The Shot Boundary And Classification Of Digital Video Essay

Shot boundary and classification of digital video is most important step for effective management and retrieval of video data. Shot transitions include abrupt changes and gradual changes. Recent automated techniques for detecting transitions between shots are highly effective on abrupt transitions. But finding gradual transition is major challenge in the presence of camera and object motion. In this paper, different shot boundary detection technique has studied. The main focused on to differentiated motion from various video effects noise, illumination changes, gradual transition, and abrupt transition. Specially, the paper focuses on dissolve detection in the presence of camera and object motion Keywords: Shot boundary, Gradual transition, Abrupt Transition, Video Retrieval I.INTRODUCTION: The advances in the data capturing, storage, and communication technologies have made vast amounts of video data available to consumer and enterprise applications [1]. However, interacting with multimedia data, and video in particular, requires more than connecting with data banks and delivering data via networks to customers, homes or offices. We still have limited tools and applications to describe, organize, and manage video data. The fundamental approach is to index video data and make it a structured media. Manually generating video content description is time consuming and thus more costly to the point that it’s almost impossible. This is because of the structure of video data,Show MoreRelatedDissertation-Viral Marketing27075 Words   |  109 PagesKapil Gupta Viral marketing of digital products using social media Dissertation presented for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration at the University of Edinburgh Business School, May 2011 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Tony Kinder, for all of the help and guidance he has given me over the course of the project, from the initial idea through the research and writing stages through to the conclusion. It would have been impossible to complete this projectRead MoreReasons For The Sexualization Of Culture3852 Words   |  16 Pagesdesires’ and commodifying human bodies. For example, many advertisements in media and on the streets contain what is called the ‘porn look’. Sex-related talk shows become an entertainment. Pornography, such as sexually explicit images, texts, novels, and videos, is accessible online and often appears in magazines and other media. Jane Juffer (1998) observes that many cable TV advertisements and drama shows have a common theme of beautiful women pursuing pleasure through shopping. Another study by RosalindRead MoreMarketing and E-commerce Business65852 Words   |  264 PagesInsight on Business: We Are Legion Insight on Technology: Think Your Smartphone Is Secure? Insight on Society: Bitcoin Case Study: Online Payment Marketplace: Goat Rodeo CHAPTER 6 E-COMMERCE MARKETING AND ADVERTISING CONCEPTS Opening Case: Video Ads: Shoot, Click, Buy Insight on Business: Are the Very Rich Different From You and Me? Insight on Technology: The Long Tail: Big Hits and Big Misses Insight on Society: Every Move You Take, Every Click You Make, We’ll Be Tracking You Case Study:Read MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 Pagesacknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within the text. Microsoft ® and Windows ® are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.A. and other countries. Screen shots and icons reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Corporation. This book is not sponsored or endorsed by or affiliated with the Microsoft Corporation. Copyright  ©2012, 2009, 2005, 2002, 1999 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as PrenticeRead MoreInstructor Manual37126 Words   |  149 Pagesthe ideas contained in here are totally original. Thanks much to all of you for spending so much time discussing how you do things in class and allowing me to share your ideas in this manual. F. Robert Jacobs i TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Videos included on the student DVD Additional pedagogical resources that come with the book Chapter Outlines, Tips, Case Teaching Notes and Extra Cases Chapter 1 – Operations and Supply Chain Management Internet Exercise: Harley-Davidson Motorcycles WyattRead MoreBusiness Journalism in India26104 Words   |  105 PagesIndia has expanded so dramatically in the last few years, theyre far better known in public life, among the Indian public as well. * There are many channels of distribution for journalism, including business journalism. People get news through video, audio, Internet, print. * It is increasingly becoming a multimedia interactive world. * In an era of fragmentation of media outlets, it’s going to be more important than ever for business journalists to pull it all together, to provide theRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesimportant subsidiary foci (where appropriate). In general, the sequence of cases is intended to mirror the chapter sequence. However, this should not be taken too literally because, of course, many of these cases cover a variety of issues. The ‘classiï ¬ cation’ provided is therefore guidance only. We expect readers to seek their own lessons from cases, and tutors to use cases in whichever way and sequence best ï ¬ ts the purpose of their programmes. Where cases have been chosen to illustrate the issuesRead MoreMarketing Management130471 Words   |  522 Pageslogical fashion. For example, bowing and a strong desire to avoid the loss of face are unified in their manifestation of the importance of respect. (2) Culture is learned rat her than being something we are born with. (3) Culture is manifested within boundaries of acceptable behavior. For example, in American society, one cannot show up to class naked, but wearing anything from a suit and tie to shorts and a T-shirt would usually be acceptable. Failure to behave within the prescribed norms may lead toRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 Pages6 Interpreting and Communicating the Results of Statistical Analyses 61 Activity 2.1 Designing a Sampling Plan 63 Activity 2.2 An Experiment to Test for the Stroop Effect 64 Activity 2.3 McDonald’s and the Next 100 Billion Burgers 64 Activity 2.4 Video Games and Pain Management 65 Graphing Calculator Explorations 69 3 Graphical Methods for Describing Data 75 3.1 Displaying Categorical Data: Comparative Bar Charts and Pie Charts 76 3.2 Displaying Numerical Data: Stem-and-Leaf Displays 87 Read MoreAccounting Information System Chapter 1137115 Words   |  549 Pagesphone? With a cell phone/PC combination device? What do you do when you’re on your cell phone? What do you expect to be doing in five years? Newer models of cell phones contain a myriad of applications, including video cameras, digital music players, television remote features, and digital recording. For example: 1. The E-wallet function virtually turns a cell phone into a credit card or debit card. Such a cell phone can buy items from a vending machine or convenience store, pay for train tickets

Bullying Is A Universal Epidemic - 1976 Words

INTRODUCTION Bullying is a universal epidemic that is affecting an extraordinary number of school aged adolescence children in countries of the United States to Japan (Elsea et al., 2003). The specific number of children being bullied may be greater than what is published by sources because many children fail to report these issues due to fear of embarrassment and rejection (Unnever Cornell, 2004). It can also have drastic effects on the bully and victim which can appear to be life long consequences. Many researchers have labeled bullying a school related issue only. Bullying just recently began to gain attention from a system-wide of researchers in the 1980’s (Olewus, 1993). Some individuals are unaware that bullying is also a family†¦show more content†¦Olweus (1993) defined bullying as a behavior that leaves a child â€Å"exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part one or more other students† (p.9). He furthered explained a â€Å"negative actionà ¢â‚¬  as a behavior that â€Å"intentionally inflicts, or attempts to afflict, injury or discomfort upon another† (p.9). A negative action can be carried out verbally, as in teasing, name calling, or in physical forms such as pushing, hitting and making gestures. The behaviors listed above have been distinguished into two separate types of bullying, direct and indirect bullying. Direct bullying consists of open and physical attacks on a victim, while indirect bullying includes social isolation and intentional exclusion from groups. The three characteristics that must be present to label bullying, according to Olweus (1993) are harmful intent, imbalanced of power of strength, and repetition of negative actions. Researchers Scaglione and Scaglione (2006) suggest for the particular generation, bullying doesn’t necessarily involve those three factors described by Olweus (1993). They believe that children bully other children with the same strength and power. Also, they mention children who bully may not have the intention of harming another individual. CHARACTERISTICS OF BULLIES AND VICTIMS Whereas, bullies may differ in the type of aggression they use, most bullies share

Java-Whitepaper free essay sample

This white paper compares C++/Qt with Java/AWT/Swing for developing large-scale, real-world software with graphical user interfaces. References are made to independent reports that examine various aspects of the two toolsets. 1 A Comparison of Qt and Java 1. What Do We Compare? When selecting an environment for a large software development project, there are many aspects that must be considered.The programming language is one of the most significant aspects, since its choice has considerable impact on what other options are available. For example, in a GUI development project, developers will need a GUI library that provides ready-made user interface components, for example, buttons and menus. Since the selection of the GUI library itself has a large impact on the development of a project, it is not uncommon for the GUI library to be chosen first, with the programming language being determined by the languages for which the library is available. Usually, there is only one language per library. Other software components like database access libraries or communication libraries must also be taken into consideration, but they rarely have such a strong impact on the overall design as the GUI libraries. In this white paper, the objective is to compare the C++/Qt environment with the Java/AWT/Swing environment. In order to do this in the most useful way, we will begin by comparing the programming languages involved, i. e. C++ and Java, and then compare the two GUI libraries, Qt for C++ and AWT/Swing for Java. 2. Comparing C++ and Java When discussing the various benefits and drawbacks of particular programming languages, the debate often degenerates into arguments that are based on personal experience and preference rather than any objective criteria. Personal preferences and experience should be taken into account when selecting a programming language for a project, but because it is subjective, it cannot be considered here.Instead we will look at issues such as programmer-efficiency, runtime-efficiency and memory-efficiency since these can be quantified and have been examined in scientifically conducted research, although we will also incorporate information based on the practical exerience of projects that have been implemented in our own company. 2. 1. Programmer-efficiency Programmer-efficiency describes how efficiently (i. e. how quickly and accurately) a programmer with a given degree of experience and knowledge can implement a certain set of requirements in a particular programming language, including debugging and project setup time.Since developer salaries are one of the primary cost factors for any programming project, programmer-efficiency greatly affects the 2 A Comparison of Qt and Java cost-efficiency of the project. To some extent, programmer-efficiency is also determined by the tools available. The main design goal of Java is increased programmer-efficiency compared to other general-purpose programming languages, rather than increased memory- or runtime-efficiency. Java has several features designed to make it more programmer-efficient.For example, unlike C++ (or C), the programmer does not have to explicitly free (give back) allocated memory resources to the operating system. Freeing unused memory (garbage collection) is handled automatically by the Java runtime system, at the expense of memory- and runtime-efficiency (see below). This liberates the programmer from the burden of keeping track of allocated memory, a tedious task that is a major cause of bugs. This feature alone should significantly increase the programmer-efficiency of Java programmers, compared to C++ (or C) programmers.Research shows that in practice, garbage collection and other Java features, do not have a major influence on the programmer-efficiency. One of the classic software estimation models, Barry Boehm’s CoCoMo1 predicts the cost and schedule of a software project using cost drivers which take into account variables like the general experience of a programmers, the experience with the programming language in question, the targeted reliability of the program, etc. Boehm writes that the amount of effort per source statement was highly independent of the language level.Other research, for example, A method of programming measurement and estimation by C. E. Walston and C. P. Felix of IBM2, points in the same direction. Both the reports cited here pre-date the advent of Java by many years, although they seem to reveal a general principle that the sophistication of a general-purpose programming language has, compared with other aspects, like the experience of the developers, no significant influence on the overall project costs. There is more recent research that explicitly includes Java and which supports this hypothesis.In An empirical comparison of C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, Rexx, and Tcl3, Lutz Prechelt of the University of Karlsruhe, describes an experiment he conducted in which computer science students were assigned a particular design and development task and asked to implement the specification provided in any of the languages C, C++, or Java which they could freely choose according to their personal preferences (the other languages were examined in a different part of the research project). The data gathered shows almost the same results for C++ and Java (with C running third in most aspe cts).This is also backed up by our own experience: if programmers can choose their favorite programming language (which is usually the one they have most experience of), programmers with the same level of experience (measured for example, in years of programming experience in general) achieve about the same programmer-efficiency. Another interesting aspect that we noted (but which is not yet supported by any formal 3 A Comparison of Qt and Java research) is that less experienced developers seem to achieve somewhat better results with Java, medium-experienced developers achieve about the same results with both programming languages, nd experienced developers achieve better results with C++. These findings could be due to better tools being available for C++; nevertheless this is an aspect that must be taken into account. An interesting way to quantify programmer-efficiency is the Function Point method developed by Capers Jones. Function points are a software metric that only depend on the functionality, not on the implementation. Working from the function points, it is possible to compute the lines of code needed per function point as well as the language level which describes how many function points can be implemented in a certain amount of time.Intriguingly, both the values for the lines of code per function point and the language level are identical for C++ and Java (6 for the language level, compared with C’s 3. 5 and Tcl’s 5, and 53 for the lines of code per function point, compared with C’s 91 and Tcl’s 64). In conclusion: both research and practice contradict the claim that Java programmers achieve a higher programmer-efficiency than C++ programmers. 2. 2. Runtime-efficiency We have seen that Java’s programmer-efficiency appears to be illusory. We will now examine its runtime efficiency. Again, Prechelt provides useful data.The amount of data he provides is huge, but he arrives at the conclusion that a Java program must be expected to run at least 1. 22 times as long as a C/C++ program. Note that he says at least; the average runtime of Java programs is even longer. Our own experience shows that Java programs tend to run about 2-3 times as long than their equivalent C/C++ programs for the same task. Not surprisingly, Java loses even more ground when the tasks are CPU-bound. When it comes to programs with a graphical user interface, the increased latency of Java programs is worse than the runtime performance hit.Usability studies show that users do not care about whether a long running task takes, say, two or three minutes, but they do care when a program does not show an immediate reaction to their interaction, for example when they press a button. These studies show that the limit of what a user accepts before they consider a program to be unresponsive can be as little as 0. 7 seconds. Well return to this issue when we compare graphical user interfaces in Java and C++ programs. An explanation about why Java programs are slower than C++ is in order.C++ programs are compiled by the C++ compiler into a binary format that can be executed directly by the CPU; the whole program execution thus takes place in 4 A Comparison of Qt and Java hardware. (This is an oversimplification since most modern CPUs execute microcode, but this does not affect the issues discussed here. ) On the other hand, the Java compiler compiles the source code into bytecode which is not executed directly by the CPU, but rather by another piece of software, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The JVM in turn, runs on the CPU.The execution of the bytecode of a Java program does not take place in (fast) hardware, but instead in (much slower) software emulation. Work has been undertaken to develop Just in Time (JIT) compilers to address Java’s runtime efficiency problem, but no universal solution has yet emerged. It is the semi-interpreted nature of Java programs that makes the compile once, run anywhere approach of Java possible in the first place. Once a Java program is compiled into bytecode, it can be executed on any platform which has a JVM.In practice, this is not always the case, because of implementation differences in different JVMs, and because of the necessity to sometimes use native, non-Java code, usually written in C or C++, together with Java programs. But is the use of platform-independent bytecode the right approach for crossplatform applications? With a good cross-platform toolkit like Qt and good compilers on the various platforms, programmers can achieve almost the same by compiling their source code once for each platform: write once, compile everywhere.It can be argued that for this to work, developers need access to all the platforms they want to support, while with Java, in theory at least, developers only need access to one platform running the Java development tools and a JVM. In practice, no responsible software manufacturer will ever certify their software for a platform the software hasnt been tested on, so they would still need access to all the relevant platforms. The question arises why it should be necessary to run the Java Virtual Machine in software; if a program can be implemented in software, it should also be possible to have hardware implement the same unctionality. This is what the Java designers had in mind when they developed the language; they assumed that the performance penalty would disappear as soon as Java CPUs that implement the JVM in hardware would become available. But after five years, such Java CPUs have not become generally available. Java automatically de-allocates (frees) unused memory. The programmer allocates memory, and the JVM keeps track of all the allocated memory blocks and the references to them. As soon as a memory block is no longer referenced, it can be reclaimed. This is done in a process called garbage collection in which the JVM periodically checks all the allocated memory blocks, and removes any which are no longer referred to. Garbage collection is very convenient, but the trade offs are greater memory consumption and slower runtime speed. . With C++, the programmer can (and should) delete blocks of memory as soon as they are no longer required.With Java, blocks are not deleted until the next garbage collection run, and this depends on the implementation on the JVM being used. Prechtelt provides figures which state that on average ( ) and with a confidence of 80%, the Java programs consume at least 32 MB (or 297%) more memory than the C/C++ programs (. .. ). In addition to the higher memory requirements, the garbage collection process itself requires processing power which is consequently not available to the actual application functionality, leading to slower overall runtimes.Since the garbage collector runs periodically, it can occasionally lead to Java programs freezing for a few seconds. The best JVM implementations keep the occurrence of such freezes to a minimum, but the freezes have not been eliminated entirely. When dealing with external programs and devices, for example, during I/O or when interacting with a database, it is usually desirable to close the file or database connection as soon as it is no longer required. Using C++’s destructors, this happens as soon as the programmer calls delete.In Java, closing may not occur until the next garbage collecting sweep, which at best may tie up resources unnecessarily, and at worst risks the open resources ending up in an inconsistent state. The fact that Java programs keep memory blocks around longer than is strictly necessary is especially problematic for embedded devices where memory is often at a premium. It is no coincidence that there is (at the time of writing) no complete implementation of the Java platform for embedded devices, only partial implementations that implement a subset.The main reason why garbage collection is more expensive than explicit memory management by the programmer is that with the Java scheme, information is lost. In a C++ program, the programmer knows both where their memory blocks are (by storing pointers to them) and knows when they are not needed any longer. In a Java 6 A Comparison of Qt and Java program, the l atter information is not available to the JVM (even though it is known to the programmer), and thus the JVM has to manually find unreferenced blocks. A Java programmer can make use of their knowledge of when a memory block is not needed any longer by deleting all references that are still around and triggering garbage collection manually, but this requires as much effort on the part of the programmer as with the explicit memory management in C++, and still the JVM has to look at each block during garbage collection to determine which ones are no longer used. Technically, there is nothing that prevents the implementation and use of garbage collection in C++ programs, and there are commercial programs and libraries available that offer this.But because of the disadvantages mentioned above, few C++ programmers make use of this. The Qt toolkit takes a more efficient approach to easing the memory management task for its programmers: when an object is deleted, all dependant objects are automatically deleted too. Qt’s approach does not interfere with the programmer’s freedom to delete manually when they wish to. Because man ual memory management burdens programmers, C and C++ have been accused of being prone to generate unstable, bug-ridden software.Although the danger of producing memory corruption (which typically leads to program crashes) is certainly higher with C and C++, good education, tools and experience can greatly reduce the risks. Memory management can be learned like anything else, and there are a large number of tools available, both commercial and open source, that help programmers ensure that there are no memory errors in the program; for example, Insure++ by Parasoft, Purify by Rational and the open source Electric Fence.C++s flexible memory management system also makes it possible to write custom memory profilers that are adapted to whichever type of application a programmer writes. To sum up this discussion, we have found C++ to provide much better runtime- and memory-efficiency than Java, while having comparable programmer-efficiency. 2. 4. Available libraries and tools The Java platform includes an impressive number of packages that provide hundreds of classes for all kinds of purposes, including graphical user interfaces, security, networking and other tasks.This is certainly an advantage of the Java platform. For each package available on the Java platform, there is at least one corresponding library for C++, although it can be difficult to assemble the various libraries that would be needed for a C++ project and make them all work together correctly. However, this strength of Java is also one of its weaknesses. It becomes increasingly difficult for the individual programmer to find their way through the huge APIs. For any given task, you can be almost certain that somewhere, there is 7A Comparison of Qt and Java functionality that would accomplish the task or at least help with its implementation. But it can be very difficult to find the right package and the right class. Also, with an increasing number of packages, the size of the Java platform has increased considerably. This has led to subsets e. g. , for embedded systems, but with a subset, the advantage of having everything readily available disappears. As an aside, the size of the Java platform makes it almost impossible for smaller manufacturers to ship a Java system independent from Sun Microsystems, Java’s inventor, and this reduces competition.If Java has an advantage on the side of available libraries, C++ clearly has an advantage when it comes to available tools. Because of the considerable maturity of the C and C++ family of languages, many tools for all aspects of application development have been developed, including: design, debugging, and profiling tools. While there are Java tools appearing all the time, they seldom measure up to their C++ counterparts. This is often even the case with tools with the same functionality coming from the same manufacturer; compare, for example, Rational’s Quantify, a profiler for Java and for C/C++. The most important tool any developer of a compiled language uses, is still the compiler. C++ has the advantage of having compilers that are clearly superior in execution speed. In order to be able to ship their compilers (and other tools) on various platforms, vendors tend to implement their Java tools in Java itself, with all the aforementioned memory and efficiency problems. There are a few Java compilers written in a native language like C (for example, IBM’s Jikes), but these are the exception, and seldom used. 3. Comparing AWT/Swing and QtSo far, we have compared the programming language Java and the programming language C++. But as we discussed at the beginning of this article, the programming language is only one of the aspects to consider in GUI development. We will now compare the packages for GUI development that are shipped with Java, i. e. AWT and Swing, with the cross-platform GUI toolkit, Qt, from the Norwegian supplier, Trolltech. We have confined the comparision on the C++ side to the Qt GUI toolkit, since unlike MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) and similar toolkits, This seems to contradict Java’s cross-platform philosophy and may be due to the the initial AWT version being reputedly developed in under fourteen days. Because of these and a number of other problems with the AWT, it has since been augmented by the Swing toolkit. Swing relies on the AWT (and consequently on the native libraries) only for very basic things like creating rectangular windows, handling events and executing primitive drawing operations. Everything else is handled within Swing, including all the drawing of the GUI components. This does away with the problem of applications looking and behaving differently on different platforms. Unfortunately, because Swing is mostly implemented in Java itself, it lacks efficiency. As a result, Swing programs are not only slow when performing computations, but also when drawing and handling the user interface, leading to poor responsiveness. As mentioned earlier, poor responsiveness is one of the things that users are least willing to tolerate in a GUI application. On today’s standard commodity hardware, it is not unusual to be able to watch how a Swing button is redrawn when the mouse is pressed over it.While this situation will surely improve with faster hardware, this does not address the fundamental problem that complex user interfaces developed with Swing are inherently slow. The Qt toolkit follows a similar approach; like Swing, it only relies on the native libraries only for very basic things and handles the drawing of GUI components itself. This brings Qt the same advantages as Swing (for example, applications look and behave the same on different platforms), but since Qt is entirely implemented in C++ and thus compiled to native code; it does not have Swing’s efficiency problems.User interfaces written with Qt are typically very fast; because of Qts smart use of caching techniques, they are sometimes even faster than comparable programs written using only the native libraries. Theoretically, an optimal native program should always be at least as fast as an equivalent optimal Qt program; however, making a native program optimal is much more difficult and requires more programming skills than making a Qt program optimal. Both Qt and Swing employ a styling technique that lets programs display in any one of a number of styles, independent of the platform they are running on.This is possible because both Qt and Swing handle the drawing themselves and can draw GUI elements in whichever style is desired. Qt even ships with a style that emulates the default look-and-feel in Swing programs, along with styles that emulate the 9 A Comparison of Qt and Java Win32 look-and-feel, the Motif look-and-feel, and—in the Macintosh version— the MacOS X Aqua style. 3. 2. Programming Paradigms In Qt and Swing While programming APIs to some extent are a matter of the programmers personal taste, there are some APIs that lend themselves to simple, short, and elegant application code far more readily than others.

The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union

Background information about COUSA The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union (COUSA) is an umbrella union that was formed in 1974 by a group of unionized employees working at Ontario University in Canada. COUSA is made up of workers from clerical jobs, administrative, technical and professional occupations. There are different types of groups under the COUSA umbrella.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They include employees from Ontario University- from independent, non-unionized groups, provincial groups and international unions- are members of COUSA. All member unions under COUSA shared a common aspiration: that all employees of Ontario University need a common platform to collect information and work together with the government. In addition, the umbrella organization does not rival ot her unionized organization; on the contrary, it is willing to collaborate with them to the benefit of workers (COUSA, 2011, p.1). There are many benefits one can get by joining COUSA. For example, members of the Confederation attend three seminars organized by the umbrella body every year to network and share valuable information about emerging issues in labor unions. COUSA offers avenues where non-academic employees at Ontario University can share knowledge and experience about trends or activities that touch on employment issues. In addition, COUSA organizes workshops where members discuss and share knowledge on crucial topics for example: pay equity; reforms on labor laws; lobbying approaches; negotiating skills; and benefits costing. The Confederation also lobbies and advocates on behalf of Ontario University staff to the public and government. It also offers a platform that enable member groups to collaborate on a short term basis (COUSA, 2011, p.3). Legal issues and obstacles facing COUSA There are a number of legislative reforms in Canada that are likely to impact on the way COUSA runs its affairs. For example, in 2004, the parliament enacted Labor Relations Bill 144 that altered a number of labor relations laws in Canada. COUSA has several trade unions that are registered under the Ontario Labor Relations Act.Advertising Looking for essay on labor law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, the introduction of Labor Relations Bill 144 is bound to have an effect on the activities of the trade unions under COUSA. In addition, the new regulation will have a negative impact on academic workers hired on a part-time basis by the Ontario University. For example, the Bill requires unionized organizations to submit the income disclosure requirements. This is one of the new changes introduced by the law and contradicts the public view about the objectivity of labor law (Slinn, 2003, p.367). The effec tiveness of COUSA is also constrained by lack of a strong financial base. Labor unions are denied financial aid from the government under the new law. COUSA does not have enough financial resources to mange cases related to violation of the Labor Act. A swift decree is the only viable cure to the adverse effects of the Act on the union. Also, lack of ample financial resources has limited the ability of COUSA member unions to access reconciliation services. This has severely limited the ability of the COUSA to bargain on behalf of its member unions (Slinn, 2003, p.369). Bargaining process COUSA has a number of elected representatives that bargain on behalf of its members. For example, the COUSA Salaries and Benefits Committee is mandated to negotiate on behalf of staff at Ontario University on matters related to compensation (David Stiff, 2007, p.1). The Confederation also supports a number of legislative changes that enhance working conditions and seek minimum wages for its member unions (Fanelli Meades, 2011, p.12). For instance, COUSA supports the restoration of several key powers that were formerly granted to Ontario Labour Relations Board. It has been noted that many employers engage in unjust labor practices to prevent their staff from exercising their democratic rights with respect to certification process. It is thus vital that OLRB is granted authority to certify all unions (Slinn, 2003, p.370).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More COUSA also supports the resolution to re-empower OLRB to endorse a trade union in cases where the employer has engaged in unjust labor practices. It is worth to note that the OLRA was previously an influential body that deterred employers from violating the Labor Relations Act. Thus COUSA supports reforms proposed by the Ontario Federation of Labor regardin g labor laws in the interest of simplicity and certainty. COUSA is convinced that the card based system used for certification is the suitable way for selecting union officials. When the card based system was abolished in 1995, the Conservatives stated that compulsory votes were democratic and thus fair. However, COUSA pointed out that compulsory voting disregarded the genuine resultant power disparity between employers and workers. The main reason for this transformation was to make it difficult for the unions to receive certification and also to reduce the speed at which unions could put in order their new bargaining units. Studies show that this move was successful since there was a significant reduction in the rate of certification of unions in 1993 after the endorsement of Bill 7. Thus COUSA has employed a number of bargaining strategies such as information leverage, offers and concessions; and long-term tactical thinking to gain an upper hand when bargaining on behalf of its m embers (Trotman, 2011, p.4). References COUSA. (2011). Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union. Retrieved from http://www.cpwo.ca/about-us.php David, S., Stiff, B. (2007). Queen University Staff Association. Ontario: Betty Pollard. Fanelli, C., Meades, J. (2011). The Case of Carleton’s Capitalist University. Retrieved from https://socialistproject.ca/2011/01/b450/Advertising Looking for essay on labor law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Slinn, S. (2003). The Effect of Compulsory Certification Votes on Certification Applications in Ontario. Canadian Labor and Employment Law Journal, 10, 367- 397. Trotman, V. (2011). Building Union-Management Partnerships. Toronto: Federated Press. This essay on The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union was written and submitted by user Justus Rowland to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Do Longer SAT Essays Really Score Higher

Do Longer SAT Essays Really Score Higher SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Rumor has it, the longer your SAT essay, the higher your score. Could this be true? Does essay length affect your score? Let's unpack this belief and talk about the best strategies for scoring high on the SAT essay. Rumor Has It... When Milo Beckman was 14 and attending Stuyvesant High School in New York City, he started to suspect that the key to a high score on the SAT essay was simply filling up all the lines. He himself had already taken the SAT twice, and he found that his longer essay got a higher score, even though he thought it was inferior and contained lots of inaccuracies. To investigate this, Milo asked students at his high school to report their scores and the number of lines they wrote on their essays. Out of 5 essays, he found that the longer ones almost always received higher scores. Milo concluded that the more you write, the better you score. Milo Beckman hasn't been the only person to come to this conclusion. Lee Perelman, former director of writing across curriculum at MIT, holds to his position that the more words you put on the page, the higher your score will be. He also has some other tips for guaranteeing a high score that we'll take a look at below. To read more about Milo and Lee's studies, check out this intriguing article. What does the College Board think? So what does College Board have to say about these claims? Unsurprisingly, they're not having it. According to College Board, length often correlates with quality, but it does not in and of itself predict a good score. Instead, longer essays often have well developed arguments supported by nuanced examples. Quality, not quantity, they insist, is what the SAT essay is all about. So what does College Board think it takes to score a 12? And what are our suggestions for tackling the SAT essay? Let's take a look at the best strategies, but first, a quick review of how the essay is scored. How Is the Essay Scored? The highest score you can achieve on the SAT essay is a 12. The lowest is 2 (or 0, I suppose, if you were to leave it completely blank!). Two graders will read your essay and score it from 1 to 6. If they have very different opinions on your score, then a third reader will be brought in to give her input. Then these scores are added together. College Board says that its graders base their scores on five main domains: The development of a point of view supported by appropriate examples and effective evidence. Organization, coherence, and logical progression of ideas. Skillful language with a varied vocabulary. Variety in sentence structure. Good grammar, syntax, and mechanics. An essay that achieves a 6 is strong in all these areas and almost free of errors. Lower grades are progressively weaker in their points of view, supporting evidence, organization, vocabulary, sentence variety, and grammatical accuracy. Do these criteria seem easier said than done? Here we detail 15 key tips you need to know to fulfill these expectations and score highly on the SAT essay. You'll notice that none of these criteria mentions essay length. According to College Board,an essay does not necessarily need to fill all the pages or be five paragraphs to be insightful, use skillful language, or develop a point of view. The testmakers also stress that students should read the entire assignment given to them, including the extra reading material, which is usually a quote. As you saw above, Milo Beckman and Lee Perelman think otherwise. So what do we think about all these tips and strategies - should your essay be as long as you can make it? Or do they? With these strategies, the SAT essay might start to feel very simple indeed! How to Score Highly On the Essay Write a Lot Milo and Lee have a point - generally speaking, longer essays do score better. However, length really doesn't guarantee a high score if you don't write skillfully, develop a point of view, and use 2 to 3 well thought-out, relevant, and persuasive examples. You want to use all the strategies listed in this article to guarantee a high score. These approaches, in turn, will help facilitate your writing a long essay that merits a high score. You may argue, "But what if I can achieve all those things in less sentences?" I would say, it's great that you can be so concise, but on the SAT, less is not more. More is more. Check out our best tips on How to Score a 12 on the SAT Essay here.I'll go over a few of these strategies below, with some links throughout for you to read more in-depth advice. Pick a Side Lee Perelman stresses that students should always pick a side when answering the prompt, and I tend to agree. This doesn't mean that nuanced, middle ground essays can't score well. However, it is much more challenging to argue well for both sides in such a short, pressure-packed time frame. Even if you don't have a strong, passionate feeling on the prompt you're given - make it slightly easier on yourself and choose one side. No one is going to hold you to this opinion in the future. It's more about showing you can develop and support a strong point of view through writing, rather than revealing how you personally feel aboutthis topic or that topic. The SAT uses 6 types of essay prompts again and again. Read about the 6 types here, along with examples!And for the complete list of SAT essay prompts, this article has everything you need to know. Use Tried and True Structure Again, you only have 25 minutes! Don't try to awe the graders with postmodern literary experimentation or a rap song. Stick to the 5 paragraph structure - introduction, three paragraphs with supporting examples, and conclusion. Your introduction should close with your thesis statement, and your conclusion should have a strong last line that sums everything up with a punch. You can see how using this structure relates to writing a long essay - a true five paragraph essay, with 5 to 7 sentences per paragraph, should just about fill up all the available pages you're allotted in your test booklet. For a step-by-step breakdown of exactly how to write the SAT essay, examine this article here. Use Smooth Transitions and Varied Sentence Structure Both your individual sentences and general ideas should flow smoothly and logically. Transitions words like "furthermore, additionally, alternatively, similarly, therefore, because of this, for example," and many others, can help connect sentences, paragraphs, and concepts. On a similar note, you don't want every sentence to start with a simple 'subject-verb' construction: "I think, I said, I had," over and over again, for instance. Mixing up your sentence structure will help your essay read smoothly. This will probably happen naturally as you write, and you can improve by practicing and paying attention to sentence structure as you read books, news articles, and magazines in your day to day. These complex and varied sentence structures will also contribute to your writing a long SAT essay. Have Gos Your SAT essay will achieve the expected length if you are able to provide specific, thoughtful examples to support your point of view. But what if your mind goes blank during the actual test? To help avoid this worst-case scenario, you should show up with some go-to examples on hand. This article has some great examples of literary, historical, and current events examples that can be used to support a wide range of different arguments. Again, complex examples that you understand well will help you develop a full, long, five paragraph essay. As Milo Beckman and Lee Perelman suggested, you don't have to worry too much about accuracy, either! Pace Yourself You may be worrying that you can't fill up the essay pages in such a short amount of time. This is where practice and training is key. Your hand might ache and feel ready to fall off by the end of the 25 minute essay section, but you'll be able to finish the essay in time if you hit the ground running. How to structure your essay time: 3-4 minutes planning and structuring your essay 15-18 minutes drafting 2-3 minutes at the end to read over your essay and revise. As long as you do some serious prep, you can spend the majority of your time drafting,not staring at a blank page. This should be more than enough to achieve to create a nuanced, well developed, and long SAT essay. But seriously, are longer essays better? So Is a Longer Essay Better? For the most part, I would agree with Milo and Lee that longer essays do tend to garner higher scores on the SAT. However, they need to incorporate all those other elements, too - a well developed argument, detailed examples, skillful language, and logical organization. All of these elements help facilitate writing a longer essay, so they really go hand in hand. While you don't have a lot of time to produce this work, you can prep for it by using these tips and strategies and practicing leading up to the SAT. Writing is a skill like any other. It's not a fixed thing, like you're good at writing or you're not - instead, you can grow your skills and get better with practice. As you're prepping, maybe you can even ask a friend, family member, or teacher to "grade" your essay and give you feedback for improvement. After all your preparation and these strategies, you should be able to craft a clear, lengthy essay that scores highly on the SAT. What's Next? Are you deciding between the new SAT and the old SAT? Read about all the differences between the two tests here so you know what to expect. Is the essay on the new SAT any different from previous essays? We break down the new SAT essay here. Are you aiming for a perfect score? This 2400 scorer explains how you can achieve the highest score, too. Want to get serious about improving your SAT score? We have the leading online SAT prep program that will raise your score by 240+ points, guaranteed. Exclusive to our program, we have an expert SAT instructor grade each of your SAT essays and give you customized feedback on how to improve your score. This can mean an instant jump of 80 points on the Writing section alone. Check out our 5-day free trial and sign up for free: Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Rebecca Safier About the Author Rebecca graduated with her Master's in Adolescent Counseling from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has years of teaching and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and improve their well-being. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. No spam ever. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: '360031', formId: '2167ba30-e68e-4777-b88d-8bf3c84579af', formInstanceId: '2', submitButtonClass: 'btn-red-light btn', target: '#hubspot-container2', redirectUrl: 'http://ww2.prepscholar.com/blog-subscribe-thank-you', css: '.post-bottom .hs-form.stacked label {display:none;} .post-bottom .hs-form.stacked .field div.input {padding-top: 55px; padding-left: 300px;} .post-bottom .hs-input {width: 220px} .post-bottom .btn-primary, .hs-button.primary {margin-top:0px; padding-left:350px} .post-bottom .hs-form-field {margin-bottom:5px}' }); $(function(){ $(".exclusive-tip-form #hubspot-container2 label").hide(); }); function replace_tag(a, b){ $(a).each(function(index) { var thisTD = this; var newElement = $(""); $.each(this.attributes, function(index) { $(newElement).attr(thisTD.attributes[index].name, thisTD.attributes[index].value); }); $(this).after(newElement).remove(); }); } $(function(){ replace_tag($(".posts-by-topic h3"), "h2"); }) Ask a Question BelowHave any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply! Search the Blog Search jQuery(function(){ var $ = jQuery; var url = 'http://google.com/search?q=site:' + location.protocol + '//' + location.hostname + ' '; var $searchModule = $('.hs-search-module.28613108-4a7a-47ae-9641-5dac912417a7'); var $input = $searchModule.find('input'); var $button = $searchModule.find('.hs-button.primary'); if (false) { $input.val(decodeURIComponent(location.pathname.split('/').join(' ').split('.').join(' ').split('-').join(' ').split('_').join(''))); } $button.click(function(){ var newUrl = url + $input.val(); var win = window.open(newUrl, '_blank'); if (win) { //Browser has allowed it to be opened win.focus(); } else { //Browser has blocked it location.href = newUrl; } }); $input.keypress(function(e){ if (e.keyCode !== 13) return; e.preventDefault(); $button.click(); }); }); Improve With Our Famous Guides SATPrep ACTPrep For All Students The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section: Score 800 on SAT Math Score 800 on SAT Reading Score 800 on SAT Writing Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section: Score 600 on SAT Math Score 600 on SAT Reading Score 600 on SAT Writing Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? 15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section: 36 on ACT English 36 on ACT Math 36 on ACT Reading 36 on ACT Science Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section: 24 on ACT English 24 on ACT Math 24 on ACT Reading 24 on ACT Science What ACT target score should you be aiming for? ACT Vocabulary You Must Know ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA How to Write an Amazing College Essay What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For? Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide Should you retake your SAT or ACT? When should you take the SAT or ACT? Michael improved by 370 POINTS! Find Out How Stay Informed Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Looking for Graduate School Test Prep? Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: GRE Online Prep Blog GMAT Online Prep Blog TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Writing to save the world - Emphasis

Writing to save the world Writing to save the world If youre suffering from writers block at the moment, spare a thought for the civil servants behind todays G20 summit. By 3.30 today, they have to write the statement that could determine whether the recovery kicks off or crumbles. Mind you, there are some who suggest it was written days ago. See here.

Motivaing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Motivaing - Essay Example This means that most furniture is not assembled by IKEA and the customer goes home to assemble it for themselves. There is a certain fulfillment in taking part in the creation of something. IKEA’s goal to mobilize customers â€Å"to do easily certain things they have never done before. Put another way, IKEA invents value by enabling customers’ own value-creating activities† (Normann & Ramirez, 1993). The appeal of â€Å"do-it-yourself† furniture has attracted troops of customers to IKEA, in all their branches the world over, necessitating the employment of highly skilled workers to meet their needs. These workers need to be trained to meet customers in accordance to IKEA’s values and with the competence expected of the company. Training people involves motivating them to perform at their best. How does IKEA do that? Alexander Kjerulf (n.d.) relates how in 2004, IKEA in Denmark took the initiative to give their entire checkout staff a 25% raise. IKEA has more of them than any other group and it meant a sizeable increase in total monthly overhead expenses. However, it was a business decision that made the checkout staff happy, and happy employees create results such as the following: (Kjerulf, n.d.) Although IKEA incurred a humongous expense with the implementation of the raise, it paid itself within six months. Analyzing why this worked for IKEA, Kjerulf gives three reasons. The first is that the raise obviously gave the staff a significant improvement in their standard of living. The recipients were the least paid in the company, so a 25% raise made a huge difference in terms of their quality of life. Secondly, the salary increase gave people recognition. IKEA acknowledged that they were the most important group of employees since they are the only employees customers are likely to talk to at the end of the sale because customers help themselves with the products anyway. This

CONSUMER PREFERENCE ABOUT BREAKFAST PRODUCTS Assignment

CONSUMER PREFERENCE ABOUT BREAKFAST PRODUCTS - Assignment Example When producing a new product (a conventional breakfast product) in the affluent market in Saudi Arabia, it is important to note that this market is composed on individuals who have breakfast like in the western world. The affluent markets are in Jeddah, the Western parts of the country and Riyadh. It should also be noted that the Saudis main meal is lunch and thus they may not be willing to spend more on breakfast. I would introduce banana flavored oat flakes in the market which already contains honey and dried milk into the market. What the consumer only needs to add is hot or cold water to make it ready for consumption. A perception position I would like to draw of the existing Cereals is that there is a good variety of cereals to satisfy the clients in terms of nutritional and monetary value. First perspective is that there could be a product that is manufactured to have a high nutritional value and at the same time be cost friendly with a new sense of flavor and finesse (Hoyer, 2 008).. A lot has been done to target consumers by different brands but believe that there is still room for improvement. Second perspective, is that on the Saudi Arabians and their liking for having more than one meal during breakfast is time consuming when preparing the breakfast meals. Thirdly, the distribution in terms of breakfast cereals and products in the area was fairly done. The region still needs a boost to ensure adequate supply of cereal and breakfast products. Producing a breakfast cereal that is nutritious and incorporates all the foods will go a long way in reducing the number of foods that are prepared for breakfast. Production distribution to ensure availability of the goods in the market is one of the positioning strategies I will use to make a breakthrough in the cereals market. Perception Graph of the Nutritional Value over Time of 5 Cereals. Saudi Arabians are strongly guided by the traditional Muslim foods from many cultures therefore acceptance of the Western ways of having breakfast is not wholly practiced by their majority population. Therefore there is a gap in the cereals market due to the fact that the market is not adequately served. The Positioning strategy that I would adopt is Customer benefit strategy. I would basically lure the consumers by giving them the health benefits of oats over corn. Pricing as a positioning strategy will also be used by further marketing the product as pocket friendly in the sense that it does not require one to buy milk separately and this would separate my brand from the rest (Kardes, 2011). I would also adopt my positioning strategy based on use, in the sense that my oat flakes can be used as breakfast cereals by just adding water or they can also be used as an everyday snack because oats have a really soft crunchiness and the combination of the banana, honey and skimmed milk make a great tasty snack, even without the addition of water. Another positioning strategy I would employ is based on product class i.e. fortify my cereals, I would advertise my product as having vitamins, calcium, iron and folic acid but majorly I would concentrate on the fact that it has a distinctive taste and that it has been carefully produced so that the end result is a taste that cannot be compared to any other cereal. The market strategy of introducing my product in the market basically involves

Later Greek Legacy Essay Example for Free

Later Greek Legacy Essay Athenian comedy, satyrs and tragedy were recorded as one of the earliest theater forms to appear in world. Greek theater and plays had great impact on western drama and culture. Almost every Greek and roman city which was noteworthy in those days had open-air theater, which had neatly arranged seats in tiers looking over the nearby lovely view of landscape. In these theaters, the ancient Greek could sit so as to watch plays of Euripides, Arostophanes, Aeschhylus, Menender and Sophocles. These theatres were developed through God Dionysus ceremonial worship and were naturally communal. Greek comedy flourished much from c. 600 to c. 200 BC as a tradition in the ancient Greek. Athens comedy are claimed to have evolved from several festivals related to cult of the Dionyos who was God of Greek in charge of wine and fertility. Athens comedy was conducted during Dionysia which was festival conducted annually in honor of Dionysus. The Athens comedy ridiculed members of the society who were prominent and also mythology. Autochthony myth was basic to imaginary of culture to democracy of the Athens. These comedies narrated about people shared origins for people of diverse statuses and origins. They provided theoretical justification crucial for exclusivity and democratic egalitarianism. The comedies were furnishing basis for every one in the society to be common and thus equality between them all. The myth provided a generation model that justified exclusion of all foreigners and all the women from power. Autochthony discourse of Athenians was inextricably tied on sexual reproduction. The comedy also was advocated to release slaves from slavery and also enfranchise foreigners and other disfranchised people. Pericles’ proposal claimed that the Athenians had passed law limiting their citizenship especially people who were born by two Athenians. Menander’s comedy also had little insight to the affairs of Athenians. This comedy also eschew politics as well as talked about how young Athenians in romance faced obstacles in selecting young women of their choice (Ehrenberg Victor, 1943). Menander comedy depicted on the traditional democratic ideology of the Athenian society and is also against the sexual harassment and mistreatment that women in that society under go. This comedy also advocated for breaking down the internal divisions which was based on economic classes and status. This comedy also played role of struggling for politics between the Greek cities and the Hellenistic kingdoms. It also played role in democratic status subversion and reproduction boundaries. The comedy provided stories which could enable Athenians to identify themselves as democratic citizens rather than referring themselves with the political regime in power since the wealth people tend to control the society. Menander comedy countervails the narrative trajectories so as to reproduce and also resist the social civic order. These comedies emphasize on citizenship law may be changed and deploy characteristic of naturalism in the Athenian society. The Menander comedy in general politicized on marriage, political silence and the state and also the genre laws. The comedy also advocates for social transformation to remove the marriage obstacles and free the society away from the initial illusions and injustice. The manander comedy plays role of transforming the society from the traditional laws and ideology governing marriages and citizenship and also the elimination of the social evils in the society. The society tolerated and supported this ideology since it was deeply rooted in their minds and they had to support what their fore-fathers considered good for the society. The wealthy person could not afford to free their slaves since it would mean losing their wealth or fame. The Athenians also wanted to restore the democracy which was put in place by Demetrius (Taylor Rabun, 1997). The practices and beliefs of the Athenian sustained their identity as citizens of Athenian and more specifically as democratic citizens so they had to continue practicing them. Each individual Athenian was entitled to democracy irrespective of the social and economical class he belonged to and thus the need of maintaining their culture. The Athenians also saw the rule of sexual reproduction as being important to them since it enabled them to exist and to be at their state. They had belief that the gender and marriage practices in their society enabled them to be democratic and that is why they never accepted intermarriages in their society. The Athenians saw democratic culture and the Athenian law as governing them well. Their traditional ritual cerebrations and events were very much entertaining and supporting their traditional cultures and also were making them to be united and proud of themselves and thus it was very hard to accept to lose their cultures (McCarthy Kathleen, 2000). The Athenians also had their own laws which were governing them and they considered these laws as uniting them and thus they never wanted the laws to be interfered with by anyone since it would mean losing their identity. The Athenians also never wanted their traditions to lose vitality and vigor and thus they supported them. They supported the reproduction belief since they never wanted their society to be mixed up as they saw it could result splitting of their tradition. In conclusion, the Athenian comedy is fighting for elimination of Athenian traditions and beliefs in the society as well as enlightening Athenians to transform and leave their traditions which seem to be like illusions. Work cited Ehrenberg Victor, 1943, The People of Aristophanes: A Sociology of Old Attic Comedy, B. Blackbell. Taylor Rabun, 1997, Two Pathic Subcultures in Ancient Rome, Journal of Sexuality, Vol. 7. McCarthy Kathleen, 2000, Slaves, Masters, and the Art of Authority in Plautine Comedy, Princeton University Press.

God’s Transition to a Feared, Cruel Deity in Modernist Literature and P

Previous literary schools, such as the Renaissance writers and Romanticism, depicted God as an extremely powerful, but benevolent deity that ensured that the conclusion to most events turned out in a positive fashion. After World War I’s catastrophic cost in lives, souls, and property, many authors and poets changed their views of God. Instead of a loving, all-powerful force for good, God turned into a cruel, supernatural being that chooses not to intervene when humans suffer. Many modernists felt that if God could not prevent a disaster such as World War I, he either looked passively at humans or even assisted in their abilities to destroy fellow men, women, and children. Authors such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemingway described God in this manner, especially during their European expatriate periods. Since God gave humans, the power to be cruel, God must also possess a cruel side to his image. Among such finest literary artists, the name of T.S Eliot tops the list. His work illustrates a clear view of modernism. Being a spectator of the critical conditions of the twentieth century, his demonstrations in poetry and essays confirms a supreme blend of thoughts towards religion and belief (William). Eliot’s another distinction in poetry The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was taken as an upper hand with appreciation. He mentioned the thesis of simplicity and silence in human nature. Turning towards the religious side even in his practical life as well, Eliot expressed a variety of such themes. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, he symbolized how men try to decipher the feelings of women as after the World War I they came out to be working on their new function of bread earner. The measures of women exhibit the def... ...so Rises. EPub Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 2012. 115. eBook. MacDonald, Harold, ed. "Ash Wednesday: Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot." Insight. Lenten Poems, 2012. Web. 10 Apr 2012. Moody, Anthony David. The Cambridge Companion to T.S. Eliot. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 121. Print. Pound, Ezra. "Ballad for Gloom." Bartleby.com. Bartleby. Web. 6 Apr. 2012 Pound, Ezra. â€Å"The Cantos.† Baym, Nina, Wayne Franklin 1492-98. Read, Forrest. "The Pattern of the Pisan Cantos." Sewanee Review 65.3 (1957): 400-19. jam. 12 Apr. 2012. Rodgers, Audrey T. â€Å"T. S. Eliot's â€Å"Purgatorio†: The Structure of Ash Wednesday.† Comparative Literature Studies 7.1 (1970): 97-112. JSTOR. 8 Apr. 2012. Videnov, Valentin A. "Human voices in silent seas: a reading of Eliot's Love Song." The Explicator 67.2 (2009): 126+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 May 2012.

“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning Essay

The speaker is notably a snobbish, childish, and indifferent Duke. He does not seem to have any remorse for his murder of his â€Å"Duchess† and remains arrogantly steadfast to his justification that his murder was for the cause of her (the Duchess’s) â€Å"too soon made glad† by other men, and her smiles to everyone who passed. He describes her as if she was just another distant thing in the past, and disregards the painting of her as just another piece of artwork. The poem begins with the Duke of Ferrara introducing the painting to an audience (probably another duke). He begins with how the painting was made, and then moves on to how her â€Å"heart [was] too easily impressed†. As the poem develops, the Duke becomes more and more spiteful about his â€Å"last Duchess† and feels that she regarded his gifts as â€Å"anybody’s gift†. He resents her smiles to him because she smiles to all who passed, and resolved to give commands to stop all the smiles together. Finally, he moves on to show his other artworks in his collection, referring to his Neptune taming a sea-horse sculpture. The poem has rhyming lines, but the rhyme is usually in the middle of an idea or sentence, giving the poem a thrusting movement forward. The mainly iambic pentameter unifies the poem, with occasional trochaic, dactylic, and anapestic words to offset certain ideas, such as â€Å"countenance†, â€Å"busily†, â€Å"easily†, â€Å"broke in†, and â€Å"all smiles†. Certain denotative words such as â€Å"countenance† and â€Å"earnest† also offset certain ideas, as well as give subliminal messages revealing the Duke’s murderous intents. #2The Duke of Ferrara craves attention, and would kill those who do not pay special attention to him. The poem starting in the middle of some Duke’s guide through his art collection, with no reference to things directly before or after, other than a few allusions to the past, leaves the reader slightly bewildered, and forces the reader to thread together the ideas into a complete, comprehensive picture. The reader must pay close attention in order to understand the meaning of the poem; similarly, the Duke of Ferrara wants people to pay dedicated attention to him to understand his character. From the beginning of the poem, it is obvious that the Duke regards his â€Å"last Duchess† as merely a â€Å"wonder†, a replaceable piece of artwork, with her memory just another thing of the past. He recalls the painter of his Duchess’s portrait, Fra Pandolf, and his ability to capture the depth and passion of the Duchess’s â€Å"countenance† in an â€Å"earnest glance†. He boasts of the glance as â€Å"her husband’s presence only†, but from there he remembers the way in which his Duchess blushed at the painter’s flattering remarks. From there, the Duke digresses and lapses into arrogant and childish jealousy. â€Å"She had a heart †¦ how shall I say? †¦ too soon made glad† was his initial criticism. As the poem develops, the Duke becomes increasingly critical of his Duchess’s â€Å"smiles† and attention to everyone, with no singular attention to him. He transgresses from his reminiscing by concluding that he â€Å"gave commands; /Then all smiles stopped together.† The Duke then moves on to other artworks such as his â€Å"Neptune [†¦] taming a sea-horse† and comments that it is a â€Å"rarity†, further demeaning the importance of his â€Å"last duchess†. The poem has rhyming lines, but the rhyme is usually in the middle of an idea or sentence, giving the poem a thrusting movement forward while maintaining certain continuity for the reader. The reader must pay close attention to not skimming the poem because of the thrusts at the end of lines, again reinforcing the theme of attention-craving. The mainly iambic pentameter unifies the poem, with occasional trochaic, dactylic, and anapestic words to offset certain ideas, such as â€Å"countenance† (for diction), â€Å"busily† (emphasize jealousy), â€Å"easily† (emphasize Duchess’s â€Å"too easily impressed†), and â€Å"all smiles† (emphasizing again the â€Å"too soon made glad†). Certain denotative words such as â€Å"countenance† (appearance or a look of encouragement) and â€Å"earnest† (meaning either sincere or grave/serious) also offset certain ideas, as well as give subliminal messages revealing the Duke’s mur derous intents.

Mikhalkov’s Burnt by the Sun Essay

In the tradition of passions plays of a century ago that illustrated the age-old inequalities of unchallenged intrinsic power wielded by a single entity. This is the story of absolute authority and how well earned past loyalties have elapsed and betrayed by fear and replaced with paranoia.   Burnt by the Sun, a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov, the long film even with a tendency to meander,   carries the distinction of being the first noteworthy anti-Stalin film produce in post-Communist Russia. While the subject of matter of post revolution in Russia is not a new platform for addressing the thesis of Stalin’s dictatorial regime, what is interesting and original is the ability and opportunity for Mikhalkov to openly criticize the past without apparent fear of reprisal. The antagonistic and customary undiscriminating maltreatment launched at the history of the Soviet era has served to strengthen the political movement in late 19th-century Russia that sought to bring about a just new society by destroying the existing one through acts of terrorism and assassination. The obvious resentment of modern Russian film-makers toward the concept of socialism has not prevented them from producing a considerable number of films about Russia’s past during the past decade. For the most part, the directors of these films have sought to outdo one another in depicting the agonies of Soviet history. The tale of the films begins in 1936 Russia, slightly less than two decades following the Communist Revolution.   This point in time is seated in the midst of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee Joseph Stalin’s era murderous dictatorship.   The main characters; a well heeled and socially content Colonel Sergueiv Kotov, a military hero of the Bolshevik revolution,   his young beautiful wife Maroussia and their six-year old daughter Nadia are established in peaceful yet sheltered existence from the rest of post revolutionary Russia.   Their surroundings are idyllic and rustic, all expected from yearly sabbatical. However, the untroubled setting is soon disrupted by the untimely entrance of Dimitri; an old love of Kotov’s wife Maroussia, a young entertainer of a man, grew up with Kotov’s wife’s family.   Ironically, 10 years ago, Dimitri served under Kotov and hence was ordered away on duty.   The motives of such decision was suspect to say the least, but now Dimitri, of unknown means and purpose, has returned with a tacit mission.   Even while pleasantries were exchanged, adolescent amusements offer and lover’s memories revisited, Dimitri had assumed the task of arresting Kotov for espionage under order from Stalin.   Rather paradoxical since Kotov was openly very patriotic, dedicated to the State of the Soviet Union to the extent of carrying a photograph with him of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The tale ends as it presents Kotov slowly and tactfully being removed from his relaxed and filled with humor semi-retirement. Obviously, this story being about Stalinist Russia, the closing stages will not reach a cheerful finish. The film has effectively taught us just how brutal those murderous years were and the insanity on which it was all based. The audience is presented with the beauty of happy, content lives crushed by the demands of Joseph Stalin.   Directly, in the conclusion, we are shown Kotov, a heroic courageous, dedicated and loyal soldier of Russia who, having devoted a lifetime to serving his motherland, is ultimately destroyed by a fellow soldier. Despite Kotov’s threats to contact Stalin directly, witnesses are shot, he is badly beaten and eventually executed.   Whether a deeper plot envisioned by Stalin existed or not, the plan took the lives two loyalist, from grief, Dimitri commits suicide. Unlike most depictions of this time period that display the horrors in surfeit, Burnt by the Sun has clearly focused on presenting a genuine sharp critique of Stalinism.   Much of the command of this film is due to the restrained manner in which Mikhalkov integrates a forbidding significance into the script.   His clear offering of allowing all the humanity of the characters develop first, in complete humor and visual beauty, before letting them fall prey to their fate. Symbolism plays a key part in Burnt by the Sun. Some of it, while images are subtle and obscure, imagery is left up to the viewer to determine how literally to take several instances of magic realism. Mikhalkov ensure that his central thesis is so strong and conveyed in such a manner that it’s impossible to overlook or be misunderstood for another point. Director Nikita Mikhalkov is candid about the definitive meaning of his film by dedicating it to â€Å"everyone who was burnt by the sun of the Revolution.† (Bulavka, 1997, p139) This movie is very much an attack on the policies and paranoia of Stalin. The chilling final scenes emphasize the theme as we come to realize just how far-reaching the dictator’s grasp was, and how insecure even the most loyal patriots were. One result, however it was intended, has been that both Russian audiences and the film-makers communities have tended to grow weary of the traditional national cinema preoccupation with its themes and obsessions. All the reason more Burnt by the Sun., was met with an enthusiastic reception not only in Russia but also in the West, (eventually receiving an Oscar.) Burnt by the Sun uses the medium of film to pose social questions and explore social relationships with some attempts to combine opposing segments of radically different style and presentation. In many ways, Burnt by the Sun is presented by Mikhalkov as an intense pathos that rivals any cinematic present day effort. The film presents a challenge to the main trends in post-Soviet Russian cinema. Traditionally, film-making in Russia is dominated by the realism in the democratic classification therefore advancing tired themes.   Clearly, the Russian audiences have suffered for a realistic candid character that deals with the important dilemma of the moral duality of man.   If not with the times in which he is currently living but all times that follow. However, the only criticism of the production is the over-emphasized methodical process of reaching the main point of the story. The overall finale primarily impacts the audience due to the beginning of the film is subdued, therefore setting up a climatic end. The crux is essential yet distant for it takes an extremely long time for it to be enjoyed by the audience.

List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults

List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults By Ali Hale If you want to improve your writing, maybe its time to ditch all the writing books and podcasts and play some word games instead. Yes, seriously! Word games and writing games are great ways to develop your vocabulary, to help you think more deeply about words, to have fun with story and structure, and to get a lot of fun out of writing. But games can be a great way to: Develop your vocabulary Help you think more deeply about words Become more fluent in English (if it’s a foreign language for you) Invent and develop characters and much more. After the list of 50 writing games, I’ve given you a top ten that I think are particularly great for kids who want to practice their writing skills. Many of the other games are suitable for children, too, so by all means try out other games as a family if you want to. Of course, there are loads of online games (and quizzes and tools) that you can use to improve your writing skills, and I will be talking about some of the best of those. But there are also lots of tried-and-tested classic games that you can play with pen and paper, or using cards and dice and we’ll be taking a look at those first. 5 Pen and Paper Word Games I’ll start with the simplest games: pen and paper ones that you can play pretty much anywhere, so long as you have a pen. All of these are suitable for children, and some (like crosswords) are enjoyed by many adults too. #1: Hangman (2+ players) Hangman is a classic word game for two players. One player thinks of a word and writes down dashes to represent the number of letters. The other guesses letters of the alphabet. Correct letters are inserted into the word; incorrect letters result in another segment of the â€Å"hangman† being drawn. This is a great game for developing spelling and vocabulary. If you’re playing it with small children, you can do it without the perhaps rather unpleasant â€Å"hangman† element, and just count how many guesses each player takes! #2: Crosswords (1 player) A crossword is a grid of white and black squares, where each white square is one letter of a word. The words intersect. You can find crosswords in many newspapers and magazines (on all sorts of subjects), and you can buy booklets and books full of them. Some crosswords are â€Å"cryptic†: great if you like brainteasers. Others have more straightforward clues. Crosswords are great if you want to learn new words and definitions, or (at the cryptic end of the scale) if you enjoy playing with words and language. Simple ones are suitable for fairly young children, with a little help. #3: Word searches (1 player) A word search has a grid (often 1010 or more) filled with letters, and a number of words written alongside or beneath the grid. The person completing the word search needs to find those words within the grid. Most word searches are easy enough for children, though younger children will struggle with backward and diagonal words. They’re a good way to get used to letter patterns and to improve spelling – and because word searches rely on matching letters, even children who can’t read well will be able to complete simple ones. #4: Consequences (2+ players, ideally 4+) This is a fun game with a group of people, as you get a wild and wacky mix of ideas. Each player writes down one line of a story and folds the paper over before passing it around the table to the next player. The very simple version we play has five lines: (1) A male name, (2) The word â€Å"met† then a female name, (3) â€Å"He said † (4) â€Å"She said † (5) â€Å"And then † Once all five stages are complete, the players open out the papers and read out the results. This can be great for sparking ideas, or as a way to encourage reluctant writers to have a go. #5: Bulls and Cows (2 players) This game, which can also be called â€Å"Mastermind† or â€Å"Jotto† involves one player thinking up a secret word of a set number of letters. The second player guesses a word; the first player tells them how many letters match in the right position (bulls) and how many letters are correct but in the wrong position (cows). Our five year old loves this game, and it’s been a great way to develop her spelling and handwriting as well as logical thinking about which letters can or can’t be the correct ones after a few guesses. 10 Board and Dice Games These are all games you can buy from Amazon (or quite probably your local toyshop). They’re fun ways to foster a love of writing within your family, or to share your enjoyment of words with your friends. #1: Scrabble (2+ players) A classic of word games, Scrabble is a game played with letter tiles on a board that’s marked with different squares. (Some squares provide extra points.) Letters have different points values depending on how common they are. The end result of scrabble looks like a crossword: a number of words overlapping with one another. If you want to develop your vocabulary (particularly of obscure two-letter words) then Scrabble is a great game to play. It’s suitable for children too, particularly in â€Å"Junior† versions. #2: Boggle (2+ players) This is less well known than Scrabble, but it was one I enjoyed as a child. To play Boggle, you shake a box full of dice with a letter on each side, and the dice land in the 44 grid at the bottom of the box. You then make as many words as you can from the resulting face-up letters. Again, this is a good one for developing vocabulary – and it can be played by children as well as by adults. You need to write down the words you come up with, which can also be good for developing handwriting. #3: Pass the Bomb (2+ players) It’s very simple to play: you deal a card for the round pass a â€Å"bomb† around the table and when it goes off, the person holding it loses. Before you can pass the bomb on during your turn, you need to come up with a word that contains the letters on the card. It’s a fun family or party game, and can work well with a wide range of ages. It’s a great way to help children think about letter patterns, too, and to develop vocabulary and spelling. #4: Story Cubes (1+ players) There are lots of different versions of these available, and they all work in a similar way. The open-ended game has a set of cubes that you roll to create ideas for a story that you can tell along with the other players. If you prefer, you can use them to come up with stories that you’re going to write on your own. There are lots of different ways you can use them: as writing prompts for a school class or group, to make up a bedtime story together with your children, for getting past your own writers’ block, or almost anything you can think of. #5: Apples to Apples (2+ players) Apples to Apples has red cards (with the name of a person, place, thing, etc) and green cards (with two different descriptions): the player with a green card selects one of the descriptions, and others have to choose a card from their hand of red cards. The judge for that game decides which red card best matches the description. If you want to develop your vocabulary (or your kids’), this could be a fun game to play. There are lots of expansions available, plus a â€Å"junior† version with simpler words. (If you’re playing with adults, you might also want to consider Cards Against Humanity, a decidedly not-kid-friendly game that works in a very similar way.) #6: Letter Tycoon (2+ players) In this game, you have a hand of 7 cards which you can use in conjunction with the 3 â€Å"community cards† to create a valuable word. It’s a more strategic game than some others, with aspects of finance (like patents and royalties) involved too – if you’re a budding tycoon, you might really enjoy it. Because not all the game strategy depends on simply being good with words, it doesn’t matter if some players have a larger vocabulary than others. It’s suitable for children, too, so you can play it as a family game. #7: Dabble (2+ players) Dabble is a family-friendly game where you compete with other players to be the first to create five words (of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 letters) using your 20 tiles. It’s very simple to get the hang of but coming up with the words might be more challenging than you expect! If you enjoy Boggle or Scrabble, you’ll probably have fun with Dabble. It’s a great way to develop both spelling and vocabulary, and to have fun with words. #8: Upwords (2+ players) Upwords is like 3D Scrabble: you can stack tiles on top of other tiles to create new words. The board is smaller than a Scrabble board (and doesn’t have double and triple word score squares) so it’s not as complex as it might initially sound. Like similar games, it’s a great one for building vocabulary and for developing your spelling. It’s suitable for kids, too, so it could be a great game for the whole family. #9: Tapple (2+ players) Tapple has a wheel, with most of the letters of the alphabet on it, and lots of different â€Å"topic cards† that cover 144 different categories. There are lots of different ways you can play it – the basic rules are that each player has to think of a word that fits the topic within 10 seconds, but that word can’t start with a starting letter that’s been used previously. While small children might find it a bit too challenging or frustrating, due to the short time limit, this could be a great game for older children looking to extend their vocabulary. All the categories are suitable for kids. #10: Last Word (2+ players) In Last Word, players have to come up with answers to â€Å"Subject† and â€Å"Letter† combinations, racing to get the last word before the buzzer. It works a bit like a combination of â€Å"Tapple† and â€Å"Pass the Bomb†. You can easily play it with a large group (there are tokens for up to 8 players, but you could add more without affecting the gameplay). It’s a great way to develop vocabulary and, to some extent, spelling. 5 Roleplaying Games While my geeky tendencies have been reined in a bit since I had kids, I’ll admit I have a great fondness for roleplaying games: ones where you come up with a character (often, but by no means always in a magic-medieval setting) and play as them. These are some great ones that you might like to try. #1: Dungeons and Dragons (3+ players) Although you might never have played Dungeons and Dragons, I’m sure you’ve heard of this classic roleplaying game that’s been around since 1974 and is now onto is 5th edition. It takes rather longer to get to grips with than a board or card game: to play, you need a â€Å"Dungeon Master† (essentially the storyteller of the game) and at least two players (who each control a character), plus rulebooks and a lot of different dice. It’s a great game for developing the â€Å"big picture† aspects of writing, like the ability to construct a plot and a story (if you’re the Dungeon Master) and the skills involved with creating a character, giving them a backstory, and acting â€Å"in character† as them (if you’re one of the players). #2: Amazing Tales (1 parent, plus 1 or 2 children) This is a kid-friendly RPG aimed at parents who want to create a story with their child(ren). It’s like a very simple version of Dungeons and Dragons, and has straightforward but flexible rules. You can play it with a single six-sided dice – though it’s better if you have four dice (with six, eight, ten and twelve sides). If you want to encourage your child’s creativity and have fun creating stories together, this is a wonderful game to play. The rulebook contains lots of ideas and sample settings, with suggested characters and skills but you can come up with pretty much any scenario you like. #3: LARP (Live Action Roleplay) (lots of players) Over the past decade or so, LARP has become a bit more mainstream than it once was. It’s short for â€Å"Live Action Roleplay† which basically means dressing up as your character and pretending to be them. It’s a bit like Dungeons and Dragons crossed with improv drama. The nature of LARP is that it needs quite a lot of people, so unless you have loads of friends to rope in, you’ll want to join an organised LARP – there are lots out there, covering all sorts of different themes, from traditional fantasy ones to futuristic sci-fi ones. Some are suitable for children, but do ask event organisers about this. They won’t necessarily involve any sort of writing, but can be a great way to explore characters and dialogue. #4: MUDs (lots of players) MUDs, or â€Å"multi-user dungeons† have been around since the early days of networked computing in the ‘70s, and are the forerunners of games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft. They’re now distinctly retro-looking text-based online games, where players create a character and interact with other characters and the world. Like other types of roleplaying game, they’re a great way to practice storytelling and character-development skills. They also involve a lot of writing – so they can be useful for things like vocabulary and spelling. Some are suitable for children, but as with anything online, do ensure your children know how to be safe (e.g. by not giving out their full name, address, etc). #5: Online Forum Games / Forum Roleplaying (2+ players) Some fan communities write collaborative fanfiction through forums (here’s an example), with different people posting little pieces as different â€Å"characters† to continue a story. These can be quite involved and complex, and they can be a great way to learn the skills of telling a long, detailed story (e.g. if you’re thinking of writing a novel). They’ll probably appeal most to writers who are already producing fanfiction on their own, and who have a fair amount of time for the back-and-forth required for forum roleplaying. Again, if your child wants to get involved with this type of roleplaying, do make sure you monitor what they’re doing and who they’re interacting with. 10 Word Games You Can Play on Your Phone These days, many writers are more likely to have their phone to hand than a pen and paper and to be fair, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can easily make notes on a phone, whether by tapping them in or by recording them. If you find yourself with a bit of time on your hands, why not try one of these writing-related games? Note: all of these are free to download, but most allow in-app purchases, and you may find you need to make a purchase to get the most out of them. #1: Bonza Word Puzzle This game is a bit like a deconstructed crossword: you get bits of the puzzle and you drag them together to form words that will all match with the clue. If you’re a fan of crosswords and want something a bit different, you might just love it. It’s a great way to think hard about letter patterns and how words are put together, so it might be a good game for older children who’re looking to develop their spelling and vocabulary, too. #2: Dropwords 2 Dropwords 2 (a rewrite of the original Dropwords) is a word-finding puzzle where letters drop from the top of the screen: if you remember Tetris, you’ll get the idea. It’s a bit like Scrabble or Boggle, and you have to race the clock to make letters out of the words on the screen. With six different modes (â€Å"normall†, â€Å"lightning†, â€Å"relax†, etc), it’s suitable for children and for people who are learning English, as well as for those wanting to really challenge their vocabulary skills. #3: Spellspire Spellspire is a fantasy-style game where you select letters from a grid to create words: the longer the word, the bigger the blast from your magic wand! You can kill monsters, buy better equipment, and make your way to the top of the Spellspire. If your kids aren’t very motivated to practice their spelling, this could be a great game for them. (Or, let’s face it, for you!) You can also choose to play it against your Facebook friends, adding a competitive element. #4: TypeShift This is a relatively simple game that lets you create words from letters arranged on different dials. There are a couple of different ways you can play: by trying to use all the letters on the dials at least once to create words, or by tackling the â€Å"Clue Puzzles†, which are a bit like crossword clues. Again, if you want to develop your spelling and vocabulary, this is a straightforward game that you can use to do so. You can buy extra puzzle packs at a fairly reasonable price, if you find that you want to play it a lot. #5: Wordalot This crossword app uses pictures rather than written clues, which is a fun twist. You can use coins to get hints (you can earn these through the game, or purchase them with real money). If you enjoy doing crosswords but want something a bit different, give this one a try. You might find that as well as helping you develop your spelling and vocabulary, it’s a great way to develop your lateral thinking as you puzzle out the clues. #6: WordBrain This game is another one where you have to find hidden, scrambled words within a grid. There are loads of different levels (1180!) and so this could keep you busy for a long time. You can purchase hints – this could potentially see you clocking up quite a spend, though. All the words are appropriate for children (though some are tricky to spell), so your kids might well enjoy this game too, as a way to develop their spelling and vocabulary. #7: Ruzzle Ruzzle works like Boggle, with a 44 grid of letters that you use to make words (the letters must be adjacent to one another). You can play it against friends, or simply against random players. Like the other apps we’ve looked at, it’s a good one for developing your vocabulary and spelling. Some players said it included too many ads, so this is something to be aware of if you plan to use the free version rather than upgrading. #8: WordWhizzle Search This is a word search type game with loads of different levels to play. If you enjoy word searches, it’s a great way to carry lots around in your pocket! You can play it alone or with Facebook friends. It’s easy to get to grips with, but the levels get increasingly tricky, so you’re unlikely to get bored quickly. As with other apps, this is a great one for developing your spelling and vocabulary. Each level has a particular description (words should match with this), so you have to avoid any â€Å"decoy† words that don’t match. #9: 7 Little Words This game works a bit like a crossword: each puzzle has seven clues, seven mystery words, and 20 tiles that include groups of letters. You need to solve the clues and rearrange the letter types so you can create the answers to the mystery words – so it’s also a bit like an anagram. There are five different difficulty levels (â€Å"easy† to â€Å"impossible†) and each game is quick to play, so this could be a good one for kids too. Again, it’s a great way to develop vocabulary and spelling. #10: Words With Friends This classic word-building game is hugely popular, and you can play against your Facebook or Twitter friends, or against a random opponent. It works just like Scrabble, where you have seven letter tiles and add them to a board. You can chat with the opponent in a chat window, so do be aware of this if you’re allowing your kids to play. The game is a great way to develop vocabulary and spelling, and you can play it fairly casually because there’s no time limit on your moves. 10 Word Games You Can Play in Your Browser What if you want a writing-related game you can play while taking a break at your computer? All of these are games that you can play in your browser: some involve a lot of writing and are essentially story-telling apps, whereas others are essentially digital versions of traditional pen and paper games. Unless otherwise noted, these games are free. With some free browser games, you’ll see a lot of ads. If this annoys you, or if you’re concerned that the ads may be unsuitable for your children, you may want to opt for premium games instead. #1: Wild West Hangman This is a digital version of Hangman, which we covered above. You choose a category for words (e.g. â€Å"Countries† or â€Å"Fruits And Vegetables†) and then you play it just like regular Hangman. It’s simple enough for children – but it only takes six wrong guesses for your cowboy to be hanged, too, so it could get frustrating for younger children. #2: Word Wipe In Word Wipe, you swipe adjacent tiles (including diagonals) to create words, a bit like in Boggle. The tiles fall down a 1010 grid (moving into the blank spaces you’ve created when your word disappears from the grid) – your aim is to clear whole rows of the grid. Since the easiest words to create are short, simple ones, this is a great game for children or for adults who want to get better at spelling. #3: Sheffer Crossword As you might expect, this is a crossword game! There’s a different free puzzle each day, and you can choose from puzzles from the past couple of weeks. It looks very much like a traditional crossword, and you simply click on a clue then type in your answer. The clues are straightforward rather than cryptic, though probably not easy enough to make this a good app for children or for English learners. If you’re a fan of crosswords, this will definitely be a great way to develop your vocabulary, though. #4: Twine Twine is a bit different from some of the other games we’ve looked at: it’s a tool for telling interactive stories (a bit like the old â€Å"Choose Your Own Adventure† books, or a text-based adventure game). You lay out your story as different cards and create connections between them. If you want to experiment with interactive fiction, this is a simple, code-free to get started – as reviewer Kitty Horrorshow puts it, â€Å"if you can type words and occasionally put brackets around some of those words, you can make a Twine game†. It’s a great way to deepen your understanding of story, plot and narrative. #5: Storium Like Twine, Storium is designed to help you tell stories but these stories are written in collaboration with others. (There’s a great review, with screenshots, here on GeekMom.) You can either join a story as a character within it, or you can narrate a story – so this is a great game for building lots of different big-picture fiction-writing skills. It’s suitable for teens, but probably involves a bit too much writing for younger children. If you’d like to write fiction but the idea of creating a whole novel on your own seems a bit overwhelming, or if you enjoy roleplaying-type games (like Dungeons and Dragons), then you might just love Storium. #6: Words for Evil This game combines a fantasy RPG setting (where you fight monsters, get loot, gain levels and so on), with word games to play along the way. It could be a good way to encourage a reluctant young teen writer to have fun playing with words – or you might simply enjoy playing it yourself. The word games work in a very similar way to Word Wipe, so if you found that game frustrating, then Words for Evil probably isn’t for you! #7: First Draft of the Revolution This game is an interactive story, told in the form of letters (epistolary). It comes at writing from a much more literary angle than many of the other games, and if you’ve studied English literature or creative writing, or if you teach writing, then you might find it particularly interesting. The graphics are gorgeous – playing the game is like turning the pages of a book. To play First Draft of the Revolution, you make choices about how to rewrite the main character (Juliette’s) draft letters – helping you gain insight into the process of drafting and redrafting, as well as affecting the ongoing story. #8: Writing Challenge Writing Challenge can be used alone or with friends, creating a collaborative story by racing against the clock. You can use it as an app on your phone, as well as on your computer, so you can add to your stories at any time. If you struggle to stay motivated when you’re writing, then Writing Challenge could be a great way to gamify your writing life – and potentially to create collaborative works of fiction. #9: Plot Generator Plot Generator works a bit like Mad Libs: you select a particular type of story (e.g. short story, movie script, fairytale) then enter a bunch of words as prompted. The website creates the finished piece for you. There are also options for story ideas (essentially writing prompts), character generators, and much more on the site. If you’re stuck for an idea, or just want to play around a bit, Plot Generator could be a lot of fun. Some of the options, like Fairy Tale, are great to use with young children – others may not be so suitable, so do vet the different options first. #10: The Novelist ($9.99) The Novelist follows the life of Dan Kaplan, a struggling novelist who’s also trying to be a good husband and father. You can make choices about what Dan should do to reach his goals in different areas of his life – and the decisions you make affect what happens next in the game. You are a â€Å"ghost† in the house, learning about and influencing the characters. While there’s not any actual writing involved in the game, it could be a thought-provoking way to explore how writing fits into your own life. 10 Games to Help You Learn to Type Typing might seem like an odd thing to include on a list of writing games. But so much of writing involves being able to type – and if you’re a slow typist, you’ll find that your fingers can’t keep up with your brain! While most people find that their typing does naturally improve with practice, these games are all quick ways for you (or your kids) to get that practice in a fun way. Obviously, all of these games should help to improve typing skills: those which involve whole words may also help with spelling and vocabulary. Unless otherwise mentioned, they’re free. #1: Dance Mat Typing This game is designed to teach children touch type (type without looking at the keyboard). It starts off with Level 1, teaching you the â€Å"home row† (middle row) keys on the keyboard. Other letters are gradually added in as the game progresses. It’s very much aimed at kids, so teens and adults may find the animated talking goat a bit annoying or patronising! Unlike many other free games, though, it doesn’t include ads. #2: Spider Typer This typing game took a while to load for me: you too many find it’s a bit slow. In the game, you type the letters that appear on chameleons that are trying to catch a spider (the chameleons disappear when you hit their letter). The spider keeps rising up into a tree, and if it safely gets there, you move on to the next level. It’s suitable for kids, and starts off very easy with just letters: if you set it to a harder difficulty, you need to type whole words. #3: NitroType This is a competitive typing game where you race a car against friends (or total strangers) by typing the text at the bottom of the screen. It’s a good one for practicing typing whole sentences, including punctuation – not just typing letters or words. Older children might enjoy it, and any adults with a strong competitive streak! You can compete as a â€Å"guest racer†, or you can create an account and login so you can level up and gain rewards like a better car. #4: TypeRacer TypeRacer is similar to NitroType: you control a racing car and the faster you type, the faster your car moves. You can practice on your own, enter a typing race, or race against your friends if you prefer. If you create an account and login, other users can see your username, score, average speed and so on – and they can also send you messages. This could potentially open you up to receiving spam or unwanted communications, so do be aware of this, particularly if you’re allowing your child to play. #5: The Typing of the Ghosts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this game, you destroy ghosts by typing the word on them. The graphics are pretty rudimentary, though it is a free game and a good way to practice quickly typing words. It’s suitable for children, and the sound effects (there’s a noise for every letterstroke) may appeal to kids. You don’t need to create an account or login: you can simply start playing straight away. #6: Typing Chef In this game, you type cooking-related words (usually types of equipment). It involves single words and a few double words with a space between at the early levels. There’s nothing particularly unusual about this game compared with others, though it wasn’t so ad-heavy as some and doesn’t require any registration. It’s good for teaching words and phrases, but not for helping you to learn to type whole sentences. #7: TypeTastic This is a fun typing game aimed at young kids, so it starts with the fundamentals. You start by building a keyboard from letter blocks, then learn how to spot letters on the keyboard quickly before learning where those letters are located. Teachers or parents might be interested in reading about why the game starts with mapping the keyboard. The interface and graphics are pretty good, given that it’s a free game, and it’s designed specifically with young children in mind. #8: Typer Shark! Delux This is a free typing game, where you’re a diver exploring the seas. You can choose from different difficulty levels, and – in a mechanic that’s probably by now quite familiar if you’ve played any of the other typing games – you get rid of creatures like sharks by typing the word written on them. Again, this can help you with your typing speed and accuracy. I found it was a bit slow to load, but it’s not full of ads like some other games. #9: Typing Attack In this game, you’re a spaceship, facing enemy spaceships – each with a word written on them. I expect you can guess what you need to do: type the word correctly to destroy the spaceship. Some words are shorter, some longer, and as with other games, there are multiple difficulty settings. You’ll need to watch an ad before the game loads, which can be annoying, and means that it isn’t necessarily suitable for children. #10: The Typing of the Dead: Overkill ($14.99) This game is definitely aimed at adults rather than kids, because it’s a bit gory. It also costs $14.99, so it’s probably one that’ll suit you best if you’re really keen to improve your typing speed – perhaps you do transcription, for instance, or you’re a freelance writer. To play the game, you type the words that appear in front of the enemies and monsters: each type you type a letter correctly, you send a bullet at them. If you like horror games and films, it could be a fun way to learn to type faster – but it won’t necessarily improve your accuracy with whole sentences. 10 Word Games that Are Particularly Suited to Kids While I’ve tried to indicate above whether or not the games are suitable for kids, I wanted to list the ten that I’d particularly recommend if you want to help your children get a great start as budding writers. Several of these are games I play with my five-year-old already; others are games Im really looking forward to using with her and my son as they get older. I won’t repeat the full descriptions: just scroll back up if you want those. #1: Word searches (pen and paper) – you can buy whole books of these, or print off free ones. Older kids might have fun creating their own for their friends or siblings. #2: Bulls and Cows (pen and paper) – you can play this with just a pen and paper (or if you’ve got a really good memory, with nothing at all). #3: Boggle (board game) – this is simple enough for quite young children to get the hang of it: my five-year-old enjoys playing it with her Granny. #4: Story Cubes (dice game) – your child can use these on their own to come up with ideas for a story, or you could use them with a group of children – e.g. in a classroom or as part of a club. #5: Amazing Tales (roleplaying) – this child-friendly RPG is a great way to introduce big-picture storytelling skills, particularly developing a character. #6: Spellspire (phone app) – a fun spelling/word-creation game your child can play on your phone (and probably a bit more educational than yet another game of Angry Birds). #7: Wild West Hangman (browser game) – if your child likes hangman but you don’t always have the time to play it with them, this is a good alternative. #8: First Draft of the Revolution (browser game) – if your teen is interested in writing and/or the French revolution, they might really enjoy this intriguing game based around redrafting letters. #9: Dance Mat Typing (typing game) – this game from the BBC is high-quality, and designed to appeal to young children. It teaches good typing practice from the start, by explaining correct finger placement on the keys. #10: TypeTastic – this is another typing game aimed at young children, and this one starts with putting together a keyboard – a great place to begin. Do you have any favourite writing games – of any type? Share them with us in the comments. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart"Owing to" vs "Due to"Is Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?