Author: azseo

The main aim of this paper is to concentrate upon the issues of knowledge and faith, upon the connection, if there is any, between them and to consider the extent to which faith is a legitimate basis for knowledge claims, in religion and different areas of knowledge. All knowledge systems do present a sophisticated structure, where faith is actually the foundation of it. Before building any kind of knowledge system we would have to start with some basic assumptions. Often these assumptions are called axioms and they help to construct the knowledge systems as they can not be either justified or contradicted by reason. Continue reading “Faith and Knowledge Essay”

It is remarkable what a significant role the basic principles of communication can play in our life. Some people often wonder why some of their friends and colleagues are more successful in communication and often as the result in life then the others. Or, perhaps, most of us sometimes wondered why it is more pleasant to communicate with some of our friends then the others. Of cause, some would say that it depends on how much people have in common, and those would be right, but there is something extra that makes communication between people pleasant. The ability to listen is that great gift that makes people talk and feel comfortable. Continue reading “Mastering a Skill Essay”

One of the central concepts discussed in ethics is honesty, which implies always telling truth and never telling lies. Why is it important? When a person is lying it means that he/she is distorting the reality by saying and doing things which don’t correspond to the actual state of affairs. According to the majority of ethical theories, lying is considered to be immoral as it does not correspond to the basic principles of morality. Of course it is very difficult to follow all of the principles of morality; however, it is necessary to avoid lying as much as possible. In my opinion, it is wrong to lie. And it doesn’t matter who tells lies, it is still wrong. Everybody knows that lying is wrong, but still a lot of people continue to lie, while trying to justify their being dishonest. But when somebody else is lying such people would stand up against it, stating that lying is immoral. But how can it be so? One person lies and thinks that it is ok; however, when he/she is told lies, this person thinks that it is wrong. According to Kant, who was the follower of Deontological theory of morality, when a person told a lie he/she “implicitly said that it is morally all right for people to lie” [1], however, nobody would bare hearing lies constantly.

The author of the book “Contemporary Moral Issues: Diversity and Consensus” Lawrence Hinman states that “you cannot approve of your own lying without approving of everyone else’s, and yet the advantage you get depends precisely on other people’s honesty” [1]. Thus, no exceptions can be made when referring to lying. This is one of the basic principles of Kant as well as morality as whole. Continue reading “Essay: Is it Wrong to Lie?”

It takes a lot of time and effort to make a high-performance team out of a group of people. All people are different, possessing different character traits, interests and likings, thus it is not easy to create a team that will work like a single mechanism, performing simultaneous actions of all of its members.

The main goal of the current paper is to speak about ways how a group can become a high-performance team. While speaking about HPT (high-performance team), it will also analyze certain demographic characteristics and impact of cultural diversity that contribute, or detract from high-performance teams. Continue reading “High Performance Team Essay”

The practice of selecting employees based on one-to-one interview has proved to be an ineffective hiring practice. All over the world, the companies are trying to develop the new techniques for identifying the right candidates for the existing positions. The factors that urge the implementation of new practices include high turnover rate occurring at the first year of employment, high cost of drug-related issues and discrimination-related cases, the need to increase productivity, and the shift from individual work to team building.

Testing a skill or a set of skills is acceptable and the employer does not violate any laws or personal rights of the candidate if decides to test him/her. Testing helps to evaluate the individual’s ability to perform the job, integrate into company’s culture and cooperate with others. Knowledge and proficiency tests are the easiest and the most common tests. They might take the form of the typing test, the performance of the actual task or oral explanation of the processes necessary to accomplish the task. Knowledge testing provides the general ability of the candidate to perform the job at the basic level without further training involved. For example, if the candidate applies for the position of a secretary – the pre-employment testing will include the knowledge of different computer systems, office routine, working with several phone lines and office equipment. Continue reading “Employee Selection Process Essay”

Introduction

In recent years civil-military relations have undergone significant changes and such a shift produced a serious impact on the development of a certain gap in such relations. At the same time, the growing gap in civil-military relations affects different spheres, including the problem of major weapons procurement programs. It is obvious that there are a lot of reasons that caused such a shift, but, nonetheless, the problems threaten to become as serious as it has never been before since in the current situation the problem of civil control over military is of a paramount importance.

On the other hand, it should be pointed out that there is a number of factors that affected civil-military relations and the problem is very complicated. Obviously, the general shift in civil-military relations results from great changes that recently have occurred in military, civil society, and in the security environment of the US. As a result, the problem of civil-military relations, especially the problem of civil control over military operations, is of a primary concern. On the other hand, civil-military relations have been also negatively impacted by civil run contractors in major weapons procurement programs that deteriorated the situation dramatically. Continue reading “Civil Military Relations Essay”

Introduction

Historically, dance played an important role in the life of Indian people. It should be said that the earliest dance forms originate to the antiquity. At the same time, dance has never lost its significance to Indian people who were always interested in dance and who made this a real form of art. In fact, Indian culture is characterized by the richness and variety of forms of expression but, at the same time, despite certain variations the traditional Indian culture remains a solid and powerful tool that unites the whole nation.

It should be pointed out that there exist various styles of dance which may vary depending on the region or the origin. Basically, Indian dance is performed on different occasion but, nevertheless, it does not make Indian dance less expressive or significant. In actuality, it is possible to speak about dance in India as a part of cultural identity of Indian people and as a form of communication between Indians which has gradually evolved and transformed in the great art.

It is important to underline that Indian dance is so important to Indians that they never abandon their historical traditions of dance. No wonder that even in the modern world, when Indians are dispersed throughout the world and when Indian communities may be found in absolutely different parts of the world living in different socio-cultural environment, Indian dance still distinguishes Indian people from other communities of the world.

History of Indian dance styles

Speaking about the history of Indian dance, it is necessary to point out that as any other form of art in India, dance was closely related to the religious beliefs of Indian people and actually is considered to be a kind of divine gift. It should be said that the origin of Indian dance styles may be traced back to the Natya Shastra of Bharat Muni about 400 BC. However, this was rather a theoretical representation of Indian dance which had being existed for a long time before their theoretical adaptation.

In actuality, it is possible to refer the origin of Indian dance styles to the epochs as old as 2000-1500 BC. The first development of dance styles is associated with the invasion of India by Aryans who founded a prosperous civilization in India and developed practically all forms of art, including dance. At the same time, any form of art in India was traditionally believed to be of a divine origin and dance was not an exception. the first elaborate and eloquent references to art of dancing are abound in the Rig Veda, containing sacred texts, which was compiled about 1500 BC (Samson 1987). In such a way, it is obvious that dance was one of the ancient forms of art in India.

In Indian tradition, it is believed that dance was created by Lord Brahma (the Creator) as the treatises on dance such as Natya Shastra and Abhinaya Darpana read. In fact, the Natya Shastra is the earliest Indian text in the history of performing arts which is believed to be created by Gods as a form of entertainment. It is worthy of note, the four traditional Veda, containing sacred texts, were not accessible to all castes and, thus certain categories of Indian population were deprived of opportunity to get acquainted with them, while the Natya Shastra was perceived as the fifth Veda accessible to absolutely all people. According to Indian legends, it was the gift of Gods and initially, the Natya Shastra and, thus dance, was supposed to be destined to Gods only, but later were presented to people.

Naturally, in the course of time, views on dance in India evolved as well as dance styles themselves .This is why nowadays it is possible to single out several classical dance forms, including Bharatnatyam, Kuchi[pudi, Mohini Attam, Kathak, Odissi and Manipuri. It is worthy of mention that dance styles in India may vary depending on the region so that different regions have their own unique dance styles, which, nonetheless, basically meet Indian tradition of dance and Indian philosophy of dance.

Purpose of Indian dance

Taking into consideration the significance of dance to Indian people, it seems to be quite natural that the dance serves to different purposes in Indian culture. Obviously, the dance is an ancient form of art and this is why, in the modern context, it is possible to view the dance as a means of preservation of the national culture and traditions. In other words, classical dance forms of India may be viewed as a cultural heritage of Indian people which underlines the uniqueness of Indian people and Indian culture contributing to the development of national and cultural identity of Indian people. To a significant extent, it is due to the dance Indian people living in different parts of the world feel that they belong to the same culture and they are representatives of one and the same nation.

At the same time, the dance in India also serves to more practical purposes. For instance, it is not a secret that Indian dances are very informative and actually the dance for Indians is more than dance or art, it is rather a form of communication since with the help of gestures, movements, dressing, etc. dancers can express their feelings, emotions, intentions, etc. This is why the communicative purpose of Indian dance is obvious.

Furthermore, it is necessary to remember about the traditional purpose of dance that can be traced throughout the history of its development, this is the performance. Unquestionably, traditionally picturesque, emotional and highly informative Indian dances always represented a great performance and served as a means of entertainment of large audience that may be compared to the modern concerts and, in this respect, Indian dances may be viewed as similar to performance art in any other country.

However, often the dance as a performance served to religious purposes which emphasized the divine origin of dance. In this respect, it is worthy of mention that the Shiva temple of Chidambaram was sculpted with 108 Karanas (units of dance in which gesture, step and attitude are coordinated in a harmonious rhythmic movement) on the inner walls of the four gateways leading to the temple (Bowers 1967). In suhc a way, it is obvious that Indian dance was extremely important to the local religion.

Naturally, despite its divine origin, Indian dance also served to human purposes and often it was a perfect way to get socialized or accepted by the community. In this respect, it should be said that the participation in dance was traditionally a symbol of the acceptance of an individual by the community since it was a symbolic unification of the individual with his social environment. Thus, the variety of purposes of Indian dance made it extremely important part of social life of Indian people and its significance is still relevant even nowadays.

Classification of Indian dance, decorations and participants

As Indian dance played an important social role, the fulfillment of its basic purposes implied the existence of a variety of dance forms and styles. Moreover, the huge territory inhabited by Indian people contributed dramatically to the regional diversification of dance forms and styles. This is why among the variety of Indian dance forms it is possible to single out eight classical dance form, which has already been mentioned above. But the more general classification helps structure Indian dance into three major groups.

First of all, these are religious dances which are performed inside the sanctum of the temple. According to the rituals these dance forms were classified as Agama Nartanam. This was a spiritual dance form. Secondly, it is possible to single out dances that fulfilled socio-political function and were performed in royal courts to the accompaniment of classical music and were traditionally called Carnatakam. Finally, it is possible to speak about dances which fulfilled a kind of universal or uniting the community function since the form of dance known as Darbari Aatam appealed more to the commoners and it educated them about their religion, their culture and social life. These dances were performed outside the temple precincts in the courtyard (Auntrose 2002).

However, in order to fully understand the diversity of Indian dance forms, its essence and ambiance, it is necessary to dwell upon the classical Indian dance forms. Primarily, it should be said that practically all Indian classical dances are spiritual. For instance, Kathakali, which literally means story-play, is an elaborate dance depicting the victory of truth over the falsehood. The particular feature of this form of dance is the use of elaborate make-up and colorful costumes which are used to emphasize that the characters are super-beings from another world, and their make-up is easily recognizable as godlike, heroic, or demonic. Another dance form is Mohimi Attam. The theme of this dance is love and devotion to God, who is usuall Vishnu or Krishna. The Mohini Attam dancer maintains realistic make-up and a simple costume. Usually, the dancer is attired in a beautiful white with gold borderKasavu saree of Kerala, with the distinctive white jasmine flowers around a French bun at the side of her head.

Bharata Natyam dance has been handed down through the centuries by dance teachers and the temple dancers. In the sacred environment of the temple these families developed and propagated their heritage. In such a way, this dance was basically performed by this limited group of people while the others were unable to perform this dance.

Kuchipudi, another classical dance, is actually the dance drama that still exists today and can be closely associated with the Sanskrit theatrical tradition. During this dance, the actors sing and dance, and the style is the blend of folk and classical. Probably this is why the technique has greater freedom and fluidity than other dance styles. Kuchipudi was always performed as an offering to the temples.

Odissi dance form is based on the popular devotion to Lord Krrishna and the verses of the Sanskrit play Geet Govinda are used to depict love and devotion to God. The Odissi dancers use their heads, bust and torso in soft flowing movements to express specific mood and emotions. The form is curvaceous, concentrating on the division of the body into three parts: head, bust and torso. This is a soft, lyrical, classical dance which depicts the ambiance of Orissa and the philosophy of its most popular deity. This dance may be considered regional and typical for the state of Orissa.

Kathak is a North Indian dance form which is inextricably bound with classical Hindustani music and the rhythmic nimbleness of the feet is accompanied by the table. Traditionally, the dance was taken to Muslim courts and, consequently, it became more entertaining and less religious in content. The emphasis is traditionally made on the pure dance aspects and less on expression and emotions. Finally, there is Manipuri, a dance style based on circular movements. Specialists (Nayagam 1970) estimate that in ancient texts it has been compared to the movement of planets around the sun.

Conclusion

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that Indian dance is an ancient form of art that has developed throughout the history of Indian culture and still represents a constituent part of Indian cultural heritage. In actuality, there exist a variety of dance forms and style but basically they preserved their religious origin and, as a rule, Indian dance forms are characterized as highly spiritual. At the same time, the purposes and functions of Indian dance forms also vary substantially, though such a diversity of purposes only underlines the uniqueness of Indian dance which may characterized as highly informative form of performance and art which may be used equally successful to communication, entertainment, socialization of individuals, etc. In such a way, Indian dance is the national symbol, the art that shapes national identity of Indian people.

Bibliography:
Auntrose, K., (2002) Classical Dances and costumes of India. New York: Routledge.
Banerjee, Projesh (1983). Indian Ballet Dancing. New Jersey: Abhinav Publications
Bowers, Faubion (1967). The Dance in India. New York: AMS Press, Inc.
Kilger, George (1993). Bharata Natyam in Cultural Perspective. New Delhi: Manohar American Institute of Indian Studies.
Thacker, Chaula (1989). Introduction to Bharat Natyam. Michigan: Nadanta, Inc.
Nayagam, X.S. Thani (1970). Tamil Culture and Civilization. London: Asia Publishing House.
Samson, Leela (1987). Rhythm in Joy: Classical Indian Dance Traditions. New Delhi: Lustre Press Pvt. Ltd.

Actually all free sample essays and research paper examples available online are 100% plagiarized! If you need a high-quality customized essay written from scratch, you can easily hire professional academic writers online:

• Read more about professional custom essays written by experts!

You will get a 100% non-plagiarized essay on ANY topic you need from SmartWritingService!

Early human, a Neanderthal or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, existed between 130,000 and 30,000 years ago and is generally considered to be a relative class of Homo sapiens sapiens. There is much more information about the Neanderthals than about other prehistoric species and that is partly because of the fact that their fossils are rather new as well as it is caused by the factor of the purposeful burial of their dead. Many sites where Neanderthal fossils were found include the remains of individuals who were intentionally placed in graves that were dug into the ground. Some of those burials even showed evidence of being adorned with offerings, and that represents consciousness and recognition of life and death, that was practiced by the Neanderthals. (Background: Early finds and distribution) Continue reading “Homo Neanderthalensis Essay”