Fantasy V Reality †Streetcar Named Desire Essay

Fantasy v reality Remember: AO1 communicate clearly the knowledge, understanding and insight appropriate to literary study, using appropriate terminology and accurate and coherent written expression. DuBois World * â€Å"old south† mindset * Aging Southern belle who lives in a state of perpetual panic about her fading beauty * Beginning she was half sane, then contributing people drive her to insanity. * Loss of reality, represents fantasy * â€Å"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your mindset.† * â€Å"It wouldn’t be make believe if you believed in me† – Scene 7 * Story of a changing South containing characters struggling with the loss of aristocracy to the new American immigrant, the fallout of chivalry to a new mind-set of sex and desire, and a woman grasping desperately at the last bit of fantasy she can muster. DuBois World * â€Å"old south† mindset * Aging Southern belle who lives in a state of perpetual panic about her fading beauty * Beginning she was half sane, then contributing people drive her to insanity. * Loss of reality, represents fantasy * â€Å"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your mindset.† * â€Å"It wouldn’t be make believe if you believed in me† – Scene 7 * Story of a changing South containing characters struggling with the loss of aristocracy to the new American immigrant, the fallout of chivalry to a new mind-set of sex and desire, and a woman grasping desperately at the last bit of fantasy she can muster. The structure of A Streetcar Named Desire is best seen through a series of confrontations between Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. In the first scene the confrontation is not so severe, but it increases in severity until one of the two must be destroyed. To understand fully the scenes of confrontations, the reader should have a good understanding of what is at stake in each encounter. That is, he should understand some of the differences between the DuBois world and the Kowalski world. Kowalski World * â€Å"new south† mindset * Beastly, Stanley possesses an animalistic physical vigor that is evident in his love of work, of fighting, and of sex * Represents reality * â€Å"He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! There’s even something sub-human — something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something — ape-like about him, like one of those pictures I’ve seen in — anthropological studies.With his Polish ancestry, he represents the new, heterogeneous America† – Scene 4 (Blanche) * Destroys Blanche’s fantasy Kowalski World * â€Å"new south† mindset * Beastly, Stanley possesses an animalistic physical vigor that is evident in his love of work, of fighting, and of sex * Represents reality * â€Å"He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! There’s even something sub-human — something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something — ape-like about him, like one of those pictures I’ve seen in — anthropological studies.With his Polish ancestry, he represents the new, heterogeneous America† – Scene 4 (Blanche) * Destroys Blanche’s fantasy Exploration of boundary between exterior and interior sets. Two room Kowalski apartment reflects surrounding streets. Scene 10: grotesque menacing shapes, jungle noises and distorted music are employed to reflect Blanche’s terror. Scenes 10 and 11: The use of distorted shapes and jungle cries as symbols of human cruelty. Scene 9: We hear the vendor’s cry of the Mexican Woman, â€Å"Flores, flores para los muertos† (flowers, flowers for the dead). It follows the moment when Mitch denounces Blanche as a liar and thereupon refuses to marry her. Blanche and Stella have huge dependence on male companions as it is their only way to achieve happiness (their sustenance and self image are reflected through men) Scene 4 Blanche recognises that Stella could be happier without the abusive husband for support, but this is hypocritical as she calls Shep Huntleigh for financial support. Stella chooses Stanley for love – Williams does not criticize but makes it clear that there is a FUTURE with him. A Streetcar Named Desire Plot Analysis Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice. Initial Situation â€Å"Meat!† Yes, that’s right – the early interactions between Stella and her husband constitute the initial situation of A Streetcar Named Desire. It’s important for us as the reader/audience to see the status quo of the Kowalski’s relationship before Blanche shows up and alters it for the duration of the play. Conflict Blanche arrives; something is up The immediate physical incongruity of Blanche and her surroundings lets us know that she isn’t going to fit in well here in New Orleans. Her first conversation with Stella hints at secrets she’s trying to hide. And her first encounter with Stanley is wrought with tension, sexual and otherwise. All the news of the loss of Belle Reve doesn’t help, either. Complication Blanche’s relationship with Stanley grows more and more antagonistic, especially as Stanley learns more about Blanche’s past in Laurel. Blanche and Stanley’s relationship grows more and more difficult, with Blanche constantly insulting him, and Stanley becoming more angry and aggressive. Stanley also learns about Blanche’s secret past, which he informs Stella and Mitch of. These multiple, small complications are what modern writer and essayist John Barth calls â€Å"incremental perturbations† – the water gets muddier bit by bit as the play progresses, and every new complication adds a layer of intensity and emotional weight to the story. Climax Scene Ten – the rape Did you notice that Stanley says to Blanche, â€Å"We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!†? We know that 1) Stanley doesn’t like Blanche, 2) he takes out his anger physically, and 3) he’s practically defined by his sexual aggression. This scene seems the inevitable result of their increasingly antagonistic relationship. Suspense Already happened In this play, the suspense stage can be found in Scene Ten with the Climax. The suspense builds as we watch Blanche interact with Stanley, make a frantic phone call, declare repeatedly that she’s â€Å"caught in a trap,† and try to run away. Once the rape is over, we enter Scene Eleven without further suspense. Denouement Scene Eleven With the rape and the birth of Stella and Stanley’s child over and done with, the play’s final scene has â€Å"falling action† written all over it. Blanche’s descent into madness is complete, and we’re now looking at the aftermath to the destruction that took place at the earlier climax. Conclusion Stanley and Stella on the porch together Stella’s reaction to Blanche’s condition and story regarding her husband, and her decision to carry on her marriage in spite of it, constitute the play’s conclusion. This is summed up nicely in the image of her sitting on the porch with her baby in her arms, accepting comfort from her husband after her sister’s just been carted off to an institution. Dialogue Scene 9: â€Å"when I die, I’m going to die on the Sea.† – showing how after everything Blanche is accused of and put through, her fantasy is to be by the sea, washed clean and tranquil. Scene 9: â€Å"die..hand in hand of some nice- looking ship’s doctor, a very young one..† – Again, Blanche has always fantasized over young men, there are many references to Blanche and young men throughout the play. Scene 9: â€Å"I don’t want realism, I want magic. Magic.† – Throughout the play Blanche is the symbol of Fantasy. She dislikes the way things are in reality, and so let’s herself live in her own dream world. Scene 4: â€Å"He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one!† – Blanche likes to think of people in a more outworldy way. She tries to justify the way Stanley is by saying he’s just not human. Stage directions Scene 7: Contrapuntal staging – irony with Blanches singing and Stanley’s gossiping. â€Å"it wouldn’t be make believe, unless you believe in me† – Blanches fairy like songs , bringing her back to her dream world, wanting to escape from reality. The music of the ‘Blue Piano’. – every now and then Blanche breaks through her fantasy world and into reality again, this is shown when the ‘blue piano’ plays. It is a memory of her dead husband, and the way that he died. From Blanche’s reaction towards the music playing, we can tell it is a memory she wishes to forget: ‘she sways and covers her face’, ‘the polka tune fades out. Her breath is drawn and released in long, grateful sobs.’ Bibliography: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/streetcar/themes.html Blue piano, magic AO3 perspectives and viewpoints: * Marxist viewpoint: Looking at the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, it can be analysed through a Marxist perspective, reading into how the class struggle throughout the play is prominent in establishing Blanche’s role. Blanche and Stella are from a well off background, a plantation called â€Å"belle reve†. Stella has lived in New Orleans and has adapted well to the unfair male structure of the world she lives in, however the arrival of Blanche attempts to undo this with her intellect. However, even Blanche herself unable to break free from the convention of being second class citizen due to her status as a female, despite being intellectually superior to the males. The class struggle between Blanche and Stanley is a key focus point throughout the play, with Blanche looking down on Stanley, constantly referring to him as a â€Å"polack†, a derogatory term she uses to set her superiority amongst him. This however backfire massively as it causes huge tensions between Stanley and Blanche, ending once the rape of Blanche has been successfully attempted. This can show in William’s point of view how despite room for change, the American 1940s is not ready for equality and change, with the class perspective overruling equality. Ironically in the Marxist viewpoint, equality should be achieved by all in a socialist society; A Streetcar Named Desire elaborates on how the ideas of class equality is nothing more than a pipedream which cannot be attempted nor achieved in the dense capitalist America the play is set in. It can be further extrapolated to assume that Williams’ play is one to show the bitter struggle between fantasy and reality, with Marxism being the fantasy which cannot be achieved. * Queer theory viewpoint: Links can be established with William’s own gay perspective of his personal life, uses the play a streetcar named desire to show the oppression he himself faces through being a gay man in the American 1940s; it was considered an illegal immoral activity, and so he could not openly state his personal life. Through using blanche he portrays his own fractured psyche, linking his oppression as a homosexual to the oppression she faces in the misogynistic structure of America at that time. Whilst a time of change many things were still suppressed, with homosexuals and females being considered to be lower class than men, even males with a lower class background than the females. This can link well with how Blanche is treated during the play, despite coming from a higher class than the men of the play, she herself is supressed in her activities, and is considered mentally incapable and weak by the male characters as the play progresses. It can be inferred that Williams uses the female characters of the play to convey his own sense of inferiority during the American 1940s. Williams’ ideas of fantasy versus reality feature prominently though the ‘queer’ perspective; he clearly shows Blanche’s own broken mind, elaborating by the end how she sees â€Å"lurid reflections appear on the walls in odd, sinuous shapes†. This can be seen as Blanche’s own struggle with fantasy versus reality, unable to distinguish the two. AO4 Other work: The themes of Streetcar are typical of Williams work. The idea of feeling trapped in a fantasy world, much like in ‘The Glass Menagerie’. The contrast in gender, woman feeling much more insecure about the reality of the outside work than the men of the plays was a common idea for many of Williams’ plays. The themes of fantasy in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ are also similar to those of ‘Summer and Smoke.’ The sexual and spiritual characteristics of Blanche are much like that of the character Alma in ‘Summer and Smoke’ Williams’ personal life: Williams sister was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and he remained close with her throughout his life. It can be inferred that this greatly influenced the ideas of mental illness’s being basis for fantastical elements within his plays. In the late 1930s Williams accepted he was homosexual, this was a crime during his period in which he lived in. this mean that Williams arguably included the idea of homosexuality in many of his plays as a way of escaping the troubles of his personal life. For example it is suggested that Blanche’s young lover who ended his life in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ was homosexual. Historical background: ‘The American Dream’ was a key idea in the US during the 1940’s as it was soon after ‘The Great Depression’ This dream is often mentioned throughout the play, the name of Blache and Stellas old house being ‘Belle Reve’ translating to ‘beautiful dream’

“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley Essay

â€Å"Ozymandias† (pron.: /ËÅ'É’ziˈmà ¦ndiÉ™s/,[2] also pronounced with four syllables in order to fit the poem’s meter) is a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, published in 1818 in the 11 January issue of The Examiner in London. It is frequently anthologised and is probably Shelley’s most famous short poem. It was written in competition with his friend Horace Smith, who wrote another sonnet entitled â€Å"Ozymandias† seen below. In addition to the power of its themes and imagery, the poem is notable for its virtuosic diction. The rhyme scheme of the sonnet is unusual and creates a sinuous and interwoven effect. Contents 1 Analysis 2 Publication history 3 Smith’s poem 4 Cultural influence 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links [edit]Analysis 1817 draft by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Bodleian Library Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1817 fair copy, Bodleian Library The central theme of â€Å"Ozymandias† is the inevitable decline of all leaders, and of the empires they build, however mighty in their own time. The ‘Younger Memnon’ statue of Ramesses II in the British Museum thought to have inspired the poem Ozymandias represents a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses’ throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re. The sonnet paraphrases the inscription on the base of the statue, given by Diodorus Siculus in his Bibliotheca historica, as â€Å"King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works.†[5][6] Shelley’s poem is often said to have been inspired by the 1821 arrival in London of a colossal statue of Ramesses II, acquired for the British Museum by the Italian adventurer Giovanni Belzoni in 1816. Rodenbeck and Chaney, however,[8] point out that the poem was written and  published before the statue arrived in Britain, and thus that Shelley could not have seen it. Its repute in Western Europe preceded its actual arrival in Britain (Napoleon had previously made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire it for France, for example), and thus it may have been its repute or news of its imminent arrival rather than seeing the statue itself which provided the inspiration. The 2008 edition of the travel guide Lonely Planet’s guide to Egypt says that the poem was inspired by the fallen statue of Ramesses II at the Ramesseum, a memorial temple built by Ramesses at Thebes, near Luxor in Upper Egypt. This statue, however, does not have â€Å"two vast and trunkless legs of stone†, nor does it have a â€Å"shattered visage† with a â€Å"frown / And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command.† Nor does the base of the statue at Thebes have any inscription, although Ramesses’s cartouche is inscribed on the statue itself. Among the earlier senses of the verb â€Å"to mock† is â€Å"to fashion an imitation of reality† (as in â€Å"a mock-up†),[10] but by Shelley’s day the current sense â€Å"to ridicule† (especially by mimicking) had come to the fore. This sonnet is often incorrectly quoted or reproduced.[11] The most common misquotation – â€Å"Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!† – replaces the correct â€Å"on† with â€Å"upon†, thus turning the regular decasyllabic (iambic pentameter) verse into an 11-syllable line. Publication history Both Percy Bysshe Shelley and Horace Smith submitted a sonnet on the subject to The Examiner published by Leigh Hunt in London. Shelley’s was published on January 11, 1818 under the pen name Glirastes, appearing on page 24 under Original Poetry. Smith’s was published, with the initials H.S., on February 1, 1818. Shelley’s poem was later republished under the title â€Å"Sonnet. Ozymandias† in his 1819 collection Rosalind and Helen, A Modern Eclogue; with Other Poems by Charles and James Ollier and in the 1826 Miscellaneous and Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley by William Benbow, both in London. Smith’s poem IN Egypt’s sandy silence, all alone, Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws The only shadow that the Desert knows:— â€Å"I am great OZYMANDIAS,† saith the stone, â€Å"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows â€Å"The wonders of my hand.†Ã¢â‚¬â€ The City’s gone,— Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose The site of this forgotten Babylon. We wonder,—and some Hunter may express Wonder like ours, when thro’ the wilderness Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace, He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess What powerful but unrecorded race Once dwelt in that annihilated place. – Horace Smith.[13] Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote this poem in competition with his friend Horace Smith, who published his sonnet a month after Shelley’s in the same magazine.[14] It takes the same subject, tells the same story, and makes a similar moral point, but one related more directly to modernity, ending by imagining a hunter of the future looking in wonder on the ruins of an annihilated London. It was originally published under the same title as Shelley’s verse; but in later collections Smith retitled it â€Å"On A Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Inserted Below†. Cultural influence The poem has made numerous appearances in popular culture, and has significantly influenced the production of new creative works. For example, Terry Carr’s science fiction short story Ozymandias was inspired by the poem, as was the song Ozymandias by Jean-Jacques Burnel. Edward Elgar began setting the poem to music, but never finished it. The best-known setting appears to be that in Russian for baritone by the Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshynsky. On television, Monty Python’s Flying Circus featured a humorous parody named â€Å"Ozymandias, King of Ants†, and the Beauty and the Beast episode titled Ozymandias included a reading of the entire poem. Writer Alan Moore named a superhero in the comic book miniseries Watchmen after Ozymandias, and overtly quoted the poem; and the alternative rock group Sisters of Mercy wrote the song Ozymandias which appeared on the B side of the 1987 single Dominion/Mother Russia from the album Floodland.  Short excerpts of the poem, or references to its title, have appeared in a variety of other contexts including the set for the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games on 12 August 2012.

Foreign Literature Essay

Youth marketing is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 12 to 34. More specifically, there is the tween marketing, targeting people in the 8 to 12 year-old range, teen marketing, targeting people age 13 to 19, college marketing, targeting college-age consumers, typically ages 18 to 23, young adult marketing, targeting young professionals, typically ages 22 and above The youth market is critical because of the demographic’s buying power and its members’ influence on the spending of family members. In addition, teens and young adults often set trends that are adopted by other demographic groups. The youth market is viewed as a difficult group to connect with and sell to, based on the fragmented media landscape and young people’s keen ability to identify and reject marketing messages that lack credibility. Nonetheless, many brands market to youth by offering relevant products and services while communicating a brand message in an appropriate voice and tone. Successful brands marketing to youth have a foundation in or association with key interests and drivers among youth: music, sports, fashion, video gaming and technology, among others. While frowned upon for preteens and younger teens, another common way advertisers target the older youth market is through product placement. Product placement occurs when a brand name product appears in a medium not necessarily related to the product itself. Companies often pay for their products to be placed in a movie or on a television show. This act, while not an overt form of advertising, seeks to target youth in a subtle manner. Youth marketing strategies commonly include television advertising, magazine advertising and online marketing. Today young people expect to be able to learn about, interact and be entertained with brands or services targeting them online. Other common youth marketing tactics include entertainment marketing, music marketing, sports marketing, event marketing, viral marketing, school and college programs, product sampling and influencer marketing. Examples of brands embraced by youth and used as examples in marketing cases are: Vans Footwear, it used youth marketing tactics to grow from a niche sneaker brand to a successful international business and Mountain Dew, a well- known soft drink brand that expanded market share through youth marketing tactics in the 1990s. Consumer behavior and attitude towards youth marketing This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (February 2012) Since the 1980s, the marketing industry has seen an increase in research as well as an increase in spending. The marketing industry’s budget in 1992 was $6 billion and by 2003 this figure had risen to an estimated[by whom?] $15 billion in marketing efforts. According to Tim Kasser of Knox College, there is little that is known about youth marketing opinion. He states that since the late 1990s there have only been two large-scale opinion surveys conducted. The first of these surveys was sponsored by Center for a New American Dream, which consisted of 400 random parents nationwide. The second was sponsored by power exchange and took its survey participants from people who make a living off of youth marketing. The purpose of this survey was to assess a participant’s attitude towards a variety of youth marketing issues. Respondents to the survey were asked a range of questions regarding the ethics of youth marketing. The public opinion on youth marketing ethics according to this survey was mostly negative. An overwhelming 78% of respondents agreed that the current practices used in youth marketing were harmful to children, whereas 3.7% believed that the current practices were fine the way they were, while the remaining 85.1% didn’t believe that youth marketing had any ethics. The results of this survey shed light on youth marketing’s pros and cons. But this survey has shown that respondents clearly view the current tactics being used as potentially harmful and in need of structure.[citation needed] By the end of this survey, Tim Kasser concluded that a large portion of respondents to his survey felt that youth marketing morals were unacceptable and that they contributed to a range of youth-oriented problems. Also he found that marketing that took place in public schools was unacceptable and that governmental regulations should be put in place to prevent marketing groups from advertising to eight-year-olds. Even though this is just the tip of the iceberg,[according to whom?] talks on youth marketing have been ongoing; there have been few changes to policy or law in regards to marketing to youth. The results of the survey done by Tim Kasser suggest that people are ready to change public policy and legal initiatives in regards to these issues.[2] Youth trends On the other end of the youth marketing spectrum, you[who?] could say that the traditional definition of â€Å"youth† doesn’t really exist. This assumption was based upon consumer behavior in a study done by Viacom Brand Solutions International called the â€Å"Golden Age of Youth†. This case study was designed to focus on adults from 18 to 34 years old who primarily delayed their adult responsibilities in favor of staying younger in all aspects of life. According to this study, 16- to 19-year-olds are considered to be going through the discovery period. As people grow older they usually phase out of the discovery period and into the experimentation period, when they hit the age range of 20 to 24 years old. Usually those that don’t fit into the groups above are part of the golden category, which consists of anyone 24 to 34. Some of the key results that were produced from this case study were that 24–34-year-olds usually don’t respond to the same marketing techniques as teens and those that think so are being fooled, whereas in reality only 8% in the study were actually true teenagers. It also showed that the golden youth were the happiest out of all the categories and drawn towards expensive brands compared to teens. Based on the categories provided by Viacom and the results of the case study, it goes to show that over 52% of adults from 25 to 34 still have a lot of growing up to do. Youth trends are part of an environment pertaining to information that we[who?] know as youth marketing and is rapidly evolving and is interconnected with the evolution of transmission systems and content quality.[citation needed] It is easy to give very little weight to these new trends that are evolving in this information environment, but these changes should not be taken lightly[according to whom?] because it will affect how youth communicate and absorb this information. These changes can easily be shown through various media such as smart phones or social networking sites like Facebook, allowing youth marketing to occur on a sensory level. Morals and education of marketers: Youth marketing is under increased scrutiny by many public-oriented establishments such as government agencies, academia, and the media.[citation needed] The increased inquiry into the marketing industry has occurred because of the increased commercialism towards kids and marketing in schools. These are just a few of the ideas that have become more saturated in mainstream society.[citation needed] Recently[when?] in youth marketing there has been much information and misinformation on this topic despite the issue of youth marketing. In regards to the public opinion of youth marketing, one side that has not been represented is that of the youth marketing industry. This point of view is crucial[according to whom?] to understanding the basics to making positive progress on issues related to youth marketing. John C. Geraci, who wrote the article â€Å"What do youth marketers think of selling to kids?†, gives an insight as to the mindset of those working in this industry by conducting an online polling. This polling consisted of 878 interviews each around 30 minutes. The interview covered topics such as educational background to ethics in youth marketing. According to the polling, those that work in youth-oriented careers are 92% more likely to have a four-year degree and less likely to have academic skills specifically for dealing with children. Most of these people also feel that the ethical standards are on par with other industries. But at the same time they feel that ethics can be a matter of intentions and not results. Usually companies will invest time in producing ad campaigns and products to make sure they are suitable for a youth-oriented market, which means that these ideas can easily be turned over because they are deemed not suitable. In addition, they usually spend large sums of money on market research to ensure products have some educational value for youth and are acceptable to those buying the products.[citation needed] Most ethical procedures in the youth marketing industry occur behind office walls and are usually not seen by the public, media, or politicians, which means that problems that arise with youth marketing don’t originate from the people creating the ads but are the result of multiple causes. For example, childhood obesity has not been caused by one ad or product brought out by a marketing company. But it is a health concern that has developed due to multiple factors, that influence how the public reacts to certain ads and products brought out by these companies. Youth consumer behavior The Internet has ushered in a new digital media culture that allows different forms of media to converge. What once used to be multiple separate devices such as a telephone, television, or computer are now able to converge as one form of technology. Smart phones are the perfect example[according to whom?] of this hybrid technology that the new digital media culture has ushered in. As early adopters of new technologies, the youth in many ways are the defining users of the digital media that are embracing this new culture. â€Å"The burgeoning digital marketplace has spawned a new generation of market research companies which are introducing an entire lexicon of marketing concepts (e.g., â€Å"viral marketing,† â€Å"discovery marketing†) to describe some of the unorthodox methods for influencing brand loyalty and purchasing decisions.† The research that is done on youth marketing quickly becomes outdated by the time it’s published as a result of the growth of digital media as educators and health professionals continue to get a grasp on the situation. Youth advertising is an important determinant of consumer behavior; it has been shown to have an influence on a youths’ product preference and purchase requests. There are some scientists[who?] that believe studying youth consumer behavior is a negative thing because it impacts their beliefs, values, and moral judgments. They argue this because they believe that youth are more influenced by advertising messages than adults are. Advertising impacts usually are conducted by focusing on three specific effects: cognitive, behavioral, and affective. Usually cognitive effect studies are more focused on children’s abilities to distinguish commercials from reality and their ability to understand the difference between the two. When cognitive studies are being done they will follow Piaget’s theory to track the concrete development of children. Piaget’s theory is divided into stages; these stages are known as the pre-operational and concrete operational stage. The first stage focuses on the age group of 2- to 7-year-olds whereas the second focuses on 7- to 12-year-olds. On the other hand, there are some scientists[who?] that believe youth marketing is a good thing because it helps to define who they are as a consumer. On that note, it has been proven that requests by youth for advertised products decrease as they mature (1,14,24,26). Youth-oriented audiences tend to become more critical about their purchases and less susceptible to media advertising as they grow up. Gender also tends to have a role in a youth’s thought process when requesting an advertised product. In most cases, boys are more persistent in their requests than girls. Other factors that may co-determine children’s consumer behavior include socioeconomic level of the family, frequency and kind of parent–child interaction, and involvement with peer groups. These are just a few of the issues regarding youth consumer behavior and it is not going on in just our country[clarification needed] but in other countries as well such as the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a perfect example[according to whom?] to show how youth marketing is viewed in another country. In the Netherlands youth advertising may not mislead about characteristics or the price of the product in addition to this products aimed at children cannot have too much authority or trust amongst children. But there are loopholes in the way the Netherlands protects children from direct youth marketing. These loopholes usually question concepts such as â€Å"misleading†, â€Å"authority†, and â€Å"trust†. Social responsibility and how it affects consumer behavior Studies of social adolescents in social marketing media are usually concerned with activities that have heavy consequences. For example things like smoking, violent entertainment, alcohol abuse, and fast food consumption are all things that are negatively going to affect a young consumer’s consumption behavior. Recently though the de-marketing of these harmful behaviors has started to occur slowly over the years, the focus of social and youth marketing has shifted from reinforcing positive behavior in favor of discouraging abusive behaviors. Since social and youth marketing are trying to head in this direction it indicates to the industry that youth marketing can be used for positive benefits. For example, rather than just a company associating itself with a non-profit or global aid organization is easy to understand. But youth more often than not want to actively get engaged in experiences that directly affect the world such as world hunger for example. Which indicates that companies should not just associate themselves with non-profit but actually offer their own non-profit experiences that young consumers can get involved with. Overall this idea and how it relates to youth marketing might seem a bit abstract[according to whom?] but it potentially links to a young consumer’s behavior. This idea of creating cause-related experiences is important for the industry to take note of when it comes to youth marketing. By influencing a young consumer view of a specific company as a well known supporter of a positive non-profit can create brand loyalty beyond traditional brand utilities. This loyalty to the brand in a sense makes the volunteer or youth-oriented customer are aiding in the production of more loyal customers to the brand. In the long run, these non-effort opportunities can become embedded in a generation and become self-producing for the company as long as they maintain the events that cause consumer loyalty. Real-world examples In order to understand the public’s opinion on youth marketing, one must be able to understand the experiences that each generation has been exposed to while growing up. Generation Y is very similar to the baby boomer generation especially at different points in life. So it is essential to see what experiences each generation has experienced while growing up. But different formative experiences affect each person of Generation Y. For example, the events that made the biggest impression on members of Generation Y who graduated from school in 2000 were Columbine, the war in Kosovo, and Princess Diana’s death.[8] Targeting the Demographic Social Status and Brand Loyalty Products and brands with Social Power encompass the notion that â€Å"Corporate cool hunters are searching for teens that have the respect, trust, and admiration of their friends.† The American Psychological Association said, â€Å"Advertisers understand the teen’s desire to be â€Å"cool,† and manipulate it to sell their wares, a concept that’s been offered to marketers by psychologists including James McNeal, PhD. Marketers assume a silent role as manipulators and the role they manage to play is not only in the purchases of teens but also in the social statuses of teens. A key aspect to youth marketing or any targeted demographic marketing is that these products are supposed to fulfill the needs or desires of the consumer. A large portion of sales promotion is dedicated to accomplishing this. However, according to Ainsworth Anthony Bailey of University of Toledo in â€Å"The Interplay of Social Influence and Nature of Fulfillment: Effects on Consumer Attitudes,† not much of this research has focused on non-fulfillment of promotional promises which in turn, breaks the trust of the consumer and hurts the entire image of the brand and its product. The role of brand loyalty and/or belonging to a brand becomes a primary act for the young consumers. Promotion is always positive; commodities are presented as the road to happiness. In short, advertising uses existing values and symbols rather than reflecting them. Child psychologist, Allen Kanner states that, â€Å"The problem, is that marketers manipulate that attraction, encouraging teens to use materialistic values to define who they are and aren’t.† It’s key that we acknowledge the need for teens to not only identify but to let the brand identify them. It’s what feeds into the notion that Marketing and Branding effects teen consumerism. Salancik & Pfeffer’s (1978) Social information processing theory addresses mechanisms by which peers influence individuals’ behavior and attitudes. According to this theory, social information consists of comments and observations made by people whose views an individual considers relevant. The literature on social influence suggests that this could impact consumers’ perceptions. Classroom According to the Media Awareness Network, a huge space where young adults can be targeted is in the setting of education or classroom. Whether it be through sponsored health educational assemblies, or as simple as the vending machines in the lunch room, or contests/incentive programs, and the companies that supply the schools with new technologies such as Mac computers. The academic setting becomes a prime marketing tool in reaching our youth because the classroom provides a captive audience for any product or brand to be modeled in front of. One example that the Media Awareness Network provides to explain how the academic environment can be used to silently speak and market to the youth is contests and incentive programs like the Pizza Hut reading incentives program in which children receive certificates for free pizza if they achieve a monthly reading goal. Similarly, Campbell’s Labels for Education project, in which Campbell provides educational resources for schools in exchange for soup labels collected by students. Internet According to the director of Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive, â€Å"This is a medium for advertisers that is unprecedented†¦ there’s probably no other product or service that we can think of that is like it in terms of capturing kids’ interest.† Advertisers reach the young demographic by eliciting personal information. It’s as easy as getting them to fill out quick, simple surveys prior to playing these games. They offer prizes such as T-shirts for filling in â€Å"lengthy profiles that ask for purchasing behavior, preferences and information on other family members.† Advertisers, then take the information they obtain from these polls and surveys to â€Å"craft individualized messages and ads† in order to draw and hook them into a world centered around a certain product or brand. The ads that surround the individual in these â€Å"cyber worlds† are meant to keep a firm grip on each individual. It provides the setting for them to be completely consumed by the advertisers messages, products, and brands around them. These games are not just games. They’re â€Å"advergames†, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports for â€Å"Gotta Have It: The Hard Sell To Kids.† Advergames allow for marketers to incorporate brands and products into a game-like setting where the child playing it, is exposed constantly to these brands and products. A 10-year old girl who was interviewed by CBS, says she can score with Skittles, race with Chips Ahoy or hang out with SpongeBob. â€Å"You think about that 30-second commercial, basically a lot of those games are pretty fun to play and kids really get engaged in them,† Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, a group that has successfully pushed for limits on TV advertising to kids, says. â€Å"So really it ends up becoming a 30-minute commercial.† Kids in an Adult World The influence that our youth have on purchases made in a household are extremely high, shockingly, even on high-end items such as what vehicle the family decides to purchase. For example, one study estimated that children influenced $9 billion worth of car sales in 1994. One car dealer explains: â€Å"Sometimes, the child literally is our customer. I have watched the child pick out the car.†[12] According to, James U. McNeal, author of â€Å"Kids as Customers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children,† car manufacturers cannot afford to ignore the children in their marketing. Nissan is one of many companies know to do this. They sponsor the American Youth Soccer Organization and a traveling geography exhibit in order to promote and get eyes on their brand name and logo in child-friendly settings. There’s analysis of the process of the development of a child and how it relates to how marketers know they can have a great deal of power in the field of persuasion on them at such young ages. At the age of five or six, children have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality and make-believe from lying. They do not distinguish programs from ads, and may even prefer the ads. Between seven and ten years-old, children are most vulnerable to â€Å"televised manipulation†. At age seven, the child can usually distinguish reality from fantasy, and at nine, he or she might suspect deception. This could come from any personal experience where products have turned out not to be as advertised. However, they cannot fully decipher this logic and continue to have â€Å"high hopes† for future products produced by a particular brand. By the age of ten, the individual starts to have a cynical perception of ads, in that â€Å"ads always lie†. Around eleven or twelve, a toleration of adults lying in advertisements starts to develop. At this stage, it’s the true coming of the adolescent’s â€Å"enculturation† into a system of social hypocrisy. Product Placement Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured. Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, there are various other factors influencing the purchases of consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological. The explanation of these factors is given below. 1. Cultural Factors Consumer behavior is deeply influenced by cultural factors such as: buyer culture, subculture, and social class. Culture Basically, culture is the part of every society and is the important cause of person wants and behavior. The influence of culture on buying behavior varies from country to country therefore marketers have to be very careful in analyzing the culture of different groups, regions or even countries. Subculture Each culture contains different subcultures such as religions, nationalities, geographic regions, racial groups etc. Marketers can use these groups by segmenting the market into various small portions. For example marketers can design products according to the needs of a particular geographic group. Social Class Every society possesses some form of social class which is important to the marketers because the buying behavior of people in a given social class is similar. In this way marketing activities could be tailored according to different social classes. Here we should note that social class is not only determined by income but there are various other factors as well such as: wealth, education, occupation etc. 2. Social Factors Social factors also impact the buying behavior of consumers. The important social factors are: reference groups, family, role and status. Reference Groups Reference groups have potential in forming a person attitude or behavior. The impact of reference groups varies across products and brands. For example if the product is visible such as dress, shoes, car etc then the influence of reference groups will be high. Reference groups also include opinion leader (a person who influences other because of his special skill, knowledge or other characteristics). Family Buyer behavior is strongly influenced by the member of a family. Therefore marketers are trying to find the roles and influence of the husband, wife and children. If the buying decision of a particular product is influenced by wife then the marketers will try to target the women in their advertisement. Here we should note that buying roles change with change in consumer lifestyles. Roles and Status Each person possesses different roles and status in the society depending upon the groups, clubs, family, organization etc. to which he belongs. For example a woman is working in an organization as finance manager. Now she is playing two roles, one of finance manager and other of mother. Therefore her buying decisions will be influenced by her role and status. 3. Personal Factors Personal factors can also affect the consumer behavior. Some of the important personal factors that influence the buying behavior are: lifestyle, economic situation, occupation, age, personality and self concept. Age Age and life-cycle have potential impact on the consumer buying behavior. It is obvious that the consumers change the purchase of goods and services with the passage of time. Family life-cycle consists of different stages such young singles, married couples, unmarried couples etc which help marketers to develop appropriate products for each stage. Occupation The occupation of a person has significant impact on his buying behavior. For example a marketing manager of an organization will try to purchase business suits, whereas a low level worker in the same organization will purchase rugged work clothes. Economic Situation Consumer economic situation has great influence on his buying behavior. If the income and savings of a customer is high then he will purchase more expensive products. On the other hand, a person with low income and savings will purchase inexpensive products. Lifestyle Lifestyle of customers is another import factor affecting the consumer buying behavior. Lifestyle refers to the way a person lives in a society and is expressed by the things in his/her surroundings. It is determined by customer interests, opinions, activities etc and shapes his whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world. Personality Personality changes from person to person, time to time and place to place. Therefore it can greatly influence the buying behavior of customers. Actually, Personality is not what one wears; rather it is the totality of behavior of a man in different circumstances. It has different characteristics such as: dominance, aggressiveness, self-confidence etc which can be useful to determine the consumer behavior for particular product or service. 4. Psychological Factors There are four important psychological factors affecting the consumer buying behavior. These are: perception, motivation, learning, beliefs and attitudes. Motivation The level of motivation also affects the buying behavior of customers. Every person has different needs such as physiological needs, biological needs, social needs etc. The nature of the needs is that, some of them are most pressing while others are least pressing. Therefore a need becomes a motive when it is more pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction. Perception Selecting, organizing and interpreting information in a way to produce a meaningful experience of the world is called perception. There are three different perceptual processes which are selective attention, selective distortion and selective retention. In case of selective attention, marketers try to attract the customer attention. Whereas, in case of selective distortion, customers try to interpret the information in a way that will support what the customers already believe. Similarly, in case of selective retention, marketers try to retain information that supports their beliefs. Beliefs and Attitudes Customer possesses specific belief and attitude towards various products. Since such beliefs and attitudes make up brand image and affect consumer buying behavior therefore marketers are interested in them. Marketers can change the beliefs and attitudes of customers by launching special campaigns in this regard. View as multi-pages

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Symbolic interactionism is based on three basic premises: First that people react to the environment based on those values symbols, that they have in the environment. Second, these values (means of connection of events and characters) are the product of the social everyday interpersonal relations interactions. And finally, the socio-cultural values are subject to change as a result of individual perception within such interactions. (West, 2010) That is why   I and others form a unified whole, like society, which is the sum of the behaviors of its constituent members, but which imposes social restrictions on individual behavior.  Although theoretically it is possible to separate I from the society, interactionism comes from the fact that the first understanding is connected with an equally deep understanding of the second in terms of their interdependent relationship. Representatives of symbolic interactionism emphasizes that people are social creatures.  However, unlike ants, bees, termites and other insects leading a public life, people almost do not have the innate models of behaviors, that connect them with each other.  If we have essentially no inherent nature of the mechanisms of social behavior, how can society be?  Representatives of symbolic interactionism find the answer in the ability of people to communicate through symbols. (West, 2010) In the theory of symbolic interactionism a sign is any element of the medium, which is another element in this environment.  The signs are of two types: firstly, it is natural signs (such as discoloration of leaves), which represent something else (like the arrival of autumn); second are artificial signs, elements that were created (such as a flag) to represent something else in the social world, for example, patriotism and duty.  These artificial signs are only effective if people agree on their meaning, so that  they are interactive: two or more people must agree to continue to react to this sign in relatively constant manner. It is also necessary to distinguish signals from symbols: signals are artificial marks, providing a predictable reaction (such as traffic signals); and symbols are artificial marks that have no definite reactions (a flag).  Thus, the signals are used for regulatory policy of normative behavior in the society, and symbols are used to facilitate communicative behavior. Historical development of the Theory As a broad theory, symbolic interactionism appeared in the 20-s of XX century, in the Chicago school, its founder was an American sociologist George Mead.   George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is an American sociologist and social psychologist, who is considered a true founder of symbolic interactionism.  Mead was known in his lifetime as a gifted lecturer, and author of numerous articles, publication and republication of his lectures and articles, as well as the fundamental work Mind, Self and Society (1934) brought him international fame.  He has developed a theory that explains the essence of the individuals perception of other individuals, and developed the concept of generalized other that is to some extent complementary to the theory of specular I.   In accordance with the concept of I, Mead believed that the emergence of human self as a holistic mental phenomena, in essence, is nothing else but social process inside the individual, in which he first pointed by I conscious and  I-like-object.  Further, Mead suggested that through the assimilation of culture (as a complex set of characters that share common values for all members of society,) the person is able to predict the behavior of another person and how this other person is predicting own behavior. According to Mead, I-as-object is something that people can call their own.  In this area, James identifies four components and arranges them in order of importance: the spiritual self, material self, social self and physical self. Another American philosopher and psychologist, who first began to develop a responsive self-concept was William James (1842-1910). James has made the first and very profound concept of personal I, considered in the context of self-knowledge, and he conjectured that the dual nature of the integral I, with many of his statements concerning the descriptive, and emotional evaluation of categorical I, anticipated the later developments of the idea of I-concept. (Meltzer 1975) As for other concepts of symbolic interactionism, we can name an American sociologist and social psychologist Herbert Blumer, who was a representative of the Chicago school of interactionism, referring to the second generation of symbolic interactionism, founded by J. Mead.  He further developed the original framework of symbolic interactionism. Bloomer was the first who interested in the problem of mass society. According to Blumer Symbolic interactionism rests on three basic premises: People are more likely to act according to the values that they attach to objects and events, rather than just react to external stimuli, such as social forces.  Symbolic interactionism suggests determinism of values. Values are not just fixed and formulated in advance, but more often are created and change in interactive situations. Values are the result of interpretations that took place in interactive contexts. (Nelson 1998) Significant attention in his works Blumer paid to collective behavior of people. Basis of collective behavior are common values, expectations, which are separated by a group of individuals.  However, it often can be observed a spontaneous collective behavior, like overflowing passion, panic, etc.  This behavior occurs in violation of established values, habitual forms of existence. Blumer distinguishes those forms of spontaneous behavior (such as Pounding, Collective excitation, Social  Infection), which under certain conditions can lead to new forms of group and institutional behavior: Acting crowd (a spontaneously formed group, without common values and expectations, there is no recognized leadership) Expressive crowd (emotional groups carnivals, ritual dance) Mass crowd (spontaneous collective grouping of people who are excited with some event) Public (spontaneous collective group, but in public individuals interact with each other, demonstrate the rational, critical action). (Nelson 1998) Although Mead has first formulated his ideas in 1930, symbolic interactionism has become an important part of the study equations of mass communication only in 1970, 1980.  Since Meade made emphasis on interpersonal interaction and not interested in media, it is not surprising that theorists of mass communication rather slow realized the relevance of his ideas in their research. Symbolic interactionism as the direction is not uniform, as it is possible to distinguish at least two schools.  The first is the so-called Chicago School led by one of the prominent scientists Cove J., Mead H., Bloomer.  This school continues to socio-psychological tradition of Mead in the most orthodox way.  It is opposed to the another Iowa school of symbolic interaction-mechanism, headed by M. Kuhn professor at the University of Iowa. This school is trying to modify several individual Meads concepts in the spirit of neo-positivism.  The main difference between these schools are in methodological issues, primarily in the definition of concepts and relationships to various methods of socio-psycho-logical investigation.   Among other representatives of the theory we can name Becker and Strauss members of the Chicago School of symbolic interactionism, who were interested in the procedural aspects of interaction.  Kuhn and Partlend are representatives of Iowa schools, and were more interested in stable symbolic structures.  To this generation also belongs K. Burke and Goffman, who explained social life as the realization of the metaphor of drama by analyzing the interaction in such terms as actor, mask, scene, script and so  on.  Moreover, Burke used the term theater, almost literally, while Hoffman was using theater and drama as metaspheres of society while preserving its spirit, but developing its own conceptual line. The modern theory of symbolic interactionism, as a direct expression of concepts of J. Mead, has practically the same advantages, shortcomings and contradictions of the J. Mead concept.  On the one hand, it is important to point interactionists effort to isolate the specific human traits in human behavior, the view on the individual as a social phenomenon, to find a socio-psychological mechanisms of identity formation in interaction with others in society, to stress active creative  personal traits of the individual.   However, the subjective idealist position of interactionists lead to the fact that all the social connections they see only in interpersonal communication, and while the analysis of communication they ignore the contents and the substantive work of individuals, not seeing that the process of formation of the personality includes not only the exchange of views, but more importantly, the exchange of activities. (Reynolds 1993) theory importance and Application The advantage of this approach is that it introduces people in the field of sociological research.  It directs attention to the activities of individuals in their daily lives and sees that people are not robots, mechanically carrying out the requirements of social rules and institutional norms, but leading the public life of beings with the ability to feel and think.  In the interaction they operate with symbols and values which enable them to evaluate and interpret situations of social life, assess the advantages and disadvantages of certain actions and then choose one of them. Thus, representatives of symbolic interactionism suggest the image of man as an individual, actively forming his behavior, rather than passively reacting to external environment and structural constraints. However, the approach of symbolic interactionism has its weaknesses.  In everyday life people do not have complete freedom in forming and changing their actions.  Although representatives of symbolic interactionism recognize that many human actions are guided by the established systems of symbols and meanings, including culture and social system.  Critics argue that the theory of social interaction based on the symbols makes an excessive emphasis on short-term situations and exaggerates attention to transient, episodic and temporary. (Reynolds 1993) Thus, the theory is applied to describe and analyze human behavior, as through the process of socialization people can more or less consciously interpret stimuli and expected responses. Conclusion From the perspective of interactionists, human society is composed of individuals with personal I, who themselves form norms and values. Individual action is a construction, not just a commission, as it is carried by the individual using the estimation and interpretation of the situation in the social environment.  Personal I am can serve as a persons target for his actions.  Formation of values is presented as a set of actions in which the individual sees the object, gives it value, and decides to act on this matter.  Interpretation of the actions of another is a definition of the value of certain actions of others.  From the perspective of interactionists, an object is not just external stimulus, but something that distinguishes man from the outside world, giving him certain value.   This theory explains how individuals interact with the environment and how behave in the process of socialization.

The Factors Influencing Procurement Route Construction Essay

The Factors Influencing Procurement Route Construction Essay Recent developments in the field of construction have led to a renewed interest in procurement which helps us to induce the technical complexities by organizing and delivering the construction projects using various specialised methods towards the priorities of the client. In addition, it creates perfect relationship between many organizations working on the project regarding their responsibilities and risks. This paper attempts to report the Principal of Heriot Watt University (HWU) about the advanced procurement strategic approach for the new auditorium which is planned to build at the HWU with supremacy. However, it comprises of 200 comfortable tiered seating providing excellent visibility, high specification technology, multimedia theatre with air conditioning, a full size interactive screen and computer driven presentation facilities. 2.1 Assumptions It is required from the initial stage of the project which clearly paves the way for the satisfactory completion of the project. The following assumptions are considered in this report. Capital Cost Cash flow is energetic in the organisations which determine the size of the project which is considered primarily. Likewise, updated cost information was shared by the quantity surveyor to the client who correlates them to the contractor. Recent evidence suggests that during urgency the implication of cost is partially neglected whereas the initial cost and lifecycle cost is always preferred. Time The two main factors governing the time of the project are Design of the project and Methods adapted in the construction site by the contractor. Data from several sources identified that above features are considered accordingly to the clients priority. Quality Quality depends upon the materials used during construction permitting the design specifications. Lifecycle costing is reflected in the quality of the construction work used to reduce the maintenance and replacement cost leading to the better economics overall in the future. The principle of procurement is the eternal triangle which favours the client towards high quality, lowest cost and short time period. All the three factors are mutually concerned in a project if one is given high preference then the other two will suffer. Performance It mainly relies upon the designer who prepares the plan and structural designs for the project, essential for aesthetic appeal and eco-friendly. The choice of materials and the constructors plays the key role in performance and also for the future maintenance and refurbishments. Risk Factors The common risks faced during the construction projects are ground conditions, artificial obstructions and defectiveness in workmanship, material tests and samples, weather. In addition, delay and disputes from both the parties, unapproved payments and the discrepancies from the Government policies and Law arbitration. Planning à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Early acquisition planning is done to select the procurement route. Environment à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Sustainable environment is attained through planning Flexibility à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Changes can be done in the on-going project or in future 3.1 Procurement Strategy In general procurement is defined as the obtaining of goods and services[1] which in construction field refers to the construction materials, plant and services in order to design, schedule, manage, organize, execute and commission the project until delivering to the client. A variety of method have been developed and introduced to assess building through procurement which is obtained by group of multiple organizations experience and expertise. The procurement strategy describes the contribution that the effective procurement will make to the fulfilment of the organizations vision and strategic objectives [a]. Secondly, procurement strategy identifies the main objectives, constraints, funding, and risk and asset ownership of the project which later enhances to achieve the target of the client. Besides, it promotes high standards of professionalism and high quality of management information. Furthermore, reduction in cost is attained through aggregated purchasing power and minimizes the exposure through effective risk management. 3.2 Necessity for Procurement To achieve the value for money To coordinate smoothly with the organizations and to supply focus on chain management To obtain sustainability by making value for money decisions over the life of the asset and not solely on capital costs [b]. To 3.3 Procurement Routes The procurement routes are accomplished with great involvement and knowledge of the individuals and organizations who worked in the industries for years in distinct disciplines. Procurement route is defined as the systems and procedures for commissioning the work. This route is concerned mainly for the strategic approach of the project which simplifies the construction execution by coordinating with the specialist teams of the project. 3.4 Factors influencing Procurement Route Central to the entire discipline of the procurement is the concept of assessment about the ability of the economic operators of the project to satisfy the requisite of the client. The key aspects of this route are employers requirements, tender period/contractors proposals, selecting the specialised contractor and construction. Into the bargain, the following factors are also taken care in this method such as cost certainty, cost reduction, contract period, quality and standards, constructability and litigation. As well as this route is concerned it depends upon the cost and time of the project at the expense of quality which is well suited for perfect carriage of the project. Next, the factors which encourages this route are listed below [3] User familiarity with design and build procurement arrangements Preference of a client or consultant The desire for the single point responsibility for the client Greater certainty of outcomes, initially and in the longer term Despite the fact, follows the present guaranteed maximum price (GMP) which is prepared at the time of agreement and if the contractor finishes the work below GMP then remaining amount will be shared between the client and contractor in most case. Situations Where Design Build Arrangement Used Widely In the case of simple and standard forms of construction are required. Example: Warehouses Where the building needs only minimum architectural works. Example: Farm buildings Where proprietary system is used in buildings as it reduces the design and approval time. Example: Buildings with Automations (such as automatic doors) Where the projects requires local contractor specialists. Example: Specialised in Flooring and Masonry To execute Fast-track projects Example: Hospitals In projects where cost certainty is most preferred. Example: Housing Units 3.5 Types of Procurement Route There is a large volume of published studies describing the role of procurement route obligatory for producing the required project outcomes and have a profound effect towards finishing point. In general there are many procurement routes available which are listed as follows: Traditional / Conventional Design and Build / Package deal arrangement Construction Management Management Contracting Two stage tender Turnkey Public Private Partnership Framework Agreement PFI/PPP Even though there are many routes available, traditional, design build, construction management and management contracting are the major methods used generally. On the other hand, according to my opinion for this auditorium project we can adopt Design and Build route or Traditional route. 3.5.1 Traditional Procurement Route This is the standard method which is in practice for the past 150 years in the construction industry. In this route the client appoints the contractor, architect and consultants to guide the project from the initial stage to pursue perfection in planning and design. Furthermore, the client owns the whole responsibility of the design and project team. Here the contractor involved in the tendering documentation and negotiation processes of the proposed project. The valuation and payment in the administrative department is authorised by clients consultants. To put in a nut shell this method benefits the client in cost and quality with some expense of time. Nevertheless, can be used in a number of situations on the basis of pricing results in a lump sum contract, a measurement contract or a cost plus contract and whether the project is a single one project or a part of a program under single specific term[c]. Secondly, for instance with reference to the proposed auditorium project the three organisers consultants, architect and contractor are employed initially and the project thoroughly managed by the client from the preliminary works. 3.5.2 Construction Management Route 3.5.3 Design and Build Procurement Route The Design Build method is one of the more practical ways of client friendly approach used worldwide to take particularly when the buildings to be produced are either very specialised, and the contractor is an expert in that speciality or when they are generic[d]. Initially, the concept aimed to reduce the conflicts that exist between the architect and the contractor which resulting in poor reputation for the construction project and gave great assurance the timely completion of work at lower cost. However, the client needs to consider the trio of design, cost and quality of the project in advance before employing the contractor. Besides, the desires of the employer (client) is clearly proposed to the contractor to make him/her fully involved in the project including both design and accomplishment which encourages least involvement of the client. The nature of this procurement route is minimizing the design deviations from the original design which aids in cost and time saving for t he employer. Moreover, one major issue in early procurement research is concerned is the quality which is rapidly growing because this method is popularly expanding towards profitability. To gain more projects and profits the design build contractual firms are focusing deeply on the quality in addition to time and cost which is a positive result in favour of this method. The client gets the total financial commitment in advance before the work is initiated and then the contractor shields the complexity of the client in the construction. At first this method is characterised by the tender documents which is developed according to the clients requirements which is published to welcome the different proposals from the potential contractors with numerous quotes of project rates. The potential contractor who wins the tender, meeting the clients priorities will be employed by the client to develop design and complete the design proposals. Here, the contractor performs solely under the client towards t he start of the project by having his own design team and construction team. On the contrary, the contractor is wholly responsible for the design, construction planning, organization and control of the project and also he has the upper hand to engage subcontractors and the specialist sub-contractors for the project. In some case, the client may/may not seek consultant to guide and supervise the contractors work in the project. . Implementation of the Design Build Procurement route As far as the auditorium in the HWU is alarmed the major thing to be considered was the time and cost of the project. If the proposal is given by the contractor it should be performed within the certain time limit such as the project must be finished in between the summer holidays because the students shouldnt grieve from the construction activities. Moreover, the proposed project should not exceed the financial budget of the university. Therefore, design build procurement method is highly recommended for this project which augments the successful completion of the project. However, if the university requires a consultant they can seek help from the Built Environment faculties to oversee the project which saves the consultant cost for the university. Benefits of this route There are several benefits why this route is adopted for this project which are responsible for successful completion of the project on time and for perfect delivery. It follows the two phase selection process that narrows the field of the final proposers to those that are most highly qualified based on experience, capability and capacity[e]. The intricacy in the technical aspects is fully eliminated because the contractor (single authority) is answerable for all the issues faced in the design and building of the project. The work moves forward speedily as there is no need for tendering again for the buildings. Because this method the contractor can reassure the client regarding the financial help needed for the project, how to receive the funding from the lenders as he is aware and well experienced in the field There is no need that a client should be an experienced individual in the construction field as contractor hold the whole obligation. As the contractor is involved from the very beginning he can produce specialised construction knowledge and methods. There is a direct link between the client and the contract as there is an agreement signed before the start of the project. The time consumption is less in this route, as the traditional methods are eliminated in this process. As cost certainty is major concern for this route which benefits the client both economically and technically. There is a possibility of dropping pre tendering and initial tendering costs. The functional building at the reasonable cost can be achieved. As the contractor is in charge for all sub-contractor appointments the client can escape and escape from those burden. Also there are no claims for the contractor if he/she fails to meet the clients needs and has a delayed in time for completion. Following this method maximum risk is transferred, although commercial response in design in order to address contract conditions can result[d]. Many argue that this route agonises from lack of architectural merits, but the fact is it clearly benefits the client by disregarding the risks which arises from those designs. Criticism Faced in this Route Although this method has a huge number of benefits it also suffers from some common drawback such as, Since this route is using simplified construction formats and activities there might be reduction in design quality. Neglecting the innovative design is highly followed in this method which results in the discouragement of architects innovations. The contractors view is always on the capabilities of the firm instead of the requirements of the client. The aesthetic appearance of the project is surrendered towards the cost effective solutions and easy work executions. The long term life and maintenance of the building is not considered by the contractor because low cost budget. The influence of contractor over the quantity surveyor leads to some controversial happenings/activities at the time of payment approval. Bibliography Dunican Cartlidge (2009). Quantity Surveyors Pocket Book. Great Britain: Elsevier Ltd. 197. Allan Ashworth (2006). CONTRACTURAL PROCEDURES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited. 77.

Causes of Underage Drinking Essay -- Alcohol Drinking Binge Essays

Causes of Underage Drinking Today, many teenagers experience different things in the world. Whether it is their first date or first day in high school, teens are always eager to try something different or new. One of the things that teenagers try is drinking alcohol. Unfortunately, underage drinkers often abuse alcohol. In this paper, I will try to shed some light on some of the reasons why teenagers drink alcohol at such premature age. The causes of underage drinking include peer pressure, family problems, low self-esteem, and of course curiosity. Must students who enter college in the United States are about eighteen years of age. They find a new kind of freedom on college campuses away from the supervisory eyes of their parents being away from home gives these students the freedom to make their own decisions regarding school, their finances, and their social lives. Some students feel that they finally can do what ever they want including drinking alcohol even though they perfectly know that the drinking age in many states, including Texas, is twenty-one. According to Dr. Richard Yoast, Ama’s director of the office alcohol and other drug abuse, says that 80 percent of students have consumed more than a few sips of alcohol by the time they finish high school. â€Å"Among youth 12 to 20, an estimated 10.1 million used alcohol,† he says. â€Å"Of these, 6.8million were binge drinkers and 2.1 millions w ere heavy drinkers.† Dr. Yoast continues to illustrate the seriousness of the ...

The Importance of Work-Life Initiatives Essay -- Health & Wellness

Work causes stress. Both men and women are working, raising a family, and going to school. Previously, women in the work force take demotions or walk away from their careers’ when having children. Today, families rely on a dual income. With both parents working full time, while raising children, the relationship between work and home responsibilities are unbalanced. Subsequently, this unbalance creates stress for both the employee and the employer. Work-life balance is the need to provide a schedule that will combine work, family relationships, and leisure time into a satisfying life. Flexible work arrangements balance work and responsibility at home; which helps employees cope with stress, encourages smart work instead of hard work, and empowers them to make healthy decisions. Organizations need to assess workplace culture and provide mechanisms to support work-life balance that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and the employee. Individuals each have unique responsibilities that define the meaning of work-life balance. Employees in the workforce that fulfill family and work commitments have achieved a sense of work-life balance ("The business imperative," 2009). The distinction between work and personal life used to be clear. Today, personal commitments suffer for lack of time and energy. Unfortunately, the demands of work outweigh the demands at home, because without work the home does not exist. The unbalanced work-life creates negative and disengaged employees. It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone (Clifton & Rath, 2009). Organizations now realize their success directly relates to the morale of their empl... ...ght%20q2%202009.pdf McMahon, C., & Pocock, B. Australian Government, EOWA. (2011). Doing things differently: Case studies of work-life innovation in six Australian workplaces. Retrieved from http://www.eowa.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre/EOWA_Publications/University_of_SA_Case_Study/UniSA_Case%20Studies%20report_April2011.pdf Nixon, J. (n.d.). Work-life balance. In M. Simmering (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business (2nd ed. pp. Tr-Z). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Work-Life-Balance.html SHRM. (2011). Shrm research spotlight: Flexible work arrangements. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/11-workflexflier_final_rev.pdf Yasbek, P. (2004), The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature. Retrieved from http://w.iaa.govt.nz/PDFs/FirmLevelWLB.pdf The Importance of Work-Life Initiatives Essay -- Health & Wellness Work causes stress. Both men and women are working, raising a family, and going to school. Previously, women in the work force take demotions or walk away from their careers’ when having children. Today, families rely on a dual income. With both parents working full time, while raising children, the relationship between work and home responsibilities are unbalanced. Subsequently, this unbalance creates stress for both the employee and the employer. Work-life balance is the need to provide a schedule that will combine work, family relationships, and leisure time into a satisfying life. Flexible work arrangements balance work and responsibility at home; which helps employees cope with stress, encourages smart work instead of hard work, and empowers them to make healthy decisions. Organizations need to assess workplace culture and provide mechanisms to support work-life balance that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and the employee. Individuals each have unique responsibilities that define the meaning of work-life balance. Employees in the workforce that fulfill family and work commitments have achieved a sense of work-life balance ("The business imperative," 2009). The distinction between work and personal life used to be clear. Today, personal commitments suffer for lack of time and energy. Unfortunately, the demands of work outweigh the demands at home, because without work the home does not exist. The unbalanced work-life creates negative and disengaged employees. It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone (Clifton & Rath, 2009). Organizations now realize their success directly relates to the morale of their empl... ...ght%20q2%202009.pdf McMahon, C., & Pocock, B. Australian Government, EOWA. (2011). Doing things differently: Case studies of work-life innovation in six Australian workplaces. Retrieved from http://www.eowa.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre/EOWA_Publications/University_of_SA_Case_Study/UniSA_Case%20Studies%20report_April2011.pdf Nixon, J. (n.d.). Work-life balance. In M. Simmering (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business (2nd ed. pp. Tr-Z). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Work-Life-Balance.html SHRM. (2011). Shrm research spotlight: Flexible work arrangements. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/11-workflexflier_final_rev.pdf Yasbek, P. (2004), The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature. Retrieved from http://w.iaa.govt.nz/PDFs/FirmLevelWLB.pdf