Events Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Events Strategy - Essay Example To do these, Nokia forged tie ups with partners which include Microsoft Communicator Mobile, towards the enhancement of unified communications proposition (Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia Debuts 2010). As a result, new applications for new handsets have been released, initially available to certain models such as E72 and E52. On top of these, there are also new features that aim at achieving customer convenience – the touch screen feature similar to Iphone, mobile internet browsing using the latest technologies, development of Ovi maps, among others. These consumer-friendly features are what drive the company to further work on its Marketing, Advertising and Promotional activities to reach the target market. Half of the job is to continue developing the brand, while half is to continue developing the market reach through advertisements and events. Nokia was a paper and rubber business back in the 1800s, eventually transforming into a cable and electronic business during the first decades of the 1900s. In 1979, it focused on the mobile phone making business (Story of Nokia 2010). However, it was in 1992 that they made a strategic decision to focus on Telecommunications by launching its 2100 series which sold approximately 300% more than the target (Nokia History 2010). Nokia remains to be the world’s top selling handset manufacturer with market share of 35% versus over ten competitor brands during the first quarter of 2010. However, this reflects a decline of 1.2% from last year’s sales, presumably from the decline in sales of their high end phones. What constitutes the current market share is the presence of its mid end phones that offers both benefits and cost efficiency (Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 17% In First Quarter 2010). As such, with the continuous product development of the other handset manufacturers, Nokia is pressured to maintain market stature as the leading company. Nokia

Debate over globalisation Essay Example for Free

Debate over globalisation Essay Currently in international circles there is a great debate over globalisation and whether it is a force for good or bad. The statement oversimplifies the matter, of course. But the issue of globalisation and our collective response to it promises to define who prospers and who does not well into the 21st century. Globalisation has positive and negative aspects. On top of its positive aspects comes the tremendous development of new information and communication technology, triggers in economic growth through increased trade and job creation around the world. This economical growth can be illustrated by the fact that the world real GDP grew from US$2 trillion to US$28 trillion, which means an increase of 1400%. On a per capita basis, this means an increase of US$614 to US$4908, an increase of about 800%. The quality of life in developed countries has increased However, anti-globalisation supporters affirm that although there was an economical growth, this was not well distributed throughout society, and that over the past 150 years, the rich countries are developing at a faster rate than the poor countries, increasing the difference between them. This happens because dealing with globalisation in a capitalist society, there will always be winners and losers. The winners will be the nations which have more skill, technology, information, power and money, whilst the losers will be the poor countries, which export primarily goods and rely on the rich countries to obtain technology and manufactured goods. As a term, globalisation means different things to different people. To some, it is a purely economic trend, the result of the market system unleashed on a worldwide scale, a century-long process that has now been vastly accelerated by the fall of Communism and the relaxation of other restrictive economic practices. As has the impact and growth of globalisation changed, so has its meaning during the last decades. But what is certain is that globalisation is not something of today or yesterday. Among the so many given definitions, Martin Wolf defines globalisation as a â€Å"journey, but toward an unreachable destination, the globalised world. A globalised economy in which, neither distance nor national borders impede economic transactions. A world where the cost of transport and communication were zero and the barriers created by differing national jurisdictions had vanished†. (Wolf, 2001: 178). But globalisation is a very wide notion, which embraces the social, cultural, and political interdependency of states. Globalisation refers also to the integration and interaction between different people and nations. Take the European Union as an example, where the member states share the same democratic values and norms, or the convergence and similarities of the constitutions of the member states, which could lead to a European law or constitution. To others, it defines the ever widening process of international interchange and interconnection that can be witnessed in so many aspects of life, whether the casual observation that top musical artists draw increasingly on other cultures for their melodies and rhythms, the news that former enemies are now participating in joint peacekeeping missions, or the realisation that there are suddenly many more foreign faces and accents in your hometown than before. No matter what the definition, globalisation is dynamic and real, causing numerous and often radical changes in all but the most remote places. Depending on your point of view, circumstance and prospects, the process can be seen as hugely positive or grossly negative. Those who defend globalisation say it is bringing prosperity to untold millions around the world, breaking down national and cultural barriers, and helping to speed the general process of peace-building. Critics say that the chaotic manner in which market forces have scaled up to the global level has unleashed a destructive whirlwind that treats workers callously, serves too often to further impoverish the poor at the expense of the rich, and wreaks vast amounts of environmental destruction. They say that its side effects are equally horrific, ranging from the spread of AIDS and drug abuse to the creation of a world monoculture that destroys local traditions and squelches diversity. At the 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, nations of the world took note of this dualism: Globalization, which is a consequence of increased human mobility, enhanced communications, greatly increased trade and capital flows, and technological developments, opens new opportunities for sustained economic growth and development of the world economy, particularly in developing countries. Globalization also permits countries to share experiences and to learn from one anothers achievements and difficulties, and promotes a cross-fertilization of ideals, cultural values and aspirations. At the same time, the rapid processes of change and adjustment have been accompanied by intensified poverty, unemployment and social disintegration. Threats to human well-being, such as environmental risks, have also been globalized. Inasmuch as the pain caused by some aspects of globalisation is undeniable, the real issue is whether the negative effects of its sweeping processes can be ameliorated and the positive effects enhanced. Because in the opinions of some, the forward march of globalisation is unstoppable. The notion concept of sovereignty refers to the three-fold capacity of a state, which is the â€Å"absolute supremacy over internal affairs within its territory, absolute right to govern its people, and freedom from any external interference in the above matters† (Wang, 2004: 473). So a state is sovereign if it has the ability to make and implement laws within its territory, and can function without any external power and assistance, and doesn’t acknowledges any higher authority above itself in the world of independent states. From the above definition one can draw the conclusion that either a state can b e sovereign or not, since sovereignty is defined as the absolute supremacy and right of the government in a given state. A realist like Steven D.Krasner agrees on the collapsing autonomy of states but deny the impact of globalisation on nation state, which could possibly lead to the death of state sovereignty. He argues, â€Å"Those who proclaim the death of sovereignty misread the history. The nation state has a keen instinct for survival and has so far adapted to new challenges, even the challenge of globalization† (Krasner, 2001: 20). He also argues that globalisation is not a new challenge or phenomena. Viewed from a criminological point, â€Å"the perceived normality of high crime rates, together with thee widely acknowledged limitations of criminal justice agencies, have begun to erode one of the foundational myths of modern societies: namely, the myth that the sovereign state is capable of providing security, law and order, crime control within its territorial boundaries† (Garland, 1996: 448). The notion of legitimate organized violence monopoly, which is of great importance for the internal order as well as for the foreign accountability of a state, is challenged by the international criminality. Since states cannot provide security for their citizens and are not capa ble of guaranteeing internal order, one of the fundamental elements of state sovereignty is undermined and questioned. The negative effects of globalisation can be softened only through new and higher levels of international cooperation and consultation, filtered through a new system of moral values that puts human welfare and social justice ahead of the predominantly materialistic paradigm currently in vogue. Call this global governance. Call it world government. But one way or the other, the forces of globalisation will require the creation of some sort of international super authority, one that can ensure that human rights and workers prerogatives are upheld, and that the environment is protected, as globalisation proceeds. Another factor that is observed is that the number of poor people (people living with less than US$1 per day) has increased, and reached almost 1.2 billion people, which is almost one fifth of the world’s total population. This is partly caused by the increase in global population, but also due to the distribution of the money. The ratio of income between the worlds twen ty percent richest and twenty percent poorest has increased from 30:1 to 78:1. Many people also question the issue of globalisation creating more jobs when multinationals establish new factories in foreign countries. Their argument is that although more jobs are created, and that this reduces the unemployment, these jobs don’t require any skill and workers have very bad working conditions, working long hours and receiving little money. And as the workers have no other working options, and working in these factories is their only source of income, they can’t do anything else, but work to try to survive. Besides this, the unemployment levels are very high, which means that there is always someone available to substitute workers that aren’t happy with what they are being offered. These facts make us think in a way of making globalisation fairer, and giving developing countries the chance of benefiting more from it. So that this can happen, there are many things that need to be changed. First of all the development needs to be more focused on the people, and not only in financial reasons. Fairer rules and deeper partnerships should be done between developed and developing countries so they can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Also one of the most important things to ensure that nations can benefit the most from globalisation is that a powerful, democratic and more effective UN helps to control the spread and paths of globalisation. From this we can conclude that globalisation is one of the most important factors of the new century, and that it will continue spreading and growing all around the world, reaching the furthest corners of the planet. The question of whether it is good or bad can never be answered completely, and there isn’t a right or wrong answer, because there will always be good and bad sides to it. At present globalisation seems to be beneficial for some and detrimental to others. For globalisation to be beneficial to the majority depends on how it is treated and controlled. Globalisation could be very beneficial to society as a whole if managed correctly.

Elements in Designing Public Spaces

Elements in Designing Public Spaces Introduction: Now a days more attention is given on to the human dimension in the city planning and the need for quality in the public spaces. Importance of public spaces is universally accepted by one and all. The question is what makes public space more successful? The designer is trying to give best model of good public spaces. However we find that many times well designed public space also doesnt generate good public response. In this essay an attempt is made to study a place evolved organic growth through accumulation and flourishes of public at large design public space to know which place is more successful. Question: What makes a successful public space? Have people who use it had any role to play in making it a successful? What role a designer can play in making a space successful? Public space defined: If one has to define public space in one liner, it means space for public at large.According to public space book, public zrealm includes all the space accessible to and used by people (p.111).So we can say it is a space which is made for people and it is made by people. As Loukaitou sideris and Banerjee (1998, p.175) observe: public life involves relatively open and universal social contexts, in contrast to private life, which is intimate, familiar, shielded, controlled by the individual, and shared only with family and friends. Public space is the place where one likes to spend more time not doing anything special and enjoy surroundings. This can be libraries, community centers, streets, plaza and parks. The dimensions of public space are physical and social. (p.109) Physical means space- which occur social activities. These spaces may be or may not be privately owned. For example hospitals, theaters etc are privately owned public space. The public space can be external or internal and it might be quasi external and internal space. (p.111) William White (1980) in his study in New York gave more emphasis on small scale open spaces in towns, squares, piazzas, plazas, pocket parks and street as the important public space, which are external public spaces. Primitive man moved from place to place in search for food and shelter. Agriculture helped him to settle at place for security and protection. Family life and sense of ownership were the important factor which weighed with him for the establishment of settlement. Communal living gave rise to social interaction. He then stated exchanging goods and services with others in the community for his personal and family need and here started business and commerce. Good and bad events in the community brought inmates closer and this is how, a life outside the private house originated. Initially no particular space was identified as public space. Shady place under the tree on the outskirt of a village or habitat served the purpose. Common well near the village, lake side land, riverbank or the market place was the place where people of all walks of life gathered and discussed their serious and non serious issues. Still in villages people use to gather at the Chauraha of the village. Chauraha is the space where the community meeting takes place in village. It might be under tree or open space at the junction of street. Here they did their routine activity, enjoyed the community life. This was the most primitive public space created by the people without any deliberation or active participation. Market places, squares, plazas and gardens are the extended versions of such places by evolution. All these places have grown organically by evolution. The man is the most inquisitive and innovative creature on earth. He has the ability to think, evaluate, accept the good and forego the bad. These mental faculties have made it possible for a man to improve by evolution. The change may not seem in a short time, in the longer run, the change is substantial. By evolutionary process man has tried to make his habitat more and more suited. Man has improvised his society by accumulation, adaptations and additions. Henry Sheftoe has raised a question can we design such places at the drawing board? Critics of formal architecture and planning such as Bernard Rudofsky (Architecture without Architects) and Christopher Alexander (The Timeless Way of Building, A Pattern Language) suggest that we are better of growing good places and spaces, rather than trying to build them from a blueprint. Henry Sheftoe has said I think we have a lot to learn about how plans and natural environments grow, evolve and adapt to local circumstances and then to mirror this in the development of the built environment. What do we mean by a city or town? Is it just a place of land where houses have been built for human settlement? Or it is a living organism of people staying there. If one knows the basic different between house and home, he will appreciate this important difference. A building may be just a structure of four walls and roof for an outsider but for a person residing there is more than that because he is attached to the same sentimentally. This sense of attachment to a public place works at macro level. Therefore, when we talk of evolved public space, they are the places created be people for themselves to suit their taste, culture and tradition. The city is discussed in barren eviscerated terms and in technical jargon by urban professional as if it were lifeless, detached being. In fact it is a sensory, emotional, lived experience. (Landry 2006,p.2). When a city or town is to be planned from the scratch, the designer can defiantly give his best with the help of his design input. He provides for the well designed public spaces for the common use and the same will be used by people who will stay there. But this is not the easy case every time. How well the people will accept a public space if it is designed without taking in to account their taste and needs? It may fail through it may be the most ideal design situation. Sennet (1973) in his critical statement said they have failed, not for lack of technical expertise, but because they have lot had the power to be adaptive over the course of time p100. Barnad (1994) in his account of How Building Learn suggested that good architecture is nor necessarily produced by design specialists but by the spontaneous and continuous activity of the people. Christopher Alexander asks why our modern cities so often lack a sense of natural growth, and goes on to suggest a set of rules and guidelines by which we can inject that organic character back into our high streets, buildings and squares. People who stay at a place, have by their long association to the place and style of living, developed an affinity towards the same and material change in that space will never be accepted by them. Spaces are for people to suit the designed place. Such attempts will arouse condemnation from the people and will result in failure of the space to serve the purpose. One can treat the body but not the soul. What is successful public space?: Successful public space are the place which is universally accepted by the community, where one can see and enjoy multiple activity and accessible by all kinds of member of society from children to aged. According to Francis Tibbalds, successful public spaces consist of rich, vibrant, mixed use environment that does not die at night or at the weekends and is visually stimulating and attractive to residents and visitors alike. Successful public spaces contain overlapping use of different activity and where person can join and participate without any hesitation. It must be a safe place. This is the place where society like to meet daily and enjoy the pollution free atmosphere. Henry Sheftoe has used word convivial for a successful public space. He says convivial is defined in dictionaries as festive, sociable, jovial and fond of merry- making; usually referring to people, but it can equally apply to a situation. He says without such convivial spaces, cities, towns and villages would be mere accretions of buildings with no deliberate opportunities for casual encounters and positive interactions between friends or strangers. How to evaluate public space? Despite the fact that the public space is important for good urban living, question still remains, what places are good or bad. Evolution of public space is a subjective issue and decisions may vary from person to person. Here we are not concerned with the decision form the designers point of view, but only from the point of vew of an individual common man on the street. Experts in the subjects have given different parameters for evaluating the success of a public space. However project for public space have after many case studies and surveys propounded four important parameters and they are access and linkages, comfort and image, user and activities, sociability. All other parameters given by others are more or less covered within the sweep of the aforesaid four issues. Therefore in this essay, success of the public spaces is examined by applying these four parameters only. Accessibility is most important factor which affects the willingness of the users. People are ready and willi ng if the space is nearby, in the neighborhood or approachable easily. Comfort and images decides the attraction of people. According to book Image of the City (Lynch, p.9), the quality in a physical object which gives it a high probability to evoking a strong image in any given observer. Good comfort of space also create good image on the mind. Comfort is the abstract perception in the minds of the user and good seating, lighting, mobility, traffic free environment are the physical criteria. People coming to certain public space have different reasons to come and therefore multiple activity options on the space make it more convivial. Mixed used activities generate maximum public response. If space is used by only one type of users, other users may not find place interesting. Space must provide welcoming environment to all the residents at all the time. Activities in short are the reasons to visit the place, they will interact and communicate with each other. They will love the company and will have sympathy for others. Tolerance, compassion and love are the natural fallout of a good public space. Why Banaras Ghats and Pershing park? Case study of ghat in Banaras as evolved public space: Banaras is perhaps the oldest living city in the world. It is said that (singh, 1993) city has been lived since 4th century. According to Mark Twain (1898) Banaras is older than history, older than tradition, older than legend and looks twice as old as all of them together. It is situated on the bank of holy river Ganga. According to author P. B. Singh (1993), From the ages this river front of Ganga is used by people of India as a place for performing rituals and holistic activity from birth to death. Visitor from all over the world make a point to visit Banaras either to perform Hindu rituals or be witness to them. River bank of Ganga and especially the Ghats has been acclaimed as public places and their existence since time immemorial does make it evolved public place. It is a classical example of evolved public place. According to the Merriam Websters online dictionary (2009) Ghat means A broad flight of steps that is situated on an Indian riverbank and that provides access to the water especially for bathing. Banaras is bound on the east by river Ganga which flows from north to south and while bending continuously makes a beautiful crescent like riverfront. The left bank is flanked by city while right bank is plain and undeveloped. The right bank lands are reserved for agriculture and no construction is permissible. People of Banaras are strongly related to river. The river nurtures their life. It is respected mother like. All the people living there regularly visit the ghat for bathing and routine. Earlier the ghats were muddy platforms to sit near the river. However by evolution the muddy platforms are regenerated as stepped ghats. Most of these ghats have been improved during the 17th and 18th centuries. (Singh, 1993). High contours and different water levels in the river during different seasons, the stepped embankment -ghat is perhaps the best type of river front. There are almost 84 ghats along the river in span of 5 kms. However study is confined to Dasashvamedh ghat, Darbhanga ghat, Munshi ghat, Ahilyabai Ghat. Accessibility and linkage to the edge of the river (Ghat): Study area Ghats are interconnected with each other and one can walk from one to other easily. Access to the ghat is little bit mysterious and confusing. But in plan, one can observe that all roads in the city directly lead to the ghats. Ghats are connected with two types of street. Dasashvamedh road is the Commercial Street and main approach for visitors. Other streets are Secondary Street and connect internal part of the city to the ghats. Other clear accessibility to the ghats is from the river, which is very clear and inviting. Transit points are the main bazaar street. Ghat is accessible on foot and by the boat from the river. The overall experience from city to the Dasashvamedh Ghat: From city to the Ghat is a human scale. Person cant perceive the Ghat while moving from the street. River is not visible from the inner parts of the town. Arrival to the Ghats is quite surprising. Organic development of the building on the edge of river diverts the users movement towards Ghat at certain angle and cut the vision from the distance. The experience from Dasashvamedh Ghat to the city: This experience is quite opposite to one stated above. At the ghat edge buildings are monument scale, which create image of the city from the river and image of skyline gives clear interpretation of activity on the edge. From the ghat one can observe whole city skyline because of the topography of the city. This scale slowly disappears while moving towheads the city. Dasashvamedh road: Dasashvamedh road is a main connection between Kashi Vishvanath temple and the Dasashvamedh Ghat. The whole street contains commercial life and full of mix use character houses. Surprisingly street has two way roads with divider at the center but does not give access to cars. Only two wheelers can pass on this road. The flow of people on this route is so high and black head crowd leads everyone towards the Ghat. At the junction of the Ghat street goes down in slope. Secondary Streets: These streets connect Munshi Ghat, Darbhanda Ghat and Ahilyabai ghat which are mainly attached with residential area. These streets are quite narrow and flanked by row of 3 to 4 storied residential houses with small shops on the ground floor. Street creates shadow on the road all the time which gives good comfort all the time of the day to user. Cows and dogs also stroll in these narrow streets and pedestrian found comfortable. Dark street have over looking spaces from the houses create secure and safe walk for users. At the junction of Chaustti Bazaar streets widen up and that generate community activity with the help of Chaurah (cross road) and temple or shrine. Here edges are the mediator who play major role to generate public spaces at the certain intervals. Accessibility to the Ghats is crowded and appears mess to a designer. On the linkage of the ghat and street, small temples and stalls which make it porous and active in nature. Crowd on such points make the movement on foot also difficult. Edge of the Ghat: Edge of the Darbhanga Ghat and Munshi Ghat are quite dead because of the fort wall but still we can observe activities there. On Dasashvamedh Ghat, shops and temples make edge quite porous and live. Comfort and Image: Ghats have its own individuality on the bank of rive Ganga. Here we can really appreciate what Kevin Lynch thought about the city image (1981, p.1 ) At every instant, there is more than eye can see, more than ear can hear, sitting or a view waiting to be explored. According to Rishma Parikh (2000, p.39) the nature of the placeis sensorial as well as physical. Both, physical environment and the manners of its consumption are responsible for an image. Ghats are very unique in nature. The steps on the contour make it full of life and activities. One can notice that number of people, mostly tourist are busy with cameras taking photograph. But those busy in their routine activities of bathing, praying, performing rituals are unperturbed. The space is full of people from all walks of life. The stone steps provide sitting for people as well as provide accessibility to river. Here Ghats face east direction so direct sun light will be there in the morning hours but in let afternoon and evening hours, monumental scale edge gives shadow on the steps. People use umbrella to gain shadow in the morning hours on the platform of the ghat. At places, bottom of the trees is converted into platform to sit. Here at the Dasashvamedh Ghat we can see police station but still safety is the issue because of the overcrowding. The buildings on the steps create overlooking spaces, which help to reduce issues of safety. City of Banaras is very congested in nature. But as one enters the Ghat, one can feel openness and freedom of space, which is the main attraction for the people to come at ghat. Uses and activity: The Ghats generate very strong religious bond because of devotees holding central activity power. All ghats are used for ritual activities. In the morning people gather here for bathing and Puja, in the afternoon people are busy doing rituals and evening hours see people attending Arati (offering with lighted lamps) and Puja. They take bath in the river. In the afternoon time we can see the people doing different ritual activity behind the death of the people. Apart from the rituals we can see children playing on the platform of the Ghats. Visitors are roaming around and taking photos. Even these activities are also daily on the Ghats. In the special occasions the Ghats used as Emphi Theater, where different live concerts are arranged. On festival days, special Arati is done. Ghats have multi layer activity throughout the day. On the edge of the Dasashvamedh Ghat we can find small temples which conduct religious discourses. The small stalls around the Ghats sell many items which attract not only the local public but also the tourist alike. Small idols, flower, scented sticks etc. Even visitor can take a ride in the bat during the day and night time full moon boat ride is very famous to enjoy the river. This is perhaps the best place where one can see culture and tradition of India. It is India in small scale. Sociability: Sociability of the place is clearly seen. Activities here bring the people together. Devotees and priest sit together and have rituals, which is the back bone activity on the ghat. We find people of all walks of life from beggars to businessman freely interacting with each other. Rich give aims to poor. Bhandaras are the special events on festival days. This is the best example of community participation on the ghat. Even one can observe animals like, cow, goat and man/woman sitting together very comfortably. Visitors and even foreign tourist are seen involved in local activities. Barber shop, tea stalls, palmist, horoscope reader, singer, musician and serpent are commonly seen here and people enjoy their presence and company. Ghats are the best example of socialization between people of different culture and tradition. Space around the Ghats is quite messy and dirty but it doesnt dissuade public to going there. All big events in the town are held here. The Ghats not only have religious importance but are the life line of the people of neighborhood. Kumar says about people of Banaras in her article, their bowels would simply not move in closed spaces, nor would they consider themselves clean from bathing under tap, which shows social attachment of people to the space. Take away ghat from Banaras and it would be lifeless. Ghats are the best examples of democratic places. Neelakshi Joshi has rightly said, the ghat is thus the common bath, the largest open space, meditation center and the biggest pub in town for culture and social encounter and has been so far centuries untold. The ghats of Banaras stand as inspiration for bringing together all men-painters, ascetics, beggars, washer men and kings to the same platform. Natures bounty is not considered the prerogative of the man who can afford the property by the river. It is rather a thing of joy for all to be enjoyed together. Case study of Pershing Square: Site is situated in Los Angeles. City has storing grid pattern and this park is fitted in block size of the grid. This park was designed 1866 and number of time it was redesigned. The study is based on the last design which is done in 1994 by Ricardo Legoretta and Laurie Olin. Before in 1866 it was a formal Spanish plaza and then it was reinvented in 1911, 1928, 1950 and 1994. The number of redesigning of plaza shows transformation of the city from time to time. It is suggestive of the lack of community connection. If local people are attached to a place, they would have stuck to basic form of the space. In 1951 government rebuilt the area and proposed underground parking with the reason to reduce car congestion of the area. Accessibility and image to the park: The Pershing square is an island having road grid on all four sides. The streets which are adjacent to the square are south Olive Street, West 5th and 6th lane and south hill street. Park is accessible from all roads. Streets act as a divider between edge of adjacent building and park. Buildings around the streets are like west 6th lane, South Olive and Hill Street. Have activates like dominos pizza, restaurants, cafà ©, hotels, offices and international jewelry center. This street faà §ade seems very active and porous in nature. The West 5th street faà §ade is little dead and have parking lot as well. Traffic on this street in day time is quite high. People use this street as a pathway to go from one place to another. People do not linger here on this space for long time. At the edge of the square have entry for the underground parking. It has different color wall on the edge, which distract the vision of people. One can find public transport at the edge of the park. On all stree ts, bus stop to access the park. Pershing square metro station is located nearby at five minutes walk. Comfort and image to the park: At the first glance of the parks modern architecture generate good impression on the mind. Usage of the bright color creates aesthetic excitement. Even good use of architectural elements can be seen inside the park. Park has good comfortable arrangement of seating. Pam tree in the park give better shadow and give proper comfortable area to stand. The steps around the water body give comfortable sitting to the user. Usage and activity at the park: The park has scientific architectural elements like solar system waterfall, several constellation maps on floor, telescopes. But this element does not generate activates. At lunch time, people serving in nearby places come here to take their lunch. Most of the time the park is sterile. The development authority conduct good events on the park to attract people like ice scatting, musical evenings etc. but after the activity park seem dead. Park is used only by homeless people. Sociability: The development authority designed it to make a social and democratic space. But it has not come up as such. It has miserable failed to serve is purpose. Analysis: Case study shows that ghats are conveniently located on bank of River Ganga. The river runs north to south and city has organically grown along the river. All the roads lead us to Ghat and accessibility is good form proximity point of view. However city is congested. Roads are narrow and mess. Ghats remain crowded all the time and movement is not comfortable. Cleanliness is another negative factor. However from the point of varied of activities, it is a successful place in as much as the place is bubbling with varied activities throughout the day. Socialization is utmost on this space. If the success of the ghat is to be evaluated y applying parameters suggested by the Project for Public Space, the rating would be poor. However, clumsy accessibility and poor comfort level do not deter the people from socializing on this space. The reverence, people of Banaras has shown is enormous to river Ganga. River Ganga is the life line of people o Banaras and Ghats are the organs without which life at Banaras cannot be thought of. Social attachment of the people of Banaras to river Ganga is is enormous and that has made the ghats a great success despite all odds in terms of good design elements. Ghats are present day riverfronts. However, care has been taken by those who developed ghats on river to ensure that the river is not canalized by embankments as we see at other places. The crescent shaped curve of the river is also well maintained showing their respect for the river. Ghats are perhaps the best example of evolved places. Second case study of Pershing Square Park gives an opposite proposition. Accessibility to park is good. Comfort level and image of the place is also good. Aesthetic design of the park should normally arouse public response. The development authorities have inserted all good design elements to make the park success. However we find that public participation at the place is very poor. The park has failed to achieve its objective. Either people are not interested in the activities it offers or the people have no attachment with the space. The combined study of the two places leads us to conclude that over and above the four parameters suggested by Project for Public Space, there is one more factor which is vital to make a public space convivial and it is -emotional attachment of people to its place. Presence of this factor alone can make a space successful even if no some other counts it may not be convivial. Emotions emanate from long unbroken social and cultural bond. People make places by their accumulations of adaptations and additions. Designer can certainly give his inputs on first three counts of accessibility, comfort and activities but he is helpless on the last parameter in as much as he can solicit public response. He cant make people use this space. Public sentiments are the most vital issue which makes the place successful. Without public response, the space will be sterile and miserably fail to achieve its true objective. The authorities, therefore, should concentrate more on improving evolved public spa ces by increasing the accessibility and comfort level and by providing diverse mix use activities. Evolved public spaces can be made more convivial with little work in this direction. Findings: People make places. Unless the space stimulates the overwhelmed response from one and all, the public space meat for them cannot become successful. The public spaces evolved by accumulation of adaptations and additions by users themselves are more convivial and people regularly use such places though they are not encouraging from the designers point of view. The success of particular public spaces is not in the hands of the designer. His best design model can fail if people do not respond favorably. Design exercise fails if it does not uphold the sentiments of the people using them. Evolved public space can be easily made more comfortable and lively by the efforts of the designer who keeps in mind the sentiments of the users.

Kurt Donald Cobain :: Biography

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20, 1976 in Hoquaim, a small town south-west of Seattle. When he was about six months old he moved to Arberdeen and spent most of his childhood there. His parents divorced when he was seven years old. Cobain did not handle the divorce well. Cobain said that he never felt loved or secure again (Ronson, 1996). He became anti-social and withdrawn after the divorce. Cobain was passed around to several relatives and even lived under a bridge at one point. After Cobain’s parent’s divorced, he lived with his mom in a trailer park for a year. Cobain then lived with his father in Montesano. His father made him participate in sports. Cobain would intentionally not perform well while playing sports to get back at his dad. Cobain decided to learn how to play guitar instead of playing sports. He enjoyed reading and doing other artistic activities. Cobain’s interests made him a target for bullies. (Wilson, 1996) Cobain was a sickly child. â€Å"As an infant, he suffered from chronic bronchitis and scoliosis, and, by the age of seven, he was being prescribed both Ritalin and sedatives to allow him to sleep† (Headlam, 1996). Cobain complained of burning stomach pain that kept him from participating in gym class. In 1985 Cobain started the band Nirvana. The band went through several changes before finally becoming Nirvana. In 1987 the band was playing in several locations. In 1988 the band landed their first record deal. Cobain’s music mainstreamed the grunge sound. Nirvana rose very quickly to become stars. â€Å"Nirvana was, briefly, the most popular band in the world largely because of the cult of personality that grew around Cobain† (Headlam, 1996). After Nirvana released the album Nevermind, Cobain married Courtney Love. â€Å"Love shared Cobain’s penchant for self-destruction, but none of his ambivalence about fame. Together they went on a drug taking spree that resulted a few times in Cobain nearly dying and Love taking heroin during her pregnancy† (Headlam, 1996). Cobain claimed that the birth of his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, made him a different man. He claimed that he was a doting father and husband. It is believed that the drug use continued though. â€Å"On March 5th , 1994 Cobain was rushed to the hospital in a coma after an unsuccessful suicide bid in which he washed down about fifty prescription painkillers with champagne† (Ronson, 1996). The attempt was not made known to many people.

Our Visual Culture in Arts and Crafts Essay

Ours is a culture of spectacle, which is to say that we thrive on visual entertainment of all sorts (Mulvey, 2002). We love films, television, drama, ads, in addition to the art of the land expressed in art galleries throughout the world. We thrive on these visual entertainers, and so there is a huge industry involved in marketing visual thrills and using them on the people for a purpose. Visual culture is meant to influence the individual that enjoys it, so therefore advertisements add meaning to our lives by informing us about what is new and what is not in the all-important market of goods and services. Experts study the impact of their visual messages to people. In return for their efforts they have come to know that people are influenced by visual messages even if these messages last only a few seconds in an advertisement; and that the mind is like a long-term-memory photographer that may somehow retain everything in the subconscious part of itself. Henceforth are born marketing campaigns selling billions worth of goods and services to humanity. Films, too, cost billions of dollars. They, too, rely on the visual medium to make a living. What is more, films are seen as a necessity of modern life in terms of the culture that they allow ordinary individuals to relate to. Yes, films allow us to feel like we are a part of the culture they represent. Through films, humanity can connect. Connection and communication are the only essential facets of the media (that is, all mediums of communication). Visual art is special not only because it is related to the five senses of humanity; but also because it reveals a culture of science and imagination that we are invited to feel a part of. Every medium of communication is important in the modern world. The Internet plays an important part in the visual culture by bringing the world of visual arts into our homes. It shows us museums as well as the movies, icons of cultural visuals. Visual culture should be a subject of the communication field, as well as psychology and sociology, besides the fine arts. There are various understandings about what constitutes the visual culture, and so there are experts in visual arts that say paintings and similar art forms must not be open to visual-cultural interpretations. In other words, paintings are best left to the human soul to understand and judge (Kamhi, 2004). Visual culture is about quietude, just as much as it is about flourishing through science fiction movies such as the Matrix, and science fiction tv series like the Star Trek. These visual arts and crafts rely on the power of â€Å"effects† (which should also be read as special â€Å"affects†) seeing that these movies rely on the visual medium to produce pictures in the subconscious mind that would hopefully leave a lasting impression on the mind, depending on how powerful the visual message is. A very good medium of communication, such as the Internet encyclopedia by the name of Wikipedia, has a bad reputation because it is written by many experts and people do not always know whether those experts are real or not. Such reality conflicts are also obvious in the visual arts. Star Trek relied on special effects to make a lasting impression on the audience and also by its use of excessive, unique clothes and implements that never appeared real to the audience. We know that Star Wars is a lie, and yet we enjoy it. The reason appears to be that we enjoy unreal kinds of entertainment because they open the mind, allowing us to imagine things through the mind’s eye. All mediums of communication are open to competition and comparisons. Wikipedia may be compared to the Open Course Ware of MIT, for example, because many people find the encyclopedia useful. Wikipedia’s definition for â€Å"visual culture† appears very professional, concrete, correct and real: Visual culture is a field of study that generally includes some combination of cultural tudies, art history, and anthropology, by focusing on aspects of culture that rely on visual images. Among cultural studies theorists working with contemporary culture, this often overlaps with film studies and the study of television, although it can also include video game studies, comics, traditional artistic media, advertising, the Internet and any other medium that has a crucial visual component (â€Å"Visual Culture,† 2007). The above is actually just a part of the definition of the important culture of spectacle. Our generation of men will have literature about our visual culture in the days to come. Earlier generations of humanity did not perhaps have the kind of riches in visual culture that our generation possesses. We have excessive tv and movies that earlier generations did not have because they had not managed to make optimal use of electricity as well as scientific brains. This, indeed, is an important part of the definition of ‘our visual culture. ’ Like Wikipedia, there are visual means of communication that are rejected by certain kinds of people. In the Middle East, for example, it is considered a bad thing to enjoy Western television with girls kissing, beach babes, etc. And so, certain types of visual arts are not acceptable to particular groups of society. To put it another way, no visual culture or any other medium of communication can perhaps fully satisfy all people at the same time. Perhaps only nature can satisfy all people. Nature is an extraordinary feast to the eyes – a free form of visual art available for all and acceptable to all. Besides, nature could be compared to the films we watch and the photography we admire on the covers of golf magazines. Nature is represented by rivers, streams, oceans, mountains, lakes, green spaces, etc. What is a better feast to the eyes? We next explore how and why the visual culture of science fiction movies and tv shows is a visual form of entertainment. A viewer of both Star Trek and the Matrix may believe that one is better than the other, or that none of these visual entertainers are truly entertaining. In order to understand science fiction, it is necessary to know something about the science behind the phenomena being investigated in the film. Day after Tomorrow was a film that explored the possibility of an ice age suddenly hitting humanity when it’s time for global warming to show its true colors. It was a science fiction movie, and yet it was not an excellent representation of visual culture because the director(s) did not pay attention to good cutting/editing of the film. Similarly, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a famous name, a movie that cannot truly be understood unless one has read a book by the name of Guide to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Tom Cruise’s episode of the Matrix, on the other hand – a movie about the most handsome man losing his face after he had been in a dream machine – is more interesting because it is filmed beautifully. Beauty is a universal language, and so a viewer does not have to know the ‘secret beyond matter’ to understand the science behind the movie. It was not important to understand the science in this case because beauty was caught on tape. Both Cruise and his girlfriend in the movie are breathtakingly beautiful, and so the movie is a definite hit – one that would leave a lasting impression on the viewer. Then there was an Arnold Matrix with a similar story, and of course, the true Matrix with Keanu Reeves. Both were action-packed, and telling a different story about afterlife, or another life. Yet, Keanu and Arnold were not as handsome as Cruise perhaps, and the latter’s movie left a longer lasting effect on the girls as opposed to the boys. Keanu’s version was a hit especially among boys, although girls enjoyed eyeballing Keanu very much. Genders have differing interpretations of the visual arts. So therefore, it can be imagined that boys enjoyed Keanu’s Matrix more than the girls because boys like violent films – a sociological question to ponder, with reference to the visuals of the culture. The best visual culture of arts and films is made by the minds that work on lasting impression. Our visual culture has the capacity to change and shape people, which is why foreigners refer to Americanization as the standardization/globalization of American films and television shows available in all countries abroad. Those who enjoy Americanization and take comfort in a culture that appears tolerant and good to them, are lovers of the visual arts of the West. For them, movies such as the Matrix (all episodes) and shows such as Star Trek are culture definers. The world understands us better because of our visual arts. Thus, it is very important to concentrate on what we want others to know about us in the future. It is essential to ask: Is our visual culture going to be admired by our descendants? It would be easiest for future generations to understand us by looking at our visual arts preserved in museums, homes, books, and the on the World Wide Web. Improved technology has also made it possible to preserve films and television shows in good packaging and systems such as the DVD’s. We are providing improved quality of visual arts to our culture at all times. What we keep in our records will be taught in schools of tomorrow. Hence, it is very important to leave good messages behind, and in good quality films that easily leave a lasting impression on people. Science is a defining attribute of the modern era. What we leave behind in visual arts in terms of science fiction movies has got to reveal that we, as a society of the twenty first century, were thoroughly drenched in scientific facts and we were exploring the universe by the use of imagination. The latter generation of the twentieth century was already exploring time relativity in Back to the Future series. Besides time traveling, our society is interested in a lot more scientific details, such as volcanoes, trips to Mars, etc. Mission to Mars is a new film of bad-to-good quality, perhaps as well filmed as old Back to the Future series. Matrix is perhaps the most modern specimen. It is an unforgettable story, after all. I believe that Matrix is the paragon of modern science fiction films. But then, this is just a single person’s opinion. What society thinks collectively about a visual arts project is generally considered more acceptable an interpretation of the art form, although this argument may not necessarily be true. In the case of Matrix and its contemporary films, the fact is nevertheless that the episodes about life versus dreams were more important for the general public to enjoy in the era of quantum mechanics. Films such as Back to the Future were good in their own time – right after Einstein. Science is constantly moving ahead, and so we may expect science fiction films to improve further. Damien Broderick’s (2000) â€Å"Tearing Toward the Spike† is truly a work of art as far as the imagination of the author is concerned. Mankind is seeking knowledge at greater depths than ever before. What is the future of humanity? – Broderick’s paper answers the question with various creative scenarios, including a future that resembles a black hole, and a â€Å"‘dinosaur-killer’ asteroid† that strikes humanity in the middle of the day. At the same time, the author invites the reader to imagine any number of scenarios on his or her own. As a matter of fact, Broderick’s paper is an invitation for the reader’s very own stream of consciousness to burst forth. It is a mind opener, as well as an attempt to analyze unlimited possibilities. It is very easy to make a visual art treat using the imagination of the paper. Even so, it may very well be that the evolutionists would read the paper differently from the creationists. This is because the creationists are typically those that would like to remain compatible with their belief that the world would end when the Day of Judgment begins. On the other hand, there is no restriction on the faculty of the imagination in both the theory of creation and that of evolution. Both God and chance allow for unlimited possibilities, after all. What is more, in visual arts, it is best to have competitions of quality as well as theory. If evolutionists and creationists both make science fiction movies, they would most probably add to the spice of life in the modern world of spectacle. A variety of different visual treats is definitely good for the human soul. Besides, the greatest thing about visual arts is that it is possible for anybody in the world to join in and become an artist and/or an entertainer/performer. The quality of the visual medium must be taken care of. At the same time, since visual culture refers specifically to â€Å"culture,† it is an unforgettable truth about our world that certain forms of art are still not acceptable to all people of the world. In Iran, Buddha’s sculptures would be rejected. Similarly, Star Trek may be more entertaining than Matrix depending on what we are concentrating on in our appreciation of the craft of moviemaking. Various perspectives are involved in understanding visual culture. The fact remains, still, that our visual culture is a necessity in our lives, and must be good at all costs.

Polonium Facts - Elements Are Interesting

Polonium Facts - Elements Are Interesting Polonium is a rare radioactive semi-metal or metalloid. The toxic element is believed to have caused the death of former intelligence agent, Alexander Litvinenko, in November 2006. Polonium is a radioactive element that occurs naturally in the environment at very low levels or can be produced in a nuclear reactor. PhysicalProperties of Polonium Polonium-210 emits alpha particles, which can damage or destroy genetic material inside of cells. Isotopes that emit alpha particles are toxic if they are ingested or inhaled because the alpha particles are very reactive, but polonium isnt absorbed through the skin, nor does the alpha radiation penetrate deeply. Polonium generally is considered toxic only if taken internally (breathing, eating, through an open wound). Marie and Pierre Curie discovered polonium in 1897.  Marie Curie  named polonium for her homeland, Poland. Polonium dissolves readily in dilute acids. Po-210 readily becomes airborne and is soluble enough to circulate through body tissues.  Polonium is the only component of cigarette smoke to produce cancer in laboratory animals. The polonium in tobacco is absorbed from phosphate fertilizers. A lethal amount of ingested polonium is 0.03 microcuries, which is a particle weighing 6.8 x 10-12 g (very small). Pure polonium is a silvery-colored solid. Mixed or alloyed with beryllium, polonium can be used as a portable neutron source. Polonium is used as a neutron trigger for nuclear weapons, in making photographic plates, and to reduce static charges in industrial applications such as textile mills.