History of Fashion Essay

Fashion has always been a reflection of the collective consciousness and unconsciousness of society. In politically conservative times, fashion reflects the staidness of the majority, but also the subversive elements of the minority. No less a controversial figure than King Louis XIV of France was rumored to have said that fashion was a mirror. Music, films, and television, all potent pop culture mirrors in their own right of the anxieties, hopes, and dreams of any society, all collectively form a synergistic relationship with fashion, each informing, influencing, and cross-pollinating the others in various turns. Fashion is also a pop culture manifestation of the intellectual and cultural trend of postmodernism. Fashion depends on newness; summer, fall, winter, spring are seasons that occur inexorably each year, and with them, the demand for new fashion lines. The inexhaustible hunger for new ideas and inspirations in fashion and other pop culture arenas leads inevitably to cannibalization, plagiarism, re-contextualization, and re-imagination of ideas past and present – the essence of postmodernism. If we survey the landscape of where pop culture and fashion have been, we can to some degree predict the elements which may define where it will go, though in the postmodern universe of the 21st century, it is next to impossible to predict what incarnations will come to pass. Fashion is the byproduct of a leisure society that has transcended many of the basic human struggles on the lower level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Most people in prosperous Western nations are fortunate enough to lead lives in which the acquisition and/or maintenance of food, shelter, and clothing is not a struggle that consumes their existence, as is sadly true in many African nations, for example. Free to ponder the meaning of their lives and the many ways in which it is possible for humans to express their inner thoughts and feelings, citizens of the leisure society began to use fashion as a mode of self-expression and reflection of any number of zeitgeists of their time. As far back as the 1700s, French women consulted fashion magazines to learn the latest fashion trends. Sketch artists were present in royal courts to make note of the fashion choices made by the ruling classes, and communicated these ideas to dressmakers across the nation, who in turn crafted facsimiles for those who were able to afford such fashion mimicry. The French have historically held a special place in the fashion universe since this time. As the 1800s and 1900s saw Western societies evolve from agrarian societies to industrial societies, with the concurrent increase in wealth and disposal income, the focus on and indulgence in fashion increased. With the advent of pop music, most notably rock-and-roll in the 1950s, and television, teenagers all around the world saw the likes of Elvis Presley and his gyrating hips, causing a global fashion sensation. Boys everywhere began to sport white t-shirts (in whose sleeves the more raucous ones rolled packs of cigarettes), blue jeans, and grease their hair. Celebrities from the arenas of music, film, and then television became the new royalty, the new elites, for Western cultures, and the fashion trends they embodies became inspirations for millions in each successive generation. The messages of rock-and-roll became more complex, subversive, and powerful in the 1960s, corresponding with the United States’ controversial entry into the Vietnam War and a wholesale rejection on both sides of the Atlantic of many of the traditional values of the Cold War era. The Beatles’s turn from fresh-scrubbed, feel-good bubblegum pop to psychedelic and metaphysical subject matter influences a new set of fashion trends which shocked the Establishment to the core. Men and women everywhere began wearing colorful (both literally and figuratively), outrageously expressive, and even outlandish fashions, and allowing their hair to grow long. The exhaustion from the myriad political and socio-cultural revolutions of the 1960s, and the stagnant Western economies of the 1970s gave way to a culture preoccupied with escapism and simply having a good time. Sit-ins and political protests gave way to champagne-filled boogie nights. The flower-power psychedelia fashion trends of the late 1960s and early 1970s gave way to the groovy leisure suit styles inspired by the music trend of disco that consumed the world from roughly 1976 to 1980 and cemented by the global box office phenomenology of the film Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta and featuring a soundtrack packed with disco hits written by the Bee Gees. The tight-fitting and well-cut suits worn by Travolta, and the sexy, stylish dresses and pantsuits of the women in the film inspired millions to change their wardrobes accordingly. On the tail end of the disco era came a brief but potent preoccupation with cowboy fashion, inspired by the peculiar utilitarian clothing from the American Old West – cowboy boots, rugged blue jeans, ten-gallon cowboy hats, etc. , again propelled into the collective fashion consciousness of the world by another hugely successful film, 1982’s Urban Cowboy. At the same time the fashion trends inspired by disco and cowboy culture were dying out, the realm of the political again profoundly affected the universe of fashion. The elections of conservative political figureheads Margaret Thatcher in England and Ronald Reagan in the U.  S. sparked a schizophrenic revolution in clothing and music: as economic recoveries were engineered on the backs of the working poor, the culture that proclaimed â€Å"greed is good† took to reveling in the wearing conservative, yet expensive or even shocking clothing – furs, for example — which reflected the mindset of conspicuous consumption. Simultaneously, those cultural elements who were not benefiting from the economic boom were rebelling against the conservative establishment trends and adopting controversial styles embodied, for example, in the slut-chic clothing popularized by the music and videos of Madonna. Music videos, a new invention in pop culture and institutionalized by the power of MTV, became a new showcase for outrageous fashion statements in the 1980s and beyond. The greed and spiritual bankruptcy of the 1980s gave way to the hippie nouveaux culture of the Earth-and-cause-friendly early-to-mid 1990s, and then to the greed nouveaux culture of the late 1990s, spawned by the phenomenal economic growth of the Internet boom. By this time, pop culture had begun to liberally cannibalize itself for new ideas, having exhausted much of its potential for true originality. As technology and civilization continue their exponential evolution of consumption, genuinely original ideas become more and more difficult to generate, leading fashion designers to borrow from past ideas, to combine hitherto uncombined or un-combinable ideas, as evidenced by the infamous phrase â€Å"What’s old is new; what’s new is old. The early 21st Century is a time of profound uncertainty in fashion, with a myriad of recycled influences competing for the crown of the next hot fashion trend. The inherent self-referentiality and cannibalism of post-modernism, however, makes it virtually impossible to predict which trends will take hold and when. The next decade will make for a fascinating time in the universe of fashion.

Cable TV as Going Obsolete Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cable TV as Going Obsolete - Assignment Example 2). The range is more of a generalization rather than a fact since different shows and different networks cater to different people. Taking those into account, television has a possible target demographic ranging from toddlers to octogenarians with little regard for race, level of education or occupation. Over the years, technology has advanced to the point wherein information is accessible through more than one channel. Of late, the internet has become the same kind of competitor to television as television once was to radio. In their 2012 Accenture Consumer Electronics Products and Services Usage Report, Accenture (2012) found out that â€Å"the percentage of consumers watching broadcast or cable TV shows, movies or videos on TV, in a typical week, plummeted from 71 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2011† (p. 8). There are many reasons why people are shifting from television’s scheduled programming to internet. One of the more common reasons is convenience. In a high-s peed world, people find less and less time at home to watch the shows they want to watch on TV. Another recent survey by Nielsen (2012) showed that users of Netflix, an on-demand streaming media provider, have chosen to watch more TV programs on it than ever before totaling 19% of their subscribers which makes an 8% increase from the previous year. Subscribers can watch and rewatch their favorite shows whenever they want with services like these. Another factor that makes online viewing more appealing is the mobility. In a study conducted by Blip.tv (2011), one of the Internet's largest independently owned and operated video properties, people have been spending 9% less time watching television, 26% more time watching web series on the PC, while spending 19% more time watching video content on a mobile device. With the wide range of tablet PCs and smartphones in the market today, people will have little reason to stay at home and watch TV when they can view their favorite videos onl ine wherever they go. On a related note, age and society can also be factors. In the Hollywood Reporter, Georg Szalai (2011) wrote about how baby boomers (47-65 year old citizens) spend more time watching TV than the average person, averaging 5-6 hours a day compared to the 4 hours and 49 minutes of people within the 18-49 year old demographic. Many television networks are making changes to appeal to these people by revamping old shows and featuring familiar faces on their networks. This could be brought about by the older audience’s unfamiliarity with the newer technology. Conversely, the younger crowd is opting for more internet-based or â€Å"cloud services.† Accenture (2012) found that â€Å"Thirty-eight percent of younger consumers have stopped or almost stopped renting or buying DVDs, and 16 percent said they had terminated or were considering terminating TV subscription services† (p. 9). Economically speaking, the increase in the number of consumers willi ng to terminate their TV subscriptions is a practical one. Why would people continue to pay for services they would use for only 3-4 hours a day when they can get the same service anytime they want, anywhere they want along with their internet subscription? All these shifts toward cloud services are dependent on the availability of the hardware and the reliability of an internet connection. Computers are getting smaller, more sophisticated

Drinking under the influence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drinking under the influence - Essay Example I have had to deal with not sleeping at night after becoming aware of who I hurt in the process and be able to live a new life, so that I am conscious of what I do and not to hurt others in the process. This has been a new learning experience for me. Visualizing those bodies at the morgue made me realize the loss of those families, their pain, and their hatred towards people like me (well deserved). I have learned quite a lesson which is (although I would have preferred not to have learned it this way), DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. I have referred to the death victims, but, what about those that suffer physical harm and are incapacitated for life? If I cannot sleep with comfort now, I can not imagine what would have been of me if someone’s life would be hindered in such a way that they could not resume their life according to their prior dreams. I wholeheartedly, recommend to anyone that if they drink and drive, to go see people that are in charge of DUI and MADD and learn of what people’s responsibilities are and what you have to go through. It is not a pretty sight and hopefully you will be dissuaded from drinking and driving. Talking with them will give insights to know: what is expected of you; how you should act responsibly; how to consider the possible consequences of your actions; and, that drinking and driving do not go hand-in-hand. Avoid a disaster in your life. Be well and learn from my experiences. There is no reason why you should have to go through these awful experiences. Just as a dear friend of mine once said, â€Å"You do not have to have cancer to know that it is

Business ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business ethics - Essay Example Business ethics Corporate responsibility entails two issues: doing the positive good to the community, and doing no harm or whatsoever to the community.This means that the corporations pay back to the community through participating in community beautification efforts and events, volunteering expertise, donating money to the worthy causes and being a responsible employer. On the other hand, doing no harm entails efforts of the business towards the environment in its production activities, transportation and disposal. Therefore, in order to best examine moral corporations and corporate responsibility for the environment let us start by considering issues of the environment we face (McLachlan, 2008). There is a wide possibility of developing a moral corporation; this requires looking closely at values and changing attitudes. This paper seeks to form a position for the development of a moral corporate culture and map out a specific plan for obtaining a moral corporation. Moral responsibility is the sta te of deserving moral praise, reward, blame, or punishment for an omission or act, with respect to moral obligations. Making decisions on whether or not something is obligatory morally is a concern of principles of ethics. Corporations with moral responsibility for actions are referred to as moral agents. Such corporations are able to reflect on their circumstances, make intentions concerning how they act, and finally do such actions. Developing a moral corporation is a free will issue whether or not corporations will be morally responsible for the actions they get involved in. The scholars’ debate over the attributes of moral responsibility in corporations has been going on for decades. The conformational approach to this argument is to determine the necessary conditions for moral corporations and plan for the development of moral corporations, and whether such conditions can be satisfied by corporations (McLachlan, 2008). The development of moral corporations needs to ensur e that the environment is duly protected. Environmental ethics iscomplicated in practice because of the numerous distinct perspectives that are involved. The development of moral corporations needs to encompass this ethics. In some situations it may be difficult for corporations to understand the environmentalists’ arguments on environmental ethics. Disagreements, hence, rise on plans for developing a moral corporation. It is obvious that corporations possess different viewpoints on ethics of the environment. It is, however, possible for corporations put their different options aside for the good of the environment and agree simply that some actions about the environment need to be done in order to make corporations morally upright. In order to develop a moral corporation, such corporations need to admit that protection of the environment is important, whether they are acting out of a sense of responsibility or out of a sense of self-preservation for the future generation, fo r to the Earth itself or to all the forms of life. Corporations need to adopt an environmental pragmatism. This ensures that moral corporations are developed and maintained; that the corporations can achieve a consensus on the values of the environment that identify and determine the policies of the environment that all other corporations can agree on (McLachlan, 2008). When thinking of moral corporations, a plethora of questions rise: if the consumerism was predated by an ethical community, then how did consumerism supersede the morals of business practitioners? How does it

To what extent can management control organizational culture Essay - 1

To what extent can management control organizational culture - Essay Example As such, the management in an organisation needs to provide direction regarding the beliefs, values and behaviours adopted by workers in an organisation. Further, the organisation structure as part of the organisational culture denotes the type of structure that organisations prefer to use in order to achieve their desired goals. A structure in an organisation helps to define authority and can either be vertical or horizontal structure. In a vertical structure, power emanates from the top downwards while, in a horizontal structure, responsibility is divided among teams in an organisation and power is less defined compared to the vertical structure. Consequently, the type of structure adopted by an organisation depends on what they want to achieve in both the short term and long-term basis. However, in any form of organisational culture, the management has a critical role in ensuring the beliefs, values, behaviours and organisation structure is in line with the organisation’s v ision and mission. In this sense, the extent which the management can control organisational culture depends on the cooperation that exist between the management and other employees at the workplace (Alavi et al. 2006). In most organisations, controlling the organisational culture is not an easy task because of the diversified culture in at workplace for instance (Ackroyd & Crowdy, 1990). As such, in order for the management to provide direction in terms of adopting an effective organisational culture, it is important that they understand the needs of their employees. Developing a culture that resonates with all employees in an organisation is a challenging task for the management and thus it is important that the management learn and understand the needs of their employees (Ackroyd & Crowdy, 1990). Further, despite the type of organisation structure used, employees’ cooperation is still necessary to achieve success with various plans in an organisation. Whether an organisation

Research paper on target population-18 yr. olds aging out of Foster Essay

Research paper on target population-18 yr. olds aging out of Foster Care System - Essay Example f individuals risk factors The factors that account for the varied outcomes of aged out individuals are influenced by quality care of foster care facility. Aged out individuals of foster care systems might become innocent victims of physical and emotional changes. Inadequate foster care ends up being more expensive to society because it generates incapable, inefficient suppressed future youth. Application of proactive measures and preventive tools should be taken by the organisations to control their exit out of foster care system. Positive events and quality care experienced by individuals in youth would definitely help them to achieve much more in their life. The strategies should be aimed to improve behavioral outcomes, enhance life satisfaction, and greater level of competence in activities of daily living. Foster care givers are committed to helping the children and young people who are physically, mentally, and/or socially abandoned. Government is responsible to take care of these youths. Local, state and Federal funding operates foster care services (Winder, 2007). When the individual turn 18 years, he/she is out of dependent foster care living system and has to start independent living. Moving into adulthood is important transformation in the span of human life. The individuals at this stage might not be physically and intellectually mature to take right decisions required to drive their future in a proper direction. Aged out individuals of foster care systems might become innocent victims of physical and emotional changes. Many times unfairly treated youth in foster care are saddened and get deeply hurt by surrounding forces. Plight of former foster care young people is of great concern. They might not be that strong to be own their own and stop relying on charity or handouts, whe n they are no longer part of foster care. The factors that account for the varied outcomes of aged out individuals are influenced by quality care of foster care facility.

Unionization of a Parker-Hannifin Corp Research Paper

Unionization of a Parker-Hannifin Corp - Research Paper Example This creates ways that are more sustainable getting materials and people, to places that they want to go. The employees are free to join labor unions. However, the employees and management must agree on collective bargaining. In case of a strike, the workers have to reach to a tentative agreement with the management, like the case in Toronto, where an agreement was reached hours after extending deadline of the strike, on June 23, 2010 (Bennett, 2009). Bennett claims that the company’s spokesman, John Arnone had failed to give an accord details with two workers of the Canadian Auto, who represented 2,700 office and production workers. Other strikes that were solved by unionization and management negotiations were in 2000, where job security and pension negotiations collapsed. Parker-Hannifin is concerned with the manufacture of design, and marketing of systems and components for users and builders of durable goods. On June 30, 1987, Bennett assess that the company had 28,708 em ployees, where only 6.5% (18570 were union members. In this company, there is no collective bargaining between the management and the employees, on issues concerning them. The company’s labor rules and practices are practiced as per the management’s will, without any agreement with the employees. This has really down played the employees welfare, while the company reaps substantial benefits. What are the differences in the bargaining powers of employees between the two companies? And, what are their bargaining items?