Drama Costume & Makeup Assignment Essays - Theatre, Entertainment

Drama: Costume & Makeup Assignment Discuss the costumes and makeup in the movie you watched. Did the costuming and makeup match or clash with the place and time of the story? Was costuming and makeup a major part of the story or just secondary? How did the costuming differ for different characters? Did the color and style of the costume reflect the character's personality in any way? The costumes and makeup were very well done in this movie, the costume designer even received an Academy Award nomination! They fit the setting very well and I think they had a lot to do with the story and characters. In the beginning Kate always looked like a queen (in dress, not so much the hair) but she often behaved like a maniac however when she began to mellow, she dressed more casually which was interesting. Throughout most of the film, she just about always wore green I think because green is the opposite of red and red would indicate love. She really disliked Petrucchio (and everyone) in the beginning but by the end she grows fond of him and that shows when she wears the red gown. I noticed that Petruchio, on the other hand, almost always wears red. I think it's to represent the determination that he has to marry Kate and then to "tame" her. He also wears very elaborate clothing which accurately reflects his very over the top attitude and personality.

The use of Diffusion of Innovations in a Mass Media Campaign essays

The use of Diffusion of Innovations in a Mass Media Campaign essays Diffusion of innovations is a theory that describes how new ideas, opinions and behaviors spread throughout a community.(Valente, p.34) In this paper I will show how this theory was applied in the reproductive health campaign in Bolivia. Diffusion theory is used to study the way in which new information is spread throughout a certain population and how innovation is adopted. To begin with, there are five stages in the adoption process: The first stage is awareness of the innovation in the case of the Bolivia campaign it is the introduction of family planning. People have to become aware of the new idea and the diffusion of this idea takes more or less time according to the media used to spread it through the population. Usually the mass media are used to spread awareness but it can also be done through primary social networks, i.e. word-of-mouth. The next stage is persuasion. After people become aware of the new practice they have to be able to learn more about it in order to potentially develop a positive attitude towards it. Different persuasion strategies are adopted according to the sub-population that is targeted. The goal is for this population to accept the new idea as a solution to an existing problem. Persuasion then makes possible the third step, the decision. Individuals will then make a conscious decision to try a new behavior. This is a vital step in behavior change as is represents a transition from conception of an idea, acceptance of the idea to motivation to take action. The fourth stage is the implementation of the behavior. The stage represents a transition from processes that are uniquely cognitive to processes that are behavioral. This is therefore the most significant stage in behavior change. The cognitive processes that proceed this stage provide the population with the means to practice/implement the new behavior that had hitherto been advocated. The last stage is behav...

Sustainability and Competitive Advantage Article

Sustainability and Competitive Advantage - Article Example Stakeholders and executives are greatly worried about the impacts of sustainability efforts on their corporate bottom line. The evaluation criteria are based on a company’s business strategy developed to establish sustainability and a competitive advantage to the company. This report demonstrates what companies have done to capitalize on sustainability-driven transformations in consideration to the MIT Sloan Article by Berns et a; (2009) on Sustainability and Competitive Advantage. It seeks to analyze the kind of strategies that the companies have attempted to pursue in order to position themselves competitively in the future. In the examination of this, the study has based its examination on the Wal-Mart Stores Inc (Amann, 2011, pg.11). Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is among the companies in the retail sector that have demonstrated the achievement of sustainability in the competitive advantage over a long period of time. In this report, there is much focus on how Wal-Mart has maintained sustainability and achieved competitive advantage by providing good at lower prices and adopting a cost leadership strategy as suggested in the MIT Sloan Article by Berns et a; (2009) on Sustainability and Competitive Advantage. Wal-Mart is seen to take lead on environmental sustainability by offering environment-friendly products and investing in solar power plants in its various stores. The company has also encouraged recycling of various products. Their business strategy has helped in reduction of power consumption to a great extent and in the company’s future plans to go green (Bamford andWest, 2010, pg. 90). MIT Sloan Article by Bern’s et. al (2009) emphasizes on cost leadership strategy which is very helpful in businesses in achieving a competitive advantage in the market. Companies that seek to enhance their profile in sustainability should begin by undertaking self-evaluation. Sustainability, as discussed in the MIT Sloan Article, entails the development of a prà ©cis business strategy that seeks to maintain the business in a competitive margin and uphold its sustainability in their future.   

BUSINESS ETHIC POSITION PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BUSINESS ETHIC POSITION PAPER - Essay Example Ethics are not related to feelings of right and wrong nor are they related to a particular religion. They are not defined by law and they are not based upon the norms of a given culture group. Finally, ethics are not based upon scientific evidence of what constitutes ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. In order to try to determine what constitutes the concept of ‘ethics’, there are five general ethical standards by which one can compare personal and group ethics in prioritizing responsibilities. While corporation leaders have a responsibility to the shareholders who have entrusted them with their company, they also have a responsibility to their stakeholders, the common good of the people within the communities in which they work. From the viewpoint of three ethical standards, it is clear that the corporation must maintain a level of responsibility toward both their shareholders and their stakeholders if they wish to conduct business ethically. In general, most people understand corporate social responsibility as referring to the practice of corporate investment in community related projects, often projects that will bring no direct, quantifiable benefit to the corporation itself. In respect to these types of practices, it is often argued that the corporation is acting irresponsibly toward its shareholders when it elects to invest corporate funds into charities that do not directly benefit the shareholders themselves. â€Å"The company’s owners – its shareholders – can certainly donate their own assets to charities that promote causes they believe in †¦ But it would be irresponsible for the management and directors of a company, whose stock these investors purchased, to deploy corporate assets for social causes† (Atkins, 2006). Because shareholders don’t have direct control over how these funds are spent, which charities they contribute to or how much they wish to invest,

Social Work with the Elderly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Work with the Elderly - Essay Example A challenge is a fact that it is common for the social workers’ clients to be afflicted with different kinds of diseases and disabilities: physically, mentally, or emotionally. This paper aims to give an in-depth discussion of the challenges involved in working with the elderly, and how the clients’ identity issues affect their relationship dynamics with the worker. First, let us explore the clients’ perspectives and situations from the beginning of things – as they enter the residential home for the elderly. Some have existing and financially capable relatives by they themselves choose to stay in a residential facility so as not to burden their family members with their needs. It could due to reasons of pride, or perhaps a deeply ingrained sense of independence that spurs them to instead opt for professional and paid help. It could be a defense against possible future rejection and the hurt that would succumb from it. Others would have preferred to stay with their children and/or grandchildren, as is in most cases in Asian countries for example, but the family members are either too poor, too disgusted at the prospect of being solely responsible of taking care of an elderly person, or too concerned with having their own lifestyles cramped. Many times the older persons in these cases are admitted to residential homes despite wanting to stay with their families or remain in their own homes. They perhaps just weren’t given a choice. The majority of the elderly have been placed in residential homes because of a physical or mental disability and/or because they do not have anyone around to take care of them anymore. These factors, one way or another, have a crucial impact on the clients’ psychological state and invariably affect their responsiveness and cooperation during the course of case management. As each and every human being has unique identities and personalities, the dynamics of an elderly person and his or her identity is profoundly affected.

Eat Pray Love Moving Metaphysical Journey English Literature Essay

Eat Pray Love Moving Metaphysical Journey English Literature Essay This paper considers the contentious space between self-affirmation and self-preoccupation in Elizabeth Gilberts popular travel memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. Following the surveillance of the female confessant, the female traveller has recently come under close scrutiny and public suspicion. She is accused of walking a fine line between critical self-insight and obsessive self-importance and her travel narratives are branded as accounts of navel gazing that are less concerned with what is seen than with who is doing the seeing. These tales of inward journeys, which are typical of New Age travel writing, necessitate thinking about representations of the other, as they call into question the conflicting aspects of authorship, privacy and the subjectivity of truth. The recurring emergence of these themes in womens travel not only reflects an absorbing feminist interest in questions of identity and existence, but also highlight continued anxieties about ontological questions such as Who am I? and What am I to believe? In reading these questions against the backdrop of womens travel, the possibility arises that the culture of narcissism is increasingly read as a female discursive practice. Following the backlash against Elizabeth Gilberts best-selling travel memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, the polar responses to the text from its female readership exemplify this problematic. The novel, which has been praised by some as the ultimate guide to balanced living and dismissed by others as self-serving junk, poses questions about the requisites in Western culture for being a female traveller and for telling a story that focuses primarily on the self. At present, womens travel writing is intersecting new spatial hybridities that have not been crossed before. The genre of travel is still considered a suspect site of exclusionary practices in which masculinist ideology has dictated the formal and epistemological terms of the genre. The genre of self-help, however, is increasingly read as a female discursive practice that is more concerned with ontological questions of being. What we are seeing increasingly, however, is not a separation of the two, but a blending and stretching of the rules and conventions of both. The result of this fusion is the emergence of new kind of hybrid writing, which one academic from Park University calls, the middled-aged narrative (Wood 2006). The middle-aged travel narrative follows the traditional quest of the male hero who leaves home as a rite of passage, except the prototype of the protagonist has changed. The narrator is now a restless female who is writing at mature age and usually, in the midst or aftermath of an existential crisis. This crisis is often knotted in the restraints of domestic duty. Her narrative, which emphasises a desire for personal growth and balance, employs travel as the register for this self-realisation. She typically embarks on a travel adventure that is based on undermining the decisions she has made in the past, in an attempt to facilitate activism and change in the future (ibid). The obvious implication of this, as Wood explains, is that if gender is a performance which defines identity, then identity can be changed, or redefined by new performances that may or may not still have the same gendered meaning (2006, 4). On leaving home, for example, the female travel writer assumes two positions that have traditionally been cast as male roles-the traveller and the writer. While travelling, she may perform multiple roles in an attempt to resist the self that has been previously imposed upon her. In doing so, she attempts to develop an autonomous female identity, and then, to give voice to that process afterwards. In considering this trend, and its social and cultural implications, it is difficult to move past the recent global success of Elizabeth Gilberts travel memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. At the time of writing, the book has sold more than 8 million copies world-wide on a seemingly simple premise: One Womans Search for Everything in Italy, India and Indonesia (Gilbert 2006). The memoir, which spent 155 weeks on the number one spot of the New York Times bestseller list, found its success on the story of a once happily married woman, who reeling from a contentious divorce, takes off around the world in search of what Bitch magazine calls an international safari of self-actualization (2010, par 5). The work, which has been translated into thirty languages, has spawned multiple lines of Eat, Pray, Love merchandise, including goat pillows, prayer shawls (which retail at $350 dollars), a Republic of Tea blend, a digital reader which comes preloaded with the book, a collection of fragrances and a fas hion line by designer Sue Wong. The film adaptation, directed by Ryan Murphy and starring Julia Roberts, opened in August this year to mostly unfavourable reviews. The film also has its own official travel partners, namely Lonely Planet (who sell pre-planned Eat, Pray, Love travel packages) and STA Travel, who advertise various trips to the cities featured in the film. For high-end travellers, there are also invitations from more luxurious tour companies, such as Micato Safaris Inspiration Tour, which encourages Eat, Pray, Love pilgrims or true devotees, to trace Gilberts steps in India for just under $20 000. The memoir then, which has become a global business phenomenon as well as a tourist mecca, appeals to a readership that is just as interested in self as with other. In the opening chapters, the novels narrator, Liz, a professional American woman in her mid-thirties, begins to question the performative roles that have defined her. She tells the reader, I dont want to be married anymore. I dont want to live in this big house. I dont want to have a baby (Gilbert 2006, 10). She explains that she is tired of being the primary breadwinner, the housekeeper, the social coordinator, the dog-walker, the wife and the soon-to-be-mother (ibid, 11). Similar to Rita Golden-Gelmans travel narrative, Tales of a Female Nomad, Gilbert also opens with divorce (Wood 2006, 8). She writes, On September 9, 2001, I met with my husband face-to-face for the last time, not realizing that every future meeting would necessitate lawyers between us, to mediate. We had dinner in a restaurant. I tried to talk about our separation, but all we did was fight. He let me know that I was a liar and a traitor and that he hated me and would never speak to me again. Two mornings later I woke up after a troubled nights sleep to find that hijacked airplanes were crashing into the two tallest buildings of my city, as everything invincible that had once stood together now became a smoldering avalanche of ruin. I called my husband to make sure he was safe and we wept together over this disaster, but I did not go to him. During that week, when everyone in New York City dropped animosity in deference to the larger tragedy at hand, I still did not go back to my husband. Which is how we both knew it was very, very over (Gilbert 2006, 5). Newly single, though not for long, Gilbert brands herself as a woman on the brink of becoming a self-governing individual. She decides she would like a spiritual teacher and constructs a fantasy about what it would be like to have one. She writes, I imagined that this radiantly beautiful Indian woman would come to my apartment a few evenings a week and we would sit and drink tea and talk about divinity, and she would give me reading assignments and explain the significance of the strange sensations I was feeling during meditation (ibid, 7). From the outset then, Gilbert articulates a desire to use (or misuse) travel as the vehicle for what she believes is her search for spiritual fulfilment. She decides she will spend a year travelling in three countries and goes onto establish an explicit reason for visiting each-Italy (to explore the art of pleasure), India (to explore the art of devotion) and Indonesia (to learn the art of balancing both). It was only later, Gilbert writes, after admitting this dream, that I noticed the happy coincidence that all these countries began with the letter I (ibid, 10). In Gilberts case, this constant reference to the e/motional I is particularly telling of the preoccupations of New Age Travel. Increasingly, women are using travel to pose questions such as, Who am I? Why am I here? and What am I to believe? These questions not only reflect an absorbing feminist interest in questions of identity, but also highlight continued anxieties about a collective female experience, which Bitch Magazi ne describes as wealthy, whiney and white (2010, par 5). The hybrid text that arises is more concerned with a search for self than with a search for an authentic travel experience. That is, the travel writing is less preoccupied with what is seen than with who is doing the seeing. What we are finding repeatedly in the work of Western women travel writers, is a resurgence in the obsession with the self which has less interest in the other. At its worst, this kind of writing can be self-obsessive, self-important and self-serving, but at its best it can create a richness and intimacy which is lacking in more objective travel texts. The middle-aged travel narrative, in particular, focuses on travel as a metaphor for a spiritual journey. It is rarely, if ever, framed as an objective investigation into an unknown culture. As the travel that emerges then, is imagined rather than reported, and creative rather than journalistic, the inward looking eye becomes more important than the outward. The central problematic then, in many books sold as travel memoirs, is that they actually minimalise and even dilute the travels they seek to voice. In Eat, Pray, Love, this usually happens in one of two ways. Either the place Elizabeth Gilbert ventures to (for example, the Balinese village of Ubud) is romanticised as an exotic other, or it is reduced, in the case of Naples and Mumbai, to a backdrop in her personal dramas. As a result, the memoir pushes the boundaries between self-insight and self-preoccupation. The consequence of this pushing is that the female travel writer has come under close scrutiny and supervision. She is dismissed as a pulp producer, a pawn under industry pressures and an over-exuberant performer whose work emerges, in what Jonathan Raban calls, literatures red-light district (1987). The consequence of this surveillance for the travel memoir, is that its reception draws polar responses from the reading public. Since its debut, the novel has been accused of being self-absorbed and sexist, and even branded by the New York Post as narcissistic New Age reading, curated by [Oprah] Winfrey (Callahan 2007, par 13). According to Karlyn Crowley, in The Oprahfication of American Culture, Winfrey is a mainstream spokesperson for this kind of writing, as she marries the intimacy and individuality of the New Age movement with the adulation and power of a 700 Club-like ministry (2010, 35). In recent interviews with guests, Oprah announces to her audience, Live your best life! She promotes the message again on her website, in her magazine and during her book club. But according to some critics, much of Oprahs advice actually moves women away from political, economic, and emotional agency by promoting materialism and dependency masked as empowerment (Barnes-Brown and Sanders 2010, par 3). Much of the backlash against the book then, is tied up in what readers perceive as Gilberts own privilege, as well as annoyances they have with her everyday travel complaints and her preoccupation with sacrificing everything for David-a New York actor who she dates after divorcing her husband. On a trip to Bali, in which Gilbert is commissioned to write a story about Yoga vacations, she is invited to visit a ninth-generation medicine man. Gilbert, spends significant narrative time grappling over what she will ask him. She writes, Our Yoga teach had told us in advance that we could each bring one question or problem to the medicine man, and he would try to help us with our troubles. Id been thinking for days of what to ask him. My initial ideas were so lame. Will you make my husband give me a divorce? Will you make David be sexually attracted to me again? (Gilbert 2006, 9). Later, Gilbert admits, I was rightly ashamed of myself for these thoughts: who travels all the way around the world to meet an ancient medicine man in Indonesia, only to ask him to intercede in boy trouble? (ibid). Many readers (who obviously agreed with Gilbert on the matter) voiced their own complaints online. Who does this woman think she is? one blogger asks, Anyone should be so lucky to eat a pizza in Naples off their publishers pay check. If she thinks she has something to complain about, writes another, (under the alias Eat, Pray, Shove), then she should try raising a child alone. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gilbert told how she has stopped going online to read her reviews. All you end up doing is defending yourself to people who you dont know, she said. Two weeks later youre on a lovely walk in the woods with your dog and youre having an argument in your head with somebody from Amazon.com (Valby 2010, par 6). Perhaps the most gender-specific retaliation to Eat, Pray, Love is Andrew Gottliebs travel memoir, Drink, Play, [emailprotected]#k, which sold itself on the premise of One Mans Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas and Thailand (Gottlieb 2008). In the book, Bob Sullivan, a jilted husband, embarks on a quest to find meaning amongst the glitz and glamour of Vegas, rediscover his passion for drinking in Ireland, and finally, to experience the hedonistic pleasure palaces of Thailand. As the blurb reads, After a life time of playing it safe, Mr. Sullivan finally follows his heart and lives out everyones deepest fantasies. For who among us hasnt dreamed of standing stark naked, head upturned, and mouth agape beneath a cascading torrent of Guinness Stout? What could be more exhilarating than losing every penny you have because Charlie Weiss went for a meaningless last-second field goal? And what sensate creature could ever doubt that the greatest pleasure known to man can be found in a leaky bamboo shack filled with glassy-eyed, bruised Asian hookers? Bob Sullivan has a lot to teach us about life. Lets just pray we have the wisdom to put aside our preoccupations and listen (ibid). Others, however, praise Eat, Pray, Love, as an everyday womans guide to balanced living. A shared message that many female readers seem to distil from the novel is that a woman should not have to apologise for writing a travel story that is primarily about herself. As one bloggers explains, Gilbert has written about what she feels is the most important and defining time of her life, and millions of women like me, have found it useful and stirring. Despite this sense of belonging, or collective appreciation, Gilbert constantly wonders throughout the novel, how she will fit into some sort of community after she returns from her travels. Much of Gilberts angst seems to originate from a sense of alienation from both herself and those around her. As her mother explains to her, You have to understand how little I was raised to expect that I deserved in life, honey. Remember-I come from a different time and place than you do (Gilbert 2006, 29). According to Wood, Gilbert then attempts to answer the difficult questions of her life with the knowledge that, unlike Cinderella, she can choose not to go the ball (2006, 11). It seems her struggle is, essentially, one of choice. In India, she finally finds a place for herself, not at a physical location, but in language-or more specifically, in the Sanskrit word antevasin which Gilbert translates as one who lives at the border (ibid, 70). She writes, When I read this description of the antevasin, I got so excited I gave a little bark of recognition. Thats my word, baby!Im just a slippery antevasin-betwixt and between-a student on the ever-shifting border near the wonderful, scary forest of the new (ibid). In a recent interview with the Borders Book Club, Gilbert also describes how many women have attempted to follow her journey, literally. Every once and a while, I get a letter from somebody who says, Okay, so I went to Italy, I found the gelataria where you ate that gelato and then I went to Naples and I found that pizzeria, and I had the pizza, and now I want to go to India. Can you tell me the name of your Ashram? (2010) This idea that happiness can be packaged through anothers travel experience is not without consequence. Should readers of Eat, Pray, Love fail, the genre holds them accountable for not being ready to get serious, not wanting it enough, or not putting themselves first (Barnes-Brown and Sanders 2010, par 7). Gilbert herself seems to acknowledge this, and affirm it, with a proclamation of what she calls The Physics of the Quest. If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared-most of all-to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourselfthen the truth will not be withheld from you. Whether or not the book is the ultimate spiritual guide to balanced living or just self-serving junk, the central question that the memoir poses is perhaps more important than its reception. What is the requisite for being a female traveller and for telling a story that is focussed primarily, perhaps even extravagantly, on the self?

Spanking is NOT Child Abuse :: Corporal Punishment, Argumentative Essay

â€Å"My father liked me, when I wasn't being an idiot. And he loved me, too -- enough to spank the daylights out of me when I was being an idiot.† -- Diana Gabaldon, Outlander "There is a great difference between spanking a child and abusing a child. One is an act of love; the other is an act of hostility" -- James Dobson, MD There is a great deal of outrage from people who are reading stories about the misconduct of professional athletes and connecting them to a crusade against child abuse. I'm against child abuse. Isn't everyone? However I'm not against spanking.    We have all encountered this situation: A small child is standing in the middle of a department store throwing a complete temper tantrum demanding a toy. His mother, exasperated threatens him with time-outs and other deprived privileges, but the stubborn child continues to kick and scream. In the "old days," a mother wouldn't think twice about marching the defiant child to the bathroom and giving him a good spanking to straighten him out, but these days, parents have to worry about someone screaming child abuse. Whether or not to spank a child has become a heated issue in today's society. Many authorities and psychologists believe that spanking breaks a child's spirit and only leads to violence. They think that it causes the child to become depressed, angry or hostile and they have conducted many studies to prove these things. This type of harsh punishment occurs often, but it is called child abuse. There is a great difference between abusing a child and properly disciplining a child. "One is an act of love; the other is an act of hostility, and they are as different as night and day" (Dobson 35). First of all, spanking does not lead to violence. Our surrounding world and media do. "The average sixteen-year- old has watched 18,000 murders during his formative years, including a daily bombardment of stabbings, shootings, hangings, decapitations, and general dismemberment" (Meier 34). It seems unjust to blame parents who are trying to raise their children properly for today's violence. If a child touches a hot stove he does not become a more violent person because of it, he just learns not to do it again because he learned a valuable lesson from the pain (Meier 34). Many anti spanking researchers have tried to conduct research studies to consolidate their beliefs against

Philosophical Belief Essay

What is the nature of humankind as it relates the field of psychology (ontology)? Since time immemorial, humans have questioned their own existence and their relationship to what is around them. The field of ontology is complex, having integrated science and technology into its sphere with the advent of artificial intelligence, medical science, and advanced exploration technologies. Yet in the beginning, Plato and Aristotle were considered the first true ontologists (Biography. ms, n. d. ). They were the first to call attention to the states of being and categories of being: physical objects, minds, classes, properties and relations. It is human nature to question our sense of being, such as what we are, why are here, who we are and why other people and things are around us. The nature of the mind is to probe into its world, perceived by the senses, and make some amount of sense of it all. Ontology is the fundamental basis for metaphysics, which includes all of science and religion. From the first questions relating to the existence of a supreme being or nature spirits or even the concept of having a spirit, ontology was born. When we first begin to associate ourselves as beings, we are practicing ontology. Naturally, part of developmental psychology falls into this category. Human nature dictates that we identify ourselves as an individual, as a part of a family unit, as a student of a school, a member of a community. Ontology is the most fundamental concept of psychological being, since our earliest concepts are â€Å"being-based. † Once humankind becomes more complex and intertwined, we begin to practice ontology with regard to cultures, countries and continents, as well as religions. In this way, each thing that can be named is considered an ontological thing, since it exists. We also have split ontology into very diverse cosmologies; this is where we can become very divided; Christianity as opposed to Islam, for example. Each religion exists, and is composed of rituals and systems that have ontological definitions. Yet the attachment to one’s own identity or one religion’s identity can become dangerous when taken to an extreme. It is our nature to categorize and retain what suits us and reject what is unpleasant. Yet behind these decisions, especially when speaking of ideas (or myths or legends) as if they actually exist in empirical reality is a departure from logic. From the days of the ancients to the present, ontology is largely now used in the science, in the form of empirical study of existing things and the relationships between them (Gregg H. Rosenberg, 1997). We continually explore the interrelationships of our world, leaving science as the main, if not only, modern form of formal ontology practiced today. What once began as a philosophy has transformed into pure science. As we continue to develop increasingly complex technologies in the forms of artificial intelligence, ontology will no doubt take on a different meaning and be applied to different circumstances than ever before. This is only on the surface, however. Ontology, even though not named until recently in human history, has been with us since we began, as creatures, to look beyond our simple survival as a species and consider our relationship to what is around and even beyond us. How do we know what we know in relation to the field of psychology (epistemology)? The many branches of psychology that exist today define the gaining of knowledge within the studies of developmental, cognitive, educational, social, etc. ; these fall under the philosophical domain of epistemology (synonymous with Theory of Knowledge). We question how we come to know certain things and study ways of learning, retaining and using knowledge. The concept of epistemology is very simple. How do we know what we know? But the application of this method is quite complex (Keith De Rose, 2003). Much of the knowledge we gain in any given day is via other people such as friends, family and co-workers. We also gain knowledge in school, from television and books and on the Internet. But how often do we question the source? Now we can see how complex epistemology becomes. Let’s say that Alice tells Jim that Steve is a thief. Jim has never known Alice to lie. In fact, Alice’s reputation is sterling in terms of credibility. Without any further inquiry, Jim believes Alice and has nothing further to do with Steve. How logical is that? Is it true knowledge? No, it isn’t. Jim simply knows what Alice has told him and it may or may not have anything to do with reality. This is where the games of the mind come into play. First we are told something and it becomes knowledge. From that knowledge we form a paradigm. Later we discover that what we know, or believe, is false. We must change our paradigm and everything attached to it. This is the stuff of war. If we look at knowledge, we can only truly know what we ourselves experience. We only learn through experimentation and our own inquiry. We are limited in how much we can know due to our limited senses. Epistemology is concerned with â€Å"propositional knowledge,† such as what is true. It is not so concerned with how to do things (Peter D. Klein, 1998 – 2006). This is where history, religion, politics, theory and other non-empirical learning comes into question. When it comes to the intangible topics in our lives, how do we know? Tradition holds that what we come to know in an empirical manner (the sun rises every day, the stomach growls when one is hungry, if a horse flattens its ears, it is angry) is real knowledge. These are repeatable events that we no longer notice because we know that they will occur with regularity. Plato’s argument was what we have come to know as Transcendental Realism. This means we come to know something through knowing its form and the changes it undergoes. Aristotle put forth the idea that a form does not transcend the material thing. Knowledge is the harmony between thought and fact. Going deeper into this form of philosophy and addressing how we know what we know in the field of psychology, we would have to say that we observe certain behavioral patterns as they relate to prevailing patterns in society, but the real question is, how real is psychology? We cannot empirically see a thought or the connections between thoughts; we can only observe behaviors and listen to the thoughts of others in determining their psychological status. Psychology is something that is not static, therefore it does not adhere to the definition of truth in the strictest sense. What is the role of morals and moral belief in the practice of psychology (axiology, moral psychology)? In order for psychology to be at all effective, the practitioner must acknowledge what is of value to the client; the observer must take note of what is of value to those being observed. What we value is what motivates us, and while we all value different things in different proportions, we do tend to hold common values as a species. One common value is survival. Survival is an interspecies value and can be utilized to study a wide range of behaviors at a basic level. As adults we should know the difference between right and wrong, and we have likely learned the values of our culture or group (Robert N. Barger, Ph. D. , 2000). According to Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, it is understood that people progress through a series of stages of moral development. Beginning with Level 1, most people (according to Kohlberg) pass through a series of six identifiable stages within three levels (Barger). Kohlberg believed that most adults never progressed beyond the second level of conventional morality; the third level, â€Å"post-conventional† morality, was unattainable by most adults and Kohlberg never met anyone who met the criteria of comprehending social mutuality and respect for a universal principle and the demands of an individual conscience. In the practice of psychology, one’s moral beliefs are the glue that holds an individual together through life. While the beliefs may change (and through psychological intervention they often do), the basic values of an individual are relatively unchanging once set in childhood and through social interaction. Practicing psychology is a continual process of setting priorities, which involves axiology. In a society that is ever more diverse and challenging, it is critical in the field of psychology to engage in axiological thinking in order to better assist clients with their own axiological processes. The very process of basic decision-making involves making priorities, and when priorities conflict over a long period of time, stresses occur that changes an individual’s behavior markedly. Since axiology is the study of how people determine the value of different things, it is of great importance that a psychologist can determine the values of a client in order for therapy to be effective. Assignments of value can either represent or distort reality (Clear Direction Inc. 2001). Since valuations are unique to each individual, they create individual thinking habits, which reveal what the true value is, even if it is simply a habit and not a true value. If the thinking habit distorts reality enough to render someone dysfunctional, the method of thinking needs to be evaluated and changed to a healthier pattern. Then new things take higher value than the old ones, and in theory the destructive thinking pattern is disrupted. Practicing psychology with an understanding of axiology and how it affects individuals, families, and cultures is critical, since western society is under continual pressure to change its priorities, causing enormous stresses on its members; for example, if a parent places a higher value on religious beliefs than their child’s education, the child potentially suffers withdrawal from mainstream society and the opportunity to grow and thrive in that very same society. Do you see a place for religious belief, spirituality, political, and socioeconomic philosophy within psychology (teleology, metaphysics, economics)? In a word, yes. From the dawn of time, rightly or wrongly, humans have incorporated the above disciplines into their daily lives and because they are an integral part of human consciousness they must be present, or at least understood, in the study/practice of psychology. It cannot be emphasized enough that our world is rapidly changing, our values and beliefs are changing, and in our Western society those changes can lead to dangerous consequences, such as extremism and violence. The role of psychology is the study of human behavior, and the more complete an understanding of the causations of those behaviors, the better it is for the discipline of psychology, which does have its roots in philosophy. No matter the progression of the physical sciences, it can be clearly argued that thought, belief and a value system has not been proven to be strictly mechanical. That being said, however, does not give the field of psychology carte blanche to incorporate intelligent design or any other religious preference in its practice. Much more study is needed before one can categorically say that psychology is an entirely separate discipline than the above mentioned, for the very factors in the previous pages of this essay are what build the individual personality. No matter the prevailing belief in one’s society, the mind is free to accept or reject it on whatever grounds of inquiry the individual has undertaken. It is the role of the psychologist to understand the importance of a spiritual belief to many people; belief systems are the underpinnings of every society, and the goal of psychology should be to better understand the purpose of such belief systems rather than disregard them due to their lack of empirical evidence. Reams of books can be written on this one question, no doubt for and against. The issue is so complex and convoluted due to the emotions involved and the agendas of each side for attempting to gain the upper hand. Yet this is, in itself, a study. What is it that is propelling Westerners to go to such lengths as to change laws regarding education of both sides? Before categorically stating that teleology, metaphysics, etc. has no place in psychology, we must consider that in assessing how theories or behaviors or thoughts develop, we do not understand the science behind them; hence, no empirical support is available in the strictest sense (Jean Bricmont, 1997). An individual in the social sciences can corroborate with those in the empirical sciences, yet the meaning attached to findings is a function of recognition of repeating patterns that cannot be measured by empirical means. This automatically throws metaphysics and other ambiguous categories into the mix. We must also remember that scientists are also humans with the very same patterns of cognitive development as everyone else; their jealously guarded positions within their areas of specialty are a study in themselves; one could even go as far as to say that they have formed a belief system all their own, to which they are as emotionally attached as any religious zealot. This is where psychology must be balanced in incorporating both empirical science and philosophy of mind. In order to understand what the driving force is behind teleology, we can only look at the results of its presence. We cannot empirically measure its growth and various ways of metamorphosis. While people can have ideas, people are not ideas in the empirical sense (Ian Heath, 2003). Wilhelm Wendt put the role of psychology quite succinctly in his three general principles of psychology: 1) Inner, or psychological, experience is not a special sphere of experience apart from others, but is immediate experience in its totality. 2) This immediate experience is not made up of unchanging contents, but of an interconnection of processes; not of objects, but of occurrences, of universal human experiences and their relations in accordance with certain laws. 3) Each, of these processes contains an objective content and a subjective process, thus including the general conditions both of all knowledge and of all practical human activity† (Wilhelm Wendt, 1897). In maintaining these principles and staying focused on the fundamental purpose of psychology, this discipline can easily incorporate belief systems into its practice by understanding them to be what they are: inner experiences that propel external behavior. Incorporating ideas and beliefs into psychology from the standpoint of better serving humanity in an attempt to understand itself and better educate itself is necessary for a dynamic global society that has the tendency to make what is simple complicated and what is important irrelevant in the face of fact. It is my belief that rather than create ever-new branches of psychology that focus on a small part of the function of individuals or groups, it would behoove the science of psychology to remember its roots and ethical standards in practice. Psychology should refrain from becoming political, yet acknowledge that is existence in politics is important.

Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essays

Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essays Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essay Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essay Essay Topic: Web Ashley B. Hilliard 258-10-0169 June 1, 2011 MG 615 Lesson#10, Assignment 2 Dirt Bikes, Part XII Developing a Web Site Privacy Policy Dirt Bikes should adopt an opt-in model of informed consent. Business is prohibited from collecting any personal information unless the consumer specifically takes action to approve information collection and use. With opt-in method, privacy argument can be minimized. Some of the data that can be discovered when a user visits the Dirt Bikes USA web site are as followed: web browser type, IP address, operating system and version, plug-ins installed in the browser, and the web site the user came from previously. These are just a few of the many items. Java and ActiveX can expose much more information, and Internet Explorer tends to expose more information than other browsers. A list of everything that a browser can expose would take more than 450 words in itself. Some of this information can provide value to the company for demographic reasons. It would allow the company to determine which was the most prevalent browser used on the web site, and optimize the site for that browser. It would also allow the company to see where people were coming from, possibly setting up advertising opportunities. By tracking a user’s path through the website, it would be possible to discover possible design issues, and allow the site to be optimized for a better user experience. Privacy issues involved in collecting this type of data are more of a customer confidence issue than a legal issue. The laws relating to this are not very clear unless you are a financial institution, a health care organization, deal mainly with children, or do extensive business with the EU. All these situations would have legal ramifications covering collection and storage of personal data. The advantages of cookie usage is mainly being able to present the customer with a better user experience, such as saving preferences or offering similar items for purchase Dirt Bikes USA should use cookies in this manner to enhance the user experience at the website. Privacy issues are not as big a concern with cookies for the reason that they are controlled on the users end. They can choose not to accept cookies, or they can dump them at the end of each browser session if they so choose. At this point in the lifecycle of Dirt Bikes USA’s web site, it is not recommended to join an organization such as TRUSTe. The reason for this is that the website at this point is a minor operation and the added costs and maintenance do not provide a decent return for the company. If Dirt Bikes USA decides to go have a web site that is more focused on e-commerce, it would be recommended to look at joining an organization like this more closely. As for trying to design the web site to conform to P3P standards, this is also not recommended. The entire issue of the P3P method of privacy enhancement is too controversial, and of limited benefit for the company to bother using it. When some of the main opponents of P3P are privacy centric organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), it does not bode well for this standard.

Free Essays on EU Constitution

The council, which represents national governments and adopts most EU laws, is the Union's pivot. But, in our third look at Europe's institutions, we spot weaknesses as well as strengths THE symbolism is almost too apt. For two years the European Commission building, the four-pronged Berlaymont, has been shrouded in white plastic while asbestos is removed. Meanwhile across the street glowers a grim pink fortress: the Justus Lipsius Building, new home of the Council of Ministers. Power is indeed seeping from one to the other. Under the classic EU design, the commission proposes, the parliament opines and the council disposes. But nowadays, especially in foreign policy and home affairs, commission and parliament barely get a peep; the council runs the whole show. Yet this is too simple. The European Parliament, for instance, has grown more powerful as well. Even so, the EU clearly has a more â€Å"inter-governmental† flavour than it didthat is, national governments have managed to wrench back more of a say, in keeping with the public mood in most of the Union's 15 countries. Not only Eurosceptical Britons, but also Danes, Swedes, Frenchmen and others want less bossiness from Brussels. Such feelings inevitably strengthen the council, the most inter-governmental of the EU's institutions. They have also made the council somewhat schizophrenic. It is more than a collection of national ministers. Through regular ministerial meetings, a six-monthly presidency that rotates among all the members, a 2,300-strong secretariat and 15 national permanent missions in Brussels, the council has acquired its own European identity. It is, after all, the central body of a nascent confederation. The tension between national and supranational interest reaches right down to the humblest council working-group. A big failure of the council is that it is far too secretiveperhaps the only law-making body in the democratic world that takes decisions behin... Free Essays on EU Constitution Free Essays on EU Constitution The council, which represents national governments and adopts most EU laws, is the Union's pivot. But, in our third look at Europe's institutions, we spot weaknesses as well as strengths THE symbolism is almost too apt. For two years the European Commission building, the four-pronged Berlaymont, has been shrouded in white plastic while asbestos is removed. Meanwhile across the street glowers a grim pink fortress: the Justus Lipsius Building, new home of the Council of Ministers. Power is indeed seeping from one to the other. Under the classic EU design, the commission proposes, the parliament opines and the council disposes. But nowadays, especially in foreign policy and home affairs, commission and parliament barely get a peep; the council runs the whole show. Yet this is too simple. The European Parliament, for instance, has grown more powerful as well. Even so, the EU clearly has a more â€Å"inter-governmental† flavour than it didthat is, national governments have managed to wrench back more of a say, in keeping with the public mood in most of the Union's 15 countries. Not only Eurosceptical Britons, but also Danes, Swedes, Frenchmen and others want less bossiness from Brussels. Such feelings inevitably strengthen the council, the most inter-governmental of the EU's institutions. They have also made the council somewhat schizophrenic. It is more than a collection of national ministers. Through regular ministerial meetings, a six-monthly presidency that rotates among all the members, a 2,300-strong secretariat and 15 national permanent missions in Brussels, the council has acquired its own European identity. It is, after all, the central body of a nascent confederation. The tension between national and supranational interest reaches right down to the humblest council working-group. A big failure of the council is that it is far too secretiveperhaps the only law-making body in the democratic world that takes decisions behin...

Pixelization and representational painting Essay

Pixelization and representational painting - Essay Example Development of painting techniques over the years yielded better ways of representation, but this focus on one dimension limits our abilities in finding diverse methods in representations. In painting alone, focus on improvement has led to various techniques that include fresco, watercolor, quadrature and miniature painting techniques. The technique will improve presentation and scope choices for artist to representation of an object or a scene. Use of combined techniques in image formation may give some of the best form of arts ever seen. It may just require learning expertise in different techniques and ability to combine them to create a magnificent artwork with great value. Development of these techniques used in painting requires creativity to give an appealing artwork and at the same time deliver the massage required. In the past, concentration in developing new techniques denied the hybridisation of existing techniques a chance limiting work in this area. This research acts to introduce a new representation technique by combining existing techniques to form a unique one. The research will provide new techniques for student studies, professors and artists who will validate the work. Painting is the act of application of dye or coloring matter on a surface in a systematic manner with purpose of representing the scene or objects in question. The surfaces painted range from paper, wood surface to concrete walls. There have been many developments in painting styles dating back to prehistoric.

Difference between Noir and Neo-Noir Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Difference between Noir and Neo-Noir - Assignment Example All the films of this type had similar idea and topic. Often they described difficult situations that had to be overcome by the antihero. The introduction of antihero is a very important characteristic of noir style. The main hero was not noble and positive, he had many drawbacks, but still managed to make readers like him. The key element of this type of films was portraying the life of people with negative characteristics or bad reputations. The lives of criminals and gangsters were often used as central theme. The noir films were created in 1940 -1950 until the new term was introduced. In the 1970s the term â€Å"neo-noir† appeared. The difference between the genres was in the technologies that were used in the 1970s. Another peculiarity of the neo-noir films was their modernization, as they commonly depicted events, which happen at the time when they were created. Such type of movies appeared due to the great number of social attitudes. The noir films managed to change the views of people. The possibility to have any kind of relations with the antiheroes and not just to reject them was the main idea of the noir films. The noir films made people like and admire the main heroes. The position of the neo-noir films where one had just to observe and not to be a part of the performance was quite different. The theme of the film predetermines such attitude of the watchers. A number of new topics were presented by neo-noir films (Difference between Noir and Neo-Noir). The Double Indemnity is the classical noir film that was created in the 1914 by Bill Walder. The film was based on the play by James Keyne, which had the narrative character or technique. The Double Identity was included in the list of films of the National Register by the Congress Library in 1992. According to the critics, this picture is the most completed and recommended tutorial on the noir films. One of the brightest femme fatale images in the history of filmmaking was create by the Barbar a Stenwick. Experts state that film by Walder had become the model for a number of films about vamp women, who ruinously influenced the honest men. In the 1981 the movie was re-shoot under the title Body Heat. The title of the movie depicted the traditional state of the insurance policy of that time that provided the guarantee of the double payment in case if insured person died from the accident. A handsome insurance agent Walter Neff, the hero of Fred Murrey, met the fatal blonde Fillis Dietrichson that was played by the Barbara Stenwick. Dierichson easily charmed the main hero Neff. The name and the manners of the main heroine remind us about Marlen Dietrich. Dietrichson manipulated Neff and persuaded him to get rid from her husband and in order to guarantee the prosperous life in future gave the insurance policy with the double indemnity for signature to her doomed husband. The criminals had realized their plan skillfully. The next day the coworker and the friend of Neff Barton Kiz intervened. Not even suspecting Neff he turned the life of the murderer into nightmare. Keyne’s narrative was based on the real crime that was committed in the 1927 and stirred up the whole America. First drafts appeared in the 1935 but they were banned by the advocates of the Heise Code who considered the story to be immoral. The isolated detached houses of 1920s build in the colonial style were chosen for shooting. You can notice the script writer Raymond Chandler who had accidently been in the