Actions Speak free essay sample

Gesture is the use of such movements to express thought, emotion, etc (Gesture). A gesture can be many things. Every action or gesture, no matter how small, says a thousand words. Slamming a book shut shows anger and frustration. Opening a door for someone shows kindness. Gestures go much beyond small actions. My friend once told me a story of when he was in high school. He was on the basketball team and was walking down the hall one day. A girl that was on the girls basketball team was walking in the opposite direction. He said hello, gave her a hard handshake and told her good luck since she had a game later. He later came to find out he saved that girl’s life. She had planned on committing suicide and by shaking her hand and saying good luck, he made her realize someone really cared about her. I’m not saying all actions are going to change someone else’s life that much, but it may make their day better. We will write a custom essay sample on Actions Speak or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Gestures can be negative too. My senior year of high school a guy on my football team was late and was walking down the field to practice. Everyone on the team knows our coach hates when people are late and he hates when people walk on the field. He was walking in like he owned the place and had no care of what his teammates were thinking. Half the team was yelling at him to hurry up, the other half just hoping our coach wouldn’t kill us for his actions. I just kept stretching andthought of things like laziness, careless, lack of dedication. This being my second year on the team with this guy, I was not surprised. His body language has never been good. The other players on the team had never liked him because of his body language. Gestures before, after, and during practice and games determine the words that describe a person as a teammate. I once watched a video of the University of Connecticut womens basketball coach in an interview. He was talking about body language and how it affects his team. He said if a girl has bad body language, she will never play. Every since I saw that video, I have tried to always carry myself in a good manner. I come to practice and I am there to work. When we are running for football and other kids aren’t running hard, I don’t go yell at them. I try to lead by example. I want my gestures to say â€Å"I want to be a great athlete and a better person.† If life was football a nice gesture might be the turnover needed to make a late game comeback. Gestures can often say more than a person wants. One day I was mad at my parents for some pointless reason. All day I stayed down stairs. When one of them would walk by to do laundry I would just stare at the tv or my phone and hope they wouldn’t try to start a conversation. When they would try to talk to me I would have one word answers and mumble a lot. Eventually they would get sick of fighting for a conversation and go back upstairs. My gestures that day said stay away I want to be by myself. That day I could’ve probably had a good conversation with my parents but my actions didn’t allow it. Sitting on the couch and watching tv by myself all day was not my intent but that is what my gestures told my parents. One simple gesture can change a person’s thoughts, day or maybe even save their life. Words can brighten a person’s dark day, although they are not a gesture. If everyone made a nice gesture to someone else every day our school, town, and world would become a better place. As Evan Baxter said in Evan Almighty when asked how to change the world â€Å"One single act of random kindness at a time† or a kind gesture.

Altruism and Kin Selection Essays

Altruism and Kin Selection Essays Altruism and Kin Selection Essay Altruism and Kin Selection Essay Within nature Darwin has proposed the notion of natural selection as the driving force of evolution. Individuals acquiring traits solely designed for their survival and reproductive fitness. Accordingly, animals act selfishly to survive and pass along their genes to future generations. Since then, controversy has circled around the idea of organisms acting out in a selfless manor decreasing their fitness for the success of another member’s fitness. Its puzzling to assume individuals will sacrifice themselves for the benefit of another member when Darwin’s assumptions were predominately associated with the survival of the fittest. Explanations to this issue have been observed amongst kin where family members will help the survival of its relatives in order to increase the success of the group; this is otherwise known as kin selection and is one explanation of altruism. Similarly, cooperation in nature has been viewed as a form of altruism where collaborative efforts will benefit the survival of the species versus selfish actions. A study done by Mr. Allee found planarian worms likely to survive 1. 5 times longer if they grouped together under intense conditions versus groups who exhibited no grouping. Favoring kin selection and cooperation altruism enhances survival of the group level in turn leaving better fitness rates rather than individualistic behavior. But does each theory demonstrate true altruism in nature? In this paper I will present two opposing theories on true altruistic behavior in nature, one based upon alternative explanations for altruistic actions, while the other emphasizes selfish behavior induced for survival and proves altruism to be based on selfish implications too. What is altruism? Altruism is defined as a social behavior that decreases the fitness of the actor in turn increasing the fitness of the recipient. (West). While Darwin believed in natural selection he was also aware of many functional help services amongst animals. Therefore, Darwin presumed natural selection to favor socially interactive animals by enabling advantageous traits that indirectly benefit the species at the group level. According to Mr. Domondon’s review, Darwin presented a theoretical species where some monkeys will inherit a gene that permits alarm singling when predators are spotted, while others will not. Essentially the species that contain monkeys with this trait will sacrifice themselves, or engage in costly behavior causing a greater amount of its group members to survive and pass down the alarm-signaling gene. If such genes are generating a higher reproductive success then groups who do not possess the gene, then this altruistic trait will become inherited; fundamentally causing more altruistically modified individuals. Hamilton presented kin selection as an alternative solution to altruism. Behaviors operating between close relatives where an individual will act in a manor costly to oneself in order to help its kin. This is otherwise known as inclusive fitness, consists of both the actors fitness in addition to the fitness of each group member. (West). Inclusive fitness will be highest amongst closer related members in turn creating stronger kin selection. Such instances can be observed where sibling allomothers sacrifice time and effort to care for the offspring of a mother, greatly increasing the survival of the infant; given that the offspring shares a third of the genes of the sibling allomothers, this will increase their inclusive fitness. Simply put, kin selection will succeed if the indirect benefits outweigh the direct cost inflicted upon the actor. So, species displaying altruistic behavior to help their relatives will increase the survival of the community. Furthermore, reciprocal altruism additionally gives resolution to the issue of altruism. It is associated with individuals beneficially providing services toward members while accepting costs and expecting this treatment in return later. This can develop into long lasting relationships between individuals where benefits will be higher than temporary costs as the behavior is returned in a tit for tat sense (Silk 2007). Also, game theories provide insight into this behavior; for example, the Prisoner dilemma involves two unrelated individuals in a situation given the opportunity to cooperate with one another to gain a beneficial outcome. On the other hand one may act selfishly to gain individual benefits and the other will acquire the costs entirety. The idea is to achieve equal cooperation and to obtain maximum fitness benefits to each participator. For example, if two monkeys come across a predator they are given two opportunities, flee and leave the other monkey as prey, or jump the leopard in an attempt to overpower the leopard and equally flee. At this point the monkeys will have to decide the best method that will likely be at the individuals best interest. However if both monkeys jump the leopard and survive, it is likely that this trait will be passed down. Hence, cooperation and reciprocal altruism may deem some costs but again benefits outweigh the costs and greatly provide better fitness. Does true altruism exist in nature? Altruism fundamentally presumes an individual to be sacrificing its own time and resources to benefit another member’s success, posing a huge problem in evolution. Individuals gain beneficial traits by natural selection for the selfish purpose of enhancing their own survival rate. Also, evolution acting at the individual level allows genetic traits unfit for survival to die out. If deleterious genes cause a mutation within a species, perhaps a discoloration unpleasing to the opposite sex, this individual is likely to have a lower fitness, and natural selection will weed this trait out. Thus, animals with successful traits that increase reproductive fitness and survival will continue passing down so that they will surpass proximate competitive species or conditions benefiting the survival of its kind. Mr. Allee has suggested altruistic genes to act selfishly throughout a community, in this case the species should be equally cooperating and engaging in selfless behavior benefiting the species as a whole. However, scientists have brought forth notions of potential cheaters, individuals who will receive benefits from actors and will not return the benefits and or will not display a case of altruism toward individuals. In this case selfish genes will return to the population weeding out altruistic genes. Above all, individuals acting selfishly will gain higher benefits toward their own survival without adhering to any costs. Moreover, while many examples provide solutions to the issues pertaining to altruism it can be argued altruism simply acts in the interest of the actor not solely the recipient. In kin selection the actor is behaving to increase the fitness of its kin by decreasing its own fitness, however it can be argued that the actor is acting selfishly to increase his own genetic heritability. It would be smart to sacrifice myself to save 4 brothers and sisters or ten cousins, thereby increasing a greater amount of genetic fitness embedded in our relatives. Moreover, the acts of altruism are associated only within kin selective communities fundamentally assuming every costly action benefiting a group member will in fact still benefit the actor’s genotypic construction and ultimately fitness. Although kin selection poses a relationship where the actor engaging to benefit another while accepting costly sacrifices, the actor also maintains motives to increase his own genetic survival. In spite of this, kin selection is not a supporter of true altruism. Ordinarily if true altruism were to exist in nature this would profoundly require only the interests of the recipient, rather than an individuals own. However, kin selection theory explains altruistic behavior as a strategy devised by selfish genes, increasing the reproductive success of the recipient. Yet, the genes of the benefiting member from the act of altruism are indirectly benefiting the genetic survival of the actor. Reciprocal altruism theory also seems to contradict the idea of behaving selfless, when the actor is expecting the behavior in return; this is merely delayed selfishness. Although, interestingly enough altruistic traits may attribute at a group level, however this will still drive individual selfishness; an individual acting selfishly will still benefit at a higher level than those altruistically taking costs, and in turn will reintroduce the selfish behavior back into the population. So does altruism exist in nature? Yes there are forms of altruistic behavior were individuals will help others improve their fitness will succumbing to costs of their own, however these acts are not done selflessly. Therefore, true altruism does not exist in nature. True altruism are acts that do not require benefits back toward the actor, instead only choose to behave supportively with no gains, and this does not exist in nature.

Landfills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Landfills - Essay Example This paper includes the history and development of property type of landfills in Australia. The story of how the Australian comes up with this method is also discussed in this paper. The development and application of various methods for this property type is also described. This paper shows the comparison of landfills in Australia with other countries such as the USA, Canada and New Zealand. Graphs and tables are included in this study as your reference about landfills in Australia. The management of wastes is an important environmental issue. Some wastes are toxic and can harm living organisms and their disposal is of particular importance. Other wastes, while not directly toxic, can physically harm the environment. Effective maintenance of waste can help us a lot. Landfills were introduced in England in 1912. It was formerly called as the Controlled Tipping and involves natural fermentation brought about by microorganisms. Waste materials or refuse are deposited in shallow layer, compacted and covered within 24 hours with earth or other chemically inert material from an effective seal. (Britannica, 2006). United States of America and New Zealand are among the countries that use landfills and experienced controversy in using landfills as waste management. Below are some details about the history and development of landfills in both countries. United States of America At the end of World War II, urban growth accelerated. With this growth came increased refuse generation. The impacts of open-burning dumps on public health became a concern. Experience in the military with sanitary fill methods and the interests by some local governments in eliminating open dumps led to increased efforts to dispose of refuse in a sanitary manner, but what prescribed a sanitary manner was unknown. Many local governments that bragged about using the "sanitary landfill" method were actually using modified open dumps. The landfill in 1940 was described in a report prepared by the Sanitary Engineering Research Project of the University of California in 1952.1 The landfill studied in 1949 was described as a refuse dropped and spread out over a large to allow scavengers easy access. At the end of day pigs were allowed on the spread-out refuse for overnight feeding. It is in this year that the landfills made their appearance. Most of the landfills were located on former wetlands. This 1 Sanitary Engineering Research Project. "An Analysis of Refuse Collection and Sanitary Landfill Disposal." practice does not take long and was subjected to change because of obvious reasons. Open burning of refuse created air pollution. Allowing the pig to eat raw garbage was not a sanitary . During this time there were no minimum requirements set as to what constituted a sanitary landfill. Like the landfills in Australia, most of the landfills in USA where also subjected to closure because of the following reasons; it can cause air pollution, the leak is unsafe for the residents that surrounds the area, groundwater contamination and others that affect the health of the people. The commitment of the US Public Health Service (USPHS) to provide national leadership to eliminate open-burning dumps and replace them with sanitary landfills also served as the basis for a broader national strategy to improve the management

Social Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Social Change - Essay Example Supply and demand for dangerous drugs is international and global. An important source of world opium, for example, is Afghanistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is anticipating that cultivation of opium in the Northern and North-Eastern regions of Afghanistan will likely increase â€Å"strongly† this 2011. For Cocaine, an important source is Columbia and the cocaine goes through several routes by various means of transportation and through several countries before going to Europe and, of course, the United States. Some of the transnational routes for cocaine are shown in Figure 1. Drug use is not only a problem of law enforcement. Several studies confirm that it is a social problem. Several studies of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse in 1980, for example, pointed out that the drug problem arose because of social factors. On the other hand, a 1995 study of the United Nations International Drug Program indicated that the drug problem will have social consequences. Addressing the use of illegal drugs and narcotics require more than a cloak-and-dagger and police work approaches as it is a social problem in the first place. There is a need to work on both the supply and demand sides of the social problem. On the supply side, there is a need for at least five initiatives. First, there is a need to strengthen international cooperation and sharing of intelligence towards exposing and destroying the international networks engaged in illegal drugs and narcotics. This means that current efforts on the sharing intelligence must be supported. Most likely, the world has the technological capability to identify the plantations that are likely being used as the raw materials for producing drugs. This is one important piece of intelligence that must be shared worldwide. Volumes of drug transports require large ships, planes, and the like for international transport. In some of the

Professional Journal Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Professional Journal Paper - Essay Example During the course of reading of the article, it seems that in spite of comprehensive review of literature; the author failed to provide a proper framework of study. The article missed the quality of coherence. The author discussed the patterns of crimes in logical manners. He, even, did not ignore the nature of crimes in different states of the United States. In his opinion, these crimes can be rooted out from the society after the elimination of the causes of the crimes. However, he did not discuss reasons in proper context. For example, he considers the increasing cases of theft as the natural consequence of ‘split families’, but he ignored the view of biologists who traced the roots of theft in human genes. The author conducted a survey to ascertain the problems of judicial system. Open ended questions have been included in the questionnaire of the survey which enhanced the scope of the research. The respondents of the questions are mainly adolescents, which raised a figure at the credibility of the research as mature opinion is missing in the research. The writer explained the social phenomenon of crimes in good context. He traced the roots of crimes in the social problems of the society. For example, commenting upon the recent mass shooting incident at a college of New York, he blamed stress and depression of the teen agers as the major cause and stressed upon the need of the promotion of more recreational activities to develop competition among teen agers. While analyzing, he ignored the efforts of the rehabilitation department and analyze the incident superficially. The suggestions for the overhauling of the criminal justice system can be declared as old wine in new bottle. (Sameul 1977) However, the article carries new information for the practicing lawyers. They can use this angle of information for the benefits of their clients. He discussed the various clauses and articles of the constitution in different contexts thus contributed to the

Mannerism in art: An analysis

Mannerism in art: An analysis The stylistic categories are an important aspect of the history of art. Gombrich (1985) suggests that classification is a necessary evil that if taken as a tool that is also flexible and modifiable, can be valuable for art historians. Gombrich notes that while useful, categorisation has also been prone to critical abuse (p81). In other words derogatory nomenclature was often used when naming an art historical era. Baroque, which I would consider a very refined phase of technically crafted dramatic art, in fact was defined by the Oxford pocket dictionary of 1934 as grotesque (p81) as this was the immediate summary of its worth in the seventeenth century. Kaufman (2010) indicated that the categories mark historic periods of individual artists, however art critical analysis has always made it difficult to distinguish the categories and this has led to individual historians describing the categories or styles differently. To establish a permanent and agreed name to a genre or era of art could only happen successfully after that period had expired and time had lapsed for thorough deliberation it requires time and broadmindedness to deal with (Gombrich,1985, p81). Gombrich also states that such categories help us in the mastering an unstructured reality that is to say that as long as criticality in our application of such categories is maintained, new insights about what constitutes them can be gained. Categorisation is limited by language, complex concepts cannot always be expressed by words, and categories are often oversimplified into opposites: good/bad, visual/haptic, left/right etc. This system of opposites allows a range of values in between. In order to create an art category a style must be distinct and unique, therefore necessitating a term to describe it. If a style is neither unique nor distinct it would not require classification. Kaufmann (2010) believed that despite numerous stylistic terminology (p2) all art can be categorised into two major categories which are classical and non-classical. For example, Gothic art is classified as non-classical, while Barbaric and Barocco were described as post classical and degenerate at that time. However irrespective of this norm, there were exceptions to some styles like Mediaeval which was regarded as less beautiful but had some worthy attributes such as being more devout, more honest or more strong which according to historians of the time counted for more than mere orderliness (Gombrich,1985, p86). As Gombrich points out, the problem underlying the categorisation of art is the claim that arose in the 19th century that art historians can look at the historical development of styles in an objective and unbiased manner. That is to say without being influenced by their own agendas, political standpoints, need for oversimplification or cognitive biases. This is the proble m underlying all art categorisation, and through this understanding we can now go on to analyse the topic of mannerism as a historical art category. This essay will first of all attempt to offer a definition of mannerism, pointing out some inherent difficulties in doing so, it will then go on to look at some of the benefits of describing the historical period conventionally labelled as mannerist in this way, before looking at some of the drawbacks. Finally conclusions will be made about how helpful it is as a concept in the categorisation of historical art. 2. Mannerism as an art category 2.1 What is Mannerism, and why is the term controversial as an art category? Mannerism as it has been conventionally described in modern interpretations of historical art, is a style which came between the high Renaissance and the Baroque (1510-20 to 1600) periods and is sometimes was referred to as the late Renaissance (Wundram1985). One of the first issues when discussing Mannerism, is identifying exactly when it started, and when it finished, as while in Italy, it is thought to have ended in around 1580, but Northern Mannerism is thought to have extended into the early 17th century in Europe (Freedberg,1971). However according to Smyth (1992, p13) this set of stylistic conventions began to be adopted in around 1530, before becoming the norm in the 1540s and 1550s in the work of Vasari and his contemporaries. This highlights one of the first difficulties art historians have with the broad category of Mannerism. Deriving from the Italian maneriera, Mannerism refers to a style or manner and what exactly constitutes Mannerism has also been a matter of debate in art history. The term has been widely used in literature and architecture as well as in art. Vasari as a central Mannerist himself used the term to discuss an artists manner or method, in describing a particular artists style, and in attributing praise. However, the term has also been used according to Franklin (2001) by Vasari himself to criticise the work of Perugino as mannered meaning that his style was repetitious and this was thought to be unaturalistic and therefore negative (p14). Miedima (1978-79) points out that the term was originally used as a term of opprobrium (p20). As illustrated through these examples the term Mannerism and what is meant by it may have given rise to great deal of confusion as successive art historians used the term. What constitutes mannerism as a style is also not without its problems. Miedema (1978-9) defines the stylistic features thought of as Mannerism as artificiality, affectation, the stereotype and monotony furthermore these were interpreted arbitrarily as: anti-classicism, subjectivity, torment, anxiety and doubt, and violent emotionality (p21). Problematic is that fact that a term used to express what was negative about some art in the sixteenth century until around the nineteenth century has now been expanded to characterize the style of what we speak of as representing the entire period (ibid). The style of the period can also be seen as contravening the high Renaissance classical rule rooted more on visual perception and scientific naturalism. Rather mannerism is thought to be based more on intellectual preoccupation as evident in the late works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and mid-career works of Michelangelo Mannerism as a style is not easy to categorise because of its diversity (Smith, 2007). The label defined a significant change in social behaviour and a noticeable brilliance in techniques of works of some artists. The term Mannerism itself is quite a profound indicator of the perception of general aesthetics. It denotes the acknowledgement of Style- the recognition of stylization integral to any art work and the implications this brings: Manipulation, adaption, abstraction. This in turn may have also have taken some of the devout piety away from the function of art works. Elongated forms, precariously balanced poses, and collapsed perspective; irrational settings and theatrical settings were reflected amongst characteristics of mannerists works. Parmigianos Work Madonna (1534-40) Florence, Uffizi, is a good example of the change of style and it was greatly believed to have been influenced by Raphael, but gave a great anti-classic character. Smith (2007, p) described the Madonna: Proportions are lengthened so that forms are attenuated; perspective is exaggerated, and there is great discrepancies of scale between the virgin and her attendants. Again a feeling of disquiet is produced by the column beautifully finished, but like a ruin supporting nothing, or* the enigmatic gentleman who opens a great scroll but instead of reading it turns his head in the opposite direction. The Madonna with the Long Neck is a very good example of divergent style from naturalism. The distorted proportion exemplified by elongated neck and arms brings about the concept of abstraction which was not the norm with the previous style. Smiths (2007) description concurs with the definition of Mannerists being advocates of tension and ambiguity as opposed to the rounded harmony of high renaissance. Mannerist composition lacks the balance and legibility that would have been necessary for art to be considered a complete, where all the relative parts played a role and reason was prominent. The whole perception of the entire work brings about an attitude of laziness or lack of seriousness especially to those used to high renaissance. The argument for the distortions would be that the artist was trying to heighten the notion of elegance and grace to express these famous historical figures. The mother of Christ therefore, was rendered larger than life or with an unrealistic perfection in certain anatomical features. A further example of Mannerists works is provided by the Scupture of Bologna (1581-83) The Rape of the Sabines. Matsui describes it as: Three figures twisting upwards in such a way as to form a Spiral, allowing, if not demanding, a 360 degree view of the work. Bolognas sculpture took on a flamboyant self-confidence, which clearly proved him to have at least one foot firmly placed in the next era, the Baroque. This goes to show how hard Mannerist artists are to defineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Though the works reflects aspects of Michelangelos, Bologna went further than the usual forms of Michelangelos works by being more extravagant in terms of executing his shapes, which were more prominent in terms of their three dimensional nature, as described by Matsui. Such an approach went beyond the traditional boundaries of High renaissance, and was seen as a new phenomenon and probably the represented the foundation of a new style. High renaissance art being what it was at the time; an art style at peak in terms of its innovation, needed to be built on. Up-coming artists would have viewed the creative arena before them and may have seen invention as the most positive way forward. Another characteristic of mannerism worth noting is the use of space by the mannerist artists. Unlike the Renaissance where the space was definite and the view was provided with a fixed view point, in mannerism the space was extended to infinity and the side boundaries were removed (Wundram, 1985). Many of the themes used in Mannerist work paid homage previous masters works, styles and themes, as opposed to the norm of naturalism. Wundram (1985) points out that the movements focal point was for the first time considered to be in painting. This change in style can be seen as maturation from the high Renaissance and an extension of its qualities. The qualities displayed were anti classism and the move was seen to be a natural progression from High Renaissance. None of these descriptions and examples of what we now describe as Mannerism, solve the issue that the category became the term for defining the style of sixteenth century art, or at least part of that art (Miedema, 1978, p20), and that whether art can be qualified as Mannerist or not has depended on which criteria different authors applied and which were accordingly dismissed (ibid). The issue boils down to the debate around whether Mannerism is a style, a movement, or a period and the fact that it is commonly used to identify the European art and culture of the 16th century (Mobile reference, nd). 2.2 What led to the emergence of Mannerism? Mannerism as an art style emerged during a period of political unrest which includes the reformation, the plague and the sack of Rome in 1527. The style was more popular in Florence and Rome but spread all over Italy and northern Europe (Matsui, 2010). Although the origins of Mannerism have been attributed to the early sixteenth century, in 1555 a more radical style emerged which deviated from the masters in what was described as lazy ignorance or vain rashness, it was regarded as a complete philosophy and method of art (Smyth 1992). It was alleged that, these students became addicted to weak (not incorrect) design and feeble washed out colours, far from the truth and at the same time too resolute (ibid). The exact historical period of mannerism has been a subject of controversy; however it is generally seen to come between High Renaissance and Baroque. It is normally seen as the extension of the High Renaissance though it is mostly seen as Renaissance anti-classicism due to the natu re of works produced which are more abstract and do not reflect nature realistically. Mannerist artists were associated with great intellect and were no longer seen as crafts persons but rather scholars with great admiration of elegance and complexity. They could now stand apart from crafts men and be on equal terms with poets allowing for self-conscious interpretation of the events they recorded. With this freedom came great responsibility especially for visual artist. Poets could record the world with a degree of ambiguity and abstraction, but painters were limited in their presentation to a definite subject matter within the parameters of the four corners and flat nature of the canvass. Given the expectations that the art of the time would accurately represent its subject matter, it would have been extremely difficult to present an image with any degree of distortion or artistic licence. 3 Advantages of using Mannerism as a historical art category The Mannerist era heralded a new period of innovation. The period fostered creativity, through a lack of adherence to the particular principles of the time. There was also a distinctness and sharpness which showed a lot of independent thinking. The structure of work is well defined and well balanced and highly stabilised to support its own particular aesthetic qualities. Using examples of Mannerist art, this section will give evidence to support the notion that in order to communicate about the period, a category such as Mannerism is more helpful than unhelpful. EL Greco, The Annnuncial (1576) (see appendix) is an exceptional work which exemplifies the creativity and beauty of what is thought to be Mannerist art. The theme of the work is religious based, as religion or erotic nature themes were popular due to the upheaval of the period of that time. El Greco personifies successful mannerists art because he engages both exaggerations in his painterly application and his distortions of figures. He leaves out any attempt to render the scene in naturalistic terms; thereby entering fully into the realm of stylistic invention. The work depicts the announcement of birth of Christ, it shows Angle Gabriel appearing before the Virgin Mary accompanied by many other angles above the two figures, a dove painted in glowing white , which spread all the way towards the virgin signifies the presence of the holy spirit. The painting is more congested as figures are juxtaposition to fit in the limited space. Colour contradictions and elongated figures give the painting a general view of uncertainty and menace. But everything about the painting is contrived and makes no attempt to conceal the artifice. El Greco has defied the odds, and has demonstrated some compositional brilliance of the style. EL Greco used elements of design to harmonise the entire work making it aesthetically interesting. The distorted figures and pallet of variety of cool colours gives the work mystical view augmenting the theme. It might have been that El Grecos art was misunderstood during his time (especially the later work), but he was to have a significant impact on later artists. He gains influence amongst the modernist era especially with artists such as Picasso and The German Expressionists. This era of art was more aligned to self-conscious manipulations and personal sensibilities, and it is surprising to see a 16th Century artist stand up to this genre of extreme modernism. In hindsight one could say that El Greco was far beyond his time, and helped influence some of the most extreme and drastic changes in aesthetic awareness that still inform the art world today. It is helpful therefore to have a least a general category of association in which to place El Greco. He may not be noted as an obvious exponent of Mannerism but he falls heavily into its influence, and not by his association with High Renaissance. It is by the particular general detail of categories that we are reliant on placing artists in context to their historical time, and agreeing on the traits that identify them with that genre and not another. The intellectuality that is attributed to the Mannerist period embraced liberal ideologies that allowed for much more creative freedoms in arts and literature. This allowed a whole body of work to flourish that embraced these new liberties. Such work represented a clear departure from previous works represented by High renaissance and clearly showed that the beginning of something very new was happening in terms of stylistic categories. Clearly then, a stylistic category delineating the two periods is necessary. It might not be a coincidence that the first historically recorded female artist Sonofisba Anguissola (a student of Michelangelo) gained acclaim and significant success during these times. Although not a mannerist, she transcended limitations placed on her gender at the time to be considered equal amongst her male counterparts in a male dominated discipline. Did this freedom for intellectual curiosity exhibited by the Mannerists also extend to other disciplines? For instance, Galileos (1564-1642) accurate observations on planetary orbits and scientific theory that contradicted the Roman Catholic Churchs assertions also came towards the end of the Mannerist period. Thus the credit for these advancements needs to be justified under a general label that identifies the era, and the influences that brought about prevalent features of arts and culture at the time. Clearly the artistic paradigm shift represented by Mannerist art deserves a label. It is sometimes useful to have a historical category which reflects the origins of such an important change of convention and under which the collective achievements of a generation can be contextualised. 4 The disadvantages of using the term Mannerism as a Historical art category. Although it is useful to delineate the changes from High renaissance to Mannerism how a particular piece of art can be analysed into one category or another can sometimes present methodological difficulty without a common and agreed frame of reference. Such a conceptual tool is yet to be perfected. The painting Christ before Pilate (Tintoretto, 1565-1567) clearly illustrates this issue, as it has always been controversial whether it is Mannerist or not even though it can be dated to a period thought of as High Mannerist. Some have referred to it as an anti-classical style as it ran counter to High Renaissance, some prefer to look at it as it as late Renaissance while others did not give it any specific category (Smyth,1992). This illustrates the point that if we are to think of Mannerism as a period, rather than an identifiable style as it is commonly viewed then we may find ourselves in difficulty. Likewise if we look at Mannerism as a style rather than a period, a painting such as Tintorettos presents classification difficulties. This illustrates a clear disadvantage of using the term mannerism as a historical art category. However, in a discussion of Christ before Pilot Curtis (in Akker, 2010) looked at Mannerism as a neutral term, that can be seen as a legitimate art category depending on the painting and the argument put forward by the art historian. Furthermore Shearman (1961) also puts forward and argument to defend Mannerism as a good art category, he describes it as decorative stylisation which illustrates meaning of form and called it a stylish style. To illustrate this point he cites the work of Perino del Vaga, Vertumnus and Ponoma (1527) as a good example of Mannerist work. Akker (2010) describes the work: being almost that of the whole design, we are more immediately aware of the freedom in the distribution of their parts, as if they were abstract and not figurative material; for the figures, interlaced one with the other, are also deployed in a remarkably decorative way over the whole surface. This freedom of disposition is obtained by manipulations of considerable torsion, achieved, however, with perfect ease in the figures themselves. Grace, not tension, is the resultà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But overall though there is still a confusion as to Mannerisms identity as a specific category or a flexible term to reference work that is not quite High Renaissance, nor accessible as Baroque. Franklin, (2001) believes that this leaves it as a rather redundant term in the canons of art classification, and in Mannerisms particular case it is often ignored or goes unnoticed as an art category altogether. The critical view at the time of deemed that Mannerism did not fall or fit well within the contemporary notion of what art was supposed to be (Akker, 2010, p28), and there was said to be a decline in art after the High Renaissance. Painting was said to have reached its peak during the time of Raphael and drastically declined after his death. This decline was attributed to the departure of artists from the then current style, which was based on the study of Nature rather the more intellectual approach based imagination and artifice. These were further described by Lanzi (C.1800) (cited in Akker, 2010) as imitating previous masters work in a literal and servile manner. He believed that the style represents a cultural shift that can be considered an inevitable phase in culture that could be considered normal in any society. He further describes it as a sort of fatality that: seems to prevail in all human things, rendering their duration in the same state of short continuance; so that after attaining their highest elevation, we may assuredly at no distant period look for their decline But the issue of interpretation and accessibility lies only with that time that mannerism was in affect; for in hindsight, with the advantage of noticing succeeding generations of art development, Mannerism looks now like a bold attempt to challenge perceived notions and shock a conditioned establishment into reconsidering its values, or at least speculate on other innovations in visual art. The fact that it was noted for its discrepancies with the established order means it only attracted more attention, and thus necessitated being a category in its own right. The problem of Mannerism being its own distinct category leaves another issue; that of a dual allegiance of those artists who were in part indulging in High Renaissance styles and yet who were also involved with Mannerist tendencies. Michelangelo is one such an artist. His early career paid much attention to copying the old masters; Giotto for instance, but always without complete reverence. He would analyse the drawing but the final rendition would be adopted and altered for his own pursuit in technique (Nagel, 2000). Michelangelos career was spurred by the need to adapt, change, and be inventive. It is not surprising then that he ended up belonging to both camps, and by the later stages of his career was implicated as Mannerist. It is possibly the failure of historical labelling that causes confusion, and indicates a weakness in Mannerism as a historical art category. Mannerism had another very identifiable feature that is, over simplification of forms. This approach has led to many misconception about the style, some view the unrealistic aspects of the work produced as sign of laziness or rushed work done without much consideration technical details (such as correct proportion) or that it lacked serious attention. Friedlaenders(1957) however defended this aspect of Mannerism and stated that such over simplification is due to the distinct character of the artistic and cultural movement in specific places at specific times. Friedlaenders also pointed out that any form of refinement through stylization tends to result in simplification of form. This was very much part of Michelangelos agenda in his later years. His late work often looked unfinished; the Rondanini Pieta (1564) being a prime example. If we did not know it, one would not recognise it as a work of Michelangelo due its rough appearance. Nagel (2001) explains Michelangelos choices as being more to do with process than final appearance. The artists himself is noted for being intrigued about the process of sculpting. He did not anticipate a finished piece, but was open to a sense of discovery that that lay within a block of stone. For Nagel it appears as a reversal of the usual process, where excavation enables the artist to merely discover what already lay within. For this reversal of attitude to take place is a big upheaval in historical terms and requires distinction and categorization. The problem occurs when you have to refer to one artist; who is so well esteemed, as being a practitioner of both these disparate practices. However, there is no reason that the category of Mannerism should be ignored or brushed under the carpet by art historians because of this discrepancy, as will be discussed further in the next section. 5 Discussion The problem with the classical period was that the concept of what constituted an art form was too prescriptive. It was formalised into proportional figures, accurate perspective, round 3 dimensional composition, and naturalistic colour scheme. Under this strict regimen of constructing a painting the artist had little subjective input. It is not surprising that during this era the artists turned to a Mannerist style which allowed room for invention. This change in style marks a change in the perception and the function of an art work. Without a rigid system of application art elements and principles could be explored with a broader and bolder sense of creative design. Suddenly a dynamic quality of rhythm and symmetry evoked more imaginative possibilities in a picture surface, where elongated figures had more potential for movement in themselves. Renaissance art itself was a new achievement at a time of critical self-questioning in: religion, politics and culture. It was a tendency of artists to always be searching for different forms of expression. Mannerism appears to be a consequence of these introspective circumstances, as much as any modern art movement would have been a response to drastic changes to material and social upheavals. Categories seem easier to apply during the twentieth century than during the sixteenth Century due to the rapid succession of various movements that reacted to each other. But Mannerism was just as much a reaction to its predecessor, and a bridge in the historical continuum that leads to the Baroque. A land mark (and thus a historical art history category) therefore applies as well for Mannerism as it does for Cubism. Although mannerism is often over looked as a category in art development, it is in fact a very crucial dividing line in the history of art. It draws a definite line between scientific naturalism and more elaborate creative tendencies. This is very relevant and definitive moment in the transitional annals of art development. It defines a moment when the hierarchy of the art establishment was challenged and superseded to allow choice and alternative applications. As Kaufmann (2010) notes, although there may have been disagreement about whether a work of art should be labelled a particular label, such debates were often productive and new period concepts, like Mannerism, were discussed. As stated in the introduction as long as such historical debates continue critically, labels such as mannerism are a helpful term of reference, and enable opportunities for new scholars to become aware of the issues involved in art classification. In fact it could be the existence of art history courses that reinforce or necessitate such labels (Kaufman, 2010), in order to enable such debates to have a common terms of reference however problematic. 6 Conclusion There are always going to exceptions when classifying art historical epochs. We have seen how Michelangelo might be deemed as the greatest practitioner of High Renaissance, but also reverted to an anti-classic methods leaving speculation that is difficult for some art historians to reconcile. Perugino was also hard to classify in historical reference. The problems with classification have probably got a lot to do with the nature of language, especially written language. Until Vasari oral tradition had prevailed where information is temporal not material. The following tradition of written history meant the emergence of the Historian/analyst and the specific discipline associated with this practice. Most art historians like the debate to be simple, rounded and clearly articulated without confusion. Mannerism does not work as a perfect narrative and is hard to present conclusively as a period without contradiction. But it would be hard not to stumble across contradictions considering t he length of time spanned by this era; nearly one hundred years. Meidema (1978) certainly believes that it is inadequate to tie up this amount of time with one simplistic label. The problem probably accrued as there was only a few chroniclers recording the achievements of that time, and so large generalisations occurred. But given that there was a discernable shift in the collective intellectual imagination during that time it needs to occupy its own identifiable place in reference to written history. The term Mannerist is useful for a general referral to an art practice from 1510-1600, but also deplete and extremely awkward if you wish to investigate certain aspect of that era in more detail. One might say that the term Mannerism is no less stigmatizing than the term Fauvism used to describe modern European colourists comprising of that group. But whilst even here there may be some confusion and artists that do not fit the description comfortably as the time scale for the Fauves wa s reduced to four years.

Decentering the Self in the Technological Age Essay -- Communication I

Decentering the Self in the Technological Age In a beautiful park, at the gazebo, stand my two friends, Avatar and Lewia. The wizard is performing the ceremony, and all is going very well. After many hours of intimate chat and romantic evenings together, today Avatar and Lewia are to be married - on the internet. This is the height of immersion to MUDlife. Life on the internet is affecting more people than many of us like to admit. I am interested in discussing the reasons for and repercussions of this sort of immersion. The above description actually did occur, several years ago. It was around the time of the first real explosion of the world wide web, when the internet was reserved for "computer geeks" like myself. The internet offers hundreds of "virtual spaces" called MUDs for "Multi User Domain". Within these MUDs, users create characters for themselves and virtual worlds for their characters. Interaction is purely text-based, with few rules. The worlds are controlled by "wizards", users who have the power to "toad" or delete characters that are abusive or unruly in some other way. My (real life) friend and his girlfriend used to frequent "The Resort", a MUD for general discussion that has since been closed. My personal interest was quite limited, but I had to attend the cyber-ceremony out of respect. My internet personality, or i-dentity, was, after all, BestManChris. Inspired by a similar net-event described in Sherry Turkle's Life On The Screen, I have recently reflected on the reper cussions of that net-wedding. For people as young as we were, twelve years old, the internet and chat rooms are an escape from the control of parents and teachers; they were a chance to be more "grown up" than real life ... ...he commonly held view that communication will become increasingly personal as technology advances is challenged by the popularity of IRC as a new form of communication. People form virtual communities with loose social structure and rules in which the residents all have something in common, whether it is a wedding ceremony, hobby, or a sexual interest. The growth in the number of IRC users is too large to be ignored, and I think it is going to be central to the recreation of communities as postmodern gathering places and the continued decentering of self as electronic communication becomes more prevalent in the years to come. Works Cited Reid, Elizabeth M. Electropolis: Communication and Community On Internet Relay Chat University of Melbourne, 1991. Turkle, Sherry. Life On The Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet New York: Touchstone, 1997.

Lexical Semantics: Hyponyny Networks

Question 2 Not all dictionary definitions contain classifiers, but many do, and in some cases when you look up the classifier itself, you find another even more general classifier within its definition. For example, you might like to think about the following definitions from the Collins English Dictionary. Colostrum is the thin milky secretion from the nipples that precedes and follows true lactation. It consists largely of serum and white blood cells. A secretion is a substance that is released from a cell, especially a glandular cell, and is synthesized in the cell from simple substances extracted from the blood or similar fluid. Substance is (1) the tangible basic matter of which a thing consists; or (2) a specific type of matter, especially a homogeneous material with definite or fairly definite chemical composition. Matter is (1) that which makes up something, especially a physical object; material. What are the classifiers in these definitions? (Why is this question hard to answer? Can you change the definition to make it easier? ) Draw a diagram to show the hyponymy chain you found in (a), with hyponyms shown below their classifiers. Can you think of any additional levels that you can put in the hyponymy chain above secretion? Add them. Sebum and saliva are co-hyponyms of colostrum. Add them to the diagram, along with two co-hyponyms for each level of the chain. Add distinguishers to your diagram, to differentiate each of the co-hyponyms you have added. On an intuitive level it would seem a simple task to select the different classifiers within each of the above definitions however, several problems arise which belie this. Colostrum is the easiest to deal with as it is the most specific of the four terms, although there is still potential for an error to be made. The only classifier in this description is ‘secretion' as, according to Hudson (1995: 26) â€Å"the classifier †¦ is the first common noun that follows is†[1]. Although this syntactic relationship is useful as a method of identification, it is not the reason ‘secretion' is a classifier of ‘colostrum'. Syntactic relationships exist between lexemes, not senses, and are governed by the relationships between senses, thus it is the latter that hyponymic networks represent. The classifier (C) is the concept that is superordinate to the ense in question (S1) in that S1 must possess enough characteristics of the classifier to make it a type of that concept, even if not a typical one, as well as distinguishers that serve to differentiate it from the classifier and any other co-hyponyms. More simply, S1 is a hyponym of C iff all S1 are a type of C, but not all C are S1 (op cit. 16). Furthermore, classifiers for common nouns will always capture what S1 is, not how or why it is. In the case of ‘colostrum' only ‘secretion' performs this function: we can say that colostrum is a type of secretion. It is important, however, to refine the concept of ‘what it is': if this is taken to include a material concept as well as a typical one, i. e. , what it is made up of or consists of, there is more scope for what can be considered a classifier. Under this description both ‘serum' and white blood cell' can be considered as classifiers of ‘colostrum'. This does not seem to be correct though, as ‘colostrum' is not a type of serum or white blood cell, nor does it possess enough of the characteristics of either to qualify as a hyponym. Therefore, in such cases we can eliminate concepts about the material of which a referent of the given sense consists as candidates for classifiers. Having established the criteria for identifying classifiers it should now be easier to identify those for the remaining senses however, there are further difficulties. It is safe to say that ‘substance' is the classifier of ‘secretion' according to the above rule but the use of ‘substance' twice in the definition provides potential for confusion: according to the definition for ‘secretion' above we can make the following statement: (A) a secretion is a substance1 made up of substances2. The difficulty seems to lie in SUBSTANCE being polysemic (Palmer 1981: 100), a fact apparently proven by its having two definitions. This implies that SUBSTANCE1 represents one of the given senses of ‘substance' whilst SUBSTANCE2 represents the other, but neither fits with sense (1) as both are a specific type of matter. Therefore, both must be the concept in sense (2) but if SUBSTANCE1 and SUBSTANCE2 do have the same sense statement (A) has no useful meaning, for it to do so SUBSTANCE requires an additional sense. The solution is provided in the definition of ‘secretion': SUBSTANCE1 is istinguished from SUBSTANCE2 by the addition of ‘simple' to the latter. In this way it can be seen that SUBSTANCE1 refers to sense (2) whereas SUBSTANCE2 refers to a different sense that is related to, but more specific than (2). To avoid such confusion replacing SUBSTANCE2 with a different lexeme could prove useful, e. g. , COMPOUND, although this is not necessary so long as we unde rstand that SUBSTANCE is polysemic and we know which sense each refers to. As ‘substance1' has the sense (2) in the definition we shall refer to it as ‘substance (2)' and it is this sense that is the classifier for ‘secretion'. The definition provided for ‘substance (2)' makes identifying the classifier here straightforward as it begins by telling us that it is a â€Å"specific type of matter† (my emphasis), which is the central criteria for hyponymy. So given that ‘matter' is the classifier for ‘substance (2)' we can now find the next classifier in the chain. It could be assumed that the brevity of the definition makes this task even more simple however, the definition is a â€Å"consists of† statement which rules out any concepts it contains as a classifier. It is thus the case that not all concepts have a superordinate concept. As such we can say that ‘matter' sits at the top of the hyponymy chain and is the broadest sense of ‘colostrum'. Given this information we can now represent all of the relationships above in the following diagram: Fig. 1) Initial hyponymy chain for colostrum. This chain is based solely on the definitions given above however, the claim can be made that this diagram does not contain a complete set of classifiers for ‘colostrum'. There are facts about ‘secretion' that are not contained in ‘substance (2)' but that cannot be considered as unique to it, in particular those about its relationship with organisms and organic matter. This claim is based on the fact, as given in the definition, that ‘secretion' is a substance particular to cells, which are the constituent parts of an organism. All of this information is unrepresented within the chain as it is because the relationship ‘secretion' has with ‘cell' is not due to a shared nature or type. When the hyponymy test is applied the mismatch is more evident: ! a secretion is a type of cell. This does not deny that the two are related however, only that they are not the same kind of thing, so instead n alternative way must be found of including and representing this relationship. As ‘cell' is the missing concept there must be some sense it shares with ‘secretion'. According to my definition of ‘cell' many together make up an organism and because any substance that is a ‘secretion' is the product of a cell, it can also be considered the product of an organism. We can go a step further and state that both are types of sub stance particular to organisms, which allows the statement a ‘secretion' is a ‘substance particular to organisms'. This can be further refined when the concepts ‘glandular' and ‘blood' are considered as these relate specifically to ‘body', not just to any organism in general. We can thus replace ‘organism' and instead state that a ‘secretion' is a ‘substance particular to a body' or, more concisely, it is a ‘bodily substance'. A second gap exists between ‘bodily substance' and ‘substance' for the same reason as above: arguably, a ‘bodily substance' has characteristics shared with other types of particular substance that together constitute a more general type of substance. As mentioned above ‘organism' bears a relation to ‘organic material' in that all of the substances of which an organism is composed are organic. Given that a body is a kind of organism any bodily substance must also be organic but not all organic material is of the body hence, ‘organic material' is a classifier of ‘bodily substance'. These new facts can be added to Fig. 1) to provide a more complete sense network: Fig. 2) Full hyponymy chain for ‘colostrum'. When considering potential co-hyponyms there are two criteria that must be met: the co-hyponyms must share most if not all of the sense of the shared classifier but they must be differentiated by at least one distinguisher (Hudson 1995: 27). Each of the co-hyponyms in Fig. 3) meets these criteria but this does not mean to imply it is a simple task. Take ‘matter' and ‘substance (1)': the two could initially be considered to be co-hyponyms. This, however, is not the case. Essentially, the definitions for ‘substance1' and ‘matter' are the same: we could give a definition of matter s ‘that of which a thing consists' because CONSISTS OF and MAKES UP have the same sense. Nor does there appear to be any fact about either concept that serves to differentiate them so we must accept that rather than ‘matter' and ‘substance (1)' bearing a hyponymic relationship they are actually synonyms. As such, SUBSTANCE (1) is nothing more than an alternative lexeme that can be used to represent ‘matter' and so can be omitted from the network. Fig. 3) shows that although many of the co-hyponyms do not bear a direct relation to ‘colostrum' they are part of a conceptual network that illustrates how senses are related. It also displays the fact that the further up the chain a concept is the broader is the range of its hyponyms because the sense becomes more generalised at each level. Furthermore, it also shows how concepts can share multiple classifiers and hyponyms. Fig. 3) Hyponymy network for ‘colostrum'. Distinguishers can be concise or generalised providing they serve as differentiators between the senses. When selecting appropriate facts to include the notion of prototypes should be accounted for in that any potential distinguisher should ideally describe a prototypical referent of the given sense (op. it. 20). Take ‘glandular' it appears in the definition of ‘secretion' but it has been omitted from the network. This is because it is not a prototypical characteristic in that not even the majority of secretions are from glandular cells, it is only provided as an example of the kind of cell involved. A further difficulty in selecting distinguishers is deciding what kind of inf ormation to include. Definitive information serve to provide the minimum data needed to clarify a concept whilst encyclopaedic information attempts to provide all of the facts about a concept. The danger with the latter is that information may be included that does not serve to differentiate that concept from another. I would argue that both kinds of information should be included provided that each fact is part of the sense it iff that fact is relevant to the function of differentiation. Fig. 4) includes information of both kinds and, although I have removed the referent and lexeme classifier for the sake of clarity, it can be considered as the most complete network of senses that relate to colostrum'. Fig. 4) Complete hyponymy network for ‘colostrum'. Bibliography Hudson, R. (1995). Word Meaning. Padstow: Routledge. Palmer, F. R. (1981). Semantics. Bath: Cambridge University Press. Stevenson, A. (ed. ) (2007). Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (6th edition). Italy: Oxford University Press. Word Count 1693 not including diagrams. 1799 with diagrams ———————– [1]I have used â€Å" â€Å" for quotations rather t han ‘ ‘ to prevent confusion between quotes and senses.

Freedom Road Essays

Freedom Road Essays Freedom Road Essay Freedom Road Essay 1. Gideon is afraid to go to Charleston because he is a â€Å"nigger†. He feels as though he is illiterate and not very smart he would not fit in. He would not want to go â€Å"to city full of white houses†¦ full of white folks making fun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 16-17). To help him overcome that fear Brother Peter tells him they â€Å"need a leader† (p 17). Because of how strong Gideon is physically and mentally he was chosen to represent them. 2. To Brother Peter Gideon is a young man. Since he is a younger man he can learn more than he can;†Just fill you up, like bucket drawing water from the well. (p 19) He can show the white people that he is not ignorant. But Gideon felt as though they would just laugh at him â€Å"and mock this nigger† (p 19). Once Brother Peter told him â€Å"take that dollar and buy a book,† Gideon felt as though that he could go to the Convention and make a change. 3. Abner Lait was a tenant of the Carwell’s. He regar ded the â€Å"world suspiciously and uncertainly. † (p 32) He had a hard time growing his crops and when he had a good one Carwell took it. Abner Lait spent time in a Yankee prisoner camp after the battles with Carwell’s regiment. (p 32) Abner was a white man that hated black people in formal way. . I believe that Gideon was correct. Because he is black doesn’t not mean that he doesn’t know what to do with the money earned from the Convention. (p 85) And being black in the legislation and having an education was important but hard. (p 86) And he didn’t want to be remembered as the slave of the owner, so he decided to take a different last name. 6. I think that Fast wants us to perceive that Carwell has not changed. Even though Gideon has become a wiser man the people at Carwell are still the same. (p 99) The man that drove Gideon twenty miles to Carwell didn’t know about the Convention (p. 8) meaning that the Convention had an effect on ever yone else on society except for the people in Carwell. The same little events that have been happening have occurred just like any other time (p 98). 7. When Trooper daughter gets raped it makes Trooper retaliate in a bad way. He decided that killing the white men that raped his daughter would make her feel better. But Gideon told him that he will get himself hung and the time he spent at the swamp would have been unnecessary. (p 114) Gideon says, â€Å"evil bad things/ fade out slowly/ a nigger is lynched, a poor†¦ girl is mistreated/ they fade out slowly. (p 115) What he is trying to say is that the white people won’t remember how they got mistreated. Their future counts on them making the right decision. They would have created a new life (p 114) for themselves while working in the swamp and saving their money. I do agree with Gideon, because if Trooper would have retaliated against the two white men he would have ended his life. And would’ve been just another event that would fade away. And his life would be over and he would not be able to have a better life. 8. Isaac Went was a man that didn’t judge you based on your race. He treated you just as he would treat another man. While talking to Gideon he yelled and lost his temper as one man to another (p 134). Isaac believed that Gideon was just a man (p 134) and was just like any other average American. When Brown was sitting in the same seat that Gideon was sitting in, Issac Went, although he was atheist, believed that John Brown could make the people believe that they could fight with the help of the Lord (p 135). Mr. Went valued the power they had. He wanted the blacks to hold on to the fact that they weren’t in slavery anymore. â€Å"We got the power, and we mean to hold onto it. † 9. : Emery believed that Gideon had a fantastic scheme (p 137), but was placing money in a staggering land venture (p 137). He didn’t want to invest in a unknown quantity and quality (p 137). He felt as thought that if Went would invest in this he would be wasting his money (p 140). But Emery gave his companionship to Went when he invested fifteen thousand dollars (p 140). 10. While in Scotland Jeff worked with white people. He was the only black person in the county (p 174) so he did make a difference. The white people wanted to know all about Jeff (p 174 but they was scared. Their â€Å"fears and suspicions were basic things (p 174).

24 Simple Rules That Every Teacher Should Live By

24 Simple Rules That Every Teacher Should Live By One of the best things about teaching is that there is not an exact blueprint for success. In general, no two teachers are alike. Each has their own teaching style and classroom management routines. But while there is no blueprint for teaching, there is a certain code that teachers must live by if they want to be successful. The following list is a general set of rules that every teacher should live by. These rules encompass all facets of teaching, both inside and outside of the classroom.   Rules for Teachers Always do what you believe to be best for your students. They should always be your number one priority. Think, how does this benefit my students? If that question is difficult to answer, you may want to reconsider.Focus on establishing meaningful, cooperative relationships. Building strong relationships with your students, peers, administrators, and parents will ultimately make your job easier.Never bring your personal problems or issues into the classroom. Leave them at home. Your students should never know when something at home is bothering you.Be open and willing to learn at all times. Teaching is a journey that will provide many opportunities to learn. You should strive to improve your teaching each and every day, even when youve been in the classroom for years.Always be fair and consistent. Your students are always watching to make sure you are doing this. You will undermine your own authority if they believe you are playing favorites.Parents are the cornerstone of a great edu cation, and as such, teachers must do their part to engage even the most reluctant parents in the learning process. Provide plenty of opportunities for parents  to become involved  and encourage them to do so. A teacher must never put herself or himself  in a compromising situation. Teachers must always be aware of their situation and never allow themselves to be vulnerable. They must maintain self-control at all times, protecting themselves and their reputation.Respect the decisions of administrators and understand that they have many responsibilities.  Teachers must have a great working relationship with their administrator but respect the fact that their time is valuable.Take the time to get to know your students. Find out what they like to do and include their interests in your lessons. Establish a rapport and connection with them, and you will find that engaging them in your lessons becomes easier.Establish rules, expectations, and procedures beginning on the first day of school.  Hold your students accountable for their actions. You do not have to be a dictator, but you do need to be firm, fair, and consistent. Keep in mind that you are not there to be their friend. Your studen ts need to know that you are in always in charge. Always be willing to listen to others, including your students, and take their feedback into account. You can learn the most when you are willing to take the time to hear what others are saying. Be open-minded and willing to take their advice.Own your mistakes. Teachers are not perfect, and it doesnt help your students to pretend that you are. Instead, set the example by owning your mistakes and showing your students that mistakes can lead to learning opportunities.Work cooperatively with other teachers. Always be willing to take another teacher’s advice. Likewise, share your best practices with other teachers.Find time outside of school to decompress. Every teacher should have some sort of hobby or interest that can help them escape the daily grind of school.  Always be willing to adapt and change. Teaching is always changing. There is always something newer and better to try.  Try to embrace change instead of resisting it.Teachers must be flexible. Some of the best momen ts in teaching are born out of spontaneity. Take advantage of those teachable moments. Be willing to change your plans when another opportunity presents itself. Be your students’ biggest cheerleader. Never tell them that they cannot do something. Help them accomplish their goals by setting them on the correct path and nudging them in the right direction when they go astray.Protect your students at all cost. Always be aware of your surroundings and ensure that your students are safe and secure at all times. Practice safety procedures within your classroom at all times and never allow students to engage in reckless behavior.Take a cue from the boy scouts and always be prepared! Preparation may not necessarily guarantee success, but the lack of preparation will almost certainly ensure failure. Teachers must put in the necessary time to create meaningful lessons that engage students.Have fun! If you enjoy your work, your students will notice and they will have a more enjoyable experience as well.Never purposely embarrass or put down a student in front of their peers. If you need to discipline or correct a student, do so privately in the c onfines of the hallway or after class. As a teacher, you need your students to trust and respect you. Give your students a reason to do this. Go the extra mile when you can. A lot of teachers volunteer their time for things like tutoring struggling students or sponsor a group or activity. These small actions mean a lot to your students.Never fall behind in grading and recording. It can be an overwhelming and almost impossible endeavor to try and catch up. Instead, set a goal to grade and return every paper within a two- to three- day period. This not only makes your job easier but also provides students with more relevant and timely feedback.Always be aware of and adhere to local policies and procedures. If you are not sure about something, it is better to ask and be sure than it is to make a costly mistake. As a teacher, you are responsible for ensuring that your students are following them as well.

Questions - part II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Questions - part II - Essay Example In this paper, we will focus on two philosophers; Boethius and Machiavelli. Through examining the two philosophers, we will be able to understand the main tenets of the ancient modern debate. Part A The main tenets of the ancient modern debate revolve around several differences on the subject of human nature. It is clear that different philosophers have presented diverse thoughts and opinions regarding the so called human nature. Building on this point of view, there has been a developing code of ethics emerging from such theorists and what people accept as true in the present day. It is worth examining Boethius view points on the subject and compare them with Machiavelli’s accordingly. Part B From a literal point of view, Boethius’s most excellent known work is referred as the consolation of philosophy. He wrote this work whilst in prison while awaiting his execution. Boethius finds himself in jail. At first, he is profoundly upset. The cause of his suffering emerges f rom his enduring project, effort to conserve ancient classical knowledge, specifically philosophy. His work represents an imaginary conversation between himself and philosophy. In that case, philosophy is personified as a woman. The arguments in this scenario are that, in spite of the apparent disparity of the humankind, there is, within platonic fashion, a high power and everything besides is secondary to such divine providence. Despite Boethius suffering while in exile, it is recorded that philosophy appears and attempts to â€Å"cure† his suffering. Philosophy, which is personified as a woman, does this in various ways. First of all, she does this by reminding him of what he once knew about the true nature of human beings; the nature of fortune, the nature of happiness, and the limits of politics to provide happiness (Boethius 49). In Boethius’ argument of the nature of fortune, happiness, and the limits of politics to provide happiness, he agonizes over the profess ed inappropriateness between the subsistence of God and the wickedness that exists in the earth. What is more, he agonizes between the existence of God and the superficial ethical inversion of the creation. In responding to such issues, Boethius declares that God’s kindness and God’s obligation to honesty does not necessitate that God get rid of every instance of evil. Then again, Boethius presents argument that there are at least different examples of goodness that appear to have need of the likelihood of some wickedness, ethical education with regards to the free will of humans and the true nature of happiness. Moreover, Boethius presents an argument that the nature of evil as self-destructive to wrongdoers and the nature of the ultimate good as the one which, every person naturally look for, an indication that the earth is not decently inverted. As a result, Boethius would dispute the reality of premise in the modern formulation of the issue of evil (Boethius 54). I n his argument for the compatibility of the subsistence of God with the continuation of evil, he provides explanations as to why God would allow occurrences of evil and not do away with them. As a character in the Consolation, he seems to take consolation in such discoveries. Reflecting on the above discussion, it is worth contemplating that the lady philosophy brings to a n end the dialogue with both caution and encouragement, â€Å"

Hypotheses, Causal Model, and Operationalization Form Essay

Hypotheses, Causal Model, and Operationalization Form - Essay Example Thus, anyone who eats a balanced diet or eats well will have to live longer than those who do not. C) Draw a causal model of your hypotheses—using textboxes, arrows, and proper notation. If you do not already know how to create textboxes, or resize textboxes, or draw and move arrow, or align plusses and minuses along the lines, or make all of the lines and arrows black— this is when to learn. In terms of layout and formatting, your model ought to look like those in the samples and exercises from class. (Simply bump it all to the next page if you need additional space.) 5. Where You Have Access to Data for Your Time Period and Cases to Actually Measure the Variable as Operationalized Above (NOT ‘hope’ to find and have access to, or ‘might’ find and have access to, or ‘will start to look for’ or anything other than KNOW where the needed info/data is and KNOW you have access to it.) The variables will be measured using the most appropriate methods for each of them. Since they have a direct influence on the findings, the choice of the variable will have to be made after considering its effectiveness. For instance, while dealing with eating habits as one of the variables in the research, the researcher will have to conduct a thorough survey to ensure that the most appropriate and proportionate population sample is studied and analyzed. This will help in ensuring that the research is accurate and valid to be relied