art with twist Essays

art with twist Essays art with twist Essay art with twist Essay Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Mona Lisa’s Salvador Dali Alteration In 1954, Salvador Dali painted the Mona Lisa as a self-portrait. The alternation associated the painter’s facial features to the Original Mona Lisa. For instance, the Salvador Lisa painting exhibits a moustache and no central hair division, uncharacteristic of the original Mona Lisa. Additionally, the soft feminine hands are replaced by callous masculine hands that are not folded but holding many coins. Salvador prefers restricted color shades using only black and white unlike Leonardo’s painting. The eyes in the later painting are conspicuous while disproportional to each other. However, the later painting retains most original details in reference to the burst hair and neck. I choose the paint because of the contrast in emotions it creates to a viewer familiar with the original art piece. Salvador Dali is Spanish in decent and was born in May 1904. He was made to believe by he was the incarnate form of his brother who had died nine months before Salvador’s birth. With his mother’s encouragement, he pursued art in Madrid’s fine art institute earning recognition for his cubanism art style (Bennett 16). He was later expelled on claiming none of the faculty members was competent enough to examine him (Dali? et al. 201). However, he excelled to the extent of having exhibitions with acclaimed artists such as Picasso and Miro. More ever, Salvador’s painting illustrates a level of outrageousness in its distinctive features such as the moustache or hands. The beautiful mystic inherent in the original painting is replaced by disbelief from the hideous stare in Salvador’s painting. An audience of the later painting can deduce a cultural transformation during the period between the two art pieces. Where artists in Leonardo’s era were resp ected beauty freedom and mystic in comparison to Salvador’s era where self-perception and money are of preeminence given the addition of personal facial features with a handful of coins replacing the liberty of Mona Lisa’s hands. Leonardo da Vinci is the artist behind the original Mona Lisa. He exhibited great ingenuity during the renaissance age through his music, physics, paintings and literary works. Born in Italy in 1452, Leonardo acquired informal education in languages, art, and mathematics and related engineering fields while as an apprentice. His Father was a rich and practiced polygamy. He was born out of wedlock to a peasant young girl in Vinci Italy. Leonardo’s recognition in the early ages was mostly through his scientific and industrial inventions. The Mona Lisa was a project he undertook between 1504 and 1519 to paint a smiling woman. The painting is characterized by enigma given the smile and the stare where Leonardo darkens the shade on the lip as well as the eyelids. The painting is arguably Leonardo’s’ most favorite given he kept it until his death (Witteman 20). The enigma in the painting inspired artists such as Walter Pater to express better female mystique via painting. The oil colors where combined and brushed to create a background uncommon at that age complementing the appeal already existing in the smooth neck and burst. Mona Lisa has no sign of overlaying thus indicating Leonardo’s expertise in spite of his habit of leaving paintings unfinished. His paintings like the Mona Lisa demonstrated an integration of knowledge in geology, anatomy and color traits learnt while as an apprentice (Witteman 4). Salvador, replaces the sense of freedom in the original background by painting a grey almost turbulent shade. This can be explained as an attempt to create a satirical twist on the original painting. Work cited Bennett, L. (2005). Salvador Dali. Chicago, Ill: Heinemann Library. Dali?, Salvador, and Haakon Chevalier. The Secret Life of Salvador Dali?. New York: Dover Publications, 1993. Print. Galli, Letizia, and Leonardo. Mona Lisa: The Secret of the Smile. New York: Doubleday Book for Young Readers, 1995. Print. Witteman, Barbara. Leonardo Da Vinci. Mankato, Minn: Capstone, 2008. Print.

Blue Ocean Strategy Paper Essays (783 words) - Outerwall, Inc.

Blue Ocean Strategy Paper Essays (783 words) - Outerwall, Inc. Blue Ocean Strategy Paper MKT/421 Blue Ocean Strategy Paper When undertaking a business endeavor individuals and firms alike must determine a strategy. One of the most important strategic dilemmas is whether to use a blue or red ocean strategy when creating new products. Both strategies possess strengths and weaknesses that need careful consideration before launching new products. Description and Importance of Blue Ocean Strategy Growth in any business is often associated with innovation. That is, paving the way in creating a ground breaking product previously unheard of. In many ways innovation can be associated with a blue ocean strategy. Blue oceans denote all the industries not in existence today-the unknown market space, untainted by competition(Kim and Mauborgne, 2004, pg.77). This strategy is especially important not only for the growth within a firm, but also, growth with societies. Innovative ideas, goods, and services are needed in order to generate growth for both societies and economies. One of the most appealing benefits of blue ocean strategy is creation of new industries within untapped market space means that there is no initial competition with little to no barriers to entry. This allows the opportunity for generation of profit at drastic rates. Additionally, rather than exploiting and sharing a portion of demand from competitors, blue ocean strategy creates demand. This allows the firm to capitalize from all of the newly created demand. As with most things, blue ocean strategy also has weaknesses. Although firms do not share portions of customer demand, creating demand within a new industry is challenging. Additionally, because there are no similar products in market there are no accurate indications as to whether the product will result in success or failure. What is important to understand is that while the rewards associated with blue ocean strategy are high, the risks attached are also escalated. Example of Blue Ocean Strategies It is important to understand that blue ocean strategy includes more than giving rise to entirely new industries. In most cases, a blue ocean is created from within a red ocean when a company alters the boundaries of an existing industry(Kim and Mauborgne, 2004, pg.78). An example of a blue ocean move was the introduction of Redbox movie kiosks by Outerwall Inc. Movie rentals within the entertainment industry were not a new concept. However, Redbox revolutionized this industry through placing movie rental kiosks at convenient locations. Rather than driving to movie rental stores and spending large amounts of money to rent newly released movies, customers could drive to the local convenience store and rent movies at a much lower rate. This is an example of a blue ocean move because rather than introducing another substitute version of Blockbuster movie rental stores, Redbox chose a path that altered the existing industry. Altering the manner in which customers can rent movies to more of a self-service option, decreases costs, in turn savings can be transferred to consumers providing an enticing option for movie rentals. Alternative Red Ocean Strategy Redboxs decision to use a red ocean strategy in attempting to enter the crowded market of video streaming with the introduction of Redbox Instant resulted in the exact opposite of the movie rental kiosks. It could be said that just as quickly as Redbox movie kiosks became a desired product and flourished, Redbox Instant failed. Redbox Instant, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc and Outerwall Inc was operational for approximately one year before the two determined the venture was not as successful as either had hoped (The Huffington Post, 2015). This is an example of a red ocean strategy because the joint venture attempted to tap into a market which already had generated demand. While previously generated demand is one of the strengths associated with using red ocean strategy, the result of this joint venture is prime example of just how dangerous red ocean strategy is when attempting to enter an already crowded market industry. Conclusion The important thing to remember when marketing new products is that products should encapsulate the satisfaction of customer needs(Perreault, Cannon, and McCarthy, 2011). A firm must quickly decide whether to enter into an existing market space or create a new market space. Evaluating the pros and cons of both red and blue ocean strategy will help

Nursing - Use of Herbals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing - Use of Herbals - Research Paper Example Studies have also shown improvements in the control of quality and evaluation of these compounds. Considering that many herbal compounds do not undergo chemical processing, many people think that they are safe, and have no side effects even when taken beyond measure (Cassileth, Yeung, and Gubili & 2008). They also tend to use these compounds alongside prescribed medicines having the impression that they will improve treatment. Despite their proven values, herbals do not have the perceived safety, and neither do they all improve treatment when used alongside prescribed drugs. One of the emerging issues in modern times is that herbal compounds are not as safe as they are thought to be. In fact, they may be counterproductive when used by patients undergoing certain treatments and those on prescription medications. History of herbal medicine use The use of herbals has a long history dating back about ten thousand years. Some of the longest records of the use of herbal medicines include t hose found in Egypt, India and ancient China. Herbals also have a long history in other indigenous cultures including the Native American and African cultures. With the advent of chemical analysis in the 19th century, scientists started extracting and modifying active ingredients contained in plants and came up with pharmaceuticals. Even with the development of pharmaceuticals, natural remedies to human health still represent a significant portion of the US market, and other parts of the globe. In places like Germany, for example, the sales turnover of one herbal product called silymarin amounts to $180 million annually (Breevort, 1996). This herbal compound is used almost exclusively for treating liver problems. Almost a third of outpatients seeking medical care from liver clinics use this product according to Breevort (1996). Breevort (1996) also explains that marketing of herbals between 1992 and 1996 increased threefold. Studies also reveal that over the last two decades, there has been growth in the level of public dissatisfaction with the prices of prescription medications, coupled with a growing interest in organic or natural remedies in the United States. This essentially has led to an increase in herbal medicines use. How herbals work Unlike doctors practicing conventional medicine, herbalists try to find and deal with the underlying causes of a health problem instead of treating individual symptoms. This is done based on the belief that the use of herbal tonics and tinctures can help the body heal itself by restoring harmony and balance, and activating the life force of the body (Cassileth, Yeung, and Gubili & 2008). Just like naturopathic medicine, it aims at supporting the body’s natural ability to achieve optimal health, and facilitating the innate healing mechanisms of the body. The compounds used for conducting herbal treatments are extracted from roots, barks, berries, seeds, leaves, flowers and petals of plants, and are presented as com plex mixtures of many different compounds. Efficacy and safety of herbal products There are a number of scientific literatures that have documented the safety and efficacy of herbal products including their toxic effects. Many of these reports contradict the popular view asserting that herbals are natural compounds and, therefore, are harmless. A study conducted by the National Poison Information Service during the period 1991-1995 recorded 785Â  cases of confirmed or probable cases of adverse reactions to

Credit Risk Analysis - Application of Logistic Regression Essay

Credit Risk Analysis - Application of Logistic Regression - Essay Example The scales of different variables are set as most of the variables are set as â€Å"nominal†, which however, is not correct. Out of a mix of 20 independent variables, 7 variables are referred as â€Å"scale† variables, 4 variables are labeled as â€Å"ordinal† and the rest of variables are considered as â€Å"nominal†. 2. In applying binary logistic regression, â€Å"Forwards LR† method is used to run the data because this method takes variables one by one in the analysis and in the last step, present the most statistically significant and important variables which are helpful in the analysis. 3. Hosmer and Lemeshow Test, is selected to find out the relationship between the observed values and the expected values. With the help of SPSS, following tables are generated, since â€Å"Forward LR† method is used and due to this method, 11 steps are taken by this method, therefore, in order to maintain the conciseness of the report, the values of al l previous 10 steps have been omitted from the tables. Only values pertaining to step 11 are taken in the analysis. All the tables and their interpretation are presented from next page. Classification Tablea,b Observed Predicted CreditRisk Percentage Correct Bad Good Step 0 CreditRisk Bad 0 300 .0 Good 0 700 100.0 Overall Percentage 70.0 a. Constant is included in the model. b. The cut value is .500 The 2 x 2 table that has been presented above, tallies the incorrect and correct estimations for the constants of null model. Rows represent the actual (observed) value of dependent whereas columns represent the predicted values. The overall percentage is taken as 100%. In a perfect model, the cases will be in the diagonal. If there is heteroscedasticity in logistic model, then for both the rows, the percentage will nearly be same. This phenomenon is not found here, the model is predicting â€Å"Good† cases but any â€Å"Bad† cases are not predicted. While, the overall perc entages are predicted exactly having overall percentage of 70% which is moderately good. It is to be noted by the researcher that the category which is most frequent for all â€Å"Good† cases produces the same and correct percentage of 70%. Variables in the Equation B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B) Step 0 Constant .847 .069 150.762 1 .000 2.333 In the above mentioned SPSS results, for all the independent variables, the coefficients are 0. The findings significantly reveal that in this case, the null hypothesis should be rejected. Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients Chi-square Df Sig. Step 11 Step 5.276 1 .022 Block 300.781 31 .000 Model 300.781 31 .000 The purpose of chi-square goodness of fit test is to investigate whether the step of judging null hypothesis is justified or not. In this case, the step has been taken from constant-only model to independent model. The step of adding variables or variable in this scenario can be justified if the values are less than 0.05. If the step would be to exclude variables from equations of this model, than it would be justified by taking the cutoff point as greater than 0.10. Since the sig. values are less 0.05, therefore null hypothesis can be rejected and the model is statistically significant. Model Summary Step -2 Log likelihood Cox & Snell R Square Nagelkerke R Square 11 920.948a .260 .368 a.† Estimation terminated at iteration number 5 because parameter

Main idea and themes of Simon Schama's Caravaggio Essay

Main idea and themes of Simon Schama's Caravaggio - Essay Example One of the themes represented is breaching of Renaissance art. Caravaggio went against the rules of Renaissance that is sticking to religious subjects, capturing reality, and depicting mythology in most of their work. He settled for his own style of art; capturing what he saw in real time, and translating it directly onto canvas. The other theme of the video is the use of paintings in the Roman Catholic Church. The [Catholic] church used paintings to seduce people, or â€Å"win souls†. The paintings depicted Christian themes of the Virgin and baby Jesus, and were used to decorate churches. The final theme appearing in the video is the standoff that existed between the Roman Catholic Church and the emerging Protestant Christians. The Protestants were advocating for the destruction of all catholic paintings saying that the Bible is what should guide a Christian, and not paintings. Additionally, the Protestants were attacking the Catholic’s obsession with painting, terming it as idolatry and a misguided

Management and leadership of astrazeneca

Management and leadership of astrazeneca INTRODUCTION Strategic management leadership is the framework of all organizations success. According to my experience of working in AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, it is my understanding that strategies are tactical plans needed by any organization to ensure dynamic achievement of its objectives. Both areas of management leadership are magnanimously benefited by how these strategies are enforced. Hence, the way management is being performed must be conjoined by a leadership that shares similar tenacity in reaching its goals. But these goals may not always be objectified nor the organization geared to the path it is expected to go. This also gives great importance in controlling these strategies to the people who do it. 1.1.1 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT comprises a series of long-term managerial decisions actions in which a firm selects implements strategies. The purpose of these strategies is to build the firms strengths through market positioning /or accumulation of internal resources that will give the firm an advantage over rivals (Parthasarthy, 2007). 1.1.2 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP refers to the leadership capabilities of strategic managers in conceiving an inspiring vision guiding the firm to its vision. The quality of leadership is assessed by the strategic choices managers make that endow the firm with the competitive advantages it needs for sustained good performance (Parthasarthy, 2007) The way an organization goes through its strategy processes in order to achieve its company mission translates to what management leadership styles are to be implemented. One organization that greatly exemplifies a successful management leadership style that is congruent to its strategies in achieving its objectives is the global company AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT IN ASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICALS 1.2.1 COMPANY PROFILE AstraZeneca takes great pride in having an immense range of pharmaceutical products in its pipeline is one of the worlds leading companies in the market. It discovers prescription medicines, both biologics vaccines, develops manufactures them for significant dimensions of healthcare: pain infection, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurology, oncology respiratory. It spends more than $15 million daily on breakthrough medicines. Its head office is located in London, UK but its 3 major research development sites are found in SWEDEN, UK USA. Now, AstraZeneca operates in more than 100 countries worldwide. 1.2.2 LINK BETWEEN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP The success of the organization is reliant on how its strategic management leadership is confederated translating to effective achievement of objectives. Strategic Management is responsible in formulating, executing assessing the effectiveness of these corporate tactics. It follows a global set of guidelines in all its areas of function research development, manufacturing distribution, operations management sales marketing. These are then streamlined to the different corporate levels for execution to meet the organizational performance target for the month, semester fiscal year. The company relies on how effective the strategies are as devised by the management in turn, the management entrusts the companys triumph in the market over competition by how leadership gets the job done on the frontline. 1.2.3 MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP STYLE IN ASTRAZENECA AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals performance is dependent on the level of commitment the employees devote to their individual tasks. The company commences its achievement of objectives from its vision of researching developing the best ethical pharmaceutical products in the market for sales marketing people to promote create demand for. Throughout the process, every other corporate function gets involved in achieving the organizations target sales growth market leadership. Thus, it is fitting to say that how these people are being motivated managed dictates how much commitment they are willing to put into practice. 1.2.3.1 REASSURE CHALLENGE STYLES OF LEADERSHIP adjust the level of challenge and make sure there is an appropriate level of performance anxiety. The goal is anxiety in moderation. Performance commitment is high if only if employees feel slightly anxious about succeeding. Reassure style of leadership help employees cope with the stresses challenges of work life. Challenge style of leadership push employees by raising the level of challenge (Hiam, 2000). This organization deals with a business that sustains life health. Its main guideline for all its employees around the globe is the promotion of safety, health environment protection. It demands its employees to follow these guidelines for their own individual benefit but it also ensures the organizations protection of its employees as well. The management actively advocates for well-documented reporting of adverse events or any untoward incident involving any of its promoted on-study products showing its commitment to valuing life health. 1.2.4 LEADERSHIP STYLE ADAPTED IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS Since pharmaceutical business presently faces a diversity of issues in the market, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals campaigns for the 3 Bsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Brilliance Beyond Basics. The company urges every employee to utilize every company resource strategically. As research development processes cant be compromised, strategic spending effective economics are implemented in the sales marketing departments specifically. Having brilliance beyond basics is utilizing the best companys assets, its people, breakthrough pharmaceutical products, employee training skills enhancement in the most strategic way. To help these employees cope perform satisfactorily, there is a constant mentoring in-field coaching for the frontline employees, scientific trainings conducted regularly involving all levels of sales marketing management to combat competitors strategies, team-building activities being held quarterly in all departments giving importance to professional-personal life balance, regular forum between top management all other levels to discuss any concern involving employment, benefits disputes, open communication among all employees performance review of not just managers on employees but employees on managers as well, ultimately national conferences to gather employees from all parts of the country/organization to give citations merits for job well done. 1.2.5 EVALUATION OF LEADERSHIP STYLE AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals competes in the market with various pharmaceutical giants influx of local drug companies by meeting them headstrong through its valuable product portfolio. As this organization is involved in research development, it takes pride in its ethical products envisions itself to be the No.1 ethical pharmaceutical company in the world each passing year. It believes in empowering its people who as a result empowers the organization its business. In ensuring that all employees get heard, the company uses the greatest tool in knowing about their view of the entire organization, its management leadership, through the Focus Survey. This strategic tool serves as evaluation by employees of how strategic managers leaders run the organization. Global guidelines being designed each year every revision period in AstraZeneca is dependent on the result of the Focus Survey. 1.3 CONCLUSION The management leadership style of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals have been successful in enduring the stringent market competition. It strategically addresses every business challenge continuously empowers motivates its employees. The style adapted by this organization is best exemplified by Buhler in stating that leadership is more focused on energizing people in their performance while management is more focused on monitoring their performance levels (2001). Both areas really work hand in hand serve critical functions for this organization to achieve its objectives. The management leadership style of an organization transcends to employee performance. Motivated people in a company sustains the organization its goals.

Bonds and The Bond Market Essay -- essays papers

Bonds and The Bond Market Given today's uncertain economy, many people are taking time to examine various options for their financial future. Different types of investments are investigated and bonds are one of the more popular choices considered. Many of the same people who talk about investing in bonds, however, do not fully understand them nor where they place in the economy. Many individuals believe that they should simply buy a bond and wait until it matures before cashing it in. These people fail to realize that they may be losing a lot of money due to the fluctuation of bond prices. At some point it may be more profitable for them to sell their bond than to keep it until the payment date is reached. There are many people who do not understand what bonds really are. A bond is an agreement between two separate entities. One of these bodies gives, to the other, use of their money for a period of time and, in return, may receive a "bond". The bond issuer agrees to a fixed rate of return which he will pay the supporting person or business. This fixed rate of return is an amount, in percentages, which is paid at regular intervals until some future specified time ( the "maturity date"). Upon reaching the maturity date, one's original investment is returned to them. As previously mentioned, bonds are one of the more popular types of financial investment in today's economy. There are many reasons why people invest in bonds. For example, if one chooses a stable and profitable bond, it will provide a steady source of income through interest payments during the lifetime of the bond. As well, the risk when investing in a bond is considerably less than for most other forms of investment. The bond does not, for instance, experience the volatility of a stock on the stock market, like many other forms of investment do. Also, in instances where the issuer fails to pay the principal amount back to the bond holder, legal recourse is available. Furthermore, in cases of bankruptcy within large corporations with stock holders, bond holders take priority and are ... ...onsequently the prices of previously purchased bonds decrease. If you are able to hold onto your bond until the maturity date is reached, temporary changes in interest rates will not affect your financial investment; however, if you need to sell the bond before the marked maturity date, you might have to accept LESS than what you paid for it. This volatility can work to your advantage too, because it is possible that your bond could be worth more at the time you decide to sell. This is why it is important to keep up to date on bond prices. You may be able to make money by simply selling your bond before it's maturity date. In conclusion, I would suggest that bonds are a wise venue for anybody wanting to financially invest in different corporations or governments. I would caution, however that when selecting a bond, one should seek the guidance of an experienced investor. By choosing a bond that is right for you and your lifestyle, you have the potential of increasing your profits greatly and going home wealthier and happier.