Leadership - Self Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership - Self Analysis - Coursework Example Leading aims at bringing change in an organization. It also involves giving inspiration to people. In leadership there is a lot of motivation that is carried out. In any job, there comes a time when one feels like giving up, the drive to work is not there. At such moments employees need to be motivated to work. What is important to know is that my motivation within the leadership premise should stem from what the results are and what kind of challenges I need to face over a period of time. This would mean that I remain in line with achieving these results through the challenges that I have to face every now and then. Leadership is dependent a great deal on how different situations are handled and what kind of authority the people enjoy when they are assumed as leaders. This would mean that they have to undertake difficult and easy assignments both with a sense of doing something right for not only their own selves but also the organizational under contexts. Leadership is an important entity in this day and age because it extracts the best possible mileage out of the related equations and gives the people what they direly require in terms of management, control and power that are exercised by the leader. I opine that these characteristics of leadership find out the exact basis of strengths that remain hidden within a person and thus derive where he is making the best use of the same and where he is lacking on the same front. Leadership always derives its basis from doing things when they matter the most and performing them in a regular manner so as to achieve sound results consistently. I would like to be a leader who could respond to others to provide them with direct answers and replies, and then stick to the subject under consideration. I would also like to stress on logic and provide emphasis on the related point under discussion. This would allow freedom for achieving personal milestones and goals (Zaleznik, 1989). However, what I appreciate about leadershi p is that it gives one the freedom to explore the nuances of business and handling people, and in telling the leader where and how he can move about to achieve solid results and goals at the end of the day. The aspect of learning cannot be denied its due role within the understanding of leadership. If the leaders stop gaining insights, it would be difficult for them to pace ahead with the changing times, and it would make their lives very difficult. As far as the concentration is on leadership, I believe at different stages of one’s career, an individual has to exhibit certain set of skills and qualities, which make him stand out like nobody else. He has to portray the best of his character and bring out what is not present in the rest of the populace. He has to lead by example, a thing which people of present times usually lack and which is not that easily found in our society. Similarly, at the top level, it is very significant to have a clear mind whereby the person can th ink way beyond his understanding as well as ask of his subordinates to carry out his instructions with accuracy and wisdom. Needless to say, a leader at a senior position has to understand that he/she is the ultimate boss and without his proper vision and goals, there can be no other person to fill the void which would be created if his thinking and mindset are just not prompt and in the right place. A leader is a person who aims to bring out his best in relationships with the people around him as he constantly asks of

Narrative (fiction) texts Essay Example for Free

Narrative (fiction) texts Essay Children should be able to distinguish narrative texts from expository ones. For a child to be familiar with each type of text means to possess sound communicational, analytical, reading, and writing skills. DQ 14 It is critical that children are able to distinguish expository texts from narrative works of writing. Generally, there are several features which make narrative and expository texts different from each other. Narrative (fiction) texts are filled with numerous sensory details. Personal experience is not a rare subject of fiction stories. Fiction literary works are usually told from a first person’s view. In many instances, the author of a fiction story will refer to personal interpretation of events and phenomena by using â€Å"I† or â€Å"we† pronouns. Expository (non-fiction) texts are primarily aimed at informing, explaining, or persuading the reader. Expository texts are not colored with emotions, being written from a non-personal (often neutrally objective) viewpoint, and carrying no sensory details. Expository texts are never written in the first person (Vacca, 1999). Children should be able to differentiate expository texts from narrative literary works. Children need these skills to read and interpret texts, to be able to search and analyze the required information, to choose a correct writing style according to the specific writing needs and circumstances (Vacca, 1999). The process of education requires using either expository or narrative information as the source of knowledge on various curriculum subjects. To understand the meaning of a word, to communicate with audiences, to acquire new information, and to use this information to achieve personal goals, children need to possess sound knowledge on what a fiction, and what a non-fiction text is. The five examples of fiction books: Louis Ehlert’s Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf; Mary Hoffman’s Amazing Grace; Jerry Stanley’s Children on the Dust Bowl; Harriette Gillem Robinet’s Children of the Fire; Marya Dasef’s Tales of a Texas Boy. The five examples of non-fiction books: DK Publishing’s Children’s History of the 20th century; Delia Ray’s A Nation Torn: The Story of How the Civil War Began; Anne Millard’s Pyramids; Aliki’s Communication; Russell Freedman’s Children of the Wild West. References Vacca, R. T. (1999). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum. New York: Longman.

Spanish Cinema During The Dictatorship

Spanish Cinema During The Dictatorship Spanish cinema was highly affected by the effects of the civil war; private investment in the production of commercial films fell drastically. The country was divided in two areas which were facing the effects of having military forces. This situation was reflected specially in the movie industry because at the time no-one wanted to invest in any new projects. Nevertheless, movie theatres in the whole country were doing extremely well all through the war; they were screening local productions as for example, Florià ¡n Reys clichà ©d Morena Clara (1936) and also, they were importing popular American productions. The Republican, who had the control over the principal centres of urban movie-making, gave authorization for the production of more than 200 films during the conflict. However, at the beginning of 1938 it started to be perceived that the Republican government was going to be defeated and therefore several members of the film industry started to organize their departure; most of them were Republican supporters. The directors Luis Alcoriza, Luis Buà ±uel, Carlos Velo, etc; also many actors as for example, Josà © Luis Baviera, Margarita Xirgu, Ana Marà ­a Custodio, Alberto Closes, Rosita Dà ­az Gimeno, Carmen Amaya; accompanied by a huge group of technicians such as the editor Josà © Caà ±izares, the camera operator Josà © Marà ­a Beltrà ¡n and the majority of the team members who were in charge of Andrà © Malrauxs Lespoir: Sierra de Teruel, migrated from Spain to countries such as: France, Argentina and Mexico. These were countries in which Spanish speakers had the opportunity to continue their work in the film industry. The director Buà ±uel was the perfect example of someone that was able to adapt to a life forced out of Spain. After he was exiled in 1946 he decided to go to Mexico and in 1949 became a Mexican citizen. However a large list of film makers who had started their careers under the Republicans and were sympathizers of the democratic government stayed at Francos side for example, Juan de Orduà ±a, Antonio del Amo, Benito Perojo, Florià ¡n Rey, Edgar Neville, Eduardo Garcà ­a Maroto, Rafael Gil, etc. The civil war finally ended on April 1939; afterwards Spain assumed a military dictatorship with General Franco in command. Obviously, the new management of the Spanish cinema industry during the dictatorship had a very negative repercussion on the film industry and could only lead to the best opportunity for those who were in the power to commit several crimes such as fraud, patronage, use of favours etc. It is important to highlight the fact that in 1940 three main official regulations were established and then submitted leading to the Spanish film industry to suffer the side effects of these intransigent regulations for many years. These regulations were: Compulsory dubbing Official state newsreel Film censorship Spanish Cinema during the dictatorship: Film Censorship Film censorship had been presented to Spain when the country was still facing the civil war in 1938; then in 1939 during the dictatorship of Franco it was stipulated all through the nation. During this period all film scripts had to endure a pre-censorship, shooting scripts had to be approved and Spanish films were required to have an exhibition licence, changes to image and sound tracks, cuts in completed movies were as well imposed and there was authorization of dubbing and subtitling. Film censorship was characterised for its inefficiency, for not being consistent when making decisions, and also for being arbitrary in its choices. Nevertheless it is difficult to establish if censorship caused the same impact on Spanish cinema as compulsory dubbing. Compulsory dubbing into Spanish and the taxation of all films that were imported from foreign countries were introduced by the industry and commerce ministry in April 1941. These two measures are normally seen as a consequence of Axis satisfactory results during the Second World War. However it seems to have more connection with Francos constant attempts to Hispanicize Spanish culture. At this time over 50% of the public couldnt read or write and most of Spain only spoke Spanish and didnt speak any other language and therefore Spanish film viewers soon got used to watching foreign films in dubbed Spanish. The film industry quickly realised that they could produce more profit from dubbed films than from using subtitles in films; as a result it was easier for censors to manipulate soundtracks and images. Nevertheless, compulsory dubbing drastically affected the country; economically and industrially. It caused a great damage to Spanish film productions; the main reason was that Foreign and Spanish films were in a position of equal accessibility to Spanish audiences and thus distributors and exhibitors abandoned essential elements in the effort to defeat international competition. Furthermore, the importation of international productions for distribution and even for exhibition was determined by the concession of import licences to national film producers. These licenses were given by official organisations to national film makers depending on the ideology of their productions. It was typical that the producers who supported Francos regime who behaved in a moderate and morally acceptable way would obtain three or five import permits. However, there were some films for example; El davo (1944) directed by Rafael Gil and El escà ¡ndalo (1943) directed by Josà © Luis Sà ¡enz de Heredia that won fifteen licences. Then these were sold for a lot of money, normally through the illicit black market, mainly to distributors from America who were based in Spain. The Spanish audience seemed to prefer foreign productions and therefore producers became very rich from selling import permits. This was also true for the distributers and exhibitors who also became very wealthy from screening foreign movies. As a consequence of this, for about ten years, the Spanish film industry was only used as a simply way of making very good profits from selling import licences. Spanish industry started suffering the consequences of a new law: compulsory official newsreels commonly recognised as NODO which was presented in December 1942 and had to be screened in all cinemas in Spain. This was basically political publication; propaganda used by the regime that had as its main purpose to influence Spanish people by the use of inaccurate information. NO-DO which is the acronym for Noticieros y Documentales Cinematograficos was used instead of the Italian and the German newsreels in cinemas in Spain and was compulsory until 1976. Unluckily, the mandatory introduction of NO-DO newsreels in Spain efficiently excluded a large number of younger national film-makers from presenting their work to the public such as, animation, documentaries or shorts and this certainly discouraged others to study in these areas. To lessen the gravity of the disastrous effects of the NO-DO policy, the regime presented a list of new protectionist measures that benefited the Spanish film industry. The following are some of these measures: Revised classification schemes, screen quotas (initially one week of Spanish film for every six of a foreign film). Official loans with which to finance up to 40 per cent of a film budget. Official prize of 400.000 pesetas. National interest awards for deserving films. Until about 1945, the regime of General Franco had its favourite film genres, especially one called cine de cruzada or films inspired by war, which also commemorated the Franco regimes victories in the civil war, disapproved the defeated Republican and celebrated the power of the armed forces, the religious, and colonialist values of the new people who ruled the country by that time. These films included: Escuadrilla (1941), Boda en el infierno (1942) and Los à ºltimos de Filipinas (1945), all directed by Antonio Romà ¡n.  ¡Harka! (1941) directed by Carlos Arà ©valo, El crucero Baleares (1941) directed by Enrique del campo and Juan de Orduà ±as  ¡A mà ­ legià ³n! (1942). There was especially one film called Raza (The Race) (1942) directed by Josà © Luis Sà ¡enz de Heredia which was without doubt one of the more significant films for the genre. Towards the end of 1940 and As the nation came to terms with the dramatic repercussions of the bloody civil war that had just ended, and while the rest of Europe engaged in its own devastating conflict, Franco found the time to write a brief novella entitled Raza. Published under the pseudonym Jaime de Andrade, Raza was structured like a screenplay and clearly intended to be made into a film; a semi autobiographical film, reflecting aspects of Francos real life. In 1945 with the foreseen defeat of the Axis, the descent in influence of Falange (Political organisation) and the ideology adopted by Franco of National Catholicism, the principles of the cine de cruzada was transformed into different nationalist genres. These also contained the period drama, the folkloric comedy, the historical movie, and the religious film. Comedies seemed to be preferred by the box office, the reason being this genre of film was the most popular and therefore the most profitable; especially films directed by Edgar Neville, Rafael Gil and Josà © Luis Sà ¡enz de Heredia who produced many clichà ©d, bullfighting films and folkloric musicals. These types of films were characterised for their poor quality and being cheerful in nature and having low production values. However, these films were produced for easy viewing; also, audience had the opportunity to participate. These were vehicles which were created around the best singers of that time, for example, Juanita Reina, Carmen Sevilla, Lola Florez, Paquita Rico, Currito de la Cruz, and Conchita Piquer as in Florià ¡n Rey La Dolores (1940). Yet in a time in which international isolation and repression for its fascist supporters was very common, the regime encouraged film producers to use the great national symbols of old and resist using anti-Spanish symbols in a serie s of bulky over produced biopics, commemorating distinguished Catholic heroines as in Juan de Orduà ±a Locura de Amor (Love Crazy) (1950) and La Leona de Castilla (The Lioness of Castille) (1951), and Reina Santa (1947) a film about a virtuous Spanish princess who becomes the Queen of Portugal directed by Rafael Gil. Along with these theatrical and historical films, we also see a strong Catholicism and missionary colonialism theme running through the cinema at this time, such as Misià ³n blanca (1946) directed by Juan de Orduà ±a, and then there were the prototypes for the sentimental, religious dramas of the early 1950s with films like Balarrasa (Reckless) (1951), A mans harrowing experience in war which turns him to God for salvation and he becomes a Priest) directed by Josà © Antonio Nieves Conde. It is worth mentioning that the same Falangist director, Josà © Antonio Nieves Conde, directed Surcos (Furrows) (1951), dealing with the fatal repercussions of leaving the old country and implications of migrating to the city. This film seemed to symbolise the realist cinema which was more relative to daily life in Spain and to the Spanish people, issues of lower orders, and presenting social problems that were entirely absent from Spanish cinema screens. Surcos was also the cause of strong disagreements between Falangism and conventional Catholicism because in 1951 Josà © Marà ­a Garcà ­a Escudero who was the General Director of Cinema at the time, denied to give the national interest award to Juan de Orduà ±as Alba de America (Dawn of America) (1951) as he preferred Surcos instead. As a consequence of this, Escudero had to leave his position as General Director of Cinema and Orduà ±as historical epic was awarded instead. This was an indication of the regime position towards f ilm makers who had the courage to defy the regime baring the less appealing, problematic side of social issues in Francos dictatorship. Realism had gradually returned into Spain through the weird example of Italian neo-realism and soviet cinema at the end the 1940s, it had sneaked into university film programmes. These types of films found great acceptance among some disillusioned Falangist film makers in the new, official film school, which was created by the regime and founded in 1947. Originally, the regime permitted the establishment of the Instituto de Investigaciones y experiencias cinematogrà ¡ficas (Institute for Film Research and Experiment) by means of forcing control on professional access to the film industry. In 1962 its name was changed to Escuela Oficial de Cine (Official Film School) and represented its programme on the curriculum for the Italian Centro Sperimentale in Rome. The IIEC was known for its lack of good teaching standards, and poor resources. However, the IIEC acquired 109 students just in the first year of its foundation; many of these pupils played important roles in the film industry movements in the 1950s and events which were organized to manifest cultural and also political opposition to Francos regime. Spanish Cinema during the dictatorship: Neo-Realism (1952-1961) Neo-Realist ideology started to be more obvious throughout the film industry in Spain almost immediately, not only in films by the young upcoming directors but also in those by followers of Franco such as Josà © Antonio Nieves Conde, who with his controversial film Surcos, let Spaniards see some of the unpleasant aspects of urban life. Luis Garcà ­a Berlanga and Juan Antonio Bardem were two disillusioned Falangists who studied at IIEC, they both were very important individuals in the attempt to renew Spanish cinema. These two men worked together with their own production company called UNINCI and in 1951 made Esa Pareja Feliz (That Happy Couple) (1953). The story was based on dreams of the working class about the improvement of the economy with parodies of CIFESAs (Compaà ±Ãƒ ­a Industrial Film Espaà ±ol S.A.) epic cinema and also the escapism of romantic comedies from Hollywood. Berlanga and Bardem proceeded with the same satirical style in the respected Spanish parody Bienvenido Mister Marshall (Welcome Mr. Marshall!) (1953).This production had a very critical edge and for that reason it obtained a very positive international recognition. Nevertheless, it was publicly and officially disapproved in Spain. Although the critics of his movies were softened by the parody and comic tone, Berlanga frequently had cens orship and poor distribution issues. Juan Antonio Bardem was part of the illegal Communist Party and also one of the organizers of the Salamanca Film Conference in 1955. His career in the film industry in the 50s and 60s was interrupted with periods of imprisonment due to his political actions against the regime. Among his works were Cà ³micos (Actors) (1953) and Muerte de un ciclista (Death of a Cyclist) (1955) in which Bardem emphasises in a critical perception of the bourgeoisie in Spain and showed some short images of people living in extreme poverty in Spain, this film gave Bardem substantial international recognition (Winner of the 1955 FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival). The introduction of new ideas from international lands caused great fervour and strong feelings of change among filmmakers and the general public alike. Public discussions were due for the first time in Spains old University City Salamanca lead by Basilio Martà ­n Patino and sponsored by the Universities film club, the first National cinematographic conversations called the attention of professionals in the Spanish film industry, scholars, critics and writers who were there to represent a vast range of ideologies, these conversations took place between 14th and 19th of May in 1955. There was an opened document declaring the meeting which was signed by directors such as Bardem, Patino, Muà ±oz Suay, etc; these recognised personalities of the film industry along with many others discussing a number of topics, for example the censorship criteria, film distribution, and protection quotas. They also mentioned that it was crucial to include a member of the film industry in the censorship team and wanted that point to be considered. The discussions in Salamanca caused a minimum reaction for which many of their supporters thought the talks had been a failure. The fascist government opposition said the talks were an opportunity given to the regime by a bourgeois organization to sharpen its manipulation by the use of censorship criteria. Conservatives said the talks were proof that communist were infiltrating; some other people said that the discussions were clear evidence that the film industry in Spain was in its infancy, but for others of its history and maturity. Nevertheless it is important to say that the talks had helped the awareness of Spanish cinema on a national level and due to some insecurity in the government eleven months after the Salamancan talks the general director of film and theatre was substituted by Josà © Muà ±oz Fontà ¡n (Whose career would later be destroyed by Buà ±uels controversial Viridiana (1961)). The most obvious evidence of official reactions was that the film industry was in c omplete silence following the talks and the Franco Government quietly turned its back. Although censorship had caused an artistic void in Spain, the new emerging and inspiring ideas being introduced into Spain had created new blood with young home grown directors such as pioneers Luis Garcia Berlanga and Juan Antonio Bardem (Who both helped to create la està ©tica franquista, a film style which ironically defined Spanish film during Francos reign). Spanish Cinema during the dictatorship: New Spanish Cinema (1962-1968) Spain made its first attempt to be part of the European common market in 1962; the country wanted to prove that Spain was not the fascist, retrograde it used to be; Spain was going through a new phase of liberalization. The moderate Garcà ­a Escudero who was dismissed 10 years before for supporting the film Surcos was brought back to accompany the director of cinematographic and theatre position. Garcia participated in the discussions in Salamanca and was aware of the disappointment and frustrations of those people who were attempting to make films during the dictatorship of General Franco and therefore when the repression caused by the use of censorship temporally down the pressure on the film industry in 1962, Josà © Marà ­a Garcà ­a Escuderos started to revise the points discussed in Salamanca which after seven years had not been even considered. One of the hardest aims for Garcà ­a Escudero to achieve was to update the censorship system. In this attempt he was attacked by constant criticism, especially by members of the church and the right wing who accused him of being a repulsive freak of a promoter. Forth revised codes were stipulated in 1963, which were strongly attacked with the only purpose of bringing back many of the strictly controlled measures. Although several of the new film makers were clearly part of the opposition, the dictatorship found the way to silence their voices. Josà © Garcà ­a Escudero did not find enough political support to cause any serious alteration to the censorship system; however, in 1962 he managed to create a new category for special interest films. This category was very significant for new professional film makers from The Escuela Oficial de Cinematografà ­a (EOC), to work in a film industry in which they had never been allowed to be involved in unless they were only apprentices. As a consequence of the special interest category a new genre in the film industry appeared. This new genre was films that showed the problems of Spain, especially with criticism towards the social situation of the country, for the first time realistic narratives of Spain were screened in cinemas along the country. This type of cinema was called by critic Juan Francisco de Lasa as New Spanish Cinema. The new cinema in Spain was known for its use of metaphor showing social criticism which was prominent in the 1950s especially by directors Luis Garcà ­a Berlanga and Juan Antonio Bardem who were well respected at the time and classed as the best of their era and genre. Nevertheless new directors focused more on the 1890s literary generation. Spanish writers like the likes of Antonio Machado, Miguel de Unamuno and Pà ­o Baroja were attempting to find answers to national issues in its literary, historical and also geographical past, the new directors in the 1960s were more interested in analyzing and criticizing social traditions in Spain in an attempt to form an image of Spain in which the country is seen for what it really is, instead of for what it was in the past or people thought it would be in the future. Despite the special category which allowed new Spanish productions to work as films of special interest, young Spanish film makers were still being attacked by censorship, as seen in Miguel Picazos La tia Tula (1964), that had a cut of over four minutes and then there was the confiscation of certain scenes from Carlos Sauras Llanto por un bandido (1964) which were eventually destroyed by the censors. Manuel Summers Juguetes rotos (1964) recalls the heroics of a boxer, a bullfighter, and a soccer player, showing the contrast between the opportunities of youth and the loneliness of advancing age still had its problems with the censors with the director receiving a long list of prohibited shots, including the following. A child begging A group of girls in bikinis Dialogue saying Cualquier Espaà ±ol puede ser torero (Any Spaniard can be a bullfighter) These frequent restrictions caused an enormous frustration among many promising film makers. When the regime realised that the new Spanish cinema was being used in opposition, the government designed a system which allowed control over film distribution, making sure that these films were seen only by a chosen few; new Spanish films were screened exclusively in a system of art theatres for a very small educated audience. The arte y ensayo system started in January 1967 with the following restrictions: 380 theatres Only in urban areas (cities of over 500,000 inhabitants) Cannot seat more than 500 (By law) The distributors at first thought it was great to be able to offer films shown for the first time in Spain but because the audiences were small, exhibitors advertised promising them fruto prohibido (films prohibited or censored elsewhere). While this was correct, most of the public had misinterpreted it and would come looking for lewd material. Most previously censored films were not necessarily sexually explicit, censored more for political or social reasons such as Jean-Godards A bout de soufflà © (1960), Luis Buà ±uels Exterminating Angel (1962) and Ingmar Bergmans Persona (1966). The public became totally disillusioned and because of the years of censorship was completely unprepared for the new developments in films. By 1972 the art theatre ceased because it proved to an unsuccessful experiment. The special theatres were created not so much for the benefit of the Spanish film industry but so that foreign tourists in Spain could see movies in their native language. The New Spani sh Cinema was being exhibited mostly in the art theatres but after a mere five years, Spains New Cinema did not have an audience in its own country and they were all abolished. The whole movement had attracted nothing but problems from the start due to the total lack of film culture in Spain. Directors of New Spanish Cinema created films which felt out of date to the foreign audiences. Basilio Martà ­n Patinos Nueve cartes a Berta (1966) was entered into Cannes by Josà © Marà ­a Garcà ­a Escudero but straight away rejected; Patinos honest and naive film felt dated to an international audience with their advanced understanding of cinema. To be fair to Garcà ­a Escudero he had accomplished a lot between 1962 and 1966, over forty new directors had made their first film. This wasnt enough for him to keep his position of director general of Cinematografia y Teatro, and he was dismissed for the second time in his career. There were two reasons given, the first was economic; the secon d was for The Primeras Jornadas Internacionales de Escuelas de Cinematografà ­a (First International Film Schools Discussions) and his lack of control over a new and important presence in the Spanish film world, a group of students and young directors who were presided over by the respected film critic Ramà ³n Gubern and in part by director Joaquim Jordà   who is quoted saying: Today is impossible to speak freely of reality in Spain, so we are trying to describe its imaginary life* This group organized the only public discussion of film in Spain for the last twelve years. These discussions were held between 1st and 6th of October 1967 in the Catalan beach town of Sitges. Attended by students, critics and young filmmakers, the Sitges conference provided a unique space for anti-Franco protesters, revolutionaries and supporters of experimental film. The Catalonian film director, Jordà   presented a manifesto for the Barcelona School that became widely known as the Sitges Manifesto. This manifesto provided a clear focus for debates on questions of film principles and political ideals, as well as new ideas for production and exhibition of work outside Francos restrictive regime. Jordà  s drafted the manifesto with a Marxist tone and could not be further from the New Spanish Cinema if it tried, with demands to end all censorship and state subsidies of any kind. Furthermore it called for the replacement of the Sindicato Nacional de Espectà ¡culo (State Entertainmen t Union) which would be able to supervise the production, distribution and exhibition of film. The Sitges manifesto rejected any possibility of working with the system and would only agree to a film industry totally independent of the state. By the time the Franco regime noticed what was going on in Sitges the conference was coming to a close. Nevertheless police interrupted the end of the event and arrested participants. Jordà   sought refuge in Rome and classes were briefly suspended at the National Film School. Garcà ­a Escudero was finally dismissed in November 1967. After the regimes reaction to the conference in Sitges, the Spanish film directors union (Agrupacià ³n Sindical de Directores-Realizadores Espaà ±oles de Cinematografà ­a (ASDREC)) was planning to continue the debates at their own convention, scheduled on the 23rd of November in 1969. A group of professional directors proposed that they carry out a study of the main problems of Spanish film and publish the find ings. Some of these findings, including eliminating film censorship, had been taken from Sitges. Officially the ASDREC convention was prohibited due to its controversial tone, but this didnt stop them. After many preliminary talks between directors discussing the topics most relevant to the industry, the main meeting was eventually held in March 1970. * Higginbotham, V. (1988). Spanish Film Under Franco. Texas: University of Texas Press. p66 Spanish Cinema during the dictatorship: The decade of Francos death (1969-1975) With the demise of Garcà ­a Escudero and the New Spanish Cinema and the breakup of School of Barcelona with its avant garde views, Spanish movie screens were full of foreign Spy movies and spaghetti westerns. The decade of Francos death (November 20th 1975) had started badly for Spanish film, with huge debts for the industry and the best of its new films were hardly shown on Spanish cinemas screens. 20 percent of world cinema had been banned in Spain since the Civil War and by the 1970s it had risen to over 50 percent of films made abroad that couldnt be seen on Spanish screens. If most of the worlds greatest films couldnt be seen in Spain, at least it wasnt being so strong on letting them be filmed there, even if it brought controversy. One of the most important (and controversial) events for Spanish film during the later years of Francos reign was Buà ±uel being granted permission to film Tristana (1970) in 1969. Tristana, definitely one of Buà ±uels finest, is a great example o f why his films, although banned and not well known to the Spanish people, were considered by Spanish Directors in the know as National treasures. In total contrast to most of the Spanish films made during the dictatorship, Buà ±uels vision of Spain seemed and felt more authentic. With the use of real people where possible as in Viridiana (1961) where he selected a group of beggars straight from the streets of Toledo and Madrid, and then there is the title character from Nazarin (1959) who is a typical anarchistic Spanish clergyman (many were murdered on the suspicion of being Communist sympathizers during the Civil War). Buà ±uels return to Spain was also the start of a new era in Spanish film, in the next five years leading up to Francos death there were some great films to come out of Spain. Carlos Saura (after Buà ±uel is Spains most important director during the post-war era) managed to create some great films even though his films were criticized by both right and left wing equally. He had the power to irritate and inherited Buà ±uels ability to cause trouble and whose films also managed to disturb the uneasy calm of the Franco camp. Films included Los golfos (1959), Ana y los lobos (1972), La prima Angelica (1973) and Cria cuervos (1975) the title in Spanish stems from the phrase Raise ravens and theyll pluck out your eyes and the equivalent phrase in English would be you reap what you sow. Filmed the year before Francos death, it makes clear how the regime, through an out of date religious education, making certain that the young do not grow into cuervos (ravens) and rebel the fascist myth. Last but definitely not least is the most highly acclaimed film in the history of Spanish cinema, El espà ­ritu de la colmena (Spirit of the Beehive) (1973) one of the most beautiful and poetic films ever filmed, a film which has been haunting audiences both Spanish and abroad since it first premiered in Madrid in October 1973. A young Victor Erice (he was 33 years old when he directed his master piece, 3 years younger than Orson Welles when he directed Citizen Kane (1941)) was in search of new myths and turned to classic horror films for inspiration and he found Frankensteins monster to represent Spain and its problems. After seeing James Whales Frankenstein (1931) for the first time, seven year old Ana becomes fascinated with the monster, she becomes obsessed with finding him, and transfers this onto a wounded army deserter, who she is convinced is the monster. As a metaphor for Spain, the monster is a ghoulish collage of a man, a monstrous figure constructed by the sinister creat or, Dr. Henry Frankenstein. Even the Doctors name sounds very much like Franco. With its reference to the myth of Frankenstein, Erice found an uncanny metaphor for Francos Spain. The monster was reborn and had no memory like a new born baby, he has no moral sense and so can behave kindly, then kill (by accident or otherwise). Frankensteins monster being a literary myth himself suitably represents the final result of the so called Franco myth. Chapter Three Spanish Cinema back to Democracy General Franco died on the 20th November 1975, and with his death died 46 years repression, a new phase of history was about to be born in Spain. It was the time for freedom which would give strength and new backbone to the Spanish cinema. It was as if Spain finally had democracy, liberalism, explicitness and experimentation all at once. Directors were now creating without the pressure of all those previous prohibitions. Franco before he died had designated as his successor Juan Carlos of Bourbon, who was the grandson of the last king of Spain. For the first time in over 40 years, a free election took place on June 15, 1977 and

The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Essay -- Education

1. Introduction With the passage of time and the spread of technology wider than ever, there is a vast amount of knowledge and information which require from individuals faster response to these developments around the globe. One of the most effective ways for individuals to be up-to-date with the world around is to read. Reading is a skill which any learner needs along with other skills. Reading, as defined by Macmillan Dictionary, is the process of recognizing written or printed words and understanding their meaning. For reading to be most effective, readers need to read in their area of interest and have prior knowledge of what is going to be read. For more clarification, prior knowledge is background knowledge about certain topics. In other words, what a reader already knows about the topic he is about to read. This prior knowledge has great impact on the reading and the reader. 2. Description 2. A. Terms Used for Background Knowledge Moreover, background knowledge is fundamental in reading comprehension. It is defined by The Free Online Dictionary as â€Å"Information that is essential to understanding a situation or a problem.† The terms background knowledge and prior knowledge are generally used interchangeably (Strangman and Hall, 2010). Background knowledge and prior knowledge are parent terms for many more terms such as: conceptual knowledge, metacognitive knowledge, subject matter knowledge, strategy knowledge, personal knowledge, and self-knowledge (Strangman et al., 2010). Though scholars’ definitions and names of prior knowledge are different, they typically describe the same concept. 2. B. Factors Shape Background Knowledge Furthermore, there are many factors that background knowledge could b... ...NHUAvgCy4-HuRIoUF7y2b07jddLKA&cad=rja Spires, H.A. & Donley, J. (1998). Prior knowledge activation: Inducing engagement with informational texts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 249-260. Strangman, N. & Hall, T. (2010). Background Knowledge. Curriculum Enhancement Report. U.S. Special Office of Education Program. National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved October 28, 2011 from : http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20role%20of%20background%20knowledge%20in%20reading&source=web&cd=7&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoar.wichita.edu%2Fdspace%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10057%2F256%2Ft06002.pdf&ei=O0WmTsvILdK2hAeU-pSeDg&usg=AFQjCNHearmwQCdk6JpPpDZEtGg7jiCG8Q The Free Online Dictionary. (2011). The entery â€Å" background knowledge†. Retrieved October 26, 2011 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/background+knowledge

Protestant Reformation Essay

In the early sixteenth century, Western Europe’s religious face was dominated by the Roman Catholic faith. The Catholic Church was the sole athority power of day to day values, and before long, conflicting social and political issues began to shake the foundation of the corrupt Catholic Church. Moreover, Western Catholics began to realize the corrupt nature of the Church; as the selling of indulgences was challenged by Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, the hierarchal nature of the Church was displayed via blatant acts of simony, and the concept was purgatory was outwardly questioned. Ultimately, as westerners caught wind of the aforementioned doings, an attempt to reform the Catholic Church began brewing: the Protestant Reformation. This Reformation ultimately led to several significant social and political consequences. On one note, the Reformation led to the once-all Catholic western Europeans being separated into several demographics: Catholic Christianty, Protestant Christianty, and Orthodox. As a result, the belief of the founder Jesus Christ was magnified, as well as the belief of the Bible as a doctrine of salvation (in the Protestant faith). Consequently, the popularity of the Bible led to it being printed in vernacular rather than Latin, and thus the Bible began to appeal to a larger audience rather than solely the wealthy and educated. This accessiblity to the lower class revealed the teachings of faith to a previously uninformed demographic. Also, Protestantism had created a new, highly individual spirituality. Survival and salvation depended upon inner faith and self-disclipline, thus a larger emphasis was made on personal commitments and values. As the teachings of the Bible were made more widely availible, the aforementioned notions became more widely available. With this newfound knowledge, and with the economic power of the church now lessened, there came a growth of induvidual liberty. These newfound attitudes and economic turn-around consequently reflected principes of, and led to, capitalism. On another hand, another consequence of the Reformation was many dispays of intolerance. More specifically, King Phillip II of Spain and Bloody Maryof England actively persecuted Protestants. Also, with the Reformation leaving the Church’s power teetering, several Rulers were empowered against the Church. Henry VII, for example, nullified the Pope’s powers, and in turn the Rulers of Europe had the power to rule their countries however they wished, from square one. This, ultimately, gave rise to the notion of nationalism, which gave rise to the growth of the modern state. Conclusively, the effects of the Protestant Reformation were very much significant. Starting in the hands of Martin Luther, the reform not only tore apart the religious unity of Europe at the time, but also contributed to induvidual attitudes and values, the growth of nationalism and the modern state, but also shined a light on the path to a capitalistic society.

Company/ individual report on roles and responsibilities Essay

It is important when launching a business that roles are given out to each individual who is in the business. This can be done for any ownership weather it is a public limited, private limited, partnership, sole trader or a franchise. Looking at our business we also decided to give out roles and responsibilities to our members of the business. There are a few roles that should be in a business or are vital to be in a business. So we gave Nirozen the role of the human resources, I was elected the role of the chairman; Thomas was the vice chairman and Harsimran as finance/accounts. The role of the marketing was given to Eugene. Human resource Looking at each role the human resources are responsible for employing suitable employees. Human resources management are interested in the welfare, personnel management, industrial relations and employee relations and training and also the recruitment of staff in a business. The human resources would pursue with the following tasks: Recruitment Training and Development Termination Selection Retention Redundancy Induction Transfers At the point of recruitment, selection and induction the human resources will choose and interview the right applicant for the business. This will be a advantage because the human resources department will be experts in how and who to employ. They will then help the employee in the induction. The employee might then need extra training and development skills the human resources will train the employee and if the employee becomes a very skilled worker the department must sort out the needs and the requirements of the employee to retain him/her in the business. At the point when the employee has to exit the business or if he/she gets redundant the human resources department has to ensure that the processes are carried out in a satisfactory manner and that everything is done according to what the law states. Looking at the role of the human resources, the human resources centre should draw and design the job descriptions and job specification and also the job adverts. The human resources centre should know who are the best people to employ in the business therefore I think that Nirozen should and did design suitable job descriptions and job adverts, taking into account what the business does and sells. However I think that Nirozen works a bit slow in the role of the human resources I think that if he started to work a bit faster we could get the human resources part of the company to produce even more work. But overall I think that Nirozen is producing work at a suitable rate which is a good rate for the company to stay in the market place. Read more:  Essay on Individual Report on Roles and Responsibilities Marketing Manager The marketing of a company should be done in the best way possible as this could be the success of a business. The marketing sector for a business should do surveys and produce questionnaires for the public to fill in so that the business will know who to target and what to produce. Also a small amount of advertising should also be done in order for people to know about the business. I think that Eugene is doing the job well by doing the marketing side of the business. However if Eugene could produce more work it would be good for the business. However I think that the marketing side of the business is being well handled, and the work that is being produced is affecting the business in a good way. Also I think that census data should also be looked at in the market section as this will tell the business how many people are in the area and how many of them are our target market. Finance Manager Looking at the finance side of the business which is Harsimran , he thinks that the finance side of the business is going well however if he looks at more financial ways it will make a good affect to the business. However he thinks that the financial side of the business should look at the following: Cash flow forecast Balance sheet Profit/loss account Breakeven Bank account By looking at the above he thinks that the business will do well in the market place and will also survive in the market. Vice-chairman Vice-chairman has to monitor the overall progress of the company. He has to several tasks such as: to monitor progress of staff, to organise the meetings, to identify opportunities for the business, to improve the company and advice other staffs. The vice chairman will run some of the meetings and also assist the chairman with any doubts or problems. This will take some of the burden of my shoulder. Chairman A chairman/chairperson is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. Generally, there are two types of chairpersons: non-executive and executive. A non-executive chairperson will sit on and chair the main board of a company and be a part-time officer who usually provides support and advice to a chief executive officer (CEO). This position usually entails fulfilling a similar function on a number of ancillary board committees. An executive chairperson is a full-time position who typically not only leads the board but will also take a hands-on role in the companies day to day running. An executive chairperson frequently sits on the management executive board of the company, though this board may still be led by the CEO. As I am the chairman, I have to organise and run the meetings. I also have to set them tasks to do on regular basis and also monitor their progress. I also have to help them when there are in need of assistance. There were other roles we could have looked at and gave out to each member of the group e.g. supplier, however through the first meeting we had we looked at the most important roles/departments a company should have and gave out the roles according to the five important roles that we thought the company should have. Evaluation of the roles and responsibilities Human resource management – Nirozen was chosen as a Human resource management because of his communication skills with the employees. One advantage of choosing Nirozen as the HRM is that he is exceptional in selecting the right employees. However, disadvantage of choosing him is that he does not necessarily have lots of experience in working as the manager of HRM. Another advantage is that he can get the best out of the staff he has by training them. Another disadvantage of choosing him is that he can be sometimes lazy or forgetful in looking at all the CVs for example when recruiting. Overall, I believe we have made a right decision in appointing Nirozen as the HRM as he as all the necessary skills to do the job. He can, for example, be more cautious when looking at the CVs. Financial accountant – Harsmiran was elected as the financial accountant because of his exceptional maths skills and also mainly he is reliable with things. One advantage of choosing Harsimran as the finance manager is that he has had past experience in doing things like the cash flow, break-even, etc. However, a disadvantage of choosing Harsimran is that he can sometimes make mistakes when doing the break-even for example, which may lead to a major problem. Another advantage of choosing Harsimran is that he is very reliable so I can count on him to finish the task which was set. However, a disadvantage is that he can sometimes be forgetful in bringing the tasks which might be set for the meetings, so he might have done the work but he might not necessarily bring the work to meetings. Overall, I believe appointing Harsimran is a good choice because he is the most experienced in doing the financial things in our group and he is very reliable. However, he can try to make fewer m istakes because that will be a major help to our business, for example. Marketing Director – Eugene was appointed a marketing director because of his excellent managerial skills and his organisation. One advantage of choosing Eugene is that he is very good at promoting things, which will be big help to us when we promote our business. However, a disadvantage of choosing Eugene is that he does not regularly turn up to the meetings or tell us so we would not now whether he has done the work or not. Another advantage of choosing Eugene is that he knows what he is doing and he has the most knowledge in our group to take up this role as he has past experiences. However, another disadvantage is that he is not very organised so he might loose or forget the work which is set for example. Overall, I’m not extremely pleased with the appointment of Eugene in this role because he is unreliable and this role is a key role to our success as a company. However, I do believe if he, for example, improves his punctuality and doing the work set he will be the ideal person to this role. Vice Chairman – He was elected as vice chairman because he has the abilities to assist and manager staff. He can also attend meetings if the chairman is unable to attend. One advantage of choosing Thomas is that he has knowledge is most areas of the company so he is able anyone when they are in need, so for example, he can help them instead of me helping them. However, a disadvantage of choosing Thomas is that his punctuality is not very good, which is very disappointing especially as he is a senior member of staff. Another advantage of Thomas is that he is very good leader so if I could not make it for any meetings then he can lead the meetings instead of me. On the other hand another, a disadvantage of Thomas is that he is very reluctant to do the work set, so we have to keep on nagging him to do the work set. Overall, I am satisfied with the chose of Thomas as he has the ideal skills and knowledge for this role; however he could; for example, improve on his punctuality to be more efficient. Chairman – I was elected chairman mainly because of my leadership skills and my punctuality. One advantage of choosing me as the chairman is that I believe I am a good leader, so I can organise how the company is run. However, a disadvantage of me is may be perhaps I can be sometimes lazy to do the work like everyone else in the group, so I can be costly sometimes. Another advantage of choosing me is that I have knowledge of all the areas of this company so I can help others, so for example help the marketing manager in ways of promoting the business. Overall, my personal view of me is that I am suited to my role; however, I do believe that I can improve on my eagerness to do extra work for example, for the company to run more efficiently. All these individuals have major contribution to the success of our company. We know that team-work is the key to success of the company; one of the ways to improve teamwork is to motivate our staff. Ways of motivating our staff * Bonuses – give everyone certain % of the profit if they continue to work hard. This helps them motivated and to work harder to achieve the bonuses. I personally believe this is a good strategy of motivating the staff as bonuses acts like an incentive for them to work harder, however, when we give bonuses we have to keep in mind the side-effects. This could be that it might de-motivate them as they may just pretend to work hard just to get the bonuses. * Good condition at work – the staff can have flexible hours, reduced hours at work, etc. This could motivate them as they may believe that we are looking after them properly. However, we have to keep in mind that some staff might take this good condition at work as an advantage and not work properly. * Give praise – give praises if they have done a good job. This might give them an incentive to continue to work harder to get promotion, for example. However, giving praises might also de-motivate them as they may take the praise for granted and fell they know every thing and not do the job properly. * Give staff responsibility – we can give staff responsibility of making decisions about certain things. This might motivate them as they feel they are responsible so they work harder to keep up the pressure and responsibility. However, giving them responsibility might over pressurise them as they have extra work to do so they might not even do the original work which was set properly. * Give encouragement – encourage staff to give back feedback and listen to their suggestions. This could motivate the staff as they feel that I trust them and value their opinion so they could work harder. However, by giving them encouragement they could for example take this for granted and not do they work as efficiently as before. Team-work We can use several strategies to improve our team working. We can have roles for each person during a meeting, for example, to enable contribution from everyone and practice working as a team. For example Compromiser (Eugene) – Tries to maintain harmony among the team members. He has to change his own views to get a group decision. Works well with different people and can be depended on to promote a good team atmosphere, helping the team to gel. Pulls people and tasks together. A tolerant individual. A good listener who will listen carefully to the views of other group members. Good judge of people. Diplomatic and sensitive to the feelings of others, not seen as a threat. Able to recognise and resolve the development of conflict and other difficulties. Enables â€Å"difficult† team-members to contribute positively. We decided to choose Eugene as a Compromiser because he is very good at working with different people and mainly he has the respect of everyone so they are likely to listen to him. Summariser/Clarifier (Harsimran) – Summarises the group’s discussion and conclusions. Clarifies group objectives and elaborates on the ideas of others. Goes into detail about how group plans would work. We decided to choose Harsimran as the summariser because he has good listening skills and have the ability to summarise accurate what has been said in meeting, for example. Ideas person (Nirozen)- The ideas person suggests new ideas to solve group problem or new ways for the group to organize the task. He dislikes orthodoxy and not too concerned with practicalities. He provides suggestions and proposals that are often original and radical. He is more concerned with the big picture than with details. May get bored after the initial impetus wears off. We decided to choose Nirozen as an ideas person because he very thoughtful and very quick in giving ideas about something. Encourager (Thomas) – Energises groups when motivation is low through humour or being enthusiastic. They are positive individuals who support and praise other group members. They may use humour to break tensions in the group. We decided to choose Thomas because he is the ability to motivate people by using humour, for example. Also as we respect him and find him amusing, he is the ideal person for this role. Leader (me) – Good leaders direct the sequence of steps the group take and keeps the group â€Å"on-track.† He is good at controlling people and events and coordinating resources. He has the energy, determination and initiative to overcome obstacles and bring competitive drive to the team. He gives shape to the team effort. He recognises the skills of the individuals and how they can be used. Leaders are outgoing individuals who have to be careful not to be domineering. They can sometimes steamroller the team but get results. He may become impatient with complacency and lack of progress and may sometimes overreact. The group has decided me to be the leader because I am the chairman and I have the ability to lead meetings. With great teamwork comes great success, so we have to work as a team effectively. If we want to work as a team we need the following: TEAMWORK T is for Talent It is of course quite necessary for a member of a team to be knowledgeable about the work that his team is going to do. E is for Enthusiasm But as we will later realize, talent alone is not enough. A knowledgeable team member must also be enthusiastic. A is for Accountability Every member is accountable not only to his team but to all his other work mates. We are not responsible only of ourselves. M is for Management Every member must know his specialization relative to what his other team-mates can do best. W is for Work-able When a person has all the talents and the enthusiasm in the world and yet he doesn’t have free time to work, it all turns out useless. O is for Openness Understanding among team members is a necessity in every team for every member to be able to work in the best of his abilities. R is for Respect Every team member must be able to practice respect so that he can expect to be respected in return. K is for Keenness Keenness is the final key in working as a part of a team. It is more than enthusiasm. Enthusiasm comes before doing the actual work. Communication among each individual is very important if we want to be successful. So when we communicate we could exchange ideas and discuss major decisions thoroughly. We communicate to each other in the meetings, where we discuss any issues or problems we have. There are other ways we can communicate with each other, through: e-mail, face to face, letter, telephone, etc. If we communicate with each other we know how well we are doing and what to do and also we know who is doing what so that no mistakes happen. If we communicate effectively we would succeed as a business as we have great understanding among us.