Kate Chopin Analytical Essay †the Story of an Hour Essay

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short yet complex story, describing Mrs Mallard’s feelings. It focuses on the unfolding emotional state of Mrs Mallard after the news of her husbands death, and has overflowing symbolism and imagery. It is an impressive literary piece that touches the readers’ feelings and mind and allows the reader to have a connection to Mrs Mallard’s emotional process. Although the story is short, it is complete with each word carrying deep sense and meaning. It is written in the 19th century, a time that had highly restrictive gender roles that forbade women to live as they saw fit. Mrs Mallard experiences something not everyone during this time has the luck to have; the happiness of freedom that the reader only understands at the end of the story. The author unfolds Mrs Mallards feelings in three stages; firstly moving quickly to grief, then to a sense of newfound freedom, and finally to despair over the loss of that freedom. To create the story, Chopin uses an abundance of literary elements, including imagery, personification, and similes, and also makes use of the social expectations of her time. In the beginning of the story the reader is told that Mrs Mallard suffers from a heart condition, and news of her husband’s death is brought to her â€Å"as gently as possible† (158). Mrs Mallard’s sister, Josephine, and her husbands friend Richards break the news, believing Mrs Mallard would be upset and that the news could make her condition worsen. During the 19th century, most women when in Mrs Mallard’s situation would wait until they were in private before breaking their composure. Mrs Mallard however, â€Å"wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment† (158). The reader expects Mrs Mallard to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and worries that with her heart trouble the sad news may worsen her condition. However, her reaction to the news is just the first emotional response to the news, without deep comprehension of what has happened and how it will change her life. Chopin shows us how Mrs Mallard, little by little, comes to realise it and what helps her to understand it. After composing herself Mrs Mallard goes to her room and â€Å"there stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Read Also:  Analytic Rubric for Essay Writing Into this she sank† (158). Reading this readers realise something turns the story to a more positive and reassuring way. How does Chopin create this effect? Chopin uses imagery and creates the comfortable setting so that the reader can become more in tune with Mrs Mallards situation and feelings. By allowing thereader to see two things â€Å"a comfortable, roomy armchair† which symbolises security and comfort in spite of Mr Mallards death, and â€Å"the open window† that symbolises a connection to the world and life continuing. In the fifth paragraph Chopin emphasises the feelings of comfort and security even more, and creates more details and fresh elements for the new and positive turn in the story. The reader is told that Mrs Mallard, through the window, can see â€Å"tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life,† (158) and that â€Å"the delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street bellow a peddler was crying his wares. † (158). These parts, also an example of imagery by setting the scene outside of the house, show the reader that Mrs Mallard is reconnecting with the world. Sitting in that armchair she starts to hear sounds and smell scents that she didn’t before; things we take for granted and only appreciate when we’re happy. Did she really not notice these everyday occurrences until after her husband’s death? In the next paragraph Chopin gives us more details of these changes, emphasizing it but not telling the reader why she didn’t notice until now. Careful readers, however, understand the deep sense of the words about the â€Å"patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other† (158). These words aren’t there just to take up space. They are details that make the reader feel the growth of Mrs Mallard’s excitement and let us understand that the blue sky is a symbol of the freedom and future life for Mrs Mallard. In paragraph eight, Chopin begins to use personification as well as imagery. Mrs Mallard â€Å"young, with a fair, calm face† (158) is sitting in the armchair with a â€Å"dull stare in her eyes† (158) which â€Å"indicated of intelligent thought† (158). Reading this, the reader can form an idea of what Mrs Mallard looks like, and we understand that there’s something going on in Mrs Mallards head, something changing everything in her mind. Mrs Mallard is still struggling to figure it out but â€Å"she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching towards her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air†. From this we understand that she is beginning to realise it, and her soul is beginning to fill with happiness of freedom, which is in all the sounds, smells and things she sees. For one moment, however, she is somewhat afraid of feeling happy about her freedom and â€Å"she was striving to beat it back with her will† (159). This shows that Mrs Mallard is a â€Å"product† of her time, and is striving to feel what is socially accepted. She realizes that society would determine her thoughts of freedom inappropriate, but she can’t stop herself from feeling that way. However, â€Å"she knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death† (159), but it’s just a reaction, one that society expects her to have, and one that many have when dealing with the death of someone they know. Chopin makes it quite clear that Mr Mallard loved Mrs Mallard, â€Å"the face that had never looked save with love upon her† (159). Mrs Mallards own feelings are also described, and it’s clear that she doesn’t share her husbands feelings â€Å"she loved him – sometimes. Often she did not† (159). This kind of direct and simple language is used to describe things that Mrs Mallard isn’t emotional about, thus the language would indicate, as much as the actual words do, that Mrs Mallard didn’t have strong feelings for her husband. After all, what can compare to â€Å"a long procession of years that would belong to her absolutely† (159). This is where Chopin finally gives a reason as to why Mrs Mallard feels this way about her husbands death. â€Å"There would be no one to live for her during these coming years: she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose† (159). This shows the reader a picture of Mrs Mallards family life. She was unhappy with her husband because she couldn’t have her own opinion and she couldn’t show her own will to do something, which is why she is happy to be free of her marriage. Back in the 19th century, society would not accept a divorced woman, but it would accept widows. Mrs Mallard is estatic, realising that she was now free from her husband, and still has a place in society. â€Å"Free, body and soul free! † (159). Reading these words the reader shares with Mrs Mallard her feelings, excitement and hopes. At this point the readers have fixated mostly on Mrs Mallard and the sudden reintroduction of Josephine, brings the reader back to reality. Josephine, kneeling outside the door, now looks ridiculous to the reader as she implores Mrs Mallard with her words of â€Å"open the door – you will make yourself ill† (159). Because Mrs. Mallard, who is a woman, who had numerous years under her husband’s will, finally gets an absolutely freedom, a miraculous freedom, which she even didn’t hope to get the day before, but her sister is far from understanding it, and is in fact worrying that her sister is grief stricken. Mrs Mallard eventually gives in to her sisters worried begging, and expecting â€Å"spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own† (159), leaves the room â€Å"a goddess of Victory† (159). Here Chopin uses a simile to describe how calm and happy Mrs Mallard is now, free of all the negatives of her marriage. This point, at first look, seems to be the highest culminating moment of the whole story. And this is where Chopin’s creativity truly comes into play. Chopin prepared the main culmination right at the end, in the three final paragraphs. Mrs Mallards husband opens â€Å"the front door with a latchkey† (160). He enters â€Å"a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella† (160). He is carrying it â€Å"composedly†, because although his name is on the list of those who died, he is unaware of the train accident reported at the beginning of the story. Adding to the irony is â€Å"Josephine’s piercing cry† and â€Å"Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife† (160). It is said that Mrs Mallard dies â€Å"of a joy that kills† (160). These words carry the complete opposite meaning than they read. The reader understands that the doctors are wrong, thinking that she dies from happiness of seeing her husband alive. Rather, the reader feels that she dies from total disappointment of the loss of the freedom she so recently gained and experienced, even just for an hour. This hour, spent in a comfortable armchair in front of an open window, made her feel happy and free, and made her understand the sense of her being, and it was the only real hour of her life. In The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin used many subtle literary elements to create depth in her story. By using imagery she allows the reader to get a sense of the characters surroundings while adding to the story. In using similes Chopin can express the characters feelings in different ways, instead of just telling the reader how Mrs Mallard feels. With her use of personification, Chopin allows the reader to better understand what Mrs Mallard looked like, while keeping her physique vague and without going into too much detail. By creating a sudden and a strong ironic twist at the end, Chopin allows the story to contradict itself in ways the reader wouldn’t expect. In the beginning, the readers are worried that Mrs Mallard’s heart condition will worsen at the news of her husbands death, but in the end it’s disappointment of the fact that he doesn’t actually die that causes her heart to fail. The main theme of the story, longing for freedom and how it felt to finally feel free, is expressed in a  way that is both entertaining and allowed the reader to feel connected to the character. By having Mrs Mallard die of a â€Å"heart disease†, it symbolises that Mrs Mallard felt of marriage as a â€Å"disease† and that it was constraining. The main point of the story is that freedom is a prize possession in Mrs Mallards life and that to loose it again so quickly after gaining it is more than she can bare. Bibliography: Charters, Ann â€Å"The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction, Seventh Edition (2009 MLA Update)†, Boston, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.

Organizational Behavior, Mintzbergs Managers

Introduction The theory our group will be discussing and explaining in depth is the leadership styles of top management using Mintzberg’s managerial roles. Mintzerg named ten different roles, all separated into three categories. The first category is interpersonal. This includes figurehead, leader, and liason. The second category is informational which includes monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson. The last category is decisional which includes entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator.These roles are all used in the leadership styles of top management and we will find throughout research which roles are most frequently used and which seem to be the most effective. We have selected five companies in which we will research and in turn, be able to apply Mintzberg’s roles to each company individually. Our company selection includes Nokia, Walt Disney, Apple, Microsoft, and city utilities. We look forward to researching these companies and fin ding exactly which roles are most important to each company specifically, as well as comparatively.Theoretical Identification Mintzberg’s managerial roles are categorized into ten different roles, separated into three categories. The liaison role is under the category interpersonal roles, and it focuses on the manager’s interpersonal work with people that are not a part of his/her own organization. It describes the information and communication that is obligated by a manager, for example that the manager must create networks and engage in information exchange via trade shows, joining boards of directors to gain access to more knowledge.A successful liaison would be networking with the right amount of people in the right circles so that they also would be either a step ahead of their competitors, or at least up to date with the right knowledge. The monitor role is under informational roles, and it focuses on regularly seeking information related to the organization and industry to look for changes that are relevant to the companies’ environment. This is important to the company and to its employees who value being able to adapt to changes that happen in their environment as well.It is also the monitor’s role to be the one to monitor the team in terms of productivity and the team’s well -being to make sure that they always have productive and satisfied employees. Figurehead is considered a symbol, but is required to perform a number of routine duties of a legal or social nature. The figurehead is not always considered a decision maker within a company. Steve Jobs was a perfect example of someone who made business decision, but he was also considered someone that represented the company socially.The other form of figurehead could be Ronald McDonald representing McDonalds, but he has no authority in business decisions. Figureheads are important in helping sell the brand as well as creating a positive image. Figurehead performs ce remonial and symbolic duties. Figureheads are crucial in a company for the brand name, and how they can help build a company. Leader is responsible for the motivation and direction of employees. Every company will have leaders throughout all levels of the company. You will have someone at upper level, middle level and lower level management.Upper level management has someone leading sometimes through board of directors or CEO. Middle Management has a manager in charge of lower level. A leader cannot be taught, but it is a person who has always been a natural born leader. Leaders will direct and motivate subordinates, train, advice and influence. These tasks are crucial in keeping the company flowing smoothly and keeping the product moving out the door. Leaders are crucial in deciding tasks to elevate the company. They are making decisions that the everyday employee has no control over.The disseminator and spokesperson roles, classified under the informational category, are closely r elated. The disseminator role refers to the manager who takes information received from outsiders or employees, and shares it with upper level members of the organization. The spokesperson role takes information from inside the organization and relates it to the public. Good disseminators and spokespersons need to have good communication skills in order to interact with company heads as well as the public.A successful spokesperson needs to be able to speak during conferences with confidence and also be able to maintain a consistent relationship with the media. If a manager is both a spokesperson and disseminator, they are excellent in communicating both inside and outside of the company. The decisional category includes four roles: entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator. The entrepreneur role is one in which managers take initiative and seek out opportunities that will both benefit the organization as well as create innovation. These managers work on m ajor rojects and are proactive in accomplishing goals as well as bettering the organization. The disturbance handler role refers to managers who are responsible in taking action when problems or disturbances occur. Every organization faces conflict, most of which are sudden and unexpected. The disturbance handler steps in to handle this conflict and attempts to resolve and correct the problem so that the organization can continue successfully. Organizations Identification/ Introduction and Descriptions Disney The Disney Company was founded by its namesake Walt Disney on October 16, 1923.In 1923, Walt Disney left his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri on his way to California with a cartoon of a little girl in a cartoon world called Alice’s Wonderland (Disney). Disney decided to use his cartoon to make some Alice Comedies which first made him successful with his brother, Roy. The Disney Company’s original name in 1923 was Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio which then changed to Walt Disney Studios at the request of Disney’s brother (Disney). After a few years Disney decided to transition to an all cartoon show Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and he made his first business mistake.When he went to his distributor for more money for a second season of the cartoon he realized the distributor sold the rights to a studio who made the cartoons for a cheaper price and that upon further review of his contract he did not own the rights to Oswald the distributor did. However, this was probably a great error because right after this incident Disney created Mickey Mouse, the figurehead for the Disney Company. According to Mintzberg’s managerial role not only is Mickey the figurehead of Disney but so is Walt Disney himself.The Disney Company has expanded greatly over the last 80 years since the company was started by Walt Disney and his brother. The company has moved from cartoons to feature films, amusement parks, merchandise and even Broadway. Walt Disney di ed December 15, 1966 and the company continued with his brother Roy who followed plans Disney left behind (Disney). Once again the Disney Company was not satisfied with its success and decided they should make another theme park on the east coast called Disney World, which opened October 1, 1971. Roy Disney who ran Disney after the death of his rother died in 1971, the company was run for the next decade by people trained by the Disney brothers. The community of tomorrow or EPCOT was one of Disney’s last ideas and it was realized in the larger Disney World Park. The now CEO, Robert Iger, showed that he had what it takes to lead such an innovative company. He became the Disney Company CEO in 2005 and after that the companies stock jumped 42% (Steptoe). In 2007, he increased the fiscal profits almost 80% over the previous year to 2. 63 billion dollars (Steptoe). Disney is one of the most innovated and widely diverse companies around the world.Toyota Toyota joined the automobile industry in 1936 based out of Japan. Toyota has always been a top tier automobile company that has top of the line manufacturing. Toyota will continue to stay top of the line in automobiles with cars such as the Hybrid. The Hybrid has revolutionized the automobile industry to new heights, and that is owed to the management team who has had their struggles. It was large news not too long ago about Toyota recalling several cars, because the accelerator was sticking. The severity cannot be explained in this paper for people involved with this scenario.Mintzberg’s managerial roles might not be the direct idea companies are using, but they are being used by everyone in certain situations. Mintzberg has ten managerial roles divided into three categories of informational, interpersonal and decisional. The crisis Toyota dealt with for the last several years heavily involved the category, decisional. The start was with interpersonal and the leaders to make a decision to go public wit h their apology. It does not make the public happy for the current situation, but it lets the public no Toyota realizes they made a mistake.The leader also had to make some large cuts within the company to show they realized the mistake. The leader also had to motivate employees, so they did not have another lapse that would ruin Toyota. The decisional aspects consume of disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. The negotiator had to deal with all the complaints, and they had to negotiate all the lawsuits aimed at Toyota. The negotiator did pretty well by taking a small hit in the large scheme of the company. They were able to find settlements for over half the cases dealing with the incidents.It took years to uncover a lot of these settlements, but Toyota was willing to take that hit to rebuild the brand name to its original strength. The other two decisional roles are disturbance handler and resource allocator. The disturbance handler is someone who takes corrective action in a crisis and solves problems at hand. This could have been the ending result of Toyota with so many lives in jeopardy, but this person dealt with the problem by confronting it head on. They took the approach of no excuses, and making it publicly none of the problem and recalling the vehicles.It was going to take a hit for taking blame in such large failure of automobiles, but it would save their image in the long run. The resource allocator was in charge of dealing with the issues inside the vehicle to make sure no problem occurs like this again. Toyota continues to bounce back by having top of the line vehicles with minimal complaints. The resource allocator has seemed to done their job in fixing the problem with newly acquired resources. Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington.The company develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products and services that’s related to electr onics and software. Microsoft is also one of the world's most valuable companies. As of 2012, Microsoft is a market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets. It was founded on April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Paul Allen was born in Seattle, Washington, Allen attended Lakeside School, a private school in Seattle, and befriended Bill Gates, who was almost three years younger and shared a common enthusiasm for computers. Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, to William H. Gates, Sr. nd Mary Maxwell Gates. Gates father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. Gates graduated from Lakeside School in 1973. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and enrolled at Harvard College in the autumn of 1973. Gates joined Paul Allen at Honeywell during the summer of 1974. The following year they saw the release of the MITS Altair 8800 based on the Intel 8080 CPU, and Gates and Allen saw this as the opportunity to start their own computer software company. Gates dropped out of Harvard at this time and that was the start of Microsoft Corporation.Bill Gates management style was very different. Gates's role at Microsoft for most of its history was primarily a management and executive role. From Microsoft's founding in 1975 until 2006; Gates had primary responsibility for the company's product strategy. He aggressively broadened the company's range of products, and wherever Microsoft achieved a dominant position he vigorously defended it. He gained a reputation for being distant to others; as early as 1981 an industry executive complained in public that â€Å"Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls. As an executive, Gates met regularly with Microsoft's senior managers and program managers. Accounts of these meetings described him as verbally combative and they were worried about the long term agreement with the company because of the way Bill Gates operated things, he was for example very known for the way he would interrupt presentations and be rude and harsh. Gates's role at Microsoft for most of its history was primarily a management and executive role. Microsoft has a top 12 over their management style which is: Total World Domination The Top Five PercentMicrosoft rigorously attempts to hire only the smartest people, those who are within the smartest 5% of the total population. Bet the Company Winning in the game of business is about being willing to make bets at good odds. Require Failure At most companies, to succeed is good, but to fail is unacceptable. This type of policy means that, as a risk/reward scenario, the risk of failure vastly exceeds the reward of success. Managers Are Qualified At Microsoft, the most important qualification for a manager is expertise in the functional area over which (s)he is managing Perform, Perform, PerformPerformance is all that matters at Microsoft, so mu ch so that excuses are flat-out irrelevant â€Å"Shrimp vs. Weenies† Even with its billions upon billions in cash, Microsoft is as frugal as Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's a company that buys canned weenies for food, not shrimp. Commander Steve Ballmer flew coach. (For scheduling Size Does Matter Bill is Watching Esprit de Corps Again alluding to Microsoft being less like a big company than it appears, Thielen asserts that Microsoft has esprit de corps like that of a start-up where everyone involved is focused on a common goal.Stop the Insanity The plague of most big companies is bureaucracy and stupid rules. Home Away From Home Microsoft has a simple way of maximizing its employees' productivity: It allows each individual's office to be as individualized as one desires. Nokia Nokia was founded in 1865 by a man named Fredrik Idestam. He set up two paper mills on the banks of rivers in Finland, the second one on the Nokianvirta River. This is where he came up with the name we all kno w, Nokia. It is ironic that Nokia began by making paper, one of the most important communication tools in history.The first step Nokia took towards the technology industry was in 1912 when Arvid Wickstrom set up Finnish Cable Works. They worked closely with Nokia and in 1962 they created their first electronic device, a pulse analyzer for nuclear power plants. In 1963 Nokia started developing products for the army and shortly after became the biggest computer brand in Finland and the third largest TV manufacturer in Europe. Throughout Nokia’s history there is a trend of innovation and entrepreneurial thinking from its managers.In 1991, the Finnish Prime Minister made the world’s first GSM phone call using a Nokia device. The Nokia President and CEO at the time, Jorma Ollila, decided to focus exclusively on manufacturing mobile phones and telecommunication. This marks the beginning of the Nokia Company that we all know to date. With its aggressive grown strategy and foc us on mobile communication Nokia quickly became the largest mobile communications company in the world. More recently, Nokia has been making many changes due to the increase in competitors in the smart phone market.Fresh blood was brought into management when Stephen Elop was appointed the new President and CEO. He has a history of being a top decisional manager according to Mintzberg’s managerial roles. His job is to keep up with the changing industry and stay competitive in the smartphone market that has been dominated by apple in recent years. In the few years that Elop has been CEO he has made further changes to the management team of the organization. A new vice president of operations has been appointed along with new vice presidents of sales & marketing, mobile phones, and communications.Elop is clearly taking action to make up some of the market share lost to apple in the past years. Apple Apple, a multinational and billion dollar company, was founded on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. It was incorporated January 3, 1977 without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak. Apple is best known for the Mac line of computers, the iPod, the iPad, and the iPhone. It is the world’s largest mobile phone maker after Samsung and Nokia and was named the most admired company in the United States in 2008 and in the world from 2008 to 2012.The Apple market cap is larger than that of Google and Microsoft combined and its worldwide revenue totaled $156 billion in 2012. Apple uses Mintzberg’s managerial roles throughout its corporation to function on a daily basis. Application and Analysis/ Relationships and Inconsistencies Apple While there are many similarities as well as inconsistencies between Apple and Mintzberg’s managerial roles, I find there to be mostly positive relationships between this organization and our topic. The strongest role that Apple focuses on is the leadership role.M intzberg described leading as motivation, direction, and communication from managers to their employees in an effective manner. Steve Jobs was the soul of Apple and his leadership skills and qualities lead this company to extreme success. He was an innovator who focused not only on the needs of the stakeholders, but also on how the organization could reinvent or create new products, markets, customers, and services. Job’s leadership skills followed Mintzberg’s definition of leadership precisely.Along with the similarities of Apple and our topic come inconsistencies. The main inconsistency I found was Apples ability to use Mintzberg’s disturbance handler role effectively. Mintzberg describes this role as the one to take corrective action when the organization faces important, yet unexpected disturbances. Apple has faced many challenges and crossroads in its past and many of these were not solved in the best of manners. A stronger decisional role, such as the dist urbance handler, may have made such challenges easier to handle.Mintzberg’s managerial roles are important and used within all organizations and relationships, both positive and negative, are present. Disney The Disney Company is most well known for its figurehead Mickey Mouse an important role according to Mintzberg. Disney utilizes the figurehead role in a positive way to influence the company and the fans. The Disney Company continued to gain in success after the creation of Mickey Mouse when they realized that they could make more money by selling Mickey merchandise. Then they moved on the first Mickey book and comic strip.In 1934, Disney decided to break into the animated feature films starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White was a huge success and was the highest grossing film of all time until it was surpassed by Gone with the Wind (Disney). Walt Disney knew that his cartoons were successful but the future of his company was in the feature films where he continued to be successful but eventually wanted to expand his company again. This time he moved to amusement parks and Disneyland was opened on July 17, 1955, which fans later called theme parks (Disney).In the 1950’s Disney came out with movies like 20,000 Leagues Under the sea and perhaps the finest culmination of his career Mary Poppins (Disney). According to Mintzberg’s roles, Disney was a great leader by not only running a successful company but by influencing the grand expansion of his company from cartoons to films, amusement parks, and even Broadway. He also knew how to inspire and teach his young proteges how to be good leaders and entrepreneurs. After Disney’s death, the new group of leaders decided to keep the Disney expansion going by building a Disney theme park in Tokyo, the first international theme park.In the 1980’s the new management team began the realization of Disney’s own cable network, The Disney Channel. Over the next tw enty years Disney expanded their movie, television, and theme park networks. In 1994, Disney moved to Broadway with their production of Beauty and the Beast (Disney). In 2005, Robert Iger became the CEO of Disney and he is still the CEO today. Many people were skeptical because Iger was a weatherman who had worked himself up the ranks and was now the leader of a large company (Steptoe).However, Iger showed that he could be a great leader like Walt Disney and it was Iger who changed Disney into a technologically savvy company. Iger proved his business smarts by meeting with Steve Jobs the Apple and Pixar chief executive and Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7. 4 billion (Steptoe). Robert Iger uses Mintzberg’s role of negotiator in a positive way by making a deal with Steve Jobs for Pixar which really helped expand Disney’s company and increase their profits. Iger uses a laid back management style different from his predecessor and encourages the senior executives to entr epreneurial.The hardest roles of Mintzberg’s to see if they are being utilized by Disney are the informational ones, monitor and disseminator because it is hard to tell if Iger is good at the interoffice communication. Disney has been a thriving company for almost 80 years, starting with cartoons and blossoming into a company with diverse roots in television, movies, theme parks, and Broadway. The Disney Company utilizes the entrepreneur role positively throughout the company’s history from Walt Disney all the way to the leaders of the company today.Implications and Conclusions The concept of Mintzberg’s managerial roles is one that is used throughout every organization on a daily basis. The roles that Mintzberg describe are crucial to the success of any organization and they directly relate to the real world. These roles, although unique in their own, come together to form a single working unit that creates effective and productive employees. Without the knowle dge of Mintzberg’s managerial roles, organizations will struggle to understand how to work together as well as how to form a useful system for success.While learning about Mintzberg’s managerial roles, our group retained information that will further help our understanding when working in an organization. We studied three important categories: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. It is important to be able to distinguish the differences in these categories and to be able to see the significance of each. Each individual role plays an important part in the success of an organization. The more organizations focus on these roles and allocate them to their employees, the more successful and organized they will be.

Comparison: State Income Tax, Oregon vs. Florida

Income Tax, Oregon vs Florida, Comparison and Analysis Income tax, as defined by thefreedictionary. com, is â€Å"A charge imposed by government on the annual gains of a person, corporation, or other taxable unit derived through work, business pursuits, investments, property dealings, and other sources determined in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code or state law. † In layman's terms, Income tax is money taken out of someone's pay and given to the government, state, federal, or in some cases both.Some special exceptions apply, but in the states being covered in this essay, being Florida and Oregon, those exceptions will not bother us as of right now, although we will look at them later as a point of comparison. Today we are asking ourselves why Florida has no income tax, but Oregon does. We will look over some things such as basic tax laws, other tax laws and regulations in the state regarding similar matters. We will also mozy on over to some population and citizen fac ts and trends, and relate them to why the government in each state has set up taxes the way they have.In the end we will come to a conclusion on why states do what they do, and whether that is a good thing or not. Let’s first delve into the origins of income tax and the origination in the United States. One of the first income taxes was passed in late 18th century Britain. It was a very small tax at . 08% of income for those making ? 60 and up and it moved up to 10% for anyone lucky enough to make a living of over ? 200. This was the inspiration for the tax proposal during the War of 1812 to provide the government with extra income. The war ended less than a year after the tax was proposed so it was never appointed.During the Civil War, another tax was proposed and implemented, in 1961, being 3% of incomes over 800 dollars. Later, in 1894 another tax law overcame it and was made to 2% on incomes over 4,000 dollars, meaning less than one out of ten households even paid the tax . Now let’s just say it, of course the majority of the working class dislikes income tax, or any sort of tax for that matter, especially income though, because you pick up your paycheck and right there you almost always look and see, deduction, deduction, etc. Let’s take that first part into consideration though, working class.Working class as defined by thefreedictionary. com is â€Å"The socioeconomic class consisting of people who work for wages, especially low wages, including unskilled and semiskilled laborers and their families. † This is generally referred to if you were to turn into political debates or discussions, on how things will affect the working class, and how the candidates will want to please the working class, blue collar Americans. Generally working class Americans work at basic or low level jobs, i. e. ones you wouldn’t need to take college or any paid training to do.Some examples would be Cashier, Warehouse worker, Criminal Henchmanà ¢â‚¬ ¦ okay maybe not that last one. Anyways, if you happen to be one of these people and found your current residence in the beautiful state of Oregon, you may find a not so beautiful state level income tax on each paycheck, coming out at 9. 0%, given you are making somewhere in-between 7,750 and 125,000 dollars per year. 9 Cents to the dollar of your earned wages goes to the state government, not to mention a federal rate of 10-28% depending where you fall on that same scale.Although that is a large percentage, we are looking solely at state income tax. Corporations have also had an income tax since 1955. Florida, comparably, has a slightly smaller number, being 0% state income tax, although federal is the same across the board. Although Florida does has corporate income tax, being 5%, instituted in 1971. Florida also had a ‘intangible property tax’ but that has been revoked since 2007. Immediately when you are presented with this information, you will think: â€Å"W hat is different about Oregon and Florida, and will affect decision making about state income tax? First off, let me congratulate you on your ability to think the exact same way my essay coheres to. Secondly, what is an answer? Population! Income tax is only collected on officially recorded income, so what does that have to do with individuals? Whether they work or not. Florida has a population with higher-than-average retirement rate. About 17. 3% of Florida’s 18+ million residents are retired, which is 65 years or older, which is generally considered to be the age one quits ‘working’ or employment. This is compared to Oregon with only 13. 9% of its 3. million citizens being retired. Along with that, the average age of a Floridian is around 2 and a half years older (38. 7) than that of an Oregonian (36. 3). These states, presented in percentages, may seem insignificant in difference, but presented with raw numbers, they seem much more intimidating. Florida, at 1 7. 3% or 18 million is estimated at being filled with 3. 11 million retirees. That’s nearly the population of Oregon. Let’s be glad not everyone in oregon is 65 or older, although it’d be quite a good investment opportunity for retirement centers.Anyways, with nearly 2 in 10 people being retired, and therefore not bringing in income, Florida is already sounding like one smart cookie of a state. Let’s further it buy bringing up some other facts. Florida has an unemployment rate of 11. 5%, or around 2. 1 million people. Between the unemployed and retirees, Florida has over 5. 2 million of its 18 million not bringing in any wages, and therefore not giving the state any income tax. Although Florida has more retired people, the average wage of an Oregonian, being 35,500 dollars, is lower than Florida, at 39,000 dollars.Over 2. 5 million people in Florida are also on food stamps, which is a state funded program that allows unfortunate people and families to pur chase food to prepare. This is another good sign Florida isn’t instating an income tax because the taxes collected would surely be directly sent back through programs such as these. This brings forward another point, Florida has a sales tax, or a tax which is imposed on purchasable and rentable goods and physical property, as well as special services.Medications requiring a prescription are also not taxed. Tax is only made on retail sales, for example if you bought something at a store, then sold it to a neighbor, you would not collect sales tax and send it to the government. If you were however, to purchase an item, then sell it back to a retailer, they would sell it and charge sales tax for a second time. Pawn shops and Used car dealerships are great examples a multiple taxed item. The general rate is 6%. As with many states, Florida also has Sales Tax Holidays.What this means is during certain times of the year, particular items are priced with discounted tax or no tax at all, although the latter is more rare. Such holidays and items would include things similar to school supplies in the days before school starts. With so many people on food stamps, it would be smart to have a sales tax when food stamps are used to purchase food, because usually basic foods such as milk, bread and other groceries aren’t taxed or are taxed less because they are considered ‘necessities’ compared to prepared food such as McDonalds or food repared at a restaurant. If they had sales tax, not to mention they were being paid for by food stamps, the government would be ‘recycling’ money, or basically handing it to the person, which they would then spend and be taxed on, and that is ineffective compared to just taxing goods where people would spend their own income and the government would collect on that rather. This is different than say Oregon, who has no sales tax, except in special cases, such as Ashland which charges 5% prepared food tax . This works for Oregon because they have a instituted income tax, and no sales tax.This way, as long as you make wages, Oregon doesn’t care how you spend them, because they have already collected your money! Collective tax revenue forwards these arguments. All forms of taxes resulted in a gross revenue of 5. 76% of a person's income from Oregon. Florida had 5. 03%. Although Florida is lower, given the fact that the population is much larger, much more money was made. Again referencing the income of a Floridian being around 3,500 more dollars, with the added fact of a larger population group, the money could be considered evened out. 5. 03% of a Floridians income would amount to about 1,960 dollars, where Oregon's 5. 6% amounts to 2,072 Dollars. So while being different by . 7%, which is a big difference when you’re talking about the millions of people and even more money, the total difference only being around 100 dollars total tax revenue per capita is pretty signifi cant considering the stats we’ve been shown. With this, we briefly observe labor laws. Until 2004, Florida had no minimum wage law. This means it would have been very hard to implement an income tax. Also could be considered unjust, given the fact that the government could decide how much you must pay of your earned wages whilst not making mandatory to earn a minimum wage of any sort.Once the law was established, however, it was also done so with a notice that it would be adjusted annually based on inflation. Potentially we could see an income tax initiated in the Sunshine State, but it is unlikely with the current working taxes as they are. Next we can look at a bit of history with the states and taxes. Oregon instituted its first tax in 1844, being a property tax. In 1929, Oregon implemented an income tax, for two main reasons, to spread taxes more equally over residents, and to give some relief to those paying heavy property taxes. On average, Oregon receives over 70% of i ts tax revenue from income tax.Property tax is still around, and makes about the same amount of money as income tax, but around half of it is given to school systems and public education. Corporate income tax often makes small fractions of what regular does, being in the low hundred millions, compared to a couple billion in income tax. Florida, on the other hand, does not have income tax, rather sales tax as we have talked about. In 1949, Florida implemented its first sales tax. It had a base rate of 3%. This lasted until 1968, when it was bumped up to 4%. This rate remained until 1982, when it was increased again to 5%.And as of February first, 1988, the tax base rate has been 6% of total sale. Farm equipment, however, has held another rate, being 2% from 1963-68, and then being put up to 3% from 1968 to 2001, when it was decreased to 2. 5%, but four years later in 2005 it was decreased to 0% and stands that way today. Florida also has different tax rates based on counties surcharg e tax, for things such as living costs, tourists development, and local administration costs. These differ in time ranges, rates, and longevity. So, is it necessarily a good or bad thing for these different states to have separate tax systems and rates in place?Well the answer is, there is no real answer. Different systems work for different people and places, and surely there are always optimizations that could be made, but in reality there is not and will likely never be a ‘perfect’ tax system. Money needs to come from somewhere and taxes are a way to do it, but like I said earlier most people don’t enjoy seeing a tax rise, even though it could rationally be deemed necessary. Oregon works with its income tax because it was implemented to counter high property taxes, and sales tax was never made because these two tax systems were already in existence and serving the state well.Income tax again brings in over 70% or the annual tax revenue for the state of Oregon. Florida finds different success given a different population spread giving them more advantages earning taxes from everyone who spends money compared to everyone who earns money. Given the fact that Florida is often a hot spot for tourists or even international travelers, sales tax proves effective because it earns money from people even just visiting from other states, whereas the extra products sold would result in no additional income otherwise.This makes sense for Florida compared to Oregon, because Oregon would not really considered a tourism state that states like Florida or California may be seen as. Also we take into consideration professional sports teams. Oregon has the Portland Trailblazers, NBA, the Portland Timbers, MLS, and that’s about it. Florida however have a multitude of teams, being the NFL trio of Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NBA teams consisting of the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, the MLB with Miami Marlins an d Tampa Bay Rays, and lastly NHL Hockey teams being Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.Given the fact Florida has 9 major league sports teams, you can imagine the sales in tickets, hotels, restaurants, merchandise, and other sports related events. One game sporting 20,000+ attendees depending on the venue can generate millions overnight in the economy in and around the sporting venue. Granted both Portland teams can do the same but even assuming each franchise can bring in that type of money, Florida is up 9-to-2 and has a sales tax that can apply to many, many things being purchased around game time.In conclusion, although you cannot say which state is necessarily ‘better’ in regard to taxes and tax systems, you can easily see that each state has the system it best sees fit to support the government and economy. â€Å"Department of Revenue: Newsroom History & Statistics about Oregon Taxes. † Department of Revenue: Newsroom History & Statistics about Or egon Taxes. Web. 08 June 2012. . â€Å"Florida Department of Revenue. † Welcome to the Web Site. Web. 08 June 2012. . History of State and Local Taxes. † Revenuelaw. state. fl. us. Fl. gov. Web. 7 June 2012. . â€Å"Florida Department of Revenue. † FL Dept Rev. 02 Jan. 2007. Web. 05 June 2012. Sapia, Jason, and Joseph Henchman. â€Å"Local Income Taxes: City- and County-Level Income and Wage Taxes Continue to Wane. † Tax Foundation. Taxfoundation. org, 31 Aug. 2011. Web. 05 June 2012. â€Å"Income Tax. † TheFreeDictionary. com. Web. 07 June 2012. â€Å"State Individual Income Tax Rates, 2000-2012. † Tax Foundation. Web. 07 June 2012. . â€Å"2012 State Tax Rates & Exemptions. † Oregon Income Tax Rates and Tax Brackets, 2011-2012. Web. 07 June 2012. .

Awareness of Censorship Moment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Awareness of Censorship Moment - Essay Example It is as if they are treating the people as horses by putting blinders so that they can only look one way. They think that by doing this they are exposing the people to just the positive views on the state or government, when in fact, they are inciting anger within the community because they are taking away the people’s freedom to decide for themselves what they want to believe in and support. This is what I think censorship means, although I was still very young when the government was still applying censorship tactics on television. I grew up with unrestricting parents and so I was able to watch whatever I wanted, provided of course, that there was no nudity or portrayals of sex. And so, I did not really experience what it was like to encounter censored materials. However, I experienced censorship firsthand just a few years back. In the summer of 2006, like any other teenager, I was always on the internet—just surfing and downloading games and songs. Nicholas Cage is one of my favorite actors and the movie he did then that was to be released in the next couple of months was â€Å"World Trade Center,† which depicted what happened during the September 11 Terrorist attacks and how the last men that were pulled out alive from the rubble of the building survived. Of course, I know about September 11 and how it caused a negative view on Islam. Nevertheless, I still tried to research further so that I will be able to better understand what happened because I was just 12 years old on that tragic day. So, I entered ‘September 11 attacks’ on Google and it gave me thousands of hits. I was able to surf and open websites until it came to a particular one about Islam and how extreme its followers’ views are. When I clicked on the link to open the page, preparing myself to be shocked at how our religion was being portrayed just because some extremists decided to go on a suicide mission and kill

The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow - Essay Example This research tells that one of Marquez seminal short story collections is Strange Pilgrims. While this collection contains an array of stories, one of the most indelible is ‘The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow’. This essay examines this story in terms of Marquez’s authorial techniques. One prominent consideration is Marquez’s implementation of syntax and diction. While authors such as Ernest Hemingway heralded a minimalist writing style, Marquez implements complex sentence structures. In the opening segment of the story, Marquez writes, â€Å"The Civil Guardsman, a rough wool blanket covering his patent-leather tricorn hat, examined their passports in the light of a carbide lantern as he struggled to keep his footing in the fierce wind blowing out of the Pyrenees†. This sentence is indicative of the richly-textured and descriptive sentences that are thematic throughout the story. While Marquez at-times contrasts these sentences with short and choppy statements, this remains the most dominant form of diction. Throughout the story, Marquez implements a number of notable literary elements. One such technique is the use of metaphor. In one instance, Marquez writes, â€Å"her adolescent dream pierced for the first time by lightning flashes of uncertainty†. In this instance lightning functions as a metaphor on the uncertainty that had suddenly overtaken Nena Daconte. In another instance, Marquez makes use of symbolism in the form of a saxophone. Throughout the story, Nena Daconte is characterized as having been a proficient tenor saxophone player. This character description is repeated in a number of instances and woven into the fabric of the text such that it becomes symbolic of her sexual prowess. Still, perhaps the most prominent authorial technique implemented in the story is the use of allegory. During the story, Nena pricks her finger and must enter a hospital. Billy Sanchez must then face the absurd levels of hyper-rat ionality and bureaucracy in the hospital. In this way, Marquez implements the hospital as an allegorical comment on bureaucratic structures. Eventually, Nena dies and because of this hyper-rationality, Billy is unable to be there or even be discovered.

Intergrating Case Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intergrating Case Management - Essay Example These developments mean that the nursing staff can no longer rely on just the medical training to perform well in the field, but rather have to be trained extensively in management, sociology, Information Technology, and even basic courses of economics to understand the implications of the patients’ social and economic status, limitations, and boundaries. This is especially true of nurses that would be working across the border in foreign territories (Kim, Woith, Otten, & McElmurry, 2006); for them, a basic training in the culture, history, and traditions of that place is paramount for a successful relationship with their patients and other health officials of that country (Kim et al., 2006). As a result, it is recommended that such interdisciplinary training and courses should be incorporated in the curriculum of the nursing schools so that the students acquire these additional required skills for their profession along with the technical knowledge (Kim et al., 2006).

West Africa the Atlantic Slave-Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

West Africa the Atlantic Slave-Trade - Essay Example As an outcome Africans were taken to North America, Central America, South America and Caribbean to offer slave labor in gold and silver mines and agricultural plantations growing crops such as cotton sugar and tobacco (Rodney 125). The tarnished commerce of the human being persisted for more than 400 years since the Atlantic slave trade did come to an end in the late 1870’s. Atlantic slave trade was systematized in Europe and about the huge profits made by countries such as England and France. Africans journey from Africa to America across Atlantic Ocean was a terrible one. Africans were crowded like sardines on the slave ships of the Atlantic full of oppression and brutality which they replied nobly (Rodney 125). The precise number of how many Africans were taken from their families to be sold as slaves is not known, but it is estimated that 15 million slaves reached the American continent and the Caribbean island because of Atlantic slave trade. The number of slaves who left Africa soil was much higher than 15 million since some were killed during the brutal process of acquiring the slaves and also some died on board. By the 19th century, there was a modification as people who took the leading role in ill-using Africa. The European Countries themselves were inactive in the slave trade; in its place European who had established themselves in Brazil, North America and Cuba were the ones who planned the trade. America had gained independence from the Britain and it was the new nation of United States of America which played the greatest role in the last 50 years of the Atlantic slave trade, by taking back slaves at a greater value than ever before (Rodney 126). In order to be in a commerce relationship with West Africa, most of the European countries decided to up factories on the coast. A factory in the trading language of the West African coast was a place where European and African products

Arguing for Legalization of Gay Marriages Essay

Arguing for Legalization of Gay Marriages - Essay Example It is evident that the society and the legal system have undergone enough metamorphosis to be able to expand their definition of civil marriage and family as a union of equals regardless of their gender (Mello 56). Gay couples are people who have made an emotional and moral commitment to love each other, like in any other heterosexual marriage and should be equally legalized. In support of legalization of gay marriage, gay parents can raise emotionally stable children like any other heterosexual couples. This is contradictory to most people who are driven by an assumption that gay parents are incompetent as parents and are unfit for children upbringing. In addition, there s enough evidence that children brought up in gay marriage on average are healthier and sometimes even happier than children brought up by single promiscuous parents. Most anti-gay marriage activists have recently argued that gay marriage should not be legalized in order to preserve the ideal of a basic and traditio nal marriage, opposing evidence has been given since then to proof that same sex does would not disrupt that and that just because same sex marriage is not mentioned, does not mean it does not or should not exist. Socially, there is absolutely no doubt that the common and large numbers of marriages in the society are between a woman and a man, the rest are between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. All the gay marriages in the current world have proofed to be beyond any legal system. They are couples who are living casually ordinary life with an obligation to satisfy each other as partners in life. This is what any general marriage or family entails. Like in most states in the world and in Massachusetts the want to marry is a product of the love, commitment and a want to share a life with each other as it was by a plaintiff. These statements by The Globe helps to convince the society why the society should respect each other want to be with or spend life with whomever they want to, regardless of the sex. This is a point based on â€Å"pathos† Gay marriages are good for children rearing or up bringing. This is a reason why the Globe suggests that it should be legalized. Mello has found out that â€Å"numerous states in the world have affirmed that to deter gay or lesbian marriages from having children is to impose more discrimination on a group of people who have been previously mistreated because of gender†(28). Further, it is quite irrelevant to ban gay marriages based on the quality of their childrearing skills. Marriage is not entirely based on multiplication, and nurturing children and that logically the gay parents are legally allowed to adopt children, even though procreation is not usually a factor in their union. In any case, there are several benefits that children gain from their lesbian or gay parents’ marriage. There are several provisions fro married couples; first, the parents have a generally financially stable level be cause of role sharing. The insurances and leave financial allowances improve the material well being of children in a marriage. There is a provision for social security survivor benefits and inheritance incase the parents die. Gay parents like heterosexual parents are able to pull their resources to provide enough material wants for their children. This further supports what the editors, in The Globe wanted to put across when

Research Methods for Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Research Methods for Business - Assignment Example Apart from this based on the study, it has been recognized that during the global trade, companies are facing several kind of risks from the global market place, which may be in terms of political aspects, economical aspects and commercial aspects. USASuperCars has been selling luxury sports cars. The company has developed a contractual agreement for selling cars to customers on a global context. In this respect, the intention of the article is to highlight information relating to foreign exchange along with the concept of global trade. Moreover, the study identifies the role of the bank in the sphere of exchange rate policy. At the same time, the involvement of risks in the foreign trade has been also discussed. In this assignment, selling prices of the USASuperCars has been given below along with the name of the countries. Thus, the aim of this assignment is to identify the consequences according to the situation given in the case. At the same time, involvement and occurrences of bank in case of foreign trade has been demonstrated through the study. In order to identify the probability of exceeding the revenue $ 2,200,000, it can be ascertained that if the company USASuperCars will incur loss approximately around (17%) due to foreign exchange and for other reasons such as distribution purpose, even then the company will definitely be able to ensure a revenue approximately $2,200,000 or more. Rationally, the cost of cars is found to be recorded as $2207607.45, which signifies that during the global trade if the company will perform their trade operation with a loss of 17%, instead of that the company will able to earn a revenue around at least $ 2,200,000. Thus, it can be claimed that the probability is high of exceeding the revenue level $2,200,000 (Niepmann & Schmidt-Eisenlohr, 2014; Economy watch, 2010). In order to identify the probability of exceeding the revenue $2,225,000, it can be claimed that

Chicano Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chicano Movement - Essay Example Luis Valdez was a Mexican American who hailed from a family of migrant farm workers. Valdez’s parents, Francisco and Armida Valdez, moved from farm to farm as hired hands where Valdez was also expected to help out in order the support to the big family of 10 children that his parents had. Even though Valdez was expected to both work and read and his schools kept changing, Valdez attained a strong position for himself as a student excelling in performing arts (Meier, 230). Luis Valdez is the father of Chicano Theatre. This is because he formed the El Teatro Campesino which served as the first platform for performing arts for the Chicano Movement. Valdez’s love for the performing arts began when his school teacher introduced him to puppet art. Later during his college and university days, Valdez pursued the love and created his own theatre group. The purpose of this theatre group was to bring the plight of the Mexican Americans to the forefront. Valdez began working in theatre during his college days at San Jose State College. In 1963, he introduced his first play. The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa was one play that Valdez directed and wrote during his time in San Jose State College. After leaving college, Valdez went on to join a Mime Troupe based in San Francisco. It was from here that Valdez learned the method of using theatre as a platform for expressing his own pent up anger. It was on the basis of this work that Valdez formed his theatre group in 1965. This was a group that toured different cities and enacted short one-act plays, also known as an actor.

Icon Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Icon Analysis - Assignment Example They represent the much needed leadership traits that American leaders must possess. In times of recession, people need characters that would serve as an inspiration in battling whatever crisis a country faces. According to Robert Pattinson, "Twilight is a big metaphor for sexual abstinence, and yet its erotic underneath. There are so many elements in the story which are sexy." This is true indeed that is why Pattinson has many die-hard fans. Pattinson represents the sexual urge that is subtly represented by his vampire character in the sequel â€Å" Twilight†. Young viewers can easily identify their repressed sexual feelings with Bella and Edward which is why this movie is successful. Lastly, Michael Jackson is still one of the world’s popular icon. His death made people cry for it symbolizes the good old days of the 70s of which soul, rock and roll as well as other significant events such as man’s landing on the moon happened in that era. Michael Jackson represents the decade where Cold War put the world in a political tension. Moreover, MJ reminds middle age people of their innocence at that time. MJ is a successful popular icon despite the fact that he had numerous legal battles involving sexual abuse of

Describe 3 of the deaths in Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Describe 3 of the deaths in Hamlet Essay Hamlet is a revenge tragedy play, which was a very popular theme at the time Shakespeare was writing. Hamlet was written at the time Shakespeare was writing at his very best. Hamlet was written over 400 years ago and has outlived most other revenge plays but still continues to hold great appeal due to the effect it has on all those who see and hear it As Hamlet is self-titled we know Hamlet will die and this event will bring a close to the play. Because we know how the play will end Shakespeare entices the audience by keeping us on the edge about when, where, how and why it will happen. In this essay I have chosen to write about the death of Gertrude, Claudius and Hamlet. All three characters die in the last Act, Act 5. Hamlet is a play set in Denmark. His father at the start of the play has already been brutally murdered by his (Hamlets) Uncle Claudius. brother to the deceased king. The ghost of his father appears to him and reveals how Claudius so cunningly murdered him, and begs Hamlet to avenge his death. Ghost: Revenge his foul and most unnatural murther Hamlet is already furious with Claudius for marrying his mother within such a short time of his fathers death. Hamlet: for look how cheerful my mother looks, and my father died withins two hours. This causes him to wonder if his mother had had any part in his fathers murder also. Hamlet within him vows to obey the ghost of his father. While all this is happening Fortinbras of Norway is invading Denmark with the aim of avenging his fathers death that was taken by the late king of Denmark, Hamlets father. Hamlet decides to have the players play a play similar to the death of his father to see the reaction of Claudius. Hamlet: Ill have these Players, Play something like the murder of my father, Before mine uncle. Ill observe his looks, He wants to be sure that the ghost was not evil and telling the truth. The play is a success and Hamlet can now be sure that Claudius is responsible for the death of his father. Gertrude, Hamlets mother along with everyone else are outraged by Hamlets change in character. Polonius, Lord Chamberlain, a good friend to the king believes Hamlet is mad as a result of his daughter Ophelia rejecting Hamlets love as he had ordered her too. Gertrude asks for her son to visit her in her bedroom. Here Hamlet mistakenly stabs Polonius who is hiding behind the curtains when he heard Hamlets footsteps approaching after having been talking to the queen. Queen: O what a rash and bloody deed this this! Polonius children now change in character. Ophelia turns mad and drowns herself, while Laertes returns from studying in France and is also driven to avenge his fathers death. Hamlets madness causes Claudius to send Hamlet to England. However, Hamlet who seems always to be one step ahead of the king knows Claudius has sent a letter requesting Hamlets death and switches the note with his own for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, once friends of Hamlets, before they decided to betray him by becoming Claudius informants and so they are killed. Hamlet: Why do you think I am easier to be played on, than a pipe? Later Hamlet returns to Denmark, to much surprise of the king to see Ophelias burial. Throughout the play the audience are kept in suspense about as to when Hamlet will strike Claudius. Hamlet can be seen as a hero or villain. Shakespeare makes the audience see Hamlet as a hero. Through Hamlets soliloquies the audience feel as though they come to know Hamlet. In this they experience what he is going through and feel his hurt and pain, which is not enough to justify his killing on Claudius but to understand why he feels he must. Act 5 begins with the burial of Ophelia and shows the first confrontation between Laertes and Hamlet. Here Shakespeare allows the audience to acknowledge that both Laertes and Hamlet are suffering in the same way; although Laertes has lost both a father and sister, as Ophelias death was a result of her fathers. However, Shakespeare causes the audience to excuse Hamlets wrong deed and side with him. Scene two from this Act is the last in the play. Claudius falsely welcomes Hamlet home. However, Claudius and Laertes see Hamlets return as a suggestion to all their troubles, to kill Hamlet once and for all. They cunningly plan a duel between Laertes the best fighter and Hamlet. What they do not know is that Hamlet has been practicing during his time in England. Hamlet: since I went into France, I have been in continual practice; The fact that this is secretly revealed by Hamlet to Horatio, Hamlets good friend, reveals also a secret to the audience. At this point the audience cannot be sure if Hamlet will die, as the title suggests. The audience are at this point plagued with the fact that Laertes, Claudius and Fortinbras are all awaiting the day that Hamlet will die. During the wager Hamlet is the first to make a hit. Laertes and Hamlet soon scuffle and wound each other. However, Laertes sword has poison on so that when he hits Hamlet he will die. This was the plan of the king and Laertes. The king who also put a poison pearl into the win glass If Hamlet give the first, or second hit,.. is horrified when Gertrude drinks from the cup in honour of Hamlet giving the first hit. Gertrude soon dies. Queen: The drink, the drink, I am poisond. The fact that we never truly knew until this point that Gertrude was an innocent party in her husbands murder causes us to feel pity for her. We also pity her as Claudius tried to have her son executed and pretended to love her in order to keep the thrown. The audience can now see that Gertrude was tricked from the beginning by Claudius, as well as he taking her husbands life he has also taking her own. This shoes that Claudius was only looking after himself. We pity her because Claudius could never have loved her especially not as her husband did as he was the cause of her death. The way in which she was killed causes the audience to experience horror because we did not expect Gertrude to drink the wine. Also because it was her husband that allows her to die. Although he tries to stop her he does not try hard enough. King: Gertrude, do not drink. It horrifies us that Claudius was so eager to get rid of Hamlet that he even had two plans and so we fear what will happen next. Claudius is already aware that it will only be a matter of time before Hamlet will die as before Laertes did he had cut Hamlet. We also fear what Claudius has become and if he will stop at anything. Hamlet has now lost a mother and a father at the hands of Claudius. The audience are now fearful of the amount of hatred Hamlet must have for Claudius and fear how he will react. The sudden death of Hamlets father and Gertrude leaves the audience disturbed as both had no time to repent their sins and we fear if Gertrude will become Doomd for a certain term to walk the night: The plot of Hamlet thickens more and the audience at this point are left to wonder if Claudius will get away with his terrible deeds. However, during the scuffe hamlet picked up Laertes sword when it the scuffle it had been knocked forom his hand and Hamlet had wounded Laertes At this moment Laertes exchange forgiveness with Hamlet and his last few words ensure that the king, He is justly served. Laertes: the King, the Kings to blame. When Hamlet is sure that it was Treason he stabs the king and he is only then justly killd with mine own treachery. The king is now dead. At this point it is hard to pity Claudius because he has been the cause of so many lives being taken away. In spite of this we pity him because he is human and he did attempt to stop Gertrude which he did not have to do. We can also pity him because Hamlet and his parents had a good family and wealth and friends all of which Claudius did not. The audience have been forced from the start of the play to believe that there is an after life and world, heaven and hell. We therefore pity what will become of Claudius because he has been so bad. Ghost: My hour is almost come, When sulphurous and tormenting flames This shows that the ghost of Hamlets father is going to hell, so we pity Claudius as we assume he will be here also. On the other hand we cannot forget what Claudius has done and are horrified by his actions. The numerous ways he has tried to kill Hamlet on several occasions and stopping at nothing, no matter who he hurt in order to achieve his aim. We are again horrified by Claudius allowing his wife Gertrude to die. At this point it looks as though everyone with a path to the throne is dead. We now fear for the people of Denmark about who will save them from Fortinbras. Hamlet who was stabbed by Laertes with the poisonous sword is now feeling the effect of the poison and can feel it taking over him. Hamlet departs this life. Hamlet: I am dead, Shakespeare causes the audience to pity Hamlet because he has lost both his mother and father and lover. Claudius had been attempting to kill Hamlet for ages and because he kept failing the audience feel as though hamlet has outwitted Claudius until now and so maybe he would live. The audience have become attached to Hamlet and it hurts them to see him die. We pity Hamlet because he may also go to hell when he was only trying to get even with Claudius the way he thought was right. The audience also pity Hamlet as if Claudius had let his father be, then the ghost would not have told him the truth and he would still be alive. Nevertheless, we fear for Hamlet in the next life, and are horrified that Hamlet dies and Fortinbras is left to take the throne without opposition. Hamlet is very much a revenge tragedy. The first murder of his father led to a string of killings after it. In stating this it shows that certain deaths had to come first in order for others to occur. I think Shakespeares Hamlet has been such a success due to the truthful implications it deals with. Revenge is thought to be wrong, immoral, but in Hamlet Shakespeare expresses revenge as the natural human impulse that lies within us all. Hamlet is only acting out of the love he has for his father, which is undoubtedly the reaction each and every one of us would take. Although revenge was a popular theme during the time Hamlet was acted, Shakespeare takes it that great leap further which no author had began or even thought about doing. Instead of hating the avenger and wanting him to die we appreciate his aim and hence feel sorry for him at his death. Shakespeare forces us to perceive Hamlet for the person he is and not for the vile act he commits. The concept of Claudius having destroyed his family as well as his life remains at the forefront of our minds whilst watching the play and causes us to feel immense pity towards Hamlet and we the audience can therefore not loathe him. What makes Hamlet all the more fascinating is that we are kept in suspense as to if Gertrude had a part in the murder of her Husband. Throughout the play Shakespeare causes the audience to experience horror, pity and fear by making the next stage in the play all the more unpredictable. Just when we think we know what will happen due to what has been revealed to us through conversation and especially soliloquies does Shakespeare prove us wrong by adding an unexpected twist. I think Hamlet has also been such a success because it shows how life in this world is so short and puts fear into us about life in the next. It also shows how one incident can affect so many lives so much. The fact that Hamlet is betrayal within a family causes the audience to feel that little bit more afraid. When the tight unity between families is broken then respect for anyone can hardly be possible, as the ability to trust and love another must be hard. Even so Hamlet did and still does love Ophelia. Hamlet: I lovd Ophelia; forty thousand brothers Could not (with all their quantities of love) Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her? Shakespeare causes even more pity towards Hamlet, as through this quote it is inevitable that Laertes loss was also a loss of Hamlets.

Approaches To Teaching EFL Writing

Approaches To Teaching EFL Writing Feedback in writing has recently received a growing interest from SLA researchers due to its instrumental role in second language education. Literature suggests that as an important component of language, writing skill in a second language can greatly benefit from teachers comments particularly in the form of written feedback on learners written products. Previous research has investigated the role of teachers corrective feedback on learners written assignments (e.g., Ferris Roberts 2001, Ferris 2004; Harmer, 2001) and learners expectations on teachers error correction in their written work (e.g., Lee, 2009; Nunan 1999; Williams, 2001). These studies suggest that for improvement of learners writing skills in a second language teacher feedback is indispensable. With this in mind, this chapter discusses the importance of feedback in development of EFL learners writing skills in tandem with key issues and previous studies related to corrective feedback in the literature. It first discusses the nature of writing as one of the four main skills in language acquisition/learning (i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and common approaches undertaken to teaching writing in EFL contexts. It then discusses what feedback entails and identifies different types of error correction followed by a discussion of the role of feedback in EFL education in classroom setting. Finally, this chapter summarizes and concludes the literature review which provides insights into understanding better feedback practices in EFL classrooms. What is Writing? For any study that involves investigation of learners written work, it seems necessary to establish a working definition of writing. Numerous assumptions and definitions have been proposed to specify the concept of writing in the literature. Customarily, writing refers to a set of visible signs representing elements of a language which are arranged systematically. This system is referred to as writing system of the language. Coulmas (2003) defines writing as a set of visible or tactile signs used to represent unit of language in a systematic way, with the purpose of recording messages which can be retrieved by everyone who knows the language in question and the rules by virtue of which its units are encoded in the writing system. Bryne (1979) views writing as transforming our thoughts into language; a very complex skill that requires both physical and mental activity on the part of writer. Bryne (1979) further notes that writing is the last and perhaps most difficult skill learners l earn if they ever do. While these definitions provide an understanding of the nature of writing and its qualities, what is obvious is the fact that writing is a complex and demanding process that is difficult to master particularly for those who want to produce accurate and precise pieces of writing in a second language. Among various reasons cited for complications attributed to writing, Bryne (1991) suggests three main causes that make writing an arduous task. The first, that he calls psychological problem, is caused as a result of lack of interaction and feedback between the reader and the writer. As such, to tackle this kind of problems writers rely to a great extent to their readers feedback and evaluation of their written product. Understanding this problem is of importance for language learners to improve their writing since they need to take into account their audiences likes and dislikes. The second complexity is language related; that is, lack of adequate linguistic knowledge prevents us from fully monitoring what we intend to say. This shows that linguistic competence in dominantly instrumental in developing writing skills. The third problem is cognitive, whose causes can be linked it instructional inadequacies. This emphasizes the role of writing courses in framing learners writing abilit ies as well as language teachers central roles as providers of appropriate input and feedback in such courses. As such, in light of this short review on the nature of writing task and what factors might influence a second language learners attainment of this skill, it can be inferred that teaching writing can be informed by the teachers perspectives towards such a practice in instructional settings. To further illustrate this point, the next section presents two of the most common approaches to teaching writing in a second language. Approaches To Teaching EFL Writing Writing as a Product The first approach to teaching writing, which has been known as traditional approach, is product approach, which focuses on the final product, the coherent and the error-free text (Nunan, 1999).This approach has been practiced widely since the 1950s well into 1970s. Britton (1996:30) noted that product approach emphasized correct usage, correct grammar and correct spelling in the language and that it stressed overwhelming attention toward à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦topic sentence, the various methods of developing the paragraphà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and the holy trinity of unity, coherence and other aspects of writing. Additionally, in this approach, composing is primarily viewed as a linear process that predictably starts with a topic selection to pre-writing activities, followed by actual writing and editing. The teacher only looks at the paper when it is done. Selection of topic Pre-writing activities Writing Rewriting, editing, proofreading Figure 1: Process Line (Product Approach) There are basically two main concerns with the product approach: the written product, and the grammatical accuracy. The emphasis on written product is clear in the fact that the teacher only responds to the composition once it is finished, and not before or while it is in progress. According to Jordan (1997:11), during the practice of product approach, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a model is provided with various exercises undertaken for learners to be able to internalize the prescribed patterns. Then, learners are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦required to product similar or parallel text. Nunan (1999) mentioned that the composing process in the traditional approach is viewed as linear process. It proceeds systematically from the planning or prewriting stages, to composing stage, to the revising stage (usually nothing more than copy-editing), and the final draft stage, with the writer progressing from one stage to the next without backtracking. The piece of writing handed in by the learners is the final text and is supposed to be his/her best piece of work where further revision in not needed. The feedback and correction made on the texts by the teachers would not make any difference at this stage. The focus of this approach is on the final, the coherent, error-free text, thus it is also known as the product oriented approach (Nunan 1999). As such, looking at this direct effect, the product approach does not appear to fulfill the true nature of writing. It stops short at considering writing being a skill by itself, not just a manner to attain linguistic competence. It is lacking in terms of interaction between the teacher and the text, where teachers will only see the final product, not knowing how it was developed. Lastly, as it assumes that writing is a linear process and that learners know exactly what to write about in their writing, it fails to consider how learners develop their ideas and meaning. Writing as a Process The second approach of teaching writing that has been dominant over the recent years and is opposed to traditional ways of teaching writing is process approach. The predominance of process approach has given rise to the role of feedback as an essential component of writing courses. The notion of writing as process was introduced to EFL studies by Zamel (1976), who argued that advanced EFL writers are similar to L1 writers and can benefit from instruction emphasizing the process of writing. As opposed to the view of writing as a reproduction of previously learned syntactic or discourse structures, the process-based approach emphasized the view of writing as a process of developing organization as well as meaning. In light of this view, invention strategies, multiple drafts, and formative feedback from by the teacher and/or the peers are also considered important parts of writing instruction in EFL writing classrooms. A research conducted by Zamel (1983) has revealed that composing is a non-linear, exploratory, and generative process whereby writers discover and reformulate their ideas i.e., writers often backtrack and revise from the moment they start till they finish the final draft. Writers go back and forth from one stage to another is a non-systematic way. Written texts under this approach are not treated as a final and fixed product but as part of complex process, which is recursive. There would be many drafts written by the learners on a single topic and teachers would response to every draft in order to help improve their writing and finally attaining the best written piece. The whole process begin by the learners writing their first draft and submitting later to their teacher for feedback. After writing their feedback on the learners essays, the teacher returns them to the learners . The learners write another draft by taking into consideration teachers feedback. The process then is repea ted with draft going back and forth between the teacher and the learners. If a learners draft is still not satisfactory to both the learner himself/herself and the learners draft would be repeat. That means the additional draft would be the final piece of learners writing to be submitted to the teacher. Hence, what is evident here is that in traditional approach (i.e., product approach) response is given once, whereas in the process approach, responses would be given in many drafts. The intention is to build up learners confidence and also slowly attain the best piece of writing. In this approach, the main concern of the teacher is to help learners develop their ideas, therefore, throughout the earlier writing stages; the teacher would be stressing more on content. Nunan (1999) notes that the teacher focuses less on a perfect final draft product than the development of successive drafts of a text. He further states that the focus in the first instance is on quantity rather than quality, and writers are encouraged to get their ideas onto paper without worrying too much about formal correctness in the initial stages. Because of this, the traditional way of responding to a composition would not be suitable to the process writing approach. In the same token, Nunan (2001) clearly states how very different the process approach is from the traditional product-oriented approach. He contends that whereas the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates, copies and transforms teacher supplied models, the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work. The primary goal of product writing is then an error-free coherent text while process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect, but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing, reflecting on, discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text. In sum, this body of literature indicates that that most scholar nowadays advocate the process approach to teaching and learning writing, and perhaps most of them would agree on this important point that: good product depends on good process. What is Feedback? The term feedback in this review and incidentally in this study embraces the notions of correction, marking, evaluation and responding. It includes what Diab (2006) terms as correction feedback which refers to the editing type and evaluative feedback with reference to the judging type. In effect, the term feedback in this study refers to any information provided to learners about the appropriateness of their performance or the general accuracy of their answers (Diab 2006). As these definitions imply, the notion of feedback on writing was traditionally understood as error corrections teachers made to learners writings. Hence, a brief review of the corrections customarily provided on learners writing errors is in order in the next section. Error Correction When learners have completed their written assignments, teachers are expected to correct them. The corrections then serve to help the learners language development by showing where their knowledge is lacking. Truscott (1996) defined error correction as the correction of grammatical errors for the purpose of improving a learners ability to write accurately (329). This definition can be broadened to include lexical errors, including word choice, word form, capitalization, and typing conventions (Truscott, 1996). However, in terms of second language writing, this definition focuses on the mechanical and form-focused aspects of writing and showing little concern for the organizational types of corrections made by the teachers. Thus, error correction should cover feedback on both linguistic and non-linguistic skills of writing. Non-linguistic features could include instructions on paragraph development, topic string (consistent links throughout the text to relate all parts to the topic), suitable transitions between paragraphs, inclusion of preambles and signposts to increase the overall readability of the written work. Thus, these concepts indicate the extensiveness of the scope of error correction indicating its vital role in developing learner writing in a second language. Learners have a mental picture of how they think a certain grammar rule works, and the corrections should help learners to adjust that picture when they are mistaken (Krashen Terell, 1985:177). Many teachers look at learners errors as part of learning process. But how do we know the extent to which we can let errors recover on their own? What types of errors are to be given more attention to? Therefore, while providing corrections on learners assignments several essential factors should be taken into account. Hendrickson (1980) arguing that simply providing all the correct forms in learners imperfect sentences is an ordeal that can be frustrating to teachers outlines four critical learner factors that have to be considered in error correction. First, one needs to be aware of learners purpose and goals for communicating in writing. Second, the teacher must take into account the learners proficiency in the target language at any given time. The third critical factor is the teachers awareness or error types and frequencies as well as how these aspects relate to the learners goals. The final and probably the most critical factor is the learners attitudes towards the nature of correction. Feedback, whether it is given through corrections or comments, has the purpose of supporting learners learning. Race (2005:95) cites four purposes for feedback: (1) It should help learners to make sense of their work in some way, (2) It should clarify the need of learning by showing the learners what they should be trying to achieve; what the outcome of their work should look like, (3) Its should enhance learners willingness to learn, and finally yet importantly, (4) Feedback should motivate the learners to develop their skills. What becomes evident from the above stated aims is that feedback is highly instrumental in helping language learners improve their level of awareness in learning by making as less mistakes as possible. At the bottom of this reasoning is the fundamental belief that by making the learners aware of the error they make and by getting them to act on those errors in some way, then it is believed that the learners will assimilate the mistakes and eventually not make them in future. In other words, correction is closely linked to language acquisition and particularly to the idea of accurately acquiring the language. This statement itself is making sweeping statements about everything from the quality of the feedback to the ability for learners to acquire language through the feedback we offer them. However, it seems to be the heart of why we do provide feedback. Indeed one could argue that institutions and learners demand feedback and that this is the reason why we provide it, but even these two groups fundamentally believe that correction in some way leads to language acquisition and demand it for that reason. Writers such as Ashwell (2001) have pointed out that with the increased importance of the writing process there may be other reasons for including feedback and these include improving the communicative effectiveness of a given written piece. In other words we correct learners and guide learners so that the written piece they eventually produce communicates their ideas as effectively as possible. This is linked closer to feedback that looks at the content of a written piece rather than the grammatical forms within it. He also points out that an additional reason for correcting learners work is simply because formal accuracy of a written piece matters and that people generally are a lot less accepting of mistakes in written pieces. Having looked at the nature of the concept of feedback, what seems to be of importance in the classroom setting is the appropriateness of the type of feedback provided for certain purposes and for certain recipients. That is, teachers should use appropriate written feedback in order to get effective learners reaction. This goes through motivating learners using their teachers written feedback. There are many types of writing feedback and there are different types of learners reactions. Since every learner has his / her own personal attributes, the type of teachers written feedback given to learners will possibly affect learners state positively or negatively. Accordingly, it is central to look at these different types of teaches written feedback and their influence on learners attainments. Types of Written Feedback Ellis (2009) in his article titled A typology of written corrective feedback types suggests a variety of feedback types for correcting learners written work. He illustrates the types of feedback by examining the various options (both familiar and less familiar) from studies of written feedback that have examined the different options of feedback to date. Ellis (2009) outlines six main methods for providing written corrective feedback. This classification is also adopted to identify the types of feedback in this study. Ellis has categorized the various types of written corrective feedback into six major categories (see Table 2.1). Table 2.1 Categories of Written Corrective Feedback (adopted from Ellis, 2009) Written corrective feedback type Description Direct CF This occurs when the correct form is given in place of an incorrect form. It is the direct correction of error. Indirect CF 1) Indicating only 2) Indicating the specific location Indirect CF occurs when an error is indicated but the correct form is not given. Ellis identifies two types of indirect CF: 1) Indicating only is when an error is noted, such as in the margin, but the exact location is not provided. 2) Indicating the specific location is when the error is underlined or given specific reference. Metalinguistic 1) Error codes 2) Brief grammatical description Metalinguistic feedback occurs when the writer is given a linguistic clue of the error. This can take two forms: 1) The use of abbreviations or error codes 2) A brief grammatical explanation usually given at the bottom of the text or on an attached form The focus of the feedback 1) Focused 2) Unfocused Feedback can take a variety of forms in the way it is given, such as the level of focus. 1) Focused feedback occurs when a limited number of language features are concentrated on. 2) Unfocused feedback occurs when many or all language features are addressed in the feedback. Electronic Electronic feedback occurs via computer mediated methods when a hyperlink is used to indicate an error has occurred. Reformulation Reformulation occurs when a first language user rewrites or reformulates the targeted second language learners text. Due to the significance of Elliss (2009) classification of feedback types in informing the analysis of the data and providing insights into this study the most important feedback types outlined in the proposed scheme will be illustrated in the preceding sections. Direct Versus Indirect Feedback A first distinction in Elliss (2009) classification is made between direct and indirect feedback. Direct feedback refers to highlighting the errors and providing the correct forms to the learners. That is, the correct form is given in place of an incorrect form. Ellis (2009) states that direct feedback has advantage because it will explicit guidance for the learners about how to correct their errors. Similarly, Bartram and Walton, (1991: 84) mentioned that direct corrective feedback, is implemented through underlining the errors and providing the right forms in the learners written work. Examples (1) and (2) below illustrate the direct and indirect types of feedback respectively. (1) at is health Sleeping late in night are very bad for our heelth and brain. As demonstrated in example (1), direct feedback can be provided by indication of the errors accompanied with their correct forms and explanations while in case of indirect corrective feedback, learners errors can be indicated by underlining the errors without any explanation or correcting it. This is can be done by indicating where errors are located only. Example (2) shows indirect feedback. (2) Sleeping late in night are very bad for our heelth and brain. Concurring with Ellis (2009), Ferris and Roberts (2001) suggest that direct corrective feedback is better than indirect corrective feedback with learners/writers of low levels of proficiency, but conversely, Hedge (2000) argues that the dangers of its spoon-feeding effect are that learners overlook their own role in the correction process and may become passive. This is because learners can just mechanically copy the ready-made correction without figuring out the reasons. To make full use of the advantages of direct feedback and indirect feedback and avoid their disadvantages, teachers can consider combining them together. Focused Versus Unfocused Feedback A second distinction in feedback typology is made between focused and unfocused corrective feedback. Ellis (2009) states that in focused corrective feedback much attention is given on one or two types of error which assists the learner to examine several corrections on the same type of error. In unfocused corrective feedback, on the other hand, the learner or the learner is asked to engage in different type of errors, which may confuse the learner focusing on the error. Focused and unfocused correction feedback can also involve all other types of feedback such as direct, indirect, metalinguistic, focused versus unfocused and electronic corrective feedback (Ellis, ibid). Written corrective feedback studies (e.g., Bitchener, Young Cameron, 2005; Truscott, 2009; Sheen, 2007) suggest that when written corrective feedback is focused it is likely to be more effective in promoting acquisition, than unfocused corrective feedback. Sheen (2007), for example, in his study using focused corrective feedback found that such approach is effective in promoting more accurate language use. In a similar vein, Sheen at el.s (2009) studied six intact language classrooms in a pre-academic non-credit EFL program in a US college. The researchers seem to be more focused on two types of written correction (focused and unfocused) and they attempted to investigate the effects in using use adult EFL learners accurate use of English articles, use of grammatical features other than that which is the focus of the correction and the effect for written narrative tasks without error correction on the accurate use of grammatical features other than that which is the focus of the correction. The results confirmed the effectiveness of unfocused corrective feedback on learning English articles. As such, the findings from these studies recommend the teachers to select focused feedback with one or two errors types at one time rather than selecting too many types of errors. The Role Of Written Feedback In EFL Development The importance of feedback lies in quality, not frequency. There are some important aspects to consider before feedback is given. First, whether the provided feedback takes the learners development into account since demonstrating their progress through feedback can create extra motivation to work more efficiently. Motivation is an important part of feedback and lack of enough motivation can lower learners self-esteem. Giving feedback should be about motivating learners and at the same time focus on what they need to improve. This is a difficult balance to keep (Hyland Hyland, 2001:187). As such, the teacher needs to emphasize the efforts the learners made; that is highlighting the learners effort rather than the outcome or the effect it has had on the teacher. There is a difference between I see that you have worked very hard, good job! and I appreciate the hard work you have done! As the latter suggests that the work was done for the teacher, while the former focuses on the learne rs effort. The learners should feel that they work for themselves, not for the teacher (Good and Brophy, 1994:147). A second important aspect of feedback deals with whether the given feedback is based on a conscious strategy or it is provided without any consistent pattern. What this means is that teachers need to establish a consistent and conscious strategy in providing written feedback, so that learners become aware of the patterns of writing that is pointed out consistently by the teacher. However, a third aspect of feedback comes into play when tutors need to provide as various feedback as possible. Only writing Wow! does not say much about the work the learners have carried out. It is better to point out the parts that are impressive and explain why. Also, variation is necessary because if a teacher, for example, constantly writes Good job! the learners might not find it genuine and disregard it (Good Brophy, 1994:147). In the same token, as Harmer (2005) contends, there are more effective ways of correcting than underlining, crossing-out and putting question marks in learners written assignments. Keeping these points in mind could help to make feedback more useful for the learners, and also more appreciated. Variation may also be created through different ways of providing corrections on learners works. For instance, they may use selective correction which means not correcting every mistake the learners make. For selective corrections, the learners must be told before they start writing. If a teacher announces that, for example, only punctuation will be corrected, the learners might concentrate harder and make fewer mistakes in that area. Using correction symbols may be another way adding to variation and effectiveness of correcting. This reduces the amount of red ink all over the essay, which often lowers the learners motivation. Additionally, Harmer (2005:111) mentions reformulation, which means that the teacher shows how a particular sentence can be formulated in another way. That enables the learner to compare a correct version with an incorrect one. Moreover, referring to a dictionary in the feedback is yet another way to make learners learn. They have to look something up with a pu rpose in mind. In this way, they learn as they correct. For instance, if a mistake is difficult to explain, teachers can write ask me next to it so they can explain the mistake to the learner face-to-face. The fourth and final point central to providing effective feedback is to note whether it is restricted to form or it provides insights into the content as well. Gray (2004) suggests that effective feedback should concentrate on content, rather than form; check to see if the learners write fluently. Have they tried to use new words? Do they have the knowledge of going around the problems when their vocabulary is not extensive enough? There are more aspects to look at than only grammar. Hence, it would be a misconception if teachers focus only on mechanical error correction instead of seeking excellence in the learners writing development. With this in mind, the next section presents relevant issues in and appropriate methods of error correction in writing courses. In sum, this brief review indicates that in order to provide effective feedback, EFL teachers need to take into considerations different factors including learner motivation, teacher awareness of his/her feedback strategy, implementation of various types of feedback, and inclusion of both form-focused and content-related corrections in their feedback. These methods of providing feedback can be contrasted to traditional practices of error correction that focused mainly on formal or grammatical aspects of language. Williams (2001) suggests two main shortcomings of traditional methods of correcting grammatical errors. First, correction of learners errors has been found to be unclear and inconsistent when it deals with teachers written feedback. Second, using the traditional methods, learners simply copy their teachers feedback correction and use it in their subsequent drafts. Majority of the learners do not take their teachers written feedback into consideration and study those errors. Rewriting or copying the mistakes without recognizing the essence of the error will create a passive action preventing learners to learn from their mistake. Thus, giving the learners the correct feedback will motivate them with their writing task in a new piece of writing. 2.8 Research Into Types of Feedback on Learners Writing Feedback is just one aspect of EFL education; the other piece of an effective EFL learning programme would be feedback. Feedback occurs between teachers and learners in particular cultural, institutional, and inter-personal contexts, and learner responses are affected by different aspects of the context (Lee, 2009). In the context of EFL education, Lee (2009) examined learner perspectives on teacher feedback, wherein it has been established that in EFL education feedback anchored on the learners personality and personal needs are perceived to be more effective. Hence, the perception of learners with regard to feedback mechanisms often depends on the manner by which the EFL teacher conducts both assessment and feedback mechanisms. In another study, Diab (2005) examined the teacher preferences with regard to error correction and feedback. Through a thorough review of literature, Diab (ibid) was able to observe that more often than not, foreign language learners have different responses to feedbacks regarding pronunciation, error correction, and the importance given to grammar and vocabulary are often different from that of their tutors. Furthermore, Diab (2005) also indicted in his article that foreign language learners are more responsive to corrective feedback, both written and spoken than tutors. This is a good point raised in the sense that effort for a successful EFL programme should not only emanate from the willingness of the learners to learn but also in the ability of the tutors to be efficient and effective in performing their functions. Hy