Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution There has been a murder in 1950s England. Miss Emily French, a woman approaching age 60, was found dead in her house on Friday October the 14th. Her housekeeper was away that evening and Miss Emilys   only other friend, Leonard Vole, was the last person to see her alive. The murder occurred at approximately 9:30 at night. Leonard Vole insists he was at his own home at that time, however the housekeeper, Janet Mackenzie, says she heard him speaking with Miss Emily French at 9:25 when Janet briefly returned home to pick up a sewing pattern. Leonard Vole has retained the services of a solicitor, Mr. Mayhew, and barrister, Sir Wilfred Robarts, QC. Leonard Vole is an extremely likeable man with a story that could either be 1.) the most believable tale of a nice man down on his luck who made friends with an older woman or 2.) the perfect set-up for the chance to inherit close to a million pounds. When Miss Emily French’s last will and testament names Leonard as the sole beneficiary of her estate, it seems Leonard will be found guilty. Only Leonard’s wife, Romaine, has a chance of persuading the jury of Leonard’s innocence. But Romaine has a few secrets and a hidden agenda of her own and she isn’t sharing the details with anyone. Production Details Setting: Sir Wilfred Robart’s offices, English Courtroom Time: 1950s Cast Size: This play can accommodate 13 actors with numerous non-speaking small roles as the jury and courtroom attendants. Male Characters: 8 Female Characters: 5 Characters that could be played by either males or females: 0 Content Issues:  Stabbing Roles Carter is Sir Wilfred’s clerk. He is an older gentleman who prides himself on keeping good time and good order of his boss’s offices. Greta is Sir Wilfred’s typist. She is described as â€Å"adenoidal† and flighty. She is easily distracted by the people who come into the office, especially if she has read about them in the newspaper. Sir Wilfred Robarts, QC is the well-respected barrister on Leonard Vole’s case. He prides himself on reading people and their intentions perfectly the first time he meets them. He is knowledgeable and puts genuine effort into each case he tries. Mr. Mayhew is the solicitor on Leonard Vole’s case. He assists Sir Wilfred in office work and provides another pair of eyes and ears to examine the evidence and consider strategies. His knowledge and opinions are invaluable assets for the case. Leonard Vole appears to be the all-around good-natured sort of man one would enjoy befriending. He has dreams and aspirations that will not come to fruition in his current financial situation, but he is not a complainer. He has the ability to endear himself to anyone, especially to women. Romaine is Leonard’s wife. Their marriage is not technically legal, as she is still married (on paper) to a man from her native Germany. Although Leonard insists that Romaine loves him and is devoted to him, she is a difficult woman to read. She has her own agenda and is skeptical that anyone will be able to help her. Mr. Myers, QC is the prosecuting barrister. He and Sir Wilfred, who often find themselves opposite one other in court, have a contentious relationship and. Both manage to keep civil tongues and behave when they appear in front of the judge, but their mutual animosity is evident. Mr. Justice Wainwright is the judge in Leonard Vole’s case. He is fair and handles the barristers and witnesses with a firm hand. He is not above inserting his opinion or telling a story if need be. Janet Mackenzie was Miss Emily French’s housekeeper and companion for twenty years. She has an unyielding personality. She is not charmed by Leonard Vole and has a very dim opinion of him as a person. Other Smaller Roles and Non-speaking Roles Inspector Hearne Plain Clothes Detective Third Juror Second Juror Foreman of the Jury Court Usher Clerk of the Court Alderman Judge’s Clerk Court Stenographer Warder Barristers (6) Policeman Dr. Wyatt Mr. Clegg The Other Woman Production Notes Set. The two must-have sets for Witness for the Prosecution are Sir Wilfred’s office and the courtroom. For this show – no minimalistic approaches. The sets ought to be built and dressed according to resemble a formal barrister’s office and courtroom of the time period. Costumes must be period specific and of note are the traditional wigs and robes worn in British courtrooms by the barristers, judges, and solicitors. Because the time span of the play is six weeks, some actors will need several costume changes. The playwright provides a specific note on doubling up the roles actors may play in order for smaller casts to still achieve the â€Å"spectacle† of the courtroom. She offers a template for the roles that may be reduced or be cast by the using the same actor. This template is available in the script offered from Samuel French. However, Christie stresses that the same actress that plays Greta should not play the role of â€Å"The Other Woman.† Even though the two characters never appear onstage at the same time, Christie does not want the audience to think that it is part of the plot and that Greta is in fact The Other Woman. Christie goes on to offer suggestions that â€Å"local amateurs† be used to fill out the courtroom scene or even that the audience be invited to sit on the stage. Playwright Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976) is beloved and renowned mystery writer from England. She is best known for her novels and such characters as Miss Marple, Hercule Pirot, and Tommy and Tuppence. Her stories focus on mysteries and murder; where the truth is found in the details and the characters are never who they first appear to be. Her play Mousetrap claims the title of longest running play with a production history that spans over 60 years. Agatha Christie is so prolific and popular that only Shakespeare and the Bible have only outsold her works. Samuel French holds the production rights for Witness for the Prosecution.

Organisations need strong culture. Consider this statementin relation Essay

Organisations need strong culture. Consider this statementin relation to how we understand and makesense of culture in the post-bureaucratic era - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to explain the mainstream approach to organization culture. Here the managers always work to maintain right values, ethics, code of conduct and norms. Culture is the top priority for organizations where culture management, ensuring employees to follow the organization’s culture leading to organizational success. Values, norms and ethics vary among organizations when organizations are treated as different states. All of these organizations have different value sets and norms leading to differing systems and structures (Brewis, 2007). Culture, therefore, provides a common sense to the organization that enables the human resource to delineate ways to how to act and when and where to act. Organizational culture is responsible for bringing an organization to life as all the strategies, policies, regulations must be synchronized with the culture and the employees and managers (the alive participants) of the organization keeps the culture alive by following it. Organizational culture is therefore written and stored in the form of job descriptions, procedures, strategies etc. But if there arises a conflict between the documented and the practiced norms, values, and beliefs practiced within an organization, serious conflicts may occur leading to disastrous effects. The people will drift away from the formal rules at workplace. Organizational culture comprises of values and sets of beliefs that directly and predominantly originate from people’s minds identified as cultural artefacts (Brewis, 2007). Cultural artefacts are somewhat tangible and more material embodiment of organizational culture consisting of: According to Schein, among the three levels of culture, artefacts forms the tip of the iceberg, that is the visible part keeping hence, the two other parts way behind and hidden beneath. Values refer to answering questions such as what we are

Teachers Education in Pakistan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Teachers Education in Pakistan - Essay Example Politics between staff members is a major concern; the social background of teachers is not taken into consideration since in a city like Karachi, the population is made of people from varying social backgrounds Time and again, the article refers to its concept framework and the advantages of its implementation, but it fails to go into further depths of the matter. In a progressive countr...y like Pakistan, there are more complex situations at the core of an educational system. Tensions in Teacher Training for School Effectiveness: The Case of PakistanLynn Davies &ZafarIqbal (July 1997) School Effective Research (SER) has emerged from virtual total obscurity to a now central position in the educational discourse that is taking place within countries (Teddies and Reynolds, 2000). In the light of this discourse, the article considered whether efficiency of schools is implicated by the influence of teacher training. Pakistan’s case study is exceptional since it continues teacher training, while increasing the autonomy of institutions. However, the inclusion may create strain and conflict to the research. The research is based on questionnaires answered by pre-service and in-service students and their tutors in a co-educational teacher training college. However, it shows that there were irregularities in the findings. The answers filled by the tutors did not match with those of the students. The problems highlighted were specific to the ones faced by the trainee in order to establish the relationship between the inefficiency of teachers’ training, and the mediocre performance of the trainee at work. It purposes to explain how teachers themselves are not 'autonomous learners' or 'reflective practitioners', and this particular attitude will trickle down to their students. Therefore, there is little or none evaluation of the current educational system and few propose to change it. The point that one particular case of training college cannot generalize t he effectiveness in other parts of Pakistan is good evaluation. If we understood how those effective teachers teach, and how they came to learn to

Quality of Life Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quality of Life - Assignment Example Diabetes commonly referred to as a diabetes mellitus is a group of biological metabolic diseases associated with blood pressure, frequent urination, increased hunger and increased thirst. If not checked and managed early, can lead to many other complications such as cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, stroke among others. The inability of insulin hormone to function normally has adverse effects on the metabolism protein, carbohydrate and fat. This is because insulin encourages storage of protein and fat thus considered an anabolic hormone. A relative insulin deficiency ultimately leads to weight loss, even though; there is an increase in appetite. Some untreated patients of diabetes also complain of fatigue, vomiting and nausea (Peacock, 2000). Patients with diabetes are probable to developing infections of the skin, bladder and vaginal regions. In addition, fluctuations in blood glucose levels can lead to blurred vision. Extremely elevated sugar level can lead to lethargy and coma. Potentially reversible diabetes conditions are such as pre-diabetes — when ones blood sugar levels are higher above normal, but not high enough to be considered as diabetes. The body does not produce insulin hormone. Some people could refer to this type as insulin-dependent condition of diabetes or juvenile diabetes. Individuals normally develop type 1 diabetes just before their 40th year, often in early adulthood or youthful years. There are two known kinds of diabetes type 1 and type 2. Type 1diabetes is nowhere closer as common as type 2 diabetes. About 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1. However, Type 2 starts with insulin resistance; normally cells fail to respond to insulin well. As the condition progresses, deficiency of insulin may also develop. The diabetes complications are biologically related to blood vessel conditions and are normally classified into small vessel conditions or diseases, such as those connecting

Ethical Issues in Emotional Intelligence Research

Ethical Issues in Emotional Intelligence Research Emotional intelligence Abstract This paper tries to explore major aspects of emotional intelligence (EI), based on the book the emotionally intelligent workplace by Cherniss and Goleman. In this paper various aspects of EI are examined including various methods emotional intelligence can be applied in solving misunderstandings between two colleagues working in a company together with addressing the discomforts caused by the misunderstanding among them. Various implications that come with the inability to apply emotional intelligence techniques well are also addressed. In trying to understand and restore emotional intelligence various ethical issues are usually raised especially where a misunderstanding exists between two co-workers. This paper tries to analyze some of those ethical issues that might arise. Keyword: emotional intelligence. In the case study an employee Paula who is a recent college graduate is being harassed by a Richard, who is her fellow collogue. However much she tries to ignore the advancements they eventually begin disrupting her from her duties both at work and at home. Later Steve who is her boss realizes that and upon engaging with her she explains everything to him. So it is now upon Steve to dictate relevant way forward to create an emotional intelligent workplace for both Paula and Richard. Alternative solutions to address the dilemma In cases where there are no clear company’s policy against harassment in the workplace it would be advisable that the company’s leaders consider coming up with a policy advocating against harassment. With this measure in place then they should make it known to all employees about the anti-harassment policy and the consequences that come with going against the policy. The employer should also make known to all employees on how to react in the event a harassment case occurs. This includes giving employees guidelines on who to report the grievances to. In cases where harassment cases do not cease then the company’s management may call the two involved parties and encourage them to negotiate among themselves. This gives the accused a better chance to explain themselves incase their actions were misjudged by the complainant. In case the accused and the complainant agree and reconcile then the whole matter is considered solved and their duties resume as normal. The reconciliations may be in presence of a member of the company’s management or between the involved parties only. If this does not fix the problem then formal or informal measures can be taken on the employee going against the policy. Informal measures include where both the complainant and the accused in this case Paula being the complainant and Richard being the accused are called together and the accusations against the accused are presented to him/her. This could be in the presence of a senior in the company or a panel formed to investigate the matter. During the informal meeting the accused is given the chance to defend himself/herself. In the event that the accused is found guilty the complainant or the seniors may choose to warn against further harassment or choose to punish the accused according to the company’s policy. Formal measures include where the complainant presents a written complaint to the relevant authorities in the company. The authorities then conduct a formal investigation into the allegations and come up with a conclusion. After the results of the investigation are analyzed necessary measures are taken on the accused if guilty including getting fired from the job or forwarding them to the federal authorities. In the event that the accused is innocent then the complainant is cautioned against false accusations and or necessary action is taken against them. Potential ethical concerns raised In situations where harassment cases are reported various ethical concerns are inevitable. These concerns may be made known to others or the parties involved may choose to keep it to their selves. The concerns constitute what specific parties describe to as the harassment and may be physical, verbal or non-verbal. Physical concerns include where the accused physically acts inappropriately on the complainant for example instances where the accused touches the complainant in a sexual way or assaults the complainant physically. At times physical assault may lead to the complainant getting injured or result to fights. Verbal concerns arise where the accused says various things considered by the complainant to be inappropriate for example suggestive comments about someone’s body parts especially the private parts. Verbal concerns may also arise from instances that the accused verbally insults or says nasty things about the complainant. Non-verbal concerns include the way the accused looks at the complainant, or the way they generally behave around them. These concerns may be genuine or arise from misinterpreted actions from the accused since some people do behave in a way they assume is appropriate although to others the actions are of irritating nature. Potential emotional intelligence Ramifications to an organization In some cases the authorities of certain organizations fail to take steps that ensure emotional intelligence in the work place. The failure to ensure emotional intelligence of all workers has numerous ramifications to the company’s production, output and general working environment. Sexual harassment for example causes great discomfort to the workers. With the workers not comfortable it is likely that the production will not be at the very best since their concentration is not clearly on the job but rather on the insecurities they face. Time too is wasted on cases between co-workers. The time wasted is hardly recoverable thus it contributes highly to failure of production in the organization. When the company’s management does not exercise control on the employees’ emotional behavior then it is hard for them to control how the employees execute their designated duties. An organization with no clear hierarchy of order execution cannot perform its desired duties to the fullest since all the employees think as if they are on the same hierarchy level with their seniors since they do not display their supreme mandates in handling employees’ disputes. Some employees decide to sue an organization in instances where harm has come to them at the work places. This law suits use up the organization’s money is in fines and legal fees. Even if the organization wins the case against the complainant the organization’s name is tarnished to a certain extent. With all this factors in mind it is advisable that the managers of various organizations ensure emotional intelligence in their workplaces to ensure the wellbeing of the organization and maximum output contributing to major financial gains. References Deckop, J. R. (2005) Human Resource Management Ethics. Information age publishing co; U.S.A. Print Cherniss, C Goleman, D. (2001) The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select For, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. Jossey-bass; San Francisco. Print.

Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice Essay -- Anne Rices Memnoch the Devil

Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice Killing, kidnapping and battles, all parts of Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice. The main character, Lestat, is a well-known and flamboyant vampire. In Memnoch the Devil, Lestat is faced with a grim reality, causing his world to collapse around him. He learns throughout this book, about the world, and the divine forces that encircle the world’s existence. This book illustrates how Lestat’s morals, ignorance and understanding are greatly affected by outside forces. In the beginning of the book, Lestat, the quick and cunning vampire referred to as â€Å"the Brat Prince† by his followers stalks a wealthy artifact smuggler. Lestat soon becomes obsessed with his mortal victim, Roger, following him and trying to live his life through Roger’s eyes. Lestat quickly develops a love for Roger, due to Roger's take on life, and his robust actions. Lestat comes to the reality that Roger is sick and evil, through his past was full of murders of family members and mercenary like acts. Even all of this added to the fact that Roger was a smuggler of godly artifacts, Lestat’s love for Roger still lived on. Lestat observes his own actions and concludes that he himself is sick and evil as well, due to his obsessive stalking. Lestat sees his morals are in fact worse than those of Roger, when he brutally slays and mutates his carcass. With this Lestat concludes that he was in fact the sick and evil one, more so than Roger was. Lestat is soon encountered by Roger’s a...

Faust and Romanticism

In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust, we see the romantic side of the ninteenth century. In the age of romanticism we see the dominance and assertion of a more individualist society heavily based on imagination and freedom. When society became more heavily individualized poets began to take advantage of this and write plays based on individual characters like Faust. Goethe took advantage of the heavily romantic influence and spent his life righting the play Faust. The ultimate goal of Goethe’s Faust was to achieve the understanding and sympathy of all cultures which fully embodies romanticism.Even though Faust is not strictly a piece of romantic literature, Goethe’s ideas display the characteristics of genre. In the first half of the play of Faust he goes on a walk through nature with Wagner and we see the overall comfort of Faust and the natural world. Faust goes on to talk about the qualities of nature and provides spiritual and faithful reasoning which justifying him deep down wanting to participate in nature. In the speeches that Faust makes about nature we see the early nineteenth century tradition of romanticism lifted up.When Faust returns to his studies after the walk through nature we see for the first time that he is satisfied. It is when he returns to his study that we see the jubilant spirit of Faust killed by the world of rational thinking. Goethe sees a strong spiritual connection in nature because he feels there is a spiritual connection between humans and nature. Goethe believes that nature is what feeds spirituality and the individual free thinking spirit. The human soul is viewed to feed off of a connection with nature and without this connection there cannot be completeness in an individual.Goethe views the disconnect of human happiness comes from over rationalization and the need to have a scientific explanation for everything. There is no one explanation for everything and he views that in order to feel com plete and whole as a person you must return to nature to gain the qualities needed to whole. Throughout the play the reader cannot help but notice the influence of nineteenth century romantics. Goethe is looking to get across his points of romanticism through his views of nature and the thought of happiness.Faust goes through several journeys and through all of these he is looking for self-completion and satisfaction. The reader must go into reading the play with an open mind not closed off to the views of Goethe and his views of the natural. Goethe embodies his total thoughts of the natural when Gretchen receives forgiveness because of her obligation and obedience to the natural. Through all of the play Goethe is looking for the understanding of people of all views and backgrounds and fully embody the ideas of romanticism.