Exploration Notes- as Level Drama and Theatre Studies Essay

1) Discuss and compare the exploration of characterisation in Metamorphosis by Steven Berkoff and (A Doll’s House). Draw your own practical understanding of the skills used including use of language and voice to portray character. In our practical sessions of Modelling Gregor in â€Å"Metamorphosis†, we thought about how we would physically see Gregor. To do this, we had to individually create the shape of Gregor with our bodies. We all started off thinking about it really literally- â€Å"How would a beetle look?† rather than thinking about how our body represented Gregor and his feelings towards society. We then expanded on our thoughts about Gregor and then tried to empathise with him and think about how we would look if we were in his situation. My finished individual beetle was crouched/curled up on the floor on my side with my head down, hidden away- this represented Gregor’s vulnerability (a beetle on his back is helpless and cannot move, but a beetle has a hard shell which protects him; I was half and half because with my head down, I didn’t want to be seen by society and I was ashamed of what I had become however with my front/underside slightly showing, I was exposed to society and helpless but because you could see my back/shell, I was half protected by family- I think that throughout the show this would change and I would end up completely on my back because the family does end up abandoning/killing Gregor) , one of my arms was in a jerky/awkward position and the other was outstretched away from my body- the jerky arm represented Gregor changing and being abnormal and different, the outstretched arm however showed that I was reaching for someone to help and save me from what I was turning into; my legs were limp, lifeless and in an awkward shape to show that I was, again, turning into something new and weird but could not move and physically get away from it. After we made our individual beetle, we then worked in partners and modelled them into Gregor. I decided to use props for this (I used a chair). Hana (my model Gregor) ended up being positioned on her side, with her head under the chair and one of her arms reaching out onto it, her legs were crooked and awkward to show that she couldn’t move from her pain. After that, we raced our â€Å"beetles†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Hana lost.. but this showed that Gregor was in a good position because he found it difficult to manoeuvre himself and get away from what was happening to him- his movement was limited and awkward when he did so. Hana then modelled me, she had me stood up with my legs wide open (showing vulnerability) and one of my legs turned in and that knee bent (which looked awkward, abnormal and hard to move), my head was dropped and my stomach was contracted in. She placed my arms out to the sides in awkward positions, which was quite physically demanding as I was holding the position. We then used these positions for a scene of Metamorphosis. The dream scene; we incorporated our ideas of how Gregor felt and moved into this scene. We decided to have a narrator and an actor onstage being Gregor. I tried to capture the essence of Gregor’s franticness yet vulnerability in the way I directed Hana as Gregor. I did this by changing the speed and dynamics of how she was moving; this matched the way I was narrating as I also changed the tempo, dynamics and pitch of my voice to really capture how Gregor’s character felt. To create the family we thought about the physical features of a beetle and applied them to the metaphors of the family. We ended up putting Mr Samsa in the middle, seeing as he is the heart of the family; we then had Gregor again in the middle with his arms over Mr Samsa almost saying that he is protecting him and the family with his income but he is still exposed to society and therefore vulnerable. We had Mrs Samsa knelt in front of Gregor and Mr Samsa looking straight forward with a blank expression almost as if she hasn’t got much to say about the situation and is just disregarding Gregor. Greta was at the very front of the beetle as the antenna, looking out for Gregor and being his sense of feeling. The legs of Gregor were made up of society, but reaching out and away from the beetle and from Gregor. We also (as a practical exercise) held hands as a whole group and twisted ourselves into a character from the play each†¦ this ended up looking abnormal, as the family’s situation is and a lot of it also looked quite painful but we were as one as a unit, as the family is. In order to characterise Nora in a Doll’s House, we used the techniques of Stanislavski because A Doll’s House is a much more naturalistic play compared to Metamorphosis. We started with a focus exercise in which we lay down on the floor and concentrated only on our breathing and our body contact with the floor. We then got thought about some key words to describe Nora’s character and tried to focus on each of them individually, letting each emotion overwhelm our bodies. We then were counted down to stand up and walk around the room as Nora, showing her feelings through non- verbal communication. We also created some tableaux of the family in a dolls house. For this we used visual, aural and spatial techniques. 2) Discuss and compare the Visual, Aural and Spatial elements and the use of non-verbal communication techniques to present issues and ideas in both plays studied. Make reference to your practical work. Visual, aural and spatial elements either have an iconic or symbolic reference. Iconic is always visual, for example a prop; it is iconic because it is what it is and only serves its primary function (e.g. a stool is a stool and is used for sitting on etc.) However a symbolic reference is something that represents something and has a metaphor behind it (e.g. a chair could be symbolic for a particular person). Metamorphosis is an extremely abstract play and the visual, aural and spatial techniques used are very important. The play is commonly set with Gregor at the back on a platform above everyone else, slowly becoming more and more deformed. This is a very visual thing and represents the time’s changing and matters are slowly getting worse and worse for the family. The fact he is higher up than everyone else as well could also symbolise the fact he is hanging over everyone’s head and is a burden on the family. His height could also represent his status and the fact he is the cause for everything happening on stage and when he changes, everything else does as well. Another common way of positioning Gregor is to have scaffolding angling up to the back of the stage like this: This gives perspective; it also makes Gregor look further away but because of the angle, you are drawn in, giving a stronger emotional impact on you as an audience member. The scaffolding itself makes the whole aesthetic of the performance seem more skeletal; which Gregor is also slowly becoming. It is also, obviously, very structured which contradicts how the family’s situation is in the play. In the script it says that every prop is mimed other than 3 black stools places equidistantly of each other for the family to use. I think these proxemics show how the family are as a unit and detached from Gregor. In order to explore and interpret this, we created a series of 10 tableaux. In these 10 tableaux, we used visual, aural and spatial elements to show the subtext of the plot- we mainly focussed on the family and how Gregor’s change affected the family. We used a ladder laid down on its side for scaffolding in which Gregor spent a lot of the time in various awkward ways, becoming more and more deformed and trapped as the tableaux progressed. We thought we should only use the organic sounds from our movement and the ladder for our performance to represent the tension and how awkward the situation/plot/subtext was. In the changeover of each tableau, we decided to move a chair gradually towards the back of the stage to represent Gregor slowly distancing from his family. One element of these tableaux I was quite proud of was the proxemics of each member of the family compared to Gregor and the ladder/scaffolding. This is said ladder; as you can see, there is a divide across it. We used this as a barrier stopping the family from getting to Gregor; apart from in one tableau where we â€Å"broke† this barrier and Greta reached out to Gregor through the partition. Gregor was slowly becoming more and more deformed into the corner during the tableaux. Greta reaching over through the barrier to Gregor. Mrs Samsa reaching over to Greta trying to stop her from â€Å"breaking the barrier†. Mr Samsa: Back turned to Mrs Samsa and Greta (and obviously Gregor, wanting no part of it) Gregor was slowly becoming more and more deformed into this corner during the tableaux. We also used visual, aural and spatial techniques when studying A Doll’s House. Unlike Metamorphosis being abstract, A Doll’s House is much more realistic than Metamorphosis and therefore uses lots of props which are all in one way or another, symbolic of something and metaphorical. As a class we discussed the characters and props and what they may metaphorically represent: * Christmas Tree- The family’s relationships falling apart simultaneously with the pine needles falling off the tree. It could also show that looks can be deceiving because of the fact that while this tree is looking beautiful, the family is deteriorating. * Door- Freedom when Nora leaves. Trouble when she enters from the unknown outside world. * Dr Rank- Society hiding their decay. * Money- Power and all things bad and poisonous. * Nanny- The calm, security and support of Nora and the children. * â€Å"Skylark†- Nora is just a pretty singing bird with no other purpose than looking beautiful. Also the fact that a skylark cannot speak words, this is reflected in Nora; she is not allowed an opinion or it is not heard. * Stove- The characters always go back to it (especially Nora), this could stand for support and forgiveness, the warmth of friendship and loyalty because it is always there. * Macaroons- Nora’s deceit. * Lamp- The light of truth. * The Doll’s House- Nora is a kept woman, everyone’s play thing†¦or so they assume. It is actually Nora who plays with and manipulates the characters around her. Again, looks can be deceiving. Another way we explored visual, aural and special elements in A Doll’s House was when we studied the Tarantella scene. A tarantella is a traditional Italian folk dance. It gets its name from the venomous spider, the tarantula and it is supposed that when one gets bitten by this spider, the victims needed to engage in a frenzied dance in order to prevent death or disease, using very rhythmical music. Now, in context with A Doll’s House, I believe that the reason a Tarantella is danced by Nora is because she is trying to rid herself of the poison from Torvald, Krogstad and maybe even Dr Rank; or she could be trying to rid herself from lies she’s told as this is her poison. We re-enacted the tarantella scene with the proper script. We played with spatial awareness of characters, use of voice and visual effects. Nora’s movement gets gradually more and more frantic and her speech also more frantic and louder and high pitched. Torvald moves with purpose but in a much more organised and authoritative way compared to Nora; he is always keeping his eyes on her and making sure she does it ALL correctly. Mrs Linde comes in from side stage quite discretely, says her line to Nora then moves slowly and almost mysteriously to a chair in the LDF corner. Dr Rank, playing the piano, cannot keep his eyes off Nora but is fairly wary of Torvald’s presence so near him. Nora used a shawl while she was dancing which added to the visual effects and at the end of the dance she threw the shawl on the floor as if her freedom of dance had gone and the poison had come back. We then performed our own interpretive dance for the subtext of the tarantella and the whole play without any script work. We started with Torvald controlling Nora, almost as a puppeteer- for this we used music box doll music. The music then ran into Kashmir by Bond which starts with quite a distorted wave of sound which we used to show Nora slowly changing and fighting back with Torvald. Throughout the dance, Nora got stronger and less poisoned- instead, the poison was transferring into the other characters. After Nora had kicked Torvald to the floor, Mrs Linde came in and started controlling him alongside Torvald; after having liaised with Nora, she became poisoned and slowly deteriorated to the floor. Dr Rank then came into the picture, stepped over Torvald to get to Nora. They danced together until she pushed him away and transferred the poison. Finally, Nora ended up sat down on the floor, looking around almost like a child who had just broken all of her toys. Aurally, there is one very poignant moment in A Doll’s House where the door is slammed at the end by Nora. This gives the play a final point of closure where Nora has gone and has gone for good. Similarly in Metamorphosis, when the apple is thrown into Gregor’s back, this is a definitive sound of the end of the main plot. 3) Evaluate your understanding of the practitioners studied and their influences on Metamorphosis. Use your interpretation notes to aid this question making reference to the practitioners, playwright, and your own practical exploration. Leslie Steven Berkovitch, better known as Steven Berkoff, was born on the 3rd August 1937 to Russian Jews. He came from a poor family and because of their descent; he never fitted in as a child and found it hard to be a part of a group of friends. Growing up in the East End of London is a gritty, tough time for most people let alone someone of the likes of Berkoff. He was a badly behaved child and got kicked out of school a lot. You could argue he was the original â€Å"East Ender† until he then moved to New York- he lived in a 1 bedroom flat, shared with 3 other families (who were also outsiders in New York). Wherever he travelled, he could never fit in and never found anywhere to call home. He grew up to resent his family and moved back to London at age 13. As an outsider, a Russian Jew living in London, he wanted to be a gangster. He was in a stage of identity crisis where didn’t know where to belong and after being so badly influenced and behaved, he ended up in a young offenders prison which obviously made him extremely angry! After this, he changed his name to Berkoff because he didn’t want to be seen as a Jew or associated with his roots. He brought a whole new movement to British playwriting in British society. These plays he wrote commented on equality and people- they were often based in the home. When he came out of prison, he decided to go over to Europe and learn the skill of tailoring like his father had done. During his stay, he was given the book â€Å"Metamorphosis† by Franz Kafka. When he read this, he could instantly make connections between himself and Gregor. After this, he went back to the East End and started writing plays. Unlike his fellow playwrights John Osbourne and Edward Bond, he believed drama should still be abstract. Berkoff was influenced by Greek theatre; he was a â€Å"Megalomaniac of theatre styles† who loved over exaggeration and the use of masks to rid people of their identity. He loved the use of chorus (voices together) and poetic verse because it takes things out of context. I was inspired by Brecht and his political (borderline social) take on drama and the use of gestus and satire. He also like Artaud and his theatre of cruelty and the way he used the senses and sounds to put over metaphorical messages. He then travelled to France and worked under Lecoq who was a mime artiste and physical theatre worker and trained with him until he decided to move back to London. When he got back to London, he built up his manifesto of theatre. TOTAL THEATRE. Total theatre Greek theatre (chorus, unison, exaggeration), theatre of cruelty (loud sounds, harsh, gritty images and metaphors) and epic theatre (Brecht- teaches a message, gestus, stereotypes, alienation). Berkoff moulded all these ideas together and created his characters as comic and caricatures. Using the whole of the body was very important to him as he was an extremely physical director, well demonstrated with the character of Gregor in Metamorphosis. As a practitioner, Berkoff also wrote plays as well as acted and directed. He liked using lots of language and words (almost Shakespearian). He was extremely articulate and using beautiful language he talked about the gritty East End and reality of life. To put Berkoff’s views into practice, we had to pretend to be in love with a chair. We exaggerated our love and feelings and the chair was like a metaphor for our lover. We then had to flip our mood and become angry with the chair; it got us all to think how people would stereotypically act with someone you loved and then hated. We also had to pretend we were at a picnic on our own, slowly becoming more and more exaggerated with our eating and drinking, and gradually more grotesque. It really got us to focus into it and get into it, so when it was time to â€Å"fake wretch†, I actually felt physically sick! We also practiced slow motion. This was very physically demanding, like how Steven Berkoff would have directed. It was very important to control your movements but not forget that when you sped up the movements, they should look exactly the same as the slow ones. 4) Evaluate your understanding of the practitioner studied and his influence on A Doll’s House. Use your interpretation notes to aid this question making reference to the practitioners, playwright, and your own practical exploration. Henrik Ibsen was born in Norway in 1828 and died in 1906. He was from a well to do Merchant family, however his father’s fortunes took a significant turn for the worse and he ended up a moody, nasty man and turned to alcoholism which he then took out on his family. Ibsen subsequently, only wrote about money and marriage as this was influenced from his own life. His plays were seen as scandalous to many of his era because they were always touching on sensitive subjects like human rights. This then influenced many other playwrights and novelists such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller and James Joyce. He is one of the founders of modernism in theatre. During his time, despite failing to achieve success as a playwright, he gained a lot of practical experience at the Norwegian theatre company. His play â€Å"A Doll’s House† is a realistic drama that highlights the cultural conflicts of the 19th century. The play was very controversial when it was first published as it was sharply critical of 19th century marriage norms. Her ended up having to change the ending of the original script because the leading actress didn’t like the idea of having to act out abandoning her children. It also manifests Ibsen’s concerns for women’s rights and human rights in general. This was widely considered as a landmark in the development of what would soon become a highly prevalent genre of theatre- REALISM. Realism was consequently realised. It wasn’t however until the likes of Stanislavski came along that realism became so well known and loved. He wanted a sense of realism in his work and he wanted his actors to really connect with their character. In his eyes, the actors WERE the characters. He believed REAL ACTORS=REAL ACTING. We used Stanislavski’s techniques to get into our roles when studying A Doll’s House. We began with a focus exercise, lying on the floor and zoning out our thoughts. We then thought about our character and let their feelings overwhelm our own like Stanislavski would have got his actors to. We then connected with their emotions, felt how they felt and immediately after, acted out a short scene between Nora and Torvald. This helped us all enormously because got us to lose out inhibitions and focus entirely on the story, situation and emotions of the characters. 5) Discuss the Social, Historical, Cultural and Political content of the texts studied and compare the impact on an audience and on yourself as a student of drama. In Metamorphosis, the social, historical and cultural background is made apparent in a number of ways throughout the play. Franz Kafka (the author of the original novel) took his inspiration for the characters from his own relationship between himself and his father. Unforgettable images of dislocation seem to represent both the madness of the modern world and his own desperate neurosis. Similarly, Berkoff wasn’t very close with his father. Practitioners like Brecht and Artaud influenced his work- this is clearly visible in Metamorphosis as he took Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty and gave it Brecht’s Epic Theatre attributes. Berkoff’s own unique style created this play incorporating his personal passion of mime and the genre of expressionism. Acknowledging what I know about both Berkoff and Kafka, it is blatent that the Social, Cultural, Historic and Political aspects in terms of the two writers were their personal experiences of suppression from society, the culture they were brought up in (Kafka brought up in the a Jewish community and Berkoff brought up in the lower class and status he was born into by Russian Jews). Metamorphosis can be seen as a reaction against society and its demands. Gregor’s physical separation could represent his alienation and understandable desire. He was crushed by authority and routine and had been imprisoned by social and economic demands: â€Å"Just don’t stay in bed being useless . . .† It prevents the forthcoming rebellion of the son against the father. Gregor had become strong as a result of his father’s failure. He destroyed his father’s self-esteem and took over the father’s posts and duties within the family. After the catastrophe, the same sequence takes place in reverse: son becomes weak, and father kills him. Gregor is shown as a symbol of anxiety and alienation who is a lonely character, isolated in his own mind from the community and true friendship (much like Kafka and Berkoff). Looking at where Gregor’s values were anchored: servant to the needs of an oppressive boss in order to meet the needs of a family that continuously exploits him. The metamorphosis was inevitable. Metamorphosis shows the views and attitudes of society. It isn’t necessarily the one we live in today, but looking at it from a historical point of view it could have been representing the society in the nineteen hundreds (1915) when metamorphosis was first published. Kafka was born in Germany and could be referring to the time of the war, and how the Jewish communities were discriminated against. In A Doll’s House, patriarchal ideals were supported and reinforced by a social structure in which women had very little political or economic power. They were economically, socially, and psychologically dependent upon men and especially dependent upon the institutions of marriage and motherhood. Motherhood within marriage was considered a woman’s highest possible achievement. It was a social responsibility, a duty to society, and therefore, a full-time job. Mothering was no longer something that came naturally, but was something that had to be learned. High infant mortality rates, particularly in urban areas, were solely blamed on mothers. Working class mothers were labeled neglectful, when in truth they struggled with both child care and feeding a family. The plot concerns the collapse of a middle class marriage. It sparked debates about women’s rights and divorce. It was considered innovative and daring because of its focus on psychological tension instead of external action. It also created a new acting style that required emotion be conveyed through small, controlled gestures, shifts in action, and pauses and it was groundbreaking in that it caused drama to be viewed as social commentary and not just entertainment. For me, I think that these factors in both plays have different effects on me because in A Doll’s House, the living situation is so much more common these days compared to the monstrosity it was back when it was written. I feel like I can however relate to Nora and how she’s feeling because she is quite feministic like myself. I become quite confused when thinking about how Metamorphosis affects me because it’s obviously a very abstract play but I can empathise with Gregor and moreover Greta because she just wants to help her brother but the higher members of the family won’t let her.

Banig Organizer Bag

Our future plans Include developing our line of travel necessities which are the Travel Bags, Passport Holders and other Travel Accessories all will still made with the main product Banging in a span of 5 years within the industry. We define our market as Travel Accessories. We currently hold 83. 33% of this market only a certain area of our target market which is UN Eave. And believe we can capture 95 %of it by year 2018. Some of our most notable customers Include Travel Managers International Inc. , Broadway travel Inc. And Allures Travel Inc. As of now we still onto have a direct competitor who makes the same kind of product that we do but there are alternatives to our product including Travel Kits made of leathers and Organizers made of plastics. Our product is unique/superior because of its main material which is the Banging. We have a competitive advantage because of our easy accessibility of our services and durability of our product. We anticipate new companies to enter this market because of the growing awareness for nature friendly products.The greatest risks associated with our business today are shift of people seeking the elf of travel agencies because they would rather use the internet to book their own. We feel we can overcome these risks because of there are still a huge number of people who trust to seek professional assistance in doing tours and there would always be clients who we can offer services. Our biggest recognized opportunities Include the growing number of tourist and the awareness of nature friendly products The management team is led by General Manager Ms.Ma. Patricia I Del Rosaries who founded the company in 2016. She graduated at Far Eastern university with a degree of BBS Tourism Management. She previously worked as a Sales Associate and Front Desk agent in Arizona, USA. The Product Design Officer is Ms. Cezanne Anne Manual together with Ms. Tanganyika Guttering both graduated with a degree of BBS Tourism Management The Sales a nd Marketing Officers Is Ms. Glacial Lazar with a degree of BBS Hotel and Restaurant Management and Ms.Czarina Abode graduate of BBS Tourism Management And The Finance Officer Ms. Journalize Joe Santos also from Far Eastern university with a degree of BBS Tourism Management. We have office located in 1120 Medial Extension, Otis, Pace, Manila. We currently perform outsourcing at Clamping Marking City. Our total full time staff is composed of 6 people and our products are distributed by direct selling. The expenses for a year by allocating budgets for each. We expect to provide an exit within 5 years by rationalization.Financial Snapshot In the fourth quarter, our company had sales of PH 162,500 and net income of PH 40,625, compared to sales of PH 83,500 and net income of PH 20,875 in first Quarter. MANAGEMENT ASPECT Key Business Operation Contemplation will be following the chain of command principle when any new reduce designs arise. Our purchasing and quality assuring officers and our finance officer will be responsible in all of the details regarding the contract between the business entity and the outsource manufacturer.If everything looks good and we want to move forward with the proposal we will take it to our general manager to get his/her approval. When the general manager approves the proposal, our sales and marketing manager will begin advertising the new product. Contemplation will focus mainly on word of mouth, social networks, and also sales calls to help make the product seen to the public. 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Also, all partners have a financial duty to one another, and are expected to act in the best interests of the partnership as a whole rather than Just for their personal behalf.That is why we feel that Contemplation will thrive as a business and chose a general partnership entity because each partner will bring a specific strength to the company. Organizational Structure The organizational structure of the business shows the arrangement of the employee's position within the organization. The chart shows the key function of every employee within the company. It should be implemented for the primary purpose of facilitating the achievement of organizational goals in an efficient manner.Job Description Position: General Manager Job descri ption: Obtains profit contribution by managing staff; establishing and accomplishing easiness objectives. Job Task: Increases management's effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising Job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.Develops strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending results measurements; allocating resources; reviewing progress; making mid-course corrections. Coordinates efforts by establishing procurement, production, marketing, field, and technical services policies and practices; coordinating actions with corporate staff. Builds company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethic al business practices. 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Prepares payments by accruing expenses; assigning account numbers; requesting disbursements; reconciling accounts. Develops and implements accounting procedures by analyzing current procedures; recommending changes. Answers accounting and financial questions by researching and interpreting data.Provides accounting support for mergers and acquisitions by reviewing financial information; converting data to general ledger system; obtaining supplementary information for preparing financial statements. Protects organization's value by keeping information confidential. Updates Job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations. Accomplishes accounting and organization mission by completing related results as needed.Product Design Manager Provide the needed operational requirements of manufacturing and off site operations. Job Task: Tracks and receives all incoming and outgoing packages. Maintains and organizes all development samples. Oversee quality control for all domestic samples Work with the design of the product and to revise and update technical flats Manage ND report prototype level costing information throughout the costing process; deadlines and approvals for: costing, quality evaluation, color, fabric and trims are met.Coordinate all factory communication for the development of proto-types. Such responsibilities will include: establishing the timeline, raw material management, and approval requirements with the factory during the centralization process. Sales and Marketing Manager Sales and Marketing manager has the knowledge of customer's needs and wants, ability of balancing customer satisfaction. Job Task: Knows how to do pricing strategyIdentify and evaluate the establishment objectives Formulate the marketing strategy/ marketing mix Compile the list of product/ service offerings Conduct commercial surveys/comments to identify another potential markets and to know the customer satisfaction Ensure increase revenue of the company Handling sales phone calls and e-mails Communicating with clients prior to their course and recording all correspondence Compiling client Information Packs Assisting with the copy writing of marketing materials Developing and implementing ideas for the marketing and sales Utilizing social outworking opportunities to facilitate sales and increase brand awareness Assisting with promotional events Attending and presenting at trade shows and school fairs Salaries: Position Number of Persons Salary Total Salaries P 15,000. 00 P 9,500. 00 Product Design Officers 2 Sales and Marketing Officers P 19,500. 00 TOTAL: P 62500. 00 Mandatory Benefits: These are mandatory requirements for employees are as follows: ASS All employees who are not 60 years of age have to be covered by the Social Security System (ASS).Both the employees and the business entity pay for the membership nutrition of the employee. The amount of the contribution is based on the employee's monthly salary and the schedule of contribution set by ASS. Coverage takes effect on the date of employment. Page-lbs. All employees who are not 60 years of age are also covered by Page-lbs. (Home Development Mutual Fund). In the same manner as that of ASS, both employees and the business entity pay for the membership contributions. The amount of the contribution is based on the employee's monthly salary and the schedule of contribution set by ASS. Coverage takes effect on the date of employment.Public Holidays The monthly salary of each member would include national public holidays. 13th month pay The 13th month pay is an extra pay given to all employees who have been employed for at least a month. If the employee has been employed for less than a year, the computation will be pro-rated depending on the length of service of the employee. Retirement Pay To ensure that the employee is financially secure upon retireme nt from the business entity, an equivalent of a half-month of salary will be contributed to the employee's retirement fund. This will start on the fifth year of service of the employee with the company. Pre-Employment Requirements:The applicant is required to undergo pre-employment medical examination and submit the following: Transcript of Records (original & 1 photocopy). The original copy will be returned to the candidate after verification ASS Number (submit E-1 /E-4, if available) Tax Identification Number NIB Clearance (dated not later than 6 months) Municipality Permit from Manila / Mayor's Permit from Manila Police Clearance Health Certificate from Manila Six PC's. XIX colored ID picture (white background) Orientation: Every employee will be required to participate in the General Orientation Program on his/her first day of employment. The objectives of the program are as follows: Integrate the employee with the Company's Mission, Vision and Values.Familiarize the employee on information relating to company policies and procedures and house rules Instill the importance of customer satisfaction by providing best service, quality and products Familiarize employees with our products and services Develop a sense of ownership and pride towards the attainment of company's goals and objectives The Orientation Program will be conducted by the General Manager. Performance Appraisal: The performance management system is an open and honest 3600 appraisal. This means that your immediate Manager will not only appraise you but you will also appraise yourself and be appraised by your own peers within the Team.All appraisals will cover: Your performance over the previous period which will be based on the performance standards set for each competency profile Your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the specific ways to develop and enhance your skills and competencies Identification of your training, education and development needs Your career development plan for t he year ahead Out of this discussion, your career development plan will be set for the year to come, ND an action plan will be drawn up to guide you towards the attainment of your career goal. You will be advised in advance of your appraisal, when it will take place and what you need to do to prepare for it. You will have an appraisal within three months of starting work and another one, before your probationary period ends. Upon reorganization, an appraisal will be conducted regularly depending on the need of the employee and also of the Team. Ideally, an appraisal must be conducted every six months.Each subsequent appraisal must be scheduled six months after or no later than 12 months from the date of the previous appraisal. TECHNICAL ASPECT Product Concept: Contemplation has envisioned a line of products to introduce to the market but as all visions, it will have to begin with steps to get to the goal. Contemplation will launch its pioneer product which will be a Travel Organizer , It will be made with its main material which will be â€Å"banging†, Andover mat usually used in the Philippines for sleeping and sitting. The mat is made of burl, panda or sea grass leaves then the leaves are dried, usually dyed, and then cut into strips and woven into mats, which may be plain or intricate.It will be produced with this material mainly because one of Banging† for their livelihood and also to promote the Philippines being its traditional product which symbolizes their way of living, which is simplicity. The organizer will consist of pockets that will be able to hold items such as Passports, flight tickets, credit cards as well as other personal belongings. In addition to the pockets, we will also incorporate special dividers and holders that will help organize all small items such as chargers, earphones, pens/pencils, and basically anything else that may be needed during travel. This is going to be a unique and a one of a kind item that will cake trave ling easier for any type of traveler. Being made of banging it will show the true culture of the Philippines while still having those popular trend young adults are looking for.Benefit: Contemplatively organizer, a banging with zipper closures, has a variety of benefits that could be interesting for potential customers. Travel Organizers are terrific for avoiding what could otherwise be a cluttered mess in your bag, and make life easier for security inspections as well; this approach also makes smaller items less likely to be lost or forgotten. Company Profile and Logo Contemplation is a trading business entity that will produce products made of â€Å"bang. Contemplation will provide a product that has a unique Filipino touch yet it will be sold in an affordable price. It will also help promote the Philippines by using the raw materials that are traditionally produced in the Philippines.The name behind â€Å"Contemplation† is a mixture of the words; Contemporary and Pinto. C ontemporary meaning happening on the same period, the team chose this word to exactly people specially Filipinos are losing track of what their culture really is and their way of living are focused on following the trends internationally. The team wants to bring back the â€Å"banging† to the public, to be better appreciated in the current time and to be once again representing the Philippines as a product know to the world. Contemn – comes from the word contemporary it mean â€Å"modern† Pinto – is referring to the Filipino people in the Philippines Contemn (letters with banging design) – because our product is made of Banging.

Research Project - Strategic Recommendations Paper

Project - Strategic Recommendations - Research Paper Example However, it is important to note that mergers and acquisition would badly affect the competitiveness of a business and produce other unintended outcomes if they are planned thoughtlessly. Modern business organizations take strategic initiatives from time to time to influence the industry forces in such a way to enhance their sales and profitability. This paper intends to give the Microsoft Corporation some strategic recommendations for their future performance in the light of the company analysis and industry analysis already performed in the previous papers. While going through the financial statements of the Microsoft Corporation over the recent years, it is clear that the company had achieved a considerable financial growth throughout 2012 and 2013 fiscal periods and the first half the of 2014 before it began to experience growth declines in second half of the 2014. Although the company is currently experiencing financial setbacks, it still performs better when compared to industry benchmarks. It is interesting to see that in the fiscal year ending 2014, Microsoft was the top leading player in the business software and services industry with a market capitalization of $347.51 billion when the total market capitalization of the industry was $5.728 trillion. Although the company’s cash ratio, current ratio, and quick ratio dropped notably in the recent years, the drop was still better than the industry benchmarks. When the firm’s gross profit margin has been decreasing since 2012, the operating profit margin and net profit margin improved during the period 2012-13 but later slightly dropped in 2014. According to the annual reports, Microsoft’s operating profit margin and net profit margin were 31% and 25.42% respectively in 2014. It is observed that these values were higher than the industry benchmarks at that time, justifying

International Organization Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International Organization Behaviour - Essay Example Communication, which has been variedly defined by authors, is the dissemination of information, conversation between people or passing and receiving information between various people or groups. Culture and communication are closely related in that culture determines the kind of communication among people. Organizational culture also determines the kind of communication used within the organization by the management and employees. Organizational behaviour relates to the feelings and concerns of employees in the organization. This can be defined by their cultural values, attitudes, beliefs, customs and lifestyle. Management, according to international organization behaviour, should consider the views and perspectives of employees in every decision made (McGregor 2005, p. 50). This will ensure communication is effective and the intended information is always disseminated. Culture mediated understanding and perception. It is also true that communication which is one way hinders learning and knowledge acquisition. Therefore the role of culture and communication is very vital in the organization. This is why culture is an important aspect in an organization. Accommodating cultural diversity will also ensure that the relationship between employees and the management is favourable towards achieving the major goals of the organization. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the role of culture and communication. ... Effective communication is also developed over time. This enable the people involved in organizations to share their experiences at work and even work as a team. This is also important in that communication facilitates achievement of organizational goals, customer relations, and promotes feedback both from employees to the management and from customers to the organization. Organizations develop culture that is usually apparent in specific layout of work space, pattern of dress, styles of leadership, styles of functions and meetings, talking about direction and nature of organization, and ways of thinking about the organizational roles, goals and mission of existence. These perspectives are achieved with the help of effective communication within the organization (Graham 2005, p. 40). Culture of an organization may be expressed through both verbal and non verbal communication among the parties in the organization. Organizations that develop a common culture for its employees understan d the role of cultural diversity of its employees and achieve its objectives. In the concept of organizational behaviour, managers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the views and perceptions of employees are understood and incorporated in day to day management of the business. Managers can only understand their employees if they first conceptualize their cultural beliefs, norms, customs, and attitudes. Some employees feel motivated if they are involved in decision making and their suggestions considered in the organization. This can be effectively done where the role of communication is emphasized and cultural diversity within the organization is captured. This introduces the concept of cross cultural communication

SWOT Analysis Psion PLC Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

SWOT Analysis Psion PLC - Case Study Example Psion is estimated to be the third largest supplier in its chosen markets on a global basis. In certain territories such as France and specific market sectors, for example, ports, the Group has the leading position. The principal activities of the Group are providing mobile enterprise computing solutions, integration services and product support and maintenance to customers worldwide. The company has leading expertise in engineering, integration and ergonomics and design and delivers these high quality and rugged mobile computers to best-in-class standards. The Group provides enterprise solutions for the mobile work forces of larger corporations. Solutions require the implementation of complete systems including robust mobile computers, wireless networks, and automatic data recognition equipment and integration software. Psion produces mobile computing solutions, which delivers real-time access to enterprise data at the point of activity to improve business efficiency and productivit y for leading enterprise around the world. Company has leading expertise in rugged hardware, integration, service and support. Strength: Psion has particular strengths in two major sectors: managing logistics in factories, warehouses and ports with local area networks; managing information for dispersed field forces over wide area networks. Core value to it's customers resides in the ruggedness and reliability of Psion products in often demanding environments, in the specialized knowledge of customer requirements and in the ability to supply, service and support its customers globally, is the main stay of the company in the global market. Company's strength includes Innovation in technology and in its products will continue for many years as a driver of productivity growth for customers. Company has leading expertise in rugged hardware, integration, service and support. Company's aim to leverage its reputation and brand to develop strong business relationships based on the quality of its offering, and proven ability to address customers' operational and logistics challenges, while delivering a strong return on investment for their businesses. The Group is in a good strategic position and has a strong management team that is well placed to target long-term growth with satisfactory returns to shareholders. The Group's range of hand held and vehicle mounted computers and wireless access points are designed for particular markets and applications are the main products and its main strengths. The principal design criteria include functionality; ruggedness and cost effectiveness has been the strengths of Psion. . Products are updated or replaced periodically, typically every 3-4 years. However, a customer may continue to use a device for many years and the Group provides maintenance programmes to continue the life of the product in use for as long as practicable. High volume terminals are designed to be highly configurable through the use of modular components or customizable where the terminal may have parts specifically incorporated solely for a particular customer. Company's ability to p rovide customers with a complete and distinct solution through hardware customization and the inclusion of third party products is one of the factors, which distinguishes it from its competitors and remains its strengths. Most field-based

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 32

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example In simple terms, the vision and mission of an organization outlines future targets and explicates where the organization wants to be in a specific timeframe. Therefore, analyzing the vision and mission would help identify factors hindering the achievement of projected targets, factors supporting or facilitating achievement of positive results, as well as gaps that would need further action. Doris, I concur with your discussion. in that communication, monitoring, and continued assessment are imperative factors in identification of obstacles and strong points. Ghazinoory, Abdi and Azadegan-Mehr (2011, p.24) define SWOT analysis as "A widely used tool for analyzing internal and external environments in order to attain a systematic approach and support for decision situations". The y further outline internal factors to include operations as they are factors that the organization has control over (Ghazinoory, Abdi and Azadegan-Mehr, 2011). In reference to your unmet need, monitoring patients falls through distance video monitoring is prove that the environment is being analyzed. When falls are identified and the cause identified, informing the management is important as they are the primary decision makers. By informing the management, action plans can be implemented to help reduce the falls. In this regard, I agree that continual communication with Directors of Resource Ma nagement and Professional Practice is essential in SWOT analysis. Hamidi, K., &Delbahari, V. (2011). Formulating a strategy for a university using SWOT technique: A case study. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 5(12), 264– 276. Retrieved from

ENV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ENV - Essay Example Environmental pollution results to undesirable changes and conditions for all the organisms in the ecosystem and this comes with effects that are more adverse to life systems in general.  The environment is also divided into components which  are affected by pollution  and they  include the air, soil and water;  this  gives rise to the various types of pollution namely air, soil and water pollution. Pollutants are introduced in the environment as byproducts of human activities such as industrialization, deforestation and farming- these activities release harmful residues into the environment thus causing pollution. For instance, farmers apply pesticides for purposes of boosting Agricultural outputs on their farms, but this often leads to pollution as the pesticides always find their way into the air, water and soil resulting to contamination. In this regard, pesticides contribute to air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution  thereby destabilizing the natural equ ilibrium in the ecosystem. In the course of applying pesticides to crops, they may drift through wind into other unintended areas, contaminating the air, and this affects life systems, which may encounter the residues of pesticides. Organisms for instance may ingest the pesticide residues that land on food or by breathing the particles suspended in air. Pesticides find their way into water systems by a number of ways such as leaching through the soil; they may be carried through runoff water or eroding soil (Pimentel et.al 818), and they may accidentally spill into waterways.  Pesticides that leach into ground water sources lead to contamination- organisms that use such contaminated water  are at a risk of ingesting the pesticide residues in it, and this causes health problems (Singh et.al 96). Concerning soil pollution, continuous excessive use of pesticides may lead to

Network Architecture Selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Network Architecture Selection - Essay Example However, it must be noted that there is no one type of architecture that may be considered the correct choice. Such choice relies on the consideration of several factors as well as on weighing such factors. Network architecture selection, according to Palley, should take into consideration the following factors: Frequency of use of global data entails considering whether the use or sharing of data is localized. Basically, if data is to be shared by elements on a wider geographical area, much consideration must be given to the choice of architecture (i.e. ring/hierarchical). However, if the use of data is primarily localized, then such factor should not be much of an issue. Secondly, if global data is dynamic or heavily updated, considerations need to be made since the redundancy of data may lead to combinatorial update problems and data integrity problems. However, if data is static, redundancy of data would not be a problem; and "replicated" global data would be appropriate. Also, one needs to consider whether quick responses are needed when exchange of data occurs. In cases when response times are significant, the discussion of network efficiency becomes vital to the development and planning of the network. Undoubtedly, the size of the network should also be considered together with the o ther factors cited. Also, the budget given for the planning of the network is likewise vital since certain types of network architectures are more expensive than others. Lastly, one must anticipate future changes to the network as there are updates that need to be made every so often. The case of Blue Skies Inc. is to be discussed in this paper. Blue Skies Inc. is an organization that is currently considering expanding its services throughout the United States. Based in Des Moines, the company plans to open at least two reservation counters in every U.S. city with a population over 800,000, and create a Web site where customers can make reservations online. In such an environment, Blue Skies expects that they will handle 200,000 transactions on a daily basis. As such, the company requires the setting up of a network that can efficiently handle the aforementioned volume of transactions. Specifically, the appropriate choice of network architecture that will meet the needs of the organization must be determined. The choice of network architecture entails choosing either a terminal services or a mainframe based network. Before selecting the appropriate network architecture, the distinction between the two options must first be identified. Also, the known advantages of each of the two types of architectures must likewise be stated. According to Software Diversified Services (SDS), "Mainframes used to be defined by their size, and they can still fill a room, cost millions, and support thousands of users. But now a mainframe can also run on a laptop and support two users. So today's mainframes are best defined by their operating systems: Unix and Linux, and IBM's z/OS, OS/390, MVS, VM, and VSE." Also, John Campbell identifies three features that a mainframe based

Effect of Cosmetic Marketing on Consumers individual self image Dissertation

Effect of Cosmetic Marketing on Consumers individual self image - Dissertation Example A review of the recent literature shows that the cosmetics industry is at the forefront of marketing innovations and this study explores exactly what effects this marketing activity is having on the self-image of consumers. 1.2 Body, Self and Image. It has long been recognised that the way people use certain products helps them to build a concept of self (Grubb, 1967; Sirgy, 1982; Malhotra, 2002). Psychologists have noted that people seek to maintain more than one version themselves. (Adler, 1930) This is very evident in choice of clothing, for example, which people use to align themselves to peer groups, work contexts and so on, and when they adapt to different situations. There are also many products which people use in private and no one else knows that this product is being used. These two situations may connect with what psychologists call â€Å"ideal self† and â€Å"real self† (Dolich, 1969 ) or â€Å"public self† and â€Å"private self.† (Baumeister , 1986) Studies show that what people buy has symbolic as well as literal meanings for them, and by choosing some products over others, consumers are choosing to bolster one or other aspect of their own personality. (Dittmar, 1992) For women especially there are extra pressures to maintain a positive body image because the patriarchal culture that still exists in Western societies values youthful and healthy appearance in women much more than in men. (Woolf, 1991; Gimlin, 2002) As women at the start of the twentieth century increasingly took part in the public world of work, the cosmetic industry played its part in building expectations of increasing artifice in the construction of a public image for women. (Peiss, 1990) Now, at the start of the twenty first century, in a less overtly sexist society, the process appears to be extending still further into the domain of masculinity, and the marketing of cosmetics for men is growing exponentially. (Mintel, 2008) 1.3 The Cosmetics Indus try and Self Image. The cosmetics industry is intimately connected with consumers’ idea of self. to modern approaches like â€Å"Guerrilla Marketing† (Levinson, 2007) which advocates low budget persistence before, during and after a sale. â€Å"Digital Marketing† or â€Å"emarketing† (Parkin, 2009) extols the advantages of new technologies. The concept of â€Å"sticky marketing† rejects old adages like the unique selling proposition or USP because of the proliferation of almost identical products in modern society, and requires instead that â€Å"the focus move from transactions to customer engagement.† (Leboff: . p. 92) All of these have relevance in the fashion-conscious area of cosmetics marketing. It is no coincidence that some of the most psychologically sophisticated campaigns in the history of marketing come from this branch. L’Oreal Group’s long running series of haircare advertisements, for example, which ran the sloga n â€Å"Because you’re worth it† successfully bound their product to the consumer’s feeling of self-worth, creating a memorable message that has become part of the English language. The focus in these advertisements is on the effect which the product has on the consumer’s mind, more than the body, and this is a clever twist that flatters the consumer and seems to sell the product incidentally. This campaign which ran at the start of

Why Time Travel is not Paradoxical according to David Lewis Essay Example for Free

Why Time Travel is not Paradoxical according to David Lewis Essay The grandfather paradox is one of the most well known examples of a paradox associated with time travel. Supposing that a person, say Henry, wants to kill his grandfather, and Henry wants to travel back in time to do so. If Henry does succeed in killing his grandfather at a time when the grandfather has not yet fathered the offspring that would eventually become Henry’s parent, then Henry would never have been born in the first place, so how could he have traveled back in time? David Lewis argues that time travel is not paradoxical. His answer to the grandfather paradox is that, in the first place, Henry would not have been able to kill the grandfather. In other words, a time traveler who goes back to the past cannot change the past. According to Lewis, Henry—or any time traveler—would simply be part of the reality of the past. Henry would be part of the past as a time traveler—in other words, there is only one past in the first place, and that past has always included the time traveler Henry. Thus, there are no changes that can be done to the past, because the fact that he time-traveled would have been true even before he decided to do it, and even before he existed. Every point in time is equally real, and nothing can change it. Another paradox is the causal loop, to which Lewis’ solution applies as well. An example of a causal loop is when a person receives the plans for a time machine from a mysterious stranger. This person creates the time machine, travels back in time, and gives his younger self the plans. The problem here is the origin of the time machine plans. Where did they come from? According to Lewis, the plans would simply have had no cause, in the same way that the universe, or God, exists uncaused.

Education in Emergencies

Education in Emergencies This chapter will discuss several existing organisations dedicated to education in emergencies and the programmes that they have developed. Discussing the effectiveness of these programmes would be beyond the scope of this paper. It is however, relevant to the topic to discuss how the right to education is protected in times of crises. Education in emergencies Emergency education has been defined as a set of linked project activities that enable structured learning to continue in times of acute crisis or long-term instability.[1] Emergency education was introduced in the mid-1990s to find a solution for fulfilling childrens rights to education in times of emergency.[2] It was more so important due to crises lasting for long periods of time. The aim was to find ways of ensuring that childrens rights to education and their rights to protection are maintained in practice during conflicts or disasters so that they can be prepared for a better future and can contribute to the rebuilding of their society when the crisis is over.[3] Midttun stated Emergencies include the acute, the chronically unstable as well as the return and early rehabilitation phases.[4] The mid-decade meeting on Education for All Amman 1996 emphasised basic education in emergency situations and recommended the classification of schools as safety zones to be preserved in times of conflict, highlighting the importance of education even in times of war.[5] In 1993, the United Nations presented a resolution with a request for a study into ways of improving the protection of children affected by armed conflicts.[6] The 1996 Report of the Expert on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (the Machel Report)[7] referred several times to schooling as a vital tool for promoting psychological well-being after trauma and for conveying messages relating to health, mine awareness, human rights and peace and tolerance.[8] These reports and international discussions illustrates that the international community is aware that the right to education in conflict lacks a proper mechanism to ensure that children receive the education that has been guaranteed as a right. International bodies of emergency education This section will briefly introduce several international bodies dedicating their work to emergency education and will further add in the following section how the work of these organisations illustrates the importance of education as part of humanitarian response. The Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) was established in 2000 to co-ordinate the work of local, national and international groups, to exchange data and to develop guidelines for education during and after emergencies.[9] INEE developed the Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery which provides a framework for a good quality education response in emergencies. The INEE Minimum Standards are a companion to the Sphere Project, in relation to standards for integrating good quality education within humanitarian response and achieve greater accountability in the humanitarian sector.[10] The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Education Cluster serves to fortify the capacity and preparedness of humanitarian personnel and government authorities to plan, coordinate and manage good quality educational programmes in emergencies.[11] The Education Cluster brings education actors together to assess needs, identify priorities, coordinate responses and to promote education as a key first response in humanitarian crises.[12] International Rescue Committee (IRC) combines direct service delivery with State building efforts via community governance initiatives, recognising that education is a vital empowerment tool for children and their families.[13] Efforts are characterised by excellent integration of education into different sectors such as governance, emergency response and child protection. Their approach is rights-based combined with advocacy and the key aims of the program is to consistently meet basic needs, strengthening institutions and promoting social cohesion in each sector.[14] Education as part of a humanitarian response The 2010 UN General Assembly Resolution on the right to education in emergency situations established an important implementation framework for all States, humanitarian actors and UN agencies.[15] Part of the issue to protecting education in times of crises is whether education can be seen as part of a humanitarian response to crisis or whether it is a development issue.[16] The debate on this issue has practical implications on funding during emergency situations. Those who hold the view that education is a development issue would prefer emergency funding to be spent on life-saving matters like food, shelter and clean water.[17] On the other hand, the governments of Norway and Canada, along with many experts, consider education to be the fourth pillar of any humanitarian response, alongside food, shelter and health.[18] The cluster approach is part of the ongoing Humanitarian Reform Agenda for improving ways in which the international community responds to crises. The Humanitarian Response Review identified the need for more timely, predictable and effective humanitarian action and launched a process of humanitarian reform.[19]ÂÂ   In 2006, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) endorsed the Education Cluster.[20] The cluster approach is one of the key pillar for achieving more timely, predictable and effective humanitarian action. It refers to the official coordination mechanism for humanitarian response thus making education part of humanitarian response in times of crises. This is aptly necessary as educational institutions tend to be collateral damage if not the target of parties. In Palestine, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) was established in the year 1994. They developed an education plan for Palestine that had to be converted into an emergency education plan in the year 2000 after the second intifada, to stop any further deterioration in the quality of education and to minimise the impact of the Israeli occupation on childrens schooling.[21] There has been many incidences where instead of protecting educational institutions (as required by humanitarian law), Israeli forces has contributed or initiated an attack. A group of settlers shielded by the Israeli security forces reportedly attacked a Secondary School which resulted in the injury of 12 children. In Gaza in 2015, at least 262 schools were damaged in Israeli air strikes. Three public schools were completely destroyed and at least 23 were severely damaged.[22] Schools were also used as shelters and 83 school buildings of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were damaged owing to Israeli airstrikes.[23] The right to education in Palestine has been disputed by Israel on the grounds that Palestine has never been a state.[24] The right to education is guaranteed for all persons and is not limited by their circumstances or the nature of the hostilities and is the right of every human being. Even after the transfer of education responsibility to the Palestinian National Authority, Israel as occupier of the territory, continues to bear the responsibility to facilitate childrens rights to education under obligations of international humanitarian law. The construction of the Wall on Occupied Palestinian Territory has become a further hindrance to the education of Palestinians. The view is that a comprehensive and unified Palestinian educational vision and strategy is essential for the progress of Palestinia n education, but is rendered more difficult to achieve by the barrier, which in some instances, separates neighbouring villages.[25] In practice, most emergency education programs concentrate on primary education.[26] International agencies has developed educational packages for emergency situations. UNICEF and UNESCO developed the School in a Box which support teachers in providing basic literacy, numeracy and life skills.[27] This package serves as an instant classroom for children in crisis. The container is stuffed with over 1,500 school instruments and supplies that enable 80 children and a teacher to create an instant classroom. These packages can be distributed to teachers and children very quickly. They, however, may lack cultural sensitivity and may not meet the needs of children in particular situations and may have priorities which are not shared by the local communities.[28] A way to mitigate the issue of cultural sensitivity may be to ensure that emergency schools are run by the community itself. They would then be free to accommodate the needs and priorities of the local community in the education of their children. Schools that are run by the community itself has higher chances of being accepted by the community as a whole and thus providing a more effective solution to education in emergencies.[29] The right to education has been defined as the rights to free and compulsory primary or elementary education. In the context of an armed conflict, the provisions under humanitarian law and human rights law should be read together, complementing each others provisions. Especially in accordance with the right of education, no apparent contradiction exists. Humanitarian law acts as a lex specialis rule while human rights law acts as the les generalis rule. Situations of armed conflict do not provide an escape for the duty bearers on the responsibilities of affording education. The right to education is to be protected in both international and non-international armed conflicts. The protection of education goes beyond the scope of the territory of conflict parties and extends the responsibility to receiving States where persons from conflict area cross international borders. The scope of protection in an internal armed conflict is smaller than an international armed conflict, in that, the obligation of the duty bearers are limited to the protection of educational institutions. International institutions have been mandated with prosecuting crimes within the Geneva Conventions, in particular, the protection of educational institutions. The international community has increasingly recognise the importance of education in crises situations for the progress of the society. This is evidenced by the growing inclusion of emergency education as part of humanitarian response. Education systems are one of the most sustainable and durable solutions available in conflict affected States. As discussed, humanitarian actors have stepped in to meet the basic right of education of civilians. A long-term solution would also be to build the capacity of local communities and organisations to do so to ensure that they would be self-sustainable.[30] An investment in good gover nance, which in essence is an investment in people, may be the best way to provide education in emergency situations, because it asserts and invests in a future for children and their communities. Imposing State responsibility would force States to observe rules of humanitarian law and therefore, ensure that their armed forces observe humanitarian law. It is the duty of the State to implement humanitarian law and to provide criminal sanctions for its violations within its own legal system as the ICC acts as a supplement to national systems. The mere existence of the ICC has put pressure on States to ratify the crimes under the Rome Statute and to prosecute international crimes within their domestic jurisdiction to avoid the ICCs intervention. The prosecution by the ICC would incur individual criminal responsibility. Implementation through international bodies as illustrated in chapter 6, is a positive aspect of education in emergencies. It would however, become more effective when it is implemented together with criminal justice. It is the responsibility of international community as a whole to enforce the accountability and responsibility of parties to the conflict, be it State or non-state actors, to ensure that the right to education is protected in the context of armed conflicts. The prosecution of crimes acts as a reminder that parties to a conflict are answerable to the entire international community, even if, justice takes years to present itself. The ICC has jurisdiction over the crimes against educational institutions, perhaps more prosecutions of perpetrators who destroy education institutions or by holding States accountable for their lack of initiative and protection of education, would act as a deterrent to future parties to conflicts. It is important that both aspects of protecting education is engaged. The legal aspect where parties are held accountable and the social aspect in an effective education regime as a humanitarian response. References [1] S. Nicolai C. Triplehorn (2003) The Role of Education in Protecting Children in Conflict (London, Humanitarian Practice Network) 11. [2] UNESCO, International Consultative Forum on Education for All. (1996). Education for all: Achieving the goal: final report of the Mid Decade Meeting of the International Consultative Forum on Education for All, Amman, Jordan, 16 19 June 1996. Paris: UNESCO 40. [3] J. M. Halstead S. J. Affouneh, Educating the Human Spirit in the Times of Conflict: The Case of Emergency Education in Palestine (2006) 12:2 International Journal of Childrens Spirituality 199, 200. [4] E. K. Midttun, Education and Emergencies (2006) 2:1 Journal of Education for International Development, 1. [5] Education for all: Achieving the goal: final report of the Mid Decade Meeting (n 120) 41. [6] UNGA, Protection of children affected by armed conflicts: resolution / adopted by the General Assembly A/RES/48/157 (20 December 1993). [7] UNGA, Impact of armed conflict on children: note / by the Secretary-General A/51/306 (26 August 1996). [8] Ibid para 54, 185 and 193. [9] Ineesiteorg, How We Work (Ineesiteorg, 2015) accessed 1 January 2017. [10] The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (3rd edition, 2011), page 12 . [11] Uniceforg, The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) (UNICEF, 10 December 2008) accessed 1 January 2017. [12] N. A. Papadopoulos, Achievements and challenges of the Education Cluster in the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, Somalia and Sri Lanka (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011, 2010). [13] Rescueorg, Where We Focus: Education (International Rescue Committee (IRC), 2015) accessed 1 January 2017. [14] L. Bender, Innovations in Emergency Education: The IRC in the Democratic Republic of Congo (A Commissioned Background Report Prepared for the Global Monitoring Report 2011, 2009). [15] UN Resolution A/64/L.58. [16] Halstead Affouneh, Educating the Human Spirit in the Times of Conflict (n 121). [17] M.Sommers, Children, Education and War: Reaching Education for All (EFA) Objectives in Countries Affected by Conflict, (Washington DC, World Bank) (2002) [18] E. M. Johannessen, Guidelines for Evaluation of Education Projects in Emergency Situations (Oslo, Norwegian Refugee Council) (2001); See Also, M. Sinclair, Planning Education in and After Emergency (2002) (Paris, UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning) (2002) [19] C. Adinolfi, D. S. Bassiouni, H. F. Lauritzsen H. Roy Williams, Humanitarian Response Review, Commissioned by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (2005). [20] N. A. Papadopoulos, Achievements and challenges of the Education Cluster in the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, Somalia and Sri Lanka (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011, 2010) [21] H. Ramahi, Education in Palestine: Current Challenges and Emancipatory Alternatives (2015) The American School of Palestine and University of Cambridge, 5. [22] UNGA, UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict Report of the Secretary General, 69th Session, A/69/926*-S/2015/409* [23] UNGA, UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict Report of the Secretary General, 69th Session, A/69/926*-S/2015/409* para 99 [24] Save the Children, Living Behind Barriers Palestinian Children Speak Out (London, Save the Children UK and Save the Children Sweden) (2004). [25] Ramahi, Education in Palestine: Current Challenges and Emancipatory Alternatives (n 139) [26] Sommers, Children, Education and War: Reaching Education for All (n 135); See also, L. Davis, Education and Conflict: Complexity and Chaos (London, RoutledgeFalmer) (2004). [27]ÂÂ   UNICEF, UNESCO, School-in-a-box: An Instant Classroom for Children in Crisis (2008) 4 Every Child. [28] Halstead Affouneh, Educating the Human Spirit in the Times of Conflict (n 121). [29] Bender, Innovations in Emergency Education (n 132). [30] Bender, Innovations in Emergency Education (n 132).

America Has Been A World Power Essay -- essays research papers

America has been a world power for as long as anyone can remember. But how did it become what it is today? Through decades of racism and greed! Our country is one of the most racist country’s there has ever been! But without it America would be nothing like it is today. Slavery made America and racism made it grow. America has proven itself to be a selfish, greedy, and racist country. The 1840s were years of extraordinary territorial growth for the United States. During a four year period, our American territory was increased by 1.2 million square miles, a gain of more than sixty percent. The expansion of our country was so rapid, that it came to be seen as an inexorable process, prompting many Americans to insist that their nation had a "manifest destiny" to dominate the continent. The expansionist plans was never a clearly defined movement, or one that enjoyed broad support. Some party leaders greatly opposed territorial growth, and even expansionist Democrats argued about how much new land should be acquired, and by what means. Some supporters of Manifest Destiny favored rapid expansion and bold pursuit of American territorial claims, even at the risk of war with other nations. Others believed that the land would voluntarily submit to the benefits of the republic. In an often-used metaphor of the day, these regions would ripen like fruit and fall into the lap of the United States. The champions of Manifest Destiny were at best a motley collection of interest groups, motivated by greed and the continues want for more. There are several reasons why the united states decided to expand. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, many Americans believed that the rapid growth would cause an economical downfall . But such vast distances were quickly being conquered by technological innovations. Although the United States had no shortage of unoccupied lands, expansionists argued that the republic must continue to grow in order to survive. Using the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, they viewed a great region of land as the mainstay of a growing republic, and warned against the concentration of political and economic power. Troubled by creeping urbanization a... ...Mexico, whose government, Polk incorrectly believed, was acting in concert with Great Britain to thwart U.S. territorial ambitions. Although Polk insisted that the United States was not waging a war of conquest, critics accused the president of manufacturing a war to seize California and New Mexico. In the months following the war, Polk also considered extending U.S. sovereignty over the Yucatan peninsula and Cuba, two regions which he believed were vulnerable to encroachments from the British. These initiatives received little support in Congress, however, and were abandoned shortly before Polk stepped down from office. In the 1850s, having established itself as a transcontinental empire, the United States ceased to regard British activities in the western hemisphere with alarm. Preoccupied with the increasingly bitter sectional conflict over slavery, many Americans rejected Manifest Destiny. Although southern extremists would sponsor filibuster expeditions into Latin America with the objective of gaining new lands to extend the slave empire, the expansionist movement faded from the national agenda in the years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Conflict in The Victory by Anne Stevenson :: Victory

Conflict in The Victory by Anne Stevenson " I thought you were my victory /though you cut me like a knife" (Stevenson 1-2) The opening lines of Anne Stevenson's poem The Victory set a tone of conflict. This poem, at its surface, expresses a mother's thoughts on giving birth to a son. Stevenson describes the mixed feelings many mothers have upon the delivery of their first born. The final release from pregnancy and birthing pains, coupled with the excitement of bringing a live creature into this world, at first seem a victory to the new parent. The author goes on to confute the event as a victory. Using words such as "antagonist" (5), "bruise" (6), and "scary"(13), she shows the darker side of childbirth. The mother has felt her own life's blood flowing that a stranger might live "The stains of your glory bled from my veins." (6-8). That she sees her own child as a stranger is evident in lines nine and ten, where the child is described as a "blind thing" (9) with "blank insect eyes"(10). The mother portrays her baby as a bug, not even human. In the last section of the poem, two questions are asked, attesting to the mother's internal conflict. "Why do I have to love you?/ How have you won?" (15-16). These unanswerable queries are some of the fundamental questions of our human existence. Below the topmost layer of meaning in The Victory, is an underlying theme that any parent or guardian will easily relate to. Children are born out of the great pain their mothers endure. They are helpless in one sense, yet they command the care of their parents. Stevenson describes the intrinsic helplessness of infants with the words "Blind"(9) and "Hungry"(14). Yet, this poem does not refer to new born babes alone. Birthing pains do not cease with the delivery of a child. The conflict described in this poem is felt by parents of adult children as well. All parents give of their lifeblood, at least in the emotional sense, in raising and maintaining their offspring. The Victory is a poem written as if by a mother only just delivered of a new born son, yet the themes expressed in its lines apply to all the

How Stevenson Builds Suspense and Tension in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Es

How Stevenson Builds Suspense and Tension in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde After thoroughly examining the question at hand. I have understood that I should comment on at least three episodes of the novel and clearly stress out how the writer built up the suspense and tension of the story. However I am going to look at techniques such as using shot quotations and not being to repetitive. The episodes l am going to be explaining are the incident of the letter, the remarkable incident of Dr Lanyon and the Last Night. In the Incident of the Letter, Stevenson starts of the episode by telling us what Dr Jekyll's house was like through Mr Uttersons eyes. He later starts spicing up his story by describing Dr Jekyll's quarters as the," dingly windowless structure". Stevenson then also goes on to give a mystic filling to the reader by describing the light in Dr Jekyll's theatre as", falling dimly through the fogy copula." Stevenson then went on to put a scary touch to the story by telling us that Dr Jekll was," looking deadly sick", and that he, "held out a cold hand," when he met with Mr Utterson.When asked about Mr Hyde Dr Jekyll starts swearing out of knower and can be quoted saying,"l am done with him in this world". Later on in the episode Dr Jekyll produces the much-awaited letter, which he claims, came from Mr Hyde. Tension can also be seen building up as Dr Jekyll cried out when he spoke to Mr Utterson. Dr Jekll was described as he," seemed seized with a qualm of faintness", because Mr Utterson was talking about Dr Jekyll's will which he linked to Dr Hyde. Later on in the episode a stunning similarity is discovered between DrJekyll's handwriting and Mr Hyde's. The fog around the city is then described as," s... ...that the evening was full of mystery. Stevenson described how the,"scud", in the sky was, "banked over the moon" and also that Stevenson went on to also describing London as, "humming solemnly all around", and that the "stillness", was broken by the "sound moving to and fro the cabinet floor". Before the attack Stevenson put a note of scariness when he described Mr Utterson as "filled with a sudden chill of horror", when he had that Dr Jekyll had been weeping like a lost soul. As MrUtterson and Mr Poole attacked the cabinet door Stevenson used a high degree of tension and scariness to describe the sounds that came out the cabinet which he described as, "dismal screechs", as of mere animal terror". When they finally broke in to the cabinet the body they found there was described as, "sorely contorted and still twitching", and yes it was Mr Hyde's body.

Vacant Chapter 12 Waiting

I knock, but there's no answer. I let myself in and I'm immediately relieved to see Emily's things still around the house, including her bedding on the couch. Remorse creeps back into my chest as I think about the numerous times I've tried to convince Emily to take my room – my bed – but she never has. I kneel down on the floor in front of the sofa to worship the scent lingering in the sheets. She always smells like baby powder, the cheap off brand they sell at the Dollar Tree, but regardless of the price, it smells like heaven to me. I close my eyes and enjoy her essence while also promising myself to buy her name-brand lotion. No more generic. The shouting startles me awake. â€Å"I don't care! Get the mother-fucking money. I don't pay you to lose my shit!† Then I hear the unmistakable sound of a fist meeting flesh. My blood runs cold as I wonder if it's Emily next door. The thought hits me like the fist from next door: What has she done to get money for herself? I've had many neighbors while I've lived here. It's to be expected, as the downtrodden are a transient population. That unit was empty when†¦.when I left, so I hadn't thought about a new tenant. I also hadn't figured on undesirables moving in. I'd never worried about my safety, but now I have to think of Emily's safety and protection. This is no place for her. I hear a feminine scream amid the sounds of skin being struck and I know it's not my girl. I know what her scream sounds like after a spider infestation and that's not it. It's not Emily. â€Å"Get up, Punta!† I hear more ramblings and shouts in Spanish; the female cries in response. All I can think is, Thank God it's not Emily. But it is someone – someone's daughter, sister, or friend. I do the only thing I can. I call the police and let them handle it. While I've read heroic tales of men saving the day, it's not safe or practical in this case. It's very likely that the monster next door has a weapon, and I'm no good to protect Emily if I'm dead. The cops come and go quickly. The woman refuses to press charges, but the man is escorted off the property with a warning not to return. He'll be back, though. They always are. My thoughts drift to moving to a better neighborhood, but then I realize I may not have a job because I'm a complete coward who left for a week without calling his boss; it'll be a miracle if I'm not fired. How will I take care of Emily without a job? I'm an idiot. God, how did I fuck this up so badly? I dial Margie's number and her cheerful greeting relaxes me a bit. â€Å"Hey, Marge, it's Ethan.† â€Å"Well hey, Sugarplum. How was your vacation?† She knows I wasn't on vacation, and I try to discern if there is sarcasm in her voice, but I can't seem to detect any. â€Å"Margie, I wasn't on vacation.† â€Å"Sure you were, kid. It's on the schedule; I approved it myself. There's paperwork and everything. The owners are glad you finally took some time off. You had more than three weeks coming to you. It makes them nervous that you've never taken a day off in five years.† I'm confused and my silence must confirm this to my manager. â€Å"So, are you coming in tomorrow? I'm down a cashier and could use ya.† Cashier? I'm a â€Å"back of the house† guy. The â€Å"make sure there's always chips on the display† guy; low man on the grocery store food chain. â€Å"Uhhhh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is my incoherent reply. â€Å"It's time you take on more responsibility, kiddo. You have that pretty girl to take care of.† She knows. She knows about Emily. How does she know? â€Å"I'll see you tomorrow, Ethan.† I'm left holding the phone wondering what the hell is going on.

Westward expansion in United State economical growth

The expansion of westward in nineteenth century was an important determinant of geographic distribution and economic activities in the United State today. The expansion of westward in the United State, so the size in geographical raises from the triple size to more than a million square miles, also the population shifted from seven percent to sixty percent where there was the improvement of productivity, technologies and transportation infrastructures, all this have lead to the growth of economy. The population growth brought the increasment of productive of the land. The decreases of transportation cost induced western migration to the productive lands, where the actual history figure of sixty percent, has raised because of improvement of technology such as the use of barbed wire to cut down on the time need to build a fence. The expansion of borders in United State, because of population growth and the production brought up by the immigrants. Dippel, 2005). Impacts of immigration had on American demography As the thought of immigration is being commenced in America, which means it is the first place that immigrates begin and it is the top of world the immigrates are living and all immigrations first started in America, where the first immigration are from northern and western Europe. This group of people was the first to combat racism because most of them were poor while fewer were rich. Demography in America resulted to major production and development of productive lands which interment increase the economic growth, whereby great number of immigration, the cost of labor and transportation was significantly to low price, this was brought up by immigration technologies. Impacts of immigration had on American economy The immigrates in the United State have less opportunities of getting jobs and also they are less involved on the participation on the labor in building the nation, but as newborns are matured in United State, later they cause a slit significant on earning and having employment opportunities. The immigrant made a tremendous impact on the American economy and they also contributed largely to the America society as a whole. Economic growth in America brought a great deal of wealth to the citizen, where the development of individuals raised from poor statutes to rich. The immigration has fueled United State macroeconomic growth where it brought uncontroversial and unsurprising income where more of total of workers yield more total output. The immigrant workers benefit from working in the United State is also uncontroversial and unsurprising fear were affect with well seeing of United State natives. (Villamagna, Armstrong, McBride, 2003). Impact of immigration had on America’s political climate While the discrimination of employments to the immigrants was of higher aspect, because of the basis of race, gender, religion beliefs, color or national origins. The political practices occurred due to the equal employment opportunity, which was an economic issue and had the impact on nation economic growth. How different regions developed on economic growth and social systems The congressional leaders felt that the labor for each region has to be equally distributed among immigrant so that to strengthen each region. Each region developed different because of the geographical and the population growth from each region. The sections were created through the western, northern, and southern ham sphere, where the blacks have their section while the Indian and the white Americans has their section. Black America’s migrated to south while the Native American’s are the north. Therefore, the sections where are divided according to the population size and the geographical landscape. In the responses of growing illegal immigration, the domestic migrants underlook the consideration of provision of rules and regulation that addresses the concern, as it implies for immigrants. For the foreign policy, provides the mention of terrorism images, where the American’s heads create the policy that provides to the investigation organization such FBI and CIA a clear network to handle with such crimes. (Conrad, 2005).

Romeo and Juliet Film and Text Analysis

Phonology What is phonology? Phonology is the study of the sound system of languages. It is a huge area of language theory and it is difficult to do more on a general language course than have an outline knowledge of what it includes. In an exam, you may be asked to comment on a text that you are seeing for the first time in terms of various language descriptions, of which phonology may be one. At one extreme, phonology is concerned with anatomy and physiology – the organs of speech and how we learn to use them. At another extreme, phonology shades into socio-linguistics as we consider social attitudes to features of sound such as accent and intonation. And part of the subject is concerned with finding objective standard ways of recording speech, and representing this symbolically. For some kinds of study – perhaps a language investigation into the phonological development of young children or regional variations in accent, you will need to use phonetic transcription to be credible. But this is not necessary in all kinds of study – in an exam, you may be concerned with stylistic effects of sound in advertising or literature, such as assonance, rhyme or onomatopoeia – and you do not need to use special phonetic symbols to do this. The physics and physiology of speech Man is distinguished from the other primates by having the apparatus to make the sounds of speech. Of course most of us learn to speak without ever knowing much about these organs, save in a vague and general sense – so that we know how a cold or sore throat alters our own performance. Language scientists have a very detailed understanding of how the human body produces the sounds of speech. Leaving to one side the vast subject of how we choose particular utterances and identify the sounds we need, we can think rather simply of how we use our lungs to breathe out air, produce vibrations in the larynx and then use our tongue, teeth and lips to modify the sounds. The diagram below shows some of the more important speech organs. Phonology This kind of diagram helps us to understand what we observe in others but is less useful in understanding our own speech. Scientists can now place small cameras into the mouths of experimental subjects, and observe some of the physical movements that accompany speech. But most of us move our vocal organs by reflexes or a sense of the sound we want to produce, and are not likely to benefit from watching movement in the vocal fold. The diagram is a simplified cross-section through the human head – which we could not see in reality in a living speaker, though a simulation might be instructive. But we do observe some external signs of speech sounds apart from what we hear. A few people have the ability to interpret most of a speaker’s utterances from lip-reading. But many more have a sense of when the lip-movement does or does not correspond to what we hear – we notice this when we watch a feature film with dubbed dialogue, or a TV broadcast where the sound is not synchronized with what we see. The diagram can also prove useful in conjunction with descriptions of sounds – for example indicating where the airflow is constricted to produce fricatives, whether on the palate, the alveolar ridge, the teeth or the teeth and lips together. Speech therapists have a very detailed working knowledge of the physiology of human speech, and of exercises and remedies to overcome difficulties some of us encounter in speaking, where these have physical causes. An understanding of the anatomy is also useful to various kinds of expert who train people to use their voices in special or unusual ways. These would include singing teachers and voice coaches for actors, as well as the even more specialized coaches who train actors to produce the speech sounds of hitherto unfamiliar varieties of English or other languages. At a more basic level, my French teacher at school insisted that we (his pupils) could produce certain vowel sounds only with our mouths more open than we would ever need to do while speaking English. And a literally stiff upper lip is a great help if one wishes to mimic the speech sounds of Queen Elizabeth II.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology So what happens? Mostly we use air that is moving out of our lungs (pulmonic egressive air) to speak. We may pause while breathing in, or try to use the ingressive air – but this is likely to produce quiet speech, which is unclear to our listeners. (David Crystal notes how the normally balanced respiratory cycle is altered by speech, so that we breathe out slowly, using the air for speech, and breathe in swiftly, in order to keep talking). In languages other than English, speakers may also use non-pulmonic sound, such as clicks (found in southern Africa) or glottalic sounds (found worldwide). In the larynx, the vocal folds set up vibrations in the egressive air. The vibrating air passes through further cavities which can modify the sound and finally are articulated by the passive (immobile) articulators – the hard palate, the alveolar ridge and the upper teeth – and the active (mobile) articulators. These are the pharynx, the velum (or soft palate), the jaw and lower teeth, the lips and, above all, the tongue. This is so important and so flexible an organ, that language scientists identify different regions of the tongue by name, as these are associated with particular sounds. Working outwards these are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ the back – opposite the soft palate the centre – opposite the meeting point of hard and soft palate the front – opposite the hard palate the blade – the tapering area facing the ridge of teeth the tip – the extreme end of the tongue The first three of these (back, centre and front) are known together as the dorsum (which is Latin for backbone or spine) Phonology, phonemes and phonetics You may have known for some time that the suffix –phone is to do with sounds. Think, for instance, of telephone, microphone, gramophone and xylophone. The morpheme comes from Greek phonema, which means a sound. †¢ †¢ Telephone means â€Å"distant sound† Microphone means â€Å"small sound† (because it sends an input to an amplifier which in turn drives loudspeakers – so the original sound is small compared to the output sound) Gramophone was originally a trade name . It comes from inverting the original form, phonograph (=sound-writing) – so called because the sound caused a needle to trace a pattern on a wax cylinder. The process is reversed for playing the sound back Xylophone means â€Å"wood sound† (because the instrument is one of very few where the musical note is produced simply by making wood resonate) †¢ The fundamental unit of grammar is a morpheme. A basic unit of written language is a grapheme. And the basic unit of sound is a phoneme. However, this is technically what Professor Crystal describes as â€Å"the smallest contrastive unit† and it is highly useful to you in explaining things – but strictly speaking may not exist in real spoken language use. That is, almost anything you say is a continuum and you rarely assemble a series of discrete sounds into a connected whole. (It is possible to do this with synthesised speech, as used by Professor Stephen Hawking – but the result is so different from naturally occurring speech that we can recognize it instantly. And there is no perfect or single right way to say anything – just as well because we can never exactly reproduce a previous performance.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology However, in your comments on phonology, you will certainly want sometimes to focus on single phonemes or small sequences of phonemes. A phoneme is a sound segment of words or syllables. Quite a good way to understand how it may indicate meaning is to consider how replacing it with another phoneme will change the word – so if we replace the middle sound in bad we can make bawd, bed, bid, bird and bud. In two cases here one letter is replaced with two but in all these cases it is a single vowel sound that changes. ) The first people to write in English used an existing alphabet – the Roman alphabet, which was itself adapted from the Greek alphabet for writing in Latin. (In the Roman Empire, Latin was the official language of government and administration, and especially of the army but in the eastern parts of the empire Greek was the official language, and in Rome Greek was spoken as widely as Latin. Because these first writers of English (Latin-speaking Roman monks) had more sounds than letters, they used the same letters to represent different sounds – perhaps making the assumption that the reader would recognize the word, and supply the appropriate sounds. It would be many years before anyone would think it possible to have more consistent spelling, and this has never been a realistic option for writers of English, though spelling has changed over time. And, in any case, the sounds of Old English are not exactly the same as the sounds of modern English. As linguists have become aware of more and more languages, many with sounds never heard in English, they have tried to create a comprehensive set of symbols to correspond to features of sound – vowels, consonants, clicks and glottalic sounds and non-segmental or suprasegmental features, such as stress and tone. Among many schemes used by linguists one has perhaps more authority than most, as it is the product of the International Phonetic Association (IPA). In the table below, you will see the phonetic characters that correspond to the phonemes used in normal spoken English. To give examples is problematic, as no two speakers will produce the same sound. In the case of the vowels and a few consonants, the examples will not match the sounds produced by all speakers – they reflect the variety of accent known as Received Pronunciation or RP. Note that RP is not specific to any region, but uses more of the sounds found in the south and midlands than in the north. It is a socially prestigious accent, favoured in greater or less degree by broadcasters, civil servants, barristers and people who record speaking clock messages. It is not fixed and has changed measurably in the last 50 years. But to give one example, the sound represented by ? is not common to all UK native speakers. In many parts of London and the south-east of England the sound represented by f will be substituted. So, in an advertisement, the mother-in-law of Vinnie Jones (former soccer player for Wimbledon and Wales; now an actor) says: â€Å"I fought ‘e was a big fug† (/a? f t i? w? z ? b? g fug/). You may also wonder what has happened to the letter x. This is used in English to represent two consonant sounds, those of k and s or of k and z. In phonetic transcription these symbols will be used. Consonant and vowel each have two related but distinct meanings in English. In writing of phonology, you need to make the distinction clear. When you were younger you may have learned that b,c,d,f and so on are consonants while a,e,i,o,u are vowels – and you may have wondered about y. In this case consonants and vowels denote the letters that commonly represent the relevant sounds. Phonologists are interested in vowel and consonant sounds and the phonetic symbols that represent these (including vowel and consonant letters). It may be wise for you to use the words consonant and vowel (alone) to denote the sounds. But it is better to use an unambiguous phrase – and write or speak about consonant or vowel sounds, consonant or vowel letters and consonant or vowel symbols. In most words these sounds can be identified, but there are some cases where we move from one vowel to another to create an effect that is like neither – and these are diphthongs. We also have some triphthongs – where three vowel sounds come in succession in words such as fire, power and sure. (But this depends on the speaker – many of us alter the sounds so that we say â€Å"our† as if it were are. For convenience you may prefer the term vowel glides – and say that â€Å"fine† and â€Å"boy† contain two-vowel glides while â€Å"fire† may contain a three-vowel glide.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology IPA symbols for the sounds of English The examples show the letters in bold that correspond to the sound that they i llustrate. You will find guidance below on how to use these symbols in electronic documents. The IPA distributes audio files in analog and digital form, with specimen pronunciations of these sounds. Consonants – pip, pot p b – bat, bug t – tell, table d – dog, dig k – cat, key g – get, gum f – fish, ph phone v – van, vat ? – th thick, th thump, faith th ? – th these, th there, smooth th s – sat, sit z – zebra, zap ? – sh ship ? – treasure, leisure s s h – hop, hut t? – ch chip dge, dge d? – lodg judg dg dg m – man, mumm mmy mm n – man, pan n n ng, ng ? – sing wrong ng l – let, lips r – rub, ran w – wait, worm j – yet, yacht Short vowels ? – bit, silly i i ? – bet, hea e ead ea ? – cat, dad a a ? – dog, rotten o o ? – cut, nut u u ? – put, soo u oot oo ? – about, clever er Long vowels i? – crea eam, see een ea ee bur fir urn, ir irm ur – har far ard, ar ar – cor fau orn, au aun or u? – boo glue oob, ue oo Diphthongs a? – spice, pie i ie – wai fate ait, a ai – toy joy oy, oy oy – oa oats, note o a? – clow vow own, ow ow – bor ored, pour oured or our – dee pie eer, ie ier ee – hai bea air, ea ear ai – cur fue ure, ue uel ur  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology A phoneme is a speech sound that helps us construct meaning. That is, if we replace it with another sound (where this is possible) we get a new meaning or no meaning at all. If I replace the initial consonant (/r/) from rubble, I can get double or Hubble (astronomer for whom the space telescope is named) or meaningless forms (as regards the lexicon of standard English) like fubble and wubble. The same thing happens if I change the vowel and get rabble, rebel, Ribble (an English river) and the nonsense form robble. (I have used the conventional spelling of rebel here, but to avoid confusion should perhaps use phonetic transcription, so that replacements would always appear in the same position as the character they replace. But what happens when a phoneme is adapted to the spoken context in which it occurs, in ways that do not alter the meaning either for speaker or hearer. Rather than say these are different phonemes that share the same meaning we use the model of allophones, which are variants of a phoneme. Thus if we isolate the l sound in the initial position in â€Å"lick† and in the terminal position in â€Å"ball†, we should be able t o hear that the sound is (physically) different as is the way our speech organs produce it. Technically, in the second case, the back of the tongue is raised towards the velum or soft palate. The initial l sound is called clear l, while the terminal l sound is sometimes called a dark l. When we want to show the detail of phonetic variants or allophones we enclose the symbols in square brackets whereas in transcribing sounds from a phonological viewpoint we use slant lines. So, using the IPA transcription [l] is clear l, while [? ] is dark l. If this is not clear think: am I only describing a sound (irrespective of how this sound fits into a system, has meaning and so on)? If so, use square brackets. Am I trying to show how the sound is part of a wider system (irrespective of how exactly it sounds in a given instance)? If so, use slant brackets. So long as we need a form of transcription, we will rely on the IPA scheme. But increasingly it is possible to use digital recording and reproduction to produce reference versions of sounds. This would not, of course, prevent change in the choice of which particular sounds to use in a given context. When people wonder about harass (h? r? s) or harass (h? r? s) they usually are able to articulate either, and are concerned about which reveals them as more or less educated in the use of the â€Å"proper† form. For your information, the stress historically falls on the first syllable, to rhyme with embarrass – thus in both Pocket Oxford [UK, 1969] and Funk & Wagnalls New Practical Standard [US, 1946]. The fashion for â€Å"hu-rass† is found on both sides of the Atlantic and we should not credit it to, or blame it on, US speakers of English. ) Phonologists also refer to segments. A segment is â€Å"a discrete unit that can be identified in a stream of speech†, according to Professor Crystal. In English the segments would correspond to vowel sounds and consonant sounds, say. This is a clear metaphor if we think of fruit – the number of segments varies, but is finite in a whole fruit. So some languages have few segments and others many – from 11 in Rotokas and Mura to 141 in ! Xu. The term may be most helpful in indicating what non-segmental or supra-segmental (above the segments) features of spoken language are.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology The sounds of English Vowels English has twelve vowel sounds. In the table above they are divided into seven short and five long vowels. An alternative way of organizing them is ccording to where (in the mouth) they are produced. This method allows us to describe them as front, central and back. We can qualify them further by how high the tongue and lower jaw are when we make these vowel sounds, and by whether our lips are rounded or spread, and finally by whether they are short or long. This scheme shows the following arrangement: Front vowels â⠂¬ ¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ /i? / – cream, seen (long high front spread vowel) /? /- bit, silly (short high front spread vowel) /? / – bet, head (short mid front spread vowel); this may also be shown by the symbol /e/ /? – cat, dad (short low front spread vowel); this may also be shown by /a/ Central vowels †¢ †¢ †¢ / /- burn, firm (long mid central spread vowel); this may also be shown by the symbol / / /? / – about, clever (short mid central spread vowel); this is sometimes known as schwa, or the neutral vowel sound – it never occurs in a stressed position. /? / – cut, nut (short low front spread vowel); this vowel is quite uncommon among speakers in the Midlands and further north in Britain Back vowels †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ /u? / – boob, glue (long high back rounded vowel) /? – put, soot (short high back rounded vowel); also shown by /u/ / / – corn, faun (long mid back rounded vowel) also shown by /o? / /? /- dog, rotten (short low back rounded vowel) also shown by /o/ / / – hard, far (long low back spread vowel) We can also arrange the vowels in a table or even depict them against a cross-section of the human mouth. Here is an example of a simple table: Front High Mid Low Central Back ? i? ? ? ? ? ? u? ?  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Diphthongs Diphthongs are sounds that begin as one vowel and end as another, while gliding between them. For this reason they are sometimes described as glide vowels. How many are there? Almost every modern authority says eight – but they do not all list the same eight (check this for yourself). Simeon Potter, in Our Language (Potter, S, [1950] Chapter VI, Sounds and Spelling, London, Penguin) says there are nine – and lists those I have shown in the table above, all of which I have found in the modern reference works. The one most usually omitted is / / as in bored. Many speakers do not use this diphthong, but use the same vowel in poured as in fraud – but it is alive and well in the north of Britain. Potter notes that all English diphthongs are falling – that is the first element is stressed more than the second. Other languages have rising diphthongs, where the second element is stressed, as in Italian uomo (man) and uovo (egg). Consonants Some authorities claim one or two fewer consonants than I have shown above, regarding those with double symbols (/t? / and /d? /) as â€Å"diphthong consonants† in Potter’s phrase. The list omits one sound that is not strictly a consonant but works like one. The full IPA list of phonetic symbols includes some for non-pulmonic consonants (not made with air coming from the lungs), click and glottal sounds. In some varieties of English, especially in the south of Britain (but the sound has migrated north) we find the glottal plosive or glottal stop, shown by the symbol /? / (essentially a question mark without the dot at the tail). This sound occurs in place of /t/ for some speakers – so /bot? l/ or /botl/ (bottle) become /bo l/ or /bo? l/. We form consonants by controlling or impeding the egressive (outward) flow of air. We do this with the articulators – from the glottis, past the velum, the hard palate and alveolar ridge and the tongue, to the teeth and lips. The sound results from three things: †¢ †¢ †¢ Voicing All vowels must be voiced – they are caused by vibration in the vocal cords. But consonants may be voiced or not. Some of the consonant sounds of English come in pairs that differ in being voiced or not – in which case they are described as voiceless or unvoiced. So b is voiced and p is the unvoiced consonant in one pair, while voiced g and voiceless k form another pair. We can explain the consonant sounds by the place where the articulation principally occurs or by the kinds of articulation that occurs there. The first scheme gives us this arrangement: voicing – causing the vocal cords to vibrate where the articulation happens how the articulation happens – how the airflow is controlled  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Articulation described by region †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Glottal articulation – articulation by the glottis. We use this for one consonant in English. This is /h/ in initial position in house or hope. Velar articulation – we do this with the back of the tongue against the velum. We use it for initial hard /g/ (as in golf) and for final /? / (as in gong). Palatal articulation – we do this with the front of the tongue on the hard palate. We use it for /d? / (as in jam) and for /? / (as in sheep or sugar). Alveolar articulation – we do this with the tongue blade on the alveolar ridge. We use it for /t/ (as in teeth), /d/ (as in dodo) /z/ (as in zebra) /n/ (as in no) and /l/ (as in light). Dental articulation – we do this with the tip of the tongue on the back of the upper front teeth. We use it for /? / (as in think) and /? / (as in that). This is one form of articulation that we can observe and feel ourselves doing. †¢ †¢ Labio-dental articulation – we do this with the lower lip and upper front teeth. We use it for /v/ (as in vampire). Labial articulation – we do this with the lips for /b/ (as in boat) and /m/ (as in most). Where we use two lips (as in English) this is bilabial articulation. Articulation described by manner This scheme gives us a different arrangement into stop (or plosive) consonants, affricates, fricatives, nasal consonants, laterals and approximants. Stop consonants (because the airflow is stopped) or plosive consonants (because it is subsequently released, causing an outrush of air and a burst of sound) are: o o o †¢ †¢ Bilabial voiced /b/ (as in boat) and voiceless /p/ (as in post) Alveolar voiced /d/ (as in dad) and voiceless /t/ (as in tap) Velar voiced /g/ (as in golf) and voiceless /k/ as in (cow) Affric ates are a kind of stop consonant, where the expelled air causes friction rather than plosion. They are palatal /t? / (as in cheat) and palatal /d? / (as in jam) Fricatives come from restricting, but not completely stopping, the airflow. The air passes through a narrow space and the sound arises from the friction this produces. They come in voiced and unvoiced pairs: o o o o Labio-dental voiced /v/ (as in vole) and unvoiced /f/ (as in foal) Dental voiced /? / (as in those) and unvoiced /? / (as in thick) Alveolar voiced /z/ (as in zest) and unvoiced /s/ (as in sent) Palatal voiced /? / (as in the middle of leisure) and unvoiced /? / (as at the end of trash) †¢ Nasal consonants involve closing the articulators but lowering the uvula, which normally closes off the route to the nose, through which the air escapes. There are three nasal consonants in English: o o o Bilabial /m/ (as in mine) Alveolar /n/ (as in nine) Velar /? / (as at the end of gong).  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology †¢ †¢ Lateral consonants allow the air to escape at the sides of the tongue. In English there is only one such sound, which is alveolar /l/ (as at the start of lamp) Approximants do not impede the flow of air. They are all voiced but are counted as consonants chiefly because of how they function in syllables. They are: o o o Bilabial /w/ (as in water) Alveolar /r/ (as in road) Palatal /j/ (as in yet) Syllables When you think of individual sounds, you may think of them in terms of syllables. These are units of phonological organization and smaller than words. Alternatively, think of them as units of rhythm. Although they may contain several sounds, they combine them in ways that create the effect of unity. Thus splash is a single syllable but it combines three consonants, a vowel, and a final consonant /spl+? +? /. Some words have a single syllable – so they are monosyllables or monosyllabic. Others have more than one syllable and are polysyllables or polysyllabic. Sometimes you may see a word divided into its syllables, but this may be an artificial exercise, since in real speech the sounds are continuous. In some cases it will be impossible to tell whether a given consonant was ending one syllable of beginning another. It is possible, for example, to pronounce lamppost so that there are two /p/ sounds in succession with some interval between them. But many native English speakers will render this as /l? m-p st/ or /l? m-p sd/. Students of language may find it helpful to be able to identify individual syllables in explaining pronunciation and language change – one of the things you may need to do is explain which are the syllables that are stressed in a particular word or phrase. Suprasegmentals In written English we use punctuation to signal some things like emphasis, and the speed with which we want our readers to move at certain points. In spoken English we use sounds in ways that do not apply to individual segments but to stretches of spoken discourse from words to phrases, clauses and sentences. Such effects are described as non-segmental or suprasegmental – or, using the adjective in a plural nominal (noun) form, simply suprasegmentals. Among these effects are such things as stress, intonation, tempo and rhythm – which collectively are known as prosodic features. Other effects arise from altering the quality of the voice, making it breathy or husky and changing what is sometimes called the timbre – and these are paralinguistic features. Both of these kinds of effect may signal meaning. But they do not do so consistently from one language to another, and this an cause confusion to students learning a second language.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Prosodic features †¢ Stress or loudness – increasing volume is a simple way of giving emphasis, and this is a crude measure of stress. But it is usually combined with other things like changes in tone and tempo. We use stress to convey some kind s of meaning (semantic and pragmatic) such as urgency or anger or for such things as imperatives. Intonation – you may be familiar in a loose sense with the notion of tone of voice. We use varying levels of pitch in sequences (contours or tunes) to convey particular meanings. Falling and rising intonation in English may signal a difference between statement and question. Younger speakers of English may use rising (question) intonation without intending to make the utterance a question. Tempo – we speak more or less quickly for many different reasons and purposes. Occasionally it may be that we are adapting our speech to the time we have in which to utter it (as, for example, in a horse-racing commentary). But mostly tempo reflects some kinds of meaning or attitude – so we give a truthful answer to a question, but do so rapidly to convey our distraction or irritation. Rhythm – patterns of stress, tempo and pitch together create a rhythm. Some kinds of formal and repetitive rhythm are familiar from music, rap, poetry and even chants of soccer fans. But all speech has rhythm – it is just that in spontaneous utterances we are less likely to hear regular or repeating patterns. †¢ †¢ †¢ Paralinguistic features How many voices do we have? We are used to â€Å"putting on† silly voices for comic effects or in play. We may adapt our voices for speaking to babies, or to suggest emotion, excitement or desire. These effects are familiar in drama, where the use of a stage whisper may suggest something clandestine and conspiratorial. Nasal speech may suggest disdain, though it is easily exaggerated for comic effect (as by the late Kenneth Williams in many Carry On films). Such effects are sometimes described as timbre or voice quality. We all may use them sometimes but they are particularly common among entertainers such as actors or comedians. This is not surprising, as they practise using their voices in unusual ways, to represent different characters. The performers in the BBC’s Teletubbies TV programme use paralinguistic features to suggest the different characters of Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, La-La and Po.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Accent Everyone’s use of the sound system is unique and personal. And few of us use sounds consistently in all contexts – we adapt to different situations. We rarely adapt our sounds alone – more likely we mind our language in the popular sense, by attending to our lexical choices, grammar and phonology. ) Most human beings adjust their speech to resemble that of those around them. This is very easy to demonstrate, as when some vogue words from broadcasting surf a wave of popularity before settling down in the language more modestly or passing out of use again. This is particularly true of sounds, in the sense that some identifiable groups of people share (with some individual variation) a collection of sounds that are not found elsewhere, and these are accents. We think of accents as marking out people by geographical region and, to a less degree, by social class or education. So we might speak of a Scouse (Liverpool), Geordie (Newcastle) or Brummie (Birmingham) accent. These are quite general descriptions – within each of these cities we would differentiate further. And we should also not confuse real accent features in a given region with stereotyped and simplified versions of these which figure in (or disfigure) TV drama – Emmerdale, Brookside, Coronation Street and Albert Square are not reliable sources for anything we might want o know about their real-world originals. And the student who hoped to study the speech of people in Peckham by watching episodes of John Sullivan’s situation comedy Only Fools and Horses was deeply misguided. Thinking of social class, we might speak of a public school accent (stiff upper lip and cut glass vowels). But we do not observe occupational accents and we are unlikely to speak of a baker’s, soldier’s or accountant’s accent (whereas we might study their special uses of lexis and grammar). This is not the place to study in detail the causes of such accents or, for example, how they are changing. Language researchers may wish to record regional variant forms and their frequency. In Britain today (perhaps because of the influence of broadcasting) we can observe sound features moving from one region to another (like the glottal stop which is now common in the north of England), while also recording how other features of accent are not subject to this kind of change. Studying phonology alone will not answer such questions. But it gives you the means to identify specific phonetic features of accent and record them objectively.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (or RP) is a special accent – a regionally neutral accent that is used as a standard for broadcasting and some other kinds of public speaking. It is not fixed – you can hear earlier forms of RP in historical broadcasts, such as newsreel films from the Second World War. Queen Elizabeth II has an accent st close to the RP of her own childhood, but not very close to the RP of the 21 century. RP excites powerful feelings of admiration and repulsion. Some see it as a standard or the correct form of spoken English, while others see its use (in broadcasting, say) as an affront to the dignity of their own region. Its merit lies in its being more widely understood by a national and international audience than any regional accent. Non-native speakers often want to learn RP, rather than a regional accent of English. RP exists but no-one is compelled to use it. But if we see it as a reference point, we can decide how far we want to use the sounds of our region where these differ from the RP standard. And its critics may make a mistake in supposing all English speakers even have a regional identity – many people are geographically mobile, and do not stay for long periods in any one place. RP is also a very loose and flexible standard. It is not written in a book (though the BBC does give its broadcasters guides to pronunciation) and does not prescribe such things as whether to stress the first or second syllable in research. You will hear it on all the BBC’s national radio channels, to a greater or less degree. On Radio 3 you will perhaps hear the most conservative RP, while Radio 5 will give you a more contemporary version with more regional and class variety – but these are very broad generalizations, and refer mainly to the presenters, newsreaders, continuity announcers and so on. RP is used as a standard in some popular language reference works. For example, the Oxford Guide to the English Language (Weiner, E [1984], Pronunciation, p. 45, Book Club Associates/OUP, London) has this useful description of RP: â€Å"The aim of recommending one type of pronunciation rather than another, or of giving a word a recommended spoken form, naturally implies the existence of a standard. There are of course many varieties of English, even within the limits of the British Isles, but it is not the business of this section to describe them. The treatment here is based upon Received Pronunciation (RP), namely ‘the pronunciation of that variety of British English widely considered to be least regional, being originally that used by educated speakers in southern England. ’ This is not to suggest that other varieties are inferior; rather, RP is here taken as a neutral national standard, just as it is in its use in broadcasting or in the teaching of English as a foreign language. † Accent and social class Accent is certainly related to social class. This is a truism – because accent is one of the things that we use as an indicator of social class. For a given class, we can express this positively or negatively. As regards the highest social class, positively we can identify features of articulation – for certain sounds, upper class speakers do not open or move the lips as much as other speakers of English. Negatively, we can identify such sounds as the glottal stop as rare among, and untypical of, speakers from this social class. Alternatively we can look at vowel choices or preferences. For example, the upper classes for long used the vowel /? / in cases where /? / is standard – thus Coventry would be /k? v? ntri? /. C. S. Lewis in The Great Divorce depicts a character who pronounces God as â€Å"Gud† – â€Å" ‘Would to God’ he continued, but he was now pronouncing it Gud†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We may think of dropping or omitting consonants as a mark of the lower social classes and uneducated people. But dropping of terminal g – or rather substituting /n/ for /? / was until recently a mark of the upper class â€Å"toff†, who would enjoy, huntin’, fishin’ and shootin’. We can find a celebrated literary example in Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey. Among real life speakers in whom I have observed this tendency I would identify the late Sir Alf Ramsey. I do not know whether Alf Ramsey, who managed the England football team, was brought up to speak in this way or acquired the habit later. ) Investigating the connection can be challenging, however, since social class is an artificial construct. Assuming that you have found a way to identify yo ur subjects as belonging to some definable social group, then you can study vowel choices or frequencies. Even the most cursory attention tells us that the Queen has distinct speech sounds. But can we explain them in detail? Does she share them with other members of her family? Do other speakers share them?  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Pronunciation and prescription The English Language List is an Internet discussion forum for English language teachers. Recently a student, not a native speaker but clearly a very competent writer of English, asked where he could get help to learn to speak in a standard British accent. Many of the responses came from people who were not answering his question but trying to persuade him to stick with his current accent (which he felt would disadvantage him in his business career). Yet we are not disparaging regional accents when we try to learn the neutral and prestigious standard form. (What the discussion never really revealed was how many of the list members would identify themselves as RP speakers. ) The prescriptive tradition in English grammar was unscientific and perhaps harmful. But setting down authoritative standard forms is not always so unwise. In spelling they are useful, and the same may be true of pronunciation. Dictionaries do not compel the reader to learn and use the pronunciations they show – but they do give a representation of the pronunciation according to RP. Some show variant pronunciations as well as the principal RP form. If you are a student (or even a teacher) you may find RP an unfamiliar accent – maybe you can see that the phonetic transcription indicates a pronunciation different from the one you normally use. No one is forcing you to change your own speech sounds, in which your sense of identity may be profoundly located. But you can become aware that the local norm is not the universal standard. Now that English is an international language, its development is certainly not controlled by what happens in the UK. So British RP may cease to be a useful standard for learners of English. Increasingly, language learners favour a mid-Atlantic accent, which shares features of British RP and the speech of the eastern USA. Language acquisition Very young children do not produce the sounds they will use as adults partly because they are unable to form them (physically their speech organs have not developed fully) and partly because they may not know exactly what the sound is that they wish to produce. Children may also be less subtle in controlling the flow of egressive air, so that they will continue speaking, rather than pause briefly, while drawing more air in. Young children may have a sense of stressed syllables as more important – so they may omit unstressed elements before or after. So, for example, a child may ask for a ‘nana rather than a banana. (Alternatively, the child may know that there is some repetition of sound here, but limit it to two syllables. ) I am supposing that the non-standard form is spoken by a child, but perhaps repeated back by adults. But one often observes adults (unhelpfully) using what they suppose to be an easier form of a word. On the other hand, some children have resisted this tendency. Though they may not articulate a word in full or exactly, they can recognize it as an incomplete or mistaken form when an adult repeats it back to them. We see this in this exchange between an adult and a four year old, recorded by George Keith and John Shuttleworth: Adult: What do you want to be when you grow up? Child: A dowboy. Adult: So you want to be a dowboy, eh? Child: No! Not a dowboy, a dowboy! The child cannot articulate the /k/ initial sound but knows that what he hears from the adult is not the form of the word he is used to hearing, so protests. Since children learn by imitation of examples it may be helpful when they begin formal education to give them such examples, but not by continually rebuking them for saying things â€Å"wrongly†. Children do not learn to articulate all sounds at the same stage in their development. Teachers of children in early years (nursery and reception) classes should be able to identify the few cases where there is a disorder or problem for which some specialist intervention is appropriate.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Language change Change happens in language – and the sounds of English are not exempt. Of course, basic sounds do not change in the sense that the phonemes represented in the IPA transcription will not go away. And it is rare, but not impossible, for speakers of a given language to begin to use phonemes they did not use before. Thus, most English speakers faced with French –ogne (as in Boulogne or Dordogne) anglicise to Boloyn (/b? l n/). And Welsh double l in initial position (as in Llanfair and many other place names) they sound simply as /l/ rather than a voiceless unilateral l. What does change is the choice of which sound to use in a given context – though choice may suggest that this is voluntary whereas the change normally happens unnoticed. At a very simple level we can see, from rhymes in poetry that no longer work, that one or more words has acquired a new standard pronunciation. So John Donne writes (1571-1631) â€Å"And find/What wind/Serves to advance an honest mind†. We have retained the vowel sound in wind (verb, as in wind up) but not in wind (noun, as in north wind). We can still observe vowel change. In my own lifetime envelope was pronounced with the initial vowel /? (as if it were onvelope). This pronunciation is becoming more rare, and persists mostly among older speakers. Turquoise was once commonly sounded as in French /t kw? z/ – but now it is more or less uniformly /t k z/ or /t k s/ (perhaps by analogy with tortoise). Far more common are changes in stress patterns. So research (more or less universal in the UK when I was a child) has given way to re-search. In the case of harass the stress has shifted the other way, giving harass. We cannot sensibly say that the new form is â€Å"wrong† or â€Å"bad English† (even if we prefer the older form). But we can observe the frequency with which the new form occurs, and see if it does come to supplant the older form or whether both forms persist. Change happens within regional varieties, too – so the glottal stop has moved its way northwards from London and southwards from Glasgow (where it has been found for 150 years). This is one feature of what Paul Kerswill calls dialect levelling. Similarly use of /f/ or /v/ in place of /? / and /? / is spreading north from London. Perhaps the most well documented change occurring now is in sentence intonation. This is especially common among younger people, but not exclusively so. The change lies in a tendency to use rising (question) intonation more frequently. What is not clear, in contexts that allow either, is whether the speaker intends to ask a question or means to make a statement. We cannot be sure if the rising intonation conveys meaning, or is habitual. One common way for pronunciation to change is by elision – compressing the word to remove a syllable. Once it was common to sound the –ed ending on past tense verbs, whereas now these verbs end with a /t/ sound. We do still sound the –ed ending on adjectives, even when these are formed from the past tenses – as in naked, wicked and learned. We can contrast the learned professor with what her pupils learned in the lecture. (The first has two syllables, the second only one. ) Police is often pronounced as a monosyllable /pli? s/ (for example by the newsreader Sue Lawley). Recently I have observed several newsreaders eliding the middle syllable of terrorist, producing the form /t? r st/ or sometimes /t? r? st/. On the other hand, literacy may alter pronunciation. The n in column is silent, and in the Second World War, people would often speak of the Fifth Columnist (/k? l? m? st/). But now broadcasters speaks of those who write columns in newspapers as /k? l? mn? sts/ – thereby sounding what was silent /n/.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Phonology for exam students Phonology as an explicit subject of detailed study is not compulsory for students taking Advanced level courses in English Language. But it is one of the five â€Å"descriptions of language† commended by the AQA syllabus B (the others are: lexis, grammar, pragmatics and semantics). In some kinds of study it will be odd if it does not appear in your analysis or interpretation of data. In written exams, you may want to comment on some features of phonology in explaining example language data – these may be presented to you on the exam paper, or may be your own examples, which illustrate, say, some point about language change, language acquisition or sociolinguistics. You may wish to use diagrams, models or the IPA transcription – and if you are able to do so, this may be helpful. But if you do not feel confident about using these, you can still make useful points about phonology – you can show stress simply by underlining or highlighting the stressed syllable. And you can show many aspects of phonology by using the standard Western (Roman-English) alphabet appropriately – as in contrasting pronunciations of harass as: †¢ †¢ ha-russ (first syllable stressed, vowel is a; second syllable unstressed vowel is neutral) or huh-rass (first syllable unstressed, neutral vowel; second syllable stressed, vowel is a) Phonetic symbols and electronic documents Representing phonetic symbols in electronic documents can be a challenge, unless you have the right software. Assuming that you have a word-processing program, you need to use special fonts that will represent the IPA symbols. These are either the SIL IPA fonts (such as SILdoulosIPA) or Unicode fonts (like Lucida Sans Unicode, which I have used in this document). If you are producing work that will be printed, then you can add things by hand later, but this is messy and best avoided. There is a lot of guidance on the IPA homepage about how to cope with this problem. If you do find a way to reproduce the symbols you need, it may make sense to paste them all at the end of the document on which you are working. Then, you can copy and paste as you need to use them. If you do not do this, then you will have to use he Alt key and the numeric keypad, since the keys on the normal keyboard will only give you the symbols that resemble ordinary letters. Different ways of representing sound Conventions of language science and lexicographers If you study reference works you may find a variety of schemes for representing different aspects of phonology – there is no single universal scheme that covers everything y ou may need to do. And many dictionaries may not even use the IPA alphabet, for the very obvious reason that the reader is not familiar with this transcription and can cope without it. The text on the left comes from the Pocket Oxford Dictionary – this shows a simple phonetic representation based on the standard Western alphabet, with accents to show different vowels. Look in any dictionary you have and you may find something similar.  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Literary models In representing speech – for example in drama, poetry or prose fiction – some authors are interested not merely in the words but also in how they are spoken. One of the most familiar concerns is that of how to represent regional accents. Here is a fairly early example, from the second chapter of Wuthering Heights (1847), in which the servant Joseph refuses to admit Mr. Lockwood into the house: â€Å" ‘T’ maister’s dahn I’t’ fowld. Goa rahnd by the end ut’ laith, if yah went to spake tull him† Tennyson (1809-1892) has a similar approach in his poem, Northern Farmer, Old Style: â€Å"What atta stannin’ theer fur, and doesn’ bring me the aale? / Doctor’s a ‘toattler, lass, and ‘e’s allus i’ the owd taale†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joseph comes from what is now West Yorkshire, while Tennyson’s farmer is supposedly from the north of Lincolnshire. Here is an earlier example, from Walter Scott’s Heart of Midlothian (1830), which shows some phonetic qualities of the lowlands Scots accent. In this passage the Laird of Dumbiedikes (from the country near Edinburgh) is on his deathbed. He advises his son about how to take his drink: â€Å"My father tauld me sae forty years sin’, but I never fand time to mind him. – Jock, ne’er drink brandy in the morning, it files the stamach sair†¦Ã¢â‚¬  George Bernard Shaw, in Pygmalion (1914), uses one phonetic character (? schwa) in his attempt to represent the accent of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl: â€Å"There’s menners f’ yer! T? -oo banches o voylets trod into the mad†¦Will ye-oo py me f’them. † However, after a few sentences of phonetic dialogue, Shaw reverts to standard spelling, noting: â€Å"Here, with apologies, this desperate attempt to represent her dialect without a phonetic alphabet must be abandoned as u nintelligible outside London†. In Pygmalion Professor Higgins teaches Eliza to speak in an upper-class accent, so as to pass her off as a duchess. In the course of the play, therefore, her accent changes. The actress playing the part, however, may have a natural accent closer to that with which Eliza speaks at the completion of her education, so in playing the part she may doing the reverse of what Eliza undergoes, by gradually reverting to a natural manner of articulation. (Eliza’s pronunciation improves ahead of her understanding of grammar, so that at one point she says memorably: â€Å"My aunt died of influenza: so they said. But it’s my belief they done the old woman in. ) In Pygmalion Shaw does not merely represent accent (and other features of speech) but makes this crucial to an exploration of how speech relates to identity and social class. Charles Dickens is particularly interested in the sounds of speech. He observes that many speakers have difficulty with initial /v/ and /w/. Sam Weller, in The Pickwick Papers, regularly transposes these: â€Å" ‘Vell,’ said Sam at length, ‘if this don’t beat cock-fightin’ nothin’ never vill†¦That wery next house†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ â€Å" Mr. Hubble, in Great Expectations does, the same thing when he describes young people as â€Å"naterally wicious†. Joe Gargery, in the same novel, has many verbal peculiarities, of which perhaps the most striking is in his description of the Blacking Warehouse, which is less impressive than the picture Joe has seen on bills where it is â€Å"drawd too architectooralooral†. In Chapter 16 of Our Mutual Friend, Betty Higden is proud of Mr. Sloppy (an orphan she has fostered) not only because he can read, but because he is able to use different voice styles for various speakers. â€Å"You mightn’t think it, but Sloppy is a beautiful reader of a newspaper. He do the Police in different voices. † Dickens also finds a way to show tempo and rhythm. In Chapter 23 of Little Dorrit, Flora Finching speaks at length and without any pauses: â€Å"Most unkind never to have come back to see us since that day, though naturally it was not to be expected that there should be any attraction at our house and you were much more pleasantly engaged, that’s pretty certain, and is she fair or dark blue eyes or black I wonder, not that I expect that she should be anything but a perfect contrast to me in all particulars for I am a disappointment as I very well know and you are quite right to be devoted no doubt though what am I saying Arthur never mind I hardly know myself Good gracious!  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/ Phonology Background reading on phonology There are very full accounts of phonology in both of Professor David Crystal’s encyclopedias. See his Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Part IV, The Medium of Language: Speaking and Listening (pp. 123175; ISBN 0521424437) and his E ncyclopedia of the English Language, Part IV, 17, The Sound System (pp. 236-255; ISBN 0521596556). For a very clear and succinct account, look at Howard Jackson’s and Peter Stockwell’s Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language, 2. 1, Sounds and letters (pp. 11-23; ISBN 0748725806). There is a longer and more discursive account in Shirley Russell’s Grammar, Structure and Style, Spoken English (pp. 107-168; ISBN 0198311982) You can find lots of help online. The best place to start is the International Phonetic Association’s own Web site at: http://www2. arts. gla. ac. uk/IPA/ipa. html You will find some excellent resources from the languages department of the University of Victoria in British Columbia – start at http://web. uvic. ca/ling/ipa/handbook/ For a great introduction to Scots – with some excellent guidance on phonology – try Andy Eagle’s Wir Ain Laid (Our Own Language) at http://www. scots-online. org/grammar/index. htm For help with fonts go to the IPA Unicode site at http://www. phon. ucl. ac. uk/home/wells/ipa-unicode. htm and Alan Wells’ Unicode Resources at http://www. hclrss. demon. co. uk/unicode/index. tml. You could also try the Microsoft typography site at http://www. microsoft. com/typography/default. asp Apart from materials quoted from other sources, the copyright in this guide belongs to Andrew Moore. You are free to use it for any educational purpose, including making multiple copies electronically or by printing. You may not distribute it in any form other than the original, without the express permission of the author. andrew. [email  protected] net  © Copyright: Andrew Moore, 2001 http://www. shunsley. eril. net/armoore/