Phd propsal Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Phd propsal - Research Proposal Example Research study about how human beings move is important in terms of allowing the animators to have a better understanding on how they can improve the quality of their animated drawings. As part of the research proposal, the purpose of the research study, problem statement, significance of the problem, definition of terms, and hypothesis or research question will first be identified. Before discussing the proposed research methodology, a literature review will be conducted to determine which part of the human anatomy is most used in terms of supporting human walks. Several academic books in Medicine, peer-reviewed journals and online articles will be utilized to identify which among the essential parts of the human body is most commonly used when walking. In line with this, the muscles and skeleton in the lower extremities and the curve on arms and legs will be examined in relation to the time, distance, and spacing. With regards to the use of simple lines in animation drawings, a literature review will be conducted to determine which part of an animation drawing a modern animator should draw and not draw based on the influence of Renaissance. In relation to speed, light, differences in sizes and shapes, and the number of required frames used in capturing human movements in 2-dimensional images, the proposed study will also examine how the human eyes and brain f unctions upon seeing a connected images move in animated drawings. In going through the proposed primary research methodology, the rationale behind the selected research approach and methods will be provided followed by justifying how the proposed research method will be accomplished by obtaining the required inputs. Prior to conclusion, a research schedule will be provided in this report. Learning more about the human movements is important in terms of allowing the modern animators have a better understanding and idea on how they can improve the quality of their

The appeal of TV police drama Essay Example for Free

The appeal of TV police drama Essay Discuss the appeal of TV police drama with particular reference to The Bill and In Deep The Bill, shown on ITV1 at around 8.00, and In Deep shown on BBC1 at around 9.00, and after the news, are both police dramas. Therefore, they both are targeted to police drama fans. However, there are differences between two. In The Bill, there are lots of different codes and conventions found in typical police dramas. For example, there is a police station, panda cars, uniformed and plain clothed police, who carry out everyday tasks, such as dealing with burglary, assault, and racial abuse. In In Deep, there are also lots of codes and conventions of police drama, but they are different to that found in The Bill. For example, the policemen are plain clothed undercover policemen, there is a secret operation, cover stories, involvement in drugs, and 24 hour surveillance on a potential bad guy, which gives the program more of a gangster police drama feel about it. In The Bill, the narrative structure is very different to that in In Deep. It has very quick scene changes, and lots of intertwining storylines, very like a soap opera, in that there are many storylines going on throughout the episode. This is probably the reason that it is put onto our screens at a primetime slot, and therefore appeals to audiences who prefer the soap genre. Because the episodes are on every week, the budget is lower, so thats why the mainly the same locations are used, and thats why it develops more of a soap formula, as they cannot do really big scenes. In Deep has the narrative structure of a film, rather than a soap. The storyline is focused around one main storyline, with lots of twists coincided with it. It also shows a lot more violence, and more brutal scenes, because it is a series, therefore has a higher budget to film and construct these scenes. The Bill and In Deep has lots of enigma codes. For example, in The Bill, whether a beaten up man will tell on the police man that beat him up, and is a suspect off work with somebody, or is she, likes she says, ill, and in In Deep, will the coppers covering as drug dealers killer the supplys wife. These enigma codes keep up the audience interest in watching to the end of the episode. There is also a fair representation of policemen in both. In The Bill, you get to see more of the policemens personal life, and the question on how much personal life should be brought into the work place. In In Deep, the question is whether them acting as criminals is any better then the actually criminals themselves. All these points keep the watcher interested, and keeps audiences coming back to watch other episodes.

Gender Language Acquisition And Language Use Psychology Essay

Gender Language Acquisition And Language Use Psychology Essay INTRODUCTION Over the last thirty years there has been a sharp increase of research on the differences between men and women, in particular the extent to which men and women use language differently. The purpose of this project is to identify the differences between male and female speech and how societys attitude towards gender has an impact on language acquisition and language use. Firstly this project will introduce the subject of sociolinguistics with a focus on stereotyping, language acquisition and the general differences in speech between males and females. Secondly, current opinions and attitudes will be discussed along with recent research that has been carried out examining if gender stereotyping exists and whether it has an impact on language acquisition and the way language is used. Lastly it will analyse findings from my own research of colour terms used by a sample of 10 children. Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society, and how society influences or affects the way in which language is used by individuals or groups (Crystal, 2008). Gender Difference is a branch of sociolinguistics that focuses on how males and females communicate and what differences there are between the two sexes. Over the last 20 years research has been conducted to try and answer such questions as Do women really talk more than men? Do men swear more than women? and Do women gossip more than men. The main differences identified between the way men and women communicate are: mens language is more dominant, aggressive, assertive, confident and forceful and womens language is submissive, cooperative, emotional and sincere (Pearson, 1985). Research has been carried out to examine whether these differences are due to biological or social factors. LITERATURE REVIEW Early research examining the relationship between gender and language was first carried out by Lakoff in 1975 and published in her book Language and Womans Place. Lakoff identified several factors that make womans language different to mens. Womens language contains more: Hedge phrases: sort of, it seems like; Polite forms: would you mindà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦; Tag questions: you are coming to dinner, arent you?; Standard English and tend to avoid using expletives. Lakoff stated that women are reluctant to force their views on another person which explains the use of hedge phrases. This view was supported by McMillan et al (1977). In relation to tag questions, Mulac Lundell (1986) found similar results with their research however studies by Dubois Crouch (1975) contradicts this as they found that men were more likely to use tag questions than women. Holmes (1984) also disagreed with Lakoffs suggestions of tag question and found that in most cases women used them to give the person being spoken to an opportunity to speak. Lakoffs research also found that women notice more detail than men causing women to be more perceptive; they notice things such as tone of voice, facial expression, and body language. She noted that women use a greater variety of descriptions when describing colours, (violet instead of purple or crimson rather than red. Glass (1992) carried out research to identify biological differences and found that in males the right hemisphere of the brain matures faster than the left where as the opposite occurs in females with the left hemisphere of the brain developing first. Therefore men are more adept at right hemisphere tasks such as solving mathematical problems while women are better with left hemisphere tasks such as developing language and vocabulary. Differences that arise due to social factors could be due to the fact that there is an element of sexism in language which instils gender stereotyping. Words that represent women or refer to women tend to have negative connotations (Romaine, 2008). If we look at the words that describe a single male (bachelor) and a single female (spinster), for many people the word bachelor would imply a young, single, professional male with prospects where as the word spinster would suggest a lonely, old female, yet they both mean the same for each gender. Nilsen (1977) carried out research using 500 dictionary words which had either male or female connotations. 385 were found to have male connotations compared to only 132 with female connotations. Nilsen looked at the words for negative connotations and found that the number of words with negative female connotations outweighed the number of male ones by 25%. There has been a lot of research examining whether the impact of gender stereotyping at an early age has had an influence in the use of language. Eisenberg et al (1985) found that parents will more often than not choose toys that are associated with their childs gender. Caldera (1989) looked at the type of toys children play with and the role they have in language development. He found that boys toys such as cars and trains have low levels of teaching and questioning and require little or no interaction with a parent. Boys will often mimic the sounds related to the toy (e.g. beep beep for a car or choo choo for a train) but the toy requires no conversation. In contrast, girls toys such as dolls and prams require a certain amount of role play that elicits constant verbal interaction with the toy with the child giving a step by step account of what will happen next (e.g. it is now time for your nap), which often leads to a parent becoming more involved making comments and questioning ( Caldera, 1989). By the end of a childs first year gender differences are already evident in the way they play and dress and the way adults interact and communicate with them. Parents will typically choose to dress a boy in blue or a girl in pink because that is what gender stereotyping dictates. Pearson Davilla (2001) found that baby boys are often described as strong, solid and independent where as baby girls are described as loving, cute and sweet thus reinforcing gender stereotypes. This type of gender stereotyping has also been found to occur in school textbooks with language often emphasising the ideas of males and females (Cameron, 2007). The use of terms like he, him and his, and men when referring to a person or people reinforces gender language with females made to look inferior to males. Males and females are typically represented in traditional gender roles with women as mothers and housewives, and men as professional breadwinners. Again women are portrayed in more submissive and inferior roles. This was more noticeable with reading schemes from the 1960s and 1970s. Males are also seen as having more opportunities than females as they are portrayed as being more adventurous and physically stronger than women. Females seem more caring and are seen as more interested in domestic matters taking a submissive role to allow male dominance. However Bradley (1981) and Weatherall (2002) have argued that there are no significant differences between male and female speech. METHODOLOGY In order to obtain comparable data I needed to ask a sample of children to look at a picture and give the name of each colour of a specific object within the picture. As this research was to be conducted during the Christmas season I used a sample of children who were attending a Christmas party. I devised a questionnaire which contained a colourful Christmas themed picture of Santa flying his sleigh along with five questions asking to name the colour of different objects within the picture (Appendix 1). The picture chosen had different shades of colour in order to allow a variety of answers for a particular object. The research was carried out on a small scale using a mixture of interpretive and positivist methods. A sample size of 10 children was used ranging from age 4 to 9 with an equal number of males and females to allow a more accurate comparison of data relating to gender. The children sampled were enjoying themselves at a Christmas party. Each child was sat down individually at a quiet table and asked to describe the colour of the various objects in each question. They were also asked their age. The time taken to answer the questions was an average of 4 minutes per child. FINDINGS I have analysed the findings for each question individually in order to compare the differences between genders. Q.1. What colour is Santas hat? In the picture, Santas hat is a standard red colour therefore it is not surprising that red was the answer given by 100% of the children. Q.2. What colour is the sky? The sky is a shade of blue which could be described as a light blue or sky blue. 80% of the boys gave the answer blue where as this answer was only given by 20% of the girls. Sky blue was the most popular answer which was given by 60% of the girls. Light blue was given by 20% of girls and 20% of boys. Q.3 What colour is Rudolph? Rudolph is a brown colour that could be described in a number of ways. 80% of boys answered brown compared to 40% of girls. Interestingly one girl (20%) gave the answer nutmeg while a second girl (20%) answered fawn and a third girl (20%) answering light brown. Fawn brown was also given by 20% of boys. Q.4. What colour is Rudolphs scarf? Rudolphs scarf is a dark shade of green. Green was the answer given by 80% of boys and 80% of girls. Only two other shades were given; moss green (20% boys) and sage (20% of girls). Q.5. What colour is Santas sleigh? Santas sleigh is red but it is a much darker shade of colour than his hat. Of the boys sampled, 80% gave the answer red with only one boy (20%) giving a different answer of burgundy. None of the girls gave the simple answer of red. 60% distinguished that is was a much darker red than Santas hat and therefore described it as dark red. One girl (20%) gave the answer maroon and another girl (20%) gave the answer burgundy. The table below shows the results along with each Childs gender and age: Response to Questions Child Gender Age Q.1 Q.2 Q.3 Q.4 Q.5 A M 8 Red Light Blue Fawn Brown Moss Green Burgundy B M 8 Red Blue Brown Green Red C M 9 Red Blue Brown Green Red D M 4 Red Blue Brown Green Red E M 7 Red Blue Brown Green Red F F 6 Red Sky Blue Nutmeg Sage Maroon G F 7 Red Light Blue Fawn Green Burgundy H F 5 Red Blue Brown Green Dark Red I F 6 Red Sky Blue Light Brown Green Dark Red J F 6 Red Sky Blue Brown Green Dark Red DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS The results show that females take more notice of details than males as the female children were more perceptive when looking at the picture and therefore gave a greater variety of colour descriptions. These results agree with Lakoffs research of Language and Womens Place. Lakoffs research was published more than thirty years ago and her specific claims about the way language is used by woman have been overturned as more recent research does not support them as the research was based on intuition. (Cameron, 2007). However, Lakoffs arguments that language-use, gender and power are all connected is still supported (Cameron, 2007). Individual differences may account for some of the variations in the results. Child A, a male child, gave colour terms of Red, Light Blue, Fawn Brown, Moss Green and Burgundy which suggests that other social factors besides gender stereotyping may have an influence. The way people use language is affected by the context of the situation they are in and to whom they are engaging in conversation with (Cameron, 2007). Holmes (1984) uses the analogy of a tightrope to explain: Women are obliged to walk a tightrope of impression management, continually demonstrating their professional competence while also making clear that they have not lost their femininity that they are not, for example, aggressive or uncaring (Cameron, 2007). Factors such as socio economic background, parent influence and other interests may have a direct effect on language acquisition and needs to be researched further. CONCLUSION The differences between males and females can be attributed to biological and social factors. Research by Glass (1992) shows that the brain develops differently in males and females which results in the two genders having a preference for tasks that are associated with that part of their brain that matures faster. Social factors such as gender stereotyping has a significant influence on language use as it helps to reinforce the roles that society dictates men and women should have. Gender stereotyping occurs from birth Females use language as a way to develop personal relationships where as men use language to assert independence and status. People adapt their language to different contexts therefore gender differences is a difficult area to study. Gender alone cannot account for differences in language use and as such other factors such as socio economic background, education and individual differences should be taken in to account. Much of the research carried out has identified what the differences are between male and female speech but with little suggestions as to why these differences occur. REFERENCE LIST Bradley, P. H. (1981) The Folk Linguistics of Womens Speech: An Empirical Examination. Communication Monographs. 48, pp73-90 Caldera, Y.M. (1989) Social interactions and play patterns of parents and toddlers with feminine, masculine and neutral toys. Child Development, 60, pp70-76. Cameron, D. (2007) The Myth of Mars and Venus. New York: Oxford University Press Crystal, David. (2003) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.298 Dubois, B. L., Crouch, I. (1975) The question of tag questions in womens speech: They dont really use more of them, do they? Language in Society, 4(3), pp.289-294. Eisenberg, A.R. et al (1985) Childrens Talk: Learning to use Language. New York: Norton. Glass, L. (1992) He Says, She Says. Closing the Communication Gap Between the Sexes. New York: G.P. Putnams Sons. Holmes, J. (1984) Hedging Your Bets and Sitting on the Fence: Some Evidence for Tag Questions as Support Structures. Te Reo, 27, pp.47-62. Lakoff, R. (1975) Language and Womans Place. New York: Harper Colophon Books. McMillan, J. R. et al (1977) Womens language: Uncertainty or interpersonal sensitivity and emotionality? Sex Roles, 3, pp.545-559. Mulac, A., Lundell, T. L. (1986) Linguistic contributors to the gender-linked language effect. Journal of Language Social Psychology, 5, pp.81-101. Nilsen, A. et al (1977)  Sexism and language. Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, pp.161-179. Pearson, J. C. (1985) Gender and Communication. Iowa: W.N.C. Brown Publishers. Pearson, J. C., Davilla, R. (2001) The Gender Construct: Understanding Why Men and Women Communicate Differently. In Borisoff, D. Women and Men Communicating. Illinois: Waveland Press. Weatherall, A. (2002) Gender, Language and Discourse. London: Routledge

A Nightmare On Elm Street :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At a time when the stalker movie had been exploited to all ends and the image of mute, staggering, vicious killers had been etched into society’s consciousness to the point of exhaustion, a new kid entered the block. The year was 1984 and it was time for a new villain to enter into the horror genre. A villain that was agile, intelligent, almost inviolable yet viscous, and by all means deadly. A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the distinctive presence of Fred Krueger to the horror industry and to the audience. Freddy Krueger took the center stage and with him a new era of horror films began. This horribly scarred man who wore a ragged slouch hat, dirty red-and-green striped sweater, and a glove outfitted with knives at the fingers reinvented the stalker genre like no other film had. Fred Krueger breathed new life into the dying horror genre of the early 1980’s. Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil. Within the genre of horror films falls the sub-genre of teen slasher/stalker films. These teen slasher/stalker films take the horror genre film characteristics into account, however they add more to the formula. More violence, sadism, brutality, and graphic blood and gore are used to increase the terror factor. Sexuality and gratuitous nudity are also key characteristic of many of these films. Imitations and numerous sequels are also a common characteristic of teen slasher/stalker films as well. A Nightmare on Elm Street and all of the following six sequels fall into its own sub-genre of the teen slasher/stalker sub-genre as well, know as the Nightmare on Elm Street Series. This series of films adds a new dimension to the typical teen slasher/stalker film, depth of character and story.

What makes a woman beautiful

Despite the movement of feminism, women in modern society are still seen as an object of beauty rather than given the respect of a human with emotions. As appearance Is considered an important quality In society today, women are placed under pressure to be physically appealing to both males and females. Women considered to be ‘hot' are generally those with a high sex-appeal or stunning physical appearance whereas being beautiful Is a lustrous characteristic not merely reliant on one's genes.Also, a bland or discourteous personality may override any physical appeal a woman may have. Likewise, a devoted, passionate and respectful personality can compensate for the lack of ‘perfect' features of a woman. However, people see beauty differently and completely relies on their individual interests. The physical appearance of a ‘hot' woman and the personality of a ‘beautiful' woman can't be compared. According to men, having large breasts, a glowing face and skin, bedr oom eyes, lean and sexy legs and a toned figure are among the physical attributes of an attractive woman .Therefore, virtually any woman can become ‘hot' simply by extreme diets, Intense exercise and plastic surgery. In turn, women focus on these ‘Important' attributes and forget Inner beauty. Inner beauty, difficult to appreciate with looks alone, Is what connects with people and Is referred to as that special something'. Being beautiful Is the way a woman walks, talks and presents herself to others. Some men believe having passion and being able to get excited over certain things, having the confidence to not owe her looks to anyone, not feeling the urge to fight for attention and being humble and mysterious is attractive.Intelligence of being able to logically speak her mind, have self-confidence, be impassioned and not crave the approval of others can be considered beautiful. Therefore, being beautiful is much more than a skin-deep quality, more like a unique quality to few. According to the urban Dictionary, being beautiful isn't limited to the physical features of a woman rather her personality traits and the way she acts around others. Beautiful Is a woman who has a distinctive personality, one who can laugh at anything, Including themselves, who Is especially kind and caring to others.She Is a woman who above all else knows the value of having fun, and not taking life o seriously. She is a woman that you can trust and count on to brighten your day. As the urban Dictionary is written by ordinary people, rather than language professionals, the meaning is relevant to society. Therefore, it proves society believes that beauty is a personality characteristic rather than a physical attribute. People Magazine's ‘sass's 10 most beautiful' beauty isn't limited to physical factors.Actress Gabrielle Union, who is among the 10 most beautiful, believes being beautiful consists of a friendly personality. As usual, the list consists of predominately stresses and models, and all of the women are physically appealing. However, every woman on the list believes that confidence and Individuality Is the key to beauty. They focus on themselves, their health and wellbeing and their confidence to ensure they are happy, which also contributes to their ‘perfect' physical appearance.These women are extremely fortunate in the aspect they have stunning physical features personalities are why they are considered in the list. However, the women mentioned in People Magazine's ‘sass's 10 most beautiful' are physically attractive as well as having appealing personalities. The magazine speculates possessing decent looks is needed to expose ones beautiful personality. The fact that physical appearance is highly regarded in modern society means a woman is pressured into craze diets and bizarre skin treatments to become reasonably attractive.Therefore, women seem to need a degree of physical attractiveness or be somewhat ‘hot' so t heir personality can be noticed and they can then be seen as beautiful. Most believe ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder' and is defined differently to each person. Everyone has a different interpretation of the meaning of beauty, whether it's merely physical or resonantly based or a mixture of both. Some believe that first appearances are important but not always critical. A physical attribute may lead to initial interaction but the woman's personality will maintain the attention of others.A woman with self- confidence and the ability to naturally attract the focus of those around her. She isn't selfish and has the passion to pursue her goals and ambitions. Certainly physical attributes are desired but a beautiful personality is more attractive than glossy hair or air-brushed makeup. Women who have shimmering hair, flawless skin, picture- reflect make-up and a glowing tan may have an uninteresting, horrible or obnoxious personality which dominates their attractive appearan ce.Although, a woman who doesn't chase the attention of others and has true self confidence and respect may become more an attractive personality as time passes. Hence, physical beauty becomes irrelevant to males if the personality of a woman is seen to be ugly. However, a woman may require rather good-looks otherwise her ‘beautiful' personality may not be recognized and appreciated. In conclusion, people perceive beauty differently which can make everyone seem ‘beautiful'.

Informative Analysis Essay

The purpose of an informative briefing is to enhance the audience’s knowledge about a specific topic in which the speaker is an expert. The goal of the presenter is to present clear-cut information in an interesting yet enlightening manner. The purpose of my speech was to enhance the audience’s awareness of what marijuana is, as well as to dispel many myths that exist around it that emanate from the fact that it is an illegal substance, causing often untrue information to be spread. The ultimate goal of my presentation was to leave the audience with a better understanding of what the plant actually is and how it may be of use to society. Introducing a topic during a presentation is one of, if not the, most difficult part of any speech. If the speaker does not draw the audience’s attention immediately, then they are, in effect, lost for the duration of the speech. I believe that my introduction was relatively effective because it introduced my topic in a way that most members of the class can most likely relate to. By asking the audience if they recognized the rolling paper, they were forced to focus on me as well as my question, which then introduced a relatively controversial topic. In doing so, I should have captured the attention of the audience. In reviewing my performance, however, it was clearly evident how nervous I was which hindered the eloquence of the introduction, making it less effective than I had planned and ultimately hoped for; it was, nonetheless, still effective in capturing the audience. As with any other presentation, the body of the speech followed the introduction. The body was organized in a manner that would logically suit the presentation. First, there was a brief description of what marijuana really is, which was actually quite important based on the purpose of the speech. Marijuana is most often referred to by one of the multitudes of street names that it has acquired and the purpose of the speech was to enhance the knowledge of the audience by presenting facts, not street information. Following the description was a point counter-point narrative of many of the myths surrounding marijuana usage and the truth behind those  myths. Next, I spoke about many of the federal studies that have occurred whose findings differ greatly with much of the propagandized information that is presented to the general population. The third major topic area that I covered was the potential that marijuana has for the business and financial world, as well as the repercussions tha t would ensue if marijuana was actually made into a legal plant and turned into an industry. Each of the major points was supported by numerous documented facts. In defining what marijuana is, I used the Common Sense for Drug Policy Foundations definition as well as other information that the site provided that enhanced the understanding of the defining characteristics of marijuana. After this, I spoke about the many studies that have occurred, such as the Schaffer Study conducted under the Nixon Administration, which I obtained information about from a book authored by Raymond Schaffer, the man who lead the study (the book was titled A Signal of Misunderstanding). I found that many of the other studies provided statistics that further enhanced the information provided in my speech because it described the ineffective nature of current policing policies as well as introduced the final portion of my presentation, which was the business aspects involved in the marijuana debate. The information provided by the national commission on marijuana and drug abuse was valuable in supporting my statement that there are business repercussions that could emanate from the use of marijuana. First, I stated how many users there are in the United States, followed by the extent of the crimes committed. Then, using information from an Associated press article entitled UN Estimates Drug Business Equal To 8% of World Trade, I described how the business world would most likely benefit from the legal use of marijuana. The basis of any conclusion is to tie up the presentation and basically re-cap what was presented. My conclusion was not as effective as I had hoped. My goal was to create a clincher, a final thought provoking, or at least interesting, point that would regain the audiences attention if it had been lost during the presentation. In attempting to do so, I was not  effective in summarizing the major points, nor was the clincher too effective. It seemed as if I was struggling to come up with an adequate clincher, which could have been avoided with more practice of the conclusion. Because I did not have a speech prepared, my eye contact was relatively effective in viewing the audience. Realistically, I should have looked up at the audience more, and for more sustained periods of time, but the lack of a composed speech forced me to look at the audience throughout the presentation. My vocal variation during the speech was sub-par. It was clearly evident that I was nervous throughout the speech and the voice was a reflection of my anxiety. In practicing the speech, I had used various intonations to emphasize certain points, but during my presentation I was, for the most part, speaking in a monotone. There were points where I did alter my vocal tone, but it was not frequent or effective enough. The speed and enunciation of the speech were adequate, but the volume of my voice and the general variation of tone in general could have been improved upon. Because I did not have any physical examples and no podium was set up, body movement was not necessarily appropriate. If we had been encouraged to walk around the front of the room or if there was a large physical example, then movement would have been appropriate. However, under the given circumstances and time restrictions, body movement was, personally, minimal because it was not overly necessary in the presentation of the information. As many of the other class members discovered, it was difficult to involve the class in the discussion. Few, if any, members of the class actively participated in any presentation, even if solely by asking questions. I believe that most of the class members have been confronted with my topic at some point or another during their lives, so even at an unspoken level most of my classmates must have at least related to the presentation. Again, my class is not overly participatory in any nature, so it is difficult to rate the amount of audience participation because, in general, the class does not participate unless there isn’t an alternative. Informative speeches are an effective method of enhancing an audiences knowledge of a given topic. They are purposeful and necessary, especially in  the upbeat modern world that requires quick and effective transference of information from one individual to another. Through the use of these speeches, a large amount of information can be provided to a room full of individuals in a relatively short amount of time. The information provided can then be used or applied immediately following the presentation. The goal of my informative speech was to enhance the audience’s knowledge about what marijuana really is, and how it can be used today to augment the way of life of our growing economy.