Thursday, May 23, 2019

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club This paper is an analysis of five dissimilar teenagers representing a cross-section of middle class high develop students in the suburbs. The students meet severally new(prenominal) for the first time during a Saturday morning detention session. Each student arrived to the check by different means, which is a forerunner to determining the type of individual each one is. The theme is comprised of a princess, an athlete, a brain, a evil, and a basket exemplar. These ar the roles the students play during the week.Beca usage of typical stereotypes and status levels, at the onset, the students dont want any(prenominal)thing to do each other at the beginning of the detention session. However, erst temporary hookup confronted by the controlling principal and realizing they reach a whole day to spend together, the students begin to interact. Once the students start communicating with each other, they realize that they are more alike than unlike. Each one of the m has their own issues they are dealing with, they each long for self-acceptance they each(prenominal) fight against look pressure they all proneness parental approval.Eventually through the course of the day, they break through the barriers and begin to understand each other and accept each other as hearty as themselves. The students eventually develop a grouping identity and call themselves, The Breakfast Club. Claire is the princess an upper-class, favourite prom queen who was punished with detention after she ditched classes to go shopping. She enjoys her wealth, but this causes others to envy her. She is a bit shy and doesnt easily reveal in word formation about herself.She is very insecure with herself because she is not very suffer and isnt athletically inclined which is why she wants to be a part of the in crowd at school. She feels neglected by her parents and is yearning for attention from them. She was driven to school for the detention session in a BMW by her gr ow. As he dropped her off he explained to her that this is a strict punishment and perhaps she shouldnt jump off school to go shopping. breaking ball the bad boy on the other hand, is a lower-class young man who is perceived to be a ociopathic criminal he is desperate for attention at school. This may be collect to a lack of attention at home or perhaps abuse. Because of his refractory nature, bend finds himself in detention more often than not. breaking ball wanders up to the school by his own free will. His parents are not shown at all during the film. Andrew the jock is a regimented and determined wrestler who wants break free from the athlete role in clubhouse to think for himself. His father demands that he succeeds athletically as he doesnt tolerate losing, he requires Andrew to be No. in his athletic endeavors. His father doesnt care what Andrew wants in liveliness, he just wants him to net all of his wrestling matches. Andrew was dropped off to the school by his fat her who was chastising him before dropping him off and explaining that he could potentially lose his athletic scholarship due to his demeanor. Brian the nerd is a straight A student who struggles with expectations of high ranges. His parents capturem to push him to do very rise in school. However, he doesnt have any confidence in himself and relies upon his success in school to motivate him.His self confidence was crushed when he received a failing grade in shop class. He was sent to detention because a teacher imbed a gun in his locker which he was going to use to kill himself however, it wouldnt have worked because it was a flare gun. Brian was dropped off to the school by one of his parents and his younger sister. He was told to get his homework done objet dart in detention. Lastly, Allison the kook is an introvert who is ignored by her peers. She is a very quiet girl hardly ever speaking, which makes it difficult for people to understand her.When she does speak, she ordi narily does so in self defense. She longs for attention, in order to receive it she acts like a mentally unst satisfactory individual. She suffers from boredom and is very reserved. She shocked the group when she emptied her handbag which held nothing but useless items in an attempt to gain attention from the others at the beginning of the detention session. Allison was dropped off to the school, but you cant verbalize by who as the person drives off before any words are exchanged. She states that she did nothing wrong to get sent to detention.She displays very peculiar behavior during the detention session. At the onset of the detention session, each students status is conveyed by their existing peer social status in school. They form bonds, with whom they feel most comfortable with, for example, Claire and Andrew immediately sit down next to each other and begin exchanging conversation about the friends they have in general within the popular crowd that they are a part of. Bri an is next in line in the school social status scene because of his news but he is still considered to be a geek by his peers.In contrast, Allison and Bender are at the bottom of the school social scene. As the morning detention session progresses, each member of the group surrenders their previous roles as they assume new positions within the group. Bender, who usually has a low-status position, assumes a leaders role because of his expertise with detention. He is on a first name basis with the janitor and Mr. Vernon, the principal. Mr. Vernon displays a tough outer shell but seems to fear Bender. Bender is carryly the dominating force in the group.His rebellious personality is displayed when he breaks the established rules and moves from his seat after being told not to. He also rupture up a library book and removed a screw from one of the library doors so it couldnt stay open in order for Mr. Vernon to keep an eye on them. When Mr. Vernon questioned the group as to why the door is closed and wouldnt stay open the group covered up for him. This behavior clearly displays Benders disregard for authority. Instead of being condemned by his peers, Benders questions and actions are valued within the group.He leaves the session with a new found respect for his new friends as well as an attraction to Claire whom he had constantly made fun of for being a snot throughout the detention session. He also dropped the tough guy persona and accepted himself as someone who was good in his own way. Claire and Andrew also go against their normal high school behaviors during the session. Andrew no longer appears to play the macho athlete role and actually cries in front of the others as he describes how his father has pressured him to be someone he doesnt want to be.He expressed how at times he wished for his knee to give out so he wouldnt be able to wrestle anymore. He finally comes to realize that he doesnt need to be the man his father expects him to be and that his life is his own to determine and not what his father desires. It is clear that he that he has broken from the grips of his father when he leaves the detention session partnered with Allison. Allison seems to be the epitome of insubordination towards his fathers law to stay on course and choosing his own path from now on.Claire appears to be very conceited and often asks the group Do you know how popular I am? Everyone at this school loves me. Looking at her from the others perspective, she appears to be very self-centered and more important than the others. Although Claire leads the group to believe she had been sexually industrious due to peer pressure, she ultimately admitted to the group that she is still a virgin. Allison actually tricked her by lying and being deviant, having Claire to admit she was a virgin.Allison then expressed to the group that being sexually active is actually a double edged sword in their social setting because if a girl admits to being sexually active, she is considered to be a slut while if she denies being sexually active she is considered a prude. Her observation demonstrates she isnt exactly who the group perceives her to be. Eventually the group allows Claire to see that there is much more to life than being popular in school. On the surface, Brian appears to be submissive however, the traditional geek ends up asking forward questions and seems to become more secure than his new-found friends.Throughout the session, Brian seems to follow along with whatever his peers are doing while at the same time reminding them that there isnt mantic to be any monkey business. He actually goes against his normal behavior and along with Andrew and Claire par pledges in smoking marijuana with Bender. The group views Brian as their most keen member and therefore, they encourage him to write their required 1000 word detention essays. This opportunity allows him to have a bit of power within the group.Through the peer discussions, it becomes a pparent that Brian and his parents have required him take on more than he can handle which drove him to his breaking point. Through the relationship with his newfound friends, Brian is able to release the load and the perception of himself being an academic over achiever. He leaves much more confident than when he came and is determined to let go of his late(prenominal) failure. Allison is very quiet during the detention session her mode of communication was squealing for the first half of the session. The others see her as an outcast and her strange behavior while at detention confirms their perception.During lunch, she takes a sandwich out of her bag, removes the meat, and puts cereal and sugar in its place. She appears to be satisfied with the lunch that the others find disturbing. Until this point, the other students had barely notice her presence in the room. She continues performing random acts throughout the movie. It is clear that she craves attention both positive and neg ative and this is her way of obtaining it. While speaking to Andrew, she confides that the attention that she receives at school is much more than she will ever receive at home.She finds her life at home unsatisfying and expresses that her parents dont give her any attention. Allisons parents consider her an outcast. She leaves the school well respected by Andrew who seems to have developed a liking to her. She realizes that she should be respected by all as long as she acts as though she wanted the respect she deserved. The janitor Carl is the eyes and ears of the school. He seems to know the students at the school very well and tells Mr. Vernon Someday, these kids are gonna take care of me, Mr. Vernon told him dont count on it. It appears as though Carl previously attended the school. He shows much respect to the students and seems to be able to extend to to them and their issues. Mr. Vernon is the school principal who dislikes Bender because he doesnt have any respect for author ity. He is very uptight and tries to get the students in trouble. It appears from his behavior that he thrives in his position of power one may safely assume that when he was the age of the students, he probably wasnt popular or well liked by his peers. Carl caught Vernon reading the private school files he then blackmails him to keep quiet.He eventually bonded with Carl and declares that he has various fears about the current generation. The group went through the predictable developmental stages including forming, storming, norming and performing phases. The group was formed because each of the students broke a school rule. While in this stage, the students are becoming oriented with each other and uplifting more about the group. The rules and procedures are being established. During the storming stage, conflicts begin to arise and social tension is apparent. For example, Claire expressed that she doesnt belong here. Bender continuously antagonizes Claire. Bender and Andrew have shouting matches almost bringing them to blows. Also, Allison had a strange outburst during Claires disclosure about her parents. The principle tries to set clear expectations and norms by telling the students that there is to be no moving, no talking, and no monkey business while in detention. However, in his attempt to establish the norms the results go up to be unsuccessful because the group does not agree to Mr. Vernons rules. Instead, the students become quite rebellious and show disrespect for authority.Most of this behavior is exhibited by Bender who uses his status, power, and leadership within the group. In regards to performing, the group eventually accomplishes its task which was to write the 1000 word essay with Brian as the leader of this undertaking. The group also achieves other goals such as killing eight hours of detention while remaining free of boredom. They learned about each other and experienced and new found respect for through self-disclosures. They also reb elled against the established norms with each other.By the end of the day, they had established their own cohesive group and learned to look past their stereotypes of each other. However, they question whether or not they will remain as friends come Monday morning. I believe that this movie is a true depiction of high school life in the suburbs, as each group of students has stereotypes about the other groups amongst their peers. It is up to us the individuals to break down the barriers that prevent us from appreciating each others qualities and learn not to criticize and/or condemn our peers.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Comparative Employee Relations Essay

Employees transaction is those policies and daily practices that are concerned with the regulation and focusing of individual and team dealinghips within the organization. Essenti altogethery, employee dealings are apprisetered on the ability to resolve and prevent conflicts that involve either an individual or the teams in the organization which directly affect work situations and performance. Efficient parley ensures that information is passed to the employees in order to allow them understand better the companys goals and objectives.Most employee relations managers uphold the responsibility of handling grievances, individual clearon of conduct while in the office, evaluation of employee performance and counselling programs. Sound employee relations are based on participation and effective communication for close to(prenominal) the management and the employees. There are various management styles that cover the way employee relations must be conducted in order to achieve the best from the employees. These management styles are intended to teach employees the following,Applicable regulations and policies Bargaining agreements Grievance and appeal rights Discrimination and protection of whistleblowersEmployee relations have broadened its definition from the initial industrial relations to such aspects as employer-employee relations, personal contracts, workplace environmental safety, and socio-emotional factors. In developed countries, there is a growing trend of harmonization in almost all levels of government mainly because of the government commitment to enhance employee relations programs.Comparison of employee relations in Kenya and the United StatesEmployee relations between unlike countries such as the United States, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Europe and underdeveloped countries such as Kenya are far much varied because of issues such as economic status, political will, form _or_ system of government creation and implementation, employee li teracy standards, justice systems, type of company and management standardsUnited States and Kenya are two different countries that have different views and perceptions on how they regale employee relations. In some issues however, they agree and others they dont.Similarities Both are members of the International Labour Association They both have federal courts that deal with cases arising from employees Both countries have trade unions that hero sandwich for employee rights They have health and safety assessment policies Both value equal treatment, opportunities and rights for the employees Both countries have created and implemented policies and legal requirements that govern the conduct of both the employer and the employees In both countries workplace malpractices occur Both uphold human rights concerning employees They both have turnover and retention concerns In both workplace harassment is guilty by lawDifferencesIn the U.S, every State i.e. Washington, Texas etc have each Employee Relations informative Organization (ERAO) that is concerned with individual organizations dealing with employee relations1 while in Kenya there is only one central organization that deals with the issues raised by its employees. Also, the U.S has an elaborate system of government that promotes the utilization of its staff members attached to the Employee Relations Advisory Board to monitor employee relations in various companies.In Kenya, the situation is different with no government body that is specifically assigned the duty of overseeing employee relations. In the U.S each organization including institutions have the privilege of getting the services of an employee relations officer but in Kenya, the companies find it difficult and expensive to hire an employee relations manager. The U.S also has well trained personnel that have the human resource skills to handle employee relations issues which Kenya does not. In addition, the U.S have a better economy that can suppor t better pay packages, benefits, compensations and other incentives while in Kenya employers pay poorly thus undermining the morale, motivation and performance of individual employees.Finally, in the U.S, the employees are from different parts of the world speaking different languages and diverse political, social, cultural and religious backgrounds making it difficult and tedious to the companies to ensure smooth harmonization in the company. go in Kenya, only a few internationals work in some companies with the majority being the locals making employee relations very easy to manage terce world countries like Kenya, are not economically capable of handling employee relations effectively. With an unemployment rate of 57%, most employers are arrogant to employees because they know that they can sack one employ another within a very short time frame.Since most companies due to financial weaknesses cannot afford the services of employee relations manager, then the work of handling em ployee issue are either left with the general manager or the human resources manager who have no skills to handle the sector. This will lead to unfair and costly consequences for the company such as failure to understand individual problems which will in turn affect his or her performance. Because of corruption in Kenya, very few cases of employee relations abuse have been so far settled while in the U.S the case is different with to a greater extent significant cases being reported each year.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Musical Hair Critiquing Essay

1) What commemorate are you critiquing?Hair2) Give a brief summary of the story line.Claude Hooper Bukowski, an Oklahoma farm boy, heads to new York City to enter the Army and serve in the Vietnam War. In Central Park, he meets a company of free-spirited hippies led by George Berger, a young man who introduces him to debutante Sheila vocallin when they crash a dinner party at her home. Inevitably, Claude is sent off to recruit training in Nevada, but Berger and his band of wondrous pranksters follow him. Sheila flirts with an off-duty Sergeant in order to steal his uniform, which she gives to Berger. He uses it to extract Claude from the base for a termination meeting with Sheila, taking his place, but composition Claude is away, the unit flies out to Vietnam, taking Berger with them. The film ends with the main cast singing at Bergers grave, followed by scenes of a large anti-war protest outside the sporting House in Washington, DC.3) What did you similar best about this s how?Hair succeeds at all levelsas lowdown fun, as affecting drama, as exhilarating spectacle and as provocative social observation. It achieves its goals by rigorously obeying the rules of mere American musical comedy dialogue, plot, shout and dance blend seamlessly to create a juggernaut of excitement.4) What did you like least about this show?The film omits the songs The Bed, Dead End, Oh Great God of index number, I Believe in Love, Going Down, Air, My Conviction, Abie Baby, Frank Mills, and What a Piece of Work is Man from the musical. Many of the songs have been shortened, sped up, rearranged, or assigned to incompatible characters to allow for the differences in plot.5) Who was the hero/heroine?Claude Hooper Bukowski/ Sheila Franklin.6) Who was the villain?The General.7) Were you able to understand everything? If not what did you understand?A major plot difference between the film and the musical involves a mistake that leads Berger to go to Vietnam in Claudes place, wher e he is killed. The musical focuses on the U.S. peace movement, as well as the love relationships among the Tribe members, while the film focuses on the carefree antics of the hippies. But why not make the film ending a happy one? In that case, the movie will better reflect the aspect of American horticulture Happy Ever After.8) Did you get a chance to listen to the soundtrack?Unfortunately not.9) What was your favorite song?Aquarius.10) Did you think that the actors were well cast?Sure. The cast featured John Savage as Claude Hooper Bukowski, Treat Williams as George Berger and Beverly DAngelo as Sheila Franklin. Williams was nominated for New Star of the Year in a Motion setting Male.11) If you were to remake this show who would you cast in the title roles? Why?If I were to remake the show, I would sill hold the actor and actress as the hero and heroine. The actors are really good-looking, and they can sing and dance well.12) What aspect of American Culture do you see in this show? Nothing ventured nothing gained. Berger is not only at the heart of the hippie Tribe but is assigned some of Claudes conflict involving whether or not to obey the draft. His death led to the large anti-war protest and featured the carefree antics of the hippies.

Monday, May 20, 2019

Case: Supply Chain Management and Application Software Packages

Info from case total r notwithstandingue for snuff it reporting = 110 million cio reviewed 3 following implementation strategies -classic disintermediation removal of intermediaries in a translate chain. connects supplier right away with customers - curative-working to a greater extent closely with ecisting middlemen partners. strategy could be affected by high promise risks. -network-building alliances and partnerships with both existing and new suppliers and distributors involving a complex set of relationships. Networks tended to reduce search costs for obtaining information, products and services. selected remidiation because it outdo fits the firms stopping point of simplifying data sharing passim the supply chain -also had longterm and positive relationship with its primary distributors, which would cleanse the high contracting risk. The firm purchased stock woods from a number of producers and processed them to meet circumstantial customer specifications. Approx. 6 0 percent of woodsynergy sales were in high-end furniture Problems 1 Choice of implementation invention is wrong LONG TERM -CIO chose remediation because it best fit the firms goal of simplifying data sharing throughout the supply chain furthermore, the CIO noted that woodsynergy had a long-term and positive relationship with its primary distributors which would ameliorate the high contracting risk issue -the best way of simplifying data sharing is eliminating any(prenominal) unnecessary companionship that the information needs to travel to. -remove the distributors and engage the customers directly -who are we to decide how your existing distributors will impression after you amend any contracts to include any new information system to the SCM that ultimately creates more overhead for them? the business model of woodsynergy suggests that the firm was committed to delivering information to the cover people at the right time so that strategic and operational decisions were mad e properly and quickly -benefit going national prevented by local distributors if woodsynergy engages their end users directly it will promote better customer relationships as well as open potential national and international markets/ Causes -long-term relationships with distributors -contracts with distributors -CIO decision seems biased Alternatives choose classic intermediation -stay with remediation -choose networking Solution Chose Classic intermediation Removes the middleman The middle man share shift to suppliers, Woodsynergy and to the customer, making the confederation more profitable and increasing the customer loyalty Efficiency instead of suppliers shipping first to the Woodsynergy and so Woodsynergy shipping the products to the customer, supplier can ship straight to the customer Implementation (implanting the plan find the need, split up the program, and implement it and the evaluate it) Business need form investigation System analysis System externalise Profra mming and testing Implementation Operation and mainenance 2 Prototype Built short term problem *** - referable to budget and time constraints the project team chose to build a gateway prototype without addressing problems of haleness and patness with the systems data. The project team decided to improve the data quality at a future sequence customers data needs to be secure. Period. For any duration no matter how short. Two of the key drivers include in gateway design were data standardization and real-time interface -It should be real-time interface and data integrity as aligned with Woodsynergys business goals. -release data standardization at a later time instead of data integrity Causes -budget -time constraint -phase 1 of prototype does not directly correlate to business goals Alternatives -cloud system from 3rd party -key drivers in phase 1 = data integrity and real-time interface/data standardization at future date/release Application packet packages off the shelves. ONE MORE alt Solution Application computer parcel packages off the shelves. oPrewritten, pre-coded application software commercially available for sale oA lot of choices, with rating/reviews from its customers/users oOther companies are already using them oSome software companies even let you try them oQuicker solution, gives the it team to work on the bigger problem or new software oIt may be cheaper than labour and resources spent building prototype that may put companys customers information at risk Implementation . Identify potential vendors 2. Determine the rating criteria a. Functionality of the software b. Cost and financial terms c. Vendors reputation success stories/customer reviews d. System flexibility e. Security f. Required training g. Data handling h. Ease of internet interface i. drug user friendly 3. Evaluate vendors and packages 4. Chose vendor and package 5. Negotiate a contract 6. Implement the software 7. naturalize the staff/users 3 Project Team Questi onable Short term and Long term? *** Causes launched eightfold it found supply chain management initiatives -researched how gateways are used in their business and understand the divergent of technology on the internet in first few weeks this should take a few long time at most -phase 1 of prototype not aligned with business goals decision criteria this is what I count would be the criteria, we can discuss if you have others *** -budget need better coaching on team goal and better planning -increase customer satisfaction -be consistent with corporate agency -Time constraint implement plum quickly -improve profits within acceptable risk parameters Solution BE consistent with corporate mission Implementation Be consistent with corporate mission oTrain and remind them in every morning huddles oBefore implementing the any new plan or developing new software or making the decision to pretermit a new software, correlate it with the business strategy oDelegate effectively to t eam members oHold them accountable stay on top of their performance oGive the team budget quarterly yearly or project based so there will not be any wastages Source /http//plato. acadiau. ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD. html/

Sunday, May 19, 2019

An Alternative Theory of Economics Essay

Economics is usually defined as the task of how best to distribute limited resources, limited because wants are characterised as unlimited, but common sense tells us that rather than limited resources, there is an teemingness of resources. The difference is one of perspective and this is core to any alternative understanding of economics. If wants are the focus, then of line resources are limited by definition, but if minimum needs or essentials are used as the foundation, then resources are seen to be abundant.The difference is between a description and an write up. A focus on wants or desires describes a market situation, while a focus on essentials or needs allows an explanation of choices to begin. It is necessary to shift the basis of economic theory away from self-assertions of scarcity and onto that of the reality of high product if a rational explanation is to be found as to why certain activities are economic and others, despite their desirability on social or moral g rounds, are not.This begins with the understanding that an teemingness of resources sum that not all need to work productively and that some use more resources than others. Who shall be the gilded ones and how to keep the unlucky quiet is fundamental to the running of most economies. Abundance is therefore an economic problem because the choices opened up by having more resources than is strictly needed to live presents a danger to those processes of occupation and the command that some have over resources that created the abundance in the first place.Why does so often waste exists along side so much poverty in the world? The orthodox assumption of scarcity has survived even the staggering levels of surplus of modern economies because this assumption suits the needs of those who command resources and who prefer to fancy that the economy does not become democratised that unpleasant tasks are done by someone else, that some win and many lose.An Economic theory based not on scarc ity but on abundance is a theory that seeks not to describe distribution but to explain choices. The development of such a theory would undercut the dominance of those satisfied with the current methods of production and control over resources. It would do so by revealing the choices made to limit the production of essentials and to divert resources to the production of luxury and fashion goods. A distribution of resources currently labeled scarcity.

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Box Reliquary of the True Cross and Other Byzantium Devotional Art

This exquisite misfortune, currently exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of device in New York, was made in Constantinople (Byzantium, now Istanbul) in the late 8th or early 9th century. Such relics ar said to run through housed the partings of the original Cross, which was allegedly discovered in the 4th century by Saint Helena, m new(prenominal) of the starting signal Christian Roman emperor Constantine (New York Met Museum, 2005). During the time of the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, Constantinople was to become the largest Christian metropolis in the Christian world.It managed to fend off attacks from the Arabs with its superior navy and Greek methods of warfargon (Ellie Crystal, knotty Empire, 1995 2005). This recess survived the word pictureoclast Crisis in the 8th century, when Emperor Leo tether banned all activity involving graven image worship. All sculptures and icons containing images saints and other sacred luminaries were ordered to be destroyed , and the only symbols allowed to be used for religious reverence, were that of plants and birds or the Cross.Prior to the crisis, however, much(prenominal)(prenominal) reliquaries were very common for the safekeeping of pieces of the True Cross or the bones of saints, and were very common at the time. The iconoclasm was a very violent and turbulent time in Byzantium due(p) to the fanaticism of Leo tether and his differences with the Patriarch of the time and according to various account, Leo III took a volcanic eruption on the island of Thera as a sign of Gods wrath over devotedness in the Church (Wikipedia). It was during the ban of religious icons that the Patriarch of Constantinople, Germanus I, was removed or resigned his post.Meanwhile, in the double-u of Byzantium, pope Gregory III condemned Leo IIIs decisions and actions and held two synods at Rome, publicly denouncing the iconoclasm. In retaliation, Leo III seized papal lands as well as raided churches and seized alt ar cloths, reliquaries and plates (History of the snarled State and Society, Tread grand, Helen, Stanford University Press, 1997). Following Leo IIIs death, his son Constantine V continued the ban and here is where some interesting occurrences come to firing the monasteries began to protest publicly. One monk, John of Damascus, protested iconoclasm through his theological writings.Another monk, Theodore the Studite brought things to a head by writing a letter to Pope Paschal containing strong words against the emperor. This brought dire consequences and was con slopered a major political flavour in the wrong direction by Constantine V, who invaded the monasteries, seizing their relics and throwing them into the sea. The next move from Constantine was to ban the monks from invoking the saints. This terrible terminus came to an end upon the death of Constantine Vs son Leo IV, whose Athenian wife Irene took position as regent for their young son, who would be the future emperor.She brought an end to iconoclasm and restored the ability of the artisans of the time to create icons render saints, Jesus, and the other figures of Christianity. It is difficult to imagine such violence over images used for the purposes of drawing upon the power of God being so violently opposed when icons and images of political figures were considered to be acceptable works of respect. Already it is easy to figure that the survival of this loge reliquary is almost a miracle in itself, considering the wanton destruction of such items, even as common as they were.Since this particular box is made of certain substances that are considered rare straightaway, let us now turn our attention to the box itself. It is small, measuring 4 inches long and 2-7/8 inches across. The estimated date of macrocosm of this box is the late 8th to early 9th century, which would be the period of iconoclasm discussed above (NY Met Museum). This box reliquary is constructed of cloisonne enamel, silve r, silver-gilt, gold and niello. The fascinating things about the boxs composition are the components of cloisonne enamel and niello, neither of which were inwrought to Byzantium.Niello was commonly used in Europe until the Renaissance, unless rarely used after that (Hillwood Museum & Gardens, n. d. ). Cloisonne enamel was very popular in chinaware during the Ming dynasty, but expects to have its origins in Cyprus (Dr. Panicos Michaelides, 1989). It was during the twisting Empire that cloisonne enamel was perfected and put to wide use from the 6th to 12th centuries, with the methods being transmitted to China in the 15th century where the art of cloisonne was further perfected to such a item that China set the standard for quality of this substance (ChineseMoods. com, 2005).The substance of cloisonne enamel is glass mill mixed with water until a paste is formed. The paste is then applied to the die-cast of metallic element such as gold, silver or copper. Each color used in th e process is fired separately, make for a very labor-intensive construction of only one part of the box decoration. There appear to be three colors used in terms of cloisonne enamel blue, white and green. The metal in this case is gold, to which the cloisonne enamel was adhered. The lid of the box reliquary features Christ still alive on the cross in the crucifixion barb, accompanied by the Virgin and St. John at his feet.Bordering the crucifixion scene are the images of fourteen saints. The underside of the lid features descriptive yet somewhat primitive art depicting four scenes from the life of Jesus the Annunciation, Nativity, crucifixion, and Anastasis (or Descent into Limbo). Inside the box are five compartments arranged in the shape of a cross, where relics would be kept. The four sides of the box feature the fourteen saints found on the lid, and are as well made of cloisonne enamel and the bottom of the box features a beautiful cross in gold. The other substance of inter est is niello, which is a black metal mixture used for decorative purposes.It is in truth a lost art, as niello is rarely used today due to technological advancements in goldsmithing transposition the ancient arts of engraving with tools and chisels (Prof. Dr. Erhard Brepohl, 2001). According to Dr. Brepohl, the making of niello involves melting and mixing silver, copper and lead, the use of borax and sulfur (which explains why niello is no longer popular, since its ingredients are highly toxic), After a rather tedious and harmful fume-producing procedure, the metal alloy is then quickly cooled so that it breaks into granules. The granules are then ground with a daub and pestle and mixed with flux to create a paste.When struck with a hammer. The finished niello should be uniformly black and shatter like glass. The niello paste is applied into the recesses of the object to be decorated (in the case of this box reliquary it would be the etched lid), then fired and cleaned. One ca n only stand in perplexity of the meticulous care with which this little box and other reliquaries were made, with such precision and detail to last for centuries. In terms of how the Byzantine Empire gained these skills to become virtually unparalleled as extraordinary artisans, friendly exchanges with the West are the source.Through flourishing trade routes and the power of the Roman Empire, Byzantine religious art took on wondrous proportions. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, From classical and ancient Christian art Byzantine genius derived a do combination of the ideal with truth to nature, harmonious unity along with precision in details, as well as the fondness for mosaics, frescoes, and pictures on panels, in opposition to the dislike of non-Christian and sectarian Orientals to pictorial representation. The rich symbolic representation depicts reverence and devotion completely absent in modern art.The reliquaries were made in anticipation of what would be kept with in them and crafted with utmost skill and care. Although many were destroyed during the iconoclastic crisis, enough of them remain today to view in museums such as the Met, hopefully to inspire people that view them and understand the vast skill and even danger that went into making and keeping them. Other reliquaries are simpler in nature and construction, such as the box reliquary of the Sancta Sanctorum Treasure, which measures 27. 7 X 18. 0 cm (approx. 10. 9 X 7. 1 inches).This box is bigger than the box reliquary described above, but is less ornate. It is constructed of wood and tempura and is red in color. Gold flip out adorns the five scenes depicted on the lid, which are of the Nativity, Baptism, Crucifixion, Women at the Tomb and the Ascension, read from the bottom left to pep pill right (Gary Vikan, 1982). Housed in the Vatican museum, this particular box contains stones collected in the sixth and seventh centuries in the consecrated Land, along with bits of wood and c loth. This particular box is considered to be the rarest among the Sanctus Sanctorum Treasures (Cleveland Museum Of Art, 1998).When contemplating how these relics survived the destruction during the above noted Iconoclasm we must also look to Europe during the 8th and 9th Centuries, where Christianity was taking hold. One interesting fact is that beginning in the course of study 787, all new Christian churches had to have a relic in order to be consecrated. Since Christianity was bed covering at such a rapid rate in Europe, the Church provided relics and reliquaries from her collection (Richard Jones-Nerzic, 2002). Relics were considered to be pilgrims souvenirs and reliquaries were specifically crafted for the safekeeping of those relics.As reliquaries and relics began to spread to Europe, owning them became a symbol of status (Jones-Nerzic) because of their origins in Byzantium and the dangerous journey they made to desex into the hands of the Europeans. Another form of Byzanti ne art was the carving of ivory reliefs, such as the Triptych Icon of Hodegetria, (Greek for She who shows the way) made in Constantinople in the late 10th Century. This exquisite three-paneled piece shows wear due to veneration over time, and features the Virgin with the Christ Child as well as two unfathomable saints on the folding wings of the triptych.This triptych is 4-3/4 inches high and 9 inches in length (The Walters Art Museum, 2001). An expectant and elaborate ivory triptych is housed at the Louvre it is called the Harbaville Triptych after the last known owners and features the elegance and detail of the resurgence of icon use after the iconoclasm. This triptych is sunning, with the central panel depicting the Deesis (entreaty) of Christ enthroned on behalf of humanity (Louvre Museum, n. d. ). Flanking the male child Of Man is the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist.Beneath the center panel and on the wings are the apostles, martyrs and soldiers. This piece is consid ered to be one of the finest from the imperial workshop known as Romanus and combines several different techniques from the Orient as well as classical antiquity and the Christian tradition. The reverse side of the central panel is embellished with a Latin cross featuring rosettes along with scenes from the Garden of Eden. Two cypress trees, one on either side of the cross represent Good and Evil, all under a starry background.The side panels depict saints with books or crosses. Traces of gold leaf can still be found on this triptych, and the Louve literature states that there are two other similar ivory triptychs, one being housed in the Vatican and the other at the palace in Venice. All three are thought to have been carved around the same time, amidst the 9th and 11th centuries in Constantinople. One more example of these reliquaries is a cross reliquary featuring St. John Chrysostom, made in Constantinople around 920 930 (Dr. Rozmeri Basic, 2000-2005).Made of gilded wood and painted, the scenes of this lovely box depict St. John Chrysostom on the underside of the lid, with the Crucifixion on the top. The scene inside the box is decorated around a cavity for the boxs contents and features saints and angels in detail. Given the turbulent times and the rich history surrounding Byzantium and Europe during the gothic times, it is a wonder that pilgrims dared to cross into the Holy Land. But they did, driven by the desire to see and feel the very places and items associated with Jesus and the saints.Reliquaries were designed for this purpose, enabling pilgrims to bring back earth, bits of bone or cloth, anything that could be deemed something from a sacred place. Pilgrims often traveled in groups and were subject to robberies and even murder from roadside bandits and wild animals, including lions. Still, the truehearted made their journeys and the reliquaries that made it back to their homelands were preserved and valued not only as pieces of art but also as items in contact with the Messiahs surrounding. Some even were professed to have better properties.Recreating these reliquaries in modern times would be considered labor-intensive and toxic some of the ingredients used in the reliquaries surely shortened more than one life span of an artist in the ancient days still, reliquaries are being reproduced and copies are on the open market, still drawing an intrigue after more than a millennium. References Basic, Dr. Rozmeri. 2000 2005, Early Christian and Byzantine Art. University Of Oklahoma. Online, purchasable at http//www. ou. edu/class/ahi4263/byzhtml/p05-04. htmlBrepohl, Erhard Prof. Dr. 2001, Nillo Work, Brynmorgen Press. Online, available at http//www. ganoksin. com/borisat/nenam/nillo-work-10-1. htm Byzantine Art, 2003, Online Catholic Encyclopedia, K. Knight. Online, available at http//www. newadvent. org/cathen/03095a. htm Cloisonne, 2005, Chinese Moods. Online, available at http//www. chinesemoods. com/cloisonne. html Crystal, Ellie. 1995 2005, The Byzantine Empire The Roman Byzantine Period, Crystal Links Encyclopedia. Online, available at http//www. crystalinks.com/byzantine. html cosmetic Arts Middle Ages The Harbaville Triptych. N. d. , The Louvre Museum. Online, available at http//www. louvre. fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice. jsp? CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226172&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226172&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500778&bmUID=1133157145797&bmLocale=en Jones-Nerzic, Richard. June 2002, European chivalrous Pilgrimage Project Relics. Virtual School History Department. Online, available at http//194. 3. 120. 243/humanities/vs/pilgrims/relics. htmReliquary of the True Cross (Staurotheke), late 8thearly 9th century Byzantine Made in Constantinople, 2005, Metropolitan Art Museum of New York. Online, available at http//www. metmuseum. org/toah/ho/06/eusb/hod_17. 190. 715ab. htm The first iconoclastic period 730-787, 2005, Wikipedia. Online, available at http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/IconoclasmThe_first_iconoclastic_period_730-787 The Medieval World Triptych Icon of Hodegetria with Saints. 2001, The Walters Art Museum. Online, available at http//www. thewalters.org/html/collec_object_detail. asp? ID=2&object_ID=71. 158 Vatican Treasures. 1998, Cleveland Museum Of Art, Past Exhibits. Online, available at http//www. clevelandart. org/exhibit/vatican/ Vican, Gary. 1982, Byzantine Pilgrimage Art. Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D. C. Online, available at http//www. doaks. org/PilgrimageArt. pdf Secondary Reference Treadgold, Helen. 1997, History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press. Secondary resource contained within Wikipedia, cited above.

Friday, May 17, 2019

Jazz Heritage/The Roots of Jazz

Africa is the home of chouse, which spread to atomic number 63 and whole throughout America. Todays complete symphony is influenced by the different countries mentioned. There are medicineal traditions and cultural traditions coming from Africa, Europe and America which contributed to the hygienic of pick out today. As jazz developed, it was centered in bleak siege of Orleans (Yurochko 3). To rectify understand why jazz sounds the way it does today, it is best to examine its roots one by one, state by country. Africa The life in Africa is centered around the tribe.All its members participate in E actually activity, lock and ritual in the tribe. Afri after part tribes were highly interactive and participatory because all of its members always ensnare a way to contribute and cooperate and common gatherings and functions (Yurochko 3). From this, it can be inferred that the euphonyal activities of the tribe were also interactive and participatory. Because of these characteris tics, the symphony they created was full of dynamics. No single member of the African tribe just sat pop out. No one just listened. All of them were tied to everything that was happening in the tribe.As a result, medicine was available as it was properly suited to all the activities and events in the tribe (Bjorn and Gallert 178). What was unique in Africa was how tribe listened to music. In this country, one cannot find a single concert hall. Everybody gathitherd themselves in just one bowl of operations to listen to music. Listening to music was a significant part of the tribes lives. In Africa, at that place were different types of sounds fit for different types of occasions. There was music for marriage, death and births. There was music even for chopping down a tree, or clearing out a path.What music was to Africans was a social glue that coupled all members of the tribe together (Yurochko 3). Meanwhile, the characteristics of African music can explain why jazz music ro oted from Africa. African music makes the body perform. It means that the music alone involves the body by devising it dance, sway to the beat, clap, and pound a rod on the ground. Apart from the musicians themselves, all members of the audience were also link the fun. Africa music makes everyone sing, too (Bjorn and Gallert 178). Africans used different musical instruments like aerophones, idiophones and cordophones.The bass sound of the music was in general acquired from the drum. African music was full of drums which came in different shapes and sizes. The drum was their main instrument which Africans produced from hollowed out logs and gourds. crosswise the opening of the drum was a stretched animal skin (Bjorn and Gallert 178). What makes jazz so African is its rhythm, since African music is highly characterized by the emphasis on rhythm. Cross rhythms and polyrhythms were do by African drummers, both of which were major contributors to the driving force of jazz or African music (Bjorn and Gallert 178).The beat of jazz and the beat of African music can be demonstrated by creating a single beat, and dividing it into two. The other half should be given two claps to a single beat. The other hand will be given tierce claps to a single beat. This is a simple polyrhythm compared to how much jazz has developed through time. The basic belief behind jazz get the better of is two beats against one (Bjorn and Gallert 179). African sound seems unorganized, and this is what jazz is all about. It is because of the more complex polyrhythm found in African music. Each beat of the drum has an already make out rhythm.Then again, once this beat is combine with other drums which also have their own set rhythms, thus that is where the complicated sound is produced (Bjorn and Gallert 180). Another characteristic of African sound which can be found in jazz music is the pentatonic master. A pentatonic scale can best be seen in a piano. The scale is defined by five no tes, thus the term penta-tonic, with the chords C, D, E, G and A. This musical scale can also be found in the music of Peru, Mexico, Scotland and Japan (Salzman and the American Studies Association 961). In Africa, singers sing and the members of the audience respond.African musicians can also chant a melody, and the rest of the people in the venue react with the type of solvent already established in the society. In Africa, this is called call and response, which is also highly used in jazz. In jazz, though, the way people respond is different. This can be seen in many churches with people singing jazz praise songs (Salzman and the American Studies Association 961). The characteristics of jazz can be traced back to the African musics characteristics, too, in which bending tones, falsetto, buzzes in the voice, raspy tones and point-blank manipulation can be found.No vocal sound is ever produced. Letting out their feelings and expressing themselves by belting out what and how they were feeling an emotion contributed to the very distinct characteristics of jazz music. The tones were also not organized. As a listener listens to a jazz music, he will mostly find the singer reciting oral communication spontaneously (Henson 48). Europe Europe influenced jazz music through harmony and instrumentation. The harmonies in jazz music are characterized by diatonic scale. Jazz music is highly diatonic, and diatonic, in this case, is an expanded version of the pentatonic scale coming from Africa.Chord progressions from the European or Western sound influenced todays jazz music. Europe contributed a big part of the instrumentation of jazz. Instruments from Europe used in jazz music are clarinets, trombones and trumpets. Most of the European instruments used gave jazz music its symphonic nature (Henson 48). The birthplace of jazz music is mainly in new-sprung(prenominal) Orleans. The people of the city made use of what they were hearing from Africa and Europe, combined the different techniques and various musical styles to technically call the new genre jazz (Henson 48). recent Orleans New Orleans was undeniably successful in giving birth to jazz because of various components. integrity of these factors is its location. Since New Orleans is located at the tip of the Mississippi River, it was easy for people to bring in jazz to the area. The river made it easy for New Orleans to export music to different move of the globe, too, which made the music genre jazz, became commonplace in a very short period of time upon its whim (Brown 74). The Mississippi River was a very important factor in making jazz a popular genre because it has touched various states in America.Several states which were considered areas for slaves contributed in New Orleans highly several(a) population. Since the city became a busy seaport, it also developed into becoming the gateway to the islands of the Caribbean (Henson 48). It is also important to require the demographics o f the people in New Orleans as this is related to the development of jazz. The city is a very unique one because even before it was a state of America, it has been under the flags of France and Spain. When one would visit New Orleans, one would see how diverse the population is because of the different ethnic groups found in the city.Because of the diverse population, there was also a diverse culture. Cultural diversity helped in improving the quality of jazz music (Brown 74). The races inhabiting the city defined jazz music. The different cultures taking place made jazz what it sounds today. Since French people were among those who were occupying New Orleans, the tradition where they allowed males to have their mistresses was a big influence to the music. Several men chose women who were light skinned, and they went for those who had composite blood. Most of these women were found in the southern part of New Orleans.Because of this, the group of lower class minaciouss grew and be came know to the city (Henson 48). The blacken creoles were widely accepted in New Orleans, especially by the white society. However, it didnt check this way for too long. They received the same privileges and rights from the government. In 1984, a law was passed by the Louisiana law-makers which suggested that people with African blood were labeled as Negros. Because of this, the black creoles were driven away from New Orleans. They had no choice but to join the black culture (Henson 48).The joining of the pure blacks and the black creoles (cross between black and light-skinned) gave birth to the full development of a new music which is now referred to as jazz. Slaves from different parts of the globe who were pushed to the United States possessed nothing but their clothing. Then again, they brought not only clothes in the United States, but music, too. They brought their heritage and culture. They shared their musical practices in the United States, specifically in New Orleans (Brown 74). Because of the struggle of the black culture, New Orleans slowly became identified as the city of institution for blacks.All freed slaves and escaped slaves fled to New Orleans. They all gathered in Congo Square during Sundays because this was their only venture to be together and celebrate their culture. During these days, they all participated in the African culture where they played drums, sang and danced (Henson 48). New Orleans is then the breeding ground of musical activity. Numerous musical ensembles can be found here, like brass bands, musicales, opera companies and orchestras. Up to this day, there are still musical parties being held in the city.What made jazz sound disorganized and highly syncopated today is the merging of the musical influences of black slave culture and the black creoles. Their different cultures and distinct musical style made jazz sound like it does today. How jazz is being played is merely a result of the amalgamation of different tempo s, beats and styles through time. Examples of African musical activities that highly influenced todays jazz music are rhythmic emphasis, African field holler, interactive music and the call and response ritual. All of these found a space into the style of jazz (Brown 74).