Pharmacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Pharmacy - Essay Example The differentiation of these departments is to make management easier and also to establish quality in control and offering standard services. Minimizing risks in the hospitals is important as it improves the safety, security and the welfare of the patients. Safety in hospitals is an assurance of better services to potential customers and the staff. Risk and quality management in hospitals is important and should be effected timely to make the running of hospitals smooth. The primary purpose of risk and quality management in the healthcare is to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. Risk management itself is important in hospitals is important as it helps control risks and improve the chances of achieving set objectives by the management. Quality management as its name suggests is effective in establishing standards of operations related to hospitals. Quality management aims at achieving customer satisfactions and reducing the number of reported complaints. It will in turn will improve the image of the hospital and place it at a better position in business. The purpose of risk management in relation to the hospital is to gear all operations in order to achieve the objectives. A hospital can target to purchase new equipment at a certain set date. It will be the duty of the management to determine the source of funds for the purchase and in turn finance the operation to achieve its objectives. The preparation to achieve objectives is what is being referred to as risk management. The purpose of quality management, on the other hand, is to maintain operation standards and ethics. Quality management mainly focuses on quality service delivery and customer satisfaction. Although there are variations between quality and risk, all address the issue of change and improvement. Concepts of risk and quality management in the hospital are established in order to enable proper and timely

Study Abroad And Culture Shock Education Essay

Study Abroad And Culture Shock Education Essay What is meant by study abroad is shortly that Off-campus education that occurs outside the participants home country as defined by Peterson, Engle, Kenney, Kreutzer, Nolting, and Ogden (2007, p.177). As defined in the study by Kitsantas and Meyers (2001) study abroad programs are based on an educational aim and they take place out of country boundaries which are participants native land. To be familiar with a new culture, to be receptive and more knowledgeable, to get professional information from another university and to reach a high level of target language can be some purposes of study abroad, in reference to Behrnd and Porzelt (2011). Study abroad programs require to be connected with foreign societies and cultures. However, trying to be adapted to a new culture sometimes ends up with culture shock. There is a need for knowing the meaning of culture to be able to understand what culture shock is. Culture, according to Mcleod (2008), is to learn social heritage covertly and overtly, implicitly and explicitly, consciously or unconsciously and it helps to perceive, relate and interpret the reality. What is the culture shock? According to definition of Chapdelaine and Alexitch (2004), culture shock is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the multiple demands for adjustment that individuals experience at the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, and physiological levels, when they relocate to another culture (p. 168). Culture shock, especially for students, is a very common issue when they are in a study abroad program. Culture shock can be defined as the period of adaptation of a new culture when a person experiences some feelings like anxiety, confusion and disruption while living in the new culture (Befus, 1986). Additionally, Pedersen (1995) has many definitions about culture shock: (1) is a process and not a single event, (2) may take place at many different levels simultaneously as the individual interacts with a complex environment, (3) becomes stronger or weaker as the individual learns to cope or fails to cope, (4) teaches the individual new coping strategies which contribute to future success, and (5) applies to any radical change presenting unfamiliar or unexpected circumstances. Situations of culture shock abroad provide metaphors for better understanding culture shock related to physical health, environmental disaster, economic failure, psychological crises, or any radical change in lifestyle (p. vii). 1.2 Purpose and Rationale As the social life has an important place in everybodys life times, this study was conducted to examine the symptoms and causes of culture shock on the social lives of foreign METU students coming from Asia, Europe and other continents. By searching the symptoms and causes of culture shock on the social lives of foreign METU students, we wanted to contribute to the studies searching solutions to problems resulting from these causes if there was any. With the help of this study, foreign METU students may get some information about what culture shock is and they may learn what kind of problems they can face at METU because of culture shock. The main reason for this research was to find out whether or not there were any differences in terms of symptoms and causes of culture shock on social lives of foreign METU students coming from Asia, Europe and other continents. In addition to this, it was aimed to explain (a) what the symptoms of culture shock were, (b) what the causes of culture shock were and (c) which of these causes were the most common. 1.3 Limitations This research was conducted with only METU students coming from Asia, Europe and other continents. Since there was no possibility to reach all the foreign students at METU, the number of participants was limited to 40 students. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized to all foreign students in universities of Turkey. LITERATURE REVIEW There are many people who travelled to remote regions so as to work, settle, teach, study and have fun in human history (Bochner, 2003). In recent years, study abroad programs have become very popular among university students. When the participants are away from their home country, they may have some difficulties in adjustment to new country and its culture. These difficulties are mostly caused by culture shock. According to Bragg (2005), culture shock is a situation hard to get accustomed because of some elements like different physical environment, clothes, transportation, and food. Researchers state that in the globalizing world, study abroad gets more and more students attention due to the fact that it has a crucial role on students analytic abilities, aspects for cultural diversity and their potential to cope with ambiguity (Carlson, Burn, Useem, Yachimowicz, 1991). Whereas the specific objectives of study abroad programs depend upon the institutions participating in those, intercultural and academic proficiency are common to all institutions, in respect to Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen and Hubbard (2005). Teichler (2004) indicates that the reasons for participating in study abroad programs are generally to learn a language in its native environment, to improve oneself, to take academic courses in another university, to understand and be familiar with a new culture, to increase the opportunities for business and to travel. There are three types of study abroad programs: full year, semester and summer term programs. Dwyer (2004) points out that full year programs generally last 32 weeks, semester programs last at least 16 weeks and summer term programs change six to seven weeks in length. No matter what the length of program is there will be culture change in their lives. There is no connection between duration of staying in a new culture and attitudes towards this culture either positively or negatively (Feichtinger and Fink, 1998). Like language, culture acquisition occurs in early childhood with an inner aptitude and then it is supported with formal and informal education in social life into adulthood. (Stewart Leggat, 1998). As culture has an important role on all human beings lives, any change in the culture may cause some problems and one of them is culture shock. Culture shock, especially for students, is a very common issue when they are in a study abroad program. Pyvis and Chapman (2005) illustrate that in the concept of higher education, international students travelling to other countries in order to study are identified at risk of culture shock. People usually suffer from emotional disturbance when they are in an unfamiliar culture. There are many troubles of students who come from a country to another one so as to take higher education, especially if they have quite distinctive culture in their home country. Jimà ©nez and Leichnitz (n.d.) note that the exchange students may confront many problems on their social lives, for instance, they may not know how to use the bank systems, where to go shopping, how to use public transportation and how to live according to traditions of that culture. Previous research on this topic is limited in Turkey. However, there have been conducted many research about this topic around the world. For example, there is a study conducted in United Kingdom by Mehdizadeh and Scott (2005) and they emphasize problems that students may encounter such as educational system which is quite different from the methods their own country, difficulty in adaptation to British customs, places to stay or sorts of food. In view of Mcleod (2008), exchange students from Western countries, especially ones in Europe, experience lower degree of culture shock than non-Western countries students. The degree of culture shock changes because of racism and discrimination not only Western cultures but also their taboos. In addition to this, the effects of exchange students beliefs related to Americans negative perspective about their own country may cause infelicity and adaptation problems. As mentioned by Chapdelaine and Alexitch (2004) The term culture shock was first introduced by anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in the late 1950s. Culture shock occurs due to decline of well-known elements of culture; therefore, some negative feelings appear in individuals lives While travelling to a new country and being familiar with a new culture seem as positive affairs, they do not always positive effects in peoples lives. There are five stages of culture shock according to Pedersen (1995). He defines and explains those stages. First stage is honeymoon stage in which exchange students experience curiosity and excitement to new culture. In the second disintegration stage, they have feeling of disintegration and they cannot supply the requirements of the new culture. In the third reintegration stage they start to adapt to and reintegrate with new culture. In the fourth autonomy stage, there is a comparison between the new culture and the old one in terms of positive and negative elements. Lastly, in the fifth interdependence stage, individuals become bicultural, so they feel comfortable in both cultures. However, it is uncertain that whether or not every individual reaches to fifth stage and acquires biculturalism On the ground that every student cannot reach the fifth stage, culture shock does not always end up with positive results (p.3). The research Culture Shock: Causes and Symptoms by Miller (2008) mentions that there are 13 factors that cause culture shock. According to him, elements causing culture shock are language, interpersonal communication, politics, mentality, religion, Americans attitude toward international students, infrastructure, service quality, education system, food, environmental concerns, social responsibility and immigration policies. These causes are so general that they should be narrowed down. Since the main focus of this research was the social lives of foreign METU students, only some causes based on social life were included in this research. In social life people always communicate with each other. Thus, interpersonal communication has an important role on peoples lives. Selà §uk (n.d.) assumes that every society has their linguistic behavior models so as to use in daily life. These linguistic behavior models differ from society to society and culture to culture. If individuals participating in communication have different cultures there will be a disagreement in communication as they will not know the meaning of attitude and behaviors in the new culture. Since people cannot communicate with each other due to the differences in linguistic behavior models, they have high possibility to confront culture shock. The problem in communication with the people of a new country has a close relationship with the attitudes of host country people toward foreign students. According to a statement by Frost (2007), Finding a group of like minded people who will welcome them with open arms and empathize with their plight is like finding an oasis in a cultural desert. All of the students in host country do not have positive attitude toward foreign students, hence, the students coming from different counties have problem with finding friends. Frost emphasizes this issue saying that the exchange students, in fact, do not prefer to be friends with whom they have when they are in a study abroad program. However, as their choices are very limited, they have to be friends with those of host country. As the world becomes more and more globalizing, students try to go to other countries for higher education. Ginkel (2008) considers that every person has their own point of view about education and its aim. It is not surprising to find out that different countries have different aims in education. When people are in another country, they can feel the education system of this country has a dissimilar way of teaching from one of their home country. According to Mehdizadeh and Scott (2005) Students may need to adjust to a new educational system, which differs considerably from the methods of study in their own country This adaptation progress can be hard some foreign students due to big differences between education system of their home country and education system of country they have come as foreign students. The research Culture Shock: Causes and Symptoms by Miller (2008) presents 10 general symptoms of culture shock that are irritability, homesickness, social withdrawal, boredom, a need for excessive sleep, depression, over-eating or loss of appetite, mental or relationship stress, loss of ability to study effectively, and feeling sick much of the time. If it is needed to specify more, there are some other symptoms like excessive preoccupation with drinking water, food and dishes, fear of physical contact with servants and great concern over minor pain as Befus (1986) stated. Study abroad programs that sometimes cause culture shock have been in demand much more recent years. As regards YÄ ±ldÄ ±z, ÇakÄ ±r and Kondakà §Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ± (2011), although Turkey is seen among countries sending students, the number of foreign students coming to Turkey on the purpose of study abroad has been increasing consistently. In Turkey, it is hard to set a common rationale for foreign students from different countries and cultures. All students who come to Turkey for study abroad have differential reason for choosing Turkey. Turkey not only has many universities but also historical and natural beauty which anybody wants to see. These features make Turkey attractive for foreign students. According to Gibbs (2011), METU is one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey. Therefore, it hosts over 1000 foreign students who want to take an academic education around the world. METU and these foreign students are inseparable from each other. The purpose of METU is to increase the number of foreign students next years. This study aimed to highlight some causes and symptoms of the culture shock on the social lives of foreign METU students from Europe, Asia and other continents. 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Questions This research was conducted in order to find answers to the following research questions: Are there any changes on the social lives of foreign METU students from Europe, Asia and other continents? If yes, which changes are resulted from culture shock? What are the causes of culture shock on the social lives of foreign METU students from Europe, Asia and other continents? What are the symptoms of that culture shock on the social lives of foreign METU students from Europe, Asia and other continents? Are there any differences at the rate of causes and symptoms of culture shock among social lives of foreign students from Europe, Asia and other continents at METU? In this study, it was expected to find some significant symptoms and causes of culture shock on the social lives of foreign METU students. It was predicted that foreign students had both same and different symptoms and causes. By taking into consideration these three types of students, the symptoms and causes of culture shock was investigated.

1984 and Today’s Society Essay -- English Literature

1984 and Today’s Society Though 1984 was written well before the year 1984 and it is now 2005, there are many similarities between the book and today’s society. Relationships of all kind have less value, the government watches one’s every move (or at least has the capability to), and large groups of people are influenced to believe opinions at school due to the government. The government has regulations and records on everything and everybody. George Orwell may not have been very far from predicting the truth when writing 1984 in 1948. In the United States today, anywhere from something as harmless as television shows to the government itself promotes less sanctity of a loving family much like 1984. In the book, children went to school and were trained to be spies and turn adults into the thought police. Parsons (Winston’s comrade and neighbor) was turned in by his own children. He had committed a â€Å"thought crimeâ€Å". This shows what little respect the children in the book had for their parents, and the baffling effect was the parents getting use to and accepting it. Parsons had told Winston that he’s actually kind of proud of his child. â€Å"Big Brother† discouraged emotions and anything with meaning in families. Children are raised today with households based on financial support, affairs, and anything but real love. Children are taught that divorce is okay, and the value of marriages has greatly decreased. â€Å"Till death do us part† may now really mean â€Å"Till death do us part or if you can’t work out any problems and do things my way†. In 1984, Winston â€Å"separated† with his wife Katherine. By law he could not get married again unless Katherine died but this was strictly to discourage love and sexual relationshi... ...the schools contradict information the children is given from the parents. The theory of evolution for example, has been taught as a theory and not creation. Parents may not spend much time teaching their children about creation and the child has only the school’s information to turn to. Sex education being another excellent example, students in high school are taught to have â€Å"safe sex† instead of no sex at all. This may also contradict parents and their teachings. With relationships downplayed, the government having access to one’s private life and their children, George Orwell was very correct about the future of society and humans alike. Though the book was rather intense when it came to the outcomes, Orwell described a world of the government brainwashing the people. Much of society does not realize what is going on or think it is a negative effect.

Point of sale and inventory documentation Essay

Point of Sale and Inventory System is a process wherein the business could monitor the movements of the products as well as the sales transactions. It is important for the company to take account inventory of the products as well as the sales. Inventory refers total amount of goods and/or materials contained in a store at any or factory at any given time (Inventory, 2011) Even though technology is available, still many companies use manual system. Operating manual inventory is a time-consuming task, lots of paper works and slow date processing (Hamlet, 2011). It also problematic in terms of communication streams. Each update or removal from the inventory must be updated daily (Cruz, 2010). Manual sales and inventory process was prone to errors that required time to rectify discrepancies (â€Å"Inventory†, nd.). Since manual inventory consumes a lot of time and is susceptible to errors, it would be helpful to build a system that will automate the transactions from acquisition of the product description to updating the inventory database. Work efficiency of employees is defined as how productive they are in their work (â€Å"Inventory†, nd.). The causes of the discrepancies in the records are many, and some of the commonly observed ones are: stock loss; transaction error, inaccessible inventory, and incorrect product identification. Stock loss, also known as shrinkage in industry, includes all forms of loss of the products available for sale. One common example is theft, which can be committed by both shoppers (external theft) and employees (internal theft). With these problems of manual inventory system, businesses emerged with computerized Point of Sales and Inventory System. It tracks purchases and sale transactions thought an organization. Point of Sale and Inventory System is a tool used by retail businesses such as stores, supermarkets, and restaurants. It can register the purchase and keep track of inventory. It also records information on the purchase including time and store location. It also manages the sales of retail goods. It makes a business much more efficient, lowering the costs of running the business while improving customer service and making the business more pleasant to work in (Smith &  Harris, 2011) According to Hendeson (2011), that effective tracking of inventory is an imperative component to a small business successful operation. By having up-to-date data regarding all needed stocks for sale, the organization will drastically increase its bottom line. The amount of time that can be saved by the company is the biggest benefits of using a computerized point of sale and inventory system. Another benefit of a computerized point of sale and inventory system is the accuracy it ensures. The companies operation will be more effectively. The business owner or the manager can ensure that the reports, purchased order and other documents related to sales and inventory are uniform regardless of two created the reports (What are the benefits of Computerized Sales and Inventory, n.d.). According to ruffling (2009), senior director of retail services for BBK Ltd., the trends in Sales and Inventory System are not just inventory accuracy but the use of pricing models to allow for markdown management. Based from the problems encountered in a manual point of sales and inventory system, developers come up with this computerized point of sales and inventory system. Developers have chosen Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa started its operations in the year 2012 by Mr. Randy S. Quiniones. It is located at Sierra Heights Place, Sierra Madre St. Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City. The company is currently using a manual inventory system but aims for improvement to be competitive. In small businesses, inventory system is still applicable because of the advantages it provides the management. Inventory system makes the management of stock levels mush easier and more organized. It improves profits by accurately identifying the flow of stocks. The developers have come up with an idea developing a system that will improve the process and at the same time comes up with an idea developing a system that will improved the process and at the same time comes up with an efficient result of Inventory. The developers aim to eliminate possible problems due human errors that might occur during manual handling, like erroneous tallying and recording of items and other products during the actual inventories. The proposed project entitled â€Å"Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa Point of Sale and Inventory System† deals with the tracking of regular costumers, supplies and delivery’s inventory system. This system will be made actually for the management to reduce their work with concrete and consistent handling of data. Also it  aims to build a consistent inventory system for the company that will surely help the company for stability and profitability. Statement of the Problem Sales and Inventory has always been an issue in the part of manual procedures. Thus, the study seeks to answer the following: 1. How to Design, develop and implement a Point of Sale and Inventory System? 2. How to develop a module that will be used for keeping and storing the entire item’s information? 3. How to develop a module for counting all the sales of the sold items? 4. How to develop a Computerized Point of Sales and Inventory System that will lessen time spent in processing of the payment? 5. How to generate reports faster on-time? Objectives of the study The developers aimed to designed, developed and test Point of Sale and Inventory System for Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa, for them to become more competitive and to attract more customers specifically, it sought to answer the following objectives. 1. To identify the existing processes in terms of a. Sales and b. Inventory 2. To determine the software and hardware requirements of the system. 3. To enumerate the features of the system; and 4. To test the acceptability of the system. Significance of the Study The system will bring innovations and modernization for Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa, and an effective way in providing a means of convenience and faster service. The following will be the beneficiaries: Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa. The system will give the company another asset to be used for them to attract customer by providing better services with regards to their improved point of sale system. Also it increases the company’s competitiveness among other competitors. In this way, it may able to improve the Thirsty Teddy Refilling  Station and The Sierra Spa image and professionalism through a better and well organized business. Manager. The system will help the manager perform more efficient ways to operate the business. The manager will receive reliable and accurate reports on inventory status and sales report. Through these reports the manager can create a good business decisions, determine products that contribute to sales and create new business strategies and enhancement. Inventory Clerk. The clerk will be more productive in checking the stock-in and stock-out of the company. It will also help the inventory clerk in doing reports for the system will generate stock reports Cashier. Upon implementing the system, the cashier will be more productive and efficient in doing work, providing reliable reports for manager and giving the customer quality service. The cashier will not worry about doing manual calculations, for the system will generate sales reports. Developers. In creating the system, developers will be able to apply knowledge acquired in school and discover new facts and ideas that will be a big help in the long run being in the world of business particularly in a system and software development. Other Developers. This will serve as the great significance to other developers that will have similar studies. These developers may further improve and revise the outcome of this research. Scope and Limitations The study focused on the manager and cashier’s requirements. The proposed system included only stocks monitoring process. The System is able to provide inventory reports and sales reports. There were two modules aim to developed- the administrator or manager module and the cashier module. In the Manager module, the manager can view, edit and delete user account as well as supplier accounts, view inventory as well as reports such as the stock in and stock out and the list of suppliers that can provide the stocks needed. The manager can also view stock that needs to be purchased as well as the status of each purchase order. In the Clerk module, the inventory clerk can add and edit information of stocks being delivered by the supplier. The said module enables the generation of information on the status of stocks, the bad orders, the stocks needed to be purchased and the suppliers that can provide the stocks. Inventory clerk is not allowed to delete supplier’s information. In the Cashier model, sales transaction  receipt generation and purchase order is also included as one of the features of the system. The cashier can only view and add transactions, but is not allowed to delete and edit information made by the manager and the inventory clerk. Security measures were also included. The user will simply login the user name and password to gain access in the system. Conceptual Framework The developers aim to use Input-Process-Output (IPO) to present paradigm of the study that illustrates the relationship between the input and output. The paradigm of the study exhibits the skeletal framework of the research study. The input consists of existing process of Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa in terms of inventory and sales. Problems of the existing process are also needed in the development of the system. The developers also identify the features of the system and test the acceptability of the system. The phases of Waterfall Model will be the basis for the development of the system. This includes the following phases; requirements, analysis, design and implementation. The output of this system is Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa Point of Sale and Inventory System. Figure 1.1 in the succeeding page, shows the paradigm of the study to be conducted, to come up with the output of the propose system.

Books And Reading Essay

Topical Vocabulary 1. Categorisation: Children’s and adult’s books; travel books and biography; romantic and historical novels; thrillers; detective stories; science fiction/fantasy; non-fiction; pulp fiction. absorbing; adult; amusing; controversial; dense; depressing; delightful; dirty; disturbing; dull; fascinating; gripping; moralistic; obscene; outrageous; profound; whimsical; unputdownable. 2. Books and their parts: paperback and hardback; binding; cover; jacket; title; epigraph; preface; the contents list; fly leaf; bookplate; blurb; a beautifully printed book; a tome bound in leather; a book with dense print/ with loose pages. 3. Reading habits: to form a reading habit early in life; to read silently/incessantly/avidly/voratiously; to read curled up in chair; to read a child/oneself to sleep; to be lost/absorbed in a book; to devour books; to dip into/glance over/pore over/thumb through a book; to browse through newspapers and periodicals; to scan/ skim a magazine; an avid/alert/keen reader. 4. Library facilities: reading rooms and reference sections; the subject/author/title/on-line catalogue; the enquiry desk; computer assisted reference service; to borrow/renew/loan books; CDs and video tapes; rare books; to keep books that are overdue; books vulnerable to theft; to suspend one’s membership; to be banned from the library. I. Use the thematic vocabulary in answering the following questions: 1. Which books are you reading now? 2. Where is your favourite place to read? 3. Who is your favourite novelist? 4. Who is your favourite character? 5. Which contemporary author do you most admire? 6. Which is the first book you can recommend reading? 7. Which school text did you most enjoy? 8. What is your favourite children’s book? 9. Which book would you like to see filmed? 10. What is the most difficult book you have ever read? II. Work in groups. Find out about the last book each of your partners has read and make notes on these points: Author and title Type of book and what’s it about Reason for liking it Reason for recommending it to others III. Work in pairs. Choose the best alternative to complete these sentences: 1. Oliver Twist is a classic work of English †¦ . Literature non-fiction letters editions 2. The plot of the story was very exciting, but I didn’t find the †¦ . Persons people characters figurers 3. This book is a special edition for foreign readers, so there’s a(n) †¦ . Appendix glossary introduction preface table of contents 4. A novel is usually divided into several †¦ . Chapters units sections passages 5. If you need to find some information in a non-fiction book, look in the †¦ . Atlas blurb catalogue diary index review 6. Cambridge University Press is the †¦of the book you’re reading. Author editor printer publisher 7. A great novel has a good plot and a strong †¦ . Communication meaning message significance 8. The book was marvelously †¦ and it was a joy to read. Stylistic tedious well-written wonderful 9. Ernest Hemingway is one of my †¦ American writers. Best favourite ideal most popular 10. The thriller was so exciting that I couldn’t †¦ . Let it down look it up pick it up put it down 11. Even the †¦ characters in the book are really interesting. Less minor small tiny 12. I’d like to †¦ that book when you’ve read it. Borrow hire lend loan IV. In these sentences three alternatives are correct and two are wrong. Choose the best three alternatives for each: 1. The †¦ character in the book is called Oliver. Central main principal principle top 2. I enjoy her books because her style is so very †¦ . Dull entertaining readable tedious true-to-life 3. I found that the characters in the story were very †¦ . Amusing believable informative likeable thrilling 4. There were so many twists in the plot that I didn’t really think it was †¦ . Accurate authentic convincing realistic true-to-life 5. She doesn’t read any fiction because she prefers reading †¦ . Biographies short stories textbooks non-fiction science fiction 6. I can’t †¦ books like those – they just send me to sleep. Bear carry enjoy stand suffer V. Fill in the gaps in these sentences with suitable words: 1. You can borrow books from a †¦ or buy them from a †¦ . 2. A writer can also be called an †¦ . 3. I can’t afford to buy the book in hardback, so I’ll wait till it comes out in †¦ . 4. I can’t remember the †¦ of the book, but I know it had a yellow †¦ . 5. A book that tells somebody’s life story is called a †¦ . VI. Match each word in the column with the explanation: Ballad, biography, novel, drama, poem, fairy tale, poetry, story, rhyme, novelette a) a story in prose, long enough to fill in one or more volumes, about either imaginary or historical people; b) piece of creative writing in verse form, especially one expressing deep feeling or noble thought in beautiful language, composed with the desire to communicate an experience; c) simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story; d) the art of a poet, poems; e) tale about fairies of imaginary origin; f) branch of literature dealing with the lives of persons; g) play for the theatre, radio or TV; h) verse for small children characterized by sameness of sound of the ending or two more words at the ends of lines of verse; i) short novel (story in prose); j) account of past or imaginary events. VII. Read the following extract and make with your groupmates the list of the books you would like to read while travelling: The Book- Bag Some people read for instruction, ad some for pleasure, but not a few read from habit. I belong to that company. Let us admit that reading is just a drug that we cannot get along without. Books are necessary to me and I never traveled far without enough reading matter. But when I am starting on a long journey the problem is really great. I have learnt my lesson. Once I fell ill in a small town in Java and had to stay in bed for three months. I came to the end of all the books I had brought with me and knowing no Dutch had to buy the schoolbooks from which intelligent Javanese, I suppose, got knowledge of French and German. So I read again after twenty-five years the plays of Goethe, the fables of La Fontaine and the tragedies of Racine. I have the greatest admiration for Racine, but I admit that to read his plays one after the other requires a certain effort in a person who is ill. Since then I have made a point of travelling with a large sack full of books for every possible occasion and every mood. There are books of all kinds. Volumes of verse, novels, philosophical works, critical studies (they say books about books are useless, but they certainly make very pleasant reading), biographies, history; there are books to read when you are ill and books to read when your brain want something to work at; there are books that you have always wanted to read but in the hurry of life at home have never found time to; there are books to read at sea; there are books for bad weather; there are books chosen solely for their length, which you take along when you have o travel light, and there are the books you can read when you can read nothing else. (from W. Somerset Maugham) VIII. See how many authors and titles you can match: For Whom the Bell Tolls Charlotte Bronte A Perfect Stranger Charles Dickens Airport Walter Scott Sister Carrie Dan Brown Tom Sawyer Daphne du Maurier Pride and Prejudice Arthur Hailey Martin Eden Danielle Steel Of Human Bondage Ernest Hemingway Alice in Wonderland Mark Twain Ivanhoe Lewis Carroll Rebecca Jack London David Copperfield Theodore Dreiser Jane Eyre Somerset Maugham The Da Vinci Code Iris Murdock Black Prince Jane Austen IX. Read the text and agree or disagree with the statements below: An English author once wrote: â€Å"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed or digested. † This quotation tells us how to read books of different kinds. Most travel books are to be tasted; it’s enough to dip into them and read bits here and there. If you are fond of crime stories (A. Christie, G. Simenon and the rest of modern favourites) you will read them quickly, you’ll â€Å"swallow† them. And then there are books that you’ll read slowly and carefully. If a book’s on an important subject, and a subject you’re interested in, you’ll want to chew and digest it. And you’ll want to weigh what the author says and consider his ideas and arguments. 1) Reading English fiction with a dictionary is very dull. 2) If the book is very exciting, you â€Å"swallow† it. 3) Nobody reads reference books for relaxation. 4) Reading thick science fiction books is tiring. 5) Very intelligent people don’t read detective stories. 6) Non-fiction books can’t be inspirational. 7) Travel books give you a lot of useful information. 8) Unfortunately many young people are not in the habit of reading poetry. 9) Great book-lovers never lend their books. 10) Lots of people buy books for their bright and beautiful jackets. 11) Bookcases and bookshelves are the best kind of decoration for a living-room. 12) It’s of no use collecting book issues of magazines and newspapers. X. Read the following passage and say if you agree with the author: Some people think that as more and more people have their TV-sets in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel, when a play o television can tell you the same story with colour picture and action? Why read the biographies of famous men and women, when an hour-long television programme can tell you all that you want to know? Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as paperback books, which are reasonably cheap. A paperback novel, for example, is almost always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or theatre, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times. Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. Every home should have an atlas of the world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books such as history books, science textbooks, cookery books, books about medicine and health, etc. It is equally important to have some fiction on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favourite poets. XI. Choose the best answer according to the information in the passage: 1. Which is easier to get the news from? a) newspaper b) the television 2. Which is usually quicker? a) to read a biography of a famous person b) to watch a TV programme about a famous person 3. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) an evening at the cinema 4. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) a hardcover book 5. Which is it most important to have in your home? a) non-fiction books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias b) fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems c) a mixture of both: good non-fiction and your favourite fiction XII. Discuss the following questions with your partners: 1. Were your parents worried that you watched too much TV when you were younger? 2. Did you find TV more interesting than anything else when you were at school? 3. Programmes on what subject do you like most of all? 4. Can you learn all you want on TV? 5. Do you think you get more information from books or TV? 6. Is it easier for you to memorize facts watching TV or reading books? 7. What do you like more to read books or to watch TV? XIII. Different people enjoy reading for different reasons. You will read five people saying why they like reading novels. Which of them says that novels a) are good for improving language skills? b) make them forget their problems? c) add some adventure to their life? d) teach them how to act in certain situations? e) increase their knowledge of other cultures? Reading Novels Ricky: Oh, I love novels, especially if they have a good plot. I started reading them when I was 12, encouraged by my parents who were hoping I’d be a writer myself. As it happened, reading so much at an early age had an effect on my studies, my compositions were always very good! And I still read at least one novel a week. My own life isn’t terribly exciting, apart from my work, which is very interesting, nothing much happens. In the novels I read there’s always a lot going on, lots of thrilling events, and I can share in the experiences and problems of the characters. Ella: Well, I used to read only short stories. That changed when I moved to a new city and found myself in a job I didn’t really enjoy. I would get back home at about 5p. m. , make some supper and sit down to read a novel for the rest of the evening. Many of them are pretty unbelievable stories, and not particularly well-written. It’s not as if you can imagine yourself in any of those situations, but the thing is they take my mind off whatever’s worrying me. I’ve had long conversations about this with friends who think I should read better quality staff, but I know what I’m doing. Sally: Why I like reading novels? I remember as an adolescent, I used to read novels just so as to see how my favourite characters solved their problems. I thought I could then apply that to my own problems! And I’m not ashamed to say that’s still the case, that’s what I’m looking for in the novels I read, and that’s my reason for reading them. I always choose novels that are in a clear style, because I find complicated language difficult. And also I like the stories to be about countries and cultures I know well, because then I can understand the characters better. Tom: I think reading novels is helping me a great deal in my studies, and although I haven’t got much spare time, I always make a point of reading a couple of hours in the evening. I’m in my last year at secondary school, and frankly, reading novels is an excellent way of learning how people live in other countries, how they communicate with each other, what problems they have. That’s why I prefer novels with characters who are true to life, not the ones who have impossible adventures. I’m very lucky because my best friend also likes reading and we can often discuss what we’ve both read. Alex: I like reading novels because they help me develop the ability to write myself. I used to have real problems in producing a good piece of writing. It wasn’t that I lacked ideas, no, my teachers always said my compositions were interesting. But I couldn’t get my tenses right. That’s where reading novels helped. I don’t think you can learn much about other things from novels, because the situations are usually so unrealistic. Some people say that’s OK, if your life’s boring, you need the excitement of fiction. Well, my life’s exciting enough, so that’s not my problem. 1. Do you like to read novels? Why? 2. Do you think that reading makes a person intelligent? XIV. Comment on the following: 1. A house looks gloomy and joyless without books. 2. If the book is worth reading it is worth buying. 3. Books and friends should be few and good.

The Pastry War (French Mexican War, 1838 to 1839)

The Pastry War (French Mexican War, 1838 to 1839) The â€Å"Pastry War† was fought between France and Mexico from November 1838 to March 1839. The war was nominally fought because French citizens living in Mexico during a prolonged period of strife had their investments ruined and the Mexican government refused any sort of reparations, but it also had to do with long-standing Mexican debt. After a few months of blockades and naval bombardments of the port of Veracruz, the war ended when Mexico agreed to compensate France. Background of the War Mexico had serious growing pains after gaining its independence from Spain in 1821. A succession of governments replaced one another, and the presidency changed hands about 20 times in the first 20 years of independence. Late 1828 was particularly lawless, as forces loyal to rival presidential candidates Manuel Gà ³mez Pedraza and Vicente Guerrero Saldaà ±a fought in the streets after a hotly contested election. It was during this period that a pastry shop belonging to a French national identified only as Monsieur Remontel was allegedly ransacked by drunken army forces. Debts and Reparations In the 1830’s, several French citizens demanded reparations from the Mexican government for damages to their businesses and investments. One of them was Monsieur Remontel, who asked the Mexican government for the princely sum of 60,000 pesos. Mexico owed a great deal of money to European nations, including France, and the chaotic situation in the country seemed to indicate that these debts would never be paid. France, using the claims of its citizens as an excuse, sent a fleet to Mexico in early 1838 and blockaded the main port of Veracruz. The War By November, diplomatic relations between France and Mexico over lifting the blockade had deteriorated. France, which was demanding 600,000 pesos as reparations for the losses of its citizens, began shelling the fort of San Juan de Ulà ºa, which guarded the entrance to the port of Veracruz. Mexico declared war on France, and French troops attacked and captured the city. The Mexicans were outnumbered and outgunned, but still fought valiantly. The Return of Santa Anna The Pastry War marked the return of Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. Santa Anna had been an important figure in the early period after independence, but had been disgraced after the loss of Texas, seen as an utter fiasco by most of Mexico. In 1838 he was conveniently at his ranch near Veracruz when the war broke out. Santa Anna rushed to Veracruz to lead its defense. Santa Anna and the defenders of Veracruz were soundly routed by superior French forces, but he emerged a hero, partly because he had lost one of his legs during the fighting. He had the leg buried with full military honors. Resolution to the Pastry War With their main port captured, Mexico had no choice but to relent. Through British diplomatic channels, Mexico agreed to pay the full amount of restoration demanded by France, 600,000 pesos. The French withdrew from Veracruz and their fleet returned to France in March of 1839. Aftermath of the War The Pastry War, considered a minor episode in the history of Mexico, nevertheless had several important consequences. Politically, it marked the return of Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna to national prominence. Considered a hero in spite of the fact that he and his men lost the city of Veracruz, Santa Anna was able to regain much of the prestige he had lost after the catastrophe in Texas. Economically, the war was disproportionally disastrous for Mexico, as not only did they have to pay the 600,000 pesos to France, but they had to rebuild Veracruz and lost several months worth of customs revenue from their most important port. The Mexican economy, which had already been a shambles before the war, was hit hard. The Pastry War weakened the Mexican economy and military less than ten years before the much more historically important Mexican-American War broke out. Finally, it established a pattern of French intervention in Mexico which would culminate in the 1864 introduction of Maximilia n of Austria as Emperor of Mexico with the support of French troops.

The Third Man (1949) Essays

The Third Man (1949) Essays The Third Man (1949) Paper The Third Man (1949) Paper Essay Topic: Film In this film extract analysis I will be looking at Carol Reeds The Third Man. I will be looking at certain points and aspects of studding this opening extract and I have split this essay up into sections discussing different aspects of the extract and I will compare and contrast throughout. The first thing that strikes me about this film is the opening narration by a happy friendly voice immediately letting the audience feel at ease and comfortable before settling into watching the film, the narrator starts by talking about how he never knew Vienna before the war and that he only got to know it during the period where the classic black market was apparent. By the narrator talking about this before going on to tell us the story he has already made a link with the audience. Then the narrator goes on to describe the situation and why Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) is arriving in Vienna. That is all the narrator does in the extract but it is a very important part in creating meaning in the film because in the first couple of minutes he has made a connection with the audience making them feel at ease and has explained a part of the situation that we have not seen (Martins leaving and coming to Vienna). The narrator can tell the story from his point of view or from the view of another character, in this film he is talking from his point of view almost like an audience member. This narration reminds me of the narration in The Big Lebowski (1998) where the narrator has an outside view and talks about the situation at hand. The film has a Classic Narrative Structure because it follows a set of rules, it confines to the three act structure I have included a picture which shows a brief example of the three act structure. The film develops over a 3 act structure by firstly setting up an Inciting Incident (Limes fake death) then the film moves on to plot point one, (Martins meeting Limes wife) following that it moves onto act two and reaches the midpoint. Plot point two (where Martins sees Lime alive) then moves onto act three where the climax of the film is reached (where Lime is killed for real) the film has then passed though all the three act structure. 2Mise en scà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ne are widely used throughout the film but I will just talk about it during the extract that we are analyzing, the extract starts with lots of shots of the city Vienna and the different zones created by the war so the shots of the city are already creating meaning toward the situation that the city is in. Then regarding set design Martins goes looking for lime and finding out that he is dead Martins is in a very old fashioned house where you can see a person changing the candle lights and you can tell that the house is very elaborate conveying to the audience that the house and whoever owns the house is relatively well off. 3The use of rear projection in films is a way to film in an exotic location and keep stars from traveling and its more economical. In this film there is a scene where there is a rear projector in use, this sometimes is used to create meaning in films and in others it is just used to save money and in this film the use of real action shots isnt really required. It doesnt really create meaning but is used to supplement the films use of mise en scene. Martins then goes to the funeral following the bar scene, in the bar scene I noticed that the camera angles have been tilted maybe trying to create a meaning of the state of the mind of both Martins and Calloway being inebriated. Also I think that the locations are used to dramatic effect in the way all the locations seem to be very dressed up and none of the sets look very lived in and the feeling that they give to me is of a nice set that was created and not an actual place that was used. The interiors in the extract for example the bar is quite grand like the house the design of the walls and interior features also convey to the audience the part of town they are in is a rich part of town. When the camera angle changes and tilts the audience can see behind Holly that the bar is very nice and stylish. Also in this bar you can see the sort of punters that it attracts when Holly starts to kick off and the officer grabs him, portraying to the audience that even the nicest bars usual punters are affected by the war. The war effort is apparent and you can tell that the war is massively affecting the story because when Martins and Calloway go for their drink together and they fall out because of the comments Calloway make about Lime the officer steps in almost right away. Plus the officer is kind of a contradictory character because as soon as he finds out that Martins is a famous author his attitude towards him change right away. 4One of this films main characteristic is that it is film noir. It is typical of films from the forties and fifties to have film noir as one of its main features of those films and The Third Man is no exception with its low key lighting and shadows. In the extract the use of film noir is apparent when we get to the scene when Martins goes to find Lime and he is at the bottom of the stairs talking to the German man his shadow is massive and it makes it apparent that Martins is below and the light is coming from above where the German man is changing the lighting. Here is another example from the film where the lighting and camera angle is shot from above, in this particular moment it is trying to make the officer look bigger and more of an authoritative figure. This is a screen shot that I have taken from the bar scene where I noticed the use of the Venetian blind effect that is so typical of the film noir period. This in particular creates meaning in that you can tell the time of day it is and maybe the way that the effect is used would lead the viewer to think that something dark or mysterious would happen. Lighting in the extract that we are studding is used to dramatic effect in certain scenes with the use of shadows to create meaning to the audience. Some noticeable parts where lighting is used very well are in the very beginning in the bar scene where they are sat drinking and the use of three point lighting is apparent because the back is light and both of the characters are light with key lighting. The use of this three point lighting makes a contrast between the subject that is being filmed and the background giving it a more three dimensional effect. Now talking about sound in the extract, I am going to start by talking about the non diegetic sound that is used. This in its first instance would be the sound of the opening music of the guitar. This music is played for quite a while into the beginning and even after the narrator has stopped talking you can still hear the music in the background, I think that this music is played as a complement to the narrator because it is relaxed and it makes the beginning introduction easier to listen to. The use of diegetic sound in this film much like in the film Written on the Wind (1956) is used to create suspense in the situation like in Written on the Wind you can hear the door slam open and the wind blowing in, in the scene where Kyle Hadley comes back. The use of this sound creates a sense of drama and suspense. In our extract you have the beginning where Martins gets off the train and you hear the train steam let go and gets ready to enter the city. Creating lots of meanings for example the use of steam could be interpreted as him letting go of his past and starting a fresh. I have noticed that the use of smoke in this extract may convey different meanings as a part of mise en scene Calloway smokes in the bar creating massive clouds of smoke creating shadows complementing the film noir theme. In conclusion I have noticed that this extract is a piece of cinema that uses film noir to create lots of meanings to the audience and does so well. All the uses of mise en scene and cinematography complement this story and have created a very easy well made film to watch for all of its audiences.