History and Physical Examination Essay

Admitting Diagnosis: Stomatitis possibly methotrexate related Chief Complaint: Swelling of lips causing difficulty swallowing History of Present Illness: This patient is a 57-year-old Cuban woman with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis. She has received methotrexate on a weekly basis as an outpatient for many years. Approximately two weeks ago she developed a respiratory infection for which she received antibiotics and completed that course of antibiotics. She developed some ulceration of her mouth and was instructed to discontinue the methotrexate approximately 10 days ago. She showed some initial improvement but over the last 3-5 days has had malaise, a low-grade fever and severe oral alterations with difficulty in swallowing although she can drink liquids with less difficulty. Patient denies any other problems at this point except for flare of arthritis since discontinuing the methotrexate. She has rather diffused pain involving both large and small joints this has caused her some anxiety. Medications: Prednisone 7.5 mg PO daily. Estradiol 0.5 mg PO QAM. Mobic 7.5 mg PO daily. Recently discontinued because of questionable allergic reaction HCTZ 25 mg PO every other day and oral calcium supplements. In the past she has been on pencillamine, azathioprine and hydroxychloroquine but she has not had Azulfidine, cyclophosphamide or chlorambucil. Allergies: none by history Family and Social History: noncontributory Physical Examination: This is a chronically ill appearing female alert oriented and cooperative. She moves with great difficulty because of fatigue and malaise. Vital Signs: Blood pressure 107/80. Heart rate 100 and regular respirations 22. HEENT normal cephalic. No scalp lesions. Dried eyes with  conjuctival injection. Mild exophthalmos. Dry nasal mucosa. Mark cracking bleeding in her lips with erosions of the mucosa. She has a large ulceration of the mucosa at the bite margin on the left. She has some scattered ulcerations on her heart and soft pallets. She has difficulty opening her mouth because of pain. Tonsils not enlarged. No visible exudate. Skin: She has some mild ecchymosis on her skin and some erythema. She has patches but no obvious skin break down. She has some fissuring in the buttix crease. Pulmonary: Clear to precaution and alcostation bilaterally. Cardiovascular: No murmurs or galaps noted. Abdomen: Soft. None tender. Protuberant no organomegaly and positive bowel sounds. Neurologic Exam: Cranial nerves 2-12 are grossly intact. Diffuse hyporeflexia. Muscular Skeletal: Corrosive destructive changes in the elbows, wrists, and hands consistent with rheumatoid arthritis. Has bilateral total knee replacements with stovepipe legs and perimalleolar pitting edema 1 +. I feel no pulses distally in either leg. Psychiatric: Patient is a little anxious about these new symptoms and their significance. We discussed her situation and I offered her psychological services. She refused for now. Problems: 1. Swelling of lips and dysphasia with questionable early Stevens- Johnsons syndrome. 2. Rheumatoid arthritis class 3 stage 4. 3. Flare of arthritis after discontinuing methotrexate. 4. Osteoporosis with compression fracture. 5. Mild dehydration. 6. Nephrolithiasis. 7. Anxiety. Plan: 1. Admit patient for IV hydration and treatment of oral ulcerations. 2. Obtain a dermatology consult. 3. IV leucovorin will be started and the patient will be put on high dose corticosteroids. 4. Considering patients anxiety perhaps obtain services of Stella Rose Dickinson PHD Psychology at a later date. X______________________________________________ Liam Medina, MD Date: 06/22/—- Case Study 5 Discharge Summary Patient Name: Fanny Copeland Patient ID: 115463 Date of Birth: 10/26/— Age: 58 Sex: Female Date of Admission: 04/26/—- Date of Discharge: 05/01/—- Procedure Performed: CT scan. Ms. Copeland is seen for her summary conference from her work up here at Hillcrest Memory Diagnostic Center. I initially saw her on 04/28/—- at which time there was the suspicion of depression. She has since had CAT scan of the brain with contrast of 04/30/—- which was unremarkable. Laboratories studies were completely negative to include normal thyroid function B12 and RPR. She had a formal neurophysiological battery with Dr. Stella Dickinson on 04/26/—- she scored 136 on the dementia rating scale, which is within normal limits for her age. The test result were consistent with mild cognitive defaces manifested by problems with concept formation. Attention and concentration and verbal memory. However the patient is significantly depressed which can produce some memory problems. Her past MRI suggests someone who is experiencing stress. Impression: There was no clinical evidence of dementia but there is evidence of a depressive disorder as the cause of her symptom etiology. No further suicidal or homicidal ideation are present. Recommendations: We recommend a psychiatric evaluation and treatment with re-testing in our facility in one years’ time.

The Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage

The notion that for every wrong done there should be penalty to a similar degree is known to people since time immemorial. There was a time when a state did not consider personal injuries to be crimes against society and it was only a matter between two families. At present such matter is taken over by the state and is immensely considered to be criminal behaviour. If it is proved that one has murdered, he or she is usually sententenced to life imprisonment. But is this penalty appropriate for such a heinous crime?Should capital punishment be reinstated? Do many people deeply support it? There is a well-known quotation widely used in Mahatma Gandhi‘s policy of non-violence which states: â€Å"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind†. If we respond to every single injury, in our society there would be no need for laws and we could all be primitive again. To put one to death in the electic chair to show that murder is wrong is contradiction in policy that confuses c riminals and undermines any criminal deterence capital punishment was intended to have.The most recent FBI data clearly demonstrates that countries with the death penalty actually have higher murder rates than those without. Moreover, study after study has found that the capital punishment is much more expensive than live in prison as the process of it is far more complex than for any kind of crime. The largest costs come at trial stages when it is decided whether or not sentence defendant to death. This shows that countries do not need this extreme threat to prevent crime. The anti-death-penalty morality arguments of some Christians are persuasive to many.It is assumed that God commanded â€Å"You should not murder† and that this is a clear instruction with no exceptions. According to Christians, only God should create and destroy our lives. Opponents of capital punishment vemently believe that execute one using an electric chair is the kind of revenge and human judgment tha t Jesus so often warned against. Therefore, death penalty is incompatible with a teaching which emphasises forgiveness and compassion that are fundamental tenets of Christianity. Futhermore, some Christians argue that in many countries the imposition of the death penalty is biased against the poor.Since Christian teaching is to support the poor, Christians are highly likely to be called the opponents of death penalty. Some people argue that the death penalty may bring a closure to the victim’s family. They would not have to worry that it could happen to another family. However, some families of murder victims are against it on the moral grounds. They deeply believe that death penalty will do the same damage to families like theirs. It is widely assumed that it would be a better punishment if someone would die repenting and trying to make up for crimes.When people have been killed there is no chance of rehabilitation that makes criminals see their mistakes and there is a possi bility that these previously dangerous people will turn into productive citizens that contribute to society and help make life better. The system can make tragic mistakes. No reliable data could show how many people have been executed for crimes that they did not commit. Unfortunately, such errors do occur. A film „The Life of David Galeâ€Å" makes overwhelming impression convincingly demonstrating a life of a man who is found guilty of murder and awaits his execution.The entire movie is designed to show what happens when an innocent man is sententenced – his family, marriage, career and reputation are all destroyed. Another movie based on a similar story is „The Green Mileâ€Å". A giant black man convicted of raping and killing two young girls is sentenced to death. While on the death row, we learn that he is innocent but there is no way to stop his inevitable execution. This proves that if in real life the government makes a mistake putting one to death in t he electric chair, innocent people can always be released from prison, however, they can never be brought back from death.Capital punishment is immoral and a violation of natural rights. It is wrong for everyone involved: criminals, victims’ families and the prosecuted innocent. It should be replaced by a safer and more inexpensive option. The death penalty does not guarantee safety for innocent victims, it does not effectively deter crime, and it does not usually give closure to victims’ families. Nothing good comes of hate, and nothing good can ever come from capital punishment.

Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration Project Essay

Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration Project - Essay Example ged upon. Due to this, the project which will be proposed blurs the lines between economic development, and environmental recovery. Background: Although it has been over 25 years since the explosion that led to the release of radioactive matter at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Union (currently Ukraine), the fact of the matter is that the area in and around the release is still highly toxic. This is of course due to the fact that the radioactive material that was released into the air, and ultimately into the ground and water supply, has determinate â€Å"half lives† which means it will remain for quite some time into the future. After the disaster which spilled toxic radioactive waste into the atmosphere and ruptured the poorly built Soviet containment system, the engineers of the time decided that the best way to remediate the situation would merely to be close the reactor that had experienced the disaster and move refocus electrical generation needs on the remain ing reactors of the Chernobyl power plant (Voitsekhovich 1016). Although such an approach has definitely worked for a period of nearly 30 years, the fact of the matter is that the untouched and un-remediated reactor that initially ruptured lies untouched and continues to leak radioactive matter into the ground, the air, and the water table. Influences to the Project: Due to the fact that Ukraine, once a part of the former Soviet Union, has a robust engineering and construction sector with a skilled and talented workforce to draw upon, the extent to which well qualified individuals available to work on such a situation exists is not in question. Moreover, due to the fact that few environmental or labor laws define the current system that is evidenced with regards to construction and engineering projects within Ukraine, it can readily be seen that few roadblocks to such a remediation project will be likely to be realized either. An additional point that bears mention is the fact that the northern reaches of the nation of Ukraine, specifically where Chernobyl is situated, can experience moderate to severe winters where ice and snow can become a major impediment to construction or the delivery of key supplies and personnel to the building site as a function of poorly maintained and insufficient roads and transportation systems. With regards to the cultural and language differential that must be engaged upon, this is an aspect of project planning that cannot be understated (Toru Oka 999). Due to the fact that the Ukrainian language is unique and only tangentially related to its closest linguistic cousin – Russian – it is the understanding of this student that a great deal of time, effort, planning, and money will need to go into hiring translators and area experts to integrate with all levels of the workforce, existing infrastructure, and governmental liaisons to the project. Management Strategy: As a function of the previous

Mental health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Mental health - Essay Example This has been affecting the people of the country for a long time and could range from behavioral to emotional problems that require psychiatric intervention. Those suffering from it, however, face serious challenges in attaining health care if they are not financially stable enough. For those who can get health care assistance, there are few policies that are in place for their advocating for treatment. In the places that there are, they are unaware or poorly informed about them. As a result, many people are forced to live their lives with these conditions. This paper shall look at the media’s role in influencing policies mental illness and how one can introduce or modify policies in their community. It will lastly, look at the effect of the changes on advanced practice nurses. The new policies being implemented by the government will allow the mentally ill patients to get the required treatment at affordable pricing and help them attain the required drugs. The media’s role in this should be to reach as many people as possible (Funk, 2003). Through advertisements, talk shows and interviews this campaign can be achieved. Given the fact that mental illness is not given priority in many places over other ailments, the media should be the driving force behind consumer awareness. A good example of such was during the 2009 policy implementations. The government was to provide Medicaid, offer affordable healthcare packages and new insurance plans (Koyanagi & Siegwarth, 2009). There were extensive debates and interview that helped inform those who were able to follow them. Through the same, certain areas of the policy that needed clarification were ironed out and areas that needed criticism were critiqued. This leaves no stone unturned in the understanding of the policy. After implementation, they should also follow up on the same to ensure that all is working accordingly. The nurses in practice also have a role in the

Chinese Yuan vs. US Dollar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese Yuan vs. US Dollar - Essay Example The use of the two currencies in trade began in 1985 on a bilateral arrangement between the two countries. In 2008, the volume of imports from China hit the $337.8 billion mark. The China government has increased the use of the Yuan in foreign trade over the years leading dynamism in its exchange rates with other world currencies. According to economists, the China government is suspected to devalue the currency in order to increase the competitiveness of their local industries. In addition, the Chinese Yuan is less flexible with respect to the exchange rate against the US dollar and other world currencies. An effort to increase the flexibility of the Chinese Yuan by the government has resulted to the use of the currency internationally. The objective is increasing the use of the currency and achieving its use as a reserve currency in the long term (Derosa 2011). The last five financial years indicate a relatively stable exchange rate between the Chinese Yuan (CNY) and the US dollar (USD). The table below indicates the official exchange rates posted in the two countries’ markets. The record shows how much one US dollar is equivalent to the Chinese Yuan Year USD Chinese Yuan 2009 1 6.8314 2010 1 6.7703 2011 1 6.4615 2012 1 6.3123 2013 1 6.1910 Since 2009 to date, the value of the Chinese Yuan has been increasing. ... changes in the exchange rate can be attributed to the control efforts of the Chinese Yuan flexibility in the exchange market by the Chinese government (Exchange-Rates.org 2013). From 2005 to 2008, the Chinese government allowed the appreciation of the dollar to 21%. However, the global economic crisis prompted China to stop the appreciation and regulate the exchange rate flexibility. From 2008 to 2010, the exchange indicated minimal changes since the rate was maintained at about 6.83 Yuan (Exchange-Rates.org 2013). Amid the then economic conditions, the Chinese government continued with their reforms in the exchange rate thus increasing the currency’s flexibility again. This led to an appreciation of the exchange rate leading to a loss of value by the Yuan against the dollar. The controlled flexibility of the Yuan leads to a slowed appreciation of the dollar against the Yuan. The slight change in the exchange rate of these currencies is caused by the fixed exchange rate regime maintained by China with regard to their currency. The depreciation of the US dollar over the years also contributes to the decrease in the exchange rate between the CNY and the USD. The USD has lost value against the Yuan and other major currencies across the world especially during the global financial crisis. The Chinese Yuan/US dollar exchange rate in 2012 portrayed several movements that ranged between an increase and a decrease in value of the Yuan against the dollar and the loss of value of the dollar against the Yuan. The table below shows the values of the exchange rates between the Yuan and the dollar. The values are on quarterly basis with the USD as the base currency (Wang 2009). Month (2012) USD Yuan January 1 6.6233 April 1 6.3077 August 1 6.3604 December 1 6.2223

Arabs And Westerners Attitude To Perfumes Industry Assignment

Arabs And Westerners Attitude To Perfumes Industry - Assignment Example Good and branded perfumes are quite expensive and wearing them is part of the trademark luxurious style of the Arab elite. Another reason behind this difference might be the fact that Arabs generally have less variety of outfits. Talking about men, most Arab men wear the same long white cloak that hangs from their shoulders till their toes and covers their heads with the red checkered handkerchief-like fabric. While outwardly there is not much variety, they tend to distinguish themselves from others by wearing a unique brand of the perfume of their own choice. The perfume becomes an essential part of their identity, so they feel driven toward purchasing a new bottle as soon as the previous one finishes. On the other hand, Western men have so much variety of clothes to wear ranging from pants to jeans, and nickers to pajamas. Likewise, there is a lot of variety of shirts, jerseys, T-shirts, and jackets. Wearing a perfume becomes a secondary thing since it is not outwardly noticeable u nless the seller is within the range of the wafting fragrance. Even if someone wears the perfume, there is so much more to concentrate upon in the clothes that perfume is not the highlight unlike in the case of an Arabian getup. Another cause of increased liking for perfumes among Arabs compared to the Westerners is the fact that Arabs, being rich and opulent, have more time to spend with family members and friends than the Westerners, many of whom do more than one job to be able to afford the high standard of living. While an average Westerner is busy working in the office, taking care of the children, helping them with the studies, and doing other domestic works, many Arabs spend their time in camel-racing and partying. Indigenous inhabitants of the oil-rich countries have money pouring in from all sources and they have the time and affordability to care about perfumes more than an average Westerner.

Decision Analysis in Financial Services Corporation Assignment

Decision Analysis in Financial Services Corporation - Assignment Example This was particularly true post-September 11, 2001, when the Patriot Act and its companion Banking Secrecy Act changed and further complicated the way financial institutions did business, by requiring them to detect and stop money laundering procedures. Like many others in the banking industry, in the decade prior to 2006 FSC had acquired and merged with many other like firms. By that year the corporation was in the process of its largest merger to date, which was still some months off. In order to make the merger smooth and efficient, it became evident that most of their divisions needed to be streamlined and HR was one those divisions that were singled out. One of those options was the balanced scorecard; an idea that had been around since the early 1990’s and had been implemented several times during the decade by the Human Resources of FSC, albeit without much success. Issues Based upon â€Å"How to Analyze a Case† from Harvard Business School’s Case Study Ha ndbook, there are four situations that occur in most cases. The first is the problem or in modern speak, the issues involved. FSC needed to develop a balanced scorecard (BSC) for is merger and had begun to identify problems with its Human Resources Division as early as 2002. ...With regard to the HR Division, the study revealed several weaknesses. Of the six flaws discovered, five of those dealt with measuring the division’s progress and using those indicators to predict the future of the department and deal with any changes that would come about. To quote the paper, â€Å"the HR Leadership Team, which consisted of the HR CFO and managers of the various HR departments, did not regularly review departmental metrics or indicators; rather, it relied on anecdotal information from colleagues and internal customers relating to how the HR Division was performing.† Still, it took another two years before the first primitive version of the BSC was first implemented. The divisio n had also been making an attempt to implement the BSC since 2004, with a lot of resistance from the employees, who for the most part considered the scorecards a waste of their valuable time and another â€Å"fad† brought about by the whims of the top leadership. As expected without enthusiastic cooperation in the HR Division, especially in senior leadership, that first BSC failed miserably as did several reincarnations thereafter. Yet Corporate Headquarters was determined to see the BSC brought about in the HR Division and bring Leadership’s thinking in line with the concept. After all, such things as Human Resources had long been considered of having no value addition and mostly referred to as overhead. The people at the top looked at exactly that, money, and if they weren’t convinced HR was a viable asset, it could be even further trimmed and the BSC was the best tool to prevent that.

Business Ethics in the Business World Research Paper

Business Ethics in the Business World - Research Paper Example The world of business, naturally, is no exception. Applied in such a context, these principles come into play in all aspects relating to business matters, especially when moral or ethical problems arise. Organizations and individuals alike demonstrate their grasp of business ethics in everything they do. In fact, business ethics may encompass a whole world of subjects on its own, many of which touch on the nature of the relationship between an organization, its employees, its clients and its stakeholders. Regardless, the main point that comes into play is that of the concept of right and wrong - whether a given course of action is right and just with respect to all parties involved (Smith, 1952).  The origins of the entire concept of business ethics date back as far as before the Christian Era, having first been discussed in ancient times by Cicero (Goldin, 2006). His view on the matter, one in line with the principles of Stoicism, mainly holds that no single set of moral principle s can apply to all aspects of everyday life. This means that, while the business world is still bound by principles of morality, these principles are not necessarily the same as those ascribed to by laypeople; indeed, businessmen have every right to the pursuit of profit, as it is their way of contributing to society. At the same time, though, such right only extends insofar as it does not conflict with the common good, at which point the latter should always prevail. This directly ties into the related concept of corporate social responsibility.  ... The origins of the entire concept of business ethics date back as far as before the Christian Era, having first been discussed in ancient times by Cicero (Goldin, 2006). His view on the matter, one in line with the principles of Stoicism, mainly holds that no single set of moral principles can apply to all aspects of everyday life. This means that, while the business world is still bound by principles of morality, these principles are not necessarily the same as those ascribed to by laypeople; indeed, businessmen have every right to the pursuit of profit, as it is their way of contributing to society. At the same time, though, such right only extends insofar as it does not conflict with the common good, at which point the latter should always prevail. This directly ties into the related concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which in turn helps ensure that an organization consistently complies with ethical standards (Wood, 1991). In the academic context, on the other hand, business ethics is a fairly new topic of interest. Baumhart (1961) was probably the very first to discuss the subject in his studies, and is actually credited by DeGeorge (2005) as one of the main proponents of academic business ethics. At the time, the Cold War as well as the Vietnam War was well under way, and America as a whole was experiencing rapid paradigm shifts with respect to business and even society itself. In fact, it was during this time that most of the corporate giants we know today were born. Of course, the rise of these corporations also had certain detrimental consequences, some of which earned them the ire of the public. As further

The Christian Church Essay Example for Free

The Christian Church Essay The Christian Church was born out of the legacies of the Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures. Through God’s providence and perhaps advantageous timing, the Christian Church entered a world prepared for the truth of God. The Greeks provided a universal language and philosophy that supported the acceptance of the Church. Roman laws, organization, and commitment to peace created proper surroundings for the Church to flourish. Lastly, the Jewish religious principles, helped form the backbone of the Christian Church. Through a detailed examination of the language and philosophy, organization and structure, and religions views of the early Christian Church we can determine that the Greek, Roman, and Jewish Cultures all contributed to the birth and spread of the Church. The Hellenistic culture of the ancient Greeks contributed its philosophy and language to the Christian Church. Alexander the Great built an empire united by a common thread: Greek ideology, language and culture. This process of assimilation by which Greek culture was transplanted to the east became identified as Hellenization. The popular Greek language became a medium on which the Christian religion could flourish, as the language created a disposition of acceptance. The Greek language was the contemporary language associated with a well-established culture. Though the Greek religion was considered one-dimensional and simple, its language allowed the Jewish and other eastern religions, which would eventually contribute to Christianity, to communicate properly. The dominant Greek philosophical ideals of the time, which where Stoicism, Platonism and Epicureanism, all contributed greatly to the evolution of the Christian Church. One early Christian by the name of Clement of Alexandria wrote: Philosophy has been given to the Greeks as their own kind of Covenant, their  foundation for the philosophy of Christ the philosophy of the Greeks contains the basic elements of that genuine and perfect knowledge which is higher than human even upon those spiritual objects. (Miscellanies 6. 8) Clements’ statement demonstrates how important Greek philosophy was to the Christian religion. Great philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato added important concepts and teachings to the Christian faith. The Greek culture was instrumental in providing a well-known and respected language for the Christian Church, as well as many significant philosophies, which contributed to the birth and spread of the Church. The Roman Empire provided efficient structure and organization, which catalyzed the growth of the Christian community. In the year 509 B.C. after multiple monarchs had failed to satisfy the Roman society, the Republic of Rome was founded. The republic divided the power of Rome among a group of Assemblies, two consuls and the Senate. The Republic government flourished for 376 years, but in 133 B.C. it collapsed to civil war. After years of fighting, betrayal and violence, a powerful authority named Augustus founded the Roman Empire. Augustus brought peace and prosperity to the Roman world. This great time for the Roman Empire was called the Pax Romana, a revolutionary era where the Christian religion gained the ability to expand its administration. During the times of the Pax Romana, travel across large distances became very efficient and safe for new public highways were introduced throughout the Roman Empire. Such highways made the spread of the Christian Church much easier than before. Suddenly, messages and people could travel vast lengths very quick. Direct highways in the Roman Empire enabled Christians to unite, communicate and gain power and information. Rome also served as a protected area for early Christians to live and worship God. The Empire’s structure and law under the reign of Augustus supported the importance moral conduct and justice, key concepts that would eventually become part of the Church’s purpose. The Roman structure and law was influenced by the dominant Stoic philosophy. Stoics believed that the highest good that man can achieve is to live a life of virtue in harmony with reason. This Stoic belief would ultimately aid in the Christian understanding of the Natural Law. It is true to establish that the Roman Empire’s structure, law and organization greatly helped facilitate the birth and spread of the Christian Faith. The Jewish culture formed the religious foundation of the Christian Church. The Jewish people were the chosen people of God, the true descendants of Abraham. The early Christians were originally members of the Jewish faith. Many of the Jewish principles of religion continue to exist in Christianity, such as their firm monotheistic belief. Perhaps the most important Jewish relation that helped initialize the Christian Church is the life of the Messiah Jesus. The word Christian did not exist until 40 years after the crucifixion, Jesus was born and died a Jew. The origins of Christianity evolved from the heart of Jewish culture. Jesus challenged the customs of the day by teaching revolutionary interpretations of Jewish scripture. Although they did not call themselves Christians yet, Jesus’ followers founded the beginning of the Church. Jesus used modified and logically understood Jewish scriptures to inform the people of God that salvation was at hand. The entire Old Testament originates from the Jewish written Tanakh. Much of our Christian models such as heaven and hell, angels and devils, and respect and love for human life come from Jewish tradition. Through Jewish religious conception and Jesus’s role in empowering and teaching early Christians, it is true to conclude that the Jewish faith directly aided Christianity to commence and develop. A clearer understanding of the Roman, Greek, and Jewish contributions to the Christian Church allows us to identify the significant impact such cultures have had on the Church. An analysis of the language and philosophy, organization and structure, and religions views of the early Christian Church enables us to conclude that the Greek, Roman, and Jewish Cultures all contributed to the birth and spread of the Church.

Corporate University in China Essay Example for Free

Corporate University in China Essay The concept of corporate university (CU) in China is a recent phenomenon although it existed more than eight decades in the western world. Literature reviews indicate that CU is an independent professional-managed entity proactively providing learning intervention in the workplace. With the ownership of the corporation, CU embedded culture and optimized learning through commitment to strategic intent in order to meet organizational objectives. The concept of â€Å"training† has to be redefined. The major key role of CU is to facilitate both individuals and organization to become â€Å"efficient learner† in order to maintain competitiveness in the ever-changing of business environment. Since the start of economic reform in 1978, the Chinese economy has enjoyed a dramatic growth. In 2002 alone, China attracted over US$52.7 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), surpassing the US. The drastic economic growth and the fundamental structural change in China as a result of government policies, globalization and technological advances will continue to drive the demand for training and competency development. Both local and foreign-invested corporations seek the CU concept as the strategic solution. There are many reasons for corporations establish CU; however, the primary one is to facilitate corporate objectives and support business strategies. Studies on HRM suggest different models vary across different countries. A direct copy from western model might cause ineffective and inefficient. A comprehensive understanding on the CU meaning, how it operates, and its roles are important. In addition, consideration of local elements is necessary in adopting CU in China. Major Chinese characteristics with current corporate situation and issues should be identified. Evidences support that the Chinese contextual variables and their CU motives impact the strategies and development of CU in China. Adapted from Prince Beaver’s conceptual CU Wheel model, a priori China CU framework encompassed the unique characteristics of China is formulated in an attempt to describe the key functions that an â€Å"ideal† type of CU in China should perform. Based on the theoretical assumptions, the four core subsystems include learning and teaching process, networks and partnership, accreditation system, and marketing process constitute the main elements of the CU process. They work collaboratively with the common goal of supporting business goals and strategies. The two cultural elements, â€Å"guanxi† and â€Å"mianzi†, work as catalyst or lubricator to enhance the effectiveness and coordination. The priori CU framework brings new insight to the CU development in China. Research is performed to test the relevance of this framework across the three major forms of ownership. To achieve the research objectives, an exploratory and descriptive approach is used. This study adopts a qualitative case-methodology based on the in-depth interviews, previously collected data through questionnaires and documentary analysis. The three study cases include: 1. Taikang Business University (TBU) a joint-venture enterprise with foreign investment; 2. Motorola University, China (MUC) a wholly foreign-owned multi-national corporation (MNC); 3. X Academy, a state-owned enterprise (SOE) To delimit the study, each case covers background information, its objectives and roles, core portfolio, and the relevance of the priori framework. Challenges and issues of each case organization are addressed as well. A cross-case analysis of the three case organizations is used to identify the similarities and differences. The diffusion of CU practices varies with the investment form and the foreign equity stake. The study provides evident that both the MNC and joint venture case organizations with foreign investment are more mature in their CU process. The integration and coordination of the four core processes that constitute the priori CU framework are strongly evident. A hybrid model of CU practices is adopted with the convergence of practices from the parent country operation and the divergence of practices for the China context. On the other hand, the CU development of the SOE case is less developed. It can be explained that most of SOEs in China lack western management know-how and resources. Some CU sub-processes or practices of the priori CU framework are either missing or too weak in the SOE case. It has been facing problems at the CU evolution. Misconception on training, lack of support from upper management, lack of CU understanding, unable to demonstrate the CU value, ineffective learning process, and the cultural gap are the major issues and challenges for CUs in China. Improvements have to be made before CU can really take off in organizations in China. Recommendations with reference to the priori CU framework are made. Additional comments on CU strategies are given for local enterprises and the foreign-invested organization. It is evident that some CUs such as Motorola University China (MUC) perform a range of strategic functions in China. Among all, it can be summarized into two major categories: developing people and developing business. Although developing people is the most common motive for the CU establishment, the CU strategic orientation towards market-driven and profit-driven is more evident and justifiable to most Chinese enterprises. The CU strategies and practices are highly influenced by the political, economic and cultural characteristics of China. It would be difficult to apply a single CU model to all CU phenomena. Despite the limitation, the priori CU framework can still be used as a tool to describe the current situation in the CU scene in China. It encompasses the unique characteristics of China CU, capable of providing the direction to the CU operations and practices. This research raises a number of issues upon which subsequent research efforts can be expended as follow: 1. Besides the forms of ownership, other company variables such as the industry types, leadership style, corporation sizes, and corporate culture might affect the CU development and practices. Further, the CU strategies and practices are highly influenced by the political, economic and cultural characteristics of China. To what extent these contextual variables influence the CU adoption in China? 2. The major motive for local enterprises to establish CU is to drive corporate-wide initiative, reinforcing and perpetuating behavior towards internationalization. So how do the local corporations, particularly state-owned enterprise, change their traditional view to more global perspective in order to run a successful CU? 3. Different foreign-invested corporations adopt different local strategy. Some focus on globalizing the China operation whilst others prefer to adopt a complete localization approach. Does the local strategy adopted by the foreign-invested corporation affect the CU strategy and development? 4. The dynamic business environment in China creates a constant change phenomenon in corporate strategies. How does CU support the changing corporate strategies and maintain its agility? How does CU demonstrate its value in China? With a large population, fast and rapid growing economy and constant improvement of its people’s living standard, corporations in China enjoy tremendous market potentials. CU definitely has an important role in China. However, a successful CU requires continuously learning and self-reflective. The evolution of CU involves ongoing values, trust, respect, commitment, integrity and enthusiasm. The priori CU framework, to a certain extent, can be used as a tool to explain the current situation in the CU scene in China. With more understanding on the CU practices and development in China, it will benefit both organization decision makers and educational providers to evaluate their responses to what is clearly a growing phenomenon.

Reactive Fault Tolerance Strategies

Reactive Fault Tolerance Strategies Abstract Cloud is the buzzword among computational technologies. It has brought a paradigm shift in a way computing is done and data is stored. This cost-effective means of technology has attracted a lot of people towards it and companies are embracing cloud to reduce their operational costs. As grows the popularity so will the challenges. One of the foremost challenges is Fault Tolerance. Fault Tolerance ensures the availability, reliability, and performance of the cloud applications. This paper is mainly focused on the Reactive fault tolerance strategies. Firstly, the paper outlines various faults, errors, and failures in the Cloud Computing scenario. Then, various prevalent reactive fault tolerance strategies are discussed. Lastly, a comparative analysis is done to better understand the application of the discussed strategies. I. Introduction Cloud-Computing is gaining traction due II. Faults, Errors, and Failures 2.1 Faults. Fault is the cause of the system or a component in the system to fail. Faults induce errors into system which hinders the ability of any system to perform as expected and give desired results. An erroneous system ultimately leads towards failure. Fault tolerance is the ability of the system to keep going in presence of one or more faults but with decaying performance. We must thoroughly classify and analyze various kinds of faults, errors, and failures to come up with sound Fault-Tolerance Strategies.   Faults in Cloud Computing environment can be classified as follows. Aging related fault As time passes, these faults show up into the system. These can be further categorized into two types namely Software based aging and Hardware based aging. Once the software starts execution, there is an accumulation of software bugs in the system. Furthermore, the decaying performance of the system hardware makes the system incapable to perform to its requirements. Omission fault This kind of faults occur when the resources in the system dry up and eventually the ongoing processes end up falling short of the resources in terms of storage capacity and computing power. Omission faults are mainly of two types i.e. Denial of Service, where the attacker tries to make the resources unavailable to its intended users by overwhelming the system with too many superfluous requests.   The other type is Disk Space Full, in which the amount of free space required by the applications is no longer available, this leads to node failure? Response faults. Response faults occur when the server gives an incorrect response to a query made by the user. This is further classified into 3 types. Value Faults-If faults at an application level or at lower level in the system are not managed properly, this can cause the individual application or the processor to emit an incorrect value. Byzantine faults- This fault attributes to the erratic behavior of the processor when it gets corrupted. The processor has not stopped working but the results are not predictable. State transition faults- When systems change their states, this kind of fault surfaces. Timing Faults. Synchronization is a key factor when it comes to execution of tasks in a distributed computing ecosystem. There should be time constraints for communication and execution of tasks by the processor. Faults which arise due to poor synchronization are called Timing faults. If the communication or the task execution begins early, then it is called Early fault. If the processor takes a lot of time to execute the tasks and this results in undesirable delay in the communication, then it is called Late fault. Interaction Faults. As the number of services grow in the system along with its complexity, the interaction between the services also increases. This may cause faults which occur due to Policy and Security incompatibilities. Various service providers have different policies and different security protocols. Life Cycle Faults. The service time of an application may expire when a user is trying to use that application. User cannot further access it unless the service becomes active again. This is called as Life Cycle fault or Service expiry fault. 2.2 Errors. Error is the difference between the expected output and the actual output of a system. A system is said to perform erroneously when it starts behaving in a manner that is against its specification and compliance. To study the nature of errors in a cloud computing scenario, a few of them have been listed below. Network Errors. Cloud is a network of remote servers. Hence, we may observe a lot of errors in the nodes and the links which connect these servers.   This kind of errors are called as Network Errors. Mainly network errors can be in the form of three types. Packet Corruption-   As a packet moves from one node to another and traverses across various links, there is a fair amount of chance that it might get corrupted due to the system noise. Packet corruption tweaks the original information and might sometimes go unnoticed.? Packet Loss- If a packet fails to reach its destination, this leads to Packet Loss. The main causes of packet failure are link congestion, device failure, (router/switch) and, faulty cabling. Network Congestion- When the traffic This issue is encountered due to low bandwidth. When the flow of traffic increases on a single path, this may also create network congestion. This issue is very important as it determines the Quality of Service(QoS). Software Errors. Software errors are broadly categorized as memory leaks and numerical exceptions. Memory Leaks- When there is a bug in the software wherein the application uses huge memory to perform the task but the memory, which is no longer needed, is not freed upon the completion of the task. Numerical Exception-A software does a lot of numerical computations which are required by the applications. The applications might sometimes generate issues due to some numerical conversions which raise exceptions. If these exceptions remain unhandled then errors persist in the system. Time Based Errors. These errors arise when applications do not complete their task execution in a time bounded manner. This can be subdivided into three types. Transient Errors- the probability of occurrence is very less. Intermittent Errors- The pattern of these errors is sporadic but observed many number of times. Permanent Errors- These occur more number of times with a deterministic pattern. 2.3 Failures. As said earlier, failures result due to errors. If a system does not achieve its intended objective, then its in a state of failure. Several things can go wrong in a system and yet the system may produce desired results. Until the system produces wrong output, there is no failure?4 To study the nature of failures, following is the list of failures. Node Failure. In distributed systems, such as cloud computing, we see that sometimes resources and nodes are dynamically added to the system. This brings along a lot of uncertainties and the chances of node failure increase. Reliability and availability are the major criteria for nodes to be adjudged as functioning properly. Node failure occurs if a node is not available at any time a node is not present in the system to perform tasks(unavailable) or produces errors while doing computations. Process Failure. Process failure occurs when a process is unable to place the messages into the communication channel and transmit it or a processs algorithm is unable to retrieve messages from the communication channel? Network Failure. Network failures are very serious issues with regards to cloud computing. There is no communication without a network. Network failures occur when there is a link failure, network device failures such as routers and switches, configuration changes in a network. Configuration change or a change in policy of a machine will cause problems to the applications using the resources of that machine and this problem is most likely reason for a network failure.? Host Failure. A host is a computer that communicates with other computers on the network. In the scope of Cloud Computing, hosts are servers/clients that send/receive data. Whenever a host fails to send the requested data due to crashes, host failure occurs. Application Failure. Cloud applications are the software codes that run on cloud. Whenever bugs develop in the codes, application fails to fulfil its intended objective. The errors caused due to this leads to Application Failure. # cloud endure†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. Reactive Fault Tolerance Strategies. Fault Tolerance Strategies in Cloud Computing are of two types, namely, Proactive, and Reactive. Proactive Fault Tolerance Strategies are those techniques which help in anticipating faults and provides preventive measures to avoid the occurrence of faults.   Here, the faulty components in the system are identified and replaced with operational ones. Reactive Fault Tolerance Strategies, are the techniques used to effectively troubleshoot a system upon occurrence of failure(s). Various reactive fault tolerance strategies are discussed below. 3.1 Checkpointing. In Checkpointing, the system state is saved and stored in the form of checkpoints. This taking is both preventive and reactive. Whenever a system fails, it rolls back to the most recent checkpoint. This is a popular fault tolerance technique and placing the checkpoints at appropriate intervals is very important. Full Checkpointing. Complete state of the application in saved and stored at regular intervals. The drawback of full checkpointing is that it needs a lot of time to save and requires huge chunk of storage-space to save the state. Incremental Checkpointing. This is an improvement over the full checkpointing. This method performs full checkpointing initially and thereafter only the modified pages of information from the previous checkpoint are stored. This is much faster and reliable than full checkpointing. Optimized Checkpoint/Restart. The crux of checkpointing lies in how we space our checkpoints. Good number of checkpoints ensure that the application is resilient to failure. However, this comes at the cost of time, space, and causes a lot of overhead. On the other hand, having less number of checkpoints makes our application vulnerable to faults thereby causing failure. It has been seen that cloud tasks are typically smaller than the grid jobs and hence more time sensitive to the checkpointing/restart cost.? Also, characterizing the failures in the cloud tasks using a failure probability distribution function will be inaccurate as the task lengths in cloud tasks depend on the user priority too.? This technique aims at bettering the performance of Checkpointing technique in threefold approach. Firstly, optimize the number of checkpoints for each task. Secondly, as the priority of the task may change during its execution, a dynamic mechanism must be designed to tune the optimal solution in the first step. Thirdly, find a proper tradeoff between local disks and shared disks to store the checkpoints.   The optimal number of checkpoints is calculated by evenly spreading the checkpoints during the execution of the task. The calculation is done without modelling the failures using a failure probability distribution function. A key observation that we make during the execution of cloud tasks is the tasks with higher priority have longer uninterrupted execution lengths in comparison with low-priority tasks. Hence the solution needs to be more adaptive considering the priority of the tasks. Mere equal spacing of the checkpoints will not do in this case. If the priority of the task remains unchanged the Mean Number of Failures(MNOF) remains the same. The position of the next checkpoint needs to be recalculated and its position needs to be changed if the priority factor that influences the MNOF changes during the execution of the task. Lastly, the problem of where to store the checkpoints is addresse d. The checkpointing costs for both local disks and shared disk is calculated and then based upon the costs an efficient choice is made. It is noticed that, as the memory size of the tasks increase, the checkpointing costs also increase. Also, when multiple checkpointing is done, in the local disks, there is no significant increase in the costs, but owing to congestion, there is a significant rise in checkpointing costs. Hence, a distributively-managed algorithm is designed to mitigate the bottleneck problem and lower the checkpointing costs. 3.2 Retry. Simplest of all the fault tolerance techniques. The task is restarted on the same resource upon occurrence of the problem. The underlying assumption behind this approach is that during the subsequent attempts, the problem will not show up.? 3.3 Task Resubmission. A job consists of several small tasks. When one of the tasks is failed, the entire job gets affected. In this technique, the failed task is resubmitted either to the same resource or a different one to finish the execution of the task. 3.4 Replication. Running the same task on several machines which are different locations. This is done to ensure that when a machine fails, the process of task execution is not halted as the other machine takes it up. Replication is further categorized as follows. Semi-active Replication. The input is provided to all the replica machines. The task execution simultaneously goes on in the primary replica as well as the backup replica. However, the primary replica only provides the output. When the primary replica goes down, the backup replica provides output.   This technique uses a lot of network resources as the task is running in simultaneously in all the replicas. VMware uses Semi-active replication Fault Tolerance Strategy. [4.] Semi-passive Replication. This technique has a flavor of checkpointing in addition to replication. The main replica performs the checkpointing operation over the state information. Replication is done by transferring this checkpoint information to all the backup replicas. The backup machines dont have to concurrently execute the task with the primary replica, but its duty is to save the latest checkpoint information. When the primary replica fails, it designates the backup replica to takeover. The checkpoint information is updated with some loss in the execution. This technique uses lesser network resources than the semi-active replication but there is a tradeoff as some of the execution. Also, in this case, whenever the backup fails, the latency is more as the time taken for recovery and reconfiguration when compared with semi-active replication. [ref 3] Passive Replication. The state information is stored in the form of checkpoints in a dedicated backup machine. When the backup fails, the Fault Tolerance Manager, commissions another machine to be the backup. The backup is updated by restoring the last saved checkpoint. The fault tolerance manager uses a priority based scheme while appointing new backups. 3.5 Job Migration. When a task fails in one of the machine, it can be transferred to another virtual machine. Sometimes, if a task in a job cannot be executed due computational and memory constraints, the task is given to another machine to execute. 3.6 Rescue Workflow. A cloud job consists of several small tasks. Upon failure of a task, this method continues the execution of the other tasks. The overall workflow is stopped only when the failure of the task impacts the entire job. [rescue workflow] 4. Comparative Summary of the Reactive Fault Tolerance Strategies. Checkpointing: This technique effectively detects Application Failure. This technique is used when the application size or the task size is too big. Moreover, checkpointing provides efficient resource utilization. Retry: If the problem persists beyond multiple tries, this method is time inefficient. This is used to detect Host failure and Network failure. Task Resubmission: As the job is tried on the same or different resource, this technique is both time consuming and has more resource utilization. This detects Node Failure and Application Failure. Replication: This technique detects Node Failure and Process Failure. As the task is run on various machines, we see more resource utilization here. Job Migration: This technique detects Node and Process failures. This method is time efficient as the task which cannot be executed in a machine is transferred to another. Rescue-Workflow: This method detects Node failure and Application failure. This is a time-inefficient technique.

Catch-22 and the Theme of Death Essay -- Catch-22

Catch-22 and the Theme of Death    There are many ways for a man to die, but there is no way to bring him back after he has entered the world of dead. Catch-22 is a novel satirizing war, and because of this, it inevitably has a strong underlying theme of death. But unlike many war novels, Catch-22 doesn't use violent depictions of fighting or bloody death scenes to denounce the evils of war; it utilizes humor and irony to make an arguably more effective point. And even more importantly, Catch-22 is ultimately a novel about hope, not death. Although the inevitability of death is still a prominent motif, it eventually leads the main character, Yossarian, to realize that the desire to live is important and also that he can't simply live; he must live free of hypocrisy and oppression.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Nately's whore plays a major part in conveying the message about life and death in Catch-22, even though she doesn't become an important character until the novel nears its climax. Although Yossarian is only the messenger bearing the bad news of Nately's death, Nately's whore holds him responsible and follows him back to Pianosa in an attempt to murder him. Yossarian manages to repeatedly escape from her, but only as long as he continues to disobey the illogical and immoral rules of the military. When he agrees to meet with Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn, she catches him and seriously injures him. This may imply that by submitting to the oppression of the bureaucratic military system, Yossarian is only headed towards death and disaster. And in the midst of Yossarian's final revelation and his decision to desert the military, Nately's whore was hiding behind a door, ready to stab him. But ... ...but the desire to live is the most important impulse a man can have. But Yossarian can't live a life of hypocrisy or oppression under the military; this is what finally pushes him to desert. The knowledge that Orr finally paddled all the way to Sweden gives him hope, and he sees the only path he can take to be free. He knows it will be difficult, but he knows there is no alternative for him.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Although Catch-22 is a novel about war, it is not only about death. The message it ultimately conveys is one of hope. Yossarian finally realizes that the basic instinct to survive is the most important quality of a man, and that he must follow his impulse and escape from the military, which will only lead him to his death. Catch-22 may allow the military to do whatever the people can't stop it from doing, but it can't destroy hope.   

About Specific Processing of Mind at the Period of Revaluation :: Marxism Soviet Union Essays

About Specific Processing of Mind at the Period of Revaluation ABSTRACT: A new situation is always a discovery. It allows us to see old problems in a new light. The philosopher’s main task is to find new situations. The consciousness of the millions of people living in the countries of the former Soviet Union can be considered new in all senses, except one. Nevertheless the exception gives rise to serious difficulties. Essentially, a situation is always new since none of Aristotle’s kinds of identity can be used for it. At the same time, this same situation can never be new since anything similar must have taken in human history. It is up to the philosopher to see the situation from a new point of view. Now we can observe the changes and its effects. The collapse of the old ideology did not create the changing of mass consciousness per se, because the latter had already taken a skeptical attitude toward it. The real change of mass consciousness began with the change of real human practice. When former engineers, teachers, scientist s, and industrial workers clashed with the necessity to support themselves and their families, it was always as an alternative to starting all over again — the option of relying only on themselves or continuing to rely on the state system to do their usual work in the hopes of receiving an illusory reward in the future. A new situation is always a discovery; it gives a possibility to see old problems in a new light. The philosopher’s main task is to find a new situation. The situation with consciousness of the millions of people living in the countries of the former Soviet Union can be considered new in all senses, except one. Nevertheless the exception gives rise the serious difficulties. Their essence can be expressed simply: a situation is always new, because none of four Aristotle’s kinds of identity can be used for it. The same situation can never be new, because anything similar must have taken in the human history. It’s up to the philosopher’s eye to see something in with a new point of view. How unique is the situation with mass consciousness in Eastern Europe? Now we can observe for ourself the change of the mass consciousness. The collapse of the old ideology did not create the changing of the mass consciousness per se, because the latter had already taken the skeptical attitude towards it.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 31

â€Å"I'm feeling much better,† Elena told Dr. Meggar. â€Å"I'd like to take a walk around the estate.† She tried not to bounce up and down on the bed. â€Å"I've been eating steak and drinking milk and I even took that vile cod liver oil you sent. Also I have a very firm grasp of reality: I'm here to rescue Stefan and the little boy inside Damon is a metaphor for his unconscious, which the blood we shared allowed me to ‘see.'† She bounced once, but covered it by reaching for a glass of water. â€Å"I feel like a happy puppy pulling at the leash.† She exhibited her newly designed slave bracelets: silver with lapis lazuli inserts in fluid designs. â€Å"If I die suddenly, I am prepared.† Dr. Meggar's eyebrows worked up and down. â€Å"Well, I can't find anything wrong with your pulse or your breathing. I don't see how a nice afternoon walk can hurt you. Damon's certainly up and walking. But don't you go giving Lady Ulma any ideas. She still needs months of bed rest.† â€Å"She has a nice little desk made from a breakfast tray,† Bonnie explained, gesturing to show size and width. â€Å"She designs clothes on that.† Bonnie leaned forward, wide-eyed. â€Å"And you know what? Her dresses are magic.† â€Å"I wouldn't expect anything less,† grunted Dr. Meggar. But the next moment Elena remembered something unpleasant. â€Å"Even when we get the keys,† she said, â€Å"we have to plot the actual jailbreak.† â€Å"What's a jailbreak?† Lakshmi asked excitedly. â€Å"It's like this – we've got the keys to Stefan's cell, but we still need to figure out how we're going to get into the prison, and how we're going to smuggle him out.† Lakshmi frowned. â€Å"Why not just go in with the line and take him out the gate?† â€Å"Because,† Elena said, trying for patience, â€Å"they won't let us just walk in and get him.† She narrowed her eyes as Lakshmi put her head in her hands. â€Å"What're you thinking, Lakshmi?† â€Å"Well, first you say that you're going to have the key in your hand when you go to the prison, then you act like they're not going to let him out of the prison.† Meredith shook her head, bewildered. Bonnie put a hand to her forehead as if it ached. But Elena slowly leaned forward. â€Å"Lakshmi,† she said, very quietly, â€Å"are you saying that if we have a key to Stefan's cell it's basically a pass in and out of prison?† Lakshmi brightened up. â€Å"Of course!† she said. â€Å"Otherwise, what would a key be good for? They could just lock him in another cell.† Elena could hardly believe the wonder of what she had just heard, so she immediately began trying to poke holes in it. â€Å"That would mean we could go straight from Bloddeuwedd's party to the prison and just take Stefan out,† she said with as much sarcasm as she could inject into her voice. â€Å"We could just show our key and they'd let us take him away.† Lakshmi nodded eagerly. â€Å"Yes!† she said joyfully, the sarcasm having gone right over her head. â€Å"And, don't be mad, okay? But I wondered why you never went to visit him.† â€Å"We can visit him?† â€Å"Sure, if you make an appointment.† By now Meredith and Bonnie had come to life and were supporting Elena on either side. â€Å"How soon can we send someone to make an appointment?† Elena said through her teeth, because it was taking all her effort to speak – her entire weight was resting on her two friends. â€Å"Who can we send to make an appointment?† she whispered. â€Å"I'll go,† Damon said from the crimson darkness behind them. â€Å"I'll go tonight – give me five minutes.† Matt could feel that he had on his most cross and stubborn expression. â€Å"C'mon,† Tyrone said, looking amused. They were both gearing up for a trip into the thicket. This meant putting on two of the mothball-clove-recipe coats each and then using duct tape to fasten the gloves to the coats. Matt was sweating already. But Tyrone was a good guy, he thought. Here Matt had come out of nowhere and said, â€Å"Hey, you know that bizarre thing you saw with poor Jim Bryce last week? Well, it's all connected to something even more bizarre – all about fox spirits and the Old Wood, and Mrs. Flowers says that if we don't figure out what's going on, we're going to be in real trouble. And Mrs. Flowers isn't just a batty old lady at the boardinghouse, even though everybody says so.† â€Å"Of course she isn't,† Dr. Alpert's brusque voice had said from the doorway. She put down her black bag – still a country doctor, even when the town was in crisis – and addressed her son. â€Å"Theophilia Flowers and I have known each other a long time – and Mrs. Saitou, too. They were both always helping people. That's their nature.† â€Å"Well – † Matt had seen an opportunity and jumped at it. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers is the one who needs help now. Really, really needs help.† â€Å"Then what're you sitting there for, Tyrone? Hurry up and go help Mrs. Flowers.† Dr. Alpert had ruffled her own iron-gray hair with her fingers, then ruffled her son's black hair fondly. â€Å"I was, Mom. We were just leaving when you came in.† Tyrone, seeing Matt's grim horror-story of a car, had politely offered to drive them to Mrs. Flowers's house in his Camry. Matt, afraid of a terminal blowout at some crucial moment, was only too happy to accept. He was glad that Tyrone would be the lynchpin of the Robert E. Lee High football team in the coming year. Ty was the kind of guy you could count on – as witness his immediate offer of help today. He was a good sport, and absolutely straight and clean. Matt couldn't help but see how drugs and drinking had ruined not only the actual games, but the sportsmanship of the other teams on campus. Tyrone was also a guy who could keep his mouth shut. He hadn't even peppered Matt with questions as they drove back to the boardinghouse, but he did give a wolf whistle, not at Mrs. Flowers, but at the bright yellow Model T she was driving into the old stables. â€Å"Whoa!† he said, jumping out to help her with a grocery bag, while his eyes drank in the Model T from fender to fender. â€Å"That's a Model T Fordor Sedan! This could be one beautiful car if – † He stopped abruptly and his brown skin burned with a sunset glow. â€Å"Oh, my, don't be embarrassed about the Yellow Carriage!† Mrs. Flowers said, allowing Matt to take another bag of groceries back through the kitchen garden and into the kitchen of the house. â€Å"She's served this family for nearly a hundred years, and she's accumulated some rust and damage. But she goes almost thirty miles an hour on paved roads!† Mrs. Flowers added, speaking not only proudly, but with the somewhat awed respect owed to high-speed travel. Matt's eyes met Tyrone's and Matt knew there was only one shared thought hanging in the air between them. To restore to perfection the dilapidated, worn, but still beautiful car that spent most of its time in a converted stable. â€Å"We could do it,† Matt said, feeling that, as Mrs. Flowers's representative, he should make the offer first. â€Å"We sure could,† Tyrone said dreamily. â€Å"She's already in a double garage – no problems about room.† â€Å"We wouldn't have to strip her down to the frame†¦she really rides like a dream.† â€Å"You're kidding! We could clean the engine, though: have a look at the plugs and belts and hoses and stuff. And† – dark eyes gleaming suddenly – â€Å"my dad has a power sander. We could strip the paint and repaint it the exact same yellow!† Mrs. Flowers suddenly beamed. â€Å"That was what dear Mama was waiting for you to say, young man,† she said, and Matt remembered his manners long enough to introduce Tyrone. â€Å"Now, if you had said, ‘We'll paint her burgundy' or ‘blue' or any other color, I'm sure she would have objected,† Mrs. Flowers said as she began to make ham sandwiches, potato salad, and a large kettle of baked beans. Matt watched Tyrone's reaction to the mention of â€Å"Mama† and was pleased: there was an instant of surprise, followed by an expression like calm water. His mother had said Mrs. Flowers wasn't a batty old lady: therefore she wasn't a batty old lady. A huge weight seemed to roll off Matt's shoulders. He wasn't alone with a fragile elderly woman to protect. He had a friend who was actually a little bigger than he was to rely on. â€Å"Now both of you, have a ham sandwich, and I'll make the potato salad while you're eating. I know that young men† – Mrs. Flowers always spoke of men as if they were a special kind of flower – â€Å"need lots of good hearty meat before going into battle, but there's no reason to be formal. Let's just dig right in as things are done.† They had happily obeyed. Now they were preparing for battle, feeling ready to fight tigers, since Mrs. Flowers's idea of dessert was a pecan pie split between the boys, along with huge cups of coffee that cleared the brain like a power sander. Tyrone and Matt drove Matt's junker to the cemetery, followed by Mrs. Flowers in the Model T. Matt had seen what the trees could do to cars and he wasn't going to subject Tyrone's whistle-clean Camry to the prospect. They walked down the hill to Matt and Sergeant Mossberg's hide, each of the boys giving a hand to help the frail Mrs. Flowers over rough bits. Once, she tripped and would have fallen, but Tyrone dug the toes of his DC shoes into the hill and stood like a mountain as she tumbled against him. â€Å"Oh, my – thank you, Tyrone dear,† she murmured and Matt knew that â€Å"Tyrone dear† had been accepted into the fold. The sky was dark except for one streak of scarlet as they reached the hide. Mrs. Flowers took out the sheriff's badge, rather clumsily, due to the gardening gloves she was wearing. First she held it to her forehead, then she slowly drew it away, still holding it in front of her at eye-level. â€Å"He stood here and then he bent down and squatted here,† she said, getting down in what was – in fact – the correct side of the hide. Matt nodded, hardly knowing what he was doing, and Mrs. Flowers said without opening her eyes, â€Å"No coaching, Matt dear. He heard someone behind him – and whirled, drawing his gun. But it was only Matt, and they spoke in whispers for a while. â€Å"Then he suddenly stood up.† Mrs. Flowers stood suddenly and Matt heard all sorts of alarming little pops and crackles in her delicate old body. â€Å"He went walking – striding – down into that thicket. That evil thicket.† She set off for the thicket as Sheriff Rich Mossberg had when Matt had watched him. Matt and Tyrone went hurrying after her, ready to stop her if she showed any signs of entering the remnant of Old Wood that still lived. Instead, she walked around it, with the badge held to eye height. Tyrone and Matt nodded at each other and without speaking, each took one of her arms. This way they skirted the edge of the thicket, all the way around, with Matt going first, Mrs. Flowers next, and Tyrone last. At some point Matt realized that tears were making their way down Mrs. Flowers's withered cheeks. At last, the fragile old woman stopped, took out a lacy handkerchief – after one or two tries – and wiped her eyes with a gasp. â€Å"Did you find him?† Matt asked, unable to hold in his curiosity any longer. â€Å"Well – we'll have to see. Kitsune seem to be very, very good at illusions. Everything I saw could have been an illusion. But† – she heaved a sigh – â€Å"one of us is going to have to step into the Wood.† Matt gulped. â€Å"That'll be me, then – â€Å" He was interrupted. â€Å"Hey, no way, man. You know their ops, whatever they are. You've got to get Mrs. Flowers out of this – â€Å" â€Å"No, I can't risk just asking you to come over here and get hurt – â€Å" â€Å"Well, what am I doing out here, then?† Tyrone demanded. â€Å"Wait, my dears,† Mrs. Flowers said, sounding as if she were about to cry. The boys shut up immediately, and Matt felt ashamed of himself. â€Å"I know a way that you both can help me, but it's very dangerous. Dangerous for the two of you. But perhaps if we only have to do it once, we can cut the risk of danger and increase our chance of finding something.† â€Å"What is it?† Tyrone and Matt said almost simultaneously. A few minutes later, they were prepped for it. They were lying side by side, facing the wall formed by the tall trees and tangled underbrush of the thicket. They were not only roped together, but they had Mrs. Saitou's Post-it notes placed all over their arms. â€Å"Now when I say ‘three' I want you both to reach in and grab at the ground with your hands. If you feel something, keep hold of it and pull your arm out. If you don't feel anything, move your hand a little and then pull it out as fast as you can. And by the way,† she added calmly, â€Å"if you feel anything trying to pull you in or immobilize your arm, yell and fight and kick and scream, and we'll help you to get out.† There was a long, long minute of silence. â€Å"So basically, you think there are things all around on the ground in the thicket, and that we might get hold of them just by reaching in blindly,† Matt said. â€Å"Yes,† Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"All right,† said Tyrone, and once again Matt glanced at him approvingly. He hadn't even asked â€Å"What kind of things could pull us into the Wood?† Now they were in position and Mrs. Flowers was counting â€Å"One, two, three,† and then Matt had thrust his right arm in as far as it would go and was sweeping his arm while groping. He heard a shout from beside him. â€Å"Got it!† And then instantly: â€Å"Something's pulling me in!† Matt pulled his own arm out of the thicket before trying to help Tyrone. Something dropped down on it, but it hit a Post-it note and it felt as if he'd been whacked by a piece of a Styrofoam. Tyrone was thrashing wildly and had already been dragged in to his shoulders. Matt grabbed him by the waist and used all his strength to haul backward. There was a moment of resistance – and then Tyrone came popping out as if suddenly released like a cork. There were scratches on his face and neck, but none where the overcoats had covered him or where the Post-it notes were. Matt felt a desire to say â€Å"Thank you,† but the two women who had made him amulets were far away, and he felt stupid saying it to Tyrone's coat. In any case, Mrs. Flowers was fluttering and thanking people enough for three. â€Å"Oh, my, Matt, when that big branch came down I thought your arm would be broken – at least. Thank the dear Lord that the Saitou women make such excellent amulets. And, Tyrone dear, please take a swig out of this canteen – â€Å" â€Å"Uh, I don't really drink much – â€Å" â€Å"It's just hot lemonade, my own recipe, dear. If it weren't for both you boys, we wouldn't have succeeded. Tyrone, you found something, yes? And then you were caught and would never have been released if Matt hadn't been here to save you.† â€Å"Oh, I'm sure he'd've got out,† Matt said hurriedly, because it must be embarrassing for anybody like The Tyreminator to admit they needed help. Tyrone, however, just said soberly, â€Å"I know. Thanks, Matt.† Matt felt himself blush. â€Å"But I didn't get anything after all,† Tyrone said disgustedly. â€Å"It felt like a piece of old pipe or something – â€Å" â€Å"Well, let's have a look,† Mrs. Flowers said very seriously. She turned the strongest flashlight on the object Tyrone had risked so much to bring out of the thicket. At first Matt thought it was a gigantic rawhide dog bone. But then an all-too-familiar shape made him look closer. It was a femur, a human femur. The biggest bone in the body, the one from the leg. And it was still white. Fresh. â€Å"It doesn't seem to be plastic,† Mrs. Flowers said in a voice that seemed very far away. It wasn't plastic. Matt could see where little tiny bits had curled up and away from the exterior. It wasn't rawhide, either. It was†¦well, real. A real human leg bone. But that wasn't the most horrifying thing; the thing that sent Matt spiraling out into darkness. The bone was polished clean and marked with the imprints of dozens of tiny little teeth.

A Linguistic Analysis of Obama’s Inaugural Address

Rhythm and Rhetoric: A Linguistic Analysis of Obama’s Inaugural Address Liilia Batluk Supervisor: Stuart Foster School of Humanities Halmstad University Bachelor’s thesis in English Acknowledgment My appreciations to my supervisor Stuart Foster for very helpful advice during the research. Abstract In this essay I shall analyze Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, January, 2009 from the perspective of various linguistic techniques. More specifically, I shall propose and focus on the idea that the composition of the speech has an aim to create a unity of the speaker and the audience in order to deliver the message.Moreover, the speaker maintains the atmosphere of unity throughout the speech, so that the speech produces an effect when the audience becomes a co-author of it. My thesis will also discuss some aspects of persuasive strategies employed in the speech from those dating back as long as Ancient Greece to temporal discourses. The aim is to analyze how the use of a number of linguistic approaches creates a speech which senses an agreement and co-operation between the orator and the audience. Table of Contents Acknowledgement Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. . Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 2. Context: historical, cultural and social circumstances †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 2. 1 Social and cultural background †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2. 2 Historical/political context . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 3. Methodology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. Rhetorical and linguistic strategies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 7 4. 1. The use of personal deixis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 4. 2. Rhythm †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 4. 3. Parallelism and foregrounding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦. .13 4. . 1. Parallelism – syntactic and lexical†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 4. 3. 2. Parallelism and alliteration †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 4. 4. Rhetoric: lexical chain for the planned changes †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 4. 5. Citing other orators †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19 4. 6. Elements of preaching †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. .20 5. Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 21 Works Cited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 Appendix 1. Introduction This essay’s aim is to analyze Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, January, 2009 applying various linguistic approaches.The linguistic devices used in the speech will be in focus in my research. It is a qualitative research, that is to say, the primary data is a verbal protocol, whose intertextuality – in the aspects of meaning and meaning production – will be analyzed with the help of such approaches as content analysis, critical theory and discourse analysis. I will try to unfold the sophisticated linguistic composition of various techniques lying in fields of semantics and rhetoric, employed by Obama and argue that the coherent use of them produces the desired effect in the delivery of the message.A Presidential Inaugural Address is a ceremonial speech, made by a newly elected president of the USA, marking a new Presidential term. The Oxford Guide to the United States Government states that a speech â€Å"sets the tone for the administration† and that â€Å"presidents usually stress unity and bipartisanship after what is sometimes a divisive and bitter Presidential campaign† (â€Å"inauguration, Presidential†). There are no regulations concerning the length or issues of the speech, it is only language which is specified by the Constitution.The richness of the English language is employed to produce the first Presidential address to the nation and the world, the speech which is in focus of the world-wide mass media. An inauguration ceremony takes place at the Capitol on January, 20 and is usually attended by a large crowd, to which President speaks to. Presidents usually have a prepared text of the speech. Obama seemed to have learned his by heart and often appealed to the audience in the form of life performance interrupted by applause, which is indicated in the transcript.The term performance, introduced by Chomsky, will be used in this paper since it describes â€Å"the way the individual goes about using language† (Mey 5). The term reflexes the issue that I will analyze, that is to say, not only the words used by the speaker as a lexical register, but also the context in which the speech is situated. Having been skillfully coordinated, they create the 1 performance that aims the delivery of the message. I will focus on the structural and functional properties of the language, the combination of which enables the speaker to achieve the goal of the performance.In chapter 2, I will introduce the historical and cultural context in which the speech was made. Context is defined as â€Å"circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or an idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood† (Oxford Diction ary of English, context noun). Defining the term context as dynamic, Mey states that it â€Å"is about understanding what things are for; it is also what gives our utterance their true pragmatic meaning† (41). The context is vital for analysis of any speech, particularly made in public.I will draw attention to the historical, cultural and social circumstances during the election campaign, which preceded the Presidential address. In subchapter 2. 1, the cultural and social background of Obama will be described. During a presidential campaign, any personal details of a candidate may be significant; they indicate the electors’ preferences and, possibly, expectations. A President’s address, in turn, is based on audience’s expectations. That is why, I think, this aspect should be taken into account while analyzing the speech.The historical/political context will be introduced in subchapter 2. 2 and will be devoted to the historical, political, economic and soc ial aspects in American society, the complexity of which made it possible for a colored man to become President of the USA for the first time in the country’s history. This subchapter also provides information about certain features of AfroAmerican traditional sermons, which, arguably, have influenced the president’s address. Chapter 3 describes methodology of this work, that is to say, general approaches in this research. 2Chapter 4 is devoted to the analysis of the speech from rhetorical and linguistic approaches. Since the address is a speech made in public, a rhetoric study, which is tightly linked to the use of linguistic devices, is worth doing. Subchapter 4. 1 is focused on the use of personal deixis in the speech and their role in aiming the delivery of the message. The choice of deixis, I will state, is carefully and skillfully made in order to foreground or background particular objects, so that to consider them appearing in more or less favorable aspects. In subchapter 4. , I will rearrange some extracts from the speech into stanzas – the structure of writing related to poetry – which I find to have strong links in the address. Referring to theories in linguistics dealing with parallelism, didactic poetry, rhythm and metrics I will try to prove the idea that the speaker uses rhythm as a tool for creating an emotionally agreeable atmosphere and an easily memorized message in his performance. In subchapter 4. 3, the role of parallelism and foregrounding in the complex of the linguistic devices employed in the speech will be analyzed.They are the tools which strengthen or weaken objects in the chosen extract, depending on the goal which the speaker sets up. The subchapter is divided into two sub-subchapters, focused on syntactic and lexical forms of parallelism – 4. 3. 1 and the relationship with alliteration – 4. 3. 2. Rhetoric will be in focus in chapter 4. 4, particularly, the lexical register which reflects the intention to introduce forthcoming changes in the new administration’s policy.The attention will be drawn to the choice of words related to the innovative projects, which appear to be as presumable as the change of generations. In his speech, Obama cites other famous orators both directly and indirectly. Chapter 4. 5 draws parallels between some points in the address and speeches of Dr Martin Luther King and Rabbi Joachim Prinz. 3 In the inaugural address, as well as in his other speeches, Obama uses elements of preaching, which have already been noticed in mass media and academic studies.Chapter 4. 6 draws attention to the use of words from the Bible, Afro-American traditional sermon and the role of transcendental theme in political rhetoric in the USA. In chapter 5, I will connect the discussed issues on the linguistic devices employed in the speech, which aim to maximize the effectiveness of the delivery of the message. The discussion on this subject will be presented here. Chapter 6 is the conclusion, where the analyzed aspects of various linguistic discourses will be summarized.I will conclude that their combination makes a significant contribution to the success of the speech made in public. 2. Context: the historical, cultural and social circumstances The social and historical context plays a significant role in understanding the message of the speech and analyzing it. The term context is defined as: those parts of a text preceding and following any particular passage, giving it a meaning fuller or more identifiable that if it were read in isolation. The context of any statement may be understood to comprise . . . he biographical, social, cultural, and historical circumstances in which it is made (including the intended audience or reader). (The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, context) In the following chapter I will describe the social and cultural aspects of the context preceding the performing of the Inaugural Address. 4 2. 1 Social and cultural background In November 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American president in the history of the United States. His electoral victory was considered to be a breakthrough in the social and political aspects of the American society.He embodied the dream of millions of his fellow citizens to come true, including Martin Luther King Jr. , with whom Obama is often compared and whose principles he maintains. BBC News stated that â€Å"for many . . . Barack Obama’s presidency will be the culmination of Dr King’s dream† (1). The day before the inauguration, Obama drew attention to the resemblance when he â€Å"helped to decorate a community project in Washington in memory of Dr King† and used his idea for a deeper alikeness by saying that â€Å"we resolve that as we walk, we must walk together.And as we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this nation, let’s remember King’s lesson – that out separate dream s are really one†. (BBC News, 1) It is remarkable that, besides the fact that Obama is biracial, religion is said not to have played any particular role in his childhood, since his father had no particular influence on him and his mother was â€Å"an agnostic humanist†, while â€Å"the grandparents who helped to raise him were not religious† (F. I. Greenstein, 209). The President represents a large number of the Americans in the sense of his ethnic and social background.Being dark skinned, he was brought up by his white maternal grandparents apart from a few years when he lived and attended primary school in Indonesia. Obama later wrote that, during his youth he experienced â€Å"a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect† (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 2007). Here could be mentioned the role of his wife, Michelle, a genuine representative of the African American population in the electoral campaign, but further discussion of this is beyond the remit o f this essay. 5 2. 2.Historical / political context The presidency of an African American person would probably not have been possible a few decades ago; many people claimed that they would never have dreamed that they would see a dark skinned man becoming a president of the United States. Obama realizes this, having said that he is a son of a man who â€Å"less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant† (Obama, 5). A new generation has grown up since Martin Luther King Jr. gathered millions of people for peaceful marching to Washington in order to campaign for the identical rights for all races.The political situation is also an important aspect of Obama’s victory. The former president’s administration involved the country in a wearisome war with Iraq, an unpopular war from which the country seems unable to extricate itself. Along with a military mission in Afghanistan, it has cost an enormous amount of money to the tax payers. On to p of that, the deep recession in the economy, which started at the time of the election debates and which is said to be the worst one since the Great Depression, in a general understanding, damaged the popularity of the Republicans.A new, â€Å"fresh face† of a relatively young candidate appeared on the political stage at this moment, who â€Å"promise[d] healing† instead of fighting. Not only did he promise changes, but he also spoke a language of young people, which associates with ability, opportunity and making new crucial decisions (Capone, 2972). The candidate, Barack Obama, made a â€Å"meteoric rise to national prominence† (Greenstein, 206). 3. Methodology This essay’s research is qualitative and the speech will be analyzed by employing a number of theoretical approaches in the fields of semantics, pragmatics and rhetorical criticism.The use of various linguistic devices employed in the speech, which contribute to the aim of any 6 speech and, part icularly, a public one held by a politician, will be examined. Thus, the aim is to analyze the complexity of the devices in the context and the intertextuality, which means that â€Å"all texts are . . . composed of other (pre-existing) texts . . . held together in a state of constant interaction . . . [hence] all text exist in a state of partiality and inter-dependency with other texts† (A Dictionary of Critical Theory, â€Å"intertextuality†).The format of C-essay does not present the opportunity to examine the whole speech from all possible approaches, hence, I will first analyze some excerpts from it in a framework of singular notions related to the theoretical basis of the above mentioned fields and then I will draw parallels between the notions. Roderick P. Hart’s conceptions on modern rhetorical criticism and Jacob L. Mey’s on pragmatics issues will be widely considered while completing the work on this paper. I will also refer to a study on Barack Obama’s South Carolina speech by A. Capone.The prepared text of President-elect Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, as provided by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, is in the Appendix and referred to according to its numbered pages. 4. Rhetorical and Linguistic Strategies In his performance, Obama employs a complex of rhetorical and linguistic strategies, which allow the speaker to introduce and deliver the message in favorable context. Analyzing rhetoric, Hart says that â€Å"human history has been written by great persons authoring great orations for social betterment. Often, these great statements have seemed more poetic than pragmatic, as satisfying to the heart as to the head†(4).In order to distinguish a poem from a narrative story or any other type of message, I will try to highlight rhythm by employing a number of linguistic devices including metre and parallelism. Simpson defines metre as â€Å"an organized pattern of strong and weak syllables† and 7 its â€Å"repetition into a regular phrasing across a line of verse† (15). Stanza is a product of correspondence of and â€Å"the length, metrical scheme and rhythmical pattern [of the verse lines] with those of at least one other such group of verse lines in a poem† (The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature, â€Å"stanza†).An extensive use of pronouns ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’ in combination with a particular lexical register aims to foreground the desired effect of unity and communion the speaker and the audience. 4. 1. The use of personal deixis Deictic expressions, known as deixis, can be interpreted only in the context in which they are used. The word deictic derives from the Greek language and is used for pointing a subject. I will focus on the use of deixis employed in the speech which, I will argue, creates an effect of unity on one side and â€Å"outsiders† on the other.In his analysis of Obamaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s electoral speech, Capone indicates that â€Å"a speaker is responsible for the positions or opinions advanced, but need not necessarily be the animator or even the author† (2967). He refers to Goffman for definitions of â€Å"a principal in the legalistic sense†, which involves imposing â€Å"self-identification† as we not I. (2967). By doing so, the speaker â€Å"become[s] a representative of the people† (2967). This pattern of seemingly speaking on behalf of the audience is focused upon in the present chapter.The use of person deixis in the speech, in these circumstances, is worth investigating. Unlike his previous public performances, where Obama aimed to convince the audience that he was the right candidate for the position of a congressman or, later, a president, here he is a victor and addressing his message from a position of Head of State. He, probably, does not need to put his personality in focus any longer, but rather needs the support for his future challenges. In this case the pronoun I, which was used generously in Obama’s previous 8 peeches, emerges only three times in his inaugural address in its beginning: â€Å"I stand here today . . . I thank President Bush . . . Today I say to you . . . â€Å" (Obama 1). The first person pronoun â€Å"I† does not appear any more in the performance. Obama favors the third person plural pronouns we, us and our(s) in the rest of the speech the pronouns which play their significant role in creating a sense of unity of the speaker with the audience. We, us and our(s) are employed 61, 20 and 65 times respectively and are, probably, the most often used words of the speech.The speaker does not distance himself from the American people; instead, everything the president proclaims further seems to be issued by us – the people of America. According to Capone, â€Å"a political speech is in itself an interpretation of the audience’s feelings and needsà ¢â‚¬  that allow â€Å"the audience to build its own intentionality† while a politician reflexes them (2969) . The above mentioned pronouncements are employed as the inclusive ones throughout the text.The speaker, in this case, is a member of the society to which he speaks. Whether he speaks of the previous achievements or the future plans, the orator claims them to be a commonality, which means that he shares responsibility for everything being said with the audience. As a result, the audience seems to become a co-author of the speech, providing that they approve of it, and they do so by frequent applause. Thus, the president speaks on behalf of the American people: â€Å"On this day we gather . . . we come to proclaim . . †. The addresser has a message to his opponents, and the pronouns they, their, those and some are served as if to indicate a distance between the American people, of whose behalf Obama speaks , and those â€Å"who question the scale of our [the Am ericans] ambitions† (Obama 3) . The victory in the election, presumably, allows the new president to associate himself with the majority of the nation and to look down at â€Å"the cynics [who] fail to understand [is] that the ground has shifted beneath them† (Obama 3).By carefully chosen pronouns, the speaker foregrounds the Americans, whose ideas he articulates and backgrounds the rest, who â€Å"have 9 forgotten what this country has already done† (Obama 3). Having repeated by then we and our dozens of times and created a panoramic picture of the nation’s achievements, the present state and the future challenges, Obama has little difficulty opposing and disparaging â€Å"those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame† ( Obama 2). 4. 2. Rhythm Among the complex of the devices that Obama operates in the speech, I will argue in the following sub-chapter, the rhythm plays a significant role. Rhythm contributes to de livering the message in a most effective and agreeable way. Ancient Greeks used didactic poetry, not as a literary genre but, rather, to give instructions applying to it â€Å"as being more easily remembered than prose† (The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, â€Å"didactic poetry†). Moreover, poetry brings sentimental feelings which either thrusts disturbing thoughts or stresses them, depending on the context of the text.Words often have double meaning and can be interpreted differently. In poetry one can â€Å"play† with words employing their phonetic features, metaphors and sonic effect. In the following excerpt from the speech, the first line in the first four stanzas (the fourth one, however, has a conjunction â€Å"and†, which neither disturbs the rhythm nor change the meaning) starts with the same phrase â€Å"we will† followed by a verb phrase. The other three lines follow the main idea expressed in the first one. They are si milar both rhythmically and metrically.The last stanza is different in the structure and introverted, since â€Å"the thought veers from the main theme and then returns thereto† (Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), â€Å"Parallelism†, 2/4). Instead of starting, it finishes with the same construction â€Å"we will† followed by a verb phrase. In the speech, a vestige of a poem emerges from time to time, both in terms of rhythm and lyrical contexts of the word related to nature (as the Romantic poets would do) for describing 10 practical, moreover, technological purposes.I will try to rearrange an extract into stanzas, where each one (except the last one) consists of four lines and is, therefore, called quatrain (The Concise Oxford, â€Å"stanza†). The last stanza brings a conclusion; and the last verse in the stanza sounds as if it were a final chord in a piece of music: We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our comme rce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools, and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. 11 All this we can do. And all this we will do. (Obama 2) The sun and winds are invoked to symbolise man’s need for the energy necessary to drive the economy. Obama does not speak a ‘dry’ language of economists; he prefers the language of poets. Hart compares an orator – a persuader – with a poet being â€Å"artistically creative.Both work with symbols to breathe life into ideas† and use â€Å"their imaginations to engage their audiences imaginations† (10). The meaning of every sentence rests beyond the bare words – it is metaphorical. Analysing arguments, Hart refers to Toulmi n’s work, applying to the term major claims as: a) the broadest, most encompassing, statements made by the speaker, b) lie at the level of abstraction higher than all other statements the speaker makes, c) represent what the speaker hopes will become the â€Å"residual message† in listeners minds (i. . , the main thoughts remembered when the details of the message have been forgotten), and d) are frequently repeated or restated in the message† (Hart 98). In the extract above, every sentence contains a major claim, according to its definition. The message does not consist of specific words having definitive meaning of the work planned; they are, rather, â€Å"the broadest, most encompassing†. What seems to strengthen the message is its rhythmical construction and repetition.Unlike the ‘prosaic’ parts of the speech, where the listener does not need to employ their imagination, the poetical ones require it in order to fill the gap in the meanings between â€Å"the sun and the winds†, which should â€Å"fuel our cars†, or work out the way â€Å"to wield technology’s wonders† (Obama 2). The structures of these stanzas follow the rules of synthetic parallelism, where â€Å"the theme is worked up by the building of thought upon similar thought† (Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), â€Å"Parallelism†, 2/4).These linguistic tools contribute to the speaker’s foregrounding of the idea of forthcoming changes by repeating the same or similar syntactic structures along with the 12 same phrase â€Å"we will†. Lexically, the stanzas also correspond. The theme of building and reconstruction the country’s economy progresses throughout the block with a final ‘chord’ where Obama seems to have changed his pre-presidential slogan â€Å"yes, we can† to â€Å"yes, we will†. 4. 3.Parallelism and foregrounding Parallelism is a product of â€Å"balanced arrangemen t achieved through repetition of the same syntactic form† (The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, â€Å"parallelism†). Analyzing the text, one can find both syntactic and lexical parallels. Lexical parallelism is an effect of repetition of the same words or certain relationships between words, mostly belonging to the same word group, such as verbs or nouns. Giving examples of parallelism, scholars often refer to poetry and rhetoric.It seems that what they have in common is their appeal to the listener’s emotions rather than pragmatism. Foregrounding is based on â€Å"giving unusual prominence to one element or property of the text† (The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, â€Å"foregrounding†). The devices such as repetition and giving a favorable syntactic position are commonly employed for creating a foreground effect. The background is, hence, a weaker and significantly less important component in the text is used as a tool for stressing foreg rounding.I would like to suggest that the following piece of speech consists of lexical parallels. To start with, the nouns ‘strength’ and ‘weakness’ are antonyms; by putting them in the same line the speaker creates the effect of parallelism based on contradiction. He continuously contrasts and contradicts the rights and wrongs in the text until ‘goodness’ eventually prevails over ‘evil’. For we know that our patchwork heritage is strength, not a weakness. 13 We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers.We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from the dark chapter stronger and united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itsel f; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. (Obama 4) It is interesting that by contradicting and drawing parallels, the speaker achieves the effect of foregrounding.Before pointing out the goal, the speaker explains the reason for it and, hence, prepares the ground for the challenge, which seems achievable afterwards. Lexical and syntactic repetitions strengthen both the background and foreground of the text. Speaking about the diversity of the country, Obama uses the effect of antithesis making contrasts when mentioning the religious groups. The diversity of religions evolves from being simply contrastive, which might in other contexts be interpreted as divisive and, therefore, a problematic issue, to cohesion and solidarity of the purpose.Those elements, which rest on the side of ‘meanness’, fade away under the pressure of ‘goodness’. The following compounds of phrases seem predictable then: â€Å"hatreds – pass . . . tribe – dissolve . . . humanity – reveal† (Obama 4). 14 4. 3. 1Parallelism – syntactic and lexical The following extract is an example of both syntactic and lexical parallelism. The sentences begin with and are stressed by a prepositional phrase â€Å"for us†. It is followed by the noun phrase consisting of the pronoun â€Å"they†, which is followed by two verb phrases joined by a conjunction â€Å"and†.The sentences are not alike in the structures. That is to say, although their first verb phrase is intransitive, in the first two sentences, it is post-modified by a noun phrase and a prepositional phrase respectively. In the third sentence, the same prepositional phrase post-modifies the two intransitive verb phrases â€Å"fought† and â€Å"died†. These verbs have related meaning where fighting causes dying. In the second sentence, the phrases â€Å"toiled in sweatshops† and â€Å"plowed the hard earth† ar e quasi-synonymous as they both mean doing hard work.In addition to the parallelism, the repetition and the heading position of the phrase ‘for us’ produces the effect of foregrounding. The repetition and relationship of the phrases â€Å"they† and â€Å"for us† make the message of the passage more coherent. Everything â€Å"they† did, they did â€Å"for us†. In this case, what â€Å"forebearers† [sic] did, is not signified merely as a list of jobs, but rather as the effort they made for â€Å"a future generation†. The language devices serve as a promoter of the message here. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; 15 endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh. (Obama 2) 4. 3. 2. Parallelism and alliteration The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines the term alliteration as â€Å"the repetition of the same sounds – usually initial consonants of words or of stressed syllables – in any sequence of neighboring words†, remarking that in some poetry â€Å"alliteration rather than rhythm is the chief principle of repetition† (â€Å"alliteration†).The following block of supposed poetry contains both of the devices alliteration and parallelism. The adjectives â€Å"less† and â€Å"last† are not only repeated in the same stanza, but they also start with the same consonant â€Å"l†, consist of a single syllable and have similarity in the meaning. They both related to the tendency to minimize something to an unimportant level. Although the two first stanzas begin with the same pronoun â€Å"our†, they differ in the choice of linguistic tools. The effect of parallelism of the following two stanzas rests upon contradiction.Alliter ation is more vaguely expressed in the words starting with consonant â€Å"p† such as â€Å"pat†, â€Å"protecting†, â€Å"putting† and â€Å"passed† in the second stanza, and is absent in the third one. These two stanzas contain verbs and/or verb phrases having opposite meaning; they contradict each other and the parallelism is based on contradiction. Every stanza consists of a single, complex sentence, where intensity is accumulating in the first two lines in stanza 1 and 2 (in the third stanza that is line 1), and accelerating to its climax in the following line 3 and 4 relatively.Calling for action, Obama stresses the last syllables in 16 phrasal verbs – verbs of action pick up and dust off. The choice of these multi-word verbs obviously reflects the desire to emphasize the need for action: up and off associate with impulse and movement. The tension is growing from the first to the last verse with the conclusion coming as a final chord: Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. (Obama 2) 4. 4. Rhetoric: lexical chain for the planned changes Hart defines the word lexicon as â€Å"words that are unique to a group or individual and that have specific rhetorical power . . . [;] by using preferred words a speaker can establish the right 17 to address the audience† (156).Considering the fact that rhetoric is a persuasive use of language, Hart is insistent that â€Å"rhetoric is an art . . . [which] creates a story out of nothing, using symbols to bring to life feelings we had forgotten we had, plans we had not yet considered† (7). He continues: â€Å"t he story rhetoric tells is always a story with a purpose; it is never told for its own sake† (7). In the following chapter, I will draw attention to some rhetorical techniques which contribute to the delivery of the message.More precisely, they are two of five â€Å"basic moves† as Hart define them: â€Å"(2) the speaker must come to be regarded as a helper rather than an exploiter; (3) the speaker must convince the listener that new choices need to be made† (7). In his address, Obama proclaims that the â€Å"time of standing pat . . . has surely passed† and the nation is to â€Å"begin again the work on remaking America† (2). In order to indicate forthcoming changes in various areas and to stress the novelties planned, he parallels them with ‘a new generation’ and ‘a new age’.He makes a specific lexical chain – the choice of vocabulary in order to indicate the expected changes in the society – whose aim is to create the atmosphere of unity and agreement similar to the ideal American family. The theme of ‘unity’ goes throughout the speech, and that is done by a carefully generated lexical chain as well as repetition. The feeling of unity is constructed in the very beginning – in the greeting: â€Å"My fellow citizens†, where the president identifies himself as one belonging to the society, rubbing away the invisible border between the stage and the crowd.The following step is to design the image of the nation as a family, where the ideals and traditions are transmitted from generation to generation- the word which is used quite extensively in the address. Obama creates ‘a solid ground’ for a consensus of the main issues with the Americans from the very beginning by claiming that â€Å"We the People have remained faithful to the ideas of our forebearers [sic], and true to our founding documents† (1). This idea is developed and reused in such a way that it reappears in the very end of the speech, where Obama cites the 8 words of â€Å"our (the Americans) father† â€Å"in the year of America’s birth† calling for unity and commitment. 4. 5. Citing other orators Obama has numerous times been compared with the black American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, and he himself draws attention to such a comparison. The day before the inauguration BBC News reported that â€Å"he reflected that Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony would take place on the same mall where many thousands gathered in 1963 to hear Martin Luther King’s lesson â€Å"I have A Dream† speech† (1).In fact, there was another political leader, who made his speech on the same day just before Dr King did – the national president of the American Jewish Congress Rabbi Joachim Prinz, whose words Obama cites and whose message he reintroduces. â€Å"The time . . . has come† phrase is excerpted from Dr Pri nz’s speech. His thought of â€Å"the time . . . for us to work together, for it is not enough to hope together – for it is not enough to pray togetherâ€Å" is edited and reused in Obama’s speech (Prinz, Civil rights). The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit† is the phrase which not only resembles Dr Prinz’s but proclaims a new â€Å"reaffirming† cycle in American history. Obama’s style of addressing the audience is also resembles Prinz’s. They both start with a rather formal address, changing then to â€Å"direct address . . . , a feature often found in personal correspondence†, such as Prinz’s â€Å"our fathers taught us†, â€Å"our children, yours and mine†, â€Å"we share† and Obama’s â€Å"our forebearers†, â€Å"our Founding Fathers†, â€Å"men and women and children of every race and every faith†, â€Å"we remain†. 9 4. 6. The elements of p reaching According to discourses of cultural criticism, Obama’s rhetorical style may be described as an American one. Hart refers to a number of scholars when stating that â€Å"one of the most distinctive things about American rhetoric is its curious combination of Transcendental and Pragmatic themes† where he continues â€Å"the transcendent strain in discourse gives it an â€Å"elevating† tone, the sort of tone one hears on inauguration day in the United States†(240). On this day, the president might feel inclined to mention â€Å"the words of Scripture†.He avoids favouring one single religion by referring to â€Å"scripture† rather than the Bible, which relates to any religion in the world and, although he cites Bible, the values he mentions are universal: the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that the noble ide a, passed from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. Obama 2) In that block, one can feel the growing tension, which comes as a climax in poetry and culmination in a traditional, Afro-American sermon. It has elements of Gospel, where rhythm changes its pattern while the main idea is repeated. Obama’s style of public performance has been compared with preaching, particularly that which belongs to â€Å"the tradition of AfroAmerican preaching discourse†. Capone notices that â€Å"among the characteristics which parallel Obama’s speech style with Afro-American religious traditions is rhythmic structure, sensitivity and ‘elevation’ (2970). 0 Hart argues that the Americans are â€Å"a nation that seems to need a Holy Purpose for doing almost anything† (240). Speaking on politics and business, Obama â€Å"strengthens† his states b y referring to the Bible again – â€Å"hatreds shall someday pass . . . the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve . . . our common humanity shall reveal itself â€Å"(4). Transcendental theme supports the pragmatic thoughts, in other words, two themes collaborate so that the message maximizes its efficiency. 5. ConclusionThe analysis of Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address suggests that the speech was made by a skilful orator, who employed various linguistic and rhetoric devices for the efficiency of the address. They are tightly linked together and, at times, it is hard to separate one from another as they are often multifunctional. I would like to suggest that the high level of education of the speaker was helpful when setting various tools in collaboration, so that the use of them produced the effect of a desirable message, the one which the audience accepted as if it had come from it self.Learning from Ancient Greeks, President uses didactic poetry: persuading, convinci ng and easy-to-be-remembered rhythmic style when addressing to a wide audience of the Americans. Didactic poetry rests upon repetition and parallelism, which are the basic tools for creating an easily memorized message. Parallelism is, in turn, a part of a linguistic field of semantics. Focusing on parallelism employed in the speech, I have found that personal pronouns play a significant role in creating a foregrounding effect, which is an aspect of pragmatics. All these devices positively correlate with a rhetorical style, which the orator chose for the speech.The event took place at a historical mall, where some of the most prominent American orators have spoken to large audiences. In his speech, Obama stresses the strong connections between generations which he, as he states, is to endure, and employs other orators words in order to support the statement. 21 In an attempt to cover the most important values of the American people, Obama appeals to those which rest upon family and religion. He cites the Bible but quite carefully and, having pointed out the diversity of religions represented in the country, applies his words to universal, ‘transcendental truth’.He also creates an emotional atmosphere of a nation as a family, which suggests unity and support, the desire for a better future and a readiness for working hard on it for the next generation’s sake. The lexical register along with the foregrounding help to fulfill the task in a favorable view. The newly elected president needs his people’s support for the forthcoming reforms, which he has planned to carry out. The unity of the Americans, in order to receive their advanced approval, seems to be the aim of the President’s address to the nation. His speech is persuasive, but hardly aggressive.By using linguistic techniques, which have been employed by a number of the nation’s â€Å"Fathers† and which have proved to be successful and appreciated both by the audience present and forthcoming generations, Obama announces his address to his people in a favorable way. That is to say, the extensive use of pronouns ‘we’ and ‘our’ in combinations with the lexical chain discussed above, affects the speech in such a way that the audience, to some extent, might almost be considered to be participants in it and the President performs as a representative of the people.The various linguistic and rhetorical devices suggest that the orator articulates the ideas of the audience and that as a president, he represents the interests of his people. 22 Works Cited —. A Dictionary of Critical Theory by Ian Buchanan. Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 30 Mar. 2011 Akmajian, Adrian, et al. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. 5th ed. The USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. Print. Bazzanella, Carla. †Redundancy, re petition, and intensity in discourse. † Language Sciences 33 (2011): 243-254.Web. 03 Feb. 2011. BBC News, â€Å"Obama honours Martin Luther King†, BBC. BBC News, 20 Jan 2009 Web. 29 Mar 2011. Capone, Alessandro. â€Å"Barack Obama’s South Carolina Speech† Journal of Pragmatics. 42 (2010): 2964-2977. Web. Greenstein, Fred I. The Presidential Difference. 3rd ed. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2009. Print. Hart, P. Roderick. Modern Rhetorical Criticism. Upper Saddle River: Allyn&Bacon A Pearson Education Company, 1997. Print. Lash, Scott. Another Modernity. 1998. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1999. Print. Leanne, Shel. Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision.USA: RR Donnelley, 2009. Print. Mey, Jacob L. Pragmatics: An Introduction. 1993. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2002. Print. Obama, Barack. †Bararack Obama’s Inaugural Address†. The Inaugural Address, Washington, The Capitol, 20 Jan. Th e Washington Post. The Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2009. Web. 10 May 2011. —Oxford Dictionary of English, Ed. Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 17 Feb. 2011 23 Prinz, Joachim. â€Å"I speak to you as an American Jew†, Web. 4 Apr 2011. http://joachimprinz. com/civilrights. htm/. –â€Å"Punahou left lasting impression on Obama. † The Associated Press. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 2007. Web. 11 Apr 2011. http://archive. starbulletin. com. Simpson, Paul. Stylistics: A resource book for students. London and New York: Routledge, 2002. Print. Tenbrink, Thora. â€Å"Reference frames of space and time in language. † Journal of Pragmatics. 43. 3 (2011) : 704-722. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. —. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Ed. M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press, 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halm stad. Web. 18 Feb. 2011 —.The Concise Oxford Companion to Englishl Literature. Ed. Margaret Drabble and Jenny Stringer. Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 17 Feb. 2011 —. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 22Feb. 2011. 24 Appendix Obama's Inaugural Address Remarks as Prepared for Delivery January 20, 2009 My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the o ath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been.So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less pro found is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. 1On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risktakers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were ra w so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.All this we can do. And all this we will do. 2 Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government. Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willi ng heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we ple ase. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. 3 For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.W e are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that wil l define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old.These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is requir ed of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. 4 This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of mo nths, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: â€Å"Let it be told to the future world†¦ that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive†¦ that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]. America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and deliv ered it safely to future generations. 5