Patrons and Artisans of the Renaissance Period Essay -- European Histo

The Renaissance period (1400 to 1700) covered art, literature, philosophy and government. Renaissance culture spread outwards from Florence, to other Italian cities and then, over the following centuries, to the rest of Europe. It is widely understood that it was a unique combination of several different influences that led to the Renaissance, with the social and political conditions of the era, combined with great wealth and the large number of talented artists and artisans in Florence; influencing cultural development on an exceptional scale. Europe in the 15th Century depended on Italy for much of its commerce. Italy itself was made up of city-states in which power was shared by leading families. By 1400 its leading city-state, Florence, had established stable self-government and great wealth through textile trading and banking, leading to a shared feeling of optimism and power. Responsible for the wealth of Florence, the ruling class of merchants, manufacturers and bankers were proud, competitive, academically curious and culturally astute. This wealth made patronage of the arts and the growth of Renaissance culture possible. In turn patronage was a way of demonstrating one’s wealth and power. Wealthy families constantly tried to outdo each other with the extravagance of their commissions, with self-advertisement a key feature of Renaissance patronage. This is epitomised by Masaccio (1401-1428), in ‘The Holy Trinity’ fresco (1425) in the Santa Maria Novella church in Florence. In it, the patrons, Lorenzo Lenzi and his wife, kneel in front of St John the Baptist, Mary, Christ and God. Rivalry pushed patrons and artisans to outclass each other, with revolutionary achievements such as the Santa Maria del Fiore in... ...n times. The ability to document individual achievement and the development of printing from the 1460s helped this – and also helped the Renaissance to spread outside Italy and throughout Europe from the late 15th Century onwards. As the 15th Century drew to a close, the political and trading map of Europe was changing. In 1453 Constantinople, the seat of the Christian Byzantine Empire, was conquered by the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which threatened the Italian states to the east and enforced increasing commercial taxes against its merchants, France also laid claim to the region, initiating an invasion in 1494 that effectively destroyed Italy's commercial and artistic authority. Gradually, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Michelangelo fled to larger imperial courts, with Leonardo spending his last years working for the French king Francis I.

Cosmology: Science Vs Religion Essay -- essays research papers

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Christian belief encountered significant opposition. Until then, most of the world shared the belief of the â€Å"Medieval world view† that not only was the earth positioned at the center of the universe, but that God was all knowing, all powerful and all good. God was thought to have created and sustained the wondrous workings of the universe. This belief told the people all they needed to know about the meaning and purpose of life. Then, scientific discovery and methods began to undermine religious beliefs. Scientists began to reveal that natural laws and natural forces governed the world. Opposing beliefs, e.g. the Marxism belief, criticized Christian views. People like, Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton all played significant roles in challenging the recognized views at that time. In contrast to the â€Å"medieval world view†, the â€Å"scientific universe† is impersonal, governed by natural laws and understandable in physical and mathematical terms. Many people trust the information science offers rather than religion because science seems to be more reliable. Science has replaced religion as the dominant intellectual authority because science offers the chance to understand the universe, whereas religion just assumes things. Many believe, as was said by Richard Dawkins, â€Å"the truth means scientific truth†. Along with the logical Positivists, they claimed the only meaningful statements were scientific. It is unfortunate that such...

Case Grading Rubric

MAN 3301 Human Resource Management Dr. Jerry Schoenfeld A Model For Analyzing Cases In Human Resource Management Purpose of Cases A case is a written description of events and activities that have taken place in an organization. Cases allow you to experience a different kind of learning – learning by doing. They are intended to give you an opportunity to actively experience the reality and complexity of the issues facing practicing mangers and human resource executives.While other disciplines like physical science allow you to test theories in a laboratory, performing a case analysis allows you to apply human resource management theories to specific organizational problems. Completing a case analysis will help you develop your analytical and problem-solving skills. Cases enable you to analyze organization problems and to generate solutions based on your understanding of theories and models of effective human resource management (HRM). Both a â€Å"decision-maker† and an â€Å"evaluator† approach are used in cases.In the decision-maker approach, the primary goal is to sort out information given and to propose a viable solution to the problems(s) identified. In the evaluator approach, the human resource management decisions have already been implemented, and the primary goal is to evaluate outcomes and consequences and to propose alternative solutions. For this case assignment you will be in the decision-maker role. Student Preparation of Written Cases There are any number of possible approaches to analyzing a case. The most important point to remember is that case analysis involves decision making.There is no absolutely right or wrong solution to a case problem. Your major task as a decision maker is to present a coherent and defensible analysis of the situation based on human resource management concepts and theories. Just as managers in the â€Å"real world† must persuade their colleagues and superiors that their proposals are sound , so must you persuade your fellow students and your instructor that your analysis of the case and proposed solution are the best. You should follow a few preliminary steps before preparing your written analysis. First, give the case a general reading to get an overall sense of the situation.Put it aside for a while, then read it a second time and make notes on the critical facts. Case facts provide information and data on attitudes and values, relative power and influence, the nature and quality of relationships, the organization’s objectives and human resource management policies/functions, and other pertinent aspects of the organization. Keep two key questions in mind as you review the facts of the case: First, are there discernible patterns in the facts? Second, what can be inferred about human resource management practices in this organization from the facts presented?You should attempt to classify, sort, and evaluate the information you have identified in this prelimina ry step. Once you have a clear understanding of the critical facts in the case, you can prepare your written analysis using the five-step model that follows. Written Case Analysis Model Please follow these five steps in your written case analysis. Please have a separate section heading for each of these five steps along with a brief introduction and conclusion. Your completed case should be no longer then 10 double-spaced pages using 12-point font. It should be well written and free of grammatical errors.Step 1. Problem Identification. The first step in your written analysis is to explicitly identify the major problem(s) in the case in one or two clear and precise sentences. For example, â€Å"The major problem in this case is a 15 percent increase in employee turnover compared to last year’s rate. † Herbert Simon, who received a Nobel Prize for his work on management decision-making, has defined a problem as â€Å"a deviation from a standard. † In other words, one way to identify a problem is to compare some desired state or objective with the actual situation. A problem or series of problems may revent the organization from reaching its objectives or goals. A key point here is that in order to define a problem, there must be some type of standard for comparison. Possible standards include the organization’s stated objectives or goals, objectives or goals of competing organizations, or standards based on normative prescriptions from human resource management theory. Note: While you may be able to identify more then one problem in the assigned case. State clearly what is the main problem and complete subsequent steps in relation to this problem. Step 2. Identify the Causes of the Problem.Before proposing alternative solutions, the decision maker must have a clear understanding of the underlying causes of the problem. HRM problems are usually embedded in a larger context. This means the decision maker must examine internal and extern al environmental factors over time to isolate causal factors. Causes of problems tend to be historical in nature. To formulate a solid understanding of the specific causes, you should search for root causes and use relevant course concepts and theories to better define them. The â€Å"question syndrome† approach may be beneficial here: Why did the problem occur? When did it begin?Where does it occur? Where doesn’t it occur? What effective HRM practices should the organization be using? What has the organization failed to do? What are the antecedents of the problem? Posing these questions will help you to probe beyond the symptoms to the root cause of the problem. The process of identifying the cause of a problem is very much like hypothesis testing. You should set forth possible causes and then test them against the facts in the case. In writing this section, it is important to present a plausible discussion of the causes so as to convince the reader that your analysis is correct. Step 3. Alternative Solutions.This step involves developing alternative solutions and evaluating their contributions to resolving the problem(s) identified. Proposed alternatives should be consistent with the problems(s) and cause(s) identified. You should develop at least three possible alternatives in addition to those offered within the case. You may propose more than three. List each of your alternatives and the advantages and disadvantages associated with each. Keep the following criteria in mind as you evaluate your alternatives: time constraints, feasibility, cost, contribution to meeting the organization’s objectives, and possible negative side effects.Developing a list of good alternatives involves creativity and avoiding preconceived attitudes and assumptions. It may be useful to brainstorm possible solutions before weighing their advantages and disadvantages. Note: Your alternatives should cover the entire domain of human resource management functional activities. However, it is important that you do not combine various activities into one alternative. For example, you should recommend that the hospital pay more, offer more benefits, overhaul their selection process, and provide more training all within one alternative.Step 4. Select the Best Alternative. Indicate the one alternative you have chosen that â€Å"best† solves the problem. It is important here to justify why you chose a particular solution and why it will best resolve the problem(s). Again, I recognize that doing more then one alternative would be better. But if you have to choose just one alternative (and you must choose just one), which one offers the greatest potential benefits toward addressing the problem(s). Step 5. Implementation Steps. Now that you have a solution, you must develop appropriate action plans to implement it.In this section of your written analysis, you want to specify, as much as possible, what should be done, by whom, when, where, and i n what sequence. For example: Who should implement the decision? To whom should it be communicated? What actions need to be taken now? What actions need to be taken later? If you recommend that the organization revise its performance appraisal process, give as much detail as possible on the content of the revisions. Finally, in this section you should also indicate follow-up procedures to monitor the implementation of your solution to ensure that the intended actions are taken and that the roblem is corrected. While these steps have been presented in linear fashion, case analysis does not involve linear thinking. You will probably find yourself thinking about all of the parts of the analysis simultaneously. This is perfectly normal and underscores the complexity of decision-making. To present a clear written analysis, however, it is important to write up your report in the analytical form just described. As you gain experience with the case method, you will end the course with a bet ter understanding of both your problem-solving ability and effective human resource management practices.Pitfalls in Analysis Amateurs at case analysis often encounter the pitfall of jumping to a conclusion, which in effect bypasses analysis. For example, a student may readily observe some overt behavior, quickly identify it as objectionable and, therefore, assume it is a basic problem. Later, with some dismay, the student may discover that the prescribed action had no effect on the â€Å"problem† and that the objectionable behavior was only a symptom and not the actual problem.Another common mistake is for students to reject a case because they think there is insufficient information. All desirable or useful information is seldom available for analyzing and resolving actual problems in real organizations. Consequently, managers must do the best they can with the information available to them. Furthermore, the main issue in solving the problems of many organizations is to det ermine what additional and relevant information is available or can be obtained before adequate analysis can be made and appropriate action taken.If additional information is available, the manager must decide whether it is worth getting, whether it is meaningful and relevant, and whether it can be secured in time to be useful. Thus, an apparent lack of information in cases is actually a reflection of the reality that students must learn to accept and overcome. Students occasionally search for the â€Å"right† answer or solutions to cases and sometimes they ask their instructor what actually happened in a case. Although some answers or solutions are better than others, there are no â€Å"right† answers or solutions.What actually happened in a case is usually irrelevant – the focus of case study should be on the process of analysis, the diagnosis of problems, and the prescription of remedial action rather than on the discovery of answers or end results. Many of t he cases were in the process of being studied and resolved at the time the pieces were written. Consequently, the real life outcomes are not always available. Although some of the cases do include what happened, no case is intended to illustrate either right or wrong, effective or ineffective solutions to human resource management problems.

Lubrication and Refrigeration in aeroplanes (Spanish) essays

Lubrication and Refrigeration in aeroplanes (Spanish) essays Lubricacin y refrigeracin Es la operacin de engrase continuo entre las piezas en contacto y con movimientos relativos, que evita el calentamiento y disminuye el desgaste de las piezas. El engrase depende de la cantidad de aceite suministrado, de la fijacin y mantenimiento de la pelà ­cula de aceite entre las superficies en frotamiento, de la evacuacin del aceite y de la evacuacin del calor. Cuando el gasto o caudal de aceite que circula entre las piezas del motor es pequen de la temperatura puede ser tan grande que llegue a hacerse peligroso por ser insuficiente para la evacuacin del calor. Para evitar que la temperatura del aceite alcance valores por encima de los là ­mites permisibles normalmente 120C, lo que significarà ­a una prdida de las cualidades de lubricacin, se dispone de refrigeracin del aceite, por medio de la instalacin de radiadores con un medio refrigerante que en el caso del avin es normalmente el aire que pasa a travs de dicho radiador. En los motores de aviacin la cantidad de calor evacuado por el aceite varà ­a entre 0.3 y 1 calorà ­a por minuto siendo normalmente la diferencia de temperatura de salida y entrada de aceite en el motor entre 10C y 30C. La T ª de entrada en el motor es aprx. 70C y la de salida es de 100C. El sistema de aceite para lubricacin de un motor puede considerarse dividido en dos partes fundamentales: la parte interior al motor llamada zona de lubricacin principal y segundo la parte exterior o circuito auxiliar para almacenamiento central de temperatura y recuperacin de aceite. En los motores de aviacin la presin de aceite a la entrada del motor est regulada normalmente a cinco kg/cm2, y el caudal de aceite proporcionado es aprx. de 0.02 a 0.1 l...

Vets essays

Vets essays Veterinarians are doctors who play a major role in the health care of pets, and livestock. They use their skill to help prevent disease carried by animals, and conduct research on human and animal health problems. Most veterinarians work in a private practice and mainly treat small animals such as dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. Some veterinarians, however dont like to work in small practices, so they work in mixed practice. In mixed practices veterinarians treat bigger animals suck as pigs, goats, and sheep. There are also some veterinarians that work in clinical practice. There veterinarians dont usually work with animals directly; however, they diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against disease such as distemper, and rabies, and the also dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about feeding and breeding their animal (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia cd-rom). Veterinarians contribute to human health as well as animal health. Some veterinarians work with physicians and scientists to research ways to prevent and treat human health problems. These problems/diseases consist of cancer, AIDS, and alcohol or drug abuse. Veterinarians who are livestock inspectors go around to farms, and check animals for transmitted disease, advise owners on treatment, and quarantine animals. Veterinarians are also product inspectors. Their role is to examine slaughtering and processing plants to make sure that the carcasses dont have any disease. They also enforce government regulations regarding food purity and sanitation. Veterinarians tend to work long hours. They usually spend 50 hours or more on the job each week. Veterinarians that work in a group practice take turns with shifts and, therefore, they dont work as many hours as private practice veterinarians. Private and solo practice veterinarians work extended hours and on weekends. They must respond to emergencies and squeez ...

Create a Magic Genie in a Bottle Effect

Create a Magic Genie in a Bottle Effect Drop a chemical into a flask to produce a cloud of water vapor and oxygen, resembling a magic genie emerging from its bottle. This chemistry demonstration can be used to introduce the concepts of decomposition reactions, exothermic reactions, and catalysts. Magic Genie Safety Wear rubber gloves and safety goggles. The 30% hydrogen peroxide used in this demonstration is a strong oxidizing agent which should be handled with care. It is extremely corrosive and reactive. Sodium iodide should not be ingested. The chemical reaction evolves heat so it is important to use borosilicate glass and to take care that the mouth of the flask is directed away from people. Magic Genie Demonstration Materials 50 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)4 g of sodium iodide, NaI [may substitute manganese(IV) oxide]1-liter borosilicate (Pyrex or Kimax) volumetric flaskFilter paper or tissue paper The peroxide solution is considerably more concentrated than ordinary household peroxide (3%), so youll either need to obtain it from a beauty supply store, chemical supply ​store or online. Sodium iodide or manganese oxide are best obtained from chemical suppliers. Magic Genie Procedure Wrap the sodium iodide or manganese oxide in a piece of filter paper or tissue paper. Staple the paper so none of the solid can spill out.Carefully pour 50 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide solution into the volumetric flask.Set the flask a counter and cover it with a towel to protect your hands from the heat of the reaction. When you are ready, drop the packet of solid reactant into the flask. Be sure the flask is pointed away from yourself and students. The magic water vapor genie will appear!After the demonstration is complete, the liquid may be washed down the drain with excess water. Rinse the flask and dilute any spills with water before cleanup. Magic Genie Reaction Hydrogen peroxide decomposes into water vapor and oxygen gas. The sodium iodide or manganese oxide catalyzes the exothermic reaction. The reaction is: 2H2O2 (aq) → 2H2O (g) O2 (g) heat Helpful Tips for the Magic Genie Experiment Use of Pyrex, Kimax, or another type of borosilicate glass minimizes the risk of breakage.Rather than dropping the packet of sodium iodide or manganese oxide, you can hang it inside the flask by a string taped to the outside of the flask or secured (loosely) with a stopper. Do not tightly seal the flask! A stopper with a hole or two is safest.  Use a large volume flask, even though youre only using a small volume of liquid. This is because brown liquid can splash up near the conclusion of the reaction. This liquid is free iodine released from the oxidizing effect of the strong peroxide solution.Make sure you dont seal or tightly stopper the flask, as pressure buildup from a premature reaction can shatter the flask violently.Excess sodium iodide may be thrown away in the trash receptacle.Are you artistic? You can wrap the flask in foil to make it look like a magic genie bottle or lamp. While you have the 30% peroxide out, why not try the elephant toothpaste demonstration? Another interesting demonstration to try involves making violet smoke. Reference: Stone, Charles, H. J. Chem. Ed., 1944, 21, 300.

Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift - Essay Example It is during this time that Swift wrote this famous article. In the article, Swift goes to great detail to propose that small babies can be used as food and nourishment. In this paper, he is seen supporting and endorsing infanticide as well as cannibalism. He meticulously describes how a baby can be prepared as a delicacy and eaten. Swift’s Modest Proposal was a satirical piece of literature that used extreme irony to critic the actions of the English landlords. Yet, through this satirical piece, he never takes time to renounce this view and leaves the reader to be the moral judge, a very dangerous thing because there is a high chance that the reader may take the ideas literally.As Gordon (59) says, irony can be very useful when presenting serious ideas becaue it stresses the importance. In this article, Swift, an Anglo-Irish priest uses extreme irony without taking caution to make sure that there are no misunderstanding (Biograpohy.com, para 2). What Swift does in this articl e is to write in an ironical way that does not explicitly point to the irony, thus making it harder for the reader to be able to detect the irony. Throughout the paper, Swift uses the persona in the article to forward the crazy idea of eating a baby. He even goes to great lengths to describe the logic behind eating a baby. For instance, he describes that since babies don’t eat much until they are about one year old, and only depend on their mother’s milk during this age, they should be kept until this age and be used as food to feed the rest of the population.