The movie Josie and the Pussycats

Attention Getter: Has anyone here seen the movie Josie and the Pussycats from 2001? It’s okay if you haven’t, I don’t blame you. Relate to Audience: Behind all the superb acting and catchy music, however, lies a highly controversial and interesting topic. That would be subliminal messaging, and that’s what I’ll be talking to you about today. Thesis: Subliminal messaging has been a controversial method of manipulation for years. Preview: I will talk about the different forms of subliminal messages, I’ll tell you about how influential they can be, and I will describe some of the most controversial examples throughout history. Transition: So let’s start by exploring the types of subliminal messages. Body I. MP1: Subliminal messages can be either audio or visual. According to Webster’s dictionary, the word â€Å"subliminal† is defined as â€Å"existing or functioning below the threshold of consciousness†. Basically, this means that your body can sense a subliminal message but it won’t be transferred into consciousness; it’s sensation without perception. Audio subliminal messages can be achieved by hiding the message at a volume too low to pick up. Other sounds are played above these messages to mask their identity. Another more famous form of audio subliminal messaging is known as â€Å"backmasking†. It often involves music that, when played backward, sends a different message than when played forward. This form of subliminal message was responsible for a wave of hysteria beginning in the 1970s as the media claimed that numerous songs hid satanic messages behind their lyrics. On the other hand, there are visual subliminal messages. These can take a couple different forms as well. An image (generally a word) can be quickly flashed and taken away before the subject can consciously perceive what it says. The image is often flashed repeatedly at this rapid pace through something like a commercial. Subliminal images can also be present as a part of other images. An example of this would be a word clearly spelled out in the clouds on an advertisement or details of a picture that suggest something else. Transition: Now that you know the basics of subliminal messaging, let’s explore how they’re used. II. MP2: MISSING An April 2010 New York Times article provides an interesting example. â€Å"New York State's health commissioner†¦ Dr. Richard F. Daines, was recently driving down Interstate 15 in Utah, his home state, when he came across four billboards in a row that beamed a subliminal message at him, and not the one the advertisers intended. † The repetitive billboards contained phrases that subliminally suggested a healthier lifestyle rather than the consumption of the soda it advertised. As with any subliminal message, there is no telling how it will affect the subject. In the Handbook of Consumer Psychology from 2009, Haugtvedt et. al state, â€Å"Subliminal advertising is, at best, a very weak force. However, there is evidence that subliminally presented stimuli can influence behavior and cognition. † It just may not be the intended behavior. Transition: Now that we have seen how subliminal messages can be used, let’s examine a few famous cases. III. MP3: The most controversial cases of subliminal messaging surround the fields of politics and music. George Bush’s 2000 political campaign was under scrutiny for displaying the word â€Å"RATS† while talking about one of Al Gore’s plans. The ad said â€Å"bureaucrats†, but these four letters flashed on the screen independently, creating an uproar. It was written off as a mere coincidence by the creator of the ad, but was taken off of television nonetheless. Heavy metal music is often scrutinized as a source of violence in adolescents, but the 1990 case of young James Vance and Raymond Belknap suggested it influenced suicide as well. According to Philips and Cogan of the 2009 Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music, â€Å"subliminal messages in the song â€Å"Better by You, Better Than Me† [by Judas Priest] †¦ allegedly had influenced the victims' actions† to commit suicide. The case was eventually dropped, but its impact was great. Signal Conclusion: As you have seen, subliminal messaging has been a controversial method of manipulation for years. Summary: I talked about the different forms of subliminal messaging. I also discussed how influential they can be. I followed up with some examples that have created controversy in recent years. Lasting thought: I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about a topic that really interests me. You’re now free to go play all your music backwards and see what really happens†¦ Questions (15 POINTS) Does the preview adequately map out the main points covered in the speech and is it in the right format? 2 points) I think it does a decent job at mapping out the main points. The second point could use some work, she says it’s about how influential subliminal messages are, then in the paragraph quotes a psychology book that says they are â€Å"†¦ at best, a very weak force†¦ †, and in the transition she says it’s a bout how they are used. A little confusing. Also, for your class, it’s missing signposts. Does the summary adequately review the main points covered in the speech and is it in the right format? (2 points) Same as in the preview, not sure about point two. Other than that it looks good. Also, signposts again. Does the speaker include smooth transitions between all of the MPs? (2 points) Yes. Except point the transition into MP2, to me the paragraph is really about when subliminal messages gone wrong; to make that clear she could say, â€Å"Now that you know the basics of subliminal messaging, let’s explore how not to use them. † At least one MP is missing a clear MP sentence. Write a MP sentence for that section. (4 points) MP2: In advertising, subliminal messages are often a disaster. Overall, what is your assessment of the organization of this speech (be concrete in your answer). (5 points) Overall, the speech is well organized. Main point two is the only area of the speech that really needs work. Though the information in the paragraph is interesting, her point is unclear. I would switch sub-point one and two. Also, take out the second quote, as it can be easily paraphrased, and add in details of what the billboards actually say, that way it makes sense to the listener. Possibly something like this: II. MP2: In advertising, subliminal messages are often a disaster. In the Handbook of Consumer Psychology from 2009, Haugtvedt et. al stated, â€Å"Subliminal advertising is, at best, a very weak force. However, there is evidence that subliminally presented stimuli can influence behavior and cognition. † The problem with these messages is that it is difficult to tell how it will affect the subject. Sometimes subliminal messages effect the viewer in the opposite way that the advertiser intended it to. An April 2010 New York Times article describes an instance where several billboards for a soda company suggested that viewers should choose a healthier lifestyle, rather than consuming their soda. (fill in with actual content of the ad) (The advertiser intended the message to be†¦ however to some it was perceived as†¦ As shown in this example, subliminal messages are not the best choice when promoting a product. Transition: Now that we have seen how subliminal messages can be misused, let’s examine how they can be successfully used (at least to stir up controversy. ) III. MP3: The most famous cases of subliminal messaging surround the fields of politics and music. Extra Credit (3 POINTS) Explain the difference between a prelim outline, a full sentence outline, and a keyword outline. A prelim outline is the base of a full sentence outline, it has a thesis, transitions, main points, a few sub-points and a conclusion. Add more detail, more sub-points, an attention getter and a lasting thought and you have your full sentence outline. The full sentence outline should be written in complete sentences and include everything you plan to discuss in the speech. The keyword outline is what you take up with you when you give the speech. I should contain no full sentences, besides the thesis and quotes and statistics that need to be worded in a specific way. It should only include a few words per line that can help you stay on track if you get lost during your speech.

College Pressures

College Pressures In the article, College Pressures, William Zinsser shows parents the burdens that college students have while they are in school. In the essay he states the four pressures that the students face: economic, parental, peer, and self-induced. The reader can be easily confused when Zinsser first begins the essay. It starts off with someone writing notes to someone else, but who is speaking? Zinsser then follows this by fully explaining who is writing the notes, a student, and who he is talking to, his dean.He is explaining that the student is full of pressure and feels he cannot take it anymore. Zinsser makes the essay move along smoothly with the use of rhetorical questions and then answers them to prove a point he is making. The classical appeal Zinsser uses in College Pressure is ethos. He is telling the parents what is going on in the minds of the students and the pressures they build up for themselves. College Pressure is written in a fairly straightforward manner. Zinsser explains the situations without using such terminology that only college professor can comprehend.He also uses understandable metaphors that make the reading more interesting. For example, when he explains that no one is to blame for the pressures, he says, â€Å"Poor students, poor parents. They are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. † This is a classification and division essay. Throughout it, Zinsser talks about what the pressures of the students are; economic, peer, parental, and self-induced. He then separately explains how each of the pressures effects the students. Zinsser speaks in a way that makes the reader want to continue reading.He is persistent in informing the reader about the pressures and tries very hard to get his point out to the parents. It may seem that throughout the essay, Zinsser sees the students in a totally negative way. He realizes this and states it to the reader. He tells the parents, â€Å"I have painted too d rab a portrait of today’s students, making them seem a solemn lot. † This is not his purpose at all. He is trying to explain that college is not a time to have all these extreme pressures that the students induce on themselves.He ends this essay in a way that shows the parents that lots of people go to college and change their paths several times before actually choosing what they want to be. He does this as a way of saying that it is alright to go to college unsure of what you want to be. Things will work out in the end. William Zinsser is just trying to let parents know that college students have enough on their minds and they don’t need their parents giving them a hard time about what to do with their lives. For the sake of their children, he wants the parents to be as supportive as possible.

Importance of Educational Essay for Students

The LA Times recently ran an article on the decline of field trips in schools, especially since the establishment of No Child Left Behind. Under scrutiny and being analyzed for revision, the No Child Left Behind act has been accused of forcing teachers to focus on preparation for standardized tests at the expense of the overall learning experience. In essence, they will be so busy teaching the children to memorize facts that they will fail to teach them to learn. The article in the Times, written by Seema Mehta, suggests that funding for field trips has declined due to the focus on standardized learning. The teachers featured in the article worry that the educational experience suffers with the decline in field trips.According to the article, there are groups who have recognized the decline and, believing field trips to still be a valuable component to a child's education, have found ways around the problem. Museums have tailored and enhanced their exhibits to comply so well with the standardized requirements that administrators are more willing to include the trips into their schedules. Target was also moved to action, creating a grant program for educators for the purpose of field trips.Perhaps the first and best intervention for this dilemma will be for parents and educators to continue to champion the value of extra-classroom experience for a child's learning environment. If field trips continue to decline in the elementary levels, perhaps educational tours at the secondary and college level will gain momentum. My first trip out of the country was to Colombia, South America, one year after graduating from high school. Possibly the most reluctant student on the journey, I believe now I had the most to learn. That trip awakened me to life in a way I had never imagined. The unfamiliar sights and sounds stirred my senses

Essay in Managerial Economics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

In Managerial Economics - Essay Example In the banking industry therefore, these relationship in governance may be quite complicated in the sense that the regulatory oversight is very likely to compromise the alignment of incentives. Several arguments have been advanced to suggest that the huge payment packages to the executive emanate from the influence of powerful managers who design the payments as well as extracting rents from companies. On the other hand, some argue that the large pay package for the executives is a result of optimal contracting in a market that is fairly competitive especially for talents in management. The importance of regulators as Berger et al. (2000) argue is to evaluate the bank holding condition. The supervisor analyze firm on the basis of financial conditions and risk management as well as present a bank with an assessment that is confidential. The issue of supervisory rating is related to executive compensation in banks, in that weaker ratings are closely related to intensive outside monitor ing by the regulators. As such, the most favorable executive compensation design can be developed from a trade-off between risk shifting and perk consumption both of which are agency problems that the executives are faced with. Risk shifting can be said to be the risky behavior that managers undertake because of an incentive based compensation or reward. Perk compensation on the other hand, is consuming perks to the detriment of shareholders especially when there is little or no incentive based compensation for the managers. In instances where there is strong outside monitoring by the regulators, the limit risk usually shift on the managers part paid equity, consequently, an optimal design of executive compensation is achieved with improved sensitivity of pay for performance. Consequently, regulatory monitoring is capable of increasing the risk adverse behavior on the part of the executive. It therefore follows that in order for the executive to perform, their payment must be relate d to their performance. The banking industry is a unique sector in the sense that it must be able to operate within the regulatory confines (Sierra et al. 2006). The importance of government regulation cannot there be overemphasized. This is because the deposit insurance as well as system of payment ensures that the government can effective make a claimant on the assets of a bank. Discussion In the current global financial crisis, there are several causes that have been on the spotlight to explain the state. This causes as advanced include: the guiding philosophy for the global neo liberalism, the increase in the number of the subprime mortgages, and also the presence of the real estate market that is uncontrolled. That notwithstanding, it is the contention of this paper that there is more to current status than the aforementioned causes and that the main contributor to the current crisis has its roots in the problem of incentive. According to Fee & Hadlock (2003), an incentive can be defined in simple terms as a way of convincing persons to do less of the bad things and more of the good ones. It goes without saying that incentives form the basis of corporate life, especially in instance where the executives are involved, understanding them can be a key factor in addressing almost any riddle in an organization. However, the current corporate governance

Discussion Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Discussion - Article Example terest groups should only be a particular group that feels it has been neglected but instead American society should consider each and every individual as worthy of special interest (Bartleby.com 1). One of the most interesting aspects in Marc Cooper and Greg Goldin’s article â€Å"Some People Don’t Count’ is the racial aspect that the authors brought out. The two argue that the Los Angeles riots were largely the fault of Chief Daryl Gates who did little to put in place fair measures to ensure that the riots did not occur in the first place (Cooper & Goldin 1). Arrests were distinctly racial in nature as evidenced by the fact that the large majority of men who were arrested were from the Black and Latino community. The media did little to calm racial tensions constantly referring to these communities as violent. Another interesting aspect is the fact that the black leadership also did not do their part to provide support to the black community leaving gay organisations to do the large amount of encouraging activism (Cooper & Goldin

Re-victimisation of Holocaust Survivors in the Contemporary Filmic Essay

Re-victimisation of Holocaust Survivors in the Contemporary Filmic Landscape - Essay Example .. ever cut me as sharply, deeply, instantaneously† (Shandler 1999, 212). Susan Sontag reveals in this statement that Holocaust victims are chronically re-victimised by the manner they are represented in films. This paper is an attempt to discuss Sontag’s argument in relation to the documentary film Night and Fog. Night and Fog by Alain Resnais Night and Fog uses a French storyteller alongside contemporary perspectives and archival film recordings of the concentration camps. The documentary film also hosts several still photographs (Knobler 2008). A major issue explored in the film is the opposition between the desolated, wretched camps at present and the different atrocities they witnessed in the 1940s. A secondary issue is the manner in which the atrocious Nazis were not inherently distinct from other human beings in most cases. The documentary film is sketchy, and not strictly sequential. It opens up with vivid footages of present-day camp sites, a harmless environmen t populated with rubbles, abandoned buildings, and wild flowers. An unforgettable episode at the onset displays how the entry to the concentration camp looked like to a World captive (Aufderheide 2007). With a measured narrative style, the initial part of the film progresses from the first instances of Nazi power to arrest all over Europe, and the appalling realities of camp existence. Sprinkled with gruesome images from the 1940s are several photographs of present-day camps. They look like threadbare artefacts of a historic period. The last part of the documentary film emphasises the concentration camps as places of inhumane events and mass slaughter. Himmler then appears to readdress the intention of the concentration camps (Shandler 1999). The horrendous images of mass extermination are documented and shown in various ways: containers loaded with victims’ heads, partially incinerated remains in funeral pyres, and signs of struggles and pain on the inner entrails of the gas chambers. A haunting aerial photograph of a concentration camp in the 1940s confers a ghostly feeling of the immensity of the whole venture (Aufderheide 2007). The documentary film ends with images of the concentration camps being freed, and the perpetrators facing legal proceedings. The narrator afterwards informs the audience that this kind of inhumane desires and actions persist until now. Night and Fog fuses a controlled narrative style with memorable vivid photographs and scenes. Transitioning from archival footage to the current condition of these places of dread is remarkably successful. However, in spite of its power and influence, the documentary film raises a number of dilemmas. The general premise that resulted in the concentration camps is overlooked. Hence, the act of genocide presents a more methodical, but never an exceptional, concern for this subject matter. Susan Sontag, on a similar vein, sees this whole enterprise in a more reflective and scholarly way. Looking at Night and Fog through Susan Sontag’s Arguments It is the argument of this paper that there will always be a moment in the existence of a civilisation which will endure a tremendous predicament, where in there emerges a discourse of traumatic memory. The relevance of Susan Sontag’s argument to Night and Fog overcomes the factual allusion to specific experience of

Blog Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Blog - Article Example The organizations, big and small, scattered around the globe tend to have more than their ample share of what may be called the bad managers, whose only concern seems to be to mar the organizational efficiency and nip the talent right in the bud, wherever it is deployed within or outside the organization, thereby restraining the organization from achieving the levels of productivity and efficiency that may shock the shareholders, pushing most of them towards a premature stroke or heart attack (Lussier and Achua 5). One other role of bad managers is to give way to a pervasive despondency, apathy and cynicism within organizations so that employees may genuinely end up believing that they scarcely deserve a promotion or a raise, thereby sparing the organizations from splurging much money in the name of motivation and efficiency. When it comes to recruiting bad managers, the organizations may complain of a serious dearth of real talent. However, the good news is that bad managers happen to be just like regular managers with a discerning pool of skills and abilities at their disposal, which help them justify their title and denomination. While talking of bad managers, the one person that emerges on the canvass of my memory is Mr. Dam Doolittle, a paragon of managerial dexterity and a virtual paradigm of a bad manager, whom I came across while working in a local advertisement firm. One thing that outshined Mr. Doolittle from the pool of inefficient menials working under his tutelage in the firm was his panache for professional outlook. Mr. Doolittle had a passion for designer suits, ties and Italian patent leather shoes. Perhaps his guiding maxim was that if one successfully managed to look like a manager, than perhaps 99 percent of one’s job is done. No wonder, Mr. Doolittle’s managing acumen stood to be merely skin deep and superficial like the garishness of his apparels. However, sadly, this was not the be-all and end-all of his managerial acumen and talent. Mr. Doolittle indeed was endowed by the providence with some rare and special skills that aptly placed him at an assorted place in the hall of fame of the worst managers. His reputation was indeed well deserved and well earned, scarcely impervious to any tarnishing by the ravages of time or bursts of organizational change. When it came to micro management, it goes without saying that on this entire globe there scarcely existed a manager born of a human womb that could match the adroitness of Mr. Doolittle. Mr. Doolittle scarcely believed in the obsolete concept of ‘vision’. He was a stickler for change. He believed that in the current times defined by fast altering consumer preferences and the onslaught of digital solutions, ‘vision’ happened to be a thing of the past. He not only believed in leading from the front merely, but generously spread his management talent, right, left, behind and center, firmly convinced that the day he contracts his man agerial acumen from the floor, the business will virtually fall down on its knees. He believed in ruthlessly cracking the whip whenever and wherever the need be, luckily restrained by the organizational norms from wielding a whip in the literal sense. Being deprived of the superfluous notion of vision, the employees mostly felt insecure, confused and intimidated, and that is how Mr. Dam Doolittle expected them to be (Benfari 109). Esteemed to be a manager worth his salt, he had

Organisational management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Organisational management - Essay Example he rules promulgated by the government for the benefit of the citizens in a way that would attempt to resolve conflict among individuals and groups as well as stamping out crime. The police organisations are structured in such a way where there are different departments responsible for different operations but at the end of the day are aimed at achieving the main objective of their existence which is promoting peace and an open system in their operations has been lauded as effective especially when interacting with the external environment. However, there are various factors that may influence the operations of the managers in police organisations such as PESTEL. The open system also affects the operations of an organisation to a certain extent as going to be discussed. As a point of departure, it is imperative to highlight the notion of open system as a way of gaining a clear understanding of the whole concept. Basically, the concept of open systems posits to the effect that police organisations rely heavily on the external environment which is significant in evaluating the inputs and the outputs related to their services (Chronkhite C.L., 2007). For instance, it was observed that in the UK most factors which impacted on the criminal justice system were external and finding responsive service to these problems required constant monitoring and feedback from the outside environment. This could be achieved through an open system that would allow the police service to get feedback from the external environment related to inputs and outputs and then carefully analyse this in order to operate more effectively and independently especially from political intervention. The control feedback is structured in such a way that is cybernetic in nature where the external agencies play the informing role and the police would act on such information in executing their duties. Like any other organisation, the police do not operate in a vacuum but in a society made up of people who

Response Paper (The American Revoltion in Indian Country Essay

Response Paper (The American Revoltion in Indian Country - Essay Example demonstrates how Native American were able to pursue different strategies as they went through difficult experiences but were able to uphold their legacy Colin Calloway writes that, "The Revolution marked an emphatic divergence between the Cherokees and their colonial neighbors as the warriors of both societies "took control of the path. This illustrate the lateness that was at hand because the Cherokee involvement in the revolutions was not a simple sign but it proved a powerful, durable and the same time usable image. The clamor kept on growing especially in the 19th century on how to remove the Cherokees from their only remaining lands, although there were the strong peace efforts emanating from the village headsmen way back before the war, during the war, combined role that was played by the Chota as well as the new societies which were built from the outcome ruins of the war were not listened to but ignored. All this was in the favor of what was termed as memory of Cherokee antagonism in the revolution. Therefore, the Cherokee had the responsibility again to begin afresh the practice of rebuilding their lives and homes past Miss issippi. When the fighting came to an end due to the revolution it was very difficult for the Cherokees because they were like orphans, they were without a place completely in the universe. Because of the repercussion of the war, their population was affected drastically which led to serious drop of about 10,000 in number only and at the same time lost their homelands which was estimated to be around three-quarters as well as hunting grounds and towns were destroyed. The revolutions grouped lower towns to be Chickamauga while those who remained neutral kept on dividing the Cherokee. Their cultural framework was affected so much which disrupted the harmony which existed amongst the Cherokee wellbeing in relation to their spiritual world. This caused a lot of disorder everywhere. Thousands of Cherokees were forced under prevailing

Learner Resources Essay Example for Free

Learner Resources Essay Review the range of resources available within the organisation for a selected curriculum area. Prepare, use and evaluate one of them in their teaching. Analyse the strengths and challenges of the selected resource and how it has supported learning. INTRODUCTION Selecting the use of resources is a vital aspect of enhancing not only the learning experience for the student, but also the effectiveness of the teacher’s delivery. The fact that students do have varying learning needs and styles, would suggest that the teacher would need to consider the various learning resources available that could help fulfil the student needs. Therefore it is important that the use of resources are fully integrative of the teaching strategies used, hence complimenting to the effectiveness of these strategies. Teaching/learning resources that can be used are: †¢ Printed materials †¢ Photographs and slides †¢ Posters †¢ Models †¢ Chalk/Black Boards †¢ Flip charts †¢ Overhead transparancies †¢ Audi tapes and compact discs †¢ Tape slide sequences †¢ Video tapes and film †¢ Laboratory equipment †¢ Real objects †¢ Computer based resources However, whilst there is a great deal of choice available to the teacher it is important to evaluate the options available fully in order to ensure that the aims and objectives of the session are met and that resources are not chosen in an unstructured way. Rather, the resources, should be a complimentary tool to enhancing the learning experience. This can ensure effective student learning, however, if not evaluated fully, this can have a detrimental effect. Cox and Harper (2000: 57-58) pose general questions to consider when evaluating resources: †¢ Are the materials appropriate to the learning outcomes? †¢ Are they suitable in terms of the characteristics of the students? †¢ Are they clear and attractive and consistent with a professional approach to teaching? †¢ Are they reasonably cost effective? †¢ Are they suitable for the way they will be used? †¢ Are they free from discriminatory language or images? Therefore, when evaluating the most commonly used resources that have been undertaken on the Certificate of Personnel Practice Course at Barking College the above considerations will be taken into account. The table below analyses the learning resources that have been used within the teaching context on the Certificate in Personnel Practice course at Barking College. The resource most frequently used within the sessions conducted on the Certificate in Personnel Practice course is the use of the Powerpoint (see Appendix A for example of powerpoint presentation taken from Week 12 of the course). It was felt that the Powerpoint presentation enabled the greatest opportunity to convey information to a full class of students, whilst given the learners an opportunity to feedback, through questions and answers. As stated by Armitage et al (2003: 127) this method gives the potential for dynamic graphics, greater and easier to use colour and ‘live’ demonstration of interactive software and the Internet’. Additionally, Davies J et al (1993) suggests that if it is apparent to the students that little attention is given to the quality of the resource then motivation will be affected. Therefore, the session would benefit in continuously gaining student feeback on the effectiveness of this resource. Previously, overhead slides had been used, but as mentioned the use of Powerpoint has become very cost effective, through storing presentations on disk. As well as sharing this with other members of the teaching team it can be shared with the students as well. Specifically, Powerpoint allows the student to print out user-friendly handouts of the slides, which is effective for note taking. Through identifying some of the limitations of the Powerpoint the sessions include the active use of the whiteboard to write down student contributions and amendments. The need for further additional resources to compliment the Powerpoint is also needed. The use of handouts has identified further that assessments and participatory groupwork is imperative. Therefore, as with all resources it is important that there is not over-reliance on one particular resource, as this would not appeal to all learning styles and is limited in meeting the strategies adopted by the teacher. Therefore the use of complimentary and additional resources is imperative. Case studies have been identified as an ideal way of ensuring assessment, whilst obtaining active student involvement either individually or as a group to contribute. So will therefore, be used more readily in future sessions to compliment the Powerpoint resource Conclusion Different resources have their strengths and weaknesses, with some having a more positive/ negative effect on the learners than others. Therefore, a range of resources have been continuously used on the course in order to not only meet the needs of the learner but the aims and objectives of each individual session. BIBLIOGRAPHY Armitage, A et al (2003) Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press Cox, A and Harper, H (2000) Planning Teaching and Assessing Learning: A Reader. London: Greenwich University Press Davies, J et al (1993) Adult Learning, Adult Teaching 3rd edn. Cardiff: Welsh Academic Press Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1992) Manual of Learning Styles, 3rd edn. London: Peter Honey Petty, G (2004) Teaching Today: A Practical Guide, 3rd edn. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes

Fedex Express In Vietnam Commerce Essay

Fedex Express In Vietnam Commerce Essay This thesis aims to evaluate and formulate business strategy for FedEx Express in Vietnam to further promote the companys competitive advantages. Fred R. Davids Comprehensive strategic management Model is used for this strategic formulation. At the first stage of this process, FedEx Vietnam quantitative evaluations of internal, external environments and its Competitive Ability Profile are created. A strategic group of five managers and specialists who are knowledgeable in air express transportation industry is formed up to determine factors of each matrix and weight/ score of each attributes of these components. Data from this input stage shows the companys Internal Factor score shows companys weakest points are operating under agency contract. FedEx External Factor score reveals the company is responsive to external environment. However the level of responsiveness to competitors and administration style in Vietnam is not high. In Competitive Profile Matrix, FedEx ranks the second position among the four market leaders. The areas that company needs to look into for improvement is customer service and marketing. With the data from input stage, SWOT matrix and Grand strategy matrix are used to formulate all applicable strategies. At final stage of the formulation process, all alternative strategies that were selected in matching stage are put in Qualitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) to determine which strategies out of given alternative strategies are more attractive. With the result, the thesis goes to some recommended tactics for some key functions to implement the two selected strategies for FedEx in Vietnam. RATIONALE THE RESEARCH As an infrastructure service, air express transportation playing more and more important role in the global economy. In Vietnam, the economic booming and dramatic growth of international trade bring very high demands for air express transportation. This demand is critical in both terms of transportation capacity and quality of service. Being in Vietnam for more than 17 years, FedEx Express the world leading air express transportation company, has been operating under agency contract with Seabornes Logistic. This business model gave FedEx an excellent access to Vietnam market at start up. However after more than 17 years of development, in new business context with stronger competition and higher customer demand the company is facing with following challenges: Gap between customer needs and the ability of the operation team Various customer demand for value added service versus the current core products Harder competition from main competitors This situation requires FedEx VN to review its strategy for necessary adjustment in order to maintain the good growth and steadily expand its market share. And that is my purpose to choose this topic for my thesis. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The research has 3 main objectives: Review strategy formulation models and theories that are applicable to the practical business. Evaluate FedExs competition ability in the context of Vietnam air express industry. The research will propose recommendations for FedEx business strategy in Vietnam from now to the year 2018. This research will answer the following questions: Why FedEx need to change its business strategy in Viet Nam? What is attractive strategy for FedEx Vietnam to 2018? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Fred R. Davids strategy formulation framework is used for the strategy evaluation and selection. The model includes three stages: input stage, matching stage and decision stage. In the input stage, a team of strategists with participation of fifteen members from regional and FedEx Express Vietnam sales, marketing, customer service and operation management was formed up. The team discussed and agreed on list for internal factors (for Internal Factor Evaluation IFE Matrix), external factors (for External Factor Evaluation EFE matrix) and key success factors (for Competitiveness Profile Matrix). After the three matrices created, members of the team score weight and rate of each component factor independently. The collective IFE, EFE and CPM are made up by average the score from each team member. These matrices then are brought to team discussion for final review and comment. Secondary data from FedEx profiles, industry surveys/reports and related information from Internet was used for the team analysis and evaluation. In the matching stage, outcome of the input stage is used to generate feasible alternative strategies. SWOT matrix and Grand Strategy Matrix are the two techniques in this stage. Result of matching stage is a consolidated work sheet with all alternative strategies. The strategies which are applicable in both matrices are picked up for analysis in Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). In QSPM strategist can determine which strategy is most attractive to the firm base on attractive score. This is the last stage of the process. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS The research is for business strategy of FedEx Express in Vietnam from now to 2018. However strategic management is a continuous process containing of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. But in the scope of this research, the thesis will focus on some business strategies recommendation for FedEx Express Vietnam only. Given the scope of the thesis, detail implementation plan and evaluation/feedback for continuous improvement which are equally important to ensure a successful strategy were not deeply mentioned in the research. Without evaluation and feedback, management cannot get all employees involved in the strategic management process and hence cannot take full advantage of the process. CHAPTER I: THEORICAL FRAMEWORK Strategy and Business Strategy Definitions Strategy is not a new concept. In modern economy, when talking about business, strategy is usually the first thing to be mentioned. It is considered as cornerstone of business which determines failure or success of a firm. Thereve been a lot of definitions by scholars and researchers over the world. In an article What is strategy? on Havard Business Review in 1996  [1]  , Micheal E. Porter defined strategy as creating fit among a companys activities. The success of a strategy depends on doing many things well not just a few and integrating among them. If there is no fit among activities, there is no distinctive strategy and little sustainability. Regarding corporate strategy, a definition by Kenneth R. Andrews in 1998  [2]  supposed Corporate strategy is the pattern of decisions in a company that determines and reveals its objectives, purposes and goals and it produces the principle policies and plans for achieving those goals, and defines the range of business the company is to pursue. Strategy also defines the kind of economic and human contribution it intends to make to shareholders, employees, customers and communities. Another definition by John A. Pearce in 2000, a strategy reflects companys awareness of how, when and where it should compete, against whom it should compete and for what purpose it should compete. In all mentioned definitions, strategy and business strategy are almost the same in a corporate or entrepreneur scope. So, in general, a business strategy defines how a business/firm will go to succeed in its industry and market against its competitors. So, it should represent the ways that the management can make to define and secure the future of that business. In particular, a business strategy defines the scope of business, objectives, offering values, competitive advantages to meet customer needs as well as succeed now and in the future. Furthermore, a business strategy should include both objectives to be accomplished and the actions must be done to follow that direction. Business Strategy Management Business strategy management is defined as the set of decisions and actions that result in the formulation and implementation of plan designed to achieve a companys objectives. In general, business strategy management process includes three steps: Figure 1: Strategy management process Source: Strategic Management, Statistic Publishing House 2007  [3]   The formulation step includes analysis of current situation, forecast of future status to select and set up an appropriate strategy. Implementation is a process to achieve strategic target(s) by using strategy formulation that set out in previous step. To make the strategy working well, an important step is evaluate and adjustment. At this phase, the implementation is analyzed to see if there is any area that firms need to change to make the strategy more adaptable. Business strategy management helps enterprise clearly determines its objectives and how to archive it. It is instrumental in archiving high performance, cost effective and action oriented. With setting up of short term objectives in supporting for long-term ones, the process involves all members of the company, from front line employee to senior management level. This in return will enhance the firm to prevent troubles. Manager will get support from subordinates in forecasting of the strategic planning and in monitoring of the implementation stage. The involvement of employees in strategic formulation also improves their knowledge of the productivity reward relationship in all strategic plans hence, it heightens their motivation. The strategy management also helps the firm better adapt to changes of environment. The movement of environment, especially for those fast moving factors, usual creates opportunities as well as risks to the firm. Continuous strategic management which requires managers to analyze and forecast of the near and far future environments, helps manager to better manage and make the best of opportunities while minimize the risk that firm may have to face with. However, business strategy management process usually requires a lot of time and effort from managers. This might has a negative impact to operational responsibilities. Manager must be trained to minimize this impact by scheduling their duties to allow necessary time for strategic activities. Business Strategy Formulation Process: To give out strategic decision, it requires a comprehensive study on internal and external environments of a firm in regard to the firm objectives. Going to further details of the formulation process, it can be divided into 3 stages: Figure 2: Strategy formulation process Source: Strategic management concept and case, Fred R. David 2007  [4]   Input stage In this stage, firm has to gather all basic input information that is required to formulate strategy. They include External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE), Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) and Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM). External Factor Evaluation: EFE summaries and evaluates both macro and industry (micro) environments. Base on that evaluation, strategist can determine opportunities and threats to have appropriate solution. The aim is to promote opportunities and avoid or reduce impact of the threats. Macro Environment: PEST model is a good tool for evaluation. The components of this model include: Political: The direction and stability of the political factors are major consideration of managers in formulation strategy. Political factors define legal and regulatory frame in which the firm operates in. It includes law and regulation on fair trade, minimum wage, pollution, patent, trade mark and many other actions. Economics: This regarding the nature, environment and direction the countrys economy in which a company operates. The factors to be evaluated include interest rate, inflation rate, finance policy, unemployment, risk level of investment, level of integration of the economy to world economy or to international organization that it is member of, trade balance, GDP growth rate and trends in growth of each economic sector. Social: demography, social structure, life style, education, religion, etc are social factors that affect a firm. Technology: Technological change can have a big impact on the industry that a firm operates. Creative technological adaptations can lead to possibilities for new products, for improvement of existing product. Industry environment: Michael Porters Five Force Model is the tool for this analysis. Competitors: This is the major determinant of competitiveness of the industry. Factors to be evaluated are number of competitor, rate of industry growth, economic of scale, sustainable competitive advantages and fixed cost allocation per value added etc. Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is measured by determining supplier switching cost versus the firm switching cost, degree of differentiation of inputs, present of substitute inputs. Customers: Bargaining power of customers is the ability of customer to force prices down, ask for more higher quality service and play competitors off each other. The level of this power depends on customer volume, switching cost, availability of substitute products and differentiation of products. New entrants: The new entrants bring threat of higher level of competition. This threat is measured through barriers to entry, switching cost, economics of scale, product differentiation, capital requirement etc. Substitute products: The existence of replacement product brings in threat of customer to switch to other alternatives. The determined factors are relative price of substitute, customer propensity to substitute, buyer switching cost, product differentiation. Figure 3: Industry environment (Porter Five Forces Model) Porters Five Forces Source: Mindtool.com  [5]   After gathering information, all external factors are quantitatively evaluated with weight and rating score. Weight of a factor would indicate the relative importance of the factor to be successful in the firms industry. A weight assign to a factor can be from 0 to 1 with condition that total weight of all factors is 1. Rating score measures responsive level of the firm to respective factor. It ranges from 1 to 4 with 1 = poor response, 2= below average response, 3 = above average response and 4 = superior response. Figure 4: Steps to develop EFE matrix Select key external factors. Weigh importance of the factors from 0 to 1. Total weight of all factors must be equal to 1 Rate the level of response of the firm to each external factor from 1 to 4 with 4 is the highest rate Calculate weighted score for each factor (TAS). TAS = factor weight * rate Total weighted score for the firm The total weighted score (TAS) is equal to weighing score time rating score. The firms EFE TAS is sum of all external factors. This TAS shows the responsiveness of the firm to the external environment. If the score is 2.5 up, it means firm response to the environment well. Internal Factor Evaluation IFE summaries and evaluates major strengths and weaknesses in all areas of a firm. This includes: Human resource: The areas to be evaluated are ability to formulate and implement the firms strategy of it management at all level, readiness of the work force to implement that strategy, capacity of the organization structure in adapting with the changes of business environment. Tangible asset: Finance resource, facility, vehicle, raw material, etc. These items are normally reflected on company balance sheet Intangible asset: These are not assets that we can touch and see, but they are very often critical in creating the firms competitive advantages like brand name, company reputation, technical knowledge, patent and trade mark. Functional groups: Capacity and performance of each function of the firm like marketing, sales, finance, RD, operation, quality managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Similarly to EFE matrix, the IFE matrix is developed via 5 steps Figure 5: Steps to develop IFE matrix Select key internal factors. Weigh the importance of the factors from 0 to 1. Total weight of all factors must be equal to 1 Rate the level of response of the firm to each internal factor from 1 to 4 with 4 is the highest rate Calculate weighted score for each factor (TAS). TAS = factor weight * rate Total weighted score for the firm The total IFE TAS of the firm shows how strong the firm is. If it is from 2,5 upward, it means the firm is in strong status. Competitive profile Matrix CPM identifies a firm major competitor and their particular strengths and weaknesses in relation to a sample firms strategic position (David, 2007). Different from EFE, critical success factor in a CPM are broader. They dont include specific or fact data and even just focus on internal issues. The critical success factors in a Competitive Profile Matrix also are not grouped into opportunities and threats as they are in EFE. This provides internal strategic information that is also very important to the firm. Matching stage By matching and aligning key external and internal factors, this stage will generate all feasible alternative strategies. The technique use in this stage includes Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Grand strategy Matrix. Other matrices like Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix can be considered to use in this matching stage. SWOT Matrix The SWOT analysis was made popular by Andrew (1965). Through evaluating of components of a firms internal and external environments, this analysis enable the firm to approach its most feasible and applicable strategy to get its strategic objectives. By answer the question how the company makes the most of its strengths, circumvent its weaknesses, capitalize on its opportunities and manage its threats, SWOT model provides an efficient tool for the company long range planning base on qualitative analysis rather than merely base on quantitative forecast (Edmund P.  Learned, 1965). SWOT matrix presents a mechanism for facilitating the linkage among company strengths weaknesses threats and opportunities in the market place. It also provide framework for strategy formulation with its 4 types of strategies: SO (Strengths-Opportunities) strategy, WO (Weaknesses-Opportunities) strategy, ST (Strength-Threats) strategy and WT (Weaknesses-Threats) strategy (Figure6). Figure 6: SWOT/TOWS Strategic Alternatives Matrix External Opportunities (O) 1. 2. 3. 4. External Threats (T) 1. 2. 3. 4. Internal Strengths (S) 1. 2. 3. 4. SO Maxi-Maxi Strategy Strategies that use strengths to maximize opportunities. ST Maxi-Mini Strategy Strategies that use strengths to minimize threats. Internal Weaknesses (W) 1. 2. 3. 4. WO Mini-Maxi Strategy Strategies that minimize weaknesses by taking advantage of opportunities. WT Mini-Mini Strategy Strategies that minimize weaknesses and avoid threats. Source: Mindtools.com  [6]   Manager can develop these 4 strategies by answering: SO How can his firm use its strengths to take advantage of the opportunities? ST How can his firm take advantage of its strengths to avoid real and potential threats? WO How can his firm use its opportunities to overcome the weaknesses you are experienced? WT How can his firm minimize its weaknesses and avoid threats? Grand Strategy Matrix Grand Strategy Matrix can be used by firm to select applicable strategies from all 15 principal grand strategies base on evaluating of two dimensions: competitive position and market growth. The two dimensions of Grand Strategy Matrix make up a 4 quadrant axis. Quadrant I is for firms which have strong competition position and operate in rapid growth industry. Aggressive strategies like market penetration, market development, and product development strategies are effective choice for the firm to further promote its competitiveness. The firm can also choose vertical integration to acquire business of its supplier or customer if it has excessive resources. If the firm in this Quadrant is too heavily committed to a single product, it can reduce the risk by using concentric diversification to expand its business through acquiring or generating related business in term of technology, market or product. Quadrant II represents for firms that have a weak competitive position in a rapid growth industry. These firms must evaluate its present position to the marketplace and determine what make them to be ineffective in competing in the market. The firms should firstly apply intensive strategies like market penetration, market development, product development to improve it competitiveness. Using horizontal integration to acquire similar firm(s) operating at the same stage of the product-marketing chain is also a suitable alternative in case the firm lack of a distinctive competence or competitive advantage. In the worst case when there is no chance for competitiveness improvement, divestiture or liquidation should be considered. Quadrant III is for firms operate in slow-growth industries and have weak competitive position. To avoid of further lost or even bankruptcy, the firm must take drastic changes. Retrenchment should be the first strategy that the firm considers to cut cost or reduce asset. Other options for firms on this quadrant are divestiture or liquidation. Quadrant IV is for firms that have a strong competitive position but are in a slow growth industry. Diversification to more promising growth areas is the efficient strategy in this case. The firms can pursue concentric diversification strategy to expand its business to related areas or conglomerate diversification strategy to acquire business that not synergic to its current one but have high profit margin. Figure 7: Grand strategy Matrix Rapid Market growth Quadrant II Slow market growth Strong competition Position Weak competition Position Quadrant IV Quadrant I Quadrant III Source: Formulation, Implementation and Control of Competitive Strategy, Pearce/Robinson, 2000 Decision stage At this final stage of strategy formulation, Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) is used to evaluate feasible alternative strategies identified in Stage 2 with input information from Stage 1. Evaluation through QSPM reveals the relative attractiveness of alternative strategies and thus it is base for selecting specific strategies. This technique allows top managers to assess alternative strategies objectively based on a firms internal strengths/weaknesses and external opportunities/threats (David, 1986). In QSPM, left column consists of key internal and external factors from Stage 1, and the top row includes feasible alternative strategies from Stage 2. Information of key internal/external factors and weight of each factors are extracted directly from the EFE Matrix and IFE Matrix. The top row of a QSPM includes alternative strategies derived from matrixes that used in Stage 2. These matching tools usually generate similar feasible alternatives (David, 2007). QSPM determines best strategy to the firms by calculating total attractiveness scores (Multiply Attractiveness Score with Weight of each factor for each alternative strategy) and sum Total Attractiveness Scores of each alternative strategy in the QSPM table. As mentioned above, weights of the internal and external factors are directly transferred from IFE and EFE matrix in Stage 2 and Attractiveness Scores (AS) are defined as quantitative values with 1 for not attractive, 2 for somewhat attractive, 3 for reasonably attractive, and 4 for highly attractive. Figure 8: Qualitative Strategic Planning Management (QSPM) model Internal factors Weight Strategy alternative Strategy 1 Strategy 2 AS TAS AS TAS 1 2 3 External factors 1 2 3 Total attractive core Total Attractiveness Scores will show the relative attractiveness of each optional strategy, considering the impact of the adjacent internal or external critical success factor. The higher the Total Attractiveness Score, the more attractive the strategic alternative is. The Sum Total Attractiveness Scores reveal most attractive strategy in each set of alternatives (Figure 8).

Reflective Report on Psychology Presentation

Reflective Report on Psychology Presentation This is a reflective report on my presentation on 4th February, 2015. Topic: What pressures do children of immigrant families face, in adjusting to a new culture and what are the implications of this for counselling? Introduction This was an individual presentation that was assessed by Tim Wilkinson who is the lecturer for Christian Integrative Therapeutic Counselling II, for Year 3. The second assessor was Dr. Barth Orji. I put in a lot of effort in preparing for this presentation. I visited the British Library twice and I engaged several scholars listed in my bibliography. I was really amazed to find that there was an enormous amount of materials on the topic. I critically analysed the views and the materials that I engaged. I also consulted my lecture notes and even the Tutor and Peer feedback forms so that I prepared not only for the content and materials but on the presentation too. I had a rehearsal at home in the presence of my wife and I asked her to critique the presentation. She gave me some valuable advice which I took on board. As with all my assessments, I had mixed feelings leading to the day. I was anxious because I was to be assessed and I was also exhilarated in anticipation of receiving some very constructive feedback that will further enhance my counselling skills, as I have known the two assessors involved to be very objective. On the day, I arrived in time but the second assessor was a bit late which in the end gave me ample time to relax my nerves. I was the first to present which ordinarily would have been nerve racking but surprisingly, I was very calm, composed and confident all through my presentation. Upon reflection, I think that it is the result of my quest to raise the bar and improve. Many will avoid starting first so as to learn from the feedbacks of those that present ahead of them but I would rather have an assessment of my genuine ability and take on feedbacks that will be useful to help me to the next level. The presentations went on as scheduled. Every student attended and took part in peer assessment. Everyone gave feedback which made it more interesting because there were diverse perspectives to the feedbacks. Summary of my presentation There are issues that Immigrant children face in a bid to adapt to a new culture. I grouped these issues into six sub themes: Educational, New community, Emotional, Language, Racism and Identity. In the course of my research, I discovered that there is another side to the coin; there are also benefits. Such benefit will include Bi-cultural competence (Garcia-Coll Magnuson 1997) and development of the mental ability to cope with stress. Some children adapt easily while some others struggle. There is a great variation in how the children adapt. These variations are so much so that they pose a challenge in drawing conclusions. There are implications that these issues could have on counselling. I realised that even though parents expect that the Counsellor will put their child right, not very much is known about these issues. I think the Counsellor must strive to equip himself to be effective. Pre-migration and post migration circumstances combine to influence how these children navigate this adaptive process. However, I think that more research is required to formulate effective models of interventions to support immigrant children. This will support immigrant children in establishing the foundation for their futures. (Szapocznik Kurtines,1993). The Counsellor requires an in-depth understanding of the aforementioned issues. Again, I think that the government can support immigrant children by establishing counselling services in schools; this will enhance mental wellbeing, bi-cultural abilities and stronger community among immigrants’ children. Questions and Feedback from Peers and Tutors My colleague Israel, who was one of the peers assessors questioned my definition of immigrants’ children and wanted more clarification. I reiterated that a child born abroad and brought to live in the United Kingdom as well as a child born to a first generation immigrant parent, is an immigrants’ child. The lecturer, Tim Wilkinson concurred with my definition and in his contribution, gave an example of a child born to a Caucasian family who lived as missionaries in Africa; upon returning to the United Kingdom, the child struggled to cope with the culture and eventually moved back to live in Africa. The peer assessors were Israel, Tuoyo, Ayo, Chikere and Bernardine. Tuoyo noted that the content was extremely rich and well researched. He thinks that the strongest part of the presentation was the definitions. Israel observed that it was well referenced with enough scholars. Ayo thinks that the presentation was thorough and that I exhibited confidence, Chikere and Bernardine agreed with the rest but pointed out that I needed to improve on my time management. There was a consensus that it was a very good presentation. Dr Barth observed that I did not use visual aids but handed them printed copies of my presentation. He observed that the communication was very good, subject well researched, indicating that I know and mastered the subject. He also said that there was good eye contact, gesture and body language was good, stance was good and voice projection was excellent. He also commended me for remaining focused even when there was distraction from peers. Tim Wilkinson did not want to repeat what had been said; he added that research was thorough, but that the material was too much hence I exceeded the allocated time. He observed that there was evidence of good knowledge of the subject, clear English, voice projection was good. However, he thinks that the eye contact can be better. Reflection and Conclusion: I think that my presentation was hitch free. I engaged several scholars in the course of my research and I found the topic very interesting. I put in all effort but I am aware that there is still a lot more research to be done in developing intervention models for immigrants’ children. I reflected and listened to myself as I was presenting, and I was quite surprised at how confident I came across. At the end, I still felt that I did not do my best and so I was amazed at the feedbacks that I received. I think that overall, having evaluated the whole exercise including feedbacks, it was a good presentation. However, it was a learning process for me and I have taken note of the feedbacks on areas highlighted for improvement. I will endeavour to use visual aids in the future, work on my time management and improve on my eye contact. (1073 words) Bibliography Cropley, A.J. (1983). The education of immigrant children. London: Croom Helm. Das, A. and Kemp, S. (1997). Between two worlds: Counselling South Asian Americans. Journal of Multicultural Counselling and Development, 25, 23 – 33. Garcia-Coll, C and Magnuson, K. (1997). The psychological experience of immigration. In A. Booth, A. Gibson, M. (1988) Accommodation without assimilation: Sikh immigrants in an American high school. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. Kim, E, and Diaz, J. Immigrant Students and Higher Education: ASHE Higher Education Report 38:6 ONS (17 December, 2013) http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_346219.pdf [Accessed 02/02/2015] ONS (May, 2014) Portes, A. (1995). Children of immigrants: Segmented Assimilation and its determinants. Rumbaut, R.G. (1995). The New Californians: Comparative research findings on the educational progress of immigrant children. In R.G. Rumbaut W.A. Cornelius (Eds.), California’s Immigrant children: Theory, research, and implications for educational policy (pp. 17 -70). La Jolla: Center for U.S. Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego. Sam, D.L. (1992). Psychological acculturation of young visible immigrants. Migration World Magazine, 20, 21 24. Szapocznik, J. and Kurtines, W. (1993). Family psychology and cultural diversity: Opportunities for theory, research, and application. American Psychologist, 48, 400 – 407. Vernez, G. and Abrahamse, A. (1996). How Immigrants Fare in U.S. Education. Santa Monica, C.A.: RAND Corporation. Peter Emordi COU 3000 Task 2 1

Essay --

What makes you an adult? Many people believe that age determined adulthood but they are wrong because age is a number and everyone grows up in different rates. You can’t always expect everyone to become mature at the same age, because everyone is different. Many teens become adults faster for certain reason and some of them were not give the option they just had to too. Becoming an adult is not an option for everyone but sooner or later you have to grow up because you can’t stay a kid forever. Being 18 years old makes you legally an adult in united states, but in reality we know that 18 years old are very different from maturity as well responsibilities and life experience. Age do not determined the actual matureness of a person neither the circumstance to handle situations. Adulthood is not based on age; it’s based on emotional maturity. The ability to listen to and evaluate the viewpoint on circumstance they find themselves on and been able to analyze how to find the solution to the problem that makes them mature. Age is just a number; therefore you could be twenty-six, twenty-eight and still act immature. Many teens think that as soon they 18 their parents are going to continue to help them but the true is that they already did their part raising them up. One part of growing up and becoming an adult is that parents are not always going to be there so you got to grow up on your own. Sooner or later he or she are going to face obstacles on their own and that would make them stronger which will help them mature. There are several attributes to make an adult an adult and number one is responsibilities because that ones part that help you grow up in life. Part of being an adult is important to maintain pa... ... not a bad thing because you get to make your own decisions without someone telling you what to do. I know that been a kid life is simple you go to school come back home and do homework and that all you worried about but you never get to explore and have more adventures like adults. A part of being an adult is that you make mistakes but you always learn from the mistakes and that prevent you from doing the same mistakes all over again. What I am trying to say is good to be a kid but you have to grow up to become an adult because that’s how you decide what kind of life style you want instead of your parent making it for you. I know some were not given a chance to enjoy childhood but what you got is more importance meaning that you who didn’t enjoy you childhood you had a head start to become a adult and maybe do better than other who didn’t went trough your situation

Anthony Trollope’s He Knew He Was Right :: Morals Happiness Struggles Papers

Anthony Trollope’s He Knew He Was Right Anthony Trollope’s He Knew He Was Right is unique among the prolific writer’s novels in having as its title a complete declarative sentence. Such a title stands as a sort of challenge to the reader: it invites us, as we make our way through the novel’s densely detailed presentation of lived reality, to consider the relation between that reality and the proposition put forward in the title sentence. What does it mean to say that Louis Trevelyan â€Å"knew he was right†? Even if we are unconvinced by J. Hillis Miller’s argument that â€Å"a long multi-plotted novel like He Knew He Was Right, with all its wealth and particularity of character, incident, realistic detail, may be an exploration of a single ‘complex word’† (Miller 77), Trollope’s choice of title inevitably throws us back, as we attempt to make sense of the events narrated under that title, on questions of moral epistemology; that is, it compels reflection on ho w we know what is right and on the extent to which we can be secure in that knowledge. Obliged to read the narrative as, among other things, a meditation on â€Å"knowing† and on â€Å"rightness,† we can perceive that Trollope’s concern here is with the manner in which his characters come to possess certainty in their moral judgments, with the process by which they acquire the disposition towards what is â€Å"right† that we can label â€Å"virtue.† â€Å"Who would ever think of learning to live out of an English novel?† an irritated Caroline Spalding asks her zealously romantic sister, a credulous devotee of the genre. We might turn her question on its head and ask how it is that people learn how to live in an English novel, and what He Knew He Was Right in particular has to say about becoming good. If the novel’s most prominent interest is in the breakdown or perversion of moral certainty, exemplified in the grotesque errors of judgment that deprive Trevelyan of his family and his sanity, it also manifests a subsidiary interest in the ways in which moral agents can replace such false certainty with the sort of just and balanced ethical vision that Trevelyan so conspicuously lacks. As we will see, this concern with moral education is displayed most directly in the novel’s secondary narrative threads, in which both Jemima Stanbury and her niece Dorothy attain an empathetic subtlety of perception and a depth of understanding of others that are absent in their former selves, as depicted at the opening of the novel.

World war

Such question can be increasingly heard from radio speakers and be read on the pages of political magazines. Such assumptions relate primarily to the war in Syria and the Ukrainian tense political situation in which experts see a possible cause for conflict of interests of other countries that may lead too new world war. Since March 2011, unrest In Syria have not cease and managed to develop Into a fierce religious war and, according to some, has already claimed the lives of about 93 thousand people. If recently the war In Syria might seem an Internal conflict, now theUkrainian crisis can be drawn Into a bloody fight between major world powers. Now there are more and more of assumption that the Russian Invasion In Ukraine could be the beginning of World War Ill, which nuclear weapons may be used. At the moment, the U. S. Is the most interested side of fueling the conflict in Syria. They have long been eyeing Ukraine, and the Russia invasion in the Ukrainian South- East region, which occurred this spring in Lagans and Donates, gave the U. S. A legitimate reason to intervene in the conflict. Without presenting any formal evidence, the U.S. Laid the blame for the violence on the east border of Ukraine on the Russian attempts to split the country according to Gremlin's plan and expressed commitment to support the Ukrainian anti-terrorist operation in the region! The same pattern was developed a few years ago prior the U. S. Invasion of Iraq. It seems that the situation is repeated. The U. S. Determined to introduce sanctions on Russia, and they are not alone in its decision â€Å"to stand up for the Ukrainian people and to release it from under the yoke of authoritarian rule.They are Joined by Turkey, United Kingdom, France, and some other countries. Russian's actions, on the contrary, was to call to prevent World War Ill, based on unsubstantiated speculation by the U. S. Government, for whom the war in Ukraine could be economically viable. Russian President Vladi mir Putting suggested that attempts to the U. S. Intervention in the Internal affairs of Ukraine to be doomed to failure. Russia intends to prevent the United States to strike the country. China has also expressed the objection to the conflict escalation and agreed to support Russian's actions.At the Pentagon, the Russian government's decision Is not taken seriously, considering that Russian's actions are Limited to expressing their protest and that would be It. And they surely have the reason to think so, If you remember a salary situation in Iraq and Yugoslavia. But somehow it seems that right now the Russian government does not give up its position, and if the U. S. Strike on Ukraine, then Russia may enter the war, which, in turn, will lead to World War Ill. World war 3 By Jonathan to a new world war. Since March 2011, unrest in Syria have not cease and managed to develop into a housing people.If recently the war in Syria might seem an internal conflict, now the Ukrainian crisis can be drawn into a bloody fight between major world powers. Now there are more and more of assumption that the Russian invasion in Ukraine could that attempts to the U. S. Intervention in the internal affairs of Ukraine to be doomed At the Pentagon, the Russian government's decision is not taken seriously, considering that Russian's actions are limited to expressing their protest and that would be it. And they surely have the reason to think so, if you remember a similar World war Mr. Johnson Due date: Friday 18th of October 861 words By Matthew Chin World war 1 was ultimately caused by imperialism. Different nations wanted control over more land and to be the dominant nation in Europe. The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie was a small but very powerful event that led to the beginning of a very long chain of events. Alliances between lots of different countries also contributed to World War 1 .The war first started Just In Europe, but alliances with many other countries outside of Europe caused the conflict In Europe to become a world war. The Arms Race was another factor of the war. Certain European countries competed against each other to see who would have the most powerful army. A large amount of money was spent and pretty much every country In the Arms Race adopted conscription. Global conflicts on such a large scale are rarely ever because of 1 simple cause.Nation leaders acted unreasonably and the war could ver y easily have been prevented, and many lives saved. All the countries that were involved in World War 1 really had one primary desire, to main control of more land for their nation or country. They do this because they are trying to be loyal to their nation and want to do whatever they can for its benefit. This is called imperialism and nationalism. Imperialism and nationalism have been the cause of many long-term tensions and conflicts all around the world, even before the First World War.Countries wanted to take land off other nations because of the raw materials the contained, take care of a threat or for some other need or want. This led to war between nations. As the opposing side were usually nationalists and cared or their country, they would defend it and fight back at the enemy. A very significant act of nationalism was when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated and Austria fought back. Austria then had an excuse to declare war on Serbia and thi s was the first step to world war.This started the chain of events that eventually led to World War 1 . Sometimes, other countries even tried to take over other countries Just to show other nations their dominance and that they were powerful. No matter what the reason, imperialism eventually led to conflict. Imperialism also led to alliances sometimes, when a country wanted the reassurance of another country to make them feel safer and to Increase their chances of success. Alliances also helped the world war to happen.They were not directly starting the war but once a conflict had started, alliances would be like a spark that would start out of control war if some of the nations were involved in an alliance. The countries that started the conflict may think making an alliance with other countries was a very smart decision at the time, but it Just causes more trouble for everybody because ore people being dragged into the war means more people will suffer. World War 1 started off as conflict between a few countries in Europe.But as other countries stepped in, to protect allies, the solvable conflict became a world war. As the world entered into chaos as the war started, the Arms Race in Europe began. The Arms Race was a competition between some of the great powers in Europe for superiority in the army, Ana and air force, by accumulating more weapons, soldiers and developing weaponry. The air force at the time of WWW was not very powerful as technology was not as developed as it is today. Nearly all the countries in World War 1 were involved in the Arms Race. All the countries in the Arms Race had adopted conscription.This is when all the men in that country are forced to enlist in the war as a soldier. This greatly increased the amount of people involved in the war. Large amounts of money were also spent for the purposes of the Arms Race. The great powers of Europe increased military expenditure by 300%! France's standing army in 1913 was 690,000 but rapidly gr ew to 827,000 by 1914! When more weapons are accumulated, the likelihood of war increases, as the Race started before the war did. The Arms Race also led to nations wanting more power. Militarism was especially powerful during this time.World War 1 was a massive war that could not have been the outcome of 1 simple cause. Imperialism, nationalism, the assassination of the Archduke and his wife, militarism, the Arms Race and alliances all played a part in the war. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie was a very significant even in the war that triggered a long chain of events. It started off with Austria declaring war on Serbia, then more countries declared war on each other because of he alliances they had made and the Arms Race Just made the war worse. World war Such question can be increasingly heard from radio speakers and be read on the pages of political magazines. Such assumptions relate primarily to the war in Syria and the Ukrainian tense political situation in which experts see a possible cause for conflict of interests of other countries that may lead too new world war. Since March 2011, unrest In Syria have not cease and managed to develop Into a fierce religious war and, according to some, has already claimed the lives of about 93 thousand people. If recently the war In Syria might seem an Internal conflict, now theUkrainian crisis can be drawn Into a bloody fight between major world powers. Now there are more and more of assumption that the Russian Invasion In Ukraine could be the beginning of World War Ill, which nuclear weapons may be used. At the moment, the U. S. Is the most interested side of fueling the conflict in Syria. They have long been eyeing Ukraine, and the Russia invasion in the Ukrainian South- East region, which occurred this spring in Lagans and Donates, gave the U. S. A legitimate reason to intervene in the conflict. Without presenting any formal evidence, the U.S. Laid the blame for the violence on the east border of Ukraine on the Russian attempts to split the country according to Gremlin's plan and expressed commitment to support the Ukrainian anti-terrorist operation in the region! The same pattern was developed a few years ago prior the U. S. Invasion of Iraq. It seems that the situation is repeated. The U. S. Determined to introduce sanctions on Russia, and they are not alone in its decision â€Å"to stand up for the Ukrainian people and to release it from under the yoke of authoritarian rule.They are Joined by Turkey, United Kingdom, France, and some other countries. Russian's actions, on the contrary, was to call to prevent World War Ill, based on unsubstantiated speculation by the U. S. Government, for whom the war in Ukraine could be economically viable. Russian President Vladi mir Putting suggested that attempts to the U. S. Intervention in the Internal affairs of Ukraine to be doomed to failure. Russia intends to prevent the United States to strike the country. China has also expressed the objection to the conflict escalation and agreed to support Russian's actions.At the Pentagon, the Russian government's decision Is not taken seriously, considering that Russian's actions are Limited to expressing their protest and that would be It. And they surely have the reason to think so, If you remember a salary situation in Iraq and Yugoslavia. But somehow it seems that right now the Russian government does not give up its position, and if the U. S. Strike on Ukraine, then Russia may enter the war, which, in turn, will lead to World War Ill. World war 3 By Jonathan to a new world war. Since March 2011, unrest in Syria have not cease and managed to develop into a housing people.If recently the war in Syria might seem an internal conflict, now the Ukrainian crisis can be drawn into a bloody fight between major world powers. Now there are more and more of assumption that the Russian invasion in Ukraine could that attempts to the U. S. Intervention in the internal affairs of Ukraine to be doomed At the Pentagon, the Russian government's decision is not taken seriously, considering that Russian's actions are limited to expressing their protest and that would be it. And they surely have the reason to think so, if you remember a similar

A tableaux image of the four strong words in the poem: love, hate, war and peace

When I first walked into the stimulus room, I initially felt it was very much associated with time. There were the sound of clocks ticking in the background, there were also many pictures of clocks scattered on the floor. As I looked around the room I noticed it was clearly divided into three different sections. In the right hand section of the room, divided off by police tape, there was a television playing a video showing a baby in a womb, children playing, and then a pair of eyes. The video then showed the children grow into adults. This was followed by a sign being put up about adoption and fostering and then went back to show the image of the baby in the womb. The images were repeated continuously. Also in the section was a baby in a cot, nursery books, a hopscotch marking, several newspapers on the floor with the headlines about ‘Rape', a mirror, empty wine bottles, a train ticket with the destination, ‘To meet my first born' and also written on the floor was ‘ Dear Diary, Today I met up with some of my friends†¦ ‘. I think the overall theme of this section of the room was the ‘past'. The baby, nursery books and hopscotch marking all represent childhood and growing up. I also think there were many more themes within the section; the hopscotch could also represent the journey through life or the stages of life. The train ticket with the destination ‘To Meet My First Born' could represent life as a journey. The mirror could represent reflecting back on your past, similar to the ‘Dear Diary', this could show how you reflect back on your past or your childhood through a diary you may have kept. The newspapers, ignoring their headlines, could show how you can look back on the past, but not go back. The police tape dividing off that section of the room could also mean that there's no going back, you cannot cross the police line back to the past. The baby and the nursery books, I think simply show the beginning of life, where it all began and highlighting the innocence of a young life. The empty wine bottles, I think show the stress of growing up, the bad times of your past. The newspapers with the headlines about ‘Rape' also show the darker side of your past, something you may want to forget. The video playing a continuous loop shows the life cycle, the baby in the womb, the children playing, then growing into adults. The flash of a person's eyes could mean the images on the video were being looked at through someone's eyes; it was perhaps their memory of growing up. The scene showing a sign about fostering and adoption could show perhaps that the baby in the cot was adopted, or that as you grow older you may not be able to have children. Often couples have to think about adopting or fostering a child. The whole section could represent one person's life. Perhaps they are reflecting back on their life after realising they in fact were adopted. They may look back realising that most of their life was a lie, many parents who adopt wait until their child is eighteen before telling them they were adopted. This could show the child looking back at his or her life, adjusting to the fact he or she did not come from where they had been lead to believe they had. The empty wine bottles could show the stress of learning the truth about your past. The mirror could show how they reflect back at their life, or that you are still the same person within throughout your life. Although your physical appearance changes, and that's what the mirror shows, you still remain the same inside. The quote, â€Å"Give me the child until he is seven, and I will show you the man† explains how you develop your characteristics by the age of seven and they remain with you for life. As I continued to look around this section of the room, I started to think more about the newspaper headlines, ‘Serial Rapist'. I started to see a pattern immerging, the headline about rape, the police tape, the empty wine bottles. This could all show a story about someone getting raped, perhaps the baby in the cot was a result of this and then put up for adoption, the mother may have turned to alcohol to deal with the trauma of being raped. The mirror, as well as reflecting back on your past could represent simply looking at your reflection, feeling self-conscious. Perhaps as a result of rape, the girl could feel very insecure and unhappy with her own appearance. The mental torment of being raped could lead her to believe that the image she sees in the mirror is worthless and damaged due to being raped. In the centre section of the room, there were lots of paintings of melting clocks scattered on the floor, a globe, a large drawing on the floor of a clock without any hands, there was also a real clock on the floor. There was a large projection of the painting ‘Scream' by Edvard Munch, a table set out for two people, there were lots of newspapers along the right hand side of this section and also newspapers with only a headline but no other text along the left side of this section. I think the overall theme of this section was the ‘present', but like in the past section I think there are many more themes within it. The paintings of melting clocks could show how time is running away, how fast life can go at times and that you should live each day to the full as you don't know whether it'll be your last. The large drawing of a clock on the floor, with no hands could back up the idea that this section of the room is ‘present' as there is no time in the present because when you have a fixed time, it is in the past. It could also represent ‘any time', the fact that there are no hands could mean that you don't know when anything will happen, you cannot predict the future. The real clock on the floor shows the reality that time really is slipping away, seconds tick by all the time, everything you do will suddenly become the past and you cannot change that. The ‘Scream' painting shows a person standing on a bridge with their hands to their face, screaming. This could represent trauma and crisis in life, the person on the bridge is perhaps thinking of ending their life and jumping into the river below, or maybe just needed a place to escape to, to reflect back on his or her life. The fact that the person is screaming could mean they are going through a hard time or they are thinking back to a scarred childhood. Like the wine bottles in the past section it could just represent the unhappy times in someone's life. Many other paintings by Edvard Munch include the same bridge or pier, maybe this is a reflection on Edvard Munch's life, it could be a place he liked to go when life was getting on top of him, to look back at his own life. The painting can represent many other things, for example the fear in people's life, perhaps it represents death, or the fact many people are afraid of the idea of death although everyone has to face it. The newspapers bordering the past and present section means that whatever is printed in the newspapers is always in the past, you can look back at it by reading the newspapers but you cannot visit it. Whereas the newspapers with only a headline and no other text represents the present and future, there's nothing to write in the newspapers because you don't know what is happening at this very moment or what is going to happen next, as soon as it has happened, when you read something in the newspaper, it is already the past. The table for two, set out neatly with two plates, two sets of cutlery and two wine glasses I think represents the opposite of the ‘Scream' painting, the happy times in life; love and friendship. It could represent a marriage, or even just two close friends. The globes could show the journey through life, or the fact that all over the world everyone is living at the same time, everyone has a past, and a present. Everyone has their own problems in life and however big and important yours are, somewhere across the world someone has their own to deal with and your problems are of no significance to them. I think this section could link into the storyline of the past section, the ‘Scream' painting could represent the trauma the rape victim went through or even how the child felt after finding out it was adopted. The table set out for two could show the happier times in their life, maybe the reunited mother and child after many years apart or it could represent a life getting back on track after a terrible event, sharing times with friends and family. The melting clocks show how time was dripping away and how you can never get it back, years would have been wasted being depressed and recovering from the trauma of being raped. In the left section of the room there is a table set out for one, a train ticket with a destination ‘To propose to Fiona', a large question mark drawn on the floor, a coffin draped in a black cloth with a rose on top, a vase of flowers, a bundle in a black cloth next to the coffin with a rose on top, a gravestone with no name or date, the words ‘Dear Diary.. ‘ written on the floor but with nothing following and on the floor, there was a white cloth. The overall theme of this section of the room was the ‘future'. The table for one, is linked to the table set out for two in the present section of the room, this could show death of a partner or divorce or even friends falling out. The white cloth on the floor could show the blank future, nothing has been written on it yet. It could also represent heaven and peace when you die. The coffin represents death, the black cloth draped over it could show how many people fear death. The coffin had a rose placed upon it, this shows love and how when you are gone, there's always someone still alive, missing you. The coffin could be linked to the table for one, it could explain that the partner or friend died. The black cloth next to the coffin could show something connected to the person in the coffin next to it, their soul or personality for instanced and how that is no longer there when a person dies. The rose upon this black cloth again can represent the love of someone you've left behind. The large question mark drawn on the floor could represent many things, how the person died or the fact that its unknown as to what happens when we die, or that we don't know what the future holds. The ‘Dear Diary†¦ ‘ without any thing written after shows that we don't know what is going to happen to us in the future. Our diaries are blank until we write in them; our future is blank until we live it. The train ticket again shows the journey through life. The destination is ‘To propose to Fiona' , this could be linked to the table for one, maybe the man went to propose to Fiona but she didn't feel the same, leaving him alone, represented by a table set out for one. The gravestone had nothing written on it apart from: RIP In loving memory of: Born: Died: I think this shows that we don't know when we are going to die, or who is going to die, when. This also shows that everyone will die, even though we don't know how or when. The flowers represent the love for someone, when people lay flowers on a grave at a funeral it is because they want to show their respect and love for the person who died and how there will be a part of their life missing without them. This section of the room could also link into the storyline of the other two sections. The bundle of cloth next to the coffin could represent an abortion, perhaps the rape victim had chosen to have an abortion. There would be no coffin because the baby was unborn but the rose still shows how there was still love for the unborn baby. The gravestone again could represent an abortion, there would be no name, or birth date as it hadn't been born. The large question mark could represent the unknown mother and father perhaps of the adopted child, it could have been an abandoned baby. It could also represent the unknown rapist and link to the past section with the police tape. On the tables, at the side of the room, not in any of the sections were several poems; ‘Time after time', ‘Funeral Blues' and an extract from ‘Ecclesiastes' in the bible. All of these tie into the three sections of the room and the overall theme of time. They also relate to the many other themes in the room, ‘Funeral Blues' by W. H. Auden is obviously related to death. It shows the love for someone who died and how they will miss them now they are gone. ‘He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest' It is from the point of view of someone left behind, someone now alone left to cope with the death of a partner. This could relate to the table for one, a partner dying and how the person will miss them. ‘I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. ‘ The extract from ‘Ecclesiastes' in the Bible, links into the idea of past, present and future. It shows how in your life, there will come a time for everything, ‘a time to be born, and a time to die' It elaborates the idea that everyone will one day die, everyone has their time. Nobody should be afraid of death, it shouldn't something to be scared of as one day everyone will face it. The poem also includes many opposites, love, hate, war and peace, and explains that in everyone's life there will come a time to do all these things. ‘a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. ‘ Development The first piece of practical work we developed from the stimulus room, was based on the Ecclesiastes poem extract from the Bible. We focused on four particular lines from it: ‘a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. ‘ We had to create a tableaux image of the four strong words in the poem; love, hate, war and peace. The first image out group started to work on was ‘love'. We decided each member of our group would hold a still image that represented various kinds of love. Georgina and I held a still image of two parents cradling a baby, showing their love for that child and each other. In this image I played the father, holding the baby whilst Georgina played the mother gazing lovingly at the baby, our facial expressions were happy to show our love for one another and the child. We also started to think about different kinds of love, not only love for other people but love for other things in life. Eliot decided to hold the image of someone eating a burger; this was to represent someone's love for food. Whilst holding an imaginary burger to his mouth, his expression was content to show how much he was enjoying it. Andy and Fiona held the still image of two people getting married in a wedding ceremony. Looking lovingly into each others eyes, they showed their love for each other, the most common kind of love. Katie played a screaming fan at a concert, overjoyed to show her love for a particular band. We then started to think about the still image we would hold for ‘hate'. Georgina and I, instead of cradling the baby, we held the image of two separated parents, fighting over custody for the child. We represented this by, Eliot playing the child and Georgina and I pulling at each of his arms to show our love for one another had gone and now we hated each other because we both wanted care of the child. We weren't facing each other or the child and our facial expressions showed we were very angry yet determined to be the parent looking after the child. Andy, Katie and Fiona held a freeze frame to show a big argument, they all had raised arms and very angry expressions, this showed their hate for one another. The next still image we worked on was ‘peace'. Instead of all holding different still images to represent this, we all stood in a circle and held hands. This showed that everyone in that circle were friends, there was no war or conflicts between us, everyone was happy and smiling. The last freeze frame we had to create was for ‘war'. We decided to show different kinds of war, the typical kind of war and also conflict and war between friends and family. We represented the typical kind of war between countries by Eliot laying dead on the floor whilst Andy and I stood over him holding guns, we had hateful looks on our faces as we looked down to the man we had killed. Georgina, Katie and Fiona represented war and conflict between friends and family by all standing with their backs to one another, with stern expressions. We also had to use the convention of ‘melt and morph' to link each of our four images. We decided to create a still image that we would start, finish and use between each of our four images. Our image that we would use to morph between the four freeze frames we created was all of us, standing with our heads down facing inwards, in a circle. This was to show the state of nothingness, no war, no peace, no love, and no hate. We evolved from this into each of our images and then back afterwards. I think the way we linked the images worked effectively because it showed four definite states; war, peace, love and hate. Also it showed the easy transition from peace to war, love to hate and represented how easy it is to go from one to the other. The characters I played in this piece were; a father in the still image for ‘love', a father in the still image for ‘hate, I was part of the circle in our representation of ‘peace' and I played someone having just killed another person in ‘war'. In the first image, I stood as the father looking very happy and lovingly at my child with a big smile on my face. In the second image, I had a more serious and hateful expression, despising of my ex-wife and determined to get custody of my child. In the third image, I stood as part of the ‘peace' circle, we all held hands and smiled to show there were no conflicts between us and we were all friends. For the last image, war, I had a very angry but satisfied look on my face as I stood over the body I had killed. The next piece of practical work we did was based on the same poem but we had to concentrate on the lines of war and hate. We were asked to think about why it would say in the bible that hate and war are justified. We then had to create a scene or imagery to explain why hate or war would be justified. The storyline our group came up with was about a very happy family, until the mother of the family was killed in a car crash. The father is left to look after the children on his own and eventually decides he cannot cope and walks out to leave the children alone. The children then start to argue over control of the family and the two eldest boys walk out to leave the last of the family, two girls alone. The girls, left alone, hate their father. This is justified because he walked out on the family just after their mother had died, when they needed him most. He left them on their own just because he felt he couldn't cope with being a single parent with four children. We based this story around a family photograph. Our first scene showed a typical family photograph, everyone smiling with arms around each other, the mother and father standing at the back with their four children kneeling in front of them. Everyone spoke occasionally saying things like, ‘Smile for the camera! ‘ and ‘Say cheese! ‘ From this perfect picture we went to the scene where the mother died. We all went and sat on chairs set out like a car, the children in the back and the mother and father in the front. The children were arguing in the back and, I, who played the father, was reading the paper in the front, leaving the mother to drive and control the children. Soon after, there are screams as the car crashes, we represented this by all slowly moving forward, we froze with our heads on our knees for a few seconds then gradually sat up again, looking weary and in pain. Fiona, who played the mother, remained with her head on her knees to show that she was dead and not going to sit back up again. We then moved back to the family photograph, this time without the mother. Here is where we included some sad music to emphasize the feeling of grief and unhappiness in the family. We again stood in the same position, ready for a photograph to be taken. I, playing the father, try to get everyone to smile saying, ‘Come on now kids, it's what your mother would've wanted, smile for the camera'. We then all froze for a few seconds to show the photograph, everyone looking deeply unhappy and not like they wanted to be there. After this I step forward, walking through the children, I turned towards them and said, ‘I'm really sorry, I just†¦ an't cope' and then walk out of the picture. Here we went back again to the family photograph, this time it's only the children in it. The two oldest children, who Eliot and Andy played start to argue about who should take control of the family, who should be the man of the house and then they both leave the picture as well. Then we are left with Ruth and Katie sitting on the floor, reflecting on their family falling apart, imagining what it would've been like if it was their father who died instead of their mother. At this point the family is reunited as if it was I, the father, was dead. Fiona and the children stood in the picture position while I sat where Fiona was sitting in the car with my head on my knees. In this performance I played the father, in the first picture I was as happy as the rest of the family, enjoying having their photo taken. After the crash, in the next picture, my character was grieving his dead wife, I showed this by looking very upset, but forcing a smile to try and encourage the rest of the family to smile for the photo. After this the father had decided he couldn't cope, as I walked through the children I held my head low to show he was regretting his decision and not wanting to look his children who he is abandoning, in the face. The father is a coward and as I said that I couldn't cope I spoke very quietly and slowly. We used many conventions in this performance; flash back, tableau (freeze frame) and slow motion. A flash back is where you move from one scene to another scene in the past. We used the flash back when we showed how the mother died and why she had dropped out of the picture. This worked well as it informed the audience as to why she wasn't in the next family photograph and why the family started to fall apart. We also used slow motion. Slow motion is when characters in the play act a lot slower than normal. We used this when we showed the car crash. I think it made the performance look more professional, rather than all falling on the floor, we all fell forward in slow motion and the fact that the mother didn't get up showed her death, I think this worked well. A tableau or a freeze frame is where characters on stage freeze in fixed positions. The freeze frames we used on every family photograph worked well because each one was different. There were less family members on each photo and for the remaining family members, their expressions grew sadder to show how distressing it was to see your family, leaving. We also added music after the crash to add more emotion and sadness to the picture. The music grew louder and stronger until it stopped when the family was reunited. I think all the conventions worked really well with our ideas and added more emotion and feeling to the piece. The next part of the stimulus room we created a performance from was the ‘Scream' painting by Edvard Munch. We had to create a piece of drama explaining how someone would get into such a state to pull this ‘scream pose' and then the aftermath. Firstly, we brainstormed ideas as to why we think the person in the painting was screaming, who he was and what happened. We came up with many ideas about the person having no friends or family, maybe being out of a job or just being generally depressed about his life. For our performance, we firstly had to create a walk of the character down the pier as shown in the painting. Eliot played our main ‘scream' character; we had to do this first movement piece to music. To begin our piece, we decided not to have the character walk down a ‘pier' but instead to walk through the passage way of a train. The central character had to be slow, and all the other people in the performance were going fast around him, this is so the focus of the performance is on the main character. We decided to show this on a train because we could emphasize the reasons as to why he is depressed and lonely. As Eliot went to sit down at every seat on the train, someone would walk that little bit faster and sit down in it before he could, someone even hurried past him and sat on one chair and put their bag on the one next to it. All the other characters on the train completely ignored Eliot. As the central character was slow he would never manage to get a seat and ended up standing up on his own. This is where he held the ‘scream' pose for a few seconds. The next part we had to do was 10 seconds of slow motion. For this we showed Eliot's anger building up, he was sick of being ignored, sick of being the one to stand alone. In this slow motion we showed Eliot raising his arms and screaming at the other passengers on the train. We showed this in mime as we thought it looked much more professional. The passengers he was shouting at simply glanced at him thinking he was a lunatic and carried on with what they were doing. For instance I played a man sitting on the train reading a newspaper, when Eliot started to scream at me, I looked up once and then went back to reading my newspaper. This all showed the build up of Eliot's anger and the exact reasons why he is so depressed and lonely and summed up why he is screaming in the painting. After the 10 seconds of slow motion, of Eliot screaming at the passengers, we had to do 10 seconds of what happens next. Here is where one by one, the passengers get up out of their seats and go, leaving Eliot standing alone in the carriage, even lonelier and upset. After the train scene, we were told to create scenes to describe what has lead the character to the scream, what has happened previously in his life to make him feel so sad and lonely? We showed this by creating three scenes that are flash backs to his earlier life. We started with a flash back to when he was a small child. Eliot and Ruth as his sister went running up to their mother, played by Fiona, to show off paintings they had both done in school that day. The mother immediately dismisses Eliot's and leaves the room with his sister, constantly praising her work. This scene showed he was in constant competition with his sister for their mother's attention, but how Eliot was never appreciated by his mother and was left standing alone in this scene. Our second flash back scene showed his life at school. He was the typical ‘geek' and had no luck with the girls. Our scene was set in a school disco where Eliot finally plucks up the courage to ask a girl he likes, to dance, when he was pushed away by another boy who the girl ended up spending the dance with. Everyone was dancing with their partners at the disco and Eliot was left standing alone, again. For our third flash back we showed Eliot a lot older, in his job. Here we showed him presenting an idea to his boss, but his boss ignored the idea and soon after gave the tea lady a promotion in front of him. This showed Eliot, again, not being appreciated, this time by his boss. In all of our flash backs we showed Eliot being ignored and not appreciated, he always ended up being left to stand alone. After these flash back scenes, our group stood, spread out, around the stage. Eliot walked up to each one of us but as he did, we all turned our backs on him. This was to symbolise his life, no one being there, everyone turning there back on him and ignoring him. This short scene could perhaps represent Eliot reminiscing on his life and leading him to walk along the pier. After this scene, we showed Eliot, walking along the pier, like in the painting. Eliot walks up to a line and stops for a few seconds, then he finally steps over the line. The line symbolising life and death, him stepping over the line showed his suicide, jumping off the bridge. At this point everyone who had turned their back on him turned around and held an outstretched arm, as if to try and catch him. After this scene we had to create a scene to show peoples reactions to finding out about his death. We did this using the rest of the group, who had stood there with outstretched arms, forming a line. Each person in turn said something in character as one person from each of the flashbacks we did. For example, I played the boss in the flashback of the job and in the line I said, ‘I should've given him a chance, I never listened to him' and then we repeated the flash back to his job as we did before but changed the detail so his boss looked at his ideas, and gave him a promotion. We did this with all three scenes we flashed back to before and changed them all so Eliot wasn't being ignored but being fully appreciated, this was to show the ‘what if' scenario, what if they had listened, what if they hadn't ignored him, he wouldn't have taken his own life. Then realising it was too late, there was no going back, everyone in the line held the ‘scream' pose themselves. This was to symbolise the way they felt, guilty. It was they who had contributed to Eliot eventually taking his own life. In this piece of drama I played a man sitting on the train and also Eliot's boss in the flashback. For the man in the train, my character was very self-contained and just simply wanted to get from one place to another, reading his paper and not being disturbed. When Eliot began to scream and shout at people, I focussed harder on the newspaper to ignore all the goings on in the carriage, despite it being a man, very depressed and alone, letting all his anger out. I played this character very upper-class, sitting up very straight on the chair, turning my nose up at the goings on in the train and acting very frustrated when I had to raise my newspaper that little bit higher to completely block out my surroundings. When I played the boss in the first ‘real' flash back, I wasn't interested in Eliot's ideas, more so interested in the cup of tea I was soon to be enjoying. I completely dismissed Eliot when he came up to me, exited to tell me about his new idea. I did not care about his feelings or whether it would be a good idea. When I played this character I was very snappy and couldn't be bothered to look at whatever he had to show and dismissed him with a wave of my hand. When I played the same character standing in the line, I was very regretful and ashamed of my actions towards him, when I said that I wish I had been a better boss I held my head low to show how ashamed I was and spoke quietly and slowly. In the ‘what if' flash back I was a very happy and considerate boss, welcoming his new idea with opening arms, I played this very kindly towards Eliot and always smiling. The conventions we used in this piece of drama were; slow and fast motion, freeze frame, flash back, mime and also used music at the beginning of the performance. We used fast motion to show every one carrying on with their lives around one focal character walking down the train. Fast motion is the opposite of slow motion where characters act faster than normal. We used the fast motion on the train scene with everyone else on the train apart from Eliot. This helped make Eliot stand out from the other characters. This symbolised that the world is still carrying on with their lives, no matter how terrible he is finding life. We then used a freeze frame when Eliot did the ‘scream pose', this worked well as it showed the link to the painting we used as our stimulus. We then used slow motion and mime in the aftermath of the ‘scream' pose and the reactions of the others on the train. Mime is where you act as normal but without speaking a word, but still moving your lips as if you were, we used this when Eliot is shouting and screaming at those on the train who eventually walk off. I think the performance looked more professional because the mime added more emotion and also symbolises the character in a way, he is shouting and screaming but the audience can't hear a word of it, just as many people ignored him in his life and never listened to anything he had to say. We then flashed back to Eliot's past to show why he felt so alone. The conventions all worked really well with the piece and helped the audience understand why the character is feeling the way he is. For our next piece of drama, we looked at a theme within the stimulus room. We looked at the ‘childhood' theme found in the past section of the room. We firstly had to brainstorm what we thought linked to childhood in the room. The hopscotch, the baby, the nursery books and the children playing on the video all tie into the childhood theme. All these objects relating to childhood had a sense of innocence and youth. We brainstormed significant memories of our own childhood and chose 6 ideas to create scenes upon. Our group came up with many ideas for this but the 6 ideas we chose were: * A school nativity play. * Playing in the school playground. * On a bouncy castle at a party. * Learning to ride a bike. * Writing letters to Father Christmas. Telling scary stories at a sleepover. We firstly had to create tableaux images or short scenes of these memories. For our first scene, the nativity play, our group all stood in a line as if on stage at a school play. Georgina and Katie were arguing loudly about the role of Mary shouting, ‘I wanted to be Mary! ‘, Ruth played a young girl, transfixed by the audience, smiling stiffly and waving, I played a young boy on stage desperately needing the toilet and dancing about ready to wee myself at any moment and Eliot played a young boy who walked off stage half way through. We all acted very childish and how you would expect very young children to react on stage in front of all their mums and dads. In our second scene, playing in the playground, Eliot and Ruth were playing with a skipping rope, Katie was playing hopscotch alone and I was running away from Georgina who was chasing me in a game of ‘tig'. For our third scene, on the bouncy castle, we were all bouncing happily apart from Ruth who is sitting on the edge, too scared to go on it. Eventually most people left the bouncy castle but I continue to bounce there quite happily on my own. Our fourth scene, learning to ride a bike, showed Eliot learning to ride a bike, being taught by Georgina whilst the rest of us played parents and other adults watching him learn. I played the father of Eliot and we all cheered when he rode the bike on his own. For our fifth scene, writing letters to Father Christmas we all laid down on the floor reading as we wrote. I lay there and as I wrote was saying, ‘Dear Santa†¦ I have been a good boy this year.. We made it very clear we were children by speaking very slowly as we wrote it and also by fidgeting whilst we were writing. In our final scene, at a sleep over, we all lay there and listened to Ruth telling a ghost story. As it ended we all gasped in horror and eventually turned over and fell asleep. After we had created the 6 original scenes, we had to repeat them all but with one thing different in each; the scene had to be tainted with a bad memory. For our nativity play scene we showed Eliot playing a young boy running off crying because his mum hadn't came to watch in the audience. This could show how his mother not turning up, could perhaps leave what should be a happy memory of a school play, tainted. It could even perhaps be a first of a long line of memories in the boy's life of people not being there for him and he may find it a lot harder to trust people in the long run. A small difference in the past could affect the future a lot more. For the playground scene, Georgina who was chasing me in the playground, deliberately pushed Katie over when she was playing hopscotch and carried on running. This could affect Katie's adult life, by having this memory tainted; Katie might feel more insecure as an adult and live her life in the shadow of others because of a small bullying incident when she was very young. For the bouncy castle scene, instead of me being left alone quite happily enjoying bouncing along, I was left alone but this time lonely and sad. This tainted memory of being left on your own while the other children go off and play somewhere else could have a big affect on later life. My character would not want to venture to new things on his own, for fear of being lonely. Perhaps he might follow other people around when he's older so that there'll always be someone there. In the repeat of the learning to ride a bike scene, the adults weren't as interested as the child achieving to ride the bike but instead all walked back inside, leaving the child outside alone, struggling with the bike. This tainted memory could be very influential in later life, the boy may not want to try new things, won't want to tackle challenges in fear of being left alone to try and cope with them. In the repeat of the writing letters to Santa scene, one of the children shouts out, ‘Santa's not real! , although a small, laughable incident, looking back, this could change a child's life in that they won't be able to trust or believe other people as much and find it difficult to rely on other people. In the tainted scene about telling scary stories, after we had fallen asleep one of the children had a nightmare and woke up clutching her knees and shaking with fear. She was the only one awake and felt scared and alone after hearing the scary story. This could affect her adult life, as she could be easily scared and worried that she will be alone. After creating 6 scenes of childhood memories and 6 scenes of tainted childhood memories we had to create a scene that shows a character from one of the scenes in the future as an adult. We decided to create a scene that showed all the characters from the nativity play scene, in adult life. We kept it similar to the original scene in that the characters were all waiting on stage in a theatre, ready for the curtains to go up. Each character said their own thoughts aloud before they went on stage. For my character I said, ‘Oh why didn't I go to the toilet before I came on?! It's too late now! ‘ This is similar to the character I played in the nativity play, needing the toilet on stage. All the other characters said their thoughts, similar to the actions of those when they were children in the nativity play. For example Georgina who wanted to be Mary said, ‘Why does she get to play Juliet? She always gets the good parts'. Eliot, whose parents didn't turn up in the nativity play said, ‘I know they're not going to be there, they never turn up'. This shows how the tainted memory of the nativity play has been affecting him in later life. From this scene we flashed back to the childhood nativity play scene, this worked very well as we stayed in the same positions and the transition was clear by our sudden childish behaviour on stage. The characters I played in the piece of drama are; a small boy needing the toilet on stage in the nativity play, a boy being chased in a game of tag in the playground, a boy bouncing on the bouncy castle, left alone at the end, a father watching his son learn to ride a bike, a small child writing a letter to Father Christmas, a small child at a sleepover listening to a scary story and an adult waiting on stage, desperately needing the toilet. When I played the boy in the nativity play, needing the toilet, I played it with a very desperate face, embarrassed that I'm on stage and I need the toilet and also by bugging the girl next to me to tell her. I played the boy being chased in the playground with lots of excitement, full of energy, dodging behind chairs and people trying to hide. When I played the boy on the bouncy castle, for the first memory, I played him really happy and exited, enjoying just bouncing up and down, not affected when everyone leaves. On the tainted memory, when everyone leaves my face turned sad, I stood there, still bouncing slightly, looking upset, wondering why all my friends had ran off without me. When I played the father in the first memory of the boy learning to ride a bike I played it full of joy, a big smile on my face watching my son learn. On the tainted memory I acted like I wasn't interested, more interested in talking to my friend about the football than watching my son learn how to ride a bike. When I played the small child writing a letter to Father Christmas, the first memory I played I looking really happy and exited to be writing to Santa and also very much looking forward to Christmas. On the tainted memory I played it very upset and shocked when someone said that Santa wasn't real, as if my dreams had been shattered and betrayed that I had been lied to about it. For the small child at the sleepover I played it very interested in the story being told and exited about what would happen next but scared at the same time. And finally when I played the adult on stage waiting to go on but desperately needing the toilet, I played it very nervous, thinking why I had made such a mistake again. When I said my thoughts I said it with nerves in my voice and embarrassment saying, ‘Why didn't I go to the toilet?! ‘. The conventions we used throughout this piece of drama were; flash backs, freeze frames, repetition and thought tracking. We used the flashback to go from the adults on stage to the tainted memory of the nativity play, this worked very well as we were in the same positions and the change between our adult characters and child characters was visible even though we had the same qualities. We used a freeze frame to separate our childhood scenes; we ended each scene with one. Repetition is where you repeat something you have already performed, often with a small change to it. We used repetition when we went from one childhood memory to a tainted childhood memory; the scene was the same apart from a few details. Thought tracking is where you hear characters thoughts aloud. We used thought tracking when the adult actors are waiting for the curtain to rise and they say their thoughts, relating back to how they felt when they were children. The conventions added more depth to the piece, the repetition showed the clear difference between the normal and tainted memory and the flashback showed how the tainted memory had effect in later life. The freeze frames detached each scene from each other and I think gave it more of an effect of being someone's memory. For our final scene, we had to choose one object or theme from the stimulus room and create our own performance piece on this idea. Our group chose the newspapers about rape in the past section of the room and the table set one in the future section of the room. The story our group developed was about a girl called Katie being raped. It showed the life of Katie in a ‘what if' situation. If she hadn't taken the detour on the way home from the pub, would she have been raped? Our piece of drama started with Katie, playing Katie and Eliot, playing the rapist, walking towards each other. Katie was walking alone back from a night out at the pub; she was a little tipsy and seemed in her own world whilst walking along. Eliot walked towards her from the opposite direction; he was also alone and had just come from a night out with the lads. Georgina and Fiona took the roles of narrators and introduced the characters as they walked to the centre stage. Georgina told the audience about Katie's bubbly personality, how she was always up for a good night out. Fiona introduced Eliot as a typical ‘lad', told the audience his love for women and how he'd go for anything with a pulse. This introduced the characters as they met. When they both reached each other there was a freeze frame. Katie held her arms in the air, protecting her self whilst Eliot held the position of someone about to attack her. They were not touching; this would leave the audience in suspense, left to think about what this freeze frame was suppose to show. As our stimulus for this piece of drama included the newspapers about rape that was what the freeze frame represented although the audience would not know that for sure. As they were frozen, Georgina, Fiona and I walked on stage and started circling the freeze frame, we all acted as if we were going about out daily lives. I was on the phone talking to a friend, Georgina was reading a newspaper and Fiona was talking as if to a friend. This was to represent that the whole world carries on with their lives whilst the rape was happening, perhaps tying into the representation of the Globe in the stimulus room. We included in our story, a way of being able to freeze what was going on, on stage and being able to talk to yourself or your thoughts aloud or to the audience, this was done by clicking the fingers. I think this added suspense as the drama could be immediately stopped at any precise moment and also made the audience feel more involved. As we were all circling the freeze frame, Ruth who played the same character of Katie walked on stage and clicked her fingers. We all froze. Ruth, looking at the scene in front of her, looked distressed and confused. She was saying things like, ‘this is not right, it's not like this' to herself as she walked up to the frozen scene. As she reached the scene of ‘herself' getting raped, she started to change it. She straightened up Katie's jacket and did up Eliot's tie. She stood in the scene to show that it was her it had happened to, then Ruth's character of Katie got a phone call from her boyfriend, this is who I played. I was asking her to come back to the house because there was something I wanted to ask her. This was where the story was spilt. There was now a ‘what if' scenario. The second Katie had got a phone call to go back to the house, so she wouldn't have ever met Eliot in the alley and it wouldn't have happened at all, The first Katie didn't get a phone call from her boyfriend before she took the detour down the alley and ended up getting raped. As our performance continued, we showed the same character, Katie, in two different lives, one went home to her boyfriend the other had been raped. Ruth's character of Katie who had received the phone call went home to meet her boyfriend. As she opened the door she was greeted by me on one knee. I took her hand and began proposing, I started saying, ‘I've been thinking about this for a long time now, I want to spend the rest of my life with you†¦ ‘ Ruth then clicked her fingers, I froze and she walked towards the audience. Ruth began to say her thoughts out loud saying things like ‘Is he really going to do this? and generally showing her excitement to the audience that she was about to be engaged. Ruth then returned standing in front of me and clicked. I carried on with proposing, ‘Katie, will you marry me? ‘ Here is where we froze, Ruth left the scene but I stayed in the same position. The first Katie, who had been raped, walked in. I acted exactly the same and began to propose, ‘I've been thinking about this for a long time now†¦ ‘ Katie walked on by, ignoring me, her boyfriend, muttering quietly, ‘I don't want to talk right now'. This Katie is very distressed after being raped that she walked straight past her boyfriend proposing, and out of the room. Here is where we represented the table for one, Katie's boyfriend has been left on his own, he was about to ask the most important question of his life and his girlfriend, who he doesn't know has been raped, walked straight past ignoring him. After this scene, the second Katie, who didn't get raped is showing off her engagement ring to her friends played by Georgina and Fiona, in the pub. Although we didn't show it, Katie said yes to her boyfriend and now she is happily engaged. Eliot's character, the rapist, is also in the pub. As this Katie hasn't ever come across him she doesn't know who he is but as he walks past her and her friends, Katie kept staring at him and can't help thinking why she recognises him. She doesn't know why, she doesn't know him, but she gets a chill down her spine and has to leave. The final scene of our piece shows the narrators introducing Katie and Eliot exactly the same as at the beginning, they are walking towards each other. This time it is Ruth's character of Katie having just left the pub. They freeze in the same positions as Eliot and Katie had done before. So even if Katie had got a phone call from her boyfriend and went back to the house, if she hadn't walked down the alley that night, she still ended up in the situation of rape. This shows that even with the ‘what if', Katie got raped either way. It shows you can't live life thinking, ‘what if I'd done something differently' as everything happens, and happens for a reason. In this performance I played the boyfriend of Katie and also one of the general members of public walking round the frozen rape scene at the beginning. When I played one of the people walking around the freeze frame I was talking on the phone to a friend, not knowing of the rape that was also happening, this is to represent that everywhere everyone is getting on with their lives while you maybe going through such trauma. I also played Katie's boyfriend, who is very much in love with his girlfriend and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. When I was proposing to the Katie who didn't get raped, I proposed to her on one knee, and took her hand in mine, with a big smile on my face as I saw her smiling as I said it. I paused between each line until I finally said, ‘Will you marry me? ‘ which I said definitely and seriously but still smiling. When I proposed to the Katie that did get raped, I started just as I did with the other Katie, smiling as I said it until she walked on past me ignoring me, the smile faded and I got up looking very upset and confused at the same time. We used many conventions in this piece; freeze frame, narration, thought tracking and cross cutting. We used tableaux during each scene as a way for the narrator or character to speak to the audience and fill them in on what was happening. We used narrators to help tell the story in more detail, making it easier for the audience to understand and be more involved with the play. Narration is when you speak to the audience out of role, informing them of details about the play or about the characters in it. Some characters used thought tracking and spoke to the audience in character, to show their inner thoughts; we used this whenever we had a freeze frame by clicking the fingers. Thought tracking is where you as an audience can hear the characters thoughts out loud. We also used cross cutting, from the two Katie's lives, the Katie that did get raped and the Katie that didn't. This showed how taking just a small detour on your way home could affect your life completely, this added more depth to the piece, being able to see, visually the ‘what if' scenario. Cross cutting is where you switch from one scene to another, freezing in-between. The conventions were all very effective and added more emotion to the piece, being able to hear the characters inner thoughts and also kept the audience more informed with the story and the characters in it. Evaluation For our first piece of drama, the still images for love, hate, war and peace. We had to create four tableaux images for those words and morph between them. The most effective moment in this piece I think was our tableau for ‘peace' and the way we morphed into it. Our image for ‘peace' was everyone holding hands in a circle, we evolved into this from everyone in our group heads down in a smaller circle and then we all together stepped back and held hands. I think this was effective because it flowed nicely and was a good representation of the word. Our group worked very well for our first piece of practical work, everyone contributed ideas and we came out with a good finished performance. Ideas I contributed for the still images of love, hate, war and peace were that we should include several different meanings of the words e. g. not only the typical love for another person but also show love for other things like a favourite band or a favourite food, also the way we morphed into the images, I thought it was a good idea to return to one same still image after each of the four images we showed. My ideas were effective for the way we morphed into each of the images, because it flowed well and showed four definite different still images. I think we could have improved it by showing the typical kind of war, between countries, not by having a dead body on the floor and two men standing over him with guns. I didn't think this looked very good and would have been better if we showed it in a less obvious way. We then had to create a piece of drama that explains why hate and war may be justified. The most effective moment of this piece of drama we did, I think was the music playing alongside the performance after we had shown the mother dying. This was effective because as the music was slow and sad it represented the mood of everyone in the family, grief and sadness. For this piece, our group worked well together, the general picture of the family getting smaller and gradually looking more and more miserable worked well. The ideas our group came up with were effective in that the justifying hate was deep and hidden within the performance, we showed the build up and reason the children ended up hating their father. Ideas I contributed to this piece were to flash back to how the mother died. I think this fitted nicely into the performance as it explained the reason for the mother not being in the next family photograph although I think it would have looked better if we showed her death by symbolising it somehow not sitting in four chairs laid out like a car. The conventions we used in this were; freeze frames, flash back and slow motion. These conventions were effective because the freeze frames represented the family photograph which is what we based our story on, the flash back kept the audience more informed as to why the mother had died and the reasons the family had started to fall apart. The slow motion in the car crash made it look more professional and I think worked well. Other conventions we could have added was perhaps more thought tracking, this would have improved the performance as the audience would have been able to hear the individual characters thoughts, what that were feeling and if they did, the reasons they walked out on the family from their point of view. The second piece of practical work we developed was based around the ‘Scream' painting. Here we showed the reasons and build up as to why this character was screaming and the aftermath of his suicide. The most effective moment of this performance I though was when Eliot, who played the main character, walked up to each other member of the group in turn and we all just turned our backs on him. This was symbolic of his life, nobody being there for him, nobody appreciating him and everyone turning their back on him. For this piece our group worked well together, all of our ideas made up a good all round performance, when we put all the different sections of the performance together to perform it, it worked well. The idea I contributed to the piece was to revisit the flashbacks in a ‘what if' situation, the characters on finding out about Eliot's death were all deeply sorry and ashamed of the way they behaved towards him. Showing these ‘what if' flashbacks I think represented their own thoughts and was effective in the performance. What we could have improved in this piece was the beginning sequence of Eliot doing the ‘scream' pose. I think this could have been shown in a more symbolic way as it is symbolic in itself; the character wouldn't have screamed like that in a train carriage but it represented the way he felt and linked it to the painting we used as our stimulus. We could have shown it somehow to be in the character's head, his thoughts circling him screaming as he was only screaming inside, until he started to shout at passengers. The conventions we used within this piece were; slow and fast motion, freeze frame, flash back, mime and also used music at the beginning of the performance. I think they all added to the performance, the slow and fast motion helped the audience see who the focal character was and also represented the way the world is going so fast around you. We used the freeze frame when Eliot did his ‘scream' pose, this worked effectively because it linked the piece back to our stimulus, the scream painting. It showed how the character in our performance was feeling the same, if not was the person in the painting. The flash backs we used helped show the reasons and build up to why this person is screaming, it made the audience understand what has lead him to this and why he ended up committing suicide. The ‘what if' flash backs, with some details changed, showed the way the people were thinking, how if they might have behaved differently towards him then he may not have ended up walking off the bridge. Other conventions we could have added were thought tracking, we could have used this on the main character who does the ‘scream' pose. This could have given the play more depth and emotion, it would have helped inform the audience more of what he was thinking and what was going through his mind. The third piece of practical wok we worked on was the childhood scenes. This is where we came up with 6 childhood memories and made a scene or imagery out of them, then we repeated those scenes but with a few details changed so that they were tainted memories, we then showed a scene of some of the characters from the childhood scenes in adult life and flashed back to when they were younger. The 6 childhood memories we worked on were; a nativity play, playing in the school playground, playing on a bouncy castle, learning to ride a bike, writing letters to Santa and telling scary stories at a sleep over. I think the most effective moment of this piece was when we flashed back from the adult scene to when they were younger, this showed how the tainted memory had affected that child in adult life and also that all the characters have the same characteristics now they are older when they did when they had stood on stage in a nativity play as very young children. It also worked well as we stood in the same positions and the only change from the adult scene and the flashback was our sudden childish behaviour. For this performance our group worked very well, we had many scenes to put together and when we did it all flowed nicely. Ideas I contributed to this piece was to have the thought tracking of the adults when they were waiting to go on stage, I think it was effective because this showed what they were thinking and how it related to their character when they were children. Ideas we could have improved to make the performance better was to make the way the scenes had been tainted more obvious. It wasn't too clear to the audience how the scene had been tainted when it was repeated. The conventions we used throughout this piece of drama were; flash backs, freeze frame, repetition and thought tracking. These conventions worked effectively in the performance; we used the flashback when we went from the adult scene to the nativity play scene. This worked well as it showed the similarities between the adults and the children, also we stayed in the same positions so it was only clear that we had flashed back by our change to acting like children. The freeze frame helped separate each of the childhood scenes and I think gave the scenes the effect of being in someone's memory, freezing the scene, then moving to the next one. The repetition showed how a childhood memory could easily be tainted; it showed the difference between someone's happy childhood memory and someone's bad childhood memory. The thought tracking of the adults waiting on stage worked well as it informed the audience what they were thinking and how it related to their character when they were younger. Conventions we could have added to improve our piece of drama could be more thought tracking, in the childhood scenes we only knew how the children felt by the way they acted, perhaps if we included some thought tracking for the children it would show how they were feeling in their happy memory and then in their tainted memory. The final piece of drama we did was our final performance, about rape. We showed the life of our character, Katie, in a ‘what if' scenario, what her life would be like if she had been raped and if she hadn't. We showed these two different lives alongside each other. The most effective moment of this piece, I think, was showing her boyfriend propose to Katie twice, the one who did get raped and the one who didn't. This showed the contrast between the two and the effect of being raped. For this performance our group worked well together and we all had good ideas that contributed to our final piece. We all listened to what each other had to say and were all happy with the final performance we came up with. Ideas that I added to this piece were to repeat the beginning scene with the first Katie and Eliot walking towards each other, at the end, with the second Katie. This was to show that even if she hadn't taken a detour home she would have got raped anyway so you shouldn't go through life thinking, ‘what if I'd done something differently? ‘ It also wrapped up the piece and was a good ending. Another idea I added was to have the narrators introduce Katie and Eliot at the beginning of the piece, this worked well because it showed how Katie was a normal, bubbly girl and that rape could happen to anyone. It also introduced Eliot as a typical ‘lad' which similarly shows how anyone could be a rapist. We could have improved this piece by making it easier to understand, maybe by making it slightly simpler. It was a very complicated story line and is difficult to show the life of the same person with two different people, which may have made it more complicated for the audience. The conventions we used in this piece were freeze frames, narration, thought tracking and cross cutting. They were all very effective in the way we used them. We used a freeze frame in nearly every scene, when a character clicked their fingers. This is where the characters had a chance to either narrate or we included thought tracking of the characters here. We used narration to introduce the characters, describe their personality and also inform the audience of what was happening through the story, we used the narration during a freeze frame. This was effective because the audience could not only listen to the narrator but see a still image on stage behind. The thought tracking, we included when we used a freeze frame, this portrayed the feelings and thoughts of the character to the audience at various parts of the story. We used cross cutting when we cut from one Katie's life to the other, this was a major part of the story, which helped show the two lives side by side. This was very effective as it could show the audience the different lives Katie would lead, if she had been raped and if she hadn't been raped. Other conventions we could have added into the piece would be maybe a flash back into the rapists' past. This could have given the performance more depth and perhaps reason as to why someone would end up doing such a thing, it would have explained to the audience what type of person ended up becoming a rapist.