Reaction Paper on Global Warming Essay Example

Reaction Paper on Global Warming Paper It makes one wonder though how many of these canvass-toting individuals know how many years does Our planet has left before it reaches an environmental tipping point or in what year was the hottest earth temperature recorded. Admit that I am one of those individuals who proclaimed and believed that I am a friend of the earth. After all, I try to conserve water as much as can and segregate garbage whenever I have the chance. But like many individuals out there, I was ignorant about the real issue concerning our environment, that is until have seen the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Directed by Davis Guggenheim and featuring former United States vice president AY Gore, the documentary zeros in on the subject of global warming and how it is affecting and will affect the planet Earth. The Effectiveness of AY Gore Technical and cinematic achievements aside, I believe the best contribution of this film is that it has made the issue of global warming accessible to ordinary individuals. Gore plays the role of environmental spokesperson well. He provides a believable and authoritative personality to the documentary and to the issues it is trying to expose. Much of the popularity that the film has enjoyed it owes to Gores ability to act as an expert and a fellow observer at the same time. When this film was released, not a few have surmised that it is nothing but a gimmick to catapult AY Gore back into the White House. After watching the film though, many of Gores detractors have been transformed into followers. The fact that there is now a different person in the Palace is a vindication for Gore and a proof of his sincerity and lack of political agenda. We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on Global Warming specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on Global Warming specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on Global Warming specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The strongest point of Gore lies in his ability to convey urgency while at the same time maintaining a hopeful attitude and optimistic outlook which is not an easy feat to achieve when you are talking about the current State Of the environment. The Message of the Film The message of this film is very clear: that global warming is real and we must do something about it or we will suffer the scones ounces. According to Gore, the planet has about ten more years before it reaches a tipping point at which instance there would be little that we can do already. The best part about Gores message is that they are presented not without scientific evidence and proofs. The following scientific phenomena and materials are seed to support the films main thesis: ; before and after photographs of melting ice glaciers; ; temperature records from the sass that show that the ten hottest years have occurred in the last three decades; ; the Keeling curve which measures the rising level of CO; a study that shows that carbon dioxide concentrations are higher now than at any point in history. The presentation of these pieces of evidence are essential to lending veracity to the films core message. Without them, AY Gore would simply appear as a preacher pointing to some distant doomsday. Visually Engaging One of the first things that you will realize while watching An Inconvenient Truth is how engaging and enjoyable the experience is and this is largely because of the visuals that were used in the film. From the opening scene, when we were shown the now famous photograph of the earth taken by the first Americans who went to space , the audience were being foretold that the film is going to be one visual treat. Throughout the film, beautiful and terrible images were precisely interwoven to help achieve the films goal of sending out the dual message of making people realize how beautiful our planet is ND making us see the extent Of the destruction that has already been done. Not a few individuals were turned off when they learned that this film is a documentary. But if only these individuals gave the film a chance then they would have been amazed at the fact that it is one such visual achievement. Documentaries especially those that deal with subjects relating to the environment have a reputation of being boring and uninteresting. The An Inconvenient Truth may just change peoples impression about environmental films and even documentaries as a whole with its engaging style and arresting elements. Conclusion An Inconvenient Truth is a film that should be seen by anyone who cares for the environment and for the future of humanity and our planet. Reaction Paper on Global Warming Essay Example Reaction Paper on Global Warming Paper As we work to reduce Gigs, our collective challenge is to create solutions that protect the environment without undermining the growth of the global economy. We believe that a successful climate policy will be one in which the reduction Of Gigs is accomplished equitably by the top emitting countries Of the world through long-term and coordinated national frameworks. Carbon Sequestration Chevron participates in the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, an international climate change initiative focused on development of improved, cost-effective technologies for the separation and capture of carbon dioxide. In the 2012 CDC (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) report, we ranked in the top tier of the energy sector. CDC conducts an annual global review of companies climate change disclosures and performance. Our score of 88 was two points higher than last year, revealing that we are on the right track when it comes to managing and reducing emissions. Investing in Research, Development and Technology Chevron also supports research to explore technologies that may reduce missions or improve efficiency. Through our Chevron Technology Ventures (C IN) business unit, we identify, develop and commercialism emerging technologies that have the potential to transform energy production and use. 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Free Essays on American Capital Punishment

The United States is one of the only nations in the ‘civilized’ world that still permits capital punishment. Also, The United States still practice crude methods of death such death by firing squad. I think that capital punishment is a just punishment. Not only is it a just form of punishment, it is the only way to punish someone who took another persons life. The United States is obligated to justify what loss of life that occurred. The core beliefs of our nation allows us to accept capital punishment as a form of punishment. Anyone who seeks to take another mans life, liberty and property, will be punished with the assistance of the government. In times of advanced technology, crude methods like hanging are still practiced by states like Washington. If we are so civilized, can’t we find a way to carry out punishment that isn’t so rudimentary? Lethal injection seems to be the only civilized and humane method of death. The rules are plain to see, if you do this, then this will happen to you. Someone has to do something seriously bad in order for them to merit the death sentence by a judge. I think that it is fair to say that the idea of capital punishment is just. How else would we compensate another persons wrongful death? No material thing on Earth is worth the price of a persons life.... Free Essays on American Capital Punishment Free Essays on American Capital Punishment The United States is one of the only nations in the ‘civilized’ world that still permits capital punishment. Also, The United States still practice crude methods of death such death by firing squad. I think that capital punishment is a just punishment. Not only is it a just form of punishment, it is the only way to punish someone who took another persons life. The United States is obligated to justify what loss of life that occurred. The core beliefs of our nation allows us to accept capital punishment as a form of punishment. Anyone who seeks to take another mans life, liberty and property, will be punished with the assistance of the government. In times of advanced technology, crude methods like hanging are still practiced by states like Washington. If we are so civilized, can’t we find a way to carry out punishment that isn’t so rudimentary? Lethal injection seems to be the only civilized and humane method of death. The rules are plain to see, if you do this, then this will happen to you. Someone has to do something seriously bad in order for them to merit the death sentence by a judge. I think that it is fair to say that the idea of capital punishment is just. How else would we compensate another persons wrongful death? No material thing on Earth is worth the price of a persons life....

Managing work life balance and wellness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing work life balance and wellness - Essay Example The recent economic crisis is thinning and with that, HR managers are scheduling interviews. Companies have started viewing their employees as an important and noteworthy fraction within the stakeholders’ list. Hence, now the scenario calls for improvement in working conditions; job stress, work-life balance and employee wellness are factors that are taken very seriously by HR managers. This change was primarily inspired by studies that show the correlation amongst mental fitness and organizational performance (Hancock & Szalma, 2008, pp.32-34). Research shows that (Cassidy et al., 2009, p.262) while a poor work-life balance has a long lasting negative effect on an employee’s productivity, it is much more harmful for his/her creativity. Therefore, it is more so essential for HR managers in creative firms to maintain equilibrium within an employee’s timetable. People Management Challenges faced by HR Professionals I. Change Management While ‘change managemen t’ is vastly a broad term, therefore the focus here would lie upon three major changes: 1. Economic Change: Change brought about by variations (mostly negative) within economic conditions drastically affects an employee’s work-life balance, this is because adverse economic conditions point towards job losses and this possible ‘loss-of-secure-income’ position drastically affects an employee’s performance as the employee loses sight of his goals and concentrates more towards keeping his job intact. This situation according to CIPD (2010) creates stress, which would result in behavioural changes such as lack of focus, failures of commitments, increased time on work (due to reduced work speed and lack of commitment). 2. Technological Change: While it is commonly believed that adapting newer technology would result in job-cuts, researches have proved otherwise (Hayter, 2000, p.267). But this too does not hold true for some industries, as while apparatus might not necessarily cut jobs, but they definitely bring about a change by drastically increasing the level of skill required to conduct an operation, this increase in mental pressure is responsible for stress which disrupts work-life balance. 3. Strategic or Operational changes: While operational changes are a must for every organization owing to changes in consumer behaviour and technological enhancements, such changes many have many effects on an employee’s performance, as operational behaviour sometimes become compulsive. The overall wellness and work-life balance is largely based upon the HR department’s ability to handle and promote change within an organization. In order to avoid complications, the HR team must prepare a theoretical training module based upon the proposed changes and initiate training procedures to prepare the staff for the upcoming change. II. Time Management Time management is a crucial challenge for HR professionals, as time is the basis of the work-life balance. While some might disagree that time management is concerned with HR, it is not true as under most professional work environments the revenues are high enough to sustain explicit staff members for each type of job, then it is the responsibility of the HR department to allot work to the best suited employee or department. A recent initiative by the HR department ofR depatym,ent DS Norden a Dutch

Cause and Effect and Correlation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cause and Effect and Correlation - Essay Example An article published by the John Hopkins University (2000) indicated that â€Å"predominantly black, low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore were eight times more likely to have carry-out liquor stores than white or racially integrated neighborhoods† (John Hopkins University, 2000, p. 1). Bradtmiller cited Interim Chief of the IU Police Department Jerry Minger as stating that â€Å"There are so many factors that are involved in violence,† Minger said. â€Å"It could be something like a domestic problem or a hate crime and have not anything to do with alcohol† (Bradtmiller, 2010, p. 1). Again, one agrees that the abundance of liquor stores is a contributory factor to criminal activities. In higher crime areas, there are usually more police; does that mean that police cause crime? This statement is totally unfounded, unsubstantiated and does not indicate any correlation to criminal activities. The reason why police presence is needed is to specifically address the crimes committed in high crime areas. There could be a correlation that when there are high incidents of crime, there would necessarily be greater number of police to address the criminal activities in the area. To determine a reliable correlation between the number of liquor stores and the number of crimes in low income neighborhoods, what kind of experiment might you design? A correlation analysis between two variables (number of liquor stores and number of crimes) would determine a reliable correlation between the two. What kind of correlation number would make you feel fairly certain that there is a solid connection between larger numbers of liquor stores in low income neighborhoods and resulting crime? The correlation number ‘r’ (Pearson r) would establish whether there is a solid connection between the two variables. As revealed in Knowledge Base (2006), â€Å"r will always be between -1.0 and +1.0. if the correlation is negative, we have a negative relationship; if its positive,

Performance Appraisal Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Performance Appraisal Systems - Essay Example Managers apply the most suitable appraisal methods in order to assess and evaluate the performance of employees. Performance management is all about sharing expectations (Mike, 2010). Appraisal systems not only monitor the performance of employees but also play a crucial role in the selection of suitable employees for any specific task. Performance management is a whole working system that begins when a job is defined as needed and ends when an employee leaves the organization (Shahzad, 2010). Two of the most common objectives of appraisal systems include developing and improving the skills of the employees and increasing the productivity of the organization through selecting best employees for high-value tasks. Plessis (2010) asserts, â€Å"The performance appraisal process is something that every business needs to do if they want to improve efficiency†. Performance appraisal plays a vital role in the success of any company or organization because it supports the management in taking various critical decisions. Bacal (1999, p.34) asserts, â€Å"The performance appraisal process involves manager and employee working together to assess the progress that the employee has made towards the goals set in performance planning†. Employee performance appraisal is done once or twice a year (Chandler, 2005). Effective performance appraisal systems improve employee loyalty, morale, and general productivity (Ndunuju, 2009). An appropriate performance appraisal not only m akes the employees aware of their deficiencies but also helps them improve the required skills and knowledge. The four major components included in the performance appraisal system are senior management’s support, a design of the system’s procedures, system implementation, and management training (Grote, 1996, p.189).

Matthew Barney: Artist Biography

Matthew Barney: Artist Biography The mythological world of Matthew Barney Matthew Barney was born on 25th March 1967, in San Francisco, California. He attended school in Boise, Idaho from 1973 to 1985. He was brought up between Idaho and New York and first encountered on visits to his mother. He went to Yale University, New Haven where he enrolled to study medicine but transferred to study Fine Art. After graduating from Yale in 1989, he made a swift impact on the art world. He has had exhibitions in San Francisco and London. He is based in the Guggenheim Museum in New York. While attending Yale he paid his way through college by modelling while studying medicine. After a couple of semesters, he transferred to the art department where his abstracts became popular. It was here that Barney began to experiment with Vaseline as a creative medium. From bursting into the art world in 1991, Barney has been able to create a distinguishing world from using multimedia, sculpture, photography, film and drawing. His work following careful study in process and the evolution of form has been informed by the human body, art history, cultural production and biological development. Early in his career he worked with sculpture fused with video and performance. His work reflects on his past as a gridiron footballer and a wrestler as well as the study of the human form and the work of many of his contemporary artists. Some of his earliest work in Yale was staged in the University’s sports complex. He is most famous for his work as producer and creator of the Cremaster (1994 – 2002) films – five visually excessive works which have been created out of sequence. Barney features in the films in a countless roles with some being as diverse as a magician, a ram, a satyr, Harry Houdini and infamous murderer – Gary Gilmore. Not only have his films included himself but have also included artist Richard Serra, writer Norman Mailer, and actress Ursula Andress. His use of imagery, narrative and dialogue weaves a unique mythology. These films are seen as a self enclosed aesthetic system. Jonathan Bepler composed and arranged the films soundtracks. These are not just a series of films, also involved are photographs, sculptures, drawings and installations which the artist produces in combination with each film. The title Cremaster refers to the muscle that raises and lowers the male reproductive system according to temperature, external stimulation or fear. The films are a mixture of autobiography, mythology and history, his universe is connected and densely layered. The film consists of anatomical allusions, with the position of the reproductive organs during the embryonic process of sexual differentiation. Cremaster 1 is the most ascended position while Cremaster 5 is the most descended. In Barney’s metaphorical universe these pieces represent a condition of pure potentiality. Over the eight years of production, Barney looked beyond biology as a way to explore form creation and took his universe to new levels and other realms indulging in biography, mythology and geology. Cremaster Cycle director/artist Matthew Barney. Matthew Barney, CREMASTER 3, 2002 Prodution Photograph,  © 2002 Matthew Barney Photo: Chris Winget, Courtesy: Barbara Gladstone Cremaster 3 was the final film in the series. It was the most elaborate of the five films. It referenced Barney’s position in the art world. This final film is set on location at Fingal’s Caves in Scotland and Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Both of these locations are symbolic. They resemble each other and are entrenched in deep mythology. These films have depicted a parallel mythological world, with rich and complex symbolism. It delves into the dilemmas and traumas that shape today’s society. This was Barney’s ambitious project which took a decade to make. It was packed with references to pagan mythology, modern architecture, popular culture, human biology and art history. The Cremaster Cycle has earned Barney much praise despite its notorious scenes of solipsism and banal masculine trials. It is a highly ambiguous piece. The Drawing Restraint series began in 1997 as a series of studio experiments, which draws upon an athletic model of development in which growth occurs only through restraint. When the muscle encounters a resistance, it breaks down and becomes engorged, but through healing the muscle becomes stronger. This series is well documented through video and photography especially 1 – 6 (1987 – 1989). Drawing Restraint 7 is marked with narrative. His concept lies in three elements – situation, condition and production. These constitute the origins of Drawing Restraint. They are illustrated in highly intricatecreative process of sexual energy divided into the three elements. This series was inspired by the condition of hypertrophy where the muscles of the body develop strength and size when they are placed under restraint. Barney has turned this from artistic production that investigates restraint as a source of creativity. It was in the project Drawing Restraint 9, a feature length film whose song track was composed by Bjork which consisted of sculptures, photographs and drawings which built upon the Shinto religion and on whaling. There are sixteen of these pieces. It’s as if his work is meant to shock. He art is a form of abstract and surrealism, with the use of aesthetic athleticism which underscores the sports iconography which is evident in his work. Through his work the audience can see his icons and who he idolizes in a cult status – Harry Houdini and Jim Otto and the system which he uses to portray these idols. He portrays them as satyrs, with athletic iconography, medical gadgets, mythological creatures etc. It leaves the audience wondering where he gets his ideas from. Once of Barney’s influences seems to be the work of Antonin Artaud and his ‘Theatre of Cruelty’ as it tends to stage events rather than men. When he broke onto the scene with his surreal sculptures and videos and form of art he was instantly successful. He is a phenomenon of his time and from his breakthrough his art has gotten strange and stranger. His is seen as the most important American artist of his generation. His unique production of films, which he also appears in, houses his sculptures and objects which he has designed especially for the use in his films. His ideas come from a host of sources – books and photographs. His work is not regarded by him or others as subsidiary to any others, they are an expression of him in different forms of the same ideas. Barney’s work is very ambiguous and it is best to accept it this way as this is his basic point. If the art is unresolved it is interesting. In the Cremaster series, he has stated that this idea is as a sexual metaphor, that the characters in his films can not be identified as being either male or female. He considers his work as abstract. He has been seen as a bad, late surrealist or because of the nature of his work as a sensationalist and that some of his critics are upset by the scope of his success. His success mirrors the success of Jasper Jones who made his debut some 40 years ago. After graduating from Yale, the word had begun to circulate about him around influential artists, dealers, editors and critics in New York. In the early 1990’s he was taken on by two galleries – Barbara Gladstone in New York and Stuart Regen in Los Angeles. At this point he was a huge phenomenon and he had not even had a solo show yet. By his absence he was present on the art scene, which is his trademark. His work was more accepted due to bad economic times as the galleries where more willing to take a risk on an artist without a track record than they had been in more prosperous times. It was through this that Barney’s work became marketable as well as his Yale connections. His early art work reflects the use of elaborate sexual and biological references and allusions to the world of fashion and sports with obvious links to those who went before him in the 1960’s and 1970’s the likes of Vito Acconci, Chris Burden and Bruce Nauman. His reviews seemed orchestrated because they were so good. Any bad reviews which he received were dismissive, like those of Hilton Kramer and through these reviews only heightened his profile. In the early 1990’s the art scene had become about conceptual art on identity politics and the body and sex which was visually meager. The peak was reached with Whitney Bienneal in 1993 and with this it seemed that the art work was doing a penance for all the excesses of the 1980’s. Critics had professed that he was a video version of Mapplethorpe and gay artists openly joked that he was the most successful young gay artist who was not gay. Barney’s idea of art is obviously meant to make the audience la ugh, it has its own strange sense of glamour and it is definitely not preachy. Formally his work was in tune with the younger generation’s priorities, where cross media and installations replaced painting as the dominant art form. His films instantly became collectables, as this medium was not traditionally used but with the advent of this technology it became hot property. This video art was making a comeback with performance art – two of his art forms, from the 1970’s when low technology videos had been used to record artist’s performance. The early 1990’s saw conceptual art be enabled by the technology which was now available and became about the story which the artist felt they had to tell. It was about gender identity and diversity politics and the more eccentric the art/ story the better. Barney’s work mirrored this image, his stories were plentiful and were all eccentric. He has even been referred to as the Wagner of the art world, as like Wagner, he has operated in a mythological language which has seemed irrational and his plan for the Cremaster series would take years to complete. His works are lavishlessly wordless, with soundtracks composed by Jonathan Bepler. They are very slow moving films with fantastic desolate settings. As the series progressed they became more visual with more saturated colours and costumes. His budgets were constantly growing but seemed non existent. He earns back the costs of his films through the limited editions of his photographs, sculptures and laserdiscs. He has, of course, sold his work through private buyers but it is the big museums which compete for his work and through this he has become somewhat of a cult figure. In the 1990’s he was American art star. He does not have any social ambition, public profile or interest in money which seems to enhance his allure. He feels that the bad reviews are more memorable to him than the good ones. He insists that he pays no attention to the critics and insists that his primary focus for art is as a sculptor and that his films reflect this. He is increasingly focused on the visual effects such as colours, shapes, and forms. He is ultimately the most important artist of his generation, in America at least, and as the audience have experienced his imagination is so big. His art is intensely visual and makes use of visual imagery. His works – performance works, sculpture and cinematic works are portraying a civilisation which is in decline. His work is full of references to freemasonry. His works are loaded with initiations and is full of symbolism. He has been proclaimed as the pioneer and saviour of video art and his work is most successful in the genre of body and performance art. He seamlessly creates dramas which are compelling with a compulsive force that are alive in a zone between the psychological and physical. He has a clear mythological vision which can be seen in his work. His practice is that of a diverse array including use of media, which includes performance art, sculpture, drawing, photography and i nstallation. He uses a varied variety of both traditional and unconventional set of materials to create this innovative work. His sculptures are the reinterpretations of his film themes for the gallery setting. Art critic, Jerry Saltz wrote of Barney: ‘One of the most interesting artists to emerge in the 1990’s, and hands-down†¦the most interesting when it comes to the way he works with video.’ Barney tries to establish narratives in which both characters and the environment are interchangeable and with the use of symbols he conveys the meaning or feelings. Matthew Barney has also been compared to the avant garde and this concept of the artist avant garde has been widely used in theories about modern art. This is a key component of modern art and has become synonymous. The terms of artistic freedom throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century through a succession of objects and practices. The modernist sense of avant garde has implied that art does not require external justification, whether it be political or ethical. Modern art critics have claimed that Barney is an advocate and paid up member of the present avant garde movement as well as being an important influence of modern art. His work definitely confirms the existence of a modern avant garde movement which he has followed on from the works of Clement Greenberg, Meyer Shapiro, Walter Benjamin and Thomas Crow. This avant garde movement emerged in the 1930’s in art but also in early socialist tradition. Once this tradition was established, work such as Barney’s has been more readily placed at the forefront of the movement. Thomas Krens, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has acknowledged that from Barney’s first gallery show in 1991 he has developed a uniquely aesthetic vocabulary. Barney draws his ideas from all walks, from Hollywood movies, professional sports, mythology, medical processes, biological systems, and psychological pathologies. He has also drawn from hardcore music and spiritual tendencies and mixed them all to provide a blend of allusive narrative structures which he uses the media of film, sculpture, photography and drawing to articulate to his audience. He has been recognised in the artistic community as a great American artist whose work has attracted a vast audience both nationally and internationally. Matthew Barney matches all the cri teria for being of the avant garde persuasion which is active in the present art culture. David Hopkins, in his book After Modern Art 1945 -2000 recognises Barney’s work as interpretation that could be a parody of masculine aspirations. When Barney began to create his art it was widely recognised that there had been a crisis of masculinity which was tied to the social shift which arose from the empowerment of woman in the 1990’s. There were also the issues regarding cloning and genetic engineering. Hans-Ulrich Obrist, a contributing editor of the Tate Magazine described Barney’s work as ‘dense, compacted and multi-layered.’ Obrist is interested that the Cremaster series reaches back to a time of mythology, biology and the geology of creation while jumping forward to a time of modified genetics and the mutation of identity. Culture attempts to articulate changes but finds it hard to keep pace with the changing culture. Barney is on a journey alone in his efforts to build his parallel mythological world which probes into the traumas and dilemmas experienced in modern society. Barney in an interview with Scott Foundas spoke of his desire to communicate the tension within our culture between the male and female forms and the wavering between the sexes. Barney is interested in creating a field that attempts to locate desire and eroticism in an undifferentiated way. His work aims to challenge the grounded notions of gender through making a critique of society as a whole and the insistence of society to only view gender through binary opposition. The Guggenheim Museum in New York continues to exhibit young upcoming artist’s work while their careers are still young. Barney began his relationship with the Guggenheim Museum in 1996 when he was awarded the museum’s Hugo Boss award for excellence and innovation in the visual arts. But it was five years earlier that his status was declared as great. He was honoured with a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Matthew Barney’s innovative work has been recognised by the contemporary art world and has won many accolades but despite these his work remains difficult to understand especially by the mainstream. And it seems to be only accessible to a subculture of artists and his supporters. Without these members he would never have received the attention or acclaim for his work. Barney once said in an interview with Michael Kimmelman (1999) Barney said ‘Art needs to be defended.’ And also ‘It’s fragile. If a work of art is shown too many times, something gets stolen from it. You come to it with preconceptions, or you get tired of it.’ Barney feels that when something becomes an image it is unrecognisable and because they are invested in the subject they cannot operate as an image. He is also worried about his work losing it authenticity due to issues of reproducing the images. Barney is able to draw his themes from issues which are relevant to modern society. Barney meets the criteria of the avant garde group in that he challenges the social conventions, he is an active member of a cohesive group, he maintains an authentic quality despite reproductions and he serves as a social mediator between social classes with drawing from themes of everyday life. His works, therefore, shows evidence that an avant garde does exist in modern and cotemporary culture and this work still remains a motivator for social advancement. Barney redefines the boundaries between the artist and the audience as he focuses on the broader theories of his medium. With his work, he is able to compartmentalise strategically the creative process w hich he then exploits the experience into one giant spectacular. He forges the different media together to create his tangible and imaginary worlds. Barney’s singular vision has created works which fuses performance and video with sculptural installations. The audience can see reflections of Barney’s past i.e. athletics but is able to tune into the new politics of the body which are evident in the work of many of the contemporary artists. His careful exploration of the body draws upon the athletic model of development which only occurs through restraint. Damien Hirst has been acknowledged as one of Matthew Barney’s contemporaries. Hirst was born in Bristol, UK in 1965 and now lives and works in London and Devon. He is the most prominent member of a group known as ‘Young British Artists’ (YBA’s). He has been dominant in the British art scene since the 1990’s and is internationally renowned. His career was closely linked to collector Charles Saatchi in the 1990’s but due to increasing frictions this relationship collapsed in 2003. Hirst was an organiser and organised an independent student exhibition while in his second at Goldsmith’s College in London where he studied Fine Art. Hirst has since admitted that he had drink and drug related problem which spanned a ten year period from the early 1990’s, during this time he was famous for his wild behaviour and extrovert acts. Hirst, too, has tried to challenge the boundaries between art, science and popular culture. He, like Barney, has a wide ranging practice of using sculptures, installations, painting and drawing. He has been praised for his work, his energy and his inventiveness. His work has made him a leading artist of his generation through his constantly visceral and visually arresting work. His work consists of the exploration of the uncertainty at the core of human experience, life, death, love, loyalty and betrayal. Hirst is best known for his work Natural History which features animals in vitrines suspended in formaldehyde. Hirst uses the vitrines to put meaning as both a window and a barrier, providing a minimalist frame but also to attract the attention of the audience. Hirst is also renowned for his paintings which includes his Butterfly Paintings which feature actual butterflies suspended in paint. Tracey Emin compared Hirst to Andy Warhol, in the mid 1990’s Virginia Bottomley descr ibed him as a pioneer of British art. Hirst sees the real creative theme as being the conception of the project not the execution. Death is a central theme in Hirst’s work and he became famous for a series in which dead animals a shark, a cow and a sheep, are preserved after sometimes been dissected in formaldehyde. The Physical Impossibility of Death in Mind of Someone Living. This piece became an iconic work of the British art world and its sale in 2004 made him the world’s second most expensive living artist after Jasper Jones. He has since eclipsed Jones when Lullaby Spring sold for  £9.65 million on 2007. Hirst has been a controversial figure not only through his art work but also on the public stage, on the eve of the first anniversary of the World Trade Centre attacks, he commented to BBC News Online (Allison, 2002): ‘ The thing about 9/11 is that it’s kind of like an artwork in it’s own right†¦Of course, it’s visually stunning and you’ve got to hand it to them on some level because they have achieved something which nobody could have ever thought possible – especially to a country as big as America. So on one level they kind of need congratulating, which a lot of people shy away from, which is a very dangerous thing.’ Following public outrage at his remark, he had to issue a statement through his company, Science Ltd (Science Photo Library Press Release, 15th March 2005): ‘I apologise unreservedly for an upset I have caused, particularly to the families of the victims of the events on that terrible day.’ In comparison, both Barney and Hirst are contemporaries in the modern art world. They are both renowned in their field. They are both out to shock and maybe this is not their intention. Barney through his use of mythological imagery and his use of the human form has been criticised but are these criticisms right. Can an artist not express themselves in this way? It seems that modern art is full of debate with regards to style and appreciation. There is plenty of shock value in both Barney’s and Hirst’s work. Critics have asked if the audience needs to see the imagery these two have produced. Barney’s work Cremaster is full of this imagery and it is based for a specific audience. He is trying to convey in his imagery the use of the body and how unstable the relationship between male and female is. He has both been praised and criticised for his work, Hirst has also been criticised for his work. It seems that the only way to grow within the art world is to prompt discussion and criticism. Both of these men are at the top of their profession through getting acclaim and winning various awards and prizes. They both use the abstract to create a surreal and almost sensationalist image. While Hirst is very public, Barney stays in the background with no public profile to speak of. Bibliography Allison, R., (2002) 9/11 wicked but a work of art, says Damien Hirst, The Guardian, 11th September 2002 Artaud, A., (1958) The Theatre of Cruelty in The Theatre and its Double, trans. Richards, M.C., Grove Press Crow, T., (1996) Modernism and Mass Culture in the Visual Arts, Yale University Press Edwards, Steve. Art and Its Histories: A Reader. New Haven: Yale University Press,  1999. Foundas, S., (2003) Self Portraiture Meets Mythology: Matthew Barney Talks about his Cremaster Cycle, IndieWire on the Web Hopkins, D., (2000) After Modern Art: 1945 – 2000, Oxford University Press Kimmelman, M., (1999) The Importance of Matthew Barney, New York Times. 10th October 1999 Obrist, H., (2006) Artist Project: Matthew Barney, Tate Magazine: Issue 2. 15th February 2006 Science Photo Library Press Release, 15 March 2005

Commentary on Act 1 of the book Translations by Brian Friel :: English Literature

Commentary on Act 1 of the book Translations by Brian Friel The opening paragraph of the play Translations tells us in great detail about where the play is set. It is set in a hedge-school, which was a disused barn or hay-shed. The opening of the play makes us see that there are two means of isolation. The language binds together the community and in this play we will see how differences in language split society. Manus is teaching Sarah to speak as the play begins. He is being very patient with her and he thinks that it is important to teach her to articulate, 'Come on, Sarah. This is our secret'. When you see how Sarah is finding it hard to speak English it makes you feel that she is the symbol for Ireland's backward position. Jimmy on the other hand represents the educated civilised tradition of old Ireland. He is a scholar, however Sarah is the opposite. She is a contemporary Ireland, as she has no voice to speak out. She has no capacity for taking part in the modern world. Sarah just wants to become part of the society. The way Manus is pushing Sarah to speak, for example, 'Raise your head. Shout it out. Nobody's listening'. You feel that Manus does not want Sarah to be a nobody in the community, so he is helping her. The way that Sarah acts around Manus makes you feel that she fancies him, 'Manus hugs Sarah. She smiles in shy, embarrassed pleasure'. Jimmy is reading The Odyssey. As he is a scholar he can read books in Greek. He sees himself as a person in the story, 'Sure look at what the same turf-smoke has done to myself!' This is not very scholarship like of Jimmy as he relates the text in a very un-scholar like way to himself. He also says things that are very sexually orientated, 'if you had a woman like that about the house, it's not stripping a turf-bank you'd be thinking about-eh?' and 'she can't get her fill of men'. Jimmy asks Manus whom he would pick out of Athena, Artemis and Helen. All of these people are characters from the book Jimmy is reading. This shows that Jimmy has a very limited view and conception of what he is reading. Manus asks Sarah whom he should pick; this shows that he considers her view to be important. The way Jimmy acts in this part of the play makes you feel that he is very intellectual but he is living his life in a book, he feels he is almost a Commentary on Act 1 of the book Translations by Brian Friel :: English Literature Commentary on Act 1 of the book Translations by Brian Friel The opening paragraph of the play Translations tells us in great detail about where the play is set. It is set in a hedge-school, which was a disused barn or hay-shed. The opening of the play makes us see that there are two means of isolation. The language binds together the community and in this play we will see how differences in language split society. Manus is teaching Sarah to speak as the play begins. He is being very patient with her and he thinks that it is important to teach her to articulate, 'Come on, Sarah. This is our secret'. When you see how Sarah is finding it hard to speak English it makes you feel that she is the symbol for Ireland's backward position. Jimmy on the other hand represents the educated civilised tradition of old Ireland. He is a scholar, however Sarah is the opposite. She is a contemporary Ireland, as she has no voice to speak out. She has no capacity for taking part in the modern world. Sarah just wants to become part of the society. The way Manus is pushing Sarah to speak, for example, 'Raise your head. Shout it out. Nobody's listening'. You feel that Manus does not want Sarah to be a nobody in the community, so he is helping her. The way that Sarah acts around Manus makes you feel that she fancies him, 'Manus hugs Sarah. She smiles in shy, embarrassed pleasure'. Jimmy is reading The Odyssey. As he is a scholar he can read books in Greek. He sees himself as a person in the story, 'Sure look at what the same turf-smoke has done to myself!' This is not very scholarship like of Jimmy as he relates the text in a very un-scholar like way to himself. He also says things that are very sexually orientated, 'if you had a woman like that about the house, it's not stripping a turf-bank you'd be thinking about-eh?' and 'she can't get her fill of men'. Jimmy asks Manus whom he would pick out of Athena, Artemis and Helen. All of these people are characters from the book Jimmy is reading. This shows that Jimmy has a very limited view and conception of what he is reading. Manus asks Sarah whom he should pick; this shows that he considers her view to be important. The way Jimmy acts in this part of the play makes you feel that he is very intellectual but he is living his life in a book, he feels he is almost a

A Meeting of Giants

Imagine that you are a participant in a panel discussion with Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers, Albert Bandura, and Albert Ellis.The discussion is facilitated by a moderator who asks questions for each of you to answer according to your different theories of personality development and change. How would you and each of the other four panel members answer the following questions? (Note: Construct the answers for the other panel members based on your understanding of their theories. Your own answers will reflect your personal opinions and beliefs, and may include â€Å"bits and pieces† of other theories).The panel was finally assembled on that wet cold day in December.   I was feeling a bit sheepish to be in the company of such great scholars.   Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers, Albert Bandura, and Albert Ellis were mighty powerful company for me to lock wits with.   However, I believed that my opinion was just as important and plausible as there own.   I was just reaching for my wa ter glass when the moderator called us to order and begin immediately with the first question.Question 1How would you explain the differences in persons regarding their reactions to authority? Why do some persons appear to follow all the rules of others, while other persons appear intent on living by their own sets of rules?Dr. Freud:The human being is essentially a sophisticated energy system.   That energy is channeled, flows, or is blocked by a number or different behaviors.   The goal of all these behaviors is of course pleasure.   Energy will always find the path of least resistance that leads to pleasure.When this energy is constrained or rerouted by societal demands, such as rules and taboos, that energy must be vented in some way.   Some individuals are more apt at releasing this energy in a positive manner, while others are more confounded by it.Some individuals forfeit there pursuit of pleasure and lead guilt ridden and often miserable lives although they appear to be socially compliant.   Others allow their natural propensity to pursue pleasure to guide their lives and are normally much happier, although society may feel they are living by their own rules.Dr. Rogers:I beg to disagree with what my colleague Dr. Freud has stated.   His theories are often rooted in sexual drives and motivations.   However, the greatest human drive is the single goal towards self-actualization.   It is not necessary to postulate on which particular pleasure principle an individual is seeking to understand why they buck authority.Those individuals that resist authority have simply grown from a less complex being into a more complex one.   The less complex we are, the more authority we may feel we need.As an individual matures and develops, they become more complex and may seek to break the bond of authority for a greater life experience.   Those who go along with the status quo perhaps see their lives in the light that they have achieved what they can and there is no need to push further.   We all simply seek to maintain and improve who we believe we are and the live experience in general. (Pervin, Cervon, & Oliver, 2005)Dr. Bandura:Self-efficacy has a great affect in self-development, perseverance in the face of resistance, resilience to trauma, and decision choices at crucial junctures in life.  Ã‚   The rejection of authority is no greater than it is seen among adolescents and young adults.The ability to control and regulate self-efficacy is core to the ability to self-manage ones motivations, desires, and responses.   Beliefs of personal efficacy are what cause an individual to adopt certain self regulatory standards (Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Gerbino, & Pastorelli, 2003) If a person believes that they are useful in society they are apt to be more law abiding and compliant of authority (Bandura et al., 2003).   When other individuals feel as if their self-worth is low they are less likely to respect authority a nd will live as they see fit because of their standing in society. (Pervin et al., 2005)Dr. Ellis:Self-evaluation leads to depression and repression, and avoidance of change.   The best thing for human health is that we should stop evaluating ourselves altogether.   There is often concern for individuals because of their self image and societal pressures.These two are more likely to be in agreement than in conflict.   The key is to see behaviors for what they are.   Is there anyone who likes authority?   Of course not we all have some disagreement with being told what to do by someone else.   However true this may be it is not the authority that causes problems for most individuals it is the irrational beliefs that adherence or rejection of this authority will lead to some dire consequence.This in itself may cause individuals to have one reaction or the other to the rule makers.   Some may choose total compliance in hopes that life remains stable, or what appears to be total anarchy and disrespect for any authority because it has no affect.

Manometer Definition and Purpose

Manometer Definition and Purpose A manometer is a scientific instrument used to measure gas pressures. Open manometers measure gas pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. A mercury or oil manometer measures gas pressure as the height of a fluid column of mercury or oil that the gas sample supports. How this works is, a column of mercury (or oil) is open at one end to the atmosphere and exposed to the pressure to be measured at the other end. Before use, the column is calibrated so that markings to indicate height correspond to known pressures. If atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure on the other side of the fluid, air pressure pushes the column toward the other vapor. If the opposing vapor pressure is greater than atmospheric pressure, the column is pushed toward the side open to air. Common Misspellings: mannometer, manameter Example of a Manometer Probably the most familiar example of a manometer is a sphygmomanometer, which is used to measure blood pressure. The device consists of an inflatable cuff that collapses and releases the artery beneath it. A mercury or mechanical (anaeroid) manometer is attached to the cuff to measure a change in pressure. While aneroid sphygmomanometers are considered safer because they dont utilize toxic mercury and are less expensive, they are less accurate and require frequent calibration checks. Mercury sphygmomanometers display changes in blood pressure by changing the height of a mercury column. A stethoscope is used with the manometer for auscultation. Other Devices for Pressure Measurement In addition to the manometer, there are other techniques to measure pressure and vacuum. These include the McLeod gauge, the Bourdon gauge, and electronic pressure sensors.

Free Essays on Hamlet V Oedipus

Hamlet vs. Oedipus In the play Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, a young prince is in search of the truth behind his father's murder. At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his deceased father and it tells him the now current king, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. Hamlet has to think about how he will get revenge for his fathers death, but because his only knowledge came from a ghost that only Hamlet heard speak, he is hesitant to get his revenge quickly. Hamlet does everything he can to show others the truth he knows. It is important to Hamlet that he gets revenge but he also wants to torment the king and show everyone the truth. Hamlet knows his anger toward his Uncle may cause confusion in his judgment of the truth so he is hesitant to kill him right away. Hamlet second-guesses himself throughout the play only to end up dying, but not before he kills Claudius. In Oedipus the king, a child is born to a royal couple; this king and queen want to know how their child will be in the future. So they ask an oracle to tell them the future and it tells them he will kill his father and marry his mother. They have the child taken away to kill, so they save themselves, but instead the child ends up in a new castle and is raised by another couple as their own child. They never tell Oedipus that he is not their own. When Oedipus hears he is to kill his father and marry his mother, he leaves his parents and searches for a new residence. Except, he meets up with a man on the road and kills him. He then finds a castle that is being terrorized by a sphinx and answers the riddle it asks. He then marries the Queen and rules over the kingdom. In the end, the city is threatened by a plague that the oracle said will cease when the city gets rid of the one who murdered the king, Oedipus announces that the murderer will be punished. However, while searching for th e truth Oedipus discovers that he is the murderer and the son of his wife. In the end, Oedip... Free Essays on Hamlet V Oedipus Free Essays on Hamlet V Oedipus Hamlet vs. Oedipus In the play Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, a young prince is in search of the truth behind his father's murder. At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his deceased father and it tells him the now current king, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. Hamlet has to think about how he will get revenge for his fathers death, but because his only knowledge came from a ghost that only Hamlet heard speak, he is hesitant to get his revenge quickly. Hamlet does everything he can to show others the truth he knows. It is important to Hamlet that he gets revenge but he also wants to torment the king and show everyone the truth. Hamlet knows his anger toward his Uncle may cause confusion in his judgment of the truth so he is hesitant to kill him right away. Hamlet second-guesses himself throughout the play only to end up dying, but not before he kills Claudius. In Oedipus the king, a child is born to a royal couple; this king and queen want to know how their child will be in the future. So they ask an oracle to tell them the future and it tells them he will kill his father and marry his mother. They have the child taken away to kill, so they save themselves, but instead the child ends up in a new castle and is raised by another couple as their own child. They never tell Oedipus that he is not their own. When Oedipus hears he is to kill his father and marry his mother, he leaves his parents and searches for a new residence. Except, he meets up with a man on the road and kills him. He then finds a castle that is being terrorized by a sphinx and answers the riddle it asks. He then marries the Queen and rules over the kingdom. In the end, the city is threatened by a plague that the oracle said will cease when the city gets rid of the one who murdered the king, Oedipus announces that the murderer will be punished. However, while searching for th e truth Oedipus discovers that he is the murderer and the son of his wife. In the end, Oedip...

Gas prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gas prices - Essay Example A vast majority of machines in different industries are powered by gas. Apart from the industrial utility of gas, it is an extremely important element of the modern age life style. In the contemporary age, there is massive consumption of gas even on the domestic level. We use gas heaters, gas ovens, gas stoves, and gas lamps. In addition to the in-house consumption of gas, a vast majority of vehicles on the roads use gas as a secondary fuelling source that works as efficiently as petrol does. The voluminous increase in the use of natural gas does not accord with its declining natural reserves. There is an inverse relationship between the two. Gas prices have risen almost all over the world in the past few years. Much of the rapid increase in the gas prices that has occurred in the recent years can be attributed to the inverse relationship between gas production and consumption rate. Current rate of gas consumption is alarming, and gas prices are likely to increase further if the curr ent consumption rates sustain over next few years. Solution: Solution of this problem lies in wise utilization of the remaining gas. It is not advisable to completely stop the use of gas stoves or gas ovens because no alternative has yet been realized that would give better or even the same results as gas stoves or ovens do.

Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative Essay - 1

Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence - Essay Example Lincoln learned through his experiences while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences and store-keeping at Illinois. He partook as a captain in the Black Hawk war which was fought between the Indian tribes and native white settlers during their westward expansion. His political career began with his appointment to the Illinois state legislature and later gaining an admission to the Illinois bar. This was soon followed by his marriage to Mary Todd and his subsequent election to the U.S. House of Representatives. They had four boys but tragedy struck and three of their children succumbed to illnesses and one son worked as an attorney and served as the President of Pullman Company. Despite many success as an attorney and several personal sorrows, Lincoln rose again with sheer determination to be nominated as the President of the Republican party in 1860 and went on to become President in the year 1861. His strong belief in equality among the citizens and the need for a successful democratic union assured him the presidency. This was soon followed by the civil war that attacked the Constitution of the United States. The northern and southern regions of the country were divided on the issue of slavery and as a result many southern states which supported slavery pulled out from the Union and formed a separate Confederate of States. However, President Lincoln assured the people that his primary responsibility was to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and that this would be the war’s primary motive. He undertook every possible measure at war time to preserve the Union and the victories gained in the battles provided the impetus for issuing the emancipation proclamation through which Lincoln freed all the slaves who sustained the war of the confederate. At the end of the war, Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg address wherein he upheld that the war paved the way for a new birth of freedom