Drama on Stage and Screen

Drama on Stage and Screen Numerous attempts have been made to create screen versions of William Shakespeare’s plays. This paper is aimed at discussing one of such adaptations, namely the movie Twelfth Night or What You Will directed by Trevor Nunn. The film-makers had to make the comedy accessible to the modern audience without oversimplifying its plot, language, and themes. This is the main challenge that they faced.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Drama on Stage and Screen specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In particular, they had to create a fast-paced plot and retain the most important scenes. Furthermore, it was necessary to make sure that the actions and motives of the main characters were fully understandable to the viewers. Finally, the film-makers had to retain the beauty of William Shakespeare’s verses. They had to bridge the gap between the author’s language and the language of the audience. Despite the challenge s, this screen adaptation succeeds one of the main themes explored by the playwright, for example the artificial nature of gender differences. This is why Trevor Nunn’s film is a good adaptation of William Shakespeare’s comedy and it is worth attention. First of all, Trevor Nunn wanted to make sure that the audience could easily of the movie the plot of the movie; this is why he rearranged the scenes and added new ones. It should be noted that Shakespeare’s play starts immediately on the island of Illyria. The author describes the conversation between Orsino and Curio (Shakespeare 1). Only later the readers can fully grasp the twists of the plot and the comedy of errors. In contrast, the film opens with the description of Viola and Sebastian’s voyage and the subsequent shipwreck (Twelfth Night: Or What You Will). In this way, the film-makers tried to emphasize the point that the brother and sister were separated by a certain irresistible force. Later they have to confront different comic situations that could be explained by errors and misunderstanding. Moreover, Trevor Nunn decided to incorporate the voice-over narration in the movie. The narration is told by Feste’s who knows more about actions and intentions of other people (Twelfth Night or What You Will). Overall, Feste can be called an omniscient character. One can say that in this way, the film-makers attempted to unify different scene of the Shakespeare’s play. Overall, Trevor Nunn managed to make the following scenes and dialogues more lucid. Therefore, by introducing the third-person narration they were better able to achieve this goal.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore, the creators of the film tried to describe a social and cultural environment that could be more understandable to contemporary viewers. To order to Shakespeare’s plays, readers and viewers have to have some background knowledge of the Elizabethan society, its norms and values. These norms may not be familiar to modern viewers. This is one of the reasons why the action takes places in the nineteenth century Europe, rather than Elizabethan period. Even the main character’s clothing indicates that they could not possible live in the sixteen or seventeenth century England (Twelfth Night: Or What You Will). Besides, one can mention the film contains the music of the Edwardian era (Brusberg-Kiermeier and Helbig 156). This is a direct reference to the nineteenth century England. In this way, the film-makers were able to show that the situations described by William Shakespeare’s play can be applicable to people who live in different societies and cultures. This is why this movie can be regarded as a success. Thus, one has to admit that Trevor Nunn had to make some alterations in the plot and setting; nevertheless, these changes did n ot prevent the film-makers from exploring the main theme of the comedy, in particular, the artificial nature of gender roles and common stereotypes about men and women. This is why this screen version is worth considering. Secondly, the creators of the film had to remain within certain time limits that are set for commercial movies. Certainly, these limits are not strictly determined by some external authority, but directors have to remember that it is difficult to keep the viewers’ attention if the movie lasts for more three hours. This is another challenge that Trevor Nunn had to face while adapting the movie. Shakespeare’s play includes five acts and nineteen scenes. It could be difficult to include all of them into the film. This is why some scenes were excluded from the movie, for instance, the first conversation between Orsino and Curio. One should bear in mind that this movie lasts for 134 minutes. By strictly following Shakespeare’s play, Trevor Nunn wou ld have exceeded the time limits. Overall, one can say that the plot of this film is very fast-paced and it keeps the attention of the audience. This is this film enjoys popularity among many viewers. So, Trevor Nunn’s editing decisions were quite successful. His movie can give viewers a good idea about the original text and this is one of its main advantages.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Drama on Stage and Screen specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another aspect that should be discussed is the difference between the language of William Shakespeare and the language used in the movie. While writing his plays, William Shakespeare used words and expressions that could be understandable to people living in the Elizabethan society, but they may be misinterpreted by contemporary speakers of English. For instance, the place contains such as a phrase â€Å"I have taken great pains to con it† (Shakespeare 50). In contrast, the film-makers decided to substitute the verb â€Å"con† for â€Å"learn† (Twelfth Night: Or What You Will). The thing is that at the time of Shakespeare the verb â€Å"to con† did not have a negative meaning of fraud or swindle. This example indicates that Shakespearian language should be sometimes altered or adjusted; otherwise, modern viewers can misinterpret his line. Therefore, Trevor Nunn and his colleagues had to make sure that dialogues are properly understood by contemporary viewers. However, the director remained more or less faithful to Shakespeare’s language, and the viewers can appreciate the beauty of the verse. So, one should not suppose that Trevor Nunn completely modernized the original text of Shakespeare’s comedy. Thus, the screen adaptation proved to be successful, at least to some degree. Nevertheless, these differences do not mean that this film is inferior to the play. One should remember that the behavior of c haracters is expressed differently on stage and screen. For example, contemporary cinematographers can visualize the tempest mentioned by William Shakespeare in his play. There are several aspects of the film that make it worth attention. In particular, one can speak about the performance of Imogen Stubbs, Toby Stephen and Helena Bonham Carter. They perfectly impersonated Viola, Orsino, and Olivia. Special attention should be paid to Imogen Stubbs and Toby Stephen who were able to describe the comic situations arising out of the similarity between the brother and sister. Overall, these performers are able to reflect the experiences of the siblings. Additionally, one should not forget about the performance of Helena Bonham Carter who plays Olivia. This actress shows how love can affect and transform even the most reticent and reserved person. Skillful performance is probably the main strength of the film because actors were able to render the motives behind the behavior of the main c haracters.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They were able to convey Shakespeare’s irony and the complexity of his characters. These actors greatly contributed to the success of the film. As it has been noted before, this adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy retained the vibrancy of the original text. This is another reason why this movie achieved critical recognition and popularity among viewers. Overall, one can argue that Trevor Nunn and his colleagues were able to overcome the challenges related to the screen adaptation. There are some differences between the original text and its screen adaptation, but these differences do not prevent the viewers from enjoying William Shakespeare’s ideas and language. The movie was successful in rendering the authors’ sense of comedy and paradox. Moreover, the actors were able to convey the beauty of the original text and the complexity of the character’s behavior. The sexuality plays an important part in the film. Trevor Nunn was able to demonstrate that in many cases, gender differences are social constructs that have nothing to do with the internal traits of a person. So, Trevor Nunn’s adaptation is a good attempt to translate Shakespeare’s comedy into the language of cinematography. Brusberg-Kiermeier, Stefani, and J. Helbig. Shakespeare in the Media: From the  Globe Theatre to the World Wide Web, New York: Peter Lang, 2010. Print. Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, New York: Harold Bloom, 2007. Print. Twelfth Night: Or What You Will. Ex. Prod. Stephen Evans. London: BBC Films. 1996. DVD.

How to Convince Your Team to Use (And Love) CoSchedule

How to Convince Your Team to Use (And Love) So you’re feeling pretty great. Why? Because you FINALLY found a new, shiny, amazing tool that’s gonna save your life. (Hint: It’s ). Now all you gotta do is convince your team to hop on board. The problem:  They are tough to convince. Change-averse. Old school. â€Å"Don’t have the time.† Basically, you’ve got a TOUGH sell ahead of you.  (Whatever your reason may be). BUT luckily the peeps here at decided to do the hard work for you. After researching the best tactics to convince others and conducting interviews with REAL customers who’ve struggled to convince their teams†¦ we’ve put together a plan (AND a presentation template for you to use) that’s going to make this process a whole lot LESS painful. How to Convince Your Team to Love (And Use) @Part 1: Become The Expert You’ve finally found the tool thats about to change your (work) life.  BUT in order to convince your team effectively, youve got to  become the EXPERT in everything that is . Why? Because you gotta be ready for the pushback, so you need to equip yourself with data, facts, and plenty of â€Å"how-to’s.† To get you equipped with all the knowledge you need, we’re going to jump right into the how-to’s and highlights of . Plus, at the end of each section, we’ve prepared some handy talking points for you  so you can easily summarize the highlights when you start talking to your team. Highlight #1: Consolidation (AKA Your One-Stop Marketing Shop) You already know this, but one of the best time-saving aspects of is the ability to CONSOLIDATE. You can finally say goodbye to that planning spreadsheet that is growing more unwieldy by the day. No more copy/paste. No more overwhelming tabs open on your computer. It’s everything you need, in one easy-to-use marketing hub. The first aspect you should get comfortable with isMarketing Campaigns. This feature will become your go-to for proactively planning roadmaps and allocating (+ maximizing) resources effectively. Plus, Marketing Campaigns eliminates all that wasted time that people spend tracking down content, which means more time can be spent on the EXECUTION of projects. To start, choose the project option called Marketing Campaigns. Its the top item on the list when adding a new project to your calendar. Next, add a title to your marketing campaign, color labels, as well as start and end dates. Next, add each individual content item to your project – from emails to social campaigns, to podcasts and blog posts. Everything that needs to go live as a part of this wider marketing project can all be coordinated directly in . So to recap, why is marketing campaigns so great? Answer:  It takes organizing the next marketing campaign, feature launch, event, etc., to the next level. And ALL smart marketers are serious fans of anything to make organization easier. Next up KANBAN and TEAM MANAGEMENT DASHBOARD. These babies are amazing (and you probs agree) because†¦ you can collaborate better AND save time. No more endless status updates and lost time tracking down whos doing what and when. Enter Team Management Dashboard.   It gives you a granular peek at all the individual tasks each member of your team is responsible for on any given day. You can see real-time updated as tasks are checked off and when items get missed. So your project timelines will never fall-apart due to missed deadlines or dropped balls. Say someones on vacation or out sick, the team management dashboard makes it easy to reshuffle workload and reassign tasks with drag and drop functionality. Your team will thank you because theyll know exactly where to turn every day to know what they need to get done for the day. Zero meetings necessary. Just their tasks and priorities clearly visualized in an easy dashboard. Heres how to find your Team Management Dashboard in . Step 1: Hover over the hamburger menu in the top left-hand corner. Step 2: On the bottom left-hand side, youll see an option called team. Step 3:  Easily see every task and project your team is working on, as well as a status bar to quickly see how far along a project is. The next linchpin to getting all your marketing projects organized is the Kanban view. Hover over the hamburger menu and choose the project option. The Kanban view can be customized to your unique workflow. You and everyone on your team will be able to see what stage every project is in and know when it moves from one stage to the next. Yep, it’s that easy. Basically, your team is going to start falling in love with the tool as much as you. And with that†¦ You have finally earned your first talking point: Consolidate your marketing toolset AND workflow. Create a unified workflow for every project with ’s all in one marketing calendar. Proactively plan out your entire roadmap, get real-time visibility, and maximize your resources inside a collaborative, cross-functional calendar for it all! So now that we’ve covered how consolidates your marketing process, you’re one step closer to being a champion. Highlight #2: Communication [is Key] Anyone that’s ever been in a fast-moving team knows that half the battle is clear communication. Heck, just communication AT ALL. You’re all so busy you’re lucky just to turn in that project update on time. And that’s where will really start to resonate with your teammates. So, let’s dig into how makes communication about 1000X easier. Firstlet’s talk about consistent team workflows.  (Because who doesn’t love a good, effective workflowam I right?!) The highlights: Plan and assign tasks and get your content approved and published Execute faster across distributed teams Keep your team members up to date, and avoid email! Know the exact stage of each [and every] project The biggest sell here is that your team can actually build project workflows right into the team calendar. Next on the list is how to build a workflow: Open a new piece of content Select the task template icon and +New Template Name your template, and hit Next Add each of your tasks Assign each task to a team member Establish the # of days before or after publish that the task is due You’re all set to Sell the magic that is workflow templates (and honestly, the beauty that is assigning tasks) and Know how to create them like a pro. So, to continue with the awesome communication features within . Let’s talk about CHAT.  Basically, in-app chat eliminates all the wasted time  spent combing through an inbox searching for a project update. So within each project, there is a tab where all involved team members can give updates or leave notes for the group. So here’s how to access and use chat: Head into any piece of content On the right side of the screen, click the message icon  tab And BOOM. You can start chit-chattin’ away. You can even attach documents directly in the discussion feature. And if your team is constantly buried in emailsthis is going to be a major selling point. (Just THINK of all the hours everyone spends searching their inbox!) Another communication feature is the ability to add discussion directly in social messages. We know making changes to social images, copy etc. can mean a lot of back and forth. Maybe youve even tried to send screenshots of social messages back and forth for approval. Thats not ideal. To start, open your social campaign or individual social message and choose the conversation bubble at the bottom of the post. Then, @ mention someone with the desired changes. No back and forth. No screenshots. Just collaborating and planning social media messages made easy. So now that you’re a communicating-in-pro, here’s your second talking point: Execute faster across distributed teams. Stay in the loop on every project without getting stuck in the weeds of searching a lengthy email chain or cluttered inbox. Easily share files, comments, and project details with everyone directly within . Highlight #3: Get To Know The [Amazing] Social Tools So now that you’re already well on your way to becoming a expert we’re going to talk about the social tools. (Because you know that your team is going to LOVE them.) First, here’s how to build a social campaign: Head to your master calendar view Click the  + to access content types Select  Social Campaign Add the link you want to promote Plan ALL your messages for every social network Also, be sure to explain that you can add a social campaign to ANY piece of content, so your social media messages are no longer disconnected from the actual project. One less tool to manage and your social media manager can finally have the full picture behind their social messages. 👠 Simply head into the piece of content you want to promote, and start adding in messages in the Social Campaign section  of the editor. Next upsocial templates and social helpers! Here’s the how-to for  setting up social templates: Open a piece of content Select the social template icon within the Social Campaign section Select + New Template  and give your template a name Customize it to incorporate any of your social profiles Build a schedule that shares your content for days, weeks or even MONTHS For a more detailed how-to, check out our Social Templates Help Doc  :) Can you feel the time-savings yet?! Now, here’s how to create a social helper: Head into any social campaign Select the social helper icon, and click +New Helper From here, you can create standard social helpers (synced from WordPress) or custom text helpers, image helpers, or even video helpers Need a more detailed run-down? Head to our Social Helpers Help Doc  :) And now that you know how to set those up it will be 1000X easier to explain to your team that they are going to save TONS of man hours with . The last piece? ReQueue: the most intelligent way to automate your social media. Here’s a sweet video to show your team how ReQueue to optimizes your social strategy:    As far as actually setting it up, here’s the lowdown: Head to the ReQueue dashboard in your calendar menu Create a ReQueue group Add any messages associated with the group Let take care of the rest So now that you’ve earned your third talking point: Boost engagement with powerful  social media tools. Improve your overall brand strategy with ’s powerful social promotion. Keep everything in one place, schedule dozens of social messages in seconds, and collaborate with your team using built-in approval based workflows! Highlight #4: Prove Your ROI (Finally) One of the biggest challenges that marketing teams face is proving their ROI. It’s hard to track everything and honestly  it’s tedious. The analytics struggle is real and if your team is willing to admit it’s pretty un-fun and they want something that can make it all better†¦ Then they are going to be PUMPED about the Top Content Report, the Social Engagement Report, and  the Team Performance Report. First, head to your calendar menu and select Analytics. So now that you know where to find your reportslet’s get into the nitty-gritty of what each report means and how you can customize them to your advantage: Top Project Report Description: See ALL your most popular content and compare your performance. This report helps you  find and easily re-share your most engaging content. Social Engagement Report Description: See the performance of each social network, account, and specific messages. How to Customize: Set a date range. Search for a specific message. Select overall engagement, or view engagement by each social network. Select overall top messages, or top messages by network.Team Performance Report Description: Get a snapshot of your team’s entire performance, performance by project, or the performance of a specific team member. How to Customize: Set a date range Search for a specific project, piece of content, or team member. Select a specific team member and view a granular view of their performance (including all completed, overdue or incomplete tasks)And with that†¦ Here’s your final talking point: Prove your ROI with data-driven results. No more warm fuzzies! Prove the value of all your hard work with real data. Utilize ’s most advanced analytics to measure your success! Part 2:   Convince Your Team So now you’re a expert. Plus, you’re armed with some pretty thorough + effective talking points. Which means it’s time to move onto the next and most difficult step in the process†¦ convincing your team. We’ve laid out a 3-step process for you, along with a few resources (like this  sweet presentation template), to get your team on the train. Step 1: Convert Some Allies Before you can show the whole team  whatcha got, you need to find some allies. Because if you can initially convince just a couple of people that is *the* tool. So the first step is to identify your potential allies. For example, your coworker who always has your back or that one person who is always talking about efficiency. Next, show them this vid: Step 2: Share With The Rest Of Your Team Okay. So you’ve done EVERYTHING right up to this point. *two thumbs up* But now it’s time to share with the rest of your team. First, identify the way you want to position . For example, if your team is ALWAYS short on time†¦ or just plain overworked. Or, if your team is sick and tired of the overwhelming amount of tools they have to use to get their job done. Here’s a list of potential concerns that you might hear from your team, and the response you can give them: Step 3: Start Settin’ It Up THE FINAL STEP. To complete the whole â€Å"convincing your team† process you’ve got to get people to try the tool. Let them realize how AMAZING by having them try the tool. And if people are still hesitant about it (because they still aren’t totally sold on the idea), you can say â€Å"we are just trying it out right now.† Take the time to help them with any issue they may be experiencing. And if you can’t figure it out, you can direct them to this link  and we’ll make sure to answer their question. Remember: We’re here for ya. So to recap: First, you need to take the time to LEARN the ins-and-outs of . Next, you can use the 3-step process (and this handy presentation  template) to *strategically* convince your team that is the tool they never knew they needed.

Will China Be The Next Superpower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Will China Be The Next Superpower - Essay Example China will be the next super power as it is the biggest Asian country and has emerged magnificently economically all around the globe. The pros of China becoming the next super power support their discussion through means of economy, trade, and technology and labor force. By nominal GDP, China is the second largest economy with a growth rate average of almost double figures for over three decades. It is the fastest growing economy, and it is concluded by many analysts that by the year 2020, it will be the largest economy of the world surpassing its rival country. America’s growth rate in comparison with China is very low, and it is also indulged in two wars, which makes it impossible to compete and lose its lead soon. In the trade, China is the largest exporter and second largest importer, which enhance its Balance of Trade, which is fruitful for its economy. China is also in contract with many other nations and does free trade with them, which increases its imports and exports and develops good relations with them. It has made prompt advancement in areas like infrastructure and high-tech manufacturing. In recent decades, China has also developed swiftly in science and technology with the help of its government, as it is considered socio-economic development of the country and also its national prestige. China is the most populous country, with the largest labor force, which helps the boom in their economy and is one of the reasons that will lead China in becoming the next super power. The people who are in favor to the debate that China will become the next super power give the above reasons for their support, as they are certainly the pros towards the topic. The group of cons of this topic strongly feels that China will not leave behind America and become the next super power. They believe that nations cannot become a super power

Justice and Home Affairs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Justice and Home Affairs - Essay Example An intergovernmental and supranational union of 25 democratic countries , the European Union was founded under that name in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). Nevertheless, several aspects of the Union did exist prior to that date through a series of predecessor relationships, which dates back to 1951. Today, the Union has a common single market, which consist of a customs union, a single currency (the euro) managed by the European Central Bank (adopted by 12 of the 25 member states), a Common Agricultural Policy, a common trade policy, a Common Fisheries Policy, and a Common Foreign and Security Policy. Passport and customs checks were done away with at most of the EU's internal borders, creating a single space of mobility for EU citizens to live, travel, work and invest. Justice ministers and Interior ministers are brought together by the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and Interior ministers almost once every two months to talk about the development and enforcement of cooperation and common policies in this area. The creation of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, is a main objective of the EU Treaty. Majority of the things in this field are unanimously decided with a consultation of the European Parliament. ... In 1990, Germany, France and the Benelux countries signed the Schengen Agreement, which was a major step toward cooperation among the Member States in this area. In the years that followed, many Member States acceded to the Schengen Agreement. The objective of the agreement was to introduce genuine freedom of movement of persons without being controlled at internal borders, while providing for desperate measures in the areas of external border controls, visa policy, police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal affairs. The Treaty on European Union, enforced in November 1993, took a further step by including Justice and Home Affairs in its institutional framework, thus adding a further dimension to the construction of Europe. In May 1999 the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty included the Schengen rules into the institutional framework of the European Union. One of the major aims of the Treaty is to retain and develop the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice, in which there would be free movement for individuals coupled with appropriate measures relating to the control of external borders, asylum, immigration, as well as the prevention and fight against crime. The Maastricht Treaty on European Union, which was enforced in 1993, came up with a new legal basis for police and judicial cooperation as well as cooperation in home affairs by completing the Community structure with a third pillar. Cooperation encompasses seven areas of common interest: asylum, the crossing of external borders, immigration, fight against drugs and drug addiction, battling international scam, judicial cooperation in civil and criminal affairs and police and customs cooperation. Because these are often extremely sensitive spheres,

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Essay Example for Free

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Essay Laotong: type of relationship within the Chinese culture that bonded two girls together for eternity as kindred sisters. Lisa See’s novel, â€Å"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan†, takes us through the journey of 19th- century Chine in which girls had their feet found, meaning crushing their bones to the size of lily flowers. This ritual was considered beauty for a women and a thrilling sensation for men to look at. Staring the binding at the age of six and excruciating painful process that took two years to complete, Lily tells her story as an eighty year old woman. Lily was the second daughter to a poor farming family, but later encounters the privilege to be married out to a wealthy family in the village of Tongkou. Lily was married out to a wealthy noble man, whom she might have loved. But Lily had no bigger love other than her laotong, sworn sister, Snow Flower. The two were matched together at the age of seven, when together they promised each other, through a contract that they would always be laotong. Both endured the agony of footbinding, married out and shared their most inner thoughts and loving ways of motherhood. Lisa See writes delicately, telling the life of these two remarkable girls on their journey to pleasing their husbands, and mother in laws. Love and Friendship keep Snow Flower’s and Lily’s spirits alive when they are not together. Once married out, they didn’t see each other as often as they would have loved to, but their thoughts were jotted down in a silk fan, which included their whole journey together written in nu shu-secret writing for women. Lily and Snow Flower become â€Å"old same†, perfect match. Even though Snow Flower came from a higher family , Snow Flower was married out to a butcher, her first son was weak, and her second passed away. Her husband beats her and her mother in law was cruel. Hoping sympathy from her laotong, Snow Flower gets criticism and â€Å"just keep trying† in return. As Snow Flower arouses new friends, Lily finds this as betrayal; therefore Lily stops any communication with Snow Flower, leaving her devastated, and empty. Even though Lily and Snow Flower experienced happiness, tragedies, and different events, Lily felt betrayed by her laotong so Lily keeps her distance and stops writing back. As Snow Flower’s death approaches Lily goes to Snow Flower and rejoins her, later discovering that Snow Flower did not become a sworn sister, like Lily thought, therefore there was no betrayal. As and eighty year old, Lily remembers Snow Flower. Trying to condemn her mistake Lily watches over Snow Flower’s children, as much as she can like she promised Snow Flower on her death bed. Lily calls out to Snow Flower even after she is dead. â€Å"But if the dead continue to have the needs and desire of the living, then I’m reaching out to Snow Flower†¦. Please hear my words. Please forgive me. † Snow Flower and the Secret Fan keeps the story plot alive, maintaining the theme of love and friendship, always feeling like you are reading Lily’s personal diary. Reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See does a remarkable job of taking you back in time to your childhood friends. I wonder if Lisa See wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan thinking of a close friend as well. Also, I would have loved if somewhere in the book, an entry or a piece of writing from Snow Flower was discovered so we can learn more about her own inner thoughts. In my opinion, this book is full of perfection. Throughout the book I recalled my sister. The bond that we share was very similar to the one of these â€Å"mandarin ducks†. What if Snow Flower’s father had not taken the pipe? Would she and Lily still be matched as soul sisters? Lisa See’s style of writing is a master piece in this book. Like The Washington Post Book World reviewed, â€Å" A triumph on every level, a beautiful, heartbreaking story. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan fascinated me. I recommend this book for the soul that understands what it feels like to love someone as much as you love yourself. Filled with different emotions that make you feel and experience the different obstacles that are brought upon Lily and Snow Flower. It is defiantly a love story. However, it is more than that. It involves friendship, kindness, understanding, and tragedy all in one read. â€Å"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is fascinating. †- The Indianapolis Star.

Comparing Four Electronic Tuners Essay -- Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing Four Electronic Tuners One in every 10,000 Unites States citizens are born with what doctors refer to as perfect pitch and those born with this ability are able to accurately identify any note they hear. In other words, a person with pitch perfect has built-in tonal memory that allows them to correctly label pitches. Unfortunately, most musicians lack this ability, and they work very hard to develop what is known as relative pitch. Relative pitch refers to a musician’s ability to identify pitches in relation to one or two memorized pitches. Therefore a person with relative pitch might memorize what an â€Å"A† sounds like and use that pitch as a marker to identify additional pitches heard. Unlike perfect pitch, relative pitch is not instantaneous, and it can become compromised if the musician does not continue to practice the skill. Fortunately, technology is making it far easier for musicians to strive for the perfection expected of live music today, and where once musicians had to rel y entirely on their own senses to identify and play pitches in tune, devices known as tuners are helping to correct and develop the occasionally unreliable senses of humans. A tuner is simply electronic device that can except an audio input and translate it into some type of visual aid for the musician. The most common displays consist of either a strobe or some sort of LED/LCD display that indicates the pitch played and whether or not the pitch is accurate. The accuracy of the pitch is measured in cents. For instance if a ‘C’ is played into the tuner, twenty cents sharp would mean that on a scale of 0 – 100, the pitch being played is 20/100 or 1/5 higher than what is considered to be an accurate ‘C’. This also implies that the... ...ge where as the Seiko and Korg have no such guarantees. When evaluated on sensitivity, the Peterson is the clear winner of the four. Finally, it is difficult to objectively rate the value of each tuner. Certain features are more important and useful to some individuals while not to others. Therefore what may seem like a reasonable price to one person may seem unreasonable to another. However, it seems that the Sabine is the best product for the price it is being sold at ($29.99). Despite the fact that it is the only tuner that has a sub 8-octave range, it features a built-in metronome which when bought separately would most likely cost $35.00 (price of a metronome with comparable features). Therefore the recommended personal tuner is the Sabine tuner/metronome. For supplemental photos, tables, and graphs, please see the accompanying PowerPoint slideshow.

Performance Management systems Essay

1. What is the main goal of a Performance Management System? Performance management systems are designed to improve both individual and organisational performance by identifying what skills are needed to perform a role, providing regular feedback and assisting the employees in their career development. The overall aim is to equip staff with the competencies and commitment to deliver on shared organisational goals . 2. Why is it necessary to develop and implement a Performance Management System? A well developed performance management system assist to develop staff and can result in significantly improved output and performance, which ultimately leads to improved results for the organisation. Without a well developed and implemented performance management system, an organisation can risk poor staff performance and a high turnover of staff due to lack of support. 3. What are the three stages of Performance Management? †¢ planning for performance – setting performance goals, establishing performance standards and setting performance expectations, identifying developmental goals in work (action) plans †¢ performance appraisal – observing, documenting and assessing performance †¢ performance improvement – providing regular feedback, review performance appraisal, rewarding excellent performance 4. List the four groups who are involved in Performance Management? †¢ your team †¢ you, as a supervisor †¢ human resource professional †¢ union representatives. 5. Why is it necessary to ensure that performance management and review processes are consistent with business objectives and policies? Staff performance plans must be based on the overall aims and objectives of the organisation so as to ensure that each staff member is working cohesively towards the same goal. They must also adhere to organisational policies so as to ensure that they are fair and consistent across the organisation. This also assures that they comply with legislation (that is, presuming that the policies set out stipulate this). 6. Write a paragraph explaining why you think performance evaluations are necessary and the method/s that you consider best to be utilized. I think the importance of performance evaluations is twofold. In my experience, working in an extremely under-resourced organisation, it has been very difficult for me in the past to gain feedback from my supervisors about my performance. One to one time with a manager is rare. This has at times resulted in frustration because I have felt as though I have not been able to gain direction in my work. I fear that at times this may be the case for the staff that I supervise also. Therefore, I believe that on one level performance management systems are extremely important as a method of support for staff. On a more obvious note, performance management systems can also lead to improved output and performance of individuals, which ultimately leads to improved results for the organisation. In terms of what method I believe to be most effective, I believe that there are some core principles that must be followed. The plans should be developed with staff so as to ensure owndership, implementation must be consistent and timely (3 month reviews shouldn’t be undertaken at 7 months! ). 7. Why is it important that both managers and employees receive suitable training in how to handle performance review interviews? Without training about how to handle performance review interviews, there is a very big risk that the appraisal will not be effective and even more concerning is that it could prove counterproductive and damage the supervisor/employee relationship. Training equips managers and team leaders with skills to conduct positive appraisals. It assist employees to understand the new relationships and how performance issues are openly discussed and resolved. Training sessions also can assist employee to see how their work links to the goals of the organisation. 8. Explain why and how often you think performance appraisals should be held? I believe performance appraisals should be held after 3 months in a role and then every 6 months following this. I write this in the context of the organisation for which I work. One to one time with your manager is difficult in our organisation and I believe that in the past this has led to staff feeling very unsupported. There has been quite a high turnover of staff in some programs and I believe that this could be addressed by stronger support systems in place from management. While some may argue that appraisals at such regular intervals can be difficult for managers to implement due to time constraints, I believe firmly that this investment will be returned in increased staff output. 9. Why is it important to recognize the contribution of your work group members and why should you do this? Recognising the contribution of group members is an important method of motivating staff. It reinforces positive contributions and shows their importance to the organisation. If the contribution of staff members is not recognised, it risks losing the motivation of a team who may feel that their work is for no purpose and is not appreciated. We all need a thanks! 10. List three pieces of legislation that are related to performance management †¢ Fair Work Act (2009) †¢ Workplace Health and Safety Act (1995) †¢ Awards/Enterprise Bargaining Agreements/Union Collective Agreements. 11. How would you devise a training plan incorporating both monitoring and coaching for individuals with poor performance? It is important to spend time to time to try and understand why a staff member may have poor performance. This is important in determining what action to take – be that formal training or coaching. The following points – from the course book – I would certainly include in any coaching I was to undertake: †¢Good coaches challenge employees and ask questions that help the employee to discover how to improve. †¢Coach when you wish to focus attention on any specific aspect of the employee’s performance. †¢A coaching meeting should focus on just one or two aspects of performance. †¢Any more than that and employees won’t remember the main impact of your meeting. †¢Keep coaching conversations brief and between 5 to 10 minutes long. †¢Being an effective coach requires understanding what motivates the members of your team. Remember that people are motivated in different ways. Be sensitive to the things that drive your people to perform. †¢When things are performing well, take the time to understand what is working and why. †¢Good coaching is guiding, not telling or doing. †¢Allow the employee to own the problem and its solutions. Ask them: ‘How finally feels as though she is getting somewhere. In terms of monitoring, I would plan more regular catch ups with the staff member (perhaps monthly) to discuss progress. I would continue to implement reviews at the times stipulated by organisational policy. I would also ask for regular feedback from the staff member. 12. How can you provide support services if required? †¢Provide details of union representatives †¢HR representative details †¢Training options †¢Set up future one-to-one meetings †¢Work manuals †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"buddy† system in which staff member is teed up with competent staff member 13. If the individual continues to perform below expectations what process would be necessary to implement? If the poor performance continues, it may be necessary to give a written warning to the staff member. This is discussed further in question 20. 14. Why is it necessary to document and record performance? Documenting and recording performance can lower the risk if a person chooses to challenge a negative appraisal. Holding records of poor performance may assist to cover an organisation legally if the employee raises an unfair dismissal claim Documenting good performance is also important so as to avoid claims of favouritism for example of undeserving staff members. Documenting performance also makes it much easier when the time for appraisals comes around, particularly for managers who are managing a large number of staff. 15. Explain the term â€Å"interpersonal conflict† Interpersonal conflict is the most apparent form of conflict for workplace participants. It is a disagreement or differing views between two or more people over a particular idea, thought, or action.. Also language and personality styles often clash, which can create conflict in the workplace. ref http://www. mediate. com/articles/donaisB2. cfm 16. How does interpersonal conflict affect the workplace? Interpersonal conflict is is easy enough to observe in the form of office politics, gossip, and rumours. It can lead to a negative work environment, with groups forming within the workplace. Unless these conflicts are resolved, they can lead to a very challenging and unfriendly workplace. In more extreme cases, interpersonal conflict can lead to charges of harassment and discrimination or at least the feeling that such things exist.