Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin - Essay Example Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were ardent believers of totalitarianism.Both were strict adherents of dictatorship who believed that the individual's needs must be subordinated to the State's welfare. However, historically they were strange bedfellows. They distrust and loathe each other. So when both inked a non-agression pact on August 28, 1939, not a few eyebrows were raised. It was no secret that Hitler considered "Bolshevism as the most extreme form of international Jewry".1 Hitler had always considered Russia as Germany's greatest enemy, regarded Russians as inferior Slavs and abhorred its self-imposed title as bulwark of communism. Thus, Operation Barbarossa was conceived to put Russia and Stalin on their knees. Hitler's resolve to decimate Russia in three months time was on the verge of being manic. Behind his back however, Stalin was also cooking a diabolical concoction for Hitler i.e. he was "preparing a preventive strike at Germany".Hitler left no stone unturned in this off ensive. He paraded 3.5 million Wehrmacht troops reinforced with Panzer tanks and hovered protectively by the famed Luftwaffe aircrafts. He then positioned these on a 2,000 mile frontier border from the Black Sea in the Crimea to the White Sea in the Arctic region. Because the Red Army troops were mostly inexperienced, the Germans easily captured most of the western Russian cities. But Hitler's 3-month time frame was stretched. What Hitler failed to foresee was the Red Army's seemingly inexhaustible reserve of manpower, the fortitude of Russian guerillas, the vast distances the Wehrmacht had to advance in

Ratio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ratio Analysis - Essay Example Financial statement analysis consists of the application of analytical tools and techniques to the data in financial statements in order to derive from them measurements and relationships that are significant and useful for decision making (ICFAI Center for Management Research ICMR). The process of financial analysis can be described in various ways, depending on the objectives to be obtained. Financial analysis can be used as a preliminary screening tool of future financial conditions and results. It may be used as a forecasting tool of future financial conditions and results. It may be used as a process of evaluation and diagnosis of managerial, operating, or other problem areas. Above all, financial analysis reduces reliance on intuition, guesses and thus narrows the areas of uncertainty that is present in all decision making processes. Financial analysis does not lessen the need for judgment but rather establishes a sound and systematic basis for its rational application. In the analysis of financial statements, the analyst has a variety of tools available from which he can choose those best suited to his specific purpose. The following are the important tools of analysis. Ratios are well known and the most widely used tools of financial analysis. ... The analysis of ratios can disclose relationships as well as bases of comparison that reveal conditions and trends that cannot be detected by going through the individual components of the ratio. The usefulness of ratios is ultimately dependant on their intelligent and skillful interpretation. Ratios are used by different people for various purposes. As ratio analysis mainly helps in valuing the firm in quantitative terms, two groups of people are interested in the valuation of the firm and they are creditors and shareholders (Blackwell publishing). Creditors are again divided into short-term creditors and long-term creditors. Short-term creditors hold obligations that will soon mature and they are concerned with the firm's ability to pay its bills promptly. In the short run, the amount of liquid assets determines the ability clear off current liabilities. These persons are interested in liquidity. Long-term creditors hold bonds or mortgages against the firm and are interested in current payments of interest and eventual repayment of principal. The firm must be sufficiently liquid in the short-term and have adequate profits for the long-term. These persons examine both the liquidity and profitability of the firm (ICFAI Center for Management Research ICMR). Ratio Analysis - A strategic tool Insight into the financial situation of a company will quickly place its condition in perspective. The critical areas in any profit or non-profit organization can be summed up as follows: Scanning and using funds Planning for securing and using funds Controlling expenditure Reporting all transactions and results to appropriate parties Facts can be gathered and tentative conclusions can be

Introduction To The Pragmatics Discourse Analysis English Language Essay

Introduction To The Pragmatics Discourse Analysis English Language Essay As cited in Blakemore, Schiffrin pointed that Harris was the first linguist who proposed the term discourse as the following stage of morphemes, clauses and sentences. In other words, it can be inferred that Discourse Analysis deals with kinds of text above sentences. The study of Discourse Analysis has been widely developed lately; Linguists analyze discourse in several different ways using several interesting approaches, such as: Interactional Sociolinguistics, Ethnography of Communication, Pragmatics, and etc. One of the most challenging approaches to analyze a discourse is in the Pragmatics point of view. Pragmatics, a study of language explaining language use in context, according to Moore (2001), seeks to elaborate aspects of meaning which cannot be explained by semantics. In line with that, in modern linguistics, Crystal (2008) stated that Pragmatics has been studied in applied linguistics from the point of view of the users, especially of the selections they make, the boundaries among the use of language in social interaction, and the consequences of their use of language on the other members of communication. Concerning with speaker meaning and how utterances are interpreted by listeners, Pragmatics draws much attention of many linguists. This new discipline in language science, Pragmatics lies its roots in the work of Herbert Paul Grice on conversational implicature and the cooperative principle (Moore, 2001). Languages have developed continually in the along with the user based on the need of communication. People involved in a conversation want to be able to communicate their messages properly. In the process of communication, people do not create isolated sentences, but try to obey the rules of a general set of norms in which their sentences are organized to make up their entire messages. Grice (1975) defined The Cooperative Principle and the maxims of cooperation as the principles that people abide by for successful communication. Highly interested to cooperative principle, the writer is going to use the theory to analyze a text entitled Dr. Flannel as the case of the final assignment of the discourse analysis class. Furthermore, in this paper, the writer is trying to find out whether or not the principle is used properly in the text. Paul Grice (1989) proposed that speakers and hearers share a cooperative principle in ordinary conversation. Utterances are shaped by the speaker to be understood by hearers. Grice considers cooperation as involving four maxims: quantity, quality, relation, and manner. In the other words, Grices cooperative principle is a set of norms expected in conversation. Followings are four sub-cooperative principles expected in conversation which are proposed by Grice as the maxims of conversations: Quality: speaker tells the truth or something provable by adequate evidence Quantity: speaker tells something as informative as required Relation: speakers response is relevant to topic of discussion Manner: speaker tells something in a direct and straightforward way, avoids ambiguity or obscurity According to Yule (1996), when we communicate each other, we exchange information. Furthermore, when a conversation is taking place, the persons involved are depending on some common guiding principles in order to have a successful communication. In line with that, Levinson (1987) stated that the cooperative principles four basic maxims of conversation denote what the participants have to do in order to converse in rational, efficient, and cooperative way. In the other words, it can be said that to put across a message successfully, those who involved in the communication should share the same common grounds on what is being talked about. Considering the maxims, it is suggested that there is an accepted way of speaking which we all receive as the standard behavior. When we generate, or perceive an utterance, we believe that it will generally be based on fact, have the precise amount of information, be relevant, and imply understandable terms. However, when an utterance does not appear to conform to this model, then we do not consider that it does not have meaning; an appropriate meaning is there to be inferred. Discussion In this part, the writer is going to analyze a text entitled Dr. Flannel based on the theory of cooperative principles proposed by Grice (1989). The text to be analyzed is a kind of daily conversation between three people named Bill, Mavis, and Alex. Analyzing the text, it is found that, instead of following all of the four maxims proposed by Grice (1989), some violations are presented. Obeying the quality maxim, we should tell only when it is true, and we also need to have the adequate evidence about it. To make it clearer, consider this example taken from the text: Dad must have worn them because Im almost sure Mum used to always wash them in the same temperature water like. In the sentence, the speaker is aware of the quality maxim so that he only tells something that is true or that he has the evidence for it (Mum used to always wash themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). The evidence in this sentence is strong enough for the speaker to make his claim about the topic. Violations toward the maxim of quality are discussed as the first case in this paper. Some parts of the discourse are not fully adhering the maxim of quality. I cant remember whether Dad wore them but I think == he did. In the sentence, the speaker is not sure that his statement is true. Another example of the violation is also taken from the text. I think if you wash them in cold water. If you wash them in warm water youre supposed to rinse them in warm water or something or other sos they. Maxim of quality is flouted in this utterance. In the example, we can observe that the speaker did not have enough evidence to confirm his statement. However, it seems that the speaker was aware about the maxim that he should tell something that is true. Therefore, because of the lack of evidence, the speaker put what it is called hedges in the utterances. As we can observe, the speakers used I think as the signal that he was aware about the maxim. Another interesting violation of quality maxim to observe is in another Bills utterance, Do ya wanta have a look at the hairs on me chest? It is found that this is a totally lie of Bill in fact that he does not have any hair on his chest. However, it is pragmatically explainable that in the purpose of the utterance is to make a joke. On the other hand, we can see that Bill was somehow not adhering the maxim of quantity. The maxim tells us to say something as required, and not more than that. The example can be seen from the first line, the opening speech I had to laugh. I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice people in there, you know. In this example, the speaker actually does not need to add the phrase in italic (people in there, you know). The meaning of the sentence is already clear without the additional phrase. Reading further, the writer also found another sentence flouting the maxim. In one of the dialog, Mavis said And I mean even in those days you didnt have washing machines and everything. Maxim of relation is the third maxim to be flouted in the text. It can be observed that in one part of the text the maxim is violated. Bill said I had to laugh. I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice people in there, you know. The utterance opposed the maxim telling us that what we said should be relevance. As we can observe in the text, Bill said I had to laugh. From the utterance, it is hoped that the speaker will tell a joke or something funny right after that. On the other hand, what is said by the speaker is not funny at all (I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice). The other example of the violation toward relation maxim was presented when Bill told Mavis about his experience, I said ah Good Morning ladies and one of the girls said Thank you. Youre a thorough gentleman. The conversation between him and the counter girls seems irrelevant. Naturally, when someone greets the other using good morning, then the hearer will answer with good morning too. In the text, the hearer answered with thank and appraisal because he called them ladies (a respectful addressing for women). Last but not least, it is also found in the text that maxim of manner was also violated. Instead of being orderly and briefly, it is observable that some utterances are too much prolixity in them. I had to laugh. I walked into David Jones ´s and theyre always nice people in there, you know. And there was two girls behind a counter and I didnt know which where to go, to go to ahh She said. You know the two of them, they said Youve made our day Oh well ah. Oh ah the men. I remember Dad and all the miners wore them. Intake air the air coming trough is colder à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ss From those two examples above, it can be seen that the words in italics are not necessarily in the text. She said DR FLANNEL! She said Whats that? I said Oh yeah. I said Im not gonna == show you where it ends! I said Well, I said Youre not == gonnna feel it, I can Those three examples above violates the maxim of manner, it is wordy with too much prolixity. In order to follow the maxim of manner, the three utterances above can be shortened. For example, the first example may become (She said DR FLANNEL! Whats that?). The second can be (I said Oh yeah. Im not gonna == show you where it ends!). Furthermore, the last example can be shortened (I said Well, I said Youre not == gonna feel it, I can). Conclusion Analyzing the text, it can be inferred that cooperative principles are not always obeyed in the real communication. However, we can observe that although the utterances are not following the maxims, the meaning is still understandable. The violation of a maxim does not mean that the utterance is meaningless. Furthermore, it is also found that some overlapping occur in the maxims violation. An utterance may violate more than a maxim. References Blakemore, D (2002). Relevance and Linguistic Meaning: The semantics and pragmatics of discourse markers. New York: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. 6th Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole J. Morgan (Ed.), Speech Acts (p. 41-58). New York: Academic Pres. Grice, H. P. (1989). Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard University Press. Levinson, S. C. (1987). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Moore, A. (2001). Pragmatics and speech acts. http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/pragmatics.htm Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Healthcare Reform Essay -- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care

The healthcare climate in the United States was grim. Per capita spending was amongst the highest in the world, and while more than four out of every five Americans had health insurance of some kind, spending on healthcare continued to increase and services continued to decline. Insurance companies had the ability to deny coverage when people became ill, and they limited their responsibility towards those who were insured by enforcing both annual and lifetime limits. Those who had pre-existing conditions had great difficulty getting insurance. Profit margins for insurance companies became steeper, but the health of Americans suffered. The number of individuals who were uninsured or underinsured due to the expense of insurance was rising, and debt due to medical bills was mounting and crippling the American people. Approximately 20% of all bankruptcies were linked to medical costs, and hospitals spent well over $1 billion dollars annually on uninsured patients and uncompensated bills. (Stephens and Ludlow 98, 101) The costs of this healthcare crisis went beyond the mere monetary. Those without health insurance were less likely to have regular physical exams and preventative care. An illness allowed to progress may become not only more expensive but also more difficult to treat. (Stephens and Ludlow 100, 101) Society bore the burden of inadequate healthcare as well, as the uninsured spent more time out of work with lengthier illnesses or injuries they may not have been able to afford to treat. Business productivity had the potential to decrease, and the nation as a whole can be affected. In March of 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, stating, "The United States Congress finally... ... Bill Philips, and Terry L. Schmidt. "The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Healthcare Reform." Healthcare Financial Management 64.10 (2010): 50-55. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Holguin, Jaime. "America The Unhealthy - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. CBS News, 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. . "Physical Activity Fundamental To Preventing Disease." Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, HHS. US Department of Health and Human Services, 20 June 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. . Stephens, James H., and Gerald R. Ledlow. "Real Healthcare Reform: Focus on Primary Care Access." Hospital Topics 88.4 (2010): 98-106. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

Jasper Jones Southern Gothic Genre Essay

There are points in a person’s life when they must grow, drop their naà ¯ve illusions about the world and step into the shoes of an adult and accept the harsh reality of life. Jasper Jones is a ‘coming of age’ novel written by Craig Silvey set in small town Corrogan. With the main theme being right of passage or coming of age. Jasper Jones has been compared to a Southern Gothic Genre story. Using the narrative conventions of characterisation, setting and language elements of Jasper Jones will be shown to have a connection to the Southern Gothic Genre. Using the narrative convention of characterisation particularly of the novels protagonist Charlie Bucktin is the perfect example of a coming of age character in which Charlie overcomes the obstacles set before him to emerge as a stronger and well-developed character. A good example is on page 12, Craig Silvey demonstrates how the Southern gothic genre by using this example ‘It is a girl†¦ she is pale. In the silver light I can see she bears scratches down her arms and her calves and her face is smudged and bruised and bloody†¦ she is still. She is limp†¦ her head is to the side, like a piece of biblical art. She looks disappointed and sad. Surrendered†¦ â€Å"Who is it† Jasper Jones takes some time to answer Laura Wishart. Its Laura.’ We can infer the text that despite witnessing what appears to be a brutal murder Charlie still has enough presence of mind to think and plan and not be overwhelmed by the tragic death ha has just witnessed. Throug hout the story of Jasper Jones Charlie sees or reads some of the darker truths if the world beyond the naiveties of a child Charlie experiences: death, torture, racism, hypocrisy, abuse of power, adultery, scapegoat and other traumatic or dark experiences. Due to being subjected to this Charlie is forced to grow and step out of his comfort zone to take on the challenges and obstacles set before him throughout the course of the story. An example of this is Charlies confrontation of his greatest fear, insects. On pages 386-387 Craig Silvey demonstrates how Charlie comes of age by using this example ‘I look down. There’s a lumpy carpet of decaying peaches at my feet. It’s a windfall but  it does very little to dissolve my worry. Because hovering above them are dozens and dozens of insects. Mostly bees, I follow there flight and see a hive under a gutter in the house. There are black ants running trails, slaters and worms burrowing into the soft flesh. March flies, blowflies and houseflies. It’s the stuff of nightmares†¦ I look down my breath is short. There’s a teeming metropolis of insects down there†¦ I feel as though I’m already covered in them. Like they’re crawling all over my body, scratching and slithering. I clasp my hands together and grind my palms†¦ either way I have no choice I have to get brave.’ We can infer form these text extracts that from Charlies original plan to allow him safety, he must truly conquer is biggest fear. Because of the insects inside Jack Lionels background Charlie defeats his greatest fear and shows that he has developed from a boy full of fear into not a boy devoid of fear but one who has nonetheless conquered his fears. Charlie is faced with many obstacles found almost exclusively within Sothern Gothic Genre this link shows that elements of the Southern Gothic Genre are prevalent on Jasper Jones more specifically. Jasper Jones is set in a small town in Western Australia Corrogan, in the mid 1960s. Corrogan during the day is a beautiful town, full of kids playing sports. But at night Corrogan is a desolate place comparable to some settings of Southern Gothic Genre. On page 3 Craig Silvey demonstrates how the Southern Gothic Genre effects settings by using this example ‘After climbing my back fence we head downhill into Corrogan houses huddle and cluster together and then stop abruptly as we reach the middle of the town. This late the architecture is desolate and leeched of colour. It feels like we’re traipsing through a post card. We can infer from this text extract that small mining town Corrogan is a desolate place abstract of positive traits and full of decayed dark, derelict, desolate, disturbed and other characteristics only found exclusively within the Southern Gothic Genre. On page 300 Craig Silvey uses a second example of decayed or settings with this example ‘the yard beyond is scruffy and dilapidated. Along the boarder closest to the river, where the brush meets the property, a thick thatch of blackberries press through the rusted wire fence†¦ crows moan from grey leafless branches. They look like silhouettes. Crow shaped holes. We can infer from this text extract that Jack Lionels front yard during the night  is similar to the decayed, dark ominous and derelict settings often found within the Southern Gothic Genre. In addition each of there scenarios feature Charlie overcoming a fear and growing up or ‘coming of age’. Jasper Jones has been often compared to a Southern Gothic Genre one of the greatest examples of this is the speech used throughout Jasper Jones, particularly racism that is experienced most prominently by Jeffrey Lu and his family Craig Silvey takes advantage of the racism against Vietnamese within the specific time frame within Jasper Jones. Using racist phrases such as ‘fuck of Cong’ and ‘oh me so Solly’ page 78, creates a great example of Southern Gothic Genre using the flawed or deeply disturbed characters as a base. In addition to the racism experienced by Jeffrey there are examples of when his family is subjected to racism in particular Jeffrey’s father An Lu. When An Lu’s garden is affected by citizens of Corrogan the phrase ‘red rat’ is mentioned a racist phrase about Vietnamese. We can infer from this as another example of the flawed or deeply disturbed characters found in Southern Gothic Genre, In addition Jeffrey’ s immunity to the racist taunts shows his ‘unflappable’ will or coming of age outlook. In conclusion Jasper Jones has many likes to Southern Gothic Genre, in addition the main theme being coming of age or right of passage is seen repeatedly throughout Jasper Jones. Jasper Jones is connected to Southern Gothic Genre through the deeply disturbed or flawed characters and the decayed or derelict settings. Jasper Jones is a novel that has elements of Southern Gothic Genre all around it.

How to Overcome a Fear

It is natural for everyone, even the most courageous people, to have fears, which are the body’s bad emotional reactions to something frightened. However, when fears limit people’s everyday routine and keep them from living their life normally, it is time to take control, which is not an easy work. Most people want to overcome their fears, but are not sure how. Here are 4 steps which will be helpful to overcome fears. The first step is analyzing the fear. The more clearly you understand your fear, the easier for you to find how to handle it.Therefore, in this very first stage, you need to identify your fear: its name, its cause and its effect; and determine whether there is a good reason for the existence of the fear because some fears can be healthy emotions that protect you from danger. After that, you also should think about what exactly you want to change. It means that beside the big goal: overcoming the fear, smaller ones is necessary to be set to help you get the re. For example, if your fear is heights, you may want to be able to go on a hiking trip with the outdoor club at school.One more important thing is that all this fear analysis should be written down as a journal. It will be a good way to track your progress of conquering your fear and also a guide for the next time when you have another problem. After the fear is analyzed, in this second step, it will have to be taken control of. It depends on what your fear is. If you are afraid of something because it is a mystery, try exposing yourself to it in small doses until you gain a better understanding and your fear begins to dissipate.Or, if you are frightened by a particular thing, confronting head-on will be the best way to overcome it. No matter which situation you are in, taking control of a fear is not easy. It will take many times before you can declare it conquered. During that long period, to give up is simple and to keep trying is difficult. When you face with setbacks, it can be tempting to give up. Hence, stay determined to persevere even when it seems impossible to get past your fear by keeping these pointers in mind: do not confuse fear with fate and do not let other people hold you back.Changing the way of thinking about fear is the next step. It has to be admitted that sometimes fear also incite feelings of exhilaration and even passion. That is why people enjoy extreme sports, horror movies or other risky games. Try to reframe your fear in a positive light and acknowledge the thrill it can offer and you will not find it frightened anymore. Moreover, fear can be used as a tool to help us identify problems and solve them effectively. It is a guidepost warning us when something needs attention.Once the discomfort of the initial wave of fear passes, examine it more closely to see what you can learn. When you start seeing fear as a source of energy or an opportunity for promotion, you might even embrace its role in your life. Finally, give the fear a pl ace in the life because there is no way to eliminate it totally. Like joy or sadness, fear is a valid emotion. It builds your character and teaches you how to act with courage. Also, do not wait until the fear has been completely overcome to give yourself a pat on the back for your effort.Celebrate each milestone and when you see how good it feels to gain an edge on the fear, you will be ready to face the next one head-on. In conclusion, there are four major steps to help people overcome a fear: analyze the fear, take control of it, change the way of thinking about it and give it a place in the life. All of these steps are not simple and often take much of time and effort to be successful. However, nothing is impossible if you really want and try your best to gain it.