Gender and Race in Picasso's Les Demoiselles Assignment

Gender and Race in Picasso's Les Demoiselles - Assignment Example The paper "Gender and Race in Picasso's Les Demoiselles" provide Chave's analysis of the painting. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was rejected at first and was hidden for more than three decades as people saw what it portrayed was simply not in accordance with their beliefs. They believed that the naked women were not a good; it was an indirect attack to the prostitutes. Chaves objective is to view the picture from a different angle which was not allowed. She uses the picture to show various facts of gender and race and how they are brought out clearly in a picture that was painted so many decades ago yet so relevant in the occurrences that have taken place in the world. Mimicry is the act of copying what one is doing, their speech, look or even their actions. Minstrelsy on the other hand is whereby the Americans acted or performed skits and other acts in blackface. Picasso’s art in Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is an act of mimicry and minstrelsy whereby; using the two w omen on the right-hand side of the picture, he gives an exaggerated representation using the African masks which are sacred. This mimicry is to show that these women simply are African women being perceived as prostitutes. Mimicry is one of the most effective and an unrecognizable form of power that colonialists used as at a first glance it shows both resemblance and menace. They have the turbans which are usually worn by African women which is a continuous mimicry of African women. In Les Demoiselles, Minstrelsy is also seen where it makes fun of the clients.

Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay What is ambition? Ambition is described as eager for success, power or fame. For Macbeth. Ambition was what drove him to become great, it forced him to change his nature towards evil. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was portrayed as a courageous soldier who fought for his King without mercy. But once the witches planted the seeds of greater things and Lady Macbeth fuelled his ambition, which lead him to become greedy and power hungry. Macbeth was led down to an unescapable road of doom by an outside force, namely fate in the form of the three witches. There was no supernatural force working against Macbeth, which therefore makes him responsible for his own actions and inevitable downfall. Macbeth is indeed responsible for his own actions, which are provoked by an unwillingness to listen to his own conscience, the witches, and his ambition. The witches tempted Macbeth with their prophecies, which made Macbeth ¡Ã‚ ¦s heart and mind slowly filled with ambition and his huger for power. The witches predicted, at the beginning of the play, that Macbeth would soon become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the outright King. They tell Macbeth this, simply to ignite what would finally end up in him taking the life of King Duncan. Ambition, no matter how small, builds up, and becomes a need. When this ambition is built up and encouraged, it can influence a persons decision. Macbeth went to three witches, who prophesized that he would become King. This got Macbeth thinking of how he can become King. At this time, he was still unsure of whether he would take any action toward gaining the crown. When he comes back to his house, Lady Macbeth convinces him to murder King Duncan, through emotionally degrading him, shown in the quote: Art thou afeard/ To be the same in thine own act and valour/ As thou art in desire? (Act I, Scene IV). This quote shows how Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeths decision, because after hearing about the prophecy, she also had the ambition for her husband to become King. Macbeth slowly becomes accustomed to killing and does it more easily and without remorse. For example, after Macbeth becomes king, he begins to worry about the second part of the prophecy, when Banquos sons become kings. Knowing that he will not have any heirs, Macbeth dreads the idea of the  seeds of Banquo kings. Rather than so, come fate into the list, and champion me to the utterance (3.1.70-73). Since he committed a sinful act to fulfill his desire become king, Macbeth does not want to lose everything he got to Banquos royal bloodline This shows how corrupt and villainous Macbeth has become; he will not let anything, not even friendship, get in the way of his desire to be the King of Scotland. And if the destruction of friendship is not a symbol of how strong Macbeths ambition truly is, then the manslaughter of an innocent mans entire family is. When Macbeth sees the three apparitions, one of them tells him to beware Macduff. Surprisingly, after Macbeth learns that Macduff has fled to England, he responds by declaring that he will give to the edge o the sword his wife, babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line. (4.1.151-153). This shows how corrupt and evil Macbeth has become; he doesnt even care about who hes killing anymore. A wife and kids symbolizes purity and love in a mans life; the fact that Macbeth doesnt even consider the moral consequences of destroying a loving family and killing children shows how filled with ambition he has become. Macbeth is so afraid of losing to Macduff that he believes that by killing his family, Macduff will be broken beyond repair and not be able to face Macbeth. Unfortunately, he does not count on a certain someone to heighten Macduffs hopes to slaying Macbeth by using his sorrow to his advantage. That certain someone is Malcolm, the son of Duncan. After the murder of his father, Malcolms ambition to destroy Macbeth becomes so strong that he forgets all moral values and disregards the feelings of others; this ambition represents revenge. Though Malcolm is able to understand the feelings of others, he lets nothing stop him from achieving his goal; this is either due to his inexperience of the world, or because he is too bent on revenge to think about anything else. When Macduff learns that his family is murdered, he begins to despair. Malcolm, not wanting to let anything get in the way of his ambition, tells Macduff to dispute it like a man. (4.3.221). Since Malcolm is a young man; he does not have a wife or kids and disregards Macduffs pain as a sign of weakness. Note that even if Malcolm had a family and understood Macduffs pain fully, he would still have been reckless and put revenge above anything else. Malcolms  father was a good man who lost his life at the hands of the man he trusted the most; Malcolm is not going to let Macduffs personal tragedy get in the way of his goal of destroying Macbeth. When Macduff responds by saying that first he must feel pain like a man, Malcolm responds by telling Macbeth to make his grief be this the whetstone of your sword. Let grief convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it. (4.3.230- 231). While Malcolm is more understanding of the pain Macduff feels, he still convinces him to move on. When he says let grief convert to anger, he means for Macduff to use his sorrow as his anger so he can move on with his life and destroy the man responsible for his sorrow: Macbeth. Malcolm truly does feel bad about Macduff losing his family, but unlike Macduff, he has no family to worry about and has not experienced every pain and sorrow Macduff has been through. Given this evidence, it is evident how much ambition Malcolm has for destroying Macbeth. Macbeth is not fully to blame for his ambition clouding his judgment since the audience knows that Lady Macbeth has him kill Duncan so she can be Queen; this ambition represents power. While Macbeth is to blame for all he has done to his country, his wife started a chain reaction that sent Macbeth down this dark path. Had Macbeth not told his wife about the prophecies, she would not have become so obsessed with power and she would not have sent her husband to kill Duncan so she could be Queen faster†¦and all of Macbeths victims would be alive and well. Lady Macbeth wants so desperately to gain power, she begs of the immortals to unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty! (1.5.41-43). Lady Macbeth is asking the spirits (or gods†¦Im not quite sure; its pretty vague) to make her cruel and unforgiving so she can do the terrible deed of killing Duncan. This shows how evil and impatient Lady Macbeth is; had she waited for Duncan to promote Mac beth, she could have been Queen without her husband having to kill anyone, Macbeth would still have been a good person, and they would not have had to suffer so much guilt for all they did. Later, after Lady Macbeth drugs the guards, she boasts about the drugs that which hath made them drunk Sprouse  hath made me bold; what hath quenched them hath given me fire. Now Lady  Macbeth is almost certain that they will not fail; her ambition has clouded her better judgment and ignored the possibility of guilt haunting her and her husband. This ambition, the ambition of power, is by far the most deadly of all ambitions. If you want power so badly and very quickly, you forget about all the consequences that might come from it. In Lady Macbeths case, her consequence for her actions was the loss of her sanity and restless nights thinking about what she made her husband do, eventually causing her to take her own life. This being said, I think it is safe to say that too much ambition is NOT a promise of power or a sign of greatness.

The Spherical Image as the Central Paradox in Valediction: for Weeping

The Spherical Image as the Central Paradox in Valediction: for Weeping    In John Donne's "A Valediction: for Weeping," the speaker consoles his lover before leaving on a sea voyage and begs her not to cry.   Crying, the speaker tells his lover this poem at the docks before he boards his ship going abroad.   Donne uses a spherical image as the central metaphor in his poem. When Donne uses irony, paradox, and hyperbole including the use of round images such as: coins, globes, and tears he strengthens the spherical conceit.   By comparing two "seeming" opposites like tears and love as his conceit, Donne uses the spherical image as the central paradox in "A Valediction: Of Weeping."        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Donne opens the poem with the speaker crying while talking to his lover before his departure abroad.   His first spherical images are in the first stanza,   and they are tears and coins:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Let me pour forth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My tears before thy face whilst I stay here,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And by this mintage they are something worth," (1-4)    Both the coins and his tears have "worth," literal and figurative values respectively.   His tears fall from his face because he hurts for leaving, something no amount of coins can pay to alleviate. Like coins being stamped out of a sheet of metal, his tears are pressed from his eyes.  Ã‚   Because water reflects her image and tears are made out of water, the stamp image has a double meaning too.   The tears equal the lover.   The mintage mentioned in line four has an expanded meaning.   A set of pressed coins is a mintage as is the set of the speaker's tears, but the impression on the coin (the lover's face) can also be a mintage.      ... ...he other's death." (26) As they sigh, their sighs create wind which upsets the water.   The rough water, on which the speaker is sailing, could drown him.      Ã‚  Ã‚     Donne's mastery of comparison allows him to create an in-depth metaphor comparing spherical images to two lover's love.   He uses some of the same images as he does in his other poems for example: holy love and tears in "The Canonization," spheres in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" and "The Sun Rising," and two worlds becoming one in "The Good-Morrow" and "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning."   Also in the other valediction poem Donne includes the line "No tear floods, nor sigh tempest move." (6) This idea is mentioned in   "A Valediction: Of Weeping" too.    Donne uses the simple round images to symbolize a deeper meaning coupled with metaphor and paradox to create a complex love poem.   

Is there such a thing as “Evidence-Based Management” ? Essay -- Manage

There are plenty of ways and practices available to managers, practitioners and educators to carry out their businesses for the persuasion of required goals, this vast array of choice and awareness make them ambitious to decide which one is workable and which one is not and this make them always keep on trying one and other technique, method or/and process and at this point according to Pfeffer and Sutton(2006) evidence rescue them to decide which one is the right one. This essay, focusing on this respect, will be a critical reading and analysis of strengths and weaknesses to Rousseau’s (2006) article on ‘Is there such a thing as â€Å"Evidence –Based Management†. This essay will first introduce how if evidence based management helps managers. Secondly, it will analyze Rousseau’s repeatedly references to the development in clinical and evidence based medicines and links it with evidence based management and what is the status of evidence based manage ment practices. Thirdly, it will critically analyze the Rousseau’s use of story â€Å"Making feedback people friendly†. Followed by how there is variation between theory and practice. Fourthly, This essay will critically analyze Organizational Legitimacy, implementation of knowledge as an outcome of evidence based management and roles of schools, teachers, students in creating the environment for evidence based management. Rousseau says by citing Barlow(2004) ,DeAngelis(2005),Lemieux Charles & Champ agu (2004), Walshe & Rundall(2001) that Evidence based management helps managers to gain expertise and making effective decision which otherwise they cannot arise at by using solely their own intuition. These evidences are specific to not only problems faced but also to culture and other organizat... ...mpagne,f.2004,Using knowledge and evidence in healthcare:Multidisciplinary perspective, University of Toronto Press, Toronto. Pffer,J. 2006,Management half-truth and nonsense : How to practice evidence-based management, California Management Review, vol.48,No.3 Pffer,J. & Sutton,R. 2006,Evidence-based management, Harvard business Review ,januray 2006 Rousseau, D. 2006, Is there such a thing as evidence based management? , Academy of Management Review, vol.31, 2, pp.256-269 Raine , R . 1998 . ‘ Evidence-based Policy: Rhetoric and Reality ’ , Journal of Health Service Research Policy , 3 , 4 , 251 – 3 . Sackett,et al. 2000,Evidence-based medicines:How to practice and teach EBM, Newyork : Church Living Stone. Walshe,K. & Rundall,T. 2001, Evidence based management:From theory to practice in health care ,Milbank Quarterly, Vol.79, PP.429-457

Experimental learning Essay

The group chosen is â€Å"B†. It has to do with Experimental learning (Constructivism). As the name suggests, experiential learning involves learning from experience. It builds a â€Å"bridge† from the known to the new by taking the learner’s perceptions and experiences as the point of departure for the learning process. The theory was proposed by psychologist David Kolb. According to Kolb, this type of learning can be defined as â€Å"the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of grasping and transforming experience. † The experiential theory emphasizes how experiences, including cognitions, environmental factors, and emotions influence the learning process. In this model the teacher is seen as a learner among learners, his/her role is to facilitate the learning process and the students have an active participation (largely in collaborative small groups). This model puts the emphases on the process (learning skills, self-inquiry, social and communicative skills) and the learner (self-directed learning). Its motivation is mainly intrinsic and the evaluation is process-orientated (reflection on process, self-assessment; criterion-referencing) According to the view of knowledge, is a personal knowledge construction and identification of problem. The curriculum is dynamic; with looser organization of subject matter, including open parts and integration. Group B: Comprehensible input: Comprehensible input means that students should be able to understand the essence of what is being said or presented to them. This does not mean, however, that teachers must use only words students understand. In fact, instruction can be incomprehensible even when students know all of the words. Students learn a new language best when they receive input that is just a bit more difficult than they can easily understand. In other words, students may understand most, but not all, words the teacher is using. Making teacher talk comprehensible to students goes beyond the choice of vocabulary and involves presentation of background and context, explanation and rewording of unclear content, and the use of effective techniques such as graphic organizers. By using context or visual cues, or by asking for clarification, students enhance their knowledge of English. When input is comprehensible, students understand most aspects of what is required for learning, and the learning experience pushes them to greater understanding. Scaffolding and ZPD: â€Å"The Zone of Proximal Development is the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance† The scaffolding teaching strategy provides individualized support based on the learner’s ZPD. The scaffolds facilitate a student’s ability to build on prior knowledge and internalize new information. The activities provided in scaffolding instruction are just beyond the level of what the learner can do alone. The more capable other provides the scaffolds so that the learner can accomplish (with assistance) the tasks that he or she could otherwise not complete, thus helping the learner through the ZPD. Vygotsky defined scaffolding instruction as the â€Å"role of teachers and others in supporting the learner’s development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level. Play in the classroom: Cook points out that language play includes mimicry and repetition, the explicit discussion of rules and the linking for â€Å"form-driven rather than meaning –driven behaviour†. Play and language play is often a collaborative affair, playful mislabelling and puns often generated extended repair sequences that could be seen as informal â€Å"language lessons† focused on formal aspects of language. Finally, as Cook has pointed out, humour and playful activities occupy large amounts of our real-life existence. The formulaic jokes and dialogue of much ELT may be extremely useful for student language development. Focus on form: It occurs when students direct their conscious attention to some feature of the language, such as verb tense, a new word or structure) It can happen at any stage of a learning sequence as the result of intervention by the teacher, or because students themselves notice a language feature. Focus on form is often incidental and opportunistic, growing out of task which students are involved in, rather than being pre-determined by a book or a syllabus. Affective filter S. Krashen claims for the beneficial value of comprehensible input depends upon students being relaxed and feeling positive and unthreatened. If they are not, then their affective filter is raised and blocks the input from being absorbed and processed. But if, on the other hand, the affective filter is lowered-because students are relaxed- then the comprehensible input the students are exposed to will contribute far more effectively to their acquisition of new language. Noticing It describes a condition which is necessary if the language a students is exposed to is to become language â€Å"intake†, that is language he or she takes in. Unless the student notices the new language, he or she is unlikely to process it, and therefore the chances of learning it are slim. 1. Describe a teaching- learning situation in which all of these words occur. A successful teaching learning situation is when the atmosphere in the classroom is relaxed, happy, and well-ordered (affective filter). Success is a great motivator; both positive and negative feeling will affect the learning process. Therefore, try to make each child feel successful and praise their attempts enthusiastically. Errors need to be corrected, but use positive and tactful feedback so that children feel sure and confident and not be afraid of making mistakes. Games (play in the classroom) provide a natural context for language practice and are very popular with children. They promote the development of wider cognitive skills such as memory, sequences, motor skills and deductive skills. Another important element to take into account in a teaching learning situation is when the student is exposed to an activity where he/she can balance both the familiar and new language. Children develop the confidence to recognize and use the language they already know and the new information with the guide of a teacher (Scaffolding-ZPD) For example: (Presenting new vocabulary) to introduce new words in relation to a unit’s topic, the teacher can bring flashcards to present new vocabulary or posters which offer the learners a more complex visual stimuli. Teacher may also ask students if they know other words related to the topic. In that way, you are exposing children to their previous knowledge. With Flashcards and posters, a number of activities can be carried out: predicting and anticipating, descriptions, mind maps, re-order the stage, mime and point, label the pictures, try to remember (memory games), say as many words as possible about†¦, etc. These ranges of activities allow the teacher to interact with the students in the classroom. For example, use the same flashcards you have been using, and hold them facing you so children cannot see them, after that, show the card for a very short time and ask what’s this? And continue until you have practiced all the words. Besides this, you can teach grammar through examples rather than explanation. Say the student the word you had already taught so that he or she can try to make a sentence using the word given. Apart from that, teacher can use songs or chants where children can practise new target grammar structures or vocabulary. Melody and rhythm are an essential aid to memory. By singing, children are able to forget fears and shyness and practise the language in a joyful way together. Finally, the teacher can use worksheets that can be a great help for students to put into practice everything they have learned. Students are given the opportunity to make productions by themselves. Activities suitable for all edges. 2. Method: Total Physical Response: It is based on the coordination of language and physical movement. Students of any age, especially kinaesthetic learners, benefit from associating language with movement and actions. The more the body is involved in the learning process, the more likely the student is to absorb and retain the information. The majority of class time in TPR lessons is spent doing drills in which the instructor gives commands using the imperative mood. Students respond to these commands with physical actions. Initially, students learn the meaning of the commands they hear by direct observation. After they learn the meaning of the words in these commands, the teacher issues commands that use novel combinations of the words the students have learned. Activities for TPR lessons: Simon says†¦. A typical Total Physical Response lesson might involve the teacher introducing a situation in which students follow a set of commands using actions. For example, ask the children to stand at their desk. Then explain that you are going to give instructions. If the instruction begins with the word Simon says†¦, children must do as you ask. If not, they stand still and wait for the next instruction. Any child who gets this wrong is out of the game and has to sit down. Give tan instruction that is relevant to the unit’s language, e. g. Simon says†¦brush your teeth; Simon says†¦read a comic; Simon say†¦eat cereal. Intermittently insert an instruction which is not preceded by â€Å"Simon says†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to see which children are really paying attention. TPR Storyline: (script) Other ideas in a TPR lesson: Before reading a children’s story, the teacher select some action words and ask the students to perform these actions as you encounter them in the pages. After that, tell students to act out the story with simply drama activities. Play the recording. Pause after each line for children to repeat. Then, divide the class into two groups, with each child having a different role in the story. Each child says the lines of his / her assigned character. The teacher encourages children to perform actions as they speak. Drama, by appealing to the imagination, is an excellent way for children to lose themselves in the story, thereby increasing their communicative ability. Activities mainly use for children Teaching materials Usually props such as pictures, posters or real objects accompany the actions. Some actions may be real while others are pretended. Teaching materials are not compulsory, and for the very first lessons they may not be used. 3. Examples of text books for each method: Presentation, Practice and Production: Presentation – Practice – Production, or PPP, is a method for teaching structures (e. g. grammar or vocabulary) in a foreign language. As its name suggests, PPP is divided into three phases, moving from tight teacher control towards greater learner freedom. Note that some writers use the name to refer to a specific method that focuses on oral skills, but it can also be applied more broadly to a family of related methods which rely on the progression from presentation, through controlled practice, to free production Example taken from â€Å"Excellent† 1 Pupil’s book and Activity Book by Coralyn Bradshaw and Jill Hadfiled -Longman Communicative Language Teaching: Communicative language teaching can be understood as a set of principles about the goals of language teaching (communicative competence). How learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the roles of teachers and learners in the classroom. Examples taken from the course book: â€Å"Passages 2† Jack C. Richards and Chuck Sandy 1998 Cambridge. Task-Based Learning: Task-based learning focuses on the use of authentic language through meaningful tasks such as visiting the doctor or a telephone call. This method encourages meaningful communication and is student-centred. Characteristics: Students are encouraged to use language creatively and spontaneously through tasks and problem solving Students focus on a relationship that is comparable to real world activities The conveyance of some sort of meaning is central to this method Assessment is primarily based on task outcome. TBLT is student-centred Examples taken from the book: Lexical Approach: The lexical approach is a method of teaching foreign languages described by M. Lewis in the 1990s. The basic concept on which this approach rests is the idea that an important part of learning a language consists of being able to understand and produce lexical phrases as chunks. Students are thought to be able to perceive patterns of language (grammar) as well as have meaningful set uses of words at their disposal when they are taught in this way. In the lexical approach, instruction focuses on fixed expressions that occur frequently in dialogues, which Lewis claims make up a larger part of discourse than unique phrases and sentences. Vocabulary is prized over grammar per se in this approach. The teaching of chunks and set phrases has become common in English as a second or foreign language, though this is not necessarily primarily due to the Lexical Approach. Example taken from the book: â€Å"English in Mind† 1b by Puchta Herbert and Stranks Jeff 2nd edition. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Distributed Energy Production Essays

Distributed Energy Production Essays Distributed Energy Production Essay Distributed Energy Production Essay Distributed Energy Production Name: Course: Date: Distributed Energy Production Abstract This report reviews the costs associated with the use of green energy sources. In particular, it focuses on the use of solar and wind power. The report explains the methods used in the research as well as the results obtained after the research was concluded. From these results, several conclusions are made based on the viability of the sources of energy financially, economically and socially. The laws of the areas under investigation has also been included especially those that directly affect the use of both wind and solar powered energy. The opinions of the citizens relating to the installation of green energy in the area under study have also been raised. From this report, the viability of the green energy campaign has been evaluated and reported based on the area under study, which was in the state of Virginia. Distributed Energy Production 1. Introduction This report analyzes the importance of the utilization of green power. Green power refers to the use of renewable sources of energy as opposed to the non-renewable sources. Renewable sources include the likes of wind power and sunlight. They are essential in the conservation of the environment since they are renewable. This project was initiated to investigate the economic practicality and feasibility of the project in residential estates for example. Practicality will be considered by evaluation of the cost of the green energy. Feasibility on the other hand will address how dependable the use of green energy is in the residential area in question. The report identifies possible methods of how the use of green energy may be used in the area in question, Virginia. 2. Materials and Methods For this project, the materials required were an electric bill from the area under study and an estimate of the cost of the installation of the green energy in the area. This cost estimate obtained will be compared with that of green energy. The calculations done were non-biased in order to minimize the sources of error in the results obtained. Subsequent work took place in the laboratory since most of it involved calculations. These calculations had to be done correctly in order to endure that the results obtained were as accurate as possible to determine the economic viability of the project. They required the determination of the cost for 100% replacement of the energy use in the area under study. 3. Results a) Table representing the electrical usage of the residential site under study in Virginia MonthkWhOct 20111702Nov 20111830Dec 20112306Jan 20122482Feb 20122148Mar 20121740May 20121566Jun 20121699Jul 20121924Aug 20122711Sept 20122677Oct 20121983 b) The total cost for this period illustrated above was $191.64 c) Total cost of replacement of energy use by wind energy The approximate wind energy used was between 15-20 mph. The results will be based on the maximum and minimum values acquired after the calculation. I. Wind Turbine Power attained by the use of the 20 mph wind speed provided yearly= 15298 KWH Amount of power provided in percentage= 716 % Approximate amount of savings per annum=$ 2447.68 II. Wind Turbine Power attained by the use of the 15 mph wind speed provided yearly= 6454 KWH. Amount of power provided per annum= 302% Approximate savings made per year= $1032. 00 III. Total cost of the installation of the wind Turbine Power System in the area under study= $13, 750.00 c) Total cost of replacement using solar energy For solar energy, it was assumed that there was 3days storage to cater for the possibility of the occurrence of cloudy days. Panel battery calculations per household based on the 3800 watt daily usage= 10 solar panels. Cost of a single solar panel= $150.00 Total cost of installation of solar panels=$1500 Total savings obtained with this installation= $2500.00 Total cost of installation in a residential area of about ten families= $15, 000 Economic incentives that may affect the selection of either option include the reliability of the source of energy and the feasibility of the source of energy to the selected area. In the case of reliability, it will have a substantial effect on the economic situation of the area in question. If the source of energy is unreliable, the productivity of the businesses in the area will be affected as well. On the other hand, the feasibility of the installation of the source of energy refers to how appropriate the energy source is to the area in question. If the installation is not strenuous to the locality, it is feasible. Feasibility of the system is critical to the development of the town and the running of the area in question. The above economic incentives influence the selection process greatly. 4. Discussion From the results obtained, the use of green energy is economically viable since it is affordable even without the provision of government incentives. Conservation strategies like the use of appliances that consume less power may be used in order to decrease the amount of electricity in demand in both administrative and residential areas. In the state if Virginia, the installation of wind turbines is prohibited (Musgrove, 2010). In order to change this, the zoning policies will need to be reviewed to include the installation of the wind turbines. Some localities have decided to modify the laws in their areas of residence to allow the use of green energy. Such localities include Missouri and Texas (Douglas et al, 2009). The public considers wind energy beneficial in the conservation of the environment but the greater majority considers it unreliable. Installation of solar panels is allowed in the state of Virginia. Solar energy is assumed more feasible and reliable than wind energy by the residents of Virginia (Parks, 2010). An impediment to small-scale power generation is the cost that is associated with it. Power generation is very expensive since it requires the acquisition of new machinery that is costly. Distributed, on-site generation of solar or wind power will not be economically, legally and socially acceptable to the majority of the people in the area under study. This is mostly because of their reliability. These sources of energy are not reliable when compared to the power generated by fossil fuel. For this reason, the installation of these green sources of energy in the area in question will be faced with a lot of opposition especially from the business people in the area.

Single or Married Essays

Single or Married Essays Single or Married Essay Single or Married Essay Today, a lot of significant number of people are being married and still being single. This has changed their lives and gives the differences between their lives. In this essay, I’m going to compare and contrast the differences between single people lives and married people lives in their lifestyle, companionship, and responsibility. Firstly, Lifestyle is the first difference between single and married people lives. Single people will have much more privacy in their life. They will not be bothered by anybody in their homes. Nobody will command them not to sleep late, not to watch movie too much and so on; and single people can live a free life too. They can spend their time with their friends anywhere and anytime they want. In contrast, married people will be bothered by their live partners. They have to take care of their children and their partners. They can’t live a free life. If they want to go out with their friends, they must get permission from their partners. doing what is necessary to listen, honor and really love them. Ask the same from them but do not make this a competition. Let your own commitment and improvement of your listening and relationship behavior give them reason to listen to you. Or to know they really dont care about you. At least youll know and be able to stop expecting what youll never get from them. As very sad as that will feel, and I have personal experience with this sad truth, it gives you freedom to see how you wish to go forward with your life with that answer. You may want to stay in a marriage with someone who doesnt care about how they treat you. The significant preference between being single or married is choice and circumstance. Some things in life are going to be good, regardless whether you’re single or married, some things will be the opposite. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The two areas that differ in married and single life is compromise and sharing of possessions. The environment of a single person is the control factor is all theirs. A single person has no one to consult with their decisions. Therefore the consideration of input from others is not necessary. In addition there is no need to consult with anyone regarding budgets, recreation, holidays, traveling or something as simple as dinner. Furthermore a single person’s existence is purely their own, even down to the application of rules. A single person’s level of engagement with others is at their life.

9 customer service jobs to apply for this holiday season

9 customer service jobs to apply for this holiday season The holiday season: hot chocolate, seasonal parties, family togetherness†¦ and lots and lots of expenses that make the season as much of a drain as it is a joy. The good news is there are a host of job opportunities to help you actually pay for all those gifts you need to buy- most are seasonal and require you to accommodate the holiday rush, but all will put extra spending cash in your pocket. Here are 9 customer service jobs to consider taking on as the holidays approach. Personal ShopperThere’s a lot of shopping at the holiday season, and some people need you to do it for them. While personal shopping is often for upscale clientele, where you buy piles of presents for the wealthy and standing on long lines at Saks, it more often entails performing simpler tasks like buying groceries (or even takeout) and delivering them to people’s homes. When people are busier at the holidays and need to prepare extra food for visiting relatives, this type of service is in even more demand.E-commerce Support/Social Media Customer CareWith a lot of customer orders at holiday time come a lot of questions and details that need handling. Demand for online customer support is high. The good news- support is a job that can even be done from home.For those who are social media savvy, some companies hire customer care representatives specifically to monitor social media platforms and handle any complaints or issues a customer may voice through social media. While this can be about dealing with a lot of complaints, it can be a great seasonal job for the problem-solver with tech proficiency.Hotel ConciergeIf you live in a larger city, seeking out a temporary position as a hotel concierge can be a way to employ your customer service skills a bit removed from holiday stress, helping people when they are ready to relax. This position helps hotel guests find fun things to do in a city, and assists with finding transportation or even making reservations. With a greater number of travelers during holiday vacations comes a greater need for hotel support staff.Retail Sales AssociateStores are open longer and need lots of help to meet the extra demand of ordering stock, processing orders, and helping customers find what they’re looking for. With the hustle and the bustle of the shopping season, the workflow at a retail store is likely to keep you on your toes.Gift WrapperThere’s an art to gift wrapping that many people do not possess. That’s why this job exists. Making a few extra dollars by beautifully wrapping someone else’s presents can help you pay for your own. For those who actually enjoy making their gifts look gorgeous, this job can be both an enjoyable and integral part of the holiday season.Food Service Hospitality WorkerThe holidays always mean holiday parties. Whether it’s catering, waiting tables, bartending, or hosting, hospitality needs are highest during the holidays. Because event staff usually wor k a small number of hours (but often work late-night hours), catering companies often pay competitive wages. And if bartending is your specialty, you can expect to be well-tipped at the more upscale galas and corporate events.Uber DriverWith all the events, holiday shopping, and travel to attend, one of the services people need desperately during the holiday season is a driver to get them where they are going. Once you pass the various driver requirements, if you have a license and a car and are over 21 you have a way to make money and help people get where they are going safely.Holiday Tours EventsWhether it’s a meet greet with reindeer or a carol-singing bus tour, there are jobs out there that can get you into the holiday spirit, making the fun happen for families to enjoy. These types of jobs really do require a certain kind of energy and interest in working with kids and adults alike. While it’s not for everyone, it can be one of the more fun seasonal jobs out th ere.Package HandlerThere’s Black Friday, and now there’s Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving). This Thanksgiving weekend, retail stores will be brimming with customers, and then of course many shoppers are increasingly buying their gifts online. Shipping companies like UPS and FedEx need extra workers to get these packages to customers, and also to get holiday gifts to friends and relatives. Increasingly, Amazon itself is hiring, both to handle increased traffic at its fulfillment centers and for last-mile delivery to customers’ homes.

Develop Your Conflict Resolution Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Develop Your Conflict Resolution Skills - Essay Example Injustice: this is the perceived mistreatment by others or the world at large. This attitude leads to the individual to identify something as unfair and thereby engage in retaliatory acts. Vulnerability: it revolves around a person’s perception that he/she is the subject to internal/external dangers where control lacks to supply safety. Distrust: it focuses on presumed hostility and malign intent of others. This is an expectation that others will hurt, cheat, abuse, humiliate or take advantage. Helplessness: this is a conviction that the carefully planned and executed plans/actions will fail to produce desired outcomes. This leads to a person perceiving that he/she cannot accomplish anything. The conflict is solved when the inconsistency between actions and wishes of parties are resolved. Returning to the Sally and Dave conundrum, as the managers duty at the reservations call center is to ensure this conflict is resolved. Therefore, the managers first action after analyzing the conflict and putting all parties into consideration is to handle the issue separately, and find a solution after listening to each party’s complain. First, it is hard to tell who is telling the truth since each proposal is a complete opposite of the other party’s proposal. So, after meeting with Dave, the manager should ask him to be punctual with the time he departs from the center. He cannot stay at the center past 7:30. This would mean that he has to complete his job by seven o’clock thus giving him some time to tidy up the cubicle and turn off his computer. He should keep his stuff and personal effects to a minimized and limited to one side of the work station. Failure to honor this, he should be stripped of these permissions. He should keep his personal belongings on one side of the drawer and not leave them scattered in every corner of the drawer. Above all, responsibility and respect towards Sally would be demanded from Dave. Sally

Marketing Communication Plan for Green and Black Organic Essay

Marketing Communication Plan for Green and Black Organic - Essay Example The intention of this study is Green and Black organic as basically a premium priced chocolate manufacturing company founded in 1991 in United Kingdom by a couple named: Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley. The name of the brand Green and Black Organic is very meaningful. The Green in the brand name represents the organic quality of the brand and Black represents the dark chocolate which is basically the specialty and core product of the brand. The brand expanded and added Maya Gold to its product range in the year 1994 when the two founders of the Green and Black Organic met up with some Mayan smallholder farmers who planted cocoa trees and agreed to buy at a fair price. These cocoa beans were used to create the traditional flavor of Mayan chocolate drink. Green and Black Organic earned the UK’s first Fair-trade mark as a result of Maya Gold. In the year 2005, Green and Black Organic was bought by Cadbury Plc. Kraft foods finally got hold of the company in the year 2010. The com petition of the Green and Black Organic includes; Toblerone, Lindt and Thorntons. Green and Black Organic has asked the A team agency to come up with a Marketing Communication Plan to help it to not only sustain its market share but also work to increase it. The marketing plan will aim to create increased awareness about the brand so that consumers do not mind paying the extra pound. The A team agency has been provided with a budget of 750,000 pounds to develop a marketing plan for Green and Black Organic.... This paper will focus on marketing communication strategies, objectives and finally the plan proposed for Green and Black organic chocolate that aims to convert dark into rainbow. This proposal is prepared to be presented before an agency by Green and Black organic for illustrating their communication strategies they are thinking to opt. Company’s Brief- Green and Black Organic Green and black organic is now owned by Cadbury, which has 30% of the total market share in London. The company was initially carrying out its operations individually, but later it came under the control of Cadbury. SWOT analysis: In order to assess the current and past performance of the company, SWOT analysis was carried out for the purpose of analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strength Following are the factors that made Green and Black organic a successful company in confectionary industry. Manufacturing chocolates from organic food. Dark chocolates prepared from 70% of coco a beans. Operating under the name of Cadbury. Regarded as first manufacturers of chocolate from organic substance. Employment of good marketing activities as compared to those conducted by small brands. Weaknesses Following are the weaknesses of Green and Black organic Most of the people do not prefer eating dark chocolates so this can result in reduction in sales volume. The size of the company is too small and so, it cannot extend its operation in areas outside the borders of London. As the name of the company does not specify anything related to chocolate, so people can misunderstand the name green and black organic. Opportunities Green and black can earn huge revenues if it focuses and avail following opportunities Manufacturing of chocolate butters and chocolate

It is a discussion post about ocean fisheries sustainability Assignment

It is a discussion post about ocean fisheries sustainability - Assignment Example 1. Some fishing practices are harmful to the fish and have been branded illegal and even banned in some of the countries that heavily rely on fishing as a major income earner. Some destructive practices should hence be banned round the globe so as to protect all ocean habitats and salvage the lives of the fish. Pollution that also poses a great danger to marine should also be a major concern thus measures put in place to curb and control polluted drainage to ocean habitats. Another way to put off overfishing along with by catch is to withdraw from eating fish as well as other seafood. According to Dr. Sylvia Earle, famous marine scientist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, people should take a break from consuming seafood until they learn better how to uphold healthy fish as well as wildlife populations ("Sylvia Earle - National Geographic Adventure Magazine," n.d.). 3. With a familiarity of the threats to ocean fisheries sustainability, it is, therefore, essential to act towards working on them so as to change the face of the fishing industry. Stringent fishing rules and regulations ought to be put in place so as to govern on how fishing is carried out with a bid of avoiding instances of overfishing (Palma, Tsamenyi & Edeson, 2010). By so doing, ocean habitats are bound to be protected and no risk of extinctions. 4. Nations around the globe have been up in arms with the intent of devising applicable approaches aimed at supporting ocean fisheries sustainability. Fisheries may gain from reserves when they assist in replenishing nearby habitats via spillover of adult organisms as well as dispersal of larvae. The rise in the biomass of business species within marine reserves has been known to increase the reproductive output provided the reproductive grounds are incorporated in the reserves (Greenberg, 2014). Palma, M. A., Tsamenyi, M., & Edeson, W. R.

Impact of Technology on Society Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Impact of Technology on Society - Research Paper Example In the process of the advancement of technology, the equipments and the methodology became simpler and more user friendly. For instance, the fixed landline equipments which were heavy were replaced with wireless and mobile phones which are light and portable. The environmental, social, economic and political implications of telephone as a technology on the society have been large. This essay aims to analyze the impact of telephone on the society with reference to the environment, economics, and politics of the society. 1.1. The Background After the invention of telephone in 1876, by early 1900, telephone signals were successfully sent between close by cities (NAE, 2013). The invention of vacuum diode by Sir John Ambrose Fleming was a turning point in the history of telephony. A major milestone in the technology was the first transcontinental call which was made in the year 1915 (NAE, 2013).Though there were portable versions of phones which were used in vehicles right from 1940s, it was in the year 1973 that the first fully portable version phone was made by Martin Cooper for the Motorola Company (NAE, 2013). Later in mid 1990s, following other innovations in the technology, Voice over Internet Protocol, which made voice call using internet was invented. This, along with other innovations changed the whole user perspective towards telephones. Today, mobile phones have become hubs for a wide range of activities and transactions. Through these innovations the technology of telephony has largely influenced the society. 2. Society before telephones Before the telephones were invented one of the first medium through which the society was connected across long distances was through letters. Letters of course took long days to reach the destination and also involved complex administrative procedures. There has to be regularly operating establishments at both the receiver and the sender ends to make sure that the letter reaches the right destination. As it took time th e major disadvantage was that the communication could not keep up with time. For instance, an elaborate communication which is urgent in nature could not be done through letters as there is the possibility that the relevance of the information contained in the letter could go outdated within the time that the letter takes to reach the destination. However, letters were known for its emotional value. Fictional literatures have elaborately dealt with the psychological content associated with letters. In fact letters were known for its expressive nature. There were other means of faster communication in the pre telephone era. Telegrams and technologies like Morse codes were utilized to facilitate faster communication. The whole concept of privacy and personal space was challenged after the penetration of mobile phones into the society. Before individuals had their own portable phones, they all enjoyed a personal space which they themselves could decide. With their mobile phones switche d on, the users share a public space more than their personal space. The mobile version of the telephone technology has changed the politics, economics and social structure of the society to a large extend. Before mobile telephony, there were no tall receiver towers radiating harmful radiations into the

Conflict of Religion and Slavery in the Frederick Douglass Narrative Essay

Conflict of Religion and Slavery in the Frederick Douglass Narrative - Essay Example Religion is not the domain of the dermatologist. The arguments of the whites to view religion from the perspective of color needs to be dismissed without further arguments, as only lunatics can forward such a point of view. Those who justify slavery quoting scriptures are like Satan quoting the Bible. They just do not possess an elementary knowledge about the revelation. Douglass encounters with the so-called Christians, who treat slaves in the most inhuman style, shake his belief in religion. Mr. Severe, overseer in charge at Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, is one of such individuals. As the divinity intervenes he dies as soon as Douglass arrives there. The gullible and innocent slaves take it as a blessing from God. The replacement for his place, Mr. Hopkins, is a good person. The love-hate tussles as for religion in his mind continue, and he thinks that it is a good fortune that he is not one of the slavery victims when he is selected and shifted to the Great House Farm, where life is comfortable. The cruel strokes of destiny fallen on his grandmother who is left to die alone shake his faith in God, and he puts his judgment to test by asking questions about His style of functioning. What deeply pains Douglass is the hypocrites donning the garb of preachers as guardians of religion. Some of them are Master Thomas, the Methodist who holds the sla ves on the plea that he takes care of them, but in reality he does not spare even a crippled girl named Henny from his practices of cruelty. At St. Michael’s, a Sabbath school for slaves established by Whiteman is closed under the violent threats by white religious zealots. Religion, as it is practiced, never helps the cause of blacks, and Douglass mentions Mr. Rigby Hopkins, one of the sterling religious hypocrites, who derives sadistic pleasure in beating his slave on silly pretexts. Such religious leaders quote from the Bible selectively, and their assertions are out of the context. Douglass writes, â€Å"I have said my master found religious sanction for his cruelty. I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cow skin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture ? ‘He that knoweth his master’s will and doeth it, not shall be beaten wi th many stripes.’ † (Douglass 52). This is the highest form of insult to Christianity. Thus, in the mid-1800s, religion is used as the tool to destroy the emotional world of the slaves and break their psyche. Severe whipping is normal which often causes bodily harm to the slaves. Their working hours are long, from the sun-rise to the sun-set in the open farms, in all kinds of weather. With no educational facilities and no scope for personal empowerment possible for the slaves, the doors to the knowledge world remain shut for them from the cradle to the grave and from the womb to the tomb! In Douglass’ time, slavery is being practiced at its worst. The majority of the religious clusters in America barring the Society of Friends support slavery. That is the period when the North and South are vertically divided by the issue of slavery. The Christians of the North favor the abolition of slavery, but the Southerners are adamant about retaining it and thoroughly convi nced that it has the religious sanctity. The worst part is the condemnation and appreciation of slavery is done in the name of Christianity. So, the politics of religion dominates the issue of slavery. Douglass does not condemn Christianity as such, but his strong resentment is

Impact of Technology on Society Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Impact of Technology on Society - Research Paper Example In the process of the advancement of technology, the equipments and the methodology became simpler and more user friendly. For instance, the fixed landline equipments which were heavy were replaced with wireless and mobile phones which are light and portable. The environmental, social, economic and political implications of telephone as a technology on the society have been large. This essay aims to analyze the impact of telephone on the society with reference to the environment, economics, and politics of the society. 1.1. The Background After the invention of telephone in 1876, by early 1900, telephone signals were successfully sent between close by cities (NAE, 2013). The invention of vacuum diode by Sir John Ambrose Fleming was a turning point in the history of telephony. A major milestone in the technology was the first transcontinental call which was made in the year 1915 (NAE, 2013).Though there were portable versions of phones which were used in vehicles right from 1940s, it was in the year 1973 that the first fully portable version phone was made by Martin Cooper for the Motorola Company (NAE, 2013). Later in mid 1990s, following other innovations in the technology, Voice over Internet Protocol, which made voice call using internet was invented. This, along with other innovations changed the whole user perspective towards telephones. Today, mobile phones have become hubs for a wide range of activities and transactions. Through these innovations the technology of telephony has largely influenced the society. 2. Society before telephones Before the telephones were invented one of the first medium through which the society was connected across long distances was through letters. Letters of course took long days to reach the destination and also involved complex administrative procedures. There has to be regularly operating establishments at both the receiver and the sender ends to make sure that the letter reaches the right destination. As it took time th e major disadvantage was that the communication could not keep up with time. For instance, an elaborate communication which is urgent in nature could not be done through letters as there is the possibility that the relevance of the information contained in the letter could go outdated within the time that the letter takes to reach the destination. However, letters were known for its emotional value. Fictional literatures have elaborately dealt with the psychological content associated with letters. In fact letters were known for its expressive nature. There were other means of faster communication in the pre telephone era. Telegrams and technologies like Morse codes were utilized to facilitate faster communication. The whole concept of privacy and personal space was challenged after the penetration of mobile phones into the society. Before individuals had their own portable phones, they all enjoyed a personal space which they themselves could decide. With their mobile phones switche d on, the users share a public space more than their personal space. The mobile version of the telephone technology has changed the politics, economics and social structure of the society to a large extend. Before mobile telephony, there were no tall receiver towers radiating harmful radiations into the

Examine any foreign currency of your choice (preferably from and Research Paper

Examine any foreign currency of your choice (preferably from and emerging market and provide an analysis of that currency agains - Research Paper Example Hence, it can be stated that the movements of exchange rates have vital implications over the national economy including its business cycle, trade and capital flows. Additionally, exchange rate is often regarded as an important factor that influences the foreign economic policy of a country by a large extent (Dua & Ranjan, 2011). The paper intends to identify and analyse the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar over the five years period ending with 2010. Macroeconomic Analysis of the Indian Rupee over the US Dollar Macroeconomic fundamentals play a crucial role in the determination of exchange rate. This particular statement can be well interpreted with reference to the microeconomic context and currency fluctuations witnessed in India in the recent years. India has witnessed enormous volatility in the recent decade which has resulted in constant fluctuation of the Indian Rupee against US Dollar. The fluctuation had been quite apparent during the period of 2005-2010 (Somaiya, 2008). F or instance, during the year 2009, the Indian Rupee reached 48.32 against the US Dollar which was recorded to be the lowest exchange rate against the US Dollar over the five year period ranging from 2005-2010; while, in 2007, the Indian Rupee was identified to be 41.20 which was again observed to be the highest against the US Dollar for the stated five year period (SignalTrend Inc, 2012). Source: (SignalTrend Inc., 2012) Since 1990, India has made several structural reforms with respect to its foreign exchange related affairs. The major objectives of these reforms were fundamentally to enhance the confidence level among the investors and thereby, maintain a degree of domestic competiveness. Contextually, a major reason identifiable behind the appreciation of Indian Rupee against the US Dollar for the period of 2005-2010 illustrates the occurrence to be a consequence of the increase recorded in the capital inflow of the nation. The FDI equity inflow between 2005 and 2010 was identifi ed to be seven times more than the previous five years i.e. 2000-2004 (Rao & Dhar, 2011). During the fiscal years from 2007 to 2008, the currency exchange rates in almost all the emerging markets including India had strengthened against US Dollar. According to the reports on currency and finance during the aforementioned period, The Indian Rupee was appreciated by 10.2 percent as on March 2009. However, it is worth mentioning that Indian currency, in the five years period, has also depreciated dramatically in certain circumstances. After the occurrence of Lehman’s bankruptcy, the Indian Rupee sharply depreciated, reaching the level of 50 INR/US$, in the month of October 2008. The depreciation in Indian Rupee was primarily attributed with the rise in the price of crude petrol and inflationary pressure prevailing within the country. Moreover, the declining exports and continuous outflow of nat6ional income also contributed towards the depreciation of Rupee and appreciation of t he US Dollar (Reserve Bank of India, 2009). It is worth mentioning in this regard that the depreciation of Indian rupee had dramatic impacts upon the economy. Consequently, the depreciation resulted in higher import costs which ultimately lead towards the price rise of import commodities such as crude petrol and i

A personal quality Essay Example for Free

A personal quality Essay It has often been said that the true measure of a person can be seen through her deeds. I feel that I am no different in that I am a woman of action but more importantly a woman of compassion. Since I was young, I naturally learned the importance of sharing and helping from my parents. They motivated me to consider the sharing and helping as the most basic privileges of my life. I was greatly motivated by the bibliography of Albert Schweitzer and Florence Nightingale. These role models have greatly influenced my character. Taking classical ballet classes since I was 3 years old until I became 17 years old, I have had many experiences and qualities that I am quite proud off. I have always been a well rounded individual. On top of my ballet classes, I went to school and performed very well in my academics. I have also learned how to accomplish these extra-curricular activities while still maintaining very good grades. My parents have always been community oriented their whole life and have devoted much of their time reaching out and helping other people in our community. Naturally, I learned how to use my ability to help the others who are in need and how to interact with them readily and satisfactorily. My affirmative thoughts and incessant enthusiasm toward the other cultures greatly affected in learning and accepting the new cultures. Thus, I was adamantly sure that I wanted to study more about the global cultures and increase the global sensibility while studying in the University. The works that I have done while I was in school such as garnering those valuable awards are complimented by my social work. Most importantly, I figured out my lifetime goal, gained many relationships and learned the valuable lesson of sharing. All my contributions, small or big, seemed to be very appreciated by those people and I felt proud of myself. After all those volunteer works and the depth in education, I am now more confident about myself and I made up my mind to challenge myself to get into UC. I will significantly apply all that I saw, listened, and felt in the community works to my educational goals. I will try my best to become a role model of adopting the proper measures for the relief of the minorities to provide them fair opportunities and advantages in life. With well analyzed research data and convincing demonstration, I will play an important role as a link between the minorities and the supporter. While I personally believe that â€Å"there is no such thing as a free lunch† and that everything a person has in life must come from hard work and perseverance, I also believe in charity. I believe in helping others who do not have much in life. I believe in helping people regardless of their nation, race or creed. I believe in being a better person so I can best help myself and others around me. I believe that UC is the best place for me to turn these beliefs into realities.

Importance of Employer Branding

Importance of Employer Branding Employer Branding 1.0 Introduction: Employer Branding is the most critical people management topic in todays flattened global business environment. The economic downturn has further brought attention to the importance of people in delivering the brand promise. Increasingly the shareholder value of a company rests in its intangible assets e.g. its people, reputation and culture. Organizations spend millions on their corporate brand. But how much do they invest in their Employer Brand? Employer branding plays an important role in attracting and retaining talent in the face of a shrinking talent pool. HR professionals are considered primarily responsible for employer branding initiatives, with most of the companies reporting HR as one of the key stakeholders in employer brand management. While employer branding is predominantly seen as the domain of HR, marketing also plays an important role 2.0 Literature review: 2.1 What is Branding? It is a way to package information about functional attributes, economic value, and psychological benefits so its easily understood and absorbed by the target audience. Marketers today engage in two different types of branding namely external branding and employer (internal) branding. The latter yet to pick up in full speed, has tremendous potential in this increasingly competitive scenario. 2.2 External Branding Defining External Branding: The image that an organization projects to consumers, suppliers, investors, and the public. An external brand gives information on the attributes of the goods or services to current and potential buyers. It answers questions such as: 2.3 Internal Branding Defining Employer Branding: The image that employees have about what what type of employer an organization is. Whether the brand is explicit or implicit- and even if it has not been deliberately developed- every organization has an internal brand. An Employer Brand (or Internal Brand) gives current and potential employees information about the employment experience and what is expected of them. It answers questions such as: Employer branding can be defined as â€Å"a form of the corporate branding by which companies establish an image of services they provide, in order to attract or motivate employees† (Bates, 2001).The below provides an overview of the different types of branding. Product branding focuses on communication to customers about the companys products. Corporate branding communicates the companys financial results to the stakeholders. In the marketing literature, the importance of reconciling perceptions of the firms internal and external image in managing the congruence of all brand messages has been recognized (Dukerich and Carter 2000; Duncan and Moriarty 1998). Not only does this positively influence the perceptions of these messages among employees, potential employees, and customers, but it also ensures that employees are ‘properly aligned with the brand and what it represents (Keller 2002). This allows employees to ‘live the brand and reinforces corporate values and expectations of performance among new and existing employees (Ind 2001). Ind also recognizes that some companies have de facto employer brands without a formalized marketing approach. However, at a time when the financial markets are increasingly recognizing human capital as a source of value for firms and shareholders (Cairncross 2000); Michaels et al. (2001) propose the explicit development and communication of the Employee Value P roposition (EVP) to attract and retain talented employees. Clearly, there are a number of different marketing inputs that contribute towards the formation of the employer brand, from the development of an EVP to recruitment marketing plans, and outputs which may require advertising, press coverage, sponsorship, word-of-mouth endorsement and contacts with employees (Kennedy 1977; Dowling 1994 2002; Stuart 1999). In this way, the formation of the employer brand image is closely associated with the firm in its role as an employer. In the recruitment literature, Gatewood et al. (1993) find that the employer brand image is a particularly significant predictor of early decisions made by new recruits about their employers. Turban et al (1998) find that employer brand image positively influences both applicant perceptions of recruiter behaviors and post-interview job and organizational attributes. As to how potential recruits form images of a particular organization, the phenomenon of signaling has been investigated and found to have an influence on employer brand image, particularly in the early stages of the recruitment process (Taylor Bergmann, 1987). That is, recruitment experiences are taken as ‘signals of unknown organisational characteristics (Barber, 1998; Rynes, Bretz and Gerhart 1991). For example, job applicants may infer employer brand values based on their recruitment materials e.g. an organization that emphasizes promotion and salary may be perceived as valuing dedication to career (Honeycutt Rosen 1997). Also, Goltz and Giannantonio (1995) found that recruits infer more positive characteristics about an organization when exposed to a friendly recruiter than an unfriendly one. Moreover, Rynes, Bretz and Gerhart (1991) find that line employees have a bigger signaling impact than staff recruiters and that both are conditioned by the feedback of applicants regarding their impressions of the employer brand image. Very often employer branding is thought to be restricted to recruitment communications and only be concerned with the attraction of employees. In reality however, this is not the case. An employer brand explains how the organisation has been communicating and engaging with all of its stake holders be it current, prospective or past employees. Another critical thing to be noticed is that unlike other branding initiatives, an employer brand is not a true brand in its own right. It is not something envisioned and executed by recruitment and advertising agencies that stands alone and separate. An employer brand will be successful only if it operates in conjunction with the organisations corporate and consumer brands. It therefore becomes pertinent to find a connect between employer brand and the existing brands and reflect the behaviours exhibited throughout the organisation, to investors and consumers. It should be able to bring out the real and the aspirational truth about working in an organisation and mirror the values that are exhibited through the external corporate and consumer brands. If there is a disconnect between the two, the ‘brand promise that is given to new employees will vanish as the reality of working in a very different organisation to the one promised. The roots of the concept of employer branding stretch back to the 1990s. However, due to uncomfortable market conditions and a grim recession, the concept could not flourish completely and it has only been in the last five years that employer branding has become a major force. In 1996, Simon Barrow and Tim Ambler gave this definition: We define the Employer Brand as the package of functional, economic and psychological Benefits provided by employment and identified with the employing company. The most significant role of employer branding is to provide a comprehensive framework for management to be able to define priorities, increase productivity and improve recruitment, retention and commitment. Employer branding may seem superficial from a certain point of view, since it is not directly helping in increasing the sales s and thus impacting bottom lines but it is definitely here to stay. Organisations have realised that its people provide one of the few distinct competitive differentiators in todays world. Good talent management makes sense and employer branding is an important part of an organisations armoury from now on. In order to be able to create a successful employer brand, there are three critical stakeholders who must be involved. Senior management: to give insight into the vision, strategic intent, core objectives, competition landscape and understanding of consumers attitudes towards the organisation. Key employee groups: in order to give opinions on the activities that take place on the work floor, benefits, management and communication within the organisation. Relevant external labour pools: to highlight their understanding of an organisation, any roadblocks to success and perception of the organisation in the market. Like all other kinds of branding exercises, employer branding does and will pay off. Following are some benefits to a good employer branding exercise: True differentiation in campuses from where recruitment is done Enthusiastic and aspirational set of messages to be sent out to potential as well as existing employees Mainting a brand consistency through the candidate/new starter journey A better understanding of how the organization is perceived externally Higher engagement levels for the existing employees Financial returns can also be observed in the long run through efficient employer branding practices. If the right kind of employer branding exercise is done, it will lead to a reduction in the amount of money needed to invest to bring good people into the business. The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is an important outcome of employer brand. It essentially comprises of the promise that the organization makes to current, future and potential employees. In the process of defining an employer brand, the organizations EVP is automatically created. For example, on a recent employer branding project for HSBC, it was found that the central tenet of the organisation was the investment in, and development of, their employees. The organisation invests hugely in its people, there are opportunities to work locally, nationally and internationally. Because of these reasons the EVP that was developed for HSBC was ‘Here you can. As mentioned earlier, Employer branding is not just about reaching potential employees but also about the existing ones. It is about an employer promise which is consistently carried through all stages of employees experiences of that organisation through recruitment processes, into employment and then even after having left the organization. There is a strong correlation between the engagement and commitment levels and the different stages in the lifecyle of the tenure in an organization. An employee who joins an organisation with an exemplary EVP will exhibit high levels of commitment compared to if he were joining the organization with a poor EVP. After a year, if the EVP is correctly managed, commitment will fall but not as low as the commitment level in organisations with a poor EVP. 2.4 Current Scenario A lot of work has been done on employer branding, its importance, characteristics etc. Firms from diverse industry sectors have formally defined, and are strategically managing, their employer brands. There is no doubt that many practitioners view having a successful employer brand as desirable but there has not been much progress on measuring the effectiveness of employer branding. Quantifying employer branding is very critical from new talent point of view as an â€Å"index† is psychologically better conceived and also making a comparison among organizations. Currently analytics companies such as Hewitt Associates and Mercer conduct surveys for the best employer brands once every year based on certain parameters. However, these surveys are valid only for a certain period of time and there is no mechanism to compute the value of an employer brand at any other point of time. 2.5 Absence of Measurement of Effectiveness of Employer Branding: Sixty-two percent of respondents to a recent survey said they support employer brand initiatives, but only 24% have metrics in place to measure these initiatives. The research was conducted by the Bernard Hodes Global Network. Not surprisingly, â€Å"The study reveals that a key driver for employer brand development is the need to acquire talent in a competitive global market,† said Alan Schwartz, president and CEO. Other findings of the research include: The most frequently cited key expectations of employer branding were â€Å"ease in attracting candidates† (84%) and â€Å"recognition as employer of choice†(82%). Ninety-four percent of respondents use their corporate Web sites more than other channels, such as printed materials, to promote the employer brand. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported that HR is one of the key stakeholders in managing the employee brand. 3.0 Research Objective The objective of the research is to develop a quantitative frame work on employer branding of organizations. As a first phase of this work, I would first identify key metrics to measure employer branding. The second phase of the study would develop a generic framework which would help new talent and/or organization to calculate the index of a brand as an employer. 4.0 Rationale Such a mathematical framework would help to estimate and compare the value of an employer brand at any point of time that would benefit all the stakeholders including current employees, potential recruits, competitors etc. It would enable organizations to understand if their efforts are in the right direction and how they stand vis-a-vis their competitors 5.0 Hypothesis All organizations make efforts to establish themselves as sought after employer brands. However, the perception of the employer brand varies from person to person be it a new talent or an existing employee. 6.0 Research Questions Identifying key attributes that employees/ new talent consider important when looking at an organization as an employer brand. Relative weightages given to the attributes identified above Developing an index to calculate comparable values for various employer brands across industries Research Methodology Research Design The study was divided in two phases. First phase was focussed on conducting an in depth secondary research along with qualitative primary research to identify wide range of attributes or metrics which impact employer branding of an organization. This was followed by the designing of questionnaire targeted at final year students at various post graduate colleges. The second phase of the study further analyzes the collected data to build up a mathematical relationship between these set of attributes and index of employer branding. The index would be a guide for new recruits to quantify the employer brand and also help them to compare employer branding of different employers. A total of 3 focus group discussions were conducted, which had respondents who were in their final year of graduation and could also be looked at as potential employment seekers. The participants in the FGD were students from management institutes like MICA, Lal Bahadur Shastri (Delhi) and Fore School (Delhi). Each group lasted for about approximately 90 minutes. The discussion guide contained questions about the respondents ‘ideal workplaces, naming the organizations that they would like to work for and the reasons for it, the attributes considered while considering potential employers, employers that they would least be interested in along with the reasons for it. The discussion finally concluded with the means and methods by which the students finally go about for seeking employment. The main objective of conducting focus group discussions was to come up with a set of attributes that capture all important aspects of employer branding. Through these focus group discussions I was able to arrive at a set of 48 attributes, all of which seemed extremely important from an ideal work place point of view. The following are the attributes that emerged from the various FGDs.: A friendly and informal working environment An attractive overall compensation package (Basic, HRA, LTA) (fixed component) Application of knowledge Bonuses (Variable Component) Brand name of the organization Customer-orientation Emotional attachment with organization Encouragement for new initiatives Feel good factor with the organization Financial Health of Company Flexible working schedule Frequency of appraisal cycle Gaining career-enhancing experience Global alignment of the organization (MNC) Good relationship with colleagues Good relationship with superiors Growth opportunities Humanitarian organisation gives back to society Impression formed by recruiters of the organization Industry in which company operates Innovative employer novel work practices Innovative products and services Internationally diverse mix of colleagues Job Content Job content and satisfaction Job security within the organization Knowledge sharing opportunities Knowledgeable supervisor Leadership style of supervisor Non-monitory benefits (medical check-ups, insurance at work place, club memberships, maternity/ paternity leave) Opportunities for overseas exposure Positive feedback from current or previous employees Products (essentials, luxury etc) Quality of Top Management Reputation of the organization Rewards recognition Scope for creativity Scope for lateral movement Stock Options Stress-free working environment Supportive and encouraging colleagues Supportive supervisor Synchronization between corporate goals and employee future plans Training and development of its employees Vision of Leadership Website of the organization Working hours/ week Working in shifts All these attributes were tested in the survey instrument to arrive at the final set of metrices for measuring the value of employer branding. Employer Branding in Times of Recession There are various points of views on how recession has impacted employer branding. On one hand, the thought process says that recession has increased the human resources because of widespread layoffs and thus made employer branding relatively less important. During the recession periods, one of the primary objectives in all the organizations was to increase the top lines while managing to reduce the bottom lines. And this was made possible by showing a number of employees the way out. Another point of view towards the impact of recession claims that it is at these times that an organizations behaviour towards its employees goes through a litmus test. This is the time for organizations to ensure not to spoil their employer brand by large scale termination of employment or general misbehaviour with its existing employees. Infact this is the time to step in and make efforts towards strengthening the employer brand along with being able to retain the talent in the organization. As has been noted by many HR experts, it always easier to retain an existing and trained employee rather than to get a new one. Thus, to conclude according to this second school of thought, employer branding becomes all the more critical in times of recession, making it even more important to retain existing talent. Data Collection Respondents: 102 respondents from Delhi and Ahmedabad, all in the final year of graduation from management institutes. Section 1: Demographics The demographics include variables such as gender, age, total number of years of work experience, monthly household income, area of management specialization. DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE: GENDER What is your gender? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1. Male 64 62.7 62.7 62.7 2. Female 38 37.3 37.3 100.0 Total 102 100.0 100.0 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE: AGE What is your age? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1. Under 20 years 7 6.9 6.9 6.9 2. 20-24 years 68 66.7 66.7 73.5 3. 25-34 years 3 2.9 2.9 76.5 4. 35-44 years 23 22.5 22.5 99.0 5. 45 years and above 1 1.0 1.0 100.0 Total 102 100.0 100.0 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE: TOTAL NUMBER OF YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE What is your total number of years of work experience? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1. No experience 29 28.4 28.4 28.4 2. Less than a year 35 34.3 34.3 62.7 3. 1-2 years 30 29.4 29.4 92.2 4. 2-3 years 5 4.9 4.9 97.1 5. More than 3 years 3 2.9 2.9 100.0 Total 102 100.0 100.0 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE: MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME What is your monthly household income? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1. less than Rs. 25,000 8 7.8 7.8 7.8 2. Rs. 25,000- Rs. 50,000 18 17.6 17.6 25.5 3. Rs. 50,000- Rs. 1,00,000 59 57.8 57.8 83.3 4. More than Rs. 1,00,000 17 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 102 100.0 100.0 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE: AREA OF SPECIALIZATION What is your area of specialization? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1. Marketing 36 35.3 35.3 35.3 2. Media 20 19.6 19.6 54.9 3. Market Research/ Analytics 10 9.8 9.8 64.7 4. Finance 30 29.4 29.4 94.1 5. HR 5 4.9 4.9 99.0 6. Operations 1 1.0 1.0 100.0 Total 102 100.0 100.0 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLE: ASPIRED INDUSTRY Which industry do you aspire to work in? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1. Consulting 43 42.2 42.2 42.2 2. Manufacturing 17 16.7 16.7 58.8 3. Media 14 13.7 13.7 72.5 4. IT 3 2.9 2.9 75.5 5. Finance 18 17.6 17.6 93.1 6. Others 7 6.9 6.9 100.0 Total 102 100.0 100.0 Section 2: Information Sought This section includes the data collected to understand the sources of information used by students to know more about a potential employer and the nature of information that is sought while developing an understanding about the potential employer. SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO KNOW ABOUT A GIVEN COMPANY What are your sources of information to know about a given company?1. Peers Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 70 68.6 100.0 100.0 Missing System 32 31.4 Total 102 100.0 What are your sources of information to know about a given company?2. Colleagues Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 41 40.2 100.0 100.0 Missing System 61 59.8 Total 102 100.0 What are your sources of information to know about a given company?3. Family members Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 33 32.4 100.0 100.0 Missing System 69 67.6 Total 102 100.0 What are your sources of information to know about a given company?4. Online search Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 72 70.6 100.0 100.0 Missing System 30 29.4 Total 102 100.0 What are your sources of information to know about a given company?5. Company personnel Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 51 50.0 100.0 100.0 Missing System 51 50.0 Total 102 100.0 What are your sources of information to know about a given company?6. Press reports Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 30 29.4 100.0 100.0 Missing System 72 70.6 Total 102 100.0 What are your sources of information to know about a given company?7. Others Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 22 21.6 100.0 100.0 Missing System 80 78.4 Total 102 100.0 NATURE OF INFORMATION SOUGHT What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?1. Type of work Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 62 60.8 100.0 100.0 Missing System 40 39.2 Total 102 100.0 What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?2. Investor information Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 24 23.5 100.0 100.0 Missing System 78 76.5 Total 102 100.0 What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?3. Personal experience of employees in that company Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 42 41.2 100.0 100.0 Missing System 60 58.8 Total 102 100.0 What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?4. Best Employers Survey ranking Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 25 24.5 100.0 100.0 Missing System 77 75.5 Total 102 100.0 What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?5. Work life balance Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 50 49.0 100.0 100.0 Missing System 52 51.0 Total 102 100.0 What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?6. Pay packages Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 71 69.6 100.0 100.0 Missing System 31 30.4 Total 102 100.0 What is the nature of information you look for when applying to a company?7. Others Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 33 32.4 100.0 100.0 Missing System 69 67.6 Total 102 100.0 Section 3: Reliability Analysis This analysis has been done to study the properties of measurement scales and the items that compose the scales. The Reliability Analysis procedure calculates a number of commonly used measures of scale reliability and also provides information about the relationships between individual items in the scale. Alpha (Cronbach) model of reliability has been used to check for internal consistency, based on the average inter-item correlation. Case Processing Summary N % Cases Valid 102 100.0 Excludeda 0 .0 Total 102 100.0 a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha Cronbachs Alpha Based on Standardized Items N of Items .874 .892 48 Cut-off criteria. By convention, a lenient cut-off of .60 is common in exploratory research; alpha should be at least .70 or higher to retain an item in an adequate scale; and many researchers require a cut-off of .80 for a good scale. The Cronback Alpha in this case is .874 and thus, the data set is consistent. Section 4: Factor Analysis Principal Component Analysis has been conducted on the collected data in order to establish a relationship between inter-related variables and to represent them through a set of a few underlying factors. It would help in identifying the intrinsic factors thus, examining the inter dependent relationships. The following are the specifics on the factor analysis: 1. Descriptives 1. Initial solution 2. Correlation matrix 1. Coefficients 2. KMO and Bartletts 2. Extraction 1. Analyze Correlation matrix 2. Display Screen plot 3. Extract Eigenvalues over 1 4. Rotation Varimax (uncorrelated factors) 5. Options Sort by size and Suppress values less than .20 Output of Factor Analysis: Total Variance Explained Component Initial Eigenvalues Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total % of Variance Cumulative % dimension0 1 10.001 20.836 20.836 9.357 19.493 19.493 2 7.845 16.344 37.180 6.465 13.468 32.962 3 5.768 12.016 49.196 5.812 12.109 45.071 4 4.211 8.774 57.970 4.503 9.382 54.453 5

Rap Music Is Not Music Essay -- Art

Rap Music Is Not Music Describing the (disenchanting) chanting of â€Å"Rap Music† as singing or as music is indeed (in either case) a capital misnomer. Real Music is the careful arrangement of organized sounds in the form of notes that then result in a smooth blend of rhythm, tone, and pitch that when united, is quite pleasing to the ear. Rap is not music. The unpleasant-sounding horror is chaotic dissonance and certainly not elegant consonance. Rap is veritable noise pollution that is tastelessly amplified from a cumbersome boom box. Generally speaking, unlike black soul music and traditional black rhythm and blues, Rap is both heartless and soulless. Standard love songs show respect and consideration for a member of the opposite gender but most contemporary Rap lyrics promote a hedonistic â€Å"me first† ghetto survival theme that is cruelly perpetuated upon its afflicted listening audience. When Rap songs first appeared I believed that the clamorous nonsense would be another fad phenomenon that would gradually vanish like ‘70s disco music had slowly but surely lost its clout (along with our attendant intrigue and curiosity). But unfortunately the dunce-like Rap lyrics herald the worst elements of society and the brazen inflammatory words glamorize sex, drugs, random and deliberate violence’ and gang intimidation themes that through-and-through reek with sexism, racism and the glorification of the ghetto mentality. In most Rap song themes the dysfunctional dregs of the inner city are elevated to hero status while the â€Å"entertainers† sound like disgruntled grunting angry contemporary cavemen’ who are advocating the downfall of â€Å"white America† with vitriolic words expressing rage, rebellion and social revolution. This expansion of the â€Å"easy-money anti-establishment ghetto mentality† is fueling resentment and hostility among â€Å"disenfranchised† inner city youth as well as contaminating the gullible and vulnerable minds of suburban teens. But the entire reprehensible in-progress-brainwashing technique that â€Å"Rap Music† demonstrably utilizes is both a sham and a canard that is trafficking affected teens down a treacherous One-Way-Street that leads only to a permanent lackluster socio-economic cul-de-sac. What a pathetic and ignoble social disaster! In the ‘50s and early ‘60s black rhythm and blues imaginatively captured the hopes, the dreams, the ideals and t... ...lity has replaced compassion. To add to the ongoing dilemma other benign abstractions also have been viciously assaulted. In the â€Å"Rap Music World† defiance has replaced respect, sex has replaced courtship, using others for personal gain has replaced basic courtesy and wanton rape has replaced teen romance. â€Å"Rap Music† (in general) is definitely a harmful and dangerous factor to American civilization because the colossal scourge equates (in innocent adolescent minds) pervasive corruptive moral fallacies purporting that: adventures tragically equals thugs and drugs, that freedom is social anarchy, that love is the same thing as sex, that justice is a vigilante-oriented lifestyle, that truth can only be represented as deplorable ghetto misery, that honor is nothing more than revenge and last but not least, that Thomas Jefferson’s â€Å"Pursuit of happiness† is really only the pursuit of selfish pleasure. In conclusion, the flimflam known as â€Å"Rap Music† is not bona fide music because the blight is without grace, without beauty and without love, the fundamental truly joyous qualities that are vitally necessary in order to make life both satisfying and worthwhile in any given civilization.

Art Theft Essay -- Thieves Arts Stealing History Essays

Art Theft Of the many crimes that are present in this day and age, one that not only vandalizes the property, but as well as historical background is that of art theft. A crime that has taken away the sanctity of churches as well as many other religious and historical sites. Thefts have ranged from WWII (World War II) to the times of the Holocaust. Of the items that were taken from the churches, relics were items of great priority. These items not only had great value to the churches they were stolen from, but a great value to relic collectors. Most of the items taking during these times were either sold or placed in underground storage. Most of these items that were place in these secret places were never to be seen again. From the times of these so called â€Å"relic hunters† to now, art theft has become something that has taken some extreme changes. It has evolved from crime that started with minor relic thefts to something that has become a worldwide crime in need of better preventi on. Art theft is a crime that has been on the rise for the last half of this century. â€Å"According to law enforcement officials, art theft now ranks second only to drugs as the world’s most lucrative illegal activity.† (Journal of Commerce) Whether bought, created, or stolen, art has become something that is of great demand. â€Å"Art theft has flourished as never before. Just keeping up with the number of stolen objects and their total value is a big-time guessing game.† (Dudar) This is a problem that not only faces us as art owners and collectors, but museums and auction houses as well. Everyone possessing a piece of artwork is at risk of art theft. This artwork doesn’t have to be anything out of the ordinary to be a target. Along with famous paintings, sculptures, and other types of artwork, many insignificant or unrecognized pieces of artwork are being stolen too. â€Å"Most thefts appear to be the work of thieves without serious art education. Along w ith the good stuff, they are apt to sweep up junk – those sappy gift-shop paintings of kids with enormous eyes, for example, which no serious collector would covet.† (Lowenthal) On the other hand some of these thefts are being done by some of the best in the business. â€Å"Some thieves have turned out to be professionals who, following fashion, switched from robbing video stores to burgling art. Some are actually specialists in vehicle t... ... that has been reported either stolen or missing. This not only aids law enforcement, but museums, auction houses, and buyer/collectors. â€Å"The Art Loss Register database holds numerous is losses looted from public and private collections between 1933 and 1945 and additional missing artworks for free.† (Schillingford) Art theft is a crime on the rise, but with the use of these foundations and the methods that are being used by museum security managers it is slowing declining. Art theft is something that because of system and human flaws will never be successfully prevented. It can however, be something that is so hard to do that a lack of interest will remain. The only way to successfully prevent art theft is to not own any at all. Works Cited Attrino, Tony. â€Å"Insurers Get Help In Tracking Stolen Art.† National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management. Aug. 17, 1998. Vol. 102. N. 33. Pg. 45 (1). Burrows, Robin. â€Å"Artful Protection from Down Under.† Museum Security. Feb. 1992. Pg. 34, 37-8. Dudar, Helen. â€Å"Making a dent in the trafficking of stolen art.† Smithsonian. Sept. 1995. Vol. 26. N. 6. Pg. 34 (7). Journal of Commerce. Dec. 11, 1990.