Critical Analysis of a Passage from Horace Walpoles...

Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, is acknowledged by many as the first gothic novel. It was the first of it’s kind and many of the conventions used by Walpole, which put it in a literary genre of it’s own, were continued by authors such as Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis. Many of these defining characteristics can be seen within the very first few pages of the text and for the purposes of this essay, to identify some of these conventions used and the relevance of this text to modernity I shall focus this analysis on the passage between pages twenty-four and twenty-six from the Oxford World’s Classics edition. The gothic novel emerged during the late eighteenth century and the ‘Age of Enlightenment’, which emphasised rationality†¦show more content†¦In Otranto, Walpole challenges his societies views of modernity and transgresses social laws by introducing the theme of incest into his novel with Manfred preying of his deceased son’s betrothed, Isabella. This brings into play three defining features which became prevalent within gothic novels of the late eighteenth century: women in distress; women being threatened by powerful males; and the major theme of fear and in this example, specifically female fear. Isabella, a young, virginal woman becomes â€Å"half dead with fright† when faced with potential rape and becoming a spoiled woman at the hands of the powerful and threatening Manfred. Such suggestions, by Walpole’s age were seen as scandalous and caused moral outrage, a thread that was carried through the gothic genre. This new genre may have pr ovided for many, an escape from the rigid world of enlightenment. It brought to them a world of imagination and allowed them to immerse themselves in a world which had been morally forbidden and they could do it from the privacy of their own homes, allowing their indulgence, and perhaps, immoral thoughts to go unnoticed, providing a way for the darkness and immoral thoughts to come alive outside of the novel. At the end of the novel however, society’s moral ideals surface as Manfred retires to a convent after the realisation of his sins and order is restored. In this way, although Walpole is exposing his readers to these ideas, he wouldShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Gothic Genre and What it Entails6177 Words   |  25 Pagesof Hell itself, and to find things familiar in the world of make believe.. Marquis (Donatien Alphonse) de Sade, Reflections on the Novel., 1800. Gothic literature has been an area of critical contention since Horace Walpoles seminal Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, was published in 1764. Although vilified by much of the contemporary press the Gothic had its champions, many of whom were also its practitioners including Walpole, the subsequent generations

Insurance Claim Process Model Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Insurance Claim Process Model. Answer: Insurance claim process model Areas for the company to improve insurance claim and how beneficial it will be. Insurance model should be upgraded to take advantage of the information technology as this will benefit them from an increased market share through best practices enforcement process which helps insurers reduce claim leakage and adjust loss expenses. Claim handling department. The process of assessment should be made faster and effective, this will bear positive impact on the customer satisfaction. Response time for claim handling. Once a customer has submitted claim, it should take little time possible for the claim to be handle, this will help the company stay ahead of competition due to customer satisfaction. Implementation of claim management system, that allows user to perform end to end claim processes. This will help insurers realize efficiency and productivity gains. Reasons for reengineering implementation process. Reengineering process is the radical redesign and reorganization of an enterprise to lower costs and increase quality (Champy and Hammer, 2014).First business reengineering may bring new ways of customer satisfaction, employees and stakeholders satisfaction with an aim of bringing about different results. Secondly To remain ahead of competition in the market, it might require redesign of some business process. Thirdly redesigning the process creates a chance for an organization to be able to expand to other industries hence accommodating new era of change. Finally taking advantage of information technology advancement and big data, reengineering can be used as a cure for behavioral problems and systematic processes. Explain the different methods an Organization may adopt when implementing a reengineering process. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Daven Port methodology Daven port set out a five step approach for any organization to use during business process reengineering. Development of process objectives and business vision. BPR is a vision business driven activity, with some objectives to achieve such as cost reduction. Identification of processes to be redesigned. Measure and understand existing processes, with knowledge of existing system it helps to provide a baseline for future improvement. Identify Information Technology levers. Information technology awareness should influence BPR. Prototype building for the fresh processes, the authentic plan ought to be regarded as a prototype. Advantages It saves on cost since the prototype provided can be modified before implementation. Disadvantages Does not create awareness on importance of BPR hence leading change resistance. Hammer and Champy Methodolgy Hammer and Champy approach to an organization implementing BPR consist of six steps Introduction into business reengineering, an organization should have vast knowledge about business reengineering importance. Identification of the business process, an organization has to identify key process that has impact to its functioning. Selection of business processes, the organization has to select business process when reengineered will place it in competitive advantage as well as bring customer satisfaction. Understanding selected business processes.one needs to have good knowledge of the existing process to avoid repeating same mistake. Redesign of selected process. The selected processes have to go through a redesign process so as to incorporate suggested changes. Implementation of redesigned process. Implementation is done hoping to achieve set objectives. Advantages It provides user with knowledge on importance of reengineering process. It highlights key processes to be reengineered. Disadvantages It is expensive and time consuming. References Champy, J. and Hammer, M. (2014). Reengineering the corporation. [Place of publication not identified]: HarperCollins e-Books. Davenport, T.H., Jarvenpaa, S.L. and Beers, M.C., 1996. Improving knowledge work processes. Sloan management review, 37(4), p.53. Klein, M. and Petti, C., 2006. A handbook?based methodology for redesigning business processes. Knowledge and Process Management, 13(2), pp.108-119. (2017). [online] Available at: Malhotra, Yogesh. "Business Process Redesign: An Overview," IEEE Engineering Management Review, vol. 26, no. 3, Fall 1998. (URL: https://www.kmbook.com/bpr.htm) [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017].

Our Changing American Cities free essay sample

A ambitions of these led to the birth of a multitude of labor unions opposed by factories, the middle class, and the government (although unofficially in the case of the last). Various unions gained large memberships most notably, the National Labor Union and Samuel Compeers skilled conglomeration, the American Federation of Labor. Other urban reform movements, oriented at the social aspect of city life, included principally among them efforts by American Churches of all denominations to revivalist the religious component of urbanites lives. Institutions such as the SalvationArmy, soup kitchens, and the Young Mens and Womens Christian Associations served to reinvigorate city dwellers and introduce a higher level of significance to combat the conflict, disillusionment, and isolation often found in the big city. Previously alluded to, the spectacular growth of the cities led to haphazard and unplanned extensions of municipal boundaries (mainly through the newly invented electric troll ey), contamination, corruption, pollution, hazardous environments, and overall undesirable conditions of life for the inhabitants of the cities. We will write a custom essay sample on Our Changing American Cities or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The sculptural aspect of this dissent was dressed by Chicagoan Jane Addams her Hull House, the most famous of her altruistic settlement houses, provided the means by which the poor unemployed could received skills necessary to obtain a job and the such. Another significant settlement house includes Lillian Walls Henry Street Settlement in New York. Indeed, the government was mainly drawn to issues of city planning after natural (or unnatural) disasters devastated urban communities, as in the case of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the Chicago Fire.During the Gilded Age and leading up to the Progressive Era, any people began to crowd up in the cities, looking for jobs in the new industrialization America. Sanitation quickly became a problem as cities continued to rapidly increase in size; trash was often left on the streets and disease was prevalent throughout the filthy, overcrowded streets. By the late nineteenth century, many reformers were looking to improve living conditions and decrease pollution. Alice Hamilton, for example, sought to make the public aware of toxic chemicals and their negative effects on society.Jane Addams, in addition, helped improve city conditions and services or the immigrant population by creating t he Hull House in Chicago. Later, In 191 6, Margaret Ganger attempts to inform the public about the necessity of birth control (a term she popularized) by establishing Planned Parenthood and the American Birth Control League as she tried to legalize contraception. Despite these sanitary problems, women, who were by far one of the most profoundly affected groups, found themselves propelled to city life and new economic opportunities. Millions of girls became stenographers or hello girls, who worked at the telephone switchboards.

Here Are Six Tips for Reporters Covering Press Conferences

Here Are Six Tips for Reporters Covering Press Conferences Spend more than five minutes in the news business and youll be asked to cover a press conference. Theyre a regular occurrence in the life of any reporter, so you need to be able to cover them - and cover them well. But for the beginner, a press conference can be tough to cover. Press conferences tend to move quickly and often dont last very long, so you may have very little time to get the information you need. Another challenge for the beginning reporter is figuring out the lede of a press conference story. So here are six tips for covering press conferences. 1. Come Armed with Questions As we said, press conferences move quickly, so youll need to have your questions ready ahead of time. Arrive with some questions already prepared. And really listen to the answers. 2. Ask Your Best Questions Once the speaker starts taking questions, its often a free-for-all, with multiple reporters shouting out their queries. You may only get one or two of your questions into the mix, so pick your best ones and ask those. And be ready to ask tough follow-up questions. 3. Be Aggressive If Necessary Any time you get a bunch of reporters in one room, all asking questions at the same time, its bound to be a crazy scene. And reporters are by their nature competitive people. So when you go to a press conference, be prepared to be a bit pushy in order to get your questions answered. Shout if you need to. Push your way to the front of the room if you must. Above all, remember - only the strong survive at a press conference. 4. Forget the PR Speak - Focus On the News Corporations, politicians, sports teams and celebrities often try to use press conferences as public relations tools. In other words, they want reporters to put the most positive spin possible on whats being said at the press conference. But its the reporters job to ignore the PR talk and get to the truth of the matter. So if the CEO announces that his company has just suffered its worst losses ever, but in the next breath says he thinks the future is bright, forget about the bright future - the real news is the huge losses, not the PR sugarcoating. 5. Press the Speaker Dont let the speaker at a press conference get away with making broad generalizations that arent supported by facts. Question the basis for the statements they make, and get specifics. For instance, if the mayor of your town announces he plans to cut taxes while at the same time increasing municipal services, your first question should be: how can the town provide more services with less revenue? Likewise, if that CEO whose company has just lost billions says hes upbeat about the future, ask him why - how can he expect that things will get better when the company is clearly in trouble? Again, get him to be specific. 6. Dont Be Intimidated Whether youre covering a press conference with the mayor, the governor or the president, dont let yourself be intimidated by their power or stature. Thats what they want. Once youre intimidated, youll stop asking tough questions, and remember, its your job to ask tough questions of the most powerful people in our society.

Formal Buisiness report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Formal Buisiness report - Essay Example BMW’s advertisement strategies have been effectively executed in the past and especially short films with Clive Owen, a Hollywood star, has further leveraged the brand equity of BMW. However, one of recent BMW’s advertisements which appeared in Canada features somewhat inappropriate concept against a greater good. This advertisement features an intimate couple with a picture of BMW’s picture concealing the face of the woman. This may be offensive to some cultures living across Canada and might serve the purpose contrary to the company’s objectives. For this advertisement, a focus group of about 20 to 30 people were given a survey questionnaire to gauge the receptiveness and effectiveness of the ad. A detailed analysis of the advertisement is done in this report along with the results of the research. This would help BMW to get a picture of the effect which this ad might have had on the target. I hope you will consider this report to be the base of any furt her decision which you would take for the betterment of BMW. Sincerely, (Insert Your Name) (Insert Your University) Table of Contents 1LIST OF FIGURES 4 2EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 3INTRODUCTION 6 4RESEARCH 7 4.1Research Method 7 4.2Question-wise responses and their findings: 8 4.2.1Questions 1 – 2: 8 4.2.2Question 3 and 4 9 4.2.3Question 5 9 4.2.4Question 6 10 4.2.5Question 7 12 4.2.6Question 8 13 4.2.7Question 9 and 10 13 4.2.8Question 11 14 4.2.9Question 12 15 4.2.10Question 13 16 5CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 17 6APPENDIX 18 7BIBLIOGRAPHY 21 Particular Content Page No Exhibit 1 Advertisement of BMW – The ultimate attraction 6 Figure 1 Response of Question 1 of the Survey Questionnaire 8 Figure 2 Response of Question 2 of the Survey Questionnaire 8 Figure 3 Response of Question 3 of the Survey Questionnaire 9 Figure 5 Response of Question 5 of the Survey Questionnaire 9 Figure 6 Response of Question 6 of the Survey Questionnaire 11 Figure 7 Response of Question 7 of the Survey Questionnaire 12 Figure 8 Response of Question 8 of the Survey Questionnaire 13 Figure 9 Response of Question 9 of the Survey Questionnaire 13 Figure 10 Response of Question 10 of the Survey Questionnaire 14 Figure 11 Response of Question 11 of the Survey Questionnaire 14 Figure 12 Response of Question 12 of the Survey Questionnaire 15 Figure 13 Response of Question 13 of the Survey Questionnaire 16 1 LIST OF FIGURES 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this report is to present a detailed analysis of an advertisement of BMW featured in the market of Canada. The advertisement contains strong and creative execution of an idea of a car – BMW specifically, being â€Å"The Ultimate Attraction†. The execution of the advertisement however, may be inappropriate for some audiences. Some may take offence whereas other s may feel discomfort and some might react positively towards the brand. These mixed feelings are scaled down through research in the form of a survey whic h was conducted online to gauge people’s perception and reaction to the advertisement. The report contains the analysis of the data which was extracted from the research and then, this data is interpreted into results of the ad campaign. 3 INTRODUCTION The brand of BMW revolves around the concept of intimacy which is centered in the ad. This goes against its corporate identity of a brand build on high performance and technology, as explained by Rosengarten, Philipp G, and Christoph B. Stu?rmer.

Gun Control in the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun Control in the US - Research Paper Example Between the years 1997 and 2001, there were more than 30 such incidents that took place in schools, offices, and various other places, all over US, which resulted in the deaths of 139 people and another 188 being wounded. However, it was after the Columbine High School incident, public outrage reached its peak and there was a mass outcry to bring in stringent laws for gun control. After the initial outpour of rage and massive protests against the National Rifle Association (the champion of liberal gun usage in US), things have drifted back to their original conditions. In June 2010 we find a disturbing piece of news that tells us â€Å"The US Supreme Court found Monday a Chicago handgun ban to be unconstitutional in a far-reaching ruling that makes it much harder for states and city governments to limit gun ownership† (Ogle, US Supreme Court limits gun control by states). So again its status quo and we are back to where we had started, with the court giving a free hand to all potential killers. This article will take an in-depth look at this issue of gun control and the related controversies in US. It will explore as to why US have more gun violence than other countries, and will suggest measures to reduce this peril. From various studies and reports it has been seen that almost 40% of US homes have some sort of guns or fire ammunitions in their possession. Krug, Powell and Dahlberg in their research papers have come to the conclusion that the homicide rates in the American countries is almost 2-10 times higher than any other country in the developed world (Krug, Powell and Dahlberg, 214-221). There is no doubt that violence in some form or the other is present in almost all countries worldwide, but what increases the death rate in US is the rampant presence of guns. This relation between easy availability of guns in US and the high mortality rate has been proven in their research work by the famous

Hatha Yoga Essay Example for Free

Hatha Yoga Essay A complete Hatha Yoga session should be aimed at holistic wellness of mind, body and soul. It should contain a well designed sequence of Asanas or yogic poses, Pranayam or breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and Dhyana or Meditation. The Yoga session should begin with a prayer or chanting of â€Å"Om†, the primary sound of universe. This helps in relaxing and focusing the mind, and bringing calmness to the senses. This should be followed by warming up exercises known as â€Å"Yogic Suksma Vyayamas† to improve flexibility of joints and muscles, so that we do not suffer from pulled muscles while performing Asanas. This should be followed by a sequence of Asanas, first supine poses, then prone poses, followed by seated poses and finally standing poses. Asanas should be followed by relaxation poses such as â€Å"Shavasana† or Corpse pose. Pranayam or breathing exercises should be performed after Asanas. The session should end with Dhyana or Meditation to calm the mind. The first part of the session includes warming up with Suksma Vyayamas, the aim is to warm up the major joints of the body. First Vyayama involves movement of neck to right and left, followed by forward and backward bending, each for 10 times. Next one involves moving the arms in circular movements clockwise then anti-clockwise, 10 times each. This should be followed by raising each leg, one by one, forward and moving it in small circles, clockwise and anticlockwise, 5 times each. Asanas should be performed now in following sequence- first supine postures like â€Å"Chakrasana† or Wheel pose which is an inverted pose and then â€Å"Halasana† or Plough pose which is its counter pose, then prone postures like â€Å"Dhanurasana† or bow pose and â€Å"Bhujangasana† or Cobra pose involving backward bending, followed by sitting postures like â€Å"Balasana† or Child pose which is a counter pose of Bhujangasana, â€Å"Vakrasana† or twisted pose and â€Å"Poorna Paschimottasana† which is a forward bending pose, and finally standing postures like â€Å"Trikonasana† or triangle pose involving side stretch, and â€Å"Tadasana† or Palm pose which involves stretching of the whole body. Asanas should be followed by â€Å"Shavasana† or Corpse pose for relaxation. After relaxation Pranayam like â€Å"Bhramari Pranayam† should be done, followed by Meditation. Thus my session includes- Yogic Suksma Vyayamas for warming up, and following Asanas: Chakrasana or Wheel pose- Involves bending backward of torso like an arch. It strengthens the back and abdomen, affects all the organs of the body, and cleans the Chakras. Halasana or Plough pose- Involves raising the legs and then lowering them behind the head, toes touching the ground, forming a plough. It enhances the benefits of Chakrasana, being its counter pose. Also regulates the function of Thyroid and Thymus glands. Dhanurasana or Bow pose-Bending backward holding both ankles with hands, and stretching the body like a bow. Improves digestion, strengthens the back, shoulders, arms, and legs. â€Å"Bhujangasana† or Cobra pose- Involves lying in prone position and raising head and shoulders like a cobra. It strengthens back, shoulders, and neck and improves respiration. â€Å"Balasana† or Child pose- Involves sitting and bending forward, face touching the floor. It is the counter asana of Cobra pose, enhancing its benefits. â€Å"Vakrasana† or twisted pose- One leg is bent at knee, and the other is straight, the waist is twisted to the opposite side of the bent leg. It improves flexibility of spine, waist and legs. â€Å"Poorna Paschimottasana†- It involves sitting with stretched legs and bending forward to hold the toes with hands, face resting on thighs. Greatly improves spinal flexibility. â€Å"Trikonasana† or triangle pose- Involve sideward bending and stretching making a triangle. Improves waistline, strengthens the arms, and improves balance of the body. â€Å"Tadasana† or Palm pose- Arms raised upward, pulling the body upwards while standing on toes. It improves balance, reduces belly fat, and improves height and agility. Finally, doing â€Å"Shavasana† or Corpse pose, lying down with relaxed limbs and neck like a corpse for deep relaxation. I’ve chosen â€Å"Bhramari Pranayam†, sitting with legs folded, deep inhalation followed by exhaling with a humming sound, while keeping the mouth closed, ears closed with thumbs and fingers placed on closed eyes, for complete relaxation of mind; followed by deep breathing, with mind focused on breath in a state of Dhyana or Meditation. Yoga postures should be done slowly with smooth movements, jerky and harsh moves should be avoided. Each posture should be held for 15-20 seconds initially, gradually increasing the practice time to 5 minutes. â€Å"Yoga† means a communion of mind, body and divine. It improves flexibility and balance making us fitter, calmer and happy. It helps in maintaining hormonal balance. One should practice yoga for its multiple benefits.