Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Saurer: the China Challenge
The text talks about the enterprise Saurer, its history and strategy to face to the challenge of Asians competitors and at same time take advantage of the opportunities in that market. In December 2003, the management team of Saurer Twisting Systems was having difficulties with the choice of the functioning of their business. It appears a really strong competitor: Asia (specially China) who starts to hoard a big part of the market. There's a recession in the market and Volkmann (one of the brands of Saurer) realized that the sales of machines for making staple yarn for apparel are declining.Volkmann achieve to take the market segment of European and Japaneses competitors but now China competitors (specially Rifa who is the major competitor) have invested in research and development upgrading their process and lowering their costs. So now, Saurer has to face a big challenge: to produce a machine with a lower cost and good quality targeted at Asians consumers. This machine would have a lower margin in comparison with the others and for its lower costs could replace the existing high end machines. The management team would have to take some really hard decisions about: positioning, pricing, naming the product and sales strategy.And there's still the question about how the Chinese competitors would react with the launch of the new product Saurer was founded in 1853 by Franz Saurer, at the beginning it was a small foundry and engineering workshop, 15 years later it begins building embroidery machines and starts diversification with a variety of industries. Saurer acquires some enterprises like: Hamel, Volkmann, Allma, Schlafhorst, Melco and Zinser. Most of the acquisitions were in textile machinery and based in Germany. With the acquisition of Barmag and Neumag in 1999, Saurer leads the production of machines for producing and finishing chemical fibers.The enterprise creates Saurer Textile Solutions (STS), comprised by nine textile strategic business units. Its miss ion was ââ¬Å"to be the undebated market leader for full service solutions in textile engineering and set continuously new benchmarks for efficient production. â⬠In 2002, began the project Tempus, that pretends to change the processes and the corporate culture with the objective of satisfy more effectively the client needs and at the same time make lower the costs. In 2003, complete the program to outsource parts manufacturing (In Czech Republic and China), which allows a better capacity of adaptation at the needs of the market.But, even with all the achievements gotten by Saurer with these proyects, the CEO of the enterprise, Henry Fisher considers that there's still a lot of things that the enterprise must do in order to become a customer focused and responsive to customer needs company and he believed there's still opportunities to be a better company. Now the author proceed to describe the textile industry (that has 4 major value-added steps: fiber, yarns, fabrics and app arel and made up textile articles) and textile machinery industry (where STS is the largest manufacturer of textile machinery).He talks about the growing of the industry (by 2% to 3% per year) and the most important productors (Asia, specially China). Next, the author recall the strategic importance of China in the industry, that importance is principally because: China is a big source of textile raw materials. China has a large domestic market China has a growing position in textile exports. China's labors costs are really low Chinese infrastructure, labor market and productivity are better than in other countries. Additionally, in 2003 more than 70% of textile manufacturing investments were being made in Asia with about a half of those in China.For these reasons, success in China becomes a really important issue for Saurer, the enterprise's sales depends on Asian markets, specially China. The predecessor companies of Saurer were participants in Chinese market, Barmag was cooperati ng with some Chinese companies, establishing Joint ventures in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuxi. But, these partners in JV started to develop their own products using the knowledge received from Barmag, giving parts with low quality and destroying the image of Barmag products, there was a conflict of interests.In 2001 after the problems with their partners, Barmag liquidate the Shanghai JV and established the Barmag Textile Machinery in Suzhou. Then, Saurer decided to established a direct presence in the Chinese market, finding a really strong competition in that market. In 2003, Saurer has a good participation in the Chinese market, in 2005 planned to build a major new facility in Suzhou that would allow it to consolidate in one location much of its procurement activities. Now the author proceed to talk about one of the brands of Saurer: Volkmann.Volkmann was founded in 1904 by Volkmann Brothers in Krefeld, Germany. At the beginning, the enterprise produces machinery for the local silk a nd velvet industry. After II World War starts building machinery for the manufacture of yarns. In 1954, Volkmann developed the ââ¬Å"two-for-oneâ⬠twisting machine that was more productive and cost effective that the existent machines, this gives to the company an advantage over its competitors. Volkmann grow becoming a really good mid-sized enterprise, but thereââ¬â¢s the need of been part of a bigger enterprise in order to grow even more.In 1990 there's a merger with Saurer, but the brand Volkmann as the Allma's were retained. In 1994 Volkmann introduces a new machine called the CompactTwister, created to satisfy the needs of the customers in the new emerging textile markets. The enterprise wanted to get a biggest segment of the Asian market, so they created the project ââ¬Å"Dragonâ⬠that consists in create a plant in Suzhou, China in 1997 in order to produce a machine with same characteristics as the one produced in Germany but with a lower cost and price, the pla n was, to export the machine to other markets in the Far East overtime.This project has their risks, specially the quality of the final product, because it would work with some parts produced in china, what could give a low quality. As a result of this project, twisting systems was the first Saurer business unit to establish its own manufacturing operation in China. It starts producing in may 1998 and the price of these machines were 15% lower that the German-Built Machine. The product was good sold, and the degree of the CompactTwister's success were pleasant surprises for Saurer management.One of the challenges that Volkmann has to face was to understand the Asian customers needs, totally different to the occidental customerââ¬â¢s. They look for the lower cost local manufacturer. Given the low labor costs and the ease of replacing workers, most Chinese companies had little interest in machine ergonomics and automation. But now the old attitudes were starting to change as more C hinese managers began to appreciate the efficiency of the machines and the quality of the products they produced, that will enable them to increase revenue.Also there's a difference between occidental and oriental's about after-sales service and support. , in China, there was little interest in preventative maintenance or annual contracts. The attitude was to repair the machine when it broke down and only to replace a part when it failed. The result of these attitudes was that Saurer's after-sales spare parts and service in China were only about one third level achieved in Western countries. This is a lost opportunity to the enterprise to gets close to the customer and discover news opportunities of business by discovering new needs.In China, Volkmann, has 2 major competitors: Muratec (Japan) and Savio (Italy). Also, the domestic Chinese competitors had become important in the textile machinery market. They had a dominant position and don't respect the intellectual property of weste rn and Japanese manufacturers (for example, the CompactTwister was really imitated). By 2003 there were 3 major Chinese competitors with another 10-15 local companies in the market. Rifa Textile Machines was the largest of the three.Founded in 1993, by the 2003 it had 5 subsidiary companies producing different types of textile machines, this enterprise has good coverage all over China. The second one is Taitan, is smaller tan Rifa but its strategy is similar. Wanli is the third competitor. The panorama in India is similar to what happen in China, the strongest local competitor is Veejay Lakshmi, that captured about 70% market share in the Indian market and is exporting its machines to other countries. In Pakistan, Muratec had the dominant market but Rifa is gaining some participation.Volkmann's participation in both countries is low. In order to response to the local Chinese Challenge, Volkmann make a project to create a new twisting machine that would meet the needs of many lower-e nd customers making cotton and cotton blend yarns with medium and fine yarn counts. This machine should have a good performance and productivity and at same time be cheaper than the others. Now the question is, Should or not Volkmann launch that new low-end machine, what would be the consequences for the image of the company to produce a machine not as good as the others but cheaper than then?Is there a big market for that kind of product? How would the competitor to react if the company launch this product? If Volkmann decide to launch the new machine would be necessary to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy; The major issues that needed to be addressed was the exact value proposition that would be communicated to the target customers, the pricing of the new product, the branding and naming of the product and the sales and marketing communications strategy.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Germany experienced a period of political Essay
Political calm, spd canââ¬â¢t compromise, Hindenburg causing problems, lack of cooperation between parties causing polarisation but no outright revolutions that happened during 1919-24, growing foreign relations lorcano/treaty of berlin Economic development, result of lorcano meant breathing space from reparations also dawes and young plan and rentenmark ââ¬â dawes plan borrowed US money lead to increase in capital. Later though fulfilment still causing problems and unemployment pay is causing issues, increase in taxes Social progress, conservative right unhappy and manifests in literature and cinema expressing glory in WW1 contrasts with neue sachlichkiet modern Weimar culture, Bauhaus linking art and functionality. Highlighting social issues within Weimar Overall relative calm but lack of progress, economic development but in short term and social progress but not helping Weimar. The years 1924 to 1929 are often described as the ââ¬ËGolden yearsââ¬â¢ but it is debatable to what extent Germany actually experienced political calm, economic development and social progress during this time. Certainly there was not the turbulence of post-war Germany and the consequences of the crippling Versaille Treaty were not as harsh in this period but this does not mean it was a time of development and progress. It can be suggested that it was not a period ââ¬Ëof political calmââ¬â¢, there was certainly a lot of tension between the various political parties that made up the many coalition governments in this period, the failure of so many governments alone suggests that there were serious political issues. The narrowing of the interests of each party meant that it was becoming increasingly difficult for effective coalition governments to be formed. The SPD were especially difficult in this time as they were against compromising with the ââ¬Ëbourgeois partiesââ¬â¢ as they felt a change in ideals would occur and proposed policies like the Heidelberg Programme which would see private ownership of industry be taken over by social owners. Obviously many parties from the left felt this but the SPD had the largest amount of seats in the Reichstag, over 150 at their peak in the 20ââ¬â¢s, and therefore had the ability to put the government into a stalemate. The SPDââ¬â¢s inability to compromise makes the political stage even worse when Hindenburg is elected as presidentà in 1925. Hindenburg, being a veteran of the Franco-Prussian war and the general who won the battle of Tannenburg was already conservative and took as many steps as he could to reduce the power the SPD had. Hindenburg also believed the powers of the president should be unrestrained and even blocked a draft that would limit his ability to use Article 48. This incoduscive atmosphere meant that by the time the SPD were willing to cooperate with a coalition government, individual interests and polarisation of parties had developed and no one else was interested. Therefore this cannot be classed as a period of political calm due to the stagnant politica l system. However, it could be suggested that this tension is to be expected as people are still feeling the effects of the First World War and political calm could be defined by the lack of extreme political parties attempting to take over. When this era is compared to the years 1919 to 1924 it is by far a time of political calm as there were no outright attempts at revolution. The years before saw extreme right and left wing idealists try to take over and the fact that this was not attempted during the ââ¬Ëgolden yearsââ¬â¢ meant it was a time of relative political calm. This is not to mention the successes in Stresemannââ¬â¢s foreign policy, which put Germany back on track to becoming a serious European power once again. The admittance of Germany into the league of nations and the signing of various treaties, such as the Lorcano treaty, meant Germany were in a period of political calm; not experiencing the diplomatic humiliation of the years before. The various treaties signed by Stresemann also helped the economic development in this period. The Dawes gained significant investments from the US and the Young Plan reduced the reparations Germany would have to pay, and set a timescale for how long they would have to pay. This gave the country some ââ¬Ëbreathing spaceââ¬â¢ to repair and develop its own economy. The young plan, for example, reduced the amount they would have to pay by 1700 million marks than they would in conjunction with the Dawes plan. These plans, alongside the introduction of the rentenmark meant there was an increase in German capital in this period, which can certainly be classed as a period of economic development. Whilst there is definitely evidence of economic development in the mid-1920ââ¬â¢s it did also experience financial issues. The increase in unemployment, 15% of the workforce were unemployed by 1929, put a heavy strain on the welfare system of Weimar Germany. The institution for paying unemployment benefits had to borrow money from the Government, 342 million reichsmarks, and the parties could not agree how to find this money. The SPD would increase taxes while the DVP would cut benefits. This can be seen as a backwards move in economic development, as the system did not address the problem of unemployment, but just found more money to pay it, with the decision of how to pay for the unemployment benefits was delayed until 1930. This can be seen as the government almost shooting themselves in the foot and making a short term fix for a long term problem. This short-sightedness can also be argued to be found in Stresemannââ¬â¢s policies, for borrowing money from the US. An international financial crisis would leave over-dependant-on-America Germany in a high amount of debt, which is what happened when the Wall Street Crash occurred. Therefore it can be said that these years were a period of economic development, but that there would be little long term effect on the country from these developments. Social progress is probably the only contention that can be absolutely agreed with, with very influential movements like the Bauhaus dominating this period of time, summed up as Neue Schlachkliet. This movement, saw a progression in modern views and an attempt to undermine the Weimar government by exposing the issues faced through literature, theatre and film. The need for educational and social reform was well documented and although this did not bode well for the Weimar government it definitely showed progress in attitudes of the general public. The conservative nature of many Germans could still be found and also classed as a social progress in the form of anti-democratic writings and films that promoted the glory of the First World war. The two social ideas both grew in this period, but neither celebrated the Weimar Government so whilst it was undoubtedly social progress it was not productive for the Weimar republic. There is definitely a case for political calm, economic development and social progress in the mid-1920ââ¬â¢s but they were not necessarily the advancesà that would warrant the term ââ¬Ëgolden yearsââ¬â¢. The political calm was only due to a lack of serious opposition to the government but still they could not successfully form an effective coalition government and whilst the economy did improve in this time the provisions made were short-sighted and the country was over-reliant on foreign investments. Whilst social progress was made in this era it is easy to see that the progress wasnot in the name of democracy and presented the Weimar government with future problems as popular ideology differed from what they promoted.
Cultural Diversity in Music and its positive and negative effects on Society Essay
American music is a melting pot of various genres of music. From the times when the country was colonized American music has come a long way. Rock and Roll, Hip-hop, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz and Country are among the internationally renowned genres. The more indigenous genres include Gospel, Louisiana tejoles, and Hawaiian music and American Folk music. Music intertwines with various aspects of American identity such as race, ethnicity, gender and social class. Of these race is perhaps the biggest driver of any particular genre of music. Hip-hop, jazz, soul and R&B have long been considered as an African ââ¬âAmerican tradition as has the country music genre been the tradition of whites in America. The mixing of cultures from has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, music is a great unifier of diverse populations. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Over the last forty or fifty years music has been one of the biggest influential factors in teenage society. So, thereââ¬â¢s no problem in assuming that our present adult society is built with some of the ideas taken from the music industry of the yesteryears. Positive Effects: Music in America has and continues to play a very positive role in the society. The emergence of folk music during the 20th century, and particularly the rise of popular folk music of the 1960ââ¬â¢s, is probably the best example of music affecting society. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing and the largely unpopular war in Vietnam was well underway. Folk music is, inherently, music played and sung by and for everyday peopleââ¬âmusic for the masses, so to speak. Naturally, when a culture becomes aware of radical changes that awareness gives way through expression. Folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie began writing ââ¬Å"protest musicâ⬠and songs in support of popular movements of the day. Other folk singers such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez followed suit. For the first time, music was not only a vehicle for expression, but it was also a way to mobilize and inspire listeners to think differently and take action. Country music typically embodied idealistic thinking, shunning capitalism and material comforts. It is about everyday people doing everyday things-the bars they go to, the people they have lost, their dreams, their loves, and their friends. Country gives people something to relate to besides urban hip-hop, rap, heavy metal, and pop. As far as society as a whole, for the most part country singers are considered fairly wholesome-they arenââ¬â¢t in the tabloids for drugs and explicitly wanton behavior (not saying they donââ¬â¢t & they are all perfect! ) but their images tend to be cleaner than musicians belonging to other genres so it gives the younger generations people to look up to. Both Hip-Hop and R&B have impacted society in many ways, mainly well. R&B and Hip-Hop have, in their own way, addressed the challenges of African-American individuals, provided help and strength, and left an impact that has been widely debated throughout the years. Many people equate gangsta rap and other isolated artists or songs with all rap and, even worse, Hip-hop in general. This is a huge fallacy because 90% of rap is either something that helps society or at least something that doesnââ¬â¢t hurt it. Consider, for example, feminist rap. Feminist rap goes against any misogyny in other types of rap and forces society ââ¬â especially men who objectify womenââ¬âto take a step back and see that what is going on in the cases of gangsta rap is wrong. Another example of a form of rap that helps society is political rap. Political rap from artists such as Public Enemy encourage the black community to stand up for their rights and to become politically active so that they do not get taken advantage of. Rock musicians too have sometimes attempted to address social issues directly as commentary or as calls to action. During the Vietnam War the first rock protest songs were heard, inspired by the songs of folk musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which ranged from abstract evocations of peace Peter, Paul, and Maryââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"If I Had a Hammerâ⬠to blunt anti-establishment diatribes Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Youngââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Ohioâ⬠. Other musicians, notably John Lennon and Yoko Ono, were vocal in their anti-war sentiment both in their music and in public statements Negative Effects: The introduction of rock and roll music in the 1950ââ¬â¢s brought with it the fear that its lyrics and new rhythms would adversely affect young listeners. That fear has carried over into the twenty-first century, but now the criticism is focused primarily on heavy metal and rap. It has been suggested that the lyrics in these types of music promote aggression, bigotry, deviant sexual activity, suicide, violence, drug use, and homicide. This issue also arises in the field of medicine. The American Academy of Pediatrics fears that rock lyrics are potential threats to the health and well being of adolescents. These concerns include pregnancy, drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, accidents, and suicide. Rap music is infamous for its inflammatory remarks towards women. Thus the two most popular forms of music for adolescents revolve around themes of disrespect and sexual imagery. Furthermore, the effects music lyrics have on mood, suicidal ideation, aggression, and stereotyping have been questioned. The massive popularity and worldwide scope of rock and roll resulted in an unprecedented level of social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. From its beginnings, rock and roll has been associated with youth, rebellion, and anti-establishment. The blend of black influences, suggestive lyrics, and wild response by the younger set made rock and roll appalling and threatening to the older generation. The ability to shock the elders in turn became part of the appeal of the music to young generations. The rock and roll lifestyle was popularly known as being associated with sex and drugs. Many of rock and rollââ¬â¢s early stars (as well as their jazz and blues counterparts) were known as hard-drinking, hard-living characters; during the 1960s a decadent rock lifestyle became more publicly known, aided by the growth of the underground rock press which documented such excesses, often in exploitative fashion. Conclusion: The impact of American music on society is definitely a positive one. An artistââ¬â¢s music can be positive through lyrics by saying all the things the person listening wants to say. It can also inspire other people to do good things such as the song Imagine by the Beatles. Music enhances creativity. Writers block, it is said, can be cured by a bout of music listening. Although there has been a great deal of negativity that has centered on music, the positive far outweighs the negative. The negative effects of some genres of music, which are the commercialization of music, the loss of creative edge, and the sex, violence and misogyny, are over shadowed by positive effects like political awareness, societal awareness, anti-sexism, and racial awareness. References: 1. How Music Affects Society http://www. musicguidebook. com/articles/how-music-affects-society 2. Cultural Diversity in Music http://www. areditions. com/rr/index/set_musa. html 3. Effect of Rap and Heavy metal http://library. wcsu. edu/dspace/bitstream/0/35/1/tropeano. pdf
Monday, July 29, 2019
Definition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Definition - Essay Example I have been conducting myself in a descent manner in order to set a good example to them. Since I have always wanted them to be morally upright people when they grow, I have always mentored and cultivated values in them. This involves offering the required advice and supporting them psychologically. In another dimension, I have been involved in making them accept the fact that life is all about dedication and being focused. Issues that revolve around personality ruining and bad character have always been outlined in our several discussions. This allows them to come up with judgment on what would face them whenever they go astray. This way, they are able to evaluate between wrong and right thus enabling them to make best choices in life. My definition of how being a father is has not changed. In fact, my role as a father has been improved by numerous challenges that have faced me with time. My ordeals as a father have always helped me to adjust my tactics on how to face such challenges in future thus strengthening my role as a
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Should all states require motorcyclists and passengers to wear helmets Assignment
Should all states require motorcyclists and passengers to wear helmets - Assignment Example More important is the cost which a society has to bear when a biker meets an accident (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2010). Head injuries are a severe outcome of riding bike without a helmet. Some people have stay in hospitals for a long duration with increased rehabilitation cost. Insurance companies do not afford all the cost and it is the public that ultimately pays for head and other injuries. Society should assess the claim of violation on freedom versus funding. After these analyses, it is important to wear helmet whenever people of any age are driving a motorcycle of riding a bike for their own health and safety. Federal government should take interest to keenly monitor the rising accidents and implement helmet laws where it does not exist (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons). The major problem in America is variations in helmet laws in different states. For example, 20 states in US and district Columbia have very elaborate helmet laws for all riders and pass engers. There are further 27 states where the helmet law is imposed on some categories of the riders. Different age groups come under this law and some are out of it. Three states do not have any helmet law for people. There is a dire need for legislatures to take responsibility and introduce helmet law in the states where it is urgently required ("Helmet laws state," 2003) According to analysis there are about 80 million bike users in US. Bicycles are being used for fun, sports, health and transportation in different states. Popularity of bicycles has increased their usage and ultimately death rate and head injuries have also risen. According to data approximately 716 bike riders died on the roads in different states and about 91% out of... The paper represents the solution and advantages of a massive problem with motorcycle deaths in the United States, which has several important consequences; it costs lives, which tears apart families and is obviously tragic, it puts a drain on already strained medical institutions, and it costs tax payers, private citizens and health insurance companies massive amounts of money each year. Though, like any problem, there is no solution that will entirely solve this issue: motorcycling, and driving generally, is inherently dangerous and nothing can be done that will prevent that. But there are methods of risk mitigation, and harm reduction, that, if used consistently by motorcyclists and their passengers will help prevent deaths and injuries. So there are two parts to this solution: what actions need to be taken by motorcyclists, and what can be done to encourage them to take those actions? As mentioned in Part I, it is clear that helmet usage can go a significant way in reducing injur ies. It might also be important for motorcyclists to wear other protective gear, such as spine supports, Kevlar gloves and so on ââ¬â the exact level of protection that should be warn is hard to pin down: more, however, is obviously always better. The aspect of how to get people to behave differently, two methods used in conjunction might work best: laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets, and public awareness to encourage them to follow these laws for their own safety.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Chinese Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Chinese Culture - Essay Example From the perspective of warfare, the Northern China favored horse troops while on the other hand, South China land favored naval force for battles due to their landscape. The residents of Modern China have been exposed to multiple clans, tribes and countries which have assisted them in evolving culturally, attitudinally and linguistically. Stereotypes have prominently come into existence due to this perceptual dissimilarity; out of which most dominant is appearance of the inhabitants. Northern are categorized as taller, loud, warm-hearted, loyal, open, energetic, expressive, fairer, with small eyes, longer rugged face with a Mandarin dialect and wheat based diet. These attributes can lead to a direction which supports the leadership and heroic charisma of Northerners. Whereas, a southerner is labeled quite distinctly as shorter, darker, clever, cultured, wealthy, artistic, large eyed, round face with a southern dialect and rice based diet. So, Southerners are considered as shrewd, industrious, scholarly yet cunning; entrepreneurial and artistic lifestyle is preferred by such people. Moreover, in terms of agricultural priorities, North harvests apples, melons, peaches, corn, and root-based vegetables;howeverSouth cultivates tropical fruits and leafy vegetables for instance mangoes, bananas, coconuts, tomatoes, and taro roots. China is subject to dramatic diversity in terms of geographical presence and divided into two regions: China Proper and Outer China. China Proper is the most urban and densely populated region which drives the economic and industrial growth for the Chinese economy. According to the Countries and culture encyclopedia, Huang He Chinese culture dominates the region. The alluvial soil, moderate temperature and sufficient river water make the region a basic source of agriculture which has been the driver of Chinese economic growth since earlier times. The sub regions in China Proper add to its
Friday, July 26, 2019
Kinship Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Kinship Anthropology - Essay Example This paper shall seek to establish the similarities and differences in the characteristics of Achilles and Agamemnon, who were two great men that were skilled in the art of war and relate their characteristics to the roles they played in dictating the outcome of the Trojan War. It is the strong characteristics possessed by Achilles and Agamemnon that made the battle of Troy historic and legendary (Homer). Achilles and Agamemnon were two great Achaean fighters that had several weaknesses as warriors. Achilles and Agamemnon were known for their hot temper (Homer 414). Though one could argue that Achilles is more temperamental than Agamemnon, but the fact remains that these two men had elements of fury and wrath in them. It should be noted that Achillesââ¬â¢ show of anger resulted in his withdrawal from battle and this ultimately led to the overpowering of the Achaean forces by the Trojan forces (Homer 327). One of Achillesââ¬â¢ demonstrations of anger was when Agamemnon ordered h im to relinquish his war prize, Briseis; and as a result he forcefully withdrew from the war and this gave the Trojans the boldness to attack the Greek army (Homer 437-438). Thus, Achillesââ¬â¢ anger also played a part in the Trojan War. Another similarity that exists between Achilles and Agamemnon is in their pride and arrogance. ... Agamemnonââ¬â¢s arrogance is seen when he expects to get the highest share of the spoils of war, even in situations that he did not take active part in the battle. Being the king, Agamemnon always wanted to take up the leadership role and this was the reason that he wanted to be at the forefront when it was time to make decisions on the Trojan War, when it was actually Menelaus that was affected by the snatching of his wife, Helen by Prince Paris of Troy (Homer 78). Agamemnon took delight in reminding the Achaeans of his kingly status. In terms of strength, Achilles was stronger than Agamemnon in all ramifications. Achilles was the greatest warrior of Greek army during the battle of Troy, while Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae and the commander of the Greek forces during the battle of Troy. While Achilles had a close relationship with the gods as the gods loved him for his strength and bravery in battle, Agamemnon did not really have any significant relationship with the gods. Wh ile Achilles could not control his anger and fury, Agamemnon intentionally made people to feel the effect of his wrath. While Achilles did not take the Trojan War too serious, Agamemnon was too serious about the war as he did everything possible to ensure the victory of the Achaean army. There was even a time that Achilles abandoned his fellow Greek warriors and even prayed that the Trojan forces should overrun them. Agamemnon is also different from Achilles in his ability to make intelligent and refined judgments about a situation. Agamemnon is not usually too quick to act, but takes his time before embarking on an action; while Achilles lets his own anger and fury to determine his actions. Achilles usually
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Call it what ever you like Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Call it what ever you like - Essay Example Antonio is liked by people and has a good heart. He is able to bring out his emotions very in the court while pleading for mercy from Shylock (Shakespeare, Coleman & Barnes, 23). Shylock is the unsuccessfully character and is resented by everyone. Shylock is a rich man who lends out money to Antonio. However, when he needs his money repaid, Antonio is not in a position to repay and this becomes a major source of conflict between the two friends. In the court scene, Shylock is able to bring out very well mixed emotions and anger. He however, later becomes sympathetic when the case turns again as they had not agreed on how to measure the pound of flesh and blood (Shakespeare, Coleman & Barnes, 23). He is well armed with his knife in court and could not wait to be finally allowed to get his pound of flesh. Shylock can be analyzed as a very inhumane and unfair character as he does not even give Antonio a chance to explain himself, he harbors secret hated for Antonio and would be delighted to destroy him the best way he would (Shakespeare, Coleman & Barnes, 23). The other characters hate shylock as he finds fun and satisfaction oppressing them. Other aspects of the play such as costumes, lighting, props as well as sound were well incorporated and the performance was extemporary good (Shakespeare, Coleman & Barnes, 23). All through the play, the characters were able to capture my attention and create enthusiasm to keep watching. The production was top notch. I have learnt vital lessons from the play and will aim at becoming a better and peace-loving
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
American History Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
American History Paper - Essay Example After years, American became an imperial power of an isolationist foreign policy while in years; the government and corruption were replaced with a reformerââ¬â¢s progressive government. Due to significant impacts of both policies, the achievement of social and politics of the progressive government had some reaching effects than the American empire buildings. Before 1890, America somehow uninvolved in foreign affairs, but by 1902, it became an imperial power. Through motivation of new desire for new markets, and the image of strong navy, it was only a matter of time before America played a major role on the world stage. The war with Spain was the first major imperial action. When the war ended, the United States annexed Puerto Rico and the Philippines so as to Christianize and civilize them, leading to the start of Benevolent Assimilation policy. Therefore, Cuba received its independence with some limitations that intended to ensure that the United States had a practical control of the nation. In 1901, President McKinley was assassinated while Teddy Roosevelt as a progressive reformer was given the Vice-Presidency to end his political career and thereafter made to be the president. The reformers strengthen the people through referendum, initiative, direct primary elections and the direct senatorââ¬â¢s election. Womenââ¬â¢s political power increased and thus gained the right to vote by 1920. Teddy Rooseveltââ¬â¢s deal finally protected the consumerââ¬â¢s needs through acts like drug act and pure food, while giving the government power over the corporations that previous led the government. Most of the progressive accomplishments have evolved further from their initial conception. The progressiveness of the domestic policies has had a huge impact on the United States Development. These policies made huge gains in rights of women, consumer protection, labor reform, conservation, fiscal reform and projects of public works. The current set of governmentââ¬â¢s framework was
Climate change hastens population extinctions Essay
Climate change hastens population extinctions - Essay Example Literature review: The climate system is a complex, interactive system consisting of the atmosphere, land surface, snow and ice, oceans and other bodies of water, and living things. Climate is usually described in terms of the mean and variability of temperature, precipitation and wind over a period, ranging from months to millions of years (the classical period is 30 years). Global warming the most visible aspect of climate change affects our whole climate system including humans worldwide. In the past three decades the EL Nino effect in the Southern hemisphere has become more intense, causing greater variation in rainfall. . North America and Central Asia will warm more than the oceans or coastal regions. Precipitation will increase overall, but there will be sharp regional variations, with some areas that now receive adequate rainfall becoming arid. The consequences for non-human animals and bio-diversity will also be severe. In some regions plant and animal communities will gradually move further from the equator, or to higher altitudes, following climate patterns. Australia's unique alpine plants and animals already survive only on the country's highest alpine plains and peaks. If snow ceases to fall on their territory, they will become extinct. Similarly, many species are also shifting towards favorable climatic zones or facing threats of extinction. One such species is Checkerspot butterfly. Recent studies are pointing out that climate change may be one of the factors for extinction of species but not the sole reason. Therefore, the detection and attribution of climate change in natural system has been a challenge for climate change biologists. Assigning climate change as the cause of the observed biotic changes has often had a deeper basis, such as a known mechanistic link between climate variables and biology of the study of species (Parmesan et al. 2000). On a continental scale, movements of the entire species ranges have been found in butterflies in both north America and Europe, where two thirds of the 58 species studied have shifted their ranges northward (Parmesan, 1996; Parmesan et al. 1999). Seventy years of published studies document the limiting effects of temperature on butterfly population dynamics, particularly at northern range edges (Parmesan, 2003). The northern boundaries of many European butterflies are correlated with summertime isotherms (Thomas, 199 3). Montane studies are lesser in numbers and less documented but these shows upward movement of species in general. In one of the studies, Parmesan (1996) found that Edith's Checkerspot butterfly has shifted upwards by 105m in the Sieara Nevada Mountains of California. Now apart from warming impacts, the difference in rainfall has some impact on movement/extinction of species/plants. In one of the study, at sites in Alaska, more recent decades have been relatively dry, which is believed to have prevented trees from responding to current warming as they did before (Barber et al., 2000) Precipitation changes may also be the reason for shifting/extinction. Recent trends toward increased precipitation have seen to be driving vegetation compositions to be altering the relative abundances of species within Rodent, reptile and ant communities (Brown et al. 1997). Theory indicates that a
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Is deindustrialisation a cause for concern Coursework
Is deindustrialisation a cause for concern - Coursework Example The first and foremost negative impact of deindustrialization involves transition and reduction in employment trends. With the reduction in industrial capacity of developed economies, the employment levels in these sectors are bound to decrease. The people employed in these sectors will be gradually reduced or eliminated which pose the inevitable problem of unemployment or altering the skill set to adjust themselves to other emerging markets, which particularly involves the service sector. Another major setback of deindustrialization is the growing divide on economic terms that is growing gap between rich and poor in particular. The people who are most reliant upon manufacturing sectors are the ones who will suffer most when there is a transition of manufacturing economy to a service sector-based economy. While this group of people will suffer most economically, who will find themselves either out of employment or willing to work on very low wages just to keep the ball rolling, on th e other hand will be people who are already working in the service sector and face better prospects in future as the sector grows. This is what happened in Detroit where deindustrialization has resulted in an increase in unemployment and growing divide between rich and poor. Detroit was famous for its automotive industry and with a high proportion of people employed in this industry; the residents enjoyed a high standard of living. This was not for long as Detroit faced deindustrialization and automotive companies soon began to migrate to the southern US states or other countries to take advantage of lower wages. As a result, the people who were employed in this automotive industry faced huge employment crisis and the income per capita in this particular area has been alarmingly low in the recent past. In addition to this, people have started to leave for pastures new to bring an improvement to their deteriorating living standards. As a result of deindustrialization, manufacturing s ector consists of the smallest share of US workforce in more than a hundred years (Boundless, n.d.). The same concept applies with other nations where the inequality has been on a rise with the developed economies such as United States, Unite Kingdom, Japan, France and Germany focusing on value added products, particularly services. On the other hand have been the developing and industrializing nations such as China, India and Indonesia who focus on manufacturing. The trends indicate that the economic disparity between developed and developing nations have been on a rise due to manufacturing. (International Monetary Fund, 1997) The most significant factor of deindustrialization has however not been discussed much by the analysts, maybe because they have underestimated the potential problem at hand. Although we live in a world of globalization, it must be noted that a fully globalized world on the basis of competitive advantage is just a theory and not practical. This cannot be put i nto practice because a country should be sustainable to meet the demand of at least the important and essential products, for example eatables. It is true that the current economic circumstances require developed nations to turn to value added products such as services. But in order to be a sustainable economy,
Monday, July 22, 2019
The Future of Graphic Arts Essay Example for Free
The Future of Graphic Arts Essay Public works projects were promoted by Lester Beall during the 1930s. The depiction of this project is describes as this poster for the Rural Electrification Administration juxtaposes a photograph of two young people against an abstracted American flag to express optimism for a technologically enhanced future (WebCT, 2002). This is also a political manifestation in the way that there is a presentation of an image designed to give hope in a time where there are different social problems. However, this was not a new move, as in 1917 there was the use of graphic art in the form of posters as a reaction against the social condition, and supporting the revolution (WebCT, 2002). In the country there was support given to the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) (WebCT, 2002). If we look at the way these posters were made we can see why thy were so limited, with poster printed by hand, or attentively only with the use of rough stencils (WebCT, 2002). This limited the amount of posters but still the work of artists such as Gustav Klutsis and Mikhail Razulevich development and used more mechanical methods of reproductions (WebCT, 2002). Nearby in Germany politics was also the subject of John Heartfield where he was against the rise of the Nazi part though this use of graphic arts, however, this time the images were more direct with the use if graphic art as a political advertising using photomontages as well as slogans on a single poster (WebCT, 2002). This was a demonstration of how graphic art could be used to develop emotional feeling regarding public issues and to change the opinions of those watching (WebCT, 2002). This has been used again and against throughout history, with the different message against the status quo being depicted in images relevant to the contemporary society (McQuiston and Greer, 1997). Here we have seen the beginnings of the development, how society and politics have influenced the way that the art has been developed. If we want to look to what the future may hold we need to take a leap and consider how the more recent past has developed with the use of graphic art. Here we can then see the way that the foundations were built upon. To undertake this there are many approaches that can be developed. The way in which graphic art has development may be seen in many mediums in many countries. , However , in keeping with the theme of looking to the future we will look at an artist of the past that was both prolific, and seen as looking ahead of his time to what the future would hold. To this end we will consider the role of one of the most influential graphic artists of the twentieth century; Paul Rand. III. Paul Rand In considering a specific work of a well known designer we can understand how the work influence the customer as well as influenced the wider environment of that of graphic design and the way that the influences that are felt in the short term and the long term. In looking at Paul Rands work we can conclude that he influenced not only his clients, but also appreciate the wider influence he has had ion the graphic design industry in general as well as appreciating the uniqueness of his own style, as was demonstrated by the design of many logos including that of IBM. There are many graphic designers that have had a long lasting impact on the way we see the world and interpret its meaning. Some designers have been subtle in the influence and the range of designs that have made a difference have been anything from typefaces to landmarks, but one of the best known, if not by name then by his work must be that of Paul Rand, also known as Papa logo (Lange 1998). Paul Rand has a wide range of styles and worked in the field of advertising, and can be seen to have made a great impact, his specially was branding, and the specific work we will be considering here will be the well known IBM logo (Hurlbert, 1979). The idea of a logo that was innovative and had meaning as well as a message may have been new and groundbreaking in the days of Rand, but it is partly due to his wide ranging influence that we can see the wide practice of branding has taken the current route. It is also a shame that in this modern world where the forte of Rands talents lay there has been a common practice of branding which has become homogenised and bland (Hurlbert, 1979). This is not a criticism that can be seen to have been levelled at Rand, who not only designed this innovative and still used logo. Rand was also responsible for logos such as the carriers UPS, Cummins Engines, Yale University and Next Computers (Lange 1998). This logo is unique and the style is recognised widely, even if the actual company name cannot be read the distinction is very clear. It was Rands intention to design logos and other works which were not only recognisable and identifiable very easily, but also one that can be seen as having a real meaning, which is demonstrated very clearly by the logo designed for IBM. The brief of any designer in looking to brand an organisation will often be rather vague, there will be a requirement for the Logo to be suited to the corporate culture, but this in itself is an intangible, and as such it very difficult to describe, it will also need to indicate the sphere of operation or characteristics that the client wants the logo to bring to mind when it is viewed by the clients own customers. The IBM logo has become well known for its blocked design that appear to indicate a clean cut image with is both technological and simple, with colours that are seen as safe but also bold an innovative without threat. If we look for the way in which the design was inspired then we may be looking for a very difficult element, in other designs this may be more apparent, such as his advert for El Producto poster in 1953 we can see that there was a message of merry Christmas (Rand, 1953). The actual content of the design can be seen as imitating Christmas as the cigars which are depicted in them are cigar shaped but lot a great deal more interesting due to the fact they appear in Christmas designs such as we might expect to see on Christmas wrapping paper or decorations for the seen. The inspiration here is more easily observed, but this inspiration for IBM must has existed, yet describing his talent and style has been described by some as trying to catch lightening in a bottle, but we can see inspiration in the way that the logo was used once it had been designed (Hurlbert, 1979). His style was simplistic, and he took the inspiration form may sources, but the need for something that was not elaborate but served as functional is very clear in this design. In the way that posters were later designed to advertise IBM we start to see the inspiration of his humour and the way in which he would play ion words. This can be seen as making a great deal of sense as if we look at the way in which other Logos were also designed there was always an innovative way of the company initials being used to convey and communicate the idea of the company and to build up associations regarding the company. Therefore it is fair to assume that the play on words and the way in which the letters were all used were not only effective but also consciously used in such a way. With IBM the design is one that appears to be of technical specifications, but the humour was to come out later. In an advertisement where the logo was to be used there was a change which emphasised the way on which the logo could be immediately recognised, but would still gain attention rather than be brushed off due to its familiarity, in this Rand left the M, from IBM and replaced the I with and eye, and the B with a bee (Lange 1998). A play on words, but also on the perception of the product and brand as well as inspiration derived from the everyday world around us, but filled will psychological meaning, putting into place the quote from the beginning of this paper. However, the management of IBM prevented it ever seeing the light of day and being subjected to the customers critique as they did not believe if conveyed the IBM message It was not IBM (Lange 1998). The role he had on the industry as a result of successes like this was not kept to himself but communicated in the same medium as that of his work, through the printed word in many many manuals on how to design logos and polish their appearance (Lange 1998). In his own words the trademark should embody in the simplest form the essential characteristics of the product or institution being advertised (Rand, 2000). However, if also saw it as the designers job to be able to bring the formality down on occasion, and the way in which he is described as an idealist and a realist using the language of the poet and the businessman. He thinks in terms of need and function. He is able to analyse his problems, but his fantasy is boundless appears to embody the form and function where they both appear to be of importance, but the realism and the poetry are also very apparent (Hurlbert, 1979). If we try and see if there are any autobiographic aspects to this work this is a more difficult perspective simply du to the simplicity of the work, however the work in print can be seen as an aspect of his very early work when he was hired by Esquire magazine (Hurlbert, 1979). The humour that is apparent in the rejected IBM advertisement is also autobiographical as the way in which he sees the world was seen by many who met him as one which encompasses a large degree of humour as well as common sense (Hurlbert, 1979). In his early days there was a need for succinct design produced at a rapid rate for use in mails shoot advertising and magazine copy, but the need for the inclusion of artistic style was also recognised as many of his works were seen on a regular basis as the Art Directors Club (Hurlbert, 1979). If we compare this grounding with the IBM logo, there is both the simplistic that comes with the need for speed, but also the style and grace which can be seen as an aspect of art and design. The impression we get of the IBM logo is that it has always just been there, associated wit the company on such as basic level that we are apt to forget its origin for a man who started he career in the 1930s (Hurlbert, 1979). The symbolic content can also be recognised by the colours as well as the lines. / They appear to be very geometrically spaced, with a great deal of precision not only in the distance between each line, but also in the way that the letter line up. The white ion the blue background serves to emphasis this contrast and therefore gives an impression of precision that we now associate with the company. If we consider the way that he may have been influenced by others at the same time there is a little difficulty as he was seen as a leader rather than a follower, but the simplistic design can also be seen as functional for the reproduction as well as recognition. If we consider the work in relation to Rands other work then it is neither relatively significant or insignificant, it is a typical example of the way in which function and form were combined. From the advertising campaigns for bill boards and magazine cover designs as well as the logos there are some common characteristics, such as the idea of the simple being better than the complex, the ability of the design being something that the client as well as the customers can relate to. When we look at the other Logos this common thread is very well illustrated. However, we can argue that this one logo may also be significant as it is probably one of the best known examples of his work, recognised throughout the globe and still used today. The UPS insignia must also come a close second, but this also consists of the same characteristics, the simple designee, although a little more complex, is immediately identifiable, but in this case the symbolism is also more openly apparent. Other logos such as the Yale University one can be seen to have exactly the same style of simplistic function, where form is an art, and as such we can argue that the piece of work studied in this paper could have been substituted for any of his other works and the conclusions would be the same. Although he dies in 1996 the influence he has left on the art of graphic design has not reduced, his work is still studied and admired, and perhaps the best and most significant legacy is the continued use of the works from the man also known as papa logo. In many ways his work can still be seen as relevant, yet it was still as a result of the technology changes that he was able to form these images, and the effective nature of many may be seen as a result of the increased art of typography. Therefore, to understand the development of this we also need to consider the development of typography. IV. Typography Typography is seen in everyday life, from the newspapers we read, the television programmes we watch to the numbers on buses and the advertisements on the bill boards. To what typography consists of we need to look at the characteristics that are present in the lettering. There are many typefaces and different ways for those typefaces to be presented. It is in this development of typography we can argue that the computer has been great influence, allowing for more type faces to be developed and for the uses of these typefaces to be manipulated more easily. This has been a boon to the graphic artist, and in understanding the ability to develop an image as simple as a letter using the computer then we can appreciate the way that larger images many also be manipulated. These are used in practically all manifestations of graphical arts. The use of a type face creates an image, and even in an item as simple as a menu it has been proven to have a discernable effect on customer perceptions and resulting purchases that are made (Heimann, 1998). When we consider the purpose of typography it has to be seen as more than simply a communication of words, however if we break it down into its smallest component of typography can be seen in the following way The basic unit of all type design is the individual letter. Letters come together to form words, and words come together to form stories (Anonymous, 2000). This is the role of the graphic artist, to present an image that communicates, this may be story, a feeling a perception or just an image that will be recalled for a later association. It is in this last section off the quote that we can see that way the typography is used can convey a great deal about a story. For example if we see a film being advertised with typography that is jagged and looks like it is dripping with blood then we can automatically assume that it will be a horror movies of some sort. This is the message that is conveyed in the layout and design of the typography. The typography will be different on a romance than on a science fiction film, due to the different perceptions they create. The advances in the use of the computer here can be seen in the aiding of the design by trying out and manipulating designs without the need to keep making mock up posters and by trying out changes speedily at the click of a button. This can be seen as very useful in a number of ways, it reduces the materials used so that there are greater ranges of possibilitys at a lower cost. The time element is also much shorter, and as such the costs can be seen as proportionately lower. The need for an expert can also be seen as reduced, with the computer there is no longer the need for specific training as the range of programmes that can be used allow almost anyone with a typing skills can take on the task of a typographer. Therefore, the range of uses of these type faces and the extent of the styles can be seen as no long only the realms of the professional. Small businesses are able to produce their own business stationary and develop their own advertisements and literature, even a local parish or community magazine that used to be hand types can look like a professionally produced publication. However, when these are used there are still some very basic rules that are followed the advantage with the computer and the ability to see the layout before a publication is printed on a large scale can be to see that in the main even those without training or specific knowledge will follow them naturally. The ability to keep the readers attention is a combination of factors. The first will be the content of the text, and if we are looking at this from a purely typographical or graphical art perspective then this is not in the control of the typesetter (Anonymous, 2000). The design of the text and the size of the text are important as illegible text or test that is uncomfortable to read will loose the interest of the reader just as easily as boring content (Anonymous, 2000). The next items that need to be considered are not so obvious unless you look at a piece of typesetting where they are wrong, and then it becomes obvious. There are the line lengths and the spacing between the words and letters. It is these spacing between letters that can make a publications look professional. Until the computer was in many homes and small businesses the typing would be on a conventional type writer where the space between each letter is the same with no sense of proportion as seen in the courier and the courier new type faces (Anonymous, 2000). This fixed spacing has become associated with the home produced leaflets that were duplicated with duplicating machine or by the use of photocopiers has become less apparent as proportional fonts have been used, examples may be seen as the popular times new roman that is a well used font. The difference here is that the proportional basis of a font means that smaller letters, such as a i or an l will take up less rook than a w or an m, similar to the way handwriting takes place and the pattern is easier in the eye as apparent gaps between letters in the same word will all be the same (Will-Harris, 2000). In addition there will also be the element of the actual line spacing. If the lines are too close together the typeface, whatever it is will be difficult to read and there will be a crowding effect (Will-Harris, 2000). Again the use of the computer enable this to be seen and adjusted before any documents are even printed so out rarely becomes an issue (Will-Harris, 2000). There will also be issues such as the actual form of the entire setting as well as the quality of the reproduction, which may or may not be issues the typesetter will be involved in. However he how of the typesetting comes together to form a message and communicate an issue or an idea so in this way we can see that the typesetting can be as important as the content, get it wrong and people will not read it whatever it says (Will-Harris, 2000). However, if we are going to consider how the computer has influence the development of typography we can also look to the actual type fonts that are used. There are even programmes able now that can scan a persons handwriting and then code it into the computer as a type face or font so that it will be reproduced when typing. In a broader sense, there have been other wide scale developments directly due to the computer. The use of computers and the advent if they Internet have seen the development of a collection of new typefaces or fonts to cope with the individual situations and specific needs of this medium. Two fonts have been developed by Microsoft with this in mind. Mathew Carter was responsible for the development of Verdana which is a sans serif named after the verdant Seattle region (Will-Harris, 2000). The second is Georgia, a bright serif labelled due to a tabloid headline concerning alien heads allegedly found in the area of Georgia (Will-Harris, 2000). Verdana is easier to read on a screen as the x height is higher than normal giving the type face a larger appearance without the need for more space (Will-Harris, 2000). There is also special attention taken with the letters that are sometimes easily confused on screen such as i, l and j and I where the formations of the letters is slightly different, with slightly different height to distinguish them more easily (Will-Harris, 2000). Georgian is similar as it still has a higher x point, but not has high as Verdana, but is still retains an almost times new roam feel about it so it can be used in traditional circumstances, and again can be seen as easier to read simply because it has been designed specifically for the screen, yet they also reproduce well in print (Will-Harris, 2000). Therefore we can see how the computer has impacted on the development of typography, in the way it is used, developed and put together to the actual design of the fonts. It has come a long way in a short period of time, and is likely to go further, especially in the hands of the graphic artists, both in the design as well as in the use. There are also computer aided design packages that will develop new fonts, even for an amateur, such as handwriting fonts of an individual that are scanned in. Here we can see that there is a development with a cross over of the many different art forms and the way in which inspiration impacts on the art. To look to the future we have seen how there has been inspiration in the past, and how this has impacted on graphic art, The next stage must be to consider the way in which inspiration may be gained in the future. V. Inspiration The first factor we need to consider here is that the cross over of the different art forms is increasing, a graphic artist may use a camera or paints, a typographer may also be a graphic artist. Expression in the arts has always looked for new and innovative ways to be presented. This have often used newer and more radical as the forum for ideas and inspiration in the search for the ways in which to be inspired and find the spark required for creativity to take place. Just as in any other art form graphic design can be inspired or developed from what is seen around us and the every day mediums which we all come across. For example, we can consider the art of contemporary photography. The argument for the adoption and acceptance of contemporary photography techniques in graphic design can be that in contemporary photographs we may find more contrasts and forms which are suitable for graphic design. The way in which the pictures are framed and made up with different contents and contrasts in colours may also be more suitable to be adapted and changed rather than a traditional countryside view. They may be developed more appropriately. The best way to demonstrate this is to take two contemporary photographs and examine what may be gained from them by a graphic designer. The way in which they add to an idea or be developed to a specific outcome by providing a concept or a form from which the designer can work. Alternatively the way in which the photography may demonstrate to the graphic designer ways of working. The first photograph we will consider is Sandy Trails, was taken in 1999 by Tony Chumak and can be seen at http://tonychumakstudios. com/GallerySeries8/Tcs_Image_144-24X-A-L. asp. This is only on the boarders of contemporary photography. It is a landscape with a difference, in the centre of the landscape is a pattern in the sand which would normally be avoided by the photographer. This photograph demonstrates the way in which contemporary photography can capture texture and image, which is only available through this one medium. It is often said that art should convey a social message (Rich, 1998). This is true whether it is fine are or graphic design and whether the purpose of the work ids art or even advertising (Rich, 1998). The use of a photograph such as this can be used to convey many different types of message depending on the context n which the graphic designer is working By looking at this picture aspects suitable for graphic use can be seen. The contrast of the shades of sand caused by the lighting cast shadows which can almost appear alive and stark. Natural forms and shapes can lead to very pleasing and easy to use or interpret ideas for a designer. A shape formed by the wind of the sea flows and the graphic designer can take this line and simplicity and translate it to all manner of variable uses. Curves flow through the medium which is devoid of life forming shapes which approximately can be seen as more than waves, but of forms in the sand which can be placed together with a little imagination and thought. The adaptation of what is normally straight or fixed into a flowing contemporary shape has long been used in design.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
The Antivirus Technology Definition Computer Science Essay
The Antivirus Technology Definition Computer Science Essay Antivirus is defending software designed for guarding your computers system smart cell phones against Virus, Trojans Hijackers etc. These all Viruses, Trojans Win32 etc. are called Malicious Software in computer world. All Antivirus software run in the background at all times to protect defense your computers system smart cell phones some antivirus are automatically updated through internet some antivirus are needs manual updated through internet to protect your systems against Malicious software. Introduction: Antivirus software provides a many critical layer to protect from Virus, win32, Trojans worm etc. The first document removal of the computer viruses was written by Bernd Fix. There are two types antivirus application in the computer world so that the time of the Atari ST platform designed in 1987 the first one was G Data second was UVK 2000 made by Bernd Fix in 1987.The word Antivirus is come from the word Antibiotic which means implies combat with an invading force of the programs. Fred Cohen designed the strategies relative to an Antivirus software program in 1988 to solve the virus problems. The old previews years Antivirus software are not so good because those software only detected the Virus Spyware etc. remove it from your computers system damage your some operating system files inside your computers now AntiVirus software much better than old ones because it detected the virus remove it without deleting your operating system files inside your computers it also fight against new malicious software which come from internet network. Well in the preview years Antivirus software are not completely free downloadable on the internet means you could only find some antivirus software with trial version now Antivirus software are completely free download without trial version . New Antivirus also checked the incoming outgoing mail, email attachments etc. It also has internet security for internet threats. Advantages and Disadvantages: Antivirus software is very useful in the preventing, controlling, virus many more viruses program, which can damage the computers components from inside operating system files to. Antivirus software are used the methods for searching killing Viruses some of the well knows patterns of computer data programs. Antivirus programs are very effective against the viruses program, whose is the biggest threat for your computer systems. Antivirus program has some limitations drawbacks on the other hand, which effect on the computer system performance. In the computer world, inexperienced users can have many problems with the antivirus programs or software such as inabilities to understand, threats of the software success of the antivirus programs software are dependent on the ability of the user to understand Or knowing the right kind of balance between the positives negatives things in the computer world. Antivirus software or programs can cause problems during the installation window in the computer system or upgrade the Windows Service packs in the computer system. Antivirus software can be hampered some few software programs because it used its own firewall to block application to store in the computer system. E.g. True Crypt. Some Antivirus program will not knowing by the policy assessment before make its own policy when it install in the computer system. There are three major types of detection which is used to identify the potential threats in the computer system such as: Signature based, Heuristic based File emulation method. Signature based detection: In this method, you can identify the viruses malware virus software. Antivirus software can also compare the content files of the computer system to dictionary files of virus signatures because viruses are embed into themselves in the files shape or in pieces shape to infect the computers. Heuristic based detection: In this method, you can only detect malicious activity relative to viruses identify unknown viruses in the computer system. File emulation: In this method, it has using the heuristic type approach which it executing the program in a virtual environment which effect the action of the program performs it also carries out the disinfection actions relative to the programs which run in the computer. What is a Virus? Viruses are the category of malicious program code software, viruses are used for attempted to breach security value break them damage data of the computer system display unwanted messages on the display screen when the antivirus program for gabbing user passwords on a networks are called LOGIN.exe. These real LOGIN.exe programs which have intruder or infect the user programs are called Trojan Horses when viruses program fall into the Trojans category than these viruses program have the ability to reproduce themselves again again until users computer systems slow down performance processing to any application it infected the your operating system. . Why Do Viruses Exist? Now-a-days every computer virus programs are written by someone who wanted it to infect damage other peoples computer systems smart cell phones our world. So these Viruses program coding pass from computer to other computers system these viruses may be not have direct effect on the some computers but it effects on the other resources like(Disk space Memory) thats why these viruses are harmful it coding are very complex it also contain some serious bugs which damages the computer system pretty badly. How do we will know if we have a virus want to protect our computer systems? If the someone computer systems are very running slower, freezing it displaying error messages again again than you should have the viruses in yours computers or operating system than u must install Antivirus software scan your computer system with latest internet updated of the Antivirus programs security to clear your computer with viruses. How do we get these viruses on our computer system or operating system? Computer systems can be infected by viruses because: User using the Internet without having the latest updates of the Antivirus programs security installed into your operating system. User using the Internet without having a working firewall on the operating system or Antivirus software. User who opening the email attachments without knowing that whos will send him or her. User visiting unreliable website pages than viruses automatically stored into your computer because these website pages contains the infected viruses programs. How do we get rid of the viruses? To get rid of the Viruses you should use latest Antivirus software or latest Antivirus program security updates now-a-days many new Antivirus software are able on the Internet free cost with one years updates free e.g. Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus Kaspersky Antivirus etc. What are types of Virus in the computer world? There are several types of viruses in the world which your computers your operating systems for examples: Worms, Trojan horses, Logic bombs, Mutated viruses, Polymorphic viruses, Bounty hunters, Boot sector viruses Macro viruses etc. Worms: Worms Viruses are used to spread over a network of the internet hacks the computer system or operating system which connects with internet networks. Trojan horses: Trojans viruses are used to create a security hole in the computer programs or operating system infected the system files inside. Logic bombs: Logic bombs viruses are used to trigger the specific event means computer systems date programs of remote activation etc. Mutated viruses: Mutated viruses are used to rewritten by hacker users to change the behavior or signature of the programs made the multiple versions of the same viruses that infected the computer programs or operating system. So these viruses are also called variants. Polymorphic viruses: Viruses which are used to automatically change according their appearance, like as a chameleon by giving the viruss signature of the programs in encrypt-decrypt function so virus can only be recognize its own signature of the program. This kind of virus is called Polymorphic viruses. Bounty hunters: Bounty hunters viruses are used to modify signature program stored by Antivirus program in the order to render them an inoperable in the operating system. Boot sector viruses: A boot sector viruses are used to infecting the boot sector of a hard drive of the computer system. (Just like MBR Master boot record) it also has infected the speed of the processer. Macro viruses: Viruses which came from email, email attachments etc. to damage the operating system or hack the computer system BackDoor.exe Viruses: These viruses are highly dangerous because it can give the complete shell of the victims computers to the attacker. These exe are made by many encryption techniques, so anti-virus hardly detects these types of viruses. What is Firewall Spyware? Firewall: Firewall is software or program which have security tool to help limit internet network traffic with hackers or viruses to getting in your computer system. Firewall helped protects your computer from future hackers new incoming viruses. Spyware: Spyware are used to a multitude of malicious software programs which access your computer system. When Spyware viruses infect your computer system or operating system than it will slow down your operating system speed performance your computer system going to hang again again. Issues relative with the Antivirus software: Unexpected renewal costs: Some of the commercial antivirus software which includes end-user license agreements which effect on the subscription automatically renewed it, cost so much which you not expected. False positives: Antivirus software can used to identify non-malicious files which having the viruses so that it will be cause serious problems for the computer system because false positive make operating system files very unstable because of the viruses. System interoperability related issues: When the multiple antivirus programs running on the computer or operating system than it will degrade the performance of the operating system create conflicts in every programs running on the operating system. So this concept is called Multiscanning If the functionality of the few software programs can be hampered by the active antivirus software on the operating system. Effectiveness: The effectiveness of antivirus programs have been decreased in the previews year because of new good Antivirus software launch on the markets computer threat going dropped from 40-50% to 20-30% in this preview year. Rootkits: Rootkits are major challenge for antivirus programs on the operating system it had admin area access to the system to control, invisible hidden the EXE from the running processes of the task manager on the computer system. What is Cloud antivirus method? Cloud antivirus method is a technology that used the lightweight agent software to protect the computer system or operating system it also used for analysis the data with providers infrastructure. To implement this Cloud antivirus method we used the multiple antivirus engines which scanning suspicious files from the operating system this concept is called Cloud AV. Cloud AV was designed to send programs on the internet network where detection programs are used to improve the detection rates with multiple antivirus behavioral on the internet network. Online Scanning: Some of the Antivirus provides maintain of websites with free online scanning on the internet with the entire computer such as like local disks, critical area files relative to the computer systems. Well as you know that internet becomes the vehicle for communication in this world people using digital communication on the internet with very fast speed scope so that new kinds of viruses are increasing spread all over the world of the internet network. If someone will not want to install antivirus on his or her computer than he or she can easily scan his or her computer online this is quickly possible solution. What do u means by the birth rate death rate of the viruses? The Birth rate of the viruses: The birth rate of the viruses depends upon the one infected computer system or operating system which can spread this infection to other computer system or operating system. The Death rate of the viruses: The death rates of the viruses depend upon the infection found on the computer system or operating system destroy that computer system. Antivirus products: There many products of antiviruses. Some of them are discuss below: Avast Free AntiVirus: Avast is an antivirus computer program made by AVAST Software a.s. Avast is the freeware version of the Avast company. Avast can be installed on Microsoft Windows, Macintosh Operating System X and Linux. It also has command line scanner system and different dangerous script blocker. It has many new features e.g. file system shield, Real time protection form worms and threats. Mail shield protect from dangerous mails and attachments In it. Web shield protects form malicious URL or virus containing sites. Network shield protect from attacking ports and known network worms. Boot time scan, scans the infections that are loading during windows startup and remove them. If any virus is found, antivirus displays the notification to the user, and asks for action to take. AVG AntiVirus: AVG is another antivirus program made by AVG Technologies. It can be installed on multiple platforms and FreeBSD computing platforms. It also has a free version of antivirus. There are many components in avg antivirus. Anti-Spyware protects you from different spyware which are in your computers. Link Scanner scans the web links, whether they are affected or not. Web Shield protects you from viruses which come into your computer through internet. It has own firewall system to protect the system. It also has servers version to protect the web/file servers, mail servers and dns severs. Avira AntiVirus: Avira is considered as the 6th largest antivirus software worldwide. And it has 100 million customers. It can be installed on Android and other operating systems. It runs as a background process which checks every file opened or downloads form the internet. It has different components in the antivirus. Email scanning which supports POP3 and SMTP protocols. Web Guard to block the access of malicious sites. It has personal firewall and anti-spam system. Backup module to protect and secure the important data. Keep an eye on different Botnets, and prevent them. It offers tools including a Rescue System utility used to write a bootable CD and DVD. Some main features of Avira windows versions are: Anti-Phishing Mail Guard Game Mode AnitBot Parental Controls Bitdefender Antivirus: The Bitdefender products include antivirus and antispyware, personal firewall, privacy control, user control, backup for company and home users. PC Tuneup and Performance Optimizer. It can be used in Symbian Operating System, Windows Mobile, and Solaris. A free basic online scan is offered by the Bitdefender via the bit defender website. Bitdefender introduces the new technology B-HAVE. Through which it can detect the unknown threats. ESET NOD32 Antivirus: ESET first ever product was NOD, an antivirus program for computers running MS-DOS. Then after some time period it introduces the NOD32 for Windows XP. In September 2010 ESET released NOD32 antivirus for Macintosh OS. It also supports BSD, Linux, Novell NetWare and Sun Solaris. ESET NOD32 includes an enhanced media control that automatically scans all USB, CD/DVD and external hard drives. F-Secure Antivirus: F-secure is first antivirus to establish an existence on the World Wide Web. F-secure first introduced the anti-rootkit technology. It can be installed on Mobile security; it has also the facility of online Backup and anti-theft for Mobile. Also available for Linux, servers, Policy Manager, protect the message security gateway. F-secure developed the new technology through which new or unknown malware, which causes the changes in windows files and windows registry. F-secure teach the one semester course in university about new viruses and other technology. F-secure antivirus can also detect the backdoor.exe virus. F-secure also helping the authorities to catch the mafia or terrorist organization through their antivirus. K7 Antivirus: K7 is the first antivirus to build their own NST (Nano Secure Technology), has ability to protect the system at multiple layers. Which can detect and remove the existing threats and as well as future threats. It provides support browsing against attacks by the attackers, to steal the passwords or even your money. It also produces the various applications and antivirus for DOS. The basic feature are firewall, Anti-spam, Anti-Spyware tools, K7 mail security, security tools to detect the key loggers, Tracking Cookie detection, usb scanning, safe cloud base scanning. Kaspersky Antivirus: Kaspersky product designed to protect the users from malicious malware and other threats. It runs on different platforms and Linux version available only for business users. Its features include real-time protection, removal and detection of viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, key loggers, backdoors, sql injection and many others. It also has the online helping facility to help and guide the user about their new products. Rescue disk facility is also available in Kaspersky. This scans the computer at boot time. The features which are not implemented in the antivirus program are personal firewall, AntiSpam and parental controls. Kaspersky uses the highly graphics to display the interface, so their system requirements are high. At early stages of Kaspersky, it has very crucial flaws in it, through which attackers can attack and run the piece of code to compromise the users pc. McAfee Antivirus: McAfee Antivirus is very powerful antivirus it is light weight. This Antivirus is the leading antivirus software in the security industry markets. This Antivirus have two features one is ScriptStopper second is WormStopper it automatically updater it virus definitions updates on the regular basis from internet network. Panda Antivirus: Panda Antivirus have Ultrafast new feature scanning engine as compared to other antivirus applications. This Antivirus have the Anti-Phishing filter Anti-Banking Trojans engines in the Identity protection area it have advanced heuristic scanning with personal firewall. ZoneAlarm Antivirus: ZoneAlarm Antivirus have very strong removal ability to destroy the dangerous viruses also having multilayered security. This Antivirus used less processer power of performance it used very low computer system resources. TrendMicro Antivirus: TrendMicro Antivirus is very popular antivirus, which mostly used for Spyware protection Adware protection from viruses. This Antivirus has some new features like Remote file locking sharing registry files. Sophos Antivirus: Sophos Antivirus includes the network access control, Anti-spyware etc this types of Antivirus are used for watching on the data supplying through monitoring tracking software means like upload videos. Rising Antivirus: Rising Antivirus is the Chinese Antivirus software it is used for UTM, spam-blocking firewall etc. This Antivirus basic function is BIOS rootkit checks. Vba32 Antivirus: Vba32 Antivirus programs are used in the personal systems it neutralizes viruses which infected or attack the computer systems on the real time. Linux Shield: Linux Shield is the Antivirus product used in the Linux operating systems to clean the viruses from Linux operating system Technology Highlights: There are many technology highlights such as : First Generation (Antivirus): The first generation of Antivirus software are based on the signature detection polymorphic engines. Second Generation (Antimalware): In the preview few years, new types of malware software are emerge file-less network worm etc are on the spotlight of the massive damage viruses are on the internet network. These problems can be solving by personal firewalls clear the signatures packet from viruses used smart clean Browser which will not infect the operating system with the spyware Trojans viruses. Third Generation (Proactive Technology): TruPrevent: This behavioral technology is used for research development of the technologies. It has two main function technologies: Behavioral of analysis blocking known computer system. (i). Behavioral Analysis: This Act as last line of defenses against new viruses which executing in the computer system it give real time results used behavioral category alone. (ii). Behavioral Blocking: This is the Second main component of the TruPrevent. It knew hacker viruses behavioral to attack system application by injecting with program codes into the computer system. Genetic Heuristic Engine: These technologies are inspired by the biology work as an organisms which individually identified by the other organisms. It based on the digital genes. This carries out new viruses harm things which going to infect or damage the computer system or operating system. Collective Intelligence (The Next Generation): Collective Intelligence used the approach which collect the objective of this technology in which after clean the computer system or operating system it automatically generated full report cleaning viruses report it much faster lightweight in the future. It protected your computer system 95% up to 98% it also give your infecting computer system percentage according to the report. It is also collect the data from the communities which can tell us about the behavioral patterns of the any programs files. It also have the information about higher visibility threats against viruses or active on the internet network it can be automatically do data processing on the computer system analyzes thousands of new samples which received every day from internet network it will not expired the data which infect by the new malware viruses. It automatically saved the data files from new old malware it also release the knowledge extracted from delivering to user on the web services updates i t. In this platform we can do collective intelligence technology or platform for online services designed to perform of the machines against malware viruses solve the security solution. It also gives corporate requirements information performance of the malware thats why we created a specific managed service called Malware Radar. Proof Point Virus Protection key capabilities: Viruses Protection key depend up on the efficient message analysis, Continuous business enterprise virus-detection updates, Integrated Administration reporting flexible policy management message disposition. Viruses protection key have the enterprise antivirus engine which gives good efficiently of the scanning messages attachments for new malicious codes which give fully proof point platform find new viruses definition which created the cloud-based Dynamic system which secure channel guarantees with proof point protection is already up to date than it will gives business enterprise with maximum detection against all viruses for IT administrators gives very importance to all antivirus enterprise of the proof point of the protection. It also used dynamic update service make for organizations.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Representation Of Women In Music Cultural Studies Essay
Representation Of Women In Music Cultural Studies Essay In 1969 when asked why there werent any other powerful women in the music industry, Janis Joplin said its not feminine, maybe, to really get into music, instead of float around on the top like most chick singers do. Maybe that is why today, in the 10s there is a lack of challenging female artists who truly break down boundaries. The contemporary music industry offers very few independent, strong female role models who do more than simply sell sex to make people buy records. This investigation will focus on the representation of women in music, specifically in punk and underground music, from their breakthrough in the 70s to their lack of representation today in the 10s. The primary case studies will be various female punk bands from the 70s to the 90s such as Xray Spex and Siouxsie and The Banshees, with Beth Ditto as my contemporary focus. I will analyse music videos and song lyrics, as well as their physical representations. I will examine theorists such as Germaine Greer, Naomi Wolf and Laura Mulvey to assess how their work can be applied. As second-wave feminism took hold in the 60s, music turned into a political manifesto for feminists, as female singer-songwriters began to campaign for womens rights. Their music often dismantled myths held about women, and enabled women to embody their own self-made identity as opposed to that which society and culture allocated for them. Janis Joplin was largely unconcerned with the feminist movement, but proceeded to represent a feminist symbol for women in a male dominated rock culture, influencing generations of female musicians to come. Women were of significant importance to the punk culture of the late 1970s; beginning in New York with performers like Patti Smith and Debbie Harry, punk rock spread around the world and women in punk music became more visible. As punk music gave them an outlet for their edgy, political, anti-establishment lyrics, and non-conformist, unconventional female personas, it became perfect for feminist musicians to have their voices heard. Women in punk music had to be strong to stand against their male contemporaries. By the late 70s, punks peak in London, female-dominated bands like Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Slits and X-Ray Spex were playing on the same bills as all-male bands like The Clash and the Sex Pistols. These bands gained public recognition not only because of their revolutionary music, but also by challenging expectations of femininity. Widely considered the most influential woman in punk rock ever to walk the Earth Siouxsie Sioux said in 1974 I dont carry anything for any females, and I hate being called the best female singer cause I think Im better than any male singer as well. These bands didnt want to be classed as a separate category from male musicians; they just want to be classed as musicians. Siouxsie Sioux said it was a powerful time for women. Girls were finally picking up instruments and not just being a puppet held up by a man with strings in the background. Laura Mulvey is a feminist media critic who is best known for her seminal essay entitled Visual Pleasure and narrative cinema (Sight Sound 1975). In it she sites the media as o tool for male oppression and that women are seen merely as objects for male gratification. The camera, she argues, sees from the Male gaze. Mulveys theory also states that the media satisfies and reinforces the masculine ego and represses the desire of women. The Siouxsie and The Banshees video Happy House, goes against Laura Mulveys theory that images of women are displayed as sexual objects. In the first shot of this video Siouxsie looks fiercely into the camera, her eye make up is dark and she has bright red lips; her signature look. She looks androgynous as she is wearing an oversized jester outfit with short spiky black hair. No skin is visible except for her face and hands. The camera follows Siouxsie around, showing she is controlling the video, contradicting this quote from Laura Mulvey: in their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed. As the camera follows her, it is not in a voyeuristic way, she is simply the main focus of the video, and the camera angle remains level with her face throughout the video, showing she is dominant and confident. Despite being the only female seen, she appears more confident than the male members of the band, overshadowing them by controlling the video. Siouxs ie is also shown playing instruments, displaying her as equal to the male musicians. This opposes Mulveys idea that men always dominate. Also, she continuously looks aggressively at the camera, conveying she feels superior to the audience. Nothing in this video suggests Siouxsie is being portrayed as a sex symbol, in fact quite the opposite. Many of these women did not seem to care about being sexually alluring, this contrasts with Germaine Greers theory of there being a dominant image of femininity which rules our culture and to which all women aspire. It also disagrees with Naomi Wolfs argument that women in Western Culture are damaged by the pressure to conform to an idealized concept of female beauty. On The Slits first album cover they are pictured topless, covered in mud, looking dishevelled, not appearing to have made any effort at all to look good. Despite being topless, this cover is not shot through the male gaze as the women appear dominant and in control as opposed to passive. The women of these bands took their entire personalities onstage, often involving wearing clothing that reflected their thoughts and attitudes. Siouxsie Sioux frequently performed wearing black leather and rubber bondage attire, as well as heavy eye make-up, making overt statements about her sexuality. When asked about her appearance, Siouxsie said image represents in a way, a kind of rejection of a stereotype, a blonde, dumb cuteness that was sought after by most singers, especially female, conveying that she dresses for her own pleasure and not others. Ari Up of The Slits, constructed an image that played on conventions of female sexuality by always sporting long dreadlocks, never using make-up and often wearing underwear over her clothes. In New York, Patti Smith and Debbie Harry of Blondie expressed two very different takes on punk femininity; Smith was a cross-dressing, androgynous woman, comfortable with blurring her gender, and Harry was a bleached-blonde former playboy bunny, still playing on the stereotypical conventions of female singers. Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex was a geeky teenager, overweight, and with large metal braces, known for wearing bright abrasive clashing colours onstage. Xray Spex dealt with various issues on their album Germfree Adolescents such as the environment and living in a consumer society where you have to live up to the expectations driven by advertising and consumerism. Even lead singer Poly Styrenes name reflected the fake and plasticness of the society they were living in. The song Plastic Bag reinforces her view as she sings my mind is like a plastic bag that corresponds to all those ads it sucks up all the rubbish. Art-I-Ficial contains the lyric I know Im artificial but dont put the blame on me, I was reared with appliances in a consumer society. When I put on my make-up the pretty little mask not me thats the way a girl should be, this conveys Pollys feminist views and her opposition of societys expectations of women. This theme can also been seen in Xray Spexs most widely known song Oh Bondage Up Yours where Polly begins by saying softly in a childlike voice Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think before exploding with a screech of Oh bondage, up yours, turning the girly voice into something more distasteful. This song is about the aversion at being constantly scrutinized by mainstream society. After a lack of female punk bands in the 80s, Riot grrrl exploded in the early 90s. It originated from the punk movement, initiated by nonconformist female bands who aimed to stomp out sexism and inequality in response and developed into an underground feminist movement in the early 1990s. It is often associated with third-wave feminism and it is sometimes seen as its starting point as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by second-wave feminism. The subculture gave women a place to exist out of the system. Riot grrrl was about 90s women making a stand, screeching against authority and exploring what they wanted a woman to represent. Todays music charts seem only to reflect generated pop-rock, especially where females are concerned. The only mainstream female band with political views and strong female role models, who want more than to just be sex symbols currently are Gossip. Competing with artists marketed through the male gaze, its no wonder Gossips Beth Ditto is deemed controversial in todays music scene. Whether its because shes openly gay, a non-shaving punk, or morbidly obese, mainstream society sees her as an outsider. 30 years ago, it wouldve been typical in the underground music scene to see individuals like this. Beth Ditto is said to be a fan of Riot Grrrl and states Xray Spex as her biggest influence. Gossips lyrics are often about society and feminist issues, disguised with a mainstream catchy electro-beat. Even Gossips most widely recognised song, Standing in the Way of Control is extremely political as it is attacking George W. Bush in response to same-sex marriage being prohibited in some states of the USA, the resistance can be seen in the lyric were standing in the way of control, we will live our lives. Her unwillingness to conform to societys expectations is clearly visible on the NME issue on which she appears unshaven and naked on the front cover. The image shows Beth with her hand on her bottom which has a kiss mark on it and another hand covering her breast. She is looking at the camera, not in the conventional, seductive way female singers are usually photographed, but instead almost snarling as if she doesnt care what anyone thinks of her. The headline reads Kiss my ass, once again reinforcing her reluctance to conform. This image shocked the teenage audience of the magazine and sparked controversy as it is an image that mainstream society is rarely subjected to. It was also nominated to be crowned the best magazine cover of all time. This image doesnt represent the usual ideology of women and this is why Germaine Greer has praised Ditto on appearing like this on the cover of a mainstream magazine, and also NME for allowing her to do so. Greer speaks highly of Beth stating: h er intention is to force acceptance of her body type, 5ft tall and 15 stone, and by this strategy to challenge the conventional imagery of women. Laura Mulveys theory of feminism can be seen here; Beth Ditto is the dominant female who refuses to be passive to the male viewer. Gossips video Listen Up, follows two transvestites, one male and one female and depicts what it means to be masculine and feminine. This is an alternative theme for a music video and so once again Ditto challenges mainstream society. However, in this video, Ditto herself is not shown in her usual rebellious way, but instead appears to be typical of a music video, showing that everyone needs to conform to sell records. My research has established that despite years of feminism and social movement, women are still objectified as sex symbols in the music industry. For my linked production I will be producing a music video in the style of 1970s female punk bands to the song Oh Bondage, Up Yours by X-ray Spex. The target audience for the video will be predominately female teenagers who feel their views and values arent represented in mainstream music. The video will not sexualise women and it will reject the male gaze. Word Count 2002
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