Basketball Point Guard Training Program Research Paper

Basketball Point Guard Training Program - Research Paper Example which they are able to perform different actions but also must consider all those actions that are required to develop their performance on continuous basis (Hatfield & Brody, n. d.). Conversely, outcome goals are mainly concerned with the end results that the athletes desire to achieve. It has been apparently observed that outcome goals are closely associated with process goals. The process goals are considered to be the paths that lead the athletes to achieve the positive outcomes (Hatfield & Brody, n. d.). The athletes should divide the goals into such activities that can be easily achieved as short-term goals. The achievement of these goals will certainly make the training programs interesting as well as boost the confidence of the athletes by a greater extent. On the other hand, long term goals rely upon the successful achievement of short-term goals. In this regard, failure to achieve short term goals will ultimately lead towards collapse in accomplishing long-term goals (Hatfield & Brody, n. d.). Training is regarded to be important aspect for any athletes that sharpens and develops necessary qualities as well as skills in order to render outstanding performances particularly in the sports arena. Athletes become more efficient and skillful only when they are provided with quality training program. In relation to basketball training program, it has been observed that it is quite difficult for a basketball team to succeed in any competition without a strong point guard. Any basket ball teams greatly rely upon point guards for their success in the competition. Point guards often act as a catalyst between the teammates and their likely performances to attain success. The prime objective of point guard training program is to develop certain skills of the athletes like dribbling, outside shooting, conditioning, passing and faking skills for achieving highest performance during the competitions (Special Olympics Nova Scotia, 2007). The point guard also called

Narrative Criticism of Gillian Welch’s “Caleb Meyer” Essay Example for Free

Narrative Criticism of Gillian Welch’s â€Å"Caleb Meyer† Essay Throughout this essay I will identify â€Å"Caleb Meyer† as a rhetorical narrative, criticize its form and function, and evaluate its effectiveness. In order to criticize â€Å"Caleb Meyer† using Rowand’s method of narrative criticism, I must first establish that it meets all of the criteria of a narrative according to Sonja Foss. The first criteria Foss requires is that the artifact contain two events. The song in fact includes multiple events, but for explanative purposes we will assign those two events as Meyer drunkenly wandering into the narrator’s yard and raping her, and the narrator slicing his throat with the broken bottle. Foss then requires that the two events in a narrative happen in a sequence of some sort, which, using the examples above, we can easily find to be true in a chronological nature. Meyer first assaults the narrator, and it is not until he does that she retaliates. Foss’s third standard for a narrative requires that the sequential events have a casual relationship. Again, using the events above, we can easily argue that without the first event (Meyer assaulting the narrator) the second event (the narrator slicing his neck with the bottle) would not have occurred, for there would have been no reason for her to retaliate against Meyer. The last criteria Foss requires is that the sequential, casual events be about a unified subject. All of the events that take place in the artifact, including those aforementioned, are about the interaction between Caleb Meyer and the narrator from the time he gets drunk and rapes her to the time she cuts his throat. Now that I have satisfied Foss’s requirements for a narrative and determined â€Å"Caleb Meyer† to be such, I am able to apply Rowand’s method of narrative criticism. According to Rowand, the main components of a narrative are the characters and their roles, the setting, the plot, and the theme. While on the surface many of these things may seem obvious to the audience, in order to discover the artifact’s rhetorical purpose it is important that we uncover more than just who, where, and why. There are two main characters in Welch’s song: the antagonist, Caleb Meyer, and the protagonist, the narrator. Caleb Meyer is established as a lonely, drunken abusive male whose purpose in the artifact is to create conflict to allow resolution (he rapes the narrator and pays the price). The narrator is a married woman whose husband has left her home alone while away on business. Her function is to tell a story and create Welch’s message. She is established as religious (prays to God and believes in Hell [Caleb Meyer your ghost is gonna wear them rattling chains]), brave, and resilient. Meyer represents the abusive, alcoholic male figure in society, while the narrator represents women who are taken advantage of and decide to put up a fight. A secondary character, Nellie Kane, is minimally important but adds to the severity of Meyer’s actions, as he is the narrator’s husband whom Meyer knows is not around to protect her. The setting in the narrative is a wooded area on a mountainside, although it is unspecific where exactly. Meyer asks the narrator if her husband has gone down the mountainside after emerging from where he lives â€Å"in them hollering pines. † This setting, including the fact that the narrator’s husband has gone to Bowling Green for work, creates a picture of a helpless, isolated woman in the woods. This forces the audience to empathize with the narrator as the antagonist attacks, knowing that there is no one to aid her after being thrown down by her hair and pinned beneath a drunken man. It is because of intrinsic humanitarian values that the audience cannot help but wish they could come to her relief, which makes the persuasiveness of Welch’s message more powerful. The plot of Welch’s song first provides that Caleb Meyer lives alone and drinks to pass the time, implying that he is an alcoholic. Lonely, he stumbles to the back of the narrator’s home and yells until she comes outside. We then hear the chorus, which consists of the narrator claiming that Meyer’s ghost will wear rattling chains, implying either that he is going to hell or that he will forever be tormented in the afterlife. Meyer then asks the narrator where her husband has gone and if he has left her alone, to which she replies that he has indeed left on business. Meyer then grabs her by the hair and pins her hands above her head as he lay across her dress, implying that he is attempting to rape her. The narrator begins to pray and finds the bottle of whiskey that Meyer had dropped, slicing his neck open as he bleeds all over her. Welch provides a fantastic crescendo into a climax, which includes a conflict and resolution in order to keep the audience engaged. The theme of â€Å"Caleb Meyer† stems directly from the plot. Meyer represents generic abusive, womanizing, and drunken men that sadly exist in society, while the narrator represents women who are imposed upon by them. Welch’s â€Å"Caleb Meyer† sends a message to women to be strong and independent, while it sends a message to men to mind their belligerence and forcefulness or there will be consequences, as seen in the death of Caleb Meyer. Another message that Welch may be trying to get across is that alcohol is wicked and leads to sinful behavior. One could even go as far as saying that her message is intended to warn men of the dangers of leaving their loved one’s side, however the supporting evidence for these two arguments are insignificant in comparison to the support for the message to women to stand against abuse. Gillian Welch’s â€Å"Caleb Meyer† not only meets all of Foss’s requirements of a narrative, but also establishes itself as a powerful narrative by persuading the audience to feel hatred and anger toward the actions of Caleb Meyer. It forces the audience to identify with the narrator, and understand that what she is experiencing is wrong. Certain audiences, women in particular, and abuse victims especially, identify greatly with Welch’s narrative because rape is the greatest fear of many women. However, men too can see the pain in the narrator’s words as Welch does a wonderful job evoking the emotions of the audience. It is because of her ability to do so that the crescendo is so effective, creating great relief when at the end of the song she sings â€Å"Then I felt his blood pour fast and hot / Around me where I laid† as the antagonist meets his rightful demise.

No Country for Old Men Essay -- Character Analysis, Sheriff Ed Tom Bel

Bitter about the evolution of the corruption of society, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell plays the official hero clinging to old traditions and reminiscing about the old days in No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Delusions of a peaceful utopia during the time his grandpa Jack was a sheriff has left Bell looking at the world through hopeless eyes; a world on its knees with only one explanation for its demise: Satan. Not necessarily a religious man, Sheriff Bell, when asked if he believes in Satan, remarks: â€Å"He explains a lot of things that otherwise don’t have no explanation. Or not to me they don’t† (218). Throughout No County for Old Men, Sheriff Bell is determined to save Llewellyn Moss in order to prove that justice can be served in a world now drenched in decay. Throughout the book and the film adaptation, the audience can see Sheriff Bell, a tormented old man, sink deeper into his bitterness and his hope sizzle away in the Texas heat. The book, No Country for Old Men, switches from first person to third person perspective; the first person perspective coming only from Sheriff Bell. It is with these first person accounts that the reader understands why Bell is saddened by the new world around him. He tells of a story he read in the newspaper about teachers answering a survey of what the biggest problems were with teaching in schools; the biggest problems these teachers could name were: â€Å"talking in class and running in hallways. Chewing gum. Copying homework.† The story in the paper then states that forty years later the survey was given to teachers and the biggest problems were: â€Å"Rape, arson, murder. Drugs. Suicide.† Bell is horrified by this story in the paper and is in disbelief when people tell him he is just â€Å"getting old† w... ... ultimate failure of not being able to protect Moss and his wife, Carla Jean, one can tell that the decision to quit irritates Bell more than anything when he accounts: â€Å"so you could say to me that I aint changed a bit† (282). Ellis reminds Bell about how his uncle Mac died: gunned down by Indians in the old days saying Mac came out with a shotgun. Ellis is letting Ed Tom know that things were violent even in the old days. Ultimately, Bell’s decision to quit is the opposite of what Moss decided to do when presented with the choice of quitting and Bell’s decision leaves him with his life. Bell’s wife, Loretta, asks him if he his quitting while he is ahead; Bell, whose rite of passage is written throughout the entire story and concludes that there is no country for old men, responds: â€Å"no mam I just aim to quit. I aint ahead by a damn sight. I never will be† (298).

Assess the View That Life in a ‘State of Nature’

The state of nature Is the term used to describe a lawless state of human behavior, wherein all people are free of legal and moral restraint. It would create a state where all people would be able to act on their wants and desires without fear of punishment from a governing body, as there wouldn't be one, and that man would only have to fear the retaliation from other people against their actions. In this essay, I will be outlining the views of both Hobbes and Locke on the state of nature and drawing a conclusion from their opinions.Hobbes' view on the state of nature is that such a thing would lead only to a state of war. He believed that without moral or legal constraints, mankind will simply pillage, murder, and plunder In order to get what they desire, regardless of the views of others. In a state of war, man will use power as he sees fit In order to survive and with no clear definition of rights or duty, each Individual will be free to Judge the rights and duties of others and of themselves.There will be no duty to keep other people safe and out of harm and no-one will have the explicit right to live or to keep heir property. If another claims that you hold something he needs to survive, you would have no right to deny him as there is no law or right outlining that it was yours and yours alone. As our desires are never satisfied and we have a continuous want of things, man will continue to overturn others if it means he gets what he wants in life, whether or not he truly needs it.He believes in the state of nature translating to a state of anarchy, as no human will ever be satisfied with what they have and will always strive for more. Hobbes claims that In a lawless state, we may not wish direct arm onto others, but we will be constantly aware that other people may wish to harm us. In order to prevent being the volt, we would attack first In order to stay alive, thus becoming the aggressor. Self-preservation In a lawless state, In Hobbes' opinion, would o nly ever lead to conflict as man turns on man In order to keep themselves alive.Due to this, we would never trust another person and the lack of alliance or allegiance would lead to us all being equally vulnerable. So despite the lack of rights or duty, each of us are equal in a state of nature, as we are all equally able to be pushed over by the person beside us, whether they are friend or otherwise. Hobbes is very much in agreement that living in a state of nature would be truly awful. Locke, however, doesn't completely agree.He doesn't believe – as Hobbes does – that scarcity In society and living in a state lawlessness would lead to man killing man In order to stay alive. He believes that people will provide themselves with natural moral principles that we are all inclined towards. Locke drew this belief from his belief in God and the creation of Man and all things on the Earth. By this logic, we have a duty to protect others from harm. We are therefore obligated, as God's creations, to punish those that cause harm to others, and those principals would be our natural obligations.He also believes that we cannot claim property unless our labor helped create what is on the land, but we still have no lawful right to it and the supposed right to it is not dependable. He proposed that removal from a state of law would create a form of democracy among men where they would govern themselves and keep themselves in equal measure in order to create a fair semblance of society. Locke thinks that society can exist in a state of nature and exist informally, so he disagrees with the statement that living in a state of nature would be awful in any sense.He believes that people can and will work together to protect themselves and each other as we have an obligation to care for other people as a natural instinct. By Locker's reasoning, man would eventually enter into an unspoken social contract and form a crude government to better protect their rights and pro mote organization in their society. I believe that although a state of nature would initially lead to man taking whatever he pleased from others and doing what he had been previously unable to do, eventually a form of society would emerge.People cannot continue without governing themselves and eventually they would create some form of law in order to govern themselves and protect their rights and duties. Initially living in a state of nature would be awful because there would be the breakaway from lawful restraint and that new freedom would lead to complete uproar as the population of the world indulged in all they had been unable to do. I still, however, believe that Locker's state of things would prevail and that man would find a way to organize themselves in order to survive and beat the inevitable scarcity.

Billy Elliot Essay

Explain why the idea was memorable in the text(s) as a whole, supporting your points with examples of visual and/or oral language features. ‘Billy Elliot’ is a film directed by Stephen Daldry that tells of a twelve year old boy called Billy. Raised in a working class family, Billy had always possessed a love for dancing. However, set during 1984 in the small mining town of Everington, his dream of becoming a ballet dancer proves to be difficult. His father, Jacky and brother, Tony are also involved in the miners’ strike, which puts the family in financial difficulties. The main idea of this film is to pursue your dream and not to give up when there are obstacles in the way. Daldry uses Billy’s story to portray this as a memorable idea for the audience. At the beginning of the movie, Billy attends boxing classes at the local gymnasium. However, we see that Billy isn’t truly interested in boxing. One day when Billy stays behind at the gym, he becomes intrigued by the ballet classes held by Mrs Wilkinson. Rather than attending boxing classes, Billy begins to attend the ballet classes instead. As he spends more time learning ballet, Billy’s determination is also revealed. An example of this is the cross-cutting technique used to show Billy practising his pirouette. The cross cutting involves several different scenes of Billy practising to get his pirouette right. Some scenes are of him in his small bathroom and some are of him losing his patience. This shows Billy’s perseverance and determination as a dancer, a dancer that will keep practising despite not having enough space at home. Other than his determination, his passion for ballet dancing is also further revealed as Billy tries to extend himself as a ballet dancer. Daldry uses this montage to show the audience that you can get better at something with practise, even without the proper tools or environment that you are in. This was also memorable because the audience can be inspired by Billy’s determination to practise at what you love. In the film, Billy’s major obstacle is the opinion of the small mining community he lives in. Many of the people in his town believe that ballet is a feminine dance and if a male were to do ballet then he must be a ‘poof’ (homosexual). His own father and brother also feel this way about him doing ballet. An example of the public’s opinion was right after Billy successfully completed a pirouette. Mr Braithwaite, pianist at his ballet class, tells Billy quietly, ‘You look like a right wanker if you ask me, son’. In this dialogue, Mr Braithwaite represents the public’s opinion on a male ballet dancer. Another example is Jacky’s opinion on him doing ballet, ‘Lads do boxin’ or wrestlin’ or football†¦ not figgin’ ballet! This reveals Billy’s major barrier to his dream because he needs to overcome the community’s opinion and most importantly his father’s opinion until he can become a ballet dancer. Billy eventually overcomes this; however, this obstacle did help make the main idea memorable. Facing public opinions is something the audience can often relate to, and Billy’s story allows the audience to feel sympathetic towards him. Despite obstacles in his way; financial difficulties and public opinion, Billy eventually gets admitted into the Royal Ballet School. The ending is set fifteen years in advance where the audience sees Jacky and Tony travelling to London to attend a ballet concert of Swan Lake. As we see the older Billy limbering up, suspense builds as the audience are only shown the backs and limbs of older Billy. When Billy runs on to the stage performing a grand jete a freeze frame is used to capture the perfected finesse. The freeze frame effectively revealed to the audience Billy’s physique, skill and confidence the he has achieved over the past fifteen years. Daldry uses this as the ending to show the audience that reward can be sown after determination and training. The freeze frame itself was a memorable conclusion to the film and Billy’s story, however it also serves as a memorable reminder to the audience that success can be earned with hard work and perseverance. Therefore, to conclude, Daldry has used techniques such as cross cutting, dialogue and freeze frame to help convey a memorable idea. The main idea of following your dream and overcoming obstacles.

6 Bad Work Habits That Are Ruining Your Career

6 Bad Work Habits That Are Ruining Your Career Whether you’re just starting out or trying to revitalize your career, it’s always important to do a lifestyle and attitude check up to make sure you’re not subconsciously sabotaging yourself. Here are 6 bad work habits that you should change if you want to find a path to success.1. RuthlessnessSure, the road to success is littered with ruthless, bloody-minded mercenaries who have tunnel vision- and damn everything and everybody else. But the business world also requires you to be a good team member and collaborator. Try to keep in mind that your success does not need to exclude anyone else’s success, and work together with your coworkers- rather than against.2. ComplainingThis is a waste of your time and energy. For every time you’re tempted to complain, try instead to think of a possible solution, or to channel your energy into something productive and constructive.3. GossipIf you’re a big mouth, spreading gossip or telling insider secrets, or worse- spreading mistruths- then you’re not going to go far. If people feel you can’t be trusted, you won’t ever gain the trust and confidence you’ll need to get to the top.4. DrinkingA drink or two can be a great ice breaker, but you’ll want to be careful not to overindulge. It can impair your function, burden your workweek with hangovers, and cause you to do things you might regret. Keep a hold on yourself socially so as not to lose a grip on yourself professionally.5. ArroganceConfidence in your abilities is one thing. Drive is another thing. Arrogance is just unnecessary. Try not to antagonize anyone with your self opinion on your way up the ladder. A little humility can go a long way.6. LazinessYou have to work hard to succeed. Employers and coworkers can always tell when someone isn’t pulling their weight. Next time you’re tempted to hang back and let others do the work, remember how important it is to pull your own weight an d to give it your all. If you don’t, you’ll never truly succeed.

The Nation of East Timor essays

The Nation of East Timor essays ?Southeast Asia is a land full of ancient cultures religions, mysteries and unfortunately hatred. Ethnic chaos has dominated this land for centuries. Not one country has come to signify this more than the tiny nation of East Timor. This land was rouged in the late 1990s until the United Nations stepped in to rectify the conflict. This paper will demonstrate this by first looking at the history behind East Timor, the Indonesian attack and the role the United Nations played within this issue. The deplorable past of East Timor thoroughly illustrates the troubles this island faced. Since the 16th century and so forth, the island of East Timor was a Portuguese colony recognized as Portuguese Timor. The Dutch took power over the western portion of the island in 1613 and claimed several of the surrounding islands. During 1860, a treaty divided Timor into eastern and western portions, as the Dutch and the Portuguese had fought over the island. Portugal was granted the eastern portion of the island and the western part was given to the Netherlands. Portugal largely neglected the colony, and used it mainly to exile political prisoners, along with ordinary prisoners. When World War II broke out, Portugal was known to be neutral, but Portuguese Timor was engaged by Dutch and Australian forces, which were expecting to be invaded by the Japanese. The military initiative angered Portugal along with bringing Portuguese Timor into the Pacific War, but it seemed to slow down the Japanese expansion. The assistance of Timorese volunteers cost the civilian population dearly; Japanese forces seized food supply and burned down villages. By the end of the war, between 40,000-70,000 Timorese had died during the subsequent Japanese occupation. Eventually, Indonesia was born after the Netherlands had given up its colonies in the Dutch West Indies including West Timor. The western portion of Timor was recognized as Indonesia by the Dutch in 1949. East...

Formatting Dialogue

Formatting Dialogue Formatting Dialogue Formatting Dialogue By Maeve Maddox A reader has a question about formatting dialogue in a novel: I have some confusion regarding speakers when writing dialog, and when you should start new lines. The logic I remember being taught is that every time the speaker changes in a story we should start a new paragraph. Is that always the case, or is it possible to have a quick line from another character or speaker in a paragraph where another character spoke? When I read a novel for pleasure- as opposed to studying a novel that does not appeal to me- I don’t want to have to work at it. I want to enter the fictional dream and not be pulled out of it by inappropriate diction, faulty grammar, or unconventional formatting. The time-honored way to present dialogue in a novel is to signal a new speaker by beginning a new line. Jane Austen did it. George Eliot did it. Mark Twain did it. The modern novelists I read do it. Combining the direct speech of multiple characters in one paragraph can be done, but even with the help of quotation marks and tags, the reader would find it slow going. For example, read the following conversation that appears in the novel Little Night by Luanne Rice: The phone rang, and they heard Clare answer in the kitchen. After a few minutes, Clare came back in. She was smiling. â€Å"Was that Paul?† Sarah asked. â€Å"Yeah,† Clare said. â€Å"He’s in the park, tracking an owl.† â€Å"He called to tell you that† Clare nodded, her smile growing. â€Å"Grit, I think you’ve brought us luck.† â€Å"I doubt that,† Grit said, before she could stop herself. Now read the same exchange presented conventionally: After a few minutes, Clare came back in. She was smiling. â€Å"Was that Paul?† Sarah asked. â€Å"Yeah,† Clare said. â€Å"He’s in the park, tracking an owl.† â€Å"He called to tell you that† Clare nodded, her smile growing. â€Å"Grit, I think you’ve brought us luck.† â€Å"I doubt that,† Grit said, before she could stop herself. Writers of experimental fiction- Thomas Pynchon, for example,- don’t hesitate to break the rules; that’s what experimental writing is about. Writers whose goal is to entertain readers by keeping them in the fictional dream don’t distract them with that kind of originality. They observe the conventions. The convention for dialogue is â€Å"new speaker, new line.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsWhat’s the Best Way to Refer to a Romantic Partner?

Nursing managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Nursing managment - Essay Example In other words, the administrative practicum project will give me the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a real world situation. Administrative positions in modern healthcare setting is increasingly complex or demanding as the field is highly affected by issues like nurse shortage, clinical errors, and unethical medical practices. Practicum in advanced nursing for the nurse administrator will make a candidate efficient in management of clients, nurses, and resources. Evidently, the practicum project will give me the opportunity to apply the principles of administration under the supervision of a competent preceptor. As far as I am concerned, administrative practicum project will provide me with a highly individualized experience and thereby profound knowledge in complex systems, leadership practice, and organizational theory. However, as Harris et al notes, ‘the collaborative synergy of the preceptor, student, and the practicum instructor’ is significant in the learning experience of the student (213). In total, the administrative practicum project I am doing for my MSN degree can contribute a lot to my nursing career development. Extensive knowledge in nursing administrative positions and practical knowledge in management of clients and resources are the primary outcomes this practicum project offers. Harris, James. L., Roussel, Linda., Walters, Sandra and Dearman, Catherine. Project Planning and Management: A Guide for CNLs, DNPs, and Nurse Executives. US: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2010.

The business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The business law - Essay Example However, there are certain norms and formalities to be followed with respect to the grant of loan to CPI since as per law, the company and its principle shareholder are distinct entitites. Hence, in the eyes of law, the shareholder Luigi Gelata and the loaner Company, ICCI are two distinct entities. If the event of LG acting on a personal capacity with regard to matters that effect the company, it is necessary that he seek the permission of the Board of Directors and seek their consent in such matters, especially in the case of granting, or receiving loans, or other matters which affect the company as a whole. ICCI should authorize the grant of Shareholder Loan to CPI. Next, the Shareholder Loan Document has to be duly authenticated in a Board Meeting duly convened, minuted and signed by the Board of Directors of the lending Company, ICCI. Further, the Board of Directors should ratify Luigi Gelati's authority to disburse the loan. The terms governing the granting of loan should be clearly specified in the document, including the interest rates (if any), mode, term and value of repayment or amortization scheduling and whether the loan is repayable on demand or is for a specified period. The conditionalities to be imposed in the event of default of the loanee, that is, in the event of inability on the part of CPI to service the interest or principal amount should be clearly specified in the Shareholder Loan Document. It is advisable... judicious to have the loan document witnessed and notarized since this is an accepted practice used by Banks and Registry, should such a need arise for the loaner Company, ICCI, to utilize their services in future. (Shareholder Loan Agreements. 2008). In the second part the main facts that need to be considered are as follows: Issue 1: Whether ICCI could lay priority to claim goods over bank and employees Law: The unpaid seller has the highest priority to lay claim over the goods over other creditors in the event of goods being sold and delivered to the bankrupt debtor. However, the following conditions apply: Debtors must have be unable to pay for the full price of the goods bought. Next, the seller has claimed return of the goods within 30 days of delivery to the buyer, but this has not been done by the buyer. The debtor has been rendered bankrupt or a receiver has been appointed, as is evident in this case. Further, the goods are still in the same state, condition and possession of the buyer and finally, the goods are identifiable as belonging to the debtor. Application: It is seen that in this case the following aspects are applicable, except whether the claim for return had been served to MMRI (unclear) Issue 2: Could the Bank claim a security interest in the goods: Law: Order of priorities on bankruptcy: unpaid seller, PMSI secured creditor, other secured creditor, preferred creditors (including employees for up to 6 months wages (max. $2,000), other unsecured creditors. In this case bank could lay claim of being a secured creditor after the claim of ICCI, and to the extent of balance unpaid amounts, the bank would be treated as an unsecured creditor. Application: Since ICCI are 1st preferential creditors, it ranks over the secured and unsecured

Report on Religious Field Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Report on Religious Field Research - Essay Example Boundless light is both love and the element of love past the individual or human beings. This activity is not designed by any individual or for any individual. Boundless light is all inclusive. It argues that actual nature entails displaying everything and every individual as absolute love, and one of the forms of love involves the soul (Hagen, 1998). The soul also acknowledges that it is the expression of the love of real nature. In addition, meditation has been identified as a core part of the Buddhist religion. It is not clear the number of Christians who pray, but a large number of Buddhists all through history have not engaged in meditation. Until recent times, mediation has been perceived as a basic activity and is solely practiced by specified monks. Moreover, the Buddha largely laid emphasis on meditation, but a number of traditions, for example, the pure land engage in minimal or no meditation in their activities (Brodd, 2003). This paper will be a report on religious field research. The paper will discuss personal misconceptions on Buddhism, analyze how my previous understanding about Buddhism was changed through my encounter, discuss whether misconceptions about the religion of other people are widespread and an explanation on why or why not, and recommend a minimum of one action that could help lessen misconceptions individuals have about other people’s religion. Question 1 There are a number of misconceptions that I have had about Buddhism. One, that chanting is useless and meaningless. In contrast, Buddhist recitation or chanting contains explicit meanings with specified uses. There are also numerous forms of recitations. The recitation involving loving-kindness helps in passing loving-kindness to other human. Chanting also helps during meditation. It helps the mind in developing concentration (Hagen, 1998). Two, that Buddha is a god. Conversely, Buddhism does not follow the notion of God that is widespread to the monotheistic beliefs. Bud dhists hold the belief that all individuals have the power to become a Buddha. Three, that it is difficult to understand nibbana. In simple terms, nibbana refers to independence from the fundamental reasons of all suffering; the incorrect notion that people exists autonomously as a non-changing and intrinsic self. Nibbana illustrates the dousing of all delusion, hatred, and greed, causing extraordinary peace and clarity (Hagen, 1998). Three, that everything should be blamed on kamma. Conversely, kamma does not involve fatalism. Kamma refers to people’s choice expressed as actions of speech, body, or mind. What individuals presently go through, both pleasant and awful, are determined by the actions and thoughts of the individual in the past. Identically, what individuals will go through in the future is determined by their actions and thoughts in the present. A person’s kamma constantly changes based on how the individual act and think in the present times (Hagen, 1998) . Four, women are mediocre and is punishment to be born a woman. In contrast, Buddhism does not perceive women to be inferior to their male counterparts. Buddha was clear about treating both men and women in the same way. Buddha included females in the Sangha in spite of severe oppositions. Question 2 My previous understanding of Buddhism was changed through the encounter. First, I developed listening techniques so that I could hear what

The podiatrist has a legal obligation and duty of care to ensure that Essay

The podiatrist has a legal obligation and duty of care to ensure that practice protocols adequately protect themselves and service users from the risk of infection. discuss this statement - Essay Example Globally, infection control is a changing area in medicine and medicinal practices. This is given the advancement in technology, the regulatory changes, and even microbial evolution (Simmers 2004, p. 67). This paper will try and examine some of the guidelines that reflect some of the best practices involved in preventing infection and cross-infection, and how these practices may set the target for infection control in podiatry. In order for the podiatric practice and practitioners to ensure safety among all service users and staff, it is vital for all the involved parties to have infection control principles that guide their everyday operations. These include work practices that have been adopted to achieve a specific level of infection control, which apply to the service users and staff. This is regardless of their perceived level of risk. By ensuring that standard precautions are properly conducted, it should be easier to ensure that all infections and their transmission can be prevented. Some of the standard precautions in the podiatric practice involve; proper hygiene practices, correct aseptic techniques, use of appropriate personal protective equipment, apposite protocols of waste disposal, and proper practices for cleaning and maintenance of the podiatric health center (Simmers 2004, p. 73). In any medical practice, hand washing may be the most crucial and important measure of infection reduction or minimization. The washing of hands must be done by the podiatrist and staff before and after the handling of any patient, or any activity that might increase the chances of risk infection. All hand washing amenities must be present in all consultation areas and these may include; hand basins and apt products that may not affect the outcome of the next patient consultation or meet (Kane, Schiefman & Vickers 1992, p. 37). The technique involved in hand washing also matters significantly, which involves; the duration and the quantity and type of

China's economic impact on Bolivia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

China's economic impact on Bolivia - Essay Example Bolivia is Latin America’s poorest nation, while China is considered by many to be the second richest nation in the world. It is not considered unusual for China to exert its economical might in ensuring that it gets more profit from its trade relations with a poorer nation; moreover, the level of counterfeit China-made products flooding Bolivia’s market have made the trade arrangement a weight that is hurting the Bolivian markets. Policies in China that do not Curb Counterfeiting The competition brought by counterfeit Chinese products has served to impoverish the Bolivian economy whose products are hardly able to compete in the local economy, let alone the international market. The production of counterfeit products is nothing new. Every nation on earth has companies or firms that produce counterfeit products. Moreover, most nations do not product them at the rate and quantity that China does. This is made worse by the fact that the export rules used by the Chinese government actually support the export of counterfeit products. China has always had huge local, individual, and state streams of revenue that come from knock-off products. In order to comply with the newly instituted rules of the World Trade Organization, China made alterations to its foreign trade rules in 2003 so as to do away with the control that government-owned trading corporations had on all exports. Prior to this, all of the country’s exports had to go through state-owned firms.This means that counterfeit product firms had to pass through state-approved brokers and distributors to allow their fake goods into the international market.... There are other factors that contributed to the explosion of counterfeiting practice in China. These include the ease of technology transfer, and relaxed foreign trade regulations. There are also local factors such as the lack of enforcement of the law when Chinese companies produce counterfeits, an economic explosion experienced in small communities, and the existence of organized crime syndicates that deal in the counterfeits (Zhonghua Press 29). Organized crime syndicates play a major role in ensuring that counterfeit products reach international markets. The presence of the internet has also served to further develop the production of counterfeit products. Many people today, particularly those who have extra money to spend on secondary needs, often shop on the internet. Counterfeit products usually sell for much less than authentic products. This means that consumers from different parts of the globe can elect to purchase cheap products from China through the internet. This fact alone has been one of the main reasons for the explosion of the counterfeiting industry in China. In a sense, China’s advantage lies in the fact that its production sector is quite colossal and is also highly mechanized. China’s currency is also undervalued in relation to the dollar and it has readily available access to cheap labor. This makes China much stronger than a nation such as Bolivia whose manufacturing sector is much smaller in size. Bolivia also experiences political unrest on a much more common basis than China and its trade deficit with China keeps growing. This makes it easy for Chinese counterfeit products to flood the Bolivian market. However, it

The podiatrist has a legal obligation and duty of care to ensure that Essay

The podiatrist has a legal obligation and duty of care to ensure that practice protocols adequately protect themselves and service users from the risk of infection. discuss this statement - Essay Example Globally, infection control is a changing area in medicine and medicinal practices. This is given the advancement in technology, the regulatory changes, and even microbial evolution (Simmers 2004, p. 67). This paper will try and examine some of the guidelines that reflect some of the best practices involved in preventing infection and cross-infection, and how these practices may set the target for infection control in podiatry. In order for the podiatric practice and practitioners to ensure safety among all service users and staff, it is vital for all the involved parties to have infection control principles that guide their everyday operations. These include work practices that have been adopted to achieve a specific level of infection control, which apply to the service users and staff. This is regardless of their perceived level of risk. By ensuring that standard precautions are properly conducted, it should be easier to ensure that all infections and their transmission can be prevented. Some of the standard precautions in the podiatric practice involve; proper hygiene practices, correct aseptic techniques, use of appropriate personal protective equipment, apposite protocols of waste disposal, and proper practices for cleaning and maintenance of the podiatric health center (Simmers 2004, p. 73). In any medical practice, hand washing may be the most crucial and important measure of infection reduction or minimization. The washing of hands must be done by the podiatrist and staff before and after the handling of any patient, or any activity that might increase the chances of risk infection. All hand washing amenities must be present in all consultation areas and these may include; hand basins and apt products that may not affect the outcome of the next patient consultation or meet (Kane, Schiefman & Vickers 1992, p. 37). The technique involved in hand washing also matters significantly, which involves; the duration and the quantity and type of

Big 4 Writing Samples Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Big 4 Writing Samples - Personal Statement Example My father’s employees were people of very high intelligence and their dedication to work helped my father’s business thrive. The customers that patronize us daily also taught me some lessons about life; my father’s business enjoys a daily influx of customers and while we try to satisfy our customers, I discovered that human needs are insatiable. Working with my father’s employees and trying hard to please our customers was really challenging. These has become my greatest accomplishment as I am well-equipped to deal with problems, no matter the complexity. The challenges I faced with my father’s customers would help me cope with the problems I would have to solve in the Big 4 accounting firms. It would also make my work a lot easier. I believe that I have the necessary skill and experience to join the great team of the Big 4 accounting firms. I am also optimistic that working in the Big 4 accounting firms would help me get to the peak of my career. I am ready to give my best to the Big 4 accounting firms and would also contribute to the growth of the

Hauora Essay Example for Free

Hauora Essay If a person puts themselves first before others and their personal ambitions they are considered unhealthy. Communication through emotions is more powerful than words. If people show what they feel, instead of talking about their feelings, this is regarded as healthy. Te taha Wairua refers to spiritual well being. It is believed that if someone is lacking this they are more prone to ill health Wairua may also explore relationships with the environment, between people, or with heritage. The breakdown of this relationship could be seen in terms of ill health or lack of personal identity. Te taha Tinana refers to physical well being There is also the question of personal space to take into account. Maori consider stepping over someone as rude and demeaning to that persons mana (personal authority/power). However there are different ways in which respect is shown to another person. For example Maori tend to have minimal eye contact and respect each others space in formal situations. Body language is also an important feature to note. Whanau/Family is the prime support system providing care, not only physically but also culturally and emotionally. For Maori, whanau is about extended relationships rather than the western nuclear family concept. Maintaining family relationships is an important part of life and caring for young and old alike is paramount. Everyone has a place and a role to fulfil within their own whanau. Families contribute to a persons wellbeing and most importantly a persons identity. A Maori viewpoint of identity of identity derives much from family characteristics. It is important to understand that a person carrying an ancestral name will often be seen as having the qualities of their namesake. It is important to be aware for Maori, a persons identity is gleaned by asking Where are you from rather than What is your name? Maori identity is based upon an ancestral Waka (canoe) a physical landmark, which is usually a Maunga (mountain), a body of water Awa (river), Moana (sea) and a significant Tupuna (ancestor). Once this is known people can share a common bond.

Report For The Child Protection Case Conference Social Work Essay

Report For The Child Protection Case Conference Social Work Essay This report is prepared for the use of a Child Protection Case Conference for the five members of the Jones family. The Jones family consists of Mark (25) And Sue (21) and their three children John (6), Emma (4) and David who is just 3 weeks old. The conference is being held to consider the extent to which the needs of John, Emma and David are being met, as also the risks to which they are exposed. With the Child Protection Conference being a meeting between the parents of children and the people from different agencies who know the family, this report aims to provide a brief detail of the family scenario and a reflective commentary on the family circumstances, suitably supported by the theoretical and practical knowledge of the author on the risks faced by the children and the framework chosen for such risk assessment. This introductory section is followed by a brief overview of the case, a reflective commentary and finally a summative section. 2. Brief Case Details The appendix to this report provides details about the family scenario and can be accessed by users of this report. To state very briefly, the Jones family has three children. John, the eldest child suffers from speech delays and is exhibiting behavioural difficulties at home and school. He demands individual attention and has tendencies for uncontrollable anger and physical violence with children as well as grownups. He has also exhibited delinquent behaviour and has been reported for shock lifting. Emma, the second child is good natured, loves going to school, has been assessed to be developmentally advanced and loves her father. David, the newly born is a premature child and is not in the best of health. It is difficult to feed him and he cries often. Mark Jones the father has a history of youth offence, criminal behaviour and domestic abuse. He has grown up in poor social and economic circumstances and is now working as a driver of heavy vehicles, a job that often keeps him away from home. Sue the mother, had her first child when she was 15 and suffered from post natal depression. Not in the best of health and having suffered from domestic abuse, she finds it difficult to take care of her three children. Whilst she comes from an affluent background, she has little contact with her parents, who disapprove of Mark. 3. Reflective Commentary Caring and protecting children is now at the very core of the social work system of the UK (Cleaver, 2004, p 14). Whilst the importance of protecting, nurturing and nourishing children and the need to provide them with appropriate environments for achievement of physical, emotional and mental development has always been felt to be important by policy makers in the UK, a number of episodes that have taken place over the years show that children continue to be exposed to various dangerous and need suitable protection. The deaths of Victoria Climbie and Aliyah Ismail in 2000 and 1998 (BBC News, 2005, p 1) created enormous media uproar and public outrage and led to numerous legal and policy measures that aimed to protect and safeguard children (Norton, 1999, p 1). The recent deaths of Baby Peter and Khyra Ishaq, who died in terrible circumstances, the first on account of violence at the home (Duncan, et al, 2008, p 1) and the second from starvation, revealed that children continue to be in danger and in need of protection and safety, both in and out of their households (Carter, 2010, p 1). Appendix 2 provides horrifying details on a number of children who experienced violence that resulted in serious injury and even death. I have, in these circumstances tried to synthesise the various legal and policy measures that are available in the UK for protection and safety of children as well as assessment of the risks to which they are exposed, for the consideration of the Child Protection Conference on the needs of the children of the Jones Family. The legislative framework for child protection in England and Wales is provided by the Children Act 1989, further amended by the Children Act 2004 (NSPCC, 2010b, p 4). The act defines harm as ill treatment or impairment of physical or mental health or physical, emotional, social, intellectual or behavioural development. The act also enshrines important principles. The paramountcy principle implies that the childs welfare should be paramount for decisions on his or her upbringing. The wishes and feelings of children should also be ascertained before the passing of any order (NSPCC, 2010b, p 4). All efforts should be made for preservation of the home and family links of children. The law also underlines the importance of parental responsibility in the bringing up of children (NSPCC, 2010b, p 4). A number of other acts like the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 also lay down the law on protection of children in different circumstances (NSPCC, 2010b, p 4). Apart from extensive legislation for safeguarding and protecting children, the government has introduced a series of policy measures after the death of Victoria Climbie and the publication of the Laming Report in 2003 (Department of Health, 2003, p 7). The Every Child Matters Programme details governmental policy for ensuring the safety, nourishment, growth and development of all children in the country (Department for Educationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, 2005, p 4). The guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children: a Guide to Inter-Agency Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children defines child abuse and neglect and provides guidance on the action that agencies should take to protect children. The Framework for the Assessment of Children in need and their Families provides guidance to professionals to identify children in need and ascertain the best possible ways of helping such children and their families (NSPCC, 2010a, p 3). The children in the Jones family are being currently challenged by difficult circumstances. Mark, the father has a job that keeps him away from home for long periods and he is thus not really able to help in household work or bringing up the children, except by financial support. He has a history of criminality and domestic violence. Even though it should be considered that he is undergoing an anger management programme in order to overcome his emotional instability. Sue, the mother is just 21 and has already had three children. She also has a history of post natal depression, which could possibly surface again after the birth of David, the youngest child who is not even a month old. Coming from an affluent family, with whom she is estranged for some years, she is obviously unused to the very difficult family circumstances in which she is placed and the responsibilities of a mother of three children. The chances of all three children being neglected is very high in these circumstance s, where the father is not at home most of the time and is trying to overcome his emotional instability and aggressive behaviour and the mother is prone to depression, physically tired and worn out and has been burdened with the responsibilities of caring for and bringing up three young children. The three children in the family face the real danger of physical and emotional neglect. Such neglect could specifically harm their physical, emotional and cognitive wellbeing and development, affect their performance at school, expose them to dangers of under nourishment and illness and severely affect their life chances (Howe, 2005, p 31). Neglected children are also more prone to truant behaviour and substance abuse. John the eldest child already suffers from speech problems, attachment disorders, attention seeking behavioural problems, uncontrolled anger and tendencies for violence. Such a situation could have arisen because of attention deficits in his early childhood years and greater attention being given to his younger sister by his father. John now poses a serious physical threat to his two younger siblings because of his rage and violent disposition. Emma and David are open to the risks of neglect, as well as physical harm. Whilst Emma is the favourite of the family and sha res very good relationships with her parents and may not therefore be exposed to neglect, the condition of the youngest child David is precarious. A premature child who is given to suffering from colic, David needs extra care, support and sustenance, which may clearly be beyond the ability and capacity of Sue, in her frame physical condition and her history of post natal depression. Apart from neglect, which could harm her physical and emotional development at a crucial period in her life, he also faces the threat of physical violence from John, who can well hurt him badly in a fit of rage, if his demands for attention are not met. I feel it to be very obvious that the three children in the Jones family are at considerable risk, all three from neglect and the younger two also from violence. The GIRFEC (getting it right for every child) model provides a new approach for identification and meeting of needs of children. The model places the wellbeing of children and provides a common framework for assessment, planning and intervention across all agencies (Lamey Rattray, 2009, p 2). Whilst the GIRFEC is a comprehensive model, it is specifically focused on taking the whole child approach, placing the child at the centre and keeping children emotionally and physically safe. Its ambit is thus broader than mere child protection (Lamey Rattray, 2009, p 2). It adopts a holistic view and an evidence based approach, wherein the participation and opinions of the child and parents are important for good outcomes. The model has three important components, namely the Wellbeing Indicators, My Word Triangle and the Resilience Matrix, which can be used both separately and together for finding the best solution for children in need (Lamey Rattray, 2009, p 2). The My Word Triangle in particular provides guidance to social workers on what children need from people who look after them. These include (a) everyday care and help, (b) keeping the child safe and (c) being there for the child. These three issues are specifically important for considering the circumstances of the three children of the Jones family (Lamey Rattray, 2009, p 2). 4. Summary and Conclusion This report has been prepared for the Child Protection Case Conference to consider the needs of the children of the Jones family, the extent to which they are being met and what more needs to be done to ensure the safety, development and growth of these children. Assessment of risk and ensuring safety of children is a vital element of current social work theory and practice in the UK. Extant legislation and programmes call upon social workers and other concerned agencies like the education and health services to work in close cooperation and collaboration with each other to ensure the safety and protection of children in need and at risk with the help of specific assessment frameworks, tools and processes. An application of the GIRFEC model reveals that the children of the Jones family could face difficulties on account of their parents not being able to provide adequate everyday care and help, keeping them safe and being there to ensure their physical and emotional care. These circu mstances become more ominous in light of the mothers frail health and past history of post natal depression, the frequent absence of the father from home on account of his work and the violent tendencies and behavioural problems of the eldest child. The conference must consider all these circumstances in order to appropriately assess the needs of the children and the extent to which they are being met and thereafter to plan for appropriate interventionist action. Bibliography BBC News, 2005, Climbie report urges childcare reform, Available at: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in/uk//victoria_climbie/default.stm (accessed February 28, 2011). Birchall Hallett, C., 1995, Working together in Child Protection, London: HMSO. Bodley, A., Risk Assessment and Child Protection, Creative Minds, Available at: www.mylearning.org/learning/science/Child%20Protection.pdf (accessed February 28, 2011). Brandon, M., Howe, H., Dagley, V., Salter, C., Warren, C., 2006, What appears to be helping or hindering Practitioners in Implementing the common assessment Framework and lead, Professional working Child abuse Review, 15: 395-413. Carter, H., 2010, The tragedy of Khyra Ishaqs death, Available at: www.guardian.co.uk//khyra-ishaq-starving-death-background (accessed February 28, 2011). Cleaver, H., Walker, S., 2004, Assessing childrens needs and Circumstances, London: Jessica Kingsley. Department of Health, 2000, Assessing children in need and their families: practice guidelines, London: the Stationery office. Department of Health, 2003, The Victoria Climbie Inquiry report of an inquiry by Lord Laming, Available at: www.dh.gov.uk à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ºÃ‚  Home  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ºÃ‚  Publications (accessed February 28, 2011). Department for Education and skills, 2005, Every Child Matters, Green paper London: HMSO Duncan, C., Jones, S., Brindle, D., 2008, 50 injuries, 60 visits failures that led to the death of Baby P, The Guardian, Available at: www.guardian.co.uk//baby-p-child-protection-haringey (accessed February 28, 2011). Ferguson, H., 2004, Protecting children in Time: child abuse, Child Protection and Consequences of Modernity, London: Palgrave McMillan. Howe, D., 2005, Child Abuse and Neglect: Attachment, Development and Intervention, London: Palgrave Macmillan. Lamey, R., Rattray, M., 2009, The Shetland Guide to GIRFEC, GIRFEC Project Team, Available at: www.shetland.gov.uk/socialwork-health//1GuidetoGIRFEC.pdf (accessed February 28, 2011). Norton, C., 1999, The sad life, grim death and terrible betrayal of Aliyah, 13, independent.co.uk, Available at: www.independent.co.uk à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ºÃ‚  News  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ºÃ‚  UK  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ºÃ‚  Home News (accessed February 28, 2011). NSPCC, 2010a, The child protection system in the UK, National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children, Available at: www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform//child_protection_system_wdf76008.pdf (accessed February 28, 2011). NSPCC, 2010b, An introduction to child protection legislation in the UK, National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children, Available at: www.nspcc.org.uk//child_protection_legislation_in_the_uk_pdf_wdf48953.pdf (accessed February 28, 2011). Unity Injustice, 2005, A Child Protection System so secret it Kills, Available at: www.unity-injustice.co.uk/child_victims.htm (accessed February 28, 2011). Wilson, K., James, A., 2007, The child Protection Handbook, London: Bailliere Tindall Ward, H., 1998, Using a Child development Model to assess the outcomes of Social Work Interventions with Families, Children and Society, 12 (3): 202-211. Appendices Appendix 1 Child Protection Case Conference Based on the Jones Scenario. (To consider to what extent the needs of John, Emma and David are being met). The Jones Family: background January 2010 The Jones family recently moved out of a council flat in city to small town rural area. They are struggling to pay the mortgage on their two bedrooms flat. There is no outside play area, and the flat is accessed via outside stairs. Mark Dad- 25 years old. Mark has a criminal record as a youth offender. He has a history of domestic abuse and is undertaking an anger management program. He is employed as an HGV driver. He has a large extended family. Marks background is working class with poor socio-economic circumstances. Sue Mum 21years old. At age 15 Sue had postnatal depression which was not recognized. She has a poor relationship with her own parents. They are very affluent; Sues mother continually expressed her disappointment in Sue when she was growing up and does not approve of her relationship with Mark. Sue has never worked she is pregnant with her third child. John Son (of Mark and Sue) 6 years old John has severe attachment issues. He is exhibiting behavioural difficulties and has a significant speech delay. He has been identified as requiring Additional Support for Learning. Emma Daughter (of Mark and Sue) 4 years old Emma is the favoured child. She is an easy child to care for and loves going to the nursery where it has been noted that she is developmentally advanced. She has a very good relationship with her dad. The Scenario: sequence of events Scenario January 2010 John starts at the local primary having transferred from a large school in the city. He is in a composite class of 5 and 6 year olds and he is one of the oldest. John has a significant speech delay. March 2010 Records for John have been requested from his previous school but have still to arrive. Meanwhile, his teacher, Mrs Smith is having difficulty managing Johns behaviour. He is very demanding of individual attention and if this is not forthcoming he becomes very angry. He throws things around the classroom and over the past two weeks has hit three younger children. He has also kicked his teacher. He has been reported for shoplifting and has been grounded by his parents for bad behaviour. His anger is exacerbated because he has difficulty in communicating. Additional information April 2010 David was born prematurely last month, and was small for gestational age. He is difficult to feed and is very colicky. He cries a lot and is now 3 weeks old. Following the birth of David, Mary the health visitor has visited the family home to offer support and advice to Sue. Sue present as tired, flat and listless. The house is disorganised. Sue tells Mary that David is a really difficult baby to feed and that he cries constantly. Mark cannot help as his job takes him away from the family home for extended periods of time. On the rare occasions he is at home, he is tired, irritable and sleeps a lot. The situation in the home is not helped by the constant demands of John. However Emma is co-operative happy and helps her mother around the home and with the baby.

Internet Censorship Means No Freedom of Speech -- Argumentative Persua

Picture it: you pick up your phone to read your email. You're expecting a message from a friend, who is sending you some information on breast cancer, but when you check your inbox there is instead a message from the server. It says the message that was sent to you from the address of your friend has been intercepted because it contained indecent material that did not comply with FCC regulations of the Internet. You call your friend only to find that the police have come and taken her away, and she is now facing up to two years in prison and/or up to $100,000 in fines. The message sent by your friend contained the word "breast," which by current FCC standards is indecent, and thus not permitted to be transferred on the Internet. Due to this, your friend is now subject to criminal charges.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sound ridiculous? Unreasonable? Perhaps even a bit scary? It is all three of these things, but further, it is impending reality. This situation is very possible, in the very near future. On February 8, 1996, President Clinton signed the Exon Bill, part of the Communications Decency Act; a bill which makes the possibility of this situation a frightening reality. This bill will allow the government to censor the Internet, by any means it deems necessary. Under the CDA the "seven dirty words", as well as anything the government considers sexually explicit or "indecent", will be banned from the Internet. The CDA, however, will not be enforceable until all appeals made against it by organizations such as the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC), and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), are resolved.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Internet is a worldwide medium for communication and the transfer of information. It is also, theoretica... ...Internet. They also succeeded in doing this without government interference, or threatening our rights as Americans. Further, it does this in a way which keeps parents involved in their child's activities, and preserves the parental right to decide what their child is exposed to. It also ensures that the growth of the Internet is not stunted in any way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If people are educated on this issue, then they will be aware of what is occurring in this conflict, so they will be ready to stand up for their rights. Anyone who is informed on the subject will not want to risk losing their rights or freedom. Further, if there are solutions which will protect children on the Internet that at the same time protect our freedom of speech and the growth of the Internet and all its information, thus appeasing both sides, it is only logical and reasonable that we follow them.

Coroprate Restructuring

Restructuring also conveys the certain information of the business decision to another party. It also can be because of poor performance, hence restructuring loud pull out the business entity from the parent company and make it a standalone company. Most occasions, restructuring is to correct the poor strategic decisions made in the past. The company we are going to talk about is â€Å"Sony† it is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation. Its diversified business is primarily focused on electronics, games, entertainment and financial services sectors.The first form of restructuring include divestitures, it is the sale of a business segment to another party. Sony has decided to sell off its AVIVA line of PC's in a move that effectively takes the Japan based company out of the PC market. This is a result of Sonny's poor sales performance, by doing this the organization get rid of a business entity that was pulling them down and it provides a sharper focus for the manage ment. Hence their shares would be increased as their drop their poor performance sector.Divestitures may arise due to negative synergy arising from poor decisions on past acquisition on poor decisions made during periods of high growth. Much evidence seems to show generally that by announcement of selling companies results in a positive share prices response. Spin off has been done recently by Sony as they have detached a business entity with TTS own assets and liability. It allows the management to focus on their core business. What it does is they debut independent company by detaching part of a parent company's assets and operations.They are trying to spin off their Titration TV. This is because of strong competition from both locally and internationally with Phillips and Samsung as their strong competitors. It allows the shareholders to have shares in both companies. The next method would be Carving Out. This method is very similar Spin off, with the difference being a very tech nical one which is the carving out of shares of the new many is offered to the public. It leads to lower premiums and higher gains for the buyers and for the sellers.They increase the likelihood of successfully closing the deal. Capturing these advantages would require them to look beyond the financial to understand the challenges ahead associated with the change. The carved out company trades as an independent company. Government owned company to private investors. The reason for prevarication is to increase efficiency, individual share ownerships and revenue for the government. In Japan, the Japan Post was a government owned corporation in Japan existed from 003 to 2007.It has over 400,000 employees throughout Japan was the nation's largest employer. As being a government-owned corporation, would allow more efficient and flexible use of the company's funds that would help revivalist Japan's economy, which was recovering from recessions in 1991. Prevarication also prevents corrupti on and patronage. This can be accomplished by the sale or lease. It can be accomplished by the government selling 100% of an enterprise, or selling 51%, or even by selling a minority stake as long as the private sector is given full managerial control.Another major step in restructuring is the leveraged buyout or leveraged restructuring, it would mean the takeover of a company using the acquired firm's assets and cash flow to obtain financing. These transactions are done by conglomerates selling off an unwanted subsidiary to private investors. Lobos also have been financed with high-yield debt or Junk Bonds and have also been done with the interest rate capped at a fixed level and interest costs above the cap added to the principal. For commercial banks, Lobos are attractive because these financing have large up-front fees.They also fill the gap in corporate lending created when large corporations begin using commercial paper and corporate bonds in place of bank loans. Sony used thi s method to acquire Metro-Golden-Mayer on September 23, 2004 which is a good deal for the company as a report suggests that they may reach $1 million to $million in 2005. Private Equity of firms or funds is to raise money from investors to invest the money in privately held companies. The sale of AVIVA to a local private equity fund after several strategic buyers balked at taking on the personal computer business.PC sales have been hurt globally by the growing sales of tablet devices. Worldwide shipments have fallen by 13. 5 per cent over the past two years. Private equity firms will then try to improve the financial results and prospects of the company in the hope of reselling the company to another firm or cashing out via an PIP. In short with the sale of AVIVA too private company, Sony is able to use the fund to focus more on their primary core business as they were having problems with competing with personal computers overseas.However the most common method in restructuring is the laying off of workers. As Japan has lots of financial crisis the biggest lay off happen when they offload its PC business and its plans to lay off 5,000 workers by March 2015. This is very common around the world. This is to conscious use of permanent personnel reduction in an attempt to improve management as one of the preferred routes to turning around declining organization by cutting cost and improving organizational performance as a form to cutting cost.When budget is tightened, many managers will start to cut the training budget thinking that training is a luxury it would make their employees more marketable Hereford leaves the company for the better Jobs. However the layoff of workers is made harder with restrictions of the country. Mergers today are the survival of the fittest. Sony Mobile Communications ABA formerly known as Sony Ericson Mobile ABA. Telecommunications equipment company Ericson under the name of Sony Ericson.Ericson, which had been in the mobile phone ma rket for decades, and was the world's third largest cellular telephone handset marker was struggling with huge losses. This was mainly due to this fire and its inability to produce cheaper phones eke Monika hence the merger with Sony in 2001. Restructuring deals the organization to maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market. In order for Sony to maintains its position as a leader in the electronics industry pushing the limits of innovation with products and experiences exclusive to Sony.They would have to conduct and economic model of the processes of the organization, to give a detailed view of where and the value is created to ensure that resources can be funded to different part of the organization. It allows the organization like Sony to achieve market focus, invent new businesses and change the rules of competition through technology via breakthrough. These are steps to implement to increase market share in organization. A company would be stagnant unless they introduce new market or enhanced strategies to combat competition or to introduce themselves to reach new market.The need to increase asset base may lead to mergers. This will improve the capital of the organization, acquisitions can help an organization by ward off competition. Organizational leaders often find it necessary to change how their units operate for seasons like changing unit priorities, initiating new programs. A successful organizational requires careful advance preparation and planning that addresses programmatic needs, support services required to advance organizational goals and effective workforce planning and communication.Proper communication is very important when it comes to corporate restructuring, the workers should know their limitations and their options. It is very important for the company to follow the guidelines set by the governing country to minimize the PASTEL during their pursuit of corporate restructuring process. The results from the essay have revealed that there has been significant change in profitability post restructuring program.Like Sony, many companies have responded favorably that the corporate restructuring have helped the firms to have an increase in their profitability to make their shareholders happy. Overall the analysis has indicated that Sony have successfully implemented restructuring program. It is suggested that companies at the core level should identify the problems and accordingly plan for restructuring of the required processes for achieving success so hat they can enhance shareholder's value like implement the different processes Sony have implemented.

Employee Motivation †A Short Case Study Essay

Rohit Narang joined Apex Computers (Apex) in November after a successful stint at Zen Computers (Zen), where he had worked as an assistant programmer. Rohit felt that Apex offered better career prospects, as it was growing much faster than Zen, which was a relatively small company. Although Rohit had enjoyed working there, he realized that to grow further in his field, he would have to join a bigger company, and preferable one that handled international projects. He was sure he would excel in his position at Apex, just as he had done in his old job at Zen. Rohit joined as a Senior Programmer at Apex, with a handsome pay hike. Apex had international operations and there was more than a slim chance that he would be sent to USA or the UK on a project. Knowing that this would give him a lot of exposure, besides looking good on his resume, Rohit was quite excited about his new job. Rohit joined Aparna Mehta’s five-member team at Apex. He had met Aparna during the orientation sessions, and was looking forward to working under her. His team members seemed warm and friendly, and comfortable with their work. He introduced himself to the team members and got to know more about each of them. Wanting to know more about his boss, he casually asked Dipti, one of the team members, about Aparna. Dipti said, â€Å"Aparna does not interfere with our work. In fact, you could even say that she tries to ignore us as much as she can.† Rohit was surprised by the comment but decided that Aparna was probably leaving them alone to do their work without any guidance, in order to allow them to realize their full potential. At Zen, Rohit had worked under Suresh Reddy and had looked up to him as a guide and mentor – always guiding, but never interfering. Suresh had let Rohit make his own mistakes and learn from them. He had always encouraged individual ideas, and let the team dicover the flaws, if any, through discussion and experience. He rarely held an individual member of his team responsible if the team as a whole failed to deliver – for him the responsibility for any failure was collective. Rohit remembered telling his colleagues at Zen that the ideal boss would be someone who did not interfere with his/her subordinate’s work. Rohit wanted to believe that Aparna too was the non-interfering type. It that was the case, surely her non-interference would only help him t grow. In his first week at work, Rohit found the atmosphere at the office a bit dull. However, he was quite excited. His team had been assigned a new project and was facing a few glitches with the new software. He had thought about the problem till late in the night and had come up with several possible solutions. He could not wait to discuss them with his team and Aparna. He smiled to himself when he thought of how Aparna would react when he told her that he had come up with several possible solutions to the problem. He was sure she would be happy with his having put in so much effort into the project, right from day one. He was daydreaming about all the praise that he was going to get when Aparna walked into the office. Rohit waited for her to go into her cabin, and after five minutes, called her up, asking to see her. She asked him to come in after tem minutes. When he went in, she looked at him blankly and asked, â€Å"Yes?† Not sure whether she had recognized him, Rohit introduced himself. She said, â€Å"Ok, but why did you want to meet me?† Rohit started to tell her about the problems they were having with the software. But before he could even finish, she told him that she was busy with other things, and that she would send an email with the solution to all the members of the team by the end of the day, and that they could then implement it immediately. Rohit was somewhat taken aback. However, ever the optimist, he thought that she had perhaps already discussed the matter with the team. Rohit came out of Aparna’s cabin and went straight to where his team members sat. he thought it would still be nice to bounce ideas off them and also to see what solutions others might come up with. He told them of all the solutions he  had in mind. He waited for the others to come up with their suggestions but not one of them spoke up. He was surprised, and asked them point-blank why they were so disinterested.  Sanjay, one of the team members, said, â€Å"What is the point in our discussing these things? Aparna is not going to have time to listen to us on discuss anything. She will just give us the solution she thinks is best, and we will just do what she tells us to do; why waste everyone’s time?† Rohit felt his heart sink. Was this the way things worked over here? However, he refused to lose heart and thought that maybe, he could change things a little.  But as the days went by, Rohit realized that Aparna was the complete opposite of his old boss. While she was efficient at what she did and extremely intelligent, she had neither the time nor the inclination to groom her subordinates. Her solutions to problem were always correct, but she was not willing to discuss or debate the merits of any other ideas that her team might have. She did not hold the team down to their deadlines not did she ever interfere. In fact, she rarely said anything at all! If work did not get finished on time, she would just blame her team, and totally disassociate herself from them. Time and again, Rohit found himself thinking of Sureshm his old boss, and of how he had been such a positive influence. Aparan, on the other hand, even without actively doing anything, had managed to significantly lower his motivation levels. Rohit gradually began to lose interest in his work – it had become too mechanical for his taste. He didn’t really need to think; his boss had all the answers.  He was learning nothing new, and he felt his career was going nowhere. As he became more and more discouraged, his performance suffered. From being someone with immense promise and potential Rohit was now in danger of becoming just another mediocre techie. Questions for Discussion 1.  What, according to you, were the reasons for Rohit’s  disillusionment? Answer the question using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. 2.  What should Rohit do to resolve his situation? What can a team leader do to ensure high levels of motivation among his/her team members?

What is Image (a social statement)

Image. What is it? Like anything, different people interpret image in different ways. Hence, image has a varied amount of interpretations, for its definitions. Interpretations of this word include how a person looks, acts, reputation etc. etc. Many more can be added to this list. Definition given by the dictionary, of image is: – † a picture or statue of a person, or the appearance of something as seen in a mirror or through a lens etc. a person or thing that is very much like another reputation† Society in general, takes image as an indicator of what at person like is. Image of a person is interpreted in different ways by society. It maybe how a person physically looks, type of clothes they may where, type of music they may listen to, personality, friends they may have, and so on. An example of this in reality would be if someone saw a person who was wearing baggy clothes, who had long hair and was skating they would deduce they also like rock music, and are ‘moshers', if the person who saw this doesn't like rock music or skating, they would probably not want themselves to be associated with this person all because of the image they have. Everyone presents an image, and the above are the things which society uses to create an image of an individual from what they present. Image and society, why is there a link? In a recent survey carried out, 60% of the population use image and not personality of a individual to decide if they like them, and if so how much. Society and image then leads onto categorisation. Generally society use image to place everyone in a group. Reason for this who knows? It may be people want to know what everyone else is like, and if people group others they can decide on thins like who they like or not, and also people could decide on things like who they want to be with. According to another survey in social behaviour, 70% of the people surveyed admitted to grouping people. The most popular group people come up with to categorize people are ‘Townie and Moshers'. This is a classic example of grouping. ‘Townies', are thought of to listen to dance music or urban music (because they think it's cool), they wear ‘townie gear', which is trackies and other things with huge sport labels written on them, and they boast about smoking weed. Whereas ‘Moshers' are stereotyped as listening to rock (mosher) music, like the colour black, have long hair, wear baggy clothes, take lots of drugs and only sporting activity they may do is skating. Image can be a positive influence because it could provide good role models to the public. People may look up to the image an individual may have, and it may influence them, if the role model is good this could be good for individuals, as it may make them better people. This can also have a negative effect on people, if the role model is bad. Image can also be bad because some may become to conscious about their image that they are presenting, and some people may find it uncomfortable being in public because of this reason. Another reason why image can be bad is that when society categorises, prejudice may be created as people will listen to anything and like or dislike people because of an image they may have, as their obviously will be minority groups, which generally people don't want to exist. People are different so they may be discriminated against, and people would be prejudice against, because they don't fit into usual categories. It is a fact today's society use image and not personality of someone to rate them. It's like a the worlds a huge playground, and one child sees other and immediately shouts out â€Å"you're a geek†, and doesn't become friends with them all because apparently this other child looks like a geek. This point has a negative effect on society. As some people spend too much time worrying about image, also some people are left out, and discriminated because they may have a bad image, but they may still be good people.

Information Systems Project Management Term Paper

Information Systems Project Management - Term Paper Example The benefits of project management are only achievable through effective project management. This is only obtained through a project manager with the following characteristics: performance, knowledge and personal ego. Through these qualities of an effective project manager, project management will deliver counter fold benefits. The manager, client, production team will derive satisfaction from the project. The benefits are but not limited to;†¢ Enhanced delivery of services: Similar strategies used to complete a project are used for other projects. The organization has the opportunity to look at situations.†¢ Positive Team development: The team that successfully manages a project command respect and motivation. Teamwork developed assists in the process of goal setting and as result lead to increased production and customer satisfaction. Smaller goals developed become stepping stones towards fulfillment of the larger goal. This results to the growth of organizational structu re.†¢ Be competitive: A successful project management team gets equal opportunities for other projects.†¢ Flexibility: Project management creates room for mapping out a strategy. Through this option, a manager is in a position to implement a viable strategy for the project. It also offers many ways of solving problems, a process instrumental in mitigating risks. Availability of many formulas and mathematical methods assist teams in deriving at solutions. As a result, the organization team saves time, resources and energy.... Teamwork developed assists in the process of goal setting and as result lead to increased production and customer satisfaction. Smaller goals developed become stepping stones towards fulfillment of the larger goal. This results to the growth of organizational structure. Be competitive: A successful project management team gets equal opportunities for other projects. Flexibility: Project management creates room for mapping out a strategy. Through this option, a manager is in a position to implement a viable strategy for the project. It also offers many ways of solving problems, a process instrumental in mitigating risks. Availability of many formulas and mathematical methods assist teams in deriving at solutions. As a result, the organization team saves time, resources and energy. Risk assessment: Project management ensures that resources are well mobilized as the strategy outlines potential risks and the possible ways of mitigation. Forecasting is simplified so that problems are cons idered before they develop. The problem solving process identifies the problems, weighs viable options, and seeks for viable solutions. Assurance of quality: Through efficiency, quality is increased. Organizational leaders are in a position to display simple to understand and analyze information easily (Kerzner 2013). Example of Projects that would utilize benefit from a project manager and a project information system Organizations have strategic plans that initiate projects. As a result, projects are initiated by either of the following strategic goals: Market demand for a particular product like a car company initiating a project of building fuel efficient vehicles due to shortages in gasoline. Customer request resulting from the needs of a society like

Security Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security Design - Essay Example identified were an inappropriate use of emails in the communication of sensitive business information, the connection of public data, and confidential business information to the same physical network. Improper storing of private data that were only to be found on the servers by the end users and transmission some sensitive business information between servers and clients. For the proper communications of these findings, some policies were formed up by WWTC in the areas. These plans comprised of internet connectivity that was to be separated by the network, classified system; this ensures physical security to prevent any unauthorized access to the detailed information. The other policy introduced was a wide area network. The system made sure that any data that cross wide area network link has to undergo a protection section such as the virtual private network (Berger, 2012). Public servers was another policy initiated, this ensured that configuration of all public servers using Hypertext transfer protocol system connections and acceptance of all valid requests and pass them through the firewall. Site-to-site virtual private network tunnels were also among the policies that were put in place through the findings enabling mutual authentication and protection to all provided devices (Bansal, 2015). WWTC ended the plans with user education whereby they created awareness and training programs on threats and good security practices. Recommendations gave some deliverables on the general approach that the project may take. Among the recommendations pointed out were The protection of valuable assets of the company, determination of general architecture of the organization and development of a list of specific policies that could be applied and along with the rationale. Specific details must be written. Selection of the 12 relevant procedures for the addition in the Security Policy Document has to be reviewed in the written policies (Bansal, 2015). Attacks were classified

Case study #2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

#2 - Case Study Example While this is so, there are those companies that show very little concern about what customers think about the services that they get and this can turn out to be very damaging to not only the reputation of the firm but also the income the firm generates. This paper will be looking at the two companies with both extremes in customer service- Amazon with the best and AT&T with the worst. The paper will also state a recommendation for each company that can help improve their customer service. Amazon has been voted the company with the best customer service the second time in a row. There are particular reasons why the company stands out in its customer satisfaction record. Those who have had to return items they had bought from Amazon agree that indeed the customer service of the company is commendable. Jeff Bezos, the founder of the company, is among the most passionate people when it comes to the satisfaction of the customer. Bezos’ is known for the use of his infamous "empty chair" in all boardroom meetings. Bezos asks that a chair be left empty as that is the spot for the customer. The use of the empty chair reminds the other panel members that the boss in the company is actually the customer and should be considered whenever developing any policies for the business. It is this culture of being customer minded that makes everyone in the firm be willing to serve the customers with high regard. Other than this, Amazon demands that every manager and other employees learn how to interact with the customer so that the entire firm is as customer-centric as possible. Bezos is quoted saying that every member of staff, including himself, has to be able to work at a call center. To make this possible, the CEO has every employee get in touch with the customers even if it is for a few days only. Amazon knows that understanding how the customers view, use, and talk about the products they sell is significant to a business and thus lets every member of

Price bubble Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Price bubble - Essay Example literatures have already emphasized that financial asset markets showed price bubble as an existing phenomenon that shorts selling opportunities, limits price change rules and margins buying opportunities etc. In laboratory marketing analysis, conducted as out-of-class computerized microeconomic theory markets, it has been observed that price is more likely to be bubbled above intrinsic value and then crashed back to intrinsic value too. Price in the third laboratory market also tended to be intrinsic more accurately that sought to have a common price expectation with an asset share. The above mentioned market-laboratory experiment was very important because it has been able to address the potentially critical issues regarding the price bubble and how it is robust to various factors like, 1) substantial increase in group size, 2) inter-trader information existing outside laboratory privacy, 3) non-monetary reward structure etc. The market experiments have used a cash reward system wh ereby small markets with around fifteen traders watching the phenomenon in the market-laboratory. The price bubble phenomenon has resulted consistently with cash-reward, small group and strict privacy lab experiment for little experienced traders. The computerized market laboratory experiment highlighted that people are ready to buy assets at very high prices, though the accurate reason is quite unknown, it has been detailed that those who buy in such high prices perhaps gain profits from such doings by earning dividends or by selling to others. An interesting outcome of the experiment was the approximation of risk-neutral expectation market equilibrium, which was due to that traders in all three model markets began to learn that common market price expectation that is from their expected dividend earning with asset shares.

Wiki Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wiki - Essay Example A number of reasons for businesses to invest in healthy foods in the article include building relations and stronger connections with customers and communities respectively, as demonstrated by Wal-Mart. Disney, Walgreens, and other restaurants have made changes towards healthy foods through reducing sodium, eliminating junk foods, and cutting on fat and calorie content. The fact that businesses will stand to benefit from this arrangement is the reasoning behind the call for them to invest and expand provision o healthy food to meet the cause of their bottom-line while increasing the heath standards in America and consequently reducing obesity rates. The other reason is the need to reduce obesity and health related illnesses whose costs are also borne by businesses indirectly through lower productivity, absenteeism, and directly through payment of hospitalization bills. The other reason behind the call for businesses to venture into healthy food business is the costs they have to bear from the impacts of obesity and health related illnesses. The result of measures to promote healthy living by different people in society is 13% reduction in obesity rates of elementary school-aged kids in Mississippi, fall in obesity rates in New York, Philadelphia, and California. However, the goal is far from accomplished, and businesses are challenged to give â€Å"American families better information and healthier choices†. Obesity being a universal theme, Dhruv Khullar writes on availability of junk foods cheaply than healthy foods and measures to reverse the trend in â€Å"Why Shame won’t stop obesity†. Khullar (2012) explores high availability of â€Å"high-fat, high-calorie, and low nutrient foods†, as the main causes of increased obesity and associated diseases in America. He delves into the issue of obesity advertising and shaming

Exploration Notes- as Level Drama and Theatre Studies Essay Example for Free

Exploration Notes- as Level Drama and Theatre Studies Essay 1) Discuss and compare the exploration of characterisation in Metamorphosis by Steven Berkoff and (A Doll’s House). Draw your own practical understanding of the skills used including use of language and voice to portray character. In our practical sessions of Modelling Gregor in â€Å"Metamorphosis†, we thought about how we would physically see Gregor. To do this, we had to individually create the shape of Gregor with our bodies. We all started off thinking about it really literally- â€Å"How would a beetle look?† rather than thinking about how our body represented Gregor and his feelings towards society. We then expanded on our thoughts about Gregor and then tried to empathise with him and think about how we would look if we were in his situation. My finished individual beetle was crouched/curled up on the floor on my side with my head down, hidden away- this represented Gregor’s vulnerability (a beetle on his back is helpless and cannot move, but a beetle has a hard shell which protects him; I was half and half because with my head down, I didn’t want to be seen by society and I was ashamed of what I had become however with my front/underside slightly showing, I was exposed to society and helpless but because you could see my back/shell, I was half protected by family- I think that throughout the show this would change and I would end up completely on my back because the family does end up abandoning/killing Gregor) , one of my arms was in a jerky/awkward position and the other was outstretched away from my body- the jerky arm represented Gregor changing and being abnormal and different, the outstretched arm however showed that I was reaching for someone to help and save me from what I was turning into; my legs were limp, lifeless and in an awkward shape to show that I was, again, turning into something new and weird but could not move and physically get away from it. After we made our individual beetle, we then worked in partners and modelled them into Gregor. I decided to use props for this (I used a chair). Hana (my model Gregor) ended up being positioned on her side, with her head under the chair and one of her arms reaching out onto it, her legs were crooked and awkward to show that she couldn’t move from her pain. After that, we raced our â€Å"beetles†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Hana lost.. but this showed that Gregor was in a good position because he found it difficult to manoeuvre himself and get away from what was happening to him- his movement was limited and awkward when he did so. Hana then modelled me, she had me stood up with my legs wide open (showing vulnerability) and one of my legs turned in and that knee bent (which looked awkward, abnormal and hard to move), my head was dropped and my stomach was contracted in. She placed my arms out to the sides in awkward positions, which was quite physically demanding as I was holding the position. We then used these positions for a scene of Metamorphosis. The dream scene; we incorporated our ideas of how Gregor felt and moved into this scene. We decided to have a narrator and an actor onstage being Gregor. I tried to capture the essence of Gregor’s franticness yet vulnerability in the way I directed Hana as Gregor. I did this by changing the speed and dynamics of how she was moving; this matched the way I was narrating as I also changed the tempo, dynamics and pitch of my voice to really capture how Gregor’s character felt. To create the family we thought about the physical features of a beetle and applied them to the metaphors of the family. We ended up putting Mr Samsa in the middle, seeing as he is the heart of the family; we then had Gregor again in the middle with his arms over Mr Samsa almost saying that he is protecting him and the family with his income but he is still exposed to society and therefore vulnerable. We had Mrs Samsa knelt in front of Gregor and Mr Samsa looking straight forward with a blank expression almost as if she hasn’t got much to say about the situation and is just disregarding Gregor. Greta was at the very front of the beetle as the antenna, looking out for Gregor and being his sense of feeling. The legs of Gregor were made up of society, but reaching out and away from the beetle and from Gregor. We also (as a practical exercise) held hands as a whole group and twisted ourselves into a character from the play each†¦ this ended up looking abnormal, as the family’s situation is and a lot of it also looked quite painful but we were as one as a unit, as the family is. In order to characterise Nora in a Doll’s House, we used the techniques of Stanislavski because A Doll’s House is a much more naturalistic play compared to Metamorphosis. We started with a focus exercise in which we lay down on the floor and concentrated only on our breathing and our body contact with the floor. We then got thought about some key words to describe Nora’s character and tried to focus on each of them individually, letting each emotion overwhelm our bodies. We then were counted down to stand up and walk around the room as Nora, showing her feelings through non- verbal communication. We also created some tableaux of the family in a dolls house. For this we used visual, aural and spatial techniques. 2) Discuss and compare the Visual, Aural and Spatial elements and the use of non-verbal communication techniques to present issues and ideas in both plays studied. Make reference to your practical work. Visual, aural and spatial elements either have an iconic or symbolic reference. Iconic is always visual, for example a prop; it is iconic because it is what it is and only serves its primary function (e.g. a stool is a stool and is used for sitting on etc.) However a symbolic reference is something that represents something and has a metaphor behind it (e.g. a chair could be symbolic for a particular person). Metamorphosis is an extremely abstract play and the visual, aural and spatial techniques used are very important. The play is commonly set with Gregor at the back on a platform above everyone else, slowly becoming more and more deformed. This is a very visual thing and represents the time’s changing and matters are slowly getting worse and worse for the family. The fact he is higher up than everyone else as well could also symbolise the fact he is hanging over everyone’s head and is a burden on the family. His height could also represent his status and the fact he is the cause for everything happening on stage and when he changes, everything else does as well. Another common way of positioning Gregor is to have scaffolding angling up to the back of the stage like this: This gives perspective; it also makes Gregor look further away but because of the angle, you are drawn in, giving a stronger emotional impact on you as an audience member. The scaffolding itself makes the whole aesthetic of the performance seem more skeletal; which Gregor is also slowly becoming. It is also, obviously, very structured which contradicts how the family’s situation is in the play. In the script it says that every prop is mimed other than 3 black stools places equidistantly of each other for the family to use. I think these proxemics show how the family are as a unit and detached from Gregor. In order to explore and interpret this, we created a series of 10 tableaux. In these 10 tableaux, we used visual, aural and spatial elements to show the subtext of the plot- we mainly focussed on the family and how Gregor’s change affected the family. We used a ladder laid down on its side for scaffolding in which Gregor spent a lot of the time in various awkward ways, becoming more and more deformed and trapped as the tableaux progressed. We thought we should only use the organic sounds from our movement and the ladder for our performance to represent the tension and how awkward the situation/plot/subtext was. In the changeover of each tableau, we decided to move a chair gradually towards the back of the stage to represent Gregor slowly distancing from his family. One element of these tableaux I was quite proud of was the proxemics of each member of the family compared to Gregor and the ladder/scaffolding. This is said ladder; as you can see, there is a divide across it. We used this as a barrier stopping the family from getting to Gregor; apart from in one tableau where we â€Å"broke† this barrier and Greta reached out to Gregor through the partition. Gregor was slowly becoming more and more deformed into the corner during the tableaux. Greta reaching over through the barrier to Gregor. Mrs Samsa reaching over to Greta trying to stop her from â€Å"breaking the barrier†. Mr Samsa: Back turned to Mrs Samsa and Greta (and obviously Gregor, wanting no part of it) Gregor was slowly becoming more and more deformed into this corner during the tableaux. We also used visual, aural and spatial techniques when studying A Doll’s House. Unlike Metamorphosis being abstract, A Doll’s House is much more realistic than Metamorphosis and therefore uses lots of props which are all in one way or another, symbolic of something and metaphorical. As a class we discussed the characters and props and what they may metaphorically represent: * Christmas Tree- The family’s relationships falling apart simultaneously with the pine needles falling off the tree. It could also show that looks can be deceiving because of the fact that while this tree is looking beautiful, the family is deteriorating. * Door- Freedom when Nora leaves. Trouble when she enters from the unknown outside world. * Dr Rank- Society hiding their decay. * Money- Power and all things bad and poisonous. * Nanny- The calm, security and support of Nora and the children. * â€Å"Skylark†- Nora is just a pretty singing bird with no other purpose than looking beautiful. Also the fact that a skylark cannot speak words, this is reflected in Nora; she is not allowed an opinion or it is not heard. * Stove- The characters always go back to it (especially Nora), this could stand for support and forgiveness, the warmth of friendship and loyalty because it is always there. * Macaroons- Nora’s deceit. * Lamp- The light of truth. * The Doll’s House- Nora is a kept woman, everyone’s play thing†¦or so they assume. It is actually Nora who plays with and manipulates the characters around her. Again, looks can be deceiving. Another way we explored visual, aural and special elements in A Doll’s House was when we studied the Tarantella scene. A tarantella is a traditional Italian folk dance. It gets its name from the venomous spider, the tarantula and it is supposed that when one gets bitten by this spider, the victims needed to engage in a frenzied dance in order to prevent death or disease, using very rhythmical music. Now, in context with A Doll’s House, I believe that the reason a Tarantella is danced by Nora is because she is trying to rid herself of the poison from Torvald, Krogstad and maybe even Dr Rank; or she could be trying to rid herself from lies she’s told as this is her poison. We re-enacted the tarantella scene with the proper script. We played with spatial awareness of characters, use of voice and visual effects. Nora’s movement gets gradually more and more frantic and her speech also more frantic and louder and high pitched. Torvald moves with purpose but in a much more organised and authoritative way compared to Nora; he is always keeping his eyes on her and making sure she does it ALL correctly. Mrs Linde comes in from side stage quite discretely, says her line to Nora then moves slowly and almost mysteriously to a chair in the LDF corner. Dr Rank, playing the piano, cannot keep his eyes off Nora but is fairly wary of Torvald’s presence so near him. Nora used a shawl while she was dancing which added to the visual effects and at the end of the dance she threw the shawl on the floor as if her freedom of dance had gone and the poison had come back. We then performed our own interpretive dance for the subtext of the tarantella and the whole play without any script work. We started with Torvald controlling Nora, almost as a puppeteer- for this we used music box doll music. The music then ran into Kashmir by Bond which starts with quite a distorted wave of sound which we used to show Nora slowly changing and fighting back with Torvald. Throughout the dance, Nora got stronger and less poisoned- instead, the poison was transferring into the other characters. After Nora had kicked Torvald to the floor, Mrs Linde came in and started controlling him alongside Torvald; after having liaised with Nora, she became poisoned and slowly deteriorated to the floor. Dr Rank then came into the picture, stepped over Torvald to get to Nora. They danced together until she pushed him away and transferred the poison. Finally, Nora ended up sat down on the floor, looking around almost like a child who had just broken all of her toys. Aurally, there is one very poignant moment in A Doll’s House where the door is slammed at the end by Nora. This gives the play a final point of closure where Nora has gone and has gone for good. Similarly in Metamorphosis, when the apple is thrown into Gregor’s back, this is a definitive sound of the end of the main plot. 3) Evaluate your understanding of the practitioners studied and their influences on Metamorphosis. Use your interpretation notes to aid this question making reference to the practitioners, playwright, and your own practical exploration. Leslie Steven Berkovitch, better known as Steven Berkoff, was born on the 3rd August 1937 to Russian Jews. He came from a poor family and because of their descent; he never fitted in as a child and found it hard to be a part of a group of friends. Growing up in the East End of London is a gritty, tough time for most people let alone someone of the likes of Berkoff. He was a badly behaved child and got kicked out of school a lot. You could argue he was the original â€Å"East Ender† until he then moved to New York- he lived in a 1 bedroom flat, shared with 3 other families (who were also outsiders in New York). Wherever he travelled, he could never fit in and never found anywhere to call home. He grew up to resent his family and moved back to London at age 13. As an outsider, a Russian Jew living in London, he wanted to be a gangster. He was in a stage of identity crisis where didn’t know where to belong and after being so badly influenced and behaved, he ended up in a young offenders prison which obviously made him extremely angry! After this, he changed his name to Berkoff because he didn’t want to be seen as a Jew or associated with his roots. He brought a whole new movement to British playwriting in British society. These plays he wrote commented on equality and people- they were often based in the home. When he came out of prison, he decided to go over to Europe and learn the skill of tailoring like his father had done. During his stay, he was given the book â€Å"Metamorphosis† by Franz Kafka. When he read this, he could instantly make connections between himself and Gregor. After this, he went back to the East End and started writing plays. Unlike his fellow playwrights John Osbourne and Edward Bond, he believed drama should still be abstract. Berkoff was influenced by Greek theatre; he was a â€Å"Megalomaniac of theatre styles† who loved over exaggeration and the use of masks to rid people of their identity. He loved the use of chorus (voices together) and poetic verse because it takes things out of context. I was inspired by Brecht and his political (borderline social) take on drama and the use of gestus and satire. He also like Artaud and his theatre of cruelty and the way he used the senses and sounds to put over metaphorical messages. He then travelled to France and worked under Lecoq who was a mime artiste and physical theatre worker and trained with him until he decided to move back to London. When he got back to London, he built up his manifesto of theatre. TOTAL THEATRE. Total theatre Greek theatre (chorus, unison, exaggeration), theatre of cruelty (loud sounds, harsh, gritty images and metaphors) and epic theatre (Brecht- teaches a message, gestus, stereotypes, alienation). Berkoff moulded all these ideas together and created his characters as comic and caricatures. Using the whole of the body was very important to him as he was an extremely physical director, well demonstrated with the character of Gregor in Metamorphosis. As a practitioner, Berkoff also wrote plays as well as acted and directed. He liked using lots of language and words (almost Shakespearian). He was extremely articulate and using beautiful language he talked about the gritty East End and reality of life. To put Berkoff’s views into practice, we had to pretend to be in love with a chair. We exaggerated our love and feelings and the chair was like a metaphor for our lover. We then had to flip our mood and become angry with the chair; it got us all to think how people would stereotypically act with someone you loved and then hated. We also had to pretend we were at a picnic on our own, slowly becoming more and more exaggerated with our eating and drinking, and gradually more grotesque. It really got us to focus into it and get into it, so when it was time to â€Å"fake wretch†, I actually felt physically sick! We also practiced slow motion. This was very physically demanding, like how Steven Berkoff would have directed. It was very important to control your movements but not forget that when you sped up the movements, they should look exactly the same as the slow ones. 4) Evaluate your understanding of the practitioner studied and his influence on A Doll’s House. Use your interpretation notes to aid this question making reference to the practitioners, playwright, and your own practical exploration. Henrik Ibsen was born in Norway in 1828 and died in 1906. He was from a well to do Merchant family, however his father’s fortunes took a significant turn for the worse and he ended up a moody, nasty man and turned to alcoholism which he then took out on his family. Ibsen subsequently, only wrote about money and marriage as this was influenced from his own life. His plays were seen as scandalous to many of his era because they were always touching on sensitive subjects like human rights. This then influenced many other playwrights and novelists such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller and James Joyce. He is one of the founders of modernism in theatre. During his time, despite failing to achieve success as a playwright, he gained a lot of practical experience at the Norwegian theatre company. His play â€Å"A Doll’s House† is a realistic drama that highlights the cultural conflicts of the 19th century. The play was very controversial when it was first published as it was sharply critical of 19th century marriage norms. Her ended up having to change the ending of the original script because the leading actress didn’t like the idea of having to act out abandoning her children. It also manifests Ibsen’s concerns for women’s rights and human rights in general. This was widely considered as a landmark in the development of what would soon become a highly prevalent genre of theatre- REALISM. Realism was consequently realised. It wasn’t however until the likes of Stanislavski came along that realism became so well known and loved. He wanted a sense of realism in his work and he wanted his actors to really connect with their character. In his eyes, the actors WERE the characters. He believed REAL ACTORS=REAL ACTING. We used Stanislavski’s techniques to get into our roles when studying A Doll’s House. We began with a focus exercise, lying on the floor and zoning out our thoughts. We then thought about our character and let their feelings overwhelm our own like Stanislavski would have got his actors to. We then connected with their emotions, felt how they felt and immediately after, acted out a short scene between Nora and Torvald. This helped us all enormously because got us to lose out inhibitions and focus entirely on the story, situation and emotions of the characters. 5) Discuss the Social, Historical, Cultural and Political content of the texts studied and compare the impact on an audience and on yourself as a student of drama. In Metamorphosis, the social, historical and cultural background is made apparent in a number of ways throughout the play. Franz Kafka (the author of the original novel) took his inspiration for the characters from his own relationship between himself and his father. Unforgettable images of dislocation seem to represent both the madness of the modern world and his own desperate neurosis. Similarly, Berkoff wasn’t very close with his father. Practitioners like Brecht and Artaud influenced his work- this is clearly visible in Metamorphosis as he took Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty and gave it Brecht’s Epic Theatre attributes. Berkoff’s own unique style created this play incorporating his personal passion of mime and the genre of expressionism. Acknowledging what I know about both Berkoff and Kafka, it is blatent that the Social, Cultural, Historic and Political aspects in terms of the two writers were their personal experiences of suppression from society, the culture they were brought up in (Kafka brought up in the a Jewish community and Berkoff brought up in the lower class and status he was born into by Russian Jews). Metamorphosis can be seen as a reaction against society and its demands. Gregors physical separation could represent his alienation and understandable desire. He was crushed by authority and routine and had been imprisoned by social and economic demands: Just dont stay in bed being useless . . .† It prevents the forthcoming rebellion of the son against the father. Gregor had become strong as a result of his fathers failure. He destroyed his fathers self-esteem and took over the fathers posts and duties within the family. After the catastrophe, the same sequence takes place in reverse: son becomes weak, and father kills him. Gregor is shown as a symbol of anxiety and alienation who is a lonely character, isolated in his own mind from the community and true friendship (much like Kafka and Berkoff). Looking at where Gregor’s values were anchored: servant to the needs of an oppressive boss in order to meet the needs of a family that continuously exploits him. The metamorphosis was inevitable. Metamorphosis shows the views and attitudes of society. It isn’t necessarily the one we live in today, but looking at it from a historical point of view it could have been representing the society in the nineteen hundreds (1915) when metamorphosis was first published. Kafka was born in Germany and could be referring to the time of the war, and how the Jewish communities were discriminated against. In A Doll’s House, patriarchal ideals were supported and reinforced by a social structure in which women had very little political or economic power. They were economically, socially, and psychologically dependent upon men and especially dependent upon the institutions of marriage and motherhood. Motherhood within marriage was considered a woman’s highest possible achievement. It was a social responsibility, a duty to society, and therefore, a full-time job. Mothering was no longer something that came naturally, but was something that had to be learned. High infant mortality rates, particularly in urban areas, were solely blamed on mothers. Working class mothers were labeled neglectful, when in truth they struggled with both child care and feeding a family. The plot concerns the collapse of a middle class marriage. It sparked debates about women’s rights and divorce. It was considered innovative and daring because of its focus on psychological tension instead of external action. It also created a new acting style that required emotion be conveyed through small, controlled gestures, shifts in action, and pauses and it was groundbreaking in that it caused drama to be viewed as social commentary and not just entertainment. For me, I think that these factors in both plays have different effects on me because in A Doll’s House, the living situation is so much more common these days compared to the monstrosity it was back when it was written. I feel like I can however relate to Nora and how she’s feeling because she is quite feministic like myself. I become quite confused when thinking about how Metamorphosis affects me because it’s obviously a very abstract play but I can empathise with Gregor and moreover Greta because she just wants to help her brother but the higher members of the family won’t let her.