The Development of Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay Sample free essay sample

For many old ages. many economic sciences have been interested in developing and proving theoretical accounts of stock monetary value behavior. Market Efficiency is one of the of import fiscal theories on stock monetary value behaviour. Many basic fiscal theories. such as Capital Asset Pricing Model ( CAPM ) . Portfolio Theory. and Option Pricing Model are based on Market Efficiency. The Efficient Market Hypothesis ( EMH ) is an economic theory on the efficiency of capital markets. In the twelvemonth of 1970. the EMH was foremost officially formed by Fama in the article of â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: Theory and experience Research† . which expounded Fama’s EMH. And this article is by and large believed to be the milepost on the survey of how stock market monetary value performs or reflects all sorts of available information and how stock markets monetary values quickly adjust to any new information expeditiously. EMH states that in an unfastened and efficient marke t. We will write a custom essay sample on The Development of Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page security monetary values should to the full reflect all available information and monetary values quickly harmonizing to any new information. As a consequence of efficient market. market monetary values are ever ‘correct’ for securities and reflect the best available estimation of their true intrinsic worth. Investors who agree with this statement tend to purchase index financess that track overall market public presentation. In his point. Fama believes that there are three different efficiency market patterns harmonizing to the grade on how security monetary values reflects the information. The three different efficiency market forms are: 1 ) weak signifier of efficiency market ( monetary value to the full reflects the historical information ) ; 2 ) semi-strong signifier of efficiency market ( monetary values to the full reflect all publically available information ) ; 3 ) strong signifier of efficiency market ( monetary values to the full reflect public information and non-public information ) . In short. the theory of the EMH is developed from the theory of random walks. Since the EMH was proposed by Fama. it had been applied to many fiscal patterns particularly in the research of information revelation of stock markets. Literature Review1. The Theory of Random Walks in Stock Monetary valuesThe theory of random walks is a fiscal theory which states that stock market monetary values change like a geometric random walk. This construct of random walks can be traced to Eugene F. Fama’s â€Å"The Behavior of Stock-Market Prices† published in the Journal of Business in 1965 before EMH was ab initio presented in 1970. As Fama claimed in his article. â€Å"The intent of this paper has been to prove through empirical observation the random-walk theoretical account of stock monetary value behavior. The theory of random walks in stock monetary values really involves two separate hypotheses: ( 1 ) consecutive monetary value alterations are independent. and ( 2 ) the monetary value alterations conform to some chance distribution. † ( FAMA 35 ) Fama believes that. consecutive monetary value alterations are independent and are consistent with the being of an â€Å"efficient† market for s ecurities. That is. if given the available information. a market where existent monetary values at every point in clip represents really good estimations of intrinsic values. If the stock monetary value does non follow a random walks theoretical account. so the investors can take advantage of the monetary value difference on the market to gain extra net incomes. Besides stock monetary value arrested development can besides promote investors to gain the difference. Fama presented strong and voluminous grounds in favour of the random walks theoretical account. After some trials in empirical research. he confirmed that stock monetary values follow a random walk hypothesis of this characteristic in the empirical analysis. In his trials of empirical research. Fama used Gaussian hypothesis and the Mandelbrot hypothesis. Although the Gaussian or normal distribution does non look to be an equal representation of distributions of stock monetary value alterations. the decision is that a stable Paretian distribution with characteristic advocate a less than 2 seems to suit the informations better than the normal distribution ( Fama 44 ) . It was concluded that the independency premise of the random theoretical accounts seems to be an equal description of world. Sometimes there are big fluctuations of the stock monetary value in the markets inconsistent with the random walk. Fama explained this phenomenon was chiefly due to the market information impact. a nd the market reflected inadequately or overly. but he believed that stock monetary value by a certain clip was traveling to set to the random walk tendency arrested development. 2. The Proposition of Fama’s EMHEMH is considered to be an of import and important milepost in the research on how stock market monetary value performs expeditiously. EMH grew out of the random walks hypothesis. In 1970. Fama published his the most of import article â€Å"Efficient capital markets: A reappraisal of theory and empirical work† in the Journal of Finance. which elaborated Fama’s efficient markets hypothesis theory. Since so. EMH has been popular and it was cited often by many fiscal theoreticians. What is the Efficient Market? This article gaves us some replies about how efficient the markets work. EMH indicates that stock monetary values to the full reflect all available informations and quickly adjust to any new informationin in an unfastened and efficient market. As a consequence. stock market monetary values ever reflect the best available estimation of the true intrinsic value of the stocks. Investors who agree with this statement tend to purcha se the index financess that track overall market public presentation. in position of happening deflected stocks. In Fama’s article. he creatively believed that there are three different efficiency markets harmonizing to the grade of how the security monetary values reflect the relevant information subsets. The three different efficiency market forms were: 1 ) weak signifier of efficiency market ; 2 ) semi-strong signifier of efficiency market ; 3 ) strong signifier of efficiency market. Weak signifier of efficiency market: If stock monetary values to the full reflect any information contained in the past monetary value. the market is weak signifier of efficiency market. Stock monetary values basically follow the random walk hypothesis. so it can’t be predicted with the analysis of monetary value history. Therefore. proficient analysis can’t be used to foretell the stock monetary value and crush a market. Semi-strong signifier of efficiency market: If monetary values to the full reflect all available public information—past monetary values. economic intelligence. net incomes studies. etc. the market is semi-strong signifier of efficiency market. All the public informations are calculated into a stock’s current monetary value. Trials of semi-strong efficiency are those that study stock monetary value motions following proclamations. such as stock splits or net incomes proclamations. And neither cardinal analysis nor proficient analysis can be used to accomplish inordinate additions. Strong signifier of efficiency market: If stock monetary values to the full reflect all public and privileged informations. the market has strong efficiency. Privileged informations available. even insider informations available couldn’t give an investor an advantage. In an stron g signifier of efficiency market. no 1 could gain above-average returns without accepting above-average hazards. 3. Trials and Criticisms of EMHAlthough the EMH ab initio appeared to be an empirical theory. and it had been accepted by many fiscal bookmans and readers. which was used to explicate the relationship between market monetary values and informations. The traditional empirical trials of EMH can be divided into three sorts of trials. including the weak signifier trials. the semi-strong signifier trials and the strong signifier trials. In the trials of the weak signifier. most of the empirical groundss in the random walks can be easy interpreted as the trials of general expected returns in the early judgement. Or it can be interpreted as the trials of the fair-game theoretical account. The fair-game theoretical account implies the impossibleness of assorted kinds of trading systems. Some of the random walks has been besides concerned with proving the doing net incomes of such systems. However. more of the literature trial has been concerned with the trials of consecutive covariances of r eturns. ( Fama 391 ) . In the semi-strong signifier trial. the most commonly trial is the event survey methodological analysis. The event survey methodological analysis is a manner to prove the cogency of the semi-strong signifier of the stock market. The event survey focal point on the impact on stock monetary value fluctuations from the stock dividends. the proclamation of net incomes information. and securities analysts recommendations and proposals. Strong efficient market trial is conducted with empirical trials. If investors can obtain extra returns. chiefly through the trading of insider information. it shouldn’t be a strong signifier of effectual market. If investors can’t obtain extra returns. chiefly through the trading of insider information. it will be a strong efficient market. Since EMH was proposed in 1970. the suspect and critism of EMH didn’t halt. In 1976. Stephene F. Leroy wrote an article â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: Comment† . In Leroy’s article. he believed that Fama’s treatment of the theory of efficient capital markets contained several of import transitions but Fama’s treatment is really deceptive ( Stephene Leroy 139 ) . His point about the treatment of the efficient markets theory is pleonastic. Fama did non hold with LeRoy’s statement. and he wrote another article â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: Reply† to support himself. Fama gave two common attacks to prove the market efficiency. and both of these attacks proved to be a testable proposition about an efficient market. In the book of â€Å"The Inefficient Stock market: what pays away and why† . Robert A. Haugen said that Eugene F. Fama dreamed of efficient markets. Haugen besides believed that Fama’s theory was really impressive but it was endangering to his old professors. ( Haugen 5 ) Haugen argued that Stock returns can be predicted with his Expected Return Factor Model. In other words. he believed that the stock market is an inefficient market. which seems to be wholly different from EMH. The EMH is widely accepted and cited by bookmans and investors. However. stock markets turned out to be often irrational in recent old ages. including the celebrated â€Å"crash of 1987† . the Internet dot-com clang of 1999 and some other particular unreasons. The behavioural economic sciences argued that markets fell short in footings of how they processed information. and it was believed that other psychological factors should be taken into history by investors. As Burton G. Malkiel had mentioned in 2003. the stock market couldn’t be absolutely efficient every bit good as the strong signifier. If Malkiel’s sentiment is right. there would be no inducement for fiscal professionals to observe the information that gets so rapidly reflected in market monetary values. ( Malkiel 80 ) 4. The Development of EMHAfter his initial proposition of EMH. Fama acknowledged that the theoretical account was non purely valid because strong market efficiency could non be an wholly realistic theoretical account for the markets. Although the bulk of trial consequences supported his EMH theory. some bookmans are disbelieving about his EMH theory and he needs more trials to back up his theory. Faced with many challenges from other bookmans. Fama kept on developing his EMH theory. Fama realized that the early trials of market efficiency analyzing the autocorrelation of day-to-day and hebdomadal stock returns is non important. In 1988. Fama and Kenneth French made trials of the 1926-85 sample period. They examined autocorrelations of stock returns for these increasing retention periods. Their consequences are that long-horizon stock returns are predictable. ( Fama and French. 247 ) . In order to better his theory of EMH. Fama modified his theory in 1991. First. the weak-form trials were merely concerned with the prognosis power of the past returns. and the trials were modified to cover the more general country of trials for return predictability. such as dividend outputs and involvement rates. Then Fama replaced the rubric â€Å"semi-strong form† with the rubric â€Å"event studies† . but he didn’t alter the range of â€Å"semi-strong form† . At last. he replaced the rubric â€Å"strong form† with the rubric â€Å"tests for private information† . Then Fama made a decision that tests on semi-strong signifier and strong signifier proved to be true under the trials of event survey and the trials of private information survey. Fama besides considered the return predictability in his new trials. And he found that it is really controversial in the grounds on the predictability of stock returns through clip. The new trials seems to make good in the early work and reject the traditional invariable expected returns model. Does the predictability of stock return truly reflect rational fluctuation through clip in the expected returns? Does the predictability of stock return truly reflect irrational divergences of monetary value from cardinal value? . or some combination of the two? It seems that Fama still met the joint-hypothesis job. ( Fama 1577 ) In his decision. Fama believed that the evident predictability of returns may be really deceitful. When doing the survey of private information. Fama made another research on the inside informations of pension financess and common fund directors. Unlike the event surveies. mensurating unnatural returns over long periods are involved in measuring the entree of investing directors to private information. And earlier grounds clarified that it is non to the full reflected in stock monetary values when corporate insiders have private information. In 1990s. many bookmans did a batch of surveies on the long-run returns. The consequences indicated that the unnatural returns do so be. so the market is inefficient. As a response. Fama did the further and found that the long-run return anomalousnesss were random events. on norm or in whole the market was still efficient and there was no better alternate theoretical account can take the topographic point of EMH. Fama wrote an article â€Å"Market efficiency. long-run returns. and behavioural finance† to explicate his point of views. It was published in 1998. Fama analyzed many mentions which were about the long-run return anomalousnesss and found that stock monetary values is non full reaction to information in efficient market. the chance of overreaction is about same as that of under-reaction. and post-event continuance of pre-event unnatural returns is every bit common as post-event reversal. so anomalies split indiscriminately is a good description for EMH. One word. as persons the long-run return anomalousnesss exist. but as a whole the same chance indicates that the market is still efficient. DrumheadThe efficient-market hypothesis has been initiated by Professor Fama since 1970 which is based on the random walk hypothesis. When the securities monetary values can to the full reflect the informations which investor could obtained from the market. the stock market is efficient market. Harmonizing to the sorts of information which investors can acquire. efficient market can be divided into three degrees: weak signifier efficient market. semi-strong signifier and strong signifier efficient market. In order to turn out that the efficient market is non merely a obscure construct. many moneymans have done a series of research and testing. And the bulk of these trial consequences or support this theoretical averment. With the development of market and research. there were some unfavorable judgments of EMH. For illustration. Leroy believes that Fama’s treatment of the theory of efficient capital markets contains several of import transitions that are really deceptive. Hauge n thinks that stock returns can be predicted with an Expected Return Factor Model. non that the investors can merely be obtained the normal output matching to the investing hazard in the efficient market. Fama was invariably amending and developing his theory. Fama’s 1970 definition has been modified. And if the right pricing theoretical account is right and inordinate net incomes issues in the market. the market is invalid. while his weak signifier efficient market trial from past output prognosis rate of return in the hereafter be extended to give predictability. He studied the unnatural long-run return in market in item. and found that as persons the long-run return anomalousnesss exist. but the overreaction of stock monetary values to information is every bit common as under-reaction and the post-event continuance of pre-event unnatural returns is every bit frequent as post-event reversal. so the market is still efficient. The market is efficient even if many market participants are quite irrational. even if the stock monetary values exhibit greater volatility. The fiscal market is still efficient because an efficient market do non let investors to gain the higher returns w ithout accepting the more hazards. EMH is the â€Å"invisible hand† in the fiscal markets. EMH play the of import functions non merely in the Authoritative Financial Economics but besides in the Modern Financial Economics. It is the footing and pillar. The EMH has had more influence than most academic theories. Plants Cited Eugene F. Fama. â€Å"The Behavior of Stock-Market Prices† . ( The Journal of Business. Vol. 38. No. 1 ) ( Jan. . 1965 ) . PP. 34-105 ( JSTOR Accessed: January 16. 2013 ) Eugene F. Fama. â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work† . ( The Journal of Finance. Vol. 25. No. 2 ) Documents and Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Finance Association New York. N. Y. December. 28-30. 1969 ( May. 1970 ) PP. 383–417. ( JSTOR Accessed: January 15. 2013 ) Stephene F. Leroy. â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: Comment† ( The Journal of Finance. Vol. 31. No. 1 ) . ( March. . 1976 ) PP. 139141. ( Google Accessed: January 18. 2013 ) Eugene F. Fama. † Efficient Capital Markets: Reply† ( The Journal of Finance. Vol. 31. No. 1 ) ( Mar. . 1976 ) PP. 143-145. ( JSTOR Accessed: January 15. 2013 ) Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French. †Permanent and Impermanent Components of Stock Prices† ( Journal of P olitical Economy. Vol. 96. No. 2 ) ( Apr. . 1988 ) . pp. 246-273. ( JSTOR Accessed: January 14. 2013 ) Eugene F. Fama. â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: II † ( The Journal of Finance. Vol. 46. No. 5 ) ( Dec. . 1991 ) . PP. 1575-1617. ( Wiley for the American Finance Association. JSTOR Accessed January 15. 2013 ) Eugene F. Fama. â€Å"Market efficiency. long-run returns. and behavioural finance â€Å" ( Journal of Financial Economics 49 ( 1998 ) 283-306. ( Google: January 15. 2013 ) Robert A. Haugen. â€Å"The Inefficient Stock Market: what pays away and why † ( Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River. New Jersey ) ( 1999 ) ( Borrowed from MSU Library Accessed: January 16. 2013 ) Burton G. Malkiel. â€Å"The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Critics† ( The Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 17. No. 1 ) ( Winter. 2003 ) . pp. 59-82. ( JSTOR Accessed: January 26. 2013 )

Dispute Resolution Coursework The WritePass Journal

Dispute Resolution Coursework 1.0 Introduction Dispute Resolution Coursework 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Concurrent Delay3.0 Causes of a Concurrent Delay4.0 Approaches to Concurrent Delays4.1 Apportionment Approach4.2 The ‘but for’ Approach4.3 First in Line Approach4.4 Dominant Approach4.5 Malmaison Approach5.0 Analyse of City Inn v Shepherd Construction Ltd 5.1 Lord Drummond Young’s Decision5.2 The Appeal Decision6.0 ReferencesRelated 1.0 Introduction This report will discuss the different approaches to concurrent delays in construction contracts by reviewing various construction cases where disputed have arisen. I will also analyse the findings in the recent Court of Session case of City Inn v Shepherd Construction (2010) and assess the extent to which an appeal against the decision to the Supreme Court may succeed. 2.0 Concurrent Delay A â€Å"concurrent delay† is a term used loosely by the construction industry without any real definition. It is not uncommon for more than one delay to occur on a construction project at any given time which delays the completion of the works. A concurrent delay usually occurs when actions by the client and contractor simultaneously delay the project. However there is no clear guidance on the most suitable method for considering an extension of time when there is a concurrent delay usually involving the contractor and employer. (Cushman et al, 2001). Judge Seymour in the case of Royal Brompton Hospital NHS Trust v Frederick A Hammond Ors1 describes a concurrent delay as, â€Å"Two or more delay events occurring within the same time period, each independently affecting the Completion Date.† He goes on to say; â€Å"It is, I think necessary to be clear what one means by events operating concurrently. It does not mean, in my judgement, a situation in which, work already being delayed, let it be supposed, because the contractor has had difficulty in obtaining sufficient labour, an event occurs which is a Relevant Event and which, had the contractor not been delayed would have caused him to be delayed, but which in fact, by reason of the existing delay, made no difference. In such a situation although there is a Relevant Event, the completion of the Works is not likely to be delayed thereby beyond the Completion Date.† (www.charlesrussell.co.uk, February 2011). From Judge Seymour’s statement a concurrent delay can therefore be defined as two events that happen at the same time. 3.0 Causes of a Concurrent Delay A delay can vary due to the different consequences for example an excusable delay is the fault of the employer such as late issuing of drawings which entitles the contractor to an extension of time and an inexcusable delay is due to the fault of the contractor. A neutral event may occur as a result of unforeseen ground conditions or adverse weather conditions. There a number of different scenarios that arise where delays are considered to be concurrent. They are as follows: A delay that is caused by both employer and contractor. A neutral event and contractors delay. A neutral event and employers delay. A neutral event where the contractor is entitled to more time and a financial payment. An employer’s delay where the contractor is entitled to more time and a financial payment. A contractor’s delay where the employer is entitled to a financial payment. (www.theqsi.co.uk, February 2011) 4.0 Approaches to Concurrent Delays There are a number of approaches when considering an extension of time with some having more success than others. They are as follows; Apportionment approach ‘but for’ approach First in Line approach Dominant approach Malmaison approach 4.1 Apportionment Approach The apportionment approach is where the total cost of the delay is distributed between the parties responsible for that delay. Although this is a logical approach it is not supported in the courts as when it comes to a breach of contract they usually look to relate any loss to a single cause. (www.alway-associates.co.uk, March 2011). If a dominant cause cannot be identified the courts say, â€Å"It may be possible to apportion the loss between the causes for which the employer is responsible and other causes. In such a case, it is obviously necessary that the event or events for which the employer is responsible should be a material cause of the loss. Provided that the condition is met, the apportionment of loss between the different causes is possible in an appropriate case.† (www.cila.co.uk, March 2011). One of the most controversial cases that adopted the apportionment approach is City Inn v Shepherd Construction Ltd. As the causes of the delay were the fault of both the employer and contractor the contractor was entitled to an extension of time. Lord Drummond said, â€Å"where there is time concurrency between a relevant event and contractor default, in the sense that both existed simultaneously, regardless of which started first, it may be appropriate to apportion responsibility for the delay between the two causes; obviously, however, the basis for such must be fair and reasonable.† (www.clarkslegal.com, March 2011). It was the contract administrator’s duty to award Shepherd construction an extension of time on a â€Å"fair and reasonable† basis. (Smith, 2010). However shepherd construction did not deem this to be sufficient and wanted a significantly longer extension of time as well as payment of loss and expense. As there was no dominant event causing the d elay the court apportioned the delay between the causes. (Smith, 2010). In case of John Barker Construction Ltd v London Portman Hotel Ltd [2004] Lord Young indicated the most appropriate approach would be to apportion the cost of the delay between the employer and contractor he states, â€Å"This is a case where delay has been caused by a number of different causes, most of which were the responsibility of the employer, through the architect, but two of which were the responsibility of the contractor. It is accordingly necessary to apportion the defenders prolongation costs between these two categories of cause. I consider that the same general consideration, the causative significance of each of the sources of delay and the degree of culpability in respect of each of those sources, must be balanced.† (www.dac.co.uk, March 2011). Another case that applied the apportionment approach is the case of Musselburgh and Fisherrow Co-operative Society Ltd v Mowlem (Scotland) Ltd (2005). This case involved a number of defects to a swimming pool. The court decided to apportion the costs of defect s which included changing channels and gratings and the replacing of the waterproof membrane. (www.scotcourts.gov.uk, February 2011). For the apportionment approach to apply the causes contributing to the loss must start and finish at the same period which is highly unlikely. It also depends on the court’s understanding of the particulars and the use of complex ideas. Keating (2000) encourages the use of apportionment he states, â€Å"Where the loss or damage suffered by the plaintiff results partly from his own conduct and partly form the defendants breach of contract it is correct in principle for the damages to be apportioned.† (Keating et al, 2000). 4.2 The ‘but for’ Approach This approach has not had great success and is reflected in the fact no cases can be found to support this approach. However despite its low success rate it is favoured by contractors as they tend to adopt this approach in reply to the first in line argument even though it is usually rejected by the courts. The contractor’s argument is based on the circumstance that a delay to a particular event would not have happened ‘but for’ an architect’s instruction requesting additional work to be carried out. (www.charlesrussell.co.uk, February 2011). Basically the contractor believes the additional work the reason a delay has occurred. This is supported by Fletcher (1998) who states that the ‘but for’ approach exonerates the contractor but only when, â€Å"events for which the contractor is not responsible compound delay already caused by the contractor.† (Fletcher, 1998). 4.3 First in Line Approach This approach adopts the logic that if a delay has arisen due to a number of events the event that occurred first will be responsible for the whole delay. This means any other contributing events to the delay will be overlooked so long as the completion date is not affected and it does not carry on after the first event. (www.rics.org, March 2011). For example it is the responsibility of the employer to give the contractor access to the site on the day the works are due to commence i.e. 29 January. However if access is not provided a delay occurs commencing on the 29 January and if severe weather prevents work from starting on the 7 February the first in line approach will apply therefore the delay in access will take priority over severe weather until access is provided. If the contractor gains access to the site on the 16 February but the severe weather conditions persists until the 21 February then an extension time can be granted with regards to the severe weather. (www.rics.org, March 2011). 4.4 Dominant Approach The dominant approach analyses the causes of a delay and decides which event is the most dominant or predominant. (www.charlesrussell.co.uk, February 2011). Keating (2000) defines a dominant event as, â€Å"If there are two causes, one the contractual responsibility of the defendant and the other the contractual responsibility of the plaintiff the plaintiff succeeds if he establishes that the cause for which the defendant is responsible is the effective dominant case. Which cause is dominant is a question of fact, which is not solved by the mere point of order in time but is to be decided by applying common sense standards.† (Keating, 2000). An important case in Scotland that adopted the dominant approach is case of John Doyle Construction Ltd v Laing Management (Scotland) Ltd (2004). John Doyle claimed for loss and expense of  £4.8 million and a twenty two week extension of time as they believed Laing Management had disrupted and delayed the progress of the works. Laing Management contended that as John Doyle claim was global and therefore it could not succeed so long as any one of the claims where proven not to have been caused by them. (www.cila.co.uk, March 2011). However Lord McFayden who was involved in the case stated, â€Å"The global claim may fail, but there may be in the evidence a sufficient basis to find casual connections between individual losses and individual events, or to global claims and the problems of concurrent cases arise time and again in relation to delay and loss and expense claims.† (Ross, 2004). Lord McFayden allowed the claim to proceed however Laing appealed his decision to the Court of Session. At the Court of Session Lord Drummond young agreed with Lord McFayden he said, â€Å"if any events or events for which the employer is responsible can be described as the dominant cause of an item of loss, that will be sufficient to establish liability, notwithstanding that other events played a part in its occurrence.† (Ross, 2004). Therefore if the contractor can prove the events for which he depends on are the duty of the employer then he will be required to, â€Å"prove casual links between individual events and particular heads of loss.† (www.cila.co.uk, March 2011).   Where loss has occurred through events the employer is responsible for and through events that he is not, the court states that the contractor must prove the events that the employer is accountable for are the â€Å"proximate or dominant cause of loss† In order for the claim to succeed. However there are problems associated with the dominant approach especially when there are events that contribute equally to the cause of the delay. Therefore the grounds for recuperating loss and expense could be unfair to one party. For example as a dominant cause apportions responsibility to one party which therefore gives the bases for recovery of loss and expense by the other party. However this gives the claiming party the right to recover cost for the entire delay even though the causes contributing to the delay may not be sufficient enough for grounds of recovery. (www.alway-associates.co.uk, March 2011). In the case of H. Fairweather Co. Ltd v. London Borough of Wandworth (1988) the dominant approach was rejected by the court due to the problems discussed previously. (www.alway-associates.co.uk, March 2011). During the construction of the works, consisting of 480 homes, the project was delayed due the late issue of variations and strikes by the workforce. When the case went to arbitration it ruled in favour of the architect and suggested that the strikes had been the dominant cause. However the contractor appealed the decision to the courts who overruled. The judge stated, â€Å"On the assumption that condition 23 is not solely concerned with liquidated or ascertained damages but also triggers and conditions a right for a contractor to recover direct loss and expense where applicable under condition 24 then an architect and his turn an arbitrator has the task of allocating where the facts require it the extension of time to the various heads. I do not consider that the dominant tes t is correct.† (www.brewerconsulting.co.uk, March 2011). 4.5 Malmaison Approach This approach was established in the case of Henry Boot Construction (UK) Ltd v Malmaison Hotel (Manchester) Ltd (1999). It came about not because the dispute was resolved but by both parties agreeing to resolve elements of the dispute which the court then approved. (www.alway-associates.co.uk, March 2011).   This was the first instance the court acknowledged that an extension of time should not be refused when a delay caused by the contractor is concurrent with a delay caused by the employer. During the case concurrent delays were discussed in detail but the main focus was on how delays caused by both the contractor and employer should be interpreted.   Judge Dyson said, â€Å"It is agreed that if there are two concurrent causes of delay, one of which is a relevant event, and the other is not, then the contractor is entitled to an extension of time for the period of delay caused by the relevant delay notwithstanding the concurrent effect of the other event,† (www.alway-associates.co.uk, March 2011). Judge Dyson went on to explain this in simpler terms he said, â€Å"For example if no work is possible on a site for a week not only because of exceptionally inclement weather (a relevant event) but also because the contractor has a shortage of labour (not a relevant event) and if the failure to work during that week is likely to delay the works beyond the completion date by one week, then if he considers it fair and reasonable to do so, the architect is required to grant an extension of time of one week. He cannot refuse to do so on the grounds that the delay would have occurred in any event by reason of the shortage of labour.† (www.alway-associates.co.uk, March 2011). This approach entitles the contractor to an extension of time when they are responsible for the delay at the same time the employer is also causing the delay. This is due to the contractors delay occurring at the same time as a neutral event i.e. inclement weather. In the more recent case of Steria Limited v Sigma Wireless Communications Limited (2007) the Malmaison apporoach was adopted. A dispute occurred between both parties as Sigma did not pay the final contract price owed to Steria. Sigma argued that completion of the works were delayed due to events caused by Steria and therefore where entitled to claim loss and expense. Judge Davies considered whether or not Steria should have been entitled to an extension of time. The judge ruled that Steria should have been granted an extension of time as the delay was not predominantly caused by them and because the matter relied upon was not the dominant cause although it did have equivalent contributing influence with other events relating to the delay. (www.pinsentmasons.com, March 2011). 5.0 Analyse of City Inn v Shepherd Construction Ltd In 1997 City Inn appointed Shepherd construction to construct a hotel in Bristol under a JCT form of contract. The initial completion date of January 26, 1999 was extended by the architect but only by two weeks. The project was not completed until the 29 March 1999 therefore incurring a nine week delay. The same day the architect issued a two week extension of time he also issued a non-completion certificate and stated the contractor had failed to complete the works by the extended completion date therefore allowing City Inn to deduct liquidated damages. (www.jonesday, March 2011). The dispute arose as Shepherd construction claimed they were entitled to eleven weeks extension of time as a result of the architect issuing instructions late and also demanded damages for loss and expense at  £11,500 per week.   City Inn argued that as the works were completed late they were entitled to liquidated damages of  £30,000 per week for nine weeks therefore proceeded to withhold  £270,000 of damages. (www.cila.co.uk, March 2011). In summary the concurrent causes of delay claimed by both parties are as follows; Employer- Defective work and late completion Contractor – Architects Instructions and variations issued late The dispute went to adjudication where the adjudicator ruled in favour of the Shepherd construction. The adjudicator awarded Shepherd construction a nine week extension of time and instructed City Inn to repay the monies owed to the Shepherd construction. However City Inn did not agree with the adjudicator’s decision and appealed to the Scottish Court of Session. The case went to court before Lord Drummond Young.    5.1 Lord Drummond Young’s Decision The experts of both parties agreed that a critical path analysis could not be carried out as there was no accurate programme establishing how the contractor intended on carrying out the works. Lord Drummond Young therefore had to judge what impact the actions of City Inn and Shepherd construction had on the overall delay of the whole project. (www.cila.co.uk, March 2011). Lord Drummond Young concluded that all the delays identified by City Inn and Shepherd construction were concurrent causes of delay.   Therefore under clause 25 of the contract Lord Drummond Young was required to make a judgement and reach a â€Å"fair and reasonable† decision on an extension of time. (www.pinsentsmasons.org, March 2011).   Due to the absence of a dominant cause Lord drumming Young adopted a â€Å"common sense† approach and apportioned the delay between the relevant event and other events to reach a fair and reasonable outcome.   (www.cila.co.uk, March 2011). Lord Drummond Young stated the adjudicator was correct to award Shepherd Construction a nine week extension of time. However City Inn where not happy with his decision and decided to appeal his ruling to the Supreme Court. 5.2 The Appeal Decision The appeal launched by City Inn was rejected by all three judges however they did not all fully support Lord Drummond Young’s ruling on awarding an extension of time. Lord Osborne delivered the bulk of the judgment with Lord Kingarth agreeing with his assessment. Lord Osborne set five propositions for the proper approach to be taken when granting an extension of time: Before a claim for an extension of time can succeed a relevant event must be proven to have caused a delay and as a result the works will be delayed. When considering whether or not a relevant event has caused a delay a common sense approach must be taken. A critical path analysis will help the decision maker determine the cause of the delay however it is not relied upon for the claim to succeed. If a dominant cause of delay can be identified then effect will be given to that delay by leaving out of account any cause of or causes that are not material. The claim will fail if the relevant event is not a dominant cause. If there is no dominant cause the contractors claim should not automatically fail. The decision maker should, â€Å"approach the issue in a fair and reasonable way, to apportion the delay in completion of the works between the relevant event and the other event.† (www.pinsentsmasons.org, March 2011). Although Lord Carloway agreed with the result of the case however he rejected the Lord Drummond Young’s apportionment approach. Lord Carloways stated it was the architect’s responsibility to judge whether or not a delay was the result of a relevant event. Therefore the contractor should be granted an extension of time so long as he can prove the cause of the delay is a relevant event. 5.3 Likelihood of an Appeal Succeeding I believe an appeal by City Inn to the Supreme Court would be unsuccessful. From the two cases already put before the courts all four judges have agreed that the decision to award the contractor an extension of time was the correct one after considering the arguments of both parties. The judges put great emphasis on adopting a common sense approach when considering an extension of time in order to make a fair and reasonable decision.   Concurrent causes of delay arose as no dominant cause of delay could be identified and therefore apportionment approach was adopted which had strong support from all the appeal judges. If an appeal was made to the Supreme Court I believe the judge would reject City Inns appeal as it is clear to see a common sense approach has been adopted to achieve a fair result between City Inn and Shepherd Construction. 6.0 References Literature Cushman, R., Carter, J., Gorman, P. And Coppi, D., (2001). Construction Disputes: Representing the Contractor Fletcher A. (1998) Key issues in Time Extension claims, Building and Construction Law Keating D., Ramsey, V., Furst S. (2000) Keating on Building Contracts Ross J., (2004) Knowledge Is Power: The Freedom of Information Act comes into Force Smith H., (2010) Construction Dispute Avoidance; Herbert Smith, Newsletter no.18 Websites alway-associates.co.uk/legal-update/article.asp?id=24 Accessed 03/03/11 brewerconsulting.co.uk/cases/RPC_CES4.htm Accessed 01/03/11 cila.co.uk/files/Construction/Kennedys/Concurrency%20Talk.pdf Accessed 04/03/11 charlesrussell.co.uk/UserFiles/file/pdf/Construction%20%20Engineering/BB_sept_2010/concurrent_delay.pdf Accessed 26/02/11 clarkslegal.com/Article/533/Counting+the+cost+of+lost+time+-+apportioning+concurrent+delay+in+EOT+claims Accessed 13/03/11 dac.co.uk/documents/resources/articles/Delaying_tactics_Property_Law_Journal Accessed 13/03/11 jonesday.com/extensions-of-time-concurrent-delays-and-causation-city-inn-v-shepherd-judicial-guidance-from-the-uk-courts-at-long-last-05-14-2008/ Accessed 16/03/11 pinsentmasons.com/PDF/SteriavStigma0408.pdf Accessed 17/03/11 www.pinsentsmasons.org/PDF/CityInnLtd.pdf Accessed 18/03/11 rics.org/site/download_feed.aspx?fileID=3400fileExtension=PDF Accessed 05/03/11 scl.org.uk/node/533 Accessed 26/02/11 scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2006hcjac27.html Accessed 29/02/11 www.theqsi.co.uk/cpdmod/concurrent%20delays%202.doc Accessed 28/02/11 tonybingham.co.uk/column/articlepick.php Accessed 07/03/11

5 Traits That Your PhD Writer Must Have to Provide You with a Great Sample Paper

5 Traits That Your PhD Writer Must Have to Provide You with a Great Sample Paper 5 Traits That Your PhD Writer Must Have to Provide You with a Great Sample Paper Creating your PhD paper is a huge deal and there are many requirements that have to be met. Unlike undergrad programs, your essays and assignments hold to much higher standards and are judged more critically. If you need some professional assistance to your coursework, you have to find a highly qualified PhD writer. 1. High Levels of Competence Of course, you want to hire the best person for your piece. So, you have to make sure that the writer you are interviewing is competent. He/she should be intelligent, have previous experience with PhD papers as well as behave in a professional manner. The writer who displays the high level of competence in his/her works is the person, whom you should consider interviewing further. 2. Good Communication Skills When it comes to PhD papers, a lot has to be done, there are some revisions to be made, some new pieces of information to be added, and dozens of adjustments that should be incorporated throughout the project. Because of this, you need to work with a writer who has good communication skills. He/she should be easy to contact with, as well as ready to set up the meeting.Moreover, the writer should also be able to easily understand instructions. The person, you are working with, needs to be able to answer specific questions. If you have any questions due to the paper, he/she should be able to answer them. If the writer cannot provide you with his/her own insights, it means that he/she does not actually understand the subject. 3. Good Grades If the writer has some experience, working at the PhD level, he/she is likely to have some already completed assignments. Pay attention to the reviews that other customers have left, and look if there is some information concerning the marks that the students have gained for the writer’s works. If his/her projects have good grades and high marks, it is a sign that you are dealing with a truly professional writer. If the projects have received poor grades, it’s quite better to move on and look for somebody else to help you. 4. Noteworthy Achievements Does the person you are going to hire have any major accomplishments? If the writer has achievements that are related to your PhD project, it is a good sign that such a person is knowledgeable about the particular subject. 5. Relevant Certification Although hiring someone with accomplishments in your field is a great deal, but if the person does not have the certain diploma in the particular field, it is not a fatality. Sometimes people do not enter the universities to get a degree, but they attend specific courses to achieve certificates. Thus, if you meet the writer, who has such a document, you can feel free to hire him/her for your paper. There is a complex system on how to find a trustworthy PhD thesis writer to assist you with your project. Determining the applicant’s competence, communication skills, educational degree, etc. are all great ways to find out the best candidate for your final paper.

Synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Synthesis - Essay Example However, she dislikes the criticisms from the judges. On the other hand, Amy Tan dislikes the use of ‘broken’ and says that it shows negativity. Although she uses this word to describe her mother’s language, she dislikes it and says she is looking for a better one to use. To her, ‘broken’ cannot be used in a good way unlike for Nancy, who sees it as good sometimes. There is a common ground on diversity as both writers highly value it and are happy that it is seen. The engaging of Indian woman in ANTM and having black plus size models in the contests is a good thing to Nancy. Amy wants more Asian Americans and Chinese people to engage in writing and not just concentrate in medicine and engineering fields. She argues that joining the writing field with her ‘broken’ English cuts all odds. Despite her teacher saying that writing is not something she could do, she went ahead and proved him wrong. The way her mother was treated in restaurants shows that people do not take their time to understand other people with different cultures. Consequently, this emphasizes the need to embrace cultural diversity (Franklin). Diversity is a show of variety in people’s culture, behavior and style. According to Nancy Franklin, America’s Next Top Model has more diversity among contestants’ than other reality shows. People from different cultures participate in the contest: for instance, an Indian woman in one of the cycles really set a stepping stone to others since not many Indians are found in this field. Indian women show them that being engineers or doctors is not the only career they can take. It also has plus size models and several blacks who made it to the semi-finals. Banks embraces diversity in all sectors which is so evident. This plays a great role in helping women love their bodies, thus boosting self-esteem. Banks starts ANTM to look for a girl who has diversity, can do many different things, pass different challenges and can fit in different

A Streetcar Named Desire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

A Streetcar Named Desire - Essay Example In fact, she has a feeling that their god background characterized by education, lavish life and foreign language acquisition contrast that of Stanley. He is uneducated, dirty, and she considers his companionship with her only sister inappropriate and unfortunate. Additionally, the desire for companionship by Blanche stems from solitude and excruciating thoughts of being alone range in a hostile world (Page 417). In her quest to enhance her personal attraction and safety, she desperately finds herself seeking protection from the arms of strangers. Her struggle to seek companionship and love that she fondly misses after the tragic death of her husband, Blanche exposes herself to the world of men who would take advantage of her circumstances for self-gratification. Notably, in New Orleans, she finds her brother-in-law Stanley, who is cruel. According to her, there is no cure of harshness and the predatory nature of Stanley (Page 418). With this reality, she is determined to take Stella with her a means of getting a companionship and securing her from the husband that is ruthless and inhumane. Surprisingly, Stella appears happy and satisfied in her marriage, despite the conflicting background between her and the husband, she finds the companionship the best cure to life challenges irrespective of the circumstances. In addition, the director of the play demystifies the theme of loneliness using a susceptible woman, Blanche, who gets attracted to anyone she perceives to share similar or closer background. In addition, the director of the play portrays Blanches companionship desires as the driving force that would see her leave the town to seek what she desires most-companionship. Desire is closely related to solitude, as life reality dawns, Blanche desires towards inner personal conflict and an outward desire for companionship. Loneliness causes her great pains and tribulation that

Techniques for Motivating Students in Art

Techniques for Motivating Students in Art SYNOPSIS FOR DISSERTATION Exploration of selected water colour techniques to motivate students in painting. An action Research at Form IV level. INTRODUCTION Learning is an ongoing process that occurs every minute in the field of education. Learning means to gain knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something. As teacher, our goal is to encourage learning in the classroom. The purpose of this study is to carry out an action research through selected watercolour techniques to improve pupil’s performance. A student comes in class with a certain degree of motivation. But, teacher’s behavior and the way of his teaching, the structure of the course, and interactions with the students all have a broad effect on the student motivation. There are three things to remember about education as per Maher and Meyer’s concept (1997, p 377), â€Å"the first is motivation, the second is motivation and the third is motivation.† Teaching effectively involves not only the use of tools, techniques, and strategies to optimize student learning but an understanding of context, in particular how your students learn, how they process information, what motivates them to learn more, and what impedes the learning process. Its not easy keeping children interested and motivated in classroom instruction. However, several tips and selected techniques can help teachers actively engage students and encourage them to learn and interact positively with others. THE RATIONALE In the course of my teaching of Art and Design at form four level in my college, I have noticed that there are some topics where students meet difficulties. The subject has been introduced since more than 35 years at Hamilton College Girls department, at Mahebourg, students have adopted the teacher centred approach and depend entirely on what the teacher gave them as instructions. Since, the majority of the students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and they are mostly low achievers, they should be boost up in creating their own learning environment whereby they know what and how they are doing it. At form four levels, students will be having enough time to adapt to the new teaching and learning techniques which will be implemented. Enough time will be given to them for active learning during their practical classes.. Purpose and justification of the study I have been working as a practicing teacher for almost 15 years in a private secondary school, located in a coastal area. I have been teaching art and design both in lower and upper classes. When I started working with Form IV students this year I noticed that pupils at this level perform very poorly while using water colour technique in their painting. They had great difficulties in handling this media. They lack confidence and hence they fear to spoil their drawing and painting. When these pupils undergo the examinations, they come with poor results. These are some of the reason for me to use some selected watercolour techniques to boost up their level, thus ensuring better examination results. Students Profile Usually students who pass the CPE (Standard VI) with C, D, and E are admitted in the school. Very rarely a student is seen to have been admitted with B’s and least often with A’s. Apart from their low intellectual baggage, pupils from this school come from coastal regions like Grand Port, Bois des Amourettes, Grand Sable and other neighboring villages. Their social background is quite poor as there are many girls who have only one parent or who live with grandmothers or aunts- the result of broken homes due to alcoholic parents. The pupils do not have art materials most of the time. The absenteeism rate is quite high. Low ability pupils Low ability pupils are those pupils whose pace of learning is very slow and they exist in all schools. They should be provided more time than the average and high achievers so that it will be easy for them to grasp the basic of the learning activities. These students need special help over a lengthy period from the teachers. Some causes of low achievers are poverty, broken family, emotional or personal factors. Aims of the study To apply selected water colour techniques in the class in order to promote learning among students in practical classes. This research has objectives as: To create an interest in painting using watercolour among the pupils and encourage participation in class. To make students aware of different water colour techniques in painting. To promote self-learning. Implement the selected strategies in the class. Analyse and reflect critically whether the use of the strategies have been effective. Improve pupil’s performance Effectively use elements and principles of design while painting with water based paint. Problem statement Aproblem statementis a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem. The primary purpose of aproblem statementis to focus the attention of the problem solving team. As I have mentioned above that pupils at Form IV level perform very poorly while using water colour technique in their painting. They had great difficulties in handling this media and they lack confidence and hence they fear to spoil their drawing and painting. So certain questions should be put forward to remedy the situation in art and design classes. Research Questions: What are pupils’ overall perception in painting with watercolour? Why do pupils perform poorly while using watercolour techniques? Can selected watercolour techniques boost up pupil’s performance while painting? LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter highlights the theoretical and empirical literature of this study on the exploration of selected water colour techniques and motivation of students. Many college teachers today want to move from passive learning to active learning, to find better ways of engaging students in the learning process. I have gone through the book â€Å"WATERCOLOUR† by the author Milind Mulick where it is mentioned that watercolour as an independent genre was brought in vogue by Joseph Turner and John Constable, two British painters of the 18th century. John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, William Russell Flint took the art of watercolours to new heights. In this book Milind has mentioned the important features of water colour, techniques and about the materials to be used, such as paper brushes and paints. He has also written about the practice, composition and sketching which is the beginning of drawing. The demonstration part of the book will greatly help students understand the application of water colour throughout the painting of landscape. Exploring Watercoloris to discover new ways to get expressive with colourideas for using natures patterns to inspire enticing designshow to expand your repertoire and unleash your creativity by experimenting with freeform collages, found imagery, and other innovative techniques. Wherever you are as an artist, this hands-on guide (Exploring watercolour Techniques by Elizabeth Grove)will help you master the watercolor medium and develop your individual style, and move beyond a literal rendering of your subject matter. MOTIVATION Motivationis a  psychological  feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired  goal  and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. Motivation involves a constellation of beliefs, perceptions, values, interests, and actions that are all closely related. Motivation is an important factor in learning. Type of motivations Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means that the individuals motivational stimuli are coming from within. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that is animated by personal enjoyment, interest, or pleasure. Extrinsic motivation means that the individuals motivational stimuli are coming from outside. In other words, our desires to perform a task are controlled by an outside source. Motivation refers to â€Å"the reasons underlying behaviour† (Guay et al., 2010, p. 712). â€Å"Motivation in school learning involves arousing, sustaining and desirable conduct† (Woolfolk, 1988). It depends upon how well a teacher can arouse the interests and motives of student. â€Å"The ultimate goal of schools is to transform its students by providing knowledge and skills and by building character and instilling virtue† (Sergiovanni, 1991). Motivation has been defined as the level of effort an individual is willing to expend toward the achievement of a certain goal. Biehler and Snowman (1993) state that â€Å"motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior†. responsibility is to create the conditions that will enhance students’ motivation to pursue academic goals actively over a long period of time. MASLOW THEORY OF MOTIVATION â€Å"If you have a hammer, you tend to see any problem as a nail,† meaning, the more tools you have in your toolbox, the better prepared you are to face any challenge that awaits you.† â€Å"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.† â€Å"In you lies something, a passion that makes you truly happy. Find it and don’t let go.† (www.youmotivation.com/-By Abhaham Maslow) Water COLOUR PAINTS Paint is an ideal medium for developing the child’s sensitivity to colour, because it is fluid and its effects are immediate. It is important to explore the expressive and descriptive effects of a variety of colour media and to encourage adventurous use. Colour awareness promotes sensitivity to and enjoyment of colour in the child’s surroundings and is further enhanced when the child has opportunities to look at the work of artists. Watercolor paint is made by mixing pigments with a binder, usually gum Arabic, and then applying it with water to a support such as vellum (fine animal skin) or paper. It also contain glycerin, ox gall and preservative for the durability of the pigment. The water evaporates and the binder fixes the pigment to the support. Watercolor was used long before Prehistoric humans in the Paleolithic ages painted the walls of their caves with mixtures of ochre, charcoal, and other natural pigments. Watercolors were also painted on papyrus and used in Egyptian art forms. In Asia, traditional Chinese painting with watercolors developed around 4,000 B.C., primarily as a decorative medium, and by the 1st century A.D., the art of painting religious murals had taken hold. By the 4th century landscape watercolor painting in Asia had established itself as an independent art form. While early European artists prepared their own watercolor mixtures for fresco wall painting, this was soon applied to paper. Some of the 20th-century artists who produced important works in watercolor are Wassily Kandinsky,  Emil Nolde,  Paul Klee,  Egon Schiele and  Raoul Dufy. Watercolor painting emerged in Europe during the Renaissance period with advancements in papermaking. Modern watercolor paints are now as durable and colorful as oil or acrylic paints, and the interest in drawing and multimedia art has also encouraged demand for fine works in watercolor. Watercolor has been around since painting began, but didn’t really take off until the Renaissance. The German printmaker Albrecht Durer was an early practitioner, and found the medium ideal for small, detailed studies. Many beautiful landscapes, portraits, and other scenes have derived from watercolor paintings. Some of the famous authors of these paintings are Marina Abramoviac, Yaacov Agam, Constantin Alajalov, Henri Matisse, Rene Magritte, and Alfred Maurer. These painters are known for having created some of the most remarkable works of watercolor art.. Clapp’s opinion about water colour,†I would suggest a student just work with one colour, monochromatically, for a while. This will allow seeing more clearly the effects of different brushes and amount of water you are using.† â€Å"If I were to teach a water colour class, there are really only a couple of things I would do that are different from how I would teach any painting in any media. Both of these ideas address the heart of the problem people face when trying to paint in water colour.’ â€Å"Since the amount of water in the brush controls your values, edges, and the kind of marks you can make, you cannot paint well in the medium, until you understand how to control the amount of water in your brush.† THE SELECTED STRATEGIES It is proposed that strategies promoting active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing. The selected ones are: Demonstration Pair and share Guided lecture Class Discussion Peer teaching SELECTED TECHNIQUES I will choose three technique from the following: Wet on wet Wet on dry Sponge wash Splatter Resist Salt texture METHODOLOGY The study necessitate an action research. Action research in classrooms involves the teacher directly. Peer teachers, the Rector, teachers, students and classroom researchers are part of the process. An action research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully used techniques of research and it is based on the following assumptions: It involves: a specific problem within a particular classroom Planned action elements of the formal research improvement of classroom practice. Contributes to the self evaluation process I am going to do an action research for the actual problem(difficulty in using watercolour techniques) of the Form IV students. I will look for some new methods to motivate students and to enhance their performance. Sample The study will be targeted at students of form four studying Art and design at Hamilton College Girls Department. A class sample of 10 students will be taken from two different classes. For group work the students will be selected randomly as the class is considered to be a mixed ability one but the number of low achievers is quite high. Interview and observation Interviews will be carried out with the students during the class or after and the feedback of students will be noted. Students will be observed by the teacher during their practical classes and their approaches towards the lesson on a particular topic will be noted. Use of assessment both summative, formative and diagnosis and the use of mark sheets. (ii) Method to be used during class Observation Checklists Formulated questions Cycle 1 Direct teaching – teacher centered – chalk and talk Cycle 2 2 Lesson plans use of selected watercolour techniques Expectation of results above 60% Comparison between cycle 1 and cycle 2 Cycle 3 More lessons on watercolour techniques. (iii)Analysis and Interpretation of data Data will be represented as: Bar chart Pie chart Conclusion I will investigate through the research and come to a conclusion and I hope that this study will be useful to teachers in better creating the conditions that will foster students participation. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barry K King L, (1998), Beginning Teaching and Beyond, 3rd Edition. http://barrycoombs.wordpress.com/tag/watercolor-demonstration/ http://voices.yahoo.com/21-ways-motivate-students-art-class-guide-5440335.html?cat=4 http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/categ.html http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5 http://www.bing.com/search?q=exploring+watercolour+techniquesgo=qs=nform=QBREpq=exploring+watercolour+techniquessc=0-0sp=-1sk=

Different Styles of Imitation Essay

In The Transmission of Knowledge by Juan Luis Vives, Vives describes his idea of proper imitation. His basic theory is that people are not innately born with skills of art or rhetoric and therefore, these skills are obtained through the imitation of other skilled artists or rhetoricians. This idea is parallel to those of Petrarch and Alberti. Petrarch and Vives both say that proper imitation should be analogous to the way a son resembles his father. Vives says â€Å"A son is said to be like his father, not so much in that he recalls his features, his face and form, but because shows to us his father’s manners, his disposition, his talk, his gait, his movements, and as it were his very life, which issues forth in his actions as he goes abroad, from the inner seat of the spirit, and shows his real self to us.† (190) Petrarch says, similarly, â€Å"As soon as we see the son, he recalls the father to us, although if we should measure every feature we should find them all different.†(199) The father to son resemblance is the basis of imitation to both these authors. They both believe that a good writer should use imitation in a way where what they imitate resembles the original, but does it not duplicate it. For Petrarch and Vives, this can be achieved by properly integrating reading with writing. They both believe that by reading something and being able to digest it thoroughly, one can transport the overall idea and feeling of what he read onto his own writing. This creates a deep imitation, rather than copying what a writer says in different words. Both authors use the father to son metaphor to show that imitation should be meaningful and evocative. Petrarch supplements this idea by claiming that reading should be an alterative to experience. As one would in a sense â€Å"experience† the father through the son, one should similarly be able to experience the author a writer imitates. To illustrate this he referrers to â€Å"wandering† and â€Å"transport† throughout his works. Specifically, Petrarch interchanges writing with experience when he describes climbing Mont Ventroux. He says â€Å"But nature is not overcome by a man’s devices; a corporeal thing cannot reach the heights by descending† and, further, â€Å"there I leaped in my winged thought from things corporeal to what is incorporeal and addressed myself in words like these†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (39) The physical and spiritual are linked so closely together that they transport and overlap one another. According to Petrarch, characteristics like this are traits of a good imitator. Vives also relates to the kind of imitation which interchanges the bodily action with spiritual. He describes an oration, which links actions with rhetoric. He says â€Å"But these modern imitators regard not so much the mind of the orator in his expression, as the outward appearance of his words and the external for of his style.† (191) Both writers believe that by interchanging techne which psyche, one can properly imitate and transcend a deeper significance of what the writer is imitating. Although Petrarch and Vives share similar ideas, they also hold a contradictory belief: Petrarch only imitates Cicero, while Vives believes that one should imitate several models to create a single work. Although Vives clearly states that Cicero is the best model for writing in the conversational style: â€Å"Caesar and Epistles of Cicero will come into the first rank of conversational style,† (192) he also states that one should comprise writing by mimicking several writers: â€Å"The more models we have and the less likeness there is between them, the greater is the progress of eloquence.† (190) Foremost, Petrarch is not writing in the conversational style, instead he using the plain style. Therefore, he should mimic another writer from the list Vives has specified. Also, Petrarch is only interested in imitating one writer, Cicero. He defends the Ciceronian tradition by writing only in Cicero’s style. For this reason, Petrarch does not read other writers, like Dante, because he is afraid that he will become the product of what he reads, ideas and style. Instead he immerses himself in Cicero’s style by reading his work in such depth that he essentially writes in Cicero’s style without knowing he is doing so. Vives respects Cicero’s work, but he does not believe that Cicero is the best writer. Other than Vives’ belief that Petrarch should have imitated several conversationalists, Vives also states that â€Å"imitation of Cicero’s work is useful and safe, but not of his style; for if anyone cannot achieve success in the attempt he will degenerate into redundant, nerveless, vulgar and plebeian kind of writer.† (191) Therefore, the difference between Vives and Petrarch is that Vives believes that one should imitate several writers and that Cicero is not the best writer. Further, he offers a list of writers which should be imitated when trying to achieve a certain style. Petrarch, on the other hand, writes in Cicero’s style and believes that Cicero should be imitated while engaging in every kind of writing. Alberti was an author who was more like Vives in this sense. He also believed that one should embrace all the things which would make something beautiful into one. For example, he says that all arts are linked to painting somehow, and that all arts take from incorporate the skills associated with painting into their works: â€Å"The architect, if I am not mistaken, takes from the painter architraves, bases, capitals, columns, faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ades and other similar things. All the smiths, sculptors, shops and guilds are governed by the rules and art of the painter. It is scarcely possible to find any superior art which is not concerned with painting. so that whatever beauty is found can be said to be born of painting .†(Book II) Furthermore, it was important to Alberti to imitate the laws of nature, rather than nature itself. He pointed out that an architect should mimic the structure of reality and the geometry hidden in reality. Like Vives and Petrarch, Alberti joined the bodil y with the spiritual to create the perfect art. But, he resembles Vives, in the sense that he believes that one should imitate several things to create one thing. One difference between Alberti and Vives is that Vives believes that one should start out imitating a person who is not the best at what he does, but someone who is better than the imitator. Eventually, according to Vives, one should be able to move up in rank and imitate the best. He says â€Å"it is a wise precept of M. Fabius Quintilian that boys should not at first attempt to rise to emulation of their master, lest their strength fail them. An easier and quicker method will be to let them imitate someone more learned than themselves among their fellows, and contending with him let them gradually rise to copying their master himself.† (189) Alberti does not mention this method of imitation. Instead he says that when it comes to art, on must have â€Å"the favors of nature.† (Book I) In other words, Alberti strongly believes that one should have a natural talent for what he is doing, and that the gradual chain of improvement is not necessarily an established method, a s Vives indicates. Also, Alberti uses a style that is short and to the point. He says â€Å"I beg that I may be pardoned if, where I above all wish to be understood, I have given more care to making my words clear than ornate. I believe that which follows will be less tedious to the reader. (Book I) This type of frankness is a distinguished style of writing. He uses simple rhetoric so that his audience can grasp the idea quickly. This kind of style corresponds to the type of art he is writing about. He says that he writing about a new type of art: â€Å"We are, however, building anew an art of painting about which nothing, as I see it, has been written since this age.†(Book II) His new style is imitating his concept of having a different type of manual towards art. Also, his main is to gear away from the Ancients and more towards the Florentine. By changing his style of writing he is achieving this, not only through what he saying about graduating art from mechanical to liberal, but also through his style and techne. Both Alberti and Vives spend time discussing subject matter. Vives splits up who should be imitated based on the subject of the piece being writer. Similarly, Alberti pays attention to the subject matter of the painting. He says that an image can only bring pleasure of the subject matter of the painting brings pleasure. Alberti believes that one must imitate the feeling he wants the viewer to have in the subject of his painting for the artwork to be successful. This is what Vives is saying when he illustrates that one must pick the best writer in the subject that he wants to write about and imitate that style to be successful. Both Petrarch and Alberti can be compared with Vives and his ideas on imitation. To all three writers imitation plays a huge role on how to present written and artistic works. All three of them believe that imitation of others will lead to success. Further, they believe that imitation is the only way to learn how to write properly. Alberti adds another assumption: he says that to be the best, one must imitate, but before the imitation process takes place, one must have a natural talent for art. Petrarch and Alberti both believe that one must mimic what they believe is the right tradition through their styles. Petrarch believes in the Ciceronian tradition and follows in Cicero’s footsteps by imitating his style. Alberti is more concerned with understanding than the use of eloquent language. Overall, to all three writers imitation plays a huge role in their understanding of how written works influence their audiences.