Musical instrument Essay Example for Free

Musical instrument Essay Trumpet The trumpet or cornet is the smallest and highest member of the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece. Clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et (meaning little) to the Italian word clarino (meaning a type of trumpet), as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed. In jazz contexts, it has sometimes been informally referred to as the licorice stick.[1] French horn A wind instrument usually of the lip-reed class. Horns for signalling have been made from conch shells, wood, animal horns etc as well as metal. Horns capable of many notes usually consist of a conical brass tube in a curved, coiled or folded shape. This article is concerned with the European orchestral horn, or french horn. Cello The cello is a string instrument and a member of the violin family. It is a wonderful instrument for a child to learn at an early age. It is the most versatile of the string instruments The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin but is larger in size and more variable in its proportions. A full-size violas body is between one and four inches longer than the body of a full-size violin (i.e., between 15 and 18 inches (38 and 46 cm)), with an average length of about 16 inches (41 cm). Small violas made for children typically start at 12 inches (30 cm), which is equivalent to a half-size violin Violin The violin is the smallest member of the string family. Sound is produced by drawing the bow across one of the four strings or by plucking the string with a finger. Flugelhorn Flugelhorns have a short, wide mouthpiece; three or four valves; and a flared bell. They range in size from bass instruments with wider bores (the bore is the inside diameter of the tubing) to small soprano horns in f or e flat. Tuba tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or buzzing the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. Trombone he trombone is a member of the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece. A unique feature of the trombone is the slide. While other brass instrument change pitches by pressing valves to change the length of the air flow, the trombone player simply moves the slide in and out to the change the length of the instrument.

Barriers To Effective Communication

Barriers To Effective Communication Barriers to Effective Communication An effective communication barrier is one of the problems faced by many organizations. Many social psychologists opine that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning while conveying the messages from a sender to a receiver. They estimate there are four basic places where communication could be interpreted wrongly. A few barriers of effective communication in an organization are given below. Physical Barriers One of the major barriers of communication in a workplace is the physical barrier. Physical barriers in an organization includes large working areas that are physically separated from others. Other distractions that could cause a physical barrier in an organization are the environment, background noise Language Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is the greatest barrier to effective communication. When a person uses inappropriate words while conversing or writing, it could lead to misunderstanding between the sender and a receiver. Emotions Your emotions could be a barrier to communication if you are engrossed in your emotions for some reason. In such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others or understanding the message conveyed to you. A few of the emotional interferences include hostility, anger, resentfulness and fear. Lack of Subject Knowledge If a person who sends a message lacks subject knowledge then he may not be able to convey his message clearly. The receiver could misunderstand his message, and this could lead to a barrier to effective communication. Stress One of the major communication barriers faced by employees in most of the organization is stress. When a person is under immense stress, he may find it difficult to understand the message, leading to communication distortion. At the time of stress, our psychological frame of mind depends on our beliefs, experiences, goals and values. Thus, we fail to realize the essence of communication. The above-mentioned barriers to effective communication are considered as filters of communications. You can overcome the barriers to communication through effective and active listening. By Maya Pillai Many people think that communicating is easy. It is after all something weve done all our lives. There is some truth in this simplistic view. Communicating is straightforward. What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the barriers we put in the way. Here are the 7 top barriers. 1. Physical barriers Physical barriers in the workplace include: marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed closed office doors, barrier screens, separate areas for people of different status large working areas or working in one unit that is physically separate from others. Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness to others aids communication because it helps us get to know one another. 2. Perceptual barriers The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. If we didnt, we would have no need to communicate: something like extrasensory perception would take its place. The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts, assumptions and perceptions shape our own realities: A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man from the next town. Excuse me, he said. I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight. Can you tell me what the townspeople are like? Well, said the townsman, how did you find the people in the last town you visited? Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a fool. Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very poor service. Well, then, said the townsman, youll find them pretty much the same here. 3. Emotional barriers One of the chief barriers to open and free communications is the emotional barrier. It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion. The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught to be careful what we said to others. Mind your Ps and Qs; Dont speak until youre spoken to; Children should be seen and not heard. As a result many people hold back from communicating their thoughts and feelings to others. They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what others might think of us can stunt our development as effective communicators and our ability to form meaningful relationships. 4. Cultural barriers When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the behaviour patterns of the group. These are the behaviours that the group accept as signs of belonging. The group rewards such behaviour through acts of recognition, approval and inclusion. In groups which are happy to accept you, and where you are happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest and a high level of win-win contact. Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high level of game-playing replaces good communication. 5. Language barriers Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words and jargon. When we couch our communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a global market place the greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk in their language. One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev saying to the Americans at the United Nations: We will bury you! This was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation. However, a more accurate reading of Khruschevs words would have been: We will overtake you! meaning economic superiority. It was not just the language, but the fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union that led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation. 6. Gender barriers There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man and those in a woman. A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks between 7,000 and 10,000. In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys. The reason for this lies in the wiring of a mans and womans brains. When a man talks, his speech is located in the left side of the brain but in no specific area. When a woman talks, the speech is located in both hemispheres and in two specific locations. This means that a man talks in a linear, logical and compartmentalised way, features of left-brain thinking; whereas a woman talks more freely mixing logic and emotion, features of both sides of the brain. It also explains why women talk for much longer than men each day. 7 Interpersonal barriers There are six levels at which people can distance themselves from one another: Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both refusal to be in touch and time alone. Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real contact. Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial activities. Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules and procedures of contact but no more. Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about winning and losing. They include rackets and stamps. Closeness is the aim of interpersonal contact where there is a high level of honesty and acceptance of yourself and others. Working on improving your communications is a broad-brush activity. You have to change your thoughts, your feelings, and your physical connections. That way, you can break down the barriers that get in your way and start building relationships that really work. The acronym AIDA is a handy tool for ensuring that your copy, or other writing, grabs attention. The acronym stands for: Attention (or Attract) Interest Desire Action. These are the four steps you need to take your audience through if you want them to buy your product or visit your website, or indeed to take on board the messages in your report. A slightly more sophisticated version of this is AIDCA/AIDEA, which includes an additional step of Conviction/Evidence between Desire and Action. People are so cynical about advertising messages that coherent evidence may be needed if anyone is going to act! How to Use the Tool: Use the AIDCA approach when you write a piece of text that has the ultimate objective of getting others to take action. The elements of the acronym are as follows: 1. Attention/Attract In our media-filled world, you need to be quick and direct to grab peoples attention. Use powerful words, or a picture that will catch the readers eye and make them stop and read what you have to say next. With most office workers suffering from e-mail overload, action-seeking e-mails need subject lines that will encourage recipients to open them and read the contents. For example, to encourage people to attend a company training session on giving feedback, the email headline, How effective is YOUR feedback? is more likely to grab attention than the purely factual one of, This weeks seminar on feedback. 2. Interest This is one of the most challenging stages: Youve got the attention of a chunk of your target audience, but can you engage with them enough so that theyll want to spend their precious time understanding your message in more detail? Gaining the readers interest is a deeper process than grabbing their attention. They will give you a little more time to do it, but you must stay focused on their needs. This means helping them to pick out the messages that are relevant to them quickly. So use bullets and subheadings, and break up the text to make your points stand out. For more information on understanding your target audiences interests and expectations, and the context of your message, read our article on the Rhetorical Triangle. 3. Desire The Interest and Desire parts of AIDA go hand-in-hand: As youre building the readers interest, you also need to help them understand how what youre offering can help them in a real way. The main way of doing this is by appealing to their personal needs and wants.. So, rather than simply saying Our lunchtime seminar will teach you feedback skills, explain to the audience whats in it for them: Get what you need from other people, and save time and frustration, by learning how to give them good feedback. Feature and Benefits (FAB) A good way of building the readers desire for your offering is to link features and benefits. Hopefully, the significant features of your offering have been designed to give a specific benefit to members of your target market. When it comes to the marketing copy, its important that you dont forget those benefits at this stage. When you describe your offering, dont just give the facts and features, and expect the audience to work out the benefits for themselves: Tell them the benefits clearly to create that interest and desire. Example: This laptop case is made of aluminum, describes a feature, and leaves the audience thinking So what? Persuade the audience by adding the benefits .giving a stylish look, thats kinder to your back and shoulders. You may want to take this further by appealing to peoples deeper drives giving effortless portability and a sleek appearance and that will be the envy of your friends and co-workers. 4. Conviction As hardened consumers, we tend to be skeptical about marketing claims. Its no longer enough simply to say that a book is a bestseller, for example, but readers will take notice if you state (accurately, of course!), that the book has been in the New York Times Bestseller List for 10 weeks, for example. So try to use hard data where its available. When you havent got the hard data, yet the product offering is sufficiently important, consider generating some data, for example, by commissioning a survey. 5. Action Finally, be very clear about what action you want your readers to take; for example, Visit www.mindtools.com now for more information rather than just leaving people to work out what to do for themselves. Key points: AIDA is a copywriting acronym that stands for: Attract or Attention Interest Desire Action. Using it will help you ensure that any kind of writing, whose purpose is to get the reader to do something, is as effective as possible. First it must grab the target audiences attention, and engage their interest. Then it must build a desire for the product offering, before setting out how to take the action that the writer wants the audience to take. Stress Interview Stress interviews are used to see how the jobseeker handle himself. You may be sarcastic or argumentative, or may keep him waiting. You may also lapse into silence at some point during the questioning, this is used as an attempt to unnerve the jobseeker. One-On-One Interview In a one-on-one interview, it has been established that the jobseeker has the skills and education necessary for the position. You want to see if the jobseeker will fit in with the company, and how his/her skills complement the rest of the department. In a one-on-one interview the jobseekers goal is to establish rapport with the interviewer and to show that his/her qualifications will benefit the company. Screening Interview A screening interview is meant to weed out unqualified candidates. Providing facts about the skills is more important than establishing rapport. Interviewers will work from an outline of points they want to cover, looking for inconsistencies in the jobseekers resume and challenging his/her qualifications. One type of screening interview is the telephone interview. Lunch Interview The same rules apply in lunch interviews as in those held at the office. The setting may be more casual, but it is a business lunch and the jobseeker has to be watched carefully. The jobseeker must use the lunch interview to develop common ground with your interviewer. Committee Interview Committee interviews are a common practice. Jobseeker will have to face several members of the company who have a say in whether he/she is hired. In some committee interviews, you can ask the jobseeker to demonstrate his/her problem-solving skills. The committee will outline a situation and ask him/her to formulate a plan that deals with the problem. The interviewers are looking for how the jobseeker apply his/her knowledge and skills to a real-life situation. Group Interview A group interview is usually designed to uncover the leadership potential of prospective managers and employees who will be dealing with the public. The front-runner candidates are gathered together in an informal, discussion-type interview. A subject is introduced and the interviewer will start off the discussion. The goal of the group interview is to see how the jobseeker interact with others and how use him/her knowledge and reasoning powers to win others over. Telephone Interview Telephone interviews are merely screening interviews meant to eliminate poorly qualified candidates so that only a few are left for personal interviews. The jobseekers mission in this interviewed is to be invited for a personal face-to-face interview. Informational Interview Typically this is an interview set up at the jobseekers request with a Human Resources Manager or a departmental supervisor in the career field he/she is interested in. The purpose of this interview is to help the jobseeker find out more about a particular career, position or company. He/she is seeking information from these people in hopes that they might refer him/her to someone else in their company or to somebody they may know outside their company who could use your skills. The Informational Interview is a part of the cold-calling process whereby jobseekers are generating their own job leads. Screening Interview Typically this is the first step a company takes after the resumes have been scrutinized. The purpose of this meeting is to assess the skills and personality traits of the potential candidates. The objective ultimately is to screen out those applicants the interviewer feels should not be hired due to lack of skills or bad first impressions. The interviewer must also screen in those candidates she/he feels would make a valuable contribution to the company. Your job during this preliminary meeting is to convince this person you are worthy to take the next step. The General/Structured Interview Frequently the Screening Interview is combined with the General Interview due to time constraints many companies have during the hiring process. Often the jobseeker will meet with the supervisor over the position for which he/she is applying. During this interview he/she will be discussing the specifics of the position, the company and industry.

E-governance :: Technology, GIS

A very hot topic in public administration research today is e-government. Due to continued technology growth, organizations now have new avenues to approach their missions through fresh and multifaceted methods. E-government may just be the cure for many of today’s ailing cities. E-government as defined by Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) is the â€Å"use of IT to provide information, deliver services, support organizational management systems, ad/or to offer opportunities for dialogue and citizen input† (p. 378). In order to truly understand e-government one must look at the benefits and opportunities as well as specific applications in which it can be used. According to Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) e-government can have many benefits: these include but are not limited to; facilitating communication, aiding in information sharing between public officials and with the general public, increasing efficiency, making elections and voting more accurate, and in turn assisting public administrators to better serve citizens (p. 378-379). E-government also has opportunities, the two main gaps presented by Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) are novelty and cooperation (p. 379). Novelty causes obstacles because it can sometimes be difficult to choose between the many different choices public administrators have access to. Another issue with novelty is that these innovative and varied options often require substantial change which can be very costly and complicated to maneuver through. Cooperation is also a key opportunity; e-government calls for interaction and sharing between all levels of government and government agencies. (Denhardt and Denhardt, 20 09) If cooperation is lacking, e-government initiatives cannot be successful. In a particular case study of â€Å"Sun County†, the real location name was changed for confidentiality purposes; the implementation of a new GIS (Geographic Information System) was followed for several years in order to focus on the process of e-government rather than the outcome or outputs that other research has focused on (Tsai, Choi, & Perry, 2009). The goal of the new GIS database was for the Department's staff to have the ability to enter data into the GIS database, run reports, and generate maps in a real time manner from their own workstations; this would allow them to provide a high level of service without having to allocate a lot of resources. Another goal of the project was to ease the decision making process of management by giving them the ability to perform analyses to better understand County resources and circumstances (Tsai, Choi, & Perry, 2009).

Romeo and Juliet - Act III, Scene V :: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet - Act III, Scene V Act III, Scene V of Romeo and Juliet is significant for it is the most pivotal scene of this tragic play. Although prior scenes present extreme circumstances, this scene reveals the results of past activities and begins a series of tragic misunderstandings and fatal reactions. Transformations occuring amongst characters and their relationships with one another and the tone of the play are revealed in this scene. Through language, Shakespeare presents these changes as well as foreshadowing the eventual tragedy Romeo and Juliet's death. From this point on in the play there are no more comedic or romantic scenes. The following scenes are of extreme actions, mishap and tragedy. The "star-crossed lovers" cannot escape their fate. One of the many transformations presented in this scene is that of Romeo and Juliet's love for one another. Romeo and Juliet's love makes the transition from infatuation to a deep and sincere love. In earlier scenes they used overly romantic language and metaphor, whereas, now they speak to one another of their love in a mature and tender way. They will do anything to be with one another, for their love surpasses any emotion for their familial or community ties. They are willing to make any sacrifice in order to have their desire for one another fulfilled. Both Romeo and Juliet enjoy each other's company on their first morning together following their marriage and they do not want to part. Juliet's first visible transformation to adulthood is revealed here. In Romeo's desire to be with Juliet, he is willing to risk capture, and most probably death, in being found within the Capulet walls. Romeo, although maturing in his feelings of love and intimacy is still young and reckless in his behavior. In contrast, upon rationalizing the circumstance of daylight and their being found, Juliet eventually pleads for Romeo to leave "O, now be gone! More light and light it grows." (III, v, 35) To which Romeo responds, "More light and light- more dark and dark our woes." (III, v, 36) The metaphors associated with light (i.e. the sun, the moon, the day) which previously protected their affair is now their enemy. Nature itself has turned upon them

The Intersection of Race, Sexual Orientation and Religion in the Gay Co

Intersectionality is a relevant theory for some gay, lesbian or bisexual individuals. Intersectionality studies "the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations" (McCall, 2005). The theory argues, pursues and considers how gender, race, sexual orientation and other categories of identity interact on many and often concurring levels of social relationships, therefore allowing discrimination and social inequity. Intersectionality explains how the notion of social injustice, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and belief-based bigotry such as religion are not independent of one another; instead, they are interconnected, and thereby reflect â€Å"intersectionality† in regards to social relationships. Humans are multifaceted beings; we move, maneuver and adjust, to present different and appropriate representations of ourselves to others, based on the circumstances. Perhaps we look for a reflection of ourselves within the groups with we associate. We strive to understand ourselves, in part by the people with whom we come in contact the most, namely our family, friends and co-workers. Race, sexual orientation and religion, individually, are hot bed topics of discussion, but how do each one of those issues, or all of them intersect in the life of someone who is gay, lesbian or bisexual, and how do those individuals manage those identities as they negotiate the multicultural experience that we call life? Does culture have an impact on the identity of homosexual persons? To what extent may devotion to a particular faith cause discordance between gay and religious identities? The research examines, and attempts to determine what effect racial identity, sexual orientation, an... ...d Participants of a Gay-Positive Church. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(3), 333. doi: 10. 1111/0021-8294. 00028 Schulte, L. J. , & Battle, J. (2004). The Relative Importance of Ethnicity and Religion in Predicting Attitudes Towards Gays and Lesbians. Journal of Homosexuality, 47(2), 127-142. doi: 10. 1300/J082v47n02_08 Tajfel, H. , & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds. ), The Social psychology of intergroup relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub. Walton, G. (2006). "Fag Church" : Men Who Integrate Gay and Christian Identities. Journal of Homosexuality, 51(2), 1-17. doi: 10. 1300/J082v51n02_01 Ward, E. G. (2005, September). Homophobia, hypermasculinity and the US black church. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 7(5), 493-504. doi: 10. 1080/13691050500151248

A sequence of diary entries as Mrs Danvers, reflecting on three or four important episodes in the novel

â€Å"Mrs de Winter†, everyone called her. She is not worthy of the name. That girl, who arrived at magnificent Manderley in an ugly stockinette dress, awkwardly clutching a pair of gauntlet gloves, is not fit to be called the name that was given to my Rebecca. Rebecca was beautiful. Rebecca always knew what to do and what to say, so unlike this girl who shuffled nervously up the flight of steps and stood gauchely on the threshold of the house. No, this new girl is nothing compared to Rebecca's perfection. I was glad I had collected the whole staff to welcome her, despite Maxim's letters. The hall was full of people, all wanting to see â€Å"the new Mrs de Winter†, a sea of faces staring down at her. I wanted her to feel as uncomfortable as possible, and I succeeded, for when I advanced from the crowd and lay my hand in hers, I felt it was hot and damp. As I gave her the cold speech that I had rehearsed, she could not even lift her eyes to meet mine. When I finished, she blushed a bright scarlet, stammered some kind of thanks in return, and clumsily dropped both her gloves. What an ill-bred girl! As I stooped to pick them up, I did not care to hide the smile of scorn upon my lips, for I knew she would never have the courage to challenge me. Later, when they had finished tea, I showed her up to her room. She tried to smile at me, a weak, artificial smile, which I did not return. She walked around the meagre room, and said that it was â€Å"very charming†. Silly girl! The room they have now is nothing compared to the room Mr de Winter shared with Rebecca. Their room, in the magnificent West Wing, was twice as large as this; a very beautiful room, with a scrolled ceiling, expensive tapestry chairs and a great carved mantelpiece. It was the best room in the house, whilst this one, in the East Wing, is hardly ever used, and only then by visitors. It is a second-rate room, which is only natural, as this girl is such a second-rate person. I watched her disdainfully as she sat down nervously at the dressing table and started to brush her lank mousy hair, all the while trying to make conversation, trying to win me over, not knowing that I will never let her take my Rebecca's place. I almost pitied this poor girl, for she will never fit in here. No one will ever accept her. I watched her face scornfully as I told her about the West Wing, how beautiful the room was, how expensive the furnishings were, and I compared it with the inferiority of this room. I wanted her to think that Mr de Winter put her here because he does not love her, as I am sure he does not, not after Rebecca. I watched her face, this unattractive face, and saw that already she feared Rebecca and me. She will be no match against us. June I caught the new Mrs de Winter in Rebecca's room today. She was snooping around because of Jack Favell's visit. Jack Favell came today, because Mr de Winter was away. We went up to Rebecca's room, and that was where Favell saw the new Mrs de Winter approach the house back from her walk. I quickly closed the shutters and we went downstairs so Favell could leave before she saw him, only to find her spying on us from behind the morning room door. Mr de Winter had not told her about Favell then, for she was unaware of his position, and invited him to tea. If I had not been present Favell would have accepted, rash and stupid as he is. However he insisted on showing her his hideous green car, as a way of impressing her. I would not put it past him to have offered to drive her to the lodge gates. What a way to behave to someone who may very well go running to Mr de Winter as soon as he returns! A little after half past four, I went up to Rebecca's room in the West Wing. There, as I had almost expected, at the window, stood the new Mrs de Winter. As she turned pale and awkwardly mumbled an excuse about closing the shutters, I saw that the latch of the wardrobe was not quite closed and the nightdress had been disturbed on the bed, and I knew she had been around the room. She had sat down at Rebecca's dressing table, looked in Rebecca's mirror, touched Rebecca's dressing gown, Rebecca's slippers, Rebecca's quilt, Rebecca's nightdress, and looked at Rebecca's clothes. She had disrupted Rebecca's peace, the peace that I had kept here from the day she died. It occurred to me, this girl was afraid, that was why she came up here. She was afraid of Rebecca, who still ruled at Manderley. She had to see for herself, and after seeing, she felt like an intruder in Rebecca's house, for I keep everything exactly the same as when Rebecca was alive; it is as if Rebecca's spirit still lives in that room. I took her arm and led her around the room, ingratiating, honey-sweet, falsely fawning, showing her the entire room, every last detail, every single expensive ornament and every intricate fabric. I wanted her to see how inferior she was compared to Rebecca. Rebecca was so much taller than her, for when I held up Rebecca's gown it reached down to the girl's ankles. I forced her hands into Rebecca's tiny slippers to show how delicate Rebecca's feet were. I showed her Rebecca's brushes, and told her about hair-drill, how Mr de Winter used to brush it for her, and she would laugh, â€Å"Harder, Max, harder.† It hurt me greatly to talk about these things, especially about Rebecca's death as I think every time about how I could have prevented it, but as I watched the new Mrs de Winter's face I knew that it hurt her more. I blame myself for my lady's death. I had been away, only because Rebecca was in London. When I got back, however, the servants told me she had returned, then went out again. If only I had been there, just to warn her about sailing in such weather. She always listened to me. She would have moaned, and called me an â€Å"old fuss-pot†, and we would have stayed home, talking until late about all she had done in London. I told her about Mr de Winter's grief, how he paced up and down every night after her death. I wanted to make her realise, nobody wants her here. She is only here because Rebecca died. She is only here because of an accident. I told her about how I sometimes think I hear Rebecca walking behind me along the corridor. I asked her if she sometimes thought the dead come back and watch the living, whether Rebecca comes back to watch her. I frightened her, for when I finally opened the door to let her pass she refused to look at me and stumbled as she ran. July Mr de Winter has decided to revive the fancy dress ball. There was much excitement in the house as the preparations took place. The whole village was talking about it, remembering the last ball at Manderley. The fancy dress balls had always been magnificent affairs, with fireworks and music, the great hall full of adoring people, lords and ladies, the bishop and his wife, people from Kerrith and around, and standing in the centre of the room would be Rebecca, smiling, shining in her dress, looking more charming than anyone else. Everyone talked about how elegant she was, how wonderful Manderley looked, and what a lucky man Mr de Winter was. Whenever there was a pause in the stream of guests, she would turn to me and we would share a smile at how well we had organised the whole thing. The preparations this year brought for me a stab of pain. In all the busy arrangements, there was no Rebecca. The servants carried on, it seemed, as if they had forgotten her, and instead went to this child, calling her â€Å"Mrs de Winter†. However, the girl is incapable of such a task as running the Manderley ball. While Rebecca organised everything, depicting precisely the flowers on the tables, writing each of the invitations, this ignorant girl did not even lick a stamp, instead choosing to stand about doing nothing except getting in the way. She is entirely unsuited to the position which she forced herself into. A few days before the ball, I found some of those sketches of hers in the waste paper basket. She had been considering what to wear for the ball. As you can imagine I was filled with derision at this. How typical for someone like her to be stuck for something to wear! I laughed as I thought of her trying so hard to find something special, not knowing that nothing she could find would make her even half of what Rebecca was. That was when the idea came to me, a fantastic idea. I took up the flimsy sketches and arrived at her room. As I confronted her about her lack of decision, she avoided my gaze and began to file her short, brittle nails in her nervousness. I suggested to her the idea of copying one of the pictures from the gallery, in particular the one of the young lady in white, with a hat in her hand. That picture was Caroline de Winter, a sister of Mr de Winter's great-great grandfather. She married a great Whig politician and was a famous London beauty for many years. What the new Mrs de Winter does not know is that at the last fancy dress ball at Manderley, Rebecca had copied the exact same picture. Of course, this girl and my Rebecca are very unalike, but with exactly the same costume, and a wig, I was sure that the first thing the guests would think of will be Rebecca. Mr de Winter will get such a shock, which he deserves for letting this girl take Rebecca's cherished place. Everyone will think that she did it all on purpose; it will be another one of her silly inexperienced slip-ups. I was determined that, amidst the celebrations for the â€Å"new bride†, no one will forget Rebecca. As I expected, the girl did order the dress, and on the evening of the ball I heard her and Clarice the little maid giggling in her room like two silly schoolgirls. I stood and waited in the doorway leading to the West Wing, so I could see everything. In due course, the music stopped, and the drum started beating, a soft humming sound escalating to what sounded to me like ominous thunder. The drummer shouted, â€Å"Miss Caroline de Winter.† A figure appeared at the head of the stairs, dressed in white, a sash and a ribbon, her hat in her hand, her curls standing out from her face. It was the very image of Rebecca. I was overwhelmed; the resemblance was striking; my eyes stung as I almost, almost believed that it was my Rebecca, that my dear Rebecca was back, standing at the top of the stairs, waiting to meet the applause. No applause came. I was torn back into reality as I realised that the whole hall was still. Then they must have all seen it. Yet the girl went on smiling, putting one hand on the banister. â€Å"How do you do, Mr de Winter,† she said. Mr de Winter stood still. He stared up at her, his glass in his hand, his face drained of colour, ashen white. The girl began to be afraid. My plan had worked, Mr de Winter was angry at her, and she had humiliated herself in front of all the guests. I heard her trembling voice in the hall, the long silences, the harsh tones of Mr de Winter. Then I saw her blindly running down the empty corridor, a stunned and stupid animal. She saw me standing triumphantly in the doorway, not caring to hide the loathing I felt for her. She turned and ran from me, tripping and stumbling, down the long narrow passages of Manderley, a home that is not, and will never be, her own. July, a few days later Rebecca is back. Not in person, but I feel her here. Last night Frith brought back the rumour that the Je Reviens was found by divers who went down about the ship in the bay, the one that ran aground when the bearings were confused. However, it cannot be Rebecca's boat. Rebecca's boat was crashed to bits on the rocks, yet this one was perfectly sound. When the diver broke through, he also found something else, a body. Who could it be? The flesh is rotted away by now, so as yet nobody knows. I cannot think who it could be. It cannot possibly be Rebecca, as she was found and identified at Edgecoombe over a year ago. Maybe Mr de Winter made a mistake when he identified her? Yet Rebecca is too experienced a sailor to let herself be trapped in the cabin like that. Could the body belong to one of Rebecca's men? This morning I received a message from Robert that the new Mrs de Winter wanted the menu changed to a hot meal. I was surprised, for she had never before dared to contradict anything I had done, and I did not think it necessary to bother serving someone like her a hot meal while there were plenty of leftovers from yesterday. It was even more astonishing that she should have sent the message by Robert. I confronted her about it. â€Å"I'm not used to having messages sent to me by Robert,† I said. â€Å"If Mrs de Winter wanted anything changed she would ring me personally on the house telephone.† I expected her to blush, and apologise, maybe even offer to keep the menu the way it was before. Instead, she looked at me, calmly and composedly, and answered, â€Å"I am Mrs de Winter now.† How could she have said that, when before she had not dared to meet my gaze? How could she have stood up to me, when before the slightest mention of Rebecca made her blush? What has changed? What has Mr de Winter told her? I pressed her about the story of the boat, but she would not reveal anything. She stood there, meeting stare with stare. I wonder, has everything changed? Even this girl dares to defy me. I do not know what has happened. I do not know what is going to happen, but I feel that nothing will ever be the same again.

ICAS Report Planning Template Essay

ABC Ltd supplies a complete range of carpets and furniture to the general public. ABC Ltd has over 75 nationwide high street shops in all major UK cities and many large towns. ABC Ltd also has a 24/7 online shop which is on the head office site in Aberdeen. Over the past seven years the company has grown steadily and now has revenue of over  £29 million. It employs around 400 full-time staff. Who are the businesses major stakeholders (internal and external) and why? Major stakeholders of the business could be anyone who has an interest in the business. The business is the sole supplier of a range of furniture. The relationship with this supplier is crucial to the success of the business due to the competitive advantage that it offers ABC. Accounts Department (PIC 1.1, 1.4) How big is the Accounts department? What is the purpose of the accounting function? What type of organisational structure is there? Where does the accounts department get its information from? How does the accounts  department inter-relate with other departments within the business? At ABC Ltd the accounts department consists of the Finance Director, Company Accountant, General Ledger and Inventory Clerk, Accounts Payable Clerk, accounts receivable clerk, costing technician As well as payroll and personnel database clerk. The departments deal with the payments of invoices, comparing them to the  purchase orders and the stock receipts. They also monitor the stock and requirement for purchase orders. The department is also responsible for the credit control function, monitoring customers and the payment of the staff wages. In order to carry out these roles Accounts are forced to interact with the whole of the organisation to gather information. ABC use an account spackage which is fully integrated with the rest of the business software. The use an Enterprise Management System called PRONTO. This software allows for multi user access which can be restricted based on job roles. Non accounts users can see, but not change essential financial data, such as supplier and customer balances. Describe (in relation to the organisation) the 3 main financial statements – Income statement, SOFP and Statement of Cashflow. (PIC   What do they show? Who uses them? What decisions are made based on them? Income Statement SOFP Statement of Cashflow Income statements illustrate ABC Ltd profit or loss over a certain periods of time. The income statement records all revenue, losses and operating expenses for the business. The IS can be used to show profitability of the  company. Income statements are used by stakeholders, company accountants, financial directors and  managing directors. The income statements compared with other income statements within ABC Ltd over a period of time or  companies within the same sector will be able to determine the operating performance of ABC Ltd. Managers and the company accountant may be able to find out what areas of the business are over budget or under budget and make necessary changes. Statements of Financial Position (SOFP) illustrate a snap shot of the business financial condition. The SOFP includes the assets and liabilities of ABC Ltd. This is ia good indicator of the liquidity of the business. This statement will again be used by stakeholders, company accountants, financial directors and managing directors. Managers and the company accountant may be able to quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of the business, it’s also demonstrates if ABC ’s assets is enough to cover its liabilities, how liquid its assets are if ABC was to declare bankruptcy, if the business is in a position to expand etc. Statements of Cash flow illustrate the amount of cash generated and used by the business in a given period of time. Again this gives an indication of liquidity and working capital management. This statement will again be used by stakeholders, company  accountants, financial directors and managing directors. Managers  and the company accountant may be able to determine whether the business has enough cash to cover payroll and other immediate expenses or liabilities, as well as allow potential lenders to decide whether or not ABC Ltd is able to pay of its liabilities. What accounting regulations cover the preparation of the above financial statements? (PIC 2.1) In the UK, financial statements are governed by UKGAAP (UK Generally Accepted  Accounting Principles). They are also governed by the Companies Act What other accounting regulations and industry specific regulations does the company have to comply with? Does the company have to deal with Money-Laundering regulations? Does the company come under Sarbanes-Oxley? (PIC 2.1) The company also has to comply with the data protection act as they hold customer and staff information. Non compliance with this act can have severe financial and reputational implications. They are also required to comply with any rules set out by HMRC when paying employees and also calculating the tax liability of the business. The company does not have to comply with Sarbanes Oxley as this only affects companies registered with the New York Stock Exchange When the company has to deal with a change to the above regulations how does it organise this? In what way are system users affected by the change How do they get to find out about the change? (PIC 1.5) The Finance manger and HR manager monitor all regulations and alert the business when changes are made that will affect how the business operates. Changes are implemented by ensuring all staff are made aware of the change via internal communication methods. If need be employees are trained to ensure they fully understand the changes taking place.