The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter Four

By the time Elena reached her locker, the numbness was wearing off and the lump in her throat was trying to dissolve into tears. But she wouldn't cry at school, she told herself, shewouldn't . After closing her locker, she made for the main exit. For the second day in a row, she was coming home from school right after the last bell, and alone. Aunt Judith wouldn't be able to cope. But when Elena reached her house, Aunt Judith's car was not in the driveway; she and Margaret must have gone out to the market. The house was still and peaceful as Elena let herself in. She was glad for that stillness; she wanted to be alone right now. But, on the other hand, she didn't exactly know what to do with herself. Now that she finallycould cry, she found that tears wouldn't come. She let her backpack sag to the floor in the front hall and walked slowly into the living room. It was a handsome, impressive room, the only part of the house besides Elena's bedroom that belonged to the original structure. That first house had been built before 1861, and had been almost completely burned in the Civil War. All that could be saved was this room, with its elaborate fireplace framed by scrolled molding, and the big bedroom above. Elena's father's greatgrandfather had built a new house, and Gilberts had lived in it ever since. Elena turned to look out of one of the ceiling-to-floor windows. The glass was so old that it was thick and wavery, and everything outside was distorted, looking slightly tipsy. She remembered the first time her father had showed her that wavery old glass, when she had been younger than Margaret was now. The fullness in her throat was back, but still no tears would come. Everything inside her was contradictory. She didn't want company, and yet she was achingly lonely. Shedid want to think, but now that she was trying to, her thoughts eluded her like mice running from a white owl. White owl†¦ hunting bird†¦ flesh eater†¦ crow, she thought. â€Å"Biggest crow I've ever seen,† Matt had said. Her eyes stung again. Poor Matt. She'd hurt him, but he'd been so nice about it. He'd even been nice to Stefan. Stefan . Her heart thudded once, hard, squeezing two hot tears out of her eyes. There, she was crying at last. She was crying with anger and humiliation and frustration-and what else? What had she really lost today? What did she really feel for this stranger, this Stefan Salvatore? He was a challenge, yes, and that made him different, interesting. Stefan was exotic†¦ exciting. Funny, that was what guys had sometimes told Elena she was. And later she heard from them, or from their friends or sisters, how nervous they were before going out with her, how their palms got sweaty and their stomachs were full of butterflies. Elena had always found such stories amusing. No boy she'd ever met in her life had made her nervous. But when she'd spoken to Stefan today, her pulse had been racing, her knees weak. Her palms had been wet. And there hadn't been butterflies in her stomach-there had been bats. She was interested in the guy because he made her feel nervous? Not a very good reason, Elena, she told herself. In fact, a very bad reason. But there was also that mouth. That sculpted mouth that made her knees weak with something entirely different than nervousness. And that night-dark hair-her fingers itched to weave themselves into its softness. That lithe, flat-muscled body, those long legs†¦ and thatvoice . It was his voice that had decided her yesterday, making her absolutely determined to have him. His voice had been cool and disdainful when talking to Mr. Tanner, but strangely compelling for all that. She wondered if it could turn night-dark as well, and how it would sound saying her name, whispering her name†¦ â€Å"Elena!† Elena jumped, her reverie shattered. But it wasn't Stefan Salvatore calling her, it was Aunt Judith rattling the front door open. â€Å"Elena? Elena!† And that was Margaret, her voice shrill and piping. â€Å"Are you home?† Misery welled up in Elena again, and she glanced around the kitchen. She couldn't face her aunt's worried questions or Margaret's innocent cheerfulness right now. Not with her eyelashes wet and new tears threatening any minute. She made a lightning decision and quietly slipped out the back door as the front door banged shut. Once off the back porch and into the yard, she hesitated. She didn't want to run into anyone she knew. But where could she go to be alone? The answer came almost instantly. Of course. She'd go see Mom and Dad. It was a fairly long walk, almost to the edge of town, but over the last three years it had become familiar to Elena. She crossed over Wickery Bridge and climbed up the hill, past the ruined church, then down into the little valley below. This part of the cemetery was well-kept; it was the old section that was allowed to run slightly wild. Here, the grass was neatly trimmed, and bouquets of flowers made splashes of bright color. Elena sat down by the big marble headstone with â€Å"Gilbert† carved into the front. â€Å"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,† she whispered. She leaned over to place a purple impatiens blossom she'd picked along the way in front of the marker. Then she curled her legs under her and just sat. She'd come here often after the accident. Margaret had been only one at the time of the car crash; she didn't really remember them. But Elena did. Now she let her mind leaf back through memories, and the lump in her throat swelled, and the tears came easier. She missed them so much, still. Mother, so young and beautiful, and Father, with a smile that crinkled up his eyes. She was lucky to have Aunt Judith, of course. It wasn't every aunt who would quit her job and move back into a little town to take care of two orphaned nieces. And Robert, Aunt Judith's fianc ¦, was more like a stepfather to Margaret than an uncle-to-be by marriage. But Elena remembered her parents. Sometimes, right after the funeral, she had come out here to rage at them, angry with them for being so stupid as to get themselves killed. That was when she hadn't known Aunt Judith very well, and had felt there was nowhere on earth she belonged anymore. Where did she belong now? she wondered. The easy answer was, here, in Fell's Church, where she'd lived all her life. But lately the easy answer seemed wrong. Lately she felt there must be something else out there for her, some place she would recognize at once and call home. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up, startled. For an instant, the two figures standing over her were alien, unfamiliar, vaguely menacing. She stared, frozen. â€Å"Elena,† said the smaller figure fussily, hands on hips, â€Å"sometimes I worry about you, I really do.† Elena blinked and then laughed shortly. It was Bonnie and Meredith. â€Å"What does a person have to do to get a little privacy around here?† she said as they sat down. â€Å"Tell us to go away,† suggested Meredith, but Elena just shrugged. Meredith and Bonnie had often come out here to find her in the months after the accident. Suddenly, she felt glad about that, and grateful to them both. If nowhere else, she belonged with the friends who cared about her. She didn't mind if they knew she had been crying, and she accepted the crumpled tissue Bonnie offered her and wiped her eyes. The three of them sat together in silence for a little while, watching the wind ruffle the stand of oak trees at the edge of the cemetery. â€Å"I'm sorry about what happened,† Bonnie said at last, in a soft voice. â€Å"That was really terrible.† â€Å"And your middle name is ‘Tact,' † said Meredith. â€Å"It couldn't have been that bad, Elena.† â€Å"You weren't there.† Elena felt herself go hot all over again at the memory. â€Å"Itwas terrible. But I don't care anymore,† she added flatly, defiantly. â€Å"I'm finished with him. I don't want him anyway.† â€Å"Elena!† â€Å"I don't, Bonnie. He obviously thinks he's too good for-for Americans. So he can just take those designer sunglasses and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There were snorts of laughter from the other girls. Elena wiped her nose and shook her head. â€Å"So,† she said to Bonnie, determinedly changing the subject, â€Å"at least Tanner seemed in a better mood today.† Bonnie looked martyred. â€Å"Do you know that he made me sign up to be the very first one to give my oral report? I don't care, though; I'm going to do mine on the druids, and-† â€Å"On the what?† â€Å"Droo-ids. The weird old guys who built Stonehenge and did magic and stuff in ancient England. I'm descended from them, and that's why I'm psychic.† Meredith snorted, but Elena frowned at the blade of grass she was twirling between her fingers. â€Å"Bonnie, did you really see something yesterday in my palm?† she asked abruptly. Bonnie hesitated. â€Å"I don't know,† she said at last. â€Å"I-Ithought I did then. But sometimes my imagination runs away with me.† â€Å"She knew you were here,† said Meredith unexpectedly. â€Å"I thought of looking at the coffee shop, but Bonnie said, ‘She's at the cemetery.' † â€Å"Did I?† Bonnie looked faintly surprised but impressed. â€Å"Well, there you see. My grandmother in Edinburgh has the second sight and so do I. It always skips a generation.† â€Å"And you're descended from the druids,† Meredith said solemnly. â€Å"Well, it's true! In Scotland they keep up the old traditions. You wouldn't believe some of the things my grandmother does. She has a way to find out who you're going to marry and when you're going to die. She told me I'm going to die early.† â€Å"Bonnie!† â€Å"She did. I'm going to be young and beautiful in my coffin. Don't you think that's romantic?† â€Å"No, I don't. I think it's disgusting,† said Elena. The shadows were getting longer, and the wind had a chill to it now. â€Å"So who are you going to marry, Bonnie?† Meredith put in deftly. â€Å"I don't know. My grandmother told me the ritual for finding out, but I never tried it. Of course†-Bonnie struck a sophisticated pose-â€Å"he has to be outrageously rich and totally gorgeous. Like our mysterious dark stranger, for example. Particularly if nobody else wants him.† She cast a wicked glance at Elena. Elena refused the bait. â€Å"What about Tyler Smallwood?† she murmured innocently. â€Å"His father's certainly rich enough.† â€Å"And he's not bad-looking,† agreed Meredith solemnly. â€Å"That is, of course, if you're an animal lover. All those big white teeth.† The girls looked at each other and then simultaneously burst into laughter. Bonnie threw a handful of grass at Meredith, who brushed it off and threw a dandelion back at her. Somewhere in the middle of it, Elena realized that she was going to be all right. She was herself again, not lost, not a stranger, but Elena Gilbert, the queen of Robert E. Lee. She pulled the apricot ribbon out of her hair and shook the hair free about her face. â€Å"I've decided what to domy oral report on,† she said, watching with narrow eyes as Bonnie finger-combed grass out of her curls. â€Å"What?† said Meredith. Elena tilted her chin up to gaze at the red and purple sky above the hill. She took a thoughtful breath and let the suspense build for a moment. Then she said coolly, â€Å"The Italian Renaissance.† Bonnie and Meredith stared at her, then looked at each other and burst into whoops of laughter again. â€Å"Aha,† said Meredith when they recovered. â€Å"So the tiger returneth.† Elena gave her a feral grin. Her shaken confidence had returned to her. And though she didn't understand it herself, she knew one thing: she wasn't going to let Stefan Salvatore get away alive. â€Å"All right,† she said briskly. â€Å"Now, listen, you two. Nobody else can know about this, or I'll be the laughingstock of the school. And Caroline would just love any excuse to make me look ridiculous. But I do still want him, and I'm going to have him. I don't know how yet, but I am. Until I come up with a plan, though, we're going to give him the cold shoulder.† â€Å"Oh,we are?† â€Å"Yes,we are. You can't have him, Bonnie; he's mine. And I have to be able to trust you completely.† â€Å"Wait a minute,† said Meredith, a glint in her eye. She unclasped the cloisonne pin from her blouse, then, holding up her thumb, made a quick jab. â€Å"Bonnie, give me your hand.† â€Å"Why?† said Bonnie, eyeing the pin suspiciously. â€Å"Because I want to marry you. Why do you think, idiot?† â€Å"But-but-Oh, all right. Ow!† â€Å"Now you, Elena.† Meredith pricked Elena's thumb efficiently, and then squeezed it to get a drop of blood. â€Å"Now,† she continued, looking at the other two with sparkling dark eyes, â€Å"we all press our thumbs together and swear. Especially you, Bonnie. Swear to keep this secret and to do whatever Elena asks in relation to Stefan.† â€Å"Look, swearing with blood is dangerous,† Bonnie protested seriously. â€Å"It means you have to stick to your oath no matter what happens, no matterwhat , Meredith.† â€Å"I know,† said Meredith grimly. â€Å"That's why I'm telling you to do it. I remember what happened with Michael Martin.† Bonnie made a face. â€Å"That was years ago, and we broke up right away anyway and-Oh, all right. I'll swear.† Closing her eyes, she said, â€Å"I swear to keep this a secret and to do anything Elena asks about Stefan.† Meredith repeated the oath. And Elena, staring at the pale shadows of their thumbs joined together in the gathering dusk, took a long breath and said softly, â€Å"And I swear not to rest until he belongs to me.† A gust of cold wind blew through the cemetery, fanning the girls' hair out and sending dry leaves fluttering on the ground. Bonnie gasped and pulled back, and they all looked around, then giggled nervously. â€Å"It's dark,† said Elena, surprised. â€Å"We'd better get started home,† Meredith said, refastening her pin as she stood up. Bonnie stood, too, putting the tip of her thumb into her mouth. â€Å"Good-bye,† said Elena softly, facing the headstone. The purple blossom was a blur on the ground. She picked up the apricot ribbon that lay next to it, turned, and nodded to Bonnie and Meredith. â€Å"Let's go.† Silently, they headed up the hill toward the ruined church. The oath sworn in blood had given them all a solemn feeling, and as they passed the ruined church Bonnie shivered. With the sun down, the temperature had dropped abruptly, and the wind was rising. Each gust sent whispers through the grass and made the ancient oak trees rattle their dangling leaves. â€Å"I'm freezing,† Elena said, pausing for a moment by the black hole that had once been the church door and looking down at the landscape below. The moon had not yet risen, and she could just make out the old graveyard and Wickery Bridge beyond it. The old graveyard dated from Civil War days, and many of the headstones bore the names of soldiers. It had a wild look to it; brambles and tall weeds grew on the graves, and ivy vines swarmed over crumbling granite. Elena had never liked it. â€Å"It looks different, doesn't it? In the dark, I mean,† she said unsteadily. She didn't know how to say what she really meant, that it was not a place for the living. â€Å"We could go the long way,† said Meredith. â€Å"But that would mean another twenty minutes of walking.† â€Å"I don't mind going this way,† said Bonnie, swallowing hard. â€Å"I always said I wanted to be buried down there in the old one.† â€Å"Will you stop talking about being buried!† Elena snapped, and she started down the hill. But the farther down the narrow path she got, the more uncomfortable she felt. She slowed until Bonnie and Meredith caught up with her. As they neared the first headstone, her heart began beating fast. She tried to ignore it, but her whole skin was tingling with awareness and the fine hairs on her arms were standing up. Between the gusts of wind, every sound seemed horribly magnified; the crunching of their feet on the leaf-strewn path was deafening. The ruined church was a black silhouette behind them now. The narrow path led between the lichen-encrusted headstones, many of which stood taller than Meredith. Big enough for something to hide behind, thought Elena uneasily. Some of the tombstones themselves were unnerving, like the one with the cherub that looked like a real baby, except that its head had fallen off and had been carefully placed by its body. The wide granite eyes of the head were blank. Elena couldn't look away from it, and her heart began to pound. â€Å"Why are we stopping?† said Meredith. â€Å"I just†¦ I'm sorry,† Elena murmured, but when she forced herself to turn she immediately stiffened. â€Å"Bonnie?† she said. â€Å"Bonnie, what's wrong?† Bonnie was staring straight out into the graveyard, her lips parted, her eyes as wide and blank as the stone cherub's. Fear washed through Elena's stomach. â€Å"Bonnie, stop it. Stop it! It's not funny.† Bonnie made no reply. â€Å"Bonnie!† said Meredith. She and Elena looked at each other, and suddenly Elena knew she had to get away. She whirled to start down the path, but a strange voice spoke behind her, and she jerked around. â€Å"Elena,† the voice said. It wasn't Bonnie's voice, but it came from Bonnie's mouth. Pale in the darkness, Bonnie was still staring out into the graveyard. There was no expression on her face at all. â€Å"Elena,† the voice said again, and added, as Bonnie's head turned toward her, â€Å"there's someone waiting out there for you.† Elena never quite knew what happened in the next few minutes. Something seemed to move out among the dark humped shapes of the headstones, shifting and rising between them. Elena screamed and Meredith cried out, and then they were both running, and Bonnie was running with them, screaming, too. Elena pounded down the narrow path, stumbling on rocks and clumps of grass root. Bonnie was sobbing for breath behind her, and Meredith, calm and cynical Meredith, was panting wildly. There was a sudden thrashing and a shriek in an oak tree above them, and Elena found that she could run faster. â€Å"There's something behind us,† cried Bonnie shrilly. â€Å"Oh, God, what's happening?† â€Å"Get to the bridge,† gasped Elena through the fire in her lungs. She didn't know why, but she felt they had to make it there. â€Å"Don't stop, Bonnie! Don't look behind you!† She grabbed the other girl's sleeve and pulled her around. â€Å"I can't make it,† Bonnie sobbed, clutching her side, her pace faltering. â€Å"Yes, you can,† snarled Elena, grabbing Bonnie's sleeve again and forcing her to keep moving. â€Å"Come on.Come on!† She saw the silver gleam of water before them. And there was the clearing between the oak trees, and the bridge just beyond. Elena's legs were wobbling and her breath was whistling in her throat, but she wouldn't let herself lag behind. Now she could see the wooden planks of the footbridge. The bridge was twenty feet away from them, ten feet away, five. â€Å"We made it,† panted Meredith, feet thundering on the wood. â€Å"Don't stop! Get to the other side!† The bridge creaked as they ran staggering across it, their steps echoing across the water. When she jumped onto packed dirt on the far shore, Elena let go of Bonnie's sleeve at last, and allowed her legs to stumble to a halt. Meredith was bent over, hands on thighs, deep-breathing. Bonnie was crying. â€Å"What was it? Oh, what was it?† she said. â€Å"Is it still coming?† â€Å"I thought you were the expert,† Meredith said unsteadily. â€Å"For God's sake, Elena, let's get out of here.† â€Å"No, it's all right now,† Elena whispered. There were tears in her own eyes and she was shaking all over, but the hot breath at the back of her neck had gone. The river stretched between her and it, the waters a dark tumult. â€Å"It can't follow us here,† she said. Meredith stared at her, then at the other shore with its clustered oak trees, then at Bonnie. She wet her lips and laughed shortly. â€Å"Sure. It can't follow us. But let's go home anyway, all right? Unless you feel like spending the night out here.† Some unnameable feeling shuddered through Elena. â€Å"Not tonight, thanks,† she said. She put an arm around Bonnie, who was still sniffling. â€Å"It's okay, Bonnie. We're safe now. Come on.† Meredith was looking across the river again. â€Å"You know, I don't see a thing back there,† she said, her voice calmer. â€Å"Maybe there wasn't anything behind us at all; maybe we just panicked and scared ourselves. With a little help from the druid priestess here.† Elena said nothing as they started walking, keeping very close together on the dirt path. But she wondered. She wondered very much.

Essay on John Keats

Endymion is one of Keat’s early adventures in poetry.   The poem reflects Keats’ attitude to beauty.   Endymion is a youth renowned for his beauty and his perpetual sleep.   As he slept in Mount Latmus in Caria, his beauty warmed the cold hearts of Seleue (the Moon) who came down to him, kissed him and lay by his side.   His eternal sleep on Latmus is assigned to different causes but it is generally believed that Seleue had sent him to sleep that she might be able to kiss him. Keats has certainly made use of the myth of Endymion to explore his own way to realize the truth that is beauty (Hewlett, 1949).   But the myth remains only the framework.   Keats invents quite a lot.   Aileen Ward (1963) in this connection says:â€Å"the legend of Endymion’s winning immortal youth through the love of the Moon – Goddess was only the beginning or rather the ending; he had to fill up his four books with living characters, set them moving in a world of th eir own and breathe new meaning into the old legend.†And this meaning he does, indicate at the beginning of the poem:â€Å"A thing of beauty is a joy of ever;Its loveliness increases: it will neverPass into nothing; but still will keepA bower quite for us, and a sleepFull of sweet dreams, and health and quite breathing.†The theme of the poem is love, beauty and youth.   He starts this marvelous adventure laden with exotic scenery, in mid April and locates it aptly in the Isle of Wight:â€Å" †¦ So I’ll beginNow while I cannot hear the cities’ dire;Now while the early hudders are just new,And run in mazes of the youngest hewAbout old forests; while the willow trailsIts delicate ambrer; and the dairy pailsBring home increase of milk†¦Ã¢â‚¬ There are certainly inspired pieces in the first book as Hymn of Pan.   It begins after a description of the Festival of the God, which held on a lawn in a forest on a slope of Mount Latmus.   The whole a ssembly is addressed by the old priest who tells the worshippers of the bounties which Pan has heaped upon them.   The imagery is well chosen to explain the manifestation of God’s energy.   All the objects are described in happy phrases.   The God is associated with the objects of nature, every aspect which imagination, hunting for the objectively mysterious, can comprehend.   The Hymn ends in the lines in which Pan is:â€Å"†¦ The unimaginable lodgeFor solitary thinkings; such as dodgeConception to the very Bourne of HeavenThen leave the naked brain†¦.†The style of Endymion is largely that of â€Å"I Stood Tip-Toe† and â€Å"Sleep and Poetry.† This is luscious, half–feminine and often beautiful (Roe, 1997).   There is a distinct growth, of course, in craftsmanship but the most important point about Keats at this state is his depth and breath of philosophic apprehension of myth.   If we try to search for the meaning of the poe m in the organism of the structure, the divided self of Keats might be clearer, though it will affirm his inclination on the realistic side even at this stage.   The control in certain portions of the poem is uncertain partly because Keats was a young and undisciplined artist (Steinhoff, 1987). Up to the last moment, the hero as well as the poet till the last moment of his life is subject to conflicting desires.As a matter of fact, there is ambiguity in the poem.   The poem’s ending is presented in highly ambiguous way and it could be interpreted on two different levels.   On the mythological level, the maid – Indian Maiden – is only the Goddess in a disguise to test Endymion’s fidelity.   This is a fairy tale device.   So when Endymion seems to give up human love and asserts his devotion to â€Å"things of light† the maiden turns back into the Goddess and rewards him with the â€Å"immortality of passion† promised in the myth (Hew lett, 1949).To conclude, the real significance of the poem lies in search of truth, through the â€Å"bare-circumstance† of this legend.   Keats was the first poet in English who found a human meaning in the myth.   He did not fit myths into an allegorical pattern as Elizabethans did or did not only use them to decorative effect as the 18th Century people did.   Keats’ contribution lies in finding that the Greek myths were relevant to our inner experiences.ReferencesHewlett, Dorothy. 1949. â€Å"A Life of John Keats,† Hurst & Blackett, pp.325-326.Roe, Nicholas, 1997. â€Å"John Keats and the Culture of Dissent†, Oxford Clarendon Press.Steinhoff, Stephen. 1987. â€Å"Keats’s Endymion: A Critical Edition,† The Whitston Publishing Company, Troy, New York, pp.295-300.Ward, Eileen. 1963. John Keats: The Making of a Poet, New York.

Resource Management Act Essay

Relevant books and articles discussing tyre performance, tyre maintenance, social responsibility, marketing and the environment were analyzed. Different opinions of writers have also been examined to fully understand the subject of the study. Sources from the Internet have also been visited in order to take a look at forums and online databases that may include materials relevant to the topic at hand. These web pages would include official web pages of concerned agencies and offices in New Zealand. The relevant statutes and laws in New Zealand were also looked upon in determining the legal issues that may be touched by the implementation of the proposed subject. These laws would include the Treaty of Waitangi, Resource Management Act of 1991, the Bill of Rights 1993 and the Employment Relations Act 2000 as such. A survey was also conducted in order to appraise the possible reaction of consumers and to further evaluate the feasibility of the proposed project. The survey was also deemed necessary in order to discover how much the public knows about tyre maintenance and what additional information should be included and highlighted by the tyre shop in the program. Survey questionnaires were randomly distributed to a number of participants in the furtherance of the study. The participants were selected among friends, lectures, staffs and general publics. Fifty-three responds were received out of sixty-five distribution. Two versions of the survey were distributed; the paper and the electronic version. The electronic version was distributed via emails, and the paper version was handed out. Charts 1 and 2 illustrate the number and percentages of respondents and versions distributed, respectively. The questionnaires and the overall results are attached in Appendix D and the result will be further elaborated in the Findings in the next section. Questionnaires were selected as the data collection method for this study because it is convenient to disseminate, time-effective for respondents to fill out and provided anonymity. Questions could be answered in less than ten minutes and respondents could be honest and open with the tyre maintenance questions. Chart 1 Illustrate the Percentages of Distribution and Responds of the Questionnaire Most questions were geared toward measuring how a tyre awareness program must be designed to effectively meet the car owner’s requirements. This provides the best possible information for program design based on the descriptive data. Questionnaires involve individual questions such as identification and background characteristics (Morris, 2004). The questionnaire was created as a short form of information gathering about the awareness of vehicle owners regarding tyre maintenance and their frequency of tyre maintenance. The Participants Information Sheet informed the respondents of a brief background of the research and assurance of their confidentiality. It presented to the respondents the importance of providing a balance between business and social responsibility through the facilitation, education and information given for the customers and the general public. It also presented the objective of implementing a tyre maintenance awareness program. Respondents were chosen according to the important qualification of being vehicle owners. The respondents needed to own a vehicle because they were the ones who were targeted to benefit from the tyre maintenance awareness program. However, since the survey was randomly distributed therefore there were no way of knowing in the first place whether they are car owners, thus the result includes the responds from non-car owners. Out of 53 respondents three were non-car owner but does frequently drive a car. Respondents were also asked basic nominal information such as their age and gender. The questionnaire for this study focused on the respondents’ awareness of tyre maintenance and their potential acceptance of a tyre maintenance awareness program. The purpose of the questions revolved around planning to introduce this program under the impetus of social responsibility. The data collection method deliberately asked whether respondents were car owners to selectively target those who held the responsibility of maintaining their vehicles. The questions involved the frequency of tyre maintenance practiced by the respondents. Car owner manual use distance traveled rather than periods of time to calculate the frequency. However, the questionnaire uses period of time which better reflects real world car owner experience. This was attributed to the convenience this type of monitoring would bring for the public, as it is assumed easier to remember dates than distance traveled. Investigating the awareness of tyre maintenance included whether the respondents had looked into the owner’s manual of their vehicle. Important information about tyre maintenance is located in the manual and it is important to check if the respondents’ awareness was related to their familiarity with the owner’s manual. Also, asking this question reveals if manuals, if in fact read, provide sufficient information for proper tyre maintenance. The questionnaire also considered the practical question of the convenience of maintenance awareness programs. It considers whether customers would prefer such a program while they were waiting for their tyre service to be done. However, this approach tends to only target people who regularly had their tyres maintained. This question gauges how much time car owners were willing to spend in attending tyre awareness programs. The questionnaire also explores the awareness of car owners regarding their tyres’ life expectancy and measures owner awareness of their tyres. Such questions prompt owners to consider the necessity for a tyre maintenance program. Visits to tyre shops and garages were also conducted (how chosen and how many? ) in order to know if the proposed program can ac in order to know if the proposed program can actually be implemented. The current status of tyre shops were also observed and where appropriate and ethical questions were also asked, in order to determine if currently, these shops are actually imparting information to their customers as regards to tyre maintenance and the important advantages of regularly maintaining their tyres. The shops or garages visited were also randomly chosen, specifically those around the Auckland Central due their locations as the centre of the research, hence to the convenient and due to the availability of variety of sizes, that is this area have small garages and larger garages. A total of 13 tyre shops and garages were visited. Also during oversea visit due to available opportunity visits were also conducted to some garages to observe the set up and available services. The Industry visits (Observation) and the overall findings are attached in Appendix E and the result will be further elaborated in the Findings in the next section. Lastly, visits were also made as regards enterprises engaged in the sale of goods of services that will be needed by the tyre shop in the marketing and implementation of the program in order to take note of prevailing market rates, and ultimately, in computing the estimated cost that would have to be shouldered by the tyre shop in the course of the marketing and implementation of the program.

Managing Property Businesses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Managing Property Businesses - Essay Example This essay demonstrates that the last type of method used to solve disputes is collaborative law. In most cases, this is used to solve divorce disputes. All the parties in the dispute have to select an attorney and both of them meet with their respective attorneys. This matter is settled out of court and the duty of the lawyers is to ensure legal compliance (Dauer, 2000).The parties in this type of process have to sign a contract that highlights the regulations to be followed during this type of process. The terms and conditions include: honesty in disclosure of documents, treating each other with respect, insulation of the children from these proceedings and there should be no mention by either party of going to court. There are various advantages of alternative decision-making procedures that make them more preferable than other traditional forms of decision making. They are usually a low-cost option as they involve no extra party or two at most. These processes usually take into a ccount the emotional aspect of various actions and both parties have to reach a solution that is beneficial to each of their needs (Dauer, 2000). The courts do not care about the personal feelings of the conflicting parties and are only concerned about the upholding of the law. The court's process is always a messy affair and one’s private matters are usually brought to the public limelight. The alternative forms of dispute resolution are a private affair and only involve the parties that are conflicting.

Superbad Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Superbad Movie - Essay Example Classic Hollywood movies were work of art that was devoted close to theoretical and critical attention of the movie plot and cinematic text and ideology. Genre analysis can be problematical though. What is called analysis or criticism is often little more than making note of superficial similarities or differences amongst films. This is true across film criticism in general. Rick Altman calls this approach to genre criticism the semantic approach—a focus on the more superficial aspects of films that fit into a given genre. A semantic examination would point out the character types, aesthetics, plot lines, etc., which are common to the films. The inevitable question that must arise from such an assessment is, â€Å"Why bother?† What good does it do to point out that noir films all make extensive use of light and shadow plot development for example, or that Westerns usually feature saloons? In this case genre analysis is no different from a similar analysis of a given individual film. To be valuable, genre analysis must bring deeper issues to the surface. In the context of this deeper, broader method of analysis, I think that genre criticism can be very useful. Qualities or incidences and similarities that seem insignificant in individual films can take on more meaning when connected with similar characteristics of other films in the genre—if we have shown the existence of the genre itself. So while the semantic approach is necessary, it is a means to an end—the end being the syntactic analysis which can then be taken up, and which can tell us something about the societies in which the films are produced and consumed. These high school comedy romance movies are new genre and all similar movies are based on almost the same story line. The existence of particular genres themselves is significant as well. Given that a group of films of this high school genre share a common lot of significant characteristics, we can and should then ask why this is

Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Strategy - Essay Example But the need to look attractive has never decreased. Hence, a good demand exists for the alternatives that are cheaper and equally attractive. The Industry: Jewelry industry is a very developed enterprise in the world. Scores of world famous brands of Gold, Platinum and Diamond are popular in New York and other big cities throughout the USA. The sales have however dropped a great deal in the recent times due to acute rise in the prices (Wallop, 2011). Jewelers have now developed a new breed of artificial jewelry that looks exactly like the original gold but costs way lesser than the original. An alloy with 82% by mass of pure copper, 11.5% zinc, 4.9% tin and small quantities of ammoniac salt and limestone shines exactly like gold with the same color. And once the alloy is obtained in ingots, the process of making jewelry from it is essentially the same as from original gold. Similarly, other alloys such as Mosaic Gold, Nuremberg Gold and French Gold all resemble original gold in appe arance and manufacturability without having traces of pure gold in them. The idea presented to Triangular Solutions is to market artificial jewelry made up of any of these alloys and decorated with semi-precious stones. We can observe that, apart from eye-catching appearance, designers’ brand names are what make the jewelry attractive. Hence, it is proposed that the jewelry must be marketed under a proper brand name. Market Size: Gold jewelry is equally popular among men and women in the country. From earrings, bracelets, bangles to crowns, a great variety of jewelry items exist that are in style among the women. Men’s variety includes bracelets, watches etc. Reports indicate that the gold sales have dropped by more than 50% in the past three years from 45 tons to about 15 tons per annum (Finch, 2009). Clearly, the reason for this drop is the rise in gold prices. Hence, if an alternative is given to the customer which is affordable and as good as the original gold, the n it is expected that the people will be attracted towards it in large numbers. Team Requirements: The team must have following members for successful execution of this business plan: Chief Executive Officer: His job will be to look after the overall operations of the business and coordinate between the teams. Jewelry Designer: His job will be to come up with new and attractive jewelry designs. Domain / Market Expert: His job will be to understand and explain market trends to the team Marketing Manager: He will be responsible for marketing and sales departments. Finance Manager: He will be responsible of the financial matters of the business Scalability of the Product: The business idea suggested here is reasonably scalable over a range of business volumes. The jewelry will be manufactured by individual workers without use of any sophisticated machine tools in general. The increase in the demand will be met easily by increasing the number of workers. Another feasible option will be to get the jewelry manufactured abroad in India or China where labor is comparatively cheap. This option can specially be considered if mass production is required to meet a very high demand. If however, the product does not gain expected popularity, the productions can simply be scaled down by decreasing the labor force. Financials: The price of gold in US markets is around $1500/oz. This amounts to around $10/carat. On the other hand, artificial gold alloys discussed above cost $0.15/carat on average. The major

Analysis of Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice Article Essay

Analysis of Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice Article - Essay Example Degler states that, â€Å"†¦ the status of the Negro in the English colonies was worked out in a framework of discrimination; that from the outset, as far as the available evidence tells us, the negro was treated inferior to the white man’s servant of the free man† (Degler 52). Degler in this statement puts a halt to the discussion on what came first between slavery and discrimination and asserts that slavery evolved from the continued discrimination of the Negro by the white man, partly because there were no structures to protect Negros in America. Consequently, slavery evolved as a legal status and an epitome to discrimination. Degler seeks to differentiate the difference in the treatment of Negros in the Spanish and Portuguese Iberian region to that of the British. He explains that the major differences were that while the former had already fixed legal status to deal with the Negro even before they ventured into America, the same structures lacked in British te rritories. Secondly, Degler explains that â€Å"the discrimination against the negro antedated the legal status of slavery† (Degler 52). These were the main facts that differentiated British treatment of the Negros from the Spanish and the Portuguese. Degler in his argument makes a clear statement that slavery in the North American region left a considerably different mark on the status of Negros compared to the South American region, which according to Degler explains the current cases of racism in America. Degler asserts that as Handlin asserted, before the seventeenth century, the term slavery was not in use. However, Degler is fast to clarify that the fact that the discriminatory name did not exist does not indicate there was similar treatment between the Negro and the freeman.  

Recycled Toothbrushes Make Sense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Recycled Toothbrushes Make Sense - Essay Example The great advantage to Recycline is that they get raw materials for production at free cost in partnering with Stonyfield Farm. It is cost-effective and time saving as it eases the efforts made on collecting raw-materials through this partnership deal. An array of techniques can be applied for the sales promotion of these recycled products. In the current business scenario people are exceedingly influenced or affected by the power of advertisement. The celebrities appear in advertisements have an intangible influence on people as they attract public to the respective products. So deploying contemporary celebrities will certainly increase the sales. Announcing special offers on product sale is an emerging trend these days which Hudson can also implement as one of his marketing tactics. In addition to product offers, giving price reduction during special events can also promote sales at a considerable range. It is very difficult for a firm to withstand in the modern business world without being highly competitive. As the business trends change, business policies should also be changed. For this, entrepreneur must be up to date with appropriate strategies to meet the challenges of market fluctuations. Since consumer based marketing is the core of current businesses, the company can launch regional outlets in order to be available the products as and when required by consumers. House door delivery is also a suggestive method. The company can also make use of Information Technology to provide services to customers and collect feedbacks from them. At the same time company should maintain quality of the

Health Optimisation - Gerontic Nursing Care Essay

Health Optimisation - Gerontic Nursing Care - Essay Example Sullivan (2008) further points out that the patients suffering from dementia and delirium tend to have issues and behavioral problems of the same type including purposeless activity, sleep disorders, inappropriate conduct or aggressiveness. In both cases, the patient is most likely to be disoriented, have hallucination and delusions. Virani et al (2010) adds that patients suffering from dementia are at a high risk of getting into the condition of delirium. However, the overlap does not account for all the symptoms associated with each condition. Each condition has a set of unique symptoms that are entirely different from the other. According to Thomas et al (2008), â€Å"delirium is characterized by acute consciousness disturbances and global changes in cognition†. Moreover the patient can be extremely hyperactive if agitated or extremely hyper alert. On the other hand, Eliopoulos (2010) points out that a delirium patient can be hypoactive if the patient is confused, lethargic or even when sedated. Dementia on the other hand has many characteristics. According to Ouldred et al (2008), â€Å"dementia is characterized by slower move into deficits in cognition that include memory impairment and at least one of the disturbances of cognition such as aspraxia, asphasia, and a disturbed or agnostic executive functioning†. The impairment cause must be significant in occupational or social functioning and represent a great decline from a previous level of functioning. Course of illness According to Miller (2009), delirium is transitory. Its onset is quick and its treatment will remit symptoms. A sudden drop to baseline causes delirium. Dementia on the other hand is characterized by a slow progress and a long-term gradual decline from the baseline. Furthermore, it is chronic, progressive and irreversible. Etiology When comparing both delirium and dementia etiologically, a big difference comes out. Metabolic imbalance, substance abuse, failure of the liver, congestive heart failure or its infection all cause delirium. On the other hand, dementia is mainly caused by degeneration of the nervous system including neurodegenerative diseases and Alzheimer (Waszynski et al, 2008). Treatment According to Saxon et al (2010), the delirium symptoms can be prevented or reversed to prevent further medical or cognitive impairment. Some of the management of delirium, which are non-pharmacological, include steps such as provision of optimized, quite environments, in contrast, the dementia symptoms cannot be remitted but can be managed. Assessment The elderly patients like Mr. Webb are mostly at a higher risk of cognitive disorders. These cognitive disorders can be chronic such as dementia or acute such as delirium. For effective treatment, the first step is clarifying the diagnosis and assessment at onset. However, as Thomas et al (2008) explains, this can be challenging to the elderly patients like Mr. Webb. They often have accompanied medical co-mor bidities that can result to affective and cognitive changes (Gagliardi, 2008). 1. Approach the patient (Mr. Webb) As explained by Gagliardi (2008), I will try to reduce the number of people in the room. As well, as encourage him to rest either on the bed or on the chair. I will initiate a

Review of The Blast in Centralia No. 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Review of The Blast in Centralia No. 5 - Essay Example As seen in the article by Martin (1948), Driscoll O. Scanlan- thirteen years of age- was among the inspectors of the mine as appointed by the then governor, Dwight H. Green. Martin (1948) continues to argue that Scanlan was committed to his work and effortlessly aimed at ensuring that the mining laws would be enforced; thus, security and high output of the miners' efforts. As contrasted to Scanlan, the other miners were reluctant and passed timing chatting throughout their working time (Martin, 1948). As the leader, Scanlan raised alarm over the laxity portrayed by the miners, recommending that other miners need to be appointed, and that the mine was the worst in the entire district. Besides the issues on the side of the miners, the mine was faced with other challenges that entailed the general infrastructure of the mine. Martin (1948) says that Scanlan recommended cleaning of the passage ways as well as making use of clay as opposed to filling of shots using coal dust. Additionally, Martin (1948) indicates that Scanlan also advocated for the shutting down of the mine for renovation and maintenance purposes. From the above case, it is valid to argue that there a lot of issues surrounding this case, ranging from administration to political. With the help of the work and compilation by Wilson Woodrow on The study of Administration, and Cropf’s American public administration: Public service for the 21st century, this section shall attempt to analyze what went wrong in the case and how politics influenced the occurrence of this disaster, and how the same would have been easily avoided. Wilson (1886) indicates that for any organization to be successful, the management must shift lots of their energy in improving the personnel, so as they can attain efficiency. As seen in the case of Centralia, this was a failure on the side of the governor’s administration as he ignored the call by the head of the mine on the incompetence of the miners who spent a majo rity of their time gossiping and wasting a lot of time, which would have been used in boosting the output of the mine. The organization methods and follow-up mechanisms, which are key in administration as seen in the argument by Wilson (1886), were not good enough to improve the personnel in the mine. Secondly, Wilson (1886) says that in any administration system, the government must ensure that they analyze what they can successfully accomplish, and how they can effectively accomplish the same using minimum amounts of funds and less energy. Martin (1948) reports a different case as rock dusting, that has over the years been said to be distressing and not fit for the miners, was applied in the case of Centralia. The government then watches the miners inhaling huge chunks of coal dust, which affects their health. The government, in this case failed as they had no clear plan on how they would deal with the issues in the mine. Probably, one would argue that this is the reason behind th e government assuming the alarms caused by Scanlan, on the poor condition of the mine to operate effectively. This opposes the argument by Wilson (1886) who is of the opinion that administration ought to be a government at work, which seeks attention and immediate action to issues. Wilson (1886) in

Interpretative Reading in Thailand Essay Example for Free

Interpretative Reading in Thailand Essay Introduction Interpretative reading can be defined as the analysis of literary texts and subsequent enunciation of those texts. It is also sometimes called dramatic reading and relies on the reader’s voice to convey the emotion, drama and imagery of a narrative without actually acting it out. A good interpretative reader must possess a number of vocal skills such as the ability to control vocal tone, volume, pace and inflection to accurately communicate meaning and build drama. In addition to clear articulation and correct pronunciation, which are paramount to the audience’s understanding, the reader must have an in depth understanding of the text in order to produce a meaningful interpretation of it. In other words the narrator needs to be able to know the characters, imagine their backgrounds and feel their emotions to be believable. Good interpretive reading is a difficult skill even for native speakers to master and takes preparation and plenty of practice; however, for a student in the Thai education system faces a number of distinct disadvantages in becoming a proficient interpretative reader. To begin with the languages of Thai and English are very different. We have different stress patterns on words and there are sounds in English which don’t exist in Thai, both of which make clear pronunciation challenging for students and although many Thai schools now employ native speaking English teachers who are able to model correct pronunciation and natural rhythm, lots of Thai students lack confidence and have little opportunity to practice English outside of their classroom. In addition, English uses intonation to convey different meanings and emotions whereas Thai uses a fixed tone for each word so it is often hard for a Thai student to express emotions like sarcasm or disbelief through inflection even when they recognize the need to do so. Another barrier for many Thai students, aside from the enunciation, is actually understanding the text well enough to interpret it. This depends upon, not only the student’s knowledge of English language and ability to follow the plot but also on previous personal, educational and cultural experience that influence the way the narrative is interpreted. A student lacking exposure to western culture and a deeper understanding of the social norms, stereotypes and cultural issues surrounding a text might struggle with a credible portrayal of characters and personation. These factors coupled with a general lack of focus on key reading skills leave Thai students at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to dramatic reading abilities. So, how do we assess the state of Thai interpretive reading? Do we take into account the many disadvantages that Thai students face in learning to read expressively and if so what criteria is it fair to judge them on? After some research into the rubric schools overseas use to evaluate students’ interpretive reading skills we decided to base our assessment on the following criteria:- Pace. The speed at which a reader speaks, increasing speed creates drama and intensity. Pause. The lingering of the voice on, before or after a word for dramatic effect. Volume. Adds emphasis or fullness of tone. It can be used with other forms of emphasis to exaggerate emphasis. Melody. The wave-like change in voice pitch depends on the reader recognizing the relative importance of words in the text. Inflection. The bending of the voice from the main pitch up or down. Personation. The reader’s interpretation of the character. Pitch. The degree of highness or lowness to a tone adds more subtle emphasis. Confidence. How comfortable is the speaker with reading aloud the text. The readers pace, volume and use of pause are techniques that can be used to emphasize mood or add drama but in the case of a non native speaker an overly loud or quiet reading could be due to nervousness and a pause or change in pace could be due to not understanding a word or not knowing how to pronounce it. These things, in turn, can affect the other factors we will be evaluating. With this in mind we will be focusing on the deviations from normal patterns in each of these categories and trying to find any correlations. Conducting the research and investigation To better understand how well a Thai may use the techniques associated with interpretative reading we needed to hear some examples. We selected a number of Thai students to read a set part of a chapter from a book and recorded them to analyse their interpretative reading skills. The material chosen was chapter one from ‘The Monkey King’ a stage one young reader by Rosie Dickins. The chapter was broken into 5 separate parts for the students to read. The level one reader was chosen to accommodate all students and focus on their reading skills rather than their comprehension of the text. The students’ ages and levels of English ranged from, six to eighteen years old, and Beginner to Advanced. By having such a wide range of readers we will be able to see if there are any reoccurring problems across all levels and ages or if there are any surprising results. Before the students were recorded they were each given different parts of the chapter to familiarise themselves with what they were going to read. This is to again focus on their interpretation of the text and to let them question any pronunciation of any unfamiliar words. In addition to that when the text was handed to the students, it was explained to them that they have to read it as if they were telling a story to someone, and they do not want this person to fall asleep. Also, an example of interpretative reading of a text, other than their own, was then given to the students to make sure that they fully understood what they had to do. To do good interpretative reading, the text has to be fully understood, it is the key for good reading, so all the parts that they did not understand was read to them and explained again before they did the task. Some of the younger students did not really understand how to read the text like they were telling a story, so some parts of the text was read to them showing the change in voice pitch and intonation, as one would do for interpretive reading. They then caught on to what was needed. The most difficult part was that many of the younger ones were nervous and shy, which is normal for some children who have to read text which is not in their native language. They were mostly nervous because of being placed in front of a laptop computer, and about their pronunciation. It was made clear to them that pronunciation was not the point of the research and that it was not a big deal if they did make some mistakes, but that the most important thing was the way they interpret the text, and that it has to be understood. It was noticed that they did understand it since they all wrote some Thai notes on the text which seemed to be translations. Then, finally it was for them to forget their nerves and read the text. The students were then recorded reading their parts which were later analysed, considering the younger students reading level, they did quite well. Analysing the results Once we had the recordings of the brave students that took part in our research, the analysis could be carried out. We went through the recordings with a fine toothcomb, and complied the results into a chart. In this chart, as can be seen in fig. 1. 2, the students were rated on their performance. They were judged on numerous criteria which include melody, speed, volume, pauses, inflection, personation, pitch and confidence. These eight criteria were marked as poor, fair, good, very good or excellent. We took into account their age group and reading skill level when judging them. Once the chart was completed, the graphs were made to clearly show which of the students’ skills were strong and which skills were weak (fig. 2. 1 – 2. 8). On the whole they performed better than expected, although there were obvious inflections, changes of pitch in odd places that Thais often make mistakes with when interpretive reading. We had spoken about this before the experiment had even begun, so it was to be expected. The results of the experiment showed that most of the students had a very good grasp of the pace that the text should be read at (see fig. 2. 2). In addition, most of them read the text at a decent volume; and all of the students were audible (see fig. 2. 3). It was obvious which students have had a lot of practice reading because of their melody, and the way it flowed throughout their reading (see fig. 2. 1). These students are also the ones that were given good marks in inflection; pitch and confidence (see fig. 2. 5, 2. 7, and 2. 8). One of the areas in which most of the students did not do very well was the pauses, as it seemed as if they were in the wrong places and there did not seem to be enough of them (see fig. 2. 4). Finally, the worst area by far was the personation or interpretation of the characters in the story. Most of the students did not even change the pitch or melody of their voice when reading the direct speech and those that did change the pitch of their voice did not put on any kind of exciting voice (see fig. 2. 6). From the results, we have seen that generally the standard of interpretative reading is at a fair level, usually respective of the student’s level of English. However, there were certain issues and certain elements of their reading which are necessary to try and eliminate to help improve their interpretative reading. The highest level of reading was from a student who could be considered the student with the highest level of general English. This was mainly due to his immediate in-depth understanding of the text. He was able to employ pauses in appropriate places such as full stops, commas, but also using them for dramatic effect as in adjective lists or after adverbs. He also had a strong use of melody in how he read. The best skill he used which set his reading above the rest was his use of personation on the characters voices. Some other students were able to produce a similarly high standard of reading and once again these students can be identified as the ones with the best overall English language skills. Some of these good examples were from the M3 level. Despite them being at a high level of general English some of the elements they employed in their reading was something that could be said was found in all readings at this level but not as frequent. One of these is the students’ use of force on unstressed syllables. This was more common at the end of words which contained specific sounds. This was seen in words such as monKEY and heavenLY, adding extra force to the /i? / sound, and gardeNER, giving force to the /? /. There is also another issue that was common at the end of words. This was the dropping of sounds or in some case whole syllables. This was most evident in plural nouns and ed sounds at the end of verbs. For example, peachES, leavES, soldierS, pronounced as /? z/, /z/, and /s/ which were generally dropped from the words all together especially the /? z/ sound. Further to this the /? d/, /d/, and /t/ sounds in words such as, boastED, stormED, and snappED, were particularly a problem. As we looked down the levels of general English skills we saw problems more identified with that level rather than an overall picture of Thai speakers and these problems ultimately determined how well of a reader we believed them to be. One such problem was melody. English being a very musical language requires the reader to know the importance of stressed and unstressed words within the sentence. The result was mainly a flat sentence giving equal stress to prepositions and articles, to nouns and verbs. This disrupted the usual flow of the English language. The pause was another problem but was a more obvious one. There are certain positions within a reading where a pause must be used, such as full stops and commas and without these pauses the reading can sounds unnatural. This wasn’t throughout the text but only in some places is enough to give a breathless effect. The above mentioned issues were the most common throughout all the readers but there were some individual mistakes present as well. For example, the rising inflection or falling inflection mid-sentence, giving a different meaning to the sentence as a whole. We believe that vocabulary knowledge is of great importance in the way we set up the experiment. Although the material used for the reading is said to be a level one reader this does not mean that all the students are able to fully understand all the words in the text and their subsequent effect on the way the text should be read. From the six steps of analysis it is stated that a reader should be able to read the text line by line fully understanding the text, to understand the theme, and importantly take the text away and practice. With the limited time available with the students it was not possible to allow them to take the text home, study it, and perhaps translate the words to understand their meaning. Therefore, the students with the greatest range of vocabulary were the students with the better examples of interpretative reading. In regards to the common use of what we considered to be their wrongful employment of interpretative reading skills, we tried to identify a possible reason for each case. Firstly, the use of force at the end of words containing /i? / and /? / we believe to be a problem that is associated with the Thai language. Generally, these sounds at the end of words are stressed in the Thai language while unstressed in English, and so they are mixing up the two languages. In contrast to this is the students’ lack of plural and ed sounds at the end of words. Due to the fact that they are not pronounced at the end of words in the Thai language, the students’ would transfer this over to the English language and drop them from the English words. The students’ lack of melody could be also to do with being Thai language native speakers. The musical rhythm of the English language requires the use of melody by stressing words in certain ways within a sentence. The Thai language, however, does not have melody in a sentence as a whole and so the reading was flat as oppose to rising and falling, strong and weak. The lack of pauses in some instances has more to do with the individual reader and with practice could easily be eliminated. Conclusion In conclusion, Thai teachers need to provide more speaking time for the students so that they can learn the rhythm of the English language. This can be achieved by giving the students more access to a native speaker’s spoken word. Some suggestions for this would be to have the students do more role-play exercises in the classroom impersonating different characters from a book. Also trying to imitate character’s voices from a movie or from television programmes would be a great way to master their personation technique. A game could be made out of this where the students have to guess who another student is trying to imitate. Another way to help Thai students might be to get them to listen to other well known interpretive readers while they are reading along to the story themselves to get an understanding of how it is done well. Interpretive Reading for Thai Students By Drew Eaglesham Timothy Parker Sarah Pratley Victor Deville-Blumberg EN202 Interpretative Reading.

Plato and the Concept of Knowledge Essay Example for Free

Plato and the Concept of Knowledge Essay Plato’s Theaetetus is a dialogue that discusses and attempts to find a definition of knowledge. The two characters, Socrates and Theaetetus, approach the argument with the initial idea that knowledge is the addition of a true judgment and an account. However, Socrates raises some concerns regarding the fundamental aspects that make the definition true. Ultimately, the two characters find that their original definition of knowledge is not as accurate, nor as simple as they once believed. The article opens with Theaetetus recalling a definition of knowledge he once heard, which stated â€Å"true judgment with an account is knowledge [and is therefore knowable], and the kind without an account falls outside the sphere of knowledge [and is therefore unknowable]† (126). Socrates begins to question one’s ability to determine whether something is or is not knowable, and he demonstrates the concept using the relationship between elements and complexes. In doing so, he explains a recent dream of his, which, in turn, is actually an explanation of Dream Theory. Dream Theory states that â€Å"the primary elements, of which we and everything else are composed, have no account. Each of them itself, by itself, can only be named† (126). In other words, as elements cannot be broken down further, elements cannot have an account because that would require the determining of whether or not the said elements exist. The addition of that information onto the original element itself results in something that is no longer in its simplest form. Therefore, no elements can have accounts, nor can they be knowable; elements can only be perceived. Consequently, this poses the question as to whether or not complexes are knowable given that their elements are not. When complexes are viewed as the sum of all their elements, it is safe to conclude that the complexes are unknowable, as their elements are unknowable. This idea allowed Socrates to then consider whether complexes were mere sums or if they should instead be viewed as wholes that cannot be dissected into parts. However, the problem with this idea is that, when viewed as a whole that cannot be separated, the complex is then no different than an element, and therefore cannot have an account. After failing to determine what does and does not have an account, Socrates decides to turn his attention to determining what constitutes an account. First, he defines it as stating one’s judgment through speech. Immediately, this manifests flaws in the sense that any true statement could then be considered an account. If this were the case, there would be no differentiation between an account and a true judgment. Next, he defines an account as listing the elements of the things known. Again, this must be incorrect because the possibility exists that one could simply memorize the elements without actually understanding them. Without understanding, one cannot have knowledge. Finally, he defines an account as differentiating the known thing from everything else. This would require knowledge of the differences, and ultimately would again be a reiteration of the true judgment. Additionally, one would be defining knowledge as true judgment plus knowledge, which would be considered a fallacy. This marks the final turning point in Socrates’s and Theaetetus’s overall definition of knowledge, where the two characters decide that their initial definition could not be considered correct. Through their attempts to dissect the supposed explanation of knowledge, Socrates and Theaetetus finally reach the conclusion that knowledge is â€Å"neither perception, nor true judgment, nor an account added to true judgment† (133).

Tasks on Management Skills

Tasks on Management Skills Task 1 Identify and evaluate the importance of the personal and professional skills, outlined above, for a successful manager, which enable the manager to meet organizational and own goals (1.1a) The changing role of management: Mary Parker the mother of modern management ,defined management as the art of getting things done through people . At one time, that meant that managers were called bosses, and their job was to tell people what to do and watch over them to be sure they did it . bosses tended to reprimand those who didnt do things correctly and generally acted stern and bossy. Many managers still behave that way. Perhaps you have witnessed such managers yelling at employees at fast-food restaurants or shop floors. Today management is changing from that kind of behavior. Managers are being educated to guide, train, support, motivate, and coach employees rather than to boss them around. Modern managers in progressive companies emphasize teamwork and cooperation rather than discipline and order giving. Managers in some high-tech and progressive firms of all kinds dress more casually, are more friendly, and generally treat employees as partners rather than unruly workers. In general, therefore, management is experiencing a revolution. Managers in the future are much more likely to be working in teams, thisll appraise them below them as well as those above, and theyll be assuming completely new roles in the firm. The following table summarizes the managers different roles. Planning Setting organizational goals Developing strategies to reach those goals . Determining resources needed. Setting standards. Directing Leading, guiding, and motivating employees to work effectively to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. Giving assignments Explaining routines Clarifying policies Providing feedback on performance. Organizing: Allocating resources, assigning tasks, and establishing procedures for accomplishing goals. Preparing a structure (organization chart) showing lines of authority and responsibility. Recruiting, selecting, training, and developing employees.. Placing employees where theyll be most effective. Controlling Measuring results against corporate objectives. Monitoring performance relative to standards. Taking corrective action. Some modern managers perform all of these tasks with the full cooperation and participation of workers. Empowering employees means allowing them to participate more fully in decision making. Tasks and skills at different levels of management: Anyone who has ever played a sport such as basketball, football, or soccer knows theres a tremendous difference between being an excellent player and excellent coach (manager). Often a good player will volunteer to coach the neighborhood team and be disaster as a manager. The same thing happens in business. Few people are trained to be managers. Rather, the process of becoming a manger is similar to the sports example. A person learns how to be a skilled accountant or salesperson or production line worker, and then- because of his or her skill- is selected to be a manger. The tendency is for such managers to become deeply involved in showing others how to do things, helping them, supervising them, and generally being very active in the operating task. The further up the managerial ladder a person moves, the less such skills are required. Instead, the need is for people who are visionaries, good planners, organizers, coordinators, communicators, morale builders, and motivators. Managers must have three skills: Technical skills: involve the ability to perform tasks of a specific department such as selling (marketing) or bookkeeping. Human relation skills: include leadership, motivation, coaching, communication, morale building, training and development, help and supportiveness, and delegating. Conceptual skills: refer to mangers ability to picture the organization as a whole and the relationship of various parts to perform tasks such as planning, organizing, controlling, system development, problem analysis, decision making, coordinating, and delegating. The first line managers need to be skilled in all three areas. Most of their time is spent on technical and human relation tasks (assisting operating personnel, giving direction, and so forth). First line managers spend little time on conceptual tasks. Top managers, on the other hand need to use few technical skills. Instead, almost all of their time is devoted to human relations and conceptual tasks. One whos competent at one level of management may not be competent at higher levels and vise versa. The skills needed are different at different levels. The most difficult task for most managers to learn is delegating. Whats delegating? Delegating is assigning authority and accountability to others while retaining the responsibility for results. Managers are usually selected from those who are skilled at doing what the people they manage are doing. As we noted earlier; most progressive managers of the 21 st century will be team leaders. They will set specific goals in corporation with a team of workers, set up feedback and communication procedures (control procedure) , and minimize the tendency to continually look over the teams shoulder to make sure its doing things the managers way . Employees will be given freedom (empowered) to decide the hows and whens of completion of specific tasks as long as the goals are accomplished on time. Decision-making is choosing among two or more alternatives. It sounds easier than it is in practice. In fact , decision making is the heart of all the Management functions. We have six Ds of decision making, which are: Define the problem Describe and collect needed information Develop alternatives Decide which ethical alternative is best Do whats indicated ( implement solution)) Determine whether the decision was a good one and follow up. Managers often have computer terminals at their desks so they can get internal records and external data of all kinds. But again no data in the world can replace a manager who is creative and make brilliant decisions. Decision-making is more art than a science. Its the one skill most needed by managers and leaders in that all the other functions depend on it. Task 2 Provide a range of practical methods suitable for developing or improving the skills discussed in 1.1b Learning managerial skills: We have explored the broad categories of skills needed by various levels of management. Now lets be know more about specific skills needed to be a good manager. a) Verbal skills: The bulk of a managers duty will involve communicating with others. a communicate his idea to others. To prepare for such tasks, he should take oral communication courses. At least half of communication is skilled listening. A good manager mixes with other managers, workers, clients, stockholders, and others outside the firm . he or she listens to recommendations and complaints and acts on them. Active listening requires the asking of questions and feeding back what youve heard to let others know he is truly interested in what they say. b) Writing skills: Managers must also be able to write clearly and precisely. Much of what he want others to do must be communicated through memos, report, policies, and letters. Organizations every where is complaining about many graduates in ability to write clearly (which will affect our future managers). So if from now on, a future manager, develop good writing skills, he will be miles ahead of his competition. That means he must practice writing, it helps to write anything like, diary, letters, notes and so on. With practice he will develop the ability to write easily- just like he speaks. Also with this shill he will be more ready for his career in management. c) Computer skills: The office of the future will be an office full of computers and related technology. Memos, charts, letters, and most of other communication efforts will involve the computer. When a manger is practicing writing, practice on a word processor. The truly efficient manager of the future will be able to effectively use and take advantage of the continuing developments in technology. d) Human relations skills: A manger works with people and that means that good managers know how to get along with people, motivate them, and inspire them. People skills are learned by working with people. good leaders begin early by assuming leadership positions is sports, community groups, and so on. A manager must be aware of how others react with him. If he cause negative feelings or reactions, he has to learn why? He doesnt be afraid to make mistakes and upset others. That is how he could learn. But also he has to learn how to work with others . What is managing diversity? Is building systems and a culture that unite different people in common pursuit without undermining their diversity. Research has shown that heterogeneous (mixed) groups are more productive than homogenous (similar) groups in the work place .men and women, young and old, and all other mixes of people can learn not only to work together but also to work together with more success. In the future, mangers must learn how to deal effectively with people from different cultures. Managers will also be asked to work in foreign countries. The more skilled he can become in other languages and in working with diverse cultural groups, he will be an effective manager. e) Time management skills: One of the most important skills for new mangers to learn how to budget their time effectively. There are many demands on managers time that they need to learn to control telephone interruption, visits from colleagues, questions from subordinates, meetings scheduled by higher management, and such. . This could be by setting priorities, delegating work, choosing activities that produce the mot results and dealing with interruption. f) Technical skills: To rise through the ranks of accounting, marketing, finance, production or, any other functional area , the manager should be proficient in that area. About 60 percent of top mangers have taken courses beyond their bachelors degree. The most common areas of technical expertise among top managers are accounting and finance together. Marketing came in second. Slightly more than half of the top 1000 chief executive officers in the country has a graduate degree. As an example of the skills needed by managers to carry out their work successfully, Ill apply it on my organization and how they are trying to develop these skills from now .They believe that we are the future managers and professors, so we have to learn and apply these skills from now on . I work as a teacher assistant in MIU ( Misr International University). We use to have to attend workshops to improve and develop our ( assistants) skills. These work shops were mainly discussing the following topics : Lesson planning Class management Time management Presentation skills Look at these , these are skills needed from us to have as future professors in MIU.We have to learn how to control a class, how to deal with trouble makers, how to finish what we plan for in the time required..etc. They kept telling us that we are the managers of the class . They resembled the class as an entire organization and Im the leader, manager, controller and evaluator . also they train us to parctice talking in English all the time , to be able to handle all the class teaching in English. Also we have to have excellent computer skills. All of these skills is better off to be learned from now , to apply it in our future careers. This is a simple article from the internet disscussing what should managers do to develop their career. What is expected of me? How well am I doing? Sales Manager: You need to learn how to do relationship selling. Sales Associates response: What exactly does that mean? Executive to manager: You need to be more of a leader and less of a traditional manager. Managers response: What exactly does that mean? The world of work is changing so fast, its difficult to communicate changing expectations quickly and clearly. This is especially true in areas such as sales skills, project management skills and leadership skills. The changes expected in these areas arent easy to observe and measure and, up to now, most companies didnt attempt it. But with competition heating up and hierarchies melting down, the focus on performance and career development has become more intense. For this reason, competencies have become a new tool in the workplace. Competencies are clearly spelled out expectations for a certain role (a leader) or a job (sales associate). They go far beyond a job description to create a template for ideal performance. This tool can then be used for things such as hiring, day-to-day coaching, training and development and performance reviews. Once individuals know what the expected competencies are, the next question is, How am I doing on them now? Many organizations put the competencies into a format that can be used as a feedback instrument. Then they use it to gather 360 degree feedback. This refers to getting feedback from people all around you; your boss, your peers and your employees. Gathering feedback from other colleagues has many advantages. In addition to his or her managers feedback, it also reveals what peers and employees think. It is more comprehensive and less prone to individual bias, since there are multiple perspectives. For example, a manager, who may have thought that his boss was just being picky about his communication skills, will begin to take it seriously when everyone around him is also suggesting that he needs improvement in that area. But there are pitfalls to avoid when setting up competencies and a feedback system like this. If it isnt done well, the damage control will overshadow any good that may have come from it. Here are some things to consider:  · Create a participatory process, where representatives help to establish the competencies and how they will be used. If this process is done to them, rather than by giving them some control, there will be more resistance during implementation.  · Make the competencies as specific to the job as possible. The more generic they are the less effective they will be. In addition, it is key to word the competencies in behavioral language, so everyone knows what the competency means. For example, instead of Effective sales skills, include some behaviors, such as, Builds trust through accountability, honesty and follow-though, or Looks for additional ways to help clients solve their business problem before, during and after the sale, or Makes realistic commitments for themselves and the team, and does what it takes to keep those commitments.  · Use the feedback for coaching and development rather than a for a performance review or to weed out ineffective managers. Although it can eventually be folded into the performance review process, it creates less defensiveness if people have a chance to work on their skill gaps before they are evaluated on them. It isnt fair to surprise employees with a performance review on expectations they havent seen before.  · No matter how open the culture is, people are reluctant to be honest unless they can give feedback anonymously. Later, if managers are genuinely willing to discuss their feedback openly, individuals will come forward with their personal feedback and advice. Initially, each manager should collect data from a minimum of three or more peers and three or more employees so that confidentiality is preserved.  · Time and trouble can be avoided by using an experienced third party to guide the group and to independently gather and tabulate the feedback for each manager. When we help organizations with this process, we find that people are more willing to be honest when they know that a neutral party is doing the tabulation and individual feedback reports.  · Give the data and any summary report back to the manager, not to their boss. Hold managers accountable for creating an action plan that they will co-develop with their manager. The plan should include how they plan to leverage their top strengths and how they plan to improve their weaker areas. The plan should also include how the boss can help with that development.  · An overall report on the organizations strengths and development needs can be used to determine what the training priorities are, what should be included in a core curriculum and where training dollars should be spent.  · An independent third party can provide help to a manager who is struggling with his/her feedback and what to do about it. If they are unfavorably surprised by what their peers or employees think, they will probably appreciate guidance in how to approach their colleagues for more clarity.  · Managers should meet with their manager at least once a year to go over their action plan and discuss progress. The best career development happens on the job, so its important that manager play an active role by coaching their employee, giving them new and challenging assignments that will play to their strengths and develop weaker areas. Companies are realizing that more sophisticated performance management has a bottom -line pay off and individuals are demanding more coaching and development on the job. Systems like these can be a win/win for everyone. Outcome 2 Personal Skills Audit Task 3 Provide evidence of the various personal skills audits carried out as an aid to understanding where you stand with regards to achieving the objective of becoming a more effective manager. These to include the obligatory analyses of the personal learning style and skills audit. Choose from the strengths and weaknesses these reveal, samples that will affect the development of the 4 skills from outcome 1 (1.2a). SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT Good Time Management is an essential quality for anyone who needs to work efficiently and effectively in an everyday working environment. It is essential if you are to achieve the organizations objectives and indeed the individuals personal objectives. There are many techniques which, when combined, give an individual (or team) the skills required to time manage the task effectively. In a nutshell, time management is all about making the most efficient and effective use of your time. Some examples of these skills and techniques are as follows: a. Planning and Organization b. Prioritizing c. Delegating d. Review and Monitoring PLANNING AND ORGANISATION Information/Anticipation: Successful planning requires accurate information from which decisions are eventually made. This accurate information is crucial if these decisions are to be well judged and implemented successfully. An element of anticipation is also a bonus if you are able to best guess a possible arising which may influence your decision. Flexibility: The planning must also be flexible as not all plans are set in concrete Circumstances change and the overall plan must remain flexible and capable of change as the situation determines. Sufficient time spent planning can greatly reduce the overall time taken to complete an activity and should always consider all factors which may have an influence on the tasks final outcome. By giving the objective the correct amount of time in the planning phase, and by factoring in any events which could (if not considered) destroy or devalue the overall outcome of the task. Goal Setting: By ensuring clear goals are set from the outset, and by keeping a constant review of the tasks progress, a successful outcome should ensue when coupled with other skills and techniques in successful time management. Planning should be considered not just in the short term for each single objective but also include daily, weekly and long term planning. PRIORTISING As suggested, planning alone will not necessarily ensure successful objectives are met. Allocated time must also be prioritized in a manner that focuses on the goals set during the planning phase. Many people often spend their day in a frenzy of activity but because they are prioritizing their time correctly, they achieve a lot less output. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO MANAGE EFFECTIVELY ATTRIBUTES OF A MANAGER To manage effectively, an individual requires many skills and various personal qualities to enable the successful completion of his, or her, objectives. The skills and qualities combine to shape the management style of the individual and the style can directly affect the final outcome of the task completion. These attributes could be broken into four main headings as follows: Proficiency Technical Competence Social and Human skills Conceptual Ability Within each of the above headings there are many sub groups which all combine to give the individual manager his unique style of management which can, or may not be, particularly effective. SPECIFIC COMPETENCES Communication: Managing well requires sound communication skills above all else. No manager can relay their planning and intentions without this basic skill. It is vital that communication, by whatever means, relays the information to the staff and that more importantly, the information is understood and deliverable. Two way communication is essential, everyone will have some part to play in the exchange of information and the communication process. Planning: Sound planning ensures the objectives are met and met within the framework of the organizations structure. Effective planning at the outset will ensure there is a realistic chance of completion in line with the goals set. Knowledge and Information gathering: Planning without the necessary information will very often prove unsuccessful. It is vital that the information is gathered and the plan drawn up based on this information. Accurate information is essential if the plan is to prove a success. Problem solving/decision making: As with any plan there are nearly always options and many ways to skin a cat This will involve decision making and problem solving which the manager can make more effectively if the correct information is in place and the correct people in the team consulted. Time prioritizing: Good time management is vital, without it the manager will become less and less effective as his or her time will be spent less and less productively. The art of successful time management is one which all successful managers must master. Training and Development: The workforce can only be as good as they training they receive and the same applies to management. Personal development and training aimed at improving managerial technique should always be encouraged. Review and Monitor: As with all managed tasks, the monitoring and review of the progress and outcome is essential if lessons are to be learned and improved techniques are to be developed. The process on review should encourage an exchange of information of all those personnel involved and sound two-way communication is essential. Goal Setting: The planning and information gathering stage will provide sufficient knowledge for a manager to set some targets and goals. If this information is accurate and the manager skilled in making judgment, a realistic goal can be set with achievable outcomes in the time given. Interpersonal Skills: The ability of the manager to relate to his staff is vital. It is this communication and personal skill which will persuade the staff member to perform for his manager, that feeling of inclusion and a belonging which the manager relays to his staff member. The successful manager needs to be caring, companionate, and where possible remain calm under a crisis. Listening skills are also essential as are negotiating skills. A good team player normally combines most of these interpersonal skills and uses them to good effect in everyday management. 3. PERSONAL SKILLS AUDIT AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN TABLE 1:- PERSONAL SKILLS AUDIT Skills Examples and evidence Score 1 5 (5 highest) Communication and Literacy skills Good use of written English gained from producing engineering assignments and written formal management reports during my seven years in the Aeronautical Research and Development. department at Bae Systems. Oral presentation skills adequate and improving. Many chances to practice them in seminars and presentations. Prefer making individual presentations to group presentations as then I am more in control of the structure and flow etc. In future I intend practicing any presentation that I have to give in front of a small audience of friends a few times in order to check that it has good content, structure and timing. I am also developing communication skills in a work context. Clear communication between myself and my sub contractors and boss is important. Also, am developing good interpersonal and communication skills in my contact with colleagues at work as well as in my dealings with customers. 4 Group Interpersonal Skills Working with others I have plenty of experience of working as part of a team and being an effective member of a group. This began with sport at school and continued throughout my 27 years in the armed forces where teamwork is essential and vital in certain situations. My current employment offers frequent opportunity to take part in group work as part of the weekly team planning and reporting meetings. I always try to make a positive contribution as my final decision on the outcome of the discussions will decide if the objectives are met, or not. At work, I play the lead role in decision making but consult all my team members on a democratic basis.. This ensures all the team members have a valued input and builds a healthy team ethos. I think that I am quite good at welcoming new employees and helping people to fit in and adjust to the pattern of work. I want to improve my leadership skills further through courses targeted in this area and by continuing to plan and organize team events and expeditions. 4 Organization Personal Skills Independent Learning and Working I am self-motivated as long as the task is interesting and holds my attention. The freedom to make decisions free from senior managers input helps greatly and means I can plan and schedule the work as I choose. Although I feel my Time Management is quite strong, I aim to improve my time management strategies regarding the meeting of programme deadlines for the customer. I currently hold three levels of Sports coaching award and coach Tennis at several different locations. This requires commitment and dedication as the lessons are not always charged for. I have had a number of jobs in the past two years and have been lucky in that I have had to take the responsibility and act on my own initiative in each of the roles. 3 Research Problem Solving Skills I try to view problems as challenges rather than major obstacles. I think that I am systematic and logical when it comes to thinking about problems and their solution. I have developed these skills both as an individual and as part of working in groups where the group task which we are set is frequently of a problem-solving nature, have also gained a good grasp of the processes which one needs to go through to solve problems i.e. problem definition, generating alternative solutions, selection of most appropriate response and the eventual implementation of a carefully-considered solution. 4 ICT Skills I started developing computer skills when I entered into the Research and Development department 9 years ago. I have since carried out the European Computer Driving Licence and work regularly with all MS Office products. I also use MS Project for my planning and scheduling of works but am without formal training on this software. I would like to spend some time on a placement course to improve my skills on this product. I am confident using e-mail and use it on a daily basis both to communicate with my clients, customers and sub-contractors. I also use email a great deal at home to keep in touch with my friends and family. I use the internet for research as well as online banking and booking holidays, reservations, flowers and shopping etc. 4 Application of Numerical Techniques Good basic grounding in maths skills including graphs/charts GCSE grade A and BTEC mechanical engineering. I have good skills at mental arithmetic which is vital for fast track quotations for the customer during unforeseen work and additional items not scheduled. 4 Outcome 3 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Task 4 Provide a personal development plan- see format supplied by Edexcel showing how you intend to use the knowledge from outcomes 1 and 2 to further enhance or develop the skills you need to improve your managerial effectiveness. This to include a statement of objectives (SMART) and a SWOT analysis.(1.3a) DELEGATION Another important technique of successful time management is the ability to delegate work effectively. Delegation, used wisely, is an essential tool of the successful manager. It can free valuable time to enable the manager to target his or her time more effectively and thereby increasing the chances of a successful outcome. Delegation should be applied using the S.M.A.R.T. principles and not over ambitious. Where: S à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Specific M à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Measurable A à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Achievable R à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Realistic T à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Time The delegation should achieve the desired results through a clear, concise brief which should match the authority and responsibility of the individual and should be used consistently and through the management/staff chain as required. Another positive outcome of successful delegation include improved flexibility within the team, upskilling, increase in morale and motivation, reduced sick leave and a improved team environment where team members feel more informed and inclusive. Task 5 Provide evidence of the monitoring and feedback undertaken where relevant and any adjustments made to the plan so that