Standard Battles in Media Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Standard Battles in Media Industry - Essay Example This is known as interoperability, and is important for the developer as well as the consumer. As the necessity for interoperability results from widespread innovation, it also facilitates such innovation (Digital TV over Broadband, 1). Yet in today's high-technological industry, these innovators and developers are faced with challenges when adoptions of standards become imminent. The rigors of standard adoption procedures, including the very real possibility of standard wars, can place these companies in positions that force drastic action. Because of the ability of standards to affect welfare and economic development, even governmental bodies sometimes see the need to become involved in setting standard. It is therefore often the case that technology companies move in and out of technological arenas based on outcomes of these standard-establishing battles. Consumers and manufacturers take keen interest in the interoperability of technological components that perform similar or complementary functions. It is, for example, very important that appliances plug into electric socket and that pencils fit into sharpeners. This is one of the benefits of standards, and it offers a significantly large incentive for the acquisition of a product. Likewise, manufacturers pay close attention to standards when conducting research and development, as the existence of these standards often guides the direction of development and sets parameters in which such innovation can take place. Standards are capable of removing much of the risk involved in research and development, as a certain amount of certainty is conferred upon a project in the knowledge that it cannot be rejected on such grounds that are held by the standard to which it adheres. When companies are certain of a market for their products, they are likely to be confident in producing new and v ariable products. Also, security in the market allows for the dedication of time and concern to such ventures as improvement of technology and reduction of expense (van Tassel, 2001). The interaction of consumers, manufacturers, standard-setting committees and sometimes the government is responsible for the ultimate adoption of standards, and several models for such action exist. Adoption of standards under de facto condition involves sponsorship by these technology companies, and it is these that are mainly determining of the fate or direction of the companies. However, adoption through industry consensus is possible and may also affect the companies' future. Especially in the case of de facto standards, several models exist for adoption proceedings, and examples for each exist empirically in the actions of several real companies around the world (Stango, 2004). Technological innovation has, as mentioned earlier, much to do with the establishment of standards. Since standards can determine the direction (or even survival) of technology companies, it can be seen then that innovation is a very important part of the life of any such company. Backward-compatible software gave RCA the edge in the CBS v RCA bid for the adoption of their version of the colored television set as the network standard in the United States. RCA was the official distributor of the standard black-and-white television sets in the country, but alongside the incumbent, the CBS network had been developing a mechanical colored television (Shapiro & Varian, 1999). RCA was much slower in its development of an electronic colored televisio

Rome and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Rome and Juliet Essay The prologue is the introduction, which gives an overview of the play. It tells us what happens at the end of the play, in this case in Romeo and Juliet it is told in the introduction, for example the lines, a pair of star-crossd lovers take their life, doth with their death bury their parents strife. These two lines say that Romeo and Juliet both deep in love with each other, die at the end of the play, the reason being that their parents hated each other. It also sets the scene of Fair Verona and it explains the contents of the play, Two households, and break to new mutiny. The prologue is said by the chorus. This means it is an idea of a group of people taken from ancient Greek tradition. The prologue does not introduce the audience to the characters in the play; it just talks briefly about the events within the play. It is self consciously dramatic. It emphasises its purpose in telling the story, Is now the two hours traffic of our stage. It directly tells the audience to pay attention, The which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend, and the play will develop from what the prologue has been revealing. In Franco Zefirellis production of Romeo and Juliet, the prologue is very brief and short. The film starts off with the details, the opening credits. The font to the credits is in white and in a quite gothic style of writing making it fit in with the traditional theme. While the details are slowly appearing on the screen, around the screen there is a thin border of orange geometric shapes on a yellow background. As the border is so bright and colourful, it is able to immediately catch the audiences eyes and therefore grabs their attention. The border suggests a very sixties styles. You would probably expect a more formal, dark edged kind of border. A soft and slow melody played on a harpsichord plays quietly in the background. The effect that Zefirelli tries to create here is to create a nice calm beginning to the play. In shot one, you can see the camera panning over the city of Fair Verona and slightly out of focus. The light is blue and hazy, gradually brightening up as the camera pans, suggesting that it is dawn. The colour of the light in the sky shining over the city, creates a dreamy and peaceful effect, and adds to the beauty of the city that is being shown. You could only just make out the tops of tall buildings and churches at first, but as it gradually gets lighter, the buildings and other features become more into focus. The rooftops of houses, church spires and a river are seen clearly. You are able to feel the quietness of the city in the early morning, which again gives the effect of the city being very calm and peaceful. The camera pans round the whole city, and then moves up towards the sun and stop with the sun being directly in the middle of the screen shot. The sun suggests the hot foreign climate of a hot foreign country, such as Italy. Shakespeares name appears when the camera has stop panning and focused on the sun. All of this equals one continuos shot. The panning is slow, and the brightening of the day is slow, creating a slow pace to the shot. It gives me the impression of a slow climax to the prologue, getting more and more intense as it goes along, and stopping at the sun gives me the impression that it represents the end, with an either tragic end or a very happy end. I think that it is trying to relate to the whole play itself, with the gradual climax with an intense ending. Throughout shot one, the speaker slowly recites the prologue in a poetic style. He speaks slowly going with the steady flow of the slow motion of the panning of the camera, so that it would not effect the backgrounds creation of peace. The speaker of the prologue is a man whose voice is gentle, soothing and rhythmic as he echoes the prologue. He still speaks when going into the second shot. Shot two is of a medieval courtyard. In front of the courtyard there is the city wall with battlements made of stone and brick, which gives the impression of the setting being in the medieval times. The camera stops moving and shows the shot of the courtyard while the speaker finishes reciting the prologue. As he completes his speech of the prologue, the camera moves slightly round to the left, which shows that where the camera is next to the city wall, it is also one of the ends of a busy marketplace. The suns golden bright morning light shines over the city wall and through the street of the marketplace, representing that it is the start of a new day. The sound of the hustle and bustle of a busy marketplace gradually builds up and the first act of the first scene begins there. This effect is to bring in the play with a more calm start and not rushing into the play with a different shot, bringing the audience into a slow and calm beginning. Zefirelli does not create any huge special effects. The title of the play, Romeo and Juliet appears as the speaker says the words star-crossed lovers. Zefirellis purpose of having the title and the words star-crossed lovers coming up at the same time, is to reinforce visually and aurally the main point of the play that it is a tragic story about the lovers Romeo and Juliet. Baz Luhrmanns version of the prologue is done in much more detail and is emphasised a huge amount more. Luhrmann tries to grab the attention of the audience with very fast moving screen shots and very lively music. The first shot that comes up on the screen is of a TV with a blank screen, and the distance between the camera and the TV is very far, making the TV look very small in the distance. The first sound is the fuzziness of a TV, and then on the screen of the TV, the opening credits are displayed on white tiles with a black background. The contrast between the colours gives a very sharp effect. This gives a very different first effect on the audience compared to Zefirellis opening shot. Luhrmanns first shot of the bold white tiles with a black background, gets the audiences attention straight away. After the credits, a female newsreader appears on the TV screen, and she reads aloud the prologue. She says the prologue like reading aloud a news report rather than in a poetic sonnet way. This makes the prologue subtle and it makes the audience think twice before realising that it is the prologue that she is saying. The subtle speaking of the prologue differs with Zefirellis make of the prologue being obvious to opening up the film. Beside the newsreader in the background, there is a small picture with some text underneath it. As the camera is in the far distance, it makes it hard to see what the picture and text are, which makes the audience wonder what it is. While the newsreader is saying the prologue, the camera subtly zooms in directly towards the screen, and the picture in the corner gradually comes into focus. The picture is of a broken ring with the text underneath it saying Star crossd lovers. The symbolism of the broken ring is that the lovers end up being torn away from each other. After the newsreader says the twelfth line of the prologue, the camera suddenly picks up speeds and zooms right into the TV screen, through a high street. At the same time the words, Fair Verona constantly flashes up in white with a black background. From the zooming, it has merged from one background into another. This sudden pick up of speed would as if wake up the audience and shocking them as the screen had suddenly gone from one shot to another. This is very unlike Zefirellis presentation of the prologue, as he keeps his prologue simple and calm all the way through, whereas Luhrmann uses the effect of zooming and flashing words up creating a dramatic scene. The reason of flashing the words, Fair Verona while the camera rushes down the high street, is to make the audience understand the comparison and realise exactly how fair Verona really is in his version of the film. It shows a decaying urban landscape contradicting fair Verona. The font style of the writing is bold like Arial, and is in block capitals, making it clear to the audience what it says. In Zefirellis, as the camera pans over the city, you can see that Verona is very pretty and fair, as the prologue says it is. As the camera reaches the end of the street, the camera is suddenly focused on the face of a statue, which was far in the distance from where the zooming into the street began. Very dramatic music starts to be played loudly, which produces a bigger effect on grabbing the audiences attention. The camera then pulls back to view the tops of two corporate buildings with the statue in the middle. The buildings have big signs on the top of them. They are the names of the two households, Capulet and Montague. They are in different colours, Capulet in red and Montague in blue. The differences in the colours emphasise the difference between the two. The effect of having the statue splitting the two buildings up is to make the point clear, that the two households need something or someone to keep them apart to avoid causing major trouble in the city, as they absolutely despise each other. The statue shown actually represents Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who is trying to control the families and bringing some peace to the city. In Zefirellis version, the point that the two families cannot stand each other is not emphasised. As the prologue is said in the same tone and way all the way through and the pictures are just of how fair Verona is, does not give a definite and clear point that the two households are major enemies. Luhrmann makes it visual to the audience, the hate between the two families. The next part of the introduction to Luhrmanns production of Romeo and Juliet, is of a rapid chain of clips from one to the other including clips of police cars with VBPD on the side of them standing for Verona Beach Police Department. This is shown to tell the audience that this is Verona Beach and not fair Verona. The chain of clips also includes clips of helicopters, clips of the disaster from different viewpoints, some far up in the sky, some close up to casualties who were injured, and the damage done to the city by this one disaster brought up because of the hate between the Capulets and the Montagues. The disaster is emphasised in this rapid succession of clips, to stress how much damage can be caused by one incident done by the two families. It also makes the audience think and imagine if this one incident caused so much damage, the amount of damage that they probably had done to the city in the past and what would be done in the future. The prologue is said once again while another variety of images using other media of newspaper articles and magazine covers appear. This time, the prologue is said by a character whom is actually in the play, referring to how the prologue is traditionally said by the chorus. The character who speaks the prologue is Friar Lawrence, and he says it in a poetic way, and this time the rhythm of a sonnet is emphasised. A man with a soft, gentle and low voice speaks the prologue like it is in Zefirellis production. This is one similarity that the two productions have. As he speaks, some words of the prologue is emphasised by magazine headlines appearing, using the effect of spinning one on top of the other. The headlines include New Mutiny and Civil Blood Makes Civil Hands Unclean. These headlines are to tell the audience and remind them the symbolism and reasoning behind each word in the prologue. There is also a faint background of burning flames when these headlines appearing as if showing the damage done. The images however, some are of like modern day newspapers and magazines. The camera slowly pans through a rack of different covers, and the headline of each newspaper and magazine are all referring to the feud caused between the two households, emphasising that they produce big issues in the city. Other images in this group of images include police taking charge of the situation in a live kind of view, showing how fast the police and other services had to respond to reduce the risk of more damage happening. The police and fire departments had to work into the night with the clearing up of the situation. This is known as the images are taken from broad daylight into the dark night. These images give the audience a visual understanding of how bad it is of the two households hating each other, which can cause so many innocent people in the city to be harmed. As the speaking of the prologue comes to an end, with the two lines A pair of star crossd lovers, take their life with the lines shown in white writing on a black background. This effect by now would be recognised by the audience by now as it had been used before to state the words Fair Verona. This effect of repeating jogs the audiences memories reminding them again and again the importance of the lines in the prologue. As the prologue stops being spoken, the same dramatic music becomes loud again. Each of the main characters are shown one by one with a pause on each with the text describing who each of the characters are and how they are either related to Romeo or Juliet or what the purpose of the character is in the film. This presentation of the character echoes the style of how it was done in famous program called Dallas. In Zefirellis version, the characters were not introduced and the film got right into the first scene once the prologue was spoken. A shot of Romeo looking through the narrow gap of a door appears, and then the camera immediately changes its angle to show what he see, which is a church aisle with blue neon crosses and candles. The angles that these two shots were taken were both through a narrow opening of the door. The first shot was taken from the inside of the church looking at Romeo, the man standing outside the door, and the second shot was taken from the outside of the door looking into the church. It emphasises what Romeo had seen, which the audience can assume is Juliet lying on the alter at the end of the aisle, Romeo thinking that she had really died. It also symbolises with that it was the conclusion and the end, viewing Romeo and the crosses, show that they were linked together and producing the idea of death. There was one more series of fast moving clips and a rush of lines as a final wind up to the prologue. There are a variety of different clips of things that happen from the beginning of the play to the end. The repeating of the clips again and again produce permanent images into the minds of the audience. The prologue ends with the words take their life and move onto the first act. The words take their life are stated to tell the audience that the story line would conclude with something relevant to it. I think that it is a new technique Luhrmann has used. He uses the technique of grabbing the attention of the audience and makes them concentrate. The prologue being reinforced by being presented for the third time, does not makes the audience get bored and tire of the clips being seen and seen again, but make them more excited about the film. I think that both Zefirelli and Luhrmann were trying to represent Romeo and Juliet in a different way, with different techniques. The prologue was of course interpreted differently. Zefirelli presented the prologue in his production in a gentle and calm way all the way through giving the audience a good idea of the peace and beauty of Verona. Luhrmann of course presented the prologue in a different way, almost a complete contrast to what Zefirelli did. He changed Fair Verona into urban sprawled Verona. I think that the presentations of the prologue were both appropriate for their interpretations because Zefirelli wanted to keep his production of Romeo and Juliet original and alike Shakespeare. Luhrmann wanted to interpret the play into something slightly more modern and unlike Shakespeares original version. In Luhrmanns production he emphasised the complications between the two households and the alterations he had made to the film, like how he set his production in an urban city and called it Verona Beach instead of setting it in the original city of Verona in Italy.

Effect Of Pharmacist and Nurse on Improving Blood Pressure

Effect Of Pharmacist and Nurse on Improving Blood Pressure Afzal Hussain Problem and Purpose In this paper, I will be critically analyzing the article â€Å"A Randomized Trial of the Effect  Of Community Pharmacist and Nurse Care on Improving Blood Pressure Management  in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus- Study of Cardiovascular Risk Intervention by Pharmacists–Hypertension (SCRIP-HTN) by Donna L. Maclean ; Finlay A. McAlister; Jeffery A. Johnson, Kathryn M. King; Mark J. Makowsky ; Charlotte A. Jones and Ross T. Tsuyuki. This article outlines a quantitative experimental design involving two sample groups (experimental and Control). According to Sullivan-Bolyai, Bova, Singh (2013), experimental designs are particularly suitable for testing cause and effect relationships because they help eliminate potential alternative explanation (threats to validity) for the findings (p. 217). The authors articulate their recognition of the fact that interventions are key markers to identify and observe blood pressure (BP) control in diabetic patients. The authors also recognize the fact that there is a need for a new model of care to improve BP control, particularly with significant challenges in accessing primary care physicians attributing to labor shortages in the health scare system. In addition, the authors used manipulation by introducing the intervention, then by comparing the standard and usual care among the control group and experimental groups. This resulted in the manipulation variable being the difference of care among patients with blood pressure and diabetes. One intervention delivered to the group based on the manipulated variable of difference of care is evident through the interventions made by the pharmacist-nurse teams at various pharmacy sites, which included cardiovascular risk reduction counselling, education brochure on hypertension, lifestyle strategies, effect of diabetes on high BP, and referral to the patient’s primary care physician for further BP and cardiovascular assessment (McLean, McAlister , Johnson, King, Makowsky, Jones, and Tsuyuki, 2008, p. 2356). The control group received the standard and usual treatment compared to the experimental intervention group. Furthermore, blood pressure wallet card, educational pamphlet on diabetes and physician care were received by the control group. (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2355).The authors used randomization to categorize the research participants into two groups- experimental intervention and control which is set to receive the standard treatment of care. Mclean et al (2008) states, â€Å" Randomization was at the level of the patient ( stratified by pharmacy and using a variable block design), it was performed centrally to preserve allocation concealment using a computer generated sequence over a secure internet service at the Epidemiology Coordinating and Research (EPICORE) centre,(p. 2356). The authors propose a practical necessity for this research problem to be explored and be further researched. The purpose of the research was to explore whether pharmacist or nurses can professionally contribute to improving the BP control of patients with diabetes and implement preventative care measures due to ongoing lack of physicians, pharmacist and nurses, it is clear that the research is also significant. It is based on changing the attitude of health care professionals to meet current outcomes, outcomes which seem to be on par with those of the current health care system in Canada. Sample Size, Design and Collection Methods The sample for this study was appropriately assembled for a quantitative study. The study sample is easily identified when reading the article, included a description of the demographic characteristics and the size of the sample. Also included were any sampling bias, drop outs or loss of patients to follow up. In doing so, an adjustment of 85 to 110 per group were added. (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2357). Its purpose was to test the efficacy of community-based interventions through a pharmacist and nurse team approach on reduction of cardiovascular events in diabetes mellitus patients. This was achieved by measuring the BP which has been linked to comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, and to BP measurement changes used as an indicator of health. This sampling was appropriate to the study as the sample were to represent diabetic patients. Mclean et al (2013) states, â€Å" All adult diabetic patients with BP higher than 130/80 mm Hg on 2 screening visits separated by 2 weeks wer e identified in participating pharmacies. Diabetes was identified by community pharmacists through the use of diabetes indicator medications in each pharmacy’s prescription database. (p. 2356). In this study, Mclean et al (2008) used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 14 community Pharmacies in Edmonton, Alberta as a method of data collection (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2355). Participants were identified and manipulated by pharmacists and nurses who were trained using a combination of an online learning program and a case-based learning session – both based on the Canadian Hypertension Education Program (CHEP) guidelines†. Also the use of a commercial BP monitor set at an average of 5 measurements of BP taken 1 minute was used to measure participants BP (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2356). Data analysis procedures were appropriate to the research study because â€Å"all analyses were conducted using a commercially available software program† (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2357). Threats to Internal and External Validity specifically the authors use of instrumentation and selection could possibly have introduced problems of internal validity in the research. This threat was discussed by ensuring that both groups (control and experimental) BP were measured with the same BP device, which has 6 readings, discard the first test and further takes an additional 5 measures . Mclean et al (2008) found that, â€Å"It is possible that the more frequent contact with the pharmacist –nurse team reduced the anxiety of patients and any â€Å"white coat effect† on their BP measurement†. (p.2359). Furthermore, the screening modules used by the researchers to collect the data were conducted by pharmacists and nurses well versed in their profession. Selection bias was another threat predisposing the sampling design to internal validity. The authors in their findings found that patients eligible for selection presented with lower BP, this can be caused by the researchers utilizing a convenience sample instead of a random sample. Also, selection bias may have been an essential part of the end results due to the fact that patients who are eager to monitor and control their BP are more likely to agree to participate in the trial, also that more than 80% of trial participants were aware that hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2358). The external validity of the study was weakened by the sampling design. The authors failed to take into consideration non English speaking people, whose cultural differences and beliefs could influence the study, and who may lack health literacy to read and identify medical abbreviations and symbols. Maclean et al (2008) states, â€Å"pharmacists and nurses who participated may be different from those who did not participate, an investigator vol unteer bias that may limit generalizability of the program† (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2359). Limitations of the Design One major limitation of the design identified by the authors is regarding the interventions implemented in regards to the in person contact time between patients and the pharmacist-nurse team, which can be further be evaluated by future studies on whether less intensive interventions are The researchers identified a potential limitation regarding that the intervention involved substantial in-person contact time between patients and study personnel, and that future studies will need to determine whether less intensive interventions are productive in controlling BP in diabetic patients (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2359 Generalization of Findings The research findings can be generally be applied to larger populations, the authors acknowledge the fact that their research intervention was extremely efficacious, resulting in a 24.1 mm Hg greater reduction in systolic BP (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2358) They recommend a new model of care to improve BP control. In addition, by utilizing an experimental research design in which a cause and effect relationship can be analyzed and measured, the researchers were able to provide coherent evidence and correlation that community pharmacists and nurses through a collaborative effort with primary care physicians could have a huge impact on hypertension management in patients with diabetes mellitus and BP control within the community (McLean et al., 2008, p. 2360) References LoBiondo-Wood, G., Singh, M.D., (2013). Introduction to quantitative research. In C. Cameron, M. D. Singh (Eds.), Nursing research in Canada: Methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice (3rd ed.) (pp. 198-215). Toronto: Elsevier Canada McLean, D. L., McAlister, F. A., Johnson, J.A., King, K.M., Makowsky, M.J., Jones, C.A., Tsuyuki, R.T. (2008). A randomized trial of the effect of community pharmacist and nurse care on improving blood pressure management in patients with diabetes mellitus. Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(21), 2355-2361 Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19029501 Sullivan-Bolyai, S., Bova, C., Singh, M.D. (2013). Experimental and quasiexperimental designs. In C. Cameron, M. D. Singh (Eds.), Nursing research in Canada: Methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice (3rd ed.) (pp. 216-233). Toronto: Elsevier Canada

The Civil Rights Movement Essay -- Black struggle for civil rights in A

"Our problem today is that we have allowed the internal to become lost in the external"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today's world is based on appearance, and most often the goal is not as important as the means by which it is achieved. Why is this such a 'problem?' Time after time, people come to find that they have wasted their lives working towards a goal which, in the end, was never worth all that work to begin with, or they realize that they could have gone about their actions differently. The people of modern America are all about living live for the moment, taking risks, not making sacrifices, and never yielding to 'the long run'. Looking at the world of 2015, one can witness the apex of human civilization. Who can question the customs, morals, and nature of today's Americans, without arguing with results?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consider the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1991). The integration of the two races would have gone a lot easier and faster if both sides discarded their internal principles and beliefs and did their best to make the other side happy, thus creating an equal society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, certain literacy tests restricted black voting. This was a decent attempt to meet black demands, but the act only opened voting rights to uneducated people (black and white) and put more control in their hands, which was a mistake. That now leaves the question, ?why were there so many more illiterate blacks than whites?...

Dama presented for examination Essay

A written account of practical work undertaken in year 11 resulting in a piece of drama presented for examination. We started the Christmas term 2001 with group warm-up exercises, before even thinking about what we were going to perform in late November or who we were going to work with. These were fun class activities, used to build up group relationships. We did such things as human noughts and crosses, using nine chairs in a 3 by 3 square with the girls as noughts and the boys as crosses. We played 5 games, resulting in one draw and the boys winning 3 to the girls’ 1. It was fun and used really to warm us up. We then went on to play two games of winking murder. We all sat round in a circle on chairs with our eyes closed while Mrs. Powles walked round the circle tapping someone on the shoulder, telling that person that they are the murderer. Then it’s all eyes open and we try to work out who the murderer is. Meanwhile, the murderer is winking discreetly at people, killing them. It was very enjoyable and it helped to build up group relationships. Following that, we were assigned the task of pretending to be a salesperson of some description at a drinks evening. We had to decide what we were selling and how to sell it. Once that was decided, we had to go around the class introducing ourselves to each other and trying to sell our product to them in under 2 minutes. It involved much interaction between us all and helped tremendously to strengthen group relationships. Shortly after, we were asked to write on a piece of paper who we wanted to work with and who we did not want to work with if we thought that we would not produce to the best of our ability if we were with them. Finally, I ended up working with Elise, which was great as I had never worked with her before and we were good friends. She didn’t seem to complain either, which was a good sign. Then we spent an entire double lesson going through all of Mrs. Powles’ plays that she had to decide on one to perform an extract out of for the exam in December. We settled finally on an extract from the play â€Å"The Norman Conquests† by Alan Ayckbourn, as we both decided that we wanted to do a comical piece, but not farcical, so it fitted nicely. After searching through the book for a while, we finally came across a suitable duologue between Norman and Sarah. Norman is a librarian, but this definitely does not define his character at all. He is a womaniser, married to Ruth, attempted to have an affair with her sister Annie who is engaged to Tom, and is now working his charms on his other sister-in-law, Sarah, Elise’s character, who is married to Reg. Sarah is a more strict, clean, and prim character. However, it is sometimes clear that Sarah is quite jealous of Annie because she is the one that Norman says he wants and she wants to replace Annie in Norman’s eyes. It does eventually happen, as in the second scene they kiss. The extract immediately appealed to both of us, so we decided to give it a try. The extract we did in November was actually two different dialogues taken from two different points in the play. The first is set in the living room in the house and the second is set in the garden. Immediate difficulties we experienced with the exert were few, but as ever there were some. The biggest problem in my mind at the beginning was how to perform the kissing part of the second scene effectively and without embarrassment. It really needed to look convincing as it is the peak of Sarah’s life, experiencing the closest thing she will ever feel to true love. It was essential that this came across in the performance. Then came the blocking of the scenes. First of all we just exchanged ideas and thoughts, coming up with a skeletal plan for how to go about performing both scenes. We discussed things such as how lines should be spoken, facial expressions and other small but significant effects. Afterwards we concentrated mainly on the first scene to get that near-perfect before trying the second scene. Once we had familiarized ourselves with the scene and had fairly certain ideas about what to do, we started to really act it out. Not long after, we did hot-seating as a class in which the person in the hot-seat had to answer their questions as their character. I enjoyed listening to other people answer questions with much thought, as they delved into previously unexplored regions of their character. When my turn came, I found it to be a very interesting experience, being able to answer questions as a different person. I had to capture his frame of mind and be able to answer the questions convincingly as Norman. It really helped me to get to grips with Norman’s character, behaviour and motivation and also to further my acting ability as Norman. When it was Elise’s turn, it too helped me to understand her character better than I previously did, which enabled me to respond to her better in the play. Following that, we spent most, if not all, of our time concentrating on the first scene, filling in the gaps and finalising parts of it. Performing it in front of the class also helped a lot as it was open to criticism and any ideas from the class or Mrs. Powles. One idea that really affected what we had rehearsed so far was that at the beginning of the first scene, Sarah storms in and physically removes my feet from the arm of the armchair before she sits on it. We had thought this to be a good idea to convey that Sarah was angry with Norman, which she was. The suggestion was that this was not a bad idea, just that it would be more effective if Sarah came in and stared at my feet distastefully, as if daring me to leave them there. When I then remove them, she brushes the arm with her hand before sitting in the chair. This, we decided, was much better than our original plan as it shows that Sarah is a less physical person, more prim and uptight. Throughout all the extract from then on, the amount of physical interaction Sarah did was kept to a bare minimum. We started needing the script less and less and we started on the second scene – a definite sign of all-round progress. I found the second scene much more difficult to do than the first, mainly for two reasons. The first was that I had to act drunk, as prior to this scene, offstage, Norman has been consuming large amounts of wine. The real difficulty with this was that I had to appear drunk by staggering around and slurring my words. The staggering part was okay to act but the slurring was the real problem as I still had to be understood by the audience. With practice and advice form Mrs. Powles, however, this problem was soon overcome. The second problem was the kissing part. We knew this would be difficult when we chose the piece, but we still chose to do it. Once the initial embarrassment of it was overcome, there was still an awkward feeling as Elise was my friend. But this we endured right up to the end. As the exam date drew nearer, we spent our time polishing up the piece and adding finishing touches to it, such as sound effects and music. We spent a lot of time searching through the sound effects for some birdsong to be used at the beginning of the second scene, just to inform the audience that it was set outside. As for music, we originally thought about using â€Å"When a man loves a woman†, but in the end we decided on using â€Å"Irresistible† by the Corrs. For lighting effects, we used straw and golden gels on fresnel spots. With regards to costume, we decided that I would look best in a pair of corduroy trousers with a check shirt. But unfortunately I could not obtain a pair of corduroy trousers, so we settled for a pair of chinos with a leather belt. This, we thought, conveyed Norman’s character quite well; not trendy or modern, yet laid back and charming. For Sarah, we both decided that Elise would look appropriate in a grey skirt suit, as it would convey Sarah’s prim and proper personality. When the final day came, it went very smoothly. Neither of us made any real mistakes and our lines were as perfect as they ever would have been. Overall we were both very pleased with our final performance. And, thankfully the audience did seem to enjoy it as they laughed in all the right places, sometimes a bit more enthusiastically than we both had previously expected, which could have meant only good things.

How to Get a Job in Any Field By Humanizing Yourself

How to Get a Job in Any Field By Humanizing Yourself Sometimes the job hunt can feel like a numbers game: the average job search takes 43 days†¦92% of recruiters use social media†¦the average resume gets 6 seconds of attention. And our current obsession with data-driven decisions doesn’t stop there. We’re all walking, talking data points. But even though we’re up against numbers, don’t forget that there’s a human element to resumes: they’re written and read by humans (uh, after they make it through the automated keyword parsing systems, that is). And as such, there’s a huge mental game component to resumes: who’s reading this, and what will make them remember me? How can I present myself as a feeling, thinking, interesting person perfect for the job? Here is your guide on how to get a job by accomplish this.Pre-Game: Psych Yourself UpBefore you even write your resume, it’s important to get yourself into shape for this mental game. It sounds a little goofy, I know, but the more confident and winner-ish you feel going into the job search Olympics, the better you’ll feel about the whole thing. Now, you could start going to bed early and rising at 4:30 a.m. for sunrise jogs across town, but that kind of training isn’t necessary here (unless you’re applying for the actual Olympics). It’s more about adjusting your mindset and getting your plan in order so you can feel good about what you’re sending out.Set up the game.Thinking of your job search as a game is more than just a distraction- it can help you focus more on a successful outcome, believe it or not. It can be as easy as naming your goal, and setting personal rewards for making progress toward that goal (milestones). Maybe you give yourself bonus points along the way for doing well in an interview, or getting a call or email response for a resume you submit online.Think long game, not sudden death.Think of your job search as a long process, with every step and challenge along the way as progress toward an eventual win. If your goal is to find a job within 6 months, don’t get frustrated if your first few promising opportunities don’t pan out. Take it as an extended training exercise, where you get to practice honing your resume and interview skills.Concentrate on the present.You can’t control what happens in the future, and shouldn’t dwell on what happened before. There’s only the present and what you can do in it. So while you can reflect on the past to learn from it, and think about what your goals are in the future, it’s most important to concentrate on your present, and what you need to be doing right now to make sure you make progress.Remember that you have choices.Part of envisioning your job search as a mental game is remembering that as a player, you have options- plays to make, pieces to move. Nobody else is doing that for you. That puts all of the power in your hands to make this job search something that represents you, and your best abilities.It also helps if you feel stuck. If your career goal feels far away because you’re missing something (experience, the right network, etc.), what can you do to change that in the short term? There could be many ways to get to your goal, if you keep your thinking flexible. You can take a class to get more expertise. You could start trying to link up with movers and shakers on social media, or look for special networking events in your industry. Waiting around for things to happen to you is rarely a winning strategy.Game Time: Revamping Your ResumeIt’s time to play offense in the mental game, and that means working with your resume itself and prepping your application package. Here are 7 strategies you can use to try to reach the real person on the other end (recruiter, HR professional, hiring manager).Find a teammate.As you get started tailoring your resume for a particular job opening, try to network with so meone already at the company where you’re applying. Not in, like, a creepy and ingratiating way so you can drop their name in an interview, but in a â€Å"hey, I’m applying to your company’s marketing department and I’d love to have a chat about what it’s like to work there† way.You can also ask this person for feedback on your resume- e.g. does my resume match the company culture? It may not be a lifelong friendship, but if you find someone willing to be your networking buddy, it can give you good insight into what kind of people this place hires. And if this small request for a few minutes of insight opens the door to a word in the right ear or an introduction, then you definitely owe this person a beverage of their choosing to celebrate this new friendship.Quantity in addition to quality.If you have numbers to back up any point on your resume, use them! For example:Instead of: â€Å"Saved the company money by switching vendors†Try: â€Å"Coordinated a vendor change that saved 8% on office supplies in 2015.†Instead of: â€Å"Mentored new hires†Try: â€Å"Mentored 16-20 new hires per year.†Instead of: â€Å"Organized a fundraiser†Try: â€Å"Spearheaded an event that raised $12,000 from 250 participants†Don’t be afraid to be quirky†¦within reason.There’s not much leeway for jokes within your resume, because you want to present yourself as a genuine, serious candidate. But you can show some of your personality if you include your interests. This can catch the reader’s eye, and help them set you apart in their head as they sift through candidate resumes.For example, if your skills include being a world-class fly fisherperson, add it. If you won your company’s bake-off over 30 other people (true story!), list it along with any other awards. Little bits like this, used sparingly, can really sparkle in an otherwise straightforward resume- and again, you want to make yourself memorable to the person reading, kind of like a mnemonic device you set off in his or her head. â€Å"The pie guy- I liked him!† could get you to the next level.Don’t use fancy fonts or visual tricks.This one might run counter to the kinds of psychological trickery you might expect†¦after all, you want to stand out, right? Red Comic Sans might be the way to do that. Except it’s not. For one thing, your carefully chosen visual stunnery might be for naught if your resume translates through their system as plain text. Also, you run the real risk of an eye roll and being remembered for the wrong reasons. So you should try to stand out within the system, rather than showing what a rebel you are (design-wise).Follow the Rule of Seven.Jon Youshaei of Forbes recommends adapting the old â€Å"Rule of Seven† marketing policy, where your customer needs to hear your product name or message seven times before it really sinks in. You can use it here to create a kind of subliminal messaging. If you go to the company’s website and read it’s mission statement/About Us section, find buzzwords that are clearly important to the company, and use them (or variations on them) seven times in your resume. It should be done pretty subtly, though†¦you don’t want the reader to feel like he or she’s just reading the same thing over and over.For example, if the company puts a high priority on its status as an innovator, make sure to sprinkle in words like â€Å"changed,† â€Å"disrupted,† â€Å"modernized,† etc. throughout the resume. These kinds of keywords may or may not curry favor with the automated digital reader, but the human one will likely pick up on subtle connections to the company.Align yourself with bigger brands.Name-dropping can be insufferable (as George Clooney and mentioned to me the other day) in everyday conversation, but if you use some big names in your res ume, it can help increase the impressiveness factor. For example, if the last company you worked for won an award or had a major client, try to (artfully) insert that information. â€Å"Arranged sponsorship from Pepsi, Foxwoods, and Toys ‘R Us.†Emphasize what you want them to see.If you’re a little thin on experience but have a ton of skills, use a top-loaded skills-based resume. If you want to emphasize your work with notable companies, put the experience first. If the company has a reputation for hiring grads from schools with good basketball programs, put your UConn education front and center. There’s no single format for a resume- you find the one that works best with what you’re working with and how you want to say it.Whether you do see the job application process as a data exercise (collecting all your professional data) or more of a psychological give-and-take between you and The System, you want to put in as much work as possible to get to y our goal. And either way, you’ll want to have your end zone dance ready for when you win the game, job offer in hand.