The difference Between Indonesian and Amercian Culture Research Paper

The difference Between Indonesian and Amercian Culture - Research Paper Example In this way, they vary in social, religious, and language functions that contribute in the virtues and traits that people adhere to. The Indonesian and American culture have different characteristics as discussed below (Wanning). Indonesian Culture The Indonesian culture is basically focused on their ethnic customs and a bit of foreign practices. Their official language is called Indonesian or in their terms â€Å"Bahasa Indonesian† which was formed through the Malay dialect. There are other regional dialects that the people of Indonesian use like Minangkabau or Javanese, which are spoken at home, or social places. However, the official language â€Å"Indonesian† is acceptable in schools, official functions, and at workplaces (Forshee 47). Indonesians appreciate the value of communal effort by coming together in groups, village, or island to complete tasks. They mainly define themselves in terms of ethnic setting, family, and birth place. Indonesian family structure is largely traditional in nature while members of the family adhere to strict roles and interdependence eon each other. Hierarchical relationships are vital to ensure that respect is given to individuals with status, power, position, and even age. This is common in the village administration and office where the senior person has the right to generate ideas and decisions. The superiors are refereed by â€Å"bapak† or â€Å"ibu† which is a title that means leader, father, or madam (Forshee 44). Indonesian strive to maintain group unity and therefore, the idea of â€Å"face† is crucial. It is apparent that the people try enormously to avoid causing shame â€Å"malu† especially in public places. In this way, they watch how they speak and interact by avoiding behaviors of ridicule or shouting at another person. In the same manner, they ensure that one does not blame another in public. For instance, they phrase words in a way that the other individual would not be offended even when being turned down. It is actually true that the words â€Å"yes† and â€Å"no† have more than twelve meanings for each of them that are used politely (â€Å"The Latest! Cultural Clues†¦.†). Greetings within the Indonesian community take a formal notion and this is appreciated as a way of showing respect. Handshakes is the form of greeting and followed by the term â€Å"Selamat,† while most Indonesians often give a slight bow, or place the hands on the heart after the hand shake. When a visitor is introduced a group of people, one must greet the eldest person first and use their titles to show respect. When it comes to giving gifts the process will be determined by the ethnicity of the receiver. For instance, is a person is of Chinese Indonesian descent, it is good to initially refuse a gift before taking it. This is an indication that the receiver is not a greedy person and therefore acceptable in the community. This community also advocates that items like scissors and knives cannot be given as gifts because it signifies trying to split a relationship. For Indonesian Muslims alcohol is forbidden and all gifts must be â€Å"halal.† Items that are not halal are things that include alcoholic components and those with pork byproducts like gelatin. Gifts must be given to the receiver using the right hand only to indicate respect and should not be unwrapped immediately (â€Å"The Latest! Cultural Clues†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Dining i s done in a relaxed and organized manner in Indonesian culture. Food is set in the middle and visitors have to wait for an invitation before beginning to eat. Dressing among Indonesians is conservative especially among the women. Women put on clothes that must cover everywhere including the ankles and neck. In business

Challenges in the 21st Century Police Force

Challenges in the 21st Century Police Force What are the Challenges a Police Force face in a diverse Society? A diverse society is a society in which there are different kinds of people, different races such as black, white, Asian, Mexican etc. The theory of diversity includes acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique and knowing individual differences. These can be along the magnitudes of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, physical abilities, socio-economic status and religious beliefs. This essay will explain in detail these main challenges that police face in a diverse society. Diversity in the police force is one of the most major aspects that should be looked at. This is because of the outcome that it is most likely to have on the effectiveness and the overall perception of the police force. Policing is one of the most vital requirements of a non-violent living of society. Policing can be seen as overseeing others ensuring that they keep to law and order. As a result the most significant work of the police is to implement public orders and ensure that they abide by the law. The police force is given the order of imposing law in society. It makes sure people practice their individual rights but in doing so they do not obstruct the rights of others to practice their rights too. The police force is also given responsibilities to oversee the public relationship. In servicing the public, the police therefore are involved in an arrangement of activities that are meant to ensure a supportive atmosphere of life in the public. In this regard, they adapt important functions like management and directing of traffic, be present at emergencies, directing tourists, and other purposes further than their ordinary tasks of arresting and punishing law breakers. For that reason we can say the community needs regulating by the police in order to be operational. This shows that they will need to be in full effect in their work in order for them to deal with a number of different issues that arise in the running of order in public. It will be essential if police are well equipped, organized and well adapted to these challenges. The public is diverse so is the complications so the police will need to be highly prepared to address this in public. And so, one of the most vital problems that in the police force that it becomes a necessity to look into is diversity in their training and in their plan for the police force in order to address situations effectively. Disappointment to deliver services will not be the only bad outcome of lack of diversity but it will also be compounded. It has been shown that the malfunctioning of the police force is increasing rapidly as a result of lack of doubt and faith between different ethnic groups depending on the way they feel represented in the force. In major cities around the world, there has been increasing conflicts between the ethnic minority groups and the majority of the police force, for example in the US conflict is constantly accumulating between the white police and the Black American youths who feel that they are not represented in the police force. Race plays a factor, to the extent that it’s a white officer and a black victim. Black people were subject to unusual policing, and depicted by the media, politicians and criminal justice agents as a ‘social problem’ and demonised as ‘folk devils’. Consequently, this could lead to the public being reluctant to give information to the police for that reason this undermines the issue of communicating police. The public or the police are also likely to decline or appear as a witness due to the relationship between the two which becomes non-existent. It has been shown that some of the crimes that are committed particularly in the low income areas are due to marginalisation of these areas since they are not well represented in the police force. (Spencer and Hough 2000, p.82) The minute the marginalised groups feel that they have been disregarded and not well represented, they may resort to organising as well as joining criminal gangs and criminal activities which take on the role of protecting their area and the public where police have been unsuccessful. This will also lead to police orders not being recognised in the marginalised groups subsequently they may not feel as part of the larger society. In some instances it has been shown that the lack of integration of the marginalised groups in the police force can result to anxiety and in some cases riots. There have been several claims that the communities who felt side-lined always feel like they are victimized by the police force and are almost certainly likely to rise against some police orders. Between the 6th and 10th of august 2011 thousands ofpeoplein the UK were rioting in several boroughs in London and many cities and towns. This was due to the protest against the death of a local who was shot dead by police without reason, violence then began, destroyed homes, police vehicles, andbusinessof citizens and even magistrate’s court of London. The following reasons can be outlined as basic reasons for the riots; poor relationship between the police and communities, especially where a ‘stop and search’ occurred whilst some deliberately engaged in the riots to loot without any consequence and others engaged deliberately to attack the police. As we mentioned there is a possibility of growth within street groups/gangs which take on the role of the police. This makes the streets more dangerous not only for the police but also for the community and a breeding ground for unlawful criminal activities. (Arvind 1999, P.270) There has been an increase in diversity in the UK society since 1960s. This was due to the increased rate for global order that was taking place as well as the growth of the economic system that gave rise to different classes in society. There was also the enactment of new legislations which were all intended at winding the right of the previously marginalised group. Incidentally these acts were looking towards generating a more lawful society where individuals coexisted as one and where there A number of legislations that were put in place since then to address the necessities of marginalised groups. The sexual Act 1967 was enacted in the awareness of legalising and protecting homosexuality which was practiced by a minority group in the UK society. In 1970 the Equal Pay Act was to create more fairness in the workplace and to decrease the growth in segmentation of the society into classes. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 was to defend individuals from being discriminated on the foundations of their sex particularly in employment and in other public places. In 1976 the Race relations Act was to address the issue of discrimination according to race. This was aimed at protecting the human rights of minority races in the UK. In the recent past there has been way of Human Rights Act 1998 which prolonged the protection in contradiction of discrimination on the ground of religion. All the above represents laws that have been put in place in the UK in order to bring some equality. This has been due to the awareness that society in the UK is facing numerous challenges. With such consciousness the government has been in the lead in safeguarding the laws to lookout for diversity and to protect all individuals. ( Skalnick and Fyfe 2005,) Nevertheless there have been efforts by the government to address the issue of diversity in society; still there are some problems that the police force in the UK is facing. One of the foremost problems that have been affecting the public is gene hunt attitudes. This has been led by the opinions in society that there are some who are more superior to others and some who can accomplish better than others. This is evident to the belief that police men are better than police women and consequently there has been a twisted recruitment and employment in the police force. This issue has been dealt with in a comprehensive manner but it still remains a matter in the police force. On the other hand there are other problems that have been there and are still present. One of such problems has been racism and ethnicity. The issue of racism has not only been mirrored in the police force itself but has also caused an effect on the relationship between the police and the public. For example there are some races that are imposed to abrupt stop and search in the public as mentioned earlier. It has been publicised that Black youth and Asians are imposed to this form of inequality by the police force. The use of stop and search powers by the police has been the most controversial issue in debates about policing ethnic minority communities. Specifically for young black men the humiliating experience of being stopped repeatedly and searched is a fact of life, in some parts of London at least. Also research evidence shows that in general, people who are seen as ‘white’ tend to have a more satisfactory experience of the police than people whose ancestry lies in Asia, Africa and the ‘islands of the sea’. Inside the police force there has been animosity on the mode of promotion as the proportion of ethnic minority officers at constable and advanced level remains low compared to others. The numbers of ethnic minorities at the higher ranks of the police service inappropriately continue to be low – only 45 ethnic minorities were ranked at Superintendent and above in 2006 in comparison to 1,634 white people ( Minsitry of Justice 2007) In 2004, a report for the Morris Inquiry by Assistant Commissioner/Policeman Tarique Ghaffur found black and Asian officers are expected to be investigated twice as likely or receive formal written warnings compared to other officers. This indicates that the issue of ethnic issues and racism is not only reflected in the policing of the public but it is also a problematic within the police force itself. In this regard the majority of white police officers have been shown to be mistreating their black and Asian counterpart based on holding of ethnic minority suspects. (Rowe 2004, p. 71) An additional problem that the police force has been facing is gender issues. Historically there has been improvement on this subject. There was not at all any woman in the UK police force till the development of Women’s Police Service (WPS) in London in 1914. This was formed by Suffragette and anti-slavery complainers Margaret Dawson and Nina Boyle. Yet there was still no connection the Metropolitan police force. At that time the Chief commission permitted those to patrol the setter, to take on rescue work on prostitutes; however they were issued with identity cards. Female police were seen as a side police to assist the main police force to deal with petty/minor issues. In 1915 the Police in Grantham, Lincolnshire became initially the first to recruit women officially in the force with Mrs. Edith Smith becoming the first female police officer to be granted the power to arrest. In 1918 the metropolitan’s police selected 25 women for the world of patrol but they were not given power to arrest till 1923 to 1930 (Westmarland 2001, p.93) Even though they were included in the police force, women continue as a separated force from the main police force. Nonetheless this was brought to an end with the enactment of the Equal Pay Act of 1970 which required police authority to take stock. In 1973 there was a move with the integration of the women’s police service in the main police force. This was 150 years since the development of the Metropolitan Police. ( Brown and Heidersohn 2000) For all that time whilst there was low presentation of women in the police force, many problems were experienced with the treatment of the cases regarding women. Increased rates of rape were becoming common and most of these cases were not well controlled by the male officers who had the same male ego with the rapists. Victims of these occurrences were not able to talk to female officers who could have understood them well and better. Even by late 1990s there was still not a professional force that could carefully deal with the issue of rape. In this year the Met Assistant Commissioner agreed with the notion that the police force could be making a contribution to low convincing rates for rapists due to lack of professionalism in their work. This is evident to primary evidence kits which are used to take urine samples and mouth swabs before a medical examination takes place which was only used in only 1/3 of all the instances that they were likely to be used. (Cater Collin 2004) Sexuality is also an issue as far as diversity in the police force is fretful. There has been many assumptions that has been made with regards to this issue that homosexuality is likely to effect the police. There has been gradual acceptance since 1960s with the legislations that were made. In 1990 the development of the gay police association including high profile police included high profile police offences which led to an increase in complaints of homophobic among police officers. It is recorded that between 2007 and 2007 there were around 7000 driven of homophobia in the police force. The issue of disabled police officers has surfaced more than often. They have claimed to be side-lined which led to the development of National Disabled Police association. There has also been an issue increasing regarding religion in the police force. Together police performance should be carried out in alliance with the public in order to help them recognize the diversity within that community itself. The two concepts above all relate to a series of problems but all in which can help improve good service delivered by the police. Both concepts can be taken as a likely way of responding to the devisers needs of the various groups within society. In 1999 there was determination to increase the number of police officers recruited from ethnic minorities. The racist murder of a black London teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in April 1993 triggered this and a subsequent inquiry by Sir William Macpherson into his death. The Macpherson report which was published in February 1999 concluded that the police handling of the murder investigation had been marred by institutional racism and called, amongst other things, for targets to be set to increase the recruitment and retention of ethnic minority officers. Looking carefully at the concept of policing by the community, we find that new measures have been taken on. Various proposals have been proposed by the home office in terms of increasing this diversity within the police force. There has been an increase in the proportion of serving police officers who are from ethnic minorities, from 0.7 per cent in 1986 to 3.4 per cent in 2005 ( Ministry of Justice 2007). This means that they remain considerably under-represented given that around 7 per cent of the economically active population are from ethnic minorities, and this was also below the target of 4 per cent proposed in 2004. The home office targets to increase this by February 2009 although it was decided to drop this unrealistic central target and have it replaced with individual targets for to each police force to imitate the ethnic make-up of their local communities. A growing trend in the variation of employing where from 2003 it was passed that the assessor from police recruits will be from the local community rather than the police force. There has also been an increased consciousness on the need that certain issues such as rape needs to be addressed especially with an increase in recruiting female officers. Furthermore issues such as sexuality need to be addressed such as homophobic attacks and Islam phobia attacks. To conclude police face multiple challenges everyday continuously addressing the issue of diversity’s but this will help to make the police force more receptive to the requirement of the public and will also assist improving the relationship between the police and the public. REFERENCES Arvind, V 1999, Cultural roots Tucson, AZ. of police corruption in India, Policing, 3, (pp. 234) Brown, J. Heidersohn, F 2000, Gender and policing: comparative perspectives, MacMillan pp. 301 Carter Collins, S.2004, Sexual harassment and police discipline: Whos policing the police? Policing, Vol.4, pp. 511 Heidensohn, F 2005, Women in Control? In Newburn, Policing, pp. 751-760 Joan, M 1998, Deadly force and the rule of law: the Guyana example, Policing, 3, (pp. 465 479) Rowe, M 2004, Policing, race and racism, William Silvestri, M 2003, Women in charge: policing, gender and leadership, William Skalnick, J. Fyfe, J 2005, the beating of Rodney King in Newburn, Policing, pp. 568-575 Spencer, B. Hough, M 2000, Policing diversity: lessons from Lambeth, Home Office, Policing and Reducing Crime Unit Westmarland, L 2001, Gender and policing: sex, power and police culture, William

Student Athletes Should Not Receive Additional Money Essay -- Argument

Student Athletes Should Not Receive Additional Money When a student athlete signs a letter of intent to play at a division one school, he or she is generally happy for the opportunity to perform at the highest level of college competition. Like all good things though, they eventually come to an end. After awhile athletes soon begin to realize not all of their expenses are paid for. Because some of the extra costs in college are put on student athletes, some suggest the NCAA and other sources should provide additional funding to help athletes out. This issue has created a heated debate over the relationship between money and college athletes. On the contrary, the stronger argument lies with those individuals that say student athletes should not receive additional money, and how the NCAA is dealing with the situation right now is fine. In other words, athletes competing at the division one level do not need to be paid any amount of money on top of obtaining a scholarship. If the current law the NCAA has now is working, then i t should not be fixed. Because this is such a huge topic, there are still arguments for the opposition. In contrast to the NCAA’s rules and regulations, those in favor of paying student athletes say money is a necessity to get through college. They say even though full ride athletes receive a free education, certain accessories still require money from their own pocket. Some of these items include laundry, clothing, phone bills, transportation, entertainment, toiletries, and eating off campus. The money for these things usually comes from parents or, if they are lucky, a grant of some kind is given to the athlete. But in order to receive a grant, a student athlete must apply for financial ... ...regarding college athletes receiving money many things would be different in the future. A major concern involves recruiting. Universities allowed to pay players would be able to buy recruits and this may persuade them to attend the school offering the most money. It’s almost like a free agent in professional sports. Attending the school with the most to offer decreases the likelihood of a fair playing ground for all of college athletics. As a result certain schools would be major powerhouses and it would stay this way forever. Concluding all the ideas and argument above illustrates just a small portion of why the NCAA has yet to pass a law of this magnitude. The evidence for all those in supporting athletes receiving money are not strong enough for action to take place. Overall if student athletes begin to get paid, collegiate sports will become corrupted.

Edward Snowden Essay

On June 6, 2013 The Guardian newspaper printed a story alleging that the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in a top secret government sanctioned program. This would be just the first glimpse at the many disturbing actions revealed by a man named Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee and NSA contractor who used his computer prowess and security clearance to collect information about how the United States government has been monitoring its own citizens. Mr. Snowden’s actions have prompted the government to file criminal charges against him including theft of government property and espionage. This situation raises serious questions about the legality and ethicality of government surveillance programs as well as security of personal information. There has always been a debate over the trade-off between privacy and security, and this is a perfect example of that discussion. This is an issue that affects anyone who utilizes the technological advancements of today, regardless of the criminality (or lack thereof) of their actions. To better understand this issue we must first take a look at the laws that govern surveillance and the laws that protects our individual freedom from unwarranted surveillance. Two of the most important documents that focus on these issues are the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects Americans against unwarranted surveillance, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was instituted in 1986 as an update to the law governing government wiretapping programs. Since the issue at hand regards government surveillance in general and the Fourth Amendment was written to protect Americans from this act, it is worth quoting in full: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to  be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. According to Jackson Lears (2013), the Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and Editor in Chief of the Raritan Quarterly Review, this Amendment was â€Å"written by men who had rejected imperial power and were determined to prevent its reassertion in their new nation†¦Nothing could more flagrantly violate those requirements than the NSA dragnet† (p. 4). Although our Constitution was written almost 230 years ago, and the men who wrote this document could not have possibly foreseen the technological advancements that would be made in that time (i.e. the telephone, nuclear weapons or the Internet), they were witness to the abuse of government power and tried to institute broad principles to mitigate the possibility of their new government becoming corrupt in that way. The problem our country faces, however, is that in order to regulate this type of behavior it must first be known, which until Edward Snowden appeared had only been considered speculative, and then addressed (Richards, 2013, p. 1934). The government has made attempts, however feeble, at implementing additional laws to prevent this type of abuse of power in the past, but has not kept up with the times when it comes to updating these safeguards. The Supreme Court ruled in 1928 that warrantless wiretapping was not illegal, but that ruling was overturned in 1967 and it was not until 1968 that Congress passed legislation governing wiretapping. In the same fashion, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was passed in 1986 as an amendment to the Wiretap Act, but has not been updated in the nearly 30 years since it was enacted (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1291). The only two times Congress has clarified what may or not be done in conjunction with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was in 1994 with the passing of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and the Patriot Act (passed in 2001 only 6 weeks after the attacks on September 11), which both â€Å"further eased the restrictions on law enforcement surveillance† (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1292) and â€Å"ensured[d] that providers of telecommunications services maintained the accessibility of their systems to wiretapping (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1293). Friewald and Mà ©tille (2013) also explain that â€Å"surveillance that proceeds outside the bounds of the ECPA (and related statutes), either by virtue of not being historically covered, or by  virtue of being too new to be included, can proceed without any judicial review, so long as a court has not yet held that the Fourth Amendment requires regulation (p. 1295-1296). The question we must ask is whether or not this type of surveillance is necessarily dangerous or if it is necessary to protect our country and national security. According to Neil Richards (2013), â€Å"First, surveillance is harmful because it can chill the exercise of our civil liberties†¦Second, we must recognize that secret surveillance is illegitimate and prohibit the creation of any domestic-surveillance programs whose existence is secret†¦Third, we should recognize that total surveillance is illegitimate and reject the idea that it is acceptable for the government to record all Internet activity without authorization† (p. 1935-1936). The first idea that Richards raises deal with our civil liberties such as freedom of speech. When people are constantly under the fear of government surveillance, they may be less likely to speak their mind when they disagree with public policy because they may fear retaliation or retribution for their dissent. The second point of secret surveillance deals with the idea of accountability for those who are performing the surveillance. If a blank check is written by Congress for surveillance with no oversight as to what surveillance is being performed, then there can be no guarantee that the people performing the surveillance are not violating our personal privacy. If the government wants it’s people to trust them, then they should be comfortable with the idea of â€Å"trust but verify†. Finally, the idea of total surveillance is the most concrete example of the violation of the Fourth Amendment which requires probably cause as a basis for any intrusive action by the government. I am not against the idea of surveillance, especially in the dangerous world we live in, but at the same time we must find a balance and understand our limits. In order to preserve our individual freedoms we must be willing to accept a certain level of insecurity and a certain level of personal responsibility. The level of personal responsibility we must accept is to be willing, and able, to defend ourselves without relying on the government to do it for us all the time. One example of this is the attacks of  September 11, 2001 where 4 planes were hijacked and used as weapons. Out of these 4 planes, only the passengers of one, United flight 93, were willing to stand up for themselves against the hijackers. If the hijackers knew that the passengers on each and every plane would have acted with the bravery and heroism of those on the United flight, I doubt they would have hijacked any of them. As far as accepting a certain level of insecurity goes, that is just a part of life; there is no way we can prevent every horrible thing from happening. I understand the human desire to prevent bad things from happening, but what cost are we willing to pay for it? If we want to prevent car accidents that occur from deer running into the road, does that mean we should kill all the deer? In the words of Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers and signatories of our Constitution, â€Å"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.† References Lears, J. (2013). EDITOR’S NOTE. Raritan, 33(1), 1-6. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Richards, N. M. (2013). THE DANGERS OF SURVEILLANCE. Harvard Law Review, 126(7), 1934-1965. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Freiwald, S., & Mà ©tille, S. (2013). REFORMING SURVEILLANCE LAW: THE SWISS MODEL. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 28(2), 1261-1332. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Multiple Directorship

Issue of multiple directorships has recently came to public concern. It becomes more and more common that directors in listed companies retaining multiple directorships and even some legislators are involved. This situation is popular in Hong Kong and Singapore, however, many directors in United States are usually involved in one company only. There are serval problems in exercising multiple directorships to listed companies. First, director may not meet his function diligently. With regard to the Non-statutory Guidelines on Directors Duties Principle 4 , a director of a company must exercise the care, skill and diligence that would be exercised by a reasonable person with the knowledge, skill and experience reasonably expected of a director in his position. It doubts that one can dedicate enough time to read documents and attend meetings for each company if he has multiple directorships. If he made any decisions that harm the company given that he did not read sufficient information and understnad the situation of the company, he is not act due care and skill as a director. The Guidelines Principle 11 also sated that a director of a company must take all reasonable steps to ensure that proper books of account are kept so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and explain its transactions. As many companies follow similar accounting schedules, most common are setting year-end date as 30 April or 31 December, during the end of the accounting period, they have to review all the financail statements of the listed companies they directed in order to ensure there are no fraud. It doubts that they can review all the financail statements if he has directored over 20 listed companies. If there are frauds and mistakes in financial statements, it would affect the investors and shareholders who rely on the annual reports of the companies to make investment decisions. Furthemore, directors may have conflicts of interests when he exercises multi corporate directorships. As more director roles will increase opportunity of represetning compainces which are related. In Bristol and West Building Society v Mothew (1998), the court explained that one of the fiduciary duties of directors is not to allow any conflict between their duties as directors and their personal interests. If the contract in which he has a personal interest adverse to that of company is voidable by the company and the profits made may be recovered by the company. In Transvaal Lands Co v New Belgium (Transvaal) Land and Development Co (1914) UK, defendant had a benefical inrerest in a company which sold shares to the company which he was a director, H took part in the decision to make the purchase. So, if the director of one company has business or transactions to other company that he has directorship, it will have higher chance for conflict of interests or transferring benefits between companies. Regarding to the legislators being multiple corporate directors, now seven legislators have hold total of 63 paid board positions. According to Cheung (2012), it will be difficult for the legislators to deal with livelihood issues if the they keep in touch with and work for the corporations. If legislators are the companies' directors, public will have a perception that they spoke for the buiness sectors rather than citizen. Moreover, it may prevent the functioning of Legislative Council (Legco), according to the editoiral of ming pao (2011), at least five Legco members have omitted to register such interests. Although these are not serious omissions, we can see that some legislators are not serious about registering their interests and have neglected that they have not followed the guidelines. It is important for them to disclose all their intersts including shareholdings, paid directorships, property and election donations of their directorships. By now the listed companies in Hong Kong need to have at least a third of independent directors who do not have business relationship with the company and do not manage the operation of the company. Before, companies are required to have at least three independent directors, but no restrictions on the ratio. It is believed that this new rule is to match the international practices such as United States and UK and protect shareholders’ interest. This new listing rules will make it difficult to find independent directors because not so much people are interested in the low remuneration role. It may indicate that some firms need to cut the size of the board. In conclusion, one especially a legislator should not take up too many directorships in order to advoid conflict of interest and act due deligent. The legislaors cannot avoid disclosing their interest to Legco. It is suggested that Legco should amend its Guidelines on Registration of Interests to require legislators not only register the remunerated directorships but also unmunerated so as to protect the shareholders and the companys’ interest.

What to Do in Budapest 11 Top Attractions

What to Do in Budapest 11 Top Attractions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One of the rising stars in European tourism, Budapest’s charms and sights are gaining popularity worldwide. Gone are the days when the Hungarian capital was widely thought of as a drab administrative city, filled only with aging Communist-era buildings. These days, Budapest tourism is rapidly growing and savvy visitors know that it's one of Europe’s great cities with diverse architecture, unique cultural experiences, and some of the most inventive nightlife on the continent. Are you wondering what to do in Budapest? Follow this guide to immerse yourself in Budapest’s history, traditions, and culture. By visiting the Budapest attractions listed below, you’ll find yourself relaxing in opulent thermal baths, paying your respects at moving WWII memorials, admiring the largest Parliament in Europe, and drinking a new cocktail in the gardens of a formerly abandoned warehouse. This list of 11 things to do in Budapest is organized into four groups, based on the location of the sites: Castle Hill, City Park, Parliament and Around, and Central Pest. This organization lets you visit sites near each other, instead of spending your trip running from one end of town to the other. Many people choose to stay in downtown Pest because it has the most accommodation options, but Budapest has a great subway system to help you get from one area to another. You can buy individual subway tickets, day passes, or multi-day passes. I'd recommend that you spend at least a half-day to a full day in each area, and, if you choose to stay longer, you’ll find Budapest has enough activities to fill any itinerary. The Top 11 Places to Visit in Budapest Check out this map of the best things to do in Budapest and then read more about each below. This map can also be viewed online. Castle Hill - Red Matthias Church Fisherman’s Bastion Buda Castle City Park - Blue Szà ©chenyi Bath Vajdahunyad Castle Heroes’ Square Parliament and Around - Purple Hungarian Parliament Building Shoes on the Danube Monument Central Pest - Green Hungarian State Opera House Ruin Pubs Great Synagogue Castle Hill Attractions You can find some of the most famous- and stunning- things to see in Budapest in the Castle Hill area, including gorgeous architecture and historically important sites. Matthias Church Matthias Church is one of the top Budapest attractions, and it’s a center point of Castle Hill. Built in the late 13th century, Matthias Church was the first parish church in Budapest, and it has remained an important symbol of the city. During its long history, Matthias Church hosted multiple royal coronations, was damaged by cannon fire, and spent over 100 years as a Mosque while the city was under Ottoman rule. Even if you feel like you’ve seen enough European churches to last a lifetime, stop for a look at Matthias Church. It doesn’t have the soaring grandeur of larger churches like Notre Dame and Milan’s Duomo, but its unique colors and design make it one of the most pleasant churches in Europe to view. The church was extensively restored in the 1900s, and today it’s popular with tourists who come to see and photograph the Gothic architecture, stained glass windows, and vibrant diamond-patterned roof tiles. The church is also home to the Ecclesiastical Art Museum. The museum (which charges a small fee) begins in the church’s medieval crypt and continues to the chapel. While touring the museum, visitors can view the tombs of 10th century rulers King Bà ©la III and his wife Agnes, replicas of the royal Hungarian jewels, and assorted other jewels and religious objects. Fisherman’s Bastion One of the most unusual sights in Budapest, Fisherman’s Bastion is an elegant, neo-Gothic terrace overlooking the Danube. The site was named for a group of fisherman who defended the city from invasion during the Middle Ages. Walking under gleaming white arches and along staircases and terraces, visitors get sweeping views of the Danube, including a birds-eye view of Parliament. The seven turrets of Fisherman’s Bastion represent the seven Magyar tribe leaders who are regarded as the founders of modern-day Hungary. It may not seem like there’s much to do at Fisherman’s Bastion since the site is little more than an attractive lookout, but many tourists spend far longer than they planned here, strolling from one end of the terrace to the other and taking rolls of photos. When visiting Castle Hill, make Fisherman’s Bastion your first stop (easy to do since it’s very close to public transportation stops). The weather in Budapest can be fickle, and there are times when the terrace and its views are enveloped by fog. It usually clears later in the day, so check back periodically if the weather isn’t cooperating when you first stop by. Fisherman’s Bastion is located next to Matthias Church, and together these two sites make up one the best places to visit in Budapest. Here you can walk along cobblestone streets, look at historic buildings, and grab lunch in one of the numerous traditional cafà ©s that line the streets. Buda Castle Rising up from the southern end of Castle Hill is the imposing, sprawling structure of Buda Castle. The first castle on this site was completed in 1265, and the castle continued to be expanded and rebuilt throughout the centuries. Buda Castle has been a royal residence for generations of Hungarian rulers, besieged by Ottoman armies, taken over by the Habsburgs, occupied by Nazis during WWII, and designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987. Today, the grounds are adorned with numerous statues and gardens, which visitors can admire while walking around the castle. Within the castle are a trio of museums and institutions: the Budapest History Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery, and the National Szà ©chà ©nyi Library (the museum and gallery both require tickets, but the library is free to visit). Each site is well worth a visit, focusing on the history of the city, Hungarian art, and a collection of rare books and paper, respectively. If you can only visit one museum (visiting all three can make for a long day), my pick is the Budapest History Museum. Far more than a dry collection of artifacts, this museum spans three floors and includes such varied exhibits as recreations of opulent rooms as they looked when used by royals, paintings by Hungarian Masters, and excavated rooms of the medieval castle in the basement. There are no cars allowed on Castle Hill unless you live or work in the area, and the lack of noise and traffic contributes to the feeling that you’ve stepped into the past and are far removed from the bustle of the city down below. City Park Attractions City Park is a large public park that includes some of Budapest's best attractions. Szà ©chenyi Bath Visiting the city's famed baths is one of the top things to do in Budapest. Budapest’s abundant thermal waters means there are numerous baths to choose from, but, in terms of history and enjoyability, Szà ©chenyi Bath is far and away your best option. As the largest thermal bath in Europe, Szà ©chenyi Bath is one of Budapest’s iconic sites. When it was built in 1913, the architecture followed the Neo-baroque style popular at the time, and it’s easy to feel like you’re wading through the private pool of a royal palace as you move between the bath’s 18 different pools. When you arrive, you’ll be given a waterproof key card to a personal closet-sized locker, where you can change into your swimsuit (required) and store your belongings while you’re in the baths. There are both indoor and outdoor pools to choose between in Szà ©chenyi. While the indoor pools have a wider variety of temperatures, as well as saunas and steam rooms, most people prefer the outdoor baths because they are typically brighter and cleaner, and they let you enjoy the cheery, slightly aged exterior of the baths. Szà ©chenyi is popular with tourists, and there will likely be a number of people soaking alongside you, but it remains an institution for Budapest locals. They come here to relax after work, socialize, and play a game of chess on one of the waterproof boards in the baths. At Szà ©chenyi, you can also purchase additional services, such as massages. Ticket prices vary depending on the time of day you visit and if you want a cabin or locker, but expect to pay about 5000 Florin (about $18 USD). Massages are an additional 5000-35000 Florin. The thermal waters keep temperatures warm year-round at Szà ©chenyi, so both the indoor and outdoor baths remain open in winter. Vajdahunyad Castle Vajdahunyad Castle is located close to the Szà ©chenyi Baths within City Park, but many people breeze past this tucked away corner of town without pausing to explore. Vajdahunyad can’t compare to Buda Castle’s immense size or history, but this attractive and somewhat mysterious castle earns major points for charm. The castle was originally built in 1896 as a temporary structure of cardboard and wood to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin. However, Budapest’s citizens were so taken with it that the present structure, made of stone and painted in muted blues, purples, and oranges, was soon constructed. Set back amongst trees and gardens, the castle’s shadowy exterior reveals features from numerous architectural styles that showcase the variety and evolution of architecture in Budapest. Additional touches to the castle include sunken windows, a portcullis, and numerous turrets overlooking a boating lake turned ice skating rink in the winter. A popular spot for photos is the brooding, slightly creepy statue of Anonymus, a mysterious Hungarian notary and chronicler who lived around 1200 AD. Inside the castle is Museum of Hungarian Agriculture (small fee charged), but even if you’re not interested in the museum’s focus, it’s pleasant simply to walk through the castle’s interior and climb to the top of the two tallest towers for views of the park. Vajdahunyad Castle was only built at the turn of the 20th century, but its historical architecture and romantic setting make it feel far older. A short stroll around the castle or a picnic on its grounds beside the lake is an excellent way to take a break from a busy day of sightseeing. Heroes’ Square Another attraction near City Park, Heroes’ Square does not take long to visit, but it’s one of the city’s most important landmarks. Located at the end of Andrssy Avenue, Heroes’ Square is well-worth visiting to get a sense of Hungary’s history. Built in 1896 to celebrate Hungary’s 1000th anniversary, Heroes’ Square is the largest square in Budapest. The focal point of the square is tall column adorned with a statue of the archangel Gabriel. Flanking the base are seven statues representing the seven original Magyar chieftains. Surrounding the column are 14 pillars with statues of other important Hungarian figures. Viewing the square’s statues and plaques is a great crash-course on the history of the country. Among the statues you’ll see famed Hungarian saints, rulers, and warriors. A plaque in the square dedicates the site "To the memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of our people and our national independence." During Budapest’s long history, the city was occupied by foreign invaders several times and ruled by a communist regime. Heroes’ Square now serves as a physical monument to Hungary’s dedication to democracy. The square can be visited both during the day and at night, when it is lit up by floodlights. Parliament and Around If you're interested in more recent history, this is the area for you, with monuments to Hungary's tumultuous 20th century. Hungarian Parliament Building The Hungarian Parliament Building is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary and one of the icons of Budapest. Its design was based on the UK Parliament Building, the Palace of Westminster, but the Parliament of Budapest is no mere copycat. This is one of the oldest and largest legislative buildings in Europe, and since the day it was completed in 1904, it has been the largest building in Hungary. Built along the bank of the Danube River, this soaring Gothic Revival building looks surprisingly delicate up close, with numerous intricate details. Visitors can opt to take a guided tour of the building to see sights including the House Chambers, the inside of the dome, the grand entrance staircase, the Hungarian crown jewels, and a small museum. Tickets, which are 5200 Florin for non-EU citizens, must be purchased beforehand, either online or in person. Make sure you view the Parliament Building both during the day and at night, when the entire structure is lit up, its reflection glowing in the river. Shoes on the Danube Bank Memorial There are World War II memorials far grander than this collection of 60 pairs of iron shoes scattered along the edge of the Danube, but that doesn’t make this site any less moving. The monument was conceived by director Can Togay and created by sculptor Gyula Pauer to honor the people murdered by soldiers of the Arrow Cross, a national socialist party in Hungary during WWII. Between 1944 and 1945, an unknown number of victims, mostly Budapest Jews, were taken to the edge of the Danube and shot, their bodies falling into the river. Before they were killed, they were told to remove their shoes, which could be resold for a profit. This small memorial, a few hundred feet from Parliament, poignantly pays tribute to the victims. The shoes were designed to accurately represent shoes from that period, and they were created in many different styles to represent the wide variety of victims: men, women, business people, teenagers, and children. The shoes are often adorned with ribbons or flowers left as tokens of remembrance by visitors. Walking along the memorial and viewing the empty shoes strewn forlornly along the Danube’s bank is a powerful reminder of the lives lost in WWII. Central Pest Attractions Central Pest is where many visitors choose to stay, because it offers easy access to all the Budapest sights. It's also home to some of the city's most exciting cultural attractions. Hungarian State Opera House Housed in an elegant neo-Renaissance building dating from 1884, the Hungarian State Opera House is a point of pride for many Hungarians, yet it’s much less well-known than many other European opera houses. For a small fee, you can take one of the regular tours of the opera house. After passing the figures of two of Hungary’s most renowned composers in the entrance, you’ll enter a foyer with marble columns and vaulted ceilings. Like all grand opera houses, this one has a sweeping staircase dominating the entrance, used by Hungarian’s past elite to see and be seen. Other opulent touches include a brass chandelier and vast murals decorating the walls and ceilings. The theater itself is decorated with red velvet and gold leaf. It seats over 2,600, with the royal box in the center of the horseshoe-shaped rows. Many people simply opt for a tour, but the Hungarian State Opera House is one of the best places to view an opera in Europe, particularly if you’ve never been to one before. The opera house often performs crowd pleasers like Carmen and Madama Butterfly, which are a great introduction for opera novices. Additionally, tickets here are significantly cheaper than at most other opera houses; you can often get a seat for less than $10 USD. At many other opera houses, tickets this price are typically for the standing area only, and standing shoulder to shoulder with other guests for several hours is enough to fatigue even opera aficionados. At the Hungarian Opera House, you’ll be able to enjoy the opera in comfort without breaking the bank. In addition to operas, the building also hosts ballets and other performances. The Hungarian State Opera House website has a calendar showing all upcoming events. Operas are subtitled in both Hungarian and English, and opera season lasts from September to July. Ruin Pubs Budapest can be heavy with history, so for a change of pace and to get a sense of how the city enjoys itself, head to one of Budapest’s many ruin pubs, drinking establishments that have sprung up in recently un-abandoned buildings. Rumor has it that ruin pubs first came into existence in 2001, out of a need for a cheap place to drink. No two ruin pubs are alike, but all of them share several characteristics: they’re housed in a formerly abandoned building, the furniture is eclectic and often pre-used, and they show their links to the community by hosting local bands or DJs or having local artists decorate the interior. Most of the ruin pubs are located in Budapest’s old Jewish Quarter, in the streets behind the Great Synagogue. In a ruin pub, you could find yourself in a cozy former home with couches for seating, taking to the dance floor in a large, rambling warehouse, tasting plinka (a traditional fruit brandy) under the glow of old-fashioned lanterns, enjoying beers in a courtyard filled with picnic tables, or learning Hungarian phrases at one of the regular informal classes the pubs host. One of the best aspects of ruin pubs is that you never know what type of experience you’re going to get until you walk inside. The best ruin pub to start at is the original, Szimpla Kert. Occupying a large, formerly abandoned building, Szimpla is filled with mismatched and often antique furniture and decorations. Outside there’s a spacious courtyard which includes an old Trabant car guests can lounge in. Ruin pubs attract a mostly young, international crowd, but you’ll find all types here. Local Hungarians often frequent them, as do older visitors. Ruin pubs may be most enjoyable to visit on a warm summer evening, but they’re open year-round, with outdoor spaces typically closed in the winter. Great Synagogue This massive building, also known as the Dohny Street Synagogue, is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second-largest in the world. It was completed in 1859 in the Neo-Moorish style, giving it a distinct look compared to many other synagogues. Inside the Great Synagogue is seating for more than 3,000 people, as well as the Jewish Museum, which has exhibits on Jewish traditions and the history of Judaism in Budapest. The building is rich with history. During World War II, the site was bombed by Nazi planes, and it later became one border of Budapest’s Jewish ghetto. In the grounds surrounding the synagogue is a graveyard where over 2,000 people who died in the Jewish ghetto during the winter of 1944-1945 are buried. There's also the Heroes’ Temple honoring Hungarian Jews who died during World War I and the Holocaust Memorial. The Holocaust Memorial, also known as the Emanuel Tree, is particularly striking to see. Crafted by Hungarian sculptor Imre Varga, the memorial takes the form of a delicate and intricate weeping willow. The name of a Hungarian Jew killed during the Holocaust has been engraved on each metal leaf. In my opinion, this is one of the world’s most beautiful and moving Holocaust memorials. If you don’t have time to tour the synagogue, you can get a view of the tree through the gate surrounding the grounds. You can take a self-guided tour around the synagogue, but a guided tour (available at the entrance) can help you navigate the large site and fully appreciate its historical importance. Entrance to the synagogue costs 3000 Florin and includes access to both the building and its grounds.

skeleton report essays

skeleton report essays The quarterback drops back looks to his right and then to his left. Throws deep to his wide open receiver and he makes the catch to get the game winning touchdown. Not a single one of them football players would be able to play without a support to hold them up. All living things need a support and that support is a skeleton. Your skeleton is very important and it has many jobs like protects organs, levers to move your body, big mineral reserves in your skeleton, and it is the site of blood and cell formation (Levine and Miller, 1998). The only thing in your skeleton isnt just your bones it also consists of cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. The bones in your skeleton are a special type of connective tissue. That is a solid network of living cells and fibers with very large amounts of calcium salts (Levine and Miller, 1998). The structure of your bone is made up of the periosteum, compact bone, spongy bone, and bone marrow. The perioteum is a tough layer surrounding each bone. Blood vessels travel through here with oxygen and nutrients for the bone and the rest of the body. The compact bone is a very dense bone but it is not solid. A series of haversian canals run though the compact bone which are tubes that that contain blood vessels and nerves. The spongy bone is the inside layer of the compact bone and it is very strong and the spongy bone is located at the ends of the bone to help add strength. Osteocytes which help with bone growth are embedded in compact and spongy bone to keep the deposits of calcium and also absorb calcium salts. These are also important because they are responsible for the growth and shaping of the bones. And finally but not least the bone marrow which is soft tissue located in the bone cavities. There are two different types of bone marrow, yellow which most bones ar e made up of and yellow has blood vessels, nerve cells, and fat cells. The other type of bone marrow is red...

How to Write a Good Conclusion Essay

How to Write a Good Conclusion Essay Tips on Writing a Good Conclusion for an Essay We can hardly imagine a a student who has never written a single essay. Academic assignments are the vital part of student’s life whether you study in college, high school or university. Essay papers are probably the most popular assignments. They may be of different types from argumentative to research papers. Its not actually matter what type of essay you were assigned. Each paper should have a specific structure while each essay should have a conclusion abstract. Most immature and amateur authors are sure that concluding a paper is a piece of cake. You should never underestimate this part. Take it seriously, as it may define the general academic success of the major paper. What is a conclusion paragraph? Keep in mind that conclusion is not just a summary. Although it is always a final abstract of the paper, it may be even of greater importance than the body paragraphs. It provides your final thought about major issues of the paper supported by evidence and strong argumentations. You are to persuade your reader that your point of view is correct. The conclusion lets you handle this. What is conclusion necessary for? The final abstract or conclusion of your essay serves several purposes. It may appear to be the last chance to make all points of your paper clear to readers. You general paper may look daunting, but the conclusion is the last straw when it comes to making a good impression on the reader. The core conclusion purposes are as follows: Stress Main Ideas – the writer highlights key topics and evidence. The first statement should refer to your thesis while the rest explain the main aspects of the paper; Summarize the Points – summarizing key points is only a part of concluding the paper. The idea is to briefly remind the reader of what you were talking about; Make a Final Impression – the main objective is to make a strong impression on your readers. It does not actually matter if they liked reading your general paper. If they like your conclusion, your paper is a success. The importance of writing a strong conclusion Underestimating the role of conclusion in your paper would be a huge mistake. The abstract is actually your last chance to hammer the key points in readers’ minds.   As for the role, it can be divided into three main issues: Sum Up Writer’s Thoughts – a complicated topic may contain too many thoughts for the reader to follow at once. A conclusion is a good opportunity to sum them up in a brief description featuring the key points; Skim and Scan Function – a conclusion makes it easy for the reader to browse through your paper and concentrate on key issues. It enables the skim and scam function of your essay. You can stress the most important areas of the paper and introduce them to the reader. Final word Although the conclusion is the last abstract of your essay, it is probably the most important one. It will let you hit bull’s eye when it comes to making a good impression on the reader letting him or her understand all major points and aspects of your essay paper.

Is China a military threat to the U.S. or its Southeast Asian allies Research Paper

Is China a military threat to the U.S. or its Southeast Asian allies - Research Paper Example ly influence continues to manifest hostility towards China, with provocative stands by the Philippines and Japan with regard to ownership of Islands in the contested regions belittling China’s growing stature in global politics. The traditional differences in foreign ideologies between the two nations does not seem to be resolved soon, since national interests of the two nations fall on opposing sides. With the competition for the global arena as the next stage to exercise global politics, China and the US continually find it difficult to resolve the hardline stand due to heightened globalization setting. From the experiences of the past encounters with global politics, China will focus on chanting a different course and justify current success from acting differently. In terms of recent astronomical economic performance in China, funding military exploration and ambitious intelligence systems raises concerns against such moves. In a world experiencing a spell of minimal aggression among nations, military expansion at the scale such as that witnessed in China recently triggers memories of the infamous Arms Race. Interesting timing of these developments in China at a time when global economic performance falls below China’s rate of economic growth translates to some form of opportunistic provocationi. Estimation of China doubling military spending by 2015 is a blatant insult to efforts of US peace building around the world. As such, the US can justify the move to assist and empower the allies in the southeast Asia regionii. The account of China’s performance in terms of human rights protection in a rapidly democratized world is not only taken as an insult to the US but also to the international community. The isolation of Chinese internal affairs from the rest of the world calls for participation of the US in the global campaigns of a democratic global society further fuels the tension of a military provocation. Despite the participation of China in

The Sonnet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Sonnet - Essay Example . A line of poetry that repeatedly uses an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is called an iambic line. (Harrison, 68) The basic form of traditional Italian sonnets was different from the English or Shakespearean sonnet. â€Å"The Italian sonnet has two parts: an eight-line stanza called an octave and a six-line stanza called a sestet.† (Elizabeth and Hamilton, 263) However, its British originators introduced other elements related to human lives as well, and this required the traditional form of the sonnet to evolve accordingly. Consequently, the form of the sonnet changed to interweave multiple themes, for instance, in Sonnet 18, the principal themes are: beauty, life, death and eternity; while each theme is dealt in distinct quartos in a different way. This Sonnet like other Shakespearean sonnets has 14 lines in iambic pentameter, which are divided into three quatrains, followed by a couplet. The different parts of Sonnet 18 cater to different stages of the development and transition of thought or the central idea of the poem. In the first quarto of Sonnet 18, the poet introduces an object of comparison ‘summer’s day’ with his beloved’s beauty and analyzes different perspectives of this comparison. The use of comparatives like ‘more lovely and more temperate’ (2) and superlatives like ‘too short’ (4) enhance the comparison between the beauty of the poet’s beloved and the summer’s day. Hence, a summer’s day acts as a stimulant for the poet that becomes so inspired by its beauty that he deems it fit to be compared with his beloved’s beauty. However, once he begins to compare their beauties, he realizes that his beloved exalts in so many ways. The idea continues to develop in the second quarto where the emphasis switches from beauty to glory of a summer’s day. According to the poet, some days might be brighter than others,

Constructivism in the Classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Constructivism in the Classroom - Essay Example Constructivism has been defined by researchers and educators in numerous ways. With a history that can be traced to the days of Socrates, Constructivism has become an important learning technique for all students. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks in her book Concept to Classroom Interviews (1999) states that ‘as long as there were people asking each other questions, we have had constructivist classrooms. Constructivism, the study of learning, is about how we all make sense of our world, and that really hasn’t changed’. ‘The concept of constructivism has roots in classical antiquity, going back to Socrates’s dialogues with his followers, in which he asked directed questions that led his students to realize for themselves the weaknesses in their thinking. The Socratic dialogue is still an important tool in the way constructivist educators assess their students’ learning and plan new learning experiences†¦ in this century, Jean Piaget and John Dewey developed theories of childhood development and education, what we now call Progressive Education, that led to the evolution of constructivism. According to William J. Matthews, a professor in the School Psychology Program of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts, ‘there are numerous variations and definitions of post-modernist thought of which constructivism is a subset (e.g. , radical constructivism, social constructivism, and deconstructivism). However, Piagetian constructivism is a subset of a larger historical challenge to modernist notions. of objective reality in general and the use of empirically validated methods of teaching specifically'. As Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin G. Brooks state, 'Constructivism is basically a theory - based on observation and scientific study - about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active

Geologic Hazard Risk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Geologic Hazard Risk - Research Paper Example The most notable area that is likely to suffer from landslide is on the east side of the slough along lake Washington, Boulevard. Most Geological Investigations to date have focused almost extensively on this area (Elliot et al., 53). Different investigations and aerial photographs document extensive pavement damage in these areas; these evidences can only suggest that Washington is likely to suffer Landslides in the future. Aerial Photographs from 1936 to 2004 indicates significant dredging along the lake Washington shoreline and within the Mercer Slough channel proving the possibility of landslides in the future. The past evidences of landslides in Sherwood Boulevard also provide concrete evidence of potential landslides in the future. For instance, in January 2009, Washington state residents discovered a landslide completely blocking South West Sherwood Boulevard in Washington Park. This landslide was approximately forty cubic yards in length and approximately two feet deep. Actually, the landslide not only covered Sherwood road completely, but also blocked normal rain drainage in the area. Besides landslide, other types of geological hazards that can affect Washington are earthquakes (Lynn, 201). Recently, a small earthquake was reported in Southwest Washington in Wednesday. Though there were not immediate reports of injuries and damages, this earthquake proved that if no action is taken soon, then Southwest Washington might suffer another earthquake in future. According to a geological investigation initiated by the Washington State Department of Transport, there are several potential causes of landslides and earthquakes in Washington (Washington Department of Transportation news release and news report, 133). Different areas such as mercer flow have been subjected to intensive studies and various potential factors for earthquake occurrence have been identified. This investigation found out that the major

Eagle's Nest Hotels Case Study - Detailed Implementation Plan Essay

Eagle's Nest Hotels Case Study - Detailed Implementation Plan - Essay Example Some special arrangements need to be made to meet the requirements of the government policy and to fix that an additional cost of US $30 million is required. The original budget was $125 million but that has been reduced to US $75 million. This reduction in our budget is all across the portfolio. How it will affect the operations, let’s take a closure look. Here at our Eagle Nest operations department we have to act accordingly to cope with this challenge. Our plan of action includes budgeting (cost reduction) in the following. The building rented will be hosting a room quantity 120-150 commercial Target Date Even though we are starting the business in January but our target is July to capture the mass tourists market. When they will be coming to visit the Amsterdam Metropolitan in crowds. So we have ample time to get things fully running. Our key areas to focus on are 1) Food production, products purchase technology, menu card planning, supply and consumption control, and occ upational hygiene. 2) Food and Beverage Service (rendering services to clients, wines and beverages purchase, meeting visitors, orders fulfillment) 3) Housekeeping 4) Front office operations (reception and accommodation of visitors and further service rendering). 5) Interior Product description It is a modern fashionable motel in the heart of Amsterdam Metropolitan. ... Key risks and mitigation The key risk that we face is the competition. We don’t need to worry about the reputation or the brand loyalty. There are many huge hotel giants already operating there. Our original budget of $125 million was sufficient to compete with them. But now the budget has been rescheduled. We were aiming for advertisement at a grand level but the budget being reduced has forced us to rethink on that strategy. We will spend very little on TV advertisement. We are taking the route via the internet. Impact on operations Department Just like the other departments, the impact on the operations department will be quite severe. We will be forced to cut down on cost. In terms of percentage, it will be round about 40% of our total original budget. The biggest challenge is to cope with the legal requirements as those cannot be avoided. We are looking for very efficient plans in cost reduction. As we simply cannot compete in such a high profile area such as the Amsterda m Metropolitan without having our arsenal filled with the top quality armoury. Time plan The operations procedure will commence as soon as we get the contract for having the building on rent. Starting with the interior of the hotel. Furniture, china, linen, Kitchen ware, furniture are the major things to get our motel running. Given the area of Amsterdam Metropolitan, we are expecting a very high competition. The key thing to keep in mind is that we cannot start with the state of the art interior and the building outlook. Probably it is very much noticeable at this stage that the budget getting reduced by 40% is very favourable for us. People in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam prefer the culture of that place. Our target guests will include a major percentage of

PSY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PSY - Essay Example This article classifies consciousness variation into two states, in which sleep plays a major role. These states are Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep and the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. The author regards the aspect of consciousness as a slippery concept, which cannot be touched or seen. That this nature of consciousness limited past psychologists from studying it, and so most were compelled to study behaviorism. At least behaviorism is observable, hence to study, unlike the unobservable consciousness, which is quite hard to study. On the concept of sleep, the article emphasizes the importance of sleep. The author argues that the physical and psychological impact of sleeplessness is evidence that sleep is vital. The problems associated with sleeplessness are mentioned to include increased irritability, reduced alertness, and reduced attention. An important effect of loss of sleep is mentioned as sleep-deprivation psychosis, which is characterized by disorientation, confusion, hallucinations, and delusions. Nonetheless, the importance of both REM sleep and slow-wave sleep are emphasized. These have different roles they play in human body. Slow-wave sleep is vital in refreshing the body after physical fatigue. The author recommends that developing children must be offered ample time to sleep. He explains that it is during sleep that a growth hormone is produced. Therefore, the longer they sleep, the faster they will grow. In the article, sleep is considered a biological rhythm, which cannot be sidestepped. It is like an internal clock, which is set to a 24-hour cycle. According to the author, this â€Å"clock† experiences grogginess and sometimes peaks at different times of the day, depending on temperature and neutral firings of human bodies. The hypothalamus and the pineal gland are responsible for the control of this rhythm. However, the optic nerve and melatonin hormone play

Eagle's Nest Hotels Case Study - Detailed Implementation Plan Essay

Eagle's Nest Hotels Case Study - Detailed Implementation Plan - Essay Example Some special arrangements need to be made to meet the requirements of the government policy and to fix that an additional cost of US $30 million is required. The original budget was $125 million but that has been reduced to US $75 million. This reduction in our budget is all across the portfolio. How it will affect the operations, let’s take a closure look. Here at our Eagle Nest operations department we have to act accordingly to cope with this challenge. Our plan of action includes budgeting (cost reduction) in the following. The building rented will be hosting a room quantity 120-150 commercial Target Date Even though we are starting the business in January but our target is July to capture the mass tourists market. When they will be coming to visit the Amsterdam Metropolitan in crowds. So we have ample time to get things fully running. Our key areas to focus on are 1) Food production, products purchase technology, menu card planning, supply and consumption control, and occ upational hygiene. 2) Food and Beverage Service (rendering services to clients, wines and beverages purchase, meeting visitors, orders fulfillment) 3) Housekeeping 4) Front office operations (reception and accommodation of visitors and further service rendering). 5) Interior Product description It is a modern fashionable motel in the heart of Amsterdam Metropolitan. ... Key risks and mitigation The key risk that we face is the competition. We don’t need to worry about the reputation or the brand loyalty. There are many huge hotel giants already operating there. Our original budget of $125 million was sufficient to compete with them. But now the budget has been rescheduled. We were aiming for advertisement at a grand level but the budget being reduced has forced us to rethink on that strategy. We will spend very little on TV advertisement. We are taking the route via the internet. Impact on operations Department Just like the other departments, the impact on the operations department will be quite severe. We will be forced to cut down on cost. In terms of percentage, it will be round about 40% of our total original budget. The biggest challenge is to cope with the legal requirements as those cannot be avoided. We are looking for very efficient plans in cost reduction. As we simply cannot compete in such a high profile area such as the Amsterda m Metropolitan without having our arsenal filled with the top quality armoury. Time plan The operations procedure will commence as soon as we get the contract for having the building on rent. Starting with the interior of the hotel. Furniture, china, linen, Kitchen ware, furniture are the major things to get our motel running. Given the area of Amsterdam Metropolitan, we are expecting a very high competition. The key thing to keep in mind is that we cannot start with the state of the art interior and the building outlook. Probably it is very much noticeable at this stage that the budget getting reduced by 40% is very favourable for us. People in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam prefer the culture of that place. Our target guests will include a major percentage of

Lakewood WA Police Department Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lakewood WA Police Department - Essay Example It successfully communicates with people from different backgrounds and also provides vital information, advice, and any time police assistance. Unlike the other police forces, Lakewood Police Department is unique for its objectives and functions. Lakewood police force is specially made for the enforcement of civil and criminal laws, holding the position of court compliance office and community service office, animal control, juvenile code enforcement etc. As per the ordinance No. 00471, the Police Department operates under the direction of City’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer, the Chief of Police, subject to the supervision of the City Manager. The Chief of the Police is appointed by the City Manager in accordance with the law and policies of city of Lakewood. In accordance with the relevant laws all other subordinates shall be appointed by the Chief (Ordinance No. 00471.City Council meeting minutes of March 17 2008). According to the regulation in Lakewood police, there are five office assistants, two evidence custodians, one crime analyst, one fleet manager, one evidence supervisor, one administrative assistant, one administrative supervisor and one administrative lieutenant all of whom contribute to the daily workings of the department (Administrative Unit). However the strength of the whole department has increased in the 21st century: â€Å"Lakewood’s 21st century department has 131 staff members, 105 commissioned , 12.5 community service officers, 2 animal control officers and 13.5 civilian support staff† (About the Department). The Department is divided in to several divisions for its smooth functioning. Among them Criminal Investigation Unit is one of the outstanding wings which includes Robbery Assault Unit, Special Assault Unit, Special Operations Unit and The School Resource Officer Program. Crime against persons like murder, robbery, kidnapping and missing cases come under the Robbery/Assault unit. The Special Assault

Impact of Leonardo Da Vincis Inventions

Impact of Leonardo Da Vincis Inventions Engineering Drawings To be a proficient engineer, it requires a person to develop and possess various skill sets. The understanding of the various concepts and knowledge presented to them is crucial as well as it would allow them to apply it to their work as a practicing engineer. Some engineers may consider their best tools to be a piece of paper and a pencil. Possessing the ability to graphically communicate their ideas by sketching or drawing them, allows some of these ideas to come to life. Best known for his paintings of the Last Supper and Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci was more than just an artist, he was also an inventor and to some he is considered to be the worlds most famous engineer. His fascination for knowledge and his ability to bring his ideas to life shows that he is the epitome of an engineer. Only at the age of fifteen is when Leonardo was progressing in advancing his artistic skills under his teacher, Andrea Del Verrocchio. By 1482, Leonardo had chosen to move to Milan, Italy from Flore nce (which at the time was considered to be a more militaristic city than Florence), to work for Duke Ludovico Sforza as a military engineer. From there, Leonardo was able to innovate the war machines used by the military at the time. He essentially paved the way for some of the common weapons used in the modern day military. One of his war machine inventions was called the 33-Barreled Organ. Leonardo got the idea for this weapon when he saw that a cannons shot may not be as accurate and took quite some time to reload in battle. He figured that if a soldier could reload the weapon and fire at the same time, it would prove to be much more effective in the battlefield. The guns design consisted of a wheelbarrow like structure with big wheels and attached to it in the middle were the thirty-three guns split into three rows, which meant eleven shots were possible with just one row. It also had a rotating wheel to allow one row to fire while the other was being prepared for the next round. Leonardos idea for this barreled gun was it is now seen as the machine gun in modern day military. Another military innovation from Leonardo was the Armored Car, also known as the military tank in modern times. Leonardo thought to himself that if the soldiers could get closer to the enemy frontlines as well as their artillery that meant no soldier could stop their attack and would be forced to scatter. The armored car featured multiple cannons around the vehicle, thus giving the soldiers inside a firing range of three-hundred and sixty degrees. The shape of the vehicle consisted of a cone with a view port for a soldier to direct the vehicles motion. However, it was discovered there was an issue within the vehicle that would not allow it to move in a forward motion. Some suggested that da Vinci might have sabotaged his own design to discourage the war machine from ever being built. (Leonardo da Vincis Armoured car invention, 2008). As Leonardo was developing other war machines, he had decided to take an existing idea and improve on it for use on the battlefield. He took the soldiers average crossbow and decided to create a giant version out of it. Leonardo had claimed that this weapon was the best way to terrify the enemy. The Giant Crossbow was measured to stretch as far as 27 yards across the field. It consisted of six wheels, three on each side, to ensure mobility during the battle. It also had to be made of thin wood to allow the crossbow to have some flexibility. But the issue was, where Leonardo would create large enough arrows for use in battle. Instead, the crossbow launched large pieces of stone and at times, flaming bombs. To launch the object, it required the soldier to wind back the bow and then use a mallet to push the pin out of place for the weapon to fire. Leonardo had also improved another commonly used weapon during the war. In his observations, he found that the cannons shot may not be accurate and was too slow to reload after each shot. This meant that if the shot missed, the soldiers would be lacking in damage. He also found that the cannon lacked sufficient mobility in the battle. He designed instead a faster and more lightweight version of the cannon. But it did not just consist of one cannon, it included three cannons. Due to how lightweight it was, it made mobility on the battlefield much easier for the soldier. This also meant that the soldier could fire multiple shots at once as well and at a much faster rate compared to its predecessor. Seventeen years later, Leonardos time as a military engineer under the rule of Ludovico Sforza had come to an end once the French had invaded Milan. This left Leonardo to pursue other projects and come up with new inventions while travelling to other cities. Leonardo ended up designing an invention known as the ornithopter or known as the flying machine. His inspiration for this machine came from birds and kites. He had hoped one day the average man could fly as high as them in the sky. He specifically studied how the birds would use their wings to fly and would apply the concept into his design. However, it would become quite more apparent that the design of the wings, resemble the wings of a bat. The wingspan of the ornithopter was beyond thirty three feet. The material he used in the design of the wings consisted of pine and raw silk. This allowed the wings to be light and allow it to be easily carried by the wind. He would then have the pilot sit in the center between the wings a nd push a pedal in an alternating fashion while the machine flapped its wings. But Leonardos interest in flying did not stop there, he had come up with another invention. This time, Leonardo came up with the Parachute, not specifically the one seen in modern day, but the early sketch of a parachute. His idea of the parachute would come from a tent made of linen, sewn together to make sure all its openings were not letting air through and it would have a wooden frame which allowed the person to attach some rope to it to be able hold on. He believed at the time, that this device would allow a person to be able to jump from nearly any height without injury. But, at the time there were not any extremely high up places that were viable enough to be used for testing. It was not until the year 2000, when a known daredevil by the name of Adrian Nicholas decided to try Leonardos design of the parachute. Critics doubted his design would work and would put Adrians life at risk. But after jumping from 3000 feet above ground, Adrian proved that Leonardos design was successf ul. He also discovered that the ride to be smoother than the ripcord parachute found in modern times. But, the weight of the parachute was a concern since it could potentially injure the user as they land. Near the end of the fifteenth century, Leonardo had come up with another invention that was seen once again as ahead of his time. Using gears, pulleys, and cables, he was able to create a robot knight. By taking a knights suit and fitting it with the gears, pulleys, and cables, he was able to give the suit the ability to move various parts such as the arms and legs using different pulley systems within the suit. It could also perform human like actions such as sitting down and standing up, moving its head, and opening its mouth piece. But since then, Leonardos full drawings could not be found together, but rather, scattered designs in his notebooks. However, in 2002 a NASA roboticist by the name of Mark Rosheim took Leonardos design and was able to create a prototype out of it. As he was building the prototype, he discovered how Leonardo designed the robot to be easily built. This truly showed how Leonardo was a man ahead of his time. This allowed people in modern times now to take i nspiration from Leonardos Robotic Knight and to apply similar concepts to what is created today. It would be quite challenging to imagine life without some of the designs that Leonardo Da Vinci had created which helped pave the way for some of the modern day inventions. One may question what the world would be like in terms of technological and architectural advances had people neglected his work or he chose to not share his ideas. One can come to the conclusion that Leonardo Da Vinci was more than just an artist, but he was also an innovator that was way ahead of his time. References ENGINEERING.COM. (2006, October 12). Leonardo da Vinci > ENGINEERING.Com. Retrieved from http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/34/Leonardo-da-Vinci.aspx Leonardo da Vincis Armoured car invention. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/armoured-car.aspx Wight, C. (2009, March 4). Leonardo da Vinci from inspiration to innovation. Retrieved from http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/leonardo/leonardo.html Universal Leonardo: Leonardo da Vinci online à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º welcome to universal Leonardo. Retrieved from http://www.universalleonardo.org/ What is Leonardos robotic knight invention? Retrieved from InnovateUs, http://www.innovateus.net/innopedia/what-leonardos-robotic-knight-invention

Bresson’s A Man Escaped Essay -- Robert Bresson

Evidence of an Auteur: Bresson’s A Man Escaped Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped follows the confinement and eventual escape of political activist, Lieutenant Fontaine. The movie’s theme is blatantly clear: freedom at all costs. Fontaine must not only save himself from imminent death, but from the fear of parched sanity. Bresson, an â€Å"auteur† by the standards of colleagues and the Cahiers Du Cinema group, creates suspense melded with hope through the scarcity of music and sound, the restricted establishment of setting, the daunting acting of Francois Leterrier, the exposition of time, and the heavy reliance of a narrator. After first viewing of the film, one might be quick to say that the film is completely devoid of music. It is used so scarcely that it appears to make no impact. Yet, it is that scarcity and exclusion that creates the sullen tone of the film. Bresson relies heavily on ambient, diegetic sound that, in this case, is going to be the silence or the rustling of prisoners’ or guards’ feet within the walls of the prison. Careful scraping of the spoon handle on the floor, the creaking of the wooden door as it is pried open, and the light tapping on the cement walls all lend to the solitude and determination of the prisoner. Sound very much plays a role as a symbol; the clinking of the keys against the railing represents not only authority but raises the tension of the film, the viewer knowing that Fontaine’s exposure as an attempted escapee would lead to sudden death. In combination with the random firings from the death squad, Bresson leads the viewer to really f eel the hopelessness and disparity of the situation. Later in the film, during the escape, the train whistle plays parts as both a warning and ... ...war), but in a way that really strove to show the effects of war on one man from his point of view (far more personal and disheartening). Bresson’s other films are made much in the same vein. Though, for example, L’Argent was made in 1983—far from the reaches of the New Wave era—it still has the Bresson-typical ambient sound, tortured main character, and dreariness about it. Jack C. Ellis says that Bresson’s â€Å"search for ever greater clarity and simplicity of visual-aural statement, his concentration on only those themes that most deeply concern him, place him among the very select company with which he is being considered.† So, while some directors may be debated upon continually as an auteur, it is clear from the consensus of historians and critics, as well as his consistent work in his thirteen films, that Robert Bresson has secured his role as an auteur. Bresson’s A Man Escaped Essay -- Robert Bresson Evidence of an Auteur: Bresson’s A Man Escaped Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped follows the confinement and eventual escape of political activist, Lieutenant Fontaine. The movie’s theme is blatantly clear: freedom at all costs. Fontaine must not only save himself from imminent death, but from the fear of parched sanity. Bresson, an â€Å"auteur† by the standards of colleagues and the Cahiers Du Cinema group, creates suspense melded with hope through the scarcity of music and sound, the restricted establishment of setting, the daunting acting of Francois Leterrier, the exposition of time, and the heavy reliance of a narrator. After first viewing of the film, one might be quick to say that the film is completely devoid of music. It is used so scarcely that it appears to make no impact. Yet, it is that scarcity and exclusion that creates the sullen tone of the film. Bresson relies heavily on ambient, diegetic sound that, in this case, is going to be the silence or the rustling of prisoners’ or guards’ feet within the walls of the prison. Careful scraping of the spoon handle on the floor, the creaking of the wooden door as it is pried open, and the light tapping on the cement walls all lend to the solitude and determination of the prisoner. Sound very much plays a role as a symbol; the clinking of the keys against the railing represents not only authority but raises the tension of the film, the viewer knowing that Fontaine’s exposure as an attempted escapee would lead to sudden death. In combination with the random firings from the death squad, Bresson leads the viewer to really f eel the hopelessness and disparity of the situation. Later in the film, during the escape, the train whistle plays parts as both a warning and ... ...war), but in a way that really strove to show the effects of war on one man from his point of view (far more personal and disheartening). Bresson’s other films are made much in the same vein. Though, for example, L’Argent was made in 1983—far from the reaches of the New Wave era—it still has the Bresson-typical ambient sound, tortured main character, and dreariness about it. Jack C. Ellis says that Bresson’s â€Å"search for ever greater clarity and simplicity of visual-aural statement, his concentration on only those themes that most deeply concern him, place him among the very select company with which he is being considered.† So, while some directors may be debated upon continually as an auteur, it is clear from the consensus of historians and critics, as well as his consistent work in his thirteen films, that Robert Bresson has secured his role as an auteur.

Jerusalem in the Scriptures :: Christianity Bible Scriptures Essays

Jerusalem in the Scriptures 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 "See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" (Matthew23:37-39) Jerusalem in the Scriptures is symbolic of the Church in general. The word "Jerusalem" means "city of peace". Paul writing to the church at Galatia makes a distinction between the two Jerusalems - the natural one and the spiritual one. Both Jerusalems are described symbolically as mothers with children. 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children; 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:25-26) We see that when Jesus laments over Jerusalem, He is actually lamenting over BOTH the natural Jerusalem AND the spiritual one. From history we know that Jerusalem had a record for killing the prophets God sent to her to warn her to repent of idolatry. The irony of it all, is that the city of God had a tendency to reject God Himself when He came to them in the form of these men. This led to the ultimate of all ironies - the rejection of the man Jesus, who was in fact God in the flesh. And all this by those zealously attempting to adhere to the principles of God but at the same time rejecting the person of God in Jesus. 37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 "But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (John 5:37-40) We, as born-again believers, have the seed of the word of God living and abiding in us because we were willing to "come to Him" and "believe in Him". Likewise, as we learn to recognise those sent by God, we will be able to receive the word living in them which may be the very anointing we need to have the yokes and bondages destroyed in our lives and be changed from glory

Non-Art in Popular Culture Essay

When discussing art in popular culture there are very few boundaries to adhere to. Almost any form of media can be considered as art. But not all works are good examples of art and there are several determining factors that help to decide on the artistic quality of a piece. This essay will discuss in response to the above quote the identifiable characteristics of what could be considered art in contemporary pop culture. It will deconstruct the some of the most prominent types of art in popular culture including street art, music video and advertisements or commercial art. And under which circumstances are they considered to be art whether this is the intention of the piece, or the creative process that surrounds it or simply the aesthetic values that it holds. It will also discuss if works produced solely for commercial propaganda are still considered art. And if the artistic values of the work are influenced on the environment in which it resides. These three determining factors will help distinguish between art and non art in contemporary pop culture. Art in popular culture varies widely in a range of creative forms and media. Popular culture or ‘pop’ culture has a heavy influence on much of the works that are created by artists today. (Gibbons, 2005, p. 1) These include all forms of street and public art including graffiti and stencil art that often make statements on pop culture. And also in a more formal environment including galleries and art museums where there is a large array of contemporary works which reflect on these elements of consumerism. There are numerous well recognised artists that have concentrated much of their practice on consumerism and culture. Andy Warhol, is a founder in bringing consumerism to the high art scene in the 1960’s (Livingstone 1992), something that had not being done before. A more recent take on this concept is Takashi Murakami and the art movement ‘Super Flat’ which concentrates on Japanese pop culture and particularly anime and manga. (n. a 2009 Superflat art) Art is not only influenced by popular culture but it makes up a large part of influential media for popular culture. This form of art can be recognised directly in advertising, music, music videos, cartoons and any other form of media that creatively puts forth a message, more often that not for commercial propaganda. This is not always the case but this lower form of more accessible art is completely open to the public because it is not hemmed in by the confines or â€Å"laws† of the gallery system or the museum. (Stowers 1997) And it quite often forced into peoples lives, by occurring in a public space society are forced into viewing these creative works that promote popular culture through advertisements billboards television radio and generally in any public space just as they are exposed to graffiti art and vandalism. More often than not the environment in which the artwork resides in impacts the values that people give the piece but this is not the only thing that should be considered when depicting the piece as several factors impact the merit of the work. These can include the creative process involved, the purpose of the work and the aesthetic values of the final piece. (Johnstone 2006) The creative process that is involved in creating an art piece may have huge effects on the final outcome. In some cases it’s the process that is the work, in others cases it can be just important in developing the meanings and values behind the work and also some pieces may not be understood fully until the intentional processes are understood. The creative process has being described in four steps these are Preparation, Incubation, Illumination and Implementation. (Charlie, 2008) Going through this four step process is not always occur consciously but has an impact on the outcomes. (Konradsson 1999) Pieces that do not have a creative intention or process behind them can be severely limited in creative outcome and therefore have limited merit as art. In this case it severely relies on the aesthetic values that other people then place on the work. And if it has little appeal in terms of colour, line, balance, rhythm and other principles and elements and no creative meaning then is generally not considered to be art. The purpose of the work can also impact the process of how a piece is created. Depending on whether it is for commercial use or purely artistic intentions there can be a lengthy design process which is very calculated in terms of design. The final impact the work is strongly controlled through the elements and principles of design. This is generally used in commercial art such as illustration, graphic design, and advertising and communication media. All these forms of creative work hold artistic value but are not necessarily considered art to the general public as it is not presented as art but takes on a different primary form, advertising. (Gibbons 2005) This is a similar concept as street art or graffiti as it generally seen as a form of vandalism and can be considered as an eyesore. Though people are more likely to see graffiti for its artistic values and intentions as it dose not generally hold the same connotation as advertising. The reasons and values for why one might engage in graffiti art are as varied as the artists who produce it. A chief reason is the â€Å"prospect of fame and recognition of one’s artistic talent. Graffiti is also a form of self expression. The art as â€Å"writing† is a creative method of communicating with other writers and the general public. † (Stowers 1997) What it communicates is the artist’s identity, expression, and ideas like all other art forms but is forced into the public eye unlike art in a gallery. Graffiti is fast becoming popular as a preferred art form of many contemporary artists and hold the same fundamental artistic intentions as any other art form. As art we see in galleries have purely the intentions of being art we are more likely to consider that it is art. (Hester 2007) And we find some way of connecting to it via feeling and aesthetic value or the appreciation of the process. The placement of a piece in relation to its surroundings also impacts on the effect it has for example seeing an advertising piece in a gallery we would assume it to be art and created to make a statement about advertising. Where as if it were to be place on a billboard we would consider the primary reason is the promotion of a particular product. It is very difficult to define what art is exactly. According to many artistic directors and critics there is not one single definition of art. Art historian Robert Rosenblum believes that â€Å"the idea of defining art is so  remote [today]† that he doesn’t think â€Å"anyone would dare to do it. † (Witcombe n. d)And that more or less anything can be considered as art. † (Witcombe n. d) Goldman’s aesthetic theory (2005, 345) is of use to clarify the problem of location and presentation in relation to graffiti art. Goldman ( 2005, 346) claims that ‘art takes us to other worlds in a manner that is quite fulfilling sensually and aesthetically’ The are many determining factors that help us see the artistic values in works how we as individuals read and interpret these through out the work is a matter of pure personal opinion. Some personal factors that establish our opinions on creative works are our knowledge and understanding of art or a piece in particular, likes and dislikes and how we relate to the piece. This combined with the values of the piece that include; the process, the intention, the environment in which it is placed and the visual aesthetic values of the work determine how we personally consider the impact of the work. Many people consider art as something appealing to the eye or ear but much of contemporary art is not like this and a greater understanding of the work is needed to gain an insight to the values is holds. (n. a. 2009) For most people when art becomes hard or impossible to understand right away we tend to question its merit. This is particularly the case for graffiti as some may argue (Stowers 1997) even when it is in a gallery environment it is too hard to understand, though this should not be a determining factor to deciding whether is considered art as many art work considers deeper intrinsic values. Most of the opposition to graffiti art is due to ‘its location and bold, unexpected, and unconventional presentation,’ (Stowers 1997) but its presentation and often illegal location does not necessarily disqualify it as art either. The major determining factor is the creative value â€Å"the ability to produce complicated pieces is what separates the tagger from the graffiti artist; graffitist for short. Taggers scribble and graffitists do art. † (Stowers 1997) So as we can see there are many different forms of art in contemporary pop culture including those that are influenced by pop culture and those that influence pop culture. These can be all forms of Digital Media, advertising, illustration and music as well as art we see in galleries and street art. Not all have the primary purpose of being art but all hold artistic and creative values that can be seen through the process the intention the aesthetic qualities and the surrounding of the work. Some seem to have the primary purpose of being only art while others are created for commercial propaganda. While the pieces that are generally considered art by the public, have a better aesthetic quality and are initially easier to understand there can not be any set connotations as to what it to be determined as art or non art. And that it is purely what importance, feelings and values the individual viewing the work sees. Reference List Charlie, 2008. Demystifying the Creative Process http://www. productiveflourishing. com/demystifying-the-creative-process/ (accessed 28/04/2010) Gibbons,J. 2005 Art and Advertising. P. 1-12 New York: I. B Tauris & co Ltd Goldman, A. 2005. Aesthetic Qualities and Aesthetic Value . in Aesthetics critical concept in philosophy J. O Young, p. 345-349 Oxon: Routledge. Hester, N 2007. Low and High: What is Art Anyhow  http://www.monstersandcritics.com/