The Altarpiece of Saint Peter :: essays papers

The Altarpiece of Saint Peter Art is a window to the past and there is no place other than the many museums of the world where this is more strongly felt. More specifically, it is also seen through Martin de Soria's work, The Altarpiece of Saint Peter, which was completed around 1480. According to the panel near the altarpiece in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the piece is an enormous work of tempera on panel with parchment ground; it is a typical Spanish altarpiece of the medieval period and is comprised of a complex arrangement of twenty-six paintings. This piece was chosen as a representative of the medieval period because its emphasis is placed entirely on religion, the style with which it was painted and decorated is hugely characteristic of the medieval period, and finally the painting depicts the economic state of Europe as far as the church was concerned during that time. The piece was chosen primarily because of the magnificent presence that is felt as one enters the room, or cathedral, where the piece may be located. The viewer's eye is drawn immediately to the central figure of Saint Peter who was seated as pope at the time. Giving the main focus of the work to the pope is representative of the importance that was placed on the papal seat. This importance was exemplified, during the time of this altarpiece's creation, by the crisis of the Great Schism. Furthermore, a scene of Christ's crucifixion can be seen directly above the panel of Saint Peter further emphasizing the importance of Christ in the painting, and in the medieval time period as well. Overall, the piece depicts four images from the life of Saint Peter, which surround the center panel on the left and the right sides. In addition, scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and St. Blaise, a fourth century martyr, are also present. All the characters in the panels more or less have halos a nd therefore are holy figures. The twelve apostles line the bottom of the panels, perhaps suggesting that they were the foundation of the Catholic religion. Basically, the painting is designed for a church altar, it has religious figures in it, and it is filled with Bibles and images of Christ's crucifixion. All of this relays a strong message to the viewer that this is what is important in life; one should pay close attention to religion and have respect for it.

Pro-Life Essay

â€Å"Rescue Those Who Are Unjustly Sentenced to Death† Proverbs 24:11 Abortion is and always has been a major topic for debate in North America, due to the moral and legal issues surrounding it. Despite the Supreme Court making a landmark controversial decision in 1973, deciding that it is a woman’s right to choose abortion after the court case of Norma McCorvey, pro-life activists continue to thrive for new laws banning, or at least tightly restricting induced abortion. Due to that decision, abortion has become a safety net—preventing unwanted pregnancies, controlling whether or not parents have a handicapped child, etc. In Sallie Tisdale’s â€Å"We Do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story†, readers get an inside look on the actual procedure itself, giving them an idea of what goes on in the world of medicine. Although this essay may highlight the beneficial factors of abortion—ridding oneself of an unwanted pregnancy, or saving a family due to potential financial constraints—it is all irrelevant due to the undeniable immoral aspects of the procedure. In my opinion, abortion is unethical, and unnecessary. Despite 20% of the female population being unable to have children, this essay draws attention to the vast number of people that do have abortions, choosing rather to free themselves of the ‘burden’ than to pass the miracle along to a couple in need. Not only does this emphasize the selfishness of today’s youth, it demonstrates the unknowledgeable also have no sense of conscious guilt, proving further that society as a whole is focusing on the wrong issues and ignoring the ones that truly matter. Of course, there is the inevitable argument of human life—when does it begin? In Tisdale’s essay, I learned that the employees of an abortion centre forbid the use of the word â€Å"baby†, as they prefer to keep the depressing emotions of the mothers to a minimum. My take on this is, why are we doing this procedure in the first place if we have to manipulate people into thinking it is ethical? By sugar-coating it, the reality of the process gets lost behind false appearances, demonstrating the corruption of youth despite the growing availability of information resources. The pro-choice activists see this procedure as letting mother’s return to full freedom, achieving a life of no guilt since they rid themselves of the child. This approach to abortion is completely immoral, as you can spin it anyway you want—you are still, essentially, taking a human life—and there is no ethical way to defend that. The population of the world that believes in the legalization of abortions are more in favor of equality and women’s rights rather than the developing life that the woman currently possesses. They believe as the fetus is nonviable, which is before twenty weeks of gestation, then the process should be legal. However, upon conception, the fetus is going to be viable and is going to be a functional human being. To interfere with this process is violating the rights that the unborn child has to live. A fetus is incapable of determining whether or not it wants to live, so to not grant that fetus a chance to live is down-right unconstitutional. Although I do believe in a woman’s rights and am quite the feminist myself—their rights to do as they please with their bodies should not parallel the right to do as they please with someone else’s body. In â€Å"We Do Abortion’s Here: A Nurse’s Story† by Sallie Tisdale, the author often reflects on the variety of women that enter the clinic. However, she mentions that there are the â€Å"usual clients†Ã¢â‚¬â€particularly in their teenage years—that so clearly have no parental or financial support behind them. The argument that is made here by pro-choice activists, is that the when the ability to take care of the potential child is at stake—thus providing a lifestyle that is not fit for a baby—it is of greater nobility to clear the child and the mother of such burden. In my opinion, there is only one word for a person with this attitude: selfish. Having a personal relationship with someone who is struggling with the fact that she is incapable of having children of her own, I see the inevitable sorrow that goes along with having an incomplete family despite your greatest efforts. In the essay, it is said that there are over 100 abortions a day in that particular clinic alone. In this world, if all of those people chose to let a family who is capable of providing the child a stable homelife adopt the child, they would not only be saving the child’s life, but saving a family’s life. Infertility is a growing issue in today’s society, and adoption is sometimes the only answer. Families around the world who are struggling with this issue have to pray for a miracle, as sometimes it takes up to 10 years to finally adopt a child. This is all happening, whilst girls and women alike are making it a usual occurrence to use abortion as a safety net for unwanted pregnancies. Does this seem fair? Has the world become so corrupt that we cannot even look past our own wants and aid those with their needs? The way the world needs to view abortions now are to see a surprise pregnancy as a miracle, rather than a burden. If not a miracle to them, then a miracle to a family in need, struggling with infertility. Although there may be extenuating circumstances, I cannot begin to fathom how anybody can justify the glorification of a child’s death as â€Å"a choice†. Everyone deserves the right to grow up, laugh, make mistakes, and live their life fully. No one deserves to have their life brutally ripped from them. Abortion is the greatest act of cowardice, because it preys on those who cannot defend themselves. We have the right to make choices, but what are we choosing? We have an obligation to protect the weak and the innocent. There will never be a day when it is justifiable to take another person’s right to live, simply because we can. As previously stated, this act of exploitation emphasizes the selfishness of today’s society, demonstrating the unfortunate truth that the naive population also lack in conscious guilt. This proves further that humanity as a whole is focusing on the wrong issues and ignoring the ones that truly matter.

Ab221 Customer Service

Running head: On-Time Technology Products Complaint On-Time Technology Products Complaint Kaplan University AB221 Customer Service Tina Engle March 30, 2011 On-Time Technology Products Complaint On-Time Technology Products (OTTP) sells products related to time, and Mark MacGibson is the new President of OTTP. OTTP has seldom had any customer complaints because the companies top priority is customer service. Mary Graff, the supervisor for the Customer Service Representatives plans was to take OTTP to an innovative level of excellent customer service. Unfortunately, one day the President received a complaint in written from a disabled person, that has prompt his immediate attention. The complaint was in reference to the treatment given by a sales representative (Joanne) during the persons visit to the store. The complaint read, â€Å"Today I was at your store and wanted to purchase a new laptop computer. I never write companies when small incidents occur (relative to my disability of being in a wheelchair), but I feel that today’s behavior by your sales staff was over the top and warrants this letter. I chose to inform you, the President, so that others in my circumstance at your place of business will not be so offended. I felt very patronized when, after asking a question of your service/sales representative Joanne, she responded in an almost childlike voice – not once, but three times! Then she proceeded to lean on my wheelchair as she was demonstrating the laptop to me. I felt it would have been more appropriate for here to use a chair, but when I suggested she do so, she said, â€Å"Oh this will only take a minute or so† and then continued to lean over me for another five minutes! I am incensed enough to write this letter! By the way, after leaving your store I will purchase my laptop from another store within the hour. † After reading this person written complaint I have come to the conclusion that this complaint is legitimate because Joanne did not serve the disabled customer properly. Joanne’s communication with the customer was inappropriate because she spoke in a child like voice, and leaned on the customers’ wheel chair. Where in actuality, Joanne should have spoke to the customer in a normal tone voice (instead of a childlike voice), sat in a chair at eye level to the customer in the wheel chair (instead of leaning on the persons wheel chair), and continuing to lean on the customers wheel chair after the customer told her what they would prefer for her to do. In my opinion, the President Mr. MacGibson should call (if their telephone number is available), or communicate with this customer personally, and offer his sincere apology as well as compensation for what took place in their store. What I think Mr. MacGibson responds should is; â€Å"Hello Sir. /Mama, I am Mr. MacGibson the President of On-Time Technology Products and I would like to give you my sincere apology for what took place at our store during you visit. I would like to inform you that the mannerism Joanne showed during your visit is unacceptable, and was not the protocol of OTTP. To assure that this does not happen again I will personally make sure that all of our employees are well trained, and aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In closing, I would also like to offer you compensation for what took place at our establishment although you stated â€Å"you have purchased a laptop from another business. I would recommend that Mr. MacGibson put into play extensive training at OTTP with understanding disabled customers, customer behavior, and exceptional service, and that should assure to keep up OTTP’s reputation of seldom complaints. I say this because as a customer coming into an establishment they need to be understood, welcome, important, and comfortable with the sales representative. References The World of Customer Service, 2nd edition Pattie Gibson-Odgers (2008).

Wynn Las Vegas Financial Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wynn Las Vegas Financial Analysis - Assignment Example The Profitability Ratios considered in the paper include Net profit margin, Return on Assets, and Gross profit margin. The Liquidity Ratios considered in the paper include the Current ratio and the Quick Ratio. The Leverage Ratios considered in the paper include the Total debt to total assets ratio and the Debt ratios. Data relevant to the calculation of these ratios was tabulated for the five companies considered in the paper, for the year 2013 financial results. When analyzing this ratio, the net profit after tax and sales are considered. Below are the financial data for the three companies under consideration. Net Profit Margin can, therefore, be established using the formula; From the table, it can be established that Bellagio has the highest Net Profit Margin, and Wynn Lass Vegas has the least. This means Wynn Lass Vegas had the least efficiency, after all, the expenses were considered. This ratio analyzes the productivity of the asset in consideration of net profits after tax. The formula used to analyze ROE is Net Profit after tax/Total Assets * 100. The table below illustrates the analysis of the Return on Assets for the five companies under consideration. Current ratios are used to analyze the company’s ability to pay short-term debt meet its day-to-day operations. In the calculation of the Current Ratios, the values involved include Current Assets and Current Liabilities (Vandyck, 2006). The table below shows the five companies’ Current Assets, Current Liabilities, and Current Ratios. The table above shows that Bellagio has the highest current ratios, closely followed by Wynn Lass Vegas. The high value of current ratio indicates that the company has greater ability of paying short term debt than those companies with lower current ratios. This ratio analyzes the percentage assets financed through

The Law as a form of Deterrence for Drinking and Driving Research Paper

The Law as a form of Deterrence for Drinking and Driving - Research Paper Example According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the reporting year 2009, alcohol related offenses across the US totaled 15,331 out of 71,048 traffic related offenses, and some studies have placed this estimate at as much as 60 % of all fatalities. Stated in terms of a percentage, this represents over 20 % of all traffic offenses According to the NHTSA, this is a drop overall in the past few decades which coincides with tougher sentencing, greater public awareness and higher conviction rates. However, the numbers continue to be alarming which means that something within the correlation of deterrence and public perception along with convictions and arrests has not been entirely successful. The following will argue that however much deterrence is a factor in the decline of incidents, it is not sufficient to make that much of a significant impact. Toward demonstrating this thesis, the following will look at the legal and social transformations that have taken place, and in turn, examine the nature of deterrence. Before examining the data, existing literature and arguments for and against the relative success of deterrence, a few remarks concerning methodology need to be stated or outlined. In the field of social research, and indeed, any scientific research, there is an important distinction to be made between a correlation and an association that is causal in nature. [Kothari, 2008, p. 138]. There is a common methodological problem with mistaking a correlation as a causal relationship, and this has significant bearing on the following analysis. A simple and absurd example can best illustrate the problem of mistaking a correlation for a causal relation. If we were to say that sea-gulls like eating marine life because they are white, would be a clear mistake of confusing a correlation for a cause. While it is true that sea-gulls eat or diet on seafood to speak, and it is true (mostly true for the sake of an argument) that seagulls have white coloring, it is not true that the color of a bird is going to effect the dietary practices of the bird. The prevalence of the color is being confused for a cause in this instance. While absurd, the example nonetheless highlights an important preliminary methodological consideration. The following will look at the correlations of deterrence as it pertains to lowered amounts of drunk driving offenses and fatalities, but it will do so cautiously. This common problem in social research will be kept in the foreground of the analysis, and concerning ultimate causes of the decline of offenses, this analysis will suspend making an conclusive judgments, and in turn, focus on the 'correlation' of variables that are associated with deterrence and their prevalence. STRATEGIES FOR DETERRENCE. LEGAL STRATEGIES & INTERVENTIONS: Before blood levels became the way in which DUI was determined, arrests used to be done on the basis of the officer acting as a witness and by them administering some basic road-side tests that would evaluate the co-ordina tion and response time of the individual who was suspected of DUI [Chambliss, 2011, p. 63]. Because of the relatively subjective nature of the investigating techniques, and many of the successful challenges to the enforcement of this, the measurement of blood alcohol levels, through blood, breath and urine, became the more accurate standard, and in almost all states the blood alcohol line is .08 % [Chambliss, 2011, p. 64]. Moreover, a more accurate way of measuring blood alcohol levels, impacted the conviction rate for offenders [Chambliss, 2011, p. 65]. However, it did also create a few problems regarding the administration of the test. If a police officer suspects a driver of DUI they can ask them to submit themselves to a

Delivering Marketing Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Delivering Marketing Programs - Essay Example In such a way, Red Bull began targeting and specifically marketing to key demographics by sponsoring different types of extreme sports and buying marketing space with regards to those activities that were primarily watched or engaged with by their demographic target. Such an inexpensive approach allowed the brand to position itself effectively with regards to rapidly gaining market share in integrating with this specific demographic around the globe. With respect to how this target market has changed over time, it has not. This represents both a positive and a negative for the Red Bull brand due to the fact that it present situation in which they are continuing to speak to the specific needs and tastes of their target audience; an activity that they have a great deal of experience in performing. However, this also represents a drawback due to the fact that there are a limited number of individuals within this particular demographic to which Red Bull can integrate and hope to sell the ir product (Barnett, 2013). As such, continuing to integrate with the same demographic as a means of targeting further sales is something of a lost cause. Conversely, the competition is positioned more along the traditional lines of marketing and brand imagery. The likes of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. have sought to exclusively promote and market key entries within the energy drink market by the traditional means of massive amounts of advertising and high costs of market entry (Red Bull, 2012). This necessarily places Red Bull at something of a strategic advantage due to the fact that the competition is continuing to integrate with very costly and prohibitively limited means of product integration with the demographic in question; thereby limiting their total probability and producing the levels of threat that they pose to Red Bull. Part 2: As has been stated previously, Red Bull did not initially seek to engage a costly marketing scheme as a means of promoting their beverage lines. Ins tead, they chose to sponsor key events and sporting activities that were regularly viewed in a positive light by their potential customers (Red Bull, 2013). However, as Red Bull’s fortunes of changed, they have been able to integrate with a higher degree of profitability and have been able to engage in celebrity marketing in the same means that much more powerful firms have done the same. In such a manner, as one might expect, Red Bull has been promoted and endorsed not necessarily by celebrities, but by sports stars. More specifically these sports stars cannot be understood upon the traditional lines of sports stars such as football players, basketball players, baseball players etc (Mortimer, 2012). Rather, they are extreme sports athletes that continue to engage with the brand image that has been discussed above. In such a manner, a few of these celebrity endorsers include the following: Blake Girffin, Rajon Rando, Reggie Bush, Shaun White, Bubba Stewart, Dallas Friday, Cas ey Kahne and Brian Vickers (Gorse, Chadwick, & Burton, 2010). This strategy, described above, has been extraordinarily beneficial to Red Bull as a means of continuing to int

Madre Womens Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Madre Womens Rights - Essay Example (Pol, 2009) However, the Reagan Admin worked domestically to roll back the victories of social MADRE's founders knew that while women's traditional social roles and discrimination against women were global in scope, they are experienced differently, depending on race, nationality, class, sex- uality and other aspects of identity. They saw that building on the strengths of those differences while focusing on the universality of women's roles and women's oppression could be a key to building lasting political partnerships between women from different communities within the US and between US-based women and those in other countries. (Madre, 2013) These made them to resurface their strengths in early 1980s.They have been on the move ever since, cham- pioning for the rights of the women. Why women rights? According to the New York Times by Robin, about 78% of the women are not enjoying their dem- ocratic rights. They are denied the right to freedom, speech and are treated unfairly at the place of resi- dence. Ordinarily, they are considered as weak ves- sels who will obey every command from their hus- †¢ †¢ to situate their struggles in the global context. The training in- fuses local human rights strug- gles with the power of interna- tional law At the same time, we help the partners identify their lack of sustaining resources as human rights violation. We provide resources to guarantee that the international arena is acces- sible to grassroots activists.