My Visit to the Art Institute of Chicago Research Paper - 5

My Visit to the Art Institute of Chicago - Research Paper Example The museum is by far the most alluring museum in Chicago, with an amazing array of art. The museum, which is located on South Michigan Avenue (111) in Illinois, is home to numerous pieces of art that I later came to know from the curator were around 300,000. During my visit, 27th November, 2015, the museum was opened from around 10 am and closed at 8 pm. Even before I begin to describe my experience inside the museum, I have to highlight the awe I felt when I was at the entrance. Just at the entrance, visitors were greeted by the sculptures of lions strategically placed in such a manner that it gave the illusion of a palace been guarded by the vicious creatures. I found this to be like an aphrodisiac, in the sense that it enticed visitors to visit the museum in order to have a glimpse of the art inside. Even if a person, may not have originally been interested in visiting the museum, the sight of the lions is enough to lure anyone. Furthermore, the building is a good example of the ingenuity of the architecture of the many buildings in Chicago. I was able to learn a lot about the city by just being at the entrance; it was a very good presentation. Mind you, the premise offers a spectacular glimpse of the Millennium Park. I have to confess that I did not expect to be bombarded by thousands of art on display. There were numerous exhibitions on display, but as staunch Van Gogh fan, I was naturally propelled to admire one of his paintings, The Bedroom (1853-1890). The pictures I had previously seen on the internet cannot begin to explain the intensity of the colors or the mastery of the brush strokes.

Bollywood and Cricket Essay Example for Free

Bollywood and Cricket Essay The two things that unite the rich and the poor, the educated elite and the illiterate, the city-dwellers and the villagers in India are undoubtedly – Bollywood and Cricket! Both have their own share of success and star factor – Shah Rukh Khan has a big fan following in Germany, while Sachin Tendulkar was gifted a Ferrari by Michael Schumacher. Both are big businesses – the Bollywood stars as do the cricketers appear regularly on TV to endorse everything from under-garments to life insurance to passenger cars. How about bringing them together – and that’s what happened in 2008 when the Indian Premier League (IPL) was inaugurated. Cricket, in its traditional form, usually being a day-long or a five-day game, because of the the duration of the game, was always seen by the Europeans and Americans as something boring that only cricket-crazy Indians could watch. How about making it shorter, spicing it up with some Bollywood masala adding a huge entertainment and star factor to it – and this in short is the definition of IPL. This format of the game has many similarities with both the traditional game of cricket as well as Bollywood. First, the duration – this format of the game, more popularly dubbed T20 (for Twenty-20 as it has 20 overs (1 over = 6 balls) a side), runs for around 3 hours – the same duration of a typical Bollywood movie. And the heroes are both on and off the field. The on-field heroes are the cricket stars from around the world who entertain the audience with their cricket skills. While the teams with fancy names like Delhi-Dare-Devils, Chennai-Super-Kings, etc. , have a mix of Indian and international players are mostly owned by Bollywood stars or big Indian business houses. The off-the-field heroes are thus the Bollywood stars and other page-3 regulars (the ‘socialites’) who add to the star quotient. The only thing that is left from a typical Bollywood movie are the ‘item numbers’. These are substituted for by the grooving cheer-leaders with skimpy outfits employed by each team. Not to mention the IPL Nights-after party that brings in more glitz and glamour. In short, this combination of two big business machines – Bollywood and cricket resulted in a bigger business – the IPL. So, where is technology in all these, given that my writings are connected to technology most of the time. Here we go – in 2010, IPL became the first ever sports event to be telecast live on YouTube – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In a way this is indicative of the future of television – given that cricket events are closely associated with commercials and TRPs. We already see the convergence of mobile, desktop and more recently television devices. I am confident that not so far from now, we would be watching all sporting events and movies through the internet. The other technology marvels include the use of Spider-cameras (which was actually borrowed from other sporting events like soccer) and the high-definition reviews. And yes, there are iPhone apps too!

racism :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Washington August 23, 1968. Racism is probably the fist form of discrimination that is thought of. It is the belief that some people are inferior to others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Often times it’s in their school†¦   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is believed racial slurs are just jokes but not to those who they are ridiculing. Many are perpetrators of joking racism and usually feel that these types of jokes are harmless. They can be harmless and maybe at times funny but are also hurtful and degrading. Some of the biggest racists are those who don’t even know that they are and even deny it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Kings day racism was much deeper. It was a livelihood for many people. They based their lives on haste and discrimination. Today it may occur, but the majority of society does not base a lifestyle on hate and discrimination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martin Luther King Jr. used a very effective, non-violent form of prostest, which helped African Americans gain equal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These events led to many civil rights movements to develop throughout time until the present day: â€Å"Because of some of these boycotts†¦ An example of this is â€Å"The largest ever non-violent protest in Washington August 23, 1968, where 200,000 people attended (World Book Encyclopedia).† King was a great influence to the Civil Rights Movement. Eventually the Civil Rights Movement let to some freedom for blacks, even though racism still exists today, and most laws were passed due to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The African-American community no longer has limited rights or segregation from society. People have grown closer to racial unity. Despite all of this, racism remains in the minds of people, and hate crimes, as well as white supremacist organizations, still exist.

The Theme of Alcestis :: Alcestis

The Theme of Alcestis      Ã‚  Ã‚   Alcestis by Euripides is distinct from other Greek Tragedy, due to its fairy tale origins. It was the fourth play in a set and would therefore have taken the place of a satyr-play. Satyr-plays were usually a light, comic play used as a form of relief from the previous heavy tragedies. The play has its comic elements, Heracles and Death playing the main comic figures but is there a more serious meaning hidden within the comedy? Philip Vellacott in his introduction to a collection of Euripides' plays, states that the main theme of the play is the "unequal relationship of man to woman." He believes this theme to be a reading of the play that would not be accessible to spectators who watched the play purely for enjoyment, but would be found by those capable of serious reflection. Did Euripides foresee such a reading of the play and is there enough evidence to support such a view?    In the play, the experience of man and woman do appear to be set up against each other. On the one hand there is Admetus and the chorus of the citizens of Pherae and on the other, there is Alcestis aligned with other second-class citizens, the servants. The chorus sympathise almost exclusively with Admetus and the servants with Alcestis. The servants and Alcestis are associated with each other from line 192:    "She took each one by the hand, and spoke to each...even the humblest."    Alcestis shows how she cared for the servants by being so thoughtful during her suffering. Later in the play another servant hails Alcestis as a mother figure. With such a bond between them, the servants see things from Alcestis' point of view. In telling the chorus the events of the day, the servant speaks entirely with sympathy for Alcestis, recalls what she has said and done and how she is becoming weaker and weaker. The servant does not mention Admetus until the chorus pointedly ask about him. In her reply the servant shows how Admetus is coping with the situation. Line 200: "Oh, yes, he weeps...Beseeching her not to desert him."    Here the irony of the situation is recognised by the servant.

Program for High School Drop Outs

A New Dawn is a program which will help students who have dropped out of high school become members of society who will be more successful. It is our hope that with the implementation of this program that more students will be able to return to school to finish their education and learn vocational skills which will allow them to earn more, help provide for their families, and build better self-esteem.Participation should reduce the number of youth who are lured away by low-paying, entry-level obs and by other social entities that can defeat the positive attributes of their lives (i. e. gang activity, drugs, alcoholism, etc. ). With this program outline, it should be evident that we can work with the budget allotted and still provide the essential services to our target population; the young people of the community who need to be able to return to school. A new day is dawning; how will you make it a successful one? educational, vocational, and training services to many sections of the local population.They have been involved in the community for many years (undefined in he scenario) and have decided to face a new and dangerous challenge; the increased dropout rates of high school age teenagers in the area. With increasing economic strains because of Job loss, relocation of companies to other cities, and budgetary losses due to lower property tax revenues, the students in the area are being forced to look for work to help support their families. It has been an ongoing challenge for local schools to retain and recruit qualified teachers that can hold the interest of these students.Unfortunately, this means that education comes second in heir lives and they lose the motivation to continue to improve themselves. Our agency proposes a new and innovative approach to allow them to complete their high school education, gain new skills, and be better prepared to handle life's challenges as they present themselves. Statement of Opportunity We are a group of dedicated indi viduals who want to see the high school dropouts of today become self-sufficient, productive members of the community tomorrow by offering them the skills to begin a new Journey.Education, vocational skills, and training are the key to success; our plan is to make a seemingly impossible challenge nto success through hard work, perseverance, and the true spirit of belief in our fellow human beings to want to be better than they are today. Impact on Organizational Structure Vision in organizational program development is important because it gives hope and direction to all those who hold stake in a project; in this case, students, parents, educators, administrators, potential grant donors, community members, social services workers, and businesses in the area.An executive director's vision is crucial because it shows that they truly believe in the proposed program and that it will ucceed in its goals and objectives. Challenges present themselves every day; the true challenge is taking the problems and turning them into opportunities. The positive is far more productive than allowing others to wallow in despair and give up on the possibility of success. Reaching for the stars is unrealistic, but hope is a powerful motivator; my goal is to make that hope into a reality for the students who are often forgotten members of society.With any change within an agency, comes an mission, goals, objectives, and vision of any program. Structural changes must occur o allow for new programs to be implemented. Organizational mission, goals, and objectives may have to change slightly to reflect new aspects of the program being developed, but should pretty much remain the same. While all of these areas may be detailed, it is important not to make goals and objectives which are too expansive as it could cause the entire program to fold if not managed carefully.I can see where there may need to be some changes when incorporating youth into a program which may have been initially de signed to assist adults who have different issues. The new oals and objectives of this project must dovetail with existing agency directives because if they do not, they may cause unpleasant and potentially devastating changes to services already offered. Organizational planning may be need to be revamped to include the program in the short- and long- term plans. Any time changes take place within an organization; there will be changes in the planning.From development to implementation and beyond, new plans which influence current programs will have to be addressed. In this scenario, the implementation of a dropout program may require facility changes, changes in staffing, community utreach that has not been needed before, coordination with school officials, budgetary changes, and development of new funding sources. It will be important to keep in consideration the needs of current programs when developing new structure for this program so as not to damage already successful program s.Organizational operations will also need to change based on the needs of clientele, staff members, and facility availability. There will be a need for more space for classrooms, more instructors, and different equipment and materials; using the same materials for igh school age students may not be realistic in terms of safety. Costs will quite definitely increase as the demand for hands-on vocational learning becomes reality for this group of students, hours are extended, and new materials for classroom learning need to be purchased.Administrative staff and Board of Directors support will require a clear and accurate picture of how things will need to be altered in order for them to run effectively and efficiently. Human resources is an area that will clearly need to be given a lot of thought and creative thinking to best utilize the staff hat is already employed by our agency. It has been difficult for local school districts to hire qualified, motivated instructors to work with t his fairly specialized group.It is no easy task to work with students who have given up on the academic environment to search for work to support their families. The key to the success of this program is to grab their interest, give them the tools and resources to better themselves, and then help them to be successful in the outside world. Since we cannot offer extravagant salaries to these professionals, we must have more to offer them; the esire to help a group which is underprivileged and in desperate need of help in addition to fairly flexible class schedules may help convince them to come teach for this worthwhile project.In addition to this, formal classroom positions are being cut by all districts, so by hiring teachers who have been displaced and do not wish to relocate there is a benefit to all involved. Continued education may be necessary to ready these instructors for different types of students and teaching methods. Technological resources will need to be added or adapt ed to build this program and heir involvement, they may quit again which would defeat the purpose of the program.The project will require more computers and software for student use, new and safer machinery, improved software for administrative staff to be able to track, organize, and make formal reports of progress, budgets, and program usage. Because these students are high school age, the need for reporting to state agencies will be a requirement if this agency is to receive funding and the average daily allowance (ADA) for each eligible student; that money will be essential as the rogram grows and thrives.Training for staff members may be necessary to ensure that they have the required skills that have not been needed before. Financial resources are probably the largest challenge to making this opportunity a reality for this organization. Additional money will be needed to supplement the already lean budget of past years. Employing more teachers, counselors, trainers, and suppor t personnel will not be inexpensive; salaries and benefits are required to attract qualified individuals.A reward and incentive program will need to be developed ince salaries and benefits may not be as rich as many are used to in the educational industry. The number of eligible high school dropouts is expected to be 1,000 individuals with a rise to 2,000 each year after inception. The total funding for this program at present is $1,600,000, so until further funding can be acquired budgets will still have to run very lean. Accumulating needed materials and equipment can be done on a graduated need base so that not all of the finances are spent on these line items.It will be necessary to apply for outside grants from government agencies and other non-traditional options. Community Environmental Factors The local economy in the area is severely depressed because many companies are leaving the area for other cities; the loss of property and other tax revenue has caused local cutbacks i n services with significant impact on school budgets. When budgets are reduced in education, the first individuals who suffer are the students. Loss of teachers, materials, extra-curricular activities, and support staff markedly increase the dropout rate among teens.There are few choices for students other than to attempt to find work to help support their families; making school an mpossibility and limiting further success. Competition is a problem because students need to find work and will turn to businesses when they should be attending school. If the youth of this community feel that the needs of their families is too strong, they may forego returning to school; no matter how easy the road is made for them. They have to find value in furthering their education; our goal is to show them that there is a better life available through education and give them the skills they need to succeed.The employment market locally is not helping the situation; rather it is a hindrance. The mor e pressure exerted on the market, the more businesses will move out of the area because there is incentive to do so. As companies leave, property and other taxes drop which means less money is available for schools and other local services. The amount of teachers and support staff drops and students feel it is not worth their time to attend. Financial resources will always be limited, so the time is now to take advantage of loans and grants offered by the school district and government agencies.Applying for outside grants will need to occur, but without firm commitments they cannot be The risks that the agency will take will be directly correlated to the success of the program. If the project shows that it is successful, more money will be fed into its coffers. If the program is questionable or fails, money will be withdrawn which could seriously hamper current programs as well as the proposed program. In theory, this investment could make or break the organization which is more tha n likely working on a very limited budget in the first place.Adding additional staff and technical resources is expensive and if these people would have to be terminated because the rogram fails, there will be other separation costs associated; machinery and other items may have to be sold for a significant loss if they cannot be used in other programs. The benefits of this program to the community is that the teenagers who have given up on their education may return to school to learn more skills which will help them to find better paying Jobs in the future.By becoming more highly trained and better educated, it will be easier for them to find employment. The increase in the dropout rate from five percent to 15% is astronomical in Just two years and is nacceptable; something must be done to stop the bleeding! By developing and implementing a program which helps local youth, the status of this organization will increase; allowing more money to flow in for all programs and increase c ommunity support.This support encourages more students to see the value in returning to school because they can see the evidence of going through the program. Human Resources It will be important to hire new instructors, trainers, and more than likely some support staff to work with students and provide the administrative assistance to make this program operate efficiently and effectively. The one thing you cannot be short on is instructional staff to help students to learn the skills they need to be able to walk away with the ability to become productive members of the community.Because many school districts are cutting staff members, there is a surplus of unemployed or underemployed teachers and we may be able to secure some trainers from the private industrial sector on a part-time basis if they feel it will be to their benefit to have better trained employees. Our staff is truly one of the most important keys to the success or failure of this program; without them, there would e no way to make success a possibility. With staffing cuts, come reductions in pay for many school employees, so we will need to provide other incentives to attract qualified, motivated instructors.Paid time off, health benefits (at least partially covered by the agency), incentive rewards for number of students who perform well and/or graduate from our program, and other extrinsic reward systems will be implemented as the budget allows. Intrinsic rewards such as recognition by other staff members, community recognition, publication in journals to recognize the successes each member has worked hard to attain, and ven something as simple as a smile and a good Job from supervisory personnel will make a big difference in the way employees feel about their Jobs.As Executive Director, I personally will take this responsibility to make this happen and encourage others on my staff to do the same. The operating budget for this program is not large at only $1,600,000. It will take a great dea l of hard work to make this budget work and still have a successful program. With the help and dedication of our staff, along with positive support from community members, we can make it work. We will be applying for grants from theNational Education Association (NEA), California Teachers Association (CTA), government title grants (such as American With Disabilities Act (ADA)) funding, and other non-traditional grant donors. It is our hope that we can procure enough money to make this program operate smoothly and employ more staff members to encourage students to want to participate in a variety of programs. It is recognized that budgets will need to be increased each year because new students will be Joining established students in the program. It is estimated that for the first year there will be 1,000 eligible students and 2,000 each year after.If the program works well, we estimate this number will continue to grow as the individuals leave the program and find that their ability to find work at a better rate increases. As students hear that the program is working, they will want to participate more; word of mouth is by far one of the most important and cheapest methods of advertising.

Homeland Security essays

Homeland Security essays Many Americans have argued against the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, saying that it will take away too many freedoms. I ask, What good are these freedoms if terrorist events wipe us out before we can enjoy them? The department is being created due to the events of September 11th. The new department should ensure security for our homeland. Three candidates (George Bush, John Kerry, and Ralph Nader) are battling neck to neck in the 2004 election for President. Each candidate has strong and different views on Homeland Security in which they plan to make this country a safer place to live. President Bush created this department in response to the nine-eleven attacks. Before the department was created, all the different agencies were scattered all over the place. Now all the agencies are unified into one single department that is committed to protecting the United States. This department consists of twenty-two agencies and 180,000 employees. The mission of homeland security is to prevent us from terrorist attacks and to protect and respond to any threats or hazards to the nation (DHS). The department is divided into six major categories. They are Border and Transportation Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, Intelligence and Warning, and defending against deadly One main topic that is brought up in the issue of Homeland Security is the U.S. Patriot Act. The act allows law enforcement officers to access private medical, library, or student records and can prevent from letting the person know. This Act was passed through both houses of Congress with little debate and no formal hearings on October 26, 2001 (Doyle). Bush said, Don't let Patriot Act expire-terrorist threat won't (Bush). Bush supports the Patriot Act and believes the act was one of his great achievements in his firs ...

5 Ways to Evaluate Your Writing Group

5 Ways to Evaluate Your Writing Group 5 Ways to Evaluate Your Writing Group 5 Ways to Evaluate Your Writing Group By Mark Nichol The writing group you started three or six months ago is still going, but there’s something not quite right about it. It’s time to step back and evaluate it: 1. Attendance Are the charter members all still attending? Or, if one or more people have dropped out, was it mutually beneficial for them to do so, or do you wish they had continued to participate? If the latter is true, and you haven’t already done so, send them a note asking for their frank appraisal, assuring them that you want the truth so that you can apply their response to improving the group. They might have simply found they lacked the time or the motivation, or they might have had a personality clash with someone else in the group or a problem with the meeting format. If one or more people is regularly tardy or absent, ask them why. You won’t know whether you can help them if you don’t know the reason they aren’t on time or present all the time. It might be as simple as needing more time at home after work before heading to the meeting, or they might just be hesitating about quitting. 2. Skill Are the skill levels of the members basically on par? Not everyone needs at exactly the same place in terms of facility with writing, but it helps to have an only slightly divergent range. An especially skilled group member might make others feel inadequate, and someone who is noticeably deficient in talent may be dragging the group down. You will likely feel uncomfortable about approaching either type of outlier, but the more skilled writer will probably take it as a compliment if you suggest that they seek a writing group with higher collective abilities and may be glad to have â€Å"permission† to do so. For the person not quite up to the group’s level, it may take no-punches-pulled criticism respectful but candid to prompt them to look for a group more suited to their level of development. 3. Workload Are group members keeping up with the workload? If members routinely come to group meetings unprepared lacking either a writing sample for others to critique or completed evaluations of others’ passages perhaps the amount of preparation required is excessive. Consider reducing the frequency of meetings or the length of submissions, or mix up the way submissions are presented: If group members usually email their pieces for others to review and critique before the next meeting, alternate this approach with cold critiques (responses to writing samples that have just been distributed at that meeting). Alternatively, have members submit samples at every other meeting rather than each time, or skip critique meetings in place of tutorials (everybody presents a fifteen-minute lesson about character, plot, narrative structure, or some other element). 4. Development Do group members feel that the writing group is helping them develop as writers? Set aside part or all of a meeting to discuss how everyone feels about their progress. Are other members too timid about providing feedback, so that one or more people feel that they aren’t getting anything out of the critiquing sessions? Is criticism writer centered rather than writing centered? Critiques that focus on the author rather than on the writing samples not only hinder development but may also make members feel uncomfortable, which may also be the cause of absentees or dropouts. If you haven’t yet done so, model constructive comments that are specific and that respond to the piece, not the person. 5. Feedback External feedback, that is. At three months after the group’s launch, this step will likely be premature, but for a group that’s met for six months or more, it might be time to step up to the plate. Talk everyone in the group to committing to submitting: With a given period, everyone must send an article or poem or short story to a certain number of publications or writing competitions for consideration. That’s certainly one way to evaluate a writing group. If one or more people get a prize or get published, also-rans might feel resentment, but try to forestall any bad feelings by suggesting ahead of time that if anyone hits the jackpot, it means everybody has the potential to do so. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureTen Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowEach vs. Both