Architecture and Avant-garde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Architecture and Avant-garde - Essay Example The notions of avant-garde architecture provided with an underpinning of modern architecture. The avant-garde architecture gave birth to a German association of architects, designers, and industrials Deutscher Werkbund, meaning German Work Federation, which later on proved to be a springboard for modern industrial architectural designs. Moreover, the notions of avant-garde architecture have now raised the bar for modern architecture. The formation of Deutscher Werkbund in 1907 lead the way to the creation of the Bauhaus school, also originated in Germany in 1919, themed on the rejection of history and viewed architecture as a synthesis of art, craft, and technology. The idea behind architectural avant-garde was to abolish the superseded architectural designs of pre-World War I era and espouse the designs which suit the post-war era and new economic order. Avant-garde architecture paradigm has influenced modern architects and their approach to building design. This has propounded arch itectural themes such as structuralism, post-structuralism, rationalism, empiricism, and phenomenology. Avant-garde approach of architecture relies heavily on reducing buildings to pure forms, removing historical references, and ornament in favor of functionalist details. The United States of American has seen one of its greatest modern (avant-garde) architects in the shape of Ieoh Ming Pei. The Chinese-born American architect is regarded as an icon in modern architectural designs. He is the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.... Ieoh Ming Pei - American Avant-garde Architect The United States of American has seen one of its greatest modern (avant-garde) architects in the shape of Ieoh Ming Pei. The Chinese-born American architect is regarded as an icon in modern architectural designs. He is the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal, the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, the MIT Traveling Fellowship, and the Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship. Pei is deemed as an expert in the use of steel, grass, concrete, and stone for designing skyscrapers and modern business complexes (I. M. Pei Biography, Bio and Profile from Netglimse.com). The Pritzker Prize-winning (Pritzker Prize: architecture's equivalent of the Pulitzer) architect went to Saint John's University, Shanghai before attending University of Pennsylvania at the age of 18. He completed Bachelor of Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940 and was also a member of National Defense Research Committee. He was also trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Official biography from Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website). During the late 1940's Pei joined Webb and Knapp as a Director of Architecture. He worked on many large-scale real estate development projects. Later on, in mid-1950's, Pei started his own real estate development enterprise. Ieoh Pei became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954. During his more than 60-year long career as a modernist architect, Ieoh Pei designed some of the greatest models of modern architectures. They include: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado; Government Center Master Plan, Boston, Massachusetts; Society Hill Towers, Philadelphia, PA; 50 FAA air traffic control towers, in various locations throughout the US; National Airlines terminal at JFK

Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Journal opinion article - Essay Example In this interplay of a basic economic concept pertaining to supply and demand, many individuals on a smaller scale are gaining from the benefits of affordable oil. Nevertheless, this might as well be a temporary condition because of its more encompassing implications. The instability of prices for this major commodity caused the creation of the Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to control production and prices. The oil prices seem good on an individual level but this indicates an even bigger economic and political issue that entails the OPEC’s involvement. Yergin states that the decision not to reduce production greatly affects less affluent OPEC members compared to their more financially stable counterparts. Venezuela and Iran are among those countries suffering from the blow of plummeting oil prices. Member nations classified as developed countries are more resilient and have steady reserves to cushion the fall. â€Å"The OPEC members in big trouble are the â€Å"have-nots†Ã¢â‚¬â€those with small financial reserves and high government budgets† (Yergin para.9). Another equally prevailing factor in this issue is the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Notable is the fact that Russia is not a member of the OPEC and yet is the biggest producer of petroleum in the world. Almost majority of its budget comes from its oil revenue and in a country largely reliant on imported consumer goods, this spells trouble. Russia’s falling currency equates to the fact that it has to pay more to get the goods it needs. Together with other sanctions imposed on the country due to the on-going conflict, Russia is experiencing major economic woes (Yergin para.11). On a microeconomic level, the affordable prices of oil mean an increase in the purchasing power of individuals and other enterprises. Fuel at a lower cost means value for consumers felt prominently by vehicle owners who purchase it on a regular basis and manufacturers who use it

American Attitudes towards Homosexuals Research Paper

American Attitudes towards Homosexuals - Research Paper Example In the traditional sense, the discrimination against these individuals has mostly been based on gender bias and the majority perception of the existence of only two genders – that of the male and female sex. Despite this dominant gender perception, homosexuals have been persistent about their rights and about their place in society. The laws have also been firm on the application of the equal protection of rights and the due process of law, as far as these homosexuals are concerned. As a result, these homosexuals have taken on a more public presence and have become more visible to the general population. In a way, they have made their presence known in almost all aspects of American life. However, even as their public visibility has increased dramatically over the past several decades, prejudicial attitudes against them have remained persistent. This paper shall discuss American attitudes against homosexuals, discussing the minor claim that public visibility of homosexuals has increased. In detail, it shall discuss the ways in which homosexual visibility has increased, more particularly through the media and through the â€Å"Don’t ask, Don’t Tell† military policy. ... Most Americans have become embroiled heavily in the contrasting opinions on homosexuality with some of them favoring the rights of homosexuals to self-promotion and perpetuation, and the rest expressing their outrage for homosexuality based on religious and moral grounds. In general, studies evaluating attitudes against homosexuals yielded negative attitudes against these individuals (Besen and Zickling, p. 251). These results have been seen in studies carried out during the 1980s and 1990s, including large scale reviews and surveys during the 1990s (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). In recent years however, the attitudes towards homosexuals have improved with many Americans considering a more liberal approach towards civil rights (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). Many of them have been able to gain some form of social acceptance from the general populace; however, to some extent many of them have persistently encountered these social issues on acceptance from moralists. Various factors have be en considered in explaining these attitudes towards homosexuals. Individuals who have negative attitudes towards homosexuals are usually authoritarian and are very traditional in their views of sex roles and of minority groupings (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). These attitudes have also been spurred on by health concerns, with the percentage of HIV/AIDS sufferers of a higher rate among gay men. Such health concerns have further fueled the homophobic tendencies against homosexuals. Inasmuch as these negative attitudes towards homosexuals have been unfavorable, legal mandates have established provisions in order to protect the practice of civil rights among these homosexuals. Along with the more liberal ideals which many Americans

Review paper on three scientific articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review paper on three scientific articles - Essay Example In the short term, improving vehicle technology could reduce petroleum consumption by one third; reducing vehicle size could level off the 2% petroleum consumption annual growth rate, but it would take 20 years. In the long term, alternative fuels and new propulsion systems for hydrogen and electrical-powered cars may be developed; however, alternative fuels such as ethanol may have large environmental impacts, and hydrogen cars will require further advances in technology. The fourth option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, changing the way vehicles are used, may include designing specific urban-use vehicles with improved gas efficiency. The article "A Plan to Keep Carbon in Check" (Socolow & Pacala 50) explores ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions using available technologies. The authors state that the danger zone, in which irreversible climate changes take place, probably lies where the atmosphere has double the amount of carbon that it had before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. The article considers seven different "wedges" of the stabilization triangle (created from the difference in graphs of the carbon emission rates staying the same, and the emission rate leveling off in 50 years); each wedge represents lowering the carbon emission rate by 1 billion tons a year 50 years from now. For example, a wedge can be accomplished by not building 700 coal-fired power plants or by equipping 800 coal plants to capture and store carbon dioxide; two wedges can be accomplished by cutting buildings electricity use in half. Policies of setting a cost of $100-200 per ton of carbon emissions may help to yield seven wedges, but further policies may be needed, for instance, to encourage commercialization of renewable energy technologies and to prevent construction of high-carbon emissions plants. The article "The Rise of Renewable Energy" (Kammen 84) focuses on

Housing in a Free Market Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Housing in a Free Market Economy - Essay Example With the end of the housing blast of the past decade, the UK government under Gordon Brown wants to energise the housing sector of the economy. The government’s interference in housing and its authenticity in playing a role in the housing market through its policy initiatives is being seen doubtfully by experts as they perceive the ups and downs of the market functioning a part of the business cycle of regular intervals of boom and bust OR the government’s desire to meddle in the housing affairs just shows the obsession of the people to own a home of their own OR the government has started realising the importance of hosing market in the overall economy of the country, needs o be analysed (The Telegraph, 5 June 2008). The government can intervene in housing sector by planning its role through various choices and taking certain measures. It can initiate a national homes saving scheme by facilitating first-time home buyers to use their tax-free 5-years period deposits. It can allow parental help by making the contribution in the housing of their children tax-free. It can increase the stamp duty to a certain limit to minimise the impact to new buyers. The government can declare a stamp duty ‘holiday’ for a stipulated time to boost the housing market. It can loosen the regulatory grip so that home building activity becomes hyper. It can be lax in insisting on Home Information Packs, which are offered and paid by the sellers. The government can limit the number of ‘affordable homes’ on the upcoming housing locations to boost housing growth as house making is less profitable for making affordable homes (The Telegraph, 5 June 2008). Competition is very important in housing market to disrupt the rent-seeking tendencies by powerful builders. Rent seeking, laissez-faire and state intervention not only kills competition between the market forces but comes in the way of innovation. Government level intervention can bring about greate r transparency in the housing transactions (Hooper, 2009). Arguments in Favour of Government Intervention in Housing Sloman and Sutcliffe (2004) state a number of reasons inviting government intervention in business. To fulfil the aim of social efficiency, which is attained when marginal benefits become equal to marginal costs from production or consumption activity, government can interfere in the specific business market. Response of market to changes in supply and demand may be slow, which can impair the level of equilibrium and cause instability. A free market does not consider the needs of less-affordable people and therefore, the production of merit goods could be insufficient. Market irregularities can be corrected through taxes and subsidies. Taxes can be increased to equal the size of the marginal external cost and offering subsidy equal to the marginal external advantage. The government can regulate the market behaviour by making certain laws to be abided by for the benefi t of common man. These are some of the steps government can take to interfere in the market for any business activity. The current discussion on government role in housing market has gained momentum because of the global financial crisis, which has drawn the attention of policy makers in the UK government. It wants to rescue the housing and banking sector, as housing and finance are inter-related sectors; without getting loans sanctioned by the financial organisations, the home buyers cannot purchase houses and the housing industry cannot attain growth. On its part, the British government through the Bank of England made $352 billion available via the Special Liquidity Scheme to enhance the

Topics are in the instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Topics are in the instruction - Essay Example The American manufacturing companies, in trying to soften the impact of the economic crunch, resorted to several strategies aimed at restoring growth and profitability. One strategy adopted was â€Å"flexibility† which entailed shifting out their operations to areas within and outside the country which would minimize operational and labor costs. The target areas were those which had low-wage anti-labor policies in place. Thus, between the years 1969 and 1976, many of the major cities which previously housed large manufacturing plants found themselves at the edge of bankruptcy because of job and revenue losses brought about by the closures of these plants (Gibson 39). The growing revenue deficit brought about by manufacturing relocations and closures was aggravated by â€Å"outmoded capital facilities, declining tax bases, soaring demand for public services, debt ceilings and taxpayer rebellions† which resulted in the inability of these cities to prevent the widening gap between expenditures and revenue resources. To avert catastrophe, many of these cities resorted to increasing taxes, abolishing jobs, calling off or deferring construction projects, and even cutting services (Cooke 2007 pp 213-214). The HOPE VI program is a housing policy passed by the US Congress in 1993 which is aimed at alleviating poverty in public housing. It targets three areas: physical improvements; management improvements and; community services to address resident needs† (Hope VI, Public and Indian Housing). HOPE VI’s primary distinguishing feature is that it is not underpinned by distribution of residents of housing projects to various communities but to revive the housing projects themselves. The Housing & Urban Development’s budget for this project is pegged at $5.6 billion covering 231 areas all over the country (Arrighi & Maume 2007 pp79). To make HOPE VI housing projects viable, the project involves the

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

HRM - Essay Example onsibility for any defeat, injury, or damage resultant from, or occurring in association with, the use of in order contained, described, disclosed, or referred to in this account. The research work starts with the foreword of human resource management. The task will try to center on the idea of human resource management strategies and human resource behavior of McDonalds eating place ltd, the association where I am working. The object of this assignment is to connecting the models of HR strategies with McDonalds and summarising HR behavior like presentation management, incentive and rewards and HR planning. For the reason of HRM strategy I am applying the best practise and best-fit replica with McDonalds. Furthermore, it explains the human resource activities of McDonalds eating place ltd and finish with an suitable conclusions and recommendations that can get better the HRM strategy, HR behavior and the role of the HR meaning within McDonalds eating place Ltd in arrange to achieve greater than before organisational presentation. According to the yearly report of Macdonald human resource management is a strategic and logical approach to the management of an organisations the majority valued possessions: the people operational there who individually and together add to the achievements of its object with the great competence. The aim of HRM is to help the organisation to attain success through the help of public. HRM strategy is an approach for creation decisions on the tactics of the organisation (Dowling P.J, Welch D.E, 2004). These tactics are concerned with the worker relationship and its staffing, training expansion, performance management, rewards and worker strategies. The basic behavior followed by HRM is that of as long as services to internal clientele. These include middle management team head, line managers and employees. The services cover all the aspects of HRM like human resource planning, staffing and selection, worker development, worker rewards,