The Boy in Striped Pyjamas

The story is mostly told from the viewpoint of a child, eight year old Bruno. His father is an SS Officer and the family move from Berlin into a house near the grounds of a concentration camp. Bruno thinks that the fence exists so that animals cannot escape. Schmuel laughs, but not unkindly and he informs Bruno that the purpose of the fence is to restrain the Jewish prisoners. The sadistic SS lieutenant beats to death the Jewish house servant, and following this Bruno discovers Schmuel working in his home.He gives him cake to eat, and at this point the lieutenant enters and notices the crumbs around Schmuel’s face. He accuses Schmuel of stealing food, and Schmuel denies it. He explains that he and Bruno are friends, and that this is why Bruno gave him the cake. Bruno is frightened of the lieutenant, and without regard for the consequences to his friend, he fears for himself and denies all knowledge of knowing Schmuel and says that he did not give him the cake. As children do, Bruno misunderstands the word and hears his new home referred to as â€Å"out with. This implies that the story is based on Auschwitz Shortly after their arrival, Bruno’s sister, twelve year old Gretel becomes increasingly more orientated towards the Nazi doctrine due to her attraction to the SS Lieutenant Kurt Kotler, her father’s underling. He subtly encourages Gretel’s feelings towards him, and it soon becomes clear that the SS Lieutenant is a particularly cruel psychopath. Bruno’s mother Elsa does not share the Nazi beliefs of her husband and daughter; however she is extremely afraid to voice her concerns. Bruno is too young to understand what is happening around him.He asks his father why he sees people wearing striped pyjamas. His father tells him that they are not people, and that they are only Jews. Although he is told not the leave the boundaries of the house, Bruno, like most young boys, becomes bored and decides to explore. He finds himself at the perimeter fence of the concentration camp and it is here that he meets Schmuel. Schmuel is a Polish Jew; he is the same age as Bruno and is a prisoner within the concentration camp. Bruno finds him sitting behind the fence wearing his striped pyjamas, and it is here that they strike a friendship.Along with his father, Schmuel has been captured and taken away from his mother and siblings. The enormity of his suffering is apparent in his appearance, it is visible in his eyes, his body language, and he is extremely thin. When Bruno gives food to Schmuel, the extent of his starvation is obvious in the ravenous way that he eats. The two boys have polar opposite experiences of the war. Bruno is completely naive and Schmuel is experiencing the agonising consequences. It appears that the concentration camp has turned a young boy into an adult. Schmuel is never irritated by Bruno’s naivety he simply responds with patience.It is clear that Schmuel is particularly sharp; he catches on quickly and almost instinctively seems to know what he can expect from Bruno. Schmuel appears to have accepted his way of life. A few days later Bruno visits Schmuel at the camp fence and finds him covered in bruises. It is clear by the condition of his face that he has received a particularly severe beating. As is his nature, Schmuel does not blame Bruno, and their friendship is untarnished. This is the beauty of Schmuel, many people, children and adults, would turn bitter at this experience and develop a real hatred for the Germans.Schmuel understands completely that the fault is not with Bruno. He does not resent the fact that Bruno is not in danger, or that he lives a comfortable life with his Nazi family. Schmuel is a truly good natured, forgiving and incredibly wise little boy. Schmuel tells Bruno that his father has disappeared, and that he cannot find him within the concentration camp. Neither boy has any notion that he has probably been gassed, and Bruno agrees to enter the camp and help Schmuel to look for him. It is here that the most harrowing scene of the book takes place.

Compare and Contrast Literature Essay

I have chosen to compare and contrast a short story, written by Kate Chopin titled â€Å"The story of an hour,† and a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson titled, â€Å"In Memoriam. † I chose these two pieces of work because I was drawn to the short story and when I read the poem it had the same theme of hope in the face of death. The topic, or theme of these particular literary works is death and impermanence. I will compare and contrast the elements of symbolism, point of view, theme, and setting. The comparison of these particular works will provide deeper insights to the hope that develops within a person when confronted with death, as well as further insight to the symbolism used within the choice of words written by the authors to convey their feelings at that particular time that the work was written. Authors are sometimes likely to deal with the superficial appearance of things rather than showing genuine knowledge of what is actually real (Evans, 2010). In the poem by Lord Tennyson the genuine knowledge of reality is definitely present, however, the short story by Kate Chopin seems to become somewhat illogical in the end when the wife dies of â€Å"joy that kills† In an analysis of short fiction, the text points out that authors will know how to manipulate words but not know how to examine the ideas seriously (Evans, 2010). â€Å"In Memoriam,† is a poem that was written in response to the death of a close friend of the author. His reflection is written to show that hope may be a sustaining factor in the face of death (Clugston, 2010). The author of this work is showing his hopefulness for all, not just himself or the deceased. â€Å"That not one life shall be destroy’d, / or cast as rubbish to the void† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 11. 6). Which sounds like he feels as if his friend was â€Å"cast as rubbish to the void. † The author continues on with his words as if he is trying to gain hope for himself, along with others, and hopes that he is not cast to the void as well. The story of an hour,† is a short story that was written to coincide with the author’s personal quest for freedom, along with upholding a woman’s strength in spite of her adulterous life, and developing hope in the face of death (Clugston, 2010). This author is describing an epiphany of hope that comes in a sudden wave of emotion and confusion. â€Å"There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know. † (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 2. 2). Mrs. Mallard had just been given the tragic news of her husband being in the train accident, yet she is trying to fight off the emotions of joy and freedom as best she could. To no avail, she realized that there was so much life and detail in everything around her. The birds were singing in the trees, the clouds piled in the sky above her house, and the sudden feeling of what seemed like joy! Both the poem, and the short story are made up of the emotions that surround death. An elegy, which is a lyric poem about death, has the emotions of uncertainty, confusions, hope, sadness, and even symbolism to show some of these emotions. In both works there is the mention of spring, which symbolizes birth and new beginnings. The poem says, â€Å"I can but trust that good shall fall / At last – far off – at last, to all, / and every winter change to spring† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 11. 6). The short story describes the setting in this detail; â€Å"she could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 2. 2). The reference to spring is the hopefulness that both authors have for the future. In contrast, the poem, compares the spring to a change from winter to spring, which symbolizes the transition from death (winter), to birth (spring), and the continued hope for new beginnings. The difference in these two literary works is how the setting and point of view are written. The poem does not have a real clear setting, and is done in first person. The short story describes the setting, minor details of the characters, and is written in third person which allows for the author to relate with the feelings and thoughts of the other characters as well as the protagonist. Even though the overall theme of death is what links these two works together, the point of view is what sets them apart. The setting of â€Å"In Memoriam† seems to be within the author’s mind or dream. â€Å"So runs my dream; but what am I? † (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 11. 6). There is no definite place or time in this poem, whereas the story is set at the protagonist’s house, where she goes to be alone in her bedroom. Once there, she notices the sky and the trees within her yard that are described in detail, also with some added symbolism. For example; â€Å"There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 2. 2). The patches of blue sky is where the symbolism for calm and peaceful is conveyed. In spite of the day’s events there is a calmness in the air that leads into the coming of Mrs. Mallard’s epiphany. Once I interpreted this symbolism, there was a sense of foreshadowing that I did not relate to the story the first few times I read it. I would describe the details of this setting as a ‘symbolic setting. ’ The whole picture the reader gets out of the window of Mrs. Mallard’s room is calmness, new beginning, and joy. In contrast to the story, the poem’s lack of setting leaves the reader in wonder. There is only symbolic emotion and metaphors with no clear reason or event. It is clear the author is relating his emotions of sorrow with words, but there lacks clarity in the why or whom. The work is somewhat vague, leaving the emotion of the poem in a generalized form to which anyone could connect. In the same sense, a reader may not connect with the poem because there is not a specific or personal connection within the writing for the reader to relate to. The reader must have some knowledge of the author outside the poem to fully understand the meaning and symbolism. Continuing, with a thought on symbolism, there is a metaphor in both literary works which compares emotions to a crying baby. It was not until I read the works side by side that I noticed the reference. In the poem the author writes; â€Å"So runs my dream; but what am I? An infant crying in the night; / An infant crying for the light; / And with no language but a cry† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 11. 6). An infant crying for the â€Å"light,† is crying for hope, knowledge, truth, and safety (Clugston, 2010). The metaphor in the short story is described as; â€Å"†¦ when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 2. 2). Similar to the first metaphor, the meaning is the same, babies cry for comfort and safety. Both characters are in a state of confusion and are relating their feelings to a baby because they want comfort and safety to reassure them, and they can hold on to their hope. When using the formalist approach to analyze the literary works, I was faced with the questions of; what makes the setting so memorable? How were the characters described, contrasted and developed? Why was the plot intriguing? Did surprise occur? And, what point of view was used? To recap on point of view, as mentioned earlier, the poem â€Å"In Memoriam† is written in first person, whereas â€Å"The story of an hour’ is written in third person omniscient. It is not limited omniscient because thoughts and feelings of characters, other than the protagonist, are conveyed to the reader. â€Å"Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of â€Å"killed. † He had only taken time to assure himself of its truths by a second telegram, and had hastened to forstall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 2. 2). When first reading the short story, it was not the setting itself that was memorable. The theme and plot is what kept my attention as the reader. However, after analyzing the symbolism, there is more to the meaning within the story that further captured my curiosity. â€Å"The story of an hour† is set at the home of the Mallard’s, but is not described in full detail. Just before Mrs. Mallard realizes the importance of her life and freedom, there is detail of the outside setting of the house, followed by Mrs. Mallard being able to see the beauty, life, and colors that everything has to offer. The narrator even describes the sparrows singing in the trees. Mrs. Mallard never would have appreciated this simple joy previous to the ‘accident,’ and was able to finally feel everything during her hour of personal discovery. Moving on to the question of how the characters are described, contrasted, and developed, the characters in the short story are not described in detail, if at all. There is a slight emotional description of Mr. Mallard’s friend, Richards, but in the poem there is virtually no character description. Since the poem is from a first person point of view, only the emotions and thoughts are described in detail. The plot of the short story was intriguing because it started off with a surprise, followed by suspense, unlike the poem. The poem starts and ends with simple feelings of hope and uncertainty, where the short story goes on to explain the death and detail of the husband’s accident. The story starts with sudden tragedy, and the suspense develops because the reader knows the story does not end there. It must contain a climax, which is not generally given at the very beginning of a story. When reading the poem, I was able to relate with the feelings of the author, however, there is not a defined plot or turn of events. The poem starts, as well as ends, with only emotions of hope, uncertainty, and sorrow in the form of metaphors. Figurative language is used to create mood and reveal the theme in the short story. When the narrator described how the sister, Josephine, was going to break the tragic news to Mrs. Mallard, there was an immediate mood of sadness and shock that developed. â€Å"In broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 2. ). The theme of death and tragedy is also reiterated at this point because this is not the first mention of the accident. This is figurative because it does not make a straight forward statement, it implies that the sister is trying to communicate the information, but that alone does not mean that she will succeed in the task. It sets a mood because the reader immediately feels sad for both Mrs. Mallard and her sister who is trying to tell her in the easiest way possible. With regard to the poem, the figurative language here sets a mood, but an unsure mood. It too reveals a theme of death, but in more of a generalized way and is not specific to a certain character. â€Å"oh, yet we trust that somehow good / will be the final end of ill† (as cited in Clugston, 2020, 11. 6). Using the words, â€Å"we trust,† and â€Å"somehow,† it is difficult to know where the poem’s mood is headed. It could be happy and hopeful because it might show the possible trust that has evolved into a not so tragic death, or it may go on to reveal the â€Å"final end,† being unexpected and depressing. It is, however, obvious there will be sorrow throughout the writing. The figurative language goes on to develop hope with a form of symbolism. There is always a form of hope that develops within the mind and emotions of people when they are confronted by death. Whether it is hope that the deceased did not suffer, hope that they have moved on to a better world, hope that they knew who the people are that cared and will miss them, or hope for one’s self, and that the surviving can find enjoyment within the future, move on and be happy, along with the hope that their own death is far enough away that they will not have to live in fear of confronting death as well. The writer ends the poem with hope described as an infant would hope, for love and attention. â€Å"The story of an hour,† and â€Å"In Memoriam,† are two very similar but very different literary works, they use symbolism in the face death to convey the development of hope within the diverse emotions of a person dealing with tragedy that ultimately results in death. Finally, both authors, Kate Chopin and Lord Tennyson, not only demonstrated genuine knowledge of what reality is without a superficial appearance, but they also were careful to examine the ideas before simply manipulating words to capture attention. These literary pieces of work were a joy to read and evaluate, with the simple idea, â€Å"That nothing walks with aimless feet;† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, 11. 6).

Soci-Cultural Issues in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Soci-Cultural Issues in Education - Essay Example The paper describes the differences between the 16th century's education and the education that we have nowadays. Formal education has become widely accepted as the only tool for promoting growth, enriching experience and developing attitudes. Unlike education in the 16th century that embraced several aspects of informal education, the current educational process is procedural and prescribed. The current educational processes focus on several concepts that shun human values. This results in the complete confusion among the students and teachers. The systems of learning ignore the human element of education. The moral results are far from satisfactory. Consequently, several teachers and students require improvement through the provision of incentives and rewards. A need arises to enhance the teaching approaches, create new value systems and incorporate the human factor in the education sector by aiming at developing appropriate personalities. Prior to the civil war, nearly all educati onal undertakings were designed to create God-fearing attitudes among the citizens. Education was mainly dominated by religious teachings. The education system for the common citizens was aimed at creating literacy and building good character. However, the nobility had their own system that integrated nature studies, mathematics and architecture studies. The slave population was forbidden from offering literacy skills to their children. Massachusetts was the first state to accept a centralised system of public education. In 1830, efforts to introduce compulsory schooling paid out with the taxes. The mandatory schooling has realized increased population dynamics in school. This has resulted in the interaction with people of varied cultures and beliefs within the school setups. For this reason, today’s education system faces the challenge of providing adequate teachers and a holistic curriculum that will harmonize the different cultures (Johnson, Musial & Hall et al 36). Philos ophy has been widely recognised as the pioneering point for human progress. It is like the compass of life to human kind. Man has historically employed exploration and experimentation to unravel the mysteries of life and attain perfection. In an attempt of addressing all the knowledge requirements of life, various schools of learning have emerged to equip humanity with skills for coping with today’s complex society. In the previous centuries, education would be described as bi-polar but it has since developed into multi-polar. This has resulted into a myriad of problems affecting the planners of education and the learners. Today’s society is very multifaceted and the elements of matter, society, community, group or nation have become diverse and complicated (Johnson, Musial & Hall et al 38). For this reason, it has become extremely complex for philosophers to devise an education system that is capable of addressing the challenges presented by the different frontiers of life. The functions of philosophy are to determine the values which education ought to pursue. Bertrand Russell in his theory proposes that education should have an autonomous existence that is effective when it evolves some known process to meet the fundamentals requirements of the society. The function of education is not only to equip

Service Quality, Employee Engagement and Customer Loyalty Developing Essay

Service Quality, Employee Engagement and Customer Loyalty Developing the Business Managers Relationship Ladder - Essay Example The organisation's decision-makers choose the sales staff and revenue measurements of activities that the organisation will use to meet the customers' requirements, and the conclusion is the perception of the customer. The organisation's decision makers also choose performance measurement systems to monitor and assess how well the organisation meets customers' requirements and the organisation's broader objectives that led to choosing the target set of customers. Customer-validated performance measures reflect customer requirements and help employees manage the value chain's processes and activities by concentrating their attention on improving what matters to the customer (Frazer-Robinson 1997). For the purposes of this study, quality customer service is a multi-stage measurement. This is defined by the customer's expected service level on dimensions of reliability, timeliness, responsiveness and competence from the company's perspective at the time of encounter, before the staff performed the required service for the customer (Stoneman 2001). In short, this is expediting service for the customer. Furthermore, the employee understanding of customer expectations about the sales person's experience, media skills and creative skills as well as how the sales person acknowledges the service quality (Stoneman 2001). The relationship quality is the perceived service level on the above dimensions of the customer and sales person relationship (Stone man 2001). Therefore, customer satisfaction is a focal point in this research as a cumulative, abstract affective construct that describes the total client's experience with the staff and is measured by the satisfaction with service quality expertise, skills performance and overall satisfaction with agency performance (Frazer-Robinson 1997). This will further assist in developing the ultimate goal to directly influence sales performance of service managers and consequently increase performance, but most importantly because sales are the main focus of the company direction (McCormick 2005). Therefore, it becomes important to describe the constructs between sales staff, service quality and customer service, but also to understand the commitments of the employee's towards customer service (McCormick 2005). This research project aims to improve employee engagement by improving customer satisfaction and retention through the development of a relationship ladder that describes the service manager's environment. Describing the employee's engagement in customer service through qualitative methods described later will do this. Utilising employee engagement theories to examine employee engagement in customer service and increase customer retention is a profitable and promoted method of development (Deloitte 2005). Employees who deal directly with customers are

Childbirth Education Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Childbirth Education Assignment - Essay Example You can locate a childbirth class by calling your local hospital or birthing center, and by going to www.lamaze.org   2. Talk to at least one woman in the class (in person or by phone) about their perceptions of the class, and their feelings as the birth of their baby approaches. Talk to them after the birth of their baby, if possible, and have them share the story of their baby’s birth.   One of the most pinnacle points for a wife or for any female is giving child birth. Child birth is one of the most wonderful experiences that a female can ever experience in her life. Females tend to have different perceptions of child birth because of the prevalent ambiguities that are present due to social and physical factors. Majority of the women understand that childbirth is excruciating and painful. However, many women often feel that it symbolizes their womanhood and their strength. For most women, the attitudes towards childbirth seem to be a scary matter. One woman in the class discussed her fears as she stated, â€Å"Childbirth always scared me. To make matters worse, the whole idea of getting an epidural really scared me. I mean, the fact that a huge needle will be injected in my spine was really daunting. However, it was good to understand that it would have facilitated my childbirth and I was determined to use it only if I needed it. I also have bad feeling that I might have to undergo C-section. When it came to actually delivering the baby, I did not have time to take the epidural. However, the childbirth itself was painful.† Consequently, another female had a different opinion as she stated, â€Å"I had a very easy labor. The pain was bearable and I delivered without any complication. I was induced to take an epidural because everyone said it was going to be awful. I really wanted an unmedicated birth but I felt that I needed to take precautions with my first birth.† 3. Explore www.lamaze.org and find the content for pregnant women. Si gn up for the week-by-week pregnancy emails and follow the Giving Birth with confidence blog. Compare what you are learning in class and observing in clinical with the content of on the website.   One of the most intriguing things that parents have to adapt is to a whole new lifestyle with a newborn. In essence, most parents have to be organized and be prepared for emergency. Moreover, most parents are unaware of the hygienic conditions that are associated with newborns. One of the key elements that adults take tend to engage in is being overprotective about their newborn. In essence, they are too quick to play â€Å"doctor† and diagnose with their baby with a mild cough. These aspects are related to the nurturing elements that are associated with parents. Another element that was associated with Giving Birth blog was the perceptions that were discussed in class and constraints that were linked to post conception. Undoubtedly it is vital that a woman will continue to have m ore children and her experiences with her previous childbirths shape her perceptions of reality. It is evident that most health educators take the issue of post birth very seriously and engrave these concepts in the minds of their students. Another element that was heavily discussed in class that was also prevalent in the blogs was the emotional mindset of the young mother about her physique. Post birth, many women tend to feel

Anthropology of humor and laughter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Anthropology of humor and laughter - Essay Example People belonging to different cultures consider something appropriate for laughter in accordance with their cultures. From a social perspective, humor is a positive emotion of an individual, which is elicited in different social contexts and is demonstrated by different vocal and facial behaviors of laughter. Canned jokes, funny utterances, funny expressions, and spontaneous witticisms are some of the main forms of humor (Martin 29). Psychological functions of humor bring various cognitive and social benefits for the humans. Some of the most significant benefits of humor include increased social interactions, help in relieving the tensions and stress, and help in regulating the emotions. In the past couple of decades, the overall concept regarding laughter has shifted from something being viewed as socially inappropriate to being perceived as socially desirable and healthy for the mind (Martin 29). The sense of humor acts as the main source of laughter for any individual. Although th e sense of humor has a number of psychological and social benefits, the mainstream psychology still needs to pay some more attention to this aspect of human behavior. Works Cited Martin, Rod. The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2007.

Relationship between Communication and Maslow's Hierarchy of Research Paper

Relationship between Communication and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Research Paper Example It is logical that some needs are impossible to be satisfied without communication, for example, social needs (friendship, love) are impossible without a partner which implies his or her search by means of communication, and this paper will investigate into the role of the interpersonal communication in the human needs satisfaction. Every individual has his or her needs which are the things that are necessary for living and survival, depending on the level of the needs. The needs are the things that make an individual act in a proper way to satisfy them and to stay alive, which means that the needs cannot be left unsatisfied. Many of the needs of a human being imply interpersonal communication: for example, such need as love or any other form of relationship demands a partner finding which is possible only by means of communication with the potential partner. This paper will consider to which extent the communication between the individuals is important in terms of human needs satisfaction. The hypothesis of the present research is that the interpersonal communication is important for satisfaction of human needs at all their levels and significantly affects this process and may be an unalienable component of the successful result. An Outline of Human Needs. Abraham Maslow’s theoretical works on the phenomenon of the human needs is the material which is most often referred to in this regard. He described all the needs of a human being by means of their hierarchic organization, graphically also known as the Maslow pyramid, into five levels: physiological needs, safety needs, love or belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization. (Maslow, 1943, 370-396). The first level, physiological needs, obviously, is the primary level which includes the basic human needs necessary for survival, such as eating and sleeping. (Maslow, 1943, 373). The second level, safety needs, is the level implying securing the life safety and the things which are also necessary for

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Management - Essay Example It will also discuss about change strategies, approaches toward change, choices and constraints, perspectives as well as the strategic planning tools used to suit organizational needs in its desire for change. As such it will appreciate complexities, challenges and processes inherent in planning or managing change. The researcher will make use of theoretical frameworks of change, managing change, and other related concepts by relying on information sourced from books, magazines, journals and online database. Researcher will also apply these theories in understanding how Water Corporation, a service company based in Perth, Australia managed in introducing changes to the community after it confronted problem in water supply generation and distribution at a time when Australia confronted drought season. An interview will also be conducted to a representative of the company as part validating the mechanism they have employed in resolving the water crisis. Understanding Change and its Dri vers Managing change is a developing social phenomenon amongst society, community and organization besieged with rapid and constant changes and developments. Groups often feel the need to change structures, processes, or cultures to raze after leverage and advantage. Graetz, Lawrence and Smith (2006) pointed that this is enormously challenging more so in the selection of appropriate mechanism for change; in conveying about its needs; in implementing changes and the consequential problems or issues associated to these changes. Managing change requires strategic leadership who can logically present development and anticipate responses to potential barriers in implementation as essentials of the nature of change. Members also need to develop sense of adaptability and resiliency for them to maintain their level of efficiency, productivity, reliability, profitability and effectiveness in service. So, how does expert on managing change perceived underlying drivers of change? Source: Hutto n, 2000. A social psychologist once argued that change can take place in three stages: unfreeze, change and freeze (Lewin 1947). Unfreezing is about preliminary preparation to effect change. This include considering the positive and negative impacts brought by changes. The social theorist posits that change can be analyzed and be facilitated using field force analysis (Lewin 1947). The latter refers to the pull and push of the driving and restraining forces for change over a situation considered at a state of stationery social equilibrium. The second stage (Lewin,1947) is the actual change or transition. This is an innate experiential movement toward effecting change. This stage is followed with freezing (also called unfreezing), the establishment of certain level of certainty and comfortability after desired change is effected. Lewis (1947) said that informed decisions are vital for change to be socially acceptable. Graetz et. al (2006) explained that Lewin theory is based on field theory which posits that an organization is often exposed to two forces: stability or increasing the potency of change. Graetz et.al (2006) argued that to achieve change, the organization must reduce the forces for stability and increase those who’d advocate for change. This is what Graetz et.al (2006) called unfreezing. This principle thought that the equilibrium needs to be destabilized to discard old behavior and unlearn. Such is applicable for

Strategic Management Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Strategic Management Analysis - Assignment Example The task of tour operators is to manage proper blend of aircraft, hotel, and tourism spots to make the holiday experience of customers easy, reasonable and expedient. They provide customers a variety of choices for spending on the holidays. In the year 1950, UK had first experienced inexpensive holiday package and since then this industry has become quite vast in the international market. Many big tour operator companies compete with each other for providing inexpensive holiday packages for family customer segment. In the study, the company which has been considered is easyJet. easyJet Holidays encompasses together the easyJet, an UK-based airline company and one of the foremost planners of accommodation in the UK lowcostbeds.com. The prime aim of easyJet Holidays is to provide immense ‘value for money’ beach holidays and city breaks to each destination’s of easyJet. easyJet Holidays offers a collection of around 100 destinations to select from and also provides a ir travels from around 13 airports of the UK with supreme choice, value as well as flexibility. easyJet Holidays also provides custom-made holiday tours along with availability of more than 10,000 hotels of quality in travel destinations arraying from 2 stars to 5 stars for its customers (easyJet Holidays, 2011). The package holiday is enormously popular for British tour creators. The package holiday industry provides people ranges of customised holiday packages to choose from (TUI UK Retail Limited, n.d.). 2.0 Task A 2.1 PESTEL Analysis PESTEL analysis helps to determine the external macro–environmental factors that can impact on the package holiday industry as a whole. 2.1.1 Political Aspects The political condition of any country can influence the laws of business. The political factors include the rules and laws of government and legal problems for operating a business. The political condition in the UK is relatively stable. Factors which can manipulate the package holida y industry are essentially the war and taxes on aviation among others. The UK government is currently trying to impose extra duty on aviation which can impact on the package holiday industry. easyJet, which is one of the biggest airline companies of the UK, had concluded that the hike of taxes on aviation can affect millions of customers and thus it can affect the profit of easyJet. The easyJet had already faced enormous tax increase for family trip i.e. tax had increased by 33%. It can affect the package holiday industry and the employment factor in the UK (Pierre, 2011). 2.1.2 Economical Aspects The economic factors can determine the purchasing power of people which affect the airline and package holiday companies’ offers. The economic condition includes the GDP growth rate, the

LIving in a House versus living in an apt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LIving in a House versus living in an apt - Essay Example There are many similarities between living in an apartment and living in a house. Both are places for living where one can live with family. Both can be similar in structure and space at least for one floor. Both apartment and house have electrical, mechanical, and sanitary supplies and services that make them livable for the occupants. Living in any of them requires an individual to either pay rent or pay the cost of the whole structure whether in installments or as a one-time payment. There are neighbors for the occupants of apartments as well as houses. There are quite a lot of differences between living in an apartment and living in a house. People living in an apartment generally have access to just one floor because other floors are occupied by other families whereas people living in a house dwell on all of its floors and levels. Many families live in a condominium whereas generally only one family resides in a house. People in a house have more autonomy of extending the house horizontally or vertically and of making any sort of changes to the structure whereas occupants of an apartment generally cannot make any structural changes in the apartment. People living in a house also own the land on which the house is constructed and can thus demolish, reconstruct, and change their structure in any way they want. On the other hand, occupants of an apartment generally own just their apartment and not the ground on which the condominium is constructed. People living in a house find it easier to move in and out whereas occupants of an ap artment find it difficult and inconvenient to frequently move in and out of the apartment particularly if the apartment is located at an elevation from the ground; they have to use lift or stairs which limits horizontal movement. However, houses generally take longer to be constructed than an apartment because most condominiums are constructed with precast structural members these days whereas most houses

The Human Society and its Environment Essay Example for Free

The Human Society and its Environment Essay Environment (HSIE) syllabus has a two-pronged objective that seeks ultimately to help scaffold students in their development both as persons and as citizens of local and global communities. It seeks to give them a sense of identity, and this involves an understanding of how their talents and opinions are relevant in their society. Research has shown that students (as human beings) develop, not in an isolated context or in a vacuum, but within the context of the family, community, and society in which they live (Panofsky, 2003, p. 411, Azmitia, 2002, p. 355). Therefore, allowing students to feel themselves true citizens of their society is an important aspect of creating identity and participation, according to the ideas of Vygotsky, Dewey, and Gibson, is therefore a key factor in learning (Rahm, 2002, p. 164; Wong Pugh, 2001). Separated into four strands (introduction, rationale, aims and objectives, and an overview of learning in HSIE), the syllabus’ introductory pages demonstrate how its objectives can be addressed in a classroom setting. Each strand clearly outlines how knowledge will be of benefit to the student and by extension to society. In fact, much thought and effort has been placed into determining the individual outcomes of particular aspects of the HSIE content. Though the syllabus is not particularly explicit about how these goals are to be achieved, nor does it clearly define the ideals of citizenship, it does give the teacher enough direction to facilitate the proper delivery of the information. A detailed look at the formulation of the goals in these introductory pages will demonstrate that the syllabus, though not explicit, is adequate in its explanation of how its aims are to be achieved. It will also present a view the interconnected aspects of the syllabus and how essential each is to the achievement of HSIE’s major goals. The introductory pages of the syllabus indicate that some of its content is taken from research into the thought processes of the children (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 9). Its writers have considered the fact that children might think differently about such issues than adults do, and have suggested suitable ways of teaching. This indicates that the syllabus intends to address how students are to be taught the material. The syllabus also indicates that the effective classroom practices of many previous teachers have informed its content, and this too indicates that effective strategies for instruction are to be included in the text of the syllabus. It appears that the strategies will involve equipping teachers with the tools necessary to create a classroom atmosphere in which students go beyond the level of hearing or reading the information to the level at which learning becomes an experience. It implies that teaching should begin on a plane with which the child is familiar and then branch of to less familiar areas, thereby building on schematic knowledge and making connections that allow them to assimilate the information gained (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 7). Though the explanation does not clearly delineate how the will be achieved, it is a promise that the syllabus itself will provide more explicit information on how to do this. Another way in which the introduction to the syllabus promises to demonstrate how to achieve its goals is in its deliberate organisation to allow for depth of understanding by its readers. It not only categorises the content according to the knowledge, values, and skills students ought to take from the class, but it further breaks down these areas, creating in effect a checklist of goals that teachers can try to incorporate into the planning of each lesson (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 8). It suggests to a certain extent the different aspects of the subject that the teachers are meant to emphasise. The goals are explicitly defined, though methods are not. Therefore, though details are not given as to how teachers should teach the lesson, this may mainly be seen as a method of allowing the creativity of each teacher to surface. The syllabus’ introduction appeals to the creativity of the teacher in its conciseness, yet does offer some direction through the thorough way in which the goals are dealt with. For example, though it does not suggest tasks that students should be made to perform in learning about the transmission of culture, it clearly states a number of ways through which culture transmission can be achieved (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 10). Another example is in the reference to the students’ gaining a sense of identity through their environment. The syllabus points toward learning the use of globes, diagrams, maps, and other tools that give direction and perspective about the local and global environment. Though it does not expressly tell how to teach the lessons that incorporate them, it does demonstrate that their use will aid in the achievement of the overall aims of the HSIE syllabus. The syllabus demonstrates a connection among its three main aspects and among the content from different disciplines that make up each of these parts. It argues that knowledge/understandings, skills, and attitudes/values are related in such a way that the student cannot be expected to fully grasp the ideas being presented them unless they have an adequate grasp of each of the areas (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 10). The knowledge provides a basis for students to gain appreciation for themselves and others, as well as for their societal groups. They are able to gain perspectives on cultures, systems, the environment, and historical facts on how these systems came into being. A key factor that contributes to the interrelatedness of the syllabus’ content is the fact that all knowledge cannot be acquired within a classroom setting. Along with exposure to this knowledge comes a similar exposure to the tools and skills that will allow students opportunity to acquire more knowledge on their own. It is to be noted that according to Howard Gardner, people have different ways of perceiving the world (Mbuva, 2003) and should learn different skills that allow them to use their own type of intelligence. All these skills allow for participation, investigation, the ability to identify biases, and the use of higher- and lower-order thinking skills. Yet the knowledge gained through these methods cannot, by itself, lead to understanding without a suitable way of processing it (State of NSW, 2003, p. 7). According to A classroom practice guide published by the Department of Education and Training of the State of New South Wales, the difference between deep knowledge and deep understanding lies in the assimilation of content that defines students’ learning (2003, p. 7). Quality instruction blended with the attitudes and values that students are desired to learn will grant them a way of processing the knowledge that they gain through classroom and out-of-class lessons (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 13; 2003, p. 7). They allow students to see what use they can make of the knowledge that they gain about themselves, others, their history and their environment. It inculcates a level of respect for other cultures and allows them to develop a sense of societal responsibility. Because, for example, the student understands how the society and its governmental systems work—why each part is necessary—he or she is able to appreciate the need to become a good citizen and to preserve the civilisation which he or she has inherited (Harris, 2001, p. 3). The student, being cognisant of the struggles that ancestors have gone through to create the society, will further respect and honour the traditions that have been passed down. Further historical and cultural studies will also grant respect for other cultures within the Australian society and those of the rest of the world. Students will be able to have respect for the differences between theirs and Aboriginal cultures, and this will enhance their citizenship as they will learn how to treat those citizens whose actions might portray differences to their own (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 13-14). After considering how each aspect of the syllabus relates to the others, it becomes evident that all sections are necessary to the complete education of the student in HSIE. Though the student might have the resources that contain knowledge, they will not be able to access that knowledge without skills that allow them to tap such repositories as the library, internet, and even textbooks. Even once this knowledge is gained, it is necessary that students be able to process it in order to turn that knowledge into understanding and into good citizenship, which is the reason usually cited for teaching HSIE (Reynolds Lewis, 1995, p. 3). Another important aspect of HSIE is to transform students into lifelong learners. All parts of the HSIE learning programme are necessary in order to add meaningfulness to the sense of knowledge acquisition so that students might consider it necessary and worthwhile to use their skills continually to gain knowledge for the betterment of society. It is often problematic that teachers have the ability to make value judgements about particular outcomes of lessons. Students often place high value on teachers’ preferences and pay keen attention to how teachers speak and feel about certain topics. However, teachers may use their influence to an advantage. Demonstrating openness especially to diversity of culture and frowning upon intolerance especially as it regards other people’s values and belief systems will help create a more tolerant class and ultimately a more tolerant society. Related to this is the fact that students will become more exposed to different religions and political views—a situation that might offer some discomfort to parents. It is important that parents be assured that culture sensitivity and tolerance (and not indoctrination) are the main goals of this kind of education. Human Society and its Environment attempts to delineate the different facets of societal groups, show how they connect with each other, and demonstrate to the student how he or she fits within one or all of them. It desires to show the variety of organisations that exist, how these organisations work, and how students with varied interests can become a part of them. It also involves the inculcation of the individual’s debt and responsibility to society—lessons that can be learned through history, environmental, and civil education. The syllabus connects three perspectives: knowledge/understandings, skills, and attitudes/values which students master through the acquisition of low- and high-order thinking skills. Yet all these facets depend upon the provision of quality instruction in a quality learning environment in order to produce deep understanding (State of NSW, 2003, p. 10). References Azmitia, M. (2002). â€Å"Interpretative reproduction: a tool for unpacking the sociocultural dynamics of development. † Human Development. Vol. 45, 355-359. Harris, C. (2001). â€Å"Curriculum control: at what cost to teachers? † AARE Annual Conference 2001. Notre Dame University. Retrieved 3rd August 2006 Available: http://www. aare. edu. au/01pap/har01535. htm Human Society and its Environment K-6: syllabus. (2006). Board of Studies, HSW. Sydney. www. boardofstudies. nsw. edu. au

Heineken Company Case Study

Heineken Company Case Study Heineken is the world 3th largest beer company based on Netherlands. It has raised significant sales throughout European countries, also their products are sold in nearly almost all countries. It has breweries in 65 countries. It bought foreign breweries or acquired licensing to cut manufacturing cost, expand product line, and facilitate local distribution. For the special case, Heineken didn`t establish it`s breweries in the united states because it considered to keep images for import beer. On the other hand, it invested in new- internet based technique to manage international distribution system efficiently. Heineken has been growing up continuously by using a joint venture with big competitors to expand into a new market. To raise global market share, it also plan special strategies for each countries. Many government leaders strongly recommend domestic firms to go international in order to create jobs and economic growth. However, some companies have trouble advancing into overseas market because of a lack of knowledge about the foreign market. 1) Economic issues directly connected to the profit (sales) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   Population: The potential customer population of the target market quite depends on type of the product or service (that a company is marketing). To a B2B firm, for example, the number of people in the country is not a good indicator of how large the market is. Also, B2C firms usually consider the targeted population instead of the number of the whole population. Age and gender are generally considered as main variables for assessing foreign markets. Consideration about households such as average family size in that country could be also a good indicator. However, it is hard to foresee the future and compare with other markets only with simple factors such as age and sex. It could be a good way of understanding foreign markets to pay attention to population distribution using tools like population pyramids. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¡ Income: A critical economic factor to look into the target market is income level of the nation. Companies trying to go into foreign markets can measure the market potential through GNI or GDP. Also, they can decide which indicator to use according to the market or product type; for example GNI per capita can be a clear index to grasp the populations standard of living. Nevertheless, average values about income such as GNI, GDP are insufficient to figure out income level of the whole population. In most nations, income isnt fairly distributed among the entire population of each country; also there is no certain correlation between income level per capita and degree of income inequality. In short, using income indictors without information of income distribution can distort the result of market research. 2) Non-economic issues à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   Cultural issues: Cultural factors such as language, race, religion, historical background, which reflect attitudes, values, and beliefs, vary among countries. Going into global market without understanding of the target markets culture brings about the failure. It is quite important for firm leaders to figure out how managers manage the firm, how employees behave and how consumers response according to each countrys cultural background. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¡ Government regulations: Each nation has its regulation and taxation on foreign trade. For alcoholic beverage firms, government regulations might be stricter in some countries that are especially sensitive about alcohol consumption of their people. Additionally, taxation on alcoholic beverages varies among different countries. For example, Islamic countries such as Egypt may give a harsh control to their alcoholic beverage import. Q2. Discuss the advantages or disadvantages for Heineken of exporting its beer from one country to another. Advantages à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   Expand Sales: expanding into international market gives various chances to get profit for Heineken. The long term relationship with international market lasts, export development cost can be covered and they increase their additional sales through the market. Also, company can further create economies of scale to decrease producing cost. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¡ Acquire Resources and Compete with Rivals: Heineken can acquire resources by sharing and learning knowledge and experience with new marketing technique and foreign competitors. Consequently, Heineken will improve quality of products, and it can gain more market share in international market. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¢ Minimize Risk: Beer is sold certain seasons: especially summer. Thus, Heineken can utilize and avoid seasonal factors during different season in foreign countries. Also, selling product to multiple markets allows Heineken to diversify their business and spread risk. Disadvantages à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  Complexity in Operations: Heineken need to plan various marketing strategies to meet different needs for each country. Thus, it causes increase in product cost. Also, there are a lot of unpredictable situations for Heineken such as establishment regulation to limit alcohol, natural disaster etc. Heineken has no choice but to be dependent on fluctuation other countries` situations. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¡ Cultural Collision: multinational companies have to consider various cultural differences among different countries. For instance, religion, customs, purchasing behaviors are things to consider. Consumption of alcohol is a sensitive matter in this sense to many countries and can cause numerous social problems. Q3. What are the key issues facing Heineken insofar as international licensing is concerned? License, is a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights. In the case of a beer company as Heineken, this would mean to license a brewery in a country they wish to enter. The licensed local brewery then would produce Heineken branded beer with Heinekens unique recipe. This way, Heineken does not need to personally build a new brewery in that area which saves time and money. Heineken has used licensing as a way to expand its business internationally. Although this business of licensing may sound like a complete win-win situation, at times there are side effects that come along with it. For instance, despite the advantages of licensing, Heineken has otherwise restrained itself from licensing a local brewery in markets such like the US. This was for reasons that had to do with the fact that Heineken was a beer company. Reasons that people consume a certain brand of beer can be various but simply to name the two main reasons would be because first, a consumer is simply loyal to that brand because they grew up with it or, for a second reason, to drink a particular brand of beer gives the consumer a sense of exoticness. The first reason usually goes for local brands, and the second reason goes for foreign brands. Thus, to produce a beer that people drink mainly because it is a foreign brand in a local brewery would definitely drive consumers away. Moreover because consumers believe that the real Heineken beer comes from Dutch brewerie s, Heineken is able to charge double for Dutch made beers. The case of Hoegaarden illustrates the difference of perception on locally-made beer and imported beer. After Korean consumers found out that Hoegaarden, a Belgian beer was being locally produced, many complained that the taste was different. Some even started calling the beer O-garden, referring to that fact that it was licensed to Korean beer company OB. Q4. Compare the FDI between Heineken and Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch has FDIs in usually large emerging markets such as China and Mexico. It invests heavily in these markets through large local companies. In China for instance, Anheuser-Busch paid $700 million for the Harbin Brewery and in the case of Mexico, Anheuser-Busch owns 50 percent of Modelo, the maker of Corona. Heineken who was the pioneer of entering international markets for beer companies, has slightly smaller scaled FDIs. Apart from the size of the FDIs, Heineken usually entered countries that were neighboring or African countries that had historical relations with European countries. Conclusion 1. Alternatives 1) The current situation: Heineken has refused to establish a brewery in the United States, instead, they keep shipping its beer to the U.S. Thats because customers in the U.S. dont accept the fact that the beer, which is made in a brewery in there, is the same with what Heineken export from its home country. 2) Alternatives We recommend not to ship Heineken beers into the U.S. but to set up a brewery in the U.S. In the case of Asahi beer, which is the top Japanese beer, they increased in sales, using FDI when they go into the foreign market. Penetrating into the U.S. market with FDI, which is distinguished from licensing, would help American customers notice there is no difference between beer from Netherlands and from its own country. For using this strategy in the U.S. market, we suggest a couple of effective ways to cope with the potential risk. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚   Positive marketing: The failure that Heineken experienced previously results from customers recognition. In order to make this tactic successful, therefore, Heineken has to give customers perception that beer from the U.S. brewery has no difference from the original one. Heineken could actively use various marketing strategies such as blind tasting. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¡ Pricing: It has high risk for Heineken to suddenly switch its distribution channel. There is possibility to bring about the same failure with before, so they can use a gradual way to relieve risks. Pricing is a good way. At the beginning, Heineken maintain the original exported beer at the same time produce beer in the U.S. brewery. Then they differentiate the price between two kinds of beer, even if there is no change in the recipe. The original exported beer would have higher price than the other. Thus, we can expect for customers in the U.S. to make a choice between Heineken beers, not another brand. 2. Recommendation Actually, Heineken is doing a quite good job in the global market, but they tend to pursue only safe way in their marketing. Therefore, we could recommend some ways to improve their state in the international market which is getting tough. First of all, we give a recommendation of growing in the U.S. market. Even though other markets of developing countries, such as BRICs, are arising, the U.S. market is still one of the largest markets worldwide. So, it would be better for Heineken to penetrate the U.S. market more positively Secondly, it would be important for Heineken to sustain and extend its global market share. Do not stop raising the number of its worldwide breweries and the reputation in each nation. Last but not least, more aggressive and innovative advertising about its product might help to improve its sales and status in the industry. It seems that the main target of Heineken cannot include young people, so it can have a chance to capture the young who would be its large target. Additionally, Heineken needs to grasp trends such as well-being. It should lead as well as follow the trend; they can introduce low-calorie and healthy beer to follow well-being trend.

Heuristic Evaluation Weakness And Strength Computer Science Essay

Heuristic Evaluation Weakness And Strength Computer Science Essay When choosing a usability evaluation method, it is important to understand what usability evaluation is. Usability evaluation evaluates how the interface of certain software or product works. How the test is conducted and how detailed the test can be, how it will react on tests and so on. For this study, heuristic evaluation is selected as the main analytical inspection method and for the empirical method, Usability Testing is selected. First introduced by Jakob Nielson in early 90s, the evaluation for usability was created to enhance evaluation method by taking elements such as, user interface(Rogers and Preece, 2007, p.686), dialog boxes, menus, navigation structure , online help and etc.(Rogers and Preece, 2007, p.686). This evaluation method was called heuristic evaluation and when its early establishment, usability evaluation guideline has a long list of method (Nielsen and Molich, 1990), and Nielson shorten the list to only ten of main heuristic evaluation which is(Nielsen, 2005); Visibility of system status: The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. Match between system and the real world: The system should speak the users language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order. User control and freedom: Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked emergency exit to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo. Consistency and standards: Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions. Error prevention: Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action. Recognition rather than recall: Minimize the users memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate. Flexibility and efficiency of use: Accelerators unseen by the novice user may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions. Aesthetic and minimalist design: Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution. Help and documentation: Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the users task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large. These sets of rules or guideline set the benchmark on how to evaluate usability on interface designs. For example, Mook (2008) research on Microsoft Windows XP Usability testing that is conducted by Bloomberg University, Washington shows that several functionality testing is conducted with the participation of students from the same University, such as setting up an email account, writing an letter, saving a letter copy and sending the final were the part of a important study on how those interface function works. Heuristic Evaluation Strength Heuristic evaluation can be seen as one of the usability methods that is knows as Usability discount engineering (Useit, 2001). The main advantages of Heuristic Evaluation can be verified as cost efficient, intuitive, planning on evaluation doesnt need any advance feature and it can be used easily in early development phases (Nielson and Molich, 1990). Cost Efficient: Cost Efficient or cheap means that it can be implemented in any development phases. For example, when creating a System, evaluation can be done on interfaces that are in Prototype Development Phase. This evaluation can be easily done without jeopardizing the cost when evaluating.(Cockton et.al, 2003) Intuitive: Intuitive means that is it easy to ask people to evaluate using Heuristic evaluation method, for example, evaluation can be done both by students or professionals and independently. (Nielsel and Molich, 1990). Advance Planning not required: Heuristic Evaluation also doesnt need advance planning prior to evaluation, meaning that it is evaluated with the rules or guidelines, with reference to Ten Usability Guidelines. Can be used easily in early development phases: Evaluation or test can be done before the final finished product is out. Meaning that it can be tested within the prototype or beta version of the product. Heuristic Evaluation Weakness Not currently solving identified problems: According to Nielson and Molich (1990), one of the disadvantages of Heuristic evaluation is problem are identified regardless of suggestions how to solve them. For example, once the problem has been identified, evaluators doesnt tend to get information for how to resolve the current problems. Working on multiple number of problems: As suggested by Nielsen and Molich (1990), evaluators just tend to identify several small usability issues, though several more are experts are useful to identify multiple problems. Not suitable on complex interfaces: Because in heuristic evaluation uses small amount of evaluators, they tend to missed out several issues, such as minor issues in complex interfaces. Usability Testing Description The approach for Usability Testing is the test that is conducted toward a product or website to ensure that the product or website is in functional state. Meanwhile, empirical uses more approach towards the thorough observation of the current system. The goal of Usability Testing is to get feedback from users whether the product that is being developed is usable by its standards. Usability testing in earlier days is conducted to investigate the usability efficiency features on interfaces (Rogers and Preece, 2007, p.646). For example, tests conducted on twelve students, by the Wichita State University (Lenz, 2008), to test usability of several gaming peripherals, such as gaming joystick, gaming pad and mouse. Participants of this test firstly need to fill out a questionnaire based on their gaming experience (Lenz, 2008) and their objective is to eliminate 15 enemy robots as quickly and efficiency as possible (Lenz, 2008). These results are recorded and later processed to be viewed as a full video. Data recorded such as how many enemies killed, time to be taken to kill an enemy and how many shots fired per kill are recorded (Lenz, 2008). Usability testing is divided into two groups, which is analytical and empirical, the analytical method means that the evaluated system are thoroughly checked and examined to crucially identify problems. Usability Testing Strength Usability Testing is a procedure that ensures that the final product is meeting the current specification and doing the tasks it supposed to do. Several advantages of Usability Testing can be identified, such as direct feedback from users, how to react to problems and resolving potential problems, if arises (McGregor, n.d) Direct Feedback from Users: Getting the required feedback from users is one of the advantages when using the usability testing. For example, questionnaires are such tools when using usability testing. Hands on users usage on interfaces are also one of the direct feedbacks that are used in usability testing. For example, testers on interactive websites can directly interact with websites and gives feedback to evaluators respectively. How to react to current problem: If problem arises, evaluators can react directly to specific problems and options. For example, when evaluating websites, if certain links are not working, the evaluators can directly spot the problems Resolving potential Problems: Launch of the final product can be done and fixing by the final product is launched. For example, once the problems are spotted, any problems can be fixed in mean time before the product is finalized. Usability Testing Weaknesses Costly in regards of equipment, staffing and facility: For example, when conducting tests, costs of equipment can be high, because of setting up of computers, questionnaires and so on. Analysis of data collected is complex: Once the tests are conducted, evaluators need to analyze those data. Usually these data are complex, for example going through hundreds of questionnaires to get the final data, this create more time consuming on staff. Require commitments by testers: For example, test on websites with a 10 students currently testing interfaces on websites will need full commitments of students, thus creating inflexible time rate with the testers. Task 2 Introduction LiveAtc Website is a live Air Traffic Control online website that enables visitors to hear live ATC from various airports in the world. Although overall look of the website is reasonable, but there are number of issues that will cause problems for users visiting to the site. Using heuristic evaluation of the website, users will generally satisfy when visiting the site. Heuristic Evaluation Heuristic Evaluation will be used upon evaluating of the website. The basic ten general heuristic are; Visibility of system status. Match between system and the real world. User control and freedom. Consistency and standards. Error prevention. Recognition rather than recall. Flexibility and efficiency of use. Aesthetic and minimalist design. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors. Help and documentation. Evaluated Website: http://www.liveatc.net Date Accessed: 20 November 2010. Nielsen(n.d) also suggested that a scale rating from 0(Zero) to 4(Four) should be used to identify the severity of the problem. Rating Description 0 No Usability Problem At All. 1 Cosmetic problem only; need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project. 2 Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority. 3 Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority. 4 Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released. Table 1: Nielsen recommended severity table. Problem 1 Brief description of problem: Color hyperlink coding not available thus denying link recognition Problem for User: User has to remember each link page before moving to another one, thus making problem remembering where theyre left before. Heuristic conformed to: Recognition rather than recall, because User has to recall where theyve been before rather than having color hyperlink recognition. Severity of the problem: Rating number 3; Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority. Problem 2 Brief description of problem: Website doesnt have any back button to the link before it, thus making user have to use the back browser button instead. Problem for User: User will have problem navigation from each link to another without a back or forward button. Heuristic conformed to: User control and freedom, because user doesnt have any control and freedom for each link, thus will limit them on going back and forward on each link. Severity of the problem: Rating number 4, Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released. Problem 3 Brief description of problem: Website design is complicated. Banner and icons are not properly aligned. Webpage width and size for different links are not standardized. The content copyright footer doesnt align properly. Problem for User: On some pages, User have to scroll down to just click the About button, because there is no standardization between web links within the pages. Heuristic conformed to : Consistency and standards , because the website doesnt have consistency and standards such as , between pages, there is no standard size or page limit, certain web links have different size and confusing links. Severity of the problem: Rating number 3, Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority. Problem 4 Brief description of problem: On the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page, it links to another site, which is a forum site. This hinder user from get quick help from the website but rather have to ask and wait for a required help. Problem for user: User would have to search from a long list of FAQ and by the end of the list; they might not find the required answer. Asking in a forum would just make the user wait for answers rather getting the answer immediately. Heuristic conformed to: Help and documentation, because of the nature of the FAQ given on the site, long lists of FAQ are given. But not all would cater the needs of the user and the FAQ link is not so helpful on users. Severity of the problem: Rating number 2, Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority. Problem 5 Brief description of problem: Website doesnt have an effective navigation menu. For example, the main page has a poor navigation menu. Links are not properly justified and creates confusion. Problem for User: User often gets confused on whether the link is as one or not because there is no separation between links. Heuristic conformed to: Visibility of system status. This is because lack of features such as effective navigation menu hinders the user to have easy usability of the website. Severity of the problem: Rating number 2, Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority. Problem 6 Brief description of problem: There is no accessibility features for users who has problems viewing the icons and fonts on the website. Zoom feature or enlarging the site features should help. Problem for user: User who have accessibility problem will have difficulties going through the site as there is no accessibility features such as font enlargement or zoom features. Heuristic conformed to: Flexibility and inefficiency of use, because accessibility features are not anywhere in the website or in their links. Severity of the problem: Rating number 2, Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority. Summary According to Nielsen (n.d), related usability problem can be found in four ways, that is, in a single location in the interface, at two or more locations that have to be compared to find. Overall structure of the problem interface and something that can be included in the interface but it is missing. In the Heuristic evaluation done above, the biggest single problem with the LiveAtc website is that, the design is too simple and would only cater with experienced visitor or user. Although problems can be identified more than six (6), but the most obvious problem is what has been evaluated above. Problems would occur if inexperience visitor is browsing through the site and would have difficulties such as navigating and understanding regardless the anonymity of the un-standardized of some web links it has. Severity rating when evaluating the website was from two (2) to four (4) rating, with reference to the Nielsen Severity Rating table. This shows that the website has problems range fro m cosmetic until problems that need to be fixed before publishing it to the internet. According to Nielsen experience with rating severity in heuristic evaluation (Nielsen, n.d), he suggested that, severity ratings from a single evaluator are too unreliable to be trusted and recommend a three (3) evaluator when doing heuristic evaluation. Accuracy and reliability of rating severity determines from how complicated the product or website that would want to be evaluated. LiveATC website is a very simple website and when judging from the Nielsen experience when rating severity, it could be that the accuracy of the evaluation would be more reliable because of the simplicity of the website evaluated.

Online Dating Essay -- essays research papers

The technology nowadays has an influence on our lives, it has affected everything in it. When this technological revolution started, we didn't expect that it would affect our emotions, and our feelings. All we expected is that technology would develop our ability to have easier life and control nature. But what really happened is that the technology started to be part of us that we can't live without. The Internet is one of the technologies which appeared in our lives, and now it is dominating our lives. The Internet is replacing many things in our lives : Email has replaced the postal services , E-shopping (e.g., ebay) is replacing regular shopping, and now you can arrange your dates and relationships on the Internet. Dating really changed in the few last years and meeting people online became not uncommon or just for young people only. But everyone now can use it to find their dates and meet new people. Love via the Internet is a hot issue which faces many Internet users, and they may have experienced a love story via the Internet. I have heard many stories from my friends and relatives which they experienced. Even, I have experienced it. I was interested in writing my third essay about love via the Internet and the opinions of the experts in this field. So I went to Fenwick library to search the databases for any articles talking about this topic. Luckily I found very few good sources. The article â€Å"Love Via The Internet†[3]. The writer started the article by showing her own opinion clearly about the long distance relationships through the dating websites â€Å"I'm having doubts about a long-distance relationship that started through a dating site.†[3]. Then she started to give an example of a relationship via the... ...me. 8.Actually, there is a good point that mention â€Å"If you are seriously looking for marriage, don't pretend you're not.† 9.After doing the last 8 steps and you decide to meet this person you have to make sure that you meet him or her in a public place like restaurants, parks, or coffee shops. Its better in the first meeting not to have a whole night plan which is not better at the beginning. 10.â€Å"Have fun. Make lots of new friends. Don't panic or give yourself a deadline. Let love take its course.† said by Jean Brandau, an expert in dating. Don't push yourself. Don't think that the Internet is the only way nowadays to find â€Å" the one† may be you will find the next person you meet at work or anywhere else is the right one for you. Love knows no boundaries. I want to say one more thing we should control the internet or any technology not to let it control us.

war on cocaine :: essays research papers

â€Å"The potential supply of drugs is virtually unlimited; trafficking routes and points of entry into the U.S. are multitudinous; and once destroyed laboratories, drug shipments, planes, money, chemicals, and other trafficking assets can be replaced easily.† Robert L. Clawson and Rensselaer W. Lee give their readers insight into cocaine trafficking, the effects of cocaine on the Andes, and what has been done to lower the amount of cocaine produced and exported. Together the authors paint a picture that the cocaine trade is here to stay and that it has not fundamentally changed since the 1980s. They are realists about the severe limitations on any element of U.S. and international strategy to control supplies of coca and cocaine in countries such as Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Clawson and Lee state, â€Å"Our suspicion is that the most effective counter narcotics program for the Andean nations will be ones that are designed by and implemented by governments concerned, rath er than by the United States or International Aid Agencies.† When the counter narcotics efforts were initially implemented they sometimes seemed successful, but the drug traffickers quickly learned how to beat the system. International counter narcotics efforts in the 1980s and 1990s have been unsuccessful in eliminating the drug cartels by extraditing, eradicating coca, or having a strong, counter trafficking effect on the supply of drugs in the Andean countries. These counter narcotics efforts are the best examples of the poor performance level of International cocaine control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the counter narcotic efforts was to eliminate the drug cartels, which were revolutionizing the production and transport of multiton loads of cocaine to foreign markets. The Medellin cartel and the Cali cartel are often remembered as two of the more dominant drug trafficking organizations in the 1980s and 1990s. The Medellin Cartel is considered to be the more violent drug organization. Followed by the less violent organization, known as the Cali cartel, which took over the cocaine trade after the Medellin cartel fell apart. Pablo Escobar was the original pioneer of the Medellin Cartel. He also was the leader of it from the mid eighties all the way till his assassination by the Medellin Search Bloc in December of 1993. Pablo Escobar and other members of the Medellin cartel successfully accomplished their political objective, which was to defeat the U.S.-Colombian extradition treaty and dominate the Colombian justice system. The U.S. extradition treaty was important in that it allowed for Colombia to send traffickers to the United States for trial and sentencing.

Why Most Convicted Criminals are Young, Male and Working-Class :: Free Essay Writer

Why Most Convicted Criminals are Young, Male and Working-Class Official crime statistics show that young, working-class males commit most crime. The following are some reasons that I can think of to explain these generalisations. Young ===== I think young people commit crime as they are out of the age group when their parents closely supervise them. Their curfews may have been extended and parents tend to give them a bit more space, privacy and freedom. They are no longer treated as children but are denied the same rights and responsibilities as adults. This can make them feel deprived of status in society and suffer from what sociologists call status frustration. This simply means that they are frustrated their lack of independent status in society. They are also at the stage when their friends are an important part of their (social) life. They want to impress their mates as well as searching for thrills and status among the peer group. Their peer group provides them some support on things to do with school and family and therefore become of great significance. The majority of young people lack responsibilities that include having children, keeping a job and financial demands such as rent or mortgage. The lacking of responsibilities such as these as well as looking for thrills among the peers can often glide young people in the direction of deviant acts that sometimes collide with the law. They might give up these criminal careers, as they grow older due to things such as marriage, parenthood, buying and looking after a home of their own etc. Another reason for why young people engage in crime could be due to the fact that their parents and teachers can no longer control their behaviour. Some sort of breakdown of behaviour control at home and at school may have occurred. These are the only explanations I can find for why a lot of criminals are young. Their offences usually involve trivial things like shoplifting, under-age drinking and are usually peer group related.

Coffee Shops Essay

Whenever I am in need to study or just want to find a place to hangout, what instantly springs to my mind is a coffee shop. There are many different coffee shops around me, but only one is my absolute favorite. My favorite coffee shop is Beca House. Beca House is a locally owned business and is only about twelve minutes from my house. It is the coziest little nook, where I usually spend my mornings before class eating breakfast and drinking my favorite espresso coffee drink. After all, coffee is the best way to wake up and get the body moving. As I walk into Beca House every morning, the strong bitter aroma of ground coffee beans drift through the air, soaking into my clothes as I make my way to the counter to place my order. The smell was circulating because the coffee bar is located near the left side of the shop. The first attraction for me was the baked goods. They are tidily placed in the transparent glass cabinet, lining up and waiting for me to eat them all. There were all different types of baked goods like muffins, streusels, cheesecakes, cookies, and biscotti’s. Up above near the ceiling of the bar, there were an assortment of coffee beans packed into brown bags. The barista takes my order, large campfire frappe, double espresso. On a cooler day, I order a hot vanilla cappuccino. The delicious smell of coffee generates from the espresso machines. There is also a blackboard on the counter near the menu with a quote written with chalk that will change from day to day. The barista hands me my custom beverage order, and I stroll back to the front of the coffee shop to find a place to get comfortable. All along the walls of the shop are strategically placed vintage paintings and inspirational quotes. Dim lights shine on the spaced out vintage furniture, making for a very soothing and quiet atmosphere. No two pieces of furniture are the same, big couches, small wooden chairs, dark colored pillows, and rustic end tables. I like admiring this type of environment: soothing and calming, yet still inviting. In comparison to most restaurants, coffee shops are by no means a noisy place. The sound of chatters and laughter blends together with the background music playing around the shop, and the volume is set at a medium tone. Coffee shops provide a comfortable, yet sociable gathering spot for people of all ages. I often find peers of my own studying for big tests, writing papers, or maybe just reading a new book and relaxing. The Beca House is my favorite part to my day. I cannot start without it. Even on days that I do not have class, I find myself getting my daily cup of coffee at the crack of dawn, just before work. Stopping at Beca House has become part of my daily routine, and I do not see it being cut out any time soon. I know I go there a lot when the barista’s know my order when I walk through the door. There’s something so perfect about it being just me, my thoughts, and my morning cup of coffee.

Culture of India Essay

Indian culture can be compared to a rapid river, which takes source from a little well high in the Himalayas and flows down among blossomy valleys and thick forests, beautiful gardens and farms, small villages and big cities. Many tributaries join it, and the mainstream becomes stronger and more powerful. There is a great variety of ethnic groups and communities with their beliefs, languages and culture living in India. However, numerous aspects of exclusive traditional Indian culture can be easily spotted everywhere. For centuries, the country lived through a lot of changes, assimilated various elements of other cultures, but it successfully preserved its ancient traditions and legacy. The progression of Indian culture started from the early civilizations. Historical records of Hrappa and Brahmanic epochs (5000-800 B. C. ) prove that a great deal of traditions and cultural elements (such as Sanskrit, yoga, early Hinduism, etc. ) were practiced in those times. Buddhism and Jainism emerged in the 5th century B. C. The epoch of Mautya and Gupta Empires is called â€Å"Golden Age† of Indian culture. The Emperors of Gupta dynasty loved arts and favored the development of literature, music and early plastic arts, mostly dominated by religious motifs. As a result of European and Oriental colonization, Indian culture absorbed the elements of Greek, Roman, Chinese and other cultural traditions. Muslim conquests in the 11th-15th centuries had a great impact on Indian social and cultural life. In particular, Hinduism adopted many philosophical ideas of Sufism, and the influence of Islamic artistic traditions can be seen in Indian architecture (Gol Gumbaz, Taj Mahal), literature (the works of Amir Khusrau Dehlavi and Kabir) and music. In the 16th-18th centuries, Indian culture was again influenced by European domination that resulted in adoption of English educational system and other progressive social standards. Since Christian missionaries started changing religious and social awareness of Indian masses to a great extent, in the end of the 18th century a great reformatory movement for cultural and spiritual revival of the nation (known as Brahmo Samaj) was initiated (Henderson). Modern India has a complex ethnic composition and very diverse linguistic lines. Over 400 languages and 1,100 various dialects are spoken. Southern ethnic groups use Dravidian languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada, which are among the 15 official languages of the country. Indo-Aryan languages, such as Hindi, Marathi, Gujatari, Bangali and others, are used in the northern regions. These languages take source from ancient Sanskrit and are used by almost one third of Indian population (Culturopedia). Indian social culture is one of the most conservative and rigid in the world. Such traditions as cast system or arranged marriages are still widely practiced. On the other hand, local social environment is connected with everything relaxing, joyful and colorful. Traditional Indian clothing (sari, Lungi, Dhoti, ect. ) has a plethora of styles and colors. Also, India is known as a land of celebrations, fairs and festivals (Diwali, Ganpati, etc. ), crowded ceremonies, communication, dancing and other social leisure activities. Religious practices are central in the life of every Indian and people spend a lot of time in Hindu temples, where they socialize, listen to music and dance. Indian cultural environment is a cradle of Buddhism, one of the most influential philosophical concepts and â€Å".. a seed bed for human rights† (Henderson 4). At the same time, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrism and other world’s religions are quite popular in modern India as well. Indian visual arts have a great range of forms and motifs, starting from intricate architecture of Hindu shrines and ending with traditional decorated textiles. Such crafts as stone work, wood work, metal works and glass products are very popular in today’s India. Indian painting has been flourishing for centuries, and there are a number of traditional artistic schools (such as Pahari, Kalighat, Kangra, Tanjore, Rajput, etc. ). Modern Indian art is dominated by social, philosophic and humanitarian motifs. Cinema industry in India has more than 100 years of history and is extremely successful and lucrative. Indian movies are being watched in many countries of the world, and they have a tremendous influence on domestic economy and cultural life. The movies portray political and social aspects, and some are based on local folklore. Indian literature and poetry take source from ancient Sanskrit, Vedic and epic texts (Ramayana, the Mahabharata) and embrace a lot of schools (Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Manipuri, etc. ). R. Tagore is the most known Indian writer and poet, who got the Noble prize for literature in 1913 (UCLA). In modern Indian culture, music is mostly associated with cinema, because Indian movies are filled with songs and dancing. However, there are a lot of people who are fond of classic Indian music styles (Hindu devotional dhrupad, khayal or raga). Such music is played with traditional Indian folk instruments, such as sitar and surbahar, as well as with flute, violin, tabla, veena, etc. Indian dance culture is very diverse and unique. Its roots go back to ancient epochs and have clear spiritual, expressive and cosmic elements, symbolizing human emotions (9 rasas of emotions) and unity with Gods. The contribution of Indian culture and science to the world is unprecedented. Chess, the decimal system and the concept of â€Å"zero†, significant innovations in astronomy, new medical approaches and therapeutic techniques, the first university in the world are among the most valuable and precious gifts of the Indians to the humanity. India has a unique and rich cultural heritage, which can be characterized by unity and diversity, traditionalism and innovations. Taking into account all these numerous achievements of Indian nation, it is impossible to question the opinion of Will Durant, who wrote that â€Å"†¦ Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all† (Culturopedia). Works Cited: â€Å"Encyclopedia of Indian Culture. † Culturopedia. Treasure House of India’s Culture and Heritage. 2008. 19 Oct. 2008 . Henderson, Carol E. â€Å"Customs and Culture of India. † Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. â€Å"Manas: Culture of India. † UCLA. College of Letters and Science. 19 Oct. 2008 .

Western Civilization Reflection Paper # 5

How did the rulers of early medieval Europe like Charlemagne, Otto of Saxony, Alfred the Great, and William the Conqueror set certain precedents for their emerging nations? Well for starters, Charlemagne did bring a whole lot to the table. The only significant thing I got out of him was the fact that he split his empire into â€Å"countries†, with a total of 300 counts watching those territories. Otto brought his German self, and conquered all of the â€Å"Holy Roman Empire†. He starts the election process.Otto gets recognized by the Byzantines and Constantine, and then finally the pope recognizes him as well. That in and of its self shows that Otto was a legit ruler! Alfred has to survive in bog-like territory for a while. He was bookish, literate, big reader, fairly religious, and an effective warrior using guerilla warfare tactics. He finally takes back his kingdom and is recognized as the first official King of England. It shows that he was able to tough it out, and was a strong ruler when he took back his kingdom.Edward was eccentric, and obsessed with death. He also did not sire any sons or daughters. He builds the first cathedral, which is located in Westminster. Got to love dudes that are eccentric! He actually reminds me of Dumbledore from Harry Potter. ? William was tall, over 6 feet. William got stuff done, and didn’t take no nonsense from no one. That is where he got his boring yet ruthless reputation. William ends up battling for England, and wins which is no surprise. William ends up creating a good system of which the government ran.

Culture Studies for Fashion Essay

This essay discusses how fashion helps convey the social identity of the rich and wealthy. Status includes class, gender, and ages. Status is important in today’s society. As Coco Chanel said, †women should dress as plainly as their maids† (Davis 1992:57). A person who is wealthy is a symbol of a person who is successful and of high income in the society. Being wealthy can upgrade one’s status to a higher class, and to be associated with the upper class society. Being wealthy will bring about better lifestyle and standard of living, which allows one to move to a better place and area of residence. Naturally, it creates a bigger opportunity to mingle with societies of a different class. This essay will discuss about status and wealth followed by the history of fashion and how important the type of fabric is in differentiating status and classes. We will then discuss about how technology in the 21st century has helped in the development of fashion. In the late 13th and 14th century, the fabric and gem trade brought back from the east started and spread throughout Europe. These fabric and cloths could only be afforded by the rich, thus wearing these clothes showed the status in the society. This was as Davis (1992; 58) said, ‘Wearing one’s wealth on one’s back’. Different classes of people had very different lifestyles and attended different activities. For example the upper class people went shopping, had afternoon tea, attended evening balls, and were presented the chance to have an education in school. The standard of living was very vastly different as lower class people had to suffer, go through hunger, and possess no extra money for anything other than their basic necessities. Their source of income were either by working day and night in the factory, working as maids for the rich or operating small business stalls. Aristocrats and upper class people communicated their wealth by wearing luxurious brands, expensive accessories, jewelry, and unique apparels from famous designers, and the men talk about business, cars, property, and women. In the eighteenth century, male and female of the aristocracy, and of the upper Bourgeoisie who emulated it, were equally partial to ample display of lace, rich velvets, fine silks, and embroideries, on appease. To highly ornamented footwear, to coiffures, wigs, and hats of rococo embellishment, and to lavish use of scented powders, rouges, and other cosmetics (Los Angeles Country Museum of Art 1983 in Davis 1992). In the twentieth to twenty first century, technology started to become more and more advance. People started to be more reliant on computers. Internet has become a very useful gateway to immediate information. The mass public has fast and direct access to information through the Internet, as an example they can also now browse luxury brands website, watch fashion shows, and do online shopping. Therefore with the ease of access to information, marketing and publicity of a product can reach the consumer level faster than ever before. When a jewelry or luxury brand’s product is worn, people can easily recognize the product and have an idea of a person’s wealth through the worth of their attire. According to Arvanitidou and Gasouka ‘Dressing is an important and controllable way to communicate one’s values, particularly rich in emotional and psychosocial consequences’. People are willing to pay for luxury brand as the brand name is associated with fashion, elegance, class and value. Some example of the designer brands under the luxury category are such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermes, Versace and others. These luxury brands have been well known in the fashion retail market for a long time. Buying branded goods is like insurance for women as it can easily be sold in the second hand market apart from it being fashionable and trendy. The other reason luxury brands sell well is due to is timeless, evergreen design. Some classic designs will stand the test of time. Shopping to women has a therapeutic effect, be it in shopping malls, luxury shops, or department stores. They indulge in the moment and make themselves happy, especially when buying from luxury brands. Upper class people have the financial capability to purchase most of the things that they like. They also like to compare amongst themselves, so they are ometimes under peer pressure to have the latest and the most fashionable product in order to show off and convince people of their status in the society. With this, they would be able to show that they are wealthy enough to enjoy the luxury brand’s quality products and prove their status. Drama and television advertisement has become a major influence in marketing and publicity of products, especially to the young people. Young people in the twenty first century like to idolize film stars, celebrities, and Korean pop stars, following closely their news, styles, actions, and lifestyles. As the Internet now is very advanced, young people can see live news on the Internet and share the news out to their circle of contact. The standard of living today has changed globally and young people today have higher disposable income. This allows them to chase after branded goods as we are living in a much commercialized world today. We are hit with commercials and advertisements in every direction, from the television, to the radio, magazines, billboards, sponsors of sports, etc. Therefore young people today are also chasing after luxury brands to be associated with status and class. Young children in the twenty first century are more matured thinking; they use make up, wear sexy dresses, and make themselves looks like an adult. They make up a big portion of market share for new technology products which is in trend such as Ipad mini, Iphone5, and Samsung note two. Possessing either one of these product, people will easily recognize their wealth through the product’s worth. In conclusion, wealth is an important factor complementing status. Historically, there was a big difference between aristocracies, upper class people and lower class people in terms of lifestyle and attire. Wearing the right clothes, the appropriate dress for the occasion, fitting in rather than standing out, is the dominant concerns of most people’ (Twigg 2009: 4). Wearing a classic, elegant gown in an evening party is very important in forming the impression of yourself on status and class. Internet and the latest technological products are very useful in helping people receive firsthand information. The products of latest technology are most of the time expensive, and holding the latest items will show that one is wealthy.