How Can 1984 Be Read and Interpreted Differently?

How can a text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? 1984  by George Orwell (1949) is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers of the dangers of totalitarian government. The book can be read and interpreted very differently by two different readers, especially when they were born in a different time. In this essay the viewpoint of two Western readers, one from 1950 and the other from 2012 will be compared to look at the possible difference they could experience in interpreting the story.First of all, the fear of being watched and controlled is more recognizable for a reader in 1950. During World War II, the media was controlled by the Nazi’s. Radio’s for example, only transmitted positive news for Germany. In order to ensure nobody secretly listened to something else, houses were checked regularly. That was not only to see if people listened to an illegal radio-channel but also to see if they were hiding Jews. When they wer e founded guilty, they were send to a concentration camp immediately. In the book this is compared with Thought Crime and the Ministry of Love.P 21: theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always should you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother This is a quote from Winstons’ diary. Even writing something in his own private diary, in his own house is a crime since he didn’t obey Big Brother, the Party’s leader. The fact that he scribbled it down so quickly and full of mistakes shows the fear being caught and watched. Second of all, the concern of totalitarian governments was more relevant immediately after World War II.The reader in 1950 could easily recognize the similarities between the totalitarian government of Hitler and the totalitarian government described in 1984. Before World War II Germany was in an economic downturn. Hitler was a magnificent speaker who offered a reason for this occurring; he b lamed the Jews. No one wants to hear that the problem with their country are their own so the German accepted this as an answer. In Oceana the same happened: P 13: â€Å"The hate had started. As usual, the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, the enemy of the people, had flashed onto the screen. The leaders of The Party use the same way to gain power as Hitler did, so readers from 1950 are likely to . For readers in 1950 this is all fresh and easily recognizable and therefore more relevant than for readers from 2012. Lastly, the fear of being spied on and eavesdropped by telescreens and secret microphones was more realistic to a reader from 1950. That is because around 1950 more and more people started to own a television and therefore it became a real possibility that everybody’s house would have a telescreen one day. Nowadays this fear has become a reality, only in a different way.The government is able to control and check a lot of things through cameras and social media and there is little privacy. But to a reader from 2012 this is not strange or frightening, it is absolutely normal. For this reason you could say the actual fear is not realistic because a reader from 2012 doesn’t have to fear it anymore. To conclude, the fear a reader could experience while reading the book in 1950 is more realistic, more relevant and easier recognizable than the fear possibly experienced by a reader in 2012. Therefore, 1984 can be read and interpreted differently by two different readers who were born in a different time.

Oral history archive department in modern libraries, Essay

The main aim of the research is to discuss the uses and the value of an oral history archive department in modern libraries, especially British libraries and American ones which are pioneers in this domain. It has been realized or discovered that the oral history archive can be used to explain the concept or idea of windowing time in physical and digital libraries. Of late digital and oral history archive libraries carry a variety of useful information and documents that include the past and present ones. This paper therefore tries to view the use and the value of this kind of sound archive in which it is divided into main categories and subsections. The first section is the introductory part that tries to give a brief explanation about the oral history archive. There is a problem in question or objective, which touches on what is to be investigated that is the use of this archive. The hypotheses are also constructed to provide answers to the objectives of the research. The other areas include research context/literature review; methodology; work plan; recourses; ethics and conclusion. 1. Working Title The use and the value of an oral history archive department in Modern Libraries and Information Centres. 2. Introduction. Many scholars realized that Oral history archive libraries can be used to obtain information as fast as possible. According to Portelli (1998), the archive holds several hours of gramophone, films, audio, video and Compact Disks. The oral history archive has been of great help in various departments because instant information has been obtained through what is called oral debriefing. This is a situation whereby a comprehensive and condensed verbal testimony is obtained from individuals (Medical Tribune 2007). Other areas where the oral history archive has been applied include areas such as psychology, witness interrogation in criminal investigations, which occur in both oral and visual formats (Sangster 1998).The archive tentatively is currently being used to help in knowledge management especially when it comes to labor market. This is an area in commerce and industry where the changing labor market requires employees to shift from one position to another or from one job to another. As this happens there is loss of organizational memory, the so called the body of data and knowledge which is relevant to an individual organization’s existence (Perk and Thomson 1998 and Gregory 1991). These therefore are of the uses of oral history archive that make it become recognized as a powerful device or tool especially in Britain to capture the already existing institutional knowledge and information. Learning has been enhanced by the use of Oral history archive. The new curriculum requires students to have sound and good communication skills that prepare them to answers questions either during interviews as they look for jobs after schooling or in classroom (Rolph 1998). Criminal investigation department also employ the use of an Oral history archive when they are interrogating criminals. 3. Aims and objectives In this section, the paper discusses the problem in question or the objectives of carrying out the research. Oral history archive has been viewed as a unique and powerful tool by people. In order to clear this perception and make things more clear, this research paper tries to answer the question. The problem to be researched on is therefore the value and the use of an oral history archive in modern libraries and information centres and why people view it as a useful tool in modern libraries. The paper shall also look at the role, if any, of the information specialist of the future in an oral history department and the skills the information specialist must have to operate in such a department. Besides, the paper shall also look at and address the question of how interviewing targets are chosen by the oral history department, how expensive it is to put up an oral history department from scratch at the various libraries, why people view it as a useful tool in the modern libraries and the skills that are required by an information specialist in order for him/her to be able to operate in the department. Today, many educationists are being encouraged to introduce oral history as a powerful tool for serious scholarships in all universities in order to encourage learning. However, there are a number of universities that have introduced and developed extensive collections of oral history while others have not realized the usefulness of the library. For example; Harvard, Princeton and University of California have taken the lead in the development and introduction of oral history archive (Gowers 2006). In addition, the university libraries mentioned above in this domain have operated smoothly from 1955, the British Library has been the pioneer for a lot of researchers of this topic. The reason is simple. The Sound Archive Department of British Library at the present time holds over a million discs, One hundred and eighty five thousand audio tapes, and a lot of video and sound records. These collections which include written literature, dramatized stuff, and music recordings plus sounds of wildlife are collected from across the world. They entail cylindrical equipment created in the nineteenth century to the most recent Compact Disks, Digital Versatile Disk and mini discs. 4. Scope and Definition In order to discover the use and the value of an oral history archive department and to create a sensible project in range and time, the scope of the project will focus mainly on the opinions of curators, librarians and others who are working in this sector. It is important though to be aware that this will emphasize basically on personal viewpoints and changing theories and therefore might not provide a perfect answer. It will also be necessary for the research to stay neutral and determined on the questioners and not go beyond the objectives set as those working in these departments will be more involved with the issues concerning their departments than be drawn to the personal issues. 5. Literature Review The literature review section tries to look at what other scholars have discussed about the same topic to be researched on. This is very important since it avoids or solves cases of duplication of other people’s work. Since other people or scholars at one time had realized the importance of Oral history archive in the modern libraries, it is therefore in order to access their ideas on the topic. The oral history archive has been viewed as a useful tool in a number of areas such as psychotherapy, witness interrogation in crime investigation and learning institutions that are provided in both oral and visual formats (Rolph 1998, Gregory 1991, Parker 1999 and Sarah 2004). According to Ritchie (2003), oral history has useful information or materials that are often ignored by librarians. This is also sometimes overlooked in relation to cost value calculation (Swain 2003). The archive has played a key role in helping in audio collection, attitude and value clarification as well as necessitating multi-media approach to learning (Christel 2006 and Thomson 2000). The most obvious area where oral history archive has been used according to Perks and Thompson (1998) is in learning institutions. This is a case where a tape recorder is used in classrooms to help students understand the concept being taught in class room. However, it has been noticed that a tape recorder has not been effectively and efficiently used as compared to the use of movie, slide or overhead projectors (Lukenbill 2002). One advantage when one uses a tape recorder is that it can be stopped anytime especially when the instructor wants to emphasize important points or to allow urgent questions arising (Thompson 2000). Tapes can also be replayed to enhance re-examining or revisiting and requesting of any order that is desirable. Proper understanding of the lesson is therefore emphasized. Since the new curriculum requires students to have skills in understanding comprehension, analysis and evaluation. Oral history has been of great use to check and examine all these concepts. It is also noted that oral communication skills are very important when it comes to times of interviews where questions are phrased (Swain 2003). The interviewer and the interviewee have to be clear and precise especially in calling for specific information. The questions asked especially during the interviews need also to be answered in the most accurate manner as possible (Ritchie 2003). According to Perks and Thompson (1998), accuracy actually plays a major role in interviews and this can be facilitated by the use of oral history archive. The concept is also emphasized by Seale (2004). As a way of facilitating learning, oral history archive through the use of tapes has facilitated immediate feedback during teaching in schools. This has been done in connection with other secondary sources like books more so in secondary schools. Students’ needs are addressed as soon as possible. This rules out cases of negative delays which is commonly experienced in the traditional scholarly research where numerous collections are required (Thompson 2000). A good teacher who knows how to use tapes only needs to locate appropriate tapes in which he is expected to prepare summarized notes according to students’ understanding. This should be done after testing the entry behavior of the students before opting to use the tapes for instruction (Parker 1999). Oral history archive has also been helpful in clinical libraries (Schacher 2001). Clinicians when giving psychotherapy to patients who are mentally disturbed have used the information contained in the Oral history archive. Such patients may be suffering from Schizophrenia or psychosis (Schacher 2001 and Thompson 2000). As patients talk about their illness the clinician is able to come up with appropriate measures to provide assistance.

History of Real Madrid Cf

Martin Torrijos 12th Grade English November 21, 2012 Real Madrid FC Real Madrid Football Club is one of the oldest, most successful clubs in the world. Ever since its inception in 1902, the club has won countless titles, and has been a perennial contender for its entire existence. Many of the sport’s biggest, most notorious legends have worn the pure white uniforms that have become synonymous with the team. With a history of excellence, and a winning tradition that continues to this day, Real Madrid’s already unbelievable legacy looks to become even greater with the passage of time.This incredible club was founded on March 6th 1902 as â€Å"Sociedad de Madrid FC, and its first ever president was Mr. Juan Padros. In one of the first team meetings, the board agreed to the dress team white shirts, with matching shirts and socks, as a tribute to one of his favorite football clubs (Corinthia of London). This decision inadvertently led to the creation of one of football†™s most iconic looks, the pure white Real Madrid home kits. In the very same year that the club was founded, it won its first championship, the â€Å"Campeonato Regional Central† (Central Regional Championship).Two years later, On May 21, 1904; Madrid FC participated in the founding of FIFA (the international federation that, to this day, is still the central governing body of the sport), with the federations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland (and their respective top clubs) all present. Decades later, on June 29, 1920; the club received a letter from the King Alfonso XIII of Spain granting them the title of a â€Å"royal†, a distinction that very few Spanish clubs can boast.Not even some of the country’s most successful clubs (Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Atletico de Madrid; for example) share the distinction of being â€Å"royal† clubs. Since then, the club has utilized its present name, Real Madrid Club de Fu tbol. In the same decade that they were declared football royalty, they participated in the inaugural league championship of Spain in 1929, where it finished in second place behind their soon-to-be lifelong rivals F. C. Barcelona. The following season the club began a tradition of spending made many signings, including goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora, for whom they paid 150,000 pesetas to Espanyol.Despite the large investment, Real Madrid had a discrete participation and came nowhere near winning the title. In 1931, with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, Real Madrid was stripped of the title of â€Å"Royal† and renamed to Madrid Football Club again. The club, however, further invested on players and obtained League 1931/32, the first in Madrid, undefeated. The success was repeated in the 1932/33 season, with Brazilian Olivares consecrated as the first big-name scorer of the team.The first era of Real Madrid-style success soon ensued, and the club won three consecuti ve leagues (1933-34, 1934-35 and 1935-36), and were also cup winners in 1934 and 1936 after beating Valencia C. F. and F. C. Barcelona respectively. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War sports activities were suspended from 1936 to 1939. After the end of the political turmoil in Spain, the club regained its title of â€Å"Royal†. The war, however, left Real Madrid without several of their stars, so they decided to hire many players, including Sabino Barinaga, a world class midfielder who arrived from Southampton FC in England.On September 15, 1943 ex-player and former coach Santiago Bernabeu was unanimously named club president, ushering in a prosperous stage of the club’s history. This move allowed Real Madrid get the â€Å"bicampeonato†, winning both the league and domestic cup, in 1946 and1947. The club, however, suffered such poor results during the 1948-49 campaign that league winning coach Quincoces Jacinto, with just one year in office, resigned fro m his post midway through the season.In January 1948 Michael English relieved Quincoces, and managed to save the team from descending into the â€Å"Segunda Division†, the second tier league of Spanish football, which sends its top three teams into the first division while receiving the bottom three from the â€Å"Primera Division†. Although English had stars like the great Pahino at his disposal, the â€Å"Merengues† spent the next few years in mediocrity and finishing mid-table. On March 6, 1952, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its founding, the team hosted an international friendly tournament , where they lost the final ost to Club Deportivo Los Millonarios from Colombia. Despite the loss, the club spotted Argentine player Alfredo di Stefano and hired him from Millonarios in 1953, along and Spaniard Francisco Gento from Racing de Santander. This signing proved to be excellent, as Di Stefano would lead Madrid to an era of absolute success, and is still regarded as one of the top five players to ever play for Madrid. With â€Å"Pahino† Molowny, Di Stefano and Gento, the â€Å"Merengues† got the 1953-54 league title, after a 21 year dry spell. Di Stefano was crowned top scorer of the tournament, a feat that he would repeat four more times in Madrid.Under the direction of Spanish coach Jose Villalonga, and with a team of players like Juan Alonso, â€Å"Marquitos† Rafael Lesmes, Miguel Munoz, Jose Maria Zarraga, â€Å"Joseito† Alfredo di Stefano, Hector Rial and Francisco Gento, Real Madrid conquered 1954-55 and 1956-57 league. They also participated in the first two editions of the European Cup, which they won by beating Stade de Rennes in the French league in the Parc des Princes and ACF Fiorentina of Serie A D’Italia in the Santiago Bernabeu, respectively, in the 1955-56 and 1956-57 editions.Argentina’s Luis Carniglia relieved Villalonga, and, with the additions of Raymond Kopa, Jose Santam aria and Ferenc Puskas; the team won the 1957-58 European Cup, and beat AC Milan and Rennes in the finals of the â€Å"Coup d’Europe† in 1958 and 1959, respectively. Following years of Di Stefano-led success, the club began a new era in 1966. Madrid gave relief to the old idols of Madrid with a team of young Spanish people like Joseph Araquistain, â€Å"Pachin† Pedro de Felipe, Manuel Sanchis , â€Å"Pirri†, Ignacio Zoco Francisco Serena, Amancio Amaro, Ramon Grosso and Manuel Velazquez; and led by the veteran Francisco Gento.The rejuvenated tea won the European Cup, after years of futile performance. In the 1970? s, the now-veteran players won Real Madrid five Leagues and three Domestic Cups. The happy period of the club’s history would soon end. On June 2, 1978 Santiago Bernabeu died during the World Championships in Argentina. Soon after, in September, Luis Carlos became president of Madrid. During the reign of Luis Carlos (1978-1985), the team won 2 Leagues, 2 Cups and one UEFA Cup. In those years he was formed what came to be known as the â€Å"Quinta del Buitre† (The Vulture’s Five): Emilio Butragueno ( nicknamed the Vulture†), Michel, Manuel Sanchis, Rafael Martin Vazquez and Miguel Pardeza were all instrumental to the team’s success. In 1981, Real Madrid was defeated in the final of the Champions League for the first time, against Liverpool FC. La Quinta del Buitre was one of the best generations of home-grown Real Madrid players, starting with their win the Second Division title in 1984 with Real Madrid Castilla, the subsidiary of the Club. That generation won five consecutive league (1986-1990) , a Domestic Cup in 1989 and a second title of the UEFA Cup in 1986.In 1985, Luis Carlos retired from the presidency due to his advanced age and was succeeded by Ramon Mendoza (1985-1995). This new generation was led by Mexican striker Hugo Sanchez, bought from Atletico Madrid. They, like the Quinta del Buitre before them, achieved great success (although not as much as their predecessors). The era of victorious accomplishments was broken in 1991, when F. C. Barcelona (led by legend Johan Cruyff) managed to win four consecutive league titles and one European Cup in 1992. During those years, the Madrid only won a Copa del Rey (Domestic Cup) in 1993.At the end of that dark period, the last remnants of the Quinta del Buitre were dissolved with the departures of Butragueno and Michel Vasquez. However, another big player in history came from the Madrid youth academy, Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Commonly known by his first name only, Rauis believed by many to be the best Madrid homegrown player ever. In 1995, he returned Madrid to its winning ways, winning the league with the help of coach Jorge Valdano and signings new signings Michel Laudrup, Amavisca and Jose Redondo.The joy would prove to be short-lived, as the team failed to win any major titles in the 1995/1996 season, Valdano was f ired because of poor performances and the huge debt accumulated for Real Madrid. Real Madrid finished the season outside the European places, so it did not play in any European competition next season. After a radical restructuring of club, Madrid won the Liga 1996/1997 being directed by Fabio Capello, but he left the club due to their discussions and conflicts with then-president Lorenzo Sanz and was succeeded by Jupp Heynckes.The Madrid team led by Heynckes won the seventh European Cup (which has been renamed Champions League ) in 1998, winning the final against Juventus in Turin by a solitary goal he scored on 66 minutes of the meeting by Predrag Mijatovic, breaking 32 years of drought without winning it, but he was fired due to poor performance league. After a season without a title, Vicente del Bosque came to coach in November 1999, making a debut to promising young goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Del Bosque managed to conquer the Eighth European Cup in 2000 after defeating Valencia CF 3-0 in the final.Shortly after, Florentino Perez was elected president of Real Madrid, with a promise to end the club’s debt. On July 16, 2000 held new presidential elections. Sanz lost his re-election to Florentino Perez, who from this moment became the fourteenth president of Real Madrid. Immediately after, Perez bought Brazilian Flavio Conceicao fro Deportivo La Coruna, Frenchman Claude Makelele from Celta Vigo and Albert Celades of F. C. Barcelona. But no purchase had more impact than that of Portuguese winger Luis Figo, who was bought for 60 million from arch-rivals F.C. Barcelona. This moves started the â€Å"Galacticos† Era. This era was marked by great econoinc spending, and the purchase of many of the world’s biggest stars. Players like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, and Figo all ushered Madrid to great heights. In 2001, Madrid won the league again, and Raul was named top scorer. The team won two league titles (2000/2001 and 2002/2003) and the ninth European Cup in 2002 against Bayer Leverkusen thanks to a goal from Zidane right at the end of the first half.After that, the team spent 3 consecutive seasons without a title, one of the worst losing streaks in its history, prompting the resignation of Florentino on February 27, 2006. With Ramon Calderon as the new president, the club won two League titles: (2006/2007 and 2007/2008) and the Spanish SuperCup (2008) with two different coaches (Capello and Schuster), despite failures in the Champions League. In the 2008/2009 season, there was a scandal which forced the resignation of Calderon in January 2009, and he was succeeded by Vicente Boluda.He organized the transition to return to the presidency of Florentino Perez as the only candidate in the 2009 elections. With the return of Florentino Perez for the 2009/2010 season, the club bought Cristiano Ronaldo, had long sought by Calderon, and Kaka, breaking records for the most expensive players in history (C ristiano Ronaldo 96 million euros, Kaka 67. 2 million euros). Also, the club made other expensive such as Karim Benzema (35 million) and Xabi Alonso (34 million euros). As he signed to coach Manuel Pellegrini, Villarreal from the C.F. , thus beginning the Second Age of Galacticos . However, it was not enough and Real Madrid failed to win a title in 2010, despite having added 96 points in the league, a record surpassed only by the 99 champion. The good league season contraste with the early eliminations in the Doestic Cup and Champions League the sixth consecutive time falling eliminated in second round of the continental showpiece. Pellegrini ended up being removed and replaced by Jose Mourinho, who dismissed two emblematic players Raul and Guti.After 18 years of drought, Mourinho managed to win the Copa del Rey. This was the first title in the second stage of Florentino Perez as the first title from Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. The following year, Mourinho led Madrid to a league t itle, while breaking the record for most points (100), and most goals scored in a single season (121). Today, Mourinho is currently sitting at third in La Liga, and Madrid has just qualified for the next stage of both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. The future of this club appears to be just as bright as its illustrious history.

Popular resistance SC3037C Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Popular resistance SC3037C - Essay Example Knowing and understanding the relationship between the narratives and the perceptions which some Muslims may hold can certainly help policing protest movements and help in controlling a situation that could spiral out of control. A Muslim empire was more or less firmly established during the lifetime of the founder of the religion, i.e. Muhammad, but the golden age of the empire came a few centuries later when the Muslims had expanded their region and spread their religion from India to Africa and even into Europe as a Spanish Muslim region was formed. In this manner, the Muslims are perhaps unique amongst the major religions of the world since their empire was founded in the name of religion but divided on national lines overtime (Petersen, 2005). Even then, religion remained important and still continues to be so. While many of the narratives today focus on the battles which the Muslims have had with ‘non-believers’ in the past, the historic narratives also focus on discovery, learning and being objective in scientific experiments (Rochberg, 1992). Sardar (2004) discusses this very topic and reports that: â€Å"The Koran devotes almost one-third of its contents to singing the praises of scientific knowledge. The first Koranic word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad is: "Read." It is a basic tenet of Muslim belief that the material world is full of signs of God; and these signs can be deciphered only through rational and objective inquiry. ‘Acquire the knowledge of all things’ the Koran advises its readers; ‘Say: O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge’ (Sardar, 2004, p. 28)†. From a religion which devotes itself to peace and the search of knowledge, the narratives about Islam today are clearly more focused on the militant aspect of the religion in which victory means the blessings of god while martyrdom means seventy virgins in paradise (Turner, 1999). This changing narrative means that if the story of Islam can be retold and given to the Muslims

British Politics and the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

British Politics and the European Union - Essay Example As observed by Scheffler (2008: 37), the media has been given whole opportunity to highlight the weaknesses of European Union and as a result, the sense of skepticism has continued to deepen. This has also resulted into the deepening of the differences between the parties in the integration and hence resulting into a more sophisticated debate on the merits of the integration. This is believed to be one of the reasons that have shaped the British approach to Europe which is important as well before one can describe British as an awkward partner in the union (Bache & Jordan, 2006:4). However, these are failures of the government and do not justify the British awkwardness with respect to the affairs of the integration. As stated by Booker & Richard (2003:174), however, all independent nations would want to benefit from all the economic integrations tat they are engaged in and hence would participate in the affairs of such integrations if they benefit. Lack of favoritism policies of the European Union is therefore perceived as a reason for awkwardness.However, as stated by Bache & Jordan (2006:5), the late membership of Britain to the European Union must have cost the nation greatly. Since Britain joined the European Union late after other members states had joined and set rules and regulations, some politicians have argued that the rules were set in favor of the existing members. As a result, Britain has not benefited much from the joining of the integration (2006:5).... dent nations would want to benefit from all the economic integrations tat they are engaged in and hence would participate in the affairs of such integrations if they benefit. Lack of favoritism policies of the European Union is therefore perceived as a reason for awkwardness. However, as stated by Bache & Jordan (2006:5), the late membership of Britain to the European Union must have cost the nation greatly. Since Britain joined the European Union late after other members states had joined and set rules and regulations, some politicians have argued that the rules were set in favor of the existing members. As a result, Britain has not benefited much from the joining of the integration. This means that the policies and regulations of the integration do not benefit the nation. The rules that were set in favor of the founding members states therefore presents a technical constraint to Britain and hence presents it as an awkward member. This reflects the fact that the political practices as well as the constitutional attitudes of the founders of the European Union are different from those that the United Kingdom was accustomed. The relationship between the integration and the United Kingdom is therefore very difficult as the nations and the Union’s policies and constitutions are not homogenous. The differences in the constitution have therefore presented difficulties with regard to the United Kingdom’s relation to the integration. For example, the basis of the European Union is the separation of the powers of institutions as well as political coalitions unlike the British’s emphasis on centralized state, an adversarial â€Å"winner take all† as a style of party politics and the informal constitution. In this context, it is difficult for the nation to benefit adequately

Problems with Professional Development Dissertation

Problems with Professional Development - Dissertation Example It is easy to agree on the need; how should districts address obstacles that would impede the success of such programs? An inevitable consideration is time, of course. It would be ideal if all teachers had ample opportunities to learn from one another, and to absorb the current research in a vacuum; but considerable juggling of schedules is necessary; as the ongoing practice of direct student interaction is neglected only at the district's peril. With a limited number of school days per year, with needed allocations for snow days and unforeseen interferences with academic scheduling; a teacher's available time is a resource that determines district funding and must be husbanded by the administration. A study by Raywid has sought to examine time allocation by school districts in terms of professional development assignments. Numerous approaches have been devised for time-management that would free-up hours or days needed for improvement of the educational process as a whole. One proposal would be either extending the school year, adding additional days, or just hours to build a block of time permitting ongoing improvement for the staff. The entire day could be planned for an extended length during four days of the week, with one day being designated for a shortened time-frame. A shortened Friday might prove a popular choice in this instance; but specific district needs will of course be paramount in choosing a day most convenient. Without adding time, a budget could be allocated, for some districts to use greater numbers of teaching assistants, qualified volunteers, or teaching interns to cover classes; providing students with the same number of days they are entitled to under State and Federal Law, while granting time needed for continuous development amongst the teaching staff. The use of qualified teaching volunteers could serve as a means to increase community support. Former, retired teachers could be retained in a limited capacity to allow the same number of school hours, but giving current teachers a chance to pursue professional goals. Drawing upon the talent pool of the community at large could be a useful means to strengthen ties, and encourage interest and participation in events such as PTA meetings; or ancillary school-related functions. Certain previously-planned staff meeting and informational sessions could also be re-tasked to allow for instruction in teaching methods, and studies of knowledg e absorption in students. Teachers may be given 'PTO', some form of paid time off, or a substitute bank of time that has been previously allocated, and could be 'tapped' by individual teachers on an 'as needed' basis. (Raywid, 1993) More ideas are needed, as Professional development has not been universally perceived as integral to enhancing teacher effectiveness and adaptability. (Watts & Castle, 1993) The above mentioned recommendations for time allocation may be unusual in most districts; where district administration, as well as parents, and State education officials tend to be leery of anything that distracts teachers from direct student interaction. (NECTL, 1994) It is rare to create scheduling with professional skill development in mind. Guilt, on the part of

Optical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Optical - Essay Example Since the future demands a high speed networking, plastic optical fibre can be a possible option in the next generation. Â  There are different types of plastic optic fibres. These types arise due to the attributes that determine any type of transmission media. The main attributes are; the length over which data will be transmitted and the speed at which the data will be transmitted over a given length. There can be loss of data during the transmission process, and this arises from scattering the light or absorption of the light by impurities in the fibrelike molecules of water or metals, fibre defects like voids, interfaces of core cladding and the end faces. Any one of the loss mechanisms is usually a function of the transmission wave’s wavelength (Weinert, 1999). One type of a plastic optical fibre is the PMMA. The PMMA loss spectrum has 530 nm, 570 nm and 650 nm transmission windows. All these windows are in the visible range. The 650 nm window is more sensitive because it is narrow. If a 650 nm source shifts with temperature, there could be arousal of problems in this window. On the other hand, the 57 and 530 windows are broader hence less sensitive to source wavelength shifts due to temperature variations. The PMMA plastic fibre is limited to transmitting light of less than 100 m. this is because the losses at 650 nm are 125dB/km while the loses at 570 nm and 530 nm are less than 90dB/km (Plastic Optical Fibres and Applications Conference (Paris)), 1992). Another type of plastic optical fibre is made from perfluorinated polymers. This newer type of plastic optical fibre exhibits greater light transmission over a wider range of wavelength. There are two notable features that are seen when comparing the loss spectrum of perfluorinated polymer to that of PMMA. One is that the spectrum for the perfluorinated polymer ranges from 650 nm to 1300 nm. This range is notably higher than the range for PMMA. The second outstanding

Reflection on the revolution in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection on the revolution in France - Essay Example Burke’s stand is clarified when he writes â€Å"no man should be the judge in his own cause†.1And â€Å"this can only be done by a power out of themselves and not in the exercise of its function, subject to that will and to those passions which it is its office to bridle and subdue†. 2The French revolutionists demonstrated this point when they overlooked their main cause, which was freedom and started demanding equality, which is also known as ‘freedom’s enemy’. Burke opined that liberty although a necessity, should however be limited, otherwise it can result in extreme chaos. Burke also focused primarily on presenting practical solutions instead of fixating on the metaphysics when he writes â€Å"What is the use of discussing a man's abstract right to food or to medicine? The question is upon the method of procuring and administering them. In this deliberation I shall always advise to call in the aid of the farmer and the physician, rather t han the professor." 3He was a Whig and a Protestant and while rejecting a monarchic government he also accentuated the need of adhering to rules of the government to keep the nation functioning in the appropriate order. Burke stresses upon man’s complex nature and the subtleties that affect it when he says: â€Å"The nature of man is intricate; the objects of society are of the greatest possible complexity: and therefore no simple disposition or direction of power can be suitable either to man’s nature or to the quality of his affairs†. 4 He criticizes the governments for being ignorant and not fully capable of making the right decisions by keeping in mind man’s complicated temperament and the situation at that place and time. â€Å"Political reason is a computing principle; adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, morally and not metaphysically, or mathematically, true moral denominations†. 5 Here Burke assumes that man’s actions are related to his own being or points of interest and he does not necessarily act according to his fellow’s welfare. With this in mind Burke believed that there is a need for a flexible social control depending on the circumstances at that particular moment. Burke was in fact, both a monarchist and a democrat. At times he looks up to the controlled regime of a King or a dictator whereas sometimes he consents a democratic government and the rights it gives its citizens. During Burke’s time there was a lot of confusion about the way things should be. The way governments worked was changing and if we follow his ways we see not so much political philosophy as everyday rationality. Burke was a true traditionalist and it was his words that defined conservatism. Having read his writings in this day and age, it can only be hoped that he would approve of the way our governments’ work. However nothing can be said about whether he would approve of the results because governme nts nowadays cross several norms and have many different ways to work around various rules. We are not sure of what the individual rights of people really are and have lost the focus to more false rights of masses that beg for increased modifications. This has affected society in more ways that we know. We are getting lost in this distorted society that we live in, something that Burke would have not respected or supported. Burke tried his best to create a balance between political requirements and the realities of human nature. We cannot say that his solutions were flawless however they also

SOCIOLOGY (BOOK HOWELL and COSTLEY) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SOCIOLOGY (BOOK HOWELL and COSTLEY) - Essay Example n is considered to be one of the most important factors and all most all the companies look for new methods to motivate the employees and to bring out the best out of them. This paper will focus upon the different leadership behaviors and the best leadership behavior which should be adopted to meet the company’s goals. Leader effectiveness is determined by what people do, not by some inherent personal characteristic... Im not saying personal characteristics dont help; they certainly do. But leaders have to adapt their behavioral styles to fit the situations in which they find themselves" (p. 7).   Howell says the good news is most people can learn leader behaviors and learn to recognize situations in which certain behaviors are most important.   Howell and Costley (2001) argue for the match of leader behavior, leader traits and characteristics, follower characteristics, and the situation at hand.   And there are seven leader types, fit for various behavioral processes and situations in my read of their leader theory: And now we have left the obsession with one best style of leadership. There is no universal style. There is as I have suggested, a dimension of behaviors running between Transactional and Transformational. The behavior school to this point is fixated on the transactional. To find transformational we must sail to the Isle of Situation.† ( Howell and Costley, 12 September 2008). The same principles of Howell and Costley are elucidates in the paper. There are mainly five major behavior patterns namely, supportive behavior, directive behavior, participative behavior, reward and punishment behavior and charismatic behavior. Every behavior pattern has its own pros and cons. But the behavior pattern which works out the best is undoubtedly reward and punishment behavior. In this the terms and conditions are made very clear to the employees, any breach of these terms and conditions result in punishment, on the other hand if the employee performs well,

Professional Knowledge and Career Success Research Paper

Professional Knowledge and Career Success - Research Paper Example The organization is known for its FACHE credential which is known all over the world. It provides with different educational programs which help the healthcare professionals to learn more about their field. ACHE organizes different conferences for its members who are health care professionals so that they can learn and share their knowledge. It helps the individuals to know about the latest medical innovations which can prove to be beneficial in practice. The knowledge provided by the organization can prove to be very beneficial for the careers of many health care professionals. The knowledge given in the conferences and educational programs is such that it can be used in practice by the health care professionals. The FACHE credential is recognized as a reputable credential and may give an edge to the health care professional in his way to success. FACHE can help the health care professional to get a job in reputable hospitals where they can further build their reputation. ACHE is he lping health care professionals to do a better job and enlighten them with further knowledge about medicine. It is an organization which is trusted by many and hence if a health care professional gets knowledge from ACHE then it is possible that his career would improve. If an individual achieves the relevant knowledge and information from the organization then it is expected that his career might flourish. The knowledge which the individual would get from ACHE can be applied in real. Latest medical innovations and researches are also presented by the organization which can be used in real life practice by the health care professionals. In other words it would help the individual to apply new methodologies in their practices which would be unknown to the ones who have not gone through the courses of ACHE. Success can instantly be achieved after an individual possesses all the relevant knowledge and literature about medicine through this organization. Career development

Global Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Global Leadership - Essay Example With suitable policies in place it would be possible to hasten the allocation of required materials and assimilate federal and military aid. Introduction It is time that both the common people and policy makers understand and accept the fact that climatic changes are rampant with the increasing global temperatures and the melting ice slabs in the Arctic and Antarctic regions and the resulting global rise in sea levels. The past year has been recorded as the warmest year and this warming has resulted in the melting of the glaciers and leaving behind open waters. The mudslides in China and soaring temperatures during summer in Russia are also the result of changing climatic trends (Homer-Dixon, 2010). This continuing change in climatic conditions and the small disasters occurring within short intervals can lead to cascading catastrophes of huge magnitudes that could leave behind severe damages to both human life and property. And in order to effectively combat such catastrophes, a more detailed response option needs to be framed which is different from the traditional responses as these would be ineffective during such circumstances.

The Public Sector in Canada Essay Example for Free

The Public Sector in Canada Essay Canadian public sector reform initiatives have exhibited a more complex case for study or assessment. As much as the government tried to initiate many reforms there has been many dimension of view of whether the Canadian government should be involved or not in the public reforms and initiatives. Several reforms have been undertaken but there has been occasional mixed results achieved in some traditional areas of the public sector. Government Involvement in Some Traditional Areas of Public Sector in Canada If we first take into consideration what has been accomplished. The government has influenced massive Privatization of many cooperate organizations and institution in Canada which began in the time of Mulroney leadership and continued to Chretien leadership. Some of the privatized cooperation include: the Canadian airline and the national petrol company. The Canadian central government’s Program Review which was done in the year nineteen ninety four and the year nineteen ninety was influenced by the need to achieve economic balance. But on the other hand it made ministers and the civil servants to generate many questions regarding the government programs. Some of the questions included: if they are still useful, if it should be the take of the central government, the provincial leadership, or the private fraternity. When the government made this program review, it led to the doing a way with some subsidies and the entire privatization of crucial services for example the airport services and the air navigation services. On the other hand it was found out that some departments were now able to accomplish there services at extremely reduced input cost by adopting the information technology on board. A viable example of this is the Canadian human Resources Development. The adoption of the famous electronic kiosks by the Canadian government to enable individuals to search for jobs and to enhance flow of information in the industrial and trade sector brought much achievement on board. To add on this it led to the cutting of expenditure on services and trading of goods by adoption of Information technology, hence the federal government was able to cut down on the number of personnel by almost 25 percent. This led to a total reduction compared to major economies such as the United Kingdom and the United States federal governments. Through the application of Information Technology Canada has bee able to bring on board some traditional public sectors and involve them into the information flow of the federal government which has been a very major public sector reform in the economic viability of the country. The Canadian public sector has really made good utilization of this new reform and adopted technology such as Internet, the electronic business and the famous electronic kiosk. More advancement have also been made on the available technologies in order to enhance the linkage of the public to the government to reduce the gap that always exists between the central government and that common public population and the international community. Also in the year 1989 the Canadian government adopted an initiative dubbed ‘the public service year 2000’ which had a ten taskforce comprising of deputy ministers and some senior public servants, and then in just two years the taskforce was able to enhance service improvement to the public and also reduced the control of the central agency control of the public welfare. Although this recommendations was countered by opposition coming from the central government’s federal office of the Auditing, also from parliament members, from the public unions, and also from the media fraternity it was a visionary way forward for Canadian public and government relation enhancement (Roberts 1996). The opposition of this public reform by the above mentioned group of people might have been overcome by the strong supporting by the political turn of events during that time since as this reform dubbed the ‘public service 2000’ was getting rooted the members of parliament at that time were busy negotiating on the then intended 1982 constitution amendment. The then Chretien leadership become focused and decided to commit itself to the development of and publish service standards which was supposed to report its performance in a year time later (The Canadian Auditors General, 1996). The government of Canada has so far been able to make outstanding commitment towards rebuilding of a professional public service after the downsizing of the last few years. It has now adopted the comprehensive hiring of workers at the entrance point, rather than recruiting from outside at middle or senior ranks. The only area where there has been considerable staffing from outside at the central point level is in information technology. ) The regime has also put an importance on transformation the policy capacity of the public service. In the existence year of downsize and financial plan-cutting, there were limited opportunities to develop new policies. Now that there is financial support for new initiatives is available, the communal service has a role to p lay in implementing them. Thus the centralized administration is trying to restore the public service along the lines of the traditional model. This traditional public service formed would be unswerving with the main concern of fighting separatism, because career public servants, especially the twenty-five to thirty percent who claim French as their mother tongue, could be expected to be more loyal to the federalist cause than people on short-term contracts. The most outstanding organizational reform innovation in Canada’s public sector go beneath the rubric of alternative service delivery, which has been defined as a process of public sector restructuring that improves the delivery of services to clients by sharing governance functions with individuals, community groups, and other government entities (Ford and Zussman 1997: 6). Some of the most common examples are like the Canada’s Business Service Centers, which relates to both federal and provincial governments, and Navigation Canada, a non-profit corporation owned by the users and employees of the air navigation system. These partnership relationships cut down the pricey overlap and replication, and perform actions that the federal government has devolved as a consequence of its Program Review. These partnerships also recognize the difficulty of Canada’s federalism by involving all stakeholders in the ongoing management of services or policy areas. Although Canada has lacked in trivial top down public government administration reorganization, it has had an affluence of bottom up procedures. These initiatives have been shown in the application to the Institute of Public management of Canadian innovation award. Certainly, provincial administrations have had the most influential charisma in these awards (Borins and Kocovski 1997). A proportionate study of application to the Ford Foundation innovation awards in the US and the IPAC awards in Canada shows extensive similarities in terms of the types of innovations, innovative process, and results achieved. It also shows that in both Canada and the US the middle managers and front-line staff were the originators of approximately half the innovations which are a surprisingly large role given traditional public sector constraints. at the same time as the complication of their national systems habitually causes annoying overlap and duplication, they also provide opportunities to innovate in what the American jurist Brandeis called ‘laboratories of democracy. Conclusion  Canada should try to adhere to and advance the bottom up reform, in particular the efforts of front-line staff and middle managers, especially if sanctioned from above (for example, the US federal government’s reinvention labs), as well as reforms undertaken by sub-national governments. It should also have an influence on the ideas originating from the private sector, such as service quality, total quality management, and business process reengineering.

Shaping of Online and Offline Social Relationships

Shaping of Online and Offline Social Relationships INTRODUCTION Technically speaking internet is a global network of interconnected networks. All most all of these networks holds files such as web pages, that can be accessed by all other networked computers. Every computer or any device like cell phone etc which is connected to internet have the ability to send and receive files in the form of emails or another file extensions over the internet. And thus the people all over the world are connected always. If we place internet in the historical context and then critically examines the effect of internet use on the social relationships then we could see that the effects of internet use are largely depended on particular goals such as self-expression or competition. In 1998, Kraut and his colleagues cited a correlation between the internet use and declines in social relationships. After years the same group of people did a study on the original sample group and founded out that the negative effects of using internet had dissipated and also it sugges ted that the internet had a very positive effect on social and psychological wellbeing of the modern people. Here my aim or objective is to critically analyse the work done by Bo Xie on the topic The mutual shaping of online and offline social relationships. The author of this topic is Dr. Bo Xie, (PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic ) Assistant Professor in college of information studies under the University of Maryland. She has published a number of books on information management. Her Research Interests are in Health informatics; older adults learning and use of computers and the Internet; computer literacy; lifelong learning; civic engagement; volunteering; social relationships; social support; online communities; health and well-being (http: //terpconnect.umd. Edu/~ boxie/).As a conclusion of my critical analysis I came to know that internet has both positive and negative effects on the social relationships in the modern world.Some of the positive effects are like online chatting, whic h will create new friendships and relationships which also helps in behind in touch with old friends .The same chatting could be the demerit when it creates wasteful relationships between people while chatting in the net for long hours. The positive effects of the internet on the social relationships may be crucial but the demerits of using internet might be destructive METHOD OF EVALUATION In the method of evaluation of the research author had interviewed thirty three participants from OldKids organisation whom falls under old age group and different educational backgrounds. Here the author tries to point out two culture specific groups. First -informed by anthropologists on the observation that the ageing experience difference over cultures and these participants were not selected by age but by self identification. It contained Chinese citizens. Second-retired Chinese participants. In the research the author speaks about the social relationships in the internet age and the social relationships in the later life. She says that the use of internet in this age reduces social relationship and increases the social isolation. The studies reveal that this concept was accepted before years but now the online relationships are more reliable ,realistic, low cost and easy reachable than in older days. She describes that the digital world or the internet age is completely indepen dent on on the offline or the physical world. This is a true fact and the two worlds are entirely different from each other with their own advantages and disadvantages.The virtual world helps each person to overcome from the embodied constraints such as sex, age , race and nationality and gives a quite environment from the outreach of the physical world. But there is also a chance of getting attracted more towards sexy relationships as the online users could pass their message shamelessly as they are not seeing each other face to face. The use of online relations also creates stage frightness in children. The virtual world creates the same situations prevailing in the physical world. This hypothesis is right from my point of view as well.Now we could do any thing in the virtual world that is happening in the physical world expect from the point of physical contacts. More recently the computer people had created even virtual bingos were a user could make a profile with a a character and that character could interact with the other characters whom are created by other users. From the evidences and the references the author argues that the social relationships created or formed and maintained through email are perceived by individuals are less valuable than the relationship created by the one to one face to face and telephonic relationships. This hypothesis is not completely acceptable as there are many evidence of people getting more and more engaged in relationships which is created through internet.But the hypothesis is acceptable from the point of view that people even cant remember even the names of their online friends. The supporting nature of the friendship is very less or rarely visible in online relationship.Evidences shows that friendship is more attached in the later life of older adults. The virtual online friends tries to meet and mingle in the physical world of relations. Thus online friends tends to meet their friends physically face to face TECHNIQUES USED FOR GATHERING DATA AND ANALYSIS The techniques used for the collection of datas to support my observations were absolutely secondary that is by reading the books, journels and and also surfing in the internet as the nature of the assignment is to critically analyse. As we analyse the datas available we could say that the research done by Dr.Bo Xie had some few limitations. The first one is that it has concidered only the people from china as the samples. The use of internet for making relationships in china may be different from other parts of the world. As China is technologically forward than many other countries the online relations could be more in China than in other countries.Second one is that the research selected only thirty three participants which is not sufficient for a good research to be conducted. But the technique used was random sampling which could provide with better results. The data collection would be better if it could do an online sampling which includes the people from other parts of the wo rld were there use of internet is not so common. Third one is that the samples contained only old people and it completely avoided the new generation which definitely would create a break through in the research. The data analysis for this study was controlled by grounded theory where the data collection and analysis occurs simultaneously to ensure the coevolution of the data and the theory.After interview with each person the author writes a short description about the feed back including the time and location of the interview.Its a long process of making a research which takes much time but helps to include each and every minute details of the observation. Then the analysis showed that the need to meet offline is in relation with the need to know more about computers and also to mingle with the friends in the same age group in the physical world. It also resulted in formations of some clubs as well. Internet helped the people to connect with the peers who were physically far away who were not in reach to the old people. This is also an acceptable fact but we should concider one point that internet is not available in rural parts of most of the world. LITERATURE REVIEW Greater use of the Internet was also associated with small, but statistically significant declines in social involvement as measured by communication with the family and the size of peoples local social networks, and with increases in loneliness, a psychological state associated with social involvement. ( Kraut et al,1998) A second study was then done on new purchasers of computer and televisions, and it also showed that the internet had a positive effect on social and psychological well-being. Unsurprisingly, this was more pronounced for extroverts and more socially connected people. (Kraut et al) Results of a new three year study are the first to reveal the social consequences of living in a highly-wired, broadband neighborhood. This research addresses recent interest in the effects of Internet use on relationships with friends, relatives and neighbors. The key finding is that living in a wired neighborhood with access to a high-speed local network encourages greater community invo lvement, expands and strengthens local relationships with neighbors and family, and helps maintain ties with friends and relatives living farther away. (Prof. Keith Hampton and Prof. Barry Wellman ) MAIN ARGUMENTS Main argument gives the strength and weakness of the research. Strengths The research has well explained how the online relations helped older people in finding their old peers and making new friends who are physically too far away from them. The theory used for the research that is the ground theory has strongly supported the findings and observations of the author. The interviews were conducted in depth and it has taken down all the points without any miss at the time of the interview.The analysis is so clear that every one could understand it without much difficulty.The research clearly mentions how the internet helped the old people in making a new online world of their own.The resarch gives references to many great books and authors to make it more reliable.It discusses the topic with a story which the make the readers more entertained. Weakness The research discusses only the positive aspects of old people using internet.The survey done was not a random survey which decreases the accuracy of the research. The number of persons selected for the research were very less like thirty three and also the members were selected from China only.The research did not give any individual details of the interviewees and it just give only an outline of a broader topic.The internet is mostly used by students teenagers etc who were not involved in this research.So there is a chance of getting inaccurate or even wrong dimensions to the research.It also not mentions about what happens in the other parts of the world where there is only a limited access to internet. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION This research topic is more relevent to the modern world while evaluating deeply and is a must discussed topic.Firstly the use of internet to make peers for the old people is a topic which accurate to the modern world of stress and tension. Due to the increase in number of internet users the world becomes familiar to each individual.The topic is important because in near future nobody might be there who doesnt know how to work with internet. The evidences put forward by the researcher are all valid and the theory and the situation used are very supportive.The conclusion or the outcome of the research is sufficient in giving the idea of the topic. The research is transparent that the techniques used are quite appropriate and is been justified. Though the analysis was good the data collection was not upto the mark but also resulted in better outcome. The methodology is widely accepted type and sounds proper to the prevailing situation.Critically examining is the best way to interpret a research and also it helps in producing better outcomes and a modified future to the stakeholders CONCLUSION This critical review comes into the conclusion that the research has a positive attitude towards the online relationship at the same time it accepts the physical relationship as well. The aim of the research was to differentiate between online and offline relationship and it has done its job with perfection. The research is reliable, acceptable and adds value to the future world. The findings are based and built on theories so they are accurate .the theory shows that the number of people attracted towards online relationship is increased due to its positive aspects. Though online relation creates a virtual distance between the people it creates an awareness that we are one. The most polished quality of the topic falls in the relevant nature of the hosen topic. The results obtained can be used in most of the countries though it cannot be used in some of the rural parts of the world. The limitations of the research are overcome by the relevance and importance of the topic. The research gives great contribution to the modern world of computer. So the validity of the topic is very high.

Brand Equity And Luxury Brands

Brand Equity And Luxury Brands Most of successful businesses hinge upon their great business strategies. The business strategy generally composes of four components: the product-market investment decision, the customer value proposition, the organizations assets and competencies, and functional strategies and programs (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). In terms of organizations assets and competencies, brand appears to be one of the most valuable intangible asset of the company (Keller and Lehmann, 2006). Therefore, concept and importance of brand has been widely discussed amongst both researchers and practitioners (Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). Brand is different from product (Capon, Mac Hulbert, and Capon, 2009) and more than service. A classic definition of brand by Kotler (1991, pp.442) brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or combination of them which is intended to identify the goods of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. This definition has been discussed as being failed to capture the essence of what brand involves and achieves (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). Fifield (2008) thoroughly redefines brand as a set of consistent meanings which exist in addition to the product or service offering. In other words, brand is a set of belief and feeling exist in customer minds [derive from what they have been promised]. The promises of brand are conveyed through the value proposition the brand delivers through ranges of marketing mix (Fifield, 2008; Moutinho and Southern, 2010). Moutinho and Southern (2010) restate definition of brand as an entity, which offers customers add ed value based on factors over and above its functional performance. These added values differentiate offer and provide basis for customer preference and loyalty. Marketers use the marketing mix to position the brand and to create brand value around a coherent set of each marketing mix [base on relevant stimuli]. Brand draws a number of benefits to the business in terms of both recruit and retains customers. Aaker (cited in Fifield, 2008) highlights the benefit of the brands in terms of financial benefits namely price premium. This financial benefit leads to perceived higher quality and perceived higher value which provide point of differentiation in consumer mind. It therefore would increase consumer usage which results in increase in return on investment for company at last (Fifield 2008). In addition to that, brand creates customer value by managing two types of risk for them including performance risk; by providing promise of sameness and predictability, and psychological risk ; by providing image and social acceptability (Keller 2003 cited in Moutinho and Southern, 2010). Branding is suggested to be expensive to the business. It is also difficult to identify its cost or investment (Fifield, 2008). However, the additional return from brand appears to be more worthwhile. Fifield (2008) suggests the commodity products without branding would end up with price war. This would not only produce small return to a single company, but also small value to the whole value-chain. Brand Equity Since brand appears to be a strategic intangible asset that could allow succeed to the company but costly to do so, the reflection of real value that the brand name hold is essential for further business direction. The reflection of value of the brand name is known as measuring brand equity. There are a number of researchers has investigated concept of brand equity since early 1990s (Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). In a general scope, according to Keller (1993), brand equity is defined in terms of marketing effects uniquely attribute to the brand. This means the certain outcome of marketing a product or service would not happen if that product or service does not hold that name (Keller, 1993). In other word, brand equity is the value that brand name gives to a product or service (Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). Brand with high brand equity provides their owners with competitive and financial benefits (Aaker and MacLoughlin, 2007). In terms of behavioral viewpoint, brand equity is essential to make point of differentiation which lead to competitive advantages based on non-price competition (Aaker, 1991). Brand equity creates a number of values to the firm and customer. It affect merger and acquisition decision, stock market response, determinant of brand extension, increase probability of brand choice/willingness to pay premium price/ marketing communication effectiveness/ brand licensing, and decrease vulnerability to competitive marketing action/ elastic response to price increase (Yoo, Donthu, and Lee, 2000) Brand equity has also been defined and motivated to be studied in two perspectives: financial and consumer perspective. In a financially base perspective, the motivation of studying brand equity is to determine the value of a brand for the purpose of accounting, investment, or divestment (Keller, 1993). Therefore, it has been defined as the incremental cash flow of products or service over the cash flow that comes from the sale of unbranded product or service (Simon and Sullivan, 1993). This incremental cash flow incorporates the value that is evaluated by consumers of branded products and the cost that are saved by brand equity with competitive advantages (Simon and Sullivan, 1993). On the other hand, in the consumer-oriented perspective, the motivation to study brand equity comes from the need to improve marketing productivity (Keller, 1993). In regards to brand equitys definition in this perspective, there are two researchers, Aaker in 1991 and Keller in 1993, conceptualizing brand equity concept that is widely accepted by researchers and practitioners. Unfortunately we are unable to provide accessible alternative text for this. If you require assistance to access this image, please contact [emailprotected] or the author Figure 2.1: Aakers dimension of Brand Equity (Source: Aaker, 1992) Aaker combines behavioral and perceptual approach to assess brand equity (Hsu, 2011). Aaker defines brand equity as a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firms customers (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). In Aakers model, brand equity derives from five sources: brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and other propriety brand asset (Figure2.1). Figure 2.2: Kellers dimension of Brand Equity (Source: Keller, 1993) Meanwhile, Keller focuses on consumer perception (Hsu, 2011). Keller (1993) refers the memory principle namely associative network memory model in defining brand equity. He suggested that an individual dimension of brand is a node in a memory that connects together with links that has various types and degrees of association. Therefore, it would leads to different knowledge of brand which means different level of brand equity (Janiszewski and van Osselelaer, 2000). Keller stated, Brand equity is the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. Keller suggested that brand equity comes from brand knowledge; whereby brand knowledge arises from two sources: brand awareness (derived from brand recall and brand recognition) and brand image (derived from brand association which influenced by type, favourability, strength, and uniqueness) (Figure 2.2). According to both researchers, their concepts share some common major components namely brand awareness and brand association. In fact, dimension of brand equity in Kellers model seems to have deeper investigation in the source of brand association dimension in perceptual perspective. The perceptual components of brand equity might be important sources of competitive advantage for suppliers that rely strongly on intangible value. Since luxury brands are more about aspiration and perception to the brand, Kellers brand equity dimension could fits to the scope of the topic and worth to investigate in detail. Therefore, the following will discuss dimension of brand equity according to Kellers brand equity model which composing of brand awareness and brand image. Brand Awareness Brand awareness refers to the strength of brands presence in the consumers memory (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). It is reflecting by the ability to identify the brand under different conditions by consumers (Keller, 1993). Brand awareness is important to the business because it yields to more tendency for the brand to be liked and frequently purchased (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). This is because brand awareness influences the information and strength of brand association in the brand image (Keller, 1993). There are two main measures of brand awareness according to Aaker and McLoughlin (2007). The first measure is prompted awareness. This refers to the consumers ability to recognize the brand from a list of brand name. In fact, prompted awareness is known as brand recognition in Kellers model. The second measure is unprompted awareness. It is the consumers ability to recall the brand name when asked to identify brand in a category (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). Brand recall is a synonym of unprompted awareness when looking at Kellers model. Practically, brand recall is more desirable in marketing perspective than brand recognition (Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). This is because it implies that the brand has achieved a dominant awareness level and becomes a member of the consideration set for that category in consumers mind (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). This means brand recall allows consumers to create choice themselves because they can generate picture of the brand in their minds without aiding. Therefore, brand recall could provide higher degree in likability and purchase than brand recognition. Brand awareness is generally created through ranges of marketing tools, particularly marketing communication (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). This is because communication media provides brand visibility and keep the brand in consumers sights that allows consumer to repeatedly encrypt the brand name. Brand Image and Brand Association Brand image is a picture of the offering in consumers mind that includes symbolic meaning when consumer associate with the specific attribute of product or service (Cretu and Brodie, 2007). It is a set of perception about a brand, which consumers form in order to reflect their association to the brand (Keller, 1993). Keller (1993) defines Brand Image as a perception about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in a consumer memory. Brand image play an important role in the business, especially where it is difficult to differentiate products or services based on tangible quality features (Cretu and Brodie, 2007). Brand image derives from various dimensions of brand association including type, favorability, strength, and uniqueness. Brand association is anything in consumers memory (Aaker, 1991). It can be any aspects of brand that consumer relates with the brand (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007). The aspects of brand come from the product itself as well as other entities that built around the brand. Brand association is important as it provides opportunity for consumer to develop positive relationship with the brand when consumers have ability to connect to the brand in certain circumstance (Aaker, 1991). Types of Brand Association To understand more on the process that consumers create brand association, Keller (1993) has categorize the aspects/attributes of brand into two types and identify the perceived benefits gain from each type of brand aspects/attributes. It therefore leads to certain attitude about brand in consumers minds and influence brand image. Attributes can be categorized into two types according to Keller (1993): product-related attribute (intrinsic (Fill, 2009)) and non-product-related attributes (extrinsic (Fill, 2009)). The attributes that is product-relating arises from the physical composition of product itself and usually form the perceived functional benefits after consumers use certain product (Keller, 1993). This type of attribute also can build up the perceived experiential benefits when the product attributes satisfy consumers experiential needs such as sensory pleasure, cognition stimulation, and variety. (See example in Appendix A) Meanwhile, the non-product-related attributes arise from price, packaging, type of person who use product (user imagery), and when the product is used (usage imagery). Non-product-related attributes usually profile certain personality to the brand (known as Brand personality) and generates symbolic benefits relating to the needs of social approval and personal expression to consumer (Keller, 1993). (See example in Appendix A) When consumers evaluate all brand attribute and its benefits, they would profile a specific attitude towards brand; known as Brand attitude (Keller, 1993). Brand attitude is important because it influences motivation and evaluation on consumers choices of brand (Keller, 1993). The attitude would leads to specific perception towards brand; Brand Image. Favorability, Strength, and Uniqueness of Brand Association According to Keller (1993), apart from type of brand association explained above, image of the brand is also influenced by three dimensions of brand association namely favorability, strength, and uniqueness. Firstly, favorability of brand associations arises when consumers feel satisfied to the attributes (product-related and non-product-related attributes) and benefits (functional, experiential, and symbolic benefits) provided by brand. Therefore, they would create positive attitude towards brand. This would eventually leads to positive brand image. Secondly, strength of brand associations depends on how consumers memories receive and maintain information about brand. It could be both quantity and quality wises of processing information that influence the strength. The strength of brand association could ease consumers in recalling the brand. Thus, consumers can portrait the picture of brand in their mind. Lastly, uniqueness of brand association derives from all type of attribute (product-related and non-product-related attributes) and their benefit (functional, experiential, and symbolic benefits) that differ from that of competitors. This would too promote distinct picture of brand in consumers mind. Therefore, it could draw the competitive point of difference which would create unique selling proposition and strengthening brand position. To sum up, different types of brand attribute create different perceived benefits; then lead to brand attitudes that forms brand image. These three dimensions of brand association assist in creation of positive/negative brand image. This is because consumers have positive/negative attitude toward brand, be able to recall the brand easily, and see the brand different from the other brands in the category. Several researchers have proved Kellers dimensions of brand equity. Danes et al (2011) reports that recent branding research measuring brand image via free association method has found that brand equity increase as the number of associations increase (Chen, 2001 cited in Danes et al, 2011). This is correspondent with traditional construct and scales brand equity measurement, which indicates that functional and non-functional brand associations influence brand perception, and can create differential advantage to the brand. Luxury Brand The word luxury generally connects with extravagance, prestige, elitism (Moore and Birtwistle, 2005) and higher price (Beverland, 2004). It is something nonessential, but provides pleasure and comfort, or some other things that is expensive and associates with an exclusive sumptuous lifestyle (American Heritage, 1993). There are the attempts from a number of researchers giving the definition and dimension of luxury brand (Figure 2.3). However, the definition of luxury brand has not been completely defined. Jackson and Haid (2002 cited in Moore and Birtwistle, 2005) purpose that luxury brand consists of high status that grants opportunity for brand owner to charge premium price. These brands possess a desirability that extends beyond their function and which provide the user with a perceived status through ownership. Their appeal and desirability is a result of their constructed scarcity in availability (usually as a result of enforced restrictions on distribution) and because of thei r associations with particular consumer segments. (Jackson and Haid, 2002). In fact, luxury brands are regards, as image in mind of the consumers that comprise association about a high level of price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinariness, and a high degree of non-functional associations (Heine, 2011). Luxury framework.jpg Figure2.3: Key Model Identifying Luxury Brand Dimensions (Source: Fionda and Moore, 2009) Phau and Prendergast (2000, pp. 123-4 cited in Beverland, 2004) suggested that generally luxury brands have four fundamental characteristics: perceived exclusivity, well-recognized brand identity, high levels of brand awareness and strong sales, and customer patronage/loyalty. In order to do branding, Beverland (2004) provides a model of a luxury branding which identifies and unites six components that marketers should take into consideration when designing marketing activities. The six components are brand heritage (history and culture), product quality/credibility/excellence (product integrity), personality and consumer group support (endorsements), and brand image investments (marketing). These dimensions of luxury branding provide luxury positioning and association through brand marketing decisions (Moore and Birtwistle, 2005). Okonkwo (2009) said luxury branding is about an identity, a philosophy, and a culture. Figure2.4: The Components of a Luxury Branding (Source: Beverland, 2004) About Parameter for Luxury Branding Product integrity: This component is dawn with respect to sub-components including product quality, attention to detail, credibility, and product/production integrity (Beverland, 2004) Value-Driven Emergence: The reason that luxury brands could be sold in high price is their supplementary perceived value adding to their products (Beverland, 2004). Culture/ History: Most luxury brands are linked to their history by a number of means which can be grouped as stories (Beverland, 2004). Each brand might use several important stories to define its image, such as stories of people, products, event, and association that retain the link to the past and develop present culture (Beverland, 2004). Heritage or long history of brand adds authenticity, and is considered one of the hallmarks of a luxury brand (Fionda and Moore, 2009). This is important for brand promotion campaign (Beverland, 2004) as luxury brand identity usually associate with the story that the brand owns (Kapferer and Bastien, 2008) Marketing/ Endorsements: Marketing campaign and endorsement could create awareness and positioning of the brand (Beverland, 2004). Understand Luxury Branding In building luxury brand, Kapferer and Bastien (2008) suggest that brand identity is more likely to be a major focus for luxury than brand positioning. This is because luxury brands consumption is functioning as a stamp for consumers superiority (Okonkwo, 2009). Consumers differentiate themselves through possession of luxury brand in order to shows their distinction; to be admired, recognized, appreciated, and respected (Okonkwo, 2009). Therefore, consumers use luxury brands in expression of a taste, a creative identity, and an intrinsic passion of a creator. Luxury makes the statement, this is what I am, not that depends which is what positioning implies (Kapferer and Bastien, 2008). Brand identity is the unique set of brand associations implying a promise to customers and includes a core and extended (Appendix B) that the brand managers aspire to create or maintain (Ghodeswar, 2008; Srivastava, 2011). Brand identity appears to be similar to brand image in the sense that both are dealing with brand association, but in different perspective. Brand image comes from consumer perception toward the brand, while brand identity is the things that brand manager would like brand to be perceived. In other word, brand identity originates from the companys need to differentiate itself in consumers minds with unique features (Srivastava, 2011). Therefore, brand owners are more likely to create and ensure that brand identity and brand image of their product are identical through communication process (Srivastava, 2011). . Brand image: How the brand is now perceived? Brand identity: How brand managers want the brand to be perceived? Brand position: The part of the brand identity and value proposition to be actively communicated to a target audience. To sum up, in accordance to managing brand equity for luxury brand, creating brand association through brand communication with regards to luxury brand components is highly essential to strengthen luxury brand equity. Additionally, balancing brand image and brand identity is also completely necessary. Luxury Brand 2.0- Role of New Media in Luxury Brand Communication In an account to the research on antecedents of brand equity from Yoo, Donhu, and Lee (2000), brand equity could be created, maintained and expanded by strengthening dimensions of brand equity through marketing activities. One of crucial marketing activities that grow brand equity is marketing communication such as public relations (Aaker 1991) or promotional event (Keller 1993). Percy and Elliot, R. (2009) suggest that brand equity is a result of positive brand attitude that could influenced by effective marketing communication strategy. Main purpose of marketing communication in strengthening brand equity is to portray brand identity and create brand image (Winer, 2008). About Marketing Communication According to Fill (2009), since 1990s, the influence of relationship marketing concept and interactive approach embrace additional perspective to marketing communication. The purpose of marketing communication is not only creating awareness and persuasion, but also to develop understanding and preference, reminds, and reassure customers about the brand (Fill, 2009). Marketing Communication becomes a long-term strategic approach with integrative and interactive orientation instead of merely short-term one-way communication aiming at promoting product (Fill, 2009; Pickton and Broderick, 2005). With recent integrated one-to-one/ one-to-many two-way dialogue approach, marketing communications has been defined as a management process that organization seek to engage with audiences; by understanding their way of receiving message, then communicate message which audiences value, and aim at audience responses. The response from audiences includes attitudinal, emotional and behavioral respons es (Fill, 2009). In short, marketing communication process concerns on three aspects: engagement, audience, and response. Marketing communication mix consists of three elements: tools, media, and messages. Tools are methods/ disciplines to convey message through the mean (media) that could reach target audiences (Fill, 2009). There are five principles of marketing communication tools: advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing and personal selling (Fill, 2009). These five tools could be more effective with the support from word-of-mouth recommendation from consumers (Fill, 2009). In regards to media, traditionally, media in marketing communication includes broadcast (television and radio), print (newspapers and magazines), outdoor (billboards, street furniture, transit), In-store (point-of-purchase and packaging), and other (cinema, exhibitions, product placement, ambient, and guerrilla) The selection of marketing communication mix includes the degree of control required over the delivery of the message; the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ nancial resources available to pay a third party to transmit messages; the level of credibility that each tool bestows on the organisation; the size and geographic dispersion of the target audiences; the communication tasks each tool is best at satisfying. The key turning point of marketing communication was when the internet and digital technologies formed the new concept and channel of media. Since mid 1990s, the internet and digital technologies have enabled new interactive forms of communication, where the receiver has greater responsibility for their part in the communication process (Fill, 2009). In terms of new media usage with interaction to brand, consumers no longer merely seek for entertainment and information, but for discovering, participating, sharing, and expressing themselves (Moore, 2007 cited in Fill, 2009). Therefore, the measurement of success for the brand owner on new media is to measure consumers expectation on brand and their interaction (dwell time, dwell quality, and dwell insight (Appendix C)) rather than measuring the reach and frequency of message. Consumers currently consume a mixture of traditional and new media (Fill, 2009). New media definition and characteristics In terms of marketing communication, new media includes websites and other digital communication and information channels in which active consumer engage in behaviors that can be consumed by others both in real time and in long forwards regardless of their spatial location (Hennig-Thurau et al, 2010). Characteristic of new media appears to build around the interactivity and digital (Winer, 2008). Recent research has conceptualizes new media characteristics as being digital, proactive, visible, real-time and memory, ubiquitous, and network (Hennig-Thurau et al, 2010). Each characteristic can be explained as following. Digital means there are no marginal cost for producing additional copies of digital product and easily distribute. Pro-active stands for the contribution of consumers in all part of the value chains e.g. review, co-creation, and develop the open source, etc. Visible indicates that consumers activities on new media can be seen and tracked by others. Real-time involves no time limit; meaning that consumers can access to new media at anytime, while Memory is crucial for personalization of future interaction. Ubiquitous means consumers can reach and be reached by other whenever wherever through mobile device. Networks represent that new media allows consumers to be part of network sharing, creating, communicating, and building relationship with other through social networks. Shankar and Hillinger (2007 cited in Winer, 2008) have classified new media into three groups: intrusive where advertising plays role in interrupting consumers, non-intrusive where the consumers select the communication to receive, and user-generated where the consumers create communications. To name media in each group, firstly, intrusive new media includes internet advertising (i.e. buttons, banners, skyscrapers, rectangles, interstitials, pop-ups), advergames, and M-commerce. Secondly, non-intrusive ones include social networking site, podcasting, Buzz/viral marketing, and some types of internet advertising i.e. streaming audio/ video, destination site, sponsored search/ paid links. Lastly, user-generated type includes blogs, video sites, rating/ recommendations. Affect of New media on Branding New media change the structure of marketing communication with Interactivity that enables new way of engaging, communicating, and delivering benefit to target audiences that traditional media unable to (Winer, 2008). It also increases number of media with internet and digital technology-base. Generally, brand building via marketing communication involves two main constructions: identity that managers wish to portray, and image that constructed by audiences perception. Web2.0 and user-generated-content have added a new dimension to managerial-driven perspective of brands in two ways. Firstly, consumers seem to assume greater role in defining what brand means to them and share with their familiar stakeholders as much as with the organization who own the brand (Figure2.5). Secondly, apart from reducing brand managers role in influencing and controlling the way brands are perceived, Winer (2008) points out that the coordination of message across a number of new media is also burdensome w ith new media as the market is fragmented. Figure2.5: Modified Mass Communications Model (Source: Hoffman and Novak, 1996) New Media in Luxury Brand communication Marketing Communication for Luxury brand Luxury is not just a product, a service, an object, a concept, or lifestyle. It is an identity, a philosophy, and a culture (Okonkwo, 2009). The communication of luxury brand appears to be not only on the intrinsic, but also rely strongly on the extrinsic attributes (Fill, 2009). Luxury brand communication strategies usually associates brand name to consumers aspirational needs and social and psychological motivation (Fill, 2009). Kapferer and Bastien (2008) claim that, for luxury, the role of advertising is not for selling, but aiming at recreating the dream. For example, one executive of BMW stated, My job is to make sure that the 18-year-olds in this [USA] country decide that, as soon as they have the money, they will be buying a BMW. I have to see to it that when they go to bed at night they are dreaming of BMW. Method of developing luxury brand includes the combination of advertising, public relations, direct marketing, event (e.g. fashion shows), word-of-mouth, celebrity endorsement, craftsmanship, and a touch of mythology (Fill, 2009; Pickton and Broderick, 2005; Fionda and Moore, 2009). The purpose of powerful marketing communications is to build brand image (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). Each communication tools convey distinct function in building luxury brand and strengthen elements of brand equity. For instance, advertising provides support in establishing the brand image, which consequently assists in creating identity and attraction, and generates awareness (Fionda and Moore, 2009). Direct communication with the customer on a personal level is an area of growing importance as managers ensure that a relationship with the customer was developed (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). The investment in PR made the brand interesting and attainable and raised awareness (Pickton and Broderick, 20 05). A fashion shows increase fashion element of the brand and help maintaining fashionable positioning (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). Communicating Luxury Brand 2.0- driver and barrier Similar to other industries, new media change structure of communication, which create multiple challenge and opportunity for luxury brand. The major driver that pushes luxury brands to present and conduct business online is that consumer is there. In a meantime, communication of luxury brand through new media concerns the issue of incompatibility of media and industry characteristic, lack of industry reference, and lack of control in message delivery and interpretation. Although luxury industry appears to be associating with innovation, avant-gardism, and creativity, which should compatible with channel of modern business like digital technology, characteristics of new media seems to against luxury core value (Okonkwo, 2009). New media in communication, especially Internet, are suggested to be available to the mass consumer base (Okonkwo, 2009). This is becau

The Mathematical Connections in the De Stijl movement Essays -- Essays

The Mathematical Connections in the De Stijl movement De Stijl or â€Å"The Style† is a movement that originated in Holland with the first publication of the periodical De Stijl in 1917. The works produced took art to a whole new level, pushing creativity to the new modern era. The emergence of the De Stijl movement coincided with constructivism in Russia, with influences from Cubism and the artist Kadinsky. However, the movement was not confined to just one art form. Similar to the Blue Rider and Bauhaus movements, De Stijl spanned to other forms of art like sculpture, furniture design, architecture, and graphic design. The movement continued up until the last published issue of De Stijl in 1931. Major contributors to the group include Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and Georges Vantongerloo. These artists helped to define the De Stijl through their use of form and geometry inspired by mathematics. The De Stijl movement is recognizable in the simplistic use of forms on a plane. Pieces produced during the period of the periodical’s production are distinguished from other abstract work of the time in this use of geometry. Unlike Cubism, De Stijl is more structured and less interested in conveying a particular object through analysis of the different perspectives. The De Stijl went beyond such an interpretation and headed towards a more utopian goal of perfect balance. Paul Overy explains, â€Å"The single element, perceived as separate, and the configuration of elements, perceived as a whole, were intended to symbolize the relationship between the individual and the collective (or the universal)† (8). This idea can be described as almost mysticism in that they were concerned with the overall symboli... ...ple, their exploration with simple forms, planes, axis, and grids resulted in a balance. This balance, in turn, was part of the utopian idea of the De Stijl. The utopia represented the new age arising with technology and the future. It is no surprise that the De Stijl movement is one of the major forerunners of modern art, setting its own â€Å"formula† for inspiration. Works Cited Jaffe, H.C.L. The De Stijl Group: Dutch Plastic Art. Trans. Roy Edwards. J.M. Meulenhoff, Amsterdam. Joosten, Joop. â€Å"Paint and Sculpture in the Context of De Stijl.† De Stijl: 1917-1931 Visions of Utopia, pp. 50-67. Phaidon, Oxford: 1982. Overy, Paul. De Stijl. Thames and Hudson, London: 1991. Troy, Nancy J. The De Stijl Environment. The MIT Press, London: 1983. Warncke, Carsten-Peter. The Ideal as Art De Stijl 1917-1931. Benedikt Taschen, Germany: 1991.