The Incomparable Blossom Dearie Essays - Blossom Dearie, Dearie

The Incomparable Blossom Dearie Hearing Blossom Dearie sing is a surreal experience. She is a vocalist who has a uniqueness, charm, and range unlike any other. A natural cabaret singer best suited to comedic songs and other"light"repertoire, Blossom can just as quickly turn around and draw you into the most aching, beautiful love song possible. She is the girl you fall in love with because her lyrics leave you with the impression that she too is in love, and you can not help but smile. A singer, pianist and songwriter, with a 'wispy, little-girlish' voice, Dearie is regarded as one of the great supper club singers (Line) Her father was of Scottish and Irish descent; her mother emigrated from Oslo, Norway. Countless rumors surround the origin of Blossom's name, but the story that has outlived all others has been that she gained the name ?Blossom? when her brothers arrived home to greet their new baby sister with a basket full of peach blossoms. The name Dearie, according to Blossom, is a fairly common Scottish name ? a topic on which she has done an extensive amount of research. (29 Richardson) She began taking piano lessons when she was five, and studied classical music until she was in her teens, when she played in her high school dance band and began to listen to jazz. Some of Blossom's early influences included Art Tatum, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Martha Tilton, who sang with the Benny Goodman Band. Dearie graduated from high school in the mid-40s and moved to New York City from her hometown of East Durham, nestled in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York, to pursue a music career. She joined the Blue Flames, a vocal group within the Woody Herman Big Band, and then sang with the Blue Reys, a similar formation in the Alvino Rey Band. In 1952, while working at the Chantilly Club in Greenwich Village, Dearie met Nicole Barclay who, with her husband, owned Barclay Records. At her [Nicole's] suggestion, she went to Paris and formed a vocal group, the Blue Stars. The group consisted of four male singers/instrumentalists, and four female singers; there, Blossom sang with Annie Ross, gaining critical acclaim for their performances in the Mars Club, the Club de Paris along the Paris nightclub circuit. While in Paris, Dearie met impresario and record producer Norman Granz, who signed her to Verve Records. She eventually made six solo albums, including the highly regarded My Gentleman Friend with this label. Unable to take the Blue Stars to the USA because of passport problems (they later evolved into the Swingle Singers), she returned to New York in 1956 and resumed her solo career, singing to her own piano accompaniment at New York nightclubs such as the Versailles, the Blue Angel and the Village Vanguard. She also appeared on US television shows hosted by Jack Paar, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson. In 1966 she made the first of what were to become annual appearances at Ronnie Scott 's Club in London, receiving excellent reviews as ?a singer's singer, whose most important asset was her power to bring a personal interpretation to a song, while showing the utmost respect for a composer's intentions?. (qtd. 33) In the 60s she also made albums for Capitol Records, including May I Come In?, a set of standards arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall. In the early 70s, disillusioned by the major record companies' lack of interest in her kind of music, she started her own company, Daffodil Records in 1974. Her first album for the label, Blossom Dearie Sings, was followed by a two-record set entitled My New Celebrity Is You, which contained eight of her own compositions. The album's title song was especially written for her by Johnny Mercer, and is said to be the last piece he wrote before his death in 1976. During the 70s, Dearie performed at Carnegie Hall with former Count Basie blues singer Joe Williams and jazz vocalist Anita O'Day in a show called The Jazz Singers. In 1981 Blossom appeared with Dave Frishberg for three weeks at Michael's Pub in Manhattan. Frishberg, besides being a songwriter, also sang and played the piano, and Dearie frequently performed his

Franz Liszt Bio & Analysis essays

Franz Liszt Bio & Analysis essays An Abb, honorary canon of Albano, a sincere mystic and at the same time one of historys most publicized lovers, incredible showman, hypnotic virtuoso, astonishing amalgam of magician, zealot and philanthropist, Liszt is easily the most colorful personality in the history of music (Lieberson 256.) From his dazzling beginning in the musical circles of Vienna as a child prodigy of eleven years old, Ferenc (Franz) Liszt would establish himself as the leading piano virtuoso and one of the foremost progressive forces in music of his day. Franz Liszt was born in Raiding, Hungary (now part of Austria) about thirty miles from Vienna, Austria (Longyear 105.) His Father was steward to the family of Esterhazy and a good amateur musician; consequently, he was also Liszts first piano teacher. Young Liszts extraordinary abilities were recognized without delay and he was soon taken to Vienna to study piano under Czerny and composition under Salieri (the former teacher of Schubert, an acquaintance of Liszts.) His phenomenal aptitude for the piano at the age of eleven was greeted with a kiss from Beethoven, and praised endlessly by the musical circles of the day. In 1823, Liszt went to Paris, where he studied music theory and composition (Politoske 1.) The French immediately recognized him as a brilliant performer with an almost uncanny ability to improvise on the keyboard. He had once wanted to become a priest, but inspired by the success of Niccolo Paganini, he then worked to become as much a master of the piano as Paganin i was of the violin. Soon he became in touch and at home with Parisian culture, fully immersing himself in the society, literature, and art with friends such as writers Hugo, Lamartine, George Sand, Sainte-Beuve and painters like Delacroix. He also met the Countess Marie d'Agoult, the writer known as Daniel Stern, who was his mistress from 1835 until 1844 and the mother of his daught...

Assignment Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management Essay - 1

Assignment Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management (Benchmark Assessment) - Essay Example Delivery of healthcare needs a continuous improvement of the quality in order to increase patient satisfaction rates. Since the nurses are the closet to the patients with regard to delivery of healthcare, they have the greatest opportunity to constantly identify areas in which to improve the quality of healthcare. However, as Feldman and Alexander (2012) say, the nurses cannot do this in a vacuum; they need an environment that will make it possible for them to improve the quality of services. Everyone in the healthcare environment has an opportunity as well as a responsibility to be involved in the continuous quality improvement. Continuous quality improvement should be the ethos of any healthcare facility. Needless to say, nurse managers have a very important role in making sure that the healthcare environment has the right facilities and conditions to facilitate continuous quality improvement. Since nurses have such a big role to play and are a very important resource in the implementation of the continuous quality improvement, how they are managed by nurse managers determines to what extent they are capable of implementing the continuous quality improvement programs within their area of practice. In this regard, there exists a number of management practices that such managers should consider in helping nurses to practice and facilitate continuous quality improvement. Apparently, management and leadership and are two diverse issues and this has an effect on the way nurses are capable of been productive in their work. Leadership, in the context of continuous quality improvement, has a better chance of delivering success and making it possible for the nurses to continually improve their services. For any healthcare facility to be able to benefit from nurse leadership as much as possible, it would be necessary to have the systems that help in

Opportunity Analysis of New Business Venture 03068 Essay

Opportunity Analysis of New Business Venture 03068 - Essay Example Where there are many competitors also, it should be able to present the idea of the business venture in a way that uniquely identifies untapped opportunities on the market (Oladeji, 2008). This is the basis for the report, where a new business venture is being critiqued for its viability as an innovative business idea. This is being done with the opportunity analysis approach where a feasibility study is being performed in the areas of self-analysis, venture description, market research, industrial analysis, technical feasibility, financial feasibility, scenario versions, and scalability analysis (Mambula, 2002). Once these areas are analysed, it will be able to conclude on the feasibility of the business idea and how innovative it is to succeed on the saturated market. The entrepreneur is considered an important authority and stakeholder for the introduction of any new business idea that becomes the basis of a venture creation. This is because the ideologies, motivation, vision, and inspiration of doing business are mostly dependent on the entrepreneur and what he or she brings onboard the new venture (Schaper, 2002). What is more, there are some core entrepreneurial qualities and competences that have been considered critical for the overall management of the venture (McMillan & Naughton, 2012). Based on the entrepreneurial behaviour theory, there are three major human capital requirements that may be assessed from the entrepreneur leading the idea of starting the new venture. These are general human capital, entrepreneurship specific human capital, and venture specific human capital (World Bank, 2010). The general human capital includes such qualities and requirements as education, managerial human capital, capabilities, and demographic control variables (Charles, 2002). The entrepreneurship specific human capital also includes entrepreneurial

How Most Parents in the United Arab Emirates Select Baby's Name Essay

How Most Parents in the United Arab Emirates Select Baby's Name - Essay Example When it comes to the naming of children according to character, most parents in the United Arab Emirates tend to pick soothing lively names that would go a long way in motivating their children. Such names include A’azz that is a male name meaning a person who is mighty and strong. Another female Arabic name is A‘ishah, which means a woman who is lively and superior (Al, 2001). Normally, parents in the UAE select such names in order to influence their children’s behavior and character. As far as the naming of children after famous businesspeople is concerned, it is important to note that many children have been named after Sunil  Baby, who is a renowned Financial Controller at IAL Container Line (UK) Ltd (Gulfnews, 2014). Although many trendy names are available in the modern era, the conservative United Arab Emirates strongly prohibits the adoption of such names especially western names that are considered foreign and ‘dirty’. It means that parents in the United Arab Emirates have to pick only from the available options, as going against the Arabian culture is considered a taboo. Additionally, the culture of naming children in the United Arab Emirates highly prohibits interchanging names in either gender. Therefore, parents in the country are only supposed to give their males children male Arabian names and the female children should also bear female Arabic names. Contrary names could attract disciplinary actions according to the Islamic laws (Al, 2001). Until recently, parents in the United Arab Emirates used to name their children after the prince and names that depicted the prophets but Saudi Arabia has banned over fifty names and the effect that is soon spiraling in the United Arab Emirates due to the similarity in cultures.

How Globalisation Has Harmed And Benefited The World

How Globalisation Has Harmed And Benefited The World This essay deals with various aspects of the globalisation process and the ways in which it has benefited or harmed different regions, nations, organisations and peoples. Globalisation is a complex process that concerns the progressive integration of people, goods, finances, thoughts, concepts, and ideas across nations on account of a range of political, economic, social and cultural drivers (Perrons, 2004, p 16). Whilst it has been an ongoing process since the beginning of history, the history of the world has been distinguished by specific periods of high and low globalisation. Globalisation in historic days occurred primarily on account of conquest, travel, and trade between nations, but was perforce slow because of the numerous constraints that existed in areas of travel and communication (Perrons, 2004, p 16). Its pace increased rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries on account of numerous technological developments, the Industrial Revolution in England and other western countries, and the growth of colonialism across the world (Went, 2002, p 41). Whilst the period between the First and the Second World Wars saw marked contraction in economic and other interactions between nations, the years after the closure of the Second World War have experienced phenomenal increase in the globalisation process (Went, 2002, p 41). Globalisation has profound effects on the economies, societies, and cultures of nations. Whilst the social and cultural aspects of globalisation are undoubtedly extremely important, the financial well being of people is primarily affected by the economic consequences of the globalisation process (Beresford, 2000, p 54). It has often being seen that whilst globalisation improves the economic health and financial wealth of certain nations and specific segments of the global population, it also reduces the economic capacity of other countries and peoples (Beresford, 2000, p 54). The globalisation process of the 18th and 19th centuries, for example witnessed an enormous increase in the wealth of western colonising nations like the UK, France, Spain and Portugal, even as it impoverished hugely affluent nations like China and India, pushing them from being vastly wealthy civilisations to terribly poor societies (Horton Patapan, 2004, p 23). Although the ongoing process of globalisation ha s undoubtedly enhanced the economic well being of many nations, organisations, and peoples, critics of the process assert that it has also resulted in the growth of income inequalities and has harmed the economic conditions of millions of people, more so in the developing and poorer countries (Horton Patapan, 2004, p 23). This essay focuses on the positive and negative impact of globalisation on different nations, organisations and peoples. With globalisation being a huge subject, this essay focuses on the ongoing process of contemporary globalisation and on those who have won or lost out on account of its effect and implications. Commentary and Analysis The ongoing process of globalisation commenced after the defeat of Germany and Japan and the victory of the UK, the USA, Soviet Russia, and their allies in the Second World War (Mikic, 2000, p 287). The cessation of hostilities led to the demarcation of new political boundaries and to the division of the world into three specific political segments, namely the western nations led by the United States, the Soviet bloc and the non aligned nations (Mikic, 2000, p 287). Whilst the globe was broadly divided into these three groups of nations in the 1950s, the years succeeding the war saw the independence of India and rapid decolonisation in Africa and Asia (Mikic, 2000, p 287). The 1980s witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of the communist bloc and the reunification of Germany. The following years also witnessed a wave of liberalisation and the implementation of economic reforms across developing countries, and the consequent economic emergence, first of China, and then of India and other countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia (Nesadurai, 2003, p 63). The world is also experiencing the development of astonishing advances in areas of technology and communication in the past few decades, which in turn are making it possible for people to interact across nations and even continents, despite political barriers and geographical distances (Nesadurai, 2003, p 63). These developments in geopolitics, economics, and communication have had and are having an enormous, reinforcing, and multiplying effect on globalisation and are resulting in greater economic and financial interactions between different nations (Kiely, 2005, p 76). Multinational corporations are exploiting low cost regions to install production facilities. Business organisations are using relaxed trade barriers to export their goods to previously closed markets (Kiely, 2005, p 76). The formation of the European Union has resulted in free movement of people within Europe in search of employment. The growth of the Internet is making it possible for people to work from distant loc ations and service others in remote areas of the globe (Kiely, 2005, p 76). Such globalisation has resulted in tremendous growth in global business and trade. This increase in economic activity has primarily been driven by multinational corporations, (MNCs), who have used globalisation opportunities to (a) install production capacities in low cost regions with skilled workers and (b) to exploit the huge markets that have emerged, primarily in the Middle East and Asia, as also in Latin America, Russia and East Europe (Clark, 1999, p 78). Such growth in economic activity has obviously benefited the multinational corporations. These organisations now account for more than one third of world output and more than two thirds of global trade (Clark, 1999, p 78). Apart from boosting the economic fortunes of these organisations, the growth in economic activity has also most certainly helped in increasing the real wages and economic conditions of many people (Eschle Maiguashca, 2005, p 92). It cannot however be denied that (a) this period has witnessed growing inequa lity between nations and peoples, and that (b) the benefits of globalisation have eluded millions of global inhabitants. Growth in production, consumption, and travel has also resulted in environmental degradation and in the destruction of the natural habitats of thousands of humans (Eschle Maiguashca, 2005, p 92). The economic impact of globalisation is visible first and foremost in the enormous increase in volumes of trade, industry and business (Munck, 2004, p 55). The increase in economic activity during the period after the Second World War is far more than what occurred in the years between the two World Wars. Numerous studies also show that countries with higher levels of globalisation achieved greater levels of growth in this period than others (Munck, 2004, p 55). Global economic activity has furthermore grown much faster than the increase in global population, thus implying a significant increase in the real per capita income of the worlds inhabitants. Such economic growth has certainly helped the financial well being and wealth of nations, organisations, and individuals (Munck, 2004, p 55). The greatest beneficiaries of globalisation have undoubtedly been the larger international corporations, mostly from the west but also very substantially from other countries in Asia and certain parts of Latin America and Africa (Saskia Appiah, 1999, p 44). International corporations have been quick to spot the substantial opportunities for reducing production costs in shifting production activities to low cost locations in the developing economies. China has experienced dramatic increases in its production facilities, even as smaller countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh have also become production centres for global corporations (Saskia Appiah, 1999, p 44). Whilst China has truly become the production centre of the world, Indonesia and Bangladesh are now home to numerous textile factories whose products are sold in the best stores in the advanced economies (Saskia Appiah, 1999, p 44). The development of huge facilities in China for manufactured products has been accompanied by a similar growth in Indias services sector. Call centres in Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore employ thousands of employees who work for western corporations engaged in marketing, banking, finance, and insurance sectors. The shifting of production activities to low cost locations has helped international corporations significantly in achieving scale economies and reducing production costs. Ongoing globalisation is also helping global corporations by providing them with access to huge new markets in growing economies like those of China, India, Brazil, Russia and East Europe. MNCs are rapidly expanding their presence in these markets in order to increase sales and profits and enhance organisational growth. UK retailers like Tesco and Marks and Spencer now have strong presences in numerous countries across the world (Micro Focus, 2007, p 1). Jaguar Land Rovers third largest market, right after the UK and United States, is China (HT Media, 2010, p 1). McDonalds has more than 1200 outlets in China and is planning to add 600 more in the course of the coming decade (Yan Jones, 2010, p 1). Apart from enhancing the fortunes of MNCs, globalisation has also helped in the dissemination of knowledge and technology across the world. Western universities are accepting increasing numbers of students from the developing economies, even as universities like Harvard are opening centres for higher learning in distant countries (Perrons, 2004, p 73). The Internet is making academic interaction between people far easier. Indian coaching organisations are helping thousands of American students to improve their academic performance in mathematics and sciences (Perrons, 2004, p 73). Expansion in economic activity has specifically helped a number of states to improve their national production steadily from year to year (Horton Patapan, 2004, p 47). China is of course the foremost example of this facet of globalisation. The country shed its insular policy in the late 1970s under the leadership of Chairman Deng and adopted various policies for liberalisation and furtherance of export oriented growth (Horton Patapan, 2004, p 47). The Chinese economy has expanded at a rate of approximately 10% for more than 25 years, making it the second largest in the world today. Apart from China, globalisation has also resulted in positive economic benefits for Brazil, India, and South Africa and for the countries of South East Asia, all of whom have continuously achieved plus 5% economic growth for years (Eschle Maiguashca, 2005, p 109). Countries like Taiwan and South Korea have emulated Japan by developing world class products and penetrating sophisticated markets in the dev eloped countries. Huge increases in exports have radically altered the economies of these countries, and both Taiwan and South Korea now have per capita GDPs that are approaching those of the western nations (Eschle Maiguashca, 2005, p 109). The GDP growth rate of Bangladesh has accelerated in recent years on account of the growth of the textile industry and repatriation of monies from emigrant Bangladeshis (Osmani, 2004, p 5). The readymade garments (RMG) industry has registered phenomenal growth in recent years. Starting from a low base in the mid-1980s, it has by now become both the leading industry and the leading export item of Bangladesh. By the mid-1990s, it was contributing somewhere between 20 and 25 per cent of total value-added and employing between 40 and 50 per cent of the workforce engaged in large and medium scale manufacturing. Its share in total export has risen from barely 4 per cent in 1983/84 to over 75 per cent by the year 2000. (Osmani, 2004, p 7) Supporters of globalisation and neoliberal economics argue that the advantages of economic growth, achieved from globalisation, are bound to trickle down into the economy and improve the economic conditions of lower segments of society (Kiely, 2005, p 76). Whilst it may be too early for such trickle down effects to be clearly visible, there is no doubt of the very substantial improvements that have occurred in the employment levels of developing countries that have received foreign investment in production facilities (Kiely, 2005, p 76). China, easily the largest recipient of production FDI among the developing nations, has seen huge migration of labour from the countryside to the towns, with agricultural workers leaving their fields in hundreds of thousands to take up jobs in new factories. It is estimated that approximately 150 million Chinese have been able to escape poverty in the last two decades on account of the countrys integration with the global economy (Kiely, 2005, p 76). Countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia, as well as the countries of east Europe, have also witnessed significant increases in employment figures. The Indian call centre industry provides employment to hundreds of thousands of graduates, who would have had very little chances of remunerative employment in the pre-globalisation era. Such increase in employment has certainly changed the lives of millions of people around the world. It has helped them to grow out of lives of poverty and to provide better life chances to their families (Nesa durai, 2003, p 68). Critics of globalisation point out that the benefits of globalisation are not as rosy as they appear to be. The net increase in global economic production and wealth indicates it to be a net benefit process, even as critics argue that its continuing progress is generating numerous losers; who are being adversely impacted, economically, socially, and culturally, by its spread (Horton Patapan, 2004, p 47). The globalisation process has in the first place enabled multinational corporations to seek out low cost production centres and to transfer much of their production and service facilities to such locations. Such movement of production facilities from the developed countries to low cost environments has resulted in significant reduction of jobs in the advanced nations, primarily in the strongly market driven economies like the UK and the USA, and also to some extent in the more worker friendly societies of West Europe (Eschle Maiguashca, 2005, p 109). Such losses of jobs have result ed in the creation of significant social and political tensions and to subsequent protectionist actions, like those being considered and taken by President Obama to stem the movement of IT services jobs to India (Kiely, 2005, p 76). The opening of trade barriers and liberal import norms has also had significantly adverse impact on local producers, many of whom have not being able to respond effectively to savage competition from low priced Chinese goods. The indigenous fire cracker industry in Europe has practically been demolished by large scale imports of Chinese fire crackers at a fraction of their local cost. Imports of Chinese silk by Indian importers have resulted in severe economic consequences to Indian silk growers and weavers (Went, 2002, p 44). The production of Rare Earth Metals (REMs) has been discontinued in the United States because of Chinese exports of these metals at prices that were fractional of their manufacturing costs in the United States. With REMS being vital for production of important defence products, the US now finds itself vulnerable to Chinese plans to reduce supplies, on account of various reasons, of these metals (Areddy, 2010, p 11). It is also seen that whilst movement of production facilities are leading to the creation of jobs in low income countries, the majority of such jobs are poorly paid and involve exploitative working conditions. Studies on banana growers in Brazil, coffee growers across Latin America, and textile industry workers in Bangladesh reveal that the overwhelming majority of these workers are paid low wages, sometimes less than the minimum wages of these countries, and are forced to work in difficult working conditions (Osmani, 2004, p 6). The readiness of investing companies to take their investment and the associated jobs elsewhere, if their work is obstructed in anyway, leads to the inevitable acceptance of their demands by the governments of developing countries, who do not wish to lose out on their investment and presence. Studies on Indian call centres in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Madras reveal that the employees of these call centres are made to work extremely long hours, given short break s, and not allowed to leave their seats even to go to the toilets. They are castigated and ill treated in public for minor irregularities in work (Perrons, 2004, p 82). Critics of globalisation argue that whilst unemployment in these countries may have reduced to some extent, the quality of employment that has been provided is poor and essentially degrading to the concerned individuals. Globalisation has also resulted in immense environmental degradation. The environment can in fact be considered to be one of the biggest losers of the globalisation process. Multinational corporations, especially those dealing in natural resources, have engaged in numerous anti-environmental activities in order to satisfy increasing global demand for such products. The mining of REMs in China for example has resulted in severe environmental degradation across large tracts of the Chinese countryside (Areddy, 2010, p 11). Mining companies in India have driven tribals out of their natural habitat and destroyed thousands of acres of forests. Oil companies have engaged in unsafe drilling practices and, as evidenced by BPs oil well episode in the Gulf of Mexico, have caused enormous loss to ocean life and to the coastline (Raines, 2010, p 1). It is very clear that globalisation, whilst causal in improvement of global economic activity, has certainly not been even handed in its largesse. The enrichment of some has been accompanied by the deprivation of others. Conclusions This essay focuses on the winners and losers of globalisation. Globalisation, it is evident, is bringing about immense economic, social and cultural change across the globe. With MNCs from the western world driving the process to a large extent, much of the benefits of the globalisation have gone to western corporations and consumers, even as certain areas of the developing world have gained on account of economic investment in production and service facilities. The benefits of globalisation have unfortunately been accompanied by large scale environmental degradation, uneven development, and low wage employment for the poor. With awareness increasing steadily about the adverse consequences of unregulated globalisation, most governments are taking policy actions to regulate its adverse effects. It is important for nations to ensure that their integration with the global economy does not lead to the marginalisation of the poor and the destruction of their natural environment. Word Count: 3000, apart from bibliography

Tina Modotti :: Essays Papers

Tina Modotti Even though Tina Modotti is considered a Mexican photographer because her artistic career was mostly based in Mexico and the American Southwest, she was born in Undine, Italy in 1896. She moved to California in 1913 and was employed in various labor-intensive factory jobs. She was first known mainly because of her relationship with photographer Edward Weston, for whom she was a model in the 1920s; but her abstract, portrait, and still-life photographs â€Å"showed her to be an accomplished photographer in her own right† (encyclopedia). In the 1920s, Modotti was active with Mexican revolutionaries, joining the Mexican Communist Party, and having close connections with the Mexican Artists’ Union. When her lover, Cuban revolutionary Julio Antonio Mella, was found murdered in 1928, she was accused but acquitted of complicity in his murder (encyclopedia). Modotti was eventually deported to Berlin because of her revolutionary ties when there was an assassination attempt on the Mexican president Pascal Ortiz Rubio. From Berlin, she moved to Moscow in 1931 and abandoned photography temporarily in favor of revolutionary causes there. She also lived in France and Spain before returning to Mexico clandestinely in 1939. When back in Mexico, she continued photography and political work until her death of a heart attack in 1942 (encyclopedia). Most of her surviving famous photographs were from her period in Mexico between 1923 and 1926. The photograph entitled â€Å"Staircase, 1925† is a good example of an abstract architectural image. Composition features in this work include the use of repetition of a line pattern, and perspective. â€Å"It is a picture of space becoming a pattern – a construction of lines and triangles stretched very tightly towards two dimensions – in which depth is both precisely described and subtly denied† (Szarkowski). It bears a resemblance to the drawings of M.C. Escher, where the eye is tricked into seeing an impossibly three-dimensional object. Here, an obviously three-dimensional subject is shortened to appear flat, due to the lack of contrast between near and far distances. The photograph â€Å"Flor de Manita, 1925† shows great equity between figure and ground shapes. It is a plant that has large sweeping curves, but because of the darkness of the subject and the lightness of the background, if viewed from a distance, the nature of the subject is obscured and one sees only white and black shapes that harmoniously coexist with one another.

Prewar Marxism in Japan Essay

Marxism was coined after its proponent, Karl Marx who believed that the abuses of capitalism would eventually lead to uprisings of the masses particularly of the working class. According to him, the aggrieved plight of the working class will become the key in unleashing the inevitable clashes between the classes. In his argument, Capitalism will be replaced by Communism, in which in his view, this set-up of free economy opens a gate to many inequalities in the society, making the weak and poor more vulnerable to the flaws of the system. As Uno Kozo observed in his work, The Essence of Capital, â€Å"The commodification of the labor force remains the crux of Capitalism† (SJT, pp.243). To Marx belief, Communism is the â€Å"common ownership of the means of production†. There would be public ownership of farms, factories, raw materials, and the like. To him, all means of production will be owned by the workers and all workers would eventually become workers.             In Japan, Marxism was first introduced in the late 1890’s but it was in the 1920’s that it started to catch attention and support from the people especially from the intellectuals (SJT, pp 239; Beckmann, pp. 139). The early Marxists belonged to two different groups, the reformers and the revolutionary. The reformers followed Tolstoian humanitarianism, advocated universal suffrage, and pursued reforms through parliamentary action. While the revolutionaries believed in the Materialist ideas from the German and French Marxist. They adhered to the idea of class struggle and direct revolutionary action by class-conscious workers. The revolutionaries were also attracted to the tactics of the anarcho-syndicalism (Beckmann pp. 140).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The various differences of principles of the Early Marxists in Japan had initially   signaled that a strong unified group would be quite a challenge to create a remarkable impact. In fact, at its onset Marxism was already noted with three general flaws such as its systematic character that degenerates into dogmatism; putative universality that recalls its foreign origin; and its critical modus operandi that provokes infighting and organizational fragmentation (SJT, pp241 ). But all these are generalized observations sums up probable enlightenment on why it seemed to appear that prewar Marxism was never a political success. However, it is pertinent to note that these observations envelopes one or more historical accounts and empirical evidences of the progresses and demise of prewar Marxism in Japan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The idea of Marxism had its strong appeal in the university circle composed mainly of the professors and students. In fact, one of its early and notable supporters was Kawakami Hajime of the Kyoto Imperial University. He wrote may treatises on Marxism and provided valuable assistance to other advocates in the persons of Sakai Toshihiko, Arahata Kanson among others (Beckmann pp. 145). At that time, the battleground was published material like newspaper wherein people can be informed and get influenced at the same time. At some point, it created impact and stirred the discontentment of the people resulting to the clamor for reforms in Japanese society. This clamor was highlighted more by the onset of the Japan Modernization process in which new demands for the fundamental changes in the society is created (Beckamm pp146). To quote Beckamm, â€Å"Marxism was attractive to them because it provided the fullest explanation of the idea of progress that they had yet encountered. They were easily seduced by the Marxist proposition that through the dialectic progress was inevitable.   Dialectical materialism gave them (supporters) a scientific methodology for analyzing Japanese society, as well as general principles of strategy for effecting change†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But no matter how ardent the campaign was and how dynamic the intellectual debates were, history underscores that prewar Marxism fell short in achieving its much desired political change. The variables affecting this result are attributed to both external and internal difficulties encountered by the group. It is believed that too much emphasis on theoretical conceptualization has left the advocates confused on what is real and what is not. And what is real during that time, is the dominance of the conservative elite who managed to uphold Japanese value system. All important institutions of Japanese society inculcated obedience, loyalty, and status over freedom, individual rights, and equality. All these summed up to hostilities of the society to individuals who think otherwise. Thus, it resulted to numerable defection from Communism and Socialism parties. It may also be relevant to note that conservative value system of Japanese society and the so called patterns of behavior during the modernization period contributed to the prevention of basic antagonism from being open clashes. Many intellectuals may be vocal in their convictions but a greater number of them seemed anxious to join the mass â€Å"hurly burly maybe because of the behavioral patterns pervading in the society and of the enveloping obligation not to disgrace the family through deviation from the generally accepted behavior. Another pitfall of the prewar Marxism is the very nature that the ideology was alien and much worse, dependent on the support of a foreign state which is labeled as enemy and competitor of their own country. It could not simply break the much preferred paradigm of Japanese Nationalism and Confucianism. Furthermore, the movement cannot fight equally with the raw power of the state especially of its police and military predisposition. This is for the obvious reason that communists had no civil liberties to protect them. As a matter of fact, party organizations were dismantled through various man-arrest in 1923, 1928, 1929, and much frequently in the 1930s. These arrests made it difficult for the advocates to maintain a substantial number that could function effectively for its cause (Beckamm, pp 148-150)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Much had been said by the writings and works of the early believers but less had been done. In the labor movement itself, the support and participation was only a small percent of the whole sector. Many who joined the cause were in the small and medium enterprises and almost none from the large industries. A few participation reflected that many have gone disillusioned or remained uninspired by the movement due to many failures of negotiations and strikes. The same also goes for the peasants, the Japanese agricultural communities and families were unreceptive and to some measure were hostile to Communism and Socialism. This maybe because the peasant movement lacks single central leadership that could have had become an effective channel of influence (Beckamm, pp150).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Commintern Policy also posted a challenge to the thriving ideology of Marxism. It added certain degree of divisiveness among the people in the movement. Also, it provided a very good issue that kept the proponents busy in arguing as to which would be the good and effective direction to heed towards the desired impact on Japanese society. Is it the bourgeois-democratic or the proletarian revolution? Again, it brood disunity, conflict, and frustration among themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The defection of Etsuzo, Sano, and Nabeyama also influenced fellow believers to defect and to condemn all together the principles and actions of the group they once pledge allegiance and commitment (Beckmann, pp160; 166).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In totality, prewar Marxism in Japan made numerous progresses and successes in bringing out brilliance among Japanese intellectuals. However, it was never translated into a political action that would have given life to the very essence of the teachings of Karl Marx. Though numerous reasons tried to explain this result, but maybe the only reason true enough to describe its failure is the one said by George Beckmann, â€Å"†¦the very nature of Japanese society made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a Communist movement to exist, let alone operate with any degree of effectiveness†¦to Marxist-Leninist terms, the objective conditions were not at all favorable. (Beckmann pp. 152)†

Hitler Youth essays

Hitler Youth essays Hitler was with no doubt the perpetrator of the Holocaust, responsible for the deaths innumerous souls in the early 40s. But an interesting thing to observe is the seldom-remembered Armenian Genocide; another pogrom where three-fifths of the Armenian population between the years of 1915-1923 were killed. The stage for the Armenian deaths was set very similar to that of the Holocaust. The land was in the midst of a war, World War I, which made the mass killings less noticeable and easier to carry out for obvious reason. Also, there was a racist, super-national dictatorial government in place at the time. In Armenia, the Young Turks overthrew the sultan and initiated the genocide because they wanted to rid the land of the sub-human Armenians. This time, the Armenians were at fault simply for being Christian, just like the Jews were supposedly at fault for their beliefs. The Turks were Muslim and believed the land should only be populated by their own kind, and genocide was thei r answer. The Turks killed the intelligentsia first, next slaughtered the able-bodied men, then sent the woman and children either into boxcars or on foot for a death march into the desert - where they were left with nothing and allowed to die, over one and a half million total. If we add a propaganda campaign, more land to conquer (and subsequently, more people to kill) and the willing cooperation of entire governments, we have the Holocaust (in simpler terms, of course) In the end, Hitler must have thought something about this historical event, because on August 22, 1939 he said, After all, who remembers today the extermination of the Armenians? And this was just before he marched into Poland on September 1 of that same year. So before we call Hitler the original anti-Christ, we should keep in mind the events in Armenia over a decade before the first concentration camps were opened. ...

Free Essays on The Highest Divorce Rate Is In Teen Marriages

In today’s society more and more teenagers are getting married every day. Marriages involving teenagers are more likely to end in divorce than those in any other age group. According with the U.S. Census Bureau, 59 percent of people that married under the age of 20, eventually get divorced within 10 years period; and almost 15 percent of teen-age couple divorce before the husband and wife turn 20 year old. This statistics will increase by every generation, due to the teenagers getting married at an early ages, and the number of children living in single-parent homes. One of the reasons that many teen marriages often fail is because they’re in disadvantage with today’s society. When people with 21 years old and below get married, they have to deal with different challenges in their lives. This is a new life style away from parents, families, and many times without friends. The aspect to get a job is one of the most important things to be successful, as a married person. Every one know that to get a job with just high school ( if really have high school diploma ) is though enough to get stress-out, depress, and frustrated; in addition most of the time we carry those problems at home. Depression will affect the couple, feeling their self unarmed to find the best way, to solve their problems, with the proper resources. Most teen marriages has problems in establish priorities and responsibilities like: pay rent, utilities, car, and attend their own spouses. The part that really is per judicial is pregnancy and childhood at this level. Some times, I ask to myself: â€Å" who kids can raise kids?†. Definitely, be a responsible parent involve certain grade of economic status, mature, knowledge ( about children and live ), patience, love, and sense of responsibility. Certainly, there is when most of teen marriages often fail. Is too â€Å"stressful† for a young person taking care of a spouse, all the responsibilities, ... Free Essays on The Highest Divorce Rate Is In Teen Marriages Free Essays on The Highest Divorce Rate Is In Teen Marriages In today’s society more and more teenagers are getting married every day. Marriages involving teenagers are more likely to end in divorce than those in any other age group. According with the U.S. Census Bureau, 59 percent of people that married under the age of 20, eventually get divorced within 10 years period; and almost 15 percent of teen-age couple divorce before the husband and wife turn 20 year old. This statistics will increase by every generation, due to the teenagers getting married at an early ages, and the number of children living in single-parent homes. One of the reasons that many teen marriages often fail is because they’re in disadvantage with today’s society. When people with 21 years old and below get married, they have to deal with different challenges in their lives. This is a new life style away from parents, families, and many times without friends. The aspect to get a job is one of the most important things to be successful, as a married person. Every one know that to get a job with just high school ( if really have high school diploma ) is though enough to get stress-out, depress, and frustrated; in addition most of the time we carry those problems at home. Depression will affect the couple, feeling their self unarmed to find the best way, to solve their problems, with the proper resources. Most teen marriages has problems in establish priorities and responsibilities like: pay rent, utilities, car, and attend their own spouses. The part that really is per judicial is pregnancy and childhood at this level. Some times, I ask to myself: â€Å" who kids can raise kids?†. Definitely, be a responsible parent involve certain grade of economic status, mature, knowledge ( about children and live ), patience, love, and sense of responsibility. Certainly, there is when most of teen marriages often fail. Is too â€Å"stressful† for a young person taking care of a spouse, all the responsibilities, ...

Family Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Concept - Essay Example Legitimization of children born is of course a universal criterion of marriage. Another factor related to the subject marriage is 'legal paternity'. Dr. Edmund Leach in Europe is of the opinion that no definition could be found that would apply to all the institutions which is commonly accepted as marriage. He referred to ten classes of rights which are related with the word marriage. He is flexible in his approach and states "we ought to feel free to call 'marriage' any institution which fulfils any one or more of the selected criteria". Dr. Leach cites the case of Nayar, the Kerala person in Kerala community. His marriage is not accepted as traditional marriage but a "relationship of perpetual affinity" between linked lineages" (Gough 1955a). The ritual husbands of Nayar girls had no obligation to the brides after the ritual was over. The ritual wife also has no obligation except observing pollution rites at death of the ritual husband... The children born to the woman after marriage have no notion of paternity. . The marriage was basically exogamous with matrilineage character having allegiance to the family of head of the village which might be patrilineal Nayar... Such traditional scattered groups all over the world lost the cohesion of tradition later but kept together by thin thread of kinship. What is the actual family scenario in the western world today The institution of marriage is present but the divorce rate remained as high as 50%. The rate of marriage is coming down and the system of co-habitation started in which men and women live together without marriage. The status of family in this new system is very weak... Couples who once might have wed and then divorced now are not marrying at all. Co-habitation is never good for children because it increases family instability. Cohabiting couples have twice the break up rate of married couples only because there is no family bond between the couples. 40% of children in USA come under this fold of loose family set up. 8.1% of US coupled household are made of unmarried but heterosexual partners. The percentage of children who grow with both biological parents is the lowest at 63%. The divorce rate in USA being one of the highest the family status in this country is the weakest with the highest rate of solo parenting. In this type of a weak family concept and social scenario any university would remain confused about promotion of a well-defined family set up. Therefore my concept of a family set up would be one where there is unity, love and peace among all the family members to promote the objective of everybody's life. Generation has due recognition in any society and family but not from the marginal point of view as it was earlier...We often hear about generation gap. The emergence of global generation that started in 1960s has world wide repercussions today with major development in new electronic communication and international consciousness. The future generation will be uniquely influenced by web technology with the introduction of social networking services like MySpace, social bookmaking sites like Yahoo's del.icio.us, and peer to peer social networks like the blogosphere and the cell phones... Today the word

Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of market research particularly in Essay

Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of market research particularly in relation to new and innovative products - Essay Example Qualitative methods are used to understand complex social phenomena. They are suitable to seek knowledge about the fundamental characteristics of a phenomenon under study. It includes focus group among small group through exploratory or explanatory study and gathers information. It tries to understand and answers how and why through discussion and in-depth face-to-face, telephone or online interviews. Quantitative research is gathering data in quantity. The goal of the quantitative research approach is to find out the truth by using statistical procedure. Quantitative methodology allows readers to understand facts easily by looking at charts and graphs. The use of statistics reduces contradictions, which may exist in research. Market Research helps in creating better communication with current and potential customers. A good research enables a company to tailor effective and target marketing through various marketing campaigns towards its desired segment. It allows a firm to directly interact with its current and potential customers to understand their needs. Market research helps the businesses to identify potential opportunities, for example before opening a retail outlet or restaurant, the location is very important, especially if there is no competitor in that area. This would be called identifying opportunity. Another example can be offering a service in a location which need such service, such as Amazon, identified an opportunity of online booking selling and in no time, it became successful due to niche in the market.. Market research gives greater confidence in starting a venture as extensive research shows the potential risk and benefits of starting up a business. Even if there is potential opportunity, a good prior research about the product is essential among the potential customers to know the true value of the product. One such kind of example is