Directing Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Directing Hamlet Essay If I were to have the pleasure of directing Hamlet I would first think about how and where the scene would be set. I would have the scene set in the suburbs of Italy where the gangsters are, because the portrayal of gangster Italy, on television (which the audience may be familiar with) is like the situation in Hamlet. Where revenge must be taken by the son, also upholding the family honour and such family situations. Also the portrayal of Italians is that they are very religious and that they tend to be Catholics, so the religious aspect of this scene (trying to pray and having the need to be forgiven by god) would fit in with my version and Shakespeares. I would have this scene set in a Roman Catholic Church to support the fact that Claudius wishes to pray here and that he is Catholic. I would like the church to echo the voices to show that Claudius heart must be empty for him to have committed this evil crime, so all he hears is the voices of his head, telling him what he thinks is the right thing to do, for example to pray for forgiveness. However his heart would be telling him to give up the things that he killed for, which Claudius himself mentions, since I am still possessd of those effects for which I did the murder. I would like the lighting to be an orangey afternoon colour, like when the sun sets. I imagine churches to be empty around early sunset time and if Claudius really felt guilty he would not want people o see that he is unable to pray I would not have any sound effects as the church would echo and I would like the audience to focus on what the actors were saying. Also silence between lines tends to create a sense of atmosphere. It would make the audience feel tense as though something was about to happen. I would like Claudius to look into the mirror when he is talking to himself throughout most of the scene. Except when it is inappropriate, for instance when he goes to pray. I would like the audience to feel more relaxed by this, as Claudius does not seem to be very emotionally at thins. I would like the audience to feel quite angry with Claudius. I would like them to feel this as they can see that he is not mentally disturbed by the goings on. However when Hamlet goes to talk to himself I would like to have him talking to the audience to show that although Hamlet said in an earlier scene that he would pretend to go mad, How strange or odd someer I bear myself-As perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on all the frustration about getting revenge and his fathers murder may have actually driven him mad. I feel that having Hamlet talk to the audience shows this, as the other members of the play do not seem to be able to see the audience (King Claudius talking to himself in the mirror). I would like the audience to be shocked, by this and feel on edge as this scene is all about whether Hamlet will kill the king or not which is very tense. Since Claudius is a King in Shakespeares Hamlet I would like him to play someone of high importance, so I would have him being played as a gangster leader. The outfit I would like him to wear would be a grey Armani suit, a waistcoat, blue collared shirt, and patent leather shoes. I would like him to have square framed glasses and for him to wear lots of gold jewellery, but especially a gold signant ring to symbolise that he is the leader of a gang, which has resemblance to the fact that he is a king (monarchs wear a ring to show that they are married to their country). I would like Hamlet to be wearing rather informal clothes to show that he may have gone slightly mad. I would have him wearing a plain black shirt, which would be reasonably tight. I would then have him wearing a black Hawaiian shirt with a thatched pattern on it. I would also like him to be wearing dark blue jeans. The dark clothes would be symbolising that Hamlet is still in mourning for his fathers death. I would like Hamlet to be wearing a silver Saint Christopher around his neck, to show that Hamlet may need guidance for the revenge of his fathers death. I would like to keep the language the same as I feel that if the text were to be converted into modern language the impact of the rhythm and words would be lost. Such as when Claudius says, It hath the primal eldest curse upont, means Its like when the first murder happened in the bible. These words do not have nearly as much effect as the original line. The original line provides some atmosphere. The word curse suggests evil, as witches were thought in Shakespeares time to send curses. Also as people were more religious in Shakespeares time the fact that Claudius has committed the worst sin n the bible they may have been horrified by Claudius crime. This wouldnt have as much effect on a modern day audience however I feel that the words too tend to portray that Claudius shows disgust towards himself. Some of the words in this scene are quite difficult to interpret so I would have to make some sort of gesture in order to make it more obvious what the two actors mean. I think that obvious hand or body gestures would make it more obvious. For example when Hamlet says, Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent I think that Hamlet should, lift his sword and then approach Claudius. This would make the true meaning of the sentence clearer. A few lines in this scene make it so enjoyable to watch, but it all depends on the actors interpretation and delivery of the line. When Claudius says, O, my offence is rank This line needs to be emphasised as it shows that Claudius may be feeling regret for what he did. So he could show this by shouting the line, which displays the anger that he may be feeling with himself. Also a brothers murder must be emphasised as this is the reason to Claudius guilt, and why he is so angry with himself. He could portray this to the audience by saying it slowly, and going into an audible whisper as if someone may hear. Claudius should also emphasise when he says, Forgive me my foul murder! as this shows that maybe he does truly repent and feel guilt. He could shout this line to the ceiling as if he were talking to god. When Claudius talks of the things he does not wish to give up, My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. The should be said in a low husky tone, to show that Claudius although in this scene he may seem to be wanting forgiveness, he does not truly want it as he would give up these items that he killed his brother for. When Claudius is describing how in the criminal world he can buy himself out of trouble, In the corrupted currents of this world. This line and the following three lines should also be delivered in the same low husky tone to show that Claudius is still evil as to mix himself with criminals, who were also known as sinners in Shakespeares time. Also when Claudius talks to his knees, telling them to, Bow stubborn knees he should speak softly as though here were speaking to a child. This would emphasise the line and show that Claudius is encouraging himself to pray; just a children are encouraged when spoken to in a soft voice. The line he says, All may be well should also be softly as he trying to convince himself that everything will be all right. It is the final two lines that should be emphasised the most as this show the true irony of the whole scene. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius, as he believes that Claudius is praying and would go straight to heaven. Here when Claudius says, My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thought never to heaven go. We learn that he was unable to pray anyway so Hamlet could have killed Claudius, only Hamlet did not know this. His line could be emphasised with pauses in between up and my, and in-between thought and never. When Hamlet says And now Ill do it. I think here the actor should raise his sword above his head and increase the volume of his voice to a shout. Hamlet should then approach Claudius and let out a war like cry to emphasise this line. This I feel is effective as it emphasises this line and the silence that would follow would also emphasise the next line, and so a goes to heaven. I think that those two lines are very important as they show that Hamlet is about to kill Claudius until he decides that hell wait. I also think that when Hamlet is talking about the death of his father, A took my father grossly, he should speak through his teeth, in a low tone. I feel that Hamlet would be feeling very angry, as he cannot yet revenge his fathers death. So I feel that that talking through his teeth would portray that anger to the audience. This also emphasises the line as the audience would listen to what he was saying as him talking through his teeth would be obvious to them. Hamlet, however should speak with joy when he talks about what kind if thing Claudius will be doing when Hamlet could kill him, When he is drunk asleep, or in rage; Or in th incestuous pleasure of his bed; At game, a-swearing, or about some act. I feel that Hamlet would be imagining Claudius being killed and going straight to hell, which would make him very happy. I then think that when Hamlet delivers this last line, this physic but prolongs thy sickly days. It must be emphasised as Hamlet would be feeling quite sad and angry that he has Claudius in very vulnerable position yet he feels that he cannot kill him, as that would not give him true revenge. I feel that sadness and anger can be portrayed by Hamlet having a pause between physic and but. Also the actor should speak in a low tone to get the audience attention as this line displays the irony as Claudius is unable to pray. This scene is only effective because the audience knows what happened in the previous scene. They know that Claudius has portrayed his true guilt to Hamlet, confirming Hamlets beliefs that Claudius killed his father. The way in which he did show his guilt, (When the players put on a play with a murder committed the same way that he killed his brother) would be more effective in Shakespeares time as then all people who committed murder were believed to go mad, and be affected by the site of their crime. When Claudius views his crime he horrified by himself and feels the need to be forgiven which explains his sudden desperate need to pray. I feel that this scene gives Hamlet its edge of tenseness. The rest of the play is an unwinding tale leaving the audience wondering right until the last scene, will Hamlet kill Claudius?

Narcissism and Social Isolation

Narcissism and Social Isolation Thesis Statement: narcissism can lead to social isolation because of inability to appreciate anything around them aside from themselves. Introduction Narcissism is a personality disorder wherein the individual feels an extremely elevated sense of self-worth compared to normal. A Narcissist thinks that he is like no one else, special and unique in every single way manageable and therefore believes that he is superior to all. A narcissist seem like the perfect kind of company in the short run but in the long run unfolds, so do their true colors begin to show. Body Narcissism is a psychological disorder that is gradually developed overtime by the involvement of biological and environmental factors. According to research, Narcissism has something to do with genetics. Narcissism can be triggered as early as the preschool years and may develop over the passage of time. Media has a big impact in transmitting narcissism to vast populations. Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self worth that they value themselves as inherently as others. Narcissists believe they are special and unique. Most narcissistic individuals require excessive admiration. Narcissists are incapable of completely empathizing. The narcissist recognizes himself as human and others as 3-dimensional cartoons in the background. The narcissist over values people, uses them and then devalues them. Narcissists are one track minded theyre not interested in other people. A narcissist is a human roller coaster fun for a limited time, nauseating in the long run. Non-narcissistic individuals get easily attracted to narcissists and their charms at first glance and want to be part of their circle. In the long run however, others will realize that narcissists only care about themselves and are incapable of genuinely caring for other people and eventually want out of their suffocating circles and shadows. Conclusion Narcissism can lead to social isolation because of inability to appreciate anything around them aside from themselves I. Introduction Mirror, mirror on the wall, whos the fairest of them all? asks the queen from snow whites fairytale and always the magic mirror would reply, You are, you are the fairest in the land. This cycle went on and on and pleased the queen. One day someone became fairer than her. It displeased her in many ways and disturbed her self- esteem so much that she would do anything to regain that title. More than anything, she wanted to be admired. A mythological Greek youth named Narcissus came across a lake and saw his reflection in the water. As he stared at his image, he slowly felt a great deal of admiration for himself. He began to fall in love with his reflection and found that he could not dare to look away from such beauty. No longer grasping the world around him while neglecting his physical needs, he died there still admiring himself. What happened to the queen, to Narcissus and to many more who get unconsciously attached to their own images is what people, today, call Narcissism. Have you ever been described as a vain individual? Have you ever tried describing someone as egocentric? Do you even know what those two words mean? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, vain refers to having or showing undue or excessive pride in ones appearance or achievements while egocentric is defined as limited outlook or concern to ones activities or needs. Too much of either or too much of both becomes a disturbing characteristic for any individual in general. These two characteristics are also words suitable for describing a narcissistic individual. Narcissism is a personality disorder wherein the individual feels an extremely elevated sense of self worth. He may also insist on being first in line to grab opportunities to gain more fame and admiration. A narcissistic individual thinks that he is like no one else, special and unique in every single way imaginable and therefore believes that he is superior to all. This mindset lets the narcissist feel like no one can shine center stage as much as he does. Since he assumes and is convinced that he is unique, he feels that everyone is bound to give parts of their attention to him from time to time. He also believes that he was born to be treated in an extra special manner. Since these individuals seemingly shine in the spotlight and stand out in a crowd, people would get attracted to them. People would want to shine with them and share the same circle with the beautiful and the famous. Unfortunately, narcissists would seem like the perfect kind of company in the short run but as the long run unfolds; so do their true colors and inner divas begin to show. Narcissists cant empathize or love and therefore have no friends (Rachel, 2009). Narcissism can lead to social isolation because of inability to appreciate anything around them aside from themselves. Social isolation potentially leads to depression, placing narcissists at high risk for developing suicidal ideations on the longer run. III. BODY Narcissism is a psychological disorder that is gradually developed over time by the involvement of biological and environmental factors. According to research, Narcissism has something to do with genetics. It is said that children who have Narcissistic parents are most likely to develop Narcissism hence making it a natural and heritable character trait. Geneticists have also started to relate the existence of particular differences in genes with personality disorders. According to a study featured in the 2007 issue of the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, a particular gene referred to as tryptophan hydroxylase-2 may be associated in developing certain personality disorders, including narcissistic personality disorder. Tryptophan hydroxylase-2 aids in regulating the production of serotonin, an important brain chemical involved in mood regulation. Narcissism can be triggered as early as preschool years and may develop over the passage of time. Parent-child relationships including the different styles of parenting are the center of the development of Narcissism. It is believed that narcissism would likely develop as a result of parental rejection. A study from Kohut (1971) attributed narcissism to the inconsistency and lack of empathy of parents to their child. With this, the child seeks attention from others because it presumably is lacking from his parents. The child may behave to the extent of promoting himself through his self-perceived talent (Kernberg, 1975) to gain positive comments from others which he cant receive from his parents. Empty Praises causes the child to feel entitled while lacking the true confidence necessary to feel good about them. The child may then believe he can trust nobody but himself. In contrary to that, narcissism may also develop as a result of parental indulgence. A child may develop an inappro priate high self-appraisal if his parents give him inappropriate positive remarks. He or she may view himself as a person with grandeur and power. We are now living in an increasingly narcissistic society. Media has a big impact in transmitting narcissism to vast populations.ÂÂ  According toÂÂ  Laura Buffadi, online social networking sites like Facebook are common avenues for narcissists since they believe that others are interested in what theyre doing and would want to inform the public of what they are doing. It appears that it might also be possible that this has more to do with the social networks we have at home rather than with those online. Studies have shown that children are left feeling emptier and more prone to insecurities when they are praised for skills or talents that they havent mastered. Meanwhile, praising children for real accomplishments help build up a real self-esteem. Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self-worth that they value themselves as inherently as others. In narcissists, theres a grandiose sense of self-importance. Narcissists like to stare at the mirror and admire their physique. They assume that everyone else is interested to listen to their stories. They think as if they have the natural talent in influencing people. He needs constant attention. Thus he shows a sense of entitlement of deserving others adulation (McAdams, 2006). They tend to use singular pronouns when talking like I, me, my, in a spontaneous speech. Most narcissists require excessive admiration. They may feel as if everyone and everything exists to serve them. They never get satisfied until they get what they think they deserve. They love to take credit of successes and are responsive to opportunities of self enhancement (Wallace Baumeister, 2002). The narcissist recognizes himself as human and others as 3-dimensional cartoons in the background. Narcissists care more about themselves than others. They tend to be in a circle of friends where they first overvalue them then use them and eventually devalue them. Intimacy and transparency are important parts of true friendship, in which narcissists are incapable of. They are one track minded. If threatened by being told that someone else has outperformed them, theyre more likely to put the other person down (Morf Rhodewalt, 1993). They use their so-called friends as instruments to bring them a sense of entitlement or elevate their status. They sufficiently withdraw themselves from others. They love themselves too much that they lack empathy. They express envy when someone gains recognition because they think it should have been rightfully theirs (Videbeck, 2011). Narcissists expect special treatment from others and often result to anger if not given what they want. To a narcissist, nothing is ever good enough and its always the fault of others. Since narcissists have a high self-esteem and are charismatic, non narcissistic individuals get easily attracted to them at first glance and want to be part of their circle. A narcissist may have a lot of friends at first but eventually they would grow tired of his countless me, myself, and I conversations. They soon realize that narcissists only care about themselves and are incapable of genuinely caring for other people and eventually want to walk out from their suffocating shadows. According to Kluger (2011), youre bound to fall in love with narcissists at hello but when you get to know them better, you slowly realize that theyre actually quite unbearable. Their confidence becomes arrogance; charms turn to senselessness; smarts turn to conceitedness. They will talk endlessly about themselves, and never mind you. They have trouble working with others since they cant easily accept criticisms and negative feedbacks. III. Conclusion Narcissists tend to have fewer friends in the long run because narcissism makes individuals feel superior, making it hard to treat others fairly. A narcissist believes that he is the only one and that he is special and unique, and no one is more superior to him. He feels an extremely elevated sense of self worth. He is grandiose, vain, and egocentric all at the same time. With these traits, narcissists are not capable of empathizing. A narcissist is not interested in other people; all he wants is their attention. He only thinks of what is most beneficial for him, not minding the people surrounding him. Since a narcissist cant appreciate the things surrounding him, he will find himself in many similar situations in the future. A few episodes of peer rejection such as these can possibly lead to social isolation then to depression and might even be a reason for the development of suicidal ideation.

Education in the age of globalisation

Education in the age of globalisation Introduction What does education have to do with globalisation? The answer is simple: everything. The most recent wave of globalisation, which began in the 1980s, is being driven by the knowledge economy and, in turn, this knowledge economy is being facilitated by globalisation. Without education, the knowledge economy collapses. So anyone talking about globalisation is also talking about the knowledge economy and education. First, globalisation. Sometimes the concept seems like a many-headed dragon (Giddens, 2000). To some, the phenomenon is as old as the world itself just think of the great kingdoms of antiquity, the voyages of discovery, the great waves of migration in the 19th century, etc.. After the world wars, international institutions were created which were supposed to lead to global governance, a type of world government which would establish a new world order. However, the most recent wave of globalisation has swept over this like a deluge. As a result of increasing internationalisation in production and distribution networks, sovereign states are suddenly being downgraded to water-carriers of international big business. The laws of the free market are imposed upon them, for fear of being ignored by investors. Some institutions that were supposed to guarantee the creation of the new world order are themselves preaching deregulation and worldwide competition. In other words, in debates about globalisation, we are not usually talking about the globalisation trend in its generic sense (the increasing trend towards worldwide interdependence, driven by telecommunications). The model of globalisation that is so controversial that it has become the target of fierce demonstrations, is one that is coloured by neo-liberal ideology. It is the globalisation of the free market, driven by competition and the quest for profit. Both heads of the monster also refer to the knowledge society. In the first definition, the Internet and the media play a key role: ideas move at the speed of light around the world and ensure that every innovation that catches on also takes on worldwide proportions. This means that anyone who can master the Internet and the media is at the source and acquires power. In the second definition, the establishment of the global neo-liberal market economy, knowledge, IT and information play just as important a role. A great many services that do not require physical proximity (such as information processing, accounting, financial services, translation, etc.) can indeed be produced anywhere in the world and delivered to the other side of the globe. Moreover, markets are connected across the world so that information about production, prices, innovations, etc., is distributed over the Internet in the blink of an eye. This significantly increases the transparency of the markets and boosts co mpetition. Our leaders have also understood that our competitive advantage in the global market economy no longer rests on the possession of raw materials or manpower, but on our grey matter: knowledge. The Lisbon Strategy: knowledge as both competitive weapon and social cement? During the 2000 spring summit in Lisbon, EU leaders elevated the knowledge economy to the ultimate goal of the decade: making the EU into the largest and most dynamic knowledge economy in the world, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The exegesis of this text is a fascinating activity. At first sight, one sentence contains the most obvious contradictions: on the one hand, the desire to be a winner in the global competitive struggle is clear while, on the other hand, we find the desire to counteract the social and regional polarisation that results from the neo-liberal market economy, using the same investments in knowledge. It seems to be a typically political sample compromise between heads of state on right and left, all wanting to put their eggs in the EU basket without checking whether their agendas are in any way reconcilable. The fact is that the Lisbon agenda can be taken in many different ways. For the marketeers, it is first and foremost about playing out comparative advantages on world markets. According to the Heckscher-Ohlin theorems of international trade theory, free trade will spontaneously cause trading partners to specialise in producing those goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage. Where necessary, the government may lend a helping hand. If we assume that Europe is relatively poor in raw materials and labour, but rich in brain power, then investing in education, research and development is indeed the recipe for success. Investment in RD has to be increased, up to 3% of gross domestic product. The innovative climate has to be nurtured, including by establishing innovation platforms, incubation centres, public investment in eco-technology, etc.. Information and communication technologies are key areas of economic development. The number of scientifically and technically educated people at secondary and higher levels must be dramatically increa sed. The connection between education and the labour market must be improved. The flow of unqualified school-leavers must be cut by half. Participation in life-long learning must be increased and every adult must have access to basic IT skills. By specialising in knowledge-intensive sectors according to the forecasts of neo-classical trade theory the European economy will grow further and the Third World will also benefit as a result because the flipside of the coin is that labour-intensive activities will be outsourced to low-wage countries. Both sides, North and South, can only benefit as a result. The World Bank looked and saw that it was good: according to the Bank, the new globalisers a group of 23 developing countries that have opened up their borders (China, India, Brazil and others) saw average economic growth in the 1990s (per head of population) of 5% per year. In the rich countries, where globalisation was promoted, this growth was 2% per year, while the stragglers, countries that sealed themselves off, experienced negative average growth (World Bank, 2002). At the same time, the OECD and the EU learned from research that the knowledge economy was once again to set them on the path of sustainable growth. Temple (2001) found that every additional year of education by the working population increases national income by about 10%. This effect can be broken down into a level effect and a growth effect: the former means that the working population is more productive and therefore generates more income. The growth effect can be attributed to the fact that the more highly e ducated have also learned to learn: even after leaving the classroom they continue to behave creatively and flexibly under changing circumstances, producing a snowball effect as a result. As far as investment in research and development is concerned, the figures are just as telling: Sakurai et al. (1996) estimate the average rate of return from RD activities at 15%, with exceptions up to 40-50% in some countries and sectors. In other words, every euro a company or government invests in RD is fully recovered in an average of 7 years. The observation that few investments are as profitable as investments in education and research is perhaps one of the most important findings to come out of social sciences in the past decade. The European Commission has also received this message loud and clear (de la Fuente Ciccone, 2002). So much for the good news. However, the way in which globalisation and the knowledge economy can be reconciled with social cohesion within the EU is not specified anywhere. Even the built-in pattern, that the global free market actually undermines social cohesion within Europe, is not discussed anywhere in EU documents. Indeed, the associated specialisation in knowledge-intensive sectors boosts the demand for highly specialised scientists and technically educated labour. The increasing shortages in these labour market segments will exert upward pressure on the wages of these workers. On the other hand, the outsourcing of low-skilled, labour-intensive production processes leads to reduced demand and a structural surplus of unskilled labour, which means that the wages and working conditions of these groups are also gradually undermined (Wood, 1994). Whether this polarisation on the labour market is caused by globalisation itself or by technological evolution or the tertiarisation of th e economy is more like a discussion of the gender of the angels: the three trends are after all dimensions of the same knowledge economy. Inequality in Europe, even in the whole of the rich North, has been systematically increasing since the mid-1980s (Fà ¶rster, 2000). According to Pontusson et al. (2002), some countries are still managing to curb inequality by a strong trade union movement and/or public employment, but these counteracting forces are coming under increasing pressure. The Lisbon strategy therefore seems like trying to square the circle. The more the member states encourage it, the less social cohesion there is. The EU does have structural funds available to promote social cohesion (both between regions and between the highly skilled and unskilled). Since the enlargement of the EU, however (itself also a stage in globalisation), these structural funds themselves have lost some of their influence because they have not grown in proportion to the size of the Union, certainly not in proportion to the drastically wider gap within the EU28. In our opinion, the only way to reconcile the knowledge economy with the objective of greater social cohesion and is through mass investment in education. The difference between this approach and the previous is that investment in education influences the supply side of the labour market, while globalisation and intensification of the knowledge-intensive production sectors influence the demand side. This difference is essential: perhaps it requires some explanation. RD investment and specialisation in knowledge-intensive trade (IT, financial services, pharmaceuticals, eco-technology, etc.), as we have said, boost the demand for highly skilled workers, while the outsourcing of unskilled production sectors causes a decline in the demand for unskilled workers. All other things being equal, this shift in the demand for labour causes a reverse redistribution of employment and income, from unqualified to highly qualified. Rather than stimulating this (spontaneous) trend, policy must be geared towards bringing about similar shifts on the supply side of the labour market. Education and vocational training are actually geared towards converting unskilled workers into more highly skilled workers: if this process can (at least) keep pace with the shifts on the demand side, inequality can be kept in check, or even reduced. It is a race against time and, if we claim that large-scale investment in education is needed, the distribution of this investment itsel f among the various sections of the population is also of great importance. The deeply ingrained Matthew effect in education and life-long learning actually threatens to undermine the effectiveness of this strategy. From a social perspective, the first priority in education policy is to eliminate the flow of unqualified school-leavers from education; the second priority is the literacy plan and the third is to increase the supply of engineers and those with scientific and technical skills. Not everyone will agree with this ranking. It is a question of social choice. The Lisbon strategy does not actually contradict this approach but nor does it lead automatically to the desired result. As we wrote in the introduction to this section, it seems like a sample compromise between diverging national priorities. Anything is possible with such compromises. We can characterise the contrasting policy alternatives described above as knowledge-intensive versus knowledge-extensive. The knowledge-intensive path, which gives priority to the development of advanced technology, will boost economic growth in the short term, but gradually become bogged down on the labour market, further dualisation of society and social unrest. The knowledge-extensive path, which gives preference to a raft of basic skills for as many people as possible, will perhaps deliver less visible results in the short term but, in the longer term, lead to more sustainable growth. The debate surrounding the correct mix has, to our knowledge, not yet been explicitly pursued. Free movement of education services The education sector is not only an involved party in the globalisation process; it is itself also partly the subject of it. In the 1990s, the WTO (World Trade Organization) launched an offensive (in the Uruguay round and again in 2001 in the Doha round) to involve a number of subsidised services in the negotiations about trade liberalisation as well. In principle, every service over which the government does not have a genuine monopoly can be discussed at the negotiating table. Education services are included here as soon as private organisers of education are admitted, even if they are 100% subsidised by the state. This is certainly the case in Belgium, given that the free education network alone is larger than the two official networks combined. International trade in education services can take various forms: from distance learning across national borders, international student or lecturer mobility, to the establishment of campuses abroad (Knight, 2002). Of course, it is up to the members themselves to decide, through free negotiations, whether they want to open up their education sectors to international competition. The EU commissioner for trade, who acts during the GATS negotiations on behalf of all EU member states, had given undertakings during the Uruguay round for privately financed education (in other words the commercial or at least unsubsidised education circuit). All compulsory education and most higher education therefore fall de facto outside the scope of GATS. Only entirely private schools and commercial initiatives in adult education were liberalised. What does this mean in practice? We are not used to talking about trade in educational services, even less about their liberalisation. After all, import tariffs are never charged Trade barriers do not, however, consist solely of import tariffs, but also of what are known as non-tariff obstacles (e.g. quota restrictions, quality standards, recognition procedures for fore ign qualifications, etc.). Once a party has opened up its borders, it must at least apply the general principles of GATS in this respect. Market access means that no quantitative barriers may be imposed, such as a ceiling of x foreign students or y branches of foreign schools. The most-favoured clause means that no privileges can be denied to one member if they are committed to another member of the WHO.  [1]  The principle of national treatment implies that, when there is free access to foreign service providers, no different standards or subsidy rules can be imposed on provisions of domestic or foreign origin. Furthermore, undertakings are irrevocable and WHO members hand over jurisdiction over any conflicts to a panel of international trade experts. The GATS initiative was not exactly welcomed with great enthusiasm. Its intentions were good: to increase prosperity by bringing burgeoning service sectors out of their national cocoons and to allow matching between demand and supply to take place across national borders. Liberalisation means diversification, greater freedom of choice, more efficiency and quality incentives and perhaps also less of a burden on the government budget. On the international stage, the major Anglo-Saxon countries were clearly in favour of the initiative. After all, they have had a strong comparative advantage right from the start because the working language of their education systems is the most important world language. E-courses, whether or not supported by specialist call centres, are very attractive as an export product because they are associated with huge economies of scale. However, the reception of foreign students can also be a lucrative business. For example, Australia is making big bucks with the tens of thousands of Asians attending university there. Even if this export education is partially subsidised, return effects can still be gained from other spending by foreign students and, if the best brains can then be retained in the host country, the picture is even more favourable. As importers, some major developing countries, led by China, can also make money from liberalisation. Thanks to the meteoric growth of its economy, the Chinese government cannot satisfy the increased demand for higher education. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students begin their studies abroad every year, possibly with a grant from their government. Most of them come back with Western qualifications and join the countrys scientific and technological elite. The Chinese government saves on higher education because most migrants pay for their studies abroad themselves. In some cases, multinationals investing in China establish their own colleges to train suitable executives. By contrast, in the European education sector, liberalisation and commercialisation meet with great reticence, not entirely without justification (OKeeffe, 2003; Hanley and Frederiksson, 2003). Not for nothing do governments curb market effects in education because of the risk of market failure. A free, competitive market also requires homogenous goods (a nursing qualification in country A should have the same value as in country B); at the same time, all those involved must be well-informed about the quality and cost price of the goods. Power concentrations (e.g. of large universities or associations) are out of the question, etc.. None of these conditions for healthy competition is truly fulfilled. Education is a very complex, opaque market. If all this applies to domestic provisions, how much more then to foreign provisions? Will liberalisation not lead automatically to privatisation and price increases? Does globalisation of the education sector not open the door to the suppressi on of national culture? It is not actually clear to what extent all these objections are founded. It is a fact that the EU pursues a somewhat ambiguous strategy in this area. It portrays itself to the outside world as the defender of a regulated, protected education sector but, internally, despite its subsidiary role regarding education, it promotes liberalisation by all means available. The Bologna process and the Copenhagen process should create a European educational space for higher and vocational education respectively, in which supply and demand can move freely. Harmonisation of structures, recognition of qualifications obtained elsewhere and the development of a uniform, transparent European Qualification Framework should help to enable EU citizens to brush up or refine their skills in other member states. Erasmus grants should boost student mobility and, last but not least, the EU services directive (the infamous Bolkestein directive) has led to the free movement of educational services within the E U, which that same EU is fighting at the GATS negotiating table. So what effects should we expect? To begin with, remember that compulsory education is also not subject to the services directive or the GATS rules, so that a great deal of movement should not be expected at this level. Secondly, higher education will also remain largely subsidised in the future. Free movement in this sector will perhaps lead to a downwards levelling off of subsidies (or an upwards levelling off of registration fees). After all, in an open educational space, a member state cannot allow itself to offer cheaper education than its neighbouring countries for very long. In the long term, thousands of students from other member states could benefit from this transnational generosity. After all, different prices cannot be charged to EU students and to domestic students. In higher and adult education, an increased registration fee is not actually undemocratic: it counteracts the misplaced redistribution currently ravaging these segments because the better-off make disproport ionately more use of education which is partly funded by less well-off taxpayers. The democratisation of higher and adult education is not threatened if increased registration fees are coupled with higher study grants. The creation of a more transparent, uniform European educational space can, we believe, only be regarded as a positive phenomenon. It is the task of the government, where the market fails, to ensure that the educational supply is more transparent. This allows the user to choose more freely. The competition between provisions is also heightened as a result, which should lead to better quality and/or lower cost price. Nonetheless, the impending commercialisation of higher education may also have detrimental effects: in this context, education is gradually reduced to its most utilitarian dimension. As the student himself finances a larger share of the cost of education, he will also be more likely to choose the more lucrative studies. In particular, humanities and cultural sciences could come under pressure as a result. If society attaches importance to an adequate balance between courses of study, it will also have to build in the required incentives for this (e.g. by differentiated registration fees). Another risk the intensification of the brain drain is covered in the final section of our paper. Last but not least, at international level, the risks of any forms of market forces in education are of course present, specifically increasing polarisation in quality and prestige among educational establishments. The Cambridges, Paris VIs, Munichs and Stockholms are undoubtedly becoming even more of a major draw within a unified European higher education space. It will not be long before they increase their registration fees and tighten up their entry conditions in order to cream off the European elite. Regional colleges, by contrast, will see a weakening of the target audience as a result of the same mechanisms. If access to higher education (and, even more so, adult education) is to remain democratic, European directives will also have to be enacted, as was also necessary for the liberalisation of other public welfare services. For example, Flemish higher education is already feeling the consequences of entry restrictions in the Netherlands. The question is whether this will be s ustainable in a context where international student mobility is on the increase. On the whole, the free movement of educational services does not look as scary as many make it out to be. It is important that a distinction be made between compulsory education, on the one hand, which belongs to the field of basic social rights, and further education and training on the other hand. In these latter segments, partial commercialisation should not automatically lead to social breakdown. It can even contribute to a more balanced financing mix, which is necessary to cope with the growing participation trend in the future. EU legislation will still have to ensure the required limit conditions to prevent negative social side effects. Education and Third World development In the above sections, we have largely confined ourselves to the European perspective. What do education and the knowledge society mean for the Third World? Curiously enough, the theory regarding the social role of education in the development literature is much richer and more subtle than in Western education literature. Whereas the Chicago economist Becker (1964) labelled education as an individual investment in human capital, with a financial return in terms of future income, the Bengali Sen (Sen, 1999) teaches us that education can also be regarded more broadly as an investment in capabilities which subsequently enable higher levels of functioning to be attained at the levels of health, family life, social participation, etc.. Empirical research underpins this position and demonstrates that a higher level of education also leads to better nutrition, health (e.g. AIDS prevention), housing, sex education, etc. (MacMahon, 1999; Saito, 2003). Moreover, investment in education generates many spill-over effects on the wider society. People learn from one another. Education also has a positive influence on security (prevention of high-risk and delinquent behaviour), social commitment, civil responsibility and the quality of democratic decisions. Research increasingly points to the role of education in the development of social capital (de la Fuente and Ciccone, 2002). These positive social effects are most clear in the context of gender-specific anti-poverty programmes. For instance, more education for women is associated with better family planning and better nutrition, health and training for children (for a summary of the results, see Behrman, 1997). In order to break through the vicious circle of poverty and disease, education and training programmes for girls and women are essential. In this context, UNICEF talks correctly of the multiplier effect of education for girls (UNICEF, 2004). These positive external effects ar e an additional reason for government intervention in education and training. Sufficient evidence exists that educational investment in developing countries produces a higher return than in developed countries (Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2004). This difference is a direct indication of the need for education in the acquisition of basic skills. In addition, Behrman (1997) points out that, as far as subsequent educational investments in their children are concerned, basic education or basic literacy for women is more important than achieving higher levels of education. Sen (2002) also emphasises the role of basic education and the role which this plays in increasing the required human security and further human and social development. Cost-benefit analyses have demonstrated that investments in pre-school education and basic education have a higher rate of return than spending on secondary and higher education particularly in developing countries (Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2004; Cunha et al., 2006). In multilateral development cooperation, these findings have been well received. At the World Conference in Jomtien (Thailand), in 1990, the Education For All (EFA) initiative was launched under the auspices of UNESCO. All parties agreed with the position that universal, compulsory, free, public and good-quality basic education is the cornerstone of an education strategy which also includes secondary, further, vocational and adult education. During the international Education Conference in Dakar (2000), the importance of education for all was again underlined and 6 objectives were formulated, two of which were later adopted as millennium objectives (completion of basic education by all young people and equal educational opportunities for girls and boys at all levels by 2015). The key target groups of the EFA campaign are the 80 million children who have never been to school and the 800 million illiterate adults in the world. Every developing country participating in EFA draws up a na tional education action plan that fits in with the national poverty reduction strategy (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper) and gives priority to basic education. This action plan is tested on all relevant social actors. A set of indicators is envisaged which can be used to test effective implementation. Monitoring and evaluation are entrusted to one single financier by the international community, per receiving country. In an attempt to accelerate the EFA train further, in 2002 the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) was launched, encouraged by the World Bank, which both international financial backers and receiving countries can join on a voluntary basis. In addition to endorsing the EFA principles, donors are asked for an additional commitment to long-term financing and receiving governments are asked to commit to transparent evaluation. The least that can be said about EFA and FTI is that they have the wind in their sails. Participation and invested resources are rising phenomenally. Since 2000, official development help for education worldwide has more than doubled. Nonetheless, the challenges are still considerable: the major enemies of education are poverty (and, associated with this, child labour), war, the debt burden, migration, mismanagement and disease. In crisis regions, education simply grinds to a halt. In some countries, the ravages of AIDS on teaching staff are so severe that it is barely possible to replace sick and deceased teachersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. In addition, it has to be said that the interests of financial backers and receiving countries, even if both groups have noble objectives, do not always coincide. The governments of developing countries are happy to make use of international support so that they can spend some of their own budgets on other priorities. On the other hand, the leading role of the World Bank in the FTI is not totally altruistic. One of the conditions for support, specifically, is that the national EFA action plans be linked to poverty reduction plans (PRSP): the latter are the World Banks key aid instruments. This means that multilateral educational aid serves as a lever to reinforce the influence of the World Bank on its customers. It is known that this external pressure is not always popular. Along with development aid, pro-globalist, liberal policy ideas are also dished out to receiving countries. In the past, for example, they were often obliged to reduce their import tariffs or food subsidies, which hit farmers and consumers particularly hard. Brain drain One of the reasons why the return on higher education in developing countries is relatively low has to do with the brain drain from developing countries to the rich North a phenomenon that does not exactly mesh with the predictions of international trade theory. In the first section of our paper, we referred to the theory of comparative advantages: every country will specialise in exporting goods and services for which the production factors are present in relative excess. Robert Mundell (1957) demonstrated that the international mobility of production factors can be regarded as a substitute for trade in goods, and with the same effect. In specific terms, this would mean that if developing countries have a surplus of unskilled labour and rich countries relatively large numbers of highly skilled people, we would expect a South-North migration of unskilled workers and a North-South migration of highly skilled workers. In both cases, migrants are attracted by the fact that, in the host country, they are relatively better paid than in their own countries because they are relatively scarcer there. In reality, the dominant pattern is a South-North migration of both unskilled and highly skilled workers. In 2005, around 4 million legal migrants (and an unknown number of illegals) flooded into the rich OECD countries (OECD, 2007). These figures do not include temporary migration. Upon closer inspection, the contradiction between theory and practice can be explained by a series of factors, of which we highlight only the most important. Firstly, the rich North dominates the world economy to such an extent that it also depresses demand for highly skilled people in the Third World. Secondly, governments in the North do not pursue a liberal policy when it comes to immigration. When push comes to shove, they place restraints on the laws of neo-classical trade theory, erect barriers to unskilled immigrants and are even actively recruiting the more highly skilled workers to fill existing bo

Al Capone Biography :: Biography

Al Capone was an Italian criminal working the streets of America. He started his life with petty crime in Brooklyn, New York. After escalating his way up in Brooklyn, Capone moved to Chicago for bigger and better things. There Capone had prominence supremacy as one of the giant bootlegging forerunners. His collected and composed ways, made crime into a business that we see in today's mafia. Capone changed crime into a profession, which in turn made it a business. The word mob or mafia is a title that is often heard. When the name Capone is associated with the title, most people think of Capone as the true influence of the mob or mafia today. Capone was a man who of the many prohibition leaders, lead the way for the mafia in the early 19 hundreds. Due to the prohibition era, Al Capone transformed the mafia into today's business like criminal organization. Organized crime in the 19th century, was an ever booming scene for the average citizen. Since the 19th century, crime and business seemed to have gone hand in hand since the prohibition days of Capone. Long before Al Capone became involved in bootlegging, his excitement in life was the economic opportunity of being a gangster on the streets. As soon as Capone reached the legal age of fourteen, he dropped out of school to live this economic dream of making money as a gangster on the streets. 1.Al Capone was convinced that the opportunities for personal advancement and material success were not available through legitimate means, and so Capone turned toward the crime profession of bootlegging. Capone was a smart man with a mission. 2.His mission was to succeed as a criminal in a business like matter. Although prohibition was clearly illegal, Capone used his prohibition as a business. His attire was that of a rich business man, along with his ways of talking were also that of a business man. Everything Capone did was set to flow like a business, and prohibition help him act out his business ways. Capone used prohibition to 3.make over a modern city for his own use, and lived off it as blatantly and richly as a caesar of Rome. This edict that Capone presented, seem to have establish the standards for the ways of the mafia today. With this method of doing business, it would only dispense the mafia with more control over meaningful people in their pursuit of organized crime both then and now. 4.There are several cases on record about Capone in which the cases became more clearer when put in the light of an analysis of how the mafia enterprise

Classroom Motivational Strategies Essay examples -- Education

I would like to discuss some of the motivational strategies that I will be using in my classroom. The motivational strategy that I will discuss is student self-efficacy. According to (Schunk, 1991) Self- Efficacy Theory refers to an individual ‘s judgment of his or her capabilities to perform given actions. Students are more likely to be motivated to attempt tasks in which they believe they will be successful, it is essential for us as teachers to provide tasks at the correct level of difficulty and help students to develop appropriate expectation for success. Experiences of failure may lead students to have a low perception of self-efficacy, and they in turn , are likely to reduce their effort on academic tasks and lose their motivation. However, if students already possess a high level perception of self efficacy their sense of self-efficacy won’t be affected easily by failure. (Richardson, 2010). According to Bandura perceived efficacy determines how much effort people are willing to put into an activity as well as how long they will persevere in the face of obstacles. It is known that high self-efficacy and improved performance results when students: 1. are taught to use specific learning strategies which increase attention to the task, 2. adopt short –term over long-term goals and 3. Receive performance contingent rewards as opposed to reinforcement for just engaging in a task. All these instructional manipulations are assumed to increase the belief that â€Å"I can do it, â€Å" which then increases both effort and achievement.(Richardson, 2010) Student’s self-efficacy or beliefs about whether they will be successful on a given task are a powerful predictor of their choice, effort, and persistence... ...ls displayed higher motivation (rate of problem solving)during instruction than did children who did not observe a model. Schunk and Hanson (1985) expected that their low- achieving subjects would identify more closely with the peer coping models. (H.Schunk, 1991) This activity had a positive effect on my students. They were able to successfully improve their reading fluency by engaging in this activity. The students were able to realize that with practice, positive reinforcement and support (enactive mastery) that they can improve their reading. The students were also able to discover that by watching their peer model correct reading that they can also do the same thing. (vicarious experiences) The student self –efficacy, self- worth, and self- esteem was enhanced by being able to go to the various class and present their Reader’s Theater.

A Realistic View Of Life Essay

People say it is important to have a realistic view of life. For 99% of people this is true. For most people, to not have a realistic view of life is to risk failure to achieve one ¡Ã‚ ¦s goals and dreams. Such people usually become lonely and bitter. Every so often, however, one person refuse to accept what others call a  ¡Ã‚ §realistic view ¡Ã‚ ¨ of life and insist on changing the world around then to fit the vision they have in their head. Such people has the power to change the world for the better or worse, for good or evil. Bin Laden is such a man. Unfortunately, he has chosen an evil path using violence and pain to try to force his view on others, not to convince then by superior thoughts. If people do not achieve their goals and dreams, they would probably become dissatisfied with their lives. For example, if a boy dreams his whole life of becoming a doctor, but never gets into medical school, he would probably end up feeling disappointed. The same thing is true for any goals a person has in their life. For this reason, it is important that people choose goals that are realistic and that can be achieved. Therefore, someone should not plan on becoming the richest in the world and marry the most beautiful person in the world because the chances are it will not happen. Some people, however, refuse to accept the idea that they cannot achieve any dreams they have. A person like this may decide to become a doctor even when his teachers say he will not be able to pass the test. A person like this will study so hard and work so hard that he is willing to take the test as many tests as he has to in order to pass. People who are like this are sometimes the people who change the world around them. Instead of letting the world tell them what they can and cannot do, this people pursue their dreams and try to make the world fit their dreams. People who refuse to accept a limit to their dreams can have the power to change the world. Many famous inventors in history did not listen to people around them who said  ¡Ã‚ §Give up, it won ¡Ã‚ ¦t work ¡Ã‚ ¨. The famous Wright Brothers were the first to invent airplanes. Many people told them  ¡Ã‚ §it won ¡Ã‚ ¦t work ¡Ã‚ ¨. The Wright Brothers, however, refuses to listen to these people and follow their dreams. As a result, they helped change the world and now many  people fly around the world because of them. Not all people who refuse to listen to others and follow their dreams are good. Of course the Wright Brothers and famous scientists like Einstein can be seen as good because they made inventions in order to help the world. Someone like Bin Laden, however, is persuing his great dreams in order to hurt the world. Bin Laden has probably been told by many people that he will not be able to beat the United States and change the world. He has refused to listen to these people and has gone on to fight a war. In contrast, both Bin Laden and Einstein have unrealistic view of life and both have dreams that they want to pursue. The only difference is Bin Laden pursues his dreams with power for evil purpose. In conclusion, for most people it is important to have a realistic view of life since they risk unhappiness if they do not have one. There are a few people for whom a realistic view of life is not needed since they will change the world through their actions. Hopefully, such people will change the world for the better and not the worse.

Life Changing Desicion Narrative Essay

Sometimes it is effortful to imagine my biography conclusion making much(prenominal) a great impact with in my living while sop upming so small. Any finality do in life pull up stakes co-exist with some geek of consequence in which chamberpot be wonderful, terrible, or in between. Even if a purpose waits minor, it may create a remark sufficient impact in whatsoever life. As for me, my decision was nearly catch since I was young. Art was forever and a day a passion and hobby of mine in which I piddle al itinerarys cute to pursue it as a life. With the decision I choose made, I go out be commensurate to create an assembly line of art by attending Edinboro UniversityAs a squirt, I have always contemplated the cargoner I would have as an adult. The interesting occupational groups of my thoughts as a child have dramatically changed and would completely disagree with my personality and passion today. I have debated the future career I would hobby for the longest time. Finally, I made the decision to snuff it an art instructor final stage year. After making that decision, I was able to decide the perfect school for the livelihood I am chasing. After applying to both schools and getting accepted to both, I recall I had to line the biggest life fastener decision. Each school had great benefits tho the reason for choosing Edinboro was the amazing art incision and instructors. It was the most suited school for the life I was pursuing. This was probably the most nerve-racking time of my life as well. It would be pretty difficult to turn tail from this decision now.It was also a peckish concept for me to think if I would be college material. The media and even some student shed light on college fixm like it is the most difficult time in your life. They even made it seem like each teacher you have leave behind pile 5 hours of home snip on you every day. roughly make classes seem like 3 hour long lectures and classes with a teacher t hat will not teach you anything. In reality, the teachers are only there to alleviate you succeed and will do what they can to help you reach your goal. Only plastered classes contain plenty of home work while other classes give atomic to noneand classes are not long, everyday, nor are they as large as others make it seem (that is unless you go to a bigger college).One thought that has always been sic to the test to me and always went through my melodic theme was if my skill was good enough for a college level. Usually I would put umteen of my skills down and think it could be better. maybe that is a good thought because it will motivate me to become better solely as an artist, I need to become confident in the things I create. end-to-end the semester my skills will definitely improve jolly rapidly. When deal see my creations, they are commonly amazed when really I acceptt think it is good. That feeling will always be there yet I will be able to hide it more and have a little more confidence in my work.Everyone always has the concern of going someplace brand new without knowing a single person beforehand, especially if you will be living there with no family. I was very nervous and nervous as to if people would like me and if I would make friends here. Fortunately, on the second day, I met some people that were similar to me. We have been friends since and the campus is so large, I always see new faces and make friends with new people all the timeAfter graduating college, I will become happy with my career and my dream of a happy life will come true. College is not as complicated as it may seem to be. It has ups and downs but Ive made so many friends and I am learnedness so much. Also, I cannot wait to see how much my artistic skills improve this year. in that respect is still a long way to go, but I believe I have made the best and biggest decision coming to Edinboro.