A Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Essay -- Papers

A Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I. Jan van Eyck’s â€Å"Last Judgment† Jan van Eyck was active since 1422 and died in 1441. He was the most celebrated painter of the fifteen-century in Europe. One of his famous works is â€Å"The Last Judgment†. At first sight this work immediately attracted my attention. The painting’s stunning colors and the fact that it reminded me of a previous similar work I have seen, triggered in my mind. The material that is used is oil on canvas, transferred from wood. The size of this work is 22 1/4 *7 2/3 in. (56.5 * 19.7cm). As I closely approached the painting I began to realize the differences between Jan van Eyck and Michelangelo’s â€Å"Last Judgment†. Contrary to Michelangelo’s â€Å"Last Judgment†, Jan van Eyck’s work has specifically distinguished â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Evil†. It is separated into three tiers. In the upper portion of this work of art only heaven is represented. Jesus Christ is on the top, above all the people in heaven, having Maria next to him, on his right hand side and surrounded by angels. In the middle part of Jan van Eyck’s â€Å"Last Judgment† limbo is represented. This is state midway between heaven and hell. Hell is represented at the bottom part of Jan van Eyck’s work. To clarify the separation between limbo and hell, death is vividly drawn. However, in Michelangelo’s â€Å"Last Judgment† each figure preserves its own individuality and both the single figure and the groups need their own background. In the depths of the scene figures are rising from their graves. Naked skeletons are covered with new flesh and dead men help each other to rise from the earth. II. El Greco’s â€Å"Christ Carrying the Cross† El Greco’s real name is Domenikos Theotokopoulos and his Greek... ...hnestock Hubbard, in memory of her father. It belongs to the Bashfored Dead Memorial Collection. At the begging, the idea that I had to visit a museum for my assignment did not make me feel happy and amused. It was the opposite. I was thinking that it would be really stupid and boring going there, spending my day looking at some expensive â€Å"drawings†. However, when I saw the museum as a building, it really impressed me. The structure and architecture was really beautiful. As I was looking for the pieces of works that I had find information about. I was attracted by other gorgeous paintings as well. I saw paintings and sculptures from different cultures, which I never had heard before. My day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was really a pleasure and fun. Apart from pleasure and fun, I got an idea of art which is very important to anyone of us.

The Hukou System in China

No other creatures in the animal world form anything like cities. The closest resemblance would be a bee hive or an anthill, however in contrast to human agglomerations; they are closed to non-natives and not based on voluntary exchange (Bartlett, 1998, cited in O'Sullivan, 2009). The hukou (household registration) system, implemented in China in the late 1950's and still being enforced today, assigns a hukou location to every Chinese citizen that curtails self-initiated moves and limits migration from rural to urban areas (Fan 2005). These restrictions create agglomerations much ike those described by the hives and the hills of nature, and it is questioned whether such restrictions are preventing Chinese cities from obtaining a socially optimizing equilibrium. This essay looks to discuss the determinants of city size, the effects of the hukou system on these determinants and hence evaluate whether Chinese cities are induced to The size of a city can be distinguished between its size in terms of land mass and its size in terms of population. For this issue we shall mainly focus on population. Ravenstein's (1889, cited from Fan, 2005) laws f migration introduced the notion that people move in order to better themselves economically. In this view, migration is considered as the individual's response to regional differentials in economic development. Similarly, neoclassical theory views migration as an outcome of geographic differences in labor demand and supply (Sjaastad 1962, cited from Fan, Firms and hence labor force are attracted to cities as they provide agglomeration economies and economies of scale, efficiently concentrating infrastructure and other common resources via labor-pooling, knowledge pill-overs and economic competition, thus raising productivity, and hence wages (O'Sullivan, 2009). Ultimately it is a migrant's utility that influences their decision to migrate from place to place. O'Sullivan (2009) relates the utility of a worker with the total workforce within a city, From this example it can be shown that cities may be too large, but not too small. The utility curve reaches its maximum with 2 million workers in a city so a region with 6 million workers will maximize utility with 3 cities, where utility has adjusted until workers are indifferent between the two cities. If cities are too small, so for example if there are 6 small cities each with 1m workers, there is an unstable equilibrium because the utility curve is positively sloped at this point. If a worker moves from one small city to another they create a utility gap as the population in one has decreased – and hence utility – while the other increased. This gap encourages even more movement, and as self-reinforcing effects generate extreme outcomes, the extreme outcome is that everyone will move from one city to another, making the city ‘disappear'. However when you have two large cities, with m workers each, when a worker moves and a utility gap is created, utility is actually higher in the smaller city (perhaps due to congestion and overcrowding in the now larger city) making migration self-correcting rather than self-reinforcing. Migrants will then either move back to the smaller city, or existing inhabitants of the larger city will move to the smaller one until a stable equilibrium of 3 million workers. The hukou system's restrictions will limit worker's ability to migrate between cities and it is almost certain that an optimum equilibrium state will not being reached. Workers will be contained within the region they currently reside and while it may be possible for equilibrium to be reached within the region, it limits the probability of it being optimal dramatically. This reflects Andes'(1995) view that political forces, more so than economic ones, drive urban centralization, hence cities are induced While migration may be a major factor in the determination of city size, â€Å"cities are engines of economic growth† (Lucas, 2001, cited from O'Sullivan, 2009), regardless of migration restrictions. Krugman (1991) says that economic growth is induced through agglomeration economies, with lements of labor-pooling, knowledge spill-overs and technological innovation. With these elements, growth can be induced by increasing the productivity and income of human capital (O'Sullivan, 2009), learning and innovating production and management techniques from one another (Porter, 1990 cited from Glaeser, 1992) and hence as a result of a combination of the previous two, results in technological innovation, further increasing productivity and efficiency (Krugman, 1991). As a result of internal economic growth, O'Sullivan (2009) depicts this graphically again with respect to worker's utility and population, Figure 2. Growth induced by innovation shifts the utility curve outwards. People will then want to move to the innovative city and close the utility gap until a new equilibrium b and s. This however brings about an important point. The new equilibrium can only come about if labor migration exists. With the hukou system, migration is restricted which will result in innovative cities always having a higher utility than those who don't and hence because of such a disequilibrium, the majority of Chinese cities in effect are induced into being ‘too small'. The equilibrium j cannot be reached as nnovation cannot â€Å"become contagious† across cities, in which both cities will innovate at the same time. Jacobs (1969, cited from Glaeser, 1992) further supports the notion that internal economic growth alone is not sufficient as most important knowledge spill-overs come from outside the industry, and as a result of labor migration restrictions, such knowledge is limited to flourish growth. Scherer (1982, cited from Glaeser, 1992) presents evidence strengthening Jacob's view, indicating that around 70% of innovations in a given industry are used outside the industry. To summarize, labor mobility underpins the validity of O'Sullivan's theories on utility and population size within a city and the ideas of internally induced growth put forward by Lucas, Krugman, Glaeser and O'Sullivan. Without labor mobility, labor cannot close utility gaps, therefore not allowing the theoretical possibility for them to become too big, but not too small. A city's internal ability to induce growth is limited in Jacob's view if the majority of increases in productivity and innovation as a result of knowledge spill-overs arguably come from outside he industry, and hence city. The hukou system's power to restrict labor movement, restricts the possibility of â€Å"human containers shipping complex, uncodified information† (Storper, 2001) required for innovation from one interprovincial city to another, hence limiting the ability for growth. Chinese cities in effect, are forced into being ‘too small'. In conclusion, Myrdal (1957) argues a stable equilibrium assumption implies that a social process follows a direction, this in his view is wrong. It can be possible that some exogenous change has such strength and irection to bring the system to rest, however it is not a natural outcome and is furthermore unstable. Such a state can also be achieved through policy intervention – the hukou system in this case. Storper (1989) adds to this saying â€Å"growth is the pivot on which industrial geography turns, and change is the only constant in a world of persistent disequilibrium. Metaphorically, such an equilibrium (or disequilibrium relative to a less restricted system) resulting from the hukou system, contains provincial regions separately from one another rather than allowing a concoction give ise to a mass growing system. It can be argued however that smaller cities can be more desirable than those heavily under the influence of urban sprawl, exempting the dis-economies of increased congestion and commuting costs (Bruekner, 2000). But the strength and benefits of agglomeration economies in pushing cities to grow outweigh such by-products, as these can be addressed because of the innovation that is created. However, as discussed in this essay, there is much resentment against the hukou system. Huifeng (2010) presents a joint editorial in 13 Chinese mainland newspapers hat called on the nation's top legislative body to abolish the hukou system, as the strict population controls have split the country into rural and urban areas. He continues to say as the mainland has developed in recent decades, concerns have been expressed that the system may be doing more harm than good, with the divide between the urban and rural populations growing into a chasm. If the restrictions were lifted, a natural flow will be brought about onto the Chinese economy, allowing Chinese cities and regions to converge towards O'Sullivan's optimal equilibrium's, no longer rendering them ‘too small'.

Entamoeba histolytica

E. olytica is a pathogenic amoeba. There are trophozoit cyst stages in its life cycle. Only the mature cyst (with 4 nucl infective. Men get infection by mouth. The amoebae inhabit the colon. They multiply by binary fission. The cysts passout with The life cycle of E. histolytica is cyst–trophozoite–cyst. The trophozoites may invade the intestinal wall or even liver and lung tissues by blood dissemination and induce pathological changes. I. Morphology. There are 4 distinct stages in its life cycle; trophozoite, precyst, cyst, and metacyst, but only the morphology of trophozoite and cyst possess morphologic characteristics that have diagnostic value. A. ophoite – active form. a. ize trophozoites vary in size from -60 micrometers in diameterb. Movement is by means of a pseudopodium, which is a cytoplasmic protrusion. The characteristics of pseudopodia of Entamoeba histolytica are: (1) broad or finger-like in form (2) thrust out quickly (3) pseudopodium first formed with hyaline ectoplasm, then the granular endoplasm flows slowly into pseudopodium when amoeba move (so called amoeba movement). 4) motility is progressive and directional c. Red blood cells may be found in the endoplasm. d. Nucleus, vesicular type: The nucleus is not visible in anunstained specimen, but when stained with hematoxylin, the nuclear structure will be clear. (1) Nuclear membrane is a delicate but distinct line. (2) Peripheral chromatin granules are fine and uniformally arranged on the inner surface of the nuclear membrane. (3) Karyosome is small and centrally located. The characteristics of the nucleus of E. istolytica are useful in differentiation of the pathogenic amoeba from the other non-pathogenic species. B. Cyst-Non-Motile (has no movement) Before encysting, trophozoites round up, cease ingesting food, and secrete a cyst wall, thus becoming a precyst, and then an immature and mature cyst. a. Immature cyst – spherical in shape, 10-20 Nm in size, and consists of 1-2 nucleus or nuclei. b. Mature cysts: 4 nucle. The characteristics of the cyst nucleus are similar to that of the trophozoite. Besides nuclei, there are two other inclusions: the glycogen vacuole and the chromatoid bodies (bars). Both the glycogen and chromatoid bars become smaller and smaller as the cyst ages, so sometimes they cannot be seen in the mature cysts. The glycogen acts as a food reservoir,but the function of the chromatoid bar is not known. When the cyst is stained with iodine, the glycogen appears brown or dark yellow brown in color, but the chromatoid bar can not be stained and has a refractory appearance. In iron-hematoxylin stained specimens, the chromatoid bar is rod shaped with two rounded ends and dark blue in color. he glycogen vacuole has been dissolved during the process of staining, so it appears as a clear space. II. Life cycle The normal life cycle of E. hystilytica is cyst-trophozoit-cyst III. Diagnosis (1) trophozoite (living): fecal examination (direct smear with normal saline) for the diagnosis of amoebic dysentery. One must pay attention to: a. The container must be clean and free of acid or alkaline. b. Trophozoites should be examined soon after they have been passed c. Keep specimen warm in order to keep the trophozoite's activity. d. Select the bloody and mucous portion for examination. e. If Charcot-leyden crystals are present, the stool must be carefully examinedfor the trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica ( charcot-leyden crystals may be derived from eosinophiles). (2) Cyst: fecal examination (direct smear with iodine stain) for the chronic intestinal amoebiasis or carriers. Immature and mature cysts of E. histolytica may be found in the formed stool.

To live or to die essays

To live or to die essays Everyday hundreds of Americans die in either accidents, shooting, from sickness, and evening the death penalty. Capital punishment is a very difficult issue and there are as many different opinions for or against it as there are people. Each yeah over two hundred people are placed on death row. Some of those people deserve to be on death row and a few dont but there is no way to separate the wrongly accused from those who belong. To live or to die is the question that crosses every judges mind when the time comes to prosecute a criminal. It is not an easy decision but it has to be made. Once the decision is made to place someone on death row, there is no turning back, only the anticipation of that day when a life is brought to an end slowly but surely. Those opposing capital punishment think of losing a loved one to someone who has no meaning for taking a life. those who are defending capital punishment, think about a loved one that maybe wrongly accused and sentenced to death. There are two sides to capital punishment either to live or There was a period were capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court. Their reason for this was that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment which states, that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, no cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. When the constitution was drafted, indeed capital punishment was practiced widely in this country but it was not specified as cruel and unusual. Those who are for capital punishment argue that penal laws are demonstrating to everyone that it is not in the best interest to murder. Capital punishment is something that is deserved when someone takes the life of another individual for no reason. The fear of death deters people from committing crimes, says Leslie Cantu (Interne ...

How Not to Be an Outcast in College

How Not to Be an Outcast in College Being an outcast, or socially inept in college is rather costly. It translates into a less productive and memorable college experience. Whatever, but if that’s something you would rather learn to avoid, then this article is for you. Though it’s a subjective topic, here’s a step by step breakdown of your typical anti-outcast college strategy. 1. Work on You First The only thing that separates you from anything, any goal or objective, is you. Within reason of course. But there are no real walls between you and a robust social life in college. The only thing in your way is your unique â€Å"narrative† that you define yourself with. Change that first. Work on you first. If your attitude is horrible, nothing else you do will help all that much anyway. 2. Read Some Dale Carnegie If you’re a college student today, chances are good ol’ Dale is a bit before your time. Whether you buy it as an eBook or paperback, read this: How to Win Friends and Influence People. If this were the only book you ever read for personal gain, it’s the perfect choice. Odds are just like the countless millions before you, you’ll not only read it again, but take notes and memorize his simple concepts as well. If readin Dale Carnegie is too much for you at the moment, at least read our article on how to deal with having no friends in college. 3. Be the Good Servant At all times be looking for ways to be of service to people without causing them to lose face in any way, or put yourself in a position where you end up getting taken advantage of. When you do get the chance to be of service, go above and beyond 100% of the time. Both Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill are big fans of the parable (New Testament). Seriously: If you develop this practice into a habit and stick to it, you will undoubtedly live a prosperous life and make many friends throughout your life. Though many people think that making friends after college is a struggle it is not really so. No matter what it is, go above and beyond without asking for extra pay or recognition. 4. Grow Up â€Å"Grow up† could mean all kinds of things. In this context, we’re referring to how you choose to project yourself to other people via your outward appearance. It doesn’t mean caving in completely, or totally selling out. It just means telling the world around you that you respect yourself. By all means sport some personality in your style, but make sure it’s clean. If you don’t take yourself seriously, hardly anyone else will. 5. Say These Two Things All the Time Let’s be clear, these are affirmations and there’s absolutely no question that they work miracles. Successful and worldly well-connected people use them every day of their lives. However, when you say these two things to yourself on a consistent basis (10 times a day in the beginning) embody them. Get into it! Make it real! Every day I meet the perfect people for me. No matter what I choose to do or say, the right people see and hear me. 6. Remember This Statement Check this out, and no, we haven’t the slightest clue who the quote originates from: â€Å"I am not what I think I am, and I am not what they think I am. I am what I think that they think I am.† Once the depth of that statement hits you and you really get it, you’ll never be the same. What you think people think about you (if they think about you at all) is almost complete rubbish. Yet, how much of what we say, do and think every day is influenced by this self-imposed illusion? Get it straight because this is reality: people really care about just one thing (themselves) no matter how you slice it. Regardless of how noble or righteous, at the end of the day all we really experience in this life is ourselves and no one else. 7. Play to Your Strengths In light of the last statement, you should obviously play to your own unique traits (strengths). You’re the only thing that sets you apart from everyone else, so express you and be unafraid. If it’s respect you want, this is the most direct route. When you play to your strengths and stand as yourself, unafraid before the insecure eyes of your peers, they will not only be drawn to you but regard you as a â€Å"really cool person† in that neutral sense that appeals to everyone. 8. Understand the 6 Human Needs The more you know about what every human being needs, the more equipped you are to use this knowledge to your benefit (and theirs). Comfort Uncertainty/Variety Love Growth Contribution Love/Connection As you can see, 99% of what it takes to avoid being an outcast in college is psychological in nature. And no, that doesn’t mean we think you should be a psych-major. What do you think, did we nail it? Tell us in the comments!

The Biographical Outlines of Hernando De Valencia, Damiana De Cunha, Essay

The Biographical Outlines of Hernando De Valencia, Damiana De Cunha, Enrico Martinez, Micaela Angela Carrillo, Diego Vasicuio and Antonio De Gouveia. Portuguese and Spanish America - Essay Example In the short period following the return of the governor to Portugal in 1783, Damiana De Cunha’s life is a string of uncertain facts. It is speculated that she may have spent some time in the village of Sao Jose de Mossamedes as a â€Å"domestic indian† (Karasch 106). It is still not determined whether De Cunha spent her young adult life in Sao Hose or as an interpreter settled amongst her relatives at Maria Pilera. The population of Sao Jose at this time was dwindling due to disease and desertion and had to be relocated to be joined up with Sao Jose, the population of which had also diminished significantly, for more efficient administration of both villages. Damiana De Cunha had been married at some point and it is claimed, romantically so, that her first husband was a Portuguese soldier. Nothing is known about him, except that he died and left De Cunha widowed. Her second marriage was to a Brazilian and ex-corporal of the militia named Manual Periera da Cruz. Da Cruz may have been a poor mulatto, judging from the racial make-up of the captaincy and of Sao Jose. Damian De Cunha was a central figure in the Sao Hose community. In later years she appears to have become the chief Indian leader of the community overseeing its transition from a missionary outpost to a peasant village. She was a loyal supporter of the church and acted as a mediator between the villagers and the colonial and Brazilian states. Her death struck a tragic blow to the existence of the many villages, which began to disintegrate one after the other. The Villages were under the supervision of an intricate hierarchy of Portuguese servicemen, headed by the Chief Administrator of Vila Boa. The result of this long chain of command and the death of the Great Angrai-oxa was the exploitation of the Caiapo. They were made to work under the supervision of mulatto soldiers and in return were given small rations. Much of the harvested products and the goods gained in exchange for these pr oducts were raked off by officials at each level. Villagers who slacked off were severely punished. Consequently, the Caiapo were unhappy with the hard work and harsh restrictions, such as needing permission to leave their village. The very location of the village added to their frustrations as it was unsuitable for fishing or good hunting. Some of the Caiapo members escaped from the village to return to their cousins in the backlands. As Damiana De Cunha had been raised in a foreign manner and believed in the religion of her foreign masters, she was more concerned in keeping the structure of the village together rather then in leading a Caiapo revolution. Many of the Caiapo had returned to their old ways of violence and plunder. However, De Cunha undertook an expedition to the Sertao to persuade some of the Caiapo to return with her in 1808. She was successful in convincing about seventy of her fellow tribes-men. She was convinced that civilization and Christianity were the only me ans of redemption and salvation for the savage Caiapos who were succumbing to starvation and epidemics. In 1819, the then governor appointed her to undertake another expedition to convince more of the Caiapo to return, and De Cunha embarked on a three month long journey to the Sertao. In 1921, she as dispatched on another expedition

Anemia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Anemia - Research Paper Example Furthermore, deficiency of vitamins such as B-12, an integral component for formation of healthy red blood cells, also cause vitamin related anemia (American Society of Hematology). Named after the sickle shape that the red blood cells acquire, this type of anemia is inherited. The host’s body is unable to make normal hemoglobin that causes the RBCs to have a crescent shape reducing ability to transfer oxygen. Having a shorter life, these cells die in 10-20 days (United States of America, Department of Health and Human Services). New cells aren’t formed fast enough to replace these dying cells. G6PD is an enzyme that induces resistance of red blood cells against materials such as sulfa, anti malarial drugs and naphthalene. Its absence causes the blood cells to burst when they come in contact with the aforementioned materials in the blood stream. The immune system itself attacks the red blood cells causing them to break down. This can take place post blood transfusion or bone marrow transplant. Major types include: autoimmune, alloimmune, and drug-induced anemia (United States of America, Department of Health and Human Services). Certain diseases such as that of kidney and liver disturb the hormonal balance of the body which consequently retards the production of red blood cells. Chemotherapy, administered to fight cancers, is also known to deter the production of red blood cells in the body causing anemia to the host. Virtually everyone is at a risk to develop anemia at one time or another during the course of one’s life. However, certain parts of society are more likely to get it than others. Almost 10% of the women going through pregnancy or having large volumes of blood loss through menstrual cycles have been identified to have anemia in US alone (American Health Journal). Moreover, people who have recently passed through major surgery, gotten into accidents causing large amount of blood