Exhibition of Wayne Thibaud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exhibition of Wayne Thibaud - Essay Example The essay "Exhibition of Wayne Thibaud" discovers Wayne Thibaud's Exhibition. A student of commercial art, he spent several years as a professional cartoonist at the Walt Disney Studios and elsewhere before moving on to teach art. Thibaud’s knowledge of and respect for commercial illustration greatly informed his subsequent work, which is marked by its formal geometric order and clearly defined forms. After briefly working in the dominant abstract expressionist style, Thibaud settled on realism as his primary mode of expression in the mid-1950s. In the 1960’s Thibaud received his Master’s from Sacramento State and later became an assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis—where he would remain through the 1970s. It was during his tenure at UC Davis when he created some of his most iconic works.In 1963, Thibaud turned increasingly to figure and landscape painting. Beginning in the 1970s, he began painting San Francisco cityscapes, wildly dis torted views of the city's streets and hillsides that are reminiscent not only of Richard Diebenkorn's cityscapes from the mid-sixties but also the Precisionist paintings of Charles Sheeler and Georgia O'Keefe. His most recent landscapes dating from the mid-1990s share many of the same spatial and planar distortions seen in the cityscapes but utilize hotter color and flattened planes to create the imagery. Although he has been frequently associated with Pop Art due to his choice of subject matter, Thibaud does not consider himself a Pop artist., nor does he align himself with the Bay Area figurative movement. His painting does not critique American culture so much as celebrate it, and his brushwork is more individual and expressive than the flat, mechanized style favored by Pop artists such as Andy Warhol and James Rosenquist. Thibaud himself disavows an allegiance to any style, preferring to concentrate on the discipline of painting and his formal concerns. This focus places him in context with earlier painters he admires, including the 18th-century French painter Chardin, Giorgio Morandi, and Edward Hopper. Wayne Thibaud was awarded the National Medal of Arts and a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In 2001, he was honored with a retrospective and monograph organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's Legion of Honor. The show to traveled to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas. His work is held by major museums in the United States and abroad. His recent series of beach painting was influenced by his youth which dates back to the 1920s and 1930s in Long Beach, California. Thibaud served as a city lifeguard which gave him a unique perspective of the coastline and activities happening at the beach. This was the first impression of beach culture that was marked on his tab (Wayne Thibaud: 70 years). At present, Thibaud continues to work on themes inspired by Southern California beach culture. He fuses his vivid colors with these subjects slightly diverging from the subjects of his early works. Comparing Thibaud's early works from his recent works, most of the subjects of his early works were foods such as cakes, pies and sandwiches. An example of his early work is the painting Cakes, pictured below, which was created in 1963. During his later years, his works incorporate landscapes and street scenes. Such is evident with his painting Rivers and Farms, pictured below,

Trader Joes Essay Example for Free

Trader Joes Essay After observing that consumers are more likely to try new things when they are on vacation, he turned his store into an â€Å"oases† with a marine theme and cheerful employees wearing Hawaiian shirts. Trader Joe’s is differentiated with their innovative, one-of-a-kind foods priced well below their competitors. Trader Joe’s has an obligation to their employees, customers, and the community. To start off, Trader Joe’s has an obligation to their employees, and employees have certain expectations about their job concerning the job itself, pay, benefits, promotion, co-workers, and supervision. Employees expect, or at least hope for, a pleasant work environment, reasonable compensation, benefits such as insurance, opportunities for advancement, friendly co-workers, and guidance when they need it and respect from their supervisors. Trader Joe’s seems to meet their employee expectations. They are surrounded by an exciting, friendly, fun, and happy environment every day. They earn significantly more than employees at other grocery chains with managers making at least around $120,000 per year. Their starting benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, company-paid retirement, paid vacation, and a 10% employee discount. There are opportunities for advancement as they hire managers only from within the company. They even have their own university, Trader Joe’s University, where their future leaders enroll in training programs to ensure they will be able to meet company and customer expectations. The university also teaches them to instill the Trader Joe’s attitude. Management spends their days on the floor with their crew and customers instead of in an office with the door closed. Trader Joe’s fulfills their obligations to their employees. Trader Jos’s also has an obligation to their customers, and customers also have certain expectations, such as, reasonable prices, availability of stock, correct information about products, a pleasant shopping environment and experience, and friendly and helpful employees. Customers definitely receive an enjoyable shopping experience from the theme to the employees. They have even come to expect a customer-focused attitude specifically from Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s highlights â€Å"soft skills† as much as the actual retail experience. The employees are friendly, are customer involved, and have high product knowledge. The employees taste and learn about the products, share their experiences, and take the time to locate and recommend products. Trader Joe’s also has a philosophy of â€Å"every penny we save is a penny you save. † They focus on natural ingredient, buy directly from suppliers whenever possible, buy in volume, contract early, do not give their suppliers a fee for putting items on the shelf, and drop items that don’t pull weight to keep costs down. Their CEO does not even have a secretary to cut every possible cost so they can offer lower prices. They limit their stock while selling twice as much as other supermarkets by selling high quality products at lower prices. Trader Joe’s says, â€Å"Giving people too much choice can result in paralysis†¦the more options you offer, the less likely people are to choose any. † Trader Joe’s then has an obligation to the community, and the community has certain expectations of Trader Joe’s. They have an obligation to the community to be responsible, abide by rules and regulations, proved accurate information, provide safe products, and respect environmental concerns. They seem to be fulfilling their obligations to the community, but in 2010, Trader Joe’s was found selling 15 out of 22 red-list seafoods, those that are overfished and need to be conserved for their survival. This raised high concerns. They were quick to respond with a promise to remove the red-listed seafood, to improve product labeling with more accurate information about seafood products, and to only offer sustainable seafood in all formats by the end of 2012. They started using the Seafood Watch list to focus their product development and other third-party, science-based information to help with their goals. They are responding to customer concerns and feedback to fit customer needs of food safety and taste and environmental concerns. Trader Joe’s did break obligations to the community, but they are confronting the situation and responding to concerns to fix the problem. If they keep their promise they can return to fulfilling all their obligations. Any obligation to the community is also an obligation to their customers. Aside from the seafood situation, Trader Joe’s fulfills their obligations to their customers. If they fix the seafood situation and keep their end of 2012 promise, their customers will probably forgive and trust them. However, they need to make sure they do not pass any of the cost of their obligation to see through on their promise because this could then damage their reputation.

Impact of skiing on mountain environments

Impact of skiing on mountain environments It is extremely easy to forget the impact imposed by skiing on the mountain environments. Most people believe the only effect that they have on the environment within mountain regions are the tracks in the snow left by their skis. However, there is strong evidence that skiing has both a social and more noticeably, environmental impacts that influence the natural environment. Some experts of the Alpine region suggest that tourists directly affect over half of the Alps entire surface area. It can therefore be stated that the Alps are now one of the most threatened mountain ecosystems on Earth. This viewpoint was further backed up by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, chairman of Alp Action, based in Geneva, which works towards preserving and restoring the Alpine habitat, saying that tourists have merely transported the problems of the city up 6,500 feet. As the majority of ski slopes take place on the sides of large, rugged mountains, the process of deforestation is required in order to create the downhill ski slopes. Deforestation can lead to the displacement of the natural habitats of resident birds as well as cause an increase in the surface runoff from the melt water flowing down the mountains once the snow has melted in the summer months. The problem of surface runoff is further increased by the alteration of the grade of the slope in order to make it suitable for skiers. This allows the melt water to flow quicker and results in the melt water coming into contact with few obstacles which can eventually lead to landslides. Other wildlife such as ibex, snow hares, and red deer are also affected by deforestation and the alteration of the slopes grade. Wildlife is initially affected by the development and expansion of the ski resorts, however, the human impact on wildlife can also be seen in the construction and maintenance of the s ki runs in the night time and by the numerous skiers during the daytime. An example of the affects on wildlife is the black grouse which resides in the Alps, Wales, Scotland and the Lake District. As a result of skiing, the black grouse now exists at only half its usual population density around ski resorts. However, the disturbance area is increasing in size as more and more people ski off-piste and intrude into the habitat of the black grouse. When examining the visual impacts of skiing on the mountain environment, it is easy to see that the monstrous metallic pylons which support the ski lifts and the ski lift terminals blemish the previously unscarred panoramic views. The implications of all of the developments within the mountain environment results in a snowballing affect and results in increased pressure on the environment. With the rise in popularity of some resorts such as Tignes and the Trois Vallà ©es in France, there is the added pressure of expansion of the resorts and the improvement of its facilities. The ski resorts are mainly built on confined valley floor areas and are therefore hemmed in by the surrounding mountainous environment. However, the need to accommodate the increasing numbers and demands of tourists means that resorts have had to expand resulting in further erosion of the mountain sides. The impact of skiers on the environment can be seen due to the increased problems of global warming within these areas. Over the past few years, scientists have proved that the snow levels in mountain areas such as the Alps in Europe have started to dwindle. Birgit Ottmer from the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research based in the famous resort of Davos said that the Alpine areas below 1,600 metres are now receiving twenty per cent less snow. The future is even more unpromising with Michel Revaz of the Liechtenstein-based Alpine conservation society Cipra, stating that within fifty years all ski resorts below 1,200 metres wont have a chance and will go out of business. This is especially unwelcoming news for the majority of the ski resorts within Austria where seventy-five per cent of all of the ski lifts lie below 1,000 metres. The problem of snow levels has meant that new resorts are springing up further and further up the sides of the mountains. This migration of ski resorts will mean further visual impacts on the area with large accommodation blocks and pylons being erected further upland as well as an increase in the human affects on the higher altitude areas which have a more sensitive ecosystem. It is widely believed that aviation travel currently contributes about four per cent of the global carbon dioxide emissions. This is a worrying fact, especially when over thirty million international tourists fly into the Alpine region each year and the fact that Alpine tourism is only second in the world to the Mediterranean coast in the number of visiting tourists per annum. Once arrived in the Alpine region, the vast amounts of tourists generally reach the ski resorts by vehicles or even coaches supplied by the travel agencies. The increasing presence of vehicles within this environment has led to an increase in carbon emissions from the vehicles. Within some areas of the Alps, the pollutants reach the upland coniferous trees. Once this has happened, the pollutants weaken the evergreen trees which then become susceptible to insects and parasites. The United Nations recently carried out a study on the affects humans have on the mountain forests and discovered that acid rain and air pollution have damaged approximately sixty per cent of the Swiss, Italian, German and Austrian alpine forests. Another human impact which can be related to global warming is the retreat of the glaciers worldwide. Many skiers and snow boarders enjoy the thrill of skiing or snow boarding on glaciers. The tour guides usually put a great emphasis on the environment and the affects of humans on the mountain environment during the excursion; however, these tours may cease to exist in the near future with the retreat of the mountain glaciers. For example, Boulder Glacier in the North American state of Washington, is extremely popular with climbers, skiers and snow boarders. However, such activities have an increasingly short life as the glacier retreated an incredible four hundred and fifty metres between 1987 and 2005. The retreat of the glacier can be directly linked to the rise in the winter temperatures and to the reduction in snowfall levels within this region. There is an increasing problem with the amount of litter in the ski resorts. As is true anywhere else in the world, the majority of litter dropped does not degrade straight away or at all. However, in such a sensitive or delicate region, like the Alps, the effects are amplified. For instance an orange peel takes approximately two years to fully degrade, and cigarette butts can take up to five years to disintegrate. The chocolate wrappers or left over lunch that is left outside the mountain restaurants attract species which would not normally be found at such high altitudes. This alteration in the fragile ecosystem has a huge affect on the indigenous population of wildlife which eventually die out due to the invasive species. However, tourism can help sustain the mountain communities. The tourists provide a market for the local communities. There are over four and a half million beds for tourists within the Alps. The local communities have set up bed and breakfast accommodation as well as hostels and small, traditional hotels or chalets. This provides a vital economy for the local population even though the busiest periods are only during the winter months. Upon seeing that the majority of their business is seasonal, many of the locals in the ski resorts and surrounding villages have begun to diversify in order to sustain a living throughout the year. The local population have begun to offer summer outdoor activities to try and attract thrill-seeking or nature-loving tourists in the summer months. Many of those within the mountain communities offer guiding walks in the summer or activities such as rock climbing and driving off road vehicles through the rough terrain. The local authorities for ski resorts have only recently started to publicise visiting mountain areas in the summer months and are trying to advertise the ski resorts and villages as year-round destinations instead of solely winter locations. Tourism can help sustain human communities if the right methods are introduced by the local authorities, for example by ensuring that the local populations get their share of the money brought in by tourists so that the larger international tourism firms do not overpower the local businesses. This might include, the local authorities supporting local brands or shops and only allowing a certain number of international businesses or hotels into the region. Many learning schemes have also been introduced in order for the local population to learn other languages such as English in order to accommodate and to improve on the services provided to tourists visiting their town or village. Teaching the locals languages will help them both socially and economically and could even lead to their customers returning or attracting new customers by word of mouth due to the level of customer service. Having a second language allows local people who know the area and its surrounding environment best, to supply more annual activities such as guided walks. This will keep the economy within the area and result in a small rise in the prosperity of the local population. In conclusion, I believe that skiing is not a sustainable activity and has greater impacts on the mountain environment than it does improve it. The affects on the environment are detrimental and could mean that future generations will not be able to go and look at the Mont-Blanc Glacier in its current beauty but will be able to admire at it from text books due to its possible demise. However, I do have confidence in the fact that tourism can play a large role in sustaining and improving the local human communities and makes the mountain areas an extremely exciting and diverse area which is why so many people visit it each year.

The Nature of Death in Emily Dickinsons Poems Essay -- Poetry Analysi

Emily Dickinson once said, â€Å"Dying is a wild night and a new road.† Some people welcome death with open arms while others cower in fear when confronted in the arms of death. Through the use of ambiguity, metaphors, personification and paradoxes Emily Dickinson still gives readers a sense of vagueness on how she feels about dying. Emily Dickinson inventively expresses the nature of death in the poems, â€Å"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280)†, â€Å"I Heard a fly Buzz—When I Died—(465)â€Å" and â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death—(712)†. Emily Dickinson, who achieved more fame after her death, is said to be one of the greatest American poets of all time. Dickinson communicated through letters and notes and according to Amy Paulson Herstek, author of â€Å"Emily Dickinson: Solitary and Celebrated Poet,† â€Å"Writing was the way she kept in touch with the world† (15). Dickinson’s style is unique and although unconventional, it led to extraordinary works of literature. Dickinson lived her life in solitude, but in her solitude she was free to read, write and think which led to her nonconformity and strong sense of individualism. Suzanne Juhasz, a biographer of Dickinson, sums up most critics’ idea of Dickinson ideally: â€Å"Emily Dickinson is at once the most intimate of poets, and the most guarded. The most self-sufficient, and the neediest. The proudest, and the most vulnerable. These contradictions, which we as her readers encounter repeatedly in her poems, are understandable, not parado xical, for they result from the tension between the life to which she was born and the one to which she aspired† (1). Dickinson poured her heart and soul into over 1,700 poems, 600 of which relate to death. Paul J. Ferlazzo, a contributing author of â€Å"Emily Dickinson† write... ...d A. Walton Litz. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1991. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. Hochman, Jhan. â€Å"Critical Essay on ‘I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died—‘.† Poetry for Students. Mary K. Ruby. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. Morningstar, Carolyn. â€Å"’Uncertain stumbling buzz’: Carolyn Morningstar explores creative uncertainty in Emily Dickinson’s poetry.† The English Review Feb. 2007: 21+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. Semansky, Chris. â€Å"An overview of Because I Could Not Stop for Death†.† Poetry for Students. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. Zarlengo, Kristina. â€Å"Critical Essay on ‘I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died—‘.† Poetry for Students. Mary K. Ruby. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.

Investigation to Find the Water Potential of Potato and Carrot Tubers

An investigation to find the water potential of potato and carrot tubers in a sucrose solution, of concentration 0. 00 – 0. 50Mol, over a 24 hour period Interpretation Written Communication C1 From our graph it can be seen that the concentration of sucrose solution is 0. 18 M at 0% change in mass for the potato and 0. 355 M at 0% change in mass for the carrot. I will use these values to find the solute potential by using the calibration graph. I will work out the water potential by using the equation, ? =? s +? p (Water Potential = Solute Potential + Pressure Potential). The ? s of the potato at 0% change in mass is -500 kPa and the ? of the carrot at 0% change in mass is -1000 kPa. Through the use of our equation, the water potential of the potato and carrot are -500 kPa and -1000 kPa (respectfully) as in this case the solute potential equals the water potential as there is no pressure potential as the solution is open and it isn’t under a membrane so it is not under p ressure. The Water Potential (? ) of the solution is equal to the ? of the tuber as there is no pressure potential. C2 and C3 As the concentration of the sucrose solution increases, the average percentage change in mass decreases in the potato tubers and this is the same as in the carrot tubers.At low concentrations of sucrose solutions (0. 1 M) the mass of the carrot and potato tubers increases due to water moving into the protoplast of the cell from the sucrose solution by osmosis and at high concentrations of sucrose solutions (0. 5 M) the mass of the carrot and potato tubers decreases due to water moving out of the protoplast of the cell to the sucrose solution by osmosis. At certain concentrations (0. 18 M of the potato and 0. 355 M for the carrot) the potato and carrot tubers don’t change in mass due to the water potential inside the cells equalling the water potential of the sucrose solution.My graph displays a distinct negative correlation; the higher the concentratio n of sucrose solution, the larger the difference between the mass over the 24 hour period becomes, and the smaller the mass gets. Osmosis is the movement of water from a high water potential to a low water potential across a semi-permeable membrane. C4 and C5 Osmosis is the net movement of water particles from areas of high water potential to areas of lower water potential across a semi-permeable membrane, such as the cell membrane.This can also be described as moving down a concentration gradient. The water potential of a substance measures the amount of free energy that is available in an aqueous solution to cause the migration of water molecules during osmosis. The symbol for water potential is ? and is measured in kPa (kilo-pascals). The water potential of pure water is zero, as all the particles are free; this means that all particles contain kinetic energy and are under attractive forces, so they in constant random movement. In relation to my results, at concentration 0. 8M fo r the potato and 0. 355M for the carrot, there is an osmotic balance between the potato and carrot cells and sucrose solution – the water potentials are equal. This is also known as an isotonic solution – where equilibrium is reached between the rates of osmosis in and out of a solution. Above this value, the solution becomes hypertonic (having a higher solute concentration than the potato and carrot), while below this value, the sucrose solution becomes hypotonic (having a lower solute concentration than the potato and carrot).A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of solutes compared to another solution, while a hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solutes compared to another solution. An isotonic solution has an identical concentration of solutes as another solution. These can also be described as having a lower, identical, and higher osmotic pressure, respectfully, than another solution. I noticed that the hypertonic potato and carrot had becom e soft and lost all of its structural integrity, and was generally flaccid.This became more noticeable as the concentration of the sucrose solution increased and the percentage change in mass gets more negative. Evaluation D1 I consider my results to be appropriate in meeting the aims of this investigation as we measured the change in mass of the potato as opposed to measuring the change in length as it will give an indication of the amount of water entering the potato and carrot due to osmosis. All measurements were made to two decimal places meaning the level of accuracy is very high and that the scales used could detect even the slightest changes in mass. D2In order to try to obtain accurate results a number of procedures had to be carried out; †¢ Firstly, we covered the top of each test tube with cling film to reduce the amount of water evaporating from the sucrose solution. If water were to evaporate from the solution, it would mean that the solution would become more conc entrated and this seriously affect the amount of water entering the potato and carrot as the water potential in the external solution would be drastically lower than that of the potato and carrot cells. †¢ Secondly, we used the same volume of sucrose solution in each test tube.If the quantities of each solution were not equal, instead of getting the desired concentration of sucrose solution, a slightly different concentrated solution would be produced. This will affect the potato and carrot by exposing it to a different concentration of sucrose solution, therefore giving us a different result to the one expected. This happens as osmosis occurs because of the kinetic energy found in the water molecules. The kinetic energy causes the particles to vibrate and move randomly – moving around the area in which they are held. The random movement causes the particles to distribute randomly around the area.The higher concentrated solution has more particles that can move across th e membrane compared to the lower, producing a net movement down the concentration gradient. †¢ Thirdly, we tried to maintain the temperature by keeping the test tubes in a regulated room. If the temperature were to increase it would cause the kinetic energy of the sucrose solution increase and if the temperature were to decrease it would cause the kinetic energy of the sucrose solution to decrease. †¢ I also tried to ensure that each tuber was dried in the same way, but this proved to be very difficult.It was important to only remove the solution from the surface because we did not want to remove any water from the cells which would affect the mass of the tubers. †¢ Lastly, each tuber was sourced from the same potato or carrot as every potato and carrot have a different composition of starch and sucrose which would alter the solute potential of the potato and carrot and this has an effect on the amount of water that enters or leaves the tubers by osmosis. D3 Although the experiment was as fair as it could have been, there were some factors that were beyond our control.Firstly, the tubers that we used may not have been from the same specimen, although the specimen may have been from the same bag they could be biologically different. Secondly, there could have been some skin left on the tubers which could have affected the rate at which the water entered the tubers due to osmosis. Thirdly, when we were weighing the tubers we had to handle them which could have extracted some water from the tubers, this would alter the true weight of the tubers after 24 hours and therefore alter the results of the experiment.D4 and D5 My experiment is reliable as it was repeated six times in the form of the pooled class result. However, there were a few anomalies among the group results e. g. some groups have higher or lower results than the others; this would cause the average class result to be lower or higher depending on the value of the anomaly. This could be as simple as the use of different potatoes and carrots being used for each group or any of the reasons mentioned in D3.

The Raging Storm Essay Example

The Raging Storm Essay Example The Raging Storm Essay The Raging Storm Essay Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear. The rage of the storm moves closer, destroying everything in its path like a savage beast, relentless it moves closer to its target. The skies empty, as flocks of birds swiftly take refuge from the incoming terror. The wildlife escapes from the forthcoming violence with lightening speed, the sense of danger burning in their minds. Humans still oblivious to the danger continue with their work without the knowledge it will all be taken away from them in a fit of rage. An eerie silence hangs over the town, the calm before the storm, conning the inhabitants of our planet with the deadliest of consequences.  With a single flash of lightening the storm looms down on the small, unsuspecting town, like a general giving the signal for his troops to go into battle it marches past the weak defences of the Earth. With the force of ten thousand horses it rips its way through the countryside, cutting its way through power lines and trees like a knife through butter, effortlessly destroying the terrain. The rain begins to attack the ground as the storm descends. Within seconds, it engulfs the small community with devastating force. The torrential rain beats against the rickety window of a fragile house, trying to find a way into the fading security of a childs bedroom. Merciless the storm picks up, every minute its ferocity doubles, the disaster growing with the strength of the storm. Frightened onlookers gaze in awe as the storm tears through their once peaceful village, it seems like time stands still as a deafening explosion rocks the trembling Earth. A new weapon in the storms armament is used against the exposed inhabitants of the town, fire. The mighty force of the gale spreads the inferno faster than the escaping creatures can run. The storm that a small gust of wind has evolved into swallows the fleeing animals, they let out screams of pain that you can almost feel as they are thrown up into the gloomy sky. The code is cracked to get into the houses, what remains of the devastated community is finally worn down and reduced to piles of rubble. The terrified families flee into the ancient shelters, built by their ancestors after last time nature vented her fury. The rotting wooden door is torn apart by the malicious wind, slowly giving in to the onslaught from above. Inside the refuge the prisoners sit anxiously waiting for the storm to pass, every crack of thunder echoes around the room, reminding them of the danger lurking outside. The storm knocks against the door of the shelter, waiting patiently for the right opportunity to break in. Unsuccessful it moves on to the next target, undeterred by the resolute survivors of the tragedy. With the same flash of lightening that signalled the start of the storm it disappears, leaving behind a scene from a war zone. Houses demolished, trees uprooted, burnt-out cars and several bemused survivors helping the injured and trying to work out what just happened. A strange silence hangs over the town, sometimes interrupted by the screaming sirens of the emergency services. No dogs can be heard barking in the evening air, the sky is empty of all birds whose songs used to serenade the residents of the town, no children playing in the summers day, just the occasional call for help from the mountains of rubble. The calm after the storm, reflecting the tension in the air before the storm. Rescuers still wary of the Earth, now darkening with night fall, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.

Biography of Hans Hofmann, Abstract Expressionism Pioneer

Biography of Hans Hofmann, Abstract Expressionism Pioneer Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 - February 17, 1966) was an American painter born in Germany. He was one of the foremost pioneers of the abstract expressionist movement. As an art instructor for four decades, he influenced some of the greatest painters of the 20th century. Fast Facts: Hans Hofmann Occupation: Painter and art teacherBorn: March 21, 1880 in Weissenburg, BavariaDied: February 17, 1966 in New York, New YorkSpouses: Maria Wolfegg (died 1963), and Renate Schmitz (married 1965)Selected Works: The Wind (1942), Pompeii (1959), Song of the Nightingale, (1964)Key Accomplishment: 1963 New York Museum of Modern Art retrospective that toured three continents.Notable Quote: In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light. Early Life and Education Born to a German family in Bavaria, Hans Hofmann demonstrated a keen interest in science and mathematics from an early age. At age sixteen, he followed his fathers career path and took a job with the government. The younger Hofmann worked as an assistant to the director of Public Works. The position allowed him to indulge his love of mathematics while patenting a wide range of devices, including a portable freezer for military use and a radar system for sailing ships. During his government employment, Hans Hofmann began to study art. Between 1900 and 1904, while living in Munich, he met his future wife, Maria Miz Wolfegg. He also befriended Philipp Freudenberg, owner of the high-end department store Kaufhaus Gerson and a passionate art collector. Still Life. Geoffrey Clements / Getty Images Through Freudenbergs patronage over the next decade, Hans Hofmann was able to move to Paris with Miz. While in France, Hofmann immersed himself deeply in the avant-garde painting scene. He met Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and many others. As his reputation grew, Hofmanns painting Akt (Nude) appeared in the 1908 Berlin Secession show. Leaving Germany When World War I broke out in 1914, Hofmann and his wife were forced to leave Paris and return to Munich. The government disqualified him from military service due to a respiratory condition, and he opened an art school in 1915. In 1924, he married Miz. Hofmanns reputation as an art instructor reached overseas, and in 1930, a former student invited him to teach the 1930 summer art session at the University of California at Berkeley. After spending two years traveling between the U.S. and Germany to teach and work, he postponed a return trip to Germany for the foreseeable future. Hans Hofmann lived in the United States for most of the rest of his life, applying for U.S. citizenship in 1938 while Europe was barely a year away from the start of World War II. In 1934, Hans Hofmann opened his art school in New York and offered classes for the next 24 years. In the summer, he moved his instruction to Provincetown, Massachusetts. He earned tremendous respect as an instructor working as a mentor to Helen Frankenthaler, Ray Eames, and Lee Krasner, as well as becoming close friends with Jackson Pollock. Hans Hofmann (American, b. Germany, 1880-1966). Fantasia, 1943. Oil, duco, and casein on plywood. 51 1/2 x 36 5/8 in. (130.8 x 93 cm). Gift of the artist. Berkeley Art Museum, University of California. Photo: Benjamin Blackwell. Â © Renate, Hans Maria Hofmann Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Abstract Expressionism Hans Hofmann was the only painter of the group of New York-based artists given credit for popularizing abstract expressionism who was directly involved with the Paris avant-garde before World War I. With that connection, he bridged the gap between two of the most influential communities of artists in the 20th century and inspired a generation of painters. In his own work, Hofmann explored color and form. He claimed that art could be given its voice by distilling it to its basics and removing unnecessary material. Among his prominent pieces was The Wind. For years, many historians believed that seeing paintings like it was a key influence on Jackson Pollocks development of the drip painting technique. More recent examination has led art historians to believe that Hofmann and Pollock were experimenting with poured paint at the same time. The Wind (1942). University of California, Berkeley Art Museum In 1944, Hans Hofmann received his first solo gallery show in New York. Art critics celebrated it as a step forward in the exploration of the abstract expressionist style. His work during the 1940s ranged from playful self-portraits executed with bold strokes to colorful geometric shapes that echoed the work of European masters Hans Arp and Joan Miro. Later Work After a retrospective at the Whitney in New York in 1957, Hofmann experienced a late-career renaissance of interest in his work. He quit teaching in 1958 and focused on the creation of art for the final years of his life. Artists and critics alike celebrated his work around the world. In 1963, New Yorks Museum of Modern Art mounted an even more extensive retrospective that traveled across the U.S., South America, and Europe. During the 1960s, Hofmann endured significant sadness due to the passing of many of his artist friends. In response to the deaths of Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock as well as others, he dedicated new pieces to their memory. The most significant blow occurred in 1963 with the passing of Miz due to a heart attack. In the fall of 1965, Hofmann married Renate Schmitz, a woman 50 years his junior. They remained together until his death from a heart attack on February 17, 1966. Hans Hofmann (American, b. Germany, 1880-1966). Memoria in Aeternum, 1962. Oil on canvas. 84 x 72 1/8 in. (213.3 x 183.2 cm). Gift of the artist. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Â © 2010 Renate, Hans Maria Hofmann Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Educator Hans Hofmann was arguably the most influential art instructor of the 20th century. He influenced a generation of young European artists through his teaching in the first years after World War I. Later, particularly in the 1940s, his instruction inspired a generation of American artists. Hans Hofmanns School of Fine Art in Munich focused heavily on the ideas of Paul Cezanne, Wassily Kandinsky, and the Cubists. He offered regular one-on-one critiques, which were a rarity in art schools of the time. Some historians count Hofmanns Munich school as the first ever school of modern art. One of Hofmanns most lasting contributions to the understanding of art was his push/pull theory of spatial relations. He believed that contrasts of colors, forms, and textures created a push and pull in the mind of the viewer that must be balanced. Hofmann also believed that social propaganda or history lessons put an unnecessary burden on paintings and did not make them better works of art. The additional content worked against a vivid depiction of space and the pure magic of creating two-dimensional art on canvas. Legacy As an instructor and mentor, Hans Hofmann was at the center of some of the most significant movements in modern art from the turn of the 20th century to the 1960s. His avid interest in the colorful work of Henri Matisse took the young Hofmann away from a focus on cubism that ultimately led to his work with slabs of color in his mature abstract expressionist work of the 1950s and 1960s. Sources Dickey, Tina. Color Creates Light: Studies with Hans Hoffman. Trillistar Books, 2011.Goodman, Cynthia. Hans Hofmann. Prestel, 1990.

The 5 Conservative Women Most Likely to Become President

The 5 Conservative Women Most Likely to Become President Four women are early frontrunners to be part of a 2016 presidential ticket. As voters and the media continue to obsess over the next first in national electoral politics, these four Republican women make a strong case to be part of such a ticket. The Democrats will likely throw down with failed First Lady-turned-Failed-Senator-turned-failed-Secretary-of-State Hillary Clinton. But Republicans have a diverse group of candidates with compelling stories and strong records of success. Condoleezza Rice Many had hoped that the former Secretary of State and National Security adviser would have been Mitt Romneys pick in 2012. Though she was passed over for Paul Ryan, Condi Rice remains popular with Republican voters and the general public at-large. She was easily the most well-regarded figure in the George W. Bush administration. Rice would have seemed an unlikely selection prior to 2012 as many within the Republican Party stepped back and re-evaluated their foreign policy thinking. But after watching the isolationist, weak, indecisive and rogue foreign policy decisions of the Obama administration, a candidate Rice is starting to look quite appealing. With Russia, Iran, China, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and ISIS being a much bigger issue now than they were in 2008 and 2012, Rices experience and knowledge could not be matched by many others. And as almost none of the frontrunners for the Republican nomination have any in-depth foreign policy experience, she could provide that in a year where it will matter. And if Hillary were to be the Democratic nominee in 2016, who better to explain the world as it was left to Hillary, and the world Hillary let it become? Seeing Rice picked as Jeb Bushs running-mate is no stretch given her ties to the family. But she could also be a compelling pick for Rand Paul, someone who clearly has a different foreign policy perspective but who is a candidate who needs to satisfy the concerns of foreign policy conservatives. It would be an interesting and compelling ticket. It could be an unexpectedly brilliant ticket as well. [Potential: Vice-Presidential Nominee] Nikki Haley The Governor of South Carolina should cruise to second term in 2014.   By 2016, she will have 6 years of executive experience on her resume that includes a solid record of job creation and a drastic reduction in the unemployment rate. She has worked tirelessly to improve the business climate of the state and attract major businesses to relocate. Should she run for President, she would also have the clear upper-hand in the South Carolina primary, one of the 4 premier battlegrounds with a designation as the first-in-the-south contest. She is the daughter or Indian immigrants and her husband did a full-year tour in Afghanistan in 2013. She also appointed the popular Tim Scott to the US Senate seat vacated by Jim DeMint. [Potential: Presidential or Vice-Presidential Nominee] Susana Martinez The Governor of New Mexico makes sense as a Presidential of Vice-Presidential pick for many reasons. She is a female Latina Governor in a world obsessed with checking off boxes of firsts, and she would be a two-for-one deal. But beyond the identity politics, Martinez has proven a practical and tough figure. Her electoral accomplishments have come in New Mexico, a bluish-purple state that voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012 by double-digit margins, proving she has broad appeal. As the GOP struggles to convince minority and women voters to give the Republican Party a chance, Martinez is a pretty effective voice in that regard: Martinez was a Democrat who shifted to the Republican Party after being personally convinced that her states values were conservative ones. Its an argument that Republicans will need if they want to broaden their support base. [Potential: Presidential or Vice-Presidential Nominee] Carly Fiorina Fiorina has never held political office, but the first female CEO of a Fortune 50 company proved to be a very smart and disciplined politician in her 2016 run for President. Conservatives took to Fiorinas aggressive style, but she never had a base to draw from with a dozen other established candidates in the field. However, look for her to be a top option for US Senator Ted Cruz if he somehow upends Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016. Kelly Ayotte The US Senator from New Hampshire will be up for re-election in 2016. This presents a problem for her and many other Republicans from the 2010 Senate class such as Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rob Portman, and Ron Johnson: to run for re-election in a tough state; quit and run for President; or do both. So far, only Rand Paul has indicated that he wants to both run for President and re-election to the US Senate. Unlike the other candidates, his Senate seat will likely not be competitive so it is less of an issue. For Ayotte, doing both is not practical and she would be a long-shot as a Presidential contender in such a crowded field. But as a VP prospect she brings a lot to the table. She is a fairly popular US Senator and the only female contender with Northeastern credentials, an geographic region of struggle for Republicans. However, she lacks the foreign policy experience of Dr. Rice and the executive experience of Haley and Martinez, so her selection could appear more optics than exper ience. [Potential: Presidential or Vice-Presidential Nominee]

Difference between the Jurisdiction of State of California and the Assignment

Difference between the Jurisdiction of State of California and the Federal Court System - Assignment Example National security policy revolves around the major national security issues and concerns of the United States. This also emphasizes on how well the administration can implement the policy and how well they can plan out to deal with the issues addressing national security of the United States. In short, National Security is a legal document that deals with the strategies and policies; reviewed periodically by the executive bodies of the United States Government in order to preserve the national peace, security, and defense of the country. In recent years after the incident of 9/11, the United States’ National security Policy has faced many changes due to different reasons such as the rise and threats of terrorism that has struck the security of the entire nation, emergence of new allies in the war against terrorism, dealing with political and economic security. The main objective of the national security policy of the United States is to safeguard the rights, security and to maintain the legitimate interests of its citizens against any threat either affected by the internal factors or the external ones. The idea of national security became an official imperative point of the United States foreign policy when U. S president Harry S. Truman signed on National Security Act of 1947 on July 26th, 1947. The key elements of national security policy are military, politics, economics, energy, natural resources, society and diplomacy that are believed to be the core of the policy (Davis: 2010). Executive bodies play an important role in structuring the basics of US foreign policy but at the same time there are some other players are also involved, those who affect directly the policy besides the power of US President.  Ã‚  

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example Organization structure shows the expressed allocation of responsibilities for different functions and processes to different entities like branches, its departments, workgroups and individuals. There are two most common organization structures known as vertical and horizontal structures. In case study there is vertical organizational structure as everyone has to be accountable to upper management for their doings and they have to obey all policies and rules made by them no matter they are favorable for them or not. Key issues that organization is facing: This case study is about a French car component manufacturing that has two plants operating in France, Spain and UK. D2’s focuses is on having perfect return on investment and have growth in shareholders’ value. But over recent years D2 is facing a lot of problems and issue that hinders its growth. Recent economic downturn has a bad impact on demand and D2 has to struggle a lot for its survival. This is because of reces sion in business cycle, which represents a general slowdown in activities related to economy. D2 is facing problems in capacity utilization and generation of profits as it need investments and has to cut down its cost to certain level. There is widespread drop in spending of the industry that is called as an adverse demand shock. D2 has decided to stop producing some components and to concentrate the production of other components at fewer sites in order to benefit from economies of scale. D2 will face so many problems when this decision would be announced because its plant’s workers are expecting D2 to invest highly in manufacturing departments of the D2 as many of the plants of French car component manufacturing are out-dated. Another problem is that D2 is not working to utilize its capacity up to the mark. Production expansion by the D2 is not up to the standards. D2 cannot produce as much as it needs to produce because of its outdated plants. UK plant has to face closure because of its outdated technology. Production expansion is required through Blois in France because Blois has the most advanced technology in it and provides the opportunity to the D2 to have expansion in production and survive and grow. The new strategy will involve expanding production at the D2’s main factory at Blois in France. Production is to be expanded in Blois because Blois has the most advanced manufacturing technology and the factory is not yet working to capacity. It is anticipated that increasing production at Blois will lead to a significant reduction in costs. Product development is needed in didcot (UK). D2 would be facing redundancy when it would announce these strategy and framework for product development and production expansion because these workers have no idea of using latest technology as they were playing with outdated version of technology and these employees and workers would be having no way to switch to other plants as other plants are operating in advanced technology. D2 is expecting another problem that many of the D2 product developme

The Operating Principles for a Community to which I Belong to Essay

The Operating Principles for a Community to which I Belong to - Essay Example In a detailed analysis of these activities and interactions, I can definitely prove that our communities provide us with a sense of stability, serve our needs and, more importantly, accept us for who we are. In my community setting, I have often realized that my family accepts me for what and who I am. Thus, I share my activities and interactions with my daughter and we protect each other, which has always helped me in my family life as a single mother. One of the important operating principles of my community has been to be faithful and frank to the members of the community and we share our activities and interactions. Thus, my daughter and I enjoy great fun in our system of instant messaging or texting family and friends. Many often, I introduce my daughter to my chat friends and she has no online friends whom I don't know. Most of the friends of my daughter in her Facebook account came through my contacts and she never retreats an illegitimate relationship through her online activities. Another significant operating principle of my community life is not to blame or to indict others with or without strong reasons for their actions. Instead, every member of my community strongly supports each other and understands each other completely.

Should the EU be involved in a battle against the piracy problem in Essay

Should the EU be involved in a battle against the piracy problem in Somalia - Essay Example Even though only a political settlement in Somalia can bring a long-term resolution to this issue, the measures taken by the international community can significantly improve the situation (Middleton 10). The European Union Naval Force Somalia-Operation ATALANTA, launched by the European Council on the 8 of December 2008, aims to deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast, and is a part of the global action conducted by the EU to deal with the Somali crisis (â€Å"Mission† 1). This operation has several benefits both for Somalia and for international entities affected by the issue of piracy. To start with, operation ATALANTA helps to protect vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP), which deliver food aid to displaced people in Somalia. Since the EU naval escorts for WFP ships began in November 2007, not a single pirate attack on a ship carrying WFP food has been reported. Under the operation ATALANTA, WFP has managed to deliver over 267. 000 metric tons of food to ports in Somalia. Given the increasing need for humanitarian assistance in Somalia, the EU operation contributes significantly to support for numerous victims of the Somali crisis (â€Å"Mission† 3). Moreover, operation ATALANTA protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali cost. All shipping companies and operators that transit in this region have to register in advance of the website of the Maritime Security Center-Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA). This website facilitates the coordination of maritime traffic as it enables all vessels that observe EU NAVFOR recommendations to be aware of the arrangements taken. MSC-HOA also identifies particularly vulnerable vessels and provides them with close military protection, either from EU NAVOR, or other forces in the region (â€Å"Mschoa† 1). These arrangements significantly reduce the risks of pirate attacks or

Risk in Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Risk in Human Resource Management - Essay Example The scenario faced by the case Ricci v. DeStefano would be used for this purpose. The circumstances of the case would be discussed and courses of action would be suggested on what could have been done by the government to avoid this lawsuit. In line with providing the appropriate measures with the discussion on the course’s modules, an assessment center would be defined and analyzed in terms of determining how it could help avoid problems in the future. Swanson & Foster wrote in their chapter on A Practical Guide to Conducting Assessment Centers a concise description of an assessment center as both a process and a place. Initially, the aim of assessment centers is to evaluate the performance of sergeants who compete for promotion to the ranks of a lieutenant. The term was defined by the International Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines (2000) as consisting of â€Å"a standardized evaluation of behavior based on multiple inputs† (Swanson & Foster, 557 in Condrey, 2005). In greater detail, the process specifically involves â€Å"evaluating the behavior of candidates (sergeants) for a specific purpose (promotion) by providing them with multiple independent opportunities (simulations or exercises) to demonstrate abilities and by monitoring them with multiple trained evaluators (assessors), whose individual judgments are pooled to form an overall evaluation of the extent to which the candidates have the skills necessary to succeed as police lieutenants† (Swanson & Foster, 557 in Condrey, 2005). On the other hand, an assessment as a place is a designated appropriate site to serve the purpose and the process identified above. The Ricci v. DeStefano case is a legal action brought about by nineteen city firefighters of New Haven, Connecticut against the city of New Haven for violations of their civil rights and for discriminating against them regarding possible promotions. The firefighters were due to be promoted to managerial

Find a topic about math and relate to interior& architecture design Essay

Find a topic about math and relate to interior& architecture design major - Essay Example To better understand the importance of mathematics in architecture, the most initial thing is to come up with a clear understanding regarding the concept of architecture itself. It hence refers to a system of structures and buildings that tend to form a space standard for the people’s activities and lives, as well as the art of creating these structures and buildings in correspondence to the cognitive laws that governs beauty. It follows from this definition that there exist two aspects of Architecture notion. On the other hand, Architecture is a specific kind of technological advancement that is intended for the formation of a space standard for activity and lives of people. The architects should hence be conversant with the mechanical laws so as to ensure that the proper mechanical stability and strength regarding the given structures and buildings. Architecture comes out as a form of Fine Art that should be created by an architect in his "structures and buildings with correspondence to the laws of shape and beauty. This means that an architect has to be accorded clear guideline by the Principles and Laws of Beauty and Harmony in his/her creativity. As a form of Fine Art, Architecture is closely connected to other types of Fine Arts including Music, Painting, and Sculpture. In this correlation the idea of creating emerging mathematical concepts, as well as the Mathematical Harmony tend to arise. It is hence unfeasible make cognitive statements on all the scientific attainments of Mathematical Harmony in a brief essay. Based on the historical perspectives, there is a clear relationship that emerges between metaphysics and physics, and the fact that architecture has always been a perfect contender with regards to the metaphysical representation with its inherent geometrical character. Thus, what can be found as a societal body of knowledge will usually be symbolically represented in its established

Should the EU be involved in a battle against the piracy problem in Essay

Should the EU be involved in a battle against the piracy problem in Somalia - Essay Example Even though only a political settlement in Somalia can bring a long-term resolution to this issue, the measures taken by the international community can significantly improve the situation (Middleton 10). The European Union Naval Force Somalia-Operation ATALANTA, launched by the European Council on the 8 of December 2008, aims to deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast, and is a part of the global action conducted by the EU to deal with the Somali crisis (â€Å"Mission† 1). This operation has several benefits both for Somalia and for international entities affected by the issue of piracy. To start with, operation ATALANTA helps to protect vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP), which deliver food aid to displaced people in Somalia. Since the EU naval escorts for WFP ships began in November 2007, not a single pirate attack on a ship carrying WFP food has been reported. Under the operation ATALANTA, WFP has managed to deliver over 267. 000 metric tons of food to ports in Somalia. Given the increasing need for humanitarian assistance in Somalia, the EU operation contributes significantly to support for numerous victims of the Somali crisis (â€Å"Mission† 3). Moreover, operation ATALANTA protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali cost. All shipping companies and operators that transit in this region have to register in advance of the website of the Maritime Security Center-Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA). This website facilitates the coordination of maritime traffic as it enables all vessels that observe EU NAVFOR recommendations to be aware of the arrangements taken. MSC-HOA also identifies particularly vulnerable vessels and provides them with close military protection, either from EU NAVOR, or other forces in the region (â€Å"Mschoa† 1). These arrangements significantly reduce the risks of pirate attacks or

Find a topic about math and relate to interior& architecture design Essay

Find a topic about math and relate to interior& architecture design major - Essay Example To better understand the importance of mathematics in architecture, the most initial thing is to come up with a clear understanding regarding the concept of architecture itself. It hence refers to a system of structures and buildings that tend to form a space standard for the people’s activities and lives, as well as the art of creating these structures and buildings in correspondence to the cognitive laws that governs beauty. It follows from this definition that there exist two aspects of Architecture notion. On the other hand, Architecture is a specific kind of technological advancement that is intended for the formation of a space standard for activity and lives of people. The architects should hence be conversant with the mechanical laws so as to ensure that the proper mechanical stability and strength regarding the given structures and buildings. Architecture comes out as a form of Fine Art that should be created by an architect in his "structures and buildings with correspondence to the laws of shape and beauty. This means that an architect has to be accorded clear guideline by the Principles and Laws of Beauty and Harmony in his/her creativity. As a form of Fine Art, Architecture is closely connected to other types of Fine Arts including Music, Painting, and Sculpture. In this correlation the idea of creating emerging mathematical concepts, as well as the Mathematical Harmony tend to arise. It is hence unfeasible make cognitive statements on all the scientific attainments of Mathematical Harmony in a brief essay. Based on the historical perspectives, there is a clear relationship that emerges between metaphysics and physics, and the fact that architecture has always been a perfect contender with regards to the metaphysical representation with its inherent geometrical character. Thus, what can be found as a societal body of knowledge will usually be symbolically represented in its established

Bureaucratic Management Theory Essay Example for Free

Bureaucratic Management Theory Essay Webers theory of bureaucratic management has two essential elements. First, it entails structuring an organization into a hierarchy. Secondly, the organization and its members are governed by clearly defined rational-legal decision-making rules. Each element helps an organization to achieve its goals. An organizational hierarchy is the arrangement of the organization by level of authority in reference to the levels above and below it. For example, a vice-president of marketing is below the companys president, at the same level as the companys vice president of sales, and above the supervisor of the companys social media department. Each level answers to the level above it with the ultimate leader of the organization at the top. The easiest way to understand the term rational-legal decision making rules is to think of it as a set of explicit and objective policies and procedures that governs how an organization functions. Examples of rational-legal decision-making rules include human resources rules and policies or the regulations governing who is entitled to unemployment insurance. Bureaucracies are all around us this form of organization, which is comprised of non-elected officials who implement rules, is not only common in the public sector but in the business world as well. Examples of bureaucracies in the public sector include the Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and public universities. Among the oldest bureaucratic structures in the country is the United States Military. In the private sector, most large business firms have a bureaucratic organization. Examples of private sector firms with a bureaucratic structure include IBM, GM and the Union Pacific Railroad. Knowing how bureaucratic management works can lead to a better understanding of how government agencies and large business firms operate it can assist you in interacting with complex organizations, whether it be seeking social security benefits or working for a large corporation. Max Weber Max Weber. Published in the US before 1923 and public domain in the US. Max Weber Father of Modern Organizational Theory One of the most important thinkers in modern organizational theory, Max Weber (1864-1920), is the father of the bureaucratic management theory. Weber was a German sociologist and political economist that viewed bureaucracy in a positive light, believing it to be more rational and efficient than its historical predecessors.

Consumer Attitudes: Online Shoe Shopping

Consumer Attitudes: Online Shoe Shopping Segmentation is to identify homogeneous groups or customer segments in the market place that will respond in a consistent, predictable way to variations in the marketing mix (Reynolds, 2006). Previous market segmentation research studies indicate that market segmentation benefits firms in various ways. It directly influences the consumer decision-making process (Haley, 1968). Also, it generates new market segments and creates new business opportunities, which enables companies to overcome developing barriers and to achieve competitive differentiation. IKEA, Gillette and Microsoft are all successful examples. (Bowonder, 2010) The product that people choose to use or wear exactly reflects their life taste and social identity (Solomon and Barmossy, 2006). Belk (2003) think that the shoes consuming are crucial for both men and women which are not only a way of self presentation but also inseparable parts of our extended selves. Shoes are the mirror of our souls. Furthermore, people assume others from their footwear. They would rather bear the tortures from a pair of uncomfortable but stylish shoes than wear an average one, because they believe that shoes have the magic for their self achievement. 4.11 Consumer Attitudes towards Shoes Women are known to be much crazier on shoes than men. A research in America in 2000 showed that women aging from 16 to 74 owned more than twice pairs of shoes as men did on average. And lots of women owned over 50 pairs of footwear while none of the male respondents owned more than 30 pairs. However, men spent almost 25 dollars more on their most expensive shoes than women (Belk, 2003). Another survey of working women recently conducted by Mintel revealed why women are so keen on shoes. Forty-four percent of those who aged 18-34 said they needed two pairs of shoes for work, one for commute and the other one for wearing in the office. And almost two-thirds of participants said shoes helped them to achieve a fashionable working look (Dolliver, 2010). But the report in Minter about footwear retailing in 2008 demonstrated that Younger consumers are looking for better but affordable quality while the older care more about comfort and durability. The younger, especially men, are much more willing to buy shoes online. Once experiencing successful online shoes shopping, they are more likely to repeat purchase. In 2008, only 5 per cent adults aged over 15 buy shoes online, in which those who aged 15-24 and 35-44 more frequently buy shoes on the Internet (Mintel, 2008). 4.2 Competitor Benchmark Learning from the Icons in the same industry can help company quickly improve in an economically way. The most successful example online for shoes selling is Zappos.com from the USA. Although Chinese culture and economical environment are completely different from the USA, there is no border for business. Zappos business mode and managerial experience could be a good model for EA. Zappos online shoes selling business is in common with EAs e-commerce plan. It built up the brand online and reached $1 billion annual sales after 10 years effort (Zappos.com, 2009). There are more than 500 brands and 90,000 styles of shoes on Zappos.com with the price ranged from $20 to $2,000 to meet the needs of different consumer groups. Delivering high-quality online service and building up brand credibility by favourable WOM are the two key successful necessities to Zappos (BRAND WEEK, 2008). The store experience and the product try-on experience are the two highlights of physical shoes stores that online shoes shopping can hardly compare at present. However, the customer service, entertainment marketing as well as no sale area limitation are the benefits that most physical stores can never reach. Craig Adkins, Executive Vice President of Zappos, said that they dont compete with other online trade companies but compete with physical stores. The only reason that they have grown so quickly and won the game in the fierce competition is to offer the best customer service, product option and delivery speed possible (Zmzsk.com 2009). The interactive sections such as videos and blogs also provide more diversified customer experience and achieve the breakthrough of customer value. Namely, customer service, product variety, delivery and interactivity could be the four key points for EAs e-commerce. 4.3 Market Data Research There is barely any research about the shoes market or online market specifically focusing on the places EA plans to target (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province). However, we could have a general understanding about the Chinese online shoes market as a whole from the small amount of literature. With the popularity of online business, a lot export trade companies have been stepping into the home market through the internet. Certain famous shoes companies also start to change their companies from traditional bricks and mortar to bricks and clicks, even majority click level. Needless to say, EA will meet the competitors threats when it starts the approach into the new market. China is the largest footwear manufacturing base as well as the largest footwear consuming market around the world. The sales volume of Chinese shoes market is huge and steadily growing by years due to the large population and the annual improvement of disposable income. Those who live in the big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai as well as the coastal cities in Chinas southeast have the greatest purchasing power. According to The 2009 China Leather Shoes Market Situation Analysis and Forecast Report from Beijing Heading Century Consulting Co. Ltd, 85% of the total shoes consumption in China is low-to-middle-level products whereas most high-end shoes are imported from abroad (Sewworld.com 2009). There is a gap of the high-end domestic footwear market for EA to fill. Suffering from the economic recession, export trade shoes companies all consider stepping into the domestic market which contains numerous consumers and large consuming potential. But lots of them failed. The main barriers for those companies to open the home market are enormous variations of the outdated product style, lack of distribution channels, unfamiliarity with the market and huge costs of human and financial resources. Still, a great deal of export trade companies plan to have a finger in the pie despite of the difficulties (Cnxz.cn 2009). That means a chance for EA to survive in the dog-eat-dog world as long as the company finds the right way. On the other hand, department stores and speciality shops are the main distribution channels of leather shoes, according to The 2009 China Leather Shoes Consuming Market Research from Beijing Heading Century Consulting Co. Ltd, with 51.5% and 40.1%. Certain famous Chinese shoes brands, for instance, Belle, Aokang and Daphne, have occupied the majority of the domestic market and there is little market share left for those not that well-know SMEs (Sewworld.com 2009). The competition among physical stores is extremely fierce. Therefore, the SMEs start to explore a new distribution channel by opening the online market. In fact, several shoes brands which have physical stores have opened the online market. Not only the SMEs, but also large and famous companies either have built an online shopping website or have set up a virtual store with B2C websites. According to the China B2B Research Centre, there are more than 100 million internet consumers in China in 2009, and the number of the SMEs with e-commerce has dramatically increased to more than seven million in the past six years. Nevertheless, online sales in the footwear industry are basically at the initial stage except for a few industry leading companies which have entered the Internet shoes market early and systematically operated it in a large scale (Zmzsk.com 2009). EA could seize the right moment to open up a new world. 4.4 Online Consuming Analysis More and more people have joined the dramatically growing group shopping online, but still lots of people hold a conservative attitude towards online transaction. Risk perception about offering personal information, online payment and product quality etc. prevents consumers from further purchase behaviour. How can we encourage people to be willing to take risk (Schoormanà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2007)? How can we convert web visitors to buyers? Considerable previous studies proved that online trust building is the biggest issue facing e-marketing managers. Trust to a large extent determines the success of the relationship between buyer and seller and it is rather significant in the changeable e-business environment (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Pavlou, 2003; Wang and Emurian, 2005). Establishing trust between shopper and sellers can reduce consumers uncertainty and rick perception. Furthermore, it has a positive impact on e-shoppers purchasing behaviour (Lim et al., 2010). There are manifold studies contributed to the definitions about trust. Deutsch (1962) thought that trust is an actions that increase ones vulnerability to another; Moorman (1992, p315) defined that Trust is the willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence; Sitkin and Roth (1993, p373) referred that trust is a belief in a persons competence to perform a specific task under specific circumstance. Whereas, Koufari and Sosa (2003) developed the concept of initial trust. In their opinion, trust can be built at the first time when people interact with the company, which directly influence the following consumer behaviour. Well-designed website and the good name of company can help visitors to form a positive attitude and against the risk of switching to competitors websites. Pleasant experience can gain a lot of new customers even at the first time. We agree that the first impression is very important, it may determine whether the future communication will continue or not. However, we believe that the temporary positive feelings aroused from the website are not equal to trust. Customers real faith towards the website requires companies to take continuous effort and to develop a good relationship with online consumers over time, such as offering an ongoing enjoyable interactive communication with customers. Furthermore, establishing and maintaining the trustful relationship can eventually affect the customers purchase intention (Bhattacherjee, 2002; Lee et al., 2001; Lim, 2001; Hoffman and Novak, 1996). Purchasing online involves risk, especially when a person lack experience with the online firm (Schlosser et al., 2006). In the particular case of EA, which just starts its approach to the domestic market, few people are aware of the company (reputation and size) and its products (brand and quality). Therefore, the progress of convincing consumers is fairly necessary and critical for EA, which means ongoing trust building is essential for EA to gradually convince its customers and maintain a good customer relationship. Thus, the present research is focused on investigating the importance and determinants of ongoing trust building. Numerous researchers have studied the importance of online trust building as well as the factors that influence the construction of trust in the virtual environment. For instance, Bhattacherjee (2002) claimed three key dimensions about the e-commerce trust: trustees ability, benevolence, and integrity. In his journal, he defines trustees ability as the trustors (website visitors) perception of trustees (online company) competencies and knowledge salient to the expected behaviour. For an online business, its website should clearly and successfully present the companys capabilities and professional skills (e.g. EAs expertise technology in making leather shoes) to increase the e-customers confidence via, for example, offering the list of the powerful partners, presenting detailed product or service information, designing an both attractive and functional (easy to understand/use/response) website. (Bhattacherjee, 2002) Benevolence here is referred to the faith in an online business that the company is willing to do more/extra service for the customers without profit consideration. The service or behaviour the online companies take can increase peoples confidence and sense of security. Its not possible for every company to offer extra service considering the additional cost. However, directed by the benevolent rules, online business firms should at least be completely aware that they need to respect their online consumers, fully understand their specific requirements, and work effectively and continuously on reducing web visitors uncertainties and worries. (Bhattacherjee, 2002) Integrity, in the e-shopping context, means customers confidence to the firms that their online commercial activities are directed under a set of moral principles or professional standards (Schlosser et al., 2006). In the practical virtual environment, the firms which conduct the integrity rules should attach great importance to the process of online transaction and relative service, the usage of consumers private data. These rules are practically linked with the realisation of company fulfilment, such as timely delivering, accurate record, reliable payment system and so on. (Bhattacherjee, 2002) In sum, indicated as the measurement of online trust building in many researches, trustees ability, benevolence, and integrity are associated with website design such as product presentation, attractiveness and usability, service quality, say delivery and payment system, and credibility (Bhattacherjee, 2002; Doney and Cannon, 1997). In other words, website design, credibility and service quality could contribute to purchase intention through ongoing trust building, and in the next section, a conceptual framework is built to testify it. 4.5 Conceptual Framework According to the studies on consumers relationship with companies (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003), trust and online purchase intention (Schlosser et al., 2006), the key determinants of online satisfaction and the impact on the following behaviour (Zeng et al., 2009), the role of trust in online business (Lim et al., 2008) and online product presentations influence on peoples purchase intention (Park et al., 2005), we develop a conceptual framework about the key determinants that impact ongoing trust building, combining the practical situation of EA with previous studies on online shoes consuming characteristics. This study divides the contributors to ongoing trust building into three categories: (1) website design, (2) credibility and (3) service quality. The Research Model is presented below (Figure 1). It is predicted that website design, credibility and online service quality will affect consumers intention to purchase indirectly through ongoing trust building. Whats more, the study will discover whether the three contributors share equal weight of influence on purchase intention. In a word, we argue that if online consumers perceive high-level web design, high credibility and high-quality service, then they are more likely to trust in the online service provider, which in turn contributes to intention to purchase. The results will be able to offer the directions and guidelines for EA or future shoes business to improve their online marketing performance. Figure 1: Research Model 4.51 Ongoing Trust Building Crosby et al. (1990) defined trust as a conviction when the customer develops a tacit understanding with a seller, and a seller can be relied upon to behave in such a manner that the long-term interest of the customer will be served. Pavlou (2003) indicated that trust in e-commerce is the belief that allows consumers to willingly become vulnerable to web retailers after having taken the retailers characteristics into consideration. In the virtual world, customers cant access enough information about the company to build the trust, which makes it more difficult to achieve trust at the beginning of a relationship than in the physical world (Wirtz and Lihotzky, 2003). Therefore, on the basis of the previous literature review, we define ongoing trust building as the continuous efforts that create and maintain a consumers confidence in an online service providers ability, benevolence, and integrity in order to achieve a lasting buyer-seller relationship (Liang and Chen, 2009; Bhattacherje e, 2002). Several researches have studied trust in e-business. There are different points of view about the taxonomy of trust. For instance, Kim et al. (2005) thought trust impacts buyers purchase intention in four dimensions: trust in technology, trust in product, trust in institution and trust in information. Plank et al. (1999) categorized trust into three types: trust in product, trust in company and trust in salesperson and developed various sales strategies for each. Moreover, Lim et al. (2008) proposed three key trust variables specific to online automobile insurance business which are service trust, company trust and product trust. And this viewpoint was proved by Lim et al. (2010). In our opinion, services, products and company reputation are more paramount to EA as a high-end online shoes selling SME and require more trust from consumers. Thus, we argue that service trust, company trust and product trust could be the key variables to high-end online shoes selling business and EAs ong oing trust building should base on the three dimensions. For an online business, its website is the primary channel for contact and communication with its customers and it shapes the cognitive perception of the customer. That is why e-commerce companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their websites to make the interaction between the website and the customer more inviting, convenient, and ultimately conductive to purchasing their products and services. (Lim et al., 2010) As we mentioned in the previous literature review, consumer perception to the website has an indirect effect on purchase intention via ongoing trust building. Namely, consumers perceptions towards website design, credibility and service quality of an online service provider are positively associated with its ongoing trust building and ultimately influence consumers intention to purchase. 4.52 Website Design As the traditional shopping channel is gradually replaced by the internet, e-retailers have to rely to a great degree on the website interface, which is not only a critical medium to publicise itself and improve its reputation, but also a necessary channel to sell products and services as well as interact with web shoppers to win e-consumers trust (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001; Bellizzi, 2000; Hoque and Lohse, 1999; Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996/1997; cited in Song and Zahedi, 2005). Features, component, information are three key components of website design (Song and Zahedi, 2005). A well-designed website can skilfully apply the three elements and attractively present valuable content in a clear-structured format with certain creative feature (Ahn et al. 2004; Konradt et al 2003), by which can increase web visitors interest and prolong their browsing time. The longer visitors stick to one particular website, the easier they are likely to form a positive attitude towards it, which could con tribute to a trustful relationship (Mccloskey, 2003-2004). New information technology is welcomed only when its useful and easy to use (Davis et al., 1989). Taylor and Todd (1995) also clarified that compatibility impacts peoples acceptance of technology. When people are searching or shopping online, the websites learnability, efficiency, memorability, infrequency of errors, and other key features of web design (Nielsen, 2000), such as the ease of use of the website, the quality of information, or the effectiveness of online transaction, are very significant. They dominate consumers following behaviours: to stick to the website or switch to another one, to view more information or actively communicate with the company via internet (Zeng et al., 2009; Koh and Kim, 2004; cited in Lin, 2007). In addition, attractive outlook or atmospheric stimuli in the offline shopping environment may increase consumers purchasing possibilities (Weinberg and Gottward, 1982; Weinberg and Gottward, 1994; cited in Wang et al., 2009). Similarly, well-designed website and skilfully application of the information technology can appeal web-visitors to stick longer to the website and have interactive communication with its staff (Heijden, 2003). And it was valued as the reason for satisfaction and subsequent trust (Martà ­n and Camarero, 2007). As Anderson (1980) referred that it is very important to catch peoples eyeballs at the first time, the visual appeals would possible influence the subjective judgment about the websites performance (Jennigns, 2000; Tractinsky et al., 2000). Approving this theory, Lindgaard and Fernandes (2006) also emphasised that a reliable decision can be made in 50 minutes. When consumers visit one website at the first time and the impression formed in the first 50 mi nutes could influence the consequent decisions. On the other hand, for apparel shopping, consumers are quite concern about the material, the fit, the colour and the quality of the products, but its difficult to know when people shopping in the virtual environment. Risk perception might be one of the most important reason that restrain consumers to purchase online (McCorkle, 1990; Ernst and Young, 2001; Park et al., 2005). As a result, presenting product in an attractive and convincing way is necessary to the online apparel companies. Also, pleasant virtual shopping experience may reduce the perceived risk which associated with online purchasing behaviour (Bhatti et al., 2000; Park et al., 2005). Furthermore, as mentioned above, one of most key factors for Zappos success is the shoes presentation in 360 degree with plenty of pictures, which minimise the uncertainties of online shoes shopping (Zappos.com, 2009). According to the empirical research conducted by Song and Zahedi (2005), website design can strengthen customers beliefs and consequently increase the tendency of purchasing online. Therefore, we assume that the website design presents a unique competitive advantage among all the e-commerce strategies and the website usability combined with novel design as well as the product presentation in a detailed and clear way lead to e-consumers ongoing trust building. H1: Web Design has a positive influence on ongoing trust building. 4.53 Credibility Credibility was defined as the consumer belief that a seller is competent, reliable, predictable, and honest, and would perform a potential transaction effectively and reliably, acknowledge explicit contracts, and fulfill the requirements of an agreement (Pavlou, 2002). It is another important contributor to the online trust building. Credibility was also described as believability and a credible website means a believable website (Fogg et al., 2001). Drawing on previous studies, credibility has been identified with two most important dimensions: trustworthiness and expertise. (Fogg et al., 2001; Corritore et al., 2003; Fogg and Tseng, 1999). Trustworthiness is characterised by the well-intentioned, truthful, unbiased behaviour, which requires the web-marketers to convey a real-world features towards its customers, that is to say, providing physical address and employee photographs, linking to outside materials and sources or stating a policy on content, to create a honest and accountable company image. Expertise can be proved by the professional knowledge or skills, sufficient experience and capability (Fogg et al., 2001). In the context of e-commence, e-retailers expertise and profession can be delivered to e-consumers by the demonstration of credentials or the proofs from a third party. As we mentioned before, the Internet is still considered as a risk shopping channel for public. E-marketers face the challenge of reducing the risk perception of shopping online when stepping into the online market where traditional face-to-face communications are replaced by the way of face-to-screen. Particular virtual characteristics require online business to offer a convincing mechanism. Some researchers have proved that feedback mechanism can positively support online transaction, functioning as WOM in the off-line commerce context (Pavlou, 2002). Additionally, reputation is a critical element in the online world, which can help e-retailers to reduce consumers risk perception and lead to the improvement of online trust (Pavlou, 2002). Positive comments from the third parties (previous buyers) have been examined to increase e-retailers reputation and can be a major source of information for trust building, which in turn improve online sellers credibility (Doney and Cannon, 1997, cited in Pavlou, 2002; Kim et al., 2004). Considering online feedback mechanism is a continuous two-way communication progress, it can also contribute to the ongoing course of online trust building. Thus, we hypothesise that a credible website with truthful and expertise features, supported by good reviews, positively affects the ongoingtrust building. H2: Credibility has a positive influence on ongoing trust building. 4.54 Service Quality Parasuraman (1985) defined service quality as the relative perceptual distance between customer expectations and evaluations of service experiences and service quality in his SERVQUAL model (Sung et al., 2009). High-quality service including regularly update web information, response customers enquiry immediately, easy and safe online payment system, clear return/chance/refund policies has a positive impact on website performance (Park and Kim, 2003). Technology development has laid a sound foundation for the service evolution of e-commerce. The increasing popularity and quality of broadband Internet access as well as advanced Web technologies have allowed online retailers to provide flexible and competitive services to their existing and potential customers. These technologies allow retailers to build their online stores and services, and effectively deploy strategies in all aspects of their operations (Lusch et al., 2007 and McCarthy and Aronson, 2000; cited in Ayanso et al., 2010). More and more web retailers are applying advanced information technologies and creative website features to offer better service to the customers (Dabholkar et al., 2003; Moitra and Ganesh, 2005; Tarafdar and Zhang, 2005; Udo and Marquis, 2001; Viswanathan et al., 2007; Wakefield et al., 2004). These refined technology-based website functionalities such as personalisation, advanced search tools and product cataloguing are remarkably popular among onl ine retailers (Chu et al., 2007). They couldnt offer such high-quality online service without the technology support. Many past researches have positively linked online service quality to e-commerce performance. Liu et al. (2001) pointed out four determinants that are significantly related to e-commerce success, which are information and service quality, system use, playfulness, and system design quality. Based on DeLone and McLeans study (2003), Liang and Chen (2009) identified service quality as one of the three important factors of information system success. Marimon et al. (2010) examined that high levels of online service quality has a positive impact on purchasing behavior. While lots of researches testified that service quality is a key attribute of the e-commerce success, several studies argued that none of them have established an empirical link association between online service quality and the retailers actual sales performance (Ayanso et al., 2010; Marimon et al., 2010). However, considering this study is a consultancy project which is reality-based, practical experience of other firms cant be ignored. In the case of Zappos we have learned that the most critical reason for them to develop so rapidly from an unknown company is customer service, especially the 365 day return and free shipping both ways policy. The main concern when people buying shoes online is that the purchased shoes do not fit them (in size/colour) because they cant try them on before ordering. Particularly in the case of EA, which is not famous and sells quite expensive shoes, a customer-friendly advanced delivery system helps to remove or at least reduce the concern, which is matched with the study conducted by Tan and Wu in 2004. Also, Parasuraman et al. (2005) identified fulfilment, the extent to which the sites promises about order delivery and product availability are fulfilled, as the most critical dimensions of e-service quality and Boshoff split fulfilment into delivery and reliability and proved it to be the strongest predictor of value perception (Parasuraman et al., 2005, Boshoff, 2007; cited in Marimon et al., 2010). Therefore, we argue that service quality could be a stronger antecedent of online trust building due to fulfilment aspect. Furthermore, Tan and Wu (2004) referred that, especially for the wholesalers and retailers in China, the barriers to employ online promotions were poor credibility monitoring systems both for vendors and consumers, awkward delivery systems, and lagging behind payment. A reliable payment system is also important for EA due to the high price of its products. People start to think more when its a large amount of money paying to a not well-known company. Moreover, Stockdale and Standing (2006) compared the benefits and barriers which SMEs should take into account for e-business. Apart from limited resources, one of the most possible barriers for SMEs is the lack of specific e-commerce marketing experience or e-busines s professionals. Especially in China e-commerce is still at the initial stage and organisations are exploring e-business while doing it. That is, another important attribute is e-business professionals. Perceived service quality significantly contributes to customer trust (Liang and Chen, 2009). Namely, the service quality of an online firm is positively linked with its ongoing trust building in three dimensions: e-business professionals, fulfilment and payment system. Accordingly, we propose that: H3: Service Quality has a positive influence on ongoing trust building. 4.55 Intention to Purchase We can expect that the various antecedents of online trust building web design, credibility, service quality have different effects on purchase intention. This expectation is based on the previous study about the behavioural consequences of customer satisfaction (Zeng et al., 2009). In the findings, five elements (fulfilment/reliability, customer service, ease of use and product/service quality) are directly/indirectly impact the customer behavioural consequence through overall satisfaction, while those behavioural consequences are practically and theoretically proved to demonstrate as loyalty to the firm, intention to purchase and repurchase, willingness to pay premium price, willingness to post positive reviews about the firm and its service, and recommendation to others (Bearden and Teel, 1983; Zeithaml et al., 1996; cited in Zeng et al., 2009). Customer satisfaction was found to possibly contribute to trust and satisfied customers mostly have high confidence in the company and their future transaction activities (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999; Geyskens et al., 1998; Ganesan, 1994; cited in Liang and Chen, 2009). Approved by their own research, Liang and Chen (2009) suggested that trusted consumers have more commitment and more willingness to develop a solid relationship with service providers than satisfied ones. This finding logically supports the prediction that trust has a positive influence on the intention to purchase/re purchase. Public Opinion: Gender Differences in Sex Abuse of Children Public Opinion: Gender Differences in Sex Abuse of Children Table of Contents (Jump to) 1. Introduction 2. Gender Bias 3. Gender Inequality 3. Registering of Sex Offenders 4. Limitations of the Research Approach 5. References 1. Introduction This dataset is analysed using the principal of thematic analysis. The dataset was extracted from media reports related to the case of a woman who abused her partner’s three-year-old daughter. Thematic analysis is a qualitative analytic method used for analysing or identifying themes across a dataset (Craver, 2014). The process is illustrated in the appendices, adopting the approach used by King and Horrocks (2010). One of the overarching themes in the analysis of the data relates to public opinion about gender differences in the sexual abuse of children. There are two sub-categories, namely gender bias and gender inequality. 2. Gender Bias Gender bias can be seen in the few quotes below: â€Å"A group of feminist not too long ago told me women never sexually abuse anyone only men I guess this women and those teachers that have been in the news recently don’t exist† â€Å"This cannot be true! Because feminists are constantly telling us that it is only men who are violent and abusive!† â€Å"It has been kept quiet over the years just how many women abuse children. I’m glad that she is being held accountable. â€Å"Another female paedophile, the myth of all women being gentle is lifted† â€Å"We hear so many stories of â€Å"boyfriends† of women being guilty of abusing a child, so this is quite shocking, what is her excuse? â€Å"We live in a gynocentric feminist so society. Had he not done it this way, she would have accused him, he would have been arrested, separated from his child and would never been believed. Ask the thousands of fathers to whom similar things have happened through malicious false accusations. Men a perpetrator. Women are victims. De facto† Analytic research done by Landor and Eisenchlas (2012) shed some light on gender bias in Australian print-media reports regarding sexual acts. The authors gave two case studies. First, they described the teacher Mary Kay LeTourneau’s marriage to her former student, with whom she had been engaged in a sexual relationship since he was 12 years of age. The headline they use as an example reads: â€Å"School lovers tie knot†. The contrasting case advanced by the authors was related to the story of Brisbane teacher Allan Thomas Walters, who was charged with indecency in his dealings with a 13-year-old boy; the example headline reads: â€Å"More time for pervert†. The two case studies advanced by the authors are very similar in terms of the age of the victim and the offences committed. However, the media clearly portrayed LeTourneau’s case in a less negative way than Walters’ case. The article uses the comparison appropriately throughout, although the arg ument presented is unbalanced. Another example of gender bias was given by Tsopelas et al. (2012), in which a victim of a female perpetrator was not believed when they made allegations to the authorities. This suggests that a higher standard of evidence is required in cases of child sex abuse by female perpetrators. It can be seen on the data transcript that some people were angry that the father had to put the girl through more abuse before enough evidence could be gained. â€Å"My stepmother, a famous person, abused my little brother like this when he was a toddler. To this day, despite my witnessing it and my brother being terrified of her, my father refuses to believe us. If only we too could have planted a camera† â€Å"Another awful thing about this is that with the knowledge that his daughter was being abused in order for him to gather evident the child had to endure another vile attack† â€Å"Its so sad that the faher had to put his daughter through two more violent events in order to get proff but I guess he had no choice.† â€Å"Well done for showing self restraint altho I don’t agree with the way the child was put thu the abuse again in order to abtain more damning evidence† â€Å"Men a perpetrators. Women are victims. De facto† â€Å"†¦..after just having read bat those poor wretched girls in Rotherham. Authorities there should all be sacked, how can this happen, seriously? â€Å"Reading the comments made I can say that the Father did the right thing 1. He had a recording of what was happening the Child screaming, yelling, crying for Help. That is not enough proof for the Police, that can be classified as Child Abuse only. 2. He had to have actual evidence for the Police, Courts. Of the actual act been committed for his (Partner) to be prosecuted in court in accordance with the law. She could have turned all against him, had he not had that important piece of evidence, so she can be convicted and from now on be classified as a Paedophiler(visual/audio proof). 3. Gender Inequality Gender inequality is the second sub-category. Geddes, Tyson, and McGreal (2012) discovered that female teachers who have committed sexual acts with a student are punished more leniently compared to male counterparts. The study also found that participants showed significantly more anger towards male teachers who commit such acts. However, the sample size of the study was not equally distributed: although the author randomly sent out the questionnaire to 250 female students and 250 male students, out of 130 respondents, 86 were female and 44 were male. Geddes, Tyson and McGreal (2012) believed a sample size of more than 30 participants was large enough to obtain significant values, based on a test run on the violation assumption using analysis of variance. However, it is important to achieve a gender-balanced sample size to study gender bias. Gender inequality can be found in the following comments: â€Å"As usual not naming this monster, but a guy doing this would have his picture and name plastered all over the media† â€Å"Why isn’t she being named, if it was a bloke his name would be plastered everywhere for what he did† â€Å"This woman is a common filthy pedophile and must go to jail, as men go to jail. Anything other than jail would serve as proof there are not equal rights between the genders† â€Å"2Guaranteed this woman will not do jail I don’t care what that judge said, however if the roles were reserved this would be another matter† â€Å"Who recalls the push for laws where women would be allowed to have the police run back ground check on potential partners. Do man get this right? If not why not?† Angelides (2008) discusses another aspect of gender inequality in child sex-abuse cases. The author presented two examples involving a teacher-student relationship. One involved Karen Ellis, a 37-year-old teacher who committed sexual offences with a child under the age of 16. She was sentenced for six months. On the other hand, tennis coach Gavin Hopper pleaded guilty of having a sexual relationship with his 14-year-old student and was jailed for two years and three months. On the basis of this comparison of two similar situations Angelides (2008) presents a very good argument regarding the principal of gender equality in the sentencing of offenders. While judges have shown some leniency towards female perpetrators, comments from the data seem to express a wish to see harsh punishment for sex offenders. For example: â€Å"A nice long sentence I hope† â€Å"I’d lock her in solitary confinement and feed her food under the door and weld it up so she could not be released.† â€Å"Jail this pedophile for life† â€Å"This woman is a common filthy pedophile and must go to jail, as men go to jail. â€Å"Hope the horrible woman is jailed for a long time. â€Å"It’s the other prisoners who could be her real punishment† â€Å"VILE WOMAN THROW THE BOOK AT HER† Statistics have shown that sex-offender treatment programmes have a small but positive effect on sex offenders (Craissati, South, Bierer, 2009). However, in some patriarchal cultures such as in India, harsher punishments are meted to stop violence against women (Gill, Harrison, 2013). Gill and Harrison (2013) discussed both punitive options and the kinds of treatment that are available for sex offenders in relation to the sexual violence issue in India. The punitive options are demonstrably based on the human-rights principle regarding the death penalty. Gill and Harrison (2013) believed that harsh punishment might not be the best approach to sex offences in the justice system in India. Sex-offender treatment programmes might be a better strategy. Declining moral standards is another overarching theme. Males were dominantly viewed as perpetrators of child sex abuse in the 1980s, with females appearing almost exclusively as victims (Tsopelas, Tsetsou, Ntounas and Douzenis, 2012). Current literature is paying more attention to the role of female sexual abusers. This cultural shift was due to the increasing of the proportion of female sex offenders in all sexual-assault arrests from 1% in 1994 to 8% in 1997 (Vandiver and Walker, 2002). Below are the illustrative quotes from the data that show public disappointment about declining moral values in society: â€Å"Britain in the 21st century† â€Å"What the hell is wrong with people. Why would you harm an innocent child?† â€Å"What has gone so wrong in our world when so much of this is happening?† â€Å"Some people say it was always so, but I dont believe that at all. I think its an epidemic now† â€Å"I remember my childhood as being safe and secure. Parents were always there for me. I wish it could be the same for all children. What a horrible world we live in† â€Å"Something is clearly wrong in this godforsaken world we live in† 3. Registering of Sex Offenders One further overarching theme is related to legislation. Registering of child sex abusers is practised by many Western countries such as the USA and the United Kingdom. The general public tend to want sex offenders to be put on a register in order to protect the general public. But other find this labelling could create a barrier to sex offenders reintegrating with society (Bollinger, Seidler, Kemp, 2012). The study by Bollinger, Seidler and Kemp (2012) found an interesting result: people with children wanted more punitive approaches towards sexual offenders, even when not fully aware of the purpose of a register. A few relevant quotes are shown below: â€Å"I hope shes put on the domestic abuse register† The attacker has, IMO, no right to anonymity† â€Å"so she can be convicted and from now on be classified as a Paedophiler† â€Å"Around here we are starting to name and shame people that don’t pick up their dog mess YET they don’t name or shame these disgusting vile people? We have right to know who she is. However, some quotes suggest perpetrators should not be named, in order to protect their victims: â€Å"The anonymity of the perp is to protect the identity of the child, not the perp. As a victim of sexual abuse there is an automatic protection of identity† The problem with naming and shaming is that if the perpetrator of the abuse is known to people in the area, the little girl would also be identified by association which is often best avoided† 4. Limitations of the Research Approach Thematic analysis is a popular method widely used in qualitative research (Braun Clarke, 2013). However, this qualitative method can be subject to the personal bias of researchers (Vaismoradi, Turunen, Bondas, 2013) as well as the researcher’s grounding in epistemological philosophy. Hence, it is important to take the philosophical perspective into account when choosing the design for the study. 5. References Angelides, S. (2008). ‘Sexual offences against â€Å"children† and the question of judicial gender bias.’ Australian Feminist Studies, 23(57), 359-373. Doi: 10.1080/08164640802233302 Bollinger, J., Seidler, K., Kemp, R. (2012). ‘Who thinks what about child protection: Community perceptions and awareness of child protection strategies and their effectiveness for reducing sexual reoffending.’ Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand, 4(4), 33-40. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4sid=4f62b2c7-f642-47e6-b828-1f128e44c525%40sessionmgr4001hid=4213 Braun, V., Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Craissati, J., South, R., Bierer, K. (2009). ‘Exploring the effectiveness of community sex offender treatment in relation to risk and re-offending.’ Journal of Forensic Psychiatry Psychology, 20(6), 769*784. Doi: 10.1080/14789940903174105 Craver, G.A. (2014). ‘Not just for beginners – A review of successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners.’ The Qualitative Report, 19 (review 16), 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu.ssss/QR/QR19/craver16.pdf Geddes, R.A., Tyson, G.R., McGreal (2012). ‘Gender bias in the education system: Perceptions of teacher-student sexual relationships.’ Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com Gill, A.K., Harrison, K. (2013). ‘Sentencing sex offenders in India: Retributive justice versus sex offender treatment programmes and restorative justice approaches.’ International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 8(2), 166-181. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7sid=bf077283-9215-4735-9500-dad6353ad5fc%40sessionmgr4001hid=4213 King, N., Horrocks, C. (2010). Interviews in qualitative research. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Landor, R.V., Eisenchlas, S.A. (2012). ‘â€Å"Coming clean† on Duty of Care: Australian print media’s representation of male versus female sex offenders in institutional contexts.’ Sexuality Culture, 16, 486-502. Doi: 10.1007/s12119-012-9134-5. Tsopelas, C., Tsetsou, S., Ntounas, P., Douzenis, A. (2012). ‘Female perpetrators of sexual abuse of minors: what are the consequences for the victims?’ International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 35(4), 305-310. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.04.003 Vandiver, D.M., Walker, J.T. (2002). ‘Female sex offenders: An overview and analysis of 40 cases.’ Criminal Justice Review, 27(2), 284-300. Retrieved from http://cjr.sagepub.com/content/27/2/284 Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., Bondas, T. (2013). ‘Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study.’ Nursing and Health Sciences, 15, 398-405. Doi: 10.1111/nhs.12048