The Family That Walks on All Fours Essay Example for Free

The Family That Walks on All Fours Essay In The Family that Walks on All Fours, a documentary by PBS NOVA, a genetic anomaly was discovered in a remote location in Turkey. A family of twenty-one, two parents and nineteen children, six of the children were born quadrupedal. The diagnosis was a debate between reverse evolution and a mental deficiency in the cerebellum; both of which deal with genetics. However, it was not debatable that many key factors such as inbreeding amongst close relatives, isolation, the nature of the genes involved, and the role of environment and culture on the expression of the gene. Inbreeding amongst many species is common and not usually deleterious, but with the complexity of the human genome increases the chance of mutations. The reason inbreeding is common amongst many animals is because of assortative mating, which is a reproductive isolating mechanism in which a mate is chosen based upon certain specifications deemed valuable to the species. This is also a form of pre-zygotic selection. In the case of the family observed the parents were found to be first cousins, which is unusual for members of our species to mate when that closely related. One of the potential reasons for why this inbreeding could have happened is the geographical isolation. The community is in essence allopatric to the neighboring towns since that sort of travel is unfeasible to their lifestyle. It is unlikely that this family is a â€Å"genetic throwback† or a â€Å"missing link† and it was almost offensive to the family to act as if they were in reverse evolution, especially with the culture of the surrounding community. Throwing around labels like these are not helpful to a family in need of help of medical assistance so they are not seen as demons or monsters. However, this family could provide critical information about mobility in regards to the genome. MRI scans suggested that the brothers and sisters have a form of cerebellar ataxia. The condition affects the brains cerebellum, which is located at the top of the neck and is associated with balance and muscle coordination. Since it has been discovered, according to the video, that there is a basic set of â€Å"blueprints† odds are there is a gene for cerebral development. If the gene associated with cerebral development could be located it could not only help this family but many others with diffe rent cerebral defects as well. Due to the culture, the oldest brother taught himself to walk upright. With assistance and physical therapy majority of the affected siblings have been able to begin to walk upright. Some conclusions that can be drawn would be that this quadrupedalism is a recessive since only five out of nineteen children are affected. It cannot be sex linked for many reasons, one of which being that three daughters and two sons were affected. It is possible by definition that it could be a lethal allele in the aspect that there was a miscarriage and it clearly interferes with essential genes, but it probably is not. Hopefully continued research can lead to further insight into what genes are involved with this condition and more knowledge about cerebral development, motor function, and evolution.

Strategic Planning: Sony Corporation

Strategic Planning: Sony Corporation Strategy planning concern the future it is the process of obtaining the goals set by the management for the company in for the future and how they can be achieve. Strategic planning process its a wide process which looks at the wider picture and usually its flexible when it comes to achievement of goals for the organization the process developed some goals for middle level and lover level management to achieved and works on the strategic plans for the future based on the achievement of the goals set for the middle and lover management in short it can be say that strategic planning is the planning of the future for the company. Based on the above definition the company of Sony will be look with regards to its strategic planning in the past, current and future. Sony:- Sony its a Japanese company which has its headquarter based in Minato. It is one of the largest electronic product manufacturers in the world. The company Sony has many products in the market from electronic appliances for home to mobile phones and play stations which is used by many people around the world, the company has established itself in the markets of all continents whether is America or Asia, Sonys products are used by many consumers with a confidence in them. For the purpose of this assignment the strategies of Sony will be discussed which were used by the company in the past and with regards to that the current strategies will be look and based on the analysis of past and current strategies the future strategies will be identified. 1990 to 2000:- Sony always tries to differentiate its products from the competitors and provide its customers with latest technology from CD players to mobile phones the strategy at this stage of Sony was to provide its customers with over the top technologies . The company use many strategies to make success some of them were successful and some were not the company was also subject to some restructuring as a part of its strategy by looking at the company restructuring processes over the years in this period it can be seen that the company Sony was not to the mark when choosing its strategies the company has to change the strategies quite number of times at the time in 90s the strategy of Sony seems like working with different strategies and see which one is working for them. In 1993 Sony introduced its customers with Mini Disc format which was an alternative to Philips Digital Compact Cassette after this introduction the company adopt the strategy to promote its own audio compression technologies under the brand name of ATRAC it was an attempt to go against the widely used format of MP3 at that time and beside that Sony also try to challenge the industry standard Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound format with its newer and more advance sound format called SDDS (Sony Dynamite Digital Sound) while the Dolby Digital was proving six audio channels at that time Sony Dynamite Digital Sound provide its customers with 8 channels of audio. This new format of Sony also had the feature of providing the users of the system a backup system using having mirrors arrays of bit on both side of the film which provide reliability to the users if the film get damage on one side it became an instant hit among the customers but after a few years it was not in that much demand due to being overshadowed by the home theatre system of Dolby Digital 5.1 system which reduces the sale of Sony systems but at that time Sony did nothing to compete with the system with its own home theatre system which was design to sale in the motion picture industry. In 1998 Sony introduce its memory stick format flesh memory cards to be use in Sonys digital cameras and portable music players which was on the format on SD card format which was adopt many competitors in the industry, it provide the users an opportunity to save their data on those memory sticks and can save up to 1000 pictures and songs on that small device it grow popular among the people at that time and its still widely used in many products this was the result of Sony strategic planning which always focuses on providing the customers latest technologies so the customers preferred the company more than the competitors, Sony also work with other manufacturer such as Philips in developing or working on new products and by doing this the company was able to grow in the industry. Despite the success in Sony planning the company was subject to many restructuring due to change in policy and some of the strategies not working and resulting in a loss the problem can be seen that at that time the planning of Sony was very aggressive and the company was trying to grow its market share fast which result in some plan getting failed inconsistency can be another reason in the planning of Sony because the world of music and electronics devices change rapidly everyday and every other month new products come into the market making the old one unwanted, while the competitors were developing new technologies whether its in MPÂ £ player or home theatre systems Sony did not tried to compete with them with updating their current product at that time. 2000 to 2010:- Over the years from 2000 to 2010 Sony developed many products which can be widely seen in the market and most of them are dominating the market now some of the products are Blue Ray Discs:- The blue ray discs by Sony are a popular product and it is now widely used by many people whether it is in movies or games the introduction of blue ray DVDS allowed the users to enjoyed the movies in better qualities and it has more data storage capacity than normal DVDs . The introduction of blue ray discs help Sony to captured the market from Toshiba HD TVS and due to that the company Sony was able to have increased its market share compare to the competitor Toshiba. Sony Vaio:- Sony introduces its range of laptops under the name of Sony Vaio which is a stylish laptop and come under many colours, Sony spend lots of its money on the marketing of the laptop which like all the other products of Sony became an instant hit and even today many people like to prefer Sony Vaio over the laptops of its competitors such as Toshiba and Acer due to the features it provides and also due to its stylish looks. In August 2006 Sony and Dell had to recall many batteries due to being sued by a couple in April over exploding laptop batteries which were result to overheating and overpower. Sony admitted the batteries had some flaws which could result in batteries overheating and catching fire it affected the reputation of Sony badly and many of the other laptop manufacturers such as Acer and Toshiba had to send back the batteries they bought from Sony and also considered to ask for compensation as it was also claimed by a Japanese newspaper that Sony was aware of the flaw in battery and did not do anything to prevent it or to study the problem fully. Play Station:- The first play station was release by Sony in 1994 to compete against other gaming console in the market and it provide the gamers an opportunity to enjoy the games at better quality and better sound and the gamer enjoyed it. In 2006 Sony release play station 2 which was more updated and has many better feature than play station 1 it was an attempt to compete with other competitors in the market which were Microsofts Xbox live and Nintendos WII later on the Sony introduced play station 3 with much more graphics and better gaming experience for the gamers Sony also has developed the play station 3 can be used to access internet and to play blue ray movies and just like Nintendo WII it provide the gamers an interactive experience when playing the games and this has been a huge part of the console success. Mobile Phones:- Sony also has its own brand of mobile phones which were used widely mainly in Asia and the company also introduced the first mobile phone with 12 mega pixel camera in it beside that Sony also introduce one of its famous walkman mobile phone lines which were W11i and W880i in 2007 and 2008 and they had a music system build in it and were also provide the customers a chance to connect to the internet while listening to their favourite music the product was an instant hit and Sony also spend well plan time on its marketing campaign and use celebrities in their adverts which attract many customers and the Sony Ericson phones were used by many music lovers. Current Strategies Of Sony:- After discussing the past strategies of Sony it can be seen that the company emphasis on providing the customers with best technologies and marketing its products efficiently but they did had some fail strategy in the past as well it effects its reputation. Besides, in order to regain Sonys competitive advantages, they appoint the first foreign chairman, Howard Stringer to head the company with the aim to secure Sonys main ground and hope that an outsider will assist Sony to think outside the box. As Hamel Prahalad (1994) suggest, intellectual leadership are essential to develop industry foresight, anticipating which trends are likely to emerge, so it is important to build Sonys new core competence to shape the industry. However, Priem and Butler (2001) have shown that the Resources Based View, as currently constituted, contains a theory of sustainability but not a theory of competitive advantage (i.e., value creation).They argue that simply advising practitioners to obtain rare and valuable resources in order to achieve competitive advantages and, further that those resources should be hard to imitate and non-substitutable is not very helpful in providing practical help (Johnson et al, 2005: p155). After all the fail strategies and their affects on Sonys reputation the company now working on developing the reputation for that purpose Sony employed chairman from their own country Japan and also a foreigner chairman to make their strategies work. In the current weaknesses of Sony it can be seen that they had problems with their management and leadership styles which were more concern about getting the tasks done instead of defining the ways for the teams to how to obtain the tasks and what resources should be used. In order to understand the current business strategy of Sony it will be wise to look at their corporate statement which state Our companies are known for creating products that enrich peoples lives. Through Sony Corporation of America and its operating companies Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment we are also dedicated to improving peoples lives. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, funding research to cure devastating diseases, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment and actively encouraging employee volunteerism.(http://www.sony.com/SCA/philanthropy.shtml) After looking at the statement it can be seen that Sony Current strategies are not only based on providing the customers with best products but also it include building the reputation back which was affected in the past due to the poor strategic choices made by them. Sony is also working on working on the green environment and providing the customers not only equipments which provide them best musical or gaming experience but also which are environmental friendly to play it part in making the world a green world and being giving the customers the image of the social responsibility of the company and building its reputation back which has been damage due to all the bad strategic choices made by the company management in the past. Sony Future Strategies:- Upon looking at the past of Sony it can be seen that the reason of the failure of strategies was that they were not properly planned and implement the resources were not fully utilized by Sony up to their full capacity as for any company it is very important for its efficiency that the resources should be utlizied up to maximum capacity as Priem and Butler (2001) have shown that the Resources Based View, as currently constituted, contains a theory of sustainability but not a theory of competitive advantage (i.e., value creation).They argue that simply advising practitioners to obtain rare and valuable resources in order to achieve competitive advantages and, further that those resources should be hard to imitate and non-substitutable is not very helpful in providing practical help (Johnson et al, 2005: p155). The strategies that should be utilized in the future by Sony should be of following: Competitive Positioning:- Sony has a establish brand name in the market which cannot be denied and everyone knows about the brand and products of Sony but the company did not utilized their brand name fully due to miss planning for example when the home theatre system was introduce and became popular many people were using Sonys products but they switch to the new system because Sony did not do anything to develop their own home theatre system for their customers which lead the customers to switch to another company therefore the main priority involve is to update their systems and products up to the expectations of the customers and they should work on the strategy to develop the products with competitive advantage in their mind the product should be of the nature that provide better features to the customers than the competitors just like Sony did with their mobile phones when Samsung introduce a 8 mega pixel camera Sony Ericson introduce a mobile phone with 12 mega pixel camera and also it has introduce sm art phones for the customers as well which are widely used all over the world this strategy should be continued by Sony. Build Better Market:- Sony needs to understand that it has to not only maintain its current position in the market but also expand its share in the market as Finlay (2000; p11) suggest that organization alter itself and the products and services it offers in order to match the needs of customers in its chosen marketplace which is a market-based approach, so called because the organization looks to the marketplace to see how it should act and how it should evolve. Besides, based on the environmental factors, Mintzberg et al (1998) developed the environmental school which argue people in strategic management must consider the range of decisional powers available, given the forces and demands of the external context. Sony insufficient in responding to the external market had caused them to lost ground in key growing areas and their strategy must be able to cope with the external environment. SWOT Analysis:- Swot analysis provide and wider picture to the company about its current strengths and weakness which relates to the internal environment of the company and give a better understanding that what is required to be done and with the analysis of the external environment of the company it helps in indentify what are the opportunities and threats available to the company and how they can be use for the betterment of the company. By using swot analysis the following have been identified. Strengths:- Sony has the following strengths, Sony has a strong brand name which is globally recognisable. Sony develop the products which are future base which attract more customers to buy the products thus increase in sale. Sony has strong customers based who use Sonys products all the time from music systems to mobile phones. They have top level management and expert chairman now which can guide the company towards success in the future. Sony has always been consider the leader in technology and present the products in the past which have attract many customers to the company. They have motivated staff which works for them all the time to develop new products and improve the current one the company is offering. Weaknesses:- Just like the strengths Sony has the following weaknesses which needs to be overcome to made the company more profitable, Sony has shown in the past the company is inconsistent in its planning and do not do anything to tackle the competitors products. The company has been subject to many capitals structuring in the past. The industry is rapid in nature and can change at any moment. The management has been inconsistent as well. Opportunities:- Its a rapidly growing industry which means Sony has changes to grow much further in the industry. Sony has the team to develop new products and update their existing ones as well to capture more share of the market. They have a strong customer based all over the world which means Sony can increase it sell in all over the world if they overcome their weaknesses. Threats:- Just like Sony the competitors in the market are also well establish and have strong customer based in order to get the customers from them Sony has to improve its product much more. With the losses the company suffer for the last few years may cause the investors think twice before investing into Sonys new projects. The world of technology is always changing which means Sony has to work on developing futuristic products and keep on updating the old one to meet the customers demand and to survive in the market. Recommendations for Sony:- As it can be seen from the past and present of Sonys that the company emphasis more on developing the products and not on going head to head with the competition which result in the competition getting the most of the market while Sony has the technology the company lack of strategic planning and more over lack of control over the activities result in the company losing its customers due to the controversies from the sue on batteries to customers blaming Sony to promoting spam mails using the play station website. All this effected the reputation of the company now Sony needs to rebuild the reputation by not only doing what they do best which is providing the customers the best products in term of technology but also they need to build a strategic plan to overcome all the obstacles the company face in the past. Sony now needs to employ a team of managers who can look after their business well and also needs to monitor and control their performances as it was the bad management decision which affected the company and the company should made all their plan with keeping the future in mind in short the company needs to work with consistency in their operation and should also need to have a backup plan just in case the first plan fail for example when the company was sued for the batteries fault Sony should have tested the batteries fully and as it was reported that the company was aware of the fault in batteries than Sony should have tested the batteries properly and should have look for ways to overcome that fault same goes with the home theatre system Sony should have come up with a way to compete with it instead of just leaving the way it was, this were the faults or mistake which result in Sonys strategic failure and in order to build the company position more strong this faults should not be repeated and all the plan should be made after going through with every details about them and any fault should be identified and ratify at the initial stage and in the same manner every move of the competitors should be though about and a counter plan should be ready for it by doing this Sony can not only captured more market but can also be the market leader. Sources:- Bowman, C. Asch, D. (1996), Managing Strategy, MacMillan. Â · DeWit, B. Meyer, R. (2004), Strategy: Process, Content, Context,3rd Edition, Thomson International Business Press. Â · Finlay, P. (2000), Strategic Management: An introduction to business and corporate strategy, Prentice Hall. Â · Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1994), Competing for future, Harvard Business School Press. Barney, J. B. (1991), Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, p99-120. Â · Barney, J. B. (2001), Is the resource-based view a useful perspective for strategic management research? Yes, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, p41-56. Â · Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1990), Capabilities-Based Competition, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70, No. 3. Â · Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1990), The core competence of the corporation, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, No. 3, p79-91. Â · Hodgson, G.M. (1998), Evolutionary and competence-based theories of the firm, Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 25, No, 1, p25-56. Â · Markides, C. (2004), What is strategy and how do you know if you have one?, Business Strategy Review, Vol. 15, No. 2, p5-12.

The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement Essay

The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement Many sociologists have tried to explore the link between social class and educational achievement, measuring the effects of one element upon the other. In order to maintain a definite correlation between the two, there are a number of views, explanations, social statistics and perspectives which must be taken into account. The initial idea would be to define the key terms which are associated with how "social class" affects "educational achievement." "Social class" is the identity of people, according to the work they do and the community in which they live in."Educational achievement" is the tendency for some groups to do better or worse in terms of educational success. Research reveals that the higher the social class, the higher the levels of educational achievement are likely to be. The children of parents in higher social classes are more likely to stay on in post compulsory education, more likely to achieve examination passes when at school, and more likely to gain university entrance. These features painted a true picture of British education in the twentieth century and can be argued to follow this trend today. However, whether there has been any reduction in the inequalities is more debatable, but some research suggests that these inequalities are as great as ever, despite the overall improvements within the education system. Many researchers argue that IQ tests are biased in favour of the middle class, since members of this group largely construct them. If it is accepted that social classes and other groups have distinctive subcultures and that this affe... ... to reject school and school values (such as academic success). This has its roots outside of school in the nature of the fathers and elder brothers' in manual work. They look up to these figures and see school as "sissy", un-masculine, unlike the "real" masculine work that their fathers, brothers etc do. Overall, in conclusion there can be no definite correlation identified between "social class" and "educational achievement" in that there is much research into this and many sociologists suggest their own theories, and have yet not decided whether there is a link or not. However, there does seem to be correlation of some kind as sociologists either favour it or not. It can be still said that the main relationship between these factors is the higher the social class; the more likely the pupil is going to succeed.

The Screwtape Letters - Types of Love Essay -- Religion, C.S. Lewis

While attending Oxford University, C.S. Lewis went from being an atheist to a renowned Christian. Lewis touched a vast audience with his numerous books (around thirty or more) including The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and The Four Loves. He brought fantasy and entertainment into his writing along with slight to thunderous bits of theology woven through his stories and books. This made Lewis one of the most influential Christian writers of the 20th century. One of the better known books from C.S. Lewis is The Screwtape Letters. The Screwtape Letters is a fiction book comprised of thirty-one letters from Screwtape, a senior tempter and head in a department in Hell, to his nephew who is a novice tempter Wormwood. These letters are detailed instructions on how to cause Wormwood’s patient to fall from the Christian life. Screwtape, in all his devilish wisdom, pin points certain tribulations that all humans face and gives a devil-sided view to the human responses. The book is fiction, yet can be studied because of the spiritual lessons that are inversely taught throughout the letters. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis addresses a position on love that is seldom heard, yet universally felt. Screwtape makes a very clear distinction between his ideal of love and true love. If we take what Screwtape thinks love is, and reverse the teaching completely, all that is left is the love that God approves of. The purest and most sought after love is God’s. Love has been divided by C.S. Lewis into five ways. One way, taught in The Screwtape Letters is â€Å"being in love†. The other four ways is taught through The Four Loves: Affection, friendship (philia), romantic love (eros), and Agape love. Understanding the difference between the lo... ...coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. (6) Works Cited Collins, Harper. "C.S. Lewis Classics". Harper Collins Publishers. March 10, 2010 . Lahti, David. "Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves ". 11 March 2010 . Lewis, C.S,. The Screwtape Letters. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996. Rayment, W.J.. "Synopsis of the Screwtape Letters". Bible Study Resource Center. March 10, 2010 . The Screwtape Letters - Types of Love Essay -- Religion, C.S. Lewis While attending Oxford University, C.S. Lewis went from being an atheist to a renowned Christian. Lewis touched a vast audience with his numerous books (around thirty or more) including The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and The Four Loves. He brought fantasy and entertainment into his writing along with slight to thunderous bits of theology woven through his stories and books. This made Lewis one of the most influential Christian writers of the 20th century. One of the better known books from C.S. Lewis is The Screwtape Letters. The Screwtape Letters is a fiction book comprised of thirty-one letters from Screwtape, a senior tempter and head in a department in Hell, to his nephew who is a novice tempter Wormwood. These letters are detailed instructions on how to cause Wormwood’s patient to fall from the Christian life. Screwtape, in all his devilish wisdom, pin points certain tribulations that all humans face and gives a devil-sided view to the human responses. The book is fiction, yet can be studied because of the spiritual lessons that are inversely taught throughout the letters. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis addresses a position on love that is seldom heard, yet universally felt. Screwtape makes a very clear distinction between his ideal of love and true love. If we take what Screwtape thinks love is, and reverse the teaching completely, all that is left is the love that God approves of. The purest and most sought after love is God’s. Love has been divided by C.S. Lewis into five ways. One way, taught in The Screwtape Letters is â€Å"being in love†. The other four ways is taught through The Four Loves: Affection, friendship (philia), romantic love (eros), and Agape love. Understanding the difference between the lo... ...coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. (6) Works Cited Collins, Harper. "C.S. Lewis Classics". Harper Collins Publishers. March 10, 2010 . Lahti, David. "Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves ". 11 March 2010 . Lewis, C.S,. The Screwtape Letters. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996. Rayment, W.J.. "Synopsis of the Screwtape Letters". Bible Study Resource Center. March 10, 2010 .

Eros Essay example -- essays research papers

In the Poem, EPƒÇƒÃÆ', by Robert Bridges, Eros is referred to as an  ¡Ã‚ §Ã‚ ¡Kidol of the human race ¡K ¡Ã‚ ¨ with a perfect form and looks, however, he bears no expression on his face. On the other hand, in the poem, EROS, by Anne Stevenson, Eros is portrayed as a  ¡Ã‚ §thug ¡Ã‚ ¨ with a bruised and  ¡Ã‚ §patchy ¡Ã‚ ¨ appearance. I believe that although both authors are trying to convey the same message, they choose different ways to go about it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the poem by Anne Stevenson, I believe that she is trying to show that while people, especially the narrator, were constantly asking for help and calling upon the gods, they were not thinking of others, but more so their own personal problems. When Eros first appears to the narrator, she is shocked and in disbelief of his appearance. Eros tells the woman that he has that form due to all of the feelings she and others have directed in his direction. He then tells the girl that since it is the gods that control the fate of man, they are the ones that take all of the blame for things not going well, and that is reflected upon their bodily form. I think that the author was trying to show that from the scorn of man, the gods were receiving these verbal beatings that resulted in physical marks, and to show the selflessness of the gods as well. This is done when Eros tells the girl that it is better for him to be all bruised than for her to not have love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, when comparing the work of Anne Stevenson ... Eros Essay example -- essays research papers In the Poem, EPƒÇƒÃÆ', by Robert Bridges, Eros is referred to as an  ¡Ã‚ §Ã‚ ¡Kidol of the human race ¡K ¡Ã‚ ¨ with a perfect form and looks, however, he bears no expression on his face. On the other hand, in the poem, EROS, by Anne Stevenson, Eros is portrayed as a  ¡Ã‚ §thug ¡Ã‚ ¨ with a bruised and  ¡Ã‚ §patchy ¡Ã‚ ¨ appearance. I believe that although both authors are trying to convey the same message, they choose different ways to go about it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the poem by Anne Stevenson, I believe that she is trying to show that while people, especially the narrator, were constantly asking for help and calling upon the gods, they were not thinking of others, but more so their own personal problems. When Eros first appears to the narrator, she is shocked and in disbelief of his appearance. Eros tells the woman that he has that form due to all of the feelings she and others have directed in his direction. He then tells the girl that since it is the gods that control the fate of man, they are the ones that take all of the blame for things not going well, and that is reflected upon their bodily form. I think that the author was trying to show that from the scorn of man, the gods were receiving these verbal beatings that resulted in physical marks, and to show the selflessness of the gods as well. This is done when Eros tells the girl that it is better for him to be all bruised than for her to not have love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, when comparing the work of Anne Stevenson ...

Evolution Secret of the Haute Couture World

In some normal people mind, they might not know what the word â€Å"Haute Couture† means because they are expensive, luxurious and exclusive. Haute Couture is actually strictly defined as â€Å"high sewing†, haute couture has evolved from the days when it was invented by the Chambre Syndicale de la Confection et de la couture pour Dames et fillettes which means trade-union room of clothes industry and the seam for ladies and young girls in 1868. (Deborah Bee, Couture in the 21th century, 2010:p7). It is about the tailoring- the creation of exclusive, handmade garments, after a series of fittings, to the highest possible standard. In the following parts, it is going to show the secrets, history of the Haute Couture world, the contemporary industry running operation secrets and the future prediction of this niche luxury market by research, interviews from the people buying the dress as well as the designers themselves. History and the start of haute couture Charles Frederick Worth (1826-95),the first â€Å"King of Couture†. His styles dominates European aristocratic society in the mid-19th century. Worth was a Paris-based couturier that turned dressmaking into an art form. He designed spectacular gowns famed for their boldly patterned silks, lavish ornament and the innovative use of fabrics. They became status symbols and fashionable clients from across the world flocked to his salon. â€Å"We have Charles Worth to thank for starting it all†, said John Galliano 2010 The system of haute couture evolved that stuck to certain rigid rules,set in place by the chamber Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, founded in Paris in 1868. It became the routine for the head of a fashion house to select sketches from a bank of freelance designers. At a outure house’s seasonal presentation- Spring/Summer in Autumn/Winter in July which at least 50 outfits were shoen to an audience made up of customers and authorised buyers. The designs were then made up for the clients or sold as patterns, either in linen or paper. The visual look of the old couture This is the main structure of how the early couture looked like. The top part was called corsets and the bottom was called cage crinoline. Photos taken in V&A by myself With the bases underneath, spectacular garments can be produced. The left one was designed by Charles Worth in 1881, it was made by satin, embroidered with silk, chenille and beads, trimmed with machine lace. The right one was designed by Jean Patou (1880-1936) in 1932-4. It was make bu tulle embroidered with beads. *Photos taken in V&A by myself The Couture industry in the early age High fashion at the beginning of the 20th century was extravagant and luxurious, more and more designers were interested to step into the couture industry. The most significant couturiers well known until nowadays are Christian Dior, Chanel, Lanvin, YSL and Givenchy. Looking back to the 20s, the most shocking pre-WWI fashion statement came from Coco Chanel, with her sporty trend. Having established couture salons in Paris and the seaside resorts of Deauville and Biarritz, she created lightweight clothes with no linings, employed soft jersey for cardigans and sweaters. Chanel’s impact on couture cannot be underestimated as in 1920, she created a craze for wide-legged trousers and matelot tops. Christian Dior was doing the fitting with the client Talented couturier such as Christobal Balenciaga as the Spanish newspapers reported† women from all over the world cross frontiers to buy his creations during the war years. However, in 1947 the fashion world was presented with a revolution. The â€Å"new look† Dior’s created in his debut collection was starting point of a golden age of couture on the international fash ion scene. Tiny, corseted waists were accentuated with full, layered skirts and padding over the hips, while jackets and gowns were cut to draw attention to the decollete. Going onwards, Hubert de Givenchy opened up a couture house in 1952. What was so famous about Givenchy was he has a continue relationship with Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy turned her into a style icon and which made Givenchy determined many of the key trends in the 50s. After decades, the original designers kept passing out and made their first assistants such as Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen and more continue the legacy of Couture. The Haute Couture World of the 21st Century. While the couture market moves to the new century, there are more mixed modern and other century’s elements have been used in a couture collection. What pathetic is the whole industry has been minimized from 106 in 1946 to only 12 in the latest Haute Couture fashion show of Spring/Summer 2011. Although some of the large brands which used to produce very extraordinary such as Lanvin and YSL have stopped to participate in recent seasons’ couture shows, the rest of them and some new brands are doing a great job. Nowadays, there are actually a private couture club members which only have 200 members in the world as the price of the gowns are too expensive which only the seriously rich women can afford the price. According to the video â€Å"The secret world of haute couture†, it claims that couture is the most expensive clothes for women to buy and one of the buyer said that â€Å"Couture are very light nowadays like the second skin which fit on body very perfectly†. Until now, Paris is still the head quarter of Haute Couture because most of the famous couture brands such as Chanel, Jean Paul Gautier and Christian Dior are located in Paris. Regarding the absolutely expensive price of the couture, why women still willing to pay US$400,000 to buy a dress? The ex-directrice in 1971-2002 of YSL, Baroness Helene de Ludighauser said it is because of the quality, the good reason of purchasing the lavish old couture is because the hand works are extraordinary. How the members and buyer purchase the couture? As to make the club members feel more exiting and looking forward to the couture show, the theme of every brand is the â€Å"top secret†. â€Å"Focus religion type of movement to create couture† said by Ralph Rucci, an American designer. By managing the front row of the sits, the PR of the company mentioned that it is actually a hard decision but as they do not need to promote their couture so most priority would give to those club members because they are the one going to purchase the couture so they have to respect them. After each fashion show, media and those buyers and club members would rush to the backstage in order to find a chance to talk to the designer or knowing someone as they might actually be the friends of the designers. Haute Couture are not selling in open stores but they will be ready in the stores next day after the show. The important procedure of buying the couture is to make an appointment, then the store assistants would help you on introducing the garments and to choose which looks better in specific occasions. There is an interesting fact that if the customer body size can fit with the original garment, the customer will have a 30% off discount while others need to measure the size of the bodies to make some changes to look best on customers. There is another club rule of selling couture which is there are no price tag on the garments. Moreover, the designers themselves seldom really communicate with the customer as John Galliano said â€Å"Part of the mystery of couture is by not too connecting with their customer. † (The secret world of haute couture,2009, youtube) Although the Haute Couture is really expensive, wealthy women would think it is the investment of art for whole life. Contemporary Couturiers brands Analysis. From the latest season of Haute Couture which is the Spring/Summer 2011, there are 12 couturiers in total which is Alexis Mabille, Bouchra Jarra, Chanel, Christian Dior, Giogio Armani Prive, Givenchy, House of Worth, Iris van Herpen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Elie Saab, Stephan Rollan and Valentino (Vogue). Frankly speaking some of them might not be so wearable first of all may be because of the concepts, the designs, the styles or even the colours. Betsy Bloomingdale’s husband has been once asked her to buy anything she wants for Christian Dior just because Betsy is a big fan of Christian Dior. Of course there would be always some loyal fans such as Carroll Petrie, a Christian Dior couture fan, â€Å"I couldn’t believe what he had done with fabric, it is extraordinary! † Members would always have their favourite designers but through the research, you will find the most frequently appear in those couture club members’ wardrobe is the Chanel’s as their gowns are more wearable but decent. Both Chanel and Christian Dior are amazing on doing totally different styles of couture but both so popular, so there are some people describe Dior’s couture as Opera and Chanel’s couture as musical. Coco Chanel and Christian Dior were absolutely masters of couture. They captured both luxury and elegance in the public’s mind and left a strong legacy. People continue to refer to them even decades later. † From Maria Grazia Chiuri & Pier Paolo Piccioli, creative directors of Valentino. (Valentino, Couture in the 21th century, 2010:p131) Af ter mentioning the characteristics of Chanel, the opera like Christian Dior is actually have a reason of why their couture usually more exaggerated but really elegant and luxurious at the same time. We can not miss out the most creative John Galliano, the ex-creative director of Christian Dior, he had once worked in a theatre for years that is why in his earlier collections the garments are full of stories and the designs are kind of theatre like. So as the runway show, the models are telling stories which can enrich the aesthetic feeling of the gowns. John’s inspiration is inexhaustible and endless that his creativity brings him make the dreams come true. This is a very ordinary example from S/S 2011 collection, he turned Bell from the Beauty & the Beast onto the runway which interpreted in a more privilege and decent way. The next couture master we cannot miss out is Valentino. Valentino Garavani was a master couturier whose influence remains as strong as ever. The designers Maria Grazia Chiuri & Pier Paolo Piccioli agreed that â€Å"Fashion is about dreaming, and couture is where all the dreams come true. They believe that couture has to be one of a kind, that it has a sense of uniqueness and excess. †. And they think some designers limit couture to the red carpet, but they prefer to think that elegance should be accessible to everyone. A couturier who can interpret the dreams and longings of every woman is the one who will be successful in the long term. In the collection of S/S 2011, the whole collections seem to get more and more delicate and this time it was so so light. â€Å"All the ruffles and feminine wiles that this duo have made their own were fine floral prints, girlish butterflies at the neck, a spectrum of nude tones all as sheer as can be in breaths of organza, chiffon and the finest tulle† (Dolly Jones, show report,jan 2011, Vogue). Apart from the ordinary old famous couturiers, we have some couturiers enter the couture world later such as Elie Saab in the 70s. My job is to make women happy. More than financial gain, my impetus is to create beauty† byElie Saab. His style is for feminine couture dresses with brightly coloured silks , chiffons, pearl beading and embroidered lace. He thinks if a woman knows about couture and if she has an appreciation for couture, then than she won’t want to buy from a boutique because she can feel different when she wear couture. The collection in S/S 2011 was pretty a nd feminine as he displayed a lighter touch than in recent seasons and the dress were all the better for it. The colours and the fabrics choices are so beautifully matched and the embroidery was less heavy on lovely chiffon full length dress and this new focus suits him very much. (Dolly Jones, show report,jan 2011, Vogue). Conclusion In some normal people mind, they might not know what the word â€Å"Haute Couture† means because they are expensive, luxurious and exclusive. But the time has changed, there are many media that can let more people know about more about fashion and Haute Couture, they will fall in love with them once they watch any of the catwalk shows. Although the creation of exclusive, handmade garments, fittings are all in the highest possible standard and extremely expensive that only small part of women can afford them, â€Å"Haute Couture should be experimental, handcrafted, extensively researched and unique. In a sense it is where trends originate in their purest, most unrestrained form. Also, the couture houses help to keep traditional craftsmanship and tailoring alive. This is why it is so crucial that we must jealously protect it† from Maria Grazia Chiuri & Pier Paolo Piccioli. (Valentino, Couture in the 21th century, 2010:p132)

Adidas Csr

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT Corporate Social Responsibility CASE STUDY: THE ADIDAS GROUP. SUPPLIER TRAINING PROGRAMMES 1. Provide the STO. ADIDAS Group is so well-known in the world that there is a huge pressure from stakeholders to ensure that all employees and their companies have the same ethics and working conditions, properly licensed and operating. To meet the demands of stakeholders, they want to educate the workers that are not from Germany to work as the Germans people works so that the brand does not lose the identity. The training focuses on aspects such as improving human resources managers to educate and care for the environment, health and safety. Thanks to these programs, the ADIDAS Group commitment to the working conditions, the company has already been recognized internationally, as well as improves the well-being of current workers and educates them to properly use company resources. 2. Who are the 2 main stakeholders management is trying to reach with their CRS initiatives? What are the key programs being delivered to these stakeholders? The two main stakeholders are the workers and the community. The idea is to put the workers to be as efficient as possible, and, about the community, put them in programs which are also accessible to others even if they are not workers. For example in China, they managed to create a diploma for those who do this program. The five programs are: ? Fair factories Clearinghouse (2006) is an information platform that encourages members to share information and collaborate to increase productivity, leading to even greater ease in security and working conditions. Human Resources Management Systems (2006) they create this department to have a control over who is hired for the company. Each new employee must correspond to each parameter. It also serves to better manage employees' careers and their pay, creating premiums and benefits. Better Work Program (2007) consists on training programs involving, among others, labor standards, workers rights, human resource management, supervisory skills, and occupational health and safety. Environment, Health & Safety academy (2009) is to improve an existing health and safety training program in the supply chain and get the rate of high skills officers up among the ancient officers. Occupational Health and Safety Officer Programs (2010) is a three-year program designed for the local Health and Safety officers across a range of management levels in accordance with pre-existing skills and local requirements. 3. What are the short-term benefits of the programs? What are the long-term benefits of the programs? Thanks to these programs, ADIDAS group, in a short-term, has been able to focus on its supply chain proactively and make significant changes witch benefit the well-being of current suppliers employees as well as their financial bottom line. In a long-term, the programs allow for increasing employee and customer retention as well as a significant increase in highlyskilled workers, thereby providing the ADIDAS group with increased productivity as well as high quality products. 4. What are some of the key challenges with the initiatives? What recommendations will you provide to management on how to address these challenges? These programs try to spread a professional trend concerned on the safety working conditions born in Europe. The key challenge ADIDAS Group can find on that is the different cultural basis of workers around the world. As the main part of supply chain is located in Asia, this challenge become more relevant in terms of actually poor working conditions. As a manager, we would recommend taking into account the different trends and historical background when setting up these training programs. Despite all this, the aim is to be always open, transparent and accountable when managing abroad, in order to satisfy stakeholders.