Media as extension of man

Marshall McLuhan is widely considered as one of the most important intellectual figure of 20th century and widely noted for his contribution on media culture and philosophy of media studies. McLuhan rose to international fame in 1960s when his work on mass media and its effect on social and individual behavior was published. . His remarkable observations on nature of simple things those have central importance in defining the cultural and behavioral outlook of society. In predicting the role of media, especially through modern revolution of electronic revolution and use of computers, views of McLuhan adopted futuristic tone in stating the extended role of medium itself as the message, from its earlier perception of just being a carrier of the message. He realized the importance of electrical processes in shaping and defining the reality of world, views that have been validated especially after computer revolution and increasing integration of world through internet as chief medium of communication and medium of message Medium as Message As a prelude to understanding the media as the extension of man, McLuhan puts particular emphasis on the importance of medium itself that is generally regarded as just a carrier of messages or information as playing the role of message. This implies that the medium through which the messages are being communicated is not an inert entity, rather it participates in the process by extending the role of man and contributes by adding further dimension in affairs with help of technology. In the context, McLuhan uses his famous example that dwells on nature and role of electric light. Light, as McLuhan points out, is not just a medium of information, but also complete information in itself. Although the general and common view puts actual significance on the content of the message that light visibly carries and ignores the role of light itself, the fact remains that it is the medium itself that defines the scale and nature of human association with the information (McLuhan, 151). McLuhan illustrates this by signaling out major corporations such as IBM, GE and AT&T who took time to realize the fact they are not in the business of producing machines and equipments but in the business of channeling information. McLuhan argues that media also similar and defining effect on social and cultural psyche of people. Notwithstanding the content that it carries, it’s the media that has transforming powers on the society and people. Thus McLuhan dispenses with the notion that media as a medium can be treated as a passive entity, unresponsive and non-participative in the entire process of information processing that it is facilitating in its capacity as a medium. A television, radio, or telephone engage people irrespective of the content that they deliver and thus extends the role of man through their technological inputs. Before the advent of electrical age, the age of computing and information technology there was ambiguity over the role of medium as the message. But with the instant speed and extent that electricity has provided, media as a medium has certainly become as the message and it contains the potential to institute change, alter the paradigms and establish new cults irrespective of the nature of the content that it carries and delivers. Assisted and buoyed by technology, media extends the role of man. Media as extension of Man Technology plays a central role in McLuhan’s theory of media as extension of man. The extension, as it is apparent, is the extension of the mental faculties, knowledge, approach and culture of the man in the changing world. The electric technology has helped man to grow his conscience and mental capacity to attempt to comprehend things on a far greater scale than ever possible. In words of McLuhan, the stimulation provided by electronic technology represents the final extension in role of man where creativity, knowledge, and consciousness will collectively grow and extend over entire humanity in affecting the extension of man. The role of technology is evident in the process as it’s the diligent pursuance of technology that has brought transformation of world into a global village. People are interacting with each other on changed scales and electric speed, by causing a rapid contraction of social and political forces to create an implosion that increases people’s sense of responsibility and acts on different groups of people to alter their previous positions and integrate them in the new order of things. Commenting on the expanding field of human desire of knowledge, McLuhan says that electric speed and reach has made concept of partial and incomplete knowledge an obsolete thing. Mankind now vie for wholeness, completeness and depth of knowledge, in conformation with the changing form of electric age over its pervious mechanical world. There is a renewed sense of finding out the world once again, armed by newly realized power of electric and computer technology and in its new extension, mankind doesn’t want to accept things in their previous forms. Rather it aims to overthrow imposed patterns and declare the individuality of things and events in totality (McLuhan, 149). The role of new technology in media has always created conflicts and challenges in the society until finally it extends the role of man and then overtaken by new emergent technology. McLuhan presents two strong instances of this fact (McLuhan, ). First when he quotes Alexis De Tocqueville, who was first to master the understanding of print and typography technology, to inform that De Tocqueville had predicted rise of America and relegation of England from their approach and reaction towards the new technology of print in media. England, burdened with its tradition of oral laws, did not fully accept the new technology of print and as such choose to ignore the power of new media. America on the other hand embraced the new technology and hence was benefited immensely by the uniformity and continuity that new technology of print culture had to offer thereby extending their role in the contemporary world. Taking this argument further, McLuhan theory can be stretched to further dimensions that a similar transition is taking place with the advent of new electronic mediums of computer and information technology. In fact, McLuhan himself states that to many people in the contemporary literate world the new media technology would appear as unsettling as the technology of print would appear to tribal natives of remote Africa. Thus the new electric technology guiding media in forms of television, computers, movies, information technology, Internet and mobile phones demands a similar extension of man over rudiments of past age of mechanical technology, detribalizing society senses through its blinding speed and seemingly infinite capacity to channel and process information. In a very pertinent analysis of the new emergent media, riding on electric and communication technology, McLuhan states the new media presents a possibility to completely overrule the cognitive, analytical and cultural traits of the societies it affects because this medium is made much more strong by having its content as another medium which is usually print or speech. The new media gives the power of vision, voice and interaction to an already potent media of print that it integrates in its own design, and in the combined synergy it overpowers the viewers who are left numb and awestruck (McLuhan, 114). The nature of the modern media also plays a very important role in extending the role of human mind and consequentially the whole society.   McLuhan presents his important and famous demarcation of mediums as ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ mediums. A hot medium as defined by McLuhan is one that involves high definition, high data processing, and requires little imagination on the part of viewer. On the other side a cool medium is one that is not high definition, has low amount of data and users have to apply considerable imagination and their own creativity to comprehend the whole picture. Thus categorizing media in these two categories, McLuhan points out that by this definition a radio is a hot medium and a telephone is a cool medium, a movie is a hot medium and TV is cool medium, a photograph is a hot medium and a cartoon is a cool medium. A very important feature of the hot and cool medium emerges by virtue of their definition. A hot medium demands little participation by viewers, in the sense that it is so complete in information that it leaves little for imagination. Similarly, the cool medium is involves a higher participation by people because it leaves many gaps to be filled by audience. Hot and cool media play very different role in affecting the psyche and culture of the society where they unfold. In this context McLuhan states that developed countries having specialized themselves with mechanical technology of past age face the fear of retribalizing by the new electric media whereas the less developed nations that encounter the new technology extend their role by detribalizing themselves. Thus the less developed countries in themselves cool medium, while the developed and highly urbanized western countries are hot medium. The role of media has extended the role of man by changing his very perception of world. While the preceding mechanical age was focused with expanding the horizons of world, rediscovering and redrawing the limits of human knowledge and hence affecting a cultural and knowledge ‘explosion’, the modern technology pushing ahead media has reversed the process by bringing everything together, thus affecting a kind of implosion where entire world practically faces itself through the media. People, willingly or unwillingly, have been clubbed together, sharing the same space with more and more people. The electric media, it can be safely said, thrown every one is every one’s else life. In what can be surely reckoned today as one of the most prophetic statements, McLuhan clearly said that the new electric media has a remarkable capacity to decentralize the functioning of society, a fact that is more than evident in our modern world. But writing in 1960s, McLuhan had predicted that whereas mechanical system requires some fixed centers of operation and hence lead to development of great urban centers, electric power would decentralize the social-cultural space by providing equal opportunity to every place and hence as any place, equipped by power of electric media can act as center. This change and extension of social roles is almost complete today as we can see that through a combination of electric mediums of computer, telephones, video conferencing, Internet, and electric power any room or place can act as the center of large operations. This is the power of new media that is implicit in McLuhan’s writing, transforming every one’s earlier role and nature of functioning. The nature of modern media, acting through computers, Internet and information technology, is all encompassing and sweeping, just in lines of its predecessor forms of media. The theatre, when it emerged took over written form of drama; movies took over all the novels and written work and TV took over the movies. Today computers are perfectly poised over to take over all the forms of media. Radios, Televisions and gramophones helped many hitherto obscured persons for example poets, artists, speakers, and writers to gain recognition world over. Today the power of information technology expands this role further by bringing further convergence of world as we see it. In affecting this convergence it is simultaneously delegating new roles to people that has the responsibility to interact and evolve in much closer proximity of every body else.                           

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 10. Why Didn’t I Just Walk Away? …

10. Why Didn't I Just Walk Away? Oh Right, Because I'm An Idiot. I felt like – like I don't know what. Like this wasn't real. Like I was in some Goth version of a bad sitcom. Instead of being the AAdweeb about to ask the head cheerleader to the prom, I was the finished-second-place werewolf about to ask the vampire's wife to shack up and procreate. Nice. No, I wouldn't do it. It was twisted and wrong. I was going to forget all about what he'd said. But I would talk to her. I'd try to make her listen to me. And she wouldn't. Just like always. Edward didn't answer or comment on my thoughts as he led the way back to the house. I wondered about the place that he'd chosen to stop. Was it far enough from the house that the others couldn't hear his whispers? Was that the point? Maybe. When we walked through the door, the other Cullens' eyes were suspicious and confused. No one looked disgusted or outraged. So they must not have heard either favor Edward had asked me for. I hesitated in the open doorway, not sure what to do now. It was better right there, with a little bit of breathable air blowing in from outside. Edward walked into the middle of the huddle, shoulders stiff. Bella watched him anxiously, and then her eyes flickered to me for a second. Then she was watching him again. Her face turned a grayish pale, and I could see what he meant about the stress making her feel worse. â€Å"We're going tolet Jacob and Bella speak privately,† Edward said. There was no inflection at all in his voice. Robotic. â€Å"Over my pile of ashes,† Rosalie hissed at him. She was still hovering by Bella's head, one of her cold hands placed possessively on Bella's sallow cheek. Edward didn't look at her. â€Å"Bella,† he said in that same empty tone. â€Å"Jacob wants to talk to you. Are you afraid to be alone with him?† Bella looked at me, confused. Then she looked at Rosalie. â€Å"Rose, it's fine. Jake's not going to hurt us. Go with Edward.† â€Å"It might be a trick,† the blonde warned. â€Å"I don't see how,† Bella said. â€Å"Carlisle and I will always be in your sight, Rosalie,† Edward said. The emotionless voice was cracking, showing the anger through it. â€Å"We're the ones she's afraid of.† â€Å"No,† Bella whispered. Her eyes were glistening, her lashes wet. â€Å"No, Edward. I'm not___† He shook his head, smiling a little. The smile was painful to look at. â€Å"I didn't mean it that way, Bella. I'm fine. Don't worry about me.† Sickening. He was right – she was beating herself up about hurting his feelings. The girl was a classic martyr. She'd totally been born in the wrong century. She should have lived back when she could have gotten herself fed to some lions for a good cause. â€Å"Everyone,† Edward said, his hand stiffly motioning toward the door. â€Å"Please.† The composure he was trying to keep up for Bella was shaky. I could see how close he was to that burning man he'd been outside. The others saw it, too. Silently, they moved out the door while I shifted out of the way. They moved fast; my heart beat twice, and the room was cleared except for Rosalie, hesitating in the middle of the floor, and Edward, still waiting by the door. â€Å"Rose,† Bella said quietly. â€Å"I want you to go.† The blonde glared at Edward and then gestured for him to go first. He disappeared out the door. She gave me a long warning glower, and then she disappeared, too. Once we were alone, I crossed the room and sat on the floor next to Bella. I took both her cold hands in mine, rubbing them carefully. â€Å"Thanks, Jake. That feels good.† â€Å"I'm not going to lie, Bells. You're hideous.† â€Å"I know,† she sighed. Tm scary-looking.† â€Å"Thing-from-the-swamp scary,† I agreed. She laughed. â€Å"It's so good having you here. It feels nice to smile. I don't know how much more drama I can stand.† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Okay, okay,† she agreed. â€Å"I bring it on myself.† â€Å"Yeah, you do. What're you thinking, Bells? Seriously!† â€Å"Did he ask you to yell at me?† â€Å"Sort of. Though I can't figure why he thinks you'd listen to me. You never have before.† She sighed. â€Å"I told you – ,† I started to say. â€Å"Did you know that 7 told you so' has a brother, Jacob?† she asked, cutting me off. â€Å"His name is ‘Shut the hell up.† â€Å"Good one.† She grinned at me. Her skin stretched tight over the bones. â€Å"I can't take credit – i got it off a rerun of The Simpsons† â€Å"Missed that one.† â€Å"It was funny.† We didn't talk for a minute. Her hands were starting to warm up a little. â€Å"Did he really ask you to talk to me?† I nodded. â€Å"To talk some sense into you. There's a battle that's lost before it starts.† â€Å"So why did you agree?† I didn't answer. I wasn't sure I knew. I did know this – every second I spent with her was only going to add to the pain I would have to suffer later. Like a junkie with a limited supply, the day of reckoning was coming for me. The more hits I took now, the harder it would be when my supply ran out. â€Å"It'll work out, you know,† she said after a quiet minute. â€Å"I believe that.† That made me see red again. â€Å"Is dementia one of your symptoms?† I snapped. She laughed, though my anger was so real that my hands were shaking around hers. â€Å"Maybe,† she said. Tm not saying things will work out easily, Jake. But how could I have lived through all that I've lived through and not believe in magic by this point?† â€Å"Magic?† â€Å"Especially for you,† she said. She was smiling. She pulled one of her hands away from mine and pressed it against my cheek. Warmer than before, but it felt cool against my skin, like most things did. â€Å"More than anyone else, you've got some magic waiting to make things right for you.† â€Å"What are you babbling about?† Still smiling. â€Å"Edward told me once what it was like – your imprinting thing. He said it was like A Midsummer Night's Dream, like magic. You'll find who you're really looking for, Jacob, and maybe then all of this will make sense.† If she hadn't looked so fragile I would've been screaming. As it was, I did growl at her. â€Å"If you think that imprinting could ever make sense of this insanity †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I struggled for words. â€Å"Do you really think that just because I might someday imprint on some stranger it would make this right?† I jabbed a finger toward her swollen body. â€Å"Tell me what the point was then, Bella! What was the point of me loving you? What was the point of you loving him? When you die† – the words were a snarl – â€Å"how is that ever right again? What's the point to all the pain? Mine, yours, his! You'll kill him, too, not that I care about that.† She flinched, but I kept going. â€Å"So what was the point of your twisted love story, in the end? If there is any sense, please show me, Bella, because I don't see it.† She sighed. â€Å"I don't know yet, Jake. But I just†¦ feel†¦ that this is all going somewhere good, hard to see as it is now. I guess you could call it faith.† â€Å"You're dying for nothing, Bella! Nothing!† Her hand dropped from my face to her bloated stomach, caressed it. She didn't have to say the words for me to know what she was thinking. She was dying for it. I'm not going to die,† she said through her teeth, and I could tell she was repeating things she'd said before. â€Å"I will keep my heart beating. I'm strong enough for that.† â€Å"That's a load of crap, Bella. You've been trying to keep up with the supernatural for too long. No normal person can do it. You're not strong enough.† I took her face in my hand. I didn't have to remind myself to be gentle. Everything about her screamed breakable. â€Å"I can do this. I can do this,† she muttered, sounding a lot like that kids' book about the little engine that could. â€Å"Doesn't look like it to me. So what's your plan? I hope you have one.† She nodded, not meeting my eyes. â€Å"Did you know Esme jumped off a cliff? When she was human, I mean.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So she was close enough to dead that they didn't even bother taking her to the emergency room – they took her right around to the morgue. Her heart was still beating, though, when Carlisle found her___† That's what she'd meant before, about keeping her heart beating. â€Å"You're not planning on surviving this human,† I stated dully. â€Å"No. I'm not stupid.† She met my stare then. â€Å"I guess you probably have your own opinion on that point, though.† â€Å"Emergency vampirization,† I mumbled. â€Å"It worked for Esme. And Emmett, and Rosalie, and even Edward. None of them were in such great shape. Carlisle only changed them because it was that or death. He doesn't end lives, he saves them.† I felt a sudden twinge of guilt about the good vampire doctor, like before. I shoved the thought away and started in on the begging. â€Å"Listen to me, Bells. Don't do it that way.† Like before, when the call from Charlie had come, I could see how much difference it really made to me. I realized I needed her to stay alive, in some form. In any form. I took a deep breath. â€Å"Don't wait until it's too late, Bella. Not that way. Live. Okay? Just live. Don't do this to me. Don't do it to him.† My voice got harder, louder. â€Å"You know what he's going to do when you die. You've seen it before. You want him to go back to those Italian killers?† She cringed into the sofa. I left out the part about how that wouldn't be necessary this time. Struggling to make my voice softer, I asked, â€Å"Remember when I got mangled up by those newborns? What did you tell me?† I waited, but she wouldn't answer. She pressed her lips together. â€Å"You told me to be good and listen to Carlisle,† I reminded her. â€Å"And what did I do? I listened to the vampire. For you.† â€Å"You listened because it was the right thing to do.† â€Å"Okay – pick either reason.† She took a deep breath. â€Å"It's not the right thing now.† Her gaze touched her big round stomach and she whispered under her breath, â€Å"I won't kill him.† My hands shook again. â€Å"Oh, I hadn't heard the great news. A bouncing baby boy, huh? Shoulda brought some blueballoons.† Her face turned pink. The color was so beautiful – it twisted in my stomach like a knife. A serrated knife, rusty and ragged. I was going to lose this. Again. â€Å"I don't know he's a boy,† she admitted, a little sheepish. â€Å"The ultrasound wouldn't work. The membrane around the baby is too hard – like their skin. So he's a little mystery. But I always see a boy in my head.† â€Å"It's not some pretty baby in there, Bella.† â€Å"We'll see,† she said. Almost smug. â€Å"You won't,† I snarled. â€Å"You're very pessimistic, Jacob. There is definitely a chance that I might walk away from this.† I couldn't answer. I looked down and breathed deep and slow, trying to get a grip on my fury. â€Å"Jake,† she said, and she patted my hair, stroked my cheek. â€Å"It's going to be okay. Shh. it's okay.† I didn't look up. â€Å"No. It will not be okay.† She wiped something wet from my cheek. â€Å"Shh.† â€Å"What's the deal, Bella?† I stared at the pale carpet. My bare feet were dirty, leaving smudges. Good. â€Å"I thought the whole point was that you wanted your vampire more than anything. And now you're just giving him up? That doesn't make any sense. Since when are you desperate to be a mom? If you wanted that so much, why did you marry a vampire?† I was dangerously close to that offer he wanted me to make. I could see the words taking me that way, but I couldn't change their direction. She sighed. â€Å"It's not like that. I didn't really care about having a baby. I didn't even think about it. It's not just having a baby. It's†¦ well†¦ this baby.† â€Å"It's a killer, Bella. Look at yourself.† â€Å"He's not. It's me. I'm just weak and human. But I can tough this out, Jake, I can – â€Å" â€Å"Aw, come on! Shut up, Bella. You can spout this crap to your bloodsucker, but you're not fooling me. You know you're not going to make it.† She glared at me. â€Å"I do not know that. I'm worried about it, sure.† â€Å"Worriedabout it,† I repeated through my teeth. She gasped then and clutched at her stomach. My fury vanished like a light switch being turned off. â€Å"I'm fine,† she panted. It's nothing.† But I didn't hear; her hands had pulled her sweatshirt to the side, and I stared, horrified, at the skin it exposed. Her stomach looked like it was stained with big splotches of purple-black ink. She saw my stare, and she yanked the fabric back in place. â€Å"He's strong, that's all,† she said defensively. The ink spots were bruises. I almost gagged, and I understood what he'd said, about watching it hurt her. Suddenly, I felt a little crazy myself. â€Å"Bella,† I said. She heard the change in my voice. She looked up, still breathing heavy, her eyes confused. â€Å"Bella, don't do this:' â€Å"Jake – â€Å" â€Å"Listen to me. Don't get your back up yet. Okay? Just listen. What if†¦ ?† â€Å"What if what?† â€Å"What if this wasn't a one-shot deal? What if it wasn't all or nothing? What if you just listened to Carlisle like a good girl, and kept yourself alive?† â€Å"I won't – â€Å" â€Å"I'm not done yet. So you stay alive. Then you can start over. This didn't work out. Try again.† She frowned. She raised one hand and touched the place where my eyebrows were mashing together. Her fingers smoothed my forehead for a moment while she tried to make sense of it. â€Å"I don't understand†¦. What do you mean, try again? You can't think Edward would let me†¦ ? And what difference would it make? I'm sure any baby – â€Å" â€Å"Yes,† I snapped. â€Å"Any kid of his would be the same.† Her tired face just got more confused. â€Å"What?† But I couldn't say any more. There was no point. I would never be able to save her from herself. I'd never been able to do that. Then she blinked, and I could see she got it. â€Å"Oh. Ugh. Please, Jacob. You think I should kill my baby and replace it with some generic substitute? Artificial insemination?† She was mad now. â€Å"Why would I want to have some stranger's baby? I suppose it just doesn't make a difference? Any baby will do?† â€Å"I didn't mean that,† I muttered. â€Å"Not a stranger.† She leaned forward. â€Å"Then what are you saying?† â€Å"Nothing. I'm saying nothing. Same as ever.† â€Å"Where did that come from?† â€Å"Forget it, Bella.† She frowned, suspicious. â€Å"Did he tell you to say that?† I hesitated, surprised that she'd made that leap so quick. â€Å"No.† â€Å"He did, didn't he?† â€Å"No, really. He didn't say anything about artificial whatever.† Her face softened then, and she sank back against the pillows, looking exhausted. She stared off to the side when she spoke, not talking to me at all. â€Å"He would do anything forme. And I'm hurting him so much†¦. But what is he thinking? That I would trade this† – her hand traced across her belly – â€Å"for some stranger's †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She mumbled the last part, and then her voice trailed off. Her eyes were wet. â€Å"You don't have to hurt him,† I whispered. It burned like poison in my mouth to beg for him, but I knew this angle was probably my best bet for keeping her alive. Still a thousand-to-one odds. â€Å"You could make him happy again, Bella. And I really think he's losing it. Honestly, I do.† She didn't seem to be listening; her hand made small circles on her battered stomach while she chewed on her lip. It was quiet for a long time. I wondered if the Cullens were very far away. Were they listening to my pathetic attempts to reason with her? â€Å"Not a stranger?† she murmured to herself. I flinched. â€Å"What exactly did Edward say to you?† she asked in a low voice. â€Å"Nothing. He just thought you might listen to me.† â€Å"Not that. About trying again.† Her eyes locked on mine, and I could see that I'd already given too much away. â€Å"Nothing.† Her mouth fell open a little. â€Å"Wow.† It was silent for a few heartbeats. I looked down at my feet again, unable to meet her stare. â€Å"He really would do anything, wouldn't he?† she whispered. â€Å"I told you he was going crazy. Literally, Bells.† â€Å"I'm surprised you didn't tell on him right away. Get him in trouble.† When I looked up, she was grinning. â€Å"Thought about it.† I tried to grin back, but I could feel the smile mangle on my face. She knew what I was offering, and she wasn't going to think twice about it. I'd known that she wouldn't. But it still stung. â€Å"There isn't much you wouldn't do for me, either, is there?† she whispered. â€Å"I really don't know why you bother. I don't deserve either of you.† â€Å"It makes no difference, though, does it?† â€Å"Not this time.† She sighed. â€Å"I wish I could explain it to you right so that you would understand. I can't hurthim† – she pointed to her stomach – â€Å"any more than I could pick up a gun and shoot you. I love him.† â€Å"Why do you always have to love the wrong things, Bella?† â€Å"I don't think I do.† I cleared the lump out of my throat so that I could make my voice hard like I wanted it. ‘Trust me.† I started to get to my feet. â€Å"Where are you going?† â€Å"I'm not doing any good here.† She held out her thin hand, pleading. â€Å"Don't go.† I could feel the addiction sucking at me, trying to keep me near her. â€Å"I don't belong here. I've got to get back.† â€Å"Why did you come today?† she asked, still reaching limply. â€Å"Just to see if you were really alive. I didn't believe you were sick like Charlie said.† I couldn't tell from her face whether she bought that or not. â€Å"Will you come back again? Before †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I'm not going to hang around and watch you die,Bella.† She flinched. â€Å"You're right, you're right. You should go.† I headed for the door. â€Å"Bye,† she whispered behind me. â€Å"Love you, Jake.† I almost went back. I almost turned around and fell down on my knees and started begging again. But I knew that I had to quitBella, quit her cold turkey, before she killed me, like she was going to kill him. â€Å"Sure, sure,† I mumbled on my way out. I didn't see any of the vampires. I ignored my bike, standing all alone in the middle of the meadow. It wasn't fast enough for me now. My dad would be freaked out – Sam, too. What would the pack make of the fact that they hadn't heard me phase? Would they think the Cullens got me before I'd had the chance? I stripped down, not caring who might be watching, and started running. I blurred into wolf mid-stride. They were waiting. Of course they were. Jacob, Jake,eight voices chorused in relief. Come homenow, the Alpha voice ordered. Sam was furious. I felt Paul fade out, and i knew Billy and Rachel were waiting to hear what had happened to me. Paul was too anxious to give them the good news that I wasn't vampire chow to listen to the whole story. I didn't have to tell the pack I was on my way – they could see the forest blurring past me as I sprinted for home. I didn't have to tell them that I was half-past crazy, either. The sickness in my head was obvious. They saw all the horror – Bella's mottled stomach; her raspy voice; he's strong, that's all: the burning man in Edward's face: watching her sicken and waste away†¦ seeing it hurting her, Rosalie crouched over Bella's limp body: Bella's life means nothing to her – and for once, no one had anything to say. Their shock was just a silent shout in my head. Wordless. I was halfway home before anyone recovered. Then they all started running to meet me. It was almost dark – the clouds covered the sunset completely. I risked darting across the freeway and made it without being seen. We met up about ten miles out of La Push, in a clearing left by the loggers. It was out of the way, wedged between two spurs of the mountain, where no one would see us. Paul found them when I did, so the pack was complete. The babble in my head was total chaos. Everyone shouting at once. Sam's hackles were sticking straight up, and he was growling in an unbroken stream as he paced back and forth around the top of the ring. Paul and Jared moved like shadows behind him, their ears flat against the sides of their head. The whole circle was agitated, on their feet and snarling in low bursts. At first their anger was undefined, and I thought I was in for it. I was too messed up to care about that. They could do whatever they wanted to me for circumventing orders. And then the unfocused confusion of thoughts began to move together. How can this be? What does it mean? What will it be? Not safe. Not right. Dangerous. Unnatural. Monstrous. An abomination. We can't allow it. The pack was pacing in synchronization now, thinking in synchronization, all but myself and one other. I sat beside whichever brother it was, too dazed to look over with either my eyes or my mind and see who was next to me, while the pack circled around us. The treaty does not cover this. This puts everyone in danger. I tried to understand the spiraling voices, tried to follow the curling pathway the thoughts made to see where they were leading, but it wasn't making sense. The pictures in the center of their thoughts were my pictures – the very worst of them. Bella's bruises, Edward's face as he burned. They fear it, too. But they won't do anything about it Protecting Bella Swan. We can't let that influence us. The safety of our families, of everyone here, is more important than one human. If they won't kill it, we have to. Protect the tribe. Protect our families. We have to kill it before it's too late. Another of my memories, Edward's words this time: The thing is growing. Swiftly. I struggled to focus, to pick out individual voices. No time to waste,Jared thought. It will mean a fight,Embry cautioned. A bad one. Were ready,Paul insisted. Well need surprise on our side,Sam thought. If we catch them divided, we can take them down separately. It will increase our chances of victory, Jared thought, starting to strategize now. I shook my head, rising slowly to my feet. 1 felt unsteady there – like the circling wolves were making me dizzy. The wolf beside me got up, too. His shoulder pushed against mine, propping me up. Wait,I thought. The circling paused for one beat, and then they were pacing again. There's little time,Sam said. But – what are you thinking? You wouldn't attack them for breaking the treaty this afternoon. Now you're planning an ambush, when the treaty is still intact? This is not something our treaty anticipated,Sam said. This is a danger to every human in the area. We don't know what kind of creature the Cullens have bred, but we know that it is strong and fast-growing. And it will be too young to follow any treaty. Remember the newborn vampires we fought? Wild, violent, beyond the reach of reason or restraint. Imagine one like that, but protected by the Cullens. We don't know – I tried to interrupt. Wedon't know, he agreed. And we can't take chances with the unknown in this case. We can only allow the Cullens to exist while we're absolutely sure that they can be trusted not to cause harm. This. . . thing cannot be trusted. They don't like it any more than we do. Sam pulled Rosalie's face, her protective crouch, from my mind and put it on display for everyone. Some are ready to fight for it, no matter what it is. It's just ababy, for crying out loud. Not for long,Leah whispered. Jake, buddy, this is a big problem,Quil said. We can't just ignore it. You're making it into something bigger than it is,I argued. The only one who's in danger here is Bella. Again by her own choice,Sam said. But this time her choice affects us all. I don't think so. We can't take that chance. We won't allow a blood drinker to hunt on our lands. Then tell them to leave,the wolf who was still supporting me said. It was Seth. Of course. And inflict the menace on others? When blood drinkers cross our land, we destroy them, no matter where they plan to hunt. We protect everyone we can. This is crazy,I said. This afternoon you were afraid to put the pack in danger. This afternoon I didn't know our families were at risk. I can't believe this! How're you going to kill this creature without killing Bella? There were no words, but the silence was full of meaning. I howled. She's human, too! Doesn't our protection apply to her? She's dying anyway,Leah thought. We'll just shorten the process. That did it. I leaped away from Seth, toward his sister, with my teeth bared. I was about to catch her left hind leg when I felt Sam's teeth cut into my flank, dragging me back. I howled in pain and fury and turned on him. Stop!he ordered in the double timbre of the Alpha. My legs seemed to buckle under me. I jerked to a halt, only managing to keep on my feet by sheer willpower. He turned his gaze away from me. You will not be cruel to him, Leah, he commanded her. Bella's sacrifice is a heavy price, and we will all recognize that It is against everything we stand for to take a human life. Making an exception to that code is a bleak thing. We will all mourn for what we do tonight. Tonight?Seth repeated, shocked. Sam – think we should talk about this some more. Consult with the Elders, at least. You can't seriously mean for us to – We can't afford your tolerance for the Cullens now. There is no time for debate. Youwilldo as you are told, Seth. SetfYs front knees folded, and his head fell forward under the weight of the Alpha's command. Sam paced in a tight circle around the two of us. We need the whole pack for this. Jacob, you are our strongest fighter. Youwillfight with us tonight. I understand that this is hard for you, so you will concentrate on their fighters – Emmett and Jasper Cullen. You don't have to be involved with the†¦ other part. Quil and Embry will fight with you. My knees trembled; I struggled to hold myself upright while the voice of the Alpha lashed at my will. Paul, Jared, and I will take on Edward and Rosalie. I think, from the information Jacob has brought us, they will be the ones guarding Bella. Carlisle and Alice will also be close, possibly Esme. Brady, Collin, Seth, and Leah will concentrate on them. Whoever has a clear lineon – we all heard him mentally stutter overBella's name – the creature will take it. Destroying the creature is our first priority. The pack rumbled in nervous agreement.The tension had everyone's fur standing on end. The pacing was quicker, and the sound of the paws against the brackish floor was sharper, toenails tearing into the soil. Only Seth and I were still, the eye in the center of a storm of bared teeth and flattened ears. Seth's nose was almost touching the ground, bowed under Sam's commands. I felt his pain at the coming disloyalty. For him this was a betrayal – during that one day of alliance, fighting beside Edward Cullen, Seth had truly become the vampire's friend. There was no resistance in him, however. He would obey no matter how much it hurt him. He had no other choice. And what choice did I have? When the Alpha spoke, the pack followed. Sam had never pushed his authority this far before; I knew he honestly hated to see Seth kneeling before him like a slave at the foot of his master. He wouldn't force this if he didn't believe that he had no other choice. He couldn't lie to us when we were linked mind to mind like this. He really believed it was our duty to destroy Bella and the monster she carried. He really believed we had no time to waste. He believed it enough to die for it. I saw that he would face Edward himself; Edward's ability to read our thoughts made him the greatest threat in Sam's mind. Sam would not let someone else take on that danger. He saw Jasper as the second-greatest opponent, which is why he'd given him to me. He knew that I had the best chance of any of the pack to win that fight. He'd left the easiest targets for the younger wolves and Leah. Little Alice was no danger without her future vision to guide her, and we knew from our time of alliance that Esme was not a fighter. Carlisle would be more of a challenge, but his hatred of violence would hinder him. I felt sicker than Seth as I watched Sam plan it out, trying to work the angles to give each member of the pack the best chance of survival. Everything was inside out. This afternoon, I'd been chomping at the bit to attack them. But Seth had been right – it wasn't a fight I'd been ready for. I'd blinded myself with that hate. I hadn't let myself look at it carefully, because I must have known what I would see if I did. Carlisle Cullen. Looking at him without that hate clouding my eyes, I couldn't deny that killing him was murder. He was good. Good as any human we protected. Maybe better. The others, too, I supposed, but I didn't feel as strongly about them. I didn't know them as well. It was Carlisle who would hate fighting back, even to save his own life. That's why we would be able to kill him – because he wouldn't want us, his enemies, to die. This was wrong. And it wasn't just because killing Bella felt like killing me, like suicide. Pull it together, Jacob,Sam ordered. The tribe comes first I was wrong today, Sam. Your reasons were wrong then. But now we have a duty to fulfill. I braced myself. No. Sam snarled and stopped pacing in front of me. He stared into my eyes and a deep growl slid between his teeth. Yes,the Alpha decreed, his double voice blistering with the heat of his authority. There are no loopholes tonight. You, Jacob, are going to fight the Cullens with us. You, with Quil and Embry, will take care of Jasper and Emmett. You are obligated to protect the tribe. That is why you exist. You willperform this obligation. My shoulders hunched as the edict crushed me. My legs collapsed, and I was on my belly under him. No member of the pack could refuse the Alpha.

Haiyi Hotels Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Haiyi Hotels - Assignment Example The attainment of the vision of this organization is a result of a myriad of ideas laid out in the core values of the company. First, the company’s executive’s commitment to offering effective leadership will propel the business forward to attaining the leading position that the vision aims at achieving. Innovative practices, creative thinking, and an entrepreneurial spirit define this duty. Secondly, the company’s culture of integrity, honesty, and ethics in all facets of business coupled with the respect that honors each guest’s individuality is an important milestone in achieving the vision. These values give the company an upper hand in tailoring customer service to fit customers’ specifications and expectations. The company hopes to build on the already strong and loyal customer base, as achieved by a keen observance of the values mentioned above, to venture into new locations and better their services in the existing establishments. A genuine connection with the environment and neighborhoods and the communities in which the hotel company operates is of fundamental importance in the realization of the vision. Information about the market and customer expectations are of invaluable significance in the company’s vision of having autonomous establishments that have unique cultures. Maintaining such a connection with the neighborhood and the communities gives the company an assurance of a continuous flow of authentic and spot-on information.

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Business Strategy - Essay Example The product chosen to make the strategic plan is the True Call. The first step is to perform an external analysis of the True Call Ltd. The analysis of the external environment consists of both domestic and global environments of the company. Only a sufficient analysis of the external environment of the business can aid in the strategic positioning of the organization. This also helps in identifying the firm’s stakeholders as well as taking strategic decisions. Strategic planning is a procedure that involves preparing a report of the company’s most important goals, the execution of plans to accomplish them, the evaluation of development as well as the continuous revision of objectives and schedules. This strategic plan serves to build up the operational? financial and strategic focus for True Call Ltd. The plan also addresses many of the opportunities and challenges at the present. As a tool of management, a strategic plan should be developed according to the requiremen ts of the organization that it stands for. Representatives from each department in the organization must participate in the process of strategic planning. If possible, stakeholders and customers can also be made an integral element of the planning activities. When each person participates in the planning phase, the execution of the strategic plan turns out to be less of a challenge. ... The external analysis of True Call Ltd consists of identifying its opportunities and threats. The opportunities and threats to the organization are considered to be a major part of external analysis. These elements exist outside the realm and also depend on forces beyond the control of the company. â€Å"An environmental analysis evaluates internal and external factors impacting an organization's performance, especially its marketing effort† (In Business What is the Environmental Analysis? 2003). Some citizens screen all of their telephone calls? as they prefer to direct all callers to their answering machine, pay attention to the message being said, and only then attend if it is someone they desire to talk to. True Call facility is comparatively better than this. For strategic planning? it is significant to carry out an analysis of the external environment, to identify the internal strengths or core resources of the organization, to assess the organization’s present st rategic choices as well as to select a best strategy that suits the organization. â€Å"Steve Smith and John Price, the Directors of true Call Ltd, have been working in the field of nuisance call control since 1999† (Response to the Consultation by ofcom on Tackling Abandoned and Silent Calls 1st June 2010, 2010). True Call gives a choice of facilities to keep messages secure and private? External environment analysis of the True Call is used to examine the opportunities and threats of this product. Opportunities: â€Å"TrueCAL-MAG is a special chelate complex of 6 sources of calcium with magnesium and other ingredients to assist the body in maintaining healthy bone structure. Calcium is a primary mineral for building the strong structure of bones and teeth† (TrueCal- MAG: Keep

The role of regulation and crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The role of regulation and crisis - Essay Example The subprime crisis was also an outcome of negligence of financial regulatory body as well as the professionals engaged in accounting and auditing process. To have a better understanding of financial crisis the role of government, regulatory body, accounting system & standards, political environment and capitalism needs an analysis. From 2001, the Lamfalussy framework was introduced in EU system of supervision and regulation. The framework was arranged in four separate levels and published by European council (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: European Union Committee, 2009, p.12). These regulations are responsible for making the accounting and auditing process more transparent. After the great depression, International Monitory Fund and World Bank were established to avoid the causes which actually results into depression. But these regulatory bodies are almost 65 years old and are ill equipped to handle the complex banking environment of 21st century. Almost all the major economies have their own regulatory bodies, like Financial Services Authority (FSA) of UK and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in US, but they failed to check the financial crisis. Even the Basel II Accord agreement that was published in 2004 failed to detect and control credit crunch. Many banks are blaming Mark to Mark et system for development of such a disastrous financial crisis (Rayner, 2008). The financial system is based on the trust and faith, but collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bank of America and PNC Bank Corp are few examples of how the policymakers and regulators failed to maintain people’s faith in them. Most surprisingly America’s financial system failed to manage risk and proper allocation of capital (Stiglitz, 2008). Fair Value Accounting or US Accounting Standard FAS 157 is basically used for determining fair value or market value of the assets and the liability. Many critics argued that fair value accounting is highly

Strategic Corporate Finance Workshop Research Paper

Strategic Corporate Finance Workshop - Research Paper Example A shareholder may not find investment in the company as an attractive option taking into consideration the time value of money. Thus, profit maximisation does not provide any assurance with regard to the timing and risk associated with the cash flow either. It can be concluded that profit maximisation does not help in improving the value placed on the company by the shareholders. It is needless to say that it is the funds from the shareholder that mainly supports the operations of a company and shortage in such funds could affect the survival of the company in the long run. Therefore, profit maximisation should not be the ultimate goal of a financial manager. Just like profit maximisation, sales maximisation would not bear an impact on the market value of the company. Sales maximisation does not even assure profit maximisation, leave alone enhancing the company's value. Sometimes, the cost involved in maximising the sales may even cancel out the benefit derived from it. In today's world, it is extremely important for every company to be socially responsible. Social responsibility includes maximising benefits to the employees and the society at large. In the long run, socially responsible actions taken by a company would also benefit the shareholders indirectly. However, social responsibility cannot be viewed as the main purpose of running a company. The company cannot put its social responsibility ahead of its own survival. Therefore, maximisation of benefit to employees and local community would not be the main goal of a financial manager. (d) Maximisation of shareholder wealth - Shareholders are the actual owners of a company. Shareholders investment is crucial for the survival of the company. The shareholders choose to invest in the company that can give highest returns on the investment made. Therefore maximisation of shareholder wealth should be the main goal of a financial manager. The financial manager should ensure that the resources are allocated in such a way that it results in maximisation of shareholders wealth. Answer 2:- (a) Net Present Value (NPV): Conversion of uncertain cash flow to certain cash flow Year Uncertain Cash Flow() Certain Cash Flow () (Uncertain CF x 0.75) 1 103,750 77,812 2 113,750 85,312 3 123,750 92,812 4 133,750 100,312 5 123,750 92,812 6 105,750 79,312 7 103,750 77,812 8 98,750 74,062 Computation of Net Present Value (NPV): [NPV = Present Value of Cash Inflow - Present Value of Cash Outflow] Year Certain Cash Flow () Discount Factor* Present Value of C

Business Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Strategy - Assignment Example The business performance of 2007 has shown positive development to the satisfaction of the company. Yet they have to be very vigilant to sustain the up trend in the coming years also. The company needs innovative planning and strategies to sustain the gain of last year to enable them to keep floating always ahead. Coco Cola is an old and established brand worldwide backed by a strong team of manpower. Internally they are very stable and strong to provide strong pillars to the edifice of marketing. They enjoy 94% brand recognition and more than 60% market share in the world. They need to be vigilant all the times to keep on appraising the performance and finding the underperformance if any at any level. With the type of expertise and skill they have it is sure to overcome the weakness that might creep in by active communication and crackdown. Coco Cola is spread to a large domain all over the world market, which is full of complexities. Different people with different tastes, culture, psychology, different lifestyles live in different countries. This is always a challenge to the marketers to satisfy everyone. In India the company faced challenge from the very start and also when Coca Cola entered into this country second time. After Coco Cola had established its foothold in India the change in government gave a fatal blow to the company when the changed government ordered it to wind up and leave India on the ground that the country could not permit an ordinary product which is not high tech and which the country could produce itself. Second time when Coco Cola entered India again with a new government the local brand ‘Thumbs Up’ was thriving in the market that was favourite brand for the local countrymen (Basu, 2006). Coca Cola had to take over that brand and nourish it to claim the large market share it had enjoyed. Even today the brand holds command and contributes sizeable market share to the parent company. The

Women getting the Death pentaly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women getting the Death pentaly - Essay Example What is death penalty? According the American Heritage Dictionary of English Language (2000), death penalty refers to, â€Å"a sentence of punishment by execution.† In legal terms, death penalty is synonymous to capital punishment. Capital punishment means it is the most serious punishment that one can be accorded. Death penalty is often imposed on offenders of murder and mutiny whose cases have been proven beyond reasonable doubts. The execution of offenders on death row may be done through, lethal injection, electorocution, shooting and hanging among other methods. The execution methods vary from one country to the other. In America, lethal injection and electrocution methods are commonly used. Having explicated death penalty, it is safe to delve into discussing whether women should be accorded the same or not. Statistics indicate that there has been gender biasness in imposing death penalties on capital offenders with women being the beneficiaries of the partiality. Accord ing to Death Penalty Information Centre (2012), â€Å"death sentencing rate and death row population has remained small for women as compared to men; from 1973 to 2011, 174 death penalties have been imposed upon female offenders, constituting 2% of all death sentences in America.† Out of the 174 only 12 of them have been actually executed between, 1973-2011; the remaining 162 are still on a death row. Statistics unveils gender disparity in imposing death penalties. Barron (2006) admits that there is favoritism in death sentencing between men and women; he observes that demographics on men versus women death row prisoners reveal that men suffer more death penalties than women. Is this really fair? Why the favoritism? The society has witnessed a long struggle to liberate women from derogatory and oppressive chains of male chauvinism. Today, there are high degrees of women and girl child empowerment, and the equality is steadily being realized, safe for a few rigid societies. Me n and women

Transformational and Shared Instructional Leadership Assignment

Transformational and Shared Instructional Leadership - Assignment Example A total of 24 schools have been nationally chosen to participate in the research. Of these 24 schools, 8 schools offer elementary education, 8 offer middle school education and another 8 offer the high school education. In an attempt to keep accordance with the data that is largely structured in a multilevel fashion, the researchers have resorted to use the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) as the primary technique for analysis. As a result of the study, the researchers have concluded that the transformational leadership is a compulsory element for the instructional leadership, though it is insufficient. In order to improve the quality of teaching and education of a school and make the students show good performance and achieve higher grades, it is imperative that the two leadership conceptions, i.e. the shared instructional and the transformational leadership exist simultaneously and mutually integrate into the leadership. Their coexistence has a substantial impact of the overall p erformance of the school, the personnel associated with it and the students. â€Å"A Review of Transformational School Leadership Research 1996-2005† (Leithwood and Jantzi, 2005). Theoretical Synthesis: Transformational leadership has conventionally remained a subject of universal debate particularly with reference to its application in schools. Various studies have been done in the past to study the impact of transformational leadership on the environment of studies. However, the number of studies that have conventionally attempted to investigate the moderators and antecedents of the transformational style of leadership ion schools is very low. This particular research conducted an in-depth analysis of 32 such researches and empirical studies that have been conducted in the past from 1996 to 2005 in order to understand the nature of transformational leadership in schools, the different variables which regulate the effects of the transformational leadership on the students in an educational setup as well as the antecedents of this type of leadership. As a result of the study, researchers have reached the conclusion that the transformational leadership has obvious effects on the achievement of students in their studies and their involvement in the various activities of school, though the effect is largely indirect in nature. There is a whole range of variables that influence the impact of the transformational leadership on the performance of students which include but are not limited to the culture of the school, the commitment of mentors with their job as well as the level of satisfaction they maintain with the job of teaching. â€Å"Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact† (Bass, 1998). Theoretical Synthesis: Leadership theory has long been focusing on the transactional exchange between the followers and a leader until the transformational-transactional form of leadership surfaced to reflect good leadership prac tices. In this research, a total of 11 questions which affect the application of the new paradigm of transformational-transactional leadership have been put forth. The 11 questions are discussed in separate chapters. Various aspects of the transformational-transactional leadership have been comprehensively discussed in this research which include its contribution to the commitment of followers, its role in relieving the stress of followers, effect of

Focus On Learner Pronunciation Problems Essay Example for Free

Focus On Learner Pronunciation Problems Essay In Portuguese, R at the beginning of words, at the end of words, or before a consonant is pronounced like H. Many Brazilian students carry this habit into English words, pronouncing â€Å"restaurant† as â€Å"hestaurant† and â€Å"far† as â€Å"fah.† It’s especially common when the English word and the Portuguese word are similar, such as in â€Å"restaurant† and â€Å"regular.† SOLUTION: First, I have my students work on pronouncing the English R sound by itself. I demonstrate the correct mouth position and they imitate me. Then, we work on each word while exaggerating the R sound – so we say rrrrememberrrr, for example. Finally, we practice making that exaggerated R sound shorter and shorter until the student gets used to saying remember with an English R. It feels a little ridiculous, but it works! PROBLEM: Similar words Fortunately, Portuguese and English have a lot of true cognates – words that are similar in both languages, such as area, animal, culture, famous, music, romantic, hamburger, and sports. This makes it easier to remember the vocabulary – but more difficult to remember to pronounce the words â€Å"the English way.† SOLUTION: To show the difference in the sounds, I make comparisons with words that they already know and pronounce well in English – â€Å"The ‘a’ in animal is like the ‘a’ in and,† for example. I also draw attention to syllable stress – popular in English vs. popular in Portuguese. PROBLEM: Final consonants Portuguese doesn’t have letters like D, T, G, P, and K at the end of words, so it’s common for Brazilian students to accidentally add a little vowel sound at the end of English words – so big sounds like bigg-ee and stop becomes stopp-ee. One of the most famous is difficult turning into difficulty which is also an English word, but the first is an adjective and the second is a noun. SOLUTION: I start with words ending in P because they’re the easiest to practice – we practice saying â€Å"stop,† â€Å"help,† and others, and I tell them to keep their lips together for a second at the end, then â€Å"release† them without making an extra sound. Then we move on to â€Å"rock,† â€Å"get,† â€Å"thing,† â€Å"good,† and so on, again, â€Å"holding† the final consonant for a moment before â€Å"releasing† it soundlessly.

Sports Influence On Psychology Of People Media Essay

Sports Influence On Psychology Of People Media Essay For many years, sports have been valued by many societies in the world. Many people continue to indulge in various sports today either singularly or as a part of a team. Sports have always influenced the history of a nation as well as the psychology of the people in that nation, playing both constructive roles as well as damaging roles. Many people may think that sports are all about winning or losing, however sports is deeply engraved in people psyches and to some it dates back to when they were young and hence it is bound up in many people geographic and social identities. It is through sports that some people have been able to indulge themselves in vicarious achievements and euphoric collective experiences. Many studies have shown that there is a lot of emotion when people try to win for their team or for themselves which in return affect their psychology as well as that of their fans. This paper therefore, analyzes the psychological influence of sports to citizens of United Kingd om. The formation of a nations identity is dependent on the various social activities of its citizens including the social practice of sports. This is because many people like discussing about sports events as they go along with their daily activities both at the workplace and at their home. Studies have shown that there is so much influence on the workers performance based on the performance of their favorite team. It has been found out that there is a lot of impact of sporting failure and success on the UK workplace. Many people get psychologically affected when their team win or loses. It has also been found out that the conversation regarding sports that people have in their workplaces can have a positive impact in boosting their morale as well as improving their productivity and motivation. This means that sports in general shapes the lives of many citizens in UK. Also, people usually construct various perspectives and meaning while watching sports event which greatly influence thei r social belief, self concept and most certainly their nations identity. That is, key social practices including sports and the related events will be discussed and recounted in compelling ways by a large group of people through various mediums from media forms to everyday conversations, leading to the formation of certain ideas in their minds, which in turn leads to the formation of social beliefs and thereby nations identity (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Studies have found that a nations identity is governed by the memories and stories that people hold in common and certainly sports is one of them. This can also be proved by the fact that sports impact goes beyond the day to day social environment. For example Englands win in the 1996 World Cup affected both the economy and the politics of the region. It is during this time that Harold Wilson claimed his victory which was largely attributed to the teams performance and the wave of euphoria and goodwill that the citizens had due to t he team victory. Equating sports or sports teams to a nation as well as its identity, thereby peoples psychology as well as social practices began in 1908, with the launch of the Olympics as a pan-national event, with the entry of many countries and their official patronage. The twelve-year old Olympic Games had informally taken on the role of a multinational sporting event at which nations represented themselves with their best athletes (Smith and Porter 2004). With many countries participating in that Olympics, media coverage and importantly political patronage certainly built the discourse, that nations will normally represent themselves through their sportspeople in various events such as the Olympics. When nations are represented by sportspersons, the activities of the sportspersons on and off the field will in turn form or change or reinforce or even challenge the psychology of those nations, and ultimately their social practices and nations identity since many people like to be associated with a particular team or a sports person. In the society today many young people like identifying themselves with some sports people which greatly influence their personality which is very vital in determining a nations identity. This trend has sometimes led to violence in sports especially when people (fans) identifying themselves with a particular sport lose a match. In many sports fans are full of emotions as they try to win for their team. These high emotions are catalyst to sports violence. More often than not you will find angry fans screaming and yelling to the coaches when they fill that he is letting down their team. Many riots have also been experienced when a team loses an important match. These riots are characterized by fighting among players, dumpsters, mobs overturning cars and many other bad behaviors. The reason for this is due to the psychological attachments that exist between people of a nation and sports. Through identifying with a certain group individuals are abl e to improve and maintain their self esteem (Balisunset, 2009). As a result, sports acts as a powerful source of identification through which people identify themselves with a team or an individual in a team and hence become heavily invested in the results of a given competition. This means that people are affected psychologically when their team loses leading to frustrations. These frustrations lead to anger and the only outlet to his anger is through violence (Murphy, 2005). Many people may think that sports violence is just a simple matter but in some cases it reflects the violence that happens in the society and that is why violence mainly occurs when a crowd is made of a heterogeneous mix. This means that the fans may be using spot violence as a scapegoat to their society dissatisfaction. This means that many occurrence of sports violence may be signifying that something is wrong and immediate actions need to be taken. Contrary to sports violence, sports sometimes have very good impacts to citizens of a nation especially when national team wins an important match. Many people are very happy after a national team wins and this is known to have a positive impact in boosting the morale of citizen. Consequently, this has an impact on peoples approach to work and lifts up their mood hence making them productive in their work. This just shows how sports psychologically influence people lives (International Society of Sports Psychology, 2006). Research has a lso found that talking sport acts as one of the ways of breaking down barriers existing between employees and their customers. The influence of sports is so big to an extent that it can break or make a relationship between a manager and his team. A study conducted in 2006 in UK revealed that 71% of men and 68% of women said that both the employers and employees learn valuable lessons from sports. People get to learn the importance of working as a team, importance of being dedicated to ones team, importance of collective responsibility, what makes a good team player and how to develop ones talents and maximize performance. As a result, we can say that sports success or failure in a nation has influences both social and economic factors of that nation. This is because sport is woven into people day to day life and hence plays a very crucial role in creating bonds between people and ultimately impact productivity of a nation (Social Issue Research Centre, 2006). The influence of sports on psychology of people can also be seen by the way people bask in reflected glory. This is rooted to one element of social identity theory which is psychological distinctiveness. According to this theory, individuals desire their identity to be both distinct from and positively compared with people of other groups. This theory is concerned with identifying when and why an individual identify with a particular group and behave as a part of that group. According to this theory an individual social behavior can exist on a spectrum from purely intergroup to purely interpersonal. By identifying oneself with successful people a person self esteem get boosted. This is the reason why people like identifying themselves with successful teams and sports personality. It is for this reason that you will find people pulling out their old tee shirts and old sweatshirts after a big win, and proudly display their team logos. Also after a team wins a championship the sale of t heir products also goes up until another team wins the following year. This is what is called basking in reflected glory which is labeled by social psychologists as BIRGing. A study conducted I 1976 by supported this phenomena by showing how university students wear their university affiliated clothing the Monday morning after winning a football match during weekend. In doing so the student sought to have success of their team linked to them by wearing school identifying attire. The students are also like using the pronoun we after a victorious athletic weekend than when their team lost. By basking in reflected glory an individual self esteem gets enhanced by identifying with another persons success. They try to receive this glory by doing nothing tangible to help a person or a team get this success. Individuals are more likely to bask in reflected glory when their public image is threatened so as to counter any threats to their self esteem. Also the extent to which a person is comm itted to a team dictates the degree in which he can distance himself from the team lose. According to social identity theory those individuals who are strongly allied to a team are not likely to distance themselves, and to ensure that their self esteem is not threatened they will try to attribute the failure to other things and not the team itself. For those who are not closely allied to the team, the loss makes them to engage in phenomena known as CORFing. This refers to cutting off reflected glory which is characterized by distancing oneself from a losing team as much as possible. This can be done by either using different language to describe the game after defeat. For example the fans begin using the words they lost instead of we lost. Fans can also CORF by blasting, which is a form of indirect self enhancement used when one feels that his or her self esteem is threatened. This clearly shows how sports influence an individual psychology. Many of the international sports, which are being played all over the world, originated or were first played in their modern form in Britain. Team games such as soccer, rugby, and cricket, and sports such as rowing, athletics and boxing, were formalized, codified and modernized in the elite schooling institutions of Britain (its public schools) and the ancient universities. (Tomlinson). These sports diffused into the social gamut of UK as well as the minds of the British people both in the urban as well as rural communities, with the factor of Britishness exhibited by these sports. In those times, sports played in Britain influenced the British socio- psychological ideologies like fair play, an ideal of British manhood. Likewise, sports for women were developed to fit with the ideals of Victorian femininity. Different sports have different combination of representation which influences the social psychological beliefs of single British identity or separate national identities. In football (American soccer), the four nations of the UK are separately represented. In cricket, England and Wales play as one team. In rugby union, the countries are split into England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with Northern Ireland and Eire providing a joint team (Polley 1998). This being the case, the social psychological beliefs of British identity gets changed or modified according to the occasions and circumstances. This means that an individual will identify with a particular team based on the situation at hand i.e. people from one nation will support the group identity of being British in some occasions, but their cognitive dissonance reverts back to them, and thus alleviating their dissonance by changing their stance to support their own national identity. For example, English sports followers could s upport a Scottish athlete who represent Great Britain in the Olympics, but could revert to their anti-Scottish stance, when the national football teams of England and Scotland meet in a friendly or in a World Cup. The reason for this is that individuals have a tendency to identify to the team the truly belong to when faced with a situation like that one. This is because one will have grown up being attached to a particular team and thus there is no way he/she will support another team when the national team is playing. Another perspective about changing their support or their affiliations in sport can be witnessed when one British team fails at a major event, while another British team succeeds, providing the people someone to back. The London-based media is also experienced in this kind of support. When an England team fails to qualify for a major tournament, the media quickly appropriates other British or Irish teams as ours' (Smith and Porter 2004). Cognitive dissonance is displa yed at times when there are differences between an individuals actions and his or her beliefs. This contradictory display occurs often among sports fans in England, as they may believe to have a British national identity, yet their actions prove otherwise. These actions, which oppose their beliefs, are a form of relieving the cognitive dissonance that they have. Football as a sport has been known to unite people across UK rather than divide. Most of the football fans have a strong commonality. The role played by football either socially or culturally is dependent on historical factors. These historical factors include whether the national team or a major side has won an important tournament at a particular time in the past or whether the sport was played traditionally by lower or upper class. The rivalry between teams also plays a major role in defining the sports characteristics. This influences how individuals at different with each other and how they relate a sport in their country and the support they give to teams at the international, national, regional and local level. This means that people in a given country with strong regional and local identities relate differently with those people in countries where regional identity is not important. A good example of this is demonstrated in countries like Sweden where allegiance to local team s is stronger than that associated with the national side. As in any society, British women, till the late 20th , were prevented from actively participating in many societal activities, thereby psychologically subdued.This social belief was further reinforced through sports with early womens traditions, as they were effectively suppressed by male establishments, such as football and both rugby codes. (Smith and Porter 2004). Although, women tried to have pre-eminent positions in society and even fulfill roles of leadership, with Britain being ruled by numerous successful Queens, it was not the case in all spheres of the society. Women were suppressed and deprived of the process of leadership in many facets of social life, sports being one of those facets. Likewise, the social psychological aspect of class factor was also influenced by sports with certain team games, particularly Rugby and cricket which were viewed as games of the upper class.This meant that one grew up believing that certain types of sports belonged to a certain group of peo ple. With this belief people of certain region did not psychologically give attention to some sports that they did to those sports where they felt to be part of the team like in football. With the initiation of the Industrial Revolution, many people started getting employment and became part of the revenue earning group. Even then, their incomes were not optimal and thus there lopsided class factor. This class factor was further imbued in the peoples mind as well as part of their social setup through sports. With certain sports played only by a certain class of people, sports indirectly promoted class differences. England rugby team remains remarkably homogenous: white, educated, middle-class, while Cricket has a rather upper class flavor as in the habits of male upper class Englishness, cricket embodies gentlemanly qualities (Malcolm, 2001). This shows how sports can be effectively be used to divide citizens of a nation by promoting class difference and notion that some types of sp orts are suited to a given group of people. Fortunately this notion is slowly fading away with and people are beginning to accept sports like rugby which initially belonged to a chosen few. Beliefs about having distinct and separate national symbols or identities particularly separate National Anthems have been in existent for some time among the countries of the United Kingdom. For example there have been many debates of whether English should have their own national anthem for many years. English have retained British national anthem for sporting events while Scots and Welsh have claimed their own national anthem. Problems however arise when England plays against either Scotland or Wales, during this time the opponents national anthem has to be played twice. Unfortunately, those debating about this issue in the past only considered the political ramifications of England having their own national anthem thereby neglecting the psychological implication of playing God Save the Queen. Researchers have found out that there are a number of factors that affects the psychology of those involved in sports during any competition. Some of the psychological factors include confid ence, belief, being prepared, sense of identity and ability to perform under pressure. One of the major factors that affect the performance of an individual in sports is a sense of identity. This is because its through having a sense of identity that our values are impacted on us, consequently affecting the individual motivational levels. In addition to that it also impact on an individual sense of purpose and a will to go an extra mile for ones nation. Singing national anthems by the respective teams at sporting events are always viewed as a psychological strategy by the coaches and other people to promote a sense of identity within the team, and also to motivate and fire up them. It also falls under the psychological process of self-esteem in that an individuals self esteem is raised when he or she knows that he/ she belongs somewhere. With self-esteem being a key process that works as a catalyst for many human actions, the national anthems can also work on the self-esteem of any countrys citizens (Kimiecik Harris, 2005). Behavioral psychologists believe that self e steem acts as a positive reinforcement to an individual thereby motivating a person to perform well in his or her actions. The national anthems are known to psychologically fire up sports teams and this will psychologically impact the people who are watching the event in the stadium as well as in their Televisions. This psychological association to their national anthems in turn defines their social beliefs and will lead to various impacts. For that to happen, the view among the English people is that they should have an appropriate national anthem, different from God Save the Queen. The Scots and the Welsh dont get fired up by God Save the Queen so why should the English? With this social belief, sections of the population are even coming up with options for a separate and distinct National Anthem for the English. This reason for all this fuss about national anthem is that both players and fans want to have a sense of belonging before any match which greatly influences their mind i nto having a conviction that the victory is theirs. Studies have found out that the perception of ones mind regarding something influences greatly the outcomes of an event. For example there is no way a team will win a match if they do not have a conviction that the victory is theirs. This conviction is achieved by raising the self esteem of the players and their supporters which in turn motivate them in claiming the victory. To do this coaches have had to apply some psychological techniques like anxiety management in sporting activities so as to improve the performance of the players (Pozzi, 2004). Influx of Asian migrants and people from other regions of the world led to the ethnic diversification of the UKs population. However this diversification has also resulted in the development of a variety of national identities, with different social psychological beliefs. Even after living in Britain for many years and interacting with the British society, British people of Asian origin still exhibit psychological allegiance and support to their parent country. This is clearly demonstrated during sports events when teams from their parent countries are involved. This means that there is an element of conformity, but point is that when Asians first came to the U.K they had they had two options: one being they could integrate themselves into society which may have proven to be difficult or they could stay segregate themselves and chose not to identify with the Britain. Although, it is not illegal or criminal to do so and it is their personal choices, the social beliefs of the British p eople is that it is morally wrong and unpatriotic to ignore and avoid the British identity. For example, when Indian or Pakistani or even Bangladeshi cricket team tours England and plays the English cricket team, the people belonging to those countries are seen psychologically associating with those countries and maximally supporting them, ignoring England.In 1990, the Conservative politician Norman Tebbit famously posited the test match test. Which side do the Asians cheer for? Its an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are? (Korinman and Laughland 2007). This rather harsh remark clearly brought out the focus on how sports reinforce the social psychological belief that British people of Asian origin are still attached to their homeland and thus avoid British identity. This was further reinforced by the comments of the former England cricket captain, Nasser Hussain. He said: It was disappointing to see a sea of green shirts with the names of Pakistani players instead of ours. It reminded me of when we played India at Edgbaston [in Birmingham] in the World Cup in 1999. It was like an away game because so many people supported their side. (qtd. in Majumdar and Mangan 2004). However, these beliefs can also be challenged when one looks from another perspective. That is, the above comment was actually made by a British man of Indian origin, which clearly shows that some British Asians have indeed integrated into the British society, even rising to the status of national captain. Thus, the social psychological belief that Asians have not psychologically integrated into the British society could be challenged, as many British of Asian origins have taken the British identity and support their home team. Sports have also been found to have a lot of influence in the well being of citizens. Current research suggests that sports enhance emotional or psychological well being of an individual and thus it is being used as an additional therapy in treating citizens with psychological disorders in UK. It has been found out that there is a positive relationship between sports and emotional well being of an individual. Sports participation in general alleviates some of the psychological problems people are facing in the modern world. In adults sports have been found to improve their moods hence alleviating many types of depression they have. This has also been found to be the case in children and adolescents who participate in sports because they tend to have reduced behavioral and emotional problems (Martin, 2007). The reason for this is that sports provide an environment where individuals can socialize freely thereby forgetting some of the problems they face in their day to day activities. S tudies also suggest that organized sports influence development of crucial behaviors like stress management, cooperation, positive attitude towards achievement, unselfishness, appropriate risk taking, and the ability to tolerate life frustrations and delayed gratification. It is through playing with others that children get to learn how to build cooperative relationships and the ability to meet their needs in order to belong. In addition to that they are able to learn important cooperation skills as they perform specific team role and work together when playing (NASPSPA, 2007). It has also been found out that youths who participate in sports have less behavioral problems and this has been supported by empirical studies. An example of this study is the one conducted in 1994 in UK and it found out that many youths who participated in sports behaved well in classrooms, earned better graded, dropped out of school less frequently, had fewer behavior problems at home and attended school on regular basis. On the contrary those youths who did not participate in sports were likely to engage in violent behaviors like fights in schools, drug abuse, they were also more likely to become teen parents and consequently the school dropout rates for nonparticipants was high. This shows sports have a very big influence in molding a bright future for citizens in a particular nation since it trains them to be responsible, creative and cooperative. In conclusion we have been able to learn how sports influence the psychology of people in a given nation. We have seen how sports help in improving and individual self esteem through identifying oneself with a successful team. Through this individuals are able to live vicariously through someone else, making them to bask in glory when that person or a team wins. This effect is also transferred in work places where good performance of a team influences the performance of the workers which means that sporting success and failure has a lot of impact on the UK workplace. We have also seen that sports play a very important role in developing a nation identity as well as helping children to grow up to be responsible citizens in future.