Visual Literacy Essay Example for Free

Visual Literacy Essay Visual Literacy throughout the history of our world has been important; dating back to cave drawings and carvings, and developing all the way to automated street signs signaling vehicles when to slow, stop, or go. Visuals are a part of our daily lives today as much as they were at the beginning of man’s time-and other living beings’ time-and his, first ability to communicate, visually. Communication was not something that was first spoken or written, it was something shown or demonstrated; such as dance for instance, while someone else was viewing/watching, to portray a message or a feeling to that other person. Whether the Visual Literacy or communication is hand signals-similar to sign language, facial expressions-as simple as the way an individual winks at another individual today, a nod to another person, or something as complex as an artists’ message through a painting, sculpture, other, or not; Visual Literacy is and always will be the first mode of communication in the past, present, and future. Visual Literacy can be a considered a universal language because everybody, or most individuals understand pictures, drawings, artwork, or hand signals/sign language of today. â€Å"The only individuals who do not understand visuals are the blind community-however, this handicap is adapted by the body and other the other body senses become enhanced greatly† (B. Kennedy, 2010). Perhaps sign language varies throughout different regions of the world, but the basics will always be well-known, regardless. For example, pointing to oneself means me, no matter what country you are residing in. A simple sign such as this is a basic way to communicate, and is universal. If two individuals from different countries who did not understand each other were to sit down together and draw a picture of a house, hut, or dwelling of some sort; each individual would understand the drawing, or picture of a dwelling as a home. This is considered Visual Literacy, as well. These two individuals may not be speaking with their mouths, or sounds, but they are communicating with visuals. Brian Kennedy provides an excellent portrayal of what he believes Visual Literacy to be in today’s world. However, our text provides a wonderful explanation of Visual Literacy within the business world today as well, and between both of these resources is a wealth of information. Mr. Kennedy takes a very literal look at Visual Literacy- no pun intended. Kennedy believes that what we view each day through sight is a way that we can learn and communicate if we pay attention. Most of the time, however, we do not pay attention. In fact, he states, â€Å"everything we see is an image, but unless we connect cognition and memory, we do not remember what we see† (B.  Kennedy, 2010). We see hundreds of images everyday throughout our lives, but unless we have some connection to the image, we do not retain it. However, if we â€Å"slow-look, we can look, see, describe, analyze, and interpret or construct meaning† (B. Kennedy, 2010). As with this prior quote, Mr. Kennedy made many other interesting statements within his presentation. For instance, â€Å"we read non-text 60,000 times faster than written text,† and â€Å"90% of what we learn is taken in visually† (B. Kennedy, 2010). Regarding our text, and the definition provided regarding Visual Literacy compared to the video containing Brian Kennedy speaking about the subject, our text is more business oriented, or technically derived. The text this week seems to focus on the high-tech aspect of Visual Literacy. This includes television, billboards, computer images, etc. Also, there almost has to be a difference between the two definitions because one was presented visually, and the other was presented in a written format. Within the text, there are other terms for Visual Literacy, such as media literacy, for example. Also, within our text (W.Ryan, 2012), are two authors (Avgerinou and Ericson, 1997) featured who present this opinion of the definition of Visual Literacy along with 9 other definitions, but will not get into in this paper: â€Å"Visuals may be objects, events, actions, pictorial representations, nonverbal or digital symbols, written words, or numbers. They then argue that visual literacy refers to the use of visuals for communicating, thinking, learning, constructing meaning, creative expression, and aesthetic enjoyment. For example, supplementing a business meeting with visuals created in PowerPoint or Prezi communicate information in a manner alternative to the  spoken word, may engage visually literate audience members in critical thinking about the message, and help them learn more than they may have if they had only heard the message. When these media are used effectively and appropriately, they may stimulate creative thinking and generate affects or liking among audience members through the use of charts, graphs, audio, images, and video† (Avgerinou and Ericson, 1997). It seems that our text is much more technical as far as addressing the definition of Visual Literacy, than the video created by Brian Kennedy. Perhaps it seems that way because the definition that Brian Kennedy offers is visual, as well as audible, but it does seem that he offers a much easier explanation. Communication, through visuals such as photographs for example, have been a way of communicating across borders, oceans, and continents over the decades. One photograph that finds its way on a national magazine cover can convey much more than an entire book devoted to a certain topic. A wonderful example of this comes from our text this week, and that is The National Geographic cover of â€Å"Afghan Girl† that was the cover of the magazine when this girl featured was just 17. It touched many people, and many lives, enough for the photographer to search her out years later without even knowing her name. She was found, and reunited with the photographer, but how does a girl who did not want her picture taken to begin with, react to a huge worldwide reaction to her picture so many years ago, and now with so much attention? She never even knew, or saw her picture. That says quite a bit, as well, as far as Visual Literacy. Perhaps it does not reach as far as we think it does. Globally, perhaps we are not there yet, with our Visual Literacy-or, as easy of a definition, communicating visually. Perhaps we are still a bit Visually Illiterate when it comes to the way we want to portray others, our art, our people, or people from other countries. Also, we should be aware of the way that other countries present us visually. That is something that The United States has not really worried about too much, it seems. We find ourselves upon a pedestal at times and just burst in and start snapping pictures, or slapping paint, etc. The story regarding â€Å"The Afghan Girl† was a reminder of that. We, as a Great Big Beautiful, Wonderful, Intelligent Country believe that all of our media reaches every crevice in the entire world, yet it does not, by any means. We must be mindful of that, while still trying to see everything we are looking at†¦. References: Avgerinou, M. , Ericson, J. (1997). A Review of the Concept of Visual Literacy. British Journal of Educational Technology. Kennedy, B. (2010). Brian Kennedy’s TedTalk: Brian Kennedy: Visual Literacy and Why We Need It . Retrieved From: (http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=OefLEpds5Is). Ryan, W. (2012). Visual literacy: learning to see. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The Victorian Butler :: Victorian Time Period

The Victorian Butler Colonel Mustard: â€Å"Are you the host?† Wadsworth: â€Å"Me, sir? No, I'm just the humble butler.† Colonel Mustard: â€Å"And what exactly is it you do here?† Wadsworth: â€Å"I buttle, sir.† In Victorian times having a house full of servants at the owner's command was quite common for upper and middle class families. Some job titles included footman, cooks, maids, butlers, coachman, and cooks. Among these servants, the highest ranked and paid was the butler. While we all may have a stereotype of a tall, skinny man that opens the door and says, â€Å"You rang?† the actual list of duties and responsibilities of a butler express he is a man of high demand. The Butler of a home was expected to be present during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was to serve the meals and drinks to each member of the family and to wait on them for any requests. He also had the responsibility to oversee the kitchen and make sure it was in order. This included choosing fine wine, managing the wine cellar and the inventory of liquors. The Butler worked closely with the cook and not only assisted with preparing a menu for everyday meals but also for upcoming events and parties the master may present. He was expected to set the table and the decorations for all parties. During these events the butler was always present awaiting any requests from the guests and served them drinks and their meals. The Butler also was responsible for other servants in the home and acted as a manager for the property. The average pay for a Victorian butler was between 40 to 100 pounds per year, which converts to about 2600 to 6500 today. Charles Dickens, Jr. gave this advice in 1879: â€Å"Give good wages, and let it be clearly understood before hiring that no perquisites are allowed. A serious mistake, and one too often made, is to lay down the hard-and-fast rule 'no followers allowed'. Servants always have had and always will have followers, whether their masters and mistresses like it or not† (n.pag.). In Vanity Fair, we read that Miss Horrocks also serves in the house because she is the daughter of the butler. Miss Horrocks acted as a maid in the Crawley's home. Housemaids during the Victorian times were responsible for keeping the home clean and tidy. They did the â€Å"cleaning, scrubbing and dusting† (Roberts 206). The number of housemaids was determined by the size of the home.

Evaluate the Strategic Leadership of Michael O’leary

Is Michael O’Leary an asset or a liability to Ryanair? The case suggests that he is both. Students could debate the pros and cons of Michael O’Leary’s continued leadership of the company. The characteristics that have driven the company forward – his enthusiasm and energy, his strategic insight, his determination and mission orientation – can be carried too far. Is it all part of an integrated inseparable whole, so do you have to take the good with the bad? Is this where we may enter the realm of Sidney Finkelstein’s failure warning signs, when you have too much of a good thing? In fact, some schools of thought would value Michael O’Leary’s relentless energy and his thriving on adversity. It shows a lack of complacency – quite the opposite of what Finkelstein points out as a danger signal. The capacity to irritate may bring about conflict and change. Also, in Michael O’Leary’s favour, as Ryanair’s largest single shareholder, he literally ‘puts his money where his mouth is’. Another way of looking at Michael O’Leary’s leadership is whether he was the right person for the job during the change era, but does the company now require more of a ‘manager’ than a ‘leader’ during a consolidation era? In other words, this is a ‘horses for courses’ approach to the evaluation of O’Leary’s leadership. One may ask whether and/or for how much longer Michael O’Leary wants to stay in the job. Will he get bored and retire to his cattle farm, currently his hobby? There is a suggestion that he would not be happy to preside over a static comfortable situation. Or, would he be headhunted by another airline or by another business altogether? Students might consider whether they would headhunt Michael O’Leary, and why or why not. Chapter 10 discusses types of leaders, i. e. transformational versus transactional and types of leadership emphases and approaches. It is an interesting exercise to see how students would categorise Michael O’Leary. Perhaps what emerges is that he is difficult to categorise. What does this imply?

The Akita Incident - The Helpless Cries Of My Dog

The Akita Incident The helpless cries of my dog and the vicious snarls of the other are sound that will echo in my ears forever. That day, I thought that I would lose the pet who had been my best friend for nine years. It was late spring, and I had the day off of school. This was a big deal, according to my sixth grade mind, and I wanted to make the most out of my day. The sun was shining brightly, and when my best friend requested a video chat, on Skype that afternoon, I thought it would be a good idea to continue the conversation with him outside. My biggest regret from that day was letting my dog outside with me. I was playing on my laptop, and the little green telephone icon popped up on my screen. My best friend was calling me. I†¦show more content†¦Eventually, she reluctantly started to walk back home. On her way, she stopped to check out the fence that was containing the Akitas. She was a friendly dog, and they, unfortunately, were not. One of the 150-pound dogs leapt over the three-and-a-half foot tall fence, and lunged at Frisky. In seconds, he was on top of her, biting and tearing at her flesh. She was screaming in pain, but I could barely hear her screams over my own. I tried pushing the larger dog off of her, with success a couple of times. Unfortunately, it was like he didn’t even notice me. After every push, he was right back on top of her. I was mortified, yet luckily unhurt. Frisky was not fighting back, she was just taking the attack. Later people would tell me that she did not fight back to protect me, but I wish that she had. After what seemed like hours of me shrieking, sobbing, and pushing, my neighbors started to spill outside of their houses. Some of them were frozen in shock, and I screamed in their faces for help. â€Å"Why are you just standing there? They’re killing her!† I shouted helplessly. George and Janet’s son was probably around 50 years old at the time. He grab bed a fallen tree branch, and started charging at the dogs, ready to start swinging. I was relieved that someone was finally taking action. His efforts, however, were immediately interrupted when his mother stepped in. â€Å"No!† was the first word to come out of little 76-year-old Janet’s