Chateau De Fontainebleau: Decorative Themes

Chateau De Fontainebleau: Decorative Themes Sixteenth Century Decoration at the Chateau de Fontainebleau The decoration at Fontainebleau, the royal hunting lodge of Francois I, was led by Rosso Fiorentino in 1530. In 1532 Rosso was joined by Francesco Primaticcio, who held the position of first importance at Fontainebleau after the death of Rosso in 1540[1]. In 1552 Niccolà ² dellAbbate arrived at Fontainebleau, and together with Primaticcio decorated the Gallery of Ulysses in the Palace. Much of the original work has been lost and what remains has needed to be heavily restored. This essay will look at the style characteristics of the decoration visible today focusing on the frescoes in the Gallery of Francois I and the bronze relief by Cellini. The latent themes in the decoration of the chateau are typically representative of the Mannerist style of art that took a hold across Europe during the 1500’s. As Bosquet phrases it, ‘Mannerism is not a simple phenomenon; it is idealism, but it is also naturalism; it is evasion, but it is also joy of life and hope in the future.’[2] The changing nature of the social and economic climate led to experimentation and absorption in the arts, and to pioneering styles which would be followed during later decades. In The Royal Elephant by Rosso (http://www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.net.). the form of the elephant, which symbolises Wisdom and Loyalty[3] dominates the composition. Sixteenth century royalty primed themselves for being talented and learned; qualities which would ultimately lead to wisdom, strength and honour. Baldassare Castiglione, in his Cortegiano (1528)[4], cites the talents which a good courtier should possess. ‘The courtier was versed in all the sports (riding, fencing, wrestling, swimming); he had, in addition to strength and skill, acquired grace and elegance of movement by practicing dancing and gymnastics (..) should know not only the Latin language, but also Greek , that he should be well versed in the works of the poets and, furthermore, that he should be proficient in writing both prose and verse.’ It is quite probable that the composition of The Elephant is designed to reflect these qualities in King Francois I himself. The animal is placed centrally, with the surrounding figures looking beneath and behind it, thus drawing atte ntion to its sheer size and presence. The sculpted dragon, a symbol of strength and courage, takes central place above the scene of the fresco: in both the dragon and the elephant exceptional attention has been paid to the clarity of line in the gentle curves of their forms. These shapes are reflected in the curving stucco surrounds which are moulded to reach into the picture, thus drawing the eye into the scene. The elaborately decorative surrounds mark the beginning of a trend of such decoration (which would later be imitated in paint) which continued within the School of Fontainebleau. Stucco was an antique medium which was rediscovered in the sixteenth century and encouraged the invention of ‘exotic and peculiarly fluid conjunctions of forms.’[5] Here we see twisted scroll-like forms framing the picture. The scene depicts a number of figures, crowded in places, creating a slightly chaotic atmosphere; this is juxtaposed against the serenity of the great elephant whic h stands rider less. This could suggest that Rosso was intending to reflect not only the character of Fontainebleau’s inhabitants, but also the character of the chateau itself. In other words, the serenity amidst the chaos could here represent the rural oasis of the princely court set apart from the public chaos of the city. During the sixteenth century it was not uncommon to for artists to be both painters and sculptors. In fact, according to Hauser[6], French mannerism produced incomparably more works in sculpture than in painting. Francesco Primatticio first combined allegorical painting in moulded plasterwork at Fontainebleau a style that was to influence the later baroque and rococo decoration. In plate 198 (Hauser, 1965) a mural decoration originally by Primaticcio, the actual mural appears small in size to the surrounding decoration, the elaborate frame almost becoming more important than the picture itself. The stucco framing is treated as if it were leather or paper, slashed and rolled into the fine detail of fruit and the gently curving female figures. In plate 198 there is a suggestion of early eroticism; the partially revealed naked upper bodies of the women figures becomes a popular theme in expressive sixteenth century art. There too can be seen the mythological figure Pan with goats†™ horns, and in ‘Danae’, plate 199[7], the winged cherub signifies the highest ranking of the hierarchy of angels[8]. These images represent the extremes of experience sought after in an age of sensuality. Primaticcio expresses the lusty enjoyment of the era through the image of Pan who represents hedonism, and in contrast the spiritual refinement of the cherub suggests the richness of sixteenth century spiritual life where dreams and visions were of great inspiration to artists. Blunt[9] suggests that Primaticcios style, as it can be seen from his drawings for the Chambre du Roi and from the mantelpiece from the Chambre de la Reine was influenced by his time spent in Mantua,[10] where he executed classical friezes in the Sala degli Stucchi in the Palazzo del Tà ¨: The fruit swags on the mantelpiece recall those in the Palazzo del Tà ¨, and the sphinxes are cousins of those in the Sala di Fetonte. The general design is classical in its emphasis on circular and square panels, but the proportions of the figures are elongated like those in the stuccos on the vault of the Sala degli Stucchi. The whole effect, moreover, is richer than anything to be seen in Mantua, mainly because of the higher relief.[11] It appears that the artists who decorated the palace in France were expanding the ideas which they had been working on in Italy. As can be seen from the Galerie dUlysse some of the decoration was extremely complex and took many years to complete. The gallery was of immense length, and filled the whole side of the Cour du Cheval Blanc on the first floor. The walls were decorated with a series of paintings illustrating the story of Ulysses which, as Blunt suggests, show Primaticcio as a master of academic design ‘in a style more affected than previously by Michelangelesque influence, particularly in the scenes of violent action.’[12] The appearance of The Salle de Bal differs as the form of the building was more difficult to decorate. The zones and the spaces under the window embrasures were decorated by Primaticcio probably between 1552 and 1556. The condition of surviving paintings is poor, but from drawings made (Hauser, plate 43A) we can see that Primaticcio intended a symmetric design not unlike Raphaels decorations in the Farnesina.[13] This design works well in the limited space available and differs to Raphael’s work as it depicts whole scenes rather than two or three figure groups. Being employed by the royal courts had a significant effect on the artists’ style of the decoration at Fontainebleau. Paul III declared, when Benvenuto Cellini was brought before him accused of murder, that such a man was above the laws[14]. While being held in high esteem allowed the artists considerable independence in their work they had also to consider what their patrons expected and required of them. Cellini’s bronze relief ‘Nymph of Fontainebleau’ was originally designed for the Porte Doree[15] but it was never installed at Fontainebleau. The grand lunette (409205 cm) illustrates the legend of the chà ¢teau’s origins, and because of the importance of its intended position it had to be strikingly beautiful and symbolic. The nymph encircles the neck of a stag, an emblem of the King, and it is thought that the relief was inspired by an image by Rosso now only known through an engraving by Pierre Milan[16]. According to the local legend, a huntin g dog named Bleau found a nymph beside a fresh-water spring. The spring and, consequently, the chà ¢teau both took the name Fontainebleau. In Rosso‘s engraving the reclining nymph lies among the rushes, with her left arm around an urn. She is nude but her legs are bent slightly at the knees for modesty’s sake. Marsengil suggests that Cellini expands this imagery to describe, ‘not simply the narrative of the nymph’s discovery, but the very idea of the nymph as the personification of the royal hunting lodge. (..) she has three urns under her left arm from which flowing and curling representations of water pour. These, as well as the billowing drapery that frames her, identify the female figure as the presiding deity.’[17] Cellini’s figure stretches across the entire scene so that her nudity is not covered this represents the boldness and sanctity with which Cellini deliberately associated the King and his wife, and also reflects the dynamism w ith which he executed his works at Fontainebleau. As well as exploring new territory with figurative painting, the Fontainebleau artists such as Nicolo dell’Abbate also developed landscapes. As Arnold Hauser says of dell‘Abbate ‘as a landscape painter he enriched mannerism with a new and autonomous form.’[18] In plate 114 (Hauser, 1965) the painting depicts a pastoral scene, the smoothly curving forms of the figures reflecting the swell of the landscape behind them. Dell’Abbate appears to seek balance and unity as well as beauty in his landscapes. Work such as this contrasts greatly to some of Rosso’s frescoes where he mixes themes and types of character into one scene. For instance, The Revenge of Nauphlius and The Sacrifice[19] where the bishop retreats to the rear of the scene while mothers with children predominate the front; Rosso deliberately juxtaposes these figures as he does the elements represented by the jugs and the burning offering. As can be seen from the differing work of dell ’Abbate and Rosso, the Mannerist movement stretched to include a diverse range of subjects and styles. The exploitation of space in the landscape by dell’Abbate and the fresco by Rosso represent two totally opposite conceptions. In one, relatively shallow space is crammed with an incredible accumulation of figures, objects and details; in the other, a deep space is created and is left almost completely empty except for the figures threshing the hay. In both cases this draws the eye to the figures and their relationship to each other and their surroundings. As Bosquet says, Rather than the abolition of space, we are confronted in Mannerism with a more complete mastery over the use of space, a freeing of space through plays of perspective or the creation of atmospheric effects.[20] The use of colour might help explore how such effects were created in the Fontainebleau decorations. In Rosso’s ’Venus Frustree’ (http://www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.net.). the entire composition is constructed and coloured to create a serene yet fluid ambience. The utilisation of colour seen in this painting is executed with subtle stridencies and dissonances between the pale female skin tone and the marble-like male figures in the background. The central figure combines together the colouring and figurative elements of the entire scene: she walks towards the right hand side of the painting while looking back behind her thus uniting the two sides. Furthermore, her skin tone is soft, and under painted with the aqua green of her surround, while still imbued with the marble-like qualities of a statue. This amalgamation of different effects is complimented by the use of stucco for the figures of a man and woman which frame the fresco. The interpretation given of this painting[21] is that Venus is trying to awake the deadened Love when Mars has left for the war. The scene expresses war coming to disturb the happy love life. The naked figures in stucco of th e young man and woman also suggest the admiration that Rosso held for Michaelangelo In conclusion, the sixteenth century works at Fontainebleau are diverse in their style and expression. Some of the themes are difficult to decipher as they were specifically created for a closed, aristocratic circle to whom they were perfectly understandable and greatly enjoyed for their erudition and allegorical expression. There are however consistent themes of myth and allegory combined with a dynamic use of space, form and colour. The decorations are clever in that they embrace new styles and bold subjects while fulfilling the standards of excellence and appropriateness expected by the rulers of the court, and it is of no surprise that such work became an important influence in later classical styles of art. Bibliography Blunt, A., 1953. Art and Architecture in France, 1500 to 1700. Melbourne: Penguin Bousquet, J., and Taylor, S., W., (transltr) 1964. The Painting and Style of the Late Renaissance. New York: Braziller Franklin, D., 1994. Rosso in Italy. London: Yale University Press Hauser, A., 1965. Mannerism: the crisis of the Renaissance and the origin of modern art. London: Routledge Hauser, A., 1965. Mannerism: the crisis of the Renaissance and the origin of modern art. (prints). London: Routledge Marsengil, K., Identity Politics in Renaissance France: Cellini’s Nymph of Fontainebleau,(http://www.fsu.edu/~arh/events/athanor/athxix/AthanorXIX_marsengill.pdf) Shearman, J., 1977. Mannerism: Style and Civilisation. Middlesex: Penguin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherubim. http://www.metmuseum.org http://www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.net. Further Reading Champney, E.W., 1901, Romance of the Renaissance Chateaux. New York: Putnam Dutton, R., 1957, The Chateaux of France, London: Batsford Sterling, C., 1955. A Catalogue of French Paintings. Volume: 1. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. De Girolami Cheney, L., 1997, Readings in Italian Mannerism. New York: Peter Lang. Murray, L., 1977. The High Renaissance and Mannerism: the North and Spain, 1500-1600. London: Thames and Hudson Smart, A., 1972, The Renaissance and Mannerism outside Italy. London: Thames and Hudson. 1 Footnotes [1] Bosquet, J., and Taylor, S., W., (transltr) 1964. The Painting and Style of the Late Renaissance. New York: Braziller, p.64. Hereafter cited as ‘Bosquet.’ [2] Bosquet, p.60. [3] http://www.chateaudefontainebleau.net [4] Bosquet, p.62. [5] Shearman, J., 1977. Mannerism: Style and Civilisation. Middlesex: Penguin, p.121. [6] Hauser, A., 1965. Mannerism: the crisis of the Renaissance and the origin of modern art.  London: Routledge, p.242. [7] Hauser, A., 1965. Mannerism: the crisis of the Renaissance and the origin of modern art.  London: Routledge, plate 199. [8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherubim). [9] Blunt, A., 1953. Art and Architecture in France, 1500 to 1700. Melbourne: Penguin, p.35. Hereafter cited as ‘Blunt’. [10] ‘Blunt’, p.35. [11] ‘Blunt’, p.36. [12] ‘Blunt’, p.36. [13] ‘Blunt’, p.65. See plate 43A [14] ‘Bosquet’, p.72. [15] Marsengil, K., Identity Politics in Renaissance France: Cellini’s Nymph of Fontainebleau, (http://www.fsu.edu/~arh/events/athanor/athxix/AthanorXIX_marsengill.pdf) [16] Ibid, p.2. [17] Ibid, p.2. [18] Hauser, A., 1965. Mannerism: the crisis of the Renaissance and the origin of modern art.  London: Routledge, p.214. [19] Franklin, D., 1994. Rosso in Italy. London: Yale University Press, p.199. [20] ‘Bosquet’, p.143. [21] www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.net.

Pride and Prejudice :: English Literature

Pride and Prejudice "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Taken from Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, this is probably one of the most famous opening sentences in English literature. It is clear to see from this one sentence that the novel is going to be about money, marriage and morals. The question is, from whose perspective, is a single, rich man in want of a wife? As we begin to read the novel, it becomes apparent that it is Mrs Bennet who believes that all rich, single men must be in want of a wife when she says at the beginning of the very first chapter, "A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls," (volume 1, chapter 1, page 1). Mr and Mrs Bennet have just five daughters. Unfortunately for them, they have no sons and in the time of Jane Austen writing Pride and Prejudice, it was only the sons who could, and would, inherit the wealth of the family. Therefore, with the Bennets having just daughters, it meant that the closest male relative, a cousin in this instance named Mr Collins, to the head of the household, Mr Bennet, would inherit his wealth. The ladies would then be left having to rely on family and would hope to be provided with all they needed. So, it was imperative to Mrs Bennet that at least one of her daughter's, if not all, married well. Well enough to be able to provide security for herself, the other daughters and of course, Mrs Bennet, should anything happen to Mr Bennet. In fact, as we see at the beginning of chapter three, when Mrs Bennet says, "If I can see but one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield, and the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for," (volume 1, chapter 3, page 5), that she would want for nothing else. As interactions between potential couples didn't happen very often, it was difficult for them to get to know each other properly. Generally, the only chance potential couples had of interacting with each other was at assembly balls, arranged by fellow family members or friends. Even then, they didn't get much chance of privacy and could only chat privately whilst dancing. "To be fond of dancing was a sure step towards falling in love," (volume1, chapter 3, page 5). As we progress through the novel, we see the heir to Mr Bennet's wealth, Mr Collins, plan to marry one of the Bennet girls as an "offer Pride and Prejudice :: English Literature Pride and Prejudice "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Taken from Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, this is probably one of the most famous opening sentences in English literature. It is clear to see from this one sentence that the novel is going to be about money, marriage and morals. The question is, from whose perspective, is a single, rich man in want of a wife? As we begin to read the novel, it becomes apparent that it is Mrs Bennet who believes that all rich, single men must be in want of a wife when she says at the beginning of the very first chapter, "A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls," (volume 1, chapter 1, page 1). Mr and Mrs Bennet have just five daughters. Unfortunately for them, they have no sons and in the time of Jane Austen writing Pride and Prejudice, it was only the sons who could, and would, inherit the wealth of the family. Therefore, with the Bennets having just daughters, it meant that the closest male relative, a cousin in this instance named Mr Collins, to the head of the household, Mr Bennet, would inherit his wealth. The ladies would then be left having to rely on family and would hope to be provided with all they needed. So, it was imperative to Mrs Bennet that at least one of her daughter's, if not all, married well. Well enough to be able to provide security for herself, the other daughters and of course, Mrs Bennet, should anything happen to Mr Bennet. In fact, as we see at the beginning of chapter three, when Mrs Bennet says, "If I can see but one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield, and the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for," (volume 1, chapter 3, page 5), that she would want for nothing else. As interactions between potential couples didn't happen very often, it was difficult for them to get to know each other properly. Generally, the only chance potential couples had of interacting with each other was at assembly balls, arranged by fellow family members or friends. Even then, they didn't get much chance of privacy and could only chat privately whilst dancing. "To be fond of dancing was a sure step towards falling in love," (volume1, chapter 3, page 5). As we progress through the novel, we see the heir to Mr Bennet's wealth, Mr Collins, plan to marry one of the Bennet girls as an "offer

French Revolution :: essays research papers

French Revolution "Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order." Discuss this statement with specific references to the French Revolution. The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class." (Durant, 12) After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a crowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. The third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country's tax revenue. Many members of the middle class were also worried by their social status. They were among the most important people in French society but were not recognized as such because they belonged to the third estate. "Financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to finance the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the Revolutionary War (1775-1783)." (Durant, 22) The Parliament of Paris insisted that King Louis XVI could borrow more money or raise taxes only by calling a meeting of the States-General.

Cometetive Advantage Delta Airlines Essay

Our assigned organization in Delta airline and two organization researched last paper were Alaska Airlines, Inc (ALK) and Southwest. A competitive advantage is an organization having an advantage over its competition which results in greater sales, margins, and retaining more customers. Competitive advantages can include anywhere from an organizations cost structure, their product and service to customer support. One of competitive advantage that delta has with other two airlines is their employees. Delta believes that their employees are taking the airlines where they only dreamed of through their hard work which is leading to a bright future which includes new ideas and opportunities. Delta provides their employees with training that consists of emergency equipment, aircraft familiarization, door and window operations; equipment training for certain planes in order to run smooth operations. Another competitive advantage Delta has like their competition is their mergers. Just like their competition Delta’s merger put then over their competition. In 2008 delta merges with Northwest airlines. Delta benefited from this because in 2007 Southwest serves 101. 9 million passengers where Delta server 72. 9 but with the merger Delta and Northwest combined for over 126 million passengers. Delta has a competitive advantage like their competition because they own thirteen hubs. Delta operates over five thousand flights every day from these hubs. Delta manages the busiest hub at Harsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in terms of passenger and number of takeoffs and landings. In terms of innovation and sustainability one focus for delta should be the age of their planes. Alaska Airlines has next generation of 737s which help them save on operating cost through fuel. Another area where Delta can learn from competitor is in terms of training their employees. Southwest train their employees in a manner so that their planes spend less time in airports and more time in air. Southwest only pays their pilots and flight attendant for the time in the air in order to incentivize the crew to load the plain and get back in the air faster.

How Can Inter-Proffesional Working Improve the Quality of Health Care

Using appropriate literature this paper will attempt to examine the ways in which interprofessional working can improve the quality of health care. Concepts of interprofessional working will be looked at. Examples observed or carried out on assessment ward in the mental health practice area will be drawn upon to explore the concepts of interprofessional working and quality. Issues relating to interprofessional working will be identified and will explored based on experience. ‘Quality’ is very difficult to define so this will be attempted using certain criteria.The report ‘High Quality Care for All’ published by Lord Darzi (DOH 2009) equates higher quality care with improvements to patient services i. e reducing waiting times for meetings and health care interventions. Also, by giving power to the general practitioner, the report aims to change the way NHS budgets are run. According to the NMC (2008), Nurses must work together with carers, patients, communiti es, groups and other organisations while taking into account their needs and strengths.They must promote health and well being while empowering people to make to make choices and decisions to promote their own self-care. Interprofessional working is an essential concept of the Nursing and Midwifery Council requirement for any qualifying nurse to be deemed competent. This essay will focus on an assessment ward, in a mental health unit at a general hospital. Seeing how important interprofessional working is, key issues affecting interprofessional working will be explored.According to Day (2006), 3 major factors affect interprofessional working. These are systemic, organisation and interactional factors. Systemic factors are factors outside of the organisation that have an impact, be it positive or negative on this organisation. Professional socialisation, professional language, professional tribes and territories, professional codes of conduct and professions/professionalism are all d ifferent aspects of this factor. An example of a key issue would be articulating professional identity.If nurse doesn’t know what unique role they play as a nurse, they will be unable to effectively work together with other professionals. Another factor is the organisational factor. This relates to factors of setup and framework within the organisation. For example, lack of staff during a shift can cause a serious problem cause communication breakdown between management and nursing/healthcare assistants. The last factor that Day (2006) pointed out was the interactional factor.Interactional factors relate to a process of collaboration that occurs between two individuals. Lack of communication, lack of willingness to collaborate and professional stereotypes all come under this factor. Now the factors that can affect interprofessional working have been covered, looking at what works effectively within the chosen admissions ward under the mental health unit is the next step. When looking at those systemic factors it’s apparent that professional language is very important and used through-out the ward among professionals to communicate.For example the nurse asked the student to do go do a UDS screening and some vital obs on patient B. The student nurse is familiar with this professional jargon and carries out what has been asked where as if this was asked of someone on the ward for the first time they would not know what to do. A way to solve this would be to keep professional jargon strictly among professionals and to make communication between a patient and a professional as clear and easy-to-understand as possible.The NMC professional codes of conduct are referred to a lot on the ward when dealing with students and the hospital trust policy is also referred to in an attempt to make all students aware of expectation to pass their respective placements. How does this relate to interprofessional working? Professional codes of conduct always promote go od interprofessional working, for social workers the GSCC (2002) states ‘recognising and respecting the roles and expertise of others from other agencies and working in partnership with them’, for doctors the GMC (2001) states ‘Respect the skills and contributions of your colleagues.Communicate effectively with colleagues within and outside of the team. On the ward, professional socialisation problems were not very apparent because the health care professionals present during meetings were always willing the take on board the different philosophies and theoretical bases present during the meeting and try to reach a common goal for the patient. Open discussions on different perspectives can help other professional overcome this problem.When looking at organisational factors on the ward, the ward appears very well structured as everyone knows what to do any point during the day. The use a of a white board to write down the duties and responsibilities of the professi onals based on the ward made it clear ‘who was doing what’ and limited any confusion. The ward design and function aid interprofessional working by bring all the professionals together regularly and by allowing them to use the same meeting rooms.The regular team meetings also greatly improves interprofessional working on the ward and ward rounds always comprise of health care assistants and nurses who effectively pass on informationâ€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"â€Å"1n from the previous shift to the staff taking the new shift. The doctors round is similar because nurses doctors, ward managers and some other health care professional may be present to discuss patient on a case by case basis. The use of Rio (the intranet patient dat abase) is invaluable as an effective interprofessional tool.Patients are accessible by all health care professionals and progress notes are regularly recorded for patient by a variety of professional so reading through on the ward can give a clear picture of what’s the patient’s current progress. A good team leader is also important in term of interprofessional working. On the ward, the team leader is an essential component. She/he can make or break a ward structure. In this case the ward manager was excellent, friendly, professional and willing to solve any problems that occur between members of staff.The interactional factors also affect the interprofessional working on the ward. Professional stereotyping doesn’t occur much on the ward because most all of the staff come from a wide variety of countries and religions so there is a lot of mutual respect. Professional stereotyping of patients wasn’t a frequent thing but did occasional happen i. e a nurse e xpecting a patient to behave a certain way because of their racial background. Generally negative stereotyping should be frowned upon but positive stereotyping of patient which would improve their outcome should be capitalised on.Way to reduce this would be interprofessional education courses. Issues with lack of communication on the ward were not frequent but did occur. Staff forgetting to mention or document key occurrences or incidents during the day, lead to a few problems with interprofessional working as the doctors could not act on information they did not have. Having had time to look at different issues on the ward and solutions as to how to solve them, the barriers of interprofessional working otherwise not highlighted previously will be looked at.Lack of knowledge about other professionals can cause a break down in interprofessional working. Knowing the different roles people play will aid you when needing to refer a patient or when a patient is concerned with a particula r issues you cannot handle yourself professionally. For example a patients housing issues should be handle by his/her social worker. Another issues is the different levels of authority most systems in healthcare have. This can create a lot of interprofessional working barriers.For example, nurses might find it difficult to communicate with a senior manager because of concerns about their position. Sharing information can also become a barrier when professional do not share all the information they have received regarding a care in their care. This can put other professionals at risk by then giving patients care, without taking into account what the last outcome was. For example, a patient telling a social worker that he cant have ibuprofen tablets because they make him sick.This information not being passed on to the Mental health team could result in ibuprofen being prescribed for him and he subsequently becoming very ill. Conflict can occur regarding the relationship with the pati ent. If a professional is over familiar with the patient it could lead to an impaired judgement and therefore conflict with the mental health team. Team size on the ward also affects the way in which professionals can perform their duties and interact with the other professionals. Conflict can arise if the team is understaffed.Resentment towards management, a lack of willingness to co-operate, undermined patient care can all emerge if these issues are allowed to continue. According to Goodman and Clemow (2010), several strategies can be used to improve interprofessional working which in turn will improve the overall care given to the patient and by definition, the quality of care will improve. Clinical supervision and engaging in reflection. The use of managerial support The development of realistic expectations Reinforcement of professional identityEvaluating current roles and practices Training and education for interprofessional working These are very effective strategies to mini mise barriers in effective communication. Clinical supervision is very important in ironing out minor issues and the communication lines open and transparent. The use of reflection as a tool to improve interprofessional is very good. Reflection can help a professional analyse and review the way in which they have been communicating. Was it effective enough? Was all the information passed on? Was it all understood?Was the information relevant? How was my tone of voice? Was i being fair? These are some of the question a professional can ask themselves to improve their communication with other professionals. Managers are their to support the professional on the ground. The proper use of manager to support any issues or problem you may be having with another professional is essential. People are very diverse and working in a large team of different personalities and philosophies will lead to conflict so it’s important to use the managerial support available to all on the team.Exp ecting realistic outcomes can really improve the interprofessional working because when professional work together they sometimes rely on a number of steps to be completed before, they can start their aspect of patient care. Having an understanding of the workload, stresses and time management issues another professional faces prevent barriers in communication from occurring. The use of badges, uniforms and i. d cards help reinforcement professional identity and improve interprofessional working. If it’s clear what roles a professionals serve the moment they approach any professional on the ward.It grants immediate trust in their role and improves their communication. Reflecting on the formative assessment. It was a very rich learning experience and proved how difficult it is to work in a team when people have serious difference in opinion. At one point the people were excluded from the group and things got very uncomfortable but in the end, we were able to push through our d ifferences and work out an essay which we all agreed to present. Our topic was learning and disabilities and the group scenario was based on my experience in a learning and disabilities placement.So I wrote the scenario which was used during the essay. It was a very good experience from me to reflect on placement and see how my experience on placement was represented in terms of an interprofessional working presentation. To summarise, the topic was introduced and attempts to identify the concepts of interprofessional working and ‘quality care’ were made. A practice setting was identified and was subsequently used to give examples. Following the introduction factors that contribute to interprofessional working were explored. Advantage and disadvantages of interprofessional working were highlighted.Key issues of interprofessional working were identified. These barriers were explained using examples and personal experience in the practice setting. These barriers were explo red in depth and examples were given. Lastly, several strategies were identified that would improve interprofessional working and would prevent barriers from occurring. These were explored and examples were also given. Now that interprofessional working has been explored, the effect is has on professionals, the practice area, the structure of the hospital, the interactions between professional and ultimately the patients.The concept of Quality care explain by Lord Darzi states a number of ways to improve services, patient waiting times, GP involvement in budgets but most importantly it is implied that making improvements between service and their professional i. e interprofessional working will directly improve the quality of care. This essay has tried to show the effects of interprofessional working on professional will always translate to the patient, be it negatively r positively. It is up to the professional of the current of future generations to make sure that our interprofess ional working improves the care we give our patientsREFRENCE LIST Barrett, S. T. (2005). Interprofessional Working in Health and Social Care. China: Palgrave Macmillian Codes of practice. [online] (2010). General Social Care Council. Available from: http://www. gscc. org. uk/cmsFiles/Registration/Codes%20of%20Practice/CodesofPracticeforSocialCareWorkers. pdf [Accessed on April 5 2012] Day. (2006). Inter-professional Working; an essential guide for health and social care professionals. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Department of Health. [online]. (2009). High Quality Care for All: Our journey so far. Available from: http://www. h. gov. uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_101670 [Accessed on April 5 2012] Ellis, G. K. (2006). Interpersonal Communication in Nursing: Theory and practice. (2nd ed). London: Elsevier Goodman, R. C. (2010). Nursing and collaborative practice: A guide to inter-professional learning and working. (2nd ed). Cornwall: Learn ing Matters Healthcare Policy. [online]. (2005). British Medical Association. Available from: http://www. bma. org. uk/healthcare_policy/healthcarerural. jsp? page=12 [Accessed on April 5 2012]

Open Racism

When I think about is racism still alive today, a particular poem comes into mind its entitled:â€Å"Racism Is Around Me Everywhere†. | | â€Å"Of human ignorance I am almost in despair For racism is around me everywhere But like they say sheer ignorance is bliss Just like Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Some people carry their honor in a flag And of their Nationality they brag They feel superior and they differentiate And against those who are different they discriminate. So many people still judged by their race For such there never ought to be a place ‘A fair go' those untruthful words I do recallThere is no such a thing as a ‘fair go for all'. Though we live in a so called democracy Of racism we never will be free They judge you by where you come from and the color of your skin For many equality and respect seems impossible to win. It's been awhile since the days of Martin Luther King His name to it has a familiar ring If against racism he did not choose to strive Today the great man he would be alive. So many holding the reins of power not spiritually aware And racism is around me everywhere And racism only leads to division and war Just goes to show how ignorant some are. † (Frances Duggar) | |Racism is a belief held by some that there are characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. For people throughout the world, the election of Barak Obama to the U. S. presidency seemed to signal in a new era, that of the end of racism. Indeed, Obama's election was a momentous occasion and, one would have hoped, a milestone on the road to reconciliation.However, some recent, very ominous events cast a worrisome veil over the democratic process in the United States. These events poin ts out how racism is still a problem in the United States. Racism occurs often times out of fear. Many people fear what is different to them and what they do not know. This in turn, makes it scary when you see people who look different than you do and sometimes, you treat those individuals differently because you do not know them. Racism occurs in different facets of society. Schools, the government and the workplace are sometimes the worst examples of racism.Racism in schools Millions of African American and Latino young people in the United States don’t get an education equal to that of most whites, partly because the urban schools they go to don’t have as much money as the schools in the white suburbs. This is because the country has decided that much of the money for schools should come from local property taxes. So in communities where the houses and businesses are less expensive, the schools don’t get enough money to provide a high quality education. This is unfair. This is institutional racism.If we financed schools differently every student, regardless of his or her â€Å"race†, could go to a high quality school that was the equal of the schools other students attend. The Government Hurricane Katrina: The government had known for years that a big hurricane was likely to cause dangerous flooding in New Orleans. The plans they made didn’t include any way to get poor people (predominately African Americans) out of the city to safety. When the storm and the flooding did come with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, much of the country saw on TV that thousands of people of color were stranded in the city without food, water, housing or safety.The government was incredibly slow to rescue people, to provide food and shelter, and to help them rebuild their houses. Many people believe that if those stranded had been mostly white people the rescue efforts would have been much quicker and effective. Racism in the Workplace Racism in the form of discrimination persists in society also. A case in point is that blacks have traditionally suffered from higher rates of unemployment than whites. In June 2009, black employment was at 15. 3 % compared to an 8. 8% unemployment rate for whites. Do blacks simply not take the initiative that whites do to find work?Studies indicate that, in actuality, discrimination likely contributes to the black-white unemployment gap. (Thompson) Critics will say how can racism still exists with the election of the United States first black president. Since President Obama took office he has been a rise of subtle racism against our president. It can be seen in the supporters of the new â€Å"birthers† movement, who stir up doubts about Obama's citizenship. During the 2008 presidential campaign, there was no impetus to question John McCain’s birthplace even though it was common knowledge that McCain was born in Panama; because he is white.The president’s birthplace should n ot have been an issue at all but yet to this day you still have a lot of Americans who still question his birthplace. Critics also say with electing our first minority president, and minorities reaching higher levels of education, obtaining more earnings and more distinguished careers, one might infer that prejudice is dead. I contend that it is alive and flourishing while lurking beneath the shadows of figures that naturally inflate with the growth of a burgeoning society.If racism does not exist then what accounts for â€Å" the wide range of disparities that still exist in society, most of which show black Americans with worse outcomes than whites in areas such as income, home ownership, health and employment,† study researcher Samuel Sommers, a psychologist at Tufts University, said in a statement. When most Americans think of racism they think of the open racism back in the Civil Rights movement and during slavery times when crosses were burned in African-American yards. They think of the KKK when they think of racism which was upfront and in your face. The fact that the KKK and groups such as these that still exist prove the point that racism still occurs in the United States. While racism may not be as widespread as before, it exists, without a doubt. While we like to think that those unfortunate days of racism are behind us, it still exists. Today, racism is much less obvious and less prevalent. However, we are still reminded that racism is alive and well, and we must continue working to do away with it.Every day in the news there are stories dealing with the unfair treatment of minorities, women, and gays. America is the best country in the world because of the opportunity given to every individual and because of its constant struggle for equality of all. Any person, of any race, creed, or religion can succeed with hard work and determination. The problem is that the level of those individual’s success is sometimes determined, by the colo r of their skin. The race for social equality is persistent here, but there are still problems with the system.So, unfortunately racism does still exist today in the United States. References William-White, L. , & White, J. (2011). Color Marks the Site/Sight of Social Difference: Dysconscious Racism in the â€Å"Age of Obama†. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(9), 837. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 2495960131). William March. (16 May). Researcher: Evidence shows racism in opposition to Obama. McClatchy – Tribune Business News,. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2348227321). Thompson Matthew (2011).Does Racism still exist today? Answers from Men. Retrived December 12, 2011 http://www. answersfrommen. com/2011/01/does-racism-still-exist-today/ Mosser, K. (2011). An introduction to logic. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (https://content. ashford. edu) Pappas Stephanie. (2001) Study: Whites say they are racists’ victims. Retrieved December 12, 2011. http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2011/05/24/scitech/main20065864. shtml http://poemhunter. com/poem/racism-is-around-me-everywhere/ http://www. politicususa. com/en/political-racism

Education in Saudi Arabia and the United States of America Essay

Education continues to be the priority of all nations around the world. Countries devote vast resources to ensure equal opportunity to study for their people. In return, the educated segment of the population becomes the wealth of these nations and will more likely meet the social and economic demands of the country. The educational systems are continuously developed to meet not just the local but also the global demands and challenges. It is more appropriate to look at the disparity on the education sector of one country to another in order to determine what needs to be improved and developed in one’s educational system. This paper aims to provide an assessment on the similarities and differences of education in two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America (USA). The education in Saudi Arabia and the USA are similar in terms of government spending on education, freedom to choose the school where they will attend to, and education for people with special needs, while differ in terms of attitude towards education, literacy rate, religion in school, gender roles, grading scales, and stages of education. Both the Saudi Arabia and USA government spend immense resources on the education sector. The Saudi Arabia government’s increased awareness on the importance of education to its people paved way to its provision of bountiful support to education. Like the USA government, the Saudi Arabia government finance general education for both boys and girls. It also provides free post-secondary education and offers financial help to students. At cases, meals, books, and transportation are subsidized. In the same way, the USA government offers free general and post-secondary education for all financed by the government. In both countries, students are also allowed to choose what school they will attend to. They have the options to enroll in public, private, or home school. Most of the parents prefer to send their children in public school practically because they are much â€Å"free† from burden. There were also those who prefer private schools thinking that these schools might provide better, quality education to their children especially for those seeking a competitive edge in college admission. A few considers home schooling best for their children for reasons that they can effectively tailor a curriculum that would best suit their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, especially those with disabilities. Aside from home schooling, those with disabilities may be sent to schools which will cater to their needs like schools for the blind, deaf, physically and mentally handicapped, among others (Education, 2005). The Saudi Arabia and USA governments have put on these schools to encourage individuals to their full potential and share social and emotional experiences with their peers having the same conditions as themselves. The curricula in the special classes given to the students were tailored fit to their needs. For instance, the educational programs given to the blind and deaf individuals were different. For sure, blind students were thought of using Braille while deaf students do not. One variation the Saudi Arabia and the USA government have is the attitude towards education. In the USA, school attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at primary and secondary levels. School districts meet to discuss school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies to further improve the education in the state. On the other hand, in Saudi Arabia, the government does not impose mandatory attendance in school. Although, it is encouraged that the free primary and secondary education are availed since education is given free and open to every citizen. The literacy rate for the two countries presented, are varied. The USA literacy rate is estimated at 99% for both men and women, whereas, literacy rate in Saudi Arabia is estimated at only 84. 7% for men and 70. 8% for women (Literacy, 2007). The Saudi Arabia government recognizes the importance of literacy in propelling the economy; hence, one of its objectives for the education sector is to eradicate illiteracy especially among adults and girls through several literacy programs. In the USA, despite the high literacy rate, the government is continually implementing programs to further develop the education sector. Religion is the main core of education in Saudi Arabia. The curricula developed conform to the Shari’ah (Islamic holy law) and the Qur’an. Men were trained of Islamic education to become members of religious clergy. They provide religious secondary education with focus primarily on Islamic and Arabic studies, although, the curriculum also includes general education. The schools which administer these were Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University and the Islamic University of Medinah (Sedgwick, 2001). On the contrary, education in the USA is not focused on religion but there are some schools which may offer religion subjects that are not quite extensive as religion studies in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, education is segregated by sex. Education for boys is different from education for girls. Education is divided into three separately administered systems: general education for boys, education for girls and traditional Islamic education for boys (Sedgwick, 2001). However, in the recent years, education for girls was continuously being developed to meet the growing demands of the country. Unlike in the USA, education is offered to both sexes, giving them equal opportunity to study. The educational programs that were developed cater to both sexes. Grading scales were prepared to gauge the students’ performance on school. Grading scales in the USA and Saudi Arabia differ. In the USA, marks were given on the scale of A to F. In the criterion-referenced system, the equivalent grades of these to 0 to 100 percentile are as follows: A=95-100 or 90-100, B=85-95 or 80-90, C=75-85 or 70-80, D=65-75 or 60-70, and F is given to marks below 65 or 60. There is also the norm-referenced system where marks are given as follows: A=top 10% of the class, B=next 20% of the class, C=next 30% of the class, D=next 20% of the class, and bottom 20% of the class (Grading systems, n. d). On the contrary, the grading scale in Saudi Arabia was given as follows: 5=90-100, 4=80-89, 3=70-79, 2=60-69, and 1=0-59 (Sedgwick, 2001). The stages of education in both countries also vary. Education in Saudi Arabia starts with primary, followed by secondary, and higher education. Primary education is for ages 6 to 12. An intermediate education, which is part of primary education, is carried out for ages 12 to 15. Secondary education is divided into three: general, religious, and technical. These are taken by ages 15 to 18. The higher education is also divided into three stages: the baccaloreus (bachelor’s degree-4 years), darajat al majisteer (master’s degree – 2years), and doctoorah (doctorate– minimum of 3 years) (Sedgwick, 2001). On the other hand, education in the USA is composed of these stages: preschool (1 or 2 yrs), elementary/middle/high school (12 yrs), associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees (Structure: General Information, n. . ). The differences in education in both countries mainly lie on their history, culture, social and economic conditions, whereas, the similarities were bought about by their desire to provide accessible, quality education free and open to all. Education stimulates the people to contribute to its country in addressing the increasing local and global demands. This motivates the countries to improve and further develop its educational system.