Harmonizing Research, Practice

Harmonizing Research, Practice, and Policy in Early Childhood Music: A Chorus of International Voices (Part 2) Lori A. Custodero & Lily Chen-Hafteck a b a b Music and Music Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University Music Department, Kean University, New Jersey Version of record first published: 07 Aug 2010. To cite this article: Lori A. Custodero & Lily Chen-Hafteck (2008): Harmonizing Research, Practice, and Policy in Early Childhood Music: A Chorus of International Voices (Part 2), Arts Education Policy Review, 109:3, 3-8 To link to this article: http://dx. doi. org/10. 3200/AEPR. 109. 3. 3-8PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www. tandfonline. com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publis her does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources.The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Copyright  © 2008 Heldref Publications Harmonizing Research, Practice, and Policy in Early Childhood Music: A Chorus of International Voices (Part 2) LORI A. CUSTODERO and LILY CHEN-HAFTECK Editor’s note. Lori A. Custodero and Lily Chen-Hafteck served as guest editors for both Part 1 and Part 2 of the special issue International Policies on Early Childhood Music Education: Local and Global IssuesRevealed. n the November/December 2007 issue of Arts Education Policy Review, readers were introduced to e arly childhood music policies in Brazil, England, Kenya, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and the United States. In this collection, a second ensemble of experts from Australia, China, Denmark, Korea, Israel, and Taiwan joins them. Like the previous issue, these authors presented papers or workshops at an International Society for Music Education, Early Childhood Music Education Seminar in Taipei in 2006 and wrote new articles for inclusion here.They responded to the same charge as the previous authors to answer the following questions: †¢ What policies currently exist in your country for early childhood music education? †¢ To what extent do these policies meet the needs of children in your country? †¢ How are teachers prepared to teach early childhood music in your country? †¢ In what ways do local and global cultures figure into the policies and practices of early childhood music in your country? Additionally, we offered the following questions, to be addressed at th e author’s discretion: †¢ Do different musical cultures require different instructional approaches?And, conversely, are certain music instructional approaches culture specific? How does this impact policy and practice of early childhood music in your country? †¢ What are the potential risks and rewards of mandating multicultural musical experiences for young children? Finally, we asked authors to address any issues specific to their regions and to make concrete suggestions regarding policy for their countries. Salient themes emerged addressing what was taught and who was responsible for that content.In many ways these two conditions are inseparable, interrelated through the social nature of musical experiences. In these accounts, we also see ways in which content and delivery shape reception and how that process, in turn, defines and is defined by culture. Examining these geographical contexts raises questions about atti- I tudes, practices, and policies concerning early childhood music education that have significance for many of us. We chose three threads of inquiry from the many that weave these single texts into a textual fugue: (a) ensions between child and adult culture; (b) competing influences by global, regional, and local agencies on standards and curricula; and (c) expectations for teacher knowledge and preparation. Competing Cultures: Child and Adult The existence of a musical culture in early childhood, which is distinctly different from the adult culture, is based on studies showing similarities of vocal contours used in communication between infants and mothers across cultures (Papousek 1996), as well as research regarding the differences between music made by children and adults (e. . , Bjorkvold 1992; Campbell 2007; Littleton 1998; Marsh 1995; Moorhead and Pond 1941). Sven-Erik Holgersen’s article on early childhood music in Scandinavia describes practices in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway that are sensitive to the childâ €™s culture. The cultural clash in those regional systems exists between programs that favor an elemental or natural approach to education for the young based on the free play aesthetic and those that see music Vol. 109, No. 3, January/February 2008 3 as a mode of artistic expression requiring learned skills.Lily Chen-Hafteck and Zhoyua Xu and, separately, Jennifer Chau-Ying Leu found preschools in Chinesespeaking countries to have a strong sense of adult culture. Most parents and teachers believe school should stress academic learning rather than play, so that children can achieve high scores on tests and examinations. Chinese culture also stresses study and hard work as important for academic success. In Korea, Nam-Hee Lim and Shunah Chung found that adults believe young children need close supervision and guidance from teachers and parents in their development.Therefore, children’s natural tendency to be playful and creative is not recognized as a core value in school; potential for future success drives decisions. These cultural differences are interactive with and reflective of current conditions and regional history. In China, for example, books were printed with movable type as early as the eighth century, whereas in Europe copies were still drawn by hand until the 1400s. Such a long history of text accessibility elevated reading and writing to a valued skill that was recognizable and sought (Smith 1991).Societal values may offer another lens to interpret early academic emphasis, such as those espoused by Confucius, for whom morality and caring for others, especially family, were primary. In terms of contemporary conditions, Louie Suthers of Australia notes that in her varied country one can see differences in starting ages of pre-primary education. In Denmark, the children start at three years of age and continue for four years. In China, pre-primary education starts at four years of age and continues for three years, although care is availa ble in each country mentioned from birth.Also of note, the average student teacher ratio in China is 28:1, differing from Hong Kong’s average ratio of 16:1. The older starting age in China may perpetuate (or reflect interest in) the schooling culture. Leu’s discussion of the importance of family context is relevant to this point, inasmuch as it may provide the space for child culture 4 Arts Education Policy Review to flourish while adult culture is operating at school. Claudia Gluschankof writes about the purposeful creation of materials for the child culture with the development of the New Hebrew Culture in the Israeli territories during the early 1900s.Preschools were created based on the Froebel playcentered model and provide an unusual case in the concentrated production of children’s music in a language that had no such repertoire prior to the kindergartens establishment. The conscious choice to provide young children with cultural tools for understanding a t the earliest stages of a community is reminiscent of Sheila Woodward’s discussion concerning the importance of children in nation building in South Africa, featured in the previous issue of this journal.In her conclusion, Gluschankof raises important questions concerning this created canon of songs and the lack of repertoire for Arab-speaking children. Using the idea of child culture as a lens for viewing cultural and educational policies provides a useful way to understand differences and similarities in political systems that define the worlds in which we teach, research, and cohabitate. Such understanding may lead to more focused and meaningful questions that may reveal inequities or alternative directions in music education worthy of exploration.Considerations of these policies regarding conceptions of adulthood and childhood lead directly to curricular influences that we view from a related dialectic: the local and global. Local and Global Influences: Child and World I n the first part of this symposium, we focused on the tension between small and large scaled views of what should be taught, each serving a different societal need. In the second part, we speak more specifically to the notion of a national curriculum because it is mentioned in each of the articles collected here.We are interested in questions dealing with how these personal and collective influences affect children’s music education: â€Å"Does governmentmandated standardized curriculum limit possibilities or insure access of quality to all children? † and â€Å"What is the exemplar to which music education should be standardized? † The first question is meant to generate critical thinking regarding what and how policymakers might send messages about music education in the early years; the second is meant to question assumptions we might have surrounding best practice and the cultural nuances that shape it.Suthers, discussing Australia’s situation, is min dful that there is no national music curriculum for pre-primary school and points to a recent reform movement in music education that excluded early childhood experiences. She notes that this leaves teachers feeling isolated and that their work is undervalued. Alternatively, Gluschankoff discusses the children’s music written in Hebrew as somewhat ideological and makes suggestions for addressing the inclusion of additional materials to meet the needs of a multicultural society.One of the ways in which the national curriculum may become nationalistic is in the mandates or recommendations around singing repertoire. The role played by singing in socialization is significant and has been used for centuries to transmit cultural values, to teach language, and to establish qualities of rhythmic energy that typify a way of being; Dissanayake (2000) makes the case for mutuality and belonging as ways the arts are meaningful to us.Inasmuch as collective singing creates a sense of belong ing, we have a responsibility to monitor the ways in which we look at the child and the world (see Leu’s article describing ecological systems and Lim and Chung on the supportive role of adults). Chen-Hafteck and Xu also write about the importance of family singing and the differing role of school music. When local knowledge is replaced by chauvinism, music can be decontextualized. Because musicality is deeply rooted in shared experience, (Trevarthen 1999) we need to guard the personal and not expose children’s vulnerability to politicization.Our concern regarding global trends also involves the perception that globalization means movement toward Downloaded by [Macquarie University] at 14:58 28 March 2013 Western ideals. Attention to the local, once again, is necessary to adequately implement any change. In China, for example, although the new educational policies follow the global trends rhetorically, espousing learning through play and stressing personal expression a nd creativity, its usefulness is severely hampered by conflicting views in the local tradition regarding a deep belief in academic success as the consummate benchmark.Holgerson considers a similar dissonance between local needs and governmental responsibility to all children through the philosophical lens of Bildung, a generative model that keeps the questions about such disconnections at the forefront of practice. Downloaded by [Macquarie University] at 14:58 28 March 2013 Teacher Knowledge: Child and Music Practice policies are perhaps best viewed vis-a-vis teacher preparation— what do we value as knowledge? For most of us, early childhood musical practice involves understanding as much as we can about children while keeping the cultural context in mind.This might include individual experiences that contribute to their uniqueness and developmental trends that might give indications about what to expect in terms of maturation. What knowledge do we need of music? In this issu e, the authors discuss the importance of a diverse and culturally responsive repertoire, singing range, quality of recordings, appropriate use of instruments, and sound sensitivity. In this collection of articles, the authors suggest that these two knowledge areas are rarely considered together and that they exist in bifurcation, at least conceptually.Across the globe, there are those who are considered to have knowledge of the child in context (families or generalist teachers) and those who have knowledge of the child in music (specialists). Holgersen describes this dichotomy in practical terms—music activities and music teaching. The goals of using music are indeed varied and the complexity of music leads to multiple possibilities worthy of exploration. Among the authors there is a consensus concerning the need for collaboration between the two areas of expertise with several concrete recommendations.Reasons for this common phenomenon center on the systems in place for teac her preparation and the institutional divisions of disciplines; authors advocate for more carefully structured professional development to help bridge the disciplinary divide. Knowing the body of work of these authors, we are familiar with their efforts to form partnerships with local child care specialists and have been involved with such partnerships at our universities. Child and Adult It is noteworthy that many of the responses are about memories of musical adults who were influential in their music education.Graham Welch (pers. comm. ) offers: I was educated in a Church of England Primary school in London . . . where we sang, often with the local Vicar leading on the piano. I can remember his enthusiasm, quick tempo and intensity of keyboard playing. F or most of us, early childhood musical practice involves understanding as much as we can about children while keeping the cultural context in mind. We believe them to be some of the most meaningful opportunities for our own teach er knowledge.Policy and Personal Voice In addition to the authors featured here, to inform our sense of the historical significance of current situations regarding early childhood music and the breadth to which our profession defines policy, we asked our colleagues involved in international musical education about their memories of early childhood music education and their relationship to policy with the following questions: 1. Reflecting on your childhood before age eight, what were the influences of policy on your music education? . How does this compare with today’s situation for young children? Responses were varied and provided insight through a self-reflective lens. We looked at the seven responses regarding their relatedness to our three topics and to how policy can reach us as individuals in a long-lasting way. Alda Oliveira (pers. comm. ) from Brazil also reflected on a teacher: The first time I went to school I was seven years old. At this age I choose to take piano lessons with a private piano teacher.She was a marvelous teacher since her method included not only playing by reading and singing the notes, but also playing by ear and some popular songs. Family members had a strong musical presence in June Boyce Tillman’s (pers. comm. ) childhood in England: â€Å"My music was regularly singing with and listening to the playing of my paternal grandfather who was the village dance band pianist. † Margre van Gestel (pers. comm. ) of The Netherlands also wrote of related experiences: I had the privilege to be surrounded by a musical family.We had a piano in our home and I spent lots of time behind the piano in my grandmother’s house. My uncles and aunts could play the piano and as a child I enjoyed listening to them. One of my aunts was the ballet teacher in the village and from the age of four I was in her dancing classes. It was normal in my family to sing and play. My father had a good voice and was a soloist in the church c hoir when he was young; he played the clarinet and was a folkdance Vol. 109, No. 3, January/February 2008 5 teacher during scouting activities.I guess my days were filled with (live) music, not in courses but just all day long. Van Gestel shared a record of family influence: In my baby dairy, when I was 8 months old, my mother wrote: â€Å"Today she clapped her hands. She probably learned that from her grandmother! When you sing Clap your hands she reacts immediately. † One year old: â€Å"When we sing Oh my daddy (a popular song in the sixties) she sings along, ‘daddy, daddy. ’† In South Africa, apartheid led to decisions about schooling for Caroline Van Niekerk (pers. omm. ) that indirectly influenced her musical education by removing her from the direct influences of the national educational system of that time. She also spoke of a contemporary situation in which fighting governmental policies was necessary and of the strength we have to overcome questi onable decisions: I had a desperate call just yesterday from someone with a story of how their education faculty, in training teachers for the Foundation Phase, wants to remove music as an optional area of specialization for students.We are now all doing everything in our power to protest such a prospect loudly. But I have also seen what I regard as a promising development, and similar to the situation I witnessed in California when we lived there, more than twenty years ago—as parents of young children realize that the formal education system is not necessarily going to provide their children with what they believe is important, and especially as regards the arts, including music, they start to take responsibility for those things themselves. ntil I was about [age] five) could not get my lessons paid for. Had the place still be in that county I would have been entitled to a bursary to pay for lessons and I would have been able to learn a second instrument. But without that m y parents could only afford piano lessons. I am still sad about this, which was simply a matter of geography and the local control of resources. Child and Music The same issues featured authors raised are apparent in the additional professionals’ responses: the lack of resources and teachers. Gary McPherson (pers. comm. links personal memories with policies, of which he sees little change, from his Australian childhood: I have a vague memory of singing in a school choir that was [led] by a general classroom teacher when I was about six or seven, but the group was nothing special so it had no impact on my subsequent musical development. . . . I went back some years ago and had a look at the way music was described in the school curriculum (particularly primary school curriculum). There were all sorts of aids and resources for general primary teachers to use but music wasn’t typically taught well in schools.To be honest, I’m not sure the status of music in the cur riculum is any different. Downloaded by [Macquarie University] at 14:58 28 March 2013 These testimonies to strong and positive adult influence suggest that family education is important, as Leu and others advocate in this symposium, with the caveat that the experiences described are with adults perceived as musicians. This suggests we need to exercise caution in defining people in terms of limited musicality and that music education of our children means their children will be better educated.It is interesting that teachers were remembered for the affective qualities they conveyed and through a curricular stance that was relevant to the child. Child and World The relationships among local, state, and global influences are also reflected in these personal accounts. Many of these music professionals took private music lessons and considered their experiences to be nonpolicy driven. Oliveira (pers. comm. ) mentioned the involvement of musicians in music education policy—specific ally, the Canto Orfeonico policy under the leadership of composer Villa-Lobos.She recalls that this policy influenced her school education, which included â€Å"group singing and elementary level music theory. † As already discussed, group singing is a common vehicle for politicization. Like Gluschonkof’s report of Israeli songs contributing to nation-building, Boyce Tillman (pers. comm. ) noted that: At [age] seven I went to a school where we had massed singing in the Hall when we sang British folksongs, many of which I still know by heart. We had a book called the New National Song book, which was a deliberate attempt after the war to restore a sense of nationhood.This was used throughout my school career. 6 Arts Education Policy Review Welch wrote of intersecting influences of church and state: I discovered later that the London County Council was very supportive of music in schools generally, although my local experiences as a child were as much to do with the link to the Church and the established ethos of including singing as a natural part of the school day. Ana Lucia Frega (pers. comm. ) describes a similar situation in her native Argentina. Early childhood music courses were not always taught by a specialist . . . his means that some problems arose: some of the K-general teachers [choose materials that] do not really fit the [appropriate] children range of voices, and which tend to create vocal difficulties. He notes the longevity of such a workable match: â€Å"On returning to the school many years later for my first teaching post, I discovered that the school’s policy toward music had continued, with the same range of events and activities in place. † In the previous issue, Young discussed the unprecedented commitment England has made to the arts—specifically music, a commitment Welch reiterates.Boyce Tillman recalls a time when the resources from the national government were in local hands, resulting in inequitabl e opportunity: At [age] seven I started piano lessons but because the place we lived in was then in Southampton and not in the County of Hampshire (to which we are very close and in which we had been Although our policymaking systems move slowly, and are not always moving in the direction we would like, there is hope in the growing numbers of people who care about music education. Oliviera writes: â€Å"at least we can feel the difference between my generation and today’s generation. Perhaps our aim is to prepare children who grow up to be like von Gestel, with the same rich resources at hand for creating meaningful experiences: Music (and especially making and teaching music) was and is a part of my everyday life, and really I can’t imagine a life without singing together and making music. It makes my life worth living. References Bjorkvold, J. R. 1992. The muse within: Creativity and communication, song and play from childhood through maturity. Trans. W. H. Halverso n, New York: HarperCollins. Campbell, P. S. 2007. Musical meaning in children’s cultures. In International handbook of research in arts education, ed.L. Bresler, 881–94. Dorderecht, The Netherlands: Springer. Dissanayake, E. 2000. Art and intimacy. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Littleton, D. 1998. Music learning and child’s play. General Music Today 12 (1): 8–15. Marsh, K. 1995. Children’s singing games: Composition in the playground? Research Studies in Music Education 4:2–11. Moorhead, G. E. , and D. Pond. 1941. Music of young children. 1 Chant. Santa Barbara, CA: Pillsbury Foundation for the Advancement of Music Education. Papousek, H. 1996. Musicality in infancy research: Biological and cultural origins of early musicality.In Musical beginnings: Origins and development of musical competence, ed. I. Deliege and J. Sloboda, 37–55. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Smith, D. C. 1991. Foundations of modern Chinese e ducation. In The Confucian continuum, ed. D. C. Smith, 1–64. New York: Praeger. Trevarthen, C. 1999. Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse: Evidence from psychobiology and human communication. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue: Rhythm, Musical Narrative, and Origins of Human Communication), 155–211. Lori A. Custodero is an associate professor and program coordinator of the MusicDownloaded by [Macquarie University] at 14:58 28 March 2013 and Music Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she has established an early childhood music concentration that integrates pedagogy and research through both theory and practice. She served on the International Society for Music Education’s Commission for Early Childhood for six years and is involved in research and teaching projects in a variety of countries. Lily Chen-Hafteck is an associate professor of music education and assistant chair of the Music Department at Kean University, New Jersey.Ori ginally from Hong Kong, she has held teaching and research positions at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, the University of Surrey Roehampton in England, and Hong Kong Baptist University. She serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Music Education, Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education and Music Education Research International. She is the chair of the International Society for Music Education Young Professionals Focus Group. Vol. 109, No. 3, January/February 2008 7 Downloaded by [Macquarie University] at 14:58 28 March 2013 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Art After Philosophy (1969) Joseph Kosuth Essay

The fact that it has recently become fashionable for physicists themselves to be sympathetic toward religion . . . marks the physicists’ own lack of confidence in the validity of their hypotheses, which is a reaction on their part from the antireligious dogmatism of nineteenth-century scientists, and a natural outcome of the crisis through which physics has just passed. –A. J. Ayer. . . . once one has understood the Tractatus there will be no temptation to concern oneself anymore with philosophy, which is neither empirical like science nor tautological like mathematics; one will, like Wittgenstein in 1918, abandon philosophy, which, as traditionally understood, is rooted in confusion. –J. O. Urmson. Traditional philosophy, almost by definition, has concerned itself with the unsaid. The nearly exclusive focus on the said by twentieth-century analytical linguistic philosophers is the shared contention that the unsaid is unsaid because it is unsayable. Hegelian philosophy made sense in the nineteenth century and must have been soothing to a century that was barely getting over Hume, the Enlightenment, and Kant.1 Hegel’s philosophy was also capable of giving cover for a defense of religious beliefs, supplying an alternative to Newtonian mechanics, and fitting in with the growth of history as a discipline, as well as accepting Darwinian biology.2 He appeared to give an acceptable resolution to the conflict between theology and science, as well. The result of Hegel’s influence has been that a great majority of contemporary philosophers are really little more than historians of philosophy, Librarians of the Truth, so to speak. One begins to get the impression that there â€Å"is nothing more to be said.† And certainly if one realizes the implications of Wittgenstein’s thinking, and the thinking influenced by him and after him, â€Å"Continental† philosophy need not seriously be considered here.3 Is there a reason for the â€Å"unreality† of philosophy in our time? Perhaps this can be answered by looking into the difference between our time and the centuries preceding us. In the past man’s conclusions about the world were based on the information he had about it – if not specifically like the empiricists, then generally like the rationalists. Often in fact, the closeness between science and philosophy was so great that scientists and philosophers were one and the same person. In fact, from the times of Thales, Epicurus, Heraclitus, and Aristotle to Descartes and Leibnitz, â€Å"the great names in philosophy were often great names in science as well.†4 That the world as perceived by twentieth-century science is a vastly different one than the one of its preceding century, need not be proved here. Is it possible, then, that in effect man has learned so much, and his â€Å"intelligence† is such, that he cannot believe the reasoning of traditional philosophy? That perhaps he knows too much about the world to make those kinds of conclusions? As Sir James Jeans has stated: . . . When philosophy has availed itself of the results of science, it has not been by borrowing the abstract mathematical description of the pattern of events, but by borrowing the then current pictorial description of this pattern; thus it has not appropriated certain knowledge but conjectures. These conjectures were often good enough for the man-sized world, but not, as we now know, for those ultimate processes of nature which control the happenings of the man-sized world, and bring us nearest to the true nature of reality.5 He continues: One consequence of this is that the standard philosophical discussions of many problems, such as those of causality and free will orof materialism or mentalism, are based on an interpretation of the pattern of events which is no longer tenable. The scientific basis of these older discussions has been washed away, and with their disappearance have gone all the arguments . . .6 The twentieth century brought in a time that could be called â€Å"the end of philosophy and the beginning of art.† I do not mean that, of course, strictly speaking, but rather as the â€Å"tendency† of the situation. Certainly linguistic philosophy can be considered the heir to empiricism, but it’s a philosophy in one gear.7 And there is certainly an â€Å"art condition† to art preceding Duchamp, but its other functions or reasons-to-be are so pronounced that its ability to function clearly as art limits its art condition so drastically that it’s only minimally art.8 In no mechanistic sense is there a connection between philosophy’s â€Å"ending† and art’s â€Å"beginning,† but I don’t find this occurrence entirely coincidental. Though the same reasons may be responsible for both occurrences, the connection is made by me. I bring this all up to analyze art’s function and subsequently its viability. And I do so to enable others to understand the reasoning of my – and, by extension, other artists’ – art, as well to provide a clearer understanding of the term â€Å"Conceptual art.†9 THE FUNCTION OF ART The main qualifications to the lesser position of painting is that advances in art are certainly not always formal ones. –Donald Judd (1963). Half or more of the best new work in the last few years has been neither painting nor sculpture. – Donald Judd (1965). Everything sculpture has, my work doesn’t. –Donald Judd (1967). The idea becomes a machine that makes the art. –Sol LeWitt (1965) The one thing to say about art is that it is one thing. Art is art-as-art and everything else is everything else. Art as art is nothing but art. Art is not what is not art. –Ad Reinhardt (1963). The meaning is the use. –Wittgenstein. A more functional approach to the study of concepts has tended to replace the method of introspection. Instead of attempting to grasp or describe concepts bare, so to speak, the psychologist investigates the way in which they function as ingredients in beliefs and in judgments. –Irving M. Copi. Meaning is always a presupposition of function. –T. Segerstedt. . . . the subject matter of conceptual investigations is the meaning of certain words and expressions – and not the things and states of affairs themselves about which we talk, when using those words and expressions. –G. H. Von Wright. Thinking is radically metaphoric. Linkage by analogy is its constituent law or principle, its causal nexus, since meaning only arises through the causal contexts by which a sign stands for (takes the place of) an instance of a sort. To think of anything is to take it as of a sort (as a such and such) and that â€Å"as† brings in (openly or in disguise) the analogy, the parallel, the metaphoric grapple or ground or grasp or draw by which alone the mind takes hold. It takes no hold if there is nothing for it to haul from, for its thinking is the haul, the attraction of likes –I. A. Richards. In this section I will discuss the separation between aesthetics and art; consider briefly formalist art (because it is a leading proponent of the idea of aesthetics as art), and assert that art is analogous to an analytic proposition, and that it is art’s existence as a tautology that enables art to remain â€Å"aloof† from philosophical presumptions. It is necessary to separate aesthetics from art because aesthetics deals with opinions on perception of the world in general. In the past one of the two prongs of art’s function was its value as decoration. So any branch of philosophy that dealt with â€Å"beauty† and thus, taste, was inevitably duty bound to discuss art as well. Out of this â€Å"habit† grew the notion that there was a conceptual connection between art and aesthetics, which is not true. This idea never drastically conflicted with artistic considerations before recent times, not only because the morphological characteristics of art perpetuated the continuity of this error, but as well, because the apparent other â€Å"functions† of art (depiction of religious themes, portraiture of aristocrats, detailing of architecture, etc.) used art to cover up art. When objects are presented within the context of art (and until recently objects always have been used) they are as eligible for aesthetic consideration as are any objects in the world, and an aesthetic consideration of an object existing in the realm of art means that the object’s existence or functioning in an art context is irrelevant to the aesthetic judgment. The relation of aesthetics to art is not unlike that of aesthetics to architecture, in that architecture has a very specific function and how â€Å"good† its design is is primarily related to how well it performs its function. Thus, judgments on what it looks like correspond to taste, and we can see that throughout history different examples of architecture are praised at different times depending on the aesthetics of particular epochs. Aesthetic thinking has even gone so far as to make examples of architecture not related to â€Å"art† at all, works of art in themselves (e.g., the pyramids of Egypt). Aesthetic considerations are indeed always extraneous to an object’s function or â€Å"reason-tobe.† Unless of course, that object’s reason-to-be is strictly aesthetic. An example of a purely aesthetic object is a decorative object, for decoration’s primary function is â€Å"to add something to, so as to make more attractive; adorn; ornament,†10 and this relates directly to taste. And this leads us directly to â€Å"formalist† art and criticism.11 Formalist art (painting and sculpture) is the vanguard of decoration, and, strictly speaking, one could reasonably assert that its art condition is so minimal that for all functional purposes it is not art at all, but pure exercises in aesthetics. Above all things Clement Greenberg is the critic of taste. Behind every one of his decisions is an aesthetic judgment, with those judgments reflecting his taste. And what does his taste reflect? The period he grew up in as a critic, the period â€Å"real† for him: the fifties.12 How else can one account for, given his theories – if they have any logic to them at all – his disinterest in Frank Stella, Ad Reinhardt, and others applicable to his historical scheme? Is it because he is â€Å". . . basically unsympathetic on personally experiential grounds†?13 Or, in other words, â€Å"their work doesn’t suit his taste?† But in the philosophic tabula rasa of art, â€Å"if someone calls it art,† as Don Judd has said, â€Å"it’s art.† Given this, formalist painting and sculpture can be granted an â€Å"art condition,† but only by virtue of their presentation in terms of their art idea (e.g., a rectangular-shaped canvas stretched over wooden supports and stained with such and such colors, using such and such forms, giving such and such a visual experience, etc.). If one looks at contemporary art in this light one realizes the minimal creative effort taken on the part of formalist artists specifically, an d all painters and sculptors (working as such today) generally. This brings us to the realization that formalist art and criticism accepts as a definition of art one that exists solely on morphological grounds. While a vast quantity of similar looking objects or images (or visually related objects or images) may seem to be related (or connected) because of a similarity of visual/experiential â€Å"readings,† one cannot claim from this an artistic or conceptual relationship. It is obvious then that formalist criticism’s reliance on morphology leads necessarily with a bias toward the morphology of traditional art. And in this sense their criticism is not related to a â€Å"scientific method† or any sort of empiricism (as Michael Fried, with his detailed descriptions of paintings and other â€Å"scholarly† paraphernalia would want us to believe). Formalist criticism is no more than an analysis of the physical attributes of particular objects that happen to exist in a morphological context. But this doesn’t add any knowledge (or facts) to our understanding of the nature or function of art. And neither does it comment on whether or not the objects analyzed are even works of art, in that formalist critics always bypass the conceptual element in works of art. Exactly why they don’t comment on the conceptual element in works of art is precisely because formalist art is only art by virtue of its resemblance to earlier works of art. It’s a mindless art. Or, as Lucy Lippard so succinctly described Jules Olitski’s paintings: â€Å"they’re visual Muzak.† 14 Formalist critics and artists alike do not question the nature of art, but as I have said elsewhere: Being an artist now means to question the nature of art. If one is questioning the nature of painting, one cannot be questioning the nature of art. If an artist accepts painting (or sculpture) he is accepting the tradition that goes with it. That’s because the word art is general and the word painting is specific. Painting is a kind of art. If you make paintings you are already accepting (not questioning) the nature of art. One is then accepting the nature of art to be the European tradition of a painting-sculpture dichotomy.15 The strongest objection one can raise against a morphological justification for traditional art is that morphological notions of art embody an implied a priori concept of art’s possibilities. And such an a priori concept of the nature of art (as separate from analytically framed art propositions or â€Å"work,† which I will discuss later) makes it, indeed, a priori: impossible to question the nature of art. And this questioning of the nature of art is a very important concept in understanding the function of art. The function of art, as a question, was first raised by Marcel Duchamp. In fact it is Marcel Duchamp whom we can credit with giving art its own identity. (One can certainly see a tendency toward this self-identification of art beginning with Manet and Cà ©zanne through to Cubism,16 but their works are timid and ambiguous by comparison with Duchamp’s.) â€Å"Modern† art and the work before seemed connected by virtue of their morphology. Another way of putting it would be that art’s â€Å"language† remained the same, but it was saying new things. The event that made conceivable the realization that it was possible to â€Å"speak another language† and still make sense in art was Marcel Duchamp’s first unassisted Ready-made. With the unassisted Ready-made, art changed its focus from the form of the language to what was being said. Which means that it changed the nature of art from a question of morphology to a question of function. This change – one from â€Å"appearance† to â€Å"conception† – was the beginning of â€Å"modern† art and the beginning of conceptual art. All art (after Duchamp) is conceptual (in nature) because art only exists conceptually. The â€Å"value† of particular artists after Duchamp can be weighed according to how much they questioned the nature of art; which is another way of saying â€Å"what they added to the conception of art† or what wasn’t there before they started. Artists question the nature of art by presenting new propositions as to art’s nature. And to do this one cannot concern oneself with the handed-down â€Å"language† of traditional art, as this activity is based on the assumption that there is only one way of framing art propositions. But the very stuff of art is indeed greatly related to â€Å"creating† new propositions. The case is often made – particularly in reference to Duchamp – that objects of art (such as the Ready-mades, of course, but all art is implied in this) are judged as objets d’art in later years and the artists’ intentions become irrelevant. Such an argument is the case of a preconceived notion ordering together not necessarily related facts. The point is this: aesthetics, as we have pointed out, are conceptually irrelevant to art. Thus, any physical thing can become objet d’art, that is to say, can be considered tasteful, aesthetically pleasing, etc. But this has no bearing on the object’s application to an art context; that is, its functioning in an art context. (E.g., if a collector takes a painting, attaches legs, and uses it as a dining table it’s an act unrelated to art or the artist because, as art, that wasn’t the artist’s intention.) And what holds true for Duchamp’s work applies as well to most of the art after him. In other words, the value of Cubism – for instance – is its idea in the realm of art, not the physical or visual qualities seen in a specific painting, or the particularization of certain colors or shapes. For these colors and shapes are the art’s â€Å"language,† not its meaning conceptually as art. To look upon a Cubist â€Å"masterwork† now as art is nonsensical, conceptually speaking, as far as art is concerned. (That visual information that was unique in Cubism’s language has now been generally absorbed and has a lot to do with the way in which one deals with painting â€Å"linguistically.† [E.g., what a Cubist painting meant experimentally and conceptually to, say, Gertrude Stein, is beyond our speculation because the same painting then â€Å"meant† something different than it does now.]) The â€Å"value† now of an original Cubist painting is not unlike, in most respects, an original manuscript by Lord Byron, or The Spirit of St. Louis as it is seen in the Smithsonian Institution. (Indeed, museums fill the very same function as the Smithsonian Institution – why else would the Jeu de Paume wing of the Louvre exhibit Cà ©zanne’s and Van Gogh’s palettes as proudly as they do their paintings?) Actual works of art are little more than historical curiosities. As far as art is concerned Van Gogh’s paintings aren’t worth any more than his palette is. They are both â€Å"collector’s items.†17 Art â€Å"lives† through influencing other art, not by existing as the physical residue of an artist’s ideas. The reason that different artists from the past are â€Å"brought alive† again is because some aspect of their work becomes â€Å"usable† by living artists. That there is no â€Å"truth† as to what art is seems quite unrealized. What is the function of art, or the nature of art? If we continue our analogy of the forms art takes as being art’s language one can realize then that a work of art is a kind of proposition presented within the context of art as a comment on art. We can then go further and analyze the types of â₠¬Å"propositions.† A. J. Ayer’s evaluation of Kant’s distinction between analytic and synthetic is useful to us here: â€Å"A proposition is analytic when its validity depends solely on the definitions of the symbols it contains, and synthetic when its validity is determined by the facts of experience.†18 The analogy I will attempt to make is one between the art condition and the condition of the analytic proposition. In that they don’t appear to be believable as anything else, or be about anything (other than art) the forms of art most clearly finally referable only to art have been forms closest to analytical propositions. Works of art are analytic propositions. That is, if viewed within their context – as art – they provide no information whatsoever about any matter of fact. A work of art is a tautology in that it is a presentation of the artist’s intention, that is, he is saying that that particular work of art is art, which means, is a definition of art. Thus, that it is art is true a priori (which is what Judd means when he states that â€Å"if someone calls it art, it’s art†). Indeed, it is nearly impossible to discuss art in general terms without talking in tautologies – for to attempt to â€Å"grasp† art by any other â€Å"handle† is merely to focus on another aspect or quality of the proposition, which is usually irrelevant to the artwork’s â€Å"art condition.† One begins to realize that art’s â€Å"art condition† is a conceptual state. That the language forms that the artist frames his propositions in are often â€Å"private† codes or languages is an inevitable outcome of art’s freedom from morphological constrictions; and it follows from this that one has to be familiar with contemporary art to appreciate it and understand it. Likewise one understands why the â€Å"man in the street† is intolerant to artistic art and always demands art in a tr aditional â€Å"language.† (And one understands why formalist art sells â€Å"like hot cakes.†) Only in painting and sculpture did the artists all speak the same language. What is called â€Å"Novelty Art† by the formalists is often the attempt to find new languages, although a new language doesn’t necessarily mean the framing of new propositions: e.g., most kinetic and electronic art. Another way of stating, in relation to art, what Ayer asserted about the analytic method in the context of language would be the following: The validity of artistic propositions is not dependent on any empirical, much less any aesthetic, presupposition about the nature of things. For the artist, as an analyst, is not directly concerned with the physical properties of things. He is concerned only with the way (1) in which art is capable of conceptual growth and (2) how his propositions are capable of logically following that growth.19 In other words, the propositions of art are not factual, but linguistic in character – that is, they do not describe the behavior of physical, o r even mental objects; they express definitions of art, or the formal consequences of definitions of art. Accordingly, we can say that art operates on a logic. For we shall see that the characteristic mark of a purely logical inquiry is that it is concerned with the formal consequences of our definitions (of art) and not with questions of empirical fact.20 To repeat, what art has in common with logic and mathematics is that it is a tautology; i.e., the â€Å"art idea† (or â€Å"work†) and art are the same and can be appreciated as art without going outside the context of art for verification. On the other hand, let us consider why art cannot be (or has difficulty when it attempts to be) a synthetic proposition. Or, that is to say, when the truth or falsity of its assertion is verifiable on empirical grounds. Ayer states: . . . The criterion by which we determine the validity of an a priori or analytical proposition is not sufficient to determine the validity of an empirical or synthetic proposition. For it is characteristic of empirical propositions that their validity is not purely formal. To say that a geometrical proposition, or a system of geometrical propositions, is false, is to say that it is self-contradictory. But an empirical proposition, or a system of empirical propositions, may be free from contradiction and still be false. It is said to be false, not because it is formally defective, but because it fails to satisfy some material criterion.21 The unreality of â€Å"realistic† art is due to its framing as an art proposition in synthetic terms: one is always tempted to â€Å"verify† the proposition empirically. Realism’s synthetic state does not bring one to a circular swing back into a dialogue with the larger framework of questions about the nature of art (as does the work of Malevich, Mondrian, Pollock, Reinhardt, early Rauschenberg, Johns, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Andre, Judd, Flavin, LeWitt, Morris, and others), but rather, one is flung out of art’s â€Å"orbit† into the â€Å"infinite space† of the human condition. Pure Expressionism, continuing with Ayer’s terms, could be considered as such: â€Å"A sentence which consisted of demonstrative symbols would not express a genuine proposition. It would be a mere ejaculation, in no way characterizing that to which it was supposed to refer.† Expressionist works are usually such â€Å"ejaculations† presented in the morphological language of traditional art. If Pollock is important it is because he painted on loose canvas horizontally to the floor. What isn’t important is that he later put those drippings over stretchers and hung them parallel to the wall. (In other words what is important in art is what one brings to it, not one’s adoption of what was previously existing.) What is even less important to art is Pollock’s notions of â€Å"self-expression† because those kinds of subjective meanings are useless to anyone other than those involved with him personally. And their â€Å"specific† quality puts them outside of art’s context. â€Å"I do not make art,† Richard Serra says, â€Å"I am engaged in an activity; if someone wants to call it art, that’s his business, but it’s not up to me to decide that. That’s all figured out later.† Serra, then, is very much aware of the implications of his work. If Serra is indeed just â€Å"figuring out what lead does† (gravitationally, molecularly, etc.), why should anyone think of it as art? If he doesn’t take the responsibility of it being art, who can, or should? His work certainly appears to be empirically verifiable: lead can do, and be used for, many physical activities. In itself this does anything but lead us into a dialogue about the nature of art. In a sense then he is a primitive. He has no idea about art. How is it then that we know about â€Å"his activity†? Because he has told us it is art by his actions after â€Å"his activity† has taken place. That is, by the fact that he is with several galleries, puts the physical residue of his activity in museums (and sells them to art collectors – but as we have pointed out, collectors are irrelevant to the â€Å"condition of art† of a work). That he denies his work is art but plays the artist is more than just a paradox. Serra secretly feels that â€Å"arthood† is arrived at empirically. Thus, as Ayer has stated: There are no absolutely certain empirical propositions. It is only tautologies that are certain. Empirical questions are one and all hypotheses, which may be confirmed or discredited in actual sense experience. And the propositions in which we record the observations that verify these hypotheses are themselves hypotheses which are subject to the test of further sense experience. Thus there is no final proposition.22 What one finds all throughout the writings of Ad Reinhardt is this very similar thesis of â€Å"artas-art,† and that â€Å"art is always dead, and a ‘living’ art is a deception.†23 Reinhardt had a very clear idea about the nature of art, and his importance is far from recognized. Because forms of art that can be considered synthetic propositions are verifiable by the world, that is to say, to understand these propositions one must leave the tautological-like framework of art and consider â€Å"outside† information. But to consider it as art it is necessary to ignore this same outside information, because outside information (experiential qualities, to note) has its own intrinsic worth. And to comprehend this worth one does not need a state of â€Å"art condition.† From this it is easy to realize that art’s viability is not connected to the presentation of visual (or other) kinds of experience. That that may have been one of art’s extraneous functions in the preceding centuries is not unlikely. After all, man in even the nineteenth century lived in a fairly standardized visual environment. That is, it was ordinarily predictable as to what he would be coming into contact with day after day. His visual environment in the part of the world in which he lived was fairly consistent. In our time we have an experientially drastically richer environment. One can fly all over the earth in a matter of hours and days, not months. We have the cinema, and color television, as well as the man-made spectacle of the lights of Las Vegas or the skyscrapers of New York City. The whole world is there to be seen, and the whole world can watch man walk on the moon from their living rooms. Certainly art or objects of painting and sculpture cannot be expected to compete experientially with this? The notion of â€Å"use† is relevant to art and its â€Å"language.† Recently the box or cube form has been used a great deal within the context of art. (Take for instance its use by Judd, Morris, LeWitt, Bladen, Smith, Bell, and McCracken – not even mentioning the quantity of boxes and cubes that came after.) The difference between all the various uses of the box or cube form is directly related to the differences in the intentions of the artists. Further, as is particularly seen in Judd’s work, the use of the box or cube form illustrates very well our earlier claim that an object is only art when placed in the context of art. A few examples will point this out. One could say that if one of Judd’s box forms was seen filled with debris, seen placed in an industrial setting, or even merely seen sitting on a street corner, it would not be identified with art. It follows then that understanding and consideration of it as an artwork is necessary a priori to viewing it in order to â€Å"see† it as a work of art. Advance information about the concept of art and about an artist’s concepts is necessary to the appreciation and understanding of contemporary art. Any and all of the physical attributes (qualities) of contemporary works, if considered separately and/or specifically, are irrelevant to the art concept. The art concept (as Judd said, though he didn’t mean it this way) must be considered in its whole. To consider a concept’s parts is invariably to consider aspects that are irrelevant to its art condition – or like reading parts of a definition. It comes as no surprise that the art with the least fixed morphology is the example from which we decipher the nature of the general term â€Å"art.† For where there is a context existing separately of its morphology and consisting of its function one is more likely to find results less conforming and predictable. It is in modern art’s possession of a â€Å"language† with the shortest history that the plausibility of the abandonment of that â€Å"language† becomes most possible. It is understandable then that the art that came out of Western painting and sculpture is the most energetic, questioning (of its nature), and the least assuming of all the general â€Å"art† concerns. In the final analysis, however, all of the arts have but (in Wittgenstein’s terms) a â€Å"family† resemblance. Yet the various qualities relatable to an â€Å"art condition† possessed by poetry, the novel, the cinema, the theatre, and various forms of mus ic, etc., is that aspect of them most reliable to the function of art as asserted here. Is not the decline of poetry relatable to the implied metaphysics from poetry’s use of â€Å"common† language as an art language?24 In New York the last decadent stages of poetry can be seen in the move by â€Å"Concrete† poets recently toward the use of actual objects and theatre.25 Can it be that they feel the unreality of their art form? We see now that the axioms of a geometry are simply definitions, and that the theorems of a geometry are simply the logical consequences of these definitions. A geometry is not in itself about physical space; in itself it cannot be said to be â€Å"about† anything. But we can use a geometry to reason about physical space. That is to say, once we have given the axioms a physical interpretation, we can proceed to apply the theorems to the objects which satisfy the axioms. Whether a geometry can be applied to the actual physical world or not, is an empirical question which falls outside the scope of geometry itself. There is no sense, therefore, in asking which of the various geometries known to us are false and which are true. Insofar as they are all free from contradiction, they are all true. The proposition which states that a certain application of a geometry is possible is not itself a proposition of that geometry. All that the geometry itself tells us is that if anything can be brought under the definitions, it will also satisfy the theorems. It is therefore a purely logical system, and its propositions are purely analytic propositions. –A. J. Ayer26 Here then I propose rests the viability of art. In an age when traditional philosophy is unreal because of its assumptions, art’s ability to exist will depend not only on its not performing a service – as entertainment, visual (or other) experience, or decoration – which is something easily replaced by kitsch culture, and technology, but, rather, it will remain viable by not assuming a philosophical stance; for in art’s unique character is the capacity to remain aloof from philosophical judgments. It is in this context that art shares similarities with logic, mathematics, and, as well, science. But whereas the other endeavors are useful, art is not. Art indeed exists for its own sake. In this period of man, after philosophy and religion, art may possibly be one endeavor that fulfills what another age might have called â€Å"man’s spiritual needs.† Or, another way of putting it might be that art deals analogously with the state of things â€Å"beyond physics† where philosophy had to make assertions. And art’s strength is that even the preceding sentence is an assertion, and cannot be verified by art. Art’s only claim is for art. Art is the definition of art. NOTES * Reprinted from Studio International (October, 1969). 1 Morton White, The Age of Analysis (New York: Mentor Books), p. 14. 2 Ibid., p. 15. 3 I mean by this Existentialism and Phenomenology. Even Merleau-Ponty, with his middle-of-the-road position between empiricism and rationalism, cannot express his philosophy without the use of words (thus using concepts); and following this, how can one discuss experience without sharp distinctions between ourselves and the world? 4 Sir James Jeans, Physics and Philosophy (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press), p. 17. 5 Ibid., p. 190. 6 Ibid., p. 190. 7 The task such philosophy has taken upon itself is the only â€Å"function† it could perform without making philosophic assertions. 8 This is dealt with in the following section. 9 I would like to make it clear, however, that I intend to speak for no one else. I arrived at these conclusions alone, and indeed, it is from this thinking that my art since 1966 (if not before) evo lved. Only recently did I realize after meeting Terry Atkinson that he and Michael Baldwin share similar, though certainly not identical, opinions to mine. 10 Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language. 11 The conceptual level of the work of Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Ron Davis, Anthony Caro, John Hoyland, Dan Christensen, et al., is so dismally low, that any that is there is supplied by the critics promoting it. This is seen later. 12 Michael Fried’s reasons for using Greenberg’s rationale reflect his background (and most of the other formalist critics) as a â€Å"scholar,† but more of it is due to his desire, I suspect, to bring his scholarly studies into the modern world. One can easily sympathize with his desire to connect, say, Tiepolo with Jules Olitski. One should never forget, however, that a historian loves history more than anything, even art. 13 Lucy Lippard uses this quotation in a footnote to Ad Reinhardt’s retrospective catalogue, January, 1967, p. 28. 14 Lucy Lippard, â€Å"Constellation by Harsh Daylight: The Whitney Annual,† Hudson Review, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring, 1968). 15 Arthur R. Rose, â€Å"Four Interviews,† Arts Magazine (February, 1969). 16 As Terry Atkinson pointed out in his introduction to Art-Language (Vol. 1, No. 1), the Cubists never questioned if art had morphological characteristics, but which ones in painting were acceptable. 17 When someone â€Å"buys† a Flavin he isn’t buying a light show, for if he was he could just go to a hardware store and get the goods for considerably less. He isn’t â€Å"buying† anything. He is subsidizing Flavin’s activity as an artist. 18 A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic (New York: Dover Publications), p. 78. 19 Ibid., p. 57. 20 Ibid., p. 57. 21 Ibid., p.90. 22 Ibid., p. 94. 23 Ad Reinhardt’s retrospective catalogue (Jewish Museum, January, 1967) written by Lucy Lippard, p. 12. 24 It is poetry’s use of common language to attempt to say the unsayable that is problematic, not any inherent problem in the use of language within the context of art. 25 Ironically, many of them call themselves â€Å"Conceptual Poets.† Much of this work is very similar to Walter de Maria’s work and this is not coincidental; de Maria’s work functions as a kind of â€Å"object† poetry, and his intentions are very poetic: he really wants his work to change men’s lives. 26 Op. cit., p. 82.

Internet Technology, Marketing, and Security Essay - 1

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American National Government Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American National Government - Assignment Example Since this case was heard secretly in a family court in which the judge issued a gag order, there are no official public records giving information about the court custody case or the proceedings therein. Hons Campbell was taken 17 hours after birth while Eva Lynn Brown was taken into foster care 2 days after birth. Since the court was mum on the custodial proceedings, Douglas B. Brill from The Express Times suggests possible reasons as to why all of Campbell children are under the custody of the state. Among the reasons put forward was that the DYFS felt the children were unsafe after threats were leveled against the family due to their infamous names, the names themselves may have led to a complaint that made the DYFS investigate abuse or neglect claims against the Campbell parents or quite possibly the names invoked feelings of hatred against the children which as a result put them in danger and need for state protection. Additionally, Mr. Campbells ex-wife Deborah Campbell had once written a note to a neighbor claiming that her life and that of their children is in danger and that prompted the state to act swiftly in protection of the children even before express danger was proven (as was in the case of Hons and Eva Lynn who were taken a short while after they were born. The Due Process Clause in the 14th Amendment to the American Constitution prohibits the state and local government officials from depriving persons of any liberty without legislative authorization. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act authorizes the DYFS to take into custody any child deemed to be in danger of neglect and/or abuse. The Equal protection clause in the same amendment provides the right to equal protection by the state. This simply means that regardless of the group one belongs to; be it a particular sexual orientation, religious background or gender, everyone is entitled to equal protection by the law. According to Mr. Campbell,

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Knowledge Management and Organisation Learning - Essay Example Modern business history lists a number of instances when knowledge-centred management has helped create competitive advantage of organisations and even countries formerly limited in financial and other resources. For Microsoft, Dell, IBM (which is believed to be one of the founders of the paradigm), Compaq, British Airways, Ryan Air and other major organisations knowledge management has become the cornerstone of success. The same is true for such countries as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong which rely on the national knowledge economy. Over the last two decades, organizations have often been described in terms of knowledge and learning with the help of such concepts as "learning organisation", "intellectual capital", "people-centred approach" or "knowledge based management". Cakar and Bititci (2001) perfectly summarise this trend in the following statement: "1980s were all about automation. In the manufacturing industry FMS, FAS, Robots, AGV'S etc. were commonplace. The 1990s have been about people, this is evident in the development of concepts throughout the 90's focusing on delegation, involvement, ownership cross functional teamwork, self managed works teams and so on The needs of modern business emphasize the role and importance of people and knowledge" (p.2). Also the idea of knowledge management appeared requested in 1990s the concept itself dates back early 1960s. Its advent is associated with classic works of Peter Drucker w. Drucker found out that on 1960s, He called this new era an informational one (Drucker, 1994). The ideas of Peter Drucker (1994), whom was the first to use term 'knowledge worker', became widely recognised in 1980s when a number of followers supported his idea that investments in human resources were increasingly becoming more cost-efficient than investments in machines. In 1986, European knowledge management pioneer Karl-Erik Sveiby described the concept of a "know-how company" (Doz, Santos & Williamson, 2001), and in 1991 the ideas of knowledge management were reconsidered by Ikujiro Nonako whom presented the idea of "knowledge-creating company". The 1996 could be considered the turning point in history of knowledge management: the influence of this paradigm became overwhelming in absolute majority of the developed countries (Skyrme, 2002). The ideas and concepts related to knowledge managements were successfully applied in the oil, pharmaceutical, high technology, financial, and other industries. Main Body Knowledge management is a new form of management which helps organizational adaptation, survival and competence in face of increasingly discontinuous environmental change. This broader perspective incorporates the processes of knowledge use, knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and knowledge renewal (Malhotra, 1998). Therefore, knowledge management is commonly defined as "the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organizing, diffusion, use and exploitation, in pursuit of

The United States vs Sioux Nations of Indians Essay

The United States vs Sioux Nations of Indians - Essay Example The 1877 Act exercised the Congress power over Indian poverty and protected the tribal property which had been set aside by the Fort Laramie Treaty for Sioux. The treaty was concluded after the Powder River war of 1866 to 1867. The decisions undertaken in this case include the following. The government promised to provide the Sioux with the necessary services and materials and subsistence rations for four years in order for them to become civilized farmers. The United States also permitted this tribe to choose for themselves lands within the reservations for them to cultivate. The government through the executive branch decided to do away with the Nations treaty obligation of keeping safe the territory for Sioux. Besides, the court dismissed the earlier 448 U.S. 371 for lack of jurisdiction and without determining the merits of the Black Hills claim. In reference to this situation, I would like to describe a related case. I had a friend whose land was unjustly grabbed by a company. The ideal situation was that this particular company had detected some land which was rich in oil. Following its admiration, the company had decided to negotiate for the same that it would partake the necessary legal procedures. Instead of doing that, the company which was notably found to be corruptive somehow instead paid huge amounts of money to the land authorities in order to gain the consent from both parties (Seelye, # 25). The government through the lands authority on the contrarily did not protect the land and its owner. Instead, it took advantage of the lots of money offered and corruptly gave out a title deed to the company. This situation is unfair because it is classified under the crime of land grabbing. To me, both the company and the land authorities are corrupt. They should have protected the property of this citizen and acquire it in a correct way. If I were the in the position of the lands authorities, I would shun from corruption and sue this particular company for its mistake.     Ã‚  

Addressing Child Poverty in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Addressing Child Poverty in the UK - Essay Example This limiting of considerations and change in social policies is not simply a development in UK’s guiding principles toward families and children within its frontier, but is applied to promote a specific political objective across the globe. The child poverty program of Labour is driven by the broadening of inequality and increase in social exclusion in the UK throughout the past two decades and specifically the worsening in the conditions of UK children in comparison to other vulnerable groups. This has shown that the main social objective of the government of the UK has increasingly turned into addressing child poverty. The UK government is viewing and treating poverty not only as a symptom of socioeconomic disparity, but as a force producing resource deficit and hampering the educational achievement and growth of children. Social policy refers to the study of the structure and provision of public services, security, and welfare within countries. Its emphasis is on the means in which various countries interpret and address the demands and needs of their citizens (Micklewright & Stewart 2000, 89). Basically, social policy is an applied discourse which tackles the provision and organisation of resources for the fulfilment of social needs. This paper will analyse and discuss the development of UK government’s social policy since 1997, particularly in relation to child poverty, along with two other related policy areas, namely, child abuse and low educational attainment. There have been substantial disparities in child poverty between countries over the past two decades. In some societies, particularly the UK, the extent of child poverty broadened significantly, whereas in other European countries it did not (Hills 1998, 8). Rather, different types of welfare state safeguarded revenue and expenses flowing to children. This refers to the mutual connection between children’s citizenship or political representation and their cultural and social representation. This demands both reassessing the segregation and exclusion of children from the society and re-evaluating the commonplace but negative stereotypes of children that govern political discourse (Dobrowolsky 2002, 45). Nevertheless, there is a vital link between children’s influence in policymaking and political discussion and the culturally and socially constructed paradigms in which children are viewed. Moreover, several studies have emphasised the connection between child poverty and a number of forms of child abuse, particularly physical and emotional maltreatment, and neglect (Devaney & Spratt 2009, 2). There is no major research that explicitly studied the nature of the connection between child poverty and child abuse in the UK, yet the widespread assumption focuses on the stress variables related with social exclusion and poverty, which are aggravated if mental health problems and substance abuse come about (Devaney & Spratt 2009, 2). Hence, in order to su ccessfully support and protect vulnerable families and children, there should be more understanding and knowledge of the effects of material and social deprivation, and the various kinds of difficulties that families and children are confronting have to be acknowledged if their demands and needs are to be successfully addressed. Furthermore, aside from child abuse, child poverty in the UK is now being felt in the education sector. For instance, there are empirical reports of behavioural and psychological disparities by socioeconomic standing, in at least 2-year-old children (MacBeath, Gray, Cullen, et al. 2006, 82). Alongside supporting the growth and development of

Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plan - Essay Example Wedding photography is an important commercial undertaking that provides jobs for many people. Many wedding ceremonies are all about spending money; therefore, many couples are willing to spend an extra amount just to have a great event. Conducting a wedding in a beautiful unique place might cost a bit more but would sit in well with the idea of a great wedding. The photographs taken on beautiful sceneries will serve as great memories for couples throughout their entire lives (Etienne 2011). Photos taken in a different location, for example a foreign country can bring unforgettable memories to the couple. For this case, having some wedding photographs taken in Miami for Chinese couples, would bring out a different view to their wedding photos due to the change in location. An individual has to analyze and evaluate the market before entering into a new venture. In order to sell this new idea to different couples, several steps can be taken. A wide range of promotions and advertising s trategies can be used. These include use of yellow pages to advertise the business where interested clients can call a designated business number for the wedding photography services. Placing advertisements for the business in the Public press such as, newspapers and magazines can also be utilized. Internet marketing can be used, where the advertisements can be placed in various websites to be viewed by those browsing the global network. Social media can be used, where a page on Facebook or Twitter is created to involve friends and their acquaintances to view the business. Preparing business cards and setting an office could also help attract customer who may require wedding photography services. To ensure that customers are drawn by the services provided, there is need to showcase the different photography work that has previously been completed (Das). For a couple to go along with the idea of having some of their wedding photography in a foreign country, one has to provide adequat e merits that will capture their attention, making them buy into the idea. Firstly, one can sell the idea on grounds of being unique. In this case, Miami has beautiful beaches and the tropical feel would be unforgettable. This would be deemed as a unique experience. The photography services are supposed to be of the highest quality. Secondly, one has to prove that the idea is viable and explain all the procedures to be followed. Travelling to a different country comes with procedures and rules that have to be followed. Thirdly, the price should be favourable since exorbitant prices would render them disinterested. The prices should be customer friendly depending on the photography services provided. However, all this depends on the couple’s preference and the customers should always get what they paid for (Etienne 2011). Obtaining the first customer is usually a big challenge to overcome. An individual should come up with a strategy that will enable the business to attract mo re customers by itself, after providing quality services for the first one. Potential clients consider obtaining a service from individuals who have a great reputation. This can only come from giving the first client a memorable service. After extensive promotion of the idea, it becomes easier to obtain the first client (Etienne 2011). Networking with the first clients can prove to be a great idea since

Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Government - Research Paper Example Trying Jones in the states court will also attract a maximum sentence unless he pleads guilty whereas the federal court has comparative leniency of federal rules regarding wiretaps and informants which give Jones the possibility of a minimal sentence compared to the former. The fact that he helped with the collecting of evidence to build cases against Smith and Thompson should influence the severity of his sentence in a federal court. Therefore it is my recommendation that once again a federal court is more beneficial because Jones’ actions of helping collect evidence will sway the judges or jury in a federal court. This will go a long way in helping future informants co-operate because they see that there snitching on the others is beneficial to them (Winnfred, 2011). Since no previous records have been found on Smith, the recommendation is to file the case in the Sedgwick County District Court. Smith should be charged with possession and trafficking as a first offender. The prosecutor should consider cutting a deal with Smith which will see the reduction of his sentence in exchange for him informing on his suppliers. ... The federal courts also need to issue a warrant to search all of Thompson’s premises. Secondly the federal courts offer greater harsher penalties for drug related offences that help deter people from future trafficking. According to 1993 statistics from the Department of Justice, the average federal sentence for selling powder cocaine was 79 months; the average for trafficking in crack cocaine was 141 months. Since Thompson seems to be a big time dealer he faces a harsher sentencing. Thompson should also be offered a deal just like Smith by the prosecutor where he faces a less harsh sentence if he is to inform on his suppliers (Harris 2007). The federal courts also offer an avenue for liaising with other courts in other states and other countries unlike the state courts in the event that Thompson’s suppliers are from different states or countries. Since Jones’ testimony is key to prosecuting Thompson, the prosecutor should make it clear to the judge that in no wa y should Jones’ previous convictions influence the decision made by the court in the trial against Thompson. He should still be viewed as a credible witness despite his selfish reasons in informing on Thompson. Looking at the federal law in the United States, there is no full reception statute provided on the level of federal law that spearheaded common law and therefore giving power to federal courts to fabricate precedents that were deemed legal. Federal courts culminate from the federal constitution together with the federal Judicial Acts. On the other hand, people have come to accept the fact that the earlier inhabitants of the United States, by their action of bestowing â€Å"judicial authority† into the highest court of the land

Working with Severe and Enduring Mental Health Problems Essay

Working with Severe and Enduring Mental Health Problems - Essay Example He grew up seeing his parents drink and often they would allow him have a taste of the drink at the tender age of 10. Jacob grew up in the city, in a poor neighborhood. His friends in school were mostly people who took alcohol or smoked cigarettes. As a result of interacting mainly with drunkards and smokers, he became very addicted to alcohol. Another factor that contributed to his addiction was that he felt that he was being discriminated against in school and in the neighborhood like his fellow African Americans. He could not perform well in class due to several social problems including poverty and racial discrimination prompting him to seek something that he could take to get relaxed, less nervous, to cheer up, and as a pass time activity. Jack admits to taking, on average, 500mls of spirit every day. Due to his drinking habit, he dropped out of college. He opted to get money to drink by doing odd jobs. Whenever he gets a job, usually casual, he starts well and shows a lot of de dication. However, every time he is paid, he loses focus taking time to drink and absenting himself from work. In the end, he has nothing to survive on leading to his stress and depression. Jack’s story is quite similar to that of many other alcohol addicts struggling with their addiction. He has relapsed countless times in his attempt to overcome addiction. In his current state, Jack is suffering from depression. He is often bored, tired, anxious, and feels sad. His concentration is low and his social life pathetic. Whenever he does not take a drink, Jack gets extremely nervous and experiences headache, his body shaking. Even without taking a drink, he hallucinates and walks as though he will drop with the very next step. People tend to avoid Jack and treat him harshly for being an addict, leading to his stigmatization. For him, getting a job is a nightmare; he seems weak with blood shot eyes that make others feel others a little uncomfortable in his presence. Coupled with h is racial background Jack feels greatly marginalized and disfavored. The community in which Jack lives is predominantly white. Although people sympathize with Jack’s situation, many feel that they can do very little, almost nothing to help him. Some people ask him to quit drinking at once, others ask him to reduce his consumption gradually. A few people have taken time to counsel him advising him to take responsibility and decide his destiny. Others, however, opt to buy him more alcohol especially when they need him to perform an odd job. While many people treat him with contempt and disrespect, a few consider him and treat him with dignity. In an attempt to help Jack overcome his addiction, I have encouraged him to do some physical exercises and to ensure that his mind is always occupied as suggested by Nash (2010). By exercising, his body will experience improved blood flow making him more relaxed and receptive to positive thoughts. I have encouraged him to pursue his desir e for a changed life, free of alcohol-related bondage. I have also encouraged jack to join an online support network so as to build his social life. I have also asked him to develop an interest for various activities of his choice so as to keep himself occupied. So as to avoid temptation, I have asked jack to avoid keeping alcohol at home. Instead, he should program himself to drink on plan, not as often as he feels like. In addition, I have introduced Jack to a self help group that caters for the needs of alcoholics and drug addicts. The potential barriers to Jack’s recovery include the attitude of the society regarding alcoholics and drug addicts. This goes hand in hand with discrimination, and stigma connected to mental sickness, which is certainly a value judgment as noted by Weinstein (2010). In some

Hong Kong Essay Example for Free

Hong Kong Essay The Pearl of Asia or the popularly known as Hong Kong is a dynamic metropolis steeped in unique blend of East and West. Hong Kong is also my hometown I am proud of. Since childhood, the most beautiful sight I even seen is the stunning view of Hong Kong. Apart from that, every spectacular image has its own stories, history, culture, and memories that represent this amazing city. Hong Kong is also astonishing for many reasons. One is the famous Victorian Harbor. The Victorian Harbor always caught my attention and my appreciation because of its unique beauty every time I pass along. Victorian Harbor is eye-catching by the glamorous beauty of the lights especially at night. It is actually separated into two sides of Hong Kong Island. When gazing it, I do it intently from one side to another. On the West side, the view of the tier of high raised neighborhood occupied by thousands of families is visible. It is followed by blocks of vintage colonial era architecture which dates back 150 years ago. It is further packed with more tall buildings. The array of glasses, steel and marble-clad edifices are highly condensed in different color layer ranging from the harbor up to the peak. On the other edge of the harbor, there are many high-end and high-rise apartments facing to the direction of Pacific Ocean. Another unforgettable experience is also the refreshing walk along the Avenue of Stars. The Avenue of Stars is a long road which allows every passerby to experience the panoramic views of the popular Victoria Harbor and the memorable Hong Kong skyline. Upon looking in depth at the opposite harbor, various famous architectural works which signifies about Hong Kong excites me. In addition, there are also modern buildings which signify the economic prowess of the city which includes the Two International Finance Centre, Exchange Square, Home to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, HSBC Main Building, and others. Furthermore, there are also buildings built entirely of structural steel without any reinforced concrete in the inner core. The Convention and Exhibition Center which has been built in the concept of Feng Sui with its sweeping sails roof and vast glass windows proves the respect to the culture. These buildings are the proof of the adherence of the city to traditions, culture, quality a nd modernity. Other than the significant buildings, the details of stunning lights along every blocks and street makes the night livelier, more brilliant, and meaningful. Numerous logos of well-known brands are also apparent on top of buildings. Colored neon light signs also hang on every shop which increases brightness of the entire streets. Every block of apartment is also decorated with its own style. These elements, when added together, form the unique culture of fantastic international city. By looking at the brilliant harbor, views of old and new buildings which live side-by-side, colonial buildings, and glass-and-steel skyscrapers, along with its ancient Chinese traditions and lively local culture can clearly be seen. Through the amazing and scenic views I have witnessed and experienced, I became more proud of my citizenship and being part of this attractive land. The above elements and the unique fusion of Western and Eastern culture are the factors that made Hong Kong apart from the rest of Asia. The views I have witnessed will absolutely be remembered in my memories and will forever be painted in my heart.

Way of preserving your wine Essay Example for Free

Way of preserving your wine Essay As a wine importer, educator and wine writer, I get asked time and again- â€Å"how long can I keep undrunk bottle of wine once it is opened? † and â€Å"what is best method for preserving half drunk wine? † Each and every time I have answered the questions to questionnaires, today I felt like writing about the ways of preserving half drunk wine that can remain fresh and drinkable for several days after opening the bottle. We often completely drink a bottle of wine once it is opened since we socialize a glass or two with family and friends and it gets completely drink. Once wine is completely finished drinking, there is no concern about preserving remaining wine that was purchased for expensive price. Usually, that is the case in Nepalese market. However, in some occasions, we have some undrunk wine and we want to keep it for future consumption but we know that it gets undrinkable in couple of days later and don’t know how to preserve it. I have seen people looking for ways of preserving undrunk wine as fresh as possible for several days’ later consumption but they have reported that wasn’t the case more than often. It is regrettable and disappointing to see such a good bottle of wine go wasted. Don’t worry, we have several solutions to our problem and apply whichever we find easy, cost effective and appropriate. Below are tried tested several ways preserving our wine as fresh as possible for at least next five days: 1) Argon gas preservation method: This method of preserving half drunk wine is very simple and easy; however, unavailability of argon gas in Nepal; we couldn’t apply this method at the time of writing this article. Hope demand for this gas increases in future and we could import or create in Nepal. Usually Argon gas comes in bottle with pressurised one way valve system. Simply release pressurised argon gas inside the half drunk wine bottle for three to four second and close your wine bottle with cork or other type of stopper. Keep your wine bottle inside the fridge or outside in room temperature; wine remains fresh for next 3-4 days. Longer it can keep if wine has good quality wine which needs oxidization after opening the bottle. 2) Transfer Method: There is cost effective, quick and easy way of preserving our undrunk wine is transferring remaining wine in smaller bottle. Transferring wine in smaller bottle prevents wine coming to contact with oxygen; therefore, we can remain fresh for several days. The main enemy of wine spoilage is oxygen coming in contact with wine and being terms called ‘oxidized’. Once wine bottle is opened and few glass of wine is drunk, oxygen sits in empty space of the bottle. In later time, oxygen comes in contact with wine and wine gets ‘oxidized’ and becomes undrinkable. For preventing wine from oxidization, transferring remaining wine from bigger bottle in smaller bottle prevent the wine to be as fresh as the day it was opened. This method is most practical and cost effective for regular wine drinkers at home or in the restaurants. 3) Using Coravin method: Coravin method is the technique of taking required amount of wine out of bottle without taking cork out. With this method, an innovative device is used for injecting wine by inserting syringe type of device which penetrates through cork and helps to take required amount of wine out of bottle. As we take wine out of the bottle, argon gas gets injected in the bottle for filling empty space. Caravin method is applied for very expensive wines which can be drunk little by little for longer period of time. Usually, wine is expensive and we don’t want the wine to go off in any cost. This device in not available in Nepal and it is very expensive purchase. 4) Using Shielder: Wine Shielder is type of innovative round think object that is dropped inside the bottle which sits on top of surface of wine, separating wine from empty space in the bottle. Wine Shielder basically prevents oxygen coming in contact with remaining wine inside the bottle so that wine doesn’t get oxidized. The shield is assorted with nitrogen which floats on top of wine inside the bottle preventing oxygen coming in contact with wine. Wine Shielders are very hard to find in wine accessory stores but can be often purchased online. The Shielder is costly and it can’t be reused. 5) Using vacuum method: This method is very simple, cost effective and easy to use too. A vacuum method is the practice of taking oxygen out of half empty wine bottle using vacuum pump that are available for purchase in wine stores. After drinking whatever amount of wine, simply place the one way valve stopper and using vacuum pump to take air out. Also there are types of vacuum pumps available which do take air out from bottle as well as work as cork or stoppers. They serve two purposes. Vacuum pumps are available in Nepalese market and the devices are reasonably well priced. Let’s hope from now on, we don’t need to worry about spoilage of our unfinished beloved wine. We believe, despite of many constraints, we have illustrated few simple solutions that can be applied at home with very little cost. Those who are passionate of trying to drink different type of wine every day and need for preserving remaining wine as fresh as first glass drunk, it is best to use high tech method such as Coravin method. Finally, buy screw capped bottle wine so you could put cap back after drinking your desired amount. It is cost effective and easy way for preserving the wine for few days. Note: All Mark Davidson wine available in Nepal are screw capped and can stay fresh for next five days after opening the bottle. Look for the same bottle and give us a feedback. Drink for good health.

Analysis of hospitality industry: Kedar Country Lodge

Analysis of hospitality industry: Kedar Country Lodge Kedar Country Lodge It is a four star lodge with 85 employees, its divided into different department namely Food and Beverage, Front Office, Kitchen, Housekeeping, Maintenance, Garden, Sales, Human Resources, Administration and IT. The property is 640 hectors with antelopes animals, it has Paul Kruger Museum, 65 rooms, 7 conference rooms, Restaurant and Bar. Most of their guests come to do conferencing and as well leisure. Task 1 Staff Organization At Kedar Country Lodge they are using Hierarchical structure, where by each department has a leader whom the junior staff report to and then they report to the operations manager then he reports straight to the general manager. The Roles and Responsibilities of a supervisor The supervisor at Kedar is second eye for a manager, he/she deals with staff directly. Their roles and responsibilities are as follows: To check day to day operations To guide and train staff To be present all the times if there’s service To attend to the guest’s complains To make sure company standards and procedures are being followed To solve conflict among staff To motivate staff To make sure that staff complete their jobs before they go home To make sure that staff are safe in their working areas The Roles and Responsibilities of a Manager She is the one who is in charge for everything going on at Kedar property and makes finally decisions, the roles and responsibilities are as follows: To do plans to get business To decide the salaries of staff To make a finally decisions on hiring To make sure the target and goals are being reached To maintain good communication among staff Planning Staff Rota The staff rota is being done by supervisors and double checked by the manager whether it’s correct. They do it according to business occupancy and there’s no favoritism. On staff rota there are only four different shifts firstly from 06:00 -15:00, secondly from 08:00 – 17:00, thirdly from 14:00 – 23:00 and lastly from 23:00 08:00. Staff rota helps them a lot to see who in and who off. They are using excel to do the staff rota, on a first column they put the staff names and followed by how many days offs did the company give you, on first raw they put the number of guests in-house followed by the dates and days, at the end there’s a column of days off being owed to staff or days being owed to the company by staff. They save staff rota in computers to keep their records or for later changes. Staff is allowed to request certain days offs if they do have some appointments but it will depend how busy it will be that day. When staff rota is done it will be taken to the relevant department and put them on notice board so that everyone can see it. The Purpose and Features of Contract of Employment Contract of employment is an agreement between the employees and the kedar owner, it is presented in a form paper with 5 pages and if they are hiring the employee has to sign as well as the employer. It also contains the code of conducts. At kedar the employees are working during the holidays but in return they will be paid each holiday worked. Purpose of a Contract – to define both employees and kedar owner’s responsibilities with respect to a desired development outcome to the level of detail necessary to make both comfortable with respect to the relationship and to specify rights, obligations and conditions of employment Features of Contract of Employment The job title and description Which department will employee be working with Company residential address, post address and phone numbers To whom the employee will be reporting to When the employee will start working For how long is the employee on probation The entitlements of employee (salary, leave, days off) The rules regarding sick leave, family responsibility leave and unpaid leave Which shifts will the employee be working Financial and Legal Implications of Different Types of Contract They are using the permanent or fixed term employees and casual employees. The permanent employees – these are the employees which the company has agreed to keep them forever as long they are still willing to work for the company. They do give them the permanent contract if they have passed the fixed or probation contract for three months and if the company is happy with their performances. Their permanent staff they are entitled to: Holiday offs – their employees are entitled to it and its either they are off or they will be paid double for each holiday worked for. Annual leave – they give their employees 21days leave after 12 months and they will be fully paid. Study leave – they grant them to employees who are doing part time studies when they are writing their exams. The company will give the employee the day off during the day he/she is writing and pay them full. Compassionate leave – they give them three days off per 12 months and pay them full salary. The compassionate leave applies when the employee has to deal with emergency involving someone who depends on him/her e.g. child, husband or wife. Sick leave – They are entitled 12 days off sick in a year, if the employee exceeds then they will subtract the days from annual leave and give them full pay. If it may happen that they have taken the entire annual leave they then notify the employee to take an unpaid leave and they won’t pay any salary to the employee. Time off – they are entitled to off 6 days a month of which they work five and half days and get off. They will be paid full salary. Worker’s Compensation – If an employee gets injury at work the company will pay hospital bills and pay the employee the employee full salary during those days not at work. Casual employees At kedar they use casual employees when it’s too busy and they pay them an hour rate. They are only entitled to worker’s compensation when they can get injured whilst working. If they use them during holiday they pay them double the amount they are being paid. The Cost of Employing Staff At kedar there is few cost of employing staff which are: Time and cost to do advertising about available position Selecting and interviewing applicants Type of job and number applicants To increase the space to accommodate new employees To buy new equipment for them to use To pay them their salaries To feed them To pay transport for them To train them so that they can be more skillful and to gain job knowledge The cost for their entitlements, .e.g. sick leave, worker’s compensation, public holidays Motivation It is to make someone believe in himself/herself and like what he/she doing. The Link between Motivation and Productivity They motivate their staff to have good productivity. They always do have competition like the employee of the month and the employee of the year, they give prize to the winner, by doing this each employee works harder in order to be a winner and on the other hand there is a good productivity and a lot of job done. There are also the prizes of name of the employee being mentioned most by guests, this makes the employees to get involved with guests or to help them more at the end the guests will be happy for good service and they will spread the word to others by doing so a lot of guests will love the place and visit more often and company gain more profits. The Characteristics of Effective leader They do have good leaders who are leading the company, they treat their staff like their children and they are fair, honest, responsible, trustworthy, strong, competitive and confident. They are good motivators to their employees, they are always active in planning ahead and solving any problems amongst the employees. They are good communicators, listeners and also supportive. They do train and grow them to be good leaders as well. They are mentors of their employees and they make the company to be their second home and everyone is happy. They don’t feel bored and they are patience. An Effective Team The way Kedar employees are you may think they are brothers and sisters, they are one and they can die for one another because of the good unit they have, the following are the characteristics which makes them a good team: They sacrifice for each other They have got clear common goals They are united They always rotate the leadership among themselves Honest to each other If they do have problems or conflicts they solve them in a civilized manner They share same stories They don’t judge or discriminate each other They discuss or argue about work but at the end they will come to conclusion of which its normal They all cooperate They are free to each other The Principles of equal Opportunities in the Workplace They treat their staff fair and equal regardless of where are they coming from, gender, race, age, color, physical abilities, status, language and religion. Equal Opportunities in Employment They respect and recognize staff’s and customer’s religion and culture The employees are happy at the workplace all times The more skillful employees are promoted They are fairly treated at work Whatever decision is being made by management it is fair to all employees They train their employees to be better so that they can deliver good service to customers No employee is being bullied, harassed and discriminated, they are all free Diversity They do understand each other and they have put their differences aside, in a safe, positive and nurturing environment. Their employees are mixed; they do have foreigners, locals, mixed races (whites, blacks, Chinese and Indians), different genders (males, females, gays and lesbians) and different ages. They are one family. They do business with more different countries and all their customers they feel welcome as if they are in their countries or home because of friendly and respectful employees. Diversity makes their company more attractive, their employees are growing and it helps with alternatives solutions when dealing with issue or ideas to grow business. It also motivates the employees. Since they have more different tribes it helps their business grow. Purpose of an Industry Code of Ethics A code of ethics is a vital document for Kedar, as breaches of ethics can land the company in serious trouble with consumers, other organizations or government authorities. Creating a code of ethics makes decision-making easier at all levels for them by reducing uncertainty and considerations of individual perspectives in ethical standards. It is truly a unified effort in which Kedar works to ensure there is no compromise in service, quality, or integrity Purpose A code of ethics guides all managerial decisions, creating a common framework upon which all decisions are founded. This helps them to create a cohesive understanding of the boundaries within an organization and the standards set for interacting with external companies. A formal, well-communicated code of ethics helps them to protect their companys reputation and legal standing in the event of a breach of ethics by an individual employee. Importance of Ethics Public image Productivity and Teamwork Asset protection Retain good skillful employees Industry Code of Practice Industry code of practice its rules or guidelines to be followed, they are there to protect their customers and Kedar owners. It makes it clear to public or customers what they are allowed to do and what is prohibited. These rules or guidelines are made by the owners to let the customers know how they run their business some by government protecting locals or internationals. Need for industry code of practice To deliver a certain standard of practice To encourage consumers confidence in a particular industry To avoid customers or owners taking advantage Use of IT in Tourism and Hospitality IT stands for information technology, it is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieves, transmits and control data, it can be people who are well trained working with those technologies. Kedar they do have their own permanently hired IT that are responsible for programming the systems, repairing and to assist with technical related issues. Importance of IT in Hospitality Industry To store their important information and history of previous customers To communicate with customers via email To market their lodge through website To use it for checking in and checking out of the guest To do bookings online To do function sheets To do staff roasters To capture and keep records of stocks To print necessary documents To show the prices and customers still to pay To show the forecast and occupancy For guest to access internet The following are the IT applications used from Kedar: Computer systems – to do various different jobs, .e.g. doing emails, writing their menus etc Aloha system – they use it to show prices of different food, beverage and to show them what has been sold when doing their stocks.(Product mix) Reservation system – they are using room master to check in and check out their customers, it also makes it easier to check the availability and it shows how many guests are arriving, departing and staying so that the kitchen can know how many to carter for and housekeeping to know which rooms to prepare and how. Internet – for guest to access or to do money transfer. They have made easier for their customers by having Wi-Fi. Mobiles – managers contact the customers using mobile Business Letters At Kedar they write their business letters using word program from Microsoft office 2003 of which they purchased it from Microsoft company to owner it and they installed into their computers. Their business letters are straight forward. In the letter it contains contact details on the top left and underneath contains the initials of the owners. The general manager is the one who gives the finally decision, she firstly check it. The following are some types of letters being written at Kedar: Apologizing letters Welcoming letters guest on their arrivals Welcome back letters for guests who are coming for the second or third time at Kedar Confirmation letter for booking Quotation letters Anniversary letters if the guests have told them prior to arrival Birthday letters if the guests have informed them Spread sheet A spreadsheet is a paper sheet that shows data in rows and columns, it is mostly used by accounts doing variances to show how company does, sales department use it to show how are they doing with bringing in the clients and to show forecast, kitchen using it to keep the records of their menus and to do their menus of the week and stock controller for capturing, displaying and controlling data. They use it mostly when doing their stocks takes. The software that has this is Microsoft offices excel. Benefits of using spreadsheet It does have formulas to calculate You can keep as many as you can the data on spreadsheet as long you save it You can do the changes and save your work It allows you to put yours inputs indifferent colors It does have futures that allow you to control data on how you want to put it. The Use of PowerPoint and Access Database PowerPoint – it is mostly used by sales and marketing doing presentation to their clients, managers or human resources doing training with employees and the managers presenting what are they planning about the company to the Director, CEO and Chairman. Access Database – they use it to store contacts of clients, Email Email is another way of communicating; it is done through electronic exchanging messages through the use of internet and networks. The use of Email in Hospitality Industry It is cheaper than using telephone, e.g.it will be to cost full using a phone for internationals than just sending an email It can be used as a means of marketing by sending them the information booklets and special about your hotel or lodge It is fast and efficiency Limitation of Email They must be careful when using humour – it is often misunderstood Avoid sarcasm and colloquialisms It’s not safe or private wrong people can hack It may happen that the receiver may not have seen the email and it was urgent Internet Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard internet protocol suite to link several billion devices worldwide, it carries an extensive range of information resources and services and it consists a lot of private, public, business and government packet switched networks. Internet makes it easier for marketing and doing online bookings. If there was no internet it was going to be difficult for Kedar. Internet makes it easier for them to work.