Giorgio Vasari on Lorenzo Ghiberti This text conta Essays

Giorgio Vasari on Lorenzo Ghiberti This text contains a mixture of bibliographical and historical information regarding Ghiberti's life and the circumstances in which he received the commission for the doors for the Baptistery of San Giovanni, next to the Duomo in Florence. It contains factual information regarding the background and training of the artist; the participants and judges of the competition to win the contract; descriptive information about the location of the door, its manufacture and some of the practical difficulties experienced by Ghiberti whilst working on it. The text therefore gives information that is helpful to the historian in understanding some of the facts surrounding the production of art in fifteenth century Florence and the circumstances of production of one particular artistic creation. However, to regard this as a purely objective historical account would be a mistake. Rubin (1995, 2) comments that the components of Vasari's history had generic pr ecedents and parallels in biography, technical treatises, and didactic literature, both classical and contemporary'. Vasari was able to fuse the elements of these different genres in order to situate Ghiberti (and the other artists in The Lives ) within a developing tradition of artistic enterprise and to create a history of art that included aesthetic judgement. Vasari's teleological view of the development of art goes beyond mere biographical and historical description and this aspect of his work is particularly important because it gives the modern reader information about how artists of the later Renaissance period viewed artistic products from an earlier time and also how a theoretical stance towards the nature of art was being developed. Having grown up as the son of an artisan, Vasari had received part of his education in his home town of Arezzo and then spent a part of his adolescence with the Medici family, who were at that time the most prominent family in Flore nce. It was among their children that he furthered his education and was undoubtedly exposed to the humanist curriculum that would have been a part of their education at that time. Although Vasari would not have had a university education, he was nonetheless familiar with the basics of humanist thought. Vasari's own life, therefore, exemplified the way in which art had become a vital part of aristocratic life and education and how it gave practitioners of the arts an entry into the highest parts of society. Whilst earlier generations of painters and sculptors had been regarded merely as craftsmen and had worked relatively anonymously, by Vasari's time individual artists were able to capitalise on their reputations to gain high financial remuneration as well as fame. The text reveals that Ghiberti's father had these two goals in mind when he urged Ghiberti to come back to Florence to enter the competition, which would be an occasion to make himself known and demonstrate his genius' a nd also that, if his son gained recognition as a sculptor, neither would ever again need to labour at making ear-rings'. The ambitious artist was, therefore, able to advance his career and wealth through winning great commissions. Welch (1997, 125) observes that by the mid-fourteenth century a number of Italian artists, particularly in Tuscany, seem to have been aware of the need to promote themselves and their memory, either by writing themselves or by encouraging others to write about them. It is within this tradition that Vasari wrote his The Lives . In classical times, writers such as Plutarch and Pliny had written biographical works about famous men's lives and the Renaissance preoccupation with the revival of antiquity provided a stimulus for this genre of biography that is focussed on the rhetorical practice of praising worthy and famous men, including artists (Pliny's Natural History provided the model for writing about artists of Graeco-Roman antiquity (Welch , 1997, 125)). Ghiberti himself had written Commentaries , a work that included a section on antiquity, another on his own autobiography, and a third on the theory of optical illusion. This is the work to which Vasari refers in the text. Vasari alludes to Ghiberti's use of Pliny as a model and he thus demonstrates that they are all, in their different ways, participating in an ancient tradition of writing about art and

The Hillerman Hotel Case Study Essays

The Hillerman Hotel Case Study Essays The Hillerman Hotel Case Study Essay The Hillerman Hotel Case Study Essay Problem 1: What to do with the property? The first problem in the case is deciding what to do with the property. The owners have the option of selling the hotel or keeping it open for business. This problem is time sensitive because new competitors are entering the market rapidly. â€Å"Approximately 28 hotels were under construction and an additional 25 in permit stages for a total of 53 projects under development†. (Cornsun amp; Enz, p. 1). The Hillerman Hotel Executive Board will need to choose an option soon. The tool/concept that will be used to solve this problem is the hold and maintain strategy. The essence of this strategy is a good defense, which makes it harder for new firms to enter and for challengers to gain ground, lowers the probability of attack, lessens the intensity of attack, or diverts attack to less threatening arenas (Popescu, 2008, p. ). The purpose of the hold and maintain strategy is to protect the company’s position in the industry by strengthening competencies. After reading the case and looking at the business life cycle, which is the movement of a firm through stages of development, growth, expansion, maturity, saturation, and decline (Business Life Cycle), this company is in the mature phase and is doing very well. Although it is a seller’s market, there is no reason to sell a high performing business, at this point, that will prove to still be a top competitor in the industry. The hold and maintain strategy should be used by businesses who are leaders and dominant in their field. The Westward is at the top of the industry for their target market of the business transient segment and is financially healthy. Hillerman will stick to their competencies, which are customer service and guest satisfaction. With proper implementation of the hold and maintain strategy, Hillerman will arrive at the conclusion to not sell the property and maintain its place in the industry by strengthening themselves and competing with the new businesses. Bibliography Business Life Cycle. (n. d. ). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from All Business: www. allbusiness. com/glossaries/life-cycle/4942437-1. html. Cornsun, P. D. , amp; Enz, P. C. Living A Vision At The Hillerman Hotels. Popescu, C. (2008). Generic Business Strategies.

Organizational Behavior Indept Comapny Analysis Coursework

Organizational Behavior Indept Comapny Analysis - Coursework Example These functions are performed by all the managers at all levels of management and irrespective of the nature of the business. Organizations upgrade their management system with an aim of gaining competitive advantage over other organizations in the industry. Success or failure of an organization is directly connected to the effectiveness of the management team. For an organization or business entity to gain a competitive advantage over others, it has to strategically manage its affairs. Strategic management is aimed at improved returns, maintain operations and contain the prevailing competition in the market place. Basically, strategic management is aiming at adequately responding to the uncertainties, changes and adapting to the market demands. Therefore, when an organization strategically manages its affairs, it may gain a competitive advantage over other companies. Competitive advantage is gained only if the strategies developed by a company are expensive for or cannot be adopted by other companies in the market. An organization that strategically manages its affairs may gain and maintain competitive advantage which is essential for the survival of a business despite the market changes (Smith, and Conners, 2009, pp 34-78). Company history For instance, Euro Disney is of American origin but considered one of the largest companies in Europe. The company was initially formed in the United States but after successful operation for several years, it opted to grow to other regions in Europe. This led to the company growing from a domestic to international company. It is an international company hence operates several business entities in the region among them the Disneyland resort Paris. The site comprises of several components such as the discovery land, fantasyland, adventure land, frontier land and main street USA. The company also encompasses of a 27-hole golf course, Disney village, 68 restaurants, seven hotels, two convention centers and 52 boutiques. The company opened for operation in the late march 1992 for the employees. The presses were later formally invited to the company on April 11th 1992 and on April 12th 1992 for the visitors. The company enjoyed enormous profits but later incurred losses. Cultural differen ces Though Euro Disney operates in the European countries, it has encountered cultural differences in some countries. This is because the company was formed in the United States and had an American business setting. Therefore, the company operated with adoption of American business aspects. Since there are cultural differences between America and France, the company had to adjust to the cultural difference so as to suit into the French market. These cultural differen

Marketing plan of a restarant Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing plan of a restarant - Case Study Example Therefore it is important for investors to have knowledge of the target group in regard to the hotel type. For example Urspace Cafà © located in Temple City can arguably be considered a business hotel since it mainly deals with customers seeking day food and breakfast. However, despite the hotel type it important to ensure that the marketing strategies employed are excellent. Excellent hospitality operation is one of the basic marketing strategies applied by in the hotel industry. Hospitality operations go beyond the normal daily greetings as customers enter the premise. Successful hospitality operations involve increased knowledge about the customer base in order to offer the best services without necessarily being prompted to. For starters, waiters and waitresses should have good knowledge of all available foods and beverages to avoid uncertainty when an order is placed. Additionally, they should be aware of the frequently requested food types especially by frequent customers to give room for suggestions. This is also important to ensure that frequently foods and beverages are always present hence eliminating customer disappointments. This improves interactions between the personnel and the customers thereby creating a sense of satisfaction. Additionally, building strong relationships with the customers makes it easy to identify arising problems. This is because loyal customers accustomed to the hotel feel welcomed to give suggestions on improving levels of service. Therefore, in case of a complaint a customer will not opt for another hotel but rather will consider communicating with the personnel so that the problem can be addressed. Additionally, in as much as caution is taken, there is bound to be errors though few thereby prompting a customer’s complaint. Part of excellent hospitality is ensuring complaints and suggestions raised are addressed fast enough and accurately.

Sample random Essay Example for Free

Sample random Essay Was the sample random? How many brands were in the race? Were the brands ranked? These are the unknowns based on the advertisement. The claim does not state what does #1 actually means. In comparison to what: price, size, or pleasant smell. Some numbers can be valid, but used in different ways such as the mean, median, mode and midrange. This is not the case for this ad because we do not have the data to either validate or disclaim this ad. This ad is misleading and lends its self to consumer’s impulse buying. The consumer must be aware of such claims and do their research before buying products, items or food. 14. â€Å"How often do you run red lights? † This question is a manipulating one because of how it is asked; it is a faulty survey question. It wants to know how often you run red lights and does not ask a yes or no question. The question forces you to select an answer among scripted choices identified by the surveyor. The answers would be: once a day, once a week, twice a week, or more than 3 times a week. This is a bias question, especially if it does not offer an answer of â€Å"none† or â€Å"never†. The data collected can influence the amount of fines for running red lights, installing red light cameras, or have an effect on car insurance rates. This question does not take into account people without a driver license or people who take public transportation. It is all in how a question is asked because most surveys do not want a â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† answer. They cannot perform the needed analysis to get an answer. Some of the answers force people to choose the closest one that fits, but this causes bias and would not define the most accurate results. So the question and answers will steer the results toward what they want. The misuse of statistics should be against the law and the company or manufacturer should be held accountable for their misrepresentation. Also survey questions and answers should be more accurate and not bias. After going over this chapter it proves the saying â€Å"buyer beware† and do your own research. References Bluman, (2011), Mathematics in Our World

The Ego, the Superego and Kizer’s Bitch: Freud in Poetry Essay

Carolyn Ashley Kizer was born on December 10, 1925. Her father was a lawyer and her mother a labor organizer in the Pacific Northwest, although she held a doctorate in biology. Her parents were older than the parents of her friends, but filled the house with a rich intellectual atmosphere that surely influenced the young Kizer (McFarland). Throughout her childhood her parents would read her the works of Whitman and Keats before bed (Schumock), but it wasn’t until she was middle aged that she devoted herself to literary pursuits. It is strange that such a revelation happened so late in life, considering the poet Vachel Lindsay was a houseguest of her parents not to mention the academically freeing ambiance. But Kizer herself references this change of direction to repressed â€Å"psychic energy† (O’Conner) after her divorce from her first husband and the tutelage of her mentor and teacher Theodore Roethke. Through this awakening and beyond, Kizer has left a trail o f politically, socially and culturally relevant poetry that has won her many awards and accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1985 for her collection Yin. One of her most well-known works, entitled â€Å"Bitch†, was published in 1984 in the collection of poems Mermaids in the Basement. The poem written in a single stanza of 34 lines depicts the scene of a woman meeting an ex-lover in a random encounter. What is later depicted in the poem is an intricate display of contrasting emotions and thoughts. Outwardly, the woman is polite and pleasant to the man, but inwardly her â€Å"bitch† fumes at the meeting. Her inner â€Å"bitch† remembers the relationship and wants the woman to outwardly display her disdain. The woman’s internal dialogue subdues the wanton wanting of her harsh inner cri... ... rare glimpse at this dynamic, and in turn, gives the reader not only a good tale, but also a closer look at themselves. Works Cited Kizer, Carolyn A. "Poetry Magazine." Bitch by Carolyn Kizer. Copper Canyon Press. Web. 27 May 2012. . Kuhn, Elisabeth D. "Kizer's Bitch." The Explicator 66.2 (2008): 108-11. Print. McFarland, Ron. "Carolyn Kizer." Cyclopedia of World Authors. 4th ed. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2003. MagillOnLiterature Plus. 28 Dec. 2011. Web. 27 May 2012. O'Connell, Nicholas. At the Field's End: Interviews with 22 Pacific Northwest Writers. Seattle: University of Washington, 1998. Print. Schumock, Jim. Story, Story, Story: Conversations with American Authors. Seattle: Black Heron, 1999. Print. Wurtzel, Elizabeth. Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women. New York: Doubleday, 1998. Print.

Prominent African-American Mathematicians

Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr. exemplifies and is addressed as one of America’s admirable unorthodox mathematicians. He was portrayed as the University of Chicago’s youngest student at the tender age of thirteen. Wilkins proceeded to his education there, earning his bachelor, master and doctorate degrees in mathematics. When he finished his Ph. D. at 19, he was recognized by the national press as a â€Å"negro genius. † (http://www. blackpast. org)Jesse Ernest Wilkins taught at the Tuskegee Institute (1943-1944) prior returning to the University of Chicago to contribute to the Manhattan Project (1944-1946). He then entered industry, advancing to high positions at: American Optical Company (1946-1950), United Nuclear Corporation (1950-1960) and General Atomic Company (1960-1970). He also earned bachelor and master degrees in mechanical engineering from New York University (1957, 1960). In 1970, Wilkins became the Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematical Physics at Howard University.He was remembered as being very inspirational to his students and for starting Howard’s Ph. D. program in mathematics. (http://www. blackpast. org) J. Ernest Wilkins is a member of various professional societies and has been awarded several honors in his distinguished career including: President of the American Nuclear Society (1974-1975), Council Member of the American Mathematical Society (1975-1977) and Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the U. S. Army (1980). He has published numerous papers in mathematics, optics and nuclear engineering.His greatest contribution to scholarship is the development of mathematical models to explain gamma radiation and his subsequent work on developing a shielding against gamma radiation. (http://www. blackpast. org) A fifth grade gifted program provided accessibility to William A. Massey to the introduction of Euclidean geometry and number systems of differing bases. His interests in drawing and graphic arts assisted him to comprehend the application of perspective and proportion. In seventh grade, William A. Massey executed an exam involving a type of abstract reasoning.He excelled and exceeded far beyond his classmates on the same exam. Essentially, from that moment, he apprehended the aspiration of becoming a mathematician. (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/William_A. _Massey) William A. Massey’s authentic comprehension of mathematics as a researcher initiated as a college student at Princeton University. He specialized in abstract algebra and number theory while acquiring real, complex and functional analysis. He maintained his scientific interests by taking physics courses all four years, as well.William A. Massey was awarded an aggressive Bell Laboratories fellowship that was established to increase the number of minority Ph. D. ’s in the sciences, which paid for his acquisition of the doctorate of philosophy in mathematics at Stanford University. (http://en. wikipedia. org/wi ki/William_A. _Massey) William A. Massey has made many original contributions as a mathematician by developing a theory of â€Å"dynamical queueing systems†. His research on queueing networks led to new methods of comparing multi-dimensionalone.One of William A. Massey most cited papers progresses an algorithm to find a dynamic, optimal server staffing schedule for telephone call centers with time varying demand and ultimately led to a patent. An additional highly cited paper initiates a dynamic model for the offered load traffic of wireless communication networks. (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/William_A. _Massey) In 1925 Elbert Frank Cox was allocated the Doctor of Philosophy degree in mathematics from Cornell and he is the first known Black to receive the Ph. D. in Mathematics in the United States; ultimately, in the world.In September 1925, he accepted a teaching position at West Virginia State College. Elbert Frank Cox remained there four years and in 1929 moved to Howa rd University. Cox remained at Howard until his retirement in 1965 and served as chairman of the Mathematics Department from 1957-1961. In 1975, the Howard University Mathematics Department, at the time of the inauguration of the Ph. D. program, established the Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund for undergraduate mathematics majors to encourage young Black students to study mathematics at the graduate level. http://www. maa. org/summa/archive/Cox_EF. htm) While Elbert Frank Cox did not live to see the inauguration of the Ph. D. program at Howard, it is comprehended by various individuals that Cox accomplished plenty to initiate such possibilities.He assisted to build up the department to the point that the Ph. D. program became a practical next step. He gave the department an extensive deal of credibility; primarily due to his personal prestige as a mathematician, due to the fact od exemplifying and exhibiting first Black to acquire a Ph. D. in mathematics, because of the nature and kin ds of appointments to the faculty that were made while he chaired the Department and because of the kinds of students that he attracted to Howard to study mathematics at both the undergraduate and graduate (master's) levels. Cox's portrait hangs in Howard's Mathematics Common Room as a consistent reminder of his contribution to the Mathematics Department, the University and the Community of Scholars in general. (http://www. maa. org/summa/archive/Cox_EF. htm)