Cheat Sheet for Strategic Management

M&A & Restructuring Strategies. Merger: Two Firms agree to integrate operations on relatively equal basis(usually 1 dominates another in mkt share/size/asset value) Hostile takeover: (delivers higher shareholder value than friendly acquires)(Preannouncement returns of hostile takeover anticipated with increase in bidder & target's share price). Diversification creates value by using excess resource. Restructuring used to correct with ineffective mergers/acquisitions. M used as means of growth to potentially lead to strategic competitiveness. ?ing ext env affect type of M used. M used cuz of uncertainty in competitive l. )Increase market power due to competitive threat 2)Spread risk due to uncertainty 3)Shift core biz to diff mkts 4)Manage industry & regulatory ? s. –> Increases strategic competitiveness & value. Shareholders of acquired firm earn above avg returns while shareholders of acquiring firm earn ~0 returns. Reflects investors' scepticism of projected synergies. Reaso ns for Acquisition 1)Increased mkt power(horizontal,vertical,related, sbjct to regulatory review & financial mkt analysis)able to sell good/service above competitive levels/costs of its primary or support activities lower than competitors.Buy competitor/supplier/distributer to Increase size, resource & capabilities. Horizontal Acq helps to exploit cost-based & revenue synergies. Better Most effective when integrate assets with acqed firm. Vertical Acqsitions controls additional parts of value chain. (CVS/Caremark)Related acquisitions(acqing firm in related industry). Create value thru synergy by integrating resource & capabilities. 2)Overcome entry barriers. Help gain immediate access to international markets. Higher the barrier, higher chance firm will acquire. )Cross-border acquisitions(made btwn companies with HQs in diff ctys) global M declined in financial crisis. Chinese companies seek horizontal cross-border acqtns of natural resource. India seek access to pdt innovation capa bilities & new br/distribution channels. 4)Cost of new product development & increased speed to mkt. Gain access to new pdts & to current pdts new to firm. Pharmaceutical firms. 5)Lower risk than developing new products. Acquisitions may become a substitute for innovation. Acquisitions shld always be strategic than defensive 6)Increased Diversification.Diff for companies to develop pdts that differ from current lines for mkts in which they lack experience. Acquisition strategies used to support unrelated & related diversification stgies. More related firms are, greater prob acq is successful. Horizontal & related acqs contribute more to strategic competitiveness. Cisco. 7)Avoid excessive competition 8)Reshaping firm's competitive scope(Lessen dependence on specific mkts) 9)Learn & developing new capabilities. Broadens their knowledge base & reduce inertia. Acquire good talent through cross-border acqtns.Seek to acquire diff but related & complementary capabilities to build own knowl edge base. Biological Drugs, AstraZeneca. Problems in achieving Acquisition success Greater success accrues to (select right target, avoid high premium by doing due dilligence, integrate operations,retain human capital to underst& target firm's operations) 1)Integration difficulties (cultures,diff financia & control systems, working relationships, resolve problems of status of acqed firm's executives) 2)Inadequate evaluation of target.Due diligence – Potential acquirer evaluates target firm for acquisition. Done by investment bankers,accountatnts,lawyers,mgmt consultants. Without due dilligence, purchase price is made by pricing of other ‘comparable' acquisitions than rigorous assessment of where,when,how mgmt can drive real perf gains. â€Å"bidding war† 3)Large & Extraordinary debt. Firms increase debt to finance acqtns. E. g. Junk Bonds. High debt increases chance of bankruptcy, downgrading credit rating & firm may divest some assets to relieve burden to remai n solvent. )Inability to achieve Synergy. Assets worth more when used tgt than seperately. Created by efficiences from EOS, EOSC & sharing resources. Private synergy(combining & integrating target firm & acquiring firm's assets yield capabilities & core competencies that couldn't be developed by integrating either firm's assets with another firm. Transaction costs to acquire & create synergies (indirect & direct) 5)Overdiversification Related diversification outperforms unrelated.Related diversification req more info processing, thus being overdiversified with smaller no. of biz units than unrelated. Scope created by over diversification causes mangers to rely on financial than strategic controls. Tendencyfor acquisitions to become substitutes for innovation. 6)Managers over focus on acqusitions Managers need to: search for viable c, complete due dilligence, prepare negotiations & manage integration process, can divert attention. 7)Too large –> Bureaucratic controls, stifling innovation.Effective Acquisitions Complementary Assets/resources(meet current needs to build competitiveness, high synergy & competitive advantage), Friendly acquisitions(lower premiums,faster & effective integration), Due dilligence(overpayment avoided), Maintain Financial slack(Acquired firm has slack, financing is easier/cheaper), Low-moderate debt(lower risk/financing cost),Sustained emphasis on R of acqing firm (maintain LT CA in mkts), Acqing firm is flexible (faster/effective integration for synergy) Restructuring (firm ? s its set of biz or financial structure).Deal with failure of acquisition/? s in ext or int env. Downsizing (reduction in no. of employee/operating units but may change the composition of biz in company portfolio) used when paid too high premium, reduce duplicate functional jobs. Downscoping(divesture,spin-off to eliminate biz unrelated to firm's core biz) Refocus on core biz Leverage Buyouts(party buys all of firm's assets with debt to take firm private). Restructure & sell. Management buyouts, Employee buyouts, whole-firm buy outs(purchase whole than part of firm). MBOs lead to downscoping, strategic focus, improved performance.Downsizing-;reduced labour costs(ST) -; loss of human capital/lower performance(LT). Downscoping-; reduced debt costs/emphasis on strategic controls(ST)-;higher performance(LT). LBOs-;emphasis on strategic controls/high debt cost(ST)-;higher performance/risk[creates ST & risk-averse managerial focus](LT) International StrategyRationale for international diversification is to extend product life cycle. 4 benefits of using international strategy: 1)Increase market size (size of international mkt affect firm's willingness to invest in R&D to build CA in that mkt.Firm prefer to invest more in cty with scientific knowledge&talent to produce value creating product & processes 2)increased EOS & learning (Firm able to exploit core competencies through resource&knowledge sharing btwn units & network partners across bo rders. New learning opportunities. BUT, firms need to have strong R&D system to absorb knowledge) 3)develop CA through location(lower basic cost of gds/services. Gain access to critical supplies/customers. Reduce liability of foreignness if low cultural distance) 4)return on investment (Generate above-avg ROI) International BL Strategies(cost leadership, differentiated, focus, integrated).Determinants of National Advantage: 1)Factors of production. Basic Factors. Advanced Factors(digital comm systems & educated workforce). Generalized factors(highway system/ss of debt capital). Specialized Factors(skilled personnel in specific indsty). 2)Dem& conditions(nature/size of buyer's needs in home market for industry's gds/services) Large mkt sgmt produce dem& to create scaleefficient facilities. 3)Related & Supporting Industries (Italy's leather-processing industry provides leather to produce shoes. Supporting indstry & design services contribute to success of shoe industry.Cameras & copie rs are related industries in Japan) 4)Firm strategy, structure & rivalry(Germany technical training system for continuous product & process improvements. Italy designers. Japan cooperative & competitive systems facilitate cross-functional management of complex assembly operations. US compt btwn computer & software producers increase development). The factors are likely to produce CA when firm develops & implements an appropriate strategy that take advantage of distinct cty factors. International CL Strategy (scope of firm's operations thru pdct & geog diversification) Unilever Multi-domestic Strategy.Decentralized decisions to SBUs. ! less knowledge sharing for firm as a whole =(no economies of scale,costly. Global strategy(centralized control at home office. SBUs interdependent to achieve integration across bizs) EOS. =( forgo growth opp in local mkts. CEMEX Transnational Strategy Flexible Coordination is required-Building shared vision & individual commitment thru integrated netwo rk. Starbucks China Environmental Trends :Liability of foreignness relative to domestic competitors. Regionalization(more similar culture, legal social norms)EU & NAFTA promotes regionalization.Internatonal Entry Mode 1)Exporting (exporters must establish some means of marketing & distribution) ! high transportation costs, tariffs, less control of products, pay distributer fee,diff to market competitive product/provide customization to international mkt, Exchange rates volatility. 2)Licensing (purchase right to manufacture/sell firms pdts by paying a royalty)~exp& returns based on prior innovation. low cost, low risk ! little control, low returns. 3)Strategic Alliances(uncertain env) ~shared costs/risks/resources, gain access to new technologies, no tariffs! roblem integrating btwn partners (2 cultures) 4)Acquisitions(quicker) ~quick access to new mkt ! high cost(debt), complex negotiations, prob merging with domestic operations 5)New Wholly Owned Subsidiary(Green Field venture) ~Ma x control, potential above-avg returns ! complex, costly, time consuming, high risk. Export,licensing & strategic alliance good for early market development. Joint venture/greenfield venture -> IP rights not protected, high need for global integration, growing no. of competitors. Strategic competitive outcomes 1)Enhanced returns.Decrease initially, then increase. Diversifying geographically into core biz areas positive effect on stock price. Offshore outsourcing created sig value-creation opp as firms move into flexible labor mkts. 2)Enhanced innovation. Exposure to new pdcts & mkts. Opp to integrate new knowledge into operations. Generation of resources to sustain innovation. Risks in international environment 1)Politcal Risk. Govt instability/regulations/corruption/conflict/war/conflicting & diverse legal authorities/potential nationalization of private assets/? s in govt policy 2)Economic risk.Govt oversigh & control of economic&financial capital/weak IP rights&protections impact FDI/terrorism/investment losses from political risk/security risk of foreign firms acquiring key natural resources or strategic IP. Cooperative Strategy(shared objective) Strategic alliance(firms combine resources&capabilities to create CA) Leverage existing resource/capabilities to develop additional resources/capabilities for new CAs. Collaborative/relational Advantage-CA developed through a cooperative strategy. 3 Types of Strategic Alliances: 1)Joint Venture.Siemens AG & Fujitsu -> Fujitsu Siemens Computers (Own equal % & contribute equally. 2 or more firm create legally independent company to share some resources/capabilities to develop CA). Optimal when firms need to create a CA that is diff from individual advantages & when highly uncertain hypercompetitive markets are targeted. 2)Equity. Baidu & Japanese telecom operator NTT DOCOMO (2or more firms own diff % of company they formed to create CA, e. g. many FDIs such as companies from multiple countries are making in China) 3 )Non-equity. HP (2 or more firms develop contractual relationship to create CA.Firm DOES NOT establish separate independent company thus don't take equity positions)-; less formal, fewer commitments & no intimate relationship. E. g. licensing/distribution agreements & supply contract. Reasons firm develop Strategic Alliances Allow partners to create value they couldn't develop alone & to enter markets faster with greater penetration. Firms lack full resources & capabilities to reach their objectives. Slow cyclemkt: Gain access to restricted mkt. Establish a franchise in a new mkt. Maintain mkt stability(establishing st&ards). Fast-cycle mkt: Speed up development of new goods/services.Speed up new market entry. Maintain market leadership. Form an industry technology st&ard(). Share risky R&D expenses. Overcome uncertainty. St&ard-cycle mkt: Gain mkt power(reduce industry overcapacity). Gain access to complementary resources. Establish better EOS. Overcome trade barriers. Meet competi tive challenges frm other competitors. Pool resources for large projects. Learn new biz techniques. BL Cooperative Strategy 1)Complementary Strategic Alliances (Vertical, horizontal) -firms share r&c in complementary ways to develop CAs. More value-creating than other strategies.Vertical(from diff stages of value chain e. g. Nintendo) Horizontal(same stage(s) of value chain to create CAs. ) 2)Competition response strategy(to competitor's attacks). Becuz they can be diff to reverse & exp t operate, strategic alliances are formed to take strategic than tactical actions to respond to attacks. 3)Uncertainty reducing strategy (new pdt mkts/emerging economies 4)Competition-reducing strategy (explicit/tacit collusions) Tacit collusion – Firms in industry indirectly coordinate their production & pricing decisions by observing each other actions/responses.Results in output below fully competitive levels & above fully competitive prices. !reduce service quality, on-time performance. Mu tual forbearance- Form of tacit collusion where firms dont take actions against rivals they meet in multiple mkts. Assessment: R integrated MUST be VCRN. vertical strategy have greatest probability of creating sustainable CA. CL Cooperative Strategy. Firm use this strategy to diversify in pdts offered/markets served. Diversify by means other than M. Require fewer resource commitments, greater flexibility. 1)Diversifying S/A !Highly diverse network of alliances can lead to poorer performance by partner firms. 2)Synergistic S/A(create EOScope across multiple functions/bizs btwn partners) 3) Franchising (contractual relationship to describe/control sharing of its R with partners) Advantages: Attractive strategy for fragmented industry(retailing,hotels,motels) where large number of small/med firms compete without one having a dominant share. Assessment: Alliance costs needs monitoring. International Cooperative Strategy 1)Cross-border alliance(firms with HQs in diff nations decide to co mbine some R to create CA & value).Incentives: limited domestic growth opp, foreign govt economic policies. China & India have strong preference to license local companies. Strategic alliance with local partners help firms overcome liability of foreignness. Operational advantages due to local market information. Network cooperative strategy (several firms form multiple partnerships to achieve shared objectives) Particularly effective when formed by geographically clustered firms. Gain heterogeneous info & knowledge from multiple sources. ! lock in partnerships precluding alliance with others.Stable Alliance network (mature industries where dem& is constant & predictable) Built primarily to exploit EOS/EOScope existing btwn partners e. g. airline industry Dynamic Alliance Network (frequent product innovations & short pdct lifecycle) Competitive risks: Inadequate contracts. Misrepresentation of competencies. Partners may act opportunistically. Partners fail to use their complementary resources. Holding alliance partner's specific investments hostage. Risk&Asset Management Approaches:Detailed contracts & monitoring. Develop trusting relationships -> create value.Managing cooperative strategies: Cost minimization(Firm develops formal contracts with partners specifying how strategy is to be monitored & how partner behavior is controlled) Opportunity maximization(Maximize partnership's value-creating opportunities) Corporate Governance – Set of mechanisms used to manage the relationship among stakeholders & to determine & control the strategic direction & performance of organizations.. It is concerned with: Strengthening effectiveness of company's board of directors. Verifying transparency of firm's operations. Enhancing accountability to shareholders.Incentivizing executives. Maximizing value creation for stakeholders & shareholders. Separation of Ownership & Managerial control. Allows each group to focus on what it does best: Shareholders bears risk that fi rm's expenses exceed revenue (shareholders will hold a diversified portfolio to diversify risk). Managers formulate & implement strategy & decision-making. Agency relationships(between firm's owner & top-level managers) Managerial opportunism seeking self-interest with deceit. An attitude & set of behaviors. Prevents maximization of shareholder's wealth.Product Diversification as Agency Problem 1)Diversification increase size/complexity & thus managerial compensation. 2)Reduces manger's employment risk as a firm & its managers are less vulnerable to reduction in dem& associated with a single/limited no. of product lines/bizs. 3)Managers have control of firm's free cash flows which they invest to diversify instead of giving to shareholders. Shareholders like a diversified position between dominant & related-constrained diversification strategies. Shareholders prefer riskier strategies & more focused diversification. Managers prefer higher levels of product diversification.Managers ma y prefer level of diversification that maximises firm size & compensation while reducing employment risk. Agency costs – sum of incentive/monitoring/enforcement costs, individual financial losses incurred by principals because of agents. 3 internal governance mechanism 1)Ownership Concentration (No. of large-block shareholders & total percentage of shares they own) X Diffuse ownership (large number of shareholders with small holdings & few large-block shareholders) Large-block shareholders are active in their dem&s that corporations adopt effective governance mechanisms.Ownership of many modern corporations now concentrated in h&s of institutional investors than individual shareholders. Institutional owners (financial institutions that control large-block shareholder positions) They are powerful governance mechanism. They have both size & incentive to discipline ineffective top-level managers. 2)Board of Directors (group of elected individuals to formally monitor & control ma nagers in order to act in owner's best interests) Insiders – Firm's CEO & other top-level managers. Related outsiders – Individuals not involved with firm's daily operations but have relationship with firm.Outsiders – provide independent counsel to firm & may hold managerial positions in their company. Outsiders have no firm info & thus emphasize use of financial than strategic controls to evaluate firm. Shifts risk to managers who make decision to maximise their interest & reduce employment risk. Enhance effectiveness of BOD 1. Increase diversity 2. Strengthen internal management & accounting control systems 3. Establish consistent use of formal processes to evaluate BOD performance 4. Creation of ‘lead director' 5. Compensation of director, reduce stock options. )Executive Compensation Use LT incentive plans. Effectiveness: don't link pay to financial outcomes. Manager may focus ST effects to enhance pay. Other factors also affect firm's performance whic h are not under manager's control. Market for Corporate Control (external governance mechanism. The market is a set of potential owners seeking to acquire undervalued firms & earn above average ROIs by replacing ineffective top-level management teams) Used only when internal controls fail. â€Å"Golden parachutes† help them leave while â€Å"Golden hellos† help them to get in the door of the next firm.Hostile Takeover Defensive Strategies â€Å"Poison pill† allows shareholders to convert their rights into large no. of common shares if anyone acquires more than set amount of target's stock to dilute percentage f shares acquiring firm must purchase at premium. Litigation – Lawsuits that help target company stall hostile attacks e. g. antitrust,fraud. Greenmail – repurchase of stocks from agressor at premium for agreement to no longer be targeted for takeover. Standstill agreement – Contract btwn parties in which pursuer agrees not to acquire a ny more stock for specified period for a fee.Capital structure change – Dilution of stock, making it costly for bidder to acquire e. g. recapitalization, new debt, share buybacks, stock selling) Corporate charter amendment – Ammendment to stagger elections of members to the BOD of attacked firm so that all are not elected same year, preventing bidder to install new board in same year. Corporate governance in Germany: 2 tiered board structure, place responsibility of monitoring & controlling managerial decisions & actions with separate groups. Banks exercise sig power as source of financing. Power sharing includes representation from community & unions.Corporate Governance in Japan: Cultural concepts of obligation, family & consensus. Close relationship btwn stakeholder & company through cross-shareholding can negatively impact efficiencies. Keiretsus: Strongly interrelated groups of firms tied tgt by cross-shareholdings. Banks are highly influential with firm's manager s. Global Corporate Governance: Relatively uniform governance structures, moving closer to US corporate governance model. Organizational Structure & Control. Organizational Structure – Specifies firm's formal reporting relationships, procedures, controls, authority & decision-making processes.Curcial to match structure with strategy! Controls guide the use of strategy, indicate how to compare actual results with expected results, & suggest corrective actions to take when the difference is unacceptable. Strategic Controls – Largely subjective criteria intended to verify that the firm is using appropriate strategies for theconditions in the external environment & the company’s competitive advantages. Strategic controls are concerned with examining the fit between: What the firm might do (opportunities in its external environment) What the firm can do (competitive advantages).Evaluate the degree to which the firm focuses on the requirements to implement strategy: B L:primary activities. CL(related): sharing of knowledge, markets, technologies across bizs. Financial Controls objective criteria used to measure firm's performance against previously established st&ards. Focus on ST outcomes. ROI, ROA, EVA(economic value addedmarket based measure). ! produces risk-adverse managerial decisions. Essential for unrelated diversification! Simple Structure (owner manager makes all major decisions & monitors activities) Few rules, limited task specialization, basic tech system.Functional Structure(CEO & limited corporate staff make decisions. Functional line managers present. functional specialization from active sharing. ! impedes comm. & cordination among functional areas. Multi-divisional Structure. Operating divisions represent separate biz / profit center. Top corporate officer delegates responsibilities for daily operations & business unit strategies to division managers. ~Ties together all operating divisions. Enables more accurate monitoring of p erformance of each unit. Facilitates comparisons between divisions.Stimulates managers to look for improvements. Matches between BL strategies & Functional Structure 1)For cost leadership strategyWalmart (simple reporting structure, few layers in decision-making & authority, centralized in a staff function. Job specialized.. 2) For differentiation strategy. Complex & flexible reporting relationship, freq use of cross-functional product development teams, strong focus on mkting & R&D. Few formal rules & procedures. Jobs not specialized. Decentralized. 3)For integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy.Diff primary & support activities emphasized. Match between CL Strategy & Multi-divisional Structure(M-form) 1)Cooperative form for related-constrained. Centralized at corporate office; Extensive use of integration mechanism; emphasis on strategic criteria; linked to overall corporate performance. Frequent direct contact btwn division managers. Liason roles in each divisions redu ce time integrating with work occurring in other divisions. Matrix Organization might be formed(dual structure combining both functional specialization & biz product or project specialization.Cooperation among divisions implies loss of managerial autonomy -> managers hesitatnt to cooperate. Use strategic controls to evaluate manager on how well they cooperate. 2)SBUForm for related-linked strategy ! coordination between SBUs is hard. Diff to communicate complex biz model to shareholders. 3)Competitive form for Unrelated Diversification Strategy Decentralized to divisions; no integration mechanism; emphasize on financial criteria; linked to divisional performance. Finance & Auditing & Legal Affairs 2nd tier. Divisions 3 tier. ~internal competition creates flexibility; resources allocated to most potential division.Challenges the status quo & inertia. Motivates efforts due to funding if u are an efficient division. Matches btwn International Strategies & World-wide structure 1)Worldwi de Geog Area for Multidomestic Strategy. Decentralization to business units in each country. No integration mechanisms. Informal coordination ! inability to create global efficiency 2)Worldwide Product Divisional Structure for Global Strategy. Aims to gain EOS & EOSC;Centralized. Integrating mechanism important(e. g. Direct contact btwn managers, liaison roles btwn departments). inability to quikly respond to local needs & preferences; difficulty in coordinating decisions across borders. 3)Combination Structure for Transnational Strategy Global Matrix. ~flexibility in designing products & responding to customer needs. ! employee accountable to 2 boss. Difficult to be simultaneously loyal to both. Can be member of several functional or product group teams. Difficult & time consuming for approval. Hybrid Structure. (some divisions oriented to products while others oriented toward market areas) Matches btwn Cooperative Strategies & Network Structures.Strategic network (group of firms f ormed to create value by participating in multiple cooperative arrangements) can be a form of CA when operations create value that is hard to imitate. Used to implement BL, CL & International Strategies. Strategic center firm(main firm) does: Strategic outsourcing, seek ways to support members effort to develop Core competencies, Manage development & sharing of technology-based ideas(req formal reports of technology-orientated outcomes of their efforts),Emphasizes principal competition are btwn value chains & between networks of value chains.Centralized. Strategic network for BL Cooperative Strategy(horizontal,vertical Chp 9), CL Cooperative Strategies & International Cooperative Strategies(Distributed strategic networks -Several regional strategic centre firms are included in dist network to manage partner firms' multiple cooperative arrangements)

Analysis of “Death of a Salesman” opening stage directions Essay

Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ (1949) opens with an extensive description of the Loman house. Miller uses extremely precise and detailed stage directions, including prop placement, sound and lighting, giving heavy significance to each of these elements and painting an unchangeable picture to ensure that it is preserved in every interpretation of his work. Throughout the opening stage directions of Act 1, despite the structure and tone being very factual, composed of short, clear sentences, Miller hints at underlying themes and messages through a range of stylistic devices, preparing the audience for the play, and setting the scene. As the play is set in Brooklyn, New York some years after the great depression, many references are made already at this early stage to idealism and the American dream; the desperate and yearning vision of many Americans at that time of a better life. This permeating theme becomes apparent formerly even to the introduction of the characters, as the mere scenery and props act as symbolic elements, which reflect this motif. Miller however subliminally makes it evident that this dream is purely an illusion, through emblematic phrases in his stage directions such as ‘rising out of reality’ and physical representations, for instance the broken boundaries where ‘characters enter or leave a room by stepping through a wall onto the forestage’ which create an aura of delusion. The first stage directions include a melody played on a flute, ‘telling of grass and trees and the horizon’. This natural imagery encompassing three physical elements accompanied by the soft and harmonious sound, sets a serene tone which is then highly juxtaposed with the following depiction of the house and it’s neighborhood, featured with darkness and hostility. This heavy contrast may be symbolic of the conflict between the dreams to which the individual aspires and the actual harshness of society’s reality. The description of the surrounding cluster of apartment blocks seems almost to have a greater prominence than the house itself, as this is the first thing the audience ‘becomes aware of’. The tall and ‘angular’ silhouette of Manhattan that lies in the backdrop has expressionistic features and  surrounds the Loman house in a way that suggests some metaphorical form of oppression or confinement. The ‘glow of orange’ that falls upon the ‘fragile-seeming’ house is personified as ‘angry’, perhaps reflecting the hostile times in which the play is set. This enclosing and intimidating hostility is in part what makes the home appear so fragile, a fragility that may represent weakness in family bonds or equally, weakness in he who represents the house, condemning him immediately to the role of a tragic protagonist. Willy clings to his dreams just as ‘an air of the dream clings to the place’. This idea becomes present again in the description of Linda’s feelings towards her husband and his traits. ‘his massive dreams’ are the source of his tragic nature, dreams that he shares with the rest of society, but that for him become an unhealthy obsession. Willy is cursed with the incessant desire to pursue his dreams ‘to their end’ and these words forebode a fate that unfolds as a result of this fixation. Overall the opening of this play provides the audience with a sense of the themes that will permeate throughout, by cleverly using stage schemes and elements that insinuate profounder significance of what is to come.

European Union Law structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

European Union Law structure - Essay Example One of the most obvious examples of a unitary state is United Kingdom. Also called a constitutional monarchy, UK is governed as one single unit. The Government is led by a Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers who enforce executive power on behalf of the Queen. The political power of UK government can transfer political powers to lower levels, regionally or locally elected assemblies, governors or mayors but the central government retains the principal right to recall such delegated power (Wikipedia Unitary State and United Kingdom) A federal State is composed of different self-governing regions often called states which are united by a federal government. The self-governing status of the states is constitutionally entrenched and can not be altered by a decision made by the central government. Even though the sovereignty of each state is constitutionally granted, a federal state is not only a group of independent states. The states do not have any power in terms of foreign policy for example which is the burden of the central government. A federal State comes from an initial agreement to come together in order to solve mutual problems or provide for mutual defense as it was the case for United States with the Articles of Confederation in 1781. (Wikipedia, Federal State) The United States are naturally the best example of a federal State. While each of the States has its own written constitution and different laws, the federal government composed of the Congress, the President and the Supreme Court. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, the protection of human rights, welfare and education. (Wikipedia Unites States) 3. Supranational State A Supranational State is an entity where power is held by independent appointed officials or by representatives elected by the legislatures or people of member states. All the member states still have power but they must share this power with other actors. Furthermore, decisions are made by majority votes in consequence it is possible for a member state to be forced by other member states to implement a decision against its will. (Wikipedia Supranationalism) In the following part of our essay, we will try to analyze The European Union through different perspective in order to approach our findings with one type of state that we have described in the previous paragraphs. II. How is the European Union composed The father of the European Union is the European coal and Steel Community (ESCS) which was created in 1951 following a proposition by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman which he made in 1950 in a speech inspired by Jean Monnet. Composed of six members, Belgium, West Germany,

Ethical Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethical Business - Essay Example ole of the government, whether as a source of guidance and support, or as a barrier to ethical business and responsible business approaches, is also discussed. Carroll (1979) defined responsible business according to four dimensions: economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, and a discretionary responsibility. This last dimension refers to volunteerism, such as corporate philanthropy, which is not exactly required by society, but is totally appreciated. (Michael & Alan, 2008) Responsible business can also refer to the commitment of the company to operate in â€Å"an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner while balancing the interests of a diverse stakeholders†. (Responsible Business) Stewardship in business is defined by Hartman as â€Å"the responsibility companies have to understand and manage their impacts on the environment in any number of ways†. Managers as stewards of companies have to make profits, and at the same time, are expected to act responsibly when making decisions, respecting the rights of others (Jennifer), that is, the rights of others for a safer and healthier environment. Businesses are expected to operate within the legal framework set by the government. Some managers would rather pay fines for breaking the law in order to generate more profits for the organization (Jennifer). This is just unacceptable and does not constitute responsible business. Ethics are standards of moral behaviour (Nickels, 2010). Society dictates an ethical behaviour, since it is society that determines what behaviour is accepted as either right or wrong. Business acting ethically, and respecting consumer needs and demands, can be significant from a public relations point of view. The European Commission defined CSR in 2006 as â€Å"a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis† (Malte

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

History - Essay Example This changed Ida’s destiny, since she was able to attend university unlike other children born to slaves. Ida had several memories of slavery and during her adulthood, she made a vow to fight for racial justice. Among the racial and gender stereotypes that Ida was challenging discrimination of blacks by whites, the killings of blacks by whites, rapes of Negro girls and women by white men, stereotyping upon black men as rapists, and economic destruction of blacks by whites. During the periods of post-reconstruction and post-emancipation, racial categories in America were on the rise and this promoted more lynching crimes. Wells first encounter with racial discrimination happened when she boarded a train, but was forced out of the train for sitting in the section meant for whites. Despite suing the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad company, she lost her case against the train company, the main reason being the fact that she was black. According to Waldrep, â€Å"in 1887, the crusadi ng journalist Ida B. Wells lost faith in the law when the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled against her suit against a train company that had forced her from the white section of its train† (52). All along, Wells had believed that the law would be impartial in its ruling, but like other black leaders she generated doubts on whether the law and constitutionalism could sufficiently fight white oppression. During the 19th century, lynching of blacks by whites was a common occurrence. Wells had however not faced any lynching incident although she knew that the crime existed. She began her campaign against lynching five years after the train incident, when a quarrel between blacks and whites broke out at a neighborhood in Memphis. The reason for the quarrel was the opening up of a grocery store meant to provide the black population with cheap groceries by three black men namely; Henry Stewart, Calvin McDowell, and Thomas Moss, who were friends to Wells. The grocery store belonging to t he three black men was located across a grocery store owned by whites and the fact that the black men had decided to sell their groceries at a price they perceived fair to the black community angered the whites. Both communities knowing of the intentions of each other organized mobs, so when the white community went to the store to attack the owners, the three owners and the entire black mob was ready. The three white men that invaded the store were shot by the owners and this led to the arrest of the three black men. According to Wells, â€Å"the three business partners were jailed and charged with wounding white men , despite their doing so in what they had thought was defense of their property† (3). The arrest and subsequent actions towards the three black men were supposed to follow the law, but this did not happen. White newspapers emphasized the issue of the blacks being wrong, and at no instance did they mention the intentions of the white mob for invading the grocery store owned by blacks. Asante asserts that the newspapers elevated â€Å"white anger and gave rise to the formation of another white mob, this time outside the jail where the three blacks were being held and resulting in their murder† (164). This and many other similar incidents are evidence of lynching against blacks and economic destruction of blacks by whites in the 19th century, aimed at keeping the black race down by eliminating any blacks who seemed to have the potential of being economically successful. This is supported by

Private Companies and Correctional Institutions Essay

Private Companies and Correctional Institutions - Essay Example This is not the case if things are handled in a proper manner when there is an all-out understanding that the private companies would follow the state’s dictum. The correctional institutions if set up under the realms of a private company, should be closely watched over by the state because this could mean problems of a magnanimous nature if the private companies prison individuals with which they have their own respective enmities and rifts. Having such jails would be tantamount to bringing in anarchic situations within the private companies and indeed the society at large, as there are problems that need to be understood before drafting in the correctional institutions (Cecil, 2010). What is even more significant is the fact that these correctional institutions should always be monitored regularly because this is the need of the hour. As far as the role of the private companies is concerned, the correctional institutions would always have to be bringing in the value for the sake of the society because the governmental believes in the same philosophy and it is only natural to think of it as such within the private companies. The private companies must comprehend that having correctional institutions is indeed a sensitive issue, and one that demands a great deal of vigilance and responsibility. The consequences of any weaknesses on the part of these private companies could have far reaching ramifications and the role of the top management within such private companies is one of essence. Administering such sensitive functions should only be carried about if the private companies believe in their strengths, and then only undertake such efforts to have correctional institutions within their fore. ... If these private companies believe that they can set up such correctional institutions and take care of the administration affairs at a later stage, this is asking for trouble. The state must not allow such private companies to undertake measures of correcting individuals who have committed a crime or have been labeled as offenders. The need is to carry out all the actions and tasks in a very honest way because the greater good of the society is at stake, and thus the private companies should always be certain that they will be at their best under such situations. What is even more interesting is the fact that the dangerous functions are understood properly by the private companies before these think of venturing into such domains. If they do not have any idea of the gravity of the tasks that they are getting into, it is in their best interest to keep away from the same, and concentrate on their core business areas. Works Cited Cecil, Dawn. Televised Images of Jail: Lessons in Contro lling the Unruly. Sociology of Crime Law and Deviance, 14,

Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Land law - Essay Example To start with, the Limitation Act 1980 makes provision for a claim for recovery of land only in circumstances where a squatter is in adverse possession, and the action will be statute-barred if it is not commenced within 12 years from the date of the dispossession.2 Schedule 1, Paragraph 8(1) provides as follows:- ‘No right of action to recover land shall be treated as accruing unless the land is in the possession of some person in whose favour the period of limitation can run (referred to below in this paragraph as adverse possession); and where under the preceding provisions of this Schedule any such right of action is treated as accruing on a certain date and no person is in adverse possession on that date, the right of action shall not be treated as accruing unless and until adverse possession is taken of the land.’3 Whether or not Mia has been in actual possession of the property for the requisite statutory term of 12 years can only be determined by reference to the relevant case law. Possession for the purposes of the Section 15 of the Limitation Act 1980 has been restated by the House of Lords in J.A. Pye (Oxford) Ltd. and Others v Graham and Another [2002]. In this case Lord Browne-Wilkinson remarked that the ‘only question was whether the squatter had been in possession in the ordinary sense of the word†¦ The question is simply whether the defendant squatter has dispossessed the paper owner by going into ordinary possession of the land for the requisite period without the consent of the owner’.4 In the ordinary sense of the word, possession must contain two essential elements, factual possession as well as an intention to possess. Factual possession was defined by Slade J in Powell v McFarlane (1977) as an exclusive occupation of the land to the extent that a true owner is otherwise entitled to occupy it. ‘The question what acts constitute a sufficient degree of exclusive physical control must

Face to face presentation on adult learning theory and research Paper

Face to face presentation on adult learning theory and - Research Paper Example Another problem that was evaluated from the response of the audience was relating to the provided handout, which did provide sufficient description of the presentation (Duarte, 2008; Levin, 2006). The main concern of the current presentation is to improve knowledge and understandings is with respect to adult learning theory and research. The main issue that is associated with the presentation includes the structure of the overall presentation. Furthermore, questions are likely to arise due to the communication problem between the audience and the presenter (Abela, 2008). The current presentation has few defects thus, it is essential to make further plans to enhance the outcome of online presentation. The modification of online planning with respect to interest of the audience is considerably decisive. The online presentation should be short and easily understandable. In addition to this, the structure of presentation should be designed in a proper manner in order to gain audiences’ attention (Attrill, 2015; Reynolds,

Healthy behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthy behavior - Essay Example As a manager, I would ensure that there is respect, caring, collaboration and trust, which should be upheld to ensure success of the campaign. Secondly, ensure effective communication in the organization and between you and the customers, to promote a better understanding of what is to be done during the campaign. The manager should listen to other people effectively and ensure that whatever message he communicates reaches other people effectively. In addition, feedback should be encouraged in order to improve positive interactions, and this will help to assure success of the campaign project (Healthfield, n.d.). The third step to assure campaign program success is to build a team inside and outside the organization for the target audiences (Healthfield, n.d.); thus, this will enable the members in the project to collaborate effectively with each other. Building a team will help to ensure that people feel as part of the project and will become effective. The fourth step in assuring success in the program is to understand the financial aspects of the campaign project (Healthfield, n.d.). This will help in setting goals and metrics to measure success in the society’s program. The next step involves creating morale in the team of target audiences and employees; therefore, one should promote an environment in which people feel motivated to carry on their duties, and audiences to be involved in the campaign. There should also be recognition of the society members’ effort towards success of the campaign (Healthfield, n.d). The second last step that can be used in assuring success, is leading by example; thus, the manager should lead by participating in the daily activities of the campaign project. The last step is to help the society’s members to develop and grow their capability and skills through learning and education. This will promote future success of the society where the skills might be needed in project impli mentation

The Group-Work Tip Sheet Essay Example for Free

The Group-Work Tip Sheet Essay Have you ever had troubles when working in a group? Don’t know how to communicate with group members; cannot get a compromise when not meeting on a common ground; or something just like a nightmare, group members even don’t do the work at all. Since no one is totally the same as another person, we human beings all have our own characteristics; troubles appear when the group work goes on inevitably. So don’t be afraid of working in groups because of these troubles, those are the experience that most of us had or having. This article will introduce some tips to help you work in groups smoothly. Respect your group members Have you ever had the experience when working groups like this? The group leader uses verbs to start every sentence, â€Å"Print it. † â€Å"Give me your part. † †Finish it before tonight. † Sometimes this tone of command, may finished the project super efficiently. But the fact is that no members in the group felt like they are a group, they did what the leader told them, and did not have the chance to express their opinion to the project, so no one is happy in the group. No equal conversation and respect is what one should remember at first when working in groups. No matter you are a group member or leader, treat others in group with respect, so that everyone can have the confidence and interest in talking about their thoughts to the work, so that your work can go smoothly and be more creative. Remember group work aims to produce as many ideas as possible in a limited time, and most of them do not to be evaluated until they are handed out. So listen to every thought with respect is necessary and a must.  ·Ask for help Ask for help is not a thing that should feel ashamed, and it doesn’t mean bother others. Actually this is what I learned after I came to study at America. In some culture, or because of some personal reasons, asking for help is not an easy thing that everybody can do without any hesitation. I am a shy person, I have difficult in communicating in English†¦Those negative thoughts made me rarely ask for help from my group members, I tried to solve the problems in my way, but the fact is the gap between us is wider and wider, at first what I did not understand is just some words, at last I even don’t know what to do in the group. But if I asked one of them about the project, I may not have to suffer from such a terrible situation. I realized that asking for help is ordinary since I talked with my advisor. She said the culture here is to ask if you have difficulties, that is not a thing that may feel ashamed, because everyone has difficulties, no one can live without any help from others, that is human being. So do mind like â€Å"Isn’t is sounds stupid if I ask him to explain what he said? †, that is not stupid, everyone has the experience to feel confused, some of them may be solved by yourself, but some of them can not, so ask for help at any time if you feel confused. Write down all the ideas Sometimes the discussion might be super active, members all have tons of ideas to say, and all of them are splendid. The discussion is so wonderful that the group feel like they would become the king of the world tomorrow because of these ideas. Everyone is talking, talking, talking, when the discussion is over, what still left in members’ head is that they had an excellent discussion, but what the ideas are specifically? No one remember clearly. What they forgot? – The note. Remember the note while doing the discussion, write down all the thoughts so that there would not be something forgotten or lost, and it’s convenient for everyone in the group to check the ideas. If it’s too fast to write down all the thoughts from your group members, don’t forget to use a recording device.  ·Exchange contact information This is a very important point in-group working. To find a time available for everyone in the group is not an easy thing, but must be done to accomplish the project. Someone may say privacy is very important for me so that I will not tell you guys my contact information. If this kind of person is in your group, try to persuade him, if you can’t do that, then don’t let him in your group. This is the base for working together; the project is set up on members’ contact. The example is like a member did not give others his contact information, did not show up on the rehearsal, then the presentation day came, other members even don’t know where he planned to begin and finish his part, the whole group work looking by others is just like a mass, a person destroyed a group. Working in groups is not an easy thing to do, but is there anything easy to do if you want to get something? The answer is no. So it’s just like everything else in the world, you may have some troubles while doing it, but finally will overcome if you try hard. Every lock has a key for it to open; every problem has a way to solve. Working in a group makes complex questions easy to be answered, heavy works become lighter; it can develops communication skills as well. If you overcome the troubles you had during working in groups, these benefits are all yours. So be positive when workings in groups, if you stay actively, it must be a wonderful experience.

Perception of Body Image Among Adolescents

Perception of Body Image Among Adolescents CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of study Obesity is a state where the natural energy preserve, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and it is increased to a level where it is connect with certain health state or increased mortality (Sidik Rampal, 2009). Obesity is a vital public health problem especially in developed countries like United States where half of the adolescents are afflicted (Sidik Rampal). Today’s adolescents in most parts of the world emphasis on the value of physical attractiveness. They focus more on physical appearance. Hence, body image has become an issue among adolescents who strive fully to obtain the shape they wish for. Body image can be defined as a person’s perception, attitude and feeling about his or her body. There are two types of body image. Firstly, perceptual body image. According to (Lee, Yee, 2013), perceptual body image is associated to the precision of self- estimation from body size to actual size, meanwhile attitudinal body image is evaluated through four components: satisfaction (evaluation of the body), affect (feelings associated with the body), cognitions (investment in appearance, beliefs about the body), and behaviors (avoidance where the body will be exposed). Adolescence is a transitional stage and many changes take place at physiological and behavioral level. In the West, body image is perceived as an important issue as they emphasis more on elegant body. The concerns about body image have been critized that it is a female problem, however that fact is certainly not true anymore. (Wagner, 2008). Just like females, males also wish to have excellent body image of muscul ar men through media, athletics and magazines such as sport magazines. Stout Frame’s study (2004), as cited in Wagner (2008), points out people has a bold awareness of the consequences of body image on females compared to males. This awareness allows for a developed sensitivity towards females; however that sensitivity tends to neglect males emotions and thoughts. According to Ricciardelli, McCabe, Lillis, Thomas’s study (2006), as cited in Wagner (2008), the development of muscularity has arose over the last decade and the concern towards body image by males are of sudden interest. As we know, poor body image can affect a particular individual confidence to achieve their goals and subsequently impacts the happiness of that particular individual. Poor body image occurs due to unhealthy eating habits which include dietary supplements, binge- eating and so on. (Lee,Yee,2013). Due to this phenomenon, adolescents are struggling every single day in order to achieve the ideal body image they wanted. Malaysian adolescents are increasingly eating foods which are high in fat and calories thus leading inactive lives. According to Ismail Tan’s study (2004), as cited in Pon, Kandiah, Taib (2004), more adolescents are obese than ever before. Statement Problem In this new era of globalization, the flawless body image is affecting almost every males and females, peoples from different cultural background, different group of ages and many more. It is harmful to have body image dissatisfaction as it always leads to eating disorder and psychological distress. This is because they tend to use harmful weight- control behaviors such as skipping meals, consuming slimming pills or applying cream on their body as to slim down in order to have the same body image as the model characterized in media. Therefore it is important to take prevention action and intervention in order to inhibit and treat body image since this issue can affect both individuals and society. Last but not least, exploring this research problem also allows us to focus more on body image issue especially among adolescents in Malaysia. Significance of Study Body image is a very important issue to most of the adolescents especially when they grow into adulthood. Many studies that focused on the body image have been conducted over the decade. However, while body image has been the focus of study in many countries such as United States and Korea, it is not immensely studied in Malaysia. This is because the studies on body image are restricted in Malaysia (EssayUk, 2013). Therefore, the current research proposed additional information on the difference in the perception of body image among adolescents. More importantly, the difference in the perception of body image between adolescents and pre adolescence has not been studied (Wagner, 2008) as been cited in McCabe Ricciardelli (2006). Thus this study will focus on the perception of body image among ethnicity group, gender as well age group. It is important to know the differences in perception of body image in these groups because the result can produce understanding in order to further discussions and this can help on how the development could change perceptions on body image. Purpose of the study The purpose of the study is to evaluate on the differences in the perception of body image among Malaysian adolescents in the aspects of gender, age and ethnicity. The differences been evaluated between adolescents and pre adolescents, males and females and ethnicity which involved three races Chinese, Indian and Malays. Analyzing these differences could produce insight on creating with a better prevention and intervention program for adolescents who have problem with their body image. Research Question The research question has been presented below as follow: RQ 1: Is there any significance differences in the perception of body image between male and female. RQ 2: Is there any significance differences in the perception of body image between pre adolescence and adolescence. RQ 3: Is there any significance differences in the perception of body image among Malays, Chinese and Indian. Operational definitions Body Image. As mention earlier, body image can be defined as a person perception, attitude and feeling about his or her body. Body image plays an important role for both the genders male and female (Pon, Kandiah, Taib, 2004). When adolescents focus too much on their body image, they will skip their meals and this subsequently leads to eating disorder. Gender. Gender refers to the characteristics of people as males and females. Gender also bears a special mention which is the gender role (Santrock, 2011). Gender role describes on how females and males should think, act and feel. For example, should males be more dominant than females and should females be more emotional than males to others’ feelings? Although individuals are aware of their gender in early childhood, a new stage been added to gender with the onset of puberty and the sexual maturation. Race. It refers to all humans belonging to the group of Homo sapiens, biological differences of human due to the interactions between hereditary and environmental factors and the non-existence of homogenous population. Genetic element of a population was subject to change as a result of diverse factors, history of migration in the past prevented the used of domination of certain geographical area to serve as basis for race and no national, religious, linguistic, cultural group or economic class that constitutes a race (American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 1996). The examples of dominant racial groups in this study consisted of Malay, Chinese, and Indian. This is the main races in Malaysia. Adolescent. According to Cardwell’s study (2003), as been cited in Jennifer,(2011), adolescence is known as the stage of development arise between puberty and adulthood. This is the stage where the adolescence entered imprecisely 10-12 years and ends at 18-21 years old. There is little view about this period of development by different psychologists. For example, Erik Erikson clarifies the period of adolescence through the Identity versus Identity Confusion stage in his psychological stages (Berk, 2009). Utar. Utar is known as University Tunku Abdul Rahman. Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), established under the UTAR Education Foundation, a not-for-profit organization. It was launched on 13 August 2002. UTAR is a dynamic University with four thriving Campuses- three in Klang Valley and one in Kampar, Perak. The Campuses in Klang Valley are located in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Bandar Sungai Long. The largest campus is the Kampar campus. We are focusing adolescents from Perak Campus between eighteen to twenty four groups of ages. SMK Sentosa Kampar. SMK Sentosa Kampar is located at Taman University. This school is near to Utar hostels. They have students from form one to form five. It’s a multiracial school consists of Malays, Chinese and Indians. In our research, we are focusing on pre adolescents among these races and age range of thirteenth to fifteenth. Pre adolescence. Is a stage of human developmentfollowingearly childhoodand prior toadolescence.It subsequently ends with the beginning ofpuberty, but may also be defined as ending with the start of the teenage years.For example 10–13 years.It can also be defined as the period from 9–14 years.It can also distinguish middle childhood and preadolescence middle childhood from approximately 5–8 years, as opposed to the time children are generally considered to reach preadolescence (age 9–14 years). Reference Dittmar H. (2009). How do body perfect ideals in the media have a negative impact on body image and behavior?. Journal of Social Clinical Psychology, 28(1), pp. 1-8. Wagner,R.R. (2008).Body Image Perceptions of Adolescents Males, pp. 44 . Wan,P.L., Kandiah,M., Mohd Taib,M.N. (2004).Body Image Perception, Dietary Practices and Physical Activity of Overweight and Normal Weight Malaysian Females Adolescents,10(2), 137-147. Wong,L.M., Say,Y.H. (2013). Gender Differences in Body Image Perception among Northern Malaysian Tertiary Students. British Journal of Medicine Medical Research, 3(3), pp. 727-747. Sidik,S.M., Rampal,L. (2009). The Prevalence and factors associated with obesity among adult women in Selangor, Malaysia. doi:10.1186/1447-056X-8-2 Yau,J.P. (2011).Perception of Body- Esteem Among Adolescents And Adults. Santrock, J.W. (2009). Life-span development (12th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill American Association of Physical Anthropologists.(1996). AAPA statement on biological aspects of race. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 101, 569-570. Retrieved April 10, 2010 from http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/courses /aas102%20%28spring%2001%29/articles/AAPA_race.pdf Berk, L.E. (2009). Child development (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.

Tiny, Smiling Daddy Essay -- Literary Analysis, Gaitskill

Gaitskill’s â€Å"Tiny, Smiling Daddy† focuses on the father and his downward spiral of feeling further disconnected with his family, especially his lesbian daughter, whose article on father-daughter relationships stands as the catalyst for the father’s realization that he’d wronged his daughter and destroyed their relationship. Carver’s â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love† focuses on Mel and his attempt to define, compare, and contrast romantic love, while leaving him drunk and confused as he was before. While both of my stories explore how afflicted love traumatizes the psyche and seem to agree that love poses the greatest dilemma in life, and at the same time that it’s the most valued prospect of life, the two stories differ in that frustrated familial love causes Gaitskill's protagonist to become understandable and consequently evokes sympathy from the reader, but on the other hand frustrated romantic love does nothin g for Carver's Protagonist, except keep him disconnected from his wife and leaving him unchanged, remaining static as a character and overall unlikable. In comparing â€Å"Tiny, Smiling Daddy† and â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love†, together they suggest that familial love is more important than romantic love, which we relentlessly strive to achieve often forgetting that we’ll forever feel alone without familial love, arguably the origin of love itself. â€Å"Tiny, Smiling Daddy† opens with â€Å"one of those pure, beautiful dreams in which he was young again, and filled with realization that the friends who had died, or gone away, or decided that they didn’t like him anymore, had really been there all along, loving him† (Gaitskill 305), and through this nostalgic state the father’s reaveled as a character who ha... ...e, because she’s too busy running around on some-† (Gaitskill 317) and these words show us how utterly â€Å"shitty† (Gaitskill 317) he feels, be it warranted or not. He’s faced with the reality that his wife and daughter are ‘leaving’ him behind, doing whatever necessary to detach themselves from his wretched stubbornness and consequently he’s left miserable and alone to mull over the bitter past and even more difficult present. He begins as a likeable character, but gradually becomes a self-righteous and hateful idiot. But, by the end the reader is left feeling extremely sympathetic for him. Though he’s in fact the bad guy, he gets us to view him as the bad guy whose evil is almost justified, or at least that it’s an inevitable symptom of his difficult childhood, poor marriage, extreme anxiety over what others think of him, and disapproval of his daughters lifestyle.

Cultural Diversity in The Tempest Essays -- Tempest essays

Cultural Diversity in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we look at Shakespeare's atypically short play The Tempest, the character of Caliban represents a "noble savage" who is enslaved, exploited, and endowed with low-self esteem due to the ethnocentric views of those who encounter him.   In much the same way as the British originally exploited the Hindus or Americans exploited Native Americans, Caliban is considered the "property" of those who encounter him, solely because he is not of the same heritage, customs, and manners of his oppressors.      The ostracism and exploitation of Caliban because he is perceived as a brutish animal compared to "civilized" folks is in keeping with the theme and intent of the play-to show that reality is more a manifestation of mentality and conscious perception than concrete black and white, definable phenomena.   As one scholar of Elizabethan imagery suggests, "The poet who imitates not the visible world but the intelligible as manifested in the visible will not consider that the use of artifice to emphasize form makes imagery less 'true to nature'" (Scanlan   1).   In The Tempest   we see a great deal of artifice to understand what is manifested in the visible, however, with Caliban we see that all the artifice in the world does not help him be accepted by those who inhabit the island once his own.   Prospero has enslaved the son that Sycorax "did litter" on the island, and his lovely daughter Miranda says of his slave, "'Tis a villain, sir,/I do not love to look on" (Shakespeare   5).    Of course, Prospero says he enslaved Caliban because he tried to coupled with his daughter, however, Caliban, sounding like someone who has had their land and culture stolen from them, replies to this, "O ho,... ...nce and diversity are often perceived as evil, wrong or somehow inferior in relation to the dominant culture or social norms.   These issues are very timely as we face the increasing globalization of the world and increasing pressures to accept and integrate with diverse cultures.    Works Cited Baker Siepmann, K.   (ed.)   Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia.   New York, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1987. Moore, P.   "The Tempest and the Bermuda Shipwreck of 1609."   Shakespeare Oxford Newsletter.   Summer, 1996, 1-2. Scanlan, R.   "Shakespeare's New World Fantasia."   http://fas-www.harvard.edu/~art/center.html   April 21, 1999, 1-3. Scanlan, R.   "The Veil of Poetry."   http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~art/poetry.html   April 21, 1999, 1-2. Shakespeare, W.   William Shakespeare:   The Complete Works.   New York, Gramercy Books, 1975. Cultural Diversity in The Tempest Essays -- Tempest essays Cultural Diversity in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we look at Shakespeare's atypically short play The Tempest, the character of Caliban represents a "noble savage" who is enslaved, exploited, and endowed with low-self esteem due to the ethnocentric views of those who encounter him.   In much the same way as the British originally exploited the Hindus or Americans exploited Native Americans, Caliban is considered the "property" of those who encounter him, solely because he is not of the same heritage, customs, and manners of his oppressors.      The ostracism and exploitation of Caliban because he is perceived as a brutish animal compared to "civilized" folks is in keeping with the theme and intent of the play-to show that reality is more a manifestation of mentality and conscious perception than concrete black and white, definable phenomena.   As one scholar of Elizabethan imagery suggests, "The poet who imitates not the visible world but the intelligible as manifested in the visible will not consider that the use of artifice to emphasize form makes imagery less 'true to nature'" (Scanlan   1).   In The Tempest   we see a great deal of artifice to understand what is manifested in the visible, however, with Caliban we see that all the artifice in the world does not help him be accepted by those who inhabit the island once his own.   Prospero has enslaved the son that Sycorax "did litter" on the island, and his lovely daughter Miranda says of his slave, "'Tis a villain, sir,/I do not love to look on" (Shakespeare   5).    Of course, Prospero says he enslaved Caliban because he tried to coupled with his daughter, however, Caliban, sounding like someone who has had their land and culture stolen from them, replies to this, "O ho,... ...nce and diversity are often perceived as evil, wrong or somehow inferior in relation to the dominant culture or social norms.   These issues are very timely as we face the increasing globalization of the world and increasing pressures to accept and integrate with diverse cultures.    Works Cited Baker Siepmann, K.   (ed.)   Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia.   New York, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1987. Moore, P.   "The Tempest and the Bermuda Shipwreck of 1609."   Shakespeare Oxford Newsletter.   Summer, 1996, 1-2. Scanlan, R.   "Shakespeare's New World Fantasia."   http://fas-www.harvard.edu/~art/center.html   April 21, 1999, 1-3. Scanlan, R.   "The Veil of Poetry."   http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~art/poetry.html   April 21, 1999, 1-2. Shakespeare, W.   William Shakespeare:   The Complete Works.   New York, Gramercy Books, 1975.

Visual Perception – Painting

Name: N. Mithun Kumar Vasu Deva Sarma Roll No: 201001072 Course: Space Time in Arts and Humanities Date: 17-11-2012 Topic: Perception of Visual Arts (Painting) ABSTRACT The task essentially is to consider what the art of painting essentially is and how it is perceived. One of the most curious questions which first arises is ? What is an Art Art: Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities. The word art can refer to several things: a study of creative skill, a process of using the creative skill, a product of the creative skill, or the audience's experience with the creative skill.Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. Many definitions of art have been proposed by philosophers and others who have characterized art in terms of mimesis, expression, communication of emotion, or other values. Though art's definition is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions mention an idea of human agency and creation through imaginative or technical skill. In medieval philosophy, John Chrysostom held that â€Å"the name of art should be applied to those only which contribute towards and produce necessaries and mainstays of life.The nature of art has been described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as â€Å"one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture†. Art as mimesis has deep roots in the philosophy of Aristotle. The nature of art, and related concepts such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics. Art, at its simplest, is a form of communication. As most forms of communication have an intent or goal directed toward another individual, this is a motivated purpose. Illustrative arts, such as scientific illustration, are a form of art as communication.Emotions, moods and feelings are also communicated through art. Here, we consider painting, a visual art and explain its perception. H ere arises the question, what are ? Visual arts Visual Arts: ?Visual Arts? is a term used for a broad category of different types of art. Visual arts include all forms of arts creative and haves expressive production in material. In simple words, ? Visual arts? are art forms that create works that are primarily visual in nature, such as Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Design, Crafts, Photography, Video, Filmmaking and Architecture.These definitions should not be taken too strictly as many artistic disciplines (performing arts, conceptual art, textile arts) involve aspects of the visual arts as well as arts of other types. The current usage of the term â€Å"visual arts† includes fine art as well as the applied, decorative arts and crafts. Visual arts also include applied arts. The perception of these visual arts is a lot different from Visual Perception. So, we need to know the difference between the perception of visual art and visual perception of art. For this purpose, we explain what visual perception is and then show the differences between the two of them.VISUAL PERCEPTION: Visual perception is a function of our eyes and brain. We see images as a whole rather than in parts. However, images can be broken down into their visual elements: line, shape, texture, and color. Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment by processing information that is contained in visible light. These elements are to images as grammar is to language. Together they allow our eyes to see images and our brain to recognize them. For most of the people, vision appears simple and effortless as it seems like a trivial operation.Our brain, however, has to process, combine and separate shapes, colors, shadows, object relations, and much more within fractions of a second in order to build a representation from its sensory input. Vision perception is ambiguous. For example, to see a painting, a piece of sculpture or a building take s a few moments. Other art objects may take a little more time. Most of the people appreciate (comment on) the object within moments of seeing them. But it is the product of an extraordinarily developed and complicated visual system. Visual perception helps a lot in the aesthetic experience of art.Visual perception of art vs Perception of Visual Art: The main difference between the visual perception of art and perception of visual arts is that in the visual perception of an art we explain how our vision sees an art and sends it whereas in the perception of visual arts we explain how our vision sees the art and the reason why our vision sees the art in such a manner. One important difference between the perception of visual arts and visual perception is the task of the observer. In everyday perception, the task of the observer is well defined, often by the action that the perception supports.As we watch the incoming traffic before crossing the road, our perception of the traffic is o riented to the extraction of useful information such as the recognition of a car and the estimation of its speed, while at the same time disregarding irrelevant information such as the make or color of the car. Once the task is established, one can define the decisions necessary to perform it, and if one so wishes, the efficiency of the observer in this task can be computed by normalizing the performance to that of the ideal observer for this task.It is more difficult to identify an appropriate task in the perception of visual arts. Without specifying a task, the question of how good one is at looking at a painting becomes irrelevant, and the notion of risk associated to an alleged wrong perception becomes meaningless. One way to identify a plausible task in visual arts perception is to return to the challenges of everyday perception. PAINTING Painting taken literally is the practice of applying pigment suspended in a carrier (or medium) and a binding agent (a glue) to a surface (su pport) such as paper, canvas or a wall.However, when used in an artistic sense it means the use of this activity in combination with drawing, composition and, or, other aesthetic considerations in order to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Painting is also used to express spiritual motifs and ideas; sites of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery to The Sistine Chapel to the human body itself. Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface (support base).The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is also used outside of art as a common trade among craftsmen and builders. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay, leaf, co pper or concrete, and may incorporate multiple other materials including sand, clay, paper, gold leaf as well as objects.Painting is a mode of creative expression, and the forms are numerous. Drawing, composition or abstraction and other aesthetics may serve to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in a still life or landscape painting), photographic, abstract, be loaded with narrative content, symbolism, emotion or be political in nature. Painting only can â€Å"describe† everything which can be seen and suggest every emotion which can be felt.Painting is not just mere impression of our thoughts but is composed of a number of elements like intensity, form, figure, filial, color and tone, texture, garnet, line, conduit, deformation, organix, rhythm and non-traditional elements. Some of the important elements are discussed below. ELEMENTS AND MEDIA Modern artists have extended the practice o f painting considerably to include, for example, collage, which began with Cubism and is not painting in the strict sense. Some modern painters incorporate different materials such as sand, cement, straw or wood for their texture.Examples of this are the works of Jean Dubuffet and Anselm Kiefer. There is a growing community of artists who use computers to paint color onto a digital canvas using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and many others. These images can be printed onto traditional canvas if required. ELEMENTS INTENSITY: What enables painting is the perception and representation of intensity. Every point in space has different intensity, which can be represented in painting by black and white and all the gray shades between. In practice, ainters can articulate shapes by juxtaposing surfaces of different intensity; by using just color (of the same intensity) one can only represent symbolic shapes. Thus, the basic means of painting are distinct from ideological m eans, such as geometrical figures, various points of view and organization (perspective), and symbols. For example, a painter perceives that a particular white wall has different intensity at each point, due to shades and reflections from nearby objects, but ideally, a white wall is still a white wall in pitch darkness.In technical drawing, thickness of line is also ideal, demarcating ideal outlines of an object within a perceptual frame different from the one used by painters. Color and tone: Color and tone are the essence of painting as pitch and rhythm are of music. Color is highly subjective, but has observable psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with mourning in the West, but in the East, white is. Some painters, theoreticians, writers and scientists, including Goethe, Kandinsky, and Newton, have written their own color theory.Moreover the use of language is only a generalization for a color equivalent. The word â⠂¬Å"red†, for example, can cover a wide range of variations on the pure red of the visible spectrum of light. There is not a formalized register of different colors in the way that there is agreement on different notes in music, such as C or C? in music. For a painter, color is not simply divided into basic and derived (complementary or mixed) colors (like red, blue, green, brown, etc. ). Painters deal practically with pigments, so â€Å"blue† for a painter can be any of the blues: phtalocyan, Paris blue, indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, and so on.Psychological, symbolical meanings of color are not strictly speaking means of painting. Colors only add to the potential, derived context of meanings, and because of this the perception of a painting is highly subjective. The analogy with music is quite clear—sound in music (like â€Å"C†) is analogous to light in painting, â€Å"shades† to dynamics, and coloration is to painting as specific timbre of musical instruments to music—though these do not necessarily form a melody, but can add different contexts to it. Tone describes how light or dark a color is. If the painting is going to be successful, you must get the tones right.In describing any form in particular light conditions tone is critical. You‘ll be amazed how dark those darks can be. Get the tone of a color right and it will make the form you want to depict. It will stay where you put it and add to the solidity and realism of the picture. Get the tone wrong, and it will jar the eye. A blazing highlight in a shadowy eye will jump out of its socket. Remember that all colors in your subject are affected by the same light. For example, if one side of a blonde head is in deep shadow, like the subjects suit, the hair is going to be very dark blonde.If you paint those bright tones from the lit side of the head in the shadows it will be just plain wrong. This may sound obvious, but people do it all the time. Your brain ? knows‘ that a dark blue suit is very dark in the shadow areas, but it also might tell you it ? knows‘ that skin is still the same value in the darks. But, it is not and your eye sees the difference. Colors have tones (how light and dark) and temperature (how intense). Warm colors tend to advance. Cool colors tend to recede. The interplay between warm nd cool not only creates believable form and space but is a pleasure to look at – a painting that is all cold or all blazingly hot tends not to work so well. EDGES: Generally our eye will go straight to the crispest edge in a painting creating a focal point. This is most often a point of high contrast where a light and dark meet. Make sure that edge is where you want it, up around the head. For example, in a human face, the dark of hair against the edge of a lit cheek creates a focal point. The artist can lead a viewer around a picture by the use of different types of edge.If it‘s all soft or all crisp there is no focal point and no one knows what they are supposed to be looking at! BACKGROUNDS: The question that arises is how much detail should be in a background? Too much in the background can be overwhelming. Remember, the background should stay back. The subject is primary; the other stuff while it may have emotional or historic significance is secondary. Control of edges here really helps. Simple color and shadow shapes can work well. This makes the subject the sole rendered object and focal point in the painting. Rhythm: Rhythm is important in painting as well as in music.If one defines rhythm as â€Å"a pause incorporated into a sequence†, then there can be rhythm in paintings. These pauses allow creative force to intervene and add new creations—form, melody, coloration. The distribution of form, or any kind of information is of crucial importance in the given work of art and it directly affects the esthetical value of that work. This is because the esthetical value is functionality dependent, i. e. the freedom (of movement) of perception is perceived as beauty. Free flow of energy, in art as well as in other forms of â€Å"techne†, directly contributes to the esthetical value.LINE: Line is a continuous marking made by a moving point on the surface. A line is the path made by a pointed instrument, such as a pen, a crayon, or a stick. A line implies action because work needs to be done to make it. Moreover, the impression of movement suggests sequence, direction, or force. In other words, a line can be seen as a distinct series of points. Line is believed to be the most expressive of the visual elements because of several reasons. First, it outlines things and the outlines are the key to their identity.Most of the time, we recognize objects or images only from their outlines. Second, line is important because it is a primary element in writing and drawing, and because writing as well drawing is universal. Third, unlike texture, shape and fo rm, line is unambiguous. We know exactly when it starts and ends. Finally, line leads our eyes by suggesting direction and movement. Line outlines shapes and can contour areas within those lines. Even though most of the art we see uses line only to form shapes, some artists allow line to call attention for itself in the art piece.TEXTURE is the surface ? feel? of something. When the brush strokes have been smoothened, a surface is seen as smooth, when left rough, its texture is seen as rough. COMPOSTION refers to the ordering of relationship. Artists utilize organizing principles to create forms that inform. Techniques are ways artists go about applying the principles of composition. BALANCE refers to the equilibrium of opposing visual forces. GRADATION refers to a continuum of changes in the details and regions such as gradual variations in shape, color value and shadowing.PROPORTION refers to the emphasis achieved by the scaling of sizes of shapes. VARIETY refers to the contrasts of details and regions. UNITY refers to the togetherness, despite contrasts, of details and regions to the whole. MEDIA OIL: Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called ‘varnishes' and were prized for their body and gloss.Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe. PASTEL: Pastel is a painting medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural dry pigments than that of any other process. Because the surface of a pastel painting is fragile and easily smudged, its preservation requires protective measures such as framing under glass; it may also be sprayed with a fixative. Nonetheless, when made with permanent pigments and properly cared for, a pastel painting may endure unchanged for centuries. Pastels are not susceptible, as are paintings made with a fluid medium, to the cracking and discoloration that result from changes in the color, opacity, or dimensions of the medium as it dries. ACRYLIC:Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water- resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media. The main practical difference between most acrylics and oil paints is the inherent drying time. Oils allow for more time to blend colors and apply even glazes over under-paintings.This slow drying aspect of oil can be seen as an advantage for certain techniques, but in other regards it impedes the artist trying to work quickly. WATER COLOR: Watercolor is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood and canvas. In East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting.In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India, Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions. Fingerpa inting with watercolor paints originated in China. INK: Ink paintings are done with a liquid that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing with a pen, brush, or quill. Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials.The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink‘s carrier, colorants, and other additives control flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry. HOT WAX: Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The liquid/paste is then applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other materials are often used. The simplest encaustic mixture can be made from adding pigments to beeswax, but there are several other recipes that can be used—some containing other t ypes of waxes, damar resin, linseed oil, or other ingredients.Pure, powdered pigments can be purchased and used, though some mixtures use oil paints or other forms of pigment. Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the paint before it cools, or heated metal tools can be used to manipulate the wax once it has cooled onto the surface. Other materials can be encased or collaged into the surface, or layered, using the encaustic medium to adhere it to the surface. FRESCO: Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Italian word affresco [af? fres? ko] which derives from the Latin word for â€Å"fresh†.Frescoes were often made during the Renaissance and other early time periods. Buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster, intonaco, is used. A secco painting, in contrast , is done on dry plaster (secco is â€Å"dry† in Italian). The pigments require a binding medium, such as egg (tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. GOUACHE: Gouache is a water based paint consisting of pigment and other materials designed to be used in an opaque painting method.Gouache differs from watercolor in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and an additional, inert, white pigment such as chalk is also present. This makes gouache heavier and more opaque, with greater reflective qualities. Like all water-media, it is diluted with water. ENAMEL: Enamels are made by painting a substrate, typically metal, with frit, a type of powdered glass. Minerals called color oxides provide coloration. After firing at a temperature of 750–850 degrees Celsius (1380–1560 degrees Fahrenheit), the result is a fused lamination of glass and metal.Enamels have traditionally been used for decoration of precious objects, but have also been used for other purposes. In the 18th century, enamel painting enjoyed a vogue in Europe, especially as a medium for portrait miniatures. In the late 20th century, the technique of porcelain enamel on metal has been used as a durable medium for outdoor mural SPRAY PAINT: Aerosol paint (also called spray paint) is a type of paint that comes in a sealed pressurized container and is released in a fine spray mist when depressing a valve button. A form of spray painting, aerosol paint leaves a smooth, evenly coated surface.Standard sized cans are portable, inexpensive and easy to store. Aerosol primer can be applied directly to bare metal and many plastics. Speed, portability and permanence also make aerosol paint a common graffiti medium. In the late 1970s, street graffiti writers' signatures and murals became more elaborate and a unique style developed as a factor of the aerosol medium and the speed required for illicit work. Many now recognize graffiti and street art as a unique art form and specifically manufactured aerosol paints are made for the graffiti artist. A stencil can be used to protect a surface except the specific shape that is to be ainted. Stencils can be purchased as movable letters, ordered as professionally cut logos or hand-cut by artists. TEMPERA: Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a glutinous material such as egg yolk or some other size). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the first centuries AD still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting.A paint which is commonly called tempera (although it is not) consisting of pigment and glue size is commonly used and referred to by some manufacturers in America as poster paint. WATER MISCIBLE OIL PAINT: Water miscible oil paints (also called â€Å"water soluble† or â€Å"water-mixable†) is a modern variety of oil paint which is engineered to be thinned and cleaned up with water, rather than having to use chemicals such as turpentine. It can be mixed and applied using the same techniques as traditional oil-based paint, but while still wet it can be effectively removed from brushes, palettes, and rags with ordinary soap and water.Its water solubility comes from the use of an oil medium in which one end of the molecule has been altered to bind loosely to water molecules, as in a solution. PAINTING †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Painting is an art. There are different kinds of painting and you might have seen the canvas in many places. This is used in many homes and in buildings to decorate the walls. It is not possible for each and every individual to paint a picture and convert in to a beautiful art work. You might be confused by seeing many art works and you may n ot be able to differentiate the one which is more beautiful than the other.What does painting do? ? Painting makes things and their qualities much clearer than they are in nature. ? Painting, with its ? All-at-Onceness? more than any other art, gives us the time to allow our vision to focus and participate. ? We can hold any detail or region or the totality as long as we like and follow any order of details or regions at our own pace ***************—————-*************** More than any other art, painting is the art that has most to do with revealing the visual appearance of objects and events. The eye is the chief sense organ involved in our participation with the painting.Painting has existed as an artistic tradition for thousands of years. From the cave painting of Lascaux to the great, masterpieces of Da Vinci it has played a historical and aesthetic role in the different ages of existence. Let‘s see the history of painting. ORIGIN AND EARL Y HISTORY Painting has its documented origins in caves and on rock faces. The finest examples, believed by some to be 32,000 years old, are in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves in southern France. In shades of red, brown, yellow and black, the paintings on the walls and ceilings are of bison, cattle, horses and deer.Paintings of human figures can be found in the tombs of ancient Egypt. In the great temple of Ramses II, Nefertari, his queen, is depicted being led by Isis. [7] The Greeks contributed to painting but much of their work has been lost. One of the best remaining representations is the mosaic of the Battle of Issus at Pompeii, which was probably based on a Greek painting. Greek and Roman art contributed to Byzantine art in the 4th century BC, which initiated a tradition in icon painting. The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, and spans all cultures.It represents a continuous, though periodically disrupted tradition from Antiquity. Ac ross cultures, and spanning continents and millennia, the history of painting is an ongoing river of creativity, which continues into the 21st century. Until the early 20th century it relied primarily on representational, religious and classical motifs, after which time more purely abstract and conceptual approaches gained favor. Developments in Eastern painting historically parallel those in Western painting, in general, a few centuries earlier. African art, Islamic art, Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art each had ignificant influence on Western art, and, eventually, vice-versa. Painting was initially serving utilitarian purpose, followed by imperial, private, civic, and religious patronage, Eastern and Western painting later found audiences in the aristocracy and the middle class. TYPES OF PAINTINGS ABSTRACT PAINTING: It is also called as non-representational painting. It might be difficult to appreciate it if we are confused about subject matter. In these paintings, no obj ects or events are depicted. So, it seems that these painting do not have subject matter. But it is not so.The subject matter is relating to or affecting the senses rather than the intellect. It is composed of visual qualities – line, color, texture, space, shape, light, shadow, volume, and mass. These are constructed by eliminating reference to everything but color, lines, shapes, and light from their work. Abstract painters liberate us from the habit of always referring these elements to specific objects and events. REPRESENTATIONAL PAINTING: It furnishes the world of abstractions / sensuous with definite objects and events. The subject matter are the same, the interpretation (content) of every painting is always different.Representational artwork aims to represent actual objects or subjects from reality. Subcategories under representational art include Realism, Impressionism, Idealism, and Stylization. All of these forms of representationalism represent actual subjects fro m reality. Although some of these forms are taking steps toward abstraction, they still fall under the category of representation. PORTRAIT PAINTING: A portrait painting is one that embodies the image of a particular person. Over the years, these paintings started to include images of various other animals and lifeless matter.This particular type of painting is created only when a person orders for it to be created. Sometimes, portrayers create these paintings for their own fun or interest. The importance of these paintings can be felt only by those people who strive to preserve their memories. Most people think that digital photographs and images are the best way to capture a moment. But these people fail to realize an important fact about these photographs. While the initial quality seems to be much better in terms of clarity, these digital photographs seem to fade away with the course of time.This is not true in case of portrait paintings as these are known to last for a long per iod of time. This is evident from the fact that lot of these paintings have been found inside Egyptian pyramids. These paintings are mostly used as decorative items. Due to their long life, portrait paintings are used as wall hangings in many houses. In addition to its decorative uses, these paintings can also be used as gifts to complement your friends and relatives on their special occasions. Believe it or not, these paintings can remind your close ones about your existence whenever they look at it.Sometimes, people collect art works done by famous portrayers as part of their activities. The fun that you can have when collecting these historical artifacts is comparable to an endless sea. To learn how a painting is perceived, one has to know the effect of different situations on the eye. Some of them are explained here. BRIGHTNESS: The physical context of visual objects has a substantial impact on basic perception. Things may appear bigger, smaller, brighter, darker and so on, than they actually are, depending on the nature of the object and the context in which it is placed.Consider the importance of physical context on perceived brightness as shown in the figure below. In the set of two concentric squares at the left, the two small grey squares are of identical intensity. Yet the one at the top appears much darker than the one at the bottom. The effect is due to the context of the surrounding squares. Consider the image on the right. It comprises of a ring on uniform greyness. It appears lighter on the left-hand part of the display than on the right. The influence of context on the perceived intensity of an bject is called brightness contrast, a condition in which a viewer tends to bias the light intensity of an object in an opposite direction from the background intensity. The Importance of Value & Tone in Painting For example: If you took a black and white photograph of your painting, the shades of grey would be the different values or tones within the pa inting. Value is used to create a focal point within a painting or drawing. The human eye is immediately drawn to a light element against a dark element. This creates the focal point of interest. To create the illusion of depth, gradations of value are also used.Areas of light and dark give a three-dimensional illusion of form to subject matter. Value is independent of its hue. This is a fundamental element in the impact of visual art whether abstract or representational. The above example is a painting ? en grisaille? – a painting done entirely in values of grey or another neutral greyish color. Grisaille was sometimes used for under paintings or for oil sketches. Rubens was noted for this. Today, many successful artists believe in keeping a narrow value scale – limiting their composition to approximately 4 values. In this case it seems, less is more and helps create a cohesive and harmonious work.Below is a contrasting example of the use of values. Whistler used ? lo w-key‘ values and Monet used ? high-key‘ values and achieved dramitically different results. The Hidden Meaning of Color in Your Art RED: It is the color of assertion, strength, romance, excitement, vitality, physical power, outgoing, ambitious and impulsive. It is a color that flatters the skin and can make an excellent background. Pale pink are warm and peaceful and combine well with greens. The deeper reds create an atmosphere of retrained opulence and power. Red elicits an uncomplicated nature with a zest for life. But, red can also connote danger or threats.Fire engines, stop signs and traffic lights are a perfect example. ORANGE: It is the Midway between red and orange. It is a cheerful color. It is a flamboyant and lively color. Orange can be assertive, dynamic, and spontaneous and signifies youth and fearlessness. Orange stimulates the brain and produces oxygen and mental activity. Dark-orange signifies deceit or distrust, whereas redorange can correspond to aggr ession, domination and thirst for action. YELLOW: We associate yellow with sunshine and it represents light. It creates a feeling of hope, happiness and wisdom. The color evokes an optimistic sense of wellbeing and natural light.It is airy, radiant and atmospheric. Yellow gives the feeling that all is okay with the world. An example of this is Luminism, an early generation of landscape painters who explored ways to depict light realistically on canvas by using color to depict a melodramatic or romantic mood. But, yellow is a complicated color. On one hand, it is considered ? light-hearted‘ and childlike, but actually it is known to make babies cry. Although, light-yellow represents intellect, freshness and joy, dull-yellow is associated with caution, decay, sickness and jealousy. Yellow at times is cowardice. The phrase, ? yellow-bellied-coward? ame into use around 1910 which probably derives from yellow‘s association with both treason and weakness. More than a millenniu m ago, Judas Iscariot was often portrayed in yellow garb symbolizing his betrayal of Jesus Christ – a cowardly act. In America‘s pioneer days, yellow dogs were considered worthless and the term ? yellow dog? came to be used to describe anything worthless. Our observation of the yellow of tree leaves as they age and die, as well as the yellowing of old books and papers, led to the association of yellow with old age and illness. But, yellow is very effective at attracting attention – think of a taxi cab.Yellow is also used as a warning symbol. In football, a ? yellow flag‘ issues a warning. When place alongside black, yellow issues a warning. Yellow is also used in traffic lights and signs to advise us of danger. GREEN: It is the color of harmony, balance and security. Green also has a calming effect and symbolizes hope, peace, gentleness and modesty. It is soothing, refined and civilized with great healing power. Green suggests stability and endurance, hope and growth. It sometimes denotes lack of experience, for example a ? greenhorn‘ is a novice. Pale greens are particularly restful.Dark greens remind us of money, banking and Wall Street. However, at times yellow-green is used to portray sickness, discord and jealousy. Remember the phrase, ? green with envy BLUE: It is the color of the sea and sky, having a quality of cool expansiveness and openness. Soft, soothing, compassionate and caring, blue is an introspective color. Blue is often a formal color which represents wisdom and steady character. Many superheroes wear blue! It is considered a masculine color and the choice of corporate America. But, the quiet character and poetic subtlety of blue can also be associated with melancholy and resignation.Remember Pablo Picasso‘s infamous ? Blue Period? of art? Picasso‘s personal trauma found expression in a series of deeply sentimental paintings which comprise his ? Blue Period?. I even dedicated a helpful post to artis ts who find themselves Feeling Blue†¦ PURPLE: A combination of red and blue, purples are regal and dignified to be used with discretion. Pale shades are restful and serene, but the darker shades make it difficult to focus. Lavenders signify refined things of life, creative, witty and civilized. Purples can be tiring on the eyes and cause a sense of frustration, but it can make an excellent foil for works of art.Gloom and sad feelings can be portrayed by using purples. BROWN: It is the color of living wood and the earth. Rich, subtle and extraordinarily restful to look upon, brown creates a feeling of coolness and warmth at the same time. It combines well with rich colors such as purple and gold (popular in the Victorian era). It is a steady, dependable, conservative, conscientious and reliable color. Brown evokes a sense of nostalgia and reminds us of the great works of Rembrandt, Titian and Rubens. Tonalism used rich earth tones and muted colors to create moody landscapes.Van Gogh‘s used lots of brown to set a somber and depressed mood in the famous painting The Potato Eaters. Think back on Soviet Russia and you might remember the common people usually wore shades of brown. GRAY: This color represents caution and compromise. Many beautiful grays can be made by mixing complimentary colors together. Grays give a sense of peace to the viewer. WHITE: It is a Symbolic of safety, cleanliness and purity. White emanates youth, perfection and innocence. Angels are usually thought of as white. White is simplicity and freshness, but too much can give a clinical feeling.Doctors, hospitals and sterility are associated the white. Low fat foods and dairy products use white in their packaging. But, in many Eastern cultures, white signifies death, mourning, funerals and unhappiness. Ghosts are white and giving white flowers to the sick is bad luck in many cultures. In painting, use white sparingly. It can make colors chalky and lifeless. BLACK: It is Mysterious and hidden, black can have a morbid feeling. It gives us a feeling of the unknown and negative connotations like, black-hole, blacklist, blackhumor or black-death. In most Western cultures, black is the symbol of grief.However, black can be dignified and showy with sophistication. Black will also punctuate color schemes that rely on strong contrasting colors. Try mixing your own blacks, rather than using it straight from the tube. CASE STUDY: One of the aspects that make the Mona Lisa such a masterpiece is da Vinci‘s use of oil as a medium. As the movie The Mystery of Jon van Eyck explains, the use of oil as a medium was not widely used for painting until van Eyck refined it ? by adding transparent colors in several thin glazes upon a white ground, creating a wholly new translucence as if lit from within.?Da Vinci used van Eyck‘s oil painting technique to bring lifelike qualities to their works. On the first sight of the portrait of Mona Lisa, you will see the physical feat ures of that painting essentially identically to how all other humans see them because the light reflected from the painting and the initial processing by one‘s neurophysiology are fixed by physical laws. For example, generally shadows tend to form large dark areas in a painting and as such contribute to the low spatial frequency information of the image. If hese shadows are placed in specific areas (near the mouth in Mona Lisa and under the brow ridge in the disappearing bust of Voltaire), they can lose their role as shadows and offer an ambiguity to the interpretation and the perception of the painting. The message, meaning and interpretation of art depend on your pervious specialized knowledge of painting and related phenomena. That knowledge along with your knowledge of the world, contribute to the context in which the painting is viewed. Choice of lighting: Faint illumination. Near twilight depicted in the Mona Lisa.Leonardo favored this type of lighting for portraiture. The responsiveness of the Mona Lisa to changes of lighting is unusual, perhaps unique. The Mona Lisa suffers little under light-adapted vision and gain little under dark adaptation. By contrast, the degree of change in the tonal range resembles that which occurs with a natural object. Painting style and other formal elements Leonardo explains color perspective this way, â€Å". . . through variations in the air we are made aware of the different distances of various buildings. . . therefore make the first building. . . its own color; the next most distant make more blue. . at another distance bluer yet and that which is five time more distant make five times more blue. † This principle is demonstrated in the background of Mona Lisa: the ground and hills directly behind the subject are painted in warm tones of reddish browns and tans. As the landscape recedes the mountains and water become progressively bluer. Leonardo also noted that air is denser closest to the earth, theref ore the bases of hills will always appear lighter than the summit; he applies this theory to the hills behind the sitter's shoulders which start out a tan color and become dark brown.His study of shadow can be related to his works in both compositional arrangement and in sfumato (Sfumato is the famous invention of Da Vinci – light and shade that allow one form to blend in with another leaving something to the imagination. He did this to the corners of Mona Lisa‘s mouth and eyes which explains why she may look different and different times. ) techniques, which are both demonstrated in the Mona Lisa. One method of composition employed by Leonardo involved focus and blur.In the Mona Lisa Leonardo uses shadow in the lowest areas of the picture plane, at the edges, and background of the landscape to blur detail and draw attention to the detailed focus area of the face. Leonardo also uses shadow as a primary element in creating sfumato or soft focus, which creates the illusio n of volume by allowing light to emerge from the darkness of shadow. The sitter's body in Mona Lisa emerges from the shadows surrounding her from the mid arm area down. Her hands are areas of light that emerge from the blurred shadows of her body and her face emerges from darkly shadowed areas of hair and eiling. Leonardo's study of the shape of shadow contributed to the blurred shadow edges that are a hallmark of the sfumato style. The Mona Lisa's body and face are enclosed within shadow, but no shadow edges ever become evident. In the Mona Lisa the subject comes closer to the front edge of the picture than had been customary hitherto: this smaller distance between sitter and viewer heightens the intensity of the visual impression while the landscape suggests greater spatial depths and atmospheric intensity.Craggy mountains disappear into the distance against a greenish-blue sky. On the left we can make out a stream and on the right we can see what looks like a dry river-bed, altho ugh it is not possible to tell quite how this connects, if at all, with a reservoir higher up. Individual outcrops in the landscape, bereft of vegetation, are reminiscent of similar rock formations in religious pictures that Leonardo had begun not long before.