Hung Liu: The Chinese-American Artist Essay

â€Å"The mind changes, the word changes, time doesn’t stay still, history is a verb, it is ongoing, there is no past tense, future tense, history is constant† Hung Liu told interviewer Rachelle Riechart (Riechart). Hung Liu is a Chinese woman who was born in Changchun, China in 1948. She was born during the age which we call the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which heavily impacted her life. She lived in China for 36 years and then left for the United States. She now resides in Oakland, CA, where she teaches art at Mills College (â€Å"A World of Art†). A lot of her artwork is based on photographs and memories she has from China and photographs she’s taken in the United States. She takes photographs of pictures, repaints them, usually oil paint on canvas, and slightly alters them by leaving washes and drips to show how history can’t be remembered fully from a picture. She also does artwork for American history such as a piece she did in South Carolina for Chinese people who owned laundry mats (Riechart). I find most of Hung Liu’s artwork to be very historical and personal, because most of her artwork comes from her own photographs. I’d like to focus on how she addresses the struggles of being an immigrant throughout the country, how Hung Liu maintains her cultural traditions in almost all of her artwork, and how she defines the word â€Å"history†. Hung Liu came to the United States during the 1980s, which was a rough time to be Asian in the United States. During this time we were having a recession and many auto industries were going out of business due to Japanese imports. Aside from that, it was not too long after the Vietnam War had ended. Many factors contributed to the racism targeted against Asian-Americans. Although it was the Japanese making the cars and the Vietnamese during the war, ignorant Americans would rationalize by saying they all look the same and would blame Chinese, Filipinos or any Asian people. There was a man named Vincent Chin in 1983, one year before Hung Liu immigrated to the United States, who was beaten to death with a baseball bat by a white man named Ebens, because Ebens believed Vincent Chin and his people were at fault for the fall of American auto industry. â€Å"One dancer heard Ebens say explicitly ’It’s because of you motherfu*kers that we’re out of work’† was the accusation he made. Vincent was a young man who was about to get married in a few weeks before he was murdered. His father was a Chinese immigrant who worked hard and owned laundry mats, and later served in the military for his citizenship and was later able to bring his wife and adopted son, Vincent, to the free land (Yung). Hung Liu worked hard with extensive research to find that her fellow Chinese people who had been living in America before her had owned many laundry mats and were very involved in the laundry business. When asked by a college in South Carolina to create a piece for them, she designed clothing and had her family create them and this piece later turned into a memorial for the laundry businesses in the South (Riechart). Figure 1: â€Å"Forbidden City† Figure 1: â€Å"Forbidden City† Another struggle that Hung Liu addressed that might have affected her life in California was that in the 1800s, Chinese women were shipped in and used as prostitutes around San Francisco for miners (Tedford). In 1991 Hung Liu painted the â€Å"Forbidden City†, shown in figure 1, which shows exposed women in the Forbidden City of China. I feel like this painting is called Forbidden for multiple reasons, one being the Palace in China was known as the Forbidden City, and also the painting seems â€Å"Forbidden† because of the naked women on the picture. Also I think that because San Francisco is known as â€Å"The City†, the Forbidden City could refer to San Francisco as well. This piece addresses her understanding of the difficulty of being a Chinese-American woman at the time. Hung Liu is very proud of her ethnical background and is not afraid to show it. Almost all of her work has Chinese culture in it, from the scenery such as buildings or flowers to something smaller like calligraphy. A good example is the Forbidden City piece that I previously mentioned. It addresses an issue that originated in California, but it shows the scenery of a Chinese Palace. She could have done this because the issue probably affects some people in China. She also does some installation art called â€Å"Resident Alien†, show in figure 2. This piece has Chinese people doing Tai Chi, and has Chinese pillars with calligraphy on them. Also it has two piles of fortune cookies. It is believed that the fortune cookie represents a â€Å"sexual slang for Chinese women† (Tedford). Overall, these two pieces really incorporate the Chinese culture in Hung Figure 2: â€Å"Resident Alien† Figure 2: â€Å"Resident Alien† Liu’s art and show that she loves to express her culture. Figure 2: â€Å"Resident Alien† Figure 2: â€Å"Resident Alien† Figure 3 : â€Å"Refugee: Woman and Children† Figure 3 : â€Å"Refugee: Woman and Children† The most distinctive characteristic Hung Liu has is the way she defines the word history. The way she sees it is that although you can have a memory from a picture, you can’t remember every detail from that picture, such as the words you spoke that second or what happened exactly 20 seconds before that picture was taken, or even 20 seconds after. There are always missing puzzle pieces with history. She also believes history is a verb, because it is always happening and always going. History never ends and is always being made. The way she depicts her attitude towards history in her artwork is by leaving washes and drips of paint when she repaints a photograph. These washes and drips indicate the incompleteness of the photograph. The drips are the fuzziness of memory (Riechart). Hung Liu uses this technique in the majority of her artwork and is very famous for it. The painting I chose to show her historical artwork is titled, â€Å"Refugee: Woman and Children†, shown in figure 3. I chose this painting because it shows what was probably common for Chinese women who were refugees during times of war and were forced to leave China. You can also see all the drips she made on the painting, which she uses to show the unknowing of what was going on during that photograph. Hung Liu is a great artist. She’s well aware of the struggles of being a Chinese Immigrant in America where violent actions were taken on all Asians. Regardless of the risk it takes to be an Asian-American, she still proudly represents her Chinese culture in her art pieces, and she teaches the Chinese history through her art. She’s created her own style and uses a drip technique to show how she defines history, and to show from her point of view how she sees the world and she uses photographs to show things that actually happened and were caught on camera. Overall, she is a very influential woman to other Asian-Americans and aspiring artists.

Natureview Farm

Table of Contents Introduction2 Main Issues3 Company Background3 Natureview’s Profile Products4 Market Trends Analysis for organic product4 Yogurt Market Trends5 Yogurt Market Segmentation by Packaging6 Yogurt Market Segmentation by region7 Yogurt Market Segmentation by Competitors8 Yogurt Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel10 SWOT Analysis10 Analysis of Strategic planning Options11 Recommendations14 References14 Introduction Fundamentally, this paper is about our findings of the Natureview Farm’s case study.In order to understand comprehensively about this company, we need to investigate further for the company’s past and current activities which is it will affect future growth of the company. All of this information is imperative to us in decision making process. Moreover, we could also make a decision what is the best strategy for the Natureview Farm. To understand thoroughly about the company, we need to: * Analyze the company's history, development, and growth. * Analyze the external environment. * Evaluate the SWOT analysis. Explain each option of the Natureview Farm based on qualitative and quantitative analysis. * Make recommendations. Main Issues Currently the company faced a new challenge situation – to identify the best marketing plan in order to grow revenues by over 50% before the end of 2001. The main focus of the company was whether to expand into the supermarket channel to achieve their expected revenue. A decision which would represent a major departure from the company’s established channel strategy and which would impact every aspect of Natureview’s business.Company Background Established in 1989, Natureview Farm is a small yogurt manufacturer which emphasizes the use of natural ingredients and a special process that gave the yogurt its unique smooth, creamy texture without the artificial thickeners which produces high quality yogurt. The yogurt was manufactured at the Natureview farm producti on facility in Cabot, Vermont started with 2 sizes of cup in two flavours- plain and vanilla. The sizes of cup are 8-ounce (Oz) and 32-ounce (Oz).Natureview Farm’s revenue had growth from less than $100,000 to 13Millions as reported in income statement 1999. Because of the emphasize of natural ingredients and it strong reputation for high quality and great taste help the company to grow up to national distribution went on to attain leadership in nature food. By the year 2000, the company producing 12 refrigerated yogurt flavours in 8-Oz and 4 flavours in 32-Oz. The company had also started exploring Multipack yogurt products for the child package in 4-Oz cup and yogurt package in tubes.Even though in 1997, Jim Wagner as Chief financial Officer has recommendation to arrange for an equity infusion from a venture capital firm to fund strategic investments are successful, the investor now needed cash out of its investment in Natureview. Now Natureview management has faced critica l problem and need to find another investor itself because their current goal is to increase revenues to $20 million before the end of 2001. * Natureview’s Profile Products Yogurt is a dairy product, the result of milk fermented in a carefully controlled environment.Special bacteria added to the milk change its texture and give yogurt its unique health properties – it is a good source of calcium and improves digestion. Below are the criteria of the nature’s product: 1. Natureview yogurt flavour and texture was the company’s founder’s family yogurt recipe, the recipe used natural ingredient and no artificial thickeners which produce great and high quality taste. 2. The company used milk from cows untreated with rGBH, an artificial growth hormone that increased milk production. 3.Because of their special process and ingredient, Natureview life span on the shelf was 50 days longer compared to other competition’s only 30 days. 4. Natureview has 12 refrigerated yogurt flavour in 8-Oz and four flavours in 32-Oz cups. Market Trends Analysis for organic product 1. The organic foods market, worth $6. 5 billion in 1999, was predicted to grow to $13. 3 billion in 2003. 2. Generally, organic product consumer tended to have higher incomes, have more education, and live in the Northeast and West. 3. 67 % of U. S. ouseholds specify that price was a barrier to their purchase of organic foods and 58% of consumer expressed that they would buy a more organic product if it were cheaper. 4. 44% of consumers want a wider selection of organic product in supermarkets. 5. Below are market trend findings : * Yogurt Market Trends A comprehensive analysis must be applied in order to understand and evaluate the market trends of yogurt product. It is important for the management to focus on the areas that are needed for improvement especially on customers’ satisfaction because it will yield greater profitability for the company.For instance, the management should know better on what are the current market trends and their customers’ wants from their product. In addition, some factors in purchasing decisions that are made by customers should be analyzed by the company. Several factors in purchasing decisions are such as packaging, flavour, price, freshness and ingredients of the yogurt. Such product measurements are imperative not only to maintain the quality of the product itself, but it also will retain and attract more customers for choosing Natureview Farm’s yogurt rather than competitors’ yogurt. * Yogurt Market Segmentation by PackagingBased on the market trends, the most popular sizes of yogurt cups were in 6-oz and 8-oz which contributed to 3% of the segment’s growth per year. In addition, these also were representing 74% of total category supermarkets sales in U. S. dollars. Women especially bought 8-oz yogurt cups because of their health consciousness. The second largest segment is multipacks size which represented 9% total category supermarkets sales with 12. 5% growth per year. This second largest segment customarily consumed by children because of their mothers concern about their health and fastest growth.The last segment which is 32-oz. cup size represented 8% of total category supermarkets sales and was growing at a modest of 2%. Normally, the buyers of 32-oz. were heavy yogurt consumers. They are either consumed the yogurt plain, added some ingredients or used it in recipes. Plain and vanilla were the most famous flavours. Buyers also put brand, expiration date and price as important purchase criteria for this size of yogurt. * Yogurt Market Segmentation by Region Based on the market segmentation by region, it could be identified that the West and the Northeast possess high market shares.The West contributed to 27% whereas the Northeast contributed to 26% of national U. S. market. The main factors that contributed to these high percentages were the shop pers who live in the West and the Northeast have higher incomes and more education. In addition, the Southeast possesses 25% and the Midwest possesses 22% of market shares. Regardless of channel or distribution, the buyers’ habit of buying yogurt depended on their unique characteristics. Some of buyers were more concerned about the quality of the yogurt while some of them were concerned about the yogurt’s price or vice versa. * Yogurt Market Segmentation by Competitors We had identified four close competitors of Natureview Farm’s yogurt. These top four competitors are Dannon, Yoplait, Breyers and Columbo. Dannon and Yoplait are controlling over 50% of the yogurt market share. As indicated in the supermarket Channel’s pie chart, we could see that Dannon holds 33% of yogurt market share whereas Yoplait holds 24%. The sales of these yogurts are conducted through two dominant distributor channels which are supermarket and natural foods channel.As we could see in the natural foods channel, Natureview Farm was leading which holds 24% of yogurt market. Other than these, these yogurts revenues were also generated through warehouse clubs, conveniences stores, drug stores and mass merchandisers. * * * Yogurt Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel Based on yogurt market segmentation by distribution channel, we could conclude that the distribution channels were divided into supermarkets and natural foods store. 97 % of yogurts were sold in the supermarkets while 3% of yogurts were sold in the natural foods store.The sales and distribution process of Channels Supermarket Channels Process Supplier aka manufacturer usually sends their product to a large distribution centre, which in turn shipped directly to the supermarket chain’s warehouse. The distributors and retailers charged a mark-up price on product that flowed through their warehouses or store. In order to place the product in the supermarket, manufacturer will required to pay one-off time â€Å"slotting fee† for each SKU only in the first year it was introduced and then to participate in regular trade promotions.If the SKU failed to show any profit for the supermarket within the year, the supermarket would discontinue the product and would require a new slotting fee payment if the manufacturer sought reauthorization of the SKU. Some key points in the distribution of supermarket channel process are as below: 1. The typical distributor margin is 15% and the typical retailer margin is 27% 2. Supermarket would charge in average of $0. 74 for 8-oz cup of yogurt, $2. 70 for 32-o cup of yogurt, and $2. 85 for 4-oz cup of multipack. Natural Food Channels processFirstly, manufacturer shipped the product to the natural wholesalers and then wholesalers will ship the products to the distributors which responsible to delivered product to the retailers. Distributors would deliver products individually to the retailers, and in some cases even stock the shelves a nd track paperwork. Lastly customer gets the product from the retailers. Natural Food retailers will charge the manufacturer for one time allotment of one free case of product for every new SKU authorized for distribution in its first year. Some key points in the distribution of natural food channel process are as below: 1.The typical natural food wholesaler margin is 7%, the natural food distributor margin is 9% and the typical retailer margin is 35% 2. Retailers would charge in average of $0. 88 for 8-oz cup of yogurt, $3. 19 for 32-o cup of yogurt, and $3. 35 for 4-oz cup of multipack. Exhibit: 1 – Length of channel to market Channel Margin Analysis By using Margin analysis , we can identify the profitability of these channels and we can indicate which channel would provide the expected revenues of Natureview Farm. This analysis is based on the given point in the case study and each of the analysis is divided based on type of yogurt size.The results are as below. 1. Result of Natural Foods Channel | | Unit Cost for 8-oz cup| Contribution Margin Rate| Unit Selling Price| Contribution Margin Unit| % Mark up| Manufacturer| 0. 31| 36%| 0. 48| 0. 17| 56%| Wholesaler| 0. 48| 7%| 0. 52| 0. 04| 8%| Distributor| 0. 52| 9%| 0. 57| 0. 05| 10%| Retailer| 0. 57| 35%| 0. 88| 0. 31| 54%| Customer| 0. 88|   |   |   |   | | | | Unit Cost for 32-oz cup| Contribution Margin Rate| Unit Selling Price| Contribution Margin Unit| % Mark up| Manufacturer| 0. 99| 44%| 1. 75| 0. 76| 77%| Wholesaler| 1. 75| 7%| 1. 89| 0. 13| 8%| Distributor| 1. 9| 9%| 2. 07| 0. 19| 10%| Retailer| 2. 07| 35%| 3. 19| 1. 12| 54%| Customer| 3. 19|   |   |   |   | | | | Unit Cost for 4-oz multipack| Contribution Margin Rate| Unit Selling Price| Contribution Margin Unit| % Mark up| Manufacturer| 1. 15| 69%| 1. 84| 0. 69| 60%| Wholesaler| 1. 84| 7%| 1. 98| 0. 14| 8%| Distributor| 1. 98| 9%| 2. 18| 0. 20| 10%| Retailer| 2. 18| 35%| 3. 35| 1. 17| 54%| Customer| 3. 35|   |   |   | à ‚  | 2. Result of Supermarket Channel | | Unit Cost for 8-oz cup| Contribution Margin Rate| Unit Selling Price| Contribution Margin Unit| % Mark up| Manufacturer| 0. 31| 32%| 0. 6| 0. 15| 48%| Distributor| 0. 46| 15%| 0. 54| 0. 08| 18%| Retailer| 0. 54| 27%| 0. 74| 0. 20| 37%| Customer| 0. 74|   |   |   |   | | | | Unit Cost for 32-oz cup| Contribution Margin Rate| Unit Selling Price| Contribution Margin Unit| % Mark up| Manufacturer| 0. 99| 41%| 1. 68| 0. 69| 69%| Distributor| 1. 68| 15%| 1. 97| 0. 30| 18%| Retailer| 1. 97| 27%| 2. 7| 0. 73| 37%| Customer| 2. 7|   |   |   |   | | | | Unit Cost for 4-oz multipack| Contribution Margin Rate| Unit Selling Price| Contribution Margin Unit| % Mark up| Manufacturer| 1. 15| 35%| 1. 77| 0. 62| 54%| Distributor| 1. 77| 15%| 2. 8| 0. 31| 18%| Retailer| 2. 08| 27%| 2. 85| 0. 77| 37%| Customer| 2. 85|   |   |   |   | As you can see, % mark-up in Natural foods channel is higher compared to supermarket channel in all sizes of yogurt in the manufacturer phase which means higher profitability. Natural food channel is able to cost more to the customer compared supermarket channel due to lower price sensitivity among natural foods customers as well as % mark-up from the Natural foods wholesaler. SWOT Analysis The overall evaluation of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is called SWOT analysis.It’s a way of monitoring the external and internal marketing environment. External Marketing (Opportunity and Threat) Analysis: Opportunities 1. Supermarket channel will provide the company's noteworthy potential of growth for getting higher revenues. 2. Yogurt sales through natural food stores had grown 20% per year. 3. Through the supermarket channel, the price of the product can be lower. Threats 1. The main competitors in the supermarket channel are getting stronger with the top four competitors which are Dannon, Yoplait, Breyers and Colombo. . Company may have to repositi on Internal Marketing (Strength and Weakness) Analysis: Strengths 1. Natureview is a major and trusted brand for the natural food channel and has developed strong relationships with leading natural food retailers 2. Natureview has a strong reputation for high quality and great taste. 3. Natureview’s yogurt has longer average shelf life compare other products. 4. The company has rapid growth revenue from $100,000 to $13 Million within 10 years. 5. Natureview is a leader distributor of natural food channel. 6.Strong operational efficiency because the company is using creative , low-cost â€Å"guerrilla marketing† Weaknesses 1. Natureview will heavily depend on its broker’s knowledge of promotional and merchandising requirement. 2. Inadequate operational capacity because unable to generate the volume requirements needed to meet consumer demand of other distribution channels. 3. Relatively small company compared with other potential competitors in supermarket channe l. 4. Natureview only invested 3% of total expenses in research & developments which cause discourage product innovation.Analysis of Strategic planning Options The company has three options needed to be analyzed and be identified which option will help the company to achieve their goal. Each of the options has their own importance and benefits however they also have some limitation attached on them. Option 1: The first option was strongly advocated by Vice president of sales Walter Bellini. The idea is to expand six SKUs of the 8-Oz. product line into one or two selected supermarket channel regions. Pros: 1. 8-Oz cups have the highest demand in the refrigerated yogurt market and will be able to provide the expected revenues. . Based on other natural food brands success in expanding their product in the supermarket channel has shown significant proves Natureview’s product will have a high chance of success. 3. Natureview is the leading natural’s foods brand of refrigera ted yogurt and have uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing trend in natural and organic foods. 4. Natureview will have the advantage as the first brand to enter the channel due to supermarket channel will likely to give permission only to one natural yogurt manufacturer. Natureview will be the first mover in this channel 5.Some industry experts predicted unit volume growth of organic product at supermarket will be at 20% per year from 2001 to 2006. Cons: 1. The 8-Oz cups size received the highest level of competitive in trade promotions and marketing budget. 2. The management had estimated for comprehensive advertising plan will cost $1. 2 million per region per year and Natureview’s sales, general and administrative expenses (SG& A) would increase by $ 320,000 annually. 3. Due to Lack of experience in supermarket channel, their broker might take advantage of their relationship with top supermarkets retails chains in Northeast and West. . This option might create di rect competition with national yogurt manufacturer. 5. Might create conflict of channel between supermarket and natural food stores. Option 2: The second option was advocated by the vice president of operations Jack Gottlieb. The idea is to expand 4 SKUs of the 32-Oz. Based on the giving points; we can identify the pros and cons as below: Pros: 1. The gross profit margin for the 32-oz cups is higher at 43. 6 % compared to 8-oz cups at 36%. 2. This size of 32-oz cups was potentially become stronger competitive advantage like longer shelf life and lower marketing expenses. 3.This brand had achieved a 45% share of this size segment in the natural foods channel. 4. The management also assume that the company could sell 5. 5 million incremental units in the first years by expand more in supermarket retails across the united state. Cons 1. This option will have higher slotting fees due to national distribution. 2. There are no guaranteed customer acceptances towards the multi-use size of yogurt. 3. With the additions to sales headcount for the 32-oz,that will increase the SG& A cost to $160,000. 00 4. They also concerned on sales team’s ability to achieve full national distribution in 12 months. . Might create conflict of channel between supermarket and natural food stores. Option 3: The third option was advocated by Walker’s colleague’s Kelly Riley, the assistant marketing director, she supported the idea to introduce two SKUs of a children’s multi-pack into the natural food channel. Based on her arguments, we can identify the pros and cons as below: Pros 1. Natureview Farm is the established leader in the natural food channel and has a strong relationship with the leading food natural food channel retailers. 2. Sales and marketing expenses were the lowest compared to other options. 3.Choosing this option will allow the company to have more time to prepare before entering the supermarket channel. 4. The financial potential was very attra ctive with expected high margin of 37. 6%. 5. Natureview product positioning is ideal for the new Multi-pack product launch. Cons 1. Natureview Farm will miss the opportunity to enter the supermarket before competitors. Supermarket retailer would likely authorize only one organic yogurt brand. 2. Natureview‘s marketing department was unprepared to handle the demands on resources and staffing that will be needed once the company entered the supermarket channel.Option financial Overview Based on the case study, we have analyzed all three options that Natureview Farm tried to include in their future business plan. For the first option, Natureview Farm idea is to expand 6 SKU’s into supermarket channel with 8 – oz cups to get more profit. Refer to appendix 1; Natureview Farm total estimated for investment expenses is quite higher than another option. However, even though Natureview spend more for the investment; we can see that total expected profit is positively inc reased by annually.To get expected for this option need For option two, Natureview Farm next idea is to expend 4 SKU’s 32-oz into supermarket channel to their future business planning because their product is longer shelf life. Based on appendix 2, the investment plan is lower than option 1. The investment has divided to four regions for selling. Even through the management estimated that they can sell this brand with higher sold, the cost of the good sold also is quite higher and this is expenses will affect the profitability of goods sold. The last option is Natureview Farm plan to expand 2 SKU’S 4-oz multipack into natural food channel.Refer to appendix 3, we can see that the cost of goods sold is quite higher even through this idea not involved slotting fee, the estimated annual profit is not shown in positive way. Based on the calculation, the cost of goods sold and estimated annual profit is shown the selling product is lower profitability. Based on the financial analysis, we can identify some trends: The highest Profitability is option 1. Based on the graph, the higher of total investment expenses are option 1. The higher Investment ROI is option 3. RecommendationsAfter all analysis that we have done in this case study, our recommendation for Natureview Farm for their future planning are option 1. This is because based on our analysis; we can see option 1 is the best choice to get more profitability in 5 years onward as planning. This option is to expand 6 SKU’s of the 8-oz size into eastern and western supermarket regions. Even though the risk of going to supermarket channel is higher, Natureview Farm should expand into this channel because as we can see, two natural food companies expanded into this channel and increased their revenues by 200 %.To achieve their mission, they need to take the risks for get their estimated projected net profit. In addition, entry to this supermarket channel with 8 –oz size is more viable than option 2 where to expend into this channel with 32 –oz cup size. The 8 –oz size price initially attempt to negotiate retail price more than 32-oz size where the price of product will also affect the consumer choice. This option focuses on regional distribution instead of national, which should make it easier to implement this product information to region consumer.The level of education and higher income of consumer is also a reason for consumer to buy this natural food product. Natureview Farm can also market their product to this type of consumer with our product advantages such as the product has a longer shelf life, uses natural ingredients and uses only organic ingredients. The next recommendation strategy is, Natureview farms need to utilize more advanced in monitoring the technology and systematic management to keep track the trends so that they always be the consumer choice in natural food products.To become a successful natural food company in this channel, t hey need to be more systematic and always have good relationship with media, consumer and retailer. References 1. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/g/guerrilla-marketing. asp 2. http://Prezi. com/natureview – farms. 3. http:// www. slideshare. net/nature -view-case ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Based on investopedia. com, Margin analysis uses the percentage calculation to provide a comprehensive measure of a company's profitability on a historical basis (3-5 years) and in comparison to peer companies and industry benchmarks. 2 ]. Based on investopedia. com, Mark-up is the difference between an investment's lowest current offering price among dealers and the higher price a dealer charges a customer. [ 3 ]. Guerrilla Marketing is different than traditional marketing in that it often relies on personal interaction and has a smaller budget, and it focuses on smaller groups of promo ters that are responsible for getting the word out in a particular location rather than on wide-spread media campaigns.

Carole Satymurtis

Carole Satymurtis Essay Carole Satyamurti , a poet and sociologist cleverly weaved the plight of ordinary women in I Shall Paint my Nails Red : women who are seen as a mere background of the society- neglected and lost in the mundane of her existence . While it is easy to discern that I Shall Paint my Nails is nothing but the showcasing of a womans vanity seeking attention, a closer look at the poem would reveal a deeper and multi-layered analysis of women. In essence, Carole Satyamurtis I Shall Paint my Nails Red was able to show the different roles and interpretations of women of herself, to her daughter , to her lover , the society and to life- that painting her nails red symbolizes a departure from her customary role in to show an intelligent , interesting and valuable person capable of so much more than her ordinary routines . It is a declaration of a womans importance The color red is interpreted in poetry as a figure of speech for passion , anger and strong emotions . In this light, Satyamurti used this color to depict a seemingly humorous and trivial poem into one that speaks of a womans importance. In the first line because a bit of color is a public service (line 1 Satyamurti departs from the convention that public service is about service , the economy and production . Essentially, the poem recognizes that it is not only men who are components of production and economics that can perform public service but also women who provide not only entertainment but beauty and compassion . This is affirmed in her second line when Satyamurti declared that because i am proud of my hands (line 2 connoting that her hands that are used to do household chores are also important . By painting it red , Satyamurti calls attention to the role of women in the society and in the family- that while they are not being paid for work they do every day of their lives , it should not be neglected . Thus, being proud of one s hands and putting a red paint on it declares that the woman is aware of her economic and sociological role and significance On the other hand , the third and fourth lines of the poem points to the theme of strength and empowerment in women . In the line because it will remind me I m a woman (line 3 and because I will look like a survivor the woman is declaring that being a woman means being brave and strong . Thus, by re-affirming her gender identity , the person in the poem is also recognizing that women in general possess strength of characters . Furthermore , because the color red symbolizes intense emotions , it evokes attention thereby , reminding us that women are not ordinary Carole Satymurtis I Shall Paint my Nails Red is a wonderful poem which I found myself closely relating to. I feel that in this poem she reflects many sides of a womans life. It may be understood to have two separate messages, the direct and the hidden message. Satymurti does this through showing both the complexity of a womans life, and the simplicity that also exists within.  At first glance, I Shall Paint My Nails Red gives a more obvious and direct amusing message in which she states different reasons why she would paint her nails red. Each line puts the reader in a different situation which may even be applied to our own daily lives. Satymurti does this by using every day examples and using them to suggest often absurd reasons for her to paint her nails red, adding a bit of comedy throughout the poem. Underlying each idea, however, Satymurti implies a deeper message about women and the many roles that they play in society, and the way that they view themselves. READ: Modern reality play EssayThe first idea Satymurti suggests in the poem is, Because a bit of colour is public service. Here, she is implying that in painting her nails red she is in fact doing others a favor. This line makes me think of a woman loading her groceries onto the cash register before paying, showing off her bright red nails and provoking a smile on the cashiers face. She seems to believe that anywhere she were to go with these red nails, the world would see them and appreciate them. Underlying this main idea however, I feel that Satymurti is trying to portray the fact that women are constantly fulfilling others needs. As mothers, wives, lovers, and even working women in society, women often feel that we must make everyone around us happy. The following line states, Because I am proud of my hands. This idea suggests that she feels she is beautiful and is proud to show that off. However, the line may also mean that she is tough and is proud of her own hard work, as hands are often related to manual labor and work. Although not so common at the time the poem was written, today this woman may be portrayed as even a single mother (As she later talks about a daughter, and even a lover, but no husband) trying hard to take care of her family, working to raise them and provide for them. Despite her hard work, this woman is still woman and lacks the rough hands of a man. She paints her nails like every other woman, and is proud of her hands for all the work they have accomplished her. The line that follows, Because it will remind me Im a woman refers back to the line preceding it. Here one may first simply think that by looking down at her hands and nails she will, again, feel beautiful and feel and remember that she is a woman. Looking past that simple first glance, this line goes back to a womans hard work and the tasks that she must accomplish every day with her responsibilities. In all the everyday stress, a woman often forgets that she is also beautiful and that she is a woman. Despite all her hard work, she is still delicate and most importantly, she must still take care of herself.

Biography as a writer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biography as a writer - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that childhood is an interesting stage in life because it sets the foundation of what we will be as grown-ups. As a child, the researcher’s passion was reading and writing. Nothing ever passed the researcher’s sight without reading be it a signpost, newspaper, a piece of the old ragged magazine, or a torn piece of paper with writings on it. The researcher’s passion for writing developed as he grew up into a full-blown interest in writing shaped by several experiences. First, the author has grown up admiring his aunt’s writings, which a appear in a weekly magazine. The present research has identified that the researcher’s aunt has a segment where she discusses uncommon health issues affecting the society especially those living in low-income communities, and how they can go about addressing these health problems. This paper illustrates that the author draws inspiration from her passion and determination to expose untold health issues and give a solution to those suffering from such health conditions. Secondly, as the author grew up, they moved from town to town because of the nature of his father’s work. While going through several places the researcher experienced and noted interesting differences in cultures, a way of life among others that captured his attention. This essay discusses that this experience gave him more desire to write about his encounters in different towns.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Essay

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Vodafone Company is a British multinational company that deals with telecommunication services. It holds the second position mobile telecommunication company worldwide. The company owns and operates in more than 30 countries. Evolution of Vodafone brand started in 1982 after the establishment of Racal electronics plc when Jan Stenbeck spearheaded the joint venture between Millicom and Racal Vodafone. This evolved to the modern day Vodafone. Recent research indicated that Vodafone has introduced a tiered employee reward program that offers an incentive to over 79,000 employees worldwide. The Vodafone announced its intentions of creating the ‘Vodafone Heroes’ both internally and globally. This saw the company rewarding some of its stars. The Vodafone Heroes are entitled to quarterly incentives voted upon through the company’s SMS system. The company also recognizes its heroes on an annual basis where the management must select any gift and give to the people who per form exceptionally (Eaton & Duncan 2002, p. 284). While it is a great thing to recognize and reward employees, Vodafone is faced with challenges in establishing the reward and incentive systems for their employees. This paper identifies challenges experienced by Vodafone in its establishment of reward and incentive system and proposes a constructive executive compensation system. Effective incentive system must enhance motivation and employee skills by acknowledging their successes and aggressiveness. Reward and incentive systems depend on employee effort and their progress towards the established goals. This must be, therefore, tailored to the objective of the organization and must enhance increased profitability, reduced employer costs and enhance employee-driven changes within the organization. Effective rewards and incentives acknowledge what the organization aims at rewarding (Bean 2004, p. 11). Nevertheless, despite the great role played by rewards and incentives in the organi zation performance, the efficiency is faced by a number of challenges. The three main challenges facing effective establishment of rewards and incentives systems include the autonomy, finding the appropriate context and use of sponsored content (Westerman et al. 2008, p. 409). Sponsored content challenges The implementation of strong incentives and reward system triggers employees cross the ethical boundaries. Valuing a reward compels employees choose the easiest and the shortest way of attaining it. Such a tendency to rationalize justifies unethical acts and harmful decisions. In addition, the management must be very cautious since incentives and rewards carry with them some form of payment inequality. This may encourage jealousy, resentment and disappointment upon the people who fail to receive incentives or rewards. Studies indicate that people the judgment made by people regarding payments is never in absolute terms; rather, it compares the pay with that of their peers. Therefor e, establishment of rewards and incentives must be carefully considered ensuring that some staffs never feel overlooked. This is because benefits to high performers seems to be outweighed by costs to low performers who feel unfairly treated and may tend to reduce their efforts. Studies indicate that the pay inequality undermines performance and retention of employees. Therefore, the management m

Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Communication - Assignment Example The quality means ability to disseminate information in a way that is appropriate for the audience and graphical summary is an example. I can excel in manual development of graphs through shading but lack skills for software applications. The quality means sensitivity to characteristics of the audience for an appropriate audience and cultural sensitivity is an example. I do excel in understanding people’s behavior but I cannot preempt culture. A wider interaction with people from different cultures can help me improve on this. This means engaging relevant parties, with a significant level of sensitivity to their privacy, by disseminating to them information that is necessary to their scope of duties. An example of the quality is the ability to select appropriate mode of communication. I am good identifying sensitive information about stakeholders but I occasionally fail in identifying a medium that can preserve

Morpholins anti-cancer drugs Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Morpholins anti-cancer drugs - Dissertation Example They produced morpoline derivatives which included both esters and N-alkyl derivatives. The target compounds were characterised using H1, C13NMR, IR and were studied as inhibitors of ÃŽ ²-D-galactosidase extracted from Bovine kidney. The activity of this enzyme is associated with a variety of diseases therefore the produced morpholine derivatives have potential medical applications. p-nitrophenyl-ÃŽ ²Ã¢â‚¬â€œD-galactopyranoside was chosen as a substrate for the enzymatic cleavage of the carbon-oxygen bond which is catalysed by ÃŽ ²-D-galactosidase. During the process p-nitrophenol was released in the environment, the compound had the ability to absorb light in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, therefore, it was possible to estimate its quantity using the Beer–Lambert–Bouguer law. By measuring the quantity of the produced p-nitrophenol at set time intervals conclusions were drawn regarding the reaction speed and, consequently, about inhibition propertie s of the studied morpoline derivative. The reaction was followed by Michaelis-Menten kinetics, therefore reaction speed was calculated using the most linear fragment in the dependence between absorption and time. Because the enzyme was denatured, its inhibitory properties were not tested and are a subject for future work. Cell’s surface is composed of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. Compared to other surface molecules glycolipids and glycoproteins are the longest. For this reason they are often take part in interactions with substrates or other cells, consequently carbohydrates are of paramount importance in cellular interactions and disease processes such as cancer, infections or inflammations. ... The compound can covalently attach to serine or threonine. The process leads to formation of clusters in which one monosaccharide is linked to one amino acid. The produced clusters are often the ideal targets for antitumor antibodies. Such antibodies can be generated by glycopeptides linked to clustered sialyted epitopes. The effectiveness of which is usually higher then single sialyted epitopes (Butters, et al., 2003). Glycosidases classification is based on the similarities in the sequence of their amino acids (Table 1) (Henrissat and Bairoch, 1993; Henrissat, 1991). Enzymes within the same group share the same structural features and perform their functions using the same mechanism (Rye and Withers, 2000) Usually, there are two mechanisms employed by enzymes to cleave glycosidic bonds. As a result, a free hydroxyl group is formed with retention or inversion of configuration (Scheme 1)(Sinnott, 1990; Zechel and Withers, 2000; Vasella, et al., 2002). In the mechanism (a) glycosidase s cleave the required bonds using asparagine and glutamine 6A apart from each other. One carboxylic group is deprotonated an acts as a base by abstracting a proton from water during the formation of the intermediate (Withers and Umezawa, 2001; Davies, et al., 2005; Hoj, et al., 1992). Table 1. Type of carbohydrate-active enzyme and its function Carbohydrate-active enzyme Abbreviation Function Carbohydrate Esterases CE Carbohydrate esters hydrolysis Polysaccharide Lyases PL Non-hydrolytic cleavage of glycoside bonds GlycosylTransferases GT Glycosidic bonds formation Glycoside Hydrolases GH Glycosidic bonds rearrangement or hydrolysis The remaining carboxylic group protonates the oxygen atom from the anomeric centre and assists in its removal. Both bond formation and

CRANBERY SUPPLEMENTS AS PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT Assignment

CRANBERY SUPPLEMENTS AS PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT - Assignment Example From the above parameters it may be anticipated that if cranberry supplements are really useful then the frequency of urinary tract infection will decrease, the symptoms of UTI like polyuria and hematuria will decrease, the diagnostic results will show normal count (5000-9000 cu mm) of WBC and reduced levels of C - reactive protein. The further anticipated outcome will be the reduction in the frequency of antibiotics prescribed or there will also be a reduced need to escalate the dosage and class of an antibiotic. This means that though infection may occur but it does not require the intervention with an antibiotic and the innate immunity of the body can take care of the situation. Further decreased need to escalate the dosage and class of an antibiotic also implicate that chances of antibiotic resistance would not be high, if cranberry supplements are administered (Lane and Takhar,2011) (Wang, Fang and Chen, 2012) The protocol will be evaluated with the help of statistical tests of significance and in this regard the â€Å"chi square test† will be performed. First of all stratified random sampling would be done to specify the sample sizes and the limits. Seven groups will be formed with the women in the age range of 18 to 67 years. These groups are 18-28 years, 29-38 years, 39—48 years, 49-58 years, 59-68 year, 69-78 years and 79-88 years. Data will be collected from the urologists who classify that these women are patients of recurrent urinary tract infections. Patients below and above the specified age range will not be included in the study. Further newly diagnosed patients of UTI will also be not included in the study. After selection of samples the patients in each group will be separated as the experimental arm and control arm. The patients of the experimental arm will only be administered cranberry supplements and the patients of control arm will receive placebo treatment. However as the study will

Types of birth control for women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Types of birth control for women - Essay Example The choice that most women make depends on their health, how frequent she copulates and whether she whether she wants children. Lifestyle plays a big part in the choice of birth control methods. On the contrary, contraceptives vary in their effectiveness to prevent birth control to women. Possible side effects play a crucial part in how women choose their birth control methods. The types of birth control methods are abstinence, natural methods and methods that prevent unwanted pregnancies.Women can decide to abstain from sexual activities as a method of birth control. It is the best method for women who want to control unwanted pregnancies and protect themselves from STI. On the other hand, natural method helps women in birth control to prevent the pregnancies by copulating during their safe days. Safe days are the days during their menstrual cycle when they can copulate without getting pregnant. Women who use this method have to be certain of the menstrual cycle. The method is commo n for women who are in a stable relationship but do not want to have a baby. The method prevents birth control but does not stop the women from being infected with sexually transmitted diseases.Women are administered with injections that prevent their bodies from releasing eggs into the ovaries. Women also attach a patch on their body that boosts hormones into the bodies of women to regulate the release of eggs in the ovary. Other methods of the same kind include vaginal ring and birth controls pills.â€Æ'

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

History - Essay Example These letters show how many Americans were affected by the Great Depression, yet it also examines individual experiences and reactions to such experiences.1 2. What are the advantages of using letters as opposed to oral histories or reports by New Deal investigators to learn about the responses of ordinary people to the great depression? How did people respond? Did different classes (upper, middle, lower), racial groups, age groups, or men vs. women respond differently? There are certainly advantages to McElvaine’s use of letters in his account of the United States during the Great Depression compared to using oral histories or indeed using the reports of New Deal Investigators. Oral histories are not always accurate if they are recounted years or even decades after the events they describe. People may not always remember things accurately, or they might get details muddled up. On the other hand reports by New Deal reporters may not always be considered to be reliable, as with any organization set up by a government they could have presented a more positive light on events. Such inaccuracies would have been to demonstrate that the New Deal was successfully countering the worst affects of the Great Depression. People of different social, economic, and racial groups wrote the letters as the Great Depression had an impact on all sections of American society. Whilst previous economic recessions had hit the poorest the hardest, the Great Depressi on was unprecedented in scale and severity with up to 30 million people affected. President Hoover’s attempts to restore confidence in the economy failed whilst measures to alleviate poverty and unemployment proved wholly inadequate. 2 The Great Depression hit agriculture and industrial workers hard, the collapse of banks affected everybody. The agricultural sector was particularly affected by

The Dust Bowl Essay Example for Free

The Dust Bowl Essay Farmers began to plow and plant wheat crops. When World War 1 began the massive wheat crops helped feed many Americans that in another part of the country try where in the beginning of a depression that was caused by the war. The wheat crops also helped feed numerous nations overseas. A drought that began in the beginning of the 1930’s persisted and was leading things in a very negative direction. No matter the circumstances farmers kept on farming hoping the rain would soon come back. In 1931 the rain just stopped and the farmers still kept trying to farm. Without adequate crops people who were already hurting from the depression where starting to feel the impact of the drought. In 1934 the drought impacted 27 states and 75% of the country. Most of the impact from the dust bowl was in the southern plains. The Dust bowl was the result of the worst drought in the history of the United States. In 1935 the wind blew for 27 nights and days and people began to die of suffocation and pneumonia caused from the dust. The affect that it had on the development of the United States is that right before the drought there was an economic over expansion due to the high demand of the wheat and the great soil for crop growth. The poorly managed the land because of over planting and harvesting and when the drought hit the affect was significant economically and the government had to put out large amounts of money to try and recover the economy. 2. Sun Belt The economic and political impact of the nation’s shift in population from the south to the west is called the Sun Belt. The economic growth since World War 2 increased migration from the north east in the United States. The rapid growth in population changed quickly and moved people to the Sun Belt states. It increased tourist industries and brought wealth to the Sun Belt states. This impacted the geographical and environment of the section of the United States greatly. B. One significant environmental or geographical factor that contributed to the development or diffusion on one human society from: Egypt’s geographic characteristics that affect the development of human society were the Nile River. The Nile River made the ability of a large population in a desert region. Also, the Nile would flood bringing rich soil to the lower regions of the rivers course. The crops in this area did well and the flooding helped set a steady schedule for planting and harvesting and because of this the societies remained stable and had extra time to develop art and science in their culture. The people of Egypt also had access to some of the largest quantities of stone such as granite. This began the development and building of pyramids instead of mud buildings. The Nile River played a huge role in the development of Egypt. 1. Cultural diffusion between Mesopotamia and Egypt. The social and politically elite from Egypt sought exotic goods and items of symbolic prestigiousness from India (Mesopotamia). For example: Mesopotamian cylinder seals and Afghan Lapis Lazuli which were found in early Egyptian tombs. Not only was there trades of items but there was trades of ideas. Egyptians imitated the Lapis Lazuli in their Egyptian Faience (ceramic of glass). Due to the Lapis Lazuli being very rare and expensive the Egyptian felt they could benefit from doing this. The Faience represents the first known attempt to reproduce a material to start their own industry. The idea of pyramids could also be traced back to Mesopotamia with the wall around the complex of the third dynasty King Djoser in Saqqara. Mesopotamia also could be credited for influencing Egypt in writing. They say they did not copy but took the idea and started writing from scratch in their own language. When I think about cultural diffusion I think about the tradition of the Christmas tree. It originated in Germany. The decorated the tree with red flowers and white candles to represent the blood of Christ and the body of Christ. When America picked up the tradition through cultural diffusion they change some of the things about how the tradition was done. The Columbia Electric Encyclopedia (2007) Sun Belt. www. factmonster. com/ce6/us/A0847215. html. Retrieved June 16 , 2011. United States History, The Dust Bowl. www. u-s-history. com/pages/h1583. html. Retrieved June 16, 2011. Aleff, Peter (1982) Mesopotamia’s influence on Egypt. www. recoveredscience. com. Retrieved June 22, 2011.

Explain the new Features of the New Deal Essay Example for Free

Explain the new Features of the New Deal Essay In October 1929 the Wall Street stock market crashed in New York and panic selling of shares caused a wave of bankruptcies, destroying all confidence in businesses and investors. The great Depression led to 13 million people being unemployed. President Hoover, the government did nothing at all to help the Americans, he didn’t even think of helping them rebuild the American economy. In 1932 president Roosevelt came into power in the presidential elections. He had many concerns and considerations for the Americans and the economy. The first stage of the act of the New Deal to put the US back to work and create jobs in 1933 he introduced the first Acts during the hundred days, which involved the creation of Alphabet Agencies to deal with the economic problems. By 1935, the Supreme Court thought some of the New Deal laws as interfering too much. , so then Roosevelts response was to introduce the second stage of reform- The second New Deal. The 3 aims of the New Deal were: Relief; Recovery and Reform. Which were introduced by Roosevelt- the three ‘R’s’. Relief was measures to help relieve the suffering of the unemployed. Recovery was to try to rebuild the depression-shattered economy and Reform was aimed to give workers better working conditions and fairer wages. The aim of the relief was achieved by the: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA); public works Administration (PWA); Home owners Loans Corporation (HOLC) and the works Progress Administration (WPA). The Civilian Conservation Act was set up to provide work for unemployed men under 25 years by encouraging them to work on projects in the countryside such as fish farming, planting trees and strengthening river banks. They also organised the army. The PWA stood for Public Works Administration, their aim was to use Unemployed unskilled workers to work on a large scale of public construction such as roads and bridges. The main part of the act was to set up public construction for the large scale building work, to build schools, hospitals and city halls. The FERA was set up to stop the threat of starvation that existed by making grants to local and state governments to help them give relief to the unemployed. Roosevelt thought that the right way to help the unemployed was to put them back to work after the threat of starvation was over instead of just giving them money. The HOLC stood for Home Owners Loans Corporation, the aim of this act was to ensure that people could continue to repay their mortgages. The government gave low interest rates to home owners to allow them to continue paying their mortgages until they were unemployed. The WPA stood for Works Progress Administration. Their aim was to find emergency short-term employment for unskilled workers in construction projects. The Acts that were part of the New Deal and helped with Recovery were: The Emergency Banking Act; the Securities Act; the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA); the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Emergency Banking Act aimed to solve the financial crisis after the Wall Street Crash by forcing all banks to remain close for 4 days. This actually worked and saved all the banks. The Securities Act was about providing full information about the companies issuing new shares, to the public. This established with a Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934 which was giving powers to control the activities of the stock market. It was the AAA’s duty to solve agriculture’s most serious problem which was over-production. Prices were low and farmers were unable to make a decent living. Roosevelt paid farmers to stop producing. The AAA gave the government power to destroy surplus food and give farmers compensation. The NRA stood for National Recovery Administration; they tried to create partnership between government and Industry to get rid of Child Labour, Long hours and Low pay. Each industry would agree an employment code with a government. The code was to guarantee workers fairer working conditions and wages. The TVA stood for Tennessee Valley Authority. The main parts of the act was to help encourage industry come to the hard hit valley and to build damn to use hydroelectric power of the river. Finally, there were parts of the New Deal that helped to reform the USA. They were: Collecting Bargaining; the Wagner Act and the social securities Act. Collective bargaining was where workers had the right to collective bargaining of wages. This gave an enormous boost to the trade unions. The Wagner act (1935) was the given right for workers to join the trade union which restored protection for the workers also. The Social Securities Act was introduced in 1935. This provided old age pensions, unemployment benefits and financial support for the handicapped. It was funded by contributions paid by workers, employers and the government. In Conclusion, when Roosevelt came into power he aimed to achieve relief, recovery and reform. The CCC, FERA, WPA and the HOLC. The emergency banking act, the Securities Act, NRA, AAA and the WPA achieved recovery. Collective Bargaining, Wagner Act and the Social Securities Act achieved reform. These Acts were all produced to help America by these 3 aims.

Mills Higher And Lower Pleasures Philosophy Essay

Mills Higher And Lower Pleasures Philosophy Essay Mill claims that pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends. (Mill, p. 187) A few paragraphs later, however, he says that it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. (p. 187) Is Mill contradicting himself, or are these two claims consistent? Mill is rather enhancing instead of contradicting his point of view of utilitarianism by the two claims stated above in the topic. There are two types of pleasures that he introduces here. Pleasure, and freedom from pain imply the lower pleasures which involved purely body sensations (Mill, p.187). On the other hand, being a human or Socrates dissatisfied indicates higher pleasures associated with moral sentiments (Mill, p.187). While an animal could be fully happy with a life of lower pleasures, a human being could not fully be happy unless attention was paid to these higher pleasures. In this paper, I firstly intend to provide an explanation of Mills distinction of higher and lower pleasures regarding these claims. Secondly, I shall introduce the method of calculating overall utility (Mill refers as the only thing desirable as ends) considering both quantities and qualities involving these claims (Mill, p.187). Thirdly, I will interpret how these two claims stated in the top consis tent. Last but not least, I shall reply some objections rose from the discussion. What does Mills distinction between higher and lower pleasures suggest? When Mill introduces the notion of higher pleasures he is clearly discussing, among other things, intellectual pursuits and activities as well as pleasures of aesthetics and sympathy. An adequately satisfying human life must thus contain pleasures of the intellect, of the feelings and imagination, and of the moral sentiments, which have a much higher value as pleasures than those of mere sensation (Mill, p186). Mill delineates how to differentiate between higher and lower quality pleasures: A pleasure is of higher quality if people would choose it over a different pleasure even if it is accompanied by discomfort, and if they would not trade it for a greater amount of the other pleasure (Mill, p.187). Moreover, Mill contends, it is an unquestionable fact that, given equal access to all kinds of pleasures, people will prefer those that appeal to their higher faculties. A person will not choose to become an animal; an educated person will not choose to become ignorant, and so on. Even though a person who uses higher faculties often suffers more in life, he would never choose a lower existence, preferring instead to maintain his dignity. Arguing that pleasures of the intellect are of a higher nature whereas sensual pleasures or the animal appetites are of a lower nature, Mill claims that it is better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied (Mill, p.187). Mill also attributes the nobility of higher pleasures as accounting for their higher value and believes that competent judges have a sense of dignity which has them prefer intellectual pleasures over sensual ones (Mill, p.187). How do we judge and calculate the overall utility of an action? The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure. (Mill, p.187) Pleasure and the absence of pain are, by this account, the only things desirable as ends in themselves, the only things inherently good. Thus, any other circumstance, event, or experience is desirable only insofar as it is a source for such pleasure; actions are good when they lead to a higher level of general happiness, and bad when they decrease that level. While Mill also argues that pleasure can differ in quality, and that pleasures that are rooted in ones higher faculties should be weighted more heavily than baser pleasures. Mill placed great importance in the type of pleasure one experiences. Once people are made aware of thei r higher faculties, they will never be happy to leave them uncultivated. When making a moral judgment on an action, utilitarianism thus takes into account the quality of the pleasures resulting from it. In addition, according to utilitarianism, it is not moral for people just simply to pursue what makes them personally happy. Rather, morality is dictated by the greatest happiness principle; moral action is that which increases the total amount of utility in the world. In other words, quantity also matters. Every human being tries to promote his or her own happiness, and avoid unhappiness. This is natural, not ethical. Promoting happiness becomes an ethical theory when it is applied to all human beings, not just ourselves. Mills utilitarian calculus thus figures out how many people are affected by an action, how they are affected, and therefore whether the action is right or wrong. Thus, the Greatest Happiness Principle tells us that an action is right in so far as it promotes happin ess in all people affected by that action, and wrong in so far as it brings unhappiness to the people affected by that action. In this particular case regarding the claims stated in the topic, it basically proposed the following experiment: one is a soul about to be allocated a life. He is offered either the choice of a great philosopher or that of a pig. The philosopher has a long, prolific career involving great success and enjoyment but the pig can only experience the most primitive sensual experiences possible. Should one choose the apparently insatiable yet intellectually active life of a philosopher or the voluptuous life of an ancient pig (Mill, p.187)?  In accordance with Mills utilitarianism, the choice to opt for would be that of the philosopher. Although the pigs life consists of far greater quantities of sensual pleasure, no amount of this lower pleasure, however prodigious, could compensate for ones existence devoid of inherent higher faculties and the ability to experience higher pleasures. Therefore, the total happiness one derives during their lifetime is not directly proportional to pleasu re. When one considers the maximum possible happiness they can derive from their existence, elements other than pleasure quantity must be considered.   Also, being a human being rather than a pig and being a philosopher rather than a fool brings more utility to the society, more people can benefit from these choices. Thus, quantities matter here as well. These choices are promoting more happiness, thus should be adopted. Some objections may rise from the above discussions. Some people may say that some higher pleasures are accompanied by discomfort, why people would choose it over the lower pleasures, would it bring less happiness? This objection here confuses the happiness with contentment. People who employ higher faculties are often less content, because they have a deeper sense of the limitations of the world. However, their pleasure is of a higher character than that of an animal or a base human. That is why Mill writes, It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied (Mill. P.187). Thus the people best qualified to judge a pleasures quality are people who have experienced both the higher and the lower. There are different qualities of pleasure, and only people with a broad range of experiences can dictate which pleasures are of a higher quality. Furthermore, Mill observes that even if the possession of a noble characte r brought less happiness to the individual, society would still benefit. Thus, because the greatest happiness principle considers the total amount of happiness, a noble character, even if it is less desirable for the individual, is still desirable by a utilitarian standard. From all the reasons stated above, Mill does not contradict himself with the two statements made in the topic. While an animal could be fully happy with a life of lower pleasures, a human being could not fully be happy unless attention was paid to these higher pleasures. Purely sensation pleasures are good; however, higher sentiment pleasures are more profound as they promote more happiness both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Femme Fatales of English Literature Essay -- Symbolism Seduction Women

Femme Fatales of English Literature The femme fatale, a seductive woman who entices men into perilous and compromising positions by way of charisma and mystery, is a classic, and often enthralling, character who can be found in many sources of literature and mythology of various origins and eras (â€Å"Femme Fatale† 1). â€Å"If the goddess of virtue is a lily and the vamp is an overripe red rose, the femme fatale is a Venus flytrap.† (Billinghurst 1). In the simple quote above, Ms. Jane Billinghurst, author of â€Å"Temptress†, provides explanation of the femme fatale by way of metaphor, likening the way in which the Venus flytrap, or Dionaea muscipula, succeeds in obtaining its next meal by way of temptation to the likeness of the femme fatale, using temptation to secure her victims, thus leading to unescapable doom (Venus’s fly-trap 1). â€Å"Temptress†, whose pages and cover alike overflow with a lavish visual collection of photographs, paintings and illustrations of the femme fatale, examines the extraordinary and fascinating history of sexual, or sexualised, women and the journey taken in receiving the infamous title of the femme fatale. This symbolic figure exists in numerous varying forms and can be found in virtually every society or culture throughout history. It is the femme fatale’s infamous aura of mystery, temptation and charms that provides the intense magnetism of this deadly female character. One of the most noted and greatly debated fatale characters of literature can be found in the Bible: Eve. â€Å"And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. . . . And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.† (Genesis 2:21 – 3:20). Often viewed as the original and ultimate femme fatale, Eve has come to bear such a title because of her involvement in the fall of humankind and, in turn, the introduction of sin, death and destruction into the world. It is Eve herself who succumbs to the influence of temptation with the persuasion of the evil serpent, which represents Satan, in the Garden of Eden and therefore brings a... ...ncipally the cold, bitter soul of the always-mesmerizing Kathleen Mallory that gains the strongest link to the psychotic seductress type known to literature as the femme fatale (O’Connell). Throughout history the beautiful woman has been adored, loved, praised, and, by some, envied. Men worship what society has defined as an attractive woman. Many times, men even envision these women as supernatural or mystical beings. They have become the focus and subjects of many paintings, poems, legends, tales and stories, and have caused great debate. Considered not only as material beauties, they are often viewed as seductresses who tempt â€Å"innocent† men to their doom. These seductive beauties are labelled femme fatales, women who entice men with their charms and mystery. Such a character is classic, and alluring, and can be found in many sources of literature and mythology (Hass 1). The femme fatale has survived centuries of time, change and movement, and still this female beauty can be found in uncountable forms of literature and mythology. She has survived the turn of civilisation in almost every culture known to human kind, and will continue to live within the psyc hes of human kind.

Off to the Mall Essay -- essays research papers

"Let's go to the mall." This comment is one of the few statements that can be heard coming from the mouths of both sexes. While typically associated with shopping, and thus automatically, and unfairly, females, going to the mall has mutual attractions to both males and females. Since the massive increase of shopping malls in this country, the popularity of "going to the mall" has increased a thousand fold for everyone. For females the reason that "going to the mall" is so popular is very clear. Females were always taught that their rightful place is at home taking care of their families (this statement is aid without trying to sound chauvinistic). When the car made a sudden impact on the world during the middle part of the century, even more responsibility's were added to the wife's list of "to do's." The wife no longer just took care of the family. She now was able to go out and shop for food, clothes, or anything else that her family may need. In a sense the wife now had more freedom to take care of the family by being away from the home more. Today women are no different then their 1950's counterparts. While contemporary women are much more free-minded about their own place in society, there still lies the motherly instinct to go out and purchase for the family. This instinct may change in time, but until that change occurs this cause shall remain as the chief reason why women "got to the mall" or "go shopping." ...

Jazz Showcase Essay -- essays research papers

Jazz Showcase The concert I attended was the Jazz Showcase in Rudder Theatre on Monday June21, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. Surroundings Rudder Theatre is a large venue for this Jazz Showcase. There are five sections with fifteen rows deep in each section. The theatre is decorated modestly with solid colors and nothing too spectacular or eye catching. The chairs were covered in a yellowish fabric. The initial backdrop behind the stage was a white backdrop with red and blue lighting. This backdrop would change colors throughout the concert. Located at the doors were ushers with programs detailing the Texas Music Festival. The seats inside were not assigned but on a first come first serve basis. Seated in the very front and centered to the audience were the performers. The stage was set up with five chairs lined up three rows back. Each row was more elevated than the previous. The piano was at the far left, the guitar and bass were next to the piano, and the drums were in the back. The first row of chairs included the saxophone players, the second row were the trombone players, and the trumpet players were in the third and last row. Audience The audience, for the most part, seemed to be made up of college students attending for the same reasons as myself. However, there were some audience members who are part of older age groups in the audience. They were there only seeking a good performance and a great time. These older age group audience members were located mostly in the center section of the theatre seated in the first few rows. The dress was more casual among the students but dressier for the older people. Some people were in jeans and a T-shirt, including myself, while some wore nice clothes. The audience rewarded each soloist with a warm ovation of applause after their turn was finished. This led me to believe the audience enjoyed the performance and was very respectable to the performers. Performers I counted nineteen total performers with occasionally two others and a vocalist. Each performer was dressed in black pants and a black shirt except one who showed up late. He was wearing blue jeans and a sports coat and he definitely stood out from all the others. The performers related very well with the audience. Each acknowledged the audience after applauses and there was a narrator between pieces. There was a lot of humor among the performers and they seemed ... ...ked throughout the concert. The pacing of the selections seemed appropriate. No piece sounded like the one before it. There was a great variety of songs played. There were songs played that were written by famous jazz composers and songs played that were written by some of the performers themselves. This added to the excitement of the show. Opinions I enjoyed this concert. It was my first real experience with jazz music. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, but I left satisfied that I attended. However, there was one thing I did not enjoy. The narrator between songs was not very effective and actually took away somewhat from the concert. He failed numerous times at trying to be humorous and rambled on. My favorite piece was 88 Basie Street. It gave me that easy and relaxed feeling. This piece started softer, and then seemed to pick up with more energy. With my lack of knowledge of Jazz music, I certainly enjoyed this piece the best. I learned how exciting and fun listening to jazz being played live can actually be. I found it very interesting. Like I said earlier, the only thing I would change to make the concert more effective would be to have the narrator speak less.

No man has a natural right to commit aggression

The United States Constitution is a document considered almost sacred by many Who live in this country.   Liberty and freedom are often considered our greatest resources (Burns, Peltason & Cronin p10).   However, while the idea of â€Å"liberty and justice for all† stands optimistically in its citizen’s minds, the reality is much more complicated.   Questions arise such as; does freedom of speech include yelling fire in a crowded theater?   When one person’s rights infringe upon another, whose liberties take precedence?   In some cases, the question has even arisen, does â€Å"all men are created equal† really apply to all men?   What about women? In creating the United States, a fine balance has been created between the majority and the minority.   Obviously, for a functioning democracy to work, the majority vote would rule.   As Abraham Lincoln said â€Å"Unanimity is impossible; the rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible (Rejai p70).†Ã‚   However, he also commented that the majority must be constrained â€Å"With deliberate changes of popular opinion and sentiments (Rejai p70)† in order to remain a free people. Still it was important to the founders of the United States for the importance of the individual to be retained.   The Bill of Rights, especially the first amendment, was written to remove government’s ability to limit those rights (Burns, Peltason & Cronin p11).   The authors understood that freedom of speech, the press and religion were major rights and needed extra protection from repression. Over time the government was also used to prevent individuals from impeding on the rights of other persons.   For instance, Amendment 26 in the Bill of Rights states â€Å"The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States of by any other State on account of age.†Ã‚   Upon reaching adulthood, it was determined that everyone should have their equal vote (Burns, Peltason & Cronin p 14) and no one should be able to deny an individual that right. Minority rights continue to be an issue, however, despite the passing of several amendments to protect such rights.   In some cases, this is done because it has been determined that the protection of society is more important than the rights of the individual.   The fourteenth amendment, for instance, states â€Å"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.†Ã‚   However, in many cases, laws are passed that interfere with the right of sexual predators by forcing them to declare themselves to law enforcement and/or their neighbors. In other cases, despite the goal of â€Å"liberty and justice for all† minorities continue to be discriminated against for religious or political reasons, or simply because they are minorities.   Homosexuals, for instance, continue to be denied the right to marry in the majority of states (Nava & Dawidoff pxii).   In this case, the vote of the majority continues to outweigh the minority despite the loss of civil liberties and despite that fact that this has no direct effect on the majority. On the other hand, in certain cases when the rights of the minority and the majority clash, the minority-member is given precedence, due to past injustices done to the minority as a whole.   This is the case in affirmative action, where minorities are given preference over the majority due to their past lack of status.   The practice seeks to make up for previous lack of economic and educational opportunities, often at the expense of those classes who have had them. The balance between the society and the individual, majorities and minorities is a difficult one.   In forming the Constitution, attempts were made to appease all sides and amendments were made as society’s ideas of what were important changed.   This pendulum continues to be in constant flux, with the majority or minorities occasionally taking precedence over the other as elected officials see a need.   It remains a vital process however, since the entire foundation of the United States is dependant on this equilibrium. How can we maintain the proper balance between liberty and order, between diversity and uniformity, between individual rights and collective needs?†¦The problem, then, is how to balance individual rights against collective needs, remembering always that individual freedom   and social order are necessary to each other.   ( Burns, Peltason, & Cronin p124) Bibliography Burns, J.M., Peltason, J.W., & Cronin, T.E.. (1975). Government by the People, 9th Edition.   Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:   Prentice-Hall, Inc. Nava Michael & Dawidoff, Robert.   (1994). Created Euqal:   Why Gay Rights Matter to America.   New York:   St. Martin’s Press. Rejai, M..   (1976).   Democracy: The Contemporary Theories.   New York: Atherton Press. Shein, Lori (ed).   (1998). Inequality:   Opposing Viewpoints to Social Problems.   Dan Diego, CA: Greenhaven Pres, Inc.   

The Struggle Between Tradition and Change

October 17, 2012 In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader is taken on a literary journey to a Nigerian tribe, the Umuofia, to experience first-hand the struggles of a warrior named Okonkwo. At first glance, the novel appears to be written for a very specific audience: scholars familiar with Nigerian history, traditions, and culture. However, upon further examination the novel reveals itself to be a striking chronicle of human experiences, universal themes, and timeless struggles that appeal to every human, regardless of familiarity with Nigerian culture.Taken as a whole, the novel appears to be much more than the sum of its parts: syntax, diction, figurative language, imagery, repetition, and symbols. Things Fall Apart is definitely a novel with literary worth. As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the viewpoint and reality of change affect a number of characters. The tension about whether change should be privileged over traditi on often contains questions of personal status.Okonkwo, for example, resists the new political and religious orders because he feels that they are not manly and that he himself will not be manly if his agreements to join or even tolerate them. To some extent, Okonkwo’s resistance of cultural change is also due to his fear of being like his father, or in other words, loss his societal status. His sense of self-worth is dependent upon the traditional standards by which society judges him. This system of evaluating the self inspires many of the clan’s outcasts to embrace Christianity.Long scorned, these outcasts find in the Christian value system a refuge from the Igbo cultural values that place them below everyone else. In their new community, these converts enjoy a more elevated status. The villagers in general are caught between resisting and embracing change and they face the dilemma of trying to determine how best to adapt to the reality of change. Many of the villag ers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring.This European influence, however, threatens to extinguish the need for the mastery of traditional methods of farming, harvesting, building, and cooking. These traditional methods, once crucial for survival, are now to a degree, dispensable. Throughout the novel, Achebe shows how dependent such traditions are upon storytelling and language and thus how quickly the abandonment of the Igbo language for English could lead to the extinction of these traditions. In addition to cultural clash, Achebe explores the theme of masculinity versus femininity, and reveals Okonkwo’s fatal character flaw: hyper-masculinity.Okonkwo is motivated by a desire to prove himself superior to his father, who was cowardly and careless and died a poor man with many unpaid debts. He viewed his father as overly pensive, slow to act and womanly. For this reason, he frequently beats his wives, even threatening to kill the m from time to time. Therefore, Okonkwo adopts opposite traits; Okonkwo is rash, quick to act, and excessively violent. Okonkwo always associated violence with masculinity. Achebe uses figurative language like metaphors and similes to compare Okonkwo to a fire. during this time Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan† (1). Okonkwo gained power and importance in Umuofian society by burning lesser people as fuel. Just like a brush-fire, Okonkwo’s fame, importance, and prestige grew stronger the longer he burned. He continued to burn strong into adulthood. â€Å"[The drums] filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue† (42). Okonkwo’s inner fire is what allowed him to conquer Umuofian society and rise above the disgrace of his father.As his fame and popularity increased, Okonkwo pursued his ideal of masculinity. Okonkwo constantly distanced himself from anything even remotely f eminine. He constantly reminded himself of his masculinity and strove to make sure all his clansmen knew of it as well. â€Å"Okonkwo was popularly called the ‘Roaring Flame. ’ As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name. He was a flaming fire† (153). The metaphor of fire is perfect to describe Okonkwo’s character, and yields a deep analysis of human feelings and personality. Like a fire, Okonkwo is violent, and burns whatever he touches.In many cases, he â€Å"burns† his own family. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo harasses on his wives and son, beats his family, and kills three innocent people not including him. In many cases, he hurts his family for trivial reasons. For instance, Okonkwo chastised and beat his son, Nwoye, for merely listening to his mother’s stories. He beat Nwoye again when he discovered him helping women with their household tasks. Okonkwo saw within Nwoye the same â€Å"effeminate† essence of his the father whom he hates so much. Ultimately, the success of Things FallApart as a novel of literary merit is due to Achebe’s use of universal literary themes like self-exploration, change, tradition, cultural clash, and masculinity versus femininity. No matter what language is spoken by the reader or what time period they come from, Achebe’s writing about the human experience is relevant and significant. Mankind has many different faces. Although fear and anger are reactions that all men have, if left unchecked, they will consume all one has worked for and eventually destroy everything that one holds dear.Because of that, before actions are taken, much consideration should be taken to make sure that personal flaws as well as flaws in society do not interfere with one's judgment. Of course, not all scholars agree with the assertion that Things Fall Apart has literary worth. Achebe’s skillful use of literary devices like metaphor, simile, imagery, and repetition demonstrate the quality of writing. Achebe’s understanding of the â€Å"human experience† demonstrates the relevance of theme. And the number of copies of the novel sold, over two million worldwide, demonstrates the universality of the story. It is safe to say that Things Fall Apart has earned widespread acceptance as a quality piece of literature.Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print. â€Å"Things Fall Apart. † Enotes. com. Enotes. com, n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www. enotes. com/things-fall-apart>. â€Å"Things Fall Apart Summary. † Study Guides & Essay Editing. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www. gradesaver. com/things-fall-apart/study-guide/short-summary/>.

Brennaz

I have chosen to investigate the question Which of the qualities shown by an entrepreneur has most contributed to the success of their business? An entrepreneur Is a person who sets up a business, taking on financial risks In the hope of profit. Entrepreneurs need a lot of qualities In order to succeed In a business. An entrepreneur needs to be determined, persuasive, he also needs to use his Annihilative, be a good leader, a good decision maker and a good risk taker. I chose to use ‘manmade newsagents' as the business I wanted to investigate. Manmade Newsagents is a successful corner shop in Compton, Plymouth.They make money through a variety of ways such as selling food and drink, but the main way they make money Is by selling newspapers. They hire 30 paper boys at a time, who Individually deliver an average of 45 papers every morning. The owner of this shop is Graham Lam, a willing worker who is always happy to lend a helping hand and to make quick decisions, the workers at the shop say he is always happy and keeps the mood upbeat by making cups of tea often for the workers and allowing workers to have free food from the shop on certain occasions such as birthdays.The different entrepreneurial skills a business owner such as Graham needs are as listed: Determination – http://tolerance. Reference. Com/browse/determination Leadership – http://hob. Org/2004/01/watchmakers-leader/AR/1 Risk Taker An individual or business that tends to behave in a way that can potentially cause physical harm or financial loss, but might also present an opportunity for a rewarding outcome. Most business types that thrive on innovation will encourage a risk taker mentality among management to help support the creative process in other staff members.Source: http://www. Objectifications. Com/definition/risk-taker. HTML) Graham Lam used great leadership skills in order to succeed in his business. He did this by motivating staff on a regular basis, often offering a free compliment to those workers who he felt had impressed him over the course of the week, this seemed to work so he carried on doing It. The commitment and enthusiasm of a business leader shapes the common goals of the organization which provides inspiration and motivation for people to perform at a high level.When I asked his kills; 87% said yes and the other 13% said it didn't help them at all. To succeed with a business you must be a good leader, this keeps the people working for you organized and in order. A good leader is one Who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way Noon C. Maxwell). In a competitive business environment, effective leadership is an essential requirement in order to achieve organizational goals. To do this, leaders must be able to provide inspiration, motivation and clear direction to their team.

Culture and Hipster Central Dogma Essay

Hipster is a subculture of young (15 – 25), urban middle class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s.The subculture is associated with non-mainstream lifestyle. They value independent thinking, progressive politics, creativity, intelligence and non-mainstream fashion sensibility. Most of them can be found living in the big cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Also â€Å"hipsterism† is often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities .Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage, tight jeans, old-school sneakers, and often thick rimmed glasses. Men and women hipsters have similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of dirty shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually not mainstream. Despite the misconception made ​​on the external image, hipsters tend to be well educ ated in sciences, which require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. This leads to the fact that they find themselves in creative works, such as music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent’s trust funds. Hipsters shun mainstream, It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainstream advertising and media. This is tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty, the concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date. Women view the muscular, athletic and other male ideals as symbols of their oppression, sexism, and misogyny. Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and â€Å"Britney Spears tube-tops† are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. Likewise, girls with fake blond hair and overly tanned skin are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. There are many interracial couples in hipster subculture because they are very racially open-minded. Although hipsters are conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass they are pioneers latest cultural trends and ideals. For example many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved. Once something from fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new. Because of the rise of various online photo-blog and social networking sites, insights into urban hipster culture is reaching sheltered suburban audiences at an exponential rate. Cultural â€Å"norms† have been deconstructed by hipster culture as a whole.

Hispanic Americans Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hispanic Americans Diversity - Essay Example "Passing" was the name of the game. In the words of Berkeley cultural psychologist George De Vos, we have all noticed now the "passing of passing" (De Vos 1992). Latinos today are players in social spaces where racial and ethnic category have high-stakes political and economic implications. The largest wave of immigration in U. S. history-the wave responsible for the current Latino-ization of the country took place subsequent to the great struggles of the civil rights movement. Cuban Latinos, especially mainland Puerto Ricans and immigrant Brazilians, have been depicted as paradigmatic examples of groups engaged in deep transnationalism, an analytic concept that is often used to refer to economic, political, and cultural strategies articulated by diasporic peoples across national spaces (Basch, Schiller, and Blanc 1995; Smith and Guarnizo 1998). Significant numbers of Puerto Ricans and Brazilians are said to lead dual lives engaging in double consciousness, cultivating dual loyalties, living serially between their islands and the mainland. Studies, suggest that Brazilians immigrants have developed political, economic, and cultural adaptations that involve high levels of transnationalism. They remit large sums of money to their homeland, they remain substantially engaged in political processes there, and they return periodically with their children to nourish social and cultural ties in their island home. Research on mainland Puerto Ricans suggests a slight ly different version of this general transnational dynamic. Although they are less likely than Brazilians to send dollars to the island, mainland Puerto Ricans remain socially, culturally, and at times politically involved in island affairs (Torre, Vecchini, and Burgo 1994). Whereas, Mexican immigration to the United States has over the last two decades undergone a profound transformation. Historically, U. S. immigration policies, market forces, and the social practices of Mexican immigrants did not encourage their long-term integration into American society (Surez-Orozco, C., and M. Surez-Orozco 2001). A sojourner pattern of largely male-initiated circular migration, characterized by efforts to earn dollars during a specific season, dominated the Mexican experience for decades into the 1980s (Durand 1998). After concluding their seasonal work, large numbers of Mexicans returned south of the border, eventually to resume the cycle the following year. In that context, Mexican immigrants engaged in dual lives, displaying the kinds of proto-transnational behaviors now more fully developed among Cuban Latinos. Like Puerto Ricans and Brazilians today, the Mexican immigrants of yesterday lived both "here" and "there." Today, Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the Catholic Church. In 1990 they constituted 35 percent of all U. S. Catholics, up from 28 percent in 1980. In Florida, Texas, and New Mexico, Latinos make up over two thirds of the Catholic population. In 1990 there were twelve archdioceses that had over 50 percent Latino membership and twenty-seven in which 25-50 percent of parishioners was Latino. Whereas the numbers of Euro American Catholics fall annually, the number of