The Depth In Agnes Martin

Simple, subdued, serene – will be the adventurous description of the various insights on the totality of what Agnes Martin shared with the world of art.   Simple, subdued, serene – will also be the summarized description of what Agnes Martin’s many critics say of her work.   And, simple, subdued, serene – will be the captive element of what the reviews said of the Agnes Martin documentary â€Å"With My Back to the World†.Treading from abstract expressionism to minimalism, all of Agnes Martin’s life, works and story – as captured in â€Å"With My Back to the World; and, as per the perspective of its director, Mary Lance; and, as per all the insights, critiques, reviews and commentaries – are but a symphony of illustrations and expressions as to how the delightful artist treated, educated and revealed to the world the mystique of life.Unanimously acknowledging the preferred solitude and reclusion of the great artist, they rec ognized Agnes Martin to have nevertheless proven the presence of soulfulness and intensity in her chosen art form, despite of living in silence.The interesting fact though is that in the profundity of her silence vis-à  -vis the silence of her profundity, Agnes Martin allowed Mary Lance to interview her and shoot the documentary film while Agnes Martin is working and right there in her New Mexico studio.Together with the documentary â€Å"With My Back to the World†; together with all her works; together with the designation of ARTnews Magazine in 2002 as one of the world’s top ten livings artists – the lines and hues of Agnes Martin therefore became the canopy from where we view the spirit of Taosim that inspired her as she reveal her creativity and philosophy.AGNES MARTIN – HER LIFE TO THE BEHOLDER:Born on March 22, 1912 in Makin, Saskatchewan, Canada – Agnes Martin nevertheless grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia.   They were four siblings in the family, but her father died when she was only 2 years old.   From thenon, Agnes’ mother steadfastly stood by her resolve to raise her brood by her self.   Such aura of strength and independence etched in the mind of the growing Agnes.In 1931 she moved to the United States and attended The Western Washington College of Education in Bellingham; the Teachers College of the Columbia University in New York and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.   She has earned her Bachelors degree in 1942 and her Masters Degree in 1952.   She acquired her American citizenship in 1950.She was an art teacher in University of New Mexico and other public schools in Washington and Delaware from 1947 to 1948 and in Eastern Oregon College in 1952 to 1953.   With the paintings Agnes Martin accumulated, Betty Parsons Gallery offered to handle her work if she moves to New York City.It was in 1958 that Agnes Martin was given her first solo exhibition in the said gallery.   It wa s a period when abstract expressionism is at its height as an art form and likewise the seeming dawn of minimalism is soon going to be witnessed.In the Coenties Slip in Lower Manhattan where she lived, Agnes Martin huddled with artists like Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Jack Youngerman.Agnes Martin, took a break from painting from 1967 to 1974 as she ventured into filmmaking.   It was in 1976 that she produced the film â€Å"Gabriel†.  Ã‚   The subject of the film is a boy who incessantly went to explore the world in his own quiet ways.Thereafter she resumed her painting wherein her exhibitions were held various museums in the succeeding years, like – in the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pace Gallery, New York; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam;Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Harwood Museum of Art at the University of New Mexico.   There are also other international art galleries that have invited and showcased the works of Agnes Martin.Agnes Martin was inducted in 1989 as a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in New York.   She received the Gold Lion Award at the Venice Biennale in 1997 for her lifetime achievement and contribution in contemporary art.   The National Endowment for Arts granted in 1998 to Agnes Martin the National Medal of Arts.In 1997, the highlight of her achievement was the establishment of the Agnes Martin Gallery in New Mexico, where her work is showcased.   Otherwise, Sotheby and other auction houses do trade in great value the works of this great, enigmatic artist.AGNES MARTIN – HER WORKS TO THE CONNOISSEUR:Among buyers, users, collectors, critiques – all connoisseurs discern and judge in a balanced mix of subjectivity, relativity, objectivity and economics.   Value for value there is thin line in visual arts that does not only rest on what is seen – there must be something â€Å"beyon d†.The utter simplicity and directness of the creation of Agnes Martin, within the perfection of horizontal and vertical lines in her grids and as per the hues she applied with her own brand of discernment, have all been acknowledged as very expressive and moving.â€Å"The Taos artist’s grids, some of them traced in lines of graphite, so faint they seem to be emerging from or disappearing into a mist†¦..Martin’s†¦.[is] an art of invisibility.   It’s tempting to ready a ‘beyond’ into them†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lee, 1998)You therefore view the work with great challenge and enthusiasm.   You have to really get close to the painting.   You dissect every pattern and color.   You try to find the hints and clues.   You feel mystified.   You search for the meaning.It is because Agnes Martin invites a â€Å"relationship† with the viewer of her art.   She wants a direct and distinctive communication between her art and he r viewer.   Then, you will see the beauty, the finesse, the simplicity of just the perfect, varied lines.   â€Å"†¦.what they give back in their simplicity and richness, is indescribably moving.†Ã‚   (Lee, 1998)Agnes Martin’s painting convinces that there is a palpable person and a palpable thought that is put into the work.   Subtly, there are little and misty wobbles and breaks in the hues and lines – they tease and try to see if you are paying attention to details.The purpose of imperfection is to achieve perfection.   It challenges perception of what is between and/or the difference between real and ideal.Indeed her works produced in a span of 60 odd years is visionary and timeless.   Despite the temperament of her artistic times that traversed between minimalism to abstract expressionism, Agnes Martin humbly demurs from being classified as a spearhead, neither the bridge between the two art forms.The transition in the art form of Agnes Marti n is akin to her transition in learning and knowing and realizing everything about her and her surroundings and the society she lived with.Even in the eventual solitude she chose, Agnes Martin is still conscious of what being in a community of man is all about.   Her earlier ventures were in still life and portrait painting.   Therefore, she went along the tide of the prevailing abstract expressionism in the 1940’s to the early 1950’s.

Week 3 Homework Assignment

Week 3 Assignments Chapter 7 7. Differentiate between the following: active income, passive income, and portfolio income. 13. Briefly, what is â€Å"material participation†? Why is the determination of whether a taxpayer materially participates important? 46. Mary Beth is a CPA, devoting 3,000 hours per year to her practice. She also owns an office building in which she rents out space to tenants. She devotes none of her time to the management of the office building. She has a property management firm make all management decisions for her.During 2012, she incurred a loss, for tax purposes, of $30,000 on the office building. How must Mary Beth treat this loss on her 2012 tax return? 34. Mike and Sally Card file a joint return for the 2012 tax year. Their adjusted gross income is $65,000 and they incur the following interest expenses: Investment income and related expenses amount to $7,000 and $500, respectively. What is Mike and Sally's interest deduction for the 2012 tax year? 40. In each of the following independent cases determine the amount of charitable contributions allowed the individual before consideration of any percentage limitations. a.Charlie Chubbs contributed an item of inventory from his sole proprietorship to a public charity for its use. The fair market value of the asset was $800 and his basis was $600. b. Durwood Dodson contributed some shares of common stock that he had held long-term to a private charity. The basis of the stock was $8,000 and it had a fair market value of $7,000. c. Esther Ensign contributed tangible personal property that she had held long-term to a public charity. The asset had a fair market value of $10,000 and a basis of $6,000. The charity intended to sell the asset and use the proceeds for charitable purposes.

Unit I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Unit I - Essay Example It was formed 15 years ago and has had stable growth till the last three years when it started incurring high costs. The company feels that issues like unexpected temperature drops, outbreak of pests and rising labor costs has lead to the increase in costs in recent years. Moreover, the company intends to expand its facilities and so it must address this major issue of employee turnover. In the recent past employee turnover has increased and key personnel are leaving. This is having a broad effect on internal costs. The acts of hiring new employees, training them, enabling them to grow as professionals all incur huge costs. This is evident by the statistics presented which indicate that company growth is stable at 5% but costs have been rising at an average of 2.5-4% in the past 3 years. If this trend continues then ultimately JRT will head towards major financial losses. Such losses can be very heavy for a consumer product company which needs to invest substantially in marketing and advertising. However, losses would mean slashing advertising budgets. Moreover, JRT’s reputation in the industry will be effected which will lower the moral of the existing employees and in turn reduce their productivity. Key personnel turnover can occur if managers feel dissatisfied and do not see opportunities to grow. The most basic problem arises when senior managers feel their productivity is reaching a stage of stagnation. This could be possible if they feel their job is not challenging enough, or perhaps if they consider it monotonous and boring. For this purpose it will also be important to talk to as many people as possible to gauge the nature and extent of the issues involved. Several in depth interviews need to be conducted in order to find the main cause of dissatisfaction at work To get a better hold of the issue we also need to survey and analyze existing financial documents of JRT. This would include

MacmidIK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MacmidIK - Essay Example B – More will be demanded at lower prices 14. A – Income 15. B – A decrease in the price of a substitute product. 16. B – A technological change in the production of the good 17. C – An increase in the taxes paid by telephone companies 18. B – Inelastic 19. A – Generally results in substantial negative externalities 20. D – A surplus of 600 units 21. C – $20 And 600 units 22. D – using private bargaining when property rights 23. A – eliminate all pollution rights 24. B – changes only when there is change in out put 25. A – real GDP doubles 26. C – Nominal GDP and real GDP both decreases 27. A – Family will need to spend more in order to maintain its standard of living 28. C – Nominal GDP divided by real GDP 29. B – 110 30. C – Couples remodelling their own homes 31. A – 1 and 2 32. D – Stable political system 33. B – Movement from a point inside to a point outside the production possibility curve 34. B – 6 percent 35. B – Cyclical 36. C – Frictional 37. C – Is equal to the total frictional and structural employment 38. D – Actual GDP is greater than potential GDP 39. B – Actual GDP is less than potential GDP 40. A – Every 1 percent that the actual employment exceeds the natural employment rate, a 2 percent GDP gap is created 41. A – 4.0 Percent 42. C – Demand-pull inflation 43. C – Cost push inflation 44. A – Increases by 3% 45. ... B – Real GDP will increase 55. C – 280 billion 56. D – An increase in real interest rates. 57. A – Productivity 58. D – 4 59. C – 3 60. A – Supply increase Short Answers 1. a) Making necessary computation to complete the table below Year 1 Year2 Labour force 95,450 108,250 Employed 90,325 100,830 Unemployed 5,125 7,420 Unemployment rate (10%) 94% 94% Unemployed= Labour force-employed Year 1=95450-90325= 5,125 Persons Year 2= 108,250-100,830=7,420 persons Unemployment rate = number of employed people ? Labour force?100 Year 1 = 90,325?95,450?100 =94% Year 2 = 100,830 ? 108,250?100 =93% b) Possibility of increase in employment and unemployment between year 1 and 2 Based on the above computation, it can be scrutinized that there was an increase in number of employed and unemployed people between the two periods. This is because there is a possibility of having both favourable and unfavourable economic conditions leading to an increase in number of employed and unemployed people (Taylor, 2007). The above assertions may be substantiated by Keynesian theory of economics that holds that a trade off exists between unemployment and inflation, this trade off may be presented using Philips curve (Tucker, 2011), whereby, during favourable economic conditions, inflation decreases while employment increases (Tucker, 2011). On the contrary, during unfavourable economic conditions, inflation rates decrease while unemployment increases (Tucker, 2011).Therefore, based on the above discussion, it is possible to have both increase in employments and unemployment between the two periods. In above connection, an increase in unemployment may be attributed to technological advancement. This is so because most people get laid off as less human labour is needed (Layard,

President Obama's Innauguration Address Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

President Obama's Innauguration Address - Essay Example He in fact stipulates that they must â€Å"collectively seize this time together†. 3. In this context, the value that the president suggests here is rational utterances. He is obviously against careless utterances such as in name calling. He sees this sort of utterance as absurd and contrary to what the nation need to grow. Nevertheless, he is not against the freedom of speech that every American is entitled to, but he simply wants people to avoid recklessness. 4. The president appears to stay ahead political aspect in this speech. This is predominantly due to the reality that his speech is all about the principles that the American should live with for every day and not just the four years he is supposed to be in office. For instance, he is against name calling and absolutism. 5. The president here indicates that he has been assigned some responsibilities by God and the country. As such, the strategy he involved here is that of convincing the other citizens that they also have a duty to fulfill just like the president. Los Angeles Times. Inauguration 2013: President Obama’s second inauguration speech. 2013. Web

Low Back Pain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Low Back Pain - Essay Example LBP has been shown to impair an individual's quality of life and his/her functioning. The magnitude of the burden of this problem in the society can be gauged from the fact that the point prevalence of LBP in the general population has been reported to be 15-30% while its lifetime prevalence can be as high as 60-80% (MTABC, 2004). However, the duration of symptoms of this disorder can be reduced viz appropriate and timely management and a study conducted by Waddell et al. elucidated that almost 67% of patients who had taken time off from work due to LBP has returned to work within 1 week and within 2 months almost 90% of the patients became symptom free (MTABC 2004). The etiology of LBP is diverse and it can be attributed to a multitude of causes including the degeneration of the lumbar intervertebral discs, spondylosis deformans (Luoma, et al., 2000 cited in Hangai et al., 2006), osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, disc disease, dysfunction of the sacoroiliac joint, cancers, infection, organ-related pain, inflammatory arthritis (MTABC 2004), spondylolisthesis and compression fractures which commonly occur due to osteoporosis (Shirakihara, et al., 2001 cited in Hangai et al., 2006). Moreover, several studies have also reported factors such as weakness of the abdominal and back musculature (Van Tulder, et al., 2002), physical loading of the lumbar spine (Bahr, et al., 2004 cited in Hangai et al., 2006) and arteriosclerosis of the abdominal and lumbosacral arteries (Kauppila, et al., 2004 cited in Hangai et al., 2006). Interestingly, the role of psychological factors has also been implicated in the etiology of low back pain by some studies (Takeyachi , et al., 2003 cited in Hangai et al., 2006). The diversity of pathologies which can manifest as back pain often leads to difficulties in determining the underlying pathology and thus makes diagnosis challenging. Similarly, knee pain has also been known to be triggered by a variety of factors such as obesity, increasing age and trauma. Moreover, female gender has been proven to be a definite risk factor for knee pain. Other factors such as ethnicity, smoking, osteoporosis, knee-periarticular muscle strength and exercise have also been implicated in the aggravation of pre-existing knee pain by certain studies (Fukuda and Nakamura, 2002; Burger et al., 1996; Cheng, et al., 2000 cited in Hangai et al, 2006) but these findings have not been replicated by further studies and a causal relationship between these factors and knee pain is yet to be proven. LBP can produce a varying range of symptoms depending on the specific causes. The location and radiation of LBP varies with the pathology and some diseases may cause more back pain than leg pain while others

The importance of architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The importance of architecture - Essay Example Moreover, education in architectural discipline has had significant impact on build architectural work. Jacob (Para 1) argues that the role of architects in the contemporary public life have been significantly reduced. They are either viewed as intellectuals in the public or engrossed in the agenda or policy formulations that define the contemporary environment of built. The earlier traditional roles have sublimed. The practices and processes have been undermined by rise of other specialties in the built environment. This is quite different for the period immediately after World War 1 as well as in the eighties when architecture was the main activity of the construction of the civil society. However, today architect, construction and development are viewed as holistically a private enterprise. The increasing networking of the society has continued to transform. Consequently, the relationship of the world and designs has also changed. In addition, the advancement of technology and communication has been the driving factors in the changes in the architectural field and phenomenon that r esult from the changes. In the architect of perception, spaces were designed in architectural works to ignite senses of individuals. It is usually assumed that qualities of spaces in terms of visibility dominate the perception of the society concerning building or structures (The Angry Architect Para 1). Over the years, some architects and artists have done experiments on some specific devices for sensory purposes. The spaces that have been designed in the architectural field to transform the qualities of architectural designs are: sound, touch, smell, sight, and taste. For example, when the significance of sound is incorporated in the architectural work or building, the design of the building may be that which provides a silent environment. However, on some cases a particular sound may not be preserved. Dunton

The changing of cool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The changing of cool - Essay Example To be intelligent and creative is cool and does have to be a huge thing, it could just be intelligent and creative to your own life, career or anything. It’s now the time that one becomes the cool maker in other words 'The Merchants of cool', such as Mark Zuckerberg who is the creator of Facebook, Steve Jobs who is the creator of Apple or Marc Jacobs etc. It is now the time to change the cool and the mentality of people especially teenagers so that we can have new people like Steve Jobs and Zuckerberg rising; now this is going to be cool in real essence. Due to this ‘being cool’ phenomenon most teenagers are actually losing their individuality to compete with the ever growing modernism and coolness. As Fromm said, if men and women discovered to take up their own conscious selves, completely and freely then they would discover that they are no more alone: they would have themselves for organization. Once one has organization one can experience harmless or benign to ward others. For Fromm, it was the only answer to the problem of the alienated people in regards to today's modernism. The only factor which can preserve mankind right now from its own soul destroying solitude is a person's capability to occupy what is known as the "authentic" self. If you obtain authenticity, you would be compensated with the inner serenity which is necessary to become a free agent. We are now residing in a place where â€Å"economic, public and governmental circumstances do not provide a foundation for the understanding of personality.† So now if we need our authenticity and individuality back we need to work on it ourselves. Intellectuals have said that they just had one thing which is consumerism. The desire of life goods—escapist conformism—would etherize the unrealized starvation for a authentic self. (Boston Review 2013) As discussed earlier, we should look into what the 'makers of cool' do and how they do that which makes the youth of to day so crazy that for them 'being cool' is the top most thing. So frontline did a survey on 'The merchants of cool' , the makers and suppliers of well-known modern lifestyle are the people who have actually made the young people the most well-known customer market in the United States. But the question arises that are these people simply showing teenager wishes or have they started to produce those wishes themselves in a bid to protect this profitable market? And have these people cross the line in their effort to achieve the wishes and money of the youth? Douglass Rushkoff, the frontline reporter, investigates the tactics, methods, and public consequences of these promotion moguls in "The Merchants of cool" survey made by Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin, the programs talks with all the top marketers, press professionals and cultural/media experts, and examines the union connection between the press and contemporary young people, because in a way each looks to the other for its ide ntification. Teenagers are the most sought after customers in the market. In a year, The United Sate's young people invested about 100 billion dollars, while influencing their parents’ to invest another 50 billion dollars. But it is not that easy as it

Understanding Personality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Understanding Personality - Essay Example Personality can be described as the combination of attributes such as behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental traits that make a person an unique individual. Ones personality typically derives from a combination of externalities such as environment, and educational level combined with internalaties such as gender, and ethnicity. Ones personality made up of their various characteristics operate to influence ones overall behavior which can be described as personality dynamics. An individuals personality dynamics are also molded by cognitive processes and culture. Ones cognitive processes describes how one interpret situations and their concluded answer to their interpretation of the thought process. This can vary by culture as culture is a sense of connection to a social group and since thought process is a variable, culture influences on ones thought process may create that variable as attitudes and feelings of a group may differ from culture to culture. For instance, the police beating Rodney King which incited a riot in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The police officers were acquitted of the usage of excessive force by a predominantly white jury that consisted of only 2 minorities which neither were from Black descent. The jury found that Rodney King resisted arrest inspite of the visual and physical evidence that insinuated excessive force. The outrage from the verdict infused folks from the Black culture as their cognitive perception of the interpretation of the visual evidence differed greatly from the jury. The cognitive process of the Blacks in that area had preconceived ideologies about police brutality that differed from other cultures which in turn incited a riot. The preconceived belief about police brutality had an influence on the personality dynamics of the Blacks that participated in the riots.

Elasticity on Demand, Breakeven Analysis and Pricing Decisions Essay Example for Free

Elasticity on Demand, Breakeven Analysis and Pricing Decisions Essay When a firm changes prices, the effect on profits is more important than the effect on revenue. There is a simple formula to calculate the critical Price Elasticity of demand which is just sufficient to maintain the contribution to overheads and profits. This will be greater than that required to maintain revenue. A common issue in business and in business studies is whether a firm should change the prices at which products are offered. The calculations begin with estimates of the reaction of customers to the new prices. This reaction is represented as Price Elasticity of Demand (PED), the ratio of the proportionate changes in volume and price. Students are always told and some students even remember that Elastic Demand (PED gt;1) means more revenue from a lower price and less from a higher one; and Inelastic Demand (PED But who wants the same revenue with lower profits? Any change in price will have a much bigger impact, proportionately, on the contribution per item for the firm than on the asking price to the customer. It follows that an increase in price may succeed in raising profits, even though revenue falls; and that a lower price may reduce profits even though revenue increases. So the critical question is not whether the PED is greater or less than one, but whether it is sufficiently high (for a lower price) or sufficiently low (for a price increase) to improve profits. The critical level of PED can be found by an application of breakeven analysis. We can take the current level of contribution to overheads and profit; and ask what the volume (units sold) must be to give the same level of contribution at the alternative price. Having found this critical volume, we can then compute what the PED would be to give us this volume at the new price, compared with the existing price and quantity. This then will be the Critical Price Elasticity of Demand (CPED). If we are raising prices, any PED less than CPED will increase profits; if we are lowering price, we want PED to be more than CPED. And while there is no way, short of trying the price change, to know what the PED actually is, a firm may well have sensible ideas about the likelihood of its being significantly greater or less than a specified value. It may seem that calculating the CPED is rather a waste of time, since we should have to calculate the required change in quantity first; and might just as well reckon our chances of getting this volume after our price change, without entering into Elasticity computations at all. However it turns out that there is a very simple formula for calculating the CPED.

Polygon of Forces and Condition of Equilibrium

Polygon of Forces and Condition of Equilibrium Introduction The polygon of forces represent lot of forces leading in a simultaneously to one point so all this forces acting will make a figure or they are call Vector such as force, that has magnitude and direction and can be resolved into components that are odd functions of the coordinates. A vector is a directed at an angle to the horizontal (or the vertical) can be thought of as having two parts (or components). That is, any vector directed in two dimensions can be thought of as having two components. For example, if a chain pulls upward at an angle on the collar of a dog, then there is a tension force directed in two dimensions. This tension force has two components: an upward component and a rightward component. As another example, consider an airplane, which is displaced northwest from OHare International Airport (in Chicago) to a destination in Canada. The displacement vector of the plane is in two dimensions (northwest). Thus, this displacement vector has two components: a northward component and a westward component. http://www.physics247.com/physics-homework-help/dynamics8.jpg Newton law variety of ways by which motion can be describedwords, graphs, diagrams, in this unit Newtons Laws of Motion the ways in which motion can be explained will be discussed. Isaac Newton a 17th century scientist put forth a variety of laws, which explain why move objects or dont move as they do. These three laws have become known as Newtons three laws of motion. The focus of Lesson 1 is Newtons first law of motion. http://www.physics247.com/physics-homework-help/dynamics8.jpg Method Attaching four lengths of strings to the pulley of fine cord and adjusting the weight of F1: 850g F2: 800g F3: 800g F4: 800g to the maximums to the string and them put a sheet of paper record all the line on the sheet of paper to help you to do all the calculation did this experiment. Results The values was in grams so this values as to be convert to Newtown so to convert kilogram to Newtown you multiply by the value in kilogram by 9.81 My value are F1: 850g = 0.85kg  ´ 9.81 = 8.34N F2: 800g=0.80kg ´ 9.81 =7.85N F3: 800g=0.80kg ´ 9.81 =7.85N F4: 800g=0.80kg ´ 9.81 =7.85N X axes Y axes F1= 8.34N cos 42 °= 6.20N F1= 8.34N sin 42 °= 5.58N F2= 7.85N cos 136 °= -5.65N F2= 7.85N sin 136 °= 5.45N F3= 7.85N cos 224 °=-5.65N F3=7.85N sin 224 °= -5.45N F4= 7.85N cos 313 °=5.35N F4=7.84N sin 313 °= -5.74N SFx= 0.25N SFy= -0.16N R = 0.192N angle q =20 ° Discussion This results are equilibrium but they was same human error thats why the results are not equal to zero but it ok so the percentage error of are 0.41%. These lines of action produce a closed polygon thats why a drawing of polygon of forces as been draw from head to tail to prove that the result of this equation and the drawing as a result angle of 20 °. The analytic of forces show that these forces are equilibrium but the result shows that there is an error in the calculation this error is duo to loose of fiction, this can happen by the loop move or human error. The possibility of losses friction experiment are the pulleys when it running can cause losses of friction, the cable was use in this experiment could be one of problem is well and another possibility is that the person ho transfer the line in to the sheet of paper did not mark the follow the line. Looking to this experiment the difference between static friction and kinetic friction is that static friction when it applied force is less than the limiting friction, the body remains at rest It is the friction experienced by a body, when it is at rest, or when the car is at full stop or not moving. Kinetic friction When it applied force exceeds the limiting friction the body starts moving over the other body and the Friction of resistance experienced by the body while moving and if you are running for you to stop kinetic friction will apply. FRICTION Frictions can benefits to our life because friction it happen to Olmos every think we do in our daily life, exp: when pushing a baby pushchair these friction there, when we slip friction is there, when we shaking hands friction is there to and it important uses in some situations, friction is very important and beneficial. There are many things that you could not do without the force of friction. Friction and weight are common experiences and taken for granted, but were not always understood. Aristotle believed that objects that contained earth fell because in Earth was at the center of the universe, and that was the natural order of things. We know that weight, which is the force of gravity between objects, not only makes apples fall from trees, but keeps the Moon circling the Earth, and the Earth circling the sun. Aristotle also believed (and some students still believe) that the natural state of an object is to be at rest. That is, without a force pushing it, an object will slow d own to a stop. This view overlooks friction, which is the force that causes most objects we see to come to rest. Now we know that there is nothing pushing planets along their orbit, and that without gravity to hold them in orbit, they would continue to move in a straight line until interfered with Friction. The disadvantage of friction is that you could not walk without the friction between your shoes and the ground as you try to step forward; you push your foot backward Friction holds your shoe to the ground, allowing you to walk Consider how difficult it is to walk on slippery ice, where there is little friction when you playing a football match it makes friction and friction also cause as to use lot of energy so we are playing a big object on friction Writing with a pencil requires friction You could not hold a pencil in your hand without friction It would slip out when you tried to hold it to write The graphite pencil led would not make a mark on the paper without friction. A pencil eraser uses friction to rub off mistakes written in pencil lead Rubbing the eraser on the lead wears out the eraser due to friction, while the particles worn off gather up the pencil lead from the paper. The means of reducing friction when moving a large object is that if two people move the object with the same forces they will be less friction and you need to reduce friction between the box and the tile floor so that you can move the box easy, you can increase friction on your shoes to help you move the box. Static friction Static friction is friction between two solid objects that are not moving relative to each other. For example, static friction can prevent an object from sliding down a sloped surface. The coefficient of static friction, typically denoted as ÃŽ ¼s, is usually higher than the coefficient of kinetic friction. Kinetic friction Kinetic friction occurs when two objects are moving relative to each other and rubs together (like a sled on the ground). The coefficient of kinetic friction is typically denoted as ÃŽ ¼k, and is usually less than the coefficient of static friction for the same materials. In fact, Richard Feynman reports, with dry metals it is very hard to show any difference. Finally, new models are beginning to show how kinetic friction can be greater than static friction.A surface can always supply a normal force, perpendicular to the surface. However, a surface quite often also supplies a fiction force parallel to the plane. Friction forces always oppose the motion or prevent the motion. Conclusions Friction is necessary in many ways to prevent slipping or sliding but also, it can be a nuisance because it can affect many thinks in our life by in reality friction is very important, in this report the very important key is that the experiment went well as according to plan the calculation was correct but the was a small error in the all project that we count prove that this equation was equilibrium but the error did came from many ways exp: human error and many thinks. References http://www.physics247.com/physics-homework-help/dynamics8.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_friction

Medea - the conception of drama within theatrical production :: essays research papers fc

â€Å"The Conception of Drama within Theatrical Production†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Euripides’ tragic play, Medea, the playwright creates an undercurrent of chaos in the play upon asserting that, â€Å"the world’s great order [is being] reversed.† (Lawall, 651, line 408). The manipulation of the spectators’ emotions, which instills in them a sentiment of drama, is relative to this undertone of disorder, as opposed to being absolute. The central thesis suggests drama in the play as relative to the method of theatrical production. The three concepts of set, costumes, and acting, are tools which accentuate the drama of the play. Respectively, these three notions represent the appearance of drama on political, social, and moral levels. This essay will compare three different productions of Euripides’ melodrama, namely, the play as presented by the Jazzart Dance Theatre ¹; the Culver City (California) Public Theatre ²; and finally, the original ancient Greek production of the play, as it was scripted by Euripi des.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two contemporary productions of Medea were selected for this essay in an effort to contrast the ancient Greek version of the play with two modernized versions, which would demonstrate a wide distinction between the styles of production. Furthermore, both modernized versions of the play add their own innovation to the production, making for an even broader dissimilarity among the plays. Moreover, both recent productions are fashioned within cultures which have borrowed their political, social, and moral ways of life from Ancient Greek society, specifically, South Africa ¹ (British Colonies), and The United States ².   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Jazzart Dance Theatre is known today for its distinctive style and ingenuity in extending the boundaries of South African dance. Contrarily to the original production of Medea, Jazzart’s unique approach uses dance (as opposed to music) to articulate emotion to the viewers. The dancers reinvent Greek tragedy, harbouring no artistic safety net.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The set plays a central role in dramatizing the theatrical experience of this particular production. As you can see in both figures 1 and 2, the set is purposely designed to resemble a metropolitan alleyway. This dramatic ambiance is created in an effort to parallel the harshness of the unforgiving streets of any particular conurbation. Normally, the audience would tend to construe this setting as a symbol of turmoil in the kingdom of Corinth. Thus, the set itself works as a device in developing a sense of political drama.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The costumes which are used for this particular production are also essential in dramatizing the on-stage action.

The Uncertain Future of Quebec Culture :: Canadian Culture Essays

The Uncertain Future of Quebec Culture Gaetan Tremblay, a professor of communications at the University of Quebec at Montreal and deputy manager of the Group of research on cultural industries and social computerization (GRICIS), is a leading researcher for public policies in the field of communications. Tremblay is an advocate of public policy that defends against cultural imperialism by countries such as the United States . In particular, Tremblay studies the effects of the media on culture in Canada especially in a province like Quebec which is distinct from the rest of English Canada. Tremblay's article on the Americanization of Quebec culture is slightly more than a decade old, yet most of the information he provides is still relevant today. In his article, Tremblay takes a look at the invasion of Quebec 's airwaves by American content. His title refers to a belief in his mind that the Quebecois culture will one day be integrated into that of America , which in turn will lead to Quebec throwing itself into the melting pot of American culture. The first part of the article concerns policy, the never ending promotion of identity by the Quebecois. Tremblay calls for an all out communications policy that would protect Quebec . He goes on to contend that a policy is not only useful, but that it has becomes more necessary with each passing day. However, Tremblay has ignored the fact that Quebec culture is already protected in part by the Canadian constitution. From the beginning, the Canadian federation has provided guarantees, for the Quebec language and culture. â€Å"The Constitution Act, 1867 contained specific provisions designed to protect Quebec 's distinct culture and language† (Nicholson, 2003) Canada has always given guarantees to protect the Quebec culture, a policy would be nice but it is not an absolute must have as he portrays. Tremblay then moves on to say, that U.S Department of Commerce would like to deregulate the communications industry and how horrible this would be for Canada . He points out that onc e this happens the U.S will pressure Canada to do the same. Yet, he seems to forget that Canada is a sovereign nation that does not have to give in to U.S pressure. Canada sets its own policies without being influenced by others. It has and will always be this way. Quebec is already officially recognized as distinct, it is entrenched in the constitution.

2pac Shakur :: essays research papers

Tupac Shakur grew up around nothing but self-delusion. His mother, Alice Faye Williams, thought she was a "revolutionary." She called herself "Afeni Shakur" and associated with members of the ill-fated Black Panther Party, a movement that wanted to feed school kids breakfast and earn civil rights for African Americans. During her youth she dropped out of high school, partied with North Carolina gang members, then moved to Brooklyn: After an affair with one of Malcolm X's bodyguards, she became political. When the mostly white United Federation of Teachers went on strike in 1968, she crossed the picket line and taught the children herself. After this she joined a New York chapter of the Black Panther Party and fell in with an organizer named Lumumba. She took to ranting about killing "the pigs" and overthrowing the government, which eventually led to her arrest and that of twenty comrades for conspiring to set off a race war. Pregnant, she made bail and told her husband, Lummuba, it wasn't his child. Behind his back she had been carrying on with Legs (a small-time associate of Harlem drug baron Nicky Barnes) and Billy Garland (a member of the Party). Lumumba immediately divorced fer. Things went downhill for Afeni: Bail revoked, she was imprisoned in the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village. In her cell she patted her belly and said, "This is my prince. He is going to save the black nation." By the time Tupac was born on June 16, 1971, Afeni had already defended herself in court and been acquitted on 156 counts. Living in the Bronx, she found steady work as a paralegal and tried to raise her son to respect the value of an education. From childhood, everyone called him the "Black Prince." For misbehaving, he had to read an entire edition of The New York Times. But she had no answer when he asked about his daddy. "She just told me, 'I don't know who your daddy is.' It wasn't like she was a slut or nothin'. It was just some rough times."When he was two, his sister, Sekyiwa, was born. This child's father, Mutulu, was a Black Panther who, a few months before her birth, had been sentenced to sixty years for a fatal armored car robbery. With Mutulu away, the family experienced hard times. No matter where they moved-the Bronx, Harlem, homeless shelters-Tupac was distressed. "I remember crying all the time.

Smokey Mountain Nightmare

Allysa Broeker Smokey Mountain Nightmare Gazing at the stars outside the sun roof of my husband’s silver sports car seemed to be the only way to control the excitement building inside me. My imagination ran wildly thru visions of scenic mountains draped in clouds of fog. The grey rocky cliffs surrounded by colorful spring flowers almost parallel the beauty of the cool crystal water flowing over a fall like the most rapid of rain spraying a chilly mist on all who behold. With my head full of fantasy and soul full of adventure, the possibility of this dream come true becoming a life changing nightmare seemed all but impossible. Hey, we are in Tennessee†, my husband said as he lightly shook my shoulder until I acknowledged him with opening my grayish green eyes. â€Å"Good morning beautiful, only a half an hour away from the vacation you have always wanted us to take. † Instantly the widest smile you could ever imagine covered my face. I was so happy to be there roll ing up an over these bright green hills into the mountains that harbor the cabin we would soon occupy. â€Å"I love you so much. † â€Å"I cannot even begin to explain how much this means to me Adam†.I said as we past the sign displaying a two mile away conformation that was truly needed do to the navigation becoming obsolete when we began winding thru the one lane roads. â€Å"Beautiful,† I said as we pulled up to the cabin. † †Absolutely beautiful, even more so then I imagined†, said Adam as the slightest drops of rain began to fall from one of the few clouds that floated above. â€Å"I wonder what the weather is forecasted to be this week†. I asked as we walked hand in hand with my romantic husband into the two story cabin and on to making my dream come true.As the hardwood door closed behind us, a simultaneous crash of thunder followed. The sky began to darken as the subtle rains quickly became rapid. â€Å"There was no mention of a ny thunderstorm warnings†, Adam yelled from the across the room. The furious rains pelting the metal cabin roof seemed to intensify with every second. The lights flickered twice then went out as the purple strobes from the lightning filled every room transforming beautiful red roses, various clay sculptures, and other once delightful objects into terrifying creature like shadows.My heart pounded as the power of the storm intensified replacing my anticipation for it to blow over with only the realization of danger. â€Å"Adam, we are surrounded by a creek right†, I asked with a concern shaken voice. Using a local radio application I had just downloaded I heard, â€Å"The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the following counties in east Tennessee†. The first mentioned county confirmed my fears while removing all hope of salvaging this vacation, as well as, adding a very real danger to our life. We have to leave now† there is a fast rising creek all around this place and I could never live with something happening to you†, screamed Adam! The once crystal waters were now muddy and full of various types of debris and risen undeniably higher than the banks that once restrained the devastation unleashed when mother nature joins the team. Adam and I raced to the car, sloshing thru a puddle that had no beginning and seemed to have no end. Drenched with rain and overwhelmed with confusion, I could only stare out the window as we drove to safety.The beautiful mountains and all that attributes to them were now a smeared collage of unrecognizable vegetation and retreating animals that sensed the devastation that would soon follow. â€Å"We have about a mile until we are completely out of danger†, â€Å"I think we can at least catch our breath†, Adam said. Still staring out the window but only in a daze, I could not stop trembling. My dream vacation caused lots of fear and it is never fun living a drea m with nothing but beauty to behold, only to be awakened as nightmares unfold.

Environmental protection and the social responsibility of firms: perspectives from law, economics, and business Essay

Responsible businessIntroductionResponsible business concerns itself with allowing and ensuring the application of social and moral principles in business decision making. Through the definitions, the following principles of responsible business can be drawn: Business for profit: When people engage in business, they are expecting to receive profit. The first principle of responsible business lies in the fact that it is just and in fact expected to make profit and for such profits to increase as more experience is gained in business. As such in the pursuit for responsible business, profits should not be left behind or side stepped, strategies employed by business managers, and even mechanisms used in the business need to be directed towards generating profits. The reward for doing business properly lies in the excess returns received from investments on the business. Business ethics: the business operates within the concept of society, plays a part in accentuating the lives of the community. Responsible business calls for businesses to be subjected to a code of conduct. Businessmen are not exempted from being moral even as they pursue the profit. As ethics apply to all areas of life, so the same applies in business. Business needs to be done in as much honesty as is possible. If the business environment is to improve then behavior in business also needs to change and improve. Professional ethics: a responsible business is run under corporate codes. As a business continues to change and the environment within which it operates transforms, it is only responsible for such codes to continually change. Therefore, a business is defined as responsible not just within the code of business ethics but also when it operates through the professional code of ethics governing it. While ethics are general in business, professional ethics are specific and designed for that particular business. Business almost seems to operate under no particular ethics, rules and responsibilities. In many cases business persons are only concerned with the monetary value and nothing else. Responsible business on the other hand adheres to a code of conduct, set forth not just by law and moral values but also by the profession and industry within which the business operates, (Sanford 2011). Scholars agree that businesses can no longer operate as independent entities, existing separately by society. They need to uphold and be held responsible by the society. They exist as part of and in partnership with society and can therefore not ignore the societal responsibilities. Drivers of responsible businessThe natural/ ecological environmentResponsibility to the environment consists of the concern for the interaction between human beings and the natural environment as it exists. The responsibility of businesses to the environment developed as a separate factor in responsible business from the 1960’s. At the time, pictures taken from space showed vulnerability in the existence of earth and its ecosystem. Environmentalists began lobbying that animals, plants and the general ecosystem in itself had value in and of itself. As such demands on various businesses to treat these entities responsible began. The general notion of responsibility to the environment is that if businesses continue exploiting and fail to be responsible towards the environment, it will be completely destroyed and in the process the human race will also be destroyed. In the year 2009, the summit on sustainable development, brought focus to the fact that in another 50 years more than 10 billion people will be existing in the world. This is in addition to the problems currently facing the existence of earth such as rescinding existence of energy, excess carbon and a declining ozone layer (Smith 2010). The summit concluded that there is need for a green revolution to improve the status of the environment. The industrial world, at least a large percentage has failed to uphold its own responsibility towards ensuring a change in the strategies about the use of natural resources, and also the technology used to make use and exploit the natural environment. Sustainable development as responsible businessToday’s businesses are expected and in fact it is demanded of them that sustainability becomes a part of their strategy. The government and even the clients coming to business are looking for more and more evidence that the business is acting responsibly in the environment. According to smith (2010), Customers want to live in a pollution free environment, so businesses whether manufacturing or even service providing have to change the way they operate. In order to maintain a clean environment, businesses require operating with technologies that are clean and also sources of clean energy such as solar rather than coal and oil. Sustainability can be simply defined the ability of the environment to replenish itself and remain healthy for the next generations. Surprisingly by opting to use more environmentally friendly and energy efficient technologies, businesses are able to save on their overhead costs. Recycling: this refers to the ability to re-use raw materials over and over again. The advantage of recycling is that it cuts the amount of raw materials required for products and as such allows the environment to replenish itself. Normally businesses produce a lot of waste some which is very difficult to manage such as plastics. Recycling encourages the businesses to come up with processes that make use of their waste. Newton (2005) states that The concern is mainly for ever filling landfill, and therefore responsible businesses calls for either new and better ways to deposit the wastes or better yet new ways to make use of the waste. Landfills are responsible for methane production which is responsible for climate changes and damage to the ozone layer. In many western countries, recycling is not just a business responsibility but in fact a law that could attract stiff penalties. Competitive advantage: in the past, businesses have made use of Ricardo’s principle which simply encourages cost cutting measures such as cheaper raw materials, labor and even investment of capital. The cost effectiveness produces greater profits for the business. However, Gibson (2005) indicates that recent research and benchmarking with large companies such as Coca Cola and General Motors shows sustainability provides greater advantage. Organizations committed to taking advantage of best practices are also gaining a larger market share. New opportunities for product differentiation: product differentiation offers a chance for businesses to excel beyond their competitors even in the same industry. A product based on sustainability is not only considered a product of high quality but also one that is environmentally friendly and therefore more responsible even for the consumer. The market is gradually shifting from traditional products towards more energy efficient, fuel saving and alternative energy products. Testimony of this lies in the recent increase of interest and growth of the market share for products such as solar panels and energy saving bulbs. Zott (2014) shows that Responsible business in this era therefore translates to product differentiation through: †¢Use of raw materials that have been proven to have less damage to the environment †¢Companies that are setting benchmarks in terms of going beyond what is environmentally compliant. †¢Less and less wastage from the business and more recycling of the same. †¢Reduced emission of toxic wastes from the business. As many environmentalists have shown nature in itself shows the best system of sustainability. Plants for example prosper in sunlight and with sufficient moisture. They are consumed by animals and insects. Through this consumption, the animals produce waste which in turn is used to ensure fertile soils on which more plants are grown. In this same way, human beings and especially businesses are tasked with the responsibility of being eco-friendly that is use, produce, consume and transform waste into something else through recycling. Role of the government in responsible businessThe World Bank report in 2003 on sustainability emphasized the need for more structured and responsible governments to ensure sustainability. The governments are tasked with the responsibility of creating better policies and institutions through which businesses small and large alike can be held responsible. In the past, weak governments and poorly maintained social institutions have turned out to be quite costly to nature and the environment. Weak governance has brought about income inequality, political unrests and environmental disasters, (Hay et al 2005). Governments provide the legal framework through which businesses can be held responsible. Constitutions and laws of a country are often used as the back drop to determine the concern and interest of the government in securing its own environment for example. The legal framework provides laws within which every business should operate. The legal frameworks set forth by each country have been changing constantly, becoming more focused to immediate and more tragic causes of environmental degradation. Through the legal framework for example, majority of the mines and timber yards have been closed and shut down for causing damage to the environment. Governments also put in focus environmental conservation so that the activity is not just being carried out haphazardly. They provide a platform for integrating environmental concerns and responsibility into the economic and social development of the country. Through environmental policies also, there is conservation of critical natural resources. Businesses endangering such resources can face severe penalties through these policies. Governments often partner with businesses to ensure sanctuary of forests, animals that are going extinct among others. Businesses often ignore the importance of contributing to the community within which they operate. The governments of such countries ensure that majority of the profits generated from the business go back to the community. The foremost principle for all governments is increased economic growth, poverty eradication and bridging the social class gap. All businesses operating within the country need to uphold this principle. . In addition, according to Moon (2001), the government ensures that even as businesses operate they do not meddle with the rights of the nation’s citizens. The government gives power and strength to citizens who may feel powerless to fight the businesses and especially the large entities. This is not to mean that the government only has responsibility to consumers, it also ensures that businesses operate in an environment which allows them to flourish and therefore generate profits. ConclusionIt is now obvious that companies that are socially responsible and businesses that adhere to a particular code of doing business have better reputations and therefore a larger market share. The bulk of responsibility lies in the business owners ensuring that they have developed moral responsibility as the back bone on which their decision making is based. Managers and employees then have the duty of protecting the welfare of their consumers and other stakeholders which include the communities they operate within. While the main concern for business is an increase in the profit margin, those that have shown an inclination towards more responsible business strategies have attracted not just a large number of consumers but also investors. People are more interested in ensuring the growth and success of a responsible business especially with more and more of the media focusing on errors and embarrassment news featuring businesses that have failed in their responsibility. Businesses are held up to societal standards and failure to uphold them is frowned upon. Whereas there was a time when businesses could attempt to cut corners in their responsibility, today this is not an option. The government and even citizens are aware that companies and businesses operate with certain expectations and values. Employees and other stakeholders require business to be conducted responsibly. Failure to do so encourages massive labor turnouts as employees seek more sustainable businesses. Responsible business therefore cuts into all corners of conducting business from governing the contracts with clients, to those with suppliers and even the community upholding the business. Responsible business is not just a mirage of expected rules and regulations. Indeed it operates within a justice system through which governments obtain and have the power of demanding responsible business. Responsible business is part and parcel of strategic management. Each decision in the business must reflect the true responsibility and code of ethics of the business. In some cases this may require special attention being paid to particular areas of responsibility. Today, companies are going far and beyond what is expected of them in running business because they understand the importance of taking responsibility to ensure their survival. References Gibson, K. (2007).  Ethics and business: an introduction. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Hay, B. L., Stavins, R. N., & Vietor, R. H. K. (2005).  Environmental protection and the social responsibility of firms: perspectives from law, economics, and business. Washington, DC, Resources for the Future Newton, L. H. (2005).  Business ethics and the natural environment. Malden, MA, Blackwell.Sanford, C. (2011).  The responsible business reimagining sustainability and success. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Smith, N. C. (2010).  Global challenges in responsible business. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Zott, L. M. (2014).  The environment. Detroit, Greenhaven Press Source document

Managerial Accounting Essay

Accountants and auditors help to ensure that firms are run efficiently, public records kept accurately, and taxes paid properly and on time. They analyze and communicate financial information for various entities such as companies, individual clients, and Federal, State, and local governments. Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation— providing information to clients by preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents—many accountants also offer budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services. Managerial Accounting: Managerial accounting is concerned with providing information to managers – that is, people inside an organization who direct and control its operation. Managerial accounting provides the essential data with which the organizations are actually run. Managerial accounting is also termed as management accounting or cost accounting. Standard costing is an important subtopic of cost accounting. Standard costs are usually associated with a manufacturing company’s costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead. Rather than assigning the actual costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead to a product, many manufacturers assign the expected or standard cost. This means that a manufacturer’s inventories and cost of goods sold will begin with amounts reflecting the standard costs, not the actual costs, of a product. Manufacturers, of course, still have to pay the actual costs. As a result there are almost always differences between the actual costs and the standard costs, and those differences are known as variances. Standard costing and the related variances is a valuable management tool. If a variance arises, management becomes aware that manufacturing costs have differed from the standard (planned, expected) costs. * If actual costs are greater than standard costs the variance is unfavorable. An unfavorable variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the company’s actual profit will be less than planned. * If actual costs are less than standard costs the variance is favorable. A favorable variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the actual profit will likely exceed the planned profit. Use in Business: Managers rely on cost accounting to provide an idea of the actual expenses of processes, departments, operations or product which is the foundation of their budget, allowing them to analyze fluctuation and the way funds are used socially for profit. It is used in management accounting, where managers justify the ability to cut expenses for a company in order to increase that company? s profit. As a tool for internal use, versus a tool for external users like financial accounting, cost accounting does not need to follow the GAAP standards (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) because its use is more pragmatic. It is a very important part of the management accounting process. In order for managers to determine the best methods to increase a company’s profitability, as well as saving a company money in the future, cost accounting is a necessary system in the management of a company’s budget, providing important data to analyze fluctuation in company production expense.

Of Media and Press Freedom

Fahrenheit 9/11, a documentary film which debuted in the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, was produced, written, and directed by the now controversial Michael Moore. It has – and continues to – create waves in American society for its liberal and litigious perspectives. Although the title includes the fateful numbers 9 and 11, the documentary was not really about September 11, but it did touch briefly on that doomful day for all Americans; especially since it was pivotal for the discussion of what was really the movie’s main target. The film provided not only the American people but also the world over a critical look on George W. Bush’s presidency and his War on Terrorism. Moore, admittedly a liberal, is not exactly fond of President George W. Bush. And this is apparent in his works, especially with the documentary film now in question. In fact, Fahrenheit 9/11 was mostly an attack on W. Bush and the way he handled the 9/11 attacks and the pressing threat of terrorism on America. Moore contends that W. Bush was not exactly an inept president; au contraire, he was a really smart one who knew just how influential his position is. Released in America under the presidency of the very man it sought to destroy, Fahrenheit 9/11 was the perfect example of just how much democracy can be – and, sometimes, should be – very lenient on the media. With the media being branded as a ‘watchdog’, serving as the citizens’ omnipotent eye on the goings-on of politics and everything else that concerns them, it is very necessary to let the media speak as freely as it should. Even with moves to censor and even discredit Moore and his claims in this documentary, the Bush administration had to let the movie be shown as completely hiding Fahrenheit 9/11 from the public will be a cause for questioning the government’s commitment to freedom of speech, which is clearly stated in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Yet with the admirable way Fahrenheit 9/11 demonstrated our country’s committal to press freedom, the Palme d’Or recipient also painted just how media can also go overboard and abuse its function as a watchdog. Even with the guise of being a look into how a president can abuse his powers, Fahrenheit 9/11 was made in a manner that can cause discord. Made and exhibited at a time when Americans are still healing from the wounds of September 11 and the movie painfully refreshed the hurt that the events caused the American people. As the now popular Spiderman saying goes, â€Å"With great power comes great responsibility.† This only means that people behind the media know just when propagandas and destructive materials should be kept to a minimum. Assuming that Moore did get his facts right in the movie and his claims in his award-winning documentary have basis and are deserving of being exposed to the people, we can still see just how abusive media can be of its powers – this time, we’ll see it in the stories that Moore weaved. Media’s insolent nature is most apparent in the part where the movie’s director/writer portrayed the news networks’ contribution to the ‘fear’ propaganda. Moore claims that the launching of a war in Iraq had no basis, just W. Bush’s own ‘fear’ propaganda, which (as was also stated by Member of the Congress Jim McDermott) was spurred by the media’s willing coverage of the Bush administration’s feed of the ‘constant’ threat of terrorism even though there were no specific details handed out. And so in a way, Moore also momentarily paints a tirade on American media’s eagerness to become a voice of the Bush administration by presenting the terror threat and even the Iraqi war in a non-rationale way, going with what the W. Bush administration wanted them to cover. For Moore, a lot of lies and cover-ups happened with the War on Terrorism coverage. Indeed, Fahrenheit 9/11 may have torn the nation into two – some believing its theories wholeheartedly, and some reserving their trust to the Bush administration. But for any political science student, the movie is a perfect look as to how important a role and responsibility the media posses in a democratic society. The movie also throws in the glaring fact that the media – with all its freedom and responsibility – should take extra care in handling its affairs. References Fahrenheit 9/11. Dir. Michael Moore. 2004, June 25. DVD. Lion Gates Films, 2004.

Discussion on Motivation Enhancing Performance and Role of Self Essay

Discussion on Motivation Enhancing Performance and Role of Self Management and Organizational Behavior - Essay Example So the self managed work terms are being implemented for the some of the past decades. The motivation and self management help the employee as well as the employer improving the organization. The former can be organized by the management and the later depends on employee. By self motivating employee should try to improve the productivity of the company. Hence the target should be to attain the goals of the company (Mitchell, T. R. 1973). Goal setting is important for attaining and according to Rousseau DM (1997), the competitive environments translate into a new focus in organizational research. Hence organizational behavior is important in employee and employer relations thus managing the performance. The employee-employer relations need self management, discontinuous information processing, organization learning, organizational change as well as individual transitions. The implementation of change for work-non work relations also adds to the above-mentioned activities of organizational behavior. One of the important aspect is to extend the traditional concepts according to change to attain goals after their setting (Rousseau, D. M. 1997). The challenges regarding goal attainment give rise to application of employee self-management through teams known as self-managing teams.

Writing Assignment #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writing Assignment #2 - Essay Example While carrying out pricing seven major steps are followed. They are development of marketing approach, making marketing mix decisions, estimation of the demand curve, cost calculation, understanding environmental factors, pricing objectives being set and determination of pricing. Pricing strategy matters because if the prices are wrong business will fail. Companies carry out different price strategies depending on what the market will bear and make a reasonable profit. Examples price skimming this is sometimes used when a new product is being introduced particularly when it is a new technology. The objective of price skimming is to set a high price that helps to recover the costs of production and advertising (Suttle & Media). Penetration pricing this is used to set low prices early to attract lots of customers. A company will make an effort to produce high quality products and offer the best customer service inorder to retain their customers. This method is used to increase market share or the percentage of total sales it holds in the market. Return on investment pricing strategy, the company might spend lots of time analyzing costs that will be used to make the product and projecting sales figures. Geographical pricing strategy, the company sets higher prices in certain markets (Suttle & Media). In conclusion oligopoly is a market structure that is majorly a small number of moderately large firms that dominate an industry. Which affects promotion, it plays a major role in pricing. Pricing affects the customer in positively and at times

Community Map Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Community Map - Essay Example Each map misses something important as when I compare my map with that of my neighbors I realize that I forget to draw a lot of stuff, but it does not matter because it shows how each of us envision our community (Glenn, 2004). It also shows how each person expresses his or her own interpretation of a community on his or her map. In my community, my neighbors are very close to one another because the majority of us are Haitians, which makes us strong. We speak of the similarity of language, eat same food and dress the same way. In contrary, we do not support each other as they do in Haiti. I personally did my own research about community economics. In order for a community to be powerful, each of us must practice group economics that means patronize each other businesses so our money can be osculated within our community. An example is, we need to control more businesses and resources in our community instead of having someone else that comes from a different community that has a different culture ruling all of us (Glenn, 2004). We can buy out politicians or at least rent them out so they can implement a new law that would benefit us in the long run. Anybody thinks by voting you automatically control your politicians; you are delusional. By having a business in your community, you can afford to write a cheque to your local politicians and support them in their next campaign (Glenn, 2004). Next time you decide to ask for a favor, someone you would be ready to answer to your

Riordan Manufacturing Staffing strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Riordan Manufacturing Staffing strategies - Essay Example tant deadlines to be met, most of the employers don’t evaluate the pros and cons of hiring an individual and unless there are well developed staffing strategies, this will be an ongoing problem. The focus is,†People are your most important asset is wrong. People are not your most important asset: the right people are." (Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great").Hence it is very important to hire the right candidate for the right job. A well developed staffing strategy helps an organization to eliminate problems before they start. A staffing strategy provides overall guidance on how an organization deals with staff. This includes how the organization identifies with new staff, the types of people the organization wants to staff, and how to retain them. Once this strategy is decided upon, the human resource department frames some policies and procedures to support the strategy. Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer founded in 1991, It employs over 550 people and has projected annual earnings of $46 million. The company is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 billion. However over the years, Riordan’s management realized that employee dissatisfaction was quite high and sales sloped downwards. As the business world has become more complex and jobs more technical† (*Shah, Sterrett, Chesser, & Wilmore (2001), many corporations have turned to strategic planning. Today, organizations have realized the importance of its human capital thus, the need to further develop, retain and attract personnel to achieve business objectives. Riordans management team has realized that the companys most important asset is their employees. HRs proactive approach to recruiting the best and brightest candidates will help to provide future leaders for the company as they continue to grow and meet the demanding challenges. In order to accomplish the organizational goals, Riordan must follow suit in attracting

Scanning the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scanning the Environment - Essay Example ote focuses on demographics and socio-cultural trends, advertising, strategy and image for the previously mentioned retailers and the strategy that a competitor should adopt. Retailing of grocery items has been a competitive business for some time because a number of large retail chains, online stores and retail shops compete within the market. This means that it is important to try to position the retail brand right so that a maximum attraction for the grocery retail segments within the consumers is possible (Reynolds, 2004, Pp. 12 – 18). Brands tell a lot about price and this means that positioning brands to attract a certain type of customer to maximize profit is important in grocery retailing. Demographic trends for the US consumer suggests that the average consumer is more health and money conscious as a result of the prevailing economic uncertainty and they are only willing to pay a little extra for better fresh fruits and vegetables, food brands (Cook, 2008, Slides 1 – 25). However, quality and price are the most important considerations in selection of grocery items, but pesticide free items are only second in preference to fresh gr ocery items. Thus, organic products are second only to fresh quality products. In addition, the proportion of non – Hispanic Whites as a proportion of the total consumer is declining compared to an increase in the Hispanics and the Asians. Thus, retailers must consider the previously mentioned trends in efforts to position their retail brands. Aldi, the global grocery retailer has tried to benefit from the willingness of the consumer to pay a little more for quality in positioning its brand (Aldi, 2009, â€Å"Grocery Selections†). However, Amazon Grocery appears to have tried to lure the customer by offering established middle-of-the range brands with an emphasis on saving for quality and a concern for the Asian and Hispanic consumers. However, both of the previously mentioned chains emphasize value for money. Although

A Project Failure Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A Project Failure - Case Study Example It is known that some companies engage in evaluating customer needs, training staff to be more proactive with customers, and/or creating teams or assigning individuals to upgrade customer services. In addition, performance-based companies more frequently compensate sales and other staff at least partially on customer satisfaction scores. This type of business requires effective and unique set of management tools in order to reach a customer and retain him. The aim of the paper is to prove, analyze and evaluate CRM and impact of these strategies on customer relations. The case study describes an attempt of the private Chinese trading company to introduce IT project and improve performance of the organization. I selected this case study for analysis, because it vividly portrays problems and difficulties faced by organizations in IT projects. The majority of case studies describes success factors of CRM but omits difficulties and weaknesses of planning process. The report describes culture and morale of the organizations, research methodology and data collection methods, and causes of the project failure. Then, it gives brief recommendations for other companies how to avoid project failure and introduce CRM (Dow, 1999). The goal of CRM is to examine and analyze customers' needs and wants in order to meet their requirement and expectations. CRM has a great impact on profitability and effective performance of organizations. The importance of CRM is explained by the fact that many organizations have begun to develop global markets and have established face-to-face sales teams either directly, using their own personnel, or indirectly, through contracted sales agents. Bergeron (2002) defines customer relationship management as "the dynamic process of managing a customer-company relationship such that customers elect to continue mutually beneficial commercial exchanges and are dissuaded from participating in exchanges that are unprofitable to the company" (p. 3). In modern environment, CRM and development influence profitability because the attention has shifted to a greater emphasis on the management of the whole system and its relationship with other systems. In this situation, CRM can be seen as a med iator which helps to cope with different demands both within the production system itself and between that and other systems. As environments change, they pose new problems for managers of organizations. Thus, with the emphasis on CRM comes the realization that increasing operating efficiency. CRM influences profitability because it includes changing knowledge and technology, new values, new markets, and changes in the global distribution of wealth. New knowledge, for instance, can invalidate the existing knowledge of an entire industry. When environments become turbulent, complex, and resource constrained, the knowledge and skills that companies once possessed can become useless, and even a hindrance to change. CRM projects acquire new knowledge and technology, and employ these assets in production quickly (Freeland, 2002). Current State of Customer Relationships Forms The case study underlines that the project manager needs excellent planning, management and control skills. He/she should have a good knowledge in psychology and human resource management in order to improve morale and motivation of

Midterm Essay 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midterm 3 - Essay Example Human development is thus, characterized by the appropriation and transformation of nature by human needs. The idea here is that human beings usually transform themselves according to the demands of the external world. In line with this argument, people do not engage in labor freely, but are rather forced by external forces to engage in labor. Marcuse perceives labor as a means of objectifying a person considering that people are always striving to engage activities that will profit them economically (ibid). As such, capitalism is seen as the primary cause of alienation in the society as it forces human beings to act. The fact that people do not realize that labor and capitalism has enslaved them explains that they do not realize the need for change, thus making them one-dimensional thinkers. As such, instead of fighting against the alienation caused by capitalism and demanding social change, one-dimensional thinkers begin to identify with those who fuel such capitalism, thus becoming complacent in their alienated state. As Marcuse writes, â€Å"†¦the subject which is alienated is swallowed up by its alienated existence†¦there is only one dimension, and it is everywhere and in all forms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (19). Fundamentally, the working class people are lured into a consumerism system in which labor is essential for production, their artificial needs are met, and these people are slowly integrated into the capitalist society. By ensuring that the workers perceive labor as beneficial and making sure that the worker’s artificial needs are met, the capitalist society eliminates the cha nces of opposition. One of the catalysts of the kind of alienation caused by capitalism is technology. Marcuse argues that technology has revolutionized the mass media such that the capitalist system is able to infiltrate the social lives of its citizens (18). In essence, mediums such as radio and television have been used by the system to take capitalist ideas into the homes of citizens

Where Should We Look to Find the Causes of Educational Inequalities Essay Example for Free

Where Should We Look to Find the Causes of Educational Inequalities Essay In this essay, I will be attempting to explain where I believe the causes of educational inequality lie. I will be focusing on 3 of the reasons that I believe there are such deep rooted inequalities in the education system. I believe that gender, ethnicity and class have the biggest impact on inequality in education. These are the issues which I will be discussing. The statistics are daunting, as Asthana, A (2010) states: boys are falling behind girls in 11 out of 13 learning categories by the age of five and Caribbean pupils are three times more likely to be excluded than any other ethnic group. I have chosen to focus on gender, ethnicity and social class in my essay, though these are by no means the only problems within the education system. I will start by discussing gender and educational inequality. Gender inequalities in education The impact on child attainment Women have always been allowed formal education, though formal education for all children has only been an ideal since about the mid-19th century. There were always a large proportion of people of both sexes who could not read or write, and many for whom formal education never went beyond basic reading and writing and simple arithmetic. Practical skills were more important for most people. Girls in ancient Greece and Rome for example, were educated, it was normal for women to be able to read and write, though most would not have had the same degree of education as boys. For girls, learning the practical skills to run a household would have been the most important part of their education. But some women did manage to make their mark as writers; Sapphos poetry was admired more than any other poet in ancient Greece except for Homer. Girls were often educated at home, though in medieval times for instance there were schools that educated children of both sexes. And upper-class girls sometimes went as boarders to nunneries. Among the upper classes it was commonplace for girls to be more literate than boys, because reading and writing were usually regarded as effeminate pursuits, a boys proper occupation was warfare. Grammar schools were normally only for boys, and in England, universities were open only to male students, though the proportion of boys who went there was tiny compared to the number who go today. Education for girls was of a fairly low standard during the 17th and 18th centuries, but from the early 19th century in America, and the mid-19th century in the UK, it was increasingly the case that all children were expected to attend school. Although boys and girls went to the same schools, they were not in the same classes and certainly were not taught the same subjects. Girls learnt subjects such as embroidery, needlework, music and writing as it was thought more important for them to study ‘accomplishments’ rather than academic subjects. Although a lot has changed regarding the differences between boys’ and girls’ education, there are still some issues that concerns us; the gender gap for example. The gender gap is the difference in attainment with boys and girls. In recent years, there has been a lot of worrying about the growing gap in attainment between boys and girls. By the age of 5, 53% of boys had reached the expected writing level compared with 72% of girls. They then underachieve at GCSE and not as many go on to university. Even once there, they are less likely to achieve a 2:1 or a first (Asthana, A 2010). Some contribute boys’ lower attainment to the changing notions of masculinity and differing attitudes to schoolwork. As Renold, E (2001) stated, many boys learnt the hard way early in their school careers that studiousness and academic success conflict with conventional forms of hegemonic masculinity. Renold (2001) then goes on to argue that as a result of the contradictory masculinities produced by the school, the boys invented an array of strategies and techniques to avoid what were perceived as ‘non-masculine’/ or ‘feminine’ classroom behaviours and to disguise both their desire for and the achievement of, academic success. As Connell (1996, cited in Renold, E 2001) claims, when he discusses ‘gender strategies for schools’, existing patterns of gender relation can only be altered or changed by paying close attention to the ‘dynamics of masculinity’, especially the means by which alternative masculinities are construed (peer support/ collectivity) and resisted (gender and sexualised bullying). Another issue is, of course the same sex school debate. I believe that Co-educational schools are better for children as it teaches them things that are not on the curriculum. It teaches kids maturity with members of the opposite sex. We can logically conclude that members from a coeducational school are generally more understanding of their opposing sex than those who are in a single-sex school. This doesn’t apply to students who have no siblings or are in relationships. It applies to the vast majority of students with any form of schooling. A sibling only has one personality, a girlfriend or a boyfriend only possess one personality. One must be able to understand and cope with members with different personality types to be counted as mature. Also, in a co-ed school, pupils form more diverse relationships. More diverse friendship types would supposedly lead to a bigger and better social life, which is important to have for school students as they progress in life. The logic behind this reasoning is that once you are in the working force, you must be able to deal with anyone that you work with, work for and assign work to. In the real world, we are not separated from the opposite sex so why are we separated in schools? Ethnicity and Inequality in education Ethnicity and inequality of education has always been, in my opinion, a delicate subject. There’s always the possibility of appearing racist or as though discriminating in some way. Rob Meyers (1994) when talking of educational inequality states; â€Å"with the passing of slavery, equality of education was one of the rights formerly held back that was now for Black people to take advantage of. With this equal starting ground, social integration would be a realizable dream. Yet after over 120 years, equality of education had been denied to Black children, thus preventing them from the amount of financial success white children have in life after school. Through benign neglect and the goal of some to find a genetic link to race and intelligence, Black students have been railroaded into low end jobs and inescapable poverty. As Bowles and Gintis have stated, the purpose of education is to preserve the existing class structure. Since the abolition of slavery, racist whites have used the educational system to keep their thrones and to keep blacks poor. Ideas of minority inferiority are spread, and the misinformed fall into the trap of believing that race determines intelligence, using skewed test data to help support their ideas. † Although I’m sure Meyers work has some implications of truth, I don’t believe that this is all about racism and it certainly isn’t all about black children. There are ethnic minorities from all over the globe who experience educational inequality and discrimination. For example, while some ethnicities like Caribbean boys receive negative discrimination I. e. teachers thinking that they won’t perform to as high a standard as the other children, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, other ethnicities such as Chinese girls receive positive discrimination; teachers thinking that they will be able to perform naturally higher than other students for example, thus putting added stress and pressure on the students. Though one could argue that the fact Asian girls excel is not due to positive discrimination but because their families, friends and societies value hard work, discipline and educational achievement. It is however, very important to maintain high expectations for all students, no matter the race, social background or ability. In the UK, there is evidence that points toward black Caribbean pupils being excessively moved into for lower tier maths and science exams at age 14. Strand (in press, cited in Twining 2012) has shown that black Caribbean students are the only ethnic group to be regularly under represented, relative to white students in entry to higher maths and science test tiers. Furthermore, this under-representation is not a by-product of their lower prior attainment; nor of variances in gender, social class, and a wide range of contextual variables. Strand concludes it is possible that teachers’ conclusions of black Caribbean students’ academic possibility may be distorted by observations of their behaviour as more challenging than it actually is. This may, in turn, lead to a inclination to miscalculate their academic capability (Twining 2012). While black Caribbean children (especially the males) have been consistently labelled as being the underachievers in secondary level education, research has shown that white working class males actually make up around half of the number of low achieving school leavers (Kingdom and Cassen, 2007; Cassen and Kingdom 2007, cited in Twining, 2012). As Asthana (2010) convincingly states, â€Å"Once it was a story of black and white, in which racial discrimination was a major driving force. But in tomorrows report, the story of ethnicity is a complicated one – in which poor black boys underachieve, as do those from Irish Traveller families, but poor Chinese girls overachieve; Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities see different outcomes to Indian ones; and there is a growing group of mixed race children who in themselves have complex outcomes. Other issues students from other cultures face is the need to conform to British culture. I believe that the classroom would be a more efficient place to learn if students were allowed to incorporate knowledge from their cultures into it. Or perhaps teachers should be trained to understand other cultures and to try to teach students by referring to things they may have learnt in their communities.

Elllmer Essay Example for Free

Elllmer Essay To see all NGO’s go in this website http://www. pcnc. com. ph Caloocan Community Score Cards (CSC): A Tool for Social Accountability to be Tested in Bulacan, Caloocan, Pasay and Quezon  City September 28, 2009 Citizen’s engagement should be promoted in all fronts. It is our right to take part in decision-making process, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of government policies, programs and services. People have the right to transparent, accountable and participative governance, both at the national and local level. Accountability in governance can be defined as the obligation of power holders to account for or take responsibility for their actions. â€Å"Power holders† are those who hold political, financial, or other forms of power, including officials in government, private corporations, international financial institutions and civil society organizations. Social accountability is a â€Å"an approach towards building accountability that relies on civic engagement, i. e. in which ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability.   It also  Ã¢â‚¬Å"refers to the broad range of actions and mechanisms (beyond voting) that citizens can use to help government be more effective and accountable, as well as actions on the part of government, civil society, media and other societal actors that promote or facilitate these efforts† Furthermore, social accountability is a process of constructive engagement between citizen g roups and government, a means to check and monitor the conduct and performance of public officials in their use of public resources; and a mechanism towards delivering better services, improving people’s welfare, and protecting people’s rights. One approach to promote social accountability is through the development of Community Score Cards (CSC). In a training conducted by CPE for 40 community leaders in Quezon City, Caloocan City, City of San Jose del Monte and Pasay City (thanks to FES for supporting the activity), Ms. Corrine Canlas enlightened the group on the concepts and practice of CSC. (CPE will publish a manual on CSC within October 2009 as a result of the workshop-training held). According to Ms. Canlas, CSC is ? a tool to generate â€Å"demand-side† information to enhance social accountability. It can also raise awareness and promote local-level mobilization and organization. Also, it can produce meaningful information and analysis which can be understood by all stakeholders and go beyond mere protest to evidence-based dialogues. The main objective of the CSC is to influence the quality, efficiency and accountability of public services provided at the local level. CSC can also be a follow-up or a continuing activity for Barangay Development Planning through Participatory Learning and Action (BDP-PLA). Based on experience, CSC can produce the following outcomes: * Downward accountability of service providers * Empowerment of local service users * Enhanced transparency * Enhanced sensitivity of service users to providers’ constraints * Evidence of service performance   and * Agreements on local reforms Pilot testing of CSC as a social accountability mechanism for planning, monitoring and evaluation will be tested in Barangay 91 Pasay City; Barangay Graceville, City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; in Barangay Pasong Putik Proper, Quezon City; and in Barangay 176 (Bagong Silang), Caloocan   City. Source: http://urbangov. wordpress. com/tag/participatory-governance/ Bayanihan Sa Kalunsuran (BAKAL II): Reducing Poverty in the Philippines through Participatory Urban Governance September 8, 2009 In the National Capital Region, the BAKAL 2 Project will be implemented in three cities: Quezon City, Pasay City and Caloocan City. In Quezon City, the project partner will be the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)- Women which will be implemented in Barangay Pasong Putik Proper. The co-production program will focus in livelihood development. The project will also ensure that the programs pledged by the city government in support of the barangay development program created by the POs and NGOs in the barangay will be delivered. In Pasay City, the program will focus on integrated health development program which will particularly promote participatory feeding program, community-based primary health program by using alternative means (acupuncture, herbal medicines), and solid waste management program. Housing concerns will also be addressed, which was evidently expressed as a priority need of the residents. During the participatory planning process, they analyzed and realized that  securing housing and land rights will pave way for the improved delivery of basic utilities such as water and electricity. Through the leadership of Punong Barangay Nilo Ilarina , Barangay 91, where the project will be implemented, has initiated a process of participatory barangay development planning (see related story). In Caloocan City, the project will be implemented in Barangay 176 or popularly known as Bagong Silang, which is considered as the biggest   barangay in the Philippines , ith around one million population. It became a resettlement area during the administration of former President Marcos. Bakal 2 will help in promoting health and nutrition, especially among the children in the various day care centers operating in the barangay. Bakal 2 will be implemented in two years, which is being supported by the One World Action (OWA), a London –based campaign organization on good governance a nd women empowerment. Source: http://urbangov. wordpress. com/tag/bakal/ Las Pinas Composting or production of organic fertilizer from wet garbage. July 2007- August 12, 2010 Each of the 20 barangays in Las Pinas City now has at least one composting facility. One rotary composter can process the wet garbage of around 500 families or households. Since July 2007, vermi-composting is now being done in two barangays. Producing 400 kilograms a week, each location sells their produce to farmers in a nearby province as alternative fishmeal aside from organic fertilizer. It helps reduce the amount of biodegradable waste and contributes to the promotion of organic farming. On August 12, 2010 a â€Å"re-cycling day† was launched in five barangays, engaging residents to sell their recyclables to junkshop owners. There is now a monthly â€Å"re-cycling day† in all 20 barangays of the city. Category 1. Las Pinas-Zapote River System Rehabilitation Programme, Philippines December 13, 2002- August 2010 Collection of floating garbage in Las Pinas-Zapote River SystemThe Sagip Ilog (River rehabilitation) program was launched on December 13, 2002. Within the 56-kilometer stretch of Las Pinas-Zapote River System, 30 kilometers are being regularly cleaned. This involves daily collection of floating garbage, as well as the installation of steel garbage traps/wire mesh strainers in the Las Pinas and Zapote rivers to filter the waste/debris. From 2002 to 2005, 9,070 residents from various communities along the river system in Las Pinas City, Paranaque City and Bacoor, Cavite were trained on ecological solid waste and river management. Some of them were designated river watch volunteers. The local government officials and nearby communities actively participated in the information drive and capacity building activities. To date, there are 3,120 trained and active volunteers. The volunteers were organized into different river watch teams in the areas that border on the rivers. In 2001, the Coastal Environment Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region (DENR-NCR) replanted bamboo species, locally known as kawayang tinik, to rehabilitate the Marikina and Las Pinas Rivers. These rivers which are both situated in Metro Manila are major contributors to the rapid environmental degradation of Manila Bay. Five kilometers of the said river system were targeted for re-greening using bamboos, mangroves and other related species for soil erosion control. To highlight this effort, two separate portions of the riverbanks were developed into â€Å"bambusetums†, planted with various species of endemic/exotic bamboos. As of August 2010, 10,000 bamboo culms are already planted on the riverbanks measuring 20 kilometers. Re-greening of the river banks minimized soil erosion that caused siltation of the river system. The propagation of culms from the 37 species of bamboos available in the area, have been sources of income through the harvesting of matured poles, sold to interested handicraft/furniture makers. This is aside from the jobs provided by the program to some 62 workers for the river dredging, clean-up, and re-greening activities. Source: http://www. un. org/waterforlifedecade/winners2011. shtml Makati A better future for 4000 Filipino farmers: a project helps to Increase rice yields by 1MT/ha Makati City, 7 July 2011 * The â‚ ¬ 1 billion food facility program was launched by the European Union in 2008 to help developing countries move towards long * term food security. Total EU Assistance to the Philippines under this program is â‚ ¬ 31 million covering eight projects nationwide. Of this amount, â‚ ¬ 4. 2 million (264 million PHP) was granted to FAO to support the Philippine Government in helping poor farmers in rain * fed areas grow more food and adopt sound water management and farming practices The project supports 3,600 small * Scale vulnerable farming households in Regions I and III, namely in Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Bulacan , areas which were also affected by the floods in September and October 2009. The project likewise focuses on strengthening capacity at all levels, including the Government’s institutional capacity to expand small * scale irrigation systems to more rice farm ers in rain * fed areas. Around 4000 beneficiary farmers have seen their yield increase by 1MT/ha and incremental production for all crops across cropping seasons was valued at P94. 6 million ( USD 2. 2 million) for project sites. A National Dissemination Workshop and Press Conference is organised on 7 July 2011 at Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Pasay City to present the results of this very successful project. The project used the Farmer Field School (FFS) to transmit knowledge through a participatory approach to technology by sharing and adoption of water management as the focus to maximize the use of the small * Scale irrigation systems (SSIS). The project also provided SSIS to the small farmers participating in the FFS to secure irrigation water thereby decrease ng dependence on rain and avoiding costs incurred from renting pumps. The project ends on a high note after its 18 * Month implementation in the provinces of Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac covering 35 municipalities and 143 villages . High yields across the five provinces highlighted the FFS on SSIS and Palay (rice) Check during the wet season 2010. The average rice yield increase obtained was about 1MT/ha, brought about by the use of certified rice seeds and training on integrated n utrient and pest managements through the FFS. During the dry season, crop diversification was intensified and complemented by the provision of small * Scale irrigation systems (mostly shallow tube wells or STWs and small farm reservoirs or SFRs). Following the integrated crop management systems (ICM), 24% average yield increase was recorded for rice (for both cropping seasons), 23% for corn and 24% for vegetable production for dry season compared to last year’s produce. The strategy of using the FFS platfo rm complemented the provision of SSIS to the farmer * Beneficiaries so that farmers needed to complete the two cycles of FFS in order to qualify to own a SSIS. Farmers share the cost of the SSIS using cluster ownership approach through the rent * To -own scheme. About 3 * 5 farmers with adjacent farms and one hectare land holding each can be qualified to own an engine and pump set including the drilling for STW, SFR, dugwell, reinforced concrete pipes or deep setting. The SSIS is subsidized at 50% and the remaining 50% is paid by farmers. After full payment, the farmers are issued a Certificate of Full Ownership. With this scheme, the project ensures ownership and sustainability of the SSIS equipment. Malabon CAMANAVA Flood Control Project as Pilot Site December 11, 2012 The launch took place at the Bangkulasi Pumping Station in Navotas City. The Pumping Station forms part of the bigger CAMANAVA (Caloocan – Malabon – Navotas – Valenzuela) Flood Control Project. Worth P4 billion, the CAMANAVA project was chosen as the first participatory audit pilot exercise. It will be implemented by COA in cooperation with selected civil society organizations (CSOs) and in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The choice of the flood control project as a pilot site reflects the government’s intention to shed light on project implementation issues by engaging and empowering the citizens and residents to demand accountability from the government through close monitoring and scrutiny of the use of project funds. The launch culminated with a ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement among COA, DBM, DPWH and selected CSOs. It also included a pledge of mutual support between COA and CSOs. Additional participatory audit initiatives will be undertaken in 2013 throughout the Philippines. The lessons and experiences gained from these pilots will help determine the framework of a permanent participatory audit program within COA. Mandaluyong Breastfeeding Patrol March 2007 In 2007, Dr Sabalvaro petitioned theUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Mandaluyong City Department of Health, Centre for Health Development, to sponsor IYCF training for the local breastfeeding group. Upon completion of the training, the mayor held a public gathering where the group pledged their commitment to breastfeeding education. They christened themselves ‘Breastfeeding Patrol’, a name that reflects their tactic of Moving â€Å"There was quietly through the community with an Infectious interest [and asserting] themselves to their neighbours† (Sabalvaro, 2009). Within One year they had persuaded all of the sari? Sari (sundry) Shops within the barangay stop selling formula. Since then, BF Patrol has grown to include women –and A few men From five other Blocks Of Welfareville. Nutrition Committees Of nearby barangays have also started similar advocacy groups, but Breastfeeding Patrol Remains the most well known in the area. Dr Sabalvaro Credits its success to the fact that the group was tarted by local residents, rather than as a government initiative. Block 37, She says, is the only block in the barangay that the milk companies just don’t bother with anymore. Some of Breastfeeding Patrol’s other achievements include successfully lobbying for breastfeeding stations at the mall and in the offices of major employers, such as Globe Telecom. But BF Patrol’s greatest strength is that its volunteers are a resource that is firmly rooted in the community. The Mother volunteers (and A few father volunteers, and one grandfather volunteer) are active socially and stay alert to any new pregnancies among their neighbors. Many New mothers seek them out, especially when they have decided to return. Manila Marikina Muntinlupa PHILIPPINE SANITATION ALLIANCE (PSA) PROJECT 2007 CHALLENGE Poor governance and weak enforcement of existing laws and regulations results in environmental degradation in the Philippines. While the Clean Water Act of 2004 requires the development of sewage and septage treatment systems, implementation requires capacity building and technical assistance. The private sector needs to be engaged, and the capacity of local government units (LGUs) and water districts has to be strengthened for them to develop effective and sustainable sanitation programs. INITIATIVE The USAID Philippine Sanitation Alliance (PSA), which ran from 2007 to 2011, worked with LGUs, water districts and private sector partners to develop affordable ways to protect biodiversity and reduce public health risks through improved sanitation. With assistance from the PSA, cities, water districts and private companies built treatment facilities using appropriate technology. Projects included low-cost, low-maintenance treatment facilities for public markets, slaughterhouses, hospitals and low-cost housing; and city-wide programs to properly maintain septic tanks (septage management). Cities developed effective promotion campaigns to increase willingness to pay for sanitation services and reduce the incidence of diarrhea through proper hygienic practices, particularly handwashing. Governance was also strengthened to reduce threats to biodiversity as LGUs worked to control wastewater discharges to coastal and freshwater ecosystems. PSA was part of a USAID initiative called the Global Development Alliance. The PSA assists partners through: Participatory planning workshops to develop action plans; Technical assistance to develop infrastructure and local ordinances; Information sharing for nationwide replication through national associations of cities, hospitals, hotels and restaurants, and housing developers; Site visits to learn about best practices and affordable options; Information and resource materials on technology and financing options; Training on how to develop effective promotion campaigns using a toolkit; and Sharing project results and lessons learned in local and national conferences. Under the USAID-Rotary International Water Alliance program the PSA worked in partnership with Rotary clubs and districts to implement a septage management and sewerage project in San Fernando, La Union. A second project improved water quality, access to toilets, solid waste management and health in the Pasig River System in Metro Manila. During four years of implementation, the PSA worked with its partners to provide more than 1. 4 million people with access to improved sanitation, leveraged more than $4 million in cash and in kind investments in sanitation infrastructure and activities, and trained more than 5,400 people. Some of the project results included: Onsite wastewater treatment: public and private sector partners financed 41 onsite wastewater treatment facilities for housing developments, public markets, hospitals, slaughterhouses and commercial centers; Septage management: facilitated the first city-wide septage management program in the Philippines funded jointly by the city government and water district of Dumaguete. Septic tanks are being desludged on a five-year cycle and the program will achieve full cost recovery in about five years. Five other septage management programs are in various stages of development; and Hygiene promotion: assisted partners in planning and implementing effective handwashing promotion campaigns for children with measurable results, and partners passed ordinances requiring soap and water in public restrooms. In Manila, community members decided to work together to end open defecation to protect public health and increase tourism in the historic district of Sta. Ana. ALLIANCE PARTNERS The Philippine Sanitation Alliance included ten cities (Cagayan de Oro, Calbayog, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Malaybalay, Meycauayan, Muntinlupa, Naga, Sta. Rosa, Zamboanga), and four water districts (Calamba, Cebu, Davao and Laguna). Private sector companies and associations included Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Max’s Restaurants, C TRADE, Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations (CREBA), the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP), and the Philippine Hospital Association. Technical resource partners included Engineers without Borders and BORDA, a German NGO. Other NGOs included Gawad Kalinga (low-cost housing) and the Blacksmith Institute (pollution remediation). The PSA coordinated closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Local Water Utilities Administration, Mindanao Economic Development Council, World Bank, and the Philippine Ecological Sanitation Network. Navotas CAMANAVA Flood Control Project as Pilot Site December 11, 2012 The launch took place at the Bangkulasi Pumping Station in Navotas City. The Pumping Station forms part of the bigger CAMANAVA (Caloocan – Malabon – Navotas – Valenzuela) Flood Control Project. Worth P4 billion, the CAMANAVA project was chosen as the first participatory audit pilot exercise. It will be implemented by COA in cooperation with selected civil society organizations (CSOs) and in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The choice of the flood control project as a pilot site reflects the government’s intention to shed light on project implementation issues by engaging and empowering the citizens and residents to demand accountability from the government through close monitoring and scrutiny of the use of project funds. The launch culminated with a ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement among COA, DBM, DPWH and selected CSOs. It also included a pledge of mutual support between COA and CSOs. Additional participatory audit initiatives will be undertaken in 2013 throughout the Philippines. The lessons and experiences gained from these pilots will help determine the framework of a permanent participatory audit program within COA. COA Encourages Greater Citizen Engagement in the Audit of Government Programs 11 December 2012 The Commission on Audit (COA) launched the Citizen Participatory Audit project on 26 November in Navotas City. The project aims to enhance transparency and accountability in government, particularly in the use of public funds through greater public involvement in the audit process. Implemented in partnership with the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP) and funded by the Philippines-Australia Public Financial Management Program (PFMP), the project seeks to raise citizen’s awareness and understanding of the Commission’s mandate, functions and operations. It also provides a venue for citizen engagement with COA personnel in the review and scrutiny of government expenditures. Paranaque 2007 BURSARY AWARD Title: Making food Go Further: Hunger Mitigation, Urban Food Security Project With soaring food prices and rice production shortfalls, more and more Filipino families are falling into poverty and experiencing hunger. Results of a survey con ducted by the Social Weather Stations in the second quarter of 2008 revealed that 2. 9 million Filipino families said they were suffering from hunger. The National Capital Region, which includes Paranaque City, posted the highest â€Å"self-rated† hunger incidence of 22. According to the Philippines Food and Nutrition Research Institute, there was a significant increase in the cases of underweight children from 24. 6 percent in 2005 to 26. 2 percent in 2008. The malnutrition cases are highest in some provinces in Mindanao, Southern Tagalog, and Eastern Visayas. The same areas where high percentage of self-rated hunger was found (SWS, 2008). FNRI (2008) pointed out that the increase in malnutrition cases is brought primarily by the rising food prices and so less food intake. Rice prices have increased by an average of 28 percent since December 2007, prompting two * thirds of Filipino families to reduce food spending and consumption. About one in four families have already cut back on rice spending/consumption, which could eventually have a telling effect on household nutritional status given that rice accounts for up to 20 percent of total food expenditures and is the bulk of the Filipino diet. With this unfolding scenario * and the reality that one third of the total Philippine population Lives in Poverty * it is unlikely that the country’s hunger situation will drastically improve in the Foreseeable future. In the Philippines, food insecurity is exacerbated by large family size, particularly in poor households. The average family size in the city of Paranaque is 5 higher than the national average of 4. 2. Data from the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) showed that a five-Person family in the National Capital Region (NCR), where Paranaque City is located, has an average annual income of Php 313,000 ($6,388). Historical data shows that poverty incidence increases as families grow. According to the 2003 FIES, families with six or more members had double-digit subsistence (food poor) incidence compared to families with five or fewer members. 2. Goals amp; Objectives The intervention goal is to mitigate hunger and malnutrition among families and children. The assumption of the intervention is based on the conceptual framework of food security and the theory of change. That is people get hungry and subsequently may become malnourished when there is no food or they have no access to food and they utilize inadequate and inappropriate food. This is addressed by way families and children produce their own food in schools, households, and communities to ensure they have access to healthy and nutritious food. Based also on the assumption that when families are producing their own food they can have savings to buy other food needs that they do not produce. This way, families especially mothers have food items to contribute, from their own food gardens and from savings, to ollectively feed their malnourish children. 3. Key Activities Integrated School, Household and Community Food Production to Ensure Access to Healthy and Nutritious Food. This intervention is only a component of Making Food Go Further: Mitigating Hunger and Ensuring Future Resilience and Stronger Households in the Philippines Program. The main intervention focuses on building the capacity of beneficiaries in schools, households and communities to address food availability and nutrition issues. This is being done through two key activities: organic food production at schools, homes and communities; and the implementation of an integrated community approach to addressing malnourished children. 1. Small-scale, diversified organic food production at schools, homes and communities Parents, students, teachers, community leaders, and government officials and agency heads were trained on how to produce organic crops, fish, and vegetables using the Permaculture1 approach. The trainings have always hands -on activities and done on site and during learning visits to different organic production systems. Participants were also trained on how to do seed banking, organicfertilizers and pesticides making to ensure they will have seeds and organic inputs for the succeeding benefits of organically produced foods to the family and children during community meetings. Though organic food production is laborious by nature, the approach done to encourage families to practice organic food production was by mobilizing small groups of organic gardening enthusiasts in the community to demonstrate that a small * Scale (based on the family’s capacity and the availability of area at home, schools, and community) vegetable gardening using Perm culture approach can really produce organic foods. This approach designs a food production system that does not exploit or pollute the environment. It uses only organic production inputs that create a natural ecological balance in a particular location. It promotes the creation of a Harmonious relationship between plants, buildings, animals and Infrastructures on the way these are place in the landscape. Sufficiency at home and not for commercial purposes. This way they can be efficient with the available labor they have in the family to grow organic vegetables. The project also emphasized that savings from not using expensive chemical inputs also serve as income for the family which can be used to buy other food items and for other investment of the family. This is aside from the health amp; nutrition benefits of using organic inputs. To intensify the promotion of organic food production at schools, households, and communal areas, a food gardening competition was implemented. All the criteria used were consistent to the Perm culture principles so that participants are actually doing organic food production practices. A regular valuation activities and participatory monitoring and evaluation of the progress of food gardening at the three levels are done through the project management team composed of all the partners and stakeholders from the community, schools, and local government units including community health units. In all the activities and phases of organic food production, all the partners and stakeholders are always given the leadership in planning, decision-making, and implementation of plans and decisions. The project management team which is led by the project beneficiaries is the venue where they discuss, decide, and agree to collectively work as a team as they address the same targets—hungry families and malnourish children. Small -scale organic food gardening give women and men of a household the opportunity to work together to increase food availability. This was done through scheduling of works and responsibilities based on their capacity. The small-scale food gardening enabled women and men to participate in areas where they choose they are capable of doing for them to produce and access food. The products from the schools, households and group/communal food gardens become source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals of beneficiaries. These include but not limited to fish, mushrooms, legumes and lentils (e. g. string beans, mung bean, winged bean) , root crops (e. g. cassava, taro), corn, leafy and green vegetables (drumstick tree, pechay, mustard, spinach, amaranth, swamp cabbage, Malabarnightshade)yellow vegetables (e. . squash), fruit vegetables (tomato, eggplant, pepper), and edibleherbs (e. g. oregano, basil, mints). Pasay 2007 Philippine Child Friendly Cities and Communities Research:Community Assessment in Barangay 156, Pasay City The Philippine Child Friendly Cities Assessment Research is part of a global research initiative to assess the child friendliness of communities, from the perspective of c hildren and parents. Barangay 156 in Pasay City is one of two communities in Metro Manila selected for the assessment researching which this report is based The research report discusses the degree of child friendliness of Barangay 156 and provides an evaluation of the research tools and procedures utilized for the community study. Background of the Philippine CFC Research assessing the degree of child friendliness of cities and communities is one of the nine building blocks of the global Child Friendly Cities (CFC) Initiative launched over a decade ago. Although a number of assessment tools were developed to monitor child rights, these assessments came from the perspectives of individuals and groups working outside of communities. Largely missing were the views and opinions of community members, including children. To help bridge this gap, a research initiative involving the participation of several institutions namely Child watch International, City University of New York? s Children’s Environments Research Group, Bernard Van Leer Foundation, UNICEF? s Innocent Research Centre and Adolescent Development and Participation Section, New York, UNICEF country offices and local research institutions in eleven countries have collaborated to carry out a participatory assessment research. The CFC global research seeks to improve the conditions of children living in cities and communities of different types by (1) enhancing the capacity of cities and communities to better assess and monitor their level of fulfillment of children’s rights with the participation of the children themselves; (2) improving the quality and breadth of data collected on children by children and their mothers to better inform policies and programs; (3) raising awareness on children’s rights among city stakeholders like children, caregivers, community members, and local leaders; and (4) refining the action-research tools for appropriate action in cities/communities in different socio-economic, cultural and political contexts. The Philippines is one of 11 countries participating in the CFC research. The specific objectives of the Philippine CFC research are (1) to collect data and provide an analysis of the conditions of children by children and mothers in two selected cities and communities, and the governance structures and processes available to respond to their needs, and (2) to contribute to applying and refining the research toolkits and guides by using them in a range of communities, observing the process and how the data are subsequently used for community planning and advocacy, as well as contributing to the overall municipal data base on the conditions of children Pasig Quezon San Juan Taguig Valenzuela CAMANAVA Flood Control Project as Pilot Site December 11, 2012 The launch took place at the Bangkulasi Pumping Station in Navotas City. The Pumping Station forms part of the bigger CAMANAVA (Caloocan – Malabon – Navotas – Valenzuela) Flood Control Project. Worth P4 billion, the CAMANAVA project was chosen as the first participatory audit pilot exerc ise. It will be implemented by COA in cooperation with selected civil society organizations (CSOs) and in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The choice of the flood control project as a pilot site reflects the government’s intention to shed light on project implementation issues by engaging and empowering the citizens and residents to demand accountability from the government through close monitoring and scrutiny of the use of project funds. The launch culminated with a ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement among COA, DBM, DPWH and selected CSOs. It also included a pledge of mutual support between COA and CSOs. Additional participatory audit initiatives will be undertaken in 2013 throughout the Philippines. The lessons and experiences gained from these pilots will help determine the framework of a permanent participatory audit program within COA. Pateros Wells Project: recreation 2012 Douglas PUD has helped fund and develop the existing parks and recreation facilities adjacent to Wells Project lands and waters in the City of Pateros. These facilities include Peninsula Park, Memorial Park, tennis courts, two separate concrete boat launches, parking, a fish cleaning station and restrooms. Peninsula Park is located near the confluence of the Methow and Columbia rivers. It includes a gazebo, paved walking path, covered picnic shelter, swimming beach, restroom facilities, playground equipment, and lagoon and lawn area. Memorial Park is located in Pateros along the Columbia River. It includes three covered picnic shelters, fishing and ski docks, vehicle parking, interpretive displays, restroom facilities, a fish cleaning station and a developed waterfront trail. The waterfront trail extends along the waterfront from the concrete boat launch underneath the Highway 97 Bridge through Memorial Park to the Pateros City Hall. A second boat launch is located just upstream of Memorial Park on the main stem Columbia River.