Chinese culture Essay Example for Free

Chinese culture Essay William Faulkner once said that â€Å"The past is not dead. In fact, its not even past† and he could have speaking about the history of porcelain painting in China. The history of this ancient art lives and breathes in every porcelain plate we touch and eat off of. It lives and breathes in the small villages in China which cling to the past as much as they want to move into the future. We reach the beautiful of city of Yi-xing in the early morning hours. Early enough that the streets were empty and the sun was just peaking through the rows and rows of tea leaves. The blend of organic green and sandy orange reminded me of the beaches of California I had visited at a child. The city of Yi-ing is the home of several tea plantations which stretch as far as the eye can see. During the day the rows of teas are cluttered with the presence of severals humans which look out of place in the purely green surroundings. If you head south through the beautiful mountains, which look more like hills to me, you reach a deep and clear lake. This lake, Lake Taihu, is where Lu Yu once lived when he wrote his now infamous book about the magic of tea and its role in Chinese culture. Tea porcelain are intimately linked in Chinese culture. Each competing with the other to see which is older and more valued. Upon a close examination of the history it is hard to separate the two. The Chinese Porcelain factory sits on the far edge of the city of Yi-ing and is a striking contrast to the hills and valleys that lay in front of it and beyond it. It is interesting to see the coupling of industrialization and farming in a country which in some places seems oddly untouched by civilization and in other devastated by the pollution from manufacturers and cars. The story of Chinese Porcelain is one of perseverance and beyond that of innovation. Chinese ceramic and porcelain reveal the resourcefulness of Chinese artisans. They demonstrate in their pieces, which are found enclosed in glass in the lobby area of the factory, how they utilized the materials that they had and turned them into pieces of pottery that have with stood the test of time. In the Yuan and Mind dynasties, Chinese porcelain makers combined porcelain stone with kaolin however kaolin was extremely hard to work with. It was then that Chinese porcelain makers discovered that if you ground kaolin and then added water a malleable substance was created with could be kneaded into porcelain stone. This could easily be formed into pots and vases on the potters wheel. During the drying processes a knife is used to slice excess porcelain from the pottery which accounts for the delicate thinness of Chinese Porcelain. To my surprise once we went into the factory the very same techniques were being used. Centuries later modern Chinese artisans were paying homage to their centuries old mentors by building pottery in the same fashion. The twist is that the new pottery produced in these factories are brightly colored by hand with a small paint brush. The craftsmanship is perfect and the people here, who are obviously under paid and living in less then optimal condition, absolutely enjoy what they do. They take pride in every piece they make and are more then willing to share their skills with you. Our tour guide informed us that many of the kilns in use at the factory were hundreds of years old. Apparently once a large kiln is established it can be used for hundreds of years. The art of preparing clay and the process which follows is a craft which is passed down again and again from generation to generation. This is why visitors can find subtle differences in glazing processes as well as firing processes throughout the villages and cities in China. Porcelain is more then just a container used for tea or food stuff. The art displayed on pieces of Chinese Porcelain reveal the entire history of the Chinese people. From myths to fears, historic battles and even home comings. Pottery and porcelain pieces exported during these periods are an excellent source of research materials on the history of Chinas communications, trade, and economic relations with other countries. My trip to city of Yi-ing was memorable for several reasons but most importantly I was reminded of the value of craft within a society. I will never forget the feel of Chinese Porcelain on my fingertips. The knowledge that something that delicate could last for centuries was truly symbolic of the struggle and political strife that the Chinese people have dealt with since its birth. Art is not merely for decoration, entertainment, or even functionality. It serves a much more important purpose. Through art we can see the evolution and development of not just a country like China but the spirit and souls of the people who make their homes and keep their families in those counties.

The Critical Role of Information Systems Essay -- essays research pape

The Critical Role of Information Systems Today’s information systems are both technical and social in nature. Management must understand the importance of information within the organization. It is management’s job to understand how information is collected, processed, and distributed. We are all extremely affected by information systems and must be willing to understand and work with them. Our global economy does not allow us to depend on face to face transactions like in the 1980’s. Today, few managers can ignore the importance and impact of how information is handled by their organization. Information systems play a critical role in today’s business organization and society (Laudon 5). Since the emergence of the global economy, the success of firms today and in the future depends on their ability to operate globally. The American economy depends on imports and exports. Foreign trade, both imports and exports accounts for a little over 25 percent of goods and services produced in the United States, and even more in countries like Japan and Germany. This percentage is currently and will continue to grow in the future (5).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Globalization of the world’s industrial economies greatly enhances the value of information to the firm and offers new opportunities to businesses. Today, information systems provide the communication and analytic power that firms need to conduct trades and manage businesses on a global scale. Globalization and information technology also brings new threats to domestic business firms. This is brought on by the customer’s ability to shop in a worldwide marketplace, obtaining the price and quality information reliably, 24 hours a day. The worldwide market place brings competition to a higher level than ever before, forcing all businesses to play a part in this global economy. In order to become a profitable player in a worldwide market firms, need powerful information and communication systems (5).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many countries are experiencing the third economic revolution. These countries include the United States, Japan, Germany and other major industrial powers. This revolution, which is now in progress, is transforming itself into a knowledge and information based service economy. This revolution began at the turn of the century and by 1976 the number of white-collar workers employed in o... ...ws them to replenish inventory very fast, Wal-Mart does not spend as much money on stock pilling inventory as its competitors. Wal-Mart only spends 15 percent of sales in overhead while Sears spends 30 percent and Kmart spends 21 percent. Again, this is only possible because of the use of information systems. As you can see information systems are far more than just input, process, and output machines. Managers and society must understand that these systems provide solutions to business challenges and must be willing to change with the new technology. Information systems can help in the day to day task at work and at home. We no longer have to depend on only one firm or corporation to buy material we need. We can shop the global market 24 hours a day to find the best price and quality. With the increased global competition, companies will have to use information systems in order to survive in today’s market place. Work Cited Laudon, Kenneth C., and Jane P. Laudon. Management Information Systems. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1996 Removing the Warehouse from Cost-Conscious Hospitals. New York: Times, 1991 Wilson, Linda. â€Å"Stand and Deliver.† Information Week April. 1992

Identifying Sustainability Plan Effect Essay

The issue of terrorism is not the only one over which the countries are focusing on; in fact, there is another hot burning issue of ‘Global Warming’ that is causing the depletion of ozone layer, melting ice, raising sea levels, and so the temperature too. In this paper, I would be acting as a consultant who is hired by Princeton University, and would be draw attention to the alarming causes of greenhouse gas and devise a sustainability plan that can overcome those issues. Global warming is fundamentally caused by excessive emission of greenhouse gases that are the chemical compounds present in the atmosphere of Earth. These gases damage the ozone layer and allow the sunlight to easily penetrate into the atmosphere and as result sunstrokes, skin cancer, and other diseases happen too. Here, in the United States, these emissions come from the ignition of fossil fuels that are used for energy purposes, since the economic growth is highly dependent upon energy sector (eia, 2008). Greenhouse gases include Carbon dioxide, methane gas, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons, transmit infrared radiations into the atmosphere that raise the temperature due to the breaking of ozone layer, hence causing many other issues (Cohen & Hopwood, n. d). Sustainability Plan Considering the ongoing issue of global warming, it is the responsibility of the educational and as well as other institutions to increase the awareness among the people regarding it, and formulate certain strategies that aim on restraining such issues. Now let’s discuss the effects of a sustainability plan that would have over several organizational aspects of Princeton University. Vision Princeton University should design its vision that not only focuses on the production of quality students with outstanding knowledge and grades, but also on teaching the students about the sustainable development in the future for a greener tomorrow for future generations. Mission The mission of this university should be the commencement of new degree programs and courses related to Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurial Management that focuses on initiating ‘Green’ businesses. Organization If the sustainability plan is to be implemented in Princeton University then there would be a prominent change in the whole organization, ranging from the advancement in its technologies, processes, procedures, organizational design, policies, etc. The university would have to set up new infrastructure and technologies for the purpose of assisting students to come and learn from it, use them for research purposes, and adopt newer and greener ways of living life. As far as the enabling of technology and processes is concerned, the university would have to invest a great amount of money in bringing on new technologies, machineries, equipments, infrastructure, and most importantly, the intellectual capital that would be present in experts, scientists, and experienced professors. In other words, the resources for the students should be provided with which they can learn the practical application of what they learn in books, because without application they would be wasting what they studied. Moreover, processes would be shaped in a way where the emphasis would be laid on the practicality of the concept and not just the theories itself. This would have to deal with some sort of change in the organizational design in which the policies, preferences, faculty, teaching criteria, and curriculum would be modified. People Attracting and maintaining talented students, faculty, and other staff members should be the first priority of the university, since it’s all about the students who learn and progress and the faculty who teach them. Faculty members who may include scientists, cosmologists, or environmentalists, should be provided with sufficient resources to conduct research and development. They might be sent abroad for participating in conferences, workshops, and seminars from where they can train themselves accordingly, which later would result fruitful for the students who would get up-to-date knowledge about the current happenings, issues, developments, and solutions for them. Teaching the students would not suffice; in fact, they should be encouraged to indulge in the practicality of the studies. University should arrange certain contests and business plan competitions where the students would be asked to participate and come up with the most feasible business that is sustainable and green. Moreover, the students of IT may engage in developing certain products, equipments, and technologies that might be used at a later stage for greener tomorrow, for instance, electric cars and solar energy chargers. Just as every employee needs rewards for keeping him motivated and directed; students are no exception (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Based on their achievements in the competitions, they must be encouraged by offering them scholarships, money prizes, and medals. Conclusion Therefore, it is the responsibility of universities to make their students aware of the changing environmental conditions and offer them, opportunities and resources to explore and ascertain newer ways of living and doing business for having a better and greener tomorrow.

Saying There Were in Spanish

How do you say there were? Should you use habà ­a?  You may have  seen people on the Internet use habà ­an. Correct Uses of Habà ­a and Habà ­an Undoubtedly thats true. But youve also heard people in English use the word aint and use grammatically questionable sentences such as everybody should do their best and it dont matter. Yet youre unlikely to see textbooks use them as examples. In teaching grammar, most textbooks and this site place their emphasis on what is considered standard speech used by educated speakers. In practice, they tend to be even more conservative than that, using as examples what educated speakers use in formal writing. As a general rule in both Spanish and English, probably all languages, formal writing is more grammatically precise than spontaneous speech. To use the example you gave, almost all textbooks will tell you that the singular form of haber is used for both singular and plural contexts when haber is used existentially, that is, with meanings such as there are, there will be or there were. Thus the same word, hay, is used to mean there is and there are in sentences such as hay una silla (there is one chair) and hay tres sillas (there are three chairs). The rule is invariably followed in the present indicative; thus hay means either there is or there are. However, in practice, the rule isnt always followed in the other tenses, especially in speech and casual writing, although usage varies by region. Thus it isnt unusual to hear or read sentence constructions such as habà ­an tres aviones (there were three airplanes) or habrà ¡n dos elecciones (there will be two elections), to use examples from recent Latin American news articles. As a foreigner, youre best off knowing and using the standard grammar until youre in an area long enough to pick up the local language peculiarities. Although habà ­an is far from a major grammatical offense, to use a nonstandard usage in an area where it isnt the norm could make you sound miseducated or excessively informal.