Visual Arts - Cultural Artifact Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visual Arts - Cultural Artifact - Assignment Example This paper reviews one of the most famous speeches in history by Abraham Lincoln – the ‘Gettysburg Address’ which can definitely be considered to be a cultural artifact. It indicates the past history and the trying times which the United States was going through at that time. It also set a historical precedence be the abolition of slavery and its ultimate success of having a colored person as its president, Barack Obama. In the process, the speech will also be analyzed using the parameters set forth in Geert Hofstede’s cultural taxonomy. The Gettysburg Address as a cultural artifact: It could be said that each and every American has read or at least heard about this famous speech. It provides the reader a succinct picture about one of the most important periods in American history. This is because of two reasons. One is that it brought about total abolition of slavery. The second was that it had been achieved at great cost namely the Civil War. Historically , this period and the artifact that reflects it are extremely significant. The following excerpt from the speech has been immortalized and will be loved by every freedom loving person on this planet. â€Å"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth† (Lincoln). There are several factors that the reader gets to know from the speech as well as the above line which is in fact the last sentence. The first is the feeling of pride that it communicates. It gives the reader the confidence that America will remain united and that it will continue to be a great nation in the future also. I n other words, the speech has the power to unite all Americans even today. The third is the language and the marvel in the sense that such a short speech can be so powerful. The one factor (to a person uninitiated with US history) is that there is no direct reference to slavery and its abolition. What it does indicate to such a person is that a civil war is going on and that people who believe in freedom should continue what has been started. A lot of people have given up their lives for this cause. It talks about freedom in general and also that the United States is a democratic country run by its people. The historical origin of this artifact is well-known and is a result of the South opposition abolition. Specifically, the speech was delivered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of November 1863 after one of the bloodiest battles of the War. Lincoln prepared the speech only the previous which was to commemorate the soldiers of both sides who had lost their lives in this part icular battle. It was held in the newly constructed cemetery that was to become the final resting place of Union soldiers (Beardsley). As mentioned earlier this literary artifact was created by Abraham Lincoln. It could be said that it was prepared and read by the President himself. It has not been and will never be modified or changed as it is a historical document of a real life event. The

Human Resource (Supporting Organizational Strategies) Assignment

Human Resource (Supporting Organizational Strategies) - Assignment Example American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have taken different approaches to the way each organization handled on-time flights. The culture he describes in American Airlines is one of fear, promoting blame amongst the employees. Leaders demand to know who is responsible for the problem, focusing on accountability instead of the true causes (Pfeffer, 2005). On the other hand, Southwest Airlines is described as breeding a culture of accountability, but from a different perspective than that of American Airlines. Rather than focusing on the individual or group of people who have caused the delay, they make it a point to promote the fact that delays are everyone’s responsible; supporting the mind-set that the organization is a team. Thus, Pfeffer (2005) describes Southwest Airlines as having greater success in its approach, working to find solutions rather than the person or department to blame the problem on. Managing a company’s culture has been proven to be at the root of its successes, and failures (Pfeffer, 2005). While accountability is extremely important in business, who is being held accountable is even more critical. As can be seen in the American Airlines example discussed, the blame-game can transform a well-meaning system into a useless chain of finger-pointing in a hurry. Then, the focus is on finding out who is responsible for the problem, rather than how it happened, to try and avoid it in the future; hence, Pfeffer’s emphasis on changing leader mind-sets to change the culture. key source of competitive advantage,† there is another responsibility, just as crucial to overall business success, that Human Resources (HR) must consider (Pfeffer, 2005, p. 127). Pfeffer (2005) suggests the diagnosis of changes to be made in regard to the mind-set of an organization is one of the most important, yet most underestimated tasks the HR team will

Explaination of the Importance of Reflective Practice in Coaching Term Paper

Explaination of the Importance of Reflective Practice in Coaching - Term Paper Example However, in the twentieth century, this trend of the teacher to student communication changed radically. In the context of this essay, it is important to note that modern coaching practices have been evolving as a two-way mechanism, where the learner is not the only learner, but the teacher or coach is also a learner at times. This sort of reflective practice would be a life long process which has been explored and analyzed on the basis of the various models and processes provided by continued research and development. Also, it becomes the learner’s responsibility to some extent that he or she frankly communicates with the coach; otherwise the process of sustained coach education would be largely impaired. Key Concepts and Processes of Reflective Practice The concepts and processes in relation to reflective practice have been primarily based on the various reflective models provided by the eminent educationists, psychologists and researchers in this field. Argyris and Schon: T he reflective model provided by Argyris and Schon introduces us to the idea of Single Loop Learning and Double Loop Learning. The theory has been built on the basis of the amendment and recognition of an observed error or fault. Single Loop Learning is the practice when an organization or practitioner continuously relies on current techniques, policies or strategies even after some error occurred and a correction had to be made. This continues until a similar situation is encountered again. However, the practice of Double Loop Learning is comparatively more innovative since it provides for alteration of the current techniques, policies or strategies on the account of an error observed. Thus, in this process, innovative ideas can be introduced when a similar situation is encountered again. (Schon, 1983) Kolb, 1984: The experiential way of learning involves the application of the information received from the educator to the experiences of the learner. It does not consist of activity generated in the classroom alone. The student does not acquire his or her knowledge exclusively from the teacher.  

Source Annotation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Source Annotation - Essay Example On average, Americans spend 20 to 30 or even 100 times as much on medical services and devices as what they would cost in a shopping mall (Zuckerman 1). The article tries to get a reason for the high costs. It cites the partnership of most hospitals and private insurance companies as one reason for the fee hike. The insurance companies have a power in negotiating with hospitals over a patient covered by them. They pinpoint the hospital in their grid of providers. Insured patients can get discounts that are thirty to fifty percent beyond low Medical care charges. Zuckerman (2) further adds that doctors tend to over-test to avoid malpractice and misdiagnosis to avoid malpractice and misdiagnosis. The high-tech devices used in the hospitals drive the costs to bizarre levels too. The author of the article has used information from the analysis of works of medical practitioners. For example, he has cited one Steven Brill, who initially exposed the impact of insurance companies on hospitals. The study also has much of its information from the federal government sources such as where it points out that readmissions alone cost over $25 billion a year and that medical care budget may well hit $600 billion this

Using the topic, thesis statement, and supporting points from your DB Essay

Using the topic, thesis statement, and supporting points from your DB 1 posting, - Essay Example With this being said, many persons think that children need to stop playing at school so that they can get to the work of learning academics. Although it may appear that play is not important in terms of the academic achievement of early childhood students, in fact, play is vital to their future educational success Through play, young children learn social skills such as taking turns and sharing. They learn communication skills such as listening to others without interrupting and asking for help when necessary. They learn how to make and keep friends and how to compromise. During play, children also learn to lead and to follow. Some children naturally lead, while others naturally follow. Play gives them the opportunity to try out different roles and learn to lead and follow. Children also learn about rules as they play. They determine when rules are necessary and what those rules need to be. They learn when the rules are working for what they need and when the rules need to be revised. They learn to make rules and to follow rules. They may also learn the consequences for not following rules. Academics are also learned through play. As young children engage in play, they reinforce learned skills and are exposed to new skills. While playing store, they make lists, write numbers, add numbers, try out calculators, read store advertisements and get exposure to percents. They also sort and count money. It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that young learners have the necessary and appropriate props and supplies to fully carry out a play scenario. Young students also have the opportunity to act as both teacher and learner during play. Academic skills are reinforced when students have the chance to teach the skills to others. Students also learn from one another. In conclusion, play gives students authentic opportunities to learn and practice.

Slavery in the ancient times Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Slavery in the ancient times - Term Paper Example He was one of the three sons of Noah, and he just happened to see his father drunk and naked. When Noah realized what had happened he cursed Ham and his descendants. This is recorded in Genesis 9:18. The Bible tells how the sons of Noah spread out in what is now the Middle East, and founded the modern peoples that we know today. As a result of this curse, Ham was forever regarded as being inferior to his two brothers, and this curse was passed on to future generations: â€Å"God shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.† (Genesis, 9:27, King James Version of the Bible). There is no mention of the color of anyone’s skin in this story, but when Jewish scholars taught the scriptures, they tended to add meanings to the basic narrative, increasingly linking the descendants of Shem with Jews (Semites) and early Arabs in the area to the East, the descendants of Japheth with Europeans to the north and west, and the descendan ts of Ham with Africans to the south and west. Unfortunately there was some confusion about the meaning of some words in the passing down of these stories, and Goldenberg reports that the word Ham became associated with the the word for the color black.

UK education investment is going to be cut while the tuition fees will Dissertation

UK education investment is going to be cut while the tuition fees will be triple , discuss the impacts on domestic students - Dissertation Example Using a questionnaire, the present study assessed how the cutting down of the investment in the educational sector by the UK government has tripled the tuition fee and influenced domestic students in the UK. The results suggested that there will be neither a positive influence nor a negative influence on the student participation rate in the higher education, while there will be a significant impact on the overall academic performance due to term time employment and pressures of the debt and enrollment decisions of students to pursue higher education. The results further indicated that there was a positive relationship between higher levels of education and annual wages and the fact that students acquiring higher education tend to find employment far more easily as compared to those without higher education. The findings also suggested that higher education offered better opportunities for promotion and superior living standards in the future. In conclusion, the research offered an i nsight into the policies and programmes that could be initiated by policy makers and higher education institute to accommodate the students and provide them with the best possible education. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 Outline 8 1.2 Context 10 1.3 Research Aims 12 1.4 Research Questions 13 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 14 2.1 Tuition Fee and Student Participation Rate 14 2.2 Tuition Fee and Students’ Enrollment Decision 15 2.3 Tuition Fess and Persistence of Degree 17 2.4 Tuition Fee and Academic Performance 18 2.5 Higher Education and Future Benefits 22 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 25 3.1 Sample 25 3.2 Sampling Strategy 25 3.3 Data Collection Methods 26 3.3.1Triangulation 26 3.3.2 Quantitative Research 26 3.3.2.1 Questionnaire 27 3.3.3 Qualitative Research 28 3.3.3.1 Qualitative Interview 28 3.3.4 Secondary Data 29 3.4 Data Analysis 29 3.4.1 Percentages 30 3.5 Methodological Limitations 30 3.6 Ethics 31 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND FINDINGS 32 DISCUSSION 35 CHPATER 5 RECO MMENDATIONS AND CONLUSION 40 5.1 Recommendations 40 5.2 Conclusion 41 CHAPTER 6 RETROSPECTIVE 42 6.1 What went well? 42 6.2 Limitations 42 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX 52 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Sample of Students 59 Table 2 Age Group (in years) 60 Table 3 Household Income 61 Table 4 Level of Programme 62 Table 5 Host Univeristy 63 Table 6 Tuition Fee 64 Table 7 How are you funding your studies? 65 Table 8: Do you think the investment cutting will have an influence on the particpation rate (number of partcipants) of domestic students in educational programs. There will be a descrease in the participation rate (number of particpants) of domestic students in educational programs? 66 Table 9 Do you think high tuition fees will lead to students load increase significantly? 67 Table 10 Do you think the high tuition fee will have an impact on the number of hours students work per week? 68 Table 11 Do you think student performance in their respective educational programs will be influenced signif icantly by cut in investment? 69 Table 12 Do you think the number of current students will drop off after the tuition fees rise? 70 Table 13