AP - Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

AP - Art History - Essay Example At that time, numerous scientific explanations were being discovered to explain phenomenal and to achieve this, philosophers and scientist fancied a unity spirit of humanity approach. (Porter 212). This piece of art was created by Albrecht DÃ ¼rer who was a German and he lived between 1471 and 1528. He produced this work in 1504 to represent Adam and Eve. In the picture, it is seen that Eve is convincing Adam to take the fruit given to her earlier by the snake, a forbidden fruit. That was where the fall of man originated. It is also seen that they are in a forest setup, which may be in Germany. Albrecht DÃ ¼rer is German born and in this piece of art, he never intended to emphasis on the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. In the picture there are other symbolic representations, which exemplify humanity perspective toward nature. They include phlegmatic for ox, phlegm, choleric for cat, yellow bile, and sanguine for rabbit. Further, this shows that the environmental setup of the artist upholds a cordial coexistence with animals, which also implicate Italian Renaissance (Porter 218). Arte di Calimala is the patron behind this piece of art produced by Ghiberti that is thought to have been carved around 1401-2 using bronze. This sculpture was produced by the patron for a competition on a religious story. The patron won the competition and was given a contract to make the door for both the North and East entrances. In the sculpture, the patron had interest in creating an illusion space for his relief. The objective of the competition was to provide a communicating piece of art on the old for adoption for the north entrance know as paradise. (Porter

The health care in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The health care in China - Research Paper Example The Chinese health care sector have had much reforms in the recent decades, still the urban and rural people are least satisfied to the health care facilities of the country. This can be mainly directed towards the poor implementation and lack of funding by the Chinese Ministry of health to the health centers located widely in the country. The rural population of China is faced with many health adversities and is struggling hard to get access to quality medical care due to the ignorance of the Chinese Ministry of Health. Only a proper funding from the government, and allocating and distributing health care resources intelligently can consistently upgrade the health and wellbeing of all the population of china. Topic: The Health Care in China Introduction China is a country which has recently reached tremendous heights in economical, social and educational scenarios. It is the nation with largest population in the whole world, and is still continuing to develop in all fields at a stag gering rate. However, in recent times, health care has been a subject of great interest for Chinese government as the social standard of the people in the country improved dramatically... It is seen that the economic and social development of china has not led to much change in the substantial growth of the health care sector of the country. ... ding to (Blumenthal,2005,pg.1165-1170) â€Å"After Mao Tse-tung and the Chinese Communist Party took control of China in 1949, they created a health care system that was typical of 20th-century communist societies that are now largely extinct†. Since China is a nation with wide geographical dimension, extraordinary energy and unimaginable size, the health care demand and expectation is highly demanding in the nation. The Chinese government has given attention in improving health care system recently, but comparing to other sectors the health sector is lagging far behind. Health Care in China Generally speaking, the health care system of any country should be very comprehensive and elaborate as it directly is concerned with the quality of living of its citizens. Health care is as important as any other sector of a developing nation, and it can be said that it is vital to the growth of the economic and social areas of the nation. If one look at the Chinese health care indicators , it can be analyzed that development in the rural sector of the nation is very undermined and underdeveloped. Although, the growth in the health care system has been increasing in the past decade, the recent reviews show that there had been a noticeable stagnation in the development of health sector. It is been noticed that the health care expenditure of the country has increased lately but when compared to developed and developing nations it is still at a low rate. As per (IBM,2006)â€Å" China spent 5.8percent of its GDP on health care in 2002, as compared to8 percent by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)8 countries and 5 percent by other developing countries, such as South Africa (8.7 percent),Brazil (7.9 percent) and India (6.1 percent)†.It is unfortunate to know that,

Comparison between hmv and itunes stores

Comparison between hmv and itunes stores Introduction: In the past 10 years the internet or e-technology has altered how the industries operate. More affected by the new technology is the music and video industry later the book industry with eBooks. Traditionally consumers have purchased music, video or a book from a store. If it is a music or a video it is bought on CD / DVD and but with the internet came new ways of getting digital content. Apple has launched ITunes for delivery of digital content directly to the consumer, with no physical presence. HMV is using a mixed strategy of maintain a physical store as well as having a website for selling the digital content but the delivery is through shipment of CD/ DVDs. They both operate under the same model B2C. But they have different ways of delivering the goods / services to customer. HMV HMV is the UK and Irelands leading specialist retailer of Music, DVD/Video, Computer Games and Related Products. The company operates around 200 stores in key shopping locations nationwide, equating to over 1million sq. ft. of trading space, as well as a successful online store at www.hmv.co.uk, operated by HMV Guernsey1. HMV sells content in physical from and operates in physical as well as virtual space. ITunes Store The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple Inc. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase; it was as of April 2008 the number-one music vendor in the United States. As of January 2009, the store has sold 6 billion songs, accounting for 70% of worldwide online digital music sales and making the service the largest legal music retailer. As of Sep 2009 the sales of ITunes are 8.5 billion songs, 1+ million HD movies and TV episodes, 2 billion apps with a combines revenue of $ 6.7 Billion 2 . ITunes sells digital content and has virtual presence only. SWOT Analysis: HMV Strengths: * Has both online and physical store presence. Customer can access any of the 2 ways to interact with HMV. * Can sell any item MUSIC/ DVD/ GAMES, no need for any arrangement with HMV. * Can deliver physical items like gaming consoles, posters/ cards etc. Weakness: * Cannot sell individual items in music albums or individual episodes in TV shows. * Not available all the time (except online, which requires shipping of product) Opportunity: The opportunity for stores lies in enhancing the customer experience at the stores. Threat: The physical stores are fast losing significance; the rivals like Zavvi, Woolworths have closed most of their physical stores. Becoming obsolete is the threat faced by the stores of HMV. Itunes: Strengths: * Suits the needs of the current generation. * Content is immediately available for consumption. * Available anytime and anywhere. * It is backed by one of the best companies in the tech world, Apple. Weakness: * Can sell only the products like music that it has been agreement with companies and is authorized to sell. * Cannot sell and deliver online physical items like posters/ cards etc. * Cannot sell items that are huge in size in terms of memory. Games DVDs are usually of a size of 4 Giga Bytes or more and are difficult to download online. * Not available in all the countries. Opportunity: The opportunities lie in expanding into other segments of digital content like eBooks. The Ibooks which is a past of iStore is planning to sell eBooks directly to the customer. Threat: The model of ITunes is easily replicable. The threat is from rivals like Amazon and HMV who want to sell digital music to sell directly to customers same way as ITunes does now. SLEPT Analysis Before creating any business strategy or while evaluating an existing strategy it is extremely important to scan the external environment. SLEPT analysis is an investigation of the Social, Legal, Economic, Political, and Technological influences on a business3. Social: The changing demography of the people will have an impact on the business. The social changes can be psychological, demographical etc. The psychological change that is witnessed is the need for making things happen fast. People do not want to wait for placing an order and waiting to receive it by post. Most of the music albums have one or two hot songs and todays consumers are not willing to pay for the entire album. They want to pay only for the songs they like. Legal: Since the advent of new technology the music industry has been losing its revenue. The illegal file sharing has eaten into the revenues of music companies. Music companies have been suing the file sharing sites like Napster and more recently the piratebay. Even the individuals are sued by the industry; Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has successfully sued a Minnesota woman for copy right infringement and illegal file sharing4. Legal battles resulted in buying of digital content by the consumers. The legal issues lead to the online stores like ITunes that sell music legally online. Legal structure is well in place to support the business of ITunes and HMV. Economical Economy and business cycles affect the business. We are in the middle of an economic recession. Customers will be counting every penny they spend. The most the costs associated with dealing a company the more the customers shy away from that company. HMV: The costs associated with purchasing content from HMV are far more compared to buying music from iTunes. Customer needs to visit a store, browse through a variety of catalogues before zeroing on the music / video to buy. This involves time and travel cost. ITunes: customer can access iTunes by sitting in their homes. Carry the music with them in an iPod. Buying a single song instead of buying an entire album is always cheaper. Political Political changes are related to the influence that government has upon the industry. The political changes usually do not affect much the entertainment industry. In rare cases the governments may feel that some music / video content may be decided to be inappropriate for their country or will hurt the sentiments of the people. They ban the particular content from distribution and delivery. Technological: If there is any singular factor that changed the dynamics of an music industry, it is technology. With the ubiquitous internet, people are able to share digital content freely, which includes music, videos etc. Technology also facilitated the illegal copying and distribution of music and video. Technology also deintermetized the content delivery. As the music is directly delivered to the consumers there is no need for the manufacturers or suppliers of CDs/ DVDs. Technology made it possible to carry the content with us in our IPods, Laptops, Phone etc. Digital content everywhere and on any device is the MANTRA of technology. Companies that fast adapt to this tsunami of technology changes survive while others perish. BCG MATRIX: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) MATRIX is developed by BRUCE HENDERSON of the BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP IN THE EARLY 1970s. According to this technique, businesses or products are classified as low or high performers depending upon their market growth rate and relative market share ITunes: Growth: The Itunes is the undisputed star in the BCG matrix . Between 2000 and 2009 the population using internet has become 1.7 billion from 360 million5. High internet users mean high growth potential for the itunes. Cashflows: Itunes revenues are steadily increasing every year. Strategy: The strategy to be adopted for stars is to hold or invest for growth. Apple is investing in ITunes store by adding app store, which sells games and applications for mobile and computers. With the launch of Ipad Apple is adding the fastest growing segment , eBooks to iTunes , calling it as iBook store as a part of Itunes. HMV: Growth: The growth of the HMV stores has been moderate and better. The increase in sales also partly due to the demise of its closest rivals like Zavvi , Woolworths6. Cashflows: The cash flows for the physical stores are steady but not exactly encouraging. The online stores sales are increasing, hmv.com grew by 16% and waterstones.com grew by a phenomenal 60%7. Strategy: The recommended strategy is to hold or add market share. The company is losing sales as well as sales in the physical stores domain but is growing in the online space. That is why HMV is launching its own delivery of music and other content through direct download from its own website. Shopping Experience: The shopping experience is diametrically different for both HMV and itunes HMV Customer has 2 ways of interacting with HMV. A physical store visit and through online at the website of HMV for purchasing content. its own web site, which operates a sales model of e business. Customer can walk into the HMV stores, touch and feel the products and buy them. This is required especially while buying products like cards and posters. They can seek assistance from the store assistants, whenever they need it. When a customer visits the website www.hmv.com he can buy CDs that are delivered to him by post. When a customer buys any product directly from the store he can use it immediately, but when ordered online using the stores, he needs to wait till he receives the product by post to start using the product. The payment methods are cash or card for physical store payments and only through cards for online payment. ITunes To be a part of ITunes customers need the following: 1. A computer 2. Access to Internet 3. Download iTunes software 4. Have credit / Debit card 5. Error free internet connection. Customers are connected virtually. Customers can search the item they are looking for in no time. Customers can buy the item and start using them immediately, no need to wait for any shipment to arrive. The payment method is only through cards and NO CASH payments. Pricing of goods: HMV: The pricing of goods is entirely dependent on the content (CD/ DVD) that customer is going to buy. Music is sold through albums and the price is fixed per album. The individual items in a Music album or individual episodes in a TV show are not available for purchase. ITunes: The items are sold as bundled products like albums or sold separately as individual items. For example a customer wanting to buy music has an option of buying the complete album or individual songs in the album. Return Procedures: HMV The return policy is dependent on the kind of product purchased. Unwanted, damaged and incorrect or faulty items can be returned to HMV and customer can get a refund or get a damaged item replaced. ITunes When shopping with the iTunes Store, all sales are final. The customer needs to decide what are the items he wishes to buy and add them to the shopping cart. As soon as he clicks the BUY button, the purchases are charged to his account. The money is taken from his debit or credit card account. Once the order is placed there is no way a customer can cancel the order or get a refund. It is the responsibility of the customer to check for compatibility of the items purchased. Type of technology for website: HMV: The technology used by the HMV is * A browser interface for content viewing, no need to for any software (like iTunes). Anyone can view the content with the help of popular browsers like IE, Firefox or Chrome. * Order acceptance via website. No user account needed for buying items from HMV.com * Handles acknowledgement of payment and shipment delivery details for the order ITunes: The technology used by ITunes is Apple proprietary. Items are not sold through a web browser interface like other ecommerce sites. Anyone wanting to access ITunes need to download the software from APPLE and all the actions are through the software. The ITunes comprises of: * An interface for viewing the music/ video catalogs * An order processing system via iTunes account and credit card/ debit card * A delivery system via download from iTunes. ITunes restricts the sale of digital content to those people who are not having iTunes software. HMV and ITunes and E-Business Ladder Technology has changed the way the business happens. E-business is any process that a business organization conducts over computer-mediated network channels. Business organizations include any for-profit, governmental, or non-profit entity. Examples of these processes are on-line purchasing, on-line sales, on-line logistics, customer support, employee training and recruiting, and vendor-managed inventory, production design and control 8. The e business ladder is the ladder that shows where the organization stands with respect to what is possible to achieve in terms of available technology. The ladder shows how effectively the organization is using the advantage of technology and has integrated with business strategy. We will see where HMV and ITunes stand with respect to e -business ladder model of Cisco e-Adoption Ladder (DTI, 2000) HMV needs to move up the ladder to compete with Itunes. HMV is making moves towards this. HMV is adding another business dimension to its website www.hmv.com. The new delivery channel is by means of downloads directly from the website of HMV. This is currently under construction and will be available soon9. Which means HMV is moving up the ladder from just taking orders online and processing them offline to accepting orders and delivering through internet. ITunes is at the top of the ladder. It has tie ups with all leading content providers (music production companies, TV studios, movie producers etc). The customers just need to visit iTunes store to buy any content. This is a seamless integration of suppliers and buyers by iTunes acting as a intermediary facilitating B2C transactions. Emerging Technologies in e-business The emerging technologies that can be used for e-business are * Cloud computing * Mobile computing. ITunes has already made inroads into mobile computing by offering iTunes in its iphone. But iTunes is available only for iPhones. HMV can use the other platforms for mobile computing like Android from Google, Windows Mobile from Microsoft for building applications to sell content on mobiles. Cloud computing is the area that both iTunes and HMV needs to explore. The current business model is delivering the content to the customer by means of download or physical delivery of CD/DVD. Apple restricts the number of machines that can play the content that is downloaded from iTunes. We cannot play the content on more than 5 machines and those machines need to be authorized using the users iTunes account. With cloud computing the content is not necessarily delivered but it can be accessed from anywhere when connected to internet. A customer who buys a music album or songs need not download it to his computer but can access from anywhere and from any computer or any device, say , mobile. Cloud computing is possible only when the connectivity is always established with internet, which is not impossible in near future. How can HMV and ITunes increase market share HMV 1. Showing growth in the existing websites which is possible by new offerings like making downloads available 2. Introducing new product range like selling e readers and new gaming hardware like DSI 3. Introducing loyalty cards. 4. Strong tie up and product sharing with group company Waterstones for selling books and eBooks. 5. Live ticketing , HMV wants to sell tickets for events of the artists along with albums. 6. Starting Pay to Play gaming centers as the new gaming fever catches up across all age groups for games like Call of Duty. ITunes 1. Make it accessible to more people, via browser interface. 2. Make eBooks available 3. Remove the restrictions on the usage of the content bought from iTunes. Conclusion There are valuable lessons to be learnt from the strategy and models adopted by HMV and ITunes. Companies need to be aware of the forces that affect their business including competitors, customers, technology, suppliers, and at times most importantly new entrants into the market. The ITunes has once again proved that, the how ever dominant is the firm in the market it is never safe. Companies must be aware of the technological circumstances that surround the business in order to be on the cutting edge of new developments in the market. New entrants must also be aware of the technology that can give them the advantage over firms that are already dominating the market. Disintermediation is one important way that firms can use technology to streamline production and increase profits. And most importantly, a firm must never become complacent; they must always be on the lookout for new markets in which to expand. References http://hmv.com/hmvweb/navigate.do?pPageID=1083 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_Store http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theoryslept-analysis235.php http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/business/69220.html?wlc=1264844838 http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/company-news/rivals-demise-boosts-hmv-100114-0729-31157.aspx www.hmv.com www.census.gov/econ/estats/papers/digitalecon.pdf http://hmv.com/hmvweb/navigate.do?pPageID=1530

The Power of The Bluest Eye :: Bluest Eye Essays

The Power of The Bluest Eye America has been described by various terms such as melting pot and tossed salad, but what these terms are trying to convey is that America is a country of great diversity. The literature of this country reflects its population in its diversity of genres, themes, language, and voices. One of these voices is Toni Morrison, an author who knows and appreciates the power of language, and uses it. In her Nobel Prize acceptance speech she states, "The vitality of language lies in its ability to limn the actual, imagined and possible lives of its speakers, readers, writers". The "vitality of language" of which Morrison speaks, may very well be the soul of the American novel, or at the very least, the soul of Morrison's novels, such as Sula, Beloved, and The Bluest Eye. In The Bluest Eye, Morrison uses her ability with language to take her readers into the black community in Lorraine, Ohio, and into the various levels of that society. She utilizes several points of view, both first person and third person omniscient, and universal themes such as love, hate, hope, despair, fear, courage, ugliness, and beauty to bring her characters and their struggles to life. The very universality of her themes provides a common point of contact that allows most readers to see in these people something of themselves or their life experience. For example, she shows a mother's love for a child when in the night, the mother's hand "adjusted the quilt, and rested a moment on my forehead" (14). This simple gesture conveys so much, and is familiar to many. Morrison's powerful language lends depth and detail to every scene. She shows the pain and bewilderment of Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola over the blue-eyed blond ideal of beauty that is even perpetuated by their parents when they are given dolls that fit this mold. She brings to life the upper class "colored people" who were "neat and quiet" and who looked down on "niggers" who were "dirty and loud" (71), with language that flows like molasses on a warm day. "They come from Mobile, Aiken. From Newport News. From Marietta. From Merdian. And the sound of these places in their mouths make you think of love" (67).

Indiabulls Research Project

No professional curriculum is considered complete without work experience. It is well evident that work experience is an indispensable part of every professional course. In the same manner practical work in any organization is must for each an every individual, who is undergoing management course.Without the practical exposure one cannot consider himself as a qualified capable manager. Entering in the organization is like stepping into altogether a new world. At first, everything seems strange and unheard but as the time passes one can understands the concept and working of the organization and thereby develop professional relationship. Initially it is felt that as if classroom study was irrelevant and it is useless in any concern working. But gradually it is realize that all fundamental basic concepts studied are linked in one or other ways to the organization.But how and what can be done with fundamentals depends upon the intellectual and applicability of an individual. Executive summary Investing in equities in a market like India is speculative and involves risk that may be greater than other types of investment strategies. Before investing an Investor should be careful enough about him investment decision to avoid erosion of wealth. As seen in the recent times the volatility of market is more detrimental to the retail iinvestors as it seems to be lucrative for speculative gains of short duration of time.Hence an investor has to evaluate his options carefully for a prudent investment, keeping long-term horizon in mind. The report has tried to bring out the parameters those are of paramount importance to general public dealing in an equity trading on day-to day and delivery base trading. The working methodology has been discussed i. e. the data collection methods, sampling methods and the survey questionnaire methods. The questionnaire prepared is designed so as to cover a wide range of customer â€Å"touch points† The report given a view about the i investors perception that what thy think while making investments in shares.The questionnaire has been designed for the target group to get the best amount of data possible keeping in view the importance and authenticity of the information and convenience of the respondent. The selection of investor was predetermined in nature Personal contacts were established to conduct a face-to-face interview. Interview was conducted under strict supervision to maintain the standards of the data collected. Research Design Research design is a spacification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information we need to solve the problems.Research design was adopted for the purpose of collection and analysis of data in a manner aimed at getting relevant information. It was conceptual structure within which research was conducted, collected, measured and analyzed. Research Idea To know the market scene of trading and Investment in equities through Indiabulls securities Ltd. Research Question Wh at is the market trend regarding investment? What difficulties and challenges iinvestors are facing while making investments? Research Statement ? â€Å"To get an insight into the mind of iinvestors regarding trading and investment in Equities† â€Å"To get an insight into the mindset of iinvestors regarding the importance assigned to different attributes such as risk, return, liquidity etc. of various investment channels such as equities. In the report this tries to understand the investor’s behavior while trading. † ? â€Å"To study the preferences and perceptions of iinvestors regarding various financial products from the stable of Indiabulls Securities Ltd. so that the firm can benefit from the findings of the report in launching any new investment product in future.

Luscious literary elements Essay

All well written stories are composed of specific elements that capture the reader’s imagination and thoughts. An author is usually identified by a definitive style, whether it be romance, historical, the use of suspense, and even biographical. Successful authors such as Washington Irving, use particular literary elements including a well thought out and instructive theme, characterization, and setting. These helped compose a story that would entertain and maintain the reader’s interest. In the story â€Å"Rip Van Winkle†, Irving focused upon an intuitive theme or insight about human life that is revealed in a literary piece. Irving’s ability to construct a creative setting or time and location in which a story takes place, allowed the readers ability to effectively focus upon the story. While the theme and setting played significant roles in maintaining the reader’s interest, his use of effective characterization or process by which the writer reve als the personality of a character, helped in obtaining the reader’s imagination through out the story. Irving’s ability to appeal to the reader’s senses effectively establishes the setting. Visual descriptions such as â€Å"when the weather is fair and settled they are clothed in blue and purple† and â€Å"small yellow bricks† allowed the reader to quickly visualize the setting. Irving’s use of emotive language, by introducing words such as â€Å"henpecked husband†, â€Å"squabbles†, and â€Å"evening gossiping†, allowed the reader to identify emotions and feel part of the story. The effective use of auditory senses added interest to the setting, such as â€Å"the birds were hopping and twittering through out the bushes† and â€Å"the noise of the balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along the mountains like rumbling peals of thunder†. The use of time and location played an important part of the waking of Rip Van Winkle, the author makes use of this to describe to the reader the changes that have occurred over the twenty-year span. The use of appealing sensory descriptions through out the story allowed the reader to become involved and stay connected to the setting and characters. Irving’s usage of characterization was certainly effective and powerful  through the story. Rip Van Winkle was described as a very likeable character that was willing to â€Å"assist any neighbor even in the roughest toil†, â€Å"but found it impossible to do his family duties and keep the farm in order†. He would help build stone fences, husk Indian corn, and run errands for the village women. However, on his own farm he declared, â€Å"it was no use of work†. Irving allowed the reader to view the differences of characters and the effects they had upon one another by placing two different personalities together. Rip had a happy disposition, unlike his wife who henpecked her husband and had a tart temper. By placing two very unlike characters together, it led to many disagreements and fights. By the end of the story the reader should have felt compassionate towards Rip due multiple situations he was placed in by the author. Irving introduces a theme and was able to maintain an interest from the beginning of the story to the end. Time doesn’t stand still for anyone or anything, and if one doesn’t take opportunity one is offered, it may be lost forever. Irving demonstrated this by the use of twenty-year span in which Rip falls asleep, and wakes to a whole different environment. Some of his long time friends have aged considerably and some have even died during this period. The author uses this to demonstrate how important it is to make use of the moment and not allow time to slip away. Washington Irving’s use of these elements created a very descriptive and enjoyable story to read. He effectively intertwined these elements together to maintain the reader’s focus and interest in the story. The use of a well thought out theme, detailed descriptive setting, and interesting contrast of characterization all effectively combined forming a classical tale.