A Reaction to the Article, “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind” by Gustave Le Bon

I resolutely concur with Gustave Le Bon’s LAW OF THE MENTAL UNITY OF CROWDS, which is indeed a socio-psychological phenomenon manifested throughout history and continues to manifest in our day-to-day lives. We are social beings. That makes this law almost absolute that to exclude oneself from it would mean excluding oneself from the rest of society and humanity, or one’s community to be more specific.Le Bon’s multifaceted analysis on the psychological crowd gave me the feeling of referring to it as a community. As he spoke of â€Å"collectiveness†, I remembered â€Å"sharing.† His discussion on the â€Å"individual comprising the crowd† reminded me of â€Å"group membership.† When he spoke of â€Å"contagion† I thought of â€Å"shared expectations and common goals.†His â€Å"influence and suggestion,† are â€Å"motives and issues† to me in relation to community. Most importantly, his statement of individuals being equals regardless of intellect and social status is â€Å"democracy.†   These heightened my belief of the law as I became more comfortable in relating his claims to everyday life.What is more convincing with the article is that it was written in a realistic and practical approach. Le Bon didn’t dwell idealistically in his concept of the psychological crowd, like me in my understanding of a community.Diversity, conflict, and factions in thinking are certainly inevitable and are always threats to harmony and homogeny. More so, the bottom line of every crowd or community’s dynamics is the motives, commitment, and gains of its members.Like Gustave’s discussion on the psychological crowd’s dynamics of having the individuals conscious and independent ways of thinking dissolved in a crowd, my understanding of a community is that it is composed of people who transmit knowledge through sharing rather than individually inheriting traits and characte ristics from their parents.Undeniably, this law had been formulated through in-depth observation of the dynamics of historical events and processes. It shall never cease to support the existence of social, cultural, political, and economic entities, that is all the advances as well as the setbacks human development has brought to us.ALL religions, ALL laws, ALL business establishments and policies, ALL family systems, ALL academic institutions, ALL forms technology, ALL sciences, ALL wars and conflicts, etc. are all products of MENTAL UNITY OF CROWDS. As long as people converge to work on something, as long as they exist and need each other, this law shall be valid.If Sociology is the study of human social behavior, origins, institutions, organization, and the development of human society, then Le Bon’s Law would be the very much essential to justifying the existence of the science (Sociology).It effectively presents a powerful phenomenon that explains the process of the simp le individual being the foundation of a more complex crowd, which tells us so much about social relationships and behaviors, and organizational processes. Thus, it is able to profoundly provide us a base of what we are actually studying every day in this course.

What Is Your Understanding of the Following Concepts; Present Value, Present Value of an Annuity, Future Value, and Future Value of an Annuity. (Please Describe Any Formulas Related to Each.)

Present Value is the current worth of a future sum of money or stream of cash flows given a specified rate of return. Future cash flows are discounted at the discount rate, and the higher the discount rate, the lower the present value of the future cash flows. Determining the appropriate discount rate is the key to properly valuing future cash flows, whether they be earnings or obligations. Present Value of annuity is a series of equal payments or receipts that occur at evenly spaced intervals. Leases and rental payments are examples. The payments or receipts occur at the end of each period for an ordinary annuity while they occur at the beginning of each period; For an annuity due. PVoa = PMT [(1 – (1 / (1 + i)n)) / i] Future Value is the value of an asset or cash at a specified date in the future that is equivalent in value to a specified sum today. There are two ways to calculate FV: For an asset with simple annual interest: = Original Investment x (1+ interest rate *number of years)) 2) For an asset with interest compounded annually: = Original Investment x ((1+interest rate)^number of years) Future value of annuity is the value of a group of payments at a specified date in the future. These payments are known as an annuity, or set of cash flows. The future value of an annuity measures how much you would have in the future given a specified rate of return or discount rate. The future cash flows of the annuity grow at the discount rate and the higher the discount rate, the higher the future value of the annuity. The current value of a set of cash flows in the future, given a specified rate of return or discount rate. The future cash flows of the annuity are discounted at the discount rate, and the higher the discount rate, the lower the present value of the annuity.

What is Anthropocene?

The videos In the website â€Å"Welcome to the Anthropocentric,† discusses about Anthropocentric. Questions that I will answer are what Is Anthropocentric? Why Is It label that way? What are some patterns in the era that are exhibited? Along with why should we care about mass extinction? Anthropocentric is a new geological epoch dominated by humanity.The word â€Å"Anthropocentric† is given its name because human activity has polluted the sea, caused mass extinction of animals and plants, and changed the Earth's natural cycle. Some of the patterns that this era has exhibited re the changes in the Earth's life support system, such as changes within the environment. For example, temperatures and sea levels are changing due to global warming, level of greenhouse gases is rising, and changes In the global water systems Is through damming, extraction, arrogation, and climate change.Furthermore, population, production, and consumption have grown exponentially. We are moving m ore sentiment than natural erosion and rivers. Therefore, there Is a whole In the Ozone and this Is causing us to lose bloodlessly. We should be concern about the mass extinctions of organisms because without hem, we will not have any support for food supplies and the environment. Especially, the functioning of the ecosystem.However, I believe that this catastrophe has been going on for years, however some people have no idea where this will lead us to. We should do something about this and that carries with responsibility. We have the option to stop and act upon the current rate of extinction with measures that will prevent habitat loss, and with regulations and rules that will provide species the kind of safety net that humans have. Most importantly, we must adapt to change.

Security Police and Social Media Use for Organization Research Paper

Security Police and Social Media Use for Organization - Research Paper Example In most occasions, people using social media tend to give their view concerning issues affecting their lives and this includes their views on various products and services offered by different organizations. Criticism and appraisals are mainly conveyed by persons using social media (Efraim, Narasimha and Ting-Peng 206). It is also evident that organizations use social media to advertise their products and services. Since social media acts as a platform through which people share and express ideas with their friends, once organizations advertise through such sites, users of the site socially spread information about the company to friends in a rapid manner (Efraim, Narasimha and Ting-Peng 206). However, as organizations are benefiting from collaboration with social media in carrying out their businesses, it is apparent that risks emerge, and which poses a great threat to businesses collapse. The fact that social media carries more information of all kinds minute after minute; there is a high likelihood of potential serious consequences that could emanate from vital and confidential information being unleashed to public. Studies have documented that nearly a quarter of employees use social media while at work. This has an implication that there is a high risk of vital information being leaked though networking sites (Daft and Marcic 175). Nevertheless, various policies can be used to mitigate these security risks. The following sections articulate on the possible policies. Mitigation measure/policies Creation of social media policies Organization need to create social media policies, including those that relate to privacy issues (Daft and Marcic 178). For example, financial institutions should raise privacy awareness among the employees as one of the communication strategies in implementing such policies. It is the mandate of a company to review its customer verification practices and continue to raise employee and customer awareness about the risks and consequen ces of disclosing sensitive information to a third party. Such awareness includes raising general awareness of best practices for privacy protection on social media and provision of guidance on how to use privacy controls on social media. When posting in any social media, employees and customers need to think before doing so. One should be concerned about the authenticity of information posting, whether that information is appropriate and reasonable, whether it is the personal opinion, whether to make it public, and if it is confidential (Efraim, Narasimha and Ting-Peng 215). This is crucial because the perception of information received by people in the social media varies from one person to another. Some information may be wrongly interpreted and may end up compromising data security and tarnishing corporate brand. In this regard, organizations ought to not only enumerate a comprehensive list of dos and don’ts, but also offer employees ethical guidelines and encourage respo nsible use of social media (Daft and Marcic 178). Employees thus need to be enlightened on the fact that their behavior can not only reflect their positive and negative aspects but also the brand they represent. Since internet usage lacks control of contents posted especially on social media, organizations advertising through these sites should develop a risk strategy (Lovett 319). This should involve performance of a risk

Management Solutions in Practice Research Paper

Management Solutions in Practice - Research Paper Example A person can access the applications as long as he/she has an access to the internet. â€Å"As long as a computer has Internet access it will be able to use the application† (Cheow 2010). Cloud computing is usually partitioned into three main categories, which include utility computing, web services, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). SaaS is considered the simplest way of computing because it is a single application. â€Å"Because there is only one application it is very easy for the company to maintain† (Cheow 2010). SaaS model of cloud computing helps companies save their expenses on buying hardware and software. This model also removes the maintenance costs of the computer systems and applications. â€Å"Some common examples of these types of programs are any online e-mail service or instant messaging† (Brodsky n.d.). If we talk about utility computing, we can say that it is, at present, supplemental kind of computing because it is used for the fulfillment of such needs that are not very critical by nature. However, companies like Amazon and IBM are using this technology to run different processes of their businesses. We can say that with the rise in the popularity level of this form of computing, it may soon become the most useful form of computing for the companies. The third type of cloud computing, .i.e. web services, is used by the companies for a variety of purposes, such as, making online presence of the company, dealing with online customers, and performing web based business activities. â€Å"Providers can offer things such as discrete business services, and other kinds of APIs that are offered by such systems such as Google Maps† (Cheow 2010). In cloud computing, people make use of web services which help them perform their business activities online instead of using traditional methods. Stevens and Pettey (2008)

Recording and Analysing Information in HR Research Paper

Recording and Analysing Information in HR - Research Paper Example â€Å"HR information must include the educational history (degrees awarded), educational experiences (completion), past job experiences (post, position, and technical) or certifications and licenses† (Seta et al, 2005, p.391). The authors add that the assessors identify also has to be recorded by referring to facts and investigation strategies. Hence, it is clear that handling HR information is a highly complex process. The recording is the primary phase of HR management and this phase determines the level of efficiency of the whole system. Management theories strongly recommend that an organization must possess right employee volume so as to achieve maximum productivity levels and minimize wastage of resources. It is obvious that a firm cannot determine the potential employee volume unless it does not have deep employee information. As Becker and Gerhart (1996) point out, HR information also assists organizations to take decisions regarding recruitment, selection, training, promotion, and dismissal timely and properly. Effective recording of HR information is also necessary to perform applicant tracking, the process of mapping the entire recruiting activities of an organization. In addition to administrative benefits, the HR data aid an organization to effectively deal with labor relations planning and succession planning. Employment details and absence records are the two types organizations data collected within an organization. Both these sets of data are essential for a firm to ensure improved human resource management and thereby profitability. Employment details of a worker are necessary for an organization to evaluate his potential. Many organizations provide additional facilities to its employees including loans and other financial assistance. Majority of the firms allow such benefits to employees on the basis of their employment details.  

Harlequin Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Harlequin - Case Study Example he product since each novel is a prominent segment of a superior product line, whose quality is delivered consistently in a manner that provides immense satisfaction and exhilaration to the consumers (Mark 3). Harlequin should re-enter the single-title business since the business presents the organization with substantive growth opportunities, particularly in terms of enhancing sales volumes. Since trends in the publishing industry show that demand for single-title fictional books continues to increase despite the stable demand of series romance, harlequin should re-enter the business so as to maximize opportunities presented by increasing demand. While single-title publishing presents relatively immense risks, the company’s previous venture into the business will prove beneficial since the company is aware of the mistakes it made during its last attempt at the single-title business. Furthermore, harlequin’s successfulness in the publishing industry is a significant advantage since a vast majority of the risks vary depending on the author’s reputation (Mark 2). Furthermore, harlequin needs to redefine its brand by entering the single-title business. This is primarily because research indicates substantive declines in the growth of the romance series business, which could, in turn, result in massive

First, choose an organisation that interests you based in the UK or Assignment

First, choose an organisation that interests you based in the UK or abroad - Assignment Example Currently, British Airways has been branded as one of the first airlines in adaptation of green technology and environmental friendly strategies. British Airways was among the leading companies to be among the schemes of European Countries decreasing greenhouse emissions. In addition to the innovative improvements towards the ways in which passengers fly, the company has also undergone huge revolutions. The passengers can print their own boarding pass thanks to British Airways. Among other developments initiated by the airline is the ongoing developments in Heathrow airport which is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom The 2008 economic crisis affected the airline in terms of revenue. Nevertheless, with the recent mergers changes and in air trade regulations and policies, the company’s future is bright and there are a positive sign for British Airways both in domestic and foreign markets. The annual report of the company has always emphasized on how much the company would wish to become one of the best responsible airlines in the world and designing of the guiding principles together with careful strategic direction will ultimately allow the achievement of the desired goals (Porter, 2002) Customers-even though customers are the greatest source of the company’s profits, they have less impact on how the company is being managed. British Airways wants to maintain the existing customers and attract new customers. Employees-they have the ability to influence the customers. The reduction the company has to make, though, leads to employee dissatisfaction. The cabin crew have mostly expressed their demands through strikes and go-slows Competitors-British Airways is the leading airline with a turnover of  £8.99 billion per year. Though British Airways is the market leader, airlines that adopt low cost strategy can affect decision making of the company Suppliers-Airbus

Auditor's Professional Ethics and Legal Liability Essay

Auditor's Professional Ethics and Legal Liability - Essay Example instance, ‘Compensation’ though is a legitimate action it can become unethical when the top executives of companies fix ‘excessive compensation’ for themselves (Anthony, 2004, p.28). Accountants and auditors must have a code of conduct so as to coordinate their work and to fix a standard for their actions. The significance of the predetermined code of conduct is that it enables accountants and auditors to carry out their duties and responsibilities more accurately and transparently. The code of conduct remains to be an assessment tool for management to evaluate employees’ professional ethics based on their performance. In order to uphold the reliability and integrity of the profession auditors must comply with legal and ethical norms of the firm. For instance, an auditor should not reveal the audit report or any information concerned with the firm under audit to any persons or companies other than to the management which assigned the audit work. It is very difficult to bring out a fraudulent action if it is committed by persons at the higher level of the management. However, auditor should take all possible efforts to reveal the organizational misconduct of any sort. The auditor being held criminally liable under current regulations may suffer cash fine or imprisonment subsequent to his/her mistake on the concern. The punishment may also differ for intentional and unintentional mistakes which have committed during the course of audit. An auditor can minimize his legal liability by submitting audit memorandum in order to prove that he has discharged the responsibilities correctly. Audit memorandum is a personal document of the auditor which consists of all details and explanations of audit work he/she had performed. This document helps to defend the auditor in case of lawsuits and thereby minimizes his/her legal liability. Individuals like accountants, managers, and auditors play significant roles in the sustainable profitability of a firm. If the

What Is Important in the Behaviors of the Managers Research Paper

What Is Important in the Behaviors of the Managers - Research Paper Example All the perspectives management are true with respect to the past writings by those described as managerial pioneers. While others have argued that the management thought began in the early days of the industrial revolution while others have argued that it began well before the industrial revolution. However, for this discussion, the focus would mainly be based on the patterns and the themes in historical management practices and theory that have existed for quite a long time and evolution of management theory. Diamond (2005), explains that the society has to learn from the past and hence restructure, otherwise it faces threats of collapse. The major developments in research and theory have been very important in the development of the organizations and their management over the last century. First, it should be acknowledged that the researchers, as well as the developers of the theory and practice in management, have often treated the organizations as being similar in all perspectiv es. The managers should, therefore, be very much aware of the developments in the management practices in the historical perspective since they give insights for better management and continual improvements in management. This paper, therefore, holds the view that the different theories of management practised in the past have been influenced by the behaviors of the managers and the organizations (Rainey, 2009). The development of one management theory is vital for the development of the other since one's theory is practised, the behaviors of the organizations and how the managers react with respect to effeteness would be crucial for the improvement of a particular theory.

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Sociology - Essay Example These perspectives show the same problems in the society but offer contrasting views on how to solve them (Vandelay, 2009). Health hazards are always present in the society since the beginning of time. They are part of the world as much as much as the tiniest organisms are. Although they are infamous because of their effects to humanity, nobody could totally get rid of illnesses. Even scientists who have been studying about illnesses for hundreds of years already could not answer all the questions regarding the causes, symptoms and solutions of some of the illnesses that threaten human existence. But man does not seem to give up easily, as time passes by, more and more attempts to answer essential questions regarding the origins of illnesses have been done. There are some scientists who explain the origins of illnesses as an accumulated result of environmental threats, personal defects and incapability to adapt to the environment. This view has been supported in the work of Boaz (2009). Because of illnesses, some if not all of functions of a person is hampered. And this is where it gets really detrimenta l. Once a person suffers from an unknown illness, its either he lives or he dies. Although doctors could well explain the biological causes of most of the diseases using experiments, scholars think that there are a lot of other reasons why diseases exist. People have different levels of immunity from illnesses, but this is not the main reason why people suffer greatly from diseases which have been solved by other scientists already. Some people wonder why these illnesses still exist. Perhaps the best way to analyze the reason behind the existence of these illnesses is to look at the social roots of these illnesses. Some scholars say that the answers in today’s biological issues are social in nature. This means that society has a say in whatever

Creativity in Translation Essay Example for Free

Creativity in Translation Essay 1. Introduction Translation has been defined as follows: â€Å"The replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language. † (Schjoldager 2008: 17) However, most translators will argue that translation is much more than that. And I will too. Translation has many purposes and many different audiences – and therefore, the same text can have several different translations. But do translators take advantage of the option of being creative when translating? This project will try to respond to this particular question. 2. Problem statement. With reference to the hypothesis and questions beneath, this project will focus on how and why creativity can be used in translation. The aim is to examine how creative translators are when translating different text types. The degree of creativity used in translation varies enormously when translating different text types. How can creativity in translation be defined? Why can a translator be creative in some text types – and not in others? Which role does the culture of the target group play? 3. Method and delimitation This project will constitute an empirical case study of different translated texts by means of a  comparative analysis of the source texts1 and target texts2. Initially, the notion of translation will be defined using primarily Anne Schjoldager’s, Hans Vermeer’s, Christiane Nord’s and Katharina Reiss’ theories on the subject. Different relevant and important terms will be explained for use later in the analysis. Creativity in relation to translation will then be defined and also, I will determine and delimitate this project’s definition of creativity by suggesting ‘a model of creativity in translation’. This part will be based on Schjoldager’s  aforementioned theories as well as Loffredo and Perteghella’s theory on creativity and translation. Subsequently, I will analyse eleven translated texts of the types: journalistic texts, advertising texts, tourism texts and technical texts, in order to determine their level of creativity. Using Anne Schjoldager’s models of macro- and microstrategies and Christiane Nord’s theories of extratextual and intratextual factors, the textual analyses will include genre determination, 1 From now on termed ’ST’. 2 From now on termed ’TT’. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 4 of 35 accounting of the communicative situation and purpose as well as elaboration on the microstrategies used by the translator. The TTs will be compared to their STs in order to decide which microstrategies have been applied in the process of translation. The approach to analysis will be the same for all eleven cases as this will produce the most reliable result when discussing the outcome. In selecting the texts for analysis I have distinguished between actual translation and copywriting. Thus, all the TTs are clearly translations of a ST, and the data consists entirely of texts that have been translated from Danish to English. As a supplement to the analysis, I have included a quantitative counting of the creative microstrategies applied in each TT. The purpose of this counting is solely to provide an illustrative representation of the occurrences of creative strategies in the TTs. Given that the body of empirical data in this project is relatively small, it will only allow me to attempt to come to inductive conclusions founded on generalisations which I base on individual instances and existing theory. In other words, this study can only constitute an indication, and a larger data basis would be necessary for deriving results of greater veracity. 4. Introduction to translation theory 4. 1. Defining translation In order to carry out precise analyses of the translated texts, the concepts involved must be clearly defined. Therefore, this introductory part of the project will elaborate the notion of translation and important concepts which will be employed in the succeeding parts. 4. 1. 1. The skopos theory The skopos theory is the best known functional approach to translation, and it has had great influence on professional translation. Skopos is the Greek word for ‘Intention’, ‘purpose’ or ‘function’ and Vermeer, who evolved the theory uses this term to emphasise the purpose with the TT, which he sees as the most important factor in the translation process (Vermeer 2000: 224). The claim of the theory is that, exactly like all other communication, translation requires a purpose (skopos) and the translator of course have to abide by this. The so-called ‘skopos rule’ (Schjoldager 2008: 154) says that it is important for all translators to translate conscientiously and always in accordance with a given skopos. However, one ST can have several ‘skopoi’ since the different  parts of it can be translated for different reasons. This project will use the notion of skopos in the sense described by Schjoldager (2008: 154); the aim of the TT. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst. 4. 1. 2. Presuppositions Another essential notion in translation theory is the one of presuppositions. According to Nord (2005: 106), ‘presuppositions comprise all the information that the sender expects (=presupposes) to  be part of the receiver’s horizon. ’ This project will adopt Nord’s interpretation of the term, and presuppositions are therefore regarded as the elements of the communicative situation – in this case, the texts – which are known to both sender and reader and which do not need to be mentioned explicitly. When translators translate a text, they are receivers of the ST and therefore share the implicit presuppositions of the source culture. Hence, the presuppositions do not ‘appear’ until a text is translated and targeted at new receivers in the target culture (Nord 2005: 106). 4. 1. 3. Reiss’ text types. Katharina Reiss’ notion of text types mainly focuses on different texts’ functions in the culture they were produced in and how these functions can be reflected in the translation of the text. She defines translation as the functionally equivalent text of the source text in the target culture. So, her idea of translation depends on the function and creation of the equivalent of it in the target culture. Reiss defines three main functions; Informative, expressive, and operative3. The functional characteristics of the three text types are depicted in the table below. Text type: Informative Expressive Operative. Language function Informative (representing objects and facts) Expressive (expressing sender’s attitude) Appellative (making an appeal to text receiver) Language dimension Logical Aesthetic Dialogic Text focus Content-focused Form-focused Appellative-focused TT should†¦ Transmit referential content Transmit aesthetic form Elicit desired response Translation method ‘Plain prose’, explicitation as required ‘Identifying’ method, adopt perspective of ST author ‘Adaptive’, equivalent effect Functional characteristics of text types and links to translation methods (Reiss in Munday 2008: 73). 3 Reiss also includes the audiomedial text type which will be excluded here as it only concerns visual and spoken texts etc. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 6 of 35 4. 2. Macrostrategy In order for the translator to decide how to translate a given text, he would have to estimate which macrostrategy would be appropriate. A macrostrategy can either be ST oriented or TT oriented. A  translator should always decide which macrostrategy to employ to a TT with respect to the skopos of the ST. Anne Schjoldager (2008: 71) suggests that the translator should take three aspects into consideration which will help deciding on a macrostrategy. She has set up the three aspects in the model below: ST oriented macrostrategy TT oriented macrostrategy Focus on source-text form and content Focus on target-text effect Communication of somebody else’s communication Mediation between primary parties in a communication Overt translation Covert translation A model of macrostrategies (Schjoldager 2008: 72) If the translator is expected to focus on form and content of the ST, to be a communicator of someone else’s communication and to make the translation overt, the result will be a ST oriented translation. On the contrary, if focus is on the effect of the TT, the translator functions as a mediator and produces a covert translation, the result is a TT oriented translation (Schjoldager 2008: 71-72). 4. 3. Microstrategies After having decided on the macrostrategy, the microstrategies must be considered by the translator. The microstrategies applied in the text tell us something about how the translator has chosen to deal  with specific problems or issues. That is, at the micro level, i. e. in connection with words, phrases and sentences (Schjoldager 2008: 89). The strategy at micro level decides how the ST should be translated in order to produce an appropriate TT. Below is Anne Schjoldager’s ‘Taxonomy of microstrategies’. A more elaborate account of the microstrategies relevant for the analysis will be presented later in connection with my definition of creativity in translation (cf. section 5. 2). Direct transfer Transfers something unchanged. Calque Transfers the structure or makes a very close translation. Direct translation Translates in a word-for-word procedure. Oblique translation Translates in a sense-for-sense procedure. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 7 of 35 Explicitation Makes implicit information explicit. Paraphrase Translates rather freely. Condensation Translates in a shorter way, which may involve implication (making explicit information implicit). Adaptation Recreates the effect, entirely or partially. Addition Adds a unit of meaning. Substitution Changes the meaning. Deletion Leaves out a unit of meaning. Permutation Translates in a different place. A taxonomy of microstrategies (Schjoldager 2008: 92) 5. Creativity in translation In order to answer the question ‘how can creativity in translation be defined’, this project will suggest a model of creativity in translation, based on Anne Schjoldager’s taxonomy of microstrategies above, Loffredo and Perteghella’s theory on creativity and my own characterisation of creativity. According to Loffredo and Perteghella (2006: 9) ‘creativity is still regarded as a  spontaneous process readily associated with a special individual and a sort of freedom, which is sustained by an individualistic conception of authorship According to this conception, the author freely expresses his thought and feelings in writing. ’ This project, however, will have a somewhat narrower definition of creativity. The twelve aforementioned microstrategies posed by Anne Schjoldager can be divided into more and less creative strategies. Characteristic for some of them is that they do not alter, add or remove any linguistic or semantic meaning when applied to the TT. This goes for direct transfer, calque, direct translation and oblique translation4 which all translates close or very close to the ST (Schjoldager 2008: 93-99). Therefore, I do not consider these creative microstrategies, and texts translated using solely these cannot be considered creative translations. On the contrary, the remaining eight strategies do all in some way add to the level of creativity when applied in a translation. Though the semantic meaning is by some means rendered, there are linguistic changes when employing these strategies. Within these eight creative strategies, the degree of creativity varies as well. The model of creativity classifies the strategies explicitation, condensation and deletion as slightly creative since they merely involve elaborating on existing 4 To some extent, oblique translation can also be regarded a creative strategy, as smaller linguistic changes can occur in connection with the use of it. Though, in this project, I have chosen not to include it as a creative strategy. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 8 of 35 meaning, shortening text and taking out meaning. The top five strategies, however, are rewriting semantics of the ST or adding meaning which cannot be directly inferred from the ST. Therefore, I regard these as slightly more creative. A creative translation, though, still renders more or less all ST meaning, and this is what I find distinguishes actual translation from e. g. copywriting. 5. 1. Model of creativity High degree of creativity. Non-creative 5. 2. The creative microstrategies This section will shortly outline the important features of the above mentioned creative  microstrategies; that is, the topmost eight in the model of creativity. 5. 2. 1. Explicitation Explicitation makes implicit information explicit, to put it briefly. In literary translation, the strategy is often used to make texts more cohesive, but it is also seen in other kinds of translation. It is used when there is a need to expand on something, e. g. cultural bound references or presuppositions not shared by the TT audience. What makes this strategy creative is the fact that a unit of meaning is added to the text; although it can be directly inferred from the ST (Schjoldager 2008: 99-100). Substitution Permutation Adaptation Paraphrase Addition Deletion Condensation Explicitation Oblique translation Direct translation Calque Direct transfer Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 9 of 35 5. 2. 2. Condensation Condensation translates a ST unit in a shorter way which may involve making explicit information implicit; implicitation. Condensation renders the already existing contextual meaning in a shorter  way and is therefore only considered slightly creative. (Schjoldager 2008: 102). 5. 2. 3. Deletion Deletion is leaving out a ST unit of meaning from the TT. The unit is completely taken out and is not implicitly present, as is the case in condensation (Schjoldager 2008: 108). In that way, this microstrategy is somewhat creative although not considered one of the most creative. 5. 2. 4. Addition When a unit of meaning is added to the TT, Schjoldager (2008: 104-105) refers to it as addition. The added unit cannot be directly deduced from the ST, thus, addition is different from explicitation  and is also slightly more creative. 5. 2. 5. Paraphrase By paraphrasing, ST meaning is rendered, though quite freely. The TT elements can seem somewhat different to those of the ST but the contextual meaning of the elements corresponds. It can be hard to define just how the two units of meaning correspond; however, there is no doubt that they do (Schjoldager 2008: 100-101). Therefore, this strategy can be considered creative. 5. 2. 6. Adaptation Adaptation is one of the most creative strategies as it does not necessarily render any contextual meaning, but rather recreates the effect of a ST item in the TT. It is applied, for example, where cultural references in the ST cannot be translated or explicated. It is somewhat similar to oblique translation and paraphrase, but is more creative and is often applied, where the translator wants to ‘imitate the source-text author’s thinking process’ (Schjoldager 2008: 103). That is, the translator ‘adapts’ the text to the TT audience and culture. When applying this strategy to larger units in a translation, it can be discussed whether it is actual translation or copywriting. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst. Page 10 of 35 5. 2. 7. Permutation Permutation is mostly used in literary translations. It translates ST effects in a different place in the TT. It is applied when a given ST effect cannot be rendered in the TT for linguistic or stylistic reasons. Hence, the effect is recreated somewhere else in the TT (Schjoldager 2008: 109). 5. 2. 8. Substitution Again we are dealing with a rather creative strategy as substitution involves changing the meaning of a ST unit. The TT unit is clearly a translation of the ST, but the semantic meaning has changed (Schjoldager 2008: 106). 6. Approach to analysis In order to comment on the level of creativity in the translated texts, an analysis of both extratextual and intratextual factors must be carried out. According to Nord (2005: 43-141), the extratextual factors are aspects concerning e. g. sender, audience, medium and text function, while the intratextual factors involve subject matter, content, genre and register. In my analyses of the TTs, I will take both extratextual and intratextual factors into consideration, as well as discuss the macro-  and microstrategies applied in the translations. The extratextual analysis will be partly inspired by Reiss’ theories on text types, and I will also make use of Anne Schjoldager’s above-mentioned ‘Model of macrostrategies’ and ‘Taxonomy of microstrategies’. The analysis will be carried out with awareness of the fact that all microstrategies cannot be ‘placed in watertight boxes’ and conclusions will therefore be drawn on the basis of a somewhat subjective interpretation of the microstrategies. 6. 1. The data The eleven texts have been chosen in an attempt to cover different text types and genres within  different fields. Because of the limited time and lack of space, it is only possible to include a restricted number of texts in the analysis, which is why I have chosen four different types and analysed two or three examples within each. In all cases, I assume that the texts have originally been written in Danish and then translated into English given that only texts from Danish companies have been selected. All STs and TTs have a length of approximately one standard page and can therefore be considered rather short texts. The data is typical data, representative of many  other texts of the same type as they are chosen more or less randomly from their natural context. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 11 of 35 7. Analysis 7. 1. Journalistic texts Journalistic texts belong partly to Reiss’ ’informative text type’. Journalistic texts, such as news paper articles and press releases perform the function of communicating ‘information, knowledge opinions etc. ’ (Munday 2008: 72) as facts must be reported correctly. Of course, the journalistic text type is a vague term and certain texts within the category will also be characterised by the expressive and operative function according to the field and skopos of the text. This section will comprise analysis of three texts within the journalistic type; a press release, a news article and a business article. 7. 1. 1. Analysis of ‘DSB wins fourth rail contact in Sweden’ The text which is of the written medium was published on DSB’s website. It is a press release informing readers about DSB’s new rail contract in Sweden. The receivers of the text, the readers,  are foreign users of DSB’s website and in particular those with an interest in DSB’s business concern and in business in general. The text is a translation of the Danish press release ‘DSB vinder fjerde togkontrakt i Sverige’, and I assume that it is translated by a professional translator (Schjoldager 2008: 29). It is an interlingual translation as the Danish article has been translated into another language: English. When readers of the press release enter the English website of DSB, the translation will appear covert to them, but since it is obvious that DSB is a Danish company and their corporate language is  Danish, readers should be aware of the fact that they are reading a translation, and I will categorise the translation as more overt than covert (Schjoldager 2008: 31). Generally seen, the translator of this text has mostly made use of the microstrategies direct translation and oblique. These render the content of the TT very close to the ST and are therefore not considered creative strategies according to my definition of creativity (cf. chapter 5). However, there are a few examples of deletion and explicitation (appendix 1). Microstrategy ST TT Deletion ‘( )der ligger i det centrale Sydsverige lige syd for Sveriges n?m  ststorste so Vattern. †¦ Appendix 2 and 3 The Danish sentence ‘( )der ligger i det centrale Sydsverige lige syd for Sveriges n? ststorste so Vattern. ’ has been left out in the English translation. This is an example of deletion. As the TT is Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 12 of 35 probably intended for foreigners who might not have any knowledge of the geography of Sweden,  the translator has most likely found the information irrelevant and simply left it out. It does not change the meaning or effect of the ST, and so, the translator is free to be a bit creative and delete it. Apart from the few instances of deletion and explicitation, the press release has been translated in a fairly ST-oriented way. The skopos of the TT, and perhaps of press releases in general, is assumedly to be solely informing people of news and new initiatives of the company. In other words, this is an example of a predominantly informative text type. Moreover, one could  imagine that a big company like DSB would attempt to standardise all official communication with its customers and other stakeholders, regardless of the native language. 7. 1. 2. Analysis of ’Claims of bribery at tax authority’ The text is an online news paper article published at www. politiken. dk on March 24 2010, and it is a translation of the Danish text ‘Eks-kontorchef: Skattechef fik store middage af firma’. It is an article informing about bribery at the Danish tax authority SKAT. The target audience – both of the Danish and the English version – are readers of politiken. dk and perhaps in particular those with an  interest in business matters and the company SKAT. The TT is a written, interlingual translation and presumably, the ST has been translated by a professional translator (Schjoldager 2008: 29). When readers of the article enter the site with the English news, the translation will appear covert to them. Though they might be aware of the fact that the TT is a translation, it is of no significance to them as they are not expected to know the ST (Schjoldager: 32). Therefore, the translation can be categorised as covert. The translation of this text is characterised by the use of quite a few creative strategies (appendix 1)). The TT is as such not very close to the ST, but still, it must be categorised a translation since more or less all information communicated by the ST is included in the TT as well. Some of the strategies which make this translation rather creative are addition, deletion and especially paraphrase. In this analysis, though, I will only include a few examples of paraphrase, as an assessment of them all would be too extensive. Microstrategy ST TT Paraphrase Eks-kontorchef: Skattechefer fik store middage af firma Claims of bribery at tax authority Appendix 4 and 5. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L.  F. Holst Page 13 of 35 The first creative strategies are seen in the headline and the subheading. The Danish headline ‘Eks- kontorchef: Skattechefer fik store middage af firma’ is translated into ‘Claims of bribery at tax authority’. The ST meaning is rendered, though in a slightly different way. The ST headline has an agent; namely the ‘eks-kontorchef’ who claims the bribery. Whereas the TT headline expresses the action with a noun. That is, the translator has chosen not to just apply direct translation even though it is possible. He has translated it in a more creative way by using the strategy of paraphrase. Microstrategy ST TT Paraphrase Tidligere kontorchef advarer i Jyllands- Posten om bestikkelse i Skat. Former tax authority department head goes whistleblower. Appendix 4 and 5. Also the subheading has not been translated by means of the more direct, non-creative microstrategies. Again, the ST meaning is rendered but in a way that is difficult to define precisely. The Danish sentence contains more explicit information and also, the term ‘goes whistleblower’ is  sort of a fixed expression which gives the phrase a negative ring. Nevertheless, it does not add or take out meaning and therefore, it can be considered a creative translation. The examples of paraphrase together with the other creative microstrategies applied by the translator make the TT appear creative. As an article, the ST must still be considered an informative text type, and the TT is too, although the translation is somewhat TT oriented. 7. 1. 3. Analysis of ‘Vestas lands massive turbine order’ This TT is a translation of the Danish version ‘Vestas scorer historisk stor ordre’, which is found at www. politiken. dk; a Danish news website. It is a business article dealing with a new big turbine order of the Danish company Vestas. The target audience, therefore, consists of non Danish- speaking users of the website with an interest in Vestas’ businesses or in business in general. The TT is a written, intralingual translation from Danish to English, in all probability translated by a professional (Schjoldager 2008: 29). Users of the site with English news might be aware of the fact that the TT is a translation but like the previous example, it is of no significance to them as they are not expected to know the ST (Schjoldager 2008: 32). Hence, the translation will appear covert to them. Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 14 of 35 The English TT is marked by several creative strategies of the kinds addition, deletion and explicitation (appendix 1). It is somewhat similar to the ST in both form and content, but many details have been altered or conformed to the target audience. Microstrategy ST TT Deletion Gl? de hos Vestas Deletion Aktion? rerne begejstrede Appendix 6 and 7. The above examples of deletion show that the two subheadings in the Danish ST has been left out in the TT which in fact is the case of many of the English news stories at politiken. dk. The example below is a very typical case of explicitation which is often found in relation to proper nouns and titles etc. which are presupposed by the source audience. Here it is the Danish company Vestas that has been explained to the foreign readers who might not share the presupposition that it is a Danish company. Microstrategy ST TT Explicitation Vindmollefabrikanten Vestas har faet sin  storste enkeltstaende ordre nogensinde Denmark’s wind turbine giant Vestas has landed its biggest single order ever. Appendix 6 and 7. The above examples, together with the additional cases of creative translation, do not make the TT appear as creative as one would think. This is probably due to the fact that, although there are many instances of creative translation in the text, the strategies applied do not belong to the most creative microstrategies; that is, the topmost strategies in the model of creativity (cf. section 5. 1). Therefore, the translation must be considered fairly ST oriented, with only the alterations required by the  culture of the target audience. 7. 1. 4. Initial conclusion The three analyses of journalistic texts show that the degree of creativity in the translations varies within this text type. The press release from DSB is translated quite close to the ST seeing that mostly non-creative strategies have been applied. The article from politiken. dk about SKAT, though, has been applied several creative strategies. This is also the case of the third article about Vestas, although the strategies employed belong to the slightly less creative ones, and therefore the Creativity in translation – a study of various source and target texts June L. F. Holst Page 15 of 35 translation does not appear that creative. Even though the three texts all include elements of creativity, they are still associated with the informative text type, as the TTs do transmit the referential and conceptual content of the ST (cf. section 4. 1. ). The analysis could have included more different types of journalistic texts and articles; as for instance sports journalism and entertainment. That might have shown higher degrees of  creativity since these kinds of texts belong more to the expressive, TT oriented texts which aim to transmit the effect of the ST rather than the form and content (Munday 2008: 74). 7. 2. Tourism texts ‘The tourist brochure is an operative text. Its dominant function is to present material in such a way that it attracts attention and invites patronage. ’ (Snell-Hornby in Anderman Rogers: 1999: 95). The above extract concerns tourist brochures but can apply to all forms of tourism texts in general. Snell-Hornby argues that the main focus of tourism texts is the appeal to the audience, and that they  are culture bound. That is, their purpose and effect varies with the reader (Mary Snell-Hornby in Anderman Rogers: 1999: 95). According to Reiss (Munday 2008: 73), the tourist text is one of the hybrid text types since it provides information about a subject, attempts to persuade readers to visit a certain attraction, and at the same time it can have expressive features. In this section, three tourism texts from the web will be analysed. 7. 2. 1. Analysis of ’Petzi moves into Tivoli Gardens’ The text is a translation of the Danish ST ‘Rasmus Klump flytter ind I Tivoli’. It was published on  the website of the Danish amusement park, Tivoli, with the aim of informing tourists about a new attraction, Petzi’s World. Therefore, the target audience of this TT is tourists visiting Denmark or foreign people living in Denmark who plans to pay a visit to Tivoli. The TT is a written, interlingual translation and most likely, the ST has been translated by a professional translator commissioned by Tivoli (Schjoldager 2008: 29). Tourists entering the website are almost certainly aware of the fact that Tivoli is a Danish corporation; thus they know that they are reading translated texts when choosing the English version of the website.

How does stress affect child development?

How does stress affect child development? The early years present us with a window of opportunity to enhance development; we also need be aware of times of vulnerability when the brain is affected by adverse experiences. (Landy, 2009, p.29) This is a passage taken out from Landy, Pathway to Competence; encouraging social and emotional development in young children. From her book, we see evidence of how children can be influenced through different experiences. Stress for instance, can have significant adverse effects on how children develop whether physically, mentally and socially. Children display changes in their physical well-being when under stress such as, getting sick frequently, and weak immune systems. Illness in children due to weak immune system impacts the mental developmental stage as children experience high levels of stress affected by trauma and abuse that influences their brain in dramatic ways. As the childs brain experiences dramatic changes, it also affects the social developmental stages and plays an impa ct on the childs behaviour. We often see children who are abused at home would normally exhibit peculiar behaviours that would affect them negatively with their social relationship. These developmental stages are interrelated with each other; usually interference in one area would frequently mean delays with the others. Hence it is important to provide a nurturing environment that promotes balance with all stages of development. How does stress has adverse effects with children physically? Stress is the physiological and psychological responses to perceived threat. (Weiten, 2004, p.529). Stress is often times related to bad experience; this is the general public assumption. The fact is that stress can be good or bad. The body response to stress by pumping the heart faster to increase blood flow to our muscles so we have better strength, bronchioles in the lungs are dilated so we can breathe better, pupils are dilated so we see better (Sympathetic nervous system, 2010). Stress in a positive aspect normally puts children in a stage of alertness, which can help them focus. When children are focused, they can learn and they will be better at retaining information, they will have appropriate responses; all in all, stress can be a good thing as it leads to positive brain development. Prolonged exposure to stress however will also have critical undesirable effects on children and their brain. Stress response includ es reducing peristalsis movement in the gastrointestinal tract, decreased urine secretion and triggered releases of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline. (Gould, 2006, p. 218). Adrenaline and cortisol both play an important role in stress physiology. Adrenaline and cortisol suppressed immune system, additionally; cortisol also suppressed physical growth and affects many aspects of brain activities, including memory and emotion. (Victor G. Carrion, Carl F. Weems, and Allan L. Reiss, 2007) Due to the prolonged exposure of stress, children can get sick frequently from all sort of infection due to suppressed immune system; unable to heal properly due to malnourishment and delay or undergrowth from excessive adrenaline and cortisol hormones. These hormones cause childrens brain to under develop leading to their physical development being delayed. Positive stress in childrens physical development will lead to healthy overall development of the child. Stress in early development can either have positive effects or be extremely destructive of brain organization and development. (Landy, 2009) The structural organization of the brain from early childhood helps shape and defines a person. According to Doctor Perry, in his article regarding traumatized children, children reflect the world in which they are raised. If that world is characterized by threat, chaos, unpredictability, fear and trauma, the brain will reflect that by altering the development of the neural systems involved in the stress and fear response. (Perry, 2000, p48-51) As mentioned above, stress response from our body triggers the release of the hormone cortisol. The prolong secretion of the hormone cortisol can affect the cells activity in our body; which mean children who are under stress constantly are at higher risk of developing genetic disorder, both mental and physical. (Landy, 2009) The brain consists of many different circuits and pathways of neurons connecte d to each other; it can be extremely sensitive to any disturbance. Long term stress can rewire the brain, leaving affected individual more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. (Smith, Gill, Segal, 2009) Extended period of stress can cause part of the brains to weaken, for example, the hippocampus in the limbic system, which is an area of the brain that is responsible for memory and information processing, can become smaller. (Smith, Gill, Segal, 2009) There are cases of abused children who have limbic system abnormalities; Research has shown that abused children or children who are suffered from post traumatic stress disorder have smaller hippocampus, due the degeneration of dendrites in the hippocampus area. (Lundback, 1997) Dendrites are the branches of neurons which are important for conducting information through all parts of the brain and body. Children who are under chronic stress may show signs of fatigue, loss of appetite, disinterest, short attention span, difficulty und erstanding or retaining information, and the list goes on. All these factors will reflect on childrens brain their mental development; as they are unable to stabilize due to the stress in their environment that they are being exposed to. Negative emotions related to stress are often manifested through behaviours. Stress may cause disruptive behaviours such as problem with controlling impulses, which may end with children hurting themselves or hurting other children around them (Nemours Foundation, 1995-2010). Children who have no self control may not have a sense of time, may be prone to throwing temper tantrums, display aggression towards others. Stress may also causes changes in behaviour. Children under stress change their behaviour and react by doing things that are not in keeping with their usual styles. (Nemours Foundation, 1995-2010) As mentioned aggressive children may take out their frustration on other children around them; behaviours with hitting, biting, kicking, pushing, forcefully taking other toys are normal in children who are suffering from stress. Children who are stressed may show disinterest towards many things; they lose focus in school, withdrawn and no interest of new friendship, unable to func tion independently, may exhibit fears and timid toward their surroundings and are unable to form social relationship. Other children may shun them for their aggressive behaviours, wary of their disruptive behaviours, or may not want to socialize with them because of the lack of responses. The lack of social support may eventually lead the children who also suffer from stress to depression. If a child leaps to depression the brain is unable to relay messages to different parts of the brain which in return leads the child to unable to process information to making positive decisions in the social aspect. There are interventions available for children who suffer from stress. First and foremost, parents must realize there is something wrong with their children. The presence of sensitive and responsive caregivers can help equip children with the tools needed to handle stress in a healthy manner. (Gunnar, Herrera, Hostinar, 2009) Parents must be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress. Once a parent realizes their children are in need of help, parents should continue to provide care. Care givers may help children meet basic care by making sure they are eating adequately, sleep, eliminates, and maintains personal cleanliness. (Valfre, 2009, p.142) Often times parents or caregivers are the only people who can provide love and acceptance, no matter how peculiar the behaviours of the children may be. Each child is capable of doing something. Parents or care givers can help them find something to do; encourage them to think of ideas that help them reduce their stress. Encourage yo ung children to grow and to reach for higher levels of functions, to strive for more. (Valfre, 2009, p.143) Children who can actively contribute ideas can help them build confidence and reduce stress. Children who found something to help with their stress would feel that their situation is not so hopeless after all. Encourage self care and independence help children grow and develop. (Nemours Foundation, 1995-2010) Parents and care givers should be there to listen, provide assistance when needed, and limit stress situations as much as possible. It is normal to be anxious when parents see their children under stress, and as parents and care givers, it is normal to want to fix their problems. However this will not help them in the long run. Instead, parents and care givers should focus on helping them with their problem solving skills, helping them grow. The least but not the last, parents or care givers should be there when their children need them. Kids dont always feel like talking about whats bothering them. Sometimes thats OK. Let your kids know youll be there when they do feel like talking. Even when kids dont want to talk, they usually dont want parents to leave them alone.(Nemours Foundation, 1995-2010) Stress can have adverse effects in developing children. Consequences of unmanaged childhood stress are linked to physical, emotional and behavioural difficulties that adversely influence all aspects of development, often leading to lifelong problems.(Landy, 2009) It is essential for parents, care givers or teachers to realize when a child is in need. Early intervention can often prevent serious complications. Children should have a chance to grow in an environment which will help their brains develop. The brain is an essential part of humans in which the proper development in the early years of childhood is essential to healthy brain. The early years of life constitute a particularly sensitive period during which chronic stress may lead to dysregulation of the stress system and may compromise brain development. (Gunnar, Herrera, Hostinar, 2009) After all, according to Nash, Rich experiences in another word really do produce rich brain. References Berk, L.E. (2002). Infants, children, and adolescents. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (Berk, 2002) Gould, B.E. (2006). Pathophysiology for the health professionals. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier. (Gould, 2006) Gunnar, M.R, Herrera, A, Hostinar, C.E. (2009). Stress and early brain development. Manuscript submitted for publication, Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development, University Of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA. Retrieved March 1, 2010 from http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/ECLKC/encyclopedia/Enc09_Gunnar-Herrera-Hostinar_brain_en.pdf (Gunnar, Herrera, Hostinar, 2009) Jewett, J, Peterson, K. (2002, December). Stress and young children. Retrieved March 1, 2010 from http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/childstress.html (Jewett, Peterson, 2002) Landy, S. (2009). Pathways to competence: encouraging healthy social and emotional development in young children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing and Co. (Landy, 2009) Longenbaker, S. (2007). Maders understanding human anatomy physiology. Toronto: McGraw-Hill. (Longenbaker, 2007) Lundback, . (1997). Brain explorer focus on brain disorders anxiety disorders aetiology. Retrieved March 3, 2010 from http://www.brainexplorer.org/anxiety/Anxiety_Aetiology.shtml (Lundback, 1997) Valfre, M. (2009). Foundations of mental health care. Missouri: Mosby Elsevier. (Valfre, 2009) Nemours Foundation. (1995-2010). Helping kids cope with stress. Retrieved March 3, 2010 from http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/stress_coping.html Perry, B.D. Traumatized children: How childhood trauma influences brain development. In: The Journal of the California Alliance for the Mentally Ill11:1, 48-51, 2000 Smith, M, Gill, E.J, Segal, J. (2009, July). Understanding stress signs, symptoms, causes, and effects. Retrieved March 2, 2010 from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm#authors (Smith, Gill, Segal, 2009) Sympathetic nervous system. (2010, March 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sympathetic_nervous_systemoldid=349741366 (Sympathetic nervous system, 2010) The Franklin Institute. (1994-2009). The Human brain-stress. Retrieved March 2, 2010 from http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html (The Franklin Institute, 1994-2009) Victor G. Carrion, Carl F. Weems, and Allan L. Reiss. Stress Predicts Brain Changes in Children: A Pilot Longitudinal Study on Youth Stress, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and the Hippocampus. Pediatrics, Mar 2007; 119: 509 516. Retrived March 5, 2010 from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/119/3/509. Weiten, W. (2004). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Toronto: Thomson Nelson Learning. (Weiten, 2004)

The Key Factors Contributing To An Effective Destination Marketing Essay

The Key Factors Contributing To An Effective Destination Marketing Essay According to Blain 2001, before defining the concept of destination branding, it was essential to define branding in its general term. Henceforth to provide a better insight of the traditional definition of a brand a definition by Aaker (1990) in Managing Brand Equity was firstly identified. He defines brand as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. According to the traditional perspective, a brand was solely associated with the product/service which would help the product/service to be distinguished amongst others. Moreover, Kotler (2000) also shared the same viewpoint as he defined brand as the name associated with one or more items in the product line, which is used to identify the source of character of the item(s) (Kotler 2000, p. 396). In addition, as the word keeps evolving and becomes more challenging, Blain (2001) in his definition of branding explained the difference between brand and logo. He argued that the logo design is the symbol or visual representation of the brand, which includes image, identity and perceptions of the perceived product. Creating a logo is one key aspect of branding but the branding of a product/service involves more than just a logo as the brand name also is an important factor. Hence, both the brand and the logo are interdependent. Within this view, Keller (2003a) states that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand (p. 3). However, Kapferer (1997) mentioned that the brand is a sign- therefore external- whose function is to disclose the hidden qualities of the product which are inaccessible to contact (p 28). Here, the perception of branding is totally different compared to previous research. Kapferer put much emphasis on the identity that a brand name projects and which will further help the product/service to distinguish itself from competition. Taking the example of the global fast food industry namely McDonalds, Ghosh et al (2010) stated that there are certain value propositions that the company offers to its customers to satisfy their needs. McDonalds offers hygienic environment, good ambience and great service. It can hence be considered that the hidden qualities as mentioned earlier by Kapferer here is the perception which people have with regards to the ambience at Mc Donald. Henceforth, Kohli and Thakor (1997) suggest that, The challenge today is to create a strong and distinctive image (p. 208 ). Initially, a brand was simply a name, it gradually became a representation of a product and now a brand not only represent a product or service alone but marketers can also brand a city, a state, a nation or even a country. Branding is also about creating awareness of a destination. According to Upshaw (1995), it is useful to review a summary of the terminologies of branding as it helps to understanding the various terms of branding used in the branding of destinations. Brand Equity The total accumulated value or worth of a brand; the tangible and intangible assets that the brand contributes to its corporate parent, both financially and in terms of selling leverage. Brand identity Part of the brands overall equity; the total perception of a brand in the marketplace, driven mostly by its positioning and personality. Brand positioning What a brand stands for in the minds of customers and prospects, relative to its competition, in terms of benefits and promises. Brand personality The outward face of a brand; its tonal characteristics most closely associated with human traits. Brand essence The core or distillation of the brand identity. Brand character Having to do with the internal constitution of the brand; how it is seen in terms of integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. Brand soul Related to the brand character, defined as the values and emotional core of the brand. Brand culture The system of values that surrounds a brand, much like the cultural aspects of a people or a country. Brand image Generally synonymous with either the brands strategic personality or its reputation as a whole. Table 1: The basic terminologies of branding (Upshaw 1995) With these terminologies as a foundation, a definition of destination branding can be developed which will help to have a better overview of the tourism destination branding. DESTINATION BRANDING Despite being uncertain about referring the branding concept to the tourism destination context (OShaughnessy OShaughnessy 2000), that concept has only recently captured the interest of tourism destination researchers and practitioners (Curtis 2001; Anholt 2002; Cai 2002; Morgan Pritchard 2002; Olins 2002). The notion of branding in the tourism industry has only recently to come in the limelight and apparently became a debatable and examinable topic in the late 1990s according to Pike (2002) and Tasci Kozak (2006). Ricardo (2009) also supported the fact that although branding has been an old aged concept, the study of destination branding is a relatively new addition in the tourism research field. With reference to the definition of branding that Aaker (1991) derived from his research, he explained destination branding as a distinguishing name and/ or symbol (such as a logo, or trademark) intended to identify the destination and to differentiate it from competitive destinations. ( p.7). Here also, the researcher put much emphasis on the name and symbol that would contribute to the personalization of the destination from competitors. However, some researchers do not limit their definition of branding to a simple name and symbol. According to Ritchie and Crouch (2003), the destination branding concept is also about feelings and emotional attachment that the visitor would experience when visiting the destination. Within this perspective, they proposed the following definition: A destination brand is a name, symbol, logo trademark or other graphic that both identifies and differentiates the destination; furthermore, it conveys the promise of a memorable travel experience that is uniquely associated with the destination. It also serves to consolidate and reinforce the post- travel recollection of pleasurable memories of the destination experience. Henceforth, a destination brand is far more complex than a product brand. The destination brand must have two attributes to be efficient compared to the brand of a product/service. Firstly, it is necessary to differentiate itself from other destinations as put forward by Aaker (1991), and secondly people visiting the destination should also experience the promise associated with the brand message. The marketer must make sure to deliver the experience promised. Taking the example of Columbia, the brand associated is The only risk is wanting to stay. According to Buncle (2009), when a sightseer visits Columbia, he should want to prolonged his visit, only then the marketer could have the satisfaction of a successful destination brand. Additionally, Cai (2002) defined destination branding from a much similar perspective. He described destination brand as perceptions about a place as reflected by the associations held in tourist memory (Cai 2002, p. 273). His definition reflects that of R itchie and Crouch (2003) as both consider destination brands as an essence, a perception that tourists have when visiting a destination. However, Kerr (2006) considered the concept of competitiveness, the promise of a memorable travel experience and the recollection of pleasurable memories to derive his own definition. To summarize the concept of destination branding, De Chernatony McDonald (1992) commented that the concept of branding is increasingly being applied to people and places. Furthermore, Kotler et al (1999) argue that the concept of a brand name extends to tourist destinations. Acapulco, Palm Springs and the French Riviera have developed strong reputations, consumer perceptions and expectations. In similar ways, Virginia builds on Birthplace of Presidents, Mississippi on The Heart of Dixie, Niagara Falls is Romance, Greece is The Birthplace of Democracy and Florence The centre of the Renaissance. According to Kotler et al (1993), the concept of destination branding is linked to the specific attraction that the destination has to offer and is a platform for building a places image. Finally, the most comprehensive definition of destination branding to date was proposed by Blain et al (2005, p. 337), which includes both supply and demand perspectives: Destination branding is the set of marketing activities that (1) support the creation of a name, symbol, logo, word mark or other graphic that readily identifies and differentiates a destination; that (2) consistently convey the expectation of a memorable travel experience that is uniquely associated with the destination; that (3) serve to consolidate and reinforce the emotional connection between the visitor and the destination; and that (4) reduce consumer search costs and perceived risk. Collectively, these activities can help a destination have a positive influence on the visitor while the latter makes his choice of destination. The definition proposed by Blain et al (2005) covers all the needs and wants a traveler would want to have for his trip. To summarize, defining destination branding is a complex process as it is not only the marketing of a destination but also the sense of promise that the marketer would associate with the brand to all the potential visitors. It also encompasses the satisfaction the visitors would derive when experiencing the destination. COUNTRY BRAND VERSUS DESTINATION BRAND Not much research has been done till now to differentiate between a country brand and a destination brand. However according to Szondi (2007), the aim of destination branding is to attract visitors and boost tourism, while country branding promotes economic, commercial and political interests at home and abroad. Szondi (2007) further suggest that a country brand can consist of different brands, such as a destination brand, an export brand, an investment brand, a political brand, which can be all different rather than having a central, all-encompassing country brand. Some of these sub-brands can be stronger and more successful than others. He further argues that country brands have both intangible and tangible elements, such as the products or services of the particular country. The more specific aims of country branding are to create or advance the country-of-origin effect, to promote exports or attract investors or a skilled workforce. Country brands can serve as a sort of umbrella under which further sub-brands can be developed. Taking the case of Mauritius as example, it can be noted that its country brand is Mauritius- its a pleasure whilst its tourism brand is Les Iles Vanilles, on technological grounds, Mauritius has branded itself as Cyber- Mauritius and ecologically, the island has been termed as Maurice- Ile durable. Sub- brands are very important for a destination as it helps both investors and travelers to have an overview on the political, economical, social, technological, ecological and legal aspect of the destination. Another concrete example which shows an evidence of the difference is the case of India. The country brand of India is Incredible India, but several destinations of the country itself are branded separately. Table 2 clearly shows the difference between the country brand and the destination brand. Country brand Destination brands Table 2: Difference between a country brand and a destination brand REASONS DESTINATIONS DEVELOP BRANDS Research has proved that branding improve destination image among visitors and help Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), who are the stakeholders of the tourism industry of a destination, in measuring the success of that branding concept. Branding successes include the Courtyard by Marriott (Alford 1998), Forte Hotels (Connell 1994), and Florida (American Marketing Association 1997). In addition, the 1998 Annual Travel and Tourism Research Association conference has reported a number of destination branding success stories. These included New York, Tasmania, Australia, Canada, New Orleans, Lousiana, Texas, and Oregon. The branding success in the hospitality firms (Beirne 1999; Higley 1999; Hodge 1998; Salomon 1998) has also been recognized. Also, from a nation branding perspective, Hamilton (2000) viewed Scotland as uniquely strong in integrity, inventiveness, tenacity, and spirit. Henceforth, it can be concluded that all the studies stress the importance of reinforcing a uniq ue image and personality as well as differentiating the destination from competitors to be successful and to be a recognized destination and nation around the world. Additionally, according to Rainisto (2004), a successful brand is a key national asset that is why every nation brands itself. In other words, branding is considered as a marketing tool to promote a destination and in the process of developing a successful brand the place itself is developed. Brown et al (2002) took the example of Australia and the Sydney 2000 Olympics to describe such a development. Branding Australia as a whole has changed the perspectives of many. With the Sydney Olympic game, other countries and even the local population viewed Australia differently as the targeted group was satisfied with the Sydney Olympic and Australia brand image was boosted. To summarize, destinations develop brands to be economically stable and develop as well as exploit existing resources for the benefit of the destination itself. Moreover, destinations develop brands so that they can sell themselves by citing only category benefits. For example, several tropical destinations mostly islands like Jamaica, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Mexico and the Cayman Islands praise their clear blue water and white or pink or black sandy beaches to attract maximum number of tourists1. They sell fun, excitement or relaxation or the various activities that their destination offers with an added value of local culture which will outsmart the destination when compared to others as each destination has its own culture. Thus, it can be concluded that destinations develop brands to achieve fame and success by selling themselves to potential visitors. 1:http://www.stealingshare.com/pages/%20Destination%20Brand%20Development%20and%20Tourism%20Brand.htm DESTINATION IMAGE: The aim of destination branding is to put emphasis on the importance of a tourism brand and present the targeted market a favorable image of the mentioned brand according to Jalilvand et al (2010). It can therefore be understood that the image of a destination holds much importance and is considered as one of the key success factor brand. Moreover, Lin et al (2007) also agrees with the fact that destination image plays an important role in shaping tourists preferences and decisions to visit a particular destination. Henceforth, according to Morgan and Pritchard (1998), There is undoubtedly current interest in image. Image is exhorted as the defining experience of the decade, as the new reality. It is commonly recognized that destination image is, the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a destination (Crompton 1979, p. 18), it is also an important aspect in successful destination marketing (Tasci Gartner 2007). Some researchers relate destination image as one of the key component for the overall success of a destination in the field of tourism (Chen and Kerstetter 1999; Dadgostar and Isotalo 1992; Hunt 1975). Additionally, according to Echtner and Ritchie (1991), destination image is defined as not only the perceptions of individual destination attributes but also the holistic impression made by the destination (p. 8). Therefore destination image has proved to be a major factor in determining visitor choice (Lee, OLeary, and Hong 2002). The 3- Gap tourism destination image formation model: Moreover, as destination image has a great impact on the tourist behavior, researchers has been trying to identify the determinants that define, modify, and strengthen this concept (Tasci Gartner 2007). Therefore, past studies have considered destination image as a dependent variable suggesting that several factors play a role in the destination image formation (Alhemoud and Armstrong 1996; Bramwell and Rawding 1996; Gartner and Shen 1992; Gunn 1972; MacKay and Fesenmaier 1997; MacKay and Fesenmaier 2000; Smith and MacKay 2001; Sonmez, Apostolopoulos, and Tarlow 1999). Figure 1 below illustrates the destination image formation model and subsequently identifies those elements that have a direct influence on how the perceived destination image is formulated in the mind of the visitor. According to the diagram, there are three main types of destination image namely the cognitive, affective and the conative image that bridges the gap for a successful and effective destination image form ation which will eventually lead to a successful destination brand. FIGURE 1 THE 3-GAP TOURISM DESTINATION IMAGE FORMATION MODEL Figure 1: Adapted from Govers et al- 2007 Assurance of Quality According to Blain et al (2005) a recognized brand is an assurance for consumers who would generally derive satisfaction from that brand and trust that their expectations will be met. Viewed within a hospitality context, visitors will likely expect high-quality facilities and customer service at a renowned internationally recognized chain (brand) of hotels like the Oberoi Hotel Group as they are already acquainted with the service being provided by that particular firm. At the same time, visitors can also expect to pay a premium for this assurance of quality and reduction of perceived risk (Blain et al 2005). L. Berry (2000) states that a brand reduces customers perceived monetary, social, or safety risk in buying services, which are difficult to evaluate prior to purchase (p. 128). Henceforth, the image that a destination projects in the tourism market and its product offering as illustrated in the diagram above is primordial. DESTINATION AND BRAND PERSONALITY Furthermore, one of the other key factors for an effective destination brand is the personality of the destination. As places seek to become distinctive and unique in their own ways, destination personality is viewed as a possible means for understanding tourists perceptions of places and for designing a unique destination identity (Caprara et al 2001; Crask and Henry 1990; Morgan et al 2002, Triplett 1994). As we have seen in Table 1 above, Upshaw (1995) defined brand personality as human traits associated with the destination. Taking Dubai as an example, it is portrayed as a friendly, safe and virtually crime- free country and where hospitality has been a tradition for centuries2. 2:http://www.dubaitourism.ae/DubaiataGlance/WelcometoDubai/tabid/309/language/en US/Default.aspx BRAND PERSONALITY: In the tourism literature, the study of destination image has been of utmost importance during the past three decades, but destination personality has remained largely unexplored. However, since Aaker (1997) developed the Brand Personality Scale (BPS), which consists of five generic dimensions namely excitement, sincerity, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness, further studies on destination personality has been conducted and the brand personality dimensions have been applied to various destinations across different cultures to have a better overview on consumers opinion on that particular area and how it is being consumed by visitors (Aaker et al 2001; Supphellen and Grà ¸nhaug 2003). The brand personality of a destination must have the ability to provide a sense of uniqueness in the minds of the consumers which will in turn help to build and enhance brand equity (Keller 1993; Johnson et al 2000; Phau and Lau 2000). If a brand has a strong personality, consumers would be influ enced (Sirgy 1982; Malhotra 1988) and would tend to develop stronger emotional ties (Biel 1993), trust, and loyalty with the brand (Fournier 1998). DESTINATION PERSONALITY: Similarly to brand personality, a unique and emotionally attractive destination personality can influence the perceived image of a place and influence the choice of the tourist. For example, According to Crockett and Wood (2002), the rebranding of Western Australia has reflected another personality of the country. The destination was promoted as a premier nature-based tourism destination which in turn resulted in an increase in tourism. Although there has been little experimental investigations, destination personality has been adopted by many tourism academics at the conceptual level (Crockett and Wood 2002; Henderson 2000; Morgan et al 2002). For example, through an analysis done in a travel and tourism advertisement in the US travel media, Santos (2004) revealed that Portugal was represented with personality attributes such as contemporary, modern, sophisticated, and traditional. Morgan and Prichard (2002) observed that England was portrayed as being conservative, pleasant, refined, civilized, eccentric, and down to earth in the UK tourism media. Furthermore, Henderson (2000) revealed that the New Asia-Singapore brand composed of six personality characteristics namely cosmopolitan, youthful, vibrant, modern, reliability, and comfort. Moreover, destinations can be described using human personality traits, such as Europe is traditional and sophisticated; Wales is honest, welcoming, romantic, and down to earth; Spain is friendly and family oriented; London is open-minded, unorthodox, vibrant, and creative; and Paris is romantic (Morgan and Pritchard 2002). When choosing among competing products, consumers assess the degree of similarity between the personality traits communicated by the product (Plummer 1985) and by so doing; they reflect their own personality (Zinkhan et al 1996). Hence, a sportsman buying an energy drink like Red Bull will give the latter the impression that when consuming the drink, it would help him to be as strong as a bull. Therefore, there is both a physical and emotional consumption of the product. This notion is supported by Browns study (1992), which advocates that through tourism experience, there are symbolic as well as physical consumption of places. In contrast, whether the tourists have had a direct or indirect contact with the destination, perceptions of destination personality traits can be outlined (Plummer 1985). Destination send a variety of messages, most especially through advertising and tourists would receive and interpret those messages and form a personal opinion on the behavior of the destina tion. Personality traits can be associated with a destination in a direct way through citizens of the country, hotel employees, restaurants, and tourist attractions, or simply through the tourists imagery, defined as the set of human characteristics associated with the typical visitor of a destination (Aaker 1997). In an indirect manner, personality traits can be attributed to destinations through marketing programs such as cooperative advertising, value pricing, celebrities of the country, and media construction of destinations (Cai 2002). Accordingly, Ekinci and Hosany (2006) argued that, similar to consumer goods/brands, tourism destinations are rich in terms of symbolic values and personality traits, given that they consist of a bundle of tangible and intangible components (e.g., visitor attractions, hotels, and people) associated with particular values, histories, events, and feelings. Henceforth, it can be perceived as one of the key factors which contribute to an effective tourism destination brand. DESTINATION POSITIONING Another key aspect of an effective and successful destination brand is the positioning of the destination. In their classic book, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, Ries and Trout (1981) argued that the concept of positioning is not only applicable to a brand but also to a company, service, person, or even a place. A great number of researches have been conducted in the area of destination image and positioning (Gartner, 1989; Woodside et al., 1989; Woodside, 1990; Etchner and Ritchie, 1993; Chacko, 1997; Walmsley and Young, 1998; Botha et al., 1999). Most of the previous studies have followed the traditional approach to positioning that is based on image creation using a number of attributes that reflect the destinations most attractive products. Moreover, Etchner and Ritchie (1993) also believe that the image of a destination should be seen as having components that are attribute-based and holistic. They argued that an analysis of these attributes, integrated with personal variables such as the type of tourism needs sought, can help in identifying the relative strengths and weaknesses of the destination and can also contribute to identifying potential niche markets that could be used in developing the destinations positioning strategy. Buhalis (2000) also suggests, based on Butlers (1980) des tination life-cycle model as shown in Figure 2, that destinations at the later stage of their evolutionary development, that is the rejuvenation phase, should focus on alternative marketing strategies that support the image alteration, redesign or re-positioning of the tourism product. Figure 2: Adapted from Butler (1980) According to the figure above, the following represents: A: Exploration phase B: Involvement phase C: Development phase D: Consolidation phase E: Stagnation phase F: Decline/ Rejuvenation phase According to Butler (1980), each stage contributed to the expansion of tourism in the destination. However, the last phase namely decline/ rejuvenation phase recommend a repositioning and rebranding of the destination to boost the tourism level of the destination. Moreover, Trout and Rivkin (1996) believe that repositioning strategy becomes necessary when (1) Customer attitudes have changed; (2) Technology has overtaken existing products; and/or (3) Products have strayed from the customers long-standing perception of them. Furthermore, Crompton et al (1992) also suggested that, for effective positioning of a destination, the strong attributes that are perceived as important by visitors should be first identified. Also to be identified are other relevant attributes that are unique to the destination and capable of differentiating it effectively from its competitors in its ability to satisfy the customers needs. Consistent with this line of thought, Chacko (1997) in a study of the US tourism market combined the ten highest-ranked activities among Japanese tourists with their specific image attributes of the destination in order to get an indication of how to position the USA as a destination for Japanese visitors. Henceforth, the positioning of a destination is the process of establishing a distinctive place of that destination in the minds of potential visitors (Gartner, 1989). From the above, it can be concluded that to ensure success for the positioning strategy of a destination, it is imperative that the image of the destination and the specific product attributes that satisfy the customer should be identified. Authors such as Gunter and Furnham (1992), Sleight (1993) and Weinstein (1994) believe that markets are no longer as mass-oriented or colossal as they once were due to a change in visitors tastes and needs. Most tourists are in need for unique and unspoiled destinations. Therefore, as explained by Etchner Richie (1993), the measurement of the customers image of the tourism product and the satisfaction of the product attributes, combined with the identification of the tourist needs and desires in a tourist destination (Cho, 1998), can be perceived as factors leading to an effective destination positioning. BRAND EQUITY Apart from destination image, destination personality, destination positioning, another factor which can be considered as important for an effective brand is brand equity. Recently, much emphasis has been put in the tourism literature to the concept of brand equity (Ind 1997; Kapferer 1998; de Chernatony 1999; Aaker Joachimsthaler 2000). The Marketing Science Institute (1989) described brand equity in the perspective of customers as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the value that is added by the name and rewarded in the market with better profit margins or market shares. It can be viewed by customers and channel members as both a financial asset and as a set of favorable associations and behaviors. Keller (2002) also defines brand equity from a customers perspective. He explained that an identifiable brand would urge customers to respond favorably to the product. On the other hand, from a managerial perspective, Aaker (1991) defined brand equity as a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firms customers. He stated that the assets and liabilities linked to a brands name or symbol can be grouped into five dimensions namely brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and other proprietary brand assets. He suggested that brand equity can be generated by strengthening those dimensions. Besides, Faircloth (2001) stated that recent definitions of brand equity have evolved and include the added value of name and expand to a broad set of attributes that drives customer choice. He also argued that brand equity actually represents a products position in the minds of consumers in the marketplace. Nevertheless, researches on the brand equity concept and its dimensions have been mostly investigated within products and services context; the brand equity concept within a tourism destination context is currently in its infancy (Konecnick Gartner, 2007; Pike, 2007). CONCLUSION: Branding has evolved from product brand to destination brand. However, destination branding is far more complex than branding itself. There are four key factors in the literature review that have been developed. These are destination image, destination personality, destination positioning and finally brand equity. Yet, destination image is still considered as one of the most important aspect for an effective brand. Moreover, the 3-gap tourism destination image formation model is an integral tool for marketers have a better insight of the loopholes that should be tackled when promoting a place. Henceforth, whenever any DMO want to create an effective brand, the four key brands must be given due priority.

Where The Red Fern Grows :: essays research papers

In the story Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Billy is willing to try his best when he wants to get the dogs. He also tries his best when he wants to get Old Dan down from a tree. Billy thinks that God helped him knock the tree down and catch the coon who was up the tree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billy tries his best to get the dogs he saw in an ad, he found in a magazine by the lake were fishermen fish. He picked berries util his feet were covered with scratches because of the bushes. He also hunted for coons with the traps his father got him. He would sell the fur and the berries in his grandfather's store. After two years Billy finally had enough money to get the dogs he wanted. He was so excited that instead of waiting for the dogs to come to him he went to the dogs. After getting the puppies Billy got into a fight with some school kids because they were picking on the puppies and Billy was getting angry. He wanted to protect the puppies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Billy and his dogs went coon hunting Old Dan went up a dead hollow tree to try and catch the coon who went up there. So Billy had to go up and get him down. Billy tried as hard as he could to get his big dog down, then he finally did. When Old Dan got down he was so eager to get the coon he went back up the tree. So Billy went up the tree again and tried to get him down. With all his strength he finally got Old Dan Down for the second time. Billy thinks that God helped him in getting the tree to fall and catching the coon. This all happened when Billy promised his dogs that if they get the coon up the tree he would get the coon. So Billy thought of climbing the tree but it was to high. So he tried to cut the tree down. It took along time; Billy's Grandpa made a dummy so Billy can go home and rest. The purpose of the dummy was to make the coon think that a person was standing there. So the coon would stay up on the tree for several days before he finds out that the dummy is fake. When Billy went back to the tree he started cutting and cutting, but the tree was too big and thick to cut down.