Brechtian Techniques

Bertold Brecht (1898 – 1956) founded the so-called new, or â€Å"epic theatre† that creatively reworked the principles of traditional â€Å"Aristotelian† drama, in order for the plays to correspond to modern demands. Brecht characterised his position in dramatic art as social-critical. He was an active antifascist and thus centered his works on major historical events and gave them a social-political meaning. From the formal point of view, Brechtian techniques were based on defamilirisation of the event. First and foremost, he transposed the event into third person.He uses new concept of author’s time, i. e. time as it is perceived by the narrator of the play. The latter usually tells about the events that happened in the past and comments them. In doing so, he freely operates various layers of time, so that the whimsical structure of the story reminds that of a recollection or a dream. Finally, an important element of Brechtian drama is its increased conv ention, for instance the action can be interrupted by speaking stage directions aloud and or via usage of placards and signs.The drama â€Å"Zoot Suit† (1978) by Luis Valdez’ efficiently uses the Brechtian principles and techniques. Like many of Brecht’s dramas, this work is a passionate social protest that shows the injustice of the society with purely Brechtian didacticism. Valdez wrote this play at the end of â€Å"turbulent seventies†, which in the US were characterised by increased social activity of minorities fighting for their rights, and Mexican Americans were among these.Thus, the playwright addresses the times, when the Mexican American identity was only forming, and yet it was oppressed and discriminated by the police. Valdez implies that the same thing may happen or even happens in his times and protests against it. In this respect his play may be linked with activities of Guerilla theatre, which considered itself to be a cultural revolt agai nst war and a mouthpiece of social protest movements. Valdez’ play also has explicit antiwar and protest connotations, and in accordance with Brecht’s conception, his art serves political purposes.Furthermore, action is presented and commented by the narrator, the fictional El Pachuco, which is the condensed embodiment of Mexican spirit (pachucos were Mexican American youth who emphasized their Mexican identity and wore zoot suits). He converses with the protagonist of the story, Henry Reyna, and in some episodes interferes into action (for instance, he takes the place of Rudy Reyna in an uneven fight with sailors). Moreover, from the very first words Valdez emphasizes Brechtian convention. For instance, the drop curtain is â€Å"giant facsimile of a newspaper front page† (1, 1992).Besides in his first monologue EL Pachuco says that he is an actor who plays El Pachuco and recollects this myth. This indicates another Brechtian technique. The narrated action takes place in the past. The setting, as described by the author, emphasizes that the age of zoot suits is in the past: â€Å"The somber shapes and outlines of pachuco images hang subtly, black on black, against a back-ground of heavy fabric evoking memories and feelings like an old suit hanging forgotten in the depths of a closet somewhere, sometime† (1, 1992).At the same time, in the end El Pachuco says that this legend still lives and is topical, for at least he is interested in telling it. However, this is not the objective past time of Aristotelian drama, but rather narrator’s individual perception. El Pachuco can retard action by making the judge repeat for the second time that â€Å"zoot haircuts will be retained throughout the trial for purposes of identification† (ibid). He also uses sudden retrospections, for example when Henry mentions Saturday night dance, El Pachuco snaps fingers and makes this event repeat.In another instant, he skips witness’ st atement, saying â€Å"You know what. We've already heard from that bato. Let's get on with the defense† (1, 1992). Besides the conventionality is emphasized by various other interruptions of action. An interesting example of this is when the arrested pachucos stand in a line, the Press starts and they continue the headline. In another episode the Pressâ€Å"moves the bundles of newspapers on the floor to outline the four corners of a jail cell†, i. e.makes the decorations for the next scene in jail (1, 1992). To sum up, the play â€Å"Zoot Suit† by Luis Valdez exemplified Brechtian understanding of social-political role of art and demonstrates a number of Brechtian techniques of the â€Å"new theatre†, among them accentuated conventionality of action, transposition into third person (use of narrator) and into the past, connected with the present, and forcible handling of time. References 1. Valdes, L. (1992). Zoot Suit. Zoot Suit and Other Plays. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press. Pg 22-94.

Ethics of Autonomous Drones in the Military

Jared May Professor Elfstrom February 25, 2013 Intro to Ethics A Soldier, Taking Orders From Its Ethical Judgment Center In this article the author Cornelia Dean has three major points that are supported by arguments made by others. The first major important point is the hopeful idea that autonomous robots can perform more ethically in combat situations than any soldier in the same scenario.She states that even the best and most trained soldiers that are in the midst of battle may not always be able to act accordingly with the battlefield rules of engagement that were stated by the Geneva Convention because of possible lashing out from normal human emotions such as anger, fear, resent, and vengefulness. The second major point Dean wants to show, by the views and studies of others, in her article is that with this possible step in our evolution of military technology we do not want to let this idea fade away.Another major point is if we do develop this technology how would we do so, a nd if not, would we regret not advancing in this field further many years from now. With all of this information Dean uses to present her ideas there are still major flaws such as, the majority of these ideas and beliefs are theoretical, they still have not been fully tested, there is error in all technologies, and where else would the technological advancements lead artificial intelligence.The first argument providing support for Dean’s major point comes from the research hypothesis and thoughts of a computer scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology named Ronald Arkin. Arkin is currently under contract by the United States Army to design software programs for possible battlefield and current battlefield robots. The research hypothesis of Arkin is that he believes that intelligent autonomous robots can perform much more ethically in the heat of the battlefield than humans currently can.Yet this is just a hypothesis and while there is much research done towards this hypoth esis there are still no absolutely positive research information that states an autonomous robot drone can in fact perform better than any soldier on the ground or up in a plane could do. In Arkins hypothesis, he stated that these robots could be designed with no sense of self-preservation. This means that without one of the strongest fears for humans, the fear of death, these robots would be able to understand, compute, and react to situations with out outside extraneous emotions.Although the men and women designing these robot programs may be able to eliminate this psychological problem of scenario fulfillment, which will cause soldiers to retain information that is playing out easier with a bias to pre-existing ideas, it is not always the case that this happens to soldiers. You have to realize that from the second a soldier begins his training he is trained and taught to eliminate the sense of self-preservation. There are isolated incidents with soldier error, but they are and wi ll be corrected by superior officers or their fellow soldiers.Another factor that affects Cornelia Dean’s arguments is that there are errors in all things including technology. Throughout history there have been new uses of technology in warfare but with these come problems and error flaws that have cause and can cause more casualties than needed. With the use of an Automated drone the belief by Dean is that it will be able to decide whether or not to launch an attack on a high priority target whether or not if the target is in a public are and will decide if the civilian casualties would be worth it.But what happens if that drone is only identifying the target and the number of civilians surrounding it? It will not be able to factor in what type of people would be around him such as men, women, or children and any variance of them. The error in this situation would be the drone saying the target is high enough priority and a missile is launched and the civilians were women a nd children around while a school bus was driving by.The casualties would then instantly out weigh the priority to eliminate a specific target and a human pilot would much easier abort a mission than a predetermined response of an autonomous robot. Although Ronald Arkin believes there are situations that could arise when there may not be time for a robotic device to relay back what is happening to a human operator and wait for how to respond in the situation that could complete a mission, it may be that second of time delay between the robot and human operator that the ethical judgment is made.Also the realization that many robots in which are operated by humans are widely used to detect mines, dispose of or collects bombs, and clear out buildings to help ensure extra safety of our soldiers is a way that robots are already used today as battlefield assistants supports Dean. But all of these machines in the field have moments of failure or error. When the machines do fail it takes a soldier who has trained for that experience to fix and then use it again. If an autonomous drone fails while on a mission it is completely by its self and no human operator to fix it.Then can arise the problem of enemies realizing they were even being monitored and they could gain access to our military technology and can eventually use it against us. Another major point that Cornelia Dean discusses upon is with this possible step in our evolution of military technology we do not want to let this idea fade away. A large part of that is if we do develop this technology how would we do so, and if not, how much would we regret or how much would it affect us for not advancing in this field further many years from now.The argument that if other countries advance upon this faster and better than the United States military we could become less of a world power and be more at risk of attack and war with greater human fatalities is not necessarily true. This situation is important in the sen se of keeping up with the other world powers but I believe that the risk for reward is not worth the amount of damage and civilian casualties that could happen from any number of robotic drones and their possible errors.There is a possibility as the technology develops and robots become more and more aware to the point were, Arkin believes that, they can make decisions at a higher level of technological development. Yet if these autonomous robots truly can think for themselves and make decisions brings a whole new possibility of problems of what if the robot can decide something differently than what the developers originally had programmed. Also comes the actual use problem of can the government ethically accept that in early stages of use, even after extraneous testing, there may be accidental casualties.If a robot has any error of making decisions because of how new and un-tested they are any of the possibly terrible results would not be the responsibility of the robot but of the country and government that designed it. The supporting evidence of this article strongly shows that Cornelia Dean will hope that use of these ethically superior autonomous robots will be apart of our military in the near future before the United States fall behind to other super powers in the world.Yet with all of this information Dean uses to present her ideas there are still major flaws such as, the majority of these ideas and beliefs are theoretical, they still have not been fully tested, and that there is error in all technologies. With these major points being enforced with plenty of evidence throughout the article, and with all of the possible negative sides and errors of this argument, it is safe to say that this will be and is a controversial topic of discussion by many governments and all parties involved with this technological advancement.

Integrated Natural Sciences(Biology, Physic's,Chemsitry,Human Anatomy) Assignment

Integrated Natural Sciences(Biology, Physic's,Chemsitry,Human Anatomy) - Assignment Example Hence it is very helpful and useful to study science using an integrated approach. 2. Explain the LIMITATIONS of science and how science differs from other areas such as art and religion (Science’s domain is based on evidence; whereas religion and art domain’s center upon belief, aesthetics, etc) Science demands proof whereas the domain of religion and art depend upon beliefs and aesthetics. That is why questions like ‘what is the purpose of life?’ or ‘Does God exist?’ cannot be researched by science. 2. Explain what happens to the gravitational force when there is a change in mass and/or distance. The gravitational force increases/decreases proportionally with the change in mass but is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. 1. Explain the role of gravity in the formation of solar systems and galaxies. Stars start of as a cloud of gas and dust. Due to gravitational forces they clump together and contract. This contraction increases the temperatures and initiates nuclear fusion. Similarly the left over materials clump together to form planets. 3. Why does the same side of the Moon always face the Earth? The gravitational pull from the earth slows down the rotation of the moon. The moon revolves around at the same speed at which it is orbiting and hence the same side of the moon always faces the earth. 4. Explain the relationship between thermal energy and gravitational force in a star’s life cycle. The greater the gravitational pull, the greater is the pressure experiences by the gases which increases their thermal energy. Both the forces are proportional to the product of their charge and mass respectively and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The difference between these two is that gravitational force is always attractive while electrical force may be attractive or repulsive. In transverse waves, the wave propagates perpendicular to the direction of motion, for example,

Martin Luther the Monk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Martin Luther the Monk - Essay Example Martin Luther is one of the most famous Christian religious preachers in the history. He was born at Eislenben in the year 1483. In Mansfeld, Martin Luther’s father, Han’s Luther served as a leaseholder of the smelters and several copper mines. Hans Luther worked very hard to earn his family a good standard of living and he wanted Martin Luther to become a lawyer by profession. In order to accomplish this, he first sent Martin Luther to the Mansfeld based Latin schools. After that, Martin Luther gained education in Madgeburg in the year 1497 followed by Eisenach in 1498. By the year 1501, Martin Luther had turned seventeen years old. That was when he joined the University of Erfurt which was more of a whorehouse and a beerhouse than a university. In 1505, Martin Luther gained the postgraduate degree. Contrary to his father’s dream of seeing Martin Luther as a lawyer, Martin wanted to study the Scriptures. In order to achieve that, Martin Luther went to the August inian canons, where he spent about three years. He was proclaimed to be a priest in the year 1507. Martin Luther offered lectures on the Scriptures and philosophy at the University of Wittenberg. Over a very short period of time, Martin Luther became a very influential and inspiring preacher. Martin Luther commenced the exploration of evangelical perfection and tried to comply with the Augustinian order’s rule, but it did not take him long to realize that there were a lot of doubts and uncertainties in it. Theological problems enhanced his spiritual complexities which particularly included the message of grace and the ambiguities in nature of indulgences. â€Å"Luther had entered on the search for evangelical perfection with serious zeal and sought exactly to fulfill the rule of the Augustinian order, but he soon found himself struggling against uncertainties and doubts† (â€Å"Martin Luther†). Subjects included in the course of biblical exegesis that he taught at the University of Wittenberg included Romans, Psalms and Galatians. Martin Luther served as the professor at this university between 1513 and 1518. His courses of lectures speak of his mind’s maturity and richness. He was appointed as the preacher in the Parish Church in 1514. The pul pit of this church was essentially a locus of the preaching ministry. Martin Luther preached the Scriptures to the common people and made every possible effort to make them analyze their personal lives in context of the religious Scriptures. During this, Martin Luther noticed many things that were inappropriate with his Church as well as with the whole world. â€Å"[T]he Roman Church has always maintained the true faith, and that it is necessary for all Christians to be in unity of faith with her† (Luther cited in Pastor). Therefore, on 31 October 1517, Martin Luther collected Ninety-Five Theses to elicit the truth and attached them to the All Saints’ Church’s door in Wittenberg. This date is known as the All Saints’ Day’s eve. â€Å"Martin Luther, Doctor, of the Order of Monks at Wittenberg, desire to testify publicly that certain propositions against pontifical indulgences, as they call them, have been put forth by me† (Machiavelli and Mor e 273). Although those theses tended to criticize the papal policy, yet they never refuted the papal prerogative. They also did not challenge the doctrine of purgatory much. However, those theses emphasized upon the intrinsic spirituality of the Christian faith. Martin Luther attempted to forward the copies of those theses to his own bishop as well as the Archbishop of Mainz, but the process was interrupted by the intervention of the printing press. In spite of the effort of the printing press to hinder the process, numerous copies of the theses got spread which made an otherwise local issue an issue of huge significance and controversy to be discussed among expanding circles. One of the most

Justice System in the UAE Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Justice System in the UAE - Research Paper Example † (Judicial System in Abu Dhabi par 13) on the other hand, Ras Al Khaimah does not have a Court of Cassation. The major source of law is legislation. The UAE mainly follows the system of civil law, inspired by the French and Roman legal systems as well as the Egyptian law of civil codes. The court system is generally inquisitorial, unbound by precedent and comprised of specifically skilled judicial officers. Despite being a federation of United Emirates, the judicial scheme is not all-inclusive or wide ranging, as some of the emirates have their own self-governing judicial systems. In spite of being an Islamic nation, the application of Shari’ah law is controlled and contractual as well as commercial transactions are controlled by written commercial laws and codes that can be relied upon by the needs of western businesses. The Justice system: The Justice system in the UAE is mainly based on the Constitution of the UAE? 1971 (Constitution). The federation has control over all affairs assigned to it in the Constitution. Each individual member of United Emirates has power over their own territories in all matters? rather than just the exclusive authority of the federation, as set out in the UAE Constitution. Additionally, every Emirate has a hereditary sovereign who exercises substantial control over his own Emirate. The 7 rulers, as members or associates of the Supreme Council, jointly exercise control over the UAE. The Sharia civil law systems are the chief sources of legislation (Constitution). Civil law system: The UAE functions in civil law statutes and such systems are the primary source of law. Decisions of the high courts in the UAE are not based on any decisions made by low courts. â€Å"In litigation matters, the pleadings submitted by the parties - plaints or written statements - play a determining role as the courts generally decide cases based upon them† (Latheef par 4). Every case is discussed and a decision is reached based on it s own facts and merits. Every proceeding in the court is in Arabic. All Non-Arabic documents filed in the court by appellants are to be converted into Arabic by a translator licensed by the Ministry of Justice. The Sharia: Generally, the Sharia is a body of ethical, religious and legal rules. The fundamental and basic roots of Islamic Sharia are: The Koran? which is a compilation of divinely ordained policies. The Sunna that includes the teachings of Prophet (Hadith), as well as an account of his proceeding and actions. Sharia is established on well-known concepts of equity and justice, and its practical effect in commercial matters is frequently the same as would be attained in Western law. â€Å"To say that the Shari’a should govern judicial decisions is to refer to a process rather than to specify a result. Shari’a itself includes different schools of thought on a number of legal issues. However, it is founded on familiar concepts of justice and equity, and the pra ctical result in commercial matters is often, though not always, the same as would be reached under Western jurisprudence† (United Arab Emirates par 257). For example, Sharia strives to provide effect to the party’s intention in matters of contract. On the other hand, the intention of the party may be in a different way construed by jurists in the two systems. For instance, one researcher has argued convincingly that in many cases? traditional Sharia would let go the parties

Freud and his view of psychology based on Creative Writers and Research Paper

Freud and his view of psychology based on Creative Writers and Daydreaming - Research Paper Example While this is obvious in some creative art movements like â€Å"Surrealism†, to a certain extent, this holds true for every art form though often not very obvious. The subconscious mind, in its wandering day-dreaming form, allows the artist to touch such deep rooted emotions which normally are restrained by social consciousness and social appropriateness. The drifting mind creates a world of its own in the deep alleys of the subconscious, allowing the mind to roam in this unreal play world and create images and imagery. This becomes the basis for many a creative endeavor. Sigmund Freud, the famous psychoanalyst and the originator of modern psychoanalysis, in his theories had subscribed to some form of this theory. This is hardly surprising as the Freudian theory is based on bringing out the subconscious thoughts of a person into consciousness and thereby making the person free from the agonies of repression and consequent distortion. As Sigmund Freud once said, â€Å"there ar e no indications of reality in the unconscious, so that one cannot distinguish between the truth and fiction that has been cathected with affect† (as cited in Steiner, 5). Sigmund Freud was born in Austria on 6th May 1856 to Jewish parents. He came from a very impoverished family but worked his way up through sheer hard work, intelligence and talent. Though he started his research work related to medical studies on the life history of eels, failure in this line made him change and turn to psychology as his field of study. He later founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology and is famous for his theories on the unconscious mind and his method of treating psychological patients through psychoanalysis or dialogues between a patient and the doctor. Freud believed that the subconscious or the unconscious was an inroad to the thoughts and actions of a conscious mind and helped in understanding the latter. Dreams, as per Freud, were a method by which one can understand the

Explain in your own words the difference between the three paradigms Essay

Explain in your own words the difference between the three paradigms - Essay Example The interactive paradigm caters for relationships and interactions between different stakeholders in the nursing environment. In particular, this paradigm encompasses the interactions and relations between nurses and their patients or clients. On the same note, the paradigm integrates nursing systems into the interactive process. In other words, the interactive paradigm explores and explains how patients/clients relate with their nurses, as well as how these two parties fit into the larger nursing practice. Finally, the unitary process paradigm seeks to account for the entire nursing environment by bringing every party involved in nursing practices into a common pool of change units. This paradigm unites practitioners, patients/clients, and the nursing setting in a way that goes beyond common interactions and relations. This paradigm fits my nursing philosophy because it acknowledges the role of change in nursing practices. In this respect, practitioners, patients/clients, and the nursing environment unite to make nursing practices more effective and efficient. In the process, the outcome exhibits improved performance that benefits the entire field of

Speech Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speech Writing - Essay Example Though he was unjustly imprisoned for 27 years, he showed himself true to his education and that was what defined him through his lifetime. Without further ado, let me introduce an exceptional man who made us tremendously honored during our graduation ceremonies, Mr. Nelson Mandela. A man of character deserves more than just an articulate speech but perhaps there could be no honor that will give justice to a notable man such as Liu Xiaobo. For years, he has been the voice for those who did not have the courage, position or opportunity to speak their minds. We all have wars to fight and this brave writer and literary critic chose to fight for the rights of his people through the use of his sharp pen. It is one thing to fight for one’s self, a better thing to fight for one’s family but to fight for those whose knees are feeble and whose screams are unheard; it is worth more than a Nobel Prize. Anyhow, it is an honor to salute you sir Liu Xiaobo for a job well

Impact of the proposed smoking ban on the restaurant trade Essay

Impact of the proposed smoking ban on the restaurant trade - Essay Example The strongest opponents of restrictions on smoking in public places have been bar and restaurant owners. Many restaurant and bar employees claim that say they've lost customers. Despite such opposition, some recent state legislation and local ordinances have banned smoking in restaurants and required strict ventilation systems in bars. These laws represent a key test in the continued expansion of clean indoor air laws and policies, and remain highly contentious; we treat them separately in this section. (Robert L. Rabin, Stephen D. Sugarman, 2001: 230) However, Studies examining implementation show that the law had little impact on the dining out patterns of consumers, did not result in job losses for the city's restaurant industry, resulted in high rates of compliance, and did not have a detrimental effect on business. (Robert L. Rabin, Stephen D. Sugarman, 2001: 230) The initial studies of smoking bans in restaurants suggest that there are no economic upheavals when smoking is banned in public places. Summarizing the existing data, Glantz (1999) notes convincingly those studies of sales tax data from 81 localities in six states (67 of which are entirely smoke-free) demonstrate that ordinances restricting smoking in restaurants have no adverse effect on revenues. In an important and related finding, Glantz and Charlesworth (1999) extend Glantz's previous work to consider the effects of restaurant smoking bans on tourism, which the tobacco industry has used as another argument against smoking bans.

Global Business in Emerging Regions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Global Business in Emerging Regions - Essay Example Vodafone plans to enter yet another market in order to expand their reach in the world. This time the plan is to enter the market of Thailand and provide them with their award winning services. The reason for choosing this country is because in spite of confronting various political tests, Thailand has made extraordinary advancement in social and monetary issues. Thusly, Thailand has been one of the incredible improvement examples of overcoming adversity, with maintained solid development and amazing destitution lessening. In the decade that finished in 1995, the Thai economy was one of the planet's quickest developing at a normal rate of 8-9% for every year. In the wake of recouping from the "Asian Crisis" of 1997-1998, the Thai economy took off once more. From 2002-2007, Thailand's development found the middle value of at around 5%. Thailand's budgetary development reduced in view of worldwide financial conditions and political lack of determination in 2009 and once more, in 2011, from the destroying surges. Notwithstanding, Thailand's monetary movement is continuously coming back to typical, with quarterly budgetary development rates now closer to the levels regularly seen before the worldwide fiscal emergency started in 2008. The GDP bounced back from the surges at 6.4% in 2012 and is anticipated to keep developing at 5.0% in 2013. Most development turned purchaser merchandise brands and retailers are mindful of the enormous business chances that lie in rising markets. Their thick populaces talk volumes: in China there are 1.3 billion individuals, accompanied nearly by India at 1.2 billion. Different crowded nations right now being eyed-up as hot focuses by the industry incorporate Indonesia (238 million) and Brazil (194 million). Joined, these four biggest rising markets hold a stunning three billion potential clients. Constantly, seizing chances of this scale is a not exactly direct process for purchaser merchandise organizations and obliges acclimating m arketing and operations to an entire have of unpredictable elements. The potential changes required may identify, for example, to dialect, society, purchasing propensities, inventory network modernity, administrative situations, and accessible transport base and value affectability inside each one market. Here, innovation can assume a pivotal part in empowering firms to adjust their methods. Case in point, enormous information dissection instruments might be utilized to mine divided information from sources, for example, social media, centering assets on the most lucrative micro-markets and controlling market section methodologies. (Dunning, 1993) To overcome poor logistics foundations and regularly quite divided supply chains, the utilization of remote track-and-follow results can permit producers and retailers to accompany their merchandise all around the inventory network. And additionally guarding against misfortune and burglary, this can likewise guarantee provenance, screen th e state of perishable and delicate merchandise and enhance stock arranging. In nations, for example, India and Nigeria – where little shops record for 97% of the retail market, its likewise essential

Theories of Counseling Essay Example for Free

Theories of Counseling Essay Counseling   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Counseling comes from the word counseil (Middle English), conseil (Old French), consilium (Latin); it means to take counsel or to consult. There are so many definitions that you can apply with the word counseling as there are people who practice this to describe it more comprehensively. Frank Parsons was the one who originated this term in the year 1908. This term was adopted by Carl Rogers because he was not permitted by the psychiatry profession to call himself a psychotherapist and in response to widespread prejudice in the United States against lay therapist. Counselor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Counselor is the term to a person or individual who has an intellectual, psychological, emotional and mental capability in listening and responding to one’s illness in mind and emotion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a counselor, there are few points that should be done systematically and constantly. A counselor should be a great listener. He should listen effectively and wisely to what his client is saying. Counselor should work with its client with a define goal and thoughts with respect to the client’s values and cultural living. He should respond correctly with every feeling his client is dealing and be able to facilitate its thoughts and worries about a certain situation. He should know how and what to advise to help his client gain their own sight and understanding into how they should act, feel, and think in each given parameters of situation. A counselor should be a good teacher and a good model to help and teach his client express their emotions in its own way of living, work out its solutions to its specific problems, accept the things that cannot be changed in their life, and supports their counselor-client relationship while doing all this process. Counselor should know how to help his client become empowered to act in ways that are best in their own interest and should be able to use a variety of techniques to help his client explore and gain confidence in their life. Characteristics of a Helping Relationship   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The helping relationship is defined as the process of promoting the growth, development, maturity, functioning and coping skills in another person. Fundamentally, the helping or healing practices used in this process must be consistent with the value system of those you are trying to help. The diversity of First Nations people suggests that understanding how he or she sees the world is the best guide to establishing a helping relationship. Yet among traditional healing practices in all cultures, there seems to be two principal phases of the helping process, an inward exploratory phase and an outward action phase. However, we feel the First Nations approach must include four principle dimensions. In both phases, the dimensions of the spiritual, physical, emotional and social are explored and utilized. While the wheel represents them in parts, in fact they are integrated into every aspect of our being. Phase one is characterized by an inward direction in which a relationship is established and the problem or concern is explored. This means that the level of trust you develop will form how you interact with the person you want to help. Trust is the principle grease that facilitates the helping process. The exploratory nature of this phase suggests that the peer support giver listens in an active way, paying attention not only to what is being said, but also to how it is being said. The second phase of the helping process is characterized by an outward direction in which a course of action is outlined and implemented. The peer support giver works in a cooperative manner as the problem is being worked through. Helping generally does not move in a direct line. In this sense, helping is cyclical or more like a wavy circle as compared to a linear line which moves directly from a statement of the issue to a solution (Roger,61).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Helping Relationship is also called Therapeutic relationship. It is a special instance of interpersonal relationships and all the same lawfulness governs all such relationships. In other words, helping relationship might be defined as one in which one of the participant in a so-called process intends that there should come about, in one or both individuals, more functional use of the latent inner resources of the person. A helping relationship is like when you are dealing with a physician and his patient or the relationship between teacher and student. All counselor-client relationships, in all kinds of counseling are a category for helping relationship. In this include the wide range of relationships between the counselor and the client and the relationship between the therapist and the increasing number of the normal individuals who enter therapy to improve their own system of functioning or to accelerate their personal growth of living. There are many kinds of one-to-one relationships. But there are large number of these are intended to helping relationships. Interaction between the counselor and his client is belonging in this situation. The interaction between the consultants is intended as a helping relationship. These things will sum up that the fact that many of the relationship in which many patients are involved fall within this part of interactions in which there is the purpose of promoting development and more mature and analytical method of functioning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many of the studies involving this matter about helping relationship throw light on the attitudes on the part of the helping person which make a relationship growth-promoting or growth-inhibiting as its characteristics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a study given by Baldwin about parent-child relationships shows great evidence about the characteristics of helping relationships. The characteristics of a parent-child relationship are also related and can be applied to other similar cases of counseling. The counselor who is warmly emotional and expressive, respectful of the individuality of himself and of his client should be able to exhibits a non-possessive caring to facilitate self-realization much as the client is dealing with their own attitudes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There should be also a high degree of agreement among the client and the one who is counseling regardless of the orientation of their elements in unhelpful relationships. Guiding one another is mildly perceived with each step of the way in the given process to have an acceptable procedure in the end of the counseling therapy.   Interaction between a client and the counselor in the helping relationship is pointing out and labeling the behaviors which had proves unsatisfying, exploring objectively with the client the reasons behind their behaviors and established a re-education more effective problem-solving habits. In all kind of interaction, its main objective as many counselor practices was to be impersonal with every move they are dealing with in a helping relationship. The counselor should permits as little of his own personality to intrude as is humanly possible. It is the clue to the failure of this approach, as it’s interprets the facts in the light of the other research studies. A helping relationship withhold one’s self as a person and to deal with the other person as an object which does not have a high probability of being helpful to its client.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Provided by a similar attraction of process in a helping relationship, we can say that one characteristic of it is working in the field of human relationships has a similar problem in knowing how to use such research knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Helping relationship is the kind of relationship created by an individual who psychologically mature. The degree to which I can create relationships which facilitate the growth of other people as separate persons is a measure of the growth achieved by the counselor. First step in dealing with counselor-client relationships   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are some significant elements that a counselor should always first cover up in his first session with his client. The first stage of a counseling method is the most critical part of the process because it is the starting foundation of a good and well-sound relationship between the client and the counselor. The first and the most important part the counselor must cover up are to gain the trust and the emotion of its client. The counselor should gain the knowledge and the points of view on how his client is dealing so he will be able to know how to deal with it in its specific situation and be able to plot the problems on how they will take it in a systematical way of approach. The counselor should the first time they meet, the problems where his client is dealing and the goals that they are enlisted to aim in order to process the thinking and the right relationship with each other. They should come up a very good feeling with themselves specially the patient. The most important thing when dealing with your client at the first time you’ve met is the foundation of your relationship. It will be the starting point of your mission that’s why it is very critical. The ways and step by step process should be well plotted and organized (Corey, 114). Your main responsibilities in counseling are to attend your regularly scheduled sessions, talk about what is bothering you as openly and honestly as you can, and complete any tasks or homework assignments you may be asked to do. You are expected to let your counselor know if you are unable to make it to a session. Most counseling will require you to try something new or a different approach. Another thing your counselor will expect is for you to be willing to experiment and try things without jumping to conclusions. You are also expected to let your counselor know when your problems have been solved as well as let your counselor know if you dont feel like youre making any progress. This latter point is most important: your counselor is most interested in your benefiting from counseling. One of the most difficult steps in counseling occurs before you even see a counselor for the first time. Deciding to seek counseling is the first step in change. Once this decision has been made, the mechanics for change have been set in motion. In the process of changing the way you think, feel, or behave, you usually must try out new ways of doing things. This can make you anxious or frustrated. Also, in the course of counseling you may come to realize that things you once thought of only in a positive or negative way you may see a bit differently. The challenges of pushing on your limitations may also cause your frustrations, but with commitment and practice, you will find that you can stretch your limits and find new and exciting aspects of your self (Corey, 114). Theories and Techniques in Counseling   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Biblical Psychology for me is the most useful and effective techniques in counseling in whatever type of this in accordance to the biblical theory of counseling.   God looks at us from the perspective of our feelings, doings and root levels, and we are to do the same. It is through these levels; we assess and evaluate the problem, the diagnostics. Our feelings tell us what is happening, but we are not to make decisions or live by those feelings. This is what distinguishes a Christian from the world. The world lives by feelings but a Christian lives by his will and his will is based on the word of God which is the will of God. He is to do what God says to do regardless of his feelings. The doing of Gods word regardless of feelings is illustrated by Gods commandment to love our enemies, do well to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who persecute you. This is all contrary to our natural feelings but our true self in exercising Gods command, the self in union with the Holy Spirit, transcends the natural and changes our feelings into compassion rather than retaliation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The emphasis in the Christian life is in the doing. It is the doing that changes our feelings as well as our root level. As we do what Gods word commands, the Holy Spirit changes our root from selfishness and self-centeredness, to conform us to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in our very root being. This is a lifelong process that continues changing us from glory to glory when we simply obey Gods word. Accordingly, we are to view the problem from Gods perspective, and His word provides the solution, the hope, and with hope are changes that are necessary, and the practice of these changes to conform you to the image of Christ.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Depending upon your problem or situation, the following are provided to assist you in seeking Gods solution; Orientation to Biblical Counseling- An eight week training course to provide students with a basic knowledge on how to handle their problems Gods way as opposed to the worlds way, Establish a Foundation for Biblical Discipleship- A five week program for new Christians, teaching them how to grow and mature in Christ. This could be used for individual counseling or a classroom setting and Strengthening Your Marriage- A ten week course for pre-marital and marital situations. These are worksheets designed for individual counseling situations, and deal with a variety of sin problems and the solutions thereof. The Life Studies are divided into three categories; Guilt and Shame as the past, anger and bitterness as the present and fear as the future. These time segments cover all of lifes experiences and must be dealt with biblically. Counselee must know that he is identified with Christ, that by the blood of our Lord, counselees conscience is washed and cleansed of guilt and shame once and forever. Now he is to live the new life, empowered by the Holy Spirit, collaborating with God, to deal with his present, the daily offenses and irritations of life, and thereby establish Gods will on earth. Thus, he is enabled to leave the future in Gods hands. We should always remember: You are given life so that Life may indwell you, Christ Himself, and you are to work out this life daily being conformed to His image. Gods word is your authority, and the indwelling Holy Spirit is your power to enable you to be a blessing instead of a curse on this earth. Go now as you make a disciple of yourself, go and make disciples of others and fulfill Christs command. Let a godly lifestyle be a living witness of Christ walking this earth in, as, and through you.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another theory that I am willing to learn more is the systemic interversions. Systemic interventions are premised upon the assumption that ones environment elicits and supports the individuals dysfunctional cognitive, behavioral and affective responses. The go goal of systemic interventions is to change the individuals social environment or system, thus changing the patterns of interrelationship that elicited or supported these responses. Examples of systemic interventions (in addition to those in the preceding categories that also produce system change) include: altering communication patterns through role play and renegotiation, altering family (or system) structure by reconstructing boundaries, the family genogram, family sculpture, and providing directives for change. Children pose special issues in the selection of counseling interventions for several reasons. They have little power or control over their environment, or may lack the cognitive or affective development to respond to some interventions. For this reason, a systemic view which involves significant adults in their world often is the most effective approach to intervention selection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are a lot of techniques in counseling and the most that I am capable to apply is the progressive relaxation. These are one of the relaxation techniques in counseling. Most of the time, we are unaware of tension in our bodies until it escalates into headaches, muscle tightness, even vomiting, diarrhea, and ulcers in more extreme situations. An important part of recovery is becoming aware of our feelings. Our thoughts and feelings are major sources of this tension; creating tightness in neck and shoulders, the lower back, stomach, or legs and feet. However, we arent always aware of our internal state, so, another way to recognize and manage some of our internal feelings is through identifying what it feels like to be tense. Progressive relaxation can help us learn to recognize the tension or stress in our bodies, so we can stop it before it becomes a major physical problem (headache, muscle tightness, etc). Progressive Relaxation exercises purposefully create tension beginning from one end of our bodies to the other. What’s the purpose? It helps us recognize what tense and relaxed feels like. Since we all store stress in our bodies, we can only release body tension if we are aware of it (Roger, 61).   III. Life experience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My past life experiences is cruel and difficult. I encountered many problems and difficulties when I was a child. I am an adopted child who was molested and put on foster care. I think that this life experience of mine is a big advantage when dealing with my client. Increasing numbers of molested and abused children are very significant today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     According to a 2001 study by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation that used federal data, annual direct costs including medical, police, court and welfare costs of all child abuse is $24 billion. In addition, an estimated 10 to 20 percent of 1 million cases today are of child abuse. According to the National Institute of Justice, 26 percent of abused and neglected children become juvenile delinquents, and 13 percent of violent crime can be linked to earlier child maltreatment. Research by the U.S. Bureau of Justice found that about 22 percent of imprisoned child sex offenders reported having been sexually abused during childhood (Stevens, 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is estimated that 20 to 40 percent of adult women in the United States were sexually abused before the age of 18. For men, the range is 10 to 20 percent. Thats 24 million to 48 million women and 11 million to 22 million men. Almost every child is vulnerable to child molestation. Victims can be boys as well as girls and older as well as younger. There are many kinds of child molestation. Examples of this are; Touching or fondling, flashing or exposing adult genitals to a child, showing x-rated material to a child, deviant sexual activity such as defecation, urination, bondage, or sadomasochism and normal sexual activity such as vaginal or anal intercourse or oral stimulation of the genitals. Child molesters are either coaxing or persuading a child into sexual activity or forcing and threatening to harm a child into sexual activity. They most often manipulate child victims into complying with sexual activity by grooming them with attention, affection and gifts over a period of time. This grooming agenda of a molester is usually aimed at the parent of very young children in order for the child molester to obtain the family’s trust and thereby have an access to the child (Stevens, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With my own life experiences, I gradually think that it will be a greater advantage for me to able to comply and deal with my client to help in his problem especially if my client is also a molested child. Therefore, I can relate with my client much easier and comfortable. Nature of Clients   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In accordance to my life experiences, I am very willing to deal with people who also encountered and came from similar life experience as mine. It will be easy for me to dwell with this kind of people because I am capable enough to handle and understand their emotion and behavior in this kind of problem. I am not looking to deal with people who molest. Those people are the hardest thing for me to approach. Bibliography Corey; Theory and Practice of Counseling; 7th edition Helping Relationship; Educational compliment, May 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/hfrance/2.htm; September 23, 2007 Rogers, Carl R.; A Therapist View of Psychotherapy, Houghton Mifflin Company Boston New York, 1961 Stevens, Ellen Jane; Myths cover up further tragedies in Episode of Child Molestation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sunday Edition, April 3, 2005

Analysis of Conceptual Frameworks in Accounting

Analysis of Conceptual Frameworks in Accounting Introduction International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has begun a mutual project with US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to rebuild the existing frameworks and converge them into a common framework. First, some background. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed that companies required to file financial statements with the SEC begin replacing U.S General Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) beginning in 2014. For all practical purposes this means the eventual adoption of IFRS (principles-based) for all companies in the United States (U.S. accounting standards are considered to be rule-based model). The shift aims to harmonize US accounting standards to an international one in tandem with the globalization of capital markets.Norwalk agreement between the FASB and the IASB was signed paving the way for the creation of more principles-based accounting standards for global financial reporting (Wikipedi a, 2010). What is  a Conceptual Framework? International Conceptual Framework of Financial Reporting is a system of interactive objectives and fundamentals which lays out a set of consistent standards in preparing financial reports.A conceptual framework is akin to a constitution that prescribes the nature, function and limits of financial accounting and financial statements. Why is a conceptual framework necessary? First, to be useful, standard setting shouldbuild on and relate to an established body of concepts and objectives. A soundly developed conceptual framework should enable the IASB or FASB to issue more useful and consistent standards over time. A coherent set of standards and rules should be theresult, because they would be built upon the same foundation. The framework should increase financial statement users understanding of and confidence in financial reporting, and it should enhance comparability among companies financial statements. Second, new and emerging practical problems should be more quickly solved byreference to an existing framework of basic theory. For example, PandaCorporation sold two issues of bonds that it would redeem either with $1,000 in cash or with 50 ounces of silver, whichever was worth more at maturity. Both bond issues had a stated interest rate of 9 percent. At what amounts should the bondshave been recorded by Pand a or the buyers of the bonds? What is the amount ofpremium or discount on the bonds and how should it be amortized, if the bond redemptionpayments are to be made in silver (the future value of which was unknownat the date of issuance)?It is difficult, if not impossible, for the FASB or IASB to prescribe the proper accountingtreatment quickly for situations like this. Practising accountants, however, must resolvesuch problems on a day-to-day basis. Through the exercise of good judgment and withthe help of a universally-accepted conceptual framework, practitioners can dismiss certainalternatives quickly and then focus on an acceptable treatment. Harmonization of accounting standards is very important. For instance, Multinational companies doing business in more than one country will find that it is difficult to comply with more than one set of accounting standards established by authorities in different nations. Harmonization of accounting standards will help the world economy in the following ways: by facilitating international transactions and minimizing exchange costs by providing increasingly perfect information; by standardizing information to world-wide economic policy-makers; by improving financial markets information; and by improving government accountability. International investment decisions and financial-based management decisions are then made with less risk. Furthermore, harmonization of accounting policy would help provide a level playing field globally. Regulators and auditors will be receiving the same information, facilitating the evaluation process. In todays accounting environment, there are two formats of accounting systems, namely principles-based system and rules-based system.Almost all companies are required to prepare their financial statements according to one of the two standards. Recently, there has been much debate on whether principle-based accounting would be more efficient than the popular rules-based accounting, in the wake of accounting scandals, such as Enron. As a result of the Enron saga, the current way of accounting has been come under a great deal of scrutiny. Rules-based Accounting Rules-based accounting such as US GAAP is basically a list of detailed rules that must be followed when preparing financial statements. Many accountants favor the prospect of using rules-based standards, because in the absence of rules they could be brought to court if their judgments of the financial statements were incorrect. When there are strict rules that need to be adhered to, the possibility of lawsuits is diminished (Investopedia, 2009). Having a set of rules can increase accuracy and reduce the ambiguity that can trigger aggressive reporting decisions by management. The matrix of rules, however, can cause unnecessary complexity in the preparation of financial statement Principles-based Accounting Principles-based accounting such asIFRS is adopted as a conceptual basis for accountants. A simple set of key objectives are set out to ensure good reporting, e.g. qualitative characteristics, faithful representation. Common examples are provided as guidelines and explain the objectives. Although some rules are unavoidable, the guidelines are not meant to be used for every situation (Investopedia, 2009). Precise requirements can sometimes compel managers to manipulate the statements to fit what is compulsory. The problem with principles-based accounting is that lack of guidelines can yield unreliable and inconsistent information that makes it difficult to compare one organization with another. When contemplating which accounting method is best, it must be made certain that the information provided in the financial statements is relevant, reliable and comparable across reporting periods and entities. Increased discussion has pushed accountants towards principle-based accounting, but it is recognized that the method needs to be modified to make it more effective and efficient. To illustrate thecomparison, for example, depreciation expense for all fixed assets is to be set at 10 percent per annum of the original cost of the asset until the asset is fully depreciated.Such a rule leaves no room for judgment or argument about the amount of depreciation expense to be recognized. Comparability and consistency across firms and through time is virtually assured under such a rule. This is a rules-based system.In contrast, under the principles-based system, depreciation expense for the reporting period should reflect the decline in the economic value of the asset over the period. Such a standard requires the application of judgment and evaluation by both managers and auditors. The goal is to register the realistic value of the asset according to as is basis. Differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP Statement of Income Under IFRS, extraordinary items are not segregated in the income statement, while, under US GAAP, they are shown below the net income. Consolidation IFRS favors a control model whereas U.S. GAAP prefers a risks-and-rewards model. Some entities consolidated in accordance with FIN 46(R) may have to be shown separately under IFRS. Inventory Under IFRS, LIFO (Last In, First out) cannot be used while under U.S. GAAP,companies have the choice between LIFO and FIFO (First In, First Out). Using the LIFO method results in lower gross profit, which allows a company tobe taxed less. Earning-per-Share Under IFRS, the earning-per-share calculation does not average the individual interim period calculations, whereas under U.S. GAAP the computation averages the individual interim period incremental shares. Development Costs These costs can be capitalized under IFRS if certain criteria are met, while it is considered as expenses under U.S. GAAP(Remi Forgeas, 2008). Advantages Rules-based System Increased accuracy, reduced ambiguity and a diminished possibility of lawsuits. Rule-based standards are generally considered easier to audit for compliance purposes, and may produce more consistent and comparable financial reports across entities. Auditor display higher confident in decision making because they have a bright-light guidelines. Principles-based System The fundamental advantage of principles-based accounting is that its broad guidelines can be practical for a variety of circumstances Potentially very flexible with regard to new and changing products and environments. As such, they should also require less maintenance. Another advantage of a principles-based system is that it would result in simpler standards. Principles-based system would lead to standards that would be less than 12 pages long, instead of over 100 pages. Accountants are afforded the flexibility to input their expertise and judgment more freely in line with the professional code in producing the financial statements. Such deployment of their skills and experience will enhance their professionalism. Disadvantages Rules-based System Lack of transparency of disclosure. In the wake of recent accounting scandals, such as Enron and Worldcom, investors are becominghypersensitive to the reliability of published accounts and suspicious of the possibility of inflated earnings. The major drawback to a rules-based system is the complexity in the preparation of financial statements May include a lack of flexibility with regard to changing conditions and new products, hence requiring almost continual maintenance at times. Frequently subjectto manipulation as entities may search for loopholes that meet the literal wording of the standard but violate the intent of the standard. Principles-based System Critics of a principles-based approach argue that financial statements are more difficult to audit andwould likely lose their comparability and consistency across industries and issues regarding income measurement and recognition would remain controversial. For example, how much income will General Electric actually recognize on a multi-year defense contract under the percentage of completion method of accounting? Will this be comparable to the income reported by its competitors? To the extent that they rely on individual judgment to interpret and implement the standards, there is a danger that they can be used to manipulate financial results. For example, what ifthe auditors behaving badly? Abuse their trust and fail to apply the principles in good faith consistent with the intent and spirit of the standards. Auditors display less confidence in their decisions. Between the rules-based and principles-based modules, it is felt that the latter will be more practical and preferred by the global community, given its universal appeal based on ethics, sound judgment, transparency, credibility and even downright common sense factors. Moreover, in the globalised business arena, this system would be easier to adopt, comprehend and acceptable as against rigid rules that may be interpreted differently from one country to another. Example Cases Enron Case U.S. accounting standards are considered to be rule-based model. For example, we look at the Enron scandal, which broke in October 2001 and eventually led to the collapse of the Enron Corporation. Through the use of accounting loopholes, special purpose entities (SPE), and poor financial reporting, Enron was able to cover up billions of dollars in debt from failed deals and projects.In the U.S, Accounting law allows a company to exclude a SPE from its own financial statements if an independent party has control of the SPE, and if this independent party owns at least 3 percent of the SPE. Enron needed to find a way to hide the debt since high debt levels would lower the investment grade and trigger banks to recall lendings. Using the Enrons stock as collateral, the SPE, which was headed by the CFO Fastow, borrowed large sums of money. And this money wasused to balance Enrons overvalued contracts. Thus, the SPE enabled Enron to convert loans and assets burdened with debt obligations into income. In addition, the taking over by the SPE made Enron transfer more stock to SPE. However, the debt and assets purchased by the SPE, which was actually burdened with large amount of debts, were not reported on Enrons financial accounts. Enron was also guilty of using a dubious mark-to-market accounting system in its forward gas contract sales whereby income was estimated as the present value of net future cashflows to indicate true economic value. When these projects faltered, income was still recorded based on the initial value which of course was incorrect. As a result more projects had to be created to sustain a steady income inflow to appease the shareholders. Shareholders lost nearly $11 billion when Enrons stock price, which hit a high of US$90 per share in mid 2000, plummeted to less than $1 by the end of November 2001. Transmile case A special audit carried out by Moores Rowland Risk Management Sdn. Bhd, showed that Transmile made pre-tax losses of RM126 million and RM77 million for 2006 and 2005, respectively, instead of pre-tax profits of RM207 million and RM120 million as originally reported a total of RM530 million in overstatement. Their auditors Deloitte Touche declined to approve the accounts when the company failed to furnish them proof to substantiate certain trade receivables. However, the loss was not detected by Deloitte Touche. Worldcom case This case unveils how one of the worlds largest Mississippi telecommunicationproviders managed to make $3.8 billion disappear? The answer lies in the companys CFO Scott Sullivans treatment of capital expenditures and the accrual method, one of the basic principles of accounting.Sullivan, fraudulently took billions of dollars in operating expenses and spread them out across so-called property accounts, which is a type of capital expense accounts. This allowed Worldcom to charge the expenses off slowly, and in smaller amounts, instead of reporting them immediately to investors. The U.Ss rules-based accounting system is lack of transparency.Transparency is becoming a matter of survival rather than choice. The way toaddress at least some of the flaws mentioned above is to advocate more transparency in financial reporting. This essentially means that companies would start providing all the information the market considers to be relevant rather than simply fulfilling their mandatory regula tory requirements. Southern Bank Bhd (SBB) case In the review of Southern Bank Bhds audited financial statements for the year ended Dec 31, 2005 there was inappropriate accounting treatment amounting to RM 160 million as follows: Inappropriately valuing certain derivative financial instruments and not writing down in full the collateral value. Wrongly writing back specific provisions made on certain foreclosed properties. Capitalizing instead of expensing certain costs which is similar to Worldcom financial scandal. It appears that the accounting and auditing standard in Malaysia is very low. In order to protect the interest of the small investors and shareholders, the accounting and auditing standard should be upgraded. Conclusion Personally, I do not favor relying on either principles. Without credible principles, the rules are meaningless. Without rules the accountants are not protected. We had principle-based rules up until the IASB/FASB was created. The more specific rules or guidance were issued following lawsuits against auditors or accountants, questioning their professional judgment. The profession felt that to issue specific rules would reduce the likelihood of lawsuits against the accountants professional judgment. Interestingly, we are now coming full circle and looking to simplify how accounting is interpreted. We will make this switch and then in another 10-20 years, if another accounting scandal arises and everyone will ask for more rules again? However, we may be well served by acknowledging that neither a purely rules-based nor a purely principles-based system will be the best option on its own. Perhaps a largely principles-based system policed by a simple rules code could be the ideal solution.Any set of rules will be subject to someones interpretation. The rules will only be as good as those who use them. (2,490 words)

Teaching language functions

Teaching language functions Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many different languages in our world that are different. And each language has its rule. Language function is a part of the language. Also, each language has its function, which is used to communicate. Moreover, language function makes us to communicate correctly. If we dont know about language function, the sentences that we talk to other people will not complete. Although they can understand, but it can change the meaning. As we are teachers, we should be careful in teaching the function of language because if we teach a wrong function, it means that the students will receive a wrong language system, too. Therefore, the teachers should be careful about the usage of verbs or tenses, phrases, structures and vocabulary because these are the main factors that we can make our students to write or speak English correctly. Nowadays, there are many ways to teach the students to learn language functions. Some students th ink that language functions are boring. Then, they dont want to learn. However, we should use the better teaching technique for our students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parker (2009) suggests that function is what the language used in language learning such as requesting, apologizing, ordering etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my view, I think that the function of the language is something to control the meaning or expression of the communication. The language functions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we talk about language functions, we are talking about the reason we use a language. Basically, the function of language is used for communication; we use the language to give and receive messages between ourselves. We can break this down into language functions. When we communicate with language, we can:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Compare and Contrast   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Make a complaint   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Express love or anger   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Persuade someone   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Give advice   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ask for something   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ask for something politely   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hide the truth (lie)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Warm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Give information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Explain a process   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apportion blame   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Avoid saying anything and so on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each language function can be associated with certain grammatical forms. For example, we often use modal verbs in a polite situation,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Might I borrow your pen?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Compare this to when the language function is one of demanding:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Give me your pen!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although each language function deals with one main communicative need, it can cover different situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example, Asking for information directions can be used not only in the context of tourists finding their way round town, but also with new employees who need to find their bearings in a large firm. The same goes for Instructing others. Here the relevant language will be about giving orders, making strong suggestions etc. these can be used at work and also outside work at a hotel, when hiring a car, ordering a meal, etc. There are 3 types of the language function such as:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, informative languages function: essentially, the communication of information. They are: The informative function affirms or denies propositions, as in science or the statement of a fact. This function is used to describe the word or reason about it. These sentences have a truth value. The sentences are either true or false. Secondly, expressive languages function: reports feelings or attitudes of the writer or speaker, or of the subject.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For examples: Poetry and literature are among the best examples, but much of, perhaps most of, ordinary language discourse is the expression of emotions, feelings or attitudes. Two main aspects of this function are generally noted: evoking, certain feelings and expressing feelings. The last one, directive languages function: language used for the purpose of causing overt action. The directive function is most commonly found in commands and requests. Directive language is not normally considered true or false. Example of this function: Close the windows. The sentence Youre smoking in a nonsmoking area, although declarative, can be used to mean Do not smoke in this area. How to teach language functions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The teacher should understand with the function of language clearly. In teaching, the teacher must give the students an example in each function. Moreover, the teacher may give them a situation that they can express the language function. For example: a student is at the restaurant, she wants to order something for her lunch. What will she say to a waiter? This is an example that the teacher may give to their students to think what the girl will say in order to order something. Therefore; ordering food is a function language.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parker (2009) explains that introducing students to the function of language, the teacher can give them to perform tasks or talk about the past, present, or future. Although, the beginner level can learn how to greet people. The important thing to remember when teaching function language, the teacher should: Remember that the function does not appear in isolation. A request, or incitation, needs a reply. So, to give the students for a task, the teacher should teach in appropriate pairs. Intonation is very important in speaking English when the function of language is presented. The tone in speaking and emphasis is just as important as the particular choice of words. For example, Could I have your attention, please? It is used when we speak in class, even though it is spoken as a request, is a demand. Could I have the spaghetti? Which is spoken in a restaurant, would be a polite request. Remember the aspect of appropriacy. It is very important that the students must be careful of different situations which either for called formal English or allowed for a less formal option. In a restaurant, Can I have the spaghetti? It is less polite than Could I have the spaghetti, please?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moreover, he says that one function can have many different language functions. Here are the examples of different functions: If you say anything, I will tell your parents. (Function-Threat/Warning) Ill do the hovering, if you do the washing up. (Function-Negotiation) Ill go to the shops for you. (Function-Offer)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And one function can be expressed using several different language structures. For example: If I were you, Id .. (2nd conditional) Why dont you (Present tense question negative) You should / ought . (Modal/auxiliary verb)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, to teach a language function, the teacher may give the students some tasks or talk with them about the situations. The teacher should allow the students to study in the role play. In each situation, the students ought to tell the functions of language. To do like this will help the teacher knows the students ability in using language function. Examples of language function.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is an example of teaching language function for students that I have planned to teach about these topics. In each topic, I write the functions of language that they will learn. Topics Functions There are example situations to use language function at various places. Introductions and commands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vocabulary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Im I am   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Its It is   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lets Let us   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dont Do not The examples tasks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whats the real meaning?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The dialogue below shows the different exchange between the student and teacher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ann: I can hear the phone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul: Im watching TV. Student: Why does Paul say Im watching TV? Teacher: Because hes is doing it now- at the moment of speaking. Student: But John is there he can see that Ann is having her lunch. Teacher: Exactly. Its happening now. Student: But why? The feedback The teacher does not focus on the functional meaning of Pauls utterance. In this context, Paul is making an excuse Im not going to answer the phone because Im having my lunch. It is only focused on the grammatical meaning of the structure Paul uses, does not to make this clear. Key Skill Understanding the underlying social meaning of certain utterances is at the heart of functional language. We often use language because we want to perform some kind of communicative act like making a request or offering advice. The expressions that we use to achieve this are known as functional exponents. Research According to Saichon Deeprasit, research on Analysis of Language Functions of Authentic Materials Based on Communicative Language Teaching. The purpose of this research was to analyze the language functions of authentic materials which had not been developed for educational purpose. Authentic materials were firstly analyzed into themes, topics and sub topics. Then their language functions were analyzed and developed six lesson plans for high school students. She used 70 authentic materials which were analyzed within 12 themes and the language functions were analyzed following 6 language function groups and 6 lesson plans were developed according to the highest frequency of occurrences found in each language function group. The language functions of imparting and seeking factual information; reporting including describing and narrating were the highest frequency of occurrences (84.29) From the research, it was found that in teaching language function, the students need to report, describe and narrate. It is a secondary research because the researcher has study from the language functions of authentic materials. (Saichon: Analysis of Language Functions of Authentic Materials Based on Communicative Language Teaching) Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From this research I think that it is very important for the teacher in teaching language function because it is based on communication. Most of the students do not understand with the function of language. Sometime, the students dont know when they are used in the situation and how they should talks with a receiver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my research, there are about the meaning of language functions, how to teach language functions and the examples of language functions. I am teaching grade 11 and the English textbook consists of 8 language functions, Introducing people, Giving an opinion, Giving directions, Making arrangements, Making a phone call, In a cafà ©, Buying a train ticket, and Giving advice. My students can communicate in English from these various situations both inside and outside classroom. They know not only what functions they can use with those situations, but also the language culture. For example, they can tell the tourist the way to Nong Prajak Park, or they can introduce their new friends to a foreign teacher. They also understand the appropriateness in using the language in formal or informal way. To illustrate, they said, May I come in, please? to get a permission from the teacher to enter the class whereas they said, Can I use your pen? to their friends. Besides, they can use the certain vocabulary according to the situations. They use the word, pay attention which means to be interested in. On the contrary, pay a lot of mon ey which means to spend money. Through my learning experience with Ajarn Steve Graham, language functions have benefited me in various ways. First of all, I can communicate in various situations by using the knowledge from the classroom to apply using them in reality. Moreover, on reading skill, I can cope with skimming, scanning, or even speed reading. In addition, on writing skill, I can express my ideas, agree or disagree from the articles both in the textbook and the one on his website, Harmony at all cost? Secondly, the comic section interests me in choosing the characters and making the dialogue which I think I wont have a chance to create this language function by myself. Most importantly, I have a good opportunity to express my opinion and discuss the interesting topics such as the educational system in Thailand and I can produce the target language from reading and writing skills through speaking skill. Language function is one of the major factors that ESL students need to learn. The potential communication has been created from the classroom first and the most success will consequently happen in the real world. References Alison Parker (2009). Why teach functions?. Retrieved December 26,2009, from http://www.teflengland.co.uk/blog.asp?blogid=26 Retrieved December 25, 2009 from http://schoolofTESL.com http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_functions_of_the_Engish_language H.G.Widdowson(1978). Teaching language as communication. Oxpford University press. Saichon Deeprasit. Analysis of Language Functions of Authentic Materials Based on Communicative Language Teaching. Chiang Mai University.

Pagan and Christian Rituals in Beowulf :: Epic Beowulf christbeo paganbeo

Pagan and Christian Rituals in Beowulf      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beowulf was written in a time when Christianity was a newly budding religion in England. Throughout the book there are obvious references to both Christian and Pagan rituals.   The characters in the epic are newly found Christians who are trying to remain true to their new faith but are weak and hence, in times of great trouble, they resort back to their Pagan traditions and gods out of fear.   Pagan rituals in the book are usually present only as reflections of the past or in times of the characters's greatest turmoil. Otherwise, in times of happiness and rejoicing, they worship their one, almighty, Christian God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Grendel is attacking Herot, and its people think they are in their greatest danger, the people of Herot "sacrificed to the old stone gods / Made heathen vows / hoping for Hell's Support, the Devil's guidance in driving their affliction off." (175-178).   With the use of the word "old" in this section, it can be inferred that the stone gods are things of the past.   The rest of the passage shows that it was because of the doubt and fear, instilled in the people by Grendel, that the people of Herot regressed back to their old gods.   The use of the word "heathen" shows that the soldiers were already Christian and reverted back to their old ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Soon after this statement, the poem reads:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beware, those who are thrust into danger,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clutched at by trouble, yet can carry no solace   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In their hearts, cannot hope to be better!   Hail   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To those who will rise to God, drop off   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Their dead bodies and seek our Father's peace!      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This says that the people whose fear consumes them to the point that they lose faith that, after death, their souls will not be granted eternal peace by the Father, God.  Ã‚   This illustrates that the soldiers who have fallen from faith in their worship are doing so only because of great fear, but that they are looked down upon by God and good Christians.   It says that only those who will sacrifice themselves and trust in God will be let into Heaven.   These

Effect of Light in The Stranger and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisov

The light in the two novels The Stranger and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich(One Day) has an animalistic effect on the protagonists. In The Stranger, Meursault complains about the intensity of sunlight. His nature is not a light friendly one, he becomes distracted and begins to sweat under intensive light. Meursault may in several ways be compared to a bat, confused and irritated by light, though when in a dark environment, he is able to concentrate and focus. On the other hand, Shukov from One Day experiences light as mental freedom from the dark camp. Light allows him to hope for a better future for him and everyone in the camp. Shukov shows animalistic features as well, as he wakes with the sun rising and ends his day with the sunset. He tolerates darkness as long as he does not encounter major vision difficulties due to the dark. Meursault lives in a small town at the beach with daily, sunny and warm weather. On the contrary is the weather in the USSR, in which Shukov has family and a home . The USSR, by maintaining mostly negative temperatures throughout the year, transmits a rather negative image of the environment. Both protagonists ironically react to light and darkness opposite to the presence of light and darkness in their environment. In The Stranger, Meursault is not able to tolerate intensive light which causes him to think narrowly and furthermore behave according to such thoughts. He does not seem to feel any emotions at his mother’s funeral as he shows more interest in the details of her death than his emotional connection to her as his mother. He is more bothered by the intensity of the light than the fact that his mother died. He portrays this kind of attitude at his mother’s funeral and then later on ... ...eursault is lead by it and thus is not fully aware of his actions. Another difference between both characters exists on their emotional level. One has to allow light to enter the heart to have the ability of sensing feelings. Being suppressed by the authority, Shukov sees light as hope for freedom and is well-heartedly open to it. Mersault though is not able to tolerate it thus open his already emotionless heart for it. He does not know if he loves Marie, nor cares who he would be married to. No tears are spilled by him at his mother's funeral and he neither shows any kind of emotions at his own execution. Meursault is not able to say if his lawyer is on his side and if he can trust him because there "no way of knowing it, because our heart is blind." (The Stranger, 120) Light entering the eye allows us to have vision, only light entering the heart allows emotions.

The Neurologist :: Neurology Brain Medical Essays

The Neurologist Language is a vital part of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Each of us uses language everyday in a variety of ways. When our language skills are in jeopardy, it can affect our entire lives. The consequences of a loss of language can be more restricting then that of loss of sight or hearing. Communication is a matter of survival and independence, without it ones life will change drastically. There is almost complete agreement that there are four main language areas in the left cerebral hemisphere of most people. Two of these areas are considered receptive while the other two carry out the actual task. These two receptive areas take on very different tasks, one involving the perception of written language and the other of spoken language. The area that helps to regulate written language is located in the angular gyrus, while the other occupies the Heschl’s gyri. Although language and speech are usually considered synonymous functions, this is not the case in all aspects of their roles. Unlike an impairment of speech, language impairment always occurs due to an abnormality of the cerebral hemisphere. Speech on the other hand may be effected by the same sort of abnormality but it also can be effected by damage to other parts of the brain. Loss of communication and language can be a result of damage to the temporal lobe of the brain. The type of language loss is dependent of what specific area of the temporal lobe has been damaged. Possible types of damage to the brain can be a lesion or a tumor. It is the job of the neurologist to locate the area of damage and to assess the level of impairment. Neurologist use a variety of test to asses the possible damage to the brain or spinal cord including CAT scans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a wide variety of functional, skill assessments. One of the most popular verbal memory assessments used in the field is the Wechsler Memory Scale, the most recently revised version has been a useful tool for neurologist to determine severity and location of the temporal damage. One of the first signs of a lesion to the temporal lobe is The Neurologist :: Neurology Brain Medical Essays The Neurologist Language is a vital part of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Each of us uses language everyday in a variety of ways. When our language skills are in jeopardy, it can affect our entire lives. The consequences of a loss of language can be more restricting then that of loss of sight or hearing. Communication is a matter of survival and independence, without it ones life will change drastically. There is almost complete agreement that there are four main language areas in the left cerebral hemisphere of most people. Two of these areas are considered receptive while the other two carry out the actual task. These two receptive areas take on very different tasks, one involving the perception of written language and the other of spoken language. The area that helps to regulate written language is located in the angular gyrus, while the other occupies the Heschl’s gyri. Although language and speech are usually considered synonymous functions, this is not the case in all aspects of their roles. Unlike an impairment of speech, language impairment always occurs due to an abnormality of the cerebral hemisphere. Speech on the other hand may be effected by the same sort of abnormality but it also can be effected by damage to other parts of the brain. Loss of communication and language can be a result of damage to the temporal lobe of the brain. The type of language loss is dependent of what specific area of the temporal lobe has been damaged. Possible types of damage to the brain can be a lesion or a tumor. It is the job of the neurologist to locate the area of damage and to assess the level of impairment. Neurologist use a variety of test to asses the possible damage to the brain or spinal cord including CAT scans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a wide variety of functional, skill assessments. One of the most popular verbal memory assessments used in the field is the Wechsler Memory Scale, the most recently revised version has been a useful tool for neurologist to determine severity and location of the temporal damage. One of the first signs of a lesion to the temporal lobe is

Evolution of Zombies on Film

The term zombie is referred to as a corpse reanimated through unnatural means, and in some cases, is usually depicted to have a knack for human flesh (Clute & Grant, 1999). Zombies are believed to have originated in the Caribbean Republic of Haiti where witch doctors revive dead people to do their bidding (Chevallier, 2006). This concept and origin of the Zombie was first introduced to the United States by W. S. Seabrook's Magic Island (Mumble-Jumble,1940). Seabrook's publication then spawned other works encompassing resurrected mindless corpses which subsequently became elements elements of interest for filmmakers. From paper to reel, the process of creating Zombies has tremendously evolved with the birth of computer generating image technology. The Epic of Gilgamesh (1960) also alluded the Zombie's concept, as the goddess Ishtar pledged to â€Å"knock down the gates of the Netherworld, and let the dead outnumber and devour the living. † Though the epic does not give any description of the appearance of the dead, the concept of flesh eating dead creatures are still synonymous to the idea of Zombies. While William Seabrook's Magic Island brought the idea of Zombies to the United States, Howard Phillips Lovecraft's Herbert West – Reanimator fully furnished the concept of Zombies in American Popular Culture (Braun, 2008). The story entails scientist Herbert West reanimating corpses that result to vile horrible beastly creatures with violent tendencies (Joshi & Cannon,1999), The Idea of Zombies was first introduced to the motion picture industry upon the release of the 1932 independent cult film, White Zombie. The film drew its idea of Zombies from the Haitian folklore of using paranormal powers to revive the dead. As the film's title suggests, the story revolves around couple, Neil and Madeleine who decide to accept an invitation Charles, a common acquaintance, to exchange vows in his plantation in Haiti. In an attempt to fulfill his hidden desires for Madeleine, Charles persuades the former to marry him instead. Madeleine immediately rejects Charles, who in return vindicates himself by consulting voodoo master Legendre to momentarily turn her in to a Zombie, to fake her death, send Neil back to the United States grieving, and bring Madeleine back to reality to pursue her again. Legendre meanwhile has his own selfish ploys which are thwarted by Charles with the aid of a missionary who goes by the name Dr. Bruner (Halperin & Halperin, 1932). In white Zombie, there is simplicity in presentation, as far as the Zombies appearance is concerned, considering that it is the first film to tackle such subject, the Zombies appeared a little close to human, but the mindless unwilled personality is already obvious. Though there is not much technique or technology available during the time, it is quite blatant that the Zombie interpretation was innovative. While the film was considered pioneer in Zombies, the concept of reanimated corpses do not have apocalyptic implications similar to later films, the concept of the Zombie strictly conformed to the Haitian voodoo practice which does not involve any scientific procedures or freak accidents. Soon after the release of White Zombie, Zombies on film have evolved, notable films such as Things to Come and Plan 9 From Outer Space further shaped the zombie as an element of horror. 936's Things to Come did not really focus on Zombies that were reanimated as living dead but the effects of a viral outbreak that causes the infected to mindlessly ramble without a definite purpose, which is synonymous to the mindlessness of zombies. In he film, the Zombie like creatures do not stray away from human appearance. Science Fiction met with Horror as 1959's Plan 9 From Outer Space tells the story of aliens who planned to stop human endeavor on a Doomsday Weapon that would bring the Universe in to oblivion . The aliens then executed plan 9 which concerns reanimation of the dead to divert human attention. The appearance of zombies in the film do not differ from human appearance, the only distinctive quality among zombies are the absence of the pupil. Though special effects were not sophisticated, zombies reanimated by alien technology is still a conceptual breakthrough. Despite the seemingly incompetent zombies of classic horror films, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead became the mother of all zombie films, and is considered the greatest zombie movie of all time (Braun, 2008). The film is highly influential in the tradition of zombies as it revolutionized the zombie appearance in motion pictures and influenced zombie oriented films. The secret behind the horrifying appearance of the zombies in Night of the Living Dead is credited to the use of primitive techniques for special effects. (Williams, 2003). In night of the Living Dead, costumes consisted of second-hand apparel and the zombie appearance was complemented by mortician wax (Hardman & Eastman, 1997). Some of the blood used were just chocolate syrup, it looked like blood smears when shot on black and white (Homepage of the Dead, 2008). The materials used proved to be a little stingy for a successful film, but the efficiency of it has set a standard in the field of special effects. George Romero's follow up to Night of the Living Dead produced a better and more believable look for the zombie, special effects master Tom Savini has created a look with tremors still being imitated today but never surpassed. Savini primarily applied gray make up to give the zombie cast a more undead appearance. The zombies with close-up shots were had latex applied on their faces to emphasize wounds and other causes for their being undead (Savini, 1983). Savini adds that the zombies were supposed to appear as people recently killed, so he tried to make them look like victims of car accidents and fatal ailments. There is even one zombie that appear well groomed, Savini's intention here is to make that zombie look as if he just had been to an undertaker (Savini, 1983). Savini casted specific body parts to hydrocal and had them painted with red and black on the bottom to match the flesh colors in order to make bite-scars more believable (Savini, 1983). For the zombie killed in the truck, Savini sculpted a face lay over and filled it with blood and sealed with a layer of dermwax for the zombie actress (Savini, 1983). The effect was for a zombie who was shot in the head with an exit wound in the face (Savini, 1983). In Day of the dead, there are slight differences in the appearance of the zombie, the only notable difference came in the green color which emphasize the vestiges of decomposition (Savini, 1983). The development of zombies also came in speech as one zombie manifested the ability of speech (Rubenstein & Romero, 1985). Nonetheless, the film still takes pride in the advanced special effects. In a different note, the 80s saw a decline on zombie films, however there are some satirical innovations that proved to be arguable developments such as Return of the Living Dead (Fox, Henderson & O'Bannon) where zombies are shown to have a hunger for human brains, this garnered some recognition, most notably on an episode of The Simpsons Halloween special. The breakthroughs of modern technology in special effects and other cinematic techniques became a big help in developing zombies far better than they last appealed viewers. For nearly 2 decades, the zombie film was in hibernation, however, recent productions such as the movie adaptations of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and I am Legend revitalized the zombie film. The motion picture resident evil utilized computer generated imaging technology to some extent, but most of the furnishings for the zombies are done with make-up (Anderson, 2002). The motion picture gives a new approach to zombies as some of them wielded weapons such as the hatchet held by the first zombie who appeared (Anderson, 2002). Another groundbreaking addition in resident evil is the zombie dog which is a total departure from the usual human undead (Anderson, 2002). The sequel to the first Resident Evil film brought about fresh ideas in zombie films wherein sophistication and advanced movements such as climbing stairs and opening doors have become part of zombie abilities. The introduction of the super zombie Nemesis is also a first, since the aforementioned can wield heavy armaments such as gattling guns and missile launchers, and it can also filter its victims via a remote controlled targeting system (Witt, 2004). Zombies on film have progressed since its humble beginnings in White Zombie, and most motion pictures serve as testimony to the immortality of the zombie as an element in horror. The extensive innovations in make-up and special effects applications has given rise to evolution of zombies on cinema, from simple mindless speechless individuals, to decapitated decomposing flesh hungry monsters, to weapon wielding, stair climbing semi-intelligent beasts, the film industry has done a great job in revolutionizing an idea that seem to be lame and childish. Moreover, the advent of modern technology has also aided the evolution of zombies on film.