Popular Culture Artifact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Popular Culture Artifact - Essay Example The featured artifact is drawing of the iconic Former South African President and Statesman Nelson Mandela. The icon chosen for the portrait is the diamond. Diamonds have been salient features in contemporary popular culture. In 1938 the New York advertising agency of N.W. Ayers was commissioned to change public attitudes toward diamonds. The campaign was conceptualized to shift popular regard of diamonds as a scarce, expensive and very hard stones to a symbol of commitment and everlasting love. Thus in 1947 and Ayers advertising copywriter came up with the slogan "a diamond is forever". "As an N.W. Ayers memorandum put it in 1959: "Since 1939 an entirely new generation of young people has grown to marriageable age. To the new generation, a diamond ring is considered a necessity for engagement to virtually everyone."(Sut Jhally: Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture -1990). In the featured artifact the diamond icon represents the immortality of what the featured person has come to stand for. The Portrait pictures Nelson Mandela who committed his life to fighting for the emancipation of South Africans out of the shackles of apartheid. What makes the diamond icon more appropriate in the assembling of this artifact is the eternality of the values of peace and equality. This is what Mandela fought for. These values like a diamond are forever. The banner text also contributes to manufacturing of meaning impact in the artifact. It denotes the that fact that coal and diamonds are formed in exactly the same variables, pressure and heat the only differentiating factor being that diamonds were subjected to more pressure and heat than coal. Again these associative meanings coalesce sound meaning in interpreting the artifact. The meaning in this aspect is drawn from the excruciating and extenuating circumstances in his struggle for human rights. The ordeal would either make him or beak him and as such the very circumstances that made some of his fellow citizens fall made a jewel out of him. The jewel as a crystal three dimensional gazing stock contributes to the whole meaning worth as it has become a popular symbol of excellence and invaluable worth. The artifact employs the meaning dissemination channels provided thorough the conventions and inventions formula. Through the conventions the artifact taps into the significance of mundane appreciation of art, mere drawings of people, great and non-entities as well as objects. Drawings have an intricate appeal to human art appreciation. The Mona Lisa drawing by Learnado Da Vince is arguably the most popular and famous portrait. What has made the artifact famous is the fact that the immaculate masterpiece was hand drawn. The artist used his finger to originate the painting. Drawings as medium are valuable for their appeal to human senses as they express human prowess in creativity and reproduction of reality. The featured artifact, by virtue of being a hand drawn artifact, will effectively prompt recipient appreciation by its nature demonstrative of the human artistic dexterity. This aspect will also be enhanced by the fact that the drawing pictures a prominent international icon. Nelson Mandela is more than just an international celebrity;

Nonmaleficence & Healthcare cost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nonmaleficence & Healthcare cost - Essay Example The principle of beneficence is basically about acting for the benefit of the patient – that all actions are geared towards ensuring one’s actions would be for the good of the patient. This principle is very much related to that of nonmaleficence which basically mandates that no harm must not intentionally or non-intentionally be visited upon the patient by the health professional’s actions. Finally, the principle of justice is about giving a person his due and what he is entitled to. These principles form the foundation of all health care decisions. For health professionals making decisions about a patient’s care, these principles help guide the healthcare practice towards morally and ethically prudent decisions. In the current era of economic recession which is also causing multiple budget cuts, the imposed health budget cuts seem to be coming under scrutiny for their negative implications to the delivery of health services. The principle of nonmaleficen ce is being considered as a primary consideration in scrutinizing the imposition of health care budget cuts. In effect, the application of health budget cuts contradicts the principle of non-maleficence. This paper shall consider such thesis, discussing both sides of the statement in the hope of eventually establishing a scholarly and comprehensive understanding and resolution of the issue. Discussion Since the beginning of the economic recession period, government spending in almost all sectors of social service has taken on budget cut considerations. These budget cuts have reduced funding for some health care services, and in some areas of health service, have led to total elimination of monetary support. Forms of rationing and rationalization in health care spending have also been implemented. These forms of budget cuts and limitations however have resulted to sacrifices in health care spending – some of these sacrifices have impacted on the quality and quantity of care ma de available to the general population. In considering the principle of nonmaleficence and its application to the reduction of health care spending, two sides of this issue are apparent. In one side, nonmaleficence clearly portrays how budget cuts cause both direct and indirect harm to patients. On the other side, it may be argued that these budget cuts do not cause the patient much harm; instead they make the redistribution of limited resources possible. The discussion below shall review both sides of this issue. Budget cuts cause direct and indirect harm to patients Budget cuts cause both direct and indirect harm to patients. Health care leaders point out that health budget cuts potentially endanger patients (Grant, 2011). With higher health premiums, higher co-pays, as well as deductibles, more people seem to be doing away with preventive care. Patients entering hospitals seem to sicker and harder to care for because they often wait for the last possible moment to seek medical ca re. By the time they seek medical care, their illness has already progressed into less manageable stages of care (Grant, 2011). Imposing budget cuts in the health care practice have also come to mean less nurses hired to care for patients. In effect, fewer nurses are available to care for patients who are hardly reduced in number (Grant, 2011). In considering budgets, numbers are always involved. For those who control the budget, numbers often rule their mind and their decisions. In