Oral Communication Essay

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

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 9~10

Chapter Nine It's Like Time Travel, Only You know, Slower†¦ THE CHRONICLES OF ABBY NORMAL: Tortured Victim of the Daylight Dwellers So here I am again, to open my veins and spill my pain onto your pages. My dark friend, after sixteen years of totally boring existence, I come to you at last with a glimmer of hope to break through the gloomth that is my miserable life. OMG! I have found him! Or I should say, he has found me. That's right, my Dark Lord has found me. A for-real vampyre. He is called the vampyre Flood, and he didn't say, but I think he is descended from European royalty – a viscount or a discount or one of those. I was in Walgreens with Jared when we saw him – and OMFG he's so hot, in a totally stealth way. I would have thought he was just a totally mainstream geek or something, with his flannel shirt and jeans, but he asked us about buying syringes and I totally saw his fangs come out. So, I was like, â€Å"I can hook you up with my dealer,† like that, and then he looked at my T-shirt and saw Byron's picture on it and he quoted â€Å"She Walks in Beauty,† which is like my favorite poem next to the one by Baudelaire about his girlfriend being nothing but worm food, except that Lily called that one first because Baudelaire is her fave poet and so she got the shirt with him on it, even though Byron is way more scrumptious and I would do him on sharp gravel if I had the chance. So I went home and changed my clothes and fixed my makeup, and when we got to Glas Kat we breezed by the door like we were twenty-five or something. Jared made our IDs himself at Kinkos and we both look so mature in our pictures, although I think he overdid it with the mustache. Anyway, we were there like ten minutes, and this song came on that I really like – â€Å"Boning You in the Ossuary,† by Dead Can Dub – which is so cool and macabre. And I tried to get Jared to dance, but this guy comes by and grabs Jared's cape and says, â€Å"Blacks fade much?† and that was it. Jared went into a level-five freak-out, and turned into a total fuckwit, trying to get me to hide him and stuff, and then just saying he couldn't take it anymore and he had to go home and redye right then. So he abandoned me to the dank loneliness that is the night and I bought a bottle of water and some chips and got ready to grieve my lost youth, when HE showed up. OMG! Check it, he actually knew Byron and Shelley! He used to party with them in Switzerland when they were all young. They all did laudanum and read ghost stories and stuff, and then they actually invented Goth, right there in this villa on some lake. He is like THE SOURCE! He took me for coffee and I wanted to give myself to him right there in Starbucks. Lily will be totally jealous. So he said I have to wait. He is connected to some ancient Celtic vampire countess and I'm supposed to find them an apartment in the morning. He even gave me the name of a rental agent to call and a big wad of cash. I have to prove myself worthy of his trust, otherwise there's like no way he'll bestow the dark gift on me, and I'll totally have to finish my sophomore year and probably end up in junior college or working at Old Navy or something. So, since we're off for Christmas break, I'm going to call this woman and go find an apartment for the vampyre Flood and the Celtic vampyre countess. And when Flood rises from the grave at sunset, I will get my reward. I'm totally freaked about meeting the Celtic vampyre countess. Flood says she has a temper. What if she hates me? Flood says he's not really into her – it's not like that. It's like, she's his vampyre sire, and they've been together for like five hundred years, so, you know, they have history, and I can respect that. Note: Make sure to find out if I need to move their native soil to the new apartment before we move their coffins. Note: Do I need to have a coffin made? Is it okay if it's purple? Oh yeah, my sister Ronnie has head lice. Chapter Ten Red, White, and Blue, Not Necessarily in That Order Snow White, thought Blue. With the seven to look after me, and me them, I could be just like Snow White. Granted, the Animals weren't exactly dwarves, Jeff Murray, the ex-high-school-basketball star was at least six five, and Drew, their resident pharmacologist, was pretty close to that height, but she wasn't exactly Snow White either. Still, they were all kind to her, considerate, and basically respectful of her, within their limits as a bunch of pot-head punani hounds. They did seem to have a decent work ethic, were loyal, didn't fight among themselves, and were relatively clean, as guys this age went. In a few days, she'd have the rest of their money, she knew it, and they knew it, but then what? It was a ton of money, to be sure, but it wasn't fuck-you money. (Defined as having so much money that you can say â€Å"fuck you† to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and not have to worry about the consequences.) She'd have to find something to do, somewhere to go. As the possibility of her getting out of the life finally loomed large, she realized that she was going to need a new life to live, and frankly, it was scaring the hell out of her. Time isn't kind to a girl living on her looks, and she'd already extended her sell-by date by going blue, but what now? Who knew that the future she'd been hoping for would show up with such sharp teeth. So Blue asked herself the question†¦ Can a fallen Cheddar princess of Fond Du Lac make a life with seven perpetually adolescent party animals from the Bay Area? Maybe it could happen, but she had her misgivings about dwarf number seven: Clint. In her experience, it took a lot of work to fuck the Jesus out of a guy, and even then, he was prone to come down with a bad case of the guilts a day or two later. Not really a problem when you were working outcall, but if you were going to high-ho a whole pack of dwarves on a semipermanent basis, one of them having a high-maintenance, holy-ghost haunting was going to be a problem. â€Å"Whore of Babylon,† Clint said as the Animals led her into the Safeway like they were presenting her at the palace. She paused in the automatic doors, despite the fact that she felt like she was turning blue under her blue, dressed as she was in a silver lam minidress and six-inch clear Lucite heels, none of it protecting her from the frigid wind coming off the Bay, whipping through the Marina Safeway parking lot. Thinking she'd probably spend most of her time naked, she hadn't packed for San Francisco weather. â€Å"I've never even been to Babylon,† she said. â€Å"But I'm open to new experiences.† She licked her lips and stepped to where her breasts were within an inch of Clint's chest. He turned and bolted to the office, chanting, â€Å"Get thee behind me, get thee behind me, get thee behind me,† the whole way. â€Å"However you want it, baby,† said Blue. She decided she'd think of him as Freaked, the paranoid dwarf. â€Å"Barry will show you to the break room,† Lash said. He'd become the new leader of the Animals, mainly because he tended to be the most sober. â€Å"Jeff, send the limo back and lock the doors. Drew, make some coffee. Gustavo, see what the situation is on the floors. We may need you to throw stock on the shelves.† They stood there, looking at him. Stoned. Drunk. Baffled. Blue would think of Barry, the little, prematurely bald guy, as her special dwarf, Baffled. She smiled. Clint peeked over the three-quarter wall of the office. â€Å"Hey, you guys. You should know that the Emperor was here last night. He says that Tommy Flood is a vampire.† â€Å"Huh?† Lash said. â€Å"He's a vampire. That girl of his, she didn't leave town. She changed him.† â€Å"Get the fuck outta here,† said Jeff. Clint nodded furiously. â€Å"It's true.† â€Å"Well, fuck,† said the others, in an unsynchronized chorus. â€Å"Meeting,† Lash announced. â€Å"Gentlemen, take your seats.† He looked apologetically to Blue. â€Å"This shouldn't take long.† â€Å"I'll make coffee,† she said. â€Å"Uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lash seemed concerned. â€Å"Blue, we're kind of on a budget from here on out.† â€Å"Coffee's free,† Blue said. She turned and started heading to the back of the store. â€Å"I'll find it.† The Animals watched Blue walk away and, when she turned the corner, gathered by the registers. Clint unlocked the office door and came out. â€Å"So, we have to notify those cops, so they can help us hunt him down.† Lash looked at the Animals, who looked back. Lash raised an eyebrow. The others nodded. Lash put his arm around Clint's shoulders. â€Å"Clint, the guys and I have discussed it, and we'd all like to do something for you.† Clint ran back in the office and slammed the door. â€Å"No! We have to destroy the agents of Satan.† â€Å"Right. Of course. We'll get right on that. But first I'd like you to ask yourself something, Clint. And I'd like you to answer not as the born-again man that you are now, but from that little boy that's inside of all of us.† â€Å"Okay,† Clint said, peeking over the office door. â€Å"Clint, haven't you ever wanted to bone a Smurf?† Jody heard Tommy come in the security door downstairs and met him on the stairs with a big hug and a backbreaking kiss. â€Å"Wow,† Tommy said. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I'm really good now. I was just checking on William. I think he pooped himself.† â€Å"I'm so sorry, Tommy. I shouldn't have left you on your own this soon.† â€Å"It's okay. I'm okay. Hey, you have something on your dress.† Jody was still wearing the little black dress. Some of the dust that was James O'Mally was still clinging to it near the hemline. â€Å"Oh, I must have bumped up against something.† â€Å"Let me get that for you,† Tommy said, brushing at her thigh, then starting to raise the dress up past her waist. Jody caught his hand. â€Å"Horndog!† Chet the huge shaved cat looked up for a second, then put his head back down on William's chest and went back to sleep. â€Å"But you left me on my own,† Tommy said, trying to sound sad, but smiling too much to make it work. â€Å"You're fine.† She looked at her watch. â€Å"We only have about forty minutes till sunup. We can talk while we get ready for bed.† â€Å"I'm ready for bed now,† Tommy said. She led him up the stairs into the loft, through the great room, the bedroom, and into the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush off the sink and tossed Tommy his. She pasted, then chucked the tube to him. â€Å"Do we still have to floss?† Tommy asked. â€Å"I mean, what's the point of being immortal if we have to floss?† â€Å"Yeah,† Jody said, through a mouthful of pinkish foam, â€Å"you should just go lie in the sun and get it over with, rather than suffer the torture of flossing.† â€Å"Don't be sarcastic. I didn't think we could get sick at all, but your hangover proved that to be wrong.† Jody nodded and spit. â€Å"Don't swallow any when you rinse. The water will come right back up.† â€Å"How come your foam is pink? My foam isn't pink. And I went last.† â€Å"My gums might be bleeding,† Jody said. Jody wasn't ready to tell him that she'd taken someone tonight. She would tell him, just not now. So, to change the subject, she summoned her superhuman strength and pantsed him. â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"When did you get skull-and-crossbones boxers?† â€Å"I bought them tonight, when you were getting Christmas presents. I thought they would seem dangerous.† â€Å"You bet,† Jody said, nodding furiously to keep from laughing. â€Å"And you'll blend in – in case you're ever caught with your pants down in the pirate locker room.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that,† Tommy said, a little toothpaste foam dribbling down his chest as he looked at his boxers. â€Å"I have the whitest legs in the universe. My legs are like great white carrion worms.† â€Å"Stop, you're making me horny.† â€Å"I've got to use that tanning lotion we bought. Where is it?† Jody moved with catlike speed out to the kitchen, snatched the lotion off the counter, and was back sitting on the edge of the bed in only a couple of seconds. If she could just keep Tommy from asking any questions until sunup, she was sure she'd figure out a way to tell him about the old man. â€Å"Come over here, worm legs, let me put some lotion on you.† To emphasize her commitment to lotionization, she stood, pulled the straps of her dress off her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor at her feet. She stepped out of her dress and stood there, in just her pumps and a silver necklace with a tiny heart that he had given her. Tommy hopped out of the bathroom – his pants still around his ankles – one long hop, and he stood in front of her. Jody smiled. Give a geek supernatural agility and speed, and what you get is a superagile, speedy geek. â€Å"You went out commando, in that dress?† â€Å"Never again,† Jody said, grabbing the waistband of his boxers and pulling him toward her. â€Å"These are mine, now. I want to be dangerous.† â€Å"That's so, so slutty,† he said, lisping a little, his fangs coming out now. â€Å"Yep. Where do you want to start with the lotion?† He pulled her close and kissed her neck. â€Å"We have to be careful not to break the furniture this time.† â€Å"Fuck it, less to move,† she said, her own fangs coming out now. She raked them down his chest. â€Å"If we figure out a way to get a place before someone kills us.† â€Å"Oh, yeah, I found us a minion,† he said as she bit into his side and tore his boxers off in a single swift pull. â€Å"What?† But Tommy was finished talking for a while. Blue watched as the Butterball rocketed by her and slammed into a triangle of two-liter soft-drink bottles – the front bottle burst, sending a cola-brown eruption of foam across the floor by the meat case. â€Å"Strike!† Barry shouted. He danced in a tight circle among the Animals, pointing and chanting, â€Å"I own you, and you, and you,† to each as he passed. Blue looked to Lash, and raised a cobalt eyebrow. Lash shrugged. â€Å"It happens. That's why we use diet soda. It's not as sticky.† He had decided that they all needed to sober up some more before they started stocking the shelves; thus the turkey bowling. â€Å"Can someone bring a mop?† Clint said. Because he would not gamble, he was the designated pin setter. He was scrambling around trying to retrieve soda bottles even as Jeff Murray was warming up at the other end of the aisle, swinging a Foster's Fresh Frozen Homestyle in each hand. He believed that he got better pin action off the Foster's because of the savory gravy packet stuffed in its center. He claimed that Foster's had mastered superior poultry technology, and was, in fact, working on an oversized titanium turkey. The other Animals were forced to point out to him that he was completely full of shit as they sprayed root beer on him. â€Å"So you guys hunted vampires?† Blue asked Lash. She had come back to the front with coffee for everyone just in time to hear Lash lay out the scenario for the Animals. She'd held off asking any questions until now. A Fresh Frozen meat missile zipped down the aisle between them. Lash didn't even blink. â€Å"Yep. We didn't kill him. We just blew up his yacht and took his art. That's where we got the money.† â€Å"Yeah, right,† said Blue. â€Å"I got that part. It's the vampire part I'm not clear on. Like a real vampire. A real, blood-drinking, can't-go-out-in-the-day, live-forever vampire.† â€Å"We figured he had to be at least six hundred years old,† Troy Lee added, joining in the conversation. â€Å"Blue, you wanna skid the buzzard?† He nodded to the end of the aisle, where Jeff was offering his spare Fresh Frozen turkey like a sacrifice. â€Å"So you guys, who work in a grocery store, have seen a vampire?† â€Å"Two of them,† Lash said. â€Å"Our night-crew leader, Tommy, was living with one of them.† â€Å"She was hot,† Troy Lee added. â€Å"Vampire hunters?† Blue couldn't believe it. â€Å"Well, not anymore,† Lash said. â€Å"Yeah,† Troy Lee said. â€Å"Clint says that Tommy's a vampire now. We're not going to mess with him.† â€Å"Spawn of Satan!† Clint shouted from the end of the aisle. Drew, who Blue had decided to think of as Doc, because he always carried the pot, ran down the aisle and shot-putted a twelve-pound self-basting at Clint's head. â€Å"Shut the fuck up!† Clint ducked and covered. The turkey went over the meat counter and stuck in the drywall by the window at the back of the meat department. To Blue, Drew said, â€Å"Sorry, couldn't be helped.† â€Å"Well, that's gonna take all night to patch,† said Clint. Lash looked at Troy Lee. â€Å"Could you kill him?† â€Å"On it,† Troy Lee said, falling into a fighting stance, before taking off and chasing Clint around the corner. â€Å"Prepare to die, White Devil!† â€Å"So,† said Blue. â€Å"You were saying?† â€Å"Well, Clint says Tommy is a vampire now, and we should go stake him out or something, but he's one of us, so we've decided to pursue a policy of Buddhist tolerance.† Just then Troy Lee dragged Clint back around the corner in a headlock. Despite being six inches shorter and forty pounds lighter than Clint, he'd studied martial arts since he was six and that took size out of the equation. â€Å"Should I hypnotize the chicken?† Troy asked. â€Å"Make it so,† said Lash. Troy Lee adjusted his chokehold on Clint. The larger man's eyes bugged out, his mouth moved like a gasping fish out of water, and he went limp in Troy's arms, who then dropped him in the puddle of diet soda on the floor. â€Å"He'll come around in a second or two.† Lash leaned into Blue to explain. â€Å"We used to call it choke the chicken, but that sounded kind of gayish.† â€Å"Of course,† said Blue. That trick would come in handy in her work. She'd have to ask Troy Lee to teach it to her. â€Å"And you think that your friend and this girl are really vampires.† â€Å"I suppose. Clint said he heard it from the Emperor, and he was the one that turned us on to the old vampire guy in the first place. Either way, they're not our problem.† â€Å"What if I said they were?† Blue said. Her mind was putting it together like a sewing machine on crack. It was insane, but for once she could see a future stretching out before her, welcoming her. â€Å"What if I said I wanted you to go after them?† Lash blinked at her like she was speaking Klingon. â€Å"Huh?† He looked at the other Animals, who had stopped bowling and moved into range of the conversation. They stood there with frosty gobblers steaming in their hands like they were on wet-nurse duty for a group of headless infant snowmen. â€Å"Flood is our friend,† Lash said. â€Å"I don't want you to kill him,† Blue said. â€Å"Just catch him.† Lash looked to the others, who looked away – at the floor, at the cabbage and lettuce counter, at the turnips, at their frozen charges. â€Å"I'll make it worth your while,† Blue said. Jody lay on the bed watching Tommy turn slowly, back and forth in the air like a pale white-boy mobile. The loft had twenty-foot ceilings with open, industrial-style beams, and sometime during their lovemaking, they had both ended up hanging from them. Jody dropped to the bed after she came, but Tommy still hung by one hand. The bright side was that with the exception of the set of shredded sheets upon which she lay, they had kept the destruction to a minimum. The downside – well, she really could have gone a couple of lifetimes without seeing him from this angle. â€Å"We did good,† Jody said. â€Å"Hardly anything broken.† â€Å"You think that monkeys really do it that way?† Tommy replied. â€Å"I always thought you were just using that as an expression.† She'd thought she could remain detached enough about their lovemaking to stay in control – to enjoy it, but to use it, as it were – but since Tommy had changed, it wasn't like that anymore. She lost herself in it, she didn't just make love with him, she fucked him like a crazed monkey girl. It was good, but disconcerting. She had liked being in control. â€Å"You look amazing from this angle,† Tommy said. â€Å"You look like a man-shaped fluorescent lightbulb,† Jody said, grinning at him, then noticing a change. â€Å"Do not get wood, Thomas Flood. You will not get wood, do you hear me?† â€Å"You sound like my mom,† Tommy said. â€Å"Ewwwww,† Jody said, shuddering and covering her eyes. â€Å"Ewwwww,† Tommy said, realizing what he had just said and about what and whom. He dropped to the bed and bounced. â€Å"Sorry. Quick, put the self-tanning lotion on me, we only have a few minutes before sunup.† â€Å"Okay, but just the lotion.† â€Å"Right, go.† Jody took the lotion and squirted some on her hands. â€Å"Turn around, I'll get your back.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"Just point that thing the other way, writer boy, you have had all the monkey love you're going to get tonight.† She said it, but she didn't mean it – she'd go another round if he wanted, if they had time before sunrise. Then she remembered. â€Å"Did you say you found us a minion?† â€Å"Yeah, I did. She's going to start tomorrow – er, today. I gave her money to get us an apartment. Told her what we needed.† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"Yeah, you remember that girl we saw in the drugstore?† Jody stopped rubbing, grabbed his shoulders, and spun him around. â€Å"You gave our deposit money to a nine-year-old?† â€Å"She's not nine. She's sixteen.† â€Å"Still, Tommy. You trusted our secret to a sixteen-year-old girl?† â€Å"She already knew.† â€Å"Yes, because you let your fangs show like some doofus of the night. You could have explained that somehow, or better yet, never seen her again.† â€Å"Look, she's smart, and she'll be loyal. I promise.† â€Å"You could have just gotten us killed.† â€Å"What would you have done? Huh? You have to trust someone.† â€Å"But a sixteen-year-old kid?† â€Å"I'm only nineteen, and I was a great minion. Besides, she thinks I'm her dark lord.† â€Å"Did you even tell her about me?† â€Å"Of course, she knows all about you. Knows that you're my sire – that's what they call the vampire who made you. I even told her that you were older, that you had vast experience.† â€Å"Vast? Vast experience sounds like I'm a slutty old divorcee. How old does she think I am?† â€Å"Five hundred.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"But you look great for five hundred. I mean, look, you got my attention. Do my front.† â€Å"Do your own front.† She threw the lotion bottle at him and he snatched it out of the air. â€Å"Love you,† Tommy said, slathering self-tanning goo all over his face and chest. â€Å"I'm going to lock the bedroom door,† Jody said as the alarm on their watches started beeping, signaling ten minutes before sunrise. She'd gotten the alarm watches for both of them, just in case. â€Å"You didn't give her keys, did you?† â€Å"Not to the bedroom.† â€Å"Great. What if she finds William in the stairwell and stakes him out? You could have given our key to a Buffy wannabe – â€Å" â€Å"This stuff is supposed to take like eight hours to work, so by sundown I'll be sexy bronze.† â€Å"There's a bronze vampire in the living room. Why don't you go ask him how that's working out for him?† â€Å"He's impersonal bronze, not sexy bronze like I'll be.† â€Å"Come to bed. And put on a T-shirt. I don't want a sexy bronze stain on the sheets, even if they are torn up.† Tommy sniff-tested a half-dozen shirts, finally decided on one, climbed into bed, and was kissing Jody good morning when the sunrise put them out.

Guam Trans-Pacific Telecommuncation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Guam Trans-Pacific Telecommuncation - Essay Example Historically, the region served as a military base for the Second World War, and since then, the importance of the island to USA has never diminished. This research paper looks at the Guam Trans-Pacific Telecommunication, drawing materials from internet sources. It looks at the history of telecommunication network of the island, its significance in the Trans-Pacific Telecommunication and roles that Guam plays in facilitating this. Introduction Historically, the importance and significance of Guam cannot be underrated. Strikingly very important to America, the island won recognition of many people. Musicians sang about Guam, while historians and scholars studied and wrote history about it. The size of the islands is quite small, with a very little population. Yet, it is highly regarded due to the military base in San Diego among other factors. Historically, Guam has served as the biggest military base in America especially in the Second World War. The military base, so big and well eq uipped, has the likelihood of controlling half of Africa and Asia by the year 2015. The importance of Guam has constantly been increasing with time. Currently, Guam is the hub of trans-pacific telecommunication. This paper will discuss the significance of Guam in the Trans-Pacific telecommunication network. Importance of telecommunication In the modern world, the importance of telecommunication cannot be underestimated. Everything happening in the world is because of proper communication networks. Effects of good communication networks cannot be underestimated. Globalization for instance entirely relies on solid telecommunication network, which facilitate cross boarder business. The many American businesses that have global in the recent past can attribute this success to the telecommunication sector. Educationally, people take online classes, and still receive support from their instructors through good communication networks. The government on the other hand remains in contact wit h the rest of the world especially its ambassadors and agents through good telecommunication networks. The government, citing the unlimited importance of telecommunication, has increasingly invested in laying down a solid telecommunication network. History of Communication System of Guam Historically, Guam had close relations with the United States. In the year 1899, the local postage stamps were overprinted â€Å"Guam† as was the norm with the former Spanish colonies. However, after this period, the trend stopped and the United States stamps started took effect ever since that time. The mailing system of the United States charges was set at a domestic fee instead of an international fee. Up to date, the island uses postage stamps of the United States, which has increasingly revolutionized the way locals of the island operate their businesses. Significance of Guam in the American Telecommunication Network According to â€Å"International Business Pub USA† (236), Guam I sland, due to its strategic geographical placement serves America in a number of ways and most significantly the current boom in the telecommunication sector. Lying in the western part of the pacific ocean and close to three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines, it Guam is one of the largest island among the Mariana group of islands archipelago, located at the furthest

IT - Forensic Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

IT - Forensic Technology - Essay Example Generally, each crime scene brings its own unique set of questions requiring answers to unveil the truth as the circumstances of each investigation differ considerably. The questions may include but not limited to the way crime was conducted, identities of victims, timeframe of crime and presence of any other material that may assist investigations (Oxenham, 2008). Ian (2010) is of the view that even these techniques are mainly borrowed from other sciences, forensic science has itself developed and matured over the years. Numerous scientific techniques have been developed and refined to support preservation, analysis and interpretation of evidence for forensic purposes. Forensic science cannot be isolated since advancements in other fields of science have been integrated to forensic technology over the years. 2. History of Forensic Science Forensic scientists employ scientific methods and techniques to obtain the evidence from dandruff to DNA and from ammunition to infrared spectroph otometry (Tilstone, Savage & Clark, 2006). Ancient world lacked sophisticated and standardized methods in forensics to analyze and interpret the evidence, but still many accounts in the forensic analysis have been found in ancient history like Archimedes’ analysis for volume of crown in water. In 16th century, European medical practitioners tried analyze cause of death. Similarly, Swedish scientists developed methods for detection of arsenic in 17th century. Juan Vucetich in Argentina solved first criminal case on forensic basis by analyzing the bloody finger prints on a door. First school of forensic was established in 1909 by Rodolphe Archibald Reiss at University of Lausanne. The inquisitiveness to answer questions that have gripped the entire human history including the criminal justice system on scientific basis is over a century old. The courts made opinions of experts admissible inform of fingerprints in and postmortem where these were earlier left to discretion of jur y. With the tremendous advancements in science and technology, different specialized fields and areas of expertise emerged. The witness and evidence supported on scientific analysis has now become a routine in helping jury to find guilty. United States became the main center for development of forensic science from 1930 to 1980. According to Bell, Fisher and Shaler (2008), still at start of twentieth-first century, US holds majors advancements in the field when investigators and scientists are using methods and techniques not thought of a generation before. 3. Classification of Forensics For investigative purposes, forensic science can be viewed as a combination of distinct areas including (Purdue university forensic science, 2012): Forensic Anthropology. Application of physical anthropology in legal scenario. Cyber Forensic. Use and analysis of digital data that is admissible in court of law. Forensic Engineering. Investigation into material and structure of components that fail pr ior to completion of expected duration resulting in accidents. Forensic Entomology. It involves use of insects and anthropodology to study the decomposed materials and bodies to help in investigations. Foensic Odontology. It is the study to human teeth to establish information

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the World Bank as an Agent of Essay

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the World Bank as an Agent of Development - Essay Example The activities of the World Bank emphasize more on its role towards the developing nations, ones which are doing their best to catch on to the bandwagon of the developed nations. The fields that the World Bank focuses upon in these developed nations include human development which can take into concern the subjects related to education and health. The main purpose of World Bank’s creation was to facilitate the activities in the line of the postwar reconstruction. The earliest of loans were thus dedicated in all essence towards the causes of Japan and European nations. The tilt of the World Bank, in the beginning, was thus more on giving away it's funding to the nations which were in the middle of some turbulent times. This did not differentiate on the basis of country’s economic dependency and the respective amounts that it could deliver back to the World Bank in case of economic upheaval. Rather the weight was more on the aspects that were linked with the economic reso urces’ scarcity within the particular country. One of the issues that the World Bank has been persistently focusing its concentration upon is the fact related to the issues that come in line with the endangerment of a particular country’s livelihood. These include the different support programs with respect to HIV and AIDS to name a few. There is particular accent towards the matters related with the reduction of risks in line with the different projects by means of a better system of appraisal as well as different mechanisms are in place to supervise the projects in a better manner. Thus there is a multidimensional approach towards the overall development process. This overall development is in the form of different legal reforms, programs dedicated wholeheartedly towards education and the uplift through short-term activities in the same field, environmental safety programs and concerns including the awareness measures and events.

Language analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Language analysis - Essay Example 25).The reversed event sequences make it interesting, the beginning marking Sal’s present-day account of spending Christmas with his relatives in Virginia, the middle part showing Dean’s surprise and unannounced visit to Sal in Virginia, and the final part describing the events leading to Dean’s unannounced visit to Sal, bridging the beginning with the end. Kerouac focused the addressee’s attention using sequence markers depicting what came first and last. For example the phrase â€Å"It was over a year before I saw Dean again† (Kerouac, 1999, p.101) implies the present setting, continuing until Sal learned that â€Å"Dean had lived happily with Camille in San Francisco ever since that fall of 1947†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Kerouac, 1999, p.104).The phrase â€Å"I learned that (Dean had lived†¦)† prompts a flashback in the story’s timeline on how Dean ended up in Virginia in a car with two other people. Even in the narrative’s reversed sequence of events, subtle context clues and prompts show what happened, what happened next, and what happened after that (Hooey, 2000, p. 25). Contextually this is the narrative’s sequence: Dean compulsively bought a car using Sal as scapegoat to leave her and be on the road. Meanwhile, within the year that these events happened, Sal spent time writing his book at ho me and going to school. Sometime between Christmas and New Year Sal visited his relatives and brother in Virginia, but was surprised on Christmas Day when Dean and company appeared at his brother’s doorstep. After settling down, Dean told Sal why he visited unannounced (Kerouac, 1999. Kerouac moderates narrative timeline jumps by prompts connecting indirectly-related events. Since people take contexts and subtle links using their own experiences and views, the narrative makes sense even when sequences are reversed (Underhill, 2013, pp 20-22),

Interoffice memorandum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interoffice memorandum - Essay Example In this regard, I just need to pay about $24000 tuition fee for my next two semesters till July 2015. After I graduate, the first five years I am setting three goals for myself. First, I plan to buy a car, second get married and third to get insurance. Meanwhile, if I find a full-time job, it shall me achieve these three goals by utilizing half of my salary for this purpose. I plan to save $300 per month for marriage, $200 for health and retirement insurances and the rest I plan to buy a car. If my salary comes about $4000/per month, I shall save $18000 for marriage (2012 average $28000 in USA), and I will be able to buy a car of ($90000) worth. Coming to my long term goals, I wish to focus for the real estate and find investment opportunities. In my opinion, my job shall help me save an amount which would be enough to pay down payment for my house. Moreover, I plan to invest for finance production. The two projects shall cost me 60% of my salary. In crux, I shall need to save above $2000 each month to achieve these goals. I also need to fill my expense planning charts. This shall entitle me to generate an understanding of my goals in detail. The first chart shall help me calculate the total amount to set aside each month for my fixed expenses. It is important to note that I have plans to invest $1500 into savings blank when I set in the target to save $2000 every month. In the second chart, it shall show the total monthly expenses that are flexible. The final budget will constitute the total amount of fixed and flexible expenses. As per my goal, if my first salary as $4000, so I expect to save at least $705 per month. In order to save my receipts and I shall provide all the details of my flexible daily expenses in the chart for June. My expenses shall include food, housing, transportation and others. As per my calculation, my food expense is $56.52 than my budget. However, I have been travelling for

Db5 1 employment and labor law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Db5 1 employment and labor law - Research Paper Example The followings are some of the federal law prohibiting job discrimination according to federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws; According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and sex or nationality. Equal Pay Act protects women and workers who perform substantially similar work in the same establishment from sex based wage discrimination. Sections 501 and 505 of the rehabilitation work act of 1973, prohibits discrimination against qualified individual with disabilities who work in the federal government. Discriminatory practices under these laws include: Harassment on the basis of race, religion, color, genetic information and disability, employment decision based on stereotypes or assumption about the abilities, denying employment opportunities to person because of marriage to a particular race or religions. Look at a scenario where a big and well known company like Coca-Cola being sued for allegedly violating a number of Californian labor laws. According to (www.bestattorney.com) they have filed a class action lawsuit against Coca-Cola and its affiliate for allegedly violating multiple California labor laws, such as failing to pay overtime wages for hours worked in excess of eight hours per day. From this real life scenario the lesson learnt is that, labor laws should actually need to be obeyed because they are aimed are protecting both parties; the employer and employee. This scenario in some aspect has set precedent to managers who have not taken labor laws seriously. In summary, this paper has clearly helped in defining the meaning of labor laws, some of the labor laws and an example of a real life situation whereby a Coca-Cola company violated some of the labor law in California. Therefore, it is upon managers and directors of companies to treat their employees with regard

Opportunities and Limitations of the Trade Market Essay

Opportunities and Limitations of the Trade Market - Essay Example It is an integrated process through of creating value for customers and build strong customer relationships to capture value from customers in return (IMA, 2010). International marketing refers to marketing outside the immediate country of origin or registration of a given organization. It so happens that there is currently a lot of competition for tourists from almost all countries in the world. To help improve their chances of capturing tourists, countries are only too willing to give their profiles to help them achieve this end (Pricken, 2008, p 24) This paper sets out to discuss the application and analysis of the profile of France with specific regard to the tourism industry. It looks at France as a potential market for tourists bound for the UK and proposes appropriate strategies to boost this particular market segment for the benefit of UK tourism. France is one of richer Western European nations. It is made up of a population of 64.1 million persons according to the 2008 national census. The main language spoken in the country is French which is an international language spoken by over 1 billion people globally who are mainly found in Francophone countries which are former colonies of France. Other important languages are English, Spanish, and German. It is important to note that all these languages share a history of conflicts with French for supremacy in Europe. So some of them, especially English, may not have been very welcome in certain sections of France in the past. However, with the emergence of America as a superpower, speaking English has become fashionable and prestigious among the younger generations in France (visitbritain.com, 2010). French is a highly developed language classified as romantic and low context. It is highly expressive with nasalized and lilting sounds.

Obama Represents Zeitgeist of 2008 Essay Example for Free

Obama Represents Zeitgeist of 2008 Essay Being born in a black-white family, experiencing hardships throughout the child and teen stages, Barack Obama, as the first African American President of the United States, embodied dreams of thousands of people, both black and white. Obama became a symbol of the new U. S. history and personifies the brand new page, which is uncertain for the world, but rather clear for American citizens. What was the turning point in the minds of Americans to choose African American, as a new president? What kind of precondition made them take a man out of former ‘slaves’ and ‘despised’ people? These answers will be followed up by the closer look at Barack Obama, yet, at this moment, it is clear that Americans have felt the spirit that communicates between black and white, suffering and freedom, revolution and stability – the spirit of 2008. Most agree that Barack Obama has already changed the U. S. and is going to change the world. What is so important in this man and why is he important to the United States? He was hurt at 3-year old age for the first time, when his parents divorced. As a result of a single-parent family, he was raised up without self-esteem in a segregated environment. There was no one behind or next to him to give a hand in daily hardships; therefore, he became drug addict and trouble maker during the high school. At that time, one could hardly tell that out of this unmotivated and self-degraded teen would raise a state senator, followed by the U. S. senator, and the U. S. President consequently. Though, Obama had no goal in life, because there was no one to show it, the spirit of revolt and revolution had been showing him the ways out of hopelessness. Being a member of isolated society, he managed to cope with odds and unequal opportunities. ‘Negroes’ were not allowed to attend the same schools, hospitals, institutions, as the ‘whites’ did. It was the page in history, when Obama was born and raised. But, these very restrictions and limitations had paved the way for Obama’s success, making his nature stronger and character unbroken. â€Å"77230472_Obama Represents Zeitgeist of 2008† â€Å"Page #1† As was mentioned by Nick Bryant, â€Å"to become a history-defying candidate he has been something of a history-denying figure. † (BBC News) And it is true. At present, Barack Obama had to solve the civil-right paradox, so that he could appear on the U. S. Capitol steps and show the whole world that skin does not matter, inner spirit – that’s what matters. This is the point that united Barack with America – there is no chance for hopelessness. No matter what the world is saying – let him turn away from you; no matter what society is saying – you may change it. Chance was not on his side, yet he has national identity. Barack Obama, as well as the United States, is focused on freedom, as the utmost human value. This very spirit gave the American colonies fight against oppression and misunderstanding, making the nation #1 in the world. No doubt, America is facing the hard times – shaking economy, unstable oil prices, mortgage crisis and global confrontation, headed by the EU. Yet, we may argue that the United States have already passed more severe tests and can put up with this one, having the right leader and right course. What is the difference in calling Obama inexperienced or naive, his inspiration reminds people that once the nation had ideals and dreams, had convictions and beliefs. Martin Luther King’s dream for America, which was spoken two years after Obama was born in 1963, is fulfilled now. Some things that seemed impossible are embodied now. Barack Obama, just like the United States, has made a leap over the illicit barrier to make something whole out of broken, to build on sinking ground. The American zeitgeist of revolution has been imbuing Obama, and the election 2008 has reflected the American notion of equal opportunity. The President of the United States is given a chance to make his values real and reveal life battle on a larger scale. The life of Barack Obama personifies confidence and victory now, rather than destruction and uncertainty at first. Hope to see the same results in the U. S. economy and its place on the global arena, as we look at American spirit that outpours in Obama’s beliefs. Work cited: Bryant, Nick. â€Å"How Barack Obama defied history†. BBC News. 5 Nov. 2008. 1 Dec. 2008 http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710449. stm.

Feasibility Study

Feasibility Study Discuss the Components of a feasibility report. Consider the following types of Feasibility: 1. Feasibility Study The Feasibility study is a study of possible alternate solutions to a problem and a recommendation on the best alternative. (Randall, B. et. al, 2010) It can decide whether a process be carried out by a new system more efficiently than the existing one. 1.1. Economic feasibility: Economic Feasibility study is the study which are related to cost benefit exploration of the project/software. For example staff cost, testing cost. This feasibility assess the efficiency of an prevailing system. (SHARMA, 2014) This types of study that are generally considered tasks as they may benefit more than other’s from computerization and non-functional characteristics such as the time delay between the real world and the different parts of the system. The system costs should also be estimated in terms of basic resources of money, people and time 1.2. Technical Feasibility: The main purpose of a technical feasibility study is to identify if a certain plan of action is feasible—that is, will it work? A technical feasibility assessment should be applied to all projects being considered in order to better comprehend if the project can be done â€Å"technically† and if it can be done â€Å"here and now.† Furthermore, the early stages of technical analysis will help recognize areas of fortes and weakness in the proposed project so that we know where to direct further thought, planning, resources or assistance. (Kersnaghan, 2012) 1.3. Operational Feasibility This study investigates the factors such as the probable reaction of employees to the project and other proposed organizational changes that may occur by implementing this software. Also Operational feasibility refers to how well a planned system solves the problems of the project and how well it works at using the opportunities of the project. Operational feasibility is therefore one of the key elements of a feasibility study. (Wells, 2014) For example, if the employee are happy with the proposed system and find out no reason to change then there may be a high degree of resistance to the new system. Relevant factors here concern if the project has general management support and whether or not the users have been involved in the development of the proposal. 1.4. Time Feasibility Time feasibility deals to find out if the given project could be completed within the given time phase or not. This study can help mitigate the risk that a project is wasting its time. Furthermore it helps us to do the project orderly and clearly. (Technology.blurtit.com, 2014) Time Viability study helps to identify the various constraints on the project schedule and whether they could be reasonably met, so that letter there would not be any problem to meet the project goal. (Giorgini, 2003) 1.5. Legal Feasibility Legal feasibility study defines whether the proposed system conflicts with legal requirements, e.g. a Data Processing system must comply with the local Data Protection Acts. When an organization has either internal or external legal counsel, such reviews are typically standard. However, a project may face legal issues after completion if this factor is not considered at this stage (John, 2014). It also determine whether the proposed project conflicts with legal requirements such as known Acts, Statutes, or any pending legislation. (Newnorthafrica.com, 2014) 1.6. Social Feasibility This feasibility deals to check if the designed system will be satisfactory with the people or not. This assumption would in general examine the probability that the project would have to be acknowledged by the group of people that are directly affected by the Designed system. (Newnorthafrica.com, 2014) 1.7. Management Feasibility The management feasibility study would determine the organizational chart and qualification of the people involved. It checks if the staff of the organization are capable of running and maintaining the designed system. References John, J. 2014.System Analysis and Design-Feasibility Analysis. [online] Available at: http://www.learnsad.com/Feasibility.html [Accessed: 14 Oct 2013]. Kersnaghan, S. 2012. Technical Feasibility Assessments.Climate Resiliance Framework, 3 Newnorthafrica.com. 2014.Economic, legal, social, and technical feasibility study | NEWNORTHAFRICA. [online] Available at: http://www.newnorthafrica.com/feasibility/ [Accessed: 13 Oct 2013]. SHARMA, A. 2014.Economic Feasibility ~ All Computer Topics. [online] Available at: http://allcomputertopics.blogspot.com/2013/02/economic-feasibility.html [Accessed: 2 Apr 2013]. Technology.blurtit.com. 2014.What is purpose of scheduling? Blurtit. [online] Available at: http://technology.blurtit.com/3251022/what-is-purpose-of-scheduling [Accessed: 3 Oct 2013]. Wells, A. 2014.What Is An Operational Feasibility Study? Blurtit. [online] Available at: http://business.blurtit.com/855874/what-is-an-operational-feasibility-study [Accessed: 2 Sep 2013]. Task 2: Assess the impact of different feasibility criteria on a system investigation. 2. Impact of Feasibility Study 2.1. Impact due to Technology The technical aspect explores—if the project feasibility is within the limits of current technology available within the organization and does the technology exist at all, or is available within given resource constraints (i.e., total cost and time constraint of the project). In the technical feasibility of the Himalayan Library the various requirements of the organization, such as, (I) various input device required to run the project (II) Output devices required to produce the output (III) The availability of processing devices in the organization. This analysis helps in the future to run the program to achieve the full advantages. This deals us to find out various aspects like Assuming that technology required is applicable, is it available in the current market. If the technology is already available in the organization, does it support to handle the solution? In case the technology is not available in, can it be acquired? 2.2. Economic Impact The economic feasibility of the system helps the organization to allot if the implementation of the program is worthwhile. As soon as specific requirements and solutions have been identified we can weigh the costs and benefits of each alternative. This Feasibility study helps to find out the following aspect: Return On investment (ROI) at what period of time does the system start to return the initial investment Payback Period (PP) time required to generate sufficient cash flow to recover its initial cost. 2.3. Operational Impact Assessing this feasibility is to gain an understanding of if the proposed system will likely to solve the business problems, or take benefit of the opportunities or not. It is important to understand how the new system will fit into the current day to day processes of the organization. By analyzing this aspect we could find out if the staff present in the organization are able to run the given system. Then they would be able to make the decision to hire new technical staff or to give the trainings to the staff. 2.4. Social Impact It takes in consideration whether the current work practices and procedures support a new system and social factors of how the organizational changes will affect the working lives of those affected by the system. 2.5. Legal Impact This feasibility also has the major role in the development process. It determines if there are any restriction of the law in the process of development of the proposed software. If any permission is to be taken in order to develop the system then we could find out in this phase. 2.6. Managerial Impact After implementation does the organization have qualified manpower to run the program? Do we have to give additional trainings? These are the main aspect that come under this feasibility study. It helps to identify the capabilities of the employee. Beside that the main aspect it deals with is does the software helps in managing the daily activities of the organization. Conclusion The feasibility study is relevant to the determination of if there should be any further plans implemented. The conclusion might be either the project does not successfully serve the needs of the organization or the conclusions of the study might be positive. In this case the study provides with a clear understanding of what the project to be developed needs in terms of modification, cost, profit, risk, and time. The feasibility study them serves two functions: The study makes the evaluation of the total cost required for funding the project. The result of the study may give the inputs for the project to be implemented Task 3: Undertake a systems investigation to meet the business need. Consider the following aspects during investigation: 3.1. Product Description Library Management system for the Himalayan Library is the computerized system which helps the librarian or the user to maintain the daily activities in the systematic order. It reduces the risk of paper work that includes loss of file, damage of file, consuming of time, difficult to search the required data etc. But by the implementation of library management system the user would be able to manage the record more efficiently and time –saving. 3.2. Problem Statement As the Himalayan library is using the manual system for the management of every task in the library, they are facing various issues. So to solve those issues they have planned to implement the computerized system for the day to day management of their task. Some of the Problem they have been facing are: 3.2.1. File Lost: As a lack of computerized system there is a high chance for the file to be lost. It may be due to sometimes the librarian forget to keep the file to the original place due to lot of member queue for borrowing the book or sometimes he might forget the original place. 3.2.2. File Damage: The other problem is the damaged of the file. This might be because of some accident like the librarian hitting the cup of tea on the paper. This might cause due to other potential aspects like animals. Rat or some insects may damage the file/records. 3.2.3. Difficult to search Record: It becomes very difficult to search for the specific record in very less time. A lot of manual task has to be done to search for the user record while lending the book. 3.2.4. Space Consuming: As the day passes the records of the libray are getting more and more. And practically it becomes difficult to manage and keep those record safe. Hence, managing the physical records become space consuming. 3.2.5. Difficult to view Reports: Reports to be created in the manual system is too time consuming. It requires the librarian to go through various files in order to produce one report. 3.3. Objective of the Proposed System 3.3.1. Improvement in control and performance The Himalayan Library management system is developed to overcome the various problem that the library has been facing. The system must be capable of validating the user, storing record and generating reports. 3.3.2. Cost Saving As before the Himalayan library has been hiring about 5 employee, but after implementation of the Library management system the library could be handle with 2members saving the cost of 3 other employee. Beside that it saves the cost of lots of paper. 3.3.3. Save time Librarian is able to search for the books or generate various reports within the certain clicks, compared to the manual system it saves a lot of time. 3.3.4. Security As all the information are saved in the centralized machine and are being backed up regularly, there is a minimum chance of the data being lost. 3.4. Requirement Software Requirement .NET framework 4 or higher SQL Server 2008 or higher Windows OS 7 /8/8.1 Hardware Requirement for Smooth Running Processor- 1.5 GHz Ram- 2 GB For synchronization between computer LAN connection is required 3.5. Fact Finding Techniques On-site Observation As a junior system analyst, it was the responsibility to check the functioning of library. So, on the visit to the library for two days we observed librarian issuing and returning books as well as other functioning of the library. We also inspected the place where the cards are stored and from that it was seen that it was a real mess. To see if a particular book is already issued, it is a difficult and effort intensive process. The analyst also saw the records for books, members, and accounts. From site visit we had a good understanding of the functioning of the system. After this, we performed some personal interviews of library staff and few members. The interview is show below. Interview Beside the on-site observation interview with some selected stake holders were performed as the part of the requirement gathering. In this process we conducted structured interview with administrator, 2 librarian and some users about their expectation of the library management system. Task 4 Use appropriate systems analysis tools and techniques to carry ot a system investigation. You can consider the following tools: Use case Diagram Context Diagram 0 and 1 Level DFD diagram 4.1. Use Case Diagram Figure 1: Use Case Diagram of Library Management System 4.2. Context Diagram Figure 2: Context Diagram of the Library Management System 4.3. Data Flow Diagram Figure 3: Data Flow Diagram of Library Management System Figure 4: Data Flow Diagram of Library Management System Nikesh Adhikari | 1