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

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

Social Media on the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Social Media on the Internet - Essay Example One of the most notable features of social media is that it has grown exponentially across the world within a very short duration compared to other business and communication tools in human history. To illustrate this phenomenon, Lee (2010) points out that while it took 13 years for television to attract over 50 million viewers and 38 years for radio to attract about 50 million listeners, it took 4 years only for internet to attract 50 million participants. He further points out that it took social media platform, Facebook, one and a half years to attract the same number of participants. There has been raging debate on whether the availability and use of social media on the internet is useful to businesses in regard to providing them with new and different useful information. This paper will discuss how the availability and use of social media on the internet really provide businesses with new and different useful information. Historically, technology has been injected and adopted in to the society as well as the business world and it has often required that there be a radical shift in business and cultural processes and practices (Lincoln, 2009). Social media is one such kind of technology in the business world. Unlike other types of technologies, social media technology greatly reflects the social behavior of people. Social media is also unique in the sense that it allows anybody to produce media content and deliver it by interactive communication. Qualman (2010) notes that the available statistics show that social media has established itself as the media of choice around the world over the last 4 years, with over a quarter of the world population using one type of social media or another. The growth of social media has been so tremendous such that social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have grown rapidly and have gradually relegated other forms of advertising such as print advertisements, and threatened them with extinction (Nair, 2011 ). The popularity of the use of social media on the internet can be attributed to four reasons. To start with, users can get the latest information on virtually anything they want. Secondly, it satisfies the desires of the users of expressing themselves. Users are also able to see how individuals and groups that they are interested in are doing therefore getting more satisfaction. Finally, it helps people to escape from their day-to-day routine by providing alternative ways of using time (Lee, 2010). The fact that social media has experienced exponential growth over the years cannot be disputed. However, there has been debate on whether the availability and use of social media on the internet really provides businesses with new and different useful information. The response to this question has been two-fold: on one side, there are those who believe that it does provide businesses with new and different useful information, while on the other side there are those who believe that it does not (Nair, 2011). While the later side has its reasons for taking that position, there is a greater consensus among those engaged in this debate that, indeed, the availability and use of social media on the internet provides businesses with new and different useful information (Hinchcliffe et al., 2012). So, how does the use of social

Is metaphor necessary in technical writing Essay

Is metaphor necessary in technical writing - Essay Example This is because humans are trying to do everything they can to control nature. Man cannot put up with indifferences that nature provide thus he is trying to press nature through science to do according to his will. Science that is required to manipulate nature is too much high and requires a lot of resourcefulness. It is unfortunate that what people think of science is not science but practical science; people often confuse the thought of science and what science can do (Laibichler & Chew, 2003). The constituent part that can speed up this is by the build up of a huge and an incredible credible machine that can only be controlled and interpreted by the physicists alone. The major question is that whether people will be able and are willing to bear the cost of these machines and whether they are willing to leave nature on the hands of physicists. This is because physicists use mysterious and secretive language that can only be interpreted by them and they are only going to be part of the complications of nature. People hope that physicist can come up with advanced and more simplified formulae that will be able to solve the world’s differences. It is at this point that people hope for a final formula that will explain the trends of nature thus make people understand God thinking (Baake, 2003). Suggestions and ideas of this kind from a prominent person are deemed as foolish and misleading. This is because they mislead people to think that the world has a meaning. Such characters mislead people by suggesting that the world has meaning because there is progress in our daily activities. Progress helps people to get closer to something and finally to uncover knowledge, just like the mathematical formulae tries to get close to infinity but it has never gotten there. The world has no meaning because somebody or something would have emerged and asked why there is something instead of nothing (Banville, 2011). Things and situations are perceived

Threats and opportunities from site :: essays research papers

Threats to sustainability Imitation or substitution Market entry Powerful buyers and suppliers Unpredictable changes in external environment Factors beyond a firm's control (bad luck) Limitations of the RBV Presented as static concept - however, many firms need to be able to cope with turbulent environments Suggests that managers may have limited ability to create sustained competitive advantages (empirical support by "perpetually failing firms" - firms that consistently earn normal or below-normal returns Difficult to test empirically - data problem (at the level of the unit of analysis, Le., resources and capabilities) What is the appropriate level of analysis? How deeply does one have to look? Principles of capabilities-based competition Goal : Build difficult-to-imitate organizational capabilities that distinguish a company from its competitors Principles : o The building blocks of strategy are business processes o The transformation of processes into valuable strategic capabilities is a key to success o Capabilities are created by making strategic investments in support infrastructure o CEO must be responsible, because competing on capabilities involves cross-functionality Some lessons learned from the capabilities perspective A capability begins and ends with the customer (or supplier) The longer and more complex the string of business processes, the harder it is to transform into a capability or to duplicate or imitate Outsourcing can be dangerous A strategy for growth : Transfer essential business processes to New geographic areas (e.g., Wal-Mart) or to New businesses (e.g., Honda) There is a difference between capabilities and core competencies Core competencies Coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technology Are communication, involvement, and a deep commitment to working across organizational boundaries Do not diminish with use, but are enhanced as they are applied and shared Are the glue that binds existing businesses Are difficult to imitate, especially if they are a complex harmonization of individual technologies and production skills Are corporate resources and may be reallocated by corporate management Tests to identify core competence : Does it provide access to a wide variety of markets ? Does it make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product? Is it difficult for competitors to imitate? Dynamic capabilities Definition : Ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external processes and competencies to address a rapidly changing environment; ability to maintain and adapt the capabilities that are the basis of competitive advantage Hypothesis : Competitive advantage of a firm lies with its processes Roles of organizational and managerial processes :

Introduction to Criminal Justice Essay

The federal criminal justice system comprise of federal courts, corrections, and law enforcement agencies. The United States Attorneys is the primary agency taking charge of cases involving the U. S. government as a party and in collecting debt owed to the federal government. The federal judiciary has a Supreme Court, appellate courts, and trial or district courts. Federal law enforcement agencies derive their authority from the U. S. Constitution and federal laws while the state law enforcement obtains authority from the state constitution and legislations. The difference in source of authority, which determines jurisdiction and role, determines whether a criminal case is a federal or state matter. Federal Criminal Justice System The criminal justice system in America today comprise of courts, corrections and law enforcement operating at the local, state and federal level (Samaha, 2006). These tiers of decision-making operate independently according to the scope of their jurisdictions. The discussion focuses on the federal level relative to the local and state levels. The U. S.  Department of Justice comprises the primary criminal investigative and law enforcement agency at the federal level. The Office of the United States Attorneys, which falls under the U. S. Department of Justice, comprise the principal litigators assigned to judicial districts, within which each Unite States Attorney exercise the role as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the United States. The United States Attorneys Office mainly prosecutes cases involving the United States as a party and collect debt owed to the U. S. ederal government as provided by Title 28, Section 547 of the U. S. Code. (United States Attorneys, 2009) The federal judiciary or court system emerged from Article III of U. S. Constitution. This has three tiers of decision-making. At the top is the U. S. Supreme Court comprised of the Chief Justice and eight associate justices handling cases involving important constitutional or federal questions of law that originated in the state or the feder al courts. In the middle is the appellate court, made-up of 94 judicial districts pooled into 12 regional circuits. The U. S. Court of Appeals in every circuit handles appealed cases coming from the district courts or federal administrative agencies as well as handles appeals of special cases. At the lower level is the trial court comprised of the district courts, with criminal and civil jurisdiction. The Court of International Trade and the U. S. Court of Federal Claims are special trial courts. (Samaha, 2006; â€Å"Understanding the federal courts,† 2009) Federal law enforcement agencies derive their authority from the U. S.  Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 provides the power of Congress to enact laws needed in executing governmental powers. The constitutional powers of Congress accords federal law enforcement agencies with the authority to operate. Whenever, Congress enacts a statute, it designates the federal agency responsible for enforcement of this law. The provisions of the enacted laws assigned for enforcement to federal agencies indicate the limit and scope of the authority of the federal agencies. (May et al. , 2008) The difference in the role of federal agents and state or local law enforcement officers lies in the jurisdiction and scope of authority. A federal agent has a wider jurisdiction but with a narrower scope of authority determined by federal statutes. Federal law emanates from the constitution that empowers the U. S. Congress to enact laws at the federal level. State or local law enforcement officers have narrower jurisdiction limited only to the boundaries of the state or locality but with broader scope of authority covering the enforcement of all laws applicable to the state or locality. State/local laws come from the state legislatures obtaining authority from the state constitution. (May et al. , 2008) Investigation or prosecution of a crime is a federal matter when the criminal act or issue are covered by federal law or the U. S. Constitution, the U. S. government is a party, special cases within the authority of the federal law justice system, and other cases within federal question jurisdiction. A crime is under state jurisdiction in cases violating the criminal laws of the state. The state holds broad jurisdiction of various cases but with the exception of those falling under the exclusive statutory jurisdiction of the federal courts. (May et al. , 2008) It makes sense to have dual criminal statutes in the federal and state systems covering the same offense. In case of common jurisdiction over an offense, such as discrimination in employment, the parties can opt to file in case in federal or state courts. There are also ways of distinguishing jurisdiction such as the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts in cases involving residents of two different states over a controversy amounting to more than $75,000 dollars. (May et al. , 2008) The federal criminal justice system operates independently from state and local criminal justice by having its constitutional and federal statute determined jurisdiction. However, it has links with local and state criminal justice in hearing appeals of cases originating from the state courts on grounds of pertinent issues of law.

The Origin Of Life Intelligent Design Vs. Materialistic...

Marquel Gray Prof. Heather Clark 7/22/13 Eng.111-60A The origin of life: Intelligent Design vs. materialistic naturalism The origin of life has been questioned by men for thousands of years. Scientist have studied the universe extensively and developed various theories to answer questions related to the origin of life. Questions like, how did life begin? Is the universe the result of chaotic chance or intelligent design? How did life on earth come to be? These are some of the many questions scientist work hard to solve, but what does their research tell them? Let’s start with the well-recognized theory of evolution. Evolution, a theory made famous by Charles Darwin; is the process in which an organism changes over time via adaptation, mutation and gene isolation. According to an article by evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski (2012), â€Å"There exists no other scientific explanation that can account for all the patterns in nature, only non-scientific explanations that require a miraculous force, like a creator.† Looking at the millions of fossils dated to be thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions and billions of years old; this theory seems solid. According to an article, by bio technician Brian Thomas (2011), a discrepancy about a time period known as the Cambrian explosion; dated to be about 800 million years ago, has been around as early as Charles Darwin. In this article he presents the evidence that an abundance of species said not to appear until

Eastern Food Restaurant Products and Related Services Free Essay Example, 2500 words

Eastern Food restaurant will offer a beverage and food menu that carries a distinctive image. The restaurant s products can be bought in 3 ways; restaurant table service, restaurant take away, and office or home delivery. Eastern Food Restaurant s menu will be moderate to low priced as well as moderate sized and will offer a collection of British and ethnic items all having a common theme: healthy, familiar, and flavourful. The restaurant aims to create an image of nutritious and light satisfying food. Increased awareness of health and nutritional concerns has been witnessed in the last few years, with people who eat desire this cooking style being a growing market. Production and assembly of the food will occur in the restaurant kitchen. Most of the dishes will be prepared from scratch using vegetables, dairy products, and meat, all fresh. There will be strict standards of presentation and packaging, quality production, and sanitation assured by the Chef of service and kitchen staf f. A customer can purchase food in three ways at Eastern Foods Restaurant. They may sit in the dining room on one of the 60 seats and be served by the waitperson, from the takeout counter whose orders will be prepared from communication over the fax or telephone, and delivery for a limited area over a certain time. There exists a market segment, which prefers eating at home even though they do not possess the time to prepare a homemade meal. We will write a custom essay sample on Eastern Food Restaurant Products and Related Services or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Though located in an urban downtown setting, the area is populated by tourists and people who eat out. The area is well known for and caters to the group that the restaurant is targeting.