Bouncers Essay Example

Bouncers Paper Bouncers was a comedy that was enacted solely by four men dressed throughout in simple black tuxedos, indicating, of course, that they were doormen. These four men played a variety of at least three different characters each- both male and female- and depicted the typical Friday nightlife scene via snapshots of different people and their contrasting perspectives. John Godber, the creator of Bouncers originally came from the North of England. He obviously based his play around a setting that he was familiar with, and writes about his own experiences. The play is a social comment on the life of the uneducated working class in the UK, but has been performed all over the world. We watched the play in Dubai, a city with a cultural background that is quite different from the UK. This was probably why many of the jokes and puns cracked in the course of the play were lost out on the audience. However, I found it commendable that the actors had kept this in mind and had altered parts of the script to include little trivial things like specific venues in the city of Dubai. For example, going to the Mall of the Emirates was mentioned casually at one point. This appealed to the audience since it not only made the play seem more relevant, but it made them feel special since it seemed like it had been engineered specially for them. On first entering the theatre itself, the mood of the play was created. The hall was small and compact with a simple stage and rows of seats that were placed one behind another rather than in levels. The racy 90s dance music that blared from the speakers gave the audience a taster of what they would expect. Four solemn-looking men greeted us at the door, their smart black tuxedos making it clear that they were bouncers. They sternly told some people off for being so informal as to appear in sneakers but when the lights dimmed, we were in for a surprise: the bouncers climbed onto stage as the actors themselves! I thought that this was a nice touch to not only warm up the actors so that they fully immersed themselves in the character, but also an excellent way to set the scene and get the audience more involved in the play by giving them a fully rounded theatre experience using invisible theatre techniques as well. We will write a custom essay sample on Bouncers specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Bouncers specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Bouncers specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The story centered mainly on the lives of four nightclub bouncers: Les (Matthew Duquenoy), Judd (Jonathan Floyd), Ralph (Simon Watts), and Lucky Eric (John Carter). Of these four, Lucky Eric could perhaps be called the protagonist. He was older and generally more solemn than his three colleagues. As the plot unfolded we discovered that he tended to be as compassionate as the other males described in the story were shameful and disreputable. Lucky Eric had many monologues throughout the play, and through them he related instances that really convinced us of his character- instances like how angry he would get when he would see young, drunk schoolgirls taken advantage of by the vulgar men who frequented the nightclubs. Eric has quite a tragic past, with a wife who left him to become a sleazy bar girl. He is essentially a lonely man, but tries to hide it under his macho, tough character. The other, younger bouncers also tease him constantly about his body image. The stories of eight people, enjoying a night out, were also depicted- four men and four women. It was interesting to see their varied range of personality. The girls ranged from the exotic Sexy Suzy to the more mundane headache-ridden Elaine. The men also were of varying characters. Through all the fast-paced action, however, the play held a deep underlying message that was not lost out in all the humour. It was a message showing how hopeless and bleak peoples lives could become. What all the characters shared was the feeling of failure, since they felt that the only way they could be successful was to enjoy the nightlife. All the characters were desperate people who went out at night looking for love, mistakenly lost under the illusion that sex was love. What I admired most was the fact that they were completely independent of sets and props. The set was a plain black stage and remained the same throughout, with only two bar stools for aid. Despite this, however, the actors used their space to its full potential. The lack of props did not prevent them from pretending that there were props. In some cases, one of them would casually rest an elbow on the empty air, effectively representing the idea that they were leaning against a non-existent table. Since the characters played so many roles, they had to be able to switch between them effectively in such a way that the audience would not be confused as to who they were playing. To go about this, the actors exaggerated their characters and made them more physical- using their voice, actions and postures. When they were playing women, the actors minced about stage with their shoulders held back, talking in a high pitch and making use of their space by angling their hands and gesturing in very stereotypically feminine ways. Sexy Suzy was a perfect example: she made it clear that all the men around her hung on to her every word and struck very feminine poses. It was essential for the characters to be stereotypical if we had to be able to distinguish between the men and the women (since the costumes remained the same). To do this, the actors included little acts which are typically associated with females: when the girls are first shown on stage, they are doing each others hair and gossiping wide-eyed about each other. When Rosie loses her boyfriend she wails mournfully in an overly dramatic way. It is particularly funny to see the girls behaving very sweet to each others faces while making snide remarks behind each others backs. The women were depicted as shallow, superficial characters. Despite being equipped with only a handbag each for props, it was sometimes almost easy to forget the girls were in fact men! It was obviously much easier for the actors to play men, yet it was no easy task to accurately portray their contrasting personalities. However this was done very well. Emphasis and exaggeration was used to their advantage. I thought that Lucky Eric, in particular, did a great job in displaying to us strong emotions like his pent-up fury. His monologues provided an insight into his innermost thoughts, and were delivered with such power and attack that we could feel what he was feeling. One of his strongest monologues was when he told the story of how angry he had felt when he once saw a group of young men taking advantage of a drunk girl in a bar. Lucky Eric spoke with extreme feeling. Give me a kiss, they said, said Lucky Eric about the men in the bar. When explaining this, his tone of voice got loud and full of rage. But at the end, Lucky Eric explained that after he had sent the men away, he had turned to the girl. Give me a kiss, she said. The line was timely and excellent, using the power of repetition; and Eric used it to its full potential. Having reached the anticlimax of his monologue, his voice became soft and almost wounded, his shoulders hunched and his head hung. The last lines of this monologue were delivered with equal power, in a tone of frustration and sadness: Go home, I told her. Just-just go home. Despite this, I felt that Lucky Erics monologues could have been slightly shorter. I appreciated that the slow tempo of the monologues was meant intentionally to contrast the fast pace of the rest of the play; and that the slow tempo was meant to create a deeper message. However, they were slightly rambling and Eric tended to repeat himself slightly. Perhaps if he had moved around more then his monologues might have been more effective. He tended to stand still in one spot throughout his speech, and alternate between two or three expressions and postures only. The audiences attention was distracted slightly when these monologues came on. Judd also did a good job in showing his personality- his immaturity and fickleness was depicted in the way sheer boredom made him eager to get involved in fights. He would constantly try to provoke Lucky Eric, teasing him about something that Eric found very painful: the thought of his wife. In the scene where Eric finally breaks and fights with him, Judd turns morose and resentful. The director planned this scene well, making their fight look realistic by using space well. The audience probably found this scene unexpected but it was effective in illustrating the personalities of the two characters. Not only was the pitch and tenor of the voice involved in character transition, but accents were also a useful tool in this. At one point, the actors had to play upper-class men, going golfing. Their accents and their postures changed dramatically: they became more formal, more proper, their voices became deeper and cleaner, and they looked taller as if they were aware of their importance. The audience found these two upper class men very funny because it was so contrasting from the other, more coarse characters. It was a sort of light break from the plot because it showed, just for an instance, that there were people other than the working class, that the working class depicted only a segment of UK nightlife. Positioning was the other character transition aid. When changing roles, the characters spun around about their feet and landed in a position and posture that was suited to the new role. The bouncers, despite walking around during their speeches, always initially started off in one row with their hands behind their backs and their feet slightly apart (probably to indicate a more masculine posture). This was a method of showing rather than telling the audience that they were someone different. During monologues, the positioning and the lighting changed. The stage was bathed in a yellowish white light, with a spotlight focused on the key character, who moved forward to occupy the center of the stage. The other characters, meanwhile, moved back and faced their backs to the audience. There was one scene where Les was explaining his travails with a rugby team who came to the bar, and the other three actors played the rugby team on the other corner of the stage while Les talked in a spotlight. These methods were very effective because they focused attention on one actor, and the audience therefore found it easier to understand his perspective. Lighting was a very important element of the play. To make up for the lack of set, creative lighting was used in certain places to enhance the mood of the moment. In the scene inside the disco there were multicoloured lights flashing through the stage, and for a scene in which they were depicting a pornographic movie, a white strobe light flashed rhythmically; helping not only to create the sleazy background, but also to make it clear that the scene was on TV. Each set of characters was given its own lighting scheme. When the four actors were playing bouncers, the shape projected on the background screen was blue, when they were playing the young men, the shape was green, and when they were playing women it was pink. The colours were carefully chosen to be symbolic of the groups of characters they were representing; for example, pink is generally associated with women and blue is a more masculine colour. The shape that was projected on the screen rremained the same for the most part of the play. It was a rough contour of a heart, which was again symbolic of the theme of the play. At the end of Act One, the heart was highlighted in red, perhaps to emphasize what the characters were looking for. Music was an element that was used throughout the performance. Light rhythmic instrumentals were used to build up the tempo etc. and sometimes, specific songs were used as part of the comedy. When Rosy found that her boyfriend had been cheating on her, she sobs loudly on stage, and suddenly, the song I will survive plays on the speakers with Rosie lip-synching along in a dramatic and hilarious way! When the bouncers come on stage, deep classical music is played to give a very macho, manly feel. It is also interesting to note that when Lucky Eric and Judd have a fight, the music that is playing is from the ballet Romeo and Juliet; it is the song that is played when the rich Capulet is showing off about his wealth. Although the play had a realistic setting and a very genuine message to give, the performance itself did not use naturalistic techniques. Drama techniques like flashbacks, audience asides, monologues, tableaux and freeze-frames were constantly employed throughout the performance. The lighting was also strong and vibrant, in colours that were perhaps more symbolic than realistic. The costume and make-up were as subtle as the sets and props. The four characters never changed out of their black tuxedos, and if they had had any make-up on it was just so that their faces could be seen clearly against the light. The tuxedos were simple, universal, and made them all look the same. The wonderful thing about Bouncers was the fact that it not only had good acting, but also a good script. The language used accurately portrayed the setting, and the conversations held different contrasts. There were monologues where the tempo of the play needed to be slowed down, but there were rapid interplays of dialogue between characters when they needed to maintain the upbeat rhythm. Much of the script rhymed too. This added to the humour in the play! Some specific scenes were particularly impressive. In some dancing scenes, only the four actors managed to effectively give the impression of being caught in a crowd of people. They pushed, shoved, crawled, and mopped sweat from their brows; everything appropriately exaggerated. Another scene was a snapshot of a taxi ride, and although there were no props, sets or even parts of the dialogue that suggested that the characters were in a taxi, just their actions made it clear. They swayed, jolted and panted where the taxi was too fast, and even bounced in their seats where necessary. The movie scene was also well depicted. Two of the actors were playing the characters in the TV itself while the other two were watching the scene. The two watching the scene occasionally paused the movie by raising an arm- and the TV scene then froze. When a rewind had to be done, the TV characters enacted all their movements backwards. I thought that this was very effective. What really makes a play successful is using the medium of acting uniquely and effectively. The play should be able to give you a different feeling than if you had read the story in a book, or watched it as a movie. Bouncers definitely fulfilled this criterion. The variety of techniques that were used, along with the superb acting skills and the physical actions made us feel that the storyline wasnt the only important thing in the story; we wouldnt have felt the same if we had read it in a book. Similarly, the audience interaction in the beginning of the show, as well as the general atmosphere that had been created, made one feel that it was better to have watched Bouncers as a play in a theatre rather than a movie on TV. In conclusion, I was awed by the performance of the actors in Bouncers and was impressed by the script and the directions. The play was a source of inspiration to succeed in my own devised dramas!

5 Essays - World Wide Web, Social Media, Computing, Free Essays

5 Essays - World Wide Web, Social Media, Computing, Free Essays Historical development of twitter Student's name Institution affiliation Instructor's name Course Date of submission Introduction In recent times social media has dramatically developed across the world. One of the social media that has seen adverse developments is twitter. Twitter has significantly improved to become one of the largest social media platforms across the globe. Twitter has become one of the most popular social networks used in the modern world, but it started as a micro-blogging platform ( Zappavigna, 2017 ) . The history twitter dates back to the year 2006 when its initiator jack Dorsey gave birth to this knowledge . It was initially used to platform for sending mess ages that people used to keep tabs with one another. Its initial name was Twttr , a name that was suggested by Noah Glass who at the time was specialized in software development. Twitter has gone through numerous changes thus making it one of the most leadin g social media across the world. In 2006 it was the principal founder of twitter Mr. Jack was able to send the first tweet. At the time Twitter was developing its users were supposed to spend hundreds of dollars to pay for service charges for sending SMS using their phones ( Gruber, etal, 2015 ) . During this time twitter faced a significant challenge due to the release Apple platform which essentially killed ideas business idea, this called for the owner's efforts to buy their company from the investors. At this time Twitter was facing a lot of challenges and controversies, this affected one of the critical founder Noah Glass who was left out of the new company. At the time Twitter has developed i t had a limit of 140 characters, this was because its founders had developed a platform for exchanging messages and during the inv ention period to carry characters . However, this has seen dramatic changes in the past years to overcome this challenge. By the year 2017 Twitter has developed and increased the number of characters to 28 0 giving its users more opportunity to pass out their message. In the few years since its invention, Twitter has significantly grown thus becoming one of the primary social media platform used across the globe (Mei, etal, 2017) . It has offered businesspeople and other persons a chance to grow their business to achieve their objectives in the world market. An increasing number of characters greatly helped users in reducing time wasted in sending various tweets thus condensing their thoughts. In 2007 twitter saw significant developments in its growth during the southwest interactive conference. Users of Twitter exploded broadly thus becoming one of the fastest growing social networks. More than 60,000 tweets were sent per day durin g this event. As Twitter users started, growing users were able to create new jargons and various ways to use the service. According to, Carpenter, (2015) in the beginning users could not reply to one another on Twitter. This called for more innovations to be made concerning responding tweets thus leading to use of hashtags before identifying another user on a tweet. This was a significant step in the development of Twitter. By the end of 2018 twitter had achieved more than 300 million users globally. In conclusion, the introduction of Twitter in the social media platform played a critical role in bringing people close. People were able to communicate more efficiently using Twitter; this also saw rapid development in business. Rapid changes in technology played a vital role in the invention of Twitter , which has currently become one of the most leading social platforms. Even though it was faced with various challenges, its founders were able to overcome all these odds and thus to make it one of the most successful media platforms. References Carpenter, J. (2015). Preservice teachers' microblogging: Professional development via Twitter. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education , 15 (2), 209-234. Gruber, D. A., Smerek, R. E., Thomas-Hunt, M. C., James, E. H. (2015). The real-time power of Twitter: Crisis management and leadership in an age of social media. Business Horizons , 58 (2), 163-172. Mei, Y., Zhao, W., Yang, J. (2017, June). Maximizing the Effectiveness

Community Coffee Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Community Coffee - Research Paper Example Coffee business in any sense should be solely based on quality because if the leaders are not highly riled up about sourcing the finest coffee beans from different regions by effectively cooperating with the people who grow them, the business never transforms into a ceaseless passion but always remains a business established principally for personal gains. Therefore, the management at Community Coffee considers it significantly valuable to make prodigious investments in the people whose job is to grow the most fervently sought coffee beans. We seriously consider these people are most respected partners and always intend to treat them with value and dignity in order to foster a solid partnership which is reputable for fueling a business. Community Coffee targets people from all backgrounds irrespective of class, racial, ethnic, and economic differences. Diversity is embraced by the staff here which not only considers the customers as people who come to get a cup of coffee but as digni fied humans with whom it is important to develop a sound connection which would go farther from just coffee. Together the management and staff at Community Coffee attempt to achieve a competitive edge over other similar businesses by religiously following the core values and business ethics which are essential to sustain success and customer satisfaction. When it is honestly tried by the business leaders to merge together business and ethics in different areas like leadership, decision-making processes, employee management, production, and customer satisfaction, the consequences prove to be quite fruitful for the organizations. Leading by example and behaving in accordance with the professional code of conduct to win the durable trust of the customers is a critically important area which the management at Community Coffee intends to make its hallmark. It is considered fundamentally important by Community Coffee to make wise investments at the right time because in the present fierce ly competitive and dynamic business world, such a smart strategy is the need of the time. In order to help this coffee business garner mainstream popularity and effectively address the highly dynamic customers’ needs, it is always tried by the staff to remain fully open and engaged with the customers from diverse backgrounds. It is important for a simple encounter starting from a simple beverage to culminate in a lasting smile on the face of the customer. We want our business to become a household name in a matter of few years and for this purpose, commitment to diversity is regarded crucially valuable. The talents of multicultural workforce can be most accurately used for gaining competitive advantages by valuing diversity. For this purpose, Community Coffee rigorously attempts to establish an inclusive culture as a way of promoting diversity due to which a riveting repertoire of multicultural perspectives could be formed and that is especially helpful for myriad decision-ma king processes. Also, if the leaders are not careful enough about ethically sourcing the finest beans at most suitable prices, not only are they abandoning their most important obligation but also they are being unfaithful to their

Apfgan women's lives have not improved Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Apfgan women's lives have not improved - Essay Example first lady Laura Bush’s preposterous statement that â€Å"The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women† is juxtaposed with the revelation by Amnesty International that â€Å"forced marriage, particularly of girl children, and violence against women in the family are widespread in many areas of the country† (Rawi) even after two years have passed since the end of the Taliban regime. The introductory paragraph makes a very strong statement with the help of these two quotes that are contradictory in nature. The attempt by Rawi in the ensuing paragraphs to validate the latter quote is well substantiated with authentic factual and opinion based information gathered from various reliable sources. The diction is functional and appropriate for the clinical analysis of the issue. There is no recourse to careless use of words that betray baseless subjective opinions anywhere in the essay. Most of the essay reads like a fact-based journalistic report. However, the polemic aspects of the essay emerge through the objective observations and analyses. The writes states clearly that the American intervention in Afghan had been based merely on selfish motives, and has only promoted the mistreatment of women in various spheres of life. The arguments are systematically and chronologically categorized under apt subtitles. The economy of words and argumentative strategies make the essay a reader-friendly one, presenting facts and opinions in a swift and curt manner. The use of excerpts from an interview with an international NGO worker with regard to the deteriorating status of women in Afghanistan brings in an element of authenticity with the strength of first hand knowledge. Both the off icial records and day to day life experiences of women in Afghan are presented in a logical order that proves Rawi’s point. The effective use of unaffected language and crucial information regarding the general life standards in Afghan makes the essay an

legal process Essay Example for Free

legal process Essay In law, the Golden rule, or British rule, is a form of statutory construction traditionally applied by English courts. The other two are the â€Å"plain meaning rule† (also known as the â€Å"literal rule†) and the â€Å"mischief rule.† The golden rule allows a judge to depart from a words normal meaning in order to avoid an absurd result1. The term â€Å"golden rule† seems to have originated in the 1854 case of Mattison v. Hart as per Chief Justice Jervis’ propounding and implies a degree of enthusiasm for this particular rule of construction over alternative rules that has not been shared by all subsequent judges. For example, Viscount Simon made a point of including this note in a 1940 decision: â€Å"The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning2.† Like the plain meaning rule, the golden rule gives the words of a statute their plain, ordinary meaning. However, when this may lead to an irrational result that is unlikely to be the legislatures intention, the golden rule dictates that a judge can depart from this meaning. In the case of homographs, where a word can have more than one meaning, the judge can choose the preferred meaning; if the word only has one meaning, but applying this would lead to a bad decision, the judge can apply a completely different meaning. History and evolution of the Golden Rule This rule is founded on Justice Parke (later Lord Wensleydale)’s enunciation in Becke v Smith where he stated thus: â€Å"It is a very useful rule in the construction of a statute to adhere to the ordinary meaning of the words used, and to the grammatical construction, unless that is at variance with the intention of the legislature to be collected from the Nokes v. Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries3, or leads to any manifest absurdity or repugnance, in which case the language may be varied or modified so as to avoid such inconvenience but no further.† Twenty years later, Lord Wensleydale restated the rule in different words in Grey v Pearson75 thus: â€Å"In construing statutes, and all written instruments, the grammatical and ordinary sense of the words is to be adhered to, unless  that would lead to some absurdity or inconsistency with the rest of the instrument, in which case the grammatical and ordinary sense of the words may be modified, so as to avoid that absurdity or inconsistency, but not farther.† With time, the rule continues to become more refined and therefore to be a more precise and effective tool for the courts. More than a century after Grey v. Pearson, a court added this caveat: â€Å"Nowadays we should add to natural and ordinary meaning the words in their context and according to the appropriate linguistic register.† In summary, this rule may be used in two ways. It is applied most frequently in a narrow sense where there is some ambiguity or absurdity in the words themselves. For Lord Simon of Glaisdale, reasons for judgment in Stock v. Frank Jones (Tipton) Ltd4 at 235 examples, imagine there may be a sign saying â€Å"Do not use lifts in case of fire.† Under the literal interpretation of this sign, people must never use the lifts, in case there is a fire. However, this would be an absurd result, as the intention of the person who made the sign is obviously to prevent people from using the lifts only if there is currently a fire nearby. The second use of the golden rule is in a wider sense, to avoid a result that is obnoxious to principles of public policy, even where words have only one meaning. The rule was applied in this second sense in Sigsworth, Re, Bedford v Bedford where the court applied the rule to section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925. This statute required that the court should â€Å"issue† someones inheritance in certain circumstances5. The court held that no one should profit from a crime, and so used the golden rule to prevent an undesirable result, even though there was only one meaning of the word â€Å"issue.† A son murdered his mother and then committed suicide. The courts were required to rule on whom then inherited the estate: the mothers family, or the sons descendants. There was never a question of the son profiting from his crime, but as the outcome would have been binding on lower courts in the future, the court found in favour of the mothers family6. The Golden Rule The rule was defined by Lord Wensleydale in the Grey v Pearson case (1857) as: â€Å"The grammatical and ordinary sense of the words is to be adhered to unless that would lead to some absurdity or some repugnance or inconsistency with the rest of the instrument in which case the grammatical and ordinary  sense of the words may be modified so as to avoid the absurdity and inconsistency, but no farther.† So, The Golden Rule is a modification of The Literal Rule to be used to avoid an absurd outcome. The Golden Rule was used in the R v Allen case (1872). In this the defendant was charged with bigamy (s.57 of offences against the person act 1861) which, under statutes states: whosoever being married shall marry any other person during the lifetime of the former husband or wife is guilty of an offence. Under The Literal Rule, bigamy would be impossible because civil courts do not recognize second marriages, so The Golden Rule was applied to determine that the word ‘marry’ should be seen as ‘to go through ceremony’ and the conviction was upheld. The Golden Rule was applied in the Adler v George case (1964). Under section 3 of the official secrets act (1920) it was an offence to obstruct HM Forces in the vicinity of a prohibited area. Adler was arrested for obstructing forces whilst in a prohibited area. Under The Literal Rule, Adler was not in the VICINITY of the area – he was IN the area – and so was not infringing the terms of the act. The Golden Rule was applied to extend the meaning of ‘vicinity’ and avoid the possible absurd outcome. The main advantage of The Golden Rule is that drafting errors in statutes can be corrected immediately. This is seen in the R v Allen (1872) case where the loopholes were closed, the decision was in line with parliament’s intentions and it gave a more just outcome. A major disadvantage of The Golden Rule is that judges can technically change the law by changing the meaning of words in statutes. They can, potentially infringing the separation of powers between legal and legislature. The Golden Rule won’t help if there is no absurdity in the statute. For example the London and North Eastern Railway v Berriman (1946) case, where the widow couldn’t get compensation because the wording of the statute didn’t allow for this circumstance. The ‘Golden Rule’ as introduced by Lord Wensleydale in Grey v Pearson but perhaps better expressed by Lord Blackburn in River Wear Commissioners v Adamson We are to take the whole statute and construe it all together, giving the words their ordinary signification, unless when so applied they produce an inconsistency, or an absurdity or inconvenience so great as to convince the Court that the intention could not have been to use them in their ordinary signification†¦. In R v Allen and the Offence Against the Persons Act (1872), a case of bigamy, it was held that bigamy meant to take part in the  ceremony of marriage a whilst still married to another person, the statute could be applied successfully thanks to the application of the ‘Golden Rule’. Another example would be that found in Re: Sigsworth and the Administration of Estates Act 1925. The golden rule only rescues the court in tiny number of instances. The point was made by John Willis in a famous article where he asked â€Å"What is absurdity?† Absurdity is as vague as plain meaning. It is a matter of personal opinion, more susceptible to the influence of personal prejudice. Golden rule is just a device to achieve desired result and to escape from sum of the more updatable effect of literal rule (Nothman v. Barnet London Borough Council). The Law Commission criticised that there is no clear means to test the existence of the characteristics of absurdity, inconsistency, or to measure their quality or extent. This became known as Lord Wensleydales golden rule. It only applies where the words are ambiguous. An interpretation that is not absurd is to be preferred to one that is. An example is: R v Allen7 The Law Commission (1969) noted that: * The rule provided no clear means to test the existence of the characteristics of absurdity, inconsistency or inconvenience, or to measure their quality or extent. * As it seemed that absurdity was in practice judged by reference to whether a particular interpretation was irreconcilable with the general policy of the legislature the golden rule turns out to be a less explicit form of the mischief rule. Table of cases Grey v Pearson Mattison v. Hart Nokes v. Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Stock v. Frank Jones (Tipton) Ltd R v Allen case (1872). London and North Eastern Railway v Berriman (1946) Nothman v. Barnet London Borough Council Bibliography Learning the Law Glanville Williams 12th Ed. (A.T.H Smith) ISBN 0421744200 Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary 9th Ed. (S. Bone) ISBN 042175340 An introduction to the British Constitution I.M.M. MacPhail SBN: 7131 12662 The English Legal System 6th Ed. Slapper Kelly ISBN 1 85941 7558 Cases and Commentary On Tort 4th Ed. Harvey Marston ISBN 0273 638432 Torts 8th Edition Micheal A Jones ISBN 0199255334 Law of Tort John Cooke 6th Ed. ISBN 0582 473489 English Legal System 2003 –2004 Q A Slapper Kelly ISBN 185941 754x http://wolf-nt.wlv.ac.uk/ http://www.uk.westlaw.com

Implementation of a Palmprint Recognition System

Implementation of a Palmprint Recognition System CHAPTER -VI 6. CONCLUSION SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK There are some key aspects to discuss about this thesis in general. First, it is important to mention that the main objective of this work implementation of a palmprint recognition system was successfully accomplished. Biometrics plays an important role in personal identification. The importance of biometrics in everyday life has been discussed and different biometric technologies are introduced. It has been shown that palm can also be a good biometric. The work reported in this thesis is summarized in this chapter. This Research Work proposed a novel approach for Palmprint Biometric Authentication System to identify the individuals based on their palmprints. The approach novelty could be found in the combinations between palmprints images transform techniques, features reduction technique and feed-forward neural network classifier. CASIA pre-processed hyperspectral database and MATLAB version 2016a with supporting toolboxes were used in our experiment work. Firstly, each pre-proce ssed palmprint image has read by MATLAB internal function, and it has transformed by using multiscale toolboxes in order to convert each image into data. The resulted data is projected by dimensionality reduction tool. Finally, neural network toolbox used for recognition training and verification the resulted vectors. We manually prepare proposed Gabor Wavelet and Local Binary Pattern function along with all Other function in MATLAB 2016 and a database of 200 palm images of 20 people is considered for the validation. This Thesis Work considers a novel and efficient method for the palmprint identification based on Gabor wavelet by using multi-block local binary patterns. Proposed method is further supervised through our proposed multi-layer feed-forward neural network for more accurate and computationally efficient recognition. Gabor wavelets efficiently filter the pre-processed image for getting optimum texture features through MB-LBP. Due to accurate feature representation of palm images through proposed LBP, anticipated MLFFNN training rate is high and we are getting much accurate results comparatively. Experiments are performed to make an analysis for the optimal palm region and LBP neighbourhood. We investigate the matching accuracy for the optimal parameters. The performance of the proposed method in term of accuracy and some other parameters is obtained and compared with some recent methods. These local characteristics are summed and orientation corresponding maximum local intensity pattern is conceded as optimal local direction. Micro pattern representation is obtained by LBP descriptor. Feature vector is prepared by histograms of 256 bins. In our proposed scheme we use the Gabor wavelets, which has wavelet like property, in orthogonal direction and smoothest contours. Orientation extraction is done optimally to get directional representation and feature size is reduced by extracting LBP histograms. Accuracy of Proposed system is about 99.6% and error rate is below 0.9%. Compared to other existing method proposed method provides robustness to noise, low complexity and small features length. Secondly 3x 3 direction pattern employed which extract the edge characteristics locally. Direction pattern further emphasis edge orientation and filter out non edges along irrespective direction of pattern. Local aggregation gives higher value (Local Intensity) at particular orientation. So, the competition for maximum local intensity can better select the orientation information. Secondly orientation information is not affected by intensity variations. Because of these reasons, it is obvious that our method is performing well. In this palm print recognition system, features such as region mask, orientation field and minutiae are being extracted. An efficient matching algorithm is being implemented which uses these features for comparison of the query palm print with the database. Hence this system tests the image with the database and checks if the person is aut henticated or not. This authentication system can be used in forensic science and other border control systems for authentication of palm prints. the proposed work is also tested on colour RGB (multi-dimensional) images and real time palm images. Further Works For future work, the combinations between another multiscale image transformation such as , , and other will be taken in addition to use alternative features reduction methods such as ICA, kernel PCA and other contemporary techniques are suggested to be used. In addition, the classifier type is suggested to change to show how the recognition accuracy could be improved. Although cancellable biometrics overcome the weakness of cryptography, current cancellable biometrics are still not secure enough for the palmprint identification. For example, attackers can still insert stolen templates replay and database attacks before systems can cancel the stolen templates and reissue new templates. Furthermore, current cancellable biometrics cannot detect replay and database attacks. In other words, if attackers insert unregistered templates into data links or databases, systems cannot discover the unregistered templates. To solve these problems, we can take advantages of cryptography and cancellable biometrics to design a set of security measures to prevent replay, brute force and database attacks for secure palmprint identification. One could improve the registration accuracy and the image combination process. A detailed study needs to be done on the effect of adding more frames for combination. This method could also be combined with the pose correction approach developed in the previous algorithm to make a robust system with further improved accuracy. In addition to these further directions, biometric researchers are in fact facing some open problems. Most biometric systems are examined only on zero effort attacks (general false acceptance rates). Do they still survive if experts attack them? Furthermore, how can we objectively evaluate and compare the security levels of biometric systems? It should be recognized that successfully breaking into biometric systems depends on money, time and knowledge. Biometric researchers are facing a dilemma. As we write everything to disclose our findings and algorithms for the sake of distributing knowledge to our society and the next generation, we are also providing the information that potential attackers require breaking into our systems.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚      (b) Fig. 6.1 (a) A fake palmprint and (b) the corresponding genuine palmprint.

Existentialism and Human Emotions Essay

I SHOULD LIKE on this occasion to defend existentialism against some charges which have been brought against it. First, it has been charged with inviting people to remain in a kind of desperate quietism because, since no solutions are possible, we should have to consider action in this world as quite impossible. We should then end up in a philosophy of contemplation; and since contemplation is a luxury, we come in the end to a bourgeois philosophy. The communists in particular have made these charges. On the other hand, we have been charged with dwelling on human degradation, with pointing up everywhere the sordid, shady, and slimy, and neglecting the gracious and beautiful, the bright side of human nature; for example, according to Mlle. Mercier, a Catholic critic, with forgetting the smile of the child. Both sides charge us with having ignored human solidarity, with considering man as an isolated being. The communists say that the main reason for this is that we take pure subjectivity, the Cartesian I think, as our starting point; in other words, the moment in which man becomes fully aware of what it means to him to be an isolated being; as a result, we are unable to return to a state of solidarity with the men who are not ourselves, a state which we can never reach in the cogito. From the Christian standpoint, we are charged with denying the reality and seriousness of human undertakings, since, if we reject God’s commandments and the eternal verities, there no longer remains anything but pure caprice, with everyone permitted to do as he pleases and incapable, from his own point of view, of condemning the points of view and acts of others. I shall today try to answer these different charges. Many people are going to be surprised at what is said here about humanism. We shall try to see in what sense it is to be understood. In any case, what can be said from the very beginning is that by existentialism we mean a doctrine which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares that every truth and every action implies a human setting and a human subjectivity. As is generally known, the basic charge against us is that we put the emphasis on the dark side of human life. Someone recently told me of a lady who, when she let slip a vulgar word in a moment of irritation, excused herself by saying, â€Å"I guess I’m becoming an existentialist.† Consequently, existentialism is regarded as something ugly; that is why we are said to be naturalists; and if we are, it is rather surprising that in this day and age we cause so much more alarm and scandal than does naturalism, properly so called. The kind of person who can take in his stride such a novel as Zola’s The Earth is disgusted as soon as he starts reading an existentialist novel; the kind of person who is resigned to the wisdom of the ages-which is pretty sad-finds us even sadder. Yet, what can be more disillusioning than saying â€Å"true charity begins at home† or â€Å"a scoundrel will always return evil for good†? We know the commonplace remarks made when this subject comes up, remarks which always add up to the same thing: we shouldn’t struggle against the powers that-be; we shouldn’t resist authority; we shouldn’t try to rise above our station; any action which doesn’t conform to authority is romantic; any effort not based on past experience is doomed to failure; experience shows that man’s bent is always toward trouble, that there must be a strong hand to hold him in check, if not, there will be anarchy. There are still people who go on mumbling these melancholy old saws, the people who say, â€Å"It’s only human!† whenever a more or less repugnant act is pointed out to them, the people who glut themselves on chansons realistes; these are the people who accuse existentialism of being too gloomy, and to such an extent that I wonder whether they are complaining about it, not for its pessimism, but much rather its optimism. Can it be that what really scares them in the doctrine I shall try to present here is that it leaves to man a possibility of choice? To answer this question, we must re-examine it on a strictly philosophical plane. What is meant by the term existentialism? Most people who use the word would be rather embarrassed if they had to explain it, since, now that the word is all the rage, even the work of a musician or painter is being called existentialist. A gossip columnist in Clartes signs himself The Existentialist, so that by this time the word has been so stretched and has taken on so broad a meaning, that it no longer means anything at all. It seems that for want of an advanced-guard doctrine ,analogous to surrealism, the kind of people who are eager for scandal and flurry turn to this philosophy which in other respects does not at all serve their purposes in this sphere. Actually, it is the least scandalous, the most austere of doctrines. It is intended strictly for specialists and philosophers. Yet it can be defined easily. What complicates matters is that there are two kinds of existentialists; first, those who are Christian. among whom I would include Jaspers and Gabriel Marcel, both Catholic; and on the other hand the atheistic exi stentialists among whom I class Heidegger, and then the French existentialists and myself. What they have in common is that they think that existence precedes essence, or, if you prefer, that subjectivity must be the starting point. Just what does that mean? Let us consider some object that is manufactured, for example, a book or a papercutter: here is an object which has been made by an artisan whose inspiration came from a concept. He referred to the concept of what a paper-cutter is and likewise to a known method of production, which is part of the concept, something which is, by and large, a routine. Thus, the paper-cutter is at once an object produced in a certain way and, on the other hand, one leaving a specific use; and one can not postulate a man who produces a paper-cutter but does not know what it is used for. Therefore, let us say that, for the paper-cutter, essence-that is, the ensemble of both the production routines and the properties which enable it to be both produced and defined-precedes existence. Thus, the presence of the paper-cutter or book in front of me is determined. Therefore, we have here a technical view of the world whereby it can be said that production precedes existence. When we conceive God as the Creator, He is generally thought of as a superior sort of artisan. Whatever doctrine we may be considering, whether one like that of Descartes or that of Leibniz, we always grant that will more or less follows understanding or, at the very least, accompanies it, and that when God creates He knows exactly what he is creating. Thus, the concept of man in the mind of God is comparable to the concept of a paper-cutter in the mind of the manufacturer, and, following certain techniques and a conception, God produces man, just as the artisan, following a definition and a technique, makes a paper-cutter. Thus, the individual man is the realization of a certain concept in the divine intelligence. In the eighteenth century, the atheism of the philosophers discarded the idea of God, but not so much for the notion that essence precedes existence. To a certain extent, this idea is found everywhere; we find it in Diderot, in Voltaire, and even in Kant. Man has a human nature; this human nature, which is the concept of the human, is found in all men, which means that each man is a particular example of a universal concept, man. In Kant, the result of this universality is that the wild-man, the natural man, as well as the bourgeois, are circumscribed by the same definition and have the same basic qualities. Thus, here too the essence of man precedes the historical existence that we find in nature. Atheistic existentialism, which I represent, is more coherent. It states that if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and that this being is man, or, as Heidegger says, human reality. What is meant here by saying that existence precedes essence? It means that, first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. Thus, there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. Not only is man what he conceives himself to be, but he is also only what he wills himself to be after this thrust toward existence. Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first principle of existentialism. It is also what is called subjectivity, the name we are labeled with when charges are brought against us. But what do we mean by this, if not that man has a greater dignity than a stone or table? For we mean that man first exists, that is, that man first of all is the being who hurls himself toward a future and who is conscious of imagining himself as being in the future. Man is at the start a plan which is aware of itself, rather than a patch of moss, a piece of garbage, or a cauliflower nothing exists prior to this plan; there is nothing in heaven; man will be what he will have planned to be. Not what he will want to be. Because by the word â€Å"will† we generally mean a conscious decision, which is subsequent to what we have already made of ourselves. I may want to belong to a political party, write a book, get married; but all that is only a manifestation of an earlier, more spontaneous choice that is called â€Å"will.† But if existence really does precede essence, man is responsible for what he is. Thus, existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him. And when we say that a man is responsible for himself, we do not only mean that he is responsible for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men. The word subjectivism has two meanings, and our opponents play on the two. Subjectivism means, on the one hand, that an individual chooses and makes himself; and, on the other, that it is impossible for man to transcend human subjectivity. The second of these is the essential meaning of existentialism. When we say that man chooses his own self, we mean that every one of us does likewise; but we also mean by that that in making this choice he also chooses all men. In fact, in creating the man that we want to be, there is not a single one of our acts which does not at the same time create an image of man as we think he ought to be. To choose to be this or that is to affirm at the same time the value of what we choose, because we can never choose evil. We always choose the good, and nothing can be good for us without b eing good for all. If, on the other hand, existence precedes essence, and if we grant that we exist and fashion our image at one and the same time, the image is valid for everybody and for our whole age. Thus, our responsibility is much greater than we might have supposed, because it involves all mankind. If I am a workingman and choose to join a Christian trade-union rather than be a communist, and if by being a member I want to show that the best thing for man is resignation, that the kingdom of man is not of this world, I am not only involving my own case-I want to be resigned for everyone. As a result, my action has involved all humanity. To take a more individual matter, if I want to marry, to have children; even if this marriage depends solely on my own circumstances or passion or wish, I am involving all humanity in monogamy and not merely myself. Therefore, I am responsible for myself and for everyone else. I am creating a certain image of man of my own choosing. In choosing myself, I choose ma n.

African American Cinema Essay

The subject of African-Americans in Motion Pictures provides some of the most interesting studies along with the many controversial interpretations of the roles as actors they played on screen. As far back as the silent films era, African-Americans have been featured in motion pictures playing roles depicting some aspect of acting and being purveyors of a black image. The messages or themes of these movies have over the years presented a mixture of images based upon what was thought to please the viewers of each particular film. Unfortunately, many of those films showed black characters in negative stereotypical roles, which the average African-Americans would never truly identify as being like themselves. Since many of our American icons and heroes have come from our motion picture stars, we need to understand what this narrow view presented and compare it with what we presently see at our local cinema today. The movies Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967), Shaft (1971), Do The Right Thing (1989), Boys n the Hood (1991), and Menace to Society (1993) show a thematic style and stereotypes in the way that black films have progressed over the years. The motion picture industry was never too quick to change their approach in presenting African-Americans in realistic roles depicting social or civil conditions in an integrated context. Many of these roles required scenes showing African-Americans in positions of authority or relating to white Americans in a positive way. This Integration Period therefore brought together African-American actors with scenes along side white actors in roles showing both players dealing with racial conflict and resolution. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was truly a unique film for its time in that Sidney Poitier’s character breaks all the stereotypical views of blacks in American Cinema. In the early 1930’s blacks were portrayed as lower class, slow-witted figures of entertainment, often showed in menstrual shows. Poitier’s character broke all these stereotypes. 1971 brought to the big screen a successive series of superhero black or â€Å"blaxploitation† films. Shaft was released in 1971, and Richard Roundtree was the superman black hero detective. He was compared by many to the white James Bond. Related to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Shaft took it up a notch in showing a black man as a hero. Poitier’s role was one to equalize whites and blacks in their roles in American cinema, but Shaft showed a black man who was an authoritative figure. Different themes can be mixed in between the two movies. They both show an intelligent black man that has a grip on reality. Both movies showed themes of how integration has struck America. They differ though on a level in that Shaft was a black dominant cast and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was predominantly white. Do the Right Thing, Boyz n the Hood, and Menace to Society were all produced in a more modern era, hence the fact that they all have similar racial themes. The films all paint a picture of urban Black America in their time period. All three films are thought to be racially reactionary films aimed at the psyche of both black and white viewers. The movies were all a success due to the touched topics of racial situations, ethnic tensions, and human encounters of anger. The superb casts of both black and white actors made the motion picture industry aware of a newer avenue for films and race relations. African-Americans in motion pictures in today’s expanding world of visual imagery can be seen on many expanding fronts. We see the making of motion pictures on subjects or themes which can be taken from history, life experiences, music, and unexplored events. Today’s markets are open, and African-Americans are taking advantage of these open door opportunities. Actors and actresses are expanding their roles from stage acting to movies to TV miniseries to video cassettes or discs, and roles taken from books, plus movie soundtracks. In our world today African-American actors and actresses will always have a place in American Cinema and their future looks bright and promising.

Free Essays on Small Firm Use Of Leverage

8. Coleman, S. and R. Cohn, (1999)  « Small Firm Use of Leverage : A Comparison of Men and Women-Owned Firms  », Conference Proceedings, United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, San Diego, January 14-17. Abstract Prior research and anecdotal evidence suggests that women-owned small businesses use less debt than men. This study uses data from a nationwide sample of small businesses to determine differences in leverage between men and women-owned firms. Findings reveal that the primary determinants of leverage are firm size, firm age, and profitability. There were no significant differences in the usage of debt between men and women, and gender was not a significant predictor of financial leverage. Introduction Small businesses in the United States are widely recognized as a principal source of economic growth, new jobs, and new products and services. Access to capital is a frequently cited problem, however, and sources of capital are more limited for small firms that for large ones. Traditional capital structure theory as developed by Modigliani & Miller (1958) holds that firms will select the mix of debt and equity that maximizes the value of the firm and minimizes its weighted average cost of capital. This theory may not hold for small privately-held firms because it is based on the assumption that there are no transaction costs of any kind and that investors and managers have the same information about the firm. In fact, the cost of issuing public debt or equity is prohibitive for small firms, and informational asymmetries abound. Thus, unlike larger, particularly publiclyheld companies, small firms typically do not have the option of issuing stocks or bonds. Owing to their inability to access the public debt and equity markets, small businesses tend to be heavily reliant on commercial banks as a source of debt financing (Cole & Wolken, 199... Free Essays on Small Firm Use Of Leverage Free Essays on Small Firm Use Of Leverage 8. Coleman, S. and R. Cohn, (1999)  « Small Firm Use of Leverage : A Comparison of Men and Women-Owned Firms  », Conference Proceedings, United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, San Diego, January 14-17. Abstract Prior research and anecdotal evidence suggests that women-owned small businesses use less debt than men. This study uses data from a nationwide sample of small businesses to determine differences in leverage between men and women-owned firms. Findings reveal that the primary determinants of leverage are firm size, firm age, and profitability. There were no significant differences in the usage of debt between men and women, and gender was not a significant predictor of financial leverage. Introduction Small businesses in the United States are widely recognized as a principal source of economic growth, new jobs, and new products and services. Access to capital is a frequently cited problem, however, and sources of capital are more limited for small firms that for large ones. Traditional capital structure theory as developed by Modigliani & Miller (1958) holds that firms will select the mix of debt and equity that maximizes the value of the firm and minimizes its weighted average cost of capital. This theory may not hold for small privately-held firms because it is based on the assumption that there are no transaction costs of any kind and that investors and managers have the same information about the firm. In fact, the cost of issuing public debt or equity is prohibitive for small firms, and informational asymmetries abound. Thus, unlike larger, particularly publiclyheld companies, small firms typically do not have the option of issuing stocks or bonds. Owing to their inability to access the public debt and equity markets, small businesses tend to be heavily reliant on commercial banks as a source of debt financing (Cole & Wolken, 199...

Common High School Policies For Recommendation Letters

Common High School Policies For Recommendation Letters SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When should you ask for a recommendation letter? Many high schools answer this question for you with an official timeline and procedure for your recletter requests. In addition to school policy, your teachers might also set rules aroundhow and when to ask for letters of rec. This guide will go over the most common recommendation letter guidelines, as well as some not so common ones that you hopefully won’t encounter (like a lottery system!). To start, let’s consider whichguidelines are set on a school-wide basis and which ones fall into the realm of individual teachers. What Do Schools Say About Recommendation Letters? You should receive directions from your school, or more specifically, your guidance or college counseling office, on two mainsteps: When to ask for letters of rec, and What information to give your teachers. Let's first take a look at the three most common guidelines around when to ask for letters. 1. Ask in the Spring of Junior Year Generally, schools with strong college counseling departments have their students ask for letters in the spring of junior year, usually by April or May. This system tends to be part of the school’s culture, so teachers, mainly th grade teachers, expect to get requests then. Asking later is seen as inappropriate and last minute. 2. Ask Within a Month of Your Deadlines Other schools take a more hands off approach and tell students to ask anytime up to three or four weeks before their deadlines. Larger public schools often use this approach, where students are given more independence and a longertime window in which to make their requests. Some students still may ask in junior year or email their teachers over the summer with a promise to follow up with information in the fall. 3. Submit a List of Names to Your Counselor A third, less common system used by a few schools involves some chance. Students give three names of teachers to college counselors, who then assign each student two teachers. Usually smaller private schools with a large percentage of college-going graduates use this method to ease the burden on teachers who get the most requests. Schools with this system are a bit more strict, while, as you read above, others put the responsibility largely in thehands of students. Most schools, however, have similar guidelines about what information to give to your recommenders. This information typically goes into a "brag sheet." Prepare a Brag Sheet In addition to setting rules for when you ask, your counseling department should give you a packet to fill out to help your recommenders. This packet should include space for you to write your college list and deadlines, as well as a formcommonly referred to as a "brag sheet." Here you'll describe yourself and your goals. There may be space for your parents to contribute their ideas, too. Whatever systems your school uses, there are two best practicesto go by when planning your recommendations: ask early, and give your recommenders a detailed resume and brag sheet. Just how early you ask may depend on your school’s policy, as just described, but it may also be influenced by the teachers you plan to ask. Let’s take a look at what teachers control in this process. Some teachers limit the number of rec letters they'll write, so you have to ask them early! What Do Teachers Say About Recommendation Letters? While your school tells you when and how to ask, your teacher decides how many recommendation letters they’ll write for students. Some don’t set a limit at all, while others set a cap at around fifteento twenty letters. It may be disappointing to learn that your teachers limit their letters, but on the bright side it suggests that they put time and thought into each letter they produce. In a few, unfortunate cases, teachers set a very strict limit and don’t seem too eager to write recommendations. One student on College Confidential talked about how his teacher collected everyone’s requests and drew only six â€Å"winners† out of a hat. Luckily, it’s not common for teachers to set a cap this low or to select students arbitrarily. If you have a good relationship with the teacher and make your request early enough, then she should agree to provide you with a letter of rec. At this point, you may be wondering what your school and teachers have to say about recommendation letter guidelines. If you don’t know already, how can you find out? If you don't know your school's rec letter policy, how can you search for clues? How Can You Learn About Recommendation Letter Guidelines? It’s never too early to find out this information, as you want to get your requests in early and devote a good amount of time to preparing your packet. Ideally, your counselors give you this information during college planning presentations. If not, you can absolutely set up an appointment to meet with your counselor. Prepare a list of questions, like when and how you should ask, and go into the meeting prepared so you find out everything you need to know. Your counselors should also have some advice on which teachers have a reputation for writing strong letters, and which ones get flooded with requests. If your counselor hasn’t already given you the details on your teachers, you can speak to older students, as well as your teachers themselves to find out when’s an ideal time to ask. Even if it’s only halfway through the year, you could tell your th grade teacher that you’re curious about recommendation letters and wonder if she has any special deadline for accepting requests. Even if you’re not ready to ask yet, you can plan when to do so. Some of these concerns are obvious requirements, while some are not so immediately apparent. Why’s it important to make sure you know about all recommendation letter guidelines from all involved parties? Guidelines help make sure your recommendation letters get into the system by your application deadlines. Why Do You Need to Know About Recommendation Letter Guidelines? These guidelines influence when you ask, who you ask, and what information you prepare. By figuring this all out early, you can spend a few weeks deciding who to ask and producing your materials. It’s especially important to put time and thought into your resume and brag sheet, as your recommenders will rely on these documents to write their letters. Not only should your recommenders already have a positive impression of you from class, but giving them thorough materials willalso impress them and show them how seriously you’re taking the college application process. As discussed above, some schools require students to ask in junior year while others take a more hands-off approach. Even if your school doesn’t give you a specific deadline, you might consider asking at the end of th grade. That way you’re fresh in your teachers’ minds, plus you can ensure that you won’t lose a spot to other students who were ahead of the game. If you’re unclear about the answers to any of these questions around recommendation letters, you should definitely speak with your counselor and teachers. Make sure you have the information you need to feel empowered through the process of applying to college. What’s Next? Speaking of the steps you need to apply to college, check out this full guideon how to apply to college. It goes over everything you need to know, from choosing the right classes to taking standardized tests to filling out your application forms. For more on planning your recommendation letters, you can learn about how to request your letters here and why exactly these letters are so important to your overall application. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Lockheed Martin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lockheed Martin - Essay Example The willingness and determination of executive management has played a significant role in establishing future growth in the present and even in the years to come. In essence, Lockheed Martin Corporation has a strong management team, which for the past years has helped the company stay ahead of its competitors. The persistence and determination towards the fulfilment of its mission and visions rests in the management team. The company has a strong culture that boosts talent development on its skilled employees. This builds a strong team that understands the goals and objectives of the company and how they can attain them. The primary purpose of the company is to offer professional improvement in an appropriate way that meets the needs and expectations of clients and shareholders. Thus far, the aim of this paper is to discuss the management area of Lockheed Martin Company and in doing will discuss its mission statement, short term, long term goals. Mission Statements To Hartung (2011) , the company’s mission statement is straightforward, to be dynamic, ethical, and technology oriented in the global market. This corporation believes that innovation is the key to success. With this, the company helps the clients achieve the best products and services that suits the needs of the 21st technology world. The company provides the highest standards of ethical conducts in all they do, which as a result, helps in converting the first clients to frequent and potential clients. The company believes that integrity and honesty is the cornerstone of the business’s success. It recognizes that success can only be achieved if the business strives to abide by the laws implemented in the United States and other countries. The company recognizes that its success and growth as an enterprise depends on the skills, expertise, and talent of people and the ability to work as an integrated team. The company appreciates diversity and foster a positive relationship among the co lleagues, partners, clients, and the management team. Overall, the company understand the importance and its mission and creates a strong ground where employees understand it and work towards attaining the set goals and objectives. Lockheed strives to flourish in every aspect of its business with determination and perseverance to succeed regardless of any obstacle that comes the way. The company believes that it has what it takes to be competitive in the 21st century where technology has peaked well. As technology advance from one level to the other, the company intends to embrace every opportunity that would make the company succeed in the 21st world. The management team understand that innovation is the key aspect to growth. The management team understand the importance of its mission and strive to embrace ever challenge with right attitude and determination to succeed (Hartung, 2011), Short Terms Goals Some of the short-term goals include increasing in sales and revenues. On a mo nth basis, the company calculates the total sales and revenues and thereafter makes the judgement on whether the company has achieved its target sales and revenues. On a monthly basis, the corporation conducts an assessment, which helps the management team to access areas that need improvement. With this, one would argue that one of the Lockheed’s short term goals is to satisfy clients with best products and services, which satisfy their needs and wants. Still,

Personal Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal Identity - Essay Example Subsequently, he pragmatically thought over the concept of knowledge and language formulation, the core of which shall be discussed hereunder. According to Locke, what we know is always properly understood as the relation between ideas (the learned concepts of experienced reality), and in the said essay, he explained at length the stance that all of our ideation is a consequence of personal identity. The outcome of this objective method is that the human mind seems to get somewhat undermined in its abilities. While describing the domains of human capabilities in terms of knowledge, ideas and the like, he endeavors to challenge certain basic and traditional norms of communication, language and interaction constructs (Noonan, 1989). Here, the issue of contention is the fact as to how Locke tackles the term of 'bodily'. Locke describes or rather differentiates the qualities of bodily identity into two divisions: primary and secondary. The primary attributes deal with those traits of an entity, which forms its existence - the integral constituents of the object. However, the secondary attributes are those, which are qualified by our perceptual reality and which may be taken in a relative term depending upon the observer. The primary/secondary quality distinction gets us a certain ways in understanding physical objects, but Locke is puzzled about what underlies or supports the basic qualities themselves. He is also puzzled about what material and immaterial bodily functions might have in common that would lead us to apply the same explanation to both. On the significant role played by nature in the behavior of man, both these opinions interject. Though nature has been a sort of subjective reality for the sake of many philosophers, yet these two have come to the same resolution. Thus it can be said that the role of nature can never be undermined. What has been naturally created in the form of man by nature (and in effect God), can never be put away from its core. Nature is as close to man as man himself, because he is a product of the former. Such contemplations gave him the impetus to coin the relative and obscure idea of physicality in general. He referred to the ever dynamic use of the word 'bodily'. Locke claims that the mind supports the bodily qualities - these may be as infinite as one can imagine. For understanding of concepts, he believed, simply information about the object was not enough. There had to be some linkages in the information that we receive in clusters. These linkages had to be the essence of understanding the concept to its fullest. This is a result of the fact that he himself cannot purport a rationale for the existence of tropes (tropes are properties that can exist independently of bodily). Hence, he could not use of a concept in lieu of 'bodily'. He seems extremely cautious about our limitations of the ideas of bodily. He has been understandably criticized for blowing this debate out of proportion, yet the importance that he appreciates within this concept is what produces the entire basis for his conviction. It troubled Locke to consider this as being something without having any properties - this in effect would be unscientific and hence impossible according to the doctrine presented by him (Parfit, 1987). He attempts to give ideas of simple modes, mixed modes, relations