Dama presented for examination Essay

A written account of practical work undertaken in year 11 resulting in a piece of drama presented for examination. We started the Christmas term 2001 with group warm-up exercises, before even thinking about what we were going to perform in late November or who we were going to work with. These were fun class activities, used to build up group relationships. We did such things as human noughts and crosses, using nine chairs in a 3 by 3 square with the girls as noughts and the boys as crosses. We played 5 games, resulting in one draw and the boys winning 3 to the girls’ 1. It was fun and used really to warm us up. We then went on to play two games of winking murder. We all sat round in a circle on chairs with our eyes closed while Mrs. Powles walked round the circle tapping someone on the shoulder, telling that person that they are the murderer. Then it’s all eyes open and we try to work out who the murderer is. Meanwhile, the murderer is winking discreetly at people, killing them. It was very enjoyable and it helped to build up group relationships. Following that, we were assigned the task of pretending to be a salesperson of some description at a drinks evening. We had to decide what we were selling and how to sell it. Once that was decided, we had to go around the class introducing ourselves to each other and trying to sell our product to them in under 2 minutes. It involved much interaction between us all and helped tremendously to strengthen group relationships. Shortly after, we were asked to write on a piece of paper who we wanted to work with and who we did not want to work with if we thought that we would not produce to the best of our ability if we were with them. Finally, I ended up working with Elise, which was great as I had never worked with her before and we were good friends. She didn’t seem to complain either, which was a good sign. Then we spent an entire double lesson going through all of Mrs. Powles’ plays that she had to decide on one to perform an extract out of for the exam in December. We settled finally on an extract from the play â€Å"The Norman Conquests† by Alan Ayckbourn, as we both decided that we wanted to do a comical piece, but not farcical, so it fitted nicely. After searching through the book for a while, we finally came across a suitable duologue between Norman and Sarah. Norman is a librarian, but this definitely does not define his character at all. He is a womaniser, married to Ruth, attempted to have an affair with her sister Annie who is engaged to Tom, and is now working his charms on his other sister-in-law, Sarah, Elise’s character, who is married to Reg. Sarah is a more strict, clean, and prim character. However, it is sometimes clear that Sarah is quite jealous of Annie because she is the one that Norman says he wants and she wants to replace Annie in Norman’s eyes. It does eventually happen, as in the second scene they kiss. The extract immediately appealed to both of us, so we decided to give it a try. The extract we did in November was actually two different dialogues taken from two different points in the play. The first is set in the living room in the house and the second is set in the garden. Immediate difficulties we experienced with the exert were few, but as ever there were some. The biggest problem in my mind at the beginning was how to perform the kissing part of the second scene effectively and without embarrassment. It really needed to look convincing as it is the peak of Sarah’s life, experiencing the closest thing she will ever feel to true love. It was essential that this came across in the performance. Then came the blocking of the scenes. First of all we just exchanged ideas and thoughts, coming up with a skeletal plan for how to go about performing both scenes. We discussed things such as how lines should be spoken, facial expressions and other small but significant effects. Afterwards we concentrated mainly on the first scene to get that near-perfect before trying the second scene. Once we had familiarized ourselves with the scene and had fairly certain ideas about what to do, we started to really act it out. Not long after, we did hot-seating as a class in which the person in the hot-seat had to answer their questions as their character. I enjoyed listening to other people answer questions with much thought, as they delved into previously unexplored regions of their character. When my turn came, I found it to be a very interesting experience, being able to answer questions as a different person. I had to capture his frame of mind and be able to answer the questions convincingly as Norman. It really helped me to get to grips with Norman’s character, behaviour and motivation and also to further my acting ability as Norman. When it was Elise’s turn, it too helped me to understand her character better than I previously did, which enabled me to respond to her better in the play. Following that, we spent most, if not all, of our time concentrating on the first scene, filling in the gaps and finalising parts of it. Performing it in front of the class also helped a lot as it was open to criticism and any ideas from the class or Mrs. Powles. One idea that really affected what we had rehearsed so far was that at the beginning of the first scene, Sarah storms in and physically removes my feet from the arm of the armchair before she sits on it. We had thought this to be a good idea to convey that Sarah was angry with Norman, which she was. The suggestion was that this was not a bad idea, just that it would be more effective if Sarah came in and stared at my feet distastefully, as if daring me to leave them there. When I then remove them, she brushes the arm with her hand before sitting in the chair. This, we decided, was much better than our original plan as it shows that Sarah is a less physical person, more prim and uptight. Throughout all the extract from then on, the amount of physical interaction Sarah did was kept to a bare minimum. We started needing the script less and less and we started on the second scene – a definite sign of all-round progress. I found the second scene much more difficult to do than the first, mainly for two reasons. The first was that I had to act drunk, as prior to this scene, offstage, Norman has been consuming large amounts of wine. The real difficulty with this was that I had to appear drunk by staggering around and slurring my words. The staggering part was okay to act but the slurring was the real problem as I still had to be understood by the audience. With practice and advice form Mrs. Powles, however, this problem was soon overcome. The second problem was the kissing part. We knew this would be difficult when we chose the piece, but we still chose to do it. Once the initial embarrassment of it was overcome, there was still an awkward feeling as Elise was my friend. But this we endured right up to the end. As the exam date drew nearer, we spent our time polishing up the piece and adding finishing touches to it, such as sound effects and music. We spent a lot of time searching through the sound effects for some birdsong to be used at the beginning of the second scene, just to inform the audience that it was set outside. As for music, we originally thought about using â€Å"When a man loves a woman†, but in the end we decided on using â€Å"Irresistible† by the Corrs. For lighting effects, we used straw and golden gels on fresnel spots. With regards to costume, we decided that I would look best in a pair of corduroy trousers with a check shirt. But unfortunately I could not obtain a pair of corduroy trousers, so we settled for a pair of chinos with a leather belt. This, we thought, conveyed Norman’s character quite well; not trendy or modern, yet laid back and charming. For Sarah, we both decided that Elise would look appropriate in a grey skirt suit, as it would convey Sarah’s prim and proper personality. When the final day came, it went very smoothly. Neither of us made any real mistakes and our lines were as perfect as they ever would have been. Overall we were both very pleased with our final performance. And, thankfully the audience did seem to enjoy it as they laughed in all the right places, sometimes a bit more enthusiastically than we both had previously expected, which could have meant only good things.

Is Democracy a Better form of Government Essay

Democracy is the best form of government simply because no other form of government is known to work well. Democracy may have its flaws but all in all it works very fluidly. Socialism, for example, does not even come close to the best form of government. One can easily see this in Greece’s current state. Democracy has never led to complete government disorder like one can see Socialism does. Democracy allows us the freedom to choose. The majority of our country is allowed to choose what they feel is best for them. It is not just one person deciding what they think is best for everyone else. Democracy will always win out over other forms of government. This process can happen through voting. Right to vote is a human right of every citizen. Political Rights form a distinct category of Human Rights. Right to vote, right to contest at elections and the right to hold public office are considered important political rights. A democracy seems to be the most stable form of government yet. No one person has power. No one ideology is deemed better than another. In a democracy, if something doesn’t work, it can and should be changed by the populace. Theocracies, monarchies and socialism all have their downsides. Democracy isn’t perfect, but that form of government seems to be the most peaceful, especially in America. â€Å"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy? † ? Mahatma Gandhi People’s democracy is the lifeblood of socialism. †¦ As an important part of the overall reform, political restructuring must be constantly deepened along with economic and social development to adapt to the growing enthusiasm of the people for participation in political affairs.

The Birth of the American Nation

The American Revolution was not only a battle against the British; it was also a period of transition from a colony to a newly-formed country. Belonging to country that was just liberated from colonial rule, the Americans attempted to apply revolutionary ideology to the building of their nation and the making of their society.They managed to do so by first basing the Declaration of Independence on political freedom, social tolerance and economic opportunity. (http://www. megaessays. com, n. d.) Political freedom played a huge influence on the ideas and ambitions of the revolutionaries and also resulted in social tolerance and economic opportunity. (http://www. megaessays. com, n. d. )Hence, the Declaration of Independence was not a promise or an excuse to wage war with Britain – it was a challenge to the Americans to preserve their sovereignty and develop as a nation. (http://www. megaessays. com, n. d. ) Political freedom for the 13 colonies meant â€Å"breaking away from En gland and being able to develop a sense of identity and a sense of self-government.† (http://megaessays. com, n. d. ) â€Å"Sense of identity and a sense of self-government† referred to a central government that they themselves elected and in whose affairs they have a say. (http://megaessays. com, n. d. ) Indeed, the lack of political representation angered the Americans more than any other atrocity committed against them by the British. (http://megaessays. com, n. d. ) The absence of their opinion in government policy-making allowed the British to enact unjust laws, such as the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765).The Sugar Act imposed a three-cent tax on imported refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo and certain types of wine. (http://www. socialstudiesforkids. com, n. d. ) Meanwhile, the Stamp Act required taxation for every printed paper that American colonists used. (http://www. socialstudiesforkids. com, n. d. ) With the 13 colonies free from th e grasp of the British government, the Americans then proceeded to create laws that promoted economic and social liberty. On March 1, 1784, Thomas Jefferson proposed a prohibition on slavery in the entire United States after 1800 (this was narrowly defeated).(http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) On May 8, 1785, the US Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785, which divided the northwest territories into â€Å"townships set at 6 square miles, subdivided into 36 lots of 640 acres each, with each lot selling for no less than $640. † (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) Thomas Jefferson's Ordinance of Religious Freedom (1786) dictated that â€Å"no man may be forced to attend or support any church or be discriminated against because of his religious preference. † (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d.) The first amendment to the US Constitution was later patterned after this regulation. (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) Despite their nation's independence, the Americans continued using some long-held conventions, laws and customs. For instance, the US Constitution espoused the national government's division into three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. The legislative branch creates the laws, the executive enforces the laws and the judicial branch interprets the laws. The colonial government has a similar structure. The governor headed the executive branch in each colony.He was â€Å"appointed by the king in the royal colonies, named by the proprietor in the proprietary colonies, and chosen by the voters in the charter colonies. † (www. grazian-archive. com, n. d. ) The governor was assisted by a council (appointed by the same agent that appointed the governor) in administering to the affairs of the colony. The governor (in the royal and proprietary colonies) can also exercise a suspensive (temporary) or full veto upon the colonial legislatures. The legislative branch in the colonial government was a bicame ral unit that was tasked to enact laws.It also had the authority to appoint several administrative officials, starting with the colonial treasurer. (www. grazian-archive. com, n. d) The judicial branch of the colonial government dealt with all cases in the colonies. Colonial judges were either appointed by the king or elected by the people, depending on the type of colony. They were tasked to provide colonists judicial rights that the British people enjoyed at home. (www. grazian-archive. com, n. d) Another long-held convention that the Americans used was the development of individual military institutions for each state.(http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) This ran parallel to Britain, which had separate military units for the colonies and the mother country. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) A civil war broke out in Britain in 1642, resulting in the abolition of the monarchy and the House of Lords and the relinquishment of power to General Oliver Cromwell and the army. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) Under Cromwell's dictatorship, the size of the military establishment under the British king was limited.This had a negative effect on the colonies, where Cromwell's absolutism fueled distrust of standing armies and the employment of professional soldiers. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) To compensate for the lack of soldiers, the colonies resorted to citizen-soldiers. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) A law passed in 1777 required able young men (except for slaves) to render military service to the colonies. They were trained in the basics of war and law enforcement and were also considered potential recruits for short military offensives in the frontier.Land grants were often provided in exchange for able soldiering, turning the military into an attractive prospect for laborers with no property of their own and their sons. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) But the American Revolution left some problems unresolved, if not created new ones. The Americans remained divided on the topic of slavery (Brinkley150). Slavery was abolished in states where either slavery was minimal or was non-existent at all, such as in New England and Pennsylvania, respectively (Brinkley 150).Even the South experienced pressure to rectify or even abolish the custom. All southern states except South Carolina and Georgia banned further importation of slaves from other countries, while South Carolina also prohibited slave trade during the war (Brinkley 150). Virginia created a law calling for manumission (the freeing of slaves) (Brinkley 150). However, slavery still survived in all southern and border states. The American Revolution also did little to promote the rights of women.Although the war made it easier for women in some states to obtain divorces and allowed women in New Jersey to vote, they still remained inferior and dependent on men (Brinkley 147). They had no access to education and h ad no legal protection from abusive and tyrannical men (Brinkley 146). Married women had no property rights of their own, making it difficult for widows of revolutionaries to regain their dowries from their husbands' estates (Brinkley 147). Aside from the issues of slaver and the emancipation of women, the Americans had to deal with post-war economic depression as well.(http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) The hostilities left Americans with a host of economic problems, such as shortage of currency, high taxes, nagging creditors, farm foreclosures and bankruptcies. (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) Increasing poverty at this period led to rebellion and violence. On August 31, 1786, to avoid the trial and imprisonment of debtors, former war captain Daniel Shays led an armed throng and stopped the Northampton Court from observing a hearing (Shays was already an impoverished farmer at the time of the revolt).Shays and his followers later instigated several related uprisings. Th e American Revolution served as a model for later revolutions in Europe and Latin America. It served as the primary influence in the French Revolution (1798-1799), the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) and the South American wars of independence (Venezuela – 1811; Argentina – 1810 and Chile – 1810). But the most important lesson it taught was that while the oppressed can free themselves from a tyrant, they should ensure that they deserve the freedom that they won. Works Cited Brinkley, Alan.A Survey: American History. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. â€Å"Essay on Declaration of Independence and American History. † n. d. Megaessays. com. 16 January 2007 . â€Å"Sugar Act. † n. d. Social Studies for Kids. 15 January 2008 . â€Å"A Summary of the 1765 Stamp Act. † n. d. Colonial Williamsburg. 15 January 2008 . â€Å"A New Nation: 1784 to 1790. † n. d. The History Place. 15 January 2008. â€Å"Three Branches of Government. † n . d. Utah Education Network. 15 January 2008 . â€Å"Early American Governments and the Confederation. † n. d. Grazian-Archive. com. 15 January 2008 . â€Å"The US Army and the Founding of the Republic. † n. d. AmericanRevolution. com 16 January 2008 .

Software Architecture report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Software Architecture report - Essay Example This level of abstraction is called software architectural styles or patterns. These styles and patterns synonymously refer to a composition and arrangement of components and the way of interaction between these components (Bass, Clements, & Kazman, 2003, Section 5.9). This arrangement is in actual a generalization of the best practices adopted in specific problems. By identifying the style or pattern involved in a particular architecture, the software architects can immediately understand the basic working model of the intended system. Software architecture is a formal arrangement of integral elements/components of a system while architectural style or pattern is a generalization of the best practice solution that can be applied in a particular scenario. It represents of a  set of principles that provide an abstract framework of components, their types (whether a repository of computational component, etc.) their layout and relationships (e.g. input and output dependencies) and interaction mechanisms (e.g. events based, procedure calls, etc.) that all systems falling into a similar category can follow. Thus, architectural styles or patterns aid in partitioning a system and facilitate in reusing the pre-existing solution designs to solve the frequently occurring similar system formulation problems (Garland & Anthony, 2003, p. 171; Gomaa, 2011, p. 198). The problem and context of the selected architectural components aid in selecting a particular architectural style characterizing components and connectors (Gomaa, 2011, p. 205). In a style or pattern, components could be computational, memory related, managerial or a controller while the connector depicting interaction mechanisms between components could be procedure call, data flow, implicit invocation, message passing, shared data or instantiation. Section 2.1 to 2.10 provides a brief description of a few architectural styles and patterns (Taylor, Medvidovic, &

How To Build An Effective Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

How To Build An Effective Team - Essay Example Development of the employer-employee affiliation is significant to both parties for quite a few motives (McShane & Glinow, 2004, Pp 415-417). 2. Secondly, employees might discover that improved moral performance on their part in fact fallout in advanced reimbursement. For example, many organizations are concerned in connection with marketing, which is the procedure of generating and upholding lasting dealings with customers. Connections marketing, which can help an organization add to its income, necessitate the collaboration of employees. Employees that execute their jobs carefully and industriously are often pleased with elevated pays. 3. Thirdly, even if there is no substance increase, morally suitable behavior provides wisdom of complacency. So, it is beneficial for each organization to uphold elevated principled values and thus promote confidence among an organization and its employees. Organizational Behavior organizations or companies have been illustrated as groups of people who work mutually dependent headed for various reasons. This description evidently specifies that organizations are not structures or parts of any mechanism. Organizations are, certainly, people who work together to achieve communal purposes. The learning of organizational Behavior (OB) and its associated topics assist us to comprehend what people believe, sense and do in managerial surroundings. There are quantities of behavioral regulations that supply to OB: psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science. There are a lot of disputes and chances today for managers to use OB perceptions. One of the mainly significant and multi-ethnic confronts facing organizations at present is developing a new team. Organizations are becoming more diverse in provisions of gender, race, and ethnicity. Keeping in consideration the ideas of OB permits organization to make possib le the needs of developing a new team. Characteristics For Building A New Team 1. Supervisors, managers and association personnel members generally discover ways to progress business consequences and productivity. Many view team-support as the most excellent plan for linking all employees in generating trade accomplishment. No matter what one calls its team-support development attempt: incessant development, totality of quality, bend over manufacturing or self-aimed at work teams one is determined to get better consequences for its customers. 2. Considering diverse kinds of people and probable behaviors to contract with them permits a manager to choose the management style and techniques most suitable to their circumstances to build an effective team. 3. Research on performance of employees in an association could assist in choosing and guiding founded on there experienced prospective to execute the job. 4. Employees performance aids in make a decision of wages rates, founding presentation standards, work scheduling, allocation of work according to persons capability and locating to-do list when building a team.

Scope for exploiting Big Data and Big Data Analytics in the local Essay

Scope for exploiting Big Data and Big Data Analytics in the local transport industry - Essay Example With great developments in information and communication technology, most of the data produced every day is generated by people all over the world through social networks; however other types of important data are collected using cameras, GPS equipment, satellites and other devices for many uses. Over the last decade, business strategy has become increasingly dependent on information about potential customers and their characteristics. This data is obtained from the huge collection of data referred to as Big Data through processes like data mining and analyzed to help in business strategy. Analytics is the other method of collecting vital consumer information and it involves real time tracking of consumer characteristics. This paper examines how Big data analytics can be used in the transportation industry to improve quality of service, add value to services and develop applications that will enhance service provision in the industry and reduce loss of time and money. The study has d efined Big data and some of the theories that enable its application as well as examined the benefits and challenges provided by big data analytics in the transportation industry locally and globally. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background More data is currently being generated worldwide than at any other point historically. Over the last five years, the volume of data generated globally is estimated to have increased by a factor of six to over 1000 exabytes (Dumbill, 2012). The ‘digital’ universe is expected to reach 8 zettabytes by the year 2015. In general the data explosion is projected to increase with time especially with new data types being developed and increased access to networked devices all over the world including smart phones and geo-positioning devices (Woo et al., 2011). The data being accumulated comes from a wide range of sources. However, the data growth is driven by two main sources working together with decreasing storage costs. The first source for data is the â€Å"internet of things†. A number of sensors collate information on our activities and environment on a daily basis. These connected devices contribute substantially to the amount of information accumulated daily and they are projected to rise from about 4.5 billion devices in 2010 to over 50 billion in 2020 (Dumbill, 2012). The second greatest source of data is the social web of networks where information about human activities is shared on a daily basis. This includes data about human preferences, interests, and locations. On addition to the two major sources of data highlighted above, there are a number of other private sources including hospital records, phone communications, financial transactions, information captured on CCTV and many others. The McKinsey Global Institute has termed big data as the next frontier for competition, innovation, and global productivity (Manyika, 2011). The analysis of masses of unstructured and semi-structured data which some time a go would have been considered prohibitive in terms of time and money is now considered the next step towards business advantage. One of the reasons why this data has turned out to be very important is that great insight can be gained from the data by monitoring the patterns of human interaction. One of the areas in which big data displays great potential is the transportation industry. This is an industry which increasingly showing great requirement for an industrial big data platform. With increasing urbanization and expansion of many cities across the world, traffic management and related challenges are getting bigger by the day. In some of the largest and more congested cities in the

Syncretizing Views in Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Syncretizing Views in Religion - Essay Example Thus, according to the Chinese community, syncretism is a mixture of more than one religion. There are several definitions that have been brought out in relation to syncretism to fit the Chinese religious community. According to Judith Berling, syncretism is the affirmation, borrowing and integrating the various concepts, practices, and symbols in one religion to another through reconciliation and selection. To incorporate the Chinese religion and syncretism, the natural dissonance that exist in religious ideas and gestures may disappear. In the article, syncretism is not meant to permit the monopoly of mixing of religious ideologies in a multi –religious community. Furthermore, to fully understand syncretism, one has to consider three aspects in religious interaction. These are what are not applicable. For instance, one has to understand that syncretism does not apply with ecumenicism. According to the article, ecumenicism applies in understanding the universal truth. This as pect asserts that different religious views are sustained separately by tradition in the external elements and not truth perceptions. This may include modes of discourse and other ritual practices. Therefore, there is one truth which is common in this kind of truth. Secondly, syncretism is not considered inclusivism.... Therefore, this is a perfect syncretic combination among dominant religions. Furthermore, compartmentalism is not an aspect of syncretism. This is because it recognizes that various teachings deal with varied of reality and are concerned with different truth aspects. Thus, each religious tradition functionally is specialized in one way or the other and can easily complement the other without reducing the other. Furthermore, each addresses several issues without overlapping one another. More so, each religion has a specific realm of thoughts. This concept accepts the issues in Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism as practiced in China. For one to really analyze a text as syncretic, he or she has to understand that syncretism is not related to eclectism. This is the ability of one religion to adopt the other despite the differing religious doctrines. In this article the concept of three teachings is basically a concept of syncretism. In the three teachings, there is one origin and similar teachings. As depicted in the article, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are not an innovation by Yuan. The Tang dynasty is the core unifier of the three concepts. Thus, the efforts to keep the three distinct and not unified were achieved as they developed organizations, ritual practices and intellectual thoughts. The three are believed to have had a common set of teachings. Despite the different philosophical teachings among the three concepts, there were efforts to merge the three into one religious doctrine. They thus devised a poem which illustrated the emperor as a syncretic. Furthermore, the development of the song in the dynasty to develop the neo-colonialism ushered a relationship in the three teachings to merge as one phase. What is believed to have