THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS AND NURSING Essay

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS AND NURSING STAFF PERFORMANCE - Essay Example It is essential for nurse managers to assess the performance of clinical nurses, and to manage them effectively and efficiently as a human resource. There are several techniques of performance assessment in organizations, and in health care contexts such as in nursing (Roussel & Swansburg 2006), including the use of a consistent numerical assessment system by managers or qualitative appraisal approaches (Murphey, 2004). For over three decades, organizations have considered performance appraisal systems as key organizational processes for the management and development of personnel (Giangreco, Carugati, Pilati et al 2010; Levy & Williams 2004; Ferris, Timothy, Basok et al 2008). The aim of performance appraisal systems is to regularly offer a comparison between the level of performance expected by any one organization and the performance achieved by an individual or group of individuals. These comparisons are based on objective and subjective factors (Coates 2004). The basis for perfo rmance evaluation is that measuring performance helps to improve performance by providing concise feedback on how the individual or department is doing in the workplace. The popularity of the use of appraisal systems is however surrounded by a forceful debate on their productivity and the related costs and benefits. ‘It is widely believed that performance appraisals

Jeff Wall Photography Essay Example for Free

Jeff Wall Photography Essay Jeff Wall’s photography is a mixed media event that indulges more in narrative than in color, although color is an important part of his composition. Wall’s photograph is unique as well as reminiscent: his work builds off of the work of Delecroix and Manet. In this fashion Wall’s work combines a sense of artistic style with film and the ever present narrative. This paper will present three photographs of Jeff Wall with analysis on their use of narrative, color, composition and meaning (Holmes paragraph One). The Destroyed Room Jeff Wall’s expression in The Destroyed Room is in reference to window displays. In this photographer however the viewer gains a very different perspective than the neat and pedestrian window displays seen on 5th avenue during Christmas, instead Wall presents a room ripped apart. The main inspiration to the chaos as opposed to the control seen in typical window displays is in accordance to the punk style in which commodities and fanciful things such as high heels (as seen in the photograph) become a form of high class culture which the punks sought out to de-value as unnecessary. Wall’s ‘revenge’ as he states in this room is against domesticity, of corpulent people living mediocre lives in display window fashion instead of focusing on what lies beneath the surface of their culture: the dirt, the chaos, the room shredded in a protest against a docile living condition placated the rich. Of this photograph, Wall states, â€Å"†¦ I was lecturing on Romanticism. I think the Sardanaphalus is a very important picture historically and psychologically because it shows the eroticized ideal of military glory which characterized the Napoleonic period being turned inward, back toward domestic life at the end of that epoch, at the beginning of modern, bourgeois, neurotic private life† (MoMA paragraph One). Thus, this photograph is an elaboration on the idea that domesticity has no truth and thus the violence of the upheaval in the room. The Mimic Jeff Wall’s photography while alluding to specific figures in art, and their work, does not necessarily ‘steal’ from these works, but enhances upon the concept which the artist originally wanted to present to the audience. In this fashion, Wall’s photography does not mimic other photographers but merely, as the saying goes, builds upon their shoulders, and their work into an evolution of art. In the photograph The Mimic Wall illustrates this point: Wall’s photograph pays homage to the works of ‘Manet, Caravaggio, and Valezquez’ (MoMa paragraph Four) in that his focal figures are in the foreground of the piece, and they, as much as possible, appear to be life size (this is accentuated in their movement and their surrounding environment such as the buildings, the street and their placement next to one another). By using a trio as the focal point in The Mimic, Wall creates a specific dynamic between these figures in which the tension is very much palpable as the viewer may surmise from the look of the woman to the right of the man flipping off the other man, in the look of the central figure, one of angst, hate, and general animosity and the response of the figure on the left of the central figure in his response to being flipped off; the squint of the eye and the snarl in the lip â€Å"Mimic was made in 1982 and was a pictures in which I concentrated a lot on a typical gesture, perhaps a micro-gesture but certainly a small gesture of race hatred† (MoMA paragraph Six). Wall does not only build tension in the photograph but in the elapsing space behind the central figures is seen the tension emphasized. Thus, although the photograph is expansive in its depth, it’s size and its movement from one figure to another it is also a very traditional ‘portrait’ as is presented in Wall’s comparing of it to the three prestigious artists as mentioned above. Thus, although the crude behavior may be of a punk generation (the photograph was made in 1982), the candidness juxtaposes the classical feel of the piece. Milk Here again the viewer will see a typical motion of Wall’s in his photographer, that of explosion. Although most of his photographs portray the act of explosion after the fact (as in The Destroyed Room) this photograph portrays the act of explosion while midway through the air. This is in itself is a gesture of magnitude, as the other photographs mentioned in the paper only hint or makes previous reference to this motion (the racial hatred in The Mimic shows the subtle look of someone about to explode but not the full act). In this photograph Wall explores the natural shape and form of an eruption, as Wall states, â€Å"The explosion of the milk from its container takes a shape which is not really describable or characterizable, but which provokes many associations. A natural form with all of its unpredictable contours, is an expression of infinitesimal metamorphoses of quality. Photography seems perfectly adapted for representing this kind of movement or form. I think this is because of the mechanical character of the action of opening and closing the shutter—the substratum of instantaneity which persists in all photography—is the concrete opposite kind of movement from, for example, the flow of a liquid† (MoMA paragraph Ten). Thus, the action of the milk stands as an opposite to the camera’s shutter therefore mingling two opposite components into a single photograph which in itself becomes a mirror for fluidity. Conclusion Wall’s photographs have been explored in this paper as examples of movement, form, and the narrative of destruction in all three photographs is a palatable theme. This destruction as seen in accordance to denying domesticity, to what race hatred may bring out in people, and in the explosion of the milk carton all are facets of the same definition, that is, destruction breeds movement, as is seen in each photograph either with the lens, or beyond the lens and into the story of the photograph. Wall’s photographs are narrative pieces that focus on the artist’s own personal narrative to his predecessor’s in art such as Caravaggio and Manet and hit tribute to them in his work reflecting their genius and taking their development of human form and space to the next level; to the level of including personal narrative with photographic art, thus truly standing on the shoulders’ of giants and reveling in a new dream and progression of art into this new century. Wall’s photographs are a timetable from the past and into the future. This theme of destruction, or eruption and focus on the human condition only propels these ideas forward in a classical backdrop of foreground and space with the radical movements of the punk era and the politics of race matched with the fluid form of shapes, emotions, and that narrative is the theme which ties it all together. Work Cited Deutsche Guggenheim. Jeff Wall. 2007. Online. Retrieved 14 November 2007. http://www. photography-now. com/artists/K08545. html Holmes, T. Jeff Wall. Photography Art Contemporary. 2006. Online. Retrieved 14 November 2007. http://www. photography-art

Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay examples -- Their E

Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God   Ã‚  Ã‚   Their Eyes Were Watching God recognizes that there are problems to the human condition, such as the need to possess, the fear of the unknown and resulting stagnation. But Hurston does not leave us with the hopelessness of Fitzgerald or Hemingway, rather, she extends a recognition and understanding of humanity's need to escape emptiness. "Dem meatskins is got tuh rattle tuh make out they's alive (183)" Her solution is simple: "Yuh got tuh go there tuh know there." Janie, like characters in earlier novels, sets out on a quest to make sense of her inner questionings--a void she knew she possessed from the moment she sat under the pear tree. "She found an answer seeking her, but where?...where were the shining bees for her (11)?" Though tragedy invades her life, it does not cripple her, but strengthens her. Alone at novel's end, having loved and lost, Janie sits in her home, banished of the "feeling of absence and nothingness (183)." Her road to discover led to herself, and she gains a better understanding of the world she lives in and how small a thing happiness is comprised of: "If you kin see de light at daybreak, you don't keer if you die at dusk. It's so many people never seen de light at all. (151)" Instead of Hurston portraying racial unwholeness, she portrays the African American as being racially healthy. She was discarded by the black writing movement of the 30's and 40's for picturing the African-American as whole instead of downtrodden, oppressed people. Hurston was no militant, out to prove no theory. Capturing the essence of Black womanhood was more important to her than social criticism.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparison of Hurston's life and work is ironic. Though Janie, having... ...ttp: 11 www. à ± hsc. usc.edu/ ~ gallaher/ hurston/ hurston. html>. Johnson, Barbara. "Metaphor, Metonymy and Voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God." Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. " ‘Tuh de Horizon and Back': The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God.† Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Pondrom, Cyrena N. "The Role of Myth in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202.    Wright, Richard. "Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God." Zora Neale Hurston - Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993 Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay examples -- Their E Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God   Ã‚  Ã‚   Their Eyes Were Watching God recognizes that there are problems to the human condition, such as the need to possess, the fear of the unknown and resulting stagnation. But Hurston does not leave us with the hopelessness of Fitzgerald or Hemingway, rather, she extends a recognition and understanding of humanity's need to escape emptiness. "Dem meatskins is got tuh rattle tuh make out they's alive (183)" Her solution is simple: "Yuh got tuh go there tuh know there." Janie, like characters in earlier novels, sets out on a quest to make sense of her inner questionings--a void she knew she possessed from the moment she sat under the pear tree. "She found an answer seeking her, but where?...where were the shining bees for her (11)?" Though tragedy invades her life, it does not cripple her, but strengthens her. Alone at novel's end, having loved and lost, Janie sits in her home, banished of the "feeling of absence and nothingness (183)." Her road to discover led to herself, and she gains a better understanding of the world she lives in and how small a thing happiness is comprised of: "If you kin see de light at daybreak, you don't keer if you die at dusk. It's so many people never seen de light at all. (151)" Instead of Hurston portraying racial unwholeness, she portrays the African American as being racially healthy. She was discarded by the black writing movement of the 30's and 40's for picturing the African-American as whole instead of downtrodden, oppressed people. Hurston was no militant, out to prove no theory. Capturing the essence of Black womanhood was more important to her than social criticism.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparison of Hurston's life and work is ironic. Though Janie, having... ...ttp: 11 www. à ± hsc. usc.edu/ ~ gallaher/ hurston/ hurston. html>. Johnson, Barbara. "Metaphor, Metonymy and Voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God." Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. " ‘Tuh de Horizon and Back': The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God.† Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Pondrom, Cyrena N. "The Role of Myth in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202.    Wright, Richard. "Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God." Zora Neale Hurston - Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993

Ezekias Is Considered One of the Finest Painters

Ezekias was an ancient Greek vase-painter and potter, who worked between approximately 550 BC – 525 BC at Athens. Ezekias worked mainly with a technique called black-figure; Ezekias is considered the most original and most detail-orientated painter and potter using the black-figure technique. To determine whether Ezekias was the best black-figure artist of all time, we have to first consider the other black figure artists that are among the best, and compare the work of Ezekias to them.From this, one can then determine an opinion over whether or not Ezekias was the best, or just among the best. Other fine black-figure artists include the Amasis Painter, Sophilos, the Gorgon Painter and Kleitias. Ezekias mainly illustrates historical writings and shockingly realistic interpretations of Athenian life. The styles of the vases appears noticeably different from eight century BC Geometric art featuring abstract motifs and instead show human portrayals that appear to emerge from the painting.A painter of heroes, Ezekias demonstrates his careful attention to detail and insight into Greek mythology with his most famous work: the amphora vase at the Vatican showing Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game. Unlike earlier Athenian black-figure vases of Kleitias the surface of the vase is not divided into horizontal bands; rather, monumental figures are shown in profile view in a single large framed panel. When comparing Ezekias’s amphora to other works of art of the period, it is clear that the artist is working towards finding a freer world.Where there was rigidity in the forms, there is now a mix of sternness and charm. He appears much less interested in violent action than previous and focuses more in soft deliberate movements and small though not insignificant activities that last for some time and reflect a realistic view of Athenian life. The details and decorations of the clothes on the amphora with Achilles and Ajax are engraved with particular care. Th is is evident in details such as the pattern on the heroes’ cloak, highlighted with delicate touches of white.The figural and ornamental motifs that are characteristic of the black-figure vase painting brilliantly stand out against the red clay background. The arch formed by the backs of the two warriors reflects the shape of the amphora. This shape is echoed throughout the piece, appearing again in the space between the heads and spears of the two men. Unlike some other painters of the time, Ezekias has planned his vase well and therefore had no problem in fitting his characters onto the ase without making them seem out of proportion, which several painters seemed to have a problem with, such as the Gorgon painter on the Dinos where some of the figures protrude into the frieze line. The Attic black-figure style appears to be well-developed, with figures being rendered in a mature archaic style much influenced by contemporary developments in sculpture from the Geometric and O rientalization period. Ezekias excels in painting and in finely engraved detail, and succeeds where others have failed, in endowing his figures with mood and emotion, as well as the capacity for action.

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay

On May of 1607, the first English colony in the present-day United States was founded at Jamestown, Virginia (A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States of America, 2007). After many years, a Dutch ship arrived at the port of Jamestown and brought about twenty African slaves to the English colonists. Thus, the so-called African slave trade began. The African slaves came from the savannahs of central and southern Africa. The Dutch often called them â€Å"humanlike† monkeys, barbarians, and uncivilized brutes. Thus, the Dutch preferred locking them in the sub cabins of their caravels (A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States of America, 2007). They were irregularly provided with food. Most of the times, they were held in chains (because the Dutch were afraid that they might cause some trouble in the ship). When they were brought to Jamestown, their condition worsened. They were forced to work in flat farmlands at least 15 hours a day. Large plantations of cotton and other agricultural products were assigned to them by the English colonists without pay. Although they were provided with housing, it was in shambles. The houses were designed in the form of â€Å"barnyard† to accommodate as many slaves as possible (a form of segregation). Added to that, this type of housing was a means for the English colonists to â€Å"distinguish† themselves from these â€Å"lofty and barbaric† human beings. The food provided by the English colonists was never adequate to balance the energy the slaves consumed in farm work. Added to that, the children of African slaves were also forced to work in the plantations. Their work varied, from weaving cotton to harvesting agricultural products. The landlords, insensitive to the contributions of these African slaves to their estates, usually utilized the â€Å"whip† against the African slaves as a form of disciplinary measure. Thus, not only the African slaves provided a cheap and efficient source of agricultural and household labor, they were also the source of prejudice, discrimination (described above), racism, and â€Å"embarrassment† to the English colonists. For example, the English colonists did not regard the African slaves as a separate race. The English colonists regarded them as â€Å"subhuman, but a little higher than primates. Even after the Declaration of Independence, the descendants of these slaves were not better of. Usually, the American landlords regarded them as personal properties. They had no civil or political rights. At times, American colonists in the West used them as soldiers (unpaid) in its wars with Indian tribes. Thus, it can be said that the history of African-Americans was a history of discrimination, oppression, and prejudice. They were the target as well as the source of racial cynicism of white Americans, British, and almost all Americans of European descent. The stigma attached to them by these cultural groups remained until (as one may notice) the present time. The labor market in the United States at the close of the 19th century was comprised of poor white farmers and African slaves-descent laborers (using the term Black is a form of discrimination in this case) (Bohmer, 2007). In 1876, an alliance between African slaves-descent laborers and poor whites was defeated by Southern landlords. The alliance was formed out of the perceived oppression of their class by the ruling Southern landlords. For example, their pay was inadequate to support their families. Nonetheless, their working conditions under these Southern planters were really â€Å"bad† in terms of long-working hours and high rents. Their defeat was magnified y the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that segregation was constitutional. Although their labor produced much of the wealth of the Southern planters, they were never given safety nets (such as social security) in the procurement of their labor in the market. In contradiction to the conception that African-Americans are never interested in environmental issues, here are some African-Americans who contributed much in protecting the environment. George Washington Carver can be regarded as one of America’s finest agricultural researchers. He was able to develop throughout his lifetime over 325 new products from peanuts and over 100 products from sweet potatoes. He often told his students that nature was his best teacher (A Selection of African-American Environmental Heroes, 2007). Vernon Jones is another African-American who led the struggle to preserve government-owned lands in a county in Georgia. In March 2000, he was able to pass a 125 million dollars bond referendum to acquire public lands for the construction of parks (A Selection of African-American Environmental Heroes, 2007). This is an indication that even if African-Americans are still discriminated, they would never be indifferent to issues that can affect the lives of people outside his ethnic group. Affirmative action can be defined as a set of state policies and objectives created to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, and sex. The United States government under the terms of different presidents implemented a series of affirmative actions in order to eliminate forms of discrimination in the United States. For example, President Truman issued an order to the Bureau of Employment Security to implement nondiscriminatory labor policies (Sykes, 1995). Today, the Equal Employment Opportunities Act was passed to put an end to â€Å"discrimination† in the workplace, by giving minority groups opportunities to assert their employment status (Sykes, 1995). These series of affirmative action was the result of struggle of minority groups, especially African-Americans, to assert their rights as citizens of the United States. In the present, however, discrimination in the workplace against minority groups (e. . African-Americans) is never totally eradicated. Redlining, or more particularly service redlining, is the custom of refusing to provide goods and services to people of low-income and minority groups (Fuller, 1998). In the United States, African Americans, Latinos, and other minority groups are experiencing this form of segregation. Some â€Å"white† establishments typically create â€Å"excuses† for the purpose of not allowing minority groups (especially African-Americans) to procure goods and services. This was the most controversial issue in the 1950’s. There were different types of services: one for whites, and one for African-Americans. Although this system was abolished, many â€Å"white† retail stores in the United States still find â€Å"excuses† of not providing goods and services for minority groups. African-Americans today face what sociologists call double jeopardy. Because African-Americans are discriminated, they have difficulty of finding good jobs. It is estimated that a majority of African-Americans in the United States today are in the poverty threshold. They comprised also the majority in service sectors jobs. Their poverty reinforces their minority status. Thus, the so-called â€Å"ladder of discrimination† as what sociologists call is also reinforced. African-Americans have the difficulty of upgrading their status by economic means. Thus, white Americans always associate African-Americans with poverty. The institutionalization of discrimination was the most noted issue in African-American history. Before the handing down of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (which abolished segregation in public schools) in May 1954, all public schools in the United States were segregated. African-Americans were provided separate public schools, usually close to their communities. Added to that, the formulation of educational curriculum of some states was also segregated. This was in line with the â€Å"early† belief of white Americans that higher forms of education were only a matter for white Americans. Segregation could also be noted in the construction of residential areas. Reverse discrimination can be defined as the negative effect of an affirmative action to some members of the dominant ethnic group which is seen as tantamount to another form of discrimination (Pincus, 2002:1). Often some white Americans complained that they were rejected in some jobs because of preferential treatment for African-Americans. They call it â€Å"reverse discrimination. † This is though not really a form of discrimination since it does not â€Å"question† the nature of the ethnic group to which one belongs. In the case of African-Americans, the opening of new opportunities is a means to upgrade their economic status. It cannot be a form of discrimination. Glass ceiling can be defined as the barriers or blocks that confront minority groups in reaching the upper ladder of corporate America (The Glass Ceiling for African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans, 2004). African-Americans today have little difficulty of reaching the upper ladder of society (noted personalities like Oprah, Morgan Freeman, and Janet Jackson serve our examples) although not as easy as that of white Americans. Personally, I identify myself to the cultural group I belong, although I recognize the commonalities between African-American and white cultures (especially those which relate to equality and freedom of the individual).