Literary Genre Essay

Literary genres are determined by literary technique, tone, content and by critics’ definitions of the genres. A literary genre is a category, type or class of literature. Major forms of literature The major forms of Literature are: * Novel * Poem * Drama * Short story * Novella Various forms of literature are written in and further categorized by genre. Sometimes forms are used interchangeably to define genre. However, a form, e. g. , a novel or a poem, can itself be written in any genre. Genre is a label that characterizes elements a reader can expect in a work of literature. The major forms of literature can be written in various genres. Classic major genres Genre is a category characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. The classic major genres of Literature are: * Drama * Romance * Satire * Tragedy * Comedy * Tragicomedy Genre categories: fiction and nonfiction Genre may fall under one of two categories: Fiction and Nonfiction. Any genre can be either: a work of Fiction (nonfactual descriptions and events invented by the author) or a work of Nonfiction (a communication in which descriptions and events are understood to be factual). Common genres: fiction Subsets of genres, known as common genres, have developed from the archetypes of genres in written expression. The common genres included in recommended Literature from kindergarten through Grade Twelve by the CaliforniaÃ'Ž Department of Education are defined as:[1] * Drama – stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action * Fable – narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale * Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children * Fantasy – fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality * Fiction narrative – literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact * Fiction in verse – full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form * Folklore – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or â€Å"folk† as handed down by word of mouth * Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting * Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the readerÃ'Ž * Humor – Usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres * Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material * Mystery – fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secretsÃ'Ž * Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods * Poetry – verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses * Realistic fiction – story that is true to lifeÃ'Ž * Science fiction – story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets * Short story – fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots * Tall tale – humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance Common genres: nonfiction * Biography/Autobiography – Narrative of a person’s life. A true story about a real person. * Essay – A short literary composition that reflects the author’s outlook or point. * Narrative nonfiction – Factual information presented in a format which tells a story. * Speech – Public address or discourse. * Textbook – Authoritative and detailed factual description of a topic. Literary fiction vs. genre fiction Literary fiction is a term used to distinguish certain fictional works that possess commonly held qualities that constitute literary merit. Genre works are written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. Literary fiction may fit within a classification of market fiction, but also possesses generally agreed upon qualities such as â€Å"elegantly written, lyrical, and †¦ layered† that appeals to readers outside genre fiction. Literary fiction has been defined as any fiction that attempts to engage with one or more truths or questions, hence relevant to a broad scope of humanity as a form of expression. There are many sources that help readers find and define literary fiction and genre fiction. Literary element A literary element is an element found in the whole works of literature. Literary elements are not â€Å"used† by all authors; instead, they exist inherently in forms of literature and are derived by the readers of a work in question. [1] This distinguishes them from literary techniques, which are less universal and are used intentionally rather than being emergent characteristics of a literary work. For example, characterization, conflict, setting, and point of view would be considered literary elements, whereas irony or foreshadowing are considered literary techniques. Literary elements are most frequently used to help discussion on a work or better understand a work of literature. For instance, the New York State Comprehensive English Regents Exam requires that students utilize and discuss literary elements relating to specific works in each of the two essays,[2] much like many other state-level high school exams nationwide. Literary elements  * antagonist * archetype (prototype/original/classic/model) * characterization * climax * conflict * dialogue * diction * denouement (resolution) * dramatic structure * falling action * language * mood * moral * motif (feature/recurring design) * narrative mode (point of view) * narrative structure * Peripheral (minor/not a central important)Ã'Ž * plot * protagonist * rising action * setting * speaker * syntax * theme * Tone * Literary Analysis: Using Elements of Literature Students are asked to write literary analysis essays because this type of assignment encourages you to think about how and why a poem, short story, novel, or play was written. To successfully analyze literature, you’ll need to remember that authors make specific choices for particular reasons. Your essay should point out the author’s choices and attempt to explain their significance. Another way to look at a literary analysis is to consider a piece of literature from your own perspective. Rather than thinking about the author’s intentions, you can develop an argument based on any single term (or combination of terms) listed below. You’ll just need to use the original text to defend and explain your argument to the reader. Allegory – narrative form in which the characters are representative of some larger humanistic trait (i. e.greed, vanity, or bravery) and attempt to convey some larger lesson or meaning to life. Although allegory was originally and traditionally character based, modern allegories tend to parallel story and theme. * William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily- the decline of the Old South * Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- man’s struggle to contain his inner primal instincts * District 9- South African Apartheid * X Men- the evils of prejudice * Harry Potter- the dangers of seeking â€Å"racial purity† Character – representation of a person, place, or thing performing traditionally human activities or functions in a work of fiction * Protagonist – The character the story revolves around. * Antagonist – A character or force that opposes the protagonist. * Minor character – Often provides support and illuminates the protagonist. * Static character – A character that remains the same. * Dynamic character – A character that changes in some important way. * Characterization – The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations. Look for: Connections, links, and clues between and about characters. Ask yourself what the function and significance of each character is. Make this determination based upon the character’s history, what the reader is told (and not told), and what other characters say about themselves and others. Connotation – implied meaning of word. BEWARE! Connotations can change over time. * confidence/ arrogance * mouse/ rat * cautious/ scared * curious/ nosey * frugal/ cheap Denotation – dictionary definition of a word Diction – word choice that both conveys and emphasizes the meaning or theme of a poem through distinctions in sound, look, rhythm, syllable, letters, and definition Figurative language – the use of words to express meaning beyond the literal meaning of the words themselves * Metaphor – contrasting to seemingly unalike things to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme without using like or as * You are the sunshine of my life. * Simile – contrasting to seemingly unalike things to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme using like or as * What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun * Hyperbole – exaggeration * I have a million things to do today. * Personification – giving non-human objects human characteristics * America has thrown her hat into the ring, and will be joining forces with the British. Foot – grouping of stressed and unstressed syllables used in line or poem * Iamb – unstressed syllable followed by stressed * Made famous by the Shakespearian sonnet, closest to the natural rhythm of human speech * How do I love thee? Let me count the ways * Spondee – stressed stressedÃ'Ž * Used to add emphasis and break up monotonous rhythm * Blood boil, mind-meld, well- loved * Trochee – stressed unstressed * Often used in children’s rhymes and to help with memorization, gives poem a hurried feeling * While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, * Anapest – unstressed unstressed stressed * Often used in longer poems or â€Å"rhymed stories† * Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house * Dactyls – stressed unstressed unstressed * Often used in classical Greek or Latin text, later revived by the Romantics, then again by the Beatles, often thought to create a heartbeat or pulse in a poem * Picture yourself in a boat on a river, With tangerine trees and marmalade skies. The iamb stumbles through my books; trochees rush and tumble; while anapest runs like a hurrying brook; dactyls are stately and classical. Imagery – the author’s attempt to create a mental picture (or reference point) in the mind of the reader. Remember, though the most immediate forms of imagery are visual, strong and effective imagery can be used to invoke an emotional, sensational (taste, touch, smell etc) or even physical response. Meter – measure or structuring of rhythm in a poem Plot – the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story * Foreshadowing – When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the story; it may be explicit (obvious) or implied (disguised). * Suspense – The tension that the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the unknown * Conflict – Struggle between opposing forces. * Exposition – Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot. * Rising Action – The process the story follows as it builds to its main conflict * Crisis – A significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end * Resolution/Denouement – The way the story turns out. Point of View – pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. The point of view of a story can sometimes indirectly establish the author’s intentions. * Narrator – The person telling the story who may or may not be a character in the story. * First-person – Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision. * Second person – Narrator addresses the reader directly as though she is part of the story. (i. e. â€Å"You walk into your bedroom. You see clutter everywhere and†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) * Third Person (Objective) – Narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a detached observer). Does not assume character’s perspective and is not a character in the story. The narrator reports on events and lets the reader supply the meaning. * Omniscient – All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator knows what each character is thinking and feeling, not just what they are doing throughout the story. This type of narrator usually jumps around within the text, following one character for a few pages or chapters, and then switching to another character for a few pages, chapters, etc. Omniscient narrators also sometimes step out of a particular character’s mind to evaluate him or her in some meaningful way. Rhythm – often thought of as a poem’s timing. Rhythm is the juxtaposition of stressed and unstressed beats in a poem, and is often used to give the reader a lens through which to move through the work. (See meter and foot) Setting – the place or location of the action. The setting provides the historical and cultural context for characters. It often can symbolize the emotional state of characters. Example – In Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, the crumbling old mansion reflects the decaying state of both the family and the narrator’s mind. We also see this type of emphasis on setting in Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. Speaker – the person delivering the poem. Remember, a poem does not have to have a speaker, and the speaker and the poet are not necessarily one in the same. Structure (fiction) – The way that the writer arranges the plot of a story. Look for: Repeated elements in action, gesture, dialogue, description, as well as shifts in direction, focus, time, place, etc. Structure (poetry) – The pattern of organization of a poem. For example, a Shakespearean sonnet is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter. Because the sonnet is strictly constrained, it is considered a closed or fixed form. An open or free form poem has looser form, or perhaps one of the author’s invention, but it is important to remember that these poems are not necessarily formless. Symbolism – when an object is meant to be representative of something or an idea greater than the object itself. * Cross – representative of Christ or Christianity * Bald Eagle – America or Patriotism * Owl – wisdom or knowledge * Yellow – implies cowardice or rot Tone – the implied attitude towards the subject of the poem. Is it hopeful, pessimistic, dreary, worried? A poet conveys tone by combining all of the elements listed above to create a precise impression on the reader.

Effectiveness of Working Individually Essay

Abstract This purpose of this mathematics classroom-based research study is to answer the following question: Will allowing students to work in groups improve their understanding, or will working individually lead to greater understanding? I have been at a crossroads trying to determine if and when to allow students to work together or to make them work alone because students do not always manage the social aspects of group work so that it will be advantageous to them. Half of the class was instructed that they would complete their work by working in groups; the other half of the class would complete their work by themselves. I compared students’ pretest results to their post-test results. In both categories there was not much change in understanding from the beginning of the unit to the end of the unit, making it difficult to conclude which student category showed better improvements in understanding. Finally, conclusions about further research are discussed. Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 3 Background This study investigates students’ understandings about mathematics. The purpose of the research is to answer the following question: Will allowing students to work in groups improve their understanding, or will working individually lead to greater understanding? This idea of group dynamics has been studied and researched, but in my experience, I have had mixed results. In some situations, students help each other, their time is spent on task and they benefit from peer interactions. At other times, students spend their time chatting about  things that are not relevant to the topic at hand, and do not get much work done at all. When students in my class do their work independently, most students tend to complete their work, or they will come ask for help if they cannot continue. I have been at a crossroads trying to determine if and when to allow students to work together or to make them work alone because students do not always manage the social aspects of group work so that it will be advantageous to them. I know why group work is not always a positive experience in my classroom. A major element that must be considered is the difficulty of the work that students are expected to complete. Often times, it may be too difficult for students to complete without guidance from the teacher, leading to group and individual frustration. This is a realistic concern despite the fact this mathematics program is mandated by our district for all students at this grade level. Students are expected to complete the coursework with a certain level of independence and success, however, this issue is debatable, as many educators who teach this mathematics program readily express that they dislike it and/or that their students have difficulty doing the work alone. Another valid concern that can affect group work is management of student behavior. Making students stay focused can be better maintained in my classroom if there was more structure and guidelines about the norms and expectations of group work from the onset of the school year as well as continuous monitoring of group dynamics and progress. The participants in this study are from one of the 7th grade math class that I teach. The study was conducted during the 75-minute math periods. There are 28 students, and I am the only teacher in the class. The classroom has 5 large tables where up to six students can sit. Most often, there are usually four or five people at a table and the other students will sit at other places around the perimeter of the room. For example, students will sit at the computer table, two smaller tables, and on a rug. The seating arrangement is important to this study since they were Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 4 assigned to work independently, and would need to sit alone, and others worked in groups and sat at the large tables. All classes in the school are organized by our school’s principal with the intention to have the students as equally balanced as possible,  considering race, gender, academic achievement, and behavior as the criterion. The socio-economic status of the school is mainly middle class; about 30% of the school qualifies for a free or reduced lunch. The tables and graphs below show the number and percentage of students in each category. Literature Review There is an abundance of research regarding grouping of students as an educational practice. Grouping can be classified into two major types: homogenous- or heterogeneous-ability groups. In either situation, students can work independently or cooperatively. There have been many studies regarding each of these areas that favor heterogeneous-ability groups and cooperative learning groups. Homogenous grouping, or â€Å"tracking†, has been widely used in America’s educational history, and continues to be used today, but studies show that this type of grouping does not benefit students any more than heterogeneous groups (Esposito, 1973; Mills, 1999; Slavin, 1993; Slavin & Karweit, 1985). Kulik’s (1992) analysis of the research noted that when positive gains are made, they should be attributed to adjustments in instruction and curriculum, not because of the grouping arrangement. When the top, middle and bottom groups use the same curriculum, Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 6 despite their differing ability, there are no academic gains. When students are placed in homogenous classes, the â€Å"top† students show a slight drop in their confidence levels, while the â€Å"bottom† students show a slight increase. When classes used different curricula, there were some positive changes in achievement. The greatest increase noted is when students are put into enrichment or accelerated classes, mainly because of the additional resources and change in curricula offered. A variation of homogenous grouping by class is homogeneous semi-groups within a heterogeneous class. Slavin & Karweit (1985) cited that many researchers found that the latter has more positive academic results than traditional whole-class instruction. Cooperative learning has been a popular alternative method of grouping students instead of tracking. There is empirical evidence that cooperative learning is effective for students (Gokhale, 1995; Slavin, 1995; Yackel, Cobb & Wood, 1991) but Johnson and Johnson (as cited in Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005) find that, â€Å"the successful application of cooperative grouping in classrooms still eludes many educators.† Therefore, researchers continue to investigate this topic, specifically trying to identify the different variables that  make cooperative learning successful and effective (Cohen, 1994; Slavin, 1995; Yackel, Cobb & Wood, 1991). Without certain elements, cooperative learning is no more effective than traditional methods of instruction and learning (Cohen, 1994; Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005). One element that has been under research is the effectiveness of cooperative learning based on the type of task the group has to complete (C ohen, 1994). Many tasks can be done individually and do not really require cooperation for understanding. Other tasks, like those that are â€Å"ill-structured† and those where process is more important than outcome, should be used as cooperative learning tasks. Another element that can affect how beneficial cooperative learning can be is the type of interactions that occur between the group members. Cohen (1994) cited many studies that conclude that students’ discussions in groups are good indicators of the achievement that the group will have. In addition, the groups that ask specific questions while working proved to show more gains. Slavin (1995) identified other elements that make cooperative learning beneficial, and those elements are present because of certain theoretical perspectives. The â€Å"motivational perspective† includes group goals and awards as a cornerstone of cooperative learning. This  Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 7 theory acknowledges that th e objective of group work is for individuals to achieve as a result of being a part of a group. Therefore, in practice, the group can only benefit when the individuals of the group are successful. External rewards are given to groups when the individuals in the group are successful. This is a key element in this theory, and empirical evidence shows that this is a key factor in the effectiveness of all group work. Cohen (1994) acknowledges a compromise of sorts, stating that extrinsic motivational tactics should be used under certain circumstances where group interaction is not enough, for example, when group work is not challenging and could be completed without the group. Other evidence shows that when carefully structured interactions are implemented then cooperative learning can be effective even if there are no extrinsic rewards (Slavin, 1995). Another perspective of cooperative learning labeled â€Å"social cohesion† is more rooted in the interpersonal influence that cooperative learning entails (Slavin, 1995). Under this lens,  an extrinsic reward for the group’s achievement is not necessary because it is believed that the interactions that occur within the group are rewarding enough. This theory is strong in establishing group norms and roles for the members of the group as to enhance group interactions. Slavin’s studies did not find any evidence to support that this perspective on group work produces higher academic gains than traditional instruction, unless it was combined with extrinsic rewards. Other perspectives are also identified that account for mental processing of information that takes place in a cooperative learning setting. The â€Å"developmental perspective† is based on Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s work (as cited in Slavin, 1995) believing that students learn when they interact with others, as long as they are within each other’s zone of proximal development. Large gaps in students’ ability within a group did not yield academic growth. These beliefs alone have not been shown to increase learning, but they do provide the rational behind why cooperative learning is effective. An extension of this belief is the â€Å"cognitive elaboration perspective† which is based on students either providing or listening to detailed explanations of content. O’Donnell & Dansereau and Webb (as cited in Slavin, 1995) found that students who provide elaborate explanations increase the most academically. Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 8 Methodology The purpose of my research was to determine whether my students gain a better understanding of the mathematics content when they work in groups or when they work individually. I used pretests and posttests as the instrument to determine which situation would be more productive (see Appendix). Questions on the tests were selected from the Mathematics in Context series, which is the mathematics series that my school district has mandated that we use, and from the Philadelphia Math Benchmark, a bi-monthly citywide test. The assessment questions chosen aligned to the objectives and goals of the topic taught during the time frame of this study. They are open-ended questions in which students are told to provide an answer as well as an explanation. I normally use the assessments at the end of a section or unit of study. All participants had to give written parental consent to participate in the study. All students were requested to parti cipate in this study, therefore, before the research was conducted, forms were distributed to the students  (see Appendix). I verbally explained to them that I was a student at a university, and needed to use their work in a project that I had to complete for my courses. Their work would be used to help me determine what teaching strategies worked well. I informed them that their names and other personal information would not be used, just their answers from regular classroom tests and assignments. I went on to say that I needed their and their parents’ permission to use their work in my reports, and it was fine if they did not want to give their permission. If I did not have their permission to use their results, they still had to do all the assignments and assessments, except their answers would not be used in my reports. I asked the students to let their parents know what my intentions were, and for them to return their consent forms promptly. The study began at the same time as a new mathematics topic. I had never taught the math content before, but students had been exposed to the content in previous grades. Before I did any instruction, I administered a pretest with two open-ended questions (see Appendix). The students were advised that this was a test to see what they were able to do before I taught them anything, and that this would not count toward their grade. I also told them that at the end of the lessons, they would take another test to see if they had progressed (the post-test, see Appendix). Over the course of the lessons (which lasted about 2 weeks), I followed the Madeline Hunter model of lesson design. Each day the lesson was structured to include: standards, Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 9 objectives, anticipatory set, teaching, guided practice, closure, and independent practice (Allen, 1998). It was during the â€Å"guided practice† portion of the lesson that half of the students either worked independently or in random groups (explained below). Half of the class was instructed that they would complete their work for this unit by working in groups; the other half of the class would complete their work by themselves. The students were randomly assigned to work either individually or in groups using Random Sequence Figure 1 – Random Sequence Generator Generator, a program that allows you to generate a random list of a sequence of numbers without repeating any numbers (Haahr, 1998). At the beginning of  the school year, each of my students was given a number (the number has no academic correlation) from 1 to 28 since there are 28 students in the class. The images show how the program lets you choose your sequence of numbers (Figures 1), and will then put those numbers in a random order (Figure 2); I chose from 1 to 28 to represent the 28 students in my class. The first 13 students to appear on the list were assigned to work individually; the other 15 students would work in groups of 3 Figure 2 – Random Sequence Generator List  for the duration of the unit. In cases of absence, groups would work as dyads. To eliminate any concerns about ability, gender,  social grouping, which are variables that were not included in this study, students who worked in groups were shifted daily into different groups throughout the duratio n of the lessons. I managed that by putting each of the 15 students’ numbers on slips of paper and pulling three students at a time to form groups for that day. Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 10 At the end of the unit, students were given a post-test as a means to measure their progress. The post-test included the same two questions that were on the pretest and one additional open-ended question (see Appendix). All questions were chosen from the Mathematics in Context series and the Philadelphia Math Benchmark, as explained above. The objective was to determine what students could do before instruction on the pretest, and compare the results to those on the post-test. Findings Investigating if there is a difference in understanding when students work alone or if they work in groups naturally led to comparing students’ work. There were several comparisons that are made below, for example, pretest to post-tests, and individuals’ grades to groups’ grades. My expectations before I conducted any research were that most of the students would show some type of growth from the pretest to the post-test whether they worked individually or in groups. I anticipated that those students who worked in groups would be better able to explain their answers than students who worked alone. My conclusions about the cause of change in student understanding from the beginning of the unit to the end is  based on analyzing the change from the pre-test results to the post-test Figure 3 – Averages Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 11 results (see Figure 3). The pretest had two questions, while the post-test repeated those same two questions plus one additional question. I compared the pretest results to the post-test results according to the averages for each question. It is difficult to conclude which student category showed better improvements in understanding because everyone started out with such high pretest averages. I expected much lower pretest scores so this was surprising and very much unexpected. In both categories, the students’ results for the first two questions show that there was not much change in understanding from the beginning of the unit to the end of the unit, although, those who worked in groups did show a slight increase in their understanding for question 1. Question #3 of the post-test reveals the most interesting and perhaps confusing results. This question was not included on the pretest. The average grade for those who worked individually is higher than those who worked in groups (see Figure 3), but neither category of students showed a proficient level of understanding. Again, this was surprising and unexpected. A closer look at this question reveals that students’ results varied whether they worked in groups or individually (see Figure 4). Neither group showed a strong tendency to score in any specific grading category. However, the students who worked individually did have a greater  Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 12 percentage that got the question correct by showing and/or explaining their work, and therefore received an â€Å"advanced† grade. Furthermore, those who worked in groups had a higher percentage that got the question wrong, receiving a â€Å"below basic† grade. Based on this data, the st udents who worked individually did have a better understanding of how to solve this problem than those who worked in groups. Conclusions Based on the results of my research, it is difficult for me to  conclude whether having students work in groups or individually helped improve students’ understanding in my classroom. The data I collected did not show that there was a strong improvement in understanding for either group dynamic. One question did favor those who worked individually, but that conclusion cannot be extended to the other questions. There are a few statistical factors that caused my results to be inconclusive. The students’ pretest scores were high, showing that they understood those particular objectives before any instruction took place. In order for the data to show some type of conclusions, one or both of the following things would have had to happen. There would have to be growth from the pretest to the post-test, or the post-test results would have to consistently favor the group workers or the individual workers. My data did not do this. In retrospect there are several things that I would do differently. The first thing would be to vary the pretest and post-test questions. Gokhale (1995) did a similar research study and used different questions in order to prevent students from becoming â€Å"test-wise†. I would also extend the length of the study so that I could repeat the study over several units. I do not think that I had enough data to draw sound conclusions. Both of these changes would make me feel more comfortable and more confident about the results of this study; however they would not necessarily alter my findings. The research about cooperative learning offers suggestions that might yield different results. Research shows that my question about the effectiveness of cooperative learning needs to be modified to investigate whether certain factors of cooperative learning are effective. The research shows that certain elements can or cannot exist which will probably affect whether cooperative learning is working. Certain things like external rewards, group interactions, ability  Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 13 levels within the group, group tasks, group structure and norms, and elaboration/explanation are influential variables that can be studied. Based on the research about cooperative learning and on my results from my study, I conclude that group work in my classroom is not beneficial to my students’ achievement. I am one of those educators that was eluded as to how to make cooperative learning work. My class falls into the category where group work is no more effective than traditional methods. I am not satisfied with this position, and many  teachers may be in this same situation. To further my practice, and perhaps other teachers’ as well, I would make adjustments to the way I structure cooperative learning in my classroom to include elements suggested from the current research. A good place to begin would be to analyze the theoretical perspectives suggested by Slavin (1995) to see what perspectives best match my own philosophy of teaching. I would then apply some of the fundamental elements that are associated with that belief and repeat my study. Instead of comparing individuals to students that worked in groups, I would investigate which elements of cooperative learning were more effective in my classroom. References Allen, T. (1998). Some basic lesson presentation elements. Retrieved January 2007, from Humboldt State University http://www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/hunter-eei.html Cohen, E. G. (1994). Restructuring the classroom: Conditions for productive small groups. Review of Educational Research. 64, 1-35. Retrieved January, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00346543(198723)57%3A3%3C293%3AAGASAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-5 Davidson, N., & Kroll, D.L. (1991). An overview of research on cooperative learning related to mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 22, 362-365. Retrieved January, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00218251%28199111%2922%3A5%3C362%3AAOOROC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P Esposito, D. (1973). Homogeneous and heterogeneous ability grouping: Principal findings and implications for evaluating and designing more effective educational environments. Review of Educational Research. 43, 163-179. Retrieved January, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00346543(197321)43%3A2%3C163%3AHAHAGP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23 Gokhale, A.A. (1995). Collaborative learning enhances critical thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7, No.1, Retrieved January 2007, from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v7n1/pdf/gokhale.pdf Haahr, M. (1998). Randomized sequences. Retrieved February 2007 from http://www.random.org/sform.html Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 15 Kulik, J. A. (1992). An analysis of the research on ability grouping: Historical and contemporary perspectives. National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, CT. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED350777). Retrieved January 2007, from http://edres.org/eric/ED350777.htm Mills, R. (1997). Grouping Students for Instruction in Middle Schools. ERIC Digest, Retrieved January 2007, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-1/grouping.html Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Oregon., (2005). Research based strategies: Cooperative grouping. Retrieved January 20, 2007, from Focus on Effectiveness Web site: http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/coop.php Slavin, R. E. (1993). Ability grouping in the middle grades: Achievement effects and alternatives. The Elementary School Journal. 93, No. 5, 535-552. Retrieved January, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00135984%28199305%2993%3A5%3C535%3AAGITMG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O Slavin, R.E. (1995). Research on cooperative learning and achievement: What we know, what we need to know. Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk, Retrieved January 2007, from http://www.aegean.gr/culturaltec/c_karagiannidis/20032004/collaborative/slavin1996.pdf Slavin, R. E. , & Karweit, N. L. (1985). Effects of whole class, ability grouped, and individualized instruction on mathematics achievement. American Educational Research Journal. 22, No. 3, 351-367. Retrieved January, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00028312%281985232%2922%3A3%3C351%3AEOWCAG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K Wood, T. (1993). Chapter 2: Creating an Environment for learning mathematics: Social interaction perspective. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 6, 15-20. Retrieved January, Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning 16 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=08839530%281993%296%3C15%3AC2CAEF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A Yackel, E., Cobb, P., & Wood, T. (1991). Small-group interactions as a source of learning opportunities in second-grade mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 22, 390-408. Retrieved January, 2007 from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00218251%28199111%2922%3A5%3C390%3ASIAASO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6&origin=JSTORpdf

Book review essay: Direct from Dell - Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry

Book review essay: Direct from Dell Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry Dell, a 1984 start-up that grew into great heights within a short span of less than 15 years, has immense hard work of both the founders and employees. Like many other companies, even Dell has faced many challenges and had made ways to beat them. 1. M. Dell grew up with an entrepreneurial spirit ‘ He realized that the computer stores at that time, were buying PCs from IBM, and had been charging a lot of money and gave little or no service. This is when he started assembling computers on his own, and started selling them at a cheaper price and provided better service. 2. Direct Model, v1.0 ‘ the entire business was about listening to the customer, responding to them, and delivering what they wanted. The direct model was based on direct selling. 3. Highest levels of service + products needed ‘ Their top priority was maintaining loyalty among customers and employees, which was achieved by bringing out the highest levels of service and high-performance products. 4. Disdaining inventory ‘ Improving the speed of the inventory flow 5. Order of business at Dell ‘ The new order of business at Dell based on ‘ Liquidity ‘ Profitability ‘ Growth 6. Clear metrics ‘ Once clear metrics and measurements was established, it was easy to see what businesses were performers. 7. Three Golden Rules at Dell ‘ 1) maintain a light inventory, 2) Listening to the customer, and 3) Always sell direct. 8. Phase review process for product development ‘It created a common language and the organization came to agreement on how product development and launching should take place. 9. Segmentation ‘ One can quickly grow smaller companies, but it’s an uphill task to sustain a high rate of growth in a larger corporation. Segmentation enabled dell to scale up its business rapidly. 10. Direct Model, v1.1 ‘ In Version 1.1, they reduced inventory inefficiencies. 11. Reward success by narrowing responsibility ‘This allowed them to keep their people happy and thriving and maintaining a high growth rate. 12. Information sharing ‘ they shared the best ideas throughout their various businesses. 13. Think like you the owner (ROIC) ‘they explained specifically how everyone could contribute: by cycle time reduction, by elimination of scrap, by increasing sales, by forecasting accurately and precisely, by scaling operations, by increasing inventory, collecting accounts receivables effectively, and doing things right in the first attempt. Dell practiced rewarding its employees using ROIC matrix. 14. Complexity kills ‘ their thumb rule was to have as few partners as possible. 15. Supplier management ‘ they set quantitative measures for success so the suppliers knew what they expected and they provide regular progress reports to the suppliers. 16. Inventory velocity revisited ‘Speed to market was important for two reasons. One was that it created competitive value that could be shared between buyer and supplier. The other was that when it came to delivering the latest product they had to be quick. 17. Using the Internet ‘By using the Internet they tried to maintain a continuous flow of materials from their suppliers to their factories, on an average their employees spent less time placing orders and more time building products adding value. The other advantage the Internet gave them was immediate and quick transmission of product quality data. Their suppliers could see the information in real-time. OB CONCEPTS AND THEIR BENEFITS IN DELL 1. Creativity: ‘ Willingness to look at the things differently ‘ Dell was first to experiment with ‘Direct marketing’ even when critics cited it to be a failure methodology 2. McClelland’s Theory of Needs: ‘ Need for Achievement (nAch): Points to support i. Motivated by his passion to do business ii. Converted Hobby(Philately) into initial venture ‘ Need for power: i. They wanted to emerge as a global leaders ii. Penetrate into other markets apart from US [Entered European market, Asian, etc] ‘ Need for Affiliation: i. Michael Dell made ways for friendly customer relations. ii. Dell had great regard for the employees and their concerns. Made frequent enquires to build a good working environment. 3. MBTI Personality: ESTJ ‘ Extrovert: He has been closely associated with the outside world right from the childhood, speaking to experts, salesmen, customers, etc. ‘ Sensing: More focus on details. Hired people to do data analysis while in Newspaper subscription business and implemented the same in the Dell. ‘ Thinking: Implemented competitive strategies (Speed to market, Customer service, Producing high quality, Providing latest relevant technology). ‘ Judging: i. More categorized and organized. ii. Predicted changes in the market much before they are to occur and took decisions accordingly that are fruitful. iii. Entered Consumer retails and exited it soon realising that the model cannot meet financial objective. (Corrective action) And restricted European operations. 4. Job Satisfaction: ‘ Storming Stage: Few managers who could not resist the organisational changes (eg. Use of facts) felt painful and left the organization. (Elimination of Theory X Employees). ‘ Recruiting Process: Michel Dell and his company made it a decision to hire persons with expertise and who had sense of adventure and love challenges. Thus favouring ‘Theory Y Personalities’ with following characteristics: i. How employees think about economic terms? ii. How they want to define success as? iii. How people value and relate them with others? iv. Ability of employees’ understanding on the strategy of the business they are involved in? v. Ability of employees’ understanding on business activities ‘ Employee Engagement: i. Theory Y employees welcomed the use of facts and shown their willingness to adapt to the organizational changes. ii. Change in decision making from emotion based decisions to factual data based decisions. 5. Management by Objectives: (Goal Setting Theory) Dell even at their initial stages were more cautious about setting goals and accomplishing them. Inference is that, Dell gave more priority to the above goal rather than mere growth. 6. Utilitarianism: Seeking the greatest good for the greatest number ‘ And reducing their inventories and overhear expenses. (Disdain Inventory) ‘ Knowing exactly what the customer wants and then provide it. (Always listen to Customer and never sell indirect) ‘ Thus operating at maximum Efficiency by not producing products until they know it is sold. 7. Social Learning Theory: ‘ Through Observations: i. Price is not a sustainable competitive advantage. ii. Understand the economies of each segment: Product, Use, Geography, Customer, etc. iii. Observations from Employee Interactions through following questionnaire: ‘ What are customers telling you? ‘ How do you think the company’s products are doing? ‘ What are our biggest challenges? ‘ What are the biggest threats to our success? ‘ How can the company support you better? ‘ Through own Experience: i. Introducing of Dell’s 30-days Guarantee: After realizing the customer’s insecurity and low levels satisfaction in online purchases, Dell for the first time in the industry introduced this scheme to promote online business-business methodology. ii. Targeting large companies for business to grow wider and faster. Thus making global expansion plans (outside US). 8. Contrast Effect (Perception): When Dell displayed their 12 Mhz high sped Machine in the Comdex show, they earned a good reputation for the product what they have manufactured. Taking products early to market and then capturing customers. 9. Job Enrichment: Train employees to act and think like owners. 10. Operant Based Learning – Make failures with learning acceptable. Dell also learned few things in a hard way. The following words spoke by Michael Dell from the book states this: 11. Selective Perception: Dell initially being more opportunistic tried entering into every sector of the market. This prevented them to make the best decisions and slowed down its growth rate. Then Dell differentiated the tasks: what to do and what not to? And accordingly assign or define goals. This way it has leant selective perception. ‘ CONCLUSION The book is a very good read, and the business principles highlighted above are truly excellent. The very core thing that drives the business is the fact that everything revolves around the customer. Listening to customer feedback, acting on it promptly and adding value to the customer are among the top priority for Dell. Dell has a good organisational practice in place always striving to attract and retain talents, thus making it the best place to work at. This perhaps has helped dell to achieve great heights and proceed beyond the set objectives.

Microsoft vs. Apple OS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microsoft vs. Apple OS - Research Paper Example Operating systems handles the details of the interaction between the user and the hardware. The operating systems are generally used in nearly all computing devices ranging from desktop computers to video games. There basically two prominent operating systems that exist for various functions and professionals; Microsoft windows and the Apple operating system. Depending on the function, the two operating systems exhibit some dissimilarity. For example, for architects and landscape architects, Microsoft windows has traditionally been one of the dominant operating system as it is compatible with a variety of programs relevant to the field such as the Autodesk AutoCAD (Cantrell & Michaels CHAP 1). The operating system OS X and Windows are two different types of operating systems that are created by Apple and the Microsoft companies respectively. The operating system OS X will run on Apple hardware only otherwise referred to as Mac computers, but Windows operating system will run on almos t any compatible hardware referred to as PC computers as well as those produced by Apple organization. Most people who prefer the Apple Mac computers operating on the apple OS X platform argue that Mac accessories are more reliable, that is, they are less prone to program crashing or unexpected shut-downs than PCs which operate on the Microsoft windows platform. However, this remains to a matter to be debated upon by proponents of both operating systems. According to a consumer report survey of laptop computers for the year 2008, two computer gadgets emerged out as the best laptop brands (Peterka pp17-19). These were Mac manufactured by Apple and the Lenovo which incidentally runs on the Microsoft windows operating system. But of the two, Lenovo had a better score than the former in terms of reliability. The Mac on the contrary also recorded a higher score than Lenovo in terms client service and satisfaction. Arguments have therefore erupted as to which operating system is more supe rior to the other. Microsoft windows operating system on the other hand, is a computer software developed by the Microsoft corporation. It is indeed among the leading personal computing platform. The organization’s nature of allowing for the licensing of its windows software products to some firms that have been in the computer manufacturing business, has been the key factor that has seen to Microsoft domination in the computer market. In most cases, Microsoft windows has work in hand in hand with other giant computer manufacturing firms such as HP, Toshiba, Dell and many others. They have availed some of their hardware to virtually all computer users owing to their high compatibility with a variety of computer sets (Silverman pp5-10). The ease of availability of Microsoft products has therefore means that the organization greatly benefits from economies of scale in a way that the cost of these products becomes less expensive. This consequently implies that Microsoft operatin g system based computer products are affordable and easily accessible when compared to the Apple Macs. The affordability of Microsoft products has also been associated with certain stumbling blocks. For instance, through Microsoft’s ever willingness to partner with virtually any party intending to do computer related business activities, the company is therefore usually obliged to carry out all that is within its premise to ascertain that their clients are able to get a Microsoft software that is compatible with the new hardware that the partner company is manufacturing. This might the cost the company a great deal in terms of constant updating of its products which may put the Microsoft Corporation at a shear point of bloating. Also, Microsoft operating system has won the favor of the majority of people owing to the fact that more often than not, it usually ensures that its even its newer operating system can still be compatible even with the older operating system. However, but just like other case, this has also

Penetration Testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Penetration Testing - Essay Example E-commerce systems tend to be high-end targets to security breaches and vulnerabilities. Such vulnerabilities can be exploited by conducting certain attack tests that target to steal information and corrupt the system functioning. The tests are carried out in a controlled environment where due damages may be reversed and the system retracted back to a stable state. However, not all systems use the same principles for penetration testing. Various systems call for various methods so as to exploit their varied vulnerabilities. An e-commerce system, for instance, stands to suffer security risks more through attacks where it crosses through networks. Therefore, for an e-commerce system, a unique testing methodology is carried out, where the authentication systems used are inspected and exploited to show any possible vulnerabilities. This form of tests are carried out in an environment where they can exactly mimic the behavior of such attacks. That is, they occur in real-time, parallel to the system as such attacks would. E-commerce systems keep on growing in functionalities and complexities by the day. E-commerce systems are now being spread out to include applications in mobile devices and web-based application systems. As these functionalities continue to grow, so do the security risks for such a system. For such an extensive system, to effectively do the penetration tests they need to include applications penetration tests. These penetration tests will cover the normal vulnerabilities such as SQL injections and Cross Site Scripting and Cross Site Request Forgery tests. Penetration tests conducted for this firm cover the major cross-interaction gateways in the systems. That is; payment integration flaws, flaws in the system’s content manager amongst other vulnerability tests. Several conventional attacks in e-commerce systems are carried out on the payment gateways. For example, an attacker

Stress Management Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stress Management Programs - Essay Example Stress in the workplace can be managed through improved personnel selection and job placement. According to Robbins (1993), people with little or an external locus control tend to be more stress prone. Therefore, it is imperative for the management to ensure that a person has experience or is capable of coping with the demands of the job before he is appointed to a certain position in the organization. In some cases, a person may have experience but incapable of coping with the demands of the job. This aspect is very important in as far as stress management is concerned. The other important strategy that can be implemented by the management is related to goal setting. The use of goals to different individuals helps to reduce stress and they can also lead to motivation of the employees. It is also important for the management to provide goal feedback to the employees since this helps to reduce uncertainties among the workers. Another stress management program that can be implemented is related to job redesign. According to Robbins (1993), job redesigning helps the employees to be more responsible, it gives them more autonomy and it also gives them more control of their work which reduces stress since they are no longer dependent on others. A person who has control over his job is motivated and is likely to be stress free. The other dimension that can be implemented by management to address the issue of stress is related to participative decision making. By virtue of giving the employees a voice to contribute towards the decision making process, the management is in a position of increasing employee control of their work which helps to reduce stress. It is important that the managers should increase employee participation in the decision making process of the company so as to be in a position to minimize chances of stress related problems in the company. The other

Practicum Action Inquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Practicum Action Inquiry - Essay Example This collaborative research project will be established with ten teachers from 20 schools in the vicinity of the campus. Identification of learning goals, construction of success criteria as well as the provision of descriptive feedbacks are important practices used in classrooms that enhance the achievement of students. While operating under the assessment of learning theme, teachers will be trained on how to develop learning goals and criteria of success as stipulated in the curriculum. Teachers will also be trained on how to implement positively descriptive feedback. On the other hand, the student will be trained on positive peer and self-assessment. Descriptive feedback is a major constituent of the growing success initiative. Self, peer, and teacher feedback before and after the assessment is submitted to the main descriptive feedback strategy. These strategies will be introduced by this practicum into classrooms for education department for the growing success initiative. According to Biggley (2012), descriptive feedback strategies have been proved to increase student skill development and achievement effectively long after the learner finishes the course. The approach to future assessment techniques for teachers is highly influenced by these skills. All participants in the inquiry will enjoy the benefit of personal, professional learning. All participants will be familiar with evaluation and assessment process. As the process will be progressing through the semester, participants will find themselves actively lesson planning on issues involving growing success more so descriptive feedback (Caro-Bruce, 2008). Transition of teachers to assessment for learning instructional model requires teamwork with fellow teachers to ensure effective student learning and skill development. Before the collaborative inquiry was implemented, competency levels of teachers varied. Collaborative inquiry utilization will help teachers acquire training on

Teenage Pregnancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Teenage Pregnancy - Essay Example Worldwide, rates of teenage pregnancy range from 143 per 1000 in some sub-Saharan African countries to 2.9 per 1000 in South Korea. (Treffers, 2003, UNICEF. (2001) ).Among OECD developed countries, the United States and United Kingdom have the highest level of teenage pregnancy, while Japan and South Korea have the lowest.( national master, 2008) In countries such as India the majority of teenage births occur within marriage.( Mehta, 1998, UNICEF, 2001) in developed countries this is mostly outside a marriage and is regarded to be an illegal pregnancy but in US and UK a huge number of these pregnancies though occurring at teenage are taken to term and children are delivered. Age at the first child birth is very important prognostically for a woman's gynecological history as well as other general health issues but this aspect has not been addressed the way it is needed. Most of the developing countries where early marriages are very common are the ones have a higher maternal and infan t mortality and morbidity rates due to prenatal, antenatal and postnatal complication. With pregnancy there are a number of risks associated and they all have an impact on the outcome of the pregnancy and most of those disorders like pregnancy induced hypertension, gestational diabetes, and low birth weight babies occur if the mother's age is less than 15 years. In UK young girls mostly have poor intake of nutritional food and they are more for putting their self on diet and for that reason their bodies are not prepared for conceiving. If we see for a woman to turn into a healthy mother she needs time to get prepared for becoming a mother and if she becomes a mother all of sudden without prepreparation she will obviously not be ready to handle the responsibilities. Pregnancy needs a close follow ups for antenatal care but if the mother is immature to the extent that she does not understand the importance f this aspect then how can a pregnancy be helped with antenatal care provision That is so important for a pregnancy to go healthy till its term. Child bearing duration of a female has a significant impact on a family's structure, economic status, health of that family, and even its particular social class and if taken at a larger scale it has a profound impact on a country's economy. If a woman starts producing children at the age of 15 she is getting 25 plus potential years to be fertile which can potentially be leading to a good number of increases in a nation's population. Pregnancy at an early age is very unhealthy in terms of its hazardous impact on the mother's and child's health, its impact on country's economy and the social issues associated to this phenomenon. Pregnancy is regarded to be a medical condition and it has to be given the due attention of a potential killer if not taken care of properly. Pregnancy is a much altered state of physiology of a woman. Pregnancy itself carried a significant risk to a mother's health whether at occurs at any age or later. However; there are additional medical concerns for younger mothers, particularly those under 15 and those living in developing countries. (Mayor, 2004) A pregnant mother undergoes through a transition for 40 plus weeks and then gets able to give birth to a child. During all these nine months of continues transition the first three months are very important for a few medical conditions like pregnancy induced hypertension

Gender and Sex in an African Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender and Sex in an African Society - Essay Example The invention of women demonstrates, on the contrary, that gender was not constructed in the old society of Yoruba, and that organizations in the society were determined by relative age. A meticulous epistemological and historical account of an African culture embracing its own terms, this book makes an argument that is persuasive based on the culturally dependent context that interprets social reality. It calls for a gender discourse preconception and categories on which such studies can rely. Moreover, the book bares the hidden assumptions in thoughts of different cultures. It is a truly comparative sociology of the Western tradition and African culture that will change the way gender and African studies proceed.  Oyewumi's analysis advances greatly into the postcolonial mapping of the European distinction that has been developing in the recent decades. It traces how Western visual privileging insures that biological determinism and social constructivism cannot be mutually exclus ive in cultures of the West. Gender categories were one kind of new tradition that European colonialists institutionalized in many African cultures including the Yoruba culture. Contemporary Western feminism has continued to extend their empire. Oyewumi enables the reader to envision what is hard to imagine within Western feminism world after gender. The book makes a huge contribution to not only feminism and African studies but also to philosophy, social theory and sociology in general. In Male daughters and female husbands.

Lord Capulet Essay Example for Free

Lord Capulet Essay Within the scene where Capulet is crossed by Tybalt at his masked ball, Capulet differs again. His mood suddenly changes from being humorous and charming to being hot headed and flying of the handle. I believe he is short tempered and is unable to control it; he becomes very angry towards Tybalt. Why, how now, kinsman! Wherefore storm you so? This demonstrates to the audience how infuriating he can be. I speculate the audiences learn that Capulet is a changeable character, as he is logical and caring but he becomes deadly serious when someone tries to challenge him. He assumes people should respect his authority. In act three, Lord Capulet informs his wife about the proposal. Lady Capulet deems Juliet will be overjoyed with the news hath sorted out a sudden day of joy that thou expectst not nor I lookd not for she has a positive view to marriage and feels all she needs is a man. She reveals the news to Juliet. At first Juliet considers the proposal as good news. But she then says she would rather marry her enemy than marry Paris. This is amusing because she has previously married her enemy, Romeo, in secret. I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear, I shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris This shows Juliet is intensely in love with Romeo. Lady Capulet says here comes your father; tell him yourself. I imagine she wouldnt tell him, Presuming Capulet will go insane. As he evidently did so, I will drag thee on a hurdle thither, out, you green- sickness carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow -face! This demonstrates how contrasting his thoughts really are, he can not believe she is being so ungrateful. Previously He was praising her up, saying how dearly he loves her and how divine she is. But now he states she is worthless that Juliet is like a curse and wishes she was no longer here. In addition he told Paris that it was Juliets decision if shed like to marry him. He went back on his word and gave Juliet no choice of the matter, using his authority to over rule her, this is proof he was contradicting himself. In this time women were owned by their fathers until their time of marriage when they became property of their husbands. Capulets goal was to find a suitable match for his darling daughter, having so Juliet refused and Capulet became immoral, he bellowed wicked things to Juliet, which today no father would dare say. I presuppose Capulet thinks he has the right to speak to his daughter in such a way because she is his property I dont think this is right, nobody should be spoken to in that manner. I sense Juliet was distressed because of this. Ill to the friar, to know his remedy if all else fail, myself have power to die Lord Capulet is an over powering man, he demands and receives what he wishes, no matter if he hurts someones feelings, especially his own fl esh and bloods. Overall I have discussed that Lord Capulet has two completely opposite sides to him. He can be kind, loving, and charming, e.g. scene one, but he can soon flip to becoming unmistakably hot- headed, controlling and malicious preparing us for his actions in scene five.

Personal Portrait

Personal Portrait Piagets theory of Cognitive Most Infants develop motor abilities in the same order and sometimes at the the same age. In this sense, most agree that these abilities are genetically preprogramed with all infants. The environment does paly a role in the development, with an enriched environment often reducing the learning time and impoverishmnet one doing the opposite. The most cited theory in Cognitive development in children is (Piaget 1896-1980) Piagets theory of Cognitive development maintains that children go through specific stages as their intellect and ability to see relationships matures. Kohlbergs theory developed through Piagets theory. In my personal Portrait I will touch on Eriksons theory and Kohlbergs theory.As a very young child, there were rules in my home and they were made not to be broken, if they were broken, there were consequences even as a young child. This meant going to the notty corner. I knew at a very young age the differences between right and wrong. My parents made sure that all of my siblings and myself understood fully that an obdient child is always right in Gods eyes. Spirituality was used constantly in my home as a way of helping with the development of morals at a very young age. For an example, I recall shopping in the grocery store with my mother, I asked if I could have a candy bar. My mother said no because I had not had my lunch yet. I thought about taking the candy anyway, as my mother and I left the store I imagined what might have happen if I had taken the candy antway. Considering what the consequences were going to be, I choosed not to take the candy. I have never thought about taking anything from anyone since. I consider this to be stage I of Kohlbergs theory of Preconventional Morality.This is when a child knows that stealing is bad and when they were asked to explain what they meant, they expained it with the consequences involved.(Kohlberg, 1958b). consequences There are consequences with everything a person does, this is why my mother has stressed to my siblings and myself that we should always be mindful of what we say and do. My mother was a honest and loving mother which brings me to Eriksons theory of Trust vs Mistrust. Because of the affection my mother showed her children and the people as well as the sacrifices she made to keep her family together, I have raised and made sure my own children had that same loved bestowed upon them. I also see that my children are duplicating the same with their own children.My mother was the neighborhoods second mother, she spreaded her love around to allof our friends and even to the misfits on our block.My mother stills reminds me of when I was 6,she would say that I have always been the more independant one of all of her children, she still states it today in my adulthood. My mother reminds me of my temperment, she states that I have always wanted to dress myself even if I put my clothes on backw ards. My mother says that I did everything backwards even today I am still that way in terms of the way I lived my life as an adult. I agree with my mother to a certain point, not everything I have done was backwards. My mother said that I should have finished school first and then start a family, I did the opposite.Things had to be done my way according to my mother, I do recall attending catholic school as a preschooler, I remember getting ready to leave for Christmas break and the children were given a choice of two dolls, one a Ronald McDonald doll or the famous Barbie doll. All of the girls of course choosed the Barbie. I wanted the Ronald McDonald doll really bad because no one had picked the doll, I ended up picking the Barbie because I did not want to be the odd ball of the group. This relates to Eriksons Autonomy Vs Shame Eriksons theory For Eriksons theory Initiative Vs Guilt, I was a very curious child and adult. My parents claims that I was always touching and taking things apart to see how they worked. My mother, she would always have to replace many of my toys especially my dolls because I would pull them apart trying to figure out how they put the body parts together. In the fifth stage of my life, it was a bitter sweet time for me. The bitter part was that I was always picked on by one of my female classmates, I was teased for being a teachers pet and for always participating in class. The sweet was that I had the best eighth grade teacher in the world. Mrs Simms was a loving teacher and she always had an open door policy when it came to the children in her class. I was the luckiest one becuse she and I lived on the same street. Mrs Simms taught me to ignore my bully and to continue to participate regardless of what others may think. I graduated at the top of my class however, my bully had to repeat the eight h grade again.In Eriksons Identity Vs Role Confusion, this theory was easy for me, I knew that I wanted to have a family very early in life. I wanted to be just like my mother. I wanted to be a great parent like my own. Its now that my children are all out of the house could this be where the confusion comes into play? Could this be one of the reasons why I choosed to open up a childcare facilty so that I would not miss my own? Could this be why I feel that I do things backwards sometimes like having my childs before finsihing school? These are the questions that pull at me form time to time. Generativity Vs Stagnation In terms of Generativity Vs Stagnation, I believe I completed this stage during the Intimacy Vs Isolation stage; however, I contribute to my community in a big way. I attend church regularly, and I am part of my neighborhood watch program. I trully beleive that if I disregarded my roles in my own community, I would be jsut like the ones that dont care about nothing or anyone but themselves. I never want be leave of legacy of being nobody. I want to be remembered as a kind and caring women who loved her community and the people in it. I want to be remembered for making a difference in someones life somewhere.In Eriksons stage of Ego Integrity Vs Despair, I have not yet to cross that path. I look forward to being able to be called the wised one. I am not looking forward to what this part of life brings in terms of old age and the baggae that comes along with it. I Understand that its a part of life and I accept it however, I am not in a hurry to get there. I will cross this bridge when I get there.After comprehending Kohlbergs stages that related to my life in level one the Preconventional Morality stage, I discussed this at the beginning of my paper as well as stage II Individualism and Exchange. In stage III Conventional Morality , it is the interpersonal accord and conformity as with stage four where as Social order and authority is maintained. (crain)As I compared Eriksons and Kohlbergs theory pertaining to myself as an adult and as a Grandmother and Mother, I have utilized most of their theories as well as applied them to my life the best way I knew how. I would like to believe that I am living by the code.I can better relate with using Eriksons theory the most, his theory is the one i use to be the women I am today. In terms of cultural diffrences and they way people are raised and their standards of living, I think that we are all taught and learn about different things throughout our lives. It is up to the individual to live their life to their fullest.

The Inquest :: essays research papers

Credibility and Conflict in Lem’s â€Å"The Inquest† â€Å"The year is 2029, and machines will convince us that they are conscious and that they have their own agenda worthy of our respect. They will embody human qualities; claim to be human†¦and we’ll believe them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Ray Kurzweil Perhaps Kurzweil slipped up when he put a date in his prediction. Perhaps he intended it to be more of a challenge than a guess. Ultimately, it separates the theorists, like Kurzweil, from the storytellers, like Stanislaw Lem. Lem’s â€Å"The Inquest† takes a glimpse into the future to show readers what it may look like some day. He uses a futuristic setting to examine the possible role of machines in our daily lives. Conflict, credulity and human nature are at the forefront of this story, all of which allude to deeper meaning in today’s world. The level of robotics and AI in Lem’s â€Å"The Inquest† is not farfetched. That is to say, the story is not unconvincing, but simply exaggerated for our time. Though the events are assumed to be taking place in the future, Lem references no time period and forces the reader to blindly suspend disbelief. The premise of the story revolves around this fact, and gives the story its body as a work of science fiction. The most relevant instance of computer exaggeration is in the supporting characters we meet: the non-linear officers of the Goliath. The main character, Commander Pirx, is known to be human, and must command a mixed group of humans and robots, not knowing the true identity of each. Here we have the story’s biggest assumption about AI in the future; that robotics and AI will be indistinguishable from human abilities and intelligence. This colossal inference about computer technology is only acceptable to the reader when coupled with the lack of a given time period. Pirx is asked to command these two groups on a routine space mission, all the while making inference on their actions and interactions during a variety of real world tests. He is then to make a formal report to the creators of these machines to be used as a formal test result. The fact that Pirx cannot immediately distinguish between the humans and the robots implies that all the machines have passed the Turing test. Though this story is set in the future, this test is a standard by which we judge the intelligence of machines today, and gives us some insight on the level of AI that Lem implies.

The DEA :: essays research papers

On our planet, phenomena’s occur occasionally in nature. Tornadoes, earthquakes, and flashfloods are all types of phenomena’s that could occur. Most of these mysterious events are small and go unnoticed; however, on a rare occasion these sorts of event can be horrendous. One such occasion occurred back around 4,000 BC (Werner Keller, 48). As the story goes, God’s population was growing rapidly on earth. At this point, he had been growing bored with the same people on earth so he made sure no man would live past the age of 120. Given this time, the people of earth started to take advantage of the human race; these acts of selfishness disgusted God. He decided to destroy everything on earth. A man by the name of Noah had lived his life by God’s nature, which eventually led to a close relationship between the two. God had told Noah to build a boat with exact measurements. God had instructed Noah to put two of every kind of animal into the boat; one had to be male and the other female. Then God told Noah to get into the boat with his family, their families, and the animals. Then for forty days and forty nights the clouds seemed to have poured endless amounts of water onto the earth (Genesis 6:1-9). Floods rushed through the landscape, destroying everything in its path. The waters were higher than the tallest mountains, standing above the highest peaks. All living things on earth had died. The water covered the earth at this level for five months (Paul S. Taylor, 1). In time the water began to dry up. Eventually Noah was able to leave the ship and release all he had brought with him. From this point, evolution occurs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of the great flood has been debated many times as far as its historical accuracy. Many experts seem to think that such an event would be unnatural while others believe that this great worldwide flood actually did occur. In today’s society, more people are beginning to question catastrophic events that occur in nature. This great flood seems to be a very common example of this. This research paper will investigate the Holy Bible’s reliability as scientific and historical literature by focusing on its recording of the great flood. Many people are interested in these world phenomena’s; this paper will aim to end some of the controversy about this particular phenomenon.

Dizziness - The Search for Balance :: Biology Essays Research Papers

On the Search for Balance: A Balancing Act in the Midst of Dizziness Imagine that you are 6 years old again. You are at a playground clutching a pole on the merry-go-round, which is whirling as fast as your friends can run to keep the merry-go-round going. Your friends let go and when you jump off as the merry-go-round stops spinning, you fall because the world seems to wobble out of control. Although you have stopped spinning on the merry-go-round, your brain tells you otherwise. This is the everyday reality for a chronically dizzy person. Following headaches and lower-back pain, dizziness is the third most common medical complaint in the United States. More than 90 million people in the United States will experience a spell of dizziness at some point in their lives (1). Dizziness is a sensation people feel when they lose their sense of spatial orientation. In other words, people feel dizzy when they lose some of their immediate contact with their physical surroundings. A simple disoriented feeling may occur, or one may experience a feeling of movement or of being off balance (2). In most cases, dizziness arises naturally from unusual changes that disrupt the normal feeling of stability. However, a disturbance or a disease in the system that maintains balance can also cause dizziness (3). What could be the cause of this internal lack of balance? Although many forms of dizziness exist, such as Meniere's disease, I am going to focus on what keeps us balanced. The issue of balance first interested me when my mother had gone to see an acupuncturist concerning her high blood pressure. Not only did she come in hopes of finding a cure for her high blood pressure, she also found that she suffers from balance problems. The Chinese guru of an acupuncturist said, "Your whole body is out of balance. Fire blazes within you without equilibrium. You should take a vacation." Apparently, correlation exists between blood pressure and physical balance. Immediately, I became worried and confused. I have been searching for the cause of my mother's problems for some time now. Why is it that she never even noticed that the world was out of balance in her perspective? She always subtly mentioned the feeling of dizziness and the constant coldness of her right shoulder. But I never realized how serious her situation was. I now know that these symptoms are due to an imbalance.

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management Essay

The arrangement of health care system has reciprocated in regard to provide quality and modest care. The treatment of healthcare facilities have changeover at different levels in speciality care and acute illnesses to defensive health plan. The changes have seized effective direct approaches and delivery care. With the effort to balance the demands of patient needs in health care, many considerations are made including adjustments with budgets, decreasing excessive costs, and practicing effective means of delivery care. Nurses are challenged to keep up to a work environment that requires continual changes. The nursing industry today faces shortage, as many nurses have low job satisfaction, high compassion fatigue, and the patient ratios levels associate immense acuity. Furthermore, these factors have resulted in patient satisfaction and medical reimbursements. Notwithstanding all the identified issues and its effects, few nursing facilities are growing to next level to identify and p romote nursing skills by setting framework to endeavour to gain Magnet status. This paper will focus in comparing and contrasting the expectations of the nursing managers and leaders approaches that may use in regard to magnet status. Magnet status is best defined by Miriam Hospital as ‘ a designation that is rewarded to hospitals for the concept of Magnet Culture; it is a working environment which enables nurses to practice and focus on skilful nursing, involving bedside decision making, nursing development and involvement, competent education, and promote nursing leadership skills (Miriam Hospital, n. d. ) The birth of magnet status undertook in beginning of 1980’s when some hospitals were practicing new retaining ideas for nursing staff with motivation for patient care. Therefore, this concept was developed after few researches and finally it was made official through an article named: â€Å"Magnet Hospitals: Attraction and Retention of Professional Nurses,† written and published in 1983 by Dr. McClure president of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), professor at New York University, and a member of the original task force (Hawke, 2004). Statistics prove that Magnet hospitals have superlative patient satisfaction scores, protected patient environments, minority of repeat admissions, and improved patient outcome. It is vital that various pre-requisites and qualifications must be met and maintained to execute the concept of Magnet status. The nursing leadership  and management work in synchronization with their defined roles to achieve the goals of completing the tasks by establishing nursing staff participation needed to achieve skilful nursing. In order to receive accurate results, it is essential to define roles and target essential outcomes. According to Huber (2010), the aspect of management is to cater the resources that are required to achieve the target goal of organisation. A manager is expected to plan, organise and implement strategies from an organizing high level to enable the outline of requirements to meet the goal. The manager is responsible to practice the policies and procedures and carry them appro priately. In order to achieve Magnet status, the nurse manager needs to survey the patients and staff to identify and construct the areas of weakness that would improve the patient satisfaction. Some of the basic actions include financial stability by reducing the amount of waste, safeguarding medical reimbursement with patient satisfaction, and nursing practices that mirror decisions like bedside reporting, friendly patient care education, and timely rounding. The nursing leader is expected to provide assistant to the nurse manager in achieving goals by promoting smooth work flows through communication, and provide better understanding of their overall vision, and reasoning why these adjustments are necessary. The nursing leader can accomplish this by promoting trust and endeavouring mutual consent while managing issues (The difference between leadership and management, 2012). In comparison and contrast of the nursing managers and leader approaches there are few points to be considered. In ma nagement, the goals are carried out with the help of managers within the organisation. Whereas the leaders help to identify and develop new approaches to the issues emerging in the organisation. The managers work to fulfil the goals and continue to do, whereas the leaders undergo risks to challenge people and new ideas to break the chain (The difference between leadership and management, 2012). Frellick (2011) states that Magnet concept is created to facilitate and empower shared decision-making and accountability process. To achieve success in this concept, the healthcare facilities need to master in the regulations well known as the ‘Fourteen Forces of Magnetism’, it consists of the new levels in nursing management, encouraging strong participation, and place where nurses are recognised and are able to contribute to the top management. In addition, one more key to success if  the interdisciplinary relationships; it means the members of each department of healthcare are able to co-ordinate and work together; such as nurses, physicians, pharmacists and t herapists. Leadership aims on mutual consent of all team members and promotes respect and involvement of all departments, shared responsibilities and leadership style for actions. It is an necessary personal approach of the writer that personal involvement is the key for building working relationships between management and leadership professionals as they both promotes the organisational goals. If the nursing professionals have opinions and ideas that matters for the wellbeing of the patient satisfaction, then an extra effort to highlight the need is essential. Any new idea is difficult to execute without the commitment and facilitation of the managers and leaders and also among the other parties involved. Real efforts and success can be achieved by working together as a team, and aiming to contribute in a continuous methods in healthcare facilities for total patient satisfaction. References Frellick, M. (2011). A Path to Nursing Excellence. Hospitals & Health Networks. Advance online publication. Retrieved from Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Magnet. (2013). Retrieved from Hawke, M. (2004, January). Magnet Status Attracts Mettle. Nursing Spectrum, 19-21. Retrieved from Huber, D. L. (2010). Leadership and Nursing Care Management (4th ed.). Retrieved from Miriam Hospital. (n.d.). Retrieved from The difference between leadership and management. (2012). Retrieved from

Degrading Women Essay

Today in America there is a vast amount of lyrics that are extremely degrading women. These lyrics are found in many of Hip-Hop, Rap, and Pop music that portray women as objects, and not as an actual human being. Other popular music these days relate to women as tricks or other horrible names that no woman should ever be called. Sadly, since this epidemic of only thinking of women as objects has over come America today, it needs to stop. The teenagers and young adults of this country are hearing many of these degrading songs on the radio and having it engraved in their mind that women are only good for one thing, which is why this current phenomenon needs to be put to an end. Paragraph One: Song: â€Å"Candy Shop† by 50 Cent Lyrics: You can have it your way, how do you want it, You gon’ back that thing up or should I push up on it. Degrading why?: 50 Cent only sees this girl as using her for a one night stand and never having any contact with her ever again. Paragraph Two: Song: â€Å"Can’t Hold Us Down† by Christiana Aguilera Lyrics: This is for my girls all around the world who come across a man who don’t respect your worth. Thinking all women should be seen not heard, SSo what do we do girls? Shout out loud! Not Degrading: Every women should listen to these lyrics and know that even though they are bombarded with lyrics that make it okay for a man to see women as object, its not and no one can hold us down. Paragraph Three: Song: â€Å"Every Girl† by Lil’ Wyane Lyrics: And I’m in he mood to get faded so please bring your finest and what are all your names again? Degrading Why?: Lil’ Wyane obviously sees himself as a pimp who deserves every fine girl in the world, but only to use them for one thing. On top of that he will not remember their names and still relate to them as objects. Paragraph Four: Song: â€Å"A Woman’s Worth† by Alicia Keys Lyrics: ‘Cause a real man knows a real woman when he sees her. And a real woman knows a real man ain’t afraid to please her. And a real man just can’t deny a woman’s worth. Not Degrading: The man in this song sees Alicia as a future soul mate and not just a one night stand. He is not afraid to love her and care for her and that is what every woman should strive to find in a man.

Macbeth Coursework Essay

In this essay I will be looking at Act 2, Scenes 1 and 2 of Macbeth and producing a detailed analysis of the scenes, providing examples of how I would direct them and comparing this with how it may have been directed in Shakespeare’s day. I will also be discussing the context in which the play was written and discussing the impact this had on Shakespeare’s writing. I am setting Macbeth in the time period of which it was originally set in, the 11th century. To uphold historical accuracy, the actors will also be dressed in medieval clothing and so their outfits won’t be that grand but practical and warm, broaches and smocks. The scenery that I will have will be of a built up castle with a staircase and an upper level but also a curtain to fall in front with just an empty field for front-of-tabs work when they are not near a castle. The stage will there for have to be set in open-end staging. I have kept with the original setting for many reasons: one is that people were more suspicious at that time and were a lot more likely to believe that there are witches that make psychic predictions, also less foolish that Macbeth believes them if it was set in time when people were less sceptical toward the supernatural. If it was set in modern day Macbeth would be seen as foolish to believe them and put his life at risk for things that they have said are truths. Another flaw with setting it in modern day is that if somebody, especially the King, was murdered then the body would have to undergo a full forensic search. It would seem implausible that if a monarchy was killed for the blame to go to onto his children purely because they fled, if it was set in a time where they could just check the DNA on the weapons that you know are left there. I am also setting it then to make the story feel more real. As that is when the real Macbeth walked and talked, however falsified the story is. So it seemed best to set it in the time it was meant to have taken place. When Banquo and Fleance enter at the start of the Act, Fleance is holding a torch to show it is dark. This fits with their conversation about the night, because if they were just walking around saying it was dark but without showing any signs of not being able to see, then it would just seem unrealistic. Before Macbeth leaves to kill Duncan he should take the necklace showing symbol that he is Thane of Cawdor off and show that he is no longer that. He should also wear a red cloak to symbolise the blood, as if it is surrounding him, it should be tied up around his neck and when he is feeling the impact of what he did it should be as if it is so tight it is chocking him, the blood, or his deed, are chocking him. The scene is set in Dunsdane castle at night, Macbeth’s castle. We know that it is gone midnight from Banquo and Fleance’s conversation. This would affect the audience when Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, in Jacobean England, people were superstitious and ‘witching hour’ was still believed and feared. Also night was the time when bad things happen, it was associated with evil, witchcraft and hidden acts. Also it was common believed at the time that the good and righteous were in far before it got dark as the day is for the good and the night for the evil, the time where dark deeds took place. The stairs of the castle behind show that it is set in the courtyard of Macbeth’s castle. They are walking across stage but quite slowly as to fit in the text as it makes sense for them to be heading somewhere, as it would seem inappropriate for them to just be standing out in the dark and the cold. Historically Banquo and Macbeth were best friends and both together killed the King. But Shakespeare, who knew that King James 1, the current king, was a descendant of Banquo and thought it best not to show him as being evil. It would displease the King to show his ancestor as treasonous, so he decided to make him out as innocent and good and for him to try and discourage Macbeth from killing Duncan. By having Banquo out after dark when the bad and evil were supposedly out may have been Shakes peares way of communicating this to the audience in a discrete manner, one that the King could not fret about. The things that I would add to the start of the scene are that the lighting should be dull and dimly lit to show that it is dark with a few small lights at the top as they are referenced. This just adds to the feel of the night. Also the sound effects of crickets, regardless of whether there would be any again reference to the night it would add to the suspense. In the scene between Banquo and Fleance, Banquo has greater authority over Fleance as he refers to him as ‘Sir.’ ‘I take’t, ’tis later, sir’ So therefore when onstage Banquo needs to show that he is of higher status and so needs to look down at him. Fleance needs to be played quite introvertedly and be more hunched and talk softer and at a higher pitch than Banquo, as that will show his age. When Macbeth (and his servant) enters he should come from the opposite side of the stage from where Banquo and Fleance are. So Macbeth enters from the side where stairs are nearest and all four of them head toward the stairs when they spot each other. His servant is standing downstage to him when they are talking as it shows the lesser importance of him in both status and the play. When Banquo and Macbeth are talking they start to discuss the three witches. ‘I had a dream about the three weird sister. To you they have shown some truth.’ This shows that Banquo may be out after dark as he was having bad dreams. Macbeth should seem taken aback at this statement as if he was at that time, thinking about them, yet denies it. ‘I think not of them.’ Banquo doesn’t believe him and stays wary of him, seeming unsure what to say and the atmosphere is quite uncomfortable as Macbeth is suspicious that Banquo suspects what he is planning on doing. They are friends as well so they have to speak pleasantly and they also would not discuss possible murder plots in frount of Banquo’s son. Banquo must seem as if he is sizing Macbeth up, to see whether he would actually do that. So he has to be looking at him intently. In Macbeth’s soliloquy after he sends his servant away, he pauses and then in silence starts to pace, as if trying to think about what to do as he is torn. You hear a door open in the distance and he jumps, showing that he is on-edge and anxious. He also appears to be muttering to himself, which again shows that he is running through his thoughts on the matter. In centre stage a figure that is dressed in black produces a dagger from their costume. Macbeth sees this and walks over curiously, as he cannot see the figure. When he tries to grab it, the figure moves it just out of his way. This suggests that there is supernatural intervention. When the dagger goes towards Duncan’s room the figure dressed in black is beckoning to him and Macbeth seems transfixed on the dagger by his speech as also as he never takes his eyes off it. Just before blood appears on the dagger in the script, the figure seems to stab itself and the blood appears just on the blade. This is directing Macbeth to what he must do. The black figure then produces a crown above their head and places it on very slowly during his talk of murder and ghost and rape. When the bell rings though the crown is taken off and again is invisible. Macbeth’s voice at first when talking about the dagger, should seem entranced with it, as if it is drawing him in. He loses his sense of guilt and reaches out for it as if he was a cat just batting at the object. He should also sound shocked and confused that he can’t touch it, so it seems as though the witches are definitely putting a spell on him. The line ‘Nature seems dead’ should be said very slowly and definite, after that line it should get gradually and with more emphasis on the words. Also he should pause after ‘Moves like a ghost’. It shows his worry and nerve, also the use of the word ‘ghost’ connects it with death. In the last bit the figure produces a crown and Macbeth is determined to get it. By this time he has developed more dignity, and so he does not try and aimlessly bat around. He also appears to grow taller and in doing so makes him seem more worthy of Kingliness. When he says the last section of his soliloquy, the first line should be said whilst walking halfway up the stairs. He stops and looks around whilst saying ‘Hear it not, Duncan’. He then walks to the top of the stairs whilst saying ‘for it is knell.’ He looks over to the audience to say ‘to summon thee to Heaven,’ but the looks over to where he is exiting to say ‘or to hell’ This is said manically with a gruffer tone and with eyes open wider and the dagger held above his head as he runs off set. This section conveys the atmosphere of the night, it describes the night as being dark and dangerous. Which is conveyed by the use of personification, Macbeth compares the night to the evil deed such as murder, witchcraft and rape. It also again forewarns the terrible deeds that are soon to take place. At the beginning of Act 2 Scene 2 there should be sounds of wind in the background to show something bad is coming, this is a use of pathetic fallacy. This will make viewers think as to whether the deed has taken place yet. The audience should feel in suspense and want to know what has gone on. The lights should again be duller as it is still night, and the darkness on stage can also reflect the grey areas of the play that have not been revealed yet. Lady Macbeth, when talking, should come across as bolder and more confident than what you would think from a woman of her time. She should talk extrovertly and seem to get a sense of pleasure from what is happening, so she should look quite smug, she seems to have no remorse. You can tell that this is her outer shell as as soon as she hears the owl’s hoot, she panics and jumps but manages to regain her composition quickly. As when she says, ‘Hark! Peace’ This shows her panicking when she says Hark but then she realises that is nothing as so redeems herself by saying peace. She should enter from upstairs but the other side to Macbeth and should seem quite elated and with a smug sense of accomplishment as she meanders down the stairs and into the courtyard. She also actually freezes when she hears the owl. She is seen as dominating and so being strong relates to her being forceful before. The fact that she seems so jumpy is a contradiction to her otherwise confident manner, this shows that maybe deep down she isn’t so confident as is let on. That she only shows this exterior as to cover up the fact that she isn’t as strong as she wishes to be. When she says ‘if he had not resembled my father as he slept’ it should be said looking away from Macbeth. This shows her reluctance to show off her weakness and it shows that she did not really want to admit that to him, as if she though that it would make her seem weaker. It should also be said very monosyllabic, as to mask her feelings. This shows she does feel and does have emotions, but she chooses never to let anything but her rock solid exterior to be shown. Also that she is not as tough as she wants people to believe. When Macbeth returns with the daggers he should be in shock, to show what he did still hasn’t really sunk in and he doesn’t really believe what he did. He should talk in with a soft, distant tone as if he is not really concentrating on what he is doing. He should also not focus on anything as if he is far away, he should look through objects, not at them. When he says, ‘There’s one did laugh in’s sleep, and one cried ‘Murder!’ it is more to himself and when he is saying the speech around this he should never look at Lady Macbeth. He should seem more transfixed at the daggers. Lady Macbeth should talk with an almost hungry tone as she craves the power that it gives her. When she notices the daggers in his hands she has to seem quite disbelieving of his stupidity. When she says, ‘Why did you bring these from the place?’ She has to say it as if she cannot possibly understand why he did that, also very patronising. When Macbeth enters he is upstairs and Lady Macbeth is at the bottom and when they talk at the beginning of the scene, he is walking as they talk. He should seem shaky and closed. Lady Macbeth goes over to him, to go and comfort him but he pulls away and is transfixed with his hands and the blood on them, Lady Macbeth should also seem a bit put out by his rejection. Macbeth is filled with guilt so much he is controlled by it, so he cannot say ‘Amen.’ This is important as in Jacobean time, they were still very religious times, so by failing to be able to say the ending of a prayer shows how sinful this deed was. It shows a connection with the devil and being apart from God. He also talks about sleep, he describes it as being wonderful and relief, a blessing. When he was saying, ‘Sleep no more’, he is saying that this is a terrible punishment, sleep was taken away from him because he took a life. Lady Macbeth should seem forceful and annoyed still that he had rejected her earlier. She is very bossy and seems to be able to control and manipulate Macbeth, even though he is a strong warrior. Lady Macbeth is practical and keeps her head in their predicament, but this is quite misleading as later in the play she goes mad from the guilt of what she has done. So you know then that she doesn’t find it as simple as she lets on. We see a contrast in their characters by how they perceive the blood on their hands from the daggers. Macbeth uses a hyperbole by saying that ‘all Neptune’s water’ could not wash the blood away, so he is exaggerating and is talking more about the emotional scarring that that would leave him with. That nothing could possibly wash away what he did, no amount of water could make him forget. But Lady Macbeth simply talks about ‘how easy it is then’ as she describes only how easy it is to physically wash it off. She does not think of the guilt, only on how to get out of the blame. The dramatic effect of the knocking is that people are waking and that they can be found at any point. Somebody could arrive, also shown by the knocking as you knock to enter when you arrive. Macbeth should not seem jumpy as he is not really aware of what’s going on around him as he still hasn’t consciously awoken. Lady Macbeth should seem more aware of it as she is more aware of what they have done. During the whole of Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy, Macbeth should very slowly being playing with the water in the bucket, also to be staring very intently at it, and sounds of water movement. When Macbeth says ‘to know my deed, ’twere best not know myself’. He says it directly at Lady Macbeth, looking straight into her eyes as if willing her to understand him. When the knocking is finally getting to Macbeth he should suddenly outburst and talk very loud, almost shouting, ‘Wake Duncan with thy knocking!’ This shows that the knocking and what he did are starting to really get to him, he is more aware of the knocks when he become more aware of what he did. The voice is also a contrast to his distant and scared voice straight after he killed Duncan. Yet when he says, ‘I wish thou couldst.’ To be said softer and more inwardly, said more to himself, he should also bow his head as it shows his remorse for what he has done and his wish to rever se it. My play differs in many ways from what it would have been showed in Shakespeares day, as there is more technology and equipment in theatres now than they did then. In Shakespeare’s time there wasn’t backdrops, limited props and not very much in the way of scenery. Whereas, in my play there is an entire wall of a castle with a staircase and an upstairs for the actors to go in certain parts of the play, also there is a background of a forest for later on in the play. Underneath the stage is an area that opens up for the witches to go in when needed. These things they wouldn’t have been able to do in Shakespeare’s day, I am also using more advanced lighting then they would have then as well. Also the costumes that I use are from medieval time, whereas they were in Elizabethan dress when they were first performed. The audience would be different now as in Shakespeare’s day, the arena was a bit of a commotion, people talked, traded, drank. But nowadays, Shakespeare’s plays are seen almost as religious and the whole theatre is in silence. You are scolded if you even dare to cough. Also as people don’t have the same belief in witches and the supernatural as they did then, the story seems quite far-fetched, but it is still regarded as one of the greatest plays even written. Which is contradictory to the belief at the time. I think that my ideas are effective and also they are original, for example, my idea for Macbeth’s soliloquy, which, to my knowledge, hasn’t been used before. I think that it will be effective as I feel I have captured the characters in the way that they were written by Shakespeare and it stays very close to the original setting and so stays traditional.