The Roots Of Multimedia – Middle Ages And The Renaissance

Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a variety of musicians and artists envisioned an art form that would combine color and sound. Rudolph of St. Trond, a theorist of the late eleventh century, claimed that the modes of plainsong could be identified with the ancient Greek modes and that both could be allied with particular colors. In his notational system, the Dorian mode was to be written in red, the Phrygian mode in green, the Lydian mode in yellow and the Mixolydian in purple. The Milanese theorist Franchino Gaffurio reintroduced this idea in the fifteenth century. Gaffurio further associated the colors and modes with the Greek humors.

Vincent of Beauvais, the medieval author of a work called Great Mirror, attempted to expound upon Aristotle’s original proportional color-music ratios. However, Beauvais believed that only seven colors could embody proportions that would appear pleasant to the eye. This resulted in a different color-chord consonance. Beauvais related pink to the musical fifth and light green to the musical fourth.

During the Renaissance, the Venetian theorist Gioseffo Zarlino claimed that modern musical counterpoint had added the major and minor thirds and the major sixth to the ancient fundamental ratios of the fourth, fifth and octave. Musical consonance was thus brought directly into a potential relationship with a scale of primary and secondary colours. Leonardo da Vinci, who insisted on rational and geometric arguments for the color-music connection, was sufficiently convinced of the consonances to draw diagrams of “colour organs”.

Arcimboldo, a Milanese painter of the sixteenth century, was one of the earliest artists in a long line of luminaries to endeavor to merge the arts of painting and music. Arcimboldo devised a method of color harmony upon a color scale similar to the musical scale. These early roots of multimedia led to ongoing attempts by artists and musicians to create the combinations of color and sound that we know today as multimedia art.

Decorating For Health – The Role of Art in Healthcare Facilities

The role of art in healthcare facilities goes back at least as far as the ancient Egyptians. Apparently aware of the fact that images of nature induce healing, they painted murals of nature in their healing temples, usually with blue ceilings to represent the sky and green floors to represent the earth. Likewise, the Greeks decorated their hospitals with beautiful paintings as well as statues of healthy athletes to inspire the ailing. In the Americas, the Navajo Indians used art in the form of sand paintings to aid in healing the sick.

In more recent centuries, art in healthcare facilities has been of four types: religious, honorary, medical and charitable. Religious art has often depicted the glory of heaven and the trials of earth. This type of art has questionable value for someone whose assumed goal is to remain on earth. Honorary art depicts donors and has little or no meaning for patients. Medical art originally depicted actual medical procedures including surgery and autopsies. For a patient, these images were likely to have been distressing, frightening and even horrifying.

Although the emphasis in the medical field has shifted to patient-centered care, remnants of some of these types of art remain in almost all healthcare facilities and doctor’s offices. Posters donated from pharmaceutical companies often hang on the walls of examination and treatment rooms. These may depict various stages of ear infections or lung diseases and give information about the medications or antibiotics that can be prescribed.

Alternately, posters depicting medical procedures such as the anatomy of knee replacement can still be found in many medical offices. Other common images in healthcare facilities include anatomical charts of the muscular or skeletal systems.

Fortunately, art depicting medical conditions and anatomy, which have no value for healing, are rarely found in patient recovery rooms. The benefit of positive art, usually scenes of nature, has been studied in depth by Roger Ulrich, Ph.D. Studies conducted by him and others indicate that “healing art” images affect the autonomic nervous system, hormonal balance, brain neurotransmitters, the immune system and the blood flow to all organs in the body. Neurophysiologists have further determined that art connects us to the worlds of imagery, emotion, visions and feelings. This connection can be critical in the healing process.

Other hospitals and medical practitioners have tried a variety of innovative approaches to using art for healing. For example, a dentist’s office commissioned an artist to create a mural of the underside of a pond on the ceiling in their treatment room. This lighthearted mural included the bottom half of a duck complete with feet sticking out into the room. The mural served to distract and amuse patients during dental procedures.

At the University of Maryland, an Enchanted Forest was created for the children’s ward. Trunks from enormous trees were used as the theme for a place for children to play, doctors to relax and families to unwind.

For patients who must lie on their backs for extensive medical tests, some hospitals have installed painted or stained glass covers on their overhead lights. The colors chosen are generally cool and relaxing and the images are gentle, curvilinear patterns similar to ripples on a pond or clouds in the sky.

These projects demonstrate the wonderful role that art and creativity can play in healthcare facilities and in the lives of patients, just when they may need uplifting and inspirational influences the most!

How to Research Financial Aid and Scholarships For Culinary School

Are you one of those who have decided to make a career in the field of culinary? In case, if your answer is yes then no doubt you have made the best decision. Today, culinary education has become very popular and one of the most preferred professions. So, if you think you are ready to transform your obsession for cooking into a career, all you require is finding the right and top culinary school for your education. However, although a culinary school may definitely sound like a very great asset in your future, there’s no denying that it also cost a good amount of money.

Depending upon the program or the school you choose, the total price to finish an accredited culinary program may range from $2,000 to $45,000 and can even go beyond that. Fortunately, today there are a number of culinary financial aids and scholarships easily available for aspiring chefs like you from almost every walk of life. While some are based on the financial requirement others are given to those who are extremely talented in the culinary arts. Thus, if you are looking forward to earning a degree from best culinary school and have a financial aid for your education then here are few possible ways to research and get the scholarship.

Checking online or surfing the internet can definitely be the best and most feasible option. Making the best use of different search engines and websites you can know a lot regarding awards and scholarships that you as a student can apply for. In fact, surfing the internet may help you get a database of different scholarships in your area where you can easily apply.

1. You may also talk to your local associations as many of them at times provide awards and grants for aspiring students who want to make a career in particular field but face problems due to lack of proper financial support. Communicating to these local associations may also help you know other sources that generally offer financial aid. Though, it is very important for you to note that you carefully read the scholarship or financial aid instructions of associations very carefully. You may also come across organizations that actually provide scholarships only for specific purposes, while some offer scholarships only for management training.

2. Contact your prospective culinary school and if possible try to ask them what grants they have for new students. If they provide financial aids in form of loans or grants then you can easily apply for it.

3. Apart from this, you may even approach to your nearby bank. These days there are many banks that provide student loans to all those deserving students. Going for student loans can be the best option to have an admission and complete your education.

4. If possible try to visit your local library, and the chances are more that you may find books or educational magazines that contain the entire listings for scholarships or different fund programs. More often it can act as a great resource that is generally unnoticed, but in reality this source can be a treasure trove for culinary students in need of an award.

Once you found your scholarship or financial aid opportunity that meets to your requirements always try to improve your chances to finally receive the award.

Not All Real Estate Brokers Are Members Of The Local MLS

Did you know that not all real estate brokers and not all agents are necessarily members of your local MLS (multiple listing service), wherever you may live in the U.S.? What does it mean if a broker is not? Let’s consider the implications.

Most people know that the MLS is where real estate agents post their listings. This is the first step in marketing a property. Putting the listing in the MLS gives other agents who are members of the MLS the ability to view the details of that listing and share the listing with their potential buyer clients. All of this exposes the listed property to more potential buyers.

So why wouldn’t a broker be a member of a local MLS? There are three logical reasons. First, it is too expensive. That is not likely, since it is not an expensive service. In fact, it is the least expensive marketing an agent will ever do. The second possible reason is that the broker has a better marketing plan. That could be, but this also not likely, since the best marketing plan would include first listing it in the local MLS. The third possible reason would be that the broker’s membership was suspended or revoked by the local MLS board. If that is what happened, we don’t even want to discuss going further with that broker. Anyone who list with such a broker either does not know about the suspension or revocation or they are on Ritalin.

For the consumer, there are several more important considerations in deciding to list with a non-MLS participating broker.

  1. What is the broker’s plan to market your property? Does he or she even have a plan?
  2. How are the listings exposed to the rest of the world, or are they at all?
  3. Does the broker depend almost entirely on just hanging poor photos of your listing in the window at his or her office? How many buyers will that expose your property to?
  4. Is the broker’s effort at marketing focused only on local buyers in a limited marketing effort, or is there any national exposure to the many out-of-state buyers?
  5. With no exposure to all the other local brokers and agents, how does the broker intend to expose your listing to all potential buyers, or even many of them? Most buyers will be working through other agents, right?
  6. What is the broker’s relationship with other local agents? Good? Bad? Non-existent?
  7. If the broker is not part of the local broker network, understand that it is highly unlikely that other local agents will ever tell their clients about the broker’s listings. Why should they, they don’t get paid.
  8. A non-MLS broker will not have an IDX (public) search capacity from their website and your listing won’t show up in other agents’ websites through their IDX public property search tool.
  9. Does the broker have many other agents who will help market your property, or is the broker a loner?
  10. A non-MLS broker may try to entice customers with discounted commission rates. One question here. Would you pay a discounted price for a burnt steak, a rotten potato, and freezer burnt vegetables? What’s a discount if you don’t get the service, can’t sell your home, or don’t get the best price?
  11. Last question. What is the broker’s relationship with past clients? I don’t mean just 2 or 3, I mean many of them. Anyone can end up with a few happy clients, but what about dozens or 100′s of clients? Are there a lot of burned bridges? Don’t you want to know?

When it comes to hiring a real estate agent, do your due diligence. Don’t cut corners. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as getting a broker who wants to list your property, but is not a member of the MLS.

Your logical goal when selling your home is to get the highest possible price in the least amount of time. I recommend choosing your real estate agent carefully. It’s a very important decision for you.

How To Succeed In Your Search For The Best Internet Providers

Finding the best internet providers near you could be overwhelming, especially if you live in a densely-populated area with lots of companies competing for your business. But living in a rural area also has its challenges, as your options for internet may be few. Whatever your situation, it is possible to find the right company for you when you follow a few simple steps.

First and foremost, knowing what you need in an internet company is crucial. Ask yourself about your internet habits. Do you only go online to check email once in awhile, or are you an avid surfer who spends several hours a week on the internet? An occasional internet user may not require the highest speed, where a slower speed can end up frustrating a frequent user. Knowing your habits will also affect the cost for your service, as slower internet speeds can often cost less than faster speeds.

The next thing to consider is what kind of equipment will be required in order for you to receive internet. For example, cable and DSL internet both require a modem to be installed. If you need a connection for your laptop, you may be able to purchase a mobile internet ‘stick’. Satellite internet will require a dish and satellite receiver in order to work.

Asking the people you know about how they like their service can give you some valuable insight. However, keep in mind that everyone’s internet needs are different, and so a company that may work very well for your friend or neighbour may not necessarily be what you need or can afford.

Understand that, depending on your location, you may not be able to access land-based internet types like cable and DSL. For example, those living in the country are often limited to the internet types they can get because the cost of running cable or DSL lines to rural homes is currently very expensive and difficult for internet companies to accomplish.

If you’re a rural resident and discover that your only option is dial-up, ensure that the companies you’re considering offer local numbers to access the internet. If an ISP only offers numbers that are long-distance for you, it could result in extremely high long-distance costs and therefore not save you much money at all.
Look for discounts if at all possible. Most companies offer discounted service when you ‘bundle’. Bundling refers to the switching of more than one service to a single company. So for example, you may decide to have your TV and internet service with one provider. Sometimes, the more services you switch to one company, the more money that can be saved.

Lastly, investigating your options by going online can benefit you in the form of time and money savings. A quality comparison shopping guide will teach you about different internet services, and reveal the ISPs near you that can give you special discounts for subscribing online. You can also receive insight from online customer reviews and independent company reports.

Disruptive Technology and Examples of Disruptive Technologies

In 1997 Mr. Clayton M.Christensen ( A Harvard Business School Professor ) introduces a new term “Disruptive Technology”. He also describes that disruptive technology unexpectedly displaces an established technology. He explains later in his best selling book in 1997, “The Innovator’s Dilemma” and separate new technology into two major categories: Sustaining and Disruptive.

Sustaining technology: A technology which relies on incremental improvements to an already established technology is called sustaining technology.

On the other hand the technology Because it is new so lacks refinement,often has performance problems,appeals to a limited audience and may not yet have a proven practical application. The most common example of disruptive technology is “Electrical Speech Machine” later called telephone by Alexander Graham Bell.

Professor Mr. Clayton M.Christensen point out in his book that no. of large corporations are like to work with sustaining technologies and they designed their work accordingly. Large Corporations are staying close to their customers, having a mechanism in place to develop existing technologies, so they excel at knowing their market. Marketing opportunities which are created by the low margin disruptive technologies may cause the capitalizing on the potential efficiencies and cost saving by large corporations.

Professor Mr. Clayton M.Christensen in his book “The Innovator’s Dilemma” ( the best selling book for the year 1997 ) to illustrate his point about disruptive use the real world examples. He demonstrates how it is not unusual for a big corporation to dismiss all the values of a disruptive, the reason is that it does not reinforce on current company goals.

Business Direct Marketing – Top 10 Must Do’s For a Successful Program

Let’s face it. Companies spend a big portion of their budgets on print and online advertising. And, we all know that we still get a bunch of “junk” mail. Why? Because it works. While inventing new ways to market your business can sometimes pay off, let’s make sure we do not drop the ball and overlook the ground rules for direct marketing.

Small business owners can effectively use direct marketing to grow their business and build relationships with their current and prospective clients. But, a poorly executed direct marketing program will hurt you where it counts! Here are a few tips to give you a great shot at putting together a successful direct marketing campaign.

1. Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Create a marketing plan. Set goals for your direct marketing effort and put it in writing. Share it with key employees and have clear-cut objectives that reflect your marketing research and intuition.

2. Get “personal” with your target audience. Sending a marketing letter to “The Manager” is the best way to get your message ignored and thrown directly into the garbage or virtual trash. Get personal by using and creating marketing databases that have detailed information on the businesses you are trying to reach. Do not be afraid to use this information in your message. This conveys to the recipient that you have done your homework and have a value offering that relates to their business.

3. Test before rolling out your promotion. You have done your research, crafted the look and content of your sales message, and prepared your database. That is a lot of work done to get to that point but do not waste your time and efforts by sending your message out to your list without testing it first. Take a smaller nth name test from your database to see the response to your message. Get a feel for turnaround times, inquiries and general receptiveness to your offer. If you like the reaction, roll it out. If not, change something and test again until you get an acceptable response.

4. Include a “call to action” in your message. Putting your address or phone number is not enough. Stay away from creating open-ended offerings. Reinforce your compelling sales message by telling the recipient of your marketing letter exactly what to do and when.

5. Consider a multiple step direct marketing strategy. With the investment of time and money, it is easy to understand why small business marketers want to make the sale on the first pass of a marketing effort. The ability to do that will depend on your product or service offerings. But, two-step direct marketing has some valuable upsides. It allows you to collect a larger pool of potential customers and build a relationship with this market. In many instances, it provides an opportunity to increase the unit sale and introduce additional products and services.

6. Be a Copycat. Do not resist what is working in your market. Understand what your competitors are doing to get business. Pay special attention to what the market leaders are doing and what promotions are repeated. Other companies have done their market research and testing and, sometimes, you can benefit from their investment by implementing a similar strategy.

7. Follow up with a vengeance. Do not let your direct marketing effort fizzle on the back end. Just like in sales, the weakest link is usually in the follow-up.

8. Perceptions are important. We all want to work with quality people. We all want to deal with quality companies. Make sure your message does not make claims you cannot back up or seems deceptive in any way.

9. Niche out your products and services. Packaging a product or service for a particular group can sell more of your business offerings than if you tried to sell to a general market. If you are a specialized business already, look for sub-markets to sell to. It is more work for sure but, you may find a gold mine. Following tip #2, people respond positively to messages that they can relate to.

10. Make sure you analyze your results. You can easily tell if a direct marketing effort was successful in generating sales. But, be sure you note the qualities of both the positive and negative responses because you can miss valuable sales and marketing information if you do not. Things such as response times, geographical disbursement, respondent job titles, inquiries that turn into sales, and actual client feedback, can help you roll out a more effective direct marketing campaign next time around.

Okay, here is one more bonus tip for you. Make your sales message compelling. Be creative and use your instincts. Remember, every sentence you put on your marketing piece should have a purpose. Leave out extraneous information and be clear with your sales message. Now, go ahead and use these tips, along with your business savvy, to form a successful direct marketing program.

Don’t Apply For a Student Loan Until You Read This

With so many students attending schools and colleges, fees are on the rise. Therefore, by the time you have finished school, you may be facing a huge debt. That is where government student loans can ease the burden. The government provides loans for students who cannot afford to pay for their education. This can enable a student to consolidate any unpaid loans into one new loan with one monthly payment. The amount and interest is low and is stretched out over a longer period of time. This time is termed the Moratorium. There are several loan options to choose. Here are some criteria as to who qualifies for a loan and who does not:

-6-Less than $22,010 – pays no fees

-7-Between $22,010 and 32,744 – receive some aid

-8-More then $32,000 – pays full fees

-9-Less than 15,580 – gets $1,000 yearly

-10-All students can apply for the maximum of $5,175 yearly

-11-Disabled and dependent students get extra help

-12-$3,000 can be borrowed by any new student without question of status

You need to have good credit in order to qualify for government student loans. However, even if you have bad credit, you can still obtain a loan but you may need a cosigner. The loan amount may not cover your expenses, and you may end up needing more. With college student loans, there are easier terms. The government provides them as Federal Student Loans. A Federal Student Loan comes with a fixed interest rate of 5% and there is no repayment for up to 9 months after graduation. The best part of government student loans is the fact that students don’t have to worry about money during their academic trek through school.

There are two types of student loans. There are the government student loans previously discussed and private student loans that are available through private lending institutions.

The private student loan is given based on the student or in some cases, parent’s credit history. This loan is available to graduates and undergraduates that are at least 18. The student needs a co-signer and the loan can be canceled in 90 days. The interest rates on this type of loan are higher. Just with any other loan, you should do your homework, research, and look around at different lenders. It is your future so make sure you get the best deal for your educational future.

Home Schooling Hours

How long, how often, and when? These are the normal questions of parents who choose to home school their children. One of the main reasons behind home schooling is to have flexibility in scheduling. This flexibility applies to not only the curriculum but also the amount of hours spent in face to face instruction. Many parents often make the mistake of thinking that kids who are home schooled should stay in their books for the entire part of the day when they would be in public school. This is especially true for parents who have just started home schooling. This is not only wrong, it could even be counter-productive.

The main drawbacks in the public school, is the amount of time and energy that are wasted. There are class periods that are just wasted away so public school children probably have no more than 1 – 3 hours of actual learning everyday. Aside from the time when no instruction is taking place, there are the days that the instruction is just too intense for the child to grasp the concept and another day has to be spent on the same concept to assure that the student has grasped the idea.

The first thing you should do when you begin home schooling is to figure out your agenda. It is important to keep the same hours everyday. It is simpler for your child to learn if he has a daily routine. It lets the students know that their parents are serious about learning and lets him free his mind from distractions and focus on the material. He will know that a certain time is set aside for learning.

You will determine how many actual instruction hours you will need based on your child’s needs. The learning style of your child will be a factor in deciding this along with the subject matter that is being taught. If you are teaching a complicated subject such as algebra, you may want to sit with you child for a longer period of time than you would for a much simpler lesson such as, spelling.

Home schooling doesn’t necessarily mean your child will sit in front of his books and read printed material all day long. He will learn through things such as watching documentaries, field trips, visiting libraries and factories. These activities will make up a very significant part of the home school process. It makes sense to use these types of activities to make sure that learning is fun for your child. You may want to use a couple of hours for textbook learning in the morning and then take the afternoon to do these kinds of activities with your child.

Far too many public school hours are wasted with meaningless activities that range from talking to extra curricular activities. These activities do not let public schools dictate their hours you will need to spend instructing your child at home. Keep in mind that he will be receiving high quality one on one instruction. About 1-3 hours of book study is plenty especially in the early grades. However, it is true, the more hours you set aside for learning, the more learning that will take place. These are the main reasons that children who are home schooled in a quality setting are more advanced than children who attend public school.

Steps in Building a Home Chicken Coops

You think building home chicken coops is difficult? Think again! Anybody (yes anybody) can actually build one. All you need is an effective and sensible guide for you to get started.

A premium-grade coop is very easy to make as long as you can dedicate a few hours work and of course a little cash. You don’t have to break your savings for this. One important thing that I have learned over the years is to always make and follow a plan that addresses your needs.

Plan ahead and decide how many chickens you are planning to raise. 5, 10 or 20, yes the number will make a huge difference when planning home chicken coops. If you want the most favorable egg production then you must provide at least 3 square feet of grazing space foe every chicken.

After ironing out the plan, the next step will be to sketch the design. By design we’re not only talking about the aesthetic side but also the functionality of the coop. You want it to be well-ventilated, insulated and make sure that the chickens get proper lighting. Of course natural sunlight is still the best.

The third step in finishing home chicken coops will be purchasing all the materials you need. You really don’t need gazillion of materials. Lumber, wood, wires, nails and paint are all basic materials. If you do not have any idea about the exact materials that you need then it will help if you can make a research online or just buy a book.

The final step is to start the construction process. It will be cool if somebody can help you finish your project. Make sure you observe protective measures while building your chicken coop.