Effectiveness And Efficiency Of Government Website Essay

Effectiveness And Efficiency Of Government Website - Essay Example The chief work of the Ready Government website is to educate the public through communication. Therefore, the question is has the website managed to reach the public thorough communication? Is the website effective and efficient in its vital mandate to the public? Lastly, what means has the ready government website used to dispense information? Various bodies have been set up in the America from way back that handle emergency situations in the country like Red Cross and AMREF (Bullock, 281). Furthermore, there are departments like homeland security, national response framework, central intelligence agency, federal bureau of investigations and many more (Bullock, 81).  There are numerous procedures put in place by Ready Government website to communicate with the public, most obvious is the website itself. The website has all the information that the public needs in case of emergency whether it is preparedness or emergencies. The website also educates the public on safety locations i n case of disasters and also affected and dangerous areas. The website receives letters and also sends out letters to the public free of charge. This shows that there is a flow of communication. Additionally, publications are available for download in disaster management (Abramson, 22).  Another way that the Ready Government website communicates effectively with the public is through its corps volunteer’s activities that ensure the safety of the society by ensuring that communities get a fast response in emergency situations (Matthews et al, 121). The pledging sector is easy to access on the website (Abramson, 23). Furthermore, the Ready Government website has managed to communicate with the public effectively and efficiently by taking into consideration the disabled.

Economic Impact Of The Development Of Airline Industry Essay Example for Free

Economic Impact Of The Development Of Airline Industry Essay Hardly many inventions can manage to change the way people live and also how they experience the world like the way inventing airplane has done. The airline industry offer air transport for passengers. The airlines companies own the airplanes or may lease them. Airlines Company differs in terms of capacity, some are smaller with one or two airplanes to transport mail and cargo, while other are big multinational companies with hundreds of aircrafts. Majority of airlines are privately owned, though some are government owned. Today, the air travel has grown to an extent that no one can imagine life without it. Air travelling as greatly reduced travelling time and opened up links all over the world. Economic Impact of the development of airline The air airline industry has played a major role in world economic growth; it has improved the mobility and facilitated world supply lines all over the world. The aviation industry not only serves as an economic tool for nations and cities, but also servers as a vital network for transport within the world. The industry creates jobs by providing them directly and also by creating opportunities in the travel and hotel industry. Aviation industry has continued to be critical in the world economy, in terms of creating these job opportunities, and the industry has employed thousands of employees in the whole world. And has the industry continue to grow more jobs are created. This leads to economic growth. Transport plays a major role in making sure that goods reach their destinations. The World Bank estimates that the airline industry contributes to a total of 5% economic growth in the world. Competition Competition in the industry can be traced back when most governments deregulated the industry I order allow competition among the industry to regulate fares. For many years now this resulted in low fares as the airline industry responded to customers needs. Most of the reduced fare also comes from new players on the market, and also from the big airlines themselves. With the growth of economy in many countries, more travellers are using the air, this id due to the fact that the fares have also been reducing gradually. In a report carried out in America by the senate, it was found out that competition has resulted into low fares, and from 1990 the traffic has gone up by over 33%, it was found out that the number of flights had also gone up to over 20%. This of course has a positive impact on economic growth. Competition in the industry has also lead to mergers as small companies fail to compete. This has improved the industry service delivery. It is important to note better service delivery has economic advantage. With the economic development being witnessed in many countries, the amount of travelling has gone up. Many people are travelling to transact their business. The high demand of air passengers has caused resource constraints, on airports and also on airways, especially during the peak travelling periods. Business community usually travels at these times and normally makes last minute bookings. However, main airlines have planned their networks to be able to meet the high rate flight requirement by the business passengers, though; these fares are expensive as the airlines need to cover cost of servicing high number flight. Nevertheless, airline competition and the way they price their tickets causes concerned. It has been noted that, with the emerging of low fare trends that have been occurring since 1996, when smaller airlines enter into this market with low fares, the major airlines drastically reduce their prices. And also avail a high number of low fare seats. This behaviour seems to be ill intended because it aims at repressing competition from the smaller airlines. Increase in fuel prices Oil and fuel prices have continuously increased for the past 10 years, for example, in 2001 the price per barrel was $20, yet in 2006 it had reached $75. The increase in price can be attributed to various such as, high demand of oil, collapse of Yukos Oil Company in Russia and political instability in the Middle East. This high increase in oil prices has affected the aviation industry. The increase in fuel prices has lead to reduction in the global trade. It is estimated that about 40% of goods traded on the world market are transported by the air, and cargo traffic is used to reflect economic growth. Fuel account for 20-30% of the total cost of operation expenses of the airline industry. Due to this high cost in oil the economy has suffered negatively. The microeconomic effect for those countries which import oil will be harsh, in the industry high prices is a big problem; the companies are forced to increase consumers’ fares to upset the fuel price increase, for example if fuel price reached 100$ per barrel, then a gallon of jet fuel will be more than 3$. This will imply that a passenger will have to pay 50$ more to travel than previous. This will result in reduction of passengers and for the case of cargo transporters it may lead to high reduction in demand of their services, which may spell down for the airline companies. The indirect impact on the airline industry caused by high fuel prices in the increase in airline products prices. The overall impact is reduction in international trade. As pointed out by the world trade organisation , increase in oil prices leads to low economic growth as it was observed in 2005. Terrorist threat Since the September 11 terrorist attack, the airline industry suffered so much, the industry experience a reduced number of passengers as many opted to use alternative means. The economic impact on the global level was immerse, has many countries experienced low foreign exchange due reduced business especially in tourism industry. The terrorist attack had a big effect on the aviation industry, and also on the economy. In America alone, more than 2 million passengers travel on air daily. Airline industry and tourism alone account for mote than 8% the world GDP. With the imminent threat of terrorism, the industry has undertaken different security measures. For example in America, the industry has to use over 11$ billion in security improvements. This costs at the end of the day have to be met by the passengers, thus, the fare in the industry have steadily gone up. This has reduced the volume of goods and passengers using the industry and negatively affected the economy. Any small distractions in the industry send shock waves in many other industries. Currently, the industry has experienced a trend by which they are weak economy, insecurity fear and other issues. This has led to reduced number of passengers flying. Even those passengers who are flying they are paying less because most of them are taking economy seats. This trend has resulted in decline of the growth of the industry. In decline in the industry usually result in reduction of economy growth of the world economy. After the September 11 many airline companies grounded their business due to security concerns this was so pronounced in America. The impact of the attack reverberated all over the world. It was estimated that the attack caused a reduction of 1% world economic growth. In this area of global economy the aviation industry all over the world suffered. The industry saw an increase in costs of airline insurance, increased expenses on security, and customer fear to travel using the air due to insecurity. This led to massive losses for the industry in the whole world. This was the worst disaster the industry had suffered in the past 50 years. In whole world more than 400,000 jobs were lost. Decline in the air travel has a direct consequence on number of business which includes tourism, travel agencies and entertainment spots, this is felt global. It is important to note that, in the continuous threat of terrorist, the world economy has been affected badly. The industry had to go through lean times and some companies had to shut down. Conclusion The airline industry is very important in economic development, the airline employees a lot of people directly and indirectly. The industry has developed steadily over the last 50 years, and has continuous grown. Competition, fuel increase and terrorist attack pose a serious challenge to the industry and the industry should come up with ways to controlling these effects to maintain profitable. However, the airline industry will continue to grow though, it will be faced with more challenges.

Pest Analysis of McDonalds in Malaysia

Pest Analysis of McDonalds in Malaysia PEST stands for Political, Economic, Sociological, and Technological. PEST analysis is an effective tool to audit companys environmental influences which can be used for strategic decision-making. The PEST analysis is a very useful tool to understand and analyze market growth, market position, future potentials and direction for a particular business so A PEST analysis can be termed as a business measurement tool. PEST analysis summarizes the external environment in which the business is planning to operate or already operating. However, an effective follow up and proper response plan is required to ensure optimum use of PEST analysis (Luthans Doh, 2008). This report aims to discuss PEST analysis of McDonalds in Malaysia. The report is divided into five parts. First part is introduction where the basic theory and application of PEST analysis is discussed. The next part is detail explanation of four components namely Political, Economic, Sociological, and Technological of PEST analy sis. The third part of this report highlights PEST analysis for McDonalds in Malaysia. The final part of this report discusses conclusion and summary analysis. 2.0 Background of the Company: 2.1 Introduction: McDonalds is a popular brand name in fast food industry. McDonald has 34,000 restaurants in 119 countries serving roughly 69 million people every day. Worldwide around 80% of McDonalds restaurants are franchised and generally owned and operated by independent local entrepreneurs (McDonalds, 2013). McDonalds annual report 2012 shows that worldwide the company generated operating income of 8.5 billion in 2011 with 9.7% growth over 2010 (McDonalds Corporation, 2012). McDonalds Malaysia opened its first store in 1982 in Kuala Lumpur. According to the figure of 2009, McDonalds Malaysia manages 194 restaurants nationwide catering the need of 10 million customers monthly. McDonalds Malaysia is growing significantly with 15-20 restaurants per annum. In order to manage day to day operations McDonalds Malaysia has around 8,000 local employees who are working in different outlets and near about 150 personnel are working in the headquarter (McDonalds Malaysia, 2009). 2.2 Company History: Ray Kroc the founder of McDonalds corporation started his business with Richard and Maurice McDonald by buying franchising right in 1950s to operate McDonalds restaurants in the USA. In 1961, he bought complete shares of the company from the McDonald brothers. In the last quarter of 1980, Golden Arches Restaurants Sdn. Berhad. (GARSB) received permission to bring McDonalds in Malaysia. The first McDonalds opened on 29 April 1982 at Bukit Bintang, (McDonalds Malaysia, 2009). 2.3 Products are Services: McDonalds offer wide variety of fast food and beverages including burger, nugget, chicken fries, French fries, set meals etc. Moreover the restaurant serves different type of coffee, carbonated beverages, ice creams and flavored drinks (McDonalds Malaysia, 2013). McDonalds continuously does research and update its menu to keep the market share. Cost leadership and price differentiation is McDonalds one of the key marketing strategies (McDonalds Corporation, 2008). 3.0 Introduction to PEST analysis: It is mentioned earlier that PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological. This tool is used to evaluate the market for both new entrants and existing business units. This analysis tools are a framework for assessing a situation. It can be applied to evaluate a position or a strategy, company direction, new marketing proposition or even a new idea. Thorough analysis of the environment in which the firm functions empowers a company to take advantages of opportunities as well as minimize the threats. PEST framework often encourages proactive thinking and brainstorming rather than relying on instinct (Luthans Doh, 2008). 3.1 Political: Political factors often refers government intervention, entry barriers, tax or tariff structures which are designed to benefit Government or the citizen. The political environment has huge influence on the business. Political stability, regulations, spending power of consumers often shapes the profitability of a business (Oxbridge Graduates, 2013). There are certain factors which influence political situation of a country which includes ecological or environmental issues, current legislation home market, future legislation, international legislation, regulatory bodies and processes, government policies, government term and change, trading policies, funding, grants and initiatives, home market lobbying/pressure groups, international pressure groups, wars and conflicts (businessballs.com, 2010). 3.2 Economic: Economic factors comprise many factors e.g. stability, income status, income parity, purchasing powers, unemployment rates, exchange rate, interest rates etc. there is no doubt that these factors plays a vital role in decision making for an industry or a business (Oxbridge Graduates, 2013). It is necessary to consider certain factors while analysis economic situation of a country, for example, home economy situation, home economy trends, overseas economies and trends, general taxation issues, taxation specific to product or services, seasonality and weather issues, market and trade cycles, specific industry factors, market routes and distribution trends, customer or end-user drivers, interest and exchange rates, international trade and monetary issues (www.businessballs.com, 2010). 3.3 Socio-Cultural: Socio- cultural factors refer to the pattern and trend of demand which generally occur due to the nationality, religious or culture. As for food industry it is evident that local taste and preferences will decide the acceptance of particular food products. In order to survive and grow local likings and disliking should be followed. So a thorough understanding about local market is required to ensure successful business (Oxbridge Graduates, 2013). The cultural and social influences on a particular business vary country-wise. When a Socio-Cultural situation is analyzed lifestyle trends, demographics, consumer attitudes and opinions, media views, law changes affecting social factors, brand, company, technology image, consumer buying patterns, fashion and role models, major events and influences, buying access and trends, ethnic or religious factors, advertising and publicity, ethical issues should be considered (www.businessballs.com, 2010). 3.4 Technology: Technological factors shape the production output and efficacy of the plant and operation. As for the food industry it is seen that employment of technology brought fruitful results in the food industry (Oxbridge Graduates, 2013). Technology is a critical success factor to achieve and sustain competitive advantages. Moreover, this is a key driving force of globalization. An analyst considers competing technology development, research funding, associated or dependent technologies, replacement technology or solutions, maturity of technology, manufacturing maturity and capacity, information and communications, consumer buying mechanisms or technology, technology legislation, innovation potential, technology access, licensing, patents, intellectual property issues, global communications while evaluating technological situation (www.businessballs.com, 2010). 4.0 PEST analysis for McDonalds in Malaysia: 4.1 Political Components: Malaysia is a multicultural country with three major ethnic groups namely Malay, Chinese and Indian. Moreover, the country has few indigenous groups who live mostly in East Malaysia. Evidently, these groups live in peace without any major clashes (Rex, 1991). Moreover, this country is a popular tourist destination. According to Malaysian Tourism Board in 2012 around 25.03 million international tourists visited Malaysia and on an average 64,000 tourists landed in Malaysia everyday which is 7.2% higher than the inbound tourist in 2011 (MTPB, 2013). The apparent political stability is one of the main attracting factors for foreign as well as local investors. Pro- business government mentality, stable political situation and a good legal system shows attractive prospects for investors. Moreover, in order to attract large investments, the government offered greater portion of foreign equity ownership in businesses and enterprises under the Promotion of Investment Act (PIA), 1986. Market-o riented economy and an educated multilingual workforce made Malaysia as one of the popular destinations for investment (Tsen, 2005). So, McDonalds has tremendous opportunities in Malaysia and the company can capitalize this harmonious political situation for further expansion. 4.2 Economy Factors: The global financial crisis has affected the whole world at the end of 2007 resulting sharp decline in global trade and it also increased the unemployment rate in many countries. The good thing is Malaysia was not affected severely by the recession like its neighboring country Singapore. One reason could be Malaysia learnt its lessons from the previous financial crisis which occurred in 1997. Moreover, McDonalds dealt the problem efficiently by reducing product price and offering value meals. This is how McDonalds managed to maintain sales figures and performed better compared to its competitors. Currently, Malaysian economy is growing at a pace of 4.5-5% per annum. The rate of Malaysian Ringgit against US Dollar was steady at average 2.95 (Zheng, 2009). The . 4.3 Socio- Cultural Factors: As it was mentioned earlier that Malaysia is a multi- religion and multicultural country. Islam is considered official religion in Malaysia and more than 50% of population is follower of Islam in Malaysia. So naturally the concept of Halal plays important role in Malaysian food industry (Muhammad, Isa, Kifli, 2009). To respect the religious sentiment of Muslims and to comply government rules McDonalds in Malaysia does not serve any pork item. Moreover, McDonalds follow strict Halal compliances while buying the main ingredients e.g. chicken or meat from suppliers. Beef is one of the popular food items for many Malaysians especially Muslims, that is why data shows that in Malaysia the bestselling McDonalds product is Big Mac (McDonalds Malaysia, 2009). Recent trend shows that the Millennial generation in Malaysia are becoming health concern. 4.4 Technological factors: Malaysians are becoming more and more technology oriented. Social networking sites are playing vital role in every aspect of Malaysian peoples lives especially the younger generations are heavy users of internet and other IT gadgets (Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2010). McDonalds Malaysia has its own website and also it has strong Facebook and other online social networking presence. It disseminates corporate information as well as various promotions and events through these channels (McDonalds Malaysia, 2013). However, it certainly lacks in some aspects where the other competitors are way ahead. For example, McDonalds did not have internet ordering system until recently. Moreover, the delivery service in inadequate and often does not cover most of Kuala Lumpur let alone other cities (McDonalds Malaysia, 2013). In order to sustain in todays competitive business world McDonalds should design appropriate strategies to response changing need of the customers. 5.0 Conclusion: A PEST analysis is an excellent tool to understand the external affecting factors of business. It enables the company to capitalize the opportunities as well as minimize the potential threats. This report has outlined a PEST analysis for McDonalds Malaysia. However, it should be remembered that todays business world is very dynamic, demanding and ever changing so in order to ensure maximum success, the factors should be analyzed and updated on a regular basis (Luthans Doh, 2008). 5.1 Summary of the PEST Analysis: The summary of PEST analysis McDonalds Malaysia is mentioned below: Political: Despite of being a multi-cultural society, Malaysia enjoys a peaceful environment. Moreover the government is trying to encourage investments in various ways so McDonalds can use this opportunity for further expansion. Economic: Though Malaysia was not badly affected by 2007 world recession but still McDonalds was prepared and had taken timely measures. The overall economic improvement of Malaysian opens new opportunities for McDonalds. Socio- Cultural Factors: McDonalds has managed to blend with Malaysian culture nicely and understood local preferences very well, as a result McDonalds is a household name in Malaysia. However, recent health consciousness among Malaysians poses a threat for McDonalds. However, McDonalds can capitalize this change in consumer behavior by offering healthier foods e.g. organic foods, salads etc. Technology: McDonalds understands the need of technology applications. It has strong presence in online social medias e.g. Facebook. The communication patterns and preferences are changing, McDonalds should respond to these changes by innovation.

True American Essay examples -- Ethnicity Personal Narrative Citizensh

True American To be a true American, some people think that a person has to agree with everything our government says, right or wrong. My belief is that, to be a true American one must strive to make this country a better place. A place that can be respected and looked up to by the rest of the world, rather than shunned and feared as it is today. To say that I am only interested in one specific social issue would be a lie. One person focusing on one problem will not make an impact. Being socially conscious is a big part of my life. I feel guilty when my life becomes stagnant, and I dont have any goals or concerns. Under the conformity of my button-down shirt and tie, I am wearing an American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, t-shirt. It reads: Justice, Equality, Education, Involvement", all things I stand for and strongly support. There are so many problems in this country that can't be ignored, some so complicated, I doubt they will ever be solved in my time on this earth. I've heard over and over that, "Every journey begins with the first step", and the fact that there are people out there like me trying to deal with problems other people create out of hatred, greed, or sheer stupidity, makes the world a better place. Some of the most important issues in my eyes are: poverty in the United States, racial equality, and nationalism. The best way I have found to deal with these problems is through writing. I live in a very diverse neighborhood where I am exposed to dif...

Matrix

Phoenix Material Representation of Interests Matrix Follow the instructions below to complete the matrix: Identify, in the first column, a minimum of five interests that are affected by public policy decisions, one per row of the table. List, in the second column, any groups or organizations that support the Interests you Identified In column one. List, In the third column, any groups or organizations that oppose the Interests you Identified In column one. Identify classes or groups affected by policies related to the interests you identified in column one.Identify classes or groups who have an Interest in the outcomes of policies related to the interests you identified in column one. Interests affected by Public Policy Groups and Organizations Supporting the Interest Groups and Organizations Opposing the Interest Classes or Groups Affected by the Interest Classes or Groups Interested in Policy Outcomes (MAD) The mission of mothers against drunk driving. National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration and with the Law Enforcement community. ADAM) is an organization founded by a group of responsible citizens ho were astonished to learn how legislator and other groups that have created an entire DOI industry in there quest for government revenues. (PIP) Victim Impact Panels The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse National Mullen Drinking Age Act. (ARP) They work to improve the quality of life for people age 50 and older and helps them with issues they face. The united Health Group and Optimum Labs organization 60 Plus Organization is an conservative alternative to (ARP) (MAC) The voice of Americans 50 and more Generation AmericaRAJA has partnered with ARP on the Future of Nursing Campaign for Action. It affects about 40 million Americans over the age of 50 including workers and retirees. (NEAR) The National Rifle Association. Woman Warriors Pack which supports strong conservative woman which emphasizes that Its The National Right to Life Committee Issued an at tack on the legislation on and sellers of firearms, ammunition There are several politicians who take a great interest in the out come of the (NEAR) (AMA) The American Medical Association works to promote the art and Science of medicine and to improve public health.Members are warriors and not helpless warriors. The Second Amendment Foundation is the country's oldest legal-action group focusing on gun rights. Special treatment. Several religious groups such as The American Jewish Committee. And related wares. Millions of citizens are in favor of the (NEAR) and could be effected in countless ways according to the policies given to the (NEAR) Policies because they receive thousands of dollars for their personal campaigns from the (NEAR) The gun control activist groups are interested in the out come of the (NEAR) policies since they don't agree tit them.The Christian Coalition of America works to represent the pro-family agenda and support policies that will strengthen and preserve, ra ther than threaten our families and our values. The National Wildfire Federation. The Republican Senatorial Committee The Family Research Council The (C) has a major impact in state and national elections, which as an impact on everyday citizens. Congress is affected because (C) is a major lobbying force for it. The Focus on the Family group The Board of Education Website organizations

The elephant Man Essays

The elephant Man Essays The elephant Man Paper The elephant Man Paper Scenes 17 and 18 are a twisted parody of scenes 2 and 3 at the beginning of the play, and are a turning point, where we see Treves and therefore his general society change roles with Merrick and the rest of the freaks. It is at this point in the play that we clearly see the problems with the Victorian society, and we are shown for certain that Treves is unsure of who he really is and what his intentions are. Scene 17 In scene 17, Merrick has taken the place that Treves was in during scene 2, and Gomm has taken Ross place. The fact that the roles have been reversed is brought to the fore when Merrick calmly says, I am Merrick. Here is my card. I am with the mutations across the road. The simplicity of the statement, and the way that Merrick says it completely deadpan, is almost funny, and drives the point home. It is a reversal of a mixture of statements Treves makes in scene 2, where Merrick tells Ross that he is at the London across the road, and gives Ross his card. From the very beginning of the scene, we are shown Treves uncertainty of himself when Merrick says If he is merely papier michi and paint, a swindler and a fake. This is a direct copy of what Treves says about Merrick in scene 2, but it is taken in a different context here, especially when you read Merricks later statement, therefore exemplary for study as a cruel or deviant one would not be. This shows that Merrick is looking for a kind man, and when he asks if he is a fake he is making sure that Treves is really as good as he appears to be. Gomms statement about Treves, No, no, he is a genuine Dorset dreamer in a moral swamp, shows how Treves is stuck in between conflicting views and ideas. The phrase moral swamp is very descriptive of the situation that Treves is in, as he is quite literally bogged down by a confusing mess of different opinions. This has left Treves unsure of what is the best thing to do for himself or Merrick, and whether anything that he considers normal or proper is actually right or not. And when Merrick says that he had not dreamed of changing Treves, there are two apparent meanings to the statement. The first is carrying on with the reversed roles theme, referring to the way that Treves has attempted to change Merrick into a proper Victorian. The other possible meaning is referring to the way that Merrick himself has actually changed Treves. He has done this by causing him to step back and take a look at himself and his society, and consider the fact that they might not actually be doing the right things and that they could in fact be the deformed people. Scene 18 In scene 18, we have Merrick taking the place of Treves at the lectern from scene 3, and we have the Pins, who are some of the deformed people who were in the same freak show as Merrick, taking the place of the scientists and doctors from the crowd in scene 3. However, one thing I have noticed about the speech is that it has taken on some of Merricks ideas and theories, such as the phrases carvings up for others own good, and without the weight of others dreams accumulating to break his neck, as well as directly parodying Treves speech earlier in the play. Merrick begins his speech in the same way that Treves did, commenting on the shape of Treves head. He says The most striking feature about him, note, is the terrifying normal head. This allows him to dream in the exclusive personal manner, without the weight of others dreams accumulating to break his neck. This is an oxymoron (two conflicting words), and refers to Merricks theory as to why his head is heavy and deformed, and to the fact that Merrick is unable to sleep properly, and is a parody of Treves statement: The most striking feature about him was his enormous head. Its circumference was about that of a mans waist. He continues by saying, From the brow projected a normal vision of benevolent enlightenment, what we believe to be a kind of self-mesmerised state. The mouth, deformed by satisfaction at being at the hub of the best of existent worlds, was rendered therefore utterly incapable of self-critical speech, thus of the ability to change. Once again this is a parody of Merricks deformities, as seen in these quotes: From the brow there projected a huge bony mass like a loaf From the upper jaw there projected another mass of bone. It protruded from the mouth like a pink stump, turning the upper lip inside out, and making the mouth a wide slobbering aperture The deformities rendered the face incapable of the expression of any emotion whatsoever. However, it goes deeper into showing Treves true personality. The normal vision of benevolent enlightenment refers to the way in which Treves and his peers are so confident in what they are doing and that their reasons are correct. This continues with the statement about him being incapable of self critical speech, which was a general virtue of the Victorian people in the play; in that they are all so confident of what they are doing is right, that they do not for a second stop and think about whether it really is. There is, however, one important exception to this rule: Mrs Kendal, who is the first person to properly try to understand Merrick without trying to change him. Next, Merrick says The heart showed signs of worry at this unchanging yet untenable state. This is showing the way in which Treves has recently begun to doubt himself and his motives, and yet is continuing to do things in his usual manner because of the confidence that his peers have in him, and because he believes it is the sort of thing that anyone else in his position would be doing. He continues by saying The back was horribly stiff from being kept against a wall to face the discontent of a world ordered of his convenience. The surgeons hands were well developed and strong, capable of the most delicate carvings up, for others own good. Due also to the normal head, the right arm was of enormous power; but, so incapable of the distinction between the assertion of power and the charitable act of giving, that it was often to be found disgustingly beating others for their own good. This is a parody of Merricks crooked back and useless right arm, and also highlights the way that Treves is coming to believe that what he does for Merrick is not actually good, and that he may be beating him for his own good by exhibiting him to the upper classes and teaching him the ways of Victorian society. For the next part of his analysis, Merrick says The left arm was slighter and fairer, and may be seen in typical position, hand covering the genitals which were treated as a sullen colony in constant need of restriction, governance, punishment. For their own good. This refers to the way that the Victorians were very uptight sexually and emotionally, and kept a strict control over the way they acted. For instance, things as innocent as piano legs were kept covered up because they were deemed suggestive. It also mirrors the comment that Treves made about Merricks left hand being fine and delicate: The other arm was remarkable by contrast. It was not only normal, but was moreover a delicately shaped limb with a fine skin and provided with a beautiful hand which any woman might have envied. He finishes the speech by saying To add a further burden to his trouble the wretched man as a boy developed a disabling spiritual duality, therefore was unable to feel what others feel, nor reach harmony with them. Please. He would thus be denied all means of escape from those he had tormented. This is a parody of the comments that Treves makes about Merricks hip disease: To add a further burden to his trouble, the wretched man when a boy developed a hip disease which left him permanently lame, so that he could only walk with a stick. Please. He was thus denied all means of escape from his tormentors. It also seems to be referring to the way that Treves has been thinking that what he has been doing for Merrick is good, and is only just realising that he may actually be wrong. It also explains the way that Treves has now begun to become depressed at what he thinks he is doing to Merrick, and the way that everyone around him is acting (see Scene 19: They Cannot Make Out What He Is Saying). After the speech has finished, there is a conversation between the Pins and Merrick that parodies the conversation between Treves and a voice from the audience, but with extra lines added in that give a more sinister feeling to it. The first thing that the Pin says directly parodies the Voice from Scene 3. However, Merrick then says: We hope in twenty years we will understand enough to put an end to this affliction, to which the Pin replies Twenty years! Sir, that is unacceptable. Merrick responds by saying Had we caught it early, it might have been different. But his condition has already spread both East and West. The truth is, we are dealing with an epidemic. This is talking about the way that Victorian culture had spread across the globe through the British Empire, quite like an epidemic, and that it may eventually be repairable, but it would take time. This is almost like a premonition of things to come. I think that both of these scenes are very important to the play, and give us an insight into the mind of Bernard Pomerances character Treves. They illustrate a turning point in the play where Treves begins to come to the conclusion that he and his society are the people who need changing, not Merrick. This is particularly well demonstrated by Merricks statement in scene 18 We hope in 20 years we will understand enough to put an end to this affliction, and The truth is, we are dealing with an epidemic.