Art and Function in a T-Shirt Essay

Defining and evaluating artistic and aesthetic value has often been a problematic task. This is because aesthetic judgements are subjective and are influenced by prevailing cultural, economic, political, and social norms. Hence, the definition of art remains a contested domain between those who believe in â€Å"high art† and the advocates of artistic and cultural relativism. (Danto 35) The difficulty in ascribing aesthetic value to objects is evident in the fact that relativism, with its focus on the individual subjective experience, would render anything and everything as artforms since humans ultimately attach meanings to objects they possess. Changes in culture and socio-economic conditions also alter and influence the very standards by which the aesthetic value of art forms and other objects are judged. For instance, in judging a t-shirt with Bob Marley’s face printed on it on the front through the use of the silkscreen method, one easily dismisses it as a non-art when judged according to the traditional notions of fine art. This is because the t-shirt and the print on it do not express artistic creativity, which is a prerequisite for objects to be considered art forms. The t-shirt and the print, which can be replicated many times over by any one with knowledge on silk screen printing, do not possess relevant canonic properties of art such as unity, complexity, and intensity which could evoke intense human experiences and therefore, aesthetic appreciation (Goldman 185). The sight of the t-shirt does not stir up feelings of beauty nor does its fabric hold anything extraordinary for the senses. The print on the t-shirt does not convey a particular style to capture attention or cause pain or pleasure, at least not in the way that beholding Picasso’s paintings evoke wonder, mystery, and other psychological sentiments arising purely from the painter’s use of style, colors, and the imagination. Likewise, the t-shirt with the print on it was created not for the purpose of being admired as an art. As such, the t-shirt is not valuable in itself but gains value for its function to humans, contrary to traditional visual and other forms of art. Art forms are valued for their artistic worth or for their ability to command a definite blending of particular perceptual and sensory elements from the audience (Goldman 188). On the other hand, subjecting the t-shirt to evaluation based on the principles of aesthetic value leads to interesting results. The t-shirt with Bob Marley’s face printed on it clearly fulfills two aesthetic principles. First, the t-shirt becomes a medium for the image of Bob Marley, a cultural icon in reggae music and in the historical struggle of Jamaicans. In this case, the t-shirt with Bob Marley’s image transcends its status as an object worn by humans to cover themselves and becomes an expression of the values of reggae and Jamaican culture in a manner similar to cultural artifacts. Second, the t-shirt itself may be valued by an individual for the sentiments attached to the shirt. It could have been given as a gift for an occasion or has been worn to events associated with feelings of happiness which make the t-shirt valuable to the individual because of the memories of joyous times spent while wearing it. Thus, other people might consider the same t-shirt aesthetically valuable. Fenner observes that objects do not have intrinsic aesthetic value; rather it is the subjective experience of humans that create aesthetic value for objects, particularly the expectation of pleasure from an object (122). Those who appreciate and know Bob Marley may value his image on the t-shirt and subsequently feel pleasure or the elevation of other feelings associated with Bob Marley’s musical contribution and historical roots. As such, the t-shirt may be appreciated by people who share a cultural affinity with Jamaica or of the counterculture that Bob Marley represents. The value of Bob Marley’s silkscreened image extends to the t-shirt which carries it and reinforces the value of the shirt for its owner. The t-shirt, donned by the owner, can therefore be considered the medium for the expression of individuality and creativity of the wearer. Wearing Bob Marley may be a political or cultural statement for a particular culture, particularly as a representation of the struggle against apartheid or against conventional popular music and the culture it represents. Hence, the appreciation of Jamaican culture or reggae music becomes another definitive aspect of the aesthetic experience that may be separate from the experiences attached to the t-shirt as an object. Likewise, neither the fact that the t-shirt was not created for the sake of art nor its low economic worth prevents it from being categorized as an art form. Fenner notes that the presence of traditional aesthetic properties do not necessarily lead to an aesthetic experience or to the creation of an aesthetic value (121). Hence, the audience can view a pricey painting without feeling any connection with it which would make the painting worthless in terms of evoking a subjective experience of appreciation for creativity or imagination. On the other hand, the same audience may behold the image on a shirt and feel an instant connection, a feeling of intense emotions from memories or meanings attached to the object of attention. It is clear that the traditional definitions of art and the accompanying distinction and stratification between â€Å"high art† and â€Å"lowbrow art† has slowly been eroded with the rise of cultural relativism and postmodern theory. Doubtless, the rigid formality of art has come under attack even within various artists’ circles itself that ascribe to the fluidity and less structured styles of postmodern culture. Thus, even an ordinary t-shirt can now be considered an art form when, after critical analysis, it is able to fulfill the principles of aesthetic value. Works Cited: Fenner, David E.W. The Aesthetic Attitude. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press, 1996. Goldman, Alan. â€Å"Beardsley’s Legacy: The Theory of Aesthetic Value.† The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 63.2 (2005): 185-190.

Manuel Barkan and his contribution to art education

Contemporary generation of young art educators are being introduced to significant figures in the history of art education in their programs of study. In today’s fast-paced environment, it is natural that some of these figures are accepted without question and some are left languishing in history only to be revisited by those interested in revising that history. Manuel Barkan could be considered such a figure. An individual who emerges as a pivotal force in the development of ideas now infused in contemporary art education is Manuel Barkan who in 1965 advocated a then new approach to the curricular content of art education: the use of the roles of the art historian, the art critic, and the aesthetician as well as that of the studio artist. Today these ideas seem so commonplace that it’s difficult to imagine just how radical they were when they were first introduced. The purpose of this paper is to examine Barkan’s work and its effect on contemporary art education in order to understand current practice and philosophy of art education. About half a century ago, Barkan (1962) addressed the importance of historical reflection in an article published in Art Education titled â€Å"Transition in Art Education: Perceptions of Curriculum Content and Teaching† and asserted that he believed the next decade would â€Å"bring some truly fundamental changes in the theory and practice of art education† (Barkan, 1962, p. 12). He went on to say that â€Å"when basic ideas are in the process of transformation, there is and must be an inevitable grinding of opinions one upon the other. There must be inevitable controversy and debate, because old ideas by their very nature, cannot and do not change unless and until they are challenged by new ones† (p. 12). The transformation of which he spoke was the shift from the child-centered approach of the progressive movement to the disciplined-centered approach advocated for general education. Another essential Barkan’s point concerned the kind of behavior a person must learn in order to achieve understanding from the subject being studied. He stated that to learn through art, â€Å"one must act like an artist† (p. 14). Barkan (1962) also spoke of the need to treat children as artists and explained the characteristics of the artist as â€Å"immersion in a medium,† and â€Å"determination †¦ to achieve the discipline and the skills involved† (p. 18). He cautioned against organizing curriculum simply to give students experiences in a wide range of media, an approach he considered â€Å"detrimental to the purposes which art education ought to be trying to achieve† (p. 17). Instead, he thought students should engage is some exploration of media so that they could discover a medium they liked and be able to â€Å"use it to express their ideas† (p. 18). The art room should, in Barkan’s words in the 1962 article, re-create the â€Å"atmosphere of an artist’s studio† (p. 18). In 1965 Barkan proposed a research and development center for aesthetic education to the U.S. Office of Education; the plan called for a consortium of five universities each with research and curriculum development labs (Hubbard, 1971). According to Chapman (1993), the plan was not funded due to the federal government’s position that all of the arts must be included, making the initial plan too complex. Barkan continued to refine the idea. Barkan turned to television as a tool for disseminating resources and curriculum concepts for the teaching of art. By that time, he had begun to work with Laura Chapman, and together they developed Guidelines for Art Instruction through Television for the Elementary Schools for what became National Instructional Television. In 1970, he and Chapman published Guidelines for Curriculum Development in Aesthetic Education as a guide for educators working to develop curriculum materials in music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts. Elliot Eisner, writing in a 1971 issue of Studies in Art Education that focused on Barkan’s work, stated that â€Å"throughout his career in art education, Manuel Barkan concerned himself with both the development of more adequate theory and the improvement of the art of teaching art† (p. 4). In fact, Barkan believed that art education could promote a more sensitive understanding of social problems. His first book, A Foundation for Art Education, published in 1955, presented a synthesis of then â€Å"current concepts from psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural history, philosophy and the arts† (Barkan, 1955, p. vi). According to Chapman (1971), Barkan was concerned with the growing number of sometimes questionable classroom activities that were being justified as forms of creative self-expression. He sought to better define the term in relation to â€Å"concepts about human behavior growing out of research in other fields† (Barkan, 1955, p. vii) and to develop â€Å"a foundation for art education that would rest on a synthesis of this information in the context of operational problems in teaching† (Chapman, p. 40). Barkan’s book was an effort to develop a strong philosophical foundation for art education built upon research in other disciplines. Today, the idea that the curricular content of art education should encompass artmaking, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics is generally widely accepted. Art teachers address these components of art education in a manner that takes into account the nature of the child and the importance of both making and responding to art. Art has become a subject for study, but it retains its ability to teach us about ourselves and the others with whom we share this world. That art education is still engaged in transition is without doubt, and, is in fact, desirable. Postmodern thought, feminist perspectives, and multicultural concerns are but a few of the contemporary issues that influence today’s emerging art educators. However, an understanding of the history of our field and the work of key individuals such as Manuel Barkan can provide insight and guidance as we continue the ongoing â€Å"transition in art education† that he addressed in 1962. Works Cited List Barkan, M. â€Å"A transition in art education.† Art Education, 15.7 (1962): 12-27 Barkan, M. A Foundation for Art Education. New York: The Roland Press, 1955. Chapman, L. H. â€Å"A second look at A Foundation for Art Education.† Studies in Art Education, 13.1 (1971): 40-49. Chapman, L. H. Reflections on the theory and practice of curriculum development in art. Paper presented at the National Art Education Association Convention Super-Session III, Chicago, IL, 1993. Eisner, E. â€Å"Media, expression, and the arts.† Studies in Art Education, 13.1 (1971): 4-12. Hubbard, G. â€Å"The professional leadership of Manuel Barkan.† Studies in Art Education, 13.1 (1971): 70-72.   

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Investor Relations with Bear Mountain Wind Park or as stated by Review Dissertation

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Foraging and Nutritional Ecology of Primates in SE Asia Essay Example for Free

Foraging and Nutritional Ecology of Primates in SE Asia Essay There are foods of various kinds that fit the foraging and nutritional needs of primates in SE Asia, these primates in question use the foods to extract carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, fats and minerals. We look at the impact of the environment on these primates for there foraging and nutritional needs. We also observe systematics, their distribution, their genetics, their anatomy, their physiology, their ecology and conservation. Some of these primates, to observe and study are wood antelope and fossarial leaf rat. Availability of the plant species and their evolutionary history comes in and also cell theory is also looked at, fossil history is also looked at to some extent, and the whole work becomes interesting (Balee, 1998, 25) The foraging needs as well as the nutritional needs of primates are much varied due to the special needs of that particular primate. In most cases they need food to provide them with energy for growth, reproduction, movement and even at rest (the basal metabolic rate). Once the food is ingested it travels inside the body of the organism or in this case the primate and once assimilated into the blood stream it passes through a process called respiration and the energy needed for the body is obtained, Normally, when the primates are still as infants, energy is really needed for their growth and development and as they mature their energy requirement tend to increase and thus the need for more food (Balee, 1998, p. 68) As for the wood antelope and the fossarial leaf rat they normally have a special kind of bacteria in their guts, which helps to digest cellulose. This is because all the types of food the rely on have cellulose as one of the components and since other components are digestible, cellulose is not digestible and so the work of this special kind of bacteria comes in. The wood antelope feeds on the grasses, shrubs and bushes, which contain cellulose, and the fossarial leaf rat feeds mostly, if not exclusively on leaves of certain trees, bushes and shrubs and so they also contain cellulose. So this particular bacteria plays a very important role in the lives of these primates (Govbson, et el, 1998, p. 100) The extraction of carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, proteins and minerals normally occur through some other body metabolisms, which also play a very important role in the growth and energy requirements of these primates. The extracts are also used in the bone formation, in this case proteins are used for this purpose and the minerals and vitamins are used for important functions in the bodies of the organisms (Leyh, 2007,p. 150) In any ecological systems there is competition among organisms for space mates and food. All these things that they compete for depend in one or another with the energy available. For instance, if an organism is to get an adequate space for himself, the organism has to fight for it and unless he is strong enough, it cannot be easy for him to get it. It is more of the survival for the fittest and death for the unfit. Only the fittest is this case can survive. When it comes to competition for mates this one also depends with the idea of having enough energy for mating with as many mates as possible for the male, and having enough energy of bearing the pregnancy and being able to deliver in the case of the female. It is also another case of survival for the fittest Another thing that these primates, especially of the same species must have enough and adequate food for them, those who are capable of getting food survive, while those who do not get die. This is also another good example of survival for the fittest and death for the unfit. Charles Darwin first put this forward in his theory of evolution of species (Kenzey, 1997,p. 15) Migration of the primates in question is one important area to look at. For an organism to migrate like in this case the wood antelope must ensure that they have eaten enough food because of the long distance, which may be required to be covered. Migration normally occurs due to climatic changes, which may lead to scarcity of food, mates and poor or harsh environmental condition as such the organism is forced to migrate and look for a more favorable place to start life a fresh. (Balee, 1998,p. 250) In this case, migration does not make it possible for the primates to start eating different foods, what happens is that they go at a place with similar foods and nutritional needs which suits them. If this idea of starting to eat different foods could be true then it would have been brought through evolution. The primates in question would have evolved a natural mechanism of adapting to different forages and nutritional needs; and it is the only known ways for the different mechanism to have been possible. This idea of evolution is very important in many ways, the first and most important case is this of the availability of the plant species, which provide food for the primates. Another is the cell theory, which gives room for the availability of certain organelles necessary for the type of environmental or ecological situations in which these primates in question find themselves (Caro, 1998,p. 341) These primates have therefore adapted certain special ways through which they use to survive in their environments. One important thing is that they have sight. This importance of sight comes handy to see their food or forages. And also being able to spot their enemies. The adaptation is evolutionary connected; and the nutritive values of the forages of these primates go together with evolution. The influence of forages availability on the primates in question, on their sociality and reproduction is another crucial factor to consider. The fact that these forages are available within the environment of these primates shows that, they are influenced a great deal on their sociality and reproduction. In the first place the population of rats tend to be higher than that of antelopes, because of some factors, which we can consider, for one the rats are smaller in size and thus can occupy a smaller space with just a very large population of them. And secondly their evolutionary mechanism suits them to be many in number than the antelopes. These antelopes consume more food and therefore are naturally fewer in number. Therefore food is a limiting factor in the population of these primates in question (Campbell, 1995,p. 120) Therefore in studying the population of these primates in question the factor of availability of forages is very important in deed. It determines the reproductive tendencies and also their presence in a given environment. Their daily habits are also affected. Their natural anatomy and physiology evolve according to available forages. This factor should always be put into consideration when dealing with systematics of these primates, if one is to be on the safe side (Caro, 1998,p. 350) Apart from the availability of forages for the nutritional needs of these primates one must also consider a depth the evolutionary tendencies. These primates have body structures suitably adapted for their functions. For instance, they have legs, which help them to run, from their enemies or rather predators, and also these legs help them to reach their foods in good time. (Caro, 1998,p. 50) The nature of their energy requirements is such that they function up to the time when they are required to rest, this is where the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) comes in. The bodies of these primates function such that they must relax or have a rest. This is usually at right. It is common at night. As rest remains necessary and so is the regulation of the available food. The leaves are given time and room to grow and mature again. When the food becomes abundant, these primates tend to increase their population, which leads to a very high competition for food, and so there are those who die in the process especially when food becomes scarce (Campbell, 1995,p120) The food available to these primates is also connected to their evolutionary tendencies. One will find that always there will be certain kind of trees shrubs or bushes where certain primates are found. In this case, some species of trees, which tend to produce leaves in plenty, will found where certain primates are found. This is important because it contributes to the importance of the food chain. As such certain animals will also be found there in plenty especially in this case, those animals which feed on wood antelopes like the lions, cheetahs and leopards will always be found in these environments. The case is the same with those who feed on fossarial leaf rats. (Gouldey, 2007, 200) As such the foraging and nutritional ecology of primate in South East Asia recently important and complex as it looks. The fossils found in some places always have evolutionary connections with some primates . The fossarial leaf rats have some bearing of connectivity with the domesticated rats and some animals of lower form. As for the wood antelopes they show some similarities with some animals of both lower form and higher form. The analyzed cases are very important as they contribute a lot of information to those who study the fossils; and the whole field of study becomes interesting. This clearly shows that the evolutionary connection of fossils and the organisms in question is true and reliable. The primates then must have evolved in a special way, where they have teeth for chewing their food or forages; their elementary canals are also highly specialized in performing their functions. Mammologists should come up with better methods of studying the organisms in question, since there is a lot to show and inform those who are interested. In the case of the organelles of the cells, when the energy requirement is high the cell tend to have a lot of mitochondria, which help in the respiration process. But all this is not important if the food is not available. Therefore the special way through which these primates have evolved with time to be where they are and eat what they eat shows a very interesting field of study(Caro, 1998,p. 400) As we consider more about these organisms, more information on theories should be properly compared and observed in the practicals so that the scientists or rather the mammologists should always compare with accurate and reliable information. The mammologists have always shown that the foraging and nutritional ecology of primates is an important field of study. As it provides us with some vital information concerning human beings, since human beings are also primates. Therefore the whole of these primates in question when properly studied, we tend to get some useful tips about us human beings (Balee, 1998,p. 650_. The nutritional needs of these primates may be varied with that of human beings, but they all belong in the same Kingdom and Phylum, as they have a lot of similarities than differences. These similarities are due to evolution. All the same, they play a very important role in the foraging habits of these primates, which are exclusively found in South East Asia. In this case it is important to note that energy and food are both important; one cannot be there without the other, in other words food is energy, and energy is food. The food chain of the primates in question in South East Asia goes on and these primates become healthy and thrive. Their habits are maintained and the value of food remains crucial. Finally, the foraging and nutritional ecology of primates in South East Asia is notably very interesting; therefore a lot of money should be invested in the continuous research in this spectacular part of the world. . Bibliography Balee, W (1998), Advance in Historical Ecology; Columbia University Press. New York Campbell, B (1995); Human Ecology; The Story of our place in Nature form Pre history to the present.Adline de Gruyter New York. Caro, T, (1998); Behavioral Ecology and conservation Biology; Oxford University Press; New York. Gouldey, M Mahar, I (2007) Floods of fortune; Ecology and Economy along the Amazon Columbia University. New York. Govbson, S, et el (1998); Ecology; Oxford University Press. New York Kinzey, G. W (1997); New World Primates Ecology, Education and Behavior. Aldine de Gryter. New York. Leyh Jr, G (2007); Tropical Forest Ecology. A view from Basso Colorado Island. Oxford University Press. New York.

Still Falls the Rain Analysis

Still Falls the Rain Analysis The central theme of this poem is centred around a hard topic: the bombing of London during War World II. Edith Sitwell presents a world in need of change. However, she deals with this theme from a Christian perspective. This viewpoint is portrayed in seven irregular stanzas and thirty five lines which are written in free-verse. This means that, despite being an organized piece of writing with a coherent rhyme, meter and rhythm, it does not follow traditional patterns and these effects are used irregularly. The four final words in stanza 1 are an example of this: Rain, loss, nails, and Cross. While the first and third form a half-rhyme, which is a common feature in free-verse poems, the second and fourth form a perfect rhyme. Contrarily, the four lines in stanza 3 end with the words Tomb, rain, brain and Cain, forming a perfect rhyme in the last three words, while the first one does not rhyme at all. Moreover, sometimes an internal rhyme can be detected in words such as Field and feet, both in line 11, following a pattern of assonance since they have the same vowel sounds. Most lines have different lengths and they lack an established pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Overall, both free verse and these latter features enable the author to express her feelings more vividly, so that these emotions will be easily transmitted to the reader. Finally, all these effects provide the poem with beauty, making it more attractive for this reader. The structure or line divisions also create units of meaning. The seven stanzas of this poem may represent the seven days of the week, symbolizing how the suffering of Christ still persists. In the same way, six of these seven stanzas begin with the same statement: Still Falls the Rain. This number six can refer to humankind, which was born in the sixth day of creation in accordance with Genesis 1. Furthermore, the fact that Sitwell uses this sentence so many times emphasizes the duration and severity of that moment, thus bringing us closer to her emotions. Moreover, the expression He bears in His heart all wounds (line 20) strategically appears in stanza 5. This number may refer to the five main wounds of Christ (two in his feet, two in his hands, and one in his side). Nevertheless, all these effects contrast with the last stanza, which is finished with a hopeful message: Still do I love, still shed my innocent light, my Blood for thee'. Sitwell uses these words as she wants to remi nd us that God loves us and He gave His life for us; she trusts in Gods ability and willingness to act in a chaotic world. Overall, this poem shows the pain in the world, but leaving a gap of hope at the end. Since Sitwell has such firm religious vocation, biblical allusions are widely present in this poem. In line 3, for example, Sitwell refers to the rain as follows: Blind as the nineteen hundred and forty nails. By naming those nails used upon Christs cross, she represents the year of writing of this poem as well as the years elapsed from Christs birth. Similarly, other expressions such as the Starved Man, which is repeated in lines 14 and 19, indicate the existence of the Messiah, the Savior. It emphasizes the fact that wars only bring about pain and sins which ordinary people could only stand through their hope that this starved man will help them. Moreover, Sitwell sets her poem in the Potters Field (line 8). Later described as the Field of Blood in line 11, it describes a piece of land obtained by Judas Iscariot after betraying Christ, which was and is actually still used as a war cemetery. This field makes us think about past relatives who fought in the war, creating empathy. Over all, these biblical allusions especially help Christians to relate the poem to themselves and understand the consequences of war. Finally, the transmission of such deep emotions and reflections also helps to conclude that the register used in this poem is as lyrical as it is religious. The language of poetry has the power to touch our emotions and affect our understanding of ourselves and the world. This means that language can make the reader perceive the world and the poem with a higher definiton or, on the contrary, with ambiguity, providing this poem with different meanings. Sitwell creates these effects through rhetorical features such as imagery and simile. Imagery is the most popular device in this poem. For example, the rain may be understood as normal rain as well as the raining down of bombs during the air raids. This effect is created through descriptive adjectives like dark and black in line 2, giving a somber mood to the poem, and blind in line 3, representing the blindness of those people in war who do not remember Christs suffering during His crucifixion. The rain may also symbolize the blood shed by Christs side, which is a symbol of redemption for all sinners. Sitwell confirms this fact in line 19: Still falls the Blood from the Starved Mans wounded Side. Christ shed His blood for everybody in the same way people are unified in their communities during times of bombing. Sitwell conveys that we all have a God to believe in, who will always help us without making any distinction between social classes. Thus, Sitwell makes a plea for clemency in line 15 by referring to a parable about Dives and Lazarus: Christ that each day, each night, nails there, have mercy of us, continuing in line 16 as follows: On Dives and on Lazarus. Dives represents the rich man who is unaware of the poor man, the beggar Lazarus. They may symbolize hell and heaven respectively. Several images of the poem produce feelings of suffering in regards to the war. Thereby, the hammer beat in line 7 could be understood as an image of something which strongly beats this poem, emphasizing its hardness. Other words such as Tomb in line 9 and that worm with the brow of Cain in line 12 also stress this suffering. The latter refers to the mark made in Cains brow after killing his brother Abel. Finally, Sitwell refers to the The wounds of the baited bear in line 23, describing the helplessness of an animal in captivity towards its keepers and, concurrently, symbolizing the suffering of all those people involved in the war. More rhetorical features are found in this poem, such as the use of the simile. As it has been explained before, the rain is constantly compared through adjectives which convey darkness and hopelessness in the world such as those in line 2: Dark as the world of man, black as our loss. Another feature is personification. This is demonstrated in lines 12 and 13, where Sitwell claims that the human brain Nurtures its greed. She provides the brain with the personal ability of nurturing itself. Finally, alliteration on the consonant s occurs in line 28: See, see where Christs blood streames in the firmament, representing the sound of that flowing blood. Overall, rhetorical features force the reader to engage with his or her imagination and invite him or her to live the experience of war. Sitwell integrates all the previous points in the poem by using the third person, since she is describing what she feels and sees: the rain and the war. However, she sometimes changes this by directly referring to God. This happens, for example, in the last stanza: Then sounds the voice of One who, like the heart of man, Was once a child who among beasts has lain- Still do I love, still shed my innocent light, my Blood for thee' The fact that she is referring to God is portrayed through her use of capital letters in some words, such as One. It is also present when thinking about the biblical parable of Jesus having been born in a stable among animals, as is explained in line 34. Hence, it may be understood that Sitwell is trying to represent Gods own words in the last line. Moreover, there is a change of person in line 27, where the author introduces her own words as follows: -O Ile leape up to my God: who pulles me doune-. This is the only time she uses the first person, and it is written between dashes. While the dashes usually appear as a stylistic device in the poem, this time they are used to introduce the authors own voice in that line. This change of person causes the reader to understand and feel the situation from the authors own perspective. Finally, special punctuation, such as enjambment, is used in order to beautify the poem. It appears between lines 11 and 12, as the pause does not coincide at the end of the sentence: In the field of Blood where the small hopes breed and the human brain Nurtures its greed, that worm with the brow of Cain This poem is a statement of the authors Catholicism, which is used to reflect the existing difficulties in the world, such as the connection between the bombs and the dead in the ground. In general, she deals with this theme from a hopeful point of view. In my opinion, this poem is magnificently written. Sitwell employs a fantastic use of vocabulary and literary devices which cause great tension when reading the poem. This also led to me being reminded of some ancestors who fought in the war whilst reading it. I liked how the poet smoothes the tension in the last stanza and gives us that encouraging and optimistic message. Sitwells poetry reflects his heroic stance to face the terrors of life with an unshakable conviction that faith and poetry will ultimately triumph.

The Nhs In England Health And Social Care Essay

The Nhs In England Health And Social Care Essay National Health Service had been created in 1948 and for the last decades it has been facing numerous reforms and structural changes in attempt to raise its effectiveness and competitiveness and to reduce costs. This report focuses on STEP analysis of major external factors and trends that might influence future activity of NHS and shape its structure. Findings of the report are: Social: Population of England has increased by 7% in last 4 decades and with average age of 38.8 years (from 34.1 years in 1971)  [1]  . Overweight/obesity, ethnic differences in health care approach and high treatment costs for immigrants present main social challenges for the NHS. Citizen participation, social inclusion and partnership programs are seen as possible answer to these challenges. Technological: Coalitional government ended National Programme for IT in England and is preparing new Information Revolution. Recent reforms that include abolition of primary-care trusts and establishment of GP commission require new IT solutions. Increasing community and home based health care are based on efficient telehealth and telecare services and require further development of IT technologies. Additional investment in research and development of IT technologies is necessary in order to cope with development of modern health care services. Economical: NHS will receive significantly lower annual budget increase, compared to previous years and it is expected to present  £20bn (GBP) in savings by 2013-14. With the abolition of PCT budget of roughly  £80bn (GBP) will be transferred to management by GP commission. Political: Coalitional government presented new reforms that focus on implementing administrative and structural changes in NHS. Emphasis of the reforms is on giving more power and choice to the consumers, decentralising management and significantly reducing administrative costs. Introduction This management report is a STEP analysis of the NHS in England. The report sets out the key issues within each STEP for the organisation and can be used as the basis for further analysis. A conclusion identifies the key issues arising from the STEP analysis for the NHS in England and also sets out the strengths and weaknesses of the STEP approach and the challenges encountered when undertaking the analysis. STEP 1: Social The majority of the population in England and Wales use the services of the NHS (about 8% of the population use private health care). The NHS needs to be aware of demographics changes as this will have a significant impact on demand for NHS services as a whole and on demand for particular products and services. The key social issues that the NHS in England needs to consider are: Population growth rate and age profile Health of the general population Issues related to ethnicity Issues related to immigration Governance patterns, social inclusion and partnerships building. Population growth rate and age profile The UK population reached 59.8 million in 2004; its highest ever level. It has increased in size by 7 per cent in the three decades since 1971, when the figure was 55.9 million. But this population growth has not occurred at all ages. In fact, some age groups have shrunk and so have become a smaller proportion of the whole population.   The ageing of the population will affect the types of services required and the way in which they are provided. Population health About 46% of men in England and 32% of women are overweight (a body mass index of 25-30 kg/m2), and an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese (a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2 ). Overweight and obesity increase with age. About 28% of men and 27% of women aged 16-24 are overweight or obese but 76% of men and 68% of women aged 55-64 are overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity are increasing. The percentage of adults who are obese has roughly doubled since the mid-1980s. The effect of these trends is increasing requirements for different types of equipment (eg. stronger beds). Ethnicity Pakistani and Bangladeshi men and women in England and Wales reported the highest rates of not good health in 2001. Pakistanis had age-standardised rates of not good health of 13 per cent (men) and 17 per cent (women). The age-standardised rates for Bangladeshis were 14 per cent (men) and 15 per cent (women). These rates, which take account of the difference in age structures between the ethnic groups, were around twice that of their White British counterparts. Chinese men and women were the least likely to report their health as not good. Women were more likely than men to rate their health as not good across all groups, apart from the White Irish and those from Other ethnic groups. Reporting poor health has been shown to be strongly associated with use of health services and mortality. White Irish and Pakistani women in England had higher GP contact rates than women in the general population. Bangladeshi men were three times as likely to visit their GP than men in the general popul ation after standardising for age. Immigration Since 2004, a record 1.8 million foreign workers have come to Britain, including an estimated 700,000 from Eastern Europe. And yes there have been problems. Migrants have put pressure on the NHS by using casualty departments as GP surgeries. TB rates are also up and the cost of translators in hospitals to deal with foreign patients can be crippling for health authorities. Governance patterns, social inclusion and partnerships building Citizens participation becomes more and more important to fill the gaps of governments failure. Many initiatives related to public health issues, for example reducing the incidence of drug misuse, can never be achieved without involving citizens. The UK is a pioneer in deliberative democracy, which is an ideal vehicle for the promotion of health based voluntary / statutory sector partnerships. STEP 2: Technological The increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the NHS in England is dependent upon the appropriate use of technology, and affects both the acute and primary care sectors. The key technological issues currently facing the NHS in England are: The IT impact of the abolition of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and the move to GP Commissioning How to address the results of the UK Governments changing national health IT policy Continuing the development of teleheath and telecare to shift the balance of care from the acute to the community sector In general, continuing to fund and integrate technological developments in service provision that offer improvements in economy, effectiveness and efficiency. The abolition of Primary Care Trusts The abolition of PCTs and the move to GP Commissioning means there is a need to ensure effective IT structures are in place to support the move. PCTs will need support to ensure the data they hold is dealt with appropriately be it destruction or move to other organisations. There may be a need to consider national guidance. GPs and service providers will also need support to ensure their IT systems are able to communicate with each other effectively and have the capacity to deal with increased records. There may be a need to consider national guidance. National health IT policy The new coalition government ended the National Programme for IT in England and has just finished consultation on its new Information Revolution.  [2]  3The previous programme aimed at providing a number of national IT services, such as Choose and Book (the national electronic referral system); PACS (central picture archiving service for eg x-rays); and the national electronic subscriptions service. Some of these programmes were completed under the previous government, however, many are still in development. The coalition government has expressed their desire for local IT solutions, however, many of the programmes are tied to national contracts with the private sector. The NHS in England needs to examine the cost of termination (and the costs of providing alternative local solutions) vs continuing with the existing contracts, contrary to government policy. There is a need for further clarification from the government and continued engagements from the NHS with the coalition. The development of telehealth and telecare Moving care into the community and supporting people to live in their own homes for longer requires increasing use of telehealth and telecare technology. There are numerous benefits for the NHS in England and its users, for example those in rural communities able to access consultant appointments via computer rather than travelling large distances, and more people living longer in their own homes. These developments need continuing support from the centre if health bodies are to continue to develop these. Central funding may also be required to continue research into this area and technological development. Continuing technological developments The NHS in England needs to continue promoting the benefits of new technologies to health bodies and providing support (small scale funding, guidance) to help trusts implement these. The 2009 NHS IMT Investment Survey indicated that capital investment at local level has remained static over the past 5 years, it is only the injection of central funding that has led to increases in this area. Emphasis needs placed on health trusts to continue to fund developments.  [4]   STEP 3: Economic The key economic issues facing the NHS are: The outlook for public sector finances The effect of GP commissioning The impact of staff pay and conditions (cost of labour) The cost of capital/diminishing capital resource and investment Public sector finances As a result of the coalition governments desire to address the effects of the global economic crisis and its attempt to quickly reduce the budget deficit, resources available from central government are projected to increase less quickly than in recent years. The rise for 2011 of just 0.1% represents a significant decrease in funding compared to increases in recent years. This is further compounded by cuts in the levels of cash received by hospitals for treating patients. Commentators suggest that the effect of the cuts will require the identification of  £20bn (GBP) in savings by 2013-14. The NHS in England needs to quickly identify how it will continue to provide care with reduced levels of funding. This may include actions such as reducing staffing levels and increasing out-sourcing of services. Effect of GP Commissioning The abolition of Primary Care Trusts and the move to GP commissioning brings both opportunities and risks associated with the handover of almost  £80bn (GBP) from central to local control. While previous experience would suggest that GP commissioning improves efficient use of resources (efficiency fell by 1.6% after the abolition of internal markets in 1997) (see reference 1) it is possible that individual hospitals, patients and the GPs themselves may lose out. GPs may spend more time involved in administrative tasks and less time with patients; patients may be affected by the level of engagement with commissioning on the part of their GP and some hospitals will fare better than others under the revised arrangements. Retaining control of NHS spending is a significant challenge when accountability for the use of public funds essentially lies in the hands of private contractors. Effective financial controls will be necessary to ensure demand management is not simply left on the shel f and that resources are used both effectively and efficiently. Pay and conditions Staff costs as a proportion of total costs are high within the NHS. The effects of minimum wage and, more recently, the implementation of the European Working Time Directive continue to drive costs up, even as staffing levels remain static or fall. Efforts to ensure trusts comply with the Working Time Directive have backfired by ensuring staff record hours worked more accurately leading to increased overtime payments and identification of additional need. In addition, the effect of cuts in staffing both through voluntary and compulsory redundancies will place additional (albeit relatively short-term) pressure on finances in the form of pay-offs and pensions. Capital assets and investments Many PCTs acknowledge that the current period imposes reductions in capital investment. Short term savings accrued by delaying investment may lead to increased costs in the future. In addition, numerous trusts have sold off capital assets to remain competitive in recent years, thereby reducing asset value now and for the future. The use of PFI/PPP/DBO may offer short-term benefits (by reducing direct capital expenditure) but risks remain with regard to the long-term commitment and associated cost of such contracts. STEP 4: Political The change in government from Labour to Conservative/Liberal Democrat in 2010 resulted in a significant shift in political attitudes towards the NHS in England. The drive to reduce centralised control and increase local responsibility has resulted in a number of key policy initiatives. Coalition programme The coalition programme for healthcare included the following subjects:  [5]   Greater financial autonomy for local bodies Involvement of GPs in tackling health care problems Improved access to preventive healthcare for disadvantaged areas Reduction of long-term costs. The specific programme for the NHS included the following:  [6]   Real term budget increase for next 5 years. Reduction of quasi-non-government-organizations (quangos). Cut administrative costs by 30% and use these resources to support doctors and nurses. Discontinue closure of AE units and of maternity wards. Restructure health system giving more power and freedom of choice to patients and transferring commissioning powers from PCTs to GPs. Development of monitoring system to oversee aspects of access, competition and price-setting in NHS. Establishment external and independent board to allocate resources and provide commissioning guidelines. Introduction of rating system for health care providers that will allow patients contributions and will be accessible online. Reform NICE into value-based pricing, to allow broader access to drugs and treatments for those who need them. Introduction of per-patient funding for hospices and providers of palliative care, and allocation of additional 10 million pounds a year from the budget to support these childrens hospices. Improvement of service quality through involvement of independent and voluntary providers and through giving patients ability to choose provider that suits them most. Reforms Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, introduced plans for NHS reform in August 2010 (White Paper of announced reforms is available here). The main topics were:  [7]  8 Delivering commissioning power to purchase health care for the patients to GPs who are to join consortia by 2013. Abolishment of 10 strategic health authorities and of approximately 150 primary-care trusts and transfer some of their services to external non-for-profit outfits. NHS hospitals are to become foundation trusts and to enjoy greater autonomy in revenues and funding. Patients will be available to choose GPs regardless to their geographical areas, to make shared decisions on their health treatments and to enjoy published data on hospitals and doctors (results, waiting times, rates, etc.). NHS funding will increase in real terms for the following 5 years but it will have to do more for its money: reduction of managerial costs by 45%; efficiency savings of 20 billion pounds, which are to be reinvested to support quality and outcomes. Establishment of an independent NHS Commissioning Board, which will allocate and account for NHS resources and will audit on implementation of quality improvement and patient involvement and choice. Conclusion The NHS in England is currently facing a period of change that will affect all aspects of its operation. Delivering the required political reforms within the constraints of the current financial climate will be challenging. Coupling this with increasing demand for services caused by an ageing population and the associated technological developments that need to be put in place for this to be managed means the NHS in England must be clear on its purpose, its direction and its strategy for achieving these. Recommendations Re-examine the purpose, direction and over-arching strategy of the NHS in England to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose Develop appropriate national strategies for each element of the organisation (eg IMT) to ensure there is clarity about what is required of trusts. Emphasise citizen involvement and partnership programs. Develop appropriate IT and technological infrastructures to support new reforms. Strengths and weaknesses of the STEP approach STEP analysis has strengths and weaknesses. The key issues identified by the group are: Strengths The analysis can help focus an organisation on the key factors in each environment ensuring they think about each step. It is quite a simple process that allows consideration of many variables. It enables the organisation/unit to look outwith their immediate environment to consider important external factors The approach can be linked with other models (typically SWOT) to increase its usefulness It encourages strategic thinking and planning and allows the organisation to anticipate future issues. Weaknesses Assessing the importance of issues can be challenging if appropriate and robust data is not available. Accessing useful data can be time consuming and therefore has a cost attached. The use of the four steps can mean a pigeon-holing of some issues that span across other themes (such as the impact of government policy) It is a task perhaps best done with a group in person rather than in isolation so that ideas can immediately be discussed/challenged and priorities for the issues included are agreed by consensus Considering the factors in isolation makes it difficult to identify linkages between the various elements It may be useful to keep the focus of the analysis specific as then the outputs may be more useful rather than general statements Forecasting leads to multiple possible futures; there is a danger of assuming hypotheses are truth The exercise needs to be repeated to remain useful to account for pace of change/changing realities. Challenges encountered by the group in conducting the analysis The group encountered the following challenges: considering the factors in isolation made it difficult to identify linkages between the various elements. It may have been useful to circulate our lists in advance to encourage cross-fertilisation and consistency across the 4 factors (Delphi approach) undertaking an analysis of an institution with which some members of the group had little familiarity led to increasing reliance on assumptions we ended up with quite a broad target topic, if we had narrowed our focus the results may have been more useful accessing relevant data was difficult in some areas and hence time-consuming. References for STEP: http://rapidbi.com/management/created/the-PESTLE-analysis-tool/ http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/organisation-management/5b-understanding-ofs/assessing-impact-external-influences http://www.nhsemployers.org/EmploymentPolicyAndPractice/EqualityAndDiversity/e-d-in-practice/get-to/IdentifyingTheObjectivesAndOutcomes/Pages/PEST_Analysis.aspx http://www.herefordhospital.nhs.uk/Portals/0/MembersArea/IBP/Appendix%20X%20-%20PEST%20and%20SWOT.pdf http://newsfan.typepad.co.uk/pestle/2009/03/pestle-summary-united-kingdom.html http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/essays-and-dissertations/pest-analysis.php http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fom2005/04_FOPM_AgeStructure.pdf http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/uk-obesity-statistics.htm http://www.medwaypct.nhs.uk/explore-nhs-medway/news/media-releases/proposed-changes-to-workforce-and-education-in-the-nhs-making-our-views-count/ Does the British media hate the NHS? http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2001/jun/14/NHS.conferences http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2007/10/18/immigration-the-true-cost-to-britain-115875-19969602/

Irvings American Progeny Essay -- essays papers

Irvings American Progeny Washington Irving had the unique opportunity of helping a new nation forge its own identity. America, fresh out of the revolution, looked for an author to take charge and create something that seemed to be missing from the newly born nation. He took this responsibility seriously and made a mythology that founded an American literary tradition. He took bits and pieces from the Old World and incorporated them into the New in such a manner that what he wrote appeared original, and yet tied into a tradition that was centuries old. He did this in a manner that astonished many Europeans who believed an American could never produce literature with such a strong English foundation. Although Irving relied heavily on European influence, he drew distinct lines between the American and the European and his plot lines illustrate the struggle between the United States and England. This amazing period in the nation’s history provided an excellent backdrop for Irving’s work. â€Å"‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ (is)†¦a celebration of the bounty of the United States,† (Bowden, 72). This bounty fueled the fire of social change that was burning in the U.S. at the time. â€Å"If we ever had a period during which social progress was not retarded then it was exactly the period Rip slept through. In that generation we were transformed from a group of loosely bound and often provincial colonies into a cocky and independent republic with a new kind of government and—as the story itself makes clear enough—a whole new and new-fashioned spirit,† (Young, 466). Irving took full advantage of the new scene around him, and immortalized himself by demonstrating the importance of what he saw. â€Å"‘When I first wrote the Legend of Rip Van Winkle,†... ...59): 137-149. Rpt. in A Century of Commentary on the works on Washington Irving. Ed. Andrew B. Myers. Tarrytown: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976. 330-342. Roth, Martin, Comedy and America. Port Washington: Kennidat, 1976. Snell, George, â€Å"Washington Irving: A Revelation.† The Shapers of American Fiction: 1798-1947, (1947). 105-16. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Dennis Poupard. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1982. 382-383. Springer, Haskell. â€Å"Introduction to Rip Van Winkle & The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.† (1974). Rpt. in A Century of Commentary on the works on Washington Irving. Ed. Andrew B. Myers. Tarrytown: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976. 480-486. Wagenknecht, Edward, Washington Irving: Moderation Displayed. New York: Oxford UP, 1962. Young, Philip, Fallen From Time: Rip Van Winkle. Kenyon Review, Vol. XXII (1960): 547-73. 457-479.

The Last Man and the Plague of Empire Essay example -- Shelley The Las

The Last Man and the Plague of Empire      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I find myself in easy agreement with Alan Richardson's perceptive account of The Last Man as a novel written in the service of British colonial interests and of Mary Shelley as an individual swept up in the collective arrogance of nineteenth-century imperial England.    In one striking example of the novel's colonialist complicity, Lionel Verney presumptuously declares that England's prime resource is its people (its "children" [323]) whereas the greatest assets of the equatorial regions are their commodities--their spices, plants, and fruits. Verney further sentimentally recalls Britain's history of unshrinking exploration (read colonization and economic exploitation) of foreign nations under the crown's sponsorship, as he grieves for lost "times when man walked the earth fearless, before Plague had become Queen of the World" (346). It appears crystal-clear that The Last Man contains fewer sites of resistance than are present in Frankenstein and more moments of racism, jingoism, and religious contempt; therefore, in order to facilitate conversation, I will address here primarily the possible meanings of the novel's few heteroglossic moments, including the "ironic twist or two towards the end" that Alan Richardson mentions, in addition to posing some suggestive, or polemical, questions.    The horror of The Last Man may for Shelley lie in its revelation that the operations of nature obliterate both civilized and barbaric, Christian and Mahometan, with the same moral neutrality. In the end, Adrian, the sophisticated "blue-eyed boy" (27), a stand-in for Percy Shelley, s... ...e United States, 1898-1935.    http://www.accinet.ent/~fjzwick/ail98-35.html (December 2003). Greenblatt, Stephen Jay. Learning to Curse: Essays in Early Modern Culture.New York: Routledge, 1990.    Holmes, Richard. Shelley: The PursuitLondon: Penguin,1974.    Kipling, Rudyard. "The White Man's Burden." McClure's Magazine 12 (Feb.1899). http://www.accinet.net/~fjzwick/kipling.html In Jim Zwick,ed., Anti-Imperialism in the United States, 1898-1935. http://www.accinet.ent/~fjzwick/ail98-35.html (January 2004).    Richardson, Alan. Romantic Circles: "The Last Man and the Plague of Empire." http://prometheus.emory.edu/RC/mwsprogram.html (September 2003).    Shelley, Mary W. The Last Man. Betty T. Bennett and Steven E. Jones, eds. http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/editions.html#mws   September 2003

Art Comparison Essay example -- essays research papers

Compare and Contrast Works of Art Bright colors jumping at you asking for attention, images so real viewers can not tell the difference. These are the thoughts that came to my head as I gazed at two works of art by two Mexican artists at MoLAA museum of art . I visited two museums, Bowers Museum of cultural Art in the heart of Southern California and the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach for my report unfortunately I only liked the works in MoLAA and will talk about it through out my paper. I will talk about two Mexican artists Rafael Cauduro and David Alfaro Siqueros that caught my eye, and made me want to learn more of them and their approach to art. Siqueiros caught my eye and interest because according to his biography â€Å"no individual associated with the arts with the possible exception of Andrà © Malraux, had been involved in direct political action more than David Alfaro Siqueiros† (Siqueiros Biography online). Personally that to me said a lot and that got me intrigued, and made me want to know more about him and his work. Cauduro on the other hand got me intrigued through his illusionistic approach to art and interpretation of his view of things. Eve thought they seem like different approach to art they are both similar in different ways. My first artist is Rafael Cauduro. Rafael Cauduro was born in capital city of Mexico and now resides in the city of Cuernavaca (state of Morelos) 1950. Rafael started out making superior studies of architecture and industrial design in the Latin American University in Mexico City. According to his biography Cauduro is a self taught painter who steps outside of traditional artist’s standard. Cauduro’s paintings contain a â€Å"trompe de l’oeil† (Fool the eye) quality as indicated in by how in his paintings walls, fences, and objects are so real that people can almost touch them. To the visual realism of Cauduros work, according to critic Ruiz Soto, adds what he termed â€Å"critical illusion† which combines an extreme technical proficiency with fantasy-filled concepts(www.rafael cauduro.com). Rafael Cauduro painting technique is of a surrealism in which the reality of dreams, or subconscious mind are as more real than the surface reality of everyday life (Sayre p.51). Cauduro paints in a Surrealistic way usually portraying the forces of dreams and subconscious that he has been famous for. This artistic movement originat... ...eiros and Cauduro works are politically motivated, but like people, depict them in their own way. Siqueiros because of his military background and more no nonsense look at life is more straight forward as compared to Cauduro, but have similar objectives. Cauduro a more recent unknown artist is more contemporary in the sense that explorers the mind of viewers and makes them think and come with their own conclusion of his views. I liked both of these artist and enjoyed learning more about them and how similar they were, yet so different in terms of style. Art is a language of its own and with out he proper understanding, people are like expression goes â€Å"left on the outside looking in†. In other words, people without the proper understanding of art, technique and form as well as other elements can’t appreciate a work of art as much as when you understand why an artist painted in the way they did and what they are trying to get across to his audience. Despite artists attempts to try and make their works as viewer friendly as possible, without the understanding and knowledge gained from an art class as this one people will never fully understand the a work of art as it is meant to be.

Third Industrial Revolution

Third Industrial Revolution based on Offshoring and Education It’s no doubt that our economy is changing and so is the world we live in. The major changes in our society stared off with the First Industrial Revolution. Many jobs changed from farm to factory beginning in the late 18th century. This was the largest revolution because it shaped the way we live today. The second revolution was the shift from manufacturing jobs toward service jobs. It’s believed that we are still in this shift. Now we are on the brink of a third industrial revolution which is due to the increase of technology.Often called the Information Age, the third revolution will require change as the first and second have before. However, it seems as if little changes have been made to accommodate the changing world. We are now facing the struggle of keeping jobs in the country and along with that comes the need to enhance our educational system. The two may not seem to work together, but they do. Impr ovement in education may change the way we off shoring our jobs. There has been suggested a few ways that could help improve United States and keep us on top instead of having other countries take our jobs.Alan S. Blinder is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He is the one that presented the idea of changing the way we educate our youngster to have them better prepared for the future. Researching his ideas and theories on how to solve the problem with education, I did agree with him on most of his theories. In the past the fight for our jobs was with computers and technology. Many jobs were being taken by computers, which resulted in many people being laid-off. We can’t deny that we do need computers and the improvement of technology makes our lives easier.We can’t â€Å"dumb down† our economy to keep jobs. People eventually had to accept the increase of computers and the facts that many jobs we needed to do, can now be do ne for us. We now have another force that’s taking our jobs, offshoring. Offshoring is taking over many companies and there is nothing we can do about it. The good deal of having someone do the same job for a lot less is too good of a deal for a company to pass up. For the heads of companies they love the idea, but for the average worker we have to compete with workers in India and Asia for jobs in our own country.Offshoring is no longer only limited to service jobs. It was thought that call centers and manufacturing companies were the jobs affected for foreigners taking their jobs, but with the increase in technology that is no longer the case. With the increase of offshoring, the jobs more aimed at leaving the country are impersonal jobs. By not needing face to face contact with customers, it makes it easier to have the job completed overseas. Offshoring is an event that we can prepare for, by better preparing the workforce for a new economy of work.Training the future need s to be different than in the past because we are emerging into a whole new era. The increase of computers causes an increase of impersonal jobs, which makes it easy to complete many services by electronic means. Blinder’s suggested, â€Å"We need to think about, plan, and probably redesign our educational system with the crucial distinction between personal service jobs and impersonal service jobs in mind. † Because many impersonal are the first ones being offshoring, the more personal jobs are the one staying in the country.We do need to help the future understand the change that is progressing around us. It does make sense that we need to change our educational system from one that was implemented over 50 years ago. Getting every school and college to change their curriculum will take time and work, but with an effective plan the need for change will eventually happen. The essential need for education needs to change. Learning about a careers that will be available years down the line, will help us be more prepared. Jobs that can’t be offshored or done by a machine will be the product of a new growing economy.Suggestions of ways to improve the educational system would be to include the following. To keep jobs we need to focus on the advancement of skills that cannot be outperformed by a computer or taken away by someone overseas. The thing that makes us American and different than any other culture is what we need to put emphasis on. Creativity, ingenuity, spontaneity, culture, interpersonal relations, etc. are factors that make us an individual and if these are applied into the education system it’s possible that we will gain more jobs back.Memorization seems to be something that many schools try to help develop, but that skill is something that a computer can very well accomplish better than the average worker could. Also by bringing in more group and interactive activities we could improve our personal skills. Just a few newer approaches to increasing the way we learn and information that we learn can help put us on the right track to keeping jobs that we could do better than a foreign country and we could be better prepared for jobs that won’t be offshored.Blinder stated as his main objective, â€Å"We need to focus on preparing more college students for the high-end jobs that are unlikely to move offshore, and on developing a creative workforce that will keep America incubating and developing new processes, new products, and entirely new industries. Offshoring is, after all, mostly about following and copying. Americans need to lead and innovate instead, just as we have in the past. Summary The increase of technology has Americans sending off our jobs overseas. We can compete with foreign countries and computers to keep more jobs in the U.S. One important factor to help us is to improve the way we are educating our future. We need to change the system implementing new ways to educate. We also n eed to change focus of the lesson and focus on new concepts that in the end can make us competitor with computers and foreign countries. Many people don’t know that change is needed and are perfectly fine with the system we have set up now. The ideas that Blinder suggested for us are just ideas that could possibly have us heading in the right direction for the future.Conclusions and Recommendations By using and implementing the information that Blinder has given will help to successfully keep the economy on track and not have it handed over to another country. The educational system we have now hasn’t been changed for many years and as the world is changing we also need to change along with it. Because sometimes it can be hard to adjust to change, and many people don’t like change getting the information publicized and persuading policy holders will speed up the progress for change.

Mccarthy’s Novel the Road Is About Man’s Inherent Altruism in a World of Selfishness

The man in The Road is portrayed as a very religious individual, this is indisputable. One could deduce from this that therefore he is selfless in protecting his son and carrying on in the times in which he finds himself. This viewpoint contrasts with the one that the man is selfish with his actions, doing everything to survive and not helping anyone he meets on his journey. All the decisions the man makes throughout the novel can be used as examples to argue each point of view, and it may be that it is a mixture of both. Maybe the man acts in a selfless way due to selfish beliefs. The whole image of religious self-sacrifice by the man is probably what McCarthy intended, this can be seen through his determination to preserve his son’s life. An example of this is when he defends his son from the man from the truck. He risks everything by shooting the man as this leaves only one bullet in the chamber of the revolver, as he intends to use it in a life threatening situation to kill his son, it means that he will probably die while suffering. His whole determination to stay alive could be seen as to only keep the boy alive, this is seen as selfless as he only wishes to help the boy survive, not himself. This altruism is directly connected to the man’s solid belief in god and in what he is doing. Throughout the novel other people’s selfishness can be seen, the cannibalism and stealing juxtapose with the man’s proper behaviour; he tells his son that they would never eat someone and shows generosity towards the old man. Cannibalism is an indication of how people act immorally in the novel in order to stay alive in the novel, the man refuses to do this and is therefore portrayed as having a higher morality than anyone else. On the other hand one could identify the man’s behaviour as purely selfish, he has a fixed idea in his head, he is protecting his son for his own given mission to be complete. The man does not wish to help anyone other than himself, he only reluctantly helps the old man when his son insists, and happily takes the clothes off a defenceless man later on, returning them only again as a result of his son’s persistence. He acts immorally on several occasions, not offering assistance to the man who had been struck by lightning and locking the people in the basement again when he had discovered them instead of helping. It could be argued that everything an individual does is aimed at personal gain, selfishness, either physical or psychological. The man is certainly benefiting psychologically from keeping his son alive as he believes he is doing the right thing and fulfilling his purpose. Also his religious morality can be questioned, as he considers suicide even though this is not allowed according to the bible. The fact that he does not become a cannibal may be used to identify him as still retaining some kind of moral code, however, he does anything to keep him and the boy alive and it is not improbable that in a situation of severe starvation he would have turned to cannibalism had it been an option. From all of his actions in the novel, the reader can justifiably come to the conclusion that the man is just as selfish as the other people trying to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. The man can certainly be described as selfless as well as selfish, he aims towards a noble goal but does not let anything stop him, and he identifies other’s lives as less important than the boy’s. Even though he is not described as committing highly immoral actions such as cannibalism, it cannot be ruled out that from his actions we can deduce that this is what he would have turned to had the situation permitted it. On the other hand does acting immorally indicate acting selfishly, in the novel it certainly does but this may not actually be the case, it may be argued that the immoral actions by the man are done to help the boy survive. McCarthy links selfishness to immoral actions quite strongly in the book and so due to this the man is presented to the reader as selfless, this was the intention of the writer and the reader will most probably grasp this attitude while reading the book. Upon further thought however, it may be seen that the man is simply selfish and there is nothing more to him than that.

Characteristics of Strong Civilizations

Many strong civilizations share common characteristics of being successful but which one is the most important? You can have a strong education system like the Han Dynasty and have educated people building advanced technology. You can have a strong military like the Romans and conquer thousands of miles in land to claim as your own. But the best characteristic to have is strong leadership because they can unite a country and stuff like that. They can lead revolutions and uprisings. And they can lead strong militaries. One reason strong leadership is important is because they can unite a country, colony, empire etc.Ben Franklin John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others took an angry 13 colonies and united them as one as they declared independence from England. This made them successful because they united the colonies and eventually defeated England in the Revolutionary War to officially become independent. (Textbook, 559) Also, to unite the Incas the all powerful Sapa Inca united them by imposing their language and religion upon those they captured while also building a large road system. This made them successful because the roads allowed armies and news to move rapidly throughout the empire. (Textbook, 197)Another reason why strong leadership is most important is because they can lead revolutions and uprisings. In 1791 slaves in the French colony Saint Domingue revolted against their slave owners. They were lead by Toussaint L’Overture and this became known as the Haitian Revolution. This made them successful because they overthrew their white slave owners and created the first black republic. (Latin American Revolutions Packet) One famous revolutionary leader is George Washington. George took many unskilled farmers and made them soldiers in a surprising victory over the stronger British army.This made them successful because it was the last compromise to England and finally declared the 13 colonies free from England and created the new country the Unit ed States of America. (Textbook, 559-562) The last reason strong leadership is most important is because they can lead militaries. Before Julius Caesar was the Emperor of the Roman Empire he was once a strong military leader that one many battles and wars. This made them successful because they conquered many miles of land and made the Empire more powerful. (Textbook, 158) Also, Genghis Kahn of the Mongol Empire was a uthless military leader who had highly trained armies. He imposed strict military discipline and absolute loyalty. This made them successful because Mongol forces conquered a huge empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe. So as you can see, strong leadership is the best trait a powerful empire can have because they can unite the people, they can lead revolutions, and lead militaries. Examples like Julius Caesar and Genghis Kahn are always mentioned whenever strong leaders are brought up for the many successful things they accomplished. Which trait do you think is the best characteristic?

Descriptive Essay on a Scene Essay

As a child there was only one place I could describe as my home away from home. That place was my grandmothers. My Mimi’s has always been the true meaning of safe haven to me. Even today, as an adult, I find myself frequenting my Mimi’s house to visit my grandparents and bask in that peaceful feeling that, as far as I am concerned, can only be found there. Specifically, when I am in my Mimi’s kitchen I am engulfed with that welcomed comfort and serenity I can find nowhere else. The kitchen’s bar holds memories of a child sitting on it and being told all about life and the ways of the world, while the cabinets hold all kinds of cooking utensils that have been used to make food for family and fellowship, and then there is the fridge that, with all its photographs and family recipes magnetized on it, show a sense of family and tradition. Ann Jones’, or Mimi as most call her, kitchen is not a place known by many. It is a well-kept secret among family and is a sight to behold. This space has a wooden bar that surrounds the entire room. When you look at this bar it is plain to see that it is not unique in any way, but if you look deeper than its exterior view the cuts from a knife a woman used for chopping vegetables, while she educated her granddaughter on the ways of the world, can be seen clear as day. There are deep indentions from when she would lose her concentration in her chopping by becoming so enticed with talking to her only granddaughter. To some this bar is much more than ordinary. Read Also:  Topic for a Descriptive Essay In this spacious kitchen, cooking utensils can also be found all through the many different cabinets. When looking at these tools, it is plain to see that they have all been used numerous times for cooking many different meals. Sometimes used for numerous different cuisines to host large family and friendly gatherings between loves ones. Other times used to make small scratch made meals for the close family that visits as much as possible. Though all meals are made with love and secret recipes, it is those two kinds of cooking that leaves a mark that all of these pots, pans, and other kitchen tools show. Covering all sides of the fridge, many different pictures and recipes can be seen. It is this that gives the kitchen its sense of tradition and the warm feeling of family. The photos vary between all the people who pass by and stop for a visit. It is these people who are called family, whether they have the same blood or not. The recipes are where the tradition can be found. Some passed down for years and some newly acquired, but all have a purpose in the growing background and tradition that is being built in that very kitchen. My Mimi’s kitchen is old-timey and is has had no new or modern updates done to it. It certainly will not be winning any awards for best dà ©cor any time soon. Though it can be seen as ordinary in some ways, my Mimi’s kitchen has a very unique atmosphere and background. It is this extraordinary background that has shaped the look and feel of this place into something that cannot be imitated or duplicated. It is truly one of a kind.