Departmental Store

A department store is a retail establishment with a building open to the public which offers a wide range of consumer goods such as clothing, housewares, furniture and appliances. It typically offers a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in different product categories (known as â€Å"departments† hence the name).Department stores usually sell products including clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint and hardware and additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment and baby and pet needs. Certain department stores are further classified as discount stores.Big-box stores and hypermarkets have become a modern equivalent to historical department stores. Department stores have a supermarket-type central customer checkout area near the front of the store, or alternatively, sales counters within each departm ent. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries. Some may be independent retailers, existing entirely independent or as licensed dealers.History Origins The origins of the department store lay in the growth of the conspicuous consumer society at the turn of the 19th century. As economic growth, fuelled by the Industrial Revolution, steadily expanded through the nineteenth century, the affluent bourgeois middle-class grew in size and wealth. This urbanized social group, sharing a culture of consumption and changing fashion, was the catalyst for the emergence of the retail revolution of the period.As rising prosperity and social mobility increased the number of people with disposable income in the late Georgian period, window shopping was transformed into a leisure activity and entrepreneurs, like the potter Josiah Wedgwood, pioneered the use of marketing techniques to influence the prevailing tastes and preferenc es of society.   One of the first department stores may have been Bennett's in Derby, first established as an ironmongers in 1734.It still stands to this day, trading in the same building. However, the first reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co, which opened in 1796 on Pall Mall, London.   An observer writing in Ackermann's Repository, a British periodical on contemporary taste and fashion, described the enterprise in 1809 as follows: The house is one hundred and fifty feet in length from front to back, and of proportionate width.It is fitted up with great taste, and is divided by glazed partitions into four departments, for the various branches of the extensive business, which is there carried on. Immediately at the entrance is the first department, which is exclusively appropriated to the sale of furs and fans. The second contains articles of haberdashery of every description, silks, muslins, lace, gloves, &etc. In the third shop, on the right, you meet with a rich assortment of jewelry, ornamental articles in ormolu, french clocks, &etc.; and on the left, with all the different kinds of perfumery necessary for the toilette.The fourth is set apart for millinery and dresses; so that there is no article of female attire or decoration, but what may be here procured in the first style of elegance and fashion. This concern has been conducted for the last twelve years by the present proprietors who have spared neither trouble nor expense to ensure the establishment of a superiority over every other in Europe, and to render it perfectly unique in it's kind.This venture is described as having all of the basic characteristics of the department store; it was a public retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different departments. This pioneering shop was closed down in 1820 when the business partnership was dissolved. Department stores were established on a large scale from the 1840s and 50s, in France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Departmental Store A department store is a retail establishment with a building open to the public which offers a wide range of consumer goods such as clothing, housewares, furniture and appliances. It typically offers a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in different product categories (known as â€Å"departments† hence the name).Department stores usually sell products including clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint and hardware and additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment and baby and pet needs. Certain department stores are further classified as discount stores.Big-box stores and hypermarkets have become a modern equivalent to historical department stores. Department stores have a supermarket-type central customer checkout area near the front of the store, or alternatively, sales counters within each departm ent. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries. Some may be independent retailers, existing entirely independent or as licensed dealers.History Origins The origins of the department store lay in the growth of the conspicuous consumer society at the turn of the 19th century. As economic growth, fuelled by the Industrial Revolution, steadily expanded through the nineteenth century, the affluent bourgeois middle-class grew in size and wealth. This urbanized social group, sharing a culture of consumption and changing fashion, was the catalyst for the emergence of the retail revolution of the period.As rising prosperity and social mobility increased the number of people with disposable income in the late Georgian period, window shopping was transformed into a leisure activity and entrepreneurs, like the potter Josiah Wedgwood, pioneered the use of marketing techniques to influence the prevailing tastes and preferenc es of society. [1] One of the first department stores may have been Bennett's in Derby, first established as an ironmongers in 1734.It still stands to this day, trading in the same building. However, the first reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co, which opened in 1796 on Pall Mall, London. [3] An observer writing in Ackermann's Repository, a British periodical on contemporary taste and fashion, described the enterprise in 1809 as follows: The house is one hundred and fifty feet in length from front to back, and of proportionate width.It is fitted up with great taste, and is divided by glazed partitions into four departments, for the various branches of the extensive business, which is there carried on. Immediately at the entrance is the first department, which is exclusively appropriated to the sale of furs and fans. The second contains articles of haberdashery of every description, silks, muslins, lace, gloves, &etc.In the third shop, on the r ight, you meet with a rich assortment of jewelry, ornamental articles in ormolu, french clocks, &etc.; and on the left, with all the different kinds of perfumery necessary for the toilette. The fourth is set apart for millinery and dresses; so that there is no article of female attire or decoration, but what may be here procured in the first style of elegance and fashion. This concern has been conducted for the last twelve years by the present proprietors who have spared neither trouble nor expense to ensure the establishment of a superiority over every other in Europe, and to render it perfectly unique in it's kind.This venture is described as having all of the basic characteristics of the department store; it was a public retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different departments. This pioneering shop was closed down in 1820 when the business partnership was dissolved. Department stores were established on a large scale from the 1840s and 50s, in France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Organic vs. industrial food Essay

Organic foods, although stereotypically known for having a bland taste or having no taste have been shown to improve one’s quality of life be decreasing some health risk such as cancer or heart disease. If you haven’t realized it, organic fruits and vegetables taste better, and the flavor is crispier. The health consequences of genetically modified food, when examined closely, will convince you to change your eating habits. The shelf life of food depends on four main factors: formulation, processing, packaging and storage. Change any one of these conditions and you can change the shelf life for better or worse. Shelf life has many attributes: bacterial control, color stability, yeast and mold inhibition, flavor stability, textural stability and aroma stability. The appearance of shelf-life problems can be wide, as well, including oxidative browning, oxidation of flavor compounds, or liquescence. To increase the shelf life of more unstable foods, such as low-sugar jam, low-salt condiments, low-oil salad dressings, prepared fresh produce and deli meats, food companies may take steps to reduce bacterial load from ingredients before they process the final food. To grow, thrive and survive, microbes need a friendly environment; this usually includes moisture. Lowering moisture creates a hostile environment for bacteria by decreasing the available medium for them to grow in. There are a number of new ingredients to help regulate water activity in foods with a reduced fat phase. â€Å" Generally, the water activity of a minimally processed food needs to be about 0. 07 or lower, water has an a W rating of 1. 00, and most products preserved with sugar, measure about 0. 07, with the excess water bound so that bacteria are under osmotic pressure too great to survive(Katz, February 4, 2006). † Whenever you buy food, you have decision to make: Healthy or cheap, organic or industrial. If organic food was not so expensive, that decision would be easy, everybody would buy organic food, for a healthier body. Unfortunately not everybody can afford it, making it look like healthy food is becoming a luxury good. In the rush to produce more and more food for the people on this planet, chemicals came into play. Farmers begin by trying to sell the highest percentage of their crop and therefore often use pesticides, gen-manipulated corn, chemicals etc. The farmer’s investment in pesticides, hormones, and chemicals tends to pays off, earning more, their fruits look better and costumers are happy with huge pest fee fruits and vegetables. When a farmer says no to chemicals, he runs the risk of losing a harvest because of pests. The only way to compensate the cost is a higher price for organic food. You can’t ask everybody to pay higher prices, and a lot of people would starve to death without the use of chemicals which protect harvests against pests. Every time you eat something, you consume pesticides, these substances are added in order to produce and sell more efficient. Fortunately there are strict rules for the use of chemicals. Organic foods are produced following practices described in the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), a marketing program with a certification process throughout the production and manufacturing chain. The NOP describes the practices that are required for labeling a product â€Å"organic,† but it does not address nutritional benefits or food safety issues. Even when you buy organic food, you are consuming these substances, but the bar is set at a different height and you are consuming less harmful substances that could be particularly hazards for high-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, young children and farm worker households. Since organic food is not prepared using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it does not contain any traces of these strong chemicals and might not affect the human body. People strongly believe that organic food tastes better than non-organic food. The prominent reason for this belief is that it is produced using organic means of production. Further organic food is often sold locally resulting in availability of fresh produce in the market. So how bad is industrial food? Let’s take a look; there are maximum residue limits on all pesticides and chemicals. The department of health determines how much of each substance is ok. Eating organic food lowers the risk of getting hit by a similar scenario, but it’s not a 100% guarantee (Are Organic Foods Better for You. 2010). However, getting seriously sick from cheap food is not that high of a risk as long as you read food labels you can eat cheap and healthy at the same time? If you are eating organic food only, you are still eating unhealthy foods. Almost everyone is aware that foods grown according to organic principles are free from over exposure to harmful pesticides, but that is only one small aspect. A larger part of organic agriculture is the health of the soil and the ecosystem in which crops are raised. Organic farmers know that healthy, live soils significantly benefit crops. Synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and/or fast acting inorganic fertilizers applied to or around crops interrupt or destroy the micro biotic activity in the soil. Organic farming reduces groundwater pollutants, decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass; in some cities, pesticides in tap water have been measured at unsafe levels. The Farmer’s Market is a growers’ market, meaning everything in the market is homegrown, but Richard Bowie, an experienced organic grower is not convinced that all the food being sold is homegrown. â€Å"The market’s slogan ‘100% Homegrown makes us different’ is used as a gimmick, said Bowie† (Shreve, October 3, 2011). Vendors have been seen carrying produce and selling it to other vendors at the market bringing the term organically grown in to question and without certification, and but by law they cannot say they are a certified organically grown vendor. Most vendors cannot afford the certification process and want consumers to look past the term organic there for focus on the soil used or nutrients used. Almost everyone is aware that foods grown according to organic principles are free from over exposure to harmful pesticides, but that is only one small aspect. A larger part of organic agriculture is the health of the soil and the ecosystem in which crops are raised. Organic farmers know that healthy, live soils significantly benefit crops. Synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and/or fast acting inorganic fertilizers applied to or around crops interrupt or destroy the micro biotic activity in the soil. Organic farming reduces groundwater pollutants, decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass; in some cities, pesticides in tap water have been measured at unsafe levels. We should choose farming methods that truly address our real concerns safety and sustainability, not simply methods that satisfy an arbitrary marketing label. To whatever extent these practices include methods that are permitted under organic rules. But there’s never a case when a safe, more efficient, and sustainable modern technology that feeds more people worldwide should be disallowed for no logical reason. Eating â€Å"organic† alone doesn’t guarantee 100 percent healthy . The truth is that most Americans eat so badly that we get most of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is â€Å"sweets†; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat. To eat well, says means avoiding â€Å"edible food-like substances† and sticking to real ingredients, increasingly from the plant kingdom. There’s plenty of evidence that both a person’s health as well as the environment’s will improve with a simple shift in eating habits away from animal products and highly processed foods to plant products and what might be called â€Å"real food. † From these changes, Americans would reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals used to produce the food we eat, as well as the incidence of lifestyle diseases linked to unhealthy diets and greenhouse gases from industrial meat production. And the food would not necessarily have to be organic, all it takes is paying attention to what you eat and read your labels more closely. Participation on our part to be more aware of what we buy and to raise our voices, if need be. We can let our opinions be known even in the simplest ways. A good example is when we shop, if there is no substitute for the product we need, let the store owners know, they will surely change their products. Organic food is better as it uses natural farming techniques. It is similar to preferring natural remedies when suffering from a disease as compared to eating chemical antibiotics. So, the question of organic foods vs non organic foods; which is better, is clearly answered. Organic food surpasses the conventionally produced foods. References Katz, F. (Febuary 4, 2006). Formulating for increased shelf life. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www. foodprocessing. com/articles/2006/039. html Are Organic Foods Better For You?. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from http://preventdisease. com/home/tips61. shtml Shreve, S. (October 3, 2011). Does organically grown produce really matter?. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from.

Principles of Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Principles of Criminal Law - Essay Example The punishment is the same notwithstanding whether the offender used a weapon against the victim or not. However for the accused person to be liable for such offences, wounding must have occurred. This means that a discontinuity of the skin must occur on the body of the victim, and at least a drop of blood must fall outside the body of the victim (Cross, 1995). It is worth noting that under section 47 of the act, bodily harm, or injury may occur to a person without directly or indirectly applying physical violence to the victim (MacDonald, 1948). The substance of the law in such a case is whether the victim would find such acts perpetrated against them either unpleasant or harmful. The law requires that it is enough for the accused to have foreseen that physical harm to some person might result. In our case, Mr. Steven Roberts committed two acts that resulted to bodily harm and physical injuries to two victims, namely his girl friend and the alleged man whom the girlfriend was cheati ng with against Mr. Steven. However, the substance of the law in the two accounts of this case are different, in that, in the first account, Mr. Steven had no intention of inflicting any bodily injury or physical harm to his girlfriend. He only meant to surprise her, an act that accidentally resulted to the girlfriend falling from the staircase and being injured. However, on the second account, Mr. Steven shoved off the man accompanying his girlfriend to make him move out of the way. In so doing, he ended up inflicting physical harm on the man, through banging him against a glass door that injured him. It can therefore, be found that while in the first account Mr. Steven did not have the intention to harm, in the second account, he ought to have foreseen that physical harm might result to the man he shoved off (Smith, 2008). This therefore makes the two accounts different in the substance of the law, something that means the accused can be liable for the accounts differently. If not found guilty for the first account, it is likely that the second account would make him liable. Thus, it is worth treating the two accounts separately in the attempt to seek legal defense for the case against Mr. Steven (MacDonald, 1975). The first account of Mr. Steven causing bodily harm against her girl friend appears defined within the confinement of section 47 of the 1861 act (Milton, 1996). The first account is admissible under the laws pertaining to common assault, whose punishment is the payment of a recommended fine or an imprisonment not exceeding six months or both. There is a defense available for Mr. Steven against the first account (Smith, 2005). Consent is applicable as one of the defense, where it requires that if the harm caused is not so severe, and there is a recognizable good reason for the offence, then the accused can be relieved of the criminal liability (Greaves, 2006). Since Mr. Steven’s intention was not to harm his girlfriend, then if the injury ha ppens not to be severe, then he can be relieved the criminal responsibility to assault (Smith, 1998). In the second account, Mr. Steven charge is under section 18 of the 1861 act because; he caused wounding and bodily harm to the man accompanying his girlfriend (Glanville, 1983). The proof that wounding was caused is the fact that there was a fall of blood from the body of the victim. The prosecution will be able to prove

What is Philosophy. How would you explain this to someone who hasn't Essay

What is Philosophy. How would you explain this to someone who hasn't studied it - Essay Example many strategies for breaking through the delusions and self-deceptions that keep us human beings from seeing things as they really are.† (What is Philosophy?). Thus philosophy can be regarded as an enquiry into the facts relating to human life, knowledge and values. It helps humans to analyze the meaning of various concepts about life as also to understand the relationship between theories. Philosophy provides them relevant insight to evaluate the arguments and determine their validity or expose their fallacy. Philosophy is distinct from other branches of studies in humanities both because of its subject matter and methodology. Though arts and literature also deal with the fundamental problems of human life, they are not necessarily based on critical reasoning. On the other hand, science relies heavily on observations and experiments for critical reasoning of theories. Philosophy is, therefore, more comparable to mathematic and logic; but encompasses a wider range of generic topics like religion, morality, culture, tradition and values. â€Å"The topics that philosophy addresses fall into several distinct fields. Among those fundamental concerns are: A major difference between philosophy and other branches of learning is that philosophy leans more towards the spiritual aspects of life, as can be evidenced in the words of Socrates, â€Å"Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting any one whom I meet after my manner, and convincing him, saying: O my friend, why do you, who are a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens, care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all?.† Obviously, great teachers like Socrates have considered philosophy as the pursuit of wisdom

Why Many Good Workers Turn into Bad Bosses Essay

Why Many Good Workers Turn into Bad Bosses - Essay Example When Mr. Min was promoted as the Chief Chef, orientation was given by the management about the nature of the job and expectations of the management. But when Mr. Min took charge he was not performing well as he had done in his previous job. There was confusion in the kitchen and the kitchen staff were de-motivated. In fact some of the chefs were considering exploring new opportunities. The management was concerned about the developments in the kitchen and Mr. Min was called for meeting with the management. Separate interviews were also conducted with the kitchen staff to identify the source of the problems. It was identified by the management that, the position of the Chief Chef is a job which requires more of leadership and interpersonal skills than of culinary skills. A Chief Chef should know culinary but the knowledge of culinary alone does not make a Chief. Mr. Min was a very good chef but when it came to leading a department it was very difficult for him, because his ability to lead the department in a positive manner was very less. As the Chief of a department it is very essential that a person understands the need to moti vate the staff in a positive way.

Analysis of news presentation of academic research Essay

Analysis of news presentation of academic research - Essay Example However, this is not the case with news research, as there is no particular detailed research undertaken to ascertain the authenticity of the information presented. Two articles, scholarly research and news media research, addressing the same issue, are very different. While the scholarly article reports about the actual study conducted, the news article is a report about the scholarly research report. It is thus less detailed and does not have as much information as the actual article. In view of this, in this paper, I will analyse two articles, both addressing the same issue, mobile phone advertising, will show the differences between the two articles. The article, â€Å"High stroke and heart disease link to living close to airports† is a news media report on the actual journal article, â€Å"Aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease near Heathrow airport in London: small area study† by Hansell,, et al. (2013). The report points the objective of the actual study, with out giving further details. In fact, there is little relationship between the information contained in the news article and the scholarly researcher. The author, using the thesis of the study that there is a positive relationship between aircraft noise and higher rates of stroke and heart diseases, reports on the outcomes of the study. ... from mentioning the study to support his story, the author uses little information, indicating that his was simply a news item with minimal scholarly intentions. The article, â€Å"Aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease near Heathrow airport in London: small area study† is a report by the researchers, Hansell, et al. (2013). The study points out that there is a high likelihood of people living close to airports to develop problems such as the stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease. The researchers, in order to prove the hypothesis of their study, conducted an analytic case study on neighbourhoods exposed to varying levels of aircraft noise related to Heathrow airport. The article sought to compare the hospital admission rates for people suffering from cardiovascular disease in this area. Using standard noise metric, the A weighted equivalent (Aeq) sound pressure level; the researchers established the relationship between people’s exposure to airpl ane noise and the increased risk of suffering from these diseases. The researchers, using a qualitative research technique, carried out an analysis comprising of 12 London boroughs and nine districts west of London. These were the groups with a high risk of exposure to noise emanating from Heathrow airport. For an article to qualify as a scholarly article, a research methodology should support the assertions made by the author. There are two main methods used in research, i.e. qualitative and quantitative, which researchers use while conducting their research, most significantly on data collection. According to Creswell (2003), qualitative research method (traditionally used in social sciences, but currently applied on market research) aims at gathering adequate information about an issue or an

Population Growth Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Population Growth - Case Study Example It is also important in that it helps determine the dependency ratio. High population growth rate is usually a problem especially with limited resources in a society whereas low population growth rate is a problem in the society given that the society may face workforce shortages in the future. The paper discusses the population size of all US citizens as depicted by data from 1900 to 2000 census. Data used in this paper was retrieved from the US census database. The reason for selecting this data was because of availability of data online, the convenience of the data source and to show how a developed country manages its population size through its policies and also to determine the expected population size in the next census. US Census data was retrieved for the year 1900 to 2000 from the US census website. The following is an analysis of the data. From the year 1900 to 2000 the population increased by 205,628 thousand, the mean increase in population is for the ten year period from 1900 to 2000 is 20,563 thousand, the standard deviation of this increase in population 7064.3. We, therefore, expect that the population size will increase by 20563 thousand in 2010. The composition of the population is an important measure in a society given that it helps determine the dependency ratio. The following chart shows the composition of the population as at the 1990 census From the above chart, it is evident that the majority of individuals during the 1990 census were aged 15 to 34 years while only 21.06% were aged 55 years and above. Total workforce, therefore, was 57.4% and this means that approximately 42.6% of the population was dependent on the workforce. From the above chart, it is evident that the majority of the individuals in this year were aged between 35 and 54 years and only 21.06% were aged above 55 years.

Issues and Challenges Facing Retailing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Issues and Challenges Facing Retailing - Article Example In order to enhance the effectiveness of digital retailing, the key factors that have to be considered by the retailers are availability of the latest products and services, transportation facilities for quick delivery and order fulfilment, easy payment mechanism, efficient logistics and distribution framework and cost-effectiveness. Contents Abstract 2 Introduction to retailing 4 Literature Review 5 Online retailing is the latest trend 6 Key drivers of online retail industry 6 Discussion 9 Limited potential for growth 9 High cost of delivery 10 Selection range trade-offs 11 Intense competition 11 Environmental impact of online retailing 12 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction to retailing In the consumer goods industry, retail has been playing a primary role in enhancing the productivity of the key players across the world. This retail sector has been expanding at an accelerating pace because the consumers are looking for convenience in the shopping arena. The significance of th is industry is evident in the contribution made in the economies of UK, Mexico, USA, China, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand; all of these countries have seen robust growth in their GDPs (Bell, Choi & Lodish, 2012). Some giant retail stores like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Kmart, Carrefour, Sainsbury’s and others have ensured that they provide the complete range of employment benefits to their personnel so that they can have an adequate standard of living while meeting all of their basic and mandatory requirements. Since 1990s, Internet has revolutionised the way in which organisations carry out their business activities; it has even impacted the retailing industry to a significant level. Internet in other words have changed the usual way of conducting business activities. As Internet is easily accessible by everyone with the help of the most up-to-date technological gadgets such as smartphones, tablets and etc., it has created the latest trend of online retailing. Internet has u sed the element of convenience for the customers and formed the aspect of online retailing for consumers. The pioneers of online retailing such as Amazon, BestBuy, eBay, Zulily and many more have ensured that the customers are provided the most sensational online shopping experience. These online organisations have proven their level of success and hence now we can observe many online retailing firms emerging in the market. There is constant improvements observe in the online businesses and also we can observe that the mode of payments are advanced and fully secure. In order to create a wholesome experience, the online stores are ensuring that they give utmost importance to each and every aspect of the e-retailing so that the customers are willing to increase their online purchases. According to a reputed research firm, Forrester, E-commerce is estimated to approach a figure of about $200 billion in terms of revenue alone in US which accounts for about 9% of the entire retail sector sales. There has been 5% increase in the retail sales as compared to its standing about five years ago (Rigby, 2011). Literature Review In the retailing industry, the retail stores are mainly classified in either of the two categories i.e. organised or unorganised. Within the organised sector, the retailers ensure that they provide the customers with the complete range of options from products to services so that they can take advantage of economies of scale and conveniently shop around the store. On the other hand,

Make a report of the study case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Make a report of the study case - Essay Example To evaluate and analyse this aspect of the company’s position, certain financial ratios have also been used in the report. The greatest internal risk faced by the company is the declining of profit over the last financial year, if this trends continue to take place, the company will be generating no more funds for investment and even there would be left nothing in the company to be transferred to the shareholders in the form of dividends or earnings per share. The company also confronts with the risk of losing all its business because of the costs incurred during the production and distribution of goods, and also the other operating expenses incurred during the year. According to Wells and Nieuwenhuis (2001), the automotive industry in UK has been highly saturated and the companies need to face great competition from other companies in the same industry. Hence, there is a high risk of increasing competition. Wells and Nieuwenhuis (2001) further specify that the competition is not the only risk a company has to confront with, there are certain other factors that increase the risk of doing business in UK automotive industry. These factors are globalisation, consolidation, and continuous innovations in the technology. Bordenave and Lung (1996) says that the most important risk a company faces in the automotive industry in UK is due to the increasing outsourcing activities on the part of the manufacturers. Therefore, a geographical risk arises in such a situation where supplier and manufacturer are from geographically distant and different places. Analysing the profitability of Buzzard Ltd lies in assessing the company’s profit with respect to various other items from income statement and balance sheet. This can be done with the help of the following ratios: The Gross Profit ratio analyses the company’s profit margin before accounting for various operating costs (Mcmenamin Jim,

The ways in whih characters adapt to the changing circumstances of Essay

The ways in whih characters adapt to the changing circumstances of their lives - Essay Example In John Steinbecks novel, East ÃŽ ¿f Eden, the characters are unusual, realistic, and interesting, all which contribute to the appeal ÃŽ ¿f the novel. These characters appeal to the reader, and the reader is able to sympathize with most characters, from the most upstanding citizen to the ruthless seductress. Faye, although the owner ÃŽ ¿f a whorehouse, is depicted a respectable, honourable woman, by the description Steinbeck gives her. Although she owns a whorehouse, she has made it the cleanest, and in many ways, the best whorehouse ÃŽ ¿f all the others around her. Steinbeck regards her as being a good citizen, and a moral person. All ÃŽ ¿f the girls who work in her whore house respect Faye, and look up to her. As the interaction between Kathy and Faye persist, many ÃŽ ¿f the girls who work at Fayes become fearful ÃŽ ¿f her safety. Kathy slowly poisons Faye, and when Faye dies, the tone at the whorehouse drastically changes, as the girls become more suspicious ÃŽ ¿f Kate. Faye, being the good person that she was, loved Kate, and left her business to her. When Kate took over, the girls suddenly live in fear ÃŽ ¿f Kate. Kate is probably the most interesting, and gripping character in East ÃŽ ¿f Eden, due to her sedectiveness, and her evil personality. In Steinbecks first description ÃŽ ¿f Kathy he depicts her as a victim ÃŽ ¿f genetics. It was just a mere coincidence that such an evil human arose from her two good parents. The reader can sympathize that she is a victim ÃŽ ¿f nature, a common trait ÃŽ ¿f realism. Her actions are merely a result ÃŽ ¿f here natural instincts to be bad. Her character is the most complex in the novel. Her most interesting aspect is her reaction to alcohol, another interesting trait that draws the reader in. Her actions shock the reader, her boldness and independence was a reflection ÃŽ ¿f the womens movement that is still a major appeal to the women ÃŽ ¿f today. The introduction ÃŽ ¿f Kathy in chapter 8 was a turning point in the novel, since her

Social Class Essay Example for Free

Social Class Essay Would it be wiser to develop a new brand, or can it successfully market the same product to the under and over 50s? 5. In view of the anticipated growth of the 50-plus market should Oil of Olay consider a new strategy for its face cream? Would it be wiser to develop a new brand, or can it successfully market the same product to the under and over 50s? 6. What kind of subcultural (ethnic, race, age and sex) segmentation would best assist the marketer with the following products and services? 1. A digital microphone 2. An MP3 player 3. Jeans 4. Snap-chill meals 5. A new alcoholic lemonade 6. A tourist package to Vietnam and Pakistan . A personal telephone number 1. Some food goods, such as cans of pork, those people who are Moslem do not have pork and sometimes they substitute beef for pork. In this scenario, it has been of importance that manufacturers cannot produce the food associated with pork if they tend to target Moslem market. Otherwise, the customer of Moslem would be excluded. Take a Nutrilite as an example, it is a kind of nutritious medicine, like Blackmores in Au, it got different kinds of medicine, one of products is called protein powder that the people always going to gym should take after they finish the training. Also, for elders linked to the age subculture, the company produces each product in terms of some illness that is potential to them when they get older. Meanwhile, the likelihood of illness will decline if these aged people insist taking it. 2. Baby boomers: Those people are reaching the retirement age and they could be the largest customers using TV because they would spend lots of time at home. The company can give customers from the age of babyboomer some discounts once they plan to sign the contrast with Foxtel company duo to these people have potential to become the lasting customers. Generation X: consist of people born from 1965 to 1979, this group of people has accepted the higher education already and some of them work in a big company, earning higher salaries. Those people are in no rush to marry. For advertising companies, they should stress the advantage (eg. Credibility and naturalness of ingredients) of Paying TV services. The advertising company should attract these people since they like music, fashions and language. Generation Y: consist of people born between 1980 and 1994. Those people are more open to change and looking for next gadgets. These people use the internet almost everyday and the advertising company can have a try that linking the tv service to the internet. Also, this group of people is characterized by the informal groups, like friends and they prefer to imitate what friends do. 3. The business can give the elders discount if they purchase the necessity, such as walking stick. Particularly, if some elders make a consumed decision, such as buy a new car, then the government should cut the tax rate that elders should pay by the mortgage or cash. The allowance given to elderly depends on what sort of decisions they make and the income earn. 4 I think the oil of ulan should develop a new product since customers between 50 and over-50s have different skin. For instance, the skin with elders has more wrinkles and the company should design specific products for the people who are more than 50. The company can not market the same product but can develop a new brand that is a branch of Oil of Ulan. As a result, the two brands can segment different groups of customers and position the products. . A digital microphone and an mp3 player) age. As young and older people have different aspects regarding the interests. The young people prefer to go to ktv and even stay here overnight and a digital microphone is useful for those people as they utilize it to practice singing. While for olders, they are less likely to use this modern devices and the one they like maybe reading newspaper, opera, or walking in the park etc. Jeans) age and sex. Some famous brands of jeans, such as levi’s and lee are welcomed by young people. Particularly, the series of CLOT of Edison chen is so fancy that a large number of young fans like it. Also, some females like jeans as it could reveal the beautiful body when they wearing it. Snap-chill meals and a alcoholic lemonade) ethnic. Some people from Mexico like chill very much and that’s why in Mexico, there is a kind of strong chill called ‘ devil chill’. However, some people from southern areas in China, those people like sweet food while people in north-west like chill and beer since the weather is very cold and they eating chill to warm themselves. For a lemonade, some people like drinking beer. A tourist package to Vietnam and Pakistan) age. Nowadays, both young and older people like travelling. However, young people have more curious about the outside world and they prefer to have a look by travelling. A personal phone number) ethnical . Some religious people do not like some numbers like 4, they think 4 sounds like ‘death’ in Chinese. Consequently, when they choose the cell number , they prefer to choose the lucky number even though they spending much more money to purchase the number.

Fashion and Marketing: Individuality vs. Conformity

Fashion and Marketing: Individuality vs. Conformity Fashion Marketing Individuality vs. Conformity. Section 1: Introduction A seemingly intractable paradox underlies Westerners choice of fashion in the twenty-first century. On the one hand, the democratic and social progress made in the West in the past fifty years has led to radical revaluations of, and profound reversals of attitudes towards, issues such as   gender, class, race, social stereotypes, cultural identity and so on: in short, the Western citizen of 2005 has far greater personal freedom for expression than could have been conceivable for a Westerner in 1905 or even 2005 (Craik, 1994). The modern student of Western fashion trends might therefore reasonably expect to notice in the clothing choices and styles of twenty-first Westerners ever greater diversity and individuality to notice a kaleidoscopic and multi-coloured efflorescence of personal freedom in fabric and cloth. And, indeed, in many instances in Western society there is a profusion of individual styles mirroring newly liberated individual personalities. Yet, on the other hand, des pite this potential for individuality, the fashion student notices, paradoxically, that Westerners are exhibiting an ever greater homogeneity and similarity in their clothing choice for instance, the ubiquitous presence, amongst certain definable social groups, of trendy brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Zara and FCUK. The principal force behind this homogeneity is argued to be (Miles, 1998 Radford, 1998) the massive and all-consuming power of giant global fashion houses and their resources for mass branding and advertising. To many fashion critics and scholars these hugely powerful companies have come to swamp the potential for personal and individual expression that was made possible by social changes in Europe and America in the past fifty years. In a further paradox, it was these very changes themselves, and the liberation and emancipation of consumer power and choice which they released, which provides the consumer markets and spending-power which make these huge companies possible. In other words, for the gender, class, and social revolutions of the twentieth century to happen this required the protests and emancipation of Western masses; but this very freedom itself created a mass homogeneous market that could be exploited by fashion corporations themselves made possible by these changes. I n   a final paradox, Rosenfeld (1997) and Davis (1993) argue that modern man is free to choose the clothes he wears and so is himself responsible for submitting himself and his individuality to temptations of mass production and consumerism   that surround him. The fascinating question before this literature review is then: why is it   that Westerners, granted at last a large measure of personal freedom for expression, ‘choose’ nonetheless to submit themselves to mass trends and to enslave themselves to perhaps an ever greater extent than when such freedom was not obtainable? Of further interest is the question: how have particular cultural groups, and fashion trends, resisted mass consumerism of fashion, and gone on to use these new freedoms to establish exciting and original expressions of their personalities? Section 2: Sources A few words about the origin and authority of the sources used for this literature review   are perhaps necessary before turning to the main themes of the review.   The principal type of source discussed in this literature review are academic books and journals; in addition, some internet sources are employed also. The academic books referred to in this review are amongst the seminal texts in the literature of fashion and marketing, their authors world-class experts in   their fields, and therefore the reliability and authority of their material is extremely high. The fashion student can have high, if not complete, confidence in his employment of these sources to illustrate his themes and arguments. Likewise, those texts from other fields in this review, such as Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams (Freud, 1900) or Lacan’s Language of the Self (Lacan, 1998), are usually included by critics and scholars in their lists of the most important works of the twentieth-century. They too then may be used by the fashion student with a high degree of trust in their authority and reliability. A note of caution might be sounded however about   the employment of internet sources in any literature review. Whereas the process of publishing work in an academic book or journal is a lengthy one, requiring considerable cost and numerous stages of scrutiny by fellow scholars and experts, thus ensuring the quality of those sources, nonetheless, the standards required for publication on the internet are often lower and less vigorous. The vast profusion material released daily on the internet requires the conscientious student to subject the internet sources he employs to greater scrutiny and doubt than might be the case with academic books or journals published in the traditional paper-based way. Consequently, the internet sources used in this literature review have been vigorously scrutinised and tested for their reliability in the fashion described above.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Section 3: Review The following literature review is discussed according to the following thematic schema in five parts: (1) The Paradox of Individuality and Conformity, (2), Global Trends and World Markets, (3) Semiotic Theories of Fashion Promotion Visual Communication, (4) Popular Cultures and Distinctive Identities, and, (5), Sociological Philosophical   Views of Class, Gender, Social Stereotypes and Cultural Identity. The Paradox of Individuality and Conformity The contemporary situation in Western fashion and personal clothing choice is one of apparently irresolvable paradox: Westerners are today endowed with ever greater personal freedoms, extending naturally to their choice of personal clothing and one would expect this freedom to lead to a plethora and profusion of individual styles and manners of dress: these freedoms should result in less conformity of style than was present in say 1905 when gender, class and social prejudices compelled and forced a person to dress in a particular way and style. Yet, despite these abundant new-found freedoms, Western clothing choice in 2005 seems to display ever greater conformity and homogeneity. That is, Westerners are ‘choosing’ to dress more and more alike one another Westerners’ expression of their personalities through their choice of style is showing ever greater similarities to one another. How then could this be possible? This question is discussed at the general level in great depth by F. Davis (1993) Fashion, Clothing and Identity and by Fiske (1990) in Introduction to Communications Studies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Global Trends World Markets The most persuasive and frequently given answer to the above   question is that the rise of huge fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, Prada, Zara, amongst many others along with their massive resources for branding and advertising, have drowned-out the recently attained freedoms of Western individuals to reflect their personalities in their choice of clothing. This point is powerfully made in D. Crane’s seminal text Fashion and the Social Agenda: Class, Gender and Identity in Clothing. (Crane, 2004). Crane argues that just at the critical historical moment (the end of the 20th Century) when Westerners were finally endowed with greater personal freedoms in fashion and personality expression than ever before, that these freedoms were immediately smothered by forces such as globalization and capitalism which gave birth to vast fashion corporations whose financial resources and advertising capacity have become too great and powerful for individual expr ession to poke through and flower. This point is corroborated and reinforced by numerous other scholars and authorities in fashion and marketing. F. Davis (1993) in Fashion, Culture and Identity, L. Rosenfeld (1997) in Clothing as Communication, and J. Craik (1994) in The Face of Fashion; Cultural Studies in Fashion all endorse Crane’s central premise that individual freedom of personality expression through clothing and style is suffocated by the capitally fuelled force of the major fashion brands to overwhelm this expression through relentless psychological pressure, carried by advertising, to conform to the style and choice ‘imposed’ and ‘decided’ by these companies and not by individuals themselves. M. Barnard in Fashion as Communication (1996) makes an interesting refinement of this basic premise by suggesting, in a further paradoxical statement, that it is the very freedom of gender, class, social status etc., of the past fifty years which has led to ever greater conformity to popular styles and to an even greater imposition of style than existed before such freedoms were possible. In other words, to echo a sentiment expressed by Nietzsche in 1888 (Nietzsche, 1888) and Freud in 1900 (Freud, 1900) human beings have natural herd instincts which are present whether people are free or not, and these instincts generate the need for leadership and imposition from one source or another. Thus, whilst before the 1960’s style conformity was forced upon Westerners by gender and class stereotypes, nonetheless, after the 1960’s when these stereotypes were lifted, Westerners became susceptible to a new ‘authority’, ‘imposition’ and ‘leadershipâ €™ in the form of vast fashion corporations whose choice of style and expression is propagated through intensive branding and advertising. According to this philosophical view, endorsed by Bruce Stella and Pamela Church Gibson (2000) in Fashion Cultures Theories: Explorations and Analysis, the personalities of Westerners today and their choice of expression of their personalities through clothing, is largely decided by fashion corporations and advertising companies thus resulting in the uniformity of style and expression which is so evident from a casual glance at our high-streets today.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Semiotic Theories of Fashion Promotion Visual Communication A interesting example of the practice of a semiotic theory of fashion promotion is that discussed in A. Rhodes’ and R. Zuloago’s paper ‘A Semiotic Analysis of High Fashion Advertising’ published in 2003. The chief motif of Rhodes’ and Zuloago’s work is that ‘Fashion advertising is an excellent example of identity-image producing media’ (Rhodes   Zuloago, 2003: p8). They state at the outset of their paper that ‘The nature of the product is tied directly to identity those objects with which we encase our bodies for public display  ­- and fashion is acknowledged as a cultural language of style’; a little further on they add ‘Taken as a whole, high fashion media and advertising describe a spectrum of identity, unified in general types of signifiers young women, high   status, high sexuality and through the constant repetition and variation of images on these themes serve to create this identity spectrum.â €™ (Rhodes and Zuloago, 2003, p1). Thus, in their paper, Rhodes and Zuloago seek to define the symbiotic relationship between high fashion and the cultural and social identity of one particular social group: young, rich and sexually confident women. Rhodes and Zuloago argue that the advertising campaigns of companies like Prada, Donna Karen, Armani, Dolce Gabanna and others like them, speak so powerfully and seductively to these women, and that the images employed penetrate so deeply into their consciousness and social orientation, that they come to identify their personalities almost wholly with the product. Rhodes and Zulago recognise, nonetheless, that whilst the influence of major fashion brands over social groups like the one mentioned above is immense that these groups too, by their social characteristics and newly liberated personalities, constantly force the fashion brands to invent new styles and designs that evolve to reflect the changing consciousness of these particu lar and individualistic groups (Rhodes Zuloago, 2003: p5). The symbiosis is nearly total; and similar relationships between major brands and other social groups are evident throughout modern Western   culture.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Popular Cultures and Distinctive Identities R. Radford points out in Dangerous Liaison: Art, Fashion and Individualism (1998) that the mass conformity of modern fashion style and personality expression is not of course universal, and many original and fresh styles punk, gothic, ethnic, etc., have arisen from the social freedoms of recent decades, both in reaction to the preceding centuries of restricted expression and also in reaction to the monotonous uniformity of the mass-branded   and consumer-based style. As suggested in the last sentence, Radford distinguishes between styles which are (1) a reaction to the restrictions of former centuries, (2) those which are defiances of the modern branded uniformity, and, (3), those which are a reaction to neither, but rather are healthy and original efflorescences of cultural uniqueness and individual expression. In the first category Radford places the astonishing growth in popularity of ‘gender-liberated’ products like bikinis, short-skirts and casual clothing which were, in other centuries, repressed by the authorities either because of gender prejudices or inequalities, or because of antiquated ideas about the morality or sexual imprudence of certain items and styles of clothing. To take an instance of gender discrimination cited by Radford (Radford, 1998: pp. 142-148), it was not socially or morally permissible for women in former times to wear beach attire (bikinis, swim-suits etc.,) that revealed or celebrated anything of the sensuousness or beauty of the female figure; women were therefore universally condemned (in Western countries) to wear a single type plain, non-sexual beachwear. But since the lifting of this social prejudice and stigma, there has been a profusion of designers, from Gucci and Dolce Gabana to Zara and BHS, who have produced modern designs which allow women to celebrate the sensuality and beauty of   the female figure. Women today enjoy the same rights as men to wear what they like either to the beach, to the disco or to work; thus, in this instance, despite the domination of the fashion brands, women now have the opportunity to, and do indeed exhibit in practice, a greater expression of individuality of personality than was possible or permissible before the last decades. In the second category, Radford places fashion styles like punk and gothic: styles which rebel   against the conformity of modern mass-consumer culture and relish in the controversy and upsetting of convention induced by the difference of their style. Studded clothing, fluorescent coloured hair, male make-up, cross-dressing etc., are rebellions against the usual fashion paradigm and make the personality statement that some people disagree with popular sentiment and convention and express this in clothing styles that are often shocking and scandalous (Barthes, 1983).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the third category are individualistic styles, such as ethnic, which are neither reactions to historical repressions or to modern mass conformity, but which are rather healthy flourishing of individual personality or philosophy. For instance, contemporary Western style permits a greater exhibition of ethnic clothing or pride in national dress than was acceptable fifty years ago. F. Davis argued as early as 1988 in Clothing and Fashion Communication that clothing could be a vehicle for greater racial tolerance and for multi-culturalism and racial integration in modern Western society. A concomitant of this toleration is a celebration and pride in the wearing of clothes of national dress; clothes that display part of the person’s personality repressed for decades.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sociological Philosophical Views of Class, Gender, Social Stereotypes and Cultural Identity Jacques Lacan in Language of the Self (Lacan, 1997) gives a fascinating philosophical and psychological interpretation of the individuality vs. conformity paradox, filtering it the prism of class, gender and social stereotypes, to argue that human beings are essentially language-animals and can be manipulated if one finds the key to the use of this language. Lacan argues in his seminal text Language and the Self (1997) that the social freedoms attained by Westerners in the past half century have given them Westerners unprecedented opportunities to reflect their innermost ‘self’, their basic human constituency, through new cultural media such as television, the arts, and by derivation, fashion and our choice of media. Lacan argues further that the ‘self’ of previously repressed groups such as women, homosexuals, African-Americans and so on is now able to manifest itself in cultural forms that had previously been repressed for centuries, and which are now burs ting out in the diversity of artforms prevalent in our society today. Nonetheless, through his   principal scientific and philosophical investigation into the language-animal, Lacan argues that Westerners have been seduced by the clever and innovative marketing campaigns of the major fashion brands, who use slogans and images to target specific social groups. Thus Lacan explains the phenomenal seduction of modern Western man to the worded slogans of designer labels and celebrity endorsed products. Lacan suggests that the advertising campaigns of major fashion brands seduce the consumer’s unconscious directly and that this explains the phenomenon of mass conformity to such a homogeneous type of personal expression through fashion as is evident in our society.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Section 4: Conclusion In the final analysis, the literature of the fashion and marketing texts on the subject of individuality vs. conformity, and the influence of branding upon this relationship,  Ã‚   reveals the following points. Firstly, that a curious and complex paradox deeply underpins the dynamics between individuality and conformity. To the one side, the liberation of women, homosexuals, formerly repressed racial groups, underprivileged classes and others, in the second half of the twentieth-century, has led to a huge mass of people in Western society who have previously unimaginable freedom to wear whatever styles and types of clothing they believe best express their individuality and uniqueness. For instance, gender prejudices removed, women can now wear trousers ; race prejudices declining, repressed groups can wear a city suit or opera tuxedo; in many other instances Westerners are free to dress as however their mood, philosophy and occupation inclines them. On the other hand, the ceaseless ascent to prominence and immense power of the great fashion houses and fashion brands has led to a blanket of homogeneity being spread over the personal expression of many Western consumers. Philosophers like Lacan, and psychologists like Freud and Nietzsche, suggest   that man has an innate herd instinct that compels him to conform to the trends of the crowd and to seek a higher authority and leadership to decide and impose his personal expression upon him. According to this view, despite the newly attained freedom of Westerners, they have substituted for the old imposition of gender and class barriers the new authority of the mass product and the famous brand. Thus ‘personal choice’ and ‘freedom of expression of personality’ through clothing are   merely illusions that do not   correspond to modern reality. Furthermore, the conformity of modern Western dress is, according to D. Crane (Crane, 2004), even more intense today than in other centuries, s ince in 2005 particular styles and mass produced clothing items Crane gives Levi’s jeans as an example permeate all classes and genders of society and therefore have a ‘total sphere of conformity and influence’; in other centuries a particular item or style of clothing would only dominate one social group; today brands like Nike, Zara, Levi’s, Armani and so on, can penetrate the personal expression of every social group from top to bottom. Nonetheless, the flourishing of reactionary and rebellious fashions expressions such as punk and gothic, as well as the profusion of small individualistic designers and such styles as ethnic suggest that the mass produced fashion items have not and will not dominate totally and may even be forced back a little as personal expression is allowed to bloom in the new forms and clothing styles of the twenty-first century. Our final words might be these: that the question of conformity vs. individuality now hangs in a delicate balance and equilibrium, that Western society pivots at a vital moment in the history of its ability to be able to define itself. The opportunity exists for   Westerners to dazzle the world with an efflorescence of new styles of clothing that reflect the cultural diversity, racial integration, and class assimilation achieved in the past fifty years. The danger remains nonetheless that these achievements and potential expression will be swamped by the relentless mar ch of mass consumer fashion and our seduction to it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Section 5: Bibliography   Academic Books, Journals Articles Barnard, M. (1996) Fashion as Communication, Routledge Barthes, R. (1967, 1983). The Fashion System, New York: Hill and Wang.   Bruzzi Stella Church, P.G. (2000). Fashion Cultures Theories, Explorations and Analysis, Routledge Craik, J. (1994) The Face of Fashion; Cultural Studies in Fashion, London: Routledge. Crane, D. (2004). Fashion and Its Social Agenda: Class, Gender and Identity in Clothing. Oxford   University Press, Oxford.    Davis, F. (1985). Clothing and fashion as communication, in Solomon, M. R. (ed.) The Psychology of Fashion, Massachusetts: Lexington Books. Davis, F. (1993). Fashion, Culture and Identity, Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Du Gay, P. (1996). Consumption and Identity at Work, London: Sage.   Fiske, J. (1990). Introduction to Communication Studies, London: Routledge Freud, S. (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Penguin, London. Lacan, J. (Reprinted 1997). Language of the Self, Baltimore, MD.: Johns Hopkins University Press Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self and Society, From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviourist, Chicago, IL.: University of Chicago Press Miles, S. (1998). Consumerism as a Way of Life, London: Sage Publications Nietzsche, F. (1888). Ecce Homo. Peter Gast Books, Basel. Quirk, R. (Et al.). (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Radford, R., Dangerous Liaison: Art, Fashion and Individualism, Fashion Theory, vol. 2, issue 2, Oxford: Berg, 1998, pp. 151-64.   Rosenfeld, L. B. and Plax, T. G. (1997). Clothing as communication, Journal of Communication, 27: 24-31. Smith, A. (1759/1976). The Theory of the Moral Sentiments, Edinburgh.   Internet Sources Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self and Society, From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviourist, Chicago, IL.: University of Chicago Press http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Mead/MINDSELF.HTML   Smith, A. (1759/1976). The Theory of the Moral Sentiments, Edinburgh.   http://www.adamsmith.org/smith/tms-intro.htm   Rhodes, A. Zuloago, R. (2003). A semiotic Analysis of High Fashion Advertising.   www.garhodes.com/Semiotics_of_Fashion.pdf Feminism: Sexism and Society Feminism: Sexism and Society Feminism as a concept is one with a variety of different views. While to some it may seem like a rightful assertion of what they believe society should be, some believe it to be unrealistic and too idealistic. They believe that by relying too much on the principle of feminism, they are overdoing it, thereby resulting in the loss of the effect of the concept as such. Feminism as a concept emerged during the late 19th century, where the important demands made were that of more rights in the public sphere, the right to vote, the right to own property, and obtain a reasonable education. (footnote book). As time went on, and women felt more and more comfortable with asserting their rights openly, newer topics like sexuality, reproduction, domestic violence, domestic labour etc, came into prevalence (footnote book). Feminists then believed that the major thing lacking in society was the fact that masculine ideas were being used in both the political and social fields. (footnote book). The concept also aims to be relevant in the present day context. Feminists have tried to tackle issues such as single mothers handling a household, lower wages, especially in the present day, poverty and lack of education for most women, even today.(4) Feminism in India has also been gaining some momentum with the new age. Womens magazines, women oriented television shows etc, are helping this new wave of feminism in the country. This paper attempts to look at the variety of ways that woman oriented mediums aim to promote feminism in our country. It also tries to decide whether these mediums are promoting or in fact contesting the concept of feminism. WHAT IS FEMINISM? Feminism is basically an idea that aims to end all forms of sexism that exist in the world presently. There are however, several variations of what this sexism actually is, and the different ways by which it can be resolved. Also argued, is the role of a man or a woman in society, and what implications each gender has in society. Nevertheless, the feminist perspective provides interesting views on matters such as reproduction, sexuality, labour, poverty, racial discrimination The meaning of the term feminism has differed greatly throughout the world. While in the U.S and the U.K it started out as being mainly a political wave, demanding for the right to vote, in other parts of the world writers have mainly looked at the injustices faced by women, although the nature of these injustices may not entirely be certain. In 1892, the first International Womens Conference was held in Paris. Only after this, did the word feminism start to be used in its serious sense in society. Second and third wave feminism was mainly generated to look at the shortcomings of earlier theories of feminism and avoid the domination of ‘white women, in the field. A sincere attempt was to be made to look at the views of coloured women and others as well. An attempt to help the situation would be to look at feminism as a set of ideas and beliefs rather than looking at it as a political ideal. A lot of occurrences take place even outside the political sphere that ascertains the need to improve a womans position in society. Although feminism may have started as focusing only on the legal and political aspects of a womans life, it has broadened to the more social issues now. Oppression is the feminists key issue. Feminists fight to resolve oppression and ensure justice. Oppression is unjust and a woman, like any other person in society has a right to ensure that they obtain justice. Another area where feminists argue the need for equality is the economic sector. It is believed that with the increase in economic equality, the society can become a better place to live in. However, it may also be said, that at times sexism also works against men. There are instances where men also may come under the radar of being victims of sexism. But, it is commonly agreed upon that women usually suffer the brunt of inequality more than the men do. Sexism, also just does not examine several harms that are committed, but looks at the fact that someone is harmed because she is a woman. There is no one single form of oppression that a woman faces, and that several forms exist and manifest themselves in a variety of ways even today. Even though there are variations in the way feminists differentiate themselves from one another, an agreed framework is being sought after to monitor equality and growth of women. There will most definitely be a set of principles that all women will look to fight and ensure parity for women in society. Such principles may include, equal wages, reproduction etc. (book 15). One of the main requests of feminists has also been to give women more recognition in the public sphere. This is the only way that women would be looked as being worthy enough to be respected even at home. (15). Liberalisation, also to a certain extent helped the cause of feminism. Liberal thought had its roots in rendering individual rights and giving an individual all the importance as may be necessary. The argument of being treated at an equal level with the men in society, sprung mainly from the liberal theory. Since the liberal theory believed that the only just and fair system was one that did not discriminate among individuals under any circumstance, feminists adopted this idea to their advantage. (26) Thus, feminism is a doctrine aimed at ensuring that women are treated on par with men in society. Although the interpretations of this doctrine may vary from person to person, the main idea is common to all- that is the progress of women in the society at the same level as men. FEMINISM IN INDIA India, as a country from time long before, has been neglected in the sense that it is a third world country and is capable of offering only so much. The concept of feminism holding a high ground in such a country would not be feasible. Womens Studies in India have been looked as a socio cultural subject as well as an effort to trace the role of women in the country and how it has changed. Footnote http://books.google.co.in/books?id=YICroPrSyz4Cprintsec=frontcoverdq=feminism+indiasig=3ws6hFGtDrSM4hgxXZD6cknaKOU#PPA3,M1 As the 19th century dawned in India women were more open to creating new roles for themselves, some that men had not thought about creating for them. Pg 6. The advent of the colonial rule was what proved to be most influential to the feminist movement in the country. With the coming of the colonial rule, women were exposed to what could be a life suited for them. There was a lot of debate concerning the fact that very difference between a man and a woman is what made women more apt for social roles, like that of a mother. However, women started organizing campaigns and joined organizations, their role as a mother was used to argue the fact that for this very reason they should be given access to education and overall emancipation. Also, during the colonial rule, Gandhi had an effect on the growing perception of feminism in the country. He was hailed as the founder of the Indian feminist movement. His definitions of the qualities of a woman were used by a variety of women during the pre- independence feminist period. Women during the pre- independence period based most of their theories on the likeness rather than the difference in ideas they might have. In post- independent India feminism achieved a slightly higher status than before. Women here asserted their rights to be treated equally and fairly within society. They dismissed the need for gender based structures in society and division of labour based on sex. They believed that there existed only a biological difference between men and women and that under no circumstance should that affect the ability of a woman to be able to perform on par with men in the society. The role of being a ‘mother and a ‘daughter was widely emphasized in the earlier Indian times. This however changed and became more to do with depicting the helplessness of these women. There were pamphlets, exhibitions held to show the vulnerability of a woman and how it was being exploited by all people in society. This in turn led to feminism being more open and resulting in there being a change of the image of a woman from someone helpless to someone economically strong and independent. While in pre- independent India it was accepted that a woman was socially backward and had only a certain fixed place in society, in the mid seventies, this changed drastically. All issues regarding unequal wages, pushing women into unskilled areas of labour were sought to be contested fiercely. It was believed that no woman, especially in that time was to be subjected to inequality. Another reason why the issue of feminism gained heavy importance was that by nature, the Indian society was male dominated and most causes of problem arose out of this very difference. The sphere of what feminism would also look to abolish was also greatly widened. The body of a woman, which had been looked at, socially, as something very disposable was now treated with much more respect. Even legally attempts were made to provide solace and justice to those women who had been raped, that had not earlier been available. This was further broadened into marital rape and rape of prostitutes alike. Women were to be treated as rightful members of society and had to be treated with equal dignity and respect. Towards the latter part of the twentieth century, women were to be given the right of self determination. They were looked as being capable of making their own decisions and therefore should be given a right to make all major decisions themselves. After independence attempts were also made by the congress to make sure that women got equality under the constitution. Feminists were in fact the first ones to start and recognize the need to codify personal laws in the country. Suggestions were made even by Dr. B.R Ambedkar to make sure that women were given a strong status in society. The age of consent to marriage was increased; the age of when a woman can be married was also increased. Several reforms were also introduced to ensure the right of a woman to a divorce and property. (96) The Hindu Marriage Act, The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act were also seen as being significant in ensuring all personal laws were codified and women had a right to claim their rights even in a court of law.Movements like the Shahada movement also became popular after the rise of feminism. The shahada movement aimed at resolving domestic violence, especially in the low down areas of society. If a man beat his woman up, he had to apologise to her in public.(101) In addition to this, there were also anti-price rise demonstrations in Bombay and Bihar. With the advent of such movements, women became more comfortable with trying and portraying themselves in public and showing that they were also capable of doing something revolutionary in society. (102)Issues were raised to contest that a family was primarily looked at as a unit of consumption than a unit of production. Furthermore, women were looked at as being the main source of this consumption. So, whenever there was an economic problem, with respect to goods, a woman was always deemed to be at fault. (104). In modern India also such issues of a womans position in society is taken into account. Even now there are disparities regarding whether a woman should be allowed to work and step out of the house or not. It was also realized that what maybe feminism for women in the urban community may not be the same for those in the lower or rural communities. What has been analysed by many women today as being problems in the urban society may differ from those that are considered to be problems in the rural communities. A woman from the labour or working class of society will have a larger set of problems than say a woman living in the city with a job.(106) Therefore, although there are irregularities regarding the actual position of an Indian woman in society, one thing that is certain, is that their role has been increasing steadily in society. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=68xTBT1-H4ICprintsec=frontcoverdq=feminism+indiasig=Y6Dw_kI47maXDQqZ1UGuIJDE7TM#PPA104,M1 WOMENS MAGAZINES IN INDIA Food, gossip, relationship advice, beauty tips, you name it; a womans magazine has it. With the new age of liberal women, womens magazines are also gaining huge popularity among the masses of women. The womens magazines are an ideal way for a woman to spend her free time, and at the same time get advice on something she probably would not find elsewhere. These magazines have become so popular today that every bookstore and every library has copies of them. No woman, in todays day would deny having read any of these magazines at one point. There are several leading womens magazines in the country now. Femina, Womens Era, Verve, Good Housekeeping, to name a few are the leading magazines sold in India currently. http://explore.oneindia.in/media/magazine/womens/ The trend of womens magazines was started mainly to infuse a new perspective in a male dominated society,as mentioned by a recently bought about magazine- Feministing. http://feministing.com/archives/004002.html The issues dealt with in these magazines are that of educational opportunities for women, food, maintaining a home, relationship advice, advice to single mothers etc. The magazines look at issues that otherwise a woman would not be too comfortable talking about with to her family members. These magazines also provide suitable solutions for various issues a woman may face. For example the magazine Femina, has divided its magazine into various sections, which include- food, health, beauty, relationship, homemaking, travel etc. Beauty and health sections, give you tips on how to maintain a healthy figure and to eat right. The relationship section gives you advice on all matters regarding relationships including how to start one, how to end one, issues regarding mother-daughter conflicts. Travel destinations are also explored thus givinG http://www.femina.in/

Role Of Mathematical Programming

Role Of Mathematical Programming Introduction In order to survive and lead todays highly competitive and demand driven market, there is a great deal of pressure on management to make economical decisions. One of the essential managerial skills is the ability to allocate and utilize resources appropriately in the efforts of achieving the optimal performance efficiently. Mathematical models have long played an important role in management and economics but it is only in the last few decades that management per se has received the sort of rigorous study that permits the application of mathematics. It is one of the primary tools used by operations researchers in making decisions. Mathematical programming Mathematical programming is the OR technique that has been most widely applied in management and economics. It has been used to solve a considerable range of problems in financial markets forming portfolios of equities, bonds, loans and currencies, generalized hedging, capital budgeting, cash management, insurance management, equity and bond index tracking, estimating the implied risk neutral probabilities for options, designing leveraged leases, computing the maximum loss sustained by shareholders, spotting insolvent banks, sorting out the failure of a stock exchange and understanding the forces leading to financial innovations. It deals with models comprising of an objective function and a set of constraints. An objective function is a mathematical expression of the quantity to be maximized or minimized. For example, manufacturers may wish to maximize production or minimize costs, advertisers may wish to maximize a products exposure, and financial analysts may wish to maximize rate of return. Constraints are mathematical expressions of restrictions that are placed on potential values of the objective function. For example, production may be constrained by the total amount of labor at hand and machine production capacity, an advertiser may be constrained by an advertising budget, and an investment portfolio may be restricted by the allowable risk. Symbolically, mathematical models in operations research may be viewed generally as determining the values of the decision variables which will Optimize subject to The function is the objective function while represents the constraint, whereis constant. The constraintsare the non-negativity constraints. In general,optimization of the objective function signifies either amaximization or minimizationof this function. The types of the objective and constraint functions of a mathematical model depend directly on the systems which they represent. Thus, these functions may be linear or non-linear. Also the decision variables may be continuous or discrete and the parameters of the system may be deterministic or probabilistic. The result of this diversity in system representation is the development of a corresponding number of optimization techniques suitable for solving these models. These mainly include linear programming, integer programming, goal programming, non-linear programming, dynamic programming, and stochastic programming. The Mathematical Programming Approach There is an orderly sequence of steps that is followed for a systematic formulation, solution and implementation of a mathematical programming model. These steps could be applied to the development of any management science model. Although the practical applications of mathematical programming cover a broad range of problems, it is possible to distinguish five general stages that the solution of any mathematical programming should follow. These stages along with their main characteristics are as follows : A. Formulating the Model The first step to be taken in a practical application is the development of the model. The following are the elements that define the model structure : Selection of a time horizon Selection of decision variables and parameters Definition of constraints Selection of the objective function B. Gathering the Data After defining the model, the data required to define the parameters of the model must be collected. This involves the data regarding the objective function coefficients, the constraint coefficients and the right hand side of the constraints. C. Obtaining an Optimal Solution Due to the lengthy nature of calculations required to obtain the optimal solution of a mathematical programming model, a digital computer is invariably used in this stage of model implementation. Nowadays, all the computer manufacturers offer highly efficient codes to solve mathematical programming models. D. Applying Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity analysis, also called post-optimum analysis, is performed on the optimal solutions obtained for the linear programming problems originally formulated. This analysis is important for several reasons : Data uncertainity Dynamic considerations Input errors E. Testing and Implementing the Solution Once the optimal solution is obtained, it should be tested fully to ensure that the model clearly represents the real situation. The importance of conducting sensitivity analysis as part of this testing effort has already been discussed. If the solution is unacceptable, new refinements have to be incorporated in the model and new solutions obtained until the mathematical programming model is adequate. When the testing is over, the model can be implemented. Implementation usually means solving the model with real data to reach a decision or a set of decisions. Types of Mathematical Programming A. Linear programming Linear programming is one of the most successful disciplines within the field of Operational Research. It arose as a mathematical model developed during the second world war to plan expenditures and returns in order to reduce costs to the army and increase losses to the enemy. It was kept secret until 1947. Post war, many industries found its use in their daily planning. Linear programming is a technique for making decisions under certainity i.e.; when all the courses of options available to an organization are known in advance and the objective of the firm along with its constraints are quantified. Out of all the possible alternative that course of action is chosen that which yields the optimal results. Mathematically, linear programming problem calls for finding non-negativeso as to maximize a linear functionsubject to a system of linear equations : There are two extensions of Linear programming which are as follows : a) Integer Linear programming The Integer Linear Programming (ILP) is an extension of Linear programming where all of the variables must only take on integer values. b) Mixed Integer Linear Programming The Mixed integer Linear Programming (MILP) is also an extension of the Linear programming, but some of the variables must take on integer values while others take on real values. B. Quadratic programming Quadratic Programming is a special type of mathematical optimization problem. It is the problem of optimizing (minimizing or maximizing) a quadratic function of several variables subject to linear constraints on these variables. C. Goal Prgramming Goal Programming is promulgated as an aid for decision-making problems with multiple, possibly conflicting goals. In a typical goal programming model, each goal is formulated as a constraint. There are two variables associated with each goal (each constraint), over-achievement deviation and under-achievement deviation. The value of these two deviational variables measure how well the corresponding goal is accomplished. An objective function in a goal programming formulation is usually a linear function in deviational variables. Specifically, the objective function takes the weighted summation of the deviational variables. The weights assigned to a deviational variable indicate the importance of the corresponding goal in decision-making process. The objective is thus to minimize the weighted sum of deviations from goal achievement, i.e., to accomplish the best overall achievement. D. Dynamic Programming Dynamic Programming is a mathematical programming technique which fragments a large problem into several smaller problems. The approach is to solve the all the smaller, easier problems individually in order to reach a solution to the original problem. This technique is useful for making decisions that consist of several steps, each of which also requires a decision. In addition, it is assumed that the smaller problems are not independent of one another given they contribute to the larger question. E. Stochastic Programming Many optimization problems are described by uncertain parameters. When these uncertain parameters can be considered as random variables and have known probability distributions, new optimization problems can be formulated that involve expected values of these random variables. In this manner, a new problem (called the deterministic equivalent) is obtained that removes the uncertainty and results in a deterministic optimization problem. This is the approach of Stochastic Programming. Application areas of Mathematical Modeling The applications of mathematical modeling in management and economics today are so manifold that it is difficult to list them down. A few of the major application areas of mathematical models are as follows :

Citizen Kane: Charles Foster Kane - Who Was He? :: essays research papers

Citizen Kane: Charles Foster Kane - Who Was He? The story of Citizen Kane drew many people to the theatres since they wanted to find out who this Kane fellow is or was. It is unarguably one of the best films ever produced. Orson Wells portrays Kane as mysterious person but also a sad person. The different accounts are shown throughout the movie through the reporter wanting to find out who or what Rosebud is. Rosebud was Kane's last dying words. The first person the reporter Jerry Thompson sees is the owner of Walter Parks Thatcher's estate and holdings. Thatcher is long dead and who? visits his library and is allowed to inspect the financier's memoirs in manuscript. Through Thatcher's words we see Kane as a boy playing with his sled on a snow-swept Colorado farm. Through his mother, the boy has just inherited a great fortune. Unable to settle his bill, a prospector who boarded with the Kanes left behind stock certificates that make Mrs. Kane the sole owner of one of the world's great silver mines. She then makes her son the ward of the bank that administers her estate, and Thatcher, whom the angry young Kane bashes with a sled, takes the boy East to be raised. The movie then shows Kane growing up, making life miserable for Thatcher. The mature Kane decides to take direct control of a small, struggling newspaper, and immediately begins using it to attack Thatcher and others among America's financial elite. This displays the mystery with Kane as he wants to expand on something small into something big, but we don't know what. The next account was given by Bernstein, Kane's devoted assistant. He explains the beginnings as a newspaper czar and his takeover of the New York Enquirer, in which he fired its editor, hired an expensive, top-notch staff, and enlisted his college friend Jedediah Leland as the drama critic. Kane is at first a crusader for the understanding, opening his first editorial with a "declaration of principles." He becomes a champion of the little person, hyping his circulation with juicy scandals, crime exposes, etc. In a surprise move Kane marries Emily Norton, the president's niece. For the first time here we see Kane starting a love story. However this wasn't to last and it paved the way for the second-love. The reporter then visits a half-drunk Susan Alexander in a nightclub. She recalls her meeting and eventual affair with the married Kane and their discovery by Leland, who is led to their love nest by Kane's political rival, "Big Jim" Gettys. Until that point, Kane is heavily favored to defeat Gettys in

Thomas Alva Edison Essays -- Essays Papers

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison was one of the greatest inventors. He was a smart man. Thomas invented many things such as the light bulb and phonograph. Without the light bulb we would still be using candles and lanterns like they did many years ago. Although Thomas was deaf he worked hard and never gave up. Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He had many family members. He had a father named Samuel Odgen Edison and a mother named Nancy Elliott Edison. Thomas' mother pulled him from school because Thomas' teacher called him a"retard." Nancy Edison taught her son at home. Thomas has six siblings and he was the youngest child in the Edison family. Thomas was interested in many things as a child. At age twelve Thomas got a job at the Grand Trunk Railroad. While working at Grand Trunk Railroad Thomas was a typesetter, press operator, editor, and publisher of his very own newspaper called the "Herald." Thomas got his news for his newspaper from telegraphers at other train stations. Thomas liked many things, but mathematics was not one of them. He enjoyed reading books about science and philosophy. His favorite book ever was Isaac Newtown's Principia Mathematica. Thomas was interested in inventing the light bulb. Thomas was a scientist as a kid. He like to test many things. When he was young he built a laboratory in the family's basement. Thomas did experiments he found in science books and got jars and che...

Subculture Essay -- Punk Subcultures England Essays

Subculture There is something about the ideology of a subculture that sparks an interest in me. Maybe it is intriguing due to its members’ originality, courage to stand up for beliefs, or freely expressing their own self- identity. A subculture forms by individuals taking a risk, separating themselves from the mainstream, and forming their own distinctive norms, not caring what the â€Å"normal† members of the mainstream society think of them. Or do they care? Maybe that is the exact statement a subculture is making. Maybe these individuals are forming these groups so that people will care. Maybe their rebellious attitude is a final, somewhat desperate approach to getting that response. The images being portrayed in most subcultures are indeed attention- getting. Perhaps then, attention- seeking is the main goal of these groups. In analyzing the specific subculture of â€Å"punk†, these questions seem to fall towards the greater issue of â€Å"external vs. internal† . External indicates that this subculture is making a statement, merely through an image culminated on the exterior. Internal suggests a deeper, often political, and vigorously bold statement, such as protesting for citizens’ rights, rebelling against class structure, or publicly claiming a self- identity. Also, was punk a movement that said what it wanted to, and is now only a historical memory of the past? Or is America carrying out the motives of what England’s punk culture did at the time? The subculture defined as â€Å"punk† originated in England in 1976, with its end in 1981. There were several reasons for the emergence of such a radical movement. Its popularity grew day by day, with millions of kids who could identify with these people. Millions of kids, not only from the... ...culture today falls directly onto the external, with little substance holding it up. Punk has allowed it to become a community of elitists, and has become as restrictive as the mainstream culture they once so strongly opposed (Chamberlain). In the end we can only ask, although the official era of punk was over in England in1981, is punk really dead? Or has it simply evolved from an internal, deeper movement into an external, superficial image? Perhaps throughout the last three decades, the image taken from the initial punk has evolved into a style that is merely external. Maybe that is all that original punks would want. Works Cited The Quintessential Punk†. Bryn Chamberlain. Dec. 1995. 2 April 2004. . Wells, Steven. Punk: Young, Loud, and Snotty.† Thunder’s Mouth Press NY, NY. 2004. Subculture Essay -- Punk Subcultures England Essays Subculture There is something about the ideology of a subculture that sparks an interest in me. Maybe it is intriguing due to its members’ originality, courage to stand up for beliefs, or freely expressing their own self- identity. A subculture forms by individuals taking a risk, separating themselves from the mainstream, and forming their own distinctive norms, not caring what the â€Å"normal† members of the mainstream society think of them. Or do they care? Maybe that is the exact statement a subculture is making. Maybe these individuals are forming these groups so that people will care. Maybe their rebellious attitude is a final, somewhat desperate approach to getting that response. The images being portrayed in most subcultures are indeed attention- getting. Perhaps then, attention- seeking is the main goal of these groups. In analyzing the specific subculture of â€Å"punk†, these questions seem to fall towards the greater issue of â€Å"external vs. internal† . External indicates that this subculture is making a statement, merely through an image culminated on the exterior. Internal suggests a deeper, often political, and vigorously bold statement, such as protesting for citizens’ rights, rebelling against class structure, or publicly claiming a self- identity. Also, was punk a movement that said what it wanted to, and is now only a historical memory of the past? Or is America carrying out the motives of what England’s punk culture did at the time? The subculture defined as â€Å"punk† originated in England in 1976, with its end in 1981. There were several reasons for the emergence of such a radical movement. Its popularity grew day by day, with millions of kids who could identify with these people. Millions of kids, not only from the... ...culture today falls directly onto the external, with little substance holding it up. Punk has allowed it to become a community of elitists, and has become as restrictive as the mainstream culture they once so strongly opposed (Chamberlain). In the end we can only ask, although the official era of punk was over in England in1981, is punk really dead? Or has it simply evolved from an internal, deeper movement into an external, superficial image? Perhaps throughout the last three decades, the image taken from the initial punk has evolved into a style that is merely external. Maybe that is all that original punks would want. Works Cited The Quintessential Punk†. Bryn Chamberlain. Dec. 1995. 2 April 2004. . Wells, Steven. Punk: Young, Loud, and Snotty.† Thunder’s Mouth Press NY, NY. 2004.