Postal Survey Essay Example for Free

Postal Survey Essay I have decided to use postal surveys and internet questionnaires for my survey methods. Both of these are relatively inexpensive, this is one of the reasons I chose them as I would not be able to afford face to face questionnaires, focus groups or phone surveys as they would be to expensive for me to do when starting a new business. Postal Survey I have chosen to use postal surveys as even though they have to be of low depth, I will be able to find out the basic needs of my customers, on which I can base my businesses goals. For example if most of my results say that my customers would want a cheap yet elegant service, my goal would be to provide this. I also believe postal surveys will be a good idea, as I can post them around the area in which I believe my customers will be (mainly Chorley). By doing this I will be marketing my business to the customer. Another way of arranging my postal survey would be to find out where single people live, or where people live who have been buying wedding magazines (as these will be my main customers). Then I can send my postal surveys to them so I am not wasting money by sending the survey to people who will definitely not be my clients. I have also decided that when sending out these postal surveys, I will attach some kind of coupon or money redeeming voucher so that there is a reason for whom I sent the survey to, to fill it in. An example of the coupon would be 10% off organisational fees with KLH Wedding Co-ordinators. By doing this I would be getting my research done, and also attracting clients to my business. Internet Questionnaires Again this type of survey means getting back a low depth of information, however I still believe the information I gain will be useful. This form of surveying is relatively inexpensive, and it can be aimed at specific markets, in this case, people who want to get married. As with the postal surveys, I will be hoping to send my questionnaires to people who wish to get married. I could do this by buying information off websites that have peoples email addresses. This way I can send the information directly to people who I know could be interested in it. Overall I know both postal surveys and internet questionnaires are a slow way of finding information, and have a low response rate, but I believe if I send them to the right people, I will get a fairly good response, (better than the average postal or internet questionnaire survey), and seeing as I will add a coupon to both, I expect more people will return my questionnaires. I have also decided that if I decide I need more information, I will add a few open questions into the questionnaire that the reader can fill it in if they have an interest in my company. Unfortunately there is a chance that neither of these 2 survey methods would work, or that my results will be very basic. In this situation, I would hope to be able to bring together some people who have replied to my questionnaires that wish to get married. To do this I would ask on the questionnaires if they are planning a wedding or will be doing soon. From these people I will hope to be able to bring them together for a focus group, I can then find out their needs and wants from a wedding planner. I know this will not be a cheap, and I expect I will have to give them some kind of reason to do this, for which again I would offer some kind of redeemable coupon.

Cryogenics: Is It Worth Waiting For? :: essays research papers fc

Cryogenics: Is It Worth Waiting For Imagine being frozen in time to escape a deadly illness, then getting warmed when a cure is found. There is question on whether cryogenic methods should be used. To fully understand cryogenics a knowledge of cold, background information on some branches of cryogenics, some problems with cryopresevation, and different peoples views towards cryogenics is needed. "Cold is usually considered hostile to mankind. Most people hate cold and with reasons." If not careful, cold can be deadly to animal and human life, but it can also help cure, because cold bodies perform functions slower (Kavaler 16- 17). Measurement of temperature is extremely important in cryogenics and the temperatures must be exact. The standard for scientific temperature measurement is the Kelvin scale. On the Kelvin scale absolute zero has a value of zero degrees on the thermometer. In theory no substance can be lowered to or below zero degrees Kelvin or absolute zero. Temperatures in cryobiology range from zero degrees Celsius--water freezes--to just above negative two hundred and seventy three point sixteen degrees Celsius--absolute zero. The word "Cryogenics" comes from the Greek word â€Å"kryos† meaning cold (â€Å"Cryogenics† Raintree 127, Kavaler 16). The science of cryobiology was first recognized in the early nineteen sixties. Cryobiology is the study of the effects of extremely low temperatures on living animals and plants. The chief concern in cryobiology is to preserve living matter for future use. This method can also be called cryopreservation. Cryotherapy is the use of extreme cold in treatment. The first trials of cryotherapy proved with great results (â€Å"Cryobiology† Comptons 1, McGrady 97). Frozen cells can be kept alive for very long periods of time in a state of â€Å"suspended animation.† Almost immediately after rapid thawing, the frozen cells regain normal activity. Cooling of the body causes a loss of feeling, therefore it can be used as anesthesia in surgery. Since certain drugs don’t affect healthy cells at low temperatures, the drugs can be safely used against cancerous tumors in the body. Cryogenics also helps in the preservation and storage of human tissues. Tissues such as eye corneas, skin, and blood that were rapidly frozen can be stored in â€Å"banks† for later use. Then skin can be grafted to burn victims and eye corneas can replace damaged ones. Thanks to Cryobiology blood can be frozen and stored for indefinitely for many years as opposed to only three weeks as it was before cryogenic technology was used. Surgeons can use a cryoscapel, freezing tips, to deaden or destroy tissue with great accuracy and little bloodshed (â€Å"Cryogenics† Academic 350, â€Å"Cryobiology† World Book 929).

Pop Art Was Simply a Reflection of Consumer Society and Mass Media

Pop art was simply a reflection of consumer society and mass media, not a critique. Discuss with reference to the work of 3 artists. Pop Art was one of the major art movements of the twentieth century. It brought art back to the material realities of daily life, in which ordinary people derived most their visual pleasure from popular mass culture, such as advertising, television, magazines, or comic books and comic strips. As it emerged from the experiments of the fifties, was the ideal instrument for coming to grips with the American urban environment. Stangos, 1997) As the post-war generation and the stable political situation, it drove people back to the qualities of life. At the same times, America urban environment was influence by industrialism, consumer society and the mass media explosion. The pop artists have found subjects, which have previously been ‘invisible’ because they are so much a part of our surroundings that we don’t see them. These things now begin to appear, once the artists have pointed them out, and we discover that the world is full of ‘Pop object,’ which are expressive of our times and our values for better or for worse. Mahsun, 1989, p. 163) Pop art was established from the reality of basic consumer society; therefore, it was accepted by the society easily.Pop art is said to be a reflection of culture as artists are giving new interpretation to different ordinary objects in their art works. Jasper Johns establish his career in art in 1954, he uses flags, numbers, letters and maps these kind of common symbols in daily life as element or theme of his art work. Jasper talks about his work, ‘Flags’ (fig. ), in which he thinks that flag this kind of most ordinary objects ‘can be dealt with without having to judge them, they seem to me to exist as clear facts, not involving aesthetic hierarchy. ’ (Harrison and Wood, 2001, p. 721) He adds that ‘one thinks it has forty-eight sta rs and suddenly it has fifty stars; it is no longer of any great interest. ’‘The painting of a flag is always about a flag, but it is no more about a flag than it is about a brush-stroke or about a color or about the physicality of the paint, I think. (Harrison and Wood, 2001, p. 723) People will not care anymore about the cultural meaning of a flag, such as the meaning behind the number of stars of flag, but it transforms to a new representation of merely art element—- brush-stroke, color and paint. The deform of ordinary objects is reformed into a new image using oil and collage on fabric. By looking at the quality of work, one may say it is unfinished, however Jasper said it is his intention. ‘I think a painting should include more experience than simply intended statement.I personally would like to keep the painting in a state of ‘ shunning statement’, so that one is left with the fact that one can experience individually as one pleases; th at is, not to focus the attention in one way, but to leave the situation as kind of actual thing, so that the experience of it is variable. ’ (Harrison and Wood, 2001, p. 726) Besides he is interested in deforming objects, he also intended to leave the painting not ‘perfect’ as people usually conceived, to let viewer to ‘experience’ and interpret the painting in their own way.Lippard (1966) also said that he has neutralized the gap between life and art by composing ‘imperfect synthesis of motif and treatment’. The question about is it a painting or flag is no more important. He integrates art and life with the use of ordinary objects and the imperfect way to treat his art. The new interpretation of ordinary culture is arousing resonance of viewers rather that a voicing out a statement to challenge the society. Andy Warhol, another master of pop art giving a new interpretation of mass production. For the most 1950s he was a successful gra phic designer, particularly in the field of shoe illustration.In 1960, Warhol, produced his first canvases depicting comic strip characters. The canonical repeated Soup Cans, Disaster, Elvises and Marilyns followed in 1962. Warhol talks about his work, ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans,’(fig. 2), for the reason he start painting soup cans ‘because I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for twenty years, I guess, the same thing over and over again. ’(Harrison and Wood, 2001, P. 732) Painting usually reflects the painter’s mind, which is happening around them. And the Soup cans totally reflect what Warhol’s life had and what he concerned.Daily objects are used again as the theme of art work which is reminding viewers about very common objects, which Warhol is placing a new value and thought into them through his work. Another series of painting, the death series (fig. 3), and the reason to start this series is because there was lots of disaster news from the mass media. Warhol realized that everything he was doing must have been Death. That started it. But he believed when one see a horrible picture over and over again would lose the effect (Harrison and Wood, 2001, P. 732).He even wants to repeat the images like what a machine does. In the 60s, most of the American similar to Warhol repeating their life likes a machine. No one would like to be a machine, but Warhol does. Warhol said that ‘I want to be a machine, and I feel that whatever I do and do machine like is what I want to do. ’ (Harrison and Wood, 2001, P. 732) In 1963 Warhol was mass-producing the images by silkscreen technique, for the repeated images ‘makes us aware again of objects which have lost their visual recognition through constant exposure.We take a fresh look at things familiar to us, yet uprooted from their ordinary contexts, and reflect upon the meaning of contemporary existence. ’(Stangos, 1997, P. 229) War hol wants an art that will appeal to everybody, and his ‘products’ range from soup to cheesecake, Brillo to Marilyn Monroe, nose surgery to Jacqueline Kennedy, as he mention ‘everything is beautiful, Pop is everything. ’ (Stangos, 1997) Once again, his art work reflects the mundane daily life of Warhol. It becomes widespread and popular because of the objects are so attached to everyone’s common life in America, which recalls people’s memory.It is more probably that he is playful to ordinary materials, giving new look to them, mass producing them, rather to give a critical statement to the contemporary society. Roy Lichtenstein, who was a founder and foremost practitioner of pop art, he interest in the comic-strip cartoon and blown-up enlargements of things as an art theme probably began with a painting of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, ‘Look Mickey’ (fig. 4). Although he was initially dissatisfied with his technique and uncomforta ble with direct appropriation, he took great pleasure in presenting well-known comic-strip figures in a fine art format.He thinks that Pop art is commercial art which is used as subject matter in painting. (Franciz, Mark and Foster, 2005) He is interested in signs and comic strips because they are ‘usable, forceful and vital about commercial art†¦. We are using those things—- but we are not really advocating stupidity, international teenagerism and terrorism. ’ (Franciz, Mark and Foster, 2005, p. 229) The use of ‘comic strips’ itself already brings the cultural effect which everyone could digest easily, while he did not intend to give a judgment to the culture or society.Roy also said that he painted directly. To express the things in a painterly style would dilute it; the techniques he uses are not commercial, they only appear to be commercial and the ways of seeing and composing and unifying are different and have different ends. Roy believes pop art looks out into the world; it appears to accept its environment, which is not good or bad, but different-another state of mind. And the tension between apparent object-directed products and actual ground- directed processes is an important strength of pop art. Mahsun, 1989,) When the curator at the modern museum has called pop art fascistic and militaristic, ‘the 1st televised war’ (fig 5), Roy said that ‘The heroes depicted in comic books are fascist types, but I don’t take them seriously in these paintings- maybe there is a point in not taking them seriously, a political point. I use them for purely formal reason, and that’s not what those heroes were invented for†¦. Pop art has very immediate and of the moment meanings which will vanish- that kind of thing is ephemeral- and pop takes advantage of this ‘meaning’ which is not supposed to last, to divert you from its content.I think the formal statement in my work will become clearer in time. ’ (Mahsun, 1989, P. 113) It is clear that Roy does not take the heroic effect of cartoon strip itself seriously, even agrees with the fading meaning of pop art it may convey. It does not matters to him whether the effect will be long-lasting. He takes the immediate effect of cartoon images which are popular and influential in the moment. One could hardly think about he is criticizing the culture from his own statement. In 50s to 60s America societies, pop culture is the product of the Industrial Revolution, and of the series of technological revolutions that succeed it. Nikos Stangos, 1997) The impact of Mass media from radio, television or magazine advertising was fully influenced in America urban environment, who can live without this complicated mass media element. According to impact of mass media, the commonplace objects (such as comic strips, famous star and commodities) were used as subject matter in pop art. When the pop artists discovered those â₠¬Ëœinvisible’ objects, they realized that there were full of new interesting art element surround them. When the daily commodities become an art piece, the relationship between the commonplace objects and the consumer are resonating easily.That is the reason why pop art acceptance and recognition by the consumer society and become a fad quickly. (Harrison and Wood, 2001,) It is more prone that Pop art is reflecting the society and culture rather than judging it. ‘Everything about pop art was, and is, transient and provisional. By embracing these qualities, the pop artists held a mirror to society itself. ’ (Stangos, 1997, P. 238) | | | (Fig. 1) Flags, 1952| | (Fig. 2) Campbell’s Soup Can, 1962| | | | | | | (Fig. 3) five deaths, 1963| | (Fig. 4) Look mickey,1961| | | | | | | (Fig. 5) The 1st televised war,1972| | |Reference list: Francis, Mark and Foster, 2005, Hal (eds). Pop, Phaidon, New York Harrison, C and Wood, P 2001, Art in theory: 1900-2000: and ant hology of changing ideas, Oxford, Blackwell. Honnet, K 2007, Andy Warhol 1928-1987 commerce into Art, Taschen, Germany Lippard,L. R, 1966, Pop Art, Thames and Hudson, London Livingstone, M, 2000, Pop art a continuing history, Thames and Hudson, Singapore Mahsun, C. A. R, 1989, Pop Art the critical dialogue, UMI Research Press, London Stangos, N, 1997, Concepts of Modern Art, third edition, Thames and Hudson, Singapore

Teaching English to Absolute and False Beginners

Most ESL / EFL teachers agree that there are two types of beginning students: Absolute Beginners and False Beginners. If you are teaching in the USA, Canada, Australia, a European country or Japan, chances are that most beginners you teach will be false beginners. Teaching false beginners and absolute beginners require different approaches. Here is what to expect from false and absolute beginners: False Beginners Beginners that have already studied some English at some point in their life. Most of these learners have studied English at school, many for a number of years. These learners have usually had some contact with English since their schools years, but feel that they have little command of the language and therefore want to begin from the top. Teachers can usually assume that these students will understand basic conversations and questions such as: Are you married?, Where are you from?, Do you speak English?, and so on. Often these learners will be familiar with grammar concepts and teachers can launch into descriptions of sentence structure and have students follow along reasonably well. Absolute Beginners These are learners who have had no contact with English at all. They often come from developing nations and often have had very little education. These students are often more challenging to teach as the teacher cannot expect learners to understand even a minimal amount of English. The question,How are you?, will not be understood and the teacher must begin at the very beginning, usually with no common language with which to explain the basics. When teaching Absolute Beginners there are a number of things to keep in mind: Absolute Beginners have had no contact with EnglishWhen teaching someone who has had no prior (or very little) contact with the language, you need to carefully choose what you present. Here is an example of the type of thinking that needs to go into  planning a lesson:If I begin the first lesson with, Hi, my name is Ken. What is your name?, I am presenting three  (!)  concepts at once:The verb bePossessive pronouns  my and yourSubject and verb inversion in the question formIt would be much better (and more comprehensible) to the students if I began the lesson with, Hi, I am Ken. and then gesture to the student to repeat a similar phrase. In this way, the student can repeat by rote and begin with something easy which can then lead to something like: Hi, I am Ken. Are you Ken? - No, I am Elmo. By limiting the linguistic concepts absolute beginners can more easily assimilate the pieces.Do not assume familiarity with linguistic conceptsThis is rather  obvious  but often ignor ed by many teachers. If you write a grammar chart — even a simple one — on the board, you are assuming that students are familiar with grammar charts. Students may not have had the type of education that involves charts and representations. By keeping things aural and visual (gestures, pictures, etc.) you will be appealing to learning styles that students are sure to have acquired in everyday life.Use exaggerated visual gesturesUsing gestures such as pointing to yourself and saying, I am Ken, and then pointing to the student to repeat helps students understand what you want of them, without confusing them by more language such as; Now, repeat. Develop specific gestures as codes for certain linguistic operations. For example, to illustrate the idea of inversion in the question form you can extend your two arms and say, My name is Ken and then cross your arms and ask, Is your name  Ken?, this gesture can then be repeated as linguistic skills become more advanced and th e students will understand that a question needs to be asked. For example, I live in New York and then cross your arms and ask, Where do you live. When a student makes a mistake asking a question, you can then cross your arms and the student will understand that  he / she  needs to invert in order to ask a question.Try to pick up a few phrases of the learners native tongueThis is purely a psychological trick. Learners - especially adult learners - who are learning English with no prior experience are not only undergoing a difficult learning experience. In many cases, they are also learning how to learn a language. If you put yourself on the line by expressing the desire to learn a few phrases of your students native language, you can go a long way towards building a rapport with students which will help them feel more at ease in class. When teaching False Beginners you can be a bit more adventurous in your approach to teaching. Here are some things that you can count on — and some points to watch out for: Make Allowances for the Different Levels of Your Class False beginners will all have had some English training at some point in the past and this can cause some special problems. Some learners will really know more than they admit and, with the passing of time, might become bored with some of the basics.Different levels can quickly create tensions between learners, as those who know more can become impatient with others who require more time.Some learners might be false beginners because of inherent learning problems. Some Solutions Give more  advanced learners  more difficult tasks.  - For example, when asking questions of students ask the more advanced learners questions beginning with Why which will require a more advanced response.Give more advanced learners extra work in class and at home.  - By having a few extra tasks at hand you can bridge the gap that is often created when those who are faster finish earlier.If more advanced false beginners become impatient dont hesitate to ask them something that is over their head.  - This might be a little harsh, but will work wonders!Remember that things will eventually even out after the first few weeks.  - Usually, false beginners are there because they really do need to review from the very beginning. This implies that sooner or later all of the learners will be learning something that is truly new for them and problems with impatience will quickly disappear.If a learner is a false beginner because of learning problems, you will need to consider diffe rent learning styles  - People learn in different ways. If grammar explanations, etc. are not helping a particular learner, you can help that learner with visual, audio and other methods appropriate for different learning styles. For more information on different learning styles take a look at this feature. Some Helpful Assumptions About Your Students Your students will have  basic  familiarity with linguistic concepts.  - False beginners have all studied English at school and will  therefore  find things like conjugation charts and timelines useful.Standard themes will probably be familiar.  - Most false beginners are comfortable with basic conversations such as: ordering food in a restaurant, introducing themselves, talking about their immediate family, etc. This will give you a good starting point on which to build when beginning your course and getting to know your students. Absolute Beginner Exercises - 20 Point Program These exercises are meant to be taught in order to progressively build skills that  ESL students  will need to communicate the basic necessities of everyday life in an English speaking environment.