An analysis f Jevons' Theory of Women's Employment Essay

An analysis f Jevons' Theory of Women's Employment - Essay Example On the contrary, men’s participation in the labor market has never been challenged by proponents of the neoclassical tradition. Such assumptions push economists to view women as dependent beings. This essay discusses Jevons’s theory of women’s employment, and the inherent flaws of his arguments. Overview According to Pigou, the primary basis of women’s work is the labor earnings of their husband. Likewise, Becker argues that women look for employment because of a ‘household decision’ (as cited in Gupta, 2000). The question is, does the decision to look for employment a personal choice of women? Apparently such an assumption prevents one from wondering why women keep on working when their salaries are very unreasonable; such a decision may reveal an unproductive use of their capabilities; and women are prohibited by market forces to maximize benefits or returns to their personal investment (e.g. education). The participation of women in the lab or market is not viewed as a positive input to economic progress; it is rather seen as creating unfavorable outcomes for household work and national interest. Edgeworth cautioned that a huge population of women in the labor market would lead to â€Å"depression or debacle of industry†, a â€Å"debacle, ultimately ruinous alike to wealth and family life† (Kuiper & Sap, 1995, 19). However, one of the most fervent critics of women’s employment is William Stanley Jevons. He warns about the effect of employment on the household responsibilities of women and on rates of infant mortality. Paradoxically, the solutions to such dilemmas identified by the so-called ‘free market’ economists are largely influenced by draconian involvement in current labor market situations. Edgeworth supported the strengthening of barriers to women’s employment, and Marshall backed up the Factory Acts. Jevons was harsher, supporting the legalization of the total omission of mothers of children aged three and below from factories (Kuiper & Sap, 1995, 19-20). Likewise, where Pigou supported state involvement to remedy market malfunction in the employment sector, women were openly excluded. Specifically, Jevons argued that mothers of young children should be prohibited from working in factories, a rule which is thought to guarantee that children’s right and welfare were safeguarded. In 1882 Jevons called this subject matter ‘the employment of child-bearing women away from home’ as â€Å"the most important question touching the relation of the State to labor which remains unsolved† (Peart, 1996, 143). Because the participation of these women in the labor market discarded infants to â€Å"that scourge of infant life, the dirty fungus-bearing bottle† (Peart, 1996, 143), it was obvious that comprehensive policy was needed. The ills related to oppressive policy were in this case ‘overbalance[d]’ by the ‘i nfanticide’ that arose from unhindered action (Ege & Igersheim, 2011, 97): The objection may no doubt be made, that the exclusion of childbearing women from works in public factories would be a new and extreme case of interference with the natural liberty of the individual†¦ But I venture to maintain that all these supposed natural entities, principles, rules, theories, axioms, and the like, are at the best but presumptions or probabilities of good. There is, on the whole, a certain

Coca Cola Value of Cultural Understanding

Coca Cola Value of Cultural Understanding Value of Cultural Understanding The chosen three different organisations which are currently carrying business across different cultures are: the Coca-Cola Company, Hilton Hotel Corporation and Ladbrokes plc. The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an industry which has diversified itself into different cultures, broadening its business into globalisation. The company is built around two core assets, its brand and its people. Established in 1886, the Coca-Cola Company operates in more than 200 countries and markets more than 450 brands and 2800 beverages products. These products includes sparkling and still beverage, such as water, juices and juice drink, teas, coffees, sports drinks and energy drinks. The company owns four of the worlds top five non-alcoholic sparkling beverages brands: Coca-Cola, Diet-Coke, Sprite and Fanta.: The company is a global business, which operates on a local scale, in every community where they do business. They are able to create with local focus because of the strength of the Coca-Cola system, which comprises their company and their bottling partners more than 300 worldwide. In January 2006, the Coca-Cola company-owned bottling operation were brought together to form the bottling investment operating group, now the second-largest bottling operation in the Coca-Cola system in terms of unit case volume. Companys Culture; Management principles and values In the Coca-Cola Companys manifesto for growth, they commit themselves to be a leader in corporate responsibility and express their aspiration to be among the worlds most respected companies. Among the keys to earning that respect is the maintaining world-class standards for fair and dignified treatment for all the people who works for the company. They believe that a place work is more than a place you go everyday. It should be a place of exploration, creativity, professional growth and interpersonal relationship. It is about being inspired and motivated to achieve extraordinary things. The Coca-Cola Company wants their team to take pride in their work and in building the brand others love. As it is the combined talents, skills, knowledge, experience and passion of their team that makes them who they are. Their 90,500 associates around the world live and work in the markets they serve more than 86 percent of them outside the U.S. In this geographically diverse environment, the management learn from each market and share those learning quickly. As a result, the companys culture is ever more collaborative. Values and/or Beliefs The future of the Coca-Cola Companys business depends on the vitality of the communities where they operate. Since the Coca-Cola Company is a global business, they are citizen and members of thousands of local cultures and communities. They believe that their responsibilities go beyond producing great-tasting beverages. They are committed and enhance individual opportunity. One of the ways they contribute is through their philanthropy, with a heavy focus on education. The Coca-Cola Company supports people for the right to education and provides grants to encourage people in the community they operates to progress. They have their own foundation grant which provide money support to those who cannot afford education fees. The Coca-Cola Company is among those companies which have responded to HIV/AIDS and recognised that business must do its part to help to tackle this problem, especially in Africa. They believe they can contribute to the sustainability of their business operations by helping the local community to combat HIV/AIDS. Detail Culture of the Organisation The Coca-Cola Company holds a market range of brands and beverages product and markets them globally. The companys culture is more collaborative. They learn from each market and share those learning quickly across departments. They work toward ensuring the long-term pillar: consumer marketing, commercial leadership and franchise leadership. Consumer marketing is about expanding consumer preference through a board and balances portfolio of more than 450 brands and more than 2800 beverages products, expanded nutrition labelling, option in packaging size and responsible marketing. Commercial leadership relates to customer and suppliers partnership. The company continues to build long-term relationship to sell more beverages and at the same time, create positive change in the communities where they work and live. Franchise leadership refers to the relationship with their bottling partners. The company do not own or manage most of their bottlers; they are independent, local companies running their own business. But the company strives to work closely to strengthen the Coca-Cola system. Official Policies; Equal Opportunities The Coca-Cola Company gives equal opportunity to all their staffs to grow within the organisation. They give preference to the local people of the country were they conduct business. The company maintains a world-class standard for fair and dignified treatment of all the people who works for the company. They communicate this commitment in the workplace rights policy and human rights statement. The workplace rights policy serve to ensure that the company applies a consistent approach to the workplace rights worldwide, as an integral part of their culture, strategy and day-to-day operations. The human rights statement communicates the companys pledge to manage the business around the world in accordance with the highest standard of integrity with a specific emphasis on human rights in the work place. Diversity The Coca-Cola Company seeks to leverage its worldwide team, which is rich in diverse people, talent and ideas. Being a global business, the ability to understand, embrace and operates in a multicultural world, both in the market place and in the workplace is critical to the companys sustainability. The company strive for an inclusive culture which is defined by their own seven core values; leadership passion, integrity, collaboration, innovation, quality and accountability. The company work on a daily basis to bring these values to life through their diversity workplace strategy. This strategy includes programs to attract, retain and develop diverse talent; provide support systems for groups with diverse backgrounds; and educate all associates. Governance and ethics The Coca-Cola Company aims to lead by example and to learn from experience. They set high standards for their people at all levels and strive to consistently meet them. The company is guided by their establish standard of corporate governance and ethics. The company review their system to ensure that they achieve international best practices in terms of transparency and accountability. The core of the ethics and compliance program at the Coca-Cola Company is their code of business conduct. The code guides their business conduct, requiring honesty and integrity in all matters. All of the associates and directors are required to read and understand the code and follow its precepts in the workplace and larger community. Xenophobic practice The Coca-Cola Company has been banned by the Kerala High Court, from extracting the ground water for its controversial bottling operations. The companys Kerala plant has seen accusations that the company is draining the regions natural resources and despoiling the environment. The ruling could end up forcing the plant to close, as alternative sources of the high quantities of water required will be difficult to envisage. It has been given one month to cease its extractions. The move comes as a major victory for large numbers of local residents that have claimed the companys overconsumption of water was turning their agricultural land into a desert. Justice K Balakrishnan Nair told the company that it owned the 40 acres of land upon which its plant stood, but not the ground water underneath it, which is a national resource that belongs to the entire society. Coca-Cola has continued to deny that it depleted the water reserves, and has said that it will appeal against the order. Ethnic The core of the ethics and compliance program at The Coca-Cola Company is their Code of Business Conduct. The Code guides the business conduct, requiring honesty and integrity in all matters. All of their associates and directors are required to read and understand the Code and follow its precepts in the workplace and larger community. The Code is administered by their Ethics Compliance Committee. This cross-functional senior management team oversees all their ethics and compliance programs and determines Code violations and discipline. Their Ethics Compliance Office has operational responsibility for education, consultation, monitoring and assessment related to the Code of Business Conduct and compliance issues. Associates worldwide receive a variety of ethics and compliance training courses administered by the Ethics Compliance Office. They regularly monitor and audit their business to ensure compliance with the Code and the law. They also maintain a consistent set of best-in-class standards around the world that govern how they investigate and handle Code issues. In 2008, we revised the Code to further improve its effectiveness Hilton Hotel Corporation Hilton Hotel Corporation is recognised around the world as a preeminent lodging hospitality company, offering guests and customers the finest accommodations, services, amenities and value for business or leisure. The Hilton brand has for more than 80 years, been synonymous with excellence in the hospitality industry. Through ownership of some of the most recognised hotels in the world and their newly enhanced brand portfolio, Hilton is now offering guests the widest possible variety of hotel experiences. With the 2006 acquisition of the London based Hilton international, the Hilton portfolio now includes over 3000 hotels in 80 different countries cultures, ethics and customs worldwide. The Hilton Hotel Corporation is an upscale global resort network with a collection of resorts located in exotic places the worlds largest global choice. Companys Culture Management principles and value Hilton Hotel Corporation stands above the rest, delivering on all front, whether being the best brand that offers the best locations, size and scale, the most dedicated people, attractive marketing programs or financial strength. The company has built a reputation for quality, value, integrity and strength. For more than 85 years ‘Hilton has been synonymous with ‘Hotels, standing for excellence in lodging hospitality across the globe. In addition the travelling public is presented with the broadest possible range of price points, choices and opportunities. The 100 percent satisfaction is an operating culture and philosophy that focuses each team member and owner on complete guest satisfaction. Through their guarantee, they are committed to high quality accommodations, friendly and efficient service and clean comfortable surroundings for all guests. Value and/or Beliefs Hilton Hotel Corporation believes that technology can be used to ease many of the stress and strains of travelling. From a hotel operations perspective, innovative new technologies like check-in kiosk are helping the guest check-in more easily and their team members spend less time on administration, which frees them up to spend more time ensuring guests achieve the goals of their stay. The ability to innovate is highly valued and has been ingrained in the company culture since its beginning as one of the pioneers in the hospitality as we know it today. Culture details of the Organisation Hilton Hotel Corporation is an upscale, global hotel network with a collection of hotels located in different countries in the world-the world largest global choice. Ever since Conrad Hilton bought his first hotel in 1919, the Hilton organisation has built a reputation for quality, value, integrity and strength. For more than 85 years ‘Hilton has been synonymous with ‘Hotel, standing or excellence in lodging hospitality across the globe. In 1999, that reputation was extended to a new family of brand of hotels and with such respected names as Hilton, the travelling public is presented with the broadest possible range of price, choice and opportunities. Official Policies Equal Opportunity Hilton gives equal opportunity to al its staff to grow within the company. It gives preference to the local people of the communities where they are operating the chance to grow within the business. Diversity The companys diversity program has made it an industry leader in advancing diversity principles across the nations. The company has built a more diverse workforce, measured the number of minority suppliers and franchise holders and made great advances in incorporation diversity principles into all aspect of the business operations. The company is actively pursuing its objective to maintain a workforce that reflects the same diversity and vitality as the guest who come through the door of its hotels and the culture they operates in. Community Hilton Hotel Corporations commitment to being a good corporate citizen is brought to life every single day by the thousand of team members representing our corporation and the Hilton family of hotels. From helping ids learn to read to planting school gardens, to participating in fund raising walk-a-thons that helps numerous worthy causes to refurbishing national landmarks, the Hilton family of hotels is diligently working towards positive change. The Hilton name ha for more than 85 years, stood not only as a symbol of first-class hospitality, but of active participation in cities, countries and states where the company operates. Ethnic Globally to adapt within the different cultures Hilton Hotels Corporation has diversified into the different markets by understanding its customers and makes its main priority in communicating with its ventures at a global scale as they seek to produce financial rewards to its investors as they aim to provide growth and enrichment to its employees striving to act with integrity. Ladbrokes plc Ladbrokes was founded in 1886 and has grown to become one of the biggest leisure and entertainment organisations in the UK. It is the largest cash betting company in the world and a leading influence for improvement in the betting industry. Ladbrokes offers a wide range of betting opportunities from horse and greyhound racing to events such as cricket, golf snooker and football. Ladbrokes is the leading retail bookmaker in the UK, Ireland, Scotland and Belgium with over 2600 owned and operated betting shops. They also operate facilities at most of the leading racecourses. Ladbrokes has expanded their business internationally with retail outlets in Belgium, Italy and Spain. The Ladbrokes plc operates through different means such as retail betting through shops. Betting through the internet, mobile phones and interactive television, adult gaming centres, telephone betting through dedicated call centres and operate greyhound stadia. Companys Culture Management principles and values In an increasingly competitive market place, the Ladbrokes brand is a key asset. The board and senior management recognise the importance of the brand and continually invest in marketing activities to build awareness and engage in market research to monitor performance. According to the latest research, Ladbrokes is the most recognised betting brand in the UK. Ladbrokes is perceived as the market leader by the general public and over 50 percent of regular bettors. The latter also perceive Ladbrokes to be the most trustworthy brand as well as the one that sets trend. (Source: face to face research conducted by TNS Omnibus in January 2007) As a result of changes introduced in the UK by the gambling Act 2005, current restriction on the advertising of betting and gaming are to be reviewed, Ladbrokes is actively assessing the opportunities to extend its brand leadership position under the new regulation. Ladbrokes has achieved high levels o brand awareness on the international stage and their good name has played a strong role in expanding into new markets. Ladbrokes is regularly approached by governments and businesses around the world about opportunities in betting and gaming. In Scandinavia their online business has achieved high levels of brand recognition and in Italy and Belgium they are operation their retail shop using the Ladbrokes brand. Value and /or Beliefs Ladbrokes believes in responsible gambling. Gambling should be an exciting past time and they urge their customers to have fun but not bet beyond their means. Ladbrokes value the society they operates in. they have joined the ‘Gamcare organisation, an independent organisation which offer help to people who have gambling problems and they have trained all their staff about the way to deal with such customers and how to provide assistance. Ladbrokes also have the ‘self-exclusion option for people with gambling problems whereby they can ban themselves from the gambling outlets of the company. Ladbrokes has founded their charitable trust called the ‘Ladbrokes company charitable trust. They raise money through events held in their outlets and all the money raised, goes into the trust. The trustees then give money to various charities. All these initiatives are for helping to create a better community in which they operates. Culture details of the Organisation Ladbrokes hold a variety of betting options which links with different counties at a global scale. The company have diversified their range of betting option and is now offering their customers a wider range of sports betting, novelty betting and lottery on a global level. Every culture has its own preferred ways of betting and gambling. Ladbrokes recognises these differences and makes the most of them with online products and services that are tailored to local and regional taste. Ladbrokes believes in continuous investment in their retail shops estate to generate growth by offering the best experience to customers and make the brand name synonymous with excellence. Official Policies Equal Opportunity As a company, Ladbrokes believe in providing equality of opportunity for all employees within the different cultures they operates in. all employees are given equality and are encouraged to progress within the organisation. New employees are informed of the companys equal opportunity policy during their training induction. Ladbrokes is committed to an ongoing programme of action to make this policy fully active at al levels. Diversity Ladbrokes recognises that different employees have differing needs and can contribute to the companys success in different ways. Their customers comes from a wide range of background, ages and diverse life experience and they believe that by maintaining diversity throughout the company, they can provide their customers with a more enjoyable and memorable experience every time they bet with the company. By focusing on each individual employees skills, contribution and potential while at the same time welcoming and respecting their differences they ensure that all their employees feel valued and respected and are motivated and committed to help the company to achieve their goals . Dedication to customer service The betting and gaming industry is a service business. The product is the experience the customer enjoy when placing a bet with a staff and watch the race in our shop. As the industry becomes more and more competitive, Ladbrokes recognise that all their employees have an impact on their customers experience. With over 2600 shops across Europe and website offering betting in 12 languages, tailored to local interests, Ladbrokes appeals to customers all over the world. Every culture has its own ways of betting and gaming and Ladbrokes recognises these differences and makes the most out of them with product and services that are tailored to local and regional taste. They places a high priority on good service and as a result they regularly win national customer service awards. Task2 Coca-Cola Company Management practice for alternative culture The company is focused on strategic workplace program that helps assure the success of their commitment for embracing the similarities and differences of people, cultures and ideas. The company strive to communicate their diversity efforts to their workforce and operates through online diversity as business newsletters, diversity speaker services, training, workshops, updates from their diversity advisory councils and employee forum programming. The companys diversity advisory council consists of a representative group of associates from all functions and business units of the organisation. The council develops recommendations for senior management on advancing the companys efforts towards achieving their diversity objectives. The management believes that a sense of community enhances their ability to attract, retain and develop diverse talent and ideas as a source of competitive business advantage. In the US, through employee forums, associates can connect with colleagues who share similar interests and background. In those forums and elsewhere, associates support each other in personal and professional growth and enhance their individual and collective ability to contribute to the company. Formal multicultural relationship The company has design a community water programs to support healthy watersheds and sustainable programs to balance the water used throughout their production process. They do this by working on a wide range of locally relevant initiatives, such as watershed protection; expanding community drinking water and sanitation access; agricultural water use efficiency; and education and awareness programs. Informal multicultural relationship The Coca-Cola Companys products are produced by local people, using local resource and in many cases, local suppliers. Supplier and business partners are vital to the companys continued success. So, through the multiplier effect and local nature of the Coca-Cola Company global business, they support local economies. For each job created within their system, many additional jobs are created through suppliers and other business partners. The company is committed to work with, encouraging and ensuring that their partners and suppliers uphold the highest standard for business conduct, including the values and practice of these policies. Culture and laws The Group is committed to respecting labor rights in every country where it operates and signed in May 2001 an agreement with UNI (Union Network International) by which it has undertaken to monitor the application of principles of the ILO(International Labor Organization), in particular with regard to freedom of association, collective bargaining and the condemnation of child labor. The Hilton Hotels Corporation also adheres to the UN Global Compact since 2001, committing itself to respect its principles, which include labor standards. The company has updated its Code of Conduct and which includes references to the Groups commitment to respect for: The workplace Rights policy, The ILO conventions, The OECD guidelines, The Global Compact principles, The international agreement signed with UNI in May 2001, The Diversity in Business Charter. Hilton Hotel Corporation Management practice for alternative culture Hilton Hotel Corporation is recognised around the world as a preeminent lodging hospitality company. Hilton Hotel Corporation is global with a collection of hotels located in exotic places, cities, and country side around the world. The management of Hilton has adapted the strategy of tailoring each property to its location, local culture, gastronomic international and local cuisine and its ability to deliver a top hotel experience. The management of the company has a diverse workforce and therefore have to operate according to the countrys national laws of employment and their local culture beliefs, such as in Egypt, where they are an Islamic country, the management will have to operates according to the ‘sharia law, which states that women should always cover their heads, restriction of pork meat and alcoholic drinks. Therefore the management will have to operate by abiding to these rules and moreover, they form part of the culture which guests would like to experience. Formal multicultural relationship Hilton Hotel Corporation is the first hotel company in the industry to receive the energy star award from the environmental protection agency (EPA) and the departmental of energy. Moreover, the company always participates in various communities outreach projects, such as planting trees, cleaning beaches and undertaking other activities that help restoring the community national resources. The Hilton Hotel Corporation continues to look for new ways to reduce energy and improve the environment we all live in. Informal multicultural relationship Hilton Hotels Corporations commitment to being a good corporate citizen is brought to life every single day by the thousands of team members representing the corporation and the Hilton Family of Hotels. From helping kids learn to read, to planting school gardens, to participating in fundraising walk-a-thons that help numerous worthy causes, to refurbishing national landmarks, the Hilton Family of Hotels is diligently working toward positive change. Ladbrokes plc Management practice for alternative culture Ladbrokes believes in providing equality for all employees in the community they operate in. employees are treated fairly and given the opportunity to progress within the organisation. As the company operates across different cultures, it takes into consideration the local culture of the area they are operating in and provide support to the community, through employing local people to work for the company and donating to local charities. Moreover, Ladbrokes complies with every national laws of the culture they operate in and supranational laws, as they operates in Europeans countries as well. The national laws lay down the laws of a country and by which every business need to abide regardless of their origin. Such as, the company has to provide staff holiday for employees during the local culture national day Irelands saint Patricks day. Staff are allowed to have this special day off and if they do work, they will be paid on the basis of a bank holiday, which is a double pay. The sup ranational law applied to European countries, whereby member of states have pass on their authority to a common political institution. The supranational law for gambling, regulates the opening and closing time of betting outlets throughout the European countries. Formal multicultural relationship As the company is global, Ladbrokes recognise that all their employees have an impact on their customers experience. Therefore, they have diverse their staff and now offer betting in 12 different languages, tailored to local interest, Ladbrokes appeals to customers all over the world. As every culture has its own preferred ways of betting and gaming. Ladbrokes recognises these differences and makes the most out of them with product and services that are tailored to the local and regional taste. The company place a high priority in good service within the community they operates in and value these people. Ethic and compliance The company core of the ethic and compliance program in Ladbrokes is their code of conduct practice. The code guides the business conduct and requires compliance with all is regulatory responsibilities. Such as the gambling act, workplace right, discrimination, racisms, bullying and whistle blowing.

Alzheimers Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimer’s Disease is an irreversible, genetically linked illness. This disease was chosen for the topic of this essay under the consideration that in many families the illness can be incredibly tragic, passing down for generations without mercy. It is not rare to encounter families in which each member is afflicted with a form, mild or severe, of Alzheimer’s. The disease is a progressive brain disease which comes in two separate types: Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. These will be discussed in full later on in the paper. The symptoms of Alzheimer’s are extremely detrimental to the individual whom it affects, as the disease attacks the brain cells and their connections. As the illness progresses, many of the affected brain cells die. In the very beginning stages, many of the symptoms are mistakenly associated simply with the effects of ageing or stress. Issues such as attentiveness, abstract thinking, and mild memory loss which happens to be the most notable of these early symptoms, will all start to appear. As the disease progresses, patients will begin to have a difficulty with perception and execution of motions. Memory will begin to take a heavy toll on the patient at this point, becoming a prominent dilemma. Older memories or episodic memories (such as writing), do not take the brunt of these attacks, but rather newer memories are affected the most. Soon, issues with speech will begin to arise, as the patient’s vocabulary begins to become more and more limited and simplistic. Coordi nation and movement begin to become difficult task for the persons affected, but can ordinarily be accomplished at this point of the disease. In moderate cases, the deterioration of the mind will eventually ... ...much to prepare themselves for the onslaught that is Alzheimer’s Disease. Works Cited "Alzheimer's Association - Alzheimer's & Dementia Risk Factors." Alzheimer's Association. Web. 04 May 2012. . "Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Fact Sheet." National Institute on Aging. Web. 04 May 2012. . "Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers." National Institute on Aging. Web. 04 May 2012. . "Alzheimer's Topics." National Institute on Aging. Web. 04 May 2012. . "Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation." Fisher Center Foundation. Web. 04 May 2012. .

Introduction to Web Hosting Essay

Hosting your web site on your own server is always an option. Here are some problems to consider: Hardware Expenses To run a â€Å"real† web site, you will have to buy some powerful server hardware. Don’t expect that a low cost PC will do the job. You will also need a permanent (24 hours a day ) high speed connection to your office, and such connections are expensive. Software Expenses Don’t forget to count the extra cost for software licenses. Remember that server licenses often are much higher than client licenses. Also note that some server software licenses might have limits on number of concurrent users. Labor Expenses Don’t expect low labor expenses. Remember that you have to install your own hardware and software. You also have to deal with bugs and viruses, and keep your server constantly running in an environment where â€Å"everything could happen†. Using an Internet Service Provider Renting a server from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a common option. Here are some advantages: Connection Speed Most providers have very fast connections to the Internet, like full T3 fiber-optic 45Mps connections equivalent to about 2000 traditional (28K) modems or 1000 high speed (56K) modems. Powerful Hardware Service providers often have many powerful web servers that can be shared by several companies. You can also expect them to have an effective load balancing, and necessary backup servers. Security and Stability Internet Service Providers are specialists on web hosting. Expect their servers to have more than 99% up time, the latest software patches, and the best virus protection. Things to Consider 24-hour support Make sure your Internet service provider offers 24-hours support. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you cannot fix critical problems without having to wait until the next working day. Toll-free phone could be vital if you don’t want to pay for long distance calls. Daily Backup Make sure your service provider runs a secure daily backup routine, otherwise you may lose some valuable data. Traffic Volume Study the provider’s traffic volume restrictions. Make sure that you don’t have to pay a fortune for unexpected high traffic if your web site becomes popular. Bandwidth or Content Restrictions Study the provider’s bandwidth and content restrictions. If you plan to publish pictures or broadcast video or sound, make sure that you can. Email Capabilities Make sure your provider fully supports the email capabilities you need. You can read more about email capabilities in a later chapter) Front Page Extensions Make sure your provider fully supports FrontPage server extensions if you plan to use FrontPage to develop your site. Database Access Make sure your provider fully supports the database access you need if you plan to use databases from you r site. (You can read more about database access in a later chapter) Hosting and Domain Names A Domain Name is a unique name for your web site. Choosing a hosting solution should include domain name registration. Your domain name should be easy to remember and easy to type. What is a Domain Name? A domain name is a unique name for a web site, like microsoft. com and w3schools. com. Domain names must be registered. When domain names are registered they are added to a large domain name register, and information about your site – including your internet IP address – is stored on a DNS server. DNS stands for Domain Name System. A DNS server is responsible for informing all other computers on the Internet about your domain name and your site address. Registering a Domain Domains can be registered from domain name registration companies such as http://www. otdnr. com. These companies provide interfaces to search for available domain names and they offer a variety of domain name extensions that can be registered at the same time. Domain Name Registration provides registration services for . com . net . org . biz . info . us . nu . ws . cc and . tv domains. Newer domain extensions such as . biz . info and . us have more choices available as many o f the popular domains have yet to be taken. While . com and . net domains are well established and recognized, most popular domains with these extensions are already registered. Choosing Your Domain Choosing a domain is a major step for any individual or organization. While domains are being registered at a record, new domain extensions and creative thinking still offer thousands of excellent choices. When selecting a name it is important to consider the purpose of a domain name, which is to provide people an easy way to reach your web site. The best domains have the following characteristics: Short – People don’t like to type! The shorter your domain, the easier it is to reach and the less are the chance the user will make a typographical error while typing it. Meaningful – A short domain is nothing without meaning, 34i4nh69. com is only 8 characters long but would not be easy to enter or remember. Select a domain that relates to your site in a way that people will understand. Clear – Clarity is important when selecting a domain name. You should avoid selecting a name that is difficult to spell or pronounce. Also, pay close attention to how your domain sounds and how effectively it can be communicated over the phone. Exposure: Just like premium real-estate on the ground that gets the most exposure, names that are short and easy to remember are an asset. In addition to humans viewing your domain, you should consider search engines. Search engines index your site and rank it for relevance against terms people search for online. In order to maximize your sites exposure, consider including a relevant search term in your domain. Of course, this should only be considered if it still maintains a short, clear and meaningful domain. Sub Domains Most people are unaware but they already use sub domains on a daily basis. The famous â€Å"www† of the World Wide Web is the most common example of a sub domain. Sub domains can be created on a DNS server and they don’t need to be registered with a domain registrar, of course, the original domain would need to be registered before a sub domain could be created. Common examples of sub domains used on the internet are http://store. apple. com and http://support. microsoft. com. Sub domains can be requested from your web hosting provider or created by yourself if you manage your own DNS server. False Domain Names – Directory Listings Some providers will offer you a unique name under their own name like: www. theircompany. com/yourcompany/ This is not a real domain name, it is a directory – and you should try to avoid it. These URLs are not desirable, especially for companies. Try to avoid them if you can afford to register a domain. Typically these are more commonly used for personal sites and free sites provided by your ISP, you may have seen www. theircompany. com/~username as a common address, this is just another way to share a single domain and provide users their own address. Open competition in domain name registration has brought about a dramatic decrease in pricing so domain sharing is far less common since people can register their own domains for only $15 per year. Expired Domains Another source for domain registrations is expired domains. When you register a domain, think of it as a rental, assuming there are no legal or trademark issues with the domain name, you are free to use it as long as you continue to pay the yearly fee (you can now also register in advance as many as 10 years). Some people register domains as speculators, hoping that they can later sell them, while others may have planned to use a domain and never had the time. The result is that domains that were previously registered regularly become available for registration again. You can see, and search through a list of recently expired domains for free at http://www. dotdnr. com. If you wish to register an expired domain you pay the same fee as you would for a new registration. Use Your Domain Name After you have chosen – and registered – your own domain name, make sure you use it on all your web pages and on all your correspondence, like email and traditional mail. It is important to let other people be aware of your name, and to inform your partners and customers about your web site. DotDNR DotDNR offers . com . net . org . ws . cc and . v domains for as little as $15 per year. In addition, you can transfer your domain to DotDNR and add a full year to your existing registration for only $15. Save $20 or more over other major registrars. International domain name registration is also offered. www. dotdnr. com Hosting Capacities Make sure you get the disk space and the traffic volume you need. How Much Disk Space? A small or medium web site wi ll need between 10 and 100MB of disk space. If you look at the size of HTML pages, you will see that the average size is very small. Maybe even smaller than 1KB. But if you look at the size of the images (button, gif, banner, jpg) used inside the pages, you will often find images many times larger than the page itself. Expect each HTML page to take up between 5 and 50KB of disk space on your web server, depending on the use of images or other space consuming elements. If you plan to use lots of images or graphic elements (not to mention sound files or movies), you might be needing much more disk space. Make sure that you know your needs before you start looking for your web host. Monthly Traffic A small or medium web site will consume between 1GB and 5GB of data transfer per month. You can calculate this by multiplying your average page size with the number of expected page views per month. If your average page size is 30KB and you expect 50,000 page views per month, you will need 0. 03MB x 50,000 = 1. 5GB. Larger, commercial sites often consume more than 100GB of monthly traffic. Before you sign a contract with a host provider, make sure to check this: * What are the restrictions on monthly transfer * Will your site be closed if you exceed the volume * Will you be billed a fortune if you exceed the volume * Will my future need be covered * Is upgrading a simple task Connection Speed Visitors to your web site will often connect via a modem, but your host provider should have a much faster connection. In the early days of the Internet a T1 connection was considered a fast connection. Today connection speeds are much faster. 1 byte equals to 8 bits (and that’s the number of bits used to transport one character). Low speed communication modems can transport from about 14 000 to 56 000 bits per second (14 to 56 kilobits per second). That is somewhere between 2000 and 7000 characters per second, or about 1 to 5 pages of written text. One kilobit (Kb) is 1024 bits. One megabit (Mb) is 1024 kilobits. One gigabit (Gb) is 1024 megabits. These are connection speeds used on the Internet today: Name Connection Speed per second Modem Analog 14. 4-56Kb D0 Digital (ISDN) 64Kb T1 Digital 1. 55Mb T3 Digital 43Mb OC-1 Optical Carrier 52Mb OC-2 Optical Carrier 156Mb OC-12 Optical Carrier 622Mb OC-24 Optical Carrier 1. 244Gb OC-48 Optical Carrier 2. 488Gb Before you sign up a contract with any hosting provider, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option. Hosting Email Services Hosting services should include proper Email Accounts and Email Services. Email Accounts Hosting solutions should include email accounts for each person in your company. Email addresses should appear like this: peter@mycompany. com paul@mycompany. com mary@mycompany. com Most common is to use first name or first initial and last name. POP Email POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is a standard client/server protocol for sending and receiving email. The emails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client email program, like Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, etc. POP email programs are built into Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers (i. e. Microsoft Outlook Express). IMAP Email IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP is another standard protocol for sending and receiving email. The emails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client email program, like Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, etc. IMAP represents an improvement over POP because email stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from several computers (a computer at home, a workstation at the office, etc. ) without having to transfer messages back and forth between computers. POP was designed to support email access on a single computer. Web-based Email Web-based email services enable you to access email via a web browser. You log into your email account via the Web to send and retrieve email. Being able to access your email from any browser anywhere in the world is a very attractive option. Examples of web-based email services are Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail. Email Forwarding Email forwarding allows you to have multiple email personalities. With email forwarding, you can setup aliases for other email accounts like postmaster@mycompany. com should be forwarded to peter@mycompany. com sales@mycompany. com should be forwarded to mary@mycompany. com Mailing Lists Some service providers offer mailing list capabilities. This is a valuable plus if you plan sending out email to a large number of users. Hosting Email Services This section describes some of the most common hosting technologies. Windows Hosting Windows hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Windows operating system. You should choose Windows hosting if you plan to use ASP (Active Server Pages) as server scripting, or if you plan to use a database like Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server. Windows hosting is also the best choice if you plan to develop your web site using Microsoft Front Page. Unix Hosting Unix hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Unix operating system. Unix was the first (original) web server operating system, and it is known for being reliable and stable. Often less expensive than Windows. Linux Hosting Linux hosting means hosting of web services that runs on the Linux operating system. CGI Web pages can be executed as CGI scripts. CGI scripts are executables that will execute on the server to produce dynamic and interactive web pages. Most Internet service providers will offer some kind of CGI capabilities. And many will offer preinstalled, ready to run, guest-books, page-counters, and chat-forums solutions written in CGI scripts. The use of CGI is most common on Unix or Linux servers. ASP – Active Server Pages Active Server Pages is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft. With ASP you can create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Both Visual Basic and JavaScript can be used. ASP is a standard component in Windows 95,98, 2000, and XP. It can be activated on all computers running Windows. Many web hosting providers are offering ASP, as it is becoming a more and more popular technology. If you want to learn more about ASP, please visit our ASP tutorial. Chili! Soft ASP Microsoft’s ASP technology runs only on Windows platforms. However, Chili! Soft ASP is a software product that allows ASP to run on UNIX and some other platforms. JSP JSP is a server-side technology much like ASP developed by Sun. With JSP you can create dynamic web pages by putting Java code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Since JSP uses Java, the technology is not restricted to any server-specific platform. FrontPage FrontPage is a very common web site design tool developed by Microsoft. FrontPage allows users to develop a web site without any deep knowledge of web development. Most Windows hosting solutions support FrontPage server extensions for users that use FrontPage to develop their web site. If you plan to use FrontPage, you should look for a Windows hosting solution (meaning not Unix / Linux). PHP Just like ASP, PHP is a server-side scripting language which allows you to create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Cold Fusion Web Hosting Database Technologies SQL Server or Oracle for high traffic database-driven web sites. Access or MySQL for low traffics database-access. Web Databases If your web site needs to update large quantities of information via the web, you will need a database to store your information. There are many different database systems available for web hosting. The most common are MS Access, MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle. Using the SQL Language SQL is the language for accessing databases. If you want your web site to be able to store and retrieve data from a database, your web server should have access to a database-system that uses the SQL language. If you want to learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial. SQL Server Microsoft’s SQL Server is one of the most popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic. SQL Server is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system. Oracle Oracle is also a very popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic. Oracle is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system. Access When a web site requires a simple database solution, Microsoft Access is a very popular option. Access is not well suited for very high-traffic, and not as powerful as Oracle or SQL Server. MySQL MySQL is also a popular database software for web sites. MySQL is an inexpensive alternative to the expensive Microsoft and Oracle solutions. Web Hosting Types Hosting can be FREE, SHARED or DEDICATED. Free Hosting Some service providers offer free web hosting. Free web hosting is best suited for small sites with low traffic, like family sites or sites about hobbies. It is not recommended for high traffic or for real business. Technical support is often limited, and technical options are few. Very often you cannot use your own domain name at a free site. You have to use a name provided by your host like http://www. reesite/users/~yoursite. htm. This is hard to type, hard to remember, and not very professional. Good: Bad: Low cost. It’s free. No domain names. Good for family, hobby or personal sites. Few, limited, or no software options. Free email is often an option. Limited security options. Limited or no database support. Limited technical support. Shared (Virtual) Hosting S hared hosting is very common, and very cost effective. With shared hosting, your web site is hosted on a powerful server along with maybe 100 other web sites. On a shared host it is common that each web site have their own domain name. Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like email, database, and many different editing options. Technical support tends to be good. Good: Bad: Low cost. Cost is shared with others. Reduced security due to many sites on one server. Good for small business and average traffic. Restrictions on traffic volume. Multiple software options. Restricted database support. Own domain name. Restricted software support. Good support Dedicated Hosting With dedicated hosting your web site is hosted on a dedicated server. Dedicated hosting is the most expensive form of hosting. The solution is best suited for large web sites with high traffic, and web sites that use special software. You should expect dedicated hosting to be very powerful and secure, with almost unlimited software solutions. Good: Bad: Good for large business. Expensive. Good for high traffic. Requires higher skills. Multiple domain names. Powerful email solutions. Powerful database support. Strong (unlimited) software support. Collocated Hosting Collocation means â€Å"co-location†. It is a solution that lets you place (locate) your own web server on the premises (locations) of a service provider. This is pretty much the same as running your own server in your own office, only that it is located at a place better designed for it. Most likely a provider will have dedicated resources like high-security against fire and vandalism, regulated backup power, dedicated Internet connections and more. Good: Bad: High bandwidth. Expensive. High up-time. Requires higher skills. High security. Harder to configure and debug. Unlimited software options. Your Checklist Before you choose your web host, make sure that: * The hosting type suits your current needs * The hosting type is cost effective Upgrading to a better server is a possible solution * If needed, upgrading to a dedicated server is possible Before you sign up a contract with any hosting provider, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is a lso a valuable option. Web Hosting E-Commerce If you are selling a product or a service, e-commerce might be a smart way to do business. Internet Commerce E-Commerce is about selling products or services over the Internet. If you are selling a product or a service, e-commerce might be a smart way to do business. Over the Internet you can reach a large number of customers. E-Commerce Systems It is not a very good idea to build your own e-commerce system. Some (larger) companies might do it, but we will not recommend it if you run a smaller business. Building an e-commerce system is a complicated process, with the potential for a lot of errors. You might buy a ready-to-use system and run it on your own server. Many systems are available on the market today, and most of them will cover your basic needs for order management and processing. But again, if you are not familiar with hosting your own web site, starting with an e-commerce site is not the right thing. The best solution, in our opinion, is to find a hosting provider that offers an e-commerce solution. Hosting Providers E-commerce covers a very huge range of products. With different hosting providers you will find anything from very simple to very complex solutions. Most providers will offer a simple and inexpensive solution that allow you to run your own â€Å"virtual store†. Your Checklist * How does it handle customers? * How does it handle product catalogs? * How does it handle orders? How does it handle inventory? * How does it handle back orders? * How does it handle shipment? * How does it handle accounts? * How does it handle billing? * How does it handle payment? * How does it handle foreign currency? * How does it handle credit cards? * How does it handle taxes? * How does it handle security? * How does it handle integrity (encryption)? Also ch eck if the most time-consuming tasks are automated. Look for automated billing, invoice handling, accounting, and report generation. Before you sign up a contract with any hosting provider, surf some other e-commerce sites on their servers. Find out how it works. Actually try some shopping and see if you get a good feeling. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option. Tax Issues Taxes is a complex issue for most on-line stores. Especially VAT (Value Added Tax). If you are selling on-line, you will most likely be in the export business. Trading with different countries is easy, but tax issues might be tricky. Exporting goods may not be the subject of VAT in your country, but often your customers will have to pay their local VAT when they pick up the goods. In addition, there will be the issue of income tax for your shop, depending on how you report your income from sales. Before starting an on-line store, be sure to consult your tax adviser. Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to develop dynamic web pages. Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia. Secure Server A secure server can transmit data encrypted. If you plan to do online credit card transactions, or other types of web communication that needs to be protected against unauthorized access, your web host must provide a secure server. Previous

Fragrance Marketing Plan

DEDICATION/STUDENT BIO: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: MISSION STATEMENT: Blossom Beauty is all about empowerment. Our tag line ‘let your inner beauty grow’ perfectly encapsulates the purpose of our brand. That is, to the let the natural beauty of young women flourish and grow, as they grow. At Blossom we believe that makeup shouldn’t be about covering up imperfections or looking like someone different, it’s about learning how to enhance what you already have. At Blossom, our mission is to provide young women with natural cosmetic and skin care products that will magnify their true beauty. We also aim to empower our Blossom beauties by providing them with guidance in using our products. † PART I: RESEARCH BACKGROUND HISTORICAL RESEARCH: In ‘Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture’ (1998), a study on the evolution of cosmetic use, Kathy Piess explains that leading up to World War I, the use of makeup was viewed as immoral and ofte n linked to prostitution (p 134-167).However, the end of the war saw the movement of women into the workplace and the widening acceptance of cosmetic use, as Piess states ‘a democratic vision of beauty began to break down traditional representations of women’ (ibid. ) This uprise challenged male perceptions of the time, as demonstrated by a quote from Alain Rustenholz’s ‘Make Up’ (2003), ‘For the working woman, beauty has become the leading guarantee of efficiency†¦ In earlier days, only a husband or a lover had rights to a woman’s beauty.Today, she is beautiful for everyone†¦ A woman’s beauty is an essential element of the daily performance that the century has put on for itself in the working world’ (p 70. ) Piess goes on to clarify that the increasing use of cosmetics represented a sense of freedom and individuality felt by women. ‘Makeup was no longer just a sign of a vanity, but a true expression of fem ininity’ (p 134-167. ) The social acceptance of cosmetic use meant that feminine beauty and consumption would become intertwined. KelleyMassoni points out in ‘Fashioning Teenagers: A Cultural History of Seventeen Magazine’ (2010) that women began to purchase beauty products as a means to self-fulfilment and social acceptance, and this subsequently influenced the mindset of adolescent women (p 18. ) According to historian Lizbeth Cohen in ‘A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America’ (2008), after World War II women were viewed as the ‘consumers’ of society and advertisers pursued this idea by targeting younger women as a way of influencing spending habits early on (p 105. Throughout the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, cosmetic manufacturers targeted the seemingly endless teenage market. In ‘Hope in a Jar’ (1998) Piess explains that brands like Covergirl, Maybelline, and Revlo n all ‘created beauty images that meshed closely with the ways high school students themselves classified girls into cliques and codified their evolving sense of personality’. By the mid 60’s, teenage girls, who comprised 11% of the population had bought nearly one-quarter of all cosmetics and beauty preparations (p 134-167. While the teen girl market was burgeoning, Piess adds that during this time, children were largely off-limits. Eye shadow and rouge were considered improper for young girls and advertising was targeted towards parents rather than children. By the 1980’s and 90’s, however in America and Europe, cosmetics were designed for and marketed to ‘tweens’ (girls between childhood and teen years) and then to children as young as three. The practice of encouraging young children to learn how to apply makeup has not developed without controversy.Cosmetic ingredients were largely unregulated in the US until the 2000’s, lea ding some critics to question the safety of cosmetic products, while others believe that such products force children to grow up too fast, or undermine their self-esteem. However, with a movement into natural cosmetic and skincare products in the last century, teens may be able to transition into the world of beauty in a healthier way. * Cohen, L. (2008)  A Consumer's Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, p. 105. * Massoni, K. (2010)  Fashioning Teenagers: A Cultural History of Seventeen Magazine.California: Left Coast Press, p. 18. * Piess, K. (1998)  Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, p. 134-167. * Rustenholz, A. (2003)  Make Up. London: Hachette Illustrated, p. 70. LITERATURE REVIEW: ‘Blossom Cosmetics’ sells 100% natural cosmetic and skin care products directed towards teens and tweens. This literature review will cover the history o f cosmetic use by women and teens, what goes into marketing to this age group and the representations of femininity and adolescence in media and marketing.The review will give an overview of the Australian cosmetics and toiletries industry, the intentions behind consumer purchase of natural products, and the advantages and disadvantages of natural and chemical-based products respectively. In order to define a gap in the market, this review will also give insight into current trends appealing to the teen and tween demographic of Australia and how teens are responding to cosmetics today. The sheer influence media and celebrities have on young people is explained in â€Å"Advertising to Children†.Marcia Amidon Lusted states that since the early 1980’s, advertisers have discovered children and teens make up an enormous market. One market-research group estimated that U. S teens spent more than $159 billion dollars in 2005. Amidon Lusted goes onto discuss some of the ways c ompanies cater to this tough market of teens. KAGOY or ‘Kids are Getting Older, Younger’ refers to the way that kids today are identifying themselves with the adult world at earlier and earlier ages.One of ways marketers react to this social change is through the strategy of ‘tweening’, the marketing of products that were once thought suitable for teens to younger and younger kids (Amidon Lusted, 2009, p 35-40). Through analysis of the August 2012 issue of ‘Girlfriend’ magazine – an Australian publication directed at teen girls, current trends appealing to this young demographic are revealed. With teen role model and burgeoning actress Emma Stone on the cover, the issue features articles like ‘hot Aussie bands to add to your playlist, 95 ways to keep warm this winter and why quiet girls can come first’.Style inspiration is heavily drawn from youthful celebrities like Elizabeth Olsen and Kate Bosworth, and posters feature the actors and actresses from recent blockbusters like ‘The Hunger Games’. Most interestingly is an article called ‘The Business of Beauty’, which praises natural beauty and promotes self-esteem for young girls (Girlfriend, 2012). Murphy’s â€Å"New Girl Order: Youth, Gender, and Generation in Contemporary Teen Girls' Media† also examines how the young women of Generation Y in particular, have become a key market for media industries.The book analyses various marketing campaigns, but most interestingly is that of 90’s cosmetic brand Flygirl. The analysis concludes that the campaigns careful balance between the importance of external appearance and the development of inner strength is necessitated by the shared characteristics of this generation. Through further analysis, â€Å"New Girl Order† explains that girl-focused media promotes conformity while simultaneously flattering the teen girl demographic with messages about the importa nce of their individuality (Murphy, 2008).While cosmetic brands are faced with the challenge of tapping into the psychology of teenagers, they are also confronted by the parents of this market. â€Å"Children’s Market – Doing It for the Kids†, an article written for the Cosmetics Business website by Julia Wray discovers how brands are appealing to both parents and children. Consumer analyst for Mintel, Ricky Lakhani explains, â€Å"due to added work pressure and lifestyles becoming more hectic, women are delaying starting their families until later in life, which is having a bearing on their ability to spend more on products for their children†.The article explains that unlike the teens they will become, the tween market doesn’t desire to be treated like adults, but they won’t suffer being babied either, and now the beauty world is starting to take note of this emerging demographic. Pacific World Corp and Walmart caused a stir when they anno unced their new line GeoGirl, a makeup brand for 8-12 year olds. The states that it is likely that similar offerings will hit store shelves in coming years as brand owners seek to engage with this potentially lucrative market (Wray, 2011).An article written by Felicia Kamriani for Hollywood Weekly discusses the ways teens and tweens are responding to cosmetics today. Young girls use makeup as a form of expression of their individuality and independence, but also because they have an inherent desire to feel accepted and liked. Marshal Cohen, NPD Group Chief Industry Analyst is quoted in the article saying â€Å"†¦ tweens make the decision to purchase based solely on brand recognition – they have a strong desire to fit in and be ‘just as good as’ their peers.While the teen market uses style as their indicator of fashion acceptance, the tween market uses brands†. Many teens and tweens are following the eco-natural trend, wearing lighter, barely-there mak eup. Today, more cosmetics companies are focused on developing safer products free from toxic substances (Kamriani, 2008, p 10). An overview of the Australian cosmetics and toiletries industry from Austrade reveals that there is room for the introduction of natural products in particular. The Australian cosmetic and toiletries industry has domestic sales of approximately A$5 billion per annum.Australian products achieve global success because of their reputation for being clean and green. We are also known for our natural and organic products. There is currently a growing demand worldwide for natural skincare and body products and Australia has the advantage of already being recognised in this sector of the market (Austrade, 2009). But why the push for natural products? Chen’s evaluation of the â€Å"Effectiveness of the Natural Cosmetic Product Compared to Chemical-Based Products†, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the natural cosmetic and the chemical-bas ed product respectively.A survey conducted for this study revealed that out of the 87% of people that actually used cosmetics, 94% believed that chemical-based cosmetics would cause side effects. Natural cosmetics are made from raw materials, less harmful to the earth, and less harmful to the skin. However, natural cosmetics may contain plant-derived materials benefice to microbial growth and only a few preservatives, if any at all, which means a shorter shelf-life. Chemical-based cosmetics incorporate synthetic materials which achieve desired results quickly, but often at a cost.According to a study by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group, preservatives are the second most common cause of allergic and irritant reactions to cosmetics (Chen, 2009). â€Å"Consumer Purchase Intention for Organic Personal Care Products† examines the effects of consumer values and past experiences on the purchase intention of organic products. As part of the study, an online survey was cond ucted with 207 panel members. The results indicated that environmental consciousness and appearance consciousness positively influence toward buying organic or natural cosmetic products.The study suggested that retailers can develop effective marketing strategies emphasizing ecological beauty, product safety and affordable prices to increase the sale of organic and natural personal-care products (Kim et al, 2011). Based on this preliminary research, I have found that there is a definite gap in the market and a desire for natural Australian-made cosmetics. There is clearly a level of concern from the parents of the teens and tween that are so strategically marketed to and to succeed as a brand, Blossom would need to achieve the ‘cool factor’ for the tween/teen demographic to respond.However, to fully understand this target market and the objectives and strategies of competing cosmetic brands, primary research, including surveys, focus groups and ethnographic studies must be carried out. * Amidon Lusted, M. 2009. â€Å"Advertising to Children†. ABDO Publishing Company, Minnesota. p 35-40. * Girlfriend Magazine. 2012. [ONLINE]. Girlfriend Magazine. August Issue. Retrieved from:http://au. youth. yahoo. com/girlfriend/blog/galleries/g/-/14415833/2/august-2012-girlfriend-mag-sneak-peek/ * Murphy, C. 2008. â€Å"New Girl Order: Youth, Gender, and Generation in Contemporary Teen Girls' Media†.UMI Dissertation Publishing. * Cosmetics Business (2011)  Children's Market – Doing It For The Kids. [online] Available at: http://www. cosmeticsbusiness. com/technical/article_page/Childrens_market_doing_it_for_the_kids/61075. * Kamriani, F. 2008. â€Å"Teens and Cosmetics: It's Not Like It Used to Be†. Hollywood Weekly, Iss. 10 p. 10. * Austrade. 2009. Cosmetics and Toiletries Overview. [online] Available at: http://www. austrade. gov. au/Cosmetics-and-Toiletries-overview/default. aspx * Chen, Q. 2009. â€Å"Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Natural Cosmetic Product Compared to Chemical-Based Products†.International Journal of Chemistry, 1 (2), p. 57-59. * Kim, H. and Chung, J. 2011. â€Å"Consumer Purchase Intention for Organic Personal Care Products†. The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28 (1), p. 40-47. TARGET MARKET RESEARCH: In researching the target market of Blossom Beauty products, I designed two surveys, one for 10-16 year old young women and one for parents, and mothers in particular. The results of each survey indicated that all participants in the 10-16 year old group had been using cosmetic and skincare products since the ages of 10-14.In contrast to this are the survey results from the group of mothers, which indicated that participants had started using cosmetic and skincare products from the ages of 13-20. This demonstrates that a shift in the social acceptance of youth cosmetic use has created a potential gap in the market for such a product. On asking the 10-16 year old participants how they learnt to apply makeup, the majority revealed that it was their mother/family members that had taught them, with friends and personal experimentation following closely behind.This shows that family members, in particular mothers, are most influential in cosmetic-related decisions for this age group. 10-16 year old participants chose Clinique, Maybelline, MAC, Chi Chi, Bloom and Natio as their favourite beauty brands, while parent participants chose Ponds, Australis, Bonne Bell, Clinique and Bobby Brown as their favourite beauty brands during ages 13-20. When asked what kinds of cosmetic and skincare products they used when they were younger, the majority of these participants chose eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick, mascara and powder, and few skin-related products, mostly from skincare brand Nivea.This contrasts with the majority of 10-16 year old participants who chose mascara, lip gloss/balm and light foundation as their preferred products. These makeup products are much l ighter than those used by their mothers when they were teens, revealing a change in product use and commonly used brands. In terms of skincare, 60% of the 10-16 year old participants carry out a daily skincare routine, that involves a cleansing or exfoliating face wash, toner and moisturiser, with most favoured brand, Clearasil. Whilst the above graph shows that 66. 7% of the 10-16 year old participants use makeup products everyday, 86. % admitted to not owning any natural cosmetic or skincare products. This reveals that there is a gap in the market for natural beauty products that are designed for everyday use. When asked which celebrities they considered most physically attractive, participants chose teen TV stars like Mischa Barton, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively and Selena Gomez, fashion icons like Lily Allen, Alexa Chung and Kate Bosworth and ‘teen heartthrobs’ including Justin Bieber and Zac Efron. These celebrities are portrayed as stereotypically ‘prettyâ €™ and desirable, reflecting the sheer influence the media has on teen perceptions of beauty.The above graph shows that 64. 7% of parent participants would expect to pay between $10 and $20 for their daughters’ beauty products. 52. 9% of participants would purchase their daughters beauty products from department stores, followed by 41. 2% who would purchase them from beauty-specific stores like Priceline, as shown in the above graph. When shopping in the beauty/hygiene aisle of the supermarket, 88. 2% of parent participants and only 40% of 10-16 year old participants indicated that they would be more attracted to light, clean coloured packaging in white or silver. In contrast, the results showed that only 11. % of the parent participants compared to 60% of 10-16 year old participants would be attracted to bright, loud coloured packaging in red or pink. 76. 5% of parent participants would allow their daughter to wear makeup every day, and 58. 8% believe it is appropriate f or young women between the ages of 10 and 16 to wear makeup, however, a strong 41. 2% believe it isn’t. Through analysis of these survey results, primary and secondary target market characteristics have been identified. Blossom’s primary target market of teens and tweens between the ages of 10 and 16 are inexperienced with cosmetic products compared to their mothers as teens.They are interested in using makeup, and require skincare products, but their mothers and family remain highly influential in their beauty-related decisions. The media, however, is also extremely influential in the decisions of this age group and a certain perception of beauty and what is considered attractive is based around current celebrities. The mothers of 10-16 year olds who make up Blossom’s secondary target market are key consumers as they are the ones who purchase their daughter’s cosmetic and skincare products.These mothers want natural products for their daughters, but at a n affordable price. This target market won’t pay more than $20 and expect to find these beauty products where they might buy their own. PART II: MARKETING INTRODUCTION: MACRO & MICRO ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS POLITICAL: The Advanced Association of Beauty Therapists (AABTH) have reported that as consumers are becoming increasingly wary of potential toxicity in cosmetics and toiletries, market segments offering fragrance-free products made using natural ingredients and essential oils are likely to record strong growth.While natural beauty products are in demand, there are strict guidelines based on the labelling of these products. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission enforce the labelling of cosmetic products under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. There are mandatory labelling requirements for the labelling of cosmetic products manufactured in, or imported into, Australia. Ingredients, including colour additives, fragrances and perfumes must be listed on the co ntainer or the product itself. ECONOMIC:Blossom is primarily targeted towards young women between the ages of 10 and 16. However, as this market is often still financially dependent on their parents, we must take the pricing of our products into careful consideration. Many believe that the cosmetics industry is a recession proof market because history has shown that women continue to spend on items that have the ‘feel good’ factor and represent ‘value for money’, but in the case of spending money on children, we must consider how the recession has affected parents. REFERENCE) SOCIAL: The AABTH have also reported that there has been continued growth in the youth segment (the teen and tween boom), which is thought to account for roughly 20 per cent of the overall cosmetics and toiletries market. It is believed that manufacturers and marketers may develop an increasing array of youth products that mimic their adult counterparts. Whilst the market for youth-foc used cosmetics is booming, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the selling of make-up to young women in particular.Young girls are constantly influenced by a dominant message about physical appearance equating with worth and it has been shown that an over-emphasis on looks and attractiveness leads to negative body image, disordered eating, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. While some cosmetic companies are setting unrealistic standards of beauty for their customers, Blossom is based on the idea of natural beauty and the empowerment of young women. The Blossom Mentor Program for young women without role models is evidence of our efforts in fighting for a better result.TECHNOLOGICAL: Recent studies have shown that 93% of teenagers 12-17 are online—the largest percentage of any age group, 73% of teens are on social networking sites and 75% of them own a mobile phone. The constant growth and popularity of technologies like the internet and mobile phones, combi ned with the immense influence the media has on young people is staggering. With such an online presence and a truly transient nature, it’s crucial for Blossom to tap into this younger generation of technology-savvy teens to remain current. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS:COMPETITOR 1: Bloom Cosmetics Bloom is an Australian beauty brand, based on Melbourne that was founded in 1993 by Natalie Bloom. According to the brand’s website, Bloom was born from Natalie’s packaging design hobby, which turned into a business and eventually a brand. The Bloom product range originally included Essential Oil Blends, Massage Oils and Aromatherapy Lip Balms and now features over 350 products including colour cosmetics, an 80-shade nail polish range, the Australian-manufactured Bloom Organics range and a diffusion range ‘b collection by Bloom’.Bloom is now an internationally recognised beauty brand and stocked across the globe (Bloom Cosmetics, 2011). Product| EYES * Shadows * L iners * Mascara * Brow liners/gelsLIPS * Lipstick * Stains/tints * Gloss * Lip liners * BalmsFACE * Foundation * Tint * Concealers/highlighters * Primer * Bronzing * BlushTANNING/BRONZING GELS/CREAMSNAILS * Polish * Accessories e. g. files, removerSKIN * Organic body care & skincare * Organic accessories e. g. owels/bagsACCESSORIES * Wipes, sharpener, bags & brushesSince 2000, each Bloom product has featured the playful yet sophisticated ‘Miss Bloom’ illustration, contributing to the youthful sensibility of the brand. | Price| The price point of Bloom cosmetics ranges from $10 for accessories, $20-$30 for lip, eye and nail products, and up to $40-$50 for body care, skin care and face products. This is a higher price point in comparison with competing brands. | Place| Bloom products are available from the Melbourne flagship store, Myer, David Jones and Target department stores as well as online. Promotion| * Bloom blog * Facebook * Twitter * Youtube * Email subscription * Competitions * Collaborations * Children’s Hospital Foundation | People| * Specific selection of trained staff knowledgeable in beauty products in department & flagship stores. | STRENGTHS| * Huge product range * Multiple collaborations * Series of awards won * Internationally recognised/stocked * Organics & diffusion ranges * Charity support – corporate citizenship| WEAKNESSES| * As a ‘youthful’ beauty brand, selling tanners & heavy makeup doesn’t set healthy example for young people. Quite expensive for young people & parents in comparison with competitors e. g. Kit, Maybelline, GeoGIRL * Lack of information online| OPPORTUNITIES| * A ‘youth focused’/cheaper diffusion line or collaboration * Expansion and growth of international presence| THREATS| * Negativity from parents * Competition from competing international cosmetic and skincare brands. | COMPETITOR 2: GeoGIRL CosmeticsGeoGIRL is an American beauty brand; selling ‘natu ral’ cosmetic and skin care products in recyclable packaging for 8-12 year old girls. The GeoGIRL website explains that the brand was launched in 2011 by US department store Walmart. GeoGIRL products are ‘natural’, affordable and ideal for young, sensitive skin. The 69-piece GeoGIRL line features blush, mascara, face shimmer and lipstick. Each GeoGIRL product comes with directions (GeoGIRL, 2012).Product| EYES * Shadows * Pencil * Mascara * Brow gelLIPS * Gloss * Balm * Shine * TreatmentsFACE * Concealer * Tint * Powder * Blush/shimmerSKIN * Cleanser * Toner * Moisturiser/refresher * Remover * Body mist| Price| The price point of GeoGIRL cosmetics ranges from USD$4 to USD$6, relatively low in comparison with competing brands. | Place| GeoGIRL cosmetics are available online at www. drugstore. com. | Promotion| * Facebook * Youtube * ‘Green tips’ – association with environmental consciousness * Charity link – animal shelters & endangered wildlife * Media e. . US magazines – Seventeen, Marie Claire & Teen Vogue * Music video * Membership & competitions| People| * GeoGIRL has a FAQ page dedicated to concerned parents, which explains the monitoring of personal information & accounts by trained staff members. | STRENGTHS| * Wide range of media coverage * A percentage of profits go to voted charities * How-to and music videos * ‘Parents’ section of the website that addresses any concerns about the GeoGIRL products. * Customers can also sign-up to become a GeoGIRL to share their ideas online. WEAKNESSES| * Only available online from a participating website called ‘drugstore. com’ * Pricing for the products doesn’t exceed $6 US dollars, portraying a cheap or low-quality brand image * The brand is only available to an American market * Website is inconsistent and some parts are missing| OPPORTUNITIES| * Expansion to an international market * Distribution into bricks and mortar stores * Further brand extensions or collaborations| THREATS| * Competing global brands * Negativity from parents & industry |While Blossom Beauty will offer a smaller product range in comparison to Bloom and GeoGIRL, the price point will be higher than that of GeoGIRL to portray an image of quality and to cover costs, but lower than Bloom to remain affordable. Blossom will only be available to an Australian market to begin with, but may expand globally to compete with brands like Bloom. Blossom will focus on youth-appropriate products and promotion like GeoGIRL but will maintain a sophisticated appearance and reputation like Bloom. Bloom Cosmetics (2011)  Our Story. [online] Available at: http://www. bloomcosmetics. om/cms-home/bloom-story. phps. GeoGIRL (2012)  About GeoGIRL. [online] Available at: http://geogirl. com/about. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: STRENGTHS: * Blossom Beauty produces 100% natural skin care and cosmetic products for everyday use * Each product comes with a set of direc tions * Blossom has recruited a famous female celebrity ambassador to represent the brand * We support young women without role models with our Blossom Mentor Program * Blossom aims to collaborate with a major teen fashion brand * Our product is available online, in department and beauty-specific stores WEAKNESSES: Blossom will only be available to the Australian market to begin with * We may have to produce offshore to remain competitive and cover costs * We are yet to achieve any media coverage OPPORTUNITIES: * A focus on planet-friendly, cost-efficient packaging * Growth of customer base, with sustained loyalty past teen/tween years * Brand extensions into fragrance, body and hair care THREATS: * Lack of control if manufacturing offshore * Risk of over-pricing products * Competing brands with established reputation and brand extensions * Negativity from parentsMARKET OVERVIEW: OBJECTIVES & STRATEGIES: Objectives| Strategies| * Position Blossom as a leading skincare and cosmetics brand, dedicated to the welfare of young women * Push the visibility of Blossom in the market through strategic promotional efforts| Work with PR team to form a strong concept and consistent brand message communicated through campaign shoot to be featured in Dolly/Girlfriend magazines, buses, billboards and online 2-3 months before line is released. * | Develop relationships with department stores e. g. MYER and David Jones, as well as beauty-specific store e. g. Priceline for distribution by June/July. | * | Launch line through event, coinciding with International Women’s Day in June/July – focus on mother-daughter relationship. | * | With the assistance of web expertise, develop e-commerce website by June and maintain consistent brand message in social networking via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest. * Diversify Blossom from competitors * Achieve a positive reputation through association|   Identify key Australian female celebrities who are viewed as positive role models and represent the values of Blossom and reach out to them to secure a brand ambassador by early 2013. | * | Kick start Blossom Mentor Program and design school workshops by August. Connect with The Butterfly Foundation charity, work with PR team to publicise the program e. g. magazines, internet and POS promotion and get brand ambassador involved. * Build a loyal customer base that transcends teen years| Align Blossom with youth-focused fashion destinations, online or in-store e. g. Factorie/ASOS etc and collaborate on a line as a goal towards the end of the year. | * | Research growing market and move into brand extensions by the beginning of 2014, branching out into fragrances, bath & body or haircare. | TACTICAL MARKETING PROGRAMS: PRODUCT: The Blossom Beauty range will consist of one cosmetic line and one skin care line.The all-natural cosmetic line will focus on the ‘basics of natural beauty’ and will be made up of lip glosses, balms and ti nts, mix and match eye shadows, mascara, easy-to-use eye liner and eye crayons, mineral blush and cheek tint, mineral powder and tinted moisturiser, as well as a variety of makeup related tools including brushes, a case, mirror, sharpener and eyelash curler. The 100% natural skin care range will also be focused on the essentials, with a cream cleanser, exfoliating facial scrub, nourishing moisturiser, toner and acne serum.Cosmetic and skin care products will look and smell delicious in feminine coloured packaging and each will come with a brief set of instructions on how to achieve the desired result. PRICE: Blossom beauty products will be priced anywhere between $15 and $30. This price point is slightly lower than competing brands to keep it accessible for teens and affordable for their parents as a secondary target market. The price may seem higher than other teen-friendly beauty products but only to cover the costs of natural ingredients and product tie-ins. PLACE:Blossom product s may have to be manufactured offshore in order for the brand to remain competitive. The products will be packaged in Australia and distributed to major department stores like Myer/David Jones, in beauty-specific stores including Priceline and online from our e-commerce website. PROMOTION: Much like other well-known cosmetic brands, Blossom will have a strong commercial presence. Blossom advertisements will be featured in print media (e. g. Dolly and Girlfriend magazine) and outdoors, on billboards and on buses. Each advertisement will feature bright natural colours, youthful imagery and our brand ambassador.Blossom has chosen these promotional tools in order to connect directly with teens, tweens and their parents. That is why the brand will also maintain a strong online identity through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and the Blossom website that will include how-to videos, interactive quizzes and games, competitions and brand information. Blossom will also be pr omoted through collaborations with online and bricks and mortar shopping destinations and its Mentor Program for young girls. Each promotional method reinforces the brands message of the positivity of natural beauty and the empowerment of young women.PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS: FINANCIAL: Month| Objective| Budget| Jan-Feb 2013| Brand ambassador chosen|   | | Market research conducted| $6000 for focus groups$300 per personal interviews – 6 interviews to represent different ages within target market – $1800| | Workshops designed|   | March-May|   Campaign shoot| $20,000| |   Promotional activity| Outdoor – Bus/Billboard: $20,000Magazine: $25,000| | Website design| $10,000-$20,000 to build website10% of cost to build website per month for website maintenance| | Cosmetic and skin care line manufactured| $20,000| June-July| Launch event| $20,000|

political themes and film essays

political themes and film essays The Godfathers Michael Corleone and King Henry V of Henry V seemingly have nothing to do with each other to the ordinary viewer. However, if one looks deeply into the themes and the messages behind these two classic and wonderfully composed pieces of entertainment, it can be seen that the two main characters actually have more in common than not. To begin with, both of these men found themselves in a position of important leadership; whether he really wanted to be or not. However, one fact remains to pose a rather significant difference between the figureheads. It can be recalled that Henry V wanted to stake his claim at the throne of France and was willing to fight for it, yet Michael Corleone found himself as the Don of the Corleone family after a near fatal incident which almost took the life of the original Don, Vito. Also, Henry had three of his subjects, Cambridge, Grey and Scroop, whom he somewhat trusted, want to assassinate him in order to receive monetary compensation from France; Michael didnt have any hits out on his life once he was made. Michael Corleone, son of the powerful Don Vito Corleone of one of the five head Mafia families in New York, was always the good son. He was the war hero, the military officer, the educated one who didnt want to participate in the racket; the quiet rebel. Michael can be called the quiet rebel because he decided to deviate from the illegal family business, the mob. However, when it came down to it, Michaels core family values shown through: loyalty to the family-always. Henry V, on the other hand, was a raucous youth who caroused around carelessly and irresponsibly who grew into a just and strong Christian leader. When it was time for Henry to take the throne and become King, however he may have gotten to that position aside, he anted up and took responsibility and manifested loyalty for his people. The theme that ...

The drug war essays

The drug war essays Everyday someone is thrown in state prison for anywhere from 3 years to life for the "illegal" use of the drug known as marijuana. It has come down to it that thousands of pounds of marijuana are smuggled over the border of Mexico and into the United States. Regardless of the fight or struggle of people to insure the so said safety of our younger generations from the use of these drugs more and more comes into the Unites States. The use of the herbal drug marijuana becomes increasingly wide-spread. It's esteemated that over half of the kindergarden class of 2001 will have used marijuana at least once by the age of 18. While the goverment becomes increasingly concerned with the escalating use of marijuana, it isn't the only thing escalating. The goverment spends well over 100,000 dollars on the "drug war" each year. While our nations funds decrease from the war against hippies the facts are dismissed. Although marijunan is considered highly bad it isn't in the least damaging. Marijuana is used as an aid in eating and was at one point issued to aids patients. With the complete banning of marijuana people with aids flood to Canada or die from choaking on their own vomit. Many people look at this controversial issue and wonder why. Why not legalize marijuana for the use of aids patients? Why not save another life? Frankly why not legalize for everyone. The sell alone would pay for the drug war. ...

Greek Mythology to Rational Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Greek Mythology to Rational Pre-Socratic Philosophy This is meant as a general introduction to Pre-Socratic philosophy. Specifically, you should see how Pre-Socratic philosophy emerged as a new way to explain the world anddiffered dramatically from what came before. There are various Greek myths to explain the origins of the universe and of man. Three generations of immortal creatures vied for power. The first were personifications of such things as Earth and Sky, whose mating produced land, mountains, and seas. One Greek mythological concept of man tells of an earlier, happier time a Greek Garden of Eden What Came Before? Mythology ... which didnt die just because alternatives showed up. Like Pre-Socratic philosophy would soon do, mythology also explained the world, but it provided supernatural explanations for the universe and creation. The basic theme of mythology is that the visible world is supported and sustained by an invisible world. - Joseph Campbell Playing the Human World as if a Giant Chessboard Okay. You caught me. There is an old movie from the 70s on a topic from Greek mythology that shows the gods and goddesses playing with the lives of the mortal heroes and damsels in distress as actual pawns on a cosmic chessboard, but the image works. Hollywood aside, some Greeks thought unseen gods manipulated the world from their perches on Mt. Olympus. One god(dess) was responsible for grain, another for the seas, another for the olive, etc. Mythology made guesses about important things that people wanted to, but couldnt see. Early philosophers also made guesses about this unseen universe. The Change to Philosophy: The early Greek, Pre-Socratic philosophers attempted to explain the world around them in more natural terms than those who relied on mythological explanations that divided the labor among human-looking (anthropomorphic) gods. For example, instead of anthropomorphic creator gods, the Pre-Socratic philosopher Anaxagoras thought nous mind controlled the universe. Is That Really Philosophy? Philosophy Science (Physics) Such an explanation doesnt sound much like what we think of as philosophy, let alone science, but the Pre-Socratics were early philosophers, sometimes indistinguishable from natural scientists. This is an important point: philosophy and science/physics werent separate academic disciplines. Philosophy Ethics and the Good Life Later, philosophers turned to other topics, like ethics and how to live, but they didnt give up on their speculation about nature. Even at the end of the Roman Republic, it would be fair to characterize ancient philosophy as both ethics and physics [Roman Women, by Gillian Clark; Greece Rome, (Oct. 1981)]. Periods of Greek Philosophy The Greeks dominated philosophy for about a millennium, from before c. 500 B.C. to A.D. 500. Jonathan Barnes, in Early Greek Philosophy, divides the millennium into three parts: The Pre-Socratics.The period is known for its schools, the Academy, Lyceum, Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics.The period of syncretism begins approximately 100 B.C. and ends in A.D. 529 when the Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian forbade the teaching of pagan philosophy. There are other ways to divide the Greek philosophers. The About.com Guide to Philosophy says there were 5 Great Schools - The Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Epicurean, and Skeptic. Here were following Barnes and talking about those who came before Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicureans, and Skeptics. The First Philosophical Solar Eclipse This, Barnes first period, begins with Thales alleged prediction of a solar eclipse in 585 B.C. and ends in 400 B.C. Philosophers of this period are called Pre-Socratic, somewhat misleadingly, since Socrates was a contemporary. Some argue that the term philosophy inaccurately limits the sphere of interest of the so-called Pre-Socratic philosophers. Is Students of Nature a Better Term? Students of nature, the Pre-Socratics are credited with inventing philosophy, but they didnt work in a vacuum. For instance, knowledge of the eclipse if not apocryphal may have come from contact with Babylonian astronomers. The early philosophers shared with their predecessors, the mythographers, an interest in the cosmos. Where Does Stuff Come From? Parmenides was a philosopher from Elea (west of mainland Greece, in Magna Graecia) who probably was an older contemporary of the young Socrates. He says that nothing comes into being because then it would have come from nothing. Everything that is must always have been. Myth Writers vs the Pre-Socratic Philosophers: Myths are stories about persons.Pre-Socratics looked for principles or other natural explanations. Myths allow a multiplicity of explanations.Pre-Socratics were looking for the single principle behind the cosmos. Myths are conservative, slow to change.To read what they wrote, you might think the aim of the Pre-Socratics was to knock down earlier theory.Myths are self-justifying.Myths are morally ambivalent.-From The Attributes of Mythic/Mythopoeic Thought Philosophers sought a rational order observable in the natural phenomena, where mythographers relied on the supernatural. Pre-Socratics Denied a Distinction Between Natural Supernatural: When the Pre-Socratic philosopher Thales (of eclipse fame) said all things are full of gods, he wasnt so much singing the swan song of mythographers or rationalizing myth. No, he was breaking new ground by, in Michael Grants words, ... implicitly denying that any distinction between natural and supernatural could be legitimately envisaged. The most significant contributions of the Pre-Socratics were their rational, scientific approach and belief in a naturally ordered world. After the Pre-Socratics: Aristotle and So Forth: With the philosopher Aristotle, who valued evidence and observation, the distinction between philosophy and empirical science began to appear.Following the death of Alexander the Great (a student of Aristotles), the kings who divvied up and ruled his empire began to subsidize scholars working in areas, like medicine, that would do them some good.At the same time, the philosophical schools of the Stoics, Cynics, and Epicureans, that were not interested in empirical science, took hold.Michael Grant attributes the separation of science and philosophy to Strato of Lampsacus (successor of Aristotles successor, Theophrastus), who shifted the focus of the Lyceum from logic to experiment. Pre-Socratics May Have Been Rational But They Couldnt Possibly All Be Right: As Barnes points out, just because the Pre-Socratics were rational, and presented supportive arguments, doesnt mean they were right. They couldnt possibly all be right, anyway, since much of their writing consists in pointing out inconsistencies of their predecessors paradigms. Sources: Jonathan Barnes, Early Greek PhilosophyMichael Grant, The Rise of the GreeksMichael Grant, The Classical GreeksG.S. Kirk and J.E. Raven, The Presocratic PhilosophersJ.V. Luce, Introduction to Greek PhilosophyThe Attributes of Mythopoeic Thought​ Related Resources: Presocratic PhilosophyPythagoras of SamosEpicureansStoics