Sunday, August 18, 2019

Henri Cartier-Bresson :: essays research papers

Henri Cartier-Bresson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the world’s most influential photography Masters. With his small hand camera he unobtrusively photographed people’s lives around the world. He was solely responsible for bridging the gap between photojournalism and art. He has published more than a dozen books of his work. The greatest museums in the world have shown his work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From my start as a photographer, I was always drawn to taking photographs of people. I feel it was only instinct that made me interested in this type of photography. Other people pushing their ideas on me would come much later. For a few years I made photographs on my own, exploring a whole range of imagery from sports to still life, but I always felt images of people were my strongest. Then I went to college at a very intensive school for photography. From the start I was pushed into the world on Cartier-Bresson and his style. I started concentrating on this documentary style of photography and began to pull away from experimenting in other genres. This was fine with me because I was fairly successful with documentary photography and was being praised be my professors. After a while I became stuck in my ways and found it very hard to shoot in any other manner. At the present my portfolio is based solely on black and white documentary photography. I still am very proud of working in this manner, but I am quite frustrated with finding work as a documentary photographer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My ties to Cartier-Bresson and his work start from the beginning of my career as a photographer. He was totally responsible for bringing photojournalism into the mainstream art world. Just for this accomplishment alone Cartier-Bresson has made it possible for many documentary photographers to work today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cartier-Bresson along with David Seymour and Robert Capa started the cooperative photo agency known as Magnum. Magnum was born because of a struggle between photojournalists and magazines. Magazines were constantly taking advantage of photographers. Magnum was established to end this by having its members band together as a group and establish strict guidelines for magazine payment and usage rights. Magnum represents only its members and its members stand behind one another. Over the years Magnum has evolved into kind of an elite club. I believe it only allows one new member per year; this is done by votes cast by all Magnum members.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Greek Mythology and Heracles Family Essay

The Greek heroes Heracles, Jason, Perseus and Theseus are all intriguing characters of Greek mythology. They each portray many different qualities and compare and contrast each other. For example the fact that Heracles was constantly a target of Hera and Theseus a target of Medea links them as characters. Also, Heracles frees Theseus from the chair of forgetfulness which also makes them similar. Even further, Perseus is from the city of Argos which happens to be where Heracles’ family is from as well. Another similarity between Heracles and Theseus is that they attack the Amazons together and both tend to rid the lands of certain monsters. Heracles also worked together in the Argonaut crew with Jason. All these heroes also tend to share great physical strengths and capabilities to defeat their enemies. These four heroes also differ from each other. Jason seemed to be portrayed as somewhat of a weaker character and Perseus seemed to receive much more help from gods and goddesses, even by Heracles, more than the other heroes did. It may have been because they favored him more. Another distinguishing feature is that Heracles was an average human being before he became immortal. As far as how each hero handles their quests, all four of them seem to mentally be prepared for each quest. They tend to each focus on the task at hand. For example, Heracles labors to catch a deer that is lightning fast; he perseveres for a year before he catches it. They all seem to show dedication and patience to each mission. However unlike Theseus who picks more dangerous routes, maybe for more of a mental challenge, Perseus does not seem to be as mentally focused but more on the physical side of things. Perseus is more physical and does not have to use as much intellectual thinking because he is gifted by nymphs and gods that give him the right tools to succeed on his quest. Heracles stands out as a physical hero since the day he was born by having to fight off the snakes that Hera sent his way and the fact that most of the twelve labors were aimed for his failure yet he succeeds. Another impressive success was the cleaning of the Augean stables by means of diverting 2 rivers. Each of these four heroes has honorable qualities that drives them in their quests and make them compare and contrast to each other.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Rowe and Flexible Work and Success at Best Buy

ROWE and Flexible Work and Success at Best Buy I. Point of View: Consultant II. Statement of the Problem: ROWE program has a difficulty of implementation for retail employees compared to employees in corporate offices and nonretail jobs. III. Objective/s: 1. To identify what are the factors that the ROWE program for retail employee is more difficult to implement. IV. Areas of consideration: 1. With increased productivity, as claimed by the ROWE program, employer expectations of outcome by employees may rise. 2.Retail industry is usually dependent on when the costumer wants to purchase their product, so if the person at the retail store isn’t there when the costumer is there because of â€Å"flexible time schedules† then potential sale could be lost. 3. Employees would want only certain times of the year to meet results. 4. Features of ROWE program. a. No timetables. b. No compulsory meetings. c. No impression-management hustles. d. Work no longer a place to go. Work is something to be done. e. Performance would be based on output, not hours. 5.The basic premise of ROWE was that productivity was the cornerstone of work, and work meant the achievement of results and not presence at the workplace. Accordingly, employees working under ROWE were allowed to work when they wanted and where they wanted, as long as they achieved their targets. 6. Implementing ROWE is not easy. In the first place, it requires a complete overhaul of people's attitudes towards work. Traditionally, employees were programmed to think that displaying a commitment to work by coming in early and leaving late could ensure them success. But this was eliminated as a criterion for judging performance under ROWE.Several employees who were working with ROWE admitted to having misgivings about whether they would be able to cope with the new system. Some people reportedly felt confused about what would be expected from them at the workplace. Staying longest at the office was no longer a g uarantee of success. 7. In theory, ROWE program would work for anyone whose work is project or task based, regardless of whether the employee is an individual contributor or part of a team. 8. After two years, Best Buy saw a 77 percent increase on average in involuntary turnover across three ROWE departments.Meaning, the number of people the company fired for underperformance soared 9. As to legal issue is concerned. ROWE program is complicated when it comes to issues such as nonexempt hourly workers. Law requires that hourly workers log the time they work so that they can be paid overtime if necessary. V. Conclusion & Recommendation: ROWE had several kinks that needed to be ironed out before the program could become a workplace standard. One of the biggest concerns about ROWE was that the difference between the work and personal time of the employees could become blurred. ROWE requires manager to set clear goals and objectives.It requires manager to plan ahead and clearly communica te. The new design required a system in which all employees’ schedules could be accounted for and that everyone is in communication with one another. Invest in technology so that it’s easy for employees to work remotely. This was done through the use of cell phones, since they never knew when or who was in the office and by the managers being informed of their employee’s schedules for that week. The new emphasis placed upon managers trusting their employees is the most crucial change. Trust helps not only improve morale but can also be a strong motivator.When you take the time to trust the people on your team you give them the opportunity to prove themselves. If they succeed it helps twice over, in that not only does the manager know they can do the job but also the employee now knows they can, which strengthens their self-confidence. The beauty of ROWE makes employees accountable to each other, not their managers. It is great to work remotely, but employees los e that sense of unity and teamwork due to the lack to interaction. Implementing ROWE varies on a case to case basis. Whether ROWE or onsite, both options have their pros and cons, so there is no right or wrong options.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Christianity vs. Greek Mythology

Throughout many ages religion has been a very important part of history. It shaped many cultures and allowed us to better understand many civilizations. Two of these cultures are those of the Christians and Greeks. Both have similarities and differences in their religious beliefs that have been compared often and I have chosen to discuss the similarities and differences of Christianity and ancient Greek mythology. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, or belief in only one God, and spiritual practices are based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as written in the New Testament of the Bible, with the role of Jesus as savior and the Son of God. Greek mythology is a polytheistic religion, which is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, called gods and goddesses, belonging to the culture of ancient Greece. Even though their definitions are different, the faith of Christianity and one God and the culture of the Greeks in mythology of many gods are alike in a number of ways. To begin, in both religions humans believe that there are speakers for their God/gods. These people include pastors, priests and nuns in Christianity, and storytellers or prophets in Greek times. Furthermore, the people believe that their God or gods are above humans. Both cultures believe a god is above all mortal and of this earth, and he or she listens to people when they need help, and have supernatural power to help. This is why both the Christians and the Greeks pray to their God and gods for forgiveness. Another similarity between the religious beliefs of these two cultures is that they have explanations for many of ancient mysteries of life and major events on earth. The ancient Greeks and early Christians tried to find an explanation for the evil in the world, and both blame a woman for man’s downfall. Greeks believe a woman named Pandora opened a forbidden box and released all evil into the world. Christians believe a woman named Eve released evil after eating from a forbidden tree. Also, in both the ancient Greek and Christian beliefs of the early world, there exist stories of great floods that destroyed most of humankind. In Greek mythology, Zeus orders a man named Deucalion to make a chest in which he and his family can survive the flood Zeus was going to bring upon the earth. In the Bible, the account of Christian beliefs, God orders a man named Noah to build an ark in which he and his family, and two of each animal, can survive the destruction from a flood God was going to send. War was also a common characteristic of both the ancient Greek world and of the Biblical world. For example, the Trojan War is a major event in Greek history, and is written about most famously in Homer's Iliad. The gods always seemed to play important roles in this war, especially Zeus, Ares the god of war, and the other and goddesses living on Mount Olympus. Wars between Greek city-states were also common, with gods and goddesses almost always involved in them in some way. In similar comparison, the Bible accounts many stories of wars between different countries and religious groups, with God being involved in some way in the outcome or fate of the peoples. One of the most famous examples is the war between the Philistines and the Israelites. In this war, God interfered and sent a small shepherd boy David to save the Israelites. David does so by killing the giant Goliath, a super-human thing he would not have been able to accomplish without God's help. These examples show the cross-cultural belief that war was an important event in the ancient world, and the gods, and God, played significant roles. While Christianity and ancient Greek mythology have many similarities, there are key differences. The main and most obvious difference is that Christian belief is about only one God, and its beliefs and commandments are written about in the Bible. Christians regard the stories told in Bible as actual historical accounts of important people, events and concepts of faith. Greek mythology had 13 major gods and goddesses, and many lesser gods. Different Greek cities also worshipped different deities. There is no book like the â€Å"Bible†, rather many collections of stories that shaped early Greek culture. In short, Greek mythology was created to be the Greek's science for why things happened. Once they thought they figured out how things really happened, the belief in gods and goddesses faded away from Greek culture. The final difference I want to discuss to compare the ancient Greek creation story and that of Christian belief. In the ancient Greek story, at first there was only Chaos, a shapeless mass of darkness and meaninglessness. Out of Chaos came Nyx (night) and Erebus (the unfathomable deep). The first god to come into existence was Gaea, Mother Earth, though no one knows where she came from or how she came into being. Uranus, Father Sky, was born of Gaea as she slept. He became her husband, and together they had many children. One of these first gods’ descendants was Zeus. After much war between the gods and goddesses, Zeus became most powerful and assigned two lower gods the task of populating the earth with mortal creatures. With that task, one of the two gods granted so many gifts on the lower animals that when the time came to create man, there was nothing left. The beasts already had the sharp teeth and claws, the warm fur and feathers, the tough, protective hides, the wings and shells, speed, size, and strength. The wiser of these two lower gods was given task to figure out what gifts to bestow on man. The gods gave man a more noble, upright stance, so man would be above the beasts, with his face turned toward the heavens rather then down toward the ground. He also gave man an intelligence that reached much higher than the beasts’ mere cunning. In the Christian creation story, God was present in the beginning and He created the universe. At first the earth was shapeless and covered in darkness, and God's spirit hovered over the waters. God said, â€Å"Let there be light†. And there was light. God divided the day from the night, naming them ‘ day' and ‘night'. On the second through fifth day God made the heavens, commanded the waters to fill with living creatures and the air to fill with birds. On the sixth day God commanded the earth to bring forth all kinds of living creatures and He saw that it was good. God then said † Let us make man in our own image†. So God created man and woman in his own likeness and gave them authority over all living things. Adam, the first man, was created by God out of soil and given life by God's breath. Adam named all the animals and birds that God had made, But Adam had no companion of his own so God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and created woman – Eve- from one of Adam's ribs. In addition, unlike the beginning void of Chaos in Greek mythology, God is not a void of nothingness, but the beginning of all things. God also remains the ruler of the entire world in Biblical stories, while the Greek Chaos is forced out by several actual divine beings, the most important and permanent of those being Zeus. In conclusion I found there to be many interesting similarities between Christian faith and ancient Greek religious culture, but one final difference is that Christianity is practiced today and the Bible widely read in many countries and published in many languages, while ancient Greek belief system has faded away and become the stories of fantastical books, myths and legends.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

A Memo to the President of the Big Private University

Madam, the recent events that have brought our university within the media’s limelight may possibly give problems to the University, if no immediate action is taken. Allow me to outline the events and the possible NCAA infractions that our university may incur. The University is in the middle of an NCAA-imposed probation. As such, any additional infraction may seriously compromise the university’s status in the NCAA. The following incidents involving our male football team may lead to unwanted additional infractions: a total of 12 student-athletes had grade point averages ranging from 1.60 to 1.75; and Billy Joel, the team’s current quarterback, made an oral agreement on future possible plans with Whitney Houston, a sports agent. Allow me to expound on my point. The fact that five juniors, two sophomores, and five starters on defense have averages from 1.60 to 1.75 goes against the academic standards set my NCAA. The five starters, all of whom were freshmen last year, had averages lower than the NCAA set average of 1.8. The NCAA Backgrounder on Academic Reform clearly states the following: â€Å"Freshmen in college are required to complete 24 hours of course work and have at least a 1.8 grade-point average.† The low GPAs of the other student-athletes may also compromise another rule of the NCAA. The fact that these students have averages ranging from 1.60 to 1.75 may mean that they have failing marks which may greatly affect the completion of their degree requirements. Again, the said backgrounder is univocal: â€Å"Student-athletes entering college are required to complete 40 percent of their degree requirements by the end of their second year, 60 percent by the end of year three, and 80 percent by the end of year four.† I will personally look into this matter and investigate on the completion rates of the degree requirements of these concerned students. Nevertheless I think it is important for your good office to be aware of this potential problem. All in all, this lower than required grade point average of some of our student athletes undermines the NCAA’s set Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 925. Not complying with the APR will mean a contemporaneous penalty for the football team which, in plain language, refers to cuts in financial aids and scholarships granted to individuals in the team. Madam, it is also bothersome that the coaching staff hid these from the school administration. I cannot pinpoint who exactly in the coaching staff is culpable, but once NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions holds its own investigation, the university as an entity might not the only one to be given a sanction; individuals from the coaching staff (and other individuals from related departments) may also be held individually liable and as such, individual sanctions may be imposed against them. The last concern that I think should be brought up to your office is the fact that Billy Joel made an oral agreement with Whitney Houston, a sports agent, as he was threatened by the possibility that Marshall Mathers might take his place as quarterback. Again, NCAA is clear in its memo to directors of athletics dated October 6, 2006, that student athletes are not allowed to have a written or oral agreement with an agent who represents a sports agency. We must bear in mind that even if Joel’s agreement rests on the future possibility of Mathers replacing him, such an oral agreement on future plans is also not allowed: student athletes may not â€Å"agree to be represented by an agent in the future† (NCAA, â€Å"A Career in Professional Athletics: A Guide for Making the Transition,† 2004, p. 26). This also highlights the fact that Mr. Joel did not inform either his coach or his compliance coordinator regarding these matters. These are the NCAA-related concerns that I thought would be best to be brought up to your office. Thank you. References (2006-07). NCAA waiver of initial academic eligibility requirements pursuant to NCAA bylaw 14.3, application instructions. (2006-07). NCAA waiver of initial academic eligibility requirements pursuant to NCAA bylaw 14.3, waiver application. NCAA (2004). A Career in professional athletics: A guide for making the transition. NCAA (2005). NCAA backgrounder on athletic reform. In The online resource for the national collegiate athletic association. Retrieved March 25, 2007, from http://www.ncaa.org/. NCAA (2005).APR questions and answers. In The online resource for the national collegiate athletic association. Retrieved March 25, 2007, from http://www.ncaa.org/. NCAA (2005).Infractions case: Lincoln University. In The online resource for the national collegiate athletic association. Retrieved March 25, 2007, from http://www.ncaa.org/.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

The Philosophy of St. Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Philosophy of St. Augustine - Essay Example As such, St. Augustine himself brought the ‘City of God’ to proposition, synthesizing conception of justice and state under Plato’s theory or that it occurs rather disposed to resemble it. Since ‘justice’ is an entity on which the ‘state’ must be founded, its presence is essential in determining how a good kingdom is like or should be. For St. Augustine, the applicability of justice in this sense may be extended to the measure of happiness for the ruler within a state or kingdom. He concretizes moreover: â€Å"For neither do we say that certain Christian emperors were therefore happy because they ruled a long time, or dying a peaceful death ... or subdued the enemies of the republic ... But we say that they are happy if they rule justly.† On a biblical context, St. Augustine claimed that rulers can satisfy being just if they are capable of delaying punishment yet are ready to pardon and if they necessitate having to employ such pun ishing act upon the government in favor of defending the republic. In ‘The Republic’, this well coincides with Plato’s argument explicating that the elements namely – reason, appetite, and spirit must consist in justice just as they must in state (Ebenstein & Ebenstein, 1990). According to St. Augustine, two cities emerge out of love of self or the earthly love and love of God or the heavenly love. While the love of self is sought based on the approval of men, regardless of God’s judgment, the love of God exists in an individual who primarily seeks God’s glory despite harsh criticisms by other men. As a consequence, the earthly city is composed of nobilities and subjects that are governed by the exercise of authority where pleasing the state seems to form the sole basis and cause either of anxiety or of contentment among people. In the heavenly city, however, it is the Lord’s command that matters most for the people who fear or delight in following his will. The truth behind divine forces or the ways by which God communicates to men in the city of God may, to a certain extent, raise doubts requiring support via evidences that are less abstract than intangible conviction, Nevertheless, St. Augustine’s proposition quite matches the remarkable portion of world history when kingdoms indeed found triumph over all others because they, rulers and subjects alike, had hopes that rested highly on God’s power to vanquish the enemies. When St. Augustine further elaborates that the absence of human wisdom enables godliness and genuine worship of God in the heavenly city, such idea may be perceived to bear consistent thought and agreement with the conception of justice in state. A godly nation with a just king or emperor discerns justice that places no distinction between the rich and the poor or the strong and the weak, only between right and wrong by sensible law, for by the fundamental meaning of the term, it is intended to be carried out at times unjust situations transpire. With the city of God, this condition especially holds for the Lord is considered the supreme being so that all else under him are made equal with each other in view of justice and its righteous function as God himself exhibits no partiality in rendering proper justice on anyone through Christian faith. Much as St. Augustine distinguished between the two cities with opposing characteristics he more so argued about the two types of man

The compromised Neonate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The compromised Neonate - Essay Example Results also showed that the time needed for stabilisation of bilirubin levels increases along with the gestational age of the neonate. In addition, despite the various methods employed for the treatment of neonatal jaundice and the wide ranges in the treatment levels used, there has been an overall median plateau of around 72 hours for the stabilisation of bilirubin levels in most of the neonates. However, because the date of the release of the NICE guidelines was in proximity with the release of this article, it can be inferred that the national guidelines were not yet fully disseminated in most hospitals and other neonatal units during the time the participating units were contacted, as suggested by the conclusion of the article in the high variability and wide variations in the threshold levels used among the 72 units contacted by the researchers. ... r this paper since it discusses both the use of phototherapy to treat neonatal jaundice, as well as in discussing the importance of using guidelines in managing bilirubin levels for improving the symptoms of neonatal jaundice. Physiological Jaundice in the Neonate Jaundice is a condition which is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin or broken down red blood cells in various parts of the body, and is most visible as a yellow discolouration in the sclera of the eyes and on the skin starting from the head and moving down to the lower regions of the body (Robertson & South, 2007). The yellow colour is attributed to the inability of the infants’ bodies to rapidly catabolise foetal red blood cells through the liver and to expel these through bowel movement. While there are two forms of bilirubin circulating in the neonate’s blood: the unconjugated bilirubin (fat-soluble) and the conjugated bilirubin (water soluble), it is the unconjugated bilirubin which causes the yellow discolouration due to its fat-soluble nature earning its capacity to enter cellular membranes and becoming deposited in tissues such as the skin, gums, and eyes (Percival, 2002). As a result the bilirubin that builds up in the bloodstream due to the slow breakdown of red blood cell catabolism can reach to about 5-7mg/dL or 85.5-119.7?mol, binding to fatty deposits within the neonatal body and causing the yellow discolouration (Varney, et al., 2004). This amount of bilirubin build-up in the infant’s bloodstream is enough to give off the typical yellow discolouration of the skin among those affected, with the intensity of the colour associated with an increase in bilirubin accumulation. Up to 50% of neonates are typically affected by this condition and usually does not pose grave problems unless