Evaluate the Foodservice Operation Essay

As time passes by, people were expecting also an improvement in the way cultural institutions would like to show what they got. If you have gone to a museum once, or other cultural institutions, you would probably go back some other time due to the liking in the place and its content. However, an expectation of seeking new experiences would probably be born onto you. Cultural institutions have been making many improvements and developments for the people visiting the place. Such improvements and developments are through exhibits, experiences, facilities, amenities, and many more. Together with the improvements is the food service. The fact that people are now becoming aware of the food trends which are probably seen in the television and the styles of serving and preparations of foods, the need for the improvement of the food service in this cultural institution is a must. Look at this; would anyone have much interest to go to the cafeteria in basement or in any place in the museum, having an old-fashioned theme, walking in a dark path? Someone might lose his/her appetite. Food service operations, such as having cafeterias, food courts and in any other form inside of the cultural institutions, enhance the satisfaction of the people who visits the place. In addition to that, it can also produce additional revenue for the institution and made the entire facility a place to go. Imagine, someone had to walk for a long time to see the cultural institutions have to show. Then the time he/she would be thinking of rest, he/she can then go to the cafeteria and have a rest while recharging his energy through eating. This is how Andy Zakrajsek explains how foodservice operations are important in such cultural institutions. He is the current director or retail businesses and the manager of the Brain Food Court together with the other operations regarding foodservice at the Museum of Science & Industry (Levin, 2006). Food Service Mission A place to rest and unwind The main mission of having a food service operation in a cultural institution is to give time for the people visiting their place a time to recharge, say after an 8-hour tiring strolling looking on what the place have to offer . A need for nourishment can be given by these food service facilities. Another thing is to give time for the visitors to sit beside their friends and families, while enjoying the beautiful scene of the place. Through this, visitors then have the opportunity to unwind and take some rest for the next hour/s going back to see more of the exhibits present on the place. To generate additional revenues Not only on the outside or special occasions are catering on the play. At the Museum of Science & Industry, there are also special events celebrated with which catering services held by the Brain Food Court under Andy Zakrajsek are on the roll. This catering on special events was considered to be one of the activities which generate a large amount of revenues. The museum and all other cultural institutions were designed to have a large area for special events and gathering such as large lobbies, atriums, amphitheaters, etc†¦ However, there is also a need for spacious places inside the cultural institutions; this is in addition to the accommodations needed for the gathering, but also the need for the foodservice preparations. Considering the costs of the foodservice preparations, having a place inside the cultural institution as the preparation area, will costs lesser than renting a place to takeover or a catering service outside, while earning greater profit. Must Adapt to Changes There are also called peak seasons and valley seasons on the museum. The number of visitors may vary from day-to-day or from season-to-season. For example, there can be thousands more of visitors which comes to visit the museum during summer, and by a hundred during winter (Johns, 2006). Due to this ‘seasons of change’, the foodservice must be adaptive to this kind of situation. The foodservice then must be flexible. Since there would be a large number to serve during warmer days, the foodservice operation must also consider the safety, but still must be in efficient manner. And in cold winter days, there must be an operation that shall consider the minimal staffing to lower the expenses. Andy Zakrajsek had thought of this problem and had also find solution to resolve this problem regarding the peaks and valleys. He said that having equipments and designs of the facilities which are flexible should be the best solution for a cafeteria and other foodservice facilities. The museum had undergone major renovations on their designs to adapt with the changes in numbers of guests that will arrive. Considering the case that occurs during cold winter days with which only a few numbers of guests arrives at the museum. The application of these flexible equipments and facilities can be seen; such as shutting down of some of the stations allocated for cooking. Doing this will lessen the costs for the amenities, and also to reduce some staffs. The need for an exceedingly flexible equipments and facilities is a must in order for the foodservice operations to handle the changes with regards to the numbers of crowds and the changing food trends. To Look Great while being Durable The food court and cafeterias are the one responsible for the foodservice operations. Together with other facilities and areas in the museum, the food court and cafeterias must also look really good as elaborated by Andy Zakrajsek. The museum’s food courts and cafeterias have been visited by a million and a half of visitors every year, many of them were kids. In addition to the foodservice operations, the manager of the foodservice operations had included in the food courts and cafeterias some carts, strollers and backpacks having buckles (Levin, 2006). This will make it easier for visitors to handle their kids, and for the place to be in control and in stillness. But these additional equipments must also be durable through time. There had been some changes together with the major renovations, on the floors and walls of the food courts and cafeterias. The food court and cafeteria’s floors were replaced by stain-proof and scratch-proof floorings while still having a nice design. As Andy Zakrajsek explained, they needed an industrial-level of surface materials while still giving an interesting look and designs. Educational Purpose One of the major purposes of the cultural institutions was to educate. Foodservice operations also included this purpose on their operations. There is a ledge purposely designed in front of the pizza and grill stations of the museum. This is made so that children can step onto it so that they can see and observe the cooks while working. The window protectors which divide the stations for cooking and the customer’s area were made of clear glasses which are in lower position relative to the customers view. This is an intended work so that the visitors can make a better look at the cooking and food preparation. Is it profitable? The manager of the Brain Food Court and the other foodservice operations of the Museum of Science & Industry, Andy Zakrajsek, had focused on two things. They made critical and complete evaluations on the foodservice operations. They had evaluated the department for the special events of the museum. The first thing they evaluated are the following; how it functions; how the food courts, cafeterias and foodservice operations connected to the museum and how will it serve the guests; and had also evaluated the quality of the management used and the staffs of the foodservice operation. The second thing they did is reviewing the catering program. The purpose of this is a way easy, the optimization of the income that the museum can earn. After the evaluations and reviews done, they made improvement and developments regarding the concerns stated above. The result is that the net income of the museum had increased up to 250% within five years (Greenbaum, 2004). What makes foodservice profitable is that it enhances the cultural institutions overall purpose, having cafeterias and food courts, catering and other special events and foodservices, make the increase in the number of visitors in the museum, this is the main supporting evidence how foodservice operations make the institution more profitable. As stated by the by Andy Zakrajsek, the catering on the special events held at the museum was considered one of the activities which generates a large amount of revenues. Conclusion The importance of the foodservice operations in cultural institution is extremely high. Thus, this implies that the planning about the foodservice operations must be included on the design process of every cultural institution. Summing it up, there is a critical role played by the foodservice operations in a cultural institution, and planning it up early and having it is one of the measures of success of the institution. Foodservice operations are responsible for the enhancements of the institution, which controls the increases the number of visitors, in which it brings huge revenues to the institution.

Case Study †Art Critical and Historical Studies Essay

Task Description: Select three artworks that use the physical environment as their inspiration/theme. One is to be a traditional European/early Australian landscape, one a Modernist work and one a Post Modern work. Write an Analysis of each, showing your understanding of how the four frames can provide different ways of appreciating artworks. As a result of the invention of photography the physical environment has been a source of artist inspiration. The evolution of the interpretation of the world around artists can be demonstrated by the exploration of the practice of traditional artist Eugene Von Guerard, modernist artist Rosalie Gascoigne and post-modern artist Janet Laurence. It is from this the audience is able to determine how the physical environment has influenced art and in turn provide insight to the varying perspectives on the appreciation of artworks. Eugene Von Guerard (b. Austria 1811 – d. London 1901) is a traditional European artist who explored the western physical environment. Living in Italy, Germany, Australia and England we can observe the influence which the environs had on his art marking. In the 1830’s Von Guerard trained in Giovanibattista Bassi’s art school in Rome and later studied landscape painting in Germany at the Dusseldorf Academy. Whilst primarily an artist, he also considered himself an explorer taking long treks in Australia and New Zealand. It was from these trips that had created finely detailed pencil drawings in sketch books. These were later used as the bases for his paintings. Von Guerard expressed nature as he remembered it both its overwhelming beauty and terror at times. It is evident in his works the observations he made on the light and colour within nature. He predominately worked in the convention at the time of oil painting. He used the medium meticulously in painstaking detail. Von Guerard’s deep examination of the land around him enabled him to gain an intense relationship with it which in turn reflected in his art making. Von Guerard being a romantic artist, observed the connections between art and nature. He gave a sense of place in the grandeur and beauty of the landscape. Von Guerard investigated the development of colonial art and found issues in the isolation parochialism (of narrow local interest) and within European traditions. His aversion to this resulted in his contribution to the movement away from English landscape tradition. This personal artist style was heavily influenced by Claude Lorraine, Nicolas Poussiu and Salvator Rosa. He was further inspired by the German Romantic landscape tradition; this is exemplified by Casper Friedrich who attempted to link man and God through nature. His influence to the art world saw him being appointed in 1870 to be the first master of school of painting at the National Gallery of Victoria. Here he influenced artist training for eleven years particularly Frederick McCubbin and Tom Roberts. During this period Von Guerard was renowned for his rigid adherence to picturesque subject matter and detailed treatment. It can be observed within North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko (1863) the romantic style of Von Guerard’s practice. North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko, an oil painting on canvas is immensely large scale at 66. 5 by 116. 8cm. Its meticulous detail heightens the overwhelming size exposing the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the artist. The areas of the foreground and the mound of large boulders on the left are particularly perplexing. The boulders are said to be introduced to emphasise human insignificance and enforce a sense of drama. They serve to provide a link between the foreground, the distant mountains and the sky, that records the passage from heavy rain to bright sunshine. These rocks echo those on peaks at the centre of the composition, gloriously patterned by the snow that has melted to reveal the grassy slopes underneath. The rich purples and oranges and lush greens, matched with the brutality of the rocks and the blankness of the white snow, capture a natural beauty that changes with the time of day and weather conditions. This exemplifies Von Guerard’s passionate emotions towards the landscape and the disappointment as the storm cuts the expedition short. The billowing rainclouds entering from the left create dark shadows over the foreground, the crisp greys and blues suggesting the cool temperatures of the area. Within the foreground the audience observes a narrative in the group of Professor Neumayers scientific expedition undertaking a magnetic survey. The central figure is speculated to Von Guerard to the left is Neumayer. In the distant sky he has captured an approaching storm. The inclusion of the human figures signals both the sense of isolation and the peacefulness of the scene, while also highlighting the vastness of the mountain. It is evident from examination of photographs, the topographical accuracy that Von Guerard evoked. The influence which the conventions at the time had on North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko is highly evident with the composition of the artwork. The framing by the rocks on the left was readily enforced at art schools during this period. Influences of the western world are apparent with relationships between science and art and god and nature. However Von Guerard has moved away from traditional English conventions with his sense of isolation, unknown location and anti-parochial views. By using meticulous detail he strived to depict beauty at its highest form. This meaning North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko was sublime, large and majestic. Unfortunately for Von Guerard this technique employed in North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko was considered a commercial failure. The isolation made it insignificant for the at the time audience to comprehend, this was fuelled with its sublime, grandeur nature. His raw dramatic approach to nature was poorly received. James Smith an influential critic, who had always been an enthusiastic supporter, dismissed Von Guerard’s work for its â€Å"microscopism†. Von Guerard ultimately had to sell the painting himself in Vienna, 1873. James Gleeson found it 100 years after it creation and passed it on to the Australian National Gallery. Von Guerard’s paintings are often praised by contemporary critics for their grandeur and faithfulness to nature, although they were also criticised for their photographic nature. Art Curator Candice Bruce who brought Von Guerard’s work back into the light in 1980, spoke of the work in a positive regard telling of the â€Å"high complexity and depth†¦ exposing audiences to the subtle charm of this fantastic land of monstrosities†. This positive reception is enforced by Geelong Galleries, Geoffrey Edwards who articulates of the â€Å"remarkable masterpiece†, that is â€Å"a golden vista†¦beautifully lit†¦ shines off its colonial enterprise† and has â€Å"no substitute†. Today Von Guerard’s paintings are valued for the compositions and executions as for the subject matter. His strong interest in Romantic association has resulted in a heavy influence in his art making. His practice is highly nationalistic in representation; this is evident in the exaggerated poetic purpose in North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko. Von Guerard’s practice a century later influenced Imants Tillers (b. Australia 1950) to create the appropriation of North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko, titled Mount Analogue (1985). Mount Analogue is an immensely large scale (279. 5 by 571. 5cm) oil stick and synthetic polymer paint on 165 canvas boards. It is a reinterpretation of the exact view of Von Guerard’s. His work challenges the authenticity of the original as it too is an interpretation, however it can be observed the different interpretations of the physical landscape. The examination of the practice of Von Guerard has determined the significant influence the physical landscape has had upon his inspiration as an artist. The audience is able to observe through the decomposition of his artwork North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko the vast perspectives in which we can appreciate artworks. Similarly, Modernist artist Rosalie Gascoigne (b. New Zealand 1917 – d. Australia 1999) draws inspiration from the Australian. Living in rural town of Monaro in the Southwest of New South Wales it is evident within her art making the influence the physical environment had. Rosalie Gascoigne became an â€Å"artist† late in life. She had studied literature at university, acquiring an abiding love of poetry. She later would come to describe her working practice by quoting Wordsworth on â€Å"emotion recollected in tranquillity†. Gascoigne never attempted to paint and never sought to go to art school. I’ve always known how hopeless I was at painting or drawing†. She spent many long days in solitude where she developed her highly original powers of observation. She broke the status quo of her time by creating assemblages of found materials including wood, iron, wire, feathers, signs, boxes, crates, lino, enamelware, galvanised tin, corrugated iron and masonite. These objects rather than accurately depict, elements of the world around her: the landscape around her home and the materials and textures of rural life. Travelling around the countryside collecting materials was integral to Gascoigne’s art practice. Gascoigne a bored 1950’s housewife having no training as an artist created works without considering conventions of the period. Her singular vision of the landscape was expressed in stunning decisive constructions made from the worn and weathered objects she found within it. She found the Australian landscape had a degree of personal freedom in it and became absorbed by â€Å"the width and the rock under your feet and the high sky†. She was not interested in describing the visual reality, picturesque beauty or stores of the Australian landscape, and chose to capture the essence of the landscape’s opography, space, air, vegetation and the daily and seasonal natural rhythms of nature, in compositions that were often startling in their refined simplicity. This was further influenced by the poetry of Peter Porter and David Campbell who also evoked their work around the landscape of Canberra. Gascoigne intricately has woven glimpses of her past feelings and experiences into her work creating art of an extraordinarily transcendent nature. Piece to Walk Around (1981) highlights the unique nature of Gascoigne’s practice. Piece to Walk Around, is comprised of bundles of saffron thistle sticks arranged into 20 squares each 80 by 80 by 1. 5 cm. These squares lay directly on the floor in a patchwork; one bundle running one way, then one other. The criss-cross formation recalls the undulating countryside, the ordering of agriculture and industry and the mottled effects of light and shadow on it. The work conveys a sense of infinite expansiveness and liberation experienced in the country, as manifested through the grid, here understood as an open-ended structure to which additional bundles of thistles could be theoretically added or subtracted. In Piece to Walk Around the literal depiction of the environment is stripped back to its very essence and the work becomes a microcosm of the landscape. The title is used to draw attention to the changing visual effects as one circles the work and the shifting play on the natural material. It is evident from the innovative nature of Piece to Walk Around that western conventions had little impact on Gascoigne’s practice. However Japanese influence is demonstrated through the formal composition and precise organisation of the bundles. The absence of art school allowed for Gascoigne to be singularly influenced by the world around her and not by conventions enforced by the art masters. The resolved use and order of her â€Å"found† materials reflects the influence her interest in flower arranging induced. The isolation of which she endured in the country allowed ability to entirely appreciate and observe the world around her before drawing inspiration from it. Piece to Walk Around was well received by the art world. Its simplicity made it easy for the audience to comprehend fulfilling Gascoigne’s aim to make art accessible to everyone. Gascoigne proposed that whilst â€Å"the viewer’s response to the landscape may differ† she hopes that â€Å"this picture will convey some sense of the countryside† and â€Å"induce in the viewer the liberating feeling of being in the open country†. Her Sydney dealer of over 10 years Roslyn Oxley said â€Å"she was very strong and to the point; there is never anything timid about her work†. Critic Sebastian Smee noted that â€Å"Gascoigne resembles a scavenging bowerbird in a world where the production of blue plastic has ceased. What to do? What to do†¦.? Nest while you can! †. This quote illuminates practice precisely highlighting the beauty and simplicity of her work from the influence of nature. Australian Art Collector reporter Judith White spoke of Piece to Walk Around being a â€Å"unique and imperishable contribution to art†. In 1994 Gascoigne was awarded an Order of Australia for services to art signifying her contribution to the art world. Piece to Walk Around was donated by the Gascoigne family after Roslyn Gascoigne’s death to the Museum of Contemporary Art allowing for a broader audience and the ability for her artwork to inspire a new generation. It was Gascoigne’s innovative practice that resulted in her success. Gascoigne’s engages minimalism’s sense of order in an original take on the physical environment. She employs a mixture Japanese of formal composition and rough Australian nature to break traditional conventions that define the individual styles. Gascoigne’s concepts from Piece to Walk Around were evident amongst a broad range of her artworks. Untitled 12 squares of 6 (1980-81) is another segment from the series in which Piece to Walk Around is derived from. It is created with identical composition as Piece to Walk Around however constructed from sawn weather wood to a large 90 by 119. 5cm. This artwork demonstrates the concept of how individuals can gather varying interpretations from the physical landscape and that this inspiration can impact upon the broad material practice of an artist. Through the analysis of Gascoigne’s practice, it can be observed the substantial influence that the physical landscape has had upon the artist. The audience is able to compare through the decomposition of Gascoigne’s artwork Piece to Walk Around the varying influences that the environment around them has had. It is through this the audience is able to full appreciate the construction of these artworks. It seems the influence of the physical environment has had on artists has continued to the present day through the examination of Post Modern artist Janet Laurence (b. Sydney, Australia 1947 – ). Living in the city of Sydney it is exceedingly evident within the strong messages within her artwork the influence the physical environment had upon her.

King of Canada

Stat 332 Sampling and Experimental Design: (Due: 12:29pm before class, Friday, Oct 19, 2012) Assignment 2 1. In the upcoming US presidential election this November, Florida is a key swing state that is very important in determining the outcome. Currently the Democratic candidate Barack Obama and the Republican candidate Mitt Romney are virtually tied in recent polls. For this question, you can use 9 million as our population size; this is approximately the total number votes in the 2008 presidential election in Florida. a) The latest poll asked 890 likely voters and found that the proportion of Florida residents likely to vote for the Democratic candidate is 47%, construct a 95% con? dence interval for this estimate under the SRSWOR. By the way, the support for Republican is 46%, and the rest are undecided. (b) If a news organization wants to conduct a SRSWOR survey to ? nd out the percentage of Florida residents supporting the Democratic candidate, what is the sample size needed to achieve a result which is accurate within 0. percentage point, 19 out 20 times? 2. We have 120 students in Stat332. (a) What is the total number of possible samples of size 10 under SRSWOR? (b) Suppose that among the 120 students of Stat332, 60 are male students and 60 are female students. We want to perform a STSRS (strati? ed simple random sampling) with male students and female students being two strata, and we want to survey 5 students from each stratum, what is the total number of possible samples? What is the ratio of the two numbers (STSRS/SRSWOR)? 3. Lohr (2010) Ch3, Q10 part a.Hard shell clams may be sampled by using a dredge. Clams do not tend to be uniformly distributed in a body of water, however, as some areas provide better habitat than others. Thus, taking a simple random sample is likely to result in a large estimated variance for the number of clams in an area. Russell (1972) used strati? ed random sampling to estimate the total number of bushels of hard shell clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The area of interest was divided into four strata based on preliminary surveys that identi? d areas in which clams were abundant. Then nh dredge tows were made in stratum h, for h = 1, 2, 3, 4. The acreage for each stratum was known, and Russell calculated that the area ? shed during a standard dredge tow was 0. 039 acres, so that we may use Nh = 25. 6 ? Areah . Here are the results from the survey taken before the commercial season. Estimate the total number of bushels of clams in the area, and give the standard error of your estimate. Stratum 1 2 3 4 Area Number of (Acres) Tows Made 222. 81 4 49. 61 6 50. 25 3 197. 1 5 Average Number of Sample Variance Bushels per Tow for Stratum 0. 44 0. 068 1. 17 0. 042 3. 92 2. 146 1. 80 0. 794 4. Assume the sample variance in Q3 is a good estimate for the strata variance, and we want a strati? ed sample size of n = 21. (a) Calculate the stratum sample sizes under proportional allocati on. (b) Calculate the stratum sample sizes under optimal (Neyman) allocation. (c) What are the values (approximately) of V (? st ) with sample size allocations of (a) and y (b), respectively? Compare these two variances and comment. . Foresters want to estimate the average age of trees in a stand. Determining age is cumbersome, because one needs to count the tree rings on a core taken from the tree. In general, though, the older the tree, the larger the diameter, and diameter is easy to measure. The foresters measure the diameter of all 1132 trees and ? nd that the population mean equals 10. 3. They then randomly select 20 trees for age measurement. The data can be downloaded as hw2q5. txt from course website on Waterloo Learn and read into R using d

The Life of John Adams Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Life of John Adams - Research Paper Example His father was a man of simple origins, but his mother Susanna Boylston Adams hailed from a very prestigious and elite family. As a bright and hardworking boy, he managed to enter Harvard in 1755. He started his career as school teacher and switched to study law under James Putnam. He served as successful lawyer in Boston for a decade. John Adams married Abigail Smith (1744-1818) and fathered four, the eldest of whom is John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States of America. The couple shared a unique intellectual companionship and the letters exchanged between them are preserved till date as a strong proof for lovable camaraderie. Contribution to the American Revolution John Adam plunged into politics angered by the oppressive acts of the British government like many other young men of his time. The Stamp Act of 1765, which ordered every legal document used in America should use only a stamped paper, produced in London, triggered wide spread agitations. A three membe r team including John Adams petitioned against the act and made it repealed in 1766. Adams rose in popularity when he defended Captain Thomas Preston in the Boston Massacre case. Adams influence grew with time and he became an important delegate of Continental Congress. At 1776, he became the chairman of the Continental Board of War and Ordnance. He travelled to Paris in 1778 where he aided Benjamin Franklin in pursuing France to help America fighting against Britain. He came back in 1779 and started writing the Boston state constitution very famous for its Bill of Rights. Adam travelled to Netherland and stayed there for nearly two years. He managed to raise a loan of one millions four hundred thousand dollars to support the revolution back home. This funding played a prominent role in the success of the revolution. He acted as the main instrumental diplomat in faming the Treaty of Paris (1783) which officially ended the American Revolution. Adams made sure the United States held t he rights for North Atlantic fishing during the treaty negotiations. He was influential in raising a huge amount of Dutch loan which helped the country face its first elections. He also framed various trade treaties with European countries other than British to maintain steady economy in the new nation. John Adams Presidency John Adams returned back to the new nation of his dreams the Independent United States of America nearly after ten years of staying abroad. He was made the Vice President of the country in honour of his service. He published several works during this period including Thoughts on Government, Discourses on Davila and many other newspaper articles2. After George Washington served two terms as President John Adams succeeded him as the second President of America. The White House was in its initial stage of construction then. John Adams became the first President to reside there with his family. John Adams term of Presidency posed enormous challenges. The French Revo lution was viewed upon as a great progressive step in the history of mankind by the Republicans and Thomas Jefferson. But, John Adams just viewed it as "a mob rule, violence and terror and eventually the establishment of a despotic government ruled by a single person".3 As a result John Adams sent two commissions to France to work out a treaty with the French known as the XYZ affair, causing great displease among his colleagues. The Alien and Sedition

Is War Against Terrorism Moral And Has It Done Things Better Or Worse Essay

Is War Against Terrorism Moral And Has It Done Things Better Or Worse - Essay Example This essay stresses that the Christians the world over were in a state of bother and tension so as to find out the real reason why the world had stood up against them and were hell bent upon destroying them. It would not be wrong to state at this point that Christians all over the world were vocal and carried out large processions as to encourage the US government and its allies to take steps to counter these very attacks. A number of wars and fights started in the wake of War on Terrorism and it sparked off a number of controversies as to the real reasons for starting the same on countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. This paper makes a conclusion that the war on terror has brought a change in the way the world is being run. The different governments have to take one or the other side in this whole muddle. The need is to understand who the winner is and who the loser is eventually. More than that, the governments have to seek ways in which they could counter the pressures that are exerted by the US regime from time to time. For third world nations, this becomes an issue of immense importance since they are already stuck in one problem or the other, add to that the pressure meted down by the US authorities every now and so often. War on terror is not a war on the poor yet oil rich nations, it is a war for the benefits of the super power of the world, which it wants to win no matter what happens.

Art in the Renaissance Period Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art in the Renaissance Period - Research Paper Example In this paper, I aim to clearly and succinctly discuss the unique characteristics of Renaissance art by highlighting on three aspects: firstly, the philosophical underpinnings that drove the movement toward humanism; secondly, the essence of human beauty and its translation to fine arts; and lastly, the purpose of a Renaissance artist in society. In the end, I wish to underscore that the unique articulation of the idealistic conception of human beauty—as brought about by philosophy—influenced many Renaissance artists in the creation of their individual pieces of art which all conformed to the achievement of ‘human perfection’. Historical Context of the Renaissance The Renaissance was a cultural revolution that began in Florence, Italy in 1400, and spread throughout Italy and the rest of Europe. Since the reinforcement of humanism became the central focus during this period, the artistic themes during the Renaissance shifted from the theological and the supe rnatural expression of the relation of God with His creatures to the individual empowerment and worldly experience of man. In this sense, the Renaissance reinterpreted the pagan classical literature and philosophy of the Greeks and Romans in order to challenge contemporary Catholic beliefs (Kreis A, 2009). It must be pointed out, however, that the Renaissance was triggered by the increasing sophistication of society during that time, as fuelled by economic growth, improvement in the educational system, and political stabilization (Haughton, 2004). Firstly, the construction of libraries and other educational hubs allowed people to gain more knowledge about the histories of past cultures, which paved the way for better appreciation of Greek and Roman cultures. Secondly, the maturing influence of wealthy families in Italy helped fund certain art projects, such as sculpture, painting, and architecture, and made them available for public viewing. Renowned families like the Medic Family o f Florence and the Sforza Family of Milan channeled in most of their personal savings to certain projects which were geared toward the beautification of cathedrals and small churches (Haughton, 2004). With this, it can be said that the Renaissance redeemed the status of liberal arts by discovering its special place in societal life. Beauty in Renaissance Art Since Renaissance art was focused on reviving the appreciation of human essence by underscoring the physical and spiritual facets of man, the success of such goal rested heavily on the exact articulation of human beauty. This idea consolidated the definitive characteristic of Renaissance art—that which is ‘beautiful’. As such, it is crucial to point out that although the definition of beauty was subject to both the artist’s and viewer’s interpretation, there were certain elemental features which Renaissance artists took into consideration during the creation of their art. From the perspective of sensible art experience, Renaissance painters and sculptors were able to incorporate other disciplines to enhance their artwork. For example, anatomical dissection led to new accuracy in depicting the masculine and feminine physiological features; mathematics developed the laws of perspective to position human figures into believable landscape; and chemistry blended new pigments to bolster the artistic impact (Haughton, 2004). These innovations can be seen concretely in Boticelli’

Strategic Management in a Global Environment ( Emirates park resort ) Case Study

Strategic Management in a Global Environment ( Emirates park resort ) - Case Study Example Their most common competitors are resorts and facilities that tend to attract tourists such as; hotels, parks, ski areas, clubs and bars that readily offer leisure activities, game parks, and zoos. As more people continue to know and get enlightened on why to invest in the Middle East and Abu Dhabi to be more precise, new, stronger, aggressive and swifter competitors come into the picture (Saxena, p48). Hence, it is a fact that the external environment of Emirates Resort Park is ever in a dynamic change. There are different definitions of corporate governance, and none of the numerous definitions seem to be sufficient and conclusive enough to define the term corporate governance. But to be sufficiently general at these matter, the term corporate governance can be thought to mean the structure, system and way of administration of an organization that determine the direction and magnitude of development of the institution and how it can achieve its future prospects. It can be thought to mean what is done by the institution’s administration in order to realize its goals. The Emirate Resort Park has a remarkable corporate governance that has helped it to grow from the small Resort it was back in the year 2004 to what it is eleven years later. Its corporate governance is ever introducing new projects and engaging them to completion. These new projects are aimed at giving its visitors or tourists a much better customer experience and also to ensure that it is ever growing to a better place for tourists and also for its workers. One of the projects was its expansion. This is done in order to have more animals in the park and increase the size of the area for the people to interact with the animals. Since it was realized that the parking area is tremendously big. The administration has considered reducing the size of the parking as they give the space to areas that demand more space. Another is the introduction of

EHealth Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

EHealth - Coursework Example Several ehealth projects have been initiated to aid patients suffering from the disease. As such, these projects have had a significant impact on people suffering from dementia and their relatives or caregivers (Ball & Lillis, 2001). In 2010, it was estimated that 35.6 million people were suffering from dementia globally. In fact, this number represents approximately 0.5% of the world’s population. Studies estimate the number to rise up to 115.4 million people by 2050. Furthermore, people have a 20% chance of suffering from dementia during their lifetime. In regard to gender, women are at a higher risk of suffering from the disease during their lifetime. Dementia is associated with old age. The older a person becomes, the higher the chances of suffering from the disease. 40 % of people aged above 90 years are suffering from the disease (Ferri et al, 2006). Individual suffering from the disease tend to forget thing easily when compared to normal old individuals or people. Unlike normal people who are able to perform their daily activities easily, people suffering from dementia experience a lot of difficulties while carrying out their daily chores and activities. Dementia is a costly disease to maintain. Th e total estimated global cost of the disease amounted to 604 billion dollars. This is a significant sum of resources/ funds. Due to the continued increase in dementia cases, the cost is expected to massively increase by 85%. In today’s world, information and communication technology has become an integral part in nearly all sectors of society. As such, mobile applications, the internet and other technologies have infiltrated all sectors including health care (Krishna, Boren & Balas, 2009). Basically, e health is defined as the utilization of ICT to improve and deliver health care services in the society (Maheu, Whitten & Allen, 2002).

Plato's Republic - Does this mean that Plato's view of human nature Essay

Plato's Republic - Does this mean that Plato's view of human nature had no influence on his conception of just and good politica - Essay Example For this reason, most theorists that try to explain the role and the characteristics of political institutions primarily refer to human nature, as influencing politics in all their aspects. Plato seems to follow a different practice. More specifically, in Republic politics and political institutions are analyzed and evaluated without a direct reference to human nature. However, if studied carefully the Republic reveals a close relationship between human nature and politics. For this reason it would be wrong to claim that Plato did not take into consideration human nature when developing his explanations for politics; rather Plato incorporated his views on human nature in his dialogues so that human nature is explained simultaneously with politics. The particular practice is analyzed below aiming to show that in Republic human nature has been the basis for the explanations for political institutions, even if the relationship between these two concepts is not always clear. 2. Human nat ure and politics for Plato Plato’s Republic has been developed in order to explain the role and the elements of politics, as appeared in the particular era. Still, the Republic is not fully related to politics; it can be also used in order to understand human nature. A thorough review of Republic would help to verify the importance of human nature for Plato. Of course, the Republic is a text dedicated to politics; however, it is the study of politics that helps readers to understand also the thinking and the social life of individuals in the particular period. The direct relationship between the politics and the human nature, as this relationship is reflected in Republic, can be understood by referring, indicatively, to certain parts of Republic. In the first volume of Republic, in book A, Socrates discusses with Kefalos, the father of Polemarhos. In the above dialogue Kefalos notes that he now, that he is quite old, enjoys the discussion more than when he was younger (328d). For this reason, he asks from Socrates to visit Piraeus more often so that he has the chance to discuss with him. Socrates replies to Kefalos that he also can learn from Kefalos important details in regard to the particular period of time, the senescence (328e). Socrates claims that Kefalos would help him to understand whether this period of time is difficult or not (328e). The specific part of Republic makes a clear reference to human nature; aging is an indispensable aspect of human life so that it can be characterized as an element of human nature. In the dialogue that follows, Kefalos offers to Socrates explanations in regard to the particular period of human life (329a-d). Further on, the interaction between this period and human life and the social and political life of individuals is clearly explained (330a-331d); the dialogue between Kefalos and Socrates ends with the explanation of the potential relationship between this period of human life and justice (331c-d). In the ne xt dialogue, Socrates discusses with Polemarhos the elements of justice. Socrates aims to explain to Polemarhos the actual role of justice within society. The explanation given by Socrates is based on certain arguments. Reference is made to the view of Simonides that ‘friends should always seek for the good of their friends and they should never seek for their bad’ (332a). Polemarhos agrees that this view is right (332a). The above view reflects human behavior, as part of human nature. The involvement of human

Economic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economic Analysis - Essay Example It is expressed as a percentage change in the quantity of a product demanded as a result of a small change in price. In reality, the price elasticity for demand is affected by many other factors other than just the price of commodity. When making calculations, it is normally assumed that all the other factors which could affect PED remain constant. High price elasticity means that the demand for the product is extremely sensitive to changes in commodity price. A zero measure shows that the demand is inelastic and thus will not be affected by changes in pricing. When the value is one, it shows that the demand is perfectly elastic and thus a pricing change will result to an equal change in demand. When the elastic is more than one, it implies that the demand is elastic and when the pricing is changed, it will automatically result in change in the demand from the item as wrong as all the another factors are kept constant. The cross-price elasticity measures the responsiveness of a product demand to changes in price of another commodity. It is measured as a percentage of change observed in the demand for a product as a result of price change of a completely different commodity. It can be used to determine the type of relationship existing between two products (Mankiw 2012). It allows economists to make a distinction between complementary and substitute commodities. Products can be defined as compliments of each other when the calculation of the cross elasticity for demand yields a negative result. When the measure gives a positive value, it is an indication that the products are substitutes of each other. When the calculations yield a zero measure, then there is no relationship between the products (Wetzstein 2013). When a competitor reduces prices of its prices, rival organization will have to consider the calculation of cross-price elasticity of demand in estimating the impact of this price change o n the demand for its products. This in turn makes the

The media play in encouraging Essay Example for Free

The media play in encouraging Essay What role does the media play in encouraging or discouraging tourism to particular destinations? Popular mediums of media including film, television, internet and print media can influence the appeal of certain travel destinations and activities. It can prompt a desire or avert tourism destinations as suggested by MacCannell (1976) these media forms can highly construct or highlight particular images of destinations to act as a marker. Prospective tourists base their knowledge on such information provided whether to travel or not to particular destinations. Film induced tourism can also bring about an increase in the cultural value of the film location being heritage sites. Firstly, in the case of New Zealand’s Maori culture has gained recognisable status through media exposure. The film Whale Rider (2002) for instance thoroughly demonstrates the Maori culture. In customary Maori culture the beliefs, clothing, animals, plants and certain landforms are spiritually linked with particular groups of individuals. The film represents this through the whales being the ancient symbol for the Ngati Konohi community. Thus, by maintaining a sense of identity it offers an opportunity for individuals to reflect and provide expressions of self. Additionally, this film can attract individuals strongly interested in culture especially of New Zealand’s Maori culture. As well as this heritage sites which have been set as film locations gain fame and recognition by its audience after the release of the film. These locations often gain meaning through film narration. For example Mission Impossible 2 (2000) was filmed at the Sydney Royal National Park. Due to the popularity of the film series an increase of visits to the park occurred during 2000 the year the film was released. Hence, can be evidently seen media plays a major role in encouraging tourism to certain destinations. However, with the expansion of different types of visitors to a destination it could also provoke an adjusted behaviour in tourists (Smith et al, 2010). The world heritage site in Angkor, Cambodia had been utilised and set up as a location for the adventure film Tomb Raider. Tourists who had viewed and felt a sense of yearning to visit the location of the film were discovered climbing on the ancient sanctuary temple walls in order to attempt and imitate the protagonist. This kind of media coverage creates a negative impact on the site as tourists are not respecting or obliging to conservation plans set  out for the site. The inappropriate manner can additionally provoke iconic pieces or souvenirs to be removed from the film induced tourism locations so as to be able to efficiently oblige with conservation plans. â€Å"Media based tourism can bring additional income and jobs to an area and in particular can provide opportunities for selling souvenirs/merchandising and spin-off services such as themed tours and services† (Smith et al, 2010 p.73). This is evident in many tourist destinations including Thailand and the film The Beach. It has created a strong stimulation of desires for people to visit the film location in addition to the surrounding areas of Thailand. Due to the large tourism activity, tour companies have taken advantaged and advertised various tours which circuits various film based locations and entitled them The Beach Tours ( Law et al 2007). Extraordinariness can also be added to entice travellers such as recounting stories and gossip within the tours about the production of The Beach. Also the Footsteps on the Beach website was created which sells Thailand to a more mass audience as well as reach potential tourists to visit Thailand through images and meaning. Desires can also be a reason why individuals choose to travel in the first place. Therefore, by creating strong desires and adding extraordinariness through media exposure it further encourages individuals to travel. The idea of a journey with fun filled experience can also prompt an encouragement to travel and explore destinations. There are numerous journey narratives exposed starting from early childhood years. Journey narratives are stories which are structured around a physical journey. Along the way individuals reflect and grow to develop a stronger understanding of self. For instance contemporary narratives of Eat Pray Love or Lord of the Rings. Characters undertake a journey in order to discover a purpose through the meaningful experiences occurred on the way. These encourage a desire for otherness a nd difference attracting the explorer and drifter tourists. This is due to the fact such tourists do not mind getting off the beaten tracks, leaving the environmental bubble voluntarily and preferring a novelty experience (Cohen 2004). Many of these media have influenced young individuals to travel as they have gotten older. Thus children’s stories are a major motivator for individuals to travel as it’s the first contact many individuals have in terms of media and tourism. Additionally, journey narratives are powerful motivators as individuals seek out tourism destinations. Riley et al (1992)  have distinguished the downsides of main concern as the exploitation of locals and visitors, expanding costs, absence of readiness of locals when managing with the high tourist influx, the way the location differs from the way it is portrayed in the forms of media bringing about a loss of tourist fulfilment and satisfaction and the various effects of souvenir hunters particularly those who consume signs and markers. These components rela te to the film induced tourism audience and ever expanding tourist visitations to such locations. An important and ambiguous issue to be considered when arguing views of film induced tourism is that of the actual versus the envisioned images as created by the media. Butler (1990) indicates that in a number of times films are not shot at the locations they imply to be. For instance the Philippines was adopted to portray Vietnam in the 1986 Vietnam War film Platoon. This then creates a condition where the general audience are constructing their knowledge on false information and developing false expectations and desires of destinations they decide to visit. It can be argued that much of the expectations in tourism is created with what is presented and viewed in the media. These expectations are developed overtime due to the mass promotions, guidebooks and stories of tourism travel from documentaries and films. The information provided is usually of implied promises. Boorstin (1972) suggests these pseudo-events are responsible for the inauthenticity of the tourism industry. Commentators suggest that media tourism is a clear example of post-tourism (Smith et al, 2010 p.74) and the visitor perspectives of locations are somewhat of a giant cinema screen suggesting the inauthenticity of a place. Consequently, resulting in tourists’ dissatisfaction with their travel experiences. As an outcome tension is created and discourages tourists from visiting certain destinations. A further case of the immediate complications that media production can bring can be evident in Thailand. Here 20th century Fox filmed The Beach. In order to prepare the site for production and to begin filming the beach was demolished and widened with much of the native vegetation and a mass amount of rubbish from the isolated beach also being removed. The destruction of the natural environment became a major concern. The landscape was modified so â€Å"the global cinematic audience is offered an idealised journey in a fantasy space, one based on a ‘dream’ of the tropic s† (Law et al 2007). In doing so Higgins-Desbiolles (2001) claims it tarnished  the Thai Government, damaged the reputation of Twentieth Century Fox, sparked a desire for travel within the young fan base and opened up the opportunities for companies to promote themselves. However, the major benefit that came out of this production was that it boosted the Thailand economy by an estimated US$150000. Clearly the media plays a role in both encouraging and discouraging tourists to visit certain destinations based on their tourist gazes. The tourist gaze was founded by Urry who outlines is a visual nature of tourism. It refers to â€Å"the way in which tourists seek out and consume visual images and the means by which the tourism industry organises and directs this consumption† (Smith 2010 p.174). The gaze can be seen as having a positive outcome on tourism destinations. Bruno (1997) explains that viewers of media are in a way acting like tourists. Having viewed certain television shows such as The Amazing Race the audience feel a compelling motivation to go and travel as well due to the depicted images in the show. However, it can also demotivate in terms of negative publicity placed on certain locations. For instance many individuals avoid the Midd le East regions due to sudden eruptions of conflict such as war and terrorist attacks. Many news reports have displayed images of such risks. This information is then publicly revealed to a mass audience including potential tourists. Resulting in tourists rethinking about their destination choices and seeking other locations instead. Tourism is a key component of popular culture and is fed and feeds from the media which both circulates and produces culture. The power of media especially film and television can motivate travellers, create new images, alter negative images and create and placing icons on maps is recognised as a major factor in promoting tourism travel. Through the analysis of the film The Beach as well as various researchers including Law, Smith and Urry a further understanding is established in terms of media and the influence it can have on tourism whether in positive or negative conducts. As evident media does play a major role in deciding tourist destinations. Reference List Boorstin, D.J 1972, The Image: A Guide to Pseudi Events in America, Atheneum, New York. Butler, R.W 1990, ‘The influence of the media in shaping international tourist patterns’, Tourism Recreation Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp.46–53. Cohen, E 2004, Toward a sociology of international tourism, in Contemporary tourism: diversity and change, Elsevier, Boston, MA, pp. 37-47. Higgins-Desbiolles, F 2001, Battlelines on ‘The Beach’: Tourism and globalisation. Policy, Organisation and Society Special Edition: Different Globalisations, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 116–138. Law, L., Bunnell, T. and Ong, C 2007, ‘The Beach, the gaze and film tourism’, Tourist Studies, vol 7, no. 2, pp. 141-164. MacCannell, D 1976, A semiotic of attraction, in The tourist: a new theory of the leisure class, Schocken Books, New York, pp. 109-33. Riley, R. VanDoren, C.S 1992, Movies as tourism promotion: A ‘pull’ factor in a ‘push’ location. Tourism Management, September, pp. 267–274. ‘Film TV Tourism’ in Smith, M., MacLeod, N. and Hart Robertson, M 2010, Key Concepts in Tourist Studies. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi Singapore, SAGE, pp. 71-75.

The music video of Michael Jackson Essay Example for Free

The music video of Michael Jackson Essay The music video of Michael Jackson named Billie Jean maybe considered as one of the best solos written by the great artist. The song was part of the multi platinum selling 1982 album ‘Thriller’. It was produced and written by the artist himself and he believed that the song would be a hit from the beginning. He even quarreled with the producer about including it in the album. He put up a fight with his producer Quincy to keep it in the album. The song was included in the album ‘Thriller’ and became one of the well known ones in the group. The presentation mainly features Jackson being followed by another person who is conceivably a detective of some sort who tries to record some proof about the relationship of MJ with a girl. As usual the whole video is shrouded in an aura of the supernatural and the singer is exalted to another plane beyond that of mortals. This cannot be counted as anything extraordinary, as the technique is employed only to keep the attention of the viewer glued to the screen. The Analysis of Billie Jean The song itself is named after a girl. The girl, according to MJ, is a model of girls called groupies. Groupies, who hung around back stage doors, loved performing artists, and followed them around on their tours. Such girls often suffered setbacks and were prone to drug addiction and mental instability. The song starts with MJ praising the beauty of the girl, but the mood of the singer in the video is rather gloomy. There is a private detective following him, from what follows, maybe he is trying pick up some piece of evidence. The lyrics ooze out the sympathy of the singer to the girl and the video shows him slipping from the person following him. The first feel that you get when you watch the video is the sad mood of the song as well as the lyrics. It goes without mention that the solo is rather in empathy with the girl in the poem. It is seems as if Jackson was sad that he had broken somebody’s heart. But at the same time he is rough with the rough. He traps the person who tries to trap him, maybe a paparazzi of some sort. The video depicts Jackson endowed with the supernatural, as in many of his other videos. It starts in a shady part of the town, being changed by the presence of the singer. The setting suits the mood of the poem and indicates the gutters in which MJ’s imagined lover lives. His steps are marked by light and he exudes kindness in his actions and gestures. He is followed by the detective (or reporter) who tries to be inconspicuous. After this a newspaper that shows ‘Billy Jean Scandal’ written on it is shown falling from the hands of the detective, which puts us directly in the middle of the scandal that Jackson faced a short while before the video was made. The lighting up of the steps, the sudden alteration that happens to the man who is given a penny by Jackson, his disappearing act twice in the video, all give it an appearance of the majestic presence and prowess of the singer. It is a device used by the icon in many of his songs and this cannot be seen as something calculated to make him a mythical icon or something equivalent. MJ was the first among many who successfully utilized short videos to convey a strong background to the song and dance, thus keeping the audience spellbound. The video is made to suit the lyrics and it is the lyrics that clearly get the upper hand during the song. Without such powerful lyrics the song may not have become such a hit. The best reason for this assumption is that the lyrics could stand alone, but the video could not stand alone and a viewer would not be able to make heads or tails out of it. â€Å"But the kid is not my son†¦Ã¢â‚¬ is a very powerful phrase oft quoted within the lines in the poem. Then the newspaper headline ‘Billie Jean Scandal’ clarifies only with the â€Å"She says I am the one†¦.. †. At first it is a sign of negation, but later on the tone changes, that though he sounds to be sympathetic, he is also saying that he has done nothing wrong. It is as if the singer was laying out his innocence as well as his competence to deal with the traps before the audience. I feel that we should consider the fact that MJ was also a partner in the production apart from Quincy who produced the video. Jackson’s experience with the groupie an year back could have controlled the way he produced the video. If this was an outburst, he would have certainly left some clues within the video, even while negating it before the public. The clues would be there, for those who knew where to look for them. We find that the experience was personal and reflected in the video, under close scrutiny. The girl on bed whom Jackson is photographed with, by the detective is anonymous. We should read this together with â€Å"the kid is not my son†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . He never negates what the girl was to him. His approach to the girl is sad and thoughtful and not menacing. The video is also sympathetic with the girl, because he approaches her in the bed. ( It could also be that it was done to trap the detective, so that the he could be trapped by the police). MJ uses several techniques in the video to make it convey the mythical image of the hero. The steps he take is always lighting up. Even the pillar he leans on lights up. Once when the detective tries to catch him he just disappears. The lighting up technique is later used to show the invisible presence of MJ following the arrested detective. Another technique is the presence of the cat, which can be seen to change its size. All these things work together to capture the attention of the viewer. We should say that he succeeded in this technique. Another major success that was achieved by MJ was that he left many things unsaid and left it to the intelligent viewer to decide about it. It is true in the case of short films that often the director feels it painful to leave out scenes that were difficult to shoot. But MJ has been careful to present only the bare minimum that was needed to present the story, and left the rest to the viewer’s imagination. Another great technique is the start/stop dancing technique of MJ which gained popularity with his as well as his teams support. This is what makes the video exceptional. The technique is physically very complicated and gained popularity around the world with its use by MJ. The dance stills used in the video is superb and the all compliments are due to the editor who has done wonderful job of editing the whole video to perfection. This comparatively slow number catches all the attention of the audience. Its title was actually related to another video in the same album, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’, rather than any connection with the star tennis player, Billie Jean King. First of all, the solo was introduced into the album which was named ‘Thriller’. As we hear the song, we find that the other songs are fast whereas this solo could not have withstood the heavy onslaught by other numbers. But, it was Jackson’s creative genius and a deep understanding of his audience that made him confident that audience could accept this slow number. He has said earlier that he knew the song would be a hit, because he felt exhilarated after writing the lyrics. His capability to keep his audience guessing along with his inimitable dancing style has made the video wonderful. I feel that the video was created with the effort enhancing the dream lover image of Michael Jackson. With the mighty stroke of an artist he establishes himself as the lover of dreams and the same time capable of outwitting his numerous enemies. He silently accepts the love of the girl, whom he agrees to be a groupie and proves to be too slippery to fall into a trap. He has appeared in another of his albums as lover cum vampire and I would even dare to say that he was a forerunner of Stephanie Meyer, who wrote the book ‘Twilight†. He has successfully established for himself, an image of the superhuman lover, that every teenager longs for in his/her unconscious. In this video, he has further enhanced it. This should be read side by side with the lyrics â€Å"People always told me be careful of what you do And dont go around breaking young girls hearts And mother always told me be careful of who you love And be careful of what you do cause the lie becomes the truth† Thus he indirectly speaks about his enticing personality and at the same time expiates himself of any connection with the girl in question. But then, he keeps himself open to relations. The versatile genius of MJ is very clearly brought to light and he is able to project himself as the youth icon, around the world. This video is a very good example for that. He also keeps everyone guessing and glued to the screen till the end of the video. Conclusion Michael Jackson was the undisputed king of pop music. The video was a landmark in the life of MJ. His ability to touch the hearts of his viewers was once again brought to light. The video earned him many awards and made him top many charts in America as well as Europe (Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (4:51)). Works cited: Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (4:51). July 29, 2010. 2010. http://www. last. fm/music/Michael+Jackson/_/Billie+Jean

Effects of Cost Reduction Strategies

Effects of Cost Reduction Strategies 1. Background of the study The selected organization is a medium scale garment manufacturing factory located at suburb area of the country. Factory has capacity to provide employment opportunities for over 80 skilled labours. Since year 1995 factory is being manufacturing garments Shirts, Trousers, Jackets, Blouses, Night wear, Babies garments etc for local and foreign market. In order to earn profits, the factory organizes the factors of production to produce garments that meet the demand of local and foreign market. To maintain the profitability of the organization it has become necessary to reduce the cost of the product and increase the quality of the garments. For most purpose of this study is to practically preview cost reduction practice of organizations and effect of the practices in the organization. Cost reduction measures became most significant and prioritize topic in current business strategy due to the prevailing global economical crises. Cost reduction measures address questions about the efficient and effective management. A comprehensive study of practice of cost reduction measures of garment factory and effect of the measures in factory was difficult because of data limitations and managers reluctance to provide data. Inadequacy of available data makes it difficult to state precisely practice of cost reduction measures and effect of that. This is further complicated by the fact that managers hide some information purposely by thinking this information will go to their competitors. 2. Cost Reduction Techniques Cost reduction strategies helped the organization to match its capabilities with opportunities in the market place to accomplish its objectives. To maintain the profitability of the organization and to get the competitive advantage, the management has introduced some cost reduction methods during last two years. Although indirect costs are relatively small percentage of total cost, management equally introduced cost reduction measures for both direct and indirect cost sources. Revealed data proven that organization was able to save over seven millions of rupees during last year. The implemented cost reductions measures as follows, List of cost reduction approaches implemented by the selected organization Production process redesigning Waste management Overtime work reduce Staff reduce Cut off of medical insurance facility Cut off of food facility Suspension loan and salary advance facility Reduce transportation facility Electricity saving measures Cost reduce through limiting Telephone facility Reduce office maintenance cost Stationary and documentation cost reduction Introduction of new production Product development Suspension of organizations annual trip Time saving measures Cost reduces through inventory controlling. 3. Categorization of cost reduction measures 1. Product process related cost reduction approaches Cost reduction by production process redesigning Cost reduction through waste management Cost reduces through inventory controlling. 2. Employee related cost reduction approaches Cost reduction by overtime work Cost reduce by Staff reduce Staff welfare cost reduction Cut off of medical insurance facility Suspension of interest free loan facility and salary advances Cut off of food Suspension of organizations annual trip Cut off of transport facility Time saving measures 3. Administration and office maintenance related cost reduction approaches Electricity saving measures Telephone Reduce office maintenance cost Stationary and documentation cost reduction 4. Customer related cost reduction approaches Introduction of new production Product development 4. Evaluation and Analysis of Cost Reduction Techniques 1 Product process related cost reduction approaches 1.1 Cost reduction by product process redesigning To reduce cost, the organization had redesigned production process. Sequentially to optimize the all manufacturing process, Manufacturing, sample testing, procumbent handling, delivery service and repairer had been redesigned with the concern of best cost, quality, safety, customer satisfaction etc. Designers had been encouraged to watchfully specify part quality by taking into consideration the cumulative effect of part on product quality. Production time was saved by quickly assembling few parts with better quality. Parts are ease of production and commonality with other designs. This method support standardization of parts, minimum use of purchased parts, modular design and standard design features. It has reorganized the building to order and gathering customization. All parts keep available at all point of use, makes it easier for parts to be pulled into assembly which eliminate the unnecessary movements. By ordering less type of parts in large qualities it reduced material over head cost. Organization was able to reduced cost and improves flexibility by redesigning. According to the management, overtime payment amount at the same time as nearly 20% of salary during past few years. It shouldered around 5% of total direct cost. Organization was able to meet customer deadline without doing overtime works as a results of process redesigning. In order to redesign manufacturing process, organization had used expert process development team and paid them amount at the same as 9.5% of annual overtime amount. By parts keep available at all point of use, and eliminating unnecessary movements, one store helpers duty had wipe out without any effecting. Organization was able to save amount at same time as 10.5% of salary and one store helpers salary valued Rs.5, 900/- by process redesigning. This redesigning of the process ensure that how well the features work and had significantly influence on quality, reliability and how quickly new product can be introduced into the market. Consequently cost benefit of the redesigning is much higher than the overtime sav ing and one labour salary. 1.2 Cost reduction through waste managing Increase productivity by eliminating many types of waste. Such as excess inventory and unnecessary handling, time wasting, defects, reworking, material wastage. Waste materials had been sold to domestic producers at very low prices. Organization had started to produce new dresses by using west material especially for the local market instead of selling to the domestic. Theses product are providing at very cheap price and it is good opportunity for the customers. Organization was able to additionally earn at least fifty thousand per month. Because of this decision the domestic people loss their live hood. In order to save time, introduced token system for workers to minimize away from work station ( if any worker wants to go out of work station even to go to toilet or any other emergency they should get permission token from supervisor and when employee back to workstation he should immediately return to the supervisor), and get rid of unnecessary process ( Ex: reduced double stretch to one stitch in some products). To prevent unnecessary interruption organization had introduced proactive equipment / machine maintenance method. On that organization had enter in to service agreement with third party organization which cost was around Rs. Hundred and fifty thousand per annum. With this agreement, servicing organization randomly come and does necessary service to all machines without interruption to normal process. As a result of no any machine take away from process during last year where which frequently experiences early. This decision accelerates production and optimized labour consumption. To ensure the optimum use of machine tool and workstation, one piece flow lines balanced to do the required tasks at each station. This may also help to meet deadlines without doing overtime and terminate the supervisory staff. 1.3 Cost reduces through inventory controlling Inventory controlling is another important cost reduction source. Materials comprise of the 60 to 70% of the total production cost. The various techniques have been introduced to controlling inventory handling cost. Organization had removed non moving stock because non moving stock goes on adding overheads for a period of years and it becomes a blocked inventory. Organization uses classification system. This helps to reduce stock handling cost and organization was able to reduce one store helper service. Cost benefits of these techniques are particularly high. 2. Employee related cost reduction approaches 2.1 Cost reduce by stopping overtime work As it is explained by the Sri Lankan law overtime work is one and one-half times or doubles size payment. Though overtime is high cost source organization had used overtime works for provide high quality products to customers and meet their target. According to the management, overtime payment amount at the same time as nearly 20% of salary during past few years. It shouldered around 5% of total direct cost. The management has stopped over time work and payments. This decision is effected to factory and office employees. This factory had used to pay overtime payment for managerial staffs as well. Top Management has consecutively introduced flexible working hours for the management staffs to success in overtime payment suspension procedure. The organization was able to save money as at least 20% of salary due to the overtime suspension decision. As per managers, no any order or job has been delayed due to this measure and they are getting same output as they got early by working overtime. Employees ware adherent to work overtime and receive additional payment. Consequently staffs misery and labour turnover is increased in the factory. Overtime work is more costly and it significantly effect to the organizations cost structure. In other hand, Humans cannot continually work long hour and their output gradually reduces as they are tired of working long hours. Therefore cost benefit of overtime work rather low. However, organization was able to save at least money same as 20% of monthly salary. As management there is no such a big deference of output comparatively overtime work period and non overtime period. Organization was able to get maximum use of human resources during working hour. One reason for that may be by limit ed employees working hours to 8, employees may give their contribution without exhausted. Though hiring cost increased this is a good cost reduction method. 2.2 Cost reduce by Staff reduce It is observed that salary denoted nearly half of organizations cost. By redesigning production process and introducing production team concept, it was able to eliminate unnecessary job. Organization has terminated 5 labours, one office peon, two supervisors, one assistant manager and two clerks service. Organization was able to save nearly hundred and fifty thousand per month by reducing employees. This decision was a considerable damage to the high job security which was experienced by the employees during last ten fifteen years. This decision adversely effect to the employees moral and face uncertainty. Sri Lankan labour law is not a flexible law and it always facilitate the employee and it gives poor aid to employers. This organization falls to reduced staffs to protect many other employees and the organization. Terminated staffs have been paid one month salary additionally and gratuity. Some of terminated staffs have taken legal action against to the organization on their termination. Organization occurs to pay additional payments for legal officer. Though organization is able to save considerable saving on this measure, addition cost source was initiated as a result of. This situation was raised as a result of unorganized implementation. If prior approval was taken from legal authority this cost sources may not be occurred. Therefore organization was unable to success in cost as expected due to wrong implementation. High job security enhanced staff loyalty and builds a healthy and happy working environment and promoted good relationship among the staff but with this decision empl oyees experienced uncertainty. This may also a motive to increase labour turnover. 2.3 Staff welfare cost reduction Performances of the organization depend on employees enthusiasm and satisfaction with their jobs; all affect the productivity, reputation and survival of the firm. Employees are the main driving force of the organization. Organization believes that employees are their most valuable asset. To enhance staff loyalty and ensure they have an excellent working environment organization had provided verity of facilities for them. Few of them are medical insurance coverage, transport facility, pleasant working environment, Interest free staff loan facility, payment for residual leave, fifteen minis religious memorial period for every day, salary advance if necessary, annual trip and etc. All these facilities help to build a healthy and happy working environment and promoted good relationship among the staff. But organization was urged to cut off these facilities to be success in increasing market competition and global economical crises. 2.3.1 Cut off of medical insurance facility All level employees experienced medical insurance facility. They were paid all their medical expense including hospitalization charges. Medical insurance coverage helps to increase employees satisfaction and promote healthy relationship among employees and employer. Medical insurance coverage was gaining in popularity with staff grade employers and not that much popular within labours. As Sri Lanka is a country which provides free medical service to its nations cut off of medical insurance coverage is not such a big issue for the labours. But that decision was badly affected to the managerial staffs enthusiasm. Organization was able to save over five hundred thousand rupees yearly on this decision. Organization was able to save considerable amount of money which less affected to labours and significant effect to staff grade motivation. However this is a comparatively good cost reduction method of a factory. 2.3.2 Suspension of interest free loan facility and salary advances Organization had provided interest free loan for permanent employees which not more than employees one year salary. Inference period is three year. Other than to the staff loan salary advance also suspended. Management has planned to invest company money in to business promotion. This decision helps to shield the business and it helps to increase stability of the organization. Suspension of staff loan facility is not considerable affect to the managerial staff as majority of the staffs had already taken loan and managerial staffs are more secure in economically than labours. But the suspension of salary advance is badly effect to labours enthusiasm and it may also act to increase labour turnover. Cost benefit of this technique is comparatively low. It is observed that organization was unable to save considerable saving on account of. 2.3.3 Cut off of food Organization provided breakfast, lunch and tea to all level of employees. Majority of employees are poor female. This meal facility helps to maintain their body nutrition level and helped to increase enthusiasm. Some poor girls may come to work without meals and others may have to weak up early morning to prepare their meals as a result of cut off of food facility. Any employees can work on their maximum capacity if theyre mentally and physically fit. Therefore cut off of food expenses can be adversely affected to the output. Organization was able to save at least one hundred and fifty thousand and other hand it may badly affect to the employees effort and moral. Organization experiences comparatively high level of absenteeism after implementing the decision. It can be identified as not good cost deduction method to factory which employed majority female low income employees. 2.3.4 Suspension of organizations annual trip Employees are the most important resources of the factory. The annual trip is corporate team building exercises which helps individuals work better on individually and together. Getting to know each other is a great way for staff to form stronger working relationships. Staffs who are not usually working together have opportunity to bond and is good opportunity for new and shy members to get involved focused task. Further rewarding staff with a fun day out employees feel valued by the employer and more likely to be happy at working and loyal. Getting away from the everyday tasks can gives employees a fresh feeling. It helps to identify staff strength and weaknesses and it helps to provide right opportunities for staff back at the office for them to develop. Build relationship among co-workers. Additionally, staff themselves will learn more about theirs and others strengths and weaknesses. Organization saved around hundred thousand yearly but the saving benefit is comparatively low con sidering the benefit of this team building event. 2.3.5 Cut off of transport facility The organization is a medium scale garment manufacturing factory located at suburb area. Public transportation facility of the area is in very poor level comparatively to the urban area of the country. Organization had provided office maintains vehicle for managerial staffs and separate vehicles to transport workers and office staff. There was a not implemented cost reduction measure for managerial staffs transport facility. Organization has employed two buses to transport all employees including staff and workers instead of two busses and van which employed early. Organization was able to reduce transportation cost by Rs. 40,000/- per month by this decision. 2.3.5 Time saving measures It was introduced token system for workers to minimize away from work station ( if any worker wants to go out of work station even to go to toilet or any other emergency they should get permission token from supervisor and when employee back to workstation he should immediately return to the supervisor). This method more scientific and in long run this will effect to staff frustration. It was unable to save considerable saving. Cost benefit of the method is very low. It was advised staffs to warship or prays before working hour which was used to done by the staff after working hour early. By allowing memorize employees to their religion before start the duty management expected to create peaceful and harmonious working environment. This may also directs to meet costumers target without overtime work. This is good time saving method. By adjusting transport vehicle time accordingly, management was able to facilitate employees to continue this exercise. Organization was able to save 350 man hours monthly valid nearly twenty thousand without influencing to employees and devoid of harm their objective. 3. Administration and office maintenance related cost reduction approaches 3.1 Electricity saving measures The use of air conditioners within office premises has been stopped and circular had issued to all staffs by advising electricity saving measures, on that staff have been advised how they can assist to save electricity while working. (Staff switches off computers and lights when they go outside of the work station). As this factory located at damp whether area this issue is not effected to the staffs productivity. Organization was able reduce electricity bill by at least five thousand per month without effect to the output. 3.2 Telephone All telephones unites have been locked and introduced upper limit of monthly telephone charges and if it exceeded particular employee is responsible for the excess. There was no considerable deference between before and after introduced of the policy. As telephone facilities has provided to management staff and they all use that facility for the official mater. Whether limits are exceeded it all uses for the business requirements. 3.3 Reduce office maintenance cost Office and factory cleaning service providers service had stopped and assigned to office peons and helpers. Part time worker has recruited for sanitary service by paying Rs.2,000 per month. Organization was able to save twenty thousand of rupees which they paid to cleaning service organization. Due to this decision labor turnover has increased. Organization was unable to the attained that they maintained early on cleaning and sanitary facility. This is not a good cost reduction measure to the organization. 3.4 Stationary and documentation cost reduction Organization started to use Low price stationeries and strong stationary controlling methods have been introduced. Organization was able to reduce around five hundred rupees per month from this measure. 4. Customer related cost reduction approaches 4.1 Introduction of new production Factory manufacturing garments Shirts/Trousers/Jackets/Blouses /Night wear/Babies garments etc for local and foreign market. It is introduced low material and labour consumption garment to the local market. Organization has been involved in the development of garments for low-price. As revealed it is marketed low cost product with low price. This is a good opportunity for the customers. This is a good accomplishment for organization to win the customers. 4.2 Product development Organization had introduced new dresses by using west material especially for the local market instead of selling to the domestic. Theses product are providing at very cheap price and it is good opportunity for the customers. Organization was able to additionally earn at least fifty thousand per month. The organization always targeted to win the upper income level customers and they had ignored lower income group by producing high quality high price garments. With this development organization was able to catch the low income group by producing high quality garments at cheap price. Organization was able to expand the market rather than limited in to the high income customer group. 5. Conclusion The long-term practicability of an organizations business plan depends on supporting its competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is usually attained through developing new products to improve quality and reduce costs. For most purpose of this study is to practically preview cost reduction practice of organizations and effect of the practices in the organization. The selected organization is a medium scale garment manufacturing factory located at out of metropolitan city. Cost reduction strategies helped the organization to match its capabilities with opportunities in the market place to accomplish its objectives. To maintain the profitability of the organization and to get the competitive advantage, the management has introduced some cost reduction methods during last two years. Although indirect costs are relatively small percentage of total cost, management equally introduced cost reduction measures for both direct and indirect cost sources. Revealed data proven that organizat ion was able to save around one million of rupees during last year. The exercised cost reductions measures were, employee related, production process related, customer related and administration and office maintenance related cost reduction. It is observed that organization had implemented cost reduction techniques without doing proper cost benefit analysis. However revealed data proven that organization was able to save over seven millions of rupees during last year. Reducing overtime work, Staff welfare cut off, Production improvement, Introduction of new production, Production process related, Productivity increasing measures, Wastage reduction measures, Electricity saving measures have been successively accomplished the organization goal while employee reducing, office maintenance measures ineffective.

Flannery O8217Conner and Grotesque Characters :: essays papers

Flannery O8217Conner and Grotesque Characters Flannery O’Conner and Grotesque Characters One of the most interesting characteristics of Flannery O’Conners writing is her penchant for creating characters with physical or mental disabilities. Though critics sometimes unkindly labeled her a maker of grotesques, this talent for creating flawed characters served her well. In fact, though termed grotesque, O’Conners use of vivid visual imagery when describing people and their shortcomings is the technique that makes her work most realistic. O’Conner herself once remarked that â€Å"anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it will be called realistic.† In O’Conners â€Å"The Life You Save May Be Your Own† the villain is a one armed hobo named Tom T. Shiftlet. Using his gift of gab and the promise of â€Å"fixing the place up.† He manages to take up on the remote farm of an old woman named Lucynell Crater and her mentally retarded and completely deaf daughter â€Å"Lucynell Crater†. The old woman quickly decides that despite his handicap she would like to make Tom her son in law. His goal soon became, fix up the old car he was sleeping in and hightail it out of there with the car and some of the old womans money in his pocket. On the pretense that he would need it for a honeymoon trip, he convinces the old woman to fix the car and give him some cash. The story ends with him marrying the retarded daughter, leaving with her on a honeymoon trip, then abandoning her in a rundown diner on the side of the road. â€Å"Good Country People† is a story about Joy Hopewell, a very well educated young woman living in the rural south. Joy lost a leg in a hunting accident when she was ten and since then had been forced to wear a wooden replacement. She also had a weak heart and it was this affliction that forced her to remain amongst these â€Å"good country people† whom she considered to be intellectual inferiors. Though she had great confidence in her intelligence she had very little self-esteem. Joys’ handicap made her feel ugly, so ugly that much to her mothers’ dismay, she had her name legally changed to the ugliest one she could think of, Hulga. One day a traveling bible salesman named Manley Pointer made a sales call and ended up having dinner with the family.

Does God Exist? :: essays research papers

In my life on this planet I have come to question many things that many take on as blind faith. We all know that someday we will 'physically' die, Yet, we continuously deny the forces working inside ourselves which want to search out the true outcome of what may or may not come after death. It's far easier for humanity to accept that they will go on to a safe haven and be forgiven for all, rather than to question the existence of a super omnipotent being. Fortunately, there are some of us who tend to question the why's and how's that come before us. We question the creation of humanity and the religious teachings received from our parents, our church and our society. This paper examines the many rational arguments for and against the existence of God. It is based on the views of some of the great philosophers and scientists of our world. I will show that there is no sufficient proof or comprehensive arguments for the existence of God. Some people search for eternal peace through the beliefs in God; but this is an impossible belief because of the chances, the plausibility, and because of science. ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS God generally refers to one supreme, holy, personal being,. The divine unity of ultimate good-ness and of ultimate reality. St. Anselm of Canterbury developed what we have learned to be the ontological argument. He began his argument by saying that even a fool can grasp or understand the concept of "a being than of which nothing greater can be conceived." He continues to state that a fool would say that the concept of this being's existence is only in his mind and in the mind of others but not in reality. However he also admits to the possibility of this being existing in reality. Whatever is understood by the fool is argued that than which nothing is greater can be conceived cannot solely exist in the mind but also in reality, hence, God exists. (Angelfire) This personally sounds like a salesperson's pitch to confuse and conquer for a sale. Gaunilo felt the same. He frequently debated with St. Anselm on behalf of the fool. He stated that it was not po ssible to visualize the concept of this perfect being because one can only imagine an image when one has an idea of what that image is suppose to resemble.

Hamlets Crazy! :: essays research papers

Hamlet’s Crazy!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The idea of madness portrayed by Hamlet and Ophelia is a perfect example of the changes that occur after certain traumatic situations. Hamlet’s actions throughout the play are a direct reaction towards the trauma earlier in the play. Ophelia and her ending in life is the ultimate price of madness. Both Hamlet and Ophelia were not the only two people in this play that had gone mad. In the end, the whole cast had gone mad. Hamlet’s madness played a bigger role in the play than Hamlet himself. In the very beginning, when Hamlet first conversed with his dead father’s ghost, Hamlet and his sanity had changed. Hamlet had gone insane after seeing a ghost. This was not such a wrong thing. In one scene, Hamlet said nothing but a grunt to Ophelia, who was left dumbfounded in fright. Ophelia may of sensed Hamlet’s madness at this point. Perhaps it had rubbed off on her. In a speech directed towards Polonius, Hamlet, with total disregard of Polonius and his feeling’s, repeatedly offended him. Polonius was in deed testing him at this time. Claudius had witnessed this and said there was method in his madness-- I agree. After all of this it is fairly obvious that Hamlet’s madness had written the play. If Hamlet were stable with his Father’s death, and his Mother’s re-marriage, the plot would be far less great and the play would have ended in the first scene. The whole idea of Hamlet and his madness thickened the plot and furthered the play. Would Polonious have died without Hamlet’s madness? Or would Ophelia drown herself without Hamlet and his ways? Not likely. Hamlet was not the only one who had gone mad with rage; Laertes too had gone mad. Near the end of the play, after his father had been slain and his sister drown, Laertes too had caught the â€Å"Hamlet Madness Disease.† Laertes might have had an immature jealousy towards Hamlet, but I disagree. Strangely, Hamlet seemed to act more sane when Laertes began to lash out at Hamlet while attending his dead sister’s funeral. From that point on Hamlet seemed more calm and together. He apologized to Laertes for killing his father, and blamed it on his madness. He then referred to him as a brother. These are not the actions of a mad man, but of a man with regret and solitude.

Quote of the mind Essay

Some people think that the mind is the brain or some other part or function of the body, but this is incorrect. The brain is a physical object that can be seen with the eyes and that can be photographed or operated on in surgery. The mind, on the other hand, is not a physical object. It cannot be seen with the eyes, nor can it be photographed or repaired by surgery. The brain, therefore, is not the mind but simply part of the body. There is nothing within the body that can be identified as being our mind because our body and mind are different entities. For example, sometimes when our body is relaxed and immobile, our mind can be very busy, darting from one object to another. This indicates that our body and mind are not the same entity. In Buddhist scriptures, our body is compared to a guest house and our mind to a guest dwelling within it. When we die, our mind leaves our body and goes to the next life, just like a guest leaving a guest house and going somewhere else. If the mind is not the brain, nor any other part of the body, what is it? It is a formless continuum that functions to perceive and understand objects. Because the mind is formless, or non-physical, by nature, it is not obstructed by physical objects. It is very important to be able to distinguish disturbed states of mind from peaceful states. As explained in the previous chapter, states of mind that disturb our inner peace, such as anger, jealousy, and desirous attachment, are called ‘delusions’; and these are the principal causes of all our suffering. We may think that our suffering is caused by other people, by poor material conditions, or by society, but in reality it all comes from our own deluded states of mind. The essence of spiritual practice is to reduce and eventually to eradicate altogether our delusions, and to replace them with permanent inner peace. This is the real meaning of our human life. The essential point of understanding the mind is that liberation from  suffering cannot be found outside the mind. Permanent liberation can be found only by purifying the mind. Therefore, if we want to become free from problems and attain lasting peace and happiness we need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the mind.