Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Free Essays on Appearance Vs. Reality

Appearance versus Reality Our general public today rotates for the most part around appearance and how individuals see themselves as well as other people. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s Truman Capote composes an anecdote about a youngster, who from the outside appears to be great. All through the novel Holly Golightly is viewed as both a clever and naã ¯ve character. From all the cosmetics and beautiful garments she wears to the persona she emits to everybody, makes Holly give off an impression of being a balanced person. In any case, in fact Holly is holing up behind her appearance and doesn’t know who she truly is. The main genuine viewpoint about Holly Golighty is her outside appearance. She is breathtaking and has extraordinary excellence. More often than not â€Å"she wore a thin cool dark dress, dark shoes, a pearl choker†¦ [and] a couple of dull glasses† (p.12). She dressed regularly as though she needed to dazzle everybody. Her dull glasses appeared as if to conceal her genuine self from the world. The storyteller â€Å"had never observed her not wearing dull glasses† and when he did, he saw â€Å"they were huge eyes, somewhat blue, a little green† (p.18). She went about as though she didn’t need anybody to know who the genuine Holly was. At the point when she tossed parties a large portion of the individuals who went to them she didn’t know. Yet, that’s what she needed, she didn’t need dear companions. Indeed, even her feline was only an associate to her, she didn’t accept that he had a place with her. â€Å"Poor good-for-noth ing without a name. It’s somewhat awkward, his not having a name. In any case, I haven’t any option to give him one: he’ll need to hold up until he has a place with somebody† (p.39). Holly’s appearance to her companions and associates were only a plan to conceal the genuine Holly. In any case, as a general rule Holly is a terrified little youngster despite everything attempting to locate her actual self. Albeit Holly attempts to utilize her appearance to shroud herself, before the finish of the novel its realized that Holly isn’t only her outside appearance. At the end before setting off to the air terminal, she... Free Essays on Appearance Vs. Reality Free Essays on Appearance Vs. Reality Appearance versus Reality Our general public today spins for the most part around appearance and how individuals see themselves as well as other people. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s Truman Capote composes an anecdote about a youngster, who from the outside appears to be great. All through the novel Holly Golightly is viewed as both a clever and naã ¯ve character. From all the cosmetics and beautiful garments she wears to the persona she emits to everybody, makes Holly give off an impression of being a balanced person. However, in fact Holly is holing up behind her appearance and doesn’t know who she truly is. The main genuine viewpoint about Holly Golighty is her outside appearance. She is exciting and has extraordinary excellence. More often than not â€Å"she wore a thin cool dark dress, dark shoes, a pearl choker†¦ [and] a couple of dull glasses† (p.12). She dressed ordinarily as though she needed to intrigue everybody. Her dim glasses appeared just as to conceal her genuine self from the world. The storyteller â€Å"had never observed her not wearing dull glasses† and when he did, he saw â€Å"they were enormous eyes, somewhat blue, a little green† (p.18). She went about as though she didn’t need anybody to know who the genuine Holly was. At the point when she tossed parties a large portion of the individuals who went to them she didn’t know. Yet, that’s what she needed, she didn’t need dear companions. Indeed, even her feline was only a colleague to her, she didn’t accept that he had a place with her. â€Å"Poor lazy pig w ithout a name. It’s somewhat awkward, his not having a name. Be that as it may, I haven’t any option to give him one: he’ll need to hold up until he has a place with somebody† (p.39). Holly’s appearance to her companions and colleagues were only a plan to conceal the genuine Holly. In any case, actually Holly is a terrified little youngster despite everything attempting to locate her actual self. Albeit Holly attempts to utilize her appearance to shroud herself, before the finish of the novel its realized that Holly isn’t only her outside appearance. At the end before setting off to the air terminal, she...

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Use of Satire in Kurt Vonneguts Cats Cradle :: Kurt Vonnegut Cats Cradle Essays

Utilization of Satire in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut said in The Vonnegut Statement (1973), in a meeting with Robert Scholes, that one of his explanations behind composing is to harm minds with humanity†¦to urge them to improve a world (107). This thought works very well in Vonnegut's book, Cat's Cradle. It is an ironical story of a man's mission to compose a book about the day the world finished (refering to the day the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima), which he never wraps up. What we get is a crude gander at people attempting frantically to discover a feeling of direction in their lives through various methods, for example, religion, science, and so on. Vonnegut utilizes parody that is both dim and diverting to seek after this point. A genuine model is found in the introduction of the book where he expresses, Nothing in this book is valid. 'Live by the foma [Harmless untruths] that make you daring and kind and sound and upbeat.' Bokonon, we learn, is a religion that is comprised of mixed untruths (12). Truth was the adversary of the individuals, in light of the fact that the reality of the situation was so horrible, so Bokonon [the maker of the religion] made it his business to furnish the individuals with better and better lies (118). We likewise discover that science takes the contrary sentiment. One of the men who built up the nuclear bomb lets us know, The more truth we need to work with, the more extravagant we become (36). I think one thing that Vonnegut is attempting to show us is that man also effectively acknowledges things as substantial without addressing. Refering to this, Newt, another character, says, No big surprise kids grow up insane. A feline's support is only a lot of X's between someone's hands, and little children look and look and take a gander at each one of those X's†¦No damn feline, and no damn support (114). Feline's Cradle is loaded with these sorts of harms about religion and science, yet additionally about numerous other human frailties also. As it were, Vonnegut is holding a mirror (that shrouds no defects) up to humankind all together that mankind may see its own the indiscretion and worthlessness and hence be prompted to attempt to improve. I believe Vonnegut's expectation is that this book will permit individuals to chuckle at themselves while additionally making them consider how they are coordinating their own lives.

Friday, August 7, 2020

Participating Japan in Trans Pacific Partnership

Participating Japan in Trans Pacific Partnership Trans Pacific Partnership Mar 26, 2018 in Case Studies Introduction The proclamation of the Japanese Authority on delaying the 2011 resolution to whether to be part of the suggested Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) can be understood under consideration of the disaster that happened at Tohoku part of Japan. It is understandable that Japanese Government had to focus on the rebuilding of the nuclear plants. Nevertheless, the TPP members still believed that, despite the tragedy that had incapacitated Japan, it could at least make fundamental agreement with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The Japanese participation in TPP is of immense significance for the TPP considering the economic power and the impact Japan has in the region of Asia Pacific. To this end, Japanese participation in TPP will enhance the Japan-US trade relationship by offering a platform for resolving their long standing issues related to economic competition. This participation will also involve economic giants that represent more than 36% of the world GDP in the trade re lationship in a dynamic region (Surhone). Importance of Japanese Participation in TPP The early commitment of Japan to the TPP would be a crucial short-term indication to the entire world that Japanese are open to do business. On the other hand, in the long-term, the Japanese participation in TPP would be a terrific boost to its economic development and recovery that would usher in economic reorganization in key zones making the economy be much more dynamic and make Japan an attractive investment ground. Considering the international concern on radiation pollution of Japanese products, scientific standards will offer protection against biased discrimination. Consequently, the USJBC has offered a lot of support for the Japanese participation in TPP on condition that Japan is ready to abide to the terms and condition stipulated by TPP partners. The present TPP partners have agreed to get into an agreement so as to attain the century agreement on trade that is comprehensive in coverage and scope of agriculture. The 21st century agreement is inclusive in its commitment to the standards for investment and trade liberalization that entails tariff beyond the regional barrier that tends to inhabit trade activities (Commission).

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

The Fight For Gender Equality Essay - 1357 Words

What are women? What are they? Are they serpents, wolves, lions, dragons, vipers or devouring beasts and enemies of the human race†¦. But by God! if they are your mothers, your sisters, your daughters, your wives and your companions; they are yourselves and you yourselves are them, (Akkerman 1). What are women? Better yet, how important are women? As important people, women play specific roles based on societal expectations and dictations. In the beginning, women were not seen as equal figures, and thereby restricted to gender specific roles that otherwise downplayed the significance of women. In modern times, women and men fought for gender equality, but fighting for gender equality or feminism wasn’t confined to modern times. Furthermore, the fight for gender equality was not confined to the general public; artists, scientists, writers, and poets in some form argued for gender equality. Now, this essay won t focus on every aspect of gender equality by every single influ ential person, but it will zoom in on certain notable literary figures that incorporated progressive views within their work. All things considered, the essay will analyze the role of women within Chaucer and Shakespeare s literary work while keeping the historical, Middle Ages and Renaissance, time periods in mind. More Specifically, â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue,† by Chaucer and â€Å"As You Like It,† by William Shakespeare will be examined. In doing so, the essay will uncover, not only the role of womenShow MoreRelatedThe Fight For Gender Equality Essay1628 Words   |  7 Pagesone that you need to place a heavy emphasis on is the fight for gender equality. We, as a country, need you to raise this precious little girl a â€Å"knower†- a â€Å"knower† that they’ll be times she’s looked at as a sex object instead of the gorgeous young woman with a master’s degree that works in the office with all men, that gender equality in not only the workplace, but also in inalienable rights, is a battle our country needs to stand up and fight together for, a nd that feminism is an important topicRead MoreThe Fight For Gender Equality1392 Words   |  6 Pagesagainst gender inequality and gender stereotypes created by society. To some people, the feminist movement is a lost cause. Lost is defined as having perished; it s expired, it is no more. Right now, our society is arguing that feminism is lost, perished, or an expired social movement because we simply don t need it; America has reached the pinnacle of gender equality. Sadly, this idea snuck its way into our country s media and minds. I am here to tell you that the fight for gender equality has notRead MoreThe Fight For Gender Equality1282 Words   |  6 PagesThe fight for gender equality in the workplace has been ongoing for fifty years. Women have been looked to as inferior in the workplace in the United States for the better part of a decade. While they have made tremendous strides in getting equalization, ladies are still cheated out of the money that men are receiving for th e same career. The gender wage gap is real and it grows over worker’s careers. Though it used to be a gap because of education between the genders, the education gap has beenRead MoreThe Fight For Equality Among Genders1687 Words   |  7 Pages THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY Dilenny Reyes INR4603.0W59 April 27, 2015 The equality among genders is a debate that has long been fought in the international realm. Although this is time where women and men are more close to being equal than they have ever been, there are still many areas in which equality falls short. Feminism is a theory based on the rising of women in order to be equal with men. It is a theory that best represents the need for equality among the sexesRead MoreWomens Fight for Gender Equality1133 Words   |  5 Pagessuccess they contain now without the help from women. Even though men have the trait of overruling women, women continue to prove that they work diligently in their household and their workforce, and society must treat them as equals. In â€Å"Greater gender equality,† Adema points out that women devote just as much hard work as men do in life. No matter what employment gap women have from men in the workforce, women apply equal or more hours into not just one but two jobs (issue). Adema explains how differentRead MoreFeminism And Women s Rights On The Grounds Of Political, Social, And Economic Equality1686 Words   |  7 Pageswho despise men, or the victimization of women. By definition, feminism is â€Å"the advocacy of women s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.† While that is an accurate description of what feminism is, in a larger context, it is a fight for gender equality. Feminism is a contribution to overall gender equality, and not only limited to women’s rights. The first misconception with feminism is that it consists of women complaining, and that women are always the victimRead MorePublic Opinion on Gender Issues: Human Rights, American Civil Rights, and Feminist Movements1328 Words   |  5 PagesSocial Movements that Significantly Affected Public Opinion on Gender Issues: Human Rights, American Civil Rights, and Feminist Movements The development of social movements in the course of human history has led to unprecedented changes that challenged the not only the status quo, but most importantly, the worldviews of societies as well. Social movements have sprung to create a new world order that defined human societies as they exist today. It is not surprising, then, that social movements likeRead MoreWomen s Role For Women1343 Words   |  6 Pagesweaker sex. Boys are raised up knowing that they are the stronger gender and that there are some tasks, which they can perform well than their female counterparts. The debate about equality for both genders has dominated the media over the years, from the times of feminism (the 1980s) to post feminism (Hokowhitu). In politics, the belief about masculinity is still a major issue that has been discussed over the years. Women fight to receive equal treatment in leadership and representation at theRead MoreGender Inequality By Emma Watson1325 Words   |  6 Pagesovercoming it. Sometimes you ve got to blast through and have faith.†(Emma Watson) Gender inequality is a problem that people face in everyday life, whether it comes in the form of gender stereotypes or a pay difference, it’s something everyone deals with. As a UN Global Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson is striving to abolish gender inequality around the world. She is working with the program HeForShe to make gender equality not just a conversation topic, but tangible or substantial. Emma Watson was bornRead MoreEssay Gender Inequality in the Filming Industry668 Words   |  3 Pages Gender diversity in the filming industry has been a long standing problem. It is common knowledge that in the movie industry, the male reigns supreme, whether it be leading character roles or the director. Take Star Trek: Into Darkness, for example. The director, J.J. Abrams, is male. Out of the ten leading speaking roles, only three are female, while the rest of the minor speaking roles are also predominantly male. Let’s take another movie, Pacific Rim, into consideration. The director, Guillermo

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Pros and Cons of Attending School Online or on Campus Free Essays

My Pros and Cons of Attending College Online or On Campus Lavesha Dailey Eng 121 Elizabeth Hoyle July 10 ,2011 Throughout America people often tend to compare things. Some of the things that are being compared are more important to some peoples than the other. I love to compared thing like online schools or on campus schools. We will write a custom essay sample on Pros and Cons of Attending School Online or on Campus or any similar topic only for you Order Now These two schools are often compared by the time consuming, less work and may even by the time being able to spend at home. But first the most important thing about these two schools would first be the time consuming. Time consuming is very important when going to school. Going to school online you don’t have to work about getting up and getting dress or even finding something to wear. You can simply go to school in your pjs because you are in the privacy of your own home. And you don’t even have to worry about being late for class. But on the other hand when attending an on campus college you have worry about all types of things like to get up and get ready for school and also worrying about things such as finding something to wear, combing your hair or making sure that you are on time for school before getting count absent. In other words going to school on campus really takes more effort and time then just simply just going to school online. But another way going to school online is better than going on campus is that there seems to be less work in class to do. Ok, I have notice a lot of things about going to school online and going to school on campus. I personally prefer going to school online mostly because there is less work to be done. I remember when I use to attend Alabama Southern Community College, I was always pack with more things then I can handle. I would start my day off by getting up, finding clothes, combing my hair, showering ect†¦ Then after that I would have to go gas up my car because it was costing me twenty dollars a day to drive to school from where I lived. Gas is another factor when attending an campus college because it can get to be really expensive. But when attending I would always have a lot of books for different classes that I was taking. And when you are a full time student in school you have to have at least twelve credits or more so that like three to four or more classes a week in order to get all of your credits. Even after all of this homework tend to be giving in some of the classes. Also tests in different classes on the same day are giving too. When on the other hand I notice now that I am currently attending Ashford University Online, I have one class and I am consider to be full time. The school work is aslo spaced out and I am not all giving piles of work at one time and only one test is given a week instead of a lot of test in different classes at one time. But the best thing of all about college online is being able to spend time at home. Being able to spend time at home is the important factor about attending school online. In fact this is one of the main reason for a lot of people not finishing college. Most people when are ask while they are not in school or still attending school they tend to say that they can’t find the to or If they have kids they say that they don’t have anyone to keep them. Well this is all true and by attending a college on campus this is bad process to worry about but by attending college online you don’t have to worry about any of these things because you can do your online course any where, as long as you have your laptop or a desktop computer and internet service. You can also take your kids along where ever you go. When on the other hand when you attend college on campus you have different times to be in a class and you can’t bring your kids, that means than know you would have to worry about finding someone to keep the kid and that also going to cost extra money. In other words no matter what people seems to compare in life everything is going to have there own pros and cons. Even if it something you like or dislike. But whatever you compare just make sure the answer you come up with is something you are sure to enjoy. How to cite Pros and Cons of Attending School Online or on Campus, Essay examples

Friday, May 1, 2020

IT Security And Technology Landscape †Free Samples for Students

Question: Discuss About The IT Security And Technology Landscape? Answer: Introducation The excessive breaches in data security experienced by majority of people are creating a necessity of IT Security Technology Landscape. These highly publicized data breaches depict lack of security and internal failure. This can have an enormous impact on economy and the brand reputation. Compounding of data in todays vulnerable security environment is a challenge. There is a huge mismatch between the customers need and security technology. It is obligatory to protect the enterprise against any massive data breach (Adomavicius, Bockstedt, Gupta Kauffman, 2008). The process should not obstruct productivity in any manner. The security system should not affect the growth in terms of developing new applications or automating new process in a business. Todays security technology environment is not ready to meet the needs of the enterprise. There is a wide gap between the security technology and customer wants. The network group in order to create a more secured environment has deployed an effective network security tools. The end point group is accountable for the computers and mobile devices. They are trying to resolve the issue by focusing over the security puzzle in order to avoid the security lapse. Apart from recognition theres a huge growing problem that cant be controlled. The growing need regarding the prioritization of security is becoming critical. Companies today need an identifiable network system in order to protect themselves (Feng, Zhang, Zhang Xu, 2011). Along with the techniques employed by the hackers, a variety of networked devices in addition to the conventional servers and workstations to access network or do harm. The hackers had a high degree of achievement with the Industrial Control Systems, i.e. the hardware and software packages. All these processes thereby manage and monitor physical infrastructure approximating power plants and IP linked embedded devices. These devices are most commonly known as the Internet things For example: IP cameras, medicinal devices, and vehicle (Yang, Geng, Du, Liu Han, 2011). All these devices are susceptible frequently because of installers and users failure to alter default factory security settings. These kinds of strategies are strangely exposed straight to the Internet. It is where a user can simply be created and subjugated by an attacker. As per SIA Megatrends Reports, the huge convergence between the system and the technology is creating network vulnerabilities. A strong security landscape is important to gain consistency. The report specifies four goals: to alleviate the cyber threats, implication of hardened products and practices, educating the stakeholders and establishing a string IT security system to balance out customer needs. The information security model is used to authorize the security policies in order to provide with a precise set of rules. These models can be abstract and intuitive in nature (Metke Ekl, 2010). IT Security Models Access Controls The IT Security Models Access Controls is a process to resolve whether a principal can perform a particular function on a targeted entity. The access control policy provides with a specified access decision functions. The purpose is to attain the principal proposed functions, to guarantee security properties and to enable administration of a changeable procedure (Krutz Vines, 2010). The access control model is of 4 types: Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Role Based Access Control (RBAC), Discretionary Access Control (DAC) Rule Based Access Control (RBAC or RB-RBAC). The state machine model The state machine model is the one system which is always secured. A state is the snapshot of system at a particular point of time. The process is to integrate the external input with the internal machine state. A transition takes place after the acceptance of input. This will result in a new state. All these transitions are very well examined and secured against the system (Zissis Lekkas, 2012) The Lattice Access Control Models The Lattice Access Control Models is a complex access control model based on the interaction in between different objects. These are resources, computers and objectives this type of model defines the level of security to an object in order to generate effectiveness. The subject is only allowed to access an object to ensure security level. The Subjects and Objects have security levels and not obligatory grouping discretion strategy (e.g., Bell-LaPadula) The other model is as follows: Predicate Models ASL, OASIS, domain-specific models(Crdenas, Amin Sastry,2008) Safety Models Take-grant, Schematic Protection Model, Typed Access Matrix (Rival, Choi Lumb, 2009). Plus Domain Transitions DTE, SELinux, Java IT Security Threat and risk assessment There are different types of computer security threats. Some of these are pretty damaging while some are harmful for the system. The types of computer security threats are as follows: Trojan: This one is considered as one of the most complicated threats among all. Most of the complicated computer threats come from the Trojan family unit. It is really a power virus that can damage the computer. Virus: Virus is a really popular for its malicious function. This replicates itself and focus on destroying a computer. The overall purpose of a virus is to cause malware. Worms: These are one of the undamaging threats considered to create problem. It does not modify the system but affect the computer Spyware: This malware is intended to scout on the victims system. A system affected from spyware is affected badly. The attacker generally extorts the user (Zhang, Wuwong, Li Zhang, 2010). Organizations are progressively more reliant on information systems for all their business actions with customers, suppliers, partners and their employees. They need to be convinced to function steadily. The cyber security risk requires being implicit in the perspective of the overall business. The malware in system and technology has a long term impact on data management (Ralston, Graham Hieb, 2007). The core risk assessment areas are as follows: Data Collection: The information on vulnerabilities and threat related to the specific system identified and gathered from different resources. Analysis of Policies and Procedures: The process includes an analysis sans review of the existing policies to gauge the compliance level in an organization. These sources help in managing the function in an effective way. Threat Analysis: These are the risks that contribute towards destruction or interruption of services. This is a key element used to manage the risk in an effective way. The risk is identified as a relation in between the business environment and the organization. Vulnerability Analysis: The process includes assessment of the information gathered and to determine the existing exposure. This will give indication to proposed safeguards. The different tools are: Nessus, SAINT, whisker etc. Correlation and assessment of Risk Acceptability: The final task is to assess the existing policies and procedure. In absence of proper safeguards, the vulnerability level will increase. A review of existing and planned safeguards needs to be performed in order to gain competency (Crdenas, et al 2011) References Adomavicius, G., Bockstedt, J. C., Gupta, A., Kauffman, R. J. (2008). Making sense of technology trends in the information technology landscape: A design science approach.Mis Quarterly, 779-809. Crdenas, A. A., Amin, S., Sastry, S. (2008, July). Research Challenges for the Security of Control Systems. InHotSec. Crdenas, A. A., Amin, S., Lin, Z. S., Huang, Y. L., Huang, C. Y., Sastry, S. (2011, March). Attacks against process control systems: risk assessment, detection, and response. InProceedings of the 6th ACM symposium on information, computer and communications security(pp. 355-366). Accounting. Feng, D. G., Zhang, M., Zhang, Y., Xu, Z. (2011). Study on cloud computing security.Journal of software,22(1), 71-83. Kaufman, L.M., 2009. Data security in the world of cloud computing.IEEE Security Privacy,7(4). Krutz, R. L., Vines, R. D. (2010).Cloud security: A comprehensive guide to secure cloud computing. Wiley Publishing. Metke, A. R., Ekl, R. L. (2010). Security technology for smart grid networks.IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid,1(1), 99-107. Ralston, P. A., Graham, J. H., Hieb, J. L. (2007). Cyber security risk assessment for SCADA and DCS networks.ISA transactions,46(4), 583-594. Rimal, B. P., Choi, E., Lumb, I. (2009). A Taxonomy and Survey of Cloud Computing Systems.NCM,9, 44-51. Yang, G., Geng, G., Du, J., Liu, Z., Han, H. (2011). Security threats and measures for the Internet of Things.Journal of Tsinghua University Science and Technology,51(10), 1335-1340. Zhang, X., Wuwong, N., Li, H., Zhang, X. (2010, June). Information security risk management framework for the cloud computing environments. InComputer and Information Technology (CIT), 2010 IEEE 10th International Conference on(pp. 1328-1334). IEEE. Zissis, D., Lekkas, D. (2012). Addressing cloud computing security issues.Future Generation computer systems,28(3), 583-592.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Practical Essay Example

Practical Essay Practical Name: Institution: Course: We will write a custom essay sample on Practical specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Practical specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Practical specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Date: Practical Introduction The aim of embryo culture is to obtain a plant after isolating and growing an embryo in vitro. It involves the cultivation of embryos from seeds and ovules in aseptic conditions. The culture medium depends on the type of plants, and the age of the embryo. A person can use mature or immature embryos. People practice embryo culture for different reasons. Some do it because they want to know more about the plant. Growing the embryos outside the ovules gives a person the chance to learn the nutrient composition of the plant at every stage of development, identify the requirements of the plant and identify the different stages of growth. Embryo culture provides a way of getting hybrid seedlings and overcoming seed dormancy. This enables the production of crops with superior qualities. The practice of embryo culture is important because it used to recover distant hybrids and haploid plants. This practice is important because it shortens the breeding cycle of the plants (Bhojwani Razdan, 1 996). Materials and Methods We used snow peas pods and five plates of pea culture medium. We adjusted the culture medium to a pH of 5.7. Embryos grow well in a medium with a pH of 5 to 7 (Razdan, 2003). It contained 110g/L of vitamins, 11% sucrose, 50ml/L of coconut water containing agar, and casein hydrolysale. One needs to select the right culture medium that will support orderly and progressive development of the embryo. One should ensure that the medium is able to nourish the embryo. Sucrose is a source of energy and it supplements the vitamins. Using high quantity of vitamins can inhibit the growth. Therefore, one should use vitamins minimally. Other materials included scalpels, plates, grid paper, and aluminum foil. We rinsed the pods with water, and then sterilized them in 70% ethanol for two minutes. We then washed the pods again with distilled water and treated them with 2% hypochlorite solution. After the treatment, we washed the seeds again using distilled water. We opened the cotyledons, and removed the embryo hearts from the snow peas pods while exercising caution not to damage the embryos. We used a scalpel tip to cut the embryos horizontally into two parts. We measured the embryos using a grid paper. It is important and mandatory to measure the embryos before putting them in culture, so that one can determine the level of growth after the appointed time. We then photographed the embryos using the digital camera. We then put the two embryos in different culture media. We sealed the plates with the aluminum foil and incubated them at 22o for three weeks. After this time, we re-measured the embryos to check their growth. Results Embryo culture results- Initial Size (mm2)Final size (mm2)Difference (mm2) 2 25 23 2 25 23 3 35 32 1 10 9 4 20 16 9 30 21 9 25 16 10 30 20 8 36 28 12 150 138 4 60 56 Discussion There was only one healthy cotyledon. The other cotyledons were contaminated in different ways or damaged by heat. The contamination of the embryos may have happened during the cutting process. Although we sterilized and treated the embryos, we did not take the same effort in ensuring that the materials we were using were not contaminated. This affects the results of the culture. We did not get the results we had anticipated. The embryos did not grow as well as we had expected them to do. Some of the embryos were damaged by heat. We had sealed them with aluminum foil and put them under 22o. It seems that we exaggerated the level of heat required, or we used the wrong materials to seal the embryos. Contamination affects the growth of the embryos because it introduces bacteria. The bacteria breed on the embryos, and destroy the cells of the embryos. This hinders growth. We were not careful when extracting the embryos from the pods, and we saw this after seeing some of the damaged cotyl edons. This destroyed the embryonic tissues and prohibited the embryos development. We had used embryos of different sizes, ranging from 1 mm2 to 12 mm2. At the end of the experiment, the sizes of the final cotyledons did not correspond to the sizes of the embryos. However, we experienced the highest growth rate of 150 mm2 from the largest embryo, and the lowest growth rate of 10 mm2 from the smallest embryo. It seems that the contamination and the heat affected the growth of the embryos. Growth of the embryos occurs when there is cell division in the embryos. The development of the embryos occurs when cells specialize. This explains why there was growth in the cells, although they were contaminated, and why the largest embryos showed the highest growth rates. The size of the embryos determines the growth rate of the embryos. Large embryos have many cells, while the smaller embryos have fewer cells. Therefore, the larger embryos have a higher chance of developing (Kohl, 2007). References: Bhojwani, S. S., Razdan, K. M. (1996). Plant tissue culture: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Elsevier Kohl, B. (2007). Embryo culture: Making babies in the twenty-first century. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Razdan, K. M. (2003). Introduction to plant tissue culture. Enfield, NH: Science Publishers, Inc.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

International Financial Manager

International Financial Manager International Financial Manager The financial manager of IKEA store in Abu Dhabi is James McGowan His role as a financial manager is to envisage the close supervision of the work performed by the finance staff including day to day contact with the banks to check in level of payments made per day and to transact the payment of materials and external credits through the bank. He is the one responsible for the production of all management reports including monthly financial management report. He budgets for IKEA store annually reforecast periodically. In the process of all these, he operates financial tasks like setting and varying all the internal credits limits and funding employees. He assures cash creditors by paying them on time and prepares payment for the distributors He also liaises with professional advisors like auditors and oversees the works performed by infrastructure developers and ensures timely reporting of results and payment. The financial manager is focused and has more that ten years of experience since he has served as a manager and financial assistant in different firms (Kendrick Vershina, 2005). To manage his financial risks, he has involved the future risks and has made a sport in the banking system so that the company can have a lock-in set exchange rate in the current financial period. He also uses foreign exchange option markets which are managed by global banks. This enables Ikea to purchase options to buy and sell the foreign money they get from the sell of their furniture and other products are sold for them by the institution in future. In the meanwhile he waits so that he would exercise the selling option depending upon the changes of market values against the U.S dollar (Bradstreet Corporation, 2003). Finally, his last approach to managing and mitigating financial risk is to manage the financial risk is through managing their functional currency of the businesses they have overseas. This takes the form of balance sheet management or income management in that instead of IKEA borrowing locally from Abu Dhabi, they could borrow overseas inform of U.S dollars so that there will be no impact on their balance sheet at the time of payment when other currencies move up or down against the U.S dollar (Bradstreet Corporation, 2003).

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Womens participation levels in sport and physical activity and how it Literature review

Womens participation levels in sport and physical activity and how it is affected - Literature review Example This paper intends to discuss the participation of women in sports and physical activities. Reasons for why it is affected will also be provided (Alexander 2006, p 24). Recent studies and statistics have proven that the number of women participating in sports and physical activities is low as compared to that of men. Participation is the process of being involved physically in an activity, or being a person who takes part in an activity physically. In a study done, in Australia, on women and men to see the level of their participation in sports and physical activities, the results showed that out of the total population, only 38.7% of the women participated in sports, while 65% of the men participated in sports. However, studies show that today, as compared to the previous years more women are participating in sports (Festle 2007, p 32). There are various reasons why women did not participate in sports in the previous years, for example, lack of time. Women were expected to remain home and take care of their children and home (Festle 2007, 16). For example, a woman would wake up in the morning, prepare her husband for work and start taking care of house chores and the children. These activities denied the women time to spare to do things they enjoy, like sports. Another reason why women did not participate in sports or physical activities was because of the expectations the society had put on them. Women did not take part in sports since it was seen as an activity that only men should participate in, but not women. A woman seen taking part in these activities was seen as a disgrace to the family and society at large, since it was considered masculine (Sportsscotland 2008, p 29). Lack of income was another excuse given for women not participating in sports. Women were not allowed to go out and work; men were expected to work and provide for their families; thus, it was rare for a woman to have money to spend (Joli,

Monday, February 3, 2020

The Advantages & Disadvantages for Working at P&G Essay

The Advantages & Disadvantages for Working at P&G - Essay Example P&G is restructuring its product portfolio as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting plan. Nearly 100 brands that collectively generate revenue of $2.4 billion are likely to be divested (Kumar). P&G has 23 billion dollar brands in its portfolio which will be retained. The success of a brand restructuring program is to identify and weed out low performing brands and retain the cash cows. P&G is treading on the right path and therefore investors should feel encouraged. The leaner, trimmed down P&G is likely to be more focused, nimble and responsive to customer needs which will help the company in the long run. A.G. Lafley resumed the position of P&G’s CEO in 2013. He had been at the helm of P&G from 2000 to 2009. Thereafter, Bob McDonald steered the P&G ship for four years (Coolidge). Lafley returned as CEO to guide P&G out of the woods. He is presently overseeing a massive restructuring plan (Green). He is committed to reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Lafley’s leadership style is bound to make a profound difference for the business going forward. The incumbent CEO intends to  refocus on innovation; an attribute that helped P&G reach dizzy heights during his first tenure (Coolidge). Lafley is an astute strategist who is willing to take calculated risks. He believes in the philosophy that customer is the boss. Lafley’s assertiveness, creativity and infallible administrative ability have won him many accolades and awards (Ukessays.com). P&G offers job opportunities across functional areas, geographical territories and hierarchical levels. The company offers full-time and part-time jobs, temporary work as well internships. P&G scouts for people who are curious and innovative. People who are able to establish a rapport with other people are seen as potential employees. P&G hires agile people who are prepared to meet the challenges head-on. Employees having these traits mesh well with P&G’s organizational culture and help fuel future growth  of the company. The reasoning test checks the cognitive ability of the candidate.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Conceptual Art: Responses to Capitalism

Conceptual Art: Responses to Capitalism When Situationism evolved from the Letterist movement, in the middle of the last century, it set itself up in opposition to two other two other politically motivated groups: Dadism and Surreallism. Situationism, however, was only incidentally political, and rather than subverting the art world, aimed only to redesign its context, including the attitudes of the public, so that art could become something anyone could do or enjoy- something integrated into everyday life. Historically, arts efforts to bring down capitalist structures from within have been very ill-fated, with artists finding themselves ignored, scorned, crushed or – perhaps worse- accessories to political agendas. Artists and writers must work harder than ever to devise means of opposing or exposing capitalisms deceptions, but many commentators appear to have reached the conclusion that the battle is barely worth fighting. As we shall see, Jean Baudrillard argues that criticism of the status quo is no longer possi ble through art or literature and that the only efficient way of dissenting from capitalist society is to commit suicide, Modern art wishes to be negative, critical, innovative and a perpetual surpassing, as well as immediately (or almost) assimilated, accepted, integrated, consumed. One must surrender to the evidence: art no longer contests anything. If it ever did. Revolt is isolated, the malediction consumed. Thus the avant-garde movements in Europe put the artist under pressure to exhibit a certain individuality, while also – rather contradictorily- being a producer, and as prolific, political and reactionary a producer as possible, There is a lot of talk, not about reform or forcing the Enlightenment project to live up to its own ideals, but about wholesale negation, revolution, another new sensibility, now self- affirming or self-creating, rather than a universalist or rational self-legitimation. This in turn suggests a tremendously heightened role for the artist, the figure whose imagination supposedly creates or shapes the sensibilities of civilization. In a sense, the avant-garde has been socially commissioned to forecast the future, to scouting out new intellectual terrain, Aesthetic modernity is characterized by attitudes which find a common focus in a changed consciousness of time The avant-garde understands itself as invading unknown territory, exposing itself to the dangers of sudden, shocking encounters, conquering an as yet unoccupied future. The avant-garde must find a direction in a landscape into which no one seems to have yet ventured Early Attempts to Overthrow Capitalism In many ways, Dada and Surrealism represent the most successful artistic rebellions against capitalist norms, as they have attacked the conventional assumption of meaning itself, and in doing so drew attention to the ridiculous fact that such an assumption existed at all, Dada has often been called nihilistic and its declared purpose was indeed to make clear to the public at large that all established values, moral or aesthetic, had been rendered meaningless by the catastrophe of the Great War Dada preached nonsense and anti-art with a vengeance It is as though the Artist jumped before she was pushed. With its effort to close the gap between producer and produced by making everything equally alien, Surrealism also sought to negate its creator, using, pure psychic automatism intended to express the true process of thought free from the exercise of reason and from any aesthetic or moral purpose . Habermas, too, asserts that Surrealism poses a threat to arts existential rights, but still fails in two ways, First, when the containers of an autonomously developed cultural sphere are shattered, the contents get dispersed. Nothing remains from a desublimated meaning or a destructured form; an emancipatory effect does not follow. Habermas draws attention to the levelling affect of contemporary communication networks: networks which challenge the hierarchical assumptions of classical Marxism, and which have, in scale, surpassed what any postmodern commentator – even in the 1980s- could have imagined. More so than ever, our media are democratic and interrelated, A rationalized everyday life, therefore, could hardly be saved from cultural impoverishment through breaking open a single cultural sphere art and so providing access to just one of the specialized knowledge complexes. Any active dissent can be transformed into a commodity, a product to assist the perpetuation of capitalism. Catchy slogans devised by revolutionaries are used to sell mortgages, paintings that challenge conventional assumptions about beauty and form are written about in books to be sold, and bought by galleries where their beauty and form can be admired and valued- bought and sold. As the â€Å"Anti-Naturals† recently wrote, on the subject, â€Å"It is the nature of the Spectacle to transform all experience into a consumer commodity. It is no surprise, then, that so much of modern capitalist production should be focused on the authenticity swindle. It is not merely that we are told that our authentic self is only a credit card order away. We must be told what and how to purchase. Since, in the midst of the Spectacle, all experience is real only when it can be consumed, it is natural to follow the guidance offered by the array of products engineered to address each particular need. In reality, it is quite easy to mass market to hundreds of millions of individuals,‚ since each quest is identical in its basic features.† Any words spoken against can be turned into rallying support. Art, like any powerful weapon, can always be turned against those who use it. Whatever doesnt kill power is killed by it. In this way the Dadaists watched their anti-art works being systematically categorised as works of art, and were forced to focus their whole project completely on the evasion of this recuperation. Five years of agitation against capital, war and morality, brought them to an impasse of suicide or silence. Everything the Dadaists made, said, wrote or performed seemed to be turned against its critical purpose and used against them- and they abandoned the project. Effectively, they went on strike. The Dadaists left a legacy in the form of recuperated, commodified art works, and in multiple imitations of their style and attitude. Their advocation of collage and photomontage is now everywhere in advertisements, their paradoxically anti-art art surely at the very heart of current post-modernist critical theory. They were correct in their belief that this capitalist appropriation was inevitable while they were merely producing, and not controlling the means of production, but in some ways, they did in fact constitute a challenge to bourgeois morality. Dadaism questioned the philosophical assumptions which justified smug bourgeois attitudes, and uncovered the hypocracy of World War 1s brutality legitimising propaganda. In the end they felt that their subversions of established values were merely contributing too much to the culture they had been trying to undermine. The Situationist Asger Jorn was emphatic about the failure of Marxist theory, to liberate of art from commodification , â€Å"Instead of abolishing the private character of property, socialism does nothing but augment them as much as possible, rending humans themselves useless and socially non-existent. The goal of the development of artistic liberation is the liberation of human values by the transformation of human qualities into real values. Here begins the artistic revolution against socialist development, the artistic revolution that is tied to the communist project . . .† Debord and the Situationist Reaction to Capitalism Debords 1967 book The Society of the Spectacle, represented an attempt to articulate as fully as possible the Situationist philosophy. The term spectacle refers to the colonization of everyday life by commodity in late capitalism, an extension of alienation experienced between production and consumption. The spectacles subjective, one-directional effect requires a kind of non-participation, eventually resulting in a breakdown of communication between people. Situationism distinguishes between classical and modern forms of capitalism. Where classical capitalism demanded that wasted time describes any time not spent at work, modern capitalism actually reverses that, using advertising and other spectacular means to declare that it is the time spent at work that is wasted, and work is justifiable only because it provides the monetary ability to consume. Marx wrote that, the worker feels at home when he is not working, and when he is working he does not feel at home The Situationists describe the spectacular society as a place where, the spectator feels at home nowhere, for the spectacle is everywhere . As Debord himself explains, So long as the realm of necessity remains a social dream, dreaming will remain a social necessity. The spectacle is the bad dream of modern society in chains, expressing nothing more than its wish for sleep. The spectacle is guardian of that sleep . However, the spectacle was not unique to capitalist society; the Situationists worked on a theory of the concentrated spectacle that would incorporate individual influences on capitalist regimes. This was principally contrived as a rhetorical framework to include the cult of personality in the dictatorships of places such as Cuba, the Soviet Union and China. The Situationists argued that the same tricks that society used to sell fast cars and kitchen appliances were used to promote and deify figures such as Chairman Mao. In anarchic efforts to subvert the spiritual and fiscal poverty of urban life under the tyranny of the spectacle, the Situationists developed a revolutionary art, departed from artistic convention. In their article Preliminaries Toward Defining a Unitary Revolutionary Program, Debord and the Marxist theorist Pierre Canjuers, assert, â€Å"At one pole, art is purely and simply recuperated by capitalism as a means of conditioning the population. At the other pole, capitalism grants art a perpetual privileged concession: that of pure creative activity, an alibi for the alienation of all other activities (which makes it the most expensive and prestigious status symbol). But at the same time, this sphere reserved for free creative activity is the only one in which the question of what we do with life and the question of communication are posed practically and in all their fullness. Here, in art, lies the basis of the antagonisms between partisans and adversaries of the officially dictated reasons for living. The established meaninglessness and separations give rise to the general crisis of traditional artistic means a crisis linked to the experience of alternative ways of living or the demand for such experience. Revolutionary artists are those who call for intervention; and who have themselves intervened in the sp ectacle in order to disrupt or destroy it.† Initially, the work the Situationist International produced was aimed at ridiculing formalist conceptions of the art object: Asger Jorn bought amateur paintings at flea markets and painted over them, subverting notions of authority and value. Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio invented a style of â€Å"industrial† painting where the canvas was over a hundred metres long, then cut strips off for potential buyers, thereby subverting traditional preconceptions of arts autonomy. In reality these processes were eventually absorbed by a capitalist art market bought, sold, exhibited, written about, and for the most part, politically neutered. In his 1974 book Theory of the Avant-Garde, Peter Burger points out that the avant-garde artists main goal is to shock the viewer, typically accustomed to organic or formalist works of art, in the hope that such withdrawal of meaning will direct the readers attention to the fact that the conduct of ones life is questionable and that it is necessary to cha nge it He goes on to state that, Paradoxically, the avant-gardist intention to destroy art as an institution is thus realized in the work of art itself. The intention to revolutionize life by returning art to its praxis turns into a revolutionizing of art. This is the kind of logic that prompted the Situationists to agree to stop producing art in 1961, when they decided to cease considering themselves artists. Any remaining members unwilling to abandon traditional forms of art, including Jorn, Pinot-Gallizio, and Constant found themselves either being forced into ideological resignation or expulsion. â€Å"It is a question not of elaborating the spectacle of refusal, but rather of refusing the spectacle. In order for their elaboration to be artistic and authentic in the new and authentic sense defined by the SI, the elements of the destruction of the spectacle must precisely cease to be works of art. Once and for all. . . . Our position is that of combatants between two worlds one that we dont acknowledge, the other that does not yet exist.† In The Situationist City, Simon Sadler write that, in abandoning early Situationism, the Situationist International abandoned its imagining of utopia a devastating decision, surely unprecedented in the history of the avant-garde, and yet at the same time surely the situationists greatest contribution to that history: the recognition that in changing the world, avant-garde art cannot be a substitute for popular redistribution of power It seemed that the SI recognized that for any avant-garde to succeed, it would do best striving to produce artists, and not art. The Dadaists, too, were aware that both art and artist are part of the capitalist system, and consequently as guilty in their participation as any other commodity or worker. Marcuse and Adorno, in contrast, argued that the Dadaist project was misguided for its attacks on conventional art. They saw art as an autonomous entity, separate from capitalist interests, and something intrinsically apolitical that must be preserved rather than aggressively undermined. For Adorno, art bears an essential negativity derived from its peculiar Form; its rearrangements of reality are conducted according to a system quite alien to those of capitalism. This â€Å"Form† grants art a: refuge and a vantage point from which to denounce the reality established through domination. While Adorno and Marcuse criticised the anti-artists for attacking artistic Form, they agreed with the avant-gardists in their slightly utopic aspiration of abolishing the distinction that existed between art and the rest of reality. In fact, Marcuse wished to see a society organised around the aesthetic principles he believed resided only within art. Both argued that this integration could not be achieved if artists were allowed to participate. Art should be kept apolitical and protected, in a realm conducive to calm reflection that might remind us of the truth an authentic life can afford us after the revolution. So, although they expressed their rejection of this view in different ways, the Dadaists, Surrealists and Situationists all aspired to a collapse of the distinction between art and the rest of life in present: â€Å"everyday life†. Instead of waiting for the revolution, all three argued that the integration of art and life was in fact necessary for the achievement of revolution, a revolution made possible only by a combined cultural, ideological and economic assault on capitalism. Asger Jorn, again, on the failure of the socialist revolution, â€Å"The capitalist revolution was essentially a socialization of consumption. Capitalist industrialization brought humanity a socialization as profound as the socialization proposed by the socialists that of the means of production. The socialist revolution is the fulfillment of the capitalist revolution. The one element removed from the capitalist system is saving, because consumptions richness has already been eliminated by the capitalists themselves†¦ Real communism will be the leap into the domain of freedom and of value, of communication. Contrary to utilitarian value (normally known as material value), artistic value is the progressive value because, by a process of provocation, it is the valorization of humanity itself. Since Marx, economic politics has shown its impotence and its cowardice. A hyperpolitics will need to strive for the direct realization of humanity.† Walter Benjamins Authentic Opposition: Crisis of Reproduction Walter Benjamin is probably Adornos most established opponent, particularly since The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, a work that concentrated upon defining the aura of traditional art preceding 1900, and assessed the decay of this aura under the impact of new media and cultural technologies. Benjamin argues that art has lost its authenticity because of mechanical mass reproduction in our capitalist-orientated culture industry. He is concerned about shifting attitudes to art, which came about as a consequence of the introduction of mechanical means of reproduction. Formerly unique objects, located in a particular space, lost their singularity as they became accessible to many people in diverse places. Lost too was the aura that was attached to a work of Art which was now open to many different readings and interpretations Unlike his Frankfurt School colleagues, however, and especially unlike Adorno, Benjamin argues, this loss of authenticity is actually a positive thing, because it democratizes and politicizes art. Benjamins claim that arts loss of authenticity might actually help free people, not enslave them in a capitalist culture industry starkly opposes Adornos ideas. In addition, each stage of reproduction of an original work of art also contributes to its loss of aura. According to Benjamin, then: culture has been transformed into an industry; thus art has become commodified; contemporary culture is the machinery by which oppressive ideologies are reproduced and disseminated; new media technologies such as phonographs, film and photography, serve to destroy arts aura and effectively demystify the process of creating art, making available radical new access and roles for art in mass culture; the spectator has become a collaborator and participant, who joins the author in determining the meaning of the production of the work of art. Art is successful only when it enables the critical contemplation of a viewer. Benjamin happily equates authenticity with authority- the authority of oppressive institutions such as the church or the state- and history. As Benjamin explains, the work of arts authenticity is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced Until the 20th century, artworks retained their aura, their â€Å"authenticity† precisely because of their inability to be mass-reproduced, whether religious artifacts or one-off paintings commissioned by individual wealthy patrons. This conception clearly presents aura and authenticity as profoundly undemocratic, as the means of artistic production remain in the control of the rich and powerful, then able use such art to maintain control over the masses. The introduction of mechanical means of reproduction of art, particularly photography and film, caused the very foundations of this setup to be radically altered. For the first time it was possible for anyone to acquire the means to take photographs of a work of art, or at purchase an image of the work. However hard cultural elites in the late 19th century had tried to protect the aura of art works, the social advance of the masses and the invention of media such as film, which depends upon distribution to the masses, had led to the inevitable decay of the aura in the 20th century. Benjamin marks the distinction between manual and machine reproduction of art, The whole sphere of authenticity is outside technical, and, of course, not only technical reproducibility, he states, Confronted with its manual reproduction, which was usually branded as a forgery, the original preserved all its authority; not so vis a vis technical reproduction Benjamin states two reasons this occurs. Firstly, machine reproduction is more independent of the original than manual reproduction; secondly, technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself. So mass-produced copies are able to engage with the wider world in a manner not possible for the original or one-off copies. Benjamin summarises his ideas concerning reproduction by asserting the technique detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. Many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence.† So to allow the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, is to reactivate the object reproduced, â€Å"It is these processes that lead to the tremendous shattering of tradition which is the obverse of the contemporary crisis and renewal of mankind In Benjamins conception, then, state and religious authorities have steadily lost the ability to control general access to such works of art, particularly since the 20th century began. This is most apparent in relation to the cinema, which destroyed the traces of aura with which art had been traditionally imbued; Benjamin cites arts historical value as a fundamental part of magical and religious rituals. In the process, capitalism strips art of its the idealistic, theological halo- to some extent a happy consequence and restorative, as it returns the art object to its non-utilitarian presence, its everyday reality. For Benjamin, an artworks â€Å"aura† refers to its uniqueness and the phenomena of distance, however close [an object] may be. He uses gives the example of distant mountains and a trees bough over head, both contain aura because they are images have not been effectively reproduced mechanically . Beyond the concepts of aura and authenticity, Benjamins concepts of reproduction and reversibility represent the core of his concerns about way in which arts role in society has been fundamentally altered in the 20th century. Benjamin proposes that the artworks aura of authenticity has withered away because of its reproduceability, and the process of reproduction brings art into closer proximity with a mass audience. However, paradoxically, as the authenticity erodes, the works essence becomes forefronted in the process, as it starts to become designed for reproducibility. As Benjamin describes it, â€Å"for the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. . . . From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for an authentic print makes no sense. But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice – politics†. Benjamins commentaries on the effects of reproduction inspired other writers, such as Lechte, â€Å"it is the process of reproduction as such which is revolutionary: the fact, for instance, that the photographic negative enables a veritable multiplication of originals. With the photograph, therefore, the spectre of the simulacrum emerges, although Benjamin never names it as such. The photograph as simulacrum by-passes the simple difference between original and copy† Barbara Krugers Situationism and the Irresistible Collage of Society Barbara Kruger addresses the negative aspects of capitalist society as an artist, writer, curator, lecturer and graphic designer. Her art is displayed both inside and outside museums and in a range of different forms. Occasionally her prints are framed and hung on the walls of museums and galleries in the traditional fashion, but Kruger is endlessly inventive, and often writes text to be printed or projected directly on the walls or floors of a museum. In Picturing Greatness, a photography exhibition curated by Kruger in 1987 for The Museum of Modern Art in New York, text was printed in large black type across a central partition. Kruger selected photographs for this exhibit from the museums collection, and according to the words on the partition, the photographs were mostly of mostly famous artists† who happened to be predominantly white and male. The text on the partition claimed the works can show us how vocation is ambushed by clichà © and snapped into stereotype by the camera, and how photography freezes moments, creates prominence and makes history. Krugers work continually questions the definition of art, artists and the ways in which â€Å"great art† should be exhibited. In this work, Kruger challenges the overwhelming dominance of male artists and draws attention to the females apparent invisibility in western art history. Just like the Situationists under Guy Debord, she has altered the meaning of art by rec ontextualising it. Crucially, the visitor to Krugers exhibition does not need to be familiar with the original photographs before seeing the show- even the uneducated viewer could read Krugers text, look at the original images and come to their own conclusions about the meaning. Thus the work achieves a kind of unique political democracy. Kruger has a background as a graphic designer, and as such creates effective bold images which are in many ways visually indistinguishable from advertisements, but rather than trying to sell a product, appeal directly to our social conscience. The subject of her text is always I, me, we, or you, as though Kruger engages in conversation with the viewer. Her messages probe the assumptions of the capitalist status quo: You are seduced by the sex appeal of the inorganic, When I hear the word culture, I take out my checkbook and We have received orders not to move. Similarly, Constant, of the COBRA group, proposed a city as a kind of physical expression of his utopia of â€Å"free play† which, in parts, bears striking resemblance to representations of the Internet, in books such as Mapping Cyberspace (with wild lines pouring out of the metropolis perhaps representing bandwidth and site traffic). Made with perspex and bike parts, Constants models and his diagrams for New Babylon demonstrate his yearning for future as something mobile, organic, animated, and self-celebratory. For Constant the city was a sort of perpetual festival of leisure. With its intricately connected wires suspending clear circular layers, ramps and walkways, Constants New Babylon recalls some kind of tensile organism. As Constant describes it, â€Å"The unfunctional character of this playground-like construction makes any logical division of the inner spaces senseless. We should rather think of a quite chaotic arrangement of small and bigger spaces that are constantly assembled and dissembles by means of standardized mobile construction elements like walls, floors and staircases. Thus the social space can be adapted to the ever-changing needs of an every changing population as it passes through the sector system.† Analogues with the Internet are irresistable. Equally, he could have been referring in a general way to those unique social structures which have grown from the anti-globalisation movement – structures which, although provisional, pragmatic and short term, are nevertheless ideologically committed to social change and serve as emblems of the ongoing struggle against capitalism, a battle fuelled entirely from reserves of creativity. Constants is city as collage, similar to that celebrated by the less politically motivated group, Archigram, in the UK (many of whose members now design massive architectural features for megaband stadium concerts). In this time of desperate connectivity and complicated layering of urban cultures, with invisible webs of communication engulfing us, the need to understand the city as a place beyond work and production seems more pressing than ever. The Situationist reaction to capitalism is also excellently expressed through anti capitalist collage: for example that of the General Lighting and Power group, whose slick mock-advertising images of soft focus female forms in leotards and computer graphics of office interiors and car accidents, wryly annotated with entertaining aphorisms such as: Aerobics is necessary: progress implies it (I see you baby, shaking that ass) and God is in the retailing Comparisons to Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger are obvious. Charles Rice, too, has observed the oversized billboard signs now proliferating in major cities, arguing convincingly that they serve to perpetuate the distance between the real and the impossible,these spatial fantasies effectively deliver identification with the distant and the unattainable† Many writers have noted the similarities between the Situationists idea of the derive (that is, the navigating of a city via means and routes other than those originally intended) and the experience of â€Å"surfing† the internet. Colin Fournier, architect and educator makes some potent observations on this area. It would seem that many of the characteristics of the internet reflect the S.I.s utopic city. The things considered prerequisite for their utopia: an ephemeral, negotiable type of city, where uses were determined by the population, surfing the web is like the idea of drifting or â€Å"deriving†, flaneur-like, through a city. The Situationist city and the web are uniquely flexible, anarchically dynamic: spacial relations secondary on any given route. The internet always seems to somehow recall the old Surrealist idea of using a map of one city to find ones way around another. Art as Capitalism: the Medias Re-appropriation of Images Increasingly, the media is becoming governed by imagery, and the average consumer is overwhelmed by visual information on a daily basis. Through sheer competition, the commercial sphere has been forced to use stranger, scarier, more extreme imagery to earn the attention of bewildered customers. Magazines such as Vogue have lured artists to their pages, where they are seen as innovative, visionary powers for re-inventing a complacent visual vocabulary. Thus, the traditional hierarchy of photography, in which the commercial and conceptual worlds were segregated, has been broken down into a fluid, integrated world- mutual respect has ensured that crossing the boundary either way no longer carries the taint or disrespect it once did. A new generation of artists have grown up with the rather cynical and postmodern idea that all things are commercially viable. Contemporary art school graduates are less likely to see their ventures into the commercial realm as contamination, and more as a necessary aspect of their endeavor. Commerce is incorporated into art at every level, from the means to the ends to the theme. That the common thread of art and fashion- the human body- has become such a commodity, seems like an obvious extension of this. Fashion spreads frequently borrow art photographers for their pages and mimic, in the case of Diesel and others, with considerable irony- the current art world trend towards narrative ambiguity and deliberately theatrical tableaux that recall â€Å"theoretical† artists like Jeff Wall and Cindy Sherman. Russel Wong is one such new generation artist, his work strongly informed by todays cultural fascination with celebrity. Wong has become famous through striking portraits of personalities from sports to music and movies, famous for capturing moments of vulnerability, warmth and humor. A number of Wongs photos have been used on the covers of international magazines. My photos are never confrontati

Saturday, January 18, 2020

The Second Race for Space: Nasa vs. Private Space Enterprise

â€Å"NASA spent millions of dollars inventing the ball-point pen so they could write in space. The Russians took a pencil. † This quote stated by the historian Will Chabot signifies the controversy surrounding NASA’s excessive spending throughout the years. In 1957 it was made clear the Soviets were the first into space when an alien like beeping sounds were projected through radios across America. President Dwight. D Eisenhower portrayed America was far behind the Soviets when he signed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Act of 1958.Despite the past significance of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon, we find ourselves today charitably donating this government run bureaucracy billions of dollars that could be used more effectively in the field by others. People still believe in the government ran NASA, stating they use their funds effectively towards research and space exploration. These people feel organization should continue to receive mo ney from the government to better our knowledge on space exploration and research.There is, in contrast, the growingly popular view that independently funded and run commercial space corporations deserve a share of the funding contributed to NASA. From looking at NASA’s wasteful past, its unproductive organizational management, along with what commercial enterprise has already proven for itself, it is made clear that there are effective alternatives to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Many American citizens know little about NASA’s projects throughout the past few decades; sure enough there is a reason why.Since the 1980s nearly five billion dollars have been wasted by NASA’s projects that had little success nor benefits for the science community. In President Reagan’s 1986 State of the Union Address, he proposed The National Aerospace Plane to be built by NASA. Just six years and 1. 7 billion dollars later, the program was canceled befo re anything was even built. In the years to come Vice President Al Gore announced the acceptance of the replacement X-33 project, a spacecraft that could be used more than once.In 2001, by NASA’s error, cracks were found in the spacecraft’s fuel tanks. This led to yet another botched NASA project, causing a waste of a staggering 1. 2 billion dollars. Throughout the same years as the X-33, NASA was working on the X-34 and X-38, a reusable rocket and a reusable lifeboat for the International Space Station. After four years and almost no hardware production, both were canceled resulting in another waste of well over one billion dollars. The amount of scientific data gathered from these models didn’t compare to a fraction of the price NASA contributed.During the year 2000, even as the previous projects were being exterminated, NASA managed to get approval for another program known as the Space Launch Initiative. For two years this project consumed 800 million dollar s resulting in nothing other than blueprints (Zimmerman). These pricey papers were soon added to the heaping pile of waste NASA accumulated when the project was cut. While these numbers seem baffling to most, there is still more ways this organization has wasted our tax dollars.NASA’s ill equipped security systems put at a costly risk the successful projects they have spent so much money on creating. There has been a minimum of 5,408 successful breaches in NASA’s security, many of which were sponsored by foreign intelligence agencies (Fogarty, par. 7). To illustrate why this is such a critical problem for our funding, we will take only the years of 2011 and 2012 into account. Throughout this time NASA has not only lost control of the International Space Station’s functions, but suffered a loss of seven million dollars in hacked restricted data (Fogarty, par. ). Is this the corporation we want to invest billions in? From what continues to happen to this day it is made clear that NASA has, and will continue, to improperly manage the money it is given for space exploration and research. Though the staggering number of wasted funds seem unbelievable to most, the reason for their existence can be found in the organizations very own infrastructure. NASA’s organizational management is counterproductive when working with a budget.NASA has shifted resources away from effective principal investigators, when a single man is responsible for a projects completion, and towards manufacturers that operate under the governments bureaucratic rein (Baker, pg. 2). While looking into NASA’s management it is clear that there isn’t close to a sufficient amount of authoritative decision making. It is not that teams operating under a bureaucracy such as NASA aren’t skilled enough to take the best plan of action; it’s that no one has the jurisdiction to assign tasks and hold people accountable for their completion. (Molta, par. 2) .This lack of authority has led to shuttle catastrophe where America’s citizens watch their countries creation ignite in a ball of flame. The NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe presented himself before a Senate committee years after the Columbia tragedy. Senator Fritz Hollings scolded O’Keefe for taking one of the Columbia shuttle managers who was criticized for the explosion and made him second in command of NASA’s safety office. â€Å"That doesn't indicate to me that you got it,† Hollings stated (Zimmerman). While something must be going on behind the scenes there is another problem at hand.Bureaucracies such as NASA have trouble with establishing proper span of control. There is of course no set number of subordinates a NASA advisor can successfully supervise. This leads to employees not getting enough management support when taking actions that may jeopardies the project (Molta, par. 3). After all most of us cannot even fathom the money and precis ion that goes into creating something such as a space shuttle. NASA’s thriftiness is further decreased from the basis in which it receives funds. The entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal, Mr.Musk, stated â€Å"NASA’s contractors work by the â€Å"Cost plus† model encouraging aerospace companies to find the most expensive way to do something and drag it out as long as possible. † He went on to say †Future contracts should be given to meet milestones based on objective design reviews and actual hardware completion. If a company meets the milestone, they get paid. If not, they don't† (Tierney, par. 9). Due to the fact that NASA does not get any reward for accomplishing any landmarks within a specified time zone, there is no telling how inefficient they will be with the funding they receive.They have no incentive to be thrifty with the funds that they have. From these reasons it is made clear NASA’s flawed structure wastes our money. Indeed t his negative talk of NASA may make it appear as though space exploration is nothing but a waste of money. However, independently owned commercial space corporations have proven to be highly beneficial. Throughout NASA’s most notorious years of the 1960s it was the competing private space enterprises that manufactured the products NASA gets accredited for.Specialized private companies manufactured for NASA rockets, capsules, and lunar landers for cheap prices with the intentions of the government buying their products for years to come. However, once the Cold War was over NASA stopped working with outside companies, causing many to collapse (Zimmerman). It is clear from NASA’s history that it hasn’t been close to as efficient as it has been while it was purchasing from outside manufacturers. Present day Private space corporations have had several innovational breakthroughs NASA had not discovered after its nearly sixty years in existence.After only a few years in existence, Xcore developed for NASA the rocket engines that are generally inside the jets of the nascent rocket-racing industry. They have also provided NASA with an engine that can run on nothing other than liquid oxygen and methane (Klerx, pg. 18). The next example is a key reason why private companies forced to accomplish tasks on a minimum budget have the brain power to do so accordingly. While NASA goes about building every rocket vertically, Space X revolutionized the assembly process by instead creating rockets horizontally.This avoids the multimillion dollar cost NASA incurs for having to create and move customized towers and scaffolding (Tierney, pg. 7). From four private enterprise’s recent accomplishment came $269 million gifted to them by NASA. This award was granted by the Obama administration’s Commercial Crew Development Program, whose goal is to push outside companies to get their ships into orbit at a quicker pace and at a lower cost than NASA (Chang) . From looking back from NASA’s glory days to recent monetary rewards, commercial space corporations have already left their mark in what humans have accomplished.With the government increasingly working with private enterprise, there is no telling what NASA’s fate will be. What can be made certain of is the fact that there will always be at least two points of views surrounding this controversy of government versus private space enterprise. While many will stick by NASA’s side until life itself is over, others will take into consideration NASA’s improperly managed funds, its flawed organizational management, and commercial enterprises advances that have already been accomplished.These supporting groups of information all revolve around the fact that commercial space enterprise will much more effectively put to use the money that NASA consumes. Stephen Hawking proclaimed â€Å"I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years unles s we spread into space. † For this reason and many more humans will forever continue their mission to the final frontier. Only time will truly tell if private or public will better help man in this race for space.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Interracial Marriage Essay

Interracial marriage is used to describe marriages that take place between people who are from different linguistic, religious, or nations or ethnic groups. There are substantial increases in the number of individuals engaging in interracial. Relationships between people from different ethnic and cultural groups are becoming increasingly common because of globalization and improvement of technology. Internet technology has brought together the world in that people can enter into a relationship with anyone from any countries. In some countries, it is against the law to marry someone of a different race. These countries include Germany during the Nazi period, South Africa under apartheid, and some states in the United States before a 1969 ruling. In some Arab countries, it is forbidden for an Arab to marry outside their race because of the law and traditional customs. If an Arab person marries someone out of their race, their civil rights are taken away from them. In 2008, Pakistani senators allowed women to be buried alive if they married someone outside their race. People Most Attracted to Intercultural Relationships/ Marriages To begin the series on intercultural marriage, beginning with a discussion about who exactly tends to be most attracted to intercultural relationships/marriages in the first place seems like a good place to start. It’s certainly not for everyone, as mixed marriages are full of unique challenges that married people from the same culture may never face. In Romano’s book â€Å"Intercultural Marriage,† she lists 5 common types of people who tend to be involved in intercultural relationships. The first type is the Romantic type: those who see people from other cultures as exotic, fascinating, and thrilling. These people may find people from their own culture boring and predictable, and thrive in the mystique of people from far away and foreign lands. The second type is the Compensator. These people often feel like something is missing from their lives and believe they have found it in another person or culture, as they believe elements from that person/culture fulfills what is missing from their own. Romano notes that this type is found even in couples who marry from their own cultures, who are simply looking for someone to fulfill what they lacked growing up. Rebels are slightly different from the compensators in that they dislike much about their own culture and are intent on finding someone from somewhere else. Sometimes they have a specific target culture in mind; other times they simply take whatever fate brings them. Internationals, the next type of people drawn to intercultural marriage, are those who lived outside their native countries for most of their lives, and are typically children of missionaries, diplomats, military personnel, and so on. These people often do not feel as though they completely belong to one particular culture, as they tend to have been influenced by several cultures and therefore have a wide appreciation and love for differences. The final category is comprised of others. These people may not fit into their society and often are ostracized from it. Finding love in a different culture is a way to find a place to fit in and be accepted. Some of them are not considered to be attractive in their native culture, and have better luck in another culture. Others are part of a minority and find acceptance in another culture. Still others live in poverty and marry as a way to improve their quality of life. Barriers Oftentimes, couples in intercultural marriages face barriers that most married couples of the same culture are not exposed to. Intercultural marriages are often influenced by external factors that can create dissonance and disagreement in relationships. Different cultures endure vastly diverse moral, ethical and value foundations that influence their perceptions of individual, family and societal lifestyle. When these foundations are operating alongside the foundation of different cultural roots, as in intercultural marriages, problems and disagreement oftentimes occur. 1. Family and Society The most common external factors influencing intercultural relationships and marriages are the acceptance of the family and the society in which the couple lives. Sometimes, the families of the partners display rejection, resistance, hostility and lack of acceptance for their kin’s partner. Specific issues regarding the family; including generational gaps in ideology, and how the wedding will be held; which ties into how tradition will or will not be practiced. Many intercultural couples report conflict arising over issues of how to carry out child raising and religious worship as well. 2. Language In a mixed marriage where the partners do not share the same mother tongue, the language in which they decide to communicate at home can be symbolic of the extent to which each partner is prepared to forego his or her cultural background and incorporate new elements. There may also be elements of control and dependence in the choice of language when one partner refuses to learn the other’s language. There is a case-study of a so-called bought bride from Asia. The German husband had no knowledge of her language, while she could speak some English, but no German. Communication in such a relationship proved to be extremely difficult, and all decisions and dealings with the outside world where necessarily undertaken by the German husband. The wife could not find any but the most menial jobs where the necessity of understanding was limited, which further increased her economic dependence on him. 3. Communication Style Intercultural couples may possess differing communication styles. Individuals from a high context culture are not verbally explicit in their communication behaviors. These cultures typically consist of eastern world countries where collectivism and relational harmony underlie communication behavior. By contrast, individuals from a low context culture use direct and obvious communication styles to convey information. In situations where marriage occurs between two people from differing communication contextual backgrounds, conflict may arise from relational challenges posed by the underlying assumptions of high/low context cultures. Challenges posed by differing communication styles are common among intercultural marriage couples. The longer the two individuals have existed in the current culture the less likely this is to pose an issue. If one or more partners within the marriage is relatively new to the dominant culture, the likelihood for conflict to unfold o n these bases increases. Solution/ Suggestions 1. Learn How to Appreciate One of the ways to deal with interracial dating issues is acceptance of partner the way he or she is. Most issues arise when one or both partners want to have their way in everything that they do. It is therefore important to ensure that they appreciate their wife or husband with all his or her cultural practices. Since they come different regions, differences in the way of life are bound to happen. They must desist from criticizing each other based on cultural grounds or race. As a matter of fact they must never stereotype or generalize happenings as this can be the cause of interracial conflicts. If they are willing to love, understand and respect each other’s differences, you’re on the right track. 2. Learn More about the Culture Another thing they need to do in order to solve issues with interracial relationships is to study each other well before engaging. Discuss the symbolism or significance of each other’s important cultural traditions. Understanding the significance of these traditions will help to understand them. This will help them to have a more natural, familiar feeling toward the other’s traditions, accept and embrace the culture of the other. After some time, they will even feel the desire to incorporate culture into their own family traditions. Besides, they need to know what values their partner stands for and to establish whether they can accommodate them. When they understand their partner in advance, it becomes easier for them to solve any interracial dating concerns. One advantage of being married to someone from another country is to get travel from time to time. When they can travel, make sure to visit the spouse’s family and learn abou t their culture firsthand. Furthermore this prepares them for the future thus allowing them to solve situations better. 3. Maintain Contact with Family It is essential that â€Å"foreign† spouse keeps in contact with his or her family, especially as they are probably a long way from each other. With time, he or she will feel of longing for their family, homesickness, and even possible loneliness and depression. It is necessary that he or she can keep contact to his or her family. Today, the Internet and sites like Facebook and Twitter make this type of contact much easier, and your spouse happier. Help your spouse to develop friendships with people from his or her country or families that speak their language somehow so that they will know more people and may feel at home

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Organizational Culture Of Saginaw Public School - 1007 Words

From going over the problems and possible solutions while considering the participants and the organizational culture of Saginaw Public School District the next step is to come up with a decision. In January of 2013 when the State of Michigan Department of Education wrote a letter to Saginaw Public Schools saying that they had to come up with a definite plan to decrease the deficit the district decided to close one of the middle schools and have both high schools with 8th through 12 grade. The decision was made by Saginaw Public Schools School board members after listening for months about all the solutions that were presented to them. The board members had to hear voices from the community members, parents, and students. The superintendents also were at the meetings and community forums to hear from the community and came up with the plan to add one grade to the high school and close one middle school. Along with closing one middle school two elementary schools will be closed a nd the staff development building to cut expenses. Along with closing the buildings there was also 36 teachers, 6 administrators, 2 counselors, 8 secretaries, and other support staff to save the district an estimated 3.6 million. The board approved of this decision 4-3 and the state of Michigan approved of this budget cut. The next school year Saginaw Public Schools transition into this new plan but they ran into many problems. The first problem which is listed above in table one involved the