Design Has to work
I was very proud of my cardboard chair I had constructed. Not only was it an unusual shape, it also had cunning carvings on the surface that matched and added to the flavour. To me, it was a work of art. When it came to be my turn to explain my creation, I thought it wise to demonstrate how wonderfully functional my design was. I eagerly sat on my chair, as it was designed for that purpose, and instead found myself in a lump amongst folds of cardboard that were once my work of art. It was at that moment when I realised- design has to work. Design is based on solving problems. These 'are not the same as the "puzzles" that scientists, mathematicians and other scholars set themselves. They are not problems for which necessary information is, or ever can be, available to the problem solver. They are therefore not susceptible to exhaustive analysis, and there can never be a guarantee that 'correct' solutions can be found for them'1. Nevertheless, the designers' mission is still to create a solution to the problem. The solution must achieve certain requirements and tasks. The result must also have a level of practicality in order to be considered a successful piece of design (essentially, one does not need to have been educated with the laws of physics or chemistry to know that a bucket serves as an effective way to carry water). If, for instance, the bucket has no base, the
Intercultural Paper
Intercultural Communication Paper COM360 - Intercultural Communication John Alexander Introduction Culture is generally referred to as human patterns of activity and the symbolic structures that provide significance and importance to such activity. Everyone may in some way be shaped by their culture, whether by thought or action. These thoughts and actions are rooted deep within, and we do not pay it any mind until we are confronted with another culture and a different way of doing things. Upon first confronting a new culture, a businessperson's first reaction is to think, "My way is best." Business professionals may experience an unavoidable 'culture clash.' It is possible to avoid such a situation with some form of study, which may result in the realization that both he/she is wrong and there may be better ways of doing things. Furthermore, each one can open themselves up to possible problems in their culture. The following are issues, along with explanations, of different value orientations between the Bangladeshi and British that might affect cross-cultural communication. Cultural profiles of Bangladesh and the United Kingdom are drawn upon the basis of the work of Geert Hofstede, Fons Trompenaars and Edward Hall, used to analyze the factors which are likely to affect communication between people in these two countries. Cultural profile: Bangladesh Bangladesh has a
Make a brief assessment of the issues at stake in the debate over the Ranters with particular reference to a) the interpretative frameworks at issue b) the use of documents.
Make a brief assessment of the issues at stake in the debate over the Ranters with particular reference to a) the interpretative frameworks at issue b) the use of documents. The historians Morton and Hill supported the popular view held about the ranters and for some time this was very much undisputed. This view claimed that the ranters had rebelled against the groups or classes who came had come to power in the English revolution. The groups and classes, upon which they rebelled were those who possessed most of the power, land and supported the protestant ethic. These people who held the power would use the concepts of sin and hell to keep the masses in order. This was an essential framework authenticated by the contemporary writings of many historians including Albizer Coppe and was unquestioned until the work of Davis in Fear, Myth and History. Davis was very controversial in his studies; he denied the existence of any such thing as a Ranter sect or movement. He argued that they shared no consistent ideology. He claimed the speculation over the ranters in the 1650s was a scare tactic caused by the collapse of the old order after the English revolution. Finally Davis suggested the Marxist historians caused the shaping of the ranter myth in the 20th century. The points that he raised were somewhat controversial amongst historians, many historians even when as far as
Modernism. The breadth of Modernist theory resulted in an immensely diverse and somewhat confusing period. Whilst committed to progress and the emancipation of the bourgeois through knowledge, Modernists were often highly elitist artists. Their frustrate
MODERNISM: Modernism was not a single movement, but a broad period encompassing many movements. It spanned from approximately 1860 to 1970. Considering this breadth, the practices of the Modernists are immensely varied, indeed, at times paradoxical. These differences, however, are logical. Modernist philosophy is highly open - to challenge traditional thinking with the aim of emancipating the bourgeois from conservative Victorian values. Considering the enormous scope of this manifesto, multiple interpretations emerged. The generic Modernist philosophy was realised through other, more specific philosophies. Of fundamental concern to most Modernists was representing the emotions inherent to an object or artist, as opposed to depicting something with utmost realism. Such an approach developed particularly because of a major technical advance in the 1820s and 1830s - the invention of the camera by Frenchmen Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. Photography "rendered much of the representational function of art obsolete -" 1 which had previously been a major goal of Western art practice. Now, however, artists were spurred to explore new ways of representation. The Impressionists, for example, abandoned the pursuit of creating a flowing, porcelain canvas. Instead, they focused upon the impact and movement of light and reflection, often using free, jabbed
However, 'blind faith' in photography is not that simple and with this essay I hope to show that an entirely realist view does not stand up when examined and that the camera can indeed lie
"The Camera Never Lies"? There is a saying that 'the camera never lies'. This is a realist view of photography in so far as it trusts the camera thoroughly and without question. These views of photography have led to photographic evidence carrying connotations of truth from evidence in court cases to passport photographs, photo I.D. cards and now driving licences. However, 'blind faith' in photography is not that simple and with this essay I hope to show that an entirely realist view does not stand up when examined and that the camera can indeed lie or deceive. In the introduction of John Tagg's book The Burden of Representation he mentions Roland Barthes book Camera Lucida and in it that Barthes gives a reassertion of this realist view of photography. Barthes describes the camera as an 'instrument of evidence' and the photographs it produces represent what was put before the lens and that which was photographed 'was there' but what we see in the photograph is a reality we can no longer touch. A photograph is a capture of an event which has happened yet has also passed. (Tagg, 1988, 1). The first real problem with trusting photographs and giving them the virtue of an inexplicable truth is that photographs have been altered, doctored and faked since nearly as long as we have had photographic technology. A famous example from the 1920s saw photographic editing at the request
Goals of Women's Liberation Movement
Goals of Women's Liberation Movement The Women´s Liberation Movement (WLM) exploded into existence in the late 1960´s in America after a period of relative inactivity in feminism during the 1950´s and quickly spread to Europe, soon holding annual demonstrations in London. It was a 'movement´, not an organisation and consisted of numerous women´s groups, all campaigning for different feminist goals. This analysis aims to discuss and debate whether 'equal access to the same goals as men´, a liberal feminist statement, adequately embodies the goals of the WLM during the 1960´s/70´s. It will examine the British WLM, the 7 demands they made in the 1970´s and how these demands relate to this statement. Various groups within the American WLM will also be examined with reference to how their demands compare with the statement. The analysis attempts to show how WLM demands, in the U.S. and Britain, are a reflection of the goals of a multifaceted movement and are inadequately represented by the statement. The three main trends within the WLM were socialist feminism, liberal feminism and radical feminism; each saw women´s problems in a different light and stressed different solutions. The American WLM´s origins in the civil rights movement meant that, in the early days, there was a leaning towards the pursuit of equality. The British WLM´s origins were more influenced by
Why and How is Music Controlled and Regulated?
Why and How is Music Controlled and Regulated? Music as a universal cultural past time has proved to be an indispensable medium used by musicians to convey popular attitudes prevalent in modern society and those of old. The definition of Music is largely subjective depending entirely upon an individual's personal classification. The pressing issue we have in hand here is what are the significant factors that would lead to measures which have been created in an attempt to regulate and control controversial artistic expression within music, and more importantly the need for such measures. The crux of the discussion is freedom of expression and religion in today's society; it is clear that in regulating and protecting society the law is inextricably linked to morality and religious beliefs as these are the very fabrics of culture. The issue taken up for discussion in this essay gives rise to the battle between 'free speech' and 'the status of religious freedom'. Although there are numerous excuses for the policing of music in some form or another, this particular piece will most closely examine the issues related to religion, such as religious politics, blasphemy, back masking, objection on religious grounds and so forth. The essay intends to explore fundamental reasons as to why religious representatives protest for control and regulation, whether they have been successful
Women and Sisters: the Antislavery Feminists In American Culture.
WOMEN AND SISTERS: THE ANTISLAVERY FEMINISTS IN AMERICAN CULTURE By Jean Fagan Yellin Book Review by: Women and Sisters: The Antislavery Feminists in American Culture examines the lives of the antislavery feminists in the antebellum period of American history. Through careful research and thoughtful insight, Jean Yellin, distinguished Professor of English Emerita at Pace University, New York City, New York, focuses her attention on the leading figures in reform, abolitionism and feminism. Familiar reformers and images are given new meaning in this original study, which includes the images of slavery in sculpture, cartoons, prints, coins and medallions in classical antiquity and the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The book combines methodology from history, art and literature. The most common image studied depicts a suppliant slave woman kneeling or sitting in chains, being liberated by a white female reformer. The motto "Am I not a woman and a Sister?"(4) heads the picture with an appropriate scriptural message, "Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them," (4)showing the religious and paternalistic concerns of the reformers. This image of the slave woman is then compared to the white woman, who was considered an "Angel in the House"(5) when she remained silent and invisible in public, but played a more active role at home. Part one discusses the
Oceanic art.
Oceanic art is diverse in style and technique. Artefacts were not considered art by their creators, but were an integral part of the religious and social ceremony of everyday island life. Art objects include ancestor figures, canoe-prow ornaments, ceremonial shields, masks, stone carvings, decorated human skulls, pottery, and stools. Fertility is a recurrent theme, along with occasional references to headhunting and ritual cannibalism. Most Oceanic arts are considered primitive in that until recently the indigenous cultures possessed no metal, and cutting tools were of stone or shell. The vocabulary of contemporary Aboriginal painting is derived from these ritual designs and practices. The waves of shimmering dots, the maze patterns, the lyrical lines, the passages of sensual, light dappled color that activate contemporary Aboriginal paintings are all meant to deliberately disorient or dazzle the senses and provoke a sense of the power and mystery inherent in The Dreaming and the resonant ancestral power of Aboriginal Australia's sacred places. Traditional symbols are an essential part of much contemporary Aboriginal art. Aboriginal peoples have long artistic traditions within which they use conventional designs and symbols. These designs when applied to any surface, whether it is on the body of a person taking part in a ceremony or on a shield, have the power to transform
What are the chief characteristics that identify Angkor Wat as a temple?
What are the chief characteristics that identify Angkor Wat as a temple? Angkor Wat, located in Cambodia, was built in the early 12th Century by King Suryavarman II, and was made the capital city of the Khmer Empire under his reign. Originally, Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple, dedicated to Suryavarman II's chosen personal deity, Vishnu (Rawson, 1995: 96), though in the 15th Century, the temple city was converted to a Buddhist place of worship, evidence of which can still be seen today, despite the temple's Hindu appearance. The temple is the largest religious monument in the entire world (Roveda, 1997: 100). Angkor Wat is regarded by many as the crowning work of Khmer architecture, and is a stunning amalgamation of several features from earlier styles (Rawson, 1995: 81). Said by many to be Suryavarman II's mortuary temple, Angkor Wat was under construction the entire time he ruled, after coming into power in 1113AD (Rawson, 1995: 80). The religious history of the Khmer Empire is an interesting one, as the religion of Brahminism originally brought to Cambodia by the Khmers ended up fusing with the existing religious ideas of the natives upon arrival. Buddhism had been in Cambodia since the first or second Centuries, and other belief systems such as ancestor worship and animal totems were popular amongst the natives (Fujioka, 1972: 16). Buddhism was growing as a