Comprehensive Strategic Case Analysis of Real Chocolate Study

Comprehensive Strategic Analysis of Real Chocolate - Case Study Example The company is noted for its perfection in hand made gourmet chocolate made from finest quality ingredients with no artificial preservatives added. This paper presents a strategic analysis of the case real chocolate company using some analytical tools such as the PESTLE framework, Porter's five forces and competitive advantage etc. The paper is structured as follows, in part one using the PESTLE framework the paper analyses the environment in which the company is operating based on the case, the Five forces framework of Porter also help us to beef our analysis. Part two of the paper carries out an internal analysis of the real chocolate company, by using basic financial ratios, the SWOT matrix, to identify its competitive advantage and resources capabilities while part three of the paper now uses Porters generic strategy and the TOWS matrix. In the concluding part of the paper, using the balance scorecard some recommendation are made. PESTEL framework is used here because the analysis is concerned with the Macro-environmental influences which can better be analysed by use of the PESTEL framework. Johnson et al (2006) states that the PESTEL framework is a framework that can be used to categorise the factors that influence the business environment of an organisation into six main types including: Political Influences, Economic influences, Technological influences, Social Influences, Environmental influences, and Legal influences. (See appendix 1). The political environment of the United States was unstable following the period of the case with the then Republican government loosing popularity because of the war in Iraq the tooth for tat with Iran, its neglect of Russian on key international issues. The situation was further made worst by its war for peace captioned "war against terror". Thus, at the time of the case, the poor political climate of the States must have affected the operations of real chocolate company international expansion. In 2006, the political situation of the countries was the beans are grown affected production negatively. Economic factors that affected real chocolate companies from the case, prices vary due to monetary fluctuations, raw materials are sources from other countries, the trade between US and Canada were the stores are based are liable to exchange rate fluctuations. Social factors include growth in population. It was reported in June 2006, that the black pod, frosty pod, and witches' broom di seases could adversely affect the cacao beans if these plant diseases are not controlled. Obesity is becoming a major concern in the USA. In 1986, the Centers for Disease Control reported that just eight states had 10 to 14 percent of the residents obese. Technological factor offers real chocolate company an opportunity of automated production without affecting

The Great British Pub Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Great British Pub - Essay Example veral pubs to its brand and offers a wonderful mix of traditional food and exotic drinks most wines are hand selected and carefully brewed to meet the varying tastes of customers across the country and visiting tourists. To meet the next challenges that lie ahead in the pub retail industry, the operations department has to come up with up-to-date innovations ascribed to the products and services offered. There are several modus operandi for innovating services in the pub market arena. The great British pub can and should redefine its strategy to fit the current market trends and deliver maximum profits. As opposed to the current strategy of only offering mostly food and drinks, it must develop a new strategy that targets even those who seek accommodation. The firm’s mission and vision statements must reflect and include its stakeholders. These measures should be driven using the bottom up approach in order for the employees to own the new strategy. Openness in setting targets should involve everyone that directly or indirectly attached or associated with the great old British pub. The strategy must take into consideration the suppliers, the government restrictions, outsourced service partners, the highly esteemed workforce and most importantly, it should revere its customers. The products offered by the pub are mainly drinks and food. These products must be offered in a manner that treats customers with respect. The beers and whiskeys must concentrate on the particular tastes preferred by the customers according to recent market researches. Quality can be made a side-by-side buzz word for the pub and as such the business can establish itself as completely unique pub in the world. When quality becomes a part of an organization, customers are attached to the enterprise since they are assured of getting value for their money. This can be done by sampling tastes all over the world so that not even tourists are left unattended. Once the traditional foods and drinks

The Sublime and Architectural Theory Essay Example for Free

The Sublime and Architectural Theory Essay As Michael K. Hayes comments in Architecture Theory since 1968, a typology to emerge in the mid eighteenth century was a return of architecture to its natural origins, an example of the primitive shelter. This return and respect of nature was interestingly enough occurring across art, literature and landscape design simultaneously and internationally. It was as if people were warily eyeing the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and entered into a love-hate tolerance of the machine age with the concepts of nature playing a reassuring role throughout these social and industrial evolutions. In reference to nature, the sublime countered many perceptions of the tamed environment through poetry, painting, national parks and urban design. The term sublime was first used to describe nature by British writers taking the Grand Tour of the Swiss Alps in the 17th and 18th centuries. The sublime was meant as an aesthetic quality in nature that was both beautiful and terrible, horrible and harmonious, appreciating the unexpected and dangerous forms found in nature that had been avoided in literature and art through the concepts of a more tamed and friendly environment. German philosopher Immanuel Kant reflects on the concept of boundaries between beauty and the sublime in his Critique of Judgment written in 1790. Distinguishing between the differences of beauty versus the sublime, beauty is connected with the form of the object, respecting the objects boundaries whereas the sublime is found in a formless object, boundless, unfamiliar and unexpected. The Romantic Period revealed a shift from the picturesque paintings of a controlled and safe landscape to paintings depicting the grotesque and beautiful as found in works such as Frederic Edwin Churchs Cotopaxi , oil on canvas 1826, an opposition to the classical ideals of perfection. The concept of sublime evolved through the machine age with a sense of self-forgetfulness, an awe-inspired feeling of well-being and security when faced with an object or place of superiority. It is a realization of unavoidable suffering that is to be accepted and that the difficulties in life will never be completely resolved. The terrible, beautiful and inescapable sublime resonated with the social instability found in the Modernist period. These two movements faced suffering brought about by the consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Inescapably crowded cities meant survival was dependent on the proximity to work. Leisure was a little afforded luxury. As John Mitchell much later on discusses in his book What Is to be Done about Illness and Health (1984), the attributes of a healthy life is a clean and safe environment, time for rest and recreation, a reasonable living standard, freedom from chronic worries, hope for the future, an adequate level of self-confidence and autonomy, and finally to have a worthwhile and fulfilling job. These well-being concepts were absent for many low and middle class families working in factories during the machine age and were threatened by social injustices of modern times. Throughout difficult times experienced in the Romantic period up through present day, the order and at times chaos of nature remained a constant influence in the perceptions of design and life. It would seem our societies distanced themselves from primitive nature through perfect geometry of the Classical movement, imitated nature through the rusticity of the hut and embraced the sublime during the Romantic period. It was as if a return to the most basic and natural state gave a sense of control over the uncontrollable, the forest/city was to be tamed, brought into rational order by means of the gardeners art; the ideal city of the late eighteenth century was thereby imaged on the garden The acknowledgment and connection of the roles of nature throughout our design history offered an outlying and abstract zeitgeist: a continuing spirit of admiration, reverence and fearful respect of our natural surroundings as they are impacted by our industrial and socially changing cities.

Impact of Money on Happiness

Impact of Money on Happiness The love of money, as they say, is the root of all evil. Yet money remains an essential commodity in everyday living. It is a universal need that is pursued one way or the other world over. There are several amenities in life that can mostly only be purchased by money; hence the lack of it can speedily reduce an individual, any individual into distress and a state of depression. Money is acquired by several means; for most people of certain ages, to acquire money means to simply work for it. For others of younger and even older ages, their acquisition of money is largely determined by others, such as parents, guardians in the case of younger people or the government, pension and previous investments in the case of the older generation. All in all, money is an essential part of living. It may not necessarily be the most important aspect in life as will be critically examined later on but it most certainly ranks very high indeed on the list. Some might argue that with enough money or a dequate finances, every other aspect of life falls into perspective. Yet it may immediately be counter argued that the term ‘enough money or adequate finances’ is, in itself, a relative one. What constitutes adequate finances, when is a man said to have enough money? Perhaps it is worth mentioning at this juncture the economic theory of supply and demand and vice versa. The more you make, the more you need. Human need is such that can never be fully satisfied. For instance the needs and demands of a toddler differ significantly from that of a teenager as does that of a man in his 20s from that of a family man with children. Is it then possible to quantify one’s overall state of wellbeing by how much wealth the individual has been fortunate enough to acquire? Can money be said to possess the ability of buying or at the very least orchestrating happiness? What, in the first instance, is happiness? While it remains difficult to attribute a specific definition to hha ppiness, it is often referred to as the state of well-being characterised by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy or emotions experienced when in a state of well-being. The opposite of ‘happiness’ would therefore be ‘sadness’ or to be in a sober mood. Happiness is a robust state of mind that has been pursued by mankind since the stone ages and is as old as man himself. Man as a social being has goals and expectations in life. Such goals and expectations are quite naturally based on individual beliefs, societal or cultural norms as well as personal experiences. It is however safe to surmise that whatever a man’s[1] ambitions, goals, expectations and desires, when these desires and expectations appear to be within easy grasp and ultimately achieved, he will naturally be in a state of well being and experience what is known as happiness. Some of the major contributory factors to happiness include but are by no means limited to the following: Good or optimum state of health Secured and well paid employment Supportive family or friends As pointed out above however, these factors are based on individual concepts of happiness and the means by which this state of mind can be achieved. From the factors above, it becomes increasingly visible that happiness can be analysed from the economic as well as psychological perspectives. According to economists, it is a standard assumption that happiness – individual utility in the economic vocabulary depends on income, leisure and sometimes a few other factors. Yet, although mainstream models would predict that higher income leads to greater happiness, most earlier empirical research has been unable to find a sufficiently strong correlation between subjective well-being and per capita income in rich countries to support the standard utility assumption.[2] In a research carried out in the 90s, it was discovered that even though many, if not all, African countries were classed as under developed societies where poverty assails most of the population, people were still happ ier than others of more substantial means in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States. In a country like Nigeria for instance, the term ‘depression’ was almost a strange expression for many while others who had heard of the world had never even come close to suffering such a low state of mind. Research on the other hand, shows that quite a significant number of patients in the UK suffer depression which is the exact opposite of happiness or a state of bliss and well being. The pursuit of happiness and all it entails has been a goal shared by people world over more than any other goal in the history of mankind. While economics might be associating the pursuit and ultimate capture, so to speak, of this rather elusive blissful state of mind with the accumulation of wealth and material satisfaction, it has been proven in recent times that this may not very well be the case. In fact, a positive association has been shown to hold only at certain points in time within particular countries and not for the group of high-income countries as a whole.[3] The usual explanations given for this paradox are either that people compare themselves with their peers and neighbours[4] or that as incomes increase, so do people’s income aspirations[5]. Both these factors are assumed to be present already at fairly modest levels of per-capita income. However, one recurring problem with previous studies is that conclusions on the absence of an effect of economic performance on well-being have typically been based on either limited cross-sectional samples which may be contaminated by a strong time-constant cultural component[6] or on sparse and incomplete longitudinal data.[7] The unavoidable fact remains that with the accumulation of wealth or any other commodity for that matter, comes more responsibility or need which in turn leads to even more desire for greater accumulation. In that regard, it might be safe to surmise that perhaps wealth or its end less accumulation does not exactly guarantee happiness.[8] For instance, if a man is said to have achieved his goal and been fortunate, lucky or smart enough to secure a fantastic job and comfortable income, if the economist approach on consumer behaviour is accurate, he should be in a blissful state of mind. However there are other factors which need to be considered to determine a man’s state of mind and this is where the psychological and social researches into happiness comes into play. In support of Duesenberry’s paradox, Kenneth Arrow believes that it offered â€Å"one of the most significant contributions of the postwar period to our understanding of economic behaviour†[9] and that it was to be commended for attempting to link economic theory more directly with psychological motivations and with consumer learning processes.[10] Some saw Duesenberrys work as attempting to broaden the theoretical economists horizon.[11] Others like A. C. Pigou, expressed se rious methodological reservations but nonetheless commended the potential significance of the work.[12] In more recent times, there has been a steadily increasing interest on the part of economists in happiness research. It has been argued that reported subjective well-being is a satisfactory empirical approximation to individual utility and that happiness research is able to contribute important insights for economics. It has also been reported how the economic variables such as income, unemployment and inflation affect happiness as well as how institutional factors, in particular the type of government; democracy or dictatorship and the extent of government decentralisation, systematically influence how satisfied individuals are with their life, the effects and some of the consequences for economic policy and for economic theory. Whereas psychologists and sociologists have been researching the concept of happiness for a very long time, the economist approach to happiness is actual ly a more recent approach. Early economists and philosophers, ranging from Aristotle, who promulgated that a happy life is a good complete life and concluded that although happiness is good other things are equally good and important; such things as health and wealth, knowledge and friendship, and a good moral character[13] to Bentham, who formulated that â€Å"happiness is the greatest good†[14] John Stuart Mill, an ardent supporter and disciple of Bentham who agreed that â€Å"†¦. actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness†¦.†[15] have all incorporated the pursuit of happiness in their work. Yet as economics grew more rigorous and quantitative, more parsimonious definitions of welfare took hold. Utility was taken to depend only on income as mediated by individual choices or preferences within a rational individual’s monetary budget constraint. Even within a more orthodox f ramework, focusing purely on income can miss key elements of welfare as numerous economists have noted over time. People have different preferences for material and non-material goods. They may choose a lower paying but more personally rewarding job, for example. The study of happiness or subjective well-being is part of a more general move in economics that challenges these narrow assumptions. Richard Easterlin was one of the first modern economists to re-visit the concept of happiness, beginning in the early 1970s.[16] In economic researches world over, when people are asked relevant questions about what for them constitutes happiness, the answers are mostly identical. For those who are currently struggling to make ends meet, those who are out of jobs, those who are classified as under priviledged in society by virtue of their meager or no income it would appear that the wide belief is that money can indeed buy happiness. But when probed further and deeper, it emerges that money on its own, may not necessarily bring happiness but mere momentary satisfaction. What money certainly does however is to relief people from their financial burdens. Where a family struggles to pay the rent/mortgage at the end of every month, bills accumulate from lack of adequate finances, holidays are a thing of the past or never experienced. If such a family is transported to a place where they can suddenly afford to consolidate their debts, pay off the mortgage, go on holidays, eat what and when they like, their spirits will certainly be lifted significantly higher than when they had little or nothing to exist on. It is therefore apt to surmise that money would most probably clear debts, reduce or out rightly pay off mortgages, which would certainly be a tremendous source of relief for most people. Money however may not necessarily have the ability to purchase true happiness. The human brain is trained to adapt to situations, good or bad. It is therefore only a matter of time before the new found wealth becomes a ‘given’ and the family is faced with other challenges. Many people, cross-section, agree that acquisition or possession of significantly more money than they have at the moment can calm their day to day frustrations and perhaps distract them from their personal problems, but it cannot make them truly happy. If an individual is basically positive and optimistic, the acquisition of wealth will only enhance that persons life. It is believed that money can bring relief if the lack of it is causing stress (as is the case in the majority). If however, a person is generally neurotic, unhappy and pessimistic, no amount of money will eradicate such pessimism or other unrelated psychological problems the individual deals with on a daily basis. A windfall can also bring problems to people who have no idea how to deal with money. To those who have lived from hand to mouth all their lives, unless they are intelligent about it, there is a tendency to fritter a windfall away. One has to know how to use or invest money wisely, in order to make it work for them. In a survey carried out in England and America on lottery winners it became a clear pattern that people essentially remain who they basically were before winning the lottery. A pessimistic, uninspired individual who wins  £1,000,000 in lottery is more likely to be back to exactly the same spot he was in before winning the lottery in less than five years. While a more optimistic, ambitious and level headed indiv idual who wins  £500,000 is more likely to go ahead and invest the money in ventures that will guarantee him better income for the foreseeable future. Money or shall we say too much money is itself a catalyst for trouble for those who are not psychologically balanced enough to handle instant wealth. Economists and psychologists have come together in numerous attempts to untangle the webs of how, why and why-not of money and the general state of well being/welfare. Of particular importance, it would appear, is the aspect of why money is seen by many as unable to set right all that is wrong in their lives and by so doing guarantee them lasting happiness. Why is it that the more money one has, the more one aspires to acquire? In the popular words of an artist ‘..the more money you come across, the more problems you have’[17] The economics of happiness is an approach to assessing welfare which combines the techniques typically used by economists with those more commonly used by psychologists. It relies on surveys of the reported wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of individuals across countries and continents.[18] Why is it that when one is finally able to possess those material things that appeared all so important in the absence of money and to basically achieve their dreams it only brings momentary joy? In attempting to answer these seemingly depressing questions, scholars of happiness have arrived at some insights that appear very useful and educational indeed. It has been commonly acknowledged and accepted that money can help find more happiness, so long as one knows just what to expect from it and does not have unrealistic expectations. Splashing out money on luxurious cars or even buying a private jet is not necessarily a means of utilising money to becoming happy. Research suggests that seeking the good life at a store is an expensive exercise in futility.[19] It is essential to realise and understand where one has been going wrong in order to achieve a blissful state of mind. According to Richard Gelfond, co-chairman and CEO of Imax, being an achiever and rising out of poverty certainly brings happiness. Wealth therefore appears to play a bigger factor in being happy than most would like to admit. In surveys, people consistently give thre e reasons for their personal happiness: wealth, family and health. Being richer means being able to afford better health, however debatable an argument this is. For a terminally ill patient for instance, perhaps with the notorious HIV virus or the equally formidable cancer; wealth most certainly affords them better treatment and immediate access to the very best specialists in those fields as well as the very best medication. The patients are therefore guaranteed far more comfort in their sickness than the ordinary man on the street who depends on the state or government for his treatment. At the end of the day however, can one honestly assert that the affordability of better health care makes the former patient happier than the latter? Can either be truly happy simply because one has more money than the other? Does it not then depend on the individual’s outlook on their conditions? Would the wealthy not willingly give up their wealth to become healthy again? Strange and surp rising as it might sound, it is not uncommon for the poorer man to come to better terms with his condition and find, if not downright happiness, some sort of peace in the terminal medical situation he finds himself than for his richer or wealthier counterpart. Professor Robert Shiller, a Professor of Economics at Yale University, in his argument for the advantages of having money is of the opinion that more money, in all likelihood, guarantees better relationships.[20] This is open to extensive debate and arguments. The simple question thereafter arises, if money or wealth enables one to find better relationships, how come then that most celebrities, by far the best paid individuals in the world, find it, from time immemorial, practically impossible to be happy in their relationships and marriages? It is common knowledge that marriages and relationships in Hollywood or any other star studded part of the world, for that matter, are more often than not, a fleeting experience for the p arties involved. Talking about celebrities and their wealth, if money does indeed procure happiness, why is it that the majority of celebrities have had at one time or the other alcohol problems, drug addiction issues, depression, suicidal tendencies and even in albeit admittedly fewer cases, death by over dose of one dangerous substance or the other? Surely if money brings happiness they, the celebrities with more money than most should be the happiest on earth. This is however evidently not the case. It stands to reason therefore that while money promotes a better sense of well being in some, better sense of achievement in others, contentment, the satisfaction that comes with the ability and affordability of luxury items o comfort, and even perhaps momentary happiness and joy in others, it is not the mere happenstance of such money or wealth in one’s life that procures happiness or any true sense of joy for the consumer. Tim Webber of the BBC’s Business Edition, in o ne of his editorials, ‘Why money doesn’t buy happiness’[21] quotes an African artist, Youssou N’Dour as follows†¦ â€Å"†¦ Forget money entirely†. Youssou NDour is reported as going on to say that there is plenty of happiness in Senegal, even though its people are not wealthy at all. Just see the joy that music and entertainment can bring to the boys in the poorest parts of Dakar. says Mr NDour. But he concedes that one thing was even better than the music and other elements that promote happiness in Senegal; the moment when Senegal beat France in the 2002 Football World Cup.[22] Catherine Sanderson, a psychology professor at Amherst College expresses her opinion on the debate of economics approach to happiness by saying that human beings are never satisfied. It is standard consumer behavioural pattern. The more we have, the more we are likely to want. It is the inherent nature of man. Ms. Sanderson authoritatively asserts that we always t hink just that little bit more money will be the answer to all our problems and bring ultimate satisfaction.[23] Indeed, it would appear that the more money one makes, the more one wants or continue to aspire to make. The more one has the less effective it is at bringing one joy. Little wonder it is therefore that this seeming paradox has long bedeviled economists. Another reputable scholar, Professor Dan Gilbert, psychology professor at Harvard University opines that â€Å"Once you get basic human needs met, a lot more money doesnt make a lot more happiness,[24]. Regrettably, there is no easy way out of being unhappy; money is no short cut to happiness for a depressed person. Overcoming one’s emotions and teaching one’s self to be happy can be more difficult that earning more money or winning the lottery as explained above. In fact, according to Matthew Herper,[25] if a person is handed $10, the pleasure centres of his brain lights up as if he were given food, sex or drugs. But that initial rush does not translate into long-term pleasure for most people. Surveys have found virtually the same level of happiness between the very rich individuals on the Forbes 400 and the Maasai herdsman of East Africa. Lottery winners return to their previous level of happiness after five years. Increases in income just do not seem to make people happier and most negative life experiences likewise have only a small impact on long-term satisfaction.[26] Probably via media exposure or even in real life, at some point in time or another extremely rich, wealthy and famous people have been seen to be unhappier than one would expect them to be, given the amount of material benefits that they have. It is surprising that a large number of wealthy people do not seem to experience the happiness that one would expect goes with so much money and riches. A study conducted by the University of Illinois indicated that more than 30 percent of the richest people in America were n ot as happy as the person who earned a modest income.[27] It is worth mentioning that more often than not, most of the sulking, miserable people one comes across in everyday life are rich people. This is obviously not due to the fact that these wealthy people are unable to afford three square meals, pay the mortgage, go on holiday or afford whatever luxurious item catches their fancy. Their misery is as a result of the fact that people generally seem to have more expectations from money. Money cannot buy anyone everything but in the minds of people who give up everything for money, it is difficult to accept, having acquired the wealth of their goal that they strove so hard to achieve partial success. This is not to negate the positive effects money has in the society and on one’s well being in particular. Yes, money most certainly is important to help one live life to the fullest and be able to experience the good things in life, not necessarily criminally expensive activitie s but such holidays, clothes, jewelries, and cars that become seemingly unreachable when one is void of the purchasing means. But at the same time, an increase in its inflow does not bring proportional happiness with it. As the age old saying goes†¦the grass will always (appear to) look greener on the other side. If ‘A’s’ income increases by $20,000, he is happy until he finds out his next door, perhaps less qualified neighbour’s income has increased by $60,000 and that the neighbour can now afford the car of A’s dreams without breaking the bank. The economics of happiness does not purport to replace income-based measures of welfare, but instead to complement them with broader measures of well-being. These measures are based on the results of large-scale surveys, across countries and over time, of hundreds of thousands of individuals who are asked to assess their own welfare. The surveys provide information about the importance of a range of factors which affect wellbeing, including income but also others such as health, marital and employment status, and civic trust. The approach, which relies on expressed preferences rather than on revealed choices, is particularly well suited to answering questions in areas where a revealed preferences approach provides limited information. Indeed, it often uncovers discrepancies between expressed and revealed preferences. The latter cannot fully gauge the welfare effects of particular policies or institutional arrangements which individuals are powerless to change. Examples of these inclu de the welfare effects of inequality, environmental degradation, and macroeconomic policies such as inflation and unemployment. In a recent happiness survey at the University of Colorado, it was established that actual involvement in doing things can bring more joy than having things. Gilovich and Leaf Van Boven, both of the University of Colorado conducted this survey by asking students what makes them happy, when and where. The students were also asked to ultimately decide if they were at the happiest when they were doing something as against when they were buying something. It emerged that man’s preoccupation with stuff obscures an important truth: that the things that do not last create the most lasting happiness. One reason may be that experiences tend to blossom and not diminish as they are recalled. In your memory, youre free to embellish and elaborate,[28] Gilovich admonished the students. â€Å"Your trip to Mexico may have been an endless parade of hassles punctuate d by a few exquisite moments. But looking back on it, your brain can edit out the surly cabdrivers, remembering only the glorious sunsets. So next time you think that arranging a vacation is more trouble than its worthor a cost youd rather not shoulderfactor in the delayed impact.†[29] Economists have found out in the United States for instance that an increase in income does not necessarily automatically yield an equal increase in one’s level of happiness. In one of the several surveys conducted, it was discovered that going from earning less than $20,000 a year to making more than $50,000 admittedly makes the recipient twice as likely to be happy, yet the payoff for then surpassing $90,000 is slight. And while the rich are happier than the poor, the enormous rise in living standards over the past 50 years has not made Americans happier.[30] Why? David Futrelle gave three reasons for this. According to him, we overestimate how much pleasure there is to be derived from having more. Humans are adaptable creatures, which has been a plus during assorted ice ages, plagues and wars. But, he argues, that is also why people are never all that satisfied for long when good fortune comes their way. While earning more makes people happy in the short term, we quickly ad just to the new wealth, status and everything that comes with it. Granted, there is bound to be a certain thrill and sense of achievement which comes with the first shiny and exotic car one buys from the increased income or new found wealth, splashing out on huge screen televisions and even spending money on family. But it is not long before all these become ‘normal’ and the consumer begins to want even more. It is when this insatiable appetite for more yields little or no result that man begins again to experience dissatisfaction and many people find themselves descending back to the very initial position they were in the first place; reverting to a state of running in place that economists call the ‘hedonic treadmill.’[31] The hedonic treadmill theory explains the popularly held observation that rich people are no happier than poor people, and that those with severe money problems are sometimes quite happy. The theory supports the argument that money does not buy happiness and that the pursuit of money as a way to reach this goal is futile. Good and bad fortunes may temporarily affect how happy a person is,but most people will end up back at their normal level of happiness.[32]Buttressing Mr. Yarrow’s point on the same subject, John Lanchester also observed that following studies of data from all over the world, it is clear that, instead of getting happier as they become better off, people get stuck in a place where their expectations rise at the same pace as their incomes and the happiness they seek remains constantly just out of reach.[33] Reference is here being made yet again to the hedonistic treadmill. Daniel Kahneman, the one time (2003) winner of Nobel Prize for economics is best known for his work on hedonic psychology.[34] Kahneman opines that suddenly the big question is being asked by those who spent their lives on making and measuring money: what indeed is it all for when people are no happier than they were.[35] Be all these as they may, the fact remains undisputable that money does matter in various ways. In England, for instance, people who are earning less than or around  £10,000 per annum are measurably, permanently happier when paid more. It matters when people of any income feel a drop from what they have become accustomed to. But above all, money makes people unhappy when they compare their own income with others.[36] Richer people are happier not by the simple virtue of the absolute size of their wealth, but because they have more than other people. But the wider the wealth gap, the worse it harms the rest. Rivalry in income makes those left behind more miserable that it confers extra happiness on the winners. This insatiable appetite for more will keep driving a man back to the car dealership or to the electronic gadget stores in search of better and bigger items for more satisfaction. According to Gilbert[37] however, what is being mistaken for happiness and satisfaction at buy ing a new ‘toy’ is simply the feeling that comes on the day one actually buys the item in question. Once the initial razzmatazz fades away and the new Ferrari or even private jet no longer races the heart, man tends to draw the wrong conclusions. Instead of questioning the notion or erroneous, if honest, belief that happiness can be bought at the dealership, one often begins to question their choice of car. ‘Perhaps I would feel better with a Ford Mustang?’ This thought alone sparks a fresh burst of enthusiasm and hope for more happiness which simply leads to yet more disappointment once the new car is purchased and the racing heart also inevitably settles back to normal after a few days or weeks. Again this is what economists refer to as typical consumer behaviour. More often than not, this dissatisfaction with the material things that come with wealth is borne out of envy for others around us. Quite naturally, more money can and does lead to more stress. The big salary pulled in from a high-paying job may not necessarily procure much in the way of happiness, at least not much more than the individual is accustomed to. Some have even gone as far as saying if one is unable to find happiness in their current situation on a low income job; it is unlikely that such persons will ever be happy even in a high paying job. The whole idea is to cut one’s coat according to one’s size to afford flexibility, satisfaction and happiness because however low one’s income is, there are always people below the hierarchy of earnings. Just as however much one earns, there will always be people on the upper rung of the ladder of success. What more money can do however is to buy one a (more) spacious house in the suburbs. What immediately becomes a problem is the long trip to and from work, taking the children (if there are any) to school and commuting to social activities from the suburbs or the countryside. At the end of the day, it is only natural that the everyday commute, even if permissible initially, becomes a problem and however much one loves their job, becomes a burden and wears down the individual. As in the case of lack of continued satisfaction with ones purchases, compariso

The Important Discovery of Kenyanthropus Platyops - The Flat Faced Man

The Important Discovery of Kenyanthropus Platyops - The Flat Faced Man of Kenya A recent finding on the western shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, a semi-desert area, could hold bold new implication for the origin of man. The finding was the skull of a very early hominid which displays facial features of both modern man and early, more primitive ancestors. The findings have been dated to approximately 3.5 million years, a time period once thought to be dominated by human ancestors that did not posses any noticeable and unique characteristics held by modern man. The find was discovered by Meave Leakey of the National Museums of Kenya and her colleagues, Fred Spoor, Frank H. Brown, Patrik N. Gathogo, Christopher Kiarie, Louise N. Leakey and Ian McDougall. The find originated from an area in Northern Kenya which has been a hot bed for early hominid fossils, and has earned the nickname the â€Å"Leakey Stable†. The specific area in Northern Kenya is located in the Lomekwi and Topernawi river drainages in the Turkana district. The type locality is LO-6N at 03’ 54.03’ north latitude, 035’ 44.40’ east longitude. The bed where the skull was found contains sedimentary and volcanic rocks in addition to the skulls placement between the Lokochot Tuff, and Tulu Bor Tuff, layers of earth that have an approximate age, allowed the scientist to conclude that the skull was approximately 3.5 million years old. Although the skull was dated 3.5 million years old it held distinctly human facial features, earning it its name Kenyanthropus platyops – The Flat-Faced Man of Kenya. It has a flat face, protruding somewhat like an ape with small teeth. The skulls cranium falls within the range of A. afarensis and A. africa... ...g this modern people can see their past and present in the natural world and come to a better understanding of what it truly means to be human. Bibliography 1. Leakey, M. G., Spoor, F., Brown, F. H., Gathogo, P. N., Kiarie, C., Leakey, L. N. and McDougall, I. New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages Nature 410, 433 - 440 (2001). 2. http://www.nature.com/nsu/010322/010322-8.html Notes: [1] Leakey, M. G., Spoor, F., Brown, F. H., Gathogo, P. N., Kiarie, C., Leakey, L. N. and McDougall, I. New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages Nature 410, 433 - 440 (2001). Pg. 436 [2] Leakey, M. G., Spoor, F., Brown, F. H., Gathogo, P. N., Kiarie, C., Leakey, L. N. and McDougall, I. New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages Nature 410, 433 - 440 (2001). Pg. 433

Children & schools Essay -- essays research papers

Fieldwork Paper Observation: For my observation program, I was placed in the Progressive School of Long Island, located in Merrick. I was assigned to work with Kindergartners under the supervision of teachers Jennifer Frank and Sangeeta Patel. It was explained to me that the students at this school learn at their own pace, and that is what separates them from public school children. They are usually ahead of children their age, however. For example, the Kindergartners I observed were learning from first grade math text books. The classroom was uniquely set up. There are no desks in the room, besides the teachers desk. Children sat at tables and chairs. Their books and supplies were kept in cubby's in the back of the room called, "Responsibility bins". For the most part, the teachers walked freely around the room instead of stationed at their desk. This is called an "open classroom". It was a style that was encouraged in the 1970's inside classrooms. There were two large wooden lofts inside the room. Children can climb ladders and sit on top of them. There was also an art table in the back corner of the room. The art table contained paper, markers, glue, crayons, scissors and glitter. Children were encouraged to be creative while in this area. There was also a computer area. The children are able to use them freely. The games on the computer are educational and were made fun for the students. Decorations were hung all over the walls as well. There were posters showing numbers and the alphabet, which the teachers and children go over each morning. There were also posters of shapes, animals and colors. In one corner there was a set of classroom rules for everyone to follow, including the teachers. Next to the rules was a "Superstar" chart. Each child has its own monthly chart. They are able to earn a star each day. However, if a child misbehaves, or breaks the rules, they lose their star for that day. For every eight stars a child earns, they get one big star on the "Superstar" chart. For every three stars they earn on that chart, they receive a token prize. This is considered token reinforcement. The charts are sent home with each child every month. On another wall wa... ...educational or social lives, however. Children who are in that business mature incredibly fast. Children need time to socialize and have fun. As for the child whose mother became ill with cancer, I would not know how to react to this situation with one of my students. I hope that the teachers understand and consider her situations before placing her in time out. I would want to be fair. However, I know that she would need to be punished if she misbehaved. On the other hand, I would want to be easier with her due to her family circumstances. Overall I enjoyed observing at the Progressive School. It was a completely different experience from any public school I had seen. I honestly feel that the notes I have taken and the times I experienced inside the classroom will help me through teaching when I have my own class. I like the styles of teaching that the teachers used. They acted more of the student's friends than an authoritative figure. I learned so many ways to react to different circumstances. I agree with most of the ways that the teachers handled everything. I hope to teach in this type of environment in the future.

What is The Effect of Sociological Factors to Artist Life

A French philosopher and writer, Pierre Bourdieu ( Bourdieu et al. 1990) claims that sociological factors such as education, family background, cultural development of an individual as well as one†s belonging to a specific social class, plays a vital part in interpretation and participation in the Arts. In order to evaluate this argument and make any logical conclusions, it must therefore be examined through evidence which in this case will be referring to an Australian artist, Robert Klippel. Every artist†s career has a ‘shape† or a development which tends to be greatly affected by sociological factors which influence the life of that artist†. (Hughes 1964: 2). Robert Klippel†s career ‘shape† was also a subject to formation which was promoted by factors such as education, family upbringing and background as well as the outer and inner environments which affected the life development of the artist. It is thus essential to consider these factors as they influenced and formatted Klippel†s artistic vocation and career. Robert Klippel was born in Sydney, 19 of June 1920, in a middle class family and became the econd in a family of three sons. His father had emigrated from Poland in 1904 and ran a successful business importing and distributing clothing and textiles. His mother, of English background, had been brought up in ‘English fashion†, educated well and expected to devote herself to marriage and the family. Klippel†s father attended university where he studied philosophy and took an Art theory course. During university years, he developed an interest in the Arts. From time to time he would visit an Art gallery or buy an expensive classical painting. Robert Klippel†s, mother had a passion for classical music and would often visit the opera. However, at that time Robert Klippel had little interest in education in the Arts and was not affected by the artistic family environment around him. Although, Klippel†s parents were educated well, Robert Klippel and his brothers were not encouraged to learn or participate in the arts as Klippel†s parents thought that their children should go ‘their own ways†, it could even be said that they were brought up by the ‘a light hand†- always given opportunities to make their own choices and decisions in life. When referring back to Bourdieu and his argument, it could be argued that even though Klippel†s parents were educated well and may have had a reasonable understanding of the arts, they would not be one â€Å"of refined classification† and certainly would â€Å"lack a mastered degree of artistic competence†(Bourdieu et al. 1990:42) as they could not fully value the importance of education and pass on to their children. However this idea may not apply in this case, as Robert Klippel himself was not affected by his family†s level of education and from the yearly years led an independent lifestyle. Particularly during his youth, Klippel had little interest in any sort of education and with little direction from his parents, he preferred to work on the mill, spent little time doing his school work and became used to fail many examinations. At one time, Klippel even thought that his life was doomed to be a ‘failure†. Klippel†s family was quite financially stable and all the three sons attended secondary school including Klippel himself, who had a careless approach towards education and found that it was not for him. In fact he did not receive any art education or learn much of what he later became interested in. He describes his school years being: ‘uneventful and a waste of time†(Gleeson 1983 :4). However it was during his early schoo years that Klipple developed a passion for sculpture. Robert Klippel†s early life was mostly spent around Sydney Harbour where lived and first became fascinated with ships and boat models. As a young boy, Klippel began making miniature model ships that he often saw on the harbour or in books. An obsessive commitment to model making lasted almost eighteen years which later led to becoming a sculptor. Klippel entered the navy during WWII, where he obtained a job as a model maker. Between 1943 and 1945 he produced many military vessels and aircraft models. The skills developed during this period were vital for Klippel as a sculptor; â€Å"he gained knowledge of volume, mass, proportion and structural detail†(Scarlett 1980: 9). Above all, he acquired a strong desire to find out how things worked which further helped him with his creative process. Klippel obtained some practical skills to be used in his artworks but when referring back to Bourdieu, he had no knowledge of ‘artistic principles† or understanding of theoretical Arts and thus had no ‘means of appropriating works of art†. This also reflected that Klippel had a lack of artistic ideas and inspirations to produce his works although he had a strong desire to make sculptures. â€Å"At twenty-four Klippel was still largely unconcerned with the difference between art and craft: he simply did not care about it and had never visited a gallery†(Hughes 1964:12) Klippel was not exposed to any higher education and he finished high-school with poor grades as he spent most of the time working with wool. He took a wool classing course in 1937 with the support of his father who thought that Klippel would be working with wool as he did not see any other pportunities for his son. However, Klippel himself decided to no longer work with wool and to devote more time to his sculptures as he discovered his passion for Art. The year of 1943 became a turning point for Klippel, as he met a friend Pam Broad, who was a poet and an intellectual, and encouraged Klippel to take up a wood-carving course which taught him how to develop his own designs and models. Pam Broad was appreciative of Klippel†s skill but criticised his lack of originality and knowledge of art. Klippel realised that in order to become a sculptor he would eed to have certain knowledge of the Arts and Pam Broad introduced him to literature, poetry and art as abstract, which Klippel became later involved in. Robert Klippel gradually began to gain artistic appreciation and knowledge of Art and he also found the critical difference between art and craft. Klippel realised that he could now interpret and produce artworks and meanings in ways that before were unknown to him and as Bourdieu states: â€Å"interpretation†¦ is always constituted by the learning ability †¦ in other words discovering meaning using our literary knowledge† (Bourdieu et al. 1990). Klippel put aside his models and began to read and study art books to gain knowledge about art. Pam Broad introduced him to the work of Brzeska, and he read books on Henry Moore and Roger Fly; â€Å"The intellectual discovery of art as a creative pursuit awakened a passion he hardly knew existed†(Watters Gallery 1970:3). By 1945 Klippel has decided that art would be his vocation and that he would become a sculptor. In 1946 he enrolled full time at the East Sydney Technical College to study antique drawing, life modelling and sculpture. During this time Klippel became inspired by nature which became a source of ideas for the sculptor and he noted n his diary that: â€Å"Thinking a lot about nature and its workings, I believe and artist should, when creating, undergo a similar process which occurs when nature creates†(Gleeson1983:4). Although not having received ‘complete† education, Robert Klippel was able to use his skills to produce his models and he found that the knowledge he received himself and with the help of others was extremely useful for his art creation. Referring back to Bourdiue, who stressed the importance of learning and defined the idea of education as â€Å"having a complex code†, which refers to sophistication and ability to distinguish a ork of art in a more refined way, it could be noted that Klippel has gradually achieved this ability through self-education and continuos learning throughout his career. However here the theory of sophistication, family education could not apply as Klippel did not achieve high level of education and obtained valuable qualifications but instead gained self-knowledge which was not perhaps one of ‘fine refinement† but which provided him with a stable base to develop his career. It could be considered that Bourdieu†s theory of education does apply to those with a enuine interest in the Arts and to those who wish to gain precise knowledge of the Arts. Klippel himself realised that his self-discovery of new visions and ideas as well as artistic knowledge helped him with his artistic development. Klippel further developed an interest in abstract art and decided to move to London where he commenced his studies at Slade School of Art. Here he developed his skills as a draftsman, â€Å"which he felt were sorely lacking† (Sturgeon 1978:15). For six months at the Slade School Klippel led a double life. On one hand, he did his formal studies, which he â€Å"hated and found rrelevant† (Scarlett 1980:6), on the other hand, he pursued an independent self-development course in which he concentrated on studying abstract art derived from nature. Learning in Klippel†s opinion was not always a constant necessity and brought use to his work, unlike Bourdieu claims that learning at school and university is essential to develop not only the knowledge but also have access to ‘appropriate culture†. Klippel disregarded culture and education as a means of achieving success but to him art was about self-expression combined with the required artistic knowledge. In 1945 Klippel has constructed the largest and most important of his sculptures and since then he decided to work alone and to no longer have a formal education. An Australian surrealist painter, James Gleeson became a vital individual who influenced Klippel†s career development, he encouraged Klippel to leave Slade School and to work on his own. Gleeson introduced Klippel to surrealism and organised Klippel†s first exhibition in London which they shared together. Klippel found that he had developed an obsession to make art that stemmed from his own life and reflected the world around him as he wrote: â€Å"The artist can show a new world, if he ees and feels enough†( Hughes1964:9). During this period Klippel became financially unstable as the support coming from his father was at an end, as Klippel†s father strongly believed that his children should be able to support themselves in their adult life. Klippel went through a particularly difficult psychological period feeling unstable both emotionally and financially when he could not sell any of his sculptures. Klippel†s works were often rejected as they often classified as ‘self-reflection works† which often reflected the emotional and problematic side of the artist. Klippel was also under pressure from his family, particularly his brothers who had a successful wool business and who financially aided Klippel as he could not provide for himself. Klippel travelled to Paris in hope of selling his works and spent a few months there creating more sculptures relating to nature. He found a studio where he worked and was able to diverse the scope of his ideas so that his works would have a wider meaning and perhaps more people could find appreciation in his works. While living in Paris, Robert Klippel married an American artist, Nina Mermey and decided to travel to New York with her, which he later realised was wasted time† as he could not find any workshops or studios to work in. Again here he was bound to make money on his work but not having achieved that Klippel returned to Sydney. Klippel†s path here was now open to any direction and James Gleeson introduced him to a more comprehensive surrealism which Klippel wished to explore. He re-married in Sydney and in 1966 he established his first workshop. For the first time, his works became appreciated by a large number of artists and art critics. The financial situation became better as some of Klippel†s sculptures were sold. With James Gleeson, another exhibition was held which presented painted landscape by Gleeson occupied by Klippel†s metal objects, it achieved a wide recognition by many fellow artists and the public for the first time. Robert Klippel had many more exhibitions and finally achieved the success he has been striving for since youth. However when looking back at Bourdieu and his theories, it is worth to consider the effect class and position in society had on the artists overall recognition. Bourdieu associates upper class as having â€Å"good taste† as those from higher classes usually relate themselves with an academic institution† and may relate to the Arts, rather then those from lower classes tend to have little or no understanding of Art and in conclusion have no taste, he also relates class to culture, the higher the class the more cultured an individual could be. This view can partially describe Robert Klippel†s life as he comes from a well educated and culturally developed family but not belonging to an ‘academic institution† as described by Bourdieu. Klippel was fairly distant from any art education during his youth and did not attend university while he did poorly at school. Perhaps the lack of direction from his parents and lack of his desire for education resulted in some instability experienced later in his life. Perhaps as a result of that, Klippel had trouble finding a place in the society as an artist as he often felt ‘out of place† with his artistic ideas which for a long period of time received no appreciation. According to Bourdieu, Klippel†s art and his life would be a result of his family social position and cultural atmosphere as well as his own academic achievements. It could be agreed that these factors have had an influence on the artist†s life to some extent. Klippel had few minor cademic achievements compared to his brothers and mostly spent time doing agricultural work. Klippel†s parents exposed their children to art and classical music as they thought that right cultural upbringing was essential to achieve social recognition and success, however, they saw that Robert Klippel had little interest in education and had no hope for him to achieve any academic success, so they allowed him to work on the mill and later with wool. This family upbringing affected Klippel†s life and resulted in his struggle to achieve success and later Klippel himself understood the importance of education and cultural upbringing to achieve Robert Klippel once said that: â€Å"true art arises from inner spiritual necessity and an ability to follow one†s own convictions†. Robert Klippel is known today as one of Australia†s leading assemblage sculptors, he has created an innovative and extensive body of three-dimensional works over a fifty year period. For a long of time, Klippel was not recognised as an artist and he underwent a difficult psychological period throughout the development of his career. However, gradually, Klippel began to understand the influence various sociological factors had on his life. He resumed his studies of Art, tried to market his own works to gain finance and finally became aware of what ‘it takes† to achieve success and recognition. One therefore, after examining the career of the artist, can never wonder as to why so many of Robert Klippel†s works are often a reflection of his own life and his long struggle to overcome the many barriers that he faced as Thus, in conclusion it would be faire to agree with Bourdieu†s views that sociological factors such family background, education, class and social position, have an influence on one†s interpretation and participation in the Arts.