Practice of Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Practice of Research - Assignment Example Being one of the most challenging activities in the research process, reviewing of the available literature is an important principle. It enables the researcher come up with a researchable problem. In their book titled â€Å"Practical Research: Planning and Design,† the authors Leedy and Ormrod (2010) put forth the statement that, â€Å"the existing literature is likely to tell you what is not known in the area- in other words, what still needs to be done.† Reviewing the available literature will expose the researcher to several areas of concern with the likelihood and expectation that he or she will generate sub-problems from the material before going to the major problems. Identifying a problem related to the researchers themselves is important since it will naturally motivate them into researching more (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010). After identifying this kind of problem, the researcher should then focus on the purpose of the research at hand with the ability of developing substantial

The importance brunttland report conncetion with tourism and travel Research Paper

The importance brunttland report conncetion with tourism and travel agency - Research Paper Example The report on the world tourism analysis of 2007 shows the number of international travelers had to increase enormously from 25 million in 1950 to 800 million currently. Brundtland report provides some analysis and recommendations for the sustainability of developments within the societies. This paper, therefore, will be highlighting the importance of the Brundtland report in connection with the tourism and travel agency (McChesney 43). Several governments have had to meet and approve Agenda 21 and the Rio declaration. The agenda 21 had to offer some blueprint on the sustainable development, while, on the other hand, the Rio Declaration had to articulate the vital principles for the sustainable development in the 21st century. The two documents enable the governments, organizations, and industries to work towards attaining the highest levels of sustainability as the Brundtland report defines that the development meeting the needs of the present without conciliating the ability of the coming generations to meet their own needs. However, the challenge is finding the balance between the sustenance, prosperity, and the people’s desire to be stable in financial, material well being with the underlying need for community, identity, home, and religion. Tourism and travel agencies, hence, plays a significant role in bringing some balance in these forces. Tourism and travel provides the livelihoods for the urban and the rural communities. It also enhance the community relations and make up the bridges of understanding and peace between countries, in which case it is possible when there is proper planning development and management (Sigala et. al. 43). The Brundtland Report considers the tourism and travel sector as the largest in contribution of the economy in the whole world. The report reiterates the main qualitative trends that one observes in the industry through the forms of increased market segmentation, development of new forms of tourism and the influenci ng of traditional package tours. Therefore, tourism and travel sectors have had to increase the market demand in various ways, in which case it has had to contribute the social, environmental and the economic sustainability. This has been possible by proper planning and management of the pressures from growth. The preservation of the tourism product, hence, helps in securing the future for many people. Many companies have had even to create stable responsible behavior. This is by ensuring they use their product and services to educate and inform their customers. This is in response to the need to safeguarding the natural resources (Sharpley 15). Tourism and travel, if utilized effectively, will go along the way in bringing a growth and economic success in the countries, both developing and developed. There is the potential that the markets enhance lives in a sustainable structure via providing the wealth creation, innovation, competition, and choice among others. The tourism and tra vel sector have these and other elements, in which case it enables it to be a vibrant market force for the future sustainability. The sector has the probability to increase exports, boost the economies GDP, bring in capital investment, and create employments. Tourism and travel creates jobs throughout the economy, both in organizations that get to involve directly in business and in the associated supplier industries,

Porters 5 Force for Hotel Essay Example for Free

Porters 5 Force for Hotel Essay The combined forces of an economic recession and H1N1 epidemic are causing the hotel industry to suffer in a time of great challenge. Business travel is down because of the recession and the pandemic has significantly reduced tourism. This paper considers three types of hoteliers in current market conditions in light of Porter’s theories. Now, more than ever, Porter’s well regarded thoughts on business strategy and the Internet, first published in 2001, are crucial to consider and they contribute to an analysis and critique of the hotel industry’s internet strategy. In his Harvard Business Review article of 2001 Porter said â€Å"To find the answer we need to look beyond the immediate market signals to the two fundamental factors that determine profitability: Industry structure, which determines the profitability of the average competitor and sustainable competitive advantage which allows a company to outperform the average competitor† (Porter, 2001). This paper examines the five forces which impact competitiveness within and thus the profitability of a competitor in the hotel industry. From the guidance provided in the Five Factor Model recommendations are made to enhance and refine internet strategy for the considered hotel chains. Hotels The hotels chosen for this paper are: Vintage Inns primarily located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, Sheraton Hotel chain and Best Western Hotel Chain. â€Å"Every business must design a strategy for achieving its goals, consisting of marketing strategy and compatible technological strategy and sourcing strategy†. (Kotler Keller,2006) â€Å"To identify rivals in the international hotel industry, current practice is to use price, segment and proximity† (Matthew, 2000). In previous work, Michael Porter outlined three additional generic strategies that could be used. These are: overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. â€Å"The point to be understood here is that any company can have a core competence, but it is competitive competence which gives them a chance to win. For example, Ritz-Carlton, Fairmont, Loews, Four Seasons, Intern-Continental, W Hotel, Hotel Sofitel, Le Meridien are ruling the hospitality industry. This is because of there ability to set up state of the art hotels and their ability to provide exceptional customer service with focus on customer relationship management. The customer relationship is a unique selling point (USP). The â€Å"Service† is both their core competitiveness and also their competitive competence† (Trehan, 2005) Porter’s Five Factor Model According to Porter (2001) the internet is an enabling technology that can be used within the context of a good business strategy in any industry. Although the Internet alters industry structures and levels the competitive ground often dampening profitability in the industry, it can be used to encourage and promote greater profitability if properly implemented. The five forces that impact competitiveness which are outlined in Porter’s 1980 work are: barriers to entry, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and sellers, and the rivalry among existing competitors. In 2001 Porter considered these factors in light of the internet technologies. The influence of the internet has been profound especially in the hotel industry. According to Porter each factor has a different relevance or impact on different businesses so they are presented below in order of impact for hotels. Porter indicates that the great paradox of the internet is that the benefits it creates such as making information easily available, reducing purchasing hassles, and marketing which allow customers to find what is of interest are the very things that make it more difficult for companies to â€Å"capture those benefits as profits.† (2001). The most important determinant of a marketplace’s profit potential is the intrinsic power of buyers and sellers. Threat of Substitute Goods In the hotel industry there is usually another hotel just around the corner. They appear in all price ranges, with varying levels of service and amenities. The constant challenge will always be to get the guest to choose your hotel over the competitor. The internet makes the overall market more efficient while expanding the size of the potential market and creating new substitution threats. Given the potency of this threat a superb internet presence is vital. Another ongoing threat is that another hotel chain may erode your customer base with a newly formulated internet approach or marketing campaign. This is supported by the following quote from Luck and Lancaster (2003): â€Å"The development of value chain process analysis, supported by collaborative event management over the Internet, the structuring and the sharing of customer focused value chain data, powerfully enhance the performance of value chains and of electronic commerce.† Bargaining Power of Buyers Business persons choosing a hotel for business travel are savvy consumers and they are comfortable with computer technology. It has become very simple for them to go online and book a hotel. They no longer need travel agents, corporate travel consultants or middle men of any kind to determine where they will stay. Porter’s model predicts this elimination of intermediaries. Tourists are more and more capable of using the internet in the same way but in another fulfillment of Porter’s model, they are more often bonding together in a novel way. They are finding internet businesses like cheaphotels.com which will negotiate or discover bargains for them. Both of these processes shift the bargaining power to the end user as the Porter model predicts and these same freedoms reduce the cost of switching so that loyalty is a thing of the past unless a particular hotel uses its one time opportunity when a customer stays at the hotel to deeply impress the customer with a unique and valuable differentiator. Rivalry among existing competitors The rivalry among competitors in the hotel industry is fierce. When potential customers can learn about a hotel on line, the internet reduces the differences among competitors. People tend to seek the best price for the best experience and the tendency is to reduce price to be competitive. The internet covers wide geographical areas so the market is widened increasing the number of competitors. For example, someone who wants to spend the day in the historic town of Niagara-on-the-:Lake can easily choose a hotel in a near by town if the amenities or the price are better. Variable and fixed costs can be different in areas that are more expensive to live and work making it more difficult for a hotel in Niagara on the Lake to reduce their prices to the level of one in nearby St. Catharines. Barriers to Entry The initial investment in the hotel industry creates quite a barrier to entry but certain barriers to entering the hotel market are reduced by the internet. A presence on the internet reduces upstart marketing costs somewhat, and gives the new competitor access to potential suppliers and resources. Even a bed and breakfast can use the websites of large chains to understand the key marketing concepts and the lures for customers. Switching costs are usually nil for a consumer. (McNurlin, 2006) A vital barrier would be differentiation. A hotel that can differential itself by location, by service, amenities or some other quality has the potential to attract and keep its clients. Another barrier to entry would be expertise. Unfortunately, in a mobile society employees frequently leave one hotel chain to work in another and they take that expertise in terms of training or of experience with them. It is in the areas of expertise and of differentiation that a hotel can make the greatest impact on its client and thereby on its bottom line. In fact many established companies have synergies between their established business and online technology. Bargaining power of suppliers While this is not a substantial threat in the hotel industry it can have impact especially in the area of labor. With an aging population, there are fewer people to fill service industry jobs and hotels which can attract excellent staff have a greater chance of providing excellent and exceptional experiences to their clientele. As part of their internet strategy all hotel chains should have a section on recruitment for employment. The other supplies that are needed by hotels are also easier to attain through internet channels whether originated by the supplier or by the hotel chain. With their products in greater demand by greater numbers of hoteliers suppliers gain some measure of power by competition for their offerings. Recommendations All of the hotels listed above can benefit from internet applications that produce greater value in the value chain. The firm’s infastructure can benefit from financial and ERP systems. Communicating with investors can also be done by internet. Human resources can be managed by the internet as part of the overall strategy as well providing internet based self service personnel and benefits, web based training, internet based sharing of information and knowledge and electronic time and expense reporting. Value can be increased by standardizing technology across multiple locations, forming knowledge directories, and allowing real time access to online booking information. Finally, every hotel could benefit by online inventory control and forecasting systems with suppliers. These improvements can all lead to greater profitability (Porter, 2001) Each type of hotel needs to identify its unique strengths and target market and align its internet strategy to support that identity Will the chain choose to be low cost, or to command a premium price? Distinguishing oneself from the competition becomes vital. This can be enhanced by superior technology, through superior inputs, through better training of staff or through better management. Differentiation adds value but the internet makes it hard to maintain those distinctive strategic positions because it eases change to best practices and it improves operational effectiveness. Never the less such distinctions make the business more profitable. By its basic nature the hotel industry is fragmented. The internet makes it easier for travelers from far and wide to learn about the hotel or to order a room but the customer must still come to the hotel for the service. This makes it more likely that the profitability will be there for when sale is easy to transact and complete the profit margin usually decreases. Porter points out similar examples with Real Estate and with furniture sales. Dealing directly is great for hotels. Other than travel agencies who arranged hotel stays the hotel business has always been a face to face business and this normally sustains the economic value of the transaction. For all of these chains the internet complements rather than cannibalizes established ways of doing business. It becomes one more link in the value chain. Every chain listed below should use its website to attract employees and to communicate a philosophy of management. In the employment section the designers must remember that they are communicating not only to potential employees but also communicating the service standards that the guests can expect. Vintage Inns Vintage Inns started in Niagara-on-the-Lake approximately 25 years ago when a recent immigrant bought many of the established old hotels in town. Since that time a focused business strategy has born fruit. It has established itself as a premium priced set of four diamond and five star hotels in an historical town offering a unique and pampered experience to customers who wish to enjoy the old town atmosphere. Its vision is supported by its internet presence. The site is simple but elegant. It is unaffiliated with rewards programs or with alliance programs and it partners with only two other historical inns in Ontario. It caters to those who have the resources and the wish to experience luxurious accommodations, fine dining, spas and the Shaw Festival theatre and the town’s shopping district in the wine country of Niagara. They cater to tourists, business, and weddings. The Vintage Inn website has a high quality video presentation that attempts to give the viewer a sense of the luxury, indulgence and pleasures available while staying at Vintage Inns. It communicates that the experiences of the town and its resources and history are highly integrated with the luxury experience of the hotels. Internet brands are difficult to build because the tangible experience of physical presence and of human contact are missing but the Vintage Inns video on its website goes a long way toward addressing this branding need. From Porter’s research a hotel chain such as this must differentiate itself to compete. It has chosen first class luxury and setting as differentials. The internet strategy must support those strategies emphasizing an all-encompassing luxury in a setting that provides an arts, cultural and historical experience in every aspect. It needs a website to communicate luxury, unique and pampering experience, to take bookings and demonstrate potential products and services. Like many luxury items, marketing by referral and exclusivity has its appeal so it should not ally with other hotels for internet marketing. They must not join any sell-off sites or organizations to offer rooms at discount prices for that would undermine their luxury status. Similarly joining â€Å"reward programs† would reduce their sense of upper class exclusivity. Alliances on the website must be limited to other luxury experiences such as helicopter rides, exclusive golf clubs and Shaw festival theatre packages, horse and buggy rides to historical sites and specialized wine tour experiences. These act as ‘complements’ in Porter’s view and raise profitability by being uniquely paired with the service provided in a manner that is not available anywhere else. The website must also indicate the hotel’s expertise in providing uncomplicated luxury experience. It should also steer away from any vestige of â€Å"sale prices†. It must erect an internet barrier that says that there is no substitute for luxury and no replacement for a true historical experience. Sheraton Hotels Sheraton Hotels Chain is a worldwide concern. They provide luxury and upscale full-service hotels, resorts and residence and is the largest brand serving in the Starwood alliance. The needs of luxury and upscale business and leisure travelers worldwide are their focus. â€Å" From full-service hotels in major cities to luxurious resorts by the water, Sheraton can be found in the most sought-after cities and resort destinations around the world. Every guest at Sheraton hotels and resorts feels a warm and welcoming connection, the feeling you have when you walk into a place and your favorite song is playing a sense of comfort and belonging. Our most recent innovation, the [emailprotected](SM) with Microsoft, encourages hotel guests to come out of their rooms to enjoy the energy and social opportunities of traveling. At Sheraton, we help our guests connect to what matters most to them, the office, home and the best spots in town.† The luxury experience is limited and focused on the bed, bedding, modern room dà ©cor and complementary spa products in the room. It is augmented by staff training and room service. As Porter pointed out in his 2001 article, some things must be excluded to focus on what the company does best. The website must be easy to use, communicate a comfortable level of luxury for primarily modern business travelers to worldwide destinations, and encourage booking. It also must indicate that the welcome feeling is part of what the staff is trained to provide as an expertise. IT also communicates the standardization of expectation worldwide and the meeting of the human need for connection as a differential. Alliances and reward programs make the cost of switching higher. Especially for the business traveler, for whom rewards are personally redeemable, staying with the chain provides rewards that the individual can enjoy only if they return whether on more business that costs him personally noth ing or for a discounted or free personal stay. This is a clever way to increase the cost of switching.

The Italian Renaissance Art Period Film Studies Essay

The Italian Renaissance Art Period Film Studies Essay   The Renaissance was a cultural movement that started in Italy at the beginning of the 1400s and lasted approximately 200 years. The Renaissance period was considered a transition period from the medieval age into Early Modern Europe. The Italian Renaissance was characterized by a shift in several cultural areas, from literature to politics to religion. During the Renaissance, Italian art underwent major artistic changes from the medieval period. The Italian Renaissance became one of the most productive and innovative time periods in the industry of art in painting, sculpture and architecture. Raphael, Michelangelo and Da Vinci were the key figures that were responsible for bringing about the significant changes in themes, styles and perspective of Italian art from the medieval period. Although the cultural changes in areas such as religion, literature, and sciences were considered significant contributions to the Renaissance period, the most innovative and notable changes were ma de in the Italian art, which had taken a back seat in the middle ages because of the political unrest that was going on in Europe. Given the overwhelming changes and revival of the arts, Italian art had the most significant impact in the Renaissance that ultimately resulted in the re-birth of Europe. The late Middle Ages period which has been defined as the time period between the 1300s and early 1400s was a difficult and trying time for Europe. During this time period, Europe went through a great famine caused by severe weather conditions as well as the bubonic plague (Black Death) in the late 1340s. (C pg 534). Both of these tragedies took a huge toll in human life. In addition to these two tragedies, Europe was also dealing with social unrest, warfare and the challenges facing the Catholic Church. The arts were not deemed significantly important during these challenging times and not much advances were made in this field. However, as the end of the 14th century approached, a movement was beginning to emerge in the arts and sciences in Italy. The most obvious changes during the Renaissance period were seen in painting and sculptures. Prior to the Renaissance, most of the Italian art revolved around religious subjects and themes. However, during the Renaissance, artists started to experiment with creating non-religious subjects such as creating portraits of living persons instead of just saints. Artists became more comfortable with developing their own individual styles and challenged themselves to be innovative and try new techniques. Painters began to place more focus on the humanistic aspects of life and implemented various new techniques, including humanism and perspective, sfumato, chiaroscuro, fresco and foreshortening in order to achieve their objective of realism. Realism became a popular characteristic of Italian Renaissance. Anatomy also became of particular interest to many of the Italian Renaissance artists. The artists were also interested in depicting the human form that mirrored real life. For the first time , Renaissance artists were producing art in Italy that reflected the real world. Painters used form, color, proportion, light, shade composition and anatomy to depict human nature and reality into their artistic work creating images of real people with expressions and emotions. The Italian Renaissance was highlighted by three separate periods, each of which contained distinct aspects that contributed to the cultural re-birth of Europe. The three periods of the Renaissance were the Early Renaissance (beginning of the 1400 to late 1400s), High Renaissance (Late 1400s to early 1500s) and Late Renaissance (early 1500s to 1600). The period of the Renaissance was led by a number of artists who were intelligent, innovative and ready to delve into a new art form. The first period, known as the Early Renaissance, took place during the early 15th century. Early Renaissance art was heavily influenced by Donatello, an Italian artist and sculptor and Masaccio, an Italian painter who scholars often refer to as the leading innovator in early fifteenth century painting. (C pg 601) Donatellos artistic style and works represent the significant facets of Early Renaissance time period. Donatellos bronze statue of David, considered to be his most famous work of art, depicts a common theme of the era. David is representative of a hero, which became a staple of early renaissance art. Heroes, which were a popular aspect of the humanist movement, were commonly portrayed in works of art during this the Early Renaissance. Donatellos earlier work also depicted the idea of youthfulness which was also another popular aspect of the humanist movement. Donatello utilized the technique of bronzing, and was notorious for his bronze pieces of art, such as his life size statue of David. David also displayed a new Renaissance style that is evident in both the classical nudity and the use of the classical contrapposto (twist of the hips), as well as the boldness of interpretation. Many of Donatellos sculptures are considered breakthroughs. For example, the statue of David was the first nude statute of the Renaissance (C pg 612). Another statue of Donatello, Gattamelata (the equestrian statute of Erasmo de Narni), is considered to be one of the best proportioned sculptures ever created. (C pg 618). Donatello, who was considered to be a very keen observer of human life and behavior, was able to portray different types of figures in his work and make it them look very realistic. One of Donatellos remarkable achievements was his ability to move forward the naturalistic illusion and classical idealism in sculpture. (C pg 593). Donatello also created science of perspective through the use of bas-relief or low relief in his work where the image is projected with a shallow overall depth which allows for exploitation of perspective and obtain a dramatic effect. The earliest example of the use of relief is the base of the statute of Saint George, which is decorated with a relief of Saint George and the Dragon. In the bronze relief panel of Feast of Herod, Donatello uses central perspective space for the first time which allows for intensifying the actions and characterizations of the subjects and makes them look real. (B pg 36-37).Donatellos incorporation of Greek classical principles was evident in the marble statute of Saint Mark. In this sculpture, Donatello took a fundamental step toward displaying motion in the human figure by recognizing the principle of weight shift and stresses the movement of the arms, legs, shoulders and hips. (C pg 599) Masaccio, one of Donatellos counterparts, was considered the best painter of the Early Renaissance. He showed a great skill at recreating life-like figures and movements. Scholars often identify Masaccio as the leading innovator in early 15th century painting. Most art historians acknowledge that no other painter in history has contributed so much to the development of a new style in such a short a time as Masaccio. Masaccio was also a master of fresco technique. The frescoes Masaccio painted in Florence provide excellent examples of his innovations. One of his greatest contributions to art of fresco painting was the use of light and dark instead of lines to represent figures in his paintings which was depicted in the . (A pg 157 )He was also one of the first to use something called linear perspective in his painting using the vanishing point technique. In the painting Tribute Money, Masaccio uses chiaroscuro, an art form that uses strong contrast between light and dark to give the i llusion of deep structural relief. (C pg 603) During his career, Masaccio transformed the direction of Italian painting, by moving it away from the idealizations of Gothic art, and, for the first time, presenting it as part of a more profound, natural, and humanist world 605) The next period of the Renaissance that influenced the cultural re-birth is known as the High Renaissance. The High Renaissance lasted from the late 15th century to about 1520. The most influential artists of this time of the High Renaissance period were Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Leonardo Da Vinci, arguably the most renowned artist in all of art history, made great, if not the greatest, contributions to the re-birth. Da Vinci often used religious themes in his paintings, which was reflective of the time and the impact religion had during this time period. During the High Renaissance time period, the Church was going through major changes as a result of the Protestant Reformation that was underway. The Protestant Reformation, which established the Protestant church in reaction to the corruption of the Catholic Church, also helped bring about the counter-reformation which established the Inquisition. The Inquisition established rules of visual imagery in the arts and tried to enforce these rules. This common theme of religion was represented throughout a majority of Leonardos paintings including two of his most famous ones, The Last Supper and Saint Jerome. The Last Supper depicted the image of Jesus and his 12 apostles seated at the altar, with Jesus in the ce nter, breaking bread. This scene is representative of when Jesus informs the apostles he has been betrayed by one of them. In this painting, Da Vinci portrayed a common theme of Italian Renaissance art, humanism. Humanism placed more emphasis on Man and less stress on God. In The Last Supper painting, Da Vinci placed more of an emphasis on Jesus Christ by placing him in the center of the painting, focusing the attention on him. Humanism attempted to attach faces or visual beings to religion, which is why there was such a rise in paintings of religious figures such as evangelists and saints. In Saint Jerome, once again the theme of religion can be seen along with the humanistic view of the time period. Saint Jerome is as close as Da Vinci came in a painting to his numerous anatomical drawings. These were a logical development of the Classical revival and the humanist view of mens centrality, beauty of form and superior intellect. In the painting, Saint Jerome is shown holding a rock with which he appears prepared to strike the lion with, showing mans dominance over animals. Saint Jerome is also very detailed which furthers the emphasis placed on man. The detail and realistic view that Da Vinci places in his art is another popular characteristic of Italian Renaissance art known as realism. Italian Renaissance artists, not just Da Vinci, all strived to attain greater realism in their works of art. Unlike the art of the 13th and early 14th centuries, the art of the Italian Renaissance appeared far more realistic. Art strayed away from the flat, stiff images of the previous ages, to more life-like figures that displayed real emotions. In order to produce this greater realism in art, artists such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael all used a technique known as sfumato, which literally means lost in smoke. Sfumato was an artistic technique that uses light and shade to place emphasis and some areas and defer it from other areas of lesser importance. Humanistic artists used this technique to aid in the emphasis of man in their paintings. Da Vinci combined the sfumato technique with his skill with chiaroscuro and perspective to create the mysterious smile in his most famous portrait, Mona Lisa. Michelangelo is another Italian Renaissance artist whose artistic themes and style contributed to the Renaissance being known as a period of re-birth. Michelangelo, like Da Vinci and many other artists of this time period, took a humanistic approach to his art work. Michelangelo was interested in definite form, and the human body alone seemed worthy of representation. Michelangelo aimed primarily for concentration and precise details, similar to Da Vinci, and attempted to capture emotion with every stroke of the brush. For example, in Michelangelos sculpture of David, David is depicted not with an emotionless expression on his face. Instead, David is shown with a very detailed anger, as he prepares to face Goliath, in their infamous showdown. Michelangelo is also notable for his use of the contrapposto pose, which was also reflected in the sculptures of Donatello in the Early Renaissance. One of Michelangelos famous works in which he uses the contrapposto pose, which once again is th e twisting of the hips, is his Bacchus. Bacchus is sculpted nude with a glass of wine in hand, which is representative of the fact that Bacchus is the Greek god of wine and intoxication. (Need Notation from your book) Michelangelo was not only a brilliant sculpture but also a great painter whose work was a major contributor to the Renaissance. The paints on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are one of the most famous artwork that was created during the Renaissance. Although Michelangelo has studied painting, sculpture was where his interest was. At the request of Julius II, he agreed to paint the Sistine Chapel even though painting was not his profession. His inexperience along with the magnitude of the project were going to be a challenge, but a challenge that he quickly overcame because of his innate talents and desire to produce exceptional work. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was an enormous fresco depicting various passages from the Book of Genesis including the Creation of Adam in the ceiling and the Last Judgment at the alter. Similar to his sculptures, his paintings also focus on the human figure and its natural beauty. (C pg 648-651) Raphael, the youngest of the three great contributors to High Renaissance at, was an Italian painter and architect. Raphaels work took the artistic innovations that had been developed by Da Vinci and Michelangelo and created his own style in depicting the ideals of the Renaissance.(C pg 654) The School of Athens, one of Raphaels most famous paintings, displays the classical spirit of the High Renaissance. This painting along with three others completed along the walls of the Stanza della Segnatura room, which was the library in the papal apartment at the Vatican, show great philosophers and scientists of the ancient word coming together to discuss their theories and ideas.. Aristotle and Plato, the two great philosophers of ancient Greece, are portrayed as the key figures in these paintings. (C pg 653) In line with the realism theme of this time period, the figures in Raphaels paintings are known for their display of realistic emotions. Another characteristic of Raphaels work was the perfection and grace that he portrayed in his paintings and drawings. A theme throughout Raphaels work is the Christian devotion and pagan beauty. This theme is brought out in his series of Madonna paintings where Christian devotion and pagan beauty are brought together. In one of Raphaels best frescoes, Galatea, which Raphael based on ancient Roman poet Orvids Metamorphoses, the pagan joy and excitement is displayed praising human beauty and passionate love. (C pg 656) Raphael also excelled at portraiture. The subjects of his portraits were primarily scholars and courtiers surrounding the Pope. His portraits tended to exhibit the increasing attention that High Renaissance artists paid to the subjects personality and psyche. In addition, Raphael also revived the gods and heroes of classical times and the world they lived in, not to honor them but to transform them into art. (C pg 656) The Late Renaissance period experienced a slow down in the arts. A number of factors including political instability, the preachings of Martin Luther leading many to question the authority of the Church, and especially the Churchs response to the Luthers Protestant Reformation put a freeze on any type of Renaissance innovation. In order to protect itself against further criticism, the Church started to censor literary or artistic ambitions. The Late Renaissance movement which became known as Mannerism, represents the winding down of the Renaissance period and a departure from the ideals of the High Renaissance. The mannerist paintings, sculptures and architecture decided to challenge rules of the Renaissance and change them to a certain extent. The rules of perspective, nudity, and lighting that were developed during the High Renaissance were pushed to the side. Instead the artists of Mannerism opted to create art that showed elegance and beauty but not really realistic. (C pg 673-675) The three pioneers of Mannerism were Pontormo, Fiorentino and Bronzino. During this period, artists shifted from the realistic forms of the art completed in the High Renaissance to a more artificial form with distortions and exaggerations. In contrast to the natural, calm, and proportional art of the High Renaissance, Mannerism art was full of bizarre colors and images where figures are shown with abnormally elongated limbs and strange poses. (C pg 673-674). For example, in one of his paintings, Lamentation, Pontormo distorts the figures bodies by stretching them, exaggerating their postures and applying unreal colors. Mannerist painters also used portraiture to create sophisticated elegance.(C pg 676) Mannerism was not limited to painting. It also included sculpture and architecture. Benvenuto Cellini, a mannerist sculptor, tended to exaggerate the characteristics of his work in accordance with the rules of mannerism. This was evident in his sculpture of Genius of Fontainebleau. Similar to the Mannerism paintings, the characteristics of the sculptures also exaggerated and out of proportion.(C pg 678) The Renaissance was a period of incredible achievements and innovations in the arts. A few artists with exceptional talent, an amazing level of imagination and an ability to express themselves through their work, changed the world of art forever in a relatively short period of time. They took advantage of the opportunity that history had given them to put man and the human figure at the center of their work. The Renaissance was a time of great artistic development where painters and sculptors were discovering individualism, harmony, perspective and realism in their portrayal of human being. The Renaissance began relatively slow during the Early Renaissance but sprang into full gear during the High Renaissance waned during the Late Renaissance. Although the Renaissance was a period of major achievements in literature, philosophy and the sciences, the most dramatic accomplishments were achieved in the Arts. This period of rebirth is most and foremost associated with the artistic accomplishments of Masaccio, Donatello, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. The High Renaissance represented an outstanding pool of talent that surfaced in the same area around the same time. These artists were individual geniuses who combined classical work and realism to transform the art. They took the flat and stiff images from the previous periods and converted them into more life-like figures that displayed emotion and reality. Italian artists and sculptors were innovative, creative, ambitious, and bold. They dared to go above and beyond to achieve their goals and were determined to achieve greatness in their field. As a result of the extraordinary artistic accomplishments, Italian art had the most significant impact in the Renaissance that brought about the re-birth of Europe.

Local Area Networks :: essays research papers

LANs: Local Area Networks Local Area Networks also called LANs have been a major player in industrialization of computers. In the past 20 or so years the worlds industry has be invaded with new computer technology. It has made such an impact on the way we do business that it has become essential with an ever-growing need for improvement. LANs give an employer the ability to share information between computers with a simple relatively inexpensive system of network cards and software. It also lets the user or users share hardware such as Printers and scanners. The speed of access between the computers is lighting fast because the data has a short distance to cover. In most cases a LAN only occupies one or a group of buildings located next to each other. For larger area need there are several other types of networks such as the Internet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LANs systems can be defined and connected in many different ways. This is the reason for the standardization for every one can have a common ground to start from. â€Å"The LANs described Herein are distinguished from other types of data networks in that they are optimized for a moderate size geographic area such as a single office building, warehouse, or a campus. The IEEE 802 LAN is a shared medium peer-to-peer communications network that broadcasts information for all stations to receive. As a consequence, it does not inherently provide privacy. The LAN enables stations to communicate directly using a common physical medium on a point-to-point basis without any intermediate switching node being required. There is always need for an access sublayer in order to arbitrate to access to the shared medium. The network is generally owned, used, and operated by a single organization. This is in contrast to Wide Area Networks (WANs) that interconnect communication faci lities in different parts of a country or are used as a public utility. These LANs are also different from networks, such as backplane buses, that are optimized for the interconnection of devices on a desk top or components within a single piece of equipment.†(IEEE 802 Standard 1990) That is the standard definition for LANs by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer committee 802. They are the committee used to set the standard in workmanship and operations for technicians that set-up and perform maintenance on LANs systems. And through all the technical words what they are trying to say is a LAN is a small area network that distributes information among computer in a small work environment unlike WANs that distribute information across global areas.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Essay -- classic story, literar

Based on the classic Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Roman, Julie, and Friends displays a new theme on becoming friends with children of all genders, even if it is not expected or allowed by their friends. There were many changes made to create a story that resembled Romeo and Juliet but also changed the meaning to a more positive and age appropriate moral. For example some of the original characters are resembled in the remediation, while others were completely new for the purpose of the new plot. The classic play was changed to a children’s book to provide a positive message to children by using pictures and designs that would suit a child’s liking. The design of the book was happy and cheerful, with basic pictures that resemble the words but are similar to the other pictures in the book. The book also uses ethos, logos, and pathos to sell the moral of the story. Ethos is mainly used by the creditability of Shakespeare. While pathos is the ability for the rea der to connect with the characters personalities and stories. Logos is used by providing the child realize that friends can be any gender or personalities, but if given the chance a friend can be found in anyone. The target audience is for children around the reading level of 3, with the purpose being the idea that children can become friends with children of any gender. The target audience for this remediation is children around the ages of 5-8 at a reading level of 3. The purpose of this remediation is the idea that a classic story can be changed to suit the views of a child. This story tells about how children should not judge other children based on their gender, but on their personalities and similarities. The book mainly uses stereotypical versions of boys and... ... ethos from taking a classic, well-known play and changing some details while still keeping the overall credit of the play. While using also using pathos as the main element to convince the child reading the book that any relationship can be formed if given the chance, while also using logos by providing the child with the facts that each of the child found a similarity between them and became friends. The design showed accurate visual images of the words while the cover displayed a happy ending. All the changes were used to display the differences in others and how friendships can be made if there is no judgment but acceptance of differences and looked at the personality. Overall the changes were made to appeal to a child instead of an older audience like Romeo and Juliet. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Print.

History of Minority Populations in the Child Welfare System

The child welfare system was created as the need to address the basic needs and provisions of poor children was more and more evident throughout the 19th century. Through the passing decades, the need to provide supportive services for these children's families was also a concern. Among the agencies responsible for providing these services are state and county child protective services as well as adoption agencies and foster homes. The main goal of these agencies is the protection of children who have experienced abuse from those who are responsible for their care such as parents or guardians. The ultimate goal is to have abused children reunited with their biological parents -when possible- once the danger of repeated abuse has been curbed. The decision to place children up for adoption is a measure of last resort. However, it is evident that children of minority groups are the ones most represented within the national child welfare system. The Relevant History of the Minority Populations Minority populations within the United States have always been at a significant disadvantage socially and economically. The roots of these disadvantages among minorities go back to the initial colonization and subsequent expansion of this country. For example, the African American and Native American populations were once the target of systematic, institutionalized racism. The literal and cultural destruction of Native Americans and the racially biased laws passed by federal, state and local governments against the African American population have subsequently resulted in a socio-economic breakdown within these groups (Martin, 2007). These disadvantages have caused a social stagnation among subsequent generations within these groups. Undeniably, the stresses of disadvantaged families trying to reach self-sufficiency have caused many to experience behavioral and emotional issues of which the result is many times the abuse of their children or children in their care. However, there has been a response to these issues within the Human Services community especially from the child welfare practice. The U. S. Child Welfare Response The resulting awareness that there is in fact a need to concentrate efforts in helping improve the quality of life among minorities and their children has caused the Human Services community to implement more comprehensive actions towards the social assistance of these children. In recent decades the preservation of the family unit has been the ultimate goal when a child protective services agency interferes. But other preventative measures have also been implemented many of which have seen positive results. Contemporary Efforts to Intervene With Child and Family Services Respecting Cultural Diversity The necessary interference from child protective services mostly results in temporary placement of abused or allegedly abused children in foster homes. As previously mentioned, the goal is eventual reunification of the child with his or her family but not until there is clear evidence that there have been efforts made by the biological parents to make behavioral improvements within their families to prevent any future abuses of their children. Programs available to parents of abused children range from counseling, parenting classes, treatment for substance abuse, anger management, employment services and housing services (Martin, 2007). Preventative measures have also been taken by social service agencies in the form of early intervention and prevention programs. These services can include family counseling, parenting training, household budgeting, stress management, and in some cases cash assistance (Martin, 2007). There is however another area of focus among the child welfare system in regards to the methods of providing services for children of American subcultures. Methods of Cultural Competent Practice in Child and Family Service Settings Cultural competencies are the methods developed for Human Services professionals that are designed to increase cultural awareness and sensitivity. The application of the principles learned with their application allow the child welfare worker to better serve minority children and their families. As the child welfare professional applies what he or she learns regarding the culture of the child and his or her parents, the worker will achieve the ability to respect the dignity of all people regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation (Martin, 2007)