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

Germny - Essay Example e can be, it will never be truly accurate, and will never be accurate on an individual level – for instance, just because most Americans believe in god does not mean that you can assume anything at all about a particular American if you meet them on the street. So when trying to describe the characteristics and stereotypes of the German people, and of Germany in general, it is essential to keep in mind everything stated above, that these characteristics have a wide degree of accuracy and that they cannot be applied to an individual German person even if they are true of the population generally. There are several characteristics of the German people that are popular as stereotypes, some positive, some negative, though most have both positive and negative connotations to them. Generally the positive characteristics are the ones that tend to be more accurate and the negative ones tend to be less so, as a general rule. One of the most popular positive characteristics of the Germa n people is a love of accuracy and precision, and this stereotype has a good deal of evidence to back it up and is probably true, while Germany still has many negative stereotypes that are associated with World War II, including being somewhat war-mongering and racist, and these characteristics tend to be untrue. The first characteristic people often think of when they think of the German people is a love of efficiency and order. People believe that the German people are better than many others at producing things that require a great deal of accuracy and design, and believe that Germans are better than many other people in small-details accuracy. This belief finds its best representation through people’s perception of German engineering and design being of a higher quality than almost anyone else’s. This belief is fueled in part by the fact that many German companies tend to brand themselves this way. Car companies like BMW and Volkswagon, which are both German, tend to play

Negative Economic Impact of the Ppaca Essay Example for Free

Negative Economic Impact of the Ppaca Essay Negative Economic Impact of the Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) also referred to as ObamaCare, federal healthcare law, Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is a United States federal Statute signed into law on March 23, 2010, by President Barack Obama. In combination with the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act, it represents the most significant regulatory overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). The PPACA is intended to increase the number of health insured Americans and reduce the overall costs of healthcare. The PPACA will revamp the current health insurance system by extending health insurance coverage to nearly 32 million currently uninsured Americans; 18 million through Medicaid expansion to individuals with incomes under the 133 percent federal poverty line (FPL), and 18 million through government exchange subsidies to individuals with incomes up to 400 percent of the FPL. Citizens and legal residents in families with income between 100 and 400 percent of poverty who purchase coverage through a health insurance exchange are eligible for a tax credit to reduce the cost of coverage. To subsidize the additional 32 million individuals covered, the new law introduces 18 new taxes and penalties on individuals, employers, and businesses (Campbell). Though the PPACAs intent is to lower healthcare costs, it will increase the federal deficit, increase state deficits, hinder employment, job creation and innovation, increase health insurance costs, and delay economic growth. These negative economic issues are far-reaching and long lasting. Increase the Federal Deficit One of the goals for the PPACA was to reduce the federal deficit by a small amount in the first ten years and by trillions of dollars thereafter. Contrary to this key objective, the combination of mandates and taxes will not reduce the federal deficit, but will likely increase it. The PPACA is estimated to increase the federal deficit by $75 billion, per year, resulting in the nation’s publicly held debt to grow to $753 billion higher at the end of 2020 (Campbell). Once the government begins to pay health insurance for individuals through subsidies and bring people into the government insurance program in the later half of the decade, this growing debt will balloon. The CBO’s updated 2011 estimates found that the PPACA will increase federal outlays by roughly $604 billion between 2012 and 2021 (Blahous). The excessive debt will drive out productive investments and lead to an estimated 670,000 lost job opportunities annually. The imposed tax hikes are anticipated to cost taxpayers $503 billion over 10 years and more in the future to subsidize government spending on new entitlements (Dubay). The standing budget analysis is very limited, as it does not account for how the policy’s combination of spending and increased taxes alters the macroeconomic performance of the economy. The heavy initial costs of the policy hinder economic growth with higher inflation and interest rates, overwhelming the benefits the law hoped to gain in later years. Within the PPACA, legislation double counts $53 billion in Social Security payments, counts $70 billion in premium payments for long-term care insurance programs as revenues, and ignores up to $115 billion in discretionary costs associated with the PPACA (Howard). After discounting the double counting of Social Security payments, long-tern care premium payments as revenue, and takes discretionary costs into account, the true financial deficit of the PPACA during its first ten years is over $562 billion, and $1.15 trillion thereafter (Howard). Increases the State’s Deficit Not only does the PPACA have a serious negative impact on the federal deficit, but also on state’s budgets, several of which are already suffering multibillion-dollar budget deficits. Medicaid spending currently consumes about 20 percent of state’s budgets, crowding out spending on everything else from education to infrastructure (Howard). States will be held responsible for roughly 11 million uninsured Americans who are eligible for Medicaid but have never enrolled. In 2014, many of these individuals will sign up for coverage under the pre-PPACA rate, which varies by state, and is far more complex. The mandated spending makes an already bad fiscal situation worse, as states are projected to face $21 billion in new Medicaid costs from 2014 – 2019, not including up to $12 billion in new administrative costs (Howard). While this reduces the $442 billion in new Medicaid costs for the federal government, many state budgets are already facing huge deficits and cannot afford any new outlays. In fact, they need to cut spending to balance their budgets. The increased rolls of people on Medicaid will continue to put financial pressures on state’s budgets, leading to further economically destructive tax increases, budget cuts, and state employee layoffs. Hinders Employment, Job Creation, and Innovation The PPACA imposes a 2.3% medical device tax, $2.3 billion annual tax on the pharmaceutical industry, and $2,000, per employee, tax penalty on employers with 50 or more workers who do not provide their employee’s insurance coverage or â€Å"adequate† insurance coverage. Stock shares fell in the medical device sector on June 28, 2012, the day the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the majority of the new healthcare law. In accordance with the new law, medical device manufacturers are subjected to pay a 2.3% sales tax on medical device sales. Scheduled to go into effect in January 2013, the excise tax on medical devices is a blow to innovation, will cost the industry more than $28 billion by 2019, destroy 14,000 to 47,1000 jobs, and increase the cost of medical devices (Graham). Several major manufacturers have already been affected and are preparing for the new healthcare tax. Welch Allyn plans to lay off 275 employees, 10% of their workface, over the next three years. Stryker plans on countering the medical device tax by cutting five percent of their global workforce, an estimated 1,170 positions. Zimmer Corp cites the tax for 450 job cuts and a $50 million charge against earnings. Cook Medical has nixed plans to open a manufacturing factory in the United States, moving business overseas to Ireland. Medtronic anticipates a $175 million annual charge against earnings, forcing the company to cut 1,000 jobs between 2012 and 2013. Boston Scientific is removing between 1,200 and 1,400 jobs, while shifting investments and workers overseas to China. In addition to the companies just mentioned, the following companies are also facing future layoffs at the hands of Obamacare. Smith Nephew: 700 employees, Abbott Labs: 700 employees, Coviden: 595 employees, Kinetic Concepts: 427 employees, St. Jude Medical: 300 employees, and Hill Rom: 200 employees. The medical device industry is the sixth leading exporter in the United States (Top US Exports). The impact of this tax will likely reduce exports, thereby exacerbating the trade deficit and damage the medical device industry. Obamacare will hit pharmaceutical companies with more than $20 billion in new taxes over the next ten years. Some companies cannot bear a massive tax bill and risk failure of multimillion-dollar research. The American economy benefits remarkably from the vast amounts that pharmaceutical companies invest into research and development. New drug therapies help increase the economy, because research and development expenses directly create jobs, and successful drugs enrich people’s health and can free up caretakers for more productive pursuits. For example, the cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia will reach $200 billion this year and $1 trillion by 2050 (Pipes). A new treatment that could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s by five years would decrease the prevalence of the disease by 43 percent and save $447 billion by 2050 (Pipes). Beginning in 2014, employers with more than 49 employees will pay a non-deductible penalty of $2,000 for each employee beyond the first 30 employees if they do not offer minimum creditable health coverage. If an employer fails to provide affordable coverage, and at least one employee receives insurance through a state-based exchange, the penalty rises to $3,000 per employee (Howard). The law mandate is estimated to cost businesses an additional $96 billion between 2012 and 2019 (Howard). One economist notes that the $2,000 penalty will amount to costs averaging 15% of wages in the restaurant industry and nearly 10% of wages in the retail sector, provid ing an incentive to hire part-time, lower wage employees (Willnite). Many businesses will move toward hiring part-time instead of full-time employees to mitigate the health-care overhaul’s requirement. â€Å"32% of retail and hospitality company respondents told Mercer consulting firm that they were likely to reduce the number of employees working 30 hours a week or more† (Jargon). The CBO predicts that the law will reduce the number of jobs in the U.S. by one half of one percent, equating to about 700,000 additional Americans being unemployed. Employers with fewer than 50 employees that do not provide health insurance are disincentivized to grow beyond the â€Å"cap† and incur a penalty, further reducing unemployment and growth. One small business owner of an IHOP franchise in New Jersey anticipates penalties up to $220,000 for his 140 uninsured workers, forcing him to raise prices or lay off workers. â€Å"Ultimately, either businesses will close or consumers will pay more† (Dubay). Dana Holding Corp warned their employees of potential layoffs, citing $24 million over the next six years in additional U.S. healthcare expenses. The company has already begun laying off white collar employees. The CBO predicts three million people will lose employer based coverage as a result of the PPACA, noting firms that tend to drop coverage are smaller employers and employers who employ low wage workers. Other sources have estimated as many as 43 million low wage employees may be dropped into the state exchanges. This would significantly increase taxpayer obligations and further increase the cost of the program. To compensate for the new tax expenses, companies can reduce profits, reduce administrative costs, reduce labor costs (fewer jobs or lower wages), or raise their premiums. The global capital market is highly competitive and many companies already have prevailing incentives to redu ce administrative costs. Therefore, they are more likely to raise premiums or reduce labor costs, or a combination of both. Mercer, an employee benefits consulting firm, revealed in a November 2012 research study that in addition to considering lower-cost plans, two-thirds of companies polled said they would also raise health care costs for workers through higher co-pays and deductibles, regardless of whether the employee is a CEO or a line worker at a factory (Murphy). This is a job destroying law that will negatively affect nearly everyone. The cost of the tax increase will result in lower wages, hire unemployment, lower hours worked per employee, cut jobs, lower profits, lower shareholder returns, less innovation, and higher prices for consumers. The new tax mandate will create access barriers to healthcare and services, further increasing costs. Companies will proceed very cautiously before committing themselves to new investments and employment decisions. The effect this has on economic growth, innovation, and job creation is significantly counterproductive toward the goal of increase growth in this anemic economy. Increased Health Insurance Costs The PPACA imposes a number of new requirements on health insurance companies, including being barred from setting premiums based on medical history, limitation to varying premiums based on age, extending dependent coverage for adult children until the age of 26, and eliminating the lifetime cap on health insurance coverage. The effects on the provisions and taxes will likely be passed onto employers and individuals in the form of higher insurance premiums, especially for younger adults, thereby subsidizing older Americans. The law allows premium costs to vary by a ratio of three to one, based on age. Heritage research specifies â€Å"The natural variation by age in medical costs is about five to one, meaning that the oldest group of non-Medicare adults normally consumes about five times as much medical care as the youngest group.† Under Obamacare, young adults will pay exaggeratedly high premiums, and older adults will pay unnaturally low premiums. Young adults in the exchange, who are under the age of 30, will see an eight percent increase in their premiums (Radnofsky). The ban on establishing premiums based on medical history also increases premiums for individuals who are healthy. Individuals with chronic disease have healthcare expenses three times greater than those without chronic disease. The Kaiser Family Foundation study found that due to the health law’s restrictions on how much prices can vary by age, having older, sicker people participating in the insurance exchanges could drive up premiums for everyone in those exchanges by three percent, or $141 for each enrollee in 2014. Delay Economic Growth The law charges insurance companies and imposes a 40 percent excise tax on individuals with high-premium insurance plans. The excise tax applies to insurance plan premiums exceeding $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families, for the cost of combining health savings accounts, medical, prescription drugs, dental, vision, etc. There is a higher threshold for early retirees and high-risk professionals of $9,850 for singles and $26,000 for a family. Until 2019, these thresholds will be indexed to the general price inflation, plus one percent. In CBO’s latest projections, the plan is expected to cost taxpayers $87 billion between 2011 and 2019. The PPACA enforces a new 3.8% investment income tax and an additional 0.9% Medicare payroll tax on individuals with annual income exceeding $200,000 and on families and small businesses with annual income exceeding $250,000. Similar to the previous law’s Medicare payroll tax, the revenue from the additional 0.9 percent tax will be allocated to the Medicare HI Trust Fund. The tax increase is expected to cost this group of individuals $210 billion between 2012 and 2019 (Howard). High tax rates carry economic penalties. They cause taxpayers to base decisions more on tax considerations and less on economic merit. Additionally, high taxes can shrink the size of the tax base, raising less revenue than the causal bystander might assume. A study by Ernst and Young has concluded higher tax rates will result in a significant increase in the average marginal tax rates on businesses, wages, and investment income, as well as the marginal effective tax rate on new business investment (Prante). The study finds that these higher marginal tax rates result in a smaller economy, fewer jobs, less investment, and lower wages. Specifically, the study found that the higher tax rates will have a substantial adverse economic affect in the long-run that includes lowering output, employment, investment, the capital stock, and after tax income. Higher tax rates on wages reduce work effort and labor force participation (Prante). The higher tax rates on capital gains and dividends increase the cost of equity capital, which discourages savings and investment, and reduces capital available for companies to grow. In effect, capital investment falls, which reduces labor productivity and means lower output and living standards in the long run (Prante). These economic destructive policies will impede an already weak economy. Conclusion PPACA’s taxes, penalties, and fees on investors and businesses will decrease the amount of investment in the economy. The law is packed full of taxes on individuals, employers, medical device companies, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies. Almost all of these costs will be passed along to employers and individuals in the form of higher insurance premiums, reduced wages and employment, and reduced investment in products and services. In turn, this reduced investment will lead to a decline in productivity. Higher taxes on investments also put upward pressure on interest rates as investors seek to achieve their after-tax desired rate of return. Lower wages reduce the amount of taxable income that could otherwise have been achieved. This will increase the deficit and grow the total debt, putting upward pressure on interest rates and push out some savings that could have gone to new productive business investments. Due to higher interest rates, more American tax dollars will go toward paying the interest on the federal debt rather than paying down principle. Simulations using dynamic analysis estimate that the government would spend an average of $23 billion more per year on interest rate payments between 2010 and 2020 that it would without the PPACA (Campbell). The enactment of the PPACA has and will continue to substantially worsen a dire federal fiscal and economic outlook, accomplishing the opposite of its intention. The actual economic cost in money and jobs will not fully be known for years, but the outlook is dismal at best. Works Cited Blahous, Charles. The Fiscal Consequences of the Affordable Health Care Act. Mercatus Center at George Mason University, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/publication/The-Fiscal-Consequences-of-the-Affordable-Care-Act_1.pdf. Dubay, Curtis S. Obamacare and New Taxes: Destroying Jobs and the Economy. Tax Increases in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Heritage Foundation, 20 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/01/obamacare-and-new-taxes-destroying-jobs-and-the-economy. Graham, John R. Obamacares Medical-Device Tax Kills Patients, Not Just Jobs.Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 06 June 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/06/06/obamacares-medical-device-tax-kills-patients-not-just-jobs/. Howard, Paul. The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Economy, Employers, and the Workforce. Center for Medical Progress at the Manhattan Institute, 9 Feb. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. http://www.man hattan-institute.org/pdf/testimony_02092011PH.pdf. Jargon, Julie, Louise Radnofsky, and ALexandra Berzon. Health Care Law Spurs a Shift to Part Time Workers. Wall Street Journal. N.p., 4 Nov. 2012. Web. 2012. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204707104578094941709047834.html?mod=djemHL_t. Murphy, Patricia. Cadillac Tax in Health Plan Would Hit Middle Class Hard. Politics Daily. The Capitolist, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/17/cadillac-tax-in-health-plan-would-hit-middle-class-hard/. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Descriptive Essay - The Baseball Diamond -- Descriptive Essay, Descript

The Baseball Diamond Many people don't understand the point in playing baseball. Why would someone swing a stick, hit a ball, and try to get back to where they started before the ball returns? What pleasure is there in that? Why not participate in a sport like wrestling or track where there is an obvious level of individual improvement and therefore pleasure. Well, I play baseball because of the love I have for the sport, and because of the feeling that overwhelms me every time I walk onto a baseball field. When I walk onto a field I am given the desire to better myself not only as an athlete, but also as a person. The thoughts and feelings I get drive me to work hard towards my goals and to be a better person. The most relevant example of these feelings is when I stepped on the field at Runyon Complex in Pueblo, Colorado during our high school state playoffs in 2003. This baseball field will always be an important place to me. It was two hours before our anticipated game against Manitou Springs, the second ranked team in the state. As I walked through the brick arches I heard nothing but honking traffic from blocks away. I got an eerie feeling when I saw all the smoke coming out of industrial factories, and noticed that no one else was there; I felt like I was in a ghost town. Our team started to go on to the field that we would be playing on to observe the differences in it. As I walked through the gate leading to the field, I was awestruck. It seemed as though this field was the only place in this strange neighborhood privileged enough to receive light from the blazing sun; standing on the field made it seem as though the creepy town had disappeared. The feeling overwhelmed me as I saw the flawless grass outfield and th... ...gout echoed with yells and high pitched whoops. The announcer began announcing our team to start the introduction for the game. Since I was the lead-off batter, my name was echoed over the park first. It was at this time that the feeling elevated; the feeling that makes every baseball field so special. As my teammates yelled for me, while I ran to the nearest baseline and faced the crowd, the feeling gave me goose bumps and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. The feeling is so amazing that it will keep me playing baseball for as long as possible because it makes my love for the sport that much more. I can't even begin to explain the complex feeling I get when I walk on a baseball field, but that feeling will always be cherished and hopefully when I pass on my love of baseball to others, they will too understand what that special diamond makes me feel like.

Is ‘Lord of the Flies’ a completely pessimistic novel Essay

Goldings novel Lord of the Flies is not a totally pessimistic novel; hence this is not the only reason that it was refused by so many publishers. It is evident that although it has strong pessimism throughout the text, it is not without a brighter side. Thus, pessimism could not be at fault for the publishers lack of interest in the text as there are other grounds for their judgment. The Oxford English dictionary defines pessimism as:1.lack of hope or confidence in the future. 2.a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good. So is Lord of the Flies a totally pessimistic novel? Well judging by the definition of pessimism, this theme is indeed strongly evident throughout the text, yet it is a far cry from being totally pessimistic as such. The novel explores mankinds potential for evil as it illustrates a number of irresponsible, malicious and violent acts performed by mere schoolboys due to the situations in which they are placed in. Maybe its only us . . . Says Simon as the idea of the beastie being only the darkness within one another hits him. Though almost every character becomes a savage (as Golding describes them), some characters represent the better aspects of human nature. Ralph represents democracy and order as he is put in power by a democratic vote, attempts to please the majority and has his eyes set upon the boys salvation off the island throughout almost all the novel. Piggy represents logic and intelligence as he is thought of the thinker and is arguably the most rational boy in the group. Simon represents natural goodness as he is the only character to continue doing what is right whilst all the other boys fall into savagery. The novel progresses with significant losses taking place; whether it is a physical loss or a conceptual loss, as Simon dies, symbolising the loss of truth, giving him a Christ-like allusion; Piggy dies, symbolising the loss of intelligence, rational thinking and civilization as the conch is destroyed along with him. However, the book ends with not a totally tragic  ending as the boys are finally rescued; contradicting the definition of pessimism as being lack of hope or confidence in the future, thus proving that this text does indeed have a silver lining. So if this novel is not totally pessimistic, what other reasons would publishers have to refuse it? Well, publishers do not necessarily choose books which they believe are good, but choose books which they believe would sell well. As Lord of the Flies was written in the early 1950s, religion and morality were much more delicate issues than they are today, thus the publishers believed that this novel would not agree with the general public. Allusions to the Bible can be found throughout the text as the themes of the original sin and falling from innocence are evident throughout. In fact, Golding initially describes the island as being a paradise, like Eden, until the boys slowly turn toward savagery and the descriptions are filled with pathetic fallacy showing the darker side of nature, such as when thunder is used to symbolise incoming conflict. The boys then begin to enter into conflict with one another, which points towards the story of the original sin in Genesis, and as religion was such a delicate issue at this time; the book was deemed as unacceptable in the early 1950s. The theme of potential evil within all of mankind is consistent throughout the text as each of the boys gradually move towards a more savage, (and later on) barbaric way of life. The idea of there being a beastie on the island is concocted by an innocent littlun (who was possibly just scared of being without an adult guardian), but this idea is then morphed into a kind of myth as each of the boys, including the biguns, begin to fear the bestie. Jack and his tribe stick a pigs head upon a stick and sacrifice it to the beastie in hopes that it will not harm them as they have attempted to pacify it. Simon then hears from the pigs head Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! which suggests the beastie was more an idea or concept rather than a physical being. However, as Simon tries to bring the truth to the boys, he is killed; much like Christ was when he aspired to bring the truth to his people. The concept of there being an evil force within all of us, and the additional religious connotations were  possibly deemed to be unpopular among the general public. Lord of the Flies is not a totally pessimistic novel; therefore this cannot be the reason to it being rejected by so many publishers. The publishers rejected it due to their views on it being too scandalous and inappropriate to reveal to the public, as is shown above. Bibliography: The Oxford English dictionary’Lord of the Flies’ – William Golding

Castration Solution to Abandoned Babies

CASTRATION SOLUTION TO ABANDONED BABIES KUALA LUMPUR: Men who do not want to take responsibility after having made girls pregnant out of wedlock should be castrated. Venting his anger and frustration over the rising number of abandoned babies, Senator Ahmad Husin said only this could teach men to be more responsible in their actions. â€Å"In cases like these, those involved always disappear without a trace. We should just castrate them,† he said after asking a supplementary question to Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, on cases of abandoned babies yesterday.Shahrizat said although the suggestion was radical yet creative and innovative, studies had to be done first as not all men were irresponsible. â€Å"Besides, we are not living in the past. We need to tackle the problem the 21st-century way, beginning from a strong family institution and awareness programmes,† she told the house. Shahrizat said most cases of abandone d babies were due to weak family institution and where the responsibility of bringing up a child was left to other parties. â€Å"Parents are all too busy to pay attention to their children.The family institution has become individualistic where parents `franchise' their kids for other quarters to bring them up. † Earlier, to a question by Senator Empiang Jabu, Shahrizat said four strategies – advocacy, prevention, support and research – would be used to tackle related issues. She said the ministry provided counselling and interactive workshops to give the public, especially young girls, deeper understanding on intimate relationships and its consequences. | New Straits Times, Apr 30, 2010 | by Ili Liyana Mokhtar

National Cap on Foreign Hire is Maxed Out essays

National Cap on Foreign Hire is Maxed Out essays With unemployment at its lowest and the demand for skilled and unskilled workers at a high where do business owners turn to fill the empty positions. A large percentage of them hire foreigners; most of which have a H-1B visa. But to the surprise of some high-tech business owners the National cap on foreign hires is maxed out. 115,000 H-1B visas are accepted each year and that number has already been reached. 74,300 have been approved and 45,000 are still pending approval. Stephen Dahms, an SDSU professor and chairman of a work force committee for Biocom, said, if the companies havent had their requests in from the first part of the fiscal year (beginning October 1), theyre out of the running. Many high-tech companies such as Qualcomm depend on the employment of foreigners. Many of the high-tech companies have created thousands of jobs in the past years by using foreign hires, in turn creating much success for them by the increased production. There are many business owners that are saying that the cap should be raised. Thom Stohler, director of work force policy for the American Electronics Association said, the fact the visa cap has been reached earlier in the year is proof the cap needs to be raised. While many businesses are using foreign hires to accommodate the need for employees, some are using the visa program to their advantage by paying low wages. Since you dont have to pay foreigners the same wages as U.S. citizens these employees are being used as cheep labor. Jerry Butkiewiez, secretary-treasurer for the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council said, The biggest reason companies are using the visa program is to control wages for its current and future staffers. It is even thought that some companies are bypassing qualified U.S. workers the keep their labor costs down. This whole scenario is displaying supply and demand...

Battle of Gazala in World War II

Battle of Gazala in World War II The Battle of Gazala was fought May 26 to June 21, 1942, during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II (1939-1945). Despite having been thrown back in late 1941, General Erwin Rommel began pushing east across Libya early the following year. Responding, Allied forces constructed a fortified line at Gazala which extended south from the Mediterranean coast. On May 26, Rommel opened operations against this position by attempting to flank it from the south with the goal of trapping Allied forces near the coast. In nearly a month of fighting, Rommel was able to shatter the Gazala line and send the Allies retreating back into Egypt. Background In the wake of Operation Crusader in late 1941, General Erwin Rommels German and Italian forces were compelled to retreat west to at El Agheila. Assuming a new position behind a strong line of fortifications, Rommels Panzer Army Afrika was not attacked by British forces under General Sir Claude Auchinleck and Major General Neil Ritchie. This was largely due to the British need to consolidate their gains and build a logistical network after an advance of over 500 miles. Largely pleased with the offensive, the two British commanders had succeeded in relieving the siege of Tobruk (Map). Major General Neil Ritchie (center) addressing other officers in North Africa, May 31, 1942. Public Domain As a result of the need to improve their supply lines, the British reduced their frontline troop strength in the area of El Agheila. Probing the Allied lines in January 1942, Rommel found little opposition and began a limited offensive east. Retaking Benghazi (January 28) and Timimi (February 3), he pushed on towards Tobruk. Rushing to consolidate their forces, the British formed a new line west of Tobruk and extending south from Gazala. Beginning at the coast, the Gazala line extended 50 miles south where it was anchored on the town of Bir Hakeim. To cover this line, Auchinleck and Ritchie deployed their troops in brigade-strength boxes which were linked by barbed wire and minefields. The bulk of the Allied troops were placed near the coast with progressively fewer as the line extended into the desert. The defense of Bir Hakeim was assigned to a brigade of the 1st Free French Division. As the spring progressed, both sides took time to resupply and refit. On the Allied side, this saw the arrival of new General Grant tanks which could match the German Panzer IV as well as improvements in coordination between the Desert Air Force and troops on the ground. Rommels Plan Assessing the situation, Rommel devised a plan for a sweeping flank attack around Bir Hakeim designed to destroy the British armor and cut off those divisions along the Gazala Line. To execute this offensive, he intended the Italian 132nd Armored Division Ariete to assault Bir Hakeim while the 21st and 15th Panzer Divisions swung around the Allied flank to attack their rear. This maneuver would be supported by the 90th Light Afrika Division Battle Group which was to move around the Allied flank to El Adem to block reinforcements from joining the battle. Fast Facts: Battle of Gazala Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)Dates: May 26-June 21, 1942Armies Commanders:AlliesGeneral Sir Claude AuchinleckMajor General Neil Ritchie175,000 men, 843 tanksAxisGeneral Erwin Rommel80,000 men, 560 tanksCasualties:Allies: approx. 98,000 men killed, wounded, and captured as well as around 540 tanksAxis: approx. 32,000 casualties and 114 tanks Fighting Begins To complete the attack, elements of the Italian XX Motorized Corps and 101st Motorized Division Trieste were to clear a path through the minefields north of Bir Hakeim and near the Sidi Muftah box to supply the armored advance. To hold Allied troops in place, the Italian X and XXI Corps would assault the Gazala Line near the coast. At 2:00 PM on May 26, these formations moved forward. That night, Rommel personally led his mobile forces as they began the flanking maneuver. Almost immediately the plan began to unravel as the French mounted a vigorous defense of Bir Hakeim, repelling the Italians (Map). A short distance to the southeast, Rommels forces were held up for several hours by the 7th Armoured Divisions 3rd Indian Motor Brigade. Though they were forced to withdraw, they inflicted heavy losses on the attackers. By midday on the 27th, the momentum of Rommels attack was faltering as British armor entered the battle and Bir Hakeim held out. Only the 90th Light had clear success, over-running the 7th Armoured Divisions advance headquarters and reaching the El Adem area. As fighting raged over the next several days, Rommels forces became trapped in an area known as The Cauldron (Map). Turning the Tide This area saw his men trapped by Bir Hakeim to the south, Tobruk to the north, and the minefields of the original Allied line to the west. Under constant assault by Allied armor from the north and east, Rommels supply situation was reaching critical levels and he began to contemplate surrender. These thoughts were erased when early on May 29 supply trucks, supported by the Italian Trieste and Ariete Divisions, breached the minefields north Bir Hakeim. Able to re-supply, Rommel attacked west on May 30 to link up with the Italian X Corps. Destroying the Sidi Muftah box, he was able to split the Allied front in two. On June 1, Rommel dispatched the 90th Light and Trieste divisions to reduce Bir Hakeim, but their efforts were repulsed. At the British headquarters, Auchinleck, fueled by overly-optimistic intelligence assessments, pushed Ritchie to counterattack along the coast to reach Timimi. Rather than oblige his superior, Ritchie instead focused on covering Tobruk and reinforcing the box around El Adem. On June 5 a counterattack did move forward, but Eighth Army made no progress. That afternoon, Rommel decided to attack east towards Bir el Hatmat and north against the Knightsbridge Box. Italian Ariete Division tanks at the Battle of Gazala, June 10, 1942. Public Domain The former succeeded in overrunning the tactical headquarters of two British divisions leading to a breakdown of command and control in the area. As a result, several units were severely beaten through the afternoon and on June 6. Continuing to build strength in the Cauldron, Rommel conducted several attacks on Bir Hakeim between June 6 and 8, significantly reducing the French perimeter. By June 10 their defenses had been shattered and Ritchie ordered them to evacuate. In a series of attacks around the Knightsbridge and El Adem boxes on June 11-13, Rommels forces dealt the British armor a severe defeat. After abandoning Knightsbridge on the evening of the 13, Ritchie was authorized to retreat from the Gazala Line the next day. With Allied forces holding the El Adem area, the 1st South African Division was able to retreat along the coast road intact, though the 50th (Northumbrian) Division was forced to attack south into the desert before turning east to reach friendly lines. The boxes at El Adem and Sidi Rezegh were evacuated on June 17 and the garrison at Tobruk was left to defend itself. Though ordered to hold a line west of Tobruk at Acroma, this proved unfeasible and Ritchie began a long retreat back to Mersa Matruh in Egypt. Though Allied leaders expected Tobruk to be able to hold out for two or three months on existing supplies, it was surrendered on June 21. Captured Allied soldiers march out of Tobruk, June 1942. Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-785-0294-32A / Tannenberg / CC-BY-SA 3.0 Aftermath The Battle of Gazala cost the Allies around 98,000 men killed, wounded, and captured as well as around 540 tanks. Axis losses were approximately 32,000 casualties and 114 tanks. For his victory and the capture of Tobruk, Rommel was promoted to field marshal by Hitler. Assessing the position at Mersa Matruh, Auchinleck decided to abandon it in favor of a stronger one at El Alamein. Rommel assaulted this position in July but made no progress. A final effort was made the Battle of Alam Halfa in late August with no results.

Descriptive Essay Sample

Descriptive Essay Sample Descriptive Essay Sample Descriptive Essay Sample:(Excerpt) The first requisite for sexual compatibility in marriage is the abandonment of the self-gratification pattern for the mutual-gratification ideal. This means that each partner instead of seeking a purely personal satisfaction shall seek to make the sexual experience equally satisfactory to the other. This is a high ideal and not always easy to achieve, but the best sex adjustment to be found comes in those cases where this goal is most nearly approached. The very knowledge of mutuality enhances the pleasure of each, as does also the appreciation of each for the thoughtfulness of the other. When one partner satisfies his passion without regard for the satisfaction of the other, there is at first bewilderment, then disillusionment, and finally recoil against being called upon to serve without sharing. Our expert essay writers want to highlight that this may produce frigidity in the wife and a disgust at the sex act that may never be overcome unless she is so fortunate as to come under t he treatment of a competent doctor or psychiatrist. According to our professional writing service, but the ideal of sharing equally the satisfaction of the sexual experience in marriage necessitates knowledge by each of the sex anatomy and psychology of the other. This means that the old conception of the sexual aggressiveness of the male and the sexual passivity of the female must be abandoned. For centuries it was thought that woman had relatively limited sex desire and that, although she might enjoy the sex act and at times even hunger for it, her enjoyment was of a mild, passive type. In fact, so widely was this pattern accepted that it was considered shameful for her to show much sex passion. Any abandonment of inhibitions supposedly denoted an "oversexed" nature and was an attribute of the courtesan. Men, on the other hand, were by nature the possessors of a strong sex urge, so constant as to be easily aroused at almost any time and so powerful that it was a physical necessity to yield to its satisfaction. Such a conception of t he difference between the sex nature of man and woman (evolved in a man-made world) was naturally very convenient to man. Not only did it entitle him to play the dominant role in his conjugal sex life, but it also justified the double standard. Man's sex needs were imperative and must be met in one way or another; woman's sex needs were not so insistent and could easily be satisfied within the bonds of marriage. In addition, you can read other descriptive essays: Descriptive Essay Writing The above descriptive essay writing sample is a short excerpt of a custom essay written by Our descriptive essays writing help is affordable! Even if you need term paper 15 pages, you will be surprised with our prices! Interesting posts: Informative and Surprising Essay Expository Essay English Essay Writing Outline Conclusion Writing Cold War History Essay

Healthcare Policy Unit 2 DB HA415 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Healthcare Policy Unit 2 DB HA415 - Essay Example rces and efficient application of such resources identifies the importance of economics to health care policy makers because a good policy is one that can successfully be implemented. World Health Organization identifies the need to prioritize opportunities, or policies, and the need to solve the scarcity problem of resources through identification of sources, and efficient application of resources as some of the reasons why economics is important to policy makers in the health care sector. This is because every situation has alternative applicable policies and resources for implementing such policies are always scarce, and needed for application in other scopes. Consequently, there is a need for economic competence in order to identify a policy, with the highest level of utility, for implementation. Economics’ knowledge is further important to a health care policy maker because it facilitates identification of resources and efficient application of such resources in implement ation of an identified policy (World Health Organization, 2006). An understanding of economics is therefore important to a health care policy maker because it facilitates identification of policies with the highest utility level and ensures effective resource planning for policy

Global Warming & Climate Change Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Warming & Climate Change - Article Example Johannessen notes that global warming is so alarming because it is not only being contributed for by nature, only but also human activities. According to Johannessen, the issue is too vital due to the increasing and further expected increase of the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. For instance, he argues that the amount of this gas was recorded high in the year 2011 and the value is expected to increase in the years to come. Notably, it is true that global warming is threatening the world and its leaders. However, global warming cannot only attribute to the increased emission into the atmosphere. In fact, even if human beings stop emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, global warming will still be a threat since the ozone is already depleted and it contributes to the increase of generation of greenhouse gases through radical reaction mechanisms into the atmosphere. As Johannessen note, it is true that carbon dioxide is a threat of increasing global warming and they can be released into the atmosphere naturally and through human activities. Nonetheless, there is an increased human activity including industrialization activities that put the world at much greater risk of global warming. However, Johannessen should consider that the atmosphere has no walls; therefore, the environmental effects initiated from a certain location will automatically spread to entirely all parts of the world (Archer, 201 2). Therefore, the efforts to reduce globalization should be contributed for by all nations of the world.

Context aware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Context aware - Essay Example to Chian(2009)â€Å"When designing context aware tools, especially for mobile computing technologies it is crucial to recognize the reciprocal relationship between context and activities†. However three features of context awareness can be jotted down here: c) As per Cisco (2012) â€Å"By providing the location of rogue access points and devices, the system simplifies and enhances detection. This helps in improving the overall security of the enterprise network†. d) Storage Layer: The context data generated in this layer can be used to identify the application services. All historical data is storage in database. According to Gay (2009) â€Å"The storage layer stores not only the context data of the current status but also the historical context data in the context-aware system†. c) Context Storage: this component aims to storages the historical data of the system in a database. As per Shiffrin, (2005) â€Å"Operations that increase the strength with which item information is stored on a given study trial also increase the storage of context information on that study

The Social and Political Thought of Martin Luther King Essay

The Social and Political Thought of Martin Luther King - Essay Example It was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long protest in Montgomery, Alabama, that inflamed the American Civil Rights Movement and catapulted King to national fame. In December 1955, 42,000 black residents of Montgomery began a year-long boycott of city buses (Montgomery Bus Boycott)1 to protest racially segregated seating. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed and King was elected as its president. That evening King inspired the audience with his words: "There comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression." With this speech, King was able to ignite the African-Americans' collective outrage into a grassroots movement that would sustain the boycott. King's nonviolent resistance was the mission statement that captained the cause of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, even in the face of violent opposition from the police and the whites. Even though the boycott was challenged throughout by violent protests, King did not let people forget that Christian principles were the base of the protest. He urged the black protestors when faced with violence, to "turn the other cheek". This set the tone for all of King's subsequent campaigns. The protest propelled the Civil Rights Movement into national consciousness and Martin Luther King Jr. into the public eye. In the words of King: "We have gained a new sense of dignity and destiny. We have discovered a new and powerful weapon-nonviolent resistance." After 381 days of intense struggle, African Americans eventually won their fight to desegregate seating on public buses, not only in Montgomery, but throughout the United States. With the success of the Montgomery bus boycott, King had begun his journey along the road of civil rights, whose ultimate destination was the realization of human rights, not only for the blacks but to all the underprivileged of America. Thomas F.Jackson begins his book, "From Civil Rights to Human Rights" by stating "Over the course of his public ministry, between the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956 and the Memphis sanitation workers' Strike of 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., wove together African American dreams of freedom with global dreams of political and economic equality. King opposed racism, imperialism, poverty, and political disfranchisement in increasingly radical terms. Often he referred to the American civil rights movement as simply one expression of an international human rights revolution that demanded economic rights to work, income, housing, and security." Jackson argues that King's ideas and his socio-political thoughts did not undergo a sudden change towards economic justice in the final few years of his life but had begun taking root even in the initial years of his involvement in the civil rights movement. The fact that the theme of economic justice was central to King's thoughts throughout his career is evident from the way King attacked the unequal distribution of American wealth twice before the NAACP2.He even pointed out to a January MIA mass meeting

Armed Robbery Sentence Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Armed Robbery Sentence Proposal - Essay Example As with the case of Timothy Stuart Ring and his accomplices, John Magoch and James Greenham in 2004, when they committed a planned armor car robbery, killing Wells Fargo, the armored car driver in the process.   The case was presided by the Honorable Gregory H. Martin, Judge of Arizona Supreme Court.   It was stated in the court’s decision that the defendants â€Å"are entitled to a jury determination of any fact on which the legislature conditions an increase in their maximum punishments. (Arizona Supreme Court Decision, 2002)†Ã‚   This means that since all court litigation, the maximum sentence, or the degree of punishment is based on how the jury would find the defendants.   In Ring’s case, the crime was cruel and horrendously committed even if Ring only has a minimal criminal record.  In the year 2004, with a population of 21, 593, Nogales Police Department of Arizona’s Crime Index shows a total of 1,310.60 per 100,000 total violent crimes whic h includes Robbery with gun, Robbery with knife, Robbery with other weapon, and Strong Arm Robbery.   The overall total crime index of the state of Arizona for the year 2004 and 2005, armed robbery crimes totaled 7,721 and 8,579 respectively and the record has shown to have increase in 2006 with a total number of armed robbery 9,226 in the state of Arizona alone.   Instead of showing a decrease in crime rates, it seems as if that â€Å"bad people† have more courage to commit armed robbery even with the death sentence and life sentence given to those who committed such crime.  ... Some can even get away of such heinous crimes due to the fact that people today become more ingenious. Let us not only look at the horrifying crime scenes that happened during the committal of the crime. Let us also look at the reason as to why and what these people are experiencing that pushed them to commit armed robbery even murder. Some would say that they rob because they need money to buy food for their family, poverty and being out of a job are some causes that would push these people to rob. While some are only due to an influence of alcohol and even prohibited drugs. Most often that than not, plans started out to be simple without any intention of bloodshed, however when things get out of hand, it starts to get messy and the criminals are forced to get their hands dirty. As far as the state of Arizona is concerned, and basing on the statistics of the Arizona Law Enforcement Agency Uniform Crime Report, the increase of armed robbery for three consecutive years since 2004 until 2006 is already alarming and something should already be done about it. Remember, it is not only that armed robbery that cause so much concern for the people of Arizona, there is, murder, rape, assault, burglary, larceny and many others that keeps our people from living in peace and enjoying life. Therefore, to foster peace and progress, the people of Arizona should be protected from armed robbery, and in so doing, it is proposed that whatever is the degree of the crime, still with the help of the jury, Life Sentence should always be the verdict whether the accused is a celebrity or an ordinary citizen. Rationale The rationale behind this verdict is simple.

The Social and Political Thought of Martin Luther King Essay

The Social and Political Thought of Martin Luther King - Essay Example It was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long protest in Montgomery, Alabama, that inflamed the American Civil Rights Movement and catapulted King to national fame. In December 1955, 42,000 black residents of Montgomery began a year-long boycott of city buses (Montgomery Bus Boycott)1 to protest racially segregated seating. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed and King was elected as its president. That evening King inspired the audience with his words: "There comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression." With this speech, King was able to ignite the African-Americans' collective outrage into a grassroots movement that would sustain the boycott. King's nonviolent resistance was the mission statement that captained the cause of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, even in the face of violent opposition from the police and the whites. Even though the boycott was challenged throughout by violent protests, King did not let people forget that Christian principles were the base of the protest. He urged the black protestors when faced with violence, to "turn the other cheek". This set the tone for all of King's subsequent campaigns. The protest propelled the Civil Rights Movement into national consciousness and Martin Luther King Jr. into the public eye. In the words of King: "We have gained a new sense of dignity and destiny. We have discovered a new and powerful weapon-nonviolent resistance." After 381 days of intense struggle, African Americans eventually won their fight to desegregate seating on public buses, not only in Montgomery, but throughout the United States. With the success of the Montgomery bus boycott, King had begun his journey along the road of civil rights, whose ultimate destination was the realization of human rights, not only for the blacks but to all the underprivileged of America. Thomas F.Jackson begins his book, "From Civil Rights to Human Rights" by stating "Over the course of his public ministry, between the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956 and the Memphis sanitation workers' Strike of 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., wove together African American dreams of freedom with global dreams of political and economic equality. King opposed racism, imperialism, poverty, and political disfranchisement in increasingly radical terms. Often he referred to the American civil rights movement as simply one expression of an international human rights revolution that demanded economic rights to work, income, housing, and security." Jackson argues that King's ideas and his socio-political thoughts did not undergo a sudden change towards economic justice in the final few years of his life but had begun taking root even in the initial years of his involvement in the civil rights movement. The fact that the theme of economic justice was central to King's thoughts throughout his career is evident from the way King attacked the unequal distribution of American wealth twice before the NAACP2.He even pointed out to a January MIA mass meeting

Police and Legitimacy Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Police and Legitimacy Law - Essay Example Therefore, for effective governing, an institution has to acquire political legitimacy as this is necessary to prevent the collapse of the government due to various legal setbacks that governs the state. However, there are some political systems that survive despite illegitimately acquiring power. This institution usually seeks the support of individuals who hold influential positions in the society and thereby considering such systems as legitimate despite opposition from the wider mass. Locke further argues that legitimacy comes from the popular consent of the people and without it, any institution formed and operating is illegitimate. Dolf Stanberger defines legitimacy as a foundation of an existence of governmental power with the knowledge of officials of government that they have a right to govern for the benefits of the people (Alderson, 1979). An author by the name of Seymour Martins disagrees with the definitions of Locke and Stanberger on legitimacy. He argues that legitimac y involves a belief by the ruling class that the practiced system of governance is the best and he does not involve the masses as in his definition (Blumberg, 1983). Legitimacy encompasses morality and scholars of moral philosophy define it as the normative position given to the government and other institutions operating in the country by the masses on the acceptance that they use their authority in accordance to the law. Scholars of law distinguish legitimacy from legality. They argue that a government can be legitimate in its composition but they actions can be illegal, for example implementing a budget without parliament’s approval. The police is an organ of the government and its main function is to maintain law and order. In conducting their operations there are always aspects of legitimacy in question. Are they acting within the law or are they violating the same law they are supposed to implement. This paper seeks to analyze legitimacy in the contest of a specific pol ice function. The police function identified is maintenance of law and order in England and Wales (Miyazawa, 1995). In talking about this role, it will highlight its different aspects and how it defines the concept of legitimacy in England and wales. The questions that this paper seeks to answer are two fold, What is legitimacy? How does the police role of maintaining law and order define the concepts of legitimacy in England and Wales? This paper has a concluder which basis its analysis from the research done and it explains other concepts of legitimacy. The main role of the police force is to maintain law and order and in order to function appropriately; the police need public help and support and it’s of great use to them when such support is voluntary and sincere. Such voluntary support from the public comes from the notion of legitimacy. The society has to acknowledge the roles of the police as outlined by the laws governing the state and if police action contravenes the se laws, they will lose legitimacy and therefore getting cooperation from the people becomes difficult. One of the main reasons as to why people agree to cooperate with the police is because they enjoy legal recognition and therefore people view them as a legitimate authority to be obeyed. The public are also concerned with the manner in which the police execute their functions and from their conclusions

A Bio-Sketch of Marie Curie Essay Example for Free

A Bio-Sketch of Marie Curie Essay Marie Sklodowski was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw the capital of Poland. Both of her parents were school teachers, and they had high expectations for their five children (Zosia, Bronia, Jozef, Helena and Marie). Marie, her sisters, and brother all graduated with the highest grades in their class. The Sklodowski family was very learned and cultured, but they struggled financially. Poland was occupied by Russia and Germany. Many jobs were taken by these unwelcome foreigners. Maries father, Wladyslaw, was a school principal. He lost his job to a Russian because he was loyal to Poland and a patriot. To help meet living expenses, Maries family took in student boarders. The household was crowded with so many people in one apartment. Those crowded living conditions helped to spread tuberculosis, a major infectious disease in the late nineteenth century. Maries mother got the disease from Wladyslaws brother who came to live with them. After several expensive rest cures in the south of France, she died in 1878 from TB when Marie was only nine years old. . Why She Chose Physics Marie was encouraged to study physical science by her cousin, Jozef Boguski. He was the director of the Warsaw Museum of Industry. He allowed her to do experiments in physics and chemistry on the weekends at the museum. When Marie got to the Sorbonne in Paris, a revolution was about to take place. It was not a revolution with soldiers, but a revolution in science. This was a very exciting time to study physics. Physics is a branch of science that investigates the four forces at work in the universe both on a large scale, as in the solar system, or on a small scale, as in atoms. The structure of the atom and the forces which hold it together were still unknown when Marie enrolled as a student at the Sorbonne. Marie Curies Research With Pierre acting as her advisor, Marie spent several years purifying uranium ore. It was a grueling task to isolate the radioactive substances from tons of ordinary rock. Toiling over a giant vat, she worked out of doors or in a drafty shed. This was a blessing in disguise because the vat gave off poisonous radon gas. The Curies were not aware of this. Marie proposed that the radiation came from inside the atoms. Other scientists followed her lead and started to investigate the structure of atoms. She discovered two new elements which the Curies named Radium (after radiation) and Polonium (after Poland). In 1903, the Curies and Henri Becquerel received the Nobel Prize in physics for their combined research and discoveries on radioactivity. The Dangerous Beauty of Radium The Curies had two daughters: Irene was born in 1897 and Eve in 1904. Pierres father took over the childcare duties as Marie and Pierre became more and more involved in their work. Marie became pregnant again, but she suffered a miscarriage probably due to high levels of radiation in her lab. One rainy afternoon in April of 1906, Pierre was run over by a horse-drawn wagon and died. Pierre had been experiencing severe pains in his legs, and this may have caused the accident. Marie was devastated, and she turned to a close friend of Pierres, Paul Langevin, for companionship. Their love affair was exposed by a tabloid newspaper, and a scandal resulted. Maries reputation and career were nearly destroyed. Then the Swedish Nobel committee announced she had won the prize for chemistry! Director of an Institute This probably saved her career in physics. In the following years she was very bitter about the way she was treated. She made a point of hiring people at her lab who also had suffered discrimination by the male science establishment. She also hired several women at her lab and gave them their start in physics. One was Marguerite Perey who began as a test tube washer and, a few years later, discovered the radioactive element Francium. Ellen Gleditsch came to the lab from Norway. At home, Marie was training Irene to become a physicist. Irene reminded her of Pierre; she had the same temperment and the same dislike of school. Because of her service to soldiers during the war, the French public began to think of Marie less as a foreigner and more as a patriotic French woman. She also toured America twice after the war and raised money for her Radium Institute. During these years, she controlled the largest supply of radioactive substances used in scientific research. She shared these with other physics labs engaged in studying the structure of the atom. Marie had the constitution of a horse, but even she eventually succumbed to the lethal effects of radiation exposure. In the last decade of her life, she suffered from severe pains and aches like Pierre had. She also had cataracts in her eyes and constant ringing in her ears. In 1934, Maries bold adventure into the atomic universe came to an end. She died in Paris of leukemia, a cancer of the blood. The Curie Tradition Lives On In 1997, Maries remains were moved to the Pantheon, Frances monument to its heros. She is the first woman to be so honored. Marie Curie was a great Polish patriot, but she had won a place in the heart of the French people.

Impact of Meat Import Restrictions

Impact of Meat Import Restrictions Analysis of the impact if Iceland’s government would decrease import restrictions on fresh meat on Icelandic consumers and producers of meat Abstract Foreign trade is always increasing and all governments around the world try to protect some of their core domestic industries by applying various of restrictions to keep import at a minimum. Importation of fresh meat to Iceland is prohibited but forces with in consumers’ welfare organizations are pressuring for these restrictions to be reduced and opening the market up for foreign competition. If the market would open up then consumers would get lower prices, producers would probably have to lower their prices and production. It is crucial for the producers to appeal to consumers loyalty on Icelandic meat and prove their quality. Margrà ©t Guà °nà ½ Vigfà ºsdà ³ttir Introduction In Iceland, like many other countries, agriculture is a significant part of history, sustainability and food security. In early 20th century agriculture started facing difficulties in which leaded to the government taking actions by subsidizing the industry. Import restrictions also protect domestic industry to this day. Geographic outlines, climate and distance from world markets cause high production cost, high transportation cost and poor terms of trade. Market conditions are often blamed for high food prices in Iceland especially because of small population and small market. This small market is therefore uneconomical in production, management and trade and the advantages of economies of scale are not possible like in other neighbouring countries of Europe for instance (Snorrason, 2006). Iceland’s participation in world trade for example in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Word Trade Organization (WTO) has opened the possibility of increased import of agriculture goods but the foreign market has not yet threatened Icelandic meat producers due to import restrictions (Þorgeirsson, Bjarnadà ³ttir, Sveinsson, 2004). The import restriction are in form of high tariffs, import quotas and strict import permits, several certificates and documentation confirming that the product have been stored at a temperature of at least -18 °C for 30 days and a certificate confirming the that the products are free of salmonella (EFTA Surveillance Authoroty, 2014). The Icelandic Competition Authorities, Consumer Protecting Agency and other organizations have complained that the restrictions prevent healthy competition and leave consumers worse off. Recently the EFTA Surveillance Authority concluded a reasoned opinion that Iceland’s restriction on importation of fresh meat in breach of EEA law (EFTA Surveillance Authoroty, 2014). The Icelandic government argues that these restrictions are necessary for Icelandic healthcare due to possible infection to Icelandic farm animals. Iceland is an isolated island and farm animals stocks like lamb have stayed the same for decades. This means that Icelandic farm anima ls are much more vulnerable to diseases with worse immune system than the farm animals on the main lands of Europe. Along with these import restrictions on selected agriculture products the Icelandic government also subsidizes the agriculture industry by guaranteeing minimum price to farmers. Some have criticise that Icelandic farmers are overindulgent by the government compared to other nations and because of this farmers/producers can offer higher prices than they would in more competitive market. The Market An oligopoly is a market with few large firms holding the majority of the market. They offer similar products but try to differentiate to be more desirable than the next. Firms in oligopoly market are said to be interdependent which mean that they will consider their own actions influenced with how the rivals might respond (Mankiw Taylor, 2014). The Icelandic meat producers market is an oligopoly. The four largest producers of meat had 56% market share in 2010 (Icelandic Competition Authority, 2012). The market is small due to small population, which leads to uneconomic production, management and trade compared to larger countries. Price on meat was 38% lower in the EU states on average in 2009 (Kristà ³fersson Bjarnadà ³ttir, 2011). Economies of scale are hard to obtain due to high capital cost, seasonal fluctuation and only the few large producers have sufficient economies of scale compared to the size of the market (Jà ³hannesson Agnarsson, 2004). These facts make it harder to enter the market for new comers (entry barrier). It is important for all producers to know how consumers respond to changes in price. The price elasticity of demand measures how much the quantity demanded responds to a change in price (Mankiw Taylor, 2014). Price elasticity of goods can vary, necessities are often rather inelastic, that is, the percentage change in demand is small when prices change (PE1). Most agriculture products like meat are inelastic goods (although specific types of meat are elastic due to close substitutes, from pork to beef for example) as food is a necessity. Consumers maintain the consumptions of them despite changes in price (Jà ³hannesson Agnarsson, 2004). Welfare economics is the study of how the allocation of resources affects economic well-being. Consumer and producer surplus is used to measure the benefits to consumers and producers of trading. When government introduces taxes, tariffs and quotas it creates a deadweight loss. Deadweight loss is the fall in total surplus that results from a market distortion such as tax (Mankiw Taylor, 2014). Import Restriction Impact on Economic Welfare Icelandic importers can not import meat unless it has gone through various examinations and been frozen for at least 30 days. Frozen meat is of course not fresh and therefor are no imports on fresh meat allowed. Now lets use the tools of economics to see how this affects consumers, producers and the economic welfare. The demand is rather inelastic as explained earlier. We assume that the supply is close to unit elastic due to various factors pulling in either direction. The world supply on the other hand is elastic since it is a very large competitive market. We will keep these assumptions about elasticity’s out this chapter. To simplify, impact of taxation is ignored. Figure 1 shows current status on Icelandic fresh meat market. No fresh meat is bought from foreign suppliers and consumer surplus (green) is the area A and producers surplus (red) is the area B+C. Figure 1: Current Fresh Meat Market with out Trade Now lets see what happens if Icelandic government relieves the import restrictions on fresh meat. Figure 2 shows that consumer surplus gains a lot and equals the area A+B’+D while producer’s surplus reduces (B-B’=B’’) and equals the area C+B’’. The price falls and since the domestic quantity supplied (DQS) is less than the domestic quantity demanded (DQD) the difference has to be imported. Figure 2: If Restrictions were Removed (with out Tariffs and Quotas) Figure 2 does not shows what would happen in current situation because of import tariffs and import quotas. The import tariff on meat from nations within EU and EFTA is 18% and 30% from other nations. Nations with in EU are allowed to import to Iceland limited amount (tariff-quota) of pork, poultry and beef (no lamb) with out tariff . On the other hand, the Import quotas are sold to the highest bidder leading to little or no gain from the free trade to the importer (Icelandic Federation of Labour, 2007). To get the idea of how things might be if the restrictions were relieved we look at the meat market in general, including frozen and processed meat. In 2010 the market share of imported meat was 3%, which is a very small percentage (Icelandic Competition Authority, 2012). The high tariffs and quotas keep the import level at a minimum. Figure 3 shows how the market is with tariff and quota, assuming for simplicity that they cross the domestic demand at the same quantity. The area for consumer surplus has now increased, from what we saw in figure 1, by area B’+G and producer surplus has decreased by area B’. The government revenue (yellow), area E, is added since there is tariff added to the world supply and quotas sold. The deadweight loss (orange), or loss to society, from this tariff and quota is area D+F. The price falls slightly from P1 to P2, domestic quantity demanded increases and domestic quantity supplied decreases. Meat has to be imported to meet the demand fro m DQS to DQD (it is likely that the ratio of import is much smaller than indicated in figure 3 compared to current 3% import market share). Figure 3: If Restrictions were Relieved (Current Meat Market) We can see by comparing figure 3 to figure 1 that both government and consumers gain surplus while producers are worse off resulting in total surplus change of area +G+E (table 1). This infers that removing restrictions will raise the economic wellbeing. Table 1: Changes in Economic Welfare if Restrictions Relieved With restrictions Without restrictions Change Consumer surplus A A+G+B’ +B’+G Producers surplus C+B C+B-B’ -B’ Government revenue None E +E Total surplus A+C+B A+C+B+E +G+E Import restrictions are not the only thing that the Icelandic Consumer Organization and others want to be taken action on. As mentioned before high tariffs and quotas keep the imports of meat at a minimum. It is not cost efficient to import fresh meat and therefore the tariff income on fresh meat to the Icelandic government is not substantial. In a report the Icelandic Statistical Bureau published in 2006 about reasons for high food prices in Iceland it was indicated that if tariffs would be reduced by half on main agriculture products the income loss for the government would be 145 million ISK, but on the other hand the rise in income due to increased turnover would be 900 million ISK (Snorrason, 2006). Now lets assume that import quotas will be removed and import tariffs lowered as shown in figure 4. Figure 4: If Restrictions and Quotas were Relieved as well as Tariff Reduction. The price consumers pay will fall from P2 to P3. Domestic quantity supplied will decrease and domestic demand will increase leading in larger import. Table 2 shows the changes of reducing import tariffs and removing quota. The total change in total surplus will be the area +D’’+F’’+D’’’+F’’’. Table 2: Changes in Economic Welfare if Quotas were Removed and Tariffs Reduced Before lowering tariffs After lowering tariffs Change Consumer surplus A+G+B’ A+G+B’+B’’’+D’’+E’+F’’ +B’’’+D’’+E’+F’’ Producers surplus C+B-B’ C+B-B’-B’’’ -B’’’ Government revenue E E-E’+D’’’+F’’’ -E’+D’’’+F’’’ Total surplus A+G+C+B+E A+G+C+B+D’’+D’’’ +F’’+F’’’ +D’’+F’’+D’’’+F’’’ The total surplus change from figure 1 to figure 4 is then the area G+E+D’’+F’’+D’’’+F’’’. This area is the measure off how much the market increases it’s welfare. There are always losers and winners in trade. In this case the producers would always be the looser since import tariffs and quotas are always to protect the domestic producers. Consumers and the government are winners in this case with lower price to consumers and increased revenue for the Government. The Government could then use that revenue to increase subsidizes to the domestic production to keep up their competitiveness to the world market. Impact of lifting import restrictions What would Icelandic consumers gain if import restriction where relieved. The Consumer Protection Agency argues that because of the poor status of the Icelandic currency ISK and current tariffs the Icelandic producers have nothing to fear. When import restrictions on tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers from Europe where relieved in 2002 some predicted that domestic production would stop. The outcome was on the other hand that prices of these goods decreased, domestic production increased and producers gained more profit. This will be the case for fresh meat as well. Supply and variety of meat will increase and consumers will have better alternatives (Icelandic Consumer Organisation, 2013). Tariff protection does not protect the agriculture producers but gives shelter for high price on competitive and substitution goods. The impact of reducing tariff protection would have a big impact on the agriculture producers and some might not be able to compete with the world market. Therefore it would be important to support the agriculture producers by increased subsidizes and other operations optimizing while lowering tariffs (Snorrason, 2006). The impact of relieving import restrictions on fresh meat and lowering tariffs on meat in general could lead to Iceland being dependent on foreign market concerning food security. Foreign markets might face shock to their production, such as animal disease or crop failure and would that lead to shortage and/or significant price change for Icelanders at least in the short run (Jà ³hannesson T. , 2004). Will consumers be loyal to Icelandic production In economics there is a principle that says that people respond to incentives. The consumer knows what he wants when two or more alternatives are available, he is consistent in the way that if he choses product A rather than B and product B rather than C, that he will then choose A rather than C. He also chooses more quantity of quality rather than less quantity of quality, for example he chooses three apples instead of two apples if the price is the same. Most people are though aware that they can consume less that they desire because their spending is constrained, or limited, by their income (Mankiw Taylor, 2014). In reality this is not so simple as indicated above. The experience of Finland and Sweden joining the European union (free trade) showed that consumers are willing to pay higher prices for domestic produced goods compared to similar imported goods. In the case of Icelandic vegetables, Icelanders are willing to pay 10% more than for imported vegetables (Kristà ³fersson Bjarnadà ³ttir, 2011). Research has shown that 62% of Icelandic consumers think Icelandic meat is of more quality that foreign meat, 26% would pay 6%-10% higher price for Icelandic meat and 21% would pay 11-15% higher price. When consumers where asked if they would rather buy foreign cheaper meat, 35% said yes, 45% no and 20% where undecided (Þà ³rhallsdà ³ttir, 2012). These numbers indicate that if import restrictions where relieved or reduced then Icelandic producers of meat have to step up and show their advantages to consumers to keep their loyalty. For example show their proximity to the market, production methods, quality and nutrition level (Þà ³rhallsdà ³ttir, 2012). Conclusion The world is always getting smaller and smaller with globalization and increased trade. The pressure on Icelandic government to reduce restrictions on importing fresh meat will only increase by time. If the Icelandic government cannot prove that import of raw meat harms the health of humans and animals they will have to reduce import restriction from countries with in EU. Icelandic farmers and producers of meat need to prepare for the market opening up by promoting them self among consumers and differentiate. All restriction reduction on import including quotas and tariffs benefit the consumers, it’s just a matter of how much. Increased competition could also lead to production improvement with in the meat farmers/producers and increase their turnover and profit like the vegetable industry experienced. Since the coverage on changes in economic welfare in this paper were only theoretical it would be interesting to see a research report on the real influences in numbers, similar to the report of the Statistical Bureau in 2006 about food prices. References EFTA Surveillance Authoroty. (2014, October 8). EFTA Surveillance Authoroty. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from Questions and answers Fresh meat case: http://www.eftasurv.int/media/press-releases/ESA_Questions_and_Answers_(EN)_-_The_Icelandic_Fresh_meat_case.pdf EFTA Surveillance Authoroty. (2014, October 8). EFTA Surveillance Authoroty. Retrieved December 11, 2014 from Internal Market: Icelands restrictions on the importation of fresh meat in breach of EEA law : http://www.eftasurv.int/presspublications/press-releases/internal-market/nr/2345 Icelandic Competition Authority. (2012). Verà °Ãƒ ¾rà ³un og samkeppni à ¡ dagvà ¶rumarkaà °i [Price developments competition on convenience market]. Reykjavà ­k: Icelandic Competition Authority. Icelandic Consumer Organisation. (2013, March 14). Icelandic Consumer Organisation. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from Um innfllutning à ¡ hrà ¡u kjà ¶ti [About imports on raw meat]: http://www.ns.is/is/content/um-innflutning-hrau-kjoti Icelandic Federation of Labour. (2007, March 23). Icelandic Federation of Labour. Retrieved December 10, 2014 from Breytingar à ¡ tollum 1. mars 2007 [Changes on tariffs 1. March 2007]: http://www.asi.is/media/6401/230307tollarbreytingar.pdf Jà ³hannesson, S., Agnarsson, S. (2004). Bà ³nid er bà ºstà ³lpi, bà º er landstà ³lpi [Farmer is the man of the house, a farm is a pillar of the commuity]. University of Iceland, Institute of Economics. Reykjavà ­k: Oddi hf. Jà ³hannesson, T. (2004). Framleià °slukerfi à ­ bà ºfjà ¡rrà ¦kt [Production system for livestock raising]. Education conference of the agriculture industry (pp. 55-60). Reykjavà ­k: Iclandic Farmers Association. Kristà ³fersson, D. M., Bjarnadà ³ttir, E. (2011). Staà °a à ­slenks landbà ºnaà °ar gagnvart aà °ild aà ° Evrà ³pusambandinu [Icelands agruculture status towards membership of the European Union]. Mankiw, N. G., Taylor, M. P. (2014). Economics. Andover: Cengage Learning . Snorrason, H. (2006). Skà ½rsla formanns nefndar sem forsà ¦tisrà ¡Ãƒ °herra skipaà °i 16. janà ºar 2006 til à ¾ess aà ° fjalla um helstu orsakaà ¾Ãƒ ¦tti hà ¡s matarverà °s à ¡ à slandi og gera tillà ¶gur sem mià °a aà ° à ¾và ­ aà ° fà ¦ra matvà ¦laverà ° nà ¦r à ¾và ­ sem gegnur og gerist à ­ nà ¡grannarà ­kjunum [Report from the presitend of a committe that was nominated 16th of January 2006 by the prime minister to adress the main triggers to high food price in Iceland and make a suggestion to bring food price down to same level as in neighbouring countries]. Reykjavà ­k: Icelandic Statistical Bureau. Þorgeirsson, S., Bjarnadà ³ttir, E., Sveinsson, Þ. E. (2004). Atvinnuvegur à ¡ krossgà ¶tum Staà °a bà ºgreina à ¡ breyttum tà ­mum [Industry on crossroads Farming position in different times]. Education conference of the agriculture industry (pp. 61-73). Reykjavà ­k: Iclandic Farmers Association. Þà ³rhallsdà ³ttir, S. A. (2012). Vià °horf à ­slenskra neytenda til landbà ºnaà °arframleià °slu à hrifaà ¾Ãƒ ¦ttir à ­ kjà ¶tneyslu- [Icelandic consumers attitude towards agricutlure products Factors influencing meat cunsumption -]. Agricultural University of Iceland, Natural Resources Department. Reykjavà ­k: Agricultural University of Iceland.

Surge Irrigation Essay -- Technology Science Agriculture Essays

Surge Irrigation Surface irrigation is not new technology, but through research and the incorporation of some inventive measures, advances in this area have provided the needed responses to make this type of irrigation increasingly appealing. Not only is water quality a major concern, but current farmers must now monitor water quality and provide adequate crop protection measures to insure a good yield. Water availability is affected by falling water tables, droughts and stressed by the increasing water demand of growing urban populations (Moody 1993). Likewise, local and federal governments create strict water utilization laws, limiting chemical concentrations of particular substances in surface waters throughout the nation. In addition to adhering to the aforementioned tasks, irrigators must correctly apply supplemental water such that the crop’s needs are also met without â€Å"over-application†. The primary goals of any irrigation system are to minimize deep percolation of water and replenish soil water in the root zone along the entire field (Goldhammer 1987). Thus, to achieve effective water management, an irrigator should utilize the least amount of water needed to sustain profitable yield amounts. In addition, the major concerns of managing irrigation water are controlling runoff, decreasing deep percolation, providing sufficient drainage, and limiting energy and the associated labor costs. For a small or medium sized operation with limited resources, labor and maintenance costs are important factors when selecting an irrigation system. A study conducted by Dr. Stephen H. Amosson (1995) compared six alternative irrigation systems (gated pipe, surge flow, side roll, high pressure pivot, low pressur... ...s Department of the Interior. Goldhammer, D.A., M.H. Alemi and R.C. Phene (1987) Surge vs. Continuous-Flow Irrigation. California Agriculture, September-October 1987. Hill, R.W. and G. Stringham (1994) Surge Flow Irrigation: Automatic Surface Irrigation Demonstration for Summer Onion Tour. Cooperative Extension Service & Biological and Irrigation Engineering Department, Utah State University Moody, V. (1993) The Benefits of Surge. Irrigation Journal, March 1993. New, Leon (1995) Opportunities to Maximize the Utilization of Waters by Irrigators. Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Varlev, I., Z. Popova, I. Gospodinov (1998) Furrow Surge Irrigation as a Water Saving Technique. Water and the Environment: Innovation in Irrigation and Drainage, 1st Inter-regional Conference Proceedings, Lisbon, Portugal, September 1998, pp-131-139.

Visual Perception – Painting

Name: N. Mithun Kumar Vasu Deva Sarma Roll No: 201001072 Course: Space Time in Arts and Humanities Date: 17-11-2012 Topic: Perception of Visual Arts (Painting) ABSTRACT The task essentially is to consider what the art of painting essentially is and how it is perceived. One of the most curious questions which first arises is ? What is an Art Art: Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities. The word art can refer to several things: a study of creative skill, a process of using the creative skill, a product of the creative skill, or the audience's experience with the creative skill.Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. Many definitions of art have been proposed by philosophers and others who have characterized art in terms of mimesis, expression, communication of emotion, or other values. Though art's definition is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions mention an idea of human agency and creation through imaginative or technical skill. In medieval philosophy, John Chrysostom held that â€Å"the name of art should be applied to those only which contribute towards and produce necessaries and mainstays of life.The nature of art has been described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as â€Å"one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture†. Art as mimesis has deep roots in the philosophy of Aristotle. The nature of art, and related concepts such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics. Art, at its simplest, is a form of communication. As most forms of communication have an intent or goal directed toward another individual, this is a motivated purpose. Illustrative arts, such as scientific illustration, are a form of art as communication.Emotions, moods and feelings are also communicated through art. Here, we consider painting, a visual art and explain its perception. H ere arises the question, what are ? Visual arts Visual Arts: ?Visual Arts? is a term used for a broad category of different types of art. Visual arts include all forms of arts creative and haves expressive production in material. In simple words, ? Visual arts? are art forms that create works that are primarily visual in nature, such as Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Design, Crafts, Photography, Video, Filmmaking and Architecture.These definitions should not be taken too strictly as many artistic disciplines (performing arts, conceptual art, textile arts) involve aspects of the visual arts as well as arts of other types. The current usage of the term â€Å"visual arts† includes fine art as well as the applied, decorative arts and crafts. Visual arts also include applied arts. The perception of these visual arts is a lot different from Visual Perception. So, we need to know the difference between the perception of visual art and visual perception of art. For this purpose, we explain what visual perception is and then show the differences between the two of them.VISUAL PERCEPTION: Visual perception is a function of our eyes and brain. We see images as a whole rather than in parts. However, images can be broken down into their visual elements: line, shape, texture, and color. Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment by processing information that is contained in visible light. These elements are to images as grammar is to language. Together they allow our eyes to see images and our brain to recognize them. For most of the people, vision appears simple and effortless as it seems like a trivial operation.Our brain, however, has to process, combine and separate shapes, colors, shadows, object relations, and much more within fractions of a second in order to build a representation from its sensory input. Vision perception is ambiguous. For example, to see a painting, a piece of sculpture or a building take s a few moments. Other art objects may take a little more time. Most of the people appreciate (comment on) the object within moments of seeing them. But it is the product of an extraordinarily developed and complicated visual system. Visual perception helps a lot in the aesthetic experience of art.Visual perception of art vs Perception of Visual Art: The main difference between the visual perception of art and perception of visual arts is that in the visual perception of an art we explain how our vision sees an art and sends it whereas in the perception of visual arts we explain how our vision sees the art and the reason why our vision sees the art in such a manner. One important difference between the perception of visual arts and visual perception is the task of the observer. In everyday perception, the task of the observer is well defined, often by the action that the perception supports.As we watch the incoming traffic before crossing the road, our perception of the traffic is o riented to the extraction of useful information such as the recognition of a car and the estimation of its speed, while at the same time disregarding irrelevant information such as the make or color of the car. Once the task is established, one can define the decisions necessary to perform it, and if one so wishes, the efficiency of the observer in this task can be computed by normalizing the performance to that of the ideal observer for this task.It is more difficult to identify an appropriate task in the perception of visual arts. Without specifying a task, the question of how good one is at looking at a painting becomes irrelevant, and the notion of risk associated to an alleged wrong perception becomes meaningless. One way to identify a plausible task in visual arts perception is to return to the challenges of everyday perception. PAINTING Painting taken literally is the practice of applying pigment suspended in a carrier (or medium) and a binding agent (a glue) to a surface (su pport) such as paper, canvas or a wall.However, when used in an artistic sense it means the use of this activity in combination with drawing, composition and, or, other aesthetic considerations in order to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Painting is also used to express spiritual motifs and ideas; sites of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery to The Sistine Chapel to the human body itself. Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface (support base).The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is also used outside of art as a common trade among craftsmen and builders. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay, leaf, co pper or concrete, and may incorporate multiple other materials including sand, clay, paper, gold leaf as well as objects.Painting is a mode of creative expression, and the forms are numerous. Drawing, composition or abstraction and other aesthetics may serve to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in a still life or landscape painting), photographic, abstract, be loaded with narrative content, symbolism, emotion or be political in nature. Painting only can â€Å"describe† everything which can be seen and suggest every emotion which can be felt.Painting is not just mere impression of our thoughts but is composed of a number of elements like intensity, form, figure, filial, color and tone, texture, garnet, line, conduit, deformation, organix, rhythm and non-traditional elements. Some of the important elements are discussed below. ELEMENTS AND MEDIA Modern artists have extended the practice o f painting considerably to include, for example, collage, which began with Cubism and is not painting in the strict sense. Some modern painters incorporate different materials such as sand, cement, straw or wood for their texture.Examples of this are the works of Jean Dubuffet and Anselm Kiefer. There is a growing community of artists who use computers to paint color onto a digital canvas using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and many others. These images can be printed onto traditional canvas if required. ELEMENTS INTENSITY: What enables painting is the perception and representation of intensity. Every point in space has different intensity, which can be represented in painting by black and white and all the gray shades between. In practice, ainters can articulate shapes by juxtaposing surfaces of different intensity; by using just color (of the same intensity) one can only represent symbolic shapes. Thus, the basic means of painting are distinct from ideological m eans, such as geometrical figures, various points of view and organization (perspective), and symbols. For example, a painter perceives that a particular white wall has different intensity at each point, due to shades and reflections from nearby objects, but ideally, a white wall is still a white wall in pitch darkness.In technical drawing, thickness of line is also ideal, demarcating ideal outlines of an object within a perceptual frame different from the one used by painters. Color and tone: Color and tone are the essence of painting as pitch and rhythm are of music. Color is highly subjective, but has observable psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with mourning in the West, but in the East, white is. Some painters, theoreticians, writers and scientists, including Goethe, Kandinsky, and Newton, have written their own color theory.Moreover the use of language is only a generalization for a color equivalent. The word â⠂¬Å"red†, for example, can cover a wide range of variations on the pure red of the visible spectrum of light. There is not a formalized register of different colors in the way that there is agreement on different notes in music, such as C or C? in music. For a painter, color is not simply divided into basic and derived (complementary or mixed) colors (like red, blue, green, brown, etc. ). Painters deal practically with pigments, so â€Å"blue† for a painter can be any of the blues: phtalocyan, Paris blue, indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, and so on.Psychological, symbolical meanings of color are not strictly speaking means of painting. Colors only add to the potential, derived context of meanings, and because of this the perception of a painting is highly subjective. The analogy with music is quite clear—sound in music (like â€Å"C†) is analogous to light in painting, â€Å"shades† to dynamics, and coloration is to painting as specific timbre of musical instruments to music—though these do not necessarily form a melody, but can add different contexts to it. Tone describes how light or dark a color is. If the painting is going to be successful, you must get the tones right.In describing any form in particular light conditions tone is critical. You‘ll be amazed how dark those darks can be. Get the tone of a color right and it will make the form you want to depict. It will stay where you put it and add to the solidity and realism of the picture. Get the tone wrong, and it will jar the eye. A blazing highlight in a shadowy eye will jump out of its socket. Remember that all colors in your subject are affected by the same light. For example, if one side of a blonde head is in deep shadow, like the subjects suit, the hair is going to be very dark blonde.If you paint those bright tones from the lit side of the head in the shadows it will be just plain wrong. This may sound obvious, but people do it all the time. Your brain ? knows‘ that a dark blue suit is very dark in the shadow areas, but it also might tell you it ? knows‘ that skin is still the same value in the darks. But, it is not and your eye sees the difference. Colors have tones (how light and dark) and temperature (how intense). Warm colors tend to advance. Cool colors tend to recede. The interplay between warm nd cool not only creates believable form and space but is a pleasure to look at – a painting that is all cold or all blazingly hot tends not to work so well. EDGES: Generally our eye will go straight to the crispest edge in a painting creating a focal point. This is most often a point of high contrast where a light and dark meet. Make sure that edge is where you want it, up around the head. For example, in a human face, the dark of hair against the edge of a lit cheek creates a focal point. The artist can lead a viewer around a picture by the use of different types of edge.If it‘s all soft or all crisp there is no focal point and no one knows what they are supposed to be looking at! BACKGROUNDS: The question that arises is how much detail should be in a background? Too much in the background can be overwhelming. Remember, the background should stay back. The subject is primary; the other stuff while it may have emotional or historic significance is secondary. Control of edges here really helps. Simple color and shadow shapes can work well. This makes the subject the sole rendered object and focal point in the painting. Rhythm: Rhythm is important in painting as well as in music.If one defines rhythm as â€Å"a pause incorporated into a sequence†, then there can be rhythm in paintings. These pauses allow creative force to intervene and add new creations—form, melody, coloration. The distribution of form, or any kind of information is of crucial importance in the given work of art and it directly affects the esthetical value of that work. This is because the esthetical value is functionality dependent, i. e. the freedom (of movement) of perception is perceived as beauty. Free flow of energy, in art as well as in other forms of â€Å"techne†, directly contributes to the esthetical value.LINE: Line is a continuous marking made by a moving point on the surface. A line is the path made by a pointed instrument, such as a pen, a crayon, or a stick. A line implies action because work needs to be done to make it. Moreover, the impression of movement suggests sequence, direction, or force. In other words, a line can be seen as a distinct series of points. Line is believed to be the most expressive of the visual elements because of several reasons. First, it outlines things and the outlines are the key to their identity.Most of the time, we recognize objects or images only from their outlines. Second, line is important because it is a primary element in writing and drawing, and because writing as well drawing is universal. Third, unlike texture, shape and fo rm, line is unambiguous. We know exactly when it starts and ends. Finally, line leads our eyes by suggesting direction and movement. Line outlines shapes and can contour areas within those lines. Even though most of the art we see uses line only to form shapes, some artists allow line to call attention for itself in the art piece.TEXTURE is the surface ? feel? of something. When the brush strokes have been smoothened, a surface is seen as smooth, when left rough, its texture is seen as rough. COMPOSTION refers to the ordering of relationship. Artists utilize organizing principles to create forms that inform. Techniques are ways artists go about applying the principles of composition. BALANCE refers to the equilibrium of opposing visual forces. GRADATION refers to a continuum of changes in the details and regions such as gradual variations in shape, color value and shadowing.PROPORTION refers to the emphasis achieved by the scaling of sizes of shapes. VARIETY refers to the contrasts of details and regions. UNITY refers to the togetherness, despite contrasts, of details and regions to the whole. MEDIA OIL: Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called ‘varnishes' and were prized for their body and gloss.Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe. PASTEL: Pastel is a painting medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural dry pigments than that of any other process. Because the surface of a pastel painting is fragile and easily smudged, its preservation requires protective measures such as framing under glass; it may also be sprayed with a fixative. Nonetheless, when made with permanent pigments and properly cared for, a pastel painting may endure unchanged for centuries. Pastels are not susceptible, as are paintings made with a fluid medium, to the cracking and discoloration that result from changes in the color, opacity, or dimensions of the medium as it dries. ACRYLIC:Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water- resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media. The main practical difference between most acrylics and oil paints is the inherent drying time. Oils allow for more time to blend colors and apply even glazes over under-paintings.This slow drying aspect of oil can be seen as an advantage for certain techniques, but in other regards it impedes the artist trying to work quickly. WATER COLOR: Watercolor is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood and canvas. In East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting.In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India, Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions. Fingerpa inting with watercolor paints originated in China. INK: Ink paintings are done with a liquid that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing with a pen, brush, or quill. Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials.The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink‘s carrier, colorants, and other additives control flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry. HOT WAX: Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The liquid/paste is then applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other materials are often used. The simplest encaustic mixture can be made from adding pigments to beeswax, but there are several other recipes that can be used—some containing other t ypes of waxes, damar resin, linseed oil, or other ingredients.Pure, powdered pigments can be purchased and used, though some mixtures use oil paints or other forms of pigment. Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the paint before it cools, or heated metal tools can be used to manipulate the wax once it has cooled onto the surface. Other materials can be encased or collaged into the surface, or layered, using the encaustic medium to adhere it to the surface. FRESCO: Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Italian word affresco [af? fres? ko] which derives from the Latin word for â€Å"fresh†.Frescoes were often made during the Renaissance and other early time periods. Buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster, intonaco, is used. A secco painting, in contrast , is done on dry plaster (secco is â€Å"dry† in Italian). The pigments require a binding medium, such as egg (tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. GOUACHE: Gouache is a water based paint consisting of pigment and other materials designed to be used in an opaque painting method.Gouache differs from watercolor in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and an additional, inert, white pigment such as chalk is also present. This makes gouache heavier and more opaque, with greater reflective qualities. Like all water-media, it is diluted with water. ENAMEL: Enamels are made by painting a substrate, typically metal, with frit, a type of powdered glass. Minerals called color oxides provide coloration. After firing at a temperature of 750–850 degrees Celsius (1380–1560 degrees Fahrenheit), the result is a fused lamination of glass and metal.Enamels have traditionally been used for decoration of precious objects, but have also been used for other purposes. In the 18th century, enamel painting enjoyed a vogue in Europe, especially as a medium for portrait miniatures. In the late 20th century, the technique of porcelain enamel on metal has been used as a durable medium for outdoor mural SPRAY PAINT: Aerosol paint (also called spray paint) is a type of paint that comes in a sealed pressurized container and is released in a fine spray mist when depressing a valve button. A form of spray painting, aerosol paint leaves a smooth, evenly coated surface.Standard sized cans are portable, inexpensive and easy to store. Aerosol primer can be applied directly to bare metal and many plastics. Speed, portability and permanence also make aerosol paint a common graffiti medium. In the late 1970s, street graffiti writers' signatures and murals became more elaborate and a unique style developed as a factor of the aerosol medium and the speed required for illicit work. Many now recognize graffiti and street art as a unique art form and specifically manufactured aerosol paints are made for the graffiti artist. A stencil can be used to protect a surface except the specific shape that is to be ainted. Stencils can be purchased as movable letters, ordered as professionally cut logos or hand-cut by artists. TEMPERA: Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a glutinous material such as egg yolk or some other size). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the first centuries AD still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting.A paint which is commonly called tempera (although it is not) consisting of pigment and glue size is commonly used and referred to by some manufacturers in America as poster paint. WATER MISCIBLE OIL PAINT: Water miscible oil paints (also called â€Å"water soluble† or â€Å"water-mixable†) is a modern variety of oil paint which is engineered to be thinned and cleaned up with water, rather than having to use chemicals such as turpentine. It can be mixed and applied using the same techniques as traditional oil-based paint, but while still wet it can be effectively removed from brushes, palettes, and rags with ordinary soap and water.Its water solubility comes from the use of an oil medium in which one end of the molecule has been altered to bind loosely to water molecules, as in a solution. PAINTING †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Painting is an art. There are different kinds of painting and you might have seen the canvas in many places. This is used in many homes and in buildings to decorate the walls. It is not possible for each and every individual to paint a picture and convert in to a beautiful art work. You might be confused by seeing many art works and you may n ot be able to differentiate the one which is more beautiful than the other.What does painting do? ? Painting makes things and their qualities much clearer than they are in nature. ? Painting, with its ? All-at-Onceness? more than any other art, gives us the time to allow our vision to focus and participate. ? We can hold any detail or region or the totality as long as we like and follow any order of details or regions at our own pace ***************—————-*************** More than any other art, painting is the art that has most to do with revealing the visual appearance of objects and events. The eye is the chief sense organ involved in our participation with the painting.Painting has existed as an artistic tradition for thousands of years. From the cave painting of Lascaux to the great, masterpieces of Da Vinci it has played a historical and aesthetic role in the different ages of existence. Let‘s see the history of painting. ORIGIN AND EARL Y HISTORY Painting has its documented origins in caves and on rock faces. The finest examples, believed by some to be 32,000 years old, are in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves in southern France. In shades of red, brown, yellow and black, the paintings on the walls and ceilings are of bison, cattle, horses and deer.Paintings of human figures can be found in the tombs of ancient Egypt. In the great temple of Ramses II, Nefertari, his queen, is depicted being led by Isis. [7] The Greeks contributed to painting but much of their work has been lost. One of the best remaining representations is the mosaic of the Battle of Issus at Pompeii, which was probably based on a Greek painting. Greek and Roman art contributed to Byzantine art in the 4th century BC, which initiated a tradition in icon painting. The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, and spans all cultures.It represents a continuous, though periodically disrupted tradition from Antiquity. Ac ross cultures, and spanning continents and millennia, the history of painting is an ongoing river of creativity, which continues into the 21st century. Until the early 20th century it relied primarily on representational, religious and classical motifs, after which time more purely abstract and conceptual approaches gained favor. Developments in Eastern painting historically parallel those in Western painting, in general, a few centuries earlier. African art, Islamic art, Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art each had ignificant influence on Western art, and, eventually, vice-versa. Painting was initially serving utilitarian purpose, followed by imperial, private, civic, and religious patronage, Eastern and Western painting later found audiences in the aristocracy and the middle class. TYPES OF PAINTINGS ABSTRACT PAINTING: It is also called as non-representational painting. It might be difficult to appreciate it if we are confused about subject matter. In these paintings, no obj ects or events are depicted. So, it seems that these painting do not have subject matter. But it is not so.The subject matter is relating to or affecting the senses rather than the intellect. It is composed of visual qualities – line, color, texture, space, shape, light, shadow, volume, and mass. These are constructed by eliminating reference to everything but color, lines, shapes, and light from their work. Abstract painters liberate us from the habit of always referring these elements to specific objects and events. REPRESENTATIONAL PAINTING: It furnishes the world of abstractions / sensuous with definite objects and events. The subject matter are the same, the interpretation (content) of every painting is always different.Representational artwork aims to represent actual objects or subjects from reality. Subcategories under representational art include Realism, Impressionism, Idealism, and Stylization. All of these forms of representationalism represent actual subjects fro m reality. Although some of these forms are taking steps toward abstraction, they still fall under the category of representation. PORTRAIT PAINTING: A portrait painting is one that embodies the image of a particular person. Over the years, these paintings started to include images of various other animals and lifeless matter.This particular type of painting is created only when a person orders for it to be created. Sometimes, portrayers create these paintings for their own fun or interest. The importance of these paintings can be felt only by those people who strive to preserve their memories. Most people think that digital photographs and images are the best way to capture a moment. But these people fail to realize an important fact about these photographs. While the initial quality seems to be much better in terms of clarity, these digital photographs seem to fade away with the course of time.This is not true in case of portrait paintings as these are known to last for a long per iod of time. This is evident from the fact that lot of these paintings have been found inside Egyptian pyramids. These paintings are mostly used as decorative items. Due to their long life, portrait paintings are used as wall hangings in many houses. In addition to its decorative uses, these paintings can also be used as gifts to complement your friends and relatives on their special occasions. Believe it or not, these paintings can remind your close ones about your existence whenever they look at it.Sometimes, people collect art works done by famous portrayers as part of their activities. The fun that you can have when collecting these historical artifacts is comparable to an endless sea. To learn how a painting is perceived, one has to know the effect of different situations on the eye. Some of them are explained here. BRIGHTNESS: The physical context of visual objects has a substantial impact on basic perception. Things may appear bigger, smaller, brighter, darker and so on, than they actually are, depending on the nature of the object and the context in which it is placed.Consider the importance of physical context on perceived brightness as shown in the figure below. In the set of two concentric squares at the left, the two small grey squares are of identical intensity. Yet the one at the top appears much darker than the one at the bottom. The effect is due to the context of the surrounding squares. Consider the image on the right. It comprises of a ring on uniform greyness. It appears lighter on the left-hand part of the display than on the right. The influence of context on the perceived intensity of an bject is called brightness contrast, a condition in which a viewer tends to bias the light intensity of an object in an opposite direction from the background intensity. The Importance of Value & Tone in Painting For example: If you took a black and white photograph of your painting, the shades of grey would be the different values or tones within the pa inting. Value is used to create a focal point within a painting or drawing. The human eye is immediately drawn to a light element against a dark element. This creates the focal point of interest. To create the illusion of depth, gradations of value are also used.Areas of light and dark give a three-dimensional illusion of form to subject matter. Value is independent of its hue. This is a fundamental element in the impact of visual art whether abstract or representational. The above example is a painting ? en grisaille? – a painting done entirely in values of grey or another neutral greyish color. Grisaille was sometimes used for under paintings or for oil sketches. Rubens was noted for this. Today, many successful artists believe in keeping a narrow value scale – limiting their composition to approximately 4 values. In this case it seems, less is more and helps create a cohesive and harmonious work.Below is a contrasting example of the use of values. Whistler used ? lo w-key‘ values and Monet used ? high-key‘ values and achieved dramitically different results. The Hidden Meaning of Color in Your Art RED: It is the color of assertion, strength, romance, excitement, vitality, physical power, outgoing, ambitious and impulsive. It is a color that flatters the skin and can make an excellent background. Pale pink are warm and peaceful and combine well with greens. The deeper reds create an atmosphere of retrained opulence and power. Red elicits an uncomplicated nature with a zest for life. But, red can also connote danger or threats.Fire engines, stop signs and traffic lights are a perfect example. ORANGE: It is the Midway between red and orange. It is a cheerful color. It is a flamboyant and lively color. Orange can be assertive, dynamic, and spontaneous and signifies youth and fearlessness. Orange stimulates the brain and produces oxygen and mental activity. Dark-orange signifies deceit or distrust, whereas redorange can correspond to aggr ession, domination and thirst for action. YELLOW: We associate yellow with sunshine and it represents light. It creates a feeling of hope, happiness and wisdom. The color evokes an optimistic sense of wellbeing and natural light.It is airy, radiant and atmospheric. Yellow gives the feeling that all is okay with the world. An example of this is Luminism, an early generation of landscape painters who explored ways to depict light realistically on canvas by using color to depict a melodramatic or romantic mood. But, yellow is a complicated color. On one hand, it is considered ? light-hearted‘ and childlike, but actually it is known to make babies cry. Although, light-yellow represents intellect, freshness and joy, dull-yellow is associated with caution, decay, sickness and jealousy. Yellow at times is cowardice. The phrase, ? yellow-bellied-coward? ame into use around 1910 which probably derives from yellow‘s association with both treason and weakness. More than a millenniu m ago, Judas Iscariot was often portrayed in yellow garb symbolizing his betrayal of Jesus Christ – a cowardly act. In America‘s pioneer days, yellow dogs were considered worthless and the term ? yellow dog? came to be used to describe anything worthless. Our observation of the yellow of tree leaves as they age and die, as well as the yellowing of old books and papers, led to the association of yellow with old age and illness. But, yellow is very effective at attracting attention – think of a taxi cab.Yellow is also used as a warning symbol. In football, a ? yellow flag‘ issues a warning. When place alongside black, yellow issues a warning. Yellow is also used in traffic lights and signs to advise us of danger. GREEN: It is the color of harmony, balance and security. Green also has a calming effect and symbolizes hope, peace, gentleness and modesty. It is soothing, refined and civilized with great healing power. Green suggests stability and endurance, hope and growth. It sometimes denotes lack of experience, for example a ? greenhorn‘ is a novice. Pale greens are particularly restful.Dark greens remind us of money, banking and Wall Street. However, at times yellow-green is used to portray sickness, discord and jealousy. Remember the phrase, ? green with envy BLUE: It is the color of the sea and sky, having a quality of cool expansiveness and openness. Soft, soothing, compassionate and caring, blue is an introspective color. Blue is often a formal color which represents wisdom and steady character. Many superheroes wear blue! It is considered a masculine color and the choice of corporate America. But, the quiet character and poetic subtlety of blue can also be associated with melancholy and resignation.Remember Pablo Picasso‘s infamous ? Blue Period? of art? Picasso‘s personal trauma found expression in a series of deeply sentimental paintings which comprise his ? Blue Period?. I even dedicated a helpful post to artis ts who find themselves Feeling Blue†¦ PURPLE: A combination of red and blue, purples are regal and dignified to be used with discretion. Pale shades are restful and serene, but the darker shades make it difficult to focus. Lavenders signify refined things of life, creative, witty and civilized. Purples can be tiring on the eyes and cause a sense of frustration, but it can make an excellent foil for works of art.Gloom and sad feelings can be portrayed by using purples. BROWN: It is the color of living wood and the earth. Rich, subtle and extraordinarily restful to look upon, brown creates a feeling of coolness and warmth at the same time. It combines well with rich colors such as purple and gold (popular in the Victorian era). It is a steady, dependable, conservative, conscientious and reliable color. Brown evokes a sense of nostalgia and reminds us of the great works of Rembrandt, Titian and Rubens. Tonalism used rich earth tones and muted colors to create moody landscapes.Van Gogh‘s used lots of brown to set a somber and depressed mood in the famous painting The Potato Eaters. Think back on Soviet Russia and you might remember the common people usually wore shades of brown. GRAY: This color represents caution and compromise. Many beautiful grays can be made by mixing complimentary colors together. Grays give a sense of peace to the viewer. WHITE: It is a Symbolic of safety, cleanliness and purity. White emanates youth, perfection and innocence. Angels are usually thought of as white. White is simplicity and freshness, but too much can give a clinical feeling.Doctors, hospitals and sterility are associated the white. Low fat foods and dairy products use white in their packaging. But, in many Eastern cultures, white signifies death, mourning, funerals and unhappiness. Ghosts are white and giving white flowers to the sick is bad luck in many cultures. In painting, use white sparingly. It can make colors chalky and lifeless. BLACK: It is Mysterious and hidden, black can have a morbid feeling. It gives us a feeling of the unknown and negative connotations like, black-hole, blacklist, blackhumor or black-death. In most Western cultures, black is the symbol of grief.However, black can be dignified and showy with sophistication. Black will also punctuate color schemes that rely on strong contrasting colors. Try mixing your own blacks, rather than using it straight from the tube. CASE STUDY: One of the aspects that make the Mona Lisa such a masterpiece is da Vinci‘s use of oil as a medium. As the movie The Mystery of Jon van Eyck explains, the use of oil as a medium was not widely used for painting until van Eyck refined it ? by adding transparent colors in several thin glazes upon a white ground, creating a wholly new translucence as if lit from within.?Da Vinci used van Eyck‘s oil painting technique to bring lifelike qualities to their works. On the first sight of the portrait of Mona Lisa, you will see the physical feat ures of that painting essentially identically to how all other humans see them because the light reflected from the painting and the initial processing by one‘s neurophysiology are fixed by physical laws. For example, generally shadows tend to form large dark areas in a painting and as such contribute to the low spatial frequency information of the image. If hese shadows are placed in specific areas (near the mouth in Mona Lisa and under the brow ridge in the disappearing bust of Voltaire), they can lose their role as shadows and offer an ambiguity to the interpretation and the perception of the painting. The message, meaning and interpretation of art depend on your pervious specialized knowledge of painting and related phenomena. That knowledge along with your knowledge of the world, contribute to the context in which the painting is viewed. Choice of lighting: Faint illumination. Near twilight depicted in the Mona Lisa.Leonardo favored this type of lighting for portraiture. The responsiveness of the Mona Lisa to changes of lighting is unusual, perhaps unique. The Mona Lisa suffers little under light-adapted vision and gain little under dark adaptation. By contrast, the degree of change in the tonal range resembles that which occurs with a natural object. Painting style and other formal elements Leonardo explains color perspective this way, â€Å". . . through variations in the air we are made aware of the different distances of various buildings. . . therefore make the first building. . . its own color; the next most distant make more blue. . at another distance bluer yet and that which is five time more distant make five times more blue. † This principle is demonstrated in the background of Mona Lisa: the ground and hills directly behind the subject are painted in warm tones of reddish browns and tans. As the landscape recedes the mountains and water become progressively bluer. Leonardo also noted that air is denser closest to the earth, theref ore the bases of hills will always appear lighter than the summit; he applies this theory to the hills behind the sitter's shoulders which start out a tan color and become dark brown.His study of shadow can be related to his works in both compositional arrangement and in sfumato (Sfumato is the famous invention of Da Vinci – light and shade that allow one form to blend in with another leaving something to the imagination. He did this to the corners of Mona Lisa‘s mouth and eyes which explains why she may look different and different times. ) techniques, which are both demonstrated in the Mona Lisa. One method of composition employed by Leonardo involved focus and blur.In the Mona Lisa Leonardo uses shadow in the lowest areas of the picture plane, at the edges, and background of the landscape to blur detail and draw attention to the detailed focus area of the face. Leonardo also uses shadow as a primary element in creating sfumato or soft focus, which creates the illusio n of volume by allowing light to emerge from the darkness of shadow. The sitter's body in Mona Lisa emerges from the shadows surrounding her from the mid arm area down. Her hands are areas of light that emerge from the blurred shadows of her body and her face emerges from darkly shadowed areas of hair and eiling. Leonardo's study of the shape of shadow contributed to the blurred shadow edges that are a hallmark of the sfumato style. The Mona Lisa's body and face are enclosed within shadow, but no shadow edges ever become evident. In the Mona Lisa the subject comes closer to the front edge of the picture than had been customary hitherto: this smaller distance between sitter and viewer heightens the intensity of the visual impression while the landscape suggests greater spatial depths and atmospheric intensity.Craggy mountains disappear into the distance against a greenish-blue sky. On the left we can make out a stream and on the right we can see what looks like a dry river-bed, altho ugh it is not possible to tell quite how this connects, if at all, with a reservoir higher up. Individual outcrops in the landscape, bereft of vegetation, are reminiscent of similar rock formations in religious pictures that Leonardo had begun not long before.