Ai Weiwei: More Than Just an Artist

From the Sichuan earthquake To art and twitter: Ai Weiwei, more than just an artist 1 Table of Contents Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Ai Weiwei’s Communication Tools †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 â€Å"Remembering† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Twitter †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Going Local to Global †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2 Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake On the 12th may 2008 in the Sichuan province, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 8 on Richter’s scale occurs during the afternoon (Fawu Wang, 2009). According to an official report, 69’197 people were killed, 374’176 injured and 4. 8 Million were left homeless. Although earthquake predictions remain in a certain way always random, a scientist named Chen Xuezhong brought in 2002 evidence of a potential coming earthquake in the region (Zhiyue, 2010). It stresses that China’s government was warned of a potential coming disaster. After this short introduction, this essay will focus on the repercussions of this incident, in China as well as internationally, emphasised by Ai Weiwei’s actions through, on one hand art and on the other Internet, respectively twitter. Ai Weiwei’s Communication ToolsThe Sichuan earthquake raised strong criticism against the Chinese government, especially because of the huge number of victims among children. According to a construction engineer who published the Chinese book â€Å"Book Blade†: â€Å"School construction in China is the worst† (Li, 2008). Indeed, they are often called â€Å"tofu construction†. Several reasons cover this problematic. Among them, the tiny budgets in poor areas. This is why we find infrastructure deficits in those regions (Li, 2008). Indeed this event has raised interest and the one of a particularly renowned artist, named Ai Weiwei.In his documentary â€Å"Never sorry† Ai Weiwei explains he pursued an independent personal investigation on this accident; he wanted to find out how many children had been killed and wanted to sue the government for their deaths, because according to him, it didn’t face its responsibilities. Furthermore he reveals the difficulties encountered, due to the government’s restricted information policy, to obtain the official number of children victims (Klayman, 2012). Thus, supported by helpless parents, depressed because of their loss, he gathered the names of an important number of children killed so that they could be remembered (Helmhirst, 2012). â€Å"Remembering† Ai Weiwei is an international renowned artist with strong beliefs and personal views. As a matter of fact, he likes to use his world reputation to make the public opinion aware of the problems the Chinese population is facing because of the communist party and has always been a great defender of their rights. The Sichuan earthquake would have been hidden and forgotten in the government’s propaganda, but thanks to him and to his art creation, those students’ life will never be forgotten. Remembering† is a piece of art created by Ai Weiwei on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst† in Munich. Made with 9’000 schoolbags (McMahon, 2010), it symbolises the life of the students who died during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. Different colours have been chosen to decorate the schoolbags, in order to read the following phrase, written with Chinese characters, on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst†: â€Å"She lived happily for seven years in this world† (Branigan, 2011).This sentence, pronounced by the poor mother of a victim, shows how sad and tra gic this accident has been. Through this artistic work and its exposition in a cultural centre like Munich, Ai Weiwei has been able to export local Chinese problems to the rest of the world and make us aware of the repressed liberty of expression and the lack of assistance to the population in China Province, especially when it comes to people living in poor areas. In addition it expresses Ai Weiwei’s beliefs by showing us that he holds the government responsible for those high casualties.Twitter Ai Weiwei uses twitter and Internet to share his views and assess his notoriety. This tool became an essential part of Ai Weiwei’s style of communication. During the Sichuan earthquake, twitter has been used to make the people aware of the damages caused and to reveal whom Ai Weiwei holds responsible for this incident. People outside China could be informed. On the opposite, people living in the mainland of China have a restricted access to Internet, respectively twitter.Still , there are some ways to deviate from the, imposed by government, restricted freedom of speech; although the use of Internet is limited, some people in China use a VPN located outside of China to communicate within the mainland (A digital rallying cry, 2011). Thus the government’s politic, this doesn’t 4 bother Ai Weiwei who’s an active twitter user, sharing his thoughts almost daily (Twitter Ai Weiwei). As a precursor of twitter in China, Ai Weiwei considerably influenced the style of communication and the liberty of expression of Chinese people.Effectively, the following example highlights clearly those facts: when Ai Weiwei was in detention, a lot of his followers shared twitts almost every day for his liberation and manifested in the streets with the famous slogan: â€Å"Free Ai Weiwei† (Twitter Free Ai Weiwei). This shows the considerable impact he has on Chinese society. Going Local to Global The repercussions of the Sichuan earthquake can be charac terised by the influence of the western culture on the Chinese population through Ai Weiwei, respectively art and twitter.As a matter of fact Ai Weiwei has studied art both in Beijing and in New York (Wines, 2009); this certainly allowed him to draw comparisons between the Occidental and the Asian culture and to figure out which changes were to be made in the Chinese politics, for example regarding the freedom of speech. Indeed from a local incident and thanks to an international renowned artist, a positive anger in the Chinese population, against the government, has raised to fight for their rights and to freely express their opinions.Effectively, it is to be underlined that the use of twitter by the Chinese population is a relevant example for this characterisation. Conclusion In the light of these factors the Sichuan earthquake emphasises the infrastructure deficit the country is facing in Province and more importantly in poor areas. Secondly, â€Å"Remembering† is the sym bol of the anger and the sadness Ai Weiwei and the parents face regarding respectively the government and this tragic accident. Thirdly, twitter highlights a communication tool, which can easily and instantly be used. Ai Weiwei hrough a combination of these tools positively influenced the Chinese people. Although it may seem somehow utopic, Ai Weiwei with â€Å"Remembering† and twitter made a huge step forward, by making a population aware    5 how to use their rights, in the fight he struggles with the government of mainland China. Hereby, I declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. 6 7 Ai Weiwei: More Than Just an Artist From the Sichuan earthquake To art and twitter: Ai Weiwei, more than just an artist 1 Table of Contents Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Ai Weiwei’s Communication Tools †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 â€Å"Remembering† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Twitter †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Going Local to Global †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2 Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake On the 12th may 2008 in the Sichuan province, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 8 on Richter’s scale occurs during the afternoon (Fawu Wang, 2009). According to an official report, 69’197 people were killed, 374’176 injured and 4. 8 Million were left homeless. Although earthquake predictions remain in a certain way always random, a scientist named Chen Xuezhong brought in 2002 evidence of a potential coming earthquake in the region (Zhiyue, 2010). It stresses that China’s government was warned of a potential coming disaster. After this short introduction, this essay will focus on the repercussions of this incident, in China as well as internationally, emphasised by Ai Weiwei’s actions through, on one hand art and on the other Internet, respectively twitter. Ai Weiwei’s Communication ToolsThe Sichuan earthquake raised strong criticism against the Chinese government, especially because of the huge number of victims among children. According to a construction engineer who published the Chinese book â€Å"Book Blade†: â€Å"School construction in China is the worst† (Li, 2008). Indeed, they are often called â€Å"tofu construction†. Several reasons cover this problematic. Among them, the tiny budgets in poor areas. This is why we find infrastructure deficits in those regions (Li, 2008). Indeed this event has raised interest and the one of a particularly renowned artist, named Ai Weiwei.In his documentary â€Å"Never sorry† Ai Weiwei explains he pursued an independent personal investigation on this accident; he wanted to find out how many children had been killed and wanted to sue the government for their deaths, because according to him, it didn’t face its responsibilities. Furthermore he reveals the difficulties encountered, due to the government’s restricted information policy, to obtain the official number of children victims (Klayman, 2012). Thus, supported by helpless parents, depressed because of their loss, he gathered the names of an important number of children killed so that they could be remembered (Helmhirst, 2012). â€Å"Remembering† Ai Weiwei is an international renowned artist with strong beliefs and personal views. As a matter of fact, he likes to use his world reputation to make the public opinion aware of the problems the Chinese population is facing because of the communist party and has always been a great defender of their rights. The Sichuan earthquake would have been hidden and forgotten in the government’s propaganda, but thanks to him and to his art creation, those students’ life will never be forgotten. Remembering† is a piece of art created by Ai Weiwei on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst† in Munich. Made with 9’000 schoolbags (McMahon, 2010), it symbolises the life of the students who died during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. Different colours have been chosen to decorate the schoolbags, in order to read the following phrase, written with Chinese characters, on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst†: â€Å"She lived happily for seven years in this world† (Branigan, 2011).This sentence, pronounced by the poor mother of a victim, shows how sad and tra gic this accident has been. Through this artistic work and its exposition in a cultural centre like Munich, Ai Weiwei has been able to export local Chinese problems to the rest of the world and make us aware of the repressed liberty of expression and the lack of assistance to the population in China Province, especially when it comes to people living in poor areas. In addition it expresses Ai Weiwei’s beliefs by showing us that he holds the government responsible for those high casualties.Twitter Ai Weiwei uses twitter and Internet to share his views and assess his notoriety. This tool became an essential part of Ai Weiwei’s style of communication. During the Sichuan earthquake, twitter has been used to make the people aware of the damages caused and to reveal whom Ai Weiwei holds responsible for this incident. People outside China could be informed. On the opposite, people living in the mainland of China have a restricted access to Internet, respectively twitter.Still , there are some ways to deviate from the, imposed by government, restricted freedom of speech; although the use of Internet is limited, some people in China use a VPN located outside of China to communicate within the mainland (A digital rallying cry, 2011). Thus the government’s politic, this doesn’t 4 bother Ai Weiwei who’s an active twitter user, sharing his thoughts almost daily (Twitter Ai Weiwei). As a precursor of twitter in China, Ai Weiwei considerably influenced the style of communication and the liberty of expression of Chinese people.Effectively, the following example highlights clearly those facts: when Ai Weiwei was in detention, a lot of his followers shared twitts almost every day for his liberation and manifested in the streets with the famous slogan: â€Å"Free Ai Weiwei† (Twitter Free Ai Weiwei). This shows the considerable impact he has on Chinese society. Going Local to Global The repercussions of the Sichuan earthquake can be charac terised by the influence of the western culture on the Chinese population through Ai Weiwei, respectively art and twitter.As a matter of fact Ai Weiwei has studied art both in Beijing and in New York (Wines, 2009); this certainly allowed him to draw comparisons between the Occidental and the Asian culture and to figure out which changes were to be made in the Chinese politics, for example regarding the freedom of speech. Indeed from a local incident and thanks to an international renowned artist, a positive anger in the Chinese population, against the government, has raised to fight for their rights and to freely express their opinions.Effectively, it is to be underlined that the use of twitter by the Chinese population is a relevant example for this characterisation. Conclusion In the light of these factors the Sichuan earthquake emphasises the infrastructure deficit the country is facing in Province and more importantly in poor areas. Secondly, â€Å"Remembering† is the sym bol of the anger and the sadness Ai Weiwei and the parents face regarding respectively the government and this tragic accident. Thirdly, twitter highlights a communication tool, which can easily and instantly be used. Ai Weiwei hrough a combination of these tools positively influenced the Chinese people. Although it may seem somehow utopic, Ai Weiwei with â€Å"Remembering† and twitter made a huge step forward, by making a population aware    5 how to use their rights, in the fight he struggles with the government of mainland China. Hereby, I declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. 6 7

Nike Incorporation

Nike is a world class company that manufactures and markets a wide large of sports equipments such as sports, balls, t-shirts, tracks, uniforms for various sporting activities such as football, basketball, athletics, cricket, tennis and golf. The company was in incorporated in the year 1968 in the state of Oregon, it main business being to design and manufacture the best foot wear and other accessory products. But, Nike has grown to be a world class company that sells well branded and expensive products that are well known for their high quality. Nike trademark of â€Å"just do it† is well known, and it relates to the sporting spirit. The company has more than 500 plants in more than 45 countries.[1] Nike did not experience much competition until in 1980s and 90s when Reebok and European counterparts Adidas and Puma entered the market. But Reebok was purchased by Adidas in 2006 thus Adidas is the one giving Nike competition. Nike has been the main player on the footwear market until then, the company controlled about 30% of the United States market, Reebok enjoyed about 20% followed by other companies like Adidas and Puma. Nikes abroad sales went up to $2 billion by 1995 and were leading by having 40% of total sales in footwear. [2] The marketing strategy of Nike has been the biggest success of the company. Nike has premium brands, and offers the market high quality and expensive products. The company creates a brand image which is achieved by the unique logo of a (tick) and a slogan of â€Å"just do it† which attracts lots of customers. The company also does promotional activities of its products by entering into sponsorship deals with world class football stars, celebrity athletes, national teams, and also college athletic. Nevertheless Nike has mixed it marketing strategies and has more elements more than promotion.   This other elements are; competitive price, wide range of products, numerous outlets and retailers (more than 20,000), sponsorship and promotion activities. Currently, Nike has a market share of around 37% in the world. The main objective of Nike is to become a leading sport equipment manufacturer in the world and maintain these standards in future. The major client base is the youth and the young adults who mainly buy the sports products from the company. The company has put a lot of attention on products for men, women, and children, and their children’s shoes are now doing very well on the market currently.   The company has created more market by venturing into various market segments and manufacturing more various products. To achieve its objective of being the leader in market business the company is exploiting new markets outside Europe. Nike has also managed to control its market by acquiring other small companies and turning them to manufacture their products. Like in 1998 it’s purchased Cole Hann which was making informal dress and shoes for $180 and cached a base of young people and their sales went up at 23% making a profit of $ 100 millions in 1998. Nike has continued to improve in its brand and marketing and its objective of being â€Å"the greatest sports and fitness company in the world† alongside world class companies like Coca-Cola. Nike gets contracts with individual clients, cooperate clients and even countries and states. The company supplies to them different products, they can be football uniform for a national team, tracksuits for national athletic teams or even tailor made shoes or uniform for specific football stars such as Ranaldhno of Brazil. [3]The market is divided in various segments which can be viewed according to the region There have been many challenges faced by Nike on the marketing side and Nike has done a lot of to recapture the market. These initiatives that Nike undertook was such as creating an ACG (all- conditions gear) unit and Techlab which was meant to market a brand of sports technology products. Such like digital audio player and waist compass these projects were meant to capture sales. In the beginning of 1999 Nike launched its products on the internet and they were directly available to the customers. Nike has continued to expand its market and with a strong marketing team lead by Mr. Perez who has vast experience, the company in 2004, posted profits of more than $1 billion. [4] The company has a high team of human resources managers who are responsible for building a workforce which is effective and efficient. This managers build teams develop the necessary talents that are seriously needed by the organization to perform their duties. The managers also inspire, mentor, set examples, innovate and revolutionize all the employees in order to achieve the best from them. The employees also attend refresher courses seminars and training to keep them in touch with new market trends and technological advancements. In general the public attitude towards the company is good, but the people of Beaverton where the company feel that it should be annexed fro where its headquarters are in Oregon State. But the company feels that the annexing will cost it $700,000 every year in terms of added taxes. The company objective is achieved through proper marketing and advancement in technology by creating high quality products and designing better management approaches to maintain the market. Another aspect the company has done is to create better working conditions and customer relationships as from 2002 Nike addressed the issues of employees exploitations and carried out random company inspections to check the working conditions of its employment. [5] Nike has training programmers to train its employees and advance them with the current market needs. Another thing that the company is involvement in is to improve its company image by getting involved in corporate social responsibilities. The company thus contributions to charities organizations and also organizes social activities for the society, and sponsors individuals and persons. This has greatly improved its image. Nike is also one of the most environmental friendly companies. And this has a very positive image in the eyes of the public which has become much environmental aware. Conclusion Nike is a big organization that commands a large market in the world. It is apparent that to maintains such a market by investing a lot in marketing and research so that it can satisfy its customers and keep up with new trends on the market. Better management skills and quality products are the main ingredient for success for any company. Many obstacles in marketing and management come up to challenge the company including stiff competition. But it is clear that with well and timely adjustments in marketing and advancement in technology and being to be innovative the company has managed to capture and maintain its markets. Therefore for any company to remain profitable and impressive its must embrace prudent management and better technology. References Collingwood, H. (1988): Nike Rushes in Where Reebok Used to Tread; Business Week, October 3, p. 42. Holmes, S. and Christine, T. (2002): How Nike Got Its Game Back; Business Week, November 4, pp. 129-31. Jenkins, H. W. (1998): The Rise and Stumble of Nike; Wall Street Journal, June 3,                [1] Jenkins, H. W. (1998): The Rise and Stumble of Nike;   Wall Street Journal, June 3, [2] Collingwood, H. (1988): Nike Rushes in Where Reebok Used to Tread; Business Week, October 3, p. 42. [3] Collingwood, H. (1988): Nike Rushes in Where Reebok Used to Tread; Business Week, October 3, p. 42. [4] Holmes, S. and Christine, T. (2002): How Nike Got Its Game Back; Business Week, November 4, pp. 129-31. [5] Collingwood, H. (1988): Nike Rushes in Where Reebok Used to Tread; Business Week, October 3, p. 42.

Succubus Revealed Chapter 1

This wasn't the first time I'd worn a foil dress. It was, however, the first time I'd done so in a family-friendly setting. â€Å"Vixen!† Santa's voice rang out above the mall crowd, and I hurried away from where I'd been corralling a group of Burberryclad kids. It wasn't actually Santa Claus calling me, of course. The man sitting in the holly-and-light-bedecked gazebo was named Walter something-or-other, but he asked that those of us working as his â€Å"elves† refer to him as Santa at all times. Conversely, he had christened all of us with either reindeer or Seven Dwarves names. He took this job very seriously and said the names helped him stay in character. If we questioned that, he'd start regaling us with tales of his extensive career as a Shakespearean actor, one that he claimed had come to an end because of his age. We elves had our own ideas about what might have cut his career short. â€Å"Santa needs another drink,† he told me in a stage whisper, once I reached his side. â€Å"Grumpy won't get me one.† He inclined his head toward another woman dressed in a green foil dress. She was holding back a squirming boy while Santa and I conducted our conversation. I met her pained expression and then glanced down at my watch. â€Å"Well, Santa,† I said, â€Å"that's because it's only been an hour since the last one. You know the deal: one shot in your coffee every three hours.† â€Å"We made that deal a week ago!† he hissed. â€Å"Before the crowds picked up. You have no idea what Santa endures.† I didn't know if it was part of his acting method or just a personality quirk, but he also referred to himself in the third person a lot. â€Å"A girl just asked for SAT scores good enough to get her into Yale. I think she was nine.† I spared him a moment's sympathy. The mall where we were earning holiday pay was in one of Seattle's more affluent suburbs, and the requests he got sometimes went beyond footballs and ponies. The kids also tended to be better dressed than me (when I wasn't in elf-wear), which was no small feat. â€Å"Sorry,† I said. Tradition or not, I sometimes thought putting children on an old guy's lap was already creepy enough. We didn't need to mix alcohol into it. â€Å"The deal stands.† â€Å"Santa can't take much more of this!† â€Å"Santa's got four hours left of his shift,† I pointed out. â€Å"I wish Comet was still here,† he said petulantly. â€Å"She was much more lenient with the drinks.† â€Å"Yes. And I'm sure she's drinking alone right now, seeing as she's unemployed.† Comet, a former elf, had been generous with Santa's shots and also partaken of them herself. Since she was half his weight, though, she hadn't held her liquor as well and had lost her job when mall officials caught her taking off her clothes in The Sharper Image. I gave a curt nod to Grumpy. â€Å"Go ahead.† The little boy hurried forward and climbed onto Santa's lap. To his credit, Santa switched into character and didn't pester me (or the boy) further about a drink. â€Å"Ho ho ho! What would you like for this nondenominational winter holiday season?† He even affected a slight British accent, which wasn't really necessary for the role but certainly made him seem more authoritative. The boy regarded Santa solemnly. â€Å"I want my dad to move back home.† â€Å"Is that your father?† asked Santa, looking toward a couple standing near Grumpy. The woman was pretty and blond, with the look of someone in her thirties who'd been preemptively hitting the Botox. If the guy she was plastered all over was old enough to be out of college, I would have been very surprised. â€Å"No,† said the boy. â€Å"That's my mom and her friend Roger.† Santa was silent for a few moments. â€Å"Is there anything else you'd like?† I left them to it and returned to my post near the line's start. Evening was wearing on, increasing the number of families turning out. Unlike Santa's, my shift ended in less than an hour. I could get in a little shopping time and miss the worst of the commuting traffic. As an official mall employee, I got a considerable discount, which made drunken Santas and foil dresses that much easier to bear. One of the greatest things about the happiest time of the year was that all the department stores had extensive cosmetics and fragrance gift sets out right now, gift sets that desperately needed a home in my bathroom. â€Å"Georgina?† My dreams of sugarplums and Christian Dior were interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice. I turned and felt my heart sink as I met the eyes of a pretty middle-aged woman with cropped hair. â€Å"Janice, hey. How's it going?† My former co-worker returned my stiff smile with a puzzled one. â€Å"Fine. I . . . I didn't expect to see you here.† I also hadn't expected to be seen here. It was one of the reasons I'd chosen to work outside the city, to specifically avoid anyone from my old job. â€Å"Likewise. Don't you live in Northgate?† I tried not to make it sound like an accusation. She nodded and rested her hand on the shoulder of a small, dark-haired girl. â€Å"We do, but my sister lives over here, and we thought we'd visit her after Alicia talks to Santa.† â€Å"I see,† I said, feeling mortified. Wonderful. Janice was going to go back to Emerald City Books and Cafe and tell everyone that she'd spotted me dressed as an elf. Not that that could make things worse, I supposed. Everyone there already thought I was the Whore of Babylon. It was why I'd quit a few weeks ago. What was an elf dress on top of that? â€Å"Is this Santa any good?† asked Alicia impatiently. â€Å"The one I saw last year didn't get me what I wanted.† Over the buzzing of the crowd, I just barely heard Santa saying, â€Å"Well, Jessica, there's not much Santa can do about interest rates.† I turned back to Alicia. â€Å"It kind of depends on what you want,† I said. â€Å"How did you end up here?† asked Janice, with a small frown. She actually sounded concerned, which I supposed was better than her gloating. I had a feeling there were a number of people at the bookstore who would have loved the idea of me suffering – not that this job was so bad. â€Å"Well, this is just temporary, obviously,† I explained. â€Å"It gives me something to do while I interview for others, and I get a mall discount. And really, it's just another form of customer service.† I was trying hard not to sound defensive or desperate, but with each word, the intensity of how much I missed my old job hit me more and more. â€Å"Oh, good,† she said, looking slightly relieved. â€Å"I'm sure you'll find something soon. Looks like the line's moving.† â€Å"Wait, Janice?† I caught hold of her arm before she could walk away. â€Å"How . . . how's Doug?† I'd left behind a lot of things at Emerald City: a position of power, a warm atmosphere, unlimited books and coffee . . . But as much as I missed all of those things, I didn't miss them as much as I missed a single person: my friend Doug Sato. He, more than anything, was what had spurred me to leave. I hadn't been able to handle working with him anymore. It had been terrible, seeing someone I care about so much regard me with such contempt and disappointment. I'd had to get away from that and felt I'd made the right choice, but it was still hard losing someone who'd been a part of my life for the last five years. Janice's smile returned. Doug had that effect on people. â€Å"Oh, you know. He's Doug. The same, wacky Doug. Band's going strong. And I think he might get your job. Er, your old job. They're interviewing for it.† Her smile faded, as though she suddenly realized that might cause me discomfort. It didn't. Not much. â€Å"That's great,† I said. â€Å"I'm happy for him.† She nodded and told me good-bye before hurrying forward in line. Behind her, a family of four paused in their frantic texting on identical cell phones to glare at me for the holdup. A moment later, they hunched back down again, no doubt telling all their Twitter friends about every inane detail of their holiday mall experience. I put on a cheery smile that didn't reflect what I felt inside and continued helping with the line until Sneezy, my replacement, showed up. I got him up to speed on Santa's drinking schedule and then abandoned the holiday nexus for the mall's back offices. Once inside a bathroom, I shape-shifted out of the foil dress, trading it for a much more tasteful sweater and jeans combo. I even made the sweater blue so that there would be no confusion. I was off the holiday clock. Of course, as I walked back through the mall, I couldn't help but notice I was never off the clock for my main job: being a succubus in the illustrious service of Hell. Centuries of corruption and seduction of souls had given me a sixth sense for spotting those most vulnerable to my charms. The holidays, while ostensibly being a time of cheer, also tended to bring out the worst in people. I could spot the desperation everywhere – those hoping to frantically find the perfect gifts to win over the ones they loved, those dissatisfied with their ability to provide for their loved ones, those dragged along on shopping trips to create a â€Å"perfect† holiday experience they had no interest in. . . . Yes, it was everywhere if you knew how to look for it: that sorrow and frustration tucked in amongst the joy. Those were exactly the kinds of souls that were ripe for the taking. I could have picked off any number of guys if I wanted to tonight and taken care of my quota for the week. My brief exchange with Janice had left me feeling strange, however, and I couldn't muster the energy to go strike up a conversation with some discontent suburban businessman. Instead, I consoled myself with impulse purchases for myself and even found a couple of much-needed gifts for others, proving that I wasn't totally and completely selfish. By the time I left, I felt confident traffic had died down and would give me an easy drive back to the city. As I walked past the center of the mall, I heard Santa ho-ho-ho-ing loudly while waving his arms energetically around, much to the terror of a small child on his lap. My guess was that someone had cracked and broken the drinking rule. On the way home, I noticed I had three voice mail messages, all from my friend Peter. Before I could even attempt to listen to them, the phone rang. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Where are you?† Peter's frantic voice filled up the small space of my Passat. â€Å"In my car. Where are you?† â€Å"At my apartment. Where else? Everyone's here!† â€Å"Everyone? What are you talking about?† â€Å"Did you forget? Damn it, Georgina. You were a lot more punctual when you were unhappy and single.† I ignored the jab and scanned through my mental calendar. Peter was one of my best friends. He was also a neurotic, obsessive compulsive vampire who loved hosting dinners and parties. He usually managed to throw something together at least once a week, never for the same reason, so it was easy to lose track. â€Å"It's fondue night,† I said at last, proud of myself for remembering. â€Å"Yes! And the cheese is getting cold. I'm not made of Sterno, you know.† â€Å"Why didn't you just start eating?† â€Å"Because we're civilized.† â€Å"Debatable.† I pondered whether I wanted to go or not. Part of me really just wanted to get home and snuggle with Seth, but I had a feeling he'd be working. I likely couldn't expect snuggling for a while, whereas I could appease Peter right now. â€Å"Fine. Start without me, and I'll be there soon. I'm just getting off the bridge now.† Wistfully, I drove past Seth's exit and instead set my sights on the one that would take me to Peter's place. â€Å"Did you remember to bring wine?† he asked. â€Å"Peter, until a minute ago, I didn't even remember I was supposed to be at your place. Do you really need wine?† I'd seen Peter's wine cabinet. On any given day, he had a dozen each of reds and whites, both domestic and international. â€Å"I don't want to run out of the good stuff,† he said. â€Å"I seriously doubt you're going to – wait. Is Carter there?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Okay. I'll pick up some wine.† I showed up at his apartment ten minutes later. His roommate and apprentice, Cody, opened the door and gave me a broad, fang-filled smile. Light, music, and the scent of fondue and potpourri washed over me. Their home put Santa's gazebo to shame and had decorations filling every square inch. And not just Christmas ones. â€Å"Since when do you guys have a menorah?† I asked Cody. â€Å"Neither of you are Jewish.† â€Å"Well, we're not Christian either,† he pointed out, leading me toward the dining room. â€Å"Peter wanted to take a multicultural slant this year. The guestroom is all done in Kwanza decorations, if you know someone looking for a truly tacky overnight experience.† â€Å"It is not tacky!† Peter stood up from a table where our other immortal friends sat around two tubs of melted cheese. â€Å"I can't believe you're so insensitive to other people's religious views. Jesus Christ! Is that boxed wine?† â€Å"You said you wanted wine,† I reminded him. â€Å"I wanted good wine. Please tell me it's not blush.† â€Å"Of course it's blush. And you didn't tell me to bring good wine. You said you were worried Carter would drink all your good wine. So I brought this for him instead. Your wine is safe.† At the mention of his name, the only heavenly creature in the room looked up. â€Å"Sweet,† he said, accepting the box from me. â€Å"Santa's little helper delivers.† He opened up the box's dispenser and looked at Peter expectantly. â€Å"Do you have a straw?† I sat in an empty seat beside my boss, Jerome, who was contentedly dipping a piece of bread in molten cheddar. He was the archdemon of all of Seattle and chose to walk the earth looking like a circa 1990 John Cusack, which made it easy to forget his true nature sometimes. Fortunately, his brimstone personality always came out the instant he opened his mouth. â€Å"You're here less than a minute, Georgie, and already you've made this get-together fifty percent less classy.† â€Å"You guys are eating fondue on a Tuesday night,† I retorted. â€Å"You were well on your way without me.† Peter had settled himself back down and was trying to appear calm. â€Å"Fondue is very classy. It's all in the presentation. Hey! Where'd you get that?† Carter had set the wine box on his lap, dispenser on top, and was now drinking from it with an enormous straw that I suspected had been literally conjured from thin air. â€Å"At least he's not doing that with a bottle of Pinot Noir,† I told Peter good-naturedly. I helped myself to a fondue fork and speared a piece of apple. On the other side of Jerome, Hugh busily typed away on his phone's keyboard, reminding me of the family at the mall. â€Å"Telling the world about this lowbrow party?† I teased. Hugh was an imp, a type of hellish administrative assistant, so he could have actually been buying or selling souls via his phone for all I knew. â€Å"Of course,† said Hugh, not looking up. â€Å"I'm updating Facebook. Do you know why Roman won't answer my friend request?† â€Å"No clue,† I said. â€Å"I've barely spoken to him in days.† â€Å"When I talked to him earlier, he said he had to work tonight,† Peter explained, â€Å"but that we should go ahead and draw for him.† â€Å"Draw?† I asked uneasily. â€Å"Oh Lord. Tell me it's not Pictionary night too.† Peter sighed wearily. â€Å"Draw for Secret Santas. Do you even read the e-mails I send?† â€Å"Secret Santas? Seems like we just did that,† I said. â€Å"Yeah, a year ago,† said Peter. â€Å"Just like we do every Christmas.† I glanced over at Carter who was quietly drinking his wine. â€Å"Did you lose my hat? You look like you could use one.† The angel's chin-length, blond hair was even more unkempt than usual. â€Å"Tell us what you really think, Georgina,† he replied. He ran a hand over his hair, but it somehow only made things worse. â€Å"I'm saving it for a special occasion.† â€Å"If I get your name again, I'll buy you two hats so you don't have to ration yourself.† â€Å"I wouldn't want you to go to the trouble.† â€Å"No trouble at all. I get a discount at the mall.† Jerome sighed and set down his fork. â€Å"Are you still doing that, Georgie? Don't I suffer enough without having to endure the humiliation of a succubus who moonlights as a Christmas elf?† â€Å"You always said I should quit the bookstore and find something else to do,† I reminded him. â€Å"Yes, but that was because I thought you'd go on to do something respectable. Like become a stripper or the mayor's mistress.† â€Å"This is just temporary.† I handed Carter the elegant crystal wineglass that had been sitting by my plate. He filled it with wine from the box and gave it back. Peter groaned and muttered something about despoiling Tiffany's. â€Å"Georgina doesn't need material things anymore,† teased Cody. â€Å"She's paid in love now.† Jerome fixed the young vampire with a cold stare. â€Å"Do not ever say anything that saccharine again.† â€Å"You're one to talk,† I said to Cody, unable to hide my smile. â€Å"I'm surprised you could drag yourself away from Gabrielle tonight.† His face immediately grew dreamy at the mention of his ladylove. â€Å"That makes two of us,† observed Peter. He shook his head bitterly. â€Å"You guys and your perfect love lives.† â€Å"Hardly perfect,† I said at the same time Cody said, â€Å"It is perfect.† All eyes fell on me. Hugh even looked up from his phone. â€Å"Trouble in paradise?† â€Å"Why do you always assume that? And no, of course not,† I scoffed, hating myself for the slip. â€Å"Things are fantastic with Seth.† And they were. Just speaking his name sent a flood of joy through me. Seth. Seth was what made everything worthwhile. My relationship with him was what had caused the rift between me and my former co-workers at the bookstore. They saw me as the reason for his breakup with Doug's sister. Which, I suppose, I was. But no matter how much I'd loved that job, giving it up was a small price to pay to be with Seth. I could endure being an elf. I could endure the quotas he and I put on our sex life, to ensure my succubus powers didn't suck him dry. With him, I could handle anything. Even a future of damnation. There were just a couple of teeny-tiny things about my relationship with Seth that gave me pause. One had been eating at me for a while, one I kept trying to ignore. But now, suddenly, with my immortal friends watching me, I finally drummed up the courage to address it. â€Å"It's just . . . I don't suppose any of you told Seth my name, did you?† Seeing Peter open his mouth in confusion, I immediately amended, â€Å"My real name.† â€Å"Why would that ever come up?† asked Hugh dismissively, returning to his texting. â€Å"I don't even know your real name,† said Cody. â€Å"Are you saying it's not Georgina?† I regretted the words already. It was a stupid thing for me to worry about, and their reactions were just proving that point. â€Å"Do you not want him to know your name?† asked Hugh. â€Å"No . . . it's fine. I just, well. It's just weird. A month or so ago, when he was half-asleep, he called me by it. Letha,† I added, for Cody's benefit. I managed to say the name without tripping over it. It wasn't a name I welcomed. I'd shed it centuries ago, when I became a succubus, and had been taking assumed names ever since. In banishing that name, I'd banished that former life. I'd wanted to erase it so badly that I'd sold my soul in exchange for everyone I'd known forgetting I existed. That was why the conversation with Seth had totally blindsided me. There was no way he could've known that name. You are the world, Letha . . . he had told me drowsily. He hadn't even remembered saying it, let alone where he'd heard it. Don't know, he'd told me, when I questioned him about it later. Greek myths, I guess. The River Lethe, where the dead go to wash away the memories from their souls . . . to forget the past. . . . â€Å"That's a pretty name,† said Cody. I shrugged noncommittally. â€Å"The point is, I never told it to Seth. But somehow, he knew it. He couldn't remember anything about it, though. Where he heard it.† â€Å"He must have heard it from you,† said Hugh, ever practical. â€Å"I never told him. I'd remember if I had.† â€Å"Well, with all the other immortals traipsing through here, I'm sure it came up from one of them. He probably overheard it.† Peter frowned. â€Å"Don't you have an award with your name on it? Maybe he saw that.† â€Å"I don't really leave my ‘Best Succubus' award lying around,† I pointed out. â€Å"Well, you should,† said Hugh. I eyed Carter carefully. â€Å"You're being awfully quiet.† He paused in drinking from the wine box. â€Å"I'm busy.† â€Å"Did you tell Seth my name? You've called me it before.† Carter, despite being an angel, seemed to have a genuine affection for us damned souls. And like an elementary school boy, he often thought the best way of showing that affection was by picking on us. Calling me Letha – when he knew I hated it – and other pet names was one such tactic he used. Carter shook his head. â€Å"Sorry to disappoint you, Daughter of Lilith, but I never told him. You know me: model of discretion.† There was a slurping sound as he neared the wine's end. â€Å"Then how did Seth find out?† I demanded. â€Å"How'd he know the name? Someone must have told him.† Jerome sighed loudly. â€Å"Georgie, this conversation is even more ridiculous than the one about your job. You already got your answer: either you or someone else slipped up and doesn't remember. Why does everything have to be so dramatic for you? Are you just looking for something to be unhappy about?† He had a point. And honestly, I didn't know why this had bugged me so much for so long. Everyone was right. There was no mystery here, nothing earth-shattering. Seth had overheard my name somewhere, end of story. There was no reason for me to overreact or assume the worst – only a tiny, nagging voice in my head that refused to forget about that night. â€Å"It's just weird,† I said lamely. Jerome rolled his eyes. â€Å"If you want something to worry about, then I'll give you something.† All thoughts of Seth and names flew out of my head. Everyone at the table (except Carter, who was still slurping) froze and stared at Jerome. When my boss said he had something for you to worry about, there was a strong possibility it meant something fiery and terrifying. Hugh looked startled by this proclamation too, which was a bad sign. He usually knew about hellish mandates before Jerome did. â€Å"What's going on?† I asked. â€Å"I had a drink with Nanette the other night,† he growled. Nanette was Portland's archdemoness. â€Å"Bad enough she still won't let me forget the summoning. She was also going off on some bullshit about how her people were more competent than mine.† I glanced briefly at my friends. We weren't exactly model employees of Hell, so there was a very good chance that Nanette was right. Not that any of us would tell Jerome that. â€Å"So,† he continued, â€Å"when I denied it, she demanded we step up and prove what superior Hellish minions we are.† â€Å"How?† asked Hugh, looking mildly interested. â€Å"With a soul pledge drive?† â€Å"Don't be ridiculous,† said Jerome. â€Å"Then with what?† I asked. Jerome gave us a tight-lipped smile. â€Å"With bowling.†

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Online Marketing - Essay Example (Prideaux 2004, 30) To understand what attributes are implemented in the online retail sector, we will consider the way one online fashion retailers www.ASOS.com markets its products and brands. This UK online fashion store was started in 2000. ASOS.com offers an extensive range of top women’s and men’s fashion, designer labels, lifestyle accessories and cult beauty brands at very competitive prices. As one of the top two most visited online stores in the UK, sales at ASOS rose by 39% t to  £18 million in 2007. The number of registered users of the Asos web site increased by 60% to 960,000 over the year. It plans increased its revenue from third-party advertising by almost 70% in 2008. Some of the advantages of the company are as follows: www.ASOS.com offers to its customers in Europe and the USA a four-day delivery at the cost of  £3, and a one-day delivery for  £5 only. The customers can pay with either their credit or debit cards, filling in the online enquiry forms. The website of the company has the option of converting the prices from British pounds to dollars or euro. All items are described meticulously, including the material they are made from, length (for dresses and skirts), etc. ‘Clearance’ section of the website presents a wide variety of discounted items sold at very cheap prices. ‘Copying’ the clothes of the ‘stars’ have resulted in many million profit that www.ASOS.com has gained, and helped the company become second largest online shop in Great Britain with the annual revenue growth rate as high as 30-40%. Further on, we will dwell upon the characteristics of the e-tailer’s website in more detail. The main challenges that online fashion retailers have to face are overcoming the customers’ unwillingness to purchase clothes online, as well as their fears concerning security issues and confidentiality.

Data Mining In Tracking Customer Behavior Patterns Essay

Data Mining In Tracking Customer Behavior Patterns - Essay Example The computing power is increasing at the rate specified by Moore's law, doubling every eighteen months. The technology upgrade to parallel processing has vastly contributed to more powerful machines. There have been a number of statistical applications and algorithms that were waiting for larger computing power to arrive. Data mining makes use of these algorithms to enable data mining possibilities. In addition to these, data is being collected on a very large scale at all levels. More the data better the data mining exercise has been the watchword of most of the work that is carried out. All these combine to make data mining. Using this data and applying appropriate models, the results of the data mining is obtained. This would enable businesses to identify buying behavior patterns from customers; identify customer demographic characteristics and predict customer response to emails. Most of the cases, both commercial and scientific establishments report a condition where there is a large quantity of data which is collected and stored. But there is hardly any information for the people to make use of. In its basics, the data mining efforts start with employing appropriate data models that would help in understanding the system and its behavior (Hand D J, 2001). This would further help in augmenting the nature of work executed and the future of the object becomes more predictable. This is possible to do only if the object is understood well and the modeling is realized to the closest possible accuracy. A number of modeling tools help in data mining. Typically, Decision Trees, Rule Induction, Regression Models and Neural networks. All these contribute to extracting needed data from the databases using data mining tools. These are not simple straight forward SQL statements. Qualitative analysis is possible with the predicate data that would use this to identify and get an objective visualization of the object being modeled. Whereas in quantitative analysis, the data is used for automatic processing based on specific input data or time. Based on the model the information and data available in the system are extracted to meet the requirements. In the case of the banks, this would help them in identifying and detecting patterns of fraudulent credit card usage. The banks might like to identify loyal customers and those who might change their loyalty even with a minor issue. It also helps in identifying credit card spending by customer groups and finding any specific correlation between different financial indicators.

Violence and the Emergency Room Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Violence and the Emergency Room - Essay Example Many of these elders must be cared for in the home which puts them in harm's way when violence occurs. The stress of caring for them at home and the lack of funds increases the chance of violence and or the use of alcohol. All of these things affect the emergency room on a daily basis and many times they are fueled by alcohol which makes the encounter that much more volatile. This paper will examine domestic violence fueled by alcohol and how it might affect the emergency room. Intentional and unintentional violence and its effects take a toll on human health and the quality of life. Globally more than 5 million people die from injuries every year; violence kills more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined, yearly (World Health Organization, 2002). Every week in Wales and England, two women are killed by their current or former partner (Reeves & Sully, 2007) and many more are damaged for life. This is not an unusual statistic throughout the world at this time. This kind of violence in families has a very long history. It consists of a pattern of coercive control that is designed to isolate the victim (Davis, 2007). This all presents in major health issues in which the cost is high. Those in the violent situation and the communities in which they live have lost positive community participation and increased costs in healthcare. This type of violence usually manifests itself in physical, sexual, and or psychological abuse which involves fear, intimidation , and emotional depravation of not only the victim but those around them (Davis, 2007). It often engrains the victim in poverty that becomes difficult to climb out of. When fueled with alcohol, the violence can be much more sudden and heightened for the victims as well as the emergency room staff. There are some social, political, and legal context in Australia that should be considered here. In the last decade of conservative Federal government in Australia, there has been an erosion of services to women living with domestic violence. There has been a concerted move toward the consolidation of family which may force a situation in which the perpetrator is in the victims life longer. This has also caused the dismantling of policies and services that are available, including such things as child care subsidies, youth training schemes, youth allowances, legal aid, supported accommodation schemes, and movement to negotiated settlements. All of this affects programs that support women and children in trouble (Wright & Waugh, 2007). This makes it more difficult to get these women and children to safety and keep them there. When violence occurs the victims often come to the emergency room and many of them have never seen a primary physician so the violent episode may just be the tip of what is wrong with them. There is a often a revolving door situation in which the same victims come back with injuries on a regular basis. They may also keep coming back with complaints of things like headaches and stomach pain in an attempt at safety. Studies show that this may be the only safe place in which these victims can disclose or plan for escape. These same studies show that a woman's decision to expose abuse can depend on the attitude of the clinician that is caring for her as a victim (Janssen & Holt, 2002) and that nurses attitude may be the victims only hope for escape. It should be noted,

Steve Jobs the founder of Apple entrepreneurial venture Research Paper

Steve Jobs the founder of Apple entrepreneurial venture - Research Paper Example In the concluding section, the key aspects that have helped Steve Jobs to achieve success will be reflected. Traditional Entrepreneurial Path An entrepreneur can be described as a person, who undertakes the probable risks that can arise in order to organize, manage and develop a business. In the present day context, an entrepreneur is recognized as a developer or an innovator who generally recognizes as well as seizes opportunities and translates those opportunities to marketable as well as workable ideas (Kuratko, D. F. & Hodgetts, R. M., â€Å"Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice†). A traditional entrepreneur intends to make the undertaken business venture successful. The path that generally is followed by an entrepreneur in traditional process of entrepreneurship are converging on an idea of business, preparing a business plan, business formation, growth and exit strategies identification and going public with the business venture (Silver, â€Å"Stages of Entrep reneurship†). In traditional entrepreneurial path, the virtues possessed by an entrepreneur include ingenuity, diligence, ambition, tenacity, perseverance and self-discipline. These virtues guide in the endeavor of building a financially stable as well as successful business venture (Belmont University, â€Å"The Good Entrepreneur†) In the inception stage, the idea of business is conceived which is then analyzed in the traditional path in terms of feasibility of the business idea from financial viewpoint as well as other crucial aspects such as availability of the sources for funding. The sources of funding can be from two aspects i.e. financial bootstrapping method where acceptance of financial resources are avoided from any external source of investor and in the other aspect, traditional sources of finance are sought e.g. venture capital investors, hedge funds, crowd funding to start-up the entrepreneurial venture. The financial aspects such as analysis of ratio, capi tal budgeting which includes payback method, net-present value, internal rate of return analysis and break-even analysis are part of the traditional method of entrepreneurship (Kuratko, D. F. & Hodgetts, R. M., â€Å"Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice†). Path Followed By Entrepreneur Steve Jobs The endeavor of Steve Jobs, the entrepreneur, can be comprehended from his saying that â€Å"We started out to get a computer in the hands of everyday people, and we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams† (Entrepreneur Media, Inc, â€Å"Steve Jobs The Comeback Kid†). Steve Jobs’ vision had been to develop a â€Å"computer for the rest of us†. This endeavor sparked a PC revolution and turned Apple into an American business icon. The business plan of entrepreneur Steve Jobs was conceived from the endeavor of Steve Wozniak, who was an engineer and as part of his hobby, was trying his best to construct a small computer. Visionary Steve Jobs with his e ntrepreneurial traits convinced Steve Wozniak to be a partner in his venture. Steve Jobs had grasped the potential of the business with a computer in the initial phase. In the business formation stage, they started on their business named as Apple, in Steve Jobs’ parental garage and started working towards developing a prototype called Apple I. They generated funding for their business by selling Apple I, which

Theories of Crime Essay Example for Free

Theories of Crime Essay Why do people commit crime? This is relatively strong topic discussed by sociologists that believe criminal or deviant behaviors are not because of ones physical characteristic. This essay will mainly focus on the Functionalist and Conflict Theories of crime. Conflict theorist argue that deviance is deliberately chosen, and often political in nature, where as Functionalist theorist argue that deviance and crime is caused by structural tensions created by social structure. Functionalists argue that people commit crimes because there is something wrong with the society the individual is in, and that this is what causes the individual to commit crime. Crime is caused by the structure of society. Conflict theorists argue that the criminal makes a choice to commit a crime in response to inequalities of the capitalist system (Giddens, 2001). Subcultural functionalist, Albert Cohen, bases his research on the lower classes. Through his research Cohen found that the lower class adolescents were disadvantaged in respect to success in general life. Cohen believed that the lower class were disadvantaged before they even started to achieve. Cohen argued, majority of the lower class children, do not start at the same position as the middle class. Because of this situation, Cohen thought that lower classes children suffered from status frustration (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000). Due to this lower class childrens annoyance with their position within society, Cohen developed the theory that the lower class child would develop or form into a sub-culture where delinquent subculture takes its norms from the larger culture but turns them upside down (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000). Due to the subculture creating goals, by the delinquent, as unattainable within society, Cohen argued that this is a cause of deviance and crime. Basically, with Cohens theory, it is mostly based namely on lower class position. Unfortunately, this only recognises that the lower class has more of a greater possibility of becoming deviant in there behavior, and Cohen disregards crimes of higher class. Another suggestion Cohen makes is that all disadvantaged people will perform acts, of deviant, criminal nature to achieve their goals. An important to understand that this is not always the case. Some individuals choose to work hard within society and its laws to  gain legitimate success (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000). Sociologist Merton, another functionalist, developed the Strain Theory, which he updated from Sociologist Durkheim theory of anomie. Durkheim stated in the anomie theory that circumstances in which social norms are no longer clear and people are morally adrift (ODonnell, 1997). Merton then modified Durkeims statement by instead stating that term anomie is to describe the strain which occurs when individuals experience conflict between their pursuit of societies goals and the means society provides to achieve them (ODonnell, 1997). Merton mainly focuses on various acts which he believed may lead to acts of crime and deviance. Merton believed that there are various goals pushed by society and that surrounded by a set of means to obtain these goals example like hard work, education, and following the law. Merton says that everybody has the ability to achieve these goals, and then with that developed the five models of adapting to the strain. The four models Merton put forward are conformity, innovation, ritualism and rebellion. Conformity is when a person continues to accept goals and the means to obtain these goals even through failure is almost inevitable. Innovation,is the response when the individual accepts the goals set by society but rejects the means (to obtain these goals) set by society (Jones. P, 1996), also merton goes on to say the individual finds a replacement to societies means, this being an illegal act (ODonnell. M, 1997). The third in Mertons theory is ritualism, this is where the means and goals of society are adhered to but the individual has lost sight of the goals and has no interest in the outcome of his/her work (Sociological Inquiry, 2003). The fifth part of Mertons theory is rebellion where the individual rejects both the means and goals set by society, this is recognised as terrorists/radical political parties (P. Taylor , 2002). Cohen and Mertons theories are both that of a functionalists perspective. They both in turn believe crime is needed within society, to indicate there is a problem and in turn that problem can be resolved (Sociological Inquiry, 2003). On the other hand there is the interactionalists perspective on crime and deviance. There are similarities and differences between the functionalists and the conflict theiorists interpretation of why deviance and crime are committed. Stuart Hall is a conflict theorist, whom in 1972 studied the increasing problem of mugging. Hall believed that class position was irrelevant in respect of the victom (ref). He researched and discovered that muggers targeted people whom appeared to come from a similar background to themselves, instead than the poor class stealing from the lower class. Hall believed that the source of moral panic was not the underlying economic problem (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000). This opinion is in completely different to that of both Cohen and Merton who both identify class as a major factor in crime, and both based their theories on the lower classes. Hall is belief and research concluded that the individuals within society committing the crimes where individuals in society forced into crime due to the nature of the economic situation. Talking another theorists view, Marxist, Hall argues that it is As Hall takes a Marxist view on crime some sociologists argue that economic situation is the cause for crime and deviance which is unavoidable. However Halls study is based upon statistics which maintain no bias. Halls study, like that of Cohen and Mertons, focuses on class. But unlike others sociologists i.e. Cohen and Merton, it acknowledges that criminals can/do target individuals in similar social situations as themselves. Cohen and Mertons studies gave the impression that the lower classes select the upper classes and intentionally harm them. This study clearly states that anyone is liable to become a victim of crime and acknowledges the influence of the media on crime. Living in a world where the media has such a large influence upon people it is easy to see how many crimes are exaggerated on television and in the newspapers, the term moral panic used by Hall is a good description. Ian Taylor, Paul Walton and Jock Young, new criminologists with studies leading towards Marxist perspective, have developed the theory which they believe criminals and deviants choose to break the laws set by society and decline out of free will. And do believe are influenced by external factors. Taylors view, according to the free will theory, is This theory is completely different to the Functionalists theorists whom believe the opposite. the meaningful attempt by the actor to construct and develop his own self-perception (Haralambos and Holborn, 1991). The free will theory developed by new criminology This strand of new criminology does not acknowledge or support the link of why crimes and deviant acts are commited through theories like anomie, physiological perspectives and those which include the forming of a subculture. Taylor, Paul and Jock are in complete contrast to the functionalist opinions and actually see crime and deviance as actively struggling to alter capitalism (Giddens, 2001). They see crime, more often than not, as a deliberate act, with a political basis against the state. They have a liberal view on the capitalist society and its restrictions and would base much devotion on the freedom of a future society (M. Haralambos, M. Holborn, 2000). They believe that ethnic minorities, homosexuals and drug users should not be persecuted but accepted by society (M. Haralambos, M. Holborn, 1991). In conclusion this document discussed that functionalists and conflict theorists have opposing views in relation to the nature and cause of crime and deviance. It has discovered that functionalists see crime and deviance as a product of society. Unlike conflict theorists perceive crime and deviance as choice chosen by the criminal. The functionalists determine that the environment determines and influences the opportunities given to an individual. Individuals have choices in the way they interpret and act upon the opportunities society provides conflict theorists state. The theories present in this document help to form a larger picture looking into cause and affects of crime and deviance. REFERENCE LIST Giddens. A, (2001), _Sociology_, Polity Press, fourth Edition, UK Jones. P, (1996), _Studying Society Sociological Theories and Research Practices_, Collins Educational, London M. Haralambos, M. Holborn, (1991), _Sociology themes and perspectives_, Third edition, Harper Collins, London M. Haralambos, M. Holborn, (2000), _Sociology themes and perspectives_, Fifth edition, Harper Collins, London ODonnell. M, (1997), _Introduction to Sociology_, Fourth edition, Nelson, London P. Taylor, (2002), _Sociology in focus_, Causeway Press, UK Sociological Inquiry (2003), _Anomie and Strain: Context and Consequences of Mertons Theories_ (Vol. 73 Issue 4 Page 471 November 2003), viewed May 5, 2008. http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/5728.php

Impact of Pop Art and Design on British Culture of the 1960s

Impact of Pop Art and Design on British Culture of the 1960s Pop Art is a 20th century art movement and style that had its origins in England in the 1950s and spread across the globe (most notably the US) in the 60s. Pop artists often utilised the techniques and imagery of pop culture, incorporating everyday objects such as comic strips, billboards, supermarket products, pictures of celebrities and magazine advertisements into their work. The most well-known and influential artists were Richard Hamilton and David Hockney (British) and Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg (American). This paper will examine the impact of Pop Art on British culture of the 1960s, with a special emphasis on the movements leading figure, David Hockney. While Pop Art in its earliest incarnation in late 50s Britain had a nostalgic flavour, as it spread, it was consistently linked more to the wealth and prosperity of the post World War II era (Biddington, 2007). The term was first coined by the English critic Lawrence Alloway in a 1958 issue of Architectural Digest to describe the paintings that celebrated post-war consumerism, defied the attributes of Abstract Expressionism, and worshiped at the alter of materialism (Pioch, 2002). Practitioners of Pop Art replaced the epic with the everyday and the unique with the mass-produced, eroding the fixed divide between high and low art, good and bad taste and fine art and commercial art (ibid). Advertising and the media were some of Pop Arts favourite subjects, and the artists seemed to simultaneously celebrate and critique consumer society: Oftentimes the work itself suggested the depersonalized processes of mass production in areas of popular taste and kitsch previously considered outside the limits of fine art. It rejected the attributes associated with art as an expression of personality. Works were close enough to reality and at the same time it was clear that they were not ready-mades but artificial re-creations of real things (Damjanovic, 2006). Considered by many to be the first Pop Art piece is Richard Hamiltons Just What Is It that Makes Todays Home so Different, so Appealing?, which incorporated numerous references to popular culture and materialism (Biddington, 2007). Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg followed his lead and used popular imagery such as the American flag and beer cans in their paintings, collages and prints, while Andy Warhol favoured the use of famous people and everyday objects in his silkscreens (ibid). Alternatively, Roy Lichtenstein utilised a comic strip style in his paintings. However, perhaps the most important artist of them all (and certainly the most famous and highly publicised British artist of his generation) was David Hockney. By age eleven he had already decided that he wanted to be an artist, and years later he attended the royal College of Art in London, where, in his own words, he realised that there were two groups of students there: a traditional group, who carried on as they had done in art school, doing still life, life painting and figure compositions; and then what I thought of as the more adventurous, lively students, the brightest ones, who were involved in the art of their time. They were doing big Abstract Expressionist paintings on hardboard (Lucie-Smith, 1999). Hockney, in turn, tried his hand at abstraction, but found it too bleak. In search of his own style, he rejected figure-painting as anti-modern and experimented by including words in his paintings in order to humanise them; these, however, were soon joined by figures painted in a deliberately rough and rudimentary style which owed a great deal to Jean Dubuffet (ibid). After a prize-winning career at the Royal College of Art, Hockney achieved international success by the time he reached his mid-20s with a show at the Young Contemporaries Exhibition in January, 1961 (Pioch, 2002). This show marked the public emergence of Pop Art in the UK, with Hockney as one of the movements leaders. His paintings of this period were often playful and witty (very much in the vein of Pop Art), although he was also adept at more serious and traditionally representational portraiture, such as Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy (Tate, London, 1970) (ibid). Hockney was also a skilled draftsman and graphic artist, and his work in this field including etched illustrations to Cavafys Poems (1967) and Six Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1969). Hockneys success was so rapid that after leaving school he did not have to rely on teaching to make a living, like the majority of his contemporaries (Lucie-Smith, 1999). In the early sixties he travelled to Egypt, Italy, Germany and the United States. He fell in love with Los Angeles, where, in his own words: Within a week of arriving there in this strange big city, not knowing a soul, Id passed the driving test, bought a car, driven to Las Vegas and won some money, got myself a studio, started painting, all within a week. And I thought, its just how I imagined it would be (ibid). Upon his return to England he began to make a series of prints which were an updated version of Hogarths Rakes Progress, and which reflected his American experiences (Gurewitsch, 2006). He also began using acrylics rather than oil paint, which led to five one-man shows in 1966 throughout Europe, and later his first major retrospective exhibition, at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London (Lucie-Smith, 1999). By this time, Pop Art, with Hockney as its patron and star, was widely popular in Britain, and   coincided with the youth and pop music phenomenon of the 1950s and 60s, and became very much a part of the image of fashionable, swinging London. Peter Blake, for example, designed album covers for Elvis Presley and the Beatles and placed film stars such as Brigitte Bardot in his pictures in the same way that Warhol was immortalizing Marilyn Monroe in the USA (West, 1996). It could be argued that while Hockneys work was the impetus for the growing acceptance and influence of the movement, in many ways he himself was the reason for its success. For Hockney wasnt simply a talented artist; he was a personality. With his bleached hair, his outward homosexuality (the subtext of which was also found in his work), his vocal admiration of Whitman and Cavafy, his eccentricity and gregariousness made him instantly likeable (Lucie-Smith, 1999). There was an even a film about him, his life and his work (Jack Hazans A Bigger Splash) that was widely popular. People saw in Hockney the embodiment of the freedom and newness of the 60s, the tearing down and humanising of the sacred and the revered, along with a newfound openness to sexuality, and it is difficult to say where the work stopped and the person began; that is, was Pop Art the influencer, or was it Hockney himself? Were the widespread effects attributed to the movement (low art rising to the status of high and vice-versa; the pasts powerful icons suddenly relegated to mere products and everyday objects achieving the level of works of art; pop culture supplanting tired, traditional culture; the old art world establishment being turned on its head; etc.) because of his paintings or his personality? Furthermore, was Hockney himself the catalyst for this, or was he merely following the zeitgeist? While it is difficult to say, two things are certain: Hockney was an important figure during this time, and 60s Britain was forever changed. Hockney eventually turned away from Pop Art painting, and branched out into other forms, including photography, set design, costumes, lithographs and even work made using colour photocopiers. As for Pop Art, while it still survived in Britain, thanks to artists such as Hamilton, R.B. Kitaj, Allen Jones, Eduardo Paolozzi and Peter Blake, for the most part it became more associated with its American counterparts, ending up the territory of Warhol and the like. But the movements effects on the artwork and cultural climate lingered for a long time, virtually transforming television, advertising and packaging, not to mention photography (David Bailey, John Cowan, Robert Whitaker) and architecture (Cedric Price, Alison and Peter Smithson). Bibliography Biddington, J. Pop Art: What is it? Pedigree and Provenance, 2007. http://www.biddingtons.com/content/pedigreepop.html Damjanovic, Sasa. Pop Art. HuntFor.com, 2006. http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/popart.htm Dormer, Peter. Design Since 1945. London: Thames Hudson, 1984. Green, Jonathon. All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counterculture. London: Pimlico, 1999. Gurewitsch, Matthew. David Hockney and Friends. The Smithsonian, 2006. Lucie-Smith, E. Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists. London: Thames Hudson, 1999. Pioch, Nicolas. Pop Art. WebMuseum, Paris, 2002. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/tl/20th/pop-art.html West, Shearer (ed.). The Bulfinch Guide to Art History: A Comprehensive Survey and Dictionary of Western Art and Architecture. Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1996.

Role Of Social Networking In Education Systems Information Technology Essay

Role Of Social Networking In Education Systems Information Technology Essay In current days the usage of social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on is very common. These social networking sites are used by millions of people throughout the world. The emergence of social networking creates a revolution among people for easy communication and knowledge sharing. In this essay we are going to discuss about the usage of social media in modernization of education system and the advantage of implementing social networking in modernization of education system in India. Modernization of education system: In India, education system currently present is mostly based on books and paper. I have a business idea regarding modernization of education system in India. Nowadays the lecturers in colleges teach using board and books for taking classes. According to my idea the concept of book based teaching is modified to e-resource usage in teaching and testing students. This process of conversion of books into e-resource will help the student to learn easily and quickly. This a powerful tool to disseminate the theories and formulas in books to students with proper examples. Current system: In India, all the colleges must be affiliated to some university. In that manner a single university controls over many colleges with same syllabus. All colleges under same university will follow the same syllabus for same subject. So all the students from different colleges have the same syllabus. But the way of teaching is different from college to college for the same subject. There is no common method of teaching for all colleges under same university. There is no communication among the students of different colleges. So socialization among the students gets affected. Assessment system: The syllabus for all colleges being same the exams are also conducted at same day in colleges with same questions to all students taking that subject. But the way of teaching and learning differs. They follow different materials for preparation for exams. As the core material would be text book prescribed by university, but the reference material will be entirely different. So the way of presenting answers different from student of one college to other college. Likewise the assignment also varies from college to college for same subject. There is no particular assessment for assignment. To neutralize this problem, our proposed system will be much better option. In our system the assessment will have common criteria and assignment must be framed by university which should be assessed properly as like exam. Proposed system: To establish a communication medium between students and enhance their opportunity of knowledge sharing we are planning a system. In our system, we need to convert all the teaching hints into PowerPoint presentations. We are going to prepare a general presentation for each subject which will be based on prescribed text book recommended by the university. All the students will be given handouts of teaching materials which will enhance their observation capacity and improve the understandability of concepts. For preparing that presentation we are going to hire professors from many universities. Each topic must have presentation which will be prepared by group of professors and approved by some experts in that area. All the student in all colleges must given access to all materials related to their subject (similar to Moodle in our university).The main thing is many colleges affiliated to same university must be connected under a network which will be maintained by our system. Because o f this connectivity all the students are able to communicate with one another to share their knowledge. Usage of software in the proposed system: The proposed system for universities in India will requires a good software system to run this system. The basic idea for this software is implementing social networking among the colleges which are come under same university. This also unique for all the colleges under same university. The basic reason behind this is just to connect student among different colleges who all are studying the same subject can share their ideas and knowledge learned in the subject. To get some practical ideas related to subject, students will use our system as medium of communication with external system which means students from other colleges. The reason which forces me to think in bringing social networking among students is increase in usage of social media websites by university students. As per the result of survey conducted by university students in social media usage shows that in overall 93% of college students are using social networking sites. Among the social networking sites, Facebook users are majority which occupies 96% of students, You Tube holds second among them which comprises of 84% of students. Blogs (14%), Twitter (14%), MySpace (12%), and LinkedIn (10%) respectively. In initial dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s students who used the social networking sites just for entertainment purpose. But in current situation the awareness of social media to the students is bit higher, so the usage of social networking sites by the students for education purpose gets increased. So in future the rate will get increased further so that knowledge sharing will get expanded in student level. General use of implementing social networking in business: The main advantage of using social networking in any business are listed Establish communication among the employees at all levels which makes the degree of transparency between management and employees to become high Easy and cost effective tool for marketing a product Possibility to attract people of a particular group Effective and efficient way to improve the contacts around the world Faster way to reach people in cheapest way Easy to know about consumer realistic reviews by joining in consumer community Helps to analyze about competitors currently available in the market Advantages of social networking sites: Most of the students in the educational institution have been using the internet quite often. Social networking has become a revelation among the young generations by which it is easier for them to communicate between each other. Will social networking sites will be helpful if it is implemented along with educational forum like Moodle? There has been a big debate over this topic in the past. Many educational experts express their interest in changing current education system in India. Many researches are going on in the current system of education in universities. The advantages of implementing social media in modernization of education system are as follows Role of social networking sites in education: Social networking sites are related to web-based services that offer us an opportunity to socialize with others peers in the network It will be helpful in making new friends and importantly to meet new people through their general interest The new development in social networking sites are the developed and sustainable relationship between teachers and students in learning and sharing content Most of the students studying in colleges communicate to their peers regarding education through text messages or phone calls, nowadays mobile phones are prohibited in many colleges by the management. So they are in need for some other mode of communication. With the introduction of the social networking sites the students can have live interactions and chats to their peers which will largely benefit the students How the students will be benefitted out of this Social networking sites are web-based services that offer us an opportunity to socialize with others Increased exposure to varied views Utilizing all the study resources properly Increased skill in technology Development of communication skills Increased talent to work on group projects Many students already use these forms of technology, so they may be more engaged in learning if they utilize it They will get chance to share the ideas which they have learned in their subject How it is benefitted for the teachers Increased access to resources Can form partnerships with lecturers in other states or countries Exchange lesson plans and information with students Cheap and effective way to convey details to students Easy to give lecturers in class by having proper resource Organized structure of classes will help them to plan accordingly to cover syllabus in particular period of time Easy to clear doubts of students by creating a forum to their subject Role of social networking in staff recruitment: As per our idea, for the preparation of common materials we need to recruit experts for each subject. For selecting experts from all areas social networking plays a major role. LinkedIn is a major social networking site contains profiles of millions of experts which allow the recruiter to choose the effective and suitable person for each subject. LinkedIn proves to be first social networking sites with lot of profiles with experience in all areas. It paves way for searching experts for all the subjects. Overall benefits of social networking to our system: In overall, the benefits of implementing social networking in our system are as follows Cheap and effective ways of communication from different level of users like students, lecturers, and so on Improve the socialization among students as well as other users of the system Tend to increase the knowledge of students by improve the knowledge sharing Fast method to convey message to all students Improvise the standard of student in whole country Creates opportunity to know about latest technology and current events To get quick access to study resources any time and any where Lot of time consumed by preparing common material Lecturers will maintain records of all the students easily It will reduce the cost of communication to colleges It improves the result of students by having proper material which suits for students at all level Examples with Facebooks, blogs and forums: At Penn State University the library service has been using Facebook as one method of allowing students to contact the librarians with enquiries A survey conducted in 2006 found that more students were using Facebook to contact the librarians than any other method Forums are also a part of Social Software that can be a useful tool in education Forums are also related to Blogs, though a blog is centered around an individual, whereas a forum is centered more around an area of interest The major usage of the forum and blogs are the students can post their blogs and works so that others can comment and advise on it There may be a positive impact on climate within the classroom when students see staff as approachable

Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail :: Tourism

Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail is an outstanding experience that you will never forget. The trail is located in a beautiful, small town in Virginia known as Damascus. This town provides many amenities such as lodging, dining and great outdoor entertainment. The town of Damascus is located about fifty miles northeast of the East Tennessee State University campus. From campus you will get onto US181 north for about twenty miles and then turn off onto the Bristol exit. This exit will then put you onto US81north. As you cross the Tennessee, Virginia line you will see signs to Damascus, Virginia. From the state line Damascus is only thirty-five miles away. After you exit to Damascus the signs are very explanatory. The Creeper Trail dates back to the early railroads in Abingdon, Virginia, in the 1880’s. Abingdon is a town outside of Damascus where a coal and iron railroad company was built. The railway traveled through Damascus and to the top of Whitetop Mountain. The railroad ran for many years but later on became damaged by floods and torrential rains. In 1977 the railway was finally torn down and the land was turned over to Abingdon and Damascus. The trail then became a biking, walking, and a horseback-riding trail. A great site to get historical information on the Virginia Creeper Trail is, (www.vacreepertrail.com/history/VACreeperHistory.htm) The town of Damascus is very charming with its beautiful Victorian houses along each road and the friendliness of the locals. While you drive into town you will come to a place called Adventure Damascus, where you can rent bikes and get a shuttle up to the top of Whitetop Mountain for only twenty dollars. The fee includes your bike rental, shuttle, and two bottles of water. The trip from downtown to the top of the mountain seems very long and dreadful but when you finally approach the top the view and ride is well worth it. The length of the trail from Whitetop to Damascus is around 20 miles long and should take four hours to make it down. People are allowed to ride up the mountain or ride down the mountain. To ride up the mountain the biker must be experienced and very well educated about the trail. As you start the trail you will hear the sounds of horses making their way up the mountain to meet you. Before you know it you will be gliding down from Whitetop Station into the forest canopy of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.