Pop Culture Essays - Fashion, Body Art, Earring, Body Piercing

Pop Culture Pop Culture For thousands of years, men and women around the world have gone to redundant lengths to change their natural appearance of their bodies in an attempt to make themselves feel more attractive, to get attention, to conform to new customs of their particular cultural group, to attract a mate or sex partner, to show of their wealth or social status, or to just make an outgoing statement about themselves. Is body art really a pop culture? Our dissatisfaction with the human body and its covering is expressed in endless change. This results in the desire and adoption of a trend, these trends are shown through ways such as piercing, body painting, and tattoos, Body piercing has grown in popularity over the past five years especially among American teenagers who pierce just about anything that can be pierced: ears, noses, tongues, and navels. The most conventional form of piercing in the United States today is ear piercing, and it has become more mainstream for both sexes than it once was. Ear piercing can range from single hole in one or both ears to holes along the entire rim of the ear, but why has piercing become so popular? Given the name as Generation X youth today are known for being unable to follow a Normal Persons life and so express, and exaggerate their body until they feel comfortable, but being comfortable has become a bizarre competition, to see who can stretch their ear lobes the longest, or who has the most earrings too who has the craziest piercing, thus creating a mass trend in body piercing throught the worlds youth. Ear piercing struck America during the punk era, as a way of rebelling against parental figures and their ideas of good kids. And now during the 90s ear piercing has yet again became a popular culture, due to the influence of show business and their perspectives of beauty. Tattooing is probably the most popular form of body art in America today. The reason behind tattoos in society is to exaggerate the human body e.g. Intricate tribal armbands attract attention to mens biceps, and simple small designs attract attention to various parts of the female body especially on the lower part of the back and around the navel. The designs can be small and discreet or large and obvious. Many people prefer discreet designs that can be concealed for certain occasions. The reason for tattoos becoming such a pop culture is due largely to Hollywood films and TV celebrities. The professional wrestlers of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) have not only become coarse, they have become body art fashion statements for our youth. Tattooed armbands, and Chinese lettering are seen so commonly that one would think that they are birthmarks. Although tattoos have become todays pop culture, tattooing has actually been practiced since the time of the ancient Egyptians. H.G Wells stated, In all ages, far back into prehistory, we find human beings have painted and adorned themselves In some cultures tattoos are considered a sign of maturity, or nobility. In the American culture tattoos are a sign of individualism and fashion. When most people think of body painting, the image that come to mind is more likely that of a Massai worrier. Yet we all paint our bodies for reasons of identification, ritual or beauty. Pop culture comes into body painting when we talk about cosmetics. A daily ritual for most women, consisting of early morning applying, afternoon touch ups and nighttime removal has become a necessity and addiction for most women today. Wearing cosmetics is undoubtedly the most prevalent type of body painting in the world. Its a multi-billion dollar industry, with an increasing male market as well. On the top level, makeup is used to cover up zits, scars or pimples. But on a deeper level, there are other reasons for using makeup. Some would argue makeup mania in American society is a product of the media, and that American men, women, and children are constantly presented with attractive images of models, movie stars, and musicians and desperately want to imitate the way they look. Taking in all the evidence past and present on body art, from an anthropological view point what

Free Essays on Thought Paper

Do Genetics, Society, Family Upbringing or We Ourselves Determine Who We Are? Genetics are responsible for a range of things from how we look to the amount of time we will spend on this earth, but they do not determine who we are. Our society plays a role in who we grow up to be because we are highly conditioned by it. Our family upbringing will give us the values and character that will make up who we are. Finally there is ourselves, which is the final product of all of these factors. Since each of these factors play a key role in how we turn out, each decision that we make is not really our own but rather it’s the best decision we can make based on society and our upbringings. Genetics are the blue prints for our physical body. They determine what color hair we will have, the color of our eyes and even what diseases we may acquire later on in life. I do believe that genetics determine our brain capacity, which may gear us toward certain personality traits, but they will not determine who we are. As opposed to genetics, our society plays a huge role in who we are. From the time we can process what we take in from society we are being shaped and conditioned into what society wants us to be. The media portray one or a few sides of the society we live in. These portrayals are taken in by the viewer and either assimilated into themselves or discarded (but not without its influence). Society affects who we find attractive. In the early part of the 20th century for an example, full figured women were seen as very attractive. As time has passed society has now put a monumental emphasis on women being skinny. This is an example of the fact that as society changes so do our views opinions and perceptions. Other things conditioned or effected by our society are who we trust, what we where, what we eat, and even our hobbies. We are conditioned by society to conform and surrender to the role that it wants us to play. The remarkable thing ... Free Essays on Thought Paper Free Essays on Thought Paper Do Genetics, Society, Family Upbringing or We Ourselves Determine Who We Are? Genetics are responsible for a range of things from how we look to the amount of time we will spend on this earth, but they do not determine who we are. Our society plays a role in who we grow up to be because we are highly conditioned by it. Our family upbringing will give us the values and character that will make up who we are. Finally there is ourselves, which is the final product of all of these factors. Since each of these factors play a key role in how we turn out, each decision that we make is not really our own but rather it’s the best decision we can make based on society and our upbringings. Genetics are the blue prints for our physical body. They determine what color hair we will have, the color of our eyes and even what diseases we may acquire later on in life. I do believe that genetics determine our brain capacity, which may gear us toward certain personality traits, but they will not determine who we are. As opposed to genetics, our society plays a huge role in who we are. From the time we can process what we take in from society we are being shaped and conditioned into what society wants us to be. The media portray one or a few sides of the society we live in. These portrayals are taken in by the viewer and either assimilated into themselves or discarded (but not without its influence). Society affects who we find attractive. In the early part of the 20th century for an example, full figured women were seen as very attractive. As time has passed society has now put a monumental emphasis on women being skinny. This is an example of the fact that as society changes so do our views opinions and perceptions. Other things conditioned or effected by our society are who we trust, what we where, what we eat, and even our hobbies. We are conditioned by society to conform and surrender to the role that it wants us to play. The remarkable thing ...

Business Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Business Marketing - Essay Example The web sites chosen are the online book stores of firstandecond.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and oxfordbookstore.com. These web sites have been chosen as to provide a wider perspective of online stores, since it incorporates the pioneer and the leader of online book stores amazon.com, a large publishing house in Barnes and Noble, a medium online retailer in Oxford Books, and a small book reseller in firstandsecond.com. The diversification of product range in the website of Amazon.com is wide, so that the website no longer resembles an online book seller, but an online store that caters to books, entertainment products and a range of other products. In a similar manner there is product diversification with Barnes and Noble into entertainment products. On the other hand there is no product diversification with Oxford Books and firstandsecond.com. Due to the product diversification in with Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, there is more clustering in the main page of the website, and so the design of the website Oxford Books or firstansdsecond.com for product display is more suitable for the web site to be developed. In both these sites the central section of the first page carries product promotion message and below that are clear images of the products on offer, with a peel in facility for more details on the products, which includes the price. This enables a customer to get more information on the range of products available before exercising a buy option. On the left are options that enable a customer to gain more insight into the company, its history and policies and the like. On the right side of the first page are promotion information like promotional offers on products, new arrivals and specific topics on which books are available. In all these web sites the option for multiple purchases exists and so there is a shopping cart to which the products chosen can be added and the list of

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 24

Case Study Example It commanded 7.6% of the market. Secondly, according to the case, Eskimo pie had at least one of its products in 98% of the grocery stores located across the United States. As such, this has considerable implications in determining the worth of Eskimo pie. Therefore, Eskimo’s market presence and market share across the United States commands a better higher price than what is estimated by Goldman. Having a larger market share and presence in any industry gives the company an edge over its competitors. Therefore, it should deserve and attract a higher premium than what was offered by Goldman and Nestle. Past performance is vital when estimating the value of Eskimo pie. Since 1987, the company’s net sales increased by over 50 % ((17198-30769) Ã · 30, 769). Subsequently, profits of the company increased by over 1300% over the same period ((2526-171) Ã ·171). This is according to the data depicted in Exhibit 1. There are many reasons a company might want to acquire another company. The primary reason nestle wanted to acquire Eskimo Pie was to possess and establish a stronger and robust position or presence in the frozen novelty market. According to the case, nestle owns drumsticks. I can take this to mean that maybe nestle owns other frozen novelties, but the case does not specify or mention any. By purchasing Eskimo pie, nestle would be a frontrunner in the industry by having a larger presence. There are potential synergies to be gained from acquiring Eskimo pie. This is because of the involvement of nestle in the frozen novelties too. In my opinion, Eskimo is worth more to nestle as an acquisition than as a stand-alone company. This is due to the following reasons. Most of the workforce and management of Eskimo pie would not be needed in order to avoid duplication of duties. Since the products of Eskimo and nestle target and go to the same market, the distribution costs of nestle would b e nearly eliminated. Additionally, the marketing expenditure will drop. I

Corporate Social Responsibility In Smrt Corporation Management Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility In Smrt Corporation Management Essay This report is written and compound to discuss Corporate Social Responsibility in the worldwide international company. Corporate Social Responsibility is the adoption by a business of a strategic focus for fulfilling the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities expected of it by its stakeholders (Thorne, Ferrell, Ferrell, 2008, p. 5). The key stakeholders of an organization consist of employees, customers, investors, suppliers, stockholders, governments, as well as communities. SMRT Corporation Ltd (SMRT) is one of the company that implements Corporate Social Responsibility in their company. SMRT is Singapores premier multi-modal public transport service provider which established in 1987. Corporate governance is one of the most important aspect in Corporate Social Responsibility. The Board and Management of SMRT are fully committed to continually raising the standard of corporate governance and to build a respected, trusted and transparent organisation which is essential to sustainability of the companys business and performance. Some of the sustained programme that has been made by SMRT to enhance and improve the lives and welfare of the community are corporate philanthropy, environment, community outreach, as well as safety and security. 2. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility is the adoption by a business of a strategic focus for fulfilling the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities expected of it by its stakeholders (Thorne, Ferrell, Ferrell, 2008, p. 5). The key stakeholders of an organization consist of employees, customers, investors, suppliers, stockholders, governments, as well as communities. Nowadays, the awareness and implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in Singapore has been increased since the establishment of Singapore Compact in January 2005. Singapore Compact is a national society that functions as multi-stakeholder platform in recognising the role and contributions of all Corporate Social Responsibility stakeholders. SMRT Corporation Ltd (SMRT) is one of the company that implements Corporate Social Responsibility in their company. SMRT is Singapores premier multi-modal public transport service provider which established in 1987. This report is written and compound based on the company background of SMRT, corporate social responsibility by SMRT which includes corporate philanthropy, environment, community outreach, safety and security, as well as current issue in market and media. 3. Company Background SMRT Corporation Ltd (SMRT) is Singapores premier multi-modal public transport service provider offering integrated transport services island-wide. Established in 1987, SMRT provides Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), bus services, as well as rental of taxis. In addition, SMRT leases the commercial spaces and provides advertising buying service within their network. Singapore MRT Ltd started operating the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL) of Singapores first Mass Rapid Transit System in the 1987. Singapore LRT Pte Ltd was set up in 1997 and two years later, became the first operator for Singapores pioneer Light Rapid Transit System in Bukit Panjang (BPLRT). SMRT Corporation Ltd has been listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX) since 26 July 2000. As a holding company, it wholly owns SMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT Trains), formerly known as Singapore MRT Ltd, and SMRT Light Rail Pte Ltd (SMRT Light Rail), formerly known as Singapore LRT Pte Ltd. SMRT Trains has commenced operations of Circle Line Stage 3 in May 2009 and Stages 1 and 2 in April 2010. In December 2001, SMRT Corporation Ltd acquired SMRT Road Holdings Ltd (formerly known as TIBS Holdings Ltd) for $198.6 million and became Singapores first multi-modal land transport operator, providing bus and taxi services in addition to its MRT and LRT services. SMRT Buses Ltd (SMRT Buses) and SMRT Taxis Pte Ltd (SMRT Taxis) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of SMRT Road Holdings Ltd. 4. Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the formal system of oversight, accountability, and control for organizational decisions and resources. Oversight relates to a system of checks and balances that limits employees and managers opportunities to deviate from policies and codes of conduct. Accountability relates to how well the content of workplace decisions is aligned with a firms stated strategic direction. Control involves the process of auditing and improving organizational decisions and actions (Thorne, Ferrell, Ferrell, 2008, p. 75). Corporate governance is one of the most important aspect in Corporate Social Responsibility. The Board and Management of SMRT are fully committed to continually raising the standard of corporate governance and to build a respected, trusted and transparent organisation which is essential to sustainability of the companys business and performance. For its efforts to achieve the excellent corporate governance, SMRT received some of the corporate awards such as Best Investor Relations (Silver) and Best Annual Report 2009 (Bronze) at Singapore Corporate Awards 2010, second place in Business Times Governance and Transparency Index 2010, Best Managed Board (Gold) and Best Annual Report 2008 (Bronze) at Singapore Corporate Awards 2009, Board Diversity Award (Co-Winner) at Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) Investors Choice Awards 2009, first place in Corporate Governance Award in the Mainboard category at Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) Investors Choice Awards 2008, and more. 5. Corporate Social Responsibility by SMRT Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means that a corporation should be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, their communities, and the environment. It implies that harm to people and society should be acknowledged and corrected if at all possible. It may require a company to forgo some profits if its social impacts seriously hurt some of its stakeholders or if its funds can be used to have a positive social impact (Post, Lawrence, Weber, 2001, p. 58). SMRT believes that their success has to be channeled towards the greater good of the community. SMRT Corporate Social Responsibility programme sets out to make a positive impact on the economic, social and environmental well being of the communities that they serve. Some of the sustained programme that has been made by SMRT to enhance and improve the lives and welfare of the community are: 5.1 Corporate Philanthropy Corporate philanthropy has become important as companies are expected to do more than just give back to the community. SMRT corporate philanthropy programme is directed at voluntary welfare organisations, national events, education, sports, arts and the environment. In Financial Year 2006, SMRT made community contributions totalling S$3.18 million in cash contributions and sponsorships such as media space and corporate gifts. Some others of the philanthropic contributions that have done by SMRT are: SMRT Silver Tribute Fund The SMRT Silver Tribute Fund (Fund) is SMRTs biggest corporate social responsibility initiative to-date. SMRT Silver Tribute Fund was launched in December 2006 as a holistic corporate philanthropy and community outreach effort. All money raised by SMRT Silver Tribute Fund will go towards the six beneficiaries such as: Alzheimers Disease Association   Specialised Caregiver Support Service (Dementia), Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centers -Ang Mo Kio Yio Chu Kang Community Carers Scheme, Asian Womens Welfare Association AWWA READYCARE Centre, Geylang East Home for the Aged (GEHA), Singapore Leprosy Relief Association Home, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital Community Charity Fund   Helping Elderly Patients Programme.   Donations and media support for National Day Parade and support of the birthday celebrations in various ways including provision of a SMRT Train for Singapore Express, a community project which brought together 12,000 Primary Five students from 42 schools island-wide to design National Day decorations for public transport and bus stop shelters. Train ride for 200 disabled persons to promote community awareness of the unique needs of the disabled. Sponsorship of three SMRT buses as exhibition space for exhibits on environmental care for the Marine Parade Town Councils Clean, Green and Hygiene Carnival. Donation of a de-registered SMRT taxi to Alexandra Hospital for its Car Transfer Rehabilitation Programme. Partnership with the National Council of Social Services for the Disability Awareness Public Education Campaign. 5.2 Environment SMRT is committed to be an industry leader in environmental stewardship. SMRT prioritize and responsible to contribute to create a cleaner and greener environment. To embrace environmentally-friendly policies and practices in their business, operations and infrastructure, SMRT launched SMRT is Green in April 2008. SMRT make a conscious effort to adopt green practices in their operations in terms of energy, water, air and waste management. With all their concern and hard work to preserve the environment, SMRT received some awards for their contribution such as Most Energy Efficient Metro award at The Metros Award 2010, Top Achiever, Singapore Environmental Achievement Award 08/09 from the Singapore Environmental Council, two awards at the Land Transport Excellence Awards (LTEA) 2010 as the Most Eco-Friendly Transport Partner and the Most Creative Promotion/Campaign, and many others. 5.3 Community Outreach SMRT is active in outreach programmes that add colour and vibrancy to community while promoting the SMRT brand name. These programmes have been done to entertain, educate and inform to the public through their transport network. Some of the programmes are: SMRT Courtesy and Safety Programme This annual programme serves to remind commuters to adopt safe and well-mannered behaviour while in transit. The highlight of the programme is the SMRT Challenge. Courtesy and safety messages were also publicised via action packed road shows at our train stations, publicity posters, as well as through an art competition for children. SMRT and National Library Board (NLB) Read and Ride Programme The magic of books come alive for children of the Internet generation on MRT train. This partnership with NLB is complemented by the annual SMRT Tales on the Trains. These are story-telling sessions on board SMRT trains and are held during the school holidays. Hui Chun at SMRT MRT Stations SMRT transform one of their stations into a place of celebration to spread festive cheer among their commuters every year. SMRT are always joined by calligraphers and artists from the Life Art Society who will give out auspicious couplets and brush paintings, all of which are completed on the spot. 5.4 Safety and Security Safety and security is the top priority and the forefront of SMRT business and operations. To encourage and train the community to play a more active and effective role in enhancing safety and security in the public transport system, SMRT make a programme which is called by SMRT Community Emergency Preparedness (SCEP). The SCEP is the first integrated transport security training programme by a public transport service provider and is develop as a Public-Private-People (3P) partnership, in collaboration with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Ministry of Home Affairs Home Team departments. The registration to join the SCEP programme is free and all the participants will undergo three hours of theory and four hours of practical lessons. 5.5 Current Issue in Market and Media In order to celebrate World Environment Day, SMRT launched its third Go Green with SMRT public transport education campaign on 5 June 2010. The campaign, which runs till 30 September 2010, highlights the benefits of taking the train and bus better air quality, reduction in carbon emissions and lower carbon footprint per passenger kilometre. The campaign which promotes public transport for cleaner air and better health launched with giveaway of 300 limited edition travel passes to commuters who wear special badges and pledge to add public transport into their travel mix. The 300 limited edition travel passes are on top of the monthly draw (3-month free rides for 1 on SMRT trains and buses) and grand draw prizes (1-year free rides for 4 on SMRT trains and buses). 6. Conclusion Nowadays, majority companies implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a form of their commitment to take care of the community and environment. SMRT Corporation Ltd is one of the company which implements CSR programme. With the implementation of CSR in their company means that SMRT is the company which is responsible for the welfare of the community and environment. One of the CSR programme that has been done by SMRT is committed to a clean and green environment by using environmental friendly fuel. Other CSR programmes are including corporate philanthropy, community outreach, as well as safety and security.

Generous Generosity

Generous is an adjective frequently adopted by poets; generosity is a virtue greatly valued by nobilities; generous generosity is a depiction historically inherited by generations. I am always wondering that how does ‘generosity’ develop its personal charisma to attract so much attention? Is it possible to decode its mystery by tracing the origin of ‘generous’?Browsing through books, I discovered that some clues keep emerging. From a historic perspective, tracing word’s development back in time shows that in many cases what are now separate lexical items were formerly identical words. The deep prehistory of language has nurtured little word-seeds that over the millennia have proliferated into widely differentiated families of vocabulary. ‘Generous’ is a word of no exception.Originally, it was a derivative of genus in the sense â€Å"birth, stock, race,† and harks back semantically to its ultimate source in the Indo-European base â €˜gen’ denoting ‘produce’. Its Germanic offshoots include kin, kind, and probably king, but for sheer numbers it is the Latin descendant genus â€Å"race, type†. It probably entered the language in the 16th century coming via Old French genereux from Latin generosus, which originally meant â€Å"of noble birth† (a sense which survived in English into the late 17th century – Richard Knolles, for instance, in his General history of the Turks 1603, wrote of â€Å"many knights of generous extraction’).Years of evolution witness the moderate changes in the meaning of â€Å"generous†, and its semantic progression from ‘nobly born’ through ‘noble-minded, magnanimous’ to ‘liberal in giving’ impresses me while reading classics. In the field of literature, ‘generous’ enjoys a great rate of exposure. Let alone other authors, solely William Shakespeare used it for at least dozen times. Its first appearance was in Love’s Labour’s Lost, a work of Shakespeare’s early comedy.For instance, in scene one the fifth Actï ¼Å'a humorous dialogue conducted between the egg-headed Holofernes and Armado: Armado: Sir, it is the King’s most sweet pleasure and affection to congratulate the Princess at her pavilion, in the posteriors of this day; which the rude multitude call the afternoon. Holofernes: The posterior of the day, most generous sir, is liable, congruent, and measurable, for the afternoon. The word is well cull’d, chose, sweet, and apt, I do assure you, sir, I do assure. Under this circumstance, generous is an expression of nobility. As for a noble man, soul of innate generosity, every task is gracious and magnificent as well as every utterance.However, when this word was spoken by the bookish Hologernes, it sounded like a cheap flattery rather than a sincere approbation. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, generous was endowed wi th a new meaning, namely, kind giving. In scene two the fifth Act, Holofernes shouted that â€Å"This is not generous, not gentle, not humble† when he was roughly treated by courtiers. The above context reflects that generous stresses warm hearted readiness to give and demonstrates kindness to others in want of helps. Through Shakespeare’s interpretation, a generous sir can be defined as a well born person characterized by a noble spirit; generosity means the quality of being liberal and magnanimous.In addition, according to Alexander Pope 1, many people are capable of doing a wise thing, more a cunning thing, but very few a generous thing. What Pope intended to convey was that doing generous things demands lofty characters and unconditional dedication. Hovering in my mind, generous incorporates kind, wise and noble. Sometimes, the generous giving of ourselves can produce the generous harvest. Sometimes, barely detectable as it is, generosity can change someone elseâ⠂¬â„¢s life forever. Generous generosity is the most enchanting expression in English language, and the greatest wisdom cherished by civilized society, which urges people to do the generous deed, and to carry on the virtue of generosity.

“If I Could Tell You” W.H. Auden

â€Å"If I Could Tell You† Analysis In â€Å"If I Could Tell You† W. H. Auden uses personification, repetition and imagery in order to prove the point; you must live your life like you do not have time left. Auden gives a vast setting over all. There are two main characters; Auden and time. The dialogue is in first person and he is speaking to some one he cares about. Auden uses personification to give life to time. This shows how time is the keeper of our destiny. He personifies time because he does not know how to reply to the subject of the poem.Which is, we do not know what will happen in the future only time know. With line 1 he goes â€Å"Time will say nothing but I told you so†. He says this to prove time knows everthing but time can not tell you. Auden uses repetition to bring a structure to the poem. Auden repeats the lines. â€Å"If I could tell you I would let you know† and â€Å"Time will say nothing but I told you so†. thoes lines are e mphasized in this poem to repeat the true meaning; which is about life and time. That is why he repeats the word time, like in line 1, to stress its importance and how it separates the two lovers.He only mentions â€Å"love† once on line eight; but it suggests time's supremacy over love. Though he still feels the emotion. He is trying to tell the person he is talking to that if you wait for things to happen life will pass you by, suggested in the last stanza † Suppose the lions all get up and go, and all the brooks and soldiers run away; time will say nothing but I told you so. † Auden uses imagery to paint the story of life in your mind. This poem uses a lot of imagery to paint a picture of life in your mind. Lines such as: † If we should weep when clowns put on their show. â€Å"If we should stumble when musicians play† â€Å"The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,There must be reason why the leaves decay;† â€Å"Perhaps the roses really want to grow,† â€Å"Suppose the lions all get up and go,And the brooks and soldiers run away;†. All of these lines suggest time can really be a harsh thingand how life can push you dow. But with the line † Because I love you more then I can say† this suggests that the world still has love to offer but time can just get in the way of love and life. W. H Auden was a wonderful writer with his words of imagery, repatition and his personification.