Research Paper About Education Essay

Etymologically, the word â€Å"education† is derived from the Latin Ä“ducÄ tiÃ…  (â€Å"A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing†) from Ä“dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I educate, I train†) which is related to the homonym Ä“dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect†) from Ä“- (â€Å"from, out of†) and dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I lead, I conduct†).[2] The role of government A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality.[3] At the global level, the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.[4] Throughout history various governments have made it illegal to educate children privately or at home. Various totalitarian regimes, for example, have mandated indoctrination through propaganda in the Hitler Youth and propaganda in education under various communist regimes. Systems School children line, in Kerala, India Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at coll eges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[6] Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate.[citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them.†[7] Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary schools Main article: Secondary education Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, â€Å"post-secondary†, or â€Å"higher† education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. MLC Kx12 in Portland, Oregon Autodidacticism Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is â€Å"learning on your own† or â€Å"by yourself†, and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one’s life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U.S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Vocational Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. ]Indigenous Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to â€Å"reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students.†[9]

Comapre 2 Grief theorists Essay

Grief and bereavement are different for each individual, that is no two people will experience a loss in the same way. A loss is the absence of something we deem meaningful. Over the years there have been many different theories of grief, but it is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. The aim of this paper is to compare two grief models, namely Dr Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief and Dr William Worden’s Tasks of Mourning including the Seven Mediators of Mourning. After comparing the two models the paper will then look at how the two models are different and finish with a case study using one of the models. Dr Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was a Swiss born Psychiatrist. During her in psychiatry residency she was appalled by the treatment of patients who were dying. She began lecturing medical students and forced them to face dying patients. Her extensive work with the dying lead to the writing of her book ‘On death and dying’ (1969). In this book she proposed the Five Stages of Grief, being denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, which most people will feel when faced with death. Whilst this model was initially for the dying patient it has been later adapted for the bereft. Dr Kubler-Ross notes that these stages are not meant to be completed in a strict order or are indeed the only emotions the bereft will pass through. Other researchers studying the process of loss and grief have recognised these stages as well as the fact that they do not have to be experienced in any particular order but are all part of the grieving process. The bereaved may vacillate in and out of some stages before completing this part of the process. Grief begins at the moment a loss is recognised, long before death actually happens. Dr Kubler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief will be explained in more detail below: Denial. Shock and disbelief that the loss is happening. Numbness and even a sense of isolation that takes over the bereaved and for brief periods of time. Do they remember that they have suffered the loss? Anger. Why me? The bereaved may find themselves angry at the loss or themselves for wishing it would all end. Bargaining. This is usually about making a compromise with God or other deity. â€Å"Just let my baby have a heart beat on this ultrasound and I’ll do whatever you want† or your friend asks God to let him live a while longer and he’ll promise to quit smoking. Depression. Becoming so sad that things just don’t matter anymore. Feelings of hopelessness, sorrow, and despair overwhelm the bereaved. Acceptance. Coming to terms with reality. Loss is part of life and cannot be avoided. If the loss is the death of a loved one then a feeling of calmness and peace that the berefts loved one is no longer suffering and is at rest or peace, having gone on to a better place. These stages can come in any order and can be intertwined. The bereft will experience grief in their own way and their own time. Some people will move through the grieving process quickly, and others take much more time to grieve. Some bereaved people may effectively remain in denial for a long time and put off their grieving. The Four Tasks of Mourning is based on research by Dr J William Worden, PhD, who is currently a professor at Biola University in California. Dr Worden (2009) theorised that the grieving process was broken down into four main tasks of grieving and seven mediators of mourning which could be addressed individually or at the same time. Dr Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning are: Task 1: To Accept the Reality of the Loss. During this task, the bereft must face the reality that the loss is real. In the case of a death the bereft must come to harsh terms that the deceased is never coming back. Task 2: To Process the Pain of Grief. This task is just as the title of the task suggests, that is, to process the pain and to find a way to cope with the pain until it passes. Task 3: To Adjust to a World Without the Deceased. Within this task there are three adjustments that need to be made; external adjustments, internal adjustments, and spiritual adjustments. Task 4: To Find an Enduring Connection With the Deceased in the Midst of Embarking on a New Life. ‘to find an enduring connection with the deceased in the midst of embarking on a new life’ (Field, Gal-Oz & Bonanno, 2003). Worden also identifies seven determining factors that are critical to appreciate in order to understand the client’s experience which he calls the Mediators of Mourning. These include: (1) who the person who died was; (2) the nature of the attachment to the deceased; (3) how the person died; (4) historical antecedents; (5) personality variables; (6) social mediators; and (7) concurrent stressors. These mediators include many of the risk and protective factors identified by the research literature and provide an important context for appreciating the idiosyncratic nature of the grief experience (Corr & Coolican, 2010). Issues such as the strength and nature of the attachment to the deceased, the survivor’s attachment style and the degree of conflict and ambivalence with the deceased are important considerations. Death-related factors, such as physical proximity, levels of violence or trauma, or a death where a body is not recovered, all can pose significant challenges for the bereaved. Dr Worden’s work is an important development in the understanding of the process of coping adaptively with bereavement as each task is clearly defined in an action-oriented manner. The writings of both Dr Kubler-Ross and Dr Worden have had a substantial impact in the world of loss and grief. Although the simplicity is surely attractive, Dr Kubler-Ross’ theory has not been supported by research and it has largely been abandoned by clinicians and researchers alike (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2011). Dr Worden (2009) suggested that we look at grief as a series of tasks rather than stages as detailed above. Both models have what could be defined as steps in the grieving process and these steps provide the counsellor a theoretical framework in which to work. Neither of the two models are designed to be linear in their process and in fact the bereft may swing back and forth between some of the steps in each model. The danger with these, and all other models, however, is that they can be normative and tell people how they ought to experience grief. Individuals are all unique and experiences of grief vary from person to person. Therefore, the emphasis on moving through the stages may not, in reality, respect where each individual is. After all, some may never actually want to â€Å"get over† the death of a loved one. Consequently, there is a risk that people who are not following these stages might be labelled as suffering from a â€Å"complicated† or â€Å"unresolved† grief and may be intervened with unnecessarily or inappropriately (Hamama-Raz, Hemmendinger & Buchbinder, 2010). Case Study Penny is 48 years old. She is in a defacto relationship with Leonard for the past seven years. She has three grown up children, one living nearby, the other living in Melbourne, and her daughter, Katherine (24 years old), living at home and working. She is healthy and has a steady job. She has limited contact with the husband from whom she had been divorced when the children were very young. Leonard is a magazine editor and had never married. When he had met Penny they seemed just right for each other. They were each other’s best friend. Leonard had not been feeling right for a short time before consulting his doctor. Tests showed a malignant mass in his bowel. He was operated on to remove the mass and he was to begin chemotherapy soon after. This weighed heavily on Penny and Leonard, despite the optimistic prognosis offered by Leonard’s doctors. In Penny’s life, the routine of the household was that she woke Katherine up in the morning, as she was notorious for sleeping through her alarm clock and arriving late for work. One morning, Penny bent over to shake Katherine awake, but this morning she could not be awakened. She had died during the night. Penny called an ambulance, and within minutes the paramedics were there but Katherine had been dead for several hours. The doctors were unable to establish a cause of death even after extensive testing. The next days were a total blank as Penny went through the motions of all that had to be done. The family gathered, the funeral took place, and Penny blocked most of it out. Penny has been unable to function. Her grief and depression are crippling and overwhelm everything. For the first few weeks, she could not eat or sleep. She was unable even to consider returning to work, as she was immersed in her grief. Leonard suggested that she should get some help, so Penny went for group counselling at a local agency. The group proved somewhat helpful and it enabled Penny to return to work about eight weeks after Katherine’s death. At work, she found herself short tempered, snapping at colleagues, she was preoccupied and could not focus and she was frequently late. She was able to get through the days, only to come home and cry. It was her anger that finally propelled her into individual counselling. She was unable to be civil to her work colleagues â€Å"who were idiots.† The few friends that she still had were objects of her wrath. She found herself irrationally lashing out at anyone who even slightly annoyed her, and she began to feel isolated and frightened by her own actions. She began individual bereavement counselling in December, eight months after Katherine had died. If I was counselling Penny I would assess which of Worden’s four mourning tasks were not complete and make an effort to address the gaps. If Penny has not accepted the reality of the loss, then Penny has to begin the letting go of the deceased. However, if the difficulty is in experiencing the pain, then I would help Penny feel safe enough to feel both the positive and negative aspects of his or her grief. This safety would be built up through the accepting relationship established between myself and Penny. If adjusting to the environment seems to be the hurdle, then problem solving would become the focus of helping Penny to make the needed changes to get back to living. If Penny were unable to engage in relationships and withdraw her emotional energy from Katherine, then I would have to work with her to help release her from the binding attachment to Katherine and to be free to develop new relationships. Often the bereft are afraid to let go of the deceased for fear that the deceased will be forgotten. It may be constructive for me to counsel Penny on how to build new connections to Katherine, new ways to think about her in a more spiritual or ethereal manner. I would also urge social connectedness with others by encouraging and supporting efforts in that direction. In conclusion, every person will experience grief and loss at some stage of their lives. It is the way that this grief and loss is handled by the counsellor that can help the bereft deal with their loss and move past it, incorporating the loss into their lives. An effective counsellor can only do this if they are familiar with the theories of grief and loss. References Beyond the five stages of grief. (2011). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 3. Corr, C. A., & Coolican, M. B. (2010). Understanding bereavement, grief, and mourning: implications for donation and transplant professionals. Progress in Transplantation, 20(2), 169-177. Field, N. P., Gal-Oz, E., & Bonanno, G. A. (2003). Continuing Bonds and Adjustment at 5 Years After the Death of a Spouse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 110-117. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.1.110 Hamama-Raz, Y., Hemmendinger, S., & Buchbinder, E. (2010). The Unifying Difference: Dyadic Coping With Spontaneous Abortion Among Religious Jewish Couples. Qualitative Health Research. doi:10.1177/1049732309357054 Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York: Macmillan. Worden, J. W. (2009). Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. New York, NY: Springer Pub. Co.a

Pygmalion Essay

Distinctive voice refers to a variety of voice types and the function that voice plays In different texts. The personality or position of a speaker or character is reflected through voice. Distinctive voice can be used to represent an Issue, a group of people, a set of values, a point of view or a variety of perspectives. All people have a distinctive voice; our voice Is developed and changed through our experiences, interactions and understanding of the world. The language, the purpose and the manner of a distinctive voice influences audiences in, subtle, direct and powerful says.In the text Pygmalion; George Bernard Shaw has created and utilized incredibly distinctive voices to communicate the themes of his play, the being character transformation and the distinguishing parameters of social class. The transformation of Elise Doolittle from a poor flower girl to a lady of society depends upon her ability to speak phonetically correct- as identified by English society in the 20th cen tury. The entire play centers on the transformation of the â€Å"flower girl', that of her voice and of her manners as a way of defining her social class and life opportunities.The voice of Shaw Is evident throughout the play and Is shown through the voice of the characters. Anthony Browne uses the voices of the characters within the picture book Voices In The Park to Impress upon the reader the Inequity and limitations of social class and division. The voice of the children is used to show the innocence and disregard for such division, where as the adults are used to show the pre-conceived and unjustified beliefs relating to social class. Elijah's transformation is evident in the third act when she visits Mrs. Higgins at her â€Å"at home day†, â€Å"How do you do Mrs. Higgins?Elijah's dialogue, full sentences and correct pronunciation demonstrate her metamorphosis. In Voices in the park Anthony Browne uses the voices of each character to retell the same event that being a parent take their child and the family pet to the park. Each voice is used to retell the event from an individual perspective. The division that social class can create Is explored through the distinctive voices within the text. Browne uses written and visual clues to give the readers an Insight Into each character. Shaw makes use of articulation and word pronunciation to characterize class division between the characters in the play.Browne gives each character their own distinctive voice through their use of language. Their social class is reflected through the correct use of grammar and choice of words. The mother who represents the middle-class speaks in full and correct sentences; she speaks with authority and in a judgmental way, â€Å"You get some frightful types in the park these days† she is making reference to the unemployed father. Her words are critical and harsh. Shaw used the character Elise Doolittle and her transformation and social class to create a distincti ve voice. Both Shaw and Browns characters successfully explore distinctive voices.Shaw Involves the audience to think deeply about his provocative Ideas by utilizing humor. The harsh words of Higgins are often humorous and rarely affect the Intended target. He calls Elise a â€Å"splashed cabbage leaf' and an â€Å"Incarnate Insult to the English language† the audience can not help but laugh, aware of his good natured insults. The humor used encourages the Voices In The Park who we know is unemployed, and his daughter both speak colloquially and less formally than the mother and her son. â€Å"l needed to get out of the house, so me and Smudge took the dog to the park†, â€Å"He went straight up to this evolve dog and sniffed its bum†¦ The daughter is also Judgmental; explaining that she thought the boy â€Å"†¦ Was a bit of a wimp at first† indicating that she had prejudiced him based on how he looked and spoke. Browne also uses the distinctive voic e of each character to compare their experiences and feelings. The unemployed father who has much to be worried about in his life tries to look at things in a positive way. He looks through the newspaper for a Job and remains hopeful of getting one. He has enjoyed his time at the park and the time he has spent with his daughter.In contrast he mother is frustrated by her visit to the park with her son. The scruffy mongrel's dog bothering her pedigree dog frustrated her and the fact that she does not speak to her son as they walk home from the park. Her lack of voice here indicates that her experience was not one she wished not to talk or think about. It is evident that in Shaw five act play Pygmalion and Anthony Browner picture book Voices In the Park social class and transformation are key themes displaying recognizable and distinct voices. Everyone has a distinctive voice but are we too quick too Judge somebody by theirs?

Management reprt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management reprt - Essay Example After this process, and through experience, now they already know who the best is and they buy only from them. Concurrently, the manager also noted that some of the sellers are actually friends with people that work at the restaurant. They purchase ingredients, such as meat, fish, vegetables and other fresh stuff, on a daily basis at local Indian/Bengali shops. Accordingly, there are plenty of them in the neighbourhood, as there are 50 Indian, Bengali, Thai, and Asian restaurants in this area. So they tested different suppliers and chose the best ones. It was emphasized that it took years of experience. Now, the Cinnamon Brick Lane Restaurant is acknowledged to be the best, legendary, and renowned. The standard of quality also means possessing secret recipes appreciated by the worlds best chefs. 2 The fact that food critics who graced the restaurant provided exemplary reviews evidently indicates that the establishment is viewed as one that serves high quality food, diverse menus and exemplary service. The official restaurant’s website cited the results from two of the food critics who visited their establishment that: â€Å"Among our many accolades include food critic and Michelin chef Pat Chapman, in the Cobra Good Food Guide, and Humayun Khan - from TANDOORI MAGAZINE, who gave rave reviews on his last visit to Cinnamon for his favourite dish, the LEMON-GRASS CHICKEN, recommending Cinnamon as one of the best Indian/ Bangladeshi restaurants in Britain. View London also highly recommends Cinnamon as one of the best in Brick Lane†.3 Likewise, due to the high quality, great taste of its food, exemplary service, and consistently positive customer satisfaction ratings , the Cinnamon Brick Lane Restaurant have been patronized by celebrities and famous personalities such as Jeremy Guscott, a former England and Lions rugby player and Shepard Fairy, a famous jigsaw artist.4 From the above,

Account for plagiarism in English speaking countries Essay

Account for plagiarism in English speaking countries - Essay Example Make no mistake that the quotation encourages plagiarism. On the contrary, it promotes everyone to be original in their ideas. But could this in reality be practiced especially in academic writing? This may be ideal in fictional writing but academic writing profusely begs to differ. Being novel in every idea and thought without having been influenced by anyone else is something next to impossible particularly in this day and time when almost everything has been a derivative of another. The need to cite is an important part of academic writing. In order to provide a comprehensive and logical argument to support a thesis, the writer must be able to learn the value of researching pertinent materials from authoritative sources that offer information. These people have dedicated a great amount of time in their accumulated mastery base on derived facts. They serve a foundation or inspiration that catapults an idea into its shape which could either strengthen it or show its weaknesses. Thus , â€Å"A writer plagiarises when he or she presents another writer’s unique work as a product of his or her own knowledge and/or imagination† (Johns and Keller, 2005, p.1). This has become a prevalent problem especially in the four corners of educational institutions. Plagiarism has been on the rise due to societal pressures, poor time management and the internet. Societal pressures play a major role in enticing students to plagiarise. A great number of students feel justified in plagiarising because they feel the additional pressures imposed by teachers without much help makes completing assignments adequately impossible (Sterngold, 2004). Often, a student may be required to finish an assignment or something like a major requirement such as a term paper in more than one subject simultaneously. The need to finish by the set deadlines provokes them to make the wrong choices. These papers could make or break their grades and instead of failing to turn in an output, they would rather plagiarise in the hopes that they could get away with it. This is a habit that is shared by many students where they all know what each other is up to but there is a standing consensus to keep mum about it and go with the pack. Teachers, on their part, have different approaches to how they treat plagiarism. There are those who react indifferently especially in the lower level, giving the students a sense of impunity that they have become desensitized to knowing the difference. Then there are those who approach it with utter severity that they implement a strict regulation through verbatim analysis. This happens even without the teacher clearly setting forth the criteria and the measures on how to properly acknowledge a source. This generates hostility in students who demand justification (Hayes and Introna, 2005). Entering the university is an important goal for students who have been inculcated with the indispensability of tertiary education by their parents. Earning a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a refutable university, is the ultimate dream that parents have for their children. Among the reasons found by Devlin and Gray in their study why students plagiarise is ‘pressures,’ this they elaborate take many forms such as time, stress, family and societal such that one student remarks, â€Å"Parents nowadays expect their children to go to uni, whether they [i.e. the child] want to or not† (2007, n.p.). They are in turn pressured to fulfil their parent’s wishes and pressure themselves to avoid disappointing their family since parents see it a reflection of their parenting if their children fail to enter a university (ibid). Time management is an insistent problem that everyone has to face. In the urban jungle

Classroom Observation coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Classroom Observation - Coursework Example He facilitates his reading through the use of charts and graphs that he draws in front of the students with pencil and geometrical tools. He also makes the students go through the exercises given at the end of each chapter. One reading strategy that he should adopt is that he should teach algebraic functions by solving them on the white board and then calling a student from the class to come at the front desk to tell what he has grasped from the solution of the problem. This will make other students ask questions from their classmate which they might hesitate asking from the teacher. Science The science teacher’s lesson plan includes the objectives of the lesson, the materials and technologies used to make the students understand the topic, an anticipatory set, instructional procedure, activities, assessment and homework. The materials that he uses to clarify the topic are textbooks, handouts, visual aid, PowerPoint presentations, pictures, postcards and flashcards. The antici patory set includes encouraging the students to actively participate in the discussion by sharing experiences with them, refreshing their memories and showing them graphics and video clips related to the topic so as to develop their interest. The instructional procedure that he uses includes listing of keywords on handouts and telling the class interesting facts. He conducts individual and group activities and group presentations to help students learn facts through practical work, observation and experimentation. He also makes use of technological tools like multimedia transcripts to equip the students with scientific information through the most modern technology. After reading the lesson, he holds a concluding session to summarize all important points of the discussion. Finally, he gives the students homework to carry out research on their own. One thing that he should do is to assess the students through daily assignments, test papers and quizzes to know if they have learned the ir lessons well. Social Studies The social studies teacher makes use of graphical charts and maps as the most important reading strategy. This way, he helps the students understand the demographic locations of different places in a better way. He reads chapters to the students and then explains them through the use of notes that he prepares before coming to the class. He makes the students learn important dates by making them revise the lesson in the class two or three times. He draws maps on the white board and explains locations. The activities that he uses include distributing worksheets among the students and making groups of them for discussion purposes. He makes the classroom convert into the times which he is teaching, for example, he tells the students to create a fantasy colonial marketplace in the classroom when he is teaching colonial times. This way, he brings the subject to life. Music/Art The music and art teacher conducts special activities that tend to polish the ski lls of students in the field of art. The arts teacher strongly recommends the application of locomotor and non-locomotor skills while teaching dance. In order to teach music, he instructs the students to do exercises that enhance their breath control. He strictly follows the follow the seven-part plan of questions that can produce miraculous results, if applied while teaching arts. W stands for what are the students expected to comprehend, H for how to hold students’

Conflict Scenario Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Conflict Scenario - Assignment Example The Myers-Briggs indicator has sixteen personality combinations and each represents differently. For example, Jane’s personality is an ESFJ type, which makes her helpful, friendly and very suited to her current job. However, although Brandon works in the same department and company as Jane, he has a different personality from Jane. The mode of handling conflict used by both Jane and Brandon is competition. This mode is assertive and both Jane and Brandon show they have a forceful personality. Because of this, conflicts arise, as they do not give way to cooperation. There is no win-win situation. To resolve the conflict between the two, there must be some form of cooperation and positive change that would benefit both sides in the future. This mode is collaboration and ensures cooperation is achieved by understanding the needs of one another. The supervisor ought to discuss the matter face-to-face with Jane and Brandon. When an agreement has been reached, the situation must be regularly monitored to ensure the method is going smoothly. The supervisor must remind the employees that each of them is important to the company. This is to ensure there is no jealousy or favoritism amongst the

Sew What Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sew What Inc - Case Study Example The Sew What? Business has won several awards and recognitions attesting to the distinct application of information technology that spurred financial success. Information technologies contributed to the business success of Sew What? Inc. through allowing customers from various locations, both locally and abroad, to view the products and services that they offer. By ensuring that their Web site is effectively designed, customers get to review all kinds of color swatches; guides them to calculate measurements for their respective projects; differentiates one kind of curtain from another; providing instructional advise on the care and use of drapery materials; among others (Case Facts, 41). Duckett came to realize that information technology is relevant in terms of enabling small business to provide products and services in a more sophisticated and highly structured fashion that enabled them to reach a wide range of clientele and create high quality products and services. The amount and value of work is thereby maximized by using only a small amount of manpower and internal resources. If I were a management consultant to Sew What? Inc., one would advise Megan Duckett to continue upgrading various applications that could be offered by developments in information technology. For instance, she is already reflecting on instituting a bar code system to track the manufacturing process at their company’s warehouse. After this, Duckett can use information technology to the management in the business’ supply chain in terms of providing a direct link with her regular suppliers of raw materials to identify the inventory levels and reorder points. By doing so, her company need not order for raw materials that are not fast moving and suppliers, on the other hand, could anticipate demand for fast moving items and schedule deliveries at the soonest possible time. Further, their database should contain prospective projects from current clients to enable

The marriage cure, inadequate solution of poverty Essay

The marriage cure, inadequate solution of poverty - Essay Example From ancient times a marriage supposed to be the effective tool to eliminate poverty. But is it an adequate solution today Literary critics express different views as for the Boo's article message. Some of them suppose that the research suggesting that governments and individuals tend to benefit from an increase in marriage rates is at this point very persuasive, and don't see much point in being coy about it. Marriage is probably the most cost-efficient antipoverty instrument a society possesses (Stewart, 2004). The author gives special detailed attention to the difficulty which can follow single women in marriage rush. The article describes the problems of two single women and the imperfection of the institution marriage at the beginning of the 21st century. In the article Boo describes the realities of a marriage promotion program and their outcomes for low-income woman. She wrote: "Still, the days now contained enough hours for a reasonable woman to fret about her future" (Boo, 2003). In one of her interview Boo argues that: "And if, inspired by that indoctrination, Kim, whose income was less than ten thousand dollars, manages to meet and marry a man who makes ten thousand dollars, their combined income would remove both of them... Boo criticizes the Bush's welfare reform to eliminate poverty by marriage and sees it as inadequate solution giving supported reasons. Some critics argue that success in the workforce may make women more independent and therefore more selective about the men they will consider marrying. In addition, more time at work means less time to pursue relationships, especially for single mothers whose time is already stretched thin (Stewart, 2004).. The important fact to note is that poverty is a complex problem which is difficult to solve in one day. Bear in mind the facts mentioned by Katherine Boo it is possible to say that if this problem of poverty can be solved by successful marriage, our society would not have poor creatures looking for better days. Race, gender, familial status, age, and place of residence are some but not all of the characteristics that enhance the risk of living in poverty. Boo gives a vivid examples contrasting with those "rosy dreams" proposed by Bush's administration. She describes that Kim's annual income was: "five thousand dollars, but, except for ten months when she and her husband first separated, she had not received welfare. The child support was supposed to have covered us, but when it stopped coming I couldn't afford a lawyer" (Boo, 2003). The marriage cure is nothing more than survival of time affected the mind of many single women. "Marriage promotion programs, therefore, must be viewed in the context of battered women's lives and how poverty and children affect their decision-making. Most moms I know will do anything for their children and this often includes putting up with years of violence and abuse. When you tell a woman who is desperately trying to keep a roof over her head, put food on

Ace Hardware Store Entering Bahrain Market Essay Example for Free

Ace Hardware Store Entering Bahrain Market Essay We have endeavoured to emphasize on the suggested strategies which will allow Ace Hardware to consider venturing into the Bahraini market. Therefore with the information provided and composed, we have the opportunity to examine comments of Ace Hardware which allows us to highlight key issues faced. Organisations need to recognize and meet demands of the exterior factors which include threats and opportunities to uphold their competitiveness in the market. Henceforth, the intention of this report is to essentially investigate and assess the outlook of Ace Hardware Corporation in relation to expansion and growth in the Bahraini market. . 0 Introduction Bahrain is one of the unique countries in the Middle East. It alone has a stable economic climate and welcomes foreign investment with a highly business friendly culture thus making it an efficient country to start business. Introducing Ace Hardware to the Bahraini market because of a numerous aspects such as retaining 100% foreign ownership and low taxation, provides a free, open and transparent environment that fosters growth, legal system protects companies’ righ ts, while their free market environment allows businesses to thrive. . 0 Industry Business Description The ACE Hardware Corporation is a well-known wholesaler of hardware and home-related products; the organisation offerings include safety equipment, plumbing products, outdoor living products, pet supplies, door handles, electrical tools, lawn and garden accessories, furniture, home appliances and many more. ACE has been affianced in the wholesale hardware business and has offered dealerships to retailers of hardware and associated items since the company in Illinois commenced incorporating in 1927. Today, ACE is the largest retailer-owned obliging and vibrant leader in the convenience division of the hardware business in terms of wholesale and retail sales and strength of the brand. 3. 0 Company description According to (Irwin, 2012), Ace Hardware ranks highest in satisfying home improvement retail store customers for a sixth consecutive year according to the J. D. Power of Associates Home improvement Retail satisfaction Study of 2012. This measured customer satisfaction with home improvement retail stores, based on the performance of five factors: merchandise, price, sales staff, sales amp; promotions and store facility. The organisation emphasizes on service and modern retailing techniques and has helped locally owned operated ACE retail stores confront intense competition from Home Depot and Lowe’s. In addition, it provides numerous value-added services such as marketing, advertising, merchandising and design services to its retail members. ACE’s 4,600 stores in all 50 states and more than 60 countries generate annual retail sales of approximately $12 billion (ACE Hardware Corporation, 2012). 3. 1 Type of business Retail Sales ACE’s 4,600 stores in all 50 states and more than 60 countries generate annual retail sales of approximately $12 billion (Ace Hardware Corporation, 2012). Dubai, Shanghai, Canada etc. Applying a Teradata warehouse permitted 2,500 Ace Hardware retail stores to transmit daily a point of sale (POS) transaction detail. According to (Murphy, 2007), â€Å"Teradata is the world leader in data warehousing solutions with a proven track record in retail, as we discovered when we sought vendor references. That experience, including customer relationship management, category management and business intelligence, made Teradata the right choice for Ace Hardware. † Basically, Ace relies on active warehouse data from Teradata, which has delivered a single repository for retail and wholesale sales, purchasing, customer information, financial data and inventory to essentially support large varied workloads. Wholesale In addition to its 14 retail support centres in the United States and freight forwarding operations on the West Coast and East Coast, ACE features three international distribution centres in Dubai, Shanghai and Panama. The international distribution centres provide: 1. Easier access to core stock of leading brand products and certified ACE products through their global supply warehouse 2. Online ordering systems 3. In-market fully operational support offices. â€Å"It is very useful to have Ace as a partner for this type of market. It is nice to be able to replenish your inventory on a weekly basis, which makes it easier to control. Our goal is to be a one stop shop for everything in your home, and we can do that with Ace. The people in the community can buy the Ace brand with confidence because it’s proven to be a good quality product. Jorge Ossa  Commercial Manager, Cemaco – Guatemala (ACE Hardware Corporation, 2012). ACE has established an accurate and demonstrated operating model for effective and efficient distribution allowing ACE Hardware retailers the wholesale benefit they require to be successful and profitable. Below are the some of the wholesale advantages available for ACE Hardware store owners:- * Lowest cost of goods * Named #1 Distributor according to Home Channel News in 2009, 2010 and 2011. (Home Channel News, August 2011) * #1 in wholesale sales at $3. 5 billion (Hardware Retailing, December 2010 ) * The combined buying power of over 4,100 locations To support the growing number of international ACE retailers and leverage international wholesale opportunities, ACE opened the Ace Global Distribution (ASG) warehouse in Shanghai, China 2006 (ACE Hardware, 2012). 3. 2 Legal Structure Each Ace Hardware store is individually owned and operated by local entrepreneurs – hard-working, passionate business owners who are involved with and, many times, exist in the communities where their stores are based (Ace Hardware Corporation, 2012). . 3 History ACE Hardware organisation was founded when Richard Hesse, Frank Burke, Oscar Fisher, E. Gunnard Linquist, William Stauber unified to form a purchasing and advertising enterprise among their Chicago- area hardware stores. Moreover, their combined buying power allowed the store owners to negotiate lower prices on merchandise acquired from wholesalers. Therefore, embracing the ACE name in 1927 and incorporated the succeeding year. Frank Burke served as president of the group and was succeeded by Richard Hesse in 1930. Over the next two years the firm progressed into a hardware organisation, obtaining directly from producers and storing merchandise in its own warehouse in Chicago. This strategy allowed ACE to further reduce costs by removing ‘middlemen’ wholesalers (Anonymous, 2012). Moreover, during its first half-century of operation, ACE was basically a conformist wholesale group, and its profits were distributed equally among shareholders. The company’s low-cost purchasing and distribution procedures quickly enticed new employees and franchisees. By the mid – 1930’s, the organisation had 41 members and sales of more than $650,000. Throughout history, ACE has accomplished to solidify their position as one of the strongest and leading competitors in the hardware industry. 3. 3. 1 Mission The mission of the ACE team is to ensure that their customers are satisfied. According to (Anonymous, 2012), â€Å"When something goes other than the way it was planned, we do everything in our power to make it right. You have the ACE promise on that†. In relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR), ACE Hardware has partnered with the CMN hospitals to give back to communities. The ACE Foundation has raised over $50 million since 1991 to help sick and needy children through partnerships with Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals. ACE also supports the American Red Cross Natural Disaster Relief Fund through donations of work gloves, shovels, mops, bottled water and more (ACE Hardware Corporation, 2012). Once again, ACE is proud to serve as a sponsor of the Champions program. The retail stores and ACE foundation organise a myriad of fundraising initiatives, many of which our generous customers are welcome to get involved. Furthermore, these fun and unique experiences raise much-needed funds that essentially result in the power to change lives and treat sick children at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals around the United States. Miracle Jeans Weeks is a program where employees throughout the company wear jeans during the company’s five designated Miracle Jeans Weeks each year. Furthermore, with a cost of $1 per day and almost 900 people on campus, it’s never in doubt that thousands of dollars are raised yearly from this enterprise. 3. 3. 2 Goals amp; Objectives One of ACE’s goals is customer satisfaction as they value their customers. â€Å"We know our customers want to be spoken to in a more personal manner, rather than in a blast† says Rich Neal who is ACE’s one-to-one manager. â€Å"So we have robust analytics team, and follow-up purchases with thank-you emails and direct mail, broken down into eight categories, including grilling and lawn and garden† (Mahoney, 2011). Therefore, for ACE Hardware customer satisfaction isn’t just an idea, it’s basically the entire purpose. According to (Marketing charts staff, 2011), J. D Power and Associates (2011) U. S Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study, Ace Hardware ranks highest in satisfying home improvement retail store consumers, accomplishing a score of 786 on a 1,000-point scale, for the fifth consecutive year.. The study, now in its fifth year, measures customer satisfaction with home improvement retail stores which is built on the overall performance on five aspects: staff and service; store facility (including merchandise and cleanliness); merchandise (product information details); price; sales and promotions. 3. 4 Company Structure Aces Board of Directors establishes guidelines for Ace management. There are between nine to 12 director positions. Ray Griffith assumes the role of president and CEO and David Ziegler as the chairman of the board. 4. 0 Ace Product analysis: Ace hardware store offers an extensive range of more than 30,000 quality household products from kitchen mops to garden furniture and camping equipment. Ace’s product range consists of the everyday items such as sponges and shower curtains as well as occasional purchases such as wall paints and lawnmowers. Ace’s Products are categorized into: Outdoor Lifestyle: Ace has a wide range of outdoor lifestyle products to suit distinct tastes and needs -Outdoor furniture -Camping -Barbeque -Pools and spas -Outdoor constructions Gardening: a stimulating selection to meet outdoor gardening needs. -Gardening tools -Seeds -Indoor/outdoor plants -Pots and vases -Watering -Fertilizers and chemicals -Landscaping -Fencing and edging -Water features -Garden decor -Garden lighting -Shades and turf DIY: With the widest product range, competitive prices and informed staff, ACE is the choice for D. I. Y. enthusiasts. All ACE stores offer a wide selection of Tools, components and essentials for DIY as well as the biggest range of world renowned brands in power tools. ACE also provides free advice and solutions on any hardware or D. I. Y problem as well as free repairs on power tools under warranty. -Power tools -Hand tools -Hardware -Fastenings and fixings -Tool Storage -Timber -Electrical -Security Equipment -Safety Automotive: Ace has a wide range of quality automotive products. From accessories, cleaning and car care products, sunshades, 4X4 accessories and emergency kits to enhance the looks and performance of your vehicle. 44 adventure -Car Cleaning and Maintenance -Car Interior -Emergency and Safety Painting and Decorating: Ace offers more than 16,000 colors of paints; customers also can mix their own colors to come up with their ideal paint pallet. Ace provides all the necessities needed to complete the process of decorating homes. -Paints -Paint Equipment -Adhesive and fillers -Wall coveri ng -Arts, crafts and hobbies Home ware: ACE home ware has a complete range of lifestyle accessories all under one roof. -Cleaning, Laundry -Storage, Packaging -Living -Bed and Bath -Kitchen -Electrical -Wellness Pet Care: ACE offers a range of pet supplies and related pet products and accessories catering to dogs, cats, birds and fish. Ranges vary from pet food, toys and other essential pet care accessories. Services: Rental service: The Ace Rental Place offers a wide variety of equipment for rent on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis, great for items required for few usages or simply to try them out before deciding on the purchase. All rental items are well maintained with expert customer service. Customers can rent the following items:- †¢4 Burner Gas Barbeque †¢Upholstery/Carpet Cleaner †¢Generator †¢High Pressure Cleaner †¢Port-a-cool Ladder 16ft Multi-master In store services: -Assembly Installation/key cutting -Automotive chip key cutting- Pipe Cutting and Threading -Blade sharpening Screen Repair -Computerized paint – color matching- Small Engine Repair -Delivery- Special Order Services -Glass and acrylic sheet cutting -Glass repair -In store lock servicing 4. 1 Customer profile/demand analysis: Aces vast range of products and services encourages a diverse range of customers with different needs and wants. Hardware stores in general often prioritize their target market as home owners as the products they offer are mostly for household use. Ace is more than just a hardware store that just sells tools for men, it’s a superstore that attracts both men and women who are making decisions in the appearance and upholding of their homes. Loyal customers As part of a customer retention strategy the Ace marketers have focused their attention on customer insights, by creating a card-based loyalty club – the Helpful Hardware Club (HHC) customers at the store can sign up to the program making them eligible purchase discounts and special offers. Ace targeted the Lifestyle segment to boost their retention program causing evenues to rise 5. 4 percent as lapsed customers were enticed by discounts to return to their local Ace stores. (Nielsen 2009) Aces product portfolio also consists of outdoor leisure activities targeting consumers that are not necessarily home owners or prime decision maker with the household. Products for occasions such as camping or barbequing target a segment of active leisure consumers. This segment broadens ACEs target market outside home owners. The demand is not only in home improvement products but also in the items needed to care for them. This demand has forced manufacturers to introduce a large range of new cleaning products which targets upscale shoppers who desire convenience and a more natural, non-toxic product. Current market Bahrain is regionally known for its cosmopolitan lifestyle suggesting sophisticated consumers, with their relatively high purchasing power these consumers have a high willingness to spend especially on premium products and brands. 4. 2 Competitive situation: (Ellen 2010) Ace Hardware Corp the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the hardware industry by sales and the second largest dealer-owned cooperative in the United States. Ace’s innovation is what led them to establish the strong position they hold today. With over 4,000 stores in 60 different countries ACE hardware were ranked 8th in franchise directs top 100 global franchise’s (Francise Direct 2012). Ace hardware store faces intense competition within the United States. The US home center, hardware store and home improvement retail industry includes about 23,000 hardware stores and home centers with combined annual revenue of about $150 billion. The home center segment of the industry is highly concentrated: the top four companies account for more than 90 percent of segment revenue (Hoovers 2012) The success of individual companies depends highly on competing low-cost purchasing, effective merchandising, and competitive pricing. The top three competitors of ACE are:- †¢Lowe’s Companies Inc. †¢The Home Depot Inc. †¢Do it Best Corp Despite the intense competition in their domestic market, ACE has an opportunity in Bahrain as the Hardware store industry is not as well developed leaving space for entry in to the market. However, there will of course still be some Potential Competitors in Bahrain that Ace will have to face:- Ace’s direct competitor in Bahrain will be Manazel Hardware store; Manazel first opened its doors in October 1995 at Salmabad, Bahrain. It is a family owned business based in Bahrain. Carrying more than 50,000 products ranging in over 20 categories, some of which include: Furniture, Home ware, Hardware, Bathroom ;amp; Plumbing accessories, paint and Sundries, Outdoor Living, Garden Furniture and Accessories. Their Materials are sourced from all around the world to provide everything for your home and garden. Manazel 2012) Ace could initially face challenges competing with Manazel due to it being a locally based company, depending on the loyalty of their consumers it could be difficult in convincing them to switch to ACE. Ace has the advantage of being a well-established global brand and with the high rate of expatriates in Bahrain they may naturally prefer to switch to a m ore recognized brand. Ace will also face competition amongst the small local hardware and tool stores. These stores are popular amongst price sensitive customers. 5. 0 Environmental factors 5. 1 Host Country Business Climate: Bahrain offers very distinctive traits in the Middle East. It enjoys a stable economy climate and competitive costs. It has an amazingly business friendly climate which is an attraction for ACE and other companies to do business in this country, it has an excellent regulatory framework, and supportive government policy (Najjar 2011) The Host country for ACE Hardware is Bahrain, Bahrain is an Arab country with a total land Area of 712 square kilometres, a population of about 1,234,571 (end of 2012), out of which 666,172 are locals, according to the central bank of Bahrain. The main towns in Bahrain are Manama and Musharraq, the climate is mainly very hot and humid, language is mainly Arabic, but English is widely spoken. The metric systems used include 1dhara=48. 26 cm, 1 rafa=254 kg, the currency is the Bahraini Dinar (BD) = 2. 65 USD, the Time is 3 hours ahead GMT (Bahrain: Basic Data 2012). Bahrain is an Arab country and has the monarchy system, the ruler, king Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa is expected to be secure for some ime to come; the Al-Khalifa family has control over most of the executive branches of government and legislature remaining weak. There will however always be primary tension over economic and financial inequalities, with the halting pace of political liberalisation of sectarian discrimination. Real GDP growth for Bahrain was expected to slow down to 3. 1% in 2009, as mainly international demand for Bahrain exports is weakening, but was expected to recover to 3. % in 2010 (Bahrain economy, 2009), and is expected to rise up to 4-5% in 2 012 due to increases in crude oil production, manufacturing and government spending according to the Economic Development Board (EDB) (Andy 2012). Bahrain’s business climate in 2007 attracted almost $1 billion worth of investments in new projects in 2007 as reported by Dr Hassan Fakhro minister of Industry and Commerce, He also went ahead to mention that new investments in the new projects were worth 373. 3m Bahraini currency, which is about $987. 6 million and these new projects also created about 13, 536 jobs in the country (Middle East Financial News 2008). Oil production output from Bahrain’s single aground field is in decline however, and the monarchy government is aware of the country’s vulnerability to changes in oil prices globally, with oil being the major source of government revenue for the country accounting to more than 70% of the economy. The economy of the country also relies heavily on goodwill received from Saudi Arabia, which runs a large offshore oil field whose production it shares with Bahrain. All these limited resources has made Bahraini government to have the strategy of diversification in order to prosper, increase the role of the private sector and provide a welcoming environment for foreign investment. FIGURE 1. 0: BAHRAINI GDP 2001-2012 BAHRAINGDP GROWTH 2001-2012 200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012 4. 6%5. 2%7. 2%5. 6%7. 9%6. 7%8. 4%6. 3%3. 1%4. 5%1. 8%2% SOURCE: global finance: Bahrain Country Report 5. 2 SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths; ACE hardware is a strong brand both across the USA and the world stage, with more and more expansion into the global markets into several countries across all the continents of the world. ACE has the resources and ability to pursue growth in multiple directions, with the ACE leadership team making a smart decision of focusing on their paint production, which has made them gain a huge customer base and customer loyalty (Bueno 2012). In 2010 ACE hardware has generated in excess of $3. 45 billion in wholesale and retailers enjoyed the added bonus of collective buying power at this volume by getting a decreased cost in goods, which has built the basic foundation for a more profitable option (ACE 2011). ACE produces many DIY products and many changes have taken place in this market over the last 85 years, ACE ownership however still remains the on top in customer satisfaction according to Business week and was ranked â€Å"highest in customer satisfaction Among home improvement stores four years in a row† (JD power and Associates) ACE hardware also enjoys major success in the market share with the help of top of the range advertisement and reduced goods cost, it has slowly established itself to be a major player in the global market for hardware products. ACE also expanding its wings to get a piece of the business boom, and with the advantage of an established brand name, it will be relatively easy to penetrate under developed markets as more businesses would want a merger with them as opposed to its rival companies. ACE is a sophisticate and established brand worldwide, and has adopted the new technologies as they come which has giving the company a competitive advantage as they are more organised and technologically more advanced, which has led to reduction in production costs for the company. The expansion of ACE into the global market has seen it gain market share, more so than their competitors such as Home Depot, Lowe’s etc. Weaknesses; ACE hardware has relatively small stores, compared to their rival companies like Lowe’s, Home Depot and Menards on selection ACE Hardware in 2008 reported a net income of $10. 8 million for the first quarter of 2008, which was a decrease as compared to 2007 when they reported $14. 1 million which was a $3. 3 million decrease. The company also reported earning s before interests and taxes of $13. million in the first quarter of 2008 as compared to $29. 2 million in the first quarter of 2007 (9) ACE hardware has encountered losses resulting from physical damage to breakdown of its computers in the European market, which has led to replace damaged computer hardware, the reinstatement of lost programs or Data and also had to increase working costs as a result of the problems (10). Opportunities Bahrain’s financial freed om ranking is 77. 7, making its economic system the Tenth freest in this years Catalog (2012). Its overall ranking is 1. 4 points higher than last year, with upgrades in trade freedom; investment freedom, work freedom, and freedom from data file crime error. Bahrain is rated 1st out of 17 nations in the Centre East/North African-American area, and its financial freedom ranking is well above the world average (Bahraini economic development Board, 2012) from the perspective of Ace this reduces business constraints giving them the freedom to commercialize their brand and reduces limitations on investment. Situated near commercial establishments in the Gulf with a causeway relationship with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC, Bahrain is seen as a gateway to the Gulf, an industry of over 100 thousand individuals. Bahrains variety and openness keeps presenting opportunities for exporters. It has the most varied economic system in the Gulf Bahrain does not currently have a competitive hardware industry with only a few entrants and one major Hardware store giving ACE the flexibility to enter and the means to operate however they choose. The hardware market ACE is involved in is a highly competitive market, it takes a lot of marketing research by ACE and expensive research and new technological adaptations for the company to stay ahead of competition, couple with the reduced purchasing power of consumers due to economic downturns globally have been detrimental to business for ACE. Threats The law requires that you have a local partner who maintains most majority interest and can therefore manage the company and can close it anytime he wishes. The local partner, be it an organization or an individual, does not need to give rise to the start-up financial commitment or take part financially at all. (Bahrain, 2010). This could mean lack of security for ACE as there is the chance of being closed down with no warning or notice. The changes in labor Laws and regulations constantly by the US and other countries have been detrimental to their expansion, other domestic and international factors also have to be considered by ACE before entering into any market in any country, such as culture, corporate social responsibility obligations are all external factors that ACE has to consider. The process of opening a business in Bahrain is complicated and economically dangerous, significance that local information is essential. You must also seek advice from a good attorney from the beginning. A knowledgeable attorney will provide information to you through the signing up complications and his help will be important in defending your interests. This is applicable whether you are starting a moderate shop or a big enterprise (Bahrain 2010) The current Political unrest in Bahrain creates an unpredictable business environment. If the unrest becomes worse this could have major effects on Ace’s business activities in the region, currency fluctuations and could see reductions in the amount of expatriates present in Bahrain causing Ace to lose a large part of their target market. 5. 3 Government constraints in Bahrain Economic growth The economic growth is for Bahrain is likely to slow down in Bahrain; it went down to 3. 3% in 2010 as regional growth in the country as government finances are getting squeezed. Local consumption of private homes and offices is expected to slow sharply, with no a real positive growth in the employment sector. However government consumption growth in Bahrain is forecasted to also slow down. For ACE however the major demeaning factor of business entry into Bahrain would be the limited fiscal constraints in the country, as well as the subdued outlook for global direct investments flows. And the demand for exports and of goods and services is also forecasted to decline, ACE might have a hard time penetrating into the Bahraini market (Ace Hardware 2008). Economic policy An advantage for ACE going into the Bahraini market is the countries determination to move away from the oil sector. The government is determined to stimulate the private sector growth and foreign investments, and address high unemployment problems (Bahrain News Agency 2012) this would be an advantage to ACE as the government will give them an advantage of being accepted into the country without many business constraints. They can be assured of government support which is a large determinant of business success or failure for any business going into another country. Inflation and the exchange rate Consumer price inflation is expected to moderate in the coming years because of slower domestic demand growth. But with a relatively strong currency against the Euro and the Dollar inflation is expected to slow down an average of 1. 8% in 2009-2010. The Bahraini government is intending to enter into a currency agreement with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, and with the UAE, which has pulled out though, and the government and the central bank of Bahrain is expected to maintain the dinar’s value and peg it at the rate of BD0. 67=$1 that has been in place for 3 decades (Bahrain News Agency, 2012). Setting up a business in Bahrain For ACE hardware it would be good news for them to know that Bahrain is ranked first in the Economic freedom index in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and is seventh overall globally according to the Fraser institute Report 2012. The report by Fraser classifies these countries by using themes such as governm ent volumes, legal system, and intellectual property rights security, accessibility to sound funds, freedom of international trade and organization credit, manpower and companies. All these factors are important criteria to be considered by ACE before going into business in Bahrain. 5. 4 PEST ANALYSIS Political Legal Environmental Laws Bahrain has set up a strict law on polluters as fines of up to $133,000 are issues under Bahrain’s new environmental protection law, this is the first law of it ‘s kind related to anti-pollution in the Persian Gulf state. This law covers everything from car emissions, noise and workplace pollution, as well as handling and disposing of hazardous waste materials and chemicals. This is in accordance with what ACE has to achieve to be successful in Bahrain by practicing Corporate Social responsibility (CRS) to maintain the environment in Bahrain or risk serious government and legal issues (Pittsburgh Post, 1996) Stability of the Government Bahrain has entered into an era of instability due to a combination of the Arab spring recently, longstanding local grievances, the competition of regional powers and other external forces. The solution to this problems can be dialogue between the ruling Al-Khalifa Family and all opposition parties. The crisis has however slowed down in recent times with more and more dialogue and compromises being reached between both parties (Bahrain’s Quest for Stability 2012). Economic GEP growth in Bahrain In 2004 the Bahraini GDP has been reported by the ministry of commerce to have grown by 5. 2% from the previous year, this has been largely due to increase in foreign direct investment flow (Middle East 2004) and has been growing ever since with a reported GDP of 2. 1% increase in 2012. Currency The Bahraini currency is the Dinar and at 0. 67 Dinar to a US Dollar it is one of the strongest currencies when it comes to exchange in the World. Consumer price inflation is expected to moderate in the coming years because of slower domestic demand growth. This for ACE can only mean good news as it will be a positive currency to work with and no inflation worries that have to be considered by ACE. Social Population distribution in Bahrain The Bahraini age distribution has been as of the ye ar 2010 the kingdom was 1,234,571, part of which 568,399 were locals and the other 666, 172 were non Bahrainis. This from 2001 the population was 650, 604, this is an increase of 89. %. However, the population of the locals has decreased from 2001 to 2010 reaching 46% from the previous 62% in 2001. The proportion of the population of Bahrainis in the total population during the period from 2001 to 2010 decreased, reaching 46% in 2010; while the corresponding figure in 2001 was 62%. The percentage of non-Bahrainis increased 54% in 2010 while it was 38% in 2001 (Census, 2010). This shows an increased number of expats coming into the country which will mean for ACE that products should not only be made to suit the local citizens but the majority foreigners, which means overall business strategy has to change. Religion and Language: The official language in Bahrain is Arabic; however English is widely spoken mainly in business meetings and other social interactions. The non-Bahraini in the country mainly speak Farsi an Iranian language, or Urdu which is a Pakistani language. The main religion in Bahrain is Islam, which is the 2nd largest religion in the world, Muslims in fast for a month every year in the month of Ramadan. The Bahrainis though make use of both the Islamic and western calendar but mainly use the western calendar for business operations. Business meeting etiquette Appointments are necessary, morning meetings are preferred. However meetings are not advised during the months of August and July because most Bahrainis travel out the country when the heat is at its worst. , they are quite time conscious, so arrive at meetings on time. Personal topics should generally be avoided unless the relationship has developed or there is need to discuss matters confidentially. Bahrainis usually have an open door policy, so meetings do get interruptions. Business meetings also start after a long talk about health, family etc. Business Negotiation Etiquette The building of trust is important since trust is required in order to conduct business. Bahrainis are very time conscious and time driven, the actual meeting is more important than the timeliness or outcome. Bahraini organizations are hierarchal, the highest ranking employee or worker reaches decision. Decisions are top down and lower level employees usually have no say. Decisions take a lot of time; if you try to rush it will be perceived as rude and disrespectful. Technological The economic system in Bahrain relies upon intensely on innovative petrochemical technology, and many Bahrainis have had or are getting specialized training at several universities all over the country. Technology is just coming up in Bahrain with many projects being undertaken in recent times, but perhaps the most important is the Bahrain Green Tech EXPO which is dedicated to the green consumer products. Due to the high demand for environmental protection globally, Bahrain has taken this as the only business to business trade show focused specifically on ECO friendly consumer products. 6. 0 Business Strategies 6. 1 Product /service positioning Positioning is what the customer believes about your product’s value, feature, and benefits, it is a comparison to the other available alternatives offered by the competition (Jackson, 2012). Some basic strategies include:- By attribute or benefit This is the most frequently used strategy in positioning. In this case, Ace hardware’s products are mostly house used products, and the benefits they can give to the customers are the after service, and the quality. The after service they give is mostly repairing, assembling and delivery. Level of service and quality of a product offering are the main influences of developing a strong brand image. By user Customers often choose brands that identify with their own self-image. Ace should position itself to suit the image of the end user. Therefore ace should focus on the wants and needs of their target audience and how they perceive themselves and the brand. By competitor Competition wouldnt be much of an issue for Ace since they would be entering a market that is not fully developed in Bahrain with few competitors. But they should remain aware of new entrants which are always a possibility and they need to be aware of the changes that may occur. By price or quality Price and quality are directly related in minds of consumers, People are willing to pay premium prices for premium brands that are have high quality. It is very important for Ace to identify where they want to be placed on the pricing matrix shown in figure 1. Ace product offerings vary in brands therefore prices will also vary depending on brand and quality. 6. 2 Pricing strategy Because of Ace’s diverse product range of brands they would need to use more than one pricing strategy. Using the pricing matrix above ace could use this as a guidance to set appropriate pricing strategies. Premium Pricing: One pricing strategy suitable for Aces different brands is premium pricing. Certain brands offered by Ace are luxurious brands with high quality and high price. It is clear on the matrix for these products Ace should use premium pricing which allocates high prices to those brands Economy Pricing: Ace also offers products at more affordable prices however they may have lower quality then premium brands. These types of products attracts customers that are not willing to spend excess amounts of money and would rather spend less for less quality Competitive Pricing: ACE could also use competitive pricing strategy to set benchmarks on their own prices. This strategy is most effective when there are limited competitors in the market which is the case for ACE and Manazel. Ace has a clear advantage over Manazel as it is a globally established company enabling them to set their prices slightly higher than Manazels. Estimated Selling Price: The estimated selling price for ACE hardware products in Bahrain would have to be set under consideration of several factors, such as the GDP of the country, the purchasing power of the country, the competitor prices and the strength of the Bahraini currency The GDP is the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation over a period of a given year. The Gross domestic products (GDP) of Bahrain is the lowest in the Middle East with a reported $32 billion in 2011, however when it comes to consumer purchasing power of Bahrain, it is ranked fifth in the Middle East with a reported $27,900 in 2011. ACE can base it’s pricing on this and compare to its most similar market which is the UAE which is ranked second on the purchasing power list in the Middle East with $48,800 in 2011 (Index mundi, 2012) The Bahraini currency is a major factor for setting prices, comparing to the UAE market which is the closest to Bahrain both geographically and economically 1 Bahraini Dinar = AED 9. 7 so prices can be higher for the Bahraini market considering the difference in currency strength. Bahrainis live a very cosmopolitan lifestyle and would be prepared to buy from expensive and established brands (Numbeo, 2012), which will mean ACE, shouldn’t face many issues setting medium to high prices in Bahrain. But for the large number of expat s in Bahrain ACE has to adapt itself due to the target market it has set for itself when setting prices. Expats are genuinely not price sensitive when it comes to purchasing from known global brands as they find it easier to trust brands they are familiar with. The most important factor however is comparison of process with its main competitor in Bahrain which is Manazel; this company has built its reputation in Bahrain as one of the best Hardware stores and offers discounts and promotional vouchers to loyal customers (Manazel, 2012) which will mean stiff competition for prices for ACE. However, due to lack of information on actual goods prices for Manazel, ACE can do further research and sets it prices on information found. 6. Distribution and logistics Ace products will be available to customers through two sources: Retail sales: as many of its branches worldwide also provide retail shops, similar shops should also be provided in Bahrain in different major cities, to make the products more accessible to customers in more varieties, and as shopping is part of the Bahrainis past time this will be a major attributor to its overall sales. It will also increase overall brand popularity of ACE in Bahrain. Online store catalogue: ACE provides this service for many of its branches in different countries worldwide, but as internet commerce is not popular in Bahraini ACE should not expect major traffic on these online websites. Ace currently has distribution centers located in various parts of the world to enable more efficiency for their global stores at different pin-points. This way transport costs can be cut as well as time on delivering inventory. The closest distribution center to Bahrain is currently in UAE being operated by the Al Futtaim group. Ace can extend their current agreement with Al Futtaim for them to deliver across to Bahrain and take care of their inventory as well as the UAE. 6. 4 Promotion and Advertising Promotion ACE’s competitor in Bahrain Manazel offers various promotional vouchers and discounts to its customers, should be a model ACE will focus on that will help it gain more popularity with customers. Coupons, discount vouchers, loyalty cards should all be included as promotional tools by ACE and all promotional activity should reflect the goal ACE wants to be perceived as which is ‘the helpful store†. Advertising The most important part of marketing for any product is advertising, there are several tools ACE could you to get its name out in Bahrain which include, word of mouth, billboards on (major signs, buses etc. ) radio adverts, Television and much more. Due to culture and market similarities with the UAE ACE could use existing ads in Bahrain to cut costs in advertising research. 6. 5 Estimated sales/sales mix A sales mix is the specific sales of each product offered by a company in comparison to total product sales. Businesses commonly track this information to figure out exactly how much profit they make or can make when marketing a range of items or services. The sales mix of products will often impact an organization’s bottom line. 6. 6 Production/service strategies Production or operations strategy refers to the pattern of decisions or course of action that the organization takes to produce goods and services. The production strategy shows the direction the production or operations function of an enterprise should take. It has important consequences for the way production resources are selected, deployed and managed (Sarkissian. 2012). 7. Financial Planning â€Å"Financial planning is the process of meeting your life dreams/goals through the proper management of your finance† (Beniwal, 2010). This allows the usage of several financial tools such as Profit and Loss Statements, Cash Flow Projection and Financial Analysis to basically achieve financial objectives. 7. 1 Profit and Loss Statement Below is the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2012 and October 1, 2011. ACE HARDWARE CORPORATION| | | | | | | | CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME| | | | | | | (Unaudited, in millions)| | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended| | | Nine Months Ended| | | September 29,| | October 1,| | September 29,| | October 1,| | | | 2012| | | 2011| | | 2012| | | 2011| | | (13 Weeks)| | (13 Weeks)| | (39 Weeks)| | (39 Weeks)| | Revenues| $| 949. 9| $| 912. 0| $| 2,929. 0| $| 2,787. 5| | | | | | | | | | | | Cost of revenues| | 826. 1| | | 797. 6| | | 2,564. 3| | | 2,449. 3| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Gross profit| | 123. 8| | | 114. 4| | | 364. 7| | | 338. 2| | Distribution operations expenses| | 25. 1| | | 26. 2| | | 74. 4| | | 70. 7| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Selling, general and administrative expenses| | 35. | | | 36. 2| | | 104. 5| | | 104. 3| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Retail success and developme nt expenses| | 26. 2| | | 27. 6| | | 91. 5| | | 84. 1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total operating expenses| | 86. 8| | | 90. 0| | | 270. 4| | | 259. 1| | Operating income| | 37. 0| | | 24. 4| | | 94. 3| | | 79. 1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Interest expense| | (4. 2)| | | (8. 9)| | | (20. 2)| | | (27. 8)| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Loss on early extinguishment of debt| | -| | | -| | | (19. 9)| | | -| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Interest income| | 1. 0| | | 1. 5| | | 2. | | | 3. 8| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Other income, net| | 1. 7| | | 1. 5| | | 5. 0| | | 6. 1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Income tax expense| | (0. 9)| | | (1. 4)| | | (2. 4)| | | (2. 4)| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Net income| | 34. 6| | | 17. 1| | | 59. 7| | | 58. 8| | Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interests| | 0. 3| | | 0. 1| | | 0. 3| | | 0. 3| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Net income attributable to Ace Hardware Corporation| $| 34. 3| | $| 17. 0| | $| 59. 4| | $| 58. 5| | Accrued patronage distributions| $| 33. 3| | $| 15. 2| | $| 57. 0| $| 53. | | See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements. | | | | | Ray AGriffith, GuziK, William M amp; Gast, Erik D. , 2012). | | | | | | | | | | | | | ACE HARDWARE CORPORATION| | | | | | CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS| | | | (Unaudited, in millions)| | | | | | | | Nine Months Ended| | September 29,| | | October 1,| | | 2012| | | 2011| | | (39 Weeks)| | | (39 Weeks)| Operating Activities| | | | | | Net income| $| 59. 7| $| 58. 8| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:| | | | | | Depreciation and amortization| | 30. | | | 29. 0| Amortization of deferred gain on sale leaseback| | (0. 9)| | | (0. 9)| Amortization of deferred financing costs| | 1. 6| | | 2. 2| Gain on disposal of assets, net| | -| | | (2. 0)| Provision for doubtful accounts| | 2. 8| | | 3. 2| Loss on early extinguishment of debt| | 19. 9| | | -| Other, net| | 0. 2| | | -| Changes in operating assets and liabilities:| | | | | | Receivables| | (43. 2)| | | (39. 0)| Inventories| | (28. 9)| | | (68. 9)| Other current assets| | (2. 6)| | | 2. 7| Other long-term assets| | (7. 0)| | | (8. 0)| Accounts payable and accrued expenses| | 32. 6| | | 72. | Other long-term liabilities| | 6. 0| | | 2. 2| Deferred taxes| | 1. 1| | | 5. 0| Net cash provided by operating activities| | 71. 3| | | 56. 6| Investing Activities| | | | | | Purchases of marketable securities| | (9. 0)| | | (46. 1)| Proceeds from sale of marketable securities| | 8. 6| | | 46. 3| Purchases of property and equipment| | (31. 2)| | | (19. 5)| Decrease in notes receivable, net| | 1. 6| | | 1. 4| Other| | 0. 1| | | 0. 1| Net cash used in investing activities| | (29. 9)| | | (17. 8)| Financing Activities| | | | | | Net borrowings under revolving line of credit| | 113. 0| | | 9. | Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt| | 200. 0| | | -| Redemption of senior notes| | (301. 3)| | | -| Principal payments on long- term debt| | (7. 5)| | | (4. 0)| Payments of deferred financing costs| | (5. 2)| | | -| Payments of cash portion of patronage distribution| | (27. 7)| | | (26. 4)| Cash Flow Projection Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) for the nine months ended September 29, 2012 and October 1, 2011 Payments of patronage refund certificates| | (17. 3)| | | (17. 3)| Proceeds from sale of noncontrolling interests| | 0. 3| | | 8. 8| Other| | 0. 6| | | 0. | Net cash used in financing activities| | (45. 1)| | | (29. 2)| (Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents| | (3. 7)| | | 9. 6| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period| | 15. 8| | | 9. 3| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period| $| 12. 1| $| 18. 9| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:| | | | | | Interest paid| $| 21. 3| | $| 20. 1| Income taxes paid| $| 0. 9| $| 0. 5| See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements. | | | | 6| | | | | | (Ray A Griffith, GuziK, William M amp; Gast, Erik D. , 2012 8. 0 Management considerations ACE will undertake a big change in bringing ACE hardware to Bahrain, Bahrain overall will be a good prospect as the company has penetrated a similar market in the Middle East (i. e. United Arab Emirates) and with a very stable economy and freedom of business with no government interruptions it will be a relatively easy venture for an established brand such as ACE. However the management at ACE has to consider several factors that will make the venture a more smooth transition, such as trying a joint venture with a local business, culture considerations so as not to put out unethical products. 8. Personnel/sales force factors A sharp forecast of more and employees getting into the professional field in Bahrain, and the stiff rise in population over recent years and also the preferences giving to the locals in hiring, ACE hardware has to take into considerations means and processes of hiring its employees, personnel training and qualification has to be of the highest standard and profe ssional communication skills has to be a criteria in hiring employees 8. 2 Business Advisors: With the help of a business advisor Ace could more effectively implement their strategy to break into the market in Bahrain. An effective business advisor would ensure a smoother transition by assisting ace in dealing with the laws and regulations entering the market and guiding them through government policies. Due to Aces existing established stores already present in the UAE the corporation already has knowledge on the different structures of setting up business in the Middle East. Business advisors in Bahrain would help them in ways more specific to the Bahrain market and can also help them with most effective Methods of Marketing in the country and the most effective locations to set up stores. 9. Recommendations/Conclusion Ace should undertake an aggressive marketing campaign upon entering the market in order to create brand awareness using ‘Coming soon† promotions to build up the hype of the store. Ace should engage with local business advisors in Bahrain to help guide them with cultural differences and deal with government legislations and regulations. Ace should undertake further Exten sive research to gain a better understanding on aspects of the Bahrain hardware market and to know their potential competitors and their offerings more in order to price, promote and operate more effectively.

A Midsummer Nights Dream Drama Essay

A Midsummer Nights Dream Drama Essay A point to consider before bringing the individual character interpretations into play is how to contextualise the performances within the text as a whole. In other words, the characters are not mutually exclusive entities, rather, they are interactive and woven into the landscape of the play. Therefore, I would like to propose a general outline for the overall performance. There are many ways to perform A Midsummer Nights Dream, and the way I choose will affect elements of the characters. There have been many performances of Shakespearean drama, where the play is brought into the modern day. I however, would like to perform the play in its classic setting. I would like the play to retain its archaic time setting. It is a very self-reflexive play it is a play about staging a play. This highlights the idea of drama at its root the reheasrsal and work that goes into a play. I would like to leave the play in an olden day setting because it consolidates the idea of drama being detached from life through its artifice, and the play being set in a by-gone era further consolidates the idea of detaching drama from everyday life. (a) The first character I would like to look at is Lysander. He refuses to yield to Demetriuss demand for Hermias hand, and risks the wrath of Theseus by eloping with Hermia. This demonstrates not only the depth of his feeling for Hermia, but also his conviction in his own beliefs, and the courage to carry out these beliefs. The comic arc of Lysanders performance hits its climax after Puck has sprinkled the love potion into his eyes and he falls in love with Helena. I would perform the character with some hyperbole at this point, in order to convey the comic element of the text to the audience. The idea of Lysander challenging Demetrius to a duel in order to win Helenas hand is an example of the excessive behaviour and heightened action that brings much of the comedy into the play. It is a humour that comes from the reversal of the natural order Helena has gone from being desperately in love with Demetrius and being scorned by him to being the object of both mens affection, for example. This reversal in the behaviour of Lysander is something Id like to highlight in performance. I think a change in demeanor, and in vocal qualities could highlight this. At the beginning of the play, Lysander is portrayed as a romantic hero. I would convey this to the audience through his appearance; ideally, the role would be filled by a tall, handsome man. I would like him to wear a costume of light material symbolising the innocence of the true lovers (Hermias description of themselves). As I would like to keep the play true to its chromatic origins, I would like Lysander to wear a type of Athenean costume, which he could change when he enters the wood. I would like all the characters to change their costumes when they enter the forest, to represent the immense change in their environment. I would like him to don a more earthy, swarthy coloured robe, such as green, to convey the pastoral environment to the audience. I would like to focus on how the character of Lysander should be performed during the sequence in which he challenges Demetrius to a duel. The interpretation that I would like to convey to the audience is one of escalating absurdity, which contributes to humour. This would be done through the props, delivery, vocal quality, paralinguistic features and a demonstration of how Lysander relates to Demetrius in this section: Lysander Helen, I love thee. By my life I do. I swear by that which I will lose for thee To prove him false that says I love thee not. Demetrius I say I love thee more than he can do. Lysander If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too. (Scene III, Act II, lines 251-256) There is a strong sense of rhythm in these lines, and also rhyme, which contribute to the tension and sense of heightened action. I would like the actor to highlight the rhythm in his delivery. I would like Lysander to adopt a masculine stance, and to circle Dimitrius, expanding his movement around the stage, owning the stage, as it were, using the entire stage to convey to the audience that he feels he owns the space, as he prowls around it. Demetrius A character trait that emerges from the text is the point where he tells the infatuated Helena that when he says, Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit;/For I am sick when I do look on thee. (Scene II Act I, lines 211-212). This utterance evokes a sense of his cruel nature, a pejorative view of Demetrius which is further consolidated when we examine the first first scene of the first act. When Lysander and Hermia are told that they cannot marry, Demetruis tells them they should let him have his certain right. (Scene I Act I line 92). There is subsequently a huge change in Demetruis when he falls back in love with Helena at the end of the play. This is indicative of a softening of his character a change which I feel should be represented visually in performance. In order to convey Demetruiss somewhat cruel, righteous nature to the audience, I think the actor should appropriate a certain demeanor. Body language could be used to demonstrate his confident, cocky side. For example, he could strut, use large gestures and also make use of all of the stage space exercising his self imposed right to the stage space in the same way that he wants to exercise his right to Hermias hand. I would like his costume to be dark colours such as a rich red and flamboyant design, to contrast with Lysanders. The vocal qualities should also demonstrate these traits. He only has two lines in scene I, act one, so it is very important how these are represented, as they will be the first impression the audience have of him. Demetriuss lines are: Relent, sweet Hermia; and, Lysander, yield Thy crazed title to my certain right. (Scene I, Act I, lines 91-92) The way in which this line is performed is very important. As the tormented lovers, the audience feels very strongly for Hermia and Lysander, to whom the presence of Demetrius is an invasive one. I would therefore also like to convey to the audience this sense of invasion. When Demetrius says, Relent, sweet Hermia I would like him to walk up to Hermia, and put his arm around her, caressing her with his other hand, turning them both away from Lysander. When he speaks to Lysander, Demetrius should keep his back to Lysander, but turn his head to face him, so that his line is like an aside, as if he does not respect him. The words crazed title should be accompanied by paralinguistic features, such as an outstretching arm to convey to the audience how much Demetrius does not want Lysander and Hermia to marry. Finally, the word my should be over emphasized to convey that Demetrius strongly feels that Hermia should be his, whether she loves him or not, because of the wishes of her father. His character, and especially his behaviour towards Helana changes at the end of the play. Whilst in the earlier stages of the play, he is confident, using large gestures and a lot of stage space, at the end of the play, I would like him to express a more tender side to the audience, to convey the development of his character: That we are awake? It seems to me That yet we sleep, we dream. Do not you think The duke was here, and bid us follow him? (Scene IV, Act I, lines 192-194) This line should be used to convey character development to the audience as it contrasts so strongly with his opening line the use of you in contrast to my for example. There is also a confusion in this utterance, which contrast with the confidence in the first lines. Helena At the beginning of the play, Helena is portrayed as hapless; the scorned lover who has been wooed by Demetrius and then ignored in favour of Hermia. However, like Demetrius, Helena demonstrates a massive character development and transformation. Like Lysander, the arc of her character trajectory reaches its crescendo after Puck has sprinkled the love potion in Lysander and Demetriuss eyes. When they both try to woo her, she feels they are mocking her, and gets angry. To best convey the transformation in her character between before and after the love potion has been dispensed, Id like to consider how vocal quality and demeanor can be used in two of her utterances: Call you me fair? That fair again unsay. Demetrius loves your fair. O happy fair! Sickness is catching. O, were favour so, Yours would I catch, fair Hermia, ere I go. O, teach me how you look, and with what art You sway the motion of Demetrius heart. (Scene I, Act I, lines 181-194) This except is from a long speech in which Helena proceeds to extol the virtues of Hermia, with whom Demetrius is infatuated. The key message I would like to convey to the audience from this speech is the idea that Helena is confused, upset and slightly jealous of Hermia. She is asking Hermia how she won the heart of Demetrius. In order to convey this dejection to the audience, I think the delivery of this speech should involve some rhetoric while Helena is asking Hermia how she wooed him, and saying how fair Hermia is, my interpretation of this speech is that it is a melancholy meditation on the loss of her love. She is not looking for external answers, rather internal answers, and so it is questions she is asking herself. This could be expressed to the audience by the character of Helena distancing her self physically from the group this would be a visual symbol of her isolation. Her demeanor and body language would be hunched and dejected, and her voice subdued and hushed The other speech that is a seminal moment in the performance of Helen is when she feels she is being mocked by the two men, and gets angry. Clearly her relationship with Demetrius is changed when he falls in love with her. While she may be unaware of it, the hierarchy of the relationship has been overturned, and she has now adopted a position of power. In her speech, she says: O spite! O hell! I see you are all bent To set against me for your merriment. If you were civil and knew courtesy You would not do me thus much injury. (Scene III, Act II, lines 145-148) This speech can be used to great effect to demonstrate the performance possibilities of this role. The demeanor and vocal qualities performing this speech would require differ hugely to the earlier one with a louder voice, delivery directed at the other characters and inflated body language required. Hermia Hermia is represented in the play as a strong, defiant young woman, prepared to take risks in order to fulfil her own desires. This is exemplified in her refusal to bow down to her fathers wish that she marry Demetrius. In the face of a death sentence, or life in a nunnery, she escapes with Lysander into the forest. Lysanders love for Hermia, along with Demetriuss desire, demonstrate that she is an attractive and desirable young woman. These are two important points Id like to consider when constructing the performance of Hermia. I would like to convey to the audience her inner strength and determination, alongside her physical attractiveness. The notion of physical attractiveness could be conveyed primarily through costume and appearance. As Hermia is clearly a woman of considerable charm (illustrated when Helena asks her what charm she used to capture Demetruiss heart), her costume should reflect this. As it is believed that she unwittingly won over Demetrius (this is an ambiguity in the text it is possible that Demetrius loves her because her father is so impressed by him) I would also like to impress upon the audience a sense of naivete and innocence. The obvious symbolic colour of this is white. White would also look striking under the stage lights. I would use floaty fabrics for the costumes, such as organza, to communicate the ethereal quality of not only Hermia herself, but also the forest, and the magic contained within it. When Hermia leaves Athens and escapes to the forest, I would like her to adopt a robe over her dress, of green, to convey to the audience, through her change in costume, that a change is impending in the play. While the charm and beauty of the character of Hermia will be communicated visually, the inner strength and courage that I interpret as being key elements of her character, will be communicated through her demeanor. It is commonly understood in the study of body language that confident people stand up straight, unlike shy people, who hunch up, in a subconscious decision to take up less space. In this way, stage space becomes an important indicator of personality. I have mentioned before that I would, at certain points in the text like characters to use the whole space of the stage to convey a sense of confidence. I would like the performance of Hermia to adopt a comfortable use of the entire stage space. More specifically, I would like to refer to one speech that I feel is very important in the text, in Scene I, Act I, when Hermia is talking to Theseus with regards to her desire to marry Lysander: So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, Ere I will yield my virgin patent up Unto his lordship whose unwished yoke My soul consents not to give soveregnity. (Scene I, Act I, lines 79-82) This speech is an important point at the text because Hermia makes clear her intentions to avoid marriage to Demetrius. It is a very dramatic, sensitive piece. This speech should be delivered with intensity, to convey to the audience the depth of Hermias feelings for Lysander. The performance should include some paralinguistic features such as moving around the stage, facial expressions and hand movements to express her feelings visually. Theseus My understanding of Theseus is that he is a very complex character there is conflicting evidence in the text as to his true nature. There is one utterance in the text that brings up questions regarding his true nature, when he is talking to Hippolyta and he says that: Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword, And won thy love doing thee injuries; But I will wed thee in another key: (Scene I, Act I, lines 16-18) My interpretation of this line is that Theseus raped Hippolyta. The implications of this in terms of how the character should be performed are vast. In much of the text, Theseus is represented as a pensive, thoughtful man. He kindly advises Hermia to Take time to pause (Scene I, Act I, line 83) when discussing the situation with her father Egeus. This scene presents him as rational and kindly. The suggestion of rape in line 16 makes the line highly important, the suggestion I would like to convey to the audience is the idea that Theseus is warning Hippolyta. In bringing the issue of the rape to the forefront, he is reminding her of the power balance in their relationship. There is also possibly some penitence in this admission. This could be communicated to the audience through the use of certain vocal qualities, demeanor and stage space. Back to: Example Essays I would like Theseuss sense of power to be conveyed to the audience in a visual way, so he would deliver this speech standing, and walking around, whilst the character of Hippolyta would be sitting down. The discrepancy in their heights would be a visual representation of the hierarchy, which would further consolidate what Theseus was saying. This is such a patriarchal power play that props could be used to represent a sense of phallocentricity such as a sceptre a regal and phallic symbol. The use of this prop could convey to the audience my interpretation of Theseus as being the patriarchal and dominant force in the opening of the play. His kingdom is run on a set of rigid rules for example, Egeus invoking the ancient law of Athens as Hermia wants to marry Lysander. This is in stark contrast to the forest the mysterious, feminine arena which is the binary opposite of Athens. In terms of demeanor, Theseus should be calm, and considered in his movements. I would like his costume to be of dark colours, and of neat, clean lines. This operates in contrast to Hermias costume the white of her costume is a symbol of innocence while the dark of Theseuss costume is aligned with the dark side he hints at in this speech.