George W. Russell (AE Æ),- His Life, Paintings and Impact on Irish Cult

George W. Russell (AE Æ),- His Life, Paintings and Impact on Irish Culture Introduction George William Russell (Æ), poet, painter, statesman and friend of many. George Russell definitely was all of those things. But why is it that I, a visiting student from the far North, takes such an interest in a man who despite his greatness not many people outside Ireland has heard of. When asked about visual arts in Ireland, names like Jack Yeats, Paul Henry and James Barry might be heard but only people with a deep interest in Irish culture will also mention George W. Russell, or Æ as he is more commonly known. But Æ Russell was, and still is, Irish culture, which is what I will try to prove to you with this paper. My first encounter with Æ Russell was when I heard about one of the greatest love stories ever heard, the Irish legend about Deirdre and Naisi. Æ Russell took this tale and made it into a play, the one and only play he would ever write, published in 1901 under the name â€Å"Deirdre†. The mythological tales has always been a keen interest to me and to learn that Æ Russell wrote plays, poems and painted pictures with mythological content, sure was a true excitement for me. But to get a better understanding of what kind of man Æ Russell was and what he had done for Irish culture I embarked on a cultural trip around Dublin. I started off by going to the Oriel Gallery a Clare Street to see some of his paintings. My next step was a visit to 3 Upper Ely Place (behind Saint Stephen’s Green), a place where Æ Russell lived between 1891 and 1898 (1897) and one of two places in Dublin where you still can see an original mural signed Æ Russell. Sadly, a lot of his other murals on Dublin walls has been torn down, taking an important part of cultural heritage away with it. Lastly I visited the Mount Jerome Cemetery (Harold’s Cross) where Æ Russell is buried. All this, together with my own strong interest in mythology, made this cultural â€Å"journey† in Æ Russell footsteps a pure pleasure. George â€Å"Ɔ Russell, the man George William Russell, son and one of three children of Tomas Elias Russell & Marianne Russell (formerly Armstrong), was born in William Street, Lurgan, County Armagh on the 10:th of April 1867. At the age of 11, the family moved to Emorville Avenue in Dublin where in 1880 George Russell enrolled in the Art School on Kildare Street. At the age of 16, George Ru... ... the â€Å"human†. As of today, that favorite of mine goes for about IR £ 8.500 but that in my view is a small price for such a work of excellence. It is also a part of Irish culture as it was 100 years ago; and still is†¦.. 1. â€Å"Neptunes Daughters† (Original size: 16† x 21â€Å") 2. â€Å"A Vision in the Glade† (15 ½Ã¢â‚¬  x 21†) 3. â€Å"Trailing Clouds of Glory† (18 ½Ã¢â‚¬  x 24†) 4. â€Å"Neptunes Angels† (21† x 32†) 5. â€Å"The Young W.B. Inscribed and Dated 1897† (17† x 14†) References: Main Publications: Davis, R.B., 1977, George William Russell (â€Å"AE†). George Prior Publishers, London, England. Denson, A., 1961, George W. Russell (Æ) – A Bibliography. Northwestern University Press, New Jersey, U.S.A. Kain, R.M. & O’Brien, J.H., 1976, George Russell (Æ). Bucknell University Press, Lewisburg, U.S.A. Other publications: Nulty, O., 1989, George Russell – Æ â€ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦at The Oriel’s, 21st Anniversary. The Oriel Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. Smythe, C., 1988, The Descent of the Gods – The mystical writings of G. W. Russell – Æ. By: Michael Arrhenius University: Jà ¶nkà ¶ping International Business School, Sweden. Class: Irish Culture Instructor: Mr. Smyth Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Aungier Street, March 2000.

Remedial College Classes Benefit Students and Society Essay -- Argumen

Remedial College Classes Benefit Students and Society Depending on the opinion, one could have been excited or startled by comments President George W. Bush recently made. It was August 29th, and the day had come for him to deliver his â€Å"Back-to-School† speech. Always pushing for improving education, the President urged state leaders to look at a new tactic for making the students achieve; he argued against remedial classes in colleges. State leaders across the country, if they had not already done so, began seriously debating the issue of whether remedial classes belonged in the states’ universities and colleges. Indeed, there is a lot to question about the state of higher-education remediation. Some of the first issues that come up are the alarmingly high number of incoming freshmen and other students that need to take a remedial class, which is somewhere around one per every four students (Cloud 60; Ravitch 106). Also important is the significant amount of money governments spent to finance remedial clas ses, which comes to about one billion dollars per year nationwide. With all of this fiscal spending, it comes as no surprise that conservatives are spearheading the push to end remedial classes in colleges and universities. They see it as money spent to teach the same thing to a person twice, and nothing bothers republicans more then laziness and failure at the cost of fiscal money (Cloud 60). However, the actual definition differs from the classic GOP interpretation. A college remedial class, as defined in John Cloud’s Time article, â€Å"Who’s Ready for College?,† is any class that teaches a subject that should have been mastered by the end of twelfth grade (60). Is this wasted money or beneficial educa... ...nal Standards.† Phi Delta Kappan 80.7 (Mar. 1999): 548-9. Cloud, John. â€Å"Who’s Ready for College?† Time 160.16 (Oct. 2002): 61-2. Cresanta, Judy. â€Å"Placing the Blame for Remedial Education.† 15 Jul. 1998. Nevada Policy Research Institute. 17 Nov. 2002. Oudenhoven, Betsy. â€Å"Remediation at the Community College: Pressing Issues, Uncertain Solutions.† New Directions for Community Colleges 117 (Spring 2002): 35-44. Ravitch, Dianne. â€Å"The Fight for Higher Standards.† Forbes 160.13 (Dec. 1997): 106. St. John, Eric. â€Å"Roaring Up From Behind.† Black Issues in Higher Education 17.12 (Aug. 3 2002): 26-31. Wright, Scott W. â€Å"The Ill-Prepared and the Ill-Informed.† Black Issues in Higher Education 15 (Mar. 1998): 12-5. Wright, Scott W. â€Å"This Isn’t Working!† Black Issues in Higher Education 14 (Feb. 1998): 14-15.

Black People and Story Essay

What is the relevance of the title in Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Recitatif? † â€Å"Recitatif† is a short story written by Toni Morrison and first published in the anthropology â€Å"Confirmation: An Anthropology of American Women† in 1983. The author creates a pioneering story about the lives of two young girls, Roberta and Twyla, living in an orphanage during a period of racial inequality. Both girls had been taken away from their mothers, one for illness and one for indiscretion. What makes this story unique is that, while the characters are clearly separated by class, neither is affirmed as African American or Caucasian. In order to address the essential social issue of that time, Toni Morrison presents five sections that span many years; the author provides a clear insight of inequality between white and black people. Moreover, with the publication of â€Å"Recitatif†, â€Å"Morrison raised issues engaging middle-class black women whose education and personal achievements create tensions within and outside of the black community† (Fultz). A considerable aspect of this story is the title of the work. â€Å"RecitÐ °tif† is a derivation of the word â€Å"recitative† which may be defined as a spoken singing style used in opera and oratories. A now-obsolete meaning is the rhythm peculiar to any language; furthermore, this word uses the root â€Å"recite† which also has special meaning. To recite, or to tell from memory, exemplifies that the story written by Toni Morrison was from a series of memories. Both of these definitions suggest the episodic nature of this story (Kusumoto). The plot is the key to understanding the meaning of the title. There are five encounters that show what occurs when two people have contradictory memories about the same event. For example, when Twyla realizes that she and Roberta have completely different memories of a significant event, she asks, â€Å"I wouldn’t forget a thing like that. Would I? † (Bakara & Bakara). Such uncertainty highlights to the main theme of the story. This instability of memory is expressed through narrative collage – â€Å"Recitatif† brings together the rhythms of 2 different lives for 5 short moments that are narrated by Twyla’s voice. The story is, then, in several ways, Twyla’s â€Å"rÐ µcitatif. † The title of the story accurately conveys some changes in actual voice throughout the text; for example, when Twyla is a younger, it is obvious that the author â€Å"speaks† in a child’s voice. In some cases, it seems that this girl is too thoughtful to be the little child, but the author conveys her voice in such a way that there is no doubt that she is. The sing song voice applies to the narrator as well as to the nature of other characters in the story. Radical changes are visible during Roberta’s and Twyla’s meetings; moreover, the sing song nature of race is also a part of the character’s makeup. Each of them shows clues that may be interpreted as rÐ µpresenting a black or white race. That is why readers try to compare the various aspects of the story in order to identify the race it characterizes. This story develops like acts in an opera, presenting its characters at different points in life. Here is an interesting fact: the voice of the narrator grows with its character much as children grow throughout their life. The title describes Morrison’s prose narrative and provides that the use of â€Å"gaps† is an integral part of this story. They are left out purposely by the author so they can be filled in by readers. In the first lines of the story it may seems that â€Å"Recitatif† tells a simple story about the interactions of two girls. Toni Morrison divided this short story into five encounters which describe the ongoing narrative events from the lives of these two women. These interludes imitate the spoken singing style and narrative of the Morrison story implied by its title. The term â€Å"gaps† is suitable for this story because each encounter is separated by long periods of time that leave the reader guessing; as an example, Roberta’s reference to Jimi Hendrix at the meeting in the HÐ ¾ward JÐ ¾hnsons. Before the reference, readers are certainly unsure of the time period of this meeting, but with the mention of this famous pop star, everyone can fill in the gap and realize this part of the story takes place in the 1960s. In conclusion, it can be said that the title of Toni Morrison’s story plays an essential role in the story. It accurately conveys the style of writing and the use of different techniques throughout the story. Works cited: Bakara, Imamu Amiri, and Amina Bakara. Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women. 1st ed. Morrow, 1983. Print. Fultz, Lucille P. Toni Morrison: Playing With Difference. University of Illinois Press, 2003. Print. Kusumoto, Jitsuko. â€Å"Memories of the Daughters from â€Å"Recitatif† to Beloved. â€Å". 21-24, 2008. Web. 26 Feb 2013. .

The Beauty of the Fictional World in Nabokov’s Bend Sinister

Since the writer himself claims that Bend Sinister is neither â€Å"serious fiction† nor â€Å"literature of social comment,† I will refrain from making something out of nothing (for, though Nabokov does this through his fiction, I would not wish to offend him, even if he cannot socially comment on my offense, just as Karl Marx perhaps disliked the ruin of his own piece). Rather, I shall make the argument that literature to Nabokov is like beauty to life. It is not the story that matters, but instead â€Å"it is for the sake of the pages about David and his father that the book was written and should be read† (xiv).Hence, let us examine what makes Nabokov’s novel so beautiful: What begins as â€Å"An oblong puddle inset in the coarse asphalt† transforms into Padukgrad, a fictional and totalitarian state somewhere in Europe that hosts two men of differing philosophies yet similar power (1). Krug, the protagonist, immediately surfaces as a danger to t he Ekwilist society, which Paduk rules as dictator. Although there is a tendency to classify Padukgrad as a dystopia, one must note that Nabokov was highly critical of â€Å"Orwell’s cliches,† calling him a â€Å"mediocre English [writer]† (2).Nabokov argues that he is â€Å"neither a didacticist nor an allegorizer,† both of which could describe Orwell’s anti-totalitarian voice in 1984 (2). Rather, Vladamir Nabokov’s first American novel, Bend Sinister, presents his fictional dictatorship not as an entity on a path to Armageddon, but as a metaphorical chess game, wherein the main character can be interpreted as the White King and the antagonist as the Black King. Eventually, Krug learns that he is in fact playing a live game of chess, and that—ironically—he is the White King in an Armageddon-style chess match for his life. For Krug, a philosopher and professor, there is no draw.Nabokov conscientiously places Krug in Padukgrad, for it is with precision that chess players both set and move their pieces. Whereas a king piece is safest in its initial location, beside the queen and behind a row of pawns, Bend Sinister begins with Krug’s observing â€Å"a fancy footprint filled to the brim with quicksilver . . . from a hospital window† (1-2). Nabokov details a rather wonderful scene of a puddle in November. Beauty, I argue, and the hospital are places of sanctuary, a place where one can reflect on â€Å"the beating of [his] loving heart† (xiv). The beauty ends, however.It becomes known that â€Å"the operation has not been successful and [Krug’s] wife will die† (2). In the first chapter, to alight on the metaphor of chess, Krug essentially loses his queen and is subsequently forced to play the rest of the game without what is generally the most powerful piece. Also, it is interesting that he loses his queen in the first person. Throughout most of the novel, Krug is written in the third-person-omniscient voice, and only when the writer intends to remind the reader that Bend Sinister is not a contemporary novel, that it is truly an apocryphal work meant for beauty, does he switch his point of view.Perhaps, Nabokov is presenting the dramatic moment (of the chess game) through Krug’s (the king’s) eyes to convey the move’s gravity. However, Nabokov again shifts to the first person perspective on the second to last page, just after â€Å"another and better bullet hit† Krug (240). In this sense, Nabokov utilizes the third person to communicate his story and the first person to denote the loss of White’s two most important pieces—the King and queen, respectively. It is also this style that categorizes Bend Sinister as post-post-modernism literature, for Nabokov clarifies that, â€Å"among the chaos of written and rewritten pages . . a big moth was clinging with furry feet† to his [the metafictional writer’s ] window (240). Moreover, I shall use this style to make my own points: Orwell’s dystopic world is made real—Nabokov’s world is made fictionally.This is the greatest distinction between the two books. Bend Sinister remains very much a board of pieces that move according to the novelist. And his characters, in turn, are â€Å"absurd images† and â€Å"illusions† both to himself and â€Å"to Krug† (xiv). In essence, the writer is calling the shots—the balls and strikes, and they ‘ain’t nothing till he calls them. By this, Nabokov creates Padukgrad, and in it, Krug and Paduk. Interestingly, Padukgrad’s Ekwilist philosophy of the everyman wishes to create a homogenous, clone-like society wherein each individual is equal and outliers are either integrated or removed. This society, like many totalitarian states, seeks unity through similarity. Thus, Nabokov presents Krug as the counterpart to Paduk—White King versu s Black King, good versus evil. For example, Adam Krug is depicted as a â€Å"philosopher . . . ith untidy, dusty, or faintly grizzled locks . . . suggestive of the uncouth chess master or of the morose composer, but more intelligent† and Paduk as someone who â€Å"never got over superficial neatness† (46, 80). This is important not only because of Nabokov’s explicit metaphor, but also because the Ekwilist philosophy preaches â€Å"a remoulding of human individuals in conformity with a well-balanced pattern,† the opposite philosophy of Krug [and Nabokov]. The duality is thusly created by Nabokov through philosophy—another ironic attribute.One pleasure of the book, as the writer would agree, is the humor. For instance, Paduk institutes â€Å"the Party of the Average Man as based on Skotoma’s book,† which argues that â€Å"a certain computable amount of human consciousness [is] distributed throughout the population of the world† and that â€Å"the proudest intellect and the humblest stupidity depended entirely upon the degree of â€Å"world consciousness† (75-76). In this, I find that philosophy kills philosophy, king kills king, and the entire purpose of this book arises.That is, if the sake of the pages are for David and his father (Krug), then the genesis of the Ekwilist philosophy and of Padukgrad are highly significant. David is, after all, killed by both. Nabokov includes in Bend Sinister, after describing the origins of Ekwilism, that Skotoma â€Å"omitted to define both the practical method to be pursued and the kind of person or persons responsible for planning and directing the process† (76). I find this quite humorous for several reasons other than those listed afore. First, Paduk breaks Nabokov’s first rule.Paduk not only takes Skotoma’s book to be â€Å"serious literature,† but then he also misinterprets it. To note, this is why I refrain in my introductory p aragraph from making something out of nothing and why I mention Marx, whose philosophy like Skotoma’s is essentially ruined by a lesser, more common man. It is also a reason perhaps for Nabokov’s distaste of George Orwell. Second, it is ironic that the â€Å"kind of person† who instills this philosophy in Paduk is actually Krug, for Krug drives Paduk in their youth to this uniform extreme.On page 36, for example, Nabokov reveals that Paduk, â€Å"the Ruler, colloquially known as the toad, had been a schoolmate† of Krug’s. Then later, on page 50, Krug reveals to his scholarly peers at the University that he â€Å"was something of a bully† and â€Å"used to trip [Paduk] up and sit upon his face . . . every blessed day for about five school years. † This treatment of Paduk eventually leads him to favor the Ekwilist philosophy and form a totalitarian state. It also leads the reader to understand Krug’s and Paduk’s duality, t heir chess match, and the way in which the White King is losing.Moreover, on the topic of irony and humor (which is beautiful), Bend Sinister is a reflection of Nabokov. One might draw comparison to heraldry whereby the novel derives its name. A sinister is in fact a colored band running from the upper right side of a shield to the lower left side; its opposite is the bend sinister, which runs from left top to right bottom. In the novel, Paduk represents the bend sinister of the shield and Krug represents the sinister, in that the Ekwilist philosophy (the extreme of socialism if you will) is a sinister (evil) bend to the left.Also worthwhile to point out is the name of the shield’s surface—the field. A chess match is a battle of kings and pawns on a battlefield. I make my final and daring argument here, as I still wish not to make something out of nothing, but I wish more to make something rather than nothing: Adam Krug is the metaphorical bend sinister to Nabokov. For instance, Adam Krug is â€Å"a non-smoker,† whereas Nabokov admits that his â€Å"daily consumption of cigarettes had reached the four-package mark† (36, xi). Also, the voice of the novel switches between the writer’s conscious thoughts and Krug’s story.In this way, Krug is Nabokov and Nabokov is Krug, but they are not entirely the same. They are the duality of the writer. Just as the protagonist is the king of the book, so too is the novelist. But because Krug is the non-conscientious half, at least in reality, he is the bend sinister of what is good. Literature is often taken out of context or made to be something out of nothing, and Nabokov hated this fact. I have drawn references to Orwell throughout because he, to the abhorrence of Nabokov, wrote in protest to leftist totalitarian states.By doing this, Orwell is upholding the greatest mistake of making something out of nothing because all totalitarian states, like Padukgrad with Ekwilism, take liter ature or philosophy out of context, and thus, to make a story from nothing results in nothing. Nabokov, a man of true genius, does not present Krug as one. For, although Krug is the greatest thinker in his own world, the fictional world is not real. The fictional world is merely aesthetics for the ‘real world. ’ And the sake of his presentation is merely for â€Å"David and his father,† Nabokov’s beautiful creations.

Sony Corp. Final Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sony Corp. Final Report - Research Paper Example The management believe that the strategy implementation would further reduce costs by more than ?300 billion. Nevertheless, Sony should pay particular attention in improving its long term solvency position given that its liquidity ratio is currently below the industry average and it poses a risk that it might not be able to meet its current obligations in an event of emergency even though inventories are not liquidated. (Annual Report, 2009-2010) The debt-to-worth ratio expresses the extent to which the business is relying on debt financing as opposed to shareholders funds (Albrecht, 2004). The increase in debt-to-worth ratio from 2.62 in 2008 to 3.05 and 3.34 in 2009 and 2010 respectively display that Sony is gradually increasing its reliance on debt financing mainly to fund the innovation required for the business growth. The Group’s financial risk position is increased as reflected by the total debt position of the Group. The total debt in 2008 as at balance sheet amounted to ?1,084 million, ?1,111 million in 2009 and ?1,209 million in 2010. (Annual Report, 2009-2010) The debt-to-worth ratios for 2008, 2009 and 2010 which are higher than the industry average further lay emphasis that Sony is currently at a highly leverage position as compared to its competitors. It would pose a threat to its financial safety and flexibility to borrow in the future if the trends continue. Moreover, there might be debt covenants which the Group is obliged to comply and it is critical that the Group monitors them tightly as non-compliance cause breaches in contract and immediate repayment is required. Gross Profit Margin shows a decrease from 2008 (23.1%) to 2009 (19.7%) mainly caused by the challenging economic environment hit by the global financial crisis and the negative impact driven by the appreciation of the yen against U.S dollar and Euro. There is an overall decline of sales in the Electronic, Game, Pictures and Financial Services businesses. Sales in the Electr onic business declined 17% from ?6,613 billion to ?5,488 billion as there is a low demand for products such as the Handy cam video cameras, Cyber-shot compact digital cameras and VAIO PCs. Additionally, Sony has exited its business in LCD rear-projection televisions and CRT televisions during the year. The drop in sales in the Game business from ?1,284 billion to ?1,053 billion is mainly contributed by the decrease in revenue in its PS2 business while motion pictures revenue were down by 16.4% from ?858 billion to ?718 billion primarily driven by lower home entertainment demand and fewer films being sold to the home entertainment market. Financial Services revenue dropped 7.4% from ?581 billion to ?538 billion due to profit deterioration at Sony Life caused by the net valuation loss of convertible bonds and increase in impairment loss on equity securities. However, in 2010, the gross profit margin has improved considerably recording a margin of 22.9% subsequent to restructuring meas ures and cost reduction activities implemented. The restructuring consists of three horizontal platforms – the Global Sales and Marketing Platform, the Manufacturing, Logistics, Procurement and Customer Service Platform and the Research and Development and Common Software Platform aim to achieve cost efficiencies,

Marketing a Product Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing a Product - Research Paper Example Below is a logo of Nike where all Nike’s products bear this logo. As a product, all shoes manufactured by Nike bears its logo. The logo distinguishes Nike from other companies’ products. The logo is attractive to the clients and stands out as the best athletics wear (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel 2008). In some cases, the client feels proud when wearing the shoes since it instills self confidence. As such, Nikes products cannot be compared with other rival companies such as Puma. Also, place stands out as part of the 4p’s of marketing. Nike products are made in Nike town. This is one company where every single detail reads Nike. On the other hand, Nike shoes are distributed by Nike stores as independent distributors who are located in different countries globally (Teece, 2010). In this case, the creation of different places to sell their products makes it easy for many people to access these shoes. Thus, there is a possibility of clients getting a Nike shoe across the globe. The price is also part of the 4 p’s. Given that Nike is an already trusted and established product, their shoes can sell at the highest dollar. As a result, Nike uses cost-based pricing. Also, Nike shoes price is competitive in nature to outshine their rivals in the sportswear (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel 2008). The pricing is a premium segment based and targets customers while pricing utilizes vertical integration such that at the lowest level there are more operations compared to upper level. Promotion is also outlined as an essential part of the 4 p’s of marketing. Nike has excelled in its promotions and their print promotions are simple but they give a very powerful message. For example, Nike can use an athlete to advertise a new brand of shoes. Also, Nike sometimes sponsors sporting event with the aim of promoting its products (Teece, 2010). Another

The influences of price elasticity of demand(Microeconomics) Essay

The influences of price elasticity of demand(Microeconomics) - Essay Example These are usually elastic goods. Price elasticity of demand influences total revenue. When there is increase in price, more revenue is generated on every item that is sold along with the fact that there are fewer items sold. When the aim is to increase total revenue, we must decide which effect is larger. In case of inelastic demand, the increased price affects the total revenue significantly which become directly proportional to increase in price; whereas, in case of elastic demand, the factor that influences total revenue is the lower quantity which makes the revenue inversely proportional to increase in price. Mainly, there are three factors that contribute to demand elasticity (Investopedia, 2010). These are explained below along with a description of how these factors influence consumers to purchase goods: The thumb rule is that: the more is the availability of product substitutes, the more elastic is the demand. Increase in price of elastic goods will influence their demand and the consumer will start looking for other options to replace the product he was using. For example, if the price of tetra pack milk goes up by $1.25, the consumer will start buying fresh milk. Thus, the demand of tetra pack milk decreases. But the industry itself is inelastic, that is if the price of milk as a whole goes up, the consumer will not stop buying milk as it is a necessity. â€Å"Thus, while a product within an industry is elastic due to the availability of substitutes, the industry itself tends to be inelastic† (Investopedia, 2010). This factor deals with the amount of income that is available for a person to spend on goods. If price of an elastic good goes up and the income remains the same, the person will have less to spend on that good than what he had to spend before price increased. For example, the quantity of tetra packs he bought