groups in ways that are legally acceptable. This enables interest groups to study and get a good understanding of general trends in the American society and provide better ways of improving the livelihoods of individuals through collective methods. There are numerous ways that individuals are classified in America. The different methods of classification of social groups is based on a number of criterion. Schooler & Schoenbach (1994) identify that the most popular basis for the classification of individuals into groups in America are jobs, income, education, wealth and social networks. People can be classified on the basis of the rank they occupy in the workplace. This is based on the logic that individuals with the same rank have certa in unique behaviors, trends, habits, attitudes to job security and preferences. Thus operatives in businesses in America and management can be grouped in separate categories since their behavior and tastes are likely to be fashioned along similar lines since they are affected by the same circumstances most of the time. People can also be categorized on the basis of the level of income they make. This is because income is likely to affect the spending habits and preferences of individuals and the collective picture can give room for some generalizations. For instance people earning just enough to pay for basic necessities are likely to behave in a way that is different from people who earn enough to cover their basic needs, security needs and also get some excess to save and invest. In practical terms, whilst the first group will focus on survival matters, the second group might be considering better ways of spending their money and more fruitful investment activities that will bring them more returns. This shows that there is a clear distinction between the two groups. The educational and wealth level of each group of people also determines their social classification. This is because education often affects the mental scope of individuals and also affects the earning power of individuals. Thus people can be grouped on the bases of their education and wealth. Also, the social network a person belongs to is important