An Analysis of Language Features in English Advertisement Essay Example

An Analysis of Language Features in English Advertisement Essay An Analysis of Language Features in English Advertisement Abstract With increasing communication in the world and acceleration of economic globalization, English advertising has found its way into peoples life. This thesis makes an attempt to explore the language characteristics of English advertisements so that we may be able to appreciate and write English advertising texts better. The thesis attempts to approach the main language characteristics of English advertising mainly from the angles of advertising and linguistics. First, the thesis defines advertising, clarifies its objectives, mentions its components, and discusses its lactations of English advertisement. Next, it investigates the main wording characteristics, concentrating on simple verbs, adjectives and compounds. Then it probes into the fundamental grammatical features, focusing upon the tenses and frequently employed sentences and constructions of English advertisements. The final part of the thesis body explores the most frequently employed rhetorical devices in English advertising texts, such as simile, metaphor, personification, pun. We will write a custom essay sample on An Analysis of Language Features in English Advertisement specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on An Analysis of Language Features in English Advertisement specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on An Analysis of Language Features in English Advertisement specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer But what is advertising? What are the objectives of advertising? What elements does an advertisement consist of? How are advertisements classified? These are the questions of which we must have a good idea before we proceed to explore the language features of characteristics of English advertising. As far as I know, some books and papers concerning English advertising have been published at home and abroad. In modern society, English advertising has gradually formed its own unique characteristics and has also shaped an independent style throughout history of development. The language of English advertising is simple and direct. Therefore, an analysis of the features of English advertising is worthwhile. 2. Definition of advertising In English, the word advertise has its origin in adventure in Latin, meaning to inform somebody of something, to bring into notice or to draw attention to something. Baber Lasher, father of modern advertising, said that advertising was salesmanship in print. This definition was given a long time before the advent of radio and television. In the past, the nature and scope of advertising were considerably different from those today. The definition indicates that the ultimate objective of advertising is to sell. Obviously, it is not an all round definition, for it an not cover all advertisements. 2. 2 Elements of advertising An advertisement is composed of different components, which are either verbal or non-verbal. The verbal components consist of the headline, sub-headline, the body copy, trademark (including brand name, corporate o restore name and visual symbol) and slogan. The non-verbal elements are made up of illustrations, advertising music, advertising sounds, color and layout. Each element plays a role in successful advertising. However, an advertisement has no need to include all elements are discussed, not because they are more important, but because engage features in such elements are more conspicuous and much easier to be noticed by the general public. David Googol, a famous Australian advertiser, pointed out, On the average five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. The headline is with eighty cents of an advertising dollar. Therefore, if you havent done some selling in the headline, you have wasted 80 percent of your money. So, the headline should attract readers attention, make them read the body copy, show the benefit of the product and arouse readers desire to take buying action. Some headlines need no sub-headlines. The body copy tells the complete sales story. The purpose of the body copy is to provide clarification of the headline and proof of claims, to point out other competitive advantages. In short, to give the prospective reasons, implicit as well as explicit ,for action desired. A trademark is a sign used by an enterprise or an industry to distinguish quality, specifications and nature of the product they produce, process and sell. The name of a trademark often appears in the headline. The slogan has some similarities with the headline . Len fact, many slogans are developed from some successful headlines lagans are standard statements for sales people and company employees. For example, Fords slogan Quality is Job I explicitly states that the company makes high-quality products. The main purposes of slogans are to provide continuity for a campaign and to express a key theme or idea with concise and memorable words. Some slogans seem to be old friends of readers and become sparks of recognition on consumers minds, which create favorable impressions of the products or enterprises on the readers minds, so they are regarded as immense treasures for enterprises. Slogans are very common in English advertisements. . 3 Objectives of advertising The objectives of advertising are various. Association of National Advertisement (ANA) interprets its objectives as awareness, comprehension, conviction and action (CA). Firstly, advertisements should draw attention from the audience ; secondly, they should show and prove the advantages of the advertised products or services; thirdly , they should arouse interest of potential customers or clients and stimulate strong desires in them ; finally, they should encourage potential consumers to take However, most of us agree that the principal objective of advertising is to action. Ell products. But unlike salesmen whose sell goods in face-to-face or even voice -to- voice situations, advertisers communicate certain messages to particular groups of people who may or may not be known and who may be close or at a distance. Therefore, advertising is a specialized form of communication. In order to satisfy the marketing function, it has to provide the relevant information, to persuade people and to influence their choices and buying deci sions. Therefore, the message contained in any advertisement must be absolutely clear or easy to comprehend, ND the meaner of conveying the message must be effective so that the receiver may believe and understand the message properly and take specific action to obtain the product or service. Specifically, an advertisement is designed to dispose people to buy a product or service, to support a cause, or even to encourage less consumption(such as social welfare advertisement). An advertisers main purpose is to present and exhibit products or services, and to spread their influence to the extent that the potential purchasing population becomes real and actual. Generally, advertisers try by the various meaner at their espousal to get people to buy the product or service advertised. They attempt to construct an advertisement that will fully involve the attention of the potential purchaser and which will have a persuasive effect. So they will make full use of every word to attract readers attention. English advertising texts display many unique diction features, such as frequent use of monosyllabic verbs, compounds, as well as adjectives. Which will be discussed briefly and separately in this chapter? 3. 1 The lexical features becomes actual. Generally, advertisers try by the various meaner at their disposal to et people to buy the product or service advertised. They attempt to construct an advertisement that will fully involve the attention of the potential purchaser and which will have a persuasive effect. So they will make full use of every word to attract readers attention. English advertising texts display many unique diction features, such as frequent use of monosyllabic verbs, adjectives, compounds. 3. 1. 1 Monosyllabic verbs Verbs used in English advertising are mostly short and simple. Typical ones are: be, do , get, buy, make, give, have, see, come, go, call, try, know, keep, look, deed, love, use, show, help, prove, mean, meet, suit, save, feel, like, take, choose, select, start, taste, build ,grow, offer, provide, enjoy, savor, etc. Any advertisements in English you come across may contain a few or some of these verbs, no matter what products or services are advertised . III these verbs are common and simple, and most of them are monosyllabic. These common verbs make advertising in English simple and easy to understand. An umber of the above-mentioned verbs has varying grammatical functions and meanings that vary accordingly. The linking verb be is usually used to express the advertised product or service. The word do, which has many different meanings, can refer to the practical take, and keep are related to the possession of the advertised product or service; have and have got convey the idea of neutral possession : keep transmits the idea of continuing possession ;buy, get and take express acquisition and give denotes the conferring of possession on somebody else. Another group of verbs concern consumption: take (in one of its uses) and have (in one of its meanings). Meet and suit are associated with the practical functions of the advertised product or service. Like, love and need denote mental disposition towards the product . Choose/select and taste indicate some links between product and consumer. Look, feel and taste can be descriptive of the consumers sensation or feelings: with an inanimate subject, they can describe the sensible properties of the commodity being advertised. The verbs make, build and grow, tell about producer and product, or about the origin of the product. Offer, provide, present, and enjoy, are favorite items in estate and travel advertisements, where they are normally preceded by impersonal subjects. At least one or two of these four verbs often appear in an estate or travel advertisements. Frequent use of monosyllabic verbs can help kill two birds with one stone: on the one hand . Let makes the language of English advertising more concise and lively, and on the other hand, it saves space, time and money. 3. 1. 2 Adjectives G. N. Leech, a well-known linguist in Britain, lists in his Language in Advertising (1966:1 52)the following most frequently used (3)good/ better/ best (4)fine (5) free(6) big(7) fresh(8) great (9)delicious (10)real (1 1)full. Sure(12)easy, safe(1 5)special(16)rich. The first item on the list ,new, which implies the latest fashion or style or quality or type, or unique feature off product r service, and connotes progress and development, is a word applied everywhere, because it can almost describe all aspects of products, such as size, shape, look, brilliance, color, formula, also it can collocate with abstract nouns: contest, fashion, competition, ideas, trend, tide, wave, etc. It is frequently seen that new collocates with common nouns, such as booklet, bottle, car, fish steak, newspapers, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, type, weed-killer, tool, TV, cosmetics, and many more. Good/better/best might appear to be another all- purpose epithet, Particularly in its comparative and superlative forms'(Leech, 966:152). Admen often use good/ better/best collocating with two kinds of products: food and tobacco. Good also collocates with many nouns which dont denote concrete products, such as flavor, gravy, sandwich, breakfast. The use of good with cigarettes and tobacco probably reflects the difficulty of finding more suitable adjective. Good and new are much more frequently used than any other adjectives. Extra and special have a function similar to that of new, but they express the differences of products . There are other words frequently used relative to new products, such as now, suddenly, announcing, introducing, improved ,revolutionary, Just arrived, important, development, miracle, surprising, challenge. 3. 1. 3 Compounds In English advertisement, you can see compounds everywhere. Some compounds are written as single words and some with a hyphen, but others appear as two separate words. Because lexical restraints on compounds are few, the advertisers text. As a result English compounds become a conspicuous characteristic of English advertisements. As we know, compound nouns are coined in many different ways. In the following examples, we can see structural types of the most common compound *noun: high-fashion knitwear, top-quality bulbs: b)noun *noun :color freshness, economy-size shredded wheat: (e)adverb *noun: the any-time cereal, up-to-the-minute cycling:(d) present participle + noun: arriving time, chewing gum: (e)past participle + noun: purified salt, married couple. 3. The grammatical features As a particular branch of language, advertising language should be concise and attractive. It usually has its own characteristics in syntax, such as frequent use of simple and frequent use of interrogative sentences. 3. 2. 1 Simple sentences Whatever product or service may be advertised, the advertiser usually sets a limit o the length of the advertisement for the sake of space and money. Normally, he or she makes much effort to convey as much information as possible in a most concise and compact manner. Therefore, simple sentences are frequently used in English advertisements. Here is the example IT COMES WITH A CONSCIENCE Honda has always made good cars . People love them. But with a loved one things can sometimes get emotional. Honda understands . And on our own we have set up a third-party arbitration program with the Better Business Bureau to give you extra voice, if you need it. But Please talk to your dealer first. And follow the problem- solving procedure described in your owners manual. Honda wants you and your Honda to have a long and happy relationship . Example is an advertisement of Honda cars. It is mostly made up of simple sentences, which render the advertisement smooth and easy to understand. Simple sentences can not only make English advertising easy to read, hear and understand but also leave a deep impression on the readers minds. 3. 2. 2 Interrogative sentences In some English advertisements, interrogative sentences are used at the very beginning of the body copy, so as to hold the addressees attention and arouse their interest. Interrogative sentences often require people to give answers, by which to arouse their attention . Oleomargarine sentences break through consumers psychological screens at first, then require them to reflect. Lets observe the example:What will you do with the money you save using a faster, more efficient computer? Interrogative sentences are very much favored in English advertisements, because they demand peoples response and can arouse readers interest quickly. Positive rhetorical questions are even more attractive and more persuasive. 3. 3 The rhetorical devices Rhetorical devices are various forms of expression deviating from the normal arrangement or use of words, which are adopted in order to give beauty, variety or force to a composition. In order to make their advertisements unique and eye- catching, the copyRitter have to make elaborate designs and draw up remarkable verbal blueprints by working creatively and aptly applying rhetorical devices. 3. 3. 1 Simile It is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or characteristic in common. To make the comparison, with one to the other. In other words, simile is a direct or explicit comparison between two unrelated things, indicating a likeness or similarity between some abstract qualities found in both things. The connective word like or as serves as a bridge linking up the two. The use of an apt simile creates a clear and vivid image of the advertised product or service in consumers interest and achieving their mental and emotional resonance. Lets analyze the example. Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there. State Farm Insurance) Simile is an important rhetorical device less frequently employed than metaphor, which is one of the most frequently used heterocyclic devices in English advertisements. 3. 3. 2 Metaphor There are some definitions about metaphor, such as It is like a simile also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied: rather than stated. For example: Kodak is Olympic color. In example, Kodak is compar ed to the color of Olympic. Kodak shows the real color Just as Olympic shows the real essence of the sports. The metaphor in this implies that Kodak develops itself by the Olympic spirit higher, faster and stronger. Obviously, appropriate application of metaphors plays an important role in English advertisements, which can not only render advertisements attractive and picturesque, but also informative and persuasive. So metaphors contribute to promoting the sale of products and help make advertised service thrive and flourish. 3. 3. 3 Personification By personification we mean that something without life is represented or thought of as a human being, or as having qualities or feelings of human beings. Personifying the advertised product and giving it feeling and emotion which only people possess, make an advertisement more acceptable. Personification is often employed in English advertisements. Lets observe the following example. We are proud of the birthplaces of our children, the grapes of Allemande. On our classic varietals wines, you will find the birthplaces of our, In Example, the grapes of Allemande are personified: they seem to be children of grape cultivators and wine makers, the date of wine making seems to be the birth day of the wine, and the place of grape cultivating seems to be the home town of the wine. By Personification, the adman paints a vivid and imaginative Picture. 3. 3. 4 Pun Puns which are often employed by the manufacturers to seek first-hand attention, are almost the most attention-getting device of the rhetorical figures. The tauter of puns in advertising is :the pun is the product of a contest deliberately constructed to enforce an ambiguity, to render the choice between meanings impossible, to leave the reader or hearer thinking about products in semantic space. As far as I know, the pun is one of the most favored rhetorical devices employed by copy writers and one of the most common rhetorical devices used in English advertisements . For example: Make you every hello and real good buy. (A Telephone Ad) Example is very typical of this kind of pun. The copy writer makes good use of homophones good-bye and good buy to satisfy customers psychology, to attract them and to promote the sale of the product. A play on words in this advertisement is used to draw the attention of the reader to the product because people might be amused by such a pun. One obvious influence of English advertising on the English language lies in fact that English advertising contributes a lot of mew words to the vocabulary stock of modern English. And some products or services are so popular that they have significantly changed peoples life patterns. 4. 1 The effect of the advertising results Advertising language is the core content of advertisements. Socio-cultural infancy advertising language of a society will inevitably reflect all the aspects of the social and cultural. Advertising language is a social fashion language. One easy to remember and enjoys popular support, it has inherited social and cultural side, with the innovative side; a bound by side, but also affect the text oriented side. Imprecise language translation of advertising effect In addition to this difference of language itself, caused by the misuse of advertising solution, there are a lot of misunderstandings from the inaccurate translation of advertising, such as the Hong Smoke in the tar (tar) translated as bitumen (asphalt), the computers soft Parts (software) into a computers underwear (underwear) and so on; It can be seen that the language of communication in advertising is important.. Advertising is for the product to open new international markets; we must respect the objectives of language habits of consumers, or can only be counter-productive. 4. 2 The effect of the peoples life In life, we can see striking, with the ear can hear is the slogan introduce advertising overwhelming, filled with our lives, the impact of our brain, people love UT hate. The role of advertising is not Just the need to stimulate; it is a more subtle role in changing peoples customs. Advertising is as a bridge between production and consumption. If through the language to influence and stimulate peoples sense organs, To follow the commodity information to the impression that the process of intuitive sense, and gradually the deep into the consumer consciousness, induced the attention of consumers for goods and stimulate people to think better use of the product after the scene. Results in a purchase along with desire and action, up to sell researched, promote and expanded reproduction purchases. Therefore, the advertising language on peoples consumption concept is impact very obvious. Advertising language meet the consumers psychological, accustomed to promote sales at the same time, consumers will also consumer guide: instill a certain amount of consumption concept, provides a stylish consumer culture. One trend of English advertising, as many linguistics have feared, is that the advertising language becomes elusive and manipulative. Authors like Aloud Huxley and E. B. White have warned of its manipulative nature. As Barbara Stan aptly sanitations, the deceptive nature of advertising language lies in the fact that it frequently uses poetic license to say one thing and mean another, borrowing literary other trend of English advertising is :the language is getting oral and the grammar is getting simpler . III these changes, if carelessly used, may easily lead to ambiguity and misunderstanding, which affects the products image negatively. CHAPTER VI conclusion Today in China, while our economic structure is shifting from the entirely planned economy to the socialist market system, advertising is becoming more and more active and sophisticated . Nanny, Chinas advertising expenditure reached $862 million. Among the fastest growing countries in Asia. Now with Chinas entry into WTFO, this expenditure figure will undoubtedly rise up, which will support the view that advertising is an indispensable meaner for providing the information that all market-oriented industrialized societies need for economies to function efficiently, And as English is one of the most widely used languages in the world, it is necessary to study and analyze the language features o f English advertising. Current advertisements reflect radical changes in the technology, media, the social and economic relations, the sense of personal and group identity. For the insight they provide the nature of these changes: and for the way they prepare us for further changes to come. It is a particular valuable field of study. Acknowledgement Throughout the process of writing my thesis, I obtained much help and encouragement from my kindly teacher Miss Wan. I have benefited a great deal from her great attainment, and patient guidance. Her helps and support which accompanied me when I studied as a postgraduate. I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to her.

7 Content Calendar Examples From Awesome Brands to Inspire Yours

7 Content Calendar Examples From Awesome Brands to Inspire Yours Content calendars can make or break the successful implementation of your content strategy. Why? Because they help keep your team on track, let them see what’s coming next, and help them avoid the panic of having to write something at the last minute. In this post, we took seven companies across a variety of industries and reconstructed their blog and social media posting schedules  (based on manual research) to create example content calendars. Then, after you’ve seen each example, we’ll show you how to establish your own publishing frequency, and build a content calendar to keep it organized. But First, Who Are We, Anyway?: is an industry-leading marketing calendar software platform. Curious to learn how you can manage your content + social media (and all your other marketing projects), all in one place? Start here. Download Your Content Calendar Template Kit Before you continue reading, download your content calendar template kit. It contains: A social media scheduling calendar  to plan, write and organize all your social media messages. A content calendar template  to organize and plan your content in advance. A printable marketing calendar  for your desk so you can always keep an eye on what’s coming next. A best times to post on social media infographic  to take the guesswork out of when you need to be posting. A how often to post on social media infographic  to know the baseline amount that you should post on your social media pages. A best times to publish blog posts infographic that lets you see the best times to publish your blog posts to gain the most eyeballs.7 Content Calendar Examples From Awesome Brands to Inspire Your OwnWhat Is The Purpose of a Content Calendar? The purpose of having a content calendar is to make sure your content team stays organized and on top of your publishing schedule. Some specific benefits include: Keeping track of deadlines. Giving your whole team visibility on what you’re working on. Making it easier to plan ahead. Let's Look At 7 Content Calendar Examples From These Leading Brands We chose the following companies to reconstruct their publishing schedule. Each one of these organizations had an active blog and a regular social media presence. Red Bull: Red Bull is a publishing company that just happens to sell an energy drink. This makes them interesting because they publish a large amount of high quality content. Reverb.com: An e-commerce business that carries musical instruments and accessories. They create content that makes it easy to see and hear what you’re getting before you buy. Modcloth: An e-commerce vintage clothing brand. They publish a mix of promotional content that helps sell clothes and content that shows their audience how they might look when wearing their product. Disney Parks: An estimated 150 million people visit Disney parks every year. Their content helps those visitors have the best time. BMW: BMW is the most popular car brand  on Instagram. Their messages promote an aspirational lifestyle that people strive to achieve. Whole Foods: Whole Foods curates content that’s valuable to people who want to live a healthier lifestyle. They also share their own recipes. Concordia College:  The marketing department at Concordia uses the story of their current students to attract new prospective students. Each one of these organizations span a variety of industries and company sizes. No matter what your organization does you can see a variety of schedules to inspire your own. Red Bull Red Bull is a massive media powerhouse that just happens to sell an energy drink. As you can see from their content calendar, they publish a lot of stuff whether it’s blogs, social media messages, videos and more. What conclusions can we draw from Red Bull’s content calendar? Post your content where your audience is most active.  Red Bull’s audience of 20 to 30 year old males is most active on Facebook and Instagram. Therefore it makes sense that Red Bull would publish a larger amount of content on these channels. Reuse video content on social media.  Red Bull is known for their incredible video content. Much of that gets shared on Facebook and their other social platforms. You might not be able to shoot the same kind of video, but if you have video content at all, repackage it for social media for maximum mileage. Create content that looks and feel authentically like the non-branded content that your audience seeks out. Red Bull is so successful because it looks like content from a publishing house. They don’t feel like they are being sold too. Takeaway: Organic social media content doesn't always need to sell directly in order to be successful. Take a look at Red Bull's content and social media publishing schedule.Reverb.com Reverb.com is an e-commerce website that sells pretty much any music related instrument you could think of. They know their audience well and have a created a reliable and consistent publishing schedule that’s jam-packed full of content about musicians, new and old instruments and techniques their fans would find interesting. What conclusions can we draw from Reverb’s content calendar? If you’re going to publish a lot of content make sure you do it well.  One of the reasons that Reverb.com is so successful with their content is because of their ability to tailor it to their audience. They publish a lot of information, but all of it is executed well. Establish trust with your audience. By talking to industry experts, popular musicians and more they are able to establish a sense of trust with their audience. People can drop a lot of money on their sites because they can trust what they find. Create content that makes it easy to understand how to use complex products.  Reverb does a great job explaining what their product does and how to use it. Their product base can get overwhelming and stressful so Reverb makes it easy to understand and find the dream product their audience is in search of. Takeaway: Earn your audience’s trust through the content you create. Take a look at Reverb's content and social media publishing schedule.ModCloth ModCloth is another e-commerce website that sells women’s vintage style clothing. ModCloth caters to a very niche market place as the demand for vintage clothes falls to a unique group of buyers. What conclusions can we draw from ModCloth’s content calendar? Put your audience’s interests first.  Modcloth’s audience is interested in fashion. They aren’t satisfied with what they can find at the mall. By creating content that gives their audience fashion ideas by itself, it’s okay that the copy tells them where to find it. This is an exception where direct selling can work for a retail brand. Start small and grow.  You don’t need to publish 67 blog posts and 123 social media messages right off the bat. ModCloth’s publishing schedule is small but that’s what works for them. You have to walk before you can run and that includes your content creation. Your blog doesn’t have to be your main focus. Blogs are great, but they’re also time-consuming. If your team doesn’t have the resources or the time to publish a ton of blog content, that’s okay. Focus your efforts on creating great content on your social media pages,e-books or landing pages and slowly grow your blog. Takeaway: Organic social media content should not always look and feel like an ad. Take a look at Mod Cloth's content and social media publishing schedule.Disney Parks Disney is a behemoth in the hospitality and service world and needless to say they publish a lot of content. The Disney Parks blog is just one of several blogs, Facebook pages and more that Disney runs. What conclusions can we draw from Disney Park’s content calendar? Create content that creates FOMO. Disney has many massive theme parks that are packed full of attractions and fun family things to do. Their content creates a FOMO or feeling of missing out on all the fun. This move creates a sense of urgency and longing for your audience hopefully promoting them to take action. Show them what they will experience. Create content that shows your audience what they will get or experience when they purchase your products. Instead of letting them guess what will happen, show them instead. Help them have the best time when they do business with you. Disney’s content focuses a lot on the experiences that their customers have. You can do this as well by letting your content show them how working with you creates the best possible experience they’ll ever have. Takeaway: Show your audience how to create an experience when they visit you. Take a look at Disney Park's content and social media publishing schedule.Whole Foods Whole Foods is a natural grocery store that was recently acquired by Amazon. They’re blog integrates the products their selling with fun easy to read content. What conclusions can we draw from Whole Foods content calendar? If you don’t have enough blog content to supplement your social media messages, curate it from other sources.  Whole Foods doesn’t publish a ton of blog content throughout the month so to supplement some of its social media posts it will scrape content from other related blogs, news sources and even their own customers. Try publishing themed content. One thing that Whole Foods does well is post themed content. Whether that be new Halloween recipes or ways to used seasoned fruits and vegetables Whole Foods finds a way to make their content timely and themed. Don’t publish blog content just to fill your content calendar. If you’re experiencing gaps in your content calendar don’t randomly publish blog content trying to fill it in. Your blog content should always be strategically written. Takeaway: Everything that Whole Foods publishes is high-quality content that their audience cares about. They might do well to publish a little more but you don’t have to have a publishing schedule like Red Bull to be successful. BMW BMW is a world-renowned luxury vehicle maker. Their designs are timeless, classic, and out of reach for many pocket books. Their content marketing strategy however, is not. What conclusions can we draw from BMW content calendar? Use your blog to show behind the scenes stuff about your product.  People love seeing what makes a product tick. Use your blog to show them information that they may not get by seeing advertisements or use cases of your product. If you sell an expensive product, use social media to reinforce your brand not make a direct sale. People know who BMW is and how it makes them feel. Their product is out of reach for many of their audience members meaning that a link to a dealership in a post probably isn’t going to result in a sale. If your product has a pretty hefty price tag use your social media to reinforce the luxury idea of your brand. Make people feel like they’re part of the community.  BMW is great at making their audience feel included when they buy their product. They’re not just purchasing a car, they’re also becoming part of a community. Takeaway: If your product is a hard direct sell, create content that caters to your audience’s aspirations. Take a look at BMW's content and social media publishing schedule.Concordia College Concordia College is a small liberal arts college in Moorhead, Minnesota. Like many colleges Concordia keeps and active blog and social media presence to attract prospective students. What conclusions can we draw from Concordia’s content calendar? Reshare your blog content.  Concordia shares one blog post  multiple times on one social media channel. This can help ensure that as many people see your content as possible. Let current customers tell your story. Concordia uses their content to show potential student see what it would look like if they were to attend the college. Word of mouth is more powerful than what you could say about yourself as a brand. Once you’ve publish your content respond to what people have to say. Your content publishing schedule is not complete once it’s live. You need to be able to continue that conversation about your content with your audience. Find out what they think and take the time to show them that you care about what they have to say. Takeaway: Reinforce the idea that your organization creates a community. Take a look at Concordia College's content and social media publishing schedule.How Can You Build Your Own Calendar Like a Leading Brand? You’ve seen seven  different examples. The next step in your process is to create a content publishing schedule and a social media promotion schedule. So how do you do that? Step One: Figure Out Content Types and Publishing Schedule The very first step in developing your content calendar is deciding what types content you’re going to be publishing. Some common options are: Blog Posts E-Books Landing pages Podcasts Videos Social media posts Email newsletters There’s no limit to the types of content that your team can publish but remember to start small and grow into more types later down the road. Once you’ve decided what types of content you’re going to publish, you need to decide how often you’re going publish each type of content. For example it could look something like: Publish two blog posts a week. Publish one podcast a week. Publish one e-book each quarter. The publishing schedule that your company decides on can grow or shrink depending on For every content piece you publish you should include the following information in your content calendar: The date it publishes. The topic it covers. The content format you’ll create. In your content calendar template it would look something like this:

Analysis of qualitative design part 2 Research Paper

Analysis of qualitative design part 2 - Research Paper Example Qualitative design is always accredited with the ability to seek and gain insight, this is often by exploring the depth, richness and complexity that is rooted in a particular phenomenon. In conducting this research study, the research relied upon an ethnographic research design, in this case, the researchers main aim was to study the prevailing characteristics of people in relation to adult literacy and gender equity empowerment among the people of rural Elsalvador (Prins 2005). The methods of study applied in ethnographic research designs identify a people’s prevailing culture, variables of the study and makes a comprehensive review of literature. In terms of data collection methods, the research design employs those that give it access to culture patterns and attributes, informants as well as ability to collect first-hand data. The researchers use of ethnographic design in this research was aimed at gaining an in-depth analysis of the effect of literacy education, gender and equity empowerment among the people of rural El Salvador. First, the research design was essential in gaining first-hand data from respondents, through this research design, it was easy to interact with people that provided particular services on the ground and get their views on the particular influence the subjects of study were having on people. Secondly, this research design was essential in enabling the researcher to move and record his observations about the characteristics of the people of rural El Salvador in the wake of literacy education and gender equity empowerment. Thirdly, the nature if this study was too complex to be answered by simple yes or no answers, the respondents were needed to provide an in-depth analysis of what they found as being the impact of gender equity empowerment initiatives and literacy education. The rationale for this study was to

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's Ethics Essay

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's Ethics - Essay Example A standard electronic device should be used to store all medical information of a person. The deadline for embracing the act was September 23, 2013. The health policy incorporates some ethical issues. These ethical issues include respect for the patient’s health information, confidentiality and honesty. HIPAA law has bought has established responsibilities for health care institutions. The HIPAA law has enhanced the confidentiality of the patients’ medical information. Confidentiality is the state of having something in a strict privacy or secrecy way. This helps to protect patient rights since only the required medical personnel’s can access the information. This is a component of providing quality medical health care. In a recent case, a patient suffering from paranoid schizophrenia got admitted to a mental hospital. The nurses at the hospital wanted to disclose the health information to the family. However, the patients’ physician refused since the patient had not allowed them to do so. The patients’ health rapidly improved, and within a week, he was ready for discharge. The patients’ health condition requires maximum respect. Respect is the condition of esteem. In the case of ongoing treatment, obtaining payments and for healthcare operations, one can share protected health information. Except for insurance reasons in order to receive payments written authorization should be presented any time one requires medical records. Under this condition HIPAA only allows access of minimum necessary information to perform job duties. This enhances respect for patients’ health information. In another case, a staff member in a medical practice disclosed HIV status of the patient. This happened mistakenly after the doctor’s office faxed medical records to the patients’ place of employment rather the new healthcare provider. He thereby disclosed PHI to several other individuals.

Nonmetric Analysis of Jawbones for Sex Determination

Nonmetric Analysis of Jawbones for Sex Determination ABSTRACT AIMS OBJECTIVES Mandible is the strongest, largest, hardest most durable bone of the skull which retains its shape better than other bones in forensic study and exhibiting high degree of sexual dimorphism. To study the nonmetric characteristics of mandible such as the variations of shape of chin, lower border of mandible and shape of coronoid process and to distinguish between males and females. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The material for this study comprised of 90 dry adult human mandibles of known sex which was obtained from Department of Anatomy. The characteristic feature that allowed the sexes to be distinguished was the contour of the lower border of mandible, shape of the chin and shape of coronoid process bilaterally. RESULTS: Rocker-shaped mandibles predominated in males (58.9%), whereas most females (41.1%) exhibited a straight mandible. The shape of the chin in most males was generally Bilobate (45.5%), Square (43.6%), whereas the chin in females was Pointed (71.4%).Shapes of coronoid process observed were Triangular (41.1%), Rounded (31.1%), and Hook in (27.8%) with p value CONCLUSION: The nonmetric analysis of mandible used in this study could be used for sex determination. Key words: Forensic anthropological, Mandible, Non metric characteristics sex determination. Introduction In forensic investigation identifying the human remains is thought to be a first step is crucial for futher analysis.1 The sex determination in human skeleton is usually the initial step in the identification process as subsequent methods for age and stature estimation are sex dependent. The accuracy of sex determination depends on the completeness of the remains and the degree of sexual dimorphism inherent in the population.2 When the complete adult skeleton is available for analysis sex can be determined up to hundred percent (100%) accuracy, but in cases of fragmented bones which are usually found in mass disasters, obtaining cent percent (100%) accuracy in sex determination is difficult and it largely depends on the available fragmented bones of skeleton.1, 2 As evident from the earlier studies, the most dimorphic and easily distinguish portion of skeleton among sexes after pelvis is skull, providing accuracy up to 92%.1 But in cases where intact skull is not found, in sex determination mandible may play a vital role, as it is the most durable, largest, strongest , and dimorphic bone of skull.1-4 Mandible is very durable part of skull bone due to the presence of a dense layer of compact bone, and hence remains well preserved than many other bones. The shape and size of mandible reflects the dimorphism characteristics.1 Female bones are generally smaller and less robust than male bones.2 This characteristic feature of mandible helps in sex and age determination in medico legal cases. In anthropological excavations, the morphometric features of the mandible aid to determine the sex, age, food habits and race of the population and also helps to understand the cave dweller / human evolution.5 The relative development such as size, strength, and angulation of the muscles of mastication is known to influence the expression of mandibular dimorphism as masticatory forces exerted are different for males and females.6 The shape of the mandible can vary according to the different lifestyles and chewing habits .7Therefore, the morphological characteristics of the mandible vary among different ethnic groups. There are several causes of differences in the shape of the mandible between the sexes8. The shape and size of the mandible appear to differ between the sexes from the development of the deciduous tooth. Also, the size of the masticatory muscles and mandible appear to differ between males and females before birth9. The size of the ramus differs between males and females according to the stage of mandibular development and muscle growth.10,11 Furthermore, the mandible have different rate of growth in males and females.12,13 Because puberty occurs earlier in females than in males, sexual differences may manifest themselves in the skull and jaws of females earlier than in the later and longer maturing males.14 For the determination of the of males and females mandible many attempts have been made wi th help of metric standards.15-17 However, metric methods have their disadvantages by their requirement of a complete mandible. Using nonmetric methods, Bass18 found that the shape of the chin could be used to distinguish between males and females. In addition, Loth and Henneberg 19 in his reported cases showed that there is a large difference in the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exure of the ramal posterior border during male and female Africans that can be used to differentiate the sexes with 99% reliability. In addition, it was reported that there are discrete differences in the gonial à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡aring of the mandible between the sexes20. In this study we investigated the criteria that can be used to differentiate between males and females by using the non-metric characteristics of mandible such as variation of contour of lower border of mandible, shape of the chin and variation in shape of coronoid process in mandibles. MATERIALS AND METHOD The present study was undertaken on 90 dry adult, complete, undamaged human mandibles of known sex from the collection of Anatomy department. Out of 90 mandibles 53 were of males and 37 of females and were examined for the variations shape of lower border, shape of the chin and shape of coronoid process of both the left and right side of the mandible. The shape of the chin was classified according to the thickness of the mandible in front of and beneath the chin, the proà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ le of the chin according to amount of protrusion of the chin observed from the side, the contour of the lower border of the mandible was classified according to the depth of the antegonial notch, variations in the shape of the coronoid process in right and left sides of adult bones of both sexes were noted and tabulated. The nonmetric items observed in this study is as follows: 1. The contour of the lower border of the mandible (fig 1) Straight/rocker/undulating 2. The shape of the chin (fig 1) Bilobate/square/pointed 3 Coronoid process of mandible (fig 1) Hooked, rounded and triangular INCULSION CRITERIA: well-formed mandible EXCULSION CRITERIA: Fractured, deformed, bony growths of Coronoid process [osteochondroma] were excluded from the study. Data were analyzed using a chi-square test p value of 0.05 was obtained which showed that this study was statistically significant. RESULTS: Rocker-shaped mandibles predominated in males (58.9%), whereas most females (41.1%) exhibited a straight mandible. The shape of the chin in most males was generally Bilobate (45.5%), Square (43.6%), and Pointed (10.9%), whereas the chin in females was either Square (8.6%) or Bilobated (20.0%) Pointed (71.4%).Shapes of coronoid process observed were Triangular (41.1%), Rounded (31.1%), and Hook in (27.8%) with p value Discussion Differentiating features of males from females and the differences in ethnic groups by analyzing the morphological characteristics of bone is important in the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ eld of physical and forensic anthropology. Sound bone is difà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cult to obtain because the quality of bone deteriorates over time due to factors such as environment-induced erosion. In sex determination examination of the pelvic bone is the most accurate means, but this bone is rarely found intact. Skull is most easily distinguishing portion of the skeleton as a part of the skull mandible shares its own characteristics. The mandible is the strongest and largest bone in the human body and persists in a well-preserved state longer than any other bone. Hence mandibular characteristics are significantly useful for determining sex and race. The shape of the chin and the lower border of the mandible had a different shape between males and females in the present study. The shape of the chin is used widely to distinguish between the sexes, because the male chin is usually bilobate /square whereas the female chin is more pointed. Similar observations were made in the present study; specifically, 90.7% of males had either a bilobate or square chin, whereas 72.2% of females had a pointed chin. However, while the shape of the chin is more distinctive in males than in females, sex determination based only on the shape of the chin is not sufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ciently reliable. The characteristic that was the most distinguishable between the sexes in this study was the shape of the lower border of the mandible. The lower borders of mandibles from males tended to be rocker shaped (58.9%), whereas lower borders of mandibles from females tended to be straight (41.1%) (Table1). Therefore, the shape of the lower border of the mandible may be used as a reliable index for sex determination. However, we believe that using only this characteristic is not sufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ciently reliable for sex determination; instead, evaluating both the shape of the chin and the shape of the lower border of the mandible improve the precision of sex determination. When these two items were combined, 90.7% of males exhibited the characteristics of male mandibles (a bilobate or square chin and a rocker-shaped lower border of the mandible), whereas 77.2% of females exhibited the characteristics of female mandibles (a pointed chin and a straight lower border of the mandible, (Table3). Fe w males (9.3%) had a pointed chin and a straight lower border, which are characteristics of females, while 27.7% of the females exhibited mandibular characteristics that were characteristic of males (Table 3). Therefore, the probability of assigning the incorrect sex to a mandible when examining both the shape of the chin and the shape of the lower border of the mandible is very low. Moreover, the shape of the chin is the most distinctive characteristic in males (90.7%), whereas the lower border of the mandible is the most distinctive characteristic in females (77.2%). Therefore, we can determine the sex using the following two-step approach. During the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst step in determining sex based on the characteristics of the mandible, if the lower border of the mandible is rocker shaped, it is likely to be the mandible of a male, but if the lower border is straight, it is likely to be the mandible of a female; during the second step, if the chin of the mandible that has a straigh t lower border is bilobate/square, it is likely to be the mandible of a male whereas pointed and straight is likely to be of female. Shapes of coronoid process observed were Triangular (41.1%),Rounded (31.1%), and Hook in (27.8%) where Triangular and hook shape had slight male predilection and triangular and rounded had slight more of female predilection(Table 4).Issac B21reported in a study of 157 mandibles incidence of hook shaped was 27.4%, triangular 49% and rounded type 23.6%.He found the incidence of the rounded type almost equal in male and female mandibles, triangular type slightly more in the females, while hook type more in the male mandibles. Comparing with Issac B the incidence of hook type was closely similar to the present study, but triangular and rounded shape incidence observed was more in males and so the findings did not coincide with the author. CONCULSION The differences between the sexes and among ethnic groups the morphological characteristics of the mandible are determined by the environment and different growth patterns. Therefore, males and females can be distinguished based on the shapes of various parts of the mandible. We found that the simultaneous use of the shape of the lower border of the mandible and the shape of the chin is the best method of predicting sex with a rate of accuracy that is higher than 90% and the morphological variation of shapes of coronoid .Triangular shape of coronoid process is the most common presentation .Incidence of Triangular, Rounded and Hook shape were found more in the in male bones compared to female bones. The above findings could be of substantial significance for the anatomist, anthropologist and forensic researchers.

Shadow Kiss Chapter 9

Nine WITH SO MANY MOROI tracing their roots back to Eastern Europe, Orthodox Christianity was the dominant religion on campus. Other religions were represented too, and I'd say all in all, only about half of the student body attended any sort of services regularly. Lissa was one such student. She went to church every Sunday because she believed. Christian also attended. He did it because she went and because it made him look good and seem less likely to become Strigoi. Since Strigoi couldn't enter holy ground, regular church service provided a small front of respectability for him. When I wasn't sleeping in, I showed up at church for the social aspect. Lissa and my friends usually hung out and did something fun afterward, so church made for a good meeting spot. If God minded me using his chapel as a way to further my social life, He hadn't let me know. Either that, or He was biding his time before punishing me. When the service ended that Sunday, however, I had to stick around the chapel, because that was where my community service was going to happen. When the place had cleared out, I was surprised to see one other person had lingered with me: Dimitri. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked. â€Å"Thought you might need some help. I hear the priest wants to do a lot of housecleaning.† â€Å"Yeah, but you're not the one being punished here. And this is your day off too. We – well, everyone else – spent the whole week battling it out, but you guys were the ones picking the fights the whole time.† In fact, I noticed now that Dimitri had a couple bruises too – though not nearly as many as Stan had. It had been a long week for everyone, and it was only the first of six. â€Å"What else would I do today?† â€Å"I could think of a hundred other things,† I noted dryly. â€Å"There's probably a John Wayne movie on somewhere that you haven't seen.† He shook his head. â€Å"No, there isn't. I've seen them all. Look – the priest is waiting for us.† I turned around. Sure enough. Father Andrew stood at the front, watching us expectantly. He'd taken off the rich robes he'd worn during service and now stood in simple slacks and a button down shirt. He looked like he was ready to work too, and I wondered whatever happened to Sunday being a day of rest. As Dimitri and I approached to get our assignments, I pondered what could have actually made Dimitri stay here in the first place. Surely he hadn't really wanted to work on his day off. I wasn't used to puzzles with him. His intentions were usually straightforward, and I had to assume there was a simple explanation now. It just wasn't clear yet. â€Å"Thank you both for volunteering to help me.† Father Andrew smiled at us. I tried not to scoff at the â€Å"volunteering† reference. He was a Moroi in his late forties, with thinning gray hair. Even without much faith in religion, I still liked and respected him. â€Å"We aren't doing anything particularly complex today,† he continued. â€Å"It's a bit boring, really. We'll have to do the regular cleaning, of course, and then I'd like to sort the boxes of old supplies I have sitting up in the attic.† â€Å"We're happy to do whatever you need,† Dimitri said solemnly. I repressed a sigh and tried not to think of all the other things I could be doing. We set to it. I was put on mop duty, and Dimitri took over dusting and polishing the wooden pews. He appeared thoughtful and intent as he cleaned, looking like he actually took pride in his work. I was still trying to figure out why he was here at all. Don't get me wrong; I was happy to have him. His presence made me feel better, and of course I always loved watching him. I thought maybe he was there to get more information out of me about what had happened that day with Stan, Christian, and Brandon. Or maybe he wanted to chastise me about the other day with Stan, where I'd been accused of jumping into battle for selfish reasons. These seemed like likely explanations, yet he never said a word. Even when the priest stepped out of the sanctuary to go to his office, Dimitri continued working quietly. I would have figured if he'd had anything to say, he would have done it then. When we finished the cleaning, Father Andrew had us haul box after box of stuff down from the attic and into a storeroom at the back of the chapel. Lissa and Christian frequently used that attic as a secret getaway, and I wondered if having it cleaner would be a pro or a con for their romantic interludes. Maybe they would abandon it, and I could start getting some sleep. With all of the stuff downstairs, the three of us settled on the floor and began sorting it all out. Father Andrew gave us instructions on what to save and what to throw out, and it was a relief to be off my feet for a change this week. He made small talk as we worked, asking me about classes and other things. It wasn't so bad. And as we worked, a thought came to me. I'd done a good job convincing myself that Mason had been a delusion brought on by lack of sleep, but getting assurance from an authority figure that ghosts weren't real would go a long way toward making me feel better. â€Å"Hey,† I said to Father Andrew. â€Å"Do you believe in ghosts? I mean, is there any mention of them in – † I gestured around us. † – in this stuff?† The question clearly surprised him, but he didn't appear to take offense at me calling his vocation and life's work â€Å"this stuff.† Or at the fact that I was obviously ignorant about it all, despite seventeen years of sitting through services. A bemused expression crossed his face, and he paused in his work. â€Å"Well †¦ it depends on how you define ‘ghost,' I suppose.† I tapped a theology book with my finger. â€Å"The whole point of this is that when you die, you go to heaven or hell. That makes ghosts just stories, right? They're not in the Bible or anything.† â€Å"Again,† he said, â€Å"it depends on your definition. Our faith has always held that after death, the spirit separates from the body and may indeed linger in this world.† â€Å"What?† A dusty bowl I was holding dropped out of my hand. Fortunately, it was wood and didn't break. I quickly retrieved it. That was not the answer I'd been expecting. â€Å"For how long? Forever?† â€Å"No, no, of course not. That flies in the face of the resurrection and salvation, which form the cornerstone of our beliefs. But it's believed the soul can stay on earth for three to forty days after death. It eventually receives a ‘temporary' judgment that sends it on from this world to heaven or hell – although no one will truly experience either until the actual Judgment Day, when the soul and body are reunited to live out eternity as one.† The salvation stuff was lost on me. The â€Å"three to forty days† was what caught my attention. I completely forgot about my sorting. â€Å"Yeah, but is it true or not? Are spirits really walking the earth for forty days after death?† â€Å"Ah, Rose. Those who have to ask if faith is true are opening up a discussion they may not be ready for.† I had a feeling he was right. I sighed and turned back to the box in front of me. â€Å"But,† he said kindly, â€Å"if it helps you, some of these ideas parallel folk beliefs from Eastern Europe about ghosts that existed before the spread of Christianity. Those traditions have long upheld the idea of spirits staying around for a short time after death – particularly if the person in question died young or violently.† I froze. Whatever progress I'd made in convincing myself Mason had been brought on by stress instantly vanished. Young or violently. â€Å"Why?† I asked in a small voice. â€Å"Why would they stay? Is it†¦ is it for revenge?† â€Å"I'm sure there are some who believe that, just as some believe it's because the soul has trouble finding peace after something so unsettling.† â€Å"What do you believe?† I asked. He smiled. â€Å"I believe the soul separates from the body, just as our fathers teach us, but I doubt the soul's time on earth is anything the living can perceive. It's not like in the movies, with ghosts haunting buildings or coming to visit those they knew. I envision these spirits as more of an energy existing around us, something beyond our perception as they wait to move on and find peace. Ultimately, what matters is what happens beyond this earth when we attain the eternal life our savior bought for us with his great sacrifice. That's what's important.† I wondered if Father Andrew would be so quick to say that if he'd seen what I'd seen. Young or violently. Both had applied to Mason, and he had died less than forty days ago. That sad, sad face came back to me, and I wondered what it had meant. Revenge? Or could he truly not find peace? And how did Father Andrew's theology about heaven and hell fit with someone like me, who had died and come back to life? Victor Dashkov had said I'd gone to the world of the dead and returned when Lissa had healed me. What world of the dead? Was that heaven or hell? Or was it another way of referring to this in-between state on earth that Father Andrew was talking about? I didn't say anything after that, because the idea of a revenge-seeking Mason was so startling. Father Andrew sensed the change in me, but he obviously didn't know what had brought it about. He tried to coax me out. â€Å"I just got some new books in from a friend in another parish. Interesting stories about St. Vladimir.† He tilted his head. â€Å"Are you still interested in him? And Anna?† Theoretically, I was. Until we'd met Adrian, we'd only known of two other spirit users. One was our former teacher, Ms. Karp, who'd gone completely nuts from spirit and become a Strigoi to stop the madness. The other person was St. Vladimir, the school's namesake. He'd lived centuries ago and had brought his guardian, Anna, back from the dead, just as Lissa had me. It had made Anna shadow-kissed and created a bond between them too. Normally, Lissa and I tried to get our hands on everything we could about Anna and Vlad, in order to learn more about ourselves. But, as incredible as it was for me to admit, I had bigger problems right now than the ever-present and ever-puzzling psychic link between Lissa and me. It had just been trumped by a ghost who could possibly be pissed off over my role in his untimely death. â€Å"Yeah,† I said evasively, not making eye contact. â€Å"I'm interested†¦but I don't think I can get to it anytime soon. I'm kind of busy with all this†¦you know, field experience stuff.† I fell silent again. He took the hint and let me work on without further interruption. Dimitri never said a word throughout any of this. When we finally finished sorting, Father Andrew told us we had one more task before our work was done. He pointed to some boxes that we'd organized and repacked. â€Å"I need you to carry these over to the elementary campus,† he said. â€Å"Leave them off at the Moroi dorm there. Ms. Davis has been teaching Sunday school for some of the kindergartners and might be able to use those.† It would take at least two trips between Dimitri and me, and the elementary campus was a fair distance away. Still, that put me one step closer to freedom. â€Å"Why are you interested in ghosts?† Dimitri asked me on our first trip. â€Å"Just making conversation,† I said. â€Å"I can't see your face right now, but I have a feeling you're lying again.† â€Å"Jeez, everyone thinks the worst of me lately. Stan accused me of glory-seeking.† â€Å"I heard about that,† said Dimitri, as we rounded a corner. The buildings of the elementary campus loomed up in front of us. â€Å"That might have been a little unfair of him.† â€Å"A little, huh?† Hearing him admit that thrilled me, but it didn't change my anger against Stan. That dark, grouchy feeling that had plagued me lately sprang to life. â€Å"Well, thanks, but I'm starting to lose faith in this field experience. Sometimes in the whole Academy.† â€Å"You don't mean that.† â€Å"I don't know. The school just seems so caught up in rules and policies that don't have anything to do with real life. I saw what was out there, comrade. I went right to the monster's lair. In some ways †¦ I don't know if this really prepares us.† I expected him to argue, but to my surprise he said, â€Å"Sometimes I agree.† I nearly stumbled as we stepped inside one of the two Moroi dorms on the elementary campus. The lobby looked a lot like the ones on the secondary campus. â€Å"Really?† I asked. â€Å"Really,† he said, a small smile on his face. â€Å"I mean, I don't agree that novices should be put out in the world when they're ten or anything, but sometimes I've thought the field experience should actually be in the field. I probably learned more in my first year as a guardian than I did in all my years of training. Well†¦ maybe not all. But it's a different situation, absolutely.† We exchanged looks, pleased over our agreement. Something warm fluttered up in me, putting the lid on my earlier anger. Dimitri understood my frustration with the system, but then, Dimitri understood me. He glanced around, but there was no one at the desk. A few students in their early teens were working or talking in the lobby. â€Å"Oh,† I said, shifting the weight of the box I held. â€Å"We're in the middle school dorm. The younger kids are next door.† â€Å"Yes, but Ms. Davis lives in this building. Let me try to find her and see where she wants these.† He set his box down carefully. â€Å"I'll be right back.† I watched him go and set my own box down. Leaning against a wall, I glanced around and nearly jumped when I saw a Moroi girl only a couple feet away. She'd been standing so perfectly still, I hadn't noticed her. She looked like she could be mid-teens – thirteen or fourteen – but she was tall, much taller than me. The slimness of her Moroi build made her look even taller. Her hair was a cloud of brown curls, and she had freckles – rare among the normally pale Moroi – across her face. Her eyes widened when she saw me looking at her. â€Å"Oh. My. God. You're Rose Hathaway, aren't you?† â€Å"Yeah,† I said with surprise. â€Å"Do you know me?† â€Å"Everyone knows you. I mean, everyone heard about you. You're the one who ran away. And then you came back and killed those Strigoi. That is so cool. Did you get molnija marks?† Her words came out in one long string. She hardly took a breath. â€Å"Yeah. I have two.† Thinking about the tiny tattoos on the back of my neck made my skin itch. Her pale green eyes – if possible – grew wider. â€Å"Oh my God. Wow.† I usually grew irate when people made a big deal about the molnija marks. After all, the circumstances had not been cool. But this girl was young, and there was something appealing about her. â€Å"What's your name?† I asked. â€Å"Jillian – Jill. I mean, just Jill. Not both. Jillian's my full name. Jill's what everyone calls me.† â€Å"Right,† I said, hiding a smile. â€Å"I figured it out.† â€Å"I heard Moroi used magic on that trip to fight. Is that true? I would love to do that. I wish someone would teach me. I use air. Do you think I could fight Strigoi with that? Everyone says I'm crazy.† For centuries, Moroi using magic to fight had been viewed as a sin. Everyone believed it should be used peacefully. Recently, some had started to question that, particularly after Christian had proved useful in the Spokane escape. â€Å"I don't know,† I said. â€Å"You should talk to Christian Ozera.† She gaped. â€Å"Would he talk to me?† â€Å"If you bring up fighting the establishment, yeah, he'll talk to you.† â€Å"Okay, cool. Was that Guardian Belikov?† she asked, switching subjects abruptly. â€Å"Yeah.† I swore I thought she might faint then and there. â€Å"Really? He's even cuter than I heard. He's your teacher, right? Like, your own personal teacher?† â€Å"Yeah.† I wondered where he was. Talking to Jill was exhausting. â€Å"Wow. You know, you guys don't even act like teacher and student. You seem like friends. Do you hang out when you're not training?† â€Å"Er, well, kind of. Sometimes.† I remembered my earlier thoughts, about how I was one of the few people Dimitri was social with outside of his guardian duties. â€Å"I knew it! I can't even imagine that – I'd be freaking out all the time around him. I'd never get anything done, but you're so cool about it all, kind of like, ‘Yeah, I'm with this totally hot guy, but whatever, it doesn't matter.'† I laughed in spite of myself. â€Å"I think you're giving me more credit than I deserve.† â€Å"No way. And I don't believe any of those stories, you know.† â€Å"Um, stories?† â€Å"Yeah, about you beating up Christian Ozera.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said. Now rumors of my humiliation were trickling down to the lower campus. If I walked over to the elementary dorms, some six-year-old would probably tell me she'd heard that I killed Christian. Jill's expression turned momentarily uncertain. â€Å"But I didn't know about the other story.† â€Å"What other story?† â€Å"About how you and Adrian Ivashkov are – â€Å" â€Å"No,† I interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest. â€Å"Whatever you heard, it's not true.† â€Å"But it was really romantic.† â€Å"Then it's definitely not true.† Her face fell, and then she perked back up a few seconds later. â€Å"Hey, can you teach me to punch someone?† â€Å"Wai – What? Why would you want to know that?† â€Å"Well, I figure if I'm going to fight with magic someday, I should learn to fight the regular way too.† â€Å"I'm probably not the right person to ask,† I told her. â€Å"Maybe you should, um, ask your P.E. teacher.† â€Å"I did!† Her face looked distraught. â€Å"And he said no.† I couldn't help but laugh. â€Å"I was joking about asking him.† â€Å"Come on, it could help me fight a Strigoi someday.† My laughter dried up. â€Å"No, it really wouldn't.† She bit her lip, still desperate to convince me. â€Å"Well, it would at least help against that psycho.† â€Å"What? What psycho?† â€Å"People keep getting beat up around here. Last week it was Dane Zeklos, and just the other day it was Brett.† â€Å"Dane †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I ran through my knowledge of Moroi genealogy. There were a gazillion Zeklos students around. â€Å"That's Jesse's younger brother, yeah?† Jill nodded. â€Å"Yup. One of our teachers was so mad, too, but Dane wouldn't say a word. Neither would Brett.† â€Å"Brett who?† â€Å"Ozera.† I did a double take. â€Å"Ozera?† I had the impression she was really excited to tell me things I didn't know. â€Å"He's my friend Aimee's boyfriend. He was all bruised up yesterday – had some weird things that looked like welts, too. Maybe burns? But he wasn't as bad as Dane. And when Mrs. Callahan asked him about it, Brett convinced her it was nothing, and she let it go, which was weird. He was also in a really good mood – which was also weird, since you'd kind of think getting beat up would bring you down.† Somewhere in the back of my mind, her words tickled a memory. There was some connection I should be making, but I couldn't quite grasp it. Between Victor, ghosts, and the field experiences, it was honestly a wonder I could string words together anymore. â€Å"So can you teach me so that I won't get beat up?† Jill asked, clearly hoping she'd convinced me. She balled her fist up. â€Å"I just do this, right? Thumb across the fingers and swing?† â€Å"Uh, well, it's a little more complicated than that. You need to stand a certain way, or you'll hurt yourself more than the other person. There are a lot of things you need to do with your elbows and hips.† â€Å"Show me, please?† she begged. â€Å"I bet you're really good.† I was really good, but corrupting minors was one offense I didn't yet have on my record, and I preferred to keep it that way. Fortunately, Dimitri came back just then with Ms. Davis. â€Å"Hey,† I told him. â€Å"I have someone who wants to meet you. Dimitri, this is Jill. Jill, Dimitri.† He looked surprised, but he smiled and shook her hand. She turned bright red and became speechless for a change. As soon as he released her hand, she stammered out a goodbye and ran off. We finished up with Ms. Davis and headed back toward the chapel for our second load. â€Å"Jill knew who I was,† I told Dimitri as we walked. â€Å"She had kind of a hero-worship thing going on.† â€Å"Does that surprise you?† he asked. â€Å"That younger students would look up to you?† â€Å"I don't know. I just never thought about it. I don't think I'm that good of a role model.† â€Å"I disagree. You're outgoing, dedicated, and excel at everything you do. You've earned more respect than you think.† I gave him a sidelong glance. â€Å"And yet not enough to go to Victor's trial, apparently.† â€Å"Not this again.† â€Å"Yes, this again! Why don't you get how major this is? Victor's a huge threat.† â€Å"I know he is.† â€Å"And if he gets loose, he'll just start in on his crazy plans again.† â€Å"It's really unlikely he will get loose, you know. Most of those rumors about the queen letting him off are just that – rumors. You of all people should know not to believe everything you hear.† I stared stonily ahead, refusing to acknowledge his point. â€Å"You should still let us go. Or† – I took a deep breath – â€Å"you should at least let Lissa go.† It was harder for me to say those words than it should have been, but it was something I'd been thinking about. I didn't think I was a glory seeker like Stan had said, but there was a part of me that always wanted to be the one in the middle of a fight. I wanted to rush forward, doing what was right and helping others. Likewise, I wanted to be there at Victor's trial. I wanted to look him in the eye and make sure he was punished. But as time went on, it seemed less likely that that would happen. They really weren't going to let us go. Maybe, though, maybe they'd let one of us go, and if it should be anyone, it should be Lissa. She'd been the target of Victor's plan, and though her going alone stirred up that nervous idea about how maybe she didn't need me to guard her, I'd still rather take the chance and see him put away. Dimitri, understanding my need to rush in and take action, seemed surprised by my unusual behavior. â€Å"You're right – she should be there, but again, it's nothing I can do anything about. You keep thinking I can control this, but I can't.† â€Å"But did you do everything you could?† I thought back to Adrian's words in the dream, about how Dimitri could have done more. â€Å"You have a lot of influence. There must be something. Anything.† â€Å"Not as much influence as you think. I've got a high position here at the Academy, but in the rest of the guardian world, I'm still pretty young. And yes, I did actually speak up for you.† â€Å"Maybe you should have spoken up louder.† I could sense him shutting down. He'd discuss most things reasonably but wouldn't encourage me when I was just being a bitch. So, I tried to be more reasonable. â€Å"Victor knows about us,† I said. â€Å"He could say something.† â€Å"Victor has bigger things to worry about with this trial than us.† â€Å"Yeah, but you know him. He doesn't exactly act like a normal person would. If he feels like he's lost all hope of getting off, he might decide to bust us just for the sake of revenge.† I'd never been able to confess my relationship with Dimitri to Lissa, yet our worst enemy knew about it. It was weirder even than Adrian knowing. Victor had figured it out by watching us and gathering data. I guess when you're a scheming villain, you get good at that stuff. He'd never made the knowledge public, though. Instead, he'd used it against us with the lust charm he'd made from earth magic. A charm like that wouldn't work if there wasn't already attraction in place. The charm just cranked things up. Dimitri and I had been all over each other and had been only a heartbeat away from having sex. It had been a pretty smart way for Victor to distract us without using violence. If anyone had tried to attack us, we could have put up a good fight. But turn us loose on each other? We had trouble fighting that. Dimitri was silent for several moments. I knew he knew I had a point. â€Å"Then we'll have to deal with that as best we can,† he said at last. â€Å"But if Victor's going to tell, he's going to do it whether or not you testify.† I refused to say anything else until we got to the church. When we did, Father Andrew told us that after going over some more things, he'd decided he really only needed one more box brought over to Ms. Davis. â€Å"I'll do it,† I told Dimitri crisply, once the priest was out of earshot. â€Å"You don't have to come.† â€Å"Rose, please don't make a big deal about this.† â€Å"It is a big deal!† I hissed. â€Å"And you don't seem to get it.† â€Å"I do get it. Do you really think I want to see Victor loose? Do you think I want us all at risk again?† It was the first time in a long time I'd seen his control on the verge of snapping. â€Å"But I told you, I've done all I can do. I'm not like you – I can't keep making a scene when things don't go my way.† â€Å"I do not.† â€Å"You're doing it right now.† He was right. Some part of me knew I'd crossed a line †¦ but just like with everything else recently, I couldn't stop talking. â€Å"Why did you even help me today?† I demanded. â€Å"Why are you here?† â€Å"Is that so strange?† he asked. He almost looked hurt. â€Å"Yes. I mean, are you are you trying to spy on me? Figure out why I messed up? Make sure I don't get into any trouble?† He studied me, brushing hair out of his eyes. â€Å"Why does there have to be some ulterior motive?† I wanted to blurt out a hundred different things. Like, if there wasn't a motive, then that meant he just wanted to spend time with me. And that made no sense, because we both knew we were only supposed to have a teacher-student relationship. He of all people should know that. He was the one who'd told me. â€Å"Because everyone has motives.† â€Å"Yes. But not always the motives you think.† He pushed open the door. â€Å"I'll see you later.† I watched him go, my feelings a tangle of confusion and anger. If the situation hadn't been so strange, I would have almost said it was like we'd just gone on a date.

Summary Multimedia Database

INTRODUCTION 1) Background a) Combine text + graphics b) Visual + audio c) Catalog and index image + efficient storage and delivery 2) 4 Difficulties d) Data type e) Data manipulation f) Data storage g) Data delivery 3) Importance h) Store Image (eg:museum) i) Search and manipulate content 4) Types j) Images k) Audio l) Video m) Document n) Handwritten 5) Application o) GIS,CAD,Face-retrieval,doc imaging, medical db, web 6) Characteristic p) Treat mdb same way as data based 7) 4 Challenges q) Size r) Time s) Semantic Nature of Multimedia ) Operation of individual media 8) 5 Features u) Support diff. multimedia data type v) Handle large no. multimedia obj. w) Hierarchical storage structure & archiving data x) Information-retrieval y) Database capabilities More Summary of Devil at My Heels MULTIMEDIA DATA 1. Multimedia data size [Size of media data makes storage, processing, transmission and reception of the data very costly] a. Multimedia data acquisition * Data capture: photo/audio/video * Sampling: convert analog to digital * 8bits = 256 colors * 24bits = 16 million colors b.Dealing with Media Object Size * 2 approaches : store references/reduce size media * SQL:1999 2 data type BLOB & CLOB Lack in (PK, FK ,equality test) * Oracle9i: support 2 LOB #internal LOB: BLOB & CLOB #external LOB: BFILE * IBM DB2: BLOB,CLOB,DBLOB(china) c. Reducing Media Object’s Size * Compression algorithm *remove duplicate information *abbreviating information * Objective *Reduce bandwidth/storage *Decode signal close to original *Robustness,scalability,extensibility * 2 stages: *Predict-estimate redundant & select algorithm Transform-Compress & Decompress * 2 form of compression *Lossless-lose none,2:1,3:1 *Lossy-lose some,10:1,80:1 * Two ways *Run-length encoding *Huffman coding * 2. Real-Time N ature of Multimedia Data d. Segmentation: subdividing video obj e. Manual segmentation costly so focus on automatic segmentation 3. Semantic Nature of Multimedia Data f. Semantic: metadata describe multimedia obj. g. Refer as: text desc/characteristic of metadata(texture of image,frequencies of audios,font size for text)Database Management System and Data