Hand Sanitizer Fire Project - Instructions

Hand Sanitizer Fire Project - Instructions Here is a simple fire venture that produces blazes cool enough for you to hold. The mystery fixing? Hand sanitizer! Hand Sanitizer Fire Materials Be certain your hand sanitizer records ethyl liquor or isopropyl liquor as the dynamic fixing. Different synthetic compounds may not work or they may consume excessively hot. Hand sanitizer gelLighter or match Guidelines On a flame resistant surface, make an example utilizing the gel.Ignite the edge of the gel. The fire will spread.If you like, you can contact the fire. Be cautious! Despite the fact that the hand sanitizer fire is moderately cool, its despite everything fire and it can consume you. Shaded Fire You can blend colorants into the hand sanitizer gel to create a hued fire. Boric corrosive or borax (found in cleaners and bug control items) will create a green fire. Potassium chloride (light salt) will give you a purple fire. You can make cool embellishments by applying the consuming gel to different surfaces. For instance, covering a metal article will shape a corona of fire around it, which makes an incredible impact for photographs. On the off chance that you decide to cover a combustible item (for example a plush toy or a cardboard shape), absorb it water first. While this wont totally shield combustible issue from harm, it will shield it from blasting into fire. Watch the video of this undertaking. The most effective method to Put the Fire Out Since hand sanitizer is a blend of water and liquor, when a portion of the liquor consumes, the water puts the fire out all alone. How rapidly this happens relies upon the particular item youre utilizing yet its for the most part around 10 seconds. On the off chance that you need to extinguish the flares before that, you can basically blow them out, as you would a flame. Its likewise sheltered to soak the fire with water or choke out it by covering it with the top of a pot. About Hand Sanitizer Fire Hand sanitizer has applications past eliminating germs. Gels that contain ethyl liquor or isopropyl liquor produce a moderately cool fire that is made progressively sensible by the high level of water in the item. You can utilize the gel to draw with fire or for ventures in which you have to hold fire. Remember, the fire is as yet hot enough to consume you in the event that you hold it excessively long and it can likewise light paper, textures, and so forth. Take care to play out this task in a sheltered area, away from combustible material. Similarly as with any fire venture, its a smart thought to have a fire quencher or if nothing else a glass of water helpful. Hand sanitizer fire is a grown-up just venture. Fun Fire Projects On the off chance that you preferred creation fire utilizing hand sanitizer, attempt these related fire science tests. Step by step instructions to Breathe Fire, Safely: Using a nonflammable, palatable compound to inhale fire.Handheld Fireballs: Water is the key fixing to making a fire sufficiently cool to hold.Make Green Fire: You can utilize a similar synthetic to shading hand sanitizer flames.More Fire Projects: Were simply beginning!

Saint Clare Essay Example for Free

Holy person Clare Essay St. Clare was conceived on July 16, 1194 and passed on August 11, 1253. She was the little girl of a check and royal lady. She heard St. Francis lecture in the boulevards of Assisi and let him know of her longing to offer herself to God. They developed to be dear companions. On Palm Sunday in the year 1212 the cleric of Assisi introduced a palm to this honorable house cleaner of eighteen who was wonderfully garbed. That equivalent night she left her mansion with one associate and went to the congregation of Our Lady of the Angels, where she met Francis and his Brothers. At the special stepped area of Our Lady, Francis remove her hair and Clare gave her life to Christ. In an old house outside Assisi she started her Order of the Poor Clares. Afterward, her sister and mom and other respectable women joined her. They carried on with an existence of petition, quietness and fasting. At some point, foes of the Church were going to assault the community. The holy person had the Blessed Sacrament put in a monstrance over the door of the religious community and, bowing before it, she petitioned God for help. Unexpectedly the adversary fled. During her ailment of 28 years the Holy Eucharist was her quality. She kicked the bucket in 1253. She is the patroness of, eye malady, goldsmiths, clothing, embroiderers, gilders, great climate, needle laborers, Santa Clara Pueblo, phones, transmits, and TV. Pope Pius XII chose her as the benefactor holy person of TV in 1958, on the premise that when she was too sick to possibly be available at Mass, she had apparently had the option to see and hear it on the mass of her room. Her remaining parts were buried at the house of prayer of San Giorgio while a congregation to hold her remaining parts was being manufactured. On August 15, 1255, Pope Alexander IV sanctified Clare as Saint Clare of Assisi. Development of the Basilica of Saint Clare was finished in 1260, and on October 3 of that year Clares remains were moved to the as of late finished basilica where they were covered under the high special raised area. In further affirmation of the holy person, Pope Urban IV formally adjusted the name of the Order of Poor Ladies to the Order of Saint Clare in 1263. Around 600 years after the fact in 1872, Saint Clares remains were moved to a recently developed commemoration in the sepulcher of the Basilica of Saint Clare where they can even now be seen now.

Raleigh

Raleigh Raleigh rôl ´e, räl ´e [key], city (1990 pop. 207,951), state capital, and seat of Wake co., central N.C.; the site was selected for the capital in 1788, and the city was laid out and inc. 1792. It is a political, cultural, trade, and industrial center; the Raleigh-Durham airport is an air travel hub. The city's industries include electrical, medical, electronic, and telecommunications equipment; apparel; food processing; paper products; and pharmaceuticals. A research center for textiles and chemicals, Raleigh is part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, an area and organization shared with Chapel Hill and Durham that utilizes the scientific talent of the three cities' universities. The cooperative has drawn numerous insurance firms and other corporations to Raleigh, which has become one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities. The first capitol (built 1792â€"94) burned in 1831 and was replaced by a new, Greek Revival state capitol building, completed in 1840. In the Civil War, Uni on general Sherman occupied the city on Apr. 14, 1865. In 1963 the legislature moved into the state legislative building. Raleigh is the seat of North Carolina State Univ., Shaw Univ., Meredith College, St. Augustine's College, St. Mary's College, and Peace College. It has libraries, art, science, history, and other museums, an aboretum, a notable governor's mansion, and several 18th-century houses, including the birthplace of President Andrew Johnson, whose home is preserved as a historic site. The city is the site of an arts complex that includes the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, A. J. Fletcher Opera Theater, and Meymandi Concert Hall, and is also the home to the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography

Human Cloning Debate The Fate of Frankenstein - 1671 Words

Background When Frankenstein was adapted for stage in 1823 the productions title was Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein. A Victorian audience was concerned with the theme of a mans ambition to replace God by creating a new species. Equal emphasis was placed on this aspect of the novel in the 1831 introduction of Frankenstein, It is Mary Shellys critique of where such highly abstracted creative powers can lead when put in a realizing scientific context and then driven along by lofty ambition and high destiny (Shelley, 2004, 204) that we see in the pages of Frankenstein The novel was controversial in that it went against the traditional religious ideas of the time; Victorian morality held that God was the Almighty Creator. However, modern readers, with less restricted moral boundaries to those of the Victorians, likely see Victors main crime within the novel more the perverse way in which the creation is carried out and more importantly Victors failure to nurture the offspring; his crime is against the traditional framework of the family (Feldman and Scott-Kilvert, 1987). Position Statement- At the very essence of the Frankenstein myth is the idea that humans have the technology and wisdom to create or duplicate life. This idea, cloning, is neither new, nor mysterious it is simply the biological process of producing replicas of organisms through other means than sexual reproduction. In the United States, consumption of meat and other products derived fromShow MoreRelatedHuman and Important Cautionary Guide Essay1078 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction to Frankenstein Mary Shelley The ethical debate concerning biotechnological exploration into genetic cloning has created a monster in itself. A multitude of ethical questions arises when considering the effect of creating a genetically engineered human being. Does man or science have the right to create life through unnatural means? Should morality dictate these technological advancements and their effects on society? The questions and concerns are infinite, but so to are the curiositiesRead MoreA Caveat to the Pursuit of Knowledge1000 Words   |  4 Pagesknowledge†. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores that when man seeks to answer unanswerable questions, he usurps God and risks acquiring forbidden knowledge, thus creating a situation he cannot fix. People should not pursue knowledge recklessly, oblivious to potential dangers and indications that they should be cautious. Sometimes, even, one must listen to the signs that one should stop exploring all together. Even when â€Å"the words of fate--enounced to destroy [Frankenstein],† he continuesRead More Science, Technology, and Morality as Perceived in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1967 Words   |  8 Pages   Ã‚   In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley challenges the motives and ethical uncertainties of the scientific developments of her time. This critique has become increasingly relevant as modern scientists endeavor into previously unimagined realms of the natural world through the use of cloning and genetic engineering. Through careful analysis, we can see how the novel illustrates both the potential dangers of these exploits and the irony of the conflicts between science and creationism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   PriorRead MoreFrankenstein Study Guide14107 Words   |  57 PagesTHE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for Frankenstein by Mary Shelley i To the Teachern The Glencoe Literature Library presents full-length novels and plays bound together with shorter selections of various genres that relate by theme or topic to the main reading. Each work in the Library has a two-part Study Guide that contains a variety of resources for both you and your students. Use the Guide to plan your instruction of the work and enrich your classroom presentations. InRead More Science: Friend or Foe? Essays2049 Words   |  9 Pagesfair throughout his many assessments, pointing out that scientists have done little to thwart this ongoing belief system (242). In fact, people of science are often perceived as having lost their humanistic tendencies. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein is a perfect example of a scientists desire to succeed outweighing his moral conscience (232). This feeds into the fear that scientists do not view individuals as people, but rather subjects. When a scientist is not viewed as a humanisticRead MoreMetamorphoses Within Frankenstein14861 Words   |  60 PagesThe Critical Metamorphoses of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein You must excuse a trif ling d eviation, From Mrs. Shelley’s marvellous narration — from th e musical Frankenstein; or, The Vamp ire’s Victim (1849) Like Coleridge’ s Ancient Mariner , who erupts into Mary Sh elley’s text as o ccasionally and inev itably as th e Monster into Victor Frankenstein’s lif e, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometh eus passes, like night, from land to land and w ith stang ely ad aptable powers of speech

Supply Chain Management Example

Essays on Supply Chain Management Coursework Supply Chain Management (SCM) Supply Chain Management (SCM) Definition Supply chain management relates to interconnected businesses network management with the ultimate goal of providing services and products packages according to customers’ requirements (Cetinkaya et al., 2011). In essence, supply chain management entails all the fundamental process involved in storage and movement of raw materials, inventory work-in-processes, and finished goods from origin to consumption. SCM ensures that consumers get the appropriate quantity of products and services at the right time. Effective SCM focuses on forecasting, planning, assembly of products, purchasing, and storage. In addition, SCM entails distribution and sale of products and services to customers according to their preferences. It is imperative to note that SCM remains integral in the inherent success of a business within the market. An effectively planned system of supply chain management would ensure retention of loyal cu stomers through provision of standard products and services. Role of SCM in a company’s ability to compete effectively within the marketInvolvement of SCM principles in business process is fundamental to attainment of sustainable competitive advantage within the consumer market. SCM has the significant role of ensuring creation and delivery of affordable, convenient, and better products and services to consumers. For an organization to compete efficiently in the market, its SCM system must properly meet market demands through quality research and production of preferred products and services. In addition, the SCM system must commit itself to providing products and services at appropriate periods. Therefore, SCM has the fundamental role of establishing organizations’ logistics, product development, purchasing, and quality management. Moreover, SCM has to meet market pressures through establishment of competitive global procurement and sourcing, supplier relationship man agement, and inventory control. The inherent dynamism in market trends requires creativity and innovative skills of SCM professionals to enable a company compete effectively within the market. ReferenceCetinkaya, B., Cuthbertson, R., Ewer, G., Klaas-Wissing, T., Piotrowicz, W., Tyssen, C. (2011). Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Practical Ideas for Moving Towards Best Practice. London: Springer Science Business Media.

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay English Literature Essay Free Essays

During the nineteenth century, adult females sought to asseverate themselves in an effort to get the better of the position quo of male domination, which forbade them from political assignment and rational indulgence. Furthermore, experts in the kingdom of medical specialty and scientific discipline sought to qualm the idea of feminine upward mobility, by observing the comparative failing of females in an effort to warrant inequality ( Bed Rest 4 ) . â€Å" The Yellow Wallpaper † by Charlotte Perkins Gilman represents an flight from society ‘s functions of adult females and recovering the freedom they have lost. We will write a custom essay sample on The Yellow Wallpaper Essay English Literature Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The storyteller, endeavoring for female individualism is invariably hindered by male domination derived from the 19th century which drives her to perpetrate self-destruction. In the articleWoman Sphere and Public Squarewritten by Karen Fisher Younger, she states: Americans from this clip period defined adult female ‘s function as domestic and private, separate from the universe of public life. More than this, it was thought adult female was morally and spiritually purer exactly because she stayed off from the perverting public sphere. It was during this clip adult females ‘s traditional domestic functions at place as married womans and female parents took on a sacred quality. And this separate domains ideology one private for adult females and the other public for work forces were perceived as changeless jurisprudence from God. ( 43 ) Ironically plenty, the political orientation of separate domains helped magnify adult females ‘s influence in the populace, harmonizing to historiographers. Womans were viewed as more moral and spiritually sound than work forces, touting the belief that adult females were better equipped to lend to the overall morality of society. The storyteller, a adult female prescribed to rest remedy by her physician/husband John, is confined to her sleeping room, a kid ‘s baby’s room with bad xanthous pigment and bars on the Windowss. The two Windowss that she looks out of, represents the possibilities of adult females if seen as peers by the opposite sex. The words she uses to depict her position through the first window are â€Å" I can see the garden, those cryptic deep-shaded arbor, the exuberant antique flowers, and shrubs and gnarled trees † ( 328 ) . The word picture of â€Å" the garden † represents society. The word â€Å" cryptic † show that adult females ‘s ability has n’t been brought away into the visible radiation. The 2nd 1 shows â€Å" the lovely position of the bay † and â€Å" a small private pier, belonging to the estate † ( 328 ) . The bay shows that society was unfamiliar with the abilities of adult females and the private pier shows that ad ult females are excluded from things in society. Following is the xanthous wallpaper. The colour yellow is looked at as mark of illness or failing. â€Å" The colour is rebarbative, about revolting: a smouldering dirty yellow, queerly faded by the slow-turning sunshine, It is a dull yet lurid orange in some topographic points, a sallow sulfur shade in others † ( 327 ) . This implies that adult females are the weaker of the two sexes. The storyteller ‘s hubby tells her to acquire over her disfavor of the xanthous wall paper in the room. â€Å" He laughs at me so about this wallpaper! At foremost he intend to repaper the room, but subsequently he said that I was allowing it acquire the better of me, and that nil was worse for a nervous patient than to give manner to such illusions † ( 327 ) . This shows that when adult females try to liberate themselves from the restrictive bonds of society, work forces oppress them and implement the thought that they are inferior. The want of the storyteller ‘s individualism drives her to perpetrate self-destruction. She wants to leap out the window but â€Å" the bars are excessively strong even to seek † ( 335 ) . The bars symbolize the restrictive clasp that her hubby or all work forces have on her, or all adult females in society. â€Å" I ‘ve got a rope up here that even Jennie did non happen † ( 335 ) , the rope symbolizes the manner she is traveling to manage her state of affairs. As John comes to the door and tells the storyteller to open it, she had already locked it from the interior. â€Å" In the soft voice † she tells him, â€Å" I ca n’t, † and that â€Å" the key is down by the front stairss under the plantain foliage † ( 335 ) . At this minute in clip she is â€Å" firmly fastened † by the â€Å" well-hidden rope † and is already strung up like â€Å" all those strangled caputs † behind the wallpaper ( 335 ) . John goes to recover the key, he comes back to open the door and to his surprise he faints. The horror behind all this was he put her in that room where she became imprisoned by the wallpaper. In decision, you could state that hanging herself was her signifier of flight. In a male dominated society adult females during this period were suppose to be seen and non heard, and their occupation chiefly was to hold kids and take attention of the house. The storyteller had things she loved to make, but because of the clip in which she lived, those things were non what the regulations of society wanted. â€Å" There comes John, and I must set this off – he hates to hold me compose a word † ( 327 ) . She has her ain thoughts and ideas that she would wish to show. â€Å" I think sometimes that if I were merely good plenty to compose a small, it would alleviate the imperativeness of thoughts, and rest me † ( 328 ) . The manner adult females were treated so â€Å" It is so detering non to hold any advice ; and companionship about their work † ( 328 ) . The storyteller ‘s state of affairs could hold been avoided, if her hubby had listened to the warnin g marks and allowed her the little pleasances she delighted in. The parturiency of the xanthous wallpapered room allowed the mute subjugation of her life to attest and subsequently lead to her self-destruction. Plants Cited â€Å" Bed Rest Would n’t Make for Pioneering Feminist. †USA Today Magazine139.2777 ( 2010 ) : 4-5. Print. Fisher Younger, Karen. â€Å" Women ‘s Sphere and the Public Square: The Beecher Sisters ‘ Dilemma Over Slavery. †International Congressional Journal8.2 ( 2009 ) : 43-51. Print. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å" The Yellow Wallpaper. † Kennedy and Gioia 325-336. Kennedy, X.J. , and Dana Gioia, eds.Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing.6th Compact erectile dysfunction. New York: Longman, 2010. Print How to cite The Yellow Wallpaper Essay English Literature Essay, Essay examples

Women Should Not Be in the Military free essay sample

Women Should Not be in the Military Samantha Purdue Eng 11-8 Mr. Pagan 8 May 2013 From the beginning of time, women and war have always been considered to have little in common. As the weaker sex, women are commonly associated with caring and with creating life, rather than with its destroying. Although women today do have the opportunity to enter the army, they are not officially allowed to enter combat and fight alongside their male counterparts. In general, a gun should not be put into the hands of such a tender and vulnerable being as a woman? Women are considered gentle in this world. Maybe not as much in this generation, in comparison to other generations, but gentle nonetheless. Being so gentle, men feel a sense of empowerment over a woman. So much power, that men feel as though they can control the women, especially in the military. Men in military have been known to sexually assault women that join. We will write a custom essay sample on Women Should Not Be in the Military or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"More recently the Army’s top enlisted man was on trial for sexual harassment and assault; Congress is studying integrated military training; the Armed Services are reviewing two other recent reports on integrated training; the first women to command surface combat ships are preparing for their assignments to the fleet; and well known columnists write in opposition to womens integration and blame them for many military ills including lack of readiness and aircraft crashes†. (Simon 1). Not only do women get assaulted, they also get blamed for things that they may have not even done; the men are the one’s who blame them. Another good reason women should not be in the military, is that they do not have all of the physical or mental requirements to fight other people. â€Å"For example, at the time of enlistment, a seventeen-year-old female is expected to do thirteen push-up, compared to thirty-five for males†. (Brown 22). If women are capable of being in the military, shouldn’t they be just as physical as the men they are supposed to be equal to? Women should not be in military, they just aren’t cut out, physically for it. According to Kingsley Brown, author of Co-ed Combat, women only have up to about  one-half to two-thirds the upper body strength of men. If a man were to be running with a woman to avoid getting killed by the enemy at war, the woman would more than likely be caught before the man, and therefore die before the man. Researches have showed that women are substantially slower than men. â€Å"Men run substantially faster than women at all distances, from the 100-m eter sprint through ultra-long distance races, with mens world-record speeds at the various distances ranging from 7 to 12 percent faster than womens for commonly run distances. These differences may not sound great, but when the fastest man crosses the finish line in the marathon, the fastest woman is more than two miles behind†. (Brown 27). It is quite obvious that if women were able to combat in America’s war, there would be no hope. The men would run faster, causing the men of the opposing side to go after the sweet, and oh so vulnerable, women. According to militaryrapecrisiscenter. org,   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The United States Coast Guard Academy reports 10% of all female cadets   experienced unwanted sexual contact, a 2% increase from the previous year. More than half of the women that reported sexual abuse had said alcohol and/or drugs were used as a tool to commit these crimes. Unwanted sexual contact includes a range of behaviors, from sexual assault to rape. † These rapes aren’t by ordinary people though, they’re done by the men of the military, to the women that are also in the military. This fact contributes to more of a reason for women to be prohibited from the military. Signs also indicate that these military rapists are not being prosecuted. Women of the United States of America are able to join the military, where they get raped most of the time, and nothing is done about it. Well something should be done, women should be banned from the military, not just the combat of it, but military in general. Not only can woman be raped, but some women choose to be sexual and/or have a romance with a man from the same unit as them. The mental capability of a woman in romance is far too stressful to fight under. Women that serve in the military have relationships with the men, giving yet another reason for women to not serve. According to a male combat veteran of two tours in Iraq, â€Å"The real issue is the dynamic of how males and females interact with each other while in a combat environment and the resulting problems. A combat unit isn’t a civilian company where a bad intra-office romance causes hurt feelings. Divisiveness in a combat or combat support unit can cause friction in a finely-tuned killing machine, and ultimately cost lives. † Clearly women being in military just causes problems. A lot of other factors give reasons for women not to be in the military. The hygiene of men and women give men a huge benefit in war, in comparison to women. Studies show that a huge factor of health is periods. When on a period, girls are known to behave and feel differently, and since, there are 12 months, that makes a women’s role in the military 12 times more difficult than men just another reason women should not be part of any kind of military. One site even stated, â€Å"While in the field they not always can be met. Sometimes periods are painful and limit womans mobility, sometimes hormones can also have influence on womans ability to make credible decisions. It doesnt have to happen but it might and stress can only make things worse. † The same site also mentions pregnancies. A woman in the military is able to get pregnant, whether it from the raping of another man who is also in the military, or a loved one, but women could still get pregnant. Once pregnant, a woman should not being fighting, imagine the dangers their unborn child could gain once born. A woman can’t go on a roller coaster while pregnant, but she can go out and fight for her country. It just doesn’t make sense. Enlisted men treat women who join the military with all kinds of disrespect. Not only do they physically bother the poor female gender, they mentally disturb them as well. The men consider the women of the military sluts, some of them even call the women sluts to their faces, or even behind their backs. Until otherwise proven, a woman in the military is known as a slut. It’s quite depressing, actually, because the men of the military don’t frown upon these behaviors; the women, well they just have to deal with it. Everyone in the military finds all of the misbehaviors normal. The acts of the men towards the women of the military, are most definitely not normal. The way to prevent the happening of all this is by precluding the female gender from the military. Because women are in the military, it is causing more deaths, more sexually based crimes, and overall more trouble for America. Women are not brave enough, and even if they were, they are not strong enough mentally, or physically to be part of the military. All in all, looking at all of the factors of women and how they are the weaker classification of the two, it just does not make sense to allow women to be in the military. Work Cited Browne, Kingsley. Co-ed Combat: The New Evidence That Women Shouldnt Fight the Nations Wars. USA: Sentinal- Penguin Group, 2007. HubPages. com. Reasons Why Women Should Not Join the Military. HubPages. 17 March. 2011. Web. 15 May. 2013. HubPages. com. â€Å"What Females Should Know Before Joining the Army. HubPages. 8 March. 2012. Web. 15 May 2013. Militaryrapecrisis. org. Military Rape Crisis Center. Military Rape Crisis Center. 27 March. 2013. Web. 15 May 2013 Simon, Rita. Women in the Military. Canada: Gender Issues, 1998. Time. com. Why Not All-Female Combat Units? US Why Not All Female Combat Units Comments. 25 March. 2013. Web. 15 May 2013.

Three Step Writing Process Essays

Three Step Writing Process Essays Three Step Writing Process Essay Three Step Writing Process Essay TAfter studying this chapter, you will be able to â€Å"People have just gone ahead and experimented. There are some very interesting models emerging. † - Ben Edwards Manager of Investor Communications, IBM www. ibm. com 1 Describe the three-step writing process 2 List four questions that can help you test the purpose of your message 3 Describe the importance of analyzing your audience and identify the six factors you should consider when developing an audience profile 4 Discuss gathering information for simple messages and identify three attributes of quality information List factors to consider when choosing the most appropriate medium for your message 6 Explain why good organization is important to both you and your audience 7 Summarize the process for organizing business messages effectively After launching a breakthrough podcasting series called â€Å"IBM and the Future of . . . † as a way of letting IBM experts share knowledge on a wide ran ge of topics with customers and investors, the company made podcasting tools available to all its employees, then sat back to see how they might take advantage of this exciting new medium. Not surprisingly for a company full of bright, creative people, IBM staffers began distributing a wide variety of messages via podcast. One gained an instant following by podcasting about the daily challenges and rewards of being a mobile information worker. Another saved hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in telephone charges simply by replacing a massive weekly teleconference with podcasts. No matter what the technology, innovators such as IBM are constantly looking for new ways to reach their audiences with effective messages. 1 Understanding the Three-Step Writing Process Choosing the medium is one of the most important steps in planning your business messages, and as IBM demonstrates, the options seem to multiply all the time. Whether you’re creating simple e-mails and instant messages or complex reports and presentations that may require weeks of planning and writing, your goal is to create messages that have a clear purpose, meet the needs of your audience, and communicate efficiently. For every 52 FIGURE 3. 1 The Three-Step Writing Process This three-step process will help you create more effective messages in any medium. As you get more practice with the process, it will become easier and more automatic. Planning Analyze the Situation Define your purpose and develop an audience profile. Writing Adapt to Your Audience Be sensitive to audience needs with a â€Å"you† attitude, politeness, positive emphasis, and bias-free language. Build a strong relationship with your audience by establishing your credibility and projecting your company’s image. Control your style with a conversational tone, plain English, and appropriate voice. Completing Revise the Message Evaluate content and review readability, then edit and rewrite for conciseness and clarity. Gather Information Determine audience needs and obtain the information necessary to satisfy those needs. Produce the Message Use effective design elements and suitable layout for a clean, professional appearance. Select the Right Medium Choose the best medium for delivering your message. Proofread the Message Review for errors in layout, spelling, and mechanics. Compose the Message Choose strong words that will help you create effective sentences and coherent paragraphs. Organize the Information Define your main idea, limit your scope, select a direct or an indirect approach, and outline your content. Distribute the Message Deliver your message using the chosen medium; make sure all documents and all relevant files are distributed successfully. 1 2 3 message you send, you can reduce the time and energy it takes to achieve this goal by following a clear and proven three-step process (see Figure 3. 1):  ¦  ¦  ¦ Planning business messages. To plan any message, first analyze the situation by defining your purpose and developing a profile of your audience. With that in mind, you can gather information that will meet your audience’s needs. Next, select the right medium (oral, written, or electronic) to deliver your message. With those three factors in place, you’re ready to organize the information by defining your main idea, limiting your scope, selecting an approach, and outlining your content. Planning messages is the focus of this chapter. Writing business messages. Once you’ve planned your message, adapt to your audience with sensitivity, relationship skills, and style. Then you’re ready to compose your message by choosing strong words, creating effective sentences, and developing coherent paragraphs. Writing business messages is discussed in Chapter 4. Completing business messages. After writing your first draft, revise your message to make sure it is clear, concise, and correct. Next produce your message, giving it an attractive, professional appearance. Proofread the final product for typos, spelling errors, and other mechanical problems. Finally, distribute your message using the best combination of personal and technological tools. Completing business messages is discussed in Chapter 5. The three-step writing process consists of planning, writing, and completing your messages. Throughout this book, you’ll see the three steps in this process applied to a wide variety of business messages: basic tasks for short messages (Chapters 6 through 9), additional tasks for longer messages (Chapter 10 and 11), special tasks for oral presentations (Chapter 12), and distinct tasks for employment messages (Chapter 14). The more you use the three-step writing process, the easier and faster it will become. You’ll also get better at allotting your time for each step. As a general rule, try using roughly half your time for planning, a quarter of your time for writing, and the remaining quarter for completing the project. Even for small writing projects, resist the temptation to skip the planning step. For instance, spending even just a minute or two to think As a starting point, try to use half your time for planning, one quarter for writing, and one quarter for completing your messages. 53 54 2: The Three-Step Writing Process through the purpose of an e-mail message can help you write much faster because you’ll know in advance what you want to say. And leave plenty of time to complete your documents, too; you don’t want to compromise the quality of a good message by shortchanging the important steps of revising, producing, proofreading, and distributing. Analyzing Your Situation A successful message starts with a clear purpose that connects the sender’s needs with the audience’s needs. Identifying your purpose and your audience is usually a straightforward task for simple, routine messages; however, this task can be more demanding in more complex situations. For instance, if you need to communicate about a shipping problem between your Beijing and Los Angeles factories, your purpose might be simply to alert upper management to the situation, or it might involve asking the two factory managers to explore and solve the problem. These two scenarios have different purposes and different audiences; therefore, they yield dramatically different messages. If you launch directly into writing without clarifying both your purpose and your audience, you’ll waste time and energy, and you’ll probably generate a less effective message. Defining Your Purpose Business messages have both a general and a specific purpose. After defining your purpose, verify that the message will be worth the time and effort required to create, send, and receive it. All business messages have a general purpose: to inform, to persuade, or to collaborate with your audience. This purpose helps define the overall approach you’ll need to take, from gathering information to organizing your message. Within the scope of that general purpose, each message also has a specific purpose, which identifies what you hope to accomplish with your message. State your specific purpose as precisely as possible, even identifying which audience members should respond, how they should respond, and when. Once you have defined your specific purpose, make sure it merits the time and effort required for you to prepare and send the message. Ask these four questions:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Will anything change as a result of your message? Make sure you don’t contribute to information overload by sending messages that won’t change anything. Complaining about things that you have no influence over is a good example of a message that probably shouldn’t be sent. Is your purpose realistic? If your purpose involves a radical shift in action or attitude, proceed carefully. Consider proposing a first step so that your message acts as the beginning of a learning process. Is the time right? People who are busy or distracted when they receive your message are less likely to pay attention to it. Is your purpose acceptable to your organization? Your company’s business objectives and policies, and even laws that apply to your particular industry, may dictate whether a given purpose is acceptable. Once you are satisfied that you have a clear and meaningful purpose and that now is a smart time to proceed, your next step is to understand the members of your audience and their needs. Developing an Audience Profile Before an audience takes the time to read or hear your message, they need to be interested in what you’re saying. They need to see what’s in it for them- which of their needs will be met or problems will be solved by listening to your advice or doing what you ask. The more 3: Planning Business Messages 55 FIGURE 3. 2 Using Audience Analysis to Plan a Message For simple, routine messages, you usually don’t need to analyze your audience in depth. However, for complex messages or messages for indifferent or hostile audiences, take the time to study their information needs and potential reactions to your message. Audience Analysis Notes Project: A report recommending that we close down the on-site exercise facility and subsidize private memberships at local health clubs. Primary audience: Nicole Perazzo, vice president of operations, and her supervisory team. Size and geographic distribution: Nine managers total; Nicole and five of her staff are here on site; three other supervisors are based in Hong Kong. Composition: All have experience in operations management, but several are new to the company. Level of understanding: All will no doubt understand the financial considerations, but the newer managers might not understand the importanc e of the on-site exercise facility to many of our employees. Expectations and preferences. They’re expecting a firm recommendation, backed up with well-thought-out financial rationale and suggestions for communicating the bad news to employees. For a decision of this magnitude, a formal report is appropriate; e-mail distribution is expected. Probable reaction. From one-on-one discussions, I know that several of the managers receiving this report are active users of the on-site facility and won’t welcome the suggestion that we should shut it down. However, some nonexercisers generally think it’s a luxury the company can’t afford. Audience reactions will range from highly positive to highly negative; the report should focus on overcoming the highly negative reactions since they’re the ones I need to convince. ou know about your audience, their needs, and their expectations, the more effectively you’ll be able to communicate with them. For an example of the kind of information you need to compile in an audience analysis, see the planning sheet shown in Figure 3. 2. To conduct an audience analysis:  ¦ Ask yourself some key questions about your audience:  ¦ Who are they?  ¦ How many peop le do you need to reach?  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Identify your primary audience. For some messages, certain audience members might be more important than others. Don’t ignore the needs of less influential members, but make sure you address the concerns of the key decision makers. Determine audience size and geographic distribution. A message aimed at 10,000 people spread around the globe might require a different approach than one aimed at a dozen people down the hall. Determine audience composition. Look for both similarities and differences in culture, language, age, education, organizational rank and status, attitudes, experience, motivations, and any other factors that might affect the success of your message. Gauge audience members’ level of understanding. If audience members share your general background, they’ll probably understand your material without difficulty. If not, your message will need an element of education, and deciding how much information to include can be a challenge. Try to include only enough information to accomplish the specific purpose of your message. If the members of your audience have various levels of understanding, gear your coverage to your primary audience (the key decision makers). Understand audience expectations and preferences. Will members of your audience expect complete details or just a summary of the main points? Do they want an e-mail  ¦ How much do they already know about the subject?  ¦ What is their probable reaction o your message? If audience members have different levels of understanding of the topic, aim your message at the most influential decision makers. 56 2: The Three-Step Writing Process A gradual approach and plenty of evidence are required to win over a skeptical audience.  ¦ or will they expect a formal memo? In general, the higher up the organization your message goes, the fewer deta ils people want to see, simply because they have less time to read them. Forecast probable audience reaction. As you’ll read later in the chapter, audience reaction affects message organization. If you expect a favorable response, you can state conclusions and recommendations up front and offer minimal supporting evidence. If you expect skepticism, you’ll probably want to introduce conclusions gradually, with more proof along the way. Gathering Information With a clear picture of your audience, your next step is to assemble the information that you will include in your message. For simple messages, you may already have all the information at hand, but more complex messages can require considerable research and analysis before you’re ready to begin writing. Chapter 10 explores formal techniques for finding, evaluating, and processing information, but you can often use a variety of informal techniques to gather insights and focus your research efforts:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Consider other viewpoints. Putting yourself in someone else’s position helps you consider what that person might be thinking, feeling, or planning. Read reports and other company documents. Your company’s files may be a rich source of the information you need for a particular memo or e-mail message. Seek out annual reports, financial statements, news releases, memos, marketing reports, and customer surveys for helpful information. Find out whether your company has a knowledge management system, a centralized database that collects the experiences and insights of employees throughout the organization. Talk with supervisors, colleagues, or customers. Fellow workers and customers may have information you need, or they may know what your audience will be interested in. Ask your audience for input. If you’re unsure of what audience members need from your message, ask them. Admitting you don’t know but want to meet their needs will impress an audience more than guessing and getting it wrong. Uncovering Audience Needs If you’re given a vague request, ask questions to clarify it before you plan a response. Include any additional information that might be helpful, even though the requester didn’t specifically ask for it. In many situations, your audience’s information needs are readily apparent, such as when a consumer sends an e-mail asking a specific question. In other cases, your audience might be unable to articulate exactly what is needed. If someone makes a vague or broad request, ask questions to narrow the focus. If your boss says, â€Å"Find out everything you can about Interscope Records,† ask which aspect of the company and its business is most important. Asking a question or two often forces the person to think through the request and define more precisely what is required. Also, try to think of information needs that your audience may not even be aware of. Suppose your company has just hired a new employee from out of town, and you’ve been assigned to coordinate this person’s relocation. At a minimum, you would write a welcoming letter describing your company’s procedures for relocating employees. With a little extra thought, however, you might include some information about the city: perhaps a guide to residential areas, a map or two, brochures about cultural activities, or information on schools and transportation. In some cases, you may be able to tell your audience something they consider important but wouldn’t have thought to ask. Although adding information of this sort lengthens your message, it can also create goodwill. Providing Required Information Test the completeness of your document by making sure it answers all the important questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Once you’ve defined your audience’s information needs, your next step is to satisfy those needs completely. Use the journalistic approach to make sure your information answers who, what, when, where, why, and how. In addition to delivering the right quantity of 3: Planning Business Messages 57 required information, you are responsible for verifying the quality of that information. Ask yourself these three questions:  ¦  ¦  ¦ Is the information accurate? Inaccuracies can cause a host of problems, from embarrassment and lost productivity to serious safety and legal issues. Be sure to review any mathematical or financial calculations. Check all dates and schedules, and examine your own assumptions and conclusions to be certain they are valid. Is the information ethical? By working hard to ensure the accuracy of the information you gather, you’ll also avoid many ethical problems in your messages. However, messages can also be unethical if important information is omitted or obscured. Is the information pertinent? Remember that some points will be more important to your audience than others. Moreover, by focusing on the information that concerns your audience the most, you increase your chances of sending an effective message. Selecting the Right Medium Selecting the best medium for your message can make the difference between effective and ineffective communication. 3 A medium is the form through which you choose to communicate your message. You may choose to talk with someone face-to-face, write a letter, send an e-mail message, or record a podcast- with today’s ever-expanding technology, you often have a variety of media options from which to choose. In fact, media categories have become increasingly blurred in recent years with so many options that include multimedia formats. For the sake of discussion, you can think of media as traditionally being either oral or written, and electronic media extend the reach of both. Each type of medium has advantages and disadvantages. Oral Media Primary oral media include face-to-face conversations, interviews, speeches, in-person presentations, and meetings. Being able to see, hear, and react to each other can benefit communicators, giving oral media several advantages:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ They provide immediate feedback. They allow a certain ease of interaction. They involve rich nonverbal cues (both physical gestures and vocal inflections). They help you express the emotion behind your message. Oral communication is best when you need to encourage interaction, express emotions, or monitor emotional responses. Traditional oral media are useful for getting people to ask questions, make comments, and work together to reach a consensus or decision. However, if you don’t want or need all that interaction, then oral media can have several disadvantages:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ They restrict participation to those physically present. Unless recorded, they provide no permanent, verifiable record of the communication. They can reduce the communicator’s control over the message, if people interrupt or ask unanticipated questions. They often rule out the chance to revise or edit your spoken words. Oral media limit participation to those who are present, reduce your control over the message, and make it difficult to revise or edit your message. Written Media Written messages take many forms, from traditional memos to glossy reports that rival magazines in production quality. Memos are used for the routine, day-to-day exchange of information within an organization. E-mail continues to replace traditional paper memos in many circumstances, although writers who want more formality or permanence can still opt for paper memos. Letters are written messages sent to recipients outside the organization, so in addition to conveying a particular message, they perform an important 58 2: The Three-Step Writing Process public relations function in fostering good working relationships. Reports may be distributed to insiders or outsiders, depending on their purpose and subject. They come in many formats, including preprinted forms, letters, memos, and manuscripts, in lengths from a few pages to several hundred. Written media have a number of advantages over oral media: Written media increase your control, help you reach dispersed audiences, and minimize distortion.  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ They allow you to plan and control your message. They offer a permanent, verifiable record. They help you reach an audience that is geographically dispersed. They minimize the distortion that can accompany oral messages. They can be used to avoid immediate interactions, including emotional confrontations when communicating controversial messages. Disadvantages of written media include the following: The disadvantages of written media include difficulty of feedback, lack of nonverbal cues, and the time and skill sometimes required to prepare written messages.  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Many are not conducive to speedy feedback. They lack the rich nonverbal cues provided by oral media. They often take more time and more resources to create and distribute. Elaborate printed documents can require special skills in preparation and production. Electronic Media Electronic media span a diverse and expanding range of technologies, from e-mail and IM to blogs and podcasts. The growth of electronic communication options is both a blessing and a curse. You have more tools than ever to choose from, but you need to choose the right tools for each message. Although no hard rules dictate which tool to use in each case, here are a few pointers that will help you determine when to select electronic over more traditional forms:4  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Telephone calls are still the lifeblood of many organizations, for both internal and external communication. But even the humble telephone has joined the Internet age, thanks to the emerging capability to place phone calls over the Internet. Known by the technical term VoIP (which stands for Voice over IP, the Internet Protocol), Internetbased phone service promises to offer cheaper long-distance service for businesses worldwide, and companies such as Skype even offer free basic phone service between computers. 5 Through the use of webcams, video phone service is now an inexpensive option for one-to-one phone calls, teleconferences, and online meetings. Voice mail can replace short memos and phone calls when an immediate response isn’t crucial. However, voice mail is a poor choice for lengthy, complex messages, since the information is more difficult for receivers to process. Teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and online meetings are best for informational meetings and are less effective for highly interactive meetings such as negotiation. DVDs (and to a declining extent, videotapes) are effective for sending audiovisual messages to a large number of people. With the growing availability of high-speed Internet service, many video messages once delivered on tape or disk are now delivered online. Electronic documents include both word processor files and Adobe’s widely popular Portable Document Format (PDF). Computer users can view PDFs on screen with free reader software, and PDFs are more secure and less vulnerable to viruses than word processor files. Faxes have been replaced by e-mail and PDF files in many cases, but they still play an important role in many companies. Internet-based fax services, such as eFax (www. efax. com), lower the cost by eliminating the need for a dedicated fax line and fax machine. 3: Planning Business Messages 59  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ E-mail offers speed, low cost, portability, and convenience. It’s best for brief, noncomplex information that is time sensitive. With such a quick turnaround time, e-mail tends to be more conversational than traditional media, but not as conversational as instant messaging. Instant messaging (IM) allows real-time, one-on-one and small-group text conversations via personal computer. At technology giant IBM, for instance, employees send more than 5 million instant messages a month. 6 IM is more versatile than a phone call and quicker than e-mail, and newer IM systems offer file attachments, streaming audio and video, and other enhancements. Text messaging, a phone-based medium that has long been popular with consumers in Asia and Europe, is finally catching on in the United States. 7 Although it lacks many of the capabilities of IM, text messaging does give businesses an easy way to transmit simple messages between mobile workers. Websites and blogs have become vital communication platforms for many businesses. A well-designed website can tailor the same information for numerous readers by steering each audience group to specific sections on a website. Blogs have become common in business in recent years as communicators search for fast, informal ways to reach customers and other audiences. Video blogs (vlogs) and mobile blogs (moblogs) extend the blogging concept in intriguing new ways. 8 Blog content is often distributed through RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which automatically sends new content to subscribers. Podcasts are one of the newest and most exciting media choices for business communicators. Both audio and video podcasts give you a means to reach customers and colleagues with a human touch that isn’t always easy to replicate in text-only media. You’ll read more about e-mail, IM, blogs, and podcasting in Chapter 6. As you can see, electronic messages offer considerable advantages:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ They deliver messages with great speed. They reach audiences physically separated from you. They reach a dispersed audience personally. They offer he persuasive power of multimedia formats. They can increase accessibility and openness in an organization. In general, use electronic media to deliver messages quickly, to reach widely dispersed audiences, and to take advantage of rich multimedia formats. For all their good points, electronic media are not problem-free. Consider some of these disadvantages:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ They can inadvertently create tension and conf lict. Electronic messages can give the illusion of anonymity, so people sometimes say things online that they would never say in person or in a traditional document. Blogs have been a particularly controversial medium in this respect, with several companies firing employees for their blog postings. Many companies are still wrestling with the phenomenon of employee blogs, as they try to find the appropriate balance between protecting confidential information and corporate reputations and respecting the free-speech rights of their employees. 9 They are easy to overuse. The ability to send or forward messages to multiple recipients has become a major cause of information overload. They expose companies to data security threats and malicious software. Connecting computers to the Internet exposes companies to a host of potential security problems, including computer viruses, information theft, and spyware (malicious software that sneaks onto personal computers to capture credit card numbers and other confidential information). They often lack privacy. More than a few businesspeople have discovered to their embarrassment that IMs, e-mails, and voice mails can wind up in places they never envisioned. In addition, employers can legally monitor electronic messages, and these messages can be subpoenaed for court cases. Electronic media can suffer from a lack of privacy and can reduce productivity when people send too many low-value messages. 60 2: The Three-Step Writing Process  ¦ They can seriously drain employee productivity. Employees can be easily distracted by the constant streams of e-mail, IM, voice mail, conference calls, and faxes or the temptation to surf nonbusiness-related websites during working hours. Factors to Consider When Choosing Media When choosing a medium for your message, select the medium that balances your needs and your audience’s needs (see Figure 3. 3). Just as critical, however, is considering how your message is affected by important factors such as the following: The more complicated the message, the richer the medium required.  ¦  ¦  ¦ Media richness. Richness is a medium’s ability to (1) convey a message through more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal), (2) facilitate feedback, and (3) establish personal focus. The richest medium is face-to-face communication; it’s personal, it provides immediate feedback (verbal and nonverbal), and it conveys the emotion behind a message. 10 Multimedia presentations and multimedia webpages are also quite rich. At the other extreme are the leanest media- those that communicate in the simplest ways, provide no opportunity for audience feedback, and aren’t personalized, such as memos, posters, and podcasts. Generally speaking, use the richest media to send more complex messages and to help communicate emotion. Use leaner media to send simple, routine messages. Message formality. Your media choice governs the style and tone of your message. For instance, IM and e-mail can be considered inappropriate for formal messages. Media limitations. Every medium has limitations. For example, although face-to-face communication is a rich medium, it’s one of the most restrictive because you and your FIGURE 3. 3 Choosing the Most Appropriate Medium With so many media choices at your disposal today, make sure you choose the most efficient and most effective medium for every message. Use Written Media When You dont need or want immediate feedback You dont want or need immediate interaction with the audience Your message is complex You need a permanent, verifiable record Your audience is large and geographically dispersed You need to ensure that the message cannot be altered after you send it Your message has limited emotional content The situation calls for more formality Use Oral Media When You want immediate feedback from the audience Your message is straightforward and easy to accept You dont need a permanent record You can gather your audience conveniently and economically You want to encourage interaction to solve a problem or reach a group decision You want to read the audience’s body language or hear the tone of their response Your message has an emotional content Use Electronic Media When You need to deliver a message quickly You’re physically separated from your audience You want to give the audience an opportunity to edit the message (such as editing a word processing document) Your message can benefit from multiple media, such as audio and video You want to take advantage of electronic media 3: Planning Business Messages 61  ¦  ¦  ¦ audience must be in the same place at the same time. 11 Similarly, instant messaging is perfect for communicating short, simple messages, but it is ineffective for sending complex ones. Sender intentions. Your choice of medium also influences audience perceptions of your intentions. For instance, to emphasize formality, use a more formal medium, such as a memo or a letter. Or, to let people know that you welcome feedback, meet face-toface, make a phone call, or use IM. 12 Audience preferences. Make sure to consider which media your audience expects or prefers. 3 For example, the United States, Canada, and Germany emphasize written messages, whereas Japan emphasizes oral messages- perhaps because its high-context culture carries so much of the message in nonverbal cues and â€Å"between the lines† interpretation. 14 Urgency and cost. Various media have different costs and time requirements, so you often need to balance urgency and expense. Newer media options such as blogs and podcasting make it easier to deliver messages quickly at low cost. Your intentions heavily influence your choice of medium. When choosing the appropriate medium, don’t forget to consider your audience’s expectations. Time and cost also affect medium selection. Once you select the best medium for your purpose, situation, and audience, you are ready to start thinking about the organization of your message. Organizing Your Message Misinterpreted messages waste time, lead to poor decision making, and shatter business relationships. So you can see how valuable clear writing and good organization can be. 15 Successful communicators rely on good organization to make their messages meaningful. 16 What exactly makes a particular organization â€Å"good†? Although the definition of good organization varies from country to country, in the United States and Canada it generally means creating a linear message that proceeds point by point (see Figure 3. 4). What does good organization do for you? First and foremost, it saves you time. Your draft goes more quickly because you’re not putting ideas in the wrong places or composing material you don’t need. In addition, you can use your organizational plan to get some advance input from your audience, making sure you’re on the right track before spending hours working on your draft. And, if your project is large and complex, you can even use your organization plan to divide the writing job among coworkers. In addition to helping you, good organization helps your audience:  ¦ Good message organization helps you by reducing the time and energy needed to create messages and by making your messages more effective.  ¦  ¦ Good organization helps your audience understand your message. By making your main point clear at the outset, and by stating your needs precisely, your well-organized message will satisfy your audience’s need for information. Good organization helps your audience accept your message. Even when your message is logical, you need to select and organize your points in a diplomatic way. Softening refusals and leaving a good impression enhances credibility and adds authority to your messages. Good organization saves your audience time. Audience members receive only the information they need, and because that information is relevant, brief, and logically placed, your audience can follow your thought pattern without a struggle. Good organization helps your audiences by helping them understand and accept your message in less time. You can achieve good organization by clearly defining your main idea, limiting the scope of your message, grouping supporting points, and establishing their sequence by selecting either a direct or an indirect approach. To organize a message,  ¦ Define your main idea  ¦ Limit the scope  ¦ Choose the direct or indirect approach Defining Your Main Idea The broad subject, or topic, of every business message is condensed to one idea, whether it’s soliciting the executive committee for a larger budget or apologizing to a client for an incident of poor customer service. Your entire message supports, explains, or demonstrates your main idea- a specific statement about the topic of your message.  ¦ Group your points The topic is the broad subject; the main idea makes a statement about the topic. 62 2: The Three-Step Writing Process FIGURE 3. 4 Improving the Organization of a Message The poorly written draft displays weak organization, while the organization is much improved in the revised version. Before you begin to write, think about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Poor Fails to explain the purpose of the letter and immediately gets bogged down in irrelevant details Waits until the second paragraph to even introduce the main idea Fails to provide specific information about the problem Fails to specify what she wants the reader to do oved Impr Opens with her request and immediately follows that with relevant details Provides details in the body so that the reader can understand why Saunders thinks a problem exists Provides a detailed history of the problem so that the reader clearly understands her frustration Emphasizes (in a calm, respectful way) that GNC won’t be buying anything else until this problem is resolved Requests a specific action from the reader Pointers for Good Organization Get to the point right away, and make the subject and purpose clear. Include only information that is related to the subject and purpose. Group related ideas and present them in a logical order. Include all the information your audience needs. : Planning Business Messages 63 Defining your main idea is more difficult when you’re trying to persuade someone or convey disappointing information. Your main idea may be obvious when you’re preparing a brief message with simple facts that have little emotional impact on y our audience. If you’re responding to a request for information, your main idea may be simply, â€Å"Here is what you wanted. † However, defining your main idea is more complicated when you’re trying to persuade someone or when you have disappointing information to convey. In these situations, try to define a main idea that will establish a good relationship between you and your audience. In longer documents and presentations, you often need to unify a mass of material, so you’ll need to define a main idea that encompasses all the individual points you want to make. Sometimes you won’t even be sure what your main idea is until you sort through the information. For tough assignments like these, consider a variety of techniques to generate creative ideas:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Brainstorming. Working alone or with others, generate as many ideas and questions as you can, without stopping to criticize or organize. After you capture all these pieces, look for patterns and connections to help identify the main idea and the groups of supporting ideas. Journalistic approach. The journalistic approach asks who, what, when, where, why, and how questions to distill major ideas from piles of unorganized information. Question-and-answer chain. Start with a key question, from the audience’s perspective, and work back toward your message. In most cases, you’ll find that each answer generates new questions, until you identify the information that needs to be in your message. Storyteller’s tour. Some writers find it easier to talk through a communication challenge before they try to write. Describe what you intend to write and capture it on tape or disk. Then listen to your talk, identify ways to tighten and clarify the message, and repeat the process until you distill the main idea down to a single, concise message. Limiting Your Scope The scope of your message is the range of information you present, the overall length, and the level of detail- all of which need to correspond to your main idea. Many business documents have a preset length limit, either from a boss’s instructions, a technological limit, or a time frame such as individual speaker slots during a seminar. Even if you don’t have a preset limit, it’s vital to limit yourself to the scope needed to convey your message- and no more. Whatever the length of your message, limit the number of major support points to half a dozen or so- and if you can get your idea across with fewer points, all the better. Listing 20 or 30 support points might feel as if you’re being thorough, but your audience will view such detail as rambling and mind-numbing. Instead, look for ways to group supporting points under major headings, such as finance, customers, competitors, employees, or whatever is appropriate for your subject. You may need to refine your major support points so that you have a smaller number with greater impact. If your message is brief (say, a 4-minute speech or a 1-page letter), plan on only 1 minute or one paragraph each for the introduction, conclusion, and major points. Because the amount of evidence you can present is limited, your main idea will have to be both easy to understand and easy to accept. However, if your message is long (say, 60 minutes or 20 pages), you can develop the major points in considerable detail. You can spend about 10 minutes or 10 paragraphs (more than 3 pages of double-spaced, typewritten text) on each of your key points, and you’ll still have room for your introduction and conclusion. Choosing Between Direct and Indirect Approaches After you’ve defined your ideas, you’re ready to decide on the sequence you will use to present your points. You have two basic options:  ¦ Direct approach (deductive). When you know your audience will be receptive to your message, start with the main idea (such as a recommendation, a conclusion, or a request), and follow that with your supporting evidence. 64 2: The Three-Step Writing Process FIGURE 3. 5 Choosing Between the Direct and Indirect Approaches Think about the way your audience is likely to respond before choosing your approach. ed d er es te d ed re s tra as p le er as nt Ea g Pl e In Di N U Direct approach Audience Reaction Message Opening Message Body Eager/interested/ pleased/neutral Start with the main id ea, the request, or the good news. Provide necessary details. Displeased Indirect approach Uninterested/unwilling Start with a statement or question that captures attention. Arouse the audience’s interest in the subject. Build the audience’s desire to comply. Request action. Start with a neutral statement that acts as a transition to the reasons for the bad news. Give reasons to justify a negative answer. State or imply the bad news, and make a positive suggestion. Close cordially. Message Close Close with a cordial comment, a reference to the good news, or a statement about the specific action desired.  ¦ Indirect approach (inductive). When your audience will be skeptical about or even resistant to your message, start with the evidence first and build your case before presenting the main idea. Use a direct approach if the audience’s reaction is likely to be positive and the indirect approach if it is likely to be negative. To choose between these two alternatives, analyze your audience’s likely reaction to your purpose and message. Bear in mind, however, that each message is unique. No simple formula will solve all your communication problems. For example, although an indirect approach may be best when you’re sending bad news to outsiders, if you’re writing a memo to an associate, you may want to get directly to the point, even if your message is unpleasant. The direct approach might also be a good choice for long messages, regardless of your audience’s attitude- because delaying the main idea could cause confusion and frustration. Figure 3. 5 summarizes how your approach may differ depending on the likely audience reaction. The type of message also influences the choice of a direct or indirect approach. In the coming chapters, you’ll get specific advice on choosing the best approach for a variety of different communication challenges. Outlining Your Content Once you have chosen the right approach, it’s time to figure out the most logical and effective way to provide your supporting details. Even if you’ve resisted creating outlines in your school assignments over the years, try to get into the habit when you’re preparing business documents and presentations. You’ll save time, get better results, and do a better job of navigating through complicated business situations. Whether you use a specialized outlining and idea-mapping software, use the outlining features provided with word-processing software, or simply jot down three or four points on paper, making a plan and sticking to it will help you cover the important details. You’re no doubt familiar with the basic outline formats that identify each point with a number or letter and that indent certain points to show which ones are of equal status. U nw eu te ni illi ng te l 3: Planning Business Messages 65 FIGURE 3. 6 Two Common Outline Forms Your company may have a tradition of using a particular outline form for formal reports and other documents. If not, either of these two approaches will work for most any writing project. ALPHANUMERIC OUTLINE I. First Major Point A. First subpoint B. Second subpoint 1. Evidence 2. Evidence a. Detail b. Detail 3. Evidence C. Third subpoint II. Second Major Point A. First subpoint 1. Evidence 2. Evidence B. Second subpoint DECIMAL OUTLINE I. First Major Point 1. 1 First subpoint 1. 2 Second subpoint 1. 2. 1 Evidence 1. 2. 2 Evidence 1. 2. 2. 1 Detail 1. 2. 2. 2 Detail 1. 2. 3 Evidence 1. 3 Third subpoint 2. 0 Second Major Point 2. 1 First subpoint 2. 1. 1 Evidence 2. 1. 2 Evidence 2. 2 Second subpoint A good ou tline divides a topic into at least two parts, restricts each subdivision to one category, and ensures that each subdivision is separate and distinct (see Figure 3. 6). Whichever outlining or organizing scheme you use, start your message with the main idea, follow that with major supporting points, and then illustrate these points with evidence:  ¦  ¦  ¦ Start with the main idea. The main idea helps you establish the goals and general strategy of the message, and it summarizes two things: (1) what you want your audience to do or think and (2) why they should do so. Everything in your message either supports the main idea or explains its implications. State the major points. Now it’s time to support your main idea with the major points that clarify and explain your ideas in more concrete terms. If your purpose is to inform, your major points might be based on something physical or financial, for instance. When you’re describing a process, the major points are almost inevitably steps in the process. When you’re describing an object, the major points correspond to the components of the object. When you’re giving a historical account, major points represent events in the chronological chain. If your purpose is to persuade or to collaborate, select major points that develop a line of reasoning or a logical argument that proves your central message and motivates your audience to act. Illustrate with evidence. After you’ve defined the main idea and identified supporting points, you’re ready to illustrate each point with specific evidence that helps audience members understand and remember the more abstract concepts you’re presenting. Provide enough evidence to make your message convincing, but don’t overload the audience with too many minor support points. Up to a point, the more evidence you provide, the more conclusive your case will be. If your subject is complex and unfamiliar, or if your audience is skeptical, you’ll need a lot of facts and figures to demonstrate your points. On the other hand, if your subject is routine and your audience is positively inclined, you can be more sparing with the evidence. You want to provide enough support to be convincing but not so much that your message becomes boring or difficult to read. Reviewing Key Points This chapter introduces the three-step writing process: planning, writing, and completing business messages. It discusses how the process works and how to schedule your time for each step. The majority of this chapter covers the first step of the three-step writing 66 2: The Three-Step Writing Process Improve This Letter To practice correcting drafts of actual documents, visit your online course or the access-code-protected portion of the Companion Website. Click â€Å"Document Makeovers,† then click Chapter 3. You will find a letter that contains problems and errors relating to what you’ve learned in this chapter about planning and organizing business messages. Use the Final Draft decision tool to create an improved version of this letter. Check the document for audience focus, the right choice of medium, and the proper choice of direct or indirect approach. process, which includes four planning tasks. The first of these is analyzing your situation, which includes defining both a general and a specific purpose and developing a profile of your audience by identifying the primary audience, determining audience size, determining audience composition, gauging your audience’s level of understanding, projecting your audience’s expectations and preferences, and estimating your audience’s probable reaction. The second task is gathering necessary information by exploring audience needs then collecting information that will meet those needs. The third task is selecting the right medium; the chapter offered an overview of oral, written, and electronic media. The fourth and final task is how to organize your message by defining the main idea, limiting the scope, grouping your points, choosing the direct or indirect approach, then crafting an outline. The next chapter focuses on the second step of the writing process: writing business messages. There you’ll explore two major tasks, adapting to your audience by being sensitive to their needs and building a strong relationship with them and then composing your messages. You will learn about controlling your style and tone, selecting the best words, creating effective sentences, and developing coherent paragraphs. Test Your Knowledge 1. What are the three steps in the writing process? 2. What two types of purposes do all business messages have? 3: Planning Business Messages 67 3. What do you need to know in order to develop an audience profile? 4. When including information in your message, what three conditions must you satisfy? 5. What are the main advantages of oral media? Of written media? Apply Your Knowledge 1. Some writers argue that planning messages wastes time because they inevitably change their plans as they go along. How would you respond to this argument? Briefly explain. 2. As a member of the public relations department, which medium (or media) would you recommend using to inform the local community that your toxic-waste cleanup program has been successful? Justify your choice. 3. Would you use a direct or an indirect approach to ask employees to work overtime to meet an important deadline? Please explain. 4. Considering how fast, easy, inexpensive, they are, should e-mail, instant messages, blogs, and podcasts completely replace meetings and other face-to-face communication in your company? Why or why not? 68 : The Three-Step Writing Process 5. Ethical Choices The company president has asked you to draft a memo for her signature to the board of directors, informing them that sales in the new line of gourmet fruit jams have far exceeded anyone’s expectations. As a member of the purchasing department, you happen to know that sales of moderately priced jams have declined quite a bit (many customers have switched to the more expensive jams). You were not directed to add that tidbit of information. Should you write the memo and limit your information to the expensive gourmet jams? Or should you include the information about the decline in moderately priced jams? Please explain.

Genetics Basics

Genetics Basics Have you ever wondered why you have the same eye color as your mother or the same hair color as your father? Genetics is the study of inheritance or  heredity. Genetics helps to explain how traits are passed from parents to their young. Parents pass traits to their young through gene transmission. Genes are located on chromosomes and consist of DNA. They contain specific instructions for protein synthesis. Genetics Basics Resources Understanding certain genetic concepts can be difficult for beginners. Below are several helpful resources that will assist in the understanding of basic genetic principles. Gene Inheritance Genetic Dominance: Learn about the differences between complete genetic dominance, codominance, and incomplete dominance.Mendels Law of Segregation: The principles that govern heredity were discovered by a monk named Gregor Mendel in the 1860s. One of these principles is now called Mendels law of segregation.Mendels Law of Independent Assortment: This principle of heredity formulated by Gregor Mendel states that traits are transmitted to offspring independently of one another.Polygenic Inheritance: Polygenic inheritance is the inheritance of traits such as skin color, eye color, and hair color that are determined by more than one gene.Sex-linked Traits: Hemophilia is an example of a common sex-linked disorder that is an X linked recessive trait. Genes and Chromosomes Chromosomes and Sex: Introduction to the basics of sex determination by the presence or absence of certain chromosomes.Gene Mutations: A gene mutation is any change that occurs in the DNA. These changes can be beneficial to, have some effect on, or be seriously detrimental to an organism.Four Cute Features Caused by Gene Mutations: Did you know that cute features such as dimples and freckles are caused by gene mutations? These traits can either be inherited or acquired.Genetic Recombination: In genetic recombination, genes on chromosomes are recombined to produce organisms with new gene combinations.Genetic Variation: In genetic variation, the alleles of organisms within a population change. This change may result from mutation, gene flow, or sexual reproduction.Sex Chromosome Abnormalities: Sex chromosome abnormalities occur as a result of chromosome mutations brought on by mutagens or problems that occur during meiosis. Genes and Protein Synthesis Decoding Your Genetic Code: The genetic code is the information in DNA and RNA that determines amino acid sequences in protein synthesis.How Does DNA Transcription Work?: DNA transcription is a process that involves the transcribing of genetic information from DNA to RNA. Genes are transcribed in order to produce proteins.Translation: Making Protein Synthesis Possible: Protein synthesis is accomplished through a process called translation. In translation, RNA and ribosomes work together to produce proteins. Mitosis and Meiosis DNA Replication: DNA replication is the process of copying the DNA within our cells. This process is a necessary step in mitosis and meiosis.The Cell Cycle of Growth: Cells grow and replicate through an ordered series of events called the cell cycle.Stage-By-Stage Guide to Mitosis: This guide to the phases of mitosis explores the reproduction of cells. In mitosis, chromosomes are duplicated and divided evenly between two daughter cells.Stages of Meiosis: This stage-by-stage guide to the phases of meiosis provides details about the events that occur in each of the stages of meiosis I and meiosis II.7 Differences Between Mitosis and Meiosis: Cells divide either through the process of mitosis or meiosis. Sex cells are produced through meiosis, while all other body cell types are produced through mitosis. Reproduction Gametes: The Building Blocks of Sexual Reproduction: Gametes are reproductive cells that unite at fertilization to form a new cell called a zygote. Gametes are haploid cells, meaning that they contain only one set of chromosomes.Haploid Cells: Gametes and Spores: A haploid cell is a cell that contains one complete set of chromosomes. Gametes are examples of haploid cells that reproduce by meiosis.How Sexual Reproduction Occurs: Sexual reproduction is a process by which two individuals produce offspring with genetic traits from both parents. It involves the union of gametes.Types of Fertilization in Sexual Reproduction: Fertilization involves the union of male and female sex cells, which results in the production of offspring with a mix of inherited genes.Parthenogenesis and Reproduction Without Fertilization: Parthenogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction that does not require the fertilization of a female egg cell. Both plants and animals reproduce in this manner.What Is Asexual Reproduction?: In asexual reproduction, one individual produces offspring that are genetically identical to itself. Common forms of asexual reproduction include budding, regeneration, and parthenogenesis.

Logical Reasoning Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Logical Reasoning - Math Problem Example Euler circles otherwise known as Euler diagrams are graphical representations of logical statements. Each set in this diagram is represented as a circle or closed curve. Intersections between sets are shown as partially overlapping circles. On the other hand, the equivalence of two sets is given by a complete overlap of the circles. Using this approach, the relationship of sets becomes clear. It is then easy to determine the validity of a conclusion based on the diagram. For the first statement it is clear from the diagram that given the premise, there is no established relation between B and C. Likewise, the second statement also establishes no relationship between the two. Therefore, both statements are invalid. In contrast, truth tables are textual representations of the logic statement. Unlike a pure logic statement, the truth table presents all possible combinations of the input set and determines the conclusion from each combination. While not as intuitive as Euler circles, this approach provides a more exhaustive view of a logical statement. The respective truth tables for the above logical statements follow: In the first table, when all the premises are satisfied, there is definitely no way wherein the conclusion is satisfied. This statement is therefore invalid. For the second statement, most cases satisfy the statement except for one. However, since the conclusion is an implication, then the presence of this single case invalidates the statement. Conclusion From the given examples, it is clear that the use of alternative representations of logical statements aid in logical reasoning. In fact, both Euler circles and truth tables were consistent in invalidating the logic for both examples. Question 1 Let: Equations: Solution: Modify eqn 1: Substitute to eqn 2: Conclusion: UniquePhil has 10 $0.37 stamps. Question 2 Solution: Using the Venn Diagram Exactly 2 writing instruments: Conclusion: 15 backpacks contain exactly two of the three writing instruments. Question 3 Question 4 Solution: Conclusion: The car got 54.4 miles per gallon. Question 5 Question 6 Biconditional Question 7 2.8700 Question 8 Question 9 Solution: Conclusion: cups of flour should be used. Question 10 Solution: During peak hours: During off-peak hours: Conclusion: $1.76 can be saved by making 16-minute calls during off-peak hours. Question 11 Solution: Using the Law of Contraposition: Using De Morgan's Law: Conclusion: They are logically equivalent. Question 12 Solution: truth table p q q pq TRUE TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE FALSE Conclusion: There is only 1 T in the final columb. Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Valid Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Invalid Question 19 Solution: 1 3 7 13 15 19 25 27 31 37 --- Diff 2 4 6 2 4 6

Reflection about my study based on feedback and analysis it Essay

Reflection about my study based on feedback and analysis it - Essay Example I really enjoyed the final project, and I thought it was a good idea! In general, I was satisfied with my final project. I did a lot of work and research on it. But there are also some points I failed to show in the project. Since I did not have a plenty time on my final project, I did not get the whole ideas in my mind. So I think next time I could work better. I got fresh ideas with other classmates’ projects. Some of them did pretty good job in discussing this by the method of video. It is pretty impressive for me. Also the advices given from classmates also filled my blank. For further project or paper, I will work more on fresh ideas and prepared a lot before I start Related to the wellbeing of children, childhood obesity is one of main issues these days in almost every part of the world. This medical condition adversely affects the mental and physical health of children, as well as their level of self-confidence. On academic level, it puts an unpleasant impact on the mind and confidence of obese children because of which they usually do not show good academic performances. In developed countries, childhood obesity has become a serious health concern. Obese children usually do not perform well in their studies because they feel inferiority complex when their peers make fun of them. Their level of confidence and self-esteem go down as the result which makes them unable to talk to their teachers and peers in a confident way. It is obvious that at school level, children are not as mentally mature as they get when they grow up. So they do not have any idea whether they are doing a good act by laughing at a comparatively fat fellow or not. They laugh at him/her, make fun, and call him/her by improper names because of which the confidence level of the targeted fellow goes down and he/she becomes unable to cope with the situation. This results in making the child self-conscious and less focused towards studies. Moreover, obese children feel

Like Father Like Son Essays -- Character Analysis, Telemachus, Odysseu

THESIS STATEMENT Throughout the epic the Odyssey the theme like father like son is demonstrated through Telemachus following in his father’s (Odysseus) footsteps. PURPOSE STATEMENT It is evident that through extensive research on the Odyssey, Telemachus evolves into a character similar to his father Odysseus in this epic. INTRODUCTION Imagine ten grueling years of constant bloodbath at war. After all that horror facing journeying on vicious waters: battling a sea monster, traveling to the underworld, and angry gods attempting to wreak havoc everywhere you go. This is all on a quest to reunite with your loved ones. A brave Greek warrior–Odysseus–encounters all these circumstances. His son yearns for him to return home. This son of his is in a nervous state. He has no father figure in his life and is unable to protect his mother in their precarious situation. The Odyssey tells the thrilling tale of the clever Greek hero Odysseus. He has many terrifying adventures on his long awaited return to his kingdom, Ithaca. In this epic Odysseus’ son Telemachus becomes the man his father is and demonstrates personality traits Odysseus possesses. Telemachus must overcome his fear to undertake journeys in order to reunite his family. Odysseus and Telemachus together share a love and appreciation for Penelope. They both began as impulsive men and must learn patience in panicky situations later on. â€Å"He is like his father Odysseus, in that he is loyal and disgusted by evil. He also, like his father, is willing to go fight for his freedom.† (Pope 45) Telemachus is being described in comparison to Odysseus – they are equally dedicated in life to Penelope and have a great will to conquer obstacles in their life to reunite with each other. ... ...e was unsure about taking his father’s place. Odysseus learns to act wisely and not impulsively through his adventures. â€Å"All his past training in patience, wariness and self-control is needed now to help him play his part†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Walker 76). From past obstacles Odysseus was required to overcome on his trip home to Ithaca he was grown from acting out impulsively to thinking out strategies before had for attacks and battles. CONCLUSION In Homer’s the Odyssey the theme like father like son is demonstrated. Telemachus becomes the man his father (Odysseus) is through acquiring personality traits that he has and evolving in a brave and courageous character, such as his father was. Odysseus and Telemachus both go on journeys to reunite their families; they both have a great love and appreciation for Penelope and transition from being impatient and impulsive to patience.

Belonging, Les Murray Poems Essay

The concept of belonging is interesting to me because the idea is really that of ‘self’. There are many varied notions of belonging revolving around the ‘inclusion/exclusion’ of a person in a societal group, ‘attraction/alienation’ to values, attitudes and behaviours, ‘security/marginalisation’. But ultimately the idea of belonging is the development of our own sense of personal identity being defined by the groups, communities, lifestyles we align ourselves with. Les Murray’s poems â€Å"The Widower in the Country† and â€Å"The Away-Bound Train† explore the sense of belonging by his speaker in different ways. We experience through â€Å"The Widower in the Country† a loss of a sense of belonging caused by the death of the speaker’s wife. In â€Å"The Away-Bound Train† the speaker describes the rural landscape in his poetry, and his sense of belonging to it. Les Murray in â€Å"The Widower in the Country† uses descriptive imagery and emotive language to highlight the loss of belonging. The depression of the speaker by having no real direction in life is shown by the words â€Å"and pause to look across the Christmas paddocks†. He is delaying his duties as he is aimless. The reference to Christmas also illustrates widower being alone for a holiday previously celebrated with family. The ellipses run after â€Å"The nettles in the yard†¦Ã¢â‚¬  showing there is further work to be done and the neglect of the speaker evidencing his absence of involvement. The speaker sits alone â€Å"at the head of the table† eating a plain meal of â€Å"corned-beef supper† reinforces the widower’s absence and direction in life and also an inability to enunciate his emotions. The speaker in â€Å"The Away-Bound Train† experiences a feeling of belonging to  the country through the exploration of the landscape. The speaker is a man on a train leaving the countryside, which he loves, to travel to the city, which he despises. At the start of the poem the speaker describes his ideal home in the country â€Å"I stand in a house of trees †¦ a creek runs grey with sand†. The speaker then describes the landscape (â€Å"the near hills rise steeply and fall†, â€Å"the upland farms are all bare†) which is followed by a declaration of allegiance to the country (â€Å"and this is my country†). The warmth of the cold July fire reflects his sentiment of home. Even though he reminds himself that the warmth of the fire â€Å"is the past†, his mind, he says, â€Å"trails far in the wake of the train†. At the end of the poem, the speaker wills himself to go back to sleep and his dream. He literally closes his eyes against reality and returns in his imagination to the country he is leaving. In an alternative medium, the musical song â€Å"Creep† by the band â€Å"Radiohead† describes the desire to belong, yet the eventual alienation and loneliness of an unrequited crush. The song is a story of a person’s infatuation with someone whom he feels he  As a contrasting view, â€Å"Creep† composed by Thom Yorke presents the idea of belonging through alienation – the story of a person’s infatuation with someone whom he feels he cannot attain. The use of the simile â€Å"just like an angel †¦ your skin makes me cry† conveys how unreachable, unapproachable the girl is to him. This expression of distance illustrates how inadequate the person feels when compared to his object of desire. The use of obscenity â€Å"What the hell am I doing here?† conveys the frustration and anger felt by the person at not being accepted. This is supported by  the change from poetic language to blunt speech â€Å"I don’t belong here†. The contrast between the opening of the song and the chorus stresses the impact of the anger and frustration over wanting to belong. The opening lyrics are very soft with gentle imagery â€Å"You float like a feather, in a beautiful world†. The lazy guitar tone and rhythm then build up to what seems like an emotional breakdown with the singer and the guitar screaming in despair and anger â€Å"But I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo†. The ostinato (musically) portrays the songs obsessive lyrics, which depict the angry rage of an unsuccessful crush. The theme of alienation is reinforced â€Å"I want you to notice when I’m not around†. â€Å"You’re so special, I wish I was special† shows the person wanting to belong with the other who he sees as extraordinary.