China especially Essay Example for Free

China especially Essay â€Å"River Town: Two years on the Yangtze† is a book written by Peter Hessler describing how his life was in China. This is a book he wrote during his years in rural China when he was an English teacher. During this period, he was working for the Peace Corps in Fuling, a remote town located along Yangtze River. This was even before westerners became common in mainland China. In fact during this time, Hessler was one among the only four westerners in the whole rural town full of hundreds of thousands of people. He provides an account on his everyday struggles with the culture and language of the Chinese people. He tells how he teaches his English students on Shakespeare using the Chinese twist and the way communist party bureaucracy sometimes becomes a hurdle to some developments. Of much interest is the manner in which the education system in china is described as one of the most standardized. According to Hessler (34), students had the responsibility of cleaning the classroom. As explained, there are a lot of responsibilities for Chinese students in their system as they had to wash the blackboards between classes. Moreover, they had to clean the windows and the floor twice a week. Students are required to obey and accomplish their obligations and if for example the cleaning of the classroom was not adequate, they would be fined (Hessler 34). Here, students are fined if they miss morning exercises, if they skipped classes, returned late to the dormitories during the night and if they failed in the examinations. This is an education system that looks very different from that of America since students here have very little extra cash to spend and it was thus possible for the classrooms to be thoroughly and diligently cleaned. The education system has a place for exercises which is mandatory for all in the morning. Some of the exercises involved pressing two fingers on one’s eyes, cheeks or nose. Typically, children go to school as from 7:00am to 4:00pm. However, the elementary schools start as early as 7:30am. Common subjects here include propaganda, writing, reading and studying mathematics. It is during recess when children are expected to attend relaxation exercises and calisthenics. The schools seem to be overcrowded as there were around forty-five in every classroom pressed together seated on old wooden desks. Children here are accustomed to rote learning and this according to Hessler meant that they had to always follow models even to the point of plagiarism (Hessler 100). Students in this system are inveterate copiers and thus it is possible to get an exactly the same paper from a group of students. In this case, copying is not wrong in the Chinese education system as in their whole school life they are taught to imitate models, accept what they have been told by their teacher without questioning, copy things and this is what they often do (Hessler 100). In this education system, books used were mostly published in China and they had political intent overstated. For example, Hessler cites the example of â€Å"A Handbook of Writing† that he was using during his writing class that had model essay titled â€Å"The Three Gorges Project Is Beneficial† which was in the â€Å"Argumentation† chapter (Hessler 99). There is an explanation on the chapter on benefits and risks associated with the project that had made some to be against it. But in the end there was a transition that summed up everything that the worries of those against the project were justified â€Å"But we should not give up eating for fear of choking. † Thus the writer of the handbook had to focus more on the benefits of the project and thus gave examples of improved transport, more electricity and better control of flood. The conclusion was that the Three Gorges Project had more advantages than disadvantages. This is what the students are supposed to be taught and to write. When they are given a composition, they end up writing the same phrase â€Å"But we should not give up eating for fear of choking. † Thus, in short this means that the system stresses to give students literature that would make them to be more patriotic to the administration. Students are supposed to appreciate the ancient poetry as this is taken to be the strongest part in Chinese literary tradition. In comparison to American schools, the environment in Chinese schools is harsh for any writer due to culture. It is actually very difficult for any Chinese to write on what is happening at the present and especially if that writer wants to use fiction. Most of the outstanding fiction writers in China are exiles and since they had that status for a long time, it is quite difficult for them to write about what happened in the recent past in accuracy. It is actually difficult for writers in China especially due to censorship and political issues. Even the cultural elements make it really hard for them as those who are educated in this society usually look down on the working class and the farmers and they seem to have very little interest in that world. Educated Chinese are more preoccupied on ideas than on stories and individuals (Miller 1). In American schools, the structure involves set questions, worksheets and group activities. Children are required to perform most activities as a group and ample time is awarded for individual work. Moreover, more flexibility is seen in the American education system. The Chinese education system however is more relentless on group mentality. In most cases writers are individuals but unfortunately this is an instinct that is commonly broken in a Chinese classroom. Teaching writing in China has no emphasis on character, narrative voice or perspective. The focus is on getting the kids copy poetic phrases day in day out. Children are taught that they must spout off any set opinions instead of generating something unexpected. They also deal with so much handwriting. This is traditional Chinese education system that focuses purely on other values and skills. Communist system establishes funded film-schools which impart vital technical skills (Miller 1). American education system strives to teach the students on how they can think independently as opposed to the Chinese system that aims to teach the students on imitation. Educators in China teach their students to learn via rote. An American student is given room to ask questions. On the contrary, a Chinese student is not supposed to ask any question but should expect to be taught without his/her contribution. Traditionally, children are taught via rote learning, memorizing all material with no space for asking questions. In addition, there are so many topics that are banned and great amount of time spent to learn numerous Chinese characters that are supposed to be memorized. A classroom in China carries between 40 and 50 students and in some cases this may go up to 60. This number encourages rote learning instead of using discussions and other student-driven activities. American students however have more time to engage in self-driven activities and important discussions that encourage thinking (Hays 1). Works cited Hays, Jeffrey. School Life in China, 2008. Retrieved from http://factsanddetails. com/china. php? itemid=1094catid=13subcatid=82 Hessler, Peter. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. Miller, JFK. Why I Write: Peter Hessler, 2010. Retrieved from http://www. urbanatomy. com/index. php/arts/why-i-write/2770-why-i-write-peter-hessler

An interpretation of a scene from K.Brannaghs Essay Example for Free

An interpretation of a scene from K.Brannaghs Essay At the beginning of the scene when Elizabeth and Victor are talking, there is a massive contrast of colours through what they are wearing. Elizabeth is wearing a scarlet dress compared to Victors soiled white shirt. The red dress is there to symbolise love and also death. Elizabeth has a lot of love for Victor, which she has to leave behind because of Victors obsession. Elizabeth also gets killed later on in the film therefore the red also symbolises blood. Situated behind Victor are sketches of skeletons and figures. There is a brain in a jar of fluid placed on the small table in the middle of the room. This shows that Victors obsession is very scientific but also he is making something from human form.  When Victor begins to bring his creation to life he is wearing a long gold cloak. This cloak and his long hair makes Victor look very feminine. It is important that Victor looks feminine because he is doing what only a female can do, giving birth to a child. With the cloak being gold it also gives him a sense of importance, as he is doing something which only God can usually do. The container that the monster is placed in has a shape similar to a cradle but also a coffin. This shows life and death; the cradle holding the new born and the coffin holding the dead. The monster inside is dead but it is soon going to be newly born.  The fires that heat the cradle could be the fires of hell showing that what Victor is doing is wrong. The fires of hell also link with the sub-title A Modern Day Prometheus In this story Prometheus steals fire from the Gods so he can use it to create life. For this, he gets punished by the Gods. I think the main reason for showing the fire is to remind us of when Mary Shelley lost her child. Mary had a dream that she warmed her dead child by her fire and it came back to life. This dream is being brought into reality by Victor because the monster is made out of dead bodies which he sews together and then brought it to life. The machinery used directly with the birth of the monster look like human parts. The parts representing the penis and testicles looks realistic. The phallic images involved at this point in the scene is to show the male input of child birth.  When Victor looks at himself in the mirror, he is confronting himself. This means he has to judge himself. He can see that the good side of him has been tainted by what he has done for the past two years.  Where Victors bed is, there are black curtains hanging. When Victor closes them it suggests mourning for the dead. Victor believes that he has killed the monster when he hung him in the chains. He has lost everything for the monster and now he has nothing. Colour and Lighting  Both Victor and Elizabeth are in high key lighting. Around them both is low key lighting. This makes the room seem even more dirty and awful than it already is. The windows in the room are very bright but this light is not dispersed. This shows that the light isnt welcome in there.  When Victor opens the door to where the monster is the light is cast on a white sheet that is covering something. Because of the light it makes us assume the body of the monster is under here because there is a rough outline of a figure by shadows. Victors shadow enters the room of the monster before he actually does. This shows that the dark side of him is in control now and leading the way.  The electricity is a strong vibrant blue. This stands out because of the low key lighting that is used. The magnificent glow makes it seem powerful.  When the monster is hanging from the chains one can only see his silhouette. The monsters face is hidden by the shadow. This is eerie because we dont know whether the monster is dead or alive.  When Victor is writing into his journal there is high key lighting around Victor but in the background where the monster is hanging there is very low key lighting. This shows that Victor has become more important than the monster.

Frequency modulation the amplitude

Frequency modulation the amplitude INTRODUCTION In frequency modulation the amplitude is kept constant and the frequency is modulated by the amplitude of the modulating signal. The modulation index for fm is m = maximum frequency deviation/modulating frequency. FM signal can be represented as:- v = ac sin(wct + m sin wmt ) ABSTRACT Frequency modulation is a type of modulation where the frequency of the carrier is varied in accordance with the modulating signal. The amplitude of the carrier remains constant. The information-bearing signal (the modulating signal) changes the instantaneous frequency of the carrier. Since the amplitude is kept constant, FM modulation is a low-noise process and provides a high quality modulation technique which is used for music and speech in hi-fidelity broadcasts. In addition to hi-fidelity radio transmission, FM techniques are used for other important consumer applications such as audio synthesis and recording the luminance portion of a video signal with less distortion. There are several devices that are capable of generating FM signals, such as a VCO or a reactance modulator. Frequency Modulation is abbreviated FM. Definitions An important concept in the understanding of FM is that of frequency deviation. The amount of frequency deviation a signal experiences is a measure of the change in transmitter output frequency from the rest frequency of the transmitter. The rest frequency of a transmitter is defined as the output frequency with no modulating signal applied. For a transmitter with linear modulation characteristics, the frequency deviation of the carrier is directly proportional to the amplitude of the applied modulating signal. Mathematical Analysis of FM As was done with AM, a mathematical analysis of a high-frequency sine wave, modulated by a single tone or frequency, will be used to yield information about the frequency components in an FM wave, FM power relations, and the bandwidth of an FM signal. From the definition of frequency deviation, an equation can be written for the signal frequency of an FM wave as a function of time: fsignal = fC + kf eM(t) = fC + kf EM sin?Mt And substitution of d = kf EM yields: fsignal = fC + d sin?Mt But what does this equation indicate? It seems to be saying that the frequency of the transmitter is varying with time. This brings up the same type of problem that was observed when we looked at a time display of AM and then performed a mathematical analysis in an attempt to determine its frequency content. With AM, the signal appeared to be a sine wave thats amplitude was changing with time. At the time, it was pointed out that a sine wave, by definition, has a constant peak amplitude, and thus cannot have a peak amplitude that varies with time. What about the sine waves frequency? It also must be a constant and cannot be varying with time. As was the case with AM, where it turned out that our modulated wave was actually the vector sum of three sine waves, a similar situation is true for FM. An FM wave will consist of three or more frequency components vectorially added together to give the appearance of a sine wave thats frequency is varying with time when displayed in the time domain. A somewhat complex mathematical analysis will yield an equation for the instantaneous voltage of an FM wave of the form shown here: eFM(t) = EC sin(?Ct + mf sin?Mt) where EC is the rest-frequency peak amplitude, ?C and ?M represent the rest and modulating frequencies, and mf is the index of modulation. This equation represents a single low-frequency sine wave, fM, frequency modulating another high-frequency sine wave, fC. Note that this equation indicates that the argument of the sine wave is itself a sine wave. The Index of Modulation The index of modulation, mf, is given by the following relationship: A few more comments about the index of modulation, mf, are appropriate. As can be seen from the equation, mf is equal to the peak deviation caused when the signal is modulated by the frequency of the modulating signal; therefore, mf is a function of both the modulating signal amplitude and frequency. Furthermore, mf can take on any value from 0 to infinity. Its range is not limited as it is for AM. FM Power Relations Recall that for an FM wave the amplitude of the signal, and hence the power, remains constant. This means that the power in the individual frequency components of the wave must add up to the transmitter output power. Furthermore, if the modulation index changes, the total power must redistribute itself over the resulting frequency components. If there is no modulation, then mf = 0 and J0 = 1.0. Mathematically, this can be shown by the following: Prest freq = J0 power 2 Ptrans or Prest freq = Ptrans for mf = 0.0. To determine the power for any individual frequency component, we can use the following relation: Pn = Jn 2(mf) Ptrans 4.11 Furthermore, the total signal power will be given by: Ptotal = (J0power2 + 2J1power2 + 2J2power2 + 2J3power2 + ) Ptrans. The Effect of Noise on FM Recall AM and the effect of noise on it. Random electrical variations added to the AM signal altered the original modulation of the signal. For FM, noise still adds to the signal, but because the information resides in frequency changes instead of amplitude changes, the noise tends to have less of an effect. Expanding upon this idea a bit, one notes that the random electrical variations encountered by the FM signal will indeed cause distortion by jittering the frequency of the FM signal. However, the change in frequency modulation caused by the jittering usually turns out to be less than the change in the amplitude modulation caused by the same relative amplitude noise variations on an AM signal. Also unlike AM, the effect of the frequency jittering becomes progressively worse as the modulating frequency increases. In other words, the effect of noise increases with modulation frequency. Pre-Emphasis and De-Emphasis To compensate for this last effect, FM communication systems have incorporated a noise-combating system of pre-emphasis and de-emphasis FM Generation Techniques FM signals can be generated using either direct or indirect frequency modulation. Direct FM modulation can be achieved by directly feeding the message into the input of a VCO. For indirect FM modulation, the message signal is integrated to generate a phase modulated signal. This is used to modulate a crystal controlled oscillator, and the result is passed through a frequency multiplier to give an FM signal DIRECT FM GENERATION The simplest method for generating FM directly is to vary the frequency of an oscillator. A capacitance microphone or a varactor diode may be used as part of the oscillators frequency determining network. The capacitor microphones capacitance varies in response to the intensity of the sound waves striking it, making the oscillators frequency vary as the amplitude of the sound varies. The varactor diodes capacitance depends on the voltage across it. Audio signals placed across the diode cause its capacitance to change, which in turn, causes the frequency of the oscillator to vary. INDIRECT FM GENERATION While it is not possible to vary the frequency of a crystal oscillator directly, it is possible to vary its phase. The resulting PM signal can be used to create FM. This is the basis of the Armstrong modulator.The mathematics required to analyze the Armstrong modulator completely are complex, so we will discuss only the basic circuit operation. An audio signal is passed through a preemphasis network and then an integrator, a special network whose output is the time integral of the input signal.. In this way an FM signal is generated.The Armstrong modulator cannot produce much deviation, so combination of multipliers and mixers are used to raise the carrier frequency and the deviation. The multipliers are used to multiply the carrier and the deviation. The mixers are used to decrease the carrier, while keeping the deviation constant so that additional multiplier stages can be used to obtain more deviation. FM Performance FM Spectrum A spectrum represents the relative amounts of different frequency components in any signal. Its like the display on the graphic-equalizer in your stereo which has leds showing the relative amounts of bass, midrange and treble. These correspond directly to increasing frequencies (treble being the high frequency components). It is a well-know fact of mathematics, that any function (signal) can be decomposed into purely sinusoidal components (with a few pathological exceptions) . In technical terms, the sines and cosines form a complete set of functions, also known as a basis in the infinite-dimensional vector space of real-valued functions (gag reflex). Given that any signal can be thought to be made up of sinusoidal signals, the spectrum then represents the recipe card of how to make the signal from sinusoids. Like: 1 part of 50 Hz and 2 parts of 200 Hz. Pure sinusoids have the simplest spectrum of all, just one component: In this example, the carrier has 8 Hz and so the spectrum has a single component with value 1.0 at 8 Hz . The FM spectrum is considerably more complicated. The spectrum of a simple FM signal looks like: The carrier is now 65 Hz, the modulating signal is a pure 5 Hz tone, and the modulation index is 2. What we see are multiple side-bands (spikes at other than the carrier frequency) separated by the modulating frequency, 5 Hz. There are roughly 3 side-bands on either side of the carrier. The shape of the spectrum may be explained using a simple heterodyne argument: when you mix the three frequencies (fc, fm and Df) together you get the sum and difference frequencies. The largest combination is fc + fm + Df, and the smallest is fc fm Df. Since Df = b fm, the frequency varies (b + 1) fm above and below the carrier. A more realistic example is to use an audio spectrum to provide the modulation: In this example, the information signal varies between 1 and 11 Hz. The carrier is at 65 Hz and the modulation index is 2. The individual side-band spikes are replaced by a more-or-less continuous spectrum. However, the extent of the side-bands is limited (approximately) to (b + 1) fm above and below. Here, that would be 33 Hz above and below, making the bandwidth about 66 Hz. We see the side-bands extend from 35 to 90 Hz, so out observed bandwidth is 65 Hz. You may have wondered why we ignored the smooth humps at the extreme ends of the spectrum. The truth is that they are in fact a by-product of frequency modulation (there is no random noise in this example). However, they may be safely ignored because they are have only a minute fraction of the total power. In practice, the random noise would obscure them anyway. Frequency Response Frequency response is a specification used in amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, CD players, tape decks and other audio components to measure how uniformly it reproduces sounds from the lowest tones to the highest. An amplifier or other component should preserve the loudness relationship between various instruments and voices and should not over or under-emphasize any frequency or tone. This is known as flat frequency response. Bandwidth As we have already shown, the bandwidth of a FM signal may be predicted using: BW = 2 (b + 1 ) fm where b is the modulation index and fm is the maximum modulating frequency used. FM radio has a significantly larger bandwidth than AM radio, but the FM radio band is also larger. The combination keeps the number of available channels about the same. The bandwidth of an FM signal has a more complicated dependency than in the AM case (recall, the bandwidth of AM signals depend only on the maximum modulation frequency). In FM, both the modulation index and the modulating frequency affect the bandwidth. As the information is made stronger, the bandwidth also grows. Applications of frequency modulation: Broadcasting: FM is commonly used at VHF radio frequencies for high-fidelity broadcasts of music and speech . Normal (analog) TV sound is also broadcast using FM. A narrow band form is used for voice communications in commercial and amateur radio settings. The type of FM used in broadcast is generally called wide-FM, or W-FM. In two-way radio, narrowband narrow-fm (N-FM) is used to conserve bandwidth. In addition, it is used to send signals into space. Sound: FM is also used at audio frequencies to synthesize sound. This technique, known as FM synthesis, was popularized by early digital synthesizers and became a standard feature for several generations of personal computer sound cards. Radio: An example of frequency modulation. This diagram shows the modulating, or message, signal, xm(t), superimposed on the carrier wave, xc(t) The modulated signal, y(t), produced from frequency-modulating xc(t) with xm(t). A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation called radio FM. As , wideband FM (W-FM) requires a wider signal bandwidth than amplitude modulation by an equivalent modulating signal, but this also makes the signal more robust against noise and interference. Frequency modulation is also more robust against simple signal amplitude fading phenomena. As a result, FM was chosen as the modulation standard for high frequency, high fidelity radio transmission: hence the term FM radio (although for many years the BBC called it VHF radio, because commercial FM broadcasting uses a well-known part of the VHF band; in certain countries, expressions referencing the more familiar wavelength notion are still used in place of the more abstract modulation technique name).A high-efficiency radio-frequency switching amplifier can be used to transmit FM signals (and other constant-amplitude signals). For a given signal strength (measured at the receiver antenna), switching amplifiers use less battery power and typically cost less than a linear amplifier. This gives FM another advantage over other modulation schemes that require linear amplifiers, such as AM and QAM. REFRENCES; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_modulation http://www.tech-faq.com/frequency-modulation.shtml http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/es310/FM.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/frequency-modulation

Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Educational Philosophy â€Å"Let’s play school?† So many times when I was growing up would I pose this question to my younger brother. I would always play the role of the teacher and he would be my somewhat enthused student. Of course, childhood never lasts forever and the unforgiving world of adolescence greets us. I was a miserable thirteen year old, wishing for those days of pretending, while I suffered the torments of a bully and had the feeling that I would never be accepted or fit in. I wondered, would my peers ever treat me equally? Would I ever be able to be what society says a young woman should be? It was during this trying time that I realized my childhood game, coupled with my desire to make kids feel good about themselves, was my destined career choice. I was destined to be an educator. As time passed and I entered college I realized that with the ideas of Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism that I was meant to be a teacher who would teach kids facts and formulas and teach them self worth in the process. To me, school is much more than a place to learn about history and math and reading, it’s a place to grow socially and emotionally. I believe it is vitally important to teach character development and self worth at an early age. This way, by the time a child hits puberty, they have a sense of self-pride, they feel they have a special gift or talent that makes them unique and important in society. Perhaps if I had had an elementary school teacher who taught me these things, then middle school wouldn’t have been such a difficult struggle for me. Many future teachers I speak with say that they want to teach out of West Virginia. They say they want to teach in a big city where they can get a high paying teachers job. But you can’t put a price tag on education; children here in the mountain state need young, dynamic teachers with fresh ways of thinking, as current teachers reach retirement age. This is why I want to teacher in West Virginia.

Gay Marriage Should be Legal :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Should gay marriages be legal? Clearly we as a nation are undecided on this issue. Thirty-six states have passed legislation banning gay marriages, yet a few states have passed laws that allows homosexual couples the right to participate in civil unions. Several other states are also debating whether or not to allow these couples to marry. Unfortunately, the dispute has left the United States' homosexual community in an awkward position. There are some people who think that gay people have no rights and should never be allowed to marry, and others believe that gay people should enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexuals. I think that the United States should allow same-sex couples to marry just like heterosexual couples. There are many opponents of gay people as it is, and they all have their reasons to dislike the idea of permitting them get married. One of the main reasons is that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. Because gay couples are unable to have children, they should not be allowed to marry (Schiffen 495). Another main argument is that the word marriage means the union of one man and one woman. This is a long-standing theme of most major Western religions. Under a proposed bill known as the Defense of Marriage act, marriage is defined as â€Å"a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.† Furthermore, it defines a spouse as â€Å" a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife† (What 1). Under these guidelines, it is quite obvious that gay couples would not be eligible for marriage. People against homosexual marriage also say that it is a person’s choice to be gay. Since the individual chooses to be a homosexual, they should not be given special privileges. Another argument that you hear is that these couples should not get married simply because of the torment and ridicule they would be faced with in their everyday lives. There are news reports from across America telling about how a gay person was beaten or killed just because they were looked at as different. Some of these people would end up the target of verbal abuse and maybe even physical abuse, just because some heterosexual people see them as different. Gay Marriage Should be Legal :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Should gay marriages be legal? Clearly we as a nation are undecided on this issue. Thirty-six states have passed legislation banning gay marriages, yet a few states have passed laws that allows homosexual couples the right to participate in civil unions. Several other states are also debating whether or not to allow these couples to marry. Unfortunately, the dispute has left the United States' homosexual community in an awkward position. There are some people who think that gay people have no rights and should never be allowed to marry, and others believe that gay people should enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexuals. I think that the United States should allow same-sex couples to marry just like heterosexual couples. There are many opponents of gay people as it is, and they all have their reasons to dislike the idea of permitting them get married. One of the main reasons is that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. Because gay couples are unable to have children, they should not be allowed to marry (Schiffen 495). Another main argument is that the word marriage means the union of one man and one woman. This is a long-standing theme of most major Western religions. Under a proposed bill known as the Defense of Marriage act, marriage is defined as â€Å"a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.† Furthermore, it defines a spouse as â€Å" a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife† (What 1). Under these guidelines, it is quite obvious that gay couples would not be eligible for marriage. People against homosexual marriage also say that it is a person’s choice to be gay. Since the individual chooses to be a homosexual, they should not be given special privileges. Another argument that you hear is that these couples should not get married simply because of the torment and ridicule they would be faced with in their everyday lives. There are news reports from across America telling about how a gay person was beaten or killed just because they were looked at as different. Some of these people would end up the target of verbal abuse and maybe even physical abuse, just because some heterosexual people see them as different.

Macbeth :: essays research papers

In Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, the characters and the roles they play are critical to its plot and theme, and therefore many of Shakespeare's characters are well developed and complex. Two of these characters are the protagonist, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth. They play interesting roles in the tragedy, and over the course of the play, their relationship changes and their roles are essentially switched. At the beginning of the play, they treat each other as equals. They have great concern for each other, as illustrated when Macbeth races to tell Lady Macbeth the news about the witches and she immediately begins plotting how to gain for her husband his desire to be king. At this point, Lady Macbeth is the resolute, strong woman, while Macbeth is portrayed as her indecisive, cowardly husband. He does have ambition, but at this point, his conscience is stronger than that ambition. Lady Macbeth explains this characteristic of her husband in Act I, Scene v, when she says, "Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." The next stage of change developing in the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is in Act II. This is the act in which Macbeth kills King Duncan. Macbeth's character change is apparent because it is obvious that he has given in to his ambition and has murdered the king. He is not entirely changed, though, because he is almost delirious after he has committed the crime. He exclaims, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." He believes that instead of the ocean cleaning his hands, his hands would turn the ocean red. Macbeth's role has changed somewhat but not entirely, since he has committed the crime but his conscience is still apparent after the murder. Lady Macbeth's role similarly changes somewhat in Act II. The reader sees a crack in her strong character when she tells Macbeth in Scene ii of Act II that she would have murdered Duncan herself if he had not resembled her father as he slept. Her boldness is still evident, though, when she calms Macbeth after the murder and believes "a little water clears us of this deed." Unlike the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, their relationship remains unchanged from Act I to II.

Employee Retention Essay

Work-life balance is a never-ending struggle for many companies. And then there are those who have been used to the work-life balance mantra that it is now part of their daily office routine. One of those companies is Eddie Bauer. Here, the objectives were not only very specific, it also gave fruit to efficient programs to which they became known and awarded. (Arthur, 307) Why does it make sense for Eddie Bauer to emphasize work-life balance? For Eddie Bauer, helping employees balance their work with their professional lives reduces absenteeism, increases productivity, and avoids high turnover thereby promoting retention of employees. This significantly cuts the problem on screening and recruiting new applicants as well as training these new employees. Where there is high retention rate, there is also continuity in the work processes. (Arthur, 308) Which of the nine key objectives do you think is the most important in their success in this area? Of the nine key objectives, making work more flexible is the determinant on the success of Eddie Bauer in giving work-life balance to their employees. Even if employees earn well, time is something that they can never buy. By introducing to them options from which they can choose the most fitting, they are able to maintain the balance in the personal and professional lives of their associates. Which of the programs do you think is the most important in their success in this area? Customized work environment which allows for flexible work times is the best program of all which Eddie Bauer offers. It allows employees to work at flexible times, have compressed workweeks if they need so, and allows them to choose a part-time position or share a workload with another employee. All these are fully customizable to their needs and preferences. (Arthur, 308) Why would work-life balance be good for employees? With newfound balance in their professional and personal races, employees will feel more content. They will think less about their personal circumstances while at work knowing that they are given time for these things. They also appreciate the efforts of the company, and so there is less chance for them to think of leaving. (Careerwomen. com reveals top five strategies for achieving work/life balance, 2003) Why would work-life balance be good for employers? With employees becoming more content at work, employers have everything to gain. They need not think much about recruitment of new employees to replace resigned employees. They also need not worry about retrainings and the additional costs included in it. They can then focus on expanding through recruiting additional and not replacement employees as well as enjoy the continuity of work with long-term employees. Why would work-life balance be good for customers? As peace of mind is received by employees and employers alike, work becomes more productive. Employees tend to give more to meet the expectations of the employers who have been considerate to them. Employers in return are able to invest more in customer relations. With long-term employee retention customers also get to enjoy personalized service with people who are already identified with the company. This results in a development of relationship between the company through the employee and the customer. As with the study done in Ernst & Young, employees are most likely to quit when they cannot achieve balance at work with their personal lives. (Arthur, 226) This encompasses the reason for the viability a work-life balance program. Companies who have it also have content workforces, employers with peace of mind, and satisfied customers. In the end, there is everything to gain and nothing to lose when there is balance between work and life.