Research log Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research log - Essay Example However, as I went on to review the research, I was able to establish the highlights and the major aspects of the issue which were meant to make me understand the events as they unfolded. I was able to learn the extent of the animosity felt by terrorist groups against the US and how these feelings stemmed mostly from the US foreign policies in the Middle East and in developing nations. I was also able to learn how these US foreign policies have been viewed by many Middle Eastern nations as purely economically based and more to the point – oil-based. In the first few days of the research process, I was able to enhance my organizational research skills. Before the research, I did not have an organized way of carrying out research or in carrying out any of my academic tasks. I actually often ended up repeating myself or doing things twice because I did not have good organizational skills. However, as I was going through the process of research, I was forced to come up with a logi cal and orderly system in gathering data and in sorting out the data that I was able to gather. In so doing, I knew where to get the information I needed and which part of the research they would be placed. I was also able to establish the information I still needed to research and what type of information I needed. I believe that the part of the research which was well organized and well done for me was the third chapter because the materials and information were well organized and logically flowed from one idea to the next. I believe that that part of the research process was able to highlight my strengths as a researcher and as a student. However, there were also some challenging and difficult parts of the research process for me. It was very challenging for me to gain an objective and well-rounded information about the topic. There are different sources of information about the topic and I tried my best to sift through these in order to come up with the best and the most objecti ve sources of data. When I was about to finish the research and data gathering process, I was more or less ready to plan and to write the initial chapters of the paper. In order for me to make a good start however on the paper, I was planning to read the â€Å"Unholy wars: Afghanistan, America and international terrorism† by Cooley and â€Å"Fighting suicide bombing: a worldwide campaign for life† by Cherny. In order to successfully write the first chapter, I was called on to spend much time in researching about the 9/11 attacks itself. The areas of my research for this week included the assessment of the different events leading up to the 9/11 attacks and the immediate aftermath thereof. I found out that there were possible signs which indicated a possible attack on US soil, however no definitive threat was seen and was considered an immediate threat to the US and its inhabitants and territories. In order to ensure a good understanding of the subject matter, I highlig hted the importance of gaining balanced and objective research materials. I used both library searches through books and journals in order to facilitate data gathering. I also used the internet to search for possible recommended materials relevant to my research. Before I started with the research proc

Concept tools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Concept tools - Assignment Example In the present study, clinical judgment will be measured by measuring how nurses notice certain data on the patient, how they make sense of the data, and how they intervene in the patient’s issue. An effective measuring tool for clinical judgment that will be employed in the current study is Tanner’s Clinical Judgment tool. In this study, the tool will be used in a pre and posttest design for using clinical judgment in employing JNC guidelines in treating hypertension. Its validity, which is the other thing that makes it suitable for the current study, is underpinned by its wide use in different studies. The results of the tool are credible and this is seen in the reliability of the results of the studies that employed it previously. A limitation with Tanner’s Clinical Judgment model is that it might not capture some aspects of a patient’s condition (Modic, 2013). In summary, Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model is the appropriate tool to use in the current study because it conceptualizes clinical judgment holistically and does not have many limitations that would hinder its accuracy. The tool has been validated by multiple studies. Ashcraft, A., Opton, L., Bridges, R., Caballero, S., Veesart, A. & Weaver, C. (2013). Simulation Evaluation Using a Modified Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric. Nursing Education Perspectives, 34(2):

Examine the Key Influence on Operations Which Contributes to the Business Success Essay Example for Free

Examine the Key Influence on Operations Which Contributes to the Business Success Essay This Report will examine how the major influences on Operations which contribute to the success of the business with focus all of the major eight influences, these include Globalisation, Technology, Environmental Sustainability, Legal Regulations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quality Expectations, Government Policies and Cost based Competition. This report will also examine the impact of the influences on businesses such as Billabong, Westpac, Holden, Woolworth and Coca-Cola. Globalisation Globalisation is the internationalization of trade and often forces businesses to adopt new strategies for operations to suit different cultures and economies. The often easily saturated domestic market has triggered many large businesses to expand globally for the purpose of increased sales and profits. Globalisation allows businesses to enter new markets, increase the size of their product range and the size of their operations, thus leading to the successful business. One such business that has successfully undergone the process of Globalisation is Billabong. Billabong’s approach in their expansion into foreign markets has allowed the stakeholders of the business to access to the numerous advantages of globalisation, such as the expansion through new markets. New Markets Billabong commenced with global expansion with the aim to increase revenue and profitability as their original domestic niche market became increasing hard to expand, as the surfing demographics geographically was limited to coastal areas. Today, Billabong is a major transnational surfing brand, producing mass customized outputs to meet the demand of the potential customers at the global market. This is done through the Global web strategy, which allowed Billabong to carefully select from a list of appropriate proximity global suppliers which can make up a predictable and reliable supply chain that is highly responsive to changes in demand that will be experienced by the business. It is evident that Billabong has successfully been influenced by Globalisation with over 70% of its revenue being generated from overseas markets. Technology Many business use existing cutting edge technology to design, construct and or apply innovative devices, machinery and methods upon the operations process. The goal is to provide opportunities for their businesses to apply new breakthroughs, innovations, and inventions to both administrative and processing level of Operations, with aims to increase efficiency and logistics in production process, lower prices, increase their market share and a higher return for the business’s shareholders and thus gain competitive advantage in their target market and leading the business a path to success. One particular business that has integrated very well with technology is Woolworths. Woolworthss approach to technology, especially in its processing level has let opportunity for the business to increase efficiency of operations via improving the supply chain management. Woolworths Project refresh was put in place on the operation process in 1999 with aims to increase efficiency via utilising technology and is prove successful. An example of technology used in Woolworth is the IT system called AutoStockR. It is used to forecast when supermarket shelves need to be replenished. This type of technology can effectively prevent stock from running out, which leads to increase of customer satisfaction and reliability on the brand and ultimately leading the business to success. Quality Expectation Consumers are becoming increasing orientated to the marketing process of a business; as a result, customers began to have an expectation to the level of quality that they will receive from the product outputs by businesses. These expectations involve: *Quality of design *Fitness for purpose *Durability An operations manager needs to make sure that the goods produced are of the required quality that is expected by the consumers that is they are safe and reliable. For any businesses not able to achieve the expectations assumed by the customers on the quality of the product produced by the business, can lead to a decline in sales and ultimately business failure. Cost-Based Competition Cost has traditionally being a major influence on all business as all businesses desire to achieve maximum efficiency as it is a vital factor for businesses in order to reach the ultimate goal and success. Businesses sees cost as the key value to success and aims to become as much cost efficient as possible, by implementing a cost-leadership style approach to the operations variable cost or fixed cost ,while maintain the expected profit margin, business is able to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in their target market. This is called cost-based competition. By determining the break-even point and applying cost saving strategies, to reducing cost, businesses who apply cost-based competition in their operations is able to maximize the profits and lead business to success. Government Policies Regardless of the nation of the business may be operating in, all aspect of any business must comply by the laws and policies of businesses set by the government of that nation in order to success. Political policies often alter business legal regulations and thus leading to business opportunity, such as taxation rates, WHS standards, public safety and health policy, and environment policies all contribute to business success. An example of recent government policy is Carbon Tax. The introduction of the Carbon Tax in 2012 will see many carbon-intensive businesses, such as electricity companies, restructure their operations to more renewable energy sources, as this will reduce business costs and possibly allow them a competitive advantage thus leading business to success. Legal Regulations The legal influence on the business is a complex issue as the legal system with each nation has a fundamental difference on how the legal regulation influences on the operations of a global business. The range of laws set by each individual nation which businesses must comply is collectively termed compliance. The cost of expenses to meet and integrate the legal regulations to meet the compliance is very influential on the business’s cost and ultimately the operations process. In Australia, the legal system recognizes the contemporary issues exists many large industries exploiting their workers and place upon businesses to protect the labor market and the public health and environment. Some of these laws include: *Workers Health and Safety Act:  *Anti-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Act: *Fair work and Anti-discrimination law Environmental Sustainability As global consumers became increasing aware of the current environmental problems, such as pollution, global businesses are required to identify the key structural changes needed, which may affect demand and supply conditions for their products and eventually their success. This is done through integrating the goals outlined by the environment sustainability laws into their resources and operations planning and practices in order to receive a good image with their target market and maintain their market share which leads the business to success. One of the businesses has completely complied with the legal regulations to sustain the environment is Holden. Holden’s approach to sustain the world environment, such as the integration of the business goals with the goals outlined in the environmental sustainability laws has maintained a good image of the business assumed by the market.To comply with the legal regulations set by the government, and to maintain customer satisfaction, Holden focus on reducing energy, water and waste as operating performance indicators has successfully reduced their carbon footprint demanded by the government and consumers and maintained their market share. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Business in the modern global market extends their objectives from just complying with the legal regulations in their operations to reach maximum financial gain to â€Å"service to society and community† by taking account of their business practices based on the respect for people, community and the broader environment. Businesses who have that change of objectives are aiming to achieve corporate social responsibility. Formerly known as the triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility places same value on profitability with social justice and environmental protection. Businesses with a positive CSR image will gain high reputations among the stakeholders, thus leading to business efficiency and ultimately business success. However, the notion of CSR can also be exploited as a marketing ploy, thus criteria and measures have been established for prevention. Some of these measures are: *Ethical responsibility It is standard for many businesses to operate at the level of legal compliance permissible as it means to maintain cost efficiency and thus maintain profit at a maximum. However for businesses who truly integrate corporate social responsibility into their business practices aims to meet all legal obligations and taking into account broader social, community and environmental concerns. One of the businesses who have taken on ethical responsibility on their business operations practices is Westpac. Westpac demonstrate ethical responsibility in many ways, such as its target of 40% of senior management positions being held by women by 2014. *Environmental Sustainability As mentioned earlier the principle of ecological sustainability requires business to evaluate their operations strategies affected by the environment and produce new and better products in an ecologically sustainable manner as the business focus coincides with stakeholder expectations. For example; Coca-Cola demonstrates corporate social responsibility in regards to environmental sustainability through its extensive water recycling program, which has significantly reduced water wastage at the company’s production facilities in Australia and around the world. This type of CSR actions by Coca-Cola has led the stakeholders’ good impression of the business which ultimately leads to business success. Conclusion This Report has examined how each of the major influences such as: Globalisation, Technology, Environmental Sustainability, Legal Regulations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quality Expectations, Government Policies and Cost based Competition on Operations contributes to the success of the business. This report also had examined the impact of the influences on the businesses such as Billabong, Westpac, Holden, Woolworth and Coca-Cola.

Health of the Population of Ohio: An Analysis

Health of the Population of Ohio: An Analysis Health of an Ohio Population The health of a particular population and the main concerns each is faced with is an important first step in correcting or helping a community. Populations of a community consist of infants, children, young adults, adults, senior citizens whether healthy or disabled in some way. This poses a challenge alone, but then add mixed ethnicities with different ideals and it poses a bigger challenge yet. Each person, or group of persons, in a community has a various degree of risk for different conditions as well based on different behaviors, ethnicities and such. Conveying the general idea to promote health and explaining the initiatives that are created and providing support to the community at the same time is a must. Let us look at Stark County in the state of Ohio to gain a better understanding of the population break down, health concerns facing children in the county, and what is being done to combat them. Stark County, Ohio Population Breakdown Stark County, Ohio has an overall population of 375, 432 persons and is broken down into many smaller towns and villages that consist of various age groups and ethnicities (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Majority of the population is female with 51.5% and males making up the other 48.5% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The population breakdown by age and percentage is shown in the table below. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010) Health Concerns Facing Children of Stark County, Ohio Children make up a large portion of Stark County’s population, after adults aged 18-64, with a total of 103,618 children all together. Two major health concerns facing children today in Stark County, and the United States as well, are childhood obesity and mental health wellness. These concerns were identified in 2012 as part of the Stark County Community Health Improvement Plan as priority number one and three. Childhood Obesity Research into the Community Health Improvement Plan for Stark County (2012) revealed that, â€Å"34.1% of Stark County third graders were either overweight or obese in 2009-2010† according to the CDC. Obesity is measured using the body mass index scale which is done utilizing a weight to height ratio with a measurement over 30 kg per meter squared being considered obese (Russell-Mayhew, McVey, Bardick, Ireland, 2012). This only represents a small number of children, which for the category, has a high percentage. Obesity can lead to other health concerns and issues such as diabetes, heart problems, joint problems, depression, etc. and is associated with nearly $60 million a year in health care costs and lost productivity (NACS, 2013). Initiatives put into place to help combat childhood obesity in the county include wellness seminars at schools, promote physical activity and nutrition programs, and increase funding to Stark County schools to help create more programs and awaren ess (Stark County Health Department, 2012). The state of Ohio itself, which is ranked 12th for childhood obesity, also has launched an early childhood obesity prevention grant that will fund high-need communities and build upon other programs in communities as well (NACS, 2013). Mental Health Wellness The second area of health concern facing children is mental health wellness. According to Athena Health (2014), the rate of children being diagnosed with mental health conditions is continuing to rise with a recent increase of twenty-three percent with ADHD, anxiety and depression being the leading mental health diagnoses. The Ohio Youth Survey utilized in making the Community Health Improvement Plan (2012) indicated that 26.6% of students were sad or hopeless more often than not during the day for a period of two weeks in a row and as a result they stopped participating in activities they previously enjoyed and became withdrawn. Increasing awareness of mental health wellness promotion and substance abuse programs and their usage by implementing seminars, creating education programs and activities, performing screenings and making resources available are all part of the initiatives in place by the Stark County Health Department to combat this health concern facing children and others . Health Screening Tool for Risks Childhood Obesity and Mental Health Wellness both have initiatives created that use screening tools to help identify risks and how to prevent the health concern from occurring as one part of the solution. The following is an example of a health risk assessment taken and the information that may be provided to help decrease likelihood of getting a disease. A series of questions is asked about behaviors, demographics, health and such which is then compiled into a result that determines the risk into seven categories for this particular assessment relating to stroke risk: very much below average risk, much below average risk, below average risks, average risk, above average risk, much above average risk, and very much above average risks. The assessment explains what put the person taken the assessment at a much below average risk for a stroke such as not smoking, healthy blood pressure, exercising and not consuming alcohol in abundance. (Convergence Health, 2014) Following that section, there is a recommendation section. The recommendations for a much below average risk person regarding stroke is to continue healthy behaviors, maintain a lower weight, avoid passive smoke increase fruit and vegetable intake, and incorporate fish into diet on a weekly basis (Convergence Health, 2014). The recommendation section points out areas that may already be known but helps to reinforce what is necessary for better health and increase chances of avoiding future illnesses. This information is useful when creating a personal plan to becoming a better, healthier person to achieve any long term goals while reminding one to take care of their body and what we ingest directly affects one’s health and to be a positive role model for future generations. Conclusion Understanding a population and what the associated health risks are for that particular group helps create an effective improvement plan to successfully increase their health. Issues facing children such as childhood obesity and mental health wellness not only impact today, but the future as well. Teaching children how to be healthy now will help them to be more productive, healthy adults and help curb the same issue for their children as they are the role models being seen. States, counties and townships must ban together to help create and continue programs that are aimed to offer support and resources to create healthier communities. In the words of Gandhi, â€Å"It is health that is real wealth, not pieces of gold and silver† (Brainy Quote, 2014, p.1). References Athena Health. (2014). Rising mental health issues facing our children, in five charts.  Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com Brainy Quote. (2014). Health Quotes-Gandhi. Retrieved  http://www.brainyquote.com Convergence Health. (2014). Stroke Risk Assessment. Retrieved from  http://christianhospital.privatehealthnews.com NACS Online. (2013, June). Ohio launches new childhood obesity initiative. Retrieved from  http://www.nacsonline.com Russell-Mayhew, S., McVey, G., Bardick, A., and Ireland, A. (2012). Mental Health, Wellness,  and Childhood Obesity. Journal of Obesity (2012). Doi: 10.1155/2012/281801   Stark County Health Department. (2012). Stark County Community Health Improvement Plan.  Retrieved from www.starkhealth.org U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). 2010 Demographic Profile Data-Stark County. Retrieved from  http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/

A Separate Peace: Responsibility Essay -- Essays Papers

A Separate Peace: Responsibility A responsibility is something for which one is held accountable. Often people say that one is responsible for one’s own words and actions; if something happens as a result of something one does one is responsible for it. But is it possible that something could be the result of various actions from different people who are therefore equally responsible, or is there always one person who is most responsible for the incident at hand? Such a situation where this question is relevant is present in the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles. In the novel, the main character, Gene, ponders his responsibility for the death of his best friend, Phineas or Finny. After reading Gene’s account of the events that led to Finny’s death the reader may observe that there are three people who are all partially at fault for Finny’s death. Gene, a classmate named Brinker, and Phineas all had something to do with the incident, but who was most responsible for it? Gene is probably the most obvious to blame for part of Phineas’ death. Gene clearly feels guilty, that is why he returns to the tree fifteen years after the fact, for some sort of closure. As Gene and Finny were about to jump from a tree branch into the river together, Gene shook the branch causing Phineas to fall into the river unexpectedly and hurt his leg. Later on, when Phineas re-injured his leg and was having it set in a routine operation, he passed away. The doctor said that it was p...

Theoretical Approaches to Speech Production :: Spreading Activation Theory SAT

Theoretical Approaches to Speech Production There are two main theories of Speech production, Spreading Activation Theory - SAT (Dell, 1986: Dell & O’Seaghdha, 1991) and Word- Form Encoding by Activation and Verification – WEAVER++ (Levelt et al., 1989: 1999). The SAT theory was devised by Dell (1986) then revised by Dell & O’Seaghda (1991). The theory works on a 4 level connectionist model: parallel and dynamic. The Semantic level is the meaning of what is going to be said. The Syntactic level is the grammatical structure of the words in the planned utterance The Morphological level is the morphemes (basic units of meaning of word forms) in the planned sentence. The Phonological level is the basic unit of sound within a sentence. In addition to the main structure of the SAT model a representation is formed at each level. Pre-Planning is more particular at the semantic level. There are categorical rules at each level, which impose constraints on item categories and category combination. The internal lexicon (dictionary) is considered to be a constructionist network it includes nodes for concepts, words, morphemes and phonemes. So when one node is activated it sends a message to activate all other nodes connected to it. The later computational model WEAVER++ was put forward by Levelt, Roelofs, and Meeyer (1999) derived from Lefvelt (1989). The model is based on the assumptions that there is a feed forward activation network spreading through the network and does not go back. There are 3 levels in the network the highest level of nodes represented are lexical the second level are lemmas which are abstract words from the mental lexicon and the lowest level are the nodes in support of morphemes the basic unit of meaning and phonemes. The network does not have any inhibitory links. The production of speech follows through the stages exactly serial. A word error will occur if the level of activity in the node does no match to the appropriate node higher up. There are 6 stages of processing in the WEAVER++ Theory 2 more than the SAT theory. First the Conceptual preparation stage where the lexical concepts are activated. Stage 2 comes the Lexical selection where an abstract word or lemma is Selected along with its syntactic features. The Morphological encoding is The basic word form derived from the lemma activated. Stage 5 is the Phonetic encoding is where the speech sounds are set. Articulation is the Final stage defines the way the word is pronounced.

How do the directors Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski present Macbeth to their audiences? Essay

How do the directors Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski present Act I scenes I to IV of Macbeth to their audiences? In your work you must make reference to the techniques used by each director to create atmosphere and a sense of good and evil. You should pay special attention to the portrayal by each director of the character of the witches, Macbeth and Duncan. In this essay I am going to explore the different representations of the Shakespeare play Macbeth by directors Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski. The scenes I will focus on are act I scenes I until act I scene 4. In these scenes I will pay specific attention to the Witches, Macbeth and King Duncan to show how the good and evil atmosphere in the play affected the events that befall. The witches are going to play a strong part in my essay because I believe that the supernatural is a major part of the play’s concept. The witches have a profound affect on Macbeth and so the plot is greatly governed by their actions. The atmosphere they produce has a great affect on the audience The atmosphere is important because it gives the audience strong first impressions of what the play in trying to show. The portrayal of good and evil interlink with the atmosphere and are important in showing how Macbeth starts off with noble thoughts and is brought to corruption by the three witches. I will start off by looking at how Trevor Nunn expressed his interpretation of the Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Trevor Nunn makes the play into a stage performance. The whole play is summed up with Trevor Nunn’s comment: ‘I want to photograph the text’ In my opinion I think this is just what he did. The sound effects were made openly by the actors and there are no scenic effects, just groupings and close-ups in coloured light. This gave the play the perfect setting for the atmosphere that Shakespeare was trying to portray, he wanted a strong feeling of uneasiness and the supernatural, and the close set gave just this. After the play is introduced the 12 actors in the cast appear to be sat in a circle. A bright light behind illuminates each character so that each of the actors’ faces appear to be light or dark or in some cases only half in shadow. Trevor Nunn used this opening as a way to give the audience a quick insight into which of the characters has an evil side and which are good. The scenes were performed in the centre of the circle while members of the cast who were not involved with the scene watched from outside. This works well because of the positioning of the lights; they illuminate the participating actors only and the light does not shine on the other members of the cast. The lighting arrangement on the stage allows the cast to appear to vanish. An example of this technique is after the witches have meet Macbeth: they appear to disappear in to thin air when in fact they have just stepped out of the light. The play involves many close-ups and extreme close-up shots. This is because there is no scenery in the background, unlike Polanski’s version, so the cameras pay specific detail to facial features and body movement. The camera often shows a group of people before zooming in on the face of a particular character so as to show the circumstance s/he is in. This helps develop the plot and give more depth to the different characters and their personalities. The costume in the play is very important in expressing good and evil. The costumes are mainly black and white because of this; white being associated with pureness and black being associated with evil. The white of King Duncan’s costume resembles purity and holiness while the green/black costumes of the witches resemble flagitiousness and the unnatural. During Act 1 Scene 4, Macbeth and Banquo help King Duncan to his throne where the Royal Crown is placed upon his head. The Crown is a very important stage prop because it reminds everyone that King Duncan is a powerful character. It is very important to the plot because it is Macbeth and Banquo who support the crown and Macbeth kills both Banquo and Duncan to get to it. King Duncan also possesses a crucifix which he wears around his neck. Although he appears to be holy, the crucifix shows the audience that his faith in God. However, there is also a possibility that Duncan wears the crucifix because he fears the supernatural and he believes that the crucifix will protect him. At the beginning of the play we see that Macbeth is wearing a black costume. This means that the audience does not know whether he is noble or corrupt and this adds suspense to the atmosphere. I think that the use of this co-ordination is very good because it allows the audience to use the colour sense for good and evil to aid in their understanding of the plot. The atmosphere is very important in the play. It keeps the audience interested and adds an extra depth to the plot. The stage set creates a feeling of claustrophobia that adds to the evil and unnatural. When they are accompanied by the fact that the cast are wearing monochrome costume and the black, featureless background the atmosphere is very strong and mystical. The atmosphere with the witches is especially powerful. The witches speak using rhyming couplets and to a different rhythm to the rest of the play. There is a chorus in which they all join in: ‘Double, double, toil and trouble: Fire, burn and cauldron, bubble’ Act 4 Scene 1 The alliteration with the repeated ‘d’ and ‘b’ sounds make the chant sound very powerful and is very catchy. The supernatural aspect in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is very important and Trevor Nunn has captured it very well. By using the stage techniques previously explored, he captured the battle of good and evil between the witches and King Duncan. At the beginning of the play, we hear the witches scream of chaos against Duncan’s words of prayer. This strong image of good versus evil and the strong supernatural actions of the witches gives the play a powerful start. The lighting position he uses allows the witches to suddenly vanish giving a strong supernatural effect. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth calls on the supernatural through the earth (this has strong connotations with the Devil’s presence in the Earth) using methods that would have been thought suspicious in Shakespeare’s time. In Trevor Nunn’s version of Macbeth, Macbeth appears to be young, valiant and noble. However as the play progresses we are able to see the changes occur in him. This change is much more apparent because of the fact that Macbeth starts off so innocent – we are able to see the change more clearly. Banquo appears to be older than Macbeth, a veteran maybe, who shows little fear and appears at the start of the play to be a noble man. He is dressed in slightly less dark clothing which inter-links with the evil/good dress code. Roman Polanski’s version is a very different interpretation of Macbeth. The most noticeable difference is that he has presented his rendering as a motion picture. More colour and music is used to aid the portrayal of the plot to the audience and there is much more background detail. The film shows a lot of strong images, for example, the witches on the beach at the prelude of the play. The ability to edit scenes using computers and the possibility of picture enhancing allows a much more realistic play that the people of today can deal with more easily. The realism of the film helps the audience understand the plot using visuals, which are much more effective in assisting cognition. The play starts off with the credits appearing with battle sounds playing. The camera appears to be moving towards the battle scene but it never gets there. The first scene is the battlefield, littered with bodies and burning remains of chariots, soldiers are roaming around salvaging what they can. When the witches appear on a deserted beach, they perform a ritual involving blood, spit and a severed hand. They bury them in the sand and perform their opening lines from Act 1 Scene 1. Roman Polanski uses many effects that can only be used in a motion picture. The use of mid shots and long shots are possible because Polanski’s Macbeth has a very detailed background. The different screen shots are combined using wipes and fades that can only be used in films. Polanski has used special effects to emphasis the circumstance, for example, music or sounds of the event like marching and battle sounds. Zoom is often used to show up more detail in the background or foreground. For example, in the background the zoom is used to give the effects of expanse on the beech and of the countryside. In the foreground the zoom can focus on different relevant facial features such as eye shifting. Extreme close-up shots a give very good aspect view of important actions that are too difficult for the audience to spot from mid or long shots. The camera angle varies throughout to make the most of different views, this helps maximise the impact of the film on the audience. The atmosphere in this version is not as intense as in the Trevor Nunn version. This is partially due to the expanse in which the scenes are set and very little of the claustrophobia that is entrapped in the Nunn version exists in this environment. The special effects that have been utilised by Polanski enhance the effect of the atmosphere. Though the same text is used, visual detail like different backgrounds helps stimulate the eyes as well as the ears. Also, the sound affects used by Polanski are much more intricate than Nunn’s because he has used computer effects for the battle sounds. The music he uses adds depth to the actions the cast are performing and plays a major part in boosting the strength of the atmosphere. The lighting does not play as large a part as in Trevor Nunn’s Macbeth. However, the different angles at different times of day hitting the surrounds can cause effects that are very clever. For example, near the beginning of the film the witches are on the beach and when they depart, the light reflecting off the water makes it appear as if they are walking on water (The supernatural affect of this would have been good). From what I can tell, no artificial light is used, unlike in Trevor Nunn’s where artificial light is all that is used. The costume in Polanski’s version is very extensive. Each individual character has their own dress colours; they appear to wear what they want. The Knights wear armour and the women wear colourful dresses, the men wear trousers and boots and the children wear similar smaller versions. The witches had to be portrayed as dilapidated so their clothes are ragged and shabby. One of the witches wears a mask and make-up to make her appear more of a reject of society, a freak. Modern audiences need special effects like this to keep them interested in the film. Macbeth and Banquo appear younger in this version. Macbeth appears to be a valiant young man who has now proved himself in battle while Banquo fights beside him having already proven his valour. After having analysed both productions, I believe that they are both very strong interpretations of Macbeth. I found that Polanski’s version was more easily understandable because there were many things providing the outline of the plot both orally and visually. However, Nunn’s was more moving because he captured the atmosphere that I think Shakespeare wanted to encapsulate when he wrote the play. I think that Nunn expressed his interpretation very strongly. His statement about wanting to photograph the text was defiantly what he set out to do and what I think he achieved. Roman Polanski swapped a couple of the scenes around to try and help the audience understand more easily. However, Trevor Nunn kept to the text indefinitely. This is backed up by the fact that he stated he wanted to ‘photograph the text’. I think that they both portrayed Macbeth as I had imagined he would have been. He appears to start of a picture of heroics, which gradually changes for the worse. They are both young and have proven their honour in battle. The theme of good and evil was very well portrayed in Trevor Nunn’s version. The witches created more of an atmosphere than in Polanski’s and the lighting worked very well in helping the witches appear as if they were disappearing. However, Polanski did a very good job of creating an evil atmosphere using a motion picture. He was able to use computers and colour more vividly.