Saturday, August 31, 2019
Nike Advertisement Analysis
Advertisements have been used for years to sell products. As long as there have been consumers there have been ads, although in many different media. Different companies or groups release ads to promote a certain product, idea, or brand. Nike is no exception. Nike has been a leading brand in sports for 46 years. They are most known for their athletic shoes, but Nike manufactures all sorts of athletic apparel as well as equipment. Nike publishes many printed advertisements every day. Their ad campaign has been an iconic one, using repetition, a textbook marketing strategy, to create recognition of the brand. Nike ads are very commonly featured with the same basic elements in all of the printed advertisements they publish. These conventions that are constantly repeated are what help consumers to recognize the advertisement as belonging to Nike very quickly. The conventions that remain present in every Nike ad that help to create brand recognition are the consistent graphic elements, the indelible Nike swoosh and the slogan ââ¬Å"Just Do It. â⬠Nike is an iconic brand. They have made a name for themselves in the world of sports as well marketing. Nike has been one of the few brands whom continue to grow explosively even in the currently upturned market (Kapner). They have achieved this through superior brand management. Consumers will pay more money for a product they think is manufactured well. Nike has done a wonderful job at portraying themselves as a superior sports apparel brand. The ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠ad campaign is one that has been known for its detached, determined and unsentimental advertisements (Center for Applied Research). Nike seems above the world, having advertisements that do not focus on current events. They rarely focus on the product, as much as the people showcasing them. They are heroic, noble, fierce looking people (Gould). These ads focus on the intense inward focus of a supreme athlete. This superiority that comes through in the ads is what makes us pay attention to Nike in both in regards to marketing as well as sports products. Graphics are a big part of printed advertisements. Many printed advertisements rely on pictures to get the intended message across. Sometimes, very little words are necessary when a good picture is present. Nike frequently uses pictures of individual athletes or an entire team of athletes, usually wearing Nike products, to promote their brand. One ad, for example, shows a shirtless LeBron James against a black background holding a basketball. The Nike swoosh is present followed by words that say, ââ¬Å"Prepare for combat. â⬠Nike is using LeBron, as a star athlete to sell their product. Nike has also always used, and continues to use guilt to sell products. They print ads that show athletes with the intensity that everyone wishes they possess in regards to their sport (Center for Applied Research). For example, one Nike ad, entitled Inner Drive, shows a woman in brightly colored running gear stretching in front of her house before she runs. The house and the car both look neglected. The consumer gets a feeling that this is an intense and dedicated athlete. She ignores her car because she is so dedicated to running. This is the kind of dedication that people respect and want to emulate. Consumers may feel like they are not serious about their sport, or arenââ¬â¢t giving their best effort if they arenââ¬â¢t wearing Nike. Another approach Nike has used for years is to show only a picture of the product they are trying to sell. This is done primarily with athletic shoe advertisements. For years Nike has taken the route of very plain ads, making the shoe the most exciting thing on the page. In the 90s, for example, Nike published a series of ads promoting the new air max line. These ads depicted various kinds of shoes, whether they are running shoes, tennis shoes, or basketball shoes, and that was it. Only the shoes were present on the page, with a sentence or two of text, and a logo coupled with the slogan in the corner. Another more recent ad that has this same format is one that advertises for LeBron Jamesââ¬â¢ sixth pair of basketball shoes. The ad shows a picture of these shoes, and only the words ââ¬Å" The Six. â⬠These two types of graphics elements are some of the key elements that help consumers recognize the Nike brand. Another common theme of the Nike advertisement campaign is their logo, the swoosh. Logos, also called logotypes, are a graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark or abbreviation, often uniquely designed for ready recognition (Dictionary. com). Nike uses the swoosh to help consumers associate things like hard work, commitment, and tenacity with their brand (Center for Applied Research). The swoosh can be used just like a signature. This logo appears on products themselves, as well as the advertisements for those products. This way consumers know that a swoosh, and everything it is shown with, means Nike. Every shoe Nike makes and every ad they publish displays a swoosh prominently for everyone to see. It is this consistency that makes the swoosh effective. If the swoosh were only present some of the time it would not be as synonymous with Nike as it is today. Slogans are a key element in brand identity. A slogan is a phrase that a company uses for consumers to easily associate something with that particular brand (Dictionary. om). Nike uses the slogan ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠to link advertisements and ideas to their company. This slogan is found on many products and almost all pieces of advertisement. When someone hears ââ¬Å"Just do itâ⬠they think of Nike. We have been conditioned to think this way. Some ads depict a blank page showing only the Nike swoosh and the slogan. These simple advertisements ar e an effective way to advertise the products and link the slogan with the logo for further brand recognition. Nike has been a force in the sports universe for 46 years. The 80s and 90s marked the birth of the ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠ad campaign. Since then Nike has become a staple of American culture. The products Nike manufactures have changed. They have expanded and grown as a company. However one thing has remained constant over the years. Although Nike has made so many different products, and most people couldnââ¬â¢t recall what was the popular shoe in 1985, most everyone knows The Nike swoosh and the phrase ââ¬Å"Just Do It. â⬠The marketing genius that went into creating the consistent graphics, the swoosh logo, and the popular slogan, ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠is the reason why America knows and respects the Nike brand and their products, and will continue to do so for many more years to come.Works CitedCenter for Applied Research. ââ¬Å"Mini-case Study: Nikeââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠Advertising Campaign.â⬠Print. Gould, Thomas. ââ¬Å"Advertising Campaigns: Great Campaigns.â⬠(2006). Web. Kapner, Suzanne. ââ¬Å"With Sneaker Glut at Stores Easing, Nike Is Slowly Getting Back on Its Feet.â ⬠Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles] 4 July 1998. Print. Nike. Advertisement. 1st Round Athletics. Nike, 2009. Web . Nike. Advertisement. GenXXL. Web. . Nike. Advertisement. The Future of Ads. Web. . Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 3 Dec. 2010. . Nike Advertisement Analysis Advertisements have been used for years to sell products. As long as there have been consumers there have been ads, although in many different media. Different companies or groups release ads to promote a certain product, idea, or brand. Nike is no exception. Nike has been a leading brand in sports for 46 years. They are most known for their athletic shoes, but Nike manufactures all sorts of athletic apparel as well as equipment. Nike publishes many printed advertisements every day. Their ad campaign has been an iconic one, using repetition, a textbook marketing strategy, to create recognition of the brand. Nike ads are very commonly featured with the same basic elements in all of the printed advertisements they publish. These conventions that are constantly repeated are what help consumers to recognize the advertisement as belonging to Nike very quickly. The conventions that remain present in every Nike ad that help to create brand recognition are the consistent graphic elements, the indelible Nike swoosh and the slogan ââ¬Å"Just Do It. â⬠Nike is an iconic brand. They have made a name for themselves in the world of sports as well marketing. Nike has been one of the few brands whom continue to grow explosively even in the currently upturned market (Kapner). They have achieved this through superior brand management. Consumers will pay more money for a product they think is manufactured well. Nike has done a wonderful job at portraying themselves as a superior sports apparel brand. The ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠ad campaign is one that has been known for its detached, determined and unsentimental advertisements (Center for Applied Research). Nike seems above the world, having advertisements that do not focus on current events. They rarely focus on the product, as much as the people showcasing them. They are heroic, noble, fierce looking people (Gould). These ads focus on the intense inward focus of a supreme athlete. This superiority that comes through in the ads is what makes us pay attention to Nike in both in regards to marketing as well as sports products. Graphics are a big part of printed advertisements. Many printed advertisements rely on pictures to get the intended message across. Sometimes, very little words are necessary when a good picture is present. Nike frequently uses pictures of individual athletes or an entire team of athletes, usually wearing Nike products, to promote their brand. One ad, for example, shows a shirtless LeBron James against a black background holding a basketball. The Nike swoosh is present followed by words that say, ââ¬Å"Prepare for combat. â⬠Nike is using LeBron, as a star athlete to sell their product. Nike has also always used, and continues to use guilt to sell products. They print ads that show athletes with the intensity that everyone wishes they possess in regards to their sport (Center for Applied Research). For example, one Nike ad, entitled Inner Drive, shows a woman in brightly colored running gear stretching in front of her house before she runs. The house and the car both look neglected. The consumer gets a feeling that this is an intense and dedicated athlete. She ignores her car because she is so dedicated to running. This is the kind of dedication that people respect and want to emulate. Consumers may feel like they are not serious about their sport, or arenââ¬â¢t giving their best effort if they arenââ¬â¢t wearing Nike. Another approach Nike has used for years is to show only a picture of the product they are trying to sell. This is done primarily with athletic shoe advertisements. For years Nike has taken the route of very plain ads, making the shoe the most exciting thing on the page. In the 90s, for example, Nike published a series of ads promoting the new air max line. These ads depicted various kinds of shoes, whether they are running shoes, tennis shoes, or basketball shoes, and that was it. Only the shoes were present on the page, with a sentence or two of text, and a logo coupled with the slogan in the corner. Another more recent ad that has this same format is one that advertises for LeBron Jamesââ¬â¢ sixth pair of basketball shoes. The ad shows a picture of these shoes, and only the words ââ¬Å" The Six. â⬠These two types of graphics elements are some of the key elements that help consumers recognize the Nike brand. Another common theme of the Nike advertisement campaign is their logo, the swoosh. Logos, also called logotypes, are a graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark or abbreviation, often uniquely designed for ready recognition (Dictionary. com). Nike uses the swoosh to help consumers associate things like hard work, commitment, and tenacity with their brand (Center for Applied Research). The swoosh can be used just like a signature. This logo appears on products themselves, as well as the advertisements for those products. This way consumers know that a swoosh, and everything it is shown with, means Nike. Every shoe Nike makes and every ad they publish displays a swoosh prominently for everyone to see. It is this consistency that makes the swoosh effective. If the swoosh were only present some of the time it would not be as synonymous with Nike as it is today. Slogans are a key element in brand identity. A slogan is a phrase that a company uses for consumers to easily associate something with that particular brand (Dictionary. om). Nike uses the slogan ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠to link advertisements and ideas to their company. This slogan is found on many products and almost all pieces of advertisement. When someone hears ââ¬Å"Just do itâ⬠they think of Nike. We have been conditioned to think this way. Some ads depict a blank page showing only the Nike swoosh and the slogan. These simple advertisements ar e an effective way to advertise the products and link the slogan with the logo for further brand recognition. Nike has been a force in the sports universe for 46 years. The 80s and 90s marked the birth of the ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠ad campaign. Since then Nike has become a staple of American culture. The products Nike manufactures have changed. They have expanded and grown as a company. However one thing has remained constant over the years. Although Nike has made so many different products, and most people couldnââ¬â¢t recall what was the popular shoe in 1985, most everyone knows The Nike swoosh and the phrase ââ¬Å"Just Do It. â⬠The marketing genius that went into creating the consistent graphics, the swoosh logo, and the popular slogan, ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠is the reason why America knows and respects the Nike brand and their products, and will continue to do so for many more years to come.Works CitedCenter for Applied Research. ââ¬Å"Mini-case Study: Nikeââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Just Do Itâ⬠Advertising Campaign.â⬠Print. Gould, Thomas. ââ¬Å"Advertising Campaigns: Great Campaigns.â⬠(2006). Web. Kapner, Suzanne. ââ¬Å"With Sneaker Glut at Stores Easing, Nike Is Slowly Getting Back on Its Feet.â ⬠Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles] 4 July 1998. Print. Nike. Advertisement. 1st Round Athletics. Nike, 2009. Web . Nike. Advertisement. GenXXL. Web. . Nike. Advertisement. The Future of Ads. Web. . Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 3 Dec. 2010. .
Friday, August 30, 2019
Explore Blakeââ¬â¢s Chimney Sweeper poems from the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience Essay
In this essay I am going to explore Blakeââ¬â¢s Chimney Sweeper poems from the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience. During this essay I will cover Blakeââ¬â¢s life and times and the way chimney sweepers get treated around that time and what Blake attempts to do about it. Blake was born on November 28 in the year 1757. His parents where strict but understanding. Blakeââ¬â¢s parents realised early in his life that Blake was gifted. He had an extremely active imagination and he often got visions. At only four years old he claimed he had seen God in one of these visions. Another time when he was with one of his friends he envisaged angels filling a tree. He horridly told his family what he saw but the response he got from his father was quite negative. His father threatened to whip him because he believed it was time for him to grow up. However his mother took Blakeââ¬â¢s side and when she asked him about it he stated that the angels took the form of his thoughts. This vision was stuck with him and was extremely influential in his life. Blake obviously had a gift for seeing things with his eyes and in his imagination. He used his artwork to express his experiences. When Blake turned ten years of age his parents decided to enrol him into a drawing school. Later on in his life Blake used his talent as an artist to become a apprentice engraver. Throughout Blakeââ¬â¢s life he had a dislike for nasty, unfair people especially towards those that had power and money like those in the government, and those that where associated with the church. Blake also could not stand power abusers and bad unfair treatment towards the poor, young and elderly. In the time of William Blake chimney sweepers went through a torrid time, it was as if they where young slaves. The age of the infants varied between five years old to the age of eight or nine if they could be fit up the chimneys. They where often bought off parents for as little a à ¯Ã ¿Ã ½2, in some cases however they may be purchased for à ¯Ã ¿Ã ½5 but it is still a despicable price to pay for a young child. In the extreme cases the chimney sweepers where stole from familyââ¬â¢s. When the sweeps had lost the use around the age of seven they get passed over to the church. Blake despised the serious health problems the sweeps got from this demanding life of threatening work. Most sweeps after only a short time of working in the chimneys end up with twisted kneecaps, ankles and even spines from crawling up the extremely cramped chimneys. There was even such a thing as ââ¬Å"chimney sweeps cancerâ⬠which they got from the soot irritating there skin. Again we can see why Blake hates the idea of chimney sweepers and there treatment, they are forced to do inhumane things that even animals would never be told to do. The master sweeps imbedded fear into the young brains and subjected them to clean chimneys. They where made to live in the most inhabitable of conditions. They often slept on soot bags in dirty wet cellars. The sweeps where forced to clean the chimneys if they refused or could not fit up the chimneys they where punished by the fire being lit, slaps, prodding with poles and various other instruments and pricking of the bottoms of their feet. All this just so the master sweep can make an easy living from the poor misfortune of innocent children. Blake strongly disagreed with the treatment of the sweeps so much he wrote two beautiful poems about their treatment, these featured in two separate books, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The first chimney sweeper poem is from the Songs of Innocence, Blake shows a strong message through his poems, and they sometimes come across light hearted like nursery rhymes. But often, if not all the time they have a dark sinister meaning. This is the beginning of Chimney sweeper 1 and straight away Blake invites the reader to feel sympathy for the situation the family is in. It shows how poor the family is, it gets so bad the father has to sell his child to get some money to keep the rest of the family going. This reflects on the state of working class people of that time. ââ¬Å"When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue.â⬠The boy is sold so young that it has not even developed the ability to speak properly; in the poem he ââ¬Å"Could scarcely cry ââ¬Å"weep! weep! weep! weep!â⬠The boy could be crying in this passage or he could be trying to say the word sweep but is unable because of his age. This is clever by Blake because the passage has a double meaning; this carries on throughout the poem. The effect of the first stanza is to bring the reader into perspective of what lengths of desperation the families go to, to earn a small amount of money. In the second stanza the audience is introduced to Tom Dacre, his hair is shaved off and Tom is very upset about this. Blake feels very strongly about the dehumanisation of people and shows this in his poems. Blake compares Tom to a lamb because a lamb is innocent like the chimney sweeps and is also a form of sacrificial animal so it is showing there inability to have there own personality and independence. ââ¬Å"Thereââ¬â¢s little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, That curlââ¬â¢d like a lambââ¬â¢s back, was shavââ¬â¢dâ⬠The final part of this stanza represents the pureness of Tom Dacre. The soot represents the master sweeps trying to make him impure but the white hair represents how innocent Tom is. The effect of this stanza is to bring across the innocents of the sweeps to the audience. ââ¬Å"Hush, Tom! Never mind it, for when your heads bare, You know the soot cannot spoil your white hair.â⬠The third stanza is when Tom has a dream; in his dream he has visions of thousands of dead sweeps. The coffins of black represent a enclosed environment with dead sweeps covered in black soot. Blake involves the fact that thousands of chimney sweepers died to once again show the audience what really goes on. ââ¬Å"That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack, Were all of them lockââ¬â¢d up in coffins of black.â⬠In Stanza four Tom Dacre is still in his dream and an Angel comes to set him free, this represents the chimney sweeps being liberated from their life of peril. ââ¬Å"And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he openââ¬â¢d the coffins & set them all freeâ⬠Then Blake goes on in the conclusion of this stanza to contrast there life when they are trapped being made to go up chimneys, to being let to run free and be there own boss. It is everything they can not do when working as a chimney sweeper. Blake mentions that they wash in the river, this symbolises that they have left that dark past behind them and are moving on. This stanza has a light hearted mood and shows everything that the chimney sweepers can not have. In the fifth stanza Blake brings his feelings about the church through. The unfairness and manipulative abilities the church is shown in this stanza. ââ¬Å"And the Angel told Tom, if heââ¬â¢d be a good boy, Heââ¬â¢d have God for his father, & never want joy.â⬠This means basically that if you do not sin you get to go to heaven. The angel represents the heartless church who manipulate through fear. This is what Blake is strongly against. In the final stanza of the first poem the boys go back to work after Tom wakes and have to work in poor conditions. ââ¬Å"And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark, And got with our bags & our brushes to work.â⬠In the end of the last stanza Blake makes it seems as if it has finished on a high note, however Blake doesnââ¬â¢t believe in this naive belief. ââ¬Å"So if they do all their duty, they need not fear harm.â⬠That was the first of the two chimney sweeper poems, throughout this poem Blake says one thing but if you look deeper into it, it has a much deeper sinister meaning. The second chimney sweeper poem is from the Songs of Experience this poem has a different angle that the first poem. Stanza one, The Chimney Sweeper 2 begins like this; ââ¬Å"A little black thing among the snow, Crying ââ¬Å"weep! ââ¬Ëweep!â⬠in notes of woe! ââ¬Å"Where are thy father & mother? Sayâ⬠â⬠ââ¬Å"They are both gone up to church to pray.â⬠Blake represents the chimney sweeper in the first part, calling it ââ¬Å"A little black thing among the snow,â⬠To Blake the ââ¬Å"blackâ⬠represents the sweep all dirty and tainted. And calling it a ââ¬Å"thingâ⬠dehumanizes the sweep. Blake wrote, ââ¬Å"A little black thing among the snowâ⬠because the chimney sweeper is tainting society which is the white snow. Blake uses the same words from The Chimney Sweeper 1, in this poem for the same effect, to show the young boy upset, confused. ââ¬Å"Crying ââ¬Å"weep! ââ¬Ëweep!â⬠â⬠At this point in the poem the audience can not tell who is speaking. I believe it is the poor people; they are represented as chimney sweepers. The chimney sweeper is lost in society, represented by the snow. The government which is represented by the chimney sweeperââ¬â¢s parents is ignorant to reality. Blake has used the situation in the poem to express his feelings about politics of that time. ââ¬Å"Because I was happy upon the heath. And smilââ¬â¢d among the winters snow, The boy in the second poem has had more experience chimney sweeping and has come to terms that there is nothing he can do about it. He puts on a brave face and gets on with it, when compared to Tom Dacre in Chimney Sweeper 1 he doesnââ¬â¢t have the naivety that Tom had. Once again I think Blake had another meaning that poor people represented as the chimney sweep are happy and they smile in society. ââ¬Å"They clothââ¬â¢d me in the clothes of death, And taught me to sing the notes of woe.â⬠The parents of the chimney sweeper in this poem clothed there son and sentenced him to death when they decided to sell him to a master sweep. They made the boy cry when he had to leave and now he is alone and knows it. I think that Blake had another deeper meaning. I think the chimney sweeper represented poor people, they got clothed in the clothes of death by the chimney sweepers parents represented as the government. In the final stanza Blake goes on the attack at the church and the government he does this by provoking anger towards them through the unfairness of it all. ââ¬Å"And because I am happy & dance and sing, They think they have done me no injury, In these lines Blake is how the chimney sweeper feels after his ordeal, putting on the front everything is ok when it is not. Going deeper into what Blake is trying to bring across is representation that the chimney sweep is the poor people again. The final two lines Blake attacks the church and the government, the chimney sweep is wise and is experienced and realises that the church and government exploit the poor so that they can make their own heaven out of the money from the society. And we gone to praise God & his Priest and King, Who make up a heaven of our miseryââ¬
Thursday, August 29, 2019
MAZMAT responses to Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Agents and Essay
MAZMAT responses to Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Agents and Incidents - Essay Example According to a compilation of information by Gurr and Cole (2005), there have been various incidents (threatened and actual) of nuclear, biological, and chemical incidents (NBC) that have been reported and documented in the years since NBC weapons have been invented. They cite that in 1999, the Janeââ¬â¢s Intelligence Bureau was able to establish that elements having loyalties to Osama bin Laden were able to acquire biological weapons through mail. There was no clear indication of what kind of weapon was actually acquired, but sources speculated that these biological elements included a supply of diseases such as ebola, anthrax, and salmonella. Interested terrorist groups were able to avail of some of these weapons which included a freight of botulinium toxin. Gurr and Cole (2005) also discuss that in 1998, about 200 people from the Joan Finney Office building in Wichita, Kansas, USA were evacuated when a state employee discovered a package containing white powder and the note enc losed claimed that the substance was anthrax. The substance was sent by the Brothers for the Freedom of Americans, a neo-Nazi militia group. The package was later found to be non-toxic (Gurr and Cole, 2005). In 1995, Larry Harris was able to acquire freeze dried bubonic plague bacteria from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) in Maryland. His plan to acquire the bacteria was foiled when he telephoned the ATCC to check where the package was. The ATCC became suspicious and called the Centers for Disease Control, who later recovered three vials of the bacteria in his glove compartment (Gurr and Cole, 2005). In 1992, Henry Pierce sprayed 10 people with what he claimed was anthraz. On investigation, the police later found the material not to be anthrax. In 1981, a group of environmentalists left contaminated soil in a bucket. The soil later tested positive for anthrax. No one was harmed by the incident as the
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Prompt 4 - Gentiva Health Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Prompt 4 - Gentiva Health Services - Essay Example This would ensure that the activities of the company remain profitable in both short-term and long-term basis. The company recorded a noticeable decrease in revenue in 2012. Previously, the company has made several acquisitions and dispositions. This is likely to have been one of the main attribute that led to this loss amidst other factors. This paper explores the financial trend in Gentiva for 2011 and 2012. Financial Performance In the past two years, Gentiva has experienced significance changes in its financial performance. This is largely dependent on the strategic changes that the organization has decided to implement. Considering the financial results of the 2011 and 2012 periods, the following analysis can be reached. The company registered a 6% decrease in revenue for the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period 2011(from $449.7million to $424.4 million). The loss from continuing operations decreased tremendously from $15.82 per diluted share in 2011 to $0.02 in 201 2 third quarter. The company recorded $19.1 million non-cash write-off in connection with a rebranding of its operations into one name. For the same period in 2011, the company registered a $643.3 million for a non-cash impairment of a failed test of its goodwill. The company sold 9 health branches and closed 25 home health branches as well as 9 hospice branches, all in different locations. This move was reached after a comprehensive structure analysis aimed at responding to challenging Medicare reimbursement rate environment. Moreover, the company closed four more home health branches in 2012. In response to these closures and sales, the financial results of the second quarter and the first six months decreased by approximately $22 million and $41million respectively in 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. Though, the first quarter of 2012 represented 182 (29 days in February 2012) working days compared to 181 working days in 2011, the company revenues went down significantly in 2012 (Gentiva Health Services Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results). The company has maintained a good cash balance for the year 2011 and 2012. Its total assets reduced due to the sale of the 34 branches in 2011 and 10 branches in 2012. It is evident from the revenues accrued in first six months of 2011 and 2012, that the company has instituted measures to manage its costs. The sale and closure of the various branches has enabled the company to significantly cut-down its expenditures. With the reduced expenditures, the company has moved ahead to make more acquisitions to counter the reduction in revenue arising from the closure of the hospice and health care branches that took place in 2011 and early 2012. Its ability to record capital gains and huge profits is also an indication that the business has been able to control its costs. Nevertheless, the health care reform is a forceful measure that may affect many health service providers, Gentiva included. Thus, it is not satisfactor y to say that the company is able to totally manage its costs before the health care reform comes into force in 2014. Emerging Changes in 2011 And 2012 The Company received earnings amounting to approximately $5.9 million in the second quarter and recognized a receivable of about $0.5 million in 2012. In the second quarter of 2012, 8 home health branc
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Analyse the nature of risks in healthcare and critically discuss the Essay
Analyse the nature of risks in healthcare and critically discuss the role of managers in minimizing and managing risks - Essay Example These risks can be mitigated in a number of different ways. Every health organization needs a system of risk management ââ¬â they need to be able to identify the risks, quantify the risks, prioritise the risks, then mitigate and manage these risks. Management needs to be able to delegate risk management to experts, because management tends to try to do too much. They need analysts who can help them with this, and these analysts need to be within the management flow. At the individual level, management needs to be able to coach, mentor and motivate; at the group level, the management needs to be able to build teams and resolve conflicts; and at the organizational level, the management must be able to build culture. Building culture is important, because if an organization has a culture of risk management, then this organization will be ahead of the curve on risk management ââ¬â this means that risk management permeates every aspect of the organization. Because organizations th emselves can have risks, as opposed to personal risks, and this is where the very organization encourages risky processes either inadvertently or on purpose. The role of the manager might be to encourage the culture of the organization to adopt risk management, provide support for risk management practices which identify weaknesses and resolve them, or to mentor the individuals to lessen the individual risks regarding risk management. This paper will explore these aspects of risk management. What Is Risk Management? The first part of the risk management process, according to Carter et al. (1994) is the identification of the risks. The identification process of risks may be approached by a combination of methods, including intuitive management; using department experts; using standard questionnaires and checklists; using expert computer-based systems; using structured interviews; through brainstorming sessions; or using outside specialists/consultants. The second process is risk quan tification, and this means that the impact and probability of a each risk is estimated for each risk. After that, the estimate is quantified by using a spreadsheet which estimates timescales and costs. The next process is risk prioritising and filtering,which means that the important risks are recognized and controlled, and risks are prioritized according to whether they care a Category 1 risk (cost effect only); Category 2 risk (contingency plans and costs affected); or Category 3 risk (programme contingency and cost affected). The Category three risks are the higher priority, and the risks are prioritized from there. The fourth part of risk management is the processing and presentation of risk data, and this means the risk data is put through the spreadsheet with different variables. After the risks are identified, quantified, prioritized, and presented, the next four steps identified by Carter et al. (1994) are focused upon mitigating and managing these risks. Mitigating strategi es include avoiding the risk altogether by removing the cause of the risk; transferring the risk, which means that the risk is passed to somebody capable of handling that particular risk; reduction of the risk, which would consist of investing in insurance or some other up-front investment; management of the risk, which means that the risk is managed continuously until it is managed out; and contingency, in which funds are produced for the risks which are
Monday, August 26, 2019
Human Resource Strategies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Human Resource Strategies - Case Study Example It has Discount Stores, Supercenters (for one-stop shopping), and Neighborhood Markets (convenience stores). It also operates Sam's Club, America's leading members-only warehouse club (Our Retail Divisions 2007). Being the leader not just in a particular industry but to the whole business world as a whole in terms of revenues is a result of effective policies, plans, and strategies against its competitors. In case of Wal-Mart, their competitive advantage lies on how well and effective they make their principles into reality. Wal-Mart considers its corporate culture as one of the keys for its outstanding success. Walton was able instill his inspiring and motivating beliefs and principles that is being abided and taken by heart by his employees then, until now. Wal-Mart has retained the culture based on tested principles for a successful business and life (The Wal-Mart Culture 2007). The cornerstones by which Wal-Mart stands on are its Three Basic Beliefs. These three main thrust play an important role in decision making and other activities the company does. They are also the standards by which the accomplishments and performances of individual personnel or of the entire organization is measured. Respect the Individual - Wal-Mart believes that they are a group of dedicated, hardworking and ordinary individuals who are united "to make extraordinary things." Being an organization as such is no easy task. One of the essentials of making this happen goal happen is to treat each individual member within and outside the organization with respect and dignity. Service to our Customers - The retail giant knows that they are nothing without their customers. Because of this the company strives to ensure that each of the hard-earned dollar spent by their customers to their service is compensated accordingly by offering quality merchandise at the lowest price while providing outstanding service to them. Strive for Excellence - Wal-Mart's amazing success is a product of innovative and trailblazing ideas and goals that stretch their horizons further. For Walton, it is not enough that Wal-Mart offers low prices or high quality. He believed that striving for excellence by incorporating fresh and innovative ideas that will get them ahead of the pack. Accomplishing a feat is not enough. Complacency is never attained at Wal-Mart as the company takes each accomplishment as a stepping stone for another success. Sustainable improvement is what Walton wants for his organization (Three Basic Beliefs 2007). Sam's Rules for Building Businesses Perhaps still unsatisfied with the brevity of his three basic beliefs, Walton elaborated ten rules that would rev up his business steps higher. Together with the three basic beliefs, he had revealed much of his secrets before his death in April 1992. Commit to your business - The unwavering passion for making the business a phenomenal success is what Walton instilled in the minds and the hearts of his employees. For him the love for work and the desire to excel in it is needed in this fiercely competitive world. Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. - For Walton encouraging his associates to hold a stake in a company is important for them to accompany Wal-Mart in pursuing their dreams. By offering them discounted
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Climate Change Essay and development Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Climate Change and development - Essay Example The history has been witness to gradual and abrupt climate change through the millions of years which has been responsible for extinction of living organisms, including plants, animals and human life. The industrial revolution has been catalyst to the exploitation of natural resources like coal, wood and other types of natural resources. The post WWI has witnessed great leap in the advancing technology and increasing exploitation of natural resources like oil and natural gas. In 1970s and 80s, womenââ¬â¢s contribution to the development processes had been recognized. In the southern countries like South East Asia, Africa, Australia etc. the exploitation of natural resources have been part of the development processes which have huge implications for environment and sustainable development. World development report asserts that if left unmanaged, the climate change will reverse development progress and comproà mise the well-being of current and future generations (WDR, 2010). The human threats to the environment comprise of many significant factors that are important ingredients of development process. Population growth in the last quarter of the century saw an unprecedented increase in population bringing new challenges in its wake. Pielke et al. (2003) claim that climate change, causing extreme weather conditions and natural calamities, are much greater when they occur in regions having poor infrastructure, huge populations etc. The fast advancing technology and rapid globalization, including local migration, has adversely affected the ecological conditions. Carbon emission and green house effects are also major factors for climate change. The various drivers of climate greatly contribute towards sustenance of life and determine characteristics and distribution of ââ¬Ënatural and managed system including the cryosphere, hydrology and water resources,
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Managerial Finance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Managerial Finance - Article Example the last couple of trimesters the crude oil prices have been consistently going up which is sign that the industry is in recovery and there are good profits to be made for players such as Vaalco Energy. The latest press release from Vaalco Energy announced that the company intends to implement a share buyback programme worth $10 million. This paper analyzes the strategic move of initiating a share buyback programme at Vaalco Energy. A share buyback programme refers too a corporate initiative to purchase its own shares from shareholders that are selling the common stock in the open market. These programs have a money cap which indicates the termination of the programme. In the Vaalco Energy case the cap of the programme is $10 million, which means that once the company is able to purchase that amount equity the share buyback programme ends. Once the company buys back these stocks the investment asset can be consider treasury stocks. Treasury stocks are created when a company does a share buyback and purchases its shares in the open market (Investopedia, 2009). The company intention on purchasing its own stocks should not have any impact on the industry as a whole. This it is not made for any strategic purpose associated with the external politics of the company, nor does it impact the competitors in any way. A share buyback programme is an internal financial management decision that the executive staff of a comp any selects with the authorization of the board of directors to take advantage of favorable market conditions. Share Buyback programmers should be initiated only if an internal valuation of the companyââ¬â¢s values determines that the corporationââ¬â¢s stock is trading below expected value. When an investorââ¬â¢s sees that corporation initiates a buyback program the general belief is that the stock price of the company should be going up soon due to the fact that the firm has determine the company is trading below expected value. The initiation of such a
Friday, August 23, 2019
Religion in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Religion in America - Essay Example A well-documented example is women who would not marry again following the death of their husband. Choosing to be a single woman was considered by the Puritans to be disregarding ââ¬ËGodââ¬â¢s will.ââ¬â¢ These women were looked upon suspiciously and this choice heightened the chance that they would be accused of being a witch. Many of the rights and freedoms enjoyed by women today were brought about by women recognized for their courage and their ability to stand up for their gender such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Queen Victoria. However, there were many women involved in these early migrations to the new continent who held many of the traditional concepts regarding womenââ¬â¢s true proper place in society without sacrificing their concepts of strength within the home. One of these women was Anne Hutchinson who brought the ideals of her modified belief system into the new world and helped establish a community that continues to survive today. Hutchinson began her life in England and traveled through Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Netherlands, now the Bronx in New York before being killed there by Indians in one of the many disputes between natives and settlers that occurred during that time. She was baptized as Anne Marbury in Alford, Lincolnshire, England on July 20, 1591 as a ministerââ¬â¢s daughter, but her father always had questions about the church.1 Uncharacteristically, Anne was given a decent education and was permitted to reach a more mature age for marriage, not marrying William (Will) Hutchinson until she was 21. Throughout this period in England, Anne and her family had been following the teachings of John Cotton, whose views were strongly similar to those of Anneââ¬â¢s father, both of them taking exception with the structure of the churchââ¬â¢s hierarchical configuration.2 Cotton was forced to leave England by the persecution of the Church of England authorities in 1633 and departed for
History-Modern American Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
History-Modern American Culture - Essay Example Thus, the progressivism arose as the main political ideology of America in the first half of the twentieth century. The underlying concept of progressivism was that the government could be used to improve the society. The reforms took place in all spheres from education, medicine, finance, insurance, industry, railroads, and so on. Under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, political and business leaders, and journalists like Ida Tarbell, and Lincoln Steffens, the country began to clean its systems up; cities began to appear cleaner and healthier, workplaces became safer and workers received more consideration from their employers and many of these changes were the result of ââ¬Ëenlightened self-interestââ¬â¢1. Some notable achievements of progressivism were the antitrust laws, state and national income taxes, strict regulations on businesses, laws regarding minimum wages, the decision to have direct election of senators, and the Federal Reserve System. Some other developments that had a significant role in shaping American society were the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the establishments of juvenile courts. In addition, the Nineteenth Amendment allowed womenââ¬â¢s suffrage. ... It enabled militarism, conscription, and allowed the federal government to intervene heavily in all regional affairs in the name of war and gave the central government total control over economy and the whole nation. Another important thing was the coming of females to the social front as envisaged by Progressivism. The National Defense established an Advisory Committee on Womenââ¬â¢s Defense Work, thus enabling females to have a better position in the society, though indirectly, through food control and voluntary work in support of the war effort. Yet another point according to Rothbard is that the war has made it necessary for economy to cooperate with the government later allowing the government to have more control over the economic monopolies2. Though the Great Depression and World War II battered American economy, it again flourished considerably. As a result of the new social changes, wealth was more equitably distributed and the government had more control over investment, development and research. The GI bill enabled many to have education, many owned their own homes, and as a result of the growth, unemployment went down and wages rose considerably. Thus, one can say, the liberal consensus of America reached its peak. Probably as a result of the many wars it fought, the National Security Act recognized the federal government and a National Security Council was set up to advice the president. as Bigsby points out, the wars and the potential threat from Soviet Union helped the government to proceed with its aggressive military plans of alliances, treaties and military bases in many countries throughout the world3. A marked change in the position of Blacks in America did not take place until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Thus,
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay Example for Free
Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay Abstract Nonverbal communication speaks louder than verbal communication; therefore, nonverbal communication, such as background music, needs to be sensibly evaluated. As a form of nonverbal communication, background music is capable of influencing a target audience. In advertising, emotions can be shifted depending on the music being played in the background and the same feelings are then transferred to the product, providing a tremendous advantage in business (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Music can change oneââ¬â¢s mood; in the workplace, an improved mood allows employees to be more content and, overall, more productive. In addition, with the right musical selection, the music is able to increase the amount of information an individual is able to retain (Balch Lewis, 1996). Various aspects from several studies have been examined, demonstrating the power of background music and music in general. The Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Nonverbal communication may be unintentional and speakers may not be aware of their behaviors or it may be just the opposite (Troester Mester, 2007). However, background music is often carefully selected in order to aid in the desired goal, particularly in advertising (Dillman Carpentier, 2010; Kellaris, Cox, Cox, 1993). The goals of every businessperson may not be the same; yet, the capabilities and effects of music are rather consistent (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Whether via television, radio, or in person, music is able to affect the moods of those in the audience (Knobloch, 2003). Music also has the ability to improve the performance of the task at hand of an individual (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, Heiden, 2012). According to Balch and Lewis (1996), an increase in memory is also induced by music. In any aspect of business, the effects of music can be utilized and even increase efficiency and productivity. Mood Alteration Oneââ¬â¢s mood determines the way one thinks and acts and what is said (Knobloch, 2003; Hunter, Schellenberg, Schimmack, 2010). According to Hunter et al., ââ¬Å"music is the language of emotionsâ⬠(p. 47). The perception of music determines the emotion felt. The perception of happiness is more often transferred to feeling happy than the perception of sadness and feeling sad (Hunter, Schellenberg, Schimmack, 2010). Davies (2011) refers to the emotions of music as being contagious. When one is around people who are depressed, that personââ¬â¢s mood adjusts closer to those who are in the depressed state. Similarly, although a person may not actually be sad, a sad part in a movie can make that person feel sad; the same applies to music. Hearing music that sounds happy can make one feel happy and to the contrary. Davies models this as a cause and effect relationship. The music being heard is the cause and the effect is oneââ¬â¢s reaction to the music. Whether the reaction is happy or sad is dependent upon the perception of the music to the listener. Sounds that reflect happiness include little amplitude variation, a vast pitch variety, and fast tempo (Hatfield, Cacioppo, Rapson, 1993). Therefore, when one hears these sounds of happy music, emotional contagion is invoked on the subject and causes that person to feel happy. In advertisements, music is selected as an enhancement but also to affect mood. It is a companyââ¬â¢s goal to influence potential buyers by creating a positive attitude and feeling towards that companyââ¬â¢s product. With a positive image in mind of a particular product, there is a greater likelihood that the consumer will purchase the product (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). An average of more than 9.5 hours of media is taken in by the average American on a daily basis; of those hours, 38% is dedicated to music ââ¬â all of which affects mood in some way (Knobloch, 2003). In addition, according to Dillman Carpentier, 90% of commercials include music of some sort (2010). The preceding statistics show the value of music to consumers and therefore, reflect the importance music-induced moods have in marketing. Enhanced Performance Not only is music able to affect oneââ¬â¢s mood but it is also capable of increasing the performance of an individual (North Hargreaves, 1999). According to Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky, the IQ scores of the participants of their study were highest when the participants were under the influence of music (1993). In the other two trials, the participants went through a relaxation process and sat in silence for 10 minutes; the scores were 2.95 and 3.56 points respectively lower (Rauscher, Shaw, Ky, 1993). Some teachers have started using music to increase the focus and efficiency of students. Relaxing music is played to keep the studentsââ¬â¢ minds from wandering and, instead, concentrated on the lesson. The relaxing music causes oneââ¬â¢s brainwave frequencies to alter, entering the alpha state. The alpha state has been found to be the state where the best connection to oneââ¬â¢s subconscious is made (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, Heiden, 2012). Koenenââ¬â¢s and Restakââ¬â¢s (as cited in Fassbender et al., 2012) findings have both supported that music inhibits thought. Restakââ¬â¢s claim is based on a study conducted with surgeons as the participants. Due to differing parts of the brain being used for music and for physical tasks, the music doesnââ¬â¢t inhibit the task but keeps the other part of the brain occupied and, therefore, from becoming distracted (Fassbender et al., 2012). In another study, surgeons were asked to count backwards by various numbers under three different conditions and were monitored throughout their tasks. The different conditions were no music, music of personal preference, and experimenter-selected music. Each surgeon was individually tested and each surgeonââ¬â¢s blood pressure, pulse, timing, and accuracy were recorded. The results showed a significant difference among the three conditions and the areas being monitored. The surgeonsââ¬â¢ blood pressures and pulses were at much higher levels when performing the tasks without music. The results of the tasks with the presence of music showed lower blood pressures and pulses but an increase in the speeds and accuracies of the surgeons. Of the two music conditions, the overall results of the surgeons were better when listening to music of their choice rather than the experimenter-selected music. The participants of the study are of a profession that undergoes much stress in the operating room; by listening to music of their choice, the effects of stress decrease and the quality of performances increase (Allen Blascovich, 1994). The studies of Dr. Adrian C. North provide several benefits of music for employers and employees. As previously mentioned, music can affect oneââ¬â¢s mood. In the workplace, putting the employees in a better mood will increase their productivity by improving how well they interact with their fellow employees. It has been proven that oneââ¬â¢s mood and helpfulness are directly related (North Hargreaves, 1999). Music has also been found to raise the employee morale, leading to a decrease in the number of absences (Furnham Bradley, 1997; North Hargreaves, 1999). The output per employee can also be increased in a work field involving repetitiveness. According to Johnson (2004), participants of his study (whose work was repetitive) matched the tempo of the music being played while working. Therefore, with the addition of music ââ¬â causing a better mood, cooperation, and increased pace ââ¬â the overall productivity and efficiency of the workforce can increase and, in turn, boost the company revenue. Music is a friend of labour for it lightens the task by refreshing the nerves and spirit of the worker ââ¬â William Green ( quoted in Furnham Bradley, 1997) Increased Memory Although music and its relationship to human memory are still being researched, scientists do know that music affects several parts of the brain (Weir Nevins, 2010). Cognitive neuroscientist, Petr Janata, says, ââ¬Å" It [music] calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that personââ¬â¢s face in your mindââ¬â¢s eyeâ⬠(Weir Nevins, 2010, p. 12). According to John Sweller, one must relate what is being learned to something that is already known (2003). Studies have proven the word-for-word is much higher when heard with music than when heard without music (Wallace, 1994). Wallace also suggests the musical accompaniment is used as a retrieval device or as an aid in the way the words are stored. The belief is that the music accents the words being spoken by acting as a cue when determining the number of syllables in a word and words in a verse (Wallace, 1994). It has also been shown that some memories are solely dependent on music being the trigger to recall them (Balch Lewis, 1996). In marketing and advertising, music plays a significant role on oneââ¬â¢s memory. Most can probably identify the brand image, along with the melody, by simply reading, ââ¬Å"five, five-dollar foot longâ⬠(Weir Nevins, 2010) due to the capability of music that allows one to recall melody and image from the text read (and the contrary) (Wallace, 1994). Pertaining to memory, music can also serve as an aid in health services (Simmons-Stern, Budson, Ally, 2010). According to a study by Simmons-Stern et al., patients with Alzheimerââ¬â¢s disease were able to recall more of the information they were given when it was sung rather than spoken. It is thought to be possible that these findings may aid in discovering a treatment for Alzheimerââ¬â¢s disease patients (Simmons-Stern et al., 2010). Conclusion There is no doubt music plays a role in everyoneââ¬â¢s life in some way. The effects of music are nearly unavoidable due to the fact that music is incorporated into such a variety of activities and places and can cause differentiating feelings and results. Sad music can spread sadness (through emotional contagion) and infect the listener with that sadness, causing the listenerââ¬â¢s mood to worsen. On the contrary, music is also able to make one feel happy (Davies, 2011). In the workplace, music is able to improve the mood of employees, motivate employees, and quicken the pace of the work being done (Furnham Bradley, 1997). By playing upbeat music where the work to be done is monotonous, the workers are less irritated and fall in rhythm with the beat of the music. A workforce that has a higher rate of productivity can ultimately benefit the company by increasing the profits (North Hargreaves, 1999). Music also accentuates words and increases the memorabilia of those words; this can be quite beneficial in advertisements (Weir Nevins, 2010). Another benefit music offers, with regards to memory, is as a possible treatment for patients with Alzheimerââ¬â¢s disease (Simmons-Stern, Budson, Ally, 2010). Regardless of being a form of nonverbal communication or where it may appear, music strongly affects human beings with its ample array of capabilities. References Allen, K. P., Blascovich, J. P. (1994). Effects of Music on Cardiovascular Reactivity Among Surgeons. Journal of The American Medical Association, 272(11), 882-884. Balch, W. R., Lewis, B. S. (1996). Music-Dependent Memory: The Roles of Tempo Change and Mood Mediation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 22(6), 1354-1363. Davies, S. (2011). Infectious Music: Music-Listener Emotional Contagion. In A. Coplan, P. Goldie, Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press. Dillman Carpentier, F. R. (2010). Innovating Radio News: Effects of Background Music Complexity on Processing and Enjoyment. Journal of Radio Audio Media, 17(1), 63-81. Douglas Olsen, G. (1995). Creating the Contrast: The Influence of Silence and Background Music on Recall and Attribute Importance. Journal of Advertising, 59(4), 29-44. Fassbender, E., Richards, D., Bilgin, A., Thompson, W. F., Heiden, W. (2012). The Effects of Music on Memory f or Facts Learned in a Virtual Environment. Computers and Education, 58(1), 490-500. Furnham, A., Bradley, A. (1997). Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and Extraverts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11, 445-455. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional Contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, 2(3), 96-99. Hunter, P. G., Schellenberg, E. G., Schimmack, U. (2010). Feelings and Perceptions of Happiness and Sadness Induced by Music: Similarities, Differences, and Mixed Emotions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(1), 47-56. Johnson, V. W. (2004). Effect of Musical Style on Spontaneous Exercise Performance. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, 24, 357. Kellaris, J. J., Cox, A. D., Cox, D. (1993, October). The Effect of Background Music on Ad Processing: A Contingency Explanation. Journal of Marketing, 57, 114-125. Knobloch, S. (2003, June). Mood Adjustment via Mass Communication. Journal of Communication, 53(2), 233-250. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and Driving Game Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40, 285-292. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Musical Tempo, Productivity, and Morale. Unpublished Manuscript. Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and Spatial Task Performance. Nature, 365, 611. Simmons-Stern, N. R., Budson, A. E., Ally, B. A. (2010). Music as a Memory Enhancer in Patients with Alzheimers Disease. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3164-3167. Sweller, J. (2003). Evolution of Human Cognitive Architecture. San Diego: Academic Press. Troester, R., Mester, C. (2007). Chapter 7: Nonverbal Civility. In Civility in Business Professional Communication (pp. 87-105). Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for Music: Effect of Melody on Recall of Text. Jornal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6), 1471-1485. Weir, K., Nevins, D. (2010). Music and Your Mind. Current Health Kids, 34(1), p. 10.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Face Recognition Using PCA Algorithm
Face Recognition Using PCA Algorithm Bollini Lokesh, Abhishek Nallamothu, Mr.S.Planiappan ABSTRACT Day by day technology is changing and way of securing and automation is also trending. Facial recognition (or face recognition) is a type of biometric software application that can identify a specific individual in a digital image by analyzing and comparing patterns. Facial recognition systems are commonly used for security purposes but are increasingly being used in a variety of other automation applications. In real time, face recognition algorithms deal with large data base. Execution of these face recognition algorithms take high computational power and time on large database. Our objective is to improve speed of face recognition on large data base by using PCA algorithm. The goal of our proposing PCA algorithm is to reduce the dimensionality of the data by mapping the data into a lower dimensionality subspace while retaining as much as possible of the variation present in the original dataset. We formally prove this algorithm on ORL face data base with best precision. Keywords: PCA: Principle Component Analysis, MATLAB: Matrix Laboratory, ORL: Olivetti Research Laboratory INTRODUCTION Facial recognition (or face recognition) is a type of biometric software application that can identify a specific individual in a digital image by analyzing and comparing patterns. Facial recognition systems are commonly used for security purposes but are increasingly being used in a variety of other applications. The Kinect motion gaming system, for example, uses facial recognition to differentiate among players. Currently, a lot of facial recognition development is focused on smartphone applications. Smartphone facial recognition capacities include image tagging and other social networking integration purposes as well as personalized marketing. A research team at Carnegie Mellon has developed a proof-of-concept iPhone app that can take a picture of an individual and within seconds return the individuals name, date of birth and social security number. Facebook uses facial recognition software to help automate user tagging in photographs. Hereââ¬â¢s how facial recognition works in Facebook: Each time an individual is tagged in a photograph, the software application stores information about that personââ¬â¢s facial characteristics. When enough data has been collected about a person to identify them, the system uses that information to identify the same face in different photographs, and will subsequently suggest tagging those pictures with that personââ¬â¢s name. Facial recognition software also enhances marketing personalization. For example, billboards have been developed with integrated software that identifies the gender, ethnicity and approximate age of passersby to deliver targeted advertising. The main aim of this project is to improve the computational speed of face recognition by using PCA algorithm. This can be done by reducing the dimensionality of images, while doing computations on images in data base. We propose a PCA algorithm with reduced dimensionality in calculations, and we formally prove this algorithm on ORL face data base of ten different images of each of 40 distinct subjects with best precision. RELATED WORK The proposed face recognition system by using PCA algorithm overcomes certain limitations of the existing face recognition system. It is based on reduction of dimensionality and extracting the dominating features of a set of human faces stored in the database and performing mathematical operations on the values corresponding to them. Hence when a new image is fed into the system for recognition then it will reduce dimensionality of new image and extract the main features to compute and find the distance between the input image and the stored images. Thus, some variations in the new face image to be recognized can be tolerated. When the new image of a person differs from the images of that person stored in the database, the system will be able to recognize the new face and identify who the person is. The proposed system is better mainly due to the use of facial features rather than the entire face. Its advantages are in terms of: Recognition accuracy and better discriminatory power Computational cost because of reduction in dimensionality and removing of noise from data set Concentrating on main features require less processing to train the PCA. Because of the use of dominant features and hence can be used as an effective means of authentication Principle Component Analysis Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was invented by Karl Pearson in 1901 and is now used in many fields of science. It is a way of identifying patterns in data, and expressing the data in such a way as to highlight their similarities and differences. Since patterns in data can be hard to find in data of high dimension, where the luxury of graphical representation is not available, PCA is a powerful tool for analyzing data. The other main advantage of PCA is that once you have found these patterns in the data, and you compress the data, ie. by reducing the number of dimensions, without much loss of information. The main aim of this project is to improve the computational speed of face recognition by using PCA algorithm. This can be done by reducing the dimensionality of images, while doing computations on images in data base. We propose a PCA algorithm with reduced dimensionality in calculations, and we formally prove this algorithm on ORL face data base of ten different images of each of 40 distinct subjects with best precision. Actually issues arise once performing arts face recognition in a very high-dimensional area (curse of dimensionality). therefore we have a tendency to area unit managing spatiality issues in face recognition performance. important enhancements will be achieved by 1st mapping the information into a lower-dimensional sub-space. Mapping knowledge|of knowledge|of information} into lower dimensional data is feasible by PCA formula. In PCA formula, 1st itll convert all face pictures (N X N pixel) in knowledge base into face vector (N2X1 dimensionality).It hundreds of these face vectors into one matrix (N2X M matrix; here M=number of face pictures in database).It cipher average face vector(N2X1 dimensionality) by doing mean on all face vectors. It calculate normalized face vectors matrix (N2X M dimensionality) by subtracting average face vector from every face vector. It calculate variance matrix to search out out best Eigen|chemist}|chemist} vectors (best Eigen vectors represent best Eigen faces).It calculate signature of image and place it in( M X S dimensionality; here S=number of signatures). PCA converts input image (image for face recognition) into face vector, then it converts into normalized face vector and thereby it verify weight vector of input image. Finally it compare weight vectors and thereby it verify the person. Face recognition bioscience is that the science of programming a laptop to acknowledge a personalitys face. once someone is listed during a face recognition system, a video camera takes a series of snapshots of the face and so represents it by a singular holistic code. once somebody has their face verified by the pc, it captures their current look and compares it with the facial codes already hold on within the system. The faces match, the person receives authorization; otherwise, the person wont be known. the prevailing face recognition system identifies solely static face pictures that just about specifically match with one among the photographs hold on within the information. once this image captured nearly specifically matches with one among the photographs hold on then the person is known and granted access. once this image of someone is significantly totally different, say, in terms of facial features from the photographs of that person that area unit already hold on within the information the system doesnt acknowledge the person and thence access are denied. The existing or ancient face recognition system has some limitations which mayà be overcome by adopting new ways of face recognition: The existing system cannot tolerate variations within the new face image. It needs the new image to be nearly specifically matching with one among the photographs within the information which can otherwise end in denial of access for the individual. The performance level of the prevailing system isnt considerable. CONCLUSION The PCA method is an unsupervised technique of learning that is mostly suitable for databases that contain images with no class labels. PCA improve speed of face recognition by mapping higher dimensionality of face image into lower dimensionality. PCA provides best precision in face recognition process. In future we are planning to implement automation in security and automation in attendance by using this algorithm. We will try to get more efficiency and precision by combining this algorithm with other algorithms. We are planning to implement this algorithm for recognizing multi faces by combining this algorithm with other face recognition algorithms. REFERENCES: [1] A.S Syed navaz, T. Dhevi sri Pratap mazumdar ââ¬Å"Face recognition using principle component analysis and neural networksâ⬠International Journal of Computer Networking, Wireless and Mobile Communications (IJCNWMC) ISSN 2250-1568 Vol. 3, Issue 1, Mar 2013, 245-256 [2] Lindsay I Smith ââ¬Å"A tutorial on Principal Components Analysisâ⬠February 26, 2002 [3] Sasan Karamizadeh, Shahidan M. Abdullah, Azizah A. Manaf, Mazdak Zamani, Alireza Hooman ââ¬Å" An Overview of Principal Component Analysisâ⬠Journal of Signal and Information Processing 2013, 4, 173-175 [4] Toshiyuki Sakai, M. Nagao, Takeo Kanade, ââ¬Å"Computer analysis and classification of photographs of human face,â⬠First USA Japan Computer Conference, 1972 [5] Yuille, A. L., Cohen, D. S., and Hallinan, P. W., Feature extraction from faces using deformable templates, Proc. of CVPR, (1989).
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The Beatles: History, Political Environment Music Analysis
The Beatles: History, Political Environment Music Analysis Liverpool, a city 202 miles northwest of London that holds down the right bank of the River Mersey, is the second largest port in the British Isles.1 Rock ââ¬Ën roll music made its way to England through the port of Liverpool. Liverpool was the entry point for cotton and other imports, including American records, from the United States.2 As a result, compared to the rest of the people in Britain, the people in Liverpool had a stronger exposure to American music. Another factor that contributed to the Liverpudlians familiarity with American music was the presence of RAF Burtonwood, a U.S. military base a few miles northeast of Liverpool. 2 It had the most United States Army Air Forces personnel and facilities in Europe during World War II. At the end of the war, 18,000 servicemen were stationed in this base, which was so large it was known as ââ¬Å"little Americaâ⬠, and they brought to England things from home, including their favorite records.2 History All four Beatles were born into the working class, amid the raining down of German bombs and the wailing of air-sirens during World War II.3 By the time they were teenagers, in the 1950s, things were only starting to settle down Britain was crippled financially, food rationing continued, and the terrain was still jagged with blast marks and craters.4 In the early 1960s, Great Britain still had vast unemployment and stultifying class disjunction, while America, on the other hand, was devastated by the Kennedy assassination and the realities of the Cold War.5 Britons were just coming to terms with the scandal surrounding Government Defense Minister John Profumos extramarital affair,6 which damaged the credibility of the government and eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.7 The 1960s was a period defined by the Cold War and the relative economic prosperity of capitalism in the west.8 It was an era marked by rock concerts, peace demonstrations, and local pockets of activism and community.9 The Beatles early success symbolized a break with the absence of innovation and quality of late 1950s music, and at the same time it was a continuation of the legacy of the 1950s, as the song writing of Chuck Berry and the vocal style of the Everly Brothers, among many other contributing factors, were integral to the formation of the Beatles own stylistic identity.10 Popular culture was not thought to play a role in political controversy or in society at large, but that was until the end of the Second World War. The Cold War suddenly made popular culture controversial. Actor John Wayne was popular mostly because of the political positions with which he was associated. The need to compete with television led the movies to risk controversial subjects, such as anti-Semitism, homosexuality, and juvenile delinquency. Elvis Presleys introduction of rock n roll music to a white, mainstream audience solidified the association between youth and popular music. By the 1960s, the music helped to establish for teenagers a powerful sense of generational identity. The Beatles attracted a college-age audience to rock n roll, and so their vast popularity contributed to this new perception.11 It was in this period that the youth of the day began to identify with the victims of social injustice. The Hippie culture made these well-to-do young people feel that they could relate to the minority and the poor subpopulations. They pleaded with predominant institutions, the so-called ââ¬Å"establishmentâ⬠, to reverse their indifference and offer relief, but they realized that the ââ¬Å"establishmentâ⬠would not heed their moral call and that they had to take it upon themselves to organize as a political movement.12 This period had burning issues that mobilized enormous segments of society. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. magnificently translated the Civil Rights movement, primarily a minority issue, into a universal eliciting of consciousness regarding equal rights for all. The Vietnam War funneled the moral outrage of the youthful secularists into a consciousness that is said to have persisted into the present day. 12 Bob Dylan, the central figure in the emergence of rock n rolls cultural importance, had established himself as the leading young folk music performer and as a writer of powerful topical songs.9 He helped politicize a vast segment of rock culture including the Beatles, inspiring the group to accept its popularity as an opportunity to define and speak to a vital youth constituency. The Beatles music, and rock music in general, became a medium for addressing the issues and events that affected that generation.13 Society As a result of the Baby Boom and the tremendous expansion in opportunities for higher education initiated after World War II, more individuals belonged to the intellectual community or were affected by it. The Baby Boomers were also raised with increasing permissiveness by parents. Children were encouraged not only to think on their own, but to think about a wide range of heretofore suppressed thoughts. It was in the 60s that the formerly stable institutions of Western societyââ¬âthe church, the family, and the local communityââ¬âbegan to break down, and as the youth of the day, in increasing numbers, began to explore widely divergent socio-cultural milieus, they came into conflict with conditions of society far less comfortable than their own. They began to identify with the victims of social injustice and pleaded with what appeared to be massive and callous institutions to reverse their indifference and offer relief. The Hippie culture was a result of this they were able t o think of themselves as outlaws, which made them feel that they could relate to the minority.12 There appears to be a connection between the cultural revolution of the sixties and the Beatles music.14 Beat music, which is exemplified by the music of the Beatles, became popular in the 1960s, and at the same time, youth propagated more egalitarian and informal ways of communication as the new standard for social interaction.15 The communication code of the peer group is characterized by an open and almost permanent negotiation of feelings and opinions.16 The Beatles songs could articulate the vocabulary of the rising youth culture so well. The Beatles songs evoked a sense of awakening, as they were articulating and promoting the open and reciprocal idiom of the peer group as a model for civil conversation, giving a full voice to youth culture.14 Politics and Economy Britain, in the 1950s, was recuperating from the aftermath of the war. The cost-of-living index continued to rise rapidly, causing strikes among market workers and employees. Acute coal shortage brought about actual importation from the United States. But employment remained high, because industries began a rapid expansion. The supply of consumer goods also continued to increase, reversing the policy on rationing. The general picture of the economy was brightening.17 The 1960s was witness to the Cold War and the relative economic prosperity of capitalism in the west.8 The United States economys longest peacetime expansion took place from 1961 to 1969.18 The period also saw the Civil Rights movement, the call for equal rights for all, and the Vietnam War, among other issues, which mobilized a huge segment of society into civil disobedience.12 Rock music, which held the youth together,11 was one of the mediums in which they addressed these issues.13 Artworld Relations Rock ââ¬Ën roll is a music form that revolutionized in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s through a mixing together of various popular musical genres of the time. It is rooted mainly on rhythm and blues, country, folk, gospel, and jazz. The style quickly spread to the rest of the world and developed further, leading eventually to modern rock music. At around the same time that rock and roll hit Britain in early 1956, a similar form of music came along which is popularly known as skiffle. It was really a fusion of American Jazz, blues and folk music. It also had been surfacing in various semblances for quite a few years.19 From its inception in the early fifties, it had offered teenagers, at that time, a new way of taking in music. With its unmistakably mutinous undertones, rock provides a musical score for the twilight universe that is adolescence. It was commonly looked down by older music listeners but for the youth of that period, it seemed like a personalized declaration of independence.20 A thumbnail chronology of 1950s rock days is a thumbnail chronology of a war between young and old.20 Before a bunch of American records reached UK and stirred the Brits, the firepower started when Bill Haleys Rock Around the Clock reached number one both in the US and UK, and Chuck Berrys Maybellene began to scream on the radios.20 By the late 1950s, rock raced across the pop charts which entertained a lot of teenagers. However, the success of the form by this time is counteracted by most adults and the music industry itself that still looks at rock disdainfully. The new sound is fighting a generational, musical, social, personal war with society.21 While somewhat disturbing societys walls, rock ââ¬Ën roll is imploding in the hearts of some teenagers in an English seaport called Liverpool,21 including the young Beatles members, John, George, Paul and Ringo. The first flourishes of rock n roll in the form of Bill Haley and His Comets aligned music with rebellious youth. Particular rock and roll idols following after started the ball rolling for the Beatles. This is topped by none other than Elvis Presley whos dubbed as the guy who lit the Beatles fuse.22 The rock artists who had a major impact on the Beatles ranged from FatsDomino, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, little Richard, to Chuck Berry. The list goes on. To the Beatles, Elvis may have represented the music style that they wanted, but he wasnt quite the complete package. He sang brilliantly and looked fantastic. He had great songs but he didnt actually write them. However, there were other artists coming onto the scene who also wrote their own material, and this kind of self-sufficiency really appealed to the young Lennon and McCartney.23 At the top of it was Chuck Berry. He was one of the few black performers whom white teenage audience consciously listened to during the 1950s, and he did largely entertained them on the strength of charismatic stage character, his distinctive, rocking, and widely imitated guitar licks, and his ingenious songs. One aspect of Chuck Berrys tremendous influence that should be highlighted, is the way he introduced a more sophisticated and disciplined form of lyricism to rock music. Thus inspiring the likes of Lennon and McCartney to compose their own songs.23 All these musical influences were quickly spread to a mainstream audience of young people during the 1950s and 60s. Before TV took over as a multi-purpose medium for spreading this, radio was king. That well-known Beatle sense of humor came about partly because of the radio comedians they listened to as kids. At the same time, it was also via the airwaves that they first heard the strains of rock and roll. At their time, TV sets were a definite luxury, but one commodity that could probably be inside all of their homes was the radio.24 During the mid-50s the only British channels that people could tune into were those of the government-controlled British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC basically transmitted what the adults wanted to hear, easy listening, all the way from Vera Lynn to Frankie Laine. Rock ââ¬Ën roll music was no way to be broadcasted then. Radio helped to shape the Beatles musical tastes and their sense of humor.25 Sample/Analysis Love Me Do Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon: vocals, harmonica Paul McCartney: vocals, bass George Harrison: acoustic rhythm guitar Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine The form is quite simple perhaps because Paul started composing this when he was very young, probably around 15 or 16. In line with this is the simple plaintive melody and rhythm of the song. The group has started out with simple rhythms, unsophisticated and straightforward lyrics, and themes that are very appealing to the teen audience. The very striking and remarkable feature in the song is the harmonica which John played quite well. The harmonica also added that certain x-factor to the tune and to the song in general. The lyrics were just repeated all throughout the song, which makes it quite short. The vocal aspect of the song appears to be apt for the theme of the song. The lyrics of the song is a simple dedication of a devoted lover to his loved one. The song is not as soft and mellow as Yesterday, but not as hard as Helter Skelter. Compared to the other hits of the Beatles after the release of Love Me Do, this song in particular carried a big significance to the band members because it just signaled that they are now in the recording industry, which they only used to dream of. I Saw Her Standing There Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll I Saw Her Standing There is one of the boys first fast, hard rockers. The arrangement of this song is filled with techniques and touches unique to the group that defined the early sound of the Beatles. The song narrates a simple boy-meets-girl story in the first person to which the pulsating music lends a definitely hot connotation, in spite of the lack of any explicit passion in the lyrics. They also used a type of wordplay that also became a Beatles trademark. In terms of its form, the song has a comparatively long running time of 2:52 which consists of a 2 bridge model with 2 verses intervening, one of which is for guitar solo. The fast pace of the song enhance a general feeling of urgency. Also, the tune covers a broad range and consists of an entirely interesting mix of step-wise motion with dramatic long-jumps. Each of the members contributed to the over-all excitement in the arrangement of this song. This includes Pauls boogie-woogie bass lines, which outline the chords, Ringo s elaborately syncopated drum fills that appear in the space between sections, the backing work on rhythm and lead guitars that works in fine synergy with the bass and drum parts. Furthermore, the tight vocal harmonies of Paul and John feature a type of counterpoint that seems bracingly different from what was to be heard from their contemporaries. Lastly, the handclaps and the screaming used for background punctuation are unessential yet nevertheless characteristic. The song evokes such a pleasurably exuberant mood and an absence of romantic/emotional complications. Its more of a ââ¬Ëhip ditty bop noise, as Richard Price puts it, reminding us in perpetuity of the ââ¬Ënowness and coolness of being 17 and hip, as well as falling for the first time in what a teenage thinks just might be ââ¬Ëreal love. Although theres an eventually bitter and disappointing side to this experience, the song emphasizes that the sweeter part of it is worth taking with someone for the rest of his life. Just like any of their early period songs, this song contains no profundity in its lyrics. It just implies the usual situation that a teenager faces in terms of love and the opposite sex. It appears to be somewhat a way of expressing a teen feeling about love and the common view of the youth about it at the time. Here, it seemed that the Beatles try to make an impression that they are like the other youngster as to how they view that certain aspect of the teen wo rld. All my Loving Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon: backing vocals, rhythm guitar Paul McCartney: vocals, bass George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums The song is one of the several Beatles songs with somehow superficial lyrics about love and affection. The melody is quite lively though its not as upbeat as IWant to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There. There were also some stopgaps in between the stanzas in the song. Evidently, it is one of those songs that characterized the early songwriting and music composition of the Beatles. I Want to Hold Your Hand Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll The song is deceptively straightforward and regular in design. It starts with a falling melody. Also, it sounds closer to conservative pop than rebelliously hard rock. It has the non-intuitive two-part vocal harmony, falsetto screaming, an occasionally novel chord progression, abrupt rhythm even some elided phrasing and the overdubbed handclaps. The original song has no real lead singer or even a clearly defined melody, as Lennon and McCartney sing in harmony with each other. They sing in duet virtually the whole way through. Paul plays quite a bit of double-stops in the bass part, Ringo throws in some of his structurally significant drum fills in between the second and third phrase of each verse, and most subtle of all, George contributes a number of lead guitar fills. It was the youth who discovered the Beatles, and while young people can be easily manipulated through hype and image, in the case of the Beatles it was the music that drew them in. This song is undeniably one of the Beatles all-time hits and in several ways represents the compositional height of what could be called their Very Early period. In context of November 1963, I Want to Hold Your Hand was the best they could do, a kind of summing up of all they had done to-date. It also has a seemingly puppy-love simplicity that does hold up remarkably well like a classic. I Want to Hold Your Hand was not subject to numerous cover versions like other Beatles songs such as Yesterday or Something. Nonetheless, it was one of their greatest hits. Their early songs mostly consist of simple and uncomplicated meanings behind the lyrics that were tailored for the young audience. A Hard Days Night Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll The song has a long form, with two bridges and an instrumental break. It has a deep similarity with typical ââ¬Å"bluesâ⬠melodic structures which creates a combined style between traditional blues elements and those more recognizable as the Beatles own trademarks. A Hard Days Night is a particularly forward-looking song since it has numerous innovations in the area of harmony and arrangement. It has a generally energetic bustle that appears on its surface. On a subtle level, the very casualness of the discordance between the tunes and chords adds a characterizingly ââ¬Å"slangâ⬠flavor to the songs over all music vocabulary. John takes most of the verse as solo and Paul with the bridge. In the chorus, Paul handles the high harmony and John the low harmony. The opening chord has its great effect because of the sudden, crisp attack of the song. The pause that follows the opening chord is an example of how suspense and a sense of rising expectations is created by a change o f pace. The effect has a surprise factor that works well at the beginning of the film or album. The song is parallel in itself since it ends off inexplicably on practically the same chord with which the song began. This also provides some unity to the song generally. Furthermore, it closes with a fade-out which was new to the Beatles at that time since the prior songs had closed with a final chord such as She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. The lyrics are far from profound. Basically, the song speaks about ones undying devotion to his loved one and how he works hard so she can buy the things she fancies. The singer sings about his tiredness when he comes home from work. But when he sees the things that his lover does, these perk him up. The song was sung on an exuberant mood along with fast paced beats in it. It also incorporated new techniques that the Beatles have not yet done in their earlier songs like Harrisons arpeggio-playing during the fade-out. The simple lyrics cater to a larger audience of young people. This is due to the theme of the song which is about love that gets it across to a lot of young listeners. Furthermore, there is but a few meanings to this song which is usually the characteristic of their early period songs. Perhaps, because their main goal by then is to gain popularity through entertaining a larger portion of music listeners, the kids. Help! Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll The song Help! has a two-part lead vocals and a speeded-up tempo. The final take in the recording session was the best, and onto this Ringo Starr overdubbed a tambourine, and George Harrison added the series of descending Chet Atkins-style guitar notes which close each chorus. One can listen to a couple of complicated, fast riffs in the song which added more pulse to the overall rhythm. The melody, somewhat, counteracted the message of the song of being depressed and disheartened. It was noticeably composed to satisfy their commercial instincts at this time. The lyrics, on the other hand, is somehow repetitive that makes the song a bit short compared to their prior songs. The vocals were solid enough to agree with the harmony of the instruments most notably the tambourine playing at the background. It still definitely has some blues elements incorporated in the song which is most common to the Beatles songs. The songs lyrics seem straightforward and superficial. The lyric that emerged was not simply a boy talking to a girl, but more of a patient to a psychotherapist or just someone seeking help from somebody else or from a mind-altering substance. The song was a marked departure from the boy-girl relationships that they have been talking about in their early songs. On the other hand, the song had commercial appeal, with its fast tempo and lively instrumentation. Here, the group is starting to develop emotional depth and weight in composing their songs. Yesterday Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll Yesterday has a unique arrangement, an attractive tune, even some asymmetrical phrasing and a couple of off-beat chord progressions. It has a tempo that is uncharacteristically slow. The instrumental backing consists entirely of an acoustic guitar and a string quartet (two violins, a viola and a cello) with the two elements mixed. The track is sung solo by Paul virtually all the way through with a particular exception for a short patch of double tracking to highlight the high notes at the end of the first bridge. As with Pauls other hymns, the bass line of this song is played with special emphasis whether through the hard-picked notes on the low-strings of the guitar or supported by the cello. The string arrangement supplements the songs air of sadness, notably the moaning of the cello melody and its blue seventh that connects the two halves of the bridge as well as the descending line by the viola that shifts the chorus back unto the verses. There is an ironic tension between the co ntent of what is played by the quartet and the restrained, spare nature of the medium in which it is played, adding an engaging level of depth to the performance. This is quite different from the fast paced, upbeat songs of the Beatles prior to this one especially because of its soothing, light melodic structure. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Rubber Soul, Track 2 (Parlophone CDP7 46440-2) Released: 3 December 1965 Recorded: 12, 21 October 1965, Abbey Road 2 Length: 2:05 Key: E Major Meter: 3/4 (6/8) Form: Verse (instrumental intro) | Verse | Bridge | Verse | Verse (instrumental solo) | Bridge | Verse | Outro (with complete ending) Instrumentation: John Lennon: double tracked lead vocal, 6 12 string acoustic rhythm guitars Paul McCartney: harmony vocal and bass George Harrison: doubletracked sitar Ringo Starr: finger cymbals, tambourine, maracas Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) is a rhythmic acoustic ballad featuring signature Beatle harmonies in the middle eight. Norwegian wood refers to the cheap pinewood that often finished the interiors of working class British flats. The lyrics speak of an encounter between the singer and an unnamed girl. They drink wine and talk. The speaker may have been hoping to sleep with the girl, declaring its time for bed. But the girl leaves him to crawl off to sleep in the bath alone. Later, the singer finds that the girl has left him for another love, so the singer lights a fire and burns the girls house as an act of revenge. Lighting a fire may also be interpreted as smoking a cigarette or smoking some weed. The instrumental backing is acoustic in style approach. The intro is sixteen measures long. The presentation of the hook phrase consists of the solo acoustic guitar followed by the entrance of the sitar (which then carries the melody) and bass guitar. All the verses follow the pattern set up in the intro. The bridge is also sixteen measures long, and the slowness of the harmonic rhythm helps maintain the measured mood established earlier The outro provides one repeat of the hook. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) is the first pop record ever released to feature a sitar (Newman 93). In direct contrast to earlier Beatles songs such as Love Me Do and I Want to Hold Your Hand, Norwegian Wood(This Bird Has Flown)provides a darker outlook towards romantic relationships. The exotic instrumentation and oblique lyrics are indications of the expanding musical vocabulary and experimental approach that the Beatles were rapidly adopting. Yellow Submarine Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Revolver, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46441-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 1 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 1 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 5 August 1966 (Double-A Single / Eleanor Rigby and LP Revolver) Recorded: 26 May 1966, Abbey Road 3; 1 June 1966, Abbey Road 2 Length: 2:38 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 Form: Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Verse (instrumental) | Verse | Refrain Instrumentation: John Lennon: acoustic guitar, blowing bubbles Paul McCartney: bass, acoustic guitar George Harrison: tambourine Ringo Starr: lead vocals, drums
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