Inidivial Reflection Statement

Individual Reflection Statement In analyzing my work, I feel that this project compelled me to find what legal dimensions on sewage treatment is from different consideration, subsequently building on my imaginative capacity as well as my practical knowledge. Therefore I feel we have gained and developed many skills in terms of our own personal creativity and development in Engineering Society. An interesting proposition brought forth by this context presentation was Sewage Treatment and Human.After presenting eight dimensions of sewage treatment around the world, the group was able to show that engineers' views on traditions, laws, and cultures are highly subjective. The domain of societal interests in order to reflect that group mates uses the information and case to expose what are the professional responsibility in engineering to force us to look at Engineering Design and their practices  of case study about such things as water treatment, regulation, relocation on rock cavern, and the like.I feel this possible responsibility is further supported by how group mates understand the dimension in the case study. They seems like a helpful, sensitive individual. They force the audience to sympathies with those affected by the their devastating effects in pollution. Furthermore they makes relatable data of economical and environment dimensions in that they pulls me out of a old culture and has me enter the culture of the new society along with them, making for culture shock for both regulation and audience.Overall, what we discovered from this project is the importance of an Engineering Society. they made me learn more the relationship between sewage treatment and human. And, I also need to fully consider dimensions before we actually make the PowerPoint, as otherwise I get lost and lose the working time. Finally, reflecting on the positive and negative aspects of our project will, I believe, really help me improve myself for The Role of  Engineering  in  S ociety.

Charlie and the Choclate Factory Essay

Despite the fact these were produced 34 years apart, there are many striking similarities. Of course, there are also many differences, which a viewer would expect in films that were done so far apart. Although these films were done three decades apart, the formula of the fantasy genre has not changed much over the course of the decades. The most obvious similarity in the genre is the general audience who will view these movies. The general theory of the fantasy genre is to create an imaginary world, which viewers can get immersed in to give them a break from reality. In this regard, both films succeeded wonderfully. On the flip side, the major difference in the genre is the scope of the imaginary world that can be created. In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the filmmakers were limited by having to create their imaginary world in a real world space. In 1971, filmmakers didn’t have the ability to create an unlimited virtual world like modern day fantasy filmmakers have, so the grandeur of the world that can be created now is very different. While the formula of the fantasy genre hasn’t changed a great deal, the social context of the time periods these films were made in has. For example, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory puts a greater emphasis on the disparity between social classes, which was a major aspect of the 1970’s. The movie also focuses on proper behavior, being appreciative of what you have, acceptable societal behavior, and morals. In comparison, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was created during a time period when society places more emphasis on entertainment value in movies, instead of using them as a tool to express and teach acceptable societal behaviors. The remake also doesn’t focus as heavily on the difference between social classes, as the social classes have been blurred in today’s society, and aren’t as well defined as they were in the 1970’s. Oftentimes, remakes deviate from what was done in the original movie. This is done for many reasons, but may actually hurt the remake. That is not the case with the editing style of these films, as the editing style of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had a significant impact on the editing style of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The editing style and importance of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Mel Stuart, made it become one of the mo†¦ Read Full Essay Join Now! Get instant access to over 50,000 Papers and Essays Join OtherPapers. com Similar Essays Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Rogers Chocolates Case Study (Internal/External Analysis) The House Of Spirits And Like Water For Chocolate, Respectively. Loss Of Innocence And The Corruption Of Man Are A Couple Of The Most Significant Themes Found In Both Books. These Themes Are Shown In The Characters Of The Book After What Really Makes Factories Flexible? Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge Chocolate Truffles I Like Chocolate Milk Rogers Chocolate Chocolate Case Testing To Find How Much Protein Is In 1% Chocolate Milk Versus 2% White Milk SWOT Analysis For Custom Coffee ; Chocolate Chocolate Case Factory Farming And Diabetes Like Water For Chocolate Analysis Donate paper | Join now! | Login | Support  © 2010 — 2011 OtherPapers. com OtherPapers. com High-quality Essays, Term Papers and Research Papers Access over 50. 000 Essays and Papers Get Better Grades! Sign up for your FREE account. There are ABSOLUTELY no membership fees at OtherPapers. om. For our free membership, please upload one paper to the site. Your account will be activated immediately! Prepare Your Document Title: Category: — Select One –American HistoryBiographiesBusinessEnglishHistory OtherLiteratureMiscellaneousMusic and MoviesPhilosophyPsychologyReligionScienceSocial IssuesTechnology Copy & paste paper: Use this method if you’d prefer to cop y and paste your paper into a form. Join now! Login Support Other Term Papers and Free Essays Browse Papers Music and Movies / Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Vs. Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Vs. Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory Research Paper Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Vs. Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory and over other 20 000+ free term papers, essays and research papers examples are available on the website! Autor: people 30 June 2012 Tags: Words: 1820 | Pages: 8 Views: 57 Read Full Essay Join Now! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) is a remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Despite the fact these were produced 34 years apart, there are many striking similarities. Of course, there are also many differences, which a viewer would expect in films that were done so far apart. Although these films were done three decades apart, the formula of the fantasy genre has not changed much over the course of the decades. The most obvious similarity in the genre is the general audience who will view these movies. The general theory of the fantasy genre is to create an imaginary world, which viewers can get immersed in to give them a break from reality. In this regard, both films succeeded wonderfully. On the flip side, the major difference in the genre is the scope of the imaginary world that can be created. In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the filmmakers were limited by having to create their imaginary world in a real world space. In 1971, filmmakers didn’t have the ability to create an unlimited virtual world like modern day fantasy filmmakers have, so the grandeur of the world that can be created now is very different. While the formula of the fantasy genre hasn’t changed a great deal, the social context of the time periods these films were made in has. For example, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory puts a greater emphasis on the disparity between social classes, which was a major aspect of the 1970’s. The movie also focuses on proper behavior, being appreciative of what you have, acceptable societal behavior, and morals. In comparison, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was created during a time period when society places more emphasis on entertainment value in movies, instead of using them as a tool to express and teach acceptable societal behaviors. The remake also doesn’t focus as heavily on the difference between social classes, as the social classes have been blurred in today’s society, and aren’t as well defined as they were in the 1970’s. Oftentimes, remakes deviate from what was done in the original movie. This is done for many reasons, but may actually hurt the remake. That is not the case with the editing style of these films, as the editing style of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had a significant impact on the editing style of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The editing style and importance of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Mel Stuart, made it become one of the mo†¦ Read Full Essay Join Now! Get instant access to over 50,000 Papers and Essays Join OtherPapers. com Similar Essays Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Rogers Chocolates Case Study (Internal/External Analysis)

Home Based Childcare Essay

Childminder must handle all information that she has on the child as confidential and should be shared only with the child’s parents and the child. It is essential to handle data about children and families in a confidential way, due to that they have a legal right to privacy. It is equally important that information should not be passed on without written approval of the parents or carer, because they have the right to give or deny their consent before the childminder may take certain action with respect to their child. For example the parents or carer approval is needed to discuss information about the children with professionals such us GP, health visitors or teachers. Therefore it is important also to get permission to share the child’s learning journey with other professionals. In second place confidentiality and data protection also means that all information about children and families should not discussed with a friend or other parents. Therefore there are only two sets of circumstances to share information: * Parents or cares gave the written approval for it. * It is essential to do so in the best of interest of the child, for example safeguarding or medical emergency. All information about children and families is sensitive. So that all documentation, reports, notes about the child should be kept in a safe place such, as in a filing cabinet, which can be locked, and not removed from the childminder’s home. Furthermore all information stored on computer must be password protected. In the same way photographs of the children can only be taken with the written consent of the parents and carers. Data protection Act exist to strike a balance between the rights of individuals to privacy and to use data for the purposes of the business. The purpose of data protection legislation is to make sure that the personal data is not processed without the knowledge of the individuals. The act of data protection introduced basic rules of registration for data users and right of access to that data for the individuals who are related to it. The childminders have data protection responsibilities. First of all they need to protect the children and their families and maintain sense of trust between parent and staff. Most important is that if they keep records of the children’s health, behaviour or development on the computer or takes digital photograph of the children, they â€Å"will be expected to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)† (ncma.org.uk, 2013). The points that I may include in my confidentiality and Date protection policy are: Confidentiality Policy * All parents receive a copy of my policies and procedures, which detail how I run my setting. * My certificate of registration is displayed and available to all parents. * I am aware of my responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. * I maintain a record of parents’ and/or emergency contact details, the contact details of the child’s GP and appropriate signed consent forms. * If a child is identified as a child in need (section 17 of the Children Act 1989) I will, normally with the parent’s permission, give appropriate information to referring agencies. * I expect parents to inform me of any changes in the child’s home circumstances, care arrangements or any other change which may affect the child’s behaviour such as a new baby, parents’ separation, divorce, new partner or any bereavement. * All information shared will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed without the parents’ consent, except as required by law, for example, if there appears to be a child protection issue. Please see my Safeguarding Children policy. * I expect parents to keep private and confidential any sensitive information they may accidentally learn about my family, setting or the other children and families attending, unless it is a child protection issue. * Ofsted may require to my see records at any time. * Parents have the right to inspect all records about their child at any time. * All significant incidents are recorded in an incident book and will be shared and discussed with parents so that together we can work to resolve any issues. * As a registered provider I must notify Ofsted of any serious accidents, illnesses or injuries or the death of any child whilst in my care and any action I may have taken within 14 days of an incident occurring. * If I am in need of support or advice regarding a serious illness or incident involving a child in my care I may contact National Childminding Association who will log information regarding the incident with regard to their safeguarding policy. An NCMA designated officer will be assigned to my case and all the information given to them will be kept confidentially unless their appears to be a child protection issue which will be reported accordingly. * If an accident or incident involving a child in my care may result in an insurance claim I will contact my public liability insurance provider to discuss my case and be allocated a claim number. This may involve discussing details of the child in my care with a third party. * If I am using the National Childminding Association (NCMA) public liability insurance, the total life of the policy is 21 years and 4 months to enable the child to make a claim against the policy at a later date. Data Protection Policy * I am aware of my responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. * If I keep records relating to individual children on my computer I will ask for the parent’s permission. The information will be securely stored for example, in password-protected files, to prevent viewing of the information by others with access to the computer. Backup files will be stored on [insert method, for example, a memory stick, DVD or CD] which will be locked away when not being used. * All information on children, families and anyone working with me (if applicable) is kept securely and treated in confidence. Information will only be shared if the parents/carers/co-workers give their permission or there appears to be a child protection issue. All details will be kept confidential and records are kept secure. The details are easily accessible if any information is required for inspection by Ofsted. * All parents will be asked to complete permission forms for use of photos, please see Parent Permission form. Photos will be used for observations. I will be carrying my mobile phone with me when I am on outings to keep emergency contact details and to call for assistance and to contact parents if First Aid is required. My mobile does have a facility to take photo’s (this will done in accordance to parental permissions). * I am registered as a Data Controller with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). Biography * http://www.ncma.org.uk/childminders/your_business/policies_and_procedures/data_protection.aspx * Riddall-Leech, Sheila (2010): Home-Based Childcare Student Book: Level 3 Unit CYPOP5 * The date protection Act 1998

The work and biography of Leonardo Davinci Essay

The work and biography of Leonardo Davinci - Essay Example Later on, da Vinci moved back to stay with his father’s new family where he did not face condemnation but a warm welcome. He spent his earlier years at Vinci on his father’s family estate. His uncle was a great influence during this time of his life. His uncle loved nature. This influenced da Vinci’s paintings and other works later in life (Byfield 52). He was so fascinated by the beauty of nature in his original home (Tuscany) that he opted to learn all about nature and its workings. Copying nature, controlling it or learning from it was a motivation in Leonardo’s inventions. Leonardo’s true potential was a result of his driven and positive attitude with his limitless energy originating from his inner insight to complete his goals. When he was young, his cleverness made it easy for him to grasp arithmetic and music. With a natural talent for singing, he hired a tutor to learn the lyre and further develop that skill. He went on to become a painting novice under the tutelage of Andrea Del Verrocchio who was a skilled artisan, artist, sculptor, goldsmith and painter. He implemented the science he learned on the paintings he made. He sketched and studied rock formations fossils and caves. His brilliance was also seen in creating things like diving suits, helicopter and submarines during his period as an apprentice (Spielvogel 20). After completing his education, he lived with Andrea del Verrocchio helping him in his works until 1478 when he became completely independent. His first renowned and commissioned work was done around this time. This was the work he did for Scopeto monastery based in San Donato in Florence namely the Adoration of the Magi. However, he never completed this work because his love for Milan made him leave to go and work as a painter, engineer and sculptor for the Sforza ruling dynasty. While there, his jobs were diverse ranging from artillery designing, to river

Assignments 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Assignments 1 - Essay Example The company just arrived in North Sea fields several years ago. By the time LINK650 was setting up in North Sea fields, there was so much excitement about the arrival. This prompted many job seekers to apply for various technical and non-technical jobs within the company. One of the lucky people to have gotten the chance to work for LINK650 as a non-technical employee was Shaun O’Neil. Specifically, O’Neil was given a drilling job, which was dangerous but well-paying and with more time off. Having being selected among a pool of many applicants, O’Neil and his colleagues at LINK650 were so happy and enthusiastic about their new jobs. To them, this represented a great opportunity to showcase their talents, apply their knowledge, and gain some income. The new hires were initially pleased with the recruitment process that was used in selecting them. O’Neil was particularly impressed by the recruitment team because they showed concern about their welfare while working in the oil drills. It is only later on that it emerged that the recruiters were actually hired from a consulting firm with specialization in recruitment and hiring. Apparently, O’Neil and his colleagues had not actually met or interacted with any manager from the LINK Company during the entire recruitment and selection period. Just after a few months of starting work, real problems began to emerge. Although some of the new non-technical hires had previous experience on oil fields, they were shocked to find that the experience they found at LINK650 was not close to what they had anticipated. Their welfare and safety as employees working in dangerous conditions were not taken care of. They had to work under dirty and very cold conditions. This caused some of the employees to resign. As if that was not enough, the supervisors in the company were too harsh on the new hires. They treated the employees badly by being abusive blatantly

A solution to improving the innovative and entrepreneurship Essay

A solution to improving the innovative and entrepreneurship environment in the Arabian Gulf - Essay Example 1). But many a times when these enterprises turn out to be successful, possibilities of the world witnessing the advent of new technology improves. In such cases, not only is the entrepreneur who initiates the endeavour benefitted, but the region which hosts such activities gains as well. This is the reason why developing nations are more in need of such entrepreneurial activities which spans room for successful innovations. Nonetheless, such undertakings require encouragement on part of the national government of the concerned nation. National administrations of most developing nations are rarely in a position to afford the opportunity cost of fruitless endeavours which is why they often back off. In addition developing nations are also pestered by a large number of social drawbacks ranging from conservativeness to lack of adaptability which tend to hold back the entrepreneurs. Gulf of Arabia could be regarded as an example of one such region which had been characterised by such eco nomic and social glitches till a few years ago. The present paper attempts to figure out an entrepreneurship model that suits the environment of Gulf of Arabia, as well as spurs possibilities of future innovations. Although support from the provincial government and society from every conceivable aspect is necessary for entrepreneurship, a budding entrepreneur must also have robust business acumen, defined by a number of characteristics. Firstly, a potential entrepreneur needs to be ambitious and competent in nature, with a clear understanding of the challenges he is likely to face and ways to extradite out of the same. Secondly, he must not be afraid of taking risks since they might subsequently reap hefty business returns. Thirdly, such people should be visionaries in their own small way and creative as well so as to make the best possible use of every opportunity that crosses their path. Being creative and unique also helps them to leave their own mark and thus curve their own pa th of success. Fifthly, it is important to stay highly focussed and committed towards their target to minimise chances of errors. Apart from the feature defined above, it is also necessary that a person contains managerial skills which help him run an organisation successfully. Moreover, technical know-how is also a vital area which boosts a person’s creativity and hence, expertise in the field where he is venturing out (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008, p. 130). Last but not the least, a potential entrepreneur must be a good observer as well, who is able to study accurately the exact nature of the customer base he is going to serve. Nature implies both intrinsic characteristics with which a person is born as well as the ways in which he is likely to behave when portrayed to different situations. Economic and social environment prevailing in a region only complements the already existing entrepreneurial potentials in a nation. In fact, it could also be said that economic progress in t he true sense of the

QD1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

QD1 - Essay Example The principal stakeholders within any business include the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, executives, board of directors, and the community in essence. It is a fact that business governance is a multi-faceted subject which takes into consideration the roles of all these pertinent positions (Suppert 2007). A business governance model consists of a number of broad categories which might include auditing, board and management structure and process, corporate responsibility and compliance, ownership structure and exercise of control rights, and financial transparency and information disclosure. The business governance plan is therefore exclusive and is very elaborate in its own right. The business governance regimes are deemed as important because these outline the need for understanding how a business is governed and what steps are necessary to undertake so that the business can bring about a great of deal for all the relevant stakeholders and for its own existence in th e future. The business governance tangents are therefore treated with a great amount of respect because it embodies the basis of achieving strategic objectives and goals. The different components of a business governance plan aim to study the basics related with the business realms. What this means is the fact that businesses will grow and expand further if the different components within their folds are taken care of in an amicable fashion. More than anything else, there is a dire need to understand how business governance would tie up the different stakeholders with the internal publics of the organization. It would also aim to touch upon the significant grey areas which are present within the business, and which might bring some sort of problems in the coming times. One must be sure that the business governance regimes are geared to bring in long term profits more than anything else, and there should be serious efforts and undertakings to make sure that success is guaranteed at t he end of the day. There must not be any compromise on this pointer at all, as has been demonstrated through research and evidence of related study. The business governance plan is a comprehensive one because it lists down the advantages of realizing new business opportunities as well as highlights the shortfalls and how these come about in the first place. What is most important is to know how work domains are manifested within the real sense of the word, and what the organizations are doing to bring success within their realms. The business governance realms require that the communication is done in such a way that there are no loopholes and shortcomings within the length of the corporations and the government. What this suggests is the fact that the business governance matters must have a very set hierarchical setting in place so that any issues that might arise within the future are taken care of in an adequate way. The two-tier boards are usually not very appreciable since thes e give some of the directors the right to vote, while others being at the same level still, are disallowed from the voting quarters. Then again, unitary boards are better since these have a single line of command which means that the decisions are taken by people whilst knowing beforehand who is the head and

The structure of the legal profession in the United Kingdom Essay

The structure of the legal profession in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The essential difference between the two was that a barrister could represent a client in court, whereas a plain solicitor could not (Farley, 2001). A brief explanation of the reasons given for the division between the two types of lawyers will explain both the advantages and disadvantages of the fused system that has now been proposed and appears to be inevitable in the near future. The barrister was traditionally trained at one of the Inns of Court, and undertook both formal legal training and practical experience under the pupilage of a senior barrister. This system was meant to ensure that there was a relatively small but highly experienced group of trial advocates who would give the highest quality of representation to clients whose cases actually got to court, and who would also maintain a smoothly running court because they were specialists in that procedure (Hailsham, 1983). There were also other reasons given for having a separation between barristers and solicitors. These include the fact that having an independent barrister reviewing a cause for action enables the client to receive a fresh and independent opinions. The barrister system also enables smaller firms of solicitors to compete with larger firms as they all have access to the same independent barristers (who are legally barred from forming partnerships). A barrister can also act as a kind of check and balance on a solicitor during the trial, and if incompetence is seen may advise the client on a possible cause for action against the solicitor. The disadvantages of the barrister system are supposedly many, and these are starting to outweigh the perceived advantages throughout the British legal system. These include the fact that having more than one legal adviser leads to higher costs. It is also argued that as barristers depend upon solicitors for their work referrals, they are unlikely to criticize them. Thus the "checks and balances" idea is somewhat offset by the fact that a barrister is unlikely to bite the hand that feeds him/her. The over-specialization of barristers means that they may not have sufficient legal exposure outside of their fields and thus may not in fact give the best representation in cases that overlap several areas of the law (Clementi, 2004). As the government has suggested the legal system in Britain is widely regarded as "outdated, inflexible, over-complex and insufficiently accountable or transparent" (Clementi, 2004). The idea that the two major sections of the legal service system:- solicitor and barrister - should be fused together, is currently gaining steam within the United Kingdom. The main thrust for future developments is to be found within the very title of the government's latest policy issuance on the subject: The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First (Crown, 2005). The government is careful not to suggest that those solicitors and barristers that currently work separately are in general offering bad services to their clients, stating that "the professional competence of lawyers is not in doubt . . . the caliber of many of our legal professionals is among the best in the world" (Crown, 2005). But the report goes on to say that "many consumers are finding that they are not receiving a good or fair deal." In response to this the government seeks to produce a legal system that is "efficient, effective and economic" and which will be a "transparent and accountable industry" (Crown,

Individual Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Individual Assignment - Essay Example Innovation management is now an inherent aspect of organisations around the world. Businesses seek to find ways of improving their system of creating innovations and commercialising their innovations to attain the best results and the highest returns possible. Innovation is defined â€Å"something new which did not exist in this form up till now† (Sattler, 2011: p9). In other words, innovation is about providing new solutions that did not exist in the past to resolve problems and issues in the society. Schumpeter stated that innovation is â€Å"a new combination of production factors† (Sattler, 2011, p10). This position views innovation as an adjustment or changes in the internal structures and systems of an organisation in order to provide something different and unique to consumers in the society. Innovation is seen as a structured and disciplined approach to dealing with new productions and adjusting the system to accommodate new ideas and systems. Narayanan and OConnor (2010) identify three main stages of innovation: Innovation begins by the discovery of a new way or a new approach in doing things. This involves the invention of a better way and a better approach of resolving an issue in the society. When this is done, the organisation will have to find a way of getting the relevant intellectual property or brand identity registered for recognition. Once the invention is seen to be one that can be replicated, the organisation will have to take reasonable steps to develop it. Development is done by the commercialisation of a given idea or phenomenon. This will help the organisation to attain its results and targets and maximise its benefits form the given invention. Market penetration depends on the creation of a market for the new invention and the growth and development of the market. This aims at getting the best and the highest

Four ways of evangelism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Four ways of evangelism - Research Paper Example A conclusion is derived upon which two methods are chosen which I believe is the best method to apply to non-believers in my life. Evangelism, in this study, is defined as the zealous preaching and dissemination of the gospel as through missionary work. 1. A non-believer is described as someone who lacks belief or faith, as in god, religion, an idea or an undertaking. Zoll 2 revealed in his study that there many Americans today are non-believers, or have no religion. In a wide range study done on American religious life, Zoll’s study showed that the percentage of Roman Catholic believers have been declining, while the percentage of those who said they have no religion at all is increasing. In the same way, the percentage of Christians who are not Catholics suffered also a decline. According to Zoll, there are 57 million Catholics in the US today, but its population has declined by percentage point to 25 percent. In 2008, Zoll reported that there is also a dwindling rank of mai nline Protestants including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians that dropped from over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of its population. Four methods of evangelism What then are the most appropriate evangelization methods to bring back or convert these non-believers to the Catholic fold or to other denomination? Is it the evangelism explosion, lifestyle explosion, friendship evangelism or the servant evangelism? a. Evangelism Explosion If one chooses Evangelism Explosion, one experiences the concept of â€Å"spiritual multiplication†. In Evangelism Explosion, people are trained how to share their faith in Christ. This approach uses prayer, actual on-the-job training where the â€Å"experienced lead the inexperienced, and applies the principle of spiritual multiplication.† The EE is a continuous process wherein it is not only winning people to the Lord on a one on one process but training those who have been won to the Lord to win and train others. EE is like being on a n real life work experience as one is expected to have an â€Å"on the job training† wherein non believers are invited to go with experienced trainers and be able to witness situations wherein people learn how to share their faith. EE based their mission strategy on Jesus’ own strategy wherein He trained 12 disciples and taught them how to train others and so on, thus the theory of spiritual multiplicity started. 3 The advantage of this approach is that EE believes that by learning small parts of the Gospel each week, including Bible verses and illustrations, people will have a hold of the Gospel tool that will eventually become its lifelong mission The difficulty I see in this approach is in doing the outreach or getting to the people one wants to convince. Often enough, non believers are steadfast in their attitude and do not welcome evangelists in their home or area. I relate this from my own experience from a group of foreign evangelists who knocked on my door one day wanting to talk to me about the gospel and Christian Faith. I did not let them in, first because I could not readily understood the way they communicate, second, I was so busy with something else at that time. So they just left me with some literatures about religion that I could read later on. So here, communication, time and attitude are the concerned problems so that it will take time and patience to be able to teach people

Winter the worst season of the year Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Winter the worst season of the year - Essay Example I imagine cold weather, blizzards, and total lack of pleasant outdoor activities. Winter in New York can be really challenging with snow storms and severe weather conditions. Not to mention that very often snow can block traffic, create havoc, and even cut communication utilities In this cases winter can be indeed the worse season of the year. For me, I can say that this is so, because I can not stay outdoors for a long time and do my regular activities due to the incredibly cold atmospheric conditions. Then I find it extremely depressing to see grey colors all around, occasionally some while spots of snow here and there. Finally, to add to the lower spirits is the extreme weather which makes me worry about family and friends, who might be stuck and in trouble in unreachable places.Scientists always recommend prolonged outdoor activities, in order to keep one's body and spirit in good shape. There are numberless winter sports practiced in the open air, however, for me exposing my bod y to harsh temperatures and having numb limbs is not the ideal situation. Going to the gym is also acceptable, but then you have to walk back home exposed to the cold wind, after you have taken a shower, so one can catch cold or flu. Winter can be very unexpected and bring unconditional weather, which can lock you at home for days. In such cases I become languid and my mood is down. I am not able to go outside and enjoy the terrific sunshine and fresh smell of grass. I once read an article about the effects of colors and how they can influence people's moods and emotions. Although, the white color - I may say the symbol of winter, speaks about purity, I associate it also with paleness and death. Besides the white, the predominant color of winter is grey. This leads to down spirits and lack to motivation either to work or to study. The greyness carries with it depression and uncomfortable emotions. That is why for me winter is the worst season. Finally, the extreme weather conditions that we witness in New York make me anxious about my family, relatives and friends, who in occasions might get stuck in snow-drifts and get into trouble. In such harsh weather communication systems are also cut down, and we can not connect with them at all. Consequently, people panic and think that the worst has happened. Winter is unpredictable with its severity and forces me to see that sometimes nature is bigger than human actions and activities and even though we have skyscrapers and telecommunications, austere weather conditions can ruin them. For me winter is the worst season of the year, because it shows how unpleasant nature can be. It can form blizzards and leave people in hazardous situations. They are unable to practice their outdoor activities and have all reasons to worry about their families in a cold winter day. The grey surrounding dominates the color nuance and establishes a deep feeling of helplessness and anxiety. That is why winter is the worst season for me. Winter is also the worst season, because it causes many car accidents. Commuters who use the public transport do not need to worry much. However, people who work in New York and drive from New Jersey can encounter dangerous, slippery roads during the winter. Although the government spends a lot of money to secure the proper highway maintenance during the winter, weather conditions can be so severe that they can impede all efforts done. Another reason why I think that winter is the worst season is because people are exposed to freezing. Applying moisturizing creams helps us a little when handling the cold, however, if the temperatures drop really below the freezing point, people can experience serious limbs infections

Lloyd Georgewin Essay Example for Free

Lloyd Georgewin Essay The stage direction with a sense of her childhood, her babyhood and the years describes the great sense of loss Eddie feels as he has cared and loved her all her life. Beatrice remains faithful to Eddie throughout although she is frustrated, When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie? she tells him, desperate from him to forget about Catherine and go back to caring for her. Beatrices love for Eddie is one of the strongest in the play, she wants desperately for Eddie to pay her the attention she deserves as a loving wife. Eddies obsessive behaviour towards Catherine puts great strain on his marriage I want my respect he says when Beatrice tries to confront him, Eddie is angry and shouts at her for complaining about him being so strict with Catherine. Beatrice is struggling to keep her marriage intact, but she cannot understand the love Eddie feels towards Catherine. I believe Eddie loves his wife dearly but his love for Catherine takes priority when Rodolfo comes on the scene, which leads him to mistreat Beatrice. I cannot help feeling sorry for her as she is forced into a situation that was not her doing. It seems her love for Eddie is unrequited. Eddies hatred for Rodolfo is fuelled by his jealousy for the love and attention Catherine bestows upon him, Im telling ya the guy aint right he says trying to justify his hatred. Nobody believes Eddies comments about Rodolfo and everyone but Eddie can see through to his jealousy. It isnt right for a man of Eddies age to be obsessed with his young niece, but nobody understands the depth and passion of Eddies love, which drives him to keep Catherine at any cost. Eddies obsessive love compels him to see Mr Alfieri, family friend and lawyer He aint right Mr Alfieri Eddie pleads, but it is obvious he has no jurisdiction within he law. The fact Eddie has gone to see Alfieri shows the power of his love towards Catherine and his desperation to have her for himself. Love is the main driving force behind all the characters actions, the truth is not as bad as blood Eddie Beatrice tells him trying to quell his anger and hatred. Beatrice believes that love is not a worthy enough cause for the use of violence. It is Eddies deep love that drives him to use all force necessary to have what he believes to be his Catherine. This unfaltering love to the bitter end is misunderstood by Marco He degraded my brother. My blood. Marco says; he cannot see why Eddie turned him and Rodolfo into the police. But it is obvious to the reader that it was Eddies love that compelled his actions and not his hatred for Marco and his brother. Eddies love finally leads him to his death You lied about me Marco Eddie cries before lunging at him. This is Eddies last desperate attempt to win back his dignity. Eddies love has driven him to a point where he has no other option but to follow his feelings to the end. The fate of Eddie Carbone is a tragic one as his obsessive feelings towards Catherine took control of him and his actions that followed he could not help. I believe the story is a testament to the power of love and how once it has infected someone in a certain way; they are powerless to stop it. Emlyn Roberts Pluto10X Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Disney And The French Media Essay

Disney And The French Media Essay Disneys first theme park, called Disneyland, is located in Anaheim, California and opened in 1955. Its Floridian counterpart DisneyWorld, located in Orlando, opened in 1971. The success of these parks and the success of Tokyo Disneyland which opened in 1983 motivated the company to expand further in order to achieve optimal market domination. The fourth theme park was to be built in Europe. Spain was long in the running as future site, but eventually France was chosen in 1987. The theme park was to be built in the French town Marne-La-Vallà ©e, a town located 32 kilometers outside of Paris. The centrality of this location was deemed perfect, and it was easily accessible by plane, train and car. In addition, the French government also facilitated the decision making process by guaranteeing financial incentives and by extending its transportation network to include the park. These promises perfectly compensated for the northern French climate that initially troubled the Disney planner s. After the official implementation of the partnership between Disney and the French government, the Disney theme park was built on 4,700 acres of farm land. Euro Disney, as it was called in 1992, was the biggest amusement park and resort in Europe upon completion. Nevertheless, its opening on April 12, 1992 was not as successful as its grand scale suggested it would be. The coming months further exemplified this as attendance levels, souvenir and food sales, as well as Disney hotels occupancy rates remained painfully low. Euro Disney was labeled by the entertainment industry as being an ideal case study on how not to open a theme park. Many French critics echoed this argument. Euro Disney was called a cultural Chernobyl, and seen as culturally insensitive to European guests. Overall, antagonism towards American popular culture was widespread among French intellectuals. They were supported by a prevalent nationalistic sentiment that promoted French culture in order to protect it from t he supposed global hegemony of American culture. This anti-American context was the main problem that troubled Disneys search for acceptance. The park went nearly bankrupt in 1994 which forced Disney to reevaluate its strategies to counter the French anti-American mindset. In other words, the company soon realized that it was too focused on American culture instead of European culture, thus the company started to make essential modifications to cater to the local European context. Adaptations based on cultural differences were made on services, attractions, products and practices which eventually reestablished the Disney formulas appeal. The analysis of these adaptations and the context of the problems that predated them is the framework of this paper. Findings based on this analysis support this papers thesis statement: cultural hybridization spelled the success of Disneyland Paris. The first part of the research question that is related to this statement is: to what extent did French and other European responses to the park affect Disneys strategies? These responses are put into context by addressing the acceptance of American popular culture abroad. American popular culture was not easily accepted in France due to a long history of Anti-Americanism and this severely affected Disneys chances of success. This notion provides the foundation for the second part of the research question, namely in how far is cultural resistance towards the Disney theme parks automatic?. The latter of this research question is researched briefly by comparing Disneyland Paris reception to the reception of the Disney theme parks in Asia. The reception of Tokyo Disneyland was overwhelmingly positive as mentioned earlier, mainly because the Japanese preferred an exact copy of the American model. The reception of Hong Kong Disneyland was also very positive, mostly because of the adaptati ons Disney made to local tastes and because of its extensive marketing campaigns . All in all, this comparison further proves that the cultural resistance towards the Disney theme parks depends on the larger cultural attitude towards American popular culture. Studies including Disneyland Paris are often connected to debates regarding global American influence. However, most of these debates focus solely on the economic aspect of the venture as is exemplified by the large number of economic journals that discuss Disneys global expansion. Those journals talk of profits and marketing schemes, but they often neglect to take into account a cultural approach. In recent years, scholars have started to do in-depth research on the role that Disney plays in the development of culture, thus putting economics on the sideline. The book The Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney and the American Way of Life by Steven Watts is one of the first books which gives a detailed account of the huge role the Disney company plays within American society. Watts discusses topics ranging from Disney and American values to Disney and American identity construction, ultimately drawing the conclusion that Disney is a major architect of modern American culture. This premise is fre quently used as a foundation for studies dealing with the European Disney park, because Disneys Americanness is seen by some scholars as an obstacle for its reception in Europe. Especially French scholars prefer this standpoint as most of them view Disneys expansion as merely being part of Americas cultural imperialism. This standpoint is taken into account in the current academic debate on the European park, but it plays a limited role in discussions. Recent publications on Disneyland Paris focus on the idea that the park has a high entertainment factor, thus it is not solely seen as an entity which spreads American culture or philosophy. Andrew Lainsburys Once Upon an American Dream: the Story of Euro Disneyland is an excellent example of a book that discusses Disneys professionalism in the entertainment industry rather than its possible ties to cultural imperialism. Other publications such as Kathy Merlock Jacksons Disneyland and Culture: Essays on the Parks and their Influence t ie in with Lainsburys thesis as they put emphasis on the fact that Walt Disney invented the American theme park, consequently uniting professional entertainment with culture. The two sides of this academic debate are combined in cultural studies that take into account Europeans ability to pick and choose from American culture. As a result, drawing the conclusion that Europeans do not passively absorb everything that American culture has to offer. This paper will follow this line of thought by including theories put forward by scholars Rob Kroes, Richard Kuisel, and Richard Pells, who all acknowledge Europeans skill to adapt American cultural products to fit into local contexts. To conclude, doing this kind of research on Disneyland Paris is relevant within the American Studies discipline as it provides an interpretation of an American company in multicultural Europe. Moreover, it also illustrates that there are constant tensions between local adaptation and global standardization. Disney and the French: a difficult relation Disneys model for theme parks might be new for the French, but they were already accustomed to theme parks in general. Seventy parks could be visited in France before the opening of Euro Disney. However, not all of them were making profit. Zygofolies Park near Nice had to close down and Mirapolis Park and Smurfs Park had to make huge budget reductions in order to stay afloat. The general idea was that the French were not that interested in theme parks or that the parks were not extraordinary enough to impress French guests. Nevertheless, Parc Asterix which opened in 1989 is still open today and it is considered to be the most successful competitor of the Disney park. Many ascribe the parks success to its detailed theming, exciting attractions and its link to French nationalism. Asterix and Obelix are after all French icons. Still, some scholars believe that the existence of Parc Asterix could not have prepared the French for the arrival of a European Disney park as Christian Renaut e xplains in his article Disneyland Paris: A Clash of Cultures He states that few French people had actually traveled to the American parks in California and Florida, hence the majority of French were uninformed about the Disney theme park formula. Disney spokesman Nicolas de Schonen elaborated on this in the Kansas City Star in 1991: misunderstandings have arisen with the union because people in Europe do not understand what an American-style resort is . Renaut certainly has a valid argument, however one should not forget Disneys marketing expertise. The two American parks had been marketed extensively in France with the help of Disney films, television shows and comics, whereby the comic series Le Journal Mickey played a crucial role. This successful comic series was established as early as 1934 and it portrays all the Disney characters from Mickey Mouse to Daisy Duck, yet it has a very French feel to it. In other words, the characters are foreign, but they are put into a French context. This of course influences the Mickey character itself as he is often shown having more brains than its American counterpart, which might suggest why the French find the American Mickey less interesting. Moreover, the first commercials promoting the park were too American in style, something that put off many parents. In a teaser commercial from 1992, the parks bigness and extravagance was stressed with the help of bombastic music, fast Hollywood-sty le cuts and a voice-over telling the following: a new world of holiday dreamsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦come and discover the magicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Euro Disney Paris, the most spectacular holiday in Europe!. Clearly this was not a commercial that was adapted to European tastes, and its efficiency remains doubtful as these kinds of American oriented commercials could not erase the image that most French had of the Disney park, namely a piece of land filled with merry-go-rounds, and one or two Mickeys walking around to take pictures with. Surely not something which would spur many return visits. As for French intellectuals, they felt that they knew more about the Disney parks and the kinds of ideologies that they promote, consequently drawing the conclusion that the European park was part of a grand scheme promoting Americas supremacy over Europe. French editor Jean Cau called it a horror made of cardboards, plastic and appalling colors, a construction of hardened chewing gum. Others called it the invasion of American culture and the symbol of the loss of European culture. Thus, the idea of a Disney park in Europe soon developed into a threat on European culture, more specifically French culture. Numerous intellectuals, journalists and politicians started to express their disagreement, sometimes transforming it into pure loathing. The backdrop to all of this turmoil is of course the relationship between the United States and France. From the moment that the Marquis de La Fayette set foot on American soil the relationship has been one of the love/hate category. Frustrated pol iticians and French-oriented journalists continue to emphasize this special relation. A recent event dealing with this is the 2003 Iraq war and the disagreement that the United States and France had over their involvement. As the conflict heated up, the American press urged the American public to boycott French products, ultimately relabeling French fries to Freedom Fries. However, the past of the relationship also shows the strength of it, as the French population owes much to the Americans, especially with regards to the post-World War II reconstruction period. I.e. the Marshall Plan was essential for France to get back up on its feet after it had been severely hurt by the German occupation. Furthermore, this plan aided the spread of American cultural products in France. Taking the love and hate aspects of the relationship into account it is quickly concluded that the French pay much attention to their identity. The French identity is one which is strongly defended, as throughout the years French generations have created categories such as the French, Frenchness, and the French way of life. Richard Kuisel elaborates on this Frenchness in much detail in his book Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization since it greatly affects how the French viewed the Americans in the 1990s. They believed that their Frenchness was at risk due to the emerging power, prosperity and prestige of America, hence they were initially very critical of the country. Moreover, Christian Renaut makes clear that the French-American relation also has much to do with pride and jealousy. He explains how on the one hand, the French continue to find it difficult to accept that Americas multiculturalism resulting from cultural invasion does not seem to have an impact on Ameri cas economy. On the other hand, the Americans envy France for its artistic and cultural legacies, and how those legacies remain attractive despite Frances limited attempts to hide its arrogance about them. Taking Renauts arguments into account, it is not difficult to understand that when the Disney company decided to open a theme park in the country of Claude Monet, Victor Hugo and Voltaire with Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Dopey, many would not welcome them with open arms. In addition, the fact that the development of Euro Disney took place in the 1980s also hurt the companys chances of success in France. Its American theme parks were successful as well as its Japanese counterpart, yet Disneys animation studio was doing very poorly. The fact that its animation studio has to run successfully is crucial for Disneys reception around the world as the films spread the Disney message. After all, bad films create negative reviews for the Disney company. Both The Black Cauldron (1985) and Oliver and Company (1988) failed in France, as was the case in the rest of the world, hence those movies cannot be seen as good promotion material for a theme park. Later successes of The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) had little effect on French critics view on Disney films. The idea that Disney harmed original European fairytales remained too popular in those circles. Very quickly, Ariane Mnouchkine, a successful French theatre director, labeled the E uro Disney park a cultural Chernobyl. This phrase would be recycled dozens of times by French intellectuals criticizing Disneys European venture. One of the most vocal critics was French Culture and Education Minister Jack Lang. At a Mexican UNESCO conference in 1981, Lang attacked certain great nations which have no other morality than that of profit, and seek to impose a uniform culture on the whole world. He called this intellectual and financial imperialism. Later on he labeled Euro Disney as being an enclave of American leisure industry in France. Still, he did not object to Disneys investment in the French economy and the many jobs it would create. This is confirmed by an article published in Panorama in 1992: After criticizing the American culture and denouncing its wild imperialism until 1981, the left wing government had but to negotiate with Disney to fight against unemployment and carry on with the development of the Ile-de-France region. Fortunately for Disney, not all intellectuals would take part in harshly criticizing the arrival of the park. Joffre Dumazedier, a sociologist, stated in Le Journal du Dimanche in 1991: at the time of Louis XIV, Europe spoke French. Then England fascinated the 19th century. Today it is up to the Americans, then it will be the Japanese. It is a stupid scare. Who cares Disney is American as long as it is well made. Basically the key to the project in France had to do with money issues and job opportunities. No government would turn down Disneys offer, as it had the potential to make a lot of money. In 1995, Right-wing President Jacques Chirac followed up Francois Mitterand. Chirac had a pro-Disneyland mindset as it fit with the right-wing tradition of admiring a sense of enterprise, whatever the cost, in addition to following the American model. Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, confirms this in his autobiography Chirac would prove more sympathetic to our project, but his arrival meant dealing with an entirely new group of officials. Overall, the reality of the presence of a Disney theme park near Paris started a wave of criticism, especially from left-wingers. Disney tried to counter this criticism by continuously repeating that a majority of Disney films were based on European fairytales, hence they reasoned that they were paying homage to those classic tales from France, Germany and Denmark. In addition, Disney promoted the strong link France had with the company, since it had been present in the country for many years, covering various generations. Disney even went as far as showing that Walt Disney himself had drawn inspiration from Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen in Denmark for the construction of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Thus, uncovering Disneys European roots. These actions were successful to some extent, but they were not able to stop the negative views towards the park entirely. To conclude, Disney took into account these initial responses to the park and especially the Imagineering department acted upon French criticism. They designed the looks and feels of the park and tried to incorporate some aspects of European culture. Thus, the Imagineers attempts should be given some credit as they can be considered to be the first who acknowledged Disneys new European context. This raises the question, in how far were the Imagineers successful in creating a European style Disney park? Grand American designs with European details The parks architecture is an aspect which is very hard to criticize. The Imagineers knew that they had to design a park which was located in the very land of medieval castles and chateaus. Experience that they had gained from the construction of the American parks and Tokyo park was used to the fullest. One can therefore easily draw the conclusion that the European park is the most beautiful of them all. Popular American attractions such as Splash Mountain, New Orleans Square and Country Bear Jamboree are not included in the park, but this has no effect on its attractiveness. A key aspect of the European park is its landscaping. All themed areas have their own detailed gardens which brings a visitor immediately to the lands portrayed. For example, Fantasyland is filled with French garden architecture. This type of gardening has a mythical and magical feel to it that perfectly connects to the fairytales theme of Fantasyland. However, one has to remain critical when it comes to Disneys architectural adaptations that were made to fit the European context. Mostly because one has to look very closely in order to discover European traits. Victorian America is still represented in Main Street. Adventureland is not a place to pay attention to Europe as it is focused on Caribbean exotism. Best exemplified by the popular attraction Pirates of the Caribbean. Frontier land covers the heroic conquest of the West, also not a topic were Europeaness could be easily inserted. Fantasyland is the best area in the park when it comes to adapting to Europeans contexts, but Disney has not succeeded in reaching its full potential. The lands carrousel is called Lancelots Carrousel, but the Knights of the Round Table are never referred to. The same applies for attractions such as Peter Pans flight and the Mad Hatters Tea Cups. Literature refers to Alices Garden labyrinth as the key example of European adaptation by the Disney company, but it is based on Disneys version of the story and not Lewis Carolls. Thus, absolutely nothing has been done to add an extra European layer to the attractions. The only land where one finds some hints of E uropeanness of the park is Discovery Land. The Imagineers originally wanted to copy the American version of Tomorrowland with its emphasis on American technology and space adventure. But even the Imagineers agreed that this would be unsuitable for a park located in Europe. Thus, they constructed a land based on Jules Verne and gave it a nineteenth-century look. They included the Nautilus, a movie theatre showing documentaries on Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, created a Jules Verne inspired balloon for the faà §ade of Videopolis, and developed Space Mountain, a rollercoaster ride themed in Jules Verne style and following a Jules Vernes type of story. The remaining attractions in the land, Star Tours, and Michael Jacksons Captain EO completely lack any links with Europe, because they are exact copies of the American versions. Exiting the resort will also not bring guests into European atmospheres as both the Disney village as the hotels are American oriented. The Villages Planet Hollywo od, and its Buffalo Bill Wild West Show extravaganza are proof of this, as well as the themes of the hotels which can be drawn from their names: Newport Bay Club, Cheyenne Hotel, Santa Fe hotel, New York Hotel, Davy Crockett Ranch and Sequoia Lodge. As for the castle, the Sleeping Beauty Castle is not an exact copy of the castles in the other parks, yet is it also not typically European. It is absolutely stunning, but it is not more European than its counter parts, since it remains a creation based on fantasy. The idea that it is based on the German Neuschwanstein castle is a poor attempt by Disney to give the castle a European background. However, there is one aspect of the Sleeping Beauty Castle which is very European oriented, and that is the fact that it has a second floor. In the first year of the park, the imagineers came aware of the different reactions Europeans and Americans have towards the Disney castle. Both Europeans and Americans were impressed by its outer design, but Europeans were also interested in its interior design. This is exemplified by the fact that many European visitors ran to the castles stairs to see what was located on the upper levels. The Imagineers were never aware of the notion that castle interi ors were also important, mostly because the American Disney castles are only decorated on the ground level. After all, castles are not part of the local scenery in America, so why would American visitors be interested in lavish interiors? Intrigued by European visitors reactions, the imagineers designed La Galerie de la Belle au Bois-Dormant located on the mezzanine level of the castle. This is a walk-trough attraction depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty by means of stained-glass windows, tapestries and illuminated story-books. The attraction ends on the balcony of the castle so that guests have the opportunity to view Fantasy Land from above which hopefully results in feeling like a prince or princess. Despite this European oriented addition to the castle, Disneys architecture in France remains very American in nature. However, other aspects of the park have been Europeanized based on European feedback or at least that is what the Disney company promotes to its guests. These Europeanized aspects will be discussed later on, but first one has to establish the differences between European and American behaviors towards and within Disney parks in order to fully understand the adaptations that were made by the Disney company. Thus, to what extent does European behavior in Disney parks differ from American behavior? American culture vs. European culture in the Disney park The park struggled economically in the early years of its existence. Mostly, because Disney forgot to realize that the American visitor is not the same as the European visitor. First of all, the European visitor will not spend his or her money in the same way, most often it is not even spend at all. Secondly, the European visitor does not have a close connection with American Disney culture. For most American families it is normal to be raised with the Mickey Mouse Club, Disney songs and television shows. This is not the case in France and the rest of Europe, because animation celebrities extent beyond Mickey and Minnie. The French have Asterix, and Obelix, whereby jokes from the these comic books have become staples in the French language. The Belgians have Spike and Suzy (Suske and Wiske in Dutch). The Dutch have Oliver B. Bumble and Tom Puss (Olivier B. Bommel and Tom Poes in Dutch) to name a few European comic celebrities. Mickey and company cannot therefore be considered to be t he most important characters in European upbringing. This suggests that Europeans are more reserved when it comes to the popular notion of a Disney park being a must-see attraction. Thirdly, European people, especially from France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia, remain very reserved when it comes to showing excitement towards Disney characters. The American parks are traditionally filled with parents dressed up in Disney merchandise, trying to channel their inner child. The European mindset simply does not comply with this. Many researchers have tried to find reasons for this, yet no consensus among conclusions has been reached, although some researchers connect Europes reserved mindset to its old cultural heritage. The same cultural differences can be seen in visitors reactions to parades and shows. American entertainment is accompanied by much applause and audience participation, while Europeans often prefer distance between performer and audience. This is of course not the cas e for people from the south regions of Europe, as their social codes support close contact, yet their visitor numbers are lower than the ones from the north regions of Europe, hence their presence has little effect on the general European reaction. All of these cultural differences cannot be changed by the Disney company, as they are so deeply rooted within Europe, yet the Disney company was able and willing to change some aspects of the Disney formula to fit European tastes. It must be noted, however, that these changes were mostly motivated by financial loses. By 1993, the park was on the verge of bankruptcy and essential modifications had to be made in order to keep the park from closing down. Thus, in how far was the Disney company successful in changing traits of its formula to European tastes? And have these changes affected the parks appeal for European visitors?. Adaptations that will be the discussed are found in food offerings, merchandise and employee policies in order to examine the parks cultural hybridity. Disneys attempts to adapt to local tastes Food The European park originally copied its food offerings to the ones on offer in the American parks, however, the company soon discovered that European eating habits had to be taken into account, more specifically European meal times. French travel editor Pierre Alamou commented on this by stating: Unlike grazing Americans, all Europeans eat lunch at the same time,with the exception of Spanish and Italians, fortunately. Before the parks opening the Disney company had already catered to Europeans preference for table-service restaurants. Main Street is the home to Walts, a restaurant specialized in American cuisine and decorated to the life of Walt Disney. Located in Fantasyland is Auberge de Cendrillon, a restaurant themed to the Cinderella story. The restaurant is famous for its French cuisine and for its focus on French culture. However, its French culture is seen through Disneys eyes as it is portrayed as the culture of lavish royal banquets and dances. The Blue Lagoon Restaurant in Adventureland specializes in seafood and offers a perfect setting for quiet elaborate meals. Overall, the table service restaurants serve to European tastes, yet their popularity is frequently challenged by high menu prices. This was the topic of many newspaper headlines in the early 1990s, for example Europe chokes on Euro Disney! Food and drinks very expensive! and Pricey day out! Feedback like this motivated Disney to quickly begin to focus on counter-service restaurants which offer quick and relatively cheap meals. Examples of such restaurants are Captain Hooks Galley and Caseys Corner. The existence of one counter-service restaurant in particular is interesting, namely Toad Hall Restaurant. This restaurant is built in the English manor style and its interior refers to the adventures of Mr. Toad. These adventures probably do not immediately ring a bell with European customers as their popularity is mostly found in America. Despite the fact that it is based on a story that is popular in America, the restaurant offers English food, as in fish and chips. This shows how Disney planners welcomed international cuisine to cater to European tastes. In addition, croissants, croquet monsieurs and Italian pizza are also offered in the park. As a result, international cuisine and American-style food are both equally featured in the park, although typical American Disney food such as corn dogs, cinnamon rolls and turkey legs have not been imported. Probably because these types of food are still too foreign for European guests. Food that is quintessential Disneyland Paris is the pizza burger, which was invented in Buzz Lightyears Pizza Planet Restaurant. Its name covers its content perfectly, it is a burger with pizza buns. One could argue that it is a perfect example of Disneys Europeanization as it combines the American burger with the Italian Pizza. However, it still feels very American, despite the fact that it has never been introduced in the American parks. One can draw the conclusion that the pizza burger encapsulates Disneys attempts to portray American food to Europeans. It has European details, but those are dominated by American designs. The serving of alcoholic beverages in the Disney Park is a highly debated topic. Initially the park banned alcohol as it could potentially harm the creation of a safe family haven. An idea invented by Walt Disney himself. However, in 1993, alcohol was introduced in the park. It was first only on offer in table-service restaurants, but it slowly made its way to counter-service. In this way, Disney paid respect to European dining habits, but more importantly it created much more revenue. This decision definitely played a role in the rise of ticket sales. Next to adaptations made in food offerings and restaurant services, Disney also adapted its merchandise to European contexts. Souvenirs Expensive upscale goods initially dominated the Disney stores in the park. Disney planners decided to do this as those goods were very successful in Japan. Moreover, it would show that Disney merchandise was not tacky or distasteful, an image that dominated European views on Disney memorabilia. However, the high price of these products as well as their designs were not accepted by visitors. Some visitors wanted an exact copy of the American merchandise. i.e. big Goofy hats, Mickey Mouse tie-dye shirts and princess dresses. Other visitors preferred fashionable merchandise with underemphasized Disney symbols much in the style of Belgian fashion brand Donaldson. This brand was a Disney licensee and produced stylish trench coats with Minnie Mouse embroidery among other things. In general, Disney took the best of both worlds. It offers typical American merchandise, but it also offers a European oriented line, called Produit exclusive Disneyland Paris, as it name suggests , this line inclu des products that are only on offer in Disneyland Paris. Employee policy The imposition of American customs on French workers and management was disastrous for the Disney company. It clearly showed a cultural gap between French and Americans. The restrictions imposed by Disney on how one has to look for the company were very strict. Bill Bryson commented on this in an article he wrote in 1993 for Observer Magazine: No one on the Disney pay roll is allowed to smoke

Topic Shifting In A Dinner Conversation English Language Essay

Topic Shifting In A Dinner Conversation English Language Essay Conversation is a very important thing in peoples life, and cannot be separated from it. People communicate with others by using their language in order to share information, to get acquainted with each other and mostly to maintain a social relationship. In the conversation, not everyone is dealt the same hand, in terms of opportunities to speak and be addressed, and in terms of what each can hope to say as speaker and to hear as addressee. Turn taking is an intrinsic feature of conversation (Wilson, Wiemann Zimmerman 1984), it also is a basic form of organization in conversation, and a fundamental organization of social interaction. People use turn taking every day when they carry on conversations in every social context; when they talk, they take turns, wait for turns, compete for turns to share their feeling and their knowledge, to give information, to open them and also get the feedback from the other participants. Humans take turns in many different ways: self-election, alternating with another speaker, back channeling, and taking another turn if there is a pause or an interruption in the conversation. In any conversation, it is impossible for the participants talking about one topic only from beginning to the end. They will change or shift the topic from one to another which may be similar or different. Topic shifts in conversation often happen when speaker transitions break down (after a silence, e.g.), or after a story, the next speaker shift the topic, sometimes they shift back to the previous one, refocus on something (inappropriately) in the previous speakers talk, or disagree with the previous speaker, sometimes they do not, either of which can elicit a topic shift. (Maynard, Douglas W, 1980) Statement of the Problem In no matter what situation, formal or informal, when people talk naturally, their conversation is goal-oriented, and face-to-face dialogue. They use words, prosody, body language, manual gesture, gaze, facial expressions, and spatial attention via head and eye movements to take their turns, and wait for the turns. However, some people do not pay attention to how the conversation works, and how the conversation is organized, they will talk out of the turn, and cannot get a turn in edgewise. If people do not take the turn properly, or take the wrong turn, it will intrrupte the poeple who is in turn, and also the conversation can not go smoothly. People also will not talk about one topic but would rather relate it to other topics which can be subtopics or new topics, sometimes the other participants do not realize it and as a result they do not produce coherent utterances. The participants think that others still talk about the first topic while actually the topic has already shifted to a new one, which is different from the first one. Therefore, it is important for the participants to notice that shift of the topic in a conversation to keep the conversation flowing well. Objective of the Study This study is attempt to provide a description of what happens when more than one persons talk at once in conversation; how the simultaneous talk are organized in the practices; how the turn-taking and topic shifting relate to each other in the conversation. It also tries to explain how people take the turn in the conversation, why they shift the topic from one to a different one. Section 2: Literature Review 2.1 Conversation Analysis Schiffrin Deborah (1989) defined conversation analysis as a subfield of discourse analysis that considers spoken dialogue. Considers what the structure of the conversation might be; how meaning and actions are negotiated in conversation; role of context and social interaction in understanding conversation. According to Lee (1987), people have a variety of implicit and explicit goals when they engage in conversation, the conversation analysis are capable of reflecting them, discerning the distinctions of them, and some other details, such as the number of people present, their personalities and interests, the presence or absence of preexisting relations, and details of the physical surroundings, at least to some extent. Drew Heritage (1992) argued that how people use and modify conversational resources to get things done in organizational settings, which frequently involve problematic exchanges. Especially when the interactions of people occupy different institutional roles, the issue of conversational differentiation takes center stage. The interesting theoretical question is then seen to be how these roles get translated into differences, or asymmetries, in conversational entitlements and obligations, but if the people are in the same institutional role, it is vice verse. Local (1986) argued that conversation participants appear to exploit variable spoken language elements at all linguistic levels (prosodic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic in order to signal contextual presuppositions; and also to utilize resources at the nonverbal level (gestural, kinesic, and proxemic ). In fact, their chief function is to signal participants orientation to one another. Sometimes they are used primarily to contextualize the imminent completion of a turn at talk or a topic shift, but at other times they have the capacity to signal the social identities and attitudes of participants. 2.2 Turn Taking Sacks Schegloff (1974) devoted much of their effort to the analysis of turn taking in conversation. Turn taking is part of what they call members procedures of achieving orderly and meaningful communication. The ways in which conversation participants design and modify their utterances are naturally occurring statements made by themselves, and how they make sense of each others contributions. This tacit, organized reasoning procedure is critical for our understanding of how social relationships are developed and higher-level social orders achieved. The acquired this knowledge of conversational organization can then be applied to institutional organization in order to show how these institutions were talked into being. According to Duncan (1972), people attempt to get the turn by self-selection at a transition relevance place by using methods that are usually successful in face-to-face conversations, such as intake of breath, leaning forward and starting to speak. He suggested several cues that the speaker employs to indicate the end of a turn or invite the hearer to take a turn. These cues include falling pitch at the end of a sentence, the drawl of a syllable at the end of sentence, the termination of a gesture, specific phrases at the end of syntactic units, and changes in gaze direction, such as the speakers looking away from the hearer as an utterance begins and toward the hearer as the utterance ends. Goodwin (1981) elaborated on the role of gaze in turn-taking by considering the gaze of the hearer, and the coordination of the gaze of conversational participants. He claimed that the speakers look away at the beginning of turns occurs to avoid overloading information in the planning of an utterance. Gaze behavior has been used in the design of embodied conversational agents, but it may not occur on every occasion. The absence of turn taking organization would subvert the possibility of stable trajectories of action and responsive action through which goal-oriented projects can be launched and pursued through talk in interaction, whether to success or failure (Schegloff 1988). 2.3 Topic Shifting Wardhaugh (1971) argued that a conversation usually covers a number of topics and involved shifts from one topic to another, and sometimes also a mix of topic. It means that in a conversation, the speakers do not only talk about one topic from the beginning to the end, but they tend to shift the topic to another one, which can be considered as the sub-topic of the previous topic or a new topic, it is different from the previous one. Similarly, Brown and Yule (1983) agreed that topic shift is the change of topic in a conversation, the speakers add another subject of discussion to the conversation to make the conversation more interesting and effective. McCarthy (1991) indicated that the topic shifting is very important in keeping the conversation going on and avoiding silence. Therefore, speakers tend to talk not only one topic but also relate to another topic which sometimes has relation with the previous and sometimes dose not, in order to make the conversation going on run smoothly. In addition, Stenstrom (1994) identified five kinds of topic shift which are differentiated in terms of their relation with the previous topic. They are topic shift, topic drift, topic digresses, and topic resume. And also she stated that pauses mark the topic shift. Section 3: Methodology and Data Collection 3.1 Participants The participants of this study consisted of seven persons, six females and one male, five are Chinese from China, two are Chinese in local, aged from 24 to 33. One is a reporter of a local Chinese newspaper, six of them are Master students, three of them are studying in the Faculty of Computor Science, while other three are studying in the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, UM. They are from different religious backgroud, one is Christain, one is half Christain, one is Buddhism, one is free thinker, three are Muslin. All of them are singles. They knew each other long time ago, and are quite close friends. Dong was going to China, so Chun orgenized the simple dinner at her house, others were invited to the dinner as well as me. 3.2 Tools and Procedure In this study, the data was collected by tape-recording and obvervation during an informal and natural setting dinner conversation in the friends house, which lasted for one and a half hour. The conversation were transcribed into 18 short segments in terms of the pauses in the conversation. Each of the segments is between at least two persons from the beginning to the end of the dinner. The tape-recordings were conducted by a hidden mp3 in the natural occurred dinner conversation; the tape-recorder turned on mp3 and joined their conversation, and tried to get talking from every participant, and also observed the participants facial expressions, gestures, body language, gaze, nod and eye movements in the whole process, which the tape-recording cannot get. This made it possible to record the entire verbal interaction from start to finish. Signed consent was obtained from all the subjects. The tape-recording was transcribed based on the pauses, 18 segments of the turns in this study. Turns were assigned on the transcript when another may or did speak. Based on the definition of a turn the possibility for a single speaker to take several consecutive turns, in a series, or a row, exist. The transcript revealed that speakers took turns not only alternately but consecutively. Section 4: Data Analysis and Findings The data was analyzed in this chapter according to the research questions, and the time consequence. From the data we can see that people have different ways to take their turns and have different attentions to shift the topics. 4.1 People in the conversation took their turns in the different ways. 4.1.1 The current speaker always took their turns by self-selection. They selected the turn by looking at that person, or by asking that person a question.   Actually, if the current-speaker wishes to select the next-speaker, he or she will do so prior to the next transition-place, Dong: Li yan, I read an articleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Dong: Ma pin is very lust, my words are too bad. Dong: It is delicious. Dong: You are very sexy today. Dong: We have a new housemate, I: Everybody looks at me? Dong: I met the man today. Ma: This one is very delicious, Chun cui. Dong: Chun cui, I want wireless internet, how to equip do you know? Dong: Nobody spend more than 50 pounds on telephone in UK. Because.. Zhao: When will you give me the past year exam papers? Zhao: Arabian are very stupid, Dong: Enà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦my friendà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.one of my friends said he . Dong: There is a very handsome guy in UM, Chun: She is the friend of my housemates, named Wan Jun, they are my friends. Dong: You guys should marry the local high class Dong: We are the transient guests of Malaysia. Wan: I knew from internet that Zhang xueyou will. From the data above, we can see all of the speakers took turns by addressing the person within the group, praising the clothes and food, telling the experience, introducing the newcomer, and asking the questions and so forth, to open a new turn. Because it is a special farewell dinner for Dong, who was going back to China, and also she is a more experienced person in this group, so she took the majority of the turns in order to keep the conversation smoothly and avoid the silence. 4.1.2 Several cues that the current speaker employs to indicate the end of a turn or invite the hearer to take a turn. The second speaker acquires their turns: First, a person takes the turn after being address, or face to face talking with current speaker, the second speakers receive the turns by being addressed or answering the questions. Dong: Ma pin is very lust, my words are too bad, ah? Ma: It is OK that is the fact. Dong: Why? I: Nothing, just hate him. Dong: You are more beautiful recently, yes, definitely. Li: Really? It is good. Zhao: Chun cui, can I take some away? Chun: Sure. Chun: Who? Dong: Our new housemate. Li: En, it is so delicious, how did you cook? Chun: It was Li Yan did. I: What did you say just now? What is higher that what? Dong: Salary is AD6000 (Australia Dollar), allowance is higher than salary. Dong: Chun cui, I want wireless internet, how to equip it, do you know ? Chun: I think you should go to the service center. Zhao: Who told you that? Dong: I am studying it, how come I dont know, who told me. Zhao: Where did you go yesterday? I: I taught Mandarin to Korean. Zhao: How many students do you teach? I: 6 now. Zhao: When will you give me the past year exam papers? Chun: I am going to give you on Thursday. Zhao: How about next Monday? In the evening? Chun: Ok, maybe I will go to main library to do my assignments, I will give you. Chun: Can you do it? Dong: Definitely, big business there, I should work for one year Chun: Do you have one year to do that? Dong: If I do PHD, I can do. The first three months will be difficult, but it will make money since the fifth month. Chun: But, is the location really very good? Second, a person speaks after someone else is addressed. That is to say, the current speaker does not select next speaker, the second speaker is self-selected. The second speakers seize the turns to show their agreement, their knowledge, to avoid the embarrassed and to indicate their curiosity. Third, a person speaks after someone speaks to the group, then he/ she takes the turn immediately. The second speakers claim the turn to comfort someone, to answer the questions, to show the humble, to express the agreements and disagreements, and to catch the information. Fourth, a person is already in possession and continues, no other participant selects him or herself as next speaker, current speaker continue speaking. The second speakers continue the turns to keep the conversation flowing and avoid the silence by shifting to a new topic. 4.2 People in the conversation shifted many topics. The topics of the conversation shifted based on the pauses, that also is our definition of the turn. Sometimes one topic was in one turn, sometimes more that one topic in one turn. As a whole. The topic shifted from an article to girlfriend and boyfriend, nice clothes, new housemate, study and emigrant, weight losing, wireless internet, telephone bill, population, exam, assignment doing, business doing, handsome guy, life and study in Malaysia, the job of reporter, violence, marridge, religions, money making, study, famous singer and actresses and so forth. Since this was a dinner conversation, the food was inserted in the conversation from time to time.There are 18 pauses in the conversation, but the topics are 21. 4.2.1 Showing the knowledge Dong: Li yan, I read an article which was named The same gender group but not gay from the newspaper, it said the some girls rather drink, chat or read with girls than with some boys that they dont like. A girl said if you want to extricate yourself from this special group, you must pay more attention to whom you love than friends. Zhao: It is too many Chinese now, the treatment is not very good after emigration. Dong: Salary is AD6000 (Australia Dollar), allowance is higher that salary. Chun: Last time we used the wireless internet, why can not it be reached now? Dong: No signal, I think it is failed for trying. It starts from Block 5, and covers 500 meters. Sometimes it is strong, and sometimes it is very weak. Dong: Nobody spend more than 50 pounds on telephone in UK. Because.. Li: Because of that, Chinese tourists reduced from 500 thousand to 300 thousand. At the beginning, they said she was not from China, she was a local, but they said she was from China. I: No, I think no matter in which country, what race, religion just belong to ordinary people, people who has power or privilege in politics are so-so on religion. I: It happens in china, so does in Malaysia. This is human beings natural, religion is about after dying, but people prefer the present lives. Wan: No scholarship in mainland China, and no part time job is allowed. I: It is said that Malaysia Government did the investigation that the education system in mainland China and Russia are similar, they are too strict, but the students have more freedom in Taiwan and Hong Kong, that is why many people prefer to study in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The participants are from different ages, different education backgrounds, diferent religious backgrouds, so they have different living experience, different woking experience, different knowledge and differnt intereasting, they told something that they knew to others, while others did not know. 4.2.2 Sharing the knowledge and interesting Dong: A few days ago, I heard a little boy from China was killed here, but the police couldnt find the murder. His father was worried a lot, and has come here for four times. Wan: Yes, it was homicide, it was not commit suicide. But, the victim was there, the body was there, only no murder. So our report evaded serious matter and took up trifles. Wan: I knew from internet that Zhang xueyou will hold a music concert in Malaysia, I like him very much. Dong: Me too, his voice is really unique, I didnt watch his music concert in Shenyang (her hometown). He held just after I had come to Malaysia. I collected all his songs. He is my forever favorite. I am his faith fan. I: One of my friends is Zhao weis fan, Zhao weis pictures are in her study room, kitchen, and headphone. She also changes the pictures. Ma: Zhao wei is Ok, I hate Zhang ziyi. Li: Me too, I hate Zhang ziyi, I like Gong li. Since Zhang ziyi became famous, I like Gong li. All of the participants are Chinese, five are from mainland China, and two are local, they speak the same language, Mandarin Chinese, so their interestings are somehow the same. They joined in the conversation and shared their knowledge and interesting. Exchanging their experience Dong: Enà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦my friendà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.one of my friends said he will open a computer shop to me at the gate of a shopping center. Dong: It is behind the shopping mall, four computer shops there, he has the braches in China, he wants to cooperate with me, the capital is from him, I do service and selling. Wan: It is hard to be a reporter, we rest one day in one week. If we dont have readers for our newspapers and magazines, we must be in trouble, and our works should be ratified by some leaders. Such as the case of the Chinese lady from China (the policemen forced her to take off the clothes), some reporter were punished, which give us a warning. Among this group of people, some are working now (full time or part time), some worked before, some did not work at all, and each job has its own characteristic. So they introduced their experience and job features. Indicating curent concerns Zhao: When will you give me the past year exam papers? Chun: I am going to give you on Thursday, Zhao: On Thursday? I will start memorizing. Chun: Why do you memorize them? They are useless. Zhao: I want to have a look. Chun: I will copy one set to you. I will bring them to office to copy. Zhao: How about next Monday? In the evening? Chun: Ok, maybe I will go to main library to do my assignments, I will give you. Zhao: Arabian are very stupid, my group members are Arabian, our project got a very low mark. I: Yes? Why dont you change? Dong: You guys should marry the local high class; otherwise you dont have happy life. Generally speaking, Chinese marry Malay is not only because of love, but the good policy from government as well. If you marry high class, you will have more chances. Six of participants were Master students, and the exam was coming, so they worried a lot about the exams. Especially Zhaolei, who is in his first semester, asked something about the exam that interrupted conversation vey often. Section 5: Conclusion and Implications This study primarily concentrates on issues of turn taking and topic shifting in the casual conversation. It demonstrates that conversations are organized by turn taking when more than one persons talk at once in conversation, and the verbal turns are token by shifting the topics in conversation.   The turn taking distributes turns among conversations, especially face-to-face communication, usually individuals have a unique pattern of turn taking that identifies them in the same way a fingerprint does. The current speakers always take their turns by self-selection and select the next speaker by looking at that person, or by asking that person a question. On the contrary, the second speakers acquire their turns by the current speakers indicating the end of a turn or inviting the hearer to take turn. They may address, or talk face to face with the speakers who are going to receive the turn. If the current speaker does not select next speaker, the second speakers self-select and seize the turns to show their agreement, their knowledge, and to indicate their curiosity. Moreover, the second speakers claim their turn after the current speaker speak to the group, not to him/herself. Besides, the current speakers will continue speaking if no other participant selects him or herself as the next speaker. In the conversation, topic shifting marks the meta-knowledge of speakers or hearers shared knowledge. The topics selected are interested for all participants, whose experiences also develop interest. Every participant contributed their special knowledge, ideas, information and interest at hand. They shift the topics with different motivations, sometimes once in a turn, sometimes more that once within a turn. They are all Chinese, even they are from two countries, they speak Mandarin Chinese, and they are all singles, they have many interests in common. They shared their knowledge and interests. And also among this group, people are from different ages, different education backgrounds, and diferent religious backgrouds, some are working now (full time or part time), some worked before, some did not work at all, so they have different living experience, different woking experience, different knowledge. So they indicated their current concerns, exchanged their experience and job feature s. Last but not least, when the pause came, and nothing was important, they just picked up the topic at hand to continue the conversation, such as weight losing or money making. The findings that truly reflect the data and the motivations of the participants, which is a more nature phenomena and the aims of the investigation. They not only provided an understanding of the conversation, but also demonstrated the degree to which the topics were interrelated. They gives some indication of the coherence of the conversation, which can be linked to other data sources in the study, and can provide a pathway from process to outcomes and outputs in the future studies. The finding of this study also would be valuable in giving a clear understanding on the characteristics of the turn taking and topic shiting, especially the topic continuing shift seemed to be a factor in the motivations to improve communication, and inspiring other researchers to make further research on this field