About Architect Steven Holl, Time, Space, and Light

About Architect Steven Holl, Time, Space, and Light I was in the Washington, DC convention center when Steven Holl accepted the 2012 AIA Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the American Institute of Architects. I listened to Holls watercolor-like speech over the loudspeakers, as I rushed through the hallways, running late.   Architecture is an art bridging the humanities and the sciences, Holl said. We work bone-deep in Art- drawing lines between sculpture, poetry, music and science that coalesce in Architecture. That, I thought, is architecture. Steven Myron Holl is known for his strong viewpoints and his beautiful watercolors. He is constantly painting, both in words and with brushes. He also is known as the thinking mans architect, an intellectual philosopher who connects disciplines. Background: Born: December 9, 1947, Bremerton, Washington Education: 1971, BA, University of WashingtonPostgraduate study in Rome, Italy and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, UK Professional Experience: 1976-present: Steven Holl Architects, stevenholl.com/; Twitter at stevenhollarch1981-present: Tenured Professor of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, NYCChris McVoy, Senior Partner at Steven Holl Architects, co-designs with Holl in addition to his pracitce with Beth ONeill, ONeill McVoy Architects Design Philosophy: Rather than imposing a style upon different sites and climates, or pursued irrespective of program, the unique character of a program and a site becomes the starting point for an architectural idea. While anchoring each work in its specific site and circumstance, Steven Holl Architects endeavors to obtain a deeper beginning in the experience of time, space, light and materials. The phenomena of the space of a room, the sunlight entering through a window, and the color and reflection of materials on a wall and floor all have integral relationships. The materials of architecture communicate through resonance and dissonance, just as instruments in musical composition, producing thought and sense-provoking qualities in the experience of a place. - About Steven Holl Architects, website at www.stevenholl.com/studio.php?typeabout, accessed September 22, 2014 Selected Architecture Projects 1991: Void Space/Hinged Space Housing, Fukuoka, Japan1996: Makuhari Bay New Town, Chiba, Japan1997: Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle University, Washington1998: Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland2002: Memorial Square by Meier, Eisenman, Gwathmey/Siegel, Holl , unrealized proposed design to redevelop Ground Zero, Lower Manhattan2002: Simmons Hall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts2007: Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, New Jersey2007: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building Addition, Kansas City, Missouri2009: Linked Hybrid, Beijing, China2009: Vanke Center Horizontal Skyscraper, Shenzhen, China2009: Knut Hamsun Center, Hamarà ¸y, Norway2012: Expansion Project, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC2012: Danish Natural History Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark2013: Campbell Sports Center, Columbia University, New York2014: Reid Building, The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland2014: Beirut Mar ina at Zaitunay Bay, Beirut, Lebanon 2016: Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa2016: Institute for Contemporary Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia2017: Expansion of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC Furniture: A2-Chair, 2013A-Chair, 1980, 2005Riddled Table, lasercut, 2006, 2007 Awards: 2014: Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award, Japan Art Association2012: Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects (AIA)2010: Jencks Award, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)2009: BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award1998: Alvar Aalto Medal, Finland1998: La Grande Medaille dOr, Academy of Architecture, France1990: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters In the Words of Steve Holl: From the Five Minute Manifesto, 2012 The essential power of Architecture is PARALLAX: the horizontal and vertical movement through forms and light over time, as we- our bodies- pass by, walk up, go inside, walk through inspired space. The joy and ambiguity of SCALELESSNESS excites the imagination through Mysteries of Proportion like Fibonaccis - 0, 1, 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 †¦ - which wakes us to Geometrical Feeling. Forget mono-functional buildings! Make Hybrid Buildings: Living Working Recreation Culture Make a New Fusion of landscape, architecture, and URBANISM, a fusion of luminosity and porosity into Cities of Matter with spirit. Make New Cities- our greatest artwork- with the same urgency as we restore the natural landscape and biodiversity. Selected Writings and Paintings by Steven Holl: Anchoring, Princeton Architectural Press, 1989Edge of a City, Pamphlet Architecture 13, Princeton Architectural Press, 1991Parallax, Princeton Architectural Press, 2000Written in Water, Lars Muller Publishers, 2002House: Black Swan Theory, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007Steven Holl: Architecture Spoken, Rizzoli, 2007Urbanisms: Working with Doubt, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009New Haiti Villages, Pamphlet Architecture 31, Princeton Architectural Press, 2010Scale, Lars Muller Publisher, 2012Horizontal Skyscraper, William Stout Publishers, 2011 Who is Steve Holl? Holl is viewed as assertive by people who are trying to be complimentary, and as a bull in a china shop by people who aren’t, comments architecture critic Paul Goldberger in The New Yorker magazine. Arguably, Holls Vanke Center in China is the architecture that fulfills his philosophical vision. Imagine the Empire State Building on its side, with giant piers cradling the structure several stories above a ground prone to natural disasters. The multi-use horizontal skyscraper incorporates sustainable design and urban planning. Mr. Holl has designed a building that pushes its users to stop and think about the world around them, says Nicolai Ouroussoff in The New York Times. It is an architecture that opens doors to new possibilities. The answers he supplies in all of his designs draw from architecture, of course, but also from engineering, science, art, philosophy, and literature, writes Zach Mortice, Managing Editor of AIArchitect. Holl is the rare architect who can combine these gentlemanly pursuits (he often develops designs by painting them in water colors, for example) and use them as source material and method for buildings that aggressively push the edge of what’s possible. Sources: Lenses on the Lawn by Paul Goldberger, The New Yorker, April 30, 2007; Five Minute Manifesto, Steven Holl, Washington, D.C., AIA Gold Medal Ceremony, May 18, 2012 [accessed October 31, 2014]; Steven Holl, 2014 Laureate in Architecture, The Japan Art Association at www.praemiumimperiale.org/en/component/k2/item/310-holl [accessed September 22, 2014]; Turning Design on Its Side by Nicolai Ouroussoff, The New York Times, June 27, 2011 [accessed November 1, 2014]

Words for Sellers and Makers

Words for Sellers and Makers Words for Sellers and Makers Words for Sellers and Makers By Mark Nichol Several venerable words serve as the base for compounds that refer to people who make or sell things: monger, smith, and wright. Here’s a review of those compounds. Monger, stemming from Old English mangere, meaning â€Å"broker,† â€Å"merchant,† or â€Å"trader,† has been used since medieval times, though for hundreds of years, thanks to the low social status of peddlers, compounds based on this term have had an unsavory connotation. A costermonger sells apples and, by extension, any wares, from a cart; coster comes from Anglo-French or Old French and denotes a particular type of apple with ribs, protuberances (similar to those on a Red Delicious apple. A fishmonger is a seller of seafood, and an ironmonger hawks metal wares. Flà ¦scmangere (â€Å"fleshmonger,† referring to a butcher) did not survive Old English. The term whoremonger was coined to refer to someone who sells sex- a pimp- although it later extended to anyone who purchases the services of prostitutes or otherwise consorts with them. The root has also been associated with people who peddle emotions and ideas: A fablemonger is a liar, a fearmonger or scaremonger is someone who foments anxiety, a gossipmonger spreads rumors or other tidbits about mutual associates, a hatemonger encourages animosity, and a warmonger agitates for bellicose behavior. In Old English, smith referred to a worker in metal, whether someone who crafted practical objects or jewelry; it might originally have even applied to carpenters and craftsmen as well. Most traditional -smith compounds allude directly to the metal worked: goldsmith, silversmith, and tinsmith are transparent, but a whitesmith dealt with pewter, and blacksmith probably referred to the soot and grime associated with working iron and various combinations of it and other alloys; blacksmiths, as the most common of ironworkers, were often referred to simply as smiths. Weaponmakers were represented by the now-obsolete term bladesmith and the later construction gunsmith. Someone who made locks and keys was called a locksmith; that term now refers to those who repair locks or force them open when keys go missing or break off in the lock. The root word was later whimsically attached to tune to denote a songwriter and to word to refer to a writer. Wright, from Old English and meaning â€Å"worker,† was applied specifically to someone who builds things; several compounds that include wright refer to vehicles or their components, including cartwright (cart probably originally referred to wickerwork, an early material used for the body of a cart, chariot, or wagon), wainwright (wain is a cognate of wagon), and wheelwright. A millwright, meanwhile, built mills and mill machinery; like locksmith, the term was later more closely associated with those who maintain equipment rather than make it. A builder of marine vessels was (and still is) called a boatwright or a shipwright. Mason, from the Old French term masson, is represented in brickmason and stonemason. Freemason originated as a term referring to one of a traveling guild of stoneworkers; it now survives as the informal name of a fraternal society. Several theories for the origin of free compete: It may be from the French word frà ¨re, meaning â€Å"brother,† referring to the traditional fraternal nature of masons, or from the fact that they worked on free-standing stones, or because they were independent contractors. Several of these terms survive as surnames: Smith, Mason, Boatwright, Cartwright, and Wainwright. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?44 Resume Writing Tips10 Functions of the Comma

Criminal law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Criminal law - Essay Example The most important thing that needs to be point out in respect of criminal law is that it is based upon actus reus, mens rea and the absence of defences. The element of a reasonable person is required in respect of mens rea and therefore the other element that are required for the offences would not be discussed. Mens rea has been defined as a state of mind, intention or recklessness which is required for a certain crime. There is an ongoing debate and argument in respect of subjectivists and objectivists who tend to argue in different directions. The subjectivists argue that to the minimal level of serious crimes, the mental element that should be required should be awareness of the person’s actions and perceiving the surrounding circumstances as well as the results that would flow from the actus reus. On the contrary, the objectivists the argument rests on the fact that it should be sufficient mens rea if it is proved that a reasonable person would have foreseen the circumstances as well as the results that would flow from the actus reus and would therefore not be dependent on the awareness of the defendant. There have been competing claims which have been put forward by both. In respect of the subjectivists the main argument vests on the fact that there was self governance on the part of the individual who committed the crime and went contrary to the law. The objectivists on the other hand pointed out to the fact that there should be criminal punishment if it is found that his inadvertence was in respect of a substantial and obvious risk of the proscribed harm, which should have been perceived by the defendant. Even though there have been academic opinion that ‘the torch of orthodox subjectivism carried by Glanville Williams and Smith and Hogan and then by the Law Commission should be douse’ (Ashworth, POCL, p.253) it is still what is being followed in respect of serious offences and has been reiterated in the recent case of G1 where Lord Bingham said ‘it is a salutary principle that conviction of serious crime should depend on proof not simply that the defendant caused (by act or omission) an injurious result to another but that his st ate of mind when so acting was culpable. This after all, is the meaning of the familiar rule actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. The most obviously culpable state of mind is no doubt an intention to cause the injurious result, but knowing disregard of an appreciated and unacceptable risk of causing an injurious result or a deliberate closing of the mind to such risk would be readily accepted as culpable also. It is clearly blameworthy to do something involving a risk of injury to another...’ Despite of such an obvious favour being given to the subjectivist approach, there have been objectivist elements in respect of serious offences that have been laid down expressly by House of Parliament in particular sexual offences and certain offences related to money laundering. The element of intention are central to mens rea, however, in respect of the current situation the element of recklessness would be discussed. The situation in respect of criminal law has been that for crime s it was either intention or recklessness that would lead to construal of imposition of liability. In respect of recklessness there are two main elements that need to be construed, the first one being that of subjective recklessness and the other is that of objective recklessness. For establishing subjective recklessness the test that was laid down in Cunningham2 needs to fulfilled, which basically requires that an unjustifiable risk was taken as well as proving the fact that the defendant

Early childhood education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Early childhood education - Research Paper Example Early Childhood Education (ECD) is one of the substantial and essential components for the students that help them grow in every field of their lives that can lead them to the attainment of success, status, and prosperity. With the advancements and developments that the world is encountering, the educational and learning curriculum and the teaching methods have improved and enhanced in a continuous way that have left an indelible impression on the achievement of the student’s progress in a productive and positive manner Education is the learning, knowledge, insight and the information that students get in their academic levels that can provide them with an understanding about how and in which direction to lead their lives. Moreover, quality in education helps the students to make their lives in a much better position as they have the power of knowledge. Due to such importance, that education holds in itself, education, and predominantly early childhood education is one of the prime concerns that cannot come under ignorance. Nonetheless, like any other sphere of influence, the area of education also has numerous issues that the students’ experience in their academic lives (Saracho & Spodek, pp. 1-4). Besides, students have a strong need to develop specific skills that takes account of problem solving, analytical and critical thinking skills in order to survive and cope up the world of global competition. Early childhood educators play an integral role in setting the underpinning for developing the future leaders of the planet. However, with respect to the broad spectrum of early childhood education, the primary and first question that comes to mind is regarding the program of study of the students. Therefore, the thesis statement of the dissertation is â€Å"when designing the curriculum for the preschool of young child’s classroom, what are the prime concern areas, concepts or subjects to focus that can lead to the progress of the student in a most constructive way†. Literature Review According to various researches, it has come under notice that the physical environment of the classroom plays a significant role in the learning styles of the students that has failed to come under notice and ignored to great extent. In addition, these studies conclude that the prime focus of the educators or the teachers is only on pedagogy, content of the core curriculum and interpersonal dynamics, which eradicates their focus from the physical contexts, which is one of the imperative contributors of teaching and learning. The physical environment of the classroom includes the classroom setting as well as the outdoor setting. However, these studies conclude that by changing the classroom environment that persuade and endorse play would facilitate in escalating and promoting literacy activities among children during their early childhood or preschool years (Essa, pp. 189-191). In addition, the environment ought to be such that m ust provide opportunities to the children that can lead them to explore and learn. Studies also exhibit that the arrangement of shelves, comfortable and sturdy furniture, learning materials displayed on shelved and classroom design on an overall basis when taken into strong consideration demonstrates to be very fruitful (Essa, pp. 192-195). According to some schools of thoughts, it has come under observation that teachers and educators of early childhood is another vital and crucial facet that must have a proper background knowledge and information regarding the early childhood education or child development. This is because courses related to such studies provide massive emphasis on the development of the child and the

Compare the Ways the Distinctively Visual Is Created in Run Essay Example for Free

Compare the Ways the Distinctively Visual Is Created in Run Essay Compare the ways the distinctively visual is created in Run Lola Run and in one other related text of your choosing. Distinctively visual texts aim to manipulate the way we explore and interpret the images we see. Critically affecting the way we make interpretations of the experiences we encounter in the world. The distinctively visual represented in Run Lola Run by Tom Tykwer and the Dove Artificial Time Lapse are similar in some elements. Run Lola Run has multiple distinctively visual features throughout the film, but the Dove ad on the overhand has a few techniques or elements thrown into a 2minute short film. Through Tom Tykwer 1998 film Run Lola Run, he presents visual images and reflects the dominance of post modernism in popular culture at the same time. He has included in the film a set of themes/ideas, which characterise the cultural context: e. g. is Fate versus freewill. The colour red appears throughout the film, as a motif representative of different emotions and ideas central to the film’s core message. Red suggests a sense of passion and freedom from inhibition, quintessentially by Lola’s vivid hair. The colour of Lola’s hair makes her distinctive as the protagonist of the film, as well as symbolising her attitude of defiance towards authority and her individualism. Another motif is circles and spirals in the film, they have been incorporated throughout the film, from the various extreme close ups of clocks to the logos upon buildings and personnel uniforms. Further examples include: the Mercedes benz insignia, the various rings that Lola wears around her fingers, the Bolle sign on the wall behind the phone booth where Manni waits for Lola and the spinning spiral at the Spirale Bar. These circles all symbolises the film’s central message that life is circular and cylical; endings are new beginnings and beginnings mark the end of that which came prior. The image of the spiral is used in the film to represent confusion and desperation as well as the interplay between Fate and our own Free will. For instance, a spiral is used to convey Manni’s confusion about the events of the day prior the call to Lola while he is outside the Spirale Bar. This function as a visual metaphor for the idiom â€Å"his life is spiralling out of control†, a potent reminder of the consequences born of bad decision making or apathy about the outcome of one’s existence. In my related text the Dove Artificial Time Lapse it looks our how the media and we deceive beauty. The ad shows a girl who just looks normal nothing special but is turned into a model by the use of different techniques. Lighting is a key element used during the ad. The beginning when the girl comes in and takes a seat they have used low-key lighting to introduce the subject to the viewer. Once the change begins to the girl the lighting changes, high-key lighting is used to highlight the subject as the transformation happens. Another technique used is movement; this refers to the movement of actors or objects known as kinetics, the movement of the camera and the mechanical distortion of movement. The ad has included mechanical distortion and multiple freeze frames or snap shots of a change in appearance to the girl. They have created this by taking multiple photos to show the motion of the clip at a faster pace. By looking at these two texts you can point out the distinctively visuals created by the themes and motifs found in Run Lola Run and The Dove Artificial Time Lapse. They have incorporated many visual techniques to show both these films; although they are two completely different films you can see the similarities between them.

Essay --

GMOs or GI Joes When I first began my research of GMOs, the name always reminded me of GI Joes. Well soon after learning what GMOs, were I quickly found out that the two have no relation. Now as I briefly enlighten you about GMOs, I would like for you to imaging a world where there is no longer starving people. Super powers and third world countries have the technology and the ability to feed its people. This may sound like a fairytale, but the technology is here at our fingertips for us to grasp onto and use. For centuries, man has found ways to manipulate nature and to select crops for more desirable traits. If society were to stumble across a technology that would further advance these selections, it could quite possibly and significantly reduce the number of starving and malnourished people in the world while at the same time benefit the producers. â€Å"The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that farmers will have to produce 70% more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's expected 9-billion-strong population. That amounts to one billion tons more wheat, rice and other cereals.† Less than one per cent of the American population is responsible for growing and harvesting all of the food for this country alone. The demand overseas for American produce varies depending upon the product, but overall exceeds the supply. On the forefront of this worldwide embittering battle to end world hunger and provide cost-effective medicine, society has stumbled across the a nswer known as biotechnology and genetically engineered organisms. In the end, we shall see that the benefits outweigh the negatives. For a number of years now the United States has been the mainstay in the push for biotechnology research and testing... ...advancement has been disproved or legitimately refuted. Of the remaining positions, there are sensible alternatives. In order to protect innocent victims of allergies from blindly consuming potentially toxic elements, producers could label genetically altered products with the added contents. As for the scientific arguments, these have been in place for centuries from the dawn of time. If society has not found an answer to them yet, then certainly they pose no immediate risk and are overshadowed by the potential benefits. In the end, Dennis Avery best describes how the public should react to biotechnology. â€Å"The big truth is that there is no inherent danger from biotechnology, in either food or medicine. We should take the modest risks of researching these powerful technologies because they have the potential to save millions of human lives and our habitats.† Essay -- GMOs or GI Joes When I first began my research of GMOs, the name always reminded me of GI Joes. Well soon after learning what GMOs, were I quickly found out that the two have no relation. Now as I briefly enlighten you about GMOs, I would like for you to imaging a world where there is no longer starving people. Super powers and third world countries have the technology and the ability to feed its people. This may sound like a fairytale, but the technology is here at our fingertips for us to grasp onto and use. For centuries, man has found ways to manipulate nature and to select crops for more desirable traits. If society were to stumble across a technology that would further advance these selections, it could quite possibly and significantly reduce the number of starving and malnourished people in the world while at the same time benefit the producers. â€Å"The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that farmers will have to produce 70% more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's expected 9-billion-strong population. That amounts to one billion tons more wheat, rice and other cereals.† Less than one per cent of the American population is responsible for growing and harvesting all of the food for this country alone. The demand overseas for American produce varies depending upon the product, but overall exceeds the supply. On the forefront of this worldwide embittering battle to end world hunger and provide cost-effective medicine, society has stumbled across the a nswer known as biotechnology and genetically engineered organisms. In the end, we shall see that the benefits outweigh the negatives. For a number of years now the United States has been the mainstay in the push for biotechnology research and testing... ...advancement has been disproved or legitimately refuted. Of the remaining positions, there are sensible alternatives. In order to protect innocent victims of allergies from blindly consuming potentially toxic elements, producers could label genetically altered products with the added contents. As for the scientific arguments, these have been in place for centuries from the dawn of time. If society has not found an answer to them yet, then certainly they pose no immediate risk and are overshadowed by the potential benefits. In the end, Dennis Avery best describes how the public should react to biotechnology. â€Å"The big truth is that there is no inherent danger from biotechnology, in either food or medicine. We should take the modest risks of researching these powerful technologies because they have the potential to save millions of human lives and our habitats.†

Advertisements: How Do They Persuade Us Essay

Advertisements are part and parcel of our lives. Perhaps, they are one of the most decisive and, at the same time, imperceptible factors moulding and channelling our â€Å"purchasing habits,† so to speak. On the face of it, advertisements promote products and services; they create demand by dint of inducing and increasing consumption. Yet, the ways in which they convey their messages have a profound effect on all aspects of our lives: our happiness, our culture, family and interpersonal relations, business, stereotypes, wealth and status, individuality, and so forth. According to Leiss et al. (1990: 1), advertising is ‘a â€Å"privileged form of discourse†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, in that it can attract our attention, insinuating itself into our thought processes and carving out a niche in our lives. As we shall see, advertisements succeed in selling us a lot more than merely products; in fact, they contrive to reconstruct our relations to things and other people—in short, they interfere with our sense of identity, they equate us with things, and manipulate us. Williamson’s observation succinctly encapsulates their power: ‘Advertisements are selling us something else besides consumer goods: in providing us with a structure in which we, and those goods, are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves’ (Williamson, 1978: 13). In the present study we are concerned with how advertisements, or rather ‘ad men’, to quote Packard (1957), persuade us to buy their products, and exploit our â€Å"hidden† needs—both processes taking place beneath our level of awareness. See more:  First Poem for You Essay In searching for more effective ways of persuading people to buy goods, a great many merchandisers or ‘probers’ (Packard, 1957) turned to psychologists in order to gain insights into the deepest recesses of the psyche and the factors that motivate people, and then to capitalise on their expectations and fears. Equipped with this knowledge, ad men nowadays exert a remarkable influence on people’s habits and conceptualisation of the world and themselves in relation to values—values which are, in great measure, determined by the marketplace. Packard (1957: 14), perhaps one of the most vehement critics of â€Å"the hidden persuaders† who have ensnared us by appealing to our unconscious or subconscious needs, eloquently captures the â€Å"state of the art†: The symbol manipulators and their research advisers have developed their depth view of us by sitting at the feet of psychiatrists and social scientists (particularly psychologists and sociologists) who have been hiring themselves out as ‘practical’ consultants or setting up their own research firms. These ‘motivation analysts’ have definitely become our shamans who, ‘having helped to inspire the fear of the devil [in us], [they offer] redemption’ (Bolinger, 1980: 2) by means of the products they sell. They are not only interested in moving their merchandise off the shelves; they are actually seeking out powerful communicative cues, ‘a discourse through and about objects’ (Leiss et al. , 1990), which will weld together people, products, and cultural models. In view of this, ‘we no longer buy oranges, we buy vitality. We do not buy just an auto, we buy prestige’ (Packard, 1957: 15). The sale of ‘self-images’ (ibid. ) is now the norm. Advertisements barely focus on products alone; it is the prospective buyers that they make â€Å"overtures† to—which is mirrored in the language used and in such features as the colours in the ad, its layout, and so on (we will consider some of these aspects in due course). As Ewen (1976, cited in Leiss et al. 1990: 23) notes, advertisers have effected a ‘self-conscious change in the psychic economy’ by inundating the marketplace with suggestions that consumers should buy goods in order to enter realms of experience previously unfamiliar to them. Gradually then, advertising has become a ‘highly organized and professional system of magical inducements and satisfactions’ (Williams, 1980 [1962], cited in Leiss et al. , 1990: 25) which can sell us emotional security, reassurance of wealth, ego-gratification, creative outlets, love objects, a sense of power and roots, and immortality (see Packard, 1957: 66-74 for further details). Many people would, at this juncture, hasten to defend advertising on the grounds that the consumer is a rational decision maker who avails herself of technology; advertising cannot create new needs but can only help increase or speed up consumption (Schudson, 1984, cited in Leiss et al. , 1990: 36); and without the help of advertising, consumers would have limited information about the products circulating around them. What they lose sight of, though, is the fact that ‘[w]e never relate to goods only for their plain utility; there is always a ymbolic aspect to our interactions with them’ (Leiss et al. , 1990: 45). Now that we have briefly outlined the â€Å"state of the art,† we move on to the actual study of advertisements and the ways in which they persuade us. There are many approaches to this end, but we will draw upon two: semiology, or the study of signs, and content analysis. Semiology, on the one hand, is concerned with the emergence and â€Å"movement† of meaning within the text and between the text and the world surrounding it. Content analysis, on the other, focuses on the surface meaning of an ad, detecting similarities and differences. Indisputably, the growing predominance of visuals in ads has resulted in a kind of ambiguity of meaning, which renders the interpretation of the message more complex and challenging. Earlier advertisements explicitly stated the message by describing the product and adducing arguments in its favour. In the 1920s, however, visuals were more frequently used, and these two, text and visual, became complementary. Still, in the 1960s, the text shifted away from describing the visual toward a more elaborate and mystic form, whereby it functioned as a â€Å"key† to the visual (Leiss et al. 1990: 199). Against this background of radical changes in the form and content of advertisements, the abovementioned approaches, semiology and content analysis, offer us an insight into the structures of ads and help throw light on the subtle elements, expectations and assumptions, with which they are imbued. Roland Barthes (1973, cited in Leiss et al. , 1990: 200-201), following Ferdinand De Saussure’s tradition, divides a sign into two components: the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the material object; the signified is its abstract meaning. Let us illustrate this with Barthe’s own example: Roses signify passion or love. If we analyse their â€Å"meaning,† we have three elements: the signifier—the roses; the signified—passion or love; and the sign—the â€Å"passionified roses† as a whole. Of course, there is nothing inherently â€Å"passionate† or â€Å"amorous† about roses; they are viewed as such within the context of western culture. In another culture, roses could signify something different, even the opposite of passion or love. Thus, any interpretation of advertisements from a semiotic perspective is bound up with cultural norms and values which may be at odds with those operating in different cultures or different systems of meaning. After all, the power of advertisements lies in, and appropriates, these very norms and values, with a view to reconstituting reality, while â€Å"tinging† it with an arcane suggestiveness and elusiveness. Drawing upon several advertisements, we will endeavour to probe into the ‘probers’’ minds, weaving the two approaches together. More specifically, we will focus on the rhetorical devices employed (e. . , metaphors, metonymy, jingles, etc. ), as well as the ways in which the text and the visual element prevail upon us to react, i. e. , to buy the product (e. g. , their proclivity for creating a problem, only to consign it to the â€Å"omnipotence† of the product, their spatial arrangement, etc. ). Unfortunately, an in-depth analysis is outside the remit of this study. Let us consider the following ad: A black Ford Zetec covers two pages in the magazine, while the text reads: â€Å"When the lorry in front loses its load, most drivers would find themselves losing control. Not if you’re driving the new 2. 0 litre Ford Focus Zetec ESP. One of the first cars in its class available with an Electronic Stability Program. ESP constantly assesses the angle you are steering against information received from sensors on the behaviour and direction of the car. By reducing engine power and braking individual wheels it helps you to maintain control and stability, allowing you to stay on track. It’s almost like it knows what to do before you do. So sit back, enjoy the ride and expect more. † And the motto just above the car is: â€Å"just steer. This common, albeit â€Å"catchy,† ad addresses the prospective buyer directly through the use of the pronoun you. What is more, the strategy it employs is that of creating a problem—or rather setting a scene familiar to many a driver (â€Å"When the lorry in front loses its load, most drivers would find themselves losing control. †) Only in the first sentence is there any mention of â€Å"most drivers†Ã¢â‚¬â€apparently in order to juxtapose them to you, the prospective buyer. â€Å"You† are not like â€Å"most drivers† because â€Å"you† are driving â€Å"the new 2. 0 litre Ford Focus Zetec ESP. Another device employed in the ad is the use of personification, as in â€Å"ESP constantly assesses†¦it helps you†¦It’s almost like it knows†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The new Ford Focus is more of a jinee in a bottle waiting for you to rub it than merely a car. All â€Å"you† have to do is â€Å"sit back, enjoy the ride and expect more,† revelling in the security its omnipotence affords. Finally, the pun in â€Å"just steer,† referring to the actual steering of the vehicle and, only obliquely, to the idiom â€Å"to steer clear of,† consciously or unconsciously, dares us to pop into the car and drive, reminding us of our inability to resist the temptation vs. he omnipotence of the vehicle. As Williamson observes, ‘puns perform the correlating function seen in all ads, but in a way that begs to be deciphered†¦condensation draws together both the denoted and connoted meanings of the ad, therefore making a deterministic connection between them’ (Williamson, 1978: 87). Yet, not all ads are so straightforward and direct. Let us examine the following ad (found in Williamson, 1978: 25). The ad shows Catherine Deneuve’s face and a Chanel No 5 bottle. There is no text linking these two; they are simply juxtaposed. But are they really linked, in the first place? One could say that they are supposed to be linked, in terms of an assumption that they are inextricably related. This link, though, is arbitrary, drawing upon our knowledge of a glamorous world of films and magazines, which Deneuve has come to be associated with. Thus, in juxtaposing her face, which signifies beauty and glamour, with Chanel No 5, there is a â€Å"latent† transference of meaning from Deneuve’s face to the product, and back again. Not only is her face rendered an object that is summoned to â€Å"argue† in favour of the product, but it also depends on that product for the beauty and glamour ascribed to it. Here, the use of language is irrelevant, as the ad appropriates the relationship obtaining between signifier (Catherine Deneuve) and signified (glamour and beauty). In other ads, the visual, not only complements, but virtually transcends, the text, to convey a meaning which is not always easy to decipher. Consider the Gordon’s Gin ad, where there are two different photographs of a famous actor of the 1950s, the second one being obviously altered to the point where the actor is barely recognisable. On the left side of the first photo, there is a text in italics, reading: Gordon’s is made with the pick of the Tuscan Juniper. On the right side of the second photo, the text written in a regular typeface reads: â€Å"Other gins are made with what’s left. † Finally, at the bottom of the page, there is a Gordon’s Special Dry London Gin bottle in the middle of the sentence: â€Å"If you’re not drinking (bottle of Gin) what are you drinking? † Apparently, the significance of the ad resides in assumptions and values outside its ‘grammar’ (Williamson, 1978). First of all, the juxtaposition of the two photographs appropriates the general belief that a good photograph means good quality, which then invites the reader to make the connection between he quality of the first photograph with that of the product through the association of the text in italics with the first picture, and the regular text with the second. Furthermore, the thin typeface (i. e. , italics) stands in stark contrast to the regular text, as it is associated with glamour and prestige and arouses â€Å"elegant† feelings. So, the last sentence â€Å"If you’re not drinking (bottle of Gin) what are you drinking? † could easily be rephrased as: â€Å"If you’re not one of those who prefer our gin, then who are you? Once again, the product is â€Å"put on a pedestal,† while tinkering with our desire for approval, that is, suggesting to us that we will find our identity only if we indulge in it. In addition, the use of the calligram, i. e. , the picture of the bottle, instead of the words naming it, establishes the product as something that has a substance all its own, which is beyond words. As Williamson (1978: 91) has noted, the calligram playfully seeks to erase the oldest oppositions of our alphabetical civilisation: to show and to name; to figure and to speak; to reproduce and articulate; to look and to read†¦[It is a] double trap, an inevitable snare.

Proposal for Inventory System Essay

In today’s global world, access to basic and quality healthcare is crucial and imperative in order to have a good and healthy life. In view of this, access to quality and affordable drugs is a basic raw material in enhancing good and quality healthcare. It is therefore necessary and important to ensure that patients can easily get access to quality, un-expired and affordable drugs for the treatment of their diseases and sicknesses. Most importantly the efficiency with which these services are carried out can go a long way to save lives and improve upon the health status of individuals. Medisol Pharmaceutical Company Limited is a private retail pharmaceutical company established in Ghana and their main focus is to regularly sell pharmaceuticals, skin care products, baby care products and cosmetics to its customers. The company makes continuous efforts to maximize client’s satisfaction by providing good customer service and also segmenting their market so as to enable customers have easy access to their sales outlets. The company has its head office at Kanda and two other branches at west legon and kasowa respectively with their main target groups being the general public. Medisol Pharmaceutical Company ltd. has two major departments namely the Finance/Administrative Department and the Retail Department which are directly under the supervision of the CEO. The company has numerical staff strength of five (5) comprising of a CEO, a superintendent pharmacist, pharmacist, an accountant and a medicine counter assistant. Below is an organogram of Medisol Pharmaceutical company ltd. The Finance/Administrative department which is headed by the accountant handles mainly the financial and administrative tasks of the company. The company’s Retail Department serves as a liaison between Medisol and its customers and is headed by the Medicine Counter Assistant. The main responsibilities of this department are to manage the retail stock, sell items to customers and submit weekly reports to the CEO. Medisol’s operations are solely manual; as our team got to the company we were privileged to speak to the head of the retail department who explained thoroughly to us how the manual process takes place. The process starts with stock purchase where the medicine counter assistant makes a list of all needed items to be bought. This list is sent to their wholesalers for delivery of the items. Upon delivery, the items are crossed checked with the order list made and a sales invoice is then given to Medisol which is then filed in a purchasing file. Items to be sold are arranged on shelves with price tags on each item. Details of items sold are recorded in a sales book. Retail stocks are taken three times in a month and the process used is as follows; -Drugs on the shelves are counted and the quantity is crossed checked with the sales invoice kept in the purchase file(which shows quantity of items bought ), this is done to know the quantity of items sold -The quantity of sold items is then crossed checked from the sales books to further check if the items were really sold, expired or stolen. This process helps them to know how much items have been sold, how much stock is left and also determine whether to make an order or not. Medisol also has a special way of identifying expired drugs so that they won’t be sold to customers, with this the medicine counter assistant prepares a manual list of drugs whose expiry date falls within a particular year hence every six months this list is checked for drugs which have their expiry dates closer or already expired. Those almost about to expire are sold faster while those already expired are cleared from the shelves and discarded. In today’s world it is impossible to compete in the job market without a working knowledge of IT. It is therefore imperative that Medisol Pharmaceutical Company Limited implement and invest into good inventory control management system that have the ability to track, report and replenish stock. This will then improve accuracy and enhance safety and efficiency thereby helping the resale department decrease stock errors. This solution is intended to help the department to manage all transactions of received stocks, price, quantity and invoice. Security of this system will be enhanced, making it impossible for items to be misplaced or stolen. The benefits of the computerized inventory control system to Medisol Pharmaceutical Company ltd. is to make inventory decisions that minimize the total cost of inventory, which is distinctly different from minimizing inventory. It is often more expensive to run out of an item (and thus be forced to obtain it through more expensive channels) than simply to keep more units in stock. Several models have been proposed in the literature for minimizing the total cost of inventory through the use of an economic order quantity, which attempts to balance the carrying costs of inventory with the cost of running out of an item. Most pharmacy inventory decisions involve replenishment–how much to order, when to decide to order, and when to place the order.

SHALL WE OR SHALL WE NOT HIRE POLICE OFFICERS BASED ON GENDE essays

SHALL WE OR SHALL WE NOT HIRE POLICE OFFICERS BASED ON GENDE essays SHALL WE OR SHALL WE NOT HIRE POLICE OFFICERS BASED ON GENDER OR MINORITY ISSUES? We should not hire people based on gender or minority issues because everybody has different skills and capabilities to perform specific tasks. If we talk about gender issues... well, women are very good in certain aspects, for example, organization and communication... when men have other traits, such as physical strength. If we talk about minority issues... well, people is different... there are many different cultures in the world. Its call diversity. So, if we hire diverse people, we have more probability to find a solution for an specific problem with specific people... For example: An east Indian has decided to kill himself by jumping from a building. The police arrives and surrounds the building. The guy is about to jump, while the cops yell at him orders... But the guy doesnt understand a word... he doesnt speak English very well. So, what to do? Just call the east Indian officer (which is woman, haha) and let her talk with him. She will probably save his life. That is another reason to hire women in the police department. Women tend to use dialogue most of the time to solve their conflicts. Men dont. Men are usually more aggressive, and tend to use their physical strength. So... it is better to have diverse people to develop different tasks. Depending on the situation. At the end I believe that the real question would be... should we hire police officers, or should we hire big guys? If we think about it, it doesnt matter how physically strong is a police officer when you have a problem like in the example. In that case what you need is a person that has good communication skills, that is intelligent, (and last but not least), that is bilingual. Variety is good. Joining different people with different capabilities will give us a stronger police department (or whatever is the case) as a re ...

That Is vs. Which Is

That Is vs. Which Is That Is vs. Which Is That Is vs. Which Is By Mark Nichol This generation, like every one before it and every one to follow, has the dubious pleasure of seeing evolution of language in action. The changes are obvious to careful writers, as they notice with distressingly increasing frequency the erosion of a distinction between words with similar but divergent meanings (for example, anxious versus eager) or a relaxing of a grammatical rule. One example of the latter that is near or at its tipping point (in this case, the point at which a grammatical error becomes so ubiquitous as to widely be deemed acceptable) is the distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive, or essential and nonessential, clauses. Throughout the modern era, at least in American English, careful writers have honored a distinction between the use of â€Å"that is† and â€Å"which is† and, universally, the insertion or omission of punctuation to begin or bracket a subordinate clause. For example, the sentences â€Å"The dog that has a bone is well trained† and â€Å"The dog, which has a bone, is well trained† have distinct meanings signaled not only by the difference of a word but also the use of parenthetical punctuation in the latter sentence. For the sake of promoting unambiguous communication, such statements as â€Å"The dog which has a bone is well trained† is avoided (though such usage is common in British English). The phrase â€Å"that has a bone† in â€Å"The dog that has a bone is well trained† provides essential information: More than one dog is visible to the speaker or writer and the observer or reader, and the person making the statement is providing an additional detail to direct the other person to one dog in particular. By contrast, â€Å"The dog, which has a bone, is well trained† likely refers to a scenario in which only one dog is present. The sentence does not specify whether one or more other dogs are in the vicinity, because such information is irrelevant. The phrase â€Å"which has a bone† is providing additional, nonessential information to the base sentence â€Å"The dog is well trained.† Unfortunately, writers often fail to observe the distinction, and even more unfortunately, many of these writers are paid to write; their content is published online and in printed publications that many other people read, and many of these other people see the erroneous content, accept it (it’s published, after all, so it must be correct- right?), and consciously or unconsciously imitate it. Eventually, the tipping point is reached, and (for better or worse) wrong becomes right. A case in point, with not one but two identical grammatical violations: One writer said of two much-anticipated films, â€Å"Before giving us his upcoming Blade Runner sequel that’s shrouded in mystery, director Denis Villeneuve has the sci-fi movie Arrival that is getting incredible  word of mouth.† By including the phrases â€Å"that’s shrouded in mystery† and â€Å"that is getting incredible word of mouth†- with that in place of which and without parenthetical punctuation- the writer creates the impression that the phrases are essential. Evidently, more than one Blade Runner sequel is imminent, and one of them, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is shrouded in mystery. (Presumably, the other is not- or the others are not.) In addition, of two or more movies titled Arrival, one is getting incredible word of mouth. (Presumably, the other is not- or the others are not.) What the writer should have written is â€Å"Before giving us his upcoming Blade Runner sequel, which is shrouded in mystery, director Denis Villeneuve has the sci-fi movie Arrival, which is getting incredible  word of mouth.† This sentence describes two unique films, one of which is shrouded in mystery and one of which is getting incredible word of mouth. The phrases that provide those additional details are bracketed by commas to signal that the details are not necessary for one to understand the basic fact that two films directed by the same man are being released in sequence. (The additional information is potentially intriguing but not essential.) I’ve noticed the lack of distinction between essential and nonessential clauses more and more often over the years, not because I’m more observant than before but because the erosion is more common than it used to be. I know that such evolution is inevitable, but as with any change, one can accept the inevitability yet still resist it. More than that, it is the responsibility of all careful writers to do so. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and ToesDisappointed + PrepositionWhile vs. Whilst

Holy Wear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Holy Wear - Essay Example ated places that the believers in the faith consider as sacred, such as Gaya in Buddhism, Kasi in Hindu religion, Mecca and Medina in Islam and Jerusalem in Christianity. Conventional philosophy believes that sacred or holy things exude â€Å"potent meanings and significances† to believers and the presence of such things offers some â€Å"inherent benefits† (23). On the other hand, the postmodern view on the sacred deviate drastically from the traditional view, which contends that the meanings to the holy are not inherent but attributed by the believers as an outcome of their â€Å"cultural practice† (23). It, therefore, transpires that illogical or irrational notions such as sacred derive from communal and social practices of certain dominant cultures like Greek civilization as well as the customs being followed within various religions. My photographic project called â€Å"Holy Wear† incorporates the philosophy of Roland Barthes, which identifies culture as the â€Å"contract arrived at† between the creators of art and its consumers (Barthes 1981:27). In this context, the photograph of the monk illustrates the Lama culture and imbibes in the viewers a sense of holyness in his attire, which represents sacredness for the believers in Buddhist religion. Thus, irrespective of logic or rationality, the audience of the photo associate holynesss to the clothes worn by the monk because the cultural practices have informed them that the attire of the monk is a â€Å"Holy Wear.† Similarly, the attire and appearance of the Hindu saint will inspire awe and a sense of holiness in people practicing Hindu religion or those who understand various cultural nuances relating to that religion. Therefore, it can be construed that the emotions and sensations that these photographs emulate derive not from any logic o r rational appreciation of the meaning of sacred or holy but due to the association of the images to various cultural practices. The photographs also validate Barthes’

Social groups Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social groups - Essay Example The podcasts portray targeted actions that cause immense psychological or even physical injuries to the victims. Just as with any other form of crime, the actions of the perpetrators did not only disregard the basic rights of the victims but also caused them varied forms of injuries. However, the listening process elicited a number of emotions beginning with anger especially after assuming the position of the people the various speakers discriminated. After listening to the experiences of the speakers a sense of guilt engulfed me because I have often prejudged others based on their physical appearance. Hate crimes have varied psychological effects both to the perpetrators and to the victims. Most victims often suffer from depression and anxiety among other psychological distress. Such victims may often acquire antisocial behavior while others may develop an equal measure of hatred for others thus decide to retaliate whenever possible. The psychological effects are varied and systemat ic. As explained earlier, hate crime affects the identity and self-esteem of the individual victims. The crime affects the minority group thus instigating a social disharmony in the society. The society acquires a systematic disruption as people form groups with people of similar identities. Listening to the seven sections of the broadcast presented the diverse nature of hate crime prevalent in the society. The section included racial discrimination, gender based discrimination and other prejudiced comments against individuals.