Soul Music Essay free essay sample

Although soul developed much earlier than 1950, it first gained popularity within the late asses and came to be called soul jazz which self-consciously used melodic figures or riffs derived from gospel music or folk blues. Soul has Its roots In African-American culture and first made Its appearance In the united States. Although soul music was a blend of gospel rhythms, it had appeared more secular rather than having a religious message. Soul music is highly moving, and the type of rhythms allows soul singers to display a range of emotions in their performances.The characteristics within this genre may include the following: * Use of Melissa * Melodic ornamentation * Rhythmic complexity use of horn sections * Improvised vocal styles * Harmonies backing vocals Minimized back beat * Use of hand instruments such as finger snaps and/or hand claps and response Instruments from the Jazz Genre Call and response * use of call Marvin Gay was born in Washington, D. We will write a custom essay sample on Soul Music Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page C. On April 2nd, 1939 and died on 1st April, 1984. Marvin Gay was named after his father, a minister of the Apostolic Church.Marvin would sing in his fathers church before he sang with Mutton. The spiritual influence of his early years played a big role throughout his musical career. Marvin Gay was raised with strict control of his father, Reverend Marvin Gay Sin. Marvin Gay would often find peace within music during his childhood. He mastered the piano at a young age and also the drums. Marvin Gay had an extraordinary range that spanned three vocal styles. In 1970, he was inspired by escalating violence and political unrest over the Vietnam War, Gay wrote the song Whats Going On.With the success of this single, it inspired Gay to take even more risks, both musically and politically. Gay struggled with substance abuse and depression. Marvin Gay Sin shot and killed his son after a physical argument. Gay evolved a new musical style hat influenced a generation of African American performers. Whats Going On by Marvin Gay was released on January 17, 1971 and was recorded on June 10, 1970 September 1970. The lyrical content of this song included references to the incident bloody Thursday.The Instruments that Gay Includes are: * Drums * Piano * Saxophone Alto Sax * Synthesizer strings * Horn/Brass section * Hand instruments This song shows many characteristics that appear within the Soul genre. It includes the call and response of Whats Going On and Wall of sound is included. The treasures that made this piece so successful was the fact that the song focused on major seventh and minor seventh chords, and was orientated in sounds by Jazz, gospel and classical music. The form of this song is typical within the genre because it is in verse-chorus (strophic based) form.The outline of this song Whats Going On is: Intro Verse I Verse II Chorus Verse Ill. Rap music / hip-hop genre originated in the mid asses among African American and Hispanic performers in New York City. Rap is known for talking rapidly, rhythmically, vividly, and boastfully. In the late asses, young Ads discovered that they could borrow and sample excerpts of recordings, and stitch then together to make a new song. Rappers would compete come up with wittier and more rebellious lyrics. Characteristics of Rap Music include: * Rhythm is synonymous and there is always a constant beat that rap songs have. * Influence notably racism, police brutality, drugs and gang violence * Rhythmic beat: 44 time signature. Strong on bass line * Has a steady beat * Spoken lyrical line * Melissa Outpace Shaker, an American Rapper, was born in New York on 16th June 1971 and died on 13th September 1996. Outpace was shot after attending a Mike Tyson boxing Match which he was killed by an east-coast gang in Lass Vegas, Nevada.He was only 25 years old at the time of his death. Most of Tubas songs were about growing up among violence, racism, hardship in ghettos and other social problems and conflicts with other rappers through the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Outpace was the son of a Black Panther activists, and was raised by his mum when he was growing up. Outpace had no contact with his father until he was an adult. He had several arrests for Eileen offenses in the asses. Many of Tubas songs are about fights, gangs, and sex.He became well known for his musical talent and violent lyrics. Tubas tracks identified that he would insult his enemies (East Coast). Since Tubas death, numerous albums has been released, selling millions of copies. Tubas complexity of his rhymes made him an influential artist. Changes by Outpace was released on October 13, 1998 and was recorded in 1992. This song makes references to the Black Panther society. This song refers to the opportunity of a Black President of the United piece.The instrumentation that Outpace uses in this song includes: lead rapper and lead singer * Keyboard * Drum kit * Backing vocals * Synthesizer * Male Vocals The form of the song is Verse-chorus (strophic based) which is typical to the genre. The outline of the structure is: Intro Verse I Chorus Verse II Chorus Bridge Verse Ill Chorus Outrà © (fade) This song has a catchy piano riff and it combines two genres rap and hip hop together, simplistic chord progression and lyrical content of police brutality and depression are features that have made this piece so successful.

Types of Writing Classes

Types of Writing Classes There is no better way to become a better writer than to sign up for and take some basic writing classes.   These classes can be found all over the place, at local park districts or community colleges, to online clubs, or a local group that meets weekly at a cafe to discuss their work. I strongly believe that anyone who has any serious desires towards becoming a writer, or simply to improve their style and tone should be signed up for these classes and meeting with other writers.   They will critique your work and help you learn how to more effectively communicate your ideas in writing, which, of course, will help you grow as a writer and as a person. In my experience, the best classes are offered through colleges, though they are typically much more expensive there than anywhere else.   Try to find a community college where you can take some classes at a significant discount rather than a major state university or a private school.   In general, the classes will be significantly less money, and there will be fewer people in class, so you get more of a one-on-one with the teacher. Another option is to start, or to find a local group to meet with and discuss your writing with.   This is difficult for many people who aren’t sure where to look.   Indeed, these little clubs are a little hard to find, and many do not actively look for new members, so it is difficult to get into even if you can find one. The other option, which is often the best option for most people, is to enroll in an online writing class.   These classes are offered all over the place, often through colleges (again, expensive), but they do not require you to meet regularly or discuss in person, since everything is done through an online forum. Other times, there are types of writing classes which focus on giving you exercises and practice activities to engage your mind in writing on things that you normally wouldn’t consider writing about.   I personally think that these are more helpful to you than writing critique groups because they take you out of your element and force you to try something totally new.   This can help people who write only in one style by helping them realize new techniques that they can take from the new discipline and apply to their own. No matter what kind of class you decide on, make sure you take the time to go out and sign up for one right away.

Anatotitan Facts and Figures

Anatotitan Facts and Figures Name: Anatotitan (Greek for giant duck); pronounced ah-NAH-toe-TIE-tan Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 40 feet long and 5 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; broad, flat bill About Anatotitan It took paleontologists a long time to figure out exactly what type of dinosaur Anatotitan was. Since the discovery of its fossil remains in the late 19th century, this giant plant-eater has been classified in various ways, sometimes going by the now-unfashionable names Trachodon or Anatosaurus, or considered a species of Edmontosaurus. However, in 1990, a convincing case was presented that Anatotitan deserved its own genus in the family of large, herbivorous dinosaurs known as hadrosaurs, an idea that has since been accepted by most of the dinosaur community. (A newer study, however, insists that the type specimen of Anatotitan was really a superannuated specimen of Edmontosaurus, hence its inclusion in the already-named species Edmontosaurus annectens.) As you might have guessed, Anatotitan (giant duck) was named after its broad, flat, duck-like bill. However, one shouldnt take this analogy too far: the beak of a duck is a very sensitive organ (a bit like human lips), but Anatotitans bill was a hard, flat mass used mainly to dig up vegetation. Another odd feature of Anatotitan (which it shared with other hadrosaurs) is that this dinosaur was capable of running clumsily on two legs when it was chased by predators; otherwise, it spent most of its time on all four feet, munching peacefully on vegetation.

The Economic in Taiwan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Economic in Taiwan - Essay Example As a result, even in the best case scenario, economic growth in the region will suffer into the second half of 2003. The rising impact of SARS (in line with a rising number of cases) on private consumption, coupled with a lower than expected rise in GDP growth in the first quarter of 2003, has led us to reduce our forecast for economic growth in 2003 as a whole from 3.7% to 3.2%. A stronger recovery in both domestic and external demand will result in GDP growth of 5.4% in 2004. Taiwan is unlikely to face significant inflationary pressures until late 2003 as domestic demand remains sluggish and international inflationary trends continue to be benign. Entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in January 2002 has reduced imported inflation and will continue to put downward pressure on prices in the forecast period. Following the US-led war in Iraq, prices on international oil markets have eased. As a result, we expect the consumer price index to rise by an average rate of only 0.3% year on year in 2003. Stronger domestic and international demand for goods and services are expected to revive price pressures in 2004, lifting inflation to an annual average of 1.4%. We expect the CBC to allow the currency to remain weak, mainly in order to maintain the competitiveness of Taiwan's exports against those of Japan and South Korea. However, exports are unlikely to receive a major boost as a result, owing to general weakness in world demand, but the measure will help Taiwan producers to maintain market share. The CBC will allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate significantly only once there is sufficient evidence of a sustained recovery in GDP growth. Accordingly, in 2003 the currency will strengthen slightly in line with faster GDP growth late in the year, and as a result, average NT$34.79:US$1. Once the recovery in GDP growth gains momentum in 2004, the currency will appreciate further, to an annual average of NT$34.24:US$1 in 2004. The rate of growth in merchandise exports in US dollar terms has recovered since the second quarter of 2002. However, US demand-- the US is the destination for close to one-quarter of total exports--for Taiwan's exports has remained weak since the beginning of 2003. In addition, some of the year-on-year growth in exports during 2002 reflected base effects of comparison with 2001, when Taiwan's US dollar export earnings suffered double-digit declines. (Chu 79-104) The weak Taiwan dollar policy adopted by the CBC, mainly owing to the weakness of the Japanese yen, will not be enough to strengthen exports significantly. Nevertheless, exports to Asia, in particular China, will continue to provide some stimulus to the country's external sector. Imports have also been rising since mid- 2002. This trend is likely to be interrupted by fragile domestic demand (not helped by SARS) and the loss of momentum in export growth, although import growth is still expected to outpace export growth in 200 3-04. As a result, the

Paraphrasing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Paraphrasing - Assignment Example (Audubon 1990, pg. 17) Research has shown that out of the one thousand lives lost as a result of bicycle accidents three quarters results from head injuries and half of these deaths affect school children. Another study also indicated the use of helmets reduces chances of head injury by approximately 85% through provision of a cushion to head as well as the absorption of shock (Unused life savers Consumer Report 1990, pg. 348). Matisse in the most excellent artist among the contemporary artists in making realistic scenarios to his viewers; an example of his work is the Casbah Gate which is mostly known to many of his fans as the Bab el Aassa. It exhibits a feeling of the breeze as essential to well-being and a smell of oranges as crucial to constant life. This piece of work is strategically located on a wall near the Sultan’s palace. The painting on the wall is made by rough pieces of ivory to form an aqua blue together with a rose that is surrounded by a gray outline to give the viewers a feeling of tangier afternoon as well as an artful occurrence of the bowaab which faces the entry of the Gate (Plagens1990, pg. 50) Despite the fact that Sear Towers is considered as the greatest achievement in the Skyscraping Engineering dimension, engineers as well as architects are still enthusiastic to develop the tallest buildings in the world. This has raised concerns on the maximum height in which buildings can be erected. A building twice as high as the Sear towers has been designed by the famous Structural Engineer William and has a dimension of half a mile in height. Research by Sobei depicts that the contemporary technology can capacitate the construction of a five hundred story tower (Bachman 1990, pg.

How Is the Holocaust Represented in Films Essay Example for Free

How Is the Holocaust Represented in Films Essay ‘The Holocaust’ was the massacre of nearly six million Jews in parts of Europe controlled by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party leading up to and during World War II. When the Nazi party first came to power in 1933 they began building on the anti-Semitist feelings in Germany; introducing new legislations that gradually removed the Jews from society such as the Nuremberg Laws which prohibited marriage or extramarital sexual intercourse between Jews and German citizens and required Jews to wear an armband with the Star of David on it so they could be identified as a Jew. Encouraged by the Nazi’s, people began to boycott Jewish ran businesses and in the November of 1938 they were openly attacked, these pogroms became known as ‘Kristallnacht’ which in German translates as: â€Å"the Night of Broken Glass† because of the vandalised shops and broken glass windows. During Kristallnacht over 7,000 Jewish shops and 1,668 synagogues (almost all of the synagogues in Germany) were destroyed and the official death toll is ninety-one although it is assumed to be much higher. In 1939, after the invasion of Poland, small areas of towns were sectioned off from the rest of the population where Jews and Romani were forced to live in confined and overcrowded spaces. These were known as ‘ghettos’. The largest was Warsaw Ghetto, in Poland (where ‘The Pianist’ was set), with over 400,000 people living within its walls. Although it contained at least 30% of the population of Warsaw it occupied only 2.4% of the citys area; this meant that the residents of the ghetto were forced to cram in an average of nine people per room. From 1940 through to 1942 starvation and disease, especially typhoid, killed hundreds of thousands. Over 43,000 residents of the Warsaw ghetto died there in 1941. On January 20th, 1942 a â€Å"final solution to the Jewish question in Europe† was devised by the Nazi leaders. Death camps were built in Eastern Europe with new railway systems that were made to transport Jews from other countries to these remote areas. Jews, as well as other ‘undesirables’ such as Romani, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish and Soviet civilians, homosexuals, people with physical or mental disabilities, Jehovahs Witnesses and other political and religious opponents, were rounded up from all over Europe and forced into tightly packed rail freight cars like cattle. If they survived the journey, a small fraction of the Jews were deemed fit to work as slave labour. Everyone else was sent straight to the gas chambers which were disguised as shower rooms to prevent the victims panicking or trying to fight back. People were packed into these ‘shower rooms’ where the doors were bolted shut and a small but deadly pellet of Zyklon-B was dropped in and was activated by the heat of hundreds of human bodies crammed in together, those inside were dead within twenty minutes. By the end of the war six million Jewish men, women and children had been killed; this was more than two-thirds of the Jewish population. We have watched three films based around the Holocaust. The first of the three ‘The Pianist’ is a film based on the true story of a Jewish man, Wladysaw Szpilman: a famous pianist who worked for a polish radio station, living through the Holocaust. The beginning of the film shows the German invasion of Poland, in which Szpilman’s radio station is bombed, and the anti-Jewish laws that the Germans enforce in Poland, for example, when Szpilman is refused entry to the park or the cafà © with his polish friend and made to walk in the gutter to let polish people get primary use of the pavement. Szpilman and his family soon have to move to the Warsaw Ghetto where death became commonplace due to starvation, disease and attempt to rebel against the Nazi’s. The Nazis treat the Jews appallingly; they forced some Jews to dance to humiliate themselves for their own entertainment, a little boy is beaten to death for trying to scavenge some food for his starving family and, in one scene, Szpilman watches from an opposite flat as Nazi soldiers tip someone in a wheel chair out the window because he couldn’t stand up when they ordered him to. After several months in the ghetto, Szpilman and his family are chosen to be taken to the Treblinka death camp, however, Szpilman is saved from boarding the train by Itzak Heller, a Jewish police officer, while his family board the train never to be seen again. Szpilman is then put to work under gruelling, abusive conditions with the ten per cent or so of the Jews that the Nazi’s kept alive to use for slave labour; tearing down the walls that use to separate the ghetto from the rest of Warsaw and rebuilding the houses for new, non-Jewish residents. The Jews who are still alive are planning on rebelling Szpilman helps; smuggling guns into the ghetto. But after almost being caught by a Nazi soldier who suspects he is concealing something in a bag of beans, Szpilman decides to attempt an escape and take his chances hiding in the city. His friend, Dorota, and her husband hide him in an empty apartment near the ghetto wall where he can get by on smuggled food; however he must not make a noise or go outside as there are other, non-Jews living in the building to all believe the room to be empty. From his apartment window he helplessly watches the Jewish ghetto uprising from the 19th of April 1943 to its unsuccessful end on the 16th May. He lives silently in the abandoned apartment for another few months until he accidently smashes a shelf of china plates. Although Szpilman is unhurt the noise alerts other residents to his presence in the abandoned apartment; he is forced to leave his hideout. Szpilman is hidden once more, with the help of people from the Polish resistance, in another abandoned flat but the man supposed to be providing him with food disappears with the money from generous and unwitting donors, pocketing it all for his self. Dorota and her husband find him gravely ill from lack of nutrition but luckily he recovers in time to witness the Warsaw Uprising. His flat gets bombed during the uprising and Szpilman escapes to the abandoned ghetto where he is found by a merciful Nazi officer, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. Szpilman plays the piano for him to prove that he is a pianist and the soldier, moved by his playing, finds him food and allows him to remain hidden there. Szpilman hides out here until the end of the war when the German Nazis are rounded up and polish prisoners released. The freed prisoners yell insults at the Germans and Hosenfeld, upon hearing that one of the freed prisoners was a violinist, asks him to contact Szpilman; to ask him if he will return the favour of saving him. However, Szpilman is unable to help Hosenfeld as the camp of Nazi prisoners had been moved and Szpilman returns to playing the piano for the Warsaw radio station. As the movie finishes the closing captions on screen tell us that Hosenfeld died in 1952 in a prisoner of war camp but Szpilman continued to live in Warsaw until his death in 2000, aged 88. The second film we watched was ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ this film took a different, perspective of the Holocaust than ‘The Pianist’. This film is shown through the point of view of Bruno, the eight-year-old child of a German Nazi officer; he doesn’t really see the Jews as any different to himself yet despite his innocence Bruno still becomes a victim of the Holocaust†¦ At the start of the movie Bruno and his family are moving because his father got a job promotion as Commandant of a Jewish extermination camp. Bruno is upset and lonely because he was forced to leave his friends in Berlin so when he meets Shmuel, a Jewish boy the same age as Bruno, sitting on the other side of the fence, in the death camp, Bruno immediately befriends him. Shmuel tells Bruno that he is a Jew and that the Jewish people have been imprisoned here by soldiers, who also took their clothes and gave them the striped camp clothing, and that he is hungry. Bruno is confused and starts having doubts about his father being a good person. However, Bruno regularly returns to the fence bringing Shmuel food and playing checkers with him through the fence. When Bruno’s Mother realises what’s actually happening at the camp through a comment by one of the younger soldiers â€Å"They smell even worse when they burn, she is shocked and appalled as she believed it to be a labour camp. She argues with her Husband, insisting that she and the children should move elsewhere, eventually the Mother wins out but Bruno doesn’t want to leave anymore because of his friendship with Shmuel. Shmuel tells Bruno that his father is missing. Bruno gives him the bad news that he will be moving away for good the next day after lunch. Wanting to make up for letting Shmuel down and naive that his father has likely been murdered, Bruno agrees to help Shmuel to find his father, and returns the next day with a shovel to dig a hole under the fence to get into the camp, and Shmuel will bring an extra set of camp clothing; Shmuels suggestion that he could leave the camp through the hole is rejected by Bruno, who doesn’t know what it’s really like inside the camp and is determined to find Shmuel’s father. Whilst still searching Bruno and Shmuel get caught up in a crowd of people being marched to the gas chambers where both Bruno and Shmuel are murdered with the other Jews. In the meantime, Bruno’s Mother tells his Father, who was in a meeting about increasing the capacity of the gas chambers, that Bruno is missing. They find Brunos clothes next to the hole under the fence and realise that he got into the death camp. His Father runs throughout the camp when he reaches the gas chamber, he realises that Bruno has been brought to the gas chamber with the other Jews, but when He arrives it is too late, the boys are already dead and he is devastated. Upon hearing the Fathers cry of Bruno! his Mother and his sister, Gretel, realise what has happened and are equally devastated. The ending of this film has an element of retribution as Bruno’s father, who has killed thousands of Jewish children, finally gets a taste of what it’s like to lose his child. Finally, the last movie that we watched was ‘Life is Beautiful’. This film was set in Italy about the main character, Guido, a young, Jewish, man who at the opening of the film moves to the city with his friend to work at his uncle’s restaurant where he meets his future wife, Dora, although neither knows it yet. During the beginning of the film you can see how the anti-Semitist feelings built up it Italy for instance when the school children are meant to be lectured on ‘the superior race’, when someone paints â€Å"Beware, Jewish horse† on Guido’s Uncle’s horse, the sign on the shop reading â€Å"No dogs, no Jews!† and, later in the film, when Guido and Dora are married, despite the fact that Guido’s a Jew and Dora’s Italian, people trash their house. On Joshua (Guido and Dora’s son) birthday the Germans arrest Guido, Joshua and Guido’s uncle are taken onto the train to be taken to the death camp Dora insists on going with them even though she isn’t a Jew eventually the Nazi gives in and puts her on the train where she is included with the other Jewish women. Guido is devastated to see his non-Jewish wife board the train. Protecting his son from the horrific truth, Guido tells Joshua that they are simply on a big holiday camp, and he turns the camp into a big game for Joshua, saying that they must win 1000 points to win a real tank and leave. Luckily Guido’s quick thinking saves Joshua from the truth when a German officer requires a translator. Despite not speaking a word of German, Guido steps forward and makes up the Regole del Campo from the Germans body language, claiming that tanks, scoreboards and games of Hide and Seek litter the camp, while cleverly stating that Joshua cannot cry, ask for his mother or declared hes hungry, resulting in the loss of the game, in other words, death. Joshua later refuses to take a shower (repeated from an earlier part in the film), and unknowingly escapes being gassed, so Guido hides him with the help of other Italian prisoners, since there are no other children. Playing messages over the speakers for Dora, kept prisoner on the other side of the camp, let’s Dora know her son and husband are alive, while the Nazi’s don’t speak Italian. With the help of Guidos former German friend, Herr Lessing, Guido hides Joshua amongst the German children, while waiting the German Officers meals. Hiding Joshua in a junction box for the last time, telling him that everyone is looking for him, Guido jeopardises his own survival to prevent the Germans discovering Joshua, while he attempts to free Dora, giving his own life away at the same time. Once the German’s realise they’ve lost the what they desert the camp, closely followed by the surviving Jews escaping, then, when the Americans break into the seemingly deserted camp the following morning Joshua comes out of hiding just as a tank pulls around the corner so Joshua believes that he has won ‘the Game’. Hitching a lift out, Joshua spots his mother reuniting as the film ends. Although all three of these movies are based on the Holocaust each one uses different themes and different view points. Firstly, ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is filmed from a very innocent, child view point. Bruno is very young and the difference between Jew and German doesn’t matter to him; he doesn’t understand what might be considered wrong in befriending Shmuel. A similar viewpoint is used in ‘Life Is Beautiful’ where Joshua doesn’t know what’s going on because his father told him it was a game. I think that this perspective very effective in displaying the horrors and injustice of the Holocaust and, personally, it makes for a more entertaining film as it uses the audiences’ sympathies to make them more emotionally involved with the plot. However, in displaying historical fact within the film this take has disadvantages because what makes the main characters so innocent is their lack of understanding of their situation which naturally makes it harder for the film to be both educating and entertaining. ‘The Pianist’, however, has a much more grown up approach as, being based on a true story, it sticks to the facts and I felt that I learnt more from that film then I did from the other two. A similar theme that emerges in all three of these films is family. In ‘The Pianist’ Szpilman loses his family early on in the film, although he seems quite close to them before, and he struggles to survive without them probably feeling lonely all those month in hiding with no one with him for company. In ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ you see how Bruno’s family are driven apart by their conflicting opinions of the Holocaust; Bruno’s father is a strong believer in Nazi policy and the commandant of the death camp, however, his Mother is quite shocked and appalled when she learns the truth of what’s happening at the death camp and insists on moving away with the kids, whereas Bruno is young and confused as he’s been brought up being told that Jews are basically evil and German soldiers, like his father, are good but when he befriends Shmuel he realises that some Jews are nice, like Shmuel, and begins to doubt his father. Contrast to this, in ‘Life is Beautiful’ you see how Joshua’s family grow closer together because of the Holocaust; they stick together for each other and Guido even sacrifices himself in hope of saving Joshua. Although we often assume that all of the Nazi soldiers were evil, the issue of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Germans is brought up in all three of these films. Firstly, in ‘The Pianist’ although most Germans are portrayed as evil, the Nazi officer, Captain Hosenfeld, saves Szpilman from starvation or being found and, towards the end of the movie, when he’s a prisoner and begging for help you begin to sympathise with him a bit more, especially when it’s revealed that he died on the caption. Then, in ‘Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ Bruno befriends Shmuel, and Bruno’s Mother and Grandmother openly disagree with Nazi views, which makes you think not to stereotype all Germans as ‘evil’. And lastly, in ‘Life I Beautiful’ although no German steps out and helps Guido and his family, you do see a doctor (who Guido knew before he was forced to work at the death camp) beginning to lose his stability because the work he is forced to do goes against all his moral values. This adds another layer to the ‘evil Germans’ assumption because maybe not all of them were doing it willingly so therefore does that make them bad?

Essay --

I was interested in languages since I was just 3 years old. I liked especially English as it was the second language after Armenian that I heard in my childhood and which had a great sway on me. It was mostly because of the Disney cartoons. Growing up under the influence of those cartoons and movies I started learning English. First movie by Walt Disney that I saw was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". This movie made me fall in love with English. I started developing my language skills with listening to music and watching movies in English. Going deeper into the lyrics and movies, I was able to understand the beauty of this language. And also those movies helped me create my dreams. Since my childhood, I dreamed about founding my own TV Company for children in my hometown, since I believe mass communication, including television should have an educational value, because of the scale of impact it has. The department of Mass Communication which I’ve chosen will give me knowledge for developing quality programs, films and other materials. In recent years, I had tutorial lesson...

Reviewing Classroom Management Plan Essay

In reviewing this classroom management plan, I will be looking at the various elements that make up the plan. Such as the visual environment, physical arrangement, class rules and procedures as well as the types of instruction, communication plan and the teacher’s personal philosophy. Classroom management involves teacher actions to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self- motivation. (Burden 2004) The management plan discusses how the visual environment will be set up to motivate the students to learn by having a star student board. That recognizes the student’s hard work both intellectually and socially. As well as having the walls decorated with posters and student’s artwork. There will also be plants and animals in the classroom that the students will be take care of in order to develop of sense of responsibility. It is important to make your classroom an attractive, comfortable place. (Burden, 2004) Sensory stimulation is another effect of a good classroom setting. For children, it is easier to learn in a very appealing classroom, because the elements of the things that would appeal to the senses are there. Pictures, colors, sound, and so forth. (Furniture, 2008)The physical arrangement is set up in groups so that the students can use it as a work space as well as centers. By putting the desks in group it promotes group cohesiveness as well as helping with behavior management. It also helps students with different learning needs, because students get the help that they need by having their peers and teacher to help them. Having different centers in the classroom is an excellent way to incorporate many skills and concepts, but it is also a great way to target students’ different learning styles. This plan gives students a chance to express their different learning styles. By giving them a chance to work with other students in the book nook area or meet with them on the carpet at different designated times. The arrangement of furniture affects space allocation and space allocation has effects to the learning atmosphere. If the classroom looks narrow and small for students, they feel restricted and they do not interact well. On the other hand, if a classroom provides adequate space, students feel that there is space for interaction. (Furniture, 2008) The room is set up so the high traffic areas are free of congestion and there is plenty of space to be able to move around the room effectively. Some things that you could add to make the classroom more accessible for students in a wheel chair is by maybe adding a ramp outside the class room, and larger work space area for the student to be able work at instead of a traditional desk. The way the desks, tables, and other classroom materials are arranged affects instruction and has an influence on order in the classroom. (Burden, 2004) The plan does not tell how the teacher developed the rules. Ways that you could have the students become involved in the process of making the rules is by asking the students what things that they think should be a rule. Depending on the age of children, the teacher may need to reword the rules in positive way instead of a negative. When teachers collaborate with their students to identify the need for rules and procedures in the classroom it helps to establish an orderly and safe place for learning. When they are given the opportunity to help create the list of rules, students are more motivated to follow them. Students will understand that the rules are meant to keep them safe and help them figure out what to do. Rules are general behavioral standards or expectations that are to be followed in classroom. They are general rules of conduct that are intended to guide individual behavior in an attempt to promote positive interaction and avoid disruptive behavior. (Burden, 2004) For playground and cafeteria behavior the teacher has the students follow the classroom rules. Procedures are approved ways to achieve specific tasks in the classroom. (Burden, 2004) If students know the classroom procedures, the routine runs more smoothly and efficiently and less time is wasted. (Ashbaker, 2006) Establishing classroom procedures and rules helps teachers and students to stay organized. When the students have  clear expectations there are fewer behavior disruptions. Procedures tell students how to perform routine instructional and housekeeping tasks. (Sadlers, 2009) The teacher has set transitions for the students to follow for beginning of the school day, leaving the room, returning to the room and the ending of day. The transitions for starting the day is having the students put a card onto the bulletin board telling what they want for lunch, they will also find out what their job will be for the day. By doing this it teaches the student’s responsibility for making sure that their job gets done and they get to chose what they want for lunch. The students next need to go to their desks and do their morning working which gives all the students time to put their lunch card onto the bulletin board and find out their job. As well as letting the teacher get any last minute things ready for the day of instruction. The students have a set way of leaving the room in which they need to do the appropriate sign language sign for their needs. Then once the teacher acknowledges them, they also need to sign out on the sheet by the door and take the hall pass. When returning to the room the students needs to enter the room quietly and sign back in on the paper and return the hall pass and then return back to their work. By doing this it also forces the student to take responsibility for remembering the right sign language sign and also to make sure that the teacher sees the sign before they can get from their desk. As well as making sure to remember to sign out and sign in and take the hall pass and return the pass when they return back to the room. Transitions are movements from one activity to another. A smooth transition allows one activity to flow into another without any breaks in the delivery of the lesson. To reduce the potential for disorder during transitions, you should prepare students for upcoming transitions, establish efficient transition routines, and clearly define the boundaries for the lessons. (Burden, 2003) The children are taught sign language for the words drinking fountain, sink, and bathroom, which are non-verbal cues that the students can use to let the teacher know of their needs. As well the teacher also uses cues by raising her hand in the air to let children know that the classroom is getting too noisy. The students will then raise their hands as well and put their finger over their lips and immediately stop what they are doing and put their eyes on the teacher. By using sign language as well as other non verbal cues, it is a way for the student as well as the teacher to express themselves without disrupting the class. The teacher states that she will using multiple intelligences to include all learning styles, She will be using a combination of direct instruction, small groups and center to teach the students. There is no mention in the plan of how the teacher creates or delivers her lesson plan. To meet the needs of diverse students, instruction cannot be one-dimensional. By using various methods of instruction it helps each student to reach their academic potential. (Burden, 2004)There is a communication plan set up to keep the teacher, students and parents up to date on the student’s progress. The students will receive feedback on their assignments as well as assignments will be displayed on the front board. Each student will keep track of their assignments in their own personal assignment books. If a student stops completing their assignments then there will be a pink slip that will be sent home to the parent. Which will explain the assignment that was not completed the consequences as well the slip needs to be signed by a parent before sending back to school. There will also be a star bulletin board set up where the teacher will give the student positive feedback. Parent conferences will be held as well as having report cards sent home. This plan help the students receive some positive feedback from their teachers as well as letting them stay up to date on their homework assignments. Although I think this plan needs to include more ways for students as well as parents to receive frequent positive and negative feedback. Providing positive feedback helps the child to feel good about what they have accomplished. As well from negative feedback learn what skill or behavior they need to approved upon. Overall I like this class management plan; I believe Classroom Management is the key component in any educational setting. I believe that if students are in a safe environment, then learning can take place. In this plan the teacher set the tone for the class, by preventing behavior problems with interesting and engaging curriculums and effectively including all students in the classroom so that their needs are met. Having the right environment for all students to learn should be every teacher’s major goal. In order to implement an effective classroom management plan in the classroom, without it the students would not be able to learn. The changes I would make are to include more feedback for students and information on how the rules and lesson plan were developed and implemented. Also let the students have a part in developing the rules, so that will have a better understanding of rules. They also will be more inclined to follow them and the consequences. Another thing that is missing is a behavior system that includes some certain of reward system for the students as well as the classroom for positive behavior and consequences for negative behavior. I would leave everything else the same; I think that the main components of the plan would work well with the needed changes that I have suggested. I think that a paraprofessional would be able to fit nicely into this plan by helping the teacher and students when needed. . References Ashbaker, B. & Morgan, J. (2006). Paraprofessionals in the Classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc Burden, Paul R. (2003). Classroom management: Creating a successful learning Community (2nd). JohnWiley & Sons. Maine Burden, P. (2004) An Educator’s Guide to Classroom Management. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Sadlers, Krista. (2009, November 2). How to Establish Classroom Procedures and Rules. Retrieved from http://classroom-organization. suite101. com/article. cfm/how_to_establish_classroom_procedures_and_rules Furniture Arrangement affects learning. (2008). Retrieved from http://sugearup. com/2008/09/furniture-arrangement-affects-learning.

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 18

18. Carpe Noctem MARVIN Marvin the big red cadaver dog had done his job. He sat and woofed, which translated from the dog meant, â€Å"Biscuit.† Nine vampire hunters paused and looked around. Marvin sat in front of a small utility shed in an alley in Wine Country, behind a particularly nasty Indian restaurant. â€Å"Biscuit,† Marvin woofed. He could smell death amid the curries. He pawed the pavement. â€Å"What's he doing?† said Lash Jefferson. He, Jeff, and Troy Lee carried Super Soakers loaded with Grandma Lee's Vampire Cat Remedy, other Animals had garden sprayers slung on their backs, except for Gustavo, who thought that making him carry a garden sprayer was racial stereotyping. Gustavo had a flame thrower. He wouldn't say where he got it. â€Å"Second Amendment, cabrones.† (The guy who sold Gustavo his green card had included two amendments from the Bill of Rights and Gustavo had chosen Two and Four, the right to bear arms and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. [His sister Estrella had had seizures as a child. No bueno.] For five bucks extra he threw in the Third Amendment, which Gustavo bought because he was already sharing a three-bedroom house in Richmond with nineteen cousins and they didn't have any room to quarter soldiers.) â€Å"That's his signal,† said Rivera. He was wearing his UV-LED leather jacket and felt like a complete dork. â€Å"When he sits and does that with his paw he's found a body.† â€Å"Or vampire,† added Cavuto. â€Å"Biscuit,† woofed Marvin. â€Å"He's fucking with you,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"There's nothing here.† â€Å"Maybe in the shed,† said Lash. â€Å"There's no lock on it.† â€Å"Who would leave anything unlocked in this neighborhood?† asked Jeff. â€Å"Biscuit please,† woofed Marvin. They had an agreement: As consideration for finding dead things, the cadaver dog, heretofore referred to as Marvin, shall receive one biscuit. There was some flexibility, however, and Marvin understood that in this case, they weren't looking for dead humans, but dead cats, and despite their inherent tastiness, Marvin was not to eat the findees. â€Å"Biscuit,† he rewoofed. Where was the biscuit? It had been months since he'd led them to the dead things. (Well, it seemed like months. Marvin wasn't very good with time.) â€Å"Open it,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"We'll cover you.† Rivera and Cavuto moved to the shed, which was aluminum and had a roof shaped like an old-fashioned barn's. The Animals moved in a semicircle and trained their weapons on the shed. (Grandma Lee had stayed home to watch wrestling on TV when she realized there weren't going to be any firecrackers.) â€Å"On three then,† said Rivera. â€Å"Wait,† said Cavuto. He turned to Gustavo. â€Å"No fuego. Comprende? Do not fucking light up that flamethrower.† â€Å"S,† said Gustavo. They had tested the flamethrower on the basketball court in Chinatown. It had a fairly short, wide spray. In other words, if Gustavo used it in the alley he would probably fry them all. Barry turned and sprayed the flamethrower's pilot light with a stream of vampire cat remedy. The flame went out with a sizzle. â€Å"Okay, go.† â€Å"On three, then,† said Rivera. They all raised their weapons. â€Å"One,† Rivera nodded to Cavuto and grabbed the switch to his jacket LEDs. â€Å"Two.† Troy Lee crouched and aimed his Super Soaker to the center of the doors, ready to strafe in any direction. Cavuto drew his Desert Eagle, cocked the hammer, and thumbed off the safety. â€Å"Three!† The cops threw open the doors and lit up their jackets, the Animals leaned in. Six surprised kittens and a mother cat looked out from a box set on stacks of five-gallon detergent buckets. They all looked around, not saying anything. The Animals lowered their weapons. The cops turned off their jackets. â€Å"Well, that's embarrassing,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Biscuit,† Marvin woofed. They all looked at Marvin. â€Å"You suck, Marvin,† said Cavuto. â€Å"Those are normal cats.† Marvin didn't understand. He had followed the trail, he had made the signal when he came to the end of the trail. Where was his biscuit? â€Å"Bad dog, Marvin,† said Lash. Marvin growled at him, then turned to Rivera and woofed, â€Å"Biscuit.† He was not a bad dog. It wasn't his fault that no one had taught him how to point up. It wasn't his fault they weren't looking up, past the top of the shed, up the wall, to the roof, four stories up. Couldn't they hear them? â€Å"Biscuit,† he woofed. CHET Chet watched the vampire hunters moving below. He understood what they were doing and how badly they were doing it. The other cats had moved away from the edge of the roof, the smell of flame, the sunlight jackets, and the dog had made them weary. A few of them were survivors of the encounter with the little Japanese swordsman, and Asians in general still freaked them out a little. Although they couldn't see the life auras that a human vampire could, it was still in their instinct as predators to take the weak and the sick, and the group below appeared to be neither. Chet, on the other hand, was less and less of a cat every night. He was bigger than Marvin now, and had lost most of his cat instinct, and whatever he was now, it wasn't a cat. Although he was still a predator, words kept invading his mind, sounds that produced pictures in his mind. Abstract concepts whirled around in sound and symbols. His kitty brain had been rewired with human DNA, and what had resulted was not only an alpha predator, but a creature with the capacity for revenge, mercy, and conscious cruelty. Chet watched the group below move out of the alley, led by Rivera and trailed by Barry, the bald, portly scuba diver of the Animals. The kitty part of Chet's brain saw Barry's bald spot like a ball of yarn, teasing him to attack. He needed to get it. He went to mist and snaked down the side of the building. He liked climbing face-down, especially since he had grown thumbs, but stealth was the only way to pick off the last one without facing the whole group in combat. He rematerialized in front of Barry, on his hind feet, and before the hapless grocery clerk could call out, Chet thrust his entire paw into his mouth and unsheathed his claws. There was only a slight gurgling sound, and Clint, the born-again, who had been walking ahead of Barry, turned to see only an empty alley behind him. Chet was already three floors above him on the wall. Barry dangled from Chet's claws, twitching, as the huge, shaved vampire cat drank his life away. TOMMY â€Å"Foo,† Tommy said, right in Foo's ear. â€Å"I want you to remember, before you move, at all, that I was the one who wore your sun jacket to rescue Jody from Elijah. So if I see you even look like you're going to touch a switch of any kind, I'm going to tear that arm off, okay?† â€Å"I didn't want to put you in the statue,† said Foo for the third time. â€Å"I know,† Tommy said. â€Å"Where's Jody?† â€Å"She went looking for you.† Jared started to back away from the door into the kitchen area. â€Å"You too, Jared. If I don't see your hands for one second, I'm taking them off so I don't have to worry about it.† Jared waved his hands in front of him like he was drying his nails. â€Å"Whoa, badass much? I'm the one that let you in. I was going to get you some blood.† â€Å"Sorry, stress,† Tommy said. He had Foo by the throat, but lightly. â€Å"Give him the one that's already opened,† Foo said. â€Å"The one with the drugs in it?† asked Jared. Foo flinched as if waiting for the sound of his neck snapping. â€Å"Yes, that one, you fuckwit.† â€Å"I'm good for now,† Tommy said. Then to Foo, â€Å"Jody went where to find me?† â€Å"Just out. Right after she got you out of the shell. She took half the money and most of the blood. Abby said that she was at the Fairmont, but Rivera and Cavuto found her. We don't know where she is now.† â€Å"Where's Abby?† â€Å"She's at her mom's,† said Foo. â€Å"No, she's not.† Tommy choked him a little. â€Å"She's here. I can smell her.† He cocked his head. â€Å"I don't hear her heartbeat. Is she dead?† â€Å"Kind of,† said Jared. â€Å"She is nossssss-feratu. That's how she says it. I'm so jealous.† â€Å"Did I do that?† â€Å"No,† said Foo. â€Å"She did it herself. You were out of your mind, and you bit her, but Jody pulled you off of her and threw you through the windows. You don't remember?† â€Å"Not much. Probably a good thing for you, too.† â€Å"She's under the mattress,† Jared said. â€Å"Foo made me hide her there.† â€Å"I'm going to change her back. I told you I could do it and I can. I'm already working on her batch of serum.† â€Å"And she saw Jody last?† â€Å"Her friend Lily saw Jody coming out of the Fairmont a few nights ago. Abby went there to find her and saw Cavuto and Rivera.† â€Å"Then we don't know if they found Jody while she was out?† â€Å"They didn't. They didn't say anything when they came to get their jackets.† â€Å"Their jackets? Sun jackets? You gave them sun jackets?† â€Å"I have to do what they want. They were going to take me in for statutory rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.† â€Å"Really? Have they met Abby?† â€Å"Truth,† said Foo, as wistfully as you can when you're being choked. â€Å"Tommy, let me change you back. It's what you wanted. I can do you and Abby at the same time.† â€Å"No. And you're not changing her. Wake her up.† â€Å"What? Why?† â€Å"Because I'm going to go look for Jody and I'm taking Abby with me. I'm not leaving her here with you guys.† â€Å"Why? She's my girlfriend. I wouldn't hurt her.† â€Å"She's my BFF,† said Jared. â€Å"He's the one who can't be trusted.† â€Å"I'm taking her with me. I'm not going out there without someone watching my back. Haven't you ever seen a horror movie? When you split up and go off by yourself, that's when the monster gets you.† â€Å"I thought in this movie you were the monster,† Foo said. â€Å"Only if you don't do what I say,† Tommy said, a little surprised to hear himself say it. â€Å"Wake her up, Foo.† JODY The last thing she remembered before burning up were the orange socks. And here they were again, fluorescent orange, highway safety orange socks, at the base of a tiny, blood-encrusted man who was fussing about at some sort of workbench. â€Å"Well, don't you look yummy,† she said, and she was surprised at the sound of her own voice: dry, weak, and ancient. The little man turned, startled at first, but then he composed himself, bowed, and said something in Japanese. Then, â€Å"Sorry,† in English. â€Å"It's okay,† she said. â€Å"This isn't the first time I've woken up in a strange man's apartment where I can't remember how I got there.† This was, however, the first time she remembered where she had been on fire at the end of the night. Before it had gone quite that far, the girls she worked with held a lunchtime intervention in which each told her, frankly and sincerely, as people who loved her, that she was a drunken slut who took all the hot guys at the TGIF bar crawl every week and she needed to knock it the fuck off. So she did. Now, as in those days, she was disoriented, but unlike those days, it didn't even occur to her to be afraid. The little Japanese man bowed again, then took a square-pointed knife from his workbench and approached her shyly, his head down, saying something that sounded very much like an apology. Jody held up her hand to wave him off, say, â€Å"Hey, back off there, cowboy,† but when she saw her hand, an ash-white desiccated claw, the words caught in her throat. The little man paused just the same. Her arms, her legs? She pulled up the kimono-her stomach, her breasts-she was shrunken, like a mummy. The effort exhausted her and she fell back into the pillow. The little man shuffled forward and held his hand up. There was a bandage on his thumb. She watched as he raised his hand, pulled off the bandage, and put the point of the knife to the wound that was already there. She caught his knife hand and ever so gently, pushed it down. â€Å"No,† she said, shaking her head. â€Å"No.† She couldn't imagine what her face might look like. The ends of her hair were like brittle red straw. What must she have looked like before he had done this, done this too much, she could see. â€Å"No.† With him close, she could smell the blood on him. It wasn't human. Pig. It smelled of pig, although she didn't know how she might know that. When she had been at her best she would have smelled blood on someone just walking by on the sidewalk. It wasn't only her strength that was gone, her senses were nearly as dull as when she had been human. The little man waited. He had bowed, but did not rise up again. Wait, he held his head aside, his throat open. He was bending down so she could drink. Knowing what she was, he was giving himself to her. She touched his cheek with the back of her hand and when he looked she shook her head. â€Å"No. Thank you. No.† He stood, looked at her, waited. She smelled the dried blood on the back of her hand, tasted it. She had tasted it before. She felt something tacky in the corner of her mouth-yes, it was the pig blood. The hunger wrenched through her, but she fought it down. He had fed her his own blood, obviously, but also pig's blood. How long? How far had he brought her? She gestured for him to bring her paper and something to write with. He brought her a sketch pad and a broad square carpenter's pencil. She drew a map of Union Square, then drew a crude figure of a woman and wrote down numbers, many numbers, her sizes. What about money? Rivera would have her things from the room, but she had hidden most of the money in another spot. From the brick-work in the apartment, the window frames, the angle of streetlights coming down from above, she guessed she was in a basement apartment right near where she'd been running on Jackson Street. Nowhere else in the City looked like this, was this old. She pointed to herself and the little man and then to the map. He took it from her and drew an X, then quickly drew a stick version of the Transamerica Pyramid. Yes. They were on Jackson Street. She wrote a â€Å"$† where she'd hidden the money, then scratched it out. It was hidden in a locked electrical junction box high on a roof, where she had been able to climb easily, two floors above the highest fire escape. This frail little guy would never get there. The little man smiled and nodded, pointing to the dollar sign. He went to his workbench, opened a wooden box, and held up a handful of bills. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"Okay, then, I guess you're buying me an outfit.† â€Å"Yes,† he said. She made a drinking gesture, then nodded. He nodded and held up the knife again. â€Å"No, you can't afford it. Animal.† She thought about making a piggy sound, but wasn't sure that might not give him the wrong idea, so she drew a stickman on the sketch pad, then Xed it out and drew a first-grade stick piggy, a stick sheep, and a Jesus fish. He nodded. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"If you bring me a Christian petting zoo I'm going to be disappointed, Mr.-uh-† Well, this was embarrassing. â€Å"Well, you're not the first guy I've ever woken up with whose name I don't remember.† Then she stopped herself and patted his arm. â€Å"I'm sounding really slutty, I know, but the truth is I used to be afraid to sleep alone.† She looked around the little apartment, at the meticulously arranged tools on the workbench, the one pair of little shoes, and the white silk kimono he had wrapped her in. â€Å"Thank you,† she said. â€Å"Thank you,† he said. â€Å"My name is Jody,† she said, pointing to herself. She pointed to him, wondering if that might not be rude in his culture. But he had already seen her nude and burned up, so perhaps they were past formality. He seemed okay with it. â€Å"Okata,† he said. â€Å"Okata,† she said. â€Å"Yes,† he said, with a big smile. His gums were receded, which made him look like he had big horse teeth, but then Jody touched her tongue to her fangs, which it seemed were not retracting in her new, dried-up state, and she realized that she should probably be less judgmental. â€Å"Go, okay?† She pointed to the sketch pad. â€Å"Okay,† he said. He gathered up his things, put on his stupid hat, and was ready to leave, when she called to him. â€Å"Okata?† â€Å"Yes.† She made a face-washing gesture and pointed to him. He went to the little mirror over the sink, looked at himself covered with blood, and laughed, his eyes crinkled into high smiles themselves. He looked over his shoulder at her, laughed again, then scrubbed his face with a cloth until he was clean and went to the door. â€Å"Jody,† he said. He pointed to the stairs outside. â€Å"No. Okay?† â€Å"Okay,† she said. When he was gone, she crawled from the futon and stumbled from there to the workbench, where she rested before trying to move farther, to look at Okata's work. Wood block prints, some finished, some with only two or three of the colors on them, proofs perhaps. They were a series, the progression of a black, skeletal monster against a yellow futon, then the gradual filling in of the figure. The care, wrapping her in the kimono, feeding her his blood. The last print was still in the sketch stage. He must have been working on it when she awoke. A sketch on thin rice paper had been glued to the wood block and he was carving away the material for the outline-the black ink in the other prints. They were beautiful, and precise, and simple, and sad. She felt a tear rise and turned so as not to drip blood on the print. How would she tell him? Would she point at the first sketch, the one where the figure looked like a medieval woodcut of Death himself, and point to his frail chest? â€Å"The first thing I noticed when I saw you was the life aura around you, and it was black. That's why I wouldn't let you give me your blood, Okata. You are dying.† â€Å"Okay,† he would say. â€Å"Thank you,† he would say, with his newly found grin.

Business people are still lousy KISSers, Daily Telegraph - Emphasis

Business people are still lousy KISSers, Daily Telegraph Business people are still lousy KISSers, Daily Telegraph New research reveals that an inability or reluctance to use plain English or to keep it short and simple (KISS) is still the single greatest barrier to good business writing. The findings by Emphasis, who have been training business people how to write for over eight years, show that a staggering 99 per cent of the pre-training documents they receive from clients contain unnecessary business-jargon or overly-long and complicated words and phrases. And for 63 per cent of people, this failure to KISS represents one of the three biggest challenges to improving their business writing.* The research findings coincide with the announcement of the Plain English Campaigns Annual Awards on 12 December, where organisations and individuals are recognised for having genuinely made an effort to present themselves using clear and concise English. The research only confirms what we already knew from working with a broad range of blue chip companies and public sector organisations, says Emphasis chief executive, Robert Ashton. Despite the odd refreshing example of an individual or organisation really embracing the KISS principle, using plain English remains the exception rather than the rule. So why cant business people KISS? A major issue is the popular misconception that long words and elaborate phrases are somehow a sign of superior intellect or professionalism. But people are inundated with documents to read (an average company with 5000 employees produces a staggering 78 pieces of writing every minute). They are also overworked and short of time so they dont want to have to translate complicated words and phrases; they just want to get to the point. And this is only half the story, says Ashton. The other problem is management speak and buzz words. People are tired of reading about synergy and excellence, while cutting edge or innovative products and services are ten-a-penny these days. And as for raising the bar and low-hanging fruit, the first thing to spring to mind is some kind of tropical limbo challenge. People sometimes think that using plain English represents some kind of dumbing down. But short words are not lightweight or less useful. In fact, theyre often more powerful. Its just a case of having the confidence to use them. * (together with poor punctuation and overuse of the passive voice).

A Criticism Against the Prejudice of People Against Individuals Who Use Double Negatives in a Sentence

A Criticism Against the Prejudice of People Against Individuals Who Use Double Negatives in a Sentence In the article, â€Å"Our Language Prejudices Don’t Make No Sense, Raffaella Zanuttini criticizes the people that express anger when they hear others use double negatives in a sentence. She criticizes the proponents of civilization that fail to criminalize the expressions of prejudice against people that make mistakes when speaking English. Zanuttini claims that the failure by the civilized societies to mark the prejudicial comments against those that use double negatives as inappropriate is an indication of negative attitude towards others. The author claims that people that say they cannot stand their friends that make mistakes in their spoken language are as bad as racists that cannot stand people from other races. Zanuttini holds that since there is no scientific basis for making negative comments about the people that use double negatives, then the negative concord should be allowed as part of the English language. Zanuttini effectively uses ethos, logos and pathos to ap peal to ethics, logic and emotions. Ethos Zanuttini appeals to ethics by establishing credibility and authority over the issue she discusses in the article. She presents herself as an authority in linguistics. Using the authority, the author embarks on examining the topic as an individual that understands the rules that govern the subject. In questioning the scientific basis of criticizing the people that say â€Å"aks† instead of â€Å"ask†, Zanuttini refers to metathesis as a concept in linguistics. She says that metathesis recognizes that multiple negative elements are common in many languages and that if people that use such languages apply the same in speaking English, they should not be reprimanded (Zanuttini 1). Zunittini’s view is that applying natural phenomena that are â€Å"found across human languages† should not attract prejudicial comments that aim at portraying the speakers of a certain language as weak (1). In essence, Zunittini holds the view that freedom should cut across various aspects of life including the use of language. The author also appeals to ethics in showing her understanding of other languages where negative concord is allowed. Zanuttini quotes the Italian phrase, â€Å"non ho visto nessuno† that she literally interprets to mean â€Å"not (I) have seen no one† (1). The author’s move to interpret the Italian language is an indication that she is an authority in linguistics. The Italian sentence reveals the use of negative concord is common in the country. However, Italians allow the double negatives since they do not affect the meaning of their language. The acceptance of double negatives in the Italian language, Zanuttini argues, should strike those that claim they cannot stand such phenomenon in English to understand that there is no single grammar of English. The author’s credibility is seen in her move to explain the assertion that there is no single grammar that makes English. She says that people that criticize other’s grammar do so base on their view of the speakers and not the language used (Zanutini 2). She explains grammar as a guide that helps people to form sentences of their language. Thus, people make mental recipes that guide them to interpret and pronounce words that make sentences in their language (Zanuttini 2). By arguing that recipes are formed based on the speaker’s language, the author comes out as a credible linguist that can teach language formation and origin. The author’s use of ethos leaves the reader with no question regarding the analysis of the topic. An authority in linguistics can only criticize the author based on the linguistic concepts such as metathesis. However, the clarity in the examination of the concept indicates that the author is above board. The author’s appeal to ethics, therefore, makes the article a credible source of information regarding the issue of language formation and use. Logos Zanuttini appeals to logic by using evidence of the negative comments that people make regarding their peers’ use of negative concords. The reader may not understand the author’s views without the use of evidence. For instance, Zanuttini claims that comments such as â€Å"I cannot stand it when people say aks† are prejudicial and reveal that the person uttering them has a problem with the speaker and not the language (1). By giving an example of the negative comments, the author appeals to the logic of the readers to make them see her basis for the argument that prejudices cloud the judgment of the people that correct the others grammar. The author also appeals to logic by using evidence from Mark Baker’s â€Å"Atoms of Language† to back up her claims. She claims that language should be treated as bread given that it varies across cultures. Zanuttini agrees with Baker that grammar has hidden rules that are different across languages (2). Based on the agreement, the author suggests that there is no illogical language and that using ones language interpretation as a recipe to form English grammar is an indication of creativity. Zanuttin uses the analogy of bread to argue her point by claiming that there are many types of bread but people feel that some types are appropriate than others based on the recipe (2). Similarly, she suggests that those that use language are free to feel comfortable with certain uses of grammar and allow others to practise what they know. By arguing that no variety of English distorts other varieties, the author appeals to the reader’s logic in that those that use negative concords do not vary the grammar applied by those that do not use double negatives. Since people do not force others to take their preferred bread, then they should not use negative comments to discredit the grammar that others apply. Pathos The analogy of bread that Zanuttini uses in the article can make the reader laugh as an expression of emotions. She claims that language recipes differ minimally from each other (Zanuttini 2). The reader may think that the speakers of English literally cook the language before they speak it. The appeal to emotions helps the writer to strike the reader’s thinking to relate the analogy of bread with English language. The author’s claim that people that criticize others’ grammar say that using double negatives â€Å"sounds stupid† appeals to anger (Zanuttini 1). The author sets the reader’s emotions to hate the critics of bad grammar from the beginning of the article. Therefore, the appeal to emotions helps the author to convince the reader to agree with her. Conclusion Zanuttini effectively appeals to ethics by showing her understanding of linguistics given her analysis of metathesis. The author presents herself as a credible source by highlighting claims that show her experience with critics of bad grammar. She effectively uses evidence from other sources to back up her claims. Interestingly, Zanuttini appeals to the reader’s emotions to set them against the proponents of good grammar. Thus, the article reveals the author’s ability to appeal to the relevant rhetorical elements to win the support of the reader.

Discuss Jan Gossaerts treatment of the classical nude figure Essay

Discuss Jan Gossaerts treatment of the classical nude figure - Essay Example ddition, in 1508, he visited Rome and returned with visions of bare flesh, erotic vigor and Adam and Eve in the exact transition from naked to almost nude. This pleased his patron Philip of Burgundy who asked him to make portraits of girls for his walls. However, not everybody was pleased with the explicit portraits of Adam and Eve such as the diarist John Evelyn, and they started criticizing Gossaert’s work. Nevertheless, Gossaert continued to make more nude figures despite the criticism and his exhibition has received more than eighty works from all over the world. This paper will discuss John Gossaert’s treatment of classical nude figure in the renaissance art of the period1400-1550. The admiration for Gossaert’s intriguing works of art from Van Mander and Durer make it frustrating that there is quite a few drawings and painting that can be linked to him. He mostly worked alone although is said to have collaborated with a few other landscape painters and other artists such as Gerald David. According to Elkins (2008; p.42), Gossaert excelled particularly in making single panel paintings and portraits, which were about half of his work. Most of his work involved biblical and devotional themes such as those of the Virgin and Child, Adam and Eve, and some episode from the Passion of Christ among others (Grà ¶ssinger, 1997; P. 13). He also introduced mythological themes, which had nude figures with high eroticism. However, his treatment of nude figures was not limited to mythological themes only but was also essential in his devotional and biblical themes such as the drawings and paintings of the Virgin and Child and Adam and Eve. The biblical theme of Adam and Eve of 1520 shows the influence of Rome on Gossaert’s work. The painting gave Gossaert an opportunity to express the male and female nudes at a life size scale in some of his paintings. He impacts a biblical story of the origin of knowledge of sex through the two figures of Adam and Eve entangled in