14th Century Italian Paintings of Religious Iconography Essay

14th Century Italian Paintings of Religious Iconography - Essay Example The essay "14th Century Italian Paintings of Religious Iconography" analyzes the Religious Iconography in 14th Century Italian Paintings. The work is tempera on a panel, and thus absorbs the grain of the panel in a way that contributes to the overall feel and texture of the piece and depiction. There appears to be an effort by the artist to create an ethnic look in the depictions, rather than the later works, especially those of the 16th century, which have a very â€Å"Italian† look about the subjects. The grain of the panel, itself aged with time, transfers that effect to the depiction. That the materials used are tempera as opposed to oil, does not take away from the artist’s ability to create the brilliance of the Assumption, however, it is noted that that brilliance is accomplished with the use of gold and yellow as opposed to the actual brilliance of light that can be achieved used oil on canvas. The color of the blues, yellow, and red against the gold, and the sk illed hand of the artist create panels that extraordinary to see. Close examination of the panel shows that there is some deterioration of the original work, especially in the image of Christ and one of the many angels looking over the ascending Virgin. Still, the grain of the panel itself adds an aged dimension, which probably cannot be accomplished using oil on canvas. Certainly the detail of the work is worthwhile too, in that it depicts the physical body of the Virgin receiving the traditional rites as suggested by Christian.

Arranged Marriages within the Indian and Chinese Cultures Research Paper

Arranged Marriages within the Indian and Chinese Cultures - Research Paper Example Arranged marriage should not be confused with forced marriage in which one party is forced to get married to another. Arranged marriages are the responsibilities of older family members, parents, matchmaking agents or trusted parties. In some cultures, courting is not prevalent. Spouses are brought together by their parents. In this case, it is the responsibility of the parent to see to it that his or her child passes the marital rites. This way, the adult children see it as a norm. The people who are responsible for the arrangement marriages might be subjective to emotional infatuation and come up with illogical decisions. In either case, intra-generational relationships supersede marital relationships. Following the partners sharing some factors, it is believed that some form of understanding develops between the couple and the relationship lasts. Discussion Arranged marriages are practiced in China and India with the sole aim of maintaining the social caste. Families bring the chi ldren together so that they may keep the family ties strong. In India, arranged marriages, though discouraged, are widely practiced. The parents see it as their personal responsibility to ensure that their children pass their marital rites. The legal age for marriages in India is 18 for females and 21 for males. However, through arranged marriages, family members marry their girls as early as 15 but the marriages consummated after the ages of 18 (Seymour and Seymour 132). In China, arranged marriages are practiced at a low rate because the pace of technology in the country does not allow for conservation of some cultural practices. Females are supposed to marry at the age of 21 and 23 for males. This means that the parents can only seek for suitors for the children at the right age. However, in China, people are given the right to choose their partners and it is only after they have made their choices that the parents can intervene in wedding preparations (Fox 191). Similarities Arr anged marriages are common in the Chinese and Indian cultures. These two cultures share a number of factors they put into consideration when coming up with the best match. Among the major factors is that of religion. In both cultures, it is believed that the preference should be given to the people sharing same spiritual and religious beliefs. Culture and caste is also another most common factor considered in both cultures. When picking on the matches, food habits, language, and region are considered so that the couple shares the same culture (Fox 182). The reputation of each party together with that of the family and friends that directly affect the reputation of the party is considered. One can have a good reputation but fail to be selected because of the bad reputation of his or her friends or family members. Dowry is an extremely important factor for both cultures, thus, a match would be selected from people sharing the same social class. A lady from a wealthy family background would have a match selected from a gentleman with a similar family background (Reaves 4). Vocation is another factor considered in both cultures. However, the location of the man matters more than that of the woman. The man has to provide for the family and as a result, he should be with a substantial amount of income.  

Behavior Change amd the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Behavior Change amd the Environment - Essay Example ..† Personally, I consider this idea as an expression of Pollan’s sense of responsibility toward the environment that primarily focuses on individual, conscientious action toward environmental welfare. This is because, throughout the article, Pollan provides suggestions on how to reduce one’s carbon footprints such as having a garden in the backyard. Pollan also suggests, in the later part of the article, that behavioral change for environmental welfare is an expression of independence, â€Å"to find ways to provide ourselves without diminishing the world† (255). Pollan also argues that although behavioral change may seem a futile effort, it is still a viable solution to the problem and this idea is grounded on the â€Å"chain reaction of behavioral change† wherein the action of a single person encourages other people to do the same. In Greed in the Name of Green, Hesse asserts that â€Å"going green† is not merely buying organic products; rat her, it is reducing the consumption of environmentally hazardous products. Throughout the article, Hesse maintains a sarcastic tone because she humorously criticizes the buying patterns of the consumers without them realizing the actual reason of doing such change. In the article, Hesse cites several instances wherein consumers change their buying patterns with the belief that those changes are environmentally beneficial. However, in retrospect, behavioral change is commonly undergone because â€Å"going green† has become a trend. Relatively, Hesse concludes that â€Å"when wannabe environmentalist tries to change purchasing habits without also altering their consumer mind-set, something gets lost in translation† (248). While reading the two articles, I realized that it is really necessary to evaluate our behaviors as consumers, particularly in relation to environmental welfare and protection. Although I realize that behavioral change may seem insufficient in recoverin g the deteriorating resources of the Earth, I would still go with the idea that behavior modification is a viable solution to the existing environmental problems. This is because behavioral change is a reasonable initiative to do, and it also benefits both the environment and the consumers. The Merits of Bothering to Change Consumer Behavior In the article Behavioral Analysis and Environmental Protection, Lehman and Geller assert that the lack of environmental concern and the increasing prevalence of non-eco-friendly products and services account to the destruction of the environment (14). Specifically, the materials used and the manner of production and transportation cause the increase in the carbon dioxide concentration of the Earth, which, in turn, increases the temperature by .6 degrees Celsius in the past 150 years. Lehman and Geller also report that the death of 800,000 people annually is attributable to air pollution (15). Considering this case, Lehman and Geller suggest tha t if human behavior is the reason of the increasing environmental deterioration, it may also be the reason for environmental recovery (13). The emergence of natural calamities and extreme weather conditions is enough reason to encourage people to change their buying behaviors and make environmentally conscious decisions. While reading the articles by Hesse and Pollan, I was able to derive three benefits of behavioral change for environmental welfare. Specifically, behavioral change

The Theories of Milton Friedman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Theories of Milton Friedman - Essay Example Freedom constitutes of both economic and political freedom. (Friedman, 2002) For Friedman, the economic freedom does not just relate to the economic arrangements that are made between two parties voluntarily, but also is an indispensable means to the achievement of political freedom. Hence, freedom in this case might refer to a situation with a minimum government intervention so that the rights of any of the citizens are not in any way restricted and a free market is entailed. Appropriate as it might seem to Freidman, the notion of freedom he has may not exactly involve democracy. Democracy means the rule by people but when observed practically, the term is another word for majority rule. The basic of notion of democracy thus is that rational individuals may want to prefer freedom over absence of freedom and so the majority of the rational individuals would chose to vote for freedom. In this sense, the democracy may be linked to the freedom prescribed by Friedman. But on the other hand, a democracy may not coexist with a free system. This is so because total freedom may lead to anarchy as it would also include the freedom to restrict the freedom of others, a notion that is not followed in a democracy. As a result, the level and extent of freedom proposed by Friedman may not involve democracy. For Friedman, the distinction between a democratic or authoritarian government is irrelevant. This is so because his general characterization of the government is a body that intervenes in the economic system to restrict its freedom, and since economic freedom is related to political freedom, the freedom politically. It does not matter to him whether the country is ruled by one person or a group of people having the same ideas.

Analyse the competitiveness of Danish manufacturing Coursework - 1

Analyse the competitiveness of Danish manufacturing - Coursework Example cks here according to research is that regardless of what is measured by production, total employment and value added, the manufacturing industry have portrayed a declining importance. Cluster is taken positively by the Danish, since it is termed as a competitive advantage of nations. Here, Clusters got a prominent role due to the theory of competitive advantage of nations first witnessed in the year 1990. With its strategy, that involves a geographical interconnection of companies, service providers and specialized suppliers and organizations in industries that are related and associated it can be noted that clustering strategy have made the country to move at per, with other European countries in terms of production(Daugherty, 2009.p.75). Clustering channel is better explained by the following diagram. The industrial production is divided into hundred main components. The first one, accounts for the highest output in the country, and that was in the year 2011 which accounted for 74 percent. While, mineral fuel accounts for sixteen percent while all the mechanicals, boilers and machinery accounts for almost ten percent (Daugherty, 2009.p.102). They all cluster to give out a whole 100%. The comparison of 2000 and 2011 years, illustrates that the country faced subsidized electrical production equipment. From the manufacturing side to the purchasing side, the clustering in production of this equipment was studied as deeming. This is why; the whole Denmark affirms that the electrical part portrayed a downing advantage (Hadjilambrinos,

Knowledge Management and Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Knowledge Management and Strategy - Case Study Example In this case the Australians Mango Industry Association Ltd. (AMIA) must look for ways in which they can create, capture, organize and eventually distribute knowledge from one part of the world to another. Consequently, the latter association needs to ensure that they can easily distribute this knowledge and that it is in fact available to other future users. Knowledge transfer mechanisms are quite different from communication mechanisms because they are more complex. AMIA needs to look for ways in which it can accumulate all the relevant knowledge for entering the Chinese market because there knowledge does not exist in just one form. The association's members could play a contributory role. Additionally, certain sub networks exist that could facilitate knowledge transfer. On top of this, it is likely that the tools and tasks prevalent within the association could go a long way in ascertaining that the company is itself one of the most respectable ones in the business. The latter association needs to put in mind that fact that a large portion of knowledge required to export mangoes to China is tacit hence the need to appropriate transfer mechanisms. There are a series of issues th... Argote (2000) states that the major weaknesses that can hinder knowledge transfer mechanisms are the informal networking activities. The following areas can facilitate these; Task forces Teams Managerial efforts Etc Since AMIA is venturing into unknown territory, then these informal networks have not yet been set. They may present problems in the transfer of knowledge. Additionally, the current situation may prove to be sticky in terms of knowledge transfer because of certain knowledge related factors. These factors can impede progress by AMAI owing to the fact that certain forms of knowledge may be too context specific. This means that there may be knowledge that applies only to Australia and cannot be exported to other parts of the world. This eventually makes such efforts futile. In other scenarios, certain forms of knowledge cannot be transferred by AMIA because it is too ambiguous to derive any form of usefulness from it. In order to acquire knowledge, it is important for people to be motivated to acquire it. In other words, the association needs to look for ways in which it can motive people to want to acquire knowledge. (Shaw, 2001) The need for motivation is important in any country or organization owing to the fact that increased knowledge can cause a disruption in the current working routines and also in the type of organizational practices prevalent within those areas. AMIA needs to dedicate considerable amount of resources and time in allowing them to deal with the issues as they are. Another major problem that is facing AMIA is with regard to the social cultural and also the structural distance between the two countries i.e. Australia and China. The latter association will have difficulties in communication because the two countries speak different

The Theories of Milton Friedman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Theories of Milton Friedman - Essay Example Freedom constitutes of both economic and political freedom. (Friedman, 2002) For Friedman, the economic freedom does not just relate to the economic arrangements that are made between two parties voluntarily, but also is an indispensable means to the achievement of political freedom. Hence, freedom in this case might refer to a situation with a minimum government intervention so that the rights of any of the citizens are not in any way restricted and a free market is entailed. Appropriate as it might seem to Freidman, the notion of freedom he has may not exactly involve democracy. Democracy means the rule by people but when observed practically, the term is another word for majority rule. The basic of notion of democracy thus is that rational individuals may want to prefer freedom over absence of freedom and so the majority of the rational individuals would chose to vote for freedom. In this sense, the democracy may be linked to the freedom prescribed by Friedman. But on the other hand, a democracy may not coexist with a free system. This is so because total freedom may lead to anarchy as it would also include the freedom to restrict the freedom of others, a notion that is not followed in a democracy. As a result, the level and extent of freedom proposed by Friedman may not involve democracy. For Friedman, the distinction between a democratic or authoritarian government is irrelevant. This is so because his general characterization of the government is a body that intervenes in the economic system to restrict its freedom, and since economic freedom is related to political freedom, the freedom politically. It does not matter to him whether the country is ruled by one person or a group of people having the same ideas.