Effects of Teaching Methods on Accelerated Learning

Effects of Teaching Methods on Accelerated Learning Teaching techniques and their effectiveness in developing accelerated learning within UK schools and colleges Table of Contents (Jump to) 1. Research Background 2. Literature Review 3. Aims Objectives 4. Research Methodology Analysis References and Bibliography 1. Research Background The author of this report was taught using the traditional methods of teaching throughout the student life. The author came to know about a technique known as brain gym through an acquaintance and became aware of such techniques. This encouraged the author at a later stage to develop an understanding of accelerated learning and to see if it was considered effective by practitioners. Consequently, the author decided to base the dissertation on this topic within the context of English primary schools and colleges. After initiating the research the author realised that there was so much more to the topic of accelerated learning, and that there were numerous techniques associated with it that claimed to improve students learning. Hence the idea was to base the work on finding out how popular these teaching techniques were in relation to others and whether traditional teachers considered them effective. 2. Literature Review There is a huge amount of literature surrounding accelerated learning theory and different teaching techniques that claim to help develop students learning. In this section the author will make reference to a variety of techniques that are linked to accelerated learning theory but will discuss their perceived effectiveness in different situations while conducting the detailed literature review. While doing the complete literature review he author will also explore the current literature that describes the brains structure and how learning occurs, in order to help the readers understanding of how these various teaching technique help learning. Student centered education allow student to develop their real abilities by not distorting learning: this philosophy does not support traditional teaching techniques. The idea was originally conceived by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762. It was thought that we should not focus on what information to teach students (primarily student’s), but teach subjects and skills in accordance to what natural talents a student possesses. The student will then develop in to a life long learner as each of them develops through stages (Sutherland, 1988). This idea has been associated with current educational policy that encourages us to become life long learners. Learning is not just about academic knowledge but is an experience that should be positive if it is to be effective. The author will now cite some of the techniques that were identified during the preliminary literature review. Brain gym is one such technique that is used to promote learning and is supposed to be effective when used with academic skills. Brain gym is used in educational kinesiology (Edu-k). There are three main types of activity that promote different processes: Crossing the midline essential for writing and reading, Lengthening activities helps in expression of stored memory, skills such as test taking, speech and writing, Energy exercises helps to decrease stress and fatigue, increases the flow of energy around the body (Magidson, 2004, p.2). The ability to cross the midline refers to an individual being able to cross and use both hemispheres at once, where different types of information can be processed and moved from left to right and right to left. Some scientists suggest that this process is a key skill required for academic success (Dennison et al 1994). Brain gym activities have been created to help learners cross the midline in order to help improve co-ordination, breathing and stamina, enhance vision and hearing and improve spatial awareness (Cohen et al 2002). Skills that may improve include short-term memory and concentration (Drabben-Thiemann et al, 2001). There is some criticism of the technique because any form of physical activity seems to create a relaxed state (Adey et al, 2002). Target setting has been used to help individuals learn more effectively by organising information in to sections in the form of a target to be achieved. It is supposed to help the learner make sense of information and feel as if the task can be achieved in small steps. The brain stores information, and then retrieves it when appropriate in the form of memory. The short-term or working memory has limited capacity, compared to our long-term memory that is much greater (Prashnig, 1998). Learning tends to be more effective when spread out over a period of time with numerous revisits (Long, 2000). Target setting should review work regularly and be connected with other work if it is to enhance long-term memory; this requires consistency and the allocation of time to ensure the technique is effective. Like a placebo, if success is created in learning it is likely to be recreated in a similar experience (Stockwell, 1992). Target setting is suggested to be difficult to use in practice because the system is time consuming to set up (Naughton et al, 2001). VAK input technique uses different methods to present information and various activities to engage the students attention; depending on the way they prefer to process information. There are allegedly different types of learners: visual, auditory and kina-esthetic (Smith 1996). Neuro-lingusitic programming research has implied that in a class there are a certain percentage of learners who prefer one of the three types of input. Approximately 29% of learners prefer visual input methods, 34% auditory and 37% are kinaesthetic learners; teachers also subconsciously teach using their preferred method of input (IAL 2000). The traditional assumption that learning is more effective in a quiet atmosphere has been challenged by research conducted in to the effects of music on learning. Research in New Zealand implied that 40% of high school students preferred noisy environments to silent ones (Prashnig, 1998). When this technique is used in lessons it appears to stimulate activity in both hemispheres (Schuster el al, 1986). Educators need to be trained on what type of music has different effects on the state created in learners, if this technique is to be used (Northumberland LEA, 2004). Teachers tend to use a mixture of approaches depending on the situation in which they teach. Some are considered more effective than others, although each technique usually derives from a specific theory. There is an increasing amount of research being conducted on how we learn and what techniques may help. However one must remain cautious about how we apply these finding, because each one is dependent on the circumstances in which it was created. 3. Aims Objectives The primary aim of the research is to find out the different teaching techniques that are used and to determine if those associated with accelerated learning theory are popular, together with how effective they are in developing students learning. Additionally this dissertation will also provide with accurate, up-to-date, research-based information about possible future trends in accelerated learning techniques. And lastly, this research will try to provide possible suggestions and recommendations to be considered for the improvement of such techniques to develop ideas for further research in this context. To summarize some of the questions that will be addressed through this research are as follows: What teaching techniques are used to develop students learning? The need for such techniques to be used? Effectiveness and implications of such techniques? What are the possible alternatives? Student involvement in the use of such techniques? 4. Research Methodology Analysis A collection of methodologies will be used to carry out this research. Both primary and secondary data will be collected for this purpose. The secondary data will comprise of data from literature reviewed from books, journals, Internet and the annual reports of the institutions while the primary data will take the form of information/results collected from the case study and questionnaire. The researcher has chosen the Case study and Survey strategies for the research. Both of them are common and popular strategy in educational research. â€Å"A case study is a detailed examination of one setting, or one single subject, or one single repository of documents, or one particular event [Bogdan and Biklen, 1982].† Case study approach is categorized as ‘Non-Participant’ qualitative research. Therefore, the first stage of research will comprise of short listing of the educational institutions where the case studies will be carried out. The first criteria will be selecting those institutions that employ accelerated learning techniques. Educational institutions with traditional setting will also be included in the case study for comparative analysis. Survey research is one of the most widely used forms of research among the educational researchers. It involves researchers asking a large group of people questions about a particular topic. All surveys possess three basic characteristics: (1) the collection of information (2) from a sample (3) by asking a question. A survey can be carried out by conducting interviews with individuals or groups and use of questionnaires. In the second stage of the research the researcher will use a detailed questionnaire, testing quantitatively a much larger sample of teachers. Based on the initial literature review the author will prepare a preliminary questionnaire which be circulated to a small sample. Based on the results of the initial response the questionnaire will be refined and will be sent to a much larger sample. Research analysis will be done based on the method proposed by Hycner (1985). According to him, the analysis requires the researcher to read the transcripts; identify themes; confirm the accuracy of the interpretation and produce a final summary. Thus the information will be analyzed accordingly and a brief summary will be prepared. References Adey, P. Robertson, A. Venville, G. (2002) Effects of a cognitive acceleration programme on Year 1 pupils British Journal of Educational Psychology 72 (1) pp.1-25 Bogdan, R. and Biklen, S. (1982). Qualitative Research for education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Brain Gym International (ONLINE www.braingym.org). Burns, N., Grove, S. K. (1997). The practice of nursing research. Conduct, critique and utilization. Philadelphia: W.B.Saunders. Cannell, C. Fowler, F. J. Kalton, G. Oksenberg, E. Bischoping, K. (2004) New quantitative techniques for presenting survey questions in Bulmer M (ed) Questionnaires Volume IV Eondon: SAGE Publications Etd. Cohen, I. Goldsmith, M. (2002) Hands on how to use brain gym in the classroom Ventura: Edu-Kinesthetics Inc. Dennison, D. Dennison, G. (1994) Brain gym teachers edition revised 2 ed. Califonia: Edu-Kinesthetics Inc. Dennison, G. (2001) Brain gym for preschoolers in a Headstart Program USA: Brain Gym International (ONEINE http://www.braingym.org/). Drabben-Thiemann G Hedwig D Kenklies M Yon Blomberg A Marahrens G Marahrens A Hager K (2001) The effects of brain gym on the cognitive performance of Alzheimers patients Brain Gym Journal XVI (1) pp.10, USA: Brain Gym International (ONLINE www.braingym.org). Hycner, R H (1985) Some guidelines for the phenomenological analysis of interview data, Human Studies 8, 279-303 International Alliance for Learning (IAL) (2000) Spirit of accelerated learning; unity, self systems and society Atlanta: Teach America Cooperation. Long M (2000) The psychology of education London: RoutledgeFalmer, Magidson E L (2004) Educational kinesiology and brain gym. Creative Counseling Consulting (ONLINE http://members.aol.com/braingym/bg.htmr). Naughton G M Rolfe S A Siraj-Blatchford I (2001) International Perspectives on theory and practice Buckingham: Open University Press Northumberland LEA (2004) The thinking classroom Northumberland: LEA (ONLINE http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/). Prashnig B (1998) The power of diversity new ways of learning and teaching Stafford: Network Educational Press Ltd. Schuster D H Gritton C E (1986) Suggestive accelerative learning techniques London: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. Smith A (1996) Accelerated learning in the classroom Stafford: Network Educational Press Stockwell T (1992) Accelerated learning in theory and practice Liechtenstein: Druckerei Gutenburg AG Sutherland M (1988) Theory of education Harlow: Longman

Critical study of how music uniquely expands our understanding of experience Essay

Music has long existed in our society as a form of culture, entertainment and the like. In fact every civilization known to exist had had a great deal of benefits from music. There are lots of people who see music as nothing more than plain entertainment however there are those who holds in the claim that music gives us something more than entertainment per se. There are claims that music could affect us in a number of ways. Music has considerable effects on one’s mind, body and emotions. Music that are abundant in beats in a way could fuel one’s body, music carried out with feelings could affect one’s emotional status and could either make one cry with misery or laugh with joy, classical music could stimulate the mind, and so on and so forth. There are people who are greatly aware of the effects music could wrought on a person and this could greatly be seen on our everyday experiences. Movies, films, news, see the importance and know the effects music could have on every individual and thus music is key parts in every movie made nowadays. Have you ever seen a movie that doesn’t have an original sound track or a movie that did not make use of background music? Ever seen a documentary and the like who did not use music in the background while portraying the videos or documents they have? Having seen some of the uses music could have it may now suffice to say that music is indeed an important aspect in our lives and it plays fundamental role in today’s society (as well as on societies which existed thousand of years ago). As was stated music is an essential part of every culture, of every society and thus it is of no surprise that music is seen as a part of our everyday routines. Music could have fundamental effects on one’s emotion. Think of an instance wherein certain music affected you emotionally. Say you heard a certain song and it evoke within you some sort of emotions like pain, happiness and the like. I remember for an instance a conversation I have had with a friend of mine. He always loves to listen to the lyrics of Ever After of Bonnie Bailey and Come Around by Rhett Miller. He told me that he love listening to Ever After because that used to be their theme song (of his ex girlfriend) and he loves singing Come around because he can relate to that particular song. Thus, seemingly music indeed has certain effects on our emotions. I even remember claiming that my friend is such a masochist because he loves listening to sad songs such as Come Around when he has a choice to do otherwise. Similarly music has certain ways of affecting one’s mood. However it is not really known how do music affects a person physiologically and psychologically as well. Thus, a question may arise as to how do certain music affects a person’s mood. In order to determine how music affects a person’s mood one must first know the root as to how music inspires a person’s emotion. There are two contrasting viewpoints who tried to answer this particular puzzle. These views are called emotivist and cognitivist. For an emotivist they believe in the notion that we feel certain emotions as a form of response everytime we hear certain music. The cognitivist on the other hand believes otherwise. The cognitivists believes that there is more to humans than emotions and thus they believe that we get to decode certain musical emotions on a rational level, thus it shows that the cognitivists do not really believe that we really get to experience musical emotions. In order to see whether the beliefs of the emotivists are correct or not an experiment needs to be conducted in order to see if there are certain music models which could draw out coherent physiological reactions from different kinds of people. This experiment is needed in order for us to see if we really do experience emotions when exposed to a particular music. It is in this regard that a study had been conducted by Krumhansl wherein two groups of student were used. These particular groups of students each partake different activities. The activity went as follow: One group of 40 students dynamically rated the levels of sadness, fear, happiness, and tension in six sample pieces intended to evoke sadness, fear, or happiness. They did so by adjusting a slider on a computer while the music was playing. A separate group, consisting of 38 college students, was hooked up to physiological sensors monitoring a variety of cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory responses which recorded their change over time. Both groups heard the six musical samples with a 90-second pause in between each. The physiological measures taken from the second group were compared with the degree of sadness, fear, happiness, and tension reported by the first group. Both the physiological measures and emotional ratings were recorded as they changed during the course of the piece. Therefore, correlations could be drawn between the intensity of certain emotions and physiological symptoms. (Boswell) The results shown by the experiment was in accordance to the side of the emotivists. Each of the musical selections was rated as having the intended emotion, and consistent physiological responses were found for each measured emotion: sad music was correlated with a decreased heart rate, lowered finger temperature, increased blood pressure, and decreased skin conductance level; happy music with faster and shallower breathing, and fear-invoking music with a slower pulse, faster breathing, and decreased finger temperature. These effects were consistent during the duration of the pieces. (Boswell) This is further proof that the emotivists position was indeed supported by the said experiment. The fact that there was a coherent physiological modification that was produced by the different music used in the said experiment were behavioral evidence enough that those college students indeed experienced certain emotions all throughout the time they were exposed to the music used. This result contradicted the claim that emotions could only be transmitted once a person gets to recognize a certain passage present within a particular music. Another study was made by Sloboda. Sloboda attempted to identify the exact musical composition which brings about definite physical emotional responses. Examples of the said responses are tears, trembling, and the like. The study made use of questionnaire which was dispersed to five hundred British citizens. However, only eighty-three persons send back the survey. It is an important thing to know that those eighty-three persons who answered the survey were experts in terms of music, particularly classical music. The said survey had went on as follow: Participants were instructed to indicate the frequency with which they experienced certain physical responses as an effect of music within the last five years, as well as the piece of music and, if possible, the specific part of the piece or musical event that provoked it. In addition, they were asked to say whether the response was consistently evoked. (Boswell) A huge number of the partakers claimed that they were able to experience certain physical emotional responses such as mirth, trembling, tears, lump in their throats and the like for the last five years of their lives. However the survey showed that women are more prone to experiencing tears as compared to men. Men on the other hand, especially those already on their thirties, claimed that they experienced more laughter than compared to other age. Just as was the case on the experiment conducted by Krumhansl, the survey conducted by Sloboda also showed a great deal of consistency to each piece of music they were exposed to. This particular survey also showed the extent of the consistency in that the reactions remained consistent even though they have heard the certain musical piece for more than fifty times. A further point of interest is that there are particular melodic constructions which showed to have consistent effects upon the partakers of the said survey. Appogiaturas for one were consistent in bringing tears into surface. The experiment also showed that a series of changes in terms of harmony incite trembling, whereas quickening brought about faster heart beats. However, if there is a certain drawback in the said study is the fact that it was conducted with the use of questionnaires. We could have no way of knowing if the person who answered it had answered truthfully or if s/he is merely bluffing. Thus, in a way we have no way of making sure that the partakers of the said survey indeed experienced the particular emotions and physical responses they reported they have experienced for the past five years. Another factor is the fact that those who participated in the survey were all expert on the field of music and thus we could not really deduct from this survey alone that the rest of the world would also act or feel the same way. However there are certain studies which had been conducted which show that very little difference exists between those who have musical expertise and those who have none. In addition, the records stated by the partakers of the said survey regarding their experiences of physical signs of emotions are not really unusual. Thus, in a way we could say that the study conducted by Sloboda also supported the position held by the emotivists. We should also take into account the fact that the physical responses reported by the survey partakers are in fact common in all human beings since we all share the same autonomic response system. However, we should also take note of the fact that our capability to utilize the said system in order for us to feel or experience certain emotions brought about by music is in a way, a learned process. This particular claim is supported by the fact that very young children do not really get to experience the said responses. Even those adults who have different kinds of music as compared to ours are not likely capable to experience the said responses brought about by the music we listen into. Thus, Sloboda claimed that the link between musical compositions and emotions is a learned process which is also dependent on one’s culture. However, this does not necessitate that we do not really get to experience or fell certain emotions from listening to certain music. It only tells us that we may not be able to relate nor are we likely to experience certain emotions from listening to other music that are completely different from ours. Fact is, Sloboda even claimed that if we are to be exposed to music completely different from ours we could still get to relate to that music although it would take time. Therefore even though the link between musical compositions and emotions is a learned process, evidences and studies still show the stand held by the emotivists that we are indeed capable of feeling or experiencing certain emotions simply by listening to a particular music. Thus those who participated in the studies conducted have steadily testified that they have indeed experienced true emotions when they listened to certain music. The researches conducted also accounted for the fact that very little difference in terms of recognizing emotions could be seen between those who have musical expertise and those who have none. Thus this accounted for the emotivists view that we could indeed experience certain emotions simply by listening to certain music, although it is still not clear what inclines us to be affected in certain ways. Research conducted claims that there is really no ground in saying that somewhere in our brains there could be located a region dedicated mainly to process musical data. In contrary, the errand of musical processing is extended to the whole region of our brains. Thus whereas the right brain is responsible for the emotions evoked while listening to music, the left brain is quite responsible for looking at music in a more rational ground thus it tends to critically examine music. There are even proofs which show that the primeval region within our mid brain is the one responsible for our emotions we experience while listening to music. Thus a primeval region within our midbrain engages itself with the task of realizing and appreciating music in an emotional way. However, the specific region wherein music is being developed (if ever there is one) is yet to be known. A study which involves this particular interest was conducted by Schmidt and Trainor. Schmidt and Trainor studied whether or not frontal brain electrical activity correlated with intensity and positivity or negativity, or valence, of emotion. The study showed that the left frontal brain is the one responsible for experiencing positive emotions whereas the right frontal brain is the one responsible for experiencing negative emotions. Thus, emotions such as happiness, interests and the like are product of the left frontal brain whereas emotions such as horror, revulsion, pain and the like were made by the right frontal brain. Therefore it would suffice for us to say that when listening to happy tunes our left frontal brain is likely to be triggered whereas listening to desolate songs would trigger our right frontal brain. It also follows that the intensity of music could affect the intensity of the frontal activity. The hypothesis stated above had already been confirmed. A careful selection of music which would likely draw out positive emotions triggered the left frontal brain whereas a careful selection of music which would likely draw negative emotions triggered the right frontal brain. Thus, the frontal activity of the brain increases every time the intensity of certain music also increases. Thus in a way this is also another proof which supports the emotivist view that listening to certain music could make a person experience certain emotions. Thus a similarity between music and language could be seen. Both language and music alike is inclined to be interpreted subconsciously. Thus, this seems to show that humans have a biological structure which enables music to draw emotions from each of us. And though this particular structure is yet to be known, researchers concluded that the said structure is not composed of a single area on the brain. On the contrary, researchers believe that such structure is made up of an interaction of the different systems which could be found within our brain. It is due to music’s many uses that music is also deemed to have considerable effects on the field of medicine. There are certain accounts taken from the Bible, artifacts, as well as studies that show that music could have considerable effects on a person’s health and well-being. In fact, there are historical inscriptions taken from Egypt, Greek, China and other known civilizations which praise music’s ability in medical matters. Music is widely considered to have medical importance and it is in this regard that music even such a term such as music therapy. After World War II the United States of America even see to it that music therapy would be used on wounded soldiers who were tormented by physical as well as emotional traumas taken from the war. Physicians and nurses alike saw how music helped alleviate some of the soldiers or veterans pain by merely engaging themselves on musical activities. It is on this regard that hospitals started employing musicians to help better their patients’ status. Music had been very helpful in bettering the patient’s emotional as well as psychological status and as many people learned of these certain benefits derived from music, National Association for Musical Therapy came to existence. The need for musical therapy became wide range to the point that the National Association for Musical Therapy or NAMT allied themselves to other musical organizations which in turn resulted into the foundation of the American Music Therapy Association or AMTA. The ranges of music therapy vary widely in that it not only caters to emotional sickness since it also proved to be beneficial in sickness suffered under physical injuries. Music therapy helped people in terms of their perceiving pains. There are a number of reasons why they consider music as an effectual means in limiting perceived pains. First, music could divert a person’s mind from the pain at hand or from the pain a person perceives. Second, music could help in terms of giving a person some kind of control. Thirdly, music could help counter pain since it could help a person in releasing endorphins which are necessary in giving a person some sense of well-being. Fourth, slow music could help a person in terms of relaxation in that it slows a person’s breathing. Take a person with leukemia for an example. Let’s say Person A needs to undergo a certain surgery necessary to cure his leukemia. One should admit that surgical procedures are indeed frightening and thus Person A could not help but be afraid of what’s on store for him and thus Person A’s blood pressure continues to rise and this in turn has a crucial effect on Person A’s healing process. This particular thing could also heighten Person A’s awareness or perception of pain. One’s pain could not be measure by anyone and thus there is no standard in terms of the amount of pain a person could have. It is in this manner that music therapy comes into the picture. We have already enumerated the reasons why music therapy is considered beneficial in medicine and thus in this manner one could be lead to speculate that music therapy could indeed lessen one’s pain perception because it could work in certain ways in order to lessen a person’s perceived pain. Disturbance or diversion could help in certain ways in lessening one’s sense perception and thus it could help moderate the pain a person undergoes. This pain moderation could be redirected to the cognitive section which could be seen in the Gate-Control Theory of Pain. Pleasant music naturally applies or concentrates on a person’s pleasant stimulus which in turn concerns the capability of the information processing system. Since the music would be busy attending to the pleasant stimulus of a person it naturally follows that the person’s occupation would be diverted from the pain-causing stimulus. It is ion this regard that music is considered important in distracting a person because distraction presents a person with an escape by means of imagination which in turn is a crucial means in lessening stress, nervousness and fear which are important factors which constitutes pain. Thus enjoyable imagination could promote some sense of control to a person which could decrease a person’s nervousness and feeling of being powerless. Thus since music helps transfer our attention away from painful experiences it provides us with a strategy we could use when we undergo painful experiences, may it be physically or emotionally.

Bank of England Essay

The Bank of England, is the central bank of the United Kingdom . Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world, and the world’s 8th oldest bank if you include commercial banks. It was established to act as the English Government’s banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for the U.K Government, the Bank was privately owned and operated from its foundation in 1694 but it was nationalised in 1946. The bank of England has about  £156 billion pounds worth of gold ingots as a backup if people start to ask for their money back , the bank also acts a custodian for other counties gold, including Germanys and various other counties. History The establishment of the bank was devised by Charles Montagu, Earl of Halifax, in 1694.He suggested loan of  £1.2m to the government; in return the subscribers would be incorporated as The Governor and Company of the Bank of England with long-term banking privileges including the issue of notes. The Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694. Public finances were in poor a condition at the time that the terms of the loan were that it was to be serviced at a rate of 8% per year, and there was also a service charge of  £4,000 per year for the management of the loan. The first governor was Sir John Houblon, who is depicted in the  £50 note issued in 1994. The Bank’s original home was in Walbrook in the City of London, unitl it moved to its current location on Threadneedle Street, and thereafter slowly acquired neighbouring land to create the bulding seen today. When the idea and reality of the National Debt came about during the 18th century this was also managed by the bank. By the charter renewal in 1781 it was also the bankers’ bank – keeping enough gold to pay its notes on demand until 26 February 1797 when war had so diminished gold reserves that the government prohibited the Bank from paying out in gold. This prohibition lasted until 1821. The 1844 Bank Charter Act tied the issue of notes to the gold reserves and gave the bank sole rights with regard to the issue of banknotes. Private banks which had previously had that right retained it, provided that their headquarters were outside London and that they deposited security against the notes that they issued. A few English banks continued to issue their own notes until the last of them was taken over in the 1930s During the period which lasted from 1920 to 1944, the Bank made deliberate efforts to move away from commercial banking and become a central bank. In 1946 the bank was nationalised by the Labour government. On 6 May 1997, following the 1997 general election which brought a Labour government to power for the first time since 1979, it was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, that the Bank of England would be granted operational independence over monetary policy. Under the terms of the Bank of England Act 1998 which came into force on 1 June 1998. Location The Bank’s headquarters has been located in London’s main financial district, the City of London, on Threadneedle Street, since 1734. The busy road junction outside is known as Bank junction as well as the tube terminal called ‘Bank’. Employees The bank currently employees around 1900 people. Sir Mervyn King is the most executive figure within the bank, he then has two deputies under him who are called Charles Bean and Paul Tucker, there are then 10 directors under them responsible for the everyday decisions of the bank and its subsidiaries. Functions of the Bank The Bank of England performs all the functions of a central bank. The most important of these is supposed to be maintaining price stability and supporting the economic policies of the British Government, thus promoting economic growth. There are two main areas which are tackled by the Bank to ensure it carries out these functions efficiently. Monetary stability – stable prices and confidence in the currency are the two main criteria for monetary stability. Stable prices are maintained by making sure price increases meet the Government’s inflation target. The Bank aims to meet this target by adjusting the base interest rate, which is decided by the Monetary Policy Committee, and through its communications strategy, such as publishing yield curves. Financial stability -maintaining financial stability involves protecting against threats to the whole financial system. Threats are detected by the Bank’s surveillance and market intelligence functions. The threats are then dealt with through financial and other operations, both at home and abroad. In exceptional circumstances, the Bank may act as the lender of last resort by extending credit when no other institution will. The Bank of England has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales. Scottish and Northern Irish banks retain the right to issue their own banknotes, but they must be backed one to one with deposits in the Bank of England, excepting a few million pounds representing the value of notes they had in circulation in 1845. Since 1998, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has had the responsibility for setting the official interest rate. However, with the decision to grant the Bank operational independence, responsibility for government debt management was transferred to the new UK Debt Management Office in 1998, which also took over government cash management in 2000. The Bank used to be responsible for the regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries, although this responsibility was transferred to the Financial Services Authority in June 1998. After the financial crises in 2008 new banking legislation transferred the responsibility for regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries back to the Bank.

Written English - Definition and Examples

Written English is the way in which the English language is transmitted through a conventional system of graphic signs (or letters). Compare to spoken English. The earliest forms of written English were primarily the translations of Latin works into English in the ninth century. Not until the late fourteenth century (that is, the late Middle English period) did a standard form of written English begin to emerge. According to Marilyn Corrie in The Oxford History of English (2006), written English has been characterized by relative stability during the Modern English period. Early Written English [T]he vast majority of books and manuscripts produced in England before the invention of printing were written in Latin or (in later times) French. Administrative documents were not written in English in any number until the fourteenth century. The story of early written English is one of a local vernacular language struggling to achieve a distinct visual identity and written usage.(David Graddol et al., English: History, Diversity, and Change. Routledge, 1996)[A] new standard form of written English, this time based on the usage of London, began to emerge from the fifteenth century onwards. This was generally adopted by the early printers, who in turn provided a norm for private usage from the sixteenth century onwards.(Jeremy J. Smith, Essentials of Early English. Routledge, 1999) Recording Functions of Written English The history of writing in the English-speaking world reveals a balancing act between competing recording functions of the written word. While written English has always had a role in creating durable records that were never intended to be read aloud, the oral side of writing has been far more important than we tend to realize. Through most of the languages history, an essential function of writing has been to aid in subsequent representation of spoken words. Overwhelmingly, those spoken words have been formal in character--drama, poetry, sermons, public speeches. ( . . . [B]eginning in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, writing developed a new set of quintessentially written functions with the emergence of newspapers and novels.)In the latter part of the twentieth century, a new twist was added, as writing increasingly came to represent informal speech. This time, there was no intention of later rendering such texts aloud. Gradually, we learned to write as we spoke (rather tha n preparing to speak as we wrote). As a result weve generally blurred older assumptions that speech and writing are two distinct forms of communication. Nowhere has this muddying of boundaries been more apparent than in the case of email.(Naomi S. Baron, Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolved and Where Its Heading. Routledge, 2000) Writing and Speech When writing developed, it was derived from and represented speech, albeit imperfectly . . ..To affirm the primacy of speech over writing is not, however, to disparage the latter. If speaking makes us human, writing makes us civilized. Writing has some advantages over speech. For example, it is more permanent, thus making possible the records that any civilization must have. Writing is also capable of easily making some distinctions that speech can make only with difficulty. We can, for example, indicate certain types of pauses more clearly by the spaces that we leave between words when we write than we ordinarily are able to do when we speak. Grade A may well be heard as gray day, but there is no mistaking the one phrase for the other in writing.(John Algeo and Thomas Pyles, The Origins and Development of the English Language, 5th ed. Thomson Wadsworth, 2005) Standard Written English Standard or standardized written English (SWE). Its alive and well in our culture, but what does it mean? Many varieties of English get into print in various contexts, but standard doesnt refer to all of them--not even to everything published in mainstream books and magazines. It refers only to one slice of mainstream writing--but an incredibly important and powerful slice: the slice that people happen to call correct edited written English. When people champion Standard Written English, they sometimes call it proper or correct or literate writing. . . . [I]ts a language that is found only on paper--and only in the texts of certain established writers, and its rules are in grammar books. So again: standardized written English (or prescriptive written English) is no ones mother tongue.(Peter Elbow, Vernacular Eloquence: What Speech Can Bring to Writing. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012)Unlike most other kinds of English, standard written English is strongly codified. That is, there is almost total agreement as to which forms and usages form part of it and which do not. . . .Mastery of standard written English is a requirement for many professions, and it is highly desirable in many others. But nobody comes naturally equipped with this mastery. Standard written English has to be acquired, usually by formal education. Sadly, however, in recent years schools in most English-speaking countries have pulled back from teaching this material. As a result, even university graduates with good degrees often find themselves with a command of standard English that is at best inadequate and at worst distressing. This is not a trivial problem, since a poor command of the conventions of standard English will often make a very bad impression on those who must read your writing.(Robert Lawrence Trask, Say What You Mean!: A Troubleshooters Guide to English Style and Usage. David R. Godine, 2005)