Defining Beauty for Men and Women in Portraiture Essay -- Masculine Fe

Defining Beauty for Men and Women in Portraiture " ... A thing of beauty is a joy forever : It's loveliness increases ; it will never Pass into nothingness ... " What is beauty? Seemingly a continually evolving and infinitely elusive ideal - mankind has been obsessed with the concept of beauty throughout the ages. Portraiture, as an essential channel of visual communication, has traditionally been the medium through which definitions of beauty are graphically expressed. Particularly in the Renaissance where portraiture often served celebratory or commemorative purposes, it was crucial that portraits were accepted as aesthetically pleasing reflections of the social ideals of the time. Hence by comparing and contrasting a range of different portraits of depicting men and women of the Renaissance such as Titian’s La Bella, Bronzino’s Eleonora de Medici, Sofonisba Anguissola’s Self Portrait, Vasari’s Alessandro de Medici, Bronzino’s Cosimo de Medici as Orpheus and Pedro Berruguete’s Portrait of Federico da Mentelfeltro, viewers can gain an understanding of the conceptual differences in definitions of masc uline and feminine beauty during this period. Titian’s La Bella – Portrait of a Woman in a Blue Dress (1536) is a captivating example of Renaissance ritratto (portraiture) demonstrating ideals of feminine beauty. It presents the image of a vibrant young woman. With smooth, light skin tone and delicate rounded face the woman is clearly defined as an exceptional beauty. Framed at a slight angle to the picture frame, La Bella emerges from the dark neutral background with subtly averted gaze, at once both inviting and refrained. Through the conflict of La Bella’s seductive yet submissive presentation, the portrait captures the essence of Renaissance female beauty perfectly, presenting the mildly sensual nature of the woman’s image as a joy in itself. To complement her dignified demeanour, La Bella wears an amazingly intricate and extravagant blue gown. For a period when women were without a public voice and remained dependant on signs of visual identity such as clothing and jewellery, such a display of finery implies significant wealth and social status. Considering the seductive rendering of the fabric utilising costly lapis lazuli, it is clear Titian desired to present an image of ultimate feminine loveliness. The portrait is free from overt art... ...re often used as vital means of propaganda communication. Beyond these conventional images we have such images as Cosimo de Medici as Orpheus and Self Portrait by Sofonisba. Which, although rare, were recognised as beautiful portraits of the time, and present and much more unusual and intriguing visions of beauty. Through the exploration of this diverse range portraiture, the contrasting ideals of masculine and feminine beauty in the Renaissance have been explored. Yet overall, no matter what the gender orientation of the subject, it the discovery of such passionate and artistic talent presented which is essentially ‘beautiful’. Consequently, the grand appeal of such glorious images is still appreciated today, and will continue to delight viewers for generations to come. Bibliography Paola Tingali Women in Italian Renaissance Art (Manchester 1997) Geraldine A. Johnson & Sara Greico Picturing Women in Renaissance and Baroque Italy (Cambridge 1997) Patricia Simons Portraiture: Facing the Subject ed Woodhall (Manchester 1997) Lorne Campbell Renaissance Portraits (Yale 1990) Alison Cole Art of the Italian Renaissance Courts (Everyman Art Library 1997)

Urban Legend of Bloody Mary at Camp Tonikanee :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Bloody Mary Version 4--Bloody Mary at Camp Tonikanee One night, around 1:00 a.m., my roommates and I were sitting in the common room, and I asked the group if they knew of a compelling ghost story. My one roommate, a 20 year old from Pennsylvania, said she had heard a ghost story at the summer sleep-away camp she had attended when she was younger. She heard the story around a campfire in the woods of Camp Tonikanee, which is in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. She described her story as one that the counselors would tell the campers to convince them the camp was haunted. The camp was really, really old and many of the buildings had once burned down because of a big fire. Supposedly the camp was haunted by this woman named Mary, who was a witch. But, no one ever saw her, just weird things would happen. Little girls would disappear at night if they were out wandering around by themselves. It scared everyone because parents want their daughters to come home. So every time someone would disappear, people would go out looking for her but would never find her. But after a girl would disappear, it would get especially strange for a while. People thought Mary haunted other buildings, like the barn. Well, [lowers voice] one night one of the camp directors heard strange sounds coming from a little cabin in the woods where Mary supposedly lives and went to investigate. He found Mary with one of the campers, giving her an herbal potion. But the girl was already in a trance and hypnotized and they couldn’t bring her back. They took Mary and they tied her u p and put her on trial. As she was standing there, she put a spell on everyone and killed herself with the spell. It was said that anyone else who said her name three times in the mirror would die. My roommate told the story in a low, solemn tone, except raising her voice once or twice in the beginning to give the sense of her being unsure of her story. The story was told effectively with hand gestures and vocal inflections. There were a few occasions where she had to stop and think out what happened next, which is understandable because she hadn’t heard the story since she attended summer camp over ten years ago. Besides these instances, she used dramatic pausing to emphasize important events, and the dim lighting of the apartment helped to set the mood.

The Cost of Education

Joey Goodstudent English 101, Section Causal Argument Essay February 16, 2009 The Real Cost of Education It was David Henry Thoreau who said, â€Å"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. † He graduated from Harvard in 1837, but not with a diploma. He explains, â€Å"they have been foolish enough to put at the end of all this earnest the old joke of a diploma. † Thoreau understood that the piece of parchment handed out at commencement means nothing more than the hard work, studying, and education that came before it. Today, those values are lost, and only 59% of Arizonan high school students graduate. This number reflects changes in society, problems in schools, and student’s personal reasoning. Society today demands a degree, not to get ahead, but just to keep up. An article published in the July 17, 2008 Wall Street Journal titled â€Å"The Declining Value of your College Degree† states that â€Å"College-educated workers are more plentiful, more commoditized and more subject to the downsizings that used to be the  purview of blue-collar workers only. What employers want from workers nowadays is more narrow, more abstract and less easily learned in college. † A phrase like this is very discouraging to a high schooler. When the prospect of a brighter future is taken from the table, the immediate response is â€Å"why try? † This attitude gives way to a sense of hopelessness and discouragement. A study by Civic Enterprises shows that 69% of dropouts said that they were not motivated to work hard. The growing cost of living coupled with the independence of today’s youth creates a need to work, and earn money. In society today, children are growing up much faster. A report by the Guttmacher Institute placed Arizona as the state having the second most pregnancies in women aged 15-19. We fell just 9 teen pregnancies shy of first, at 104. With the average annual cost of raising a child at $17,151, it’s practically impossible to support a family and remain in school. This causes both parents of the child to drop out; with both either working all the time or taking turns watching the child as the other works. Problems with the schools are also large contributing factors in the decision to drop out. High Schools often have stark attendance policies that step on the toes of students otherwise willing and able to complete high school. When a student misses a set number of class periods they’re simply audited. The student is not given a chance to catch up, or to learn what they’ve missed, but are assumed to be unable to finish the course. This notion runs contradictory to Arizona’s standardized testing, which suggests that if a child can pass a test, they’ve learned what’s necessary. The audited students are not given the chance to be tested, and show that they’ve learned the necessary material despite absences. A study by Civic Enterprises shows that 47% of students gave the reason â€Å"classes are uninteresting† as one of their motivations for dropping out. Uninteresting classes comes as a result of a strict curriculum to support standardized testing, and placing high value on practical subjects such as math and language, while stigmatizing creative subjects like art, drama, and dance, which would hold the attention of students otherwise bored. Teachers today are forced to stick to strict curriculums to ensure that students can pass a test at the end of the class. This often limits learning techniques considered to be more interesting than others, such as working in a group on a project, or having a class-wide discussion. These actions are replaced with long, prepared lectures and quizzes. Knowledge is lost on students, who sit in class bored. Education is increasingly geared towards practicality, and academic ability. Schools will teach daily mathematics and languages classes, and only offer art or music classes a fraction of that time. Students become bored with the subjects and have no motivation to continue attending school. If schools were to offer more fine arts students would soon gain fascination, and in turn be more interested and motivated to go to school. Class sizes in schools are also a problem, as a large class size will limit the one-on-one time student’s need with their instructor to fully understand what being taught. Often when a class is too large students are unable to ask questions because the instructor is busy help other students, or grading hundreds of assignments. When the class size is smaller, an instructor can get to know particular students weaknesses and help them develop those areas. In this way, a small class size fosters a stronger education, and in turn, happier students who enjoy learning. Students coming to high school from junior high are faced with a completely different social situation. Cliques and groups form to exclude people, and this causes self-esteem issues. Finding friends in this new situation can be tough for students, and feeling like an outcast at school will cause students to not want to be there. Belonging to a group will increase the chances of that students attending school. Conversely, some students get so caught up in the social aspect of high school and being a ‘teen’ that they let their attendance slip, preferring to go out to lunch or hang out with friends over going to school. Eventually, school takes the back seat to their sociability and they drop out. Peer pressure also limits those who earnestly want to succeed, but are not strong academically. Super-seniors will come back to school for another year instead of giving up, only to be ridiculed and called stupid by other students. They soon believe the ridicule and drop out. The true cost of education is the life we exchange for it. It could be at work, struggling to support ourselves and go to school. It could be at home studying for an upcoming exam, It could be in the classroom trying to pay attention, or with fellow students, trying to make friends. With time will come the consequence of these high drop out rates. Perhaps then we’ll take action and try to stop it.

Reason for Seeking a College Degree Essay

The purpose of this essay is to discuss why I chose to seek a college degree, my learning style as discovered by the results of questionnaires, and the fact that I feel the results are accurate for me personally. Everyone has their own individual reasons for pursuing a college degree. For me, it is the desire to become a state Game Warden after retiring from the military. Being a state Game Warden requires that I have a degree in the biological or wildlife sciences. In a profession like this, it is important that one has a clear and concise understanding of wildlife biology at a collegiate level. To be a viable candidate in this profession, a college degree is necessary to present myself as a competitive individual for the job I am seeking to fill. Whether or not I have on the job training or experience, the college degree will show that I have the knowledge base to help me succeed as a warden. The end goal in my pursuit of a college degree is to not only broaden my scope of knowledge and skills, but to unlock career aspirations that would otherwise be unattainable for me without a degree. But before I put the cart before the horse, graduating with degree in hand requires I truly know myself inside and out. Basically I need to understand what my personal learning style is. Learning styles are not exactly chosen, they are natural and inherent to each learner. According to Felder & Soloman (n. d. ) there are several different learning styles: Active, Reflective, Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Sensing, Intuitive, Verbal, Sequential and Global. To find out what kind of learner you are, a simple questionnaire or quiz can be taken to narrow these options down. In taking Felder & Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire (n. d.) and the Learning Style Inventory (Penn State, 2010) questionnaire, I have discovered that I am an active learner and a visual learner. An active learner is one who gravitates toward interpreting, comprehending, and retaining information in a â€Å"hands on† or active fashion. In other words they discuss or apply and explain the information to others (Felder & Soloman, n. d. ). The degree program I am enrolled in is online; which presents me with challenges and difficulties in using the active learning style that I normally rely upon. An alternative to active learning for me is visual, which will serve me well because online course material is something I can see to interpret and retain. Visual learners are those who absorb and maintain information efficiently through methods such as charts, diagrams, pictures, films or demonstrations (Felder & Soloman, n. d. ). Suggestions for success as a visual learner include writing out ideas and information for memorization and fully utilizing all course materials, whether they are maps, flashcards, charts or filmstrips (Penn State, 2010). I am someone who always reads the directions prior to completing any task, therefore this fits me perfectly. I fully agree with the results of these questionnaires. I am a mechanic- someone who works day in and day out with my hands. The things I am trying to accomplish or figure out require me to read texts, diagrams and pictures and solve the problem using these resources. I also discuss and apply the information found with those who are masters of the mechanic profession. My reasons for seeking a college degree are simple. I need to hold at minimum at Bachelor’s in the wildlife or biological sciences to reach my goal of being a state Game Warden after retirement from the military. To be successful in this means that I understand I am a visual and active learner, as realized after taking the learning styles questionnaires. References Felder, R. M. , & Soloman, B. A. (n. d. ). Index of learning styles. Retrieved from http://www. engr. ncsu. edu/learningstyles/ilsweb. html Penn State. (2010). Learning style inventory. Retrieved from http://www. personal. psu. edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI/htm.

Human Resource Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Human Resource Planning - Essay Example ed now to contribute to the creation of sustainable competitive advantage more than tangible assets such as â€Å"raw materials, fixed capital, and even managerial knowledge.† Leveraging knowledge is the key reason attributed to corporate success stories such as the tremendous ‘overvaluation’ of high-tech and Internet companies. (Bontis & Michael, 2002 ) With respect to the importance of human capital in modern business environment managers need to develop organizational skills such as managing networks, master HR planning and development. In this paper we’ll view several HR planning and development methods and evaluate them with respect to objectives of United Utilities, water supply waste water treatment and disposal company. United Utilities employs over 17,000 people and is one of the main infrastructure and business process management companies. The group also owns two support services businesses: United Utilities Contract Solutions and Vertex which use the core skills of infrastructure management and business process management in the process of supply of services to others. (United Utilities Taps into Community Spirit, 2006) The principle objectives, which specify the strategy of United Utilities, can be summed up to improvement of the efficiency by means of maximizing synergies as a multi-utility operator and development of support service businesses by means of application of the main skills of infrastructure management and business process outsourcing in competitive markets. (Our Strategies, 2006) Besides, United Utilities tries to satisfy all parts, providing growth for shareholders, minimizing expenses for customers and providing its employees with challenging and rewarding jobs /Our Strategies, 2006/. The main sources of recruitment are employment agencies, university appointment boards or fairs, internal promotion or introduction and advertising. Taking into account the objective of United Utilities to find high-qualified staff in short

Market structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Market structure - Essay Example According to Baumol and Blinder (2011 p. 200), such a market must satisfy four conditions. First, the market has many small firms and customers such that no participants are large enough to have market power to affect the price of a product. If one producer reduces the price, there would be no effect on the market since the producer is negligible compared to the whole market. This condition rules out the possibilities for collusion or trade associations; each firm acts independently (Tucker, 2010). Secondly, all the suppliers sell a homogeneous product; there are no close substitutes (McEachern, 2011). As such, the consumers buy products from any seller since the products are the same thus competition is very powerful. The demand curve is perfectly elastic hence if a seller increases the price of the product, customers shift to buy competitors products. The firms have no choice but to meet and not exceed the price charged by others hence are â€Å"price takers† (Baumol & Blind er, 2011 p. 201). Thirdly, there are no barriers to entry or exit in the market. Barriers to entry may be in form of legal, technical or cost advantage but in a perfectly competitive market, any seller willing to enter the industry can do so to take advantage of economic profits and provide an identical product (p. 200). The new entrant is at the same level with the old firms; there are no advantages for existing firms so the new firm can compete effectively. Lastly, the infinite buyers and sellers have perfect information regarding the price and quality of products in the market. As a result, there is no need for advertising as it would have no effect; the customers know where to buy their products and besides, all products are identical and the price is determined by the market. According to Landsburg (2011), in a perfectly competitive market there are no transaction costs and perfect factor mobility. This enables the market to adjust accordingly in case of changing market conditi ons. Q2: Price and Output Decisions of a Perfectly Competitive Market As noted above, there are infinite buyers and sellers in the market such that none has an effect on price. The price in such a market is determined by forces of supply and demand hence the sellers are â€Å"price takers†. Sexton (2012) argues that since the market price is given, the only decision that firms have to make is determining the level of output that would maximize profit. The question firms should ask themselves as asserted by McEachern (2011 p. 176) is â€Å"how much should I produce?† He notes that firms aim at producing a quantity at which total revenue is higher than total cost by the greatest amount. The profit maximizing output in a perfectly competitive market occurs where marginal revenue (MR) is equal to marginal cost (MC); MR=MC therefore the firms are seen to allocate resources efficiently. A perfectly competitive firm has a horizontal demand curve thus it can sell as much quant ity as it wants at the given market price. Whether the firm increases its output or not, the price remains the same as there are many sellers. It also does not have to reduce the price so as to attract demand as it would lead to loss of revenue for the firm (Baumol & Blinder, 2011). Since total revenue is the output multiplied by the price, the average revenue is the same as price. The firm is also a price taker hence the marginal revenue is equal to

Toward Stronger Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Toward Stronger Marketing - Essay Example After the dismal initial performance of the brew, Lang was invited to lead the Nespresso team. Lang was highly motivated and creative in its approach and favored aggressive marketing techniques. He believed that the core business strategy of any business heavily relies on new products and innovative market strategy that facilitates in creating a niche market for their products and services. He used various marketing metrics to explore and exploit new markets. The marketing initiatives for Nespresso can be broadly described as follows. The compulsions of the rapidly transforming societal paradigms and technological advancements are important factors that require more comprehensive and innovative approach to market strategy. Strategic marketing plans are a crucial part of promoting products and services of an organization and establish market credibility. An effective market strategy promotes the use of SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis on a periodic basis. The awareness of strengths and weaknesses in the company’s resources would help to act timely and efficiently so that opportunities and threats can be effectively met to provide a competitive edge to their rivals. Consumer psychology and analysis of a database of customers are an important part of a market strategy which helps one to know the changing preferences of the customers in the rapidly changing times. Analysis and identification of the changing trends of the customer requirements are important ingredients to gain leverage against their rivals. The market strategy should be totally focused on the needs and requirements of the people and make continuous efforts to update its products line with that of the changing public demands. Understanding of consumer psychology, therefore, plays a vital role in the development of marketing strategy and planning.