Analysis of Organizational Dialogue Research Paper

Analysis of Organizational Dialogue - Research Paper Example Employee engagement and productivity is one of the strategies that have assumed increasing significance in recent years (Rashid, Asad & Ashraf 2011, p. 98). While employee engagement as a strategy has been assuming increasing significance, its implementation has been experiencing challenges and an increasing number of organizations have significant engagement problems. According to the study by the Gallup Institute (2008, 2009), there are significant engagement problems in the Australian workforce and these results appear to reflect a broader global pattern in the developed economies (Gallup 2009). Leadership plays a major role in engaging the employees in the transformation process within the organization. In general terms, employee engagement is defined as the extent to which employees are motivated to participate and contribute to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives (Cook 2008, p. 37). Engaged employees tend to willfully highly recommend their workplace, have hi gher overall job satisfaction, and favorably rate their pride in their workplace. Leadership communication can greatly impact on employee engagement in any particular organization (Wiley 2010, p. 48). In order to have a clear understanding of how leadership communication impacts employee engagement, this paper will critically analyze the impact that leadership communication has on employee engagement based on contemporary research. The latest research indicates that organization’s leadership and leadership communication have a significant impact on the employees’ engagement levels and their overall opinion about the organization (Eisenberg, Goodall & Tretheway 2009, p. 26). The type of leadership adopted by an organization is defined by the style of leadership communication. Hackman and Johnson (2009, p. 11) define leadership as a form of human communication that transitions behaviors and attitudes to focus on collective shared needs and goals. This definition indicate s how fundamental leadership in general and leadership communication, in particular, is in employee engagement (Gerard & Ellinor 2001, p. 59). Leadership communication impacts on how employee commits themselves to their roles and to the vision, mission, goals, and objectives of their organization (Wiley 2010, p. 47). The Kenexa Research Institute (KRI) observes that their latest results on the effectiveness of leadership in an organization are 51% globally. It states that results indicate that employees in India, Brazil, and United States reported the highest ratings of leadership effectiveness, at 69%, 59% and 54% respectively (Rashid, Asad & Ashraf 2011, p. 101). Leadership effectiveness is measured by evaluating how organization leadership gains the confidence of employees through their communications, actions, and decisions, and how leadership keeps employees informed about company direction, as well as how they are seen to having the ability to deal with the organizationâ€℠¢s challenges (Cook 2008, p. 40). The research by KRI is crucial in critically analyzing the impact that leadership communication has on employee engagement. In evaluating leadership effectiveness, one of the critical aspects that are evaluated is how leadership communication impacts on the employees’ commitment towards achieving organizational goals and objectives (Dixon 1998, p. 15).  

What is the effect of the global economic crisis on hotel businesses Essay

What is the effect of the global economic crisis on hotel businesses throughout Switzerland - Essay Example It is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the international trends regarding the impact of global financial crisis on the performance of luxurious hotels. Section 3 discusses the impact of global financial crisis on the luxurious hotels in Switzerland. Section 4 discusses the impact of global financial crisis on the visits of guests particularly foreign guests in the hotels. Section 5 discusses the impact of global financial crisis on the unemployment trends in the Switzerland hotel market. Section 6 concludes the report. Since the tourism market, particularly the hotel business is the part of a country’s overall economy, all the major conditions in the overall economy are likely to have an impact on this market also. The trends in the European market show that there has been heavy decline in the investment in the hotel investment market all over Europe .It was the highest in the UK market followed by France and Germany. There has been heavy decline in the hotel occupancies and the unemployment rates all over the European market ((BNP Paribas real estate, 2009). In Switzerland, tourism is considered as one of the main contributor’s to the country’s wealth and hotel businesses are important components of the tourism industry(OECD,2000). The luxurious hotels in Switzerland have been attracting tourists from all over the world historically. However, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008, there has been a significant fall in the demand for luxury goods since people had to save money for essential goods like food, housing etc. This has led to a drop down in the luxurious hotel businesses in Switzerland. Hence, though it is reported that the hotel industry in Switzerland has recorded 37 million overnight stays in 12 months at October end greater than the 12 months period in the last year, according to reports ,a 3 percent fall in the overnight stay

Educational Technology in the Classroom Essay Example for Free

Educational Technology in the Classroom Essay The face of pedagogy has evolved through time with the emergence of the technological age in the 19th century. As new technologies have been developed in order to enhance and produce efficient working environments, educational institutions, especially early childhood education, have slowly adapted several technological tools in order to facilitate the teaching-learning process. Learning available technological advancements in early childhood education (ECE) and understanding how to incorporate them in the teaching process interests me because of the complex and specialized characteristic of ECE. Children are always curious about the things around them, that is why they love exploring and discovering things that are new to them. Applying technology in the classroom setting would be instrumental in teaching them many concepts that would be difficult to teach in the real-life environment. Moreover, employing technology would allow teachers to design challenging instructional materials that may be easily accessed by children. Synopsis One Buckleitner, W. (2000). â€Å"Techno Tools for Assessment. † Teaching with Technology. ProQuest Education Journals. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ProQuest LLC. Website: http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. aut. ac. nz/pqdweb? index=4sid=2srchmode=1vinst=PRODfmt=6startpage=-1clientid=7961vname=PQDRQT=309did=62927618scaling=FULLts=1207829807vtype=PQDrqt=309TS=1207829837clientId=7961 (1) This article emphasizes the importance of technology in tracking and monitoring the growth and progress of children within the educational institution. It asserts that making use of technology allows the teacher to properly document the developments of each child, with the use of pictures and videos for instance, in order to involve and show the parents each milestone that their children accomplish in the school. Technology is also relevant during the assessment phase. The author continues to list several technological tools that from the lowest priced to the highly expensive, while still remaining important in assessing the developments within each child. Cameras, whether disposable, Polaroid, or digital, as well as digital video cameras, are useful in documenting the activities that children get involved in within the school. This would help in showing the parents how their children have grown from day one until the end of classroom instruction. Cassette recorders may be used to record sounds, such as songs, poems, and sounds learned throughout the year, in order to know what new knowledge they have learned regarding sound reproduction and music. Scanners may be used to keep records of pictures and artworks that children have made all throughout the year. This would help in assessing the creativity of each child. Communication with the parents at home may be facilitated by establishing an online website where the teacher and the parents may contact each other. Moreover, online websites may be used to send newsletters and other information that are in a need-to-know basis for the parents. (2) This article is important for teachers who want to learn about simple and affordable technologies to use in the classroom setting. Cameras, video cameras, scanners, sound recorders, and online websites, are simple devices that teachers can easily use. Moreover, assessment and evaluation has gone up a higher level with the options of using technologies, as well as in involving the parents with the education of their child. (3) The technological gadgets suggested by the author benefits the learner, although they do not get to explore and manipulate each gadget, because it focuses on the assessment phase of learning which assists in the identification of needs, demands and follow-throughs of children. Moreover, parents get involved in the education of their children, allowing them to know how they can assist in teaching their children more at home. (4) These technologies may be implemented by providing sound recorders for each student from the beginning of the class and let them record sounds that they have never learned before. During activities, which bring out their skills and abilities, the teacher should be able to take pictures and videos for documentation. Paper works done by the students should all be scanned accordingly for records sake and assessment in the future. At the end of the teaching instruction, the online website should be put up in the World Wide Web, and communicated to the parents in order for them to gain access to the website and start communicating with the teacher whenever possible. Synopsis Two Scoter, J. V. , Ellis, D. , Railsback, J. (2001). â€Å"Technology in Early Childhood Education. † Northwest Regional Educational Technology. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from NETC. Website: http://www. netc. org/earlyconnections/byrequest. pdf (1) The research study has explored the pros and cons of the employment of technology to early childhood education. The argument lies on the capacity of technological tools to provide for the basic needs of children, including their physical, social, emotional, mental, and language development needs. However, researchers could not deny the contributions that technology will make for facilitating teaching and learning for early childhood education. These contributions being teaching children how to learn by autonomy, wherein they learn by doing things by themselves, and the visualization of difficult concepts to teach and for children to grasp. The different developmental stages in early childhood education are also discussed in order to identify the goals and needs of children in each stage. The author continues to discuss several technologies to accomplish these goals and needs. The computer is the most important technological tool that should be used in early childhood education. Moreover, several softwares are available for computers, such as softwares that may be used in constructing examinations, drills, and practice tests. (2) The information in this article is important for teachers who wants to understand the benefits and advantages of technological tools within the classroom. This would assist them in making evenhanded decisions on whether to employ technological use for classroom instruction. Moreover, teachers who want to utilize technology within the classroom setting are informed of the goals and objectives of each child developmental stage in order to design technologies that are able to meet these goals and objectives. (3) The technology discussed in the article, such as the computer and software programs benefit the learner because of wide-range activities that it can develop for learners, such as drills and tests. This would allow teachers to produce numerous automated exams that would help students widen their knowledge and exercise their minds in order to retain information learned throughout classroom instruction. Moreover, computers are able to provide numerous functions such as music, videos, pictures, access to the internet, multimedia applications, language assistive technologies, etc. (4) Implementing what I read from the article takes time and careful planning. Planning should be done to lay out activities that will be suitable for particular developmental stages in children. After planning, the teacher is now ready to incorporate technologies according to the level of understanding and need of each child. This would be established by teaching children the basics of the computer and letting them handle it for better learning and understanding. Synopsis Three Wilford, S. (2007). â€Å"Tuning in to Tech. † Scholastic Early Childhood Today. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals. Website: http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. aut. ac. nz/pqdweb? index=12sid=1srchmode=1vinst=PRODfmt=6startpage=-1clientid=7961vname=PQDRQT=309did=1257130811scaling=FULLts=1207834444vtype=PQDrqt=309TS=1207834584clientId=7961 (1) The proper implementation of technology, so as to ensure positive learning outcomes, is the focus of this article. The author acknowledges the fact that technology does hold negative learning outcomes, especially to young children. In addition, the author continues to discuss the inadequacy of technologies if used improperly and minimally. Therefore, the author reveals steps or guidelines for making the most of the positive effects on learning that technologies may yield to early childhood education. These steps or guidelines include the use of clear digital images with large informative captions, images that show children who display moral values that students might learn, records of visuals and creative works done by students in the computer and student portfolios, taking videos of meaningful activities, and videos of theatrical performances done by children in order for them to imitate and gain insights about acting and being creative. (2) The article is relevant in reminding teachers on how to properly use technologies due to the fact that when these technological devices are used inadequately, then it will yield negative learning outcomes for young children. Aside from reminding teachers of this valuable information, it also provides important tips on how to maximize technology and utilize it appropriately. (3) This valuable piece of information benefits the learner in such a way that it educates the teacher. Educating teachers, especially on the proper use of technology, is significant in teaching with the use of technology properly, therefore, resulting to positive learning outcomes. (4) Implementing this piece of information in classroom instruction starts with committing such information to memory in order to remind oneself of how to use technology effectively in the classroom. Synopsis Four Hertzog, N. Klein, M. (2005). â€Å"Beyond Gaming: A Technology Explosion in Early Childhood Classrooms. † Gifted Child Today. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journal. Website: http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. aut. ac. nz/pqdweb? index=43sid=1srchmode=1vinst=PRODfmt=6startpage=-1clientid=7961vname=PQDRQT=309did=872146761scaling=FULLts=1207837036vtype=PQDrqt=309TS=1207837110clientId=7961 (1) The focus of the research paper is to identify and reveal the importance of technology for the early childhood classroom and the benefits that they provide for the children. Several examples were given in order to illustrate real life situations wherein the incorporation of technology in classroom instruction was successful. UPS is an educational institution, which utilizes technology during classroom instruction. The institution attests to the positive learning outcomes that technologies yield within the children. Aside from the children, the teachers also benefit from the functions that technology provide to facilitate teaching and lighten their burden of keeping records and assessing the children’s growth and development. Moreover, technologies also enhance communication lines of the educational institution with the parents. Indeed, the children’s use of technology have gone beyond only gaming to learning valuable concepts that technology offers. (2) I think the article takes on a general approach to the study of technology as a means of facilitating learning for early childhood education. Not only does it discuss the benefits of technology on children, but also its positive effects to teachers and the parents as stakeholders who are involved with the education of young learners. Through this article, children, teachers, and parents learn to appreciate the benefits and advantages that technology provides in order to enhance the learning of their children. Moreover, other educational institutions may learn from the testimonies of UPS. (3) This article does not particularly talk about a certain technology that benefits the learner but it discusses the importance of technology in order to provide meaningful and challenging learning experiences to children. Moreover, it informs people on the importance of technology to the holistic development of children, professional career of teachers, and the involvement of parents to education. (4) The article talks about the need for educational institutions to implement technological tools itself and does not illustrate how to implement them. For educational institutions who are deciding whether to incorporate technology into their classroom instructions shall be guided by the advantages it would provide for learners, teachers and parents. Thus, encouraging them to implement technology when possible in order to promote quality learning. Bibliography Buckleitner, W. (2000). â€Å"Techno Tools for Assessment. † Teaching with Technology. ProQuest Education Journals. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ProQuest LLC. Website: http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. aut. ac. nz/pqdweb? index=4sid=2srchmode=1vinst=PRODfmt=6startpage=-1clientid=7961vname=PQDRQT=309did=62927618scaling=FULLts=1207829807vtype=PQDrqt=309TS=1207829837clientId=7961 Hertzog, N. Klein, M. (2005). â€Å"Beyond Gaming: A Technology Explosion in Early Childhood Classrooms. † Gifted Child Today. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journal. Website: http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. aut. ac. nz/pqdweb? index=43sid=1srchmode=1vinst=PRODfmt=6startpage=-1clientid=7961vname=PQDRQT=309did=872146761scaling=FULLts=1207837036vtype=PQDrqt=309TS=1207837110clientId=7961 Scoter, J. V. , Ellis, D. , Railsback, J. (2001). Technology in Early Childhood Education. Northwest Regional Educational Technology. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from NETC. Website: http://www. netc. org/earlyconnections/byrequest. pdf Wilford, S. (2007). â€Å"Tuning in to Tech. † Scholastic Early Childhood Today. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals. Website: http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. aut. ac. nz/pqdweb? index=12sid=1srchmode=1vinst=PRODfmt=6startpage=-1clientid=7961vname=PQDRQT=309did=1257130811scaling=FULLts=1207834444vtype=PQDrqt=309TS=1207834584clientId=7961

Dynamic Systems Development Methodology

Dynamic Systems Development Methodology Dynamic Systems Development Methodology is a methodological analysis used by information system professionals to develop softwares projects which is originated from Rapid Application Development Methodology. Stapleton (1997) states that â€Å"DSDM describes project management, estimating, prototyping, time boxing, configuration management, testing, quality assurance, roles and responsibilities (of both users and IT staff), team structures, tool environments, risk management, building for maintainability, reuse and vendor/purchaser relationships all in RAD environment.† It is based on the nine principles and considered as one of the agile project management techniques that deliver the software systems on time and within the budget. The above methodology is applied to the Yojimbo Supplies Ltd in order to produce the customer-order system which covers the customer details, order details and stock control details. At present only the part of the company operations is computerised and the remaining is still done by the paper work ever since the company has started. After carrying out the brief analysis, the proposed system must be implemented with a centralised database over a local area network. The personal involved are Project Manager, Programmers, System analyst and facilitator. Below describes the project plan that involves phases, stages and tasks of DSDM in context with the case-study. Phases of DSDM: Feasibility Study Business Study Functional Model Iteration System Design and Build Iteration Implementation Feasibility Study:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is about whether the proposed method can be applied or not and thorough research is carried out to find out the existing problems. Feasibility study has already been carried out for the Yojimbo Company with the interview transcripts provided which shows that there is no software which is integrated together and need to produce a system that is efficient to use. Business Study:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is about acquiring a clear understanding of the business flow and how the processes are related to each other. It involves identifying the stakeholders and those who are involved in the project. There are two stages involved in this phase. Arranging JAD workshop It involves meetings with the stakeholders by making special arrangements for time and location. The activities involved in the JAD workshop are discussing the requirements with the Managing Director, Financial Director, Sales Manager and Warehouse Manager of the Yojimbo Supplies Ltd. Then the next activity involved is to analyse the requirements where the system boundaries and sub-systems are identified by the requirements identification to produce the final rich picture and CATWOE which is done by the system analyst. Yojimbo Supplies Ltd is divided into three sub-systems. They are Buying and importing, Stock and Delivery, and Selling and Marketing. The final activity is to produce a final project plan by identifying the resources and creating a timeframe. Produce a Business Study Report In this phase the first activity is to identify the business processes and to produce data flow diagram which involves context diagram, document flow diagram, physical and logical diagram and finally producing the entity relationship model that is implemented in the logical design of the database. The next activity is Systems architecture definition that describes the development of the target platform and to identify the major system components and finally prioritising the requirements of the system using the MoSCoW (Must to be done, Should have it worked but not completely depend on it, Could be left out if necessary, Would have it in the future) principle. The final activity involved in the Business study is to outline the prototyping plan i.e. to define the prototyping strategy to be used in subsequent phase and the configuration management plan. Functional Model Iteration:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It works on refining high level business information requirements and functions of systems identified during the business study of the methodology. In this phase risk has to be identified and recognize a plan on how to deal with risk for future developments. The outcome of the functional model iteration is standard analysis model of the software. Five stages are involved in this phase. Rectify Business aspects In this phase the activities involved are high-level functional and information requirements are refined Identify functional prototype The first activity is to analyse the requirements of the dataflow diagrams and list the requirements of the current iteration and to identify the non-functional requirements that were recognized during the previous stages and create the functional model that identity the major functionality of the system components. Agree Plan To determine the time for the design development of the system and finally agree the prototype that is finalised with the clients. Create functional prototype It is an iterative process until the desired result is obtained. At first the plan in implemented by creating the functional prototype that represent the functionality of the system and then individually created functional prototypes are merged together to refine it according to the remarks given by users and if any changes are required it can to be done in the next iteration. Review Prototype Testing the produced functions of the system and reviewing the functional model based on the user comments and the final functional model is delivered. System Design and Build: In this phase the actual system is built based on the non-functional requirements carried out in the previous phase and the built-in system is implemented in the next phase once the testing is done. Identify Design Prototypes The main activities involved in this task is to identify non-functional requirements and implement the plan. Agree on Prototype Design Agreeing the prototype Design by prioritising the design requirements of the system. Create Design Prototype In this task the design prototyping takes place where the components of the system that must have is built and review the produced components and at last testing of the designed prototype is done before it is handed over to the users. Review Design Prototype The last activity in System Design and Build phase is to test the system as a whole rather than unit testing and check the performance and also to deal with system in case of any event failure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Implementation:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is the final phase in the methodology where the built-in system is moved into the production environment from the developed environment. In context to the Yojimbo Supplies Ltd the created centralised database package is installed on the server and make sure that each and every system will be able to access the database and all systems are connected with each other through local area network. System Implementation Implement the hardware and software of the system on site and handing over the system to the company. Review Business The project Review Document reviews the achievements during the development process in relation to the requirements. User approval and guidelines The system will be approved by the end users and user manual is produced where the precise details of the implemented system is given so that the end-users can use it to refer for any help. User Training Training the users on how to interact with the new system at the location. Advantages of the DSDM: Provides a technique-independent process Flexible in terms of requirement evolution Strict time and budget adherence Incorporates stakeholders into the development process An emphasis on testing is so strong that at least one tester is expected to be on each project team. Designed from the grounded up by business people, so business value is identified an expected to be the highest priority deliverable. Has specific approach to determining how important each requirement is to iteration. Sets stakeholder expectations from the start of the project that not all requirements will make it into the final deliverable. Disadvantages of the DSDM: Involves progressive development of requirements Focus on RAD can lead to decrease in code robustness Requires full commitment to DSDM process Requires significant user involvement Requires a skilled development team in both the business and technical areas Probably the most heavyweight project compared in this survey. Expects continuous user involvement Defines several artifacts and work products for each phase of the project; heavier documentation. Access to material is controlled by a consortium and fees may be charged just to access the reference material.

The Role of Women in Giants in the Earth Essay -- Giants in the Earth

The Role of Women in Giants in the Earth   Ã‚   Peter Mangus Hagen, a large Swedish immigrant carpenter, pushed back his chair, rose from the end of the long dining table in their kitchen, and announced, "And now for my dessert--."   He walked the length of the table past his thirteen children to the other end, bent his large frame down, and tenderly kissed his wife Maggie, who was fifteen years his junior and mother of those thirteen.  Ã‚   As he pulled himself to his naturally erect stance, he proceeded to thank her for her labor in preparing an excellent meal and in caring for their home and their thirteen children.  Ã‚   This conclusion to the meal was as much a ritual as was the blessing asked in Swedish before it began.  Ã‚   And if the "thank you" was customary, so was the bill of fare, i.e., a large bowl of navy beans, freshly-baked bread and freshly-churned butter, a bowl of home-canned tomatoes and a bowl of home-canned fruit, a very large bowl of mashed potatoes, two pitchers of milk, and c offee for the adults.   In that household a seven-course banquet was not mandatory in order to extract a word of appreciation.       This Scandinavian never pretended that his building of refrigerator boxcars for the Santa Fe Railroad in 1919 was more important or worthwhile than Maggie's homemaking, home management, clothes-making, food preparation and preservation, or care of their family.  Ã‚   In fact, it may have been Peter's respect and high regard for Maggie's "woman's work" that helped hold together and make easier a loving marriage that encompassed not only their thirteen children, but also his five children by an earlier marriage.       Of course, if looked at realistically, the couple's division ... ...probably all women are alike--they have no sense" (194).  Ã‚         The one important function Beret fulfills is having children.  Ã‚   Giving birth to Peder that Christmas on the prairie is her only noteworthy accomplishment.  Ã‚   But even then, Per Hansa takes over and names him with a name that poor Beret dislikes and regards as near sacrilege (279).       By looking at Beret in Giants in the Earth and certainly by looking at Peter and Maggie Hagen, it could be concluded that childbearing is the chief item of value in "woman's work."   By comparing those lives further, it might also be concluded that it is too bad that Beret was not told more often that she was Per Hansa's "dessert" and that her "woman's work" was appreciated.       Works Cited    Rolvaag, Ole Edvart.  Ã‚   Giants in the Earth.  Ã‚   New York: Harper and Row, 1955.

Your Writing Style Essay -- Writing Writers Education Essays

Your Writing Style How can one person know what good style is when writing a paper? Where is it written that we as students should have to follow specific guidelines while writing? Anyone wanting to make their writing clear, precise, and simply correct will usually try following some type of guideline, or book in order to perfect their own writing style. After reading both The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and also Williams’s Style toward Clarity and Grace I can see why teachers discuss these books as tools for correcting and perfecting their students writing, and style. While at the same time understand someone out of the classroom setting, brushes up on their skills in writing with these books before they have to complete some type of report that needs to be concrete and readable. Students and other writers should understand that while these books can be effective tools they simply are that a tool and not a style that should be studied, and copied word for word. In these two different forms of writing and style that are addressed by both authors I feel they are targeting different audiences that have two dissimilar styles. These books are great tools for perfecting our style as writers, but they should not be relied on too heavily by the writer. Everyone has a different angle of style they go for in their writing; these books simply either enhance that style, or with books like Strunk and White’s curtail that style into one of the authors. Making a style one’s own is something most writers’ struggle with in the classroom and through out their careers because there are various types of books all claiming to be the â€Å"Bible† of style. These books are all geared toward... ... broad audience develop their own style, rather than copying his. Each book can benefit a student or person struggling to find the correct writing style for them, but they should understand these are simply guidance books to be used as tools, and not only way to write and use style correctly. Their style will develop over time when they implement some of these elements/rules with their own words. Works Cited Jamison, Larry. â€Å"Assignment 3 STRUNK-A-SAURUS VS TERRA-X-WILLIAMS.† February 16, 2004. Larry Jamison’s Blog. ljamison.blogspot.com (March 7, 2004) Newsom, Paula. â€Å"No Title.† February 10, 2004. Paula Newsom’s Blog. paulanewsom.blogspot.com (March 7, 2004) Strunk, William and White, E.B. The Elements of Style. New York: Longman, 2000. Williams, Joseph. Style toward Clarity and Grace. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1990.

A Spectrum Through Time Essay

Museum of the Moving Image is the country’s only museum dedicated to the art, history, technique, and technology of the moving image in all its forms. It is one-of-a-kind destination for audiences of all ages and interests, from connoisseurs of classic cinema to children and families to avid gamers. The Museum is located the state of New York in Astoria Queens and has a collection of approximately 130,000 artifacts relating to the art, history and technology of the moving image. The collection is the largest and most extensive in the United States, and is considered one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. Soon as one steps into the building the whiteness of the interior decor makes us wonder what is behind the walls. The museum embracing a wide range of subjects, including artifacts from all stages of film creation from nineteenth century optical toys to the latest in digital art and explores every phase of the production, promotion, and exhibition of moving images. Artifacts include costumes, fan magazines, games, design materials, licensed merchandise, and technical apparatus, still photographs, marketing materials for all kinds, video and computer games, and movie furnishings. It offers an engaging, highly interactive core exhibition, discussions with leading figures in film and television, programs of contemporary and classic films from around the world, a unique collection, stimulating changing exhibitions, inspiring educational programs for learners of all ages, and groundbreaking online projects. After everyone arrived of our ENG101 class, we got divided into small groups. My group started its 90 minutes tour on the third floor where we visited the primitive projectors and experienced the process of creating a moving image. Viktor, who was guiding our group, explained that any moving image is just an illusion. To create a moving image we need two preconditions. We must have speed and a split second of rest which is a moment of rest is given to the eye. Viktor also pointed out that the moment of rest could be achieved in several different ways. The first three we had looked at was the Phenakistoscope, Praxinoscope and the Thaumatrope. Viktor demonstrated all three methods which was fascinating. These popular devices were inspired in the nineteenth century by Peter Mark Roget’s theory of visual persistence, which held that our eyes retain an image for a fraction of a second, ermitting a series of still images to become â€Å"fused† as a moving image. Another way to break down movements into a series of still pictures is a so called â€Å"video flipbook†. A flipbook is the simplest way of making a sequence of still pictures appears to move. The intervals of darkness necessary for the illusion of motion are provided by the turn, or flip of each page. The nineteenth-century photographic experiments of Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey broke down the movements of animals into a series of still pictures. When displayed in rapid succession, these pictures appear to be moving, recreating the original motion that the images document. Moving further in the exhibition, we looked at Brooklyn-based artist Gregory Barsamian’s kinetic sculptures animate three-dimensional objects in real time. He called it †Feral Fount† which is a physical representation of a dream he had in which drops of water from his kitchen faucet transformed into a bomb, and then a paper airplane before crashing into his dishpan. The artwork is a stroboscopic zoetrope made up of series of ninety-seven small sculptures, each slightly different from the preceding one. These sculptures function in the same way as the individual drawings in the frames of an animated film. The sculptures are mounted on a rotating armature. A strobe light flashes thirteen times per second, illuminating the sculptures. Because there are intervals of darkness between the flashes, we do not see a blur as the sculptures spin by, but perceive a â€Å"moving image†. The illusion of motion is convincing, although the flash rate of thirteen per second is slow enough for the eye to detect some flicker. Thirteen â€Å"frames† per second is just at the boundary between where we can and cannot detect individual images. There were so many more mind absorbing artifacts like the Three-Strip Technicolor Camera and Special Effects just to name a few. After Viktor described how all of these cameras worked in the past and how special effects were utilized even in today movies we continued our little tour to the second floor. We spent half as much time on the second floor, but none the less it was all so engaging as well. Gaining insight to all the subjects the movie makers implement to make a final project is quite fascinating. Visiting the Museum of Moving Image helped us understand what it takes to make a movie from start to finish, and comprehend the difficulties of every aspect of the movie and throughout its process. To view it all on a â€Å"canvas† white walls, truly makes the Moving Image Museum a spectrum through time.