Monday, December 30, 2019
A Critical Investigation Of The Motivation Of Cr Vanguard
A critical investigation of the motivation of CR Vanguard Introduction Motivation originates from the word move and represents the reasons for people s actions, desires, and needs. Motivation can be considered as the arousal, direction and maintenance of human behavior towards attaining some goal (Greenberg, J. and Baron, R.A. in Buelens et al., 2011).Motivating employees is vital if employers are willing to achieve maximum performance and productivity. The company shall attach great importance on its staff incentive system to enhance the loyalty and professional dedication of staff. For example, Tesco, Britain s biggest retailer, has entered China through a 50 percent joint venture with Ting Hsin International, a firm that owns 25 hypermarkets in China (Guerrera and Voyle, 2004). In August 2013, CR Vanguard and Tesco officially announced the establishment of the joint venture company to expand and diversify the market. But in June 11 2015, numbers of slogan banners writing CR Vanguard oppressed Tesco employees were hung in the Tesco supermarket of Guangzhou Shengdi shop. More than 80 Tesco employees stopped their work to register their protest in the supermarket of Shunde Daliang store. The strike can be traced to the dissatisfaction of the salary adjustment and job assignment. The District General Manager of human resources and Guangfo district director talked to Tesco Shengdi shop manager and ask the manager transferred to another store serving. The manager did
Sunday, December 22, 2019
The Effects Of Wound Healing On Diabetic Patients
eous wound healing and why some processes may be altered in diabetic patients ââ¬Å"The process by which tissue repair takes place is termed wound healing and is comprised of a continuous sequence of inflammation and repair, in which epithelial, endothelial, inflammatory cells, platelets and fibroblasts briefly come together outside their normal domains, interact to restore a semblance of their usual discipline and having done so resume their normal functionâ⬠. (The Cellular Biology of Wound Healing 2016) Wound healing has 3 distinct stages, an inflammatory response, a proliferation phase and a maturation phase, however wound healing is not a linear process and a patient can move back and forth throughout the stages. After the occurrence of a wound the inflammatory process immediately begins and can last up to 3 days (Wound Healing 2016), the initial injury causes the small vessels around the wound site to be disturbed resulting in bleeding, the bodyââ¬â¢s first response is a haemodynamic one in that it restricts these vessels in order to prevent blood loss. There then comes a rapid release of preformed inflammatory mediators from the cells surrounding the injury, the first thing this causes is the aggregation of platelets, these platelets adhere to extracellular surface structures which are exposed, such as collagen and basement membranes, this in turn causes serotonin from platelet stores to be stimulated. (Kirk, Phillips and Murray 2001) As well as attracting furtherShow MoreRelatedThe Power Of Honey : Honey1415 Words à |à 6 Pagesbeginning to be more seriously investigated as a solution to this problem.à à à à The article, The evidence and rationale for the use of honey as a wound dressing focuses on the evidence and explanation as to the effectiveness of the bioactivites in honey that support and promote wound healing. This study concluded that honey showed tremendous value in wound healing. Honey has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity specifically to gram positive and gram negative species, anaerobes, and aerobes. It showedRead MoreA Brief Note On Patients With Diabetic Lower Leg Ulcers With Activated Protein C ( Apc )1119 Words à |à 5 PagesWounds related to Diabetic Neuropathy Patients with diabetic neuropathy generally ended up with wounds, since they have reduced ability to feel pain and temperature. The problem that the guideline addresses is ââ¬Å"patients with lower-extremity neuropathic disease (LEND) with or at risk for woundsâ⬠(National Guideline Clearinghouse, 2012, para. 1). The purpose of the guideline is to ââ¬Å"support clinical practice by providing consistent, research-based information with the goal of improved cost-effectiveRead MoreA Brief Note On Diabetes And Its Effects On The Lives Of People Suffering From Diabetes Essay2303 Words à |à 10 PagesIntroduction Diabetes is a chronic illness that effects a large number of the population, 243,125 New Zealanders were diagnosed according to the 2013 census (Diabetes New Zealand, 2014a). Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that causes unstable hyperglycaemia resulting from a defect in insulin secretion or action within the body (Belonwu, Obimba, Ozougwu Unakalamba, 2013). Diabetes is a condition that can have detrimental effects on the lives of people suffering from diabetes, diabetes isRead MoreFoot-Care for Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers2662 Words à |à 11 Pages THE ROLE OF DEBRIDEMENT IN WOUND HEALING OF PATIENTS WITH DIABETES FOOT ULCERS (REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS) INCIDENT As a registered nurse with over 10 years of clinical practice experience in various field of nursing including caring for patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), I was concerned with rise in the numbers of DFUs cases resulting into higher rates of amputation, disabilities and mortality . DFU are caused by a combination of peripheral neuropathy and vascular diseases resulting fromRead MoreEducation Plan For A Care For Diabetic Pat Patients Who Have Foot Ulcers Essay1505 Words à |à 7 Pageseducation plan is aimed at wound care for diabetic pat patients who have foot ulcers. This can occur to any diabetic patient, however it is not usually an issue until theyââ¬â¢re in their early 30s. This patient population can include a variety of education and experience backgrounds, however it is important that all patients are able to understand it so it will be presented in congruence with a fifth grade literacy level. They also have a variety of levels of support, however the patient t hat this plan wasRead MoreBone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Essay1176 Words à |à 5 Pagesand wound healing through synergistic downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and increased production of soluble factors with antioxidant, antiapoptotic, and proangiogenic properties(95)VojtaÃ
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¡Ã ¡k et al.,(96) isolated and cultured skin fibroblasts and BMSCs from a diabetic patient. They seeded the fibroblasts onto a Coladerm membrane to form a biograft. Then, they topically applied BMSCs to the wound and covered with the previously modified Coladerm membrane. They observed that the patient showedRead MoreEssay on The Final Process in Inflammation: Wound Healing1750 Words à |à 7 PagesIntroduction Wound healing is the final process in inflammation at which the architecture and the function of the tissues were repaired after an injury.[1] Basically, before wound healing takes place, inflammation occurs at which it helps to eliminate the injurious agents and if elimination is not possible, inflammation helps limiting the effects caused by the injurious agents. Finally, it prepares the site of injury for healing process.[2] Picture taken from: http://www.pilonidal.org/aftercare/wound_healing_indepthRead MoreThe Human Body Is A Very Complex System In Which Thrives1611 Words à |à 7 Pagesbefore a distinction was discovered between the different types. There are several things in which are secondary and or come hand in hand with diabetes that worsen or will predispose the body to another ailment. Obesity is a large factor amongst patients whom have this disease as well as peripheral artery disease or atherosclerosis. When blood flow to large areas is cut off the tissue begins to break down and eventually dies, resulting in gangrene. There are a several forms of gangrene and datesRead MoreTreating Long-term Elderly Patents with Pressure Ulcers1036 Words à |à 4 PagesLong-term Care Patients: A Case Study Patients at Long Term Care Facilities are generally debilitated and elderly people who have incontinence problems. Incontinence makes treating pressure ulcers very difficult because it alters tissue tolerance and reapplying products becomes very costly. Usually negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is used to treat pressure ulcers but it is also very costly and does not match with some wound locations. Collagen plays a vital role in the wound healing process byRead MoreMission, Governance, And Financing858 Words à |à 4 PagesMission, Governance, and Financing Christus St. Elizabeth Outpatient Wound Care Clinic is primarily a community health agency that serves the Beaumont and Southeast Texas area. Its mission statement is ââ¬Å"to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Our Mission, Values, and Visionâ⬠, 2016). As a not-for-profit agency, Christus St. Elizabeth Wound Care Clinic works with numerous agencies to make a profound effect in the lives of patients and to promote a positive change in the community. A mixture of
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Motivation affects learning Free Essays
Introduction Motivating employees in an organization means helping them perform their work, compensating them for their labors, and solving problems that arise. Consequently, human resource management plays a central role in this especially since they are responsible for how people are treated in their own unique kind of organization. Effective managers are concerned about their employees. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation affects learning or any similar topic only for you Order Now It has been revealed that by applying techniques to motivation and training, people will be inspired to examine the incentive and recognition programs. These programs can improve employeesââ¬â¢ life. This way, proper reporting is done and the staff are not disillusioned. Managers provide reward programs promptly. It states that ââ¬Å"When training is linked to a reward program, employees are motivated to absorb the content, and that translates it into improved performance. This paper looks into the different ways of motivation especially in the organizational aspects so that learning is facilitated and hastened. Gellerman (1992) defines motivation as the ââ¬Å"art of helping people to focus their minds and energies on doing their work as effectively as possible.â⬠The task is to motivate everyone, at all times, through every possible technique or approach available and apt for the situations. They need to enjoy themselves in the process. There are many questions that have to be answered, such as who are the people, what are their job tasks, how do they get paid, with whom do they work? Because of these varied and ever-changing elements in motivation, this is not a simple or easy taskâ⬠.à The difficulty is that all people are different from one another in many ways; hence what might motivate one person does not necessarily work for another person ââ¬â different strokes for different folks. Effects of Good Relations with Employees Good motivational techniques with the employees result in good service of the company because the employees feel good and satisfied and they deliver their service better than those who are not contented with their jobs.à By providing good human relations with the employees, they will be highly satisfied and they will be more productive.à The management that provides opportunities for the employees to grow and develop will be more successful as the employees will be challenged to do better. Employees can also feel their value when they are motivated accordingly and when they are given programs that would make them feel they deserve the job responsibility.à As a result, the workers will support the management more and in the end everybody benefits, the employees develop their potentials and gain high job satisfaction giving the management less problems and a higher productivity turnover, and in due course the business thrives. As part of your ââ¬Å"welcome to our fastfoods business,â⬠find out what their dreamsà à are, how they think that business should work for the customers, what they hate, and what they like. Ask how they have used technology in the past. The entrepreneurââ¬â¢s perception on subordinates will greatly affect decisions between the two dimensions they are going to emphasize. If they assume that their people are responsible and capable, there would be less control and leaders would put more reliance on their people. Otherwise there would be a large amount of control on their workers.à But more than the well-established organizational design and properly selected leadership style, Beer emphasized the importance of people because without the capabilities of these people, the goal of effective organization would be difficult to attain, or worse, would never be reached (Beer, Michael). Organizational behaviorââ¬â¢s emphasis on people makes the management understand their employees more and make them committed in pursuing a common organizational goal of productivity and effectiveness. One of the strategies in building the performance of a worker is through motivation. People who are satisfied with their job are motivated to be more productive. In order for the manager to effectively motivate his employees, he must have knowledge on what determines their motivation. Again, under the principle of cause and effect, and the studies on the behavior of organization, an effective leader could formulate a motivation technique that would fit into the needs of the workers and encourage them to be more productive. Understanding what moves workers to work more productively would make the decision of the leaders in coming up with a motivational technique more acceptable to the workers and in turn would give favorable results for the whole organization. Businesses continue to succeed because of the value it places in their service and the clients.à However, without its human resources, no one will be able to deliver its service.à No technology can take the place of human resources.à The employees are the most important resource in any way.à Humans can adapt and improve, be taught and learn.à Technology will always be mere tools of humans, either using it to improve himself or to destroy himself. Good management see their employees grow in the company and as persons of their own rights.à They see them highly motivated to ââ¬Å"achieve their goals, gain positive perspective, have that power to change, build self esteem and capacity, manage their own development and help others with theirs.â⬠(Goleman, 2005) Moreover, they appreciate the value of building a climate of honesty, openness and trust; understand what they want from work so they can be aligned with each other in terms of expectations and aspirations; encouraging othersà to do well and complimenting those who perform well and who work at best in an effective organization. (Goleman, 2005) Importance of Employee Motivation and Training People experience failure in one way or another. But if there is a positive consistency in oneââ¬â¢s life (that is, if one consistently learns from his mistakes and mature through them to bring harmony and balance in his life), one can, for the most part, avoid repeating the same mistakes. Time is the vehicle that allows one to make course corrections, and time allows him to recover and improve. High achievers will see the future as an endless opportunity because of all they can learn and accomplish ââ¬â rather than seeing doom and disaster because of missed opportunities andà ââ¬Å"what might have beenâ⬠in the past. Things are clarified and the process is checked if well understood. People are not left clueless about how things need to be done. Clearly, if the process is well understood, it stands a chance of being described and automated. A chain of reactions and influences causes a very fast ripple effect and things are controlled early on especially if it is in connection with rumor mills. But, whether it is rumors racing through the company at warp speed or a change in how people relate to each other after reorganization, one cannot help but be conscious of the effect. What is important is that things are communication well to everyone (Cheese and Thomas 2003). Based on research on entrepreneurial and diversified businesses successful firms have competitive markets that have fast, high-quality, and widely supported strategic decision making processes.à Indeed, the remarkable success of high performance teams is not the result of luck. It is the predictable outcome of intense concentration on values, proper motivation and strategies on cultivating what the German writer Goethe called ââ¬Å"the genius, power and magicâ⬠in ourselves. We have been burdening managers for years with an impossible task, telling them they ought to motivate others single-handedly, when the most a manager can do for others is to jump-start them ââ¬â inspire them. Real motivation catches internally, after the mission is clear. Peak performers draw productivity from deeper reserves that are inexhaustible ââ¬â from the sources of motivation. You can tell people to value excellence. You can insist that they increase their productivity. You can emphasize the need for changing their behavior. You can attempt to train people and motivate them to upgrade their job skills and increase their effectiveness. But until an individual makes a personal commitment to achieving peak performance or makes that internal decision to excel, nothing much will happen (McClelland, D. 1955). REFERENCES Beer, Michael. ââ¬Å"Organizational Behavior and Development.â⬠(n.d.) Retrieved Jan. 13, 2007 at http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/search.aspx?ct=Working%20Papersmclickorder=ct:#search=ââ¬â¢organizational%20behavior%20affects%20organizationââ¬â¢. Cheese, P. and Thomas, B. (2003) Human Capital Measurement: How do you measureà up? Accenture, Issue 1 May 1, 2003. Retrieved Jan. 13, 2007 at: McClelland, D. (1955). Some social consequences of achievement motivation. In M.R. Jones (ed). Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Goleman, D. Motivating Your Staff in a Time of Change. Business: The Ultimate Resource.à Perseus Publishing. 2002.à Retrieved Jan. 13, 2007 at: http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/business4.htm How to cite Motivation affects learning, Essay examples
Friday, December 6, 2019
Mosaics Of San Vitale Essay Example For Students
Mosaics Of San Vitale Essay The church of San Vitale in Ravenna was dedicated to St. Vitalis. After the discovery of the bones of the reputed martyrs Agricola and his slave Vitalis at Bologna in the fourth century, Vitalis was widely venerated in the west. The church of which he is the patron saint in Ravenna was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in the second quarter of the sixth century, when the Goths still ruled there. Funds for its construction were supplied by Julianus Argentarius. The church was completed and consecrated by Bishop Maximian in 547/8, after control had passed to the Byzantines . San Vitale was built on an octagonal plan Ills. 1, with eight heavy piers supporting the drum and dome. The inspiration for the central plan likely came from the east, for Ecclesius had recently returned from a visit to Constantinople, but the construction is Roman. Of special interest are the mosaics of the sanctuary and apse. The mosaics in San Vitale cover the entire sanctuary Ills. 2,3. In different symbols and images, they all convey one idea: the redemption of mankind by Christ and the sacramental re-enactment of this event in the eucharistic sacrifice. The compositions must thus be understood as the setting for the rite celebrated in this room and as closely related to it. In the vault there appears the Lamb of God in the midst of a wreath, which is supported by four angels standing on globes. The image of the lamb was introduced into the Roman rite only at the end of the seventh century by Pope Sergius I, a Syrian . But, in the liturgies of the East, this symbol of the Christian sacrifice appears at an earlier date, and we are justified in interpreting its representation in San Vitale as alluding to the eucharistic liturgy Ills. 4. The first arcade of the sanctuary is decorated with fifteen medallions, showing the images of Christ, of the twelve apostles, and of Gervase and Protase, who, with their father Vitalis, were venerated in this church. In the ancient liturgy of Ravenna, all these saints are mentioned in the so-called diptychs, the Book of Life, listing the names of those whom the church wishes to remember at every Mass Ills. , 5. The next bay on either side shows, above the columns supporting the arcades of the galleries, two sacrificial scenes from the Old Testament. On our left, the three angels appearing to Abraham in the valley of Mambre Genesis, chap. 18, and Isaac whom his father is about to sacrifice; on our right, Abel offering a lamb, and Melchizedek with his sacrifice of bread and wine. Above them, there appears the hand of God, the traditional symbol of the divine presence and of Godquot;s acceptance of the sacrifice Ills. 6, 7. All four scenes allude to the eucharistic sacrifice. To make this significance plain, an altar is depicted between Abel and Melchizedek, on which are placed a chalice and two loaves of bread, identical in shape with that which Melchizedek offers and also with the eucharistic bread which the church used during the sixth century . The altar motif appears again in the opposite mosaic: Isaac is shown kneeling upon an altar, and even the table behind which the three angels are seated resembles the simple wooden altar of Christian antiquity. The three round cakes which Sarah has placed before the heavenly messengers are marked with the sign of the cross and recall again the eucharistic hosts of that time. In patristic exegesis and in Christian art and literature, the four scenes depicted are among the most frequent symbols of the eucharistic sacrifice. Above these mosaics and flanking the graceful arcades of the gallery, the four evangelists are represented: Matthew and Mark on the left wall, John and Luke on the right. All four appear seated in a mountainous landscape, holding their Gospels on their knees. Their symbolic animals are seen above them; writing utensils are placed at their sides Ills. 8, 9. The relation of these figures to those below is obvious: as the two tables which Moses received on Mount Sinai contained the Old Law, so the New Regulation is contained in the Gospels. In the later Middle Ages, Christian art expressed this relation by depicting the apostles standing on the shoulders of the prophets . The mosaics in San Vitale express the same thought. It must be mentioned, however, that the four evangelists are depicted not solely as the authors of the Gospels. They, too, are symbols of the sacramental life of the Christian. As we proceed deeper into the sanctuary, toward the main altar of San Vitale, we face two monumental compositions. The imperial panels in the church of San Vitale at Ravenna are perhaps the most famous of all Byzantine mosaics. The two panels face each other, one on each side of the apse. The left panel Ills. 10 shows the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the midst of his attendants. The right panel Ills. 11 shows the empress Theodora, Justinianquot;s consort, similarly attended. Each member of the imperial pair wears extravagant purple imperial robes and a crown and is distinguished by a halo. Each also carries gifts for the church, Justinian a gold paten and Theodora a golden chalice. Each group appears to be advancing toward the center of the apse across a green floor between two jeweled gold columns, which, in Justinianquot;s panel support a coffered ceiling and in Theodoraquot;s support a carved egg and dart cornice . While the wall behind Justinianquot;s scene is plain gold, Theodoraquot;s scene has a more elaborate background: a niche with a shell-shaped conch directly behind the figure of the empress, at the left an open doorway hung with a curtain behind a small gushing fountain on a pedestal, and at the right a section of gold ground with a drapery hanging above it . The emperor has, to his right, two prominent dignitaries wearing white mantles with purple tablia over short white tunics embroidered with shoulder ornaments. To their right stands a group of guardsman carrying spears and a shield. To the emperorquot;s left is another white-robed dignitary squeezed into a narrow space, to his left a bishop labeled Maximianus carrying a gold cross, and to Maximianquot;s left two deacons, one carrying a Gospel book and the other a censer . Theodora has two eunuchs to her right, one of whom touches the curtain in front of the doorway as if to lift it, and to her left two prominent noblewomen and a group of five ladies-in-waiting. Inside the church, in the overall context of the decoration of the sanctuary, these panels are located in the apsequot;s hemicycle, which is otherwise occupied mainly by three large windows Ills. 12. The panels are integrated into the larger apse decoration by the simple and standard means of ornamental borders and decorative architecture . The borders include a ubiquitous pearl and jewel band and a scalloped black and white one. The bejeweled columns used at the sides of each panel reappear in a slightly larger size between the windows of the apse. In the simplest sense, the intended purpose of these panels seems clear. It is to glorify the emperor Justinian and his empress, Theodora. In a wider sense, the mosaics may be conceived as a glorification of the whole institution of imperial autocracy, in Italy and throughout the world. At this time Justinian was vigorously expanding his empire beyond the lands he had inherited in the eastern Mediterranean. In 535, just after conquering northern Africa from the Vandals, the emperor sent an expedition under Belisarius, his most capable general, to take Italy from the Ostrogoths. In 540, after Belisarius secured the surrender of the Ostrogothic king Vitigis and the Ostrogothsquot; capital at Ravenna, he held all of Italy except for a few Ostrogothic outposts. At that point, Justinian recalled Belisarius to fight the Persians in the East. The Ostrogoths then rallied and retook much of Italy before the Byzantines finally completed the conquest in 561 . The scholarly consensus is that these mosaics represent an imaginary procession, given that Justinian, Theodora, and Maximian, the archbishop of Ravenna, who is labeled in the mosaic, were never together in the same place after Maximianquot;s consecration in 546 . Often Times People Tend To Look At A Work Of Art And Only See A Picture EssayThey concern two central characters, one of whom was a controversial newcomer, Maximian, who had his name inscribed above his head to make his identification unmistakable. At present there are two main reasons for dating these two figures to a restoration phase, which was close in time to the creation of these mosaics. One reason is the compositional oddity that represents the official in an awkwardly confined position, with no trace of a lower body and with very narrow shoulders that are out of proportion with his head and with the other figures. The second reason is the difference in materials. Stone dominates both of these figuresquot; faces Ills. 13, 21, instead of the glass used in the faces and hands of all the other characters see Justinianquot;s face in Ills. 17 and his hand in Ills. 23 and even in the hand of the bishop himself Ills. 24. The reasons for discontinuing the use of glass paste for flesh tones in the restoration phase are still not clear, but one possibility is that the white and pale-colored glass was more expensive than stone . It seems, therefore, that the head of the bishop was replaced, but not most of his body or his hand, which is made with the same glass-paste tesserae as that used for the other hands in both panels. At the same time of this alteration, the inscription Maximianus was fitted in above the bishopquot;s head and the official behind him was carefully added, but without a lower body to correspond to his upper body because the original composition left too little room for him. These two heads, which belong to the restoration of the mosaics, appear not to have been part of the original mosaic surface, and the same is true of the inscription. Before proceeding further, we need to date the San Vitale mosaics, which, as we have seen, had a restoration phase. The original phase evidently did not include Maximian, because the technical considerations outlined above indicate Maximianquot;s head and inscription were added later. Since the bishopquot;s garb is original, the original figure was presumably an earlier bishop of Ravenna. Yet he was not much earlier, because the figure of Justinian was part of the original mosaic and was unaccompanied by any Ostrogothic king. It follows that the mosaic was put up after imperial forces entered Ravenna in 540 . That narrows the possibilities for the original bishop of Ravenna to just one: Maximianquot;s immediate predecessor, Victor. Let us begin with the man to the emperorquot;s right and the woman to the empressquot;s left. As the people just following the emperor and empress in their processions, they are the second-ranking personages in the panels. One might therefore guess that they were the highest-ranking man and woman in Ravenna. For this reason they have occasionally been identified as the imperial commander-in-chief of Italy, Belisarius, and his wife, Antonina . In 544 Belisarius was about forty-five and Antonina about sixty, ages that fit well enough with the faces. Thus, the mosaic probably dates between 544 and 545, around the time of Bishop Victorquot;s death. This appears to be the date when the building of San Vitale was essentially complete. Victor did not consecrate it, however, presumably because he died before he considered it ready. It follows that Maximian contributed little if anything to building the church or to decorating its apse. Yet much of the mosaic decoration of the rest of the sanctuary should be his, because it belongs to the restoration phase that was apparently begun after Victorquot;s death and can scarcely be later than Maximianquot;s inscription and his consecration of the whole church . Bishop Victor won his place in these prestigious panels because San Vitale was after all his church. Victor may have felt a special need to emphasize his loyalty to Justinian and even to Belisarius, because he had been consecrated bishop under the Ostrogoths when they were already at war with the emperor and his general. Yet the main initiative behind the selection of figures for the mosaics presumably lay with Belisarius and Antonina. In altering the mosaic, Maximianquot;s main purpose was doubtless to promote his own authority in Ravenna. This mosaic, after he had altered it, reminded his brood that Maximian had the backing of the emperor, the empress, and of both of the emperorquot;s chief officers, Belisarius and John the Nephew of Vitalian . Beyond this, substituting Maximianquot;s head for Victorquot;s allowed Maximian to lay claim early in his tenure to a church that he had seen to completion, although it had actually been built and, in large part, decorated under his predecessors. From the start, Maximian showed great energy in altering and finishing the buildings of earlier bishops. In San Apollinare in Classe, for example, he radically changed the original program of mosaic decoration and had the present mosaics finished quite quickly . It follows that the original designer of the imperial panels did not mean to give Justinian twelve companions representing the twelve Apostles, since originally those companions numbered eleven . Nor did the designer add Maximianquot;s inscription to give the bishop prominence in the mosaic, since his inscription was not part of the original composition and was added later to serve a different purpose. Although we cannot be absolutely sure that Maximianquot;s name was not substituted for Victorquot;s, such a label seems out of keeping with the rest of the original panels, and Victor would probably have expected his portrait to be recognizable by itself. Only now does the significance of the mosaics become fully apparent. And it will be realized how intimately the different works are interconnected. Moses, as well as the just offerers, alludes to the emperor. As Moses, upon Godquot;s command, had made and adorned the Tabernacle, so Justinian had built and sumptuously furnished the church of San Vitale, and, like Melchizedek, he presented the sacrificial offering at the altar. But the imperial portraits must also be related to the great central composition in the apse Ills. 3. The connection between the emperor-portraits and the central mosaic is obvious. As Ecclesius, the founder of the sanctuary, stands ready to receive the same award as that which is tendered Vitalis, so the sovereigns, as the primary benefactors of the church, will be rewarded for their sacrifice. Again it is the liturgy which gives particular significance to this thought. The entire cycle of mosaics thus culminates in the apse of San Vitale, where the sacrifice offered by Justinian as emperor and priest is shown to be judged and accepted on the last day. The scene is the supreme vindication of Justinianquot;s administration, all the more moving since Christ, whom he is shown confronting, appears himself as an emperor in the act dear to the religious imagination of the age of bestowing the wreath of glory to the winner in the agon . If texts can be misread, art is even more susceptible to misinterpretation. Today, some scholars seem to want to believe in a Byzantium that idealized its rulers and cared above all for politics. The sources seem rather to show a society that valued the rulers, if it valued them at all, mostly for the practical benefits they could present . The reality behind an idealized image of power was often weakness; attempts to glorify figures in authority often masked their actual insecurity and unpopularity.
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