Saturday, December 28, 2019

Coco Chanel, Famed Fashion Designer and Executive

Gabrielle Coco Chanel (August 19, 1883–January 10, 1971) opened her first millinery shop in 1910, and in the 1920s she rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris. Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, womens trousers, costume jewelry, perfume, and textiles. She is particularly known for introducing the world to the iconic little black dress as well as a perfume, Chanel No. 5, in 1922. It is, to this day, one of the most famous perfumes of all time. Fast Facts: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel ï » ¿Known For: Founder of the House of Chanel, creator of the Chanel suit, Chanel jacket, and bell bottoms, Chanel No. 5 perfumeAlso Known As: Gabrielle Bonheur ChanelBorn: August 19, 1883 in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, FranceParents: Eugà ©nie Jeanne Devolle, Albert ChanelDied: January 10, 1971 in Paris, FranceAwards and Honors: Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, 1957Notable Quotes: A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. ... Fashion fades, only style remains the same. ... Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear. Early Years and Career Gabrielle Coco Chanel claimed to be born in 1893 at Auvergne, but she was actually born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France. According to her version of her life story, her mother worked in the poorhouse where Chanel was born and died when she was only 6, leaving her father with five children whom he promptly abandoned to the care of relatives. She adopted the name Coco during a brief career as a cafe and concert singer from 1905 to 1908. First a mistress of a wealthy military officer and then of an English industrialist, Chanel drew on the resources of these patrons in setting up a millinery shop in Paris in 1910, expanding to Deauville and Biarritz. The two men also helped her find customers among women of society, and her simple hats became popular. The Rise of a Fashion Empire Soon, Coco was expanding to couture and working in jersey, a first in the French fashion world. By the 1920s, her fashion house had expanded considerably, and her chemise set a fashion trend with its little boy look. Her relaxed fashions, short skirts, and casual look were in sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in the previous decades. Chanel herself dressed in mannish clothes and adapted these more comfortable fashions, something that other women also found liberating. In 1922, Chanel introduced a perfume, Chanel No. 5, which became and remained popular, and remains a profitable product of Chanels company. Pierre Wertheimer became her partner in the perfume business in 1924, and perhaps also her lover. Wertheimer owned 70% of the company; Chanel received 10 percent and her friend, Thà ©ophile Bader, 20 percent. The Wertheimers continue to control the perfume company today. Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and iconic little black dress in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power and didnt change much from year to year—or even generation to generation. World War II Break and Comeback Chanel briefly served as a nurse during World War II. Nazi occupation meant the fashion business in Paris was cut off for some years; Chanels affair during World War II with a Nazi officer also resulted in some years of diminished popularity and an exile of sorts to Switzerland. In 1954, her comeback restored her to the top ranks of haute couture. Her natural, casual clothing including the Chanel suit, once again caught the eye—and purses—of women. She introduced pea jackets and bell bottom pants for women. In addition to her work with high fashion, Chanel also designed stage costumes for such plays as Cocteaus Antigone (1923) and Oedipus Rex (1937) and film costumes for several movies, including Renoirs La Regle de Jeu. Katharine Hepburn starred in the 1969 Broadway musical Coco based on the life of Coco Chanel. A 2008  television  movie  Coco  Chanel starred Shirley MacLaine portraying the famous designer around the time of her 1954 career resurrection. Death and Legacy Chanel worked right up to the time she died. Though she was ailing and in declining health by the early 1970s, she continued to direct her company. In January 1971, she began preparing the spring catalog for her firm. She took a long drive on the afternoon of January 9 and then went to bed early, feeling ill. She died the next day, January 10, 1971, at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, where she had lived for more than three decades. Chanel was worth a reported $15 billion when she died. And though her career had its ups and downs, her legacy in the fashion industry is assured. In addition to perfumes and the little black dress, Chanel helped popularize costume jewelry, trousers, tweed jackets, and short hair for women—all of which were considered fashion no-nos before Chanel came onto the scene. The company also created such iconic items as black bouclà © jackets, two-tone ballet pumps, and an array of quilted handbags. Designer Karl Lagerfeld took the reins at Chanel in 1983 and lifted the company back to prominence. He ran Chanel right up until his death on Februry 19, 2019, as the companys creative director.  Virginie Viard, Lagerfelds right-hand woman for more than three decades, was named to succeed him. Chanel is a private company owned by the Wertheimer family and continues to thrive; it reported sales of nearly $10 billion for the 2017 fiscal year. Sources Alkayat, Zena.  Library of Luminaries: Coco Chanel: An Illustrated Biography. Illustrated by Nina Cosford. 2016.Garelick, Rhonda K.  Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History.  2015.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Literary Devices In Hamlet - 844 Words

Shakespeares purpose is to show us the process that Hamlet goes through to make a decision, even if he still struggles with indecisiveness. Shakespeare isn’t talking about if Hamlet is making the right decision, but he focuses on how he always second guesses himself and overthinks. He used literary devices in Act II. Scene ii. Lines 525-584 like tone, imagery, foreshadowing, and ambiguity to convey his message in the writing. Hamlet always second guesses himself about if he should fulfill his fathers last wishes, Shakespeare uses tone to show us how Hamlet was feeling. In Act II. Scene ii. Line 571, he uses the words such as â€Å"Rogue and peasant slave am I!† and line 547, â€Å"Am I coward?† It shows us Hamlet doesn’t know if he really†¦show more content†¦This is almost out of character, just a few moments ago Hamlet was being hard on himself but now he is being cocky. Not only is he indecisive about his plan to kill Claudius, but then he also becomes insecure and depressive again. For example for lines 562-564, â€Å"Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like very drab,† Shakespeare uses imagery to show us Hamlet’s father wants revenge but Hamlet just sits around, does nothing, just thinking instead of actually doing something. Shakespeare is known for using foreshadowing, and ambiguity in many of his plays; for instance in lines 566-570, â€Å"Hum, I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play have, by the very cunning of the scene, been struck so to the soul that presently they have proclaimed their malefactions,† Shakespeare had Hamlet write a play, which was the exact way his father was murdered. Hamlet thought about this so much, he wants to know if Claudius really committed this crime, the artistry would make him confess. Which in Act III. Scene 2, Claudius gets up from the play, seeing his crime come to life. Also in line 563, â€Å"Like a whore, unpack my heart with words,† Hamlet calls Ophelia a whore in a later scene, and because Hamlet killed her father, Polonius, which made her insane. Ophelia used the words in Act IV. Scene 5. Lines 53-54, â€Å"Let in the maid that out a maid, never departed more,† andShow MoreRelatedEssay on Shakespeare: A Literary Grandmaster69 9 Words   |  3 Pagesand especially the king of England. Although an entertaining storyline does earn one respect as a writer/poet. It was Shakespeare’s masterful use of literary devices that garners the respect and acknowledgement of many modern day professors. In Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet begins a soliloquy in which Shakespeare showcases his literary genius. A literary device that is often overlooked in the Early Modern period of Europe is the utilization of soliloquys to give insight to a character’s inner thoughts. PerhapsRead MoreHamlet: Analytical Essay About Style834 Words   |  4 PagesHamlet has style. 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Ophelia, however, has a major role that is not initially evident. She is the embodiment of how Hamlets opinion of women changes throughout the play. These two characters have drastically different roles, but both are vital to the success of Hamlet. In Hamlet, Shakespeare develops the character of Hamlet through numerous soliloquies and long speeches. Not only is the use of these literary devicesRead MoreScarface And Hamlet1434 Words   |  6 PagesScarface (1983) written by Oliver Stone and Hamlet (1599-1602) written by William Shakespeare share and explore the themes of what the inability to regulate emotions can cause in a person and their surrounding environments, even if they differ dramatically. Although Tony Montana’s and Hamlet’s desires and backgrounds serve as different purposes in their journeys, they both encounter and exhibit the use of deceiving behaviours, have trust issues with the woman they love and both question the pointRead MoreScarface And Hamlet1435 Words   |  6 PagesOliver Stone’s Scarface and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are thematically linked in characterisation. The inability to control emotions are both apparent with Tony Montana and Hamlet. They have a tendency to g et mad, especially when Tony and Hamlet catch the women they believed to be pure betraying their trust. Often, they will both exhibit the use of deceiving behaviours to fool others around them to try and cover more profound intentions. Although Tony Montana’s and Hamlet’s desires differ inRead MoreThe Tragic Flaw Of Shakespeare s Hamlet1399 Words   |  6 PagesShakespeare’s Hamlet is a moral that rings true today: do not involve others with your own problems. In Hamlet, Shakespeare s utilization of hamartia and tragedy brings the overall moral into light in a dramatized manner. The two are especially prominent near the climax and finale of the play. Hamartia appears first, as it deals with the leading male of the story, and actually aids in the deliverance of tragedy in the final scene of Act V. Hamartia is a literary device Shakespeare uses in Hamlet; the main

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Challenges Faced by the Nurses

Question: What are the acute challenges faced by the nurses in working with people over sixty-five years from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds? Answer: Background The Society of Australia is pluralistic with various traditions and values. Thus, the healthcare sector has classified the patients from the non-English backgrounds as the patients belonging from the linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds and specifically includes the migrant and indigenous backgrounds. The healthcare sector of Australia can be strongly identified as Anglo-centric and the Anglo-Australian background dominates the practice of nursing (Johnstone et al. 2016). Therefore, there exist the chances of dual ethnocentrism between the patients and the nurses that make the care provision for the patient-nurse encounters difficult. It is quite frustrating and challenging for the experiences of the nurses and it is quite difficult for the nurses to deal with the culturally and linguistically diverse aged patients (Eliopoulos 2013). The specific and acute challenges experienced by the nurses are language barriers, quality care delivery, bureaucratic system of healthcare , client-nurse relationships, dealing with the patient family and personal stress. Acquiring the cultural knowledge is regarded as intrinsic for caring for the patients who are culturally diverse (Adebayo, Durey Slackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Smith 2016). This can be done by identification of the sources of cultural knowledge in the workplace and includes the sources like bilingual colleagues and health workers, the patients and their families with the support persons, who can significantly help in acquiring the bilingual knowledge (Deegan and Simkin 2010). The present review protocol deals with the acute challenges faced by the nurses in working with the people aged over 65 years from linguistically and culturally diverse background and will include a systematic review of relevant literature. Research Question What are the acute challenges faced by the nurses in working with people over sixty-five years from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds? A research question typically helps to center and guide a research program. Therefore, it has to be focused and clear and should include the synthesizing of the various resources for presentation of the argument. Formulation of a research question should include the conduction of preliminary research for obtaining an overview of the topic, based on the peer-reviewed journals and periodicals. For the formulation of the question, PICO framework has been used in this review protocol. The PICO framework is implemented in the evidence-based practice for framing questions that are related to healthcare (Fruijtier et al. 2014). It is also utilized for developing the strategies of the literature search. The acronym of PICO has been summarized below. P Population or patient I Intervention C Comparison O Outcomes Well-focused questions are essential for searching the relevant evidence and identification of the appropriate resources. Therefore, PICO framework helps to identify the main elements related to the question and makes the question statement relevant (Hruby et al. 2016). In the present review protocol, the comparison part is ignored due to the lack of its scope. Thus, the framework used in this protocol is PIO framework, considering only the patient/ population, intervention and outcome. The PIO acronyms used for this protocol have been summarized below. P Patients over 65 years of age / Communication challenges of nurses I Cultural competencies O Effective patient care Developing the research question had the primary concept of development of a research hypothesis. Predictions were made regarding examination of the research phenomenon that forms the foundation of the research. Hypothesis helps to make specific predictions about the direction and nature of the relationship that exists between two different variables. For drafting the research question in the present protocol, insight was given to the research hypothesis that stated the acute challenges that the nurses face on a daily basis while working with the geriatric patients. The measurable and testable parameters of the proposed parameters were analyzed that included the patients with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Finally, the staff experience was taken into consideration that drafted the final question, conjugating the other two hypotheses and resulted in the research question stating What are the acute challenges faced by the nurses in working with people over sixty-fiv e years from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds?. Importance of Research Question Interest in a particular topic initiates the process of research. However, the subject familiarity defines the appropriate research question. The deficit of the perceived knowledge raises the question within the field of study and the investigational research defines the importance of the research question. It is important to know the boundary between the ignorance and the perceived knowledge that helps to determine the clinical uncertainties rationalizing the importance of the research question. In the present research protocol, the importance of the research question lies in the fact that it helps to determine the acute challenges faced by the nurses while caring for the geriatric patients with diverse backgrounds. According to the health service framework for the older people in Australia, it has been found that one out of five of the geriatric population in Australia have been born overseas, primarily in the countries with non-English speaking culture. This statistics is expected to grow further in the future and present challenges for the healthcare service providers in terms of bilingual support requirements and devices that are culturally safe (Johnstone et al. 2016). Due to the greater diversity in the aged population dwelling in Australia, various challenges emerge for the nurses that are influenced by the individual health goals and appropriate responses. The specific challenging factors include the spiritual, environmental, cultural, social, emotional and economic that interweaves across the different health profiles in various ways for influencing the behavior of the patients, including their families and determines the role of the nurses in providing care and support treatment. The s ocietal wellbeing of the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders have to be taken into consideration as well for ensuring culturally safe and respectful care to the aged patients of this population (SA Health, 2016). The challenges that the nurses face for caring for the geriatric patients of diverse backgrounds involve the patients along with their families. The primary challenges include assessment, communication, working limitations with the interpreters and holistic care provision. Education and confidentiality are the issues that were related to the patients. Visiting and aggression were the issues with the families. Types of health workers who are bilingual, commitment of the health officials and organizational flexibility are the issues with the healthcare system (Deegan and Simkin 2010). The commitment willingness and the provision of culturally congruent care are the keys to the care of the culturally diverse patients. Nurses possess a stereotypical view of the cultural group of the patient and consider that a culturally diverse patient is just like any other patient (Johnstone et al. 2016). On the other side, some perceive them as separate individuals and not as the members of culturall y diverse societies with certain beliefs, lifestyles and values. Trans-cultural nursing aids to improve the cultural competence of the nurses for the care of the patients with diverse backgrounds. Experience can help the nurses in this aspect by building knowledge within the care episodes by facing variable challenges (Bourgeault et al. 2010). Education has to be adequate with proper training towards the development of understanding and knowledge for caring the culturally diverse patients. Search Strategy The strategy of search initiates with the searching of a database where data is collected in an organized pattern. The available data is organized reality aspects of a model supporting the processes that require information gathering. In the present protocol, data was collected from the database of PubMed, which is a free search engine and access the MEDLINE database of abstracts and references. The United States National Library of Medicine maintains the database in association with the National Institutes of Health for retrieval of information. Identification of the keywords is the next step of search strategy and it is used for searching the keywords. The present protocol utilized PIO strategy for the database search string and its implementation. Suitable keywords were used in various combinations as per the framework to search the database and extract the research articles required for answering the research articles. Relevant keywords were identified using the PIO framework and it helped extensively for combining the relevant search terms of the research articles. Boolean operators are the connecting words that are placed in between the terms of search to expand or narrow the search. The Boolean operators used for the search are OR, NOT and AND. OR helps to find the citations that contain either of the keywords that are specific. AND helps to find the citations that contain all of the keywords that are specific. NOT helps to find the citations that contain the keywords that are specific. Search string is a stepwise guide to using the Boolean operators and keywords for searching the selected database. Search strings like * and ? have been used on a trial and error basis for searching the relevant articles. Truncation was used for broadening the search process as it identifies the word variations. The symbols used for search were *, ? and $ as nurs* for retrieving nurse and nurses. Abbreviations used in the search process was CLD for culturally and linguistically diverse. Wildcards were used for trying different spellings for a word like patient skin colour and color were searched with the ? symbol. These were all implemented on a trial and error basis but could not retrieve relevant search results. Table 1: Searched Keywords P Population / Problem I Intervention O Outcome Geriatric patients Linguistically diverse Culturally diverse Acute challenges Communication challenges Cultural competency Linguistic competency Professional ethics Nursing knowledge Moral values Patient care Effective care Patient compliance Patient satisfaction Respect and dignity A detailed account of the search strategy and the results has been provided in the appendix. Results The relevant research articles retrieved using the search keywords have been provided below. Duffy, S., Jackson, F., Schim, S., Ronis, D. Fowler, K. 2006, "Cultural concepts at the end of life",Nursing older people,vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 10. Dobbs, D., Baker, T., Carrion, I.V., Vongxaiburana, E. Hyer, K. 2014, "Certified nursing assistants' perspectives of nursing home residents' pain experience: communication patterns, cultural context, and the role of empathy",Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses,vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 87. Mager, D.R. Grossman, S., 2013. Promoting Nursing Students' Understanding and Reflection on Cultural Awareness with Older Adults in Home Care.Home Healthcare Now,31(10), pp.582-588. Thyli, B., Athlin, E. Hedelin, B. 2007, "Challenges in community health nursing of old migrant patients in Norway - an exploratory study",International journal of older people nursing,vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 45-51. Yeo, T.P., Phillips, J., Delengowski, A., Griffiths, M. Purnell, L. 2011, "Oncology Nursing: Educating Advanced Practice Nurses to Provide Culturally Competent Care", Journal of Professional Nursing,vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 245-254. Article No. Reference Study Design Population P Intervention I Outcomes O Tutor Comment 1. Duffy et al. (2006) The study design constitutes of Survey questionnaire that was structured with open ended questions. Survey conducting nurses with five ethnic groups of patients (Arab Christians, Arab Muslims, Hispanics, White and Black ) in the US in 10 focus groups of geriatric patients Examination of the ethnic and racial preferences among the older patients and the influence of the nursing intervention. Nurses face acute challenges and dilemma while caring for the geriatric patients from various backgrounds as they had problem in understanding the preferences of patients regarding end life situation. Arabs had problem using the word death and cancer. Women believed that cultural differences were related to the end of life care. Hispanic women were against pulling of plug and preferred extensive medical intervention. However, Hispanic and Arab men preferred assisted dying. Women among Arab Christians were against nursing homes and men were mostly into spiritual life. Black women did not support assisted suicide but black men did. White men wanted antibiotics, feeding tubes, CPR, dialysis but were against life support system. 2. Dobbs et al. (2014) In this study the research design used was Qualitative study. Group session was conducted. Approach used was content analysis where data was analyzed by the use of use of Atlas.ti version 6.2. Respondents constitute of 28 nurses in 4 focus groups with 6 8 participants in each group. Inclusion criteria were English speaking and employed for greater than 3 months. Communication patterns between the nurses and the older residents of varied ethnicity and race with the personal experience of the nurses. How does race and ethnicity impact pain experience of NH residents was investigated. Other things were if residents can accurately report their pain experience. Cultural and linguistic factors directly affect the beliefs of the nurses for pain treatment for the older residents. Cultural influence was observed both in staff and nurse. Patient centered approach is appropriate if it is culturally competent. The continuum of diversity awareness is cultural competence. The Spiritual and religious belief effect the preference of pain management. Emotional, sensory, and cognitive impairment, lack of standardized assessment tools, side effects of drugs, and lack of knowledge about pain and ways to reduce it are indicators for which NH residents are at greater risk of unmanaged pain. Cognitive and emotional empathy help in pain management. CNAs have perception that the residents highly rely on pain medication due to lack of knowledge of treatment methods or plans and medication options. Close relation with the resident was the only effective way to recognize and assess residents pain. 3. Mager Grossman (2013) The research designed used Qualitative analysis. In this study focused case studies, self-reflective writing activities simulations, were included. Cases and simulations were designed in a way that depicts patients living at home with a variety of demographic characteristics, such as health history, age, family involvement, religion, dietary preferences, culture, marital status, and socioeconomic status. Respondents constitute of 114 nursing students with 59 junior and 55 senior nursing students. Question-based research was carried out to collect the experience of the nursing students regarding cultural competence. In this study, the strategies that encourage reflection capacity of the students on cultural awareness were examined. Summing up the student experiences for the challenges of cultural competency and improving their knowledge for their future profession. In both the groups of students who participated in this study the Levels of reflective writingimproved using the N. Hatton and D. Smith's (1995) framework. 4. Thyli, Athlin Hedelin (2007) The research design used in this study was Exploratory study. Survey questionnaire. The questions were based on experiences related to nursing older people as well as on the literature review based on trans-cultural nursing From the questionnaire Data were collected. Questions were structured containing open-ended questions.18 nurse managers were involved to answer. The data analysis was descriptive. Respondents constitutes of 22 nurse managers involved in nursing practice. Only 18 nurses responded the questionnaire. All were females trained in Norway. Study was conducted in medium-sized Norwegian community. Intervention includes Exploration of the perception of the nursing managers involved in the care of culturally diverse geriatric patients in northern western countries. Identify the challenges faced by these nurses while caring for this group of patients. Overall findings say that community care for non western migrant patients were deficient. According to the findings, leadership and organizational issues were factors affecting the multicultural care. Older migrants lacked a knowledge of health care Additionally, nurses has withdrawn attitude towards older patients showing a lack of responsibility in their care. The major issue identified in this study is less awareness and knowledge related to cultural issues. Nurses lacked cultural care assessments. Language barriers have been identified as the most important and difficult problem in the patient nurse relationship. It greatly affected the communication and nursing assessment. Other problems include lack of family involvement in care which greatly impacts the recovery process. There is a need for development due to lack of cultural competencies. Challenges can be managed with increased responsibility, action and competencies. Nurses require attending trans-cultural courses. 5. Yeo et al. (2011) Systematic literature review The population in this study includes Advanced practice nurses providing cancer care to the geriatric patients of diverse cultural and linguistic background. Decision making for cancer care is influenced by the cultural belief systems Requirement of nursing education program for addressing the needs of the geriatric cancer patients from diverse ethnicity. Significant disparities related to cancer were observed in diverse population. The reasons were from inadequate funding, less knowledge of disease symptoms among patients due to poor educational attainment. Nurses from different backgrounds (racial, cultural and ethnic) should be employed to provide care for cancer patients, due to rapidly changing U.S. population demographics. Nurses prepared in oncology educational programs are needed to address the requirements of critical patients of care. The outcome is the need of promoting and sustaining advanced practice nurses. Discussion The present research protocol has broadened my understanding of evidenced based practice for nursing. Writing a research question and identification of the related articles has helped me immensely in understanding of the challenges of the nursing profession. This protocol has helped me to learn the ways to deal with the challenges faced by the nurses in acute care and long-term settings for the care of the culturally diverse geriatric patients. In addition to this, I have learned the procedures of database search using the key features of truncation, abbreviation, wildcard and Boolean. I developed a clear knowledge of the inclusion and exclusion process of the key search words and determining the relevancy of the searched literature. My understanding has deepened and my skills have enhanced regarding the search string for the literature that describes the nursing care profile for the transcultural patients and their families. Experiences of the nurses with the culturally and linguistically diverse patients sought for the knowledge required to provide care oriented around an individual and stereotypical perspective. The nurses faced a number of challenges and dilemma with patients as well as their families while working with these patients (Warburton, Bartlett Rao 2009). For accommodating the patients who are culturally diverse, it was considered that sufficient knowledge and training is required regarding the culture and belief of the patients. To prepare the future nursing professionals to face this challenges effectively, they should be exposed to the present situation and train them to make them capable enough to face these acute challenges (Bourgeault et al. 2010). In addition to these, the healthcare system should increase its flexibility, the number of bilingual health workers must be increased and interpreters should be easily accessible. Cultural and linguistic issues come up as barriers to treat ment and care of the geriatric patients and therefore, patient nurse relationship is never built up. Due to the lack of proper communication, there exists a gap in treatment that becomes critical if the geriatric patient is suffering from a long-term disease like cancer (Kalengayi et al. 2012). Nurses possess empathy for the culturally diverse geriatric patients and have a positive attitude towards facing the acute challenges related to patient care. In order to increase the cultural congruence of the patients, the nurses exhibit the willingness to increase their knowledge for learning the cultural diversity (Xiao et al. 2013). They strive continuously to achieve the ability to work within the cultural context of the patient. They work on the efforts to become more culturally knowledgeable and aware that facilitates the interaction with the patient population along with their families. Since this experimental learning took place in various workplaces, there were potentials of spreading of the inaccurate cultural information (Kalengayi et al. 2012). This raised the fact that there is a requirement of staff improvement programs that provided opportunities to the nurses and the nursing managers to discuss the patient care concerns that are culturally diverse. As the global mobility of the patient population increases in the facilities of acute care in Australia, the population has become more ethnically diverse than ever. Nursing staff is required to work with the patients belonging from the diverse cultural and lingual backgrounds, with respect to their own (Komaric, Bedford and van Driel 2012). Therefore, it is becoming increasingly challenging to the nurses to provide acute care to the people who are aged over 65 years and are from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The identification of the experiences of the nurses for the caring of the aged patients who are culturally diverse in the acute care settings has a significant contribution towards the trans-cultural knowledge of nursing (Hines 2012). The challenges faced by the nurses can be described by the experiences they had while caring for the culturally diverse patients. The experience can be gained by providing care that is oriented around an individual or stereotyp ical perspective (Small et al. 2015). The challenges faced in this situation are multiple and includes the professional and personal issues with the patients, visitors, families and colleagues. References Adebayo, B., Durey, A. Slackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Smith, L.M., 2016. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) carers' perceptions of oral care in residential aged care settings in Perth, Western Australia.Gerodontology. Bourgeault, I.L., Atanackovic, J., Rashid, A. and Parpia, R., 2010. Relations between immigrant care workers and older persons in home and long-term care.Canadian Journal on Aging/La revue canadienne du vieillissement,29(01), pp.109-118. Deegan, J. and Simkin, K., 2010. Expert to novice: experiences of professional adaptation reported by non-English speaking nurses in Australia.Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, The,27(3), p.31. Eliopoulos, C., 2013.Gerontological nursing. Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Fruijtier, S., van Asselen, S., Hettinga, S. Krieckaert, M., 2014. PICO: a framework for sustainable energy design. InGeodesign by Integrating Design and Geospatial Sciences(pp. 55-70). Springer International Publishing. Hines, D., 2012. Cultural competence: assessment and education resources for home care and hospice clinicians.Home Healthcare Now,30(1), pp.38-45. Hruby, G.W., Hoxha, J., Ravichandran, P.C., Mendona, E.A., Hanauer, D.A. and Weng, C., 2016. A data-driven concept schema for defining clinical research data needs.International journal of medical informatics,91, pp.1-9. Johnstone, M.J., Hutchinson, A.M., Rawson, H. % Redley, B., 2016. Assuaging death anxiety in older overseas-born Australians of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds hospitalised for end-of-life care.Contemporary nurse, (just-accepted), pp.1-32. Kalengayi, F.K.N., Hurtig, A.K., Ahlm, C. and Ahlberg, B.M., 2012. It is a challenge to do it the right way: an interpretive description of caregivers experiences in caring for migrant patients in Northern Sweden.BMC health services research,12(1), p.433. Komaric, N., Bedford, S. van Driel, M.L., 2012. Two sides of the coin: patient and provider perceptions of health care delivery to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.BMC health services research,12(1), p.1.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Insight Suggestion for Issue related to the Quality of GPFS

Question:- Mr. Dewey, a Senior Partner of the CPA firm Dewey, Cheatem, Howe, after noting that many positivist-accounting theorists and right-wing economists recommend that general purpose financial statements (GPFS) be deregulated and let market forces control the quality of GPFS, has suggested that the role (and revenues) of independent external audit firms will be dramatically enhanced. Required: Give insight on this issue in a 1 and half page Memo that is addressed to Mr. TuDewie and resolves his concerns. Answer:- In light of current situation as mentioned in the process is considered as too much significant in terms of the future of the partnership firm. The senior partner of this CPA firm is named as Mr. Dewey and he can be addressed on the basis of the appropriate understanding considering the present issue. By the way of applying the international standards, the private sectors and the firms like CPA are constantly trying to increase the level of competence. However, the government from most of the parts have not addressed the need to put the incentives in the forward position to ensure that the level of competence is actually applied in the practice (Denyer and Baird, 2006). According to the results obtained for the ROSC and by observing the recent accounting scandals in the countries with developed economies expressed that the factors of competence and legal requirements are adequate to bring the effectiveness, but the necessity of commitment is required to deploy such competence. In thi s case, the positivists, economists and accounting theorists have mentioned the influence of the market forces in order to maintain and control and determine the quality of the GPFS. The recommendation came from the instance that the positive market force can certainly provide the favouring incentives to comply with the high quality of standards (Jajodia and Strous, 2004). But it is also experienced that these forces in both the countries of developing and developed economies suggest that countervailing the operations of the disincentives to discourage the compliances. Therefore, the face should need to address that the whole emphasis should be placed on the disincentives of robust enforcement regimes and monitoring to achieve a fully balanced combination of incentives and capacity. In addition to the mentioned concern, Mr. Dewey should need to explore the quality control policies in the entire auditing practice led by the firm in order to ensure that the policies and procedures are implemented in both the audit firm and individual audit. In this case, some of the regulators are there who are concerned with respect to their own special requirements. Based on that, their activities contribute to the quality of the general purpose financial statements (GPFS) (Mitra, 2008). Thus, the availability of in front the public is restricted. This is the primary reason based on which the different economists and accounting theorists suggested to deregulate the GPFS from the firms auditing practices. In conclusion, the resolving of this particular concern can be delivered to Mr. Dewey as he should maintain the effective accounting and auditing regulation in order to underpin the institutionalised incentives. But the concern can be suggested as there is the absence of guidelines in the international accounting control and standards to develop and exercise the effective practices of those regulations (Weirich, et al., 2010). Therefore, the firm is needed to follow the appropriate regulatory framework that interfaces with the other regulatory institutions and instrument, such as the banking security regulation. It will certainly provide the effective contributions to the enforcement and monitoring of international standards. Also, it is suggested that the accounting department of the firm should need to quality control system that will be designed to provide the reasonable assurance that all the auditors and external auditors comply legal and regulatory requirement, the Code of Ethi cs specified for CPAs and the basic standards of auditing (Jajodia and Strous, 2004). In this case, the reports issued by the accounting and auditing firm and the effective involvement of the partners are considered appropriate for this specific circumstance. Yes No:Response Formed References Denyer, S. and Baird, R. (2006).Guide to microbiological control in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press. Jajodia, S. and Strous, L. (2004).Integrity and internal control in information systems VI. Boston: Kluwer Academic. Mitra, A. (2008).Fundamentals of quality control and improvement. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Weirich, T., Pearson, T. and Churyk, N. (2010).Accounting auditing research. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Capital One- Conduct an External Environmental Analysis Essay Example

Capital One- Conduct an External Environmental Analysis Essay Capita. Philip Friedman Business Administration Capstone BUS 499 3/04/2010 Conduct an External Environmental Analysis, and identify key environmental forces that have Immediate strategic Implications for Capital One. The key environmental forces that could have Immediate strategic Implications for Capitol One in my opinion will stem from the following segments; Coloratura, Political, Economic. To date the economy isnt in good condition, people are being laid off, companies are going belly up, and families across the nation are being kicked out of here homes by the very companies that are responsible for the state of the economy. Despite the very well known troubles the middle class faces bill collectors do not let up, regardless of years worth of on time payments and loyalty. With legislation becoming Involved recently in tactics utilized by credit card companies new laws have been passed reflecting a growing discomfort amongst the public. Early in 2005 The Minnesota state attorney generals office had sued Capital One, claiming it is misleading consumers with promises of fixed interest rates, then hiking their tastes as much as 400 percent (Sullivan, Bob. 2005. Capital One sued over marketing practices. Para This situation alone ties in the above mentioned segments. People are rued of It, especially anyone who has had to deal with the misfortune. You learn quickly who most concerned about the customer. The economy Is bad; the people are feeling powerless, abused, and uneasy. Thats bad business. We will write a custom essay sample on Capital One- Conduct an External Environmental Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Capital One- Conduct an External Environmental Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Capital One- Conduct an External Environmental Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer I think that people are going to be very selective as to who they create financial relations with from here on out. Who ever respond most ethical with true flexibility will win out in the end in arrest share. Its my belief that the mass has begun to do their home work on who is who and what is what, Its about time. I was laid off In 0112010 and have learned what companies actually treat you well In the face of financial disaster versus those who suddenly treat you with contempt once Its realized you cant make a full payment. I do believe this will carry over with many consumers. Conduct an Internal Environmental Analysis, and identify the capabilities and weaknesses within Capital One that have immediate strategic implications. One of Capital Ones internal weaknesses is its annual expenditures on advertising fees in comparison to the companys major competitors. In 2004 Capital One spent $285 million and then another $5. 4 million on advertisements that 30% of a poll taken TLD even care for while 12% liked it a lot, many professionals gave the opinion that much of the profits have been consumed by marketing ((Hit, M. , Ireland, D. Hoskings, R. 2009. Peg. 70). Capital Ones large collection of sub prime customers also shows itself as a weakness. During the recession of 2001 2004 and new laws coming to light concerning the declaration of personal bankruptcy Capital One decided to stop depending on sub prime customers as teen are more Kelly to declare Attendance or adult on payments. The tightening of controls combined with the cut back of dependency on sub par customers caused Capital One to suffer a smaller profit margin, raising interest rates, and a 40% drop in its shares (Hit, M. , et. L. 2009. Peg. 71). Capital Ones internal capabilities consist of its on the mark acquisitions and technology. The rising strategy used relies on its Information Based Strategy (BIBS). According to Wackiness (2010): Capital Ones acquisitions also prove to be on time with their strategy, enabling them to break into new markets, countries with companies that support the ideas they already have rolling out. They have bought companies in the UK such as Hibernia, Auto dealership finances like Onyx in California, and Merrier who is in the orthodontist industry in the states. The CEO of Capital One, Fairbanks, all of the acquisitions are a natural extension of the diversification strategy they have en pursuing for some time, stating the strengths of each company compliment each other (Hit, M. , et. Al. 2009. Peg. 71). Define Capital Ones business-level and corporate-level strategies, and evaluate their potential for continued success. Evaluate the strategic fit of Capital Ones recent acquisitions. Describe the key strategic issues raised by the companys acquisition strategy. The related acquisition of Hibernia leaves Capital One in a position to gain providing they can break and make ground in Texas. The acquisition will provide them with greater arrest power, and it saves them the time of gaining ground in TX being that Hibernia has already taken to that project, they need only cultivate it with the use of BIBS and business strategy. Hibernia brick and mortar branches, 109, will be used as a launching pad for marketing its various offers and BIBS technique (Hit, M. Et. Al. 2009. Peg. 69). The purchase of Onyx and Merrier, Capital One has Jumped the barrier entry fence in to auto financing, enabling them to provide more info into the BIBS so that they can cultivate that business unit also as they will do with Merrier information. The strategy they seem to be employing is buying companies that either gains them access into new markets or is doing well in a market they already have a stake in. The cross boarder Acquisition of Huffs allows them to rapidly enter the market without learning about the local institutional barriers on its own, though I dont imagine many exist between the I-J and America, I believe we are on the same page. Nonetheless the purchase was to strengthen its Global Financial services subsidiary in the British market (Hit, M. , et. Al. 2009. Peg. 65). There arent many issues that are active for Capital one raised by its acquisitions, they seem well calculated, and conservative, meaning they arent out buying things up Just to be beefy, lean and precise seed mot the goal with their acquisitions.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

A Linguistic Analysis of Obama’s Inaugural Address Essays

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