Human Morality vs Conformity

Human Morality versus Conformity Through movies, TV shows, and the news, the media portrays the human race as compassionate, altruistic, and always good. Even the heroes who are considered â€Å"bad boys† end up making the right decisions when it comes down to a final decision of selfish needs versus heroism. Disney is especially pivotal in the spreading of the belief that people are inherently good among children, who grow up with this seemingly harmless belief. One such film is Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.In one memorable scene, Captain Jack Sparrow appears to have betrayed his fellow protagonists to the cursed pirates in order to gain wealth and power. However, he uses this as an act to surprise the villains with another double cross to give his friends a chance to gain the advantage. While it would seem that pirates like Jack Sparrow and his crew would be selfish, Disney instead shows them to forego wealth and risk danger for thei r friends, such as when his crew returns to rescue Sparrow from the British at the end of the film.Despite pirates being selfish and criminal by nature, Sparrow and his pirates are actually on a noble quest to stop a great evil in the form of a cursed crew of pirates and rescue the maiden who is their captive. In the sequel, Sparrow has a chance to escape the kraken that is coming after him by sacrificing his friends and crew to secure his getaway. In this instance too, Sparrow chooses the selfless sacrifice of himself to allow the others to escape by remaining to be eaten by the monster. In the final movie of the series, Sparrow is seeking immortality by stabbing the heart of Davy Jones.However, his friend is mortally wounded in the battle to take the heart. Rather than take the immortality he sought, Sparrow helps his friend stab the heart, giving his friend eternal life. The selfishness is all an act, and as in many films, the â€Å"bad boy† Sparrow chooses to be a hero. S o films depict even pirates as good underneath their criminal, selfish exteriors. Media, especially Disney films, show human beings to be good and brave, with the bad and selfish being the minority. In real life, however, truly good and unselfish people are much more uncommon.It is dangerous to believe otherwise, as one must understand that even people who see themselves and their cause as â€Å"good† can cause great harm to others. As many social experiments have proven, human beings would choose their own survival by being self-centered and conforming, easily forgetting morality in the process and following the group decisions rather than their own moral compasses. Following the atrocities committed in Nazi Germany, Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram designed an experiment to test a volunteer subject’s willingness to obey orders regardless of the orders’ morality.In the experiment, a subject met an actor, who would be the â€Å"student† and vi ctim of shocks for each incorrect answer. The subject was informed of the 450-volt maximum for the experiment. The subject was then assigned the role of â€Å"teacher†, to apply a shock that increased with each increment. As the shock strength increased, so would the â€Å"pain† and pre-recorded â€Å"screams† of the actor student. Whenever the subject questioned his orders, an authority figure would prod him with verbal commands demanding obedience of his orders to continue. The experiment was terminated if the subject refused the order four times.None of the forty subjects questioned the experiment before the 300-volt shock and screams. Twenty-six of the forty subjects (65%) continued to shock the â€Å"victim† to the maximum setting of 450-volt. The subjects were aware of the extreme pain caused but proceeded regardless, and the experiment ended on the third consecutive 450-volt shock. Human nature is thus shown as conformist in the presence of authori ty and duty, and morality becomes an afterthought if it is even considered. The majority of people were shocked at this, especially the subjects.The subjects realized the scope of their actions after being explained the experiments purpose in testing authority against morality. As the experiment shows, following orders can overrule morals, such as not hurting others, effectively showing how Nazi Germany gained so much influence over the German people and the failings of human morals. In another social experiment, Professor Solomon Asch tested the nature of human conformity in a group. The subject was told the experiment was a vision test and placed with other â€Å"subjects†, who were, in fact, actors.The actors answered every question correctly as one, until a certain point, where they all began choosing wrongly as one. People do not envision themselves as unquestioning followers, and most do not understand why the Nazis and Communists were able to gain so much power unoppos ed by the people. The subject would follow the group and give at least one wrong answer to conform to the group in 75% of the cases despite the clearly incorrect response to the questions given by the group. In a control group, only 3% of people ever gave a wrong answer to the question when apart from group influences.Therefore, this experiment proves how the individual’s desire to conform to the group outweighs common sense and the desire for independence. While the desire to conform in this case appears harmless, it can lead individuals to make decisions that go against common sense and their moral beliefs. This experiment thus shows how people do not point out things that are obviously wrong if it means going against the status quo, an important factor that allows totalitarian regimes to gain so much power, as nobody would wish to stand up to the society if it threatened their personal well-being.To study the psychological effect of subjects becoming prisoners and guards, Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment. In this experiment, Professor Zimbardo and his subordinates chose the twenty-four of the most psychologically stable and healthy candidates from over seventy-five undergraduates. The randomly assigned prisoners were then arrested at their homes and processed with the help of local police, getting their mug shots taken, fingerprinted, and issued prison uniforms before being confined to a cell in a Stanford University basement.Those who were assigned prison guard duty were issued guard uniforms and instructed in how to treat the â€Å"prisoners†. The â€Å"guards† were also issued the wooden police batons as authority symbols and visible threats of physical injury to prisoners, and also wore mirrored sunglasses to prevent prisoner eye contact and add to the depersonalization of the mock prison. The second day of the experiment, the â€Å"prisoners† rioted, prompting the prison â€Å"guar ds† to break up the riot by attacking the prisoners with fire extinguishers without the supervision of the research staff.After thirty-six hours, â€Å"Prisoner 8612† went into a hysterical rage, and was only released after his suffering was apparent to the researchers. His release started a false rumor of a â€Å"prison break†, and the guards dismantled the prison to build in a more â€Å"secure† location. People would believe the experiment would be ended at that point, especially since the subjects involved were Stanford undergraduates under the supervision of a respectable university professor.They do not understand that when human beings become too involved in their roles or their society, they become what they and everyone else are acting as, creating a new identity to fit in, rather than fight the system to make it right. From that point forward, things only got more out of hand. When there was no prison break, the guards punished the prisoners for the extra work of rebuilding the prison by engaging them in mandatory physical activity and counting off their prisoner numbers.Guards also denied the prisoners their mattresses, leaving them to lie on the concrete floors, and denied the right to use or empty the sanitation bucket, causing poor sanitary conditions for the â€Å"prisoners†. As some prisoners were forced to go nude, they began planning a prison breakout. Professor Zimbardo, acting as the â€Å"Prison Superintendent† requested prisoner transfer to the local police prison, but the police officials stated they could no longer participate. The experiment was only terminated when Zimbardo’s wife objected to the appalling conditions of the â€Å"prison†.The experiment only ran six out of the planned fourteen days, and in that time the â€Å"prisoners† had gone from rebellious to submissive as the experiment progressed with the â€Å"guards† becoming more cruel and sadistic in their punishments over time. Five of the prisoners became upset enough to quit the experiment early, and many of the participants showed signs of severe emotional disturbances. Even Professor Zimbardo became caught up in the experiment and allowed the situation to worsen.The remaining prisoners internalized their roles as did the guards, resulting in prisoners remaining in the experiment and prison guards abusing their authority. Most people cannot comprehend how this could happen, seeing themselves as rational and fair human beings. This experiment provides a disturbing view of how much people are willing to conform to their situations and the result of such conformity in the treatment of others. Human beings do not always choose rightly, often acting in a conforming and selfish manner, rather than follow the standard conventions of social morals.People believe that most human beings are good people who fight group conformity and self-centered behavior. The media depicts human beings in general as good and selfless, which is comforting but inaccurate. While there are many selfless good people in the world, they are the minority and there are just as many people looking out for themselves. It is important for this misconception of universal human kindness to be questioned in order for individuals to better understand their natures and become better people.

Kandos Choco

Market Chocolates – like ice cream, toothpaste and milk powder – have universal appeal across all demographics and cultures. But unlike toothpaste and milk powder, chocolate is not considered an absolute necessity; nor is it endorsed by opinion leaders. In fact, dentists and nutritionists often ‘De-market' the product – especially since it is perceived as being a product that is generally not suitable for children. Despite these constraints, the Western influence of chocolate as a snack, reward or gift has gained universal acceptance.The habit of housecoat being given as a gift between loved ones, friends and relatives is widespread – and in this respect, chocolate often triumphs over flowers as the gift of choice. The best evidence of this is on Valentine's Day, seasonal and religious events such as Christmas and New Year, and birthdays and anniversaries. Chocolate is also a popular impulse item, where purchasing is influenced by visibility in store s and by packaging. The Sir Lankan chocolate market has been dominated by many local players. But Kansas is the undisputed market leader, enjoying a 56% market share.The total imported brand share is sees than 5% in Sir Lankan, which is unusual considering the fact that India as well as other markets in the region are being dominated by foreign brands, which account for more than 90% of their chocolate brands. Kansas, however, has a strong base. It was the premier chocolate long before foreign competitors and local imitators arrived on the scene. The local consumer has been exposed to the unique taste of Kansas for the past 44 years, thereby ensuring brand loyalty. The market is now quite sophisticated, with many pack designs, display configurations,

A Dirty Job Chapter 2

After that, it was a memory out of a sleepwalk, scenes filmed from a zombie’s eye socket, as he ambled undead through explanations, accusations, preparations, and ceremony. â€Å"It’s called a cerebral thromboembolism,† the doctor had said. â€Å"A blood clot forms in the legs or pelvis during labor, then moves to the brain, cutting off the blood supply. It’s very rare, but it happens. There was nothing we could do. Even if the crash team had been able to revive her, she’d have had massive brain damage. There was no pain. She probably just felt sleepy and passed.† Charlie whispered to keep from screaming, â€Å"The man in mint green! He did something to her. He injected her with something. He was there and he knew that she was dying. I saw him when I brought her CD back.† They showed him the security tapes – the nurse, the doctor, the hospital’s administrators and lawyers – they all watched the black-and-white images of him leaving Rachel’s room, of the empty hallway, of his returning to her room. No tall black man dressed in mint green. They didn’t even find the CD. Sleep deprivation, they said. Hallucination brought on by exhaustion. Trauma. They gave him drugs to sleep, drugs for anxiety, drugs for depression, and they sent him home with his baby daughter. Charlie’s older sister, Jane, held baby Sophie as they spoke over Rachel and buried her on the second day. He didn’t remember picking out a casket or making arrangements. It was more of the somnambulant dream: his in-laws moving to and fro in black, like tottering specters, spouting the inadequate clichs of condolence: We’re so sorry. She was so young. What a tragedy. If there’s anything we can do†¦ Rachel’s father and mother held him, their heads pressed together in the apex of a tripod. The slate floor in the funeral-home foyer spotted with their tears. Every time Charlie felt the shoulders of the older man heave with a sob, he felt his own heart break again. Saul took Charlie’s face in his hands and said, â€Å"You can’t imagine, because I can’t imagine.† But Charlie could imagine, because he was a Beta Male, and imagination was his curse; and he could imagine because he had lost Rachel and now he had a daughter, that tiny stranger sleeping in his sister’s arms. He could imagine the man in mint green taking her. Charlie looked at the tear-spotted floor and said, â€Å"That’s why most funeral homes are carpeted. Someone could slip.† â€Å"Poor boy,† said Rachel’s mother. â€Å"We’ll sit shivah with you, of course.† Charlie made his way across the room to his sister, Jane, who wore a man’s double-breasted suit in charcoal pinstripe gabardine, that along with her severe eighties pop-star hairstyle and the infant in the pink blanket that she held, made her appear not so much androgynous as confused. Charlie thought the suit actually looked better on her than it did on him, but she should have asked him for permission to wear it nonetheless. â€Å"I can’t do this,† he said. He let himself fall forward until the receded peninsula of dark hair touched her gelled Flock of Seagulls platinum flip. It seemed like the best posture for sharing grief, this forehead lean, and it reminded him of standing drunkenly at a urinal and falling forward until his head hit the wall. Despair. â€Å"You’re doing fine,† Jane said. â€Å"Nobody’s good at this.† â€Å"What the fuck’s a shivah?† â€Å"I think it’s that Hindu god with all the arms.† â€Å"That can’t be right. The Goldsteins are going to sit on it with me.† â€Å"Didn’t Rachel teach you anything about being Jewish?† â€Å"I wasn’t paying attention. I thought we had time.† Jane adjusted baby Sophie into a half-back, one-armed carry and put her free hand on the back of Charlie’s neck. â€Å"You’ll be okay, kid.† Seven,† said Mrs. Goldstein. â€Å"Shivah means ‘seven.’ We used to sit for seven days, grieving for the dead, praying. That’s Orthodox, now most people just sit for three.† They sat shivah in Charlie and Rachel’s apartment that overlooked the cable-car line at the corner of Mason and Vallejo Streets. The building was a four-story brick Edwardian (architecturally, not quite the grand courtesan couture of the Victorians, but enough tarty trim and trash to toss off a sailor down a side street) built after the earthquake and fire of 1906 had leveled the whole area of what was now North Beach, Russian Hill, and Chinatown. Charlie and Jane had inherited the building, along with the thrift shop that occupied the ground floor, when their father died four years before. Charlie got the business, the large, double apartment they’d grown up in, and the upkeep on the old building, while Jane got half the rental income and one of the apartments on the top floor with a Bay Bridge view. At the instruction of Mrs. Goldstein, all the mirrors in the house were draped with black fabric and a large candle was placed on the coffee table in the center of the living room. They were supposed to sit on low benches or cushions, neither of which Charlie had in the house, so, for the first time since Rachel’s death, he went downstairs into the thrift shop looking for something they could use. The back stairs descended from a pantry behind the kitchen into the stockroom, where Charlie kept his office among boxes of merchandise waiting to be sorted, priced, and placed in the store. The shop was dark except for the light that filtered in the front window from the streetlights out on Mason Street. Charlie stood there at the foot of the stairs, his hand on the light switch, just staring. Amid the shelves of knickknacks and books, the piles of old radios, the racks of clothes, all of them dark, just lumpy shapes in the dark, he could see objects glowing a dull red, nearly pulsing, like beating hearts. A sweater in the racks, a porcelain figure of a frog in a curio case, out by the front window an old Coca-Cola tray, a pair of shoes – all glowing red. Charlie flipped the switch, fluorescent tubes fired to life across the ceiling, flickering at first, and the shop lit up. The red glow disappeared. â€Å"Okaaaaaaay,† he said to himself, calmly, like everything was just fine now. He flipped off the lights. Glowing red stuff. On the counter, close to where he stood, there was a brass business-card holder cast in the shape of a whooping crane, glowing dull red. He took a second to study it, just to make sure there wasn’t some red light source from outside refracting around the room and making him uneasy for no reason. He stepped into the dark shop, took a closer look, got an angle on the brass cranes. Nope, the brass was definitely pulsing red. He turned and ran back up the steps as fast as he could. He nearly ran over Jane, who stood in the kitchen, rocking Sophie gently in her arms, talking baby talk under her breath. â€Å"What?† Jane said. â€Å"I know you have some big cushions down in the shop somewhere.† â€Å"I can’t,† Charlie said. â€Å"I’m on drugs.† He backed against the refrigerator, like he was holding it hostage. â€Å"I’ll go get them. Here, hold the baby.† â€Å"I can’t, I’m on drugs. I’m hallucinating.† Jane cradled the baby in the crook of her right arm and put a free arm around her younger brother. â€Å"Charlie, you are on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs, not acid. Look around this apartment, there’s not a person here that’s not on something.† Charlie looked through the kitchen pass-through: women in black, most of them middle-aged or older, shaking their heads, men looking stoic, standing around the perimeter of the living room, each holding a stout tumbler of liquor and staring into space. â€Å"See, they’re all fucked up.† â€Å"What about Mom?† Charlie nodded to their mother, who stood out among the other gray-haired women in black because she was draped in silver Navaho jewelry and was so darkly tanned that she appeared to be melting into her old-fashioned when she took a sip. â€Å"Especially Mom,† Jane said. â€Å"I’ll go look for something to sit shivah on. I don’t know why you can’t just use the couches. Now take your daughter.† â€Å"I can’t. I can’t be trusted with her.† â€Å"Take her, bitch!† Jane barked in Charlie’s ear – sort of a whisper bark. It had long ago been determined who was the Alpha Male between them and it was not Charlie. She handed off the baby and cut to the stairs. â€Å"Jane,† Charlie called after her. â€Å"Look around before you turn on the lights. See if you see anything weird, okay?† â€Å"Right. Weird.† She left him standing there in the kitchen, studying his daughter, thinking that her head might be a little oblong, but despite that, she looked a little like Rachel. â€Å"Your mommy loved Aunt Jane,† he said. â€Å"They used to gang up on me in Risk – and Monopoly – and arguments – and cooking.† He slid down the fridge door, sat splayed-legged on the floor, and buried his face in Sophie’s blanket. In the dark, Jane barked her shin on a wooden box full of old telephones. â€Å"Well, this is just stupid,† she said to herself, and flipped on the lights. Nothing weird. Then, because Charlie was many things, but one of them was not crazy, she turned off the lights again, just to be sure that she hadn’t missed something. â€Å"Right. Weird.† There was nothing weird about the store except that she was standing there in the dark rubbing her shin. But then, right before she turned on the light again, she saw someone peering in the front window, making a cup around his eyes to see through the reflection of the streetlights. A homeless guy or drunken tourist, she thought. She moved through the dark shop, between columns of comic books stacked on the floor, to a spot behind a rack of jackets where she could get a clear view of the window, which was filled with cheap cameras, vases, belt buckles, and all manner of objects that Charlie had judged worthy of interest, but obviously not worthy of a smash-and-grab. The guy looked tall, and not homeless, nicely dressed, but all in a single light color, she thought it might be yellow, but it was hard to tell under the streetlights. Could be light green. â€Å"We’re closed,† Jane said, loud enough to be heard through the glass. The man outside peered around the shop, but couldn’t spot her. He stepped back from the window and she could see that he was, indeed, tall. Very tall. The streetlight caught the line of his cheek as he turned. He was also very thin and very black. â€Å"I was looking for the owner,† the tall man said. â€Å"I have something I need to show him.† â€Å"There’s been a death in the family,† Jane said. â€Å"We’ll be closed for the week. Can you come back in a week?† The tall man nodded, looking up and down the street as he did. He rocked on one foot like he was about to bolt, but kept stopping himself, like a sprinter straining against the starting blocks. Jane didn’t move. There were always people out on the street, and it wasn’t even late yet, but this guy was too anxious for the situation. â€Å"Look, if you need to get something appraised – â€Å" â€Å"No,† he cut her off. â€Å"No. Just tell him she’s, no – tell him to look for a package in the mail. I’m not sure when.† Jane smiled to herself. This guy had something – a brooch, a coin, a book – something that he thought was worth some money, maybe something he’d found in his grandmother’s closet. She’d seen it a dozen times. They acted like they’ve found the lost city of Eldorado – they’d come in with it tucked in their coats, or wrapped in a thousand layers of tissue paper and tape. (The more tape, generally, the more worthless the item would turn out to be – there was an equation there somewhere.) Nine times out of ten it was crap. She’d watched her father try to finesse their ego and gently lower the owners into disappointment, convince them that the sentimental value made it priceless, and that he, a lowly secondhand-store owner, couldn’t presume to put a value on it. Charlie, on the other hand, would just tell them that he didn’t know about brooches, or coins, or whatever they had and let someone else bear the b ad news. â€Å"Okay, I’ll tell him,† Jane said from her cover behind the coats. With that, the tall man was away, taking great praying-mantis strides up the street and out of view. Jane shrugged, went back and turned on the lights, then proceeded to search for cushions among the piles. It was a big store, taking up nearly the whole bottom floor of the building, and not particularly well organized, as each system that Charlie adopted seemed to collapse after a few weeks under its own weight, and the result was not so much a patchwork of organizational systems, but a garden of mismatched piles. Lily, the maroon-haired Goth girl who worked for Charlie three afternoons a week, said that the fact that they ever found anything at all was proof of the chaos theory at work, then she would walk away muttering and go out in the alley to smoke clove cigarettes and stare into the Abyss. (Although Charlie noted that the Abyss looked an awful lot like a Dumpster.) It took Jane ten minutes to navigate the aisles and find three cushions that looked wide enough and thick enough that they might work for sitting shivah, and when she returned to Charlie’s apartment she found her brother curled into the fetal position around baby Sophie, asleep on the kitchen floor. The other mourners had completely forgotten about him. â€Å"Hey, doofus.† She nudged his shoulder with her toe and he rolled onto his back, the baby still in his arms. â€Å"These okay?† â€Å"Did you see anything glowing?† Jane dropped the stack of cushions on the floor. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Glowing red. Did you see things in the shop glowing, like pulsating red?† â€Å"No. Did you?† â€Å"Kind of.† â€Å"Give ’em up.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The drugs. Hand them over. They’re obviously much better than you led me to believe.† â€Å"But you said they were just antianxiety.† â€Å"Give up the drugs. I’ll watch the kid while you shivah.† â€Å"You can’t watch my daughter if you’re on drugs.† â€Å"Fine. Surrender the crumb snatcher and go sit.† Charlie handed the baby up to Jane. â€Å"You have to keep Mom out of the way, too.† â€Å"Oh no, not without drugs.† â€Å"They’re in the medicine cabinet in the master bath. Bottom shelf.† He was sitting on the floor now, rubbing his forehead as if to stretch the skin out over his pain. She kneed him in the shoulder. â€Å"Hey, kid, I’m sorry, you know that, right? Goes without saying, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† A weak smile. She held the baby up by her face, then looked down in adoration, Mother of Jesus style. â€Å"What do you think? I should get one of these, huh?† â€Å"You can borrow mine whenever you need to.† â€Å"Nah, I should get my own. I already feel bad about borrowing your wife.† â€Å"Jane!† â€Å"Kidding! Jeez. You’re such a wuss sometimes. Go sit shivah. Go. Go. Go.† Charlie gathered the cushions and went to the living room to grieve with his in-laws, nervous because the only prayer he knew was â€Å"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,† and he wasn’t sure that was going to cut it for three full days. Jane forgot to mention the tall guy from the shop. A Dirty Job Chapter 2 After that, it was a memory out of a sleepwalk, scenes filmed from a zombie’s eye socket, as he ambled undead through explanations, accusations, preparations, and ceremony. â€Å"It’s called a cerebral thromboembolism,† the doctor had said. â€Å"A blood clot forms in the legs or pelvis during labor, then moves to the brain, cutting off the blood supply. It’s very rare, but it happens. There was nothing we could do. Even if the crash team had been able to revive her, she’d have had massive brain damage. There was no pain. She probably just felt sleepy and passed.† Charlie whispered to keep from screaming, â€Å"The man in mint green! He did something to her. He injected her with something. He was there and he knew that she was dying. I saw him when I brought her CD back.† They showed him the security tapes – the nurse, the doctor, the hospital’s administrators and lawyers – they all watched the black-and-white images of him leaving Rachel’s room, of the empty hallway, of his returning to her room. No tall black man dressed in mint green. They didn’t even find the CD. Sleep deprivation, they said. Hallucination brought on by exhaustion. Trauma. They gave him drugs to sleep, drugs for anxiety, drugs for depression, and they sent him home with his baby daughter. Charlie’s older sister, Jane, held baby Sophie as they spoke over Rachel and buried her on the second day. He didn’t remember picking out a casket or making arrangements. It was more of the somnambulant dream: his in-laws moving to and fro in black, like tottering specters, spouting the inadequate clichs of condolence: We’re so sorry. She was so young. What a tragedy. If there’s anything we can do†¦ Rachel’s father and mother held him, their heads pressed together in the apex of a tripod. The slate floor in the funeral-home foyer spotted with their tears. Every time Charlie felt the shoulders of the older man heave with a sob, he felt his own heart break again. Saul took Charlie’s face in his hands and said, â€Å"You can’t imagine, because I can’t imagine.† But Charlie could imagine, because he was a Beta Male, and imagination was his curse; and he could imagine because he had lost Rachel and now he had a daughter, that tiny stranger sleeping in his sister’s arms. He could imagine the man in mint green taking her. Charlie looked at the tear-spotted floor and said, â€Å"That’s why most funeral homes are carpeted. Someone could slip.† â€Å"Poor boy,† said Rachel’s mother. â€Å"We’ll sit shivah with you, of course.† Charlie made his way across the room to his sister, Jane, who wore a man’s double-breasted suit in charcoal pinstripe gabardine, that along with her severe eighties pop-star hairstyle and the infant in the pink blanket that she held, made her appear not so much androgynous as confused. Charlie thought the suit actually looked better on her than it did on him, but she should have asked him for permission to wear it nonetheless. â€Å"I can’t do this,† he said. He let himself fall forward until the receded peninsula of dark hair touched her gelled Flock of Seagulls platinum flip. It seemed like the best posture for sharing grief, this forehead lean, and it reminded him of standing drunkenly at a urinal and falling forward until his head hit the wall. Despair. â€Å"You’re doing fine,† Jane said. â€Å"Nobody’s good at this.† â€Å"What the fuck’s a shivah?† â€Å"I think it’s that Hindu god with all the arms.† â€Å"That can’t be right. The Goldsteins are going to sit on it with me.† â€Å"Didn’t Rachel teach you anything about being Jewish?† â€Å"I wasn’t paying attention. I thought we had time.† Jane adjusted baby Sophie into a half-back, one-armed carry and put her free hand on the back of Charlie’s neck. â€Å"You’ll be okay, kid.† Seven,† said Mrs. Goldstein. â€Å"Shivah means ‘seven.’ We used to sit for seven days, grieving for the dead, praying. That’s Orthodox, now most people just sit for three.† They sat shivah in Charlie and Rachel’s apartment that overlooked the cable-car line at the corner of Mason and Vallejo Streets. The building was a four-story brick Edwardian (architecturally, not quite the grand courtesan couture of the Victorians, but enough tarty trim and trash to toss off a sailor down a side street) built after the earthquake and fire of 1906 had leveled the whole area of what was now North Beach, Russian Hill, and Chinatown. Charlie and Jane had inherited the building, along with the thrift shop that occupied the ground floor, when their father died four years before. Charlie got the business, the large, double apartment they’d grown up in, and the upkeep on the old building, while Jane got half the rental income and one of the apartments on the top floor with a Bay Bridge view. At the instruction of Mrs. Goldstein, all the mirrors in the house were draped with black fabric and a large candle was placed on the coffee table in the center of the living room. They were supposed to sit on low benches or cushions, neither of which Charlie had in the house, so, for the first time since Rachel’s death, he went downstairs into the thrift shop looking for something they could use. The back stairs descended from a pantry behind the kitchen into the stockroom, where Charlie kept his office among boxes of merchandise waiting to be sorted, priced, and placed in the store. The shop was dark except for the light that filtered in the front window from the streetlights out on Mason Street. Charlie stood there at the foot of the stairs, his hand on the light switch, just staring. Amid the shelves of knickknacks and books, the piles of old radios, the racks of clothes, all of them dark, just lumpy shapes in the dark, he could see objects glowing a dull red, nearly pulsing, like beating hearts. A sweater in the racks, a porcelain figure of a frog in a curio case, out by the front window an old Coca-Cola tray, a pair of shoes – all glowing red. Charlie flipped the switch, fluorescent tubes fired to life across the ceiling, flickering at first, and the shop lit up. The red glow disappeared. â€Å"Okaaaaaaay,† he said to himself, calmly, like everything was just fine now. He flipped off the lights. Glowing red stuff. On the counter, close to where he stood, there was a brass business-card holder cast in the shape of a whooping crane, glowing dull red. He took a second to study it, just to make sure there wasn’t some red light source from outside refracting around the room and making him uneasy for no reason. He stepped into the dark shop, took a closer look, got an angle on the brass cranes. Nope, the brass was definitely pulsing red. He turned and ran back up the steps as fast as he could. He nearly ran over Jane, who stood in the kitchen, rocking Sophie gently in her arms, talking baby talk under her breath. â€Å"What?† Jane said. â€Å"I know you have some big cushions down in the shop somewhere.† â€Å"I can’t,† Charlie said. â€Å"I’m on drugs.† He backed against the refrigerator, like he was holding it hostage. â€Å"I’ll go get them. Here, hold the baby.† â€Å"I can’t, I’m on drugs. I’m hallucinating.† Jane cradled the baby in the crook of her right arm and put a free arm around her younger brother. â€Å"Charlie, you are on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs, not acid. Look around this apartment, there’s not a person here that’s not on something.† Charlie looked through the kitchen pass-through: women in black, most of them middle-aged or older, shaking their heads, men looking stoic, standing around the perimeter of the living room, each holding a stout tumbler of liquor and staring into space. â€Å"See, they’re all fucked up.† â€Å"What about Mom?† Charlie nodded to their mother, who stood out among the other gray-haired women in black because she was draped in silver Navaho jewelry and was so darkly tanned that she appeared to be melting into her old-fashioned when she took a sip. â€Å"Especially Mom,† Jane said. â€Å"I’ll go look for something to sit shivah on. I don’t know why you can’t just use the couches. Now take your daughter.† â€Å"I can’t. I can’t be trusted with her.† â€Å"Take her, bitch!† Jane barked in Charlie’s ear – sort of a whisper bark. It had long ago been determined who was the Alpha Male between them and it was not Charlie. She handed off the baby and cut to the stairs. â€Å"Jane,† Charlie called after her. â€Å"Look around before you turn on the lights. See if you see anything weird, okay?† â€Å"Right. Weird.† She left him standing there in the kitchen, studying his daughter, thinking that her head might be a little oblong, but despite that, she looked a little like Rachel. â€Å"Your mommy loved Aunt Jane,† he said. â€Å"They used to gang up on me in Risk – and Monopoly – and arguments – and cooking.† He slid down the fridge door, sat splayed-legged on the floor, and buried his face in Sophie’s blanket. In the dark, Jane barked her shin on a wooden box full of old telephones. â€Å"Well, this is just stupid,† she said to herself, and flipped on the lights. Nothing weird. Then, because Charlie was many things, but one of them was not crazy, she turned off the lights again, just to be sure that she hadn’t missed something. â€Å"Right. Weird.† There was nothing weird about the store except that she was standing there in the dark rubbing her shin. But then, right before she turned on the light again, she saw someone peering in the front window, making a cup around his eyes to see through the reflection of the streetlights. A homeless guy or drunken tourist, she thought. She moved through the dark shop, between columns of comic books stacked on the floor, to a spot behind a rack of jackets where she could get a clear view of the window, which was filled with cheap cameras, vases, belt buckles, and all manner of objects that Charlie had judged worthy of interest, but obviously not worthy of a smash-and-grab. The guy looked tall, and not homeless, nicely dressed, but all in a single light color, she thought it might be yellow, but it was hard to tell under the streetlights. Could be light green. â€Å"We’re closed,† Jane said, loud enough to be heard through the glass. The man outside peered around the shop, but couldn’t spot her. He stepped back from the window and she could see that he was, indeed, tall. Very tall. The streetlight caught the line of his cheek as he turned. He was also very thin and very black. â€Å"I was looking for the owner,† the tall man said. â€Å"I have something I need to show him.† â€Å"There’s been a death in the family,† Jane said. â€Å"We’ll be closed for the week. Can you come back in a week?† The tall man nodded, looking up and down the street as he did. He rocked on one foot like he was about to bolt, but kept stopping himself, like a sprinter straining against the starting blocks. Jane didn’t move. There were always people out on the street, and it wasn’t even late yet, but this guy was too anxious for the situation. â€Å"Look, if you need to get something appraised – â€Å" â€Å"No,† he cut her off. â€Å"No. Just tell him she’s, no – tell him to look for a package in the mail. I’m not sure when.† Jane smiled to herself. This guy had something – a brooch, a coin, a book – something that he thought was worth some money, maybe something he’d found in his grandmother’s closet. She’d seen it a dozen times. They acted like they’ve found the lost city of Eldorado – they’d come in with it tucked in their coats, or wrapped in a thousand layers of tissue paper and tape. (The more tape, generally, the more worthless the item would turn out to be – there was an equation there somewhere.) Nine times out of ten it was crap. She’d watched her father try to finesse their ego and gently lower the owners into disappointment, convince them that the sentimental value made it priceless, and that he, a lowly secondhand-store owner, couldn’t presume to put a value on it. Charlie, on the other hand, would just tell them that he didn’t know about brooches, or coins, or whatever they had and let someone else bear the b ad news. â€Å"Okay, I’ll tell him,† Jane said from her cover behind the coats. With that, the tall man was away, taking great praying-mantis strides up the street and out of view. Jane shrugged, went back and turned on the lights, then proceeded to search for cushions among the piles. It was a big store, taking up nearly the whole bottom floor of the building, and not particularly well organized, as each system that Charlie adopted seemed to collapse after a few weeks under its own weight, and the result was not so much a patchwork of organizational systems, but a garden of mismatched piles. Lily, the maroon-haired Goth girl who worked for Charlie three afternoons a week, said that the fact that they ever found anything at all was proof of the chaos theory at work, then she would walk away muttering and go out in the alley to smoke clove cigarettes and stare into the Abyss. (Although Charlie noted that the Abyss looked an awful lot like a Dumpster.) It took Jane ten minutes to navigate the aisles and find three cushions that looked wide enough and thick enough that they might work for sitting shivah, and when she returned to Charlie’s apartment she found her brother curled into the fetal position around baby Sophie, asleep on the kitchen floor. The other mourners had completely forgotten about him. â€Å"Hey, doofus.† She nudged his shoulder with her toe and he rolled onto his back, the baby still in his arms. â€Å"These okay?† â€Å"Did you see anything glowing?† Jane dropped the stack of cushions on the floor. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Glowing red. Did you see things in the shop glowing, like pulsating red?† â€Å"No. Did you?† â€Å"Kind of.† â€Å"Give ’em up.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The drugs. Hand them over. They’re obviously much better than you led me to believe.† â€Å"But you said they were just antianxiety.† â€Å"Give up the drugs. I’ll watch the kid while you shivah.† â€Å"You can’t watch my daughter if you’re on drugs.† â€Å"Fine. Surrender the crumb snatcher and go sit.† Charlie handed the baby up to Jane. â€Å"You have to keep Mom out of the way, too.† â€Å"Oh no, not without drugs.† â€Å"They’re in the medicine cabinet in the master bath. Bottom shelf.† He was sitting on the floor now, rubbing his forehead as if to stretch the skin out over his pain. She kneed him in the shoulder. â€Å"Hey, kid, I’m sorry, you know that, right? Goes without saying, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† A weak smile. She held the baby up by her face, then looked down in adoration, Mother of Jesus style. â€Å"What do you think? I should get one of these, huh?† â€Å"You can borrow mine whenever you need to.† â€Å"Nah, I should get my own. I already feel bad about borrowing your wife.† â€Å"Jane!† â€Å"Kidding! Jeez. You’re such a wuss sometimes. Go sit shivah. Go. Go. Go.† Charlie gathered the cushions and went to the living room to grieve with his in-laws, nervous because the only prayer he knew was â€Å"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,† and he wasn’t sure that was going to cut it for three full days. Jane forgot to mention the tall guy from the shop.

Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Assignment - Research Paper Example These people strive to gain more power upon the work setup and are best motivated by roles that require them to execute their leadership skills. The third need identified by McClelland is the need for affiliation. People who have this as the most important need are called as the n-aff people. These people seek to make friends in the workplace. The more they socialize, the more they are motivated for work. Putting these people in roles in which they feel isolated makes them lose motivation for work. Although the behavior of workers is a mix of all these needs, yet one of the three governs an individual’s behavior. This theory raises numerous new challenges for the managers. First of all, managers don’t have an objective means to confirm whether the three needs identified by the McClelland’s theory are sufficient to represent all needs. Some people value job security and salary more than power, affiliation or achievement. Even if managers assume that the McClelland ’s theory is sufficient to represent all needs, they don’t have a robust means to identify the way they are combined in different workers. In order to keep them motivated, managers need to be sure that a certain worker values certain need more than others. Then, there is no means to be sure that an individual’s need-combination would not alter with time. After all, people’s preferences in life keep changing from time to time. An individual who values power more than anything else at a certain point in time may start to value achievement more later on. Our likes and preferences are shaped by our daily life experiences. Hence, there is a lot of flexibility in out choice of needs. All these factors render it very difficult for a manager to address the individualistic needs of people and make them remain motivated for work. In this research, I tend to bring answers to the aforementioned doubts by exploring people’s needs in a certain work

Fathers need to be as involved in their children's lives as mother are Essay

Fathers need to be as involved in their children's lives as mother are - Essay Example Fathers should be involved in their children’s lives just as much as their mothers are because fathers offer different skill sets than mothers, children receive a much improved childhood, and fathers good set a good example for their children. One reason why fathers need to play an equal role, in conjunction with their wives, in their children’s lives is that they have certain characteristics that cannot be replicated by mothers. In single-parent households, mothers are generally left to pick up the slack left behind by an absent father. That is not to say that a mother cannot fill the gap of a missing father, but each parent has specific roles that must be performed by them. While mothers are generally left to enforce the rules that children must live by, it is the responsibility of fathers to set these rules and then meter out the appropriate punishment if these rules happened to be broken. For a mother to perform all three of these actions is perhaps too much. Childr en would feel like they were getting singled out for nothing. It is for this reason that fathers often command more respect that mothers do. This is because children instinctively know that fathers are the ones in charge and that the buck stops with them. It is okay for fathers and mothers to have different positions on how to raise their children because each would have an idea on how to raise their kids. As the old cliche goes, â€Å"Two heads are better than one.† This is not to put mothers down; it’s just that fathers fill a place that can help to enhance a family’s relationship. Another reason why fathers must involve themselves in their children’s lives just as much as mothers is that the children are better for it. It is always reassuring for a child growing up to see two parents that are totally committed to each other. Children interpret this as both parents being devoted to the health and well-being of their offspring. This can continue on into other areas of a child’s life such as education and in social settings. Many studies show that children perform better when a father’s is interested in their schoolwork. In terms of a child’s social life, they are better able to make friendships and trust others if they have already experienced this in their family life. The final reason why fathers need to be involved in their children’s lives as much as mothers is that fathers are in a position to be a good example for their children. Fathers have life skills that they can teach to their children that mothers would have no idea about. The role of a father in his son’s life is extremely important. The way a father is involved in his son’s life affects not only how the son’s perceives his father but affects his behaviors later on in life. Fathers who are alcoholics and abusive husbands tend to have sons grow up to do the very same thing. On the other hand, a father who is a loving hus band and has found success in his life will likely have a son who is well-grounded and focused on his life goals. In another way, fathers can show a good example to their daughters too. Fathers who love and care about their daughters will likely find that they grow up to becoming successful young women. Fathers have a very important role to play in the lives of their children because they have always been thought of as the head of the household.

Managing for the Future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Managing for the Future - Essay Example Some of the major objectives of the company are to provide growth and opportunities to employees, fulfilling the shareholder’s expectations and creating shareholder’s value. (PepsiCo, 2013c). The vision of the company is to translate the mission and objectives through the development of social, environmental and economical development programmes (PepsiCo, 2013c). The values and philosophy of Pepsi signifies its responsibility towards societal and community needs (PepsiCo, 2013e). The main objective of the company is to attain the financial and business goals with a positive impact on the society (PepsiCo, 2013o).The company has expanded into several segments and regions by acquiring several business units and companies like Tropicana, Pepsi Bottling Group and Pepsi Americas in the year 2007 and 2009 respectively (PepsiCo, 2013f). 1 (a) Environmental Issues Environmental issues have been a cause of huge concern for the society, government and the companies. The major cau se of the environmental degradation has been the impact of the business activities and process. The alterations in the biodiversity have interacted in the most complex ways with the environment. The environmental issues in developed and developing countries have propelled the demand for restructuring the environmental reform. Environmental issues have become a growing concern for the government of varied nations and have compelled them to create knowledge of environmental imperatives, rules and regulations. The government of varied nations especially of the developing nations are trying to manage the situational crisis by developing measures of protection for the environment. Environment protection measures by the government have helped in creating awareness among the societal members and led to reduction of economic stress. The fundamental problems of environmental degradation could be solved with the aid of the multinational corporations. The aid of multinational corporations is r equired for the reduction in the carbon emissions and toxic elements (Chukwuma, 2000).The government of varied nations and the world health organizations have created several strict measures for the multinational corporations to abide by. The various environmental issues developed by Pepsi during the tenure 2007 to 2013 would be as follows: Year Environmental issues & Sustainability Technology 2007 The management had developed a programme which was known as human sustainability. The goal of this programme was to develop food products which were healthy and nourishing for customers. The company had taken measures of reducing the water and energy consumption per unit by 20 percent (PepsiCo, 2013m). The goals of the programme were also to decrease fuel consumption by 25 percent. The company had reused the water from processing methods to provide communities access to clean water. The company was included in the Dow and Jones Sustainability Index in North America (PepsiCo, 2013h). The c ompany was successful in developing successful technological transformation initiatives. It was also successful in implementing techniques in PCA, Tropicana and Quaker oats for enhancing the product development process. A ground work was laid to convert the financial process, contracts, and other projects into SAP technology (PepsiCo, 2013h). 2008 The company had t

Social Work Interviewing Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Work Interviewing Skills - Essay Example The role that social workers play in improving the lives of socially challenged people cannot be undermined. Their responsibilities include working with specifically identified people from all ages who need support due to a wide range of dilemmas and guide them professionally to manage their own lives. In order for social workers to determine the scope and root cause of a client’s problem, they must have acquired the necessary skills to interview and solicit appropriate responses to enable them to apply uniquely designed interventions. For this particular endeavor, a 15-minute interview with an adult client diagnosed to be addicted to cocaine was developed with the purpose of setting goals for the intervention with the client and assisting the client to develop his skills in problem solving. In this regard, this essay is written to discuss responses to the following questions: (1) how did information from the literature/research on goal setting and intervening inform the contents of your interview? (2) How did the purpose and profession of social work inform your practice in this interview (support your discussion with evidence from the literature and examples from the video)? And (3) how were your strengths and area for development as a social worker shown in the interview (provide examples). The life of action requires more than analytical intelligence. It is not enough to have an idea and be able to evaluate its worth. Social workers are tasked with the responsibilities for the achievement of goals, the accomplishment of results, and the solution of problems. It is therefore a critical step to understand theoretical concepts underlying goal setting to serve the following purposes: assist social workers and clients in ensuring that they agree on the identified problems and â€Å"the changes that must occur to produce a suitable outcome†, to validate and empower the client through appropriate

Lafarge Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lafarge Company - Essay Example One major advantage with e-learning is the universal nature of this approach. With the firm’s multinational presence, it goes without saying that the various managers in the countries where the firm’s branches are located can be incorporated into the system. Lafarge Company is one that deals with lime and cement in France. It is quite important to note that the company has been in operations for close to one and a half centuries. Actually around the 1930s the company was one of France’s largest cement producers. The success of the company was rather too much to be accommodated in the French locality so much so that in the present day the company has a presence in up to 76 countries all over the world. It has further diversified in the products it deals with and in the present time it has specialized in the production of concrete, aggregates, cement and gypsum. The company is of the opinion that for the achievement of its success there has to be adequate training of the staff that is there. In this connection it actually set up its learning base, the Lafarge University which was established back in the year 2003. The University aims at inculcating in managers the work values which are so much upheld by the company. The firm wants the managers of the firm to be the best in their particular fields in a bid to transforming the company even further. In the pursuit of the perfect solution to the issue at hand, Lafarge opted to get more involved with the internet. Actually the company stressed more on the development of e-learning and familiarizing the staff with what it entails. In accordance with the missions which the university upheld, there had to be a way through which the people involved in the company get a way of learning about how to achieve the objectives stipulated. The diverse nature of the firm at that particular time could not allow the centralization or rather the localization of the

Use a variety of accounting theories to respond to Adams (2002) Essay

Use a variety of accounting theories to respond to Adams (2002) statement - Essay Example The corporations need to reform their reporting systems to include all aspects of operation in this era when the global economy is undergoing widespread reforms. The fundamental aim of this paper is analyzing the statement by Adam’s (2002) based on the theories of corporate social responsibility. According to the political theory, organisations have power to analyse the environment and participate in corporate social responsibility. Power is the ability to influence and control behaviour of a certain group of people. Thus, organisations have the political power to influence the aspects of social and environmental concern. Rendtorff (2009) classifies the political theory into two categories: these are corporate citizenship and corporate constitutionalism. Corporate citizenship is founded on the need of firms performing their responsibility to the environment. Corporations are referred to as legal persons (Deegan & Rankin, 1996); hence, they are considered independent individuals who ought to be responsible of their actions on the environment. Demonstrating of corporate accountability is achieved by making publications and reports discussing and analysing their contributions to the community’s wellbeing. Failure to report to the community leads to negative public view a nd lack of credibility of an organisation. The primary aim of constitutions in firms is to create and entrench power. A corporate constitution, thus, governs choices incorporated in the state law and the certificate of incorporation. According to Mahoney, Thorne, Cecil and LaGore (2013), the decision to assign powers to directors over decisions is the choice of governance structures. If directors fail to effectively and responsibly use the powers endowed to them, the community can take away the power and give it to responsible parties (Orlitzky & Swanson, 2008). The community can take away the power by cutting partnerships with them, legal actions, avoiding buying

Treatment of People with Developmental Disabilities Essay Example for Free

Treatment of People with Developmental Disabilities Essay Throughout history people with developmental disabilities were treated as defective or somewhat less than human.   They were placed in institutions and often forgotten, drugged or tortured simply because they were misunderstood.   Jean-Marc Itard began working with people in France in the early eighteen hundreds in a first attempt to train developmentally disabled people.   He later moved to the United States and continued his studies and practice.   The first asylum to treat people with disabilities was opened in 1851. (History 6) The purpose of the asylum was to protect the people from the harshness of society and to educate the people with disabilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The beginning of the 1900’s consisted of a change to an attempt to protect society from the disabled people by putting them all in institutions.   In the first half of the nineteen hundreds the number of institutions and the number of people in them grew significantly.   The general public treated disabled people as deviants and people that should not be allowed to live among other people (Minnesota, part D).   In 1924 a law was passed that allowed sterilization of people deemed as â€Å"feebleminded†.   This population included epileptics and alcoholics (Longmore 1). By passing this law, the nation demonstrated it was not yet ready to fully accept people with developmental disabilities. Between 1925 and 1950, people began to realize again that the developmentally disabled were harmless to society and were best if they were trained.   This did not keep people from placing their disabled children in institutions or keep doctors from recommending that parents place their children in institutions.   Once a child was diagnosed with a disability, the child was often placed in an already over crowded institution where he was essentially forgotten.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Towards the end of the 1950’s and early 1960’s the views towards disabled people changed again.   When John Kennedy became president he and his sister chose to spend time helping people with disabilities live more productive lives (National 1).   During this time the trend began to change to respecting them and keeping people at home if possible.   From that time, research has gradually increased to study the causes of developmental disabilities to greatly reduce the number of people born with them and when possible reduce the severity of the effects. Because of this the number of yearly cases of people born with severe disabilities has been greatly reduced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the later half of the nineteen hundreds to the present, the trend has moved towards encouraging people to keep their disabled children at home when possible and to educate the children along with average children.   This method helps average children be more respectful of children with disabilities and helps the children with disabilities develop skills more quickly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For many years people with disabilities were treated as less than human and often became the subjects of traveling shows carnival attractions.   When not in shows, they were kept in institutions, where people could pretend they did not exist.   Fortunately in the last fifty years, the public no longer fears disability and are not only more accepting, but willing to assist them.   Society has come a long way towards accepting those who are different, but progress continues and needs to continue to be made. Works Cited: â€Å"A Short History of treatment for People with Mental Retardation†. 11 February 2008 http://www.ahrcnyc.org/pdf/chapter1_history.PDF Longmore, Paul. â€Å"Disability History Timeline† 2002. Rehabilitation Research and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Training Center on Independent Living Management. 11 February 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://isc.temple.edu/neighbor/ds/disabilityrightstimeline.htm National Institute of Child Health and Development. 8 September 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   11 February 2008 Establishment and history â€Å"Parallels in Time† 2007. Minnesota’s Governor’s Council. 11 February 2008 Parallels In Time: A History of Developmental Disabilities

Polycythemia Vera: Causes and Treatment

Polycythemia Vera: Causes and Treatment From the ancient times to the modern era of today where everything is said to be changed irrespective the good or bad, not only mankind had undergone an evolution but so as the diseases which is why new medical innovations are highly needed to counteract such dilemma. Diseases do not only invade a person externally but also can spread internally as well such as blood diseases. Blood diseases are diseases that involve the mechanisms, functions, site of production, and most importantly the components of blood. According to Hezy (2010), one of the major blood disease is polycythemia Vera, also known as erythremia, primary polycythemia, and polycythemia rubra Vera. Polycythemia Vera is a myeloproliferative rare blood disease in which the bone marrow produces excessive amount of erythrocytes and may also result in the overproduction of leukocytes or platelets causing the blood to be thicker and travels slower than normal. This is a very serious problem as sooner or later the person would suffer from heart attack or stroke as the possibility of having a stroke or heart failure increase by 80% if a person suffers from polycythemia Vera due to blockage of blood vessels. Although polycythemia Vera is considered a very rare disease, it still happens among us despite its low possibility. Therefore, treatments are highly recommended as it could be fatal or lead to another sort of diseases as well because a subset of patients with polcythemia Vera may progress to acute myelogenous leukemia or myelofibribrosis stated by ClinicalKey (2012). From the research of Ann Intern Med (2013), the statistics shown that polycythemia Vera can occur in any individual irrespective age or gender but it has been proven that is it more common among people with the age group of 50 to 70 years. In overall, polycythemia Vera is more prevalent in men than in women. According to Vanasse G., et al (2008), the data claimed from major commercial insurance payers in Connecticut and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that the number of patients with polycythemia Vera is 22 per 100,000 respectively for the age-standardized prevalence and it is also estimated that there is a total of approximately 65,200 patients with polycythemia Vera applying the age-specific prevalence to the entire US population in 2003 which is the first assessed prevalence of polycythemia Vera in the large US population. Moreover, Brian J.S., et al (2004) stated that a comprehensive review reported the incidence of polycythemia Vera to be 2.3 per 100,000 each year worldwide. After a thorough diagnosis, the seriousness of polycythemia Vera is underscored by the fact that the median survival for untreated symptomatic patients is about six months to one and a half year but for treating patients, the median survival can be surprisingly prolonged to about seven to fifteen years. Based on DoctorTipster (2011), there are a few factors that may increase the risk of developing polycythemia Vera. Firstly, aging is one of the unavoidable factors as the chances of developing polycythemia Vera grow with age. Normally people around the age of 60 years are more prone to this disease and it is hardly found in people who are under 20 years of age. Secondly, it is a fact that polycythemia Vera effects with predilection men and lesser in women by comparison. Thirdly, families with medical history is also one of the risk factors that can lead to polycythemia Vera. Most cases of polycythemia Vera are not inherited, it is associated with genetic changes that are somatic, means that they acquire during a persons lifetime and are only present in certain cells and not transmitted or passed down generally from parents to children. However, in rare instances family history of polycythemia Vera especially relatives are said to be the cause for the increase of risk for developing t he disease. In these families, the risk of developing polycythemia appears to have an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Autosomal dominant inheritance means that one copy of an altered gene in each cell is sufficient to increase the risk of developing polycythemia Vera, although in these cases no causative genes have been identified but these people seem to inherit an increased risk of polycythemia Vera, not the disease itself. Last but not least, the environmental conditions or lifestyles also count as a risk factor as well as polycythemia Vera can occur due to different lifestyles or even different exposures to environmental conditions such as radiation. Exposure to intense radiation may actually increase the risk for the condition or even trigger the disease because the main reason for the development of disease is genetic mutation. Lack of exercise or unhealthy diet will only aggravate the body conditions as most of the people nowadays are already in bad shape because o f neglecting health care for work and stress. Pr Jean B. (2010), stated that the main source of determining an individual either with or without polycythemia Vera is based on whether the mutation occurred in the bodys genes which is the major cause of polycythemia Vera. Polycythemia Vera happens because of the presence of abnormal clonal stem cell expansion that suppresses the growth and maturation of normal stem cell which is a somatic mutation known as JAK2-V617F commonly in exon 14 of the JAK2 gene or in exon 12 which is less common. However, exactly what causes the mutation is still a matter of debate. The presence of a V617F or a mutation of the JAK2 gene can be diagnosed because the gene actually functions to make a protein that aids the body in producing blood cells and so there will be an elevation in the amount of white blood cells, platelets, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and most of all the red blood cell mass which is about 125% greater compared with the normal. As a result, the blood will become thicker and harder to pump which is very dangerous as it can relate to heart attack, stroke, and other health diseases. Almost all of the health problems associated with polycythemia Vera are caused by the blood of the individual being unusually thick due to overproduction of red blood cells in the body. The disease is more common in the elderly and can be either symptomatic or asymptomatic. TheFreeDictionary (2013), stated that normally there will be common signs and symptoms such as itching and severe burning pain in the hands or feet accompanied by a reddish and bluish colouration of the skin most likely on the face. Unfortunately, patients with polycythemia Vera are also likely to develop gouty arthritis. As the development of polycythemia Vera is rather slow, signs and symptoms might not show for years. Therefore, the disease is often found out when a blood test is done for other purposes. However, when the signs and symptoms are present due to the thickness of the blood slowing down the flow of oxygenated blood to all parts of the body and this will lead to many parts of the body unable to funct ion properly with insufficient oxygen. As a result, one may experience headaches, dizziness, blurred or double vision, shortness of breath, numbness, itchiness especially after bathing with hot water, fatigue, and more. Besides that, there are actually levels or phases where symptoms or effects are shown at various stages. The symptoms of the early polycythemia Vera may be minimal so it is not unusual for the disease to be discovered easily. Patients often experience symptoms like headaches, confusion or impaired memories, breathing difficulty, giddiness, vomiting, hypertension and much more which people would treat them like a minor or a common issue. In some patients early symptoms include unusual heavy bleeding from minor cuts, nosebleeds, pain in the bone, or stomach ulcers but there are a few cases the first symptoms is the development of blood clots in an unusual part of the circulatory system such as the liver. As the disease develops, the patients may have episodes of thromb osis or hemorrhage where the fact that thrombosis is the most frequent cause of death from polycythemia Vera. Other complications include a high concentration of uric acid in the blood which increases the risk of getting other diseases. About 10% of the patients eventually develop gout and the other 10% develop peptic ulcers. Based on MayoClinic (2012), one of the effects of polycyhemia Vera is causing the spleen to be greatly enlarged also known as splenomegaly as the spleen aids the body against infections and filter unwanted materials such as old or damaged blood cells. With the increased number of blood cells caused by polycythemia Vera, the spleen intends to work harder than normal which leads to spleen enlargement and the patients spleen may even be able to fill the entire left side of the abdomen as time goes on. Therefore, the patients might have the feeling of fullness or bloated in the upper left part of the abdomen. Where there is a problem, there will always be solutions to overcome it. According to the BodyandHealth.canada.com (1997), polycythemia Vera is treated with procedures, medicines, and some other treatments. A person with polycythemia Vera may need one or more treatments to manage this disease. The actual goals of treating this blood disease are to control the symptoms and reduce the risk of complications especially heart failure and stroke so in order to achieve the target, the treatments for polycythemia Vera reduce the number of erythrocytes and the level of hemoglobin in the blood which will make the thickness of the blood to be much closer to normal, thus reducing the chances of blood clots in the blood vessels. For this disease, the most recommended treatment is phlebotomy. Phlebotomy is a procedure that removes some blood from the body by inserting a needle into one of the veins and channels the blood into a sterile container via an airtight tube which is quite similar to the p rocess of blood donation. Through this treatment, the red blood cell count is reduced and this brings the thickness of the blood closer to normal. Typically, 1 unit of blood which is around 350ml is removed per week until the hematocrit level which is the measure of how much space red blood cells occupied in the blood falls back to normal and this process is normally carried out every few months. The next treatment involves medications, the doctors may prescribe certain medicines for example hydroxyurea and interferon-alpha that prevents the bone marrow from making way too many red blood cells. Hydroxyurea is a medicine generally used in treating cancer, it has the ability to reduce the number of red blood cells and platelets in the blood whereas interferon-alpha is a substance that our bodies usually produces to prompt our immune system to fight against overactive bone marrow cells. Moreover, radiation treatment is also available as it can help to suppress overactive bone marrow ce lls which prevent them from making red blood cells uncontrollably but this treatment is less recommended by doctors as the radiation treatment can increase the risk of leukaemia or other blood diseases. Another treatment is by taking aspirin as aspirin can relieve bone pain and the burning sensation in the hands and feet due to polycythemia Vera. In addition, aspirin also has the function to dilute blood so besides relieving pains it also thins the blood causing the blood to flow better in the blood vessels. However, taking aspirin can have side effects without the controlling the amount or dosage. For those who cannot resist the itching caused by polycythemia Vera, the doctor may also prescribe ultraviolet light treatment to relieve the itching. As preventions are better than cure, it is always a better choice not to rely too much on medications or drugs when solving problems related to health but try using other methods instead if possible. According to the NasionalHeartLungBloodinstitution (2011), people with polycythemia Vera should bath using cool water as it helps to reduce the irritation of the skin. Then, always remember to pat the body dry gently after bathing because vigorous rubbing with a towel can also irritate the skin as well. Lastly, one can also take starch baths by adding half a box of starch to a tub of lukewarm water because starch baths can actually help to soothe the skin. Besides taking trivial measures in daily activities, there are other ways to prevent or reduce the risk of one getting polycythemia Vera. First of all moderate physical activities such as walking and stretching is required to maintain a healthy heart rate and to improve blood flow in the body. By improving the blood flowing in the body , the risk of blood clots can be minimized. Following a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk of heart and lung disease, also will help to prevent one from developing secondary polycythemia. Sometimes, secondary polycythemia can be prevented by avoiding activities that will deprive our bodies of oxygen for long periods such as mountain climbing, smoking or other vigorous activities and sports. As a conclusion, polycythemia Vera is a chronic, and dangerous disease that can be very much fatal if not diagnosed and treated well. Although this disease has no cure, at least until today but the treatments provided will be able to help control the disease and its complications thus prolong more lives. However, it is wiser that we as the owner of our own health should bear most of the responsibilities rather than just relying on doctors and medicines when problems arise as an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Movements in Films | An overview Movements in Films | An overview Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (began after 1750) was a revival of Greek and Roman art; a direct reaction to the excessiveness of Baroque and Rococo styles. During the American and French Revolutions, the political atmosphere began to lean towards an Age of Reason and Enlightenment. With admiration for classical Roman and Greek art renewed after excavations of Herculaneum and Pompei, efforts for style to accompany philosophy caused an inevitable return to the classics. During this period, the subject matter often included a reverence for nature, tradition and the classics, moral values (such as nationalism and courage), along with a distrust for innovation. Early works of artists such as Jean August Dominique Ingres and especially Jacques-Louis David encompassed the thematic elements associated with Neoclassicism. Jacques-Louis Davids Oath of the Horatii can be considered as a turning point for the beginning of the neoclassic style. The painting possesses many qualities synonymous with neoclassicism. It is a tribute to Roman history, depicting three men with intense, dramatic and contrasted lighting, clarity of the characters forms/ gestures, and a deliberately simple composition. Davids Death of Marat is another example of a theatrical piece that combines a balanced composition and symbolism (martyrdom) with the moral undertone of the painting. Two other examples of Neoclassicist paintings are Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne and La Grande Odalis que. Romanticism Romanticism ( early-mid 19th century) was in reaction to Neoclassicism. Characteristics of Romanticist paintings include painterly brushstrokes, a clear display of emotion, nature, and diagonals. Some examples of this type of art includes Liberty Leading the People and Death of Sardanpalus by Eugà ¨ne Delacroix where his practiced use of expressive brushstrokes is made visible. Liberty Leading the People is an example of a romanticized symbol of France. Different social classes can be seen in French Romanticism, where the dead, dying, stronger, and strongest are specifically allocated throughout the piece. Other examples of Romanticist art includes The Raft of Medusa and Evening: Landscape with an Aquaduct by Thà ©odore Gà ©ricault. British Romanticism was more focused on using pure abstraction to help create expression. Examples include J.M. W. Turners Burning of Parliament and Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway. This type of use of ochre and white streaks was common, along with pastoral elements. John Constables The Hay Way and Dedham Vale are two other examples of British Romanticism. This type of art was easy to look at for the viewer. Realism Realism (mid 19th century) was created by a French group called the Barbizon School. Like the name implies a dedication to trying to capture the details through observation was an objective for the French Realists. Examples include Woman with a Pearl and Venise, La Piazzetta. Realists did not necessarily try to recreate what was directly in front of them, adjusting the situation to create an ideal piece was common and more practical. Other examples include Jean-Franà §ois Millets The Sower and The Gleaners. These types of works inspired the (post) impressionists that would see these exhibited paintings later on. Realism in landscapes is also seen in Courbets works, such as Plage de Normandie and Self-portrait (The Desperate Man) Impressionism Impressionism (1870s -1880s) was a term created from the first named Impressionist work, Claude Monets Impression, Sunrise. Characteristics of this type of painting includes the appreciation of art history, and an admiration upon light. Brush strokes are visible despite not being bold. Moments are captured, and time is a dimension that is fundamental in this type of art. Another example of a Monet that reflects Impressionisms characteristics well is Woman with a Parasol. Impressionism was a style that became highly developed, every brushstroke had its place, working with a highly selective palette. Edgar Degas New Orleans Cotton Exchange and The Dance Class are two famous examples of Impressionism. These paintings of ballet dancers became synonymous with the movement. Music in the Tuileries and The Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet both further display this type of freeze-frame feeling. There is a certain serenity to this movement, and though the technique is variable, it ul timately results in a soft feel to the painting. The female figure was also often in the foreground of these pieces due to the political atmosphere, and the type of mood they helped establish within a piece. Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism was a term coined by Roger Fry for one of Manets later exhibits. After no longer accepting the simple subject matter, and lack of compositional formatting in Impressionism, Post-Impressionist artists came up with their own ways to restore some more of the traditional compositional values into paintings. Georges Seurat used pointillism, a technique using dots of colour to allow them to blend into new colours through optical illusion, in his pieces such as Circus Sideshow and Le Chahut. Vincent Van Gogh used raw emotion and expressive brushstrokes in his pieces (Ex: Starry Night over the Rhone and Sunflowers, two of the most recognizable post-impressionist works) to recreate his own life and all the depressions that were contained within it. Other examples include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrecs At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing and Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge. Late 19th Century Architecture Joseph Paxtons piece The Crystal Palace was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, a piece that was the result of a movement away from traditional materials such as wood. Rather, a progression towards steel and new, more advanced materials was created. The Eiffel Tower (named after its engineer Gustave Eiffel) is another example of this type of architecture. An internation symbol for France, the tower is an engineering marvel, despite its intense criticism. Using purely steel for the structure of the body, it is an exploration of the new materials available during the era. Early 20th Century Architecture This type of architecture was a direct tie-in with Bauhaus. Artists such as Frank Lloyd Wright began exploring functional forms, and houses being living machines led to the creation of his works such as Falling Water, The Robie House and The Walter Fale House. The flat roofs and cantilever systems were brand new ideas in this type of art. Other examples include Le Corbusiers Centre Le Corbusier and Villa Savoye. Walter Gropius and Mies Van Der Rohe also explored the new possibilities created by mechanization and factories. (covered in Bauhaus) Suprematism Suprematism (which began in 1915) was a purely Russian art movement was devised by Kasimir Malevich as an era dedicated to geometric forms. Painting was reduced to ideas belonging to a supreme reality that embodied the essence of purity. This was a period that intersected cubo-futurism and (but came slightly before) Suprematism. Lyubov Popova was another important artist during this movement and a member of Malevichs Supremus group. His philosophy was that art should be reduced into a spiritual essence that exceeds the limits of religion and attains the supremacy of pure emotion. These paintings were minimal and done in a linear fashion. Malevichs Suprematist Composition: White on White is the ultimate example of Suprematism. After much experimentation with the tilting of a quadrilateral within a 4-dimensional frame and tampering with the relationship between art and science, the result was an incredibly pure painting using two shades of white. Another example would be Malevichs Black Square. Constructivism Constructivism (1919-1934), literally meaning to construct was a disciplinary artistic style that rose during the Russian Revolution. The new Communist order had decided to progress the ideas Analytic Cubism into the third dimension through sculpture. Contemporary, industrial materials such as glass, steel, wood, plastic were used in order to create engineering feats that were beyond art for arts sake. The movement was highly developed by Vladmir Tatlin, Naum Gabo, and Aleksander Rodchenko, the latter two who officially coined the term. According to Tatlin and his followers, these constructions were actually four-dimensional. Since they implied motion, they also implied time. The most recognizable piece of Constructivism was Tatlins attempt to create The Monument to the Third International. Meant to be constructed out of glass, iron and steel, it was hoped to have been a tower to supersede the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Even if the technology to create the monument had been available, there would most likely have been little to no structural practicality to it. In this type of utilitarian construction art, beauty is combined with some type of function or geometry: a twin helix being the main structure, glass four suspended forms (a cube, pyramid, a hemisphere, and a cylinder) all have practical uses, and the entire piece consists of futuristic paths to carry people through the structure with mechanical devices. Naum Gabo was colleagues and friends with Tatlin, Wassily Kandinsky, and Rodchenko. He began a new kind of plastic construction strung with nylon filament that comes very close to mathematical models. After looking for ties between art and science, the models he created in his Linear Construction series reflect upon modern physics that came after his time. Nylon threads are strung around a plexiglass base in an entirely mathematical arrangement. Contrary to many other constructivists, he partook in the movement in a purely spiritual sense. Gabo also had a strong interest in kinetic sculptures, which can be seen in his Revolving Torsion Fountain in London. With the main structure being made out of stainless steel, the contrastingly formless water is used as an integral moving element to complete the 4-dimensional composition. The jets pulsate at different levels, rotating and in particular rhythms. Selecting elements for specific purposes is a common trait of the mindset of a construc tivist. Dada Dadaism (1916-1922) was a direct reaction to the absurdity of World War I and the devastating amount of deaths it caused. This intellectual, anti-war movement ridiculed the disgusting parts of the world, such as the upper-class, rationale, and false nationalism and materialism. The name was selected randomly after flipping through a dictionary. This anti-art symbolized the opposite of everything that used to be considered aesthetically acceptable. Groups created in the name of Dada began forming, and the First German Dada Manifesto was published. Marcel Duchamp was a pioneer in this movement, beginning the use of readymades or found objects, and labelling them as art. His famous Fountain is nothing but a signed urinal, but captures the spirit of Dada. A worthless object has been signed to turn it into art, and is now something of value. Time, effort, and composition are no longer necessarily take into consideration to create art. L.H.O.O.Q. (Duchamp) was also another readymade piece of art, that is a mockery of traditional art. The name of the piece implies some kind of sexual joke based off the pun that comes from the French translation of Elle a chaud au cul, translating into There is a fire down below or She has a hot ass. This variant of the Mona Lisa was created many times, always with a moustache and beard in pencil upon the androgynous figures face. Taking part in the anti-art and nihilistic movement, Man Ray also began using readymades along with more conventional forms of media. His piece The Gift is a combination of an iron with rows of tacks glued to the bottom of. The object combines two ordinary objects to create a sadistic image and evokes a painful connection with the viewer. Another piece using a readymade by Ray is Indestructible Object. After photographing a picture of friend Lee Millers eye and placing it onto the moving pole of an analog metronome, Man Ray exhibited the piece naming it Object to Be Destroyed. In 1957, students destroyed his work, and after reconstructing, the piece was renamed Indestructible Object. Not only is the piece a part of Dada due to it being a readymade but the process and social criticism it received was expected from the movement. Acting against art, and raging for anti-art was a suitable response from viewers Surrealism Surrealism (began in the early 1920s) was a movement that succeeded Dada and contained many of the same artists. This cultural movement was highly influenced by the Freudian school of thought and psychiatry, dreams, fantasies and political motivations (Marxism/Communism/Anarchism) becoming a very intellectual reflection upon Parisian Nationalism, (sub)consciousness, and led to the creation of the Surrealist Manifesto. This movement to place across all media, such as painting, sculpture, photography, and film. The Surrealist Manifesto and the Second Manifesto of Surrealism were both written by Andre Breton. This poet was also a participant in the Dada movement, and at first praised automatic art and automatism of thoughts in art but later was more interested in narratives of dreams. The work of Salvador Dali is the quintessence of the period. His The Persistence of Memory is frighteningly realistic in terms of his technique like many of his other works, and uses symbols such as clocks, ants, and other unconscious creations. The reformation of a dream (in this case one of a paranoiac) on a canvas is the basis of most surrealist works. Another work that illustrates this Freudian idea of paranoia is Dalis Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The direct reflect of the staring Narcissus and the hand and egg is meant to recreate the feeling of paranoia when one mistakes one scenario for another. German Expressionism German Expressionism (1905-1925) was a period of raw, emotional art that took place between wars, during the recovery of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles had just been signed, and Germany was in large debt. This era was dedicated towards reflecting upon the difficult economy through not only paintings, but largely on film as well. This period was largely an influence on the Expressionism coming out of Germany at the same time. A cinematic example of a work of the era would be Metropolis by Fritz Lang. This science-fiction film was set in a relatable dystopia within a capitalist society where inter-class issues are the focus. Die Brucke was a group founded by four students specializing in architecture. These artists had no solid formal educations or school in art expect for some lessons. They worked cohesively and began a philosophical quest to bridge a bohemian life-style with a sense of imminent disaster. They were the driving force behind this movement. Sexual tension was a common theme in these pieces such as in Ernst Ludgwig Kitchners Self Portrait with Model and Georges Roualts Head of Christ. Both simplify shapes and use raw, simple colours to create very heavy, dense atmospheres around the pieces. Der Blaue Reiter was another group of artists led by Kandinsky and Franz Marc that wanted to approach their art more spiritually. These idealists sought to revive German art and eventually used woodcuts as their patriotic medium. Works from the group include Marcs The Tower of Blue Horses and Kandinskys Composition VII. This type of extreme and spiritual abstraction, and form simplification was part of the groups search for philosophical truth. Fauvism Fauvism (1904-1908), French for wild beasts, was a movement led by Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. Characteristics of the movement included bright areas of colour and flattening of form. The works were passionate and emotional with very painterly brush strokes and a focus on colour rather than realism. Matisses Woman with a Hat demonstrates this. Patches of colour surround the figure, and though a form is clear, there is definitely no focus upon trying to recreate what the artist saw directly. Rather, the colour scheme and interpretation of the colours at the moment are more important. This type of simplified colour/ figures is also seen with Matissess The Joy of Life. Andre Derain had worked with Matisse, and works such as Charing Cross Bridge exhibit the same type of bright, simplified colours but in a landscape setting. His Self-portrait in studio also shows this type of simplification, but with darker colours and more depth. This was a possible lead in to some of the ideas in the following movement. The boldness in colour and distortions during Fauvism is thought to have been from the influence of Van Gogh and Gaugins exhibited works. This was an incredibly modern movement in the 20th century. Cubism Analytic Cubism (1907-191) involves looking at the volume and space the structural unites from whicj to derive the faceted shapes of Analytic (or Facet) Cubism The facets are now so small and precise, more like prisms, and the canvas has the balance and refinement of a fully mature style There are high contrasts of texture and colour, monochromic palettes are common, and complex structures. Everything is broken down geometrically with sharp lines into cubistic forms. Synthetic Cubism (1912-1919) on the other hand was an alternative to Fauvism. Artists such as George Braque fell into this category, after beginning in Fauvism. This is also known as collage cubism. Form is flattened and there is a celebration of colour and the technique of collage. Some of Braques work in Analytic Cubism includes Violin, a piece that breaks apart a violin and is based off of a green hue, and The Mandolin, which focuses on different facets of a womans body practically disintegrating into sections. Picassos Still Life with Chair Caning and Guitar, Sheet Music, and Wine Glass are two examples of synthetic cubism. There are frames of reference, and things have been broken down in a way where it looks as if the final product was created through images being cut and paste on together. Bauhaus Bauhas was a school of thought that was founded by Walter Gropius in Germany and after development from previous concepts, buildings, and schools, the Bauhaus school building existed between 1919 and 1933 and had moved through three different cities due to Nazi pressure. Important components and influences of Bauhas wereInternational Style, functionalityin terms of (architectural) engineering, and geometric design principles. The Industrial Revolution, favtories, mass production and manufacturing were also a part of the movement. After the movement, many schools based their buildings and programs off the school. In general, the schools influence upon architecture, engineering, and redesign still impacts current lifestyles, presenting themselves everywhere in daily life (ex: the invention of tubular steel, flat-roofed buildings). The original director and master of Bauhaus, Gropius was largely responsible for the F 51 Armchair and Sofa. Other creations in modern dà ©cor by him include the D 51 and F 51-2. One of the later directors Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Farnsworth house, 960-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, and Seagram building. All these buildings reflect upon his mission to advance architecture with the leaps in technology and industry, combining rationalism with spirituality. Universally known, his Barcelona Chair and Ottoman is a modernistic icon that involves a twist upon Curule chairs and was manufactured/ targeted towards the common man market. Hannes Meyer was the second director of Bauhaus and was the first to help the school earn profit. He brought significant commission for the school, including creating building for the Gederal School of the German Trade Unions in Bernau and five apartment buildings in Dessau. American Abstract Expressionism Abstract expressionism (1940s-1950s) was the first entirely American-caused movement in direct reaction to World War II. Paint was put onto a surface to create pure art that had no narrative. Rather the pieces depended purely on line, form, surface, and the way paint acts. Harold Rosenberg described Pollock and other Abstract Expressionist canvases as an arena in which to act. What was to go on the canvas was not a picture but an event. Many paintings were described as action paintings, in where the process and layering of the paint could be considered more interesting and important than the final product and composition itself. Mark Rothko would use chunks of paint to create his pieces, to create multiforms. This was his key style and can be seen in No. 3/ No. 13. The canvas consists of only 6 colours in blocks. Another example is his painting No. 10. In contrast, Jackson Pollock often threw paint onto the surface, allowing it to do what paint does. His paintings No. 5, and Lavender are examples of his paint-throwing and recognizable dripping techniques. Other examples of Abstract Expressionist works include Lee Krasners Celebration and Little Image paintings, along with Barnett Newmans Onement 1and Whos Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue? Pop Art Pop art (began in mid 1950s) was based in Britain and the United States. Pop art was a diurect reaction to the high intellectualism of Abstract Expressionism, often focusing upon ordinary objects and regular daily commodities. Subject matter often included objects such as soup cans, boxes, comic boos, photos, etc. Pop culture and the Hollywood scene was a major influence upon the art during this age of mechanical reproduction. Richard Hamiltons collage Just What Is it that Makes Todays Homes So Different, So Appealing? is an iconic piece created from images from American magazines and is a reflection upon the economy, homes, and lifestyle of the time. Andy Warhols Campbells Soup I and series used the American food staple as the subject to avoid competing with Roy Lichensteins comic strip pieces and his potential as a consumer, being solely dedicated to the brand and product. Lictensteins infamous Whaam!contains an image of an American plane destroying an enemy jet. This comic-strip type of art was a reflection on the American lifestyle and the popularity of comic books during the age and the piece was based off an actual comic book panel. The piece tries not to develop a purposeful connection with the audience, allowing viewers to develop their own thoughts and interpretation of the image and caption. Claes Oldenburg also used this idea of consumer products, and often create soft sculptures of mundane obje cts. Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks involved an oversized lipstick that would constantly deflate itself unless pumped by a viewer. Other pieces from the era include Oldenburgs Soft Bathtub (Model), Lichtensteins Drowning Girl, Hamiltons Interior and Warhols Brillo Box. Earth Art During Earth Art (late 1960s into early 1970s), artists began a movement against the restrictive qualities of galleries and traditional exhibitions. A desire for an open canvas led to the use of nature as a medium. In reaction to consumerism and the vast commercialization of art, the reaction of these artists was to create something impossible to purchase by using only natural materials, usually in an environment that could not be sold. As well, the temporary nature of most of these works would factor into how unfeasible it would be to attempt to purchase these works. Usually, these works can only exist through documentation as they are otherwise eradicated by time. Leading artist Robert Smithson created the Broken Circle and Spiral Jetty, two famous works that emerged during the period. Both pieces are protected, but nevertheless people still try to obtain parts of these works. Richard Long creates his pieces through walking upon paths entirely drawn from him. A Circle in Alaska Be ring Straight Driftwood on the Arctic Circle and A Line Made By Walking are two works both created through the pure interaction of his body and his earth. They will only last until nature takes its course, a trademark of Earth art. Christo and his wife Jean Claude focused their works upon the form that the world takes up, and wanted people to see things in a new perspective. Through many wrapped pieces, they considered themselves to be bringing unseen beauty to certain environemtns. The Running Fence and the wrapping of Point Neuf Bridge are some incredibly recognizable pieces. Both are reflections upon the form of nature. Minimalism Minimalism (late 1960s-early 1970s) involved the belief that there should be no agenda for a piece but the piece should be centred on itself. This type of art implies true aesthetic value. Often the works are precise, mechanical, and ready to be manufactured in a factory setting. The pieces are repetitive with no symbolism and are modular. Contrasting colours, sharp outlines, and a basis on geometric forms and the frame of reference were also components of this style. This was also applicable in the sculptural aspects of the style. Materials for this type of sculpture was usually industrial, ex: fiberglass, plastics/ other synthetics, metals. Donald Judds pieces are often untitled works that are simple and based purely on mathematics and geometry. This was also the same with Robert Morris. Richard Serra has a piece similar to one of Judds untitled works where a sculpture contains contains circles within circles at different tilts and heights. These were installations, however Solomon LeWitt focused more upon two dimensional pieces like Isometric Projection, Untitled (lithograph), and Tower. Serras The Matter Of Time and Fulcrum are sculptures based purely on untreated metals and steels. Performance Art Current Performance Art began in the beginning of the first half of the 20th century. The movement was dedicated towards the history of theatre. However, by the 1970s, Performance Art was usually concentrated and combined efforts on Happenings and Conceptual Art with installations. Shock value, (self-) mutilation, explicit sexuality, grotesque and unconventional humour. Audience interaction and breaking the fourth wall was also quite common. Laurie Anderson is a musician who experiments not only in sound through playing the violin and piano, but with her performances as well. She created the tape-bow violin that is still used as an experimental type of instrument by artists and musicians today. In the 1970s she performed/ recorded a violin piece while performing until the block of ice of which she stood on with ice skates completely melted away. Vito Acconci created an installation named Seedbed in which he was located beneath a ramp at the Sonnabend Gallery, where he masturbated and created a speaker system to allow his speakers here his voice and thoughts. Joseph Beuys had some notable performances, particularly when he became involved with Fluxus temporarily. His performance, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare involved Beuys speaking into the ear of a dead hare he held in his arms, while his boot had an attached piece of iron, and his face was covered in honey and gold leaf. All these objects had a symbolic meanin g and there was an intended intellectual message for his audience. This Fluxus movement involiving multi-media flow also produced member Yoko Ono. Her performance Cut Piece (which can also be considered a happening) involved the audience participating through cutting her clothing off until she was naked. This allowed Ono to communicate her own feelings towards her audience through body and performance, rather than conventional mediums.