Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Income Smoothing and Big Bath free essay sample

The accounting literature provides broad evidence that managers use discretion in financial statements for purposeful adjustments of earnings figures beyond the true and fair view (Leuz et al. 2003, cited by U. Schaffer et al. , 2012). There are two methods which are Income Smoothing and Big Bath. â€Å"Income Smoothing involves taking steps to reduce the good years and defer them for use during the business down-turn years† (Gin Chong, 2006). In comparison, Big Bath manipulation in the financial statistics indicates a great fluctuation. However, Income Smoothing is more ethical in accounting practice than Big Bath due to the reasons compared below. Income Smoothing has been applied in financial accounting because of its value. At first, a company uses it as a method to avoid a significant drop in its stake price due to missing a predetermined target. This method can be achieved in the annual financial reporting by accounting measures, like delaying current advertisements fee from the current to the forthcoming period, or gaining the provision of arrangements of bad debts. We will write a custom essay sample on Income Smoothing and Big Bath or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Managers sometimes have to do this; they make a bit change on the financial statements in order to avoid an obvious market reaction in a particular period. Furthermore, if a company’s developing-line fluctuates frequently up and down, its stakeholders and managers will lose their passion or confidence in the long run. An overwhelming 96. 9% of the survey respondents indicate that they prefer a smooth earnings path(Graham et al. , 2005, cited by Tucker and Zarowin, 2006). In most cases, management seeks to have a steady and predictable growing rate, with the hope that the market will associate smooth earnings with lower risk and higher stock prices and managers may personally benefit if incentive plans reward smoother earnings. At last, the theory of Income Smoothing is suitable to the current social trend. Therefore, it is considered to be a creative accounting method and has been widely applied in the company operation. Though Income Smoothing has a few advantages, Big Bath is also ethical in practice and one commonly cited incentive for Big Bath behavior is a change in management. A Big Bath is a way to blame prior management for problems when there is a management change. Prior research shows evidence consistent with incoming executives managing accruals to decrease earnings in the year of the change with a turnaround in earning the following year. Besides this, with big behavior, management delays recognition of discretionary losses and then takes them when earnings are below benchmarks. In summary, Income Smoothing is a more ethical practice than Big Bath since it is applied more widely for three reasons, meeting the forecasts, welcome by managers and apt to social trends. On one hand, income smoothing could be widely adopted by company managers to undergo financial crisis in a particular period. On the other hand, managers should operate within the legal and ethical boundaries, at the same time, they should adopt a strategy that could systematically undermine the quality of financial reporting and manipulate accounting information.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Shut Up Essay

Shut Up Essay Shut Up Essay Justin Bieber Professor Lioi PHI2600 Ethics. 29 August 2013 Major Influence In My Life My mother has been the major influence in my life. My mother has taught me to have a positive attitude, keep an outstanding behavior, and to stay disciplined. My mother took me to church every Sunday so I could learn about god so I could respect his laws without breaking them. She taught me to love and respect the almighty god. She made me go to church every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and encouraged me to go to bible study and choir. My mother was a single mother that worked two full time jobs so she could only take me to church when her schedule was not full. While going to church 3 days a week, this laid faith in my heart for god and respect. I am thankful that my mom made me go to church. My mother influenced me to become what I am today and some of those characteristics are perseverance, and her sensibility. She taught me to keep loving through the good and the bad. She is also incredible at getting things done. It does not matter of the situation; my mother always comes thro ugh with what needs to be done. My mother would do anything for anybody if they needed the help. When someone asks for something, she is always the first one there before anyone else. I will never understand why my mother’s heart was so big, but I hope to grow up to be just like her. My mother is the best friend that I have ever had. She gives me the best advice to make my life better. My mother always tell me to stop getting frustrated over the smallest things, to be more giving and humble, and to strive for success in school, if there is anyone who knows my insecurities, flaws, and the things that make me mad, it is my mother. She knows when I am happy or sad. She knows exactly how to change my mood from bad to good and honestly, I do not know how she does it. To me, my mother is perfect just the way she is. The characteristic of my mother is none of what other mothers have. Sometimes I feel like my mother is a role model to me because of the things she has done. The persev erance that my mother told me; taught me to never give up on anything I want to go for. She told me if I never give up then I would become a successful person in life. My mother’s dream in life was to be successful and to never give up no matter how hard she tried. When my mother taught me these things, I said to myself that I would not give up in life even if something did not work for me. The last thing my mother had was a sense of responsibility. My mother would cook, clean, and drive us to school, which was being a house wife. Even though my mother was a single parent, she never failed once while taking care of us. My mother was the person who helped the community to make it a better place. My mother influenced me in becoming a responsible young man and I am truly happy I learned from her. My mom was not just a hard working young woman. She is a woman with respect and integrity. She raised and taught me to be just like her or better. The one thing

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Clothes make the man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Clothes make the man - Essay Example Clothes have always been the most apparent way to display the financial and social well-being of the person who wears them, and theyve been used in these purposes for thousands of years already. Since the beginning of the history of humanity clothes have been the indicator that helped to create an image of the persons status, occupation, and even intelligence and preferred lifestyle without speaking a word to him or her. Up to our times the representatives of some professions can be distinguished from the crowd by their outfit. Clothes are the best way to transfer the desired message to the outer world. Its the great instrument that allows changing social masks as frequently, as it is needed. There is a job interview awaiting you tomorrow, and you want to look like a trusted and qualified professional? Business suit is what you need. A beautiful girl or a handsome man has invited you for a date? Than wear something cute for to create the atmosphere of romance. Pretty skirts or fashionable jeans are the best choice for the party with friends, while the plain sweater and jeans are preferable for the usual day at school, college or at the work place, unless you employer demands some other form of clothing. Clothes are just the instrument that helps you to create this or that impression on people that surround you, and they should be used only for this purpose. Caring too much about clothing is equally unwise as paying no attention to what you are wearing. Like most of the things that exist in our world clothes are nor good neither bad, they can either earn great benefits for the person wearing them or hurt his/her reputation and image in the eyes of his/her surroundings. As youve probably already noticed, there are people in our society who pay lots of attention to their outfits. They spend loads of time for to find and choose the specific items they want to wear and loads of money for to buy them. For

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 12

Business Law - Essay Example Negligence has been defined as conduct that falls below the standard established by law which tends to protect other against any unreasonable risk of harm being caused. The main elements that require proving for a claim of negligence are firstly the establishment of a duty of care, second a breach of that duty, thirdly causation in respect of the breach, proximity and damages caused as a result of the breach. Each of these would be discussed and then an analysis of the elements in respect of the issue would be made. The most important authority which led to the establishment of the principle of negligence is the case of Donoghue v. Stevenson1 under which the final consumer, that is, Donoghue, while consuming a ginger beer found a decomposed snail in the bottle and went on to claim negligence against the manufacturer. In the case the most important discussion was whether the manufacturer owed a duty of care to the final consumer, this question was important as in the current situation the ginger bottle went through different people before reaching the final consumer. Thus the question was of the manufacturer’s duty and the subsequent negligence committed by him when the final consumer consumed the ginger beer, even though the beer had been purchased from a retailer. The main arguments by the manufacturer were that he should not be held liable because the final consumer did not purchase the beer from him. It was found that even though the beer was not brought from the manufacturer, he owed a duty of care to the final consumer and had been negligent.Lord Atkin’s speech in this respect, whereby he laid down the neighbor principle is considered to be vital. The neighbor principle was said to be the fact that a person must take all reasonable care so as to avoid acts or omissions which if seen with reasonable foreseeability are likely to cause an injury to that person’s neighbour. Lord Atkin defined a neighbour to be a

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Shopping Mall and Theater Concession Sales Essay Example for Free

Shopping Mall and Theater Concession Sales Essay 1. Scale Economies and Diseconomies at McDonalds: How does having a menu that is uniform around the country provide McDonald’s with economies of scale? How is menu planning made more complex by expanding into other countries? McDonalds menu is economy to scale because when they order their product, they can order in bulk to lesion the cost. Also when you have a uniform menu, no matter what state you go to you know what to expect; which in return could increase sales. In places like India, where they do not eat cow, ordering a McDouble is simply not going to happen. The cow is their â€Å"God† and to put a food chain that specializes in serving their â€Å"God† between two buns will be hurtful to their image and customer base in that company. If they wanted to expand into the other countries, they have to make sure they do not offend the customer base in that country. 2. Scale Economies and Diseconomies at the Movies: Movie theater concession sales account for well over half the profits at most theaters. Given this, what are the benefits of the staggered movie times allowed by multiple screens? What is the benefit to a multiscreen theater of locating at a shopping mall? Staggering movie times would mean less wait in the concession, people don’t like to wait and if you have 4 movies showing at the same time with 60 people at each showing, and if 25% of the people want concession foods, that could be 80 people waiting in line for a movie that starts in 10 min. It is less hassle for the movie theaters to stagger times for their concessions rather than all at the same time. A Mulitscreen theater showing helps the mall revenue. The malls always have a food court which while you are waiting or go window shopping could lead into people buying goods from the mall when they only wanted to go to the movies.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Social networking in a multinational corporation investment

Social networking in a multinational corporation investment In recent years Social Networking is very popular in eyes of youngsters and teenagers but is also grabbing attention at workplace. Social Networking Sites have given a rise to new communication vehicle which facilitates an innovative way of sharing information, interacting and collaborating different users. Today, there are more than 100 social sites available in the world, but out of all the most popular once are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and Blogs. Within the illumination of the global recession, organisations are using every possible means of equipment to survive the economic downturn; companies are implementing cost saving methods. These, in turn, have increased the workload on the employees affecting employees satisfaction, productivity and efficiency while increasing stress levels. Therefore in order to reduce their stress, employees are declining towards social networking sites as a stress-buster tool. Implementation of social networking at workplace will provide both formal and informal interaction to help foster knowledge and enhancement communication. This will give a greater shift in culture of Knowledge congregation to Knowledge contribution. The dynamic changing natures of the business environment have contributed to knock down the barriers obstructing communicational flows (Cross, Nohria, Parker, 2002). Social networking is spreading at a lightning pace having a multiplier effect with the help of word of mouth, where one colleague encourages and invites other colleagues to join the modern ways of keeping-in-touch technique at the workplace. This has both positive and negative effect on productivity of the employees raising concerns for the organisation. Since there is no geographical restriction on sharing information, there are growing concerns for organisation for leakage, breach in security and privacy of the information. This rings the bell in everyones mind whether it is appropriate to integrate social networking at workplace. This argument will be revisited in literature review section (section 3) of this report. The researchs major source of information will be through primary data collection such as conducting interviews, survey and questionnaires. Secondary source will also be used and the list is mentioned in section 4.1. Many general views have been given by different researchers on impact of social networking at workplace but very few research have been conduct in sectors such as technological. This research will be based on Multinational Corporation (MNC) which is an investment banking sector where no prior research has been conducted. The report consists of 7 sections. The next section will discuss research objective, questions and boundaries in order to evade the uncertainty. This is followed by literature review in section 3 where previous research will be analysed. Research methodology and research limitation will be discussed in section 4 and 5 respectively, followed by the research time lines in section 6. The final section contains of conclusion. 2. Research Objective, Questions and Scope 2.1. Research Objective The main purpose of this research is to critically examine the impact of social networking in a multinational corporation (MNC) investment bank. This research will aid to analysis the effect of social networking sites on the productive, data security and trust between employers employee relationship. The outcome of the research will prove beneficial to the organisation in understanding the role of social networking and assist the organisation to make a decision whether to continue with the current policy to allow the access to social sites or will have to amend the policy. 2.2. Research Questions The research will provide answer to the following particular questions: Will the use of social networking sites at workplace enhance the productivity? What are the other advantages and disadvantages of using social networking sites at workplace? 2.3 Research Scope Due to time constrain it is necessary to restrict research only to one multinational company and therefore the research will be an action based research. The company is the worlds largest investment bank which has its presence in 74 countries but the research will be based on the companys head office situated in London city, United Kingdom. The name of the company will not be disclosed due to confidential reasons and will be referred as Company X throughout the research. The research will be based on three departments which are: Human Resources Finance Information Technology Each of the above mentioned departments will be analysed to identify the impact of social networking on flow of information in the departments and security levels desired for each of the departments. 3. Literature Review 3.1. General Many researchers have correctly said that the growing technology has twisted the traditional features of the workplace (Bennett, Owers, Pitt, Tucker, 2010). It has also been argued that the growing importance of networking and socialising in modern days is becoming more flexible and dynamic day-by-day (Cross, Parker, Prusak, Borgatti, 2001). This is due to integration of social sites and social media in the working environment which has broadened the view of the employees in the organisation. This has facilitated organisation to build up new networks and help employees to connect to each other in the diverse geographical location having different time zones which helps to reduce the cost and time taken for information to be transmitted. Social Networking Site can be defined as web-based service that allows individuals to (Boyd Ellison, 2008): (1) Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection and (3) View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. At workplace the social networking can be referred in two ways: external and internal social networking. External social networking refers the use of external social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and so on at the workplace, which are not within the control of the organisation. On the other hand, there are some organisations that have developed internal social networking tools such as Beehive at IBM, Watercooler at HP which provides social networking within and controlled by the organisation. Company X uses Reuters and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 as the internal social networking tool and Facebook and LinkedIn as the external social networking at the workplace. This research will only focus on impact of external social networking. 3.2. Effect of Social Networking From past 5 years, social networking has sneaked into the business organisations due to the increased popularity and availability of social networking amongst office workers. (Shirky, 2008); (Tapscott Williams, 2006). This has lead to informal connection in the organisation and has transformed the ways of the knowledge sharing making it easier and more flexible within the companies. The research done in 2008 by Skeels and Grudin has shown that around 37% of employees were using Facebook occasionally and about 17% were using it daily at workplace. Also around 50% of employees had their account on LinkedIn but only 4% were using it daily (Skeels Grudin, 2009). According to the ClearSwift publications in January 2011, the exposure to social networking invites many threats to the companies. The research highlights that 42% of U.K. office workers admitted discussing work-related issues via social networking applications and 83% of the office workers were using office resources to access social networking websites (ClearSwift, 2011). Some researchers have also said that employees spend 6 hours a week on Facebook at work time (Shepherd, 2011). The research conducted in companies such as Microsoft and IBM by different researchers has highlighted some of the benefits of using these social networking sites at workplace which are listed below (Skeels Grudin, 2009); (DiMicco Millen DR, 2007): LinkedIn, being a professional social networking site, helps to maintain professional network. Employers often refer social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook for recruiting employees by reviewing their profile, pictures, personal details, wall posts and comments either put by them or by others on their profile. Facebook was helpful for building and strengthening knot between colleagues and also maintain contacts with the ex-colleagues. On the flip side, the research has also shown some concern and worries about using these social sites at workplace which are listed below (Skeels Grudin, 2009); (DiMicco Millen DR, 2007): Staff indulging in social networking and wasting time during working hours. A cause of security concern for the organisation. Risk of disclosing confidential data in public. Integration of professional and personal life and conflicts arising from them. Some senior managers felt that employees were crossing boundaries of the organisation. Most of the company in UK have opposed the use of social networking at workplace and have banned these sites. However, ZDNets writer Alan Calder have argued that blocking or restricting access to social networking site at workplace will demoralise the employees and make them less effective and productive (Calder, 2010). Some research have shown that social networking sites have reduced productivity and have cost companies lose of about  £1.38 billion annually (Manpower UK, 2010). Therefore, some companies are looking forward to strengthen the controls in the organisation. But companies need to be very careful in placing the controls seeing that social networking has become an important part of every ones life and has been growingly encouraged by different smart-phones such as Blackberry, I-Phones and many more. If the social networking sites are completely banned at the workplace, employees tend to use their smart-phones to access social networking sites which will consume more time and ultimately end up in devoting less time to work eventually affecting their productivity and incurring losses for the organisation. Therefore, employers need to weigh these strengths and opportunities with weaknesses and threats to make a meaningful decision. Similar, views have been shared by (Fried Hansson, 2010) that the organisation will not be able to achieve anything by limiting or banning the social network sites at workplace because the time which they are devoting to the social networking sites will not get convert to productive work but and employees will find some alternative sources to spend this time. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) claims that handling carefully and allowing internet access for staff during break hours can be valuable for employees and can help them maintain relationships (TUC, 2007). According to the researchers observation while previously working in Company X it was seen that there was a blend of employees from lower level to top management using social networking websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn at various intervals during their work shift. The research will throw lights on the benefits and concerns affecting productivity by using of social networking sites in banking sector during working hours. Apart from deteriorating and/or enhancing the productivity, social networking sites are playing a major role for recruiting employees. Employers use various sites to check the background of the candidate by making a judgment on their post and photos uploaded on the sites. According to study conducted by Deloitte in 2009, 23% of companies were using social networking sites for hiring employees (Allen, Deloitte LLP 2009 Ethics Workplace Survey results Social networking and reputational risk in the workplace, 2009). Now-a-days, LinkedIn is popularly used for recommending friends or co-workers for jobs and recruiting staff. In near future, it may emerge to be incorporated as an official site for recruiting in the organisation but till date no evidence can be found to trace the reliability of LinkedIn as a source for hiring people. On the other hand there has been evidence that people are laid-off due to unethical behaviour demonstrated while using social networking site (Vadlamani, 2009); (Remala, 2010). The other major concern of social networking at workplace is that it has placed trust on stake. The survey conducted in Deloitte in 2010, highlights that only 34% of employees agree and 49% of employees disagree that social networking helps to build up the trust at workplace (Allen, Deloitte LLP 2010 Ethics Workplace Survey Trust in the workplace, 2010 ). One of the major problems of the organisation due to social networking is the security of the private and confidential data. Employees tend to merge their personal and professional life while networking and intentionally or unintentionally tend to sometimes leak out the company secured data which otherwise needs to be protected within the realm of the organisation. On 14th July, 2010 Infosys figured out that some of the employees were discussing important details about their project on Twitter and Facebook and so company had to sack their employees. So in order to control this activity they have incorporated the social media policy in which employees are strongly advised not to breach the policy (Remala, 2010). The data collection and literature review will help to critically analysis and gain a greater insight of effect of social networking sites in investment banking sector. 4. Research Methodology The research will follow the deductive approach as described by in (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2009). The research will explore a new dimension of using social networking in a Multinational Company for their business development in short term and long term and develop a good analysis based on the data collection as discussed below. 4.1. Data collection In order to achieve the research objective and question (mentioned in section 2) the subsequent data collection methods will be followed: Secondary Data Collection The secondary data will be collected from press release and academic literature such as journals, white paper and publication from internet sources and news channels. The data collection will be qualitative data. The research conducted by other researcher in Microsoft and IBM, technological companies will act as a base for this research. Primary Data Collection The forms of primary data which will be collect are as below: Face-to-face Interviews: Ten non-standardised face to face interview will be conducted split between Vice President (VP) and managers of three departments in company X. This will help to analysis the role of social networking in the organisation for different departments giving different viewpoints and a better insight of the matter. The interviews will also help to generate qualitative data which will be transcribed but will not be recoded due to ethics of the company. The time line for conducting interview is specified in research timelines section (section 6). Online Survey: Online survey will be conducted with the help of the website named Survey Monkey which will help to give a holistic view of the organisation as the survey will be filled in by VP, managers and subordinates. The layout of the questionnaires which will be formed for online survey will fulfil all the main attributes of questionnaires as recommended by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009). This will provide quantitative data for analysis. The permission to gain access to the organisation has been agreed. In order to improve the response rate of online survey, questionnaires and face-to-face interviews the recommendation from Bryman and Bell (2003) will be followed. 4.2. Analysis of Data The quantitative data which will be collected through online survey will be analysed by using computer based software named Minitab 15. The quantitative data will be divided in to two separate groups: categorical data and numerical data (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2009). The survey and interview results will help to produce a comparison between three departments within the MNC under the research study. 5. Potential Problem and Pitfall While undertaking the research following are the limitation and potential problem which are anticipated: Poor response to interview: Face to face interview or telephonic interview will be conducted, which will not be recorded due to confidentiality. The respondents might be bias answering in socially desirable way. Poor response to online questioner: Respond rate might be lower as online questioner because they are perceived to be spam. It would be difficult to determine whether respondents have understood the question correctly and have replied honestly. Inadequate Sample: Since only one organisation will be examined and so there will be limited sample to be examined. However, the research will be useful because practical evidence will be provided. 6. Research Time lines The research will commence from 6th June 2011 and will continue till 12th September 2011. It will be conducted for 15 weeks as shown in Table 1 below: Table 1: Research time lines 7. Findings Social networking is tremendously growing its presence at the workplace. As discussed in the literature review, it highlights that social networking site has a greater influence on productivity of the employees and have also increased the concern about the companys reputation and data security for the organisation. It can also conclude that social networking at workplace does not only have the negative effect but if handled correctly it can be used in a beneficial way. The research question and objective can be fulfilled by following the research methodology and plan as mentioned in section 4 and 6 respectively. The data collected will be analysed by using Minitab 15 and the actual finding will give a deeper insight and can also help the organisation to revise their policy.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Art and Language

The following paper will focus on cognitive science and its application to the modules of language structure with reference to functionalists theory.   The highlighting factors of the paper will delve into how language is processed through a frame of reference and developed in regards to cultural as well as empirical modes.   The way in which language is processed by the mind and how cognitive science extrapolates this complex function will be discussed as well as the applying the representational theory of mind. Language structures community.   It is a response to the emotions, the events, and the culture surrounding individuals and is tied into the concepts of cognitive science because it is a process that has to be translated by the brain to be understood.   Language is an innate expression of emotion, a deep need to convey oneself, to be understood, to find a connection with someone or a group of people: through this desire of communication is found sensory signals. A well-developed individual will use language not only for communication of simple tasks (directions, greetings, or general information), but more intrinsically, for the relaying of emotion and thus, the internal representations are used in order to perceive correctly what is trying to be communicated.   Through language there arises a sense of belonging through the brain’s ability to act and work like a computer the neural networks of the mind give off the impression of vocal integration of a species, and through this is found a preliminary common ground by which an individual may interpret signals and voice to demonstrate camaraderie. There is a common relationship when two people speak the same language and are further bonded through the expression of their thoughts.   A person’s conversations, exterior portrayal of a relationship, and personal injuries lie in Sausseure’s bilateral definition of langue and not parole. †¦Sausseure’s differentiation between langue and parole†¦ Langue is the formal grammatical system of language†¦Parole is actual speech, the way that speakers use language to express themselves. (455, Ritzer) It is correct to infer that when tourists are abroad, they have a grasp of langue but little idea of how to use parole effectively.   This differentiation between grammar and expression is the key component in the separation of tourist from native.   Sausseure’s system of language gives a view of exile, which, when deliberated with langue and parole, is defined as being in a state of homelessness purely by being without language.   Without the sense of intrinsic communication which bonds people, and which allows them to have a connection with the community around them, that innate expression or parole is lost and an exile is born. Without a relationship to the language being spoken, there can be no meaning behind the words, no emotion.   In the Representational Theory of Mind, the tie that binds is considered to be that of language and how language is processed and considered.   Through mental states, thoughts, beliefs, and desires as much as impressions and images, language is the tool used to demonstrate the importance of each point.   Language and RTM has at their base intentionality.   Sensory experience is denoted through language and expressed with that language to another person.   The sensory experience can be related to another person only through dialogue. Langue, then, can be viewed as a system of signs – a structure- and the meaning of each sign is produced by the relationship among signs within the system.   Especially important here are relations of difference, including binary oppositions†¦Meanings, the mind, and ultimately the social world are shaped by the structure of language.   Thus, instead of an existential world of people shaping their surroundings, we have here a world in which people as well as other aspects of the social world, are being shaped by the structure of language. (455, Ritzer) When tourists go on vacation, they usually end up spending their time with others from their own country in order to feel secure in unusual surroundings and to feel more at home.   With this in mind, tourists do not succumb to the ideas of culture shock, for they are forever surrounded with their own culture; if they were not, then the desperation of being in exile of language would overcome any sense of excitement in a new place. In Hoffman’s essay The New Nomads in Letters of Transit; †¦exile, and the pain of radical change, do not necessarily lead to a more radical personality structure or greater openness to the world.   On the contrary, upheaval and dislocation can sometimes produce some rather more conservative impulses of self-defense and self preservation. (54) In Freud’s New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis translated by W. J. H. Sprott, he states: The danger of mental helplessness corresponds to the stage of early immaturity of the ego; the danger of loss of object or of love corresponds to the dependence of the early years of childhood; the danger of castration to the phallic phase; and finally, fear of the super-ego, which occupies a special position, to the period of latency.   As development proceeds the old conditions for anxiety should vanish, since the danger-situations, which correspond to them, have lost their force owing to the strengthening of the ego.   But this only happens to a very incomplete degree. A great many people cannot overcome the fear of loss of love; they never become independent enough of the love of other people and continue their infantile behavior in this respect†¦There is no doubt that persons whom we call neurotic remain infantile in their attitude towards danger, and have not grown out of antiquated conditions of anxiety. (122,123) And as Ritzer states, A thinking, self-conscious individual is†¦logically impossible in Mead’s theory without a prior social group.   The social group comes first, and it leads to the development of self-conscious mental states. (207, Ritzer) In such a society, language becomes not a way of telling, but a hindrance, a barrier of self and society.   With the reflection of society, an individual receives feedback of their character, or reflections of who they are.   In Marx’s essay The German Ideology in Kaplan and Anderson’s Criticism, he states, Consciousness is, therefore, from the very beginning a social product, and remains so as long as men exist at all †¦ man’s consciousness of the necessity of associating with the individuals around him is the beginning of the consciousness that he is living in society at all. (317-318) Language then is an avenue by which RTM may be understood to be a symbolic representation of thought.   RTM then functions on a system of building blocks, because language is not implicit but empirical. Work Cited Hoffman, Eva. (1989).   The New Nomads.   In A. Aciman (Ed).   Letters of Transit (pp. 35-63).   New York:   The New Press. Marx, Karl.   (1846).   The German Ideology.   In C. Kaplan and W.D. Anderson (Eds.). Criticism Major Statements (pp. 310-318).   Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Ritzer, George.   (2000).   Modern Sociological Theory.   Boston:   McGraw-Hill Co., Inc. Sigmund, Freud. (1933).   New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (W.J.H. Sprott, Trans.).   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, INC.         

Sunday, November 10, 2019

History of Art – Cubism

Historical Account Cubism is a part of the abstraction period of modern art in the beginning of the twentieth century. There was a series ‘isms' that influenced each other and came quickly in the modern world of art. These include Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Division and Symbolism. It was believed to be started with Picasso and Baroque in 1907. Cubism was a movement of modern artists going against the accepted style of paintings and pushing the boundaries of what was modern art.The Impressionists and Realists of the late 19th century started to paint more everyday items and in a ore spontaneous fashion, in contrast to the classical period which came before. Immediately before cubism were artists like Cezanne and Serrate who were considered to be post impressionists who were converting impressionism into a more classical style. Then Van Gogh wanted to express more emotion in his art than the impressionists had, and his style started to develop including vivid colors and bright landscapes.Art in the modern world moved from telling stories and depicting important historical occasions, to a more personal approach from the artist. The artist wanted to explore their emotions, the everyday and play with form, perspective and composition These colors and need to express emotions led to different movements of expressionism, the Fauves (wild beasts) which had artists including Van Gogh and Gauguin, German expressionism was more extreme, Abstraction came after this and cubism was one of the forms that led heavily from it.During 1908, Baroque and Picasso realized they were working towards the same ideas and decided to work together until 1914. Their principal subject became the still life. They experimented with painting and sculpture to express and challenge the way objects are represented. What you see depicted in a cubist work is not a realistic representation of the object, but a flattening of the planes that make up th e object from different directions in a strong geometric fashion.The artist no longer relied on the renaissance principals of geometric perspectives. The painter was free to explore a different visual reality and to challenge the viewer in what they were seeing in a two dimensional form. By 1909 Picasso began to break individual forms into smaller faceted shapes. For example the head had each feature as its own carefully modeled form. â€Å"The paintings and drawings of 1909 are works which give rise to the word cubism when Picasso was accused of dividing his pictures into ‘little cubes'. In 1910 Picasso made a breakthrough where the figure was seen or represented as transparent planes that locked together which allowed the eye to pass through them to the picture behind so the pictures had a more sculptural element. The movement ended in 1914 as Picasso was a prolific painter and continued to explore other ways of expressing himself. There was a turn towards realism again in 915 to 1920. Critical Account – The Women of Avignon This painting is a particularly important work in the development of cubism and Picasso artistic Journey.The picture is grounded in tradition and yet challenges the viewer with new perspectives and treatment of color and form. Picasso starts with the classical grouping of the three figures on the left. Their placement and gestures and semi nude attire seem to be familiar and are drawn from the images of the late Renaissance of the three graces. Picasso uses this familiarity to lure the viewer in but then starts to play with perspective, proportion ND color to challenge and represent a new way of viewing.Picasso has distorted the figures, using angular planes and we can see the beginnings of the different perspectives represented in the arms and faces of the figures. He uses flesh colored tones for the figures but in a very flat way rather than the traditional gently coupled tones of classical realism that leads to the repre sentation of the three dimensional figure on the two dimensional canvas. The shading and abstract nature of the shapes used meaner that they are very much in the modern world.We can see an example of this shifting of the perspective in the two central figures where the eyes are different sizes, the noses are off-set and the shape of the ears is distorted. As we look at the body of the three figures and the draping, we start to see flat geometric shapes and the beginning of the cubist treatment of the human figure. When we look at the small still life of fruit in a bowl at the bottom of the painting, we see the flattening of perspectives emerging. If this were a real representation of fruit in a bowl they would be effected by gravity.This representation makes the viewer eel anxious, waiting for the fruit to fall. In this way Picasso creates tension and expresses emotion through the distorted perspective. Picasso had a very difficult relationship with women and in the painting he repr esents women very differently between the group of three on the left, and the group of two on the right hand side. The three classical figures are more sympathetic and easy on the eye for the viewer, but there is dark shadows on the figures in the far left that hint at darker emotions.The figures on the right are more fully abstracted and show the influence of African ribald masks and paintings. The colors are not sympathetic, classical nude colors, but instead brighter and harsher reds, blues and greens. These women are confronting and convey a strong emotion for the viewer, but this destruction of form is not accidental but quite methodical. Everything in the picture is broken up into angular wedges and facets. Having said that these shapes are not flat but are shaded in such a way to give some sense of the third dimension. These sharp angles and edges, voids and solids, led to this movement being dubbed as cubism. History of Art – Cubism Is a part of the abstraction period of modern art In the beginning of the twentieth century. There was a series ‘Isms' that Influenced each other and came quickly In the modern world of art. These Include Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Dolmen's and Symbolism. It was believed to be started with Picasso and Braque's in 1907. Cubism was a movement of modern artists going against the accepted style of paintings and pushing the boundaries of what was modern art.The Impressionists ND Realists of the late 19th century started to paint more everyday items and in a more spontaneous fashion, in contrast to the classical period which came before. Immediately before cubism were artists like Cezanne and Serrate who were considered to be post Impressionists who were converting Impressionism into a more classical style. Then Van Gogh wanted to express more emotion in his art than the impressionists had, and his style started to develop Including vivid colors and bright landscapes.Art In the modern world moved from telling stones and depleting important historical occasions, to a more personal approach from the artist. The artist wanted to explore their emotions, the everyday and play with form, perspective and composition These colors and need to express emotions led to different movements of expressionism, the Fauves (wild beasts) which had artists including Van Gogh and Gauguin, German expressionism was more extreme, Abstraction came after this and cubism was one of the forms that led heavily from it.During 1908, Braque's and Picasso realized they were working towards the same Ideas and decided to work together until 1914. Their principal subject became the still life. They experimented with painting and sculpture to express and challenge the way objects are represented. What you see depicted in a cubist work is not a realistic representation of the object, but a flattening of the planes that make up the object from different d irections in a strong geometric fashion.The artist no longer relied on the renaissance principals of geometric perspectives. The painter was free to explore a different visual reality and to challenge the viewer in what they were seeing in a two dimensional form. By 1909 Picasso began to break individual forms into smaller faceted shapes. For example the head had each feature as its own carefully modeled form. â€Å"The paintings and drawings of 1 909 are works which give rise to the word cubism when palaces was accused of dividing his pictures Into ‘little cubes'. In 1910 palaces made a breakthrough where the figure was seen or represented as transparent planes that locked together which allowed the eye to pass through them to the picture behind so The movement ended in 1914 as Picasso was a prolific painter and continued to explore other ways of expressing himself. There was a turn towards realism again in 1915 to 1920. Critical Account – The Women of Avignon This pa inting is a particularly important work in the development of cubism and Picasso artistic Journey.The picture is grounded in tradition and yet challenges the viewer with new perspectives and treatment of color and form. Picasso starts with the classical grouping of the three figures on the left. Their placement and gestures and semi nude attire seem to be familiar and are drawn from the images of the late Renaissance of the three graces. Picasso uses this familiarity to lure the viewer in but then starts to play with perspective, proportion and color to challenge and represent a new way of viewing.Picasso has distorted the figures, using angular planes and we can see the beginnings of the different perspectives represented in the arms and faces of the figures. He uses flesh clouded tones for the figures but in a very flat way rather than the traditional gently suspected tones of classical realism that leads to the representation of the three dimensional figure on the two dimensional canvas. The hading and abstract nature of the shapes used means that they are very much in the modern world.We can see an example of this shifting of the perspective in the two central figures where the eyes are different sizes, the noses are off-set and the shape of the ears is distorted. As we look at the body of the three figures and the draping, we start to see flat geometric shapes and the beginning of the cubist treatment of the human figure. When we look at the small still life of fruit in a bowl at the bottom of the painting, we see the flattening of perspectives emerging. If this were a real representation of fruit n a bowl they would be effected by gravity.This representation makes the viewer feel anxious, waiting for the fruit to fall. In this way Picasso creates tension and expresses emotion through the distorted perspective. Picasso had a very difficult relationship with women and in the painting he represents women very differently between the group of three on the le ft, and the group of two on the right hand side. The three classical figures are more sympathetic and easy on the eye for the viewer, but there is dark shadows on the figures in the far left that hint at darker emotions.The figures on the right are more fully abstracted and show the influence of African tribal masks and paintings. The colors are not sympathetic, classical nude colors, but instead brighter and harsher reds, blues and greens. These women are is not accidental but quite methodical. Everything in the picture is broken up into angular wedges and facets. Having said that these shapes are not flat but are shaded in such a way to give some sense of the third dimension. These sharp angles and edges, voids and solids, led to this movement being dubbed as cubism.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Beautiful and Damned Quotes

'The Beautiful and Damned' Quotes The Beautiful and Damned is the second novel, published by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book is about Anthony Patch, a socialite during the 1920s Jazz Age. Here are quotes from the famous classic. The Beautiful and Damned Quotes The victor belongs to the spoils. In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him. As you first see him he wonders frequently whether he is not without honor and slightly mad, a shameful and obscene thinness glistening on the surface of the world like oil on a clean pond, these occasions being varied, of course, with those in which he thinks himself rather an exceptional young man, thoroughly sophisticated, well adjusted to his environment, and somewhat more significant than anyone else he knows. This was his healthy state and it made him cheerful, pleasant, and very attractive to intelligent men and to all women. In this state, he considered that he would one day accomplish some quiet subtle thing that the elect would deem worthy and, passing on, would join the dimmer stars in a nebulous, indeterminate heaven half-way between death and immortality. Until the time came for this effort he would be Anthony Patch - not a portrait of a man but a distinct and dynamic personality, opinionated, contemptuous, functioning from within outward - a man who was aware that there could be no honor and yet had honor, who knew the sophistry of courage and yet was brave. To Anthony life was a struggle against death, that waited at every corner. It was as a concession to his hypochondriacal imagination that he formed the habit of reading in bed - it soothed him. He read until he was tired and often fell asleep with the lights still on. Curiously enough he found in senior year that he had acquired a position in his class. He learned that he was looked upon as a rather romantic figure, a scholar, a recluse, a tower of erudition. This amused him but secretly pleased him - he began going out, at first a little and then a great deal. Once upon a time all the men of mind and genius in the world became of one belief that is to say, of no belief. But it wearied them to think that within a few years after their death many cults and systems and prognostications would be ascribed to them which they had never meditated nor intended. Lets join together and make a great book that will last forever to mock the credulity of man. Lets persuade our more erotic poets to write about the delights of the flesh, and induce some of our robust journalists to contribute stories of famous amours. Well include all the most preposterous old wives tales now current. Well choose the keenest satirist alive to compile a deity from all the deities worshipped by mankind, a deity who will be more magnificent than any of them, and yet so weakly human that hell become a byword for laughter the world over and well ascribe to him all sorts of jokes and vanities and rages, in which hell be supposed to indulge for his own diversion, so that the people will read our book and ponder it, and therell be no more nonsense in the world. Finally, let us take care that the book possesses all the virtues of style, so that it may last forever as a witness to our profound skepticism and our universal irony. So the men did, and they died. But the book lived always, so beautifully had it been written, and so astounding the quality of imagination with which these men of mind and genius had endowed it. They had neglected to give it a name, but after they were dead it became known as the Bible.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The College Curriculum †Becoming an Architect

The College Curriculum - Becoming an Architect Study architecture and a good college curriculum will prepare you for anything. Accredited programs of architecture will center around practicing design and building things. If it doesnt, youll be throwing away your money if you want to be a professional architect. As an architecture student, you will study a broad range of subjects, including writing, design, graphics, computer applications, art history, mathematics, physics, structural systems, and building and materials construction. The best schools are not necessarily the schools with the best equipment and facilities but they employ the best teachers. And the best teachers of architecture are not necessarily the most famous architects in the world. The best teachers will teach these subjects without you even knowing how much youre learning. Architecture is the application of many subjects. To get an idea of the specific classes you will take, spend some time browsing through the course listings, a sampling of which are usually listed online for many schools of architecture. Make sure that the courses of study have been accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Dr. Lee W. Waldrep reminds us, however, that there are many routes to take to become an accredited architect. Which degree program you choose will determine what courses you take. At most schools, he says, enrolled students begin intensive architectural studies in the first semester and continue for the duration of the program. If you are highly confident in your choice of architecture as your academic major, pursuing a B.Arch. may be the ideal choice. If, however, you think you may not ultimately choose architecture, the five-year program is not forgiving, meaning that changing majors is difficult. Design Studio At the heart of every architecture course of study is the Design Studio. It is not unique to architecture, but it is an important workshop to understand the process of planning, designing, and building things. Industries such as automobile manufacturing may call this building approach Research and Development as teams work together to create a new product. In architecture, the free expression of ideas, both design and engineering, is what drives collaboration in this important and practical course. The Wright Studio at Oak Park. Santi Visalli/Getty Images (cropped) Even famous architects like Frank Lloyd Wright have done professional architectural work from their design studios. Learning by doing in a studio workshop is a prime reason why online architecture courses are limited. Dr. Waldrep explains the importance of this coursework in an architecture curriculum: Once you are in the studio sequence of a degree program, you will be taking design studio each semester, usually four to six credits. Design studio may meet between eight and twelve hours contact hours with the designated faculty and countless hours outside of class. Projects may begin in the abstract and deal with basic skill development, but they quickly progress in scale and complexity. Faculty members provide the program or space requirements of a given building project. From there, students individually develop solutions to the problem and present the results to faculty and classmates....Just as important as the product is the process. You will learn not only from the studio faculty but also your fellow students. Waldreps book Becoming an Architect: A Guide to Careers in Design can mentor any aspiring architect through the complicated process of becoming an architect or even becoming a professional home designer. Studio Culture Some of the project assignments will be group projects and some will be individual projects. Some projects will be reviewed by professors and some by fellow students. The school should provide every student with a safe place to work on these projects. Every accredited school of architecture has a written Studio Culture Policy - a statement of what incoming students should expect and how their project work will be evaluated or juried. For example, the policy at Princeton University School of Architecture outlines that each student will be provided two 3’ x 6 work tables, two drafting lamps, one power strip, one task chair and one lockable steel cabinet; that students should manage their time and avoid all-nighters to finish projects; and that critiques should concentrate on clarity and consistency, as opposed to making judgments of value or quality. Criticism should be constructive and dialogue should be respectful. As long as a project has a clear idea or concept that can be defended, the student should be able to compete in the design studio atmosphere. The review process can be brutal, but follow the rules and the architecture student will be well-prepared when defending a design to a paying client in the real world. Critical thinking and problem solving are core strengths of the professional architect. The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) continues to advocate for the fair and humane treatment of the architecture student. The AIAS regularly examines and monitors the design teaching methods of architecture programs. The Redesign of Studio Culture, a 2002 report put out by the AIAS Studio Culture Task Force, changed the culture of the studio culture, so every student knows what to expect. When students are researching prospective architecture programs, check out their curricula, design studio offerings, and policies that inform how the architecture program is run. The design studio experience is what everyone remembers and where lasting friendships are established. You dont want to miss it. Source Waldrep, Lee W. Becoming an Architect. Wiley, 2006, pp. 94, 121

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The role of the government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The role of the government - Essay Example Thesis of this document has been placed in the second line of the paper. â€Å"Although there have been homeless individuals living in the United States in colonial days, a recent, dramatic increase has led homeless to be considered a national rather than local, problem† . the most appropriate place to place a thesis is at the end of the first paragraph. It should communicate the research question and relay evidence that support the thesis. This section summarizes the objective of the topic. Certainly the thesis statement communicates the research question in this study. For instance, the thesis has been able to directly inquire the level of appreciation of homelessness, whether local or national. Based on this, one is able to see subsequent discussions revolving around different States in US, and giving varied opinion and experiences on the same. Federal Government has also been viewed to have a role in determining the case of homelessness, particularly when examining policie s being advanced by the individual presidents. The author supports the claims by presenting the historical patterns associated with the transformation of people’s lives to homelessness. There is a systematic manner in which the author has chronologically depicted how events resulted to homelessness just from the Industrial Revolution stages to the policy formulation stages. This paper has successfully relayed the information required. However, it would be perfect if this paper came clear on the issue of significance.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Luciano Berio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Luciano Berio - Essay Example Together, they form the image of the young, mid-century composer, who is far cry from being introverted, "ivory-towered artist" stereotype. Berio was born in Oneglia, a small town in Northern Italy, where both his father and grandfather were church organists and composers. After preliminary study with them he entered Milan Conservatory specializing in piano, conducting and composition. In 1951scholarship took him to Berkshire Center at Tanglewood Massachusetts where he studiedwith Luigi Dallapicolla, who taught there that summer. In 1953, he attended the Darmstadt Summer School and met Stockhausen and Boulez, and learned about their musical interests. His totally-controlled Nines (1955) already described, reflects this trend. In 1960s Berio wroteseries of solopieces for flute, harp, solo voice, piano and trombone called Sequenza. In each discovers and exploits new sounds from the instruments. The Sequenza for trombone is particularly interesting in its absolutely new sounds; somecombination of the trombonist's singing or humming while he plays, as a result of blowing through the instrument without embouchure, others by tapping the side of the instrument. The Sequenza for voice also calls for sounds emanating from the throat. These pieces show Berio's interest in enriching timbral resources. They call for a new kind of virtuosity that goes far beyond conventional standards. The most ambiti The most ambitious and successful of Berio's works to date is Sinfonia (1968), written for eight voices (The Single Sisters) and orchestra, combined in that close connection -voices sounding like instruments and instruments sounding like voices- already found in Circles. In no sense a conventional symphony, the word Sinfonia is used in its original; meaning of "sounding together". Sinfonia is in four movements. The first is dominated by voices, speaking and humming, occasionally punctuated by crashing orchestral sonorities. The texts, spoken in stuttering manner, are from Le Cru et le Cuit, a study of Brazilian folklore by Claude Levi-Strauss, the French anthropologist. It is slow moving and carefully articulated between the vocal and instrumental sections. It is obviously planned and purposeful and is therefore unlike Stockhausen's Hymnen where there is little if any causal relationship between parts. The second movement is a tribute to the memory of Martin Luther King; the vocal parts consist of nothing more than the chanting of his name. The movement is elegiac and bell-like timbre and melodic outline. Instruments and voices are so interwoven in long, sustained unisons that it is difficult to distinguish between them. The third movement is the longest and most original. It is based on the third movement of Mahler's Second Symphony which is played as a more or less constant "background" but there are also references to Bach, Schoenberg, and Debussy, Strauss, Ravel, Brahms, Boulez, Stockhausen and others. In the foreground one hears snatches of a Beckett play and student slogans from recent confrontations. It is an amazing dreamlike jumbling together of sound images from the past and the present, reminding free associations of James Joyce's Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake, where different languages and dictions are brought together in a time-destroying present. Berio speaks of the movement as a documentary of an objet trouve (the Mahler movement), recorded in the mind of the listener. As a structural point of reference, Mahler is the