History of Western Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Western Art - Essay Example This piece was made in 1656, and exhibits some similarities to â€Å"The Arnolfini Marriage.† Velasquez uses refined technicalities, and combines them with profound representations, in order to create a court picture. The first similarity that can be made of these two works of art is in their content. They have human subjects as the main characters, but also incorporate dogs in them. The intended audience for both works is supposedly human. In Las Meninas, the mirror in the background reveals two people. They seem to be approaching Margarita (La Infanta), and her maids of honour. In Arnolfini Wedding, the portrait is a visual record of an event that takes place inside the confines of a palace. The audience in this case, is also reflected in the convex mirror placed on the wall behind Arnolfini and his bride. The three people reflected in the mirror are thought to be the audience to the event. In this portrait, there is a dog that is at the feet of the bride. The styles of the two portraits are also closely related. The body expressions used by the subjects are illustrative of the message being passed. In Las Meninas, the maid attending to Margarita is leaning towards her, indicating servitude. The other maid of honour behind Margarita is in a curtsy stance, to welcome the approaching party. The persons approaching this group as seen from the reflection in the mirror seem to be Margarita’s parents. In the Arnolfini Wedding, the bride has her hand in the palm of the groom. This is taken to be a symbol of her giving herself to him. The lighting in the portraits is from natural sources. In Las Meninas, light comes in through the door that appears to be close to an opening letting in sunlight. There also seems to be a light source towards the direction that margarita has turned her head. In Arnolfini Wedding, natural light come in through the open window. There are minimal facial expressions in both portraits. Natural colours are used in the portraits with various shades black and white featuring most in Las Meninas. In Arnolfini Wedding, blue, green and a deep shade of red break this monotony. The main context in both portraits appears to be family. In Las Meninas, there is Margarita who is being served by her maids of honour. From the mirror, her parents are seen seemingly approaching the group. This is why Margaritas head is tilted towards the direction that other subjects in the portrait are looking. The royal family in this case is present in the room. The setting represents how a child of the royal family is attended to. In Arnolfini Wedding, the first step to setting up a family is taking place. This wedding is performed in the privacy of a chamber, and is witnessed by very few people. Having become married, the couple can start their family, as the bride seems to be pregnant. The elegantly dressed persons in the portrait are symbolic of the royal families in the renaissance period. Part Two Humanism in art refers to a cul tural movement that was characteristic of 14th to 16th century art. The focus of works in this period was on humans. This is what set it apart from the earlier centuries that were dominated by Christianity. Humanism offered a different perspective to life. Humanism was a movement that praised humans for their achievements rather than owing it all to divine grace (Gardner, Kleiner and Mamiya). The subjects of painting in this period shifted from religious symbols, to humans and

Project management report for Zenith Company Inc Essay

Project management report for Zenith Company Inc - Essay Example According to the research findings it can therefore be said that proper project management is important for any project to meet its objective and achieve success. Project management involves in-depth process of planning, execution or implementation, and monitoring and evaluation at every phase of implementation. If it is not a perpetual project, a final stage of project closing is included. The management team at Zenith PM has decided to enhance the current business strategy by introducing a new approach on their core business model to improve business performance and success. This paper will attempt to provide advice to the management of Zenith PM on the current thinking on offsite manufacturing or modern methods of construction, the potential impact of change in direction from a change management perspective on Zenith PM’s existing business strategy focusing on existing organizational and project processes, how a transition might be undertaken using a project management solu tion including an implementation strategy) and explore all risk management issues that may be prevalent. The management team at Zenith PM has decided to have a new approach on their core business model. They have made the decision to incorporate offsite manufacturing with an aim to enter a new niche market (which could give them competitive advantage), stabilize the workforce (to reduce turnover), and improve the financial position of the company (working capital requirements and improved order book). 2. Current thinking on Offsite Manufacturing 2.1 New development Based on the business of Zenith PM, it is apparent that reliance on the traditional manufacturing methods will not put the firm in a competitive advantage particularly given that other firms in the market have embraced advanced technologies boosting their competition and production levels. The management’s decision to adopt offsite manufacturing sounds long overdue but a good measure though challenging to grow firm size, motivate staff, increase production, improve quality, improve client satisfaction, and increase firm turnover. Offsite manufacturing leads to improved project delivery and positively influence the performance of the construction industry by reducing the project’s duration by almost half and increased onsite productivity. Zenith PM should carry out an Analysis of internal and external market forces so that they can have a smooth way forward. Zenith PM can use the business analysis model of SWOT by Albert Humphrey to identify Zenith PM’s strengths and weaknesses, which are internal factors as well as opportunities and threats, the external factors. The company’

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Strategic Management - Essay Example It is the process through which organizations follow a certain path to achieve desired short term and long term goals and can maintain a desired level of output. A proper strategic planning can help an organization to develop a clear long term vision and would help the management to visualize where the organization would be after five to ten years or may be even more than that. Strategic Planning can be treated as a milestone for each and every organization. Without strategic planning, the organization can actually never identify the present position in the industry and cannot develop a strategic guidance for the future (Henry, 2008, p. 89). This study has been conducted with a motive to develop a strategic plan for Tesco, one of the large retail supermarkets in the U.K. The study looks to focus all the aspects related to the development of a strategic plan of an organization including the assessment of the mission and vision statement, situation analysis and final development of the strategy to gain competitive advantage over the competitors. Here it needs to be mentioned that the although Tesco is a global retailer, but still the study has been conducted with respect to the UK market as it happens to be the home country and largest market of Tesco compared to other markets in the world. Getting Ready Choosing Organization Tesco PLC. Developing Organizational Profile Tesco PLC is a multinational retail grocery retailer and general merchandiser. The company is headquartered in Chest Hunt, UK. It happens to be the largest retailer in the United Kingdom and the third largest retailer in the world after Wal-Mart and Carrefour. The company was originally founded by Jack Cohen in 1919. As on April 2012, Tesco had 6,351 stores all over the world. The company has 2,975 stores in UK market. According to annual financial report of 2012 the total revenue of the company is ?64.539 billion. Specific issues to be addressed Over the past few years the retail business in the UK has seen a lot of changes. One of the key issues to look for while developing the strategic plan would be the effect of the changes external environmental factors and the impact of those on the company’s day to day business activity. The present industry scenario also plays a major role in the development of the business strategy and hence this has to be taken into account. Along with the external environment assessment, the internal environmental factors would also be reviewed as it would help the company to identify the core competencies, strengths as well as the weaknesses (Kolb, 2008, p. 92). Key Information to be collected To understand the impact of the external environmental changes, political, economic, social and technological factors need to be assessed. Also to understand the present market scenario especially market competitiveness, Porters Five Forces will be analysed. It consists of bargaining power of the buyers and suppliers, industry

How the Web Destroys the Quality of Students Research Paper

How the Web Destroys the Quality of Students - Research Paper Example The paper describes the educational hazards of the world wide web. The researcher David says that with the advent of the internet has led to a depleted quality of the research papers. The author claims that most of the information on the web is actually older than what it claims. This claim of the author is not absolutely correct. The Internet is amongst the fastest means of communication that is present today and the internet does have older information, but it also has the most recent repository of papers and journals stored in electronic databases such as EBSCO. The author claims that the information on the web is mostly written by people whose credibility is difficult to asses. This claim is partially correct. A lot of researchers makes use of wikis the information in which is not form a completely trusted source. Still, if taken from appropriate sources such as electronic databases, e-newspapers or magazines such as economists, the information is from a completely credible sourc e. The author also says that the use of search engines for retrieval of information leads to useful information being missed out. The scenario has completely changed from the time when this article was written. Today websites such as Google use algorithms that make use of a combination of a crawler, an indexer and a query processor which return the most related and reliable information on the first page (Sherman and Price, 2001). The author says that most of the information on the web is a mere summary and research papers based on these internet pages are nothing but a collection of summaries.

M I B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

M I B - Essay Example arget markets, and political forces that would affect the organization’s decision to venture abroad; and (3) as long as there are potentials and opportunities in the local market, Wal-Mart wanted to tap these to build enough internal resources and financial capabilities to prepare for international expansion. During the early stages of its international expansion in the 1990s, Wal-Mart predominantly selected countries closest to its geographical location and where the profile of the target market share parallel behavior with those exhibited in the local markets. The first market it expanded to was Mexico, which was located just beyond their border. The rest of the countries were also close geographically, like Puerto Rico and Canada. Expansion to other countries such as Hong Kong, could have considered the nature of expanding markets and the vast opportunities that the target markets from this location could contribute to Wal-Mart’s international growth. The organization could have also considered the incentives provided by the international governments, including tax incentives or subsidies for setting up greenfield investments in these areas. Wal-Mart chooses between acquisitions, greenfield investments and joint ventures on the following grounds: (1) after considering costs of market entry; (2) cultural underpinnings; (3) government incentives and legal laws; (4) human resources expertise and capabilities; (5) familiarity with the environment; and (6) consumer profiles. Under greenfield investments, for example, Wal-Mart decides based on lack of potential targets to be acquired and there are local resources deemed experts to operate the organization. Joint venture, are most appropriate in cases where there has been an identified organization with competencies in the area and both partners could contribute their respective core competencies to result in longer term mutual gains. As indicated by the case facts, â€Å"a joint venture agreement rather than full

English-language learning experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

English-language learning experience - Essay Example For instance, beginning at the junior high-level students were required to wear school uniforms that consisted of navy blue slacks and a button-down shirt with an emblem of my school’s name Iwaki Koukou on the front. Other regulations consisted of restricting hair length and how much money you could spend on snacks. I even recall having a teacher confront me because my socks weren’t regulation colors. The school week ran from Monday-Saturday and only included a month off for summer break. The large emphasis on regulation and education, with students attending school nearly year round, and the popularity of after-school lessons, resulted in many of my classmates losing interests in lessons and a notable majority skipping school altogether. The strict guidelines weren’t confined to only student conduct but also permeated the nature of lessons and the ultimate goals for education. Differing from the United States, entrance to Japanese high schools are determined on an acceptable basis and it seemed that many of my courses in middle school were geared towards cramming in as much information as possible so students would pass their entrance examinations. The English-language textbook we used was called New Horizon and it focused on grammar and vocabulary lessons, with different characters from around the world – there was a Canadian and an Australian in the book who would converse with Japanese learners. It contained a different lesson for each of the three years of chugakko.

Conflicting Perspectives Essay Example for Free

Conflicting Perspectives Essay Composers are able to evoke in the audience certain reactions to characters or events in their texts by presenting conflicting perspectives on different issues through the manipulation of the language forms and features of their medium, often communicating their own ideas about issues in question, which results in the creation of meaning within their texts. (?). David Guterson in his 1995 novel Snow Falling on Cedars (Snow) and Henry Bean in his 2001 film The Believer (Believer) demonstrate conscious choices made regarding structure and techniques in the construction of their texts in order to represent conflicting perspectives exploring ideas on racial prejudice and hatred and cultural contrasts and thus engage the audience. Composers can examine racial/religious prejudice brought on by war by using form specific techniques to present conflicting perspectives on the same event, designed to incite certain audience responses. Guterson, in Snow, purposely presents conflicting perspectives between Arthur Chambers and Hatsue and other members of the white community on San Piedro, particularly Etta Heine, in order to draw sympathy for the treatment of the Japanese after Pearl Harbour is bombed. Arthur is empathetic towards them, saying in his local paper the San Piedro Review, â€Å"†¦ those of Japanese descent on this island are not responsible for the tragedy at Pearl Harbour. Make no mistake about it.† The high modality language and short, direct sentences used by Guterson highlights Arthur’s deeply-held opinion of the innocence of the Japanese on the island. In support of Arthur’s argument, Hatsue, through the narrative’s non-linear structure, recalls her pain and confusion at the treatment of her people, saying, â€Å"It just isn’t fair – it’s not fair. How could they do this to us, just like that?† The emotive appeal in addition to Arthur’s article triggers audience support of the Japanese community. Guterson, however, also presents the contrasting racial hatred of the white islanders towards the Japanese. Etta Heine justifies the deportation of the Japanese with blunt, monosyllabic sentences – â€Å"They’re Japs†¦ We’re in a war with them. We can’t have spies around.† The use of the derogative term â€Å"Japs† and the distinct differentiation between â€Å"them†, the Japanese, and â€Å"we†, the white people, illustrates her bigoted hatred of the Japanese. Through the conflicting perspectives of Etta against Arthur and Hatsue, Guterson sways the audience to feel for the ill treatment of the Japanese, and shows them his own opinion on the negative effect of racism in wartime on the perceptions and conduct towards certain groups. Conflicting perspectives are established by Bean in Believer between Daniel, a neo-Nazi who is paradoxically a Jew himself, and a number of Holocaust survivors pertaining to the strength of their actions during WWII which aims to convey a pro-Jewish sentiment to audiences. At a sensitivity training session, Danny is enraged at a Jewish man’s lack of action while watching his son being murdered by a Nazi during the Holocaust. Rapidly cutting over-the-shoulder shots between Danny and the Jews indicate their opposing views. A close-up of Danny when he is asked by the Jews what he would have done in the situation shows his contempt and incredulous disbelief of the Jews’ weakness as he replies â€Å"Not what he did. Just stand there and watch?† Bean immediately employs a close-up reaction shot of the female Jew who rebuts with, â€Å"How do you know? You’ve never been tested like he has. Here in his rich, safe, stupid country it is so easy to imagine oneself a hero.† The personal address through 2nd person and the accumulation of adjectives to build a negative image of America strongly opposes Danny’s prejudiced conviction that Jews are pathetic, and also appeals to audiences the idea that religious prejudice towards Jews is unjustified. As Guterson does in Snow, conflicting perspectives are represented by Bean in order to sway his audience to respond negatively to unfounded sentiments of prejudice. Conflicting perspectives between characters can be used by composers to control the way in which an audience perceives them by exploring the cultural clashes that exist in the text as a reflection of societal (or social?) behaviour. In Snow, Guterson presents conflicting perspectives between Kabuo and the jury during his murder trial. In the opening chapter, a vivid description of Kabuo’s posture and expression is given from the jury’s perspective; he is shown as â€Å"proudly upright†¦ rigid†¦ detached.† This initial portrait portrait of Kabuo makes him suspicious not only to the jury but also to the audience, as Hatsue tells Kabuo using a simile that he â€Å"looks like one of Tojo’s soldiers.† However, Guterson, through the novel’s non-linear structure, refutes this perspective by explaining Kabuo’s behaviour to the audience via a flashback. Through his father’s teachings that â€Å"the greater the composure, the more revealed one was†, the audience learns the reason behind Kabuo’s unemotional stance. Third person omniscient allows the audience to sympathise with Kabuo’s emotive explanation that â€Å"he sat upright in the hope that his desperate composure might reflect the shape of his soul.† Guterson, through conflicting perspectives, influences his audience to understand Kabuo and the impact of contrasting cultural values on the perception of an individual. In Believer, Bean likewise shows contrasting opinions between Danny, who cannot fully repress his secret Jewish identity, and his anti-Semitic ‘skinhead’ friends to create audience sympathy for Danny’s inner struggles with the opposing aspects of his identity. When Danny and his friends break into a synagogue, Daniel shows a surprising respect for his religion which clashes with those of the other neo-Nazis. This directly conflicts with Danny’s character established at the film’s opening, when he violently beats up a Jew for no apparent reason. Wearing a brown shirt symbolising the Nazi SA (brown-shirts), Danny’s dark costuming contrasts with the light coloured one of his Jewish victim, highlighting the evil in his nature. Bean, however, challenges the audience’s view of Danny in order to allow them to understand his conflicting identities. In one frame, Danny is in the foreground walking down an aisle, which is juxtaposed with the othe r Nazis vandalising the synagogue. Their loud, raucous whooping contrasts to that of Danny’s respectful silence, highlighting their different treatments of the Jewish culture. When one of the Nazis tears up a Torah, a sacred Jewish text, after much opposition from Danny, a reaction shot of him shows sadness and pain accompanied by melancholy music, underlining Danny’s unspoken deference for Judaism. Bean’s portrayal of conflicting perspectives on Jewish culture incites the audience to respond more sympathetically towards Danny, and to understand that his veneer is a product of cultural differences in his society. The composers in Snow and Believer have effectively utilised techniques within their medium to represent conflicting perspectives about racial or religious prejudice and cultural differences in order to provoke certain audience responses to the characters, events or situations in their story. This includes reactions of sympathy for a certain perspective or disbelief and even dislike of opposing perspectives. In this way, the composers connect to the audience and generate meaning within their texts. In Snow, Hatsue is confined by the traditions of her culture, as shown when her mother Fujiko says to her â€Å"don’t allow living among the hakujin to become living intertwined with them. Your soul will decay†¦ rot and go sour.† The change in language to refer to the Americans as hakujin and the emotive metaphor of Hatsue’s breakdown of purity highlights Fujiko’s dislike of American culture. This