Stock Analysis free essay sample

This section of my analysis includes descriptive statistics, charts, tables, correlation analysis, ration analysis and financial statement analysis during the period of which the data is collected. Moreover, I’ve tried to align the numerical data to the practical events and consequences that I’ve been studying during the period, which might help to make better evaluation. Descriptive Statistics and Financial Analysis From January 18-th to March 2-nd the stock has been growing constantly from 427USD to 544USD (average), and the difference between the mean and median for this period is relatively low which is a good indication. The core of the Apple’s operation is the innovation based new products, but the newly introduced IPAD did not satisfy the customer’s and experts’ expectation. On the 13-th of February their stock price exceeded 500USD for the first time. Financial Statement Analysis Financial Statements analyzed for this assignment includes Unaudited Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flow and Income Statement that are downloaded from http://investor. We will write a custom essay sample on Stock Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page apple. com/financials. cfm. (APPENDIX II) In January 18, 2011, Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 first quarter ended December 25, 2010. The Company posted record revenue of $26. 74 billion and record net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6. 43 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $15. 68 billion and net quarterly profit of $3. 38 billion, or $3. 67 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38. 5 percent compared to 40. 9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Combining the financial statement numbers with the real number of devices and laptops they sold, would give clear understanding of how they generate the revenue and what is the basis of the growth. Apple sold 4. 13 million Macs during the quarter, a 23 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 16. 24 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 86 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 19. 45 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company also sold 7. 33 million iPads during the quarter. Their total liabilities is 3 times less than their total assets which indicates how healthy their operations is. Ratio Analysis This section will include financial ratio analysis for Apple as well as provide forecasted financial statements for the upcoming ten years. The ratios will supply the overall profitability, liquidity (short-term solvency), and capital structure (long-term solvency) for Apple. The major purpose of using financial data in ratio form is making the results comparable across firms and over time by controlling for size. After computing the selected ratios, we will be able to compare Apple to its top competitors within the technology industry, and against the overall industry average. Analysis of these ratios is important to numerous parties, but for our purposes, it will provide information not so easily derived or transparent in the financial statements. According to Appendix III, their inventory turn-over ration is 67. 4, which measures the inventory management efficiency of their business. The ratio is relatively high which may result in loss of sales due to inventory shortage which does not often happen for Apple Inc. But based on the circumstances related to the Foxxconn, inventory shortage may face the corporation. Risk Analysis Looking at the data I’ve collected for this assignment, I’d definitely say that Apple stock is well work to purchase. But there were ups and downs until their stock finally reached 500 for the very first time. There was a lot to do with leadership that defines the path of the company which makes it distinguished from the others. For trading purposes, Apple stock would definitely increase to the certain point in the next couple of months but after that It might stabilize. But for investors Apple Inc. is still the best innovative IT company in the world. The reason why stock rate might stabilize is that newly introduced IPAD and IPHONE didn’t satisfy customers’ and experts expectation for one step ahead innovation. So there is a clear doubt that how many people would replace their IPHONE 4 and IPAD 2 to the newly presented products with almost the same features. In addition their BETA rate is 1. 04 on average which is lower than Apple’s main competitors Samsung, Sony or Dell. And it clearly has better ratios and other financial facts compared to those. So Apple Inc’s stock is not risk free, but would be a good investment just for a certain period of time. Conclusion The most interesting thing about Apple is how they are very innovative and early adapters. Apple is usually the first company to come out with a new product line before anyone else. This is very risky but it is one of their main characteristics. A large portion of Apple’s fate comes from cash flow and professional trading activity that are directly attached to their product sales. As long as they apply innovative technologies in their products and make sure their products satisfies customers’ demand they would still be on the top of the industry. Appendixes

How to Write a Personal Experience Essay With Sample Papers

How to Write a Personal Experience Essay With Sample PapersWriting an essay about how to write a personal experience is not easy. While some people get it right away, others make a lot of mistakes and spend the entire paper trying to figure out how to fix it. It's a time consuming process that does not yield very many results.Students are especially advised to always come up with a unique perspective for each of their writing samples. Every essay has a unique viewpoint because students are unique individuals and have very individual thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. The best way to learn how to write a personal experience essay with sample papers is to examine their written samples and see what could be unique about them.Each student has a unique perspective on an experience because they were unique in how they experienced the same event. For example, a student who served in the army may have a different perspective on the same war than a student who does not have a military background. They each experienced the same event but the perspective from each was very different. This makes the essay very difficult to write because there is no one common point from which all points of view can be derived.Another reason to create a unique perspective on each writing sample is to create more depth to the essay. The more depth in perspective that can be drawn from a writing sample, the more unique the piece will appear and the better chance the writer has of achieving the desired goal. Furthermore, there is a better chance that the student will remember the specific details of the experience that could make a difference in the content of the essay.All of these points could help the student when he or she is writing his or her final essay to deliver the most meaningful content as possible. While this can be quite challenging, the writer needs to start thinking about what perspective and background information would help to give the essay a unique feel. From there, the writer m ust determine what types of content would be included.A unique perspective could be explored through the use of anecdotes or statements from sources in the writing. Another way to add depth to the essay is to use examples from real life experiences that are based on real data. Real life events from major world events could give the essay more depth and allow the student to explore and understand the important events in the world.Sometimes, the student may need to choose between two perspectives. This could be helpful when a student does not have much space on the essay or when more than one perspective will be required. For example, when a student is creating a series of essays that covers one of many subjects, the student could choose to focus on one topic and then another focused on another topic.Writing a personal experience essay is a daunting task because it involves using many different skills. However, any student who is interested in creative writing an essay can accomplish the task. There are a variety of ways to approach the writing process and the student needs to start thinking about how to write a personal experience with sample papers and consider what areas of writing are most useful.

The Scope and Health of the African Rainforest

The Scope and Health of the African Rainforest The vast African rainforest stretches across much of the central African continent, encompassing the following countries in its woods: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote dIvoire (Ivory Coast),  Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia,  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Mauritania,  Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger,  Nigeria,  Rwanda, Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,  Somalia, Sudan,  Tanzania, Togo,  Uganda, Zambia,  and  Zimbabwe. Degradation Except for the Congo Basin, the tropical rainforests of Africa have been largely depleted by commercial exploitation: logging and conversion for agriculture. In West Africa, nearly 90% of the original rainforest is gone. The remainder is heavily fragmented and in a degraded state, being poorly used. Especially problematic in Africa is desertification and conversion of rainforests to erodible agriculture and grazing lands. To counteract this trend, the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations have put a number of global initiatives in place. Details About the Rainforests Status By far, the largest number of countries with rainforests are located in one geographical section of the world- the Afrotropical region. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indicates that these countries,  mainly in West and Central Africa, are mostly poor with populations that live at the subsistence level. Most of the tropical rainforests  of Africa exist in the Congo (Zaire) River Basin, though remnants also are present throughout Western Africa in a sorry state due to the plight of poverty, which encourages subsistence agriculture and firewood harvesting. This realm is dry and seasonal when compared to the other areas, and the outlying portions of this rainforest are steadily becoming a desert. Over 90%  of West Africas original forest has been lost over the last century and only a small part of what remains qualifies as closed forest. Africa lost the highest percentage of rainforests during the 1980s of any other tropical region. During 1990–95 the annual rate of total deforestation in Africa was nearly 1%. In the whole of Africa, for every 28 trees cut down, only one tree is replanted. Challenges and Solutions According to rainforest expert Rhett Butler, who wrote the book A Place Out of Time: Tropical Rainforests and the Perils They Face: The outlook for  the regions rainforests  is not promising. Many countries have agreed in principle to conventions of biodiversity and forest preservation, but in  practice, these concepts of sustainable forestry are not enforced. Most governments lack the funds and technical know-how to make these projects a reality.Funding for most conservation projects comes from foreign sectors and 70-75% of forestry in the region is funded by external resources....Additionally, a population growth rate exceeding 3% annually, combined with the poverty of rural peoples, makes it difficult for the government to control local subsistence clearing and hunting. An economic downturn in important parts of the world has many African nations re-examining their forest product harvesting policies. African and international organizations alike have initiated local programs addressing the sustainable management of rainforests. These programs are showing some potential but have had minimal effect to date. The United Nations is putting some pressure on African governments to abandon tax incentives for practices that encourage deforestation. Ecotourism and bioprospecting  are  believed to have potential as they add much or more value to local economies when compared with wood products.

Exam 3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam 3 - Research Paper Example This order faced many challenges with the migration of the African American to from southern to demonstrate against the violation of the order (Richard 78). This order helped the country during the war that emerged later with the African Americans being referred as janitors in the military sector. Civil Rights Act of 1964- In July 2, 1964, this Act got its creation as a landmark piece of civil rights in the United States in order to outlaw the major forms of discrimination against race, color, religion, sex, and women. The act ended the Jim Crow rules upheld by the Supreme Court that held the racial segregation purported as separate but equal and was constitutional. A congress later saw the benefits of the Civil Rights Act and expanded it to strengthen enforcement of the fundamental rights. During the proposed hearings by the Judiciary committee on the proposed legislation led to the amendment of the bill to broaden the scope of protections. These changes strengthen President Kennedy ’s original proposal on the response to the turbulent summer that saw several incidents of racially aggravated hostility across the south. After a continued fight against its approval, the country saw the benefits of the bill that saw the president in that particular time signs it into law. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)- This federal law enforcement agency enacts laws against workplace discrimination. It encompasses some other laws like the title of the Civil Rights Act 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which protects men and women who perform equal work in the same founding from sex- based discrimination. It also covers Age Discrimination in Employment of 1967, which protects folks above 40 years of age, or older (Hay 100). The United States Employment Opportunity Commission enforces all the above laws and provides an oversight and harmonization of all equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADE A) OF 1967- This protects folks of 40 years of age and above from employment discrimination. This applies both job applicant and employees. According to the law, it is illegal to discriminate any person because of age with respect to any term, condition, privilege of service. This includes hiring, sacking, endorsement, layoff, reimbursement, paybacks, training, and job assignments. It applies to those employers with 20 or more workers including state, local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations, and the federal government. This has helped the government from risks associated with equal considerations in the workplace. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1973- It is a federal law enacted on September 26, 1973 and is known as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that replaces the Vocational rehabilitation Act. It covers those individuals with a special history of handicaps or any health complications. Special programs held to pay tribute to people with disabilities prohibits discrimination against any disability in the agencies, in programs receiving Federal Financial assistance, employment among others. This helps value the contribution from those with disabilities. Question 2 Some people remain more fortunate than others in which they remain promoted while others stay at the middle or at the bottom of the positional ladder. This rise in rank

Music and Passion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music and Passion - Essay Example According to (Carducci 311) the type of music an individual listens has a reflex action on the type of personality an individual develops. The unique thing about music is not just the beats and the tempo or the rhythm but the words that a song writer chooses to work with. The words involuntarily change the thoughts of the listener. As a person listens, they take in the meaning of the words and slowly make them part of their lives. In a greater way, one slowly starts to change their world view, their thoughts and eventually change their character. This is seen is where an individual starts to use the words that they heard in a song and this shapes their daily lives. (Carducci 123) says that lyrics of a song can great influence the thoughts of an individual in a subconscious state. Aristotle talked about music and its power to communicate the emotional states of humans as well as their character. According to (Williams 92) Aristotle says that music directly imitates the passions as well as states of the soul. An individual listening to a particular type of music they are likely to absorb the same passion and a long exposure to the music, they develop characters based in the same passions. Based on these understanding, then the music people listens to is contributing too many of issues in the society. If the type of music an individual listens to can shape their characters as well as passions, then it means that these effects will also be seen in human relationships, laws, psychological challenges such as depression as well as anger. People who mainly listen to these types of music tend to show high levels of openness to new experience, high verbal ability as well as emotional stability. These individuals also believe that they are highly intelligent and tolerant. Majority of them can champion liberal social ideals. Majority of them are political conservatives and they also tend to be

Different forms of child abuse Essay Example for Free

Different forms of child abuse Essay Child abuse is a common term for four types of child maltreatment: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, and neglect. Children are usually victims of more than one type of abuse. They could be both sexually and emotionally abused or they could also be physically abused and neglected. In some severe cases, children may suffer from more than two forms of abuse. Child abuse was once viewed as a minor social problem that only affected a handful of U. S. children. In recent years the media and law enforcement has paid close attention to the issue. More than 1,000 children died from abuse in 1996, in the U.S. (1). Approximately 231 children are abused each day. That is 10 children every hour, and one child every six minutes. Each day in the United States, more than three children die as a result of child abuse, in the home. More children, age four and younger, die from child abuse and neglect than any other single, leading cause of death for infants and young children (1). The abusers can be family members, parents, caretakers such as babysitters and teachers, and strangers. Abuse occurs among all ethnic, social, and income groups. Most parents dont hurt or neglect their children intentionally. Many were themselves abused or neglected. Usually the cases that are reported involve poor families with little education. Also common in reports are young mothers, single-parent families, and parental drug or alcohol abuse. The frequency of child abuse is difficult to estimate, due to so many cases going unreported. There are signs, symptoms, and causes to all four types of child abuse. When you have a concern for a childs well-being, the signs or symptoms may help guide you in the process of reporting. Although, these signs, mentioned later, dont necessarily indicate that a child is being abused. A professional, who would be able to determine the abuse, should investigate the possibility. Determining the exact cause of child abuse is almost impossible. In general,  the factors that influence whether abuse will happen is grouped into two categories- internal and external. Lack of social support, economic hardship, and chemical dependency are a few external factors. Some internal factors are: biological, emotional, and psychological. Some factors are as common as low intelligence and range to, as rare as, a severe personality disorder such as Schizophrenia. Isolation is a factor contributing to abuse. When families have difficulties, perhaps from unemployment or other social problems, they may respond in a number of ways. The families that respond by isolating themselves, by withdrawing themselves from neighbors and friends, are the most likely to be abusive. Charles F. Johnson defines sexual abuse as any activity with a child, before the age of legal consent, that is for the sexual gratification of an adult or a significantly older child. Sexual abuse involves fondling, penetration, persuading a child to expose his or her sexual organs, and allowing a child to view pornography. In most of the reported cases the child knew the abuser, and one in five of the abusers were under age themselves. 12% of the confirmed cases reported in 1996 involved sexual abuse. An estimated 10-15% of males and 20-25% of females reported they were sexually abused by age 18 (2). Most sexually abused children never come to the attention of the authorities. There may be no physical signs of harm, but there is always the intense shame, and secrecy is often maintained, even by the adults who know of the abuse, for fear of destroying a family. There is evidence emerging that as many as one in three incidents of child sexual abuse are not remembered by adults who experience them, and that the younger the child was at the time of the abuse, and the closer the relationship to the abuser, the more likely one is not to remember, claims Linda Williams. Convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in State prisons  report that two-thirds of their victims were under the age 18, and 58% of those (nearly 4 in 10 imprisoned violent sex offenders) said their victims were aged 12 or younger. In 90% of the rapes of children less than 12 years old, the child knew the offender. Sixty percent took place in the victims home or at the home of a friend, neighbor, or relative. Two-thirds of sex offenders in state prisons victimized a child. For offenders imprisoned for violent crimes against victims younger than 18 (1994), 15% were convicted of forcible rape, 57% were convicted of other types of sexual assault (lewd acts of forcible sodomy, statutory rape, etc.), about thirty percent reported attacks on more than one child, and more than half the victims were younger than 12. Out of 277 inmate interviews of all prisoners convicted of rape or sexual assault, two-thirds victimized children. Three out of four child victims were female, prisoners convicted of attacking children were mostly male, 97%, and about 22% of the child sex offenders reported having been sexually abused themselves during childhood. Half of the women raped were younger than 18 and 20% were victimized by their father (3). Children often fail to report because of the fear that disclosure will bring consequences even worse than being victimized again. The victim may fear consequences from the family or feel guilty for consequences to the perpetrator. Victims may also have a feeling that something is wrong with me, and that the abused is their fault. The impact of child sexual abuse is tremendous. It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America, today. Approximately 31% of women in prison state they have been abused as children and about 95% of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused. Young girls who are forced to have sex are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders or abuse alcohol and drugs in adulthood, than girls who are not sexually abused (4). There are two different types of indicators of sexual abuse, physical indicators and behavioral indicators. Some of the physical indicators are: 1)Torn, stained or bloody underclothes. 2)Frequent, unexplained sore throats, yeast or urinary infections. 3) Bruises or bleeding from external genitalia, vagina, or anal region. 4) Sexual transmitted disease. 5) Pregnancy. Some of the behavioral indicators are: 1)The victims disclosure of sexual abuse. 2)Disturbed sleeping pattern. 3)Difficulty in walking or sitting. 4)Avoidance of undressing or wearing extra layers of clothes. 5)Sudden decline in school performance. The two prerequisites for this form of maltreatment include sexual arousal to children and the willingness to act on this arousal. Factors that may contribute to the willingness include alcohol or drug abuse, poor impulse control, and a belief that the sexual behaviors are acceptable and not harmful to the child. The chances of abuse are higher if the child is developmentally handicapped or vulnerable in some other way. Often there is no physical evidence of sexual abuse for a doctor to find. In fact, physical examinations of children in cases suspected sexual abuse supply grounds for further suspicion only 15-20% of the time (4). Physical abuse is the nonaccidental infliction of physical injury to a child, such as cut, bruises, welts, and broken bones. The abuser is usually a family member or other caretaker, and is more likely to be male. In 1996,  24% of the confirmed cases of U.S. child abuse involved physical abuse (4). A rare form of physical abuse is Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a caretaker, most often the mother, seeks attention by making the child sick or appear to be sick. Skulls and other bone fractures are often seen in young abused children, and in fact head injuries are the leading cause of death in abused children. A few physical indicators of physical abuse are: 1)Unexplained welts or bruises on the face, upper arms, throat, thighs or lower back in unusual patterns or shapes which suggest use of an instrument (electric cord, belt buckle) on an infant in various stages of healing that are seen after absences, weekends, or vacations. 2)Rope burns. 3)Bald patches. 4)Refusal to undress for gym. Some of the behavioral indicators of physical abuse are: 1)Behavioral extremes- withdrawal, aggression, depression. 2)Unbelievable or inconsistent explanation for the injury. 3)Fear of physical contact-shrinking back if touched. 4)Fear of medical help or examination. The usual physical abuse scenario involves a parent who loses control and lashes out at a child. The trigger could be a dirty diaper or crying. Unlike nonabusive parent, who may become upset or angry with their children from  time to time but are genuinely loving, abusive parents tend to harbor deep-rooted negative feelings toward their children. Emotional abuse, also known as psychological abuse, according to Richard D. Krugman, has been defined as the rejection, ignoring, criticizing, isolation, or terrorizing or children, all of which have the effect of eroding their self-esteem. Emotional abuse usually expresses itself in verbal attacks involving rejection, belittlement, humiliation, and so forth. Emotional abuse also includes bizarre forms of punishment, such as confinement of a child in a dark closet. Often psychological abuse accompanies other types of abuse and is difficult to prove. It is rarely reported and accounted for only 6% of the confirmed 1996 cases (3). A few physical indicators of emotional abuse are: 1)Eating disorders- obesity or anorexia. 2)Nervous disorders- rashes, facial tics, hives, etc. 3)Speech disorders- stuttering, stammering, etc. 4)Flat or bald spots on head (infants). A few behavioral indicators of psychological abuse are: 1)Age inappropriate behaviors- bedwetting, soiling, etc. 2)Habit disorders- biting, rocking, etc. 3)Cruel behavior- seeming to get pleasure from hurting another child, adult, or animal. 4)Overreaction to mistakes. Emotional abuse can happen in many different settings: at school, at home, on sports teams, and so on. The forth and final forms of child abuse is neglect. Neglect is the failure to satisfy a childs basic needs and can assume many forms. Emotional neglect is the failure to satisfy a childs normal emotional needs or behavior that damages a childs normal psychological and emotional development, physical neglect is the failure to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, or supervision, and educational neglect includes the allowance of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school, and failure to attend to a special educational need. Failing to see that a child receives proper schooling or medical care is also considered neglect. In 1996, neglect was confirmed in over half of the abuse cases (3). Some physical indicators of neglect include: 1)Poor hygiene- lice, diaper rash, body odor, etc. 2)Lack of immunizations. 3)Untreated injury or illness. 4)Poor state of clothing. A few behavioral indicators of neglect include: 1)Chronic hunger or tiredness. 2)Assuming adult responsibilities. 3)Unusual school attendance. 4)No social relationships. Many cases of neglect occur because the parent experiences strong negative feelings toward the child. At other times, the parent may truly care for the child, but lack the ability to adequately provide for the childs needs due to being handicapped by drug abuse, depression, mental retardation, or other problems. As a result, their physical, emotional, social, and mental development is hindered. Young children remain at high risk for loss of life. Between 1995 and 1997, 78% of these children were less than five years of age at the time of their death, while 38% were under one year of age. As for cause of death, 44% of deaths resulted from neglect, 51% from physical abuse, and 5% from a combination of neglectful and physically abusive parenting. Approximately 41% of these deaths occurred to children known to child protective service agencies as current or prior clients (5). Abuse investigators are often a group effort involving medical personnel, police officers, social workers, and others. Careful questioning of the parents is crucial, as is interviewing the child. The investigators must ensure, however, that their questioning does not further traumatize the child. A physical examination for signs of abuse or neglect is, always necessary, and may also include blood tests, x-rays, and other procedures. If the child has sisters or brothers, the authorities must determine whether they have been abused as well. Signs of physical abuse are discovered in about 20% of the sisters and brothers of abused children (4). Child abuse can have lifelong consequences. Research shows that abused children and adolescents are more likely, for instance, suffer emotional problems, do poorly in school, abuse drugs and alcohol, and attempt suicide. As adults they have often have trouble establishing intimate relationships. Notification of the appropriate authorities, treatment of the childs  injuries, and protecting the child from further harm are the immediate priorities in child abuse! Sources All Figures Based Upon The Following: 1.A Nations Shame: Fatal Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States. 2.Child Maltreatment 1998: Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. 3.http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm 4.http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats2.htm 5.Wang, C.T. Daro, D. (1998). Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The results of the 1997 Annual Fifty State Survey.

A Painting by Paula Rego called The Family - The Stimulus for our Dram

A Painting by Paula Rego called The Family - The Stimulus for our Drama Piece INTRODUCTION In this essay I will be discussing the work that I have done in the first module of performance studies. The aim of this module was to develop technical skills in dance, drama and music and using the performance process of improvising, rehearsing and performing and then applying these skills to four performance pieces. We carried out several skills workshops to help develop confidence in all 3 thematic areas to a more even consistency as some members of our group had never done dance, music and some hadn't taken expressive arts GCSE. In this module I developed skills in all three areas, some completely new skills (for example in dance) and those skills, which I already knew but developed them to a higher standard of performance. I also learnt the processes of constructing a performance piece in performance studies and skills that are applicable in all three thematic areas. I will elaborate on how I have developed these skills during this module in this essay. THE DRAMA PIECE The stimulus we were given for our drama piece was a painting by Paula Rego called "The Family" which contained a lot of ideas for interpretation, especially work on proxemics, which we had previously studied in our skills workshops. "The Family" shows an ambiguous relationship between men, women and children and the variation in the 'traditional' status of a father, mother and daughter figures. It is important to bear in mind during stages of improvisation that character and plot development are not always the most essential part of a drama piece. More advanced performance skills should be taken into account, such as tension, proxemics and physicality and the subtext created as a result of the effective use of these techniques, which our drama piece evolved around. We decided that the most direct way of communication was to produce a distinct sexual subtext between two characters, and in our case this was the father and the daughter. Initial brainstorms we had were focused on light, physicality and gesture in the picture and we didn't want it to be 'story - led' as we felt this would be too simplistic and wouldn't allow us to explore our skills and techniques as performers. In the early stages of improvisation, we decided that tension was vital in our scene, so this had to be created by si... ...med our dance to a structured rhythm sequence to show the evolving of the evil dominating the pure and good. But as I said before, there seemed to be no real motivation behind our piece. I did feel thought that although we had no dialogue, it was unnecessary to do so and I think that the studying of Boal and Pinter really helped with this. I think that, as a group we realised that plot and character development weren't important at that stage. By not having any characters but just acting the gestus of our role, we portrayed the mannerisms, which as a result created tension because of the content of the scene. I do feel that because we didn't have characters such, the other skills we had refined were lacking. This is the one piece that I actually would like to do again as I don't feel we devised and performed this to the best of our abilities. I think I would've liked to keep the music and dance pieces but adjusted the drama to include the kind of energy we had had in the drama piece where the piece was 'loaded' with subtext. This I feel was not dramatic and didn't convey the ideas to the audience that we wanted to. I don't believe this piece was as successful as it could have been.