Ansoff Matrix , Pdf

Strengths | Weaknesses | Fast decision making|   Ã‚  Negative image of the Middle East|   Ã‚  Oil money, booming economy|   Ã‚  Barren desert, the lack of natural resources|   Ã‚  Political neutrality and impartiality|   Ã‚  Only 20% of UAE nationals|   Ã‚  Unique beauty, hotels and attractions|   Ã‚  The lack of fundamental infrastructure: transportation, water|   Ã‚  Luxury experience includes relaxing beaches and invigorating sport and exploration opportunities|   Ã‚  Luxuries might appeal too small a segment|   Ã‚  Safe environment|   | |   | Opportunities | Threats |Increasing oil price|   Ã‚  Strong competitors: within the region: Abu Dhabi, Qatar; outside of region: Singapore, Hong Kong|   Ã‚  Increase job opportunities for immigrants and natives|   Ã‚  Oil running out in 30 years|   Ã‚  Growing luxury market|   Ã‚  Terrorism and war could further negative image of Middle East, UAE|   Ã‚  Increase in foreign investment|   Ã‚  Limited media coverage|   Ã‚  Proactive attitude|   | Well-developed MICE environment|   | A successful small business should communicate to the customer why they should pick you among the myriad of options in your industry today.For that A SWOT analysis should be done from a realistic point of view and keeping in mind a very discerning customer. The analysis should also consider the standards of the industry and your major competitors. A basic SWOT analysis should be Strengths Anything that the industry requires, that you do well and your competitor doesn't do can be your strength. For example your company's distribution channels, your direct marketing approach, your patented high end product. Weaknesses We can all list strengths, but can we be realistic and list weaknesses?This might be the take off point for any small business. Weaknesses can be anything from non efficient staff to a lack luster front end office. Opportunities Successful business turns threats to Opportunities. Opportun ities abound today's ever dynamic world, where new markets are being formed and the customer is being provided with revolutionary products. Opportunities can come as new business regulations or even a wrong move by your competitor. Threats How you identify and tackle threats will pave your path to success. A new competitor with a more sophisticated product can be a threat.Being aware of this in advance and making a better package for the customer to stand up against the competitor's new product is how a threat becomes an opportunity. SWOT is simple and like all simple and age old strategies very powerful. SWOT is a starting point and is also plays a major part in strategic planning. Pest analysis of UAE Name: United Arab Emirates. The Emirates are: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah. Government: Federation of the seven Emirates, each with its own ruler.President: Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Area: 83,600sq. Km (including 200 islands) Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia Population: 2,407,460 and includes 1,576,472 non-nationals July 2001 Language: Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdo Religion: Muslim 96% (Shi’a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4% Climate: Desert; cooler in eastern mountains Currency: The UAE Dirham (Dh) or (AED), 1Dh = 100 fils Exchange Rate: 3. 671 Dh per US $1 (http://www. uaeforever. com) Political factors:The political situation in the UAE is stable. The Emirates banking systems have developed; relationship based banking and monetary system that is capable to fulfill later stage funding supplies, whether it is equity, loans or leasing. Almost banking organizations, represented by almost every major financial institution in the world can either invest or assist in accessing UAE’s emerging capital markets. Gaining commercial loans in the UAE is based on established credibility and relationships with inf luential people to create a more stable political atmosphere.The government mainly sets up the financial politics but there are organizations such as the ADCCI (Abu Dhabi Camber of Commerce and Industry) that serve as a bridge between the private sector and the government. ADCCI provides a wide range of services, such as setting up the Sheikh Khalifa Fund to provide technical and financial support for small-medium enterprises set up by the youth, they also organize trade fairs, sending delegations abroad to promote Abu Dhabi as a commercial center and initiating training programs that train nationals to join the private sector.The strong banking system increases presence of venture capital and government funding provide substantial financial resources to foreign and local entrepreneurs. The most crucial factor is raising capital for a new foreign entrepreneur is to establish good relationships with local guarantors or other established foreign entrepreneurs. The best thing to do her e is to get a network of contacts essential for successful business in the system Political risk factors Four types of political risk factors must be examined in assessing the climate for investment in any given country.They are: 1. Regime change: A change in key government personnel through normal electoral or authorized political processes, or through illegal means. 2. Political turmoil: General levels of politically inspired violence, including violent strikes, guerrilla action, or civil war 3. Government policy: Decisions with respect to fiscal and monetary policies, trade restrictions or foreign investment regulations. 4. External events: other countries actions that affect the country of concern. (book: Global Investing page 89). Taxes The UAE does not have any enforced federal income tax legislation for general business nor is any such tax envisaged in the foreseeable future. Taxation on trade or business income would be, in theory, based on income tax decrees issued by the i ndividual Emirates prior to the crediting of UAE as federation in 1971. To income tax decree has been enacted by each Emirate, in practice the enforcement of these decrees is restricted to foreign banks and oil companies. To incant investors there is no personal taxation in the UAE.Except for oil and gas-producing companies that pay royalties and taxes on their proceeds and foreign banks that pay 20% of their profits, there are no direct corporate income taxes; there are no preservation taxes. In the free zones, enterprises are granted at least a 15-year tax exemption guarantee regardless of the changes in the laws. The currency is fully convertible and there are no taxes on the repatriation of capital or earnings. Further, there are no foreign exchange controls, quotas or trade barriers and import duties and tariffs are extremely low. (Book: Banking in the UAE) Economic factors:In the last fifteen years the economy of UAE has move very quickly. The discovery of oil and its developm ent provided the drive to the local trade, which earlier mainly represented the entrepot trading activities of Dubai. The primary trade strength of the UAE has been reconfirmed by the really strong economy, which was almost unconstrained by the Gulf War and other regional events. (book: UAE Economy) The banking system consists of the Central Bank, 21 national banks with 281 branches, 28 foreign banks with around 1,001 branches, one restricted license bank, two investment banks and 10 representative offices.The Central Bank acts as the government’s advisor on financial and monetary matters, issues currency and controls the banking sector. The national banks have a dominant share of the market. The leading institutions are National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Emirates Bank International, National Bank of Dubai, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Mashreq bank. The foreign commercial banks have about 25% of the market share and hold roughly the same amount in total bank assets.The regulation o f the UAE financial market was taken a further step in March 2000 with the launch of the Dubai Financial Market, which made the buying and selling of stocks official previously, this had to be carried out informally through private investment agencies. With less than 10 companies listed and Volume of $1 million in daily transactions, the Dubai Financial Market is early to provide an environment sufficiently attractive to act as a magnet for the massive overseas reserves (estimated at $600 billion by the IMF). There are even investments for foreigners now in the Emirates.A recent announcement made by public joint stock company EMAAR properties (owned 32% by the Dubai government) to allow foreigners to own up to 20 percent of shares is a major move towards opening up of the UAE financial market to international capital. Economic analysis in the UAE is difficult as there are delays by the federal and emirate governments in publishing comprehensive and accurate statistics in a timely ma nner. The private sector institutions including banks and foreign oil companies are not allowed to disseminate statistics directly to the public.The UAE has an open economy with one of the highest GDP per capita in the world and a sizable annual surplus. (www. emirates. org/economy). This pie outlines the economic sectors GDP for year 1994: The UAE has good economic conditions including strong currency; strong GDP and population growth (present rate approximately 6. 5% per year) therefore, provides significant opportunities for entrepreneurs in non-oil related sectors Porter five force model on Dubai The UAE retail sector continues to grow, supported by the upgrading of existing retail stores and the addition of state of the art new mega retail stores.The UAE market presents retailers with diverse relatively high-income consumers. Exporters who are willing to establish personal relationships, consolidate shipments, and meet the labeling requirements of the UAE market will find a rap idly growing sector in which to sell a wide range or products. Annual sales in the industry are estimated at $3. 5 billion. The UAE food retail sector continues its aggressive growth. More large type stores are being built. French retail chain already operates in the market while a new one is being prepared to launch its services. Value of retailed products are currently estimated by trades at about $2. billion. The French Retail Giant, Carrefour, has moved aggressively into the retail of food and non-food products in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to open at more locations across the UAE. Other Arabian Peninsula markets are definitely in the cards for this retailer as consumers go more and more for low prices and everything under one roof. The author analyzes the Food Retail Industry in the UAE in Michael Porter's Five Forces Analysis. It uses concepts developed in Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and th erefore attractiveness of a market.Porter referred to these forces as the microenvironment, to contrast it with the more general term macro-environment. They consist of those forces close to a company that affect its ability to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally requires a company to re-assess the marketplace Food Retail Industry in the UAE– Porter’s Five Forces Strategy Analysis The UAE retail sector continues to grow, supported by the upgrading of existing retail stores and the addition of state of the art new mega retail stores.The UAE market presents retailers with diverse relatively high-income consumers. Exporters who are willing to establish personal relationships, consolidate shipments, and meet the labeling requirements of the UAE market will find a rapidly growing sector in which to sell a wide range or products. Annual sales in the industry are estimated at $3. 5 billion. The UAE food retail sector continues its agg ressive growth. More large type stores are being built. French retail chain already operates in the market while a new one is being prepared to launch its services.Value of retailed products are currently estimated by trades at about $2. 5 billion. The French Retail Giant, Carrefour, has moved aggressively into the retail of food and non-food products in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to open at more locations across the UAE. Other Arabian Peninsula markets are definitely in the cards for this retailer as consumers go more and more for low prices and everything under one roof. Aruvian's R'search analyzes the Food Retail Industry in the UAE in Michael Porter’s Five Forces Analysis.It uses concepts developed in Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Porter referred to these forces as the microenvironment, to contrast it with the more general term macro-environment. They consist of those forces close to a company that affect its ability to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally requires a company to re-assess the marketplace

Celta Assignment 2:Skills -Related Task Essay

Receptive skills: According to J. Harmer in his book The Practice of English Language Teaching, â€Å"receptive skills are the ways in which people extract the meaning from the discourse they see or hear†. In the following text â€Å"Playing with your food† the main skill that is being practiced is reading and along with it other sub-skills are being developed such as practicing new vocabulary, reading for gist in order for the students to understand the main idea. Enhancement of receptive skills will increase the rate at which students comprehend English language and allow students to practice new vocabulary in its context from the text. 1. Generating students’ interest in the topic of the text. The teacher gives the students a picture of a vegetable and then a musical instrument and then writes the title of the text on the board, â€Å" Playing with your food†. The teacher then asks students to take some time and make predictions what they think the text will be about. After that some of their ideas will be listed on the board. Rationale: This activity will help students predict the topic and prepare for the vocabulary that might be used in the studied text. 2. Reading for gist. The teacher will then ask the students to read the text quickly for a couple of minutes after which they will be asked if any of their predictions, from the listed of the board, were mentioned in the text. After discussing the text briefly students will be asked to read and answer the questions in Ex.1 (see attached exercise worksheet) in order to check if they have understood the general idea of the text. After checking their answers the teacher will ask the students â€Å"What is the main idea of the text?†, â€Å" Is this something that you would try yourself?†. Rationale: This task will help students to enhance their ability to read for gist and understand the main idea of the text. And will also help them answer general questions related to the text. (see ex.1 on attached worksheet). 3. Reading for specific information: Teacher will ask students to read questions related to the text and then read the text itself to support their answers. (see ex.2 on attached worksheet). The students will be working in pairs and will check with the text if they find it necessary. Rationale: This exercise allows students to practice reading for specific information for which they need to concentrate while reading in order to find the correct piece of information they are looking for. Practicing productive skills: As J. Harmer says in his book The Practice of English Language Teaching productive skills are a way of helping students with their receptive skills and in many situations production can only continue in a combination with the practice of a receptive skill. Productive skills are important for students, when they learn them in the classroom, as they help them develop a better and more efficient way to communicate and also in this way they learn the correct context of different uses and meanings of words and phrases. They follow the typical intonation and sounding of a language and naturally prepare for formal or informal conversations. 1. Writing: The teacher will play a video of a short musical performance of the Vegetable Orchestra. After watching the video the teacher asks the students to write a short review about the orchestra and if they feel it necessary they can check with the text. The teacher will write on the board some lead- in questions for the students to begin with. – What was the idea of the musicians from Austria that made the so different from other orchestras? – What happens with the vegetable instruments after the concert is over? -What is your opinion of this music? – Do you think their art will gain more popularity in the world? After completing their writings, students will exchange their papers with their partners in order to share opinions and see if they have followed the idea of the text and to correct any spelling or grammatical mistakes they might have made. Rationale: this activity will help students practice spelling, vocabulary, grammar and text formation which differ quite a lot from speaking. 2. Speaking activity: The teacher asks the students to divide in groups and of 2 or 3 and elicits that each group is a musical orchestra that uses different materials for their instruments, such as vegetables, old office materials, fruit or things they can find in nature. Each group will have to decide on its name, style of music, instruments and activities. What kind of songs they have and some history that they can imagine. After this they will have about 5-6 minutes to prepare and then they will have to introduce themselves to the rest of the class. Afterwards the class will vote which musical band might get in the leading positions of the radio charts. This activity will be useful to students as it encourages them to practice new vocabulary from the text, etc. biodegradable, environmentally-conscious, and to interpret the new information in their own way and engage in a spoken dialogue. Ex.1 Read text and answer the following questions: 1. What makes this orchestra different from others? (they make their own instruments from vegetables) 2. How is the orchestra called? (The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra) 3. What happens to the vegetables after a performance finishes? (they make soup with them for the audience) Ex.2 Read the text again, and mark with True or False the following statements. 1. The text is about children who don’t eat their food. F 2. The vegetable Orchestra was founded in 2008. F 3. The musical instruments are made from tropical fruit. F 4. The orchestra plays many different kinds of music. T 5. The musicians perform more than 3 times a year. T 6. The Vegetable Orchestra produces its own instruments. T 7. Carrots are turned into flutes. F 8. The sound of each instrument depends on the quality of the vegetables and the temperature on stage. T Ex. 3 Answer the following questions: 1. Where is the orchestra from? Austria 2. What combinations of vegetables are used together to create instruments? Cucumbers, peppers and carrots and etc. 3. What is used for drums? Pumpkins 4. What makes better instruments, plastic-packed vegetables or fresh vegetables? Fresh vegetables 5. When was the orchestra founded? 1998 6. What is the orchestra musical repertoire formed of ? From classical to electronic Refrences : J. Harmer The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, pages 246, 250-252

Operetion management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operetion management - Assignment Example This is especially true in the case highly fashion conscious and seasonal business of selling fashion wear merchandise. In this context the 'Quick Response' supply chain project of Jossey Menswear - a fashion retailer with more than 200 retail outlets is analysed to evaluate and critically comment on the scope of success of their project I improving the supply chain management. "More than ever before speed has become a source of competitive advantage. Competing on speed requires an organization characterized by fast moves, fast adaptations and tight linkages. .. Forming alliances is one of the most effective avenues for competing speed. The best example is the textile industry's quick response initiative, designed to improve the flow of information, standardize recording systems, and reduce turnaround time along the entire supply chain from fiber to textiles to apparel to retailing." - Roberta S. Russell, Bernard W. Taylor Operation Management: Edition IV (2003). pp 37. Seasonality - This is the main factor which necessitates the speed in the supply chain. Basically the fashion industry works on two seasons, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, where supply decisions are conceived at least 18 months prior to the time the merchandise is supposed to be on the racks of the retail outlet. The various processes starting from the selection of design, selection of color trends and fabric trends for the next season are time consuming and in order that the garments reach the stores before the end of the season, there should exist an effective supply chain. Products are made according to a predetermined standard sizes and there is no time to revise the outfits once manufactured. This critical aspect in the supply chain movement sometimes delays the whole process of manufacturing resulting in the rejection of some garment lots being out of size specifications. Here again a team effort working in conformity to evolved standards will make the things move faster. Pricing-the determinant factor on the success or otherwise of a business venture is at the centre of all managerial decisions. This is particularly true in the case of the fashion retail business as any garments not reaching within the saleable window will naturally have to be sold at the end of the season at heavily discounted prices. Full price sales can be effected only when the merchandise reaches the stores and is available to the customer when they visit the store only once or twice in a year, which is a peculiarity attached to the fashion retail industry. The sale at full price is also determined by various other factors. 'Designers' collection' forms the foundation for the full price sales. Since designers work at a considerably advanced period before the actual sales takes place, they have to make intelligent guess work about the customer preferences in terms of deign, color and fabric which may sell well in a season. If the decisions on the collection designs are made right then the entire season may witness good full price sales. Getting the styles into the right retail

The History of Terrorism and Special Forces Research Paper

The History of Terrorism and Special Forces - Research Paper Example An extensive investigation on terrorism has to be carried out especially on the historical background of the US in order to gather a broader perspective about terrorists’ intentions. I strongly believe the research will assist government agencies and legal systems to make timely decisions on how to tackle the deadly threats. The historical background on terrorism dates back to the French revolution (Mitchell, 2010). For the last ten years, however, a dramatic increase in this barbaric act has been observed. To pursue their political agenda they use hijacking, murdering, kidnapping and bombing. Armstrong indicated that modern suicide terror was first noted at an American embassy in Lebanon in 1983 near Beirut (Simpson & Robert, 2004). The group behind the attack was known as Hezbollah, meaning an army of God. The group later led another attack against the French multinational force and the Marine headquarters resulting in the death of 300 people (Bernstein, 2002). The terror attack made western forces to leave Lebanon. A suicide terror attack is presumed to be the most devastating form of terrorism. The terrorists usually use religion to justify their awful acts though the assaults are politically motivated. Hezbollah as I noted uses suicide terror attacks against Israel as a retaliatory apparatus. For example, after their secretary general Abas Musavi was assassinated by Israeli military personnel in 1992, the Hezbollah bombed an Israeli embassy stationed in Buenos Ares (Mann, 2004). Twenty-nine people died while two hundred and fifty people were seriously injured. I also noted that whenever a terror group achieved a political goal their terror activities were observed to reduce. This was a clear indication that the perpetrators were politically motivated rather than being religiously influenced. Islam is also the most dominant religion in the Middle East and terrorists use this opportunity to their advantage. The objective of

Fashion History of the corsets, and why is it considered iconic Essay

Fashion History of the corsets, and why is it considered iconic - Essay Example The purpose of the essay "Fashion History of the corsets, and why is it considered iconic" is to critically examine and evaluate the corset as a tool for fashion. The hypothesis of this essay is that the corset is an iconic element of fashion in the modern era and it has always been since the Age of Renaissance several hundreds of years ago. In order to attain this end, the following objectives will be explored critically. The corset is often worn below the chest down to the hips and the knee, therefore enhancing the body of modern-day women. The history of the corset predates the era of writing. The earliest evidence available to scholars of today includes images of gods and women that were printed over 4,000 years ago. The image above provides traces of how corsets existed in different forms in prehistoric societies. This includes Ancient Egypt which is known to have had a civilisation over 4,000 years ago. This picture in figure 2 (left) shows a goddess or an influential leader or both. And the nature of her outfit shows that she was only prepared for the most important and the most influential men in the society. This is because her outfit showed that she was dressed in a much more dignified way and manner and this was obviously meant to show her feminine side. In Ancient Crete though, it appears that the corset was used by normal members of the society to provide a kind of depiction of the clothes they wore. Figure 2 (right) shows people, who look more like commoners adorned in tight clothes.

Business Ethics Degree Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Ethics Degree - Case Study Example If the business goes down and profitability gets affected, this will have a direct impact on the salaries and perks of the workforce. On the other hand if there are more activities on the runway, expansion of the functional areas, addition of another runway, that implies better promotional avenues for the workforce and more job opportunities. The management (top management): The top management can be clubbed with the workforce as well, but this body being a policy making body, is supposed to be answerable to the adverse reactions in the media, NGO's concerns, passengers woes etc. Therefore if the functioning is smooth at the airport, that's a happy situation for the top management as it gets a pat on the back, besides of course, hefty remuneration. The passengers i.e. air travellers: Air travellers are the key customers of the services being offered by an airport. If there are additions in the facilities, it results in reduction of the waiting time in queues, better ambience, more spacious waiting lounges, more facilities at the airport etc. Such additions are bound to delight the customer. If the runway capacity increases, that implies lesser delay in landing and take-offs. This works to the advantage of the air travellers. The investors: Since BAA is a public... All this certainly helps the investor as better dividend can be expected on the investments. The residents living in the vicinity of the airport: Adding another runway implies more aircrafts landing and taking-off in quick succession. This might lead to more noise pollution in the surrounding areas, which might rob off the area residents from their well-deserved peaceful time with their family members, guests etc. BAA will therefore have to take extra care towards reducing the noise levels, which could imply making some additional investments. The airlines: Airlines will of course be the happiest lot with the addition of another runway, because that results in; Less fuel consumptions, as the aircraft doesn't have to hover over the airport, waiting for its turn to get the landing space. Customer satisfaction, as the carrier is now able to maintain time discipline in landing as well as in take-offs More parking space for the aircrafts near the runway, which saves time and money incurred on towing the aircraft to another corner of the airport. The suppliers and other business associates: More business implies more business activities for the suppliers and business associates of the airport as well as the concerned airlines. The Government: If BAA is able to satisfy its customers, able to maintain international quality standards, earn more profits, that implies a happy situation for the government. But if the airport gets a flak for its functioning, NGOs are up in arms against the policies, the governments has to spend considerable amount on placating those concerns. 1.2. From a utilitarian perspective, would you argue for or against the proposed new runway From the utilitarian perspective I will surely argue for the proposed new

Discuss the situation in criminal law in England when both the Research Paper

Discuss the situation in criminal law in England when both the prosecution and the defendant in the same case cause a delay - Research Paper Example The case brought to the limelight the prevalent child abuse that has recently domineered Britain. The former abattoir worker and lifeguard, according to previous evidence, had murdered, obscured, and disposed the body of the child to ensure that any search by the police will be futile. As the case was proceeding, the prosecution found fresh evidence2. Fragments of bones confirmed to be April’s remains were found in the man’s bath plughole and fireplace. Additionally, explicit images of child sex abuse were found in Mark’s laptop, a fact that prompted a fresh debate over a link between viewing of such images and sexual killings. The prosecution had also discovered, through detectives, several tapes in Mark’s DVD player, tapes that were dominated with murder and rape. April’s family wanted Mark’s cottage demolished while the prosecution wanted him to explain the source of the tapes and the bones. The prosecution believed that it could garner mo re evidence against Mark if given more time. The lead prosecutor also said that, â€Å"computer evidence points towards an individual who is evil, manipulative and has premeditated3.† The prosecution team, therefore, wanted more time to gather parts of the girl’s body. Mark wanted more time to defend the new evidence that had emerged. Upon examination of the reasons for discontinuation presented by both the defendant and the prosecutor, Mold crown court judges issued discontinuance. The defendants were indicted of murdering Hama Faraj Noori, 56, in his flat after executing the murder plan in a bar. The defendants claimed that they were not ready to defense themselves and the judge allowed them more time to establish a legal team. The defendants had realized that the prosecutor had garnered fresh evidence that would prove quite challenging to defend and wanted more time to assemble facts of the case and conduct some consultations with the relevant authorities4. Moreover, the prosecution wanted more

Effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing Essay

Effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing environment. Discuss what needs to be considered when under - Essay Example An effective marketing plan requires a research on the drivers of demand in the business environment. This may entail secondary research or primary research, or both in order to investigate consumer behavior and motivation. Some of the aspects contained in an effective marketing plan are demographic and social changes that may affect sales of the company’s product, for instance a change in the lifestyles and the age structure. New technologies that may open up some markets while at the same time closing some. Economic trends that have an impact on the consumer purchase decision, as well as political environment that alters public spending due to aspects like taxation. By conducting a marketing audit, a firm is able to explore its internal capabilities (Alison, 2011, p 23). Effective marketing planning also calls for an examination of the external environment to a firm, which entails focusing on the existing marketing strategies; the company’s marketing mix, and market s egmentation and segmentation, as well. Scanning and interpreting all these areas of market changes calls for knowledge and experience, and might be the source of competitive advantage. Much of the marketing planning also varies on anticipating the response of competitors. The reason is that interpreting and responding to market changes ahead of t6he competitors may result in high gains of both sales and profits. Marketing audit Marketing audit is a fundamental element of the marketing planning process, which ensures that a firm is profitable. Marketing audit considers both internal and internal influential factors. Most tools for conducting a marketing audit include the SWOT, PESTEL and the porter’s five forces (Bensoussan & Fleisher, 2008, p 23). PESTEL analysis PESTEL analysis is an examination of forces outside the business, but has an impact on firms sales and marketing. These are the political, economic, social, technological and legal aspects. The political element deal s with the impacts of government policy. Government legislation also incorporates legal elements that include taxation policies and laws that govern business operations. Government regulation has the effects on privatization and deregulation policy, which have an overall effect of opening up markets to competition. Companies should not be something for companies to fear, as regulations like lowering pollution may act to spur competitive firms to innovate and lower costs to counter increasing costs of regulation. Economic factors like disposable incomes, unemployment, prevailing interest rates, recession and booms have an impact of a company’s sales. Marketers have to scan and monitor the general economic environment before making any marketing move, as this may have impacts on sales and eventual profitability in a certain time. Social-cultural factors refer to consumers’ patterns of behavior, lifestyles and preferences that affect purchase and buying behaviors (Debra, 2005, p 23). Marketers need to be ware of changes in consumer behavior as a result of change in preferences. Trending social elements affects the demand of a company’s products. Additionally, it is vital to examine the technological changes that happen in the industry, especially changes in information technology, research and development and rate of technology change. The reason is that technology changes affect

The Republic of Plato Case Essay Example for Free

The Republic of Plato Case Essay According to Thrasymachus, justice is interest of the rulers and the superior. His view of justice considered the whole state with someone being superior. The person superior is the ruler. Being superior, he is the one that would make the law.   The rulers would make laws that would benefit them. If his servants would refuse to obey, then they would be punished and called unjust while those who would obey would be called the just. Socrates started to refute this argument by doubting the ability of the ruler to see something as beneficial to him or not. Every man makes a mistake, even rulers. In making laws, they may not be able to recognize that what they are doing can result to their harm and to the benefit of his servants. Following this argument, justice is not always for the interest of the rulers. But Thrasymachus insist that it is, and pointed out that a ruler cannot be subjected to mistakes at the times that he is called a ruler. A ruler is perfect. At the times that he makes mistakes, the title ruler is not rightfully his and will not be consider to be a ruler. The ruler, in the stick sense, would never commit a mistake of perceiving something that would injure him as something beneficial. All the laws that he will make would be for his benefit. Justice is really for the interest of the superiors (Cornford, 1945, 14).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates’ argument was based on the analogy that an art is the master and that the subject of the art the servants. He viewed almost everything as a form of art, a perfect art to be exact. A perfect art is an art that does not require any art, not even itself, to fix its defect and would never have a defect. Art will always be done for the interest of the subject. The performer of a particular art will always make something, which is in line with his art, to please the subject. It is never for his benefit that art is done, but for the benefit of his subjects. Socrates made this point clear by taking healing by physicians as an art. By treating the sick, which is the subject of his art, he obtains nothing for himself. The one benefited was the sick since he will be healed. And like the art, the master would also do something that is for the benefit of his servants. Therefore, the master will always do something that is for the interest of his servants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates also added that the benefits that were acquired through ruling as not part of the art of ruling. It is a consequence of his art but not really a part of it. He states that every art has a distinct characteristic. If after performing the art, say the art of healing, he obtains something through payments, the art that he performed cannot be mistaken to be the art of paying. He may obtain something through the art of paying but still it is the art of healing that he performed. Nothing can be gained through one art only. It is also true to the art of ruling. Obtaining something that is for the interest of the ruler is not part of the art of ruling. He did not really benefit form the art of ruling but by the art of paying.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates pointed out that power is not the reason that a person wants to rule, but because of the fear of punishment that awaits him upon rejecting the opportunity to rule. He claimed that there are three modes of payment that would be given to the ruler, money, honor and punishment of not ruling. For a just man, the first two modes are not of great importance but the rather the third mode. The third mode can be made clear by thinking that when an unjust man became the ruler, he would expand his power. The result would be chaos and disorder in the society. This fear of being ruled by someone that is unjust or worst that him is the reason that a just man wants to rule.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thrasymachus, aside of his claim that of justice, also said that the life of an unjust man is happier and better than the life of a just man. A just man will do something for the interest of the rulers but an unjust man for himself. A just man will always consider his ruler’s will but the unjust will just do what he please. His view of which the just and unjust man are became more specific in the sense that he classified some groups or individuals as just or unjust. The criminals, robber and swindlers were example of an unjust person and honest persons as just. The robbers, taking the properties of others, leave their victim’s life miserable. On the large scale, criminals would not only take small part of properties, but would try to take all of them. The criminals, having taken the properties of others by force, would live a better life and than the person who was left with almost nothing. The unjust will always have more than the just man.   This is the reason that he classified unjust as wise and good, and the just ignorant. This is because the just would not consider the ruler us unjust. The rulers would also take the properties of others and enslave other people and other state but never will the just consider him a criminal. He also claimed that justice is a vice while injustice a virtue. It is a vice since he believed that a person would gain nothing for being just. His view of happiness is based on the desire of the human body and is very dependent on physical wealth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, Socrates thought that the opposite is true. A just man has characteristics that are stronger, live a life that is freer and happier than the unjust. In his argument to prove this, he used the analogy of the artisan. In this analogy, he classified men to be either artisan or non-artisan. One of this two would be considered as wise or ignorant. Surely, the person that is capable of performing the art is the wise one. By looking at the characteristics of a just man and the unjust man, it would be clear who is the real wise and the real ignorant. A just man, being simple, would want to exceed the talents that the unjust man has, but never the talents of another just man while the unjust man will try to do better than the just man and to all other unjust men. The artisan will never claim that adjusting something in performing his art can make him superior to another person performing the same art but he would claim to be better than those who do not practice his art. On he contrary, the person ignorant of the art would try to be better than the actual artisan and those that are non-artisan. Because this person, who is the artisan, will try to be better than those who are non-artisan and the just person will try to exceed the ability of an unjust person, it is logical to say that the just person is the same as the artisan while the unjust is the same as the non-artisan. Being wise, which is a characteristic of an artisan, is good, and so therefore the artisan is wise and good. The just man, having the same characteristics of an artisan, is wise and good. This directly contradicts Thrasymachus’ view of a just man as someone that is ignorant (Jowett, 1946, 12).   An intriguing flaw on Socrates can be noticed. This flaw is when Socrates did not consider ambition as a driving force that could lead to the artisan to do better than his fellow artisan. It is quite excusable since both Socrates and Thrasymachus considered the artisan in a strict view. The artisan is perfect and is not capable of doing error. In this case, the artisan can no longer be better that his fellow artisan (Retrieved December 9,2007 from http://sesquipadalianmusings.blogspot.com/).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Injustice, as being agreed by Socrates and Thrasymachus, can cause hatred and disorderliness wherever it is found. But Socrates claimed that there is still a form of justice existing in a group of unjust men. There can never be a perfect injustice. In a group of unjust men, the injustice that they possess would cause each one of them to injure one another. But in doing so, they would be less capable. Having this in mind, they would work together. Since unity in a group can only be acquired through justice, justice still exists in this group of unjust men. But not only in a large group can injustice creates hatred, but also to the persons own self. The injustice existing in him would disorganize the cooperation of his body parts, and that it can cause hatred towards one’s own self. And this form of injustice existing in the person is equally fatal as the injustice present at a larger group. The strongest part of Socrates argument is when he linked the soul to the happiness of a person. Unlike Thrasymachus’ view of happiness as something brought about by physical things, Socrates view happenings as something that can be obtained through peaceful interaction between of a person to his society and to his own self, and something that can only be experienced when the soul is at its proper use and excellence. He claimed that injustice is a defect in the soul that deteriorates its excellence. Everything in the world has its own function. The function of one thing can never be done better than any other thing. The ability or characteristic that allow it to do its function is its excellence. Once its excellence has been damaged or deteriorated, it cannot perform its function. Socrates believes that the function of the soul is to command and its excellence is justice. He recognized injustice as a form of defect of the soul. Because of this defect, the soul lost its ability to command. The injustice that the soul possesses would destroy the harmony of the soul and the body. A just man will live happy and free and will be an excellent ruler while the unjust man will live ill and will be an evil ruler. He added that being happy is profitable and so the life of a just man is more profitable than the life of an unjust man. This argument of Socrates refuted Thrasymachus view that injustice is more profitable and unjust the stronger and that justice is truly the sum of all virtues (Cornford, 1945, 1). References Cornford, F. M. (1945). The Republic of Plato. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od= 12288563#. Inkling. (October 23, 2007). Socrates vs. Thrasymachus. Retrieved December 9,2007 from http://sesquipadalianmusings.blogspot.com. Jowett,B. (1946). The Republic of Plato. Cleveland: Fine Edition Press. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from Electronic Text Center database.

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning Governmental Control Over Curriculum and the Impact on Teachers as Skilled  Professionals Introduction Caldwell and Hayward (1998) state that the need for reform in England’s school system was realized in 1976 (p. 1). Yet, it was not until 1988 with the Education Reform Act instituted under Margaret Thatcher that a â€Å"national curriculum, national tests† and control of the schools by the government began to become a reality (Caldwell Hayward 1998, p. 1). Murnane and Steele (2007) contend that national involvement in the public schools was intended to support the learners, as well as the teachers (p. 15). However, because of the continued awareness by governments that Western educational institutions were lagging behind the accomplishments of Eastern schools, continued changes in the area of education and government’s control over it have completely altered the educational landscape (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). This is because of an adopted neo-liberalist policy approach that has favored markets over learners and policies over teacher effectiveness (Apple 200 1, p. 182). As a result teachers are becoming â€Å"deskilled† and incapable of maintaining their own control over their effectiveness in the classroom (Hall 2004, p. 3). As this control subsides, therefore, teachers are leaving the profession due to frustration and an inability to maintain their professional capabilities in the schools. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Neo-Liberalism Apple (2001) indicates that there was once a â€Å"classical liberalism† that existed in relation to the schools and those policies related to education that impacted teachers and students (p. 182). However, Apple (2001) states that as time has progressed the classical liberalism of the state policies has been altered toward a â€Å"neo-liberalism approach† (p. 182). According to Apple (2001), it is important to understand the differences between these two types of views of education because these differences are at the core of the educational issues that schools in many countries face today (p. 182). Olssen (1996) defines classical liberalism in the schools as a method of â€Å"freeing those within the schools from state control† (p. 337). Olssen (1996), on the other hand, specifies that neo-liberalism supports the state’s role in controlling education by â€Å"creating a market†¦[that involves] the conditions, laws and institutions necessary for its operation† (p. 337). Apple (2001) argues that when an education â€Å"market† is, therefore, created it is a market that seems to suggest â€Å"individualization† (p. 182). However, the individualization of the market is subjected to the controls of the government and the policies that force parents, teachers and students to act in a certain manner, leading to the end results that the state intended from the start (Apple 2001, p. 182). This is because the actions of the entities connected to education are restrained by the boundaries set forth in the policies of the government and as those boun daries become more tightly fixed the actions of the parties are more predictable. Choice and Influence on Teachers Apple (2001) expands on this notion by examining the middle class in society (p. 182). Apple (2001) stipulates that when parents of different nations in the middle class are given the opportunity of school choice the government knows that those parents will naturally begin placing their own criteria and/or expectations on schools (p. 182). Consequently when parents are unhappy with the curriculum at one school the teachers at the school are forced to alter that curriculum in order to meet the demands of the parents or they will loose the students within that school (Apple 2001, p. 182). The loss of students within a school means the loss of government funding, the loss of jobs, the lack of teacher’s ability to provide resources and ultimately the loss of the school itself in the community. Therefore, as Apple (2001) indicates, the government policies may be suggesting that people have a greater choice; yet, what is actually occurring is a more significant control of schools th rough the ability of parents to actively use choice to influence curriculum in relation to the schools (p. 182). As parents influence how the curriculum is created, consequently, teachers are placed under greater scrutiny and are forced to expand their offerings in the classroom – even if these offerings include learning that the teacher is not knowledgeable or skilled in. Brooker (2003) contends that the manner in which parents and private entities are capable of influencing the education of students is evident in the United Kingdom with the inclusion of computer technologies in the elementary classroom (p. 261). Over the past decade there has been such a significant increase in the demand for computer technology training of young students. Yet, those schools that do not conform to this expectation are loosing students (Brooker 2003, p. 261). In general this is because parents, manufacturers and the government insists that if children are not trained in the use of computers at an early age they will not be capable of competing with their peers or those in the outside world later on (Brooker 2003, p. 261). Yet, Brooker (2003) argues that technologies in the classroom has impacted teachers negatively due to the fact that many of today’s teachers are not skilled in the use of computers and they are not capable of acquiring the knowledge needed to instruct their students adequately (p. 261). This is because, in general, many schools fail to provide teachers with new training that will support the increase in the instructional scope and teachers do not have the ability to seek outside skill training and maintain their work schedule at the same time. New Teacher Training The concept of choice and control offered by the government is also being reflected in proposals by government entities associated with initial teacher training (Apple 2000, p. 1). Apple (2000) specifies that in the current educational climate what is being considered is the â€Å"deregulation† of teacher training as a means of promoting competition among institutions of higher learning (p. 1). Essentially what this causes to occur is that colleges and universities are freely allowed to choose their own approaches to teaching and teachers have the choice of training institutions that they prefer. However, as time progresses it becomes apparent to schools and the communities that support them which teachers are trained effectively and which are not (Apple 2001, p. 182). This occurs when standardized test scores are revealed from students, reflecting directly back on the teacher’s abilities to educate (Apple 2001, p. 182). As a result, when enough teachers from a particul ar institution are incapable of developing learners that can pass standardized tests that institution begins to realize a decline in enrollment (Apple 2001, p. 182). Although teachers in training are given the choice of schools to attend and colleges are given freedom in determining how those teachers are training, ultimately it is the governmental control of policies that impacts whether or not the institution of higher learning will survive and what curriculum will be used to teach teachers in society. In the neo-liberalist approach to education there is evidence that the freedoms that are being given to colleges and universities are instead tools that negatively impact teachers entering the profession, often with the new teachers being unaware that they are ultimately slated for failure before they even begin their careers. Able Students Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) stipulate that governmental control over education further impacts teachers and curriculum due to the fact that teachers and schools begin to attempt to avoid students with special needs and â€Å"seek out able children† (p. 19). This is because special needs students require a greater amount of teacher time, teacher expertise and teacher interaction with students that takes away from the teacher instructing â€Å"able† students who do not have special needs (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). In England, Ball, Bowe and Gewitz (1994) state that this intent to encourage able students enrolling in schools by teachers and administrators is directly related to the â€Å"publication of performance indicators such as examination league tables† because schools find it difficult to explain that test scores may be low due to an abundance of special needs students (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). Yet, Gerwitz, Ball and Bowe (1995) further argue that control of the curriculum and teacher performance is also related to the students of different cultures (p. 6). For example, in England it is known that African American students traditionally have difficulties in the schools because of the large segment of this population that is impoverished (p. 6). Poverty is correlated to the abilities of the students, with those in the impoverished classes historically performing less successfully on standardized tests (Gerwitz, Ball Bowe 1995, p. 6). Apple (2001), therefore, states that this causes teachers to develop curriculum that targets students who are more capable of learning and ignores those students that standardized testing was intended to support in the first place (p. 182). Fragmentation Allen and Ainley (2007) contend that as time progresses the governmental control over the curriculum in the schools is continuing to expand, impacting how teachers not only teach, but changing what is taught to students, causing a fragmentation of teacher control over their own labor (p. 1). An example of this exists within English schools as education reform is focused on vocational education for students beginning at age 14 (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). According to Allen and Ainley (2007) the government came to the conclusion that there was a decline in students graduating from schools with marketable skills and this impacted their success after public schooling (p. 1). The issue, therefore, became less concentrated on a student’s ability to read, write and perform simple math and more on specifically training students to function in specific jobs once they have left academia (Allen Ainley, 2007, p. 1). Allen and Ainley (2007) indicate that this brings about two specific issues. First, while teachers in the United Kingdom have indicated that they do not support this policy, teacher organizations throughout the country have ignored teacher protests and called on educators to ensure that the policies are successful (Allen Ainley 2007, p 1). Second, programs for vocational training are being largely created in schools that instruct low income or impoverished students, with those students in high performing schools working with a traditional curriculum (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). What this means is that while governmental policies are once again suggesting that there is choice in relation to education, the policies are ensuring that only those choices that support what the government deems appropriate for education will be made (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1; Chitty 2004, p. 160). Furthermore, Murnane and Steele (2007) state that this causes teachers to be inundated with having to cope with a curriculum that is ever-changing and that they believe they no longer have control over (p. 15). As a result teachers are leaving the teaching profession in vast numbers and this is creating a greater shortage in the teacher workforce than ever before (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). Conclusion Duggan and Pole (1996) suggest that the dissatisfaction in the teacher workforce began to be ever apparent in the 1990s (p. 139). Hall (2004) states that this is an issue that has increased over time because of policies such as â€Å"the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in primary school and the Key Stage 3 Strategy in secondary schools†, as well as the inclusion of technologies and standardized testing that â€Å"constricts teachers† and their capabilities throughout the curriculum (p. 3). According to Hall (2004) the types of control connected to the schools and the deskilling of teachers are endless (p. 8; Appendix 1). Consequently there is an increased teacher workload, decreased teacher satisfaction and a reduction in the number of teachers that want to or are capable of instructing students in the manner in which government and/or society demands. For the future of education in the Western world this could mean that the attempt by government to regulate education and create more successful outcomes for students in England has the opposite effect, as is indicated by Hall (2004, p. 3). The research indicates that the original intent of education to create students that were capable of being productive citizens after their educational careers ended became extremely complex when it was realized that Western students did not achieve at the same rate as Eastern students. Therefore, a neo-liberalist policy toward education by the government was adopted, suggesting that choice was available to parents, teachers and students and that a greater freedom in education would exist. Yet, the research also demonstrates that the idea of choice was restricted by the policies related to education that were adopted by the government and that these policies minimalized the choices that actually existed. Moreover, these neo-liberalist policies became so intricately woven within education that the choices made by those connected to education could be predicted and manipulated with ease. For teachers this has meant that they are overworked, under-trained and unprepared for the demands o f the modern educational system and given few options as to how they can overcome these issues. This knowledge provides serious implications for the educational system because as teachers continue to become frustrated due to their increasing deskilled status they are leaving the teaching workforce. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Appendix 1 (Hall 2004, p. 8). 1. Regulated market control: metaphors of the market and consumer demand are imposed upon schools; success and profits go to those who best meet consumer demand. Teachers’ work is evaluated in terms of measured outputs set against cost. Competition is the key element in relations between schools. (Ball, 1994) 2. Technical control: this is embodied in structures rather than people – in, for example, notionally ‘teacher proof’ teaching materials and text books, and in specified competences (Apple, 1988, 1996) 3. Bureaucratic control: hierarchical power is embedded in the social and organisational structure of institutions – jobs are differently divided and defined, have different salaries, and supervision, evaluation and promotion arrangements. The potential for establishing a career operates as a control mechanism. 4. Corporate control: the focus of the institution is on economic rather than social good. A competitive ethos prevails. Managers focus on economic goals. The head teacher is perceived more as a line manager than as a first among professional equals. 5. Ideological control: hegemonic beliefs – for example, that a good teacher has certain characteristics – become part of the dominant ideology within schools. These ideas and beliefs are reinforced in pre-service and in-service training. Certain conceptions of teachers’ work become naturalised – for example, a move away from child-centred discourse to market based discourse. 6. Disciplinary power: Foucault (1977) shows how, by means of the technologies of power – hierarchical observation, normalising judgment and examination –individuals are ‘disciplined’ into ways of understanding their work. Minor procedures and routines are specified (times, dress, expected responses) in ways that become anonymous and functional within a school; teachers and others within the school regulate their own behaviours to meet these expectations. Smyth describes this as a ‘triumph of technique over questions of purpose’ Bibliography Allen, M. and Ainley, P. (2007) Education make you fick, innit? London: Tufnell Press. Apple, M. (2000). Power, meaning, and identity. New York: Peter Lang. Apple, M. (2001). Markets, standards, teaching and teacher education. Journal of  Teacher Education. 52(3): 182-207. Ball, S., Bowe, R., Gewirtz, S. (1994). Market forces and parental choice. In S. Tomlinson (Ed.), Educational reform and its consequences (pp. 13-25). London: IPPR/Rivers Oram Press. Brooker, L. (2003). Integrating new technologies in the UK classroom. Childhood  Education. 79(5): 261-289. Caldwell, B., and Hayward, D. (1998). The future of schools: Lessons from the reform  of public education. London: Falmer Press. Chitty, C. (2004). Education policy in Britain. London: Palgrave. Duggan, R., and Pole, C. (1996). Reshaping education in the 1990s. New York:  Routledge. Gewirtz, S., Ball, S., Bowe, R. (1995). Markets, choice, and equity in education.  Philadelphia: Open University Press. Hall. C. (2004). Theorizing changes in teacher’s work. Canadian Journal of Education  Administration and Policy. Retrieved January 1, 2009, from http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/pdf_files/hall.pdf Murnane, R., and Steele, J. (2007). What is the problem? The challenge of providing  effective teacher for all children. The Future of Children. 17(1): 15-35. Olssen, M. (1996). In defense of the welfare state and of publicly provided education.  Journal of Education Policy. 11: 337-362.

Programming for BIG Data Project

Programming for BIG Data Project Liliam Faraon Nowadays, the amount of data generated and stored without an operation has exceeded a data analysis capability without the use of automated analysis techniques. The exponential growth of data is greater than it has ever been seen, extracting useful information from all the data generated and transform it into understandable and usable information is the challenge. There is where data mining assumes an important role, plenty of tools are available for data mining tasks using artificial intelligence, algorithms, machine learning and many others. In the present work two datasets were analysed, one with R and the other one Python. All the analysis was based in the CRISP-DM basic concepts: Business Understanding, Data Understanding, Data Preparation, Modelling, Evaluation and Deployment. The full methodology was not applied in the project, but understanding parts of its process was fundamental, the steps are pretty straight forward and give a very good idea of every stage that data mining has to go through and the feedback brought from every stage. The project scope is limited to identifying patterns in the data rather than predicting future, which could be examined as part of further study of the subject matter. The present Project was divided into two different parts: Part 1: R Dataset Analysis and Part 2: Python Dataset Analysis. It contains also a brief contextualization about the Big Data Context and the importance of data mining. We live in a time when the pursuit of knowledge is indispensable. Today, information assumes a growing importance, and a necessity for any sector of human activity, due to the many transformations we are witnessing. At every moment, we are facing new concepts and trends and we are amazed at how quickly they are occurring and affecting our lives, such as the technology that influences all sectors, social environments and touches every business and life on the planet. The article written by Bernard Marr, and published by Forbes last year brings some statistics that convince that big data really needs attention: More data has been created in the past two year than in the entire history of human race; By 2020 around 1.7 megabytes of new information will be generated every second for every human being on the planet. Every second we create new data, a good example: only on Google 40.000 searches and queries are generated every second, which makes the huge amount of 1.2 trillion searches a year. Facebook users send on average 31.25 million messages and view 2.77 million videos every minute. Only in 2015, 1 trillion photos were taken and billions of them were shared on line. In 2015, over 1.4 billion smart phones were shipped, all capable of collecting different sorts of data and by 2020 the world will have over 6.1 billion smartphone users globally. Within five years there will be over 50 billion smart connected devices worldwide, all developed to collect, analyse and share data. Retailers that leverage the full power of big data would be able to increase their operating by as much as 60%. Now, only less than 0.5% of data is analysed. All the Big Data generated, have some characteristics: Rapid increasing volume, variety, velocity and data storage and transfer, gathering and analysing it all became a huge challenge, but by using specific programs designed to analyse the information on algorithms based will overcome the challenges and the output can be used to enable the decision-making process. For the R Project, a very specific database was analysed: Tourists Visiting the South of Brazil, The information was obtained in the Government website, in the Tourism division. 1.1 Business Understanding Tourism is an important sector that has an impact on development of nation economy. For many countries, the tourism is the most important source of income and jobs generation. Brazil is the fifth biggest country in the world with 8,511,965 sq km of area and the nation is divided into 5 regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South Regions. The Best in Travel 2014, by Lonely Planet guide classified Brazil as the best tourist destination in 2014. According to the official Brazilian Tourism Website Around 6 million people visit the country every year, it is considered the main touristic market in South America and the second in Latin America. It is estimated that only around 17% of all tourists visiting Brazil go to the South region, composed by three States: Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Having in mind those numbers and the knowledge that the most visited places in Brazil do not include the South of the country a dataset was analysed to get some information and find out how many visitors have been there and where they were from. 1.2 Data Understanding Source data: http://www.dadosefatos.turismo.gov.br/estat%C3%ADsticas-e-indicadores.html Format: csv, comma-separated Size: 3.46MB Number of rows: 73.392 Columns: 1 Continent 2 Country 3 State 4 Year 5 Month 6 Count The technologies used were Excel and R Studio. 1.3 Data Preparation The first downloaded version had 534.792 rows, it included the tourism information from all the 26 states and it was based on data from 1989 to 2015. It was a quite huge dataset that would not be convenient to extract useful outputs as Brazil had been through many economic and social changes in this period. Excel was used to exclude the information from other states as well as the years before 2005. As the dataset was all provided in Portuguese Language the code was used to facilitate visualization: The next step was looking at the data, for a better understanding, Dimensions, Names, Classes and Summaries codes were written: Results: Some table codes were written to count each combination of factor levels: Results: The code round was run to specify number of decimal places: Results: 1.4 Modelling A Linear Model was written to generate a better data visualization and analysis of variance:   Ã‚   Some graphs were generated to have a better understanding about how many tourists visiting each of the states: A Bar plot was generated for better visualisation: The same parameters were used to generate pie charts: Parana with 33,01% and Santa Catarina with 29,48% have a very similar number of visitors and Rio Grande do Sul is the most visited place with 37,51%. With a little bit of research the percentage can be understood, as Rio Grande do Sul is the larger of the three states, having more options for the visitors and Some of the biggest manufacturing industries factories in the country are located in that area. After visualizing where the tourists go it is important to know where they come from. For that reason, some graphs were also generated: Graphic: The same parameters were used to generate some other graphics: After analysing isolated information, a graph relating year and states was generated: It was also generated a graphic listing all countries that visited the South of Brazil in the period: A flowchart was designed to represent the algorithm workflow process: Preparing data for a plot: 1.5 Evaluation Compiling the dataset into graphics and tables facilitated data visualization and brought some very important evidence that can be used for many purposes, specially marketing reasons, on defining an action plan based on what can be done to bring more tourists to the south region. The graphs showing the percentages of tourists, were the ones that caught the attention, Europe had the larger number of visitors with 37,7%, followed by South America with 22%, Asia with 11,7%, Africa with 9,2%, Central America and Caribbean with 8,8%, North America with 5,5% and at last Oceania with 5,1%. Looking at these proportions a few questions were raised and research was necessary. Some important facts showed up: the dataset brings only the number of people travelling for leisure purposes, it does not count the amount of people on business, with could impact on the numbers, especially from North America, as many of them visit the country for business purposes and extend their stay on holidays. Another very important factor is that the information was collected in the first stop in the country, and all the three states in the South do not have a large airport, usually they arrive by connection flights coming from Sà £o Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, where the main international airports are situated. The last very important element that could impact on the number of visitors, is the fact that the south of Brazil does not have a tight control of their borders and many people arrive by land, usually driving from other countries in South America. As said before the tourism sector can be very explored and it can impact in the revenue generation. According to the International Congress Convention Association (ICCA) Brazil is the host of many international events in Latin America and the seventh in the world, so why not leverage on the information brought and attract all those events to the South of Brazil? The numbers in the dataset look a bit too similar for every year related to the count of people visiting the states, but anyway it provides very useful information. It is also very important to observe that Brazil is also accessed by boat and land, specially by tourists coming from Central and South America, as there is no border control some of the numbers might be slightly different. The project scope is limited to identifying patterns in the data rather than predicting future which could be examined as part of further study of the subject matter. 2.1 Business Understanding Every time a famous person passes away the media makes news; some deaths even take the elements of scandals, especially when there is the suspect of a suicide, people follow the reports all over the world. The year of 2016 seemed to be very sad for the famous people, with an unusual number of deaths observed. An article from the 22nd of April, 2016 on BBC News website reported that by April the number of celebrities deaths was double as the previous years, and even said: the number of significant deaths this year has been phenomenal. But comparing to the years before, is it true? Based on a dataset available on kaggle.com, that compiled information available on wikipedia.org, some questions were asked: Did more celebrities die in 2016 than in the last 5 years? Was suicide the most cause of deaths? What were the reasons for the deaths in 2016? Were the reasons different from the 5 years before? What would be the main causes of death for each age group? 2.2 Data Understanding Source data: https://www.kaggle.com/hugodarwood/celebrity-deaths Format: csv, comma-separated Size: 1.47 MB Number of rows: 14.880 Columns: 1 age 2 birth_year 3 cause_of_death 4 death_month 5 death_year 6 famous_for 7 name 8 nationality The technologies used were Excel and Python 3.6 2.3 Data Preparation The original downloaded version had 21.562 rows, with a quick look through the data, a few abnormalities were shown, a number of duplicated cells and rows was observed, also some birth_year did not correspond to real birth year, there were also some animals among humans (specially racehorses and dogs). Excel was used to exclude the duplicated data, to clear some odd information and to exclude the deaths from 2006 to 2010, as the project idea was analyse only the past five years. The first step was reading the table through pandas: Looking at the classes and missing values: As it is clear there are many missing values of cause of death. Looking at the most common causes of death: * It seems like many celebrities tend to die from cancer and heart failure. 2.4 Modelling A bar plot was generated for better visualization: The article from BBC was not entirely wrong, in 2016 more famous people died, compared to the 5 previous years. Looking for the answer for the second question, a bar plot about the suicide rates was generated, was suicide the main cause of deaths? It cannot be said that suicide was the main reason for the deaths. As seen on the previous graphic there is a percentage of celebrities that commit suicide, but comparing 2016 to the five previous years and comparing with natural deaths, a new bar plot was created: Compared to the previous years, 2016 did not seem as bad as the papers and social media claim, as the suicidal rate was only higher than 2014, in this way it cannot be affirmed that the main cause of celebrities deaths in 2016 was self-murder. Just for information a graphic was created to illustrate which is the month when more famous people tend to take their lives: As the bar plot displays September is the month showing a highest level of suicide, while June appears as the lowest. The figures generated from the data set brought a few information so far, proving that 2016 was a sad year for famous people, it also showed that suicide was not the main cause of death. To find out what the main reasons were a bar plot was created: Appears that cancer killed more famous people, at least in the year of 2016. Still comparing 2016 to the five years before an average number of deaths by cause was called, to investigate: The comparison shows that compared to the five years before more famous people died due to more Cancer and Traffic collision, all the other reasons seem to follow the same pattern. Just out of curiosity and to have a better understanding from the facts, the dataset was categorized into age groups: Some pie charts were created to illustrate the cause of death by age group: It is very important to bring to attention that in the child group there were only five rows and that is why the percentages are very high. It is very challenging trying to analyse the deaths related to the age group as there were many missing data specially when it comes to cause of death. As a matter of fact, as common sense, the older people get the age-related diseases appear more in the graphics. A flowchart was designed to represent the algorithm workflow process: In cause_of_death column = suicide 2.5 Evaluation Compiling the dataset into graphics and tables facilitated data visualization and brought some very important information about the celebrity death from 2011 to 2016. The missing values made the difference when trying to get deep information, especially when it comes to cause of death. It was pretty obvious from the data that 2011 the number of dead famous per year increased slightly, however not all the celebrities in the list would actually be considered as such by many people. It was cleared that the suicidal rates are not as high as the media claims and it is not the main cause of death and The increase in the number of news about famous peoples death can also be happening because more people have access to the internet, social media and seem to talk more about it. It is important to remember that the project scope was limited to identifying patterns in the data rather than predicting future. I could not say it was an easy task choosing and analysing two datasets. As I am not a student with any IT background some of my ideas as an outsider were completely mistaken, as I did not know how difficult it can be to write codes and get information from the datasets. It took me a while to understand the basics of how the Python an R work, and I consider I have done a good work. I can tell that I went through an incredible learning journey since I started the Data Analytics course at National College and I have learned a huge volume of new skills. To get the present project done I watched uncountable number of videos, I tried many different environments until I felt comfortable to start the project itself, it also took me a while to find the right dataset and the right questions, but after seeing the graphics and tables I realised I could really get through and do a good project. As our course dedicated more time to Python and have always reading about R as a very difficult data analytics tool I confess I was terrified about it, that is why I decided to start the R Project first, but I had a very good surprise, the program is easier to use than I thought, even with my very little knowledge. Working with a dataset that I am familiar with made it simpler as well, I have always worked in marketing environments and had the curiosity to know more about tourism in the South of Brazil, where I was raised. I consider I found out important information, that maybe could be very valuable for companies investing in services and tourism. For the Python project, I decided to work with the celebrity-deaths dataset just out of curiosity, as almost every single day during the year of 2016 I saw on twitter the #celebritydeaths2016. But after analysing the dataset I found out that there is only a slightly evidence that more famous people died during the year of 2016 it cannot be said that it was the worse year or predict anything for the future. I have also found out that suicide is not the main reason for their deaths as the social media reports. The idea of both projects was to identify and extract patterns in the data, which I believe has happened. References Big Data: 20 Mind-Boggling Facts Everyone Must Read. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/09/30/big-data-20-mind-boggling-facts-everyone-must-read/#56eaf8456c1d. [Accessed: 10 December 2016]. Business Dictionary. Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com. [Accessed: 09 December 2016]. Estatà ­sticas e Indicadores. Available at: http://www.dadosefatos.turismo.gov.br/dadosefatos/home.html   [Accessed: 09 December 2016]. Lantz B., 2013, Machine Learning with R, Packt Publishing IBM, 2011, IBM SPSS Modeler CRISP-DM Guide, IBM Corporation. Available at: http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~paulk/teaching/dmkdd/ass2/readings/methodology/CRISPWP-0800.pdf [Accessed: 11 December 2016]. Ministà ©rio do Turismo. Available at: http://www.turismo.gov.br/ [Accessed: 19 December 2016]. Skill: Data Analysis. Available at: https://15-5103.ca.uts.edu.au/skills/data-analysis/ [Accessed: 09 December 2016]. Why so many celebrities have died in 2016? Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-36108133 [Accessed: 26 December 2016]. Source data: http://www.dadosefatos.turismo.gov.br/estat%C3%ADsticas-e-indicadores.html Source data: https://www.kaggle.com/hugodarwood/celebrity-deaths

The Scarlet Letter: Governor Bellingham And Hypocrisy :: essays research papers

Governor Bellingham is the leader of the Boston Colony. He is therefore supposed to be one of the most pious and upstanding members of the community. As he â€Å"makes the rules†, he is supposed to follow them to the letter. This is why, when Hester visits his house to deliver his gloves, she is so surprised at its state. Instead of a humble abode tastefully decorated in the muted pastels and earthtones of the Puritan lifestyle, she was slightly amused (but not particularly surprised) to find very near the opposite. Before they even enter, she is struck by the opulence of the house. It had walls which were â€Å"overspread with a kind of stucco, in which fragments of broken glass were plentifully intermixed; so that, when the sun fell aslant-wise over the front of the edifice, it glittered and sparkled as if diamonds had been flung against it by the double handful. The brilliancy might have befitted Aladdin’s palace rather than the mansion of a grave old Puritan ruler . It was further decorated with strange and seemingly cabalistic features and diagrams, suitable to the quaint taste of the age, which had been drawn in the stucco when newly laid on, and had now grown hard and durable, for the admiration of after times.† This was not in accordance of the laws of hard work, sacrifice, and the â€Å"swearing off† of earthly pleasures that the Puritans abided by. In fact, it was garish and nearly gaudy, and not fitting for a man of his rank. These descriptions in The Scarlet Letter further illustrate the hypocrisy and pretense of virtue of the Bostonians. Inside, Hester is confronted with more show and splendor. Not only is the house itself well made and well decorated, but the pair is greeted at the door by one of Bellingham’s bond-servants. For a Puritan who is taught (and teaching) that each should be compassionate to his fellow man, owning one as property is fairly misleading to the rest of the colony. The house is fashioned after those of the lords and ladies of England, and contains lofty ceilings, steepled arches, and knickknacks of all shapes, sizes, and purposes (including a tankard for the purpose of swilling ale). A leader of a community as â€Å"committed to the Lord† as Boston should be spending his time reading his Bible and praying rather than imbibing, should he not?

Allen Ginsberg and American Protest Literature Essay -- American Protes

BUNEA VALENTIN LEONARD GROUP 3A, ENGLISH-AMERICAN STUDIES ALLEN GINSBERG,  ¡Ã‚ §HOWL ¡Ã‚ ¨ AND THE LITERATURE OF PROTEST   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) was an important figure in the Beat Generation Movement that took place right before the revolutionary American 60 ¡Ã‚ ¦s. Other major beat writers (also called  ¡Ã‚ §beatnicks ¡Ã‚ ¨) were: Gregory Corso, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. The beat poetry was meant to be oral and very effective in readings. It developed out of poetry readings in underground clubs.(a beautiful image of these secret clubs can be found in the movie called  ¡Ã‚ §Dead Poet ¡Ã‚ ¦s Society ¡Ã‚ ¨ with Robin Williams playing the main character). Some argued that it was the grandparent of rap music. The term  ¡Ã‚ §Beat Generation ¡Ã‚ ¨ was coined by Kerouac in the fall of the 1948 in New York City. The word  ¡Ã‚ §beat ¡Ã‚ ¨ referred loosely to their shared sense of spiritual exhaustion and diffuse feelings of rebellion against what they experienced as the general conformity, hypocrisy and materialism of a larger society around them caught up i n he unprecedented prosperity of postwar America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The beat poetry was the most anticanon form of literature in the United States. The poetry is a cry of pain and rage, a howl at what the poets see as the loss of America ¡Ã‚ ¦s innocence and as a tragic waste.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Allen Ginsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were second generation Russian- Jewish immigrants, left-wing radicals interested in Marxism, nudism, feminism, generally in the modern revolutionary ideas of his times. This background certainly did influence his evolution as a revolutionary poet. His father, Louis Ginsberg, was a teacher and a poet, whose work was published in New York Times. During Ginsberg ¡Ã‚ ¦s childhood, his mother, Naomi Ginsberg, started to suffer from paranoia. She was institutionalized and eventually lobotomized. She died in an asylum in 1956. her life is the subject one Allen ¡Ã‚ ¦s poem entitled  ¡Ã‚ §Kaddish ¡Ã‚ ¨ and which was written as a compensation of her funeral service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After he graduated a public high school, Ginsberg won a scholarship from Columbia University where he became a famous student, making friends with Williams Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. An... ...p;  Ã‚   Ginsberg ¡Ã‚ ¦s style is not disciplined, but based on a spontaneous utterance of ideas, violating all the current artistic canons, provoking a literary and social scandal. The powerful  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  representations of the urban realities, of the language and matter of the urban streets were meant to induce powerful reactions of the reader. He brought the culture down to the level of streets and neighborhoods. That ¡Ã‚ ¦s why the language and the images are obscene, including symbolism and direct references to oral and anal sex, homosexuality and drug use. We can even say that the form of the poem seems to be a self exploration, shaped after his own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What Ginsberg manages to do is to freely express his attitudes the way they overwhelm him: defiance, longing, terror, hysteria, prayer, anger, joy, exhaustion, culminating with madness and suicide. BIBLIOGRAPHY: „ «Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.sparknotes.com „ «Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.questia.com „ «Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE-  ¡Ã‚ §OUTLINE OF AMERICAN LITERATURE ¡Ã‚ ¨ „ «Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NORTON ANTHOLOGY

1960’s Fashion

Choose any decade in recent history and describe how ‘Style’ defined the period- 1960’s Emergence from the devastation that hit Britain during the Second World War, Britain in the 60’s was one that broke many fashion traditions, generated new social movements and defined the period with its style. â€Å"There was to be an end to the age of shoddy, to the post-war period of ‘making do’†¦ swinging London was confident enough now to wage a war of independence. † (Jackson, 1998 p35)The post war industrial boom was affecting lifestyles and in particular, it was the the Youth culture that benefitted mostly from this shift in movement. There was emphasis on the youth and ‘The Look’ that began to displace the ‘New look’ of the post war period. Becoming more open minded, independent and culturally aware were all things that the youth began to adopt, along with disposable income. Benefits from the post war industrial boom encouraged this new attitude towards money and the way it could be spent. †¦commercial success stories, many related to retailing of one sort of another, with fashion and home furnishings being at the fore front of the consumer revolution. Because this was a time of virtually full employment and economic prosperity, consumers had more money to spend than ever before. † (Jackson, 1998, p35) The style and attitude towards fashion had changed, and it became a passion rather then a necessity. Music in the 60’s had a strong influential bond with fashion and style that had never been so closely linked.This unison created distinctive style of dress, developing from Beatnik, Teddy Boys and Mods. The attitude towards style had become very open and people began to gain confidence in their own development of sense of style. â€Å"†¦ music and attitudes that could be understood at a glance. And the freedom that fashion allowed in the sixties meant that everyone cou ld dress up. † (Connikie, 1990, p7) The Beatles were the band that represented the forefront of men’s fashion. They developed styles for each new record release and in 1963 they had portrayed the distinctive collarless Cardin Suits and collar-length hair.This recognisable hair cut became instantly noticeable in the youth culture. â€Å"†¦became a universal sign of rebellious youth. † (Connikie, 1990, p36) The Beatles also adopted a similarity to the â€Å"mod’ style, however denied connections with the culture as they wanted to appeal to all, the music and the culture both interrupted Britain at the similar time. Before the Mods culture emerged in Britain, former sub cultures such as Teddy Boys built the bridges to allow people to challenge style and create a culture.Teddy boys also lead the way for a growing male interest in fashion, making it socially acceptable. â€Å"†¦male interest in fashion in Britain was mostly associated with the under ground homosexual subculture’s flamboyant dressing styles† (Mod subculture, website, 2010) These cultures would have developed from the New Romantics as they became more out spoken and familiar. As the subcultures faded in the early 1960’s, the Mod style, short for ‘Moderns’ were prime examples of what the Swinging Sixties were classed as: youth, mobility, fashion and a strong interest in music.The majority of people who adopted this culture were young adults. The styles included; the Harrington jacket, Fishtail green parka, polo shirts, turtle necks, roll necks, slim fitting, high collared shirts, loafers, dessert boots, tailored 60’s jacket and straight leg trouser or jeans. They would drive scooters as it was an easy accessible mode of transport, it became a distinctive part of the culture, all based around style and the overall look. The attitudes around this culture was desirable to the youth but could be described as troublesome for othe rs.Rifts between the Mods and Rockers caused public display of violence in Brighton 1964, the riot scene was recreated in the film ‘Quadrophenia’, produced by the classic cult band of the period, The Who, who were popular with the Mods. Mods were seen as usually city dwellers with well paid office jobs and looked presentable, whereas Rockers tended to be rural, and classed as out of touch, oafish and grubby. This style clash shows the importance of the cults and how important being united together was.It also shows how influential style could become. Styles changed slightly throughout the Mod culture and it adopted a new Italian/ French style, introduced a smooth, sophisticated look that enhanced the tailor made feel. Crew necks, pointed toe leather shoes were a few additions to the culture. Due to this style, a period of pushing boundaries and experimentation was nigh. The use of recreational drugs was something that the culture influenced. Nicknamed ‘purple hear ts’ Mods would use the drug when out at night to get a buzz and stimulation. Mods used amphetamines to extend their leisure time into the early hours of the morning and as a way of bridging the wide gap between their hostile and daunting everyday work lives and the ‘inner world’ of dancing and dressing up in their off-hours. † (Mod subculture, website, 2011) Some male Mods experimented with challenging the social gender norms by wearing makeup to enhance their appearance and women began to substitute an androgynous style of wearing clothes. Hair was being cut short, the wear of men’s garments and little make up worn.This obsession Mods had with clothes and styles allowed acceptance to the idea of experimentation and added a sense of rebellion to social norms. Attitudes towards women in the Mod culture were also influential, young mod men accepted the idea that women did not have to be attached to a man and that they can become independent and have a source of income etc. This presentable image was said to make non-subculture aspects of life easier and more equal to that of the male Mods.Miniskirts defined the period of change in the attitude towards the length of women’s clothing and how much reveal is accepted. This initial style pushed the boundaries and as a result has changed the attitude ever since. â€Å"Female Mods pushed the boundaries if parental tolerance with their miniskirts, which got progressively shorter between the early and mid 1960’s† (Mods subculture, website, 2011) Models such as Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton were pinnacle to the fashion industry during the 1960’s.They promoted and exposed the new changing styles across the world, and in tern became a face of the period. Their style defined the period and Twiggy’s famous face is one that we automatically link to that of the 60’s. â€Å"With her waif like figure, boyish hair cut and striking eye lashes she created an ima ge that would epitomise an era. Twiggy became the idol for millions of teenage girls of the sixties revolution. † (Twiggy Lawson, website, 2008) She was one of the first supermodels and was/is an icon of the period.Mary Quant, a quintessential designer in the 60’s, made keeping up with trends inexpensive and accessible to all young girls in the period. She popularised the mini skirt and became essential for developing the Mod-girl image. She also became a defining person of the 1960’s and changed shopping experiences and attitudes to style by opening up a divergent store offering new cutting edge and orginal designs. These hand tailored designs had became desirable as each one was unique and became very popular with the youth culture. Design alone could not have brought about the revolution in taste and lifestyle that happened during the 1960’s’ the key figure of the decade were the popularisers, those who actively and directly promoted ‘the l ook’ and made it available to a mass audience. † (Jackson, 1998, p36) The British youth fashion was a lucrative market and Quant along with partner Alexander Plunket Greene opened a retail store in the Kings road called Bazaar. She designed and edited garments that became very desirable to the youth culture as it was accessible and new, in creating this idea Quant became a brand in herself.Mods were very conscious about clothing and buying the classic items. Gaining inspiration from the cults, Quant enhanced the promotion of them. In 1965 she wrote â€Å"It is the Mods†¦ who gave the dress trade the impetus to break through the fast-moving, breathtaking, uprooting revolution in which we have been a part since the opening of Bazaar. † (Jackson, 1998, p43) This shows that style generated by cults, were particularly a large influence to help define the period and possible retail future. ’The Look’ which she created was part of a wider movement enc ompassing photography, graphics and pop music along with domestic design, she was keenly aware of the significance of fashion in particular in pioneering change, and in leading and defining a shift in social attitudes. â€Å" (Jackson, 1998, p43) the attitudes had become more relaxed and people wanted this to be shown through what they wear. Their attitude towards the clothes themselves and the idea of spending money had also changed. Because this was a time of virtually full employment and economic prosperity, consumers had more money to spend then ever before. † (Jackson, 1998, p35) Along with this designer, the male revolution and attitude towards style had also changed and shopping as an experience was one that in particular men enjoyed to. John Stephen owned 10 stores down Carnaby Street by 1966. Each store had a different feel and different name. These stores became a busy, exciting place to go and shopping became a leisurely past time, where as before it was a necessit y-based experience.This encouraged the Mods, and people became to buy into the lifestyle they lead. These stores were the first to play music, allowing dancing, trying on, alterations and became a desired social experience. ‘Swinging London in 1966, what people were most interested in was shopping†¦ Shopping became a primary leisure activity for young people, along with watching television and listening to pop music. Shopping was also an avenue for the expression of popular culture, both in terms of what was now being sold, and through the way shops were designed. ’ (Jackson, 1998, p36) â€Å"That the fashion for shopping was perceived as being central to the revitalization of design in Britain†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Carnaby street’ was widely used as a generic term for a particular type of design: brash, brightly coloured, with highly decorated surfaces, including the ubiquitous union jack. † (Jackson, 1998, p37) Carnaby street developed into a ‘virtual fashion parade’ (1960’s in Fashion, website, 2011) and said to sell not only clothes but also an attitude and was a key characteristic of innovation, iconoclasm and fun. They echoed the prevailing spirit of sexual and political revolution†¦. Carnaby Street became synonymous with the idea of Swinging London. Using the skills of established Soho ‘rag trade’, it sold relatively inexpensive, trend-driven merchandise that mirrored contemporary changes in society and culture. † (V&A, Fashion in 1960’s, website, N. D) And was said to have ‘pulled the rug from under contemporary or modern† (Hillier, 1998, p188) This generated look and concept about shopping was seen as an enjoyable past time was a desirable experience from other countries outside Britain.The consumer revolution had given Britain a new look, Post war â€Å"Britain shed it fusty, olde-worlde image, and ‘swinging London’, with it Beatlemania and Rolling St ones, its Carnaby Street and mini-skirts and Chelsea boutiques, became a world influence in lifestyle and fashion. † (Hillier, 1998, p162) This defines the power Britain had to influence style in other countries, it was gaining a name in fashion and beginning to become a culture associated with Britain. The term ‘Youthquake’ was used to describe the shift in attitudes towards style and shopping.It had defined the prosperity of future Britain and therefore defined this period as a statement that is very eminent. There was a consumer revolution as shopping experiences changed. â€Å"The restrictive conventions and judgemental attitude of earlier decades were challenged†¦ shopping had a major impact on peoples lifestyles: by making available goods that people had never seen before. † (Jackson, 1998, p36) Lifestyle shops such as Habitat were introuced, they were pinnacle to defining the period and the consumer revolution.They had created a place where peop le would desire the lifestyle and living accommodations that they created visually instore. Mary Quant had influenced Terrence Conran, the founder of Habitat, as he admired young fashion designers that had challenged the norms and had drawn attention to the new market. Habitat was said to be â€Å"probably the single most important domestic design phenomenon in Britain during the 1960s. † (Jackson, 1998, p49). Habitat was recognised across seas that had inspired particularly Americans and Scandinavians to change the way of retail and style. †¦in 1966 that the international media suddenly discovered the London ‘scene’ and decided that Britain has got ‘the look’ which the rest of the world wanted. † (Jackson, 1998, p40) Pivital to this revolution was originally the Cult styles founded by the youth culture. Cult styles changed rapidly in the 1960’s, but had almost defined the period due to the influence they had caused. Due to constant shifts in style the Mods in particular had drifted away due to the changing styles, such as the Hippys. The ‘harder’ moderns were rougher and became the first ‘skinheads’, another style interpreting the period.The consumer boom was very important in defining the period and this was lead on from the styles, the ever-changing youth Cults had created throughout the 1960’s. These styles had influenced many revolutions such as breaking social norms, effecting shopping styles among other things. Style has definitely defined the period as Britain was out of the war and ready for a new social boom, style has become instantly recognizable to the period. The cults are still guiding design now, and we recognise the period due to the style and design movements there were.Retail and designers both use influences from periods in time and the Cult styles are reborn. Designers such as Fred Perry have adopted influences from the Mod culture with their polo shirts an d jackets; this look is very widespread and has almost re created the culture in the sense that the style becomes very popular. This is available to see throughout fashion and retail and the period is still defined by the style created by the youth culture. Vintage fashion has become very apparent and people are beginning to mock different eras to show individuality. This shows the style defining periods are very much important today.