US company expanding to Italy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

US company expanding to Italy - Research Paper Example Mostly, foreign businesses are exploited through regulations, practices and laws that are usually protective of the local businesses. These are the challenges that a U.S. firm expanding to Italy will face as it tries to gain grounds and remain competitive in foreign environment. U.S. business regulations do not discriminate against small or large corporations as they are all subject to the same regulations. The country has a host of laws that govern business in the country and must be adhered to by any business. Employment and labor laws are stringent in how they regulate treatment of employees by businesses. These laws cover every aspect of employees’ relations. Further, the laws keep on changing as the government and labor bodies continue to protect employees more. The first labor law is Minimum Wage Law which sets the least possible wage for workers of every category. Other laws include Fair Labor Standards Act, Equal Opportunity Employment, Employee Retirement Income Security Act and many other laws that regulate employees’ welfare. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) seeks to make sure that every employee receives retirement benefits according to her own choice (Cihon & Castagneria, 2013). The Immigration and Nationality Act prevents any business from discriminating against any U.S. citizens. Advertising and marketing laws are also stringent on businesses activities. The Federal Trade Commission ensures that business comply with these laws. The laws are intended to safeguard consumers’ interests, while protecting them from scrupulous business who cheat through advertising and marketing. Businesses are required to give the truth in adverts, to enable Americans make purchasing decisions well. Failure to comply with these laws attracts lawsuits and heavy fines. The advertisements must not be unfair to competitors. Privacy law is another major business law that affect running of

Shells international business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Shells international business - Research Paper Example Even though there are many energy sources, oil seems to be the most popular energy source in the world even now. It is often said that the economic growth of a country depends on its ability to produce or import oil resources at the cheaper rate. This is because of the fact that the majority of the industrial equipment and automobiles in the world are using oil as the fuel. Global economic growth is linked to oil prices. Any fluctuations in oil prices may create immense economic changes as well as changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, unemployment and inflation rates in the world. For example, the 1973 -1975 oil price hike has shocked the world economy. The growth rate fell to 2.1% in 1974 and to 1.45 in 1975. The worldwide trade growth rate also dropped heavily from 12% in 1973 to -5.4% in 1974 and -7.3 in 1975. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has dropped from 40% in 1973 to half of it in 1974 (Oil prices and the global economy, n. d). According to a study by IMF Research Department (2000), â€Å"there will be a transfer of income from oil consumers to oil producers; there will be a rise in the cost of production of goods and services in the economy†. In short, oil seems to be an essential commodity required for global economic growth. In the oil business, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies needs no introduction in the global market. They are one of the largest global group of energy and petrochemicals companies with around 92000 employees in more than 70 countries and territories.

Reversible Photochromism: Effects and Applications

Reversible Photochromism: Effects and Applications 1. Introduction In this report I will be looking at the smart material property known as Reversible Photochromism. This property contains a range of chemicals that react to UV light. This report will explore a range of the effects of the compound, which will include a review of the applications of this property and the process that make them possible, by exploring the, Ring Process, method. This report will also include looking at general applications where Reversible Photochromism technology is being used and any future concepts, such as, smart materials/technology involving textiles, dyes and inks. Including existing products, such as, transition lenses, and how that technology can be used for greater achievements. 2. What is Photochromism? Photochromism is the reversible alteration of a chemical variety between two forms by the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, where the two forms have different absorption spectrum. This can be described as a reversible change of colour upon exposure to light. Where the current substance transforms into a different colour once exposed to UV light. Once the UV light is removed, the substance under goes a transformation into its original state. Interest in Photochromism was constant but limited until the 1940-1960 periods, which saw an increase of studies, particularly in the research groups of Hirshberg and Fischer in Israel. In 1950, Hirshberg suggested the term photochromism [from the Greek words: phos (light) and chroma (colour)] to describe the phenomenon. This is the name used today. The mechanism for Photochromism in plastic crystalline materials is shown below. (Closed Form) (Open Form) Photochromic colours/dyes are plastisol-based inks, which are off-white when not exposed to UV radiation. It gains colour when exposed to Sun light / UV light. The colour change is reversible, i.e., the colour will fade again and appear colour less or clear upon removal from UV light / sun light exposure. These inks are available in various colours; ranging from dark tones to bright pink. 3. How  are Photochromic Lenses Made? There is a vast range of different states Photochromism can be manipulated into. All of these states have extra compounds and particles. The most common Photochromic state is glass lenses. Photochromic lenses are lenses that darken on exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Once the UV is removed, for example by walking indoors, the lenses will slowly return to their clear state. Photochromic lenses may be made of glass, polycarbonate, or another plastic. The glass version of this type of lenses was first developed by Corning in the 1960s. More recently, plastic versions of these lenses have been commercialised. The first of these was the Photolite lens sold in the early 1980s. But the first commercially successful plastic Photochromic lens was introduced by Transitions Optical in 1991. The glass version of these lenses achieve their Photochromic properties through the embedding of microcrystalline silver halides (usually silver chloride), or molecules in a glass substrate. Plastic Photochromic lenses rely on organic Photochromic molecules to achieve the reversible darkening effect. The reason these lenses darken in sunlight but not indoors under artificial light, is that room light does not contain the UV found in sunlight. Transport windows also block UV so these lenses would darken less in a car. Lenses that darken in response to visible (rather than UV) light would avoid these issues, but they are not feasible for most applications. In order to respond to light, it is necessary to absorb it, thus the glass could not be made to be clear in its low-light state. This correctly implies Photochromic lenses are not entirely transparent; specifically they filter out UV light. This does not represent a problem, because the human eye does not see in the UV spectrum. With the Photochromic material dispersed in the glass substrate, the degree of darkening depends on the thickness of glass, which poses problems with variable-thickness lenses in prescription glasses. With plastic lenses, the material is normally embedded into the surface layer of the plastic. Typically, Photochromic lenses darken substantially in response to UV light in less than one minute, and then continue to darken very slightly. This can take 15 minutes. The lenses fade back to clear along a similar pattern. The lenses will begin to clear as soon as they are away from UV light, and will be noticeably lighter much quicker than the darkening process. However, it can take up to more than 20 minutes for the lenses to completely fade to their non-exposed state. Because Photochromic compounds fade back to their clear state by a thermal process, the higher the temperature, the less dark Photochromic lenses will be. This thermal effect is called temperature dependency and prevents these devices from achieving true sunglass darkness in very hot weather. In contrast, Photochromic lenses will get very dark in cold weather conditions; which makes them more suitable for snow skiers than sun worshippers while outside. Once inside, away from the triggering UV light, the cold lenses take longer to regain their clear colour than warm lenses. 4. The Chemical Compounds of Reversible Photochromism Photochromism can be manipulated into different states, liquids; gels, dyes and water like substance, and solids; thin plastic like films and pigment powders. The most common form of Photochromism is liquid dye. This dye is a clear substance that can be penetrated and manipulated into different forms. Dyes reversibly alter their colour upon exposure to ultraviolet sources. These chameleon-like dyes respond to natural solar irradiation as well as artificial sources such as 365 nanometer black light. When sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) radiation is applied, the Photochromic dye becomes excited and the molecular structure is changed allowing a colour to appear. When the stimulus (sunlight/UV radiation) is removed, the dye will return to a state of rest, which is its colourless form. Photochromic molecules are not reactive in their crystalline state and need to be dissolved in a solvent or polymer to function. A common feature of the Photochromic is a colourless isomer that contains a carbon-oxygen bond which dissociates with UV activation. The colourless isomer contains two localized pi systems that absorb only in the UV part of the spectrum. Hence, the molecule appears colourless. After the carbon-oxygen bond dissociates, the two pi systems change into a single delocalised pi system which absorbs in the visible part of the spectrum, causing colour formulation. The life of Photochromic material depends on the amount of Photochromic compound used, the stabilisers used and the material in which it is used. Generally, it is suggested that 0.1 gram per square foot be used to provide an adequate reservoir of Photochromic compound. The use of ultraviolet absorbers will also extend the life of the Photochromic, but will reduce the colour intensity. There are effectively two changes occurring simultaneously; a chemical change arises when the molecule is exposed to UV light that enables conjugation to take place throughout the molecule; a structural change also occurs to enable the overlap of molecules. Therefore, spatially, the molecules must be able to flatten out to allow this conjugation to take place. It is a fully reversible reaction so that when the light source is removed, the molecule returns to its uncoloured state. Heat can also help drive the reaction back to the uncoloured form, so in very hot conditions, there is always competition between light and heat to determine the given colour observed. In general, a colour change is still observed, albeit weaker than at room temperature. Similarly, in cold conditions in the presence of sunlight, an intense colour is observed as there is little or no competition from the back reaction. Such dyes incorporated within a sol-gel matrix can have several practical applications, such as optical switches (if the reversal is very fast) and optical storage for computer memory (if the reverse colour change is not possible at room temperature). Sol-gel Materials mixed with Photochromic dyes have also been investigated as fibre optic delay generators (Meer 1990), fibre optic shutters, and in Photomasking and Photoresist materials (Hawker 1993). Sol-gel based coatings may also be used for ophthalmic lenses such as scratch resistant coatings on sunglasses. The colouring changing process is described as the, ring opening/ring-closing process (Brown 1971) This is where the molecules lie flat in there closed form before UV radiation. In this state the substance is colourless. Once UV light is exposed to the substance, the molecules react by twisting, creating an open form. This open form causes the Photochromic dye to turn into a colour. Once the UV light is removed, the molecules twist back to their flat state, reversing back to the colourless substance. Depending on the intensity of the UV light and heat, the speed of which the reverse effect may vary. This process can be repeated many times; however the colour will become less and eventually dim. New Photochromic dyes are now being introduced to slow the fading effect and eventually stop it. Scientists can create different colours of Photochromic dyes by mixing Photochromic pigment powder. In their pure state, Photochromic dyes are powdered crystals that must be dissolved in the inks to which they are added. Some manufacturers microencapsulate the Photochromic dye in their own system, as with leucodye microcapsules. Microencapsulating Photochromic systems enables them to be used in inks that cannot dissolve them, such as water-based systems. Even on cloudy days, Photochromic dyes exhibit bright colour changes when taken outdoors. (Just as with lenses) The colour you see may differ slightly on very hot days or if a UV lamp, rather than sunlight, is used to excite the materials. 5. Organic Photochromism Fritzsche reported in 1867 the bleaching of an orange-coloured solution of tetracene in the daylight and the regeneration of the colour in the dark. Later, Meer found a change of colour of the potassium salt of dinitroethane in the solid state (yellow in the dark; red in the daylight). Another early example was published by Phipson, who noted that a painted gate post appeared black all day and white all night (due to a zinc pigment). Research and experiments into organic photochromism has enabled the photochromic process to be used on plastic and other materials. However, organic photochromism is controversial, as this goes beyond the domain of variable optical transmission and includes a number of reversible physical phenomena such as optical memories and switches, variable electrical current, ion transport through membranes, variable wet ability, etc. For this purpose, organic photochromic compounds are often incorporated in polymers and liquid crystalline materials. 6. The Chemical Process of Organic Photochromism Organic Photochromic materials consist of a polymer matrix of optical quality having a refractive state and at least one dye that imparts Photochromic properties to the matrix. A dye must be selected from a group consisting of spiropyrans and chromenes. This compound is then put under intense radiation to form Organic Photochromism. This then can be placed in specialist lenses and materials. 7. Organic Photochromism in Cosmetics In general cosmetic materials, Organic Photochromism is being used in cosmetic and related formulations. Colouration has been employed as a cosmetic device for many centuries (Farrer-Halls, 2007) Materials and methods for achieving predictable and safe cosmetic colouration are being continually explored and improved as evidenced by the large and expanding worldwide cosmetic business. Materials which change colour under the influence of light, i.e. photochromics, can be designed on the molecular level to interact with light to maintain, or even evolve a particular colouration. These materials can be designed to maintain a particular cosmetic look as the ambient lighting changes or as the user moves from place to place. It may be advantageous for the Photochromic response to be reversible. The influence of water can be anticipated and pH balance must be incorporated into the overall system design. It would be advantageous to design a class of materials for which ambient office light, or highly directed light such as in a tanning booth, or even laser light, could be utilised, each creating and imparting a particular predictable cosmetic look. There are, of course, many organic Photochromic materials. However, by necessity, to have a strong absorption feature in the visible part of the spectrum which could be the basis for an effective cosmetic colouration system, the molecular structure often contains a delocalised pi electron system (Farrer-Halls, 2007) Molecules having bonding features associated with such electronic structure, e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, coal tar products, azo dyes, quinoline, and like molecules with or without fused heterocycles, are often carcinogenic and so less desirable or unacceptable as candidates for use as cosmetics as Gill Farrer-Halls (2007, pg2) claims in her book, Naturals and Organics in Cosmetics Many types of organic molecules penetrate the skin barrier and so pose increased toxicity risk. This is a major problem because it would require more complicated testing and evaluation to establish the risk of such materials. Inorganic materials are well known which, because of their insolubility in water and their relatively large particle size, do not penetrate the stratum comeum to any major extent. For example, rouge, being iron oxide, and titanium-dioxide are two widely used oxides with well established safety history (Farrer-Halls, 2007) In fact, most metal oxides, with the possible exception of those used close to the eyes, are more likely ingested, and therefore dangerous if the particles are breathed. There is, therefore, a negligible risk if the oxides are immobilised in a cosmetic formulation. The objective of the design is to identify metal oxides, metal bronzes, and protein based Photochromic systems (materials) which combine novel cosmetic properties with sun blocking. (Farrer-Halls, 2007 pg5) Organic Photochromic systems have novel applications in cosmetics because the colouration they supply can be accented and softened and otherwise manipulated by the application of light, allowing greater control and range of effect than for a single colour application. Conventional colouration, i.e. rouge, can only be manipulated by mechanical means, i.e. rubbing and spreading. In addition to using these materials for their pleasing colouration effects, they can also be used as an actinometer/dosimeter that a person can use to gauge his/her exposure to bright sunlight or in other tanning/burning settings. The concept is based upon the use of the intrinsic Photochromic properties of certain solid transition metal oxides for cosmetic and sun blocking effects. The solid metal oxides suitable for use in this invention are those which undergo Photo induced and thermo enhanced loss of gas phase O2 to produce mixed valence oxides and include WO3, V2 O5, TiO2 and MoO3 (Farrer-Halls, 2007) A particular oxide can be operationally established for any possible choice of oxide by exposing a possible candidate oxide to blue-green or shorter wavelength light under vacuum and observing whether a colour change occurs. In some cases, the oxide is doped with an alkali metal ion or proton to enhance the colour change. As described above, tungsten and molybdenum oxide, and oxides of other metals, and bronzes derived from such oxides, constitute a broad class of materials having potential application as Organic Photochromic sun block/cosmetics. These materials are well known in the context of Photochromic optical data storage media and they offer an excellent match with the very properties needed for cosmetic applications. This relates to the adaptation of the class of tungsten and molybdenum oxide-photochromics to sun blocking/dosimetry, energy storage, and cosmetic colouration (Farrer-Halls, 2007) 8. Photochromic Textiles Photochromism in textiles seems to be a long and complicated process. However it is rather a simple method to produce dyes and inks that can be transformed into fibre to create textiles that react to UV light. Generally the colour-change inducing light has a wavelength in the visible or near visible range. Other factors which may affect the colour of these pigments have been cited by Glyn Phillips (1997 pg 4) include, temperature, moisture, electricity, and gases. Photochromic pigments have previously been applied to textiles by coating processes. Such coated textiles have aesthetic qualities associated with the Photochromic pigments. However, these textiles are not sufficiently colour-fast and their aesthetic qualities are easily destroyed by soiling. Mentioned previously, each time the colour changes due to the reaction of UV light, the colour intensity drops to eventually no apparent change will take place. It has now been discovered that Photochromic pigments can be blended into resinous fibers, yarns or non-woven textiles without substantial loss of Photochromic properties. The dye used can be introduced into this process from a master pigment batch obtained by mixing chromogenic pigments with a low melting polymer. (Phillips, 1997 pg. 5) In the process, the dye is blended with resin (the primary resin) and the mixture is processed into textiles by spinning and drawing or by the spin-bond process. The textiles manufactured by this process are advantageous over the prior method coated products in that the resultant Photochromic pigment-containing textiles are more durable (e.g., more colour-fast), more brightly pigmented, easily laundered after staining (e.g., by soil, solvents or oil) and readily woven directly into the desired fashion. Generally, conventional methods of blending polymers and dyes and of extruding synthetic fibers or non-woven textiles are used in this process. Blending can be done in a fusion type metric mixer, a volumetric type mixer or a weight type mixer. (Phillips, 1997 pg 7) The processes that may be used to manufacture the fibers or non-woven textiles include spinning and drawing processes, continuous spin-draw processes and spun-bond processes for the manufacture of non-woven textiles. However, these processes are modified in accordance with the concept/product such that the Photochromic dye is not subjected to a temperature in excess of about 250 ° C. Preferably, the Photochromic dye is introduced into the polymer mixing process in a master batch of polymer-encapsulated dye pellets. Such Photochromic dye pellets have been described, Generally, the amount of pigment in the masterbatch is from 1 to 10%, preferably from about 2 to 7%. (Phillips, 1997 pg 8) The use of dye pellets in place of directly adding dye facilitates uniform mixing and enhances the the overall process. For use in the production of synthetic fibers or non-woven textiles containing Photochromic pigments, the master batch is mixed with a primary resin, which may or may not be the same as the carrier resin in the master batch. The amount of masterbatch blended with the primary resin ranges from 1:2 to 1:100. The resins used as the primary resin are those with a melting point between about 105 ° C. and about 215 ° C. (Phillips 1997 pg 8) Useful resins include, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyolefins copolymers and terpolymers. Additional fillers and pigments, such as talc, silica, titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, and conventional organic pigments, may be added either to the master batch or during the final fiber or non-woven textile manufacture process. 9. General Applications General applications of Photochromism can be divided into two categories: a) Those directly related to the change in absorption or emission spectra such as variable transmission optical materials, optical information storage, cosmetics, authentication systems, and flow field visualisation. b) Those related to other physical or chemical property changes such as refractive index, electric conductivity, phase transitions, solubility, viscosity, and surface wet ability. Photochromic can now be used in many areas of design. As photochromism has a wide range of solid states, from textiles to glass, (but only one function) most products which use this process are novel. Here are some examples; On garments to create novel products and promotional items like T-shirts On fabric/garment to print company logo / brand name to prevent duplication On garment which are used for party wear Thermometers and temperature indicators Security printing Food industry to indicate temperature of packaged food Photochromic substances can be found in inks, paints, papers and textiles. This property is a boon for scientists doing research on intelligent textiles and smart materials where they are making use of this property to store data on the surface of textile fabrics and polymer sheets. (Whereas the same property of some reactive dyes; is a bane for textile processors. The change in shade after dyeing creates unwanted problems in dyeing) An optical recording medium contains, on a base, one or more dyes and a polymer which forms liquid-crystalline phases. The information is written into the equally oriented liquid-crystalline polymer layer, for example by means of a laser. During this procedure, the polymer heats up locally to above a phase transition temperature. By cooling, the resulting change is frozen in the glass state. The information can be erased by applying an electric field and/or heating. The recording material permits high-contrast storage and possesses high sensitivity, good resolution and excellent stability. There are other chromatic properties called electrochromatism and thermochromatism of dyes that are affected by electric field and heat respectively. 10. Future Products The first Photochromic eye lens is being developed by scientists in Singapore, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the worlds first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute. This lens is another world first. The IBN has developed a Photochromic contact lens that will darken upon exposure to sunlight to protect the eyes against harmful ultraviolet radiation and glare. The lenses will conveniently adapt to changes in light and provide optimal indoor and outdoor vision. The IBN scientists also claim that this will help treat eye diseases by incorporating medication into the lens which can deliver medication effectively rather than eye drops. Another future product is Photochromic windows at home and workplaces. These windows will change colour when exposed to UV light from the sun, which will in return make home/workplace cooler and a more comfortable place to be in. Reversible Photochromic textiles have been around for 20 years, (mainly on novel garments) designers and scientists are trying to convert this technology into safety equipment and garments. The only drawback to this concept is that to make the product work during the night, when these safety garments are more needed. Photochromic relies on UV light to work effectively. Unless car head-lights radiate UV, this wont work, and car head-lights giving off UV light is a whole and completely different matter. As mentioned above in general applications, scientist can record and store data using Photochromic dyes. This data can be stored onto any material surface, but at the moment only being used on textiles. This technology has a huge amount of potential. Imagine the data on a personal USB device being stored onto a piece of fabric that the user can roll up into a pocket. The technology can be manipulated to give data back to the user through many objects. The user could watch/read the news on the users glasses; receive emails and correspondence and perhaps even text messages. The only drawback is responding to them. 11. Conclusion Photochromic technology has an immense amount of potential to create new products and in some cases a whole new lifestyle. Scientists can now manipulate Photochromic technology into most applications. Controlling the colour result of Reversible Photochromic is in itself a great achievement. Instead of a dull tone of grey, the colour can be anything from bright green to pink. Making Photochromic available in different materials, from glass to liquid, including textiles, makes this technology unique. Experimentation in novel-products, such as, T -Shirts that change colour when exposed to sun light, has enabled scientists to understand the chemical compounds and how to manipulate them to suit a concept. Now Photochromic technology is being used in more sophisticated ways, such as, the eye contact lens and storing data. This beak through in new technology can have fantastic results for future generations. It will affect the way people work and learn.

Music :: essays research papers

The Justice Department has intensified its antitrust investigation of the music industry's licensing practices, demanding that industry organizations and online companies submit a slew of documents related to Internet music services. The department recently began sending out "civil investigative demand" letters, hunting for evidence of collusion by record companies and affiliates to impede competition. The recipients of the letters include the Recording Industry Assn. of America, at least two Internet companies and MusicNet, an online music distributor jointly owned by three major labels and RealNetworks Inc. A copy of one letter obtained by The Times indicates that antitrust investigators are looking at all the terms proposed by the record companies and music publishers for their licenses, as well as the lawsuits they threatened, brought or settled over online music. Another issue being explored is the contentious negotiations over online radio services. The major labels control the copyrights to most of the recordings that consumers buy, while the publishers control the songwriters' copyrights. That control gives the labels and publishers the power to dictate which companies can offer interactive or on-demand music services online, as well as influencing their prices and terms of use. The growing demand for online music services has led the conglomerates that own the major record companies to create their own channels for distribution. AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI Group formed MusicNet, and Universal Music Group and Sony Corp. created Pressplay. The inquiry appears to revolve around two questions: Why are MusicNet and Pressplay the only ventures to receive licenses for a significant amount of major-label music? And what, if anything, did the labels do to inflate their royalties from online radio services? The record companies' defenders say the labels have been cautious in licensing, but they haven't colluded to limit competition. "I don't see it, and I haven't experienced it," said Robin D. Richards, chairman and chief executive of MP3.com, a maverick online music company that was acquired in August by Vivendi Universal and has a distribution deal with Pressplay. But executives at several online companies say they have had mixed experiences with the labels and that some act fairly and some don't. The result, they say, is that the labels' online ventures--MusicNet and Pressplay--are launching this year without any real competition. The industry's licensing practices also have drawn criticism from some influential lawmakers, including leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. In addition, the federal judge presiding over the industry's copyright-infringement lawsuit against Napster Inc.

Philippine Art Movement Essay

Sabel and the Dreamer Mark Justani created an oil painting entitled Abot Tanaw last 1997. In this painting, there’s a flying white kite and a floating person trying to reach for some sort of star in the night sky. The first thing that I noticed was the star the subject was trying to reach. It was quite noticeable because of the use of very bright colors on top of a dark night sky as background. The night sky was painted dark with highlights on the clouds. The subject was painted using bright colors as well. Shapes and lines were not very evident, though. There were no visible outlines on the subject. The only apparent shape was the diamond-shaped kite while the only evident lines were the stripes on the subject’s shirt. The dominant textures in the painting were soft ones, seen on the clouds, clothes and the skin of the subject. These elements of art give the feeling of being in a dream-like state. In the year 2002, Benedicto Reyes Cabrera, also known as Ben Cab, painted Homage to Sabel using acrylic paint on canvas. The name speaks of the subject, Sabel, a woman living in the streets. In this painting, she wears some sort of plastic material covering her body. Her face and hair was painted with brown and black colors respectively and white and grey for the covering on her body. I did not notice any shapes on the painting, yet I saw lines which were the apparent brushstrokes in every part of the subject. She smiles in the painting, drawing my eyes to her face. It was probably day time when this was rendered for the plastic seemed to be reflecting a lot of light. With the bright plastic and bright smile, the painting seemed to impart a warm, happy feeling. The colors used in the painting, Abot Tanaw, were well blended, making it look soft, giving the impression of a vague dream. Using bright colors on the subject made it stand out from the dark background. The absence of strong outlines and the use of light and shadow made the painting look 3 dimensional or realistic. The shadows show the contours of the body parts of the subject, adding to the realism of the subject. The presence of the flying kite on the night sky gives the impression of ironic events that usually happens in dreams since people don’t usually fly kites during the night. Meanwhile, Ben Cab used apparent brushstrokes for his painting of Sable, making it look rough, adding to the character of Sabel, a woman living in the streets. Sabel’s face was painted dark on top of a light background, also lifting it from the background, such as the subject of Abot Tanaw. Her plastic covering had a very apparent reflective texture because of the contrast between the shadows and lit areas, showing some bulkier areas. The covering also had stiff and flowing areas, like folded plastic, shown by both rigid brush lines and curved brush lines. The white plastic stands out from the red background as well. Abot Tanaw whispers â€Å"Dream.† I think what Mark Justani was trying to say that dreaming is the first and biggest step to achieving our goals, hence the nearness of the boy’s hand to the star. Without dreams, we cannot think of the possibilities we want to create for our lives. And to achieve our goals, we must believe in ourselves, as the subject believes that he can float and reach the star. The artwork speaks to me, telling me to believe in myself that I can be as great of an artist as Mark Justani is. I constantly bring myself down when I make mistakes or create a â€Å"bad† artwork because others bring me down as well. They constantly criticize my artworks: â€Å"where’s the other foot,† â€Å"she’s too fat,† and countless more. But, it is because of these critiques that I pursued to become better. The star is our goal, and the floating boy is each and every one of us. Mark Justani made this for us to see that he has reached hi s goal. He wants us to reach for ours too by believing in ourselves. Ben Cab oversteps the boundaries of classical or romantic art, whose subjects are usually beautiful women. He chose a very different muse, a woman living in the streets, using plastic or scraps of waste for clothes. Yet he was able to paint Sabel as real as she can be. Muses don’t have to be beautiful, nude ladies or women of high status. Society always dictates what is right or wrong, beautiful or ugly. I have found myself following these dictations, in art and in myself. I am used to following classical teachings regarding art. My subjects are usually people and animals, and I perfect them according to their anatomy, according to what I see with my eyes. I also dress myself according to what recent fashion magazines tell what is in. I perfect my artwork and myself according to what others see as beautiful. One thing that captivated me was Sabel’s smile. She smiles even though she has nothing. The painting imparts that we can be whoever we are and still be beautiful an d happy, paint whatever we want, see it beautiful and be happy about it. The boy in Mark Justani’s artwork looks a bit unappealing to me because, as I have mentioned, I grew up appreciating classical and romantic artworks. The face in not â€Å"ideal,† as classicists would say, yet I was able to appreciate its very Filipino rendering for it conveys an important message for us Filipinos that we can dream and try to reach for the stars. Sabel’s beauty portrayed by Ben Cab also changed my perception of beauty and happiness. Though I have the feeling that most people would not understand the portrait the way I have seen it, and think of it only as a portrait, it does not lack anything. Even though the subject is a repulsive person in real life, she is still meaningful. Society cannot tell us what we should dream of, how to be beautiful or how to be happy.

Classroom Analysis Essay

1. Why is a schoolroom a illumination of a greater society? A schoolroom is a illumination of a greater society because it is where all basic and formal acquisition begins ; where all the proper and acquisition of cognition takes topographic point. It is a portion of the society that engages in advancing and fixing scholars for more and broader undertaking. function and duty. The instructor or professor plays the function of the leader/monarch. while the pupils are the citizens. The citizens are supposed to follow the regulations and Torahs of the society ( category ) that the leaders ( instructors ) set. In every schoolroom. there are different sorts of people: Those who work hard. those who play hard. those who do both. those who do neither. In society. you besides acquire these sorts of people. There will besides likely be small coteries. in this instance. representative of little groups in society. Then there are the high category. those who fly past everything without enlistments. the in-between category who get by. and the lower categor y who are truly fighting to maintain up with the coursework. The instructor may offer remedial Sessionss. which can be compared to any public assistance packages that the authorities decides to manus out. 2. What are found in the schoolrooms that are similar to what can be observed in society? It can establish at that place the leader that serves as the instructor and the people serves as the pupils. All they do are similar with what can we see in the society. The instructor led the pupils to cognize about a certain thing that builds them to go a better person ; the same within a society a president. city manager. or a Brgy. Chairman leads its people to construct a harmonious relationship among others. The Discussion and interaction among the scholars and the instructors in advancing cognition ; integrity. cooperation and creativity in carry throughing given undertaking and duties ; holding a harmonious relationship on each and every member of the category and the installations and equipment for larning and development.