Risk Factors of Sleep Disorder After Stroke:

Risk Factors of Sleep Disorder After Stroke: Risk factors of sleep disorder after stroke: A Meta analysis Running title: Risk factors of sleep disorder after stroke Highlights: Diabetes mellitus has a 41% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Alcohol use has a 59% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Habitual snoring has a 1377% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Body-mass index has a 17% decreased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients Abstract Objectives: To explore the related risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients by conducting a meta-analysis Methods: PubMed, Medline, Springer, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library and Google scholar database were searched from inception up to May 2014. Studies investigating risk factors for sleep disorder after stroke were included. Characteristics including author’s name, year of publication, country, sample size, age of participants and gender were extracted independently by two reviewers. Results: A total of 8 studies, involving 1381 patients (578 experimental groups and 803 control groups) were eligible for the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that there were significant association between risk of sleep disorder after stoke between diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.84, P OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.12, P OR = 14.77, 95% CI = 5.52 to 39.53, P WMD = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.63 to 1.03, P OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.72 to 2.1, P > 0.05), hypertension (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.80, P > 0.05), dyslipidemia (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.70 to 1.33, P > 0.05), smoking (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.73 to 2.20, P > 0.05), previous stroke (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.74 to 1.49, P > 0.05), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.57, P > 0.05) when compared with control groups. Furthermore, the results of Egger test showed no statistical publication bias. Conclusions: Diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, habitual snoring and body-mass index are associated with risk of sleep disorder in patients with stroke. Key words: Sleep disorder; Risk factors; Meta-analysis; Stroke Introduction Stroke is a serious global health problem, and considered as the fourth leading cause of death and the primary cause of adult disability in all around the world [1-3]. Sleep-related breathing disorders (SDB) is a frequent clinical phenomena, and characterized by repetitive apneas and hypopneas during sleep [4, 5]. The relationship of SDB with stroke has been investigated in the recent years. Many researches have reported increased incidence of SDB in stroke patients, which could lead to progression of the stroke [6, 7]. Furthermore, SDB following stroke may result in high mortality and morbidity [4]. Although SDB and stroke have common established risk factors including age, gender, elevated body-mass index (BMI), hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and habitual snoring [8-10], risk factors leading to SDB in stroke patients remains unclear. Thus, it is important to identify contributing risk factors or associated conditions that can impact on outcome of SDB following stroke. Previously existing literature and primary analyses on risk factors of sleep disorder after stroke only involved in research of certain factor, and statistical power was deficient and insufficient in these studies [4, 11]. In this study, to investigate the risk factors for SDB after stroke and obtain a quantitative estimate of the risk, we systematically review the literature that have studied patients with stroke for SDB risk factors, (namely gender, Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, Dyslipidemia, Smoking, alcohol use, Previous stroke history, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Habitual snoring and Body-mass index)by conducting a meta-analysis. Methods Search strategy and study selection We retrieved the relevant studies up to May 2014 in several public databases, mainly including PubMed, Medline, Springer, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library and Google scholar. The main search words were â€Å"factor† or â€Å"influence†, â€Å"affect† or â€Å"element† or â€Å"determinant† or â€Å"cause† or â€Å"reason† and â€Å"sleep disorder†, â€Å"apnoea† or â€Å"obstacle† or â€Å"impediment† or â€Å"barrier† or â€Å"obstruction† or â€Å"balk† and â€Å"stroke† or â€Å"cerebral apoplexy† or â€Å"acute cerebral accident† and â€Å"research† or â€Å"survey† or â€Å"study† or â€Å"trial†. Meanwhile, references from retrieved papers were checked for more relevant studies not identified in database search. Eligibility of relevant studies For relevant abstracts, full publications were retrieved for evaluation on the basis of criteria that were established a priori. All selected research articles were considered except case reports. We sought to include studies of any design that reported risk factors in sleep disorders, and relationships between sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea or insomnia symptoms and stroke without the limitation of sample size and range of age. Studies were excluded from the systematic reviews and reports that only described sleep disorder after stroke. Studies with no control group were also excluded. Reviews, reduplicated studies and studies published in language other than English were excluded as well. Data extraction Information from each study was extracted independently by two reviewers using a data extraction form. Study general characteristics (e.g., author, year of publication, location of participants, design of studies, ethnicity and number of cases), and characteristics of participants (e.g., age, gender and sample size) were recorded (where available) and doubled-checked. Meanwhile, the effect size of risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with stroke patients without sleep disorder with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted as reported by authors. The effect size of gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, alcohol use, previous stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and habitual snoring were measured by, and body-mass index (BMI) by weighted mean difference (WMD). In addition, we contacted authors of incorporated studies to obtain further information for data items that needed clarification. Discrepancies were resolved by discussing within our research team or contracting with the original investigators via e-mail. Statistical analysis The meta-analysis was focused on the risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients versus stroke patients without sleep disorder. The pooled estimates of effect size of risk factors were calculated by averaging OR or WMD based on a fixed or random effects model depending on the overall heterogeneity. Then, heterogeneity of effect size across studies was evaluated by applying Cochran’s Q-statistic and and the I2 statistic [12, 13]. P value I2 value > 50% was considered to heterogenous across the studies. When substantial heterogeneity was detected, we calculated the overall estimate of ORs or WMDs using Mantel–Haenszel method in the fixed effect model [14]. If not, the pooled estimates were presented based on the random effect model by using DerSimonian and Laid method [15]. In addition, the publication bias were evaluated using Egger’s linear regression test [16], which measures funnel plot asymmetry by the natural logarithm scale of the effect size. Meta-analysis was performed using the software of the STATA package v.11.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). P value Results Literature research and study characteristics The details of the literature search were shown in a flow diagram (Figure 1). We obtained 972 citations (131 from Medline, 341 from Pubmed, 164 from Springer, 103 from Elsevier Science Direct, 16 from Cochrane Library and 217 from Google Scholar) with our electronic literature search. We obtain 84 citations after removing duplicates or irrelevant studies. In addition, 47 citations were excluded after screening based on the abstracts. Then 37 remained citations were full-text reviewed for detailed assessment. Finally, 8 citations satisfied the inclusion criteria and were eligible for the meta-analysis. The characteristics and information of the included studies were presented in Table 1. The 8 selected studies contained 1381 patients with average age (ranging from 43.0 to 75.2 years old), including 578 experimental groups (stroke patients with sleep disorder) and 803 control groups(stroke patients without sleep disorder) [17-24]. Overall analysis of gender As shown in Table 2, a total of 7 separate studies [17-20, 22-24], involving 1321 stroke patients (539 experimental groups and 782 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between gender and sleep disorder after stroke was found (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.72 to 2.1, P > 0.05), yet with significant heterogeneity between studies (Q2 = 22.73, I2 = 73.6%, P the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.91) Overall analysis of hypertension As presented in table 2, a total of 8 studies [17-24], including 1381 stroke patients (578 experimental groups and 803 control groups ), were finally eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between hypertension and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.80, P > 0.05), yet with significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 = 14.13, I2 = 50.5%, P In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.43). Overall analysis of diabetes mellitus As shown in Table 2, a total of 7 studies [17, 19-24], involving 1326 stroke patients (549 experimental groups and 777 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed diabetes mellitus had a 41% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.84, P Q2 = 1.59, I2 = 0%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.72) Overall analysis of dyslipidemia As shown in Table 2, a total of 4 studies [17, 19, 22, 24], involving 832 stroke patients (373 experimental groups and 459 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between dyslipidemia and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.70 to 1.33, P > 0.05), yet with significant between-study heterogeneity (Q2 = 4.78, I2 = 37.3%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.68) Overall analysis of smoking As presented in Table 2, a total of 5 studies [17, 19, 20, 22, 23], containing 1234 stroke patients (495 experimental groups and 739 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between smoking and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.80, P > 0.05), yet with significant between-study heterogeneity (Q2 = 13.82, I2 = 71.0%, P the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.43). Overall analysis of alcohol use As shown in Table 2, a total of 5 studies [17, 19, 20, 22, 23], involving consisting of 1234 stroke patients (495 experimental groups and 739 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed alcohol use had a 41% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.12, P no significant between-study heterogeneity (Q2 = 4.49, I2 = 10.9%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.65). Overall analysis of previous stroke As shown in Table 2, a total of 5 studies [17, 19, 21, 22, 24], involving 892 stroke patients (412 experimental groups and 480 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between previous stroke and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.74 to 1.49, P > 0.05), and with no significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 =2.31, I2 =0%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.24). Overall effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) As shown in Table 2, a total of 2 studies[19, 22], containing 623 stroke patients (280 experimental groups and 343 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between COPD and sleep disorder after stroke compared with control groups (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.57, P > 0.05), yet with no significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 = 0.24, I2 = 0%, P > 0.1). Overall effects of habitual snoring As shown in Table 2, a total of 2 studies [20, 21], involving 422 stroke patients (138 experimental groups and 284 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed habitual snoring had a 1377% increased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.57, P > 0.05), yet with no significant between-study heterogeneity was found (Q2 = 1.29, I2 = 22.6%, P > 0.1). Overall effects of Body-mass index (BMI) As shown in Table 2, a total of 3 studies [20, 21, 23], involving 494 stroke patients (176 experimental groups and 318 control groups), were eligible for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed BMI had a 17% decreased risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients compared with control groups (WMD = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.63 to 1.03, P Q2 = 0.95, I2 = 0%, P > 0.1). In addition, the result of Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.998). Discussion In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis for investigating risk factors of sleep disorder in stroke patients. Based on the data from 8 studies including 1381 patients, the factors (Diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, habitual snoring and BMI) were associated with risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients when compared with control groups, yet with no significant between-study heterogeneity. The magnitude of this association was greatest for habitual snoring with stroke patients experiencing a 1377% increase in risk of sleep disorder compared with stroke patients without sleep disorder. However, there were no association between risk of sleep disorder after stroke and other factors (gender, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, Smoking, Previous stroke history and COPD). In addition, there was no indication of publication bias from the result of Egger’s test. Researchers have shown increased incidence of SDB in stroke patients, which may lead to a poor outcome and recurrence [25, 26]. SDB progresses from habitual snoring to the increased upper airway resistance syndrome to sleep apnea [27], and it is biologically plausible that habitual snoring could increase the risk of sleep disorder in stroke patients. Habitual snoring is significantly associated with daytime sleepiness, restless sleep, and hyperactivity, which could lead to sleep disorder [28, 29]. In our literature search we did not identify results of any randomized clinical trials evaluating the effect of risk factors on sleep disorder after stroke. However, it is reasonable to infer that habitual snoring may contribute to incidence and development of sleep disorder in stroke patients. The previous studies have shown significant gender-related differences in presenting symptoms of patients with SDB [30], and the risk for the development of sleep disorder was significantly lower in women [31]. However, in our study, we found no association between gender and risk of sleep disorder after stroke, yet with the most significant between-study heterogeneities. This might result from unavoidable difference in study sample sizes and distinct adjustments across studies. Thus, we suggest that the present analyses might have underestimated the true effects of gender on risk of sleep disorder after stroke, and further studies are needed to be demonstrated this. The present meta-analysis has a series of limitations, such as lack of uniformity (e.g. sleep disorder diagnostic criteria, the duration of patients with stroke) and exclusion of studies written in languages other than English. Furthermore, another limitation was the narrow coverage of information of the present analysis. After all, the results in this analysis were only obtained data from Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and the majority of the included studies did not state if there were any racial differences among participants. The differences in regions and races among studies might have an influence on pooled risk estimates of sleep disorder after stroke. In summary, the present meta-analysis suggest that the factors (Diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, habitual snoring and BMI) is associated with risk of metabolic syndrome. The conclusion has a great significance for public health, especially in countries of high incidence of stroke. In addition, further investigations, both epidemiological and mechanistic, are needed to investigate whether regulating these factors can prevent occurrence and development of metabolic syndrome. 3D Technology: Types and Uses 3D Technology: Types and Uses CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This report will focus on how different 3D technologies work, it will include the entire work flow, from recording the action, encoding the footage, playing back the media via a cinema projector or television and finally how the audience views the 3D film or video, whether it be through specially designed glasses or an auto-stereoscopic television. At present the most popular way to view 3D media is with the use of specialised glasses, the most popular being, active shutter glasses, passive polarised glasses and colour separationbased glasses. Wearing glasses to watch a movie is often mentioned as a negative aspect of 3D. There is a technology available that allows you to watch 3D on screens without wearing any additional glasses, it is called autostereoscopy, this will also be looked at. The health impacts that result from watching 3D will also be examined, along with factors that will prevent a person from being able to correctly view 3D images. There will be impacts on the entire industry from studios and cinemas to smaller production companies and independent producers if 3D films become the norm and these will be examined. A good place to start this report is to examine how two of the highest profile media companies around at present are currently viewing 3D technology. Phil McNally stereoscopic supervisor at Disney-3D and Dreamworks was quoted as saying, consider that all technical progress in the cinema industry brought us closer to the ultimate entertainment experience: the dream. We dream in colour, with sound, in an incoherent world with no time reference. The cinema offers us a chance to dream awake for an hour. And because we dream in 3D, we ultimately want the cinema to be a 3D experience not a flat one.'(Mendiburu, 2009) In the BBC Research White Paper: The Challenges of Three-Dimensional Television, 3D technology is referred to as a continuing long-term evolution of television standards towards a means of recording, transmitting and displaying images that are indistinguishable from reality'(Armstrong, Salmon, Jolly, 2009) It is clear from both of these high profile sources that the industry is taking the evolution of 3D very seriously, as a result this is a topic that is not only very interesting but will be at the cutting edge of technological advances for the next couple of years. This report will be covering the following things: What does the term 3D mean with reference to film and video A look at the history of 3D in film How does 3D technology work The implications of 3D on the film business and on cinemas The methods used to create the media and also the ways in which the 3D image is recreated for the viewer The reasons I have chosen to do my project on this topic is that I am very interested in the new media field. 3D video when accompanied with high definition film and video is a field that is growing rapidly. Earlier this year, on 02 April 2009, Sky broadcast the UKs first live event in the 3D TV format, it featured a live music concert by the pop group Keane, it was sent via the companys satellite network using polarisation technology. Traditionally we view films and television in two dimensions, this in essence means we view the media as a flat image. In real life we view everything in three dimensions, this is because we get a slightly different image received in each eye, the brain then combines these and we can work out depth of vision and create a 3D image. (this will be explained further in Chapter 3) There is a high level of industrial relevance with this topic, as 3D technology coupled with high definition digital signal is at the cutting edge of mainstream digital media consumption. Further evidence of this is that the sports company ESPN will be launching their new TV channel, ESPN-3D in North America in time for this years Summer Football World Cup. In January 2009 the BBC produced a Research White Paper entitled The Challenges of Three-Dimensional Television on this subject and over the next couple of years they predict that it will start to be introduced in the same way that HD (High Definition) digital television signal is currently being phased in, with pay-per-view movies and sports being the first take advantage of it. Sky have announced that their existing Sky+HD boxes will be able to broadcast the 3D signals so customers will not even need to update their equipment to be able to receive the 3D Channel that they are starting to broadcast later this year. On Sunday January 31st 2010, Sky broadcast a live Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United for the first time in 3D to selected pubs across the country, Sky equipped the selected pubs with LGs new 47-inch LD920 3D TVs. These televisions use the passive glasses, similar to the ones uses in cinemas as opposed to the more expensive Active glasses which are also an option. (The differences between Active and Passive technologies will be explained in Chapter 8) It is also worth noting that at the 2010 Golden Globe awards, on acceptance of his award for Best Picture for the 3D Box Office Hit Avatar, the Canadian director James Cameron pronounced 3D as the future. At the time of writing this report (27/01/2010) the 3D film Avatar has just taken over from Titanic (also a James Cameron film) to become the highest grossing movie of all time, with worldwide takings of $1.859 billion. This is being accredited to the films outstanding takings in the 3D version of its release, in America 80% of the films box office revenue has been received from the 3D version of its release. In an industry where money talks, these figures will surely lead to an dramatic increase in production of 3D films and as a result Avatar could potentially be one of the most influential films of all time. After completing this dissertation I hope to be able to have a wide knowledge base on the subject and hopefully this will appeal to companies that I approach about employment once I have graduated. In the summer of 2010 when I will be looking for jobs, I believe that a lot of production companies will have some knowledge of 3D technology and be aware of how in the near future it may be something that they will have to consider adopting in the way that many production companies are already or soon will be adopting HD into their workflow. In order to ensure that I complete this project to a high standard it is important that I gain a complete understanding of the topic and study a variety of different sources when compiling my research. 3D media itself is not a new concept so there are a wide range of books and articles on the theory of 3D and stereoscopy along with anaglyphs. However in recent years there has been a resurgence in 3D with relation to film and TV. This is due mainly to digital video and film production making it easier and cheaper to create and manage the two channels needed for three-dimensional video production. It has proved more difficult to study books and papers on this most recent resurgence of 3D because it is still happening and evolving all the time. I have read various research white papers on the subject, which have been cited in the Bibliography, I have also used websites and blogs along with some recently published books, one of the problems with such a fast moving technological field such as 3D though, is that these books quickly become outdated. CHAPTER 2: HUMAN VISION In the real world we see in three dimensions as opposed to the two dimensions that we have become accustomed to when watching TV or at the cinema. Human vision appears in three dimensions because it is normal for people to have two eyes that both focus on the object, in the brain these two images are then fused into one, from this we can work out depth of vision, this process is called stereopsis. All of these calculations happen in the brain without the person ever even noticing, as a result we see the world in three dimensions very naturally. The reason that we see in 3D is because of stereoscopic depth perception. There are various complex calculations going on in our brains, this coupled with real experience allows our brain to work out the depth of vision. If it wasnt for this it would be impossible to tell if something was very small or just very far away. As humans, we have learnt to judge depth even with only one view point. This is why, if a person has one eye they can still manage to do most things that a person with two eyes can do. This is also why when watching a 2-D film you can still get a good judge of depth. The term for depth cues based on only one viewpoint is monoscopic depth cues. One of the most important of these is our own experience, it relates to perspective and relative size of objects. In simple terms, we have become accustomed to object being certain sizes. An example of this is that we expect buildings to be very big, humans are smaller and insects are smaller still. So this means that if we can see all three of these objects next to each other and they appear to be the same size then the insect must be much closer than the person, and both the insect and the person must be much closer that the building (see figure 1). The perspective depth cue (shown in figure1) was backed up when an experiment was carried out by Ittelson in 1951. He got volunteers to look through a peep hole at some playing cards, the only thing they could see were the cards and so there were no other types of depth cue available. There were actually three different-sized playing cards (normal size, half-size, and double size), and they were presented one at a time at a distance of 2.3metres away. The half-sized playing card was judged to be 4.6 metres away from the observer, whereas the double-sized card was thought to be 1.3 metres away. Thus, familiar size had a large effect on distance judgement'(Eysenck, 2002). Another monoscopic depth cue that is very effective is referred to as occlusion or interposition. This is where an object overlaps another object. If a person is standing behind a tree then you will be able to see all of the tree but only part of the person. This tells us that the tree is nearer to us that the person. One of the most important single view depth cues in called motion parallax, it works on the basis that if a person moves their head, and therefore eyes, then objects nearer to them, whilst not physically moving, will appear to move more than the objects in the distance. This is the method that astronomers use to measure distances of stars and planets. It is in extremely important method of judging depth and is used extensively in 3D filmmaking. In filmmaking, lighting is often talked about as being one of the key elements to giving the picture depth, and this is because it is a monoscopic depth cue. In real life the main light source for millennia has been the sun. Humans have worked out how to judge depth based on the shadows that are portrayed from an object. In 2D films shadows are often used to display depth by casting them across actors faces it allows the viewers to see the recesses and expressions trying to be portrayed. So far all of the methods that have been described for determining depth have been monoscopic, these work independently within each eye. If these were the only methods for determining depth there would be no need for 3D films as it would not add anything because all of these methods could be recreated using a single camera lens. This is not the case however, a lot of the more advanced methods used in human vision for judging depth need the use of both eyes, these are called stereoscopic depth cues. A great deal of stereoscopic depth cues are based around the feedback that your brain gets when the muscles in the eye are manipulated to concentrate your vision on a particular point. One of the main stereoscopic depth cues is called convergence, this referrers to the way that the eyes rotate in order to focus on an object (see figure 2). If the focus is on a near object, the eyes rotate around the Y axis and converge on a tighter angle , similarly if the focus is on a distant object the rotation means the eyes have a wider angle of convergence. It is a lot less stressful on the muscles in the eye to have a wide angle of convergence and look at objects far away, in comparison looking at very close object for any amount of time causes the muscles in the eye to ache. This is a very important factor that should be considered when creating 3D films, as it doesnt matter how good the film is, if it is going to hurt the audience it will not go down well. A second stereoscopic depth cue that we use is called accommodation, this is the way that our eyes changes focus when we look at an object at different distances, it is very closely linked with convergence. Usually when we look at an object very close up, our eyes will change rotation and point towards the object (convergence) allowing us to look at the item, our eyes will at the same time change focus (accommodation). Using the ciliarybody muscles in the eye, the lens will change shape to let more or less light in the same way a camera does, thus changing focus. In everyday life convergence and accommodation usually happen in parallel. The fact that we can, if we wish choose to converge our eyes without changing the focus means that 3D films are possible. When you are sat in the cinema all of the action is projected onto the screen in front of you, so this is where your eyes need to focus. With 2D films the screen is also where your eyes need to converge, but with 3D films this is not the case. When watching a 3D film the focus never changes from the screen, else the whole picture would go out of focus, but objects appear to be in front and behind the screen, so your eyes need to change their convergence to look at these objects without altering their focus from the screen. It has been suggested that this independence of accommodation and convergence is the reason for eye strain when watching a 3D picture as your eyes are doing something that they are not in the habit of doing (see chapter 12: Is 3D bad for you). It is also worth noting that our monoscopic depth cues work at almost any range, this is not the case with stereoscopic depth cues. As objects become further away they no longer appear differently in each eye, so there is no way the brain can calculate a difference and work out depth. The limit occurs in the 100 to 200-yard range, as our discernment asymptomatically tends to zero. In a theatre, we will hit the same limitation, and this will define the depth resolution and the depth range of the screen.(Mendiburu, 2009) This means that when producing a 3D film you have to be aware that the range of 3D that you have to use is not infinite and is limited to 100-200 yards. CHAPTER 3: Early Stereoscopic History (1838 1920) Three dimensional films are not a new phenomenon, Charles Wheatstone discovered, in 1838, that the mechanism responsible for human depth perception is the distance separating the retinas of our eyes . (Autodesk, 2008) In a 12,000 word research paper that Wheatstone presented to the Royal Society of Great Britain he described the stereoscope and claimed as a new fact in his theory if vision the observation that two different pictures are projected on the retinas of the eyes when a single object is seen.(Zone, 2007) Included in the paper were a range of line drawings presented as stereoscopic pairs, these were designed to be viewed in 3D using Wheatstones invention, the stereoscope. Wheatstone was not the first person to look at the possibility of receiving separate views in each eye, In the third century B.C, Euclid in his treatise on Optics observed that the left and right eyes see slightly different views of a sphere'(Zone, 2007). However, Wheatstone was the first person to create a device to be able to re-create 3D images. Between 1835 and 1839 photography was starting to be developed thanks to work from William Fox Talbot, Nicephore Niepce and Louise Daguerre. Once Wheatstone became aware of the photographic pictures that were available he requested some stereoscopic photographs to be made for him. Wheatstone observed that it has been found advantageous to employ, simultaneously, two cameras fixed at the proper angular positions'(Zone, 2007). This was the start of stereoscopic photography. Between 1850 and 1860 work was starting to be done by various people to try and combine stereoscopic photography with machines that would display a series of images very quickly and therefore using persistence of vision to create a moving 3D image. These were the first glimpses of 3D motion. In 1891 a French scientist, Louis Ducos du Hauron patented the anaglyph, a method for separating an image into two separate colour channels and then by wearing glassing with the same colours but on opposite eyes thereby cancelling out the image, thus reproducing one image, but in 3D. Another method used at this time to create 3D was proposed by John Anderton, also in 1891. Andertons system was to use polarisation techniques to split the image into two separate light paths and then employ a similar polarisation technique to divert a separate image to each eye on viewing. One of the main advantages of polarisation over anaglyphs is that they do not lose any colour information, this is due to the fact that both images retain the original colour spectrums. They do however loose luminance. It is common for a silver screen to be necessary, it serves two purposes, firstly the specially designed screen maintains the separate polarisation required for each image. It also reflects more light than conventional screens, this compensates for the loss of luminance. During 1896 and 1897 2D motion pictures started to take off, and by 1910 after a lot of initial experimenting the creative formats of film that we recognise today such as cuts and framing had started to become evident. In 1920 Jenkins, an inventor that worked hard to try and create a method for recreating stereoscopic motion picture was quoted as saying Stereoscopic motion pictures have been the subject of considerable thought and have been attained in several waysbut never yet have they been accomplished in a practical way. By practical, I mean, for example without some device to wear over the eyes of the observer.'(Zone, 2007) It is worth noting that this problem of finding a practical method of viewing 3D has still to a large extent not been solved. Chapter 4: Early 3D Feature Films (1922 1950) 4.1 The first 3D feature film The first 3D feature film, The Power of Love was released in 1922, it was exhibited at the Ambassador Hotel Theatre in Los Angeles. Popular Mechanics magazine described how the characters in the film did not appear flat on the screen, but seemed to be moving about in locations which had depth exactly like the real spots where the pictures were taken(Zone, 2007). The Power of Love was exhibited using red/green glasses using a dual strip anaglyph method of 3D projection. (Anaglyphs are explained in chapter 8.3) The film was shot on a custom made camera invented by Harry K.Fairall, he was also the director on the film. The camera incorporated two films in one camera body.(Symmes, 2006) Power of Love was the first film to be viewed using anaglyph glasses, also the first to use dual-strip projection. Also in 1922, William Van Doren Kelley designed his own camera rig, based on the Prizma colour system which he had invented in 1913. The Prizma 3D colour method worked by capturing two different colour channels by placing filters over the lenses. This way he made his own version of the red/blue anaglyphic print. Kelleys Movies of the Future was shown at Rivoli Theatre in New York City. 4.2 The first active-shutter 3D film A year later in 1923 the first alternate-frame 3D projection system was unveiled. It used a technology called Teleview. Which blocked the left and right eyes periodically in sync with the projector, thereby allowing you to see too separate images. Teleview was not an original idea, but up to this point no one had been able to get the theory to actually work in a practical way that would allow for films to be viewed in a cinema. This is where Laurens Hammond comes in. Hammons designed a system where two standard projectors would be hooked up to their own AC generators, running at 60Hz this meant that adjusting the AC frequency would increase or decrease the speed of the projectors. The left film was in the left projector and right film in the right. The projectors were in frame sync, but the shutters were out of phase sync.'(Symmes, 2006) This meant that the left image was shown, then the right image. The viewing device was attached to the seats in the theatre. It was mounted on a flexible neck, similar to some adjustable gooseneck desk lamps. You twisted it around and centred it in front of your face, kind of like a mask floating just in front of your face. (Symmes, 2006) The viewing device consisted of a circular mask with a view piece for each eye plus a small motor that moved a shutter across in front of either the left or right eye piece depending on the cycle of current running through it. All of the viewing devices were powered by the same AC generator as the projectors meaning that they were all exactly in sync. One of the major problems Hammond had to overcome was the fact that at the time film was displayed at 16 frames per second. With this method of viewing you are effectively halving the frame rate. 8 frames per second resulted in a very noticeable flicker. To overcome this Hammond cut each frame up in to three flashes so the new sequence was: 1L-1R-1L-1R-1L-1-R 2L-2R-2L-2R-2L-2R and so on. Three alternate flashes per eye on the screen. (Symmes, 2006) This method of separating and duplicating certain frames effectively resulted in increasing the overall frame rate thereby eradicating the flicker. There was only one film produced using this method, it was called M.A.R.S and displayed at the Selwyn Theatre in New York City in December 1922. The reason the technology didnt catch on was not due to the image, as the actual theory for producing the image has changed very little from the Teleview method to the current active-shutter methods which will be explained later. As with a lot of 3D methods the reason this one did not become mainstream was due the viewing apparatus that was needed. Although existing projectors could be modified by linking them up to separate AC generator, meaning no extra equipment was needed, the headsets that were required did need a lot of investment and time to install. All of the seats in the theatre needed to be fitted with headsets, these were adjusted in front of the audience members. These also had to be linked up to the AC generator so as they were perfectly in sync, this meant that they had to be wired in to the seats. These problems have since been overcome with wireless technologies such as Bluetooth as will be explained later. 4.3 The first polarised 3D film The next and arguably one of the most important advancements in 3D technology came in 1929 when Edwin H. Land worked out a way of using polarised lenses (Polaroid) together with images to create stereo vision. (Find more on polarisation in chapter 8.6) Lands polarizing material was first used for projection of still stereoscopic images at the behest of Clarence Kennedy, an art history instructor at Smith College who wanted to project photo images of sculptures in stereo to his students. (Zone, 2007) In 1936 Beggars Wedding was released in Italy, it was the first stereoscopic feature to include sound, it was exhibited using Polaroid filters. This was filmed using polarised technology. The first American film to use polarising filters was shot in 1939 and entitled In Tune With Tomorrow, it was a 15 minute short film which shows through stop motion, a car being built piece-by-piece in 3D with the added enhancement of music and sound effects. (Internet Movie Database, 2005) Between 1939 and 1952 3D films continued to me made but with the Great Depression and the onset of the Second World War, the cinema industry was restricted with its output because of finances and as 3D films were more expensive to make their output started to be reduced. Chapter 5: Golden Age of 3D (1952 1955) With cinema ticket sales plummeting from 90 million in 1948 to 40 million in 1951 (Sung, 2009) largely being put down to the television becoming coming in peoples front rooms the cinema industry needed to find a way to encourage the viewers back the big screen, 3D was seen as a way to offer something extra to make viewers return. In 1952 the first colour 3D film was released called Bwana Devil,it was the first of many stereoscopic films to follow in the next few years. The process of combining 3D and colour attracted a new audience to 3D films. Between 1950 and 1955 there were far more 3D films produced that at any other time before or since, apart from possibly in the next couple of years from 2009 onwards, as the cinema industry tries to fight back again against falling figures, this time though because of home entertainment systems, video-on-demand, and legal and illegal movie downloads. Towards the end of the Golden Age, around 1955, the fascination with 3D was starting to be lost. There were a number of reasons for this, one of the main factors was that in order for the film to be seen in 3D it had to be shown on two reels at the same time, which meant that the two reels had to be exactly in time else the effect would be lost and it would cause the audience headaches. Chapter 6: Occasional 3D films (1960 2000) Between 1960 and 2000 there were sporadic resurgences in 3D. These were down to new technologies becoming available. In the late 1960s the invention of a single strip 3D format initiated a revival as it meant that the dual projectors would no longer go out of sync and cause eye-strain. The first version of this single strip 3D format to be used was called Space-Vision 3D, it worked on an over and under basis. This meant that the frame was horizontally split into two, during playback it was then separate in two using a prism and polarised glasses. However, there were major drawbacks with Space-Vision 3D. Due to the design of the cameras required to film in this format, the only major lens that was compatible was the Bernier lens. The focal length of the Bernier optic is fixed at 35mm and the interaxial at 65mm. Neither may be varied, but convergence may be altered'(Lipton, 1982).This obviously restricted the creative filmmaking options and as a result was soon superseded by a new format called Stereovision. Stereovision was similar to Space-Vision 3D in that is split the frame in two, unlike Space-Vision though, the frame was split vertically, and they were placed side-by-side. During projection these frames were then put through an anamorphic lens, thereby stretching them back to their original size. These also made use of the polarising method introduced by Land in 1929. A film made using this process was called The Stewardess, released in 1969, it cost only $100,000 to make but at the cinema it grossed $26,000,000 (Lipton, 1982). Understandably the studios were very interested in the profit margin that arose from this film. As a result 3D once again became an interesting prospect for studios. Up until fairly recently films were still shot and edited using old film techniques (i.e. not digitally). This made manipulating 3D films quite difficult, this lack of control over the full process made 3D less appealing to film makers. The digitisation of post-processing and visual effects gave us another surge in the 1990s. But only full digitisation, from glass to glass from the cameras to projector lenses gives 3D the technological biotope it needs to thrive (Mendiburu, 2009). Chapter 7: The Second Golden Age of 3D (2004 present) In 2003 James Cameron released Ghost of the Abyss, it was the first full length 3D feature film that used the Reality Camera System, which was specially designed to use new high definition digital cameras. These digital cameras meant that the old techniques used with 3D film no longer restricted the work-flow, and the whole process can be done digitally, from start to finish. The next groundbreaking film was Robert Semeckis 2004 animated film Polar Express which was also shown in IMAX theatres. It was released at the same time in 2D and 3D, the 3D cinemas took on average 14 times more money that the 2D cinemas. The cinemas once again took note, and since Polar Express was released in 2004, 3D digital films have become more and more prominent. IMAX are no longer the only cinemas capable of displaying digital 3D films. A large proportion of conventional cinemas have made the switch to digital, this switch has enabled 3D films to be exhibited in a large range of cinemas. CHAPTER 8: 3D TECHNOLOGIES 8.1 3D capture and display methods Each different type of stereoscopic display projects the combined left and right images together onto a flat surface, usually a television or cinema screen. The viewer then must have a method of decoding this image and separating the combined image into left and right images and relaying these to the correct eye. The method that is used to split this image is, in the majority of cases, a pair of glasses. There are two brackets of encoding method, passive and active. Passive means that the images are combined into one and then the glasses split this image in to two separate images for left and right eye. In this method the glasses are cheaper to produce and the expense usually comes in the equipment used to project the image. The second method is active display. This method works by sending the alternative images in a very quick succession (L-R-L-R-L-R), the glasses then periodically block the appropriate eye piece, this is done at such a fast rate that it appears to be continuous in both eyes. There are various different types of encoding encapsulated within each of the two methods mentioned above. The encoding can use either colour separation (anaglyph, Dolby 3D), time separation (active glasses) or polarisation (RealD). A separate method, which does not require the use of glasses is done by using a virtual space in front of the screen and is called autosterescopic. In cinemas across the world at the moment there are several formats that are used to display 3D films. Three of the main distributors are Real-D, iMAX and Dolby-3D. Once a 3D film has been finished by the studios, it then needs to be prepared for exhibition in various different formats, this can include amongst other things colour grading and anti ghosting processes. At present there is not a universally agreed format for capturing or playing back 3D films, as a result there are several different versions, these are explained below. A large majority of the latest wave of 3D technology options send the image using one projector, so removing the old problem of out sync left and right images. The methods that do use dual projectors are much more sophisticated that the older versions used in anaglyphic films so have eradicated the old problems of out of sync projectors. 8.2 Gho

The Unusual Protagonist of Grettirs Saga :: Grettir Saga Essays

The Unusual Protagonist of Grettir's Saga  Ã‚   The decision to make Grettir the protagonist for Grettir's Saga is an interesting if not unusual choice on the part of the author(s). Examination of this atypical choice speaks volumes about the Icelandic society in the 13th century, when it is believed the saga was written down, as well as Icelandic society during the 10th century, when the majority of the action in the saga occurs. Before we begin an analysis and examination of Grettir, however, it is important to understand what a saga is and the purpose it serves. The author of Grettir's Saga is unknown. In fact, there is actually more than one author. Sagas were not written down until the 13th century at the earliest, yet they cover events that occurred even before the founding of Iceland between 830-950 (Hastrup 150-51). The reason for this discrepancy is that sagas began as oral stories. The sagas were passed down from generation to generation orally until they were written down in the 13th century. This is why there are actually multiple authors to the saga. Each time the saga was told, it was not told exactly the same. As the storytellers changed, so to did some of the events of the saga. While the changes made to the saga by the storytellers were not significant to change it's overall meaning, they do have the ability to enhance certain feats by Grettir, attacking the credibility of the story if dwelled upon. However, while certain events may not be completely true, the message that Grettir portrays and the issues that he represents are true and accurate. It is important to remember that the saga was considered a history, but was not to be used as a primary source for information. It served better when considered a vehicle for transporting traditional wisdom based on historical knowledge (Hastrup 143). Grettir was an unusual choice as a protagonist because he was an outlaw. He did not possess many heroic qualities and was not the typical protagonist that was liked by many of the characters in the novel or saga. Grettir was actually disliked by many and constantly in trouble with the law. Grettir's exploits were humane at times and bordered on heroic but his misdeeds weighed heavily against him. The author(s) of the saga took a chance by using Grettir as their protagonist.

Charles De Galle Essay -- essays research papers

Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France, on Nov. 22, 1890, the son of a teacher of philosophy and literature at a Jesuit college. From early childhood he took an interest in reading. Fascinated by history, he formed an almost mystical formation of service to France. De Gaulle graduated from the Ecole Militaire of Saint-Cyr in 1912 and joined an infantry division. In World War I he was wounded and captured at Douaumont in the Battle of Verdun in March 1916. As a war prisoner, he wrote his first book, published in 1924 called La discorde chez l'ennemi. He served on Marshal Henri Philippe Petain’s staff then with the French army in the Rhineland, and later in Lebanon. On April 7, 1921 de Gaulle married Yvonne Vendroux and they had their first child, a son, on December 28. Their daughter, Elisabeth was born on May 15th 1924. In the 1930's de Gaulle wrote many books and articles on military subjects that showed how much of a good writer and thinker he was. In 1931 he published Le fil de l'epee or the The Edge of the Sword, an investigation of military and political leadership. He also published Vers l'armee de metier or later called The Army of the Future and La France et son armee or France and Her Army. He fought for the better uses of armored mobility and air power, because he felt it would provide better defenses than fixed fortifications such as the Maginot Line. His theories were refused by the military and by left-wing leaders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the out...

Religion as Expressed in Art, Music and Literature Essay -- Visual Art

Salvador Dali, born in Spain in 1904, was one of world's most famous Surrealist artists. His work is popular amongst modern society as well as art enthusiasts and often interweaves bizarre and thought-provoking ideas with abstract images, many of these symbolising dreams and fantasies. His paintings explore the connection between reality and fantasy, and he once described his own work as "hand painted dream photographs". His exploration of fantasy and subconscious is pronounced clearly in "The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper", painted in 1955. The painting shows Dali's depiction of The Last Supper. Jesus is centred at the table with his twelve Disciples kneeling devoutly, with heads bowed, in perfect symmetry, as if two groups of six were mirroring each other on either side of Jesus. Above Jesus we see a transparent image of his own body. Dali painted this image to be interpreted by the individual in different ways. It represents both the literal Jesus; about to be betrayed and facing his arrest and crucifixion, and the spiritual Jesus; the belief in God and the faith that is present with Christians. A person with a non religious view would most probably see this as the literal sense of Christ, where as a Christian or otherwise religious person would be more likely to see both the literal and the spiritual representations. In the background, we are able to see a calm lake surrounded by barren hills. A mystical 'aura' of light rests in the centre of the landscape. Again, the interpretation of what this represents lies within the individual. It could merely be part of the beautiful Palestinian landscape, or it could be a holy aura of light emanating from Jesus, to represent his divinity. Dali presents us with a conflict of the literal reality and the religious mysticism, knowing that "only the eye of faith can pierce the veil of understanding". Situated in front of Jesus on the table are a broken loaf of ordinary brown bread and a glass of red wine. The Bible tells us how Jesus gave his disciples the blessed bread and the wine to represent his body and his blood. "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me" 1 Corinthians 11:24 In this painting, Dali gives us a sense of spirituality. He achieves this using the viewers' imaginary contribution rather than the actual representation of his images. To... ...nterpret it their self and form their own conclusions based on this. There are also a few biblical references to the arts in Christianity. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" Ephesians 5:19 Additionally, when people are listening to a piece of religious music or to a certain extent viewing a piece of religious art or drama, they can sometimes encounter a numinous experience, similar to that which somebody may feel upon entering a greatly religious building or beautiful place. Many people have experienced this while listening to the 'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's 'Messiah'. In my opinion, the arts are one the best ways to express a religious idea, as I strongly believe that some things that can not be described verbally can be spoken through music or art. It seems to me that although conventional methods of worshipping a religion are successful in many ways, the arts can be a more effective way to express religious reasoning and help people to form their own conclusions about religion without encountering bias from people who already have strong religious, or anti-religious, views.

Jetblue Airways: Starting from Scratch Essay

At the beginning, JetBlue management set the tone for themselves that they would be different then other airlines. To do that they set values for all employees from top to bottom to follow and they set up an attractive pay and a unique benefits package that would allow for successful recruitment and retention of employees, while significantly reducing the chance of a union moving into the organization. Equal Employment Opportunity Laws There are certain Equal Employment Opportunity laws that every employer should be aware of and use as guidelines when developing a working relationship with employees and perspective employees. These laws protect employers and employees and enhance the overall association between the two. Three Equal Opportunity laws that impact JetBlue’s hiring practices are: Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Amended 1972 One of many Equal Employment Opportunity laws, the Civil Rights Act may be the most important law as it prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual based on race, religion, color, sex, and age. This protection from discrimination covers the areas of â€Å"hiring, firing, promoting, compensation, or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.† (Mondy, 2008) Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990 Simply put, this law prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone with a qualified disability. This law establishes that an employer must make reasonable accommodations for a disabled person in the workforce that does not create an undue hardship to the employer. Examples of those accommodations are updating facilities to meet the needs of the disabled employee; adjusting work schedules; and updating equipment that a disabled employee could use. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Amended 1978, 1986 This law was created to protect employees over the age of 40 from employment discrimination based on age. The law also prohibits employers from forcing employees into retirement. The Age Discrimination Employment Act applies to both employees and job applicants. JetBlue’s Recruitment Efforts A key internal recruitment effort that JetBlue used was to seek referrals from existing employees. This effort is best illustrated with the pilots. JetBlue set out to hire employees who fit with the organization’s vision and in return they offered employees flexible time, pay and benefits and provided the pilots with updated technology and training. The goal of setting up Values and different employment packages was to show the staff that JetBlue cared about them. This in turn caused employees to be more loyal than at other airlines and soon word-of-mouth spread and people wanted to work for JetBlue. According to Dave Berger, JetBlue COO, â€Å"the happy pilots were a great source for recruiting their friends from competing airlines.† (Hoffer, 2001) Externally, JetBlue placed one classified ad in a Salt Lake City newspaper seeking interested applicants for the position of reservations agents. This â€Å"single local advertisement† resulted in JetBlue hiring over 500 reservations agents and collecting â€Å"a waiting list of 2,500 interested applicants†. (Hoffer, 2001)The one advertisement was so successful because it enticed prospective employees with a flexible work schedule, standard pay with a bonus if they took calls whenever needed, and they provided computers and necessary equipment to the staff members so they could all work from home. JetBlue’s Personnel Selection JetBlue created five Values that would be used to make decisions in all areas of the organization including Human Resources. Those Values are Safety; Caring, Integrity; Fun; and Passion. JetBlue then went into detail with the Values to develop standards of â€Å"desirable and undesirable behaviors† (Hoffer, 2001) and used those standards in asking prospective employees about past behavior. JetBlue set out to hire people who best fit those Values. When interviewing an applicant for a mechanic position, the applicant was asked to recall a time when â€Å"integrity was an issue in his previous employment.† (Hoffer, 2001) The mechanic described a time when he was pressured to sign off that an airplane was ready for an international flight when in fact it was not. The applicant explained he refused to certify the aircraft and was subsequently fired. JetBlue hired this applicant because he fit the Values of the organization. Ann Rhoades, executive vice president human resources, explains that she didn’t offer a prospective pilot a position because of what she perceived as his arrogance. Arrogance doesn’t fit into the Values JetBlue set for its organization. During an interview with a pilot applicant, the pilot was asked to discuss a time when he was encountered with a â€Å"customer request that was in conflict with company polices† (Hoffer, 2001) and explain how he addressed the request. His response was compared to the Values and whether or not it fit into the definition of desirable or undesirable behavior. JetBlue used a method of utilizing multiple interviewers and each of those interviewers had to agree before an offer of employment was made. Utilizing the group interview method, JetBlue was providing those employees on the team a sense of ownership and autonomy which further enhanced employee satisfaction. Three Factors that Influence a Performance Appraisal System When utilizing a performance appraisal system, an organization should be aware of the internal and external factors that influence the outcomes of such appraisals. One example is legislation. Any time an employer is dealing with an employee or potential employee, they must ensure they are not discriminating against any protected class. During the performance appraisal process, the employer needs to have systems in place that assures no discrimination or negative impact of a protected class or group occurs. These are the same requirements described above in the Civil Rights Act; Age Discrimination in Employment Act; and the Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990. Another factor to consider is labor unions. If an organization has a labor agreement with an organized union, they may get push back from the union on the subject of Performance Appraisals. Unions generally encourage pay increases and promotions based on seniority, not on merit. As such, they are known to oppose any type of performance appraisal system. A third factor is completely under the control of an organization and that is corporate culture. The culture within a company can have either a negative or positive impact on the performance appraisal system and is dependent on the attitude from the top down. Employees are likely to not have confidence in the performance appraisal system if the organization does not encourage an environment of high performance, teamwork, and personal development. The lack of support by the organization, builds mistrust by the employees in all areas of human resources. 360-Degree Feedback Evaluation The 360-Degree Feedback Evaluation is used for development of employees and teams and can be helpful in identifying target areas such as building on strengths of an employee or identifying and focusing development needs. By utilizing feedback of an employee’s coworkers, supervisors, and customers, 360-Degree Feedback provides a more balanced evaluation then one that could be influenced by a disgruntled supervisor, peer or customer. The system allows the organization to develop succession plans which is important internally and externally because it gives the employees confidence that the organization has future plans for growth. By using this system, a company can create a professional development and training program that is focused on employee needs, enabling the employee to be successful which in turn, helps the company be successful. Rather than relying on financial goals to measure an employee’s contribution to the organization, JetBlue utilizes the 360-Degree Feedback Evaluation process. JetBlue customized the process calling it the 320-degree feedback process, a play on the name of their aircraft, and uses it to determine whether or not employees are meeting the company’s five core values. Because these core values (safety, caring, integrity, fun, passion) all directly relate to peers, supervisors and co-workers, JetBlue is able to get a direct assessment of each employee’s performance and ability to meet the five core values. Employee-Related Factors Essential in Determining Financial Compensation When addressing the issue of employee compensation, an employer must first evaluate the job by conducting a job analysis to determine the requirements and conditions of the position. Once the analysis is complete, the employer is able to attract and retain qualified individuals. When hiring, it is important to consider the applicant’s experience, performance, skills and competency before determining the right compensation for the future employees. Experience Experience enhances an employee’s performance and is valued by employers. Determining if an employee has valuable insight and basic knowledge of the job is an important variable in establishing compensation. Performance Rewarding employees with pay based on their performance and productivity oftentimes motivates them to do better. Many companies use the merit-based system by rating employee’s performance and increasing pay. Skills Compensation is sometimes based on an employee’s ability to effectively show their ability to perform particular tasks. Competency Competencies are oftentimes associated with an employee’s attitude and values. Many companies find these competencies just as important as skills, education and experience. Discretionary Employee Benefits Discretionary benefits are just that, at the discretion of the company. They are not required by law, but are increasingly just as important to employees as is their pay. Discretionary benefits may include paid time off, profit sharing, and health care benefits. Paid Time Off To provide employees with a work-life balance, time away from work is oftentimes paid through vacation, sick or paid-time-off plans. The time off benefit is usually offered to full-time employees and allows for paid, stress-free rest time that benefits the employee’s mental and physical health. Employee time off also benefits the company because a rested, stress-free employee is more productive then if no time off or unpaid time off had been given. Profit Sharing Profit sharing is a plan that distributes a pre-determined percentage of profits to employees. For those organizations that offer profit-sharing, it is often only offered to full-time employees who have met a vesting period. Profit sharing not only incentivizes employees to meet corporate goals with the goal of achieving maximum profits, but it also benefits the company by valuing long-term loyalty. Health Benefits Having access to affordable health care is a priority for most people and is a great consideration for many when accepting a job. Many full-time and part-time employees receive this benefit from their employer throughout the United States. With the new National Health Care law passed last year, it will now be expected that employers provide some type of health care insurance coverage to their staff if the law is held up in court. JetBlue’s Incorporation of Discretionary Benefits JetBlue is known to provide generous discretionary benefits to all of its employees. These benefits include a flexible work schedule, heath care insurance, paid time off, and 401K plans. JetBlue set out to build employment packages that support the different needs of their employees. In setting up the varying types of discretionary benefits, JetBlue believed it would attract staff and create loyalty. An example is the type of packages offered to the flight attendants. There are several packages for the different types of people who may fill the flight attendant positions. A recent college graduate may not be looking for long-term retirement packages; a family-oriented staff person may be looking for flexible hours and healthcare benefits; and another may be looking for a career in the industry and would require long-term benefits such as a 401K. Each of these individuals would receive a package that is customized to meet their specific needs. The additional benefit of working from home for the reservation agents in Salt Lake City allows the employee flexibility that does not necessarily require them to change their family’s schedules which is a great benefit for many people. REFERENCES: Hoffer, J.G and O’Reilly, C. (2001). JetBlue Airways: Starting from Scratch. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. Pp. 58-77 (Hoffer, 2001) Mondy, R.W. (2008). Human Resources Management. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson, Prentice Hall. (Mondy, 2008)

A Pilot Study On Classroom Observation Education Essay

Chapter 4This chapter describes a pilot survey conducted after the preliminary survey and before the chief survey. It begins by a brief debut given in subdivision 4.1, followed by treatments on the sample choice, observation agenda and pre and station session interviews in subdivision 4.2. Section 4.3 covers the schoolroom observations. Gesture cryptography, including the written text, coding jobs and policy, and consequences of the cryptography are included in subdivision 4.4. Discussion and decision concentrating on schoolroom observation and metaphoric gestures are covered in subdivision 4.5. The chapter ends with the deductions for the chief survey explored in subdivision 4.6.4.1 About the Pilot StudyThis pilot survey built on a old little graduated table preliminary survey ( chapter 3 ) . The purposes were: ( a ) to see existent clip schoolroom observation ; ( B ) to prove out and better the observation agenda and interview inquiries ; ( degree Celsius ) to research whether Chin ese music instructors used metaphoric gestures and if so, what these metaphors were and where they were used ; and ( vitamin D ) to prove out and develop metaphoric gesture designation processs. The focal point was limited to music Sessionss in junior high schools because in the preliminary survey, more metaphors were found from the junior degree than from the simple degree. The information of this pilot survey were transcribed from three general music Sessionss taken by Wang, a music instructor in a junior high school in Taiwan.4.2 Before the Observation4.2.1 Sample SelectionSituated in a in-between to upper-middle category suburb of a major northern metropolis, Wang ‘s school was founded in 1988, with 4,268 pupils and 113 categories in 2006. It is considered to be a large school, comparative to the official norm of 1,299 pupils per junior high school in Taiwan for the school twelvemonth 2005-2006 ( Department of Statistics, Ministry of Education of Taiwan ) . The informations were collected in general music categories with pupils aged between 12 and 14. Each category contained around 35 pupils, and talk was the lone type of interaction observed. The consequences of t he preliminary survey showed that metaphor denseness may differ because of learning content. Therefore the Sessionss observed for this pilot were limited to music theory, music history, and music grasp. Wang ( a anonym ) had received her MA in musicology four old ages antecedently and since so had been learning music in the same junior high school. Bing really open-minded about taking portion in research and being observed, Wang was one of the really first music instructors I contacted for the preliminary survey. Since so she had been helpful in replying my inquiries and supplying me background information about the state of affairs of music instruction in junior high school degree in Taiwan. After the preliminary survey, I emailed her to inquire her permission for me to come in her schoolroom and video-record a twosome of Sessionss, and she agreed to take part. Music lessons form portion of the Humanistic disciplines and Humanities class class in junior high schools in Taiwan ( see subdivision 2.4.1 ) , and hence music, humanistic disciplines, and executing humanistic disciplines portion one text edition. â€Å" The humanistic disciplines subdivision negotiations about utilizing different colorss to stand for the four seasons, and the music subdivision negotiations about Vivaldi. So it occurred to me that it ‘s a good chance to give a talk on the Baroque epoch and present Vivaldi ‘s The Four Seasons to them, † ( Wang, pilot interview 2 ) . At the clip when this study was written, MOE of Taiwan did non supply one â€Å" standard † version of the text edition, and schools were free to take the version they preferred. Wang therefore on a regular basis designed the content of her lessons. â€Å" The text edition references nil about the Baroque epoch so I make my ain PowerPoint slides to assist pupils set up the background cognition † ( Wang, the same interview ) . Teachers are allowed to re-arrange the order of the instruction contents and set related things together. In some schools, music instructors have to learn executing humanistic disciplines, but this was non the instance in Wang ‘s school, where there were three single instructors for the three bomber classs: music, humanistic disciplines, and executing humanistic disciplines.4.2.2 Observation Schedule and InterviewsAfter Wang agreed to take part in the survey, I explained to her about the research through electronic mail. She understood that the research was about schoolroom discourse and hence suggested me to put the observation clip at a hebdomad after the mid-term test, when she was approximately to present the Baroque epoch to her pupils. One month before the schoolroom observation, Wang and I met to discourse which classes to detect, including when I should get, where I should sit and how best to put up the recording installation. In add-on, Wang approximately explained what sort of schoolroom activities would be involved and what she intended to learn. Wang was told that the s urvey was about schoolroom talk and the thought was to detect a session with every bit much talk involved as possible. She hence suggested Sessionss chiefly covering music history and music grasp. This meeting is classed as pilot interview 1 ( for more inside informations, see Appendix B ) . A real-time observation agenda was designed, with a intent of associating the schoolroom activities and metaphor usage. As can be seen from the agenda ( see Appendix C ) , both start and terminal times of the activities needed to be specified and during each activity, runs of metaphors and gestures needed to be made, so that I could acquire a basic sense of where bunchs of metaphors and gestures most frequently occurred ( though in the event it proved about impossible for me to number them during categories, something which will be discussed subsequently in 4.6.1 ) . In add-on, the observation agenda covered: administration of the category, stuffs, and musical instruments used, and the linguistic communication used by the instructor and pupils. A general feeling of schoolroom ambiance would be noted as H ( high ) , F ( carnival ) , or L ( low ) to see if schoolroom atmosphere is related to metaphor usage. A follow-up interview ( pilot interview 2 ) with Wang was conducted after detecting the three Sessionss. The face-to-face semistructured interview took topographic point in Wang ‘s music schoolroom during her interruption, enduring 42 proceedingss. Again, I was permitted to enter it, and at the same clip made notes while Wang was speaking. A list of information or inquiries I planned to seek or inquire, translated from Chinese ( the linguistic communication used during the interview ) into English is appended ( Appendix D ) . In the interviews, information was sought about Wang ‘s educational background and working experience, and inquiries covered how Wang prepared for the category and aimed to explicate new constructs, how Wang thought about metaphors and gestures, and if she used them to assist her Teach. Mandarin Chinese was used throughout the interview. Notice that the Numberss are for the convenience of composing up the study ; the inquiries were asked without any specific order. During the interview with Wang, the above subjects were covered. To Wang, metaphor helped the pupils to link music and their day-to-day life experiences. She gave an illustration of the birds, Canis familiariss, spring air current, and summer boom in Vivaldi ‘s The Four Seasons. However, she did non normally interpret music in her ain manner when introducing or depicting it- † I merely interpreted the music in the manner which the composer marked on the music manuscript † ( Wang, pilot interview 2 ) . Although overall the interviews went swimmingly, it was realised that some inquiries were excessively general and more inquiries about metaphor and gestures were needed. Detailss are discussed in 4.6.1.4.3 During the ObservationFor the first session, I entered the music schoolroom with Wang around 15 proceedingss before the session began. Wang told me that because of the limited Numberss of music schoolrooms, music instructors in her school had to take bends utilizing them. It was Wang ‘s bend to hold one of the music classrooms that semester and hence she was allowed to remain in the room waiting for the pupils to get. The excess clip proved utile from the point of position of puting up the picture equipment. The chief equipment in the music schoolroom included a piano, an electronic piano, a chalkboard with clean musical staff, an LCD projector, a DVD participant, and a few classical instrumentalists ‘ portrayals and illustrations of musical instruments on the walls, etc. Wang had to supply her ain laptop. Figure 4.1 illustrates the layout of the schoolroom where the three observed Sessionss took topographic point. The two black circles on the top exposure indicate where the picture recording equipment was placed and where I sat. The picture recording equipment started to enter when the pupils started to walk into the schoolroom. It was non turned off until the category was dismissed and the schoolroom was empty. Neither the instructor ‘s nor the pupils ‘ seats were moved. As a nonparticipant research worker, I tried to maintain the schoolroom the manner it was without me. I sat at the dorsum of the schoolroom next to the picture recording equipment, to take field notes which might be helpful during the readying of the transcripts. Photographs were besides taken earlier or/and after Sessionss. The picture recording equipment started to enter when the pupils started to walk into the schoolroom. It was non turned off until the category was dismissed and the schoolroom was empty.Figure 4.1. Pilot survey: Music schoolroom scene.For most of the clip the pupils could non see me during the categories. However, there was one clip, while Wang corrected a pupil ‘s thumbing while playing the recording equipment, another pupil kept turning and gesticulating â€Å" YA † ( the V mark, with his index and in-between fingers of his right manus raised and the staying fingers clenched, palm facing outwards ; a really popular gesture in Taiwan when being photographed ) toward the picture recording equipment. Wang noticed it. She asked the pupil to stand up and present himself to the picture recording equipment, and encouraged him to give a solo public presentation for two bars, and so the session continued. This was the lone break caused by the research worker ‘s presence during the Sessionss I observed. The talk construction of the three Sessionss I observed was rather similar. It was because Wang designed and followed her ain instruction course of study for each twelvemonth of the pupils, and besides because the three Sessionss I observed were all in the same twelvemonth ( twelvemonth seven ) . The session started with playing the recording equipment. Wang reviewed the piece she had taught in the old session with the whole category and so selected a few pupils to stand up and play separately, in order to detect how much pupils had learned ( Wang, pilot interview 2 ) . Then she taught one new piece by showing and playing with the whole category. After the recording equipment playing, the talk portion â€Å" episode † ( Lemke, 1990 ) started. Wang began by presenting the recording equipment ensembles: bass, tenor, alto, soprano and sopranino recording equipments. Then she introduced some of import epochs in musical history, with a focal point on the Baroque. To this terminal, Wang gave pupils some background cognition about the features of the music, musical instruments, and some celebrated instrumentalists, before presenting Vivaldi and his concerto, The Four Seasons. By and large talking, the observation agenda proved easy to tag. Keeping records based on schoolroom activities made it easy to remember what happened in the Sessionss, and there was adequate clip to maintain records for most of the classs, except for the Numberss of lingual metaphor and gesture used. Second it became clear that some classs needed to be farther specified-this will be discussed subsequently in 4.6.1.4.4 Gesture CodingMcNeill ‘s strategy ( see subdivisions 6.3.2 for a reappraisal of the literature and 6.3.3 for a treatment, on gesture categorization systems ) applied in this survey required inquiring what significances and maps a gesture possessed. In other words, the classs were non based on merely one aspect of a gesture. For illustration, iconics and metaphorics were more semantically oriented, while deictics were more pragmatically oriented. Because of this, each class was non treated as discrete or reciprocally sole, but as holding characteristics that may b e present in changing grades, and perchance in combination. Therefore, the ultimate end of gesture cryptography is to place the extent to which each characteristic is present, instead than sort the gestures ( Eisenstein & A ; Davis, 2004 ; McNeill, 1992 ) . In this pilot so it is really of import to put up a cryptography policy to bespeak when to categorize a gesture by its significance and when by map. More inside informations are discussed in 4.4.3. Two programmers were involved in gesture cryptography in order to prove out McNeill ‘s process and increase the dependability of the survey. The other programmer, a alumnus pupil in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of York, was a native talker of Chinese with some cognition of metaphor holding conducted her MA research on the subject. McNeill ‘s three chief gesture categories-deictics, iconics, and metaphorics-were introduced before I asked her to categorize the gestures which Wang used. Due to clip restriction, merely a portion of the hearing to The Four Seasons from Wang ‘s first session was selected. The portion was chosen for its heavy distribution of gestures. It lasted for five proceedingss and ten seconds, with 35 gestures identified by me antecedently. More inside informations about gesture cryptography are discussed in 4.4.4.4.4.1 Data ChoiceDue to the limited clip available, merely one session was chosen for gesture cryptography. The ground for taking the first session was that although the construction of the three Sessionss was similar, the first session was more complete and covered all the activities from recording equipment playing, a talk on the Baroque epoch, to music hearing, with a more even allotment of clip, than the other two Sessionss. Types of activities affair here because if Numberss of gestures differ in different types of activities ( and it seems so from the consequences ) , affecting more activities in the informations can cut down the hazard of any possible gesture loss.4.4.2 Transcribing the DataBoth gestures and address were transcribed. Speech was transcribed to the full from the videotape in Chinese. The written text of gestures included three stairss: ( a ) place the motions that were gestures ( here gesticulations ) ; ( B ) place the shot of the each gesture ; and ( degree Celsius ) locate the boundaries of the gesture phases in the relevant portion of the phonological written text.4. 4.3 Coding Problems and PolicyThe consequences of the gesture classification from the two programmers were compared. Unlike deictics, which were all agreed by both programmers, iconics and metaphorics seemed to represent the more debatable classs. One of the illustrations was where Wang lifted her left manus at shoulder tallness with her thenar confronting up and wiggled her center, ring, and small fingers fast in bend when stating the word zhuangshiyin ( â€Å" shake † ; actual interlingual rendition: â€Å" ornament notes † ) . Although both programmers agreed that Wang was keeping an unseeable fiddle and playing the shakes, we however coded it otherwise. The other programmer coded it as metaphoric, because the referent of the gesture, zhuangshiyin, was interpreted as a lingual metaphor itself. I coded it as iconic because the gesture in fact was stand foring what was explicit in the attach toing address and therefore had a close relation to the gesture. This helped develop one of the coding policies later-gestures attach toing metaphors in address were non decidedly considered to be metaphorics. Another job related to the programmers ‘ differential focal points and readings of the same gesture. Wang said, â€Å" The boom came fast and went fast. Then it became quiet once more. † In the first sentence she began by traveling her left arm from left to compensate with the thenar confronting up and fingers curving and so moved the arm back to the left without altering the form of the thenar. For the 2nd sentence, she turned over her left thenar to confront the land with consecutive fingers and pressed down the thenar a small spot in the air. The different cryptography concerned the first sign phrase. When I coded them, I focused on the motions of the arm, which was moved from left to compensate, and so back to the left, which seemed to bespeak â€Å" came † and â€Å" went † in address. Therefore the gestures were coded as iconic ( instead than metaphorics, which was clarified subsequently ) . On the other manus, the other programmer focused on the form of the thenar, which changed from a thenar with curled to consecutive fingers. She interpreted the curling fingers as stand foring the â€Å" fast † in address, while the consecutive fingers represented the â€Å" quiet, † and so she coded them as metaphoric. What was stupefying was that none of us thought about construing the same gesture each other ‘s manner before holding the treatment. Our in agreement place was to category the gestures as iconics, because both of us agreed that it was more common to see such gestures looking along with â€Å" came † and â€Å" went † than â€Å" fast † and â€Å" quiet. † In add-on, what the other programmer received before coding might hold affected her. She used my written text of gestures while categorizing the gestures. Although the gestures were described in a descriptive linguistic communication, it was found subsequently that some of the written text was in fact subjective. For illustration, descriptions such as â€Å" the right manus drew a form of flash visible radiation † or â€Å" the left manus indicated composure † were already readings and they could be misdirecting to the other programmer. These jobs non merely predicted what may go on during the cryptography procedure for the chief survey, but besides helped develop the cryptography policy to be used, which is discussed below. Identifying Gestures In this survey, â€Å" gesture † specifically refers to gesticulation. Any thumbing the instructor used to show how to play the recording equipment, or the conducting gestures frequently used while the category was playing the recording equipment were beyond the range of this survey and excluded. The reading of Wang ‘s gestures was made from the research worker ‘s position, and it is deserving observing that this might differ from the reading from the talker ‘s or the addressee ‘s positions ( A. Cienki, personal communicating, June 3, 2008 ) . Metaphorics Metaphorical gestures were defined as gesticulations which present a more abstract referent in footings of a more concrete image and prosecute a cognitive procedure of understanding one thing in footings of something else. This definition dovetails moderately good with Lakoff and Johnson ‘s conceptual metaphor theory, the theoretical model on which this nowadays survey was built, and at the same clip does non belie the Pragglejaz definition of metaphorically used lexical points applied in the survey ( discussed in subdivision 3.3.2 and subsequently in 6.4.2 ) . One illustration is when Wang said gangqin de yinse yue lai yue xizhi ( â€Å" the timber of the piano becomes more and more delicate, † and gestured utilizing a unit of ammunition and half-open thenar confronting up attach toing the word â€Å" delicate. † Here, the gesture carries the double construction required by a metaphoric, in which the representation of the daintiness of the timber ( a more abstract referent ) by the gesture is presented as what appears to be an image of a bud waiting to open ( a more concrete base ) . Deictics versus Metaphorics Both McNeill ‘s deictics and iconics were re-defined for the present survey. Harmonizing to McNeill, abstract indicating gestures which imply a metaphorical image are besides included in the class of deictics. For illustration, gestures were used in my informations to indicate at an bing physical topographic point, but they referred to as an abstract construct of where the talker had been earlier. When Wang said â€Å" Did we merely say that ornament is popular in Baroque epoch, † she raised her left index finger to indicate to the â€Å" thought † which she merely mentioned in the same session. Pragmatically speech production, these gestures were indicating gestures ( deictics ) , but semantically speech production, the topographic point which the gestures pointed to was interpreted as someplace else based on the address context. In other words, such gestures engaged a cognitive procedure of understanding something ( the physical topographic point which the gestu re pointed at ) in footings of something else ( the existent infinite or thought which the middleman talked about antecedently ) and hence were classified as metaphoric. Iconics versus Metaphorics Gestures in a context where the Vehicle of a metaphor is explicitly flagged both by the custodies and by linguistic communication were classified as iconic. That is, if a instructor says â€Å" music is a container † and gestures a container, the gesture will be categorised as iconic instead than metaphoric because the gesture may attach to metaphor, but itself represents the actual signifier of the word â€Å" container † ; nevertheless, if the same gesture accompanies the sentence â€Å" we can experience the unhappiness in his music † , it will be classified as metaphoric. An effort was therefore made to separate between sign illustrations of verbal metaphors and gestures that were themselves metaphoric. This besides explains why the gesture â€Å" came † and â€Å" went † attach toing Wang ‘s vocalization of journey metaphor, â€Å" the boom came fast and went fast, † which was discussed before in this subdivision was coded as iconi cs instead than metaphorics.4.4.4 MethodAfter transcribing the address of the whole session, the picture infusion was watched by the two programmers individually, concentrating on merely the gestures. Every gesture Wang used was categorised into one of the three types of gesture: deictic, iconic, and metaphoric. It was decided to group the gestures into merely three classs instead than five ( including beats and cohesives ) because these three classs are more related to the focal point of the survey. Reasons for categorizing the gestures into three instead than two ( metaphorics and nonmetaphorics ) were that these were the three most popular gestures and that distinguishing deictic from iconic gestures would assist supply a better apprehension of what other types of gestures the instructor used along with metaphor in address besides metaphoric gestures. The 13.5 % dissension of the coding consequences between the two programmers was compared and discussed, until each gesture was classified into one of the three classs. The gestures were so highlighted on the transcript by utilizing three different colorss, to ease denseness and distribution analysis. Finally, maps of the gestures were noted.4.4.5 ConsequencesThe continuance of Wang ‘s direction in the recordings was 46 proceedingss, numbering 8,964 characters transcribed. In the session, 89 gestures were identified ; 43 % were iconics, 30 % metaphorics, and 27 % deictics. Every gesture was categorised. The distribution was such that over 75 % of them fell in the subdivisions on Listening to The Four Seasons ( 42 % ) and the talk on the Baroque epoch ( 35 % ) . Merely 1 % of the gestures occurred in the gap and the recording equipment drama subdivisions. Deictics Wang used deictics to indicate at objects. Her superciliums rose when she started the inquiry â€Å" Can you see the word, Baroque, in the text edition † and looked at the pupils. Her left index finger pointed forwards. Then when Wang said the focal point of the inquiry zhege zi ( â€Å" the word † ) , she raised her right manus and pointed at the screen behind her with her index finger. When she pronounced the word, â€Å" Baroque, † she turned her upper organic structure, half confronting the screen and looked for one second at the Chinese characters for â€Å" Baroque † written on the screen. Extract 11 [ a? †° c?†¹a? ° e ¬ ] a [ †° a? « eˆâ„ ¢aˆâ€ ¹ a ­- cs„ aZY?-†¡ ] i?YBaroquei†°Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ °i?Y [ Ni you kandao keben ] shibushi [ you xie zhege zi de yuanwen ] ? Baroque, youmeiyou? [ you have see casebook ] ( Q ) [ have write this word ( DE ) etymology ] Baroque ( Q ) Can you see if the English word, Baroque, is in the text edition? However, deictics were non ever used to indicate to something concrete. For illustration, when listening to the first motion of The Four Seasons, Wang compared the fiddles ‘ shake to birds tweet in the spring. When she asked the category to pay attending to a certain portion of the tune, she repeatedly put her index finger of her right manus following to her right ear and pointed to the air. Wang kept reiterating this gesture whenever she tried to pull the category ‘s attending to the music. Therefore, it appeared to be the music she was indicating at, although it was non concrete, or even seeable at all. The undermentioned infusion is another illustration of indicating to the unseeable. Wang asked the category if they still remembered what instruments she had mentioned earlier in the same session. The first reply â€Å" cembalo † came from a pupil and every bit shortly as Wang heard it, she raised her right index finger, indicating. Wang so repeated the reply and gave her response, â€Å" really good. † It is arguable whether Wang ‘s finger was indicating to the word, â€Å" cembalo, † or the pupil who gave the reply, but in either instance the gesture was categorised as deictic. Extract 12 Thymine: ‘aˆ‘ a†°Ã¢â‚¬ º?†°? e ? µ?e cs„ ‚aâ„ ¢? †° aâ€Å"?a?†ºi?Y adult females gangcai shuo liuxing de yueqi you naxie we merely say popular ( DE ) instrument have ( Q ) What are the popular instruments we merely mentioned? Second: a ¤Ã‚ §e? µc dajianqin cembalo Harpsichord. Thymine: [ ] a ¤Ã‚ §e? µciaaie‚„†° a‘?i?Y [ ] daijianqin henhao haiyou Ne [ ] cembalo really good still have Q [ ] Harpsichord. Very good! What else? Second: a? ¦ ‚aâ„ ¢? xian yueqi threading instrument Stringing instrument. Thymine: [ ] a? ¦ ‚aâ„ ¢?ie?za ai [ ] xian yueqi feichang hao [ ] twine instrument really good [ ] String instrument. Very nice! Iconics Iconics were the most common type of gesture in Wang ‘s category, and most of them appeared in the talk on the Baroque epoch and The Four Seasons subdivision. Gestures bespeaking Numberss and for presentation frequently fall in this class. For illustration, Wang held both weaponries set in forepart of her thorax, with both thenars confronting the land and put her lingua out, when depicting a puppy sitting lazily in forepart of a house in summer, while listening to the 2nd motion of The Four Seasons: â€Å" Because it ‘s excessively hot, the doges put their linguas out, right? † In the undermentioned illustration, Wang compared the difference between the flute and recording equipment while she was explicating why the recording equipment was translated as zhidi ( â€Å" perpendicular flute † ) . A flute, nevertheless, is held horizontally by the participant which is why it is besides named hengdi ( â€Å" horizontal flute † ) in Mandarin Chinese. When she asked the undermentioned inquiry, she used both custodies to copy gestures of both flute and recording equipment participants, to underscore the different waies in which two musical instruments were played. Extract 13 e†¢Ã‚ ·c ¬Ã¢â‚¬ º a ®? [ c†º?e‘- a ] e‚„ [ ? ©Ã‚ «e‘- a ] i?Y changdi Ta shi [ zhizhe chui ] hai [ hengzhe chui ] flute ( 3SG ) is [ perpendicular blow ] or [ horizontal blow ] Make you play the flute vertically or horizontally? The referent of the gestures did non ever appear at the same clip when the referent was uttered in address. In Extract 14, Wang used her right manus to indicate to the pillars in the schoolroom on her right and so left side, when she was speaking about the architecture of the edifices in the school. After she pointed to the pillar on her left side, she used both her pollex and index fingers of the right manus and moved the arm heterosexual and vertically, up down and back up. These gestures were iconics, stand foring â€Å" consecutive lines † in address. Next, when she talked about the lines in Baroque edifices, she used her right thenar to do a simple â€Å" U † curve in the air. Here in gesture, the soft â€Å" U † curve motion was contrasting with the old gesture of traveling the right pollex and index finger vertically, but in address, the adjectival â€Å" curved † contrasting with the adjectival â€Å" consecutive † in the first line did non follow straight until the 3rd line. The gesture preceded the word that related to it semantically. It seemed to back up the hypothesis that although gestures and address were different ocular and verbal elements, someway they were in fact conceptually integrated in an thought unit ( Cienki & A ; Muller, 2008 ; McNeill, 2005 ) . Extract 14 [ ?Y ±a ­? a ] [ e c†º? c ·s cs„ ] i?Ya °?aa °?i?Yc ·s a c °?a- ® [ zhuzi shibushi ] [ dou shi zhi xiantiao de ] duibudui xiantiao biddy kiandan pillar ( Q ) all are consecutive line ( DE ) ( Q ) line really simple [ The pillars are ] [ in consecutive lines ] , are n't they? Very simple lines. a a ·Ã¢â‚¬ ºa†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ ?â„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Y cs„ ?â„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡aˆâ„ ¢ [ ?ˆZei?Y†e ce ¤Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ia °?aa °?i?Y ] keshi baluoke shiqi de shihou [ zenmeWang bijiao fanfu duibudui ] but Baroque epoch ( DE ) clip ( Q ) more complicated ( Q ) But how approximately in the Baroque epoch? More complicated, is n't it? [ c ·s †e ? ¬? ] †° e? ±a ¤s cs„ ?†ºS? a °?aa °?i?Y [ xiantiao bijiao Army Intelligence ] you xuduo de quzhe duibudui [ line more good ] have many ( DE ) curved ( Q ) [ Lines are, good, ] more curving, are n't they? Metaphorics In entire, 30 % of the gestures were metaphorics and it was interesting that metaphorics occurred in about all the eight different schoolroom activities. The lone two exclusions were the gap and stoping comments which Wang made ; Wang used no gestures at all in her gap comments. SPACE AS TIME TIME IS AN ENITITY MOVING TOWARD THE SPEAKER is one of the conceptual metaphors shared by both English and Mandarin Chinese. For illustration, in Mandarin Chinese people say shengdanjiei kuailai lupus erythematosus, which means â€Å" Christmas is nearing, † and xingqitian guo lupus erythematosus means â€Å" Sunday passed. † Time is so thereby conceptualised as something traveling in infinite, and this can be seen even more clearly with gestures. Extract 15 was from Wang ‘s session when she introduced the different periods in musical history. She explained the order of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Firstly she raised her left arm, straightened out her five fingers, with the thenar confronting down, at about eyebrow tallness, and so moved her manus down to the tallness of her thorax. The two points in the infinite indicated the two different clip ranges in musical history and TIME is therefore represented as SPACE by the gesture. However, it is interesting in t his illustration that clip travelled in different waies in address and gesture ; in address, clip moved toward the talkers, but in the gesture it moved from up to down. In fact, the metaphor the gesture expressed here exists entirely in footings of gesture, non in address ( c.f. , subdivision 7.4.8 ) . That is, one would non state in Mandarin Chinese â€Å" the Baroque is at the underside of the Renaissance † to intend the same thing. Extract 15 -†¡e-?a? ©e [ e?Za?†  ?†°? a ·Ã¢â‚¬ ºa†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ ] wenyifuxing [ guolai cai shi baluoke ] Renaissance [ come yet is Baroque ] The Baroque comes after the Renaissance. SPACE IS IMPORTANCE Another conceptual metaphor suggested by the gestures is SPACE ( UP ) AS IMPORTANCE. This has a really close relation with the common conceptual metaphor in address: SIZE ( BIG ) AS IMPORTANCE. In Mandarin Chinese, district attorney ( â€Å" large † ) can be used as an adjectival to depict something of import. In Extract 16, Wang told the category that there were some of import periods in musical history. When she said that â€Å" there are some of import and large periods, † she lifted up her left arm with her unfastened thenar confronting down, so traveling increasingly downwards, stopped at different highs. Alternatively of ranking the periods from large to little by gestures, she ranked them from up to down. It was another illustration of different metaphors being used in address and co-speech gestures. Extract 16 eY‚ ? ­Ã‚ ·a a?S cs„ a?† Y a-† †° aaˆâ€ ¹ [ e†¡?e ¦?cs„ a ¤Ã‚ §cs„ ?â„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Y ] yinyue lishi Shang de fenqi o you jige [ zhongyaode dade shiqi ] music history up ( DE ) period ( PRT ) have several [ of import large period ] About the periods in musical history, some are of import and large. Detached SPACES AS DIFFERENT PARTS OF AN EXPOSITION Metaphoric gestures which separate different parts of an expounding appeared more than one time, and although in address Wang ever said â€Å" FirstaˆÂ ¦moreoveraˆÂ ¦and thenaˆÂ ¦ , † she did non ever use the same gestures for them. Sometimes she gestured the Numberss â€Å" one, † â€Å" two, † and â€Å" three † even though she did non verbally say any Numberss. At other times, she merely turned over the other thenar from confronting the land to confronting upwards, when traveling to a new construct or thought in address. Such metaphoric gestures distinguish different parts of an expounding being made as separate ( downwards and upwards, or right and left ) infinites. For illustration, when Wang reviewed the chief points she had mentioned in category about Vivaldi, and asked the category to compose the chief points down in their ain text edition, she said â€Å" firstaˆÂ ¦moreoveraˆÂ ¦and thenaˆÂ ¦ , † and gestured wi th her right index finger indicating to different fingers of her left manus, to bespeak alterations of subject.4.5 Discussion and Conclusion4.5.1 Classroom ObservationLesson construction and activities involved Figure 4.2 shows the comparative sum of clip Wang spent on different activities across the three Sessionss. The two chief activities were recorder playing and a talk on the Baroque epoch, which between them accounted for about 2/3 of the entire clip. Besides Wang spent 15 % of clip listening to The Four Seasons with the category. The two parts where metaphors and gestures were used most frequently were the talk on the Baroque and listening to music, which took more than 2/5 of a session.Figure 4.2. Pilot survey: Relative clip spent on activities across Wang ‘s 3 Sessionss.Gesture usage and schoolroom ambiance For schoolroom ambiance on the agenda, three degrees were defined: high ( H ) was recorded when the category showed enthusiasm and the dB degree in schoolroom was high. Fair ( F ) was noted when merely a portion of the category responded to the instructor and the remainder remained soundless. Low ( L ) indicated that the category was quiet and seemed non to pay attending to the instructor, or when silence occurred after inquiries. It is of import to observe that the three degrees were comparative instead than absolute.Figure 4.3. Pilot survey: Gesture frequence and schoolroom atmosphere.It was assumed that there would be a positive correlativity between the figure of gestures and schoolroom atmosphere. However, the three boxes in Figure 4.3 show the topographic points where the two factors suggest a negative correlativity. It seemed that in the parts of talk where Wang used a certain figure of gestures did non needfully do the category more enthusiastic about their acquisition. One o f the possible accounts was that more gestures were made due to the low schoolroom ambiance. Interviews Both the interviews I had with Wang before and after the category Sessionss were face to face and semistructured. Most inquiries I had were unfastened inquiries. Making the interview semistructured allowed me to make a more natural talk ambiance without jumping the inquiries to which I wanted replies. The instructor would so be free to speak whatever their feelings and/or ideas were toward certain inquiries. At the same clip, nevertheless, I needed to maintain an oculus on both clip control and interview way to do certain I got the replies to the planned inquiries. Normally I did non disrupt Wang but tried to direct her dorsum to the subjects when she began to speak something unrelated. By and large talking, Wang ‘s replies were consistent because she echoed her ain point of positions when giving replies to different inquiries. For illustration, when asked how she prepared to explicate new constructs ( inquiry six ) , she indicated that music did non be entirely and a instructor had to assist pupils construct up the whole context in footings of clip, topographic point, and how people lived and thought at that peculiar clip, in order to understand a piece of music. She emphasised that music and other artistic signifiers such as architecture and humanistic disciplines were closely related, which she kept adverting when replying how she decided if the stuffs were suited for the category ( inquiry five ) and why music instruction was of import to her ( inquiry two ) .4.5.2 Metaphorical GesturesFunctions of Metaphoric Gestures In Wang ‘s Sessionss, different maps of co-speech gestures were examined and the followers were the three chief 1s found: ( a ) to underscore, ( B ) to visualize, and ( degree Celsius ) to put up. First, gestures helped underscore what Wang wanted to state. Normally underscoring gestures accompanied a verbal look incorporating Numberss, which highlighted different facets of a subject. These gestures could be metaphorics or iconics. They were used when the instructor helped the pupils to either prevue the chief points or reexamine the chief thoughts which were traveling to be introduced. These gestures seemed intended non merely to assist indicate out the of import chief points, but besides to do it easier for the category to follow the instructor ‘s expounding. Deictics which pointed out the subject being talked about in address besides seemed to underscore points and promote hearers to pay more attending to the subject. Second, gestures were used to visualize the abstract. Wang made a large horizontal â€Å" S † form with her left arm when stating the category that the tune they were listening to was depicting the spring zephyr. The metaphoric gesture all of a sudden made the line of the tune seeable. Besides, in Extract 14, Wang drew consecutive lines in the air while she was explicating the simpleness of the school ‘s edifice compared with Baroque ‘s complication. These iconics therefore helped visualize the abstract thought of simpleness. Finally, gestures were used by Wang to show ( positive ) feedback. As shown in Extract 12, alternatively of indicating to any pupil after Wang asked the inquiry to put up a specific pupil to reply, she pointed after hearing the response from the pupils. Almost every bit shortly as she completed the gesture, she repeated the reply from the pupil. It seemed that Wang ‘s finger was activated by the voice which produced the reply, and the index finger stopped in the air and headed in the way of where precisely the reply had come from. By making so, the attending of the category was drawn to the reply, followed by the positive response, â€Å" really nice, † made by Wang to the pupil concerned. Relationss of Metaphoric Gestures and Speech As the focal point is on metaphor and metaphoric gestures in this survey, Table 4.1 shows the dealingss between vocalizations and co-occurring metaphoric gestures. The consequences support the findings from other surveies in English ( Cienki, 1998 ; Cienki & A ; Muller, 2008 ) .Table 4.1Relationss Between Utterance and Co-occurring Metaphoric GesturesRelationss Example Notes 1 The same metaphor expressed in address and gesture â€Å" The timber of the piano becomes more and more delicate. † The gesture depicts a beginning sphere ( â€Å" delicate † ) in address by a unit of ammunition and half-open thenar confronting up. 2 A metaphor expressed in gestures but non in the co-occurring address â€Å" FirstaˆÂ ¦moreoveraˆÂ ¦and thenaˆÂ ¦ † The index finger of one manus points to the fingers of the other manus. The metaphoric gesture distinguishes different parts of an expounding being made by stand foring them as separate infinites. 3 Different metaphors expressed in address and gesture â€Å" About the periods in musical history, some are of import and large. † ( Extract 16 ) Address and gesture portion the same mark sphere of the metaphor ( of import ) , but the beginning sphere is characterised otherwise in address ( large ) and the gesture ( high ) . 4 Metaphors expressed by gestures ne'er appear in lingual signifier in Mandarin Chinese â€Å" The Baroque comes after the Renaissance. † ( Extract 15 ) What the gesture expresses here is that â€Å" Baroque is at the underside of the Renaissance. † Such an look is non usually used in address to intend that the Baroque comes after the Renaissance.34.6 Deductions for the Main Study4.6.1 Classroom ObservationResearcher ‘s function as a non participant Although my purpose was to maintain the schoolroom as it was before my entry, this was about impossible to make. As shortly as a pupil noticed that there was a alien in the room, things became different. Some pupils reacted to Wang ‘s inquiries more actively ; some tried to acquire Wang ‘s attending more enthusiastically than of all time, which I did non gain until Wang indicated the fact in category. Some pupils besides kept turning about during the Sessionss to see what I was making while others were funny about my reaction when a gag was told. Wang seemed to be natural in forepart of the video-recorder. She rarely looked at the video-recorder and in the three Sessionss I observed for two yearss, no particular reactions because of the presence of the video-recorder were found. Young mentioned that she had been observed for several times by the other instructors ( pilot interview 2 ) , and it might explicate why she looked rather natural in forepart of it. From the research worker ‘s point of position, come ining schoolrooms is a necessity for this survey because it allows one to acquire a better thought of the schoolroom ambiance and the context, which can non be wholly caught by watching a videotape, allow entirely an audio tape. However, it can be hard to judge if the information collected are affected due to any camera consequence ( Mackey & A ; Gass, 2005 ) . Classroom observation will stay the chief method of roll uping informations for the chief survey, and farther treatment on its job and how to undertake it in the chief survey is given in subdivision 5.10. Observation agenda The observation agenda helped me to track the procedure of each session during and after Sessionss. With the agenda, it was easy to turn up where I was in the session whether I sat in the schoolroom or watched the recorded picture at place. Overall the prepared observation agenda proved easy to tag. The classs ( activity, start and terminal clip, Numberss of lingual metaphor and gesture, participant administration, stuffs, instruments, linguistic communication used, and schoolroom atmosphere ) of the observation agenda were clear, although some needed to be clarified or deleted. It proved impossible to maintain accurate runs of lingual metaphors and gestures during the three Sessionss, even though I forced myself to seek to make it for a short period of clip during one of the Sessionss. Therefore this was non used for the chief survey. Some classs need to be redefined. There was a categorization named â€Å" Individual † in the participant administration subdivision ( see Appendix C ) and when I designed the agenda, I was believing about points where the instructor spent her clip on merely one peculiar pupil. That is, the instructor might travel following to the pupil or inquire the pupil to come to her, doing it clear that a certain period of the instructor ‘s clip was being devoted to one individual pupil. However, during the three Sessionss, this sort of single administration ne'er happened. Alternatively, another sort of single administration kept looking. Wang would speak to one peculiar pupil in forepart of the whole category. Although the conversation was non limited to the two ( Wang and the pupil ) , it was decided to code it as â€Å" single † participant administration. It was decided for the chief survey to include both the above types of participant administration as â€Å" single. † Classs of images and audio tape confused me at first during the observation. The chief stuff Wang used in her categories was PowerPoint slides, and the slides included non merely text, but images and sounds. It was decided that the categorization â€Å" images † should be extended non merely to palisade charts or postings, but besides to images provided electronically. The categorization â€Å" audio tape † was modified to â€Å" audio sound, † which included sounds whether provided by PowerPoint or by the piano played by Wang in category. In add-on, the categorization â€Å" PowerPoint † was added. Hence, when Wang showed a image of a Baroque palace via PowerPoint, both classs of â€Å" image † and â€Å" PowerPoint † were ticked. The class of â€Å" schoolroom ambiance † was deleted for the chief survey because focal points of the survey were modified and schoolroom ambiance was no longer an issue in the chief survey. A modified observation agenda based on the pilot survey for the chief survey is appended ( see Appendix E ) . Interview inquiries After the pilot interviews, it was discovered that inquiries six and eight were excessively general for the interviewee to reply. Furthermore, none of the inquiries was about gestures and hence this needed to be added. Besides, for inquiries four, five, and six, alternatively of inquiring the general state of affairs, inquiries were modified to promote the interviewee to reply based on the Sessionss being observed, instead than give general statements which the interviewee thought s/he â€Å" was supposed to make. † Finally, the order of the inquiries was rearranged to make a better flow of the conversation, although it was ne'er fixed. A list of modified inquiries for the chief survey is appended in Appendix F.4.6.2 Gesture CodingGesture Coding In this pilot, the other programmer was provided a transcript with both address and gestures. For the chief survey, the other programmer will be provided video cartridge holders and a written text of the instructors ‘ address merely. S/he needed to transcribe gestures get downing from placing stages of them to avoid the subjective reading of my description of the gestures. It can be really hard to code gestures without video-recording the Sessionss, and even with the picture, it can still take a batch of clip to reiterate playing one cartridge holder until gestures are decently transcribed. Both ocular and audio information are important, for the former records the motion inside informations without being interpreted into words, while the latter provides the address context. Overall, gesture classs are defined non merely by the manus gesture but besides by the function of gesture within the lingual context. Therefore it is about impossible to code gestures by kinetic motion informations entirely, and it is one of the grounds why gesture cryptography can be both clip and attempt consuming.