Dear John, Book vs Movie

Author Nicholas Sparks added to his list of best sellers with the novel Dear John. Dear John is a love story, love stories make big money in movie form, so the novels are popular to make into a movie. Books and movies are two forms of entertainment that are closely related and we overlook the differences among them. There are many similarities between the two, but there are also major differences. If one has never read a novel and then watched the movie version of the novel they may not have experienced this comparison and contrast to the the two forms Even though Dear John contains similarieties and differences the message still remains the same.. Love. The first major contrast is that each form has a different author. Nicholas Sparks wrote the novel and Jamie Linden turned the novel into a screenplay which was then directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Sparks has written both the novel and screenplays for some of his other works but turned the screenplay writing over to Jamie Linden for this project. When there is a separate author on the novel and screenplay the initial story is almost certain to be written differently based on the second authors interpretation of the original authors work. In some instances there is a third interpretation with a director of the movie. A lot can go wrong when the original story is interpreted differently by the author that writes the screenplay and a director that then directs. Michael O’ Sullivan of The Washington Post, wrote in a review of the movie, â€Å"I think our relationship is in trouble†. O’ Sullivan is trying to get across to the reader of this article that the movie’s story has problems and disappoints him as a viewer. A. O. Scott of the NY Times reports that â€Å"Jamie Linden is careful to respect the vague, whispery tones of Mr. Spark’s writing† but â€Å"did however, change the books ending in a way that both deepens and blunts its impact†. The author of the book or movie explains themes, symbols, and the main plot in different ways. Movies may be easier for the audiences to visualize the story, but, books may leave room for readers to use their own imagination. Ending change is another major contast of these two forms of Dear John. The book version The author of the book or movie explains themes, symbols, and the main plot in different ways. Movies may be easier for the audiences to visualize the story, but, books may leave room for readers to use their own imagination.

Music on the Bamboo Radio Essay

â€Å"Music on the Bamboo Radio† is a historical novel, a fictional story full of adventure set during WWII. It begins on the day that Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese. Nicholas Holford, the protagonist, arrives home and finds his parents missing. Throughout the novel, Nicholas changes and grows; he becomes more mature, develops a new identity and as his life changes completely and he is forced to become brave. Nicholas becomes more mature throughout the novel. He helps a group of soldiers called the East River Column when the English army sends them a box, â€Å"but inside everything is in English writing† and the soldiers â€Å"cannot read it† and they want Nicholas â€Å"to come and help† them. Later in the novel, Nicholas joins the East River Column and helps them blow up a train and save hundreds of people’s lives. He grows by joining a group of soldiers and helping them. As Nicholas lost both of his parents during the war he runs away with his servants to another hamlet which is a small village there he meets a new family,Tang’s family. Over there he gets more mature and also he has developed respect for other people’s beliefs as he also does things he dislikes P.34, â€Å"The task that Nicholas hated was carrying of pig manure up to the fields to spread around the plants.In the hot sun, the dung smelt sickly sweet and revolting.†He found that really disgusting because no one really likes to carry buckets of pigs dung. Also on P.55,However he also goes with Tang’s Family to visit the Golden Pagodas. he also respects in other people’s belief and he does everything very maturely and is also very keen to gain more knowledge about the Chinese culture. In the novel,Nicolas’ life changes completely and it all begins with the Japanese Invading (on P.4) Hong Kong and him running away with his servants. As he is been forced to adapt to his new life and he is given a new name. â€Å"I give you Chinese name. You no more Nicholas. You Wing-ming.† He lives the life of a Chinese boy, because he needs to hide from the Japanese so he can stay alive, â€Å"Must do. You have Chinese boy haircut now. If Japanese soldier think you English, he kill you.† As time passes, Nicholas forgets his past life and his real parents. â€Å"I don’t really remember what it was like†¦before†¦What it was like to live with my parents.† Losing his parents has changed Nicholas because he realizes how important parents are. he needs to understands his new family and culture. Nicholas becomes more brave as he has to adapt to his dangerous situation.His environment is also is a very dangerous because the Japanese  are every where in HK. He risks a situation knowing that it is dangerous he still does it because the Japanese have scattered everywhere.The situation is going and getting the quinine for Tang because he is very sick of working.So Nichloas and Ah Mee set off to get the quinine. While they go to purchase the quinine the situation gets more dangerous as they come to face to face with the Japanese. When Ah Mee wanted to rest for a few moments and went towards a tea-shop where there were several chairs and tables and were arrayed under a spreading tree. As they just sat down the owner appeared and told them to â€Å"Place your order†. And the owner’s ear hair which was curled fowards, looking as if a bizzare fungus had taken on had taken root on the other side of his head. Nicholas kept on looking at the owner’s ear and Ah Mee said â€Å"You no look his ear. We no want him angry.†P.39. Ah Mee said that â€Å"I no want tea, I just want to sit.†. The owner said, â€Å"This no free seat, must buy tea.† because Nicholas was looking at the owner’s ear for a long time. So they bought tea and left.Nicholas also thinks that two bowls of tea cost might be the difference life and death of Tang on P.40. While going to purch ase the quinine on the way they see a man and two japanese soldiers. The Japanese soldiers were looking for the man’s identity papers which Ah Mee and Nicholas did not have with them. The soldiers were having cruel fun with the man by pointing a rifle buts around his throat and shoot him.While Nicholas lost his balance the Japanese saw him and if they shoot Ah Mee like the man was shot then he would have taken out.But instead one of the soldiers kissed Ah Mee on the lips on P.43. Ah Mee was in crying but silently and tears also came out silently. To get the quinine they had to meet Dr.Wu to get the quinine P.45. Dr.Wu could read Ah Mee’s and Nicholas’ eyes.Dr.Wu could tell what they wanted and on P.45 he tells that he will be getting the quinine from his office. This is how he risks this situation and in the end they were safe. What Nicholas did was very dangerous. This also shows how he cares for people who is in a very critical situation. Overall, Nicholas changes and grows throughout the novel and lives a completely new life filled with danger, while becoming more mature and brave. While he gets mature he understands how dangerous the situation has become.The invasion of the Japanese changes him because he learns how valuable and good his life is. Nicholas losing his parents makes him realize  that he is very lucky to even have parents because unlike other children who may have lost their parents during the Japanese Invasion. Knowing that Nicholas losing his parents he does not think of them since he has a new family but he does miss them. He also is trying to follow his father’s footsteps because his father is in the army.

How to Write Radio Drama Essay

Here are some horrible truths: Most radio drama is very badly written. Radio drama is an endangered species. It has never taken a hold of mainstream programming on commercial radio in the UK. It used to be the mainstream in the States and Australia but lost out to TV in the middle to late fifties. It is under threat within public radio services including the BBC because of the pressure of monetarist ideology and the fact that authors and radio drama directors have been too complacent. IRDP is a significant oasis and continues to support the principle of the original play. Ground rules The Beginning The beginning is everything. If this part of it does not work you are ‘up shit creek without a paddle’. Your listeners will desert you. You have failed. You do not exist as a dramatist. Booo! The Moment of Arrival This is how you drop your listeners into the story. Don’t give them a warm bed with comfortable pillows and a hot water bottle. The background and sub-text of previous histories is better explored through revelation in dramatic action. So parachute your listener into a top dramatic moment. Not the climax. That would be premature. Find the MOMENT to join the story. Avoid the slow snail’s explicatory route. Kick ’em into a high energy trip and whoosh them through the rapids. Structure Set up†¦struggle†¦resolution. You can reverse this if the set-up is more dramatic and explosive than the resolution. Regard your play as a series of phases The Plot This is the story with lots of twists and turns. The more the merrier. Most listeners like good exciting plots. Without a good plot you’re eating a souffle that has gone flat. You need plot, more plot and more plot. Run at least two story lines. Two sub plots would be interesting. Keep the plots linked logically within the same play. The best system is a major and a  minor storyline linked to one another. Get them to come together at the end. Surprise People are hungry for entertainment. If they wanted boredom they would be filling out their tax returns instead of listening to your radio play. Make people afraid, but also excited. Character Your main character must have the sympathy of the audience. Your audience has to identify with your main character. If this does not happen you have created a failure. Booo! Conflict Drama = conflict = audience. There has to be an emotional, financial, human, moral, physical struggle so your listeners can laugh or cry. Yes, you want your listeners to laugh or cry or laugh and cry. If you don’t, give up. Polarities or Extremes The art of story telling is exploring the extreme limits of our psychological or physical existence. To pitch one polarity against another. The Climax I apologize for the sexual metaphor. But there is something in this. The better sex has foreplay, development, sustained excitement, surprise and affection, nay love followed by an explosion of ecstasy. Good radio drama is not all that different. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Dialogue This is how we engage dramatically with the world. Characters inform, argue, amuse, outrage, argue through the ebb and flow of dialogue. When we do we talk and that is how great radio plays are made†¦..by talking in dramatic dialogue. Atmosphere / Ambience This sets the emotional spirit of the play. It determines whether your  listeners believe in the world that you have created. Worlds are not created by dramatic dialogue alone. There is attitude and atmosphere. This is determined by detail and relevant detail. It could be in a sound effect. It could be in the writing. It could be in the music. It could be in everything. But the result is that the fifth dimension of radio writing – the imagination of the listener – is stimulated to become a picture palace of the mind. Emotion Got to be there. You have to generate an emotional response from the audience†¦.preferably to the main character†¦.also not so strongly in relation to the other characters. Emotion = love, hate, admiration. Never mind about the type of emotion†¦..concentrate on whether it is there or not. Emotional connection between the writing and the listener = good radio drama. Balance Character and Plot You have to have both. You cannot trade. One can predominate over the other. Where they are balanced equally†¦.it can only work if characterisation relates to plot development. If your main plot is character intensive, make sure that your minor plot is plot intensive. Purpose Crook’s golden rule is that every word, every line, every scene must serve a dramatic purpose in terms of characterisation and plot development. Drop anything that does not have a dramatic purpose. Tension and Humour To stop the listener dropping off or switching off, maintain the tension always and throw in the humour. Tension, humour, tension, humour, tension humour†¦like the foxtrot..Make the emotional rhythm of the play dance on the listener’s heart and mind. Charm and alarm, charm and alarm. But they’ve got to be linked. Your character uses humour to react to the tension in the scene or play. Keep one character who uses humour to deal with difficult situations. Make sure the humour is verbal. Slapstick belongs to a different  type of play or entertainment. Make sure you do not have characters taking it in turns to be funny. This is not stand up comedy or sitcom. Make sure that the character who uses humour has a consistent sense of humour. Get your listener inside the world of your play. How? a. Sympathy or empathy with the main character. b. A bloody good set up. c. A big, nasty antagonist or villain. d. Great Plot†¦Great Story†¦.twists and turns. e. Crisis at the beginning is dramatic and a great start. f. Emotional intensity. Hit some high points. g. Escalating conflict so the structure climbs with tension and humour. h. Strike the colours with detail so there’s an atmosphere, mood†¦ambience. I. Modulate charm with alarm†¦humour with tension†¦tension with humour†¦funny policeman nasty policeman. j. Surprise, surprise†¦that’s what you do to the listener, through the plot. The principle of developing scenes 1.Introduction. 2.Character one†¦goal and objective. 3.Character two†¦goal and objective. 4.Purpose of scene in overall plot. 5.One of the characters achieves a goal. 6.Link to the next scene by introducing or pointing to location of next scene or presence of character in next scene. Question marks in the mind of the listener. Always keep one, better two or three The Principle of Character 1.Believable and recognisable. 2.Purpose within the plot. 3.Characters have to have function. Character has to be consistent with function. 4.Characters have to be intentional. 5.Start with a stereotype to ensure rapid recognition, then twist the stereotype. Challenge the homily that there is nothing new under the sun by making it new under the moon. 6.Give each character a dominant physical or behavioural characteristic. Make the dominant characteristic purposeful. Make it extreme. 7.Your main character must be active. 8.Active character / urgent plot. The character’s energy has to fight the urgency of the plot and the urgency of the plot makes the character more energetic. The principle of Hero / Heroine 1.Listeners look up to main characters, want to admire them because we all want heroes and heroines in our lives. Life’s eternal fantasy that transcendent people and transcendent moments conquer adversity. 2.If you are very clever you can transfer the hero from the obvious to the humble and make great the inferior or character who has greater potential for human dignity. 3.Charisma. Characters need intensity and conviction. They may not be perfect but they are attractive. You cannot identify with people who are unlike ourselves†¦too perfect, no beliefs†¦take themselves too seriously†¦lack a sense of humour.. 4.Give your characters private moments when they drop their guards and allow us into their minds and hearts. Make the listener privileged. Use this moment for revelation. 5.The main character has to change and has to be changed by the plot. 6.You must have a main character and secondary characters. Your main character changes. Your secondary characters are probably more singular in their characteristics. Your secondary characters are already committed. Your main character is still weighing up the options. 7.You must have characters who are extreme in relation to each other†¦characters that are different make drama. Where are we now? Well, we should be here†¦. a. The main character is in the middle of the story. b. You’ve used dominant characteristics. c. The listener likes the main character. d. The listener cares what happens to the main character. e. The listener hates the antagonist. f. The main character is developing. Principles of Dialogue a. Dialogue must be a response to a situation, plot or action. b. Dialogue must be a response to each character in the scene. c. Dialogue must be comic relief. d. Dialogue must connect to the next scene. e. Avoid reflective, passive and neutral. Go for active, and direct and emotional. f. Dialogue must be believable by being specific†¦by being specific to the character’s background and emotional state. g. If dialogue is reacting to action or situation then it must be dramatic and poised on polarities. The goals of the characters in each scene should be different. h. Dialogue should be continuous. Tip†¦characters often take a tag by repeating the last word spoken by the first character. i. Dialogue must relate to function. j. You can mix direct with indirect between two characters because they have different goals. k. Humorous dialogue is not a character telling a joke but a line or lines responding to the dramatic situation. l. Heightened dialogue vs naturalistic dialogue. Heightened language is the language of the theatre†¦high octane communication†¦poetic, philosophical†¦charged..the expression of the playwright†¦It serves not only the development of the plot and character, but it also presents the view of the writer. Works well in radio. But there is now a tendency for more naturalism. Radio producers like to go out on location and explore realism. In these situations you must stick to natural dialogue. Principles peculiar to Radio 1.The inner existence. 2.The tension and conflict between the interior and exterior. 3.More psychological. 4.Easier to explore the real and the surreal and to delineate the line between the two. 5.Have to work in the fifth dimension†¦the energy of the listener’s imaginative participation. 6.The interior existence offers exploration of personal thoughts, fantasies, emotions and conflicts. 7.All  levels of external conflict can be explored. 8.The precipitating event through plot has to threaten the inner life of the main character. This is the kick-off in radio drama. 9.The end or resolution in radio drama is more deeply rooted in the emotional equilibrium and insight of the main character. Changes are internal as well as external. 10.Time transposition and translocation are faster and more rapid and more complicated. Flashbacks†¦flashforwards†¦ different ages. 11.Radio requires less rather than more characters. Characterisation needs to be strong and fascinating. 12.Maintain the focus of the main character and plot. 13.Economy of words underlines subtextual surprise and engagement with the listener’s imagination. 14.Wit is vital because language is so important†¦cleverness with words†¦energy with words..humour with words†¦Wit is advanced by surprising the listener†¦being aggressive with the listener..being fast, short and clever with the listener. 15.Irony is pathos and bathos. It’s conflict between the inner life and outer action. Other radio drama producers in the world Norway: NRK kulturkanalen, P2 RODD- 0340, Oslo, Norway. Swedish Radio, SR S-105 10 Stockholm, Sweden. YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company Radio, PO Box 79 FIN-00024 Yleisrdio, Finland. HR, Hessischer Rundfunk Bertramstrasse 8, 60320 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. DR Danmarks Radio, Radio Drama Department, Ewaldsgade 3-9, DK 2200, Copenhagen N Denmark. ABC Australia, ABC Ultimo Centre, Level 5, 700 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007. CBC-SRC, Radio Drama Department, Box 500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MSW 1E6 SDR Suddeutscher Rundfunk, Neckarstrasse 230, 70190, Stuttgart, Germany. Radio Television Hong Kong, Broadcasting House, m 30 Broadcast Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Other radio drama producers, SABC, South Africa, Los Angeles Theatre Works, LA, California, Public Radio, New Zealand.

Peter Bogatyrev Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Peter Bogatyrev - Essay Example Central Points of Readings Peter Bogatyrev (1971) has wrote a monograph describing the relationship between traditional dresses with certain characteristics of people wearing that, Place of the Wearer Bogatyrev described 28 costume districts on the basis of which people belonging to particular area can be recognized. Further he has illustrated two examples: Man from Pozlovice would wear two velvet bands round his hat and two carmine ribbons with green one between them while man from Biskupice would wear only one velvet band and a red ribbon. Social Class of wearer Bogatyrev described that occupation and social class of a person in traditional wearing can be identified with his wearing. E.g. magistrate wears boot, peasants wear black or coarse white breeches etc. Marital Status of Wearer: Mutinee-Novorany district unmarried man wore hats and narrow rims and red and white ribbons while married men would widen the rim and wear a broad gold band. The paper further describes that the deno tive â€Å"languages of dresses† no longer existing in the modern age apart from the uniforms wore by people in particular industry. For instance uniform of cabin crew of particular airline, uniforms of military and police and others. These uniforms also indicate the level of employment like uniform of officer will be different from the other crew member or uniform of pilot will be different. There are various factors of uniform indicating various things. Factors like fabric, color, types of garments and others indicate the origin of the company.

Island of stone money Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Island of stone money - Essay Example When the Germans gained possession of the island, they ordered the chiefs of the districts in the island to repair the paths that had been neglected and were in poor condition. When the chiefs declined to administer the repair of the roads, the Germans sought a way of imposing fine on them. A person was sent to each disobedient district to mark the most valuable Fei with a black cross to indicate that the government now owned the stones (Friedman 3). The people then felt impoverished, repaired the roads, and the government then sent its agents to erase the marks. Consequently, the people regained possession of their Fei. Despite these people’s apparent lack of knowledge on how monetary systems work, the article compares their beliefs with an incident in the U.S where the Bank of France requested the Federal Reserve Bank to store its gold in its account. Consequently, the Federal Bank put French gold in separate drawers and put a label to indicate that it belonged to the French. The two incidents illustrate how important myth is to monetary matters. People tend to believe that their own money is more real and rational than those used by other societies. Because of these myths, people fail to realize that money from other countries may have high purchasing powers than theirs (Friedman 5). One of the characteristics of Fei that qualified it as money was its use by these people as a medium that could be exchanged for goods and services. The durability of these stones, another characteristic of money, ensured that they performed their duty as a medium of exchange and store of value. Durability as a feature of money is critical since it develops confidence that an item can be exchanged later for other goods. Fei can be classified as commodity money because its value was independent of regulatory forces but dependent on attached value on its material. Act of the Germans to mark the stones illustrates this because of the adverse effects that it

E-commerce and Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

E-commerce and Marketing - Assignment Example The aim of this paper is to examine the importance of social media marketing. The different elements of social media have been highlighted and discussed. The paper also discusses the promotion strategies which Xazha a small scale retailer in United Kingdom is supposed to adopt so as to maximize their profits. Lastly the paper also includes the factors which the small scale enterprise is supposed to consider before adopting the promotion strategies. Social media Its application in marketing has highly increased and it is being used as a base for client development. The insight of marketing through the social media has shifted in a very high rate and it is no longer seen as a trendy but as a flexible means. The big three sites which are ; Facebook, twitter, and Google have become a part and parcel of any business whereby each retail is seeking for a place in the traditional and modernized market place (Jaffrey, 2011). According to a report released in the year 2012, almost 60% of the marketers are spending time online focusing on promoting their products. It was also found out that 43% of the people who are in the age group of (20-29) are spending approximately 10 hours or more in a week on the social Medias. Most of them are chatting or just browsing. 58% of the businesses which use the social medial for promoting their products have been reported to increase their sales in the previous three years (Jaffrey, 2011). Facebook The site is mainly used by the youths. They find new friends and view their friend’s pictures among other activities. However, Facebook has been adopted for advertising. The businesses are creating Facebook pages which the Facebook users are in a position to view. The businesses can then use the pages they have created to promote their products, build, the organization’s brand as well as offering deals (Jaffrey, 2011). Twitter Just like face

Black water private military company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Black water private military company - Essay Example Such private military firms refer to their line of business as The Circuit or private military industry in an effort of avoiding the stigma of being associated with mercenaries often. In the armed conflict history, hiring of mercenaries to carry out some military operations has been a common practice. The expertise and services offered by the PMCs are basically similar to the ones of police forces or governmental military, but most often occurs on smaller scale. While the PMCs often offer services to supplement and train official armed forces in governmental services, they can also be utilized in provision of bodyguards by the private firms for key staff or even protection of the premises of companies, particularly in hostile prone areas. However, the contractors who employ offensive mode of force in war zones could be viewed as unlawful or illegal combatants, with reference to a Geneva Conventions’ concept outline as well as explicitly specified by US Military Commissions Act (Barnes 32-35). Nation-states are hiring the private military firms in increasing rates to act in areas marred by armed conflicts. The predominant feeling within international community is that regulation of such companies is quite imperative. The present Congress has grappled with a variety of issues concerning the utilization of the private contractors in provision of security for individuals as well as property in Iraq and other conflict prone areas. This has seen the US gradually increasing the kinds of roles and tasks contracted to the private firms in military operations. Generally, the US Congress has accepted the use of the unarmed private contractors’ concept to conduct support functions in the military operations like provision of laundry and food services. However, this has posed a different challenge concerning the contracts’ costs and the alleged cases of favoritism in the issuance of these services (Elsea, Schwartz & Nakamura 5). Some of the emergent armed non-state

Write an Ethics Paper (Answer one of the 8 questions below) Essay

Write an Ethics Paper (Answer one of the 8 questions below) - Essay Example A good example is the existence of numerous religions. In this paper I will show that that Christian approach towards dealing with ethical issues is the closest one to my moral idea. To begin with, I would like to point out that I am fascinated by one of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity: the use of non-violent force to prove one’s ideas (Trocmà © 131). It would not be a mistake to suggest that Jesus Christ Himself should be seen as the best example of this. In the course of His earthly life He did not harm a person, yet was able to establish a new, revolutionary religion. In addition to that, His thesis about the two cheeks is truly a remarkable one: it goes against the teachings of many ethical systems that were widely popular some two thousand years ago. It is my strongest belief that the decision to refrain from violence in any form is the best beginning for any interaction between people, not matter how difficult the conflict may it. Violence will never solve any problems, it will make them worse – that is exactly why Christianity teaches. It must be noted that while different religions of the past were primarily concerned with their local cultural environment, Christianity was among the earliest movements that established a platform that did not differentiate people according to their ethnic origin. Indeed, while conversion to any other religion was often connected to adoption of some elements of a different culture, Christianity urged the believers to adopt the faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but did not promote any particular ethnic principles. I think that this is particularly important, especially in the modern globalized world. Indeed, there is a tremendous gap between the present day and two thousand years ago, when Jesus was walking the Earth. Nevertheless, the principles that were articulated by Him fit perfectly the global community that the world is trying

Political and Economic Factors, than influence ICT Developments in Assignment

Political and Economic Factors, than influence ICT Developments in Greece - Assignment Example This paper presents a brief informative analysis of the current level of ICT utilization in Greece economy. The economy of the world exudes deep influences from developments in ICT. This is evident as indicated by the fact that every contemporary business in the world focuses on the integration if ICT in order to obtain some of the benefits that they offer. For the success of e-commerce in Greece, it would be necessary for the government to develop policies that encourages the implementation of ICT through the adaptation of the technological applications into the various activities. The Greek economy has a lot of microenterprises and SMEs, which consider ICT as unnecessary. The reason for the exclusion of ICT by the enterprises is that the immediate benefits of the integration might seemingly not outweigh the investments in the ICT infrastructure. In order for the government to get involved in the development of a suitable framework for the achievement of economic growth, it decided to operate within the framework of the European Union, which has some programs specifically for enterprises. The government ensures that it takes advantage of ICT initiatives through training the members of staff, which ensures an indisputable acquisition of ICT benefits to the economy. The disadvantage of this is that funding for the training programs is in adequate The political factors that have an influence on the development of ICT in the Greek market are somehow related to the economic factors.

The Effect of Online English Courses for Teaching English Grammar on Essay

The Effect of Online English Courses for Teaching English Grammar on Distance Students' Achievement at the University of Dammam - Essay Example A Proposal Submitted as a Requirement for the PhD in Education. Introduction Since the 1990s, technological advances have led to an increase in the 'integration of web-based and web-enhanced resources into instructional practices' (Rodriguez, Ooms, Montanez &Yan, 2005). Considered the most effective technologies to change the face of education, computers and the internet have caused a revolution, forcing the reformulation of curricula and the way it is delivered (Ameneh, 2011). With this revolution and development in the medium of delivery and presentation of knowledge, an increase in lifelong learning has been observed (Medford, 2004). As a result of the increasing demand for learning at all levels of society and in many different circumstances, Saudi Arabia (S.A.) has started delivering online courses. In S.A., online learning has been used to offer learning opportunities to students who are unable to attend an institute for various reasons, e.g. on medical grounds, due to living i n remote areas, or because they are over 25 years old. Online learning has many advantages for students and also for faculties. For example, it offers learning opportunities at any time, in any location and in a way adapted to modern lifestyles (Perry & Pilati, 2011). It also provides extra time for the students to apprehend the material and understand more abstract concepts through the application of different types of media (Perry & Pilati, 2011; Rose & Billinghurst, 1996). Moreover, online learning has proved to have many positive effects on student behavior, motivation, communication, and achievement (Samuel & Baker, 2005), e.g. it can encourage students' creativity, problem-solving, communication, collaboration and self-learning skills (Ameneh, 2011). In what concerns benefits for faculties, online learning provides a chance to be purposeful in their teaching (Perry & Pilati, 2011). It is an opportunity of sharing workload amongst staff and can include collaboration with other faculties. Content may also be built and modified, while satisfying the needs of different learning styles (Tang & Byrne, 2007). Furthermore, faculties can manage students' progress more easily by using the different management tools applied in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to deliver the course. Taking into consideration the advantages mentioned above, it is understandable the increasing number of students in S.A., who have demanded online learning over the last few years. This process is also supported by companies' gradual acceptance of online degrees, and the universities that offer them. The University of Dammam (U.D.) in S.A. started delivering online courses in January, 2012 to distance students in 2, out of its 28 colleges. Currently, all the departments in the Arts College offer online degrees, except the English Language department. Faculties in the English department are reluctant to use online learning techniques. A reason for this reluctance is the belief that technology cannot support or replace face-to-face (F2F) learning and teaching methods. Findings of this research may give the chance for reconsideration of this reluctance. Research Problem and Objectives U.D. adopted Blackboard as their VLE in 2011 for all students, both on-campus and distance learners. U.D. offers a BA in English language due to the consideration of English as the

Friendship Definition Essay Example for Free

Friendship Definition Essay â€Å"Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend† said Albert Camus. People understand the concept of friendship differently, but there is one common ground for it- it is always built on a mutual sympathy, according to the Cambridge dictionary. Friendship can last for many years and grow stronger, but they can also end right away. No one knows the exact definition of friendship; however they do have their own way to tell if they have a friend. People say it’s hard to find a true friend- they are right because not everyone you know is your friend. Friendship is something important to me because I need someone to talk with. A friend to me is someone who is there for me no matter what, does not turn their back on me, they accept me for who I am, they care about me, I can trust them, we enjoy each other’s company, and we have fun together. Everyone needs a friend. Friends are like stress relievers, and they don’t judge, they see who we are and nothing else. I believe friendship is not perfect. There are always going to be flaws. According to the researched done in 2000 by Keith Davis, teenage friendships tend to grow hate or jealousy in between one another. This is when problems start to develop such as not being honest with each other. Another problem found in a research done in the 80’s was that opposite-sex friendships might not be considered a friendship at all. When a female and male are friends one of them starts to grow feelings, or they both grow feelings. That’s when the friendship turns into something emotional and sexual. It falls into the friends with benefits or the love category. There is a difference in between female and male friendships captured by Paul Wright in 1982. He describes women’s friendships as â€Å"face to face† and men’s as â€Å"side by side.† This indicates that women are more likely to choose to spend time â€Å"just talking,† when men are more likely to choose doing an activity with their friend. Women tend to be more emotionally close, intimate, and express more affection for their friends. Women are scientifically proven to seek support and sympathy in their friendship, while men find friends with common interest and whom they trust. I wasn’t satisfied by the way the internet and the databases defined friendship. So I did my own researched by asking people what friendship meant to them. Everyone defined friendship differently, I was surprised by the answers I got. Here are a few: â€Å"Friendship is when someone has trust for someone else. Two people who hold mutual affection for each other, having good communication with each other, and the ability to be one-self, expressing ones feelings, and making mistakes without fear of judgment.† –Edwin Castro â€Å"Friendship is a relation between two people where trust is big. They are close like brothers/sisters and have respect for each other.† – Martha Machuca â€Å"Someone you can act silly with and trust at the same time.† –Alejandra Avila â€Å"There is no such thing as friendship; your only friend is your pillow.† –Melvin Sanchez Friendship is a very hard concept to define, but there are a few things that will always go with it: sympathy, compassion, understanding, honesty, and trust. Friendship is not something that grows overnight, it takes time to develop. It is much harder to live if we don’t have close friends. We just have to choose wisely who our friends are. Work Cited â€Å"Friendship Styles.† Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. Oxford: Elsevier Science Technology, 2001. Credo Reference. 14 July 2008. Web. 05 November 2012. â€Å"Friendship.† Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Credo Reference. Web. 05 November 2012.

Helpful and intelligent Essay Example for Free

Helpful and intelligent Essay From his hovel, the monster notices a nearby cottage occupied by the De Lacey family. He observes them cautiously from a safe distance as he now recognises mans potential to be cruel. This shows us again that the monster is constantly developing, and experiencing a variety of different emotions, such as love. Love is portrayed in Frankenstein after he watches the daily routine of the De Laceys (through a small gap in the wooden panes, previous to where the window was. This is a sign that they were not very wealthy). He discovers the sound of music through the old, blind man playing his recorder. This enchants him and he begins to admire this family. After this point his mixed emotions are so strong when watching Agathe and the old man, so strong that he cannot bear to watch the family anymore. (the music touched his heart and he felt a mixture of both pain and pleasure with love) He gradually learns more about them and increases his intelligence while doing so. He knows that they live in poverty and so his admiration grows for them, also for their wonderful appearance, as he is unaware of ugliness and deformity. He shows a caring side of himself when he became devoted to help the De Laceys by cutting wood. This monster becomes generous, helpful and intelligent. He also decided to satisfy himself with berries, nuts and roots instead of eating tastier food that they ate. This implies that this so called brute was also thoughtful. The monsters narrative tells us that he is determined character who would do anything to belong, he attempted to learn the English language to hopefully reason with the De Laceys and make them realise that he wasnt a wretched evil brute but a kind-hearted being. He was doing well until he saw his reflection in a pool of water. This part of the story (Chapter 12, page 109) is significant in tracing the change of his character because he was mortified with his appearance and became miserable. He now knew entirely why he was hated in the previous village; it was for his monstrous, alien appearance. He became aware of all the racial prejudice in the world and realised that this was the source of all his problems. Knowing this made the monster bitter at man, however he still thought of the De Lacey family as wonderful and still he wanted to restore happiness to these deserving people.  Other experiences the monster undergoes during Chapter 12 are his first realisations of the four seasons. This happens when he found that different flowers grew at different times of the year. This is another example of his developing intelligence. The next vital point in the development and change of the monster is the arrival of Safie, an Arabian woman not knowing the English language. This immensely profited him because during Safies stay with the De Laceys she began to take lessons to speak English. The monster therefore also learned the language at a rapid pace. Also in Chapter 13 we see a very sensitive side of the Monster when he is describing the nature surrounding him. (innumerable flowers, sweet to the scent and the eyes, stars of pale radiance among the moonlight woods) While Safie remains in the De Lacey household the monster begins to learn more about human nature, especially involving the love between a man (Felix) and a woman (Safie). He could not believe the ecstatic joy that Felix was in when meeting Safie, when before he seemed to be so miserable. He realises that they were both affected by different feelings, Felix by the way his cheeks flushed with pleasure and Safie by how she wiped tears from her lovely eyes. The monster observes more involving human nature when he heard of the difference of sexes and the birth and growth of children, he also heard of the different relationships between humans such as mother, father, brother and sister. This is the first stage of his life when he asks himself, where are my friends and relations? To his recollection he has had no one to care for him and remembers nothing before his first account in his narrative story. He genuinely questions what and who he is and so again we feel sympathy. The monster emotionally develops from what he learns of human nature, this occurs when Safie sings to Agatha and the old man. This deeply moves him as her voice at once brought tears of delight and joy from his eyes. He described the music as a rich cadence, swelling or dying away like a nightingale of the woods. His reaction to her singing again brings out his sensitivity.  The monster while constantly developing his knowledge of English, (now with the help of Safies lessons) still longs companionship with the De Laceys. He feels that he needs to be part of this wonderful family. Although he understands that he has been previously rejected and seen as an ugly wretch, he believes that the power of language can overcome the deformity of his face. However much he hopes that he will be accepted, he still remains conscious of his previous encounters with man. The monster remains fearful of how the De Laceys will react to him.  The next part of the monsters narrative (Chapter 14) relates little to himself but his knowledge increases of the De Laceys history, before they moved to Germany. The monster discovered such information from several letters written from Safie to Felix. Here we find that he has learnt more skills, the skills to read and write. The monster later decides to copy these letters himself to bring truth to his tale, for Victor Frankenstein. From these letters we learn an awful lot about the De Laceys, such as that previously they led wealthy lifestyles in Paris. He learnt that their wealth was lost when a Turkish merchant was condemned to death for becoming obnoxious towards the French government. This affected the De Laceys because Felix vowed to help the Turk escape and did so. (In return he was offered a reward but he declined; however he agreed to marry the merchants daughter, Safie) When learning from the De Laceys he also confirmed the relationship between the family. The old man is known as De Lacey and is father to Felix and Agatha. It was of course illegal to do this and so this resulted in the De Laceys being exiled. Knowing all this improved the monsters understanding of why the De Laceys seemed so unhappy and he now fully realised the poverty they were in.

Approaches To The Broken Windows Policy Explained Criminology Essay

Approaches To The Broken Windows Policy Explained Criminology Essay 1. Explain the Broken Windows theory of policing. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Detail the two most important benefits and the two pitfalls of such an approach to policing. Police departments, in the past twenty years, have adopted a theory that says by resolving minor disorders serious crimes can be reduced. It is called the broken windows theory, also known as order-maintenance,zero-tolerance, or quality-of-life policing. (Harcourt Ludwig, Winter 2006, p. 282) It came to the forefront after a 1982 Atlantic Monthly article by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. The article argued that when low-level quality-of-life offenses were tolerated in a community, more serious crime would follow. The broken windows theory says that the variation in disorder in neighborhoods that explains the variation in crime, holding structural disadvantage constant. The real trigger is disorderliness itself. (Harcourt Ludwig, p. 281) According to this view, broken windows, abandoned buildings, public drinking, litter and loitering cause good people to stay in their houses or move out of the neighborhood entirely. The theory argues that the minor events and incivilities that frightened people, far from being a distraction for police departments, should be identified as key targets of police action. (Moore, 1992, p. 138) It leaves criminals free to roam and send a message that law violations are not taken seriously. The focus of the broken windows policing strategy is to address community anxiety about public safety. Broken windows advocates argue that the role of the police is fundamentally to maintain public order. (Dammert Malone, Winter 2006, p. 39) Some of the advantages of the broken windows policing are that it reduces social and physical disorders, furthers joint safety endeavors, and bring communities together. Broken windows theory assumes an essentialist notion both of disorder and its connection to perception: visual cues are unambiguous and natural in meaning (Sampson Raudenbush, Dec. 2004, p. 320). The theorys biggest test has been in New York City, where a dramatic decline in crime has been attributed in large part to order maintenance. Rundown parts of the city have been cleaned up, and police focus more on such problems as panhandling, turnstile jumping, and public drinking. Police have even cracked down on people who clean the windshields of cars at stoplights with squeegees (Parenti, 1999, p.77). Among the first and hardest hit were the homeless, who travel, beg, and live in the political and physical basement of the class system: the citys six-story-deep concrete bowels. Advocates of such tactics argued that in order to address these crimes, the police must be afforded wide discretion and should not be hamstrung by constitutional rules. Still broken windows enforcement has won a proper place among trends in criminal-justice reform. But in doing so, the police ignored the principal lesson of their own theory. If the toleration of minor law violations leads to more serious crime on the street, it would also follow that the toleration of minor law violations by the police will lead to more serious crime on the force. And that is precisely what has happened. The broken windows theory suggests that minor disorders, both physicaland socialis causally related to serious crime. (Harcourt, 2001, p.68) Broken windows gives rise to wars on the poor, racism, and police brutality. (Weisburd Braga, 2007, p. 80) As mayor, Giuliani appeared to show his eagerness to impose law and order at all costs with the implementation of the zero tolerance policy. This led to a dramatic increase in arrests for such crimes as riding a bike on the sidewalk and playing loud music. People who admit that crime is decreasing because of these policies are only being self-defeating because if they admit that crime is down because of these policies, then they can use the same policies on the cops to improve police conduct. Yes, broken windows does reduce crime, but if an uncivil society breeds criminals, certainly a belligerent police force breeds police brutality. To what extent can police brutality be explained by turning the police loose with order maintenance tactics? Many civil libertarians and advocates for the homeless, for example, oppose order maintenance because they believe it infringes on the liberties of selected populations (the poor, minorities, the homeless, and youths) and opens the door to abusive police practices. The debates about these issues have been vigorous and often rancorous. (Kelling, October 1999, p. 1) Surveillance cameras are everywhere. They are in housing projects, at traffic intersections, and on subway platforms, with plans constantly announced to add more. There are undercover quality-of-life police squads who ride the subways, busting people for fare skipping or even for placing their bags on the seat next to them. The police sweep down on the homes of suspected drug dealers and people they mistakenly think are dealing. A simple tip from a snitch can send cops to knock down the door and toss in a stun grenade. (RW, October 18, 1998) In conclusion, police officials need to focus on the substantive content of police work; find and delineate the means to conduct police work morally, legally, skillfully, and effectively; then structure and administer departments on the basis of this literal work and not a fictionalized view of police work. (Kelling, October 1999, p. 2) 2. Under what circumstance in society would the broken windows approach work best? Give at least two specific circumstances and detail how the approach will work from start to finish. The broken windows approach to policing would work best in areas where there are a lot of untended behavior. It can be untended homes, untended yards, and even untended children. If left untended these can lead to a community that is out of control. A well kept home and community can quickly turn into a frightening place to live. Ones perception of incivilities in the neighborhood has a greater impact than the actual amount of incivilities in the neighborhood (Weisburd Braga, 2007, p.83). Houses that are not cared for gives criminal miscreants the impression that the residents of the community do not care about the quality of life in their neighborhood. It signals to them that they are free to roam to neighborhood and steal, litter, and vandalize. The unkempt houses opens up the community for more disorders, such as public drunkenness and loitering, that if not dealt with will lead to more serious crimes. Neighborhood disorders influences honest people to move out of the neighborhoo d or lock themselves in their homes, but it influences the disorderly and especially criminals to move into the neighborhood and commit crimes. (Harcourt, Nov. 1998, p. 297) Teenagers begin to gather in front of the local convenience store. Litter starts to accumulates on the side of streets. People start to drink alcohol in front of the corner store; in time, a drunk in left to sleep it off on the sidewalk. Pedestrians are being approached by very persistent panhandlers. All of this gives citizens the feeling that their neighborhood is no longer safe. The feeling of insecurity forces them to stay inside of their homes, or move away, which leads to further deterioration of the neighborhood. These types of crimes deteriorate the citizens trust and confidence in polices ability to provide its first obligation, which is safety to the public. In order to deter this type of catastrophe police should implement some form of broken windows policing. First, you have to determine what is the core or main problem that should be resolved. The panhandler that was left to harass the residents as they walk to the street is, in effect, the first broken window. This act is the one that opened the proverbial door for criminals to enter into the community. If the community cant keep a belligerent panhandler from harassing the citizens, a thief may believe, that the community is even less likely to notify officers of a mugging or step in while it is taking place. By resolving the panhandling issue, the major issue, you can also start eliminating some of the smaller problems. Panhandlers are a serious problem because they prey on the sympathies of the residents. As more and more residents give the panhandlers money, more panhandlers move into the community seeking out these same opportunities. Eventually they are hanging out with signs at every freeway off-ramp, stop sign, and intersection light waiting for some naive motorist to give them money. the appropriate and realistic goal is to find a means within an imperfect system for humanetreatment (Hodulik, Summer 2001, p. 1075) of those that panhandle. The trick to getting rid of panhandlers is to stop giving them money. Police have to inform residents of the panhandling epidemic . To do this the police department should set up a community meeting. Residents should be informed that most panhandlers do not use the money that they are given for food and clothing. A lot of them use the money to pu rchase drugs and alcohol. Police should teach the residents how to ignore the panhandlers and how to avoid eye contact with them. Also another way getting the churches, community leaders, and merchants together to establish a voucher distribution system as a way of making sure that the panhandlers are actually getting food and clothing. Vouchers would be sold to people in the community and they can give them to the panhandler instead of money. Panhandlers cash these vouchers in at some of the local merchants in exchange for food, no alcohol or tobacco, and clothing. This way the residents can still give knowing that the panhandler will not go purchase drugs or alcohol, but food and/or clothing. Knowing this will make the residents interact and give more to the panhandlers. Another circumstance that can benefit from broken windows policing is the dilapidated and vacant homes in the community. Ineffective neighbor networks mightbe related to more physical-structural qualities of a community (Wilcox et al., Spring 2004, p.186). These homes can quickly turn into a breeding ground for illegal drug activities, temporary shelter for the homeless, and hideouts for those running from the police. One thing that police officers can do is meet with the residents so that they can voice their opinion about the rundown homes in the community. At this time they can also seek any suggestions on how to correct the problem. The first thing for officers to do is search these homes for squatters and criminal. They should be check to see if they have any warrants. If no warrants they are released and asked to leave the house. Those with warrants will be arrested and taken to jail for processing. Next, is a community renovation project. By removing these desolate properties can restore the health and safety to the community. It can also increase the value of the other homes in the neighborhood. If the home has an owner they can pay to get the house torn down. If there is no owner or the owner can not pay for a demolition the community has to come together to get the houses demolished. One way the community can do this is by getting a demolition grant for neighborhood stabilization. This way the federal government pays for the demolition of the homes. Once the funds have been secured then the next thing is to get an affordable demolition company. The main objective is to get the most out of the grant money, more houses demolished at the cheapest possible cost. After they have a demolition company, the dilapidated homes should be demolished and the land cleared. To help with the beautification of the community the land should be reseeded after the structure has been cleared. Some of the land could be turned into a community garden. The rest could be sold so that more houses could be built on it. The most important thing is that once the houses have been cleared the criminal miscreants will no longer have areas within the community where they can dwell and commit devious acts. Also it gives the residents back a a sense of pride in their community. No longer will they fear walking out of their front door because of the drug activity going on down the street. This one act can change the dynamics of the community from downtrodden and crime infested to viable. It lets the deviants know that the residents care for their community.

Success in George Orwells 1984 :: essays research papers

Success is the main object of desire for many people in the world of today. In George Orwell's 1984, the author provides a speculative view to the future and brilliantly describes what would happen if ultimate success was attainable. George Orwell describes success in three extremes: those who succeed ultimately, those who fail miserably, and those who are neither capable of succeeding nor failing. In 1984, the success of the individual is forbidden, while the success of the Inner Party is ultimate. The Inner Party resembled a group of aristocrats. They ruled the country and all the people in it. They made up a figurehead for themselves, Big Brother, who was almost like a god. Everyone worshiped him because they made it look like he was the one who did everything that was good. The members of the Inner Party had complete and undoubted success because they achieved and maintained their goal, which was to become the most powerful people in the country and stay that way. They did many things to achieve this, including creating an imaginary evil force, known as the Brotherhood, which planned to overthrow them. They used this “Brotherhood'; to blame all the bad things on and make Big Brother (and through him, themselves) look good by fighting against this “evil force';. The Inner Party was not happy with only physical obedience, they wanted complete obedience, including the human mind. They didn’t want people to think for themselves, because then they might plot to overthrow the Inner Party. They controlled the general populations’ minds by involving them in many verbal demonstrations, such as hate week, which downplayed the Brotherhood and made Big Brother look good. They also had telescreens in every building that allowed them to spy on the people and make sure that they didn’t do anything that might be harmful to their control. When they found someone who was a traitor, and wanted to disobey or overthrow Big Brother, they didn’t just punish them, they converted them: We are not content with negative obedience, nor even with the most abject submission. When finally you surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us: so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him. We burn all evil and all illusion out of him; we bring him over to our side, not in appearance, but genuinely, heart and soul.

Unrealistic Images of Women in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

Unrealistic Images of Women in Jane Eyre   Ã‚  Ã‚   Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is the story of an orphan named Jane. It describes the life of a young girl. The book begins in Gateshead Hall where Jane lived with her aunt and her cousins. She is very much the unwanted child---- a burden to the entire Reed family. Infact she is mistreated and abused in that house. Her Aunt and her cousins both physically and emotionally abuse her. After a while her Aunt sends her off to a charitable institution, Lowood. In Lowood the food is scarce. The manager, Mr. Brocklehurst is mean-fisted. He kept the girls almost on the brink of starvation. When the summer arrived the girls started falling sick. Bronte writes,"Semi-starvation and neglected colds had predisposed most of the pupils to receive infection; forty-five of the eighty girls lay ill at one time"(Bronte 66). Yet through all this Jane survives. She goes to graduate from that school and become a teacher. At nineteen years of age Jane leaves Lowood to be a governess to a child in Thornfield. In Thornfied Jane experiences liberty at last. She is no longer obligated to anyone. However in Thornfield she falls in love with her master Rochester. And for the first in her life she too is loved and wanted by a man. However at the altar she finds out that he is married. Though his wife is a dangerous lunatic she feels compelled to leave him. Through out the book Jane is portrayed as a survivor. She is the epitome of womanhood. Jane is a survivor. She survives abuse at both Gateshead and Lowood. She survives the death of her best and only friend, Helen Burns. She is strong and does not wilt under the pressure of life. Even when life is cruel it cannot quite kill her spirit or her desire to be alive. Jane breaks away from the traditional woman. The one who needs protection and shelter from the harsh world. The woman who needs a man to hold her and comfort her. On the contrary Jane is independent and self-sufficient. Bronte emphasizes Jane's independence by making her a working woman and contrasting her with the rest of the women who were interested in Rochester. Unlike them she takes care of herself. She does not aim to get married into wealth. She is in love with Rochester's mind while Blanche is in love with his purse.

The Bubonic Plague :: essays research papers

The Bubonic Plague is one of the most deadly diseases of all time as well as one of the most famous. Although it is not common these days to see it, it was widespread during the medieval times where millions had died. It was so widespread, it was said that there was not enough living to bury the dead. Rodents ran the unsanitary streets that carried the fleas that had the disease. This is how the Bubonic Plague was spread. It was believed at the time by the people that the gods were punishing them for things they had done wrong in the past. The Bubonic Plague is transmitted either though an infected rodent (rats, rabbits, etc.) carrying bugs (fleas). A person will become ill two to six days after being infected with the Bubonic Plague. It was first thought that the rats themselves transmitted the Bubonic Plague because when people found dead rats in the towns' streets, they would usually flee their civilization in fear of the rodents. But in 1898, Simond observed that people would only get the disease if you came in contact with a rodent or rat that was dead for a short amout of time. Simond also discovered that if you were in contact with one that had been dead for more than twenty-four hours, the chance of catching the Bubonic Plague would be quite minimal. It is called the Bubonic Plague because once you have the disease, it will, in most cases, cause lymph glands to swell up and become very tender with pain. These swollen glands are called "buboes". If the Bubonic Plague is left untreated, the bacteria will enter the blood stream and travel to other places inside the body like organs such as lungs, liver, and the spleen. If it does enter the lungs, it can cause a pneumonic form of the Bubonic Plague. The symptoms for this are high fever, chils, cough, and breathing difficulty. They may even spit up blood, depending upon how severe the infection is. Like I said earlier, the Bubonic Plague is not very common these days, but that is because we live in the United States where our sanitary level is fairly high. But in Africa, Asia, and South America, several people die from it every year. In fact, there is reported that world wide tehre are one thousand to three thousand cases of the Bubonic Plague each year. In the United States, the Bubonic Plague is only

Marketing Project Proposal Essay

Can Starbucks pose a threat to Cafà © Coffee Day India? – A lot is happening over coffee! Introduction : Starbucks is the world’s largest coffee house and it has already established itself in the Asian economies of China and Japan. Its recent move to enter into the Indian sub–continent is seen as its market strategy to capture market share in one of the largest emerging economies in the world. CCD, being the undisputed player in the coffee market (with approx. 60% market share) in India, is a well established brand. Objective : To analyse whether Starbucks can pose a threat to the established dominant brand CCD in India. Current Scenario: The coffee chain market in India is more than Rs.1000 crores and is growing at 30% Y-o-Y. Cafe Coffee Day is the biggest coffee chain in India. It has 1550 outlets scattered around Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities in India.1Starbucks entered the Indian market in 2011 with a JV with Tata Global Beverages and currently operates from 40 stores across India and is fast acquiring the high end customer segment.2 Methodology of analysis : a) 5C framework for Starbucks a. Understand the positioning and goals and objectives of Starbucks and CCD b. Understanding the threat that Starbucks pose to CCD and predict future initiatives of each. c. Analyse the market structure, motivation, distribution channels and income level of customers. d. Climate – Indian coffee consumption market and b) Determine the POP and the POD between Starbucks and CCD c) Brand Strategy Frameworks i) Bull eye ii) Color wheelpage iii) Brand Resonance Model iv) Specific to Starbucks- Ansoff’s growth Matrix for strategy of starbucks

At Castle Boterel Response Essay

In the first five lines the writer is driving away from a remembered scene. The mention of the junction of lane and highway suggests a meeting of two paths, possibly two completely different characters. It is rainy, wet, and gray. The sombre, rainy mood hangs like a fog over the entire poem, preparing one for what will happen at the end. The writer gazes at the faraway slope, which is fading away. Yet, like all important memories, he remembers it â€Å"distinctly yet.† The rhyme scheme is a mixture of soft (highway, byway) melancholy tones and sharp, harsh (waggonette, wet, yet), exuding a mixture of reminiscences and regret. Line six through ten. The writer along with a â€Å"girlish form† is climbing the slope. Climbing may represent some difficulty in their relationship. â€Å"Dry March weather† supports this assumption. The word ‘benighted’ in line six could mean either taken over by night, or unenlightened. Or, in this case, both. The couple had no idea of life, or of how short it could prove to be. These lines are dark and heavy. The sturdy pony is an image of his former happiness, which would soon sigh and slow. Lines eleven to fifteen introduce us to the word death. The writer says that what they talked of was of no great importance, which shows his realization of the shortness and immateriality of life. In life death cannot be avoided. In his case, it would seem, there would be more than one sort of death. One would die physically, the other emotionally. The next five lines show how small a difference every life makes in the greater scheme of things. The hill, portraying the earth, is climbed by thousands. Yet, to the individual (him) the ‘minute’ of a single life is of immeasurable importance. ‘Foot-swift, foot-sore’ symbolizes the haste in living, and also the pain. People strive to get to the top, ruin their lives to get there, possibly, but upon arriving see there is nothing. The following five lines are lighter than any have been before; yet they are filled with irony. The primaeval rocks (the world, history) have been shaped and given â€Å"colour† by many, many passers-by. The writer, however, illustrates individual selfishness by saying that it was him and his lover or wife that gave the shape and colour to those rocks. He is looking back in irony, seeing now, perhaps, how his views have been changed. Lines twenty-six to thirty are a sad depiction of reality. The writer states that Time is severe and harsh, that it has dealt with him mechanically, without any thought given to his emotions and feelings. The substance now, as he calls himself, is only one phantom figure. By calling himself a substance he could be comparing himself to a substance used in scientific experimentation. He has, he feels, been used. Now he is merely a phantom. All life has been taken from him, and all that remains is his physical form. He says that he remains on the slope, meaning that he has not moved on, or that he cannot move on. The loss of another has left him immobile, lost, or simply without direction. The last five lines shows a picture of the writer driving away from himself. Rain is mentioned again, like tears falling. The person on the hillside is a vision of the man he used to be. That man is â€Å"shrinking and shrinking† and the writer is moving on, changing. The drizzle of the first five lines has turned into full-on rain, and this makes the person even more dim in the writers memory. The ground he thought was solid is sinking away (â€Å"for my sand is sinking†), and he comes to the realization that he will never be able to go there again. He calls the â€Å"there† old loves domain, which means that he is moving on, perhaps to new love. The final line is abrupt, the shortest in the entire poem. This shows how quickly everything happened to him; without warning, all was gone.

How Useful is Bakhtin’s Concept of Carnival?

Bakhtin Mikhail Mikhailovich (1895-1975) was Russian philosophist, literary critic and the theorist of art. He is a representative of Russian Structuralism and his historical and theoretical researches on epic and novel literature are important for understanding of the cultural development. Mikhail Bakhtin was one of the first theorists who investigated the polyphonic form of the novel ( «Problems of Dostoyevsky's Poetics », 1929) and folk â€Å"laughing† culture of the Medieval Ages ( «Rabelais and his World, 1965).He is also an author of the essays  «The issues of literature and esthetics » (1975) and â€Å"On the philosophy of the act† (1986). He was the first who use the concepts of dialogism (The Dialogic Imagination) and heteroglossia, the carnivalesque and chronotope in the literary critique. Bakhtin’s concepts are very useful for explanation of the nature of the genre of the novel. The â€Å"dialogism† and â€Å"heteroglossia† invo lve a special â€Å"multivoiced use of language†. The concept of the novelistic â€Å"chronotope† describes historical aspects of literary sources; it uses specified and differentiated time and space for the plot.The present essay is devoted to the concept of â€Å"the carnivalesque†. Bakhtin considers that novels â€Å"can be described as inspired by a laughing truth, indebted to parodic genres and to the spirit of carnival†. Bakhtin was interesting in Rabelaisian work since 1930s. His first work about this Renaissance writer was  «Francois Rabelais in the history of the realism » (1940). This work appeared in the time when Soviet ideology admitted concepts of the realism and the national character. Bakhtin adopted these categories and proposed the concept of carnivalesque.He suggested that low humor culture of Medieval Ages and Renaissance was a power folk opposition to the official values and government. The characteristic of folk low humor, the â €Å"life of the belly† was accepted as the main source of Rabelais book and became a discovery in the critique on medieval literature and, particularly, Rabelais creative work. It was the first publication about the philosophy of laugh. The theory of carnivalesque was developed not only for the explanation of local historical fact but as a universal phenomenon of the world culture.Bakhtin’s idea about  «carnivalization » of literature was developed in other works, but the first record of this theory appeared in the second edition of the monograph on Dostoyevsky. After the Second World War, in 1946 Bakhtin tried to defend theses in the Institute of World Literature (Moscow). The subject of his theses was the creative work of Rabelais. But in Stalin epoch his dissertation was rejected (Bakhtin received the degree of candidate of science (the lowest scientific degree in Russia) only in 1952) and they prohibited publishing the text of the dissertation about Rabelais.Mi khail Bakhtin published the book â€Å"Tvorchestvo Fransua Rable i narodnaya kul’tura srednevekovia i Renessansa† (The creative work of Francois Rabelais and the popular culture of the Medieval Ages and the Renaissance more known as Rabelais and his World) only in 1965. In the next couple years this book was translated in foreign languages (English translation by Helene Iswolsky was published in Cambridge, MA: M. I. T. Press, in 1968) and it opened the epoch of Bakhtin’s influence on the Russian and world humanistic thought.The central esthetic idea of Rabelais and his World is â€Å"grotesque realism†. Rabelais created images of the grotesque body; he emphasized the features of â€Å"lower bodily strata†. The grotesque body is opened to the world, his physiology is not hidden, and this body degrades and regenerates actively. â€Å"In grotesque realism†¦ the bodily element is deeply positive. It is presented not in a private, egoistic form, s evered from other spheres of life, but as something universal, representing all the people.As such it is opposed to severance from the material and bodily roots of the world; it makes no pretense to renunciation of the earthy, or independence of the earth and the body. We repeat: the body and bodily life have here a cosmic and at the same time an all-people's character; this is not the body and its physiology in the modern sense of these words, because it is not individualized. The material bodily principle is contained not in the biological individual, not in the bourgeois ego, but in the people, a people who are continually growing and renewed†¦.This exaggeration has a positive, assertive character. The leading themes of these images of bodily life are fertility, growth, and a brimming-over abundance. Manifestations of this life refer not to the isolated biological individual, not to the private, egotistic ‘economic man,' but to the collective ancestral body of all the people† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, p. 19). Bakhtin found the Renaissance was a period of the benign balance between destructive and regenerative features of grotesque realism. He wrote:â€Å"The essence of the grotesque is precisely to present a contradictory and double-faced fullness of life. Negation and destruction (death of the old) are included as an essential phase, inseparable from affirmation, from the birth of something new and better. The very material bodily lower stratum of the grotesque image (food, wine, the genital force, the organs of the body) bears a deeply positive character. This principle is victorious, for the final result is always abundance, increase† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World, chapter 1, p. 62).Mikhail Bakhtin emphasized an opposition between the low popular culture and the official culture of the later middle Ages and early Renaissance. The official culture use static stratified model of the world. Unofficial culture is a culture of Carnival. The etymology of the word â€Å"Carnival† is enough sophisticated. The word is derivated from Italian carnevale, alteration of earlier carnelevare, literally, removal of meat, from carne flesh (from Latin carn-, caro) + levare (from Latin to remove, to raise). Another explanation finds roots of the Carnival in Ancient mysteries.They derivate word â€Å"Carnival† from â€Å"carrus-navalis† (the chariot-ship) of Roman religious ceremonies. Carnival concentrates the contrasts of folk culture and shows the chaotic and imperfect nature of the world. An individual of the middle Ages lived two lives: one that was the official life (church, social duties etc), another was the carnival life filled in with burlesque and low humor. The novel of Rabelais shows how the popular culture liberated the society and how the conventionalities were destroyed in the contact with the reality of the modern era.Bakhtin sees Rabelais not only as a novelist but â€Å"his wor k embodies a whole new philosophy of history, in which the world is viewed in the process of becoming† (Bakhtin’s cycle, 2004). In the Prologue to Rabelais and His World Michael Holquist wrote: â€Å"Bakhtin's carnival, surely the most productive concept in this book, is not only not an impediment to revolutionary change, it is revolution itself. Carnival must not be confused with mere holiday or, least of all, with self-serving festivals fostered by governments, secular or theocratic.The sanction for carnival derives ultimately not from a calendar prescribed by church or state, but from a force that preexists priests and kings and to whose superior power they are actually deferring when they appear to be licensing carnival. † (Michael Holquist, â€Å"Prologue,† Rabelais and His World) The carnival of the adventures of Pantagruel is not similar to the modern carnival. The Renaissance cultures understand the carnival as the â€Å"temporary suspension of al l hierarchic distinctions and barriers among men †¦ and of the prohibitions of usual life.†(Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World p. 15). The Renaissance Carnival is unusual world where festive pleasure and philosophy exists contemporarily. It is topsyturvy world, the world of the primary chaos. Bakhtin proposed the semiotic theory of the carnival, the theory of the carnivalizing of quotidian life. The central idea of the concept of carnivalizing or carnivalesque is an â€Å"inversion of binary contraposition† – replacing official values with low folk culture. When people came to the carnival square than all routine ideas and their oppositions of Christianity change each other.The King of Carnival is a pauper or fool (trickster). Everybody does honor to him. There is a Carnival bishop and Christianic sanctuaries could be desecrated. The top became the bottom, the head – the genitals (low body). Females and males switch their places. Billingsgate and devout phrases change each other. Everything was subject of top down imposition. Why? Bakhtin found roots of the carnival in the agrarian cults of pre-Christianic culture. Carnivalizing â€Å"makes it possible to extend the narrow sense of life† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World p. 177).The aspiration of carnival is to uncover, undermine – even destroy, the hegemony of any ideology that seeks to have the final word about the world, and also to renew, to shed light upon life, the meanings it harbours, to elucidate potentials; projecting, as it does an alternate conceptualisation of reality. Dialogism is a fundamental aspect of the carnival – a plurality of ‘fully valid consciousnesses' (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, p. 9), Baktin used the concept of the dialogism as a necessary condition of the understanding: â€Å"Two voices is the minimum for life, the minimum for existence† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, p. 252).The carnival papered over the differe nces between the social strata. â€Å"Carnival is the place for working out a new mode of interrelationship between individuals . . . People who in life are separated by impenetrable hierarchical barriers enter into free and familiar contact on the carnival square† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, p. 123). Today the elements of carnivalesque are inherent for some ethnic groups, e. g. Bantu tribe. Traditions of European carnival culture flourish in Latin America, in particular in Brazil. (It’s interesting, that so popular in the Brazilian carnivals â€Å"samba† came from the Bantu word â€Å"semba†).In the modern culture the carnivalesque is actual as never before – but it is another carnivalesque. Mikhail Bakhtin’s carnivalesque has four main themes: the tumultuous crowd, the world turned upside-down, the comic masks and the grotesque body. Bakhtin also categorizes the carnivalesque into three basic forms: ritual spectacles (such as fairs, feasts, wakes, processions, mummery, dancing and open-air amusements with costumes, masks, giants, dwarfs etc), comic verbal compositions and various genres of billingsgate or abusive language.â€Å"†¦ we are especially interested in the language which mocks and insults the deity and which was part of the ancient comic cults† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, p. 16). But some authors found limitations in the theory of the carnivalesque. Richard Berrong wrote that Bakhtin‘s theory had some weaknesses. Bakhtin emphasized the role of laughter culture but do not take in the account the historical context of Rabelais's changing attitude (R. M. Berrong, Rabelais and Bakhtin†¦ , Ã'€. 15, 19-51).The concept of the carnivalesque helps us to identify an atmosphere of festivities, disdain of authority and material anti-intellectualism in literature. It could be applicable to certain genres carousals in Flemish painting and to the social criticism of postmodern art. Bak htin’s concept of carnivalesque could be useful way for the analysis processes connecting the comic and the serious issues of routine life. Medieval carnival players went to the streets in masks and costumes, their ritual spectacles (e. g. the Feast of Fools or the Feast of the Innocents) were full with the topsyturvy.The citizens were admitted to â€Å"occupy† the cathedral and turn it upside down and inside out. They could tell everything and do everything. They were equal and close in this moment. They were very much like Americans today. Where is American carnivalesque? You could find in the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras or in the New York during Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. If can find it in the bad blocks and slums. Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the â€Å"carnivalesque† can be applied to ethnical studies of African American or Latin American culture.Today we can use the concept of the carnivalesque when we analyze issues of satire and paro dy in the festival performance of the globalization. We can see the elements of carnivalizing in the pubs, in political actions, advertising and media, in the street theater etc. We see grotesque body of the modern civilization and the modern art. For example if we apply Bakhtin's idea of the carnivalesque to the comedies and romantic movies we can easily find accordance to Bakhtin's description of the world turned upside down in the interests of liberating laughter.In Bakhtin's view, comedy relocates the spiritual from the top (a head and the face) to the bottom (the belly, the bowels and the genitals): â€Å"The essential principle of grotesque realism is degradation, that is, the lowering of all that is high, spiritual, ideal, abstract† (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, p. 19). Another modern arena of the contemporary carnivalesque is advertising. Carnivalesque PR stunts are used to attract attention of the potential customer. Otherwise, traditions of the carnival could co nstitute a strategy of resistance to the abusing advertising.I found very interesting material about rave music and use of Bakhtin’s concept of carnivalesque. Rave is out of the mainstream. Like medieval carnival the rave has capacity to disrupt and remake official public norms, both they lead people into the â€Å"symbolic sphere of utopian freedom†. Rave realizes its carnivalesque features in several ways. There are no exclusions to participate in the medieval carnival or rave party and there is no hierarchy between people in the time of festivity or the party. There are oppositions between official and non-official life etc (Rave as Carnival, 2004).But I think that Mikhail Bakhtin never think we will use his concepts to argue our non-trivial ideas about music, movies, public relations – about everything. He was a literary critic and proposed the concept of the carnivalesque to explain dynamics of social changes in the late Medieval Ages and early Renaissance. He uses Rabelais’ work because he was the most typical writer for this period and the elements of carnival grotesque were shown in Gargantua and Pantagruel very clearly. Mikhail Bakhtin died in 1975. He made an important contribution to science. But his concept is not universal.Nothing is perfect.References 1. Bakhtin and Medieval Voices. (1995) University Press of Florida. Gainesville.2. Carnival, History And Popular Culture: Rabelais, Goethe And Dostoevskii As Philosophers (2004) The Internet encyclopedia of philosophy http://www. iep. utm. edu/b/bakhtin. htm.3. Rabelais and Bakhtin Popular Culture in â€Å"Gargantua and Pantagruel† by Richard M. Berrong (1986) University of Nebraska Press, 180 p..4. Rabelais and His World by Mikhail Bakhtin (1984) Indiana University Press 510 p..5. Rave as a carnival (2004) http://www. odevarsivi. com/12/50972. htm.

Miller introduce them into the book Essay

This shows that the girls want some recognition and gain authority by accusing innocent people of witchcraft. The people of Salem’s biggest fear was the defiance of God and so when Abigail and her assemblage spoke out against witchcraft everybody heeded their words and gave them the attention that they wanted. By pretending to be doing God’s work the girls become more important than before and use their power to make people believe what they want. This is why they are believed and never themselves impugned. One of the most noticeable themes of the book is heroism. Throughout the book there are many examples of this theme. The two most obvious events in the book which display heroism, if not somewhat controversially, are the deaths of Giles Cory and John Proctor. Cory’s death was heroic but it is possible to see the hanging of Proctor from a different perspective. It could be said that it was not a hero’s action to die but that of a guilty and cowardly man. In the book Miller, as well as Proctor, openly tells us of the characters mistakes. The reason Proctor chooses to be hung is because he could not bear to have his reputation tarnished. It could also be said though that he just could not bear the embarrassment of pleading innocence in order to save his life. John Proctor can be perceived as either a hero or a coward. I think that Proctor was a hero in this book. The way the book talks of him leads me to think of him as a well respected and highly thought of individual. I think that his actions were extremely brave and heroic. It must take a huge amount of bravery to go to your death even though you can get out of it. Despite there being little symbolism in the play it is a definite symbolic representation of the McCarthy anti-communist trials of the 1950s. I have explained previously about these trials and how they led Arthur Miller writing the book so from this is it obvious that Miller had these trials in mind whilst writing The Crucible. Many people have said though that these two events are completely different in that there were (as far as we know) no actual witches in Salem yet there were definitely communists in 1950 America. In the book I noticed that Miller seemed to focus more on the unwillingness of the judges to believe that the accused townspeople were innocent and preferred to hang as many people as possible in order to improve their status and rank within the court. I think this because when Danforth’s judgement is questioned he informs the court of how many death warrants he has signed, this to me shows that Danforth thinks that the more people you have hung the more respected you become. It is made obvious to us that Danforth is an important character because when he enters everyone in the room goes silent. This could suggest that you are more important if you have signed a lot of death warrants. This use of silence is another dramatic device used by Miller to emphasise an entrance and to make the audience focus on the entering character. I personally don’t know how the judges didn’t see through the girls because when I watched the video I noticed a lot of things which prove the girls are lying. For example, in Act 3, Abigail claims that ‘a cold wind blows’ and blames Mary Warren for sending out her spirit. During this performance, John Proctor claims that Abigail is a whore and that he has committed adultery with her. Abigail immediately stops acting and desperately informs Danforth that she is not a whore or a lecher. This could have been a major downfall for Abigail if someone had noticed this. I am particularly surprised that Proctor did not. If he had the trials could have ended there and then and would have prevented the deaths of many innocent people. In addition to themes Miller also introduces motifs. A motif is a recurring design, feature or melody. Accusation, Legal Proceedings and Confessions are major motifs of The Crucible. These appear regularly throughout the book and are the centre of action in the play. ‘This created a series of indictments even before Hale arrived’ (Sparknotes. com) and a reason for these people to turn on one another (revenge). The only way that the ‘witches’ could be found was through the accusations and confessions. The trials only continue as a result of accusations. John Proctor attempts to discontinue the courts proceedings by confessing to adultery in a desperate bid to expose Abigail yet it all goes horribly wrong and Proctor himself is accused of witchcraft! Proctor’s final courageous decision to die rather than confess to a crime he did not commit makes the judges rethink the whole case and decide to stop the trials before any one else died. Michael Day 10GO Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Benefits of Ecosystem-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignmenthelp

1.Discuss both existing and emerging risks threatening the value of these ecosystem Service? 2.Is there a trade off between the provision of these ecosystem services above and other benefits derived from marine ecosystems? 1.The benefits which we obtain from the ecosystem is known as ecosystem services. The wellbeing of humans depends upon the smooth and sustainable flow of these ecosystem services. The increasing population with changes in climatic condition has degraded the ecosystem. Among other countries, the Australian ecosystem is most vulnerable to changing climate. Global change: Due to overuse and exploitation of the ecosystem services, the effect of climatic or global change is rising with each passing day. The increasing population, their demands, burning of coal, production of electricity, use of daily electric appliances etc are some of the main causes of global warming. Also, burning of gasoline for transportation, burning of forest for wood, land etc are the main contributors in methane, carbon dioxide emissions. These increases risk for global warming which has several effects like increase in temperature of earth, melting of ice at earth poles, rise in level of sea, higher temperatures, decline of many species, rise in precipitation etc. these changes in climatic condition will increase the risk of natural disasters like floods, landslide droughts, storms etc. These further give rise to more epidemic and pandemic diseases. Biodiversity: The global or climate change further effects the life of species and plants. The transformation of habitats or environmental area not only affects the vegetation but the animal life associated to them. The species of particular region is forcefully brought to artificial environment causes imbalance in ecosystem. Increasing population, pollution and overexploitation of resources like fishing, hunting, harvesting etc. can lead to the extinction of many more species of biodiversity.   The threats to biodiversity does not seem to decrease with increasing industrialization, urbanization of the world. Natural areas and the environment of both the species and plants are being affected with all these activities which causes imbalances in the ecosystem  (Bellard, 2014). The change in ecosystem affects all the factors of the human well being which includes living a healthier life, maintaining social relation, security and freedom to make their own decisions  (Mooney, 2010). As human are directly or indirectly dependent upon the ecosystem services for their needs and the impact on the ecosystem affects the well-being of human. Due to deterioration of climatic conditions, environment the human health gets affected as well. The effects on human physical and mental health has led to decrease in human life expectancy, phycological disorders etc. 2.There cannot be a trade off between the ecosystem services with the marine ecosystem. This is because all the needs of human cannot be fulfilled from marine or terrestrial ecosystem alone. The marine ecosystem is one of the most abundant ecosystem existing on earth which is home to wide array of species  (Harris, 2017). The marine ecosystem is also of the major source of providing oxygen to the environment. Both the ecosystem should co-exist so that there is a balance in the ecosystem. The destruction in marine ecosystem will adversely affect the specifies & plants, decrease in oxygen content in the water, reduction in food, rapid land conversion rate, loss in revenues etc. these all factors will increase the dependence over other ecosystem which will further lead to depletion of natural resources  (Hattam & Atkins, 2015). Hence, this will lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem affecting all living organisms Bellard, 2014. Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity. NCBI, pp. 365-377. Harris, A., 2017. Marine Ecosystem Classification. [Online] Available at: https://sciencing /marine-ecosystem-classification-38170.html [Accessed 27 March 2018]. Hattam, C. & Atkins, J., 2015. Marine ecosystem services: Linking indicators to their classification. Ecological Indicators, pp. 61-75. Mooney, 2010. The ecosystem-service chain and the biological diversity crisis. NCBI, Volume 365(1537), p. 331 With a decade's experience in providing essay help,

Assignment (primary research required) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Assignment (primary research required) - Essay Example The current paper, therefore, aims to look into the working environment of ADM Building and Property Services, a small-sized business in London, and identify their business behaviours and practises in relation to small business management. Primary Research: Interviews with ADM Building and Property Services Employees The following interviews were conducted among 5 employees, 4 managers, and the owner himself, and aimed to determine how business management has been integrated into their overall system, particularly their actual practises and attitudes. Opportunities and Challenges Presented by Small Business Management The first two questions were, however, focused on both the opportunities and challenges that are brought about by being in a small business. According to their responses: â€Å"Small businesses can be established at a low cost and even on a part-time basis. Because these businesses that are smaller in size, such as ours, have begun to adopt Internet marketing and have taken full advantage of the benefits that this offers, we have been to respond to specialized niches. Thus, we have been able to take action for what the marketplace demands of us†. â€Å"We have established strong relationships with our clients and customers; we have also been capable of identifying their needs and preferences so we can provide more individualized services. Due to such, we have attained a significant increase in development and accountability as well†. â€Å"Independence is a very important factor to consider when establishing a small business; this comes with the freedom to make our own decisions, take our own risks, and obtain the rewards for our efforts. There is the lack of constraints that are brought about by economic and other external factors. Nonetheless, allocating long hours for work and understanding that our clients are our bosses have always been a top priority†. â€Å"Most often, the problems we encounter are brought about by the pressures from competing with larger businesses. For instance, to find new customers has always been a great challenge for us. To establish a continual flow of business, it has always been very important to focus on marketing the services that we offer†. The Importance of Branding to Small Businesses The next questions focused on the actual management of business, including the importance of branding and the strategies that they use to develop their brand. Their responses included: â€Å"Branding is the image that the public has of our business; it does not necessarily refer to the brand that we aim to create but rather the perception of what others have of us. This perception can be affected by various aspects of our business, from the products and services that we offer to the marketing tools that we use†. â€Å"Internet usage has been of great importance to us, such as through social media and online search engines. Aside from reinforcing our brand, we also provide clear, relevant, and engaging information to our target audience. Marketing and advertising activities should always be integrated