The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead AMC’s gritty and gruesome apocalyptic hit â€Å"The Walking Dead† places the blood thirsty, agonized groans of zombies right in our living rooms. The show follows a small group of survivors in the midst of a zombie apocalypse that has decimated some seventy-five percent of the population. The cable series which first premiered in 2010 made no bones about its weekly offering of flesh-eating, blood-splattered gore.The opening sequence of the pilot episode features a virus-ridden little girl being thrust into the pavement when former sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) shoots a bullet into her skull as he struggles to ward off her flesh-hungry zombie attack. â€Å"The Walking Dead† has since amassed quite the following of fans who rave in equal parts about the show’s violent and spine-tingling special effects and its subtle commentary on hope and the human condition.Watching the hour-long gorefest in which infected men, woman and even childr en are repeatedly shown receiving violent and bloody blows to the head, one cannot help but wonder, is â€Å"The Walking Dead’s† portrayal of violence harmful in its appeal to debased human interests or does it ultimately provide a hopeful look at the human spirit trying to survive in a bleak world? One look at primetime’s lineup of this or that network’s violent flavor of the week and it is not a stretch to surmise that the populace has not come very far since the gladiatorial games of the ancient Romans.From a macro perspective, humans love gratuitous violence. The media is inundated with copious images of cold killings and moral depravity that serve no other purpose but to shock the masses. Violence tends to equate to ratings, which in turn leads to the exposure of more violence. Studies have shown, however, that continued and prolonged exposure to horrific images, like those in â€Å"The Walking Dead†, is not necessarily without consequence. Ac cording to researchers Craig A. Anderson and Brad J.Bushman in the peer-reviewed â€Å"Effects of Media Violence on Society†, televised violence, as substantiated by six major professional societies in the United States including the American Psychiatric Association, is shown to adversely affect certain members of our society. Fictional violence across television waves has a very real human effect. The greater the exposure, the more pronounced the effect. Violent televised images, Anderson and Bushman continue, have been connected numerous times to a propensity towards violent behaviors such as assault, robbery and even childhood aggression (Anderson and Bushman).Given this research, it is therefore reasonable to conclude that â€Å"The Walking Dead† will not leave all of its viewers unfazed. In all of its gore, blood and killing, â€Å"The Walking Dead† is yet another piece of the violent puzzle that contributes to the aggression of many in our society. Even th ose who do not respond to the viewing of violence with aggression are likely to experience some effects from watching â€Å"The Walking Dead†. Prior to the opening of the show each week, viewers are provided with a parental advisory which reads, â€Å"This program contains violent images which may be too intense for some viewers.Viewer discretion is advised† (â€Å"The Walking Dead†). Disturbing images permeate the AMC hit drama. They are unsettling, unnatural and can lead to psychological trauma and fear. Current trends in media suggest our generation is obsessed with shows featuring a post apocalyptic world. We both fear and favor the dark. Like the tendency toward aggression that can be created from exposure to violence, other antisocial or anxiety related behaviors can manifest from such images. According to Dimitri A. Christakis and Frederick J.Zimmerman in â€Å"Violent Television Viewing During Preschool is Associated with Antisocial Behavior During Scho ol Age†, exposure to violence can also result in a variety of anti-social behaviors including depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies (Christakis and Zimmerman). Again, we see a strong correlation between media violence and behavior. Perhaps the biggest fear, however, concerning viewership of â€Å"The Walking Dead† is the possibility it has of eschewing one’s moral compass. Viewers continually watch protagonist Grimes and his cohorts violently kill and maim the walking dead without pause and vice versa.It leads one to wonder, if this prolonged exposure to killing without thought can also increase one’s own ability to exercise uncivil behavior without hesitation or remorse. If a society’s values are represented in what that society chooses to watch, should we be concerned that our viewing choices revolve around barbaric killer instincts? One too, however, could take the opposite look at what violent, post apocalyptic television, particularly â⠂¬Å"The Walking Dead†, reflects about our society.Many critics argue that â€Å"The Walking Dead† is ultimately a tale of one man’s struggle to create peace and unity for his family amidst a world of terror and strife. Our society’s interest in disaster and cataclysm is likely synonymous with our feelings of isolation and duress omnipresent in this modern and technological age. The violence shown in â€Å"The Walking Dead†Ã¢â‚¬â€the fight for survival, the loneliness, the internal struggles the characters face in response to the violence—can be compared to the challenges humans face every day.In this society in which modernism distances humans from nature, each other, and often a connection to what is genuinely important, it is easy to feel as though we are living in a dark world in which many of its inhabitants are out to attack us. Pop Matters television critic Jesse Hicks defends â€Å"The Walking Dead† as an important character st udy about modern man in the article â€Å"The Walking Dead: Blurring Lines†. Hicks explains that, like any good horror tale, â€Å"The Walking Dead† effectively scares with its use of monsters but more importantly balances this fear with â€Å"a search for answers, a way to remain decent among the ruins† (Hicks).Humans are calling out for more and more post apocalyptic examinations and thereby guides for how modern man can survive and ultimately succeed in a seemingly bleak world. Through all of its violence and grisliness, â€Å"The Walking Dead’s† dynamic characters and themes regarding a search for humanity among chaos do indeed offer such a guide. Among the layered personality struggles examined in â€Å"The Walking Dead† is Grimes’ and other characters’ quests to display bravery and self-sacrifice when faced with zombie attacks.The images are often unsettling and even at times shocking. However, the feelings conjured up by such startling images illuminate the magnitude of just how dire the surrounding circumstances are and just how difficult the decisions the characters make must be. Through the violence, we see Grimes do nearly anything to protect his family. He struggles with the decisions he makes—killing an infected child, taking the life of persons who could potentially threaten those dear to him, and abandoning his best friend.Grimes moral struggles to exhibit heroic character traits in the face of violence ultimately provides an uplifting tale of courage and principle regardless of how dire circumstances may appear. The violence in â€Å"The Walking Dead† might also provide some positive influences based on the various ways in which we watch different characters deal with that violence. Grimes’ opposing character, best friend and fellow officer Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), reacts to violence and aggression in stark contrast to Grimes. Grimes is slow to anger and tends to ma ke decisions based on morality and he interests of all involved parties. Walsh, on the other hand, takes a more pragmatic, militaristic view of violence and the challenges they face. While the two characters’ plights can be disturbing, acknowledging how they fail and succeed based on their interactions with violence offers thought provoking questions on how we as individuals can deal with violence and pressures. In Alan Sepinwall’s â€Å"The Walking Dead Review—Better Angels: What a Shane†, Sepinwall argues that in contrast to Grimes’ ultimately more ethical decisions â€Å"Walsh’s death was inevitable† (Sepinwall).While a zombie apocalypse is hopefully not in our imminent future, the ways in which we deal with violence, aggression and personal struggle surrounds each of us. Though it is important to give sufficient attention to how violence in the media is affecting us as both individuals and a society, the dynamic character developm ent as well as the various ethical questions raised by the violence in â€Å"The Walking Dead†, if viewed with care, ultimately offer a more positive than negative depiction of violence.Violence in television, if served with purposeful intent, is an effective storytelling device for displaying the difference between good and evil. â€Å"The Walking Dead† effectively makes the distinction between gratuitous violence and violence necessary for plot and character development. In an apocalyptic world of isolation and gory yet morally charged killings, a small band of survivors in â€Å"The Walking Dead† are fighters for good amidst evil and a model for those seeking modern interpretations of what it means to survive in the real, and sometimes seemingly bleak, world in which we all find ourselves.

Discuss the Theatrical Device Essay

‘Aadhe Adhure’ or ‘Halfway House’ has often been described as a cross between Naturalist Theatre and Theatre of the Absurd. Interestingly, both these elements actually undercut each other as theatrical movements and are said to have polarized western theatre. Naturalism argues for heredity and a global perspective on human behavior, which is said to develop out of the social environment in which a particular individual lives. On the contrary, Absurdism believes that there are no solutions to the mysteries of existence because ultimately man is alone, forced to perform repetitive actions in a world without meaning. This play has many elements of Naturalist theatre, including a linear movement, a limited time span, an in-depth psychological characterization and a defined beginning, middle and end. However, the opening line– â€Å"Once again, the same thing all over again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  firmly typecasts it as a part of Absurdist theatre, as from the start itself there is a hint at circularity of events and a hopelessness and banality defined by the repetition of the word ‘again’ in the short sentence. Mohan Rakesh borrowed a common device from the theatre of the Absurd and in ‘Aadhe Adhure’, for the first time in Indian theatre the same actor was used to play five characters. According to Rakesh, â€Å"The woman is the central character and I want the four men to be played by the same actor. What I want to indicate by that is that it’s not the individual who’s responsible for his situation, for he would have made the same choice no matter what, regardless of the situation. Any choice anyone makes has a certain irony in it, for things turn out the same regardless of the choice. † Though it was passed off by some critics as a gimmick employed by the playwright, its thematic relevance came to the fore when Rajinder Nath, contrary to his own views on the importance of the technique, directed the play using five different actors for the roles. The conclusion was felt to be severely lacking as the notion of inherent ‘similarity’ in all the men which underlines the climax of the play failed to have the same impact. Interestingly, though Savitri implies that it is beneath their appearance, that this ‘same man’ exists, the implication is only forceful for the  audience because of the simultaneous visual impact of one man playing different roles. According to Nath himself it was a powerful theatrical device â€Å"to show how according to one’s convenience the same man can put on different masks depending on the situation in which he is placed†. That the authorial view corroborates with this statement is clear from the prologue where the ‘Man in the black suit’ equates identity with fluidity and calls himself undefined. Each character, given a certain set of circumstances, can occupy the place of another. This also follows the assumption that there is no real development or evolution of character; the character at the beginning of the play will not be shaped differently by the situation, enforcing the idea of a universality of experience, that â€Å"things turning out the same regardless of choice†. The prologue defines the play as ‘amorphous’. The audience is told that there is a bit of each character in all of them. Those watching the play and even those outside the theatre. The characters are said to be people â€Å"you bump into by chance in the street† stressing the alienation of urban crowd from one another as the source of difference as well as similarity, since they are all nameless, faceless people who can easily get lost in a crowd comprising of the same. Therefore, one man can play five characters because they are, in essence, the same man. This likeness is reiterated by the naming of the characters in their dialogues, not individually, but rather as First Man, Second Man, etc. According to the Hindi version of the play, the Man in the Black Suit â€Å"has a look of civility with a touch of cynicism†; the face of the First man â€Å"expresses the helpless anguish of having lost the battle of life†; the Second Man is â€Å"self-satisfied and yet a little insecure†; the Third Man â€Å"projects an air of someone who is committed to a life of convenience†; and the Fourth Man â€Å"looks older, quite mature and shrewd†. They have different characteristics, lifestyles and manners of speech, yet according to critics Nita Kumar and N. S. Dharan, this device makes use of  the inherent notion of playacting which includes the concept of freedom; to pretend and be whatever one likes. Every man remains an actor and therefore, it is easy for him to put up a facade and to hide his interiority according to the demands of the situation. This concept is emphasized not by the fact that the same man plays all the characters, but rather by the fact that it is possible for the same man to play all the characters. Simply by changing his costume and facial expression, he manages to change into a different person entirely. Therefore, the assertion of the prologue of the interchangeability of these characters is understandable. The problematic element in the play arises out of the contention of the Man in the Black Suit that interchange of roles can take place not only between the men in the play but also between the man and the woman. This strikes a discordant note as, according to critic Arti Mathur, it negates Savitri’s gender-specific struggle against social constraints. One of the biggest contributions to the ‘sameness’ of the multiple characters is that they are all men. And men, by the patriarchal definition especially prevalent in urban middle-class India, have a certain societal role which leads to their convergence into one man. Irrespective of circumstances their position in society is defined while that of the woman is defined in relation to the man. However, the statement is not entirely wrong either as Savitri, as the breadwinner of the household is actually the ‘man of the house’. Every society has an economic base and a cultural superstructure, which is derived from the base. In Halfway House, the base has shifted and it is the wife who is economically independent, however, the tragedy of the ironically named Savitri lies in the fact that the superstructure has not shifted in accordance with the base. Mahendranath has not become the domestic centre just because of his confinement to the house; Savitri is still required to fulfill her ‘womanly’ domestic duties. She is defined by the context of what it means to be a woman and has internalized the patriarchal system. This is also made clear by Savitri’s contempt of what she believes is Mahendranath’s lack of manliness. She despises his dependency on herself as well as Juneja and constantly searches for escape routes through other, more suitable men. An element of unrealism is brought in, in which even the characters seem to be aware of an underlying similarity between the men, a device not available to them as characters. Askok’s sketch of Singhania leads Savitri to ask Binni if the portrait reminds her of someone, and on being asked, â€Å"Whom†, she replies â€Å"Your father. † This intermingling of the play and the outside elements draws attention to this device. There is irony in the fact that one of the ways in which these men are actually the ‘same’ is in their exploitation of Savitri. According to critic Veena Das, these characters are seldom all of a piece, they are the broken images of a decomposing society. Mahendranath is a self-described ‘parasite’ and is later shockingly revealed to be a former wife-beater. His inability to hold the position of the ‘head’ of the family has made him bitter and suspicious; suspecting his wife of illicit liaisons, which, although hinted at are never confirmed by the text. His ‘unmanliness’ makes Savitri lose all respect for him, till their marriage is reduced to a sham of public expectations. Singhania treats Savitri with condescension and his ‘favors’ are granted with an obvious air of patronization. His pompous manner and speech is calculated to make the listener feel inferior, a fact that is explicitly stated by Ashok. However, in Savitri’s eyes his position as her boss and his salary makes him ‘superior’ and she remains silent in face of his thinly-veiled innuendos and his humiliation positioning of her as â€Å"one of his child’s ‘aunties’†. His crude behavior is a caricature of the sexual exploitation that women have to deal with in work places. Jagmohan is introduced almost an antithesis of Mahendra. He is suave, successful, with a man-of-the-world air and is presented as the eleventh hour rescuer. He is the only outcome available to her from the â€Å"hell† that her house has become to her. However, this apparent proactive position loses much of its worth as it is weakened by the fact that she waits for Jagmohan to ‘fetch’ her. She overlooks his barbs at her expense and goes with him willingly, an act in defiance of society which is only rewarded by  rejection. Again, this seemingly perfect man is unable to provide her with emotional support or security. Her disillusioned return drives home the point that there is no escape route left available for her. The point of concern becomes the fact that though Savitri is an economically independent woman, her means of ‘escape’ from the house is linked to a man. Savitri, in her search for the â€Å"complete man† speaks in the language of patriarchy, as the concept of ‘masculinity’ is a derivative of society. Even though she is a ‘modern, independent’ woman, she is unable to cut off the suffocating patriarchal bonds of the environment in which she lives. The Fourth Man, Juneja is introduced onto the stage around this point. He gains the sympathy of the audience by showing kindness towards Kinni, a character who is almost absolutely neglected in the play. He comes as a voice of rationality; as an almost omniscient character. He seems to have intimate knowledge of both Savitri and Mahendranath, as well as their circumstances. His seems to be the projected authorial voice in the play. His looks and manner of speech is structured so as to make the audience favor his point-of-view and assessment of character. Juneja espouses the belief that to Savitri the meaning of life is â€Å"how many different things you can have and enjoy at the same time. † He lays the blame for the current situation of hopelessness squarely on her shoulder and her quest for the â€Å"complete man†. According to him the problem is not a social reality, but instead lies in the psychological realm. All of the men she encounters are incomplete and therefore her solution is multiplicity. Her way of filling her void is â€Å"excess†. And she is only attracted to men because, â€Å"they are not Mahendra. † According to Juneja, if she had married one of the men whom she is attracted to she would have still felt she had married the wrong man. Juneja brings in another element of unrealism by accurately recounting the encounter between Jagmohan and Savitri because â€Å"in his place I would have said the same†. Once again this brings forth the ‘sameness’ of these characters, as Juneja’s claim is validated by Savitri’s shattering  realization- â€Å"All of you†¦every one of you†¦all alike! Exactly the same. Different masks, but the face†¦? The same wretched face†¦every single one of you! † The tragedy of the realization is heightened by Juneja’s ruthless perusal- â€Å"And yet you felt you had a choice†¦? Was there really any choice? Tell me, was there? † In the above dialogues lies the greatest significance of that particular theatrical device. It brings out a clear dichotomy between the ideal and the real. What Savitri has been pursuing all along, the ‘ideal man’ does not in fact exist. The notion of her having had a ‘choice’ has been illusory all along; she is trapped in a world with no exit. The play shifts focus to lack of freedom for a female in urban, middle-class India. The tragedy is that Juneja’s speech provides a dual closure for Savitri; both in her search for the ‘perfect’ man who can â€Å"fill her void†, as well as an acknowledgment that she shall never gain satisfaction, and related to that, happiness. In naturalism, free will is not denied but is contained and confined within the environment in which the individual lives. Savitri’s free will is her ability to choose but the fulfillment of that choice depends on the context. Her freedom is linked to a man. She is free to choose which man, but it has to be a man. The illusion of choice arises from the four men and her ‘independence’ is related to shifting from one man to the other. In the prologue, the Man in the Black Suit had asked the existentialist question of ‘who am I’. This is now problematized, as the dramatic innovation of using the same man for multiple characters casts doubt on whether there is an ‘I’ at all. ‘I’ refers to individuality, the existence of a self different from the ‘other’, a projection that the men in the play are all different which is negated through Juneja’s speech. Savitri uses the language of social realism to justify her belief that she moves on to other men because Mahendra is not the right man. Juneja uses the language of absurdism to articulate that there is no ‘right man’; her search is futile because such a man does not exist. All the men in her life are essentially the same man and can only satisfy her for a limited period of time. Surprisingly, the text does not lead up to its realist conclusion; that she is trapped because of the prohibitions of the society in which she lives, a world in which a woman has no choice in her own destiny. It, in fact, veers from its apparent initial realist stance of ‘all men are the same in a patriarchy’ and seems to suggest that all men are the same only to Savitri. Halfway House has often been described as a woman-centric misogynistic play. â€Å"Even as the play builds up a dark vision of trapped humanity, it weakens the force of its statement by simultaneously cutting Savitri’s credentials. † (Nita Kumar). The play does not imply that if the only conditions were different or could be changed then Savitri would be able to escape from the ‘trap’, instead her sexuality is morally condemned, she ought not be able to escape. Juneja contends that all the men who had come into her life were different. They were individuals with their own diverse characteristics and, according to critic Veena Das, what made Savitri see them as parts of the same fractioned entities was her own â€Å"diseased imagination†. Juneja, in saying that all men are the same, is trying to define the essential nature of desire. Desire is always in excess of the individual and can never be completely satiated. The frightening aspect of desire lies in its limitlessness. All men are the same because they are looked at through Savitri’s desire, the fact that they will all eventually be unable to satisfy her is the reason for their ‘sameness’. Their amorphousness derives from the fact that they change in accordance with Savitri’s assessment of them. The transcendental nature of desire will always make her move on to other men and search for completeness. It seems to suggest that every being is half-incomplete, it is not a tragedy, but rather a fact of existence, and Savitri, in her search for masculine perfection and inability to accept this fact, is herself responsible for her ruination. Unexpectedly again, the play doesn’t build up even to the absurdist conclusion; it does not suggest that everybody in essentiality is like Savitri, because desire is universal, exceeding every individual. Instead,  the elements of Naturalism as well as Absurdism are developed only to lay the blame on Savitri’s inherent nature, which is considered responsible for the destruction of this particular family. She stands the last accused and the play ends before there can be any possibility of defense on her behalf. Interestingly, though certain relationships in life are deterministic, including that of a mother-daughter, sister-brother, etc, the same cannot be said about spouses; however, in this very context the language used by Juneja is the final language of containment, of absolute, rigid determinism. As earlier mentioned, the device of one man playing multiple roles is that of the actor and is not available to the character, and therefore it is significant that the visual of the play itself shows that nothing can be changed. Juneja’s speech corresponds to the structure of the play, which has to come from without and therefore indicates a concurrence with the playwright’s view. According to critic Kirti Jain, this device loses a little of its relevance in the actual stage performance as the focus of the audience is drawn primarily towards the clothes, mannerisms and voice of that one actor rather than the thematic import. However, there is no ambiguity on the fact that the nature of the play cannot be understood without a reference to this particular device. Through this, the area of thrust changes entirely from the ‘universality of human experience’, and the ultimate censure is not of society, or even the circumstances, but rather of Savitri’s desiring nature. Her lack of constraint and implicit sexuality stand accused as the essential reasons for what makes her home an incomplete, halfway house. Bibliography i. All textual quotes are from Worldview Critical Edition of ‘Halfway House- Mohan Rakesh’ ii. Halfway House: A House Divided by Nita N. Kumar iii. A Note on Indian Theatre by Kirti Jain iv. The Director’s Viewpoint by Om Shivpuri v. A Thematic Interpretation of One Actor and Five Roles in Halfway House by Arti Mathur vi. Lust For Life: A Study of Savitri in Halfway House by Naresh K. Jain vii. Halfway House: Absurdism of the Indian Middle Class by Bharat Gupt viii. Uncertain Circumstance, Undefined Individuals: A Study of Halfway House by S. G. Bhanegaonkar ix. Sexism and Power Games by Manchi Sarat Babu x. Halfway House: Some Stray Comments Only by Dilip Kumar Basu xi. There is Something in this House by N. S. Dharan xii. Halfway House: A Play of Incomplete Utterances by Veena Nobel Das xiii. Realism and the American Dramatic Tradition by William Demastes xiv. Mohan Rakesh, Modernism, and the Postcolonial Present by Aparna Dharwadker.

Company Employment Essay

Sheena had worked for the same Fortune 500 Company for most 15 years. Although the company had gone through some tough times, things were starting to turn around. Customer orders were up, and quality and productivity had improved dramatically from what they had been only a few years earlier due company wide quality improvement program. So, it comes as a real shock to Sheena and about 400 of her co-workers when they were suddenly terminated following the new CEO’s decision to downsize the company. After recovering from the initial shock, Sheena tried to find employment elsewhere. Despite her efforts, after eight months of searching she was no closer to finding a job than the day she started. Her funds were being depleted and she was getting more discouraged. There was one bright spot, though: She was able to bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbors. She got involved quite by chance when she heard one neighbor remark that now that his children were on their own, nobody was around to cut the grass. Almost jokingly, Sheena asked him how much he’d be willing to pay. Soon Sheena was mowing the lawns of five neighbors. Other neighbors wanted her to work on their lawns, but she didn’t feel that she could spare any more time from her job search. However, as the rejection letters began to pile up, Sheena knew she had to make an important decision in her life. On a rainy Tuesday morning, she decided to go into business for herself taking care of neighborhood lawns. She was relieved to give up the stress of job hunting, and she was excited about the prospects of being her own boss. But she was also fearful of being completely on her own. Nevertheless, Sheena was determined to make a go of it. At first, business was a little slow, but once people realized Sheena was available, many asked her to take care of their lawns. Some people were simply glad to turn – the work over to her; others switched from professional lawn care services. By the end of her first year in business, Sheena knew she could earn a living this way. She also performed other services such as fertilizing lawns, weeding gardens, and trimming shrubbery. Business became so good that Sheena hired two part-time workers to assist her and, even then, she believed she could expand further if she wanted to. Questions 1. In what ways are Sheena’s customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services? (10 Marks) 2. Sheena is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance. (a) What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?  (b) What inventory items does Sheena probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically. (c) What scheduling must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Sheena to reschedule? (d) How important is quality assurance to Sheena’s business? Explain. (e) What kinds of maintenance must be performed? (20 Marks) 3. What are some of the trade-offs that Sheena probably considered relative to: (a) Working for a company instead of for herself? (b) Expanding the business? (10 Marks) 4. The town is considering an ordinance that would prohibit putting grass clippings at the curb for pickup because local landfills cannot handle the volume. What options might Sheena consider if the ordinance is passed? Name two advantages and two drawbacks of each option. (20 Marks)

East Asian Co-Production in Film Industry Research Paper

East Asian Co-Production in Film Industry - Research Paper Example Various scholarships have been offered on popular culture that is conventionally exploring the meaning of texts. This has resulted in popular culture co-productions and collaborations in East Asia, drawing on empirical studies of cultural industries in Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines (Yau, 2003). This has consequently employed the usage of a regional framework in order to analyze the consequences of collaboration and co-production. In Asia, particularly East Asia, the rapid growth of the creative industry has induced a severe shortage of talented professional working force that includes the director, producer, and the scripter. The search to secure human capital is very significant to the success in this highly competitive field of creativity and artistry. However, the structure and dynamics of human capital development in this creative industry are yet to win the full understanding of its assessors in matters of a provision of efficient programs meant to accelerate human capital development. The resultant lack of understanding is caused by the complexity of work, as well as the fact that fostering creative talent requires a relatively long time that the rest of non-knowledge intensive industries (Chua, 2004). Japan is currently the nation under a considerable critical spotlight in the continuing debate on the Asia imaginary. Japan’s long history of cultural and economic hegemony in the region has always been challenged by Korea and China as from the early 1990s.

Analysis Phase Of System Development Life Cycle Thesis

Analysis Phase Of System Development Life Cycle - Thesis Example There is aim regarding implementing a new information technology system at ABC Company, which is an accounting enterprise. The main intention of this implementation is to minimize the information management complexity and improve the overall working systems flexibility to get better working performance and functionality. In addition, this report presents detailed and comprehensive analysis of implementation of an IS (information system) and critically assess the analysis phase of the overall SDLC (software development lifecycle) of this information system for the ABC Company. Here system development life cycle is a group of activities those are aimed to develop the whole project. The main intention of the SDLC is to provide a complete framework regarding the development of the whole system product. In this scenario system development moves through each stage of development and offers a better system development output. The analysis phase of the SDLC is the initial phase of system dev elopment. In this phase we analyze the whole system regarding its requirements, feasibility and development areas. At the present, the business of ABC accounting enterprise is functioning by using the traditional ways of business management (i.e. paper based, decentralized legacy systems). However, the modern and up-to-date techniques for the business and corporate technology have allowed the higher management to think about the new business technology implementation at the corporate structure. The main intention behind the development and implementation of the modern and up-to-date techniques of information technology in the business and corporate structures is to enhance the overall corporate performance and enhanced management of the business data. The current era is known as the age of information technology as IT is playing basic and major roles in almost every field of life. In addition, the

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 25

Assignment Example 2. Another reason for this is that people don’t remember the bad times i.e. the depression. Many have a sense of security that has developed because of the structure laid out by the public sector through social security and unemployment benefits. In reality when and if things get that bad the state will not be able to support its people to that extent and those with little or no savings will be in a lot of trouble. 3. The form of money is also a problem. It’s no longer just coins and banknotes, money is now cards and spread through the internet. People have lost their sense of money. Credit cards seem to perpetuate the feeling that there is an unlimited supply of money that one has. Most people just keep spending more and more without realizing that eventually the money will run out. As opposed to this if they had a physical set amount in their hands they would have to be much more careful how they spent it because they would be able to see exactly what they were doing to their money. 4. Popular culture is another culprit because it promotes the materialistic attitudes that people have. Most people want to copy the lives of their favorite characters on screen. In order to make their lives like those of the character they are willing to spend a little more. The country’s media system is one of the most developed in the entire world and hence has a huge influence over the core

Managing Public and Private Organizations Research Paper

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Clinical Focus and Advocacy in Patients Care in Specialist Nursing Literature review

Clinical Focus and Advocacy in Patients Care in Specialist Nursing Practice - Literature review Example The current trend of offering master’s programs in nursing schools was seen to start begin around the 1970’s with the gradual phasing out of the public health nursing programs in most of the schools offering public health studies. The very first programs to start preparing and offering Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) courses started doing so in the 1950’s (Fulton, Lyon and Goudreau 2010). A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) can be described basically as an advanced practice and registered nurse who has undergone graduate preparation resulting in their earning a master’s or doctorate from one of the programs that prepares clinical nursing specialists. Clinical nurse specialists are generally experts at the diagnosis and eventual treatment of illness that fall in their area of expertise. The focus of clinical nurse specialist generally falls into three basic areas; these areas are administration, patients and their respective families and nurse management. Although these three spheres are seen to be interrelated and it is quite normal for them to overlap, they are quite different and possess distinctive focus from each other. In all three areas of influence, the primary role of the CNS is to ensure that there is continuous improvement of the nursing care and patient outcome in general (Fulton, Lyon and Goudreau 2010). The rest of a medical facilities nursing staff tend to look to the Clinical Nurse Specialist to help them improve the efficiency in the work place as well as to receive guidance as they perform their everyday nursing duties. Some of the key elements of practicing CNS is to ensure that there is the creation of an environment that can be seen to implement effective system changes and mentoring programs that will help in the empowerment of nurses who are better able to adequately respond to the diverse patient needs, and develop caring best practices that are not only evidence based but are also able to alleviate

Occupational Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Occupational Therapy - Essay Example On a personal note, occupational therapy is beneficial for people who underwent surgery, stroke or any other medical disorders and would want to be able to do their activities of daily living with minimal supervision and maximum adaptation to their current condition. The Philosophy of Occupational Therapy As with other health professionals, occupational therapists adhere to different schools of thought for the planning of treatment. There are, however, basic philosophical premises underlying occupational therapy, which foster a sense of professional identity and guide practice.In order to understand the occupational therapy process, it is important to have some consensus on the underlying philosophy of occupational therapy, which is the unifying force of the profession. The concept of occupation is central to occupational therapy. Nevertheless, the term itself has been used in the literature in various, sometimes ambiguous ways. It is best to stand with the position of AOTA (Assembly of the American Occupational Therapy Association) that occupations involve mental abilities and skills but do not always include an associated observable or physical behavior. In the OT process, one of the ultimate goals of treatment is the developing, nurturing and restoring of occupations. It is the performance aspects of occupation that have most often been discussed in OT literature, but these are most accurately described as â€Å"activities†. Three major, closely related themes are prevalent in occupational therapy literature. The first is the use of purposeful activity that includes activities that have personal and cultural meaning and provide a basis for â€Å"exploration and learning, practicing and achieving mastery† .

Air Asia Berhard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Air Asia Berhard - Research Paper Example This section of the paper seeks to assess how Air Asia would change its business model in its effort to expand its operations in the UK market. One of the major initiatives that the company has emulated in order to improve its profitability is expansion of operations through increasing the number of routes. For example, the company has created connection with various regions within Asia such as Vietnam, Shenzen, Indonesia among others. Even though the company enjoys strong customer loyalty in the domestic market, it has to emulate different strategies in order to penetrate UK market. This is based on the stiff competition and diversified environmental factors that determine the operations of UK airline industry. In the Malaysian market, Air Asia has remained competitive by offering low travelling fares to its customers. However, this is achieved at the expense of its employees who are given lower salaries. Due to the stiff competition in the UK airline industry, Air Asia has to incre ase its wages and salaries in order to motivate its employees. Otherwise, its employees will search for jobs in UK airline companies that are offering competitive prices. In the same way, Air Asia has low overhead costs. It is fundamental to note that in its effort to attain a significant share in the UK market, the company must emulate expansion strategies that are similar to those of UK companies. This implies that the company will have to increase the fare in order to generate more revenue thus enhancing its ability to carry out its operations in the UK market. In order to effectively penetrate the market, Air Asia will need to establish its own maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in UK (Aruan 36). Additionally, the company must establish administration offices in various UK cities. Thus resulting to increased administration costs an aspect that the company is currently trying to avoid. Based on the above discussion, it is clear that Air Asia will have to break a numb er of its business model to remain competitive in the UK market. However, it is crucial to note that a strategy such as increasing the travelling costs will ultimately affect the loyalty of its customers both locally and internationally. In the same way, increasing employee’s salaries is a strategy that the company will not only initiate in UK but also in all countries it has established operations. Thus resulting to increased costs and reduced profits. This implies that Air Asia entry of the UK market will be difficult. Paper 2. First Solar’s multinational business context and internal resources First Solar is a technology company that is based in Arizona. One of the key aspects that have enhanced the production capacity of the company is experienced and motivated work force. With more than 5,200 associates, the company has been able to raise a significant capital that has made it possible to diversify its product line thus attracting large number of customers especia lly in the European market. During its establishment, First solar specialized in the production of glass products rather than manufacturing of photovoltaics. Based on the expertise of the company founder Harold McMaster in the glass manufacturing, he diverted his skills to the solar industry. He was also

Discrimination in sport Essay Example for Free

Discrimination in sport Essay The Project to Eliminate Homophobia in Sport is a collaborative effort involving seven leading national organizations and is designed to create an educated public that respects all athletes and sports-affiliated personnel regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expressions. The Project has four main goals: EDUCATION Educate athletes, their parents, guardians, coaches, administrators and the public, plus other key influencers about the origins and effects of homophobia in sport and the relationship of homophobia to sexism and gender oppression. RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION Cultivate and develop diversified resources to ensure the effectiveness, durability and strength of the Project to Eliminate Homophobia in Sport. ADVOCACY Advocate for fair policy guidelines on teams, at events and within the workplace for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) sport professionals, athletes and fans in sport. RECOGNITION To publicly recognize the athletic achievements and professional successes of openly LGBT sports participants, thereby providing healthy role models. Active Sports Partnerships achieve Racial Equality Standard Three Active Sports Partnerships (ASPs) have become the first ASPs to achieve the Preliminary Level of the Sporting Equals Achieving Racial Equality: A Standard for Sport. The three Active Sports Partnerships Bucks and Milton Keynes, Humber and West Yorkshire were assessed by a separate panel chaired by Chris Hudson of Sheffield Hallam University reporting to the Sporting Equals Assessment Panel. The ASPs joined five governing bodies Amateur Athletics Association, Amateur Swimming Association, British Canoe Union, Rugby Football Union for Women and UK Athletics who were also awarded Preliminary Level by a panel consisting of representatives from Sport England and Sporting Equals, as well as representatives from other national governing bodies of sport. The sports and sports organisations already awarded the Preliminary Level are basketball, cricket, hockey, gymnastics, Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, lawn tennis, rugby league, rugby union and sportscoach UK and Sportsmatch. Chris Hudson, a Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and the Chair of the Active Sports Assessment Panel, said: We hope that this recognition of the commitment and success of the first three Partnerships will be a catalyst to encourage others to achieve the Standard. Trevor Brooking, the Chair of Sport England said: I would like to congratulate these Active Sports Partnerships on signing up to the Standard and would like to see all the Partnerships follow their lead. Sport England expects all sports to put policies, procedures and plans in place to tackle racism and promote racial equality. What Is Discrimination? Discrimination has various forms and it happens very day. Discrimination involves making choices about how we treat other people. Those choices can be made using real and relevant information or they can be based on prejudice, stereotypes and bias. Some is unlawful (for example, sexual harassment and racial discrimination)and some is not (for example, a coach who shows favouritism towards their child over other players). All discrimination is undesirable if it leads to unfair treatment of players, members and other participants in recreation and sport. What is Fair Discrimination? A good example in sport relates to team selection. If you are a coach/selector, and you have more players than you can fit in your team, you must discriminate between the available players. You must choose who will be in the starting team and what positions they will play, to arrive at the best possible team. In junior and sub junior sport you have the additional responsibility to ensure fair participation. Those choices should be based upon relevant criteria such as ability, attitude, effort, and attendance at practice. These are all fair and legitimate criteria to apply to team selection. What is Unlawful Discrimination? In sport, this is not easy to define. The Equal Opportunity Act makes discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, sexuality and marital status unlawful. The laws also say that two behaviours, sexual harassment and victimisation are also unlawful. However, things like age, gender and disability can have very significant effects on sporting ability. These differences are most evident at the elite sport level. For example compare the power of the best male tennis players with the power of the best female tennis players. To take into account these differences, and to make sure there is fair competition, the law allows for teams to be organised into groups such as age groups, or single sex groups.

Parenting Styles and Prosocial Behavior Essay Example for Free

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Ludwig Van Beethoven And Sonatas Music Essay

Ludwig Van Beethoven And Sonatas Music Essay Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on 16th December 1770 and died in Vienna, Austria on 26th March 1827. He was one of the famous classical composers of all time. He was also known as a pianist. Beethoven composed 32 piano sonatas for the piano. One of the piano sonatas that will be analyzed in this thesis is the Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 which is named as Pathetique. Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique in 1798. This piece was dedicated to Prince Karl Lichnowsky. This piano sonata has three movements. This sonata was the earliest Beethoven sonatas to be famous and this sonata was first published in Vienna, Austria. The first movement, Grave, then Allegro molto con brio, the key signature is c minor and the time signature is in 4/4 time. According to Elterlein, E. V. (1920), This movement portrays his characteristics, a lifelike picture of manly, painful, earnest and passionate emotion. Here and there, fire breaks out, in a marked rhythm, but only to be immediately quenched. There are several modulations in this movement which are from c minor to eƆ¦ minor to Db major to f minor and back to c minor. The second movement, Adagio cantabile, the key signature is Ab major and the time signature is in 3/4 time. Elterlein, E. V. (1920) also said that this movement is much more peaceful than the first movement and is well expressed in the sustained singing theme. The third movement, Rondo allegro, the key signature is c minor and the time signature is in 4/4 time. It gives completeness to the whole. The author also said that The storm which swept through the soul in the first movement has subsided. This movement ends with a satisfactory conclusion. This piano sonata portrays Beethovens emotions and characteristics when he was composing this piano sonata. 1.2 Background of Study Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on 16th December 1770. He died in Vienna, Austria on 26th March 1827. During that time, there were two great composers who were still living which were Mozart and Haydn. Music at that time was the form of entertainment for many people. But in this modern era, music still remains as one of the form of entertainment too. According to Knight, F. (1973), the author said He is also known as a German composer of Flemish descent. He is the son and grandson of musicians at the court of the Elector of Cologne at Bonn. His grandfather, Louise van Beethoven was a court musician in Bonn in 1733 but eventually became the Kapellmeister but his grandfather spent most of his time running a wine business. Johann, his son, Beethovens father was a teacher and a singer at a chapel. He was an alcoholic. He married Beethovens mother, Maria Magdalena in 1767. Ludwig van Beethoven was their second child because their first child died in infancy. His grandfather died when he was three years old. His father taught him to play the harpsichord and the violin just as soon as Beethoven fingers were long enough to play the instruments. His father wanted him to be the next Mozart. So he made him practice hard. Beethovens did not have a happy childhood. When he was eight years old, he started lessons with other teachers besides his father. C.G. Neefe was the court organist and a composer. He was the best teacher to Beethoven from 1779 to 1782 because he taught him to play Bachs forty-eight Preludes and Fugues and composition. He was appointed as court organist when he was about thirteen years old. In 1787, Beethoven went to Vienna, Austria for the first time and it was not a long visit because he had to get back to Bonn to see his mother who was seriously ill. He was so depress when she died. After his mothers death, his home was never well managed and Beethoven always looked untidy. When he was seventeen years old, Beethoven had to look after his family because his father was in a wretched state. Part of his salary was given to Beethoven and this made life easier for Beethoven and his brothers. The van Breuning family is close friends of Beethoven throughout his life. His violin teacher, Franz Anton Reis and the young Count Waldstein helped him in various ways. Beethoven was also very fortunate to have an Elector who loved to spend his time listening to music. Bonn had been invaded by the French armies in 1794. In 1792, Beethoven left Bonn for the last time and he never returned. He travelled to Vienna, Austria. It was also possible that he went to Vienna after being persuaded by Haydn. After arriving in Vienna, Beethoven realized that Vienna has a different musical atmosphere. In Vienna there are more churches, theatres and court compared to Bonn. They are attended by the citys large population. He was busy studying for some years in composition because he always found composing hard and stressful. According to Sadie, S. (1967), the author said that among the earliest of his compositions which are still played today are the three piano sonatas, Op.2, which he dedicated to Haydn. In these we can see how this strong-willed, defiant young mans personality comes out in his music. After completing the Piano Concerto in B flat, he left Vienna for a few months due to a tour. He went to musical centres of Europe which were Prague, Leipzig, Berlin, Budapest and Pressburg. During his journey, he met Prince Lichnowsky who became one of his greatest friends and was also travelling with him. He dedicated one of his finest piano sonatas to Prince Lichnowsky, the Pathetique. In 1798, he started to lose his hearing. He was becoming deaf which is the most painful and terrible fate for a musician. The deafness did not stop him from composing because he had his perfect inner ear as he was a trained and skilled musician. He could hear the sound just by looking at the score. In 1799 and 1800 were the years that he realized that his hearing was deteriorating. He only told two of his closest friends, Franz Wegeler and Karl Amenda of his sickness. He tried various treatments but they all seemed to make him feel worse. Beethovens musical style began to change. There are three periods which can be seen in his life and works. As he was in his thirties, his music began to acquire new and deeper qualities. This was the middle period. His career can be divided into three periods which are the classic period models, the revolutionary pieces which expanded the music vocabulary and compositions which are written in a unique way with elements of contrapuntal, variations and with complete freedom. His pieces became longer, deeper and more expressive. In his last years, he had to carry all his conversations in writing because he became completely deaf by that time. 1.3 Literature Review A few textbooks about music theory were read in order to understand the field of the research. After reading a few of them, it can be seen that a few books say some things which are similar and some things which are different. For example, Willson, R. B. (2009) textbook titled An Introduction to Music Studies gave a brief introduction about music theory and analysis. The book talks about analysis that can be helpful for the performers, it can help us develop our listening skills, give us a mental representation of music and try to understand what the composers did in the past. Theory on the other hand provides a framework for analysis but it did not explain about the analysis of form and rhythm like the other book which is the Dale, C. (2003). The book which was written by Dale, C. (2003) titled Music Analysis in Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, talks about musical analysis of form and rhythm. In the analysis of form chapter, the author explains about ternary and bi nary forms. This chapter also explains on how two of these forms create a larger form such as sonata and rondo. Both these books are helpful in this thesis because it helped in identifying the forms and teaches a person to analyze a score but the Dale, C. (2003) book did not describe about how to develop our listening skills or give us a mental representation of music and also how to understand what the composers did in the past. Another textbook which is Kostka, S. Payne, D. C. (1984) titled Tonal Harmony: With an Introduction to Twentieth Century Music is about music theory and harmony. The authors said that Harmony is defined as the sound that results when two or more pitches are performed simultaneously. It is the vertical aspect of music, produced by the combination of the components of the horizontal aspect. It also describes the elements of pitch and rhythm. It also introduces and teaches us triads, seventh chords, diatonic chords in major and minor keys, voice leading notes, 4 part writing, harmonic progression, non-chord tones, diatonic seventh chords, augmented sixths, neapoliton chords, binary and ternary forms, modulation techniques and enharmonic modulations. However, this textbook did not discuss about the Sonata form, slow movement form and the Rondo form which will be used throughout this entire thesis. But this book can be use as a reference to understand the basics of theory music. A book from Caplin, W. E. (1998) titled Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven contains all the information which is needed for this thesis. This book explained about the sonata form in one chapter which consists of the exposition, development and recapitulation. Then there is the slow movement form in another chapter in the book which is usually found in a piano sonatas second movement such as the Beethovens Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique and it is also known to combine the transition and subordinate theme or can also reduce the size of the development section. Then there is a chapter explaining the rondo form too in the book such as the rondo form is known to have two main types which are the five part rondo and the sonata rondo. The ones that will be used in the thesis are the sonata form, slow movement form and the sonata rondo form to analyze the piano sonata in this thesis. However there are other books which also contains the same information as this book but there are still some differences between them. Green, D. M. (1979) titled Form in Tonal Music: An Introduction to Analysis wrote a book about an introduction to analysis. The author also discusses about the sonata form which is what this thesis wants. The author also told some history about how the sonata form came to being such as the term sonata was usually used for works performed by one or two players only. Then the sonata form was explain just like the book written by Caplin, W. E. (1998) in his chapter of sonata form because Green, D. M. (1979) also explained about the sonata form which must have the exposition, development and recapitulation sections in order to form a sonata form in a piano sonata. He also said that it is usually in the first movement of the piano sonata. His book On the other hand, Rosen, C. (1988) titled Sonata Forms also wrote about the sonata form and said that the first movement sonata form is one of the most complex and very organized series of forms due to the eighteenth century composers who had the tendency to put a great weight on the opening movement which often results to most dramatic structures. The author only briefly explained the sonata form unlike in the books of Caplin, W. E. (1998) and Green, D. M. (1979) but it also helped in giving some information for this thesis. It was easier to understand and the explanation of the sonata form was shorter than the other two books which are mentioned. Schoenberg, A. (1967) titled Fundamentals of Musical Composition also discusses about those forms such as Sonata form consists of three large scales of functions which are the exposition, developments, and recapitulations. Slow movements are constructed in conventional sonata form. There are a few types of rondo forms such as ABACA, ABACADA, ABACABA. But most of the time it can be situated in one of the two main categories which is the five part rondo (ABACA) and the sonata rondo (ABACABA). He did not discuss about the slow movement form which is also going to be used in this thesis in chapter three. There are books which gives descriptions on what the piano sonata sounds like by describing it like a story and what the mood is like in the piece. Beethovens Pianoforte Sonatas: Explained for the Lovers of the Musical Art by Elterlein, E. V. (1920) book describe about the piano sonata like a story. For example, the author describes the first movement by writing that it is one of the composers primary character and when the allegro molto con brio starts the author said that it was like a lava stream that burst out of its bound and charges to the front which no one is able to stop it. The description was very story like and it was easy to understand the mood of the movements in the piano sonata. Fischer, E. (1959) writes about his opinion about this piano sonata in his Beethovens Pianoforte Sonatas: A Guide for Students Amateurs. The author said that the first movement of this piano sonata is like a symphonic work and the last movement is not suitable with the first two. But the second movement was perfect. Dimond, P. (1995) book titled The Art of Beethoven: Volume I is about the piano sonata that is going to be analyzed in this thesis. The first movement starts with Grave, then Allegro molto con brio. It begins in the key of c minor and the time signature is 4/4 time. The second movement is Adagio cantabile. It begins in the key of Ab major and the time signature is 3/4 time. The third movement is a Rondo. It begins in Rondo Allegro and is back in c minor. The time signature is 4/4 time. The book also contains a brief analysis of the three movements of the piano sonata. These books are somewhat similar to one another but also at the same time different because although the y are describing the same piano sonata they describe it in their own way. However, Kreskys book only has some movements of certain piano sonatas which he had analyze. Tonal Music: Twelve Analytic Studies by Kresky, J. (1977) only analyze the second movement of the piano sonata in this thesis. This book is also very useful in chapter three because in this research there is an analysis for the second movement of this piano sonata. Lives of the Great Composers which was written by a few authors but Latham, P. (1943) wrote on a chapter of Beethoven in the book. It is about Beethovens life. It is a biography book about when the composer was born and where he was born. The author also explains the composers life in Bonn, who were his music teacher, when he went to Vienna and stayed there and until he died. Other books which are similar to Latham, P. (1943) book are Solomon, M. (1978) titled Beethoven which also describes about the composers life, The Great Composers: Beethoven written by Sadie, S. (1967), The Master Musicians: Beethoven written by Scott, M. M. (1934), The Stream of Music written by Leonard, R. A. (1967), Thayers Life of Beethoven: Volume I written by Krehbiel, H. (1949), Beethoven: Biography of a Genius written by Merek, G. R. (1969), and Beethoven and the Age of Revolution written by Knight, F. (1973). These books are mostly about Ludwig van Beethovens life, personality, hardships, romance, when he started losing his hearing and when his works were composed. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on 16th December 1770 and he died in Vienna, Austria on the 26th March 1827. He was a man who gets angry easily, untidy, and difficult to understand. He wrote 32 piano sonatas, 9 symphonies, and so on. He composed the Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique in 1798 and it was during that time that he noticed he was going deaf. He had a few very close friends and they stayed by his side even though sometimes there are conflicts between them. All these biography books were read in order to understand Beethoven and his music. After reading all of them, it became easier to understand Beethovens characteristics and how his music evolved through the years. In this thesis, Taub, R. (2002) book helped a lot. His book title is Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. It is one of the performance practice books that are found in the University of Malayas main library. He wrote about his opinion on how he thinks this piano sonata should be interpreted. For example, he said that in order to play and effective fp the pianist should depress the keys fast to create forte, then immediately allows the sound to rise so that the sound can be immediately become soft. This information from the author is very helpful in this thesis in chapter four. The piano is the main instrument which is used most in this thesis because the analysis of this thesis is related to the piano. The Pianoforte written by Clutton, C. (1969) is a small chapter from a book titled Musical Instruments through the Ages which is edited by Anthony Baines. The chapter explains about the history of the piano about how it was created and who first created it. The piano was later developed a lot during the classical period. The piano became well known after Mozart started composing music for the piano in the 1770s. Another two similar books which is about the piano are The Piano: A History by Ehrlich, C. (1976) and Keyboard Interpretation: from the 14th to the 19th Century by Ferguson, H. (1975). The touch, fingering, tones, musical types and forms, and pianist problems are very important and must be solved in order to interpret the music successfully. This is related to one of the objectives in this thesis because over the years the piano is always being devel oped in the 18th century until now. So a brief history of the piano should be included in this thesis so that everyone who read this thesis can understand how the piano was made and why different pianos create different sounds. Pedalling techniques are sometimes different on the pianos that the pianists are playing. It will be discussed further in chapter four. 1.4 Objectives There are a few objectives which need to be achieved in doing this topic besides fulfilling my graduation requirement which are: To examine the performance practice of Beethovens early/ middle/ late sonata on todays grand piano but this thesis will only focus on one of his early piano sonata. To analyze the movements and the way it should be played on todays grand piano because during the time of Beethoven, they used a different style and technique to approach this piano sonata. This thesis will help the readers who read this to play the piano sonata if they are having difficulty in understanding how it should be played. To analyze the recording of a few musicians playing this piano sonata whether they are playing similarly or different than what it is written on the score and also to see which pianist piano playing is best to be learnt from. Comparing the urtext edition score and another publisher score to see which version is best. 1.5 Methodology The method that will be applied in this research is mainly on researching secondary resources, surfing through the internet and visiting the libraries which can be gain accessed and permission. In order to understand the field that is chosen, a lot of secondary resources is needed which are books, articles from journals, e journals and thesis. Those secondary resources helped picked the topic and title for this thesis. By going to the University of Malayas main library and also borrowed some of the lecturers books, it can be found that a book titled Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven by William Earl Caplin are very useful for this thesis. There is also an article titled The Paradox of Musical Analysis from the Journal of Music Theory which was written by Mark DeBellis which was found in the University of Malayas main library in the journal section. This article gave a brief idea on how the thesis should begin and h ow to start the musical analysis. All the methods which were mentioned will be carried out towards the end of the research because getting more information is very important for this research. The books in the University of Malayas main library also have many biography books of the composer, Ludwig van Beethoven which is in the research. Books which were written by Knight, F., Latham, P., Solomon, M., Sadie, S., Scott, M.M., Leonard, R.A., Krehbiel, H., Merek, G.R. and others all talked about Beethovens life, hardships, compositions that he composed, challenges that he faced and his sickness. The books had many different styles in describing his life, hardships, compositions and challenges. These books can help in the thesis while it is being done because they are like guide books of Beethovens life on what he had done and achieved. Books which are related to performance practice are also used in this thesis are also found in the University of Malayas main library. A book which was written by Taub, R. was about how to play the Beethovens sonata. This book interprets how a Beethoven sonata should be played by the author. A book which was written by Ferguson, H. and Marshall, R. L. will also be used for this thesis. All these books are related to what is being analyzed in this thesis. After finding all the secondary resources for data and understanding them which are related to the thesis, the topic and title of the thesis can now begin analyzing. The scores which are taken from two types of publications will be analyzed. The first analysis is by analyzing the piano sonatas movements such as modulations, dynamics, articulations, pedal points and others. The second analysis is by comparing both editions of the scores which are from different publications to see whether there are similarities or differences. The third analysis is to analyze a video of a pianist who uses one of those editions in interpreting his or her playing of the Beethoven piano sonata on the grand piano. In order to get information for the research, there are many sources that can be access easily through the internet. For example, the JSTOR database and MUSE database. These websites can be accessed for references and articles from journals for the research. With the use of internet, it is also possible to purchase a book through the internet in amazon.com that cannot possibly be purchase in any of Malaysias bookstores. There are books which are sometimes not available in Malaysia because the bookstores in Malaysia did not order them. It is also because those books are not so suitable to everyone. The books are usually bought by musicians and people who want to gain more music knowledge. The internet can also be use to view videos of famous pianist playing the piano sonata. The videos can be easily viewed in Youtube.com. By observing them through the videos, a comparison can be made on which pianist plays the piano sonata better and also which edition of the score is being interprete d the most. All these will be done in chapter two, three and four. A CD will be provided with this thesis for this piano sonata. The CD contains two pianists who play the same piano sonata which is Beethovens Piano Sonata in c minor, Op.13 Pathetique.

Analysis of My Last Duchess Essay -- Robert Browning, My Last Duchess

‘My Last Duchess’ is a poem written by Robert Browning in 1845. It’s a first person narrative of a duke who is showing the ambassador around his palace and negotiating his marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. As they are walking through the palace, the duke stops and looks at the beautiful portrait of his lovely last duchess. The duke speaks his thoughts about the girl, and as the poem progresses we begin to realize that his last duchess had been murdered. â€Å"†¦I gave commands, then all smiles stopped together,† This metaphorical sentence tells us that his commands were the ones that caused her death and her ‘stop of all smiles together’. The reason behind this is that she was flirtatious with all men because â€Å"she liked whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere†. The language techniques used in this poem emphasize the Duke’s Last Duchess’s flirtatious character. They also hint to us the themes of murder, jealousy, suspicion and the Duke’s psychopathic character. The word ‘I’ is quite often used. â€Å"The curtain I have drawn for you, but I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thi...

Lord Of The Flies Passage Anal :: essays research papers

Golding uses chapter eight to show the changes within Ralph and Piggy. The experience on the island has caused them to mature early, and Golding develops this maturity in order to provide the reader with a believable story and memorable characters. He develops the characters through vivid details, distinct diction, simple syntax, and congested figurative language. Golding uses detail to show Ralph’s change from a civil leader to a mindless savage. When Ralph sits and pokes holes in the sand, he is â€Å"surprised† to see blood. He examines his nail and is interested, not concerned, about the blood. He originally was disgusted at the site of blood. This act shows his savage-like fascination with blood. Piggy’s development is also dependent on Golding’s use of detail. Within this passage, Piggy wipes off his glasses twice. There is a sense of paranoia and urgency in this act. Piggy wishes to disconnect from reality and does not want to admit to himself or Ralph their desperate situation. Piggy was originally the voice of reason in the novel. This simple act, however, shows he is changing into an unadmitting fool because he chooses not to see reality due to fear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The use of diction is also vital to the development of the characters in Lord of the Flies. The passage opens with Ralph â€Å"smudging the sweat from his face with a dirty forearm.† This conveys to the reader an exhausted boy who is at wit’s end. The words â€Å"smudging,† â€Å"sweat,† and â€Å"dirty,† connote savagery, and they show Ralph’s animalistic characteristics coming out. He has changed from a polished, civilized boy to a dirty savage since the arrival on the island. Ralph also runs around the fire â€Å"holding up his hair† when he realizes that most of the boys have joined Jack. This reference to hair shows the savagery in Ralph, as opposed to his clean-cut original appearance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Syntax is another technique used by Golding to further develop the characters. The frequent use of dashes, fragments, and simple sentences remind the reader that although they are encountering a very complex situation, the characters are still simple-minded children. It also shows the characters’ fragmented thoughts and fears. Originally, Ralph was a well-spoken leader, but in this passage, Golding shows he is a scared creature through syntax.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Figurative language is employed by Golding throughout the novel to develop plot and characters. In this passage, the most vivid figurative language is in the final paragraph.

Gangs in America Essay -- Social Issues

Gangs are very dangerous to everyone in society. â€Å"Gangs are groups of people (mostly young males) who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. The U.S. Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity† (Gangs 1). There are about one million gang members in more than 20,00 criminally active gangs in the United States. Also, that group of about one million people, are accountable for up to eighty percent of our nation’s crimes. Since 2005, gangs have nationally added about 200,000 members (Targeting Gangs 1). This is why more action from the community needs to be taken to help with the growing gang-related crimes here in America. To start off, origins of gangs are unclear, but some researchers say that gangs came to America in the early 1800s. These first gangs were in New York and Philadelphia and members of these adult gangs were from the Irish, German, and Italian ethnic groups. Youth gangs did not start to form until after World War II (Opposing Viewpoints Gangs 109-110). Additionally, what kind of people are in gangs? Well first off, there are Latinos, which make up forty-nine percent of gang members'; African Americans, thirty-four percent; White, ten percent; Asian, six percent; and the other one percent is just the other category (â€Å"Facts About Gangs† 109). Also in 1996, according to the National Youth Gang Survey, the members of gangs were fifty percent under eighteen years old and fifty percent were eighteen or older. In that survey during 2006, the number of juveniles dropped to only being thirty-six and a half percent of member, on the other hand, the percentage of adult gang members consisted of sixty-three and a half percent of the gang pop... ...members have, we need to make it possible for them to get these personal benefits without feeling that it is necessary to join a gang. Of course, it's not possible for us to make them be able to get fast money like some of them want (or need) but other things like a sense of belonging or companionship are possible. Knowing about these benefits will make it easier for everyone to be able help out in the stop of gangs. As one can see, it may never be possible that gangs and gang violence will be stopped, but with our help from the community in every city and town it is possible to stop and decrease the large number of gang members and gang-related crimes. Remembering that there are many possibilities for decreasing the population size of gangs in America; such as better alternatives to being in a gang, educational programs, and arrest some hard-core gang members.

Walt Disney Analyses

Analysis of The Walt Disney`s Strategy PESTEL SWOT STRATEGIC ANALYSES â€Å"Fiscal 2011 was a great year financially and strategically, demonstrating the strength of our brands and businesses with record revenue, net income and earnings per share,† said Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger. â€Å"We are confident the Company is well-positioned to deliver long-term value for our shareholders with our focus on quality content, compelling uses of technology and global asset growth. † According to the PESTEL analysis, the Walt Disney Company has been shaped mainly with respect to social, economic and political.First, it is politically shaped because the government and lobby groups have an important role in establishing policies, requirements and competition rules. Furthermore, the local governmental rules are crucial in establishing foreign ownership for subsidiaries or business units. Alongside with the political factors, both the economic and social factors influence t he group`s profitability and activity because customers and economic conditions are closely related. For instance the financial crisis of 2007 brought serious economic downturns that affected most of the activities at Disney 11 parks.The group is also dependent on oil prices, inflation and interest rates that might affect exchange rates. Social trends influence the company strategic decisions, mainly due to demographic changes, attitudes or certain fashion cycles. According to PESTEL, technological factors decide the competitive actors in the industry because advances in technology shape manufacturing conditions and operations, can increase capacity and improve quality. Furthermore, the environmental factors affect the activity of the company due to weather conditions that can be negative for the park`s profitability, manufacturing prices and conditions. A SWOT analysisSTENGTHSIt is the largest media and entertainment company in the world and it owns 11 theme parks and various chann els Disney is one of the major Hollywood studios Disney employed 150,000 people An innovative development society: employees generate and implement ideas – fast transfer of knowledge and expertise across the marketsGlobal Standards are highly implemented and adopted Very popular brand around the globe: high brand awareness among the people through logo and popularity Strategy of differentiation with a very diversified portfolio Experience in international operations and developmentDisney has US $62, 497, 000, 000 assets Ranked 9th in the Top 100 Global Brands of 2011 | WEAKNESSESHigh operating costsInstability in decision making: change management due to unbalances among SBUsPoor management controllingSeasonality: park occupancyWorking conditions that are poor in the production fabricsNo good customer relationship management due to innovation that demands continuityThe target client is mostly children, no range of segmentationAccusation for sexual references in some of its an imations Different welfare groups protest: religion, animal (Disney Animal Kingdom)Poor management controllingReduces number of attractions: only 16 out of 11 parks. OPPORTUNITIESBusiness development for different segments and in developing marketsFollow the market trends and social onesPossibility of increase in the number of attractions due to a new segmentationReduction in Operating costsDisney Television Advertising and Disney Channel MusicDisney management and training schoolOnline development | TREATSSecurity difficulties in parks – treat of terrorismCope with the employee retentionAn increase in the competition in the industryIncrease in the competition due to technology advances and innovation both on domestic and international market Demand for innovation on the market Economic and Financial Crisis Wages and labor costs will increase | The SWOT analysis sheds light on the context of the Walt Disney Company. It focuses both on core features / competencies but also on the diversity of the corporation`s portfolio.The environment is highly competitive for the Walt Disney Company, but providing operations globally enables the existence of an efficiency related to the speed the information of knowledge travels around the company from unit to unit. This one of the most important features, and, thus strengths of the core competences Disney supports, because it reduces the operational costs. Thus, the company benefits from an intensive transfer of expertise across diverse markets. By being constantly up-dated with the new technologies and innovations and by disposing of an impressive amount of knowledge, the Walt Disney Company also benefits from continuous innovation. This is fostered also by the politics of the company that allows employees the direct participation in both generating and implementing new innovative solutions across businesses.Another important strength is the experience in international operations that sustains the brand awareness and enables the development of local knowledge, which defines synergies over strategic business units along with the existent learning curve. In terms of diversity, Disney covers a portfolio of various activities with a wide-ranging interest and this structuration protects the company from different conditions and instabilities on the markets, therefore a balanced portfolio provides security. Another important strength is the fact that Disney Corporation provides a really influent Media network that allows the company share and benefit from good image communication.For instance the ESPN Radio, the Disney Television Networks that increased group profits in the first quarter of 2011 due to strong advertising, the Toon Channel and many other entertaining shows that the group broadcasts. In terms of weaknesses, the most aggressive one is the seasonality among customers related to the objective of park occupancy, which is fulfilled only during holydays and special events. This pattern makes the activity in parks more or less dependent on the seasonality. Alongside with the seasonality, another important aspect is the unbalances that occur among its SBUs in terms of profits, cash flows and operating costs. Nevertheless, this is a cause of seasonality, but it also reflects the poor management controlling at the group level.The opportunities are very large at the size of a group as Disney Corporation and if the strategic decisions are respected the company can benefit from: new markets, increase in advertising (which is also sustained by the Segmented Results of 2011), differentiation in strategy and use of new developed technologies in order to maintain innovation. One of the main treats of Disney would be to cope with the employee retention which is strongly connected to the employee performance evaluation and the way according to which the Walt Disney Company aligns its goals / strategy with its employees` needs. As customers have a direct influence over company`s pro fitability, it is important to maintain a good communication flow and to built ways that could provide Disney strong analysis of customer satisfaction and feedback.

Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Thirteen

Two weeks after we landed on Roanoke, Magdy, Enzo, Gretchen and I went for a walk. â€Å"Watch where you land,† Magdy told us. â€Å"There are some big rocks down here.† â€Å"Great,† Gretchen said. She shined her pocket light – acceptable technology, no computer equipment in it, just an old-fashioned LED – at the ground, looking for a place to land, and then hopped down from the edge of the container wall, aiming for her preferred spot. Enzo and I heard the oof as she landed, and then a bit of cursing. â€Å"I told you to watch where you landed,† Magdy said, shining his light on her. â€Å"Shut it, Magdy,† she said. â€Å"We shouldn't even be out here. You're going to get us all in trouble.† â€Å"Yeah, well,† Magdy said. â€Å"Your words would have more moral authority if you weren't actually out here with me.† He flicked his light up off of Gretchen and toward me and Enzo, still up on the container wall. â€Å"You two planning to join us?† â€Å"Will you please stop with the light?† Enzo said. â€Å"The patrol is going to see it.† â€Å"The patrol is on the other side of the container wall,† Magdy said. â€Å"Although if you don't hurry it up, that's not going to be the case for long. So move it.† He flicked the light back and forth quickly in Enzo's face, making an annoying strobe effect. Enzo sighed and slid down off the container wall; I heard the muffled thump a second later. Which left me, feeling suddenly very exposed on the top of the containers that were the defensive perimeter around our little village – and also the frontier beyond which we were not allowed to go at night. â€Å"Come on,† Enzo whispered up to me. He, at least, remembered we weren't supposed to be out and modulated his voice accordingly. â€Å"Jump down. I'll catch you.† â€Å"Are you dumb?† I asked, also in a whispery voice. â€Å"You'll end up with my shoes in your eye sockets.† â€Å"It was a joke,† Enzo said. â€Å"Fine,† I said. â€Å"Don't catch me.† â€Å"Jeez, Zoe,† Magdy said, in a definite nonwhisper. â€Å"Will you jump already?† I hopped off the container wall, down the three meters or so from the top, and tumbled a little when I landed. Enzo flicked his light on me, and offered me a hand up. I took it and squinted up at him as he pulled me up. Then I flicked my own light over to where Magdy was. â€Å"Jerk,† I told him. Magdy shrugged. â€Å"Come on,† he said, and started along the perimeter of the wall toward our destination. A few minutes later we were all flashing our lights into a hole. â€Å"Wow,† Gretchen said. â€Å"We've just broken curfew and risked being accidentally shot by the night guard for this. A hole in the ground. I'm picking our next field trip, Magdy.† Magdy snorted and knelt down into the hole. â€Å"If you actually paid attention to anything, you'd know that this hole has the council in a panic,† Magdy said. â€Å"Something dug this out the other night while the patrol wasn't watching. Something was trying to get in to the colony from out here.† He took his light and moved it up the nearest container until he spotted something. â€Å"Look. There are scratches on the container. Something tried to go over the top, and then when it couldn't it tried to go under.† â€Å"So what you're saying is that we're out here now with a bunch of predators,† I said. â€Å"It doesn't have to be a predator,† Magdy said. â€Å"Maybe it's just something that likes to dig.† I flicked my light back up to the claw marks. â€Å"Yeah, that's a reasonable theory.† â€Å"We couldn't have seen this during the day?† Gretchen asked. â€Å"When we could see the things that can leap out and eat us?† Magdy motioned his light over to me. â€Å"Her mom had her security people around it all day long. They weren't letting anybody else near it. Besides, whatever made this hole is long gone now.† â€Å"I'll remind you that you said that when something tears out your throat,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Relax,† Magdy said. â€Å"I'm prepared. And anyway, this hole is just the opening act. My dad is friends with some of the security folks. One of them told him that just before they closed everything up for the night, they saw a herd of those fanties over in the woods. I say we go look.† â€Å"We should get back,† Enzo said. â€Å"We shouldn't even be out here, Magdy. If they find us out there, we're all going to catch hell. We can see the fanties tomorrow. When the sun is up, and we can actually see them.† â€Å"Tomorrow they'll be awake and foraging,† Magdy said. â€Å"And there's no way we're going to be able to do anything other than look at them through binoculars.† Magdy pointed at me again. â€Å"Let me remind you that her parents have kept us cooped up for two weeks now, waiting to find out if anything might bruise us on this planet.† â€Å"Or kill us,† I said. â€Å"Which would be a problem.† Magdy waved this away. â€Å"My point is that if we actually want to see these things – actually get close enough to them that we can get a good look at them – we have to do it now. They're asleep, no one knows we're gone, and we'll be back before anyone misses us.† â€Å"I still think we should go back,† Enzo said. â€Å"Enzo, I know this is taking away from valuable make-out time with your girlfriend,† Magdy said, â€Å"but I thought you might want to explore something other than Zoe's tonsils for once.† Magdy was very lucky he wasn't in arm's reach when he made that comment. Either my arm or Enzo's. â€Å"You're being an ass again, Magdy,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Fine,† Magdy said. â€Å"You guys go back. I'll see you later. I'm going to see me some fanties.† He started toward the woods, waving his pocket light in the grass (or grasslike ground cover) as he walked. I shined my light over to Gretchen. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and started walking after Magdy. After a minute Enzo and I followed. Take an elephant. Make it just a little smaller. Lose the ears. Make its trunk shorter and tentaclly at the end. Stretch out its legs until it almost but not quite seems impossible that they could support the weight. Give it four eyes. And then do other assorted weird things to its body until it's not that it looks like an elephant, it's just that it looks more like an elephant than it looks like anything else you can think of. That's a fantie. In the two weeks we'd been trapped in the colony village, waiting for the â€Å"all clear† to actually begin colonization, the fanties had been spotted several times, either in the woods near the village or just barely in the clearing between the village and the woods. A fantie spotting would bring up a mad rush of children to the colony gate (a gap in the container wall, closed up at night) to look and gawk and wave to the creatures. It would also bring a somewhat more studiously casual wave of us teenagers, because we wanted to see them too, we just didn't want to seem too interested, since that would mess with our credibility with all our new friends. Certainly Magdy never gave any indication of actually caring about the fanties at all. He'd allow himself to be dragged to the gate by Gretchen when a herd passed by, but then he spent most of his time talking to the other guys who were also happy to make it look like they had gotten dragged to the gate. Just goes to show, I suppose. Even the self-consciously cool had a streak of kid in them. There was some argument as to whether the fanties we saw were a local group that lived in the area, or whether we'd seen a number of herds that were just migrating through. I had no idea which theory was right; we'd only been on planet for a couple of weeks. And from a distance, all the fanties looked pretty much the same. And up close, as we quickly discovered, they smelled horrible. â€Å"Does everything on this planet smell like crap?† Gretchen whispered to me as we glanced up at the fanties. They waved back and forth, ever so slightly, as they slept standing on their legs. As if to answer her question, one of the fanties closest to where we were hiding let rip a monumental fart. We gagged and giggled equally. â€Å"Shhhh,† Enzo said. He and Magdy were crouched behind another tall bush a couple of meters over from us, just short of the clearing where the fantie herd had decided to rest for the night. There were about a dozen of them, all sleeping and farting under the stars. Enzo didn't seem to be enjoying the visit very much; I think he was worried about us accidentally waking the fanties. This was not a minor concern; fantie legs looked spindly from a distance but up close it was clear they could trample any one of us without too much of a problem, and there were a dozen fanties here. If we woke them up and they panicked, we could end up being pounded into mincemeat. I think he was also still a little sore about the â€Å"exploring tonsils† comment. Magdy, in his usual less-than-charming way, had been digging at Enzo ever since he and I officially started going out. The taunts rose and fell depending on what Magdy's relationship with Gretchen was at the moment. I was guessing at the moment Gretchen had cut him off. Sometimes I thought I needed a graph or maybe a flow chart to understand how the two of them got along. Another one of the fanties let off an epic load of flatulence. â€Å"If we stay here any longer, I'm going to suffocate,† I whispered to Gretchen. She nodded and motioned me to follow her. We snuck over to where Enzo and Magdy were. â€Å"Can we go now?† Gretchen whispered to Magdy. â€Å"I know you're probably enjoying the smell, but the rest of us are about to lose dinner. And we've been gone long enough that someone might start wondering where we went.† â€Å"In a minute,† Magdy said. â€Å"I want to get closer to one.† â€Å"You're joking,† Gretchen said. â€Å"We've come this far,† Magdy said. â€Å"You really are an idiot sometimes, you know that?† Gretchen said. â€Å"You don't just go walking up to a herd of wild animals and say hello. They'll kill you.† â€Å"They're asleep,† Magdy said. â€Å"They won't be if you walk right into the middle of them,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I'm not that stupid,† Magdy said, his whispered voice becoming louder the more irritated he became. He pointed to the one closest to us. â€Å"I just want to get closer to that one. It's not going to be a problem. Stop worrying.† Before Gretchen could retort Enzo put his hand up to quiet them both. â€Å"Look,† he said, and pointed halfway down the clearing. â€Å"One of them is waking up.† â€Å"Oh, wonderful,† Gretchen said. The fantie in question shook its head and then lifted it, spreading the tentacles on its trunk wide. It waved them back and forth. â€Å"What's it doing?† I asked Enzo. He shrugged. He was no more an expert on fanties than I was. It waved its tentacles some more, in a wider arc, and then it came to me what it was doing. It was smelling something. Something that shouldn't be there. The fantie bellowed, not from its trunk like an elephant, but from its mouth. All the other fanties were instantly awake and bellowing, and beginning to move. I looked over to Gretchen. Oh, crap, I mouthed. She nodded, and looked back over at the fanties. I looked over at Magdy, who had made himself suddenly very small. I don't think he wanted to get any closer now. The fantie closest to us wheeled about and scraped against the bush we were hiding behind. I heard the thud of its foot as the animal maneuvered itself into a new position. I decided it was time to move but my body overruled me, since it wasn't giving me control of my legs. I was frozen in place, squatting behind a bush, waiting for my trampling. Which never came. A second later the fantie was gone, run off in the same direction as the rest of its herd: away from us. Magdy popped up from his crouching position, and listened to the herd rumbling off in the distance. â€Å"All right,† he said. â€Å"What just happened?† â€Å"I thought they smelled us for sure,† I said. â€Å"I thought they'd found us.† â€Å"I told you you were an idiot,† Gretchen said to Magdy. â€Å"If you'd been out there when they woke up, we'd be scooping what was left of you into a bucket.† The two of them started sniping at each other; I turned to look at Enzo, who had turned to face the opposite direction from where the fanties had run. He had his eyes closed but it looked like he was concentrating on something. â€Å"What is it?† I asked. He opened his eyes, looked at me, and then pointed in the direction he was facing. â€Å"The breeze is coming from this direction,† he said. â€Å"Okay,† I said. I wasn't following him. â€Å"Have you ever gone hunting?† Enzo asked. I shook my head. â€Å"We were upwind of the fanties,† he said. â€Å"The wind was blowing our scent away from them.† He pointed to where the first fantie to wake up had been. â€Å"I don't think that fantie would have smelled us at all.† Click. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Now I get it.† Enzo turned to Magdy and Gretchen. â€Å"Guys,† he said. â€Å"It's time to leave. Now.† Magdy flashed his pocket light at Enzo and seemed ready to say something sarcastic, then caught the expression on Enzo's face in the pocket light's circle. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"The fanties didn't run off because of us,† Enzo said. â€Å"I think there's something else out there. Something that hunts the fanties. And I think it's coming this way.† It's a cliche of horror entertainments to have teenagers lost in the woods, imagining they're being chased by something horrible that's right behind them. And now I know why. If you ever want to feel like you're on the verge of total, abject bowel-releasing terror, try making your way a klick or two out of a forest, at night, with the certain feeling you're being hunted. It makes you feel alive, it really does, but not in a way you want to feel alive. Magdy was in the lead, of course, although whether he was leading because he knew the way back or just because he was running fast enough that the rest of us had to chase him was up for debate. Gretchen and I followed, and Enzo took up the rear. Once I slowed down to check on him and he waved me off. â€Å"Stay with Gretchen,† he said. Then I realized that he was intentionally staying behind us so whatever might be following us would have to get through him first. I would have kissed him right then if I hadn't been a quivering mess of adrenaline, desperately running to get home. â€Å"Through here,† Magdy said to us. He pointed at an irregular natural path that I recognized as being the one we used to get into the forest in the first place. I was focusing on getting on that path and then something stepped in behind Gretchen and grabbed me. I screamed. There was a bang, followed by a muffled thump, followed by a shout. Ezno launched himself at what grabbed at me. A second later he was on the forest floor, Dickory's knife at his throat. It took me longer than it should have to recognize who it was holding the knife. â€Å"Dickory!† I yelled. â€Å"Stop!† Dickory paused. â€Å"Let him go,† I said. â€Å"He's no danger to me.† Dickory removed the knife and stepped away from Enzo. Enzo scrambled away from Dickory, and away from me. â€Å"Hickory?† I called. â€Å"Is everything all right?† From ahead, I heard Hickory's voice. â€Å"Your friend had a handgun. I have disarmed him.† â€Å"He's choking me!† Magdy said. â€Å"If Hickory wanted to choke you, you wouldn't be able to talk,† I yelled back. â€Å"Let him go, Hickory.† â€Å"I am keeping his handgun,† Hickory said. There was a rustle in the darkness as Magdy picked himself up. â€Å"Fine,† I said. Now that we stopped moving, it was like someone pulled a stopper, and all the adrenaline in my body was falling out from the bottom of my feet. I crouched down to keep from falling over. â€Å"No, not fine,† Magdy said. I saw him emerge out of the gloom, stalking toward me. Dickory interposed itself between me and Magdy. Magdy's stalking came to a quick halt. â€Å"That's my dad's gun. If he finds it missing, I'm dead.† â€Å"What were you doing with the gun in the first place?† Gretchen asked. She had also come back to where I was standing, Hickory following behind her. â€Å"I told you I was prepared,† Magdy said, and then turned to me. â€Å"You need to tell your bodyguards that they need to be more careful.† He pointed at Hickory. â€Å"I almost took off that one's head.† â€Å"Hickory?† I said. â€Å"I was not in any serious danger,† Hickory said, blandly. His attention seemed elsewhere. â€Å"I want my gun back,† Magdy said. I think he was trying for threatening; he failed when his voice cracked. â€Å"Hickory will give you your dad's gun back when we get back to the village,† I said. I felt a fatigue headache coming on. â€Å"Now,† Magdy said. â€Å"For God's sake, Magdy,† I snapped. I was suddenly very tired, and angry. â€Å"Will you please just shut up about your damn gun. You're lucky you didn't kill one of us with it. And you're lucky you didn't hit one of them† – I waved at Dickory and then Hickory – â€Å"because then you would be dead, and the rest of us would have to explain how it happened. So just shut up about the stupid gun. Shut up and let's go home.† Magdy stared at me, then stomped off into the gloom, toward the village. Enzo gave me a strange look and then followed his friend. â€Å"Perfect,† I said, and squeezed my temples with my hands. The monster headache I was on the verge of had arrived, and it was a magnificent specimen. â€Å"We should return to the village,† Hickory said to me. â€Å"You think?† I said, and then stood up and stomped off, away from it and Dickory, back to the village. Gretchen, suddenly left with my two bodyguards for company, was not far behind me. â€Å"I don't want one word of what happened tonight to get back to John and Jane,† I said to Hickory, as it, Dickory and I stood in the common area of the village. At this time of night there were only a couple of other people who were loitering there, and they quickly disappeared when Hickory and Dickory showed up. Two weeks had not been enough time for people to get used to them. We had the common area to ourselves. â€Å"As you say,† Hickory said. â€Å"Thank you,† I said, and started walking away from them again, toward the tent I shared with my parents. â€Å"You should not have been in the woods,† Hickory said. That stopped me. I turned around to face Hickory. â€Å"Excuse me?† I said. â€Å"You should not have been in the woods,† Hickory said. â€Å"Not without our protection.† â€Å"We had protection,† I said, and some part of my brain didn't believe those words had actually come out of my mouth. â€Å"Your protection was a handgun wielded by someone who did not know how to use it,† Hickory said. â€Å"The bullet he fired went into the ground less than thirty centimeters from him. He almost shot himself in the foot. I disarmed him because he was a threat to himself, not to me.† â€Å"I'll be sure to tell him that,† I said. â€Å"But it doesn't matter. I don't need your permission, Hickory, to do what I please. You and Dickory aren't my parents. And your treaty doesn't say you can tell me what to do.† â€Å"You are free to do as you will,† Hickory said. â€Å"But you took an unnecessary risk to yourself, both by going into the forest and by not informing us of your intent.† â€Å"That didn't stop you from coming in after me,† I said. It came out like an accusation, because I was in an accusatory mood. â€Å"No,† Hickory said. â€Å"So you took it on yourself to follow me around when I didn't give you permission to do so,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Don't do that again,† I said. â€Å"I know privacy is an alien concept to you, but sometimes I don't want you around. Can you understand that? You† – I pointed at Dickory – â€Å"nearly cut my boyfriend's throat tonight. I know you don't like him, but that's a little much.† â€Å"Dickory would not have harmed Enzo,† Hickory said. â€Å"Enzo doesn't know that,† I said, and turned back to Dickory. â€Å"And what if he had gotten in a good hit on you? You might have hurt him just to keep him down. I don't need this kind of protection. And I don't want it.† Hickory and Dickory stood there silently, soaking up my anger. After a couple of seconds, I got bored with this. â€Å"Well?† I said. â€Å"You were running out of the forest when you came by us,† Hickory said. â€Å"Yeah? So?† I said. â€Å"We thought we might be being chased by something. Something spooked the fanties we were watching and Enzo thought it might have been a predator or something. It was a false alarm. There was nothing behind us or else it would have caught up with us when you two leaped out of nowhere and scared the crap out of all of us.† â€Å"No,† Hickory said. â€Å"No? You didn't scare the crap out of us?† I said. â€Å"I beg to differ.† â€Å"No,† Hickory said. â€Å"You were being followed.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† I said. â€Å"There was nothing behind us.† â€Å"They were in the trees,† Hickory said. â€Å"They were pacing you from above. Moving ahead of you. We heard them before we heard you.† I felt weak. â€Å"Them?† I said. â€Å"It is why we took you as soon as we heard you coming,† Hickory said. â€Å"To protect you.† â€Å"What were they?† I asked. â€Å"We don't know,† Hickory said. â€Å"We did not have the time to make any good observation. And we believe your friend's gunshot scared them off.† â€Å"So it wasn't necessarily something hunting us,† I said. â€Å"It could have been anything.† â€Å"Perhaps,† Hickory said, in that studiously neutral way it had when it didn't want to disagree with me. â€Å"Whatever they were, they were moving along with you and your group.† â€Å"Guys, I'm tired,† I said, because I didn't want to think about any of this anymore, and if I did think about it anymore – about the idea that some pack of creatures was following us in the trees – I might have a collapse right there in the common area. â€Å"Can we have this conversation tomorrow?† â€Å"As you wish, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"Thank you,† I said, and started shuffling off toward my cot. â€Å"And remember what I said about not telling my parents.† â€Å"We will not tell your parents,† Hickory said. â€Å"And remember what I said about not following me,† I said. They said nothing to this. I waved at them tiredly and went off to sleep. I found Enzo outside his family's tent the next morning, reading a book. â€Å"Wow, a real book,† I said. â€Å"Who did you kill to get that?† â€Å"I borrowed it from one of the Mennonite kids,† he said. He showed the spine to me. â€Å"Huckleberry Finn. You heard of it?† â€Å"You're asking a girl from a planet named Huckleberry if she's heard of Huckleberry Finn,† I said. I hoped the incredulous tone of my voice would convey amusement. Apparently not. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. â€Å"I didn't make the connection.† He flipped the book open to where he had been reading. â€Å"Listen,† I said. â€Å"I wanted to thank you. For what you did last night.† Enzo looked up over his book. â€Å"I didn't do anything last night.† â€Å"You stayed behind Gretchen and me,† I said. â€Å"You put yourself between us and whatever was following us. I just wanted you to know I appreciated it.† Enzo shrugged. â€Å"Not that there was anything following us after all,† he said. I thought about telling him about what Hickory told me, but kept it in. â€Å"And when something did come out at you, it was ahead of me. So I wasn't much help, actually.† â€Å"Yeah, about that,† I said. â€Å"I wanted to apologize for that. For the thing with Dickory.† I didn't really know how to put that. I figured saying Sorry for when my alien bodyguard very nearly took your head off with a knife wouldn't really go over well. â€Å"Don't worry about it,† Enzo said. â€Å"I do worry about it,† I said. â€Å"Don't,† Enzo said. â€Å"Your bodyguard did its job.† For a second it seemed like Enzo would say something more, but then he cocked his head and looked at me like he was waiting for me to wrap up whatever it was I was doing, so he could get back to his very important book. It suddenly occurred to me that Enzo hadn't written me any poetry since we landed on Roanoke. â€Å"Well, okay then,† I said, lamely. â€Å"I guess I'll see you a little later, then.† â€Å"Sounds good,† Enzo said, and then gave me a friendly wave and put his nose into Huck Finn's business. I walked back to my tent and found Babar inside and went over to him and gave him a hug. â€Å"Congratulate me, Babar,† I said. â€Å"I think I just had my first fight with my boyfriend.† Babar licked my face. That made it a little better. But not much.