Craft-Oriented Objects Essay

We encounter many craft- oriented objects day to day. I do not think I really thought about how objects were made and their value in life until I received this assignment. As I was thinking about all of the things that are craft- oriented, I especially thought about things at work and my home. I actually work at a dress shop and I’ve thought about how those dresses were made. Every dress company has a location where they make their dresses, like China. Each dress is handmade and takes many hours and hard work to make. I believe this is an art of craft and has high value in a woman’s world. I also own many dresses of my own from going to prom and participating in various pageants. The next time I am wearing one of these delicate dresses I am going to take a minute to think about the hard work and long hours that it took to make my dress just for me. Another one of the many craft-oriented objects that I see and use every day is my home. My home is one of the most important places to me and it has several qualities that make it unique to me. It is amazing to think about all the hard work and the time that went in to building my house. Although my house has many craft-oriented objects in it, my house as a whole is a huge craft-oriented object in my everyday life.

Summer Dreamscapes – Creative Writing

That particular morning, I woke early, earlier than my parents, which was quite unusual for summer. I had no idea this would be a small yet very important day in my life. I lied in bed a few moments, sun shining brightly through my metal framed windows, hitting my face, thinking of the beautiful day that waits. I quickly ascended from my queen bed, nearly tripping over the piles of clothes on my grayish-blue floor. I hurried to my bathroom rugs; the painted concrete floor under my feet was chilly, sending a slight layer of goose bumps up my arms. I came to virtually a sudden stop in the middle of my pink and green polka dot painted bathroom after a quick glance out the window. In the greenery out near the multicolored flower garden, sits a small brownish-grey cluster of fur. With a closer look, I could easily tell it is a squirrel. Like a statue, the miniature creature was absolutely tranquil. I stretched my arm up to lay my hand on the glass, still cold from the shadowy night. With a flick of the wrist, I tapped the window, quickly, but not too loud. In no more than a second the frightened tiny ball of fur came alive and quickly scurried up the Elm tree in the back yard, no longer in sight. After a silent laugh, I continued on my way. In the small bathroom, just right of the door sat my small porcelain sink with a wooden cabinet underneath. Out of excitement and no intent of going to sleep, I had already laid my clothes I had prepared to wear that day on the sink. I pulled on a white tank top, which still carried the relaxing smell of the lavender and vanilla detergent my mother loved to use. After sliding my clumsy feet into brown homely flip-flops, I hear my father calling my name. I flipped off the light switch, and hurried out the door. The anticipation only grew in the car ride to the lake as each leafy green tree and yellow line passed. I watched with exhilaration as the lake came into sight. I could easily see the majestic blue water and countless boats, which looked like white specks on the horizon, and I think to myself, â€Å"This is perfect. † I begin to smell the lake as we slowly drive forward on the narrow gravel road, rocks cracking below us, toward our favorite swimming area. This particular area was extremely special because it was surrounded by stunning bluffs, which I had never had the courage to leap from before. These beautiful, rough rock structures had all shades of brown and tan mixed together with visible horizontal lines from multiple years of rock formation. I opened the car door quickly, trying to grab as much as I could to take to the rough concrete picnic table. The table, situated nicely under a tree, appeared to have bright green moss growing on it, almost as if it had been under water at some point. The table had an astonishing view of the other side of the lake. From there I could see children wearing bright colored floaters and some playing in the sand. In my line if sight, was a small group of people tossing and bouncing around a red, yellow, blue and white beach ball and the sound of laughter in the distance. I start feeling an empty spot in my stomach as my dad prepared the grill. I could smell the charcoal starter mixed with the blackish briquettes as they caught flame. Looking at the lake from my seat, I could see the rainbow waves of heat from the grill, blurring my vision. I hear the burger patties sizzling and the smell of the beef cooking that brought back all the memories of summers before. I reach below my seat and open the lid of the cooler, plunging my hand into the icy water to grab a cold drink. As I pulled my hand out, I gave it a little shake to get the remainder of the melted ice water off. My mother handed me a plate and poured the little triangular nacho cheese potato chips to my plate, they are my favorites. She sat a bun she had taken from a bag on my plate and grabbed the deep-red tomato ketchup from the cooler and squirted in an â€Å"s† shape on the bun. Although I knew better, I ate in a hurry, even finishing a can of soda, so I could get in the water. I hurried to the top of the bluff for a quick peak from the very top. I could see nobody below me but the blue-green glass-like water waiting, calling my name. I had decided long before that soon I was going to brave this jump, and today is the day. Being the impatient person that I am, I tossed my tank top and flip-flops in the short green grass atop the bluff and walked to the edge for ‘just a look' for the last time. I could feel the hot gritty rock beneath my bare feet. I could feel the anxiousness in the pit of my stomach and the readiness in my mind. I peered over my left shoulder for one last glance at my parents, who were absolutely preoccupied at the time. Knowing I was ready, I wanted to think twice but didn't. I gathered all the fear inside myself and took one deep breath. I pushed away from the top of the bluff with all the strength in me. Time seemed to stop, and I remembered the children playing in the distance and the boats floating on the smooth water, although I couldn't have been in the air for more than a few seconds. I didn't make a sound except the splash when I hit the water, motionless until that instant. I could feel the cool water all over my body, the adrenaline pumping, my mind shocked at what I had just done. I plunged lower into the darkness as the bubbles I had brought down with me raced to the top. My lungs, empty, began to ache and I knew in a split second I needed to get to the surface for air. I caught my breath at the top of the water and knew I had accomplished one of my own goals and conquered my great fear of heights at the same time. We left the lake late in the evening, just as the sun began to set. I had hit a small, yet huge milestone in my life. I knew I could do anything, no matter how much fear I feel, if I just set my mind to it. I always think back to this important day when I feel frustrated and remember that I am only limited by what I limit myself. Driving away from the pinkish-purple sunset, I take one last look back and see the sun's ornamental reflection on the glassy water and realize what a wonderful experience this day has been. I have the memories of the exciting jump and the vivid picture of the colorful sunset forever in my mind.

The Competitive Advantages of Apple Inc Literature review

The Competitive Advantages of Apple Inc - Literature review Example John Wiley & Sons. 15 Bibliography 17 Literature Review Interrelationship between Leadership and Organizational Commitment In the year 1993, Drucker had mentioned that the performance and quality of the managers are significant influential factor to decide organizational success. A company without effective leadership would not be able to transform the internal resources to its competitive advantage. It would not be denied that there is a close relationship among the leadership style and organization development. In the year 1990, Bass made one study in which it was pretty observable that around 45 % to 65 % of the total factors which are responsible of causing either success or failure would be decided by the organizational leaders. Definition of Leadership Leadership is an ability to persuade any group towards the attainment of goals. In the year 1964, Tannenbaum and others have considered leadership as an influential factor in human relations. Leadership is an attribute guiding a group of people to achieve preset goals through communication. According to Fiedler, leadership can be assumed to be a type of relationship to make the group members work together and achieve common goal. Rauch and Behling in 1984 and Hsieh in the year 1993 considered leadership as a process to influence any group to approach the goals. Theories of Leadership Since twentieth century, a number of theories and literature had been introduced to prove different standpoints. Four major perspectives had been shown through these theories. Some of the theories are articulated in the later segment (Wu et. al., 2006, p.438- 440). Trait Theories According to Stogdill (1963) and Davis (1972), a successful leader must posses certain personality traits. Behavior Theories In 1957, Halpin and Winer had introduced two dimensions, initiating consideration and structure. Following the same, a number of studies conducted by Stogdill, Likert and Kotter also introduced certain behavioral attributes of le adership. Contingency Theories In the year 1967, Fiedler has introduced the contingency model of leadership. In the year 1971, House came up with a path-goal theory by extracting details from the research carried out by Ohio State University as well as the expectancy theory of motivation. In the year 1977, Blackchard and Hersey introduced situational leadership theory considering two leadership sides in terms of relationship behaviors and tasks and mix and matching the intensity of these two to come up with specific leadership types: selling, telling, delegating and participating. As per Contingency theory, the leaders of any group are required to opt for an appropriate leadership style considering the readiness of the following group. The selling style can be effective for willing but unable subordinates; while, the telling styles can reap good results for the unwilling and unable followers. Leaders usually use participating style when his or her followers are willing but unable. T he delegating style seems to be good for followers who are able but unwilling to do the tasks (Wu et. al., 2006, p.438- 440). Non Charismatic Theories: These theories include the theories on transformational and transactional leadership styles. These two are pretty well known in the arenas of leadership theories. According to the transactional leadership theory, both superior as well as the subordinate would influence each other to derive value of that exchange. Transactional leader

Uranium Mining in Western United States and its Effects Research Paper

Uranium Mining in Western United States and its Effects - Research Paper Example The element, uranium, occurred in ores mined for extraction of other minerals, especially carnonite. After the First World War and during the second war, uranium received a lot interest as an element. This write up follows the development of uranium mining as a by-product, to the exhaustive processing of uranium containing ores in search of uranium in later years. Uranium received such great interest because of its properties. Uranium decays with the release of energy and other particles; this makes it useful in nuclear weaponry and in production of electricity. Uranium was pursued for both reasons to a varied degree. This research paper investigates the circumstances that led to the uranium rush. The mining of uranium has numerous effects to both human beings and the environment. The writer of this paper reviews the chronological but enduring effects of uranium mining in the western United States. It investigates the ecological, social-cultural and health effects of uranium mining i n the western states. The importance of uranium and the role it has played in the development of the US cannot be belittled. Nevertheless, the lack of due care in the mining and processing of uranium ore resulted to varied adverse effects. Some of these effects have been around for several decades and are not yet over. Due to the long half-life of uranium, thorium and radon, their deposits take millions of years to reduce to safe levels. Additionally, the presence of a water-soluble uranium isotope made it easy for the spread of radionuclides from the mining districts to other states. Geography of western United States Western US covers the greater half of the country. It is divided into pacific states, west coast, mountain states, western Texas, and the mid west. The first group includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington while the west coast refers to California, Oregon, and Washington. The mountain states include Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. T he Midwest includes Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota among others. (Energy-net) The western region features a wealthy but intricate tectonic history. This includes volcanoes, extension and compression. The Colorado flat terrain is at the centre of this region. The deformed Rocky Mountains (north), southern Rocky Mountains (northeast), Rio Grande rift (east), and the basin and range (south and west) surround the plateau. The plateau consists of gently tilted blocks of monoclines (Fagbola 2007, p. 1-8). The Colorado plateau extends to about 130,000 square miles. It is in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. Precambrian and metamorphic rocks form the basement of the plateau. Colorado’s basic topography can be demarcated threefold. The eastern part consisting of plains, the

Analysis of Color Adjustment Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Analysis of Color Adjustment - Movie Review Example Albeit with little variations, they still depict past â€Å"bad† images. The producer also brings to light the continuing identity crisis that continues in American television. He is able to contrast the ideal blacks depicted in sitcoms and sagas with the angrier, harsher ones presented in the news (Riggs et. al. 0:12). In a rather informative and straightforward manner, Marlon draws opinions from producers and stars from notable shows in the history of black television. He occasionally pauses to observe James Baldwin’s literature. Every one of the shows he discusses comes out as a show of both pride and pain. Tim Reid and Diahann Carroll, who were the main actors in popular television series significant in Mr. Riggs’ argument, openly talk about their varied response to â€Å"Amos ‘n’ and Andy†, a television show in which the N.A.A.C.P did say: â€Å"every temperament is either a crook or a clown.†(Riggs et. al. 0:32) As the film progresses, Ms. Carroll opens up about her family being adamant concerning not watching â€Å"Amos ‘n’ Andy.† It is only later that she could see the offensiveness in the show to see its humor (Riggs et. al. 0:25). With the chronological procession of the movie, it depicts Beulah, a jolly black servant who is committed to the white family who employs her. â€Å"That was a maid from Hollywood,† (Riggs et. al. 0:29) Esther, who starred in â€Å"Good Times† quips. In this case, she is referring to the Louse Beavers who was popularly called the grinning actress. She is the one responsible for making Beulah be acceptable to the white viewers. Beulah is black. The film, which debuted at the Anthropology Movie Archives, devoted attention to Nat Cole’s variety show. It signaled the initial non-comedic episodes that that starred black actors, but which was called off due to lack of sponsorship for an entire season.  Ã‚  

Stock Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Stock Analysis - Research Paper Example Furthermore, advanced approaches include open transaction values or volume in the analysis (Timo, 2009). This approach supports that a commodity’s present price exhibits all related information regarding the commodity comprehensively. Thus, the price stands for the good’s fair worth, and, as a result, is capable of acting as the foundation for analysis and study. This approach exploits all information contained in the price to exhibit market forecasts of its subsequent fluctuation. The Fundamental Evaluation approach This approach refers to a tactic of analyzing securities and commodities with the purpose of trying to determine their intrinsic worth. In doing this, it heavily depends on the thorough scrutiny of inter-related fiscal, economic, and other various quantitative and qualitative aspects (Timo, 2009). This approach supports comprehensive analysis of all features that possess the potential to influence the final commodity’s worth. These aspects include ma croeconomic effects that include the overall fiscal situation of the market, and company-based aspects that include management systems and the company’s present fiscal standing. The main purpose of embarking on this kind of analysis is to offer a certain value to investors, which they can then rely on when comparing the commodity with market climates, and thus determine the move to make. Numerous investors utilize this method, either alone or in combination with other evaluation equipment when analyzing stocks. In this approach, the chief factor is the final earnings from investments. This directly refers to the net profits that a company is raking in, both currently and in the future. When a venture’s profits decrease, the market worth of its stocks tends... This research paper seeks to analyze the stock price fluctuations of a given venture in the previous sixty months in order to find out its actual stock trend from accumulated data. In addition, it concludes the venture’s market breadth for the last year, its 200-day moving average for its stock, index, and all trends of its stock. This is in pursuit of determining its relative strength for the last sixty months, and thus advise on the right move to make regarding the selling or the buying of its stock. The technical evaluation approach comprises of the prospecting of the future fiscal price fluctuations of a business. This approach bases on a comprehensive study of its previous price motions. The Fundamental Evaluation approach refers to a tactic of analyzing securities and commodities with the purpose of trying to determine their intrinsic worth. In doing this, it heavily depends on the thorough scrutiny of inter-related fiscal, economic, and other various aspects. Market Bre adth describes a technical analysis skill that helps in predicting the future course of the general market. It is summed up, that the company’s relative strength is obviously high and very healthy. In addition, its market breadth has managed an upward improvement for the previous sixty months. Technical evaluation exhibits that the company is healthy and market-relevant. To investors, it would be a good idea to buy more stakes in the company as research has concluded that its stocks will continue to gain overall worth.

Citizen Kane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Citizen Kane - Essay Example Citizen Kane, the movie employs a number of production features and elements thereby achieving effectiveness of communication as envisioned by the director. The director of the employs such elements as light, costume and characterization among others effectively thereby developing an appropriate context that best represents the society at the time. Produced in 1948 soon after the second world war, the film addresses themes relevant not only to the primary audience but also to other subsequent audiences including the communication 240 class, a feature that portrays the ability of the director to develop and communicate concepts effectively.Citizen Kane is yet another masterpiece in which the director employs different special film effects to earn effective communication. The director employs appropriate transitions from one scene to another thereby developing effective links through the different themes. Additionally, the director employs different camera angles and shots to reveal re lative details of the scenes, as he deems necessary. He does not use light only to illuminate his scenes but also to communicate, different aspects of the scene are lit differently with shadow balancing in order to achieve efficiency of communication. Such camera movements as tilting and panning help reveal detail in the different scenes. Italian neorealism refers to a movement in the film production characterized by using nonprofessional actors and setting the film contexts in poor neighborhoods. The bicycle film exhibits this throughout the story line as a poor father searching for his bicycle in a post war Rome.Relative film appeal arises from the level of professionalism that director employs in the development of the film and the issues that the film addresses. A film like Bicycle thieves may have limited appeal since it does not employ professionalism and addresses themes unfamiliar to the contemporary film audience unlike citizen Kane that the director strives to incorporate as many film production elements and professionalism as possible.The Birth of a Nation addresses realistic themes professionally; the director employs such features as dramatization and enabling characterization to help depict the ideas in the storyline. The effective creation of the film lies on the director’s ability to employ suc h elements as transitions, camera movement, shots, and angles to help provide detail (Mamer 33).The two films by Martin McDonagh appeared repetitive as the director employs the same stylistic features of production similarly. The lack of originality in the creation of the film thus denies them efficacy.Quentin Tarantino is a great producer who understood the business in film; he addresses themes that sell and does so effectively. His ability to infuse the violence in systematic storyline is artistic; furthermore, he uses diverse film production techniques to result in original masterpieces.

Comparing Marcuse, Freire and Gramsci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Comparing Marcuse, Freire and Gramsci - Essay Example According to his theory of politics, the downfall of the emancipator politics is caused by little understanding of the basis of power of the institution. The lack of adequate knowledge is majorly brought about by the relationship that existed between politics and the popular culture. According to the theory, the political education of a marginalized area determines the occurrence of changes in the political and social life of the region. In order to eliminate the domination relations, a new culture has to be created. The masses should also be transformed into being conscious of the political on-goings in the state. According to Gramsci’s theory of politics, in the modern state, the relations of domination are maintained and protected by the coercion and force (Borg, Buttigieg & Mayo 27). The relations are also maintained through the practices of consent and persuasion.

How Harmful Secrecy Can Be Essay Example for Free

How Harmful Secrecy Can Be Essay To talk about keeping secrets or how harmful secrecy can be,we should first know what serecy is.what kind of secrets surround us,and since when it all started?Secrets were born with the human being.They just follow a cycle since our existence on the plante.The problem is that do we really need secrets?Are they vital to us?If we follow the right path there is no need for secrets but many times we don’t,we can also make huge mistakes that we better think not to show. So we hide them,and hiding them we create a secret. In the 21st century,in this HI-TEC society we hardly can keep anything private.It all starts with the online privacy which in fact doesn not exist.Someone,we don’t know who,may be monitoring us every single minute. They just gt access in our private stuff.It is really uncomfortable to think that someone can be reading what you’ve typed. A magician creates a trick and he firstly shows it to his wife.She gets amazed by the trick and insists to know the way he does it.After he tells her she says:†Once you know it’s actually very obvious†.These are called professional tricks which can’t be shown.Because revealing these secrets you just vanish the magic of what you do,making it something ordinary. There are also government secrets which are absolutely the most important of all.Most of them have to do with the national security and some of them are too ugly to be said. Maybe some secrets aren’t revealed to avoid panic.But don’t we deserve to know everything in democratic government?If we can’t administer these secrets,who are the enilightened people whom all these secrets are believed? It’s clear that not all the people of a country,even they’re aqual to each other,aren’t capable of administering these risky secrets.Some things are just ugly to be public,the wikileaks case for example. Was it necessary that the entire world knew what American Government really thought about other national governs? Honestlyi think national secrets should be kept because they contain very important information that may be harmful if it reveals.In these cases ignorance is bless. Have you ever though there are some secrets we just don’t want to know or we don’t want to accept.after something extraordinary,we eill be looking for the secret.But of course we eon’t find it because of course;we’ll not be really looking.We don’t really want to work it out.We want to be fooled.

AirTex Essay Example for Free

AirTex Essay 1) Does Airtex Need a New Control System at the time of the takeover? How is Airtex doing? A New Control System and a New Management System is in immediate need for Airtex. At the time of takeover, Airtex is in serious management issues and financial hard time that make the company close to bankruptcy. Prior to being purchased by Ted and Frand, Airtex is missing a company objective and an overall strategy that’s shared by the whole company. The management control system at Airtex has three basic issues – Lack of direction, lack of motivation, and personal limitations. Since it was all about one woman, Sarah Arthur- the accountant, who aggressively control all the information in her office, other employees have no idea about the performance and profitability of the company and each department. Employees and department managers do not know what the company expect from them, nor do they have motivations to perform well. All they knew was that airplanes would fly and that Sarah would come around at the end of each day and collect their money. Apparently, serious issues exists from the direction, and motivation perspective. Additionally, Sarah as the head of management, has no accounting training or any previous management training experience. Her management philosophy was to be the â€Å"central repository of all information†, which is the main reason leading the company to a fail. She is not capable of manage a company. Given Airtex has so many problems in management control, a new system and organization structure is needed, which will delegate proper amount of responsibility to each departments and optimize the efficiency and profitability of the company. 2) What are the key challenges for Ted in setting up the new control system? The first challenge for Ted is to educate the department managers with management skills. Most of the employees at Airtex graduated from high school and are lacking professional training. Before delegate managing responsibilities to department managers, Ted has to educate them with management skills so that they can make correct decisions on their own. Action control will not be effective unless the managers know what actions are desirable and they have the ability to ensure the desirable actions occur. The second challenge is to take over the control of the company from Sarah and delegate the responsibility to employees. Before being purchased, Airtex’s everything is under Sarah’s control. All the other employees have no idea about the performance of the company or their performance. In order to make results control effective, employees should have significant influence on the results in the desire performance. 3) Is decentralization a good choice? In my opinion, decentralization is a good choice for Airtex. First of all, the aviation industry that Airtex involved in requires specialty knowledge about the aircraft business operation. Neither Ted nor Frank has sufficient aviation expertise or operating experience. Delegating power to those experienced department managers is a wise choice as long as the appointed managers have enough management skills to implement result and/or action controls. Additional assessment and training of the department managers are required before Ted give out power, and many of the current managers (e. g. Service and parts department manager – Carl, who has retirement mentality) are to be replaced with more suitable individual. Second, a decentralized organization structure could effectively motivate Airtex employees to produce excellent work, and encourage managers to improve management performance. The previous centralized system under Sarah’s control has limit people’s capability. After each department has some autonomy to make their business decisions and get compensated on their results, people will be more willing to contribute for the team. There’s still some disadvantages of decentralization It takes two or three weeks to find out what the incoming checks are for and sometimes no one accounted for it. This create some trouble of booking the transactions.