Free Essays on Parking

Have you at any point got the opportunity to work, just to discover that you can’t punch in for another half hour? That’s precisely what many workers at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak experience every day. Attempting to fit the vehicles of 7,000 representatives into one parking area sounds truly extreme all alone, however on the off chance that you include any patients or guests that choose to leave there, it is completely inconceivable. I work at Beaumont medical clinic, which is probably the busiest emergency clinic in the Metro Detroit region. There are a large number of representatives that work there, yet just one parcel nearby for them to leave their vehicles in. There are three off-site parts where representatives can stop and take a bus in to work. This, be that as it may, is very badly arranged and tedious. You need to drive around five or ten minutes from the medical clinic, hold up until the transport shows up, and an additional 10 minutes is squandered on the transport ride there. When you at last arrive, you need to stroll from the van drop off point to your region of the medical clinic. When you at long last punch in, it is about a half hour later than the time you would have arrived had you had the option to stop in the parking garage at the medical clinic. Numerous representatives come in to work and find that the nearby parking area is full. Various them continue to the guest parking garage and attempt to sneak in. They are then welcomed by a stopping representative, whose activity it is to advise them to take off. This baffles them in such a case that a patient or guest chooses to stop in the closer worker part, they are not given an issue about it. In a spot that doesn’t even have space for its own representatives, how might they legitimize taking much more spots away for the individuals who have a ton assigned for them. On the off chance that they have a territory to stop in, they should utilize it. Fortunately I start work at 6:00 am and the part is for all intents and purposes void when I arrive, so I am not affected by this issue, yet I used to arrive in a couple of hours after the fact, so I realize what it resembles. ... Free Essays on Parking Free Essays on Parking Have you at any point got the chance to work, just to discover that you can’t punch in for another half hour? That’s precisely what many representatives at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak experience every day. Attempting to fit the vehicles of 7,000 representatives into one parking area sounds truly extreme all alone, however in the event that you include any patients or guests that choose to leave there, it is out and out outlandish. I work at Beaumont emergency clinic, which is perhaps the busiest medical clinic in the Metro Detroit region. There are a great many representatives that work there, however just one parcel nearby for them to leave their vehicles in. There are three off-site parcels where representatives can stop and take a van in to work. This, be that as it may, is very badly designed and tedious. You need to drive around five or ten minutes from the emergency clinic, hold up until the transport shows up, and an additional 10 minutes is squandered on the transport ride there. When you at last arrive, you need to stroll from the van drop off point to your territory of the medical clinic. When you at long last punch in, it is about a half hour later than the time you would have arrived had you had the option to stop in the parking area at the medical clinic. Numerous representatives come in to work and find that the nearby parking area is full. Various them continue to the guest parking area and attempt to sneak in. They are then welcomed by a stopping representative, whose activity it is to instruct them to take off. This baffles them in such a case that a patient or guest chooses to stop in the closer worker parcel, they are not given an issue about it. In a spot that doesn’t even have space for its own workers, how might they legitimize taking considerably more spots away for the individuals who have a ton assigned for them. On the off chance that they have a zone to stop in, they should utilize it. Fortunately I start work at 6:00 am and the parcel is essentially unfilled when I arrive, so I am not affected by this issue, however I used to arrive in a couple of hours after the fact, so I comprehend what it resembles. ...

La Reid free essay sample

Showing melodic aptitude in vocals, IANA, and percussion (Net Industries, 2011. Para) just as his extraordinary capacity to oversee and multicast, portraying himself as an overachiever(Enrolment, 2003. Para 8. ), Reid fits all the prerequisites for an effective vocation in the music business. Anyway what separates him from the rest, is his notorious capacity know ability when he sees it. Notwithstanding being not able to depict precisely how he acquired such an expertise in the business, expressing, Its something that I feel when I meet an Industries, 2011.Parasol), It Is without saying that he has demonstrated his capacity to perceive star-common people when he can see It. This is apparent through his endless triumphs In his vocation, finding effective craftsmen, for example, Toni Brannon, TTL, usher and Pink, Just to give some examples. (Net Industries, 2011. Parasol11) Reeds interesting feeling of information In the music business, alongside his different characteristics, recognizes him from others in the music business, and has helped his prosperity. We will compose a custom article test on La Reid or on the other hand any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page His enthusiasm for all sorts of music, having gotten a handle on the significance of melodic decent variety, has separate him from others in his line of work.Not just Is this something that I appreciate in Reid, yet in addition it is meeting that I wish to apply to my own vocation in media outlets, and want to acquire enough understanding and information to fortify a feeling of comprehension of what can be effective music. I feel that my assorted enthusiasm for all classes of music, comparably to Reid, will assist me with prevailing In this business moreover. L. A Reid has kept up a consistent ascent In the music Industry Essentially, a 40-year Journey carried Reid to where he Is today. The backtalk saw him show up with funk musical gang Pure Essence, and afterward with band The Dell in the 1 backtalk. Enrolment, 2003. Para) However the more critical segment of his since quite a while ago run vocation in music business started in 1989, with the foundation of Leafage Records in relationship with Clive Davis Arises Records. (Enrolment, 2003. Para) This timeframe saw Reid utilize his gifted ability radar to find music legends Usher, Toni Brannon, TTL, Outcast and Circa, and his decent variety achieved the more surprising hints of Pink and April Leaving into the standard music industry. (Alexander, 2000. Para 5) Reid was designated CEO and President of Arises Records in 2000, and stayed in this situation until 2004. Enrolment, 2003. Para 8) Between 2004 and 2011, Reid has held a situation as Chairman and CEO of The Island Deft Jam Music Group, restoring the vocation of Maria Carrey, and assuming a key job In the accomplishment of Kenya West, Iranian and most as of late Justine Bibber. (Enrolment, 2003. Para 10) He currently plans to turn into a Judge on the U. S. *Factor, and has resigned from his job with Island Deft Jam. Positions, endeavoring to succeed and testing his cutoff points in the music business through the dangers he has taken imaginatively. Having gotten official positions, his administration Tyler has for the most part been in delegation.Having worked with multi-million dollar organizations in his vocation, his job continuously encompassed a large portion of the ability sourcing being finished by others, and his blessing wrapping everything up. Antonio L. A. Reid has consistently moved toward ability in the music business with a receptive outlook, obvious when he as of late expressed that it is so critical to keep the entryways open and the lights on, and a star will stroll in. (Haltering, 2011. Show up) As expressed, Reid wound up to have a capacity to perceive star-quality, and henceforth he decided to onlyNor with specialists whom he accepted could be effective. Reeds experience and different comprehension of both the imaginative side and business side of the business implied that he has consistently had the option to create craftsmen with potential in order to change them into standard miracles. (Haltering, 2011. Para 1) However, Reid has shown a comprehension in overseeing craftsman imagination, permitting craftsmen under his range of control to dig into new inventive outlets, as observed with Pinks Misunderstood, and Airmans Rated R. (Enrolment, 2003. Para 14)Although many can characteristic the accomplishment of Antonio L. A. Reid to karma, it would be very much an over the top fortuitous event that every craftsman guided by him has in reality been related Ninth a plenitude of achievement. Subsequently, almost certainly, Reeds information and comprehension of the music business has credited his Judgment in recognizing ability, and in turning out to be maybe the best music official the business has seen. Reid has existed in the business for enough time to observe moves and changes in the business, and has point of fact confronted an assortment of difficulties in his sections.However having worked for the most part in official positions, Reid has been related predominantly with adjusting the issues of those before him and bettering the organization in his grasp. Maybe the best case of this is, is found in Reeds progression of Clive Davis seat at Arises Records, where Davis recruited Reid in order to introduce another period in a name that was prepared for change, carrying it to progress. Alexander, 2000. Segment 2) For Reid, challenges encompassed advancing the marks he connected himself with. What's more in any case, Reid continually faces challengedEn taking on deliver ing jobs with collections under his names, as his inventiveness and creative gifts are tried in It can anyway be said that Reid might not have made a similar official progress as effectively had he started his profession in an increasingly present day setting, the same number of the positions he acquired in the early long stretches of his vocation Newer not as exceptionally requested as they are today. Generally, rivalry today is a lot more prominent than it was previously. All in all, Antonio L. A. Reid can be viewed as one of the most persuasive and splendid officials in the music business.

Music Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music Management - Essay Example oversight of studio innovative directors, gives a green light to studio creation sponsoring, and scatters the completed movie with the studio-subsidiary distributer using the shippers stores to take care of P&A costs. A self-ruling producer (or screenwriter, head, performing craftsman or on-screen character) may have at first introduced the idea, thought, key property, format, summation, treatment or screenplay to the studio, anyway rights to convey as a film were then picked up by the studio. If the producer or others stay attached, they do as, for example, delegates of the studio or adventure (Wise Geek Editors, 2012). Creation Financing/Distribution Agreement-The free maker gives the making sure about/progress financing (or raises such backings from theorists) and takes the course of action to a studio/vendor with a truly finish group (i.e., enormous parts are joined). The studio/traders money used to convey and fitting the photograph. The flow understanding is gone into (speculatively) before they start creation or if nothing else before the finish of the age. The dealer will deduct its charge, recoup distributer expenses, and assemble eagerness on the creation money credit and after that decline the negative cost with remaining gross receipts, if any(Wise Geek Editors, 2012). Negative Pickups (and various indications of moneylender creation money financing) - The free creator gives making sure about/progress financing (or raises such backings from monetary experts) and gets at least one vendor duties and protections. This is to purchase the completed picture (for the around the globe, private or worldwide markets, or individual areas) if the finished film meets decided transport necessities (as set forward in unobtrusive component in the apportionment agreement)(Wise Geek Editors, 2012). To stay pertinent in the business, the best way to deal with find starts with setting ourselves in our customers shoes.

Walt Disney Strategy Research Paper - 3300 Words

Walt Disney Strategy (Research Paper Sample) Content: Walt Disney StrategyBy(Name)Presented to(Instructor/tutor)(Course/subject)(Institution/university)(City)(Date)Executive summaryWalt Disney Company is known for its best brand, creativity and its ability to promote its businesses. He had the passion of applying innovative technologies to increase the level of consumer experiences. The company was started and founded in 1923. It started its operations in California but later it moved to expand its operations in America. It later acquired its partner Pixar. It had five segments, studio and entertainment, consumer products studio entertainment media networks, parks and resorts. Its competitors in the industry involve, Time Warner, Viacom, and Dreams Animation. The main aim of the analyses of Disney is to analyze the international marketing strategy and its diversified portfolio. Walt Disney is diversified in its operations with the four segments, parks and resort, consumer products, studio entertainment and media ne tworks. The company has its operations based in Canada and US (Robbins, S. Coulter, M. 2005,P. 29).The four scenarios include, cost leadership strategy and marketing strategy. Cost leadership strategy means selling a quality product in the market at the lowest prices. This factor is influenced by volume and market positioning its product in the business and making profits. It is one of the major strategies that have helped many organizations to achieve their long term goals. It is a critical part of China because leadership completes the communication process. China can produce differentiated products to its customers. Quality service is fundamental to clients. Leadership fosters a company culture. The Disney company motivates creativity by creating a conducive environment to share the noble ideas. With the strong leadership skills, Disney will be able to lay down its strategies in China wit in the next 20years. Leadership is key in a chain of excellence in Disney country. T here is employee satisfaction and low employee turnover, this creates a good working environment for both employees and customer relations. A good relationship with the customers as a result of good leadership. Also, Disney à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"s cost leadership is a good strategy into entering the China market (Robbins, S. Coulter, M. 2005,P. 35 -40).Target marketing strategy is another strategy that can be used in China to reach its strategy in the next 20 years. Marketing strategy involves international outreach strategies, advertising and marketing strategies and innovation. Innovation is a marketing strategy that can be used in China to help them stay ahead of other competitors and build business ventures. In the current world, technology is advancing and, there is a need to do thorough research, innovation and development. With the new technology, many methods of designing and producing better products and services are coming up. The main idea of this strategy is to ensure tha t China is connected to the rest of the world. The international outreach strategy will ensure that people will travel to see China. Many people will travel to the country and, therefore, need to create parks and museums. It will attract the business for the China products. It will also increase its market share and then its brand. Advertising and promotional strategy is a vital strategy for China. It involves a systematic approach to marketing through social media like television, newspaper, family packages, inclusive of discount in prices and mobile initiatives. Branding allows a business to outdo its competitors in the business. It can be achieved through tag lines, attractive graphics and appealing colors. It is also essential for China to use online marketing. Currently, there is increased technology China cam decide to use a social site like twitter and facebook to sell its products (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 103).The third scenario is creating product differentiation and innovat iveness of the Disney company. The company can produce multiple products, hence meeting the customer needs and satisfaction. The strategy will allow the company to sell its goods globally. It produced products similar to those of their competitors but differentiated. It makes it easier for the customers to see their goods in China for the next 20 years. It can identify the customers needs, emotions and wants, this allows them to produce unique quality products that meet the customer interest (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 103).Lastly, growth strategy that involves achieving the set goals of the business. They include, using the performance measures, increasing revenue and profits. It can be international, horizontal and vertical growth. China must use growth strategies to achieve its objectives in the next 20 years. It can implement the growth strategies through Acquisition, mergers and takeovers. Disney company is willing to take risks that will take the business to higher levels. Disney will be able to venture China in the next 20 years because of their organizational identity. Taking risks will also allow the company to expand their territory globally (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 110).Strategic plans for Disney Company can influence the mission and vision of the business.Vision statement is to "deliver with integrity, the most consistently exceptional entertainment experiences for all people and interest. Also, its mission statement is to be able to be the leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Strategic planning involves identifying the identifying the mission, vision statement of Disney company and then, identifying and analyzing internal and external threats and opportunities. Analyzing the SWOT analysis of the company, formulating and implementation of the strategic plans. Disney must stop using the traditional approach and move the current approach. Disney has a responsibility of identifying the major internal and external factors. Dis ney company must critically analyse the internal and external factors. A careful analysis of the factors will allow Disney company to achieve its strategic goals (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 103).Disney company has realistic strategies and goals that are consistent with the core values that allow it to achieve and attain the mission and vision. It is important to involve the key stakeholders of the business in the whole process of strategic planning. The process involves analysing, assessment, planning and implementation of the plan. Disney management team has set priorities, harmonizing resources, strengthening operations to get the desired outcome. Employees and shareholders/ stakeholders must work towards the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s goals to get the best output. It should adjust any changes to adopt the dynamic environment. Effective strategic planning defines if the business can achieve its set goals.At Disney business, there has been a thorough training and development strategies to sensitive employees on a mission and vision of the business. There is internal training of the employees that includes customized training. Disney has advanced its training method to using face to face instruction. The training is combined with the online instructor that involves using e-learning. It is one of the Disney strategy that involves matching the appropriate technology that minimizes cost. It used and shared experience to promote the business and give it a competitive advantage (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 113).To be able to achieve the mission and vision of the business, all the employees must have freedom of communication and accept ideas. Also, there must be creative innovation to improve products and services for the customer's benefit. Disney company must align learning and business goals, measurement of performance, including external stakeholders like customers and supplies, and focusing on competencies in critical areas. Also, development of the leadership skills and developing the training approaches of both the top management and employee. Top management is very key in attaining the mission, vision, values and goals to meet the business plans. Disney company has to diversify its operations because of the increased technological development (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 103).Disney company faces competition in the media and television industry. There are various forms of entertainment and leisure. Therefore, there is a challenge in fighting the consumer tastes. The main tools used to assess the business include, Swot Analysis, port five force model, BCG Matrix and international product life cycle. Porterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s five models involve, analyzing the threat of the new entrants and the threat of the new suppliers. Walt Disney is a major international entertainment company in the US and Canada with its five different markets. Disney products include magazines, movies, television programs and music recordings (Gregoriou, 2006, p. 103).Its strengths i nclude, brand reputation, producing local product quality products, adequate experience in acquisitions and diversified businesses. Disney channel is widely watched throughout the world. It has a competitive advantage over other competitors in the world. Over the last 90 years of operation, it is widely recognized in the world. The company has been in the operation with diversified brands. Disney has an approach of providing products that suit both the local and international business. It has tailor made movies that suite Chinese business that attracts more visitors. The company has strategies of acquiring new companies. In 2006, it acquired Pixar animation, in 2009 Marvel entertainment and 2012, it acquired Lucasfilm. The acquisition processes have been successful. Diversification is also another strength. It has parks and resorts, studio environment, media networks, interactive media and consumer products. These segments business i...

The Government Has Not Funded Stem Cell Research - 1566 Words

The government has not funded stem cell research since 2001 for various reasons, some understandable, others I have to disagree on. I believe stem cell research should be funded by the government because it will advance our knowledge on how to treat and cure certain diseases. Many people, researchers and scientist included, strongly agree that we cannot continue our knowledge and technological advancement without the support of our own government. Stem cells are special cells that have the ability to regenerate and repair damaged tissue. Embryonic stem cells appear to possess the ability to become almost any tissue within the body. This, in theory, means that a cell could be taken from one section of an embryo that may have become a part†¦show more content†¦Robbie Norville, who has been researching cancer development in children, claims â€Å"Few risks are associated with donating bone marrow. The body usually replaces these cells within a few weeks. The doctor may suggest iron supplements until blood cell counts increase† (Norville). Of all the ways to retrieve stem cells, this method appears to be the safest. In 2009, President Obama ended the ban on stem cell research, stating â€Å"medical miracles do not happen simply by accident.† Scientists are very pleased with this decision made by the President, including Dr. Clive Svendsen, who stated: â€Å"Freeing up the embryonic stem cells through the lifting of this injunction will allow us to use federal support and money, and move clinical trials must faster to patients. So this is why it s an important day.† American citizens are as well. A poll was held in 2004, asking Americans if they support medical research using HESCs, to which only about 50% said they approved. The same question was asked in 2007, in which that percentage was raised to about 65% approving. These statistics clearly show that Americans want advances in medicine to be made with HESCs. The controversy about stem cell research is the concept that the research itself is â€Å"unethical† because it involves the development and usage, and possibly dest ruction of human embryos. This is not true for most methods of stem cell research. As stated

My Thoughts On What Culture Truly Essay - 1498 Words

My thoughts on what culture truly is have changed tremendously after taking Intro to Sociology. My thinking of my own and others has changed since my first PVR 1. In my first PVR, I included pictures of two sweatshirts which represented my volleyball team and my current school, a cross, a box of Macaroni and Cheese, tennis shoes, a picture of my family, an EOS chap stick, and sunglasses. The way I look at my culture now is completely different. Now, I do not use items at all to define my culture. Objects have nothing to do with it. When I began this semester, I thought of culture as being where someone was born, their ethnicity, their language, and maybe even what they do for a living. Although I believe these may still be a part of a culture, they are not the most important aspect of what culture is. Culture is who we are. Culture is our family, our friends, our values, where we are born, the activities we decide to be a part of, what we decide to do in difficult situation, it is wh o we are. Culture is not taught, it is who we become. This is exactly what my picture conveys. We learn through experience who we are and therefore, what our culture is. I thought my culture was just my family and things I enjoyed doing. Then I thought it was thinking about nature and the people who are important to me. I now realize it is all of that together. It is learning one thing at a time. I will continue to realize more and more what my culture is the more I dive into research. I’veShow MoreRelatedContemporary American Culture and Materialism Essay871 Words   |  4 Pagescovered many different topics during our study of contemporary American culture. We studied topics relating to our everyday lives such as, relationships, life habits, work, and school. 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But I thought to myself, â€Å"No. Learn about your culture and where you come from.† I still did what every person does on vacation. I tried new food and visited the different attractions, but I also immersed myself into the culture and heritage of the family that I had not seen in 8 years. I asked questions and learned as much as possible. Since Egypt is such a conservativeRead MoreFeminist Reading Of No Normal 760 Words   |  4 PagesShannon Keel Dr. Francis Feminist Reading of Culture October 19th, 2017 Ms. Marvel: â€Å"No Normal† Reading â€Å"No Normal† was my first ever experience with the â€Å"Ms. Marvel† spinoff, and I absolutely loved it. I think choosing a sixteen year old, Pakistani-American, Muslim girl as the main hero was a bold move for the American comic book giant Marvel, but I believe it truly paid off. In â€Å"Ms. Marvel: No Normal,† Kamala is a wonderful representation of female empowerment through self identityRead MoreProcess Pl Multicultural Competence1689 Words   |  7 Pagespeople of different cultures. There are four major components present when discussing multicultural competence: (1) the individual (me) must be aware of one’s own cultural views, (2) know ones attitude towards cultural differences, (3) Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and (4) having cross-cultural skills (Adapted from class 2 and 3 definitions handout, as adapted from Pope, R.L. Reynolds, A. L. (1997)). How does one gain this competency though? Is it ever tru ly obtainable? IRead MoreThe Golden Age Of Islamic Thought And Its Cultural Impact On Europe852 Words   |  4 PagesGrowing up I always wondered what was going on before the year 2,000. What about year 1,000? I had learned as far back as the 1700s but I still had not found what I really wanted to know. 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Microeconomics Demand for IPADS

Question: Discuss about theMicroeconomics for Demand for IPADS. Answer: Explosion of Demand for IPADS It is known that if the cost of IPADS will decrease, then the demand and the supply for the products will be affected. In order to identify the effect of the explosion of demand for IPADs on the supply of the product and also on the price level, firstly, it is necessary to identify why the demand for IPADS has increased. In addition, it is also necessary to identify the influential factors, which affect the supply as well as the equilibrium level of price of the products. Firstly, it can be mentioned that the consumers are highly willing to purchase the goods of Apple. The consumers, who are willing to focus on the brand or the quality of the products, they want to purchase the products. Therefore, the consumers are not concerned about the price of the products. This is the reason why the demand for the IPADS has been increasing massively (Canto, Joines Laffer, 2014). Therefore, IPADS are assumed as the luxury goods. If the price of the products will increase, then the demand for the goods will be decreased. Therefore, if the income level of the consumers will increase then the purchase of the products will be increased. Secondly, it can be mentioned that Apple IPADS has the competitor of Microsoft surface 2. The price of the product is comparatively higher than Apple IPADS. Therefore, the consumers are willing to purchase Apple IPADS than Microsoft Surface (Berry Waldfogel, 2016). Figure 1: Impact of the increase of demand of a product (Source: Created by author) From the above figure, it can be observed that initially the demand for IPADS is D1. After increasing the demand for the products, the equilibrium price level will be increased. The price level increased from P1 to P2. As it can be observed that Apple IPADS are considered as the luxury goods, therefore, if the demand for the goods will increase, then the price level will also be increased (Bowen Sosa, 2014). Therefore, from the above figure it can be observed that the demand curve for the goods has increased from D1 to D2 and shift to the right ward and the price level has increased from P1 to P2. On the other hand, it can be stated that if the demand for the particular goods will increase, then the supply will be decreased. If the supply will decrease, then the price for the products will be increased more. Figure 2: Impact of decrease in supply in the price level and the demand of the products (Source: Created by author) The above figure depicted that the effect of the decrease of supply curve on the price level and also on the demand for the products. From the above diagram, it can be observed that initially the equilibrium price and quantity for Apple IPADS was P1 and Q1 respectively, the initial demand curve and the supply curve intersect to each other (Cashin et al., 2014). On the other hand, when the price level increase from P1 to P2, then the demand for the goods also increase from D to D1. Therefore, new equilibrium quantity purchased by the consumers is Q2. As the products are considered as the luxury goods, therefore, the equilibrium quantity has been increased from Q1 to Q2 and shift to the rightward. In this context, it can be opined that the brand lover buyers would be able to afford this price and want to purchase the products. Therefore, equilibrium quantity of this product would be increased. However, De Grauwe (2014) opined that if the demand for the products would increase massively , then the supply for the particular product will be decreased. As a result, the supply curve would shift to the leftward and the new supply curve is S2. Therefore, it can be inferred that the price level will be increased more and the price level is P3. In this point, it can be stated that the purchase of the products will be decreased. Therefore, the quantity will be decreased from Q2 to Q3. Therefore, the price elasticity of luxury goods will be positive. Lastly, Baumol Blinder (2015) mentioned that the demand for this luxury goods will be increased proportionately with the rise in income level. References Baumol, W. J., Blinder, A. S. (2015).Microeconomics: Principles and policy. Cengage Learning. Berry, S. T., Waldfogel, J. (2016). Empirical Modeling for Economics of the Media: Consumer and Advertiser Demand, Firm Supply and Firm Entry Models for Media Markets.Handbook of Media Economics,1. Bowen, W. G., Sosa, J. A. (2014).Prospects for faculty in the arts and sciences: A study of factors affecting demand and supply, 1987 to 2012. Princeton University Press. Canto, V. A., Joines, D. H., Laffer, A. B. (2014).Foundations of supply-side economics: Theory and evidence. Academic Press. Cashin, P., Mohaddes, K., Raissi, M., Raissi, M. (2014). The differential effects of oil demand and supply shocks on the global economy.Energy Economics,44, 113-134. De Grauwe, P. (2014). Yes, its the economy, stupid, but is it demand or supply? CEPS Commentary, 24 January 2014.

What Would I Tell the Founding Fathers free essay sample

If you had the opportunity to talk to the Founding Fathers what would you ask them? If had the chance I would discuss three things with the Founding Fathers I would ask about how their political experience was, religion, and their legacy. Just to tell you a little about the Founding Fathers, they were political leaders and statesmen. They participated in the American Revolution by signing the Declaration of Independence. I wonder how their experience was in the political stand .The framers of the Constitution had extensive political experience. By 1787, four-fifths (41 people), Were or had been members Of the Continental Congress. Nearly all of the 55 delegates had experience in colonial and state government, and most of them had held county and local offices. The ones who lacked congressional experience were Bassett, Blair, Barely, Broom, Davie, Dayton, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, Mason, McClure, Paterson, Charles Pinkeye, Strong, Washington and Yates. Religion was something that was important to most of the Founding Fathers. We will write a custom essay sample on What Would I Tell the Founding Fathers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One of the many attacks on our country from the Religious Right is the claim that our country is a Christian Nation. The majority of people are Christians, UT the country itself was founded by Christians, for Christians. Many people think that the statement is a lie. The men responsible for building the foundation of the United States were men of The Enlightenment, not men of Christianity. According to the historian Joseph J.Ellis, the concept of the Founding Fathers of the IS. S. Emerged in the asses as the last survivors died out. Ellis says the founders, or the fathers, comprised an aggregate of semi-sacred figures whose particular accomplishments and singular achievements were decidedly less important than their sheer presence as a powerful but faceless symbol of sat greatness. For the generation of national leaders coming of age in the asses and 1 sass men like Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C.

African American History and Women Timeline 1960-1969

African American History and Women Timeline 1960-1969 [Previous] [Next] 1960 Ruby Bridges integrated an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana Ella Baker among others organized SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) at Shaw University Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three Olympic gold medals, and was named Athlete of the Year by the United Press 1961 CORE Freedom Rides began, with the aim of desegregating public buses many brave women and men participated (March 6) Executive Order by John F. Kennedy promoted affirmative action to abolish racial biases in hiring on projects where federal funds were involved 1962 Meredith v. Fair case argued by Constance Baker Motley. The decision allowed James Meredith to be admitted to the University of Mississippi. 1963 (September 15) Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, and Cynthia Weston, ages 11-14, killed in the bombing of 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones) died (singer) 1964 (April 6) Mrs. Frankie Muse Freeman becomes the first woman on the new U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (July 2) US Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law Fannie Lou Hamer testified for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party before the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention 1965 Viola Liuzzo murdered by Ku Klux Klan members after participating in civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama affirmative action was required to eliminate racial bias in hiring on federally-funded projects, as defined by Executive Order 11246 Patricia Harris became the first African American woman ambassador (Luxemburg) Mary Burnett Talbert died (activist: anti-lynching, civil rights) Dorothy Dandridge died (actress, singer, dancer) Lorraine Hansberry died (playwright, wrote Raisin in the Sun) 1966 (August 14) Halle Berry born (actress) (August 30) Constance Baker Motley appointed a federal judge, the first African American woman to hold that office 1967 (June 12) in Loving v. Virginia, Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional, voiding statutes still on the books in 16 states (October 13) 1965 Executive Order 11246, requiring affirmative action to eliminate racial bias in hiring on federally-funded projects, was amended to include gender-based discrimination Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, recorded her signature song, Respect 1968 Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the US House of Representatives   Audre Lorde  published her first book of poems,  The First Cities. 1969 (October 29) Supreme Court ordered immediate desegregation of school districts [Previous] [Next] [1492-1699] [1700-1799] [1800-1859] [1860-1869] [1870-1899] [1900-1919] [1920-1929] [1930-1939] [1940-1949] [1950-1959] [1960-1969] [1970-1979] [1980-1989] [1990-1999] [2000-]

English Property Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English Property Law - Essay Example Intellectual property is also integral to property law. One of the reasons for the promulgation of the law is the need to create distinction between real property and personal property (Worthington 2000 92). Of course, one of the most important goals of those that promulgated the law is to ensure that the conflicts that arise on the ownership of property will be reduced as much as possible. One of the instances that can be used to truly certify that the English property system is more pragmatic than theoretical is the manner in which judges give judgement in cases, precisely those that pertain to property law. Instead of strictly following what the statutes say, most judges would rather rely on logic. Locke’s theory of property also seems to reiterate this point. This is because Locke begins his arguments my stating that, at inception, property was personal—meaning that there were no individual owners. However, the persistence of this state of thing will mean that no on e would be able to use land, for example, for individual or communal benefit. Locke recognizes that there is the need to create a system in which individuals can lay claim of ownership to what was hitherto communally owned (Tully 1980 34). This aspiration would be impossible if one desires to get the assent of every member of the community. It can only happen when individuals begin to exchange something in return for what they desire. At the very inception, it was their bodily sweat; later, it was valuable property; and finally it became money. The introduction of money meant that the yardstick for separating the wealthy from the poor had been established. By interpretation, one could assume either of these two opinions. First, one could conclude that the flexibility, rather than the rigidity, of the English property law has really helped to limit the level in which every Tom, Dick and Harry who is a capitalist would be able to turn personal property into real property. Secondly, on e may conclude, on the other hand, that flexibility of the English property law (which is best established in the practical sense) has helped to materialize the desire of the capitalist to convert most of what was formerly owned communally into real property. On the whole, one would discover that Locke’s property theory favours capitalism as against communalism. What Locke defends is that money can be the solution to all problems (Tully 1980 52). Even in England, this seems to be true because if anybody is rich enough to employ the services of a proficient lawyer, the case is close to being won already even before any judgment is pronounced. The lawyer would be able to also turn the odds to favour their client. The English property is very fluid in nature. Most lawyers, hence, take advantage of this. They have been able to make the English property law, which to an average person would appear as one of the most rigid laws ever, into one that has become very flexible (Worthing ton 2000 97). For instance, there is really no clear distinction between real and personal property again. This is because lawyers have been able to interchange them, through interpretation, to suit the demands of their case. What lawyers have been able to accomplish may not really be as a result of their ingenuity but as a result of the fact that the law itself has created the lapses. For example, normally, the English statute would recognise an estate owned by a family as

The War on Polio and Other Wars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The War on Polio and Other Wars - Essay Example The war on polio was waged against the disease through the democratic effort of then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who is a polio victim himself. The war on polio became a huge success because of his efforts. However, aside from polio there were other wars waged by America and many of them did not attain the same success as the war on polio perhaps because of what the other administrations failed to do. The joint efforts of the government and the people themselves helped in the success of the war against polio. Former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was afflicted with polio since 1921 and even until he became President in 1933. In 1937, Roosevelt, partly because of his own affliction and perhaps because of his genuine concern for children affected by the polio virus, instituted the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (Kluger). The National Foundation used the latest advertising, fund raising, and research to find a cure for polio, or perhaps some management te chniques, and most of all to reduce the disease into something that should not be feared (Oshinsky 5). The war on polio became successful because it was all about democratic effort and was greatly supported by people from all sectors, as the whole American nation participated in the annual galas held in the whole country during Roosevelt’s birthday. ... Thus, the case of polio concerned everyone. The people whose responsibility is to find a cure for it were under a huge pressure not only from the President but also from the whole nation, and so its success was inevitable. As the National Foundation’s director of research from 1946 to 1953, Harry Weaver deserves much of the credit for the development of the vaccine against polio. Moreover, his efforts at convincing Jonas Salk to work on the cure for polio virus instead of influenza were greatly instrumental to the success of the vaccine. Aside from Weaver’s convincing power, the foundation’s first check for Salk amounting to $41,000 plus money from other sources also greatly helped (Oshinsky 112,116). Nevertheless, the main factor, perhaps, that made America win the war on polio was its efforts to cooperate with other countries, and even with the Soviet Union, and to set aside political differences first before medical concerns. From 1963 to 1999, the Sabin live vaccine proved to be more efficient than the Salk killed vaccine because the positive results were immediate in the former. However, since the whole country was then already using the Salk vaccine, Sabin decided to test his vaccine in the late 1950s in the Belgian Congo and in the Soviet Union, despite the Cold War and the political tension between the United States and the Russian country (â€Å"Two Vaccines†). With such diplomacy and urgency, countries were able to set aside political differences first and learned how to develop a mutual agreement to focus on the more urgent issue at hand. Thus, the war on polio was won. The war on AIDS is not as successful as the war on polio because of several reasons but one of them is the growing hesitation of the American government to

Dreams and its Interpretation Essay Example for Free

Dreams and its Interpretation Essay We have always been fascinated with dreams. Numerous theories on the subject have been proposed since the early Greek period attempting to explain the nature and purpose of dreams. During the ancient times, dreams are believed to be inspiration from the gods. That it, the gods uses dreams to communicate their messages and their warnings. The Scripture alone has a large amount of anecdotes expressing the Christian belief on dreams and these beliefs differ on a very little scale with that of the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians (Brill, 1922). Passing on from the ancient times, beliefs regarding the nature of dreams have varied little in terms of its religious aspect. But it was not until the late nineteenth century that psychology began to offer a new insight on the subject of dreams. It would be an enormous feat to discuss the various theories regarding dreams and its analysis and interpretation but perhaps it is more than helpful to discuss first the dream process before attempting to look at its analysis and interpretation. According to Auld, Hyman, and Rudzinski (2005), â€Å"the dream gives expression to unconscious forces in a much more direct way than other mental contents do† (p. 185). As it is, dreams only happen when one is asleep. When asleep, the sleeper/dreamer stops actions directed toward the outside world allowing some thoughts and feelings penetrate the mind more freely than when the dreamer is awake. These thoughts and feelings now constitute the dream content. Most dream contents consist of the dreamer’s memories of events of his waking life, usually experiences of the day preceding the dream and conflicts from early childhood that are repressed, and therefore unconscious even in sleep. Dreams become an instrument for the expression and fulfilment for these unconscious conflicts (Auld, Hyman, Rudzinski, 2005). However, these unconscious conflicts and preconscious day residues are not just simply represented into dreams. The dreamer first translates these thoughts and memories into visual images which are then represented by a series of images as they enter the dreamer’s consciousness. The dreamer remembers and reports verbally this series of images. This report is called the manifest dream while the psychological structure from which the manifest dream was developed is called the latent dream. Freud calls this process as the dream-work (the changing of the latent dream into the manifest dream) (Freud, 1920). Freud explains that to be able to interpret the dream, that is, to fully recover the latent dream thoughts as fully as possible, one must get the dreamer to give association to each element of the manifest dream (this is what is called the free-association). He further explains that the manifest dream is a distorted version of the latent dream, not only because thoughts and feelings had to be translated into visual imagery but also because repressive forces of the personality were active and brought about a disguising and censoring transformation material. Freud referred to this as censorship. Other psychological operations involved in the dream-work are condensation, symbolism, dramatization, and secondary revision. In condensation, a single image in the manifest dream can represent several images in the latent dream. Manifest dreams are often represented through symbolism, wherein the elements present in the manifest dream represent the elements present in the latent dream. Dramatization refers to the manner in which the dreamer’s thoughts and feelings are represented through concrete pictorial representations. Finally, the dream elements that are contradictory and of disparate origin, are rearranged in its final manifest form comprehensible to the dreamer. This is referred to as the secondary revision. Once understood, these psychological operations can aid in the interpretation of dreams (Alperin, 2004). REFERENCES: Alperin, R. M. (2004). Toward an integrated understanding of dreams. Clinical Social Work Journal, 32(4), 451-469. Auld, F. , Hyman, M. , Rudzinski, D. (2005). Resolution of inner conflict: An introduction to psychoanalytic therapy (2nd ed. ). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Brill, A. A. (1922). Psychanalysis: Its theories and practical application. London: WB Saunders Co. Freud, S. (1920). A general introduction to psychoanalysis. New York: Horace Liveright.

Emma Goldmans Speech -- essays research papers

Few people are fearless speakers. As students, we generally feel the rumble of butterflies in our stomachs, but the most we have to lose is a good grade. For Emma Goldman, the stakes were considerably higher. She had the daunting task of speaking to secure her own freedom when she was placed on trial for obstructing the draft in 1917. The country was awash in patriotism, and she was prosecuted as an enemy of the state. When preparing her speech, she realized that a seated jury would be a microcosm of the country's national spirit. Jurors may have had children or loved ones committed or lost to the Great War. Her position, though heartfelt and eloquently expressed, with an attempt to express her own patriotism, was subversive and threatening to the population. Although many of her words may have angered the jurors, Goldman made the key points of every topic that she discussed very clear and easy to understand. She was able to talk about her stances, and use powerful language and various sources to help the jury understand why she held certain ideals. When describing her opposition to war, Goldman stated that "all wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight and who therefore induce the young manhood of the world to do the fighting for them." Also, Goldman goes to great lengths to clearly depict the fact that she was not acting in a violent manner. She used imagery, such as the officers who went to arrest her finding "Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, in their separate offices quietly seated at their desks, wielding not the gun or the bomb or the club or the sword, but only such a simple and insignificant thing as a pen." Goldman also makes it very clear why she does not believe that the war should co ntinue. She claims that it is "not a war for democracy. If it were a war for the purpose of making democracy safe for the world, we would say that democracy must first be safe for America before it can be safe for the world." By repeating this idea throughout her speech, Goldman emphasizes why she behaved in the manner that she did. She also explains that "the war going on in the world is for the further enslavement of the people." Goldman works to point out that "the fight began in Australia and conscription was there defeated by the brave and determined and courageous ... ..., [and] which expresses itself in prisons." During this point in American history, where the nation's pride was sweeping the nation, the last thing Goldman should have done was criticize the United States. These accusations against the country, although they were her belief, went against the accepted norms and rules of the time. By continuing to behave in such an antagonistic manner, Goldman makes the jury feel like it needs to vindicate its country and punish her. Emma Goldman's remarks may have infuriated the jury, and this may have proved too big an obstacle to overcome. Jurors may purport to be impartial, but they carry within them a belief system that is threatened by a revolutionary perspective. Goldman's organization and logic was compelling, and her persuasive skills were impressive. It was a wise decision to portray herself as pro- America. But Goldman's failure was to underestimate the depth of commitment that Americans had at this time to the War effort. To allow Goldman's opposition to the government system of conscription would mock the sacrifices of loved ones. Despite an eloquent defense, Goldman was not able to overcome this bias.

Fashion Essay

Fashion cannot survive without the media. Its success as both an art form and a commercial enterprise depends upon attention in the media. The media have played a vital role in shaping fashion into the complex cultural phenomenon it has become. Photography, and later film and television, have medialised fashion. Fashion has become an intrinsic part of today’s visual culture, and vice versa. Fashion magazines, glossies and women’s journals cannot exist without fashion, but fashion also cannot exist without these magazines. This chapter looks at visual culture and the ways in which fashion is ‘fashioned’ by the media. The first half of the chapter gives a theoretical background to understanding contemporary visual culture. The second half of the chapter provides an introduction to the many ways that media theory can be used to analyse and understand fashion. Visual culture Since the invention of photography, film, television, video, CD-Rom and the Internet, we have rapidly shifted from a written culture to a visual culture: ‘We live in a culture of images, a society of the spectacle, a world of semblances and simulacra’ (Mitchell 1994: 5). Contemporary visual culture is both ubiquitous and complex. The image no longer stands by itself, but is informed by multimedia; it is usually integrated with text and music. A fashion photograph comes with a caption or an accompanying text. A fashion show doesn’t work without music or a choreography of moving bodies. Apart from their multimedia aspect, images also circulate in a global media society in which all kinds of genres and media are mixed. Precisely because this visual culture is so dominant on the one hand and so complex on the other, we need theoretical tools in order to be able to understand images, including images of fashion. To do justice to the complexity of visual culture, it is necessary to pose questions on the basis of an interdisciplinary framework: questions about significance and ideology; identity and visual pleasure; technology and economy. Theoretical insight creates media literacy. We can thus acquire an attitude towards the media we use every day that has aptly been described by Laura Mulvey as ‘passionate detachment’ (1989: 26). Before supplying a number of analytical instruments in the second half of this chapter, I would first like to place visual culture within the framework of postmodernism. I Theoretical framework Postmodernity Although the term ‘postmodernism’ is often described as vague and indeterminate, there are definite ways in which it can be characterised. Here I make a distinction between a) postmodernity, b) postmodern philosophy and c) postmodernism as a movement in art and culture (Van den Braembussche 2000). First of all, postmodernity. Postmodernity refers to the age we are currently living in, particularly the information society that has arisen since the sixties. It is a question, then, of an historical period in which we live. The information society can be characterised as ‘postcolonial’: after the Second World War, the colonies in the Third World achieved independence at a fast rate. This society is also ‘postindustrial’: heavy industry has been replaced by the exchange of services. From the sixties onwards, these services have increasingly been characterised by information technology, set in motion by the advent of the computer. Science and technolo gy are indispensable and give shape to our society. While the industrial society still functioned largely around property (who has control of the means of production?), the information society is mainly about access (‘xs4all’: ‘access for all’) – access to information, that is to say, to knowledge. Postmodernity means a networked society in which everything and everyone is connected with each other via mass media such as television and the Internet. Another characteristic is globalisation. Globalisation has taken place with the media (you can watch CNN and MTV all over the world) and with capital (you can use cash machines anywhere in the world). And with fashion. Benetton’s multi-racial campaigns show the more benign face of globalisation, but, to be fair, they have also drawn attention to the more dismal effects of globalisation. Applying the characteristics of postmodernity to fashion, we get the following picture. In the past, fashion was dependent on fabrics like silk, cotton and cashmere – as well as inspiration – that the West imported from its colonies. In the seventies the Hippies came alongwith their renewed interest in non-Western clothing. With the deconstructivist fashion of Japanese designers like Yamamoto in the eighties, the first non-Western designers broke open the closed, elitist fashion world. Now they have been succeeded by other designers such as Hussein Chalayan, Xuly Bà «t and Alexander Herchovitch. With the Fashion Weeks i n India and Africa, fashion has become globalised. When we look at the  fashion industry, the picture is even clearer. Whereas the Dutch fashion industry was originally established here in Holland itself- in Enschede for example – it has now largely moved to low-wage countries in Asia or the former East Block. Look at the label in your sweater or trousers and most likely you’ll find ‘Made in Taiwan’ or something similar. Globalisation results in cheap clothing and enormous profits in the West, but also in protests against exploitation, such as against the Nikes made by small children in Pakistan. These abuses signalled the start of the No Logo and anti-globalisation movements. Postmodern philosophy Secondly, postmodern philosophy. Two notions are important here: ‘the end of the Grand Narratives’ and ‘the death of the traditional subject’. These words suggest that Western culture is going through a crisis. According to the postmodern philosopher Jean-Franà §ois Lyotard, Western culture is no longer able to tell any ‘Grand Narratives’, by which he is referring to the end of ideology. This implies that ideologies (‘isms’ like Marxism or Feminism, but also religions such as Christianity) can no longer provide modern man with a meaningful frame of reference. Ideology finds itself in a crisis of legitimatisation, no longer able to announce the truth or to proclaim a future utopia. This does not mean, of course, that everyone has given up their beliefs; on the contrary, we are actually seeing a return to ideology and religion. But, Lyotard argues, nobody can impose that belief or that ideology on others as the one and only truth. People who still try to inflict any kind of truth upon others are called fundamentalists nowadays. The end of the Grand Narratives is not just a negative process. For most people it is liberating to be freed from a one-sided, enforced truth. What’s more, it has led to a blossoming of‘small narratives’ in postmodern culture. Now that there is no one dominant truth, many people have the right and freedom to tell their stories, including those who previously had few opportunities to do so, such as women, workers, blacks, young people. You see the same development in art: there is no longer one dominant movement but a multitude of directions. And we see the same pluralism in fashion. No longer a ‘Grand Narrative’ dictated by a single fashion king, or even by just one city, but a multitude of perspectives coming from many designers, in various cities and different parts of the world. The end of the Grand Narrative also has consequences for the view of human subjectivity. The traditional notion of the individual is that he (it was almost always a he) represents an autonomous and coherent entity, endowed with reason. It was mainly psychoanalysis that put an end to this notion. According to Freud, the human being is not at all governed by his reason, but rather by his unconscious. And it was Marx who claimed that it is our class that determines who we are. We may think we are individuals, but in fact we are defined by our class, ethnicity, age, sexual preference, religion, nationality and so on – the list is endless. In fact, then, we are not really an autonomous and coherent entity. This is why postmodernism no longer refers to an ‘individual’ but to a ‘subject’. A subject, moreover, that is split, fragmented, splintered. As a piece of graffiti in Paris in the eighties put it, ‘God is dead. Marx is dead. And I don’t feel so good either†™. A more positive way of formulating this idea of fragmented subjectivity is by analogy with the network society: the subject, the self, always stands in relation to an other. Instead of being autonomous we are all incorporated in a fabric of complex and mobile relations. Our identity is to be found, as it were, on a node of communication cir cuits. The postmodern subject is thus characterised by a dynamic and a diversity that were alien to the traditional individual. This change in the position of the human being has had the same effect as the end of the Grand Narratives: many more people can now make a claim to subjectivity who were previously excluded, such as blacks, women and homosexuals. This can also be witnessed by the recognition of art and culture produced by women, people of colour, and artists from the so called ‘Third World’. This development has resulted in a much greater freedom in the formation of human identity. Just look at pop culture, where someone like Madonna assumes a different image with the regularity of a clock. Today you can play with your identity by gender bending, for example. Or by crossings with other ethnic cultures, such as Surinamese or Dutch Muslims who borrow elements from the American black hip-hop subculture. Fashion is an important component of the play with identity. I n earlier days it was your gender and your class that determined what you had to wear, and there were strict rules that were not so easy to transgress. These rules now only apply to the Queen. Everyone else stands in  front of the wardrobe each morning to determine which clothes match his or her mood: baroque, gothic, sexy, or maybe businesslike today after all? Postmodernism Thirdly, the term postmodernism as applied to art and culture. A crucial characteristic of postmodernism is the fading distinction between high and low culture. Over the course of the twentieth century the traditional notion of culture has been freed from its connection with elitist art. Scholars nowadays employ a broad notion of culture, based on Raymond Williams’s famous expression ‘culture as a whole way of life’ (1958). Here it concerns a view of culture as a practice within a social and historical context. The rigid distinction between high and low culture is no longer tenable. In any case, it was always largely based on the controversy between word and image in Western culture, where the word is seen as the expression of the superiority of the mind and the image as expressing emotion and the baser desires of the body. The shift from a textual to a visual culture means the image is no longer viewed in purely negative terms but is valued for all its positive powers and the experiences it evokes. Moreover, ‘high’ culture and ‘low’ culture cannot be unequivocally linked to particular disciplines (read: literature versus television). Every art form has its low cultural expression. Just think of the portraits of the gypsy boy with a tear running down his face or pulp romantic novels. ‘High’ is stepping off its pedestal: haute couture is influenced by street culture. ‘Low’ is upgraded and receives attention in newspaper art supplements or is exhibited in the museum. Advertising phot os from Benetton, computer art by Micha Klein and fashion photos by Inez van Lamsweerde have all been shown in Dutch museums. Dà ©mocratisation and commercialisation are also crucial to the discussion of ‘high’ and ‘low’. Increased prosperity and dissemination via the media have brought art and fashion to within almost everyone’s reach. The enormous numbers of visitors to major exhibitions testify to this, as does the ‘festivalisation’ of big cities. Culture is ‘in’ and is eagerly consumed in large quantities. Moreover, commerciality is no longer associated exclusively with low culture; it has penetrated high culture, as can be deduced from the weekly  top ten lists for literature, the piles of CDs of music by Bach and Mozart in the local supermarket, Audi’s sponsoring of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, or Karl Lagerfeld’s designs at H&M. Another postmodern feature is inter- textuality, which amounts to the idea that a text always refers to other texts. Every text is a web of quotations, borrowed words and references. This term d oes not, of course, simply represent a narrow view of text; images likewise ceaselessly refer to each other. Advertising spots refer to videoclips, which borrow from television series, which in their turn quote films, which are themselves based on a novel. And that novel refers again to a play by Shakespeare, and so on and so on. It’s an endless game. Madonna’s video clip ‘Material Girl’ refers for example to Marilyn Monroe’s song ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ in the film ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. In an advertisement forEstee Lauder perfume, the model walks through a digital field of flowers that is identical to the one Madonna walks through in hervideoclip ‘Love Profusion’. Nicole Kidman, in the commercial for Chanel No. 5, does a perfect repeat of her role in ‘Moulin Rouge’. Some directors, such as Baz Luhr- man or Quentin Tarantino, have made inter- textuality their trademark. A l arge part of the visual pleasure in contemporary culture is based on recognition: the more references you can place, the more clever you feel as viewer. Some theorists, such as Frederic Jameson, call the postmodern form of intertextuality a ‘pastiche’. A pastiche is a textual or visual quotation which merely repeats; sheer quoting is the name of the game. The reference has no deeper meaning because all historical connections are abandoned. This can also be found in fashion. If you look at a John Galliano creation you can recognise myriad quotations: from other cultures (ethnic prints), from other times (nineteenth century silhouette), from street culture (‘bag lady’ with shopping cart and plastic bags) and even from the circus (clown-like make-up). Everything is thrown into a big pile while elements are wrenched from their historical time and geographical context. A term often used in this connection is ‘bricolage’, which literally means making do. We’ve become a ‘cut & paste’ culture, where everyone can tinker about and scramble together their clothes and even their identity. Postmodern culture is thus characterised by pastiche and bricolage. It’s not always an easy matter to indicate the significance of this cultural phenomenon, but it does  make fashion playful and flexible, wi thout it being compelled into an overruling ‘Grand Narrative’. A final characteristic of postmodernism that I would like to discuss is the transition from representation to simulation. We have already seen that postmodern pastiche – quoting, borrowing and referring – does not necessarily have any deeper meaning. This is because postmodern culture no longer represents, but simulates. This process is dependent upon the role of media technology. 1963 Amsterdam (NED) In 2003 the magazine American Photo put together a list of the 25 best photographers in the world. That list contained one Dutch name: Inez van Lamsweerde. Both an artist and a fashion photographer, she has ignored the dividing line between art, fashion and commercial work from the very beginning. And successfully. Her work is shown in many glossies such as The Face, Vogue and Arena Homme Plus (editorials and advertising campaigns) as well as in international museums and galleries. Her signature is clearly recognisable in both areas. Inez van Lamsweerde once said in an interview that she was obsessed with beauty. It’s always people she photographs – or recreates, to be precise. Her digitally altered creatures are alienating. Too smooth, too clone-like, too impersonal to be fully human. She often bases her work on ideal female images from the mass media and the body culture in connection with gene technology, surgery and bodybuilding, the manipulation of the body, identi ty and sex. In the series ‘Final Fantasy’ (1993) three-year-old girls posed coquettishly in satin underwear but with the mouths of adult men superimposed on their faces. The cloyingly sweet eroticised tot turns out to be a child demon. The series ‘The Forest’ V995†²) shows mWd-manneted passwe men vjWV women’s hands, and the women in ‘Thank You Thighmaster’ (1993) are really mutants who resemble mannequins, without body hair and with a neutral skin surface where nipples and genitals are supposed to be. The camera doesn’t lie? You certainly hope it does. Many models in Van Lamsweerde’s fashion photos are hyperstylised, exaggerated stereotypes, perfectly beautiful, without irregularities and without individual features. They move in a hyperrealistic setting in which the whole effect sometimes suggests the work of Guy Bourdin (for example, see the series ‘Invisible Words’ in Blvd 2,1994). But her oeuvre is more versatile than that of the old master, so it is also less likely to be  related to a certain time period. Inez van Lamsweerde graduated from Amsterdam’s Rietveld Academy in 1990. That same year she got her first photography assignment, the results of which appeared in Modus. In 1992 she received the Dutch Photography Prize as well as the European Kodak Prize (gold in the categories Fashion and People/Portraits). Since the early nineties she has been working almost entirely with her husband, Vinoodh Matadin. Today Van Lamsweerde and Matadin live and work chiefly in New York. The most recent developments in their work suggest a preference for less reconstructed photographs. In 2002 they took nine black-and-white photos of the members of the theatre group ‘Mug met de Gouden Tand’ (Mosquito with the Gold Tooth). In 2003 they produced a nude calendar for Vogue. All without digital effects. Literature: Hainley. Bruce. ‘Inez van Lamsweerde’, Art- Forum, October 2004. Inez van Lamsweerde ‘Photographs’.Deichtor- hallen Hamburg: Schirmer/Mosel. 1999. Jonkers. Gert. ‘Inez en Vinoodh’, Volkskrant Magazine, 22 February 2003. Kauw op het lijf. Rotterdam: Nederlands Foto Instituut. 1998. Schutte, Xandra. ‘Perverse onschuld’, De Groene Amsterdamer, 10 September 1997. Terreehorst. Pauline. Modus: Over mensen mode en het leven. Amsterdam: De Balie. 1990. Illustration: Inez van Lamsweerde. Devorah and Mienke. 1993 In the old conception of art, with Plato or Kant for example, a work of art refers to something deeper or higher beyond reality. Every work of art is unique and hence irreplaceable. As early as the 1930s Walter Benjamin argued that the role of the work of art was changing because of reproductive technologies. With the invention of photography and film (and later television and the Internet), any image can be reproduced infinitely. A copy of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night- watch’ always remains a copy of a famous, original painting, whereas a copy of Man Ray’s photograph of Kiki as a violin has no original. In the age of mechanical reproduction the distinction between original and copy therefore disappears, and with it what Benjamin calls art’s ‘aura’, namely that which makes a work of art unique and original. For fashion, reproductive technology initially meant an  enormous stimulus, since images of designs could be disseminated via the mediums of magazines and television. But in fashion, too, the copy has now overtaken the original design. A day after the fashion shows in Paris or Milan, the photos are already on the Internet and six weeks later H&M can sell replicas in their shops. In Pop Art, Andy Warhol played with the idea of the copy by producing silk-screened images of cans of Campbell soup or icons like Marilyn Monroe. Another example of the loss of aura is the disappointment all of us may feel when visiting Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ or Vermeer’s ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’ in the museum. We’ve already seen so many reproductions in books, films, on mugs, towels, with moustache and beard, or as a doll, that the original is hardly a match for these. Only if you actually succeed in experiencing the painting in the silence of the museum (but can you ever with all those tourists around you?), you may still find the original aura. In the seventies, Jean Baudrillard went a step further than Benjamin by claiming that not only art but also reality is changing under the onslaught of the media. He argues that the ubiquity of the media turns reality into a simulacrum, a copy of a copy. The simulacrum abolishes the difference between ‘being’ and ‘appearing’. Think of someone pretending to be sick – this person actually starts to display signs of sickness, so that it is no longer clear what is real and what is fake. It’s the same with postmodernism: our culture is so thoroughly ‘medialised’ that our experience is determined by the media. Media do not reflect reality, but construct it. Or to put it differently: media do not represent reality, but simulate it. We all know this phenomenon from our own experience. When we’re on holiday in Greece, for example, we exclaim that the sea is as blue as on the postcard. Our experience is determined by an image, in this case the postcard. If we’re on safari in Kenya, it seems as though we’ve landed in a National Geographic TV programme. And when we say to our beloved ‘I love you’ we can’t help feeling we’re acting in a soap. Umberto Eco therefore says that we are assuming a permanent ironic attitude in postmodern times. We can no longer innocently say ‘I love you’, because we’ve already seen and heard it a hundred thousand times on TV. The words have lost their meaning as well as their authenticity. But what we can do, according to Eco, is say it with irony: ‘As Ridge in â€Å"The Bold and the Beautiful† would say, I love you’. While reality shows on television try to simulate life as much as  possible, life itself has become one big reality show, in which being and appearance can no longer be separated. In art and in fashion we can see a longing for authenticity, as a nostalgic reaction to the culture of simulacra. People want something ‘real’ again in a postmodern culture in which the dividing line between real and unreal has become wafer-thin. The question, however, is whether such authenticity is still possible. Such is the power of the simulacrum that the media have created. Now that I have given an outline of postmodernism as a frame within which fashion functions, it is time to look more closely at instruments that can be used to analyse images. These analytical methods all come from poststructuralism, the theory underlying postmodernism. II Analysis The semiotic sign Poststructuralism was informed in the sixties by semiotics, psychoanalysis and Marxism. Poststructuralism is also referred to as ‘the linguistic turn’, since language formed the model for the development of these theories. De Saussure’s writings on semiotics helped to develop a structuralist analysis of the ‘grammar’ of any system, whether a myth, advertisement, film, fashion or novel, as in the work of the anthropologist Là ©vi-Strauss, the early Barthes or the film semiotician Metz (Sim 1998). The central idea that language is paradigmatic for meaning is followed by virtually all postmodern philosophers. According to the psychoanalytical theories of Lacan, even the unconscious is structured like a language. Although some philosophers pointed out that language and signification are fundamentally unstable, as in the deconstructionism of Derrida, or in Lyotard’s postmodern loss of ‘Grand Narratives’, text remains the central focus in poststructuralism. Everything in fact is interpreted as ‘text’, including image, music or fashion. While semiotics initially concentrated on literature, scholars soon started focussing on the field of popular culture, such as architecture, fashion, music, sport, women’s magazines or the video clip – to mention a few examples at random. Semiotics is the theory of ‘signs’ (from the Greek ‘semeion’, meaning sign). A sign is the smallest element that carries a meaning. Language is the system of signs that we are most familiar with, but traffic signs or, as Barthes has shown, fashion are also sign systems. A  sign consists of a signifier (in French, signifiant), the material carrier of meaning, and the signified (in French, signifià ©), the content to which reference is made. The letters and sound of the word ‘dress’ form the signifiers, which refer to the content of a concrete dress. Signifier and signified, form and content, together create meaning. The relationship between signifier and signified is almost always arbitrary; there is, after all, no reason why something is called a dress in English, a ‘jurk’ in Dutch, and a ‘japon’ in French. A sign always refers to something in reality. The first meaning of a sign is denotative; it is the meaningyou can look up in the dictionary. But things seldom have just one meaning; most signs have many secondary meanings. These are called connotations. In that case, the denotative sign, the signifier and the signified form a new entity, a new signifier for a new connotative sign, as in the following diag ram: SIGNIFIER| SIGNIFIED| CONNOTATION| SIGNIFIER| SIGNIFIER| DENOTATION| A well-known example is the red rose. At the denotative level it is simply a flower with leaves and thorns. In order to become a sign of love, the denotative meaning of the flower must become in its turn a signifier. The sign then forms the basis for a connotative, second meaning: love. Why? Because it is agreed upon in our culture that the rose, especially the red rose, symbolises love. An Amnesty International poster adds a third meaning to this well-known symbol by surrounding the thorns with barbed wire and placing the words ‘violence ceases where love begins’ halfway up the stem. The flower thus becomes a symbol of love and non-violence, while the thorns stand for violence. (Please read the table from the bottom up). SIGNIFIER: red rose as love| SIGNIFIED: thorns with barbed wire love| SECOND CONNOTATION: love is the reverse of violence| SIGNIFIER: red rose| SIGNIFIER: red rose| FIRSTCONNOTATION: My love for you| SIGNIFIER:rose| SIGNIFIER: Flower with thorns and lea ves| DENOTATION: Flower of the species Rosa| The multimedia image is an extremely complicated sign and can convey meaning in many ways. A still image, such as a fashion or advertising photograph, has the following signifiers: * perspective (camera position: angle, distance) * framing * photographic aspects such as exposure, rough grain, colour or black and white * composition or ‘mise-en-scene’ of what is depicted: setting, costume, make-up, attitude and actions of the model, etc. * text: caption or legend A moving image, such as film, television commercials, video clip or fashion show, has, all of the above aspects, plus even more signifiers: * movement of the models or actors; choreography * camera movement (pan, tilt, dolly, tracking) * editing * sound (dialogue, added sounds like creaking door) * music Any analysis requires us to briefly check all these elements, since they influence the meaning. Only then can you determine the denotation and the connotations. A close- up has a different effect than a long shot. Camera movements direct the viewer’s gaze. Quick editing evokes tension. Music creates atmosphere, as does lighting. This type of formal analysis soon reveals that the image is never simply a copy or a reflection of reality, even though what the camera records is real. Yet so many technological and aesthetic choices enter into the registration that reality is always moulded and constructed. The aim of analysis is to make this construction transparent. Digital images A formal analysis can be deepened even further by using the semiotics of C.S. Peirce, an American who developed his theories at the same time in the early twentieth century as De Saussure in Switzerland, without their being aware of each other. Peirce’s semiotics is used more often for analysing images because he focuses less on text than De Saussure does. Peirce argues that there are three sorts of relationships between the signifier and the signified: iconic, indexical and symbolic. An iconic relationship means that there is a similarity or resemblance between the signifier and the signified. An example of an iconic relationship is the portrait: the image (the signifier) resembles that which is portrayed (the signified). An indexical relationship presumes an actual connection between signifier and signified. A classic example is smoke as the signifier of fire, or the footprint in the sand as the signifier of the presence of a man on an ‘uninhabited’ island. The symbolic relationship corresponds to what De Saussure calls the arbitrary relation between signifier and signified: the red rose is a convention, based on an agreement. Yet this remains a moot point, because the rose has an iconic relation to the female sex organ. It is this resemblance that has probably led to the rose becoming a symbol for love. All three relationships apply to the mechanically reproducible image, like the photograph or film. An image is always iconic since that which is depicted shows a resemblance to the signifiers: every photograph is a portrait of a person or an object. Something that is photographed or filmed is also always indexical: there is a facturelationship, since the camera records reality-with the camera you prove that you’ve been somewhere (‘I was here’; the visual proof that tourists bring home as their trophy). Finally, the image, like language, has symbolic meanings, which are created through an interplay of the many audiovi sual signifiers mentioned above. Digital technology has put the indexi- cal relation under strain, because we can no longer know with certainty whether an image is analogue, and thus standing in a factual relation to reality, or digital, made in the computer without an existential relation to reality. Digital images thus create confusion. In semiotic terms: they maintain the iconic relation, for they look just like photographs and display a similarity between signifier and signified. But digital images are no longer indexical. This is what happens in Diesel’s ‘Save Yourself’ photo series. We see tiny models who look like people (iconic relation), but all the same seem unreal. Their skin is too smooth, the postures too rigid, the eyes too glassy. We suspect soon enough that the image has been digitally manipulated, which disturbs the indexical relation – these are not actual shots of real people. The tension between the iconic and the indexical relationship draws attention to the tension between real and unreal. And this creates a symbolic meaning. Together with the text, the photographs comment ironically on our culture’s obsession with remaining foreveryoung. Sometimes the digital manipulation is immediately clear, as in this picture of Kate Moss as a cyborg: a cybernetic organism. Because this is clearly an impossible image of a half human / half machine figure, we don’t get confused about the indexical status of the photograph. Its  symbolic meaning is immediately apparent, which here too represents a comment on the artificial ideal of beauty. It is typical of digital photography to create images of people that are like cyborgs, since many art and fashion photographs in today’s visual culture explore the fluid borders between man, machine and mannequin. Looking and being looked at I: the voyeuristic gaze Fashion is deeply involved with eroticism and sexuality. To analyse this we can turn to psychoanalysis, which determines how we shape our desires. The most classic model for desire is the Oedipus complex, which regulates how the child focuses its love of the parent onto the other sex and projects feelings of rivalry onto the parent of the same sex. This is more complicated for girls because they at first experience love for the mother and later have to convert this into love for the father, while the boy can continue his love for the mother without interruption. The Oedipus complex is particularly applicable in stories, in both literature and film, but in the fashion world it actually plays no crucial role, and so I won’t be going into it any further here. More relevant to fashion is the eroticism of looking. According to Freud, any desire or sexuality begins with looking, or what he calls scopophilia (literally the love of looking). The desiring gaze often leads to touch and ultimately to sexual activities. Although it has a rather dirty sound to it, scopophilia is a quite ordinary part of the sexual drive. Film theorists were quick to claim that the medium of cinema is in fact based on scopophilia: in the darkness of the movie theatre we are voyeurs permitted to look at the screen for as long as we like. There is always something erotic in watching films, in contrast to television which does not offer the same voyeuristic conditions since the light is on in the living room, the screen is much smaller and there are all sorts of distr actions. Laura Mulvey (1975) was the first theorist to draw attention to the vital role of gender in visual pleasure. The active and passive side of scopophilia (voyeurism and exhibitionism respectively) are relegated to strict roles of men and women. As John Berger, in his famous book Ways of Seeing, had already argued, ‘men act and women appear’, or rather, men look and women are looked at. According to Mulvey, this works as follows in classical cinema. The male character is watching a woman, with the camera  filming what the man sees (a so- called ‘point of view shot’). The spectator in the movie theatre thus looks at the woman through the eyes of the male character. The female body is moreover ‘cut up’ into fragments by framing and editing: a piece of leg, a breast, the buttocks or the face. The female body is thus depicted in a fragmented way. We can therefore say that there’s a threefold gaze that collapses into each other: the male charac ter, the camera and the spectator. Mulvey argues that the film spectator always adopts a structurally male position. It is important to realise that the filmic means, such as camera operation, framing, editing and often music as well, objectify the woman’s body into a spectacle. In Mulvey’s words, the woman is signified as ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’. At the same time the filmic means privilege the male character so that he can actively look, speak and act. Mulvey takes her analysis even further with the help of psychoanalysis. The voyeuristic gaze upon the female body arouses desire and therefore creates tension for both the male character and the spectator. Moreover, the woman’s body is disturbing because of its intrinsic difference from the male body. Freud would say the female body is ‘castrated’, but we can put it somewhat more neutrally: the female body is ‘different’. In a society dominated by men, women are the sign of sexual difference. In most cultures, it is (still?) the case that the woman-as-other, namely as other than man, endows sexual difference with meaning. Otherness, strangeness, difference always instils fear. The otherness of women incites fear in men at an unconscious level and this fear needs to be exorcised through culture, in film or art. According to Mulvey, this happens in cinematic stories in two ways. Firstly, through sadism where the female body is controlled and inserted into the social order. Sadism mainly accompanies a story and acquires form in the narrative structure. The erotic gaze frequently results in violence or rape. Nor is it accidental that in the classic Hollywood film the femme fatale is killed off at the end of the movie. No happy end for any woman who is sexually active. Only in the nineties is she allowed to live on at the end, like Catherine Trammell in ‘Basic Instinct’, or in television series like ‘Sex and the City’. The second way of exorcising the fear evoked by the female body is through fetishism. In that case the female star is turned into an image of perfect  beauty that diverts attention from her difference, her otherness. The camera fetishises the woman’s body by lingering endlessly on the spectacle of female beauty. At such moments the film narrativ e comes momentarily to a hold. Although Mulvey’s analysis dates from the seventies, her insights are still of considerable relevance for fashion today. The spectacle of fashion shows is almost totally constructed around looking at fetishised female bodies. Models have taken the place of film stars as the fetishised image of perfected femininity. Many fashion reportages make use in one way or another of the sexu- alised play of looking and being looked at. However, some things have changed since the time of Mulvey’s analysis. Feminist criticism has indeed counteracted women’s passivity in recent decades, and now we often see a more active and playful role for the female model. Not only is the woman less passive, but both fashion and other popular visual genres such as video clips have turned the male body into the object of the voyeuristic gaze. Now the male body too is being fragmented, objectified and eroticised. This is happening not only in fashion reportages but also on the catwalk. It may be interesting for students of fashion to take a closer look at how the male body is visualised, how passive or active the male model is, and how the gaze is supported by filmic or other means. Ethnicity also plays a role in the game of looking and being looked at. Stuart Hall (1997) and Jan Nederveen Pieterse (1992) have produced an extensive historical analysis of the way that coloured and black people are depicted in Western culture. Stereotypes are abundant, as in the image of the exotic black woman as Venus or the black man as sexually threatening. There are still very few black models in the fashion world. Again, it may be useful for students of fashion to analyse how ethnicity is visualised because of this long history of stereotyping. Does exoticising the model, for example, emphasise ethnicity? Or does it involve an actual denial of ethnic difference? This happens for example in fashion photos of Naomi Campbell with straight golden hair, or wearing blue contact lenses. Here, the black model has to conform to the white norm of ideal beauty. Looking and being looked at II: the narcissistic gaze So far I have been talking about looking at the other, but psychoanalysis also has something to say about looking at yourself. As a baby you are hardly conscious of yourself, because that self, or in psychoanalytical terminology the ego, still has to be constructed. A primary  moment in ego formation is what Jacques Lacan has called the mirror phase. A second important moment is the aforementioned Oedipus complex in which language plays a major role. The mirror phase, however, precedes language and takes place in the Imaginary, the realm of images. When you’re between six and eighteen months, and so still a baby, you’re usually held in your mother’s arms in front of the mirror. In identifying with its mirror image, the child learns to recognise itself in the mirror and to distinguish itself from the mother. This identification is important for the construction of the child’s own identity. For Lacan, it is crucial that this identification is based on the mirror image. He argues that the mirror image is always an idealisation, because the child projects an ideal image of itself. In the mirror the child sees itself as a unity, while it still experiences its own body as a formless mass with no control over its limbs. Th e recognition of the self in the mirror image is in fact a ‘misrecognition’. The child is actually identifying with the image of itself as other, namely as a more ideal self that he or she hopes to become in the future. Just check how you look at yourself in the mirror at home: in fact you always look at yourself through the eyes of the other. According to Lacan, this is in a certain sense man’s tragedy: we build our identity on an ideal image that we can never live up to. In his eyes, then, we are always doomed to failure at an existential level. We can take the mirror very literally (it is striking how often mirrors feature in films, videoclips, advertisements and fashion photos), but we can also interpret the process more metaphorically. For instance, the child sees an ideal image of itself reflected in the eyes of its adoring parents who put him or her on a pedestal: for your parents you’re always the most beautiful child in the world. And rightly so. When we’re older we see that ideal image reflected in the eyes of our beloved. We need that ideal image in order to be able to form and sustain our ego. It’s a healthy narcissistic gaze that is necessary for our identity. That ego is never ‘finished’, however; it has to be nurtured and shaped time and time again. And this is helped by internalising ideal images. The analysis of the mirror phase has been applied to many phenomena within visual culture. The film hero or heroine functions as the ideal image with which we identify ourselves. In the fashion world it’s the models. In fact you could designate visual culture as a whole in this way: pop stars, models and actors all  offer us opportunities for identifying with ideal images. Fan culture is largely based on this narcissistic identification. There’s another side to it, of course. In a culture in which youth, fitness and beauty are becoming more and more important, the ideal image becomes ever more unattainable. Many people are no longer able to recognise themselves in that prescribed ideal image and are extremely dissatisfied with their appearance. That then leads to frustration and drastic measures like plastic surgery, or to ailments like anorexia and bulimia. In that case the narcissistic gaze in the mirror falls short of expectations. Looking and being looked at III: the panoptical gaze So far we have mainly been concerned with analysing the desiring gaze: the voyeuristic look at the other (the desire to ‘possess’ the other) and the narcissistic look at oneself (the desire to ‘be’ the other). It is also possible to make a more sociological analysis of the play of looks in society. This brings us to the historian Michel Foucault, who has made a thorough analysis of how power works. Instead of seeing power as something that the one has and the other lacks, he argues that in modern culture power circulates in a continual play of negotiation, conflict and confrontation, resistance and contradictions. Changes regarding power are reflected in language. Whereas you were a victim in earlier days, now you’re an expert of experience. In this way you give yourself a certain power, namely the power of experience, even if that experience is unpleasant. One way of shaping power in our modern culture is by means of surveillance, or what Foucault calls the ‘panoptical’ gaze. He derived this from the architecture of eighteenth-century prisons which had a central tower in a circular building with cells. A central authority, out of sight within the tower, could observe every prisoner in every cell. The prisoners were also unable to see each other. The panoptical gaze means that a large group of people can be put under constant guard and scrutiny, while they cannot look back. In this way, says Foucault, they are disciplined to behave properly. Today the role of surveillance and monitoring has been taken over by cameras. Everyone knows there are security cameras ‘guarding our and your property’ in the street, in stations and supermarkets, in buses and trams and in museums. The knowledge that we are constantly and everywhere being watched by an  anonymous technology perhaps gives us a feeling of security (or the illusion of security). What is more important is that the panoptical gaze disciplines us to be orderly citizens. A large degree of discipline emanates from constant observation. Just as with Lacan’s mirror phase, we can interpret the panoptical gaze more metaphorically. It is not only security cameras that are creating a panopticum, but also the ubiquitousness of media such as television and the Inte rnet. Crime watch programmes show us images from surveillance videos in order to catch ‘villains’, while reality programmes reveal how our fellow citizens commit traffic offences. Satellites orbiting in space keep a permanent eye on us. Mobile telephones are normally equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System) and always know where we are to be found. When I was on holiday in Italy, my mobile phone sent me messages like ‘you are now in Pisa, where you can visit the Leaning Tower’ or ‘you are now in Piazza Signoria in Florence; did you know that Michelangelo’s David†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and so on. For a moment I was that little girl again who knows that God is always watching over her. But divine omnipresence has now been replaced by an anonymous, panoptical gaze. Our surfing behaviour on the Internet and our purchasing behaviour in the supermarket are registered in the same way. We can bring these three ways of seeing together. With the voyeuristic gaze we discipline the other; we all know that secret look which we use to approve or disapprove of someone at a glance. With the narcissistic gaze we discipline ourselves, through the wish to fulfil an ideal image. By internalising the panoptical gaze we discipline our social behaviour, as well as our bodies. Fashion plays an important role in this complicated play of gazes. You only have to wander around any school playground or look around you in the street to realise how fashion determines whether someone belongs or not, what the ideal images are, and how groups keep an eye on each other, disciplining each other as to ‘correct’ clothing. Through clothing I can make myself sexually attractive for the voyeuristic gaze of the other. Or I can subject the other to my voyeuristic gaze if I find their body and clothes attractive. I can use clothing to construct my own identity and emanate a particular ideal image. But fashion is more than just clothing. Fashion also dictates a specific ideal of beauty. That beauty myth determines how we discipline our bodies, for example by subjecting them to diets, fitness, beauty treatments such as waxing, depilation, bleaching and  even to plastic surgery. In short, fashion ultimately affects the body too. We see an example of that in the di gital photo series ‘Electrum corpus’ by Christophe Luxerau, which shows us how fashion is literally engraved on the skin: the logo has become our skin. Bibliography On postmodernism: Baudrillard,Jean.5/w «/ai/ow5. New York: Semiotext(e), 1983. Braembussche, A.A. van den. Denken over kunst:Een inleiding in dekunstfilosofie. 3rd, revised ed. Bussum: Coutinho, 2000. Docherty, Thomas, ed .Postmodernism: A reader. 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