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Solutions to the Church Music Controversy Essay -- Music

Answers for the Church Music Controversy There are a wide range of approaches holy places are taking to illuminate the questionable issue...

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

General Cargo Ship Free Essays

Defining a general cargo ship The term â€Å"general (multipurpose) cargo ships† covers many different ship designs that do not fi t into other more specialised cargo ship types. Thus, general cargo ships are not specialised for transport of only dry bulks, only containers or only heavy-lift cargoes, but they have flexibility to carry any of these cargo types. General cargo ships are the world’s most numerous ship types, excepting fishing vessels. We will write a custom essay sample on General Cargo Ship or any similar topic only for you Order Now Thus, in the year 2002 their share in the overall world merchant fleet amounted to about 37% in numbers and to about 11% in dwt. The average deadweight of the world fleet of general cargo ships is about 5600 dwt. Larger vessels, up to about 30000 dwt are intended to carry break-bulk cargo (bagged, boxed and palletised cargo) or containers, while small general cargo ships, usually below 5000 dwt are mostly found as flexible solutions for many dry-cargo types in shortsea shipping. The concern for structural safety of general cargo ships follows from the fact that during the period from 1995 to 2000 approximately 90 losses of these ships per year occurred, which in other words means one ship every 4 days, with 170 fatalities per year. Even 42% of losses of all merchant ships belong to general cargo ships and similar percentage is valid also for fatality experience. Despite these figures, general cargo ships are not considered in publicity as risky ships, probably because general cargo ship accidents are not as spectacular as for example accidents of oil tankers Erika or Prestige . There are several reasons for poor statistical records of general cargo ships. Ship ages, inappropriate maintenance, poor quality in operation of these ships and defi ciencies in design are some of the main causes of a large number of accidents. Smaller general cargo ships are particularly vulnerable to collision and grounding accidents because of their frequent operation in inland waterways and coastal waters. The general cargo ship consists of as large a clear open cargo-carrying space as possible, together with the facilities required for loading and unloading the cargo. Access to the cargo storage areas or holds is provided by openings in the deck called hatches. Hatches are made as large as strength considerations will allow to reduce horizontal movement of cargo within the ship. Hatch covers of wood or steel, as in most modern ships, are used to close the hatch openings when the ship is at sea. The hatch covers are made watertight and lie upon coamings around the hatch which are set some distance from the upper or weather deck to reduce the risk of flooding in heavy seas. One or more separate decks are fitted in the cargo holds and are known as tween decks. Greater flexibility in loading and unloading, together with cargo segregation and improved stability, are possible using the tween deck spaces. Various combinations of derricks, winches and deck cranes are used for the Handling of cargo. How to cite General Cargo Ship, Essay examples

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Investment Portfolio Management Market Place Exhibit

Question: Describe about the Investment Portfolio Management for Market Place Exhibit. Answer: 1. Identification and outlining of the main asset classes we talk about the investment and outlining of a characteristic of each asset class in regards to investment purposes. Asset class signifies the financial instruments that behave similarly in marketplace. Exhibit to different main asset class they are outlined as securities, equities, and fixed income. Equities- It generates higher returns in the long term than other type of investment and help meeting longer objectives. Here the value fluctuates thereby increasing and decreasing the fund prices[1]. Fixed Income- These are usually loans that are taken out by government or company paying at fixed interest rate over an assigned period of time. The investors get a more predictable income offer after comparing to riskier asset classes like equities. Securities- This is a traditional economic function of the purchase and receives income and achieving capital gain. It offers higher rate of interest than bank deposits. Here the interest payment gets missed and creditors take control of the company to recover the investment. 2. Meaning of Capital and Income and an example of each. Capital is defined as the assets that trustees receive with the initiation of the trust like land, property investment and cash. Whereas as capital investment is the fund invested in a firm or enterprise in order to strength the objectives of the business. For example capital is purchased to help a company produce goods or service providing like goods including buildings, furniture, equipment machines and fixtures[2]. Income is the regular return that has a rise on a capital asset. Income investing aims to pick companies who render steady stream commonly the fixed income securities such as bonds. For example profits on trading activities, dividend paid by company, etc. 3. Identification and explanation of the various costs, fees and charges that an investor would be subjected to when buying and selling investments through a managed fund investment. There is regular charging in fund holding and these ongoing charges pay the running of fund. 4. Explanation of what is meant by diversification within asset classes and provide an example. Diversification reduces risk through investing broad range of assets. Multi manager funds work and achieve diversification using the benefit that exist asset classes. It is typically confined with allocation of capital within those asset classes and involves distribution of assets and reduces risks within each asset class[3]. It is also a process focused on the return and risk characteristic of individual securities. This is irrespective of how the return correlate with each other. An example to show diversification working within asset classes is a long short equity fund with that to long cyclical stocks. Here funds go short as well as long and look for the benefit from share prices. 5. The main Derivative Contracts traded in Australia. Interest rate swaps are a standout amongst the most generally exchanged subordinate items in the Australian monetary business sector with over $10 trillion in notional worth executed in 2013. ASX's deliverable swap fates (DSF) contracts are an inventive arrangement of items firmly coordinating the qualities of OTC financing cost swaps. References DeFusco, Richard Armand, Quantitative Investment Analysis (Wiley, 2007). Levy, Haim, Stochastic Dominance (Springer, 2006)

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Marketing Research and Consulting Firms that Specialize in Branding Essay Example

Marketing Research and Consulting Firms that Specialize in Branding Essay Marketing Research and Consulting Firms Nowadays brand is crucial to the commercial success of a company this is why many firms demand a market research and consulting concerning branding of possibly higher quality. Naturally, in such a situation many companies specializing in this area have appeared in recent years. Decision Analyst and Frost and Sullivan may be singled out among these groups. Speaking of Frost and Sullivan, it is possible to say that the company provides its customers with a profound market research and consulting in different marketing related areas. In fact, the company pays particular attention to the extensive use of innovations in their research programs, and it continually enlarges its partnership programs. It is very important that Frost and Sullivan provide its customers not only with a high quality marketing research that helps company to be prepared for entering the market, being able to analyse the results of frost and Sullivan’s research, but it also consult its customers largely that naturally contributes to the perspective of the growth of companies that use its services. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Research and Consulting Firms that Specialize in Branding specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Research and Consulting Firms that Specialize in Branding specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Research and Consulting Firms that Specialize in Branding specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Also, it should be pointed out that Frost and Sullivan cover different industries with their marketing research and consulting that make their services accessible from different countries but it should be said that the company is mainly focused on Asian, Asian Pacific, Chinese, European, and Latin American markets. Furthermore, Frost and Sullivan regularly provide pieces of training that are very helpful for customers, and it also informs theirs about recent events that naturally provide the customers with higher opportunities to receive essential and useful information any time they need. As for Decision Analyst, it is also another quite successful company specialized in marketing research and consulting in branding. This group may be characterized by a high quality of its services since it provides its clients with efficient marketing research and is ready to ask its customers on the questions concerning market analysis and branding. It is crucial that it has a well-developed research program but what is probably even more important nowadays is the fact that Decision Analyst, precisely like Frost and Sullivan, amply uses innovations in their marketing research and consulting concerning branding. The latter fact is particularly important because the world economy and markets are continually progressing and to remain competitive in its segment of the market, it is necessary to implement innovations widely. Otherwise, customers would prefer more advanced company. Also, it is necessary to underline that the company supplies its customers with free statistics software that naturally is not sufficient but still may be very helpful for any business. Furthermore, the company, in this respect being similar to Frost and Sullivan, keeps its customers informed continuously about recent events that are also very useful. Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that both companies, Frost and Sullivan and Decision Analyst, specialize in marketing research and consulting concerning branding. These companies may be considered to be quite satisfied and covering different industries in different countries of the world that makes their services accessible and useful for an increasingly large number of clients. If you need professional Marketing research report writing help from experts, visit this website: .

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Free Essays on Major Molineux

of Bob Dylan, â€Å" These times, they are changing,† a symbolic message, echoes in the form of a relationship between the self and the world of a reality created by the eyes of the beholder. This reality of perception, manifested by the individual, is constantly evolving through experience, self-enlightenment, and the acquiring of knowledge. The poet and author Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates these natural truths in the outward appearance of a short story titled â€Å" My Kinsman, Major Molineux.† Within the contents of this tale, a young lad named Robin sets off from his home in the country, on a journey to the little metropolis of a New England colony in search of his uncle Major Molineux. Robin’s intentions are to fulfill a past year’s promise given by his affluent uncle to come and live with him in the city. With a scant amount of wages given to him by his father, and the tattered articles of clothing on his back, this youth optimistically ventures on the road of self-discovery. Through several encounters with the local inhabitance, Robin’s black and white perceptions of the world around him, begin to blend into gray, as he starts to question the very basis of his understanding, stemming from what his uncle had told him just one year earlier. This transition involves the abandoning of the preset notions of adolescence in exchange for the knowledge that one gains through their own experiences. In Robin’s case, these experiences open his eyes to what kind of man ! his uncle really is. Delving further into the inquisition of these natural truths, one must examine their underlying effects on the central characters of the story to understand how the changes of one’s reality are at a constant rate. The character of Major Molineux represents an ego trapped within a self-indulged idealism. He refuses to adaptively change to the world around him, maintaining an out of date mode of thinking. At ... Free Essays on Major Molineux Free Essays on Major Molineux In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, â€Å" These times, they are changing,† a symbolic message, echoes in the form of a relationship between the self and the world of a reality created by the eyes of the beholder. This reality of perception, manifested by the individual, is constantly evolving through experience, self-enlightenment, and the acquiring of knowledge. The poet and author Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates these natural truths in the outward appearance of a short story titled â€Å" My Kinsman, Major Molineux.† Within the contents of this tale, a young lad named Robin sets off from his home in the country, on a journey to the little metropolis of a New England colony in search of his uncle Major Molineux. Robin’s intentions are to fulfill a past year’s promise given by his affluent uncle to come and live with him in the city. With a scant amount of wages given to him by his father, and the tattered articles of clothing on his back, this youth optimistically ventures on the road of self-discovery. Through several encounters with the local inhabitance, Robin’s black and white perceptions of the world around him, begin to blend into gray, as he starts to question the very basis of his understanding, stemming from what his uncle had told him just one year earlier. This transition involves the abandoning of the preset notions of adolescence in exchange for the knowledge that one gains through their own experiences. In Robin’s case, these experiences open his eyes to what kind of man ! his uncle really is. Delving further into the inquisition of these natural truths, one must examine their underlying effects on the central characters of the story to understand how the changes of one’s reality are at a constant rate. The character of Major Molineux represents an ego trapped within a self-indulged idealism. He refuses to adaptively change to the world around him, maintaining an out of date mode of thinking. At ...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Term Paper Example The psychological damage resultant of uncontrollable, horrifying life events possesses a central focus of psychiatric interest within the discipline of psychology. Majority of the early psychiatrists conceived psychological trauma as the definitive source of psychopathology (Ehlers & Steil, 1995). Until recently, the consequences of certain traumas such those stemming from wars, rape, concentration camp experiences, child abuse, and civilian disasters were largely described as distinct entities; nevertheless, keen examination makes it apparent that the human response to overwhelming and uncontrollable life events is incredibly consistent, but the nature of the trauma, the victim’s age, predisposing personality, and community response all bear significant impact on the posttraumatic syndrome (Brewin & Holmes, 2003). The American Psychiatric Association clearly recognized this in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorder, 3rd edition (DSM-III) when it launched a separate division for the human response to overwhelming life events delineated as â€Å"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder† (PTSD) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Majority of the sufferers of PTSDA continues living in emotional environments of the traumatic environment with tolerating vigilance for and sensitivity towards the environmental threat. The five principal features of the human response to trauma encompass: (1) an enduring startle response and irritability; (2) proclivity to volatile bursts of aggression; (3) obsession with the trauma; (4) limitation on the overall degree of personality functioning; and, (5) unusual dream life (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In mild cases, the trauma is ultimately remedied by integration of traumatic events into the totality of the subject’s life experiences; nevertheless, in most cases, some or all the symptoms may endure during periods of later stress. The reactions can be grouped into three core

Monday, February 3, 2020

Critical Incident Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Incident Management - Research Paper Example One of the methods that help justice and security organizations to be firm on its certification of public safety is scenario-based planning (Eppen, Martin, & Scharge, 1989). Scenario planning is â€Å"a comprehensive planning tool that some of the dedicated firms make use of to achieve their long-term goals† (Eppen, Martin, & Scharge, 1989). Scenario-based planning ensures the management of civil liberties in justice organization that they unintentionally compromise fulfilling other duties. It also makes sure that the organizations do not forget public safety while satisfying other demands. The role of scenario planning within these organizations is to minimize or control these risks (Tibettes, 1998). Many security and justice organizations have policies that make them implement on the actual rules and regulation of these companies. To understand this clearly, example of use of force is appropriate. The policies regarding use of force describe an increasing sequence of actions that an officer can take to handle a situation (Tibettes, 1998). This sequence usually has many levels of intensities, and there is a strict instruction for officers to use an appropriate level of intensity of force, keeping in mind the present situation. This also allows an officer to shift from one level of sequence to another without much difficulty. In law enforcement, there is a huge carefulness which makes it very important; police discretion refers to the autonomy of a justice agency or individual officer working in that or any other justice agency to choose to involve in a certain situation to handle it or not (Tibettes, 1998). The implementation of scale of discretion by an office is when an officer arrests a person for a DUI (Driving under the influence); there is a low discretion in this incident in the name of public safety. High discretion is observed when as officer issues a citation on a driver failing to signal a lane change. In particular, the â€Å"amount of effo rt required by police to compel compliance from an unwilling subject is legal definition of use of force† (Tibettes, 1998). Officers should not use any force if they find no conflicts, fights or battles, in other words, no force if there is no resistance. As an example, the sequence of intensities of force starts from officer using verbalization for controlling a situation; if situation does not come under control, he can go for Empty Hand Control. Even when the situation gets worse, an officer can go for Soft Hand Technique, then gradually Less Lethal Method (Surette, 2010). If the situation cannot be controlled with any of the above methods, officers can have an impact on it with the use of weapon, then chemical spray, and then finally the use of lethal force. There are many debates regarding the use of force continuum. These are regarding the convenience of techniques or tools under this continuum. Should the law include this method in the policies and would they might incr ease the liability? Use of force is not appropriate for every situation because not every situation can convert into a continuum (Tibettes, 1998). The law enforcement and other criminal and justice agencies need to structure their organization in a way that everyone can openly share their ideas and opinions; there is no fear of saying anything even if it is wrong. Most importantly, veterans should give

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Music Essays English Music Hall

Music Essays English Music Hall A Short History of the English Music Hall. The term ‘Music Hall’ is used to refer to a venue, or to a form of entertainment taking place at that venue, typically featuring a number of miscellaneous acts, possibly including musical turns, comedy and acrobatics, in a relatively formalised programme. It is also often termed ‘variety’. This essay considers the early roots of Music Hall, its growth in the late 19th century, and its subsequent loss of popularity in the face of competition from other media in the 20th century. Taken into account are the socio-economic environment and also the development of musical styles within the Music Hall context. It will be shown that the influence of Music Hall is still widespread in popular culture today. Background Music Hall developed from a range of entertainments, some of which had been part of English culture for centuries. Broadsides first appeared in the 1500s (Gammond 1991: 82): they were an early equivalent of the newspaper. News stories and satire were printed in verse form with the instructions ‘To the tune of†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, with the intention that the text should be sung to a well-known musical theme, typically a folk-ballad. The music itself was rarely printed, and so broadsides relied on the tradition of passing tunes on orally. In later broadsides, tunes were often popular songs from plays, with the intention of promoting shows in return for sponsorship – an early form of advertising revenue. The ballad was engrained in culture, but the demand and resources of the populus were not yet sufficient to support the growth of a performance industry. Also influential were the many fairs which were trading and entertainment events. In his diary, Samuel Pepys mentions attending Bartholomew Fair in 1661 and â€Å"seeing the monkeys dance† (Pepys 1661), and a number of Music Halls in the late 19th century featured animal acts (Gillies 1999: 31). One-man shows, such as those offered by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), show elements of entertainment that were later developed in Music Halls. Dibdin can be seen as a key link between earlier folk-art traditions and the increasingly commercialised musical world of the 19th century (Gammond 1991: 153-5). He was a prolific song-writer, who had considerable success with light operas and by selling rights to his songs. These were the early days of copyright law, which developed in the late 19th century firstly to grant exclusivity of performance rights to singers and subsequently to effect a royalties system for composers. Two types of venue preceded Music Halls and had a particular influence on them: taverns and song-and-supper rooms. In taverns, a working-class clientele participated in singing along with their drinking. In song-and-supper rooms, the middle-class man-about-town (no women were admitted) could enjoy a meal while singers entertained. Song-and-supper rooms typically opened around midnight, and entertainment could be bawdy. Some of the early stars of Music Hall began their careers in taverns and song-and-supper rooms. Sam Cowell (1820-1864) is an example, and can be considered one of the first professional singer-songwriters. By 1850, he was earning a good living from the song-and-supper rooms, but had begun his career as an actor and had also performed in opera. In ‘Villikins and his Dinah’, regularly performed by Cowell, we see characteristics that were to become widespread in Music Hall songs, in particular the use of ‘commentary’ between sections of the song to increase its drama. Thus prior to verse 8, where the ghosts of Villikins and Dinah appear to Dinah’s father, the performer sets the scene: â€Å"Now this is the superlatively supernatural wisitation [sic] which appeared to the parient [sic] at midnight after the disease of his only progeny.† (Davison 1971: 23) The affectations in the language and pronunciation suggest the creation of the narrator as a character in his own right, and characterisation is another important element of the Music Hall song, as will be seen shortly. The growth of Music Hall was dependent on an audience able to pay for it, and with an interest in what it had to offer. The growth of a potential market is evident by the mid-19th century, when a number of Music Halls were opened (Sadie 1980: XII/832). In the mid-1840s, Evans’, a former song-and-supper room was reopened as a Music Hall. In 1849, Charles Morton, a pioneer of Music Hall, took over the Canterbury Arms in Lambeth and developed it as a venue. He enlarged it in 1856, and in 1861 opened the Oxford Music Hall in Oxford Street (Sadie 1980: XII/832). This idea of having a chain of venues gained ground in the latter part of the century. Early Developments 1850-1870 The 1850s and 60s can be considered as a first phase of Music Hall. Programmes were varied, with classical and popular music appearing on the same bill. Extracts from Gounod’s opera Faust (1859) performed in Music Halls provided the first hearings of the work for English audiences. A number of early Music Hall songs use old musical themes with new texts: for example, ‘Sam Hall’ can be traced back to a ballad about Captain Kidd. Harry Clifton’s ‘Polly Perkins of Paddington Green’ (1863) uses what appears to be a folk-tune (possibly ‘Nightingales Sing’), but its lyrics possess a humour not seen in folk music: Polly doesn’t marry a ‘Wicount’ or a ‘Nearl’, but in the punchline of the song, weds a â€Å"bow-legged Conductor of a twopenny bus† (Gammond 1991: 411). The same tune is used for another well-known Music Hall song, ‘Cushie Butterfield’, which was particularly popular in the Newcastle area. Tyneside had its own strong Music Hall tradition, giving rise to songs such as ‘The Blaydon Races’ and ‘Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinney’ and all three songs display a similar humour to ‘Polly Perkins’. The lyrics draw on local diale ct – Cushie is â€Å"a young lass in Gyetsid [Gateshead]† who â€Å"likes hor beor [her beer]† (Davison 1971: 31). With ‘Champagne Charlie’ (1868), the development of the character song is evident. Performed and co-written by George Leybourne, the Champagne Charlie character is described as a ‘swell’: a well-to-do man-about-town with a taste for Moà «t. Unlike ‘Villikins’, the text is in the first person, Leybourne becoming the Champagne Charlie character in performance. The song is perhaps the first advertising jingle, and was used to promote Moà «t, with Leybourne rumoured to partial to the drink (he died prematurely of alcoholism). His salary at this time was around  £30 a week – certainly adequate to indulge in the Champagne Charlie lifestyle. However, the character was an act: Leybourne was not a ‘toff’, but a former mechanic who remained illiterate and spoke with a strong Black Country accent (Gammond 1991: 334) Concern was growing over the activities in Music Halls. Articles in The Tomahawk focus on the quality of the entertainment: it had been suggested that the Music Hall would â€Å"exercise a beneficial influence over the progress of music amongst the lower classes† but â€Å"Music Hall†¦is mischievous to the art which it pretends to uphold† (Anon 1867).   At the time, improvement of the working classes through access to the arts was promoted among some thinkers. Two years later, Music Halls are criticised for being dens of vice: â€Å"I am positively assured†¦that on certain recognised nights loose women are admitted to these places without payment.† (Greenwood 1869). The often poor reputation of the Music Halls contributed to later attempts by the authorities to regulate their activities. Heyday 1870-1900 The development of Music Halls should be seen in context of wider developments in the social and economic environment of Victorian England. Following the Industrial Revolution, workers migrated from rural communities to cities, and this pattern accelerated in the 1870s. By the mid-1880s, around half the population of London had been born elsewhere (Harris 1994: 42-3). Simultaneously, leisure time increased. In the late 1860s, a half-day holiday was introduced on a Saturday, and in the 1870s, the 9-hour working day was introduced (Harris 1994: 139). Leisure time became a larger part of life for the working classes, and Music Hall was one activity that benefited from this. Drinking had always formed an element of the Music Hall entertainment, but the ruling classes had sought to control this. In 1878, London County Council restricted the consumption of liquor to the back of the halls (Sadie 1980: XII/833), also demanding that a proscenium arch and fire curtain be installed at all venues (there had been a number of fires at Music Halls). A number of smaller operators were forced to shut down, while the larger operators built up chains of venues, with Music Halls growing in size and number. In June 1888, a House of Lords debate quoted a figure of 473 Music Halls in London alone (Gillies 1999: 23). Larger halls meant that some of the intimacy of earlier venues was lost. Instead of a Chairman introducing acts and enjoying banter with the audience, venues identified performers by use of an indicator board, with each act having a number. In this environment of larger audiences, the most successful performers were able to command substantial fees, and some became internationally famous. Up to this point, Music Hall stars had been almost exclusively male, but from around 1880, women appeared regularly at Music Halls and were among the most successful Music Hall stars. Marie Lloyd is probably the best known: by 1891, she was appearing at several venues each night and earning  £100 a week. At this time, a 2-up, 2-down house in Oldham cost  £150-180 (Harris 1994: 113). In 1911, twenty years later,   only just over 2% of the population earned over  £160 in a year (Harris 1994: 107). In comparative terms, therefore, Lloyd’s earnings were on a par with a Premiership footballer today. In her early career, she infamously fell foul of performing rights by adopting ‘The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery’ as a key song in her repertoire, and she is still strongly associated with it. However, Nelly Power, another singer of the day, had exclusive performance rights for the song, and Lloyd was forced to stop singing it (Gillies 1999: 18 et al). At this time, exclusive association with a particular song enabled a performer to generate bookings, as nobody else was allowed to perform it. Songwriters sold a song with performing rights to a singer, and were thereafter not entitled to any further income. They relied on writing more songs on the same basis, but campaigned for further payments and the royalties system of today developed.   Pantomime was also an outlet for Music Hall stars, who would appear singing the songs for which they were most famous. This had a profound influence on the development of pantomime, with traditional characters such as Harlequin and Columbine dropped in favour of interpretations of fairy tales built around the Music Hall personalities and their repertoires. The music publishing industry had grown alongside the development of Music Halls. By the 1830s, songs such as ‘He was such a nice young man’ and ‘All round my hat’ (a folk tune) were produced for sale at Pleasure Gardens or song-and-supper rooms. The music catalogues of publishers typically included a range of material including songs, operatic arias, hymns and dances. Charles Sheard was publishing Music Hall material from around 1852 as part of its Musical Bouquet series (Gammond 1991: 410). From 1850-1900, the price of a piano dropped and some manufacturers introduced monthly payment schemes, making the instrument more accessible (Gillies 1991: 66). This helped the Music Hall songs become firmly engrained in the popular musical culture of the time. Songs had an air of respectability about them until around 1860, after which many started to display more vulgarity. This was still subtle by modern standards: Dan Leno’s trademark song ‘The Swimming Master’ (by Herbert Darnley) makes much of the need for bodily contact with the ladies being taught to swim – if they feel they’re sinking, then â€Å"To my manly chest they cling† (Davison 1971:69) – but goes no further than suggestion. Some venues decreased the classical element of their music programmes. Dickens (1879) comments that â€Å"the operatic selections which were at one time the distinguishing feature of the Oxford have of late years been discontinued†, and evidence from Music Hall programmes from this time onwards shows a focus on popular idioms. However, other Music Halls continued to offer what might be considered as more ‘highbrow’ entertainment. The Alhambra in Leicester Square specialised in ballet, and Evans’ in Covent Garden offered â€Å"songs, glees, and part songs, executed by a well-trained choir† (Anon 1867). The ballets at the Alhambra continued to at least the turn of the century and it also staged a number of operettas. Decline 1900-1920 In its early days, Music Hall had been seen as a largely lower-class entertainment. In the early 1900s, it gained respectability, with knighthoods for some of its key personalities and the first Royal Command Performance, featuring Music Hall acts, taking place in 1912 (Sadie 1980: XII/833). A number of developments led to the decline of Music Halls. In 1914, eating and drinking in the auditorium was banned (Gammond 1991: 409 et al) and Music Halls in effect became theatres. Many continued to offer seasons of variety performances, and there was still great interest in the entertainment, but it was now required to compete with new media: first the cinema, then radio. New music styles such as jazz were also gaining in popularity. Its influence is evident in some later Music Hall songs: ‘Lily of Laguna’ (1898) uses syncopation and describes an idealised world of African Americans living in the Southern States of the US. Its use of language such as ‘nigger’ and ‘coon’ would be considered offensive today, but reflects the very different attitude to race at the time (Davison 1971: 95). The song was written by the English songwriter Leslie Stuart for Eugene Stratton, an American performer who appeared regularly ‘blacked up’ : this practice was widespread within the Music Hall, and continued for many years with The Black and White Minstrels a popular TV show as late as the 1970s. By the 1940s, Music Hall had largely disappeared. Gramophones provided musical entertainment in the home. The stars of variety diversified: Gracie Fields developed firstly a film career then focused on radio broadcasts in addition to appearances in variety (Gammond 1991: 189), and George Formby appeared in a number of films as well as continuing the work of his father (also George Formby, a popular variety singer at the turn of the century) in Royal Command performances and other revues (Gammond 1991: 203). The Legacy of the Music Hall The influence of the Music Hall is still very much evident in British culture. It played a major part in the development of stand-up comedy, and the Comedy Club, which has seen a revival in recent years with chains such as Jongleurs, owes an obvious debt to the Music Hall tradition. The variety show featured regularly on TV well into the 1970s on shows such as ‘The Good Old Days’, and the annual Royal Command Performance, with a range of acts, is still televised. Pantomimes too feature many characteristics of those in the late 19th century, with TV personalities taking the roles that Music Hall celebrities enjoyed a hundred years ago. The musical styles seen in Music Hall continue to influence artists. ‘Obladi, Oblada’ (Lennon and McCartney, recorded by the Beatles 1968) features a fourline verse with sequence-based melodies and a simple refrain, with a line repeated, reminiscent of the choruses inviting audience participation in Music Hall. More recently, Blur’s ‘Parklife’ (1994) uses the concept of performer taking on a personality, with club- and concert-goers joining in with the ‘Parklife’ motif at the end of each line, much like a Music Hall audience would have joined in with choruses. Music Hall should therefore be seen not just as a cultural phenomenon in its own right, but as a development in a long history of popular song and entertainment. Bibliography Clarke, Donald (Ed) (1989) Penguin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music (Viking, London) Davison, Peter (1971) Songs of the British Music Hall (Oak Publications, New York) Dickens, Charles Jnr (1879) Dickens Dictionary of London ‘Music Halls’, reproduced on www.arthurlloyd.co.uk Frith, Simon and Marshall, Lee (2004) Music and Copyright (2nd Edition, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh) Frow, Gerald (1985) Oh Yes It Is! 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