Art in Fashion Essays

Art in Fashion Essays Art in Fashion Essay Art in Fashion Essay What is fashion? Is it art? Is it high art? In the world of fashion and art today, this is a contested question. Many art critics do not see fashion as an equal to the fine arts such as painting and sculpture. Critics have made remarks that fashion design should be â€Å"under the heading of vanity for its intent is of no inner value† (Miller 25-40). Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant both said that fashion is a form of imitation. Burke held that it is a â€Å"kind of imitation that is from a social need of conformity†, while Kant says that it is a form of vanity (Miller 25-40). Sanda Miller, the author of Fashion as Art; Is Fashion Art? , states that â€Å"a work of art in the classificatory sense is 1. an artefact, 2. a set of the aspects of which has been conferred upon it the status of candidate for appreciation by some person or persons acting on behalf of a certain institution (the art world) (Miller 25-40). Marcel Duchamp used everyday objects as art in an unusual way. Noel Carroll asked questions such as â€Å"must all art emerge from a pre-existing network of social relations? Does it appear to be informative? Does it depend upon stretching the notions of social institutions, social practices, and social relationships beyond the breaking point? (Miller 25-40). Miller at one point states that the issue is one of intention versus function. â€Å"The study of clothes from a historical perspective is an even more recent endeavor and, therefore, it has not yet acquired a status equal to that of the fine arts; this may well have something to do with the perceived lower status of craft. Nevertheless, the historical study of clothes is inextricably linked to and dependent on that of visual art for a simple reason: their perishable nature† (Miller 25-40). â€Å"The entry of fashion exhibitions into high art settings where fashion is normally not displayed, such as Giorgio Armani designs at the Guggenheim, has caused much heated debate from art critics† (Palmer 121-126). â€Å"Fashion exhibitions and their reviews offer a bridge for crossing these perceived boundaries as they combine new scholarship with artifact study† (Palmer 121-126). Along with the catwalk show and the retail store, the museum has become an increasingly important site for fashion. In recent years, fashion exhibitions have been held for the first time at venues as different as the Guggenheim Museum, the Imperial War Museum, and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musee de la Mode, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Some of these fashion exhibitions â€Å"have attracted up to 500,000 visitors and brought in millions of dollars of sponsorship money, as well as reams of publicity, not all of it positive† (Steele 7-30). Two fashion exhibitions in New York, for example, were described, respectively, as an egregious paid advertisement and a fawning trifle that resembles a fancy showroom (Steele 7-30). Partiality, distress and distrust still surround fashion within many museums. This sometimes â€Å"takes the form of fashion being tolerated as a form of entertainment which will pull the crowds, with no acknowledgment of the serious contribution it also makes to the educational role of the museum (Steele 7-30). To some extent, the hostility towards fashion in the museum, especially the art museum, â€Å"replicates the traditionally low status of fashion within academia, but it is also related to disagreements between academics and curators, as well as by conflicts about the role of the museum in contemporary society and about fashion as an aspect of popular culture† (Steele 7-30). Fashion finds similarities in known art forms. Compare architecture and fashion; Architecture reached an artistic status very early on, it did not have the sole role of being functional. It is questionable as to why fashion has not reached the same status that architecture has. Relate fashion and time-based work such as photography and film; one is a token and one is a type. One individual put forth the idea that a reason for the lack of seriousness attributed to fashion is that fashion has predominantly been a female art and society in the past was predominantly patriarchal. â€Å"Arguments against have ranged from the fickle nature of fashion and its impermanence to its functional nature, and so on The arguments for are to do with the visual loveliness of clothes, which cannot be disputed† (Miller 25-40). If one were to sit down and compare an art form such as traditional drawing and fashion design, they would surely find a high amount of similarities. Fashion design is very much about the details and the process involved in turning out the final product as well. Some details are used to distinguish things such as social class, like in the French Revolution. â€Å"When a fashion outfit includes a new detail, it is the detail that leads fashion into the future† (Black 499-510). Details in fashion can give the consumer a certain feeling, contributing to whether or not they see they item as in trend and whether or not to buy it. Fashion design begins its roots with a sketch. The sketch is more than just a random drawing. It is â€Å"the most critical step of the fashion-design process, as everythingfrom concept to constructiondepends on its ability to realistically convey an imagined vision† (Malafronte 46-59). It is a crucial part of the design process. Fashion designers should be and are now more commonly trained in the fundamentals of drawing as it is so crucial to succeeding in the competitive world of fashion. At Parson’s School of Design, for example, â€Å"students are trained in a similar fashion as fine artists, taking numerous drawing courses and regularly drawing from the live model† (Malafronte 46-59). That training is beneficial to a fashion designers ability to understand color and proper aspects of design. In fashion, â€Å"a sketch must not only be aesthetically pleasing but also proportionally accurate† (Malafronte 46-59). Fashion designer Chris Benz says, â€Å"Drawing is the major catalyst for my creative process. First, I start thinking about the season I am designing for and meld that idea with some inspiration I have at the timeif its fall, then I think about the fabrics, weight, and textures I am feeling for the silhouette. In my little Smythson sketchbook, I do sketches of ideas and thoughts that will be fleshed out later in the process† (Malafronte 46-59). Something puzzling to a large portion of the fashion industry is the fact that performance art is considered high art to the masses, while this is still contested for fashion. Countless museums have recently started displaying performance art. Part of what changed is that some visual artists have come to see performance as a natural extension of their overall artistic practice, which may also embrace painting, video and installations (Rush 331-341). Two examples of extreme performance artists are William Pope. L and Paul McCarthy. Both artists, in addition to Geoffrey Hendricks and Patty Chang, have had performances at the Sculpture Center in New York. The performances, categorized as extreme performance art, often include strange bodily actions. Patty Chang, for example, does not see her pieces as political acts, she sees them as sculptures. â€Å"Many performance artists incorporate costume into their work as yet another extension of media boundaries† (Rush 331-341). One particular artist, Claude Cahun, was doing performance art in the 1930s, however, the photos weren’t discovered to be performance art pieces until the 1990s. â€Å"Lesbian, Jew, lovers with her half-sister, the artist Suzanne Malherbe, self-portraitist, provocateur, Cahun made a career of photographing herself in costumes that allowed for multiple identities† (Rush 331-341). Claude Wampler created a performance piece that held the intention of toying with time. â€Å"Performance art, usually time-based, becomes timeless in the realm of cyberspace†¦Performance art, which some critics trace to the virulent gestures used by Jackson Pollock in making his paintings, has radically influenced all forms of contemporary art, from video art to conceptual art to multimedia installations. It has placed the person and the body of the artist center-stage, and allowed a sense of self-mocking and playfulness to infiltrate a field often bent on the rigors of form and function† (Rush 331-341). Performance pieces and fashion shows display an extraordinary amount of similarities. Fashion shows are in fact performances. According to The Greatest Show on Earth: A Look at Contemporary Fashion Shows and Their Relationship to Performance Art, there are multiple types of performances involved in fashion exhibitions. The first is a spectacle. There are four main components of the spectacle show that can be manipulated by the designer to great effect. These are the type of model, the location, the theme, and the finale. (Duggan 243-270) Spectacle fashion shows are more like a theatre performance without a solid plot; they still have the goal of marketing a product. Alexander McQueen and Gianni Versace were some of the first designers to shock the fashion world and the press with their unconventional methods of fashion performance and shows. Spectacles also focus more on themes than the average fashion show. A theme can be very abstracted or it can be blatant, lending to the overall environment of the show. Spectacles also focus very much on the finales of the shows. The finales are generally supposed to shock the audience or make a memorable impression in some way. The spectacle shows place the designers in a combination celebrity and artist status. They develop a reputation through their performance pieces. (Duggan 243-270). Next is substance shows. The next subject the article addresses is science fashion. Science fashion focuses on the materials and construction of the garments, as well as the technology behind making the fashion. The incorporation of process in science designers shows and techniques reflects the importance of experimentation (Duggan 243-270). Watanabe and Miyake are two predominant science designers. Miyake searches for new interpretations of fabric and ways to transform the construction. As a result, he has earned a name in the art world. (Duggan 243-270). Structure design, the next type of fashion show, focuses on just that: the structure of the clothing. The shows are seen as a necessary evil and are as basic as possible so as not to take attention away from the construction of the actual garments. The structure designer finds three-dimensional form to be most representative of ideas (Duggan 243-270). Margiela and Rei Kawakubo are the discussed structure designers. Margielas patrons consider their purchases to be more akin to art collecting than to shopping sprees (Duggan 243-270). Not only do these designers focus on structure and construction, they also focus on deconstruction in certain cases. The final design type is statement. Statement designers create environments and presentations that reflect confrontational ideas and messages (Duggan 243-270). A large emphasis is placed on how the clothes are perceived. Some statement designers are Susan Cianciolo, Miguel Adrover and Elena Bajo. Often times, statement design shows are controversial and incorporate aspects or even garments of other more mainstream designers. Statement designers are not so much concerned with offending or scaring the audience that would be the buyers or press. Statement designers are more concerned with getting their point across, even if that means making a few sacrifices. (Duggan 243-270). A particular artist that can be meshed into multiple artistic fields is Robert Kushner. His career shows us that a fine artist is a fine artist, no matter what type of art they are interested in at the time. Robert Kushner is best known for his style as a painter. However, he dealt with performance and fashion for a short time earlier in his career. Kushners years of working off the wall and on the figure coincided with the development of conceptually based performance art in the 1970s (Morris and Meyers-Kingsley 311-330). He began his art career in the 1960s, where the article body begins, with the stance that the idea of a project was more important than the object or project itself. The 60s were largely surrounded by counter culture and conceptual art, giving Kushner inspiration for his fashion inspired performance art. The Black Power movement had an influence on Kushner as well as Amy Goldin, a New York critic and painter. Goldin became Kushners intellectual ally, encouraging his burgeoning interest in writing about art, and acting as a sounding board for the ideas he would develop about his own work (Morris and Meyers-Kingsley 311-330). He incorporated his ability to crochet as a child into his conceptual pieces later in his life. He saw crocheting as a sort of gender-role reversal. He received a negative backfire to the crocheting during his days as a student at USCS. He described the pieces as neo-tribal frou frou (Morris and Meyers-Kingsley 311-330). The idea that a free-flowing interpretation of gender roles could be produced simply by swapping and intermeshing gender signifiers was very important to Kushners development. Just as the activity of crocheting became a sly, yet powerfully charged indictment of stereotypes and gender roles, Kushners costumes would become a site for questioning, spoofing and critiquing the cultural signifiers of clothing and body decoration†¦Kushner was interested in creating a dialogue by seduction rather than confrontation or didacticism. As his costumes developed, the artist increasingly reacted against what he perceived as the dour and pedantic nature of Conceptual Art (Morris and Meyers-Kingsley 311-330). Kushner spent the summer of 1970 in New York where he first attempted to combine sculpture, clothing, and performance. He began working with clothing and curiosity led him to try new things with the structural elements of clothing. When he decided to document his items, he went in a non-traditional direction and shot the pictures in a way that resembled a fashion show and photo shoot. Kushner rebelled against many other performance artists of his time by not being confrontational with his work. His costumes, as he called his pieces, were also different from many conceptual pieces of the time. They were fun and witty, something the conceptual world was not used to. During his shows, he announced the pieces as odd names that often times had societal or historical references, forcing the audience to associate the pieces with certain meanings. In 1972, Kushner introduced a new medium to his art. He began working with food as a material to make costumes. In multiple shows, he invited the audience to eat the food off of the models. In 1973 Kushner entered a new phase of his career that featured the influence of haute couture on his costume works and a consolidation of his performative aesthetic practice (Morris and Meyers-Kingsley 311-330). He became greatly influenced by Balenciaga and Poiret, presenting a line, the Winter and Spring Line, of costumes made in homage to Balenciaga. He then went on to create the New York Hat Line, a line of hats, and the Persian Line, a line that incorporated painted fabrics. Both before and after the performance the costumes were displayed on the walls of the gallery as paintings. I liked the idea that this painting, which hung on the wall and had its own internal order, could come off the wall and become a swirling, moving form' (Morris and Meyers-Kingsley 311-330). If there were ever a single fashion designer to be categorized as producing fine art, it would be Alexander McQueen. McQueen was known for his theatrical shows that were both personal and emotional. It says something about McQueen that the Gala is holding an exhibition in honor of him so soon after his death. McQueen first gained recognition with his graduation collection inspired by Jack the Ripper. â€Å"With breathtaking speed, McQueen was welcomed into the fashion establishment† (Givhan 36-41). McQueen was different from other designers in many ways. â€Å"Sometimes, McQueen would rip apart his own work, reusing the fabric for the next collection. He came of age during a recession and was never a snob about materials, happily incorporating mussel shells plucked from the refuse of a local restaurant and straw beach mats spied during a holiday at the shore† (Givhan 36-41). McQueen came from a working class family and never succumbed to the posh world of fashion that surrounded him. â€Å"His clothes reflected a cold realism about lifes unfairness, its cruelties, and inevitable end. And his audiences were drawn to the beauty that emerged from that angst† (Givhan 121-126). â€Å"McQueen offered a clear-eyed vision of the harshness of life that, perhaps, only the working pooror those from truly meager circumstancesare honest enough to acknowledge† (Givhan 121-126). Museums today are beginning to show fashion as contemporary art. An example is the sister design team, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, behind Rodarte. The sisters werent trained in fashion design, however they have the ability to create fashion lines that rival others. They identify with their pieces as art objects (Fensom 62-71). Unlike most others, Rodarte create their pieces as sculpture to be supported by the body, rather than being made to fit the body. Some of their runway shows have been engineered to appeal to the art and museum sense rather than the fashion sense. It was created so that viewers could see the pieces as sculptures in the round. In addition, The Gala held an exhibition, Savage Beauty, celebrating Alexander McQueen’s career and contribution to fashion and the avant-garde. The show, a tribute to McQueen, includes work from his entire career. It also addresses some of the designers inspirations and influences, for example the Romanticism movement. The production, which took place at the Met, attempted to mirror the over-the-top and artistic environments that McQueen created for his shows (Fensom 62-71). The exhibition was one of the most famous and heavily trafficked in the museums history. Alexander McQueen’s designs were unique, they â€Å"weren’t clothes that influenced the wardrobes of ordinary people† (Givhan 52-54). Similar to Robert Kushner, Sonia Delauney, predominantly a painter, explored the world of fashion and had an exhibition in the National Design Museum: Color Moves: Art Fashion. The garments are extensions of her painting (Fensom 62-71). Delauneys presentation is different from that of what most museum-goers are used to seeing. The exhibition In Fashion: High Style also combines art and fashion. The show presents fashions past, present and future by exhibiting pieces from the museums extensive archives, garments on loan from todays top designers and design houses, and creations by up and coming students at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York (Fensom 62-71). The inspiration for the exhibition came from the museums discovery of garments from as far back as the 17th century. The exhibition also received influence from Christian Siriano and Project Runway, developing a contest aspect of the show. Is the art world using fashion as a way to get more bodies into museums? Or is it that, in the words of Virginia Woolf, nothing thicker than a knife blade separates the visionaries of fashion and art, and thus finally designers are taking their rightful place in museum galleries? (Fensom 62-71). â€Å"We can regard clothes then in two ways: from the point of view of their functional aspect we evaluate them according to those superlative qualities that enable them to fulfill their multiple functions of keeping us warm, giving us erotic appeal, adorning us, etc. , but we can equally regard them as beautiful objects of aesthetic contemplation by disregarding the concept under which they fall and therefore ignoring their functional dimension. They could be (as indeed they are) objects of admiration in a museum† (Miller 25-40).

Leonardo Da Vinci essays

Leonardo Da Vinci essays Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 14, 1452 in the town of Vinci located near Florence, Italy. He lived during the fifteenth century, which is a period when the people of Europe become fascinated with art. This period of time was known as the Renaissance period. As history tells it, Leonardo Da Vinci was very talented. He was known as a great artist, but he became famous because he was able to do so many other things. He was an architect, a musician, inventor, sculptor, scientist, and a mathematician. His artistic talent revealed its self early in his life. When he was about fifteen years old, Leonardos father took him to Florence Italy, to train as a painter and sculptor in the studio of Andrea del Verroccho. He studied with this master until the age of twenty five. At this point, he set up his own business and was famous for being a painter and a man of science. As a scientist, he observed everything he could out of nature. Leonardo used what he learned from nature and science to make his paintings to look realistic. He drew and took many notes of what he observed from the environment around him. HIs notes were written backwards, probably because he didnt want people to read about these wonderful discoveries and observations. In order to read Leonardos notes, one has to hold them up to a mirror. In 1472 he entered a painters professional group. His earliest extensive works date back to this time. In 1482 Da Vinci worked for Duke Lodovico Sforza in Milan for eighteen years. He accomplished the position as court artist, but also worked as an engineer and architect. While in Milan, Leonardo developed more theories about painting. Leonardo believed that knowledge should be based on observation. He believed that observation led to understanding, and artists had an responsibility to record this understanding by painting accu...

PRICE MEDIA LAW MOOT COURT COMPETITION CASE Essay

PRICE MEDIA LAW MOOT COURT COMPETITION CASE - Essay Example llow the expression of opinions by any people. Amendments were made to give all people this freedom. The International Covenant specifies that a person is not guilty if he has an opinion about something. It also specifies that withholding such opinion should not render a person guilty of any offense. The International Covenant provides that a person is given freedom to interact in assemblies with others and this should be done without compulsion. These rights are to be exercised without compulsion, i.e. these freedoms are to be exercised at liberty of a person involved (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2003). Specifications are not given for the type of information to be contained by the opinion of a person. The law also does not prohibit an individual to associate with a group of people of his or her own choice. In this respect, it is violation of the law if a person is held in jail for shouting words which others may consider violent. The case of Ezelin V. Fran ce, where conviction was given by evaluation of the tone, is a clear example of the violation of freedom of expression (Price Competition Problem, 2013). T

How and In What Ways Information Technology Has Changed How We Essay

How and In What Ways Information Technology Has Changed How We Collaborate - Essay Example Information technology, which is a core element of information, has influenced many aspects of organizations. First, the adoption of IT has led to changes in the organizational structures. The organizational structure refers to the arrangement of authority and communication relationships as well as a workflow in an organization (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2008; Golembiewski, 2000). The type of organizational structure influences the level and nature of collaboration in the organization. Hierarchical organizational structures limit collaboration because they tend to focus on top-down collaborations. However, flat organizational structures enhance collaboration across the organization because people from different levels or different departments within the same level can communicate easily. The integration of IT into organizations has influenced the transformation of organizational structures from the hierarchical structures that prevailed before the development of IT to flat organizational structures with little hierarchical levels. Therefore, with the adoption of IT, the barriers to communication and collaboration that existed in organizations because of the hierarchical structure were eliminated or reduced. Organizations that have adopted IT have increasingly reduced the hierarchical levels in favor of flat structures. In a flat organization, people working in the different departments can easily communicate without having to follow the strict hierarchical and bureaucratic systems of communication and authority.

Maori Essay Example for Free

Maori Essay Maori According to the Maori people, they came in the Great Fleet from their homeland, Hawaiki. Most historians believe that they have Polynesian and Melanesian blood and they migrated to New Zealand from their ancestral homes in New Guinea and South East Asian countries. The historians also believe that the people of the Maori culture migrated from one Pacific island to another before reaching New Zealand. This gives them some cultural features from the different islands of the pacific, especially Polynesia and Melanesia. Their culture diffused through migration, relocation diffusion, of the tribe. The Maori people form many tribes. Maori is the term used to describe the people of Aotearoa, and they are divided into a bunch of different tribes. A good comparison of the Maori tribes is the Moriori people of Chatham Island, which is close to New Zealand. The Moriori people are similar to the Maori people in many ways. The first is their arrival to the place they call home by canoes. Another similarity is that the Moriori and Maori people both lost many through war with other tribes. Since the Moriori were isolated from mainland New Zealand, they developed different customs like Nunukus Law which was a law that banned any kind of blood shedding. People who are part of the western culture are imposing their beliefs and traditions on the Maori people. As New Zealand became increasingly westernized, things like clothing deans) are started to be worn by the Maori people. Also, Maori tribes are becoming more and more involved in going to university and working offices in cities. Government policies have also been forcing them to sacrifice some of their language and traditions, and forcing them to follow the culture of the majority.

Why Women Stay in Violent Relationships Essay -- Relationships Domesti

Why Women Stay in Violent Relationships Most women have at least one dependant who must be taken care of, many are not employed, their parents are either distant or unable or unwilling to help. She may lack the access to cash; she or the children may be in poor health, may face a decline in the living standard for herself and her children. Many older children may resent this decision. She may believe that she will be charged with desertion or losing the children and cash assets if she leaves. Some battered women have an ideology that may include: she does not believe in divorce, marriage is forever,† till death do us part†. They may believe that it is crucial to the children for them to have a mother and a father, no matter how terrible the father is, and she believes that she can put up with anything for the children’s safety. She may be emotionally dependent on the man, having never relied upon herself for the simplest decision. The abuser may have managed to isolate her from her friends and family and she therefore feels that she has no one to turn to. She may feel responsible for his behavior and try to change herself, therefore giving herself a very low self-esteem. Since abuse comes in cycles, she believes that he is basically good and this time he has changed. (23) Battered women understand that there is something wrong with men who alternately hurt them and then nurture them, though they do not know what causes this. They seem to think if they love them enough, give up enough, or submit to enough, that they will somehow be able to change the batterer's behavior. Battered women are trained to accept responsibility for the abuser's outburst. She is trained to make excuses for his imperfections; e.g. if she was a better wife he would not want to hit her. First, let’s define abuse, battering, and psychological abuse. According to West Virginia Sate Law it is defined as: The occurrence of one or more of the following acts between family members who reside together or who formerly resided together: Battering is not just physical aggression. Rather, Battering constitutes the systematic use of violence and the threat of violence in order to control, subjugate, and intimidate women. Without feat, there can be no battering. Psychological Abuse is defined as verbal degradation denial of powers, isolation monopolizing perceptions, occasional in... ... Getting Away With Murder, Raoul Felder and Barbara Victor, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1996 Intimate Abuse, Richard Gelles and Murray Strauss, Transaction Publishers, New Jersey 1990 Keeping the Faith, Guidance for Christian Women Facing Abuse, Marie M. Fortune, 1987. National Crime Center, Crime and Victimization in America, A Statistical Overview, 1995 Rape and Violence Information Center Handbook 1996. Rebecca Eritano, Counselor, Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center conversations held between 1995 and 1997. Roweena Mersing, Advocate, Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center, Conversations held between 1995 through 1997. Stop Domestic Violence, An Action Plan for Saving Lives, Lou Brown, Francios Dubac, and Merritt McKeon, J.D., St. Martin’s Griffin, New York,1997 Terrifying Love, Lenore Walker, Harper and Row, New York, 1989 The Abusive Partner, An Analysis of Domestic Battering, Maria Roy, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. New York, 1982 Violent Relationships, Information Plus, Wylie, TX 1995 Violent Relationships, Information Plus, Wylie, TX 1997 You Can Be Free, An Easy to Read Handbook for Abused Women, Ginny NiCarthy and Sue Davidson, Seal Press, 1989

Global Culture Essay

As time progresses, the world, in terms of business is rather contracting. There is growing communication, interaction and exchange between different parts of the world. Technologies that were once thought of as a far sighted notion are now being using like household commodities and communication mediums that were once considered luxuries available to few are now a necessities needed to prosper. The world is becoming more integrated by the day and countries are becoming more and more dependent on one another in terms of trade and business. This paper focus on how the culture and environment that a business operates in affects the organization. It will outline some constraints and will generally give a picture of how to cope with changing cultures as in today’s expanding work environments it is vital to understand the attitudes, values, perceptions of the regions. Also, the role of media and politics would be discussed. Discussion: It is now a well known and widespread phenomenon that the world is a ‘global village’. This means that globalization has taken its toll and the entire world is somewhat a unified society or community that needs to interact in order to get on. But what exactly is Globalization? Globalization is basically the term used to describe the integration of economic, political and . it refers to the greater freedom of movements of goods, capital and people around the world. this shrinking of the world is having a major impact on business activity especially from multi-nationals which are the business organizations that have their headquarters in one country but operating branches, factories and assembly plants in others. In recent years there have been moves to reduce the number and level of trade restrictions that limited the trade between countries. The free trade movement and the aid of information technology are reducing the differences that once existed between national markets, reducing the importance of national borders and making it easier for firms to trade with and locate in many countries. This is forcing firms, which were once protected by national governments to become internationally competitive (Stimpson, 2002). Globalization integrates people, companies and governments and effects the environment, culture and political systems as well as economic development and human physical well-being in societies all around the world. The focus here, however, is on how the culture of a society or region shapes the operations of multi-nations and globalization as a whole. Culture, most simply described, is the behaviors, beliefs, values, underlying assumptions and perceptions shared by a group of people with respect to their environment and societies. Many characteristics of human life are transmitted genetically, they are innate and are naturally present and then there are other qualities that are learned. Culture is the name for the body of learned behaviors common to a society that form as a template for shaping behavior, manners and conduct from generation to generation. Culture exists in businesses as well, it is the attitudes and behaviors that employees of an organization embrace as an affect of their working environment. Working culture of an organization has a great impact over how workers feel, behave and work. Hence, national culture similar to corporate culture is the values and attitudes shared by individuals from a specific country that shape their behavior and their beliefs about what is important. Culture has the characteristic of being learned as well as taught. Culture is something that evolves and is in a constant state of change. The basic indicators and manipulators of culture are the values, customs and beliefs that rest in the society. These factors carry on for generations and are manifested in individuals as they live according to the routine of their environment. Culture has a direct and deep association with these features as these values and customs are what combine together and form the basis of culture. Ethnocentricity is a dilemma faced by many societies when dealing with different regions and areas. Ethnocentrisms are the conviction that one has that his or her culture or ethnicity is most superior. Ethnocentricity is the belief that some people have which makes them consider other cultures with respect to their own and manifests a superiority which is indicated through their behavior and attitudes towards other cultures. It is noted that cultural ethnocentrism is becoming prominent and is one of the stronger motivators of people pulling away from other economies. Ethnocentricity has rather negative impacts on multi national companies, as it causes consumers to distrust the international brands which adversely affect the consumer purchasing behavior. Cultural openness and demographic variables are factors that affect the ethnocentrism that persists in a society. Companies can remove these barriers through promoting awareness of their brand as well as educating and informing people about internationalization of businesses. Maintaining a positive approach is a key to attracting ethnocentric societies. Also, by targeting markets considering their age, gender and their cultural background shows apathy and reduces ethnocentric behaviors. For a firm to operate internationally, it needs strategies that would help it create a market outside the home country. In order to create an awareness or better described as a competitive advantage, businesses need effective global strategies. Global strategies can take the form of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, taking risks, or creating brand identification and reputation. Whichever the strategy chosen, it is very important to understand the local cultures and environment before entering a market. Strategies can be of numerous forms but branding is considered as most efficient when it comes to entering a completely new market. Brand strategy focuses on influencing the perceptions of people in a way that they persuaded to act in a certain manner. In today’s highly competitive and expanding business markets, it is necessary to create a positive and lasting impression on the consumers through branding. When entering a new market, a company needs to analyze the culture of the region and adapt to it in a manner that it does not seem awkward or unnatural to the consumers. A global brand needs to pertain a relevant meaning and significance to people across multiple societies, the strategy needs to be diverse and devised in a fashion that blends well with the people, their experience and the society. Different societies have different mind frames, values and in simple words, a different culture as a whole. For example, animals such as a horse is recognized all over the world but it is perceived differently, in some societies it may be considered as a mode of transport, in some, a gambling opportunity while in some, it symbolizes independence. These differences must be acknowledged when formulating strategies. Cultural conventions determine how people in a society interact with each other, what their beliefs are, and what meanings do they attach to their representations. Cultures develop through experience and learning, they are not static (Baker, 2001). Strategies must be aware and on a look out of these cultural shifts that may create a booming opportunity to replace something that is losing its value. Therefore, Companies can follow their regular patterns of strategy formulation which integrates its overall objectives with its marketing and financial counterparts but when looking for a new market in a new region, the first consideration must be the analysis of the local market trends, customs, traditions and adopt these within the strategy. In general, a company must be aware of the societal beliefs and stand points of the cultural areas that it is catering to. No aspect of the product, branding or the company policies must collide with the cultures. Every culture is dissimilar to another and so are its values and characteristics. The concepts and perceptions towards the routine items such as leisure, work, family structures and religion are separate in every society or culture and may be at different priority levels. A culture that is based to moral values of responsibilities and independence may have more influence on working and exerting. While a culture that does not ingrain a sense of self-sufficiency may promote a lifestyle of leisure and relaxation. Family structures also differ, so do religious beliefs. These two factors are most important when framing a culture as they define the mode of life and the code of conduct of people that follow it. Therefore, different religions may impose different conditions and these conditions, with the passage of time, become a part of the society and culture. Communication is generally the sharing of information between two or more individuals or groups to reach a common understanding (Jones & George, 2007). Good communication is necessary for an organization to gain a competitive advantage. Good communication, within an organization, is vital for managers to learn about new technologies, implement them in their organization and train workers in how to use them. Culture plays a central role in the communication process. Perception, which is the process through which people select, organize, and interpret sensory input to give meaning and order to the world around them, affects the meaning of the message. Perceptual biases can hamper a company and its communication just like ethnocentricity. Perceptual biases pertaining in a culture can use information about the company in a way that could create inaccurate perceptions and thus have a negative effect. Communication is basic way through which a business can promote itself and its product across borders and so it is very important that this be done in the most efficient manner without causing and negative impact upon the consumers. Thorough analysis of culture is essential in order to for communication to be well understood in the way intended. For example, the details written on a product may have to be translated into the local language. Also, non-verbal messages such as images may have a different meaning from culture to culture and if not properly surveyed may end up displaying the wrong meaning and impression.

Empathy: Emotion and People Essay

All of us have had compaction for one thing or another in our lives. Our sympathetic feelings toward something is empathy. It is a basic requirement for all human beings. It is natural for us to have an empathetic response towards things. Empathy is a very powerful tool towards our emotional distress. It is hard for us to resist the power of empathetic feelings. When we feel empathy we feel other peoples emotional distresses. We try to feel sympathetic towards the situation or the person. When empathy comes into play we try to solve the problem and take the other persons perspective on the problem. An empathetic person feels what the other person is feeling and why. One can be empathetic towards fictional situations and characters. Empathy is an emotion that we strive to satisfy even if it means risking our lives or being very uncomforadable. Empathy is an emotion shown in people as young as twelve months. Our empathy builds as we grow older. An important aspect of empathy is to be able to consider the viewpoint of another person. This is also known as perspective taking. This is why people risk their lives to save someones life or just save someone from harm. Usually people who risk their lives to save people are very empathetic of people. People who posses a low level of empathy towards people tend to not take as much risks for the sake of solving a problem. But some people find it quite necessary to satisfy their empathetic emotions. This breed of people obviously take more risks . When you imagine how another person perceives an event and how he or she feels as a result, this is called taking an â€Å"imagine other† perspective. When we see on the news that an innocent bystander was harmed, we take an â€Å"imagine other† perspective. This makes us feel empathy for the person, even though we may have never heard or seen of the person before until the news reported it. â€Å"Imagine self† is when one imagines themselves personally being in the situation. Both â€Å"imagine other† and â€Å"imagine self† perspectives go hand in hand. When one feels for a persons problems and tries to imagine how he or she feels, one tends to also imagine themselves in the same situation. These perspectives bring out the empathy that we possess. Those who take the â€Å"imagine other† perspective experience relatively pure empathy that motivates altruistic behavior. The â€Å"imagine self† perspective also produces empathy but it is accompanied by feelings of distress that arouse egoistic  motives that can actually interfere with people being unselfish about their thoughts. Another perspective of empathy is fantasy. This is when our empathy is for something that is not real. This is a very occurring situation to most people. People act emotionally to the joys and sorrows of an imaginary person or thing. When people watch a sad movie, people sometimes cry and feel for the person, even though the situation is not real. When we read a sad or depressing book or hear about a sad fair tale, we take the imagine other and imagine self perspectives to a fantasy situation just as we would a real life situation. The only difference being is you can’t physically put yourself into position to help the fantasy situation, as with the real life situations, one can physically help the situation. We might think that children have the tendency to have empathetic thoughts about fantasy situations more than adults. This is not true. Adults experience the same kind of empathetic feelings towards fantasy situations. When I went to see the movie TITANIC two summers ago, I observed that the whole audience was crying. Women, children and even men were crying. Even though the movie was a fantasy people still felt for the characters. Humans differ greatly in their ability to experience empathy. Some people are highly empathetic and feel distress whenever they encounter someone else is distressed. It doesn’t matter whether it’s real or fictional. People who are highly empathetic more motivated to avoid social disapproval or feelings of guilt. Some people are not very empathetic at all. These people are unaffected by anyone’s emotional state but their own.. People with low levels of empathy will avoid helping people because the costs are high and they can escape responsibilities easily. Genes account for about a third of the differences in people in affective empathy. Presumably, learning counts for the remaining differences in empathy. Our experiences in our life help us learn either affective empathy or non-affective empathy. The kind of experiences that are involved in our ability to have affective empathy is by a mother’s warmth and by clear and forceful messages from parents telling how others are affected by hurtful behavior. When parents discuss emotions with their children, the better their ability to empathize becomes. When  parentsw are abusive or use anger to control their kids, their ability to empathize with the world drops tremendously. Women tend to empathize with the world more than men. This could either be because of genetics or because women have different socialization experiences than men. We tend to be more empathetic to people who are most like ourselves. This happens because we can relate to people who are much like ourselves. When disasters occur similarity to self comes into play. If one has been involved in a similar disaster, one is more likely to be empathetic towards the situation.. Need for approval is an important aspect of helping behavior. People who want to be praised for their good deeds generally empathize with the world quite well. Empathy is higher in people who help with emergency situations. People who are very altruistic descibe themselves as being very responsible, socialized, conforming tolerant , self controlled, and wanting to make a good impression. Obviously people who help others in emergency situations are believe that it is just the right thing to do. People that have empathy for others see themselves as socially responsible for people in emergencies. To look the other way is not being responsible. One can’t say that someone with low levels of empathy would not help somebody in a particular emergency situation. It is just more likely people that have little empathy will look for someone else to help before they do. It also depends on the severity of the situation at hand. It is easy to see how the media reacts to how people react during emergency situations in today’s society. When bystanders fail to act, the media focuses on the lack of concern among uncaring people. When a bystander does to the emergency the media emphasises on how an ordinar person can suddenly become a hero to the public. This gives people with empathy all the more reason to act and give people with little empathy a good reason to at least try and do something for the sake of not being looked down on by the media. Empathy is a very powerful emotion that many of us possess. It is a very natural emotion that even infants have. Empathy comes in many forms. Taking an â€Å"imagine other† perspective and the â€Å"imagine self perspective is something we do everyday in one form or another. Empathy comes in many forms. We empathize for the smallest things. Some of us are not very  empathetic at all. This is seen as a bad thing by today’s society and media. But people with low empathy doesn’t necessarily mean they are cruel people. The capacity for empathy plays a crucial role in differentiating those who behave in prosocial behavior and those who do not. It is safe to say that people who are concerned with their own personal welfare and not others are unempathetic people to our society. We must remember that empathy is present in all of us. It just depends on the person and their life experiences whether they will show empathy for situations.

Kanneh verses Cixous essays

Kanneh verses Cixous essays Evaluate critically Kadiatu Kanneh's position in "Love, Mourning and Metaphor: Terms of Identity" indicating her reasons for criticising other feminists theorists. In her essay, Kanneh takes a critical view of some of the foundation stones upon which Helen Cixous builds her arguments in her seminal work "The Laugh of the Medusa". It is by developing an understanding of her critique of Cixous that best allows the reader to formulate a coherent opinion of where Kanneh stands in relation to other feminist critics and the field of feminist criticism as a whole. In this, my exploration of Kanneh's essay, I aim to discuss how she relates to Cixous' arguments before, in conclusion, I present what I understand to be the political ground on which she stands. Taking a radical feminist approach, that being one that recognises patriarchal control over political, social and economic systems (N.B. I take my definition from Joy Magezis' "Women's Studies" Hodder Giving the example of Pauline Reag's 1954 "The Story of O", a novel of female servitude and degradation that features genital mutilation, she illustrates the sexually sadistic extremity to which the misuse of the female body goes to in cultural outpourings. However, Kanneh argues that, although functional, using the body as a metaphorical focus for insurrectionary activity is fraught with dangers which are not constructive ...

Essay on Educational technology

Essay on Educational technology Essay on Educational technology Essay on Educational technologyMy personal educational technology vision statement helps me to follow the established standards in education. I realize that it is very important to integrate technology in the process of learning, creating positive change and promoting positive outcomes in the learning experiences of my students, paying due attention to the best teaching strategies, the National Technology Plan and National Educational Technology Standards. Due to my personal educational technology vision statement I will be able to follow with the established curriculum standards.Besides, my personal educational technology vision statement reflects my personal experience of using technology in the classroom. I believe that all educators should use technology to strengthen their own experiences and achieve positive outcomes. If educators have knowledge regarding the implementation of technology in education, they will be able to develop the proper teaching strategies aimed at improvin g student achievement.I will continue to integrate technology into the classroom. I believe that technology can help not only to assess student learning experience for the valid and meaningful change, but also it helps to enhance motivation of students. Today I demonstrate my personal interest in application of some new form of educational technology in the classroom. I believe that all students, teachers and administrators should highly value the benefits of using technology in education. As educational technology helps to improve motivation, educators should integrate the proper leadership skills, which will help to make the proper changes in the established standards, assessment and curriculum.Thus, my personal educational technology vision statement contributes to my personal growth and provides massive opportunities for personal development. I realize that educational technology will be helpful in my future professional career development.

Applications of EHR on Inpatient Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Applications of EHR on Inpatient Nursing - Essay Example This paper seeks to discuss application of electronic health record system in inpatient nursing. The paper will explore application of the technology in inpatient nursing’s assessment, medication, and documentation. It will also explore successful implementation of the electronic health record system and its importance in the scope of inpatient nursing. Application of electronic health record in documentation The core function of electronic health record is the development of a reliable information system for efficiency. This has led to transition, alongside technological developments, from a manual record keeping system to the electronic system through computer technology. The information system has further enhanced the health record system through networking involved instruments, departments, and personnel in the electronics record systems. Documentation is, as a result, one of the applications of electronic health record system through a variety of system applications that includes provision of information in facilities such as inpatient nursing facilities. The scope of documentation, based on its definition, includes recording of information and availing the recorded information for necessary use. The â€Å"nursing information system,† an incorporated system in inpatient nursing institutions is for example used in documenting information for administrative purposes (Carter, 2008, p. 4). The system manages all information relating to inpatients such as patient’s admission that provides relevant details of a patient to the hospitals system (Carter, 2008). Guite et al further explains that electronic health record is used to capture and communicate a patient’s details for determination of patients’ needs and evaluation of the patients’ utility while in the nursing facilities. Coordination also facilitates knowledge of patients’ needs among personnel on duty (n.d.). Documentation in electronic health record is al so used to facilitate management of information for timely discharge of patients and even transfer of patients to other facilities for specialized attention. Like in admission, documentation, through a centralized operated system facilitates inter departmental communication to relay the need for either discharge or transfer. Similarly, documentation as an element of electronic health record facilitates accounting aspects of health care institutions, a role that is achieved through recording and organization of financial transactions and communication of the information to managers for administration (Carter, 2008). Inpatient nursing facilities also use electronic health record’s documentation to facilitate direct personal communication among nurses through online chats for instant communication. The application of electronic health record in documentation is therefore based on its ability to develop a bank of necessary and relevant information to inpatient care and to communi cate such information to relevant departments and personnel for efficient operations and management. Standardized terms and systems for uniformity in documentation facilitate the efficiency by eliminating language based communication barrier (Carter, 2008). Application of electronic health record in nursing’s documentation is however subject to legal considerations that aim at preventing malpractices such as fraud. Such rules apply to both EHR technology developers and users in inpatient nurs

Law. Discussion of views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law. Discussion of views - Essay Example Difference between law and morality Laws are sets of rules that are adopted by societies for regulating behaviour and conducts of its members. The society can be an institution or a territorial set up such as nations. Morality is on the other hand defined by ethical values that are held by a society. It is based on cultural practices of set ups such as communities and institutions. Principles of law and morality therefore interact with some similarities and differences. One of the differences between law and morality is in their sources. Gardner explains that while morality originates from a collective responsibility of a society, law is a creation of an individual or a group of specific people. He argues that law is made on purpose and is therefore objective driven. As a result, law is viewed as a creation of necessity and predetermined intentions. This distinguishes law from morality that emanates from cultural practices that have been held and approved as acceptable by a given soc iety. It can therefore be identified that while law is a consequence of circumstances that establishes the aims of formulating the laws, morality is based on a person’s conscience within his immediate society (Gardner, n.d., 1-3). A boundary between law and morality is also drawn with respect to the content of the two. If the two were similar, then they would be regulating matters in the same approach. This is however not the case because the two are sometimes in conflict. Some legal issues are not moral. At the same time, there exist moral issues that are prohibited by law. There are for instance laws that allows for gay marriages and slavery. In the context of morality, gay marriage and slavery are unacceptable to human sanctity aspects. Similarly, the approach to implementation of law and morality are different. While law relies on the punitive consequences for disobedience for its enforcement, morality is adopted as a culture by its subjects and does not attract a punishm ent for disobedience (Wku, 2001, p. 1). Cane agrees with these opinions that morality is a concept that exist within a society and is to be identified with, while law is created by people and must be obeyed. An act can therefore be immoral and yet legal (Cane, 2002, p. 12, 13). Difference between criminal and civil law There are also a number of differences between criminal law and civil law. The differences range from their scope to procedures that are involved in litigation. While criminal law defines offenses against a society as a whole, civil law defines wrongs committed by an individual against another individual. A criminal wrong has a wider scope and has a potential of affecting the public at large. An example of a criminal wrong is public nuisance such as emission of a poisonous air pollutant in to the atmosphere. This has a potential of affecting every individual who is within the pollutant’s vicinity. A wrong under civil law on the other hand affect a specific pers on. Private nuisance such as throwing objects into a person’s piece of land causes damage to the specific landowner or specific peoples who have right over ownership or usage of the infringed piece of land. No individual person can therefore claim compensation in a criminal case (Overbeck and Belmas, 2011, p. 19; Elias, 2009, p. 51-54). Another difference between criminal law and civil law is with respect to parties to the subject case. While parties in a civil case are the plaintiff and the defendant, parties to a criminal case are the suspect or suspects and the state, represented by a prosecutor. The prosecutor, who may initiate the case or take it over from a private individual, presents a criminal case in court. Private individuals, the