Saturday, October 12, 2019

Elaboration Likelyhood Essay -- essays research papers

Elaboration Likelihood 2 Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recently the nation was bombarded with political ad campaigns of all shapes and sizes. There were the ads for and against succession, the ads that attempted to show Gray Davis as someone who could actually run the state of California, and the ads that didn’t really seem to have any purpose at all. It is obvious that each of these campaigns was focused on a specific target audience. What may not have been so obvious was that each of the ad campaigns was also based upon the involvement or interest of the voters (Perloff, 1993). This involvement or interest is a component of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This theory helps advertising consultants decide what elections are important to voters and what elections have no relevance to anyone but lawmakers (Perloff, 1993). Important elections, such as the gubernatorial race will have strong arguments and depth while not so significant elections, such as the clean water initiative will rely on cues that are undem anding in terms of the amount of brain power used (Perloff, 1993).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to political campaigns is just one of the many practical uses of this theory. But before it is possible to examine other possible applications of the ELM, one must understand the basic ideas and factors that make it work. After a clear understanding of the ELM is devolved it will be shown in relation to the specific communication perspective that it fits into, and then used to evaluate a real life situation. Subsequent to the evaluation of the practical application the ELM will be scrutinized and summed up, but first the basics. Description of Theory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elaboration Likelihood 3 The elaboration likelihood theory was created by two social scientists, Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, who sought to create a model of persuasion that was more inclusive in terms of the range and depth in which the theory covered (Perloff, 1993). Petty and Cacioppo’s theory is a culmination of their research in the area of â€Å"cognitive responses to persuasion† and theories of attitude change (Perloff, 1993, p. 118). The ELM is a theory of persuasion with a central premise that seeks to explain how deeply an individual will elaborate the arguments of a persuasive message by examining the ind... ...ovements. First of all, Perloff (1993, p. 132) makes the point that there should be more consideration of â€Å"situational and personality factors that might interact to influence the processing strategy.† Perloff (1993, p. 132) also would like to know â€Å"how do people simultaneously process central and peripheral information?† Elaboration Likelihood 10 References Bargh, J. A. (2002, September). Losing Consciousness: Automatic Influences on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumer Judgment, Behavior, and Motivation. Journal of Consumer Research,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  29 (2).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Littlejohn, S. W. (2001). Theories of Human Communication. Albuquerque, NM:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wadsworth. Perloff, R. M. (1993). The Dynamics of Persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assoc. Sereno, K. (2002, Fall). Comm 200: Communication as a Social Science. Lecture Notes. Stephenson, M. T., Benoit, W. L., Tschida, D. A. (2001). Testing the Mediating Role of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cognitive Responses in the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Communication   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Studies, 52 (4), 324-338.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Report on Cross Cultural Management of Cuba Essay

4 Analysis of Silk Trade in Cuba To a great extent, the silk trade can be influenced by the culture. Before entering into the Cuban market, the company needs to understand the culture and take into account the local market situation. Cross cultural management models can be used to analyze the cultural characteristics in Cuba, for example Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions, Fons Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions, and Ednlard T. Hall Cultural Dimensions. In the following, cross cultural models will be used to conduct an assessment of Cuban cultural background and analyze the impact of Cuban culture on the silk trade. Fig 1 Location of Cuba 4.1 Cuban culture under Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions Professor Geert Hofstede is an expert in the field of cross cultural management. His study on the cultural dimensions can be used to help define the culture of a country in the world. According to Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions, each kind of the culture places different emphasis on five different cultural dimensions, Power Distance (PDI), Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), and Long term orientation (LTO) (Hofstede, 1996). 4.1.1 Power Distance According to the view of Professor Hofstede, power distance deals with the income inequity in a country (Soares et al., 2007). Cuba scores high in the scale of power distance, which means that the members of this country believes that inequities are usual and accepted by all layers of the society, and the leaders of an organization can have a lot of power. The reason can be found in the long history. 4.1.2 Individualism versus Collectivism The dimension individualism is the degree of interdependence a society maintains in its members. In simple words, it deals with whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of I or We. It is known that Cuba is a communist country and it is a collectivist culture. Under such political environment, people work together and share everything. The Cubans believe that all the people are important and cooperation is important in the society. In simple words, collectivism is widely accepted in Cuba. 4.1.3 Masculinity versus Femininity The dimension masculinity deals with what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine). Under the Cuban culture, people are always more feminine. The dominant values in the society are caring for others and quality of life, rather than the competition, achievement, and success. In addition to this, the Cuban women have played an important role in the society, and women hold nearly 37% of the seats in parliament. The Cuban culture is more feminine. 4.1.4 Uncertainty Avoidance The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance can explain how people deal with the unknown future, some may try to control the future, and some may let it happen (Merkin, 2006). People in the Cuban society belong to the category of high uncertainty avoidance. To a large extent, it is decided by the political environment, the communist society for years can be the reason why Cuban people eliminate unwanted changes in the future. 4.1.5 Long term orientation The long term orientation dimension decides the extent to which the society shows a pragmatic future-oriented view rather than a conventional historical short-term view. In Cuba, people fall more in the conventional short-term view. The society is largely controlled by the government, and people live life day to day with the conventional short-term view, also they have not planned too much for the future. 4.2 Cuban culture under Fons Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions According to the view of Professor Fons, what distinguished people from one culture is where their preferences fall on each of the seven different dimension, including universalism versus particularism, individualism versus communitarianism, specific versus diffuse, neutral versus emotional, achievement versus ascription, sequential time versus synchronous time, and internal direction versus outer direction (Charles and Trompenaars, 1997). The dimension universalism vs. particularism deals with what is more important, rule or relationship. In Cuba, people believe that relationships can be more important, which is largely decided by the political factor. Under the communist society, the whole society is controlled by the leaders of the country, and the society is decided by rule of people, rather than rule of law (Rasha, 2006). Individualism vs. collectivism deals with the degree of interdependence a society maintains in its members. Cuba falls more in a collectivist culture. In addition, the neutral vs. emotional dimension describes the importance of feelings and relationships. Obviously, Cuba, a neutral culture, and people do not easily display their feelings and emotions. The government controls everything, and people dare not display their real feelings (Kang and Mastin (2008). Specific vs. diffuse dimension answers how the people separate the private and working lives. Cuban culture belongs to the specific-oriented culture, in simple words the Cuban people separate the private and the working lives very clearly. The achievement vs. ascription dimension refers to the question of the status. In Cuban society, people belong to the ascription-oriented culture and the respect for a manager is based on hierarchy. Sequential vs. synchronic dimension defines two different ways of managing time, and the Cuban people belong to the synchronization-oriented dimension. In the end, the Cuban people fall more in the external control dimension. 4.3 Cuban culture under Ednlard T. Hall Cultural Dimensions Ednlard T. Hall is a famous researcher on cross cultural management. Hall’s cultural factors can be used to understand people from different cultural backgrounds, include high-context culture and low-context culture, monochromic action and polychromic action, high territoriality and low territoriality. First of all, Cuba belongs to a kind of high-context culture, similar with Trompenaars’ particularism. There are a lot of local unwritten rules of the culture, and much is taken for granted in the Cuban culture. Secondly, similar with Trompenaars’ time as sequence (monochromic) and time as synchronization (polychromic), most of the Cuban people can be polychromic-based action (Hall, 1966). In simple words, people often do many things at once and put relationship first, in addition to this, things are borrowed and shared often and easily. (Hall, 1983). Cuban people have high territoriality when working with the foreigners, which largely results from the political attitude of the communist society. 5 Impact of culture on leadership and organization behavior in Cuba With the development of the economic globalization, the importance of cross cultural management receives more attention. Culture can be defined as the characteristics of a particular group of people, including history, education, language, social, structure, religion, political, and economic. 5.1 Impact of culture on leadership in Cuba Leadership can be defined as a process of social influence in the accomplishment of a common task, and good leaders are not made born. As described above, cross cultural management models can be used to understand how to do the business in Cuba. Fig 2 Flag of Cuba 5.1.1 Impact of Cuban history on leadership The history of Cuba began with the arrival of Columbus in 1492, and in a long time it was controlled by the foreign countries, such as United States and Brazil. In the 20th century, Cuba made the alliance with the Soviets. Castro controlled Cuba for decades until the year 2006. In Cuba, the leaders have the concentrated power and members of an institution and organization accept the leadership very easily. Fig 3 Castro 5.1.2 Impact of Cuban education on leadership Speaking in essence, the Cuban education was strictly controlled by the government, and the school attendance is not very high. In addition to this, education has a strong political and ideological emphasis. In simple words, the Cuban education is not well-developed, and the leaders can easily influence the followers, also people get used to obey the instructions from the leaders. 5.1.3 Impact of Cuban language on leadership Spanish is the official language in Cuba, and most of the Cubans can speak it, because in a long time Cuba was controlled by Spain. In addition to this, Haitian Creole can be the second largest language. Language can play an important role in the leadership process, and it can be inferred that the leaders in Cuba are required to speak Spanish. 5.1.4 Impact of Cuban social structure on leadership Social structure can be identified as the relationship between entities or groups or as enduring and relatively stable patterns of relationship. The Cuban society believes that inequities are usual and a fact of the life. The equality can be accepted by all layers of the society, and the leaders of an organization can have a lot of power. Fig 4 Cathedral of Saint Christopher in Havana 5.1.5 Impact of Cuban religion on leadership Cuba has been a Communist country since 1959. Catholicism is much modified and influenced, and the most popular religion in Cuba is Santeria. The religion can maximize the cohesion between the members, and the leadership can take advantage of the religion, or else it will be the barriers. 5.1.6 Impact of Cuban politics on leadership Culture of a country can significantly influence the trade business, including the silk trade. People’s Republic of China has built a good relationship with Republic of Cuba for many years, which can be good for the silk trade in Cuba (Benjamin and Collins, 1985). To be more specific, the political attitude can be helpful in leadership. 5.1.7 Impact of Cuban economic on leadership Influenced by the political ideology, Cuba refused the free trade with the foreigners in the world market. Cuba carries out the planned economy for a long time and limits the private economy (Padilla and McElroy, 2007). The production are largely owned and operated by the government. Leaders from foreign countries may not easy in Cuba. 5.2 Impact of culture on organization behavior in Cuba Likewise, the impact of culture on the organization behavior must be also taken into account by the management. Organization behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups and structures upon behavior within an organization. Organization behavior can be understood better, and the barriers can be eliminated. 5.2.1 Impact of Cuban history on organization behavior In a long history of the communist society, the Cubans get used to obey the rules from the leaders. In simple words, the individuals, groups and structures in Cuba share the same rules. In the process of cross cultural management, members of an institution or organization obey the group norms. 5.2.2 Impact of Cuban education on organization behavior Castro developed a fully state-operated education system, at the same time the private institutions are banned by the government. There is no advanced education system to build the organization behavior. In other words, the organization behavior of the local employees can be rebuilt in the process of cross cultural management. 5.2.3 Impact of Cuban language on organization behavior The official language in Cuba is Spanish, and the organization behaviors are based on the language. More importantly, language is the communication tool, and it can also decide the success of cross cultural management. Only on the basis of understanding the language, the organization behavior can be understood. 5.2.4 Impact of Cuban social structure on organization behavior Likewise, social structure decides many social systems, such as legal system, cultural system, economic system, and political system. Individuals and groups obey the social systems, and organization behavior can be influenced by the social systems. 5.2.5 Impact of Cuban religion on organization behavior To be more specific, the Santeria in Cuba developed from Catholicism by combining the religion of African slaves and some local Americans. Institutions or organizations from foreign countries can take advantage of the religion to bring people together. 5.2.6 Impact of Cuban politics on organization behavior The former leader Castro controlled everything for years and the Cuban people have been under control. Under such political environment, behaviors of individuals and groups are influenced by the external political factors. 5.2.7 Impact of Cuban economic on organization behavior Foreign leaders may find it difficult in leading the local Cuban employees, and some measures should be taken, for example hiring the local managers. The Cuban people have high territoriality when working with the foreigners, which largely results from the political attitude of the communist society in the world (SÃ ©ror and Arteaga, 2000). 6 Conclusion and Recommendations Due to the different political ideology, Cuba closed the door and operated differently. In conclusion, the characteristics of Cuban culture are different, and cross cultural management in Cuba needs to consider the characteristics. Recommendations will be made in the following to operate the silk trade in an effective and efficient way. 6.1 Leadership styles of cross cultural management in Cuba There are many kinds of leadership styles, which include authoritarian, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, and transactional. Taking the Cuban cultural characteristics into account, the kind of paternalistic leadership style can be put into practices in the Cuban business world. The leaders encourage the employees to compete the tasks, at the same time they take care of the employees as a parent will do, because the local employees are influenced by the external political factor. In order to do the silk trade, the leaders have to deal with the potential barriers in Cuba. 6.2 Communication styles of cross cultural management in Cuba In Cuba, the official language is Spanish. As for the management, the communication styles can be assertive, aggressive, passive, and passive-aggressive. The best style for the management in Cuba can be the assertive communication. To be more specific, the leaders can communicate with the local employees in an assertive way. The language barrier can be solved by hiring the translators, and the institutions and organizations can hire the local employees as the middle management level, for they can carry out the business strategies better and communicate with the local employees easily. 6.3 Negotiation skills of cross cultural management in Cuba Under the different cultural background, some negotiation skills are necessary in the process of cross cultural management. By understanding the Cuban culture, leaders in Cuba can learn how to work with the Cubans and avoid the cultural barriers. It can be recommended that the first one negotiation skill is to learn to flinch. In order to make the silk trade with the Cubans, the businessmen need to respect the local rules and the employees, thus make them feel comfortable in the trade process. The second one is to recognize that customers often ask for more than they expect to get. In the process of silk trade, the Cubans are provided good products and services. After the customers recognize the products and services, the company can build better brand awareness to increase the sales and make profits in Cuba. 6.4 Management styles and requirements of cross cultural management in Cuba The management process is not easy, but it can significantly influence the silk trade in Cuba. During the process of cross cultural management, the management can consider the Cuban cultural factors, as explained in the above cultural dimensions. Especially, when making important decisions, the cultural factors need to be taken into account, as well as the problem-solving process and team management. 6.4.1 Decision-making of cross cultural management in Cuba The process of decision-making is not easy in a different cultural background. In the Cuban culture, the first one is to take the political factor into account. The government interface with free trade can be the biggest barrier in Cuba. The decision-makers need to understand the Cubans, for example, things can be borrowed and shared often and easily. Cuban people have high territoriality when working with the foreigners, so the institutions and organizations can cooperate with the local groups. In the end, results of the potential decisions need to be reasonably predicted under such circumstances. 6.4.2 Problem-solving of cross cultural management in Cuba When facing with the conflicts, the management needs to solve the problems. Unlike the conventional situation, the local cultural may be more complex, for the conflicts in Cuba may involve many parties. At this time, the foreigners need to understand how the local residents deal with the problem. For example, the members of this country believes that inequities are usual and accepted by all layers of the society, and the leaders of an organization can have a lot of power. In simple words, the foreigners can seek for the support of the leaders if they are encountering the barriers in Cuba. More importantly, people in Cuba belong to the category of high uncertainty avoidance, and money can be the effective and efficient to solve the current problems. 6.4.3 Team management of cross cultural management in Cuba As a communist society, the Cuban people are regarded as the group. It is known that Cuba is a collectivist culture. Under such political environment, people work together and share the property. They believe that all the Cubans are important and cooperation is important in the society. In the process of team management, the leaders can learn to motivate the employees and increase the cohesion power among the team members. In addition to this, the dominant values in the society are caring for others and quality of life, rather than the competition, achievement, and success. If team members share the same values, they can come together to complete the common goals. The last but not the least, the leaders have a lot of concentrated power. During the process of cross cultural management, leaders need to develop an understanding of the Cuban culture.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Representations of Men in Advertising

What is a man? This question may be odd to hear, but it's a question that is answered constantly by advertisers in print ads and television commercials, all with different approaches. But he question the advertises are asking is â€Å"What images of men will sell my product? â€Å". There is the image of the rebel, the masculine heroes, the violent or aggressive man, or the classic ‘Gentleman'. In recent years we see advertisers moving closer towards the image of the ‘modern man'. The modern man, also known as the metro-sexual man, can be defined as well groomed, health and body conscious, and well dressed. The deconstruction of the two advertisements, Ralph Lauren and Michelob Ultra, accentuate this image and show its influence on the male audience. The Michelob Ultra advertisement preys on the modern mans body image perceptions, and uses them to create a desire for their product. The ad depicts an athletic swimmer, of whom we are to believe consumes the product, getting out of the pool, a picture of the product, and the heading â€Å"Lose the Carbs. Not the taste†. The caption â€Å"†¦ this is your fountain of youth† insinuates that this product will keep you healthy youthful, while being able to enjoy alcohol. There is a famous quote from Edgar A. Schoaff that reads, â€Å"Advertising is the art of making whole lies, out of half truths†. This ad from Michelob is a perfect example of this. In reality, the beer still contains carbs, almost the same amount as regular beer, but using an almost irrelevant idea of low carbs and transforming it into a, for lack of a better term, ‘healthy' beer. This misleading idea forces easily persuaded body conscious males to believe in their product. Ultimately, this kind of advertising manipulates males thoughts and plants false images of an unattainable body. The ‘modern man' look has grown increasingly more popular due to advertisers push to make men obsessing over their own body image. The advertisement for Ralph Lauren targets these image wise men and positions themselves as the ‘right' image. The ad is almost completely in black and white, with just the brand name, â€Å"Ralph Lauren† standing out in the background. The contrast makes for a striking and eye catching advertisement, with a hint of panache. It depicts three young men hurdling over a tennis net, boasting their clothes and style. Thre three men are racing, playing off men's stereotypical competitiveness and pursuit to be the best. The ad suggests that Ralph Lauren will help you get there. David Foster Wallace sums this up with his quote, â€Å"It did what all ads are supposed to do: create an anxiety relievable by purchase†. The anxiety is the endeavour to be the best and the brand will help you in that objective. Therefore, this ad boasts itself as an image of what the modern man should strive for. As a result of the many advertising archetypes presented and beliefs about normalcy, young men are growing up being bombarded by different representations and images of males and find it impossible to not fall victim of them. Young men are often enticed to emulate what they see on the television, hear on the radio or read on a newspaper ad. The allure of the lifestyle presented in advertising is most often great enough to coax the consumer to buy into it. These facts are supported by the aforementioned advertisements. Both similar in regards to target audiences, and give impressions of the modern man. One of perfect body aspirations, and the other a pursuit for the perfect look. But both simultaneously give people ambitions to be the modern man.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Iconography of the Buddha Image

For the following report the concept of iconography in regard to the images of Buddha from the South Asia region (1-5 cc. A. D. ) is important. In general, iconography in art stands for studying the imagery or symbolism of the work of art; in regard to the Asian Buddha images, iconographical elements provide the worshipper and observer with multiple signs to differentiate between unique Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. There is a hot discourse in research literature about the nature and developmental stages of Buddhist iconography.Up to the 2-3 c. A. D. , Buddhist art used to be predominantly narrative consisting of jatakas (accounts of the Buddha’s previous incarnations) and nidanakathas (historical events related to the founder of religion, Buddha Shakyamuni or Prince Siddhartha Gautama). Due to the very nature of Buddhism, its iconography has been associated with aniconic symbols for a long time. Once Jain claimed that before its material anthropomorphic transformations the Buddha icon used to be initially of intellectual and imaginative nature.The idea echoes somehow with Diskul and Lyons’s proposition about the iconography in regard to the Buddha image standing for the goals of maintaining traditions and sacrificing exuberant decorative elements for the sake of immortality, sanctity and transitivity of Buddhism. However, the Buddha image is perceived mostly in its anthropomorphic dimension nowadays with a rigid system of metaphors and symbols standing for iconographical elements. All the researchers agree on the fact that the image of Buddha as anthropomorphic icon started being created approximately in the 1st century A.D. The gold and copper coins of Kanishka (Appendix A) contain Buddha images on the reverse sides. It is logical to assume that those images were simple and rather abstract because of the small size of those coins. During the five centuries of modern era, the iconography of the Buddha image has been made rich and complicated. Accordi ng to Diskul and Lyons, there are three key elements in the iconography of the Buddha image: these are anatomy, dress, and posture.Diskul and Lyons mentioned that the anatomy of the Buddha encompassed â€Å"the canons of proportion and the form of the supernatural details†; the dress might look either as the monk's garb (being placed on either both shoulders or the left shoulder only), or a princely garment (though in all the cases the elements of dressing are highly stylized); and, so far as postures are concerned, Buddha was portrayed as either walking, or standing, or sitting, or reclining, not to forget â€Å"less than a dozen usual gestures of the hand†.In Jain’s chronology of the Buddhist iconography, the researcher listed the specific elements of Sarnath Buddha images (3-4 cc. A. D. ) with their graceful and beautifully shaped bodies within eight iconographical types depending on the scheme of the dress (either the covered one with both shoulders being dr aped, or the open one with the right shoulder being bare) and the four gesture patterns.Meanwhile, the Huntington Photographic Archive of Buddhist and Related Art ignored anatomy and dress, concentrating instead on sacred bodily marks (lakshanas) and attributes (objects held by or belonging to the figure) or associated objects as the media through which the icon communicated to the observer. For the posture category, the Huntington Archive proposed the sub-division into postures per se (the one of sitting body is called asana, and the one of standing is sthana) and gestures (position of the hands, mudra, and position of the arms, hasta).The Grove Art Online derived the iconography of the Buddha from the one of pre-Buddhist yakss with 32 major and 64 minor prescribed signs; five gestures (mudras) – fearlessness (abhaya mudra), bestowing boons (varada mudra), meditation (dhyana mudra), touching the earth (bhumisparsa mudra) and turning the Wheel of Law; and three main postures – the one with crossed legs is called adamantine (vajraparyanka), the one where the Buddha is sitting with one leg placed across the other thigh is sattvaparyank asana, and the one with both legs hanging down is referred to as bhadrasana.Whatever the iconographical systematizations are, the image of the Buddha has been developing from abstractly carved prototypes to the detailed icons of magnitude and aesthetic recklessness. Under the Kushan dynasty that ruled from about the first to the seventh centuries A. D. in Afghanistan, north-western India, the Punjab, and in present-day Pakistan, there were two distinctive schools of portraying Buddha: the Gandhara and the Mathura ones.While in the north (Gandhara) the images of Buddha belonged to wandering craftsmen from the Roman East, in the south (Mathura or Muttra) the technique derived itself from native Indian sources. Both schools, though being distinct in iconographical elements and methods, portrayed Buddha both standing, se ated or reclining (in scenes of the Great Demise); either as a single and independent image or the one of the figures on panels. The earliest image of the Gandhara Buddhas Rowland referred to the second and third centuries A.D. judging from inscriptions. In regard to the standing Buddhas, there is one key characteristic of Gandhara images – though on the very first sight they look like reliefs, they can not be observed from the back, their back side is usually flat and unfinished. As for the material used, craftsmen carved the statues from stone and stucco or lime-plaster. The latter was popular in the first century A. D. already, and by the third century A. D. it has replaced stone.Another favourite medium for carving was the blue schist and green phyllite, while metal was less popular. Besides artists used to decorate both stone and stucco images with polychromy and gold leaf. In Mathura the sculptures were also covered in an analogous manner because craftsmen usually carve d the statues of Buddha of red sandstone, which was â€Å"an exceedingly ugly stone, frequently marred by veins of yellow and white, so that streaks and spots of these lighter colours disfigure the surface†.The researcher may compare two schools of portraying Buddha on the basis of the Gandhara Standing Buddha from the Guides' Mess at Hoti-Mardan, near Peshawar, and a life-sized standing Bodhisattva of Sarnath with an inscription about a certain Friar Bala dedicating the sculpture to the deity in around A. D. 131-147 (Appendices B and C). One distinctive point between the two sculptures is anatomical proportion. The Gandhara school adhered to the antique canons when the total height of the body was five times bigger that the head after late Roman and Early-Christian models.The Mathura school adopted special unit of measurement, the thalam, which had nothing in common with human physical anatomy. It is â€Å"the distance between the top of the forehead and the chin, which is divided nine times into the total height of the figure† to convey the heroic and superhuman posture. Subsequently, the bodies of the Gandhara standing Buddhas are more harmonic and natural, possessing â€Å"the Praxitelean dehanchement [†¦] beneath the robe†, which is also typical of Greco-Roman art.Meanwhile, the Mathura Bodhisattva is more massive and erect. Modern iconography owes lakshanas of the Buddha to the Mathura school. Rowland stated that whilst the shaping of the body in the Mathura images is â€Å"greatly simplified and still represented by the archaic technique of incised lines†, the modelling of the drapery reveals both texture and volume; in result, an observer may sense â€Å"the warmth and firmness of flesh and [†¦] a powerful feeling for the presence of the inner breath or prana. †In regard to the style of drapery (Diskul and Lyons), the Gandhara Standing Buddha from the Guides' Mess at Hoti-Mardan reminds of a Roman nobleman o f the Imperial Period. The eye of an observer catches heavy folds of the dress, which is a kind of Roman toga instead of Buddhist mantle. The Mathura images are often nude to the waist. The Bodhisattva of Sarnath rests his feet firmly on the basement, raising the right hand in the gesture of reassurance, and supporting the folds of his native Indian robe or dhoti by the left hand on the hip.So far as the physiognomic characteristics are concerned, the Gandhara Buddhas resemble of the Apollo Belvedere due to â€Å"the head, with its adolescent features and wavy hair†, though some distinctive Buddhist iconographical elements – the magic marks or lakshanas – may be also present. The Mathura's Buddha images, as Jain pointed out, are more round-faced with underlined â€Å"spiritual realization and beatitude. † There are also physiognomic distinctions between the two schools: In Mathura art tradition, Buddha image has longer earlobes, thicker lips, wider eyes a nd prominent noses.In Gandhara images, eyes are longer, chin more angular, earlobes shorter and noses more sharp and better defined. Under the rule of the Gupta dynasty (starting from A. D. 320), the Buddha images became even more anthropomorphic due to Mahayana Buddhism, and, at the same time more sacred due to the sharpening of the Buddha’s superhuman nature and his Oriental origin. In regard to the iconographical systems, the Gupta images are synthetic. For example, the body of Standing Buddha from Mathura (Indian Museum, Calcutta) (Appendix D) is fully covered by the monk’s mantel after the Gandhara models.At the same time, the folds of initial pseudo-togas gave space to stylized series of strings instead of multiple folds. Rowland provided the link to the classic Mathura school in regard to the rhythmical goal of stringed drapery, stating that â€Å"the repetition of the loops [†¦] provides a kind of relief to the static columnar mass of the body. † At the same time, unlike the early Buddhas of originally Indian type, this Shakyamuni, though being rather voluminous and powerful, is not crude or roughly carved.Jain noted that the Gupta Buddha images were remarkable for the facial expressions bearing â€Å"celestial calm, serenity, a gentle smile, divine glow and unique composure. † Rowland sang dithyrambs to Gupta Buddhas from Sarnath because of the exquisite carving of their haloes. After having defined the concept of iconography in relation to the Buddha images in South Asia and having traced the development of iconographical systems from the first up to the fifth centuries A. D. , it is possible to summarize the key trends of the craftsmen having been portraying Buddha in the multitude of forms, styles and types.The first anthropomorphic images of Buddha appeared in the first century A. D. and adopted the iconographical elements of both Greek-Roman Antiquity and native Indian styles. During the Kushan period (25 AD †“ 150 AD), there were the so-called Gandhara and Mathura (the north-west part of modern Pakistan) schools of portraying the Buddha. The Gandhara Buddhas adopted many iconographical features of antique sculptures in regard to the slightly curved posture, anatomic and physiognomic verity and refinement, heavy and voluminous drapery organized in parallel folds and mask-like expressions of the faces with matted hair on the head.The early Kushan Buddhas from Mathura were more massive and heavily built than Gandhara ones and demonstrated stricter adherence to the native Indian canons. There was a greater accent on lakshanas and attributes in the Mathura school. Both standing and seated Buddhas were depicted in one of the assigned postures and their gestures bore sacred meaning for the worshippers. The garment looked more like the typical dress of Indian princes with the folds having given space to the strings standing for native muslin or silk dhotis or monastic robes.The torsos of Math ura Buddhas bore distinctive marks of heroic and sacred life of the Buddha (the marks of wheel, the three white hair between the eyebrows, etc. ). Starting from A. D. 320 within the Gupta period, the iconography of the Buddha images became more synergetic having adopted both Gandhara and Mathura elements. After the Gandhara canon, the proportions were ideal and aimed to produce the effect of magnitude and super-human power. It could happen due to the distinction between the mortal Prince Siddhartha and the â€Å"real Buddha† as deity.The individual parts of the body were depicted in purely Indian manner with the emphasis being made on lakshanas (elongated earlobes, urna, webbed fingers and toes, etc. ) and attributes (lotus, Water bowl, etc. ). The faces of the Gupta Buddhas served the arena for metaphorical transformation: the eyes had the form of the lotus flower, the hair looked like snails or shells, the lips were full and ripe like exotic fruit and there was a mild smile on them, the eyebrows were curved like the Indian bow.Thus, one may say that since the first century A. D. up to the fifth century the iconography of the Buddha image has been remarkable for the shift from Greek-Roman models to the synthetical type with prevalence of Indian iconographical elements and from anthropomorphic and individualistic depiction to the icon of the super-human mighty deity with traditionally assigned symbols. Bibliography Diskul, M. C. Subhadradis, and Elizabeth Lyons. The Arts of Thailand: A Handbook of the Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting of Thailand (Siam).Ed. Theodore Robert Bowie. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1960. Huntington, John C. , and/or Susan L. Huntington. The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Archive of Buddhist and Related Art (a photographic research and teaching archive). 15 Oct. 1995/Oct. 2004. College of the Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 13 Jan. 2006 . Jain, P. C. â€Å"Evolution of the Buddha Image. â⠂¬  Exotic India Art. May 2004. 13 Jan. 2006 . â€Å"Indian subcontinent,  §II, 2: Buddhist iconography and subject-matter, (i) The Buddha. † Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 12 Jan. 2006 . Rowland, Benjamin. The Art and Architecture of India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain. London: Penguin Books, 1953. Appendices Appendix A Kanishka Coin (100 B. C. ), gold and copper. Benjamin Rowland, The Art and

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

What sort of religious experience should I give my children Research Paper - 1

What sort of religious experience should I give my children - Research Paper Example Jesus proclaimed in John’s Gospel, â€Å"I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit† (Jordly 202). Jesus Christ wants us to know that we are at one with Him, and so we must prepare our children to receive Him. The Holy Communion is the leading sacrament because the Lord divinely exists in us. Several Christian faiths commemorate a communion feast with wine and bread as a symbol of our relationship with God, or as a means to celebrate the Last Supper (Cottrell 128). Followers of the Catholic faith consider this communion meal as something beyond a mere commemoration or symbol. When Jesus Christ proclaimed, â€Å"This is my body†¦ This is my blood,† (Wallace 25). Catholics know the meaning of the words faithfully as Jesus uttered them. Jesus also proclaimed (Cottrell 129): Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Hence, at the time of sanctification, Catholics know that the wine and bread are not wine and bread anymore. The wine and bread have become Jesus Christ Himself, his soul, blood, body, and holiness. It is a unique miracle that takes place on Catholic shrines across the globe, each day, from the moment Jesus Christ bestowed upon us this sacrament at the Last Supper (Glavich 12). Nobody, not even adults with tons of knowledge, not even the people of the Church, can wholly grasp how this strong bond with Jesus occurs. It is an unfathomable enigma. This essay is built on the question, â€Å"what sort of religious experience should I give my children?† I already confronted this question a long time ago, and it is only recently that I finally found the answer. I realized that I

Monday, October 7, 2019

Brainstorming Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brainstorming - Assignment Example It may improve collaboration and increase the quantity of ideas, and it is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected. The process begins with a well-defined topic. Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the ideas are merged onto one large idea map. During this phase, participants discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas. (Google video) Identifying the problem at hand in the first place is a very bright idea for the group. By doing this, the group has a varied set of ideas they can generate in order to come up with the solution. The way also the group sits in a relaxed manner and informal way thus allowing free flow of ideas. During this sharing, new ideas may arise by the association, and they are added to the map as well. Once all the ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and take action. This is the idea the team seems to take to tackle the problem at hand. This way, the group comes up with the solution easily. (Google video) Brainstorming is surely the best way to solve problems and come up with new ideas. This is demonstrated by the virtue that Google video. Google uses this method steering it to great heights. The group also portrays great teamwork and this is a great motivation to the entire

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Biomedical scences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Biomedical scences - Essay Example D is inherited as the Mendelian dominant trait while d is inherited as the recessive trait. The RBCs which bear the D and Dd isotypes are referred to as Rh+ individuals and persons having the d isotype are referred to as Rh- individuals. Almost all of the Rh+ people have the D isotype and similarly the Rh- individuals have the d isotype. When the Rh+ blood is transfused to an Rh- person then anti-Rh factor will develop in the patient’s blood within 12 days. If there is a second transfusion of the same blood (Rh+ blood) to that person then cross reaction with Rh factor and anti-Rh factor will cause agglutination reactions leading to hemolytic diseases of adults and newborn. If the mother is rhesus negative and the fetus is rhesus positive (the RBC contains Rhesus antigen inherited from a rhesus positive father), then antibodies will be formed against the rhesus antigen (in the fetus) and will cross the placenta and enter the mother’s blood. In the first pregnancy there w ill be no issues but during the second pregnancy these antibodies will cross the placenta and cross react with the Rhesus antigens of the fetus carried during the second pregnancy and cause agglutination reactions. This will cause erythroblastosis fetalis leading to hemolytic anemia and sometimes deposition of unconjugated bilirubin (derived from the breakdown of hemoglobin from the lysis of RBC’s) in the basal ganglia leading to neural deficits (Chatterjee, 2004). 2. All the six Rh agglutinogens namely the C, c, D, d, E and e are involved in the hemolytic reactions and are of the delayed type. Although routine blood group tests has eliminated the risk of compatibility of RhD isotype but the other isotypes may lead to sensitization in cases of diseases like sickle cell anemia. This disease is prevalent in blacks who express the E antigen and hence produce the anti-E agglutinins which lead to difficulties of donor selection in them for transfusion purposes as in sickle