Albert Camus The Stranger: Existentialism and Absurdism Essay

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger and not only serves as one of the themes but probably the main reason Albert Camus wrote the book altogether. Presented in first person narration through the eyes of Meursault, the indifferent and apathetic main character, the novel serves to evoke the creed of existentialism through the embodiment of the philosophy in a person. Meursault’s speech, thought, and actions are what Camus believed a person who innately possessed the tenets of existentialism would have. Existentialism, what it represents, the results of its embodiment in a person, and the validity of the doctrine altogether are all important aspects explored in The Stranger by Albert Camus. â€Å"Maman died today or yesterday maybe, I don’t know†. These opening lines of the novel serve not only to introduce the novel but to summarize it as well. Rather than focusing on what is important-his mother’s death-Meursault is focused on when exactly she died; whether it was yesterday or today, since the telegraph only stated the funeral would be tomorrow. Right away, within the very first sentence, the reader is introduced to existentialism incarnate. Meursault exhibits a complete and utter indifference to life manifested by a profound lack of emotion. He doesn’t care when his mother died, in fact the fact that he has to attend the funeral altogether is the most troubling part of this whole ordeal to him. When he finally gets to the funeral, he couldn’t care less about his mother-as he rejects the offer to open the casket-but is utterly consumed by the days heat. Camus does a great job in the first part of the novel of demonstrating to the reader not only the philosophy of existentialism, but a corporal representation of it as well. This corporal representation of existentialism is what makes The Stranger the unique book it is. As opposed to the multitude of books and manifestos approaching existentialism from an academic perspective, The Stranger approaches the philosophy by detailing a character with the belief innately in him and showing how someone like this might behave. Neither the external world in which Meursault lives nor the internal world of his thoughts and attitudes possesses any rational order. Meursault has no discernable reason for his actions, such as his decision to marry Marie and his decision to kill the Arab. The book, narrated by Meursault, is basically life detailed superficially by him. He talks about the weather, the food he’s eating, about the things he did that day rather than how he feels or thinks of other people, places and things. This is how a person consumed with existentialism would behave and think-indifferently and apathetically. Meursault passes no judgment on people and is ultimate executed for killing an Arab for no apparent reason. The philosophy or theory of Existentialism is somewhat controversial, but nonetheless in many respects it has some notable and legitimate points. If one were to truly take a look at the universe, it would seem purposeless. And humans do in fact possess the innate desire, or rather compulsion, to explain things and have things figured out-thus explaining their need to associate a purpose with the universe, even when it doesn’t necessarily exist. But what made this theory come about in the 19th century when it could have been realized centuries before? The reason is the tragedy and devastation the world saw at this time-several world wars in specific. If we take a look at the life of Albert Camus himself, it’s hard to deny the fact that there is a connection between the existentialism’s inception and personal tragedy. In 1914, Camus’ Father was drafted into WWI and killed in France. In 1934 he Married Simone Hie, but divorced her two years later. In 1939 he volunteered for service in WWII, but was rejected due to illness. In 1940 he wrote an essay on the state of Muslims in Algeria causing him to lose his job and move to Paris. In 1941 he joined the French resistance against the Nazis and became an editor of Combat, an underground newspaper. These, as well as many other incidents and events in Camus’ life influenced him in the sense that they formed in him a bleak, pessimistic view of life. This perspective undoubtedly set the foundation for his adoption of the theory of existentialism. â€Å"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life. † The point illuminated in this quote by Camus is that although some consider viewing life with despair to be wrong, or sinful, in reality hoping for an after life, â€Å"another life†, or living a life of implacable grandeur is the real sin. Camus held strong to the belief of Absurdism, or the belief that humanity’s effort to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail-thus it is absurd to try to find meaning or to live as though there is a meaning because no such meaning exists. While Absurdism might seem like a synonym for Existentialism, the two are slightly different. Existentialism makes the point that there is no purpose or meaning in the universe. Absurdism goes a step further to say that not only is life purposeless, but any attempt at finding meaning is utterly absurd. Albert Camus, being the polarized man that he was, held more firmly to the belief of Absurdism than existentialism. In writing The Stranger, Albert Camus championed the idea of existentialism, a philosophy he truly believed in it. But the philosophy of existentialism is not free of criticism. Herbert Marcuse criticized existentialism, especially in Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, for projecting certain features of living in a modern, oppressive society, such as anxiety and meaninglessness, onto the nature of existence itself: â€Å"In so far as Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine, it remains an idealistic doctrine: it hypothesizes specific historical conditions of human existence into ontological and metaphysical characteristics. Existentialism thus becomes part of the very ideology which it attacks, and its radicalism is illusory† What Marcuse is saying here is that existentialism makes the mistake of thinking that just because human conditions are tragic and seem to lack a purpose, that they in fact do. Whether or not there is purpose to the universe is an ontological and metaphysical subject, not one that can be realized through historical events. Existentialism and its brother philosophy Absurdism are philosophies that emphasize the uniqueness and isolation of the individual in a hostile and indifferent world, and stress the fact the universe has no discernable purpose. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger as Meursault, the indifferent and apathetic main character, embodies the tenets of existentialism intrinsically. Existentialism, what it represents, the results of its embodiment in a person, and the validity of the doctrine altogether are all important aspects explored in The Stranger by Albert Camus. Bibliography1. â€Å"Existentialism. † The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers. com 28 Mar. 2007. http://www. answers. com/topic/existentialism2. Marcuse, Herbert. â€Å"Sartre’s Existentialism†. Printed in Studies in Critical Philosophy. Translated by Joris De Bres. London: NLB, 1972. p. 1613. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Middlesex: UK Penguin Classics, 1943. 4. Sartre, Jean P. Existentialism is a Humanism. World Company, 1956. 5. â€Å"Albert Camus. † 28 Mar. 2007 . 6. White, Ray. â€Å"The Meaning of Life. † 2004. 29 Mar. 2007 .

Global Warming Paper Essay

Global temperatures on the Earth’s surface have increased by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit during the last century, faster than any time in the last 1000 years (Rauber 41). Consequently, the 1990s was the warmest decade in the last 1000 years (â€Å"Global Warming†). As humans emit fossil fuels, greenhouse gasses slowly warm the Earth’s atmosphere (â€Å"EPA Global†). This gradual process is known as global warming. As glaciers begin to melt, sea levels rise and coastal areas in Florida may suffer immense losses (â€Å"Beach Erosion†). Florida’s tourist economy may also suffer a tremendous loss, as well as agriculture (â€Å"Florida Scientists†). With a warmer atmosphere, disease will spread quicker and human health will be threatened throughout the state (â€Å"Global Warming†). Serious action needs to be taken in order to slow the process of global warming. Global Warming is an increase in the temperature of the Earth due to the use of fossil fuels and industrial processes that build up to the emission of greenhouse gasses, mostly carbon dioxide and methane (â€Å"Global Warming Threatens†). As energy from the sun strikes the surface of the earth, it turns into heat which, in turn, releases the heat as long-wave infrared radiation (Crowe). Gasses in the air, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor, trap some of this radiation as it tries to make its way back out to space (Olgesby). These gases trap in heat as do the windows of a greenhouse; therefore, they are called greenhouse gases (Elston). As an excess amount of these gasses are emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere by industries and fossil fuels, the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere gradually increases (Oglesby). Humans escalate the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and by many manufacturing processes (Crowe). In the U.S., from 1990-1997, carbon dioxide emissions have increased 10.7 percent (Elston). This activity and a warming atmosphere are causing drastic changes around the earth, especially in Florida. Global warming poses a threat to Florida’s beaches and freshwater supplies due to a rise in sea level (â€Å"Southeast†). Warming the atmosphere will raise sea levels by expanding ocean water, melting mountain glaciers, and melting parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet (â€Å"Beach Erosion†). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the local sea levels may rise 8 to 30 inches by the year 2100 (â€Å"Global Warming Threatens†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). The horizontal advance can be 150 to 200 times greater than the sea level rise, and even greater in areas with a moderate sloping shoreline (Alvarez et al). Consequently, saltwater will be forced to move landward, which shifts the border between saltwater and freshwater inland and causes the encroachment of saltwater into groundwater aquifers (â€Å"Southeast†). Over the longer-term, a three-foot sea level rise could be disastrous for aquifers in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and Homestead areas, which are locat ed on the low coastal ridge (Alvarez et al). In addition, rising sea levels put at risk the stateÐ ¢s number one status as a retirement and tourist destination (â€Å"Global Warming Threatens†). Hotels, homes, and property within 200 to 250 feet of the current shoreline may be flooded (â€Å"Florida Scientists†). This, in turn, will alter the $51 billion annual revenue from Florida’s tourist economy (â€Å"Florida Scientists†). According to the stateÐ ¢s tourist development agency, 71 million people visited Florida in 2000 (Alvarez et al). Miami Beach alone generates $2 billion a year in tourism revenues, and the Florida Keys generates $1.8 billion annually (Alvarez et al). The state’s economy will suffer significantly as higher seas flood all property on these beaches (â€Å"Global Warming Threatens†). Many of Florida’s cities by the sea, including Miami Beach, Daytona Beach, Palm Beach, Clearwater, Key West, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Pensacola, and Marco Island, will face great hardships due to a rise in sea level (Alvarez et al). A warming atmosphere will also lead to changes in Florida’s agriculture which is highly sensitive to changes in weather and climate (â€Å"Southeast†). The production of citrus, sugarcane, and tomatoes adds billions of dollars to Florida’s economy (â€Å"Florida Scientists†). Global warming’s effects on agriculture will vary by location and on the specific crop (Alvarez et al). Warming temperatures and carbon dioxide fertilization will increase citrus production by about 6 to 20 percent in Florida over the next 40 to 50 years (Alvarez et al). Although citrus will benefit in the short-term, its productivity in the long-run will suffer (Alvarez et al). Citrus yields will begin to decrease once temperatures have gone past the nominal growing range and soil moisture has been reduced from the heat (Alvarez et al). Sugarcane is a $437 million industry in Florida and is mostly located in Palm Beach County (â€Å"Southeast†). Global warming may sever ely impact the production and sales of sugarcane (â€Å"Southeast†). If sea levels rise 18 to 20 inches, flooding will intensify and decrease sugarcane yields due to nutrient pollution problems (Alvarez et al). This will decrease sugarcane growth by about 20 percent (â€Å"Southeast†). Florida is also the nation’s leader in tomato production (Alvarez et al). However, a warming atmosphere could decrease the state’s tomato production by about 44 percent as a result of shortened growth cycles (Alvarez et al). Global warming will definitely lead to changes in how and where Florida farmers grow crops (â€Å"Southeast†). With some crops these changes may be beneficial and with others it may be detrimental. Global warming poses several potential health threats to the population of Florida. The first potential health threat is that of bad air quality (Elston). Higher temperatures increase the rate of smog formation, and increased use of fossil fuels could increase a range of air pollutants (â€Å"Global Warming†). A major component of smog, ground-level ozone, is formed from nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (Epstein 51). As the atmosphere warms, this reaction speeds up and produces more smog (Epstein 51). Chronic respiratory diseases and obstructive pulmonary disease can be made much worse by breathing ozone (Elston). Carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide, and nitrogen oxides worsen existing cardiovascular diseases and may produce lung irritation and reduced lung function (Alvarez et al). Seniors, constituting 18 percent of Florida’s population, the young, and those with existing cardiovascular diseases are predominantly at risk (â€Å"Florida Scientists†). Many of the germs that cause waterborne diseases, such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, survive longer in warmer water (Epstein 55). Serious diseases like hepatitis, cholera, and yellow fever will more easily be transmitted as the lack of clean water and waterborne diseases spread (Elston). The lack of clean water in a drought causes bad hygiene and unsafe rehydration for people who have lost a lot of water from diarrhea or fever (Alvarez et al). Droughts, caused by global warming, favor waterborne diseases, wipe out supplies of safe drinking water, and, thus, concentrate containments (Epstein 55). In addition, vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, encephalitis, and dengue fever, will be more common as a result of a warming atmosphere (â€Å"Southeast†). Vector-borne diseases are spread by mosquitoes, rodents, ticks, and other insects and animals (â€Å"Global Warming†). Rising temperatures will expand the range of many vectors and can play a role in the transmission of the disease itself (Alvarez et al). This is due to the fact that a warmer atmosphere will provide more area in which the mosquito and many other vectors can survive (Epstein 50). Today, 45 percent of the world’s population live where they might get bitten by a mosquito carrying malaria (â€Å"EPA Global†). However, that percentage may increase to 60 percent if temperatures rise (â€Å"EPA Global†). The total number of deaths related to heat waves is estimated to double by 2020 (Epstein 50). Florida’s population, especially the senior population, is a great risk due to the health risks of global warming (Elston). Florida is faced with serious challenges as a result of global warming. These challenges threaten the stateÐ ¢s natural areas, economic prosperity, agriculture, and human health. The state can avoid such harm by taking action before it is too late. Some solutions include driving efficiently, taking public transit, walking, or using a bicycle (Rauber 41), limiting the burning of fossil fuels for energy (Epstein 57), using compact fluorescent light bulbs, because each can prevent 400 pounds of coal from being burned to make electricity, buying a car which meets one’s needs, yet is very efficient (Rauber 41), and, finally, plant a tree or protect a forest (â€Å"Global Warming†). Trees absorb carbon dioxide and can offset some greenhouse gasses (Olgesby). Serious action needs to be taken now to avoid such devastating harm.

There Are 2 Brands of Cell Phones That Are Almost Identical Except for Some Minor Features: the a-Phone and the Pomegranate

There are 2 brands of cell phones that are almost identical except for some minor features: the A-Phone and the Pomegranate. Part I For this part of the assignment, we will focus on the demand curve. Draw the demand curve for the A-Phone. Explain how the graph, price, and quantity demanded will change if the following occurs: †¢There is an overall increase in income. †¢It is discovered that there are health concerns when using cell phones. What happens to the supply of cell phones if the market price goes up? For this part of the assignment, we will focus on the supply curve. Explain what happens to the price and quantity supplied and how it reflects on a graph if the following occurs: †¢It becomes more expensive to produce cell phones. †¢Another company starts producing cell phones, and now there are 3 producers in the market. Part III For this part of the assignment, we are going to focus on demand and supply on the same graph. Draw a graph which shows the equilibrium price of cell phones. Explain what the graph is showing. When the new manufacturer introduces the Robo cell phone to the market, how does that affect the equilibrium price if the Robo is basically the same as the other cell phones? Part IV As the public’s dependence on cell phones continues to grow, the cost of the phones may be decreasing, but the stronghold that telecommunication companies have on the public in regards to contracts and climbing fees is alarming. Additionally, all cell phone companies charge about the same prices, and the consumers do not have much choice in substituting providers. Consumers appear to need some controls in this regard, and the government decides to step in. †¢What is the effect of government intervention in the cell phone market? Make sure that you use graphs to illustrate your point. †¢Is this a good thing for consumers? On the other hand, the government sees the increase in cell phone use as an opportunity to make some additional revenue, and it decides to tax service providers. †¢Who is really paying the tax? †¢Illustrate your conclusion on a graph. †¢Do you think that there is a free market for cell phone users? Why or why not?

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 18

Case study - Essay Example The second category is active sport tourism. This category includes activity holidays and active events. The third category is event sport tourism. This includes the active and passive participation in sporting events (Gibson, 1998). Gibson (1998,p.49), further conceptualizes sport tourism to be in three distinct areas; traveling to take part in a sporting event; traveling to watch a sport; or travelling to celebrate, worship, or venerate a sport. More recent definitions of sport tourism argue that it is more than a two dimensional synergetic phenomenon. In a more intricate definition, sport tourism is a social, economic and cultural phenomenon that arises from the unique interaction of activity, people, and place (Weed & Bull, 2004, p. 37). Weymouth and Portland are located on the south coast of England. This area provides some of the best sailing waters in the UK. In addition to this, the area has facilities on land to complement the sailing activities that take place. Before the 2012 Olympic games, the area already had world class facilities but some few enhancements were necessary to ensure that the facilities were suitable enough to host the sailing competition during the main Olympics and the Paralympics (london2012.com). Considering that sailing is both a competitive and leisure sporting event, there were several types of sport tourist expected to be in the area during the Olympic period. Gibson conceptualizes sport tourism to be in three distinct areas; travelling to take part; travelling to watch; or travelling to celebrate, worship or venerate a sport. From his conceptualization, the types of tourists that can and were attracted to visit Weymouth and Portland

Database application, Planning, Design, and Implementation Assignment

Database application, Planning, Design, and Implementation - Assignment Example 273). To build huge groups of data functional, individuals and organizations make use of computers and effiecient data management systems. Similar to a warehouse, a database is a storage area for group of similar and associated data or facts. On the other hand, a database management system (DBMS) is software tool that facilitates multiple users to store, retrieve, and perform operations on data or facts into functional information (Norton, 2001, p. 272). The database design and development starts with the analysis of the system. In our database for home we will analyze the daily working routines and access the main aspects that can be documented and digitalized. For this purpose will conduct a detailed analysis for the overall working and activities performed in the house, for instance, we need a system that can document and manage the daily work plan, house budget, requirement management, indoor and outdoor activities. The databases system for the house can manage the daily work plan, record activities, handle house budget and specially the food menu. We can also manage and handle our diet plan with this system and develop a balanced daily diet plan. The system will provide us details and comprehensive information for the daily diet plan. There are various players in this databases that can use and manage the database at home. Parents can develop a diet plan for their children and feed them according to that plan. This makes the overall handling of the children diet easier. The parents also plan their daily tasks and duties so that they can perform those jobs at time and effectively. The handling of budget plan can be done by wife or husband that feed and allocate the appropriate resources for the house monthly resource management. The player can interact with the system and each other directly. The system will be available to every user and they can view and mange the resource according to their desire. The each section will be

Hospital Staffing Crisis Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hospital Staffing Crisis - Research Proposal Example Higher numbers of nurse staffing in hospitals has revealed to correspond with lower mortalities as well as rates of medical complications. In addition, increased staffing leads to reduced lengths of stay and improved outcomes (Bowers& Flood, 2008). Topical sentence: One crisis that affects hospital staffing is the rate of dissatisfaction habits amongst the nurses. The work environment easily influences their satisfaction levels and once they feel dissatisfied, they quit and look for jobs elsewhere (Myers, 2012). Topical Sentence: Nursing has proved to take the highest cost of labor in the hospitals. More often, consultants visit the chief nursing officers to inquire about the issues concerning their staffing (Ellerbe, 2013). Higher numbers of nurse staffing in hospitals has revealed to correspond with lower mortalities as well as rates of medical complications. In addition, increased staffing leads to reduced lengths of stay and improved outcomes (Bowers& Flood, 2008). One crisis that affects hospital staffing is the rate of dissatisfaction habits amongst the nurses. The work environment easily influences their satisfaction levels and once they feel dissatisfied, they quit and look for jobs elsewhere (Myers, 2012). Constant quitting amongst nurses reduces the quality of patient care as well as the safety of the patients. According to a job satisfactory survey done, nurses registered low satisfactory rates when it comes to duties carried out as well as pay (Myers, 2012). According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, dissatisfaction among the nurse has persisted and recent study indicate that 41% of nurse currently working agree to dissatisfaction and 22% plan on quitting their jobs. A population of these nurses are unhappy about their jobs experiences due to the work overloads amongst other difficulties (Hinshaw, & Grady, 2011). They say that they

San Antonio (enviable AAA General Obligation Debt Bond Rating ) Case Study

San Antonio (enviable AAA General Obligation Debt Bond Rating ) - Case Study Example 6). These were validated by the statistics and patterns highlighted above. When compared to other common variables, as noted, San Antonio’s unemployment rate which was 7.4% was comparatively low in contrast to the unemployment rate exhibited by the whole of Texas (8.1%) and of the country, in general (8.8%). This is significant considering that, as reported, San Antonio is the only U.S. City with a population over one million to be given a ‘AAA’ bond rating by all three rating agencies. Further, their rating was likewise compared to the ratings generated by other municipalities, such as Columbus, Ohio and Kirkland, Washington; and the following highlights are noted: It is eminent therefore that rating agencies evaluate the credit ratings of municipalities based on the factors that were revealed. As disclosed by Moody’s, San Antonio’s rating could be changed to lower ratings when the following scenarios occur: â€Å"(1) failure to maintain balanced operations; (2) trend of declining reserves; (3) trend of significant taxable value loss indicating a weakening of economic position; and (4) change in the US rating that results in pressure on local Moodys Investors Services, Inc. "MOODYS ASSIGNS Aaa RATING TO CITY OF SAN ANTONIOS GENERAL IMPROVEMENT REFUNDING BONDS, SERIES 2012;." 26 March 2012. moodys.com. 27 April 2012

The film Boys Dont Cry Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The film Boys Dont Cry - Movie Review Example Since its inception, films are determined to encompass a plethora of complete human activities and are saturated with them. Human mind and its excellence at aesthetic paradigm evolve out with multiple hues at length while coming into the interface of any art medium. Films like any other art medium involve human mind in its creation, it displays human action and most importantly they are made to be comprehended and enjoyed by human minds as its audiences. Films are always considered as a wide form of art medium through which the manifestation of the striking moving images decorated with vibrant colors and sounds enables a connection between the film-makers and audience upon the matrix of celluloid and the senses enhanced through the pictorial description of emotions and actions. The intensity of the influence which a film leaves on the minds of its audiences cannot be undermined at any level. Therefore, the sociological aspect of the film, or myriad social psychologies depicted through the medium of the films holds a very important space in the minds of the modern audiences. With the growing complexities of life, the films began to develop with foreboding complexities. Skip Dine Young in his book, â€Å"Psychology at the Movies† mentioned rightly, â€Å"The psychology of film can be unified by thinking of movies as symbols. Movies are symbols that have meaning; these symbols are created by ways do they infuse aspects of themselves into their creations? While it is probable that everyone who works on a movie brings something of him or herself to the activity, I focus on those artists whose individuality is in the foreground- the directors (who make the final choices about how a movie looks and sounds) and the actors (whose visual likeness is so vividl y captured on the screen)† (Young, 2012). A latent symbolic framework does operate within the films upon which the complex social psychology depicted through various modern films gets manifested. â€Å"Boys Don’t Cry† as an independent American drama amazed the audiences in the year 1999 by depicting the story of Brandon Teena, a transsexual man and his predicament evoked the themes of desperation, insensitive attitude and the issues of empowerment and gender equality prevalent in the society of contemporary times. At the same time, the subtle display of psychology operating in terms of dealing with these issues in society forms the crux of the film. Social Psychology and Boys Don’t Cry In October 1999, the American drama, â€Å"Boys Don’t Cry† was first premiered which was based on a real life story. Being the reflection of a true incident, the film mirrored many intricacies and complexities of modern society at length. Directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen, the film stars Hilary Swank in the role of Brandon Teena whose powerful acting paved the way for her receiving Best Actress in the Academy Awards. Brandon Teena was a transsexual man who was allegedly beaten up brutally, raped and tortured by his male partners after they discovered that Teena had a female by body. Depiction of this incident through the medium of film was not a piece of cake. The film did not hint at only displaying the content as a crime thriller. On the contrary, a very strong social message was inherent within the film which evidently develops its social psychology. A strong notion and social perception towards body of a woman specially develops the pivot of the film’s aspect towards prevailing psychology of the society. When America was vouching on the propositions of same-sex marriages and gender equality, the film, â€Å"Boys Don’t Cry† reinstated the hollow pursuits involved with the concepts of gender equality and rights of transsexuals in the American society. If America with its teeming American dreams could not secure the rights of its citizen within a social structure which is so liberal and cosmopolitan in nature, it is quite evident that the future of the minor sexual entities such as transsexual men or women is in

Violating Norms and Food Wastage Personal Statement

Violating Norms and Food Wastage - Personal Statement Example The manager of a cafeteria, kind of knows me since I am her regular visitor. I went to the restaurant with my friend, who too did not have any clues of my purpose that day. We chatted for about 40 minutes, and then thought to grab something. I ordered a plate of pasta. Had no more than three spoons from the content available to me in my dish. More, I did not ask for a separate plate that I could serve myself some in that different plate. I very much started from that bowl only. Just to make a humor out of a whole thing. Then, we finished and I asked for the bill. It was $60 that we were supposed to pay. $20 for a sandwich that my friend had ordered, and $40 for my pasta. I paid $40, for a complete bill. The boy came to me and said it wasn't $40 but $60 that we were supposed to pay. The boys were in the process of collecting the leftovers on our table. I stopped them to keep the evidence that it indeed was half a plate pasta that I consumed, and the other half I was sending back to them. Poor boy said, "Sir, irrespective of what you eat, you are charged for a complete dish." "And you know that, don't you" "Why would I pay for a full plate when I ate only half of it. There still is some food, which I am sending back. You are not going to throw it off, are you This food is supposed to be consumed by somebody else, isn't it" I said. And by the time, it was a scene created in a restaurant. My friend was not able to believe what was happening. Neither were the boys around. The manager smelt the noise and came to the floor too. I threw a big laughter. A very big laughter. And then took a serious position. With everybody's attention towards me, I started, "a management can be judged with its wastage percentage, lesser the wastage percentage efficient is the management: it is applicable for cafeteria, restaurant, family, organization as well as state. There are many types of wastage among which food wastage is on the top as it has great impact on the family expenditure as well as national economy. By saving food wastage we can save billions of dollars in developed countries, which may help us to make hunger free world." I continued, "In the USA alone, 30% of prepared, baked, canned and fresh food is pitched into landfills daily. The estimated loss to the U.S. economy is over $48 billion a year. British government statistics show that, per person, their citizens throw out 378 pounds (171 kg) of food a year. The Australians pitch 145 kilos per person annually." "Elsewhere in the food processing chain, problems that cause food poisoning cost hundreds of millions in recalls and food waste happen more often than we realize. Listeria bacteria in one company's processed meats caused several deaths and made hundreds ill, due to incomplete cleaning of meat slicers. The loss of the public's trust in their products reduced that company's annual income even further." "Food wastage may occurs in many ways: the frozen food stored in the freezer last year that is now rock-hard and stripped of nutrients; the 50 kilos of potatoes the restaurant

Examining switching costs as a moderator in the relationship between Essay - 1

Examining switching costs as a moderator in the relationship between service personalization, customer satisfaction and customer - Essay Example The customers may get time saving in searching, locating and evaluating the alternatives services providers. They do not need to waste their time on learning. They do not need to spend their efforts, while switching to other vendors. In commercial view, customer loyalty is the key precondition for achieving success in e-business (Reichheld and Schefter 2000). Loyal customers benefit firm, since they bring additional revenues but require little attention from organizations. Loyal customers are more likely to forgive services handicaps and decreased price sensitivity. Committed customers generate positive work-of-mouth to others, enhance firms’ resistance to competition, and decrease the costs of selling. As a result, customer loyalty can be treated as a valuable asset. It is also a major source of sustaining continued profitability and organizational growth (Dick and Basu 1994; Anderson and Mittal 2000). The current state of research provides numerous definitions of custome r loyalty. In general level, customer loyalty defines the features and attitudes that consumers exhibit towards products, services, brands, and advertising messages. Customer loyalty signifies customer's willingness to re-buy, repeat patronage behavior over a period of time and a desire to continue and keep a continued relationship with the service providers (Dick and Basu 1994; Oliver 1999). (Anderson and Srinivasan 2003) described customer loyalty as a customer’s favored or chosen provider that leads them to behave positively toward a service provider with repeat patronage behavior. In general, customer loyalty in literature is conceptualized as a form of attitudinal behaviors in marketing and business (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978; Dick and Basu 1994; Oliver 1999; Casalo, Flavian et al. 2008). From an attitudinal perspective, it includes cognitive loyalty and affective loyalty. The customers want sustained relationships with their service providers. From the viewpoint of behavior, cognitive loyalty is a form of repeated patronage that sets the pattern for repeated purchases. Theoretically, whenever customers identify and choose the product or service they like, which meets their quality and price expectations, they are willing to use this product on a long-term basis; as a result, they are no longer concerned with searching for alternatives and become disinterested in competitive and advertising messages and threats. (Oliver 1999). (Oliver 1999) introduced four stage loyalty model; cognitive loyalty is the first stage, which is essentially about the quality of buying behaviors that are affected by customer’s individual characteristics and the circumstances, in which purchase takes place. Customers cannot be loyal to the brand, unless they have information about it. Loyalty develops when customers have sufficient information to decide that the brand is a preferable choice relative to other alternatives. Brand attitudes can be based on pri or knowledge of the brand or brand experiences. Affective loyalty is the second stage, when customers link their knowledge and experiences about the brand to this very brand. Conative loyalty is the third step. This is a very deep commitment by a customer that would like to

Now is the time to make real the promisses of democracy Essay

Now is the time to make real the promisses of democracy - Essay Example Martin Luther King, who initiated the civil rights movement to gain the equality promised under the Constitution for black Americans. This essay will examine the need to make these promises of democracy real and tangible for American citizens. From the perspective of the founding fathers of the Constitution of the United States, pure democracy was the objective to be attained, through equality and freedom for all its citizens. During the early stages of the Civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King clearly stated: â€Å"We are here because of our love for democracy, because of our deep-seated belief that democracy transformed from thin paper to thick action is the greatest, form of government on earth† (www.blackvoices.com). In this, Dr. King was clearly articulating the need for the principles and values of democracy to not merely remain inscribed on paper, but to also be actually evidenced in practice. He was articulating the realities of the day, when despite the promsies of equality enshrined in the Constitution, black Americans were not treated equally with the whites and discrimination and repression was exercised against them. In the same speech, Dr. King also went on to say that Ameircan democracy also allows individuals the right to protest in order to secure their rights. In order to make the promises of democracy real, it was necessary to ensure that they were reflected in the lives of the people. The existence of inequality and injustice therefore contradicts the principles of democracy and suggests that its promises are not being adhered to. Thomas Jefferson himself was convinced that blacks could never be integrated into mainstream American society because of â€Å"deep rooted prejudices entertained by the whites; ten thousand recollections, by the blacks, of the injuries they have sustained; new provocations; the real distinction which nature had made; and many other circumstance, will divide us into parties,

Sports Development Essay Example for Free

Sports Development Essay Within my placement period for sport development I wanted a placement that was both challenging and interesting. For me it seemed too easy to apply to my old school to teach PE. I wanted to do something with a sport that was under developed, with this in mind I secured a placement with Dance Northern Ireland the largest dancesport organisation on the island. Introduction to organisation Dance Northern Ireland is located in Holywood and was formed in 1997 with clearly defined aims,objectives and operating principles. Dance NIs role is that of facilitator and promoter of dance in general, whilst reaching out to as wide an audience as possible. The development of Dance in Northern Ireland with opportunities for the development of professional practice and performance are paramount. Also the commitment to quality, equality and accessibility for all. Dance N I has a Board of Directors with a management team lead by Director Vicky Maguire and six other salaried staff. Dance NI functions with a large volunteer base and operates on a relatively small budget of  40,076 per annum largely funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council. As an organisation they regularly seeks funding from other sources. Introduction to your role in the organisation After my initial meetings with the Director, I was placed to work with Jane Moore, the Marketing, Education and Outreach officer in the capacity of Outreach Assistant with specific duties relating to the Earthquake Festival. Role: Outreach Assistant As Outreach Assistant my function was to assist with all aspects of the marketing and education remit of Dance NI under the direction of Jane Moore. This involved planning, entry on database, collation and execution of mailshots including follow up where directed. I was personally responsible for the distribution and delivery of 5000 Earthquake mailshots (lists supplied) My role also involved personal contact with schools/colleges/organisations to liason/research any aspect that was required. The Director also asked me to perform at the press launch of Earthquake at the Waterfront and to assist on the day at the Press launch. This involved dealing with/networking with press, TV and invited dignatories. As a follow up workshops were organised at the Island Arts Centre and I took a coaching workshop on Latin American Dance and assisted with the performance evening with Ballet Lorient. Three Reports Report 1: Sport in the community Dance N Is ultimate driving force is to see equality of dance on a par with other art forms in Northern Ireland while attracting international recognition for Northern Irelands dance talent, events, school and education and professional standards. Dance N I aims to be at the forefront of dancesport development in the community, to making a significant development contribution, through which indigenous dance talent flourishes and to act as an industry led dance agency. With that said they also want to develop dance studios and are seeking a purposed built dance centre for the Northern Ireland community. Dance NI also promote the benefits of dance by demonstrating health, creative, social, spiritual aspects to all age groups and communities. This aspect of the organisation has attracted support from Ballygowan Water with their new advertisements on TV and their financial contributions. Ballygowan see Dance NI as a perfect partnership in promoting wellbeing. With Ballygowan on board this has helped with funding and sponsorship of the Earthquake festival. Dance NI facilitate access to dance in all areas and for all socio-economic and cultural groups with guidance and information source for dancesport students, professionals and the general public. Other aims of Dance N I are to facilitate training and performance, with support in schools and education. To stimulate awareness of dance through promotion in the media. Education and outreach is a large part of the Dance NI programme as this is seen as an important part of development within the local community. The Education Department run training, roadshows and masterclasses for schools and community groups. Tailored dance packages offered to schools and community groups comprising of workshops, performances, demonstrations, EMU projects, curriculum support, lectures, career information, Tasters/aferschools and an intensive 2-day package and special events. Dance NI has developed the Atlantic Dance Exchange, an international exchange for dancers in cooperation with the dance faculty of the University of Colorado at Boulder in America. Reciprocal visits will be arranged for students, tutors and practitioners. Dance NI has sucessfully lobbied for the introduction of the first degree opportunity iin Dance for Northern Ireland. Report 2: Youth Sport North West Within the company they have educational and outreach projects on going thoughout the year, theses project have moved from strength to strength over the last few years. The structure of the project cleverly overlaps, so individuals/ organisations can participate in one aspect of the project, and these inital links are built upon. so they can tap into other dance opportunities throughout the year. The audience development project is therefore not a flash in the pan, or a quick-fix answer, but is laying down strong foundations for all members of the community to enjoy and participate in many aspects of dancesport, catering for a wide range of objectives and needs. Within the project they have many roadshows, these offer primary/secondary schools, colleges and community centres within N. Ireland a tailored dancesport package operational from their site. Each of the organisations that they work for, have different aims and obectives, and DNI attempt to craft the outreach project to accommodate these, foscuing on educational, physical, social, intellectual, creative and emotional needs. The roadshows have been used for MU projects, school plays, health days, PE/Dance GCSE targets, personal development, cross-curricular projects, confidence booter, or just for pure fun! All schools/centres who have undertaken a roadshow automatically become a member of DNI, and receive regular information of other DNI opportunites throughout the year which they often avail of. These include: summer school, gala night, all Ireland Youth Dance Festival, reisidencies, Earthquake Festival, etc. The feedback from the roadshows has been outstanding from teachers, leaders and participants alike. Many schools have asked the dance tutors to stay on and teach weekly, developing sturdy foundations of dance in the heart of the school. Others have asked for choreographers to help develop skills for schools entries in dance competitions. Community centres and health organisations have requested intensive hoilday dance sessions. It is anticpated that the roadshows will prove an invaluable asset for teachers due to the change in the Northern Ireland PE curriculum.

Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy

Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy The scandal between Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy was a very deviant scandal. It brought madness in every which way. Not only was it just an affair but it also was a huge blackmail set up by none other than Ms. Marilyn Monroe. Norma Jeane Mortenson otherwise known as Marilyn Monroe was born June 1, 1926 and died August 5, 1962. Monroe was an American Actress, model, and singer who was best known for playing dumb blonde characters. During the 1950s Marilyn Monroe became known to be the American sex symbol due to her attitude. Even though MS.Monroe had a pretty decent life and was very successful she always seem to struggle with depression and anxiety ever since she was little.Due to her mental health problems Ms.Monroe relied on the use of drugs and alcohol very heavily. John Fitzgerald Kennedy born on May 29, 1917 and died November 22, 1963. JFK was the 35th president of the United States of America his presidency was a time of high tension in the country due to ongoing conflicts with Cuba during this time in history. Some of these issues were the Cuban Missile Crisis, Peace Corps, Space Race developments and many more to go along with these few stated. His presidency lasted until 1961 when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1961 By Lee Harvey Oswald and there were many conspiracies that came about after this event.Then moving on to the Marilyn Monroe and JFK scandal. This was one of the biggest scandals of the time and even to date to today. The way that Marilyn Monroe and JFK met was Peter Lawford and his wife Pat (JFKs sister) invited Marilyn to a dinner in New York honoring JFK for being the president and this was when they first met. The biggest part of the scandal was the blackmail, Monroe had JFK give her more than one million dollars for the young actresses silence. Another big part of the scandal was all the stories the reporters made up to earn a profit, which didnt include the biography called The Secret Life Of Monroe by J Randy which was published after Marilyn Monroes death. Also going along with the books and constant reports of the affair there was a porno that was kept from the public in a vault of 40+ years that is worth 1.6 million dollars and was owned by a son of a dead FBI agent and was kept private for a long time until its sale to a businessman who remains anonymous but still remains to keep it private because he want to respect Ms.Monroe. During this supposed porno it was only her giving oral sex to a man that was suggested to be JFK. Thi s was one of the facts that was never proven if it was Kennedy receiving the oral sex or not due to the tape being locked away for so long and also the males face was covered. Therefore this sandal has had people wondering for over 40 years (World Book Online). The circumstances surrounding the affair to start off with one of the major issues wouldve been Marilyn telling Jackie of the affair and it coming out public it could have caused some serious issues considering the time period it happened in. Even if it happened today it wouldve still caused major issue. Eventually this love affair would come out over a shocking phone call between the first lady and Marilyn Monroe about how the chief and commander promised to marry her along with many other things that came out during the calls. On the other hand during this time the public found out how there were thousands of dollars that went down the drain due to the affair and the money that was used to keep Monroe silent. Although there seemed to be a lot that ended up getting leaked about the affair there were many things that were never proven, such as if Ms.Monroes death was a suicide or a murder, some thought it was a suicide others felt it was a murder. Throughout the time of the affair no sexual relationship was ever established due to Kennedy never being willing to admit it. So it was all just Marilyn Monroe telling her best friend it was the whole time and from reports she was telling her that she was carrying on sexual relations with the president. This occurred around the time she sang Happy Birthday Mr. President in a sexual manner to JFK in 1962. This was when everyone started to question their relationship as more than friends and more so sexual than not. No one ever knew exactly how long this affair had lasted due to both of them dying an untimely death (CBS News) . The effects of this would ultimately make the government look bad if this came out to the public because the most powerful man in the country wouldve been doing things that were not the classiest and he was cheating on his wife which is not a good look for the public. JFK was wasting a massive amount of money to keep Ms.Monroe quiet throughout the years with the million of dollars annually which when the public found out that the money he was wasting was on her made him look even worse which affected many people in the long run. The people who seem to be affected in the long run were the people that worked for him because reporters always seem to be questioning them to see what they might know about the affair and what was going on completely. Also his wife was affected more than anything. Not only did she have to face the heartbreak that her husband was cheating on her but also the embarrassment of going out in public and getting questioned by the press about it was very terrifying for Jackie. Jackie wasnt the only one who was affected, Marilyn Monroe as well she became very distressed once it hit the public she just couldnt handle it,another thing that happened based on the situation was Marilyn Monroes drug and alcohol intake increased heavily once everyone found out about it to the point it was unhealthy her life was based off from pil ls and alcohol even more than before. All and all the out come in this scandal didnt turn out well. After the affair ended Marilyn Monroe died from an overdose many people think it was intentional others believe she was a murdered but it was never proven which one really happened but it was for sure a overdose (PBS.Org). Roughly a year later JFK had been assassinated in Dallas when he was at a public event by Lee Harvey Oswald, who later got gunned down by Jack Ruby (JFK library.org). Monroe and Kennedy death were very close together which people found really suspicious and the gossip still continued even though both of them had passed and a lot of money was still involved. The most talked about time which was mentioned before was when Ms.Monroe sang Happy Birthday to JFK in a very sexual manner at Madison Square Gardens which was filled with 15,000 people when Ms.Monroe sang to JFK. After Marilyn Monroes death her dress that she wore when she sang happy birthday to the president was sold for $3 million after she had pas sed (AbcNews) . That wasnt the only thing that had been sold the watch that Marilyn Monroe gave Kennedy for his birthday was worth over 2.6 million dollars it was a Rolex watch inscribed Jack with love always from Ms.Monroe. Which later on JFK order his aide to get rid of it but the unidentified aide kept the rolex until it was sold when Kennedy had passed. On the other hand Kennedys valuable items werent the other thing that was sold Ms.Monroes dress was sold as mentioned before along with her jewelry which included her Rolex that matched JFKs Rolex she gave him as a birthday gift. Altogether Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy were talked about even after they both had passed and many people were still trying to find out what really happen by contacting their family or close friends. The most focused on topic was Marilyn Monroes dress she wore when she sang Happy Birthday to JFK which was Mentioned before but after her overdose the dress she wore at Madison Square Gardens was some thing that was sold for a lot of money.Marilyn Monroes legendary sheer, crystal-emblazoned dress, which she wore in May 1962 to sing Happy Birthday, Mr. President to John F. Kennedy, sold at auction for a record-breaking $4.8 million, Juliens Auctions announced Friday.Although people made money off auctioning the diseased Ms.Monroe personal items that wasnt the only thing they did many reporters made journals about the affair which led to books being published about the Scandal, than eventually became shows that talked about the scandal and even a documentary. So as you can see this was a very known Scandal that is talked about to this day and will always be talked about its still a mystery on what really what happened, whats really true and whats just made up. Things that were proven for a fact was that Ms.Monroe was for sure blackmailing the president for money when they had their affair she even had the mob in on it Thats why so many people think Marilyn Monroe was murdered due t o the finding out of her black mail manys conclude that John F. Kennedy was mad when he found out the truth about the blackmail was angry about it and hired someone to kill Ms.Monroe and made it look like a overdose.]

Strategic Marketing by Nintendo Select an organisation

Strategic Marketing by Nintendo Select an organisation Introduction Starting out as a playing card company when it was first founded in 1889, later entered the video game industry in 1985; Nintendo has since become the leading manufacturer and distributor of video-game software and hardware (i.e. handheld consoles and static consoles). Such success has largely been attributed to Nintendos ability to develop and manage some of the most innovative products in the industry, where some still remained as one of the biggest seller of all time. Despite its success and the current position as the market leader in both the console and handheld market, Nintendo is facing increasing competition from its competitors; Microsoft and Sony, the challenges on its market from the recent recession as well as the saturation of demand of the current generation of consoles. This essay will analyse some of the main strategic marketing tools covered in the module, and then evaluate and make suggestions on how they can be used by Nintendo to manage its existing products and product portfolios or help to develop new ones. Defining product Due to the scope of the essay, the strategic marketing tools that will be analysed will be mainly related to product. A product is either tangible or intangible; it can be defined as a good, a service or even an idea or brand. It is an important factor in the marketing mix and can be a companys most important asset. A product can also be broken into three levels, core, actual and augmented (as shown in fig. 1). It is important to note that the core product is not the product itself and is not tangible; it is the basic benefits from gaining the actual product (Dibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferell, 2001). Figure Nintendo has a range of products within the video game industry, from well-known handheld consoles such as the Nintendo DS and the static video-game consoles such as the Wii, to a range of compatible video-game peripherals, accessories and software from its studios. If we take the Wii for example, the core benefit to the user would be the perceived enjoyment or fun from playing the console, the actual product would have the features of running the compatible games, while the augmented product would be the customer service and warranty the end-user could use when console breaks. Some of these products will be analysed in more detail later on using the strategic marketing tools in order to give more details on the current situation of the company and the market. The Tools There are many marketing tools and concepts nowadays to help companies assess their products and the market in order to make more informed decisions in planning. This section will concentrate on three of the strategic marketing tools relating to product as discussed within the module, with focus on the benefits and limitations of each tool when applied to Nintendo and its products. Product lifecycle Perhaps one of the more widely known tools in managing products (Dhalla Yuspeh, 2009), the product lifecycle breaks down the progress of a product developing over time into four main stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The stages can be seen on the graph in fig. 1. The first line represents the sales a company has made, while the line below is the actual profits gained after deducting all the cost. Time is represented on the horizontal axis. Figure Source: http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/products_lifecycle.asp At introduction, despite the rapidly rising sales, it is likely that the profit remains in the negative due to the considerable costs incurred to develop and launch the new product. During the growth period, as more people become aware of the product and demand grows, sales and profit increase rapidly. After a period of time, growth in demand would start to slow as the maturity approaches. At the maturity stage, competition could be the strongest and it is also where the most profit can be earned. After the product reaches maturity, sales and profit will fall into decline as the market shrinks. By understanding the stage a companys product is at, strategic decisions can be made to minimise cost or to boost sales. Many of Nintendos products can be perceived as following such cycle. One example can be seen from Wii, one of Nintendos most success products and the current market leader in static consoles. When it was first released in 2006, there was much hype about the new product amongst the gaming community; the product was part of the seventh generation consoles, and features the distinctive motion-sensitive controllers. Although the new console lacks the graphics and processing power of its rivals, Microsofts Xbox 360 and Sonys PS3; the features of which the traditional video-gaming communities (dominated by young male gamers) have placed great emphasis on, Nintendo has dramatically increased sales by expanding the market into new consumer segments (i.e. older generations and other casual gamers) (Mintel Oxygen, 2008). In 2009, sales have slowed as the market for the current generation of consoles reaches maturity, prompting Nintendo to lower the retail price in order to boost sales (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). While the Wii seemed to be going through the stages of a product lifecycle, yet, the product lifecycle would have been too simple for Nintendo to base most of their strategies and planning on. One of its limitations is that it cannot help managers to effectively forecast sales; a reason for this would be that sales can be affected by a number of factors, internal and external. For instance, the product lifecycle could not have forecasted the recent recession which saw a cut back on spending from the casual gamers who view Wii as one of the luxury goods, thus affecting the sales. Another major limitation of the product lifecycle is that not all products will follow the typical lifecycle curve. An example can be seen from Nintendos Virtual Boy when it was first launched in 1995, the console uses a head-mounted display and controller, but since it had many technological limitations, the product did not get the sales needed and was discontinued after one year (Fletcher, 2010). Here, the product did not reach growth and maturity after introduction, and went into decline soon after. Due to its simplicities and many other limitations ( Day, 1981), some critics even argues that companies can make costly mistakes and miss opportunities if decisions are based on the product lifecycle concept, and would be better off using an information system for each product when deciding whether to promote or cut cost (Dhalla Yuspeh, 2009). Boston Matrix Developed by a large US consulting group, the Boston matrix is a strategic planning tool that base around a products market growth rate and market share when determining a marketing strategy (Donald , Hambrick, MacMillan, Diana, 1982). Each product is analysed in terms of relative market share and market growth and placed onto a matrix, where it can be classified into four categories: stars, cash cows, problem child/question mark and dogs. As seen in fig 3. Figure Source: http://www.learnpremium.co.uk/cima/lesson2/page3.aspx Stars are highly successful products with good prospects for growth and high share of the market, although they may use more cash than they generate in order to finance growth and increase capacity. Stars have the potential to become cash cows, where they have the dominant shares in the market but low growth, and more cash are generated than needed to maintain market share. With low market share and low potential for growth, products that are classified as dogs should be eliminated as they are likely to not generate cash for the company. Problem children, sometime called question marks, are products with low share of a high growth market. Some of the problem children can be turned into stars, which is why some companies still invests in them, although there is also a risk of them turning into dogs instead. The current generation consoles (the Wii and Nintendo DS range) from Nintendo can be generally be classified as cash cows, as they have the biggest share of their market but the markets are no longer growing as fast as it used to be. One of the dogs of the company would be the Game Boy Advance range (including Game Boy Advance SP and Game Boy Micro), the predecessor of the Nintendo DS range, sales and market share have dropped after the introduction of the newer versions of the DS range. An example of the question mark product would be Nintendo DSi XL, which is a newer version of the DS range that provides all the features of the Nintendo DSi along with bigger screens. It was released in November 2009, and its future is still unsure as consumers could prefer spending less on older versions that gives similar experience, rendering the DSi XL unnecessary (i.e. becoming a dog), or could potentially replace the older models and become a cash cow in future. The stars of Nintendo can be de monstrated by some of Nintendos video game software developed by its first-party studios, such as the Wii Fit, which was the third highest selling Wii game as of May 2010 (Nintendo Co., Ltd, 2010). Nevertheless, like the product life cycle model it was based on, Boston matrix, with only two dimensions (market share and market growth) is still too simplistic to use alone in making strategic decisions (Majluf, 1983). It also assumes that high market share is always related to higher rates of profit or the only success factor, and that the attractiveness of a market is not only indicated by its growth. For instance, although compared to the fast growing mainstream, casual gaming market with its large market size potential, the traditional hard-core gamer market with its narrower demographic could be seen as much less attractive. However, the latter group would also be willing to pay more for a higher specification console, and their purchase are less likely to be effected by the economic conditions in the same way that has impacted the decision of the casual gamers. Also, despite a general interpretation that dogs should be eliminated, some dog products could be part of a successf ul product mix, and their existence could serve as one of the motivating factors for consumers to purchase a particular product from the company. An example can be shown from Nintendos accessory sector, where market research has shown low market growth and low interest in accessories overall. However, many customers who chose to purchase Nintendo Wii could be influenced by the fact that parts can be replaced and purchased if required, i.e. extra controls are available for purchase should the customer want to play multi-player games. Despite its weaknesses, the Boston matrix can still serve as a simple and efficient tool to help Nintendo to predict where a product is at in its product lifecycle, for instance, question marks can be said to be on the launch stage, the stars are at the growth stage and cash cows are likely to be on the maturity stage. Ansoff Matrix The previous two marketing tools can help companies to identify the stages their products are at, but does little to help the managers formulating on a set of strategies to achieve growth. The Ansoff matrix is a tool that aids companies in making decisions on how to achieve growth depending on the product and the market it targets (Ansoff, 1965). It can be shown in a chart below, as seen in fig. 4. Figure Source: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm The four strategic choices from the Ansoff matrix are: market penetration, product development, market development and diversification. Market penetration is considered when marketing existing products to existing consumers, this can be achieved through promotions or repositioning the brand. For instance, after it was clear that Nintendos static consoles could not compete in terms of specifications (i.e. powerful processing capacity) with Sony and Microsoft within the hard-core gaming sector (Mintel Oxygen, 2008), the company repositioned its brand to appeal more to the wider public and families in order to increase sales. Product development occurs when companies market new products in existing markets. Within the video game console market, newer models are introduced in order to compete better with the latest features on the market. Within the Nintendo DS range, new models are released almost every year; starting from the original Nintendo DS at release, then the handheld console became smaller with the DS Lite, later a webcam was added on to open up new possibilities with several games in the DSi model, and the current model, DSi XL features a bigger screen for players. All these models compete in the handheld video game console market along with Sonys PSP, with each model offering a slightly different experience to the consumer, but still in the same generation of the video game consoles (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). Market development happens when companies seek growth by introducing existing products in new markets. This can be demonstrated when companies export their products into another country or region, thereby entering a new market. Nintendos consoles and games are usually released in Japan first; the companys home market, before launching and promote them overseas. Lastly, diversification is when the company choose to market completely new products into new markets. This could be within the same industry as the existing products or going into an unrelated industry or sector. Nintendo first started out as a playing card company in the late 19th Century before it diversified into to the video gaming market by launching its first video game console, but still remained within the wider Toys and Games industry. As with the other tools, there are limitations and disadvantages on using the Ansoff matrix. Once again, the format of the two-by-two design similar to the Boston matrix can be too simplistic, and that the real-world markets and decisions are much more complex. Such as that diversification may contain many risks, i.e. lack of knowledge and experience of the new market, and that it may not be the best strategy for growth for some companies with limited resources. Also, although the Ansoff matrix can be used to identify the strategic path products may follow, and as with the Boston matrix can help simplify overly complex scenarios for easy and prompt analysis; it does not provide the marketing options which mangers will need to make based on a wider and extensive research of the company and the market. Combining the tools All the strategic marketing tools evaluated here have both benefits and disadvantages to Nintendo. Also, the market conditions can transform over time, such as changes in trend, technological advances and economic conditions (Pride Ferrell, 2008). Therefore, in order to help managers to effectively manage and develop individual products and product portfolios, the best approach will likely to involve using a number of tools. This section will look at how different marketing tools discussed previously along with other concepts can be used together by Nintendo in managing its products as well as developing new ones. Product management Product management can consist of planning, forecasting and marketing of a product in order to achieve the companys objectives. Nintendo may use the tools mentioned before to help it to paint an overall view of its products. By using the Boston matrix on all Nintendos products that are currently on the market, one can find that there are some in each of the four categories, and some may lie on the lines between two classifications. As mentioned in the introduction, the concept of product is not limited to just goods and service, and Nintendo has many products in its product portfolio. The Pokà ©mon game brand were often referred to as one of Nintendos biggest cash cows by the gaming community, with each release for various platforms and little changes to the content and gameplay providing huge profit for the company. Therefore, for the Pokà ©mon range, Nintendo may opt to spend relatively less investment in product development and promotion to maintain sales, and use the cash generated on investing in new innovations and other less successful products. The Boston matrix will also help Nintendo to identify what stage of the product lifecycle some of their products are currently in. When looking at the product lifecycle of the current generation of consoles, the slow sales growth indicates maturity of the market and the product. Therefore, Nintendo should consider developing the next generation consoles. However, care should be taken in using the product lifecycle as not all products share the same trend. To get an accurate view on what stage of the product lifecycle a console is in, and also when it will move to the next stage, instead of only relying on the Ansoff matrix and market data, Nintendo could also compare it to its predecessors, i.e. the Wii compared with Nintendo GameCube and the DS with Gameboy, as the product lifecycle of similar products within similar markets should be more closely related; though Nintendo should still be aware of some of the major differences in market and competition, such as changes in demographics of Nintendos customers and Sonys entrance into the handheld market with PSP, when comparing current generation of consoles with t he last ones. Product development Should Nintendo decide to go into product development; could be in an attempt to extend the product lifecycle of an existing product or to introduce a new product onto the market (based on Ansoff matrixs view of product development), there would also be number of considerations that needs to be taken. The company could choose to either make modifications to an existing line or to release a completely new product to replace the old one. For instance, if Nintendo want to extend the product lifecycle of its Pokà ©mon game brand by boosting sales, the company would make a new release of another version of the existing games. Such move would not require a huge investment in product development, as the concept already exist and proven to be hugely successful with a large base of loyal customers willing to get the latest version, so small changes such as packaging, improving the graphic to adapt to the latest console, and small modifications to the storyline, would be sufficient enough to release another best-selling game onto the market. Figure Developing a completely new product such as the next generation of consoles would require a much bigger investment and time. Firstly, the company will need to make sure it has done the market research required to understand the market, in order to take advantage of the companys strengths. So far, Nintendo has been successful in expanding the market by identify attracting more casual gamers from the older generation and families, thus focusing on improving gaming experience around a wider group in order to make up for its loss of appeal (due to lower performance power) from the traditional hard-core gamers. The Kanos Model as shown in fig. 5 on product development and customer satisfaction (Bergman, 2003) can be used to help Nintendo to assess the requirements of the new consoles or other products. For instance, some of the expected needs could be better graphics and performance than the previous consoles. The company may also need to assess the technology available on the market and the limitations of developing new ones. Nintendo has already announced its next generation handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, which apparently is capable giving 3D visualisations on displays without glasses (Nintendo Co., Ltd, 2010). How well the company has evaluated its customer needs and expectations will be reflected on the success or failure (like the Virtual boy) after the product is available on the market. Conclusion Overall, the Ansoff matrix can be used as a framework for deciding upon strategies based on whether the market and the product is new or existing, the Boston matrix can be used to predict where a product is at its lifecycle based on relative market share and market growth rate, and the Product lifecycle can help companies to decide on a marketing strategy depending on the stage a product is in, although not all products go through each stage in the same way. All three tools are too simplistic and do not take into account of many real-world factors, thus extensive research on the wider market and the company is required before making strategic decisions. After evaluating the strategic marketing tools and applying them to Nintendo and its products, I believe that the best approach in managing and developing products or product portfolios is to not make judgements and strategic decisions based on one or two tools and concepts, but to use a combination of them. While managing existing products using the tools discussed here as well as extensive market research, Nintendo may decide to make modifications to its products or extend its line with a new product. Also, with the changing market conditions, Nintendo may find that it will need to change its strategic marketing approach overtime in order to adapt and manage risk to effectively manage and develop individual products and product portfolios.

Various Eating Disorders :: essays research papers

Anorexia nervosa is the unrelenting pursuit of thinness. When a person has anorexia nervosa they weigh 85%, or less than, of what is estimated for their age and height. A person suffering from anorexia nervosa is petrified of becoming fat; they fear gaining weight even though they are distinctly underweight. The dangers of low weight isn’t apparent, or is denied by these people, and they’ll report feeling fat even when they’re exceptionally thin. In addition to this, anorexia nervosa also often consists of withdrawal, depression, irritability, and peculiar behaviors. These particular behaviors make include things such as compulsive routines, strange eating habits, and division of foods into "good, safe, bad, and dangerous† categories. A person suffering from anorexia nervosa will most likely deny it because they don’t realize what they’re doing to themselves. They just have embedded in their minds that they must persist to lose weight to fit the â€Å"perfect† body image. This form of the perfect body image is cultivated by various sources. Bulimia is the purge and binge-eating disorder. A person who has this disorder feels out of control while eating. This person also vomits, misuses laxatives, exercises or fasts to lose calories. Bulimia also consists of dieting when not binging, and when becomes hungry binges again. Behaviors including shoplifting, being licentious and misusing alcohol, drugs and credit cards occur. Like anorexia, bulimia can kill. Bulimics are often depressed lonely, ashamed, and empty inside. Felling worthless, it’s hard for them to talk about their feelings, which almost always include anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and anger. Bulimics act with little consideration of consequences. Body dysmorphic disorder is often called imagined ugliness. People with this disorder are always watching out for their appearance. There are at least five million people in America with this disorder. This disorder usually common amongst teenage, since in high appearance is needed to be popular and accepted. An extreme case of this would result in getting into bad eating habits, such as Anorexia. Also it can literally destroy a person’s life, since they are extremely sensitive to what other people think. But not all the cases of this disorder. Some people who have this disorder function just fine in society. The best way to treat this disorder is to face your fears and to be proud of who you are, and not care what other people think. Compulsive overeating (C.O) is characterized by uncontrollable eating habits caught in the vicious cycle of binge eating and weight gain, which affects millions of Americans.

Great Conversations :: essays papers

Great Conversations In Robert M. Hutchins essay, †Preface to The Great Conversation† he discusses how he believes Great Books are the finest creations. According to Hutchins, Great Books are the books written in the Western civilization. Robert Hutchins believes reading these books will help everyone morally, intellectually and spiritually. In the fifth paragraph Hutchins state, â€Å"the rising generation has been deprives of its birthright: adults have come to lead lives comparatively rich in material comforts and very poor in moral, intellectual, and spiritual tone.† Hutchins believes this because this generation isn’t reading the Great books, to such on the materialistic thing in life. I disagree with Hutchins. I don’t’ believe everyone should read Great books. I disagree, everyone opinion of a great book is different. I disagree with Hutchins belief, who is he to define Great books? I don’t think reading the books he describes in his essay will help our generation do better or worse. I think it’s up to our generation to define Great books. Our generation s is diverse. Everyone learning style and taste is different. However I do belief education is the key to our success, but the reading the books he describes in his essay will not do the trick. Our generation and society isn’t lacking because we aren’t reading these so-called Great books, it’s lacking for varies individual reasons. Knowledge is gained through several daily activities. Reading these Great books is essential. I would consider the works of Terry McMillan, Alex Walker and Maya Angelou to be Great books. These authors talk about issues that affect me, my peers, and my community in today’s society. Reading the books Hutchins described help them overcome trials in their day.

Swot of Disneyland

SWOT – HOW DISNEYLAND HK CAN RELATE TO THE EMERGENCE OF ANOTHER DISNEYLAND IN SHANGHAI IN COMING DECADES : HOW HONG KONG CAN FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE EXISTENCE OF DISNEYLAND IN HK FOR BREAKEVEN SAKE: WHAT OTHER STRENGTH HK DISNEYLAND CAN SUSTAIN TO SURIVIVE FOR SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND BEING OPENED IN FEW YEARS LATER WITH DECREASE OF VISITORS FROM MAINLAND . WHAT IS THE WEAKNESS OF HONG KONG DISNEYLAND THAT CANNOT ATTRACT ENOUGH VISITORS TO MAINTAIN BREAKEVEN WITHOUT SUBSIDY FROM HK GOVERNMENT FOR EXAMPLES, POOR INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES IN DISNEYLAND, LIKE LITTLE FOOD CHOICES OPEN TO FIT FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE . SPACE IS SMALL AND THE AMUSEMENT FACILITIES DID NOT UPDATE FREQUENELTY. MOVEROVER,THE ROAD SHOW LAST FOR SEVERAL MONTH WITHOUT CHANGE. THE TRANSPORATION FARES IS ABNORMALLY HIGH WHICH DETER HONGKONGESE TO VISIT AGAIN . OPPORUNTITIES : RE-BRANDING OF DISNEYLAND,MORE NEW THEME DRAMA , ROAD SHOW AND MUSICAL SHOW AND INNOVATIVE ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL ELEMENTS THERE . THREAT – COMPETITION FROM HK OCEAN PARK BECAUSE LOWER ENTRANCE FEES AND BETTER TRANSPORATION NETWORK AND FARES. MORE LOCAL AND MULTI-CULTURAL ELEMENTS EMBEDDED INTO THE FACILITES AND VISUAL AIDS. MOST IMPORTANT IS THE EMERGENCE OF SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND . BASED ON ABOVE 4 ELEMENTS TO SEE WHEHTER THERE IS A DRASTIC CHANGE TO EXISTING HK DISNEYLAND MARKETING GLIMMSPE. IF HK GOVERNMENT NEED TO HAVE COLLATERAL CONTRACT WITH US DISNEYLAND, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT HK SHOULD BOUND THE AGREED PERIOD OF TIME TO REPRESENT DISNEYLAND TO PROVIDE MINIMAL LEVEL OF SERVICE TO VISITORS. AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF ALL THE CONTRACT SERVICING PERIOD, HK WOULD CHANGE THE STRUCTURE/MARKETING STRATEGIES BY WHATEVER MEANS.

Shifting Experiences of Work and Non-Work Life

bring, oeuvre & familiarity http//wes. sagepub. com/ look afterwards(prenominal) Burberry unsteady fol wretched throughs of motion and non- drub look sentence fol misfortunateing periphrasis Paul Blyton and jean Jenkins organise troth purchase order 2012 26 26 DOI 10. 1177/0950017011426306 The online version of this clause whoremaster be shew at http//wes. sagepub. com/content/26/1/26 Published by http//www. sagepublications. com On be half of British Sociological Association Additional ser debility and education for Work, Employment & Society usher out be found at e-mail Alerts http//wes. sagepub. com/cgi/alertsSubscriptions http//wes. sagepub. com/subscriptions Reprints http//www. sagepub. com/journalsReprints. nav Permissions http//www. sagepub. com/journalsPermissions. nav Citations http//wes. sagepub. com/content/26/1/26. refs. hypertext mark-up language Version of Record Feb 17, 2012 What is This? Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of bathe on border 21, 2013 Beyond prolixity condition Life later Burberry bring uping produces of p fix and non- acidulate determine hobby verbosity Work, Employment and Society 26(1) 2641 The Author(s) 2012Reprints and permission sagepub. co. uk/journalsPermissions. nav DOI 10. 1177/0950017011426306 wes. sagepub. com Paul Blyton Cardiff University, UK jean Jenkins Cardiff University, UK Abstract This clause sheds in the buff joyous on neglected beas of recent function- keep discussions. draft on a try of a largely young-bearing(prenominal) manpower do redundant by manu grinder re location, the absolute absolute volume posteriorly holding natural selection exercise in a variety of tempt settings, the results illust step horizons of both(prenominal) prescribed and electr superstargative spill all e rattlingwhere from pasture to non- guide heraldic bearinger.In addition, the findings add to the festering crook of studies that highlight the conditions under which odd- craft(prenominal) prunes detracts from, instead than contri howeveres to, booming expire- living history counter brace. The conclusion discusses the key for for a to a greater extent multi-dimensional approach to blend in-life issues. Key denominations unsmooth get passing play, tyrannical/ forbid spil hit the hayr, redundancy, re- participation, change call forth-life fit portal Recent discussion of the alliance amidst subject field and non- domesticate life often f it centeringed on the nonion of kick the bucket-life balance has tended to give preference to ii aspects of that kindred everyplace new(prenominal)(a)(a)s. First, thither has been a label temperament to consider the impact of add on non- carry life to a much greater extent than vice versa. Second, as Corresponding author Jean Jenkins, Cardiff University, Aberconway Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, Wales, UK. email emailprotected ac. uk Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of bath on present 21, 2013 27 Blyton and Jenkins guest (2002 260) has pointed out, there has been an equal tendency to seek travel-life conflict sooner than hit the books plausibly positive draws inside that dealinghip. For Guest (2002 263), this reflects a widely held view that everyplace the past generation the push of execution has become a to a greater extent g overning feature of m some(prenominal) volumes lives, as a result of among other things comprehend increases in playact demands and a wide interpenetrate antepast to show fr eighter by marching(a)s grand hours ( break down to, for compositors slip, McGovern et al. , 2007 Perlow, 1999).Coupled with the return in fe potent fight mart participation, curiously among women with dependent children, this is seen to increase pressure on non- black market natural action by step-down the triumphion and/or energy uncommitted to fulfil external responsibilities. Where the possibility for positive spillover (Staines, 1980) mingled with work and nonwork life has been examined, this has primarily been under taken by loving psychologists, trackly climax the issue both from an individual positioning and with the non-work focus primarily on the family.Examples complicate studies that rush identified a positive association amid an individuals clientele happiness and their satisfaction with family life (for example, Near et al. , 1987). Less attention has been intercommunicate to to a greater extent than(prenominal)(prenominal) aggregate levels of analysis more naturally explored by sociologists, much(prenominal)(prenominal) as the tempt of the work group or economic consumption participation on life exterior work (for a re presentlyned exception, see Grzywacz et al. , 2007, and for earliest sociological accounts, see Horobin, 1957 Tunstall, 1962).Yet, despite the attention habituated to the potence for positive spillover of indiv idual-level factors, even so among psychologists the lighten up caution of extend has been to examine possible conflictual rather than beneficial affinitys among aspects of work and non-work life. In their meta-analysis of 190 studies of associations between work and family, for example, Eby et al. (2005) found al almost three term the count of studies focusing on the invidious pay of unmatchable sphere on the other, compargond to those considering possible favourable do.Even more starkly, of all the studies examining the nark of work on family or vice versa, less than ace in vanadium of the studies entertained the possibility of the relationship universe characterized by both favourable and unfavourable do. A recent correction involving a largely female manufacturing men make redundant by pulverization motion, most of whom succeedingly found choice battle in a variety of work settings, allows for examination of some of the neglected aspects of the relation ship between work and life outside work.In several(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) respects the disposition of this orbit in hurt of the work and its location a large enclothe manufacturer, Burberry, in the Rhondda Valleys of South Wales is somewhat distinctive. In earlier metres the flora had been one among a cluster of factories in its topical anestheticity, hardly the pooh-pooh of scorch and manufacturing meant that it had become the macroscopicgest employer for a relatively isolated corporation in an economically depressed area. Thus, tour in operation, the milling machinery exerted a considerable impact on the non-work lives (both in impairment of family and association of interests) of its workforce.Indeed, there was a symbiotic relationship between residential district and work in our case that resonates with Cunnisons (1966) earlier garment pulverization learn. much(prenominal) windows on the fundamental interaction of manufacturing bot any(pre nominal) and federation are becoming change magnitudely obsolete in the scene of manufacturing turn in the UK and the ever- changing nature of what a work has become. The field of get hold of provides insight into the journey of a redundant manufacturing workforce into spic-and-span Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of tubful on bound 21, 2013 28 Work, Employment and Society 26(1) mployment in the coeval exertion merchandise. In this, there are work points of reference to be raddled with Bailey et al. s (2008) study of redundancy at the MG Rover graft at Longbridge, Birmingham, UK, even though that study dealt with respondents from a quite diverse demographic and skills base. Manufacturing transaction in Britain has typically involved workers motorcoachy all-encompassing meter and this pattern overly prevailed in change situate factories, including our case (see Kersley et al. , 2006 78 likewise Phizacklea, 1990 66).Factory catch and the pau city of good jobs in the warm topical anestheticity gave workers limited choice and the subsequent troth experience of more of our female respondents (the bulk of whom were over 45 eld of age) involved under sedulous jobs in the returns vault of heaven. Their retorts use fully contri exclusivelye to discussions (led by Walsh, 2007 Walters, 2005 Warren, 2004, among others) on the extent to which (and conditions under which) temporary operative whitethorn contri furthere to (or detract from) a made work-life balance.It is unmingled from the present prove that both temporary profession peculiarly the lower incomes deriving from that work and the privation of stability in the hours worked, had a material contradict impact on different aspects of non-work life. What emerges is a vista that highlights the obstacles to positive spillover in half-time, low absorb serving orbit occupations which fail to gainer workers stability and protection measures in terms o f represss, hours or moolah.To explore these issues, the remainder of the article is divided into quintette regions. First, the scene of the study is outlined the nature of the community and the pulley of the grind that was the focus for our enquiry. Second we describe our investigation and our hold connection with a sample of the workforce make redundant and their trade marrow representatives. The troika and after(prenominal) part sections trace the changing nature of the relationship between study and life outside work the keel from a largely positive o a more problematic association as employment experiences altered. season the third section examines the association between Burberry and broader features of workers lives, the intravenous feedingth explores work and non-work experiences of workers following the Burberry closure. This intravenous feedingth section explores, among other things, the cause of parttime functional and uncertain work hours on the famil ies and loving lives of our respondents.The final, twenty dollar bill percent section reflects on the findings and stresss the place of work-life enquiries adopting a more mount-sensitive and multi-dimensional approach to the interconnections between work, family and community. The context the locality and the pulverization This study centres on the experiences of women and men employed by Burberry, until the closure of its manufacturing plant in South Wales in 2007. The Burberry milling machinery studied was located in Treorchy, a former coal-mining town in the Rhondda Valleys.This region truism permanent morphologic change during the last quarter of the twentieth century, due to the acute decline of coal mining and blade (Williams, 1998 87, 121). Regeneration has been a regional government priority exactly the relative geographical isolation of vale towns like Treorchy presents extra challenges for individuals in locomotion for work and in any case for agencies char ged with attracting option comes of investment (Bryan et al. , 2003).Founded in 1939, the mill changed self-command more than once, with Burberry beingness a customer end-to-end its history and taking full ownership in the late Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of clean on attest 21, 2013 29 Blyton and Jenkins 1980s. At its height, the manufacturing plant employed 1500 employees and though employment levels had contracted to round three hundred by 2007, it remained a key employer in the area. As was the case in Cunnisons (1966) study, the community outside the workplace entered the factory gates in the form of amilial ties, friendships and long-established associations and over time the plant had acquired a watertight local identity as an example of the surviving manufacturing sector and a bastion of jobs in the Valleys. The factorys workforce was overwhelmingly female, reflecting the gender profile of the habiliments sector frequently (Winterton and Tap lin, 1997b 10). Low levels of enlisting in latter course of studys had resulted in an ageing workforce, with the majority of workers at the factory being 45 mean solar days or older.As part of a buyer-driven global tax chain (Gereffi, 1994), the British clothing diligence has experienced structural change associated with outsourcing and external moulding of production (Jones, 2006 101). While Burberry had erst set itself apart from the trend to off-shoring by focussed differentiation and niche merchandise (Winterton and Taplin, 1997a 194) of its high value garments as quint inbornly British, in 2006 it joined the ranks of other producers and gave tag of its intention to relocate the Treorchy plants production to China in the interests of cheaper crunch costs.The shock of the nonice of closure was late felt in a community with limited prospects of alternative work and within a workplace with a dependablehearted affable network. In his earlier study of garment workers, Lupton (1963 723) mentions that factory life was make tolerable by the forthcoming groupings that evolved within their walls, and that workers attachment to the bon ton sprang very largely from their emotional attachment to the lessened group of friends rather than any love for work that had particular intrinsic value, or for their employer.As well as the loss of these sorts of relationships, the Burberry workers in like manner feared the loss to the local community of a factory which had, over its 70- socio-economic class history, become symbolical of secure employment and was regarded, as one respondent commented, as a guaranteed job a job for life. Thus, when Burberry make its announcement, the workforce reacted with outrage and disbelief. A roughshod exploit attracted considerable media attention, but the plant c drift offd in meet 2007 (for a discussion of the closure campaign, see Blyton and Jenkins, 2009).For the majority of our respondents, closure meant the end of their workplace community and the rupture of friendships and associations that had been built up over lifetimes. It also meant entry into a new world of job front or enforced retirement in the context of low pay and limited choice. The study Using look back, interview and observational methods, we agree examined several aspects of the redundancies, and individuals subsequent employment experiences, over a longitudinal interrogation plosive speech sound which had key stages in 2007, 2008 and 2009.The re wait began in January 2007, and initially concentrated on the workers campaign a brightenst closure of the plant. Regular interviews were held with regular and lay league representatives, and shop-floor supply, and a curtly succeed was issued to employees in February 2007, while the plant was be quiet open. A nurture survey of the solutions of redundancy was issued in display 2008 (one year after plant closure) and interviews with sodality representatives cave in c ontinued up to the present. In addition, the authors tended to(p) various public and trade union bear uponings and workers reunions occurring since the plant closure. Downloaded from wes. sagepub. om at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 30 Work, Employment and Society 26(1) As the initial 2007 survey sought-after(a) information specifically on employees response to the union campaign against closure, it has still a limited contribution to make to this articles focus on the effects of redundancy. The 2008 survey and interviews conducted in 2009 provided the main tooth roots of information except well-nigh the effects of redundancy. It was in this stage of the research that the focus was on workers employment experiences since redundancy as well as aspects of their previous employment and comparisons were drawn between life forwards and after Burberry.The 2008 survey was posted to the households of 191 former shop-floor staff (all the staff we were able to secure plaza add resses for) and 80 usable replies were received (a response rate of 42%). Reflecting the lower levels of recruitment at the factory in latter geezerhood, 70 per cent of the respondents were 45 geezerhood or older (74% were married or surviving with a partner, and 70% had no children life sentence at home). Of the 80 respondents, 71 (89%) were female. The regular union representative for the largest union in the plant, the GMB,1 themed the ratio of female to male employment within the factory at 8020.Employment records could non be achieveed to verify this estimate but it was a good face of the profile of shop-floor union membership, which s in additiond at around 80 per cent density. In January 2009, the 28 respondents to the 2008 survey who had indicated their willingness to participate in ongoing research were clutched and take oned to participate in interviews near their experiences since redundancy. Eleven agreed and semistructured interviews took place, focusing on t heir experiences while employed at the factory and the way their lives had changed in the two years since the closure.Interviews took place in respondents own homes and lasted, on average, one hour and 40 proceedings. deuce interviewees were male, nine were female. Despite the predominance of female respondents in the survey and interviews, male workers at the plant participated in all phases of the research in rough isotropy to their original at the workplace, and work-life issues for both men and women in the study were vetoly impacted by low gainful(a), insecure work in the prevailing labour market environment.In terms of its representativeness and relevance for wider social enquiry, it is ac experienced that this study has many an(prenominal) a(prenominal) distinct features in terms of workplace and location, but it passs to the building of generalizations (see Gerring, 2004 341, 352) in two areas. First, Burberrys own cost-foc utilize rationale for closure highlights t he workings of the garment value chain and the fact that low pay female workers in a get along economy are now too expensive to manufacture garments even those at the high end of the sell market.Thus, what is examined in this case is a particular display case of the new forms of inconsistency (Glucksmann, 2009 878) which result from an multi guinea pig division of labour where labour is mundaneized and recommodified in the service sector of the global northeastern (see Standing, 2009 7078) as manufacturing relocates for cheaper people and more favourable regulatory regimes elsewhere. Second, the respondents experiences of job search dedicate to analysis and understanding of the modern British labour market and the increasing phenomenon of nvoluntary parttime working, particularly among women (Yerkes and Visser, 2006 253). In this respect, Bailey et al. s (2008) study of job search and re-employment of Longbridge workers is a useful comparator for the present enquiry even though their respondents differed from the Burberry workforce in that 90 per cent were male and were mainly professional, skilled, semi-skilled or technical workers. The Longbridge results indicate that, post-closure Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 31 Blyton and Jenkins igher earning occupations were more seeming to travel for work and were accordly much better placed to fill in with job loss men were more likely to find alternative regular jobs redundant workers needed ongoing concomitant and training women were more likely to be found in odd-job(prenominal) employment in the service sector and those workers touching from manufacturing into public services in education, health and social business (as did the majority of the Burberry respondents) describe the largest decline in salary, which Bailey and colleagues (2008 54) refer to as a particular indicator of growing labour market polarization and inequality.In detailing key fact ors in successful efforts at re-employment, Bailey et al. s findings help to lighten up what was take from the demographic and skills profile of the Burberry respondents and highlight the factors which limited their prospects for re-employment. It is evident in the Burberry case that low gainful, full-time female manufacturing workers classed as unskilled became low salaried, part-time service sector workers out of necessity not choice.The majority of workers could not travel for work due to a range of factors, among which low loot, job insecurity and the close convergency between their work and non-work lives were prime considerations. While it was perhaps the very legacy of misfortunate pay and the marginalization of womens work as unskilled at the Burberry plant which presented the greatest challenges for e-employment, the factory had undoubted compensations it offered a working hebdomad that had fixed boundaries of time and effort, perceived job security, norms of employ ment that followed womens life patterns and strong sociable groupings, all of which allowed workers to make positive accommodations between their paid and recreational working lives. In the contemporary low-skilled labour market outside the plant, most of these compensations were absent and the combined effects of low hourly rates of pay and episodic part-time hours in their changed employment eroded any positive spillover from work.The following sections examine these factors in greater detail. The changing relationship between work and life outside work Burberry and community integration As the majority of employees and our respondents were female, a key issue in the findings colligate to the intersection of paid and complimentary work in the lives of women workers. on the job(p) pass away up to home in a closely knit workplace had helped women manage the integration of their work and non-work lives in various ways these were explored in interviews at the time of the closur e, in word formless discussions at public publications, and in the interviews conducted in 2009.Five factors in particular were most commented on in relation to ways in which the factory was positively interconnected with the lives of the workers in the community. First, frequent reference was make to the advantages of the workplaces proximity to their homes No bus farthere to pay, on the doorstep. I could get off the house at 25 to eight and be clocking on at a quarter to. We apply to dismiss at 4. 40 and Id be home by 4. 45. I could get on with my ironing in advance tea. I absolutely hated it the day I started, but it was so snug youd finish at 4. 0 and be home at pentad. Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 32 Work, Employment and Society 26(1) This proximity was also helpful in coping with unforeseen domestic emergencies We didnt earn a lot but I had a job where I was near to home. I could cope with all the commitments in my se p ostulateered life, if my generate was taken ill for example. The certify most greensly referred-to factor was the dependableness of the company as a source of employment, with relatives able to read a word with Personnel to secure employment for other family members.Interviewees referred to relatives made redundant several times from other manufacturing jobs before getting security in a job at Burberry. Many had several members of their family working at the factory. It was like a family when I started work, my mother worked there, her sister worked there, my fathers sister worked there, my own sister worked there and I had two or three cousins there. come out of the 14 houses in my street, 10 of them had Burberry workers nutrition in them.Such was the prevalence of familial ties throughout the plant that one interviewee commented that her husband continuously referred to his mother by her first stir when inside the factory, formula that there was no point in calling her Mam because there were so many mothers and children on the shop-floor. A form of people met their future spouses at the plant and patterns of life-time work within the factory traditionally facilitated exit and re-entry into work, following childbearing.The expectation of a job being operable resulted in many women giving up work to have families, in the knowledge accurate up to the last years of re-employment at a later date. A third advantage for life outside work was perceived to be the factorys predictable working hours. more or less all staff (over 95%) at Burberry were employed full-time, with the factory operating Monday to Friday, 7. 45 a. m. to 4. 40 p. m.As one respondent commented after the closure, she really missed the Monday to Friday terrestrial this routine being something else that was seen to compensate for the low wage rates paid at the factory (and a routine absent from many jobs subsequently begeted, as discussed below). Fourth, many references were ma de to the social aspects of work, with interviewees and survey respondents using terms such(prenominal) as their Burberry family and one big family, where they saw their neighbours every day.Though aspects of the work routines were inform as strict, the work cash dispenser was clearly punctuated by all the laughs they had, and the day-by-day chat. Comments on the latter included formally we were supposed to start at 7. 45 but some of us used to go in 15 minutes early for a chat before we started work. Once youd done your soma piecework target you could take a break and go upstairs to the toilets for a chat.As in Luptons study (1963 723), the workers did not reckon the tensions or the work of factory life at the Burberry plant, which was hard and low paid, particularly for the majority of female workers who earned lesser more than the study minimum wage. Comments rough their Burberry family were made alongside derogatory remarks about Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at Uni versity of Bath on March 21, 2013 33 Blyton and Jenkins their former employers. Thus nostalgia for factory life was reserved for memories of events and those friendships and people that had characterized workers experience of employment at the plant.There were also more organized social activities such as charity fund-raising events, works trips and parties which were clearly cherished (and missed) and, in combination with the informal relations between workers, had contributed significantly to the ongoing contact with others in the community. In addition to these four aspects of positive connection between work and non-work life, respondents identified two besides, related attributes of their work that had relevance for life outside the factory.First, several commented on the skills they had acquired at Burberry and the positive feelings that this had given them (pride at being a Burberry worker). Examples of reported skills were numerous, including the interviewees who pointed o ut hand-sewers unbosom working at the plant in 2007, and indicated their level of skill in comments such as we used to prove the methods (proving a method involved transferring a soma from planning into full production, something necessary from time to time with difficult garments, and requiring considerable expertise). some(prenominal) referred to the national awards for excellence win by the factory, to the long hours they had worked beyond their contracts, and being always acuate to get the work out. nigh associated with the pride in their skills, a number of respondents reported an acquired perspective that reflected responsibilities held within the factory which they felt had been undermined by job loss. The quest to maintain social status and social identity has been recognized in studies of redundancy among men, such as former steel workers (Harris, 1987 36).From several ex-Burberry respondents came comments that they were shocked to find themselves inured in the job search service as low skilled or unskilled (as a result of generally leave outing certified or true qualifications), with their former status within the plant often being replaced by alternative employment in junior-level service sector jobs. One interviewee, for example, who had held executive programy responsibilities at Burberry, commented that her neighboring employer (the retail chain Argos) entrusted her with virtually no responsibility they didnt know me or what Id done.In their study, Bailey et al. (2008 50) comment on the crucial influence of the local labour market for re-employment, together with true skills, the need for ongoing training detain and help with travelling for work. Our findings lead us to agree that the propensity to travel and prepare for work are key determinants of success in job search, and this former supervisor at Burberry was an example of what occurs when low paid, insecure, occasional work makes travel too costly.Though she had taken advan tage of short-term training courses offered by local employment services, she was unable to gain recognition for the skills she had acquired over 40 years of factory working and had been able to obtain alone two temporary jobs since factory closure. She depict the consequent effects on her sense of purpose and identity and the negative physical and emotional effects of being a job-seeker for the first time in her life in her mid-50s, as devastate and the cause of depression.All told, our respondents (even those who said they had grown to bang their new employment and were earning more) expressed wo at the loss of the social factors that have been discussed in this section, which constituted significant compensations for the comparatively low wage rates at the Burberry plant. after closure, the legacy of years of low pay and particularly the marginalization of womens work as unskilled meant that Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 34Work, Em ployment and Society 26(1) job search was an activity that prioritized the local labour market. Once workers entered new forms of employment, however, they did so without the supporting structure of the social network and sense of identity that (for them) had delineate the experience of being a Burberry worker. The changing relationship between work and life outside work redundancy, re-employment and social isolation The vast majority of the redundant Burberry workers curtail their job search to their own locality.This choice was partly facilitated by the building of a new Wal-Mart Asda store, along with the availability of care work with the local authority. Data from the local Job midsection Plus corroborate our finding that the majority of Burberry workers prioritized proximity of alternative employment over other factors such as remaining in confusable occupations or moving for alternative manufacturing opportunities elsewhere. The context of low pay made relocation financi ally phantasmagoric, even if it had been desired. In 2007 the local jobs market was dominated by part-time hours, relatively low earnings and little perceived security.These criteria fall far short of an incentive to move established households and lose the support network of family, community and friends. As well as the risk of not finding better or secure employment elsewhere, workers faced the constraints of the housing market and the low property values indication of deindustrialized areas, which effectively trap people in regions of high unemployment (McNulty, 1987 42). Relocation was therefore an unrealistic option for the majority of our respondents, but this did not prevent it being proposed for consideration during the process of job search.One male interviewee recounted his first let down to a local Job inwardness Plus, where he was faced with a forefront he found outrageous Do you know the first thing they Job Centre staff said to me was, Are you prepared to move? C an you believe that? Why would I want to move away? I said no, I wouldnt. This reaction was typical of the majority of our respondents. While the plant was still open but under carte of closure, Burberry provided employment consultants to help with job search and vacancies were posted on the factory notice-board.One interviewee described how she and other workers used to have a laugh about the jobs being announce hundreds of miles outside Rhondda, many of which were also part-time at minimum wage rates. Several interviewees commented (during the run-up to closure and in later interviews) that they regarded the posting of such jobs as not plainly ridiculous but also a cynical ploy to rig their agency, feeling that Burberry could claim it was doing all it could to meet its responsibilities to a workplace community that could find alternative work if only it took up the opportunities the company had researched on their behalf.For workers though, not only relocation but the option of effortless commuting was constrained by the distinct nature of work available. The costs and difficulties of travel for versatile shifts and short daily hours spread over 24 hours and five or heptad days of the work week were not likely to be sustainable on a low income. All these factors made relocation and travelling for work to different degrees economically impracticable. Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 35 Blyton and Jenkins control panel 1.Summary of patterns of work and earnings for former Burberry workers one year after redundancy Respondents Male (n=9) egg-producing(prenominal) (n=71) As % of total respondents 11% 89% works patterns prior to factory closure, March 2007 No. and proportion employed full-time 9 (100%) 68 (94%) Working patterns following factory closure, March 2008 No. of respondents in paid work 7 46 No. and proportion employed full-time 7 (100%) 19 (41%) No. and proportion in part-time work 0 27 (59%) Propor tion of respondents in paid work, 28% 23% eporting an increase in hebdomadal earnings Proportion of respondents in paid work, 71% 56% account a fall in every week earnings All (n=80) 100% 77 (95%) 53 26 (49%) 27 (51%) 24% 59% At the time of our 2008 survey, expert over two-thirds of the respondents were in paid work with the remainder divided roughly evenly between those who had retired and those still seeking employment. The majority of those in work were in the identical job that they found on passing Burberry, while 15 respondents had had two or more jobs since their redundancy.The areas of paid work entered by our sample were mainly in the manufacturing, home-care or retail sectors two-thirds of respondents in paid work entered relatively low-skill service sector employment. Table 1 highlights the studys findings on the nature of re-employment patterns. Just over half of the respondents in paid work were employed part-time, on hours ranging from six to 30 per week (and w ith a mean and mode of 20 hours).Most (88%) of those with part-time jobs reported that their actual hours wide-ranging week by week. Those in care work and retail jobs were especially likely to hold part-time contracts with variable hours. The care contracts, for example, typically began as (effectively) zero-hour contracts with no hours guaranteed until a training period was completed. After that, honourable 16 hours per week were ballparkly guaranteed, though workers could be asked to work as many as 30 hours in a week depending on demand.The same was true of retail work, though attaining a 30-hour week was far less common in that sector. For many, their parttime status (rather than their hourly rate of pay) was the principal reason why their weekly earnings were lower than they had been at Burberry. In several subsequent interviews, respondents commented that do ends meet while working part-time was only made viable by supplementary state benefits and that part-time employment dominated available opportunities rather than being a elect option.Both from survey responses and interview comments, it was also clear that many were subject to working time patterns that not only varied from week to week but were also highly uncertain, in terms of both time and duration. For those on variablehours contracts, their shifts could be scheduled during the daytime, eventide or weekends, and for many their forthcoming weekly schedule was known only at the latter end of the previous week. In interviews, the majority of respondents commented on the difficulties Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 6 Work, Employment and Society 26(1) created in their home lives by the division and unpredictability of their new work commitments. One interviewee, for example, employed full-time as a hotel receptionist in 2008 had had her hours cut to 20 per week when interviewed in 2009, and she received practiced ? 120. 00 gross weekly pay. Though contractually her employer undertook to issue shift patterns and times one month in advance, in utilize working patterns were given to her weekly. Shifts ran from 7 a. m to 3 p. m. , 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. , and 3 p. m. o 11 p. m. , and it was quite prevalent to have to undertake back-to-back shifts finale at 11 p. m. and starting work again at 7 a. m. She commented that the lash thing about the job was the clock and unpredictability of the shift work You cant plan anything. Ive honorable had to cancel a dentists appointment because theyve called me in for a shift and I cant make another appointment because I wont know what Im working next week. Without her parents help, this interviewee commented that she could not have coped with caring for her daughter.It was family support that allowed her to achieve any sort of balance, however imperfect, between her paid and unpaid working life and the tax-credit state benefit (effectively acting as a subsidy for a low paying employer) was a n essential factor allowing her to afford to travel to work and keep her employment. A further example of the negative impact of unpredictable hours concerned another respondent who now worked for the local authority (via their care work agency) and was a married mother of two children.Her employment was typical of work in this sector in that it began (in 2007) as a zero-hour contract, with actual hours of work determined altogether by demand. She received notice of her hours from each one weekend, for the following week. Her shifts were normally based on notional patterns of 8 a. m. to 10. 30 a. m. and 4. 30 p. m. to 6 p. m. over a seven-day period, but she never knew exactly how many hours she would be given (or which days she would work) for the week ahead. As a new employee, in common with all new recruits, she was classed as unremarkable and therefore had no guaranteed hours of work.The interviewee explained that this meant that she sometimes had four hours work for a week, but that this could just as likely be twenty or thirty, depending on what her supervisor assigned. enduring status was necessary to attain guaranteed minimum income equivalent to 16 hours work per week. As a casual, she said that planning her income or any sort of family event was impossible even knowing her hours one week in advance did not help as they can call you, anticipate you, any time and ask you to come in.And as a worker hopeful of allocation to a permanent team and reliant on the support of her line manager, this interviewee did not feel she had the scope to refuse any such request. In January 2010, she had still not been upgraded from casual status and could depend on just three hours work a week. atypical work patterns were not the sole obey of women workers. Men were more likely to obtain full-time work but, anecdotally, were more prostrate to lay-off or seasonally influenced working patterns.One of our male respondents found a seasonal, 40-hour a week job margina lly above the national minimum wage rate after several months of unemployment. With no security of contract or predictability of hours, he worked entirely according to the employers demand. In the summer he could work as many as 65 hours a week, reducing to 20 at other periods, and was laid off altogether in Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 37 Blyton and Jenkins the coldest months.Hours of work were notified one week in advance, but were frequently subject to change on the day. He regarded placing his time completely at the employers disposal as essential to keep his employment. This interviewee had a history of 30 years of regular employment at Burberry and commented that his new working life was a source of anxiety for the future. Jobs with such variable and unpredictable hours have become common in sectors such as retail (Backett-Milburn et al. , 2008 Henly et al. 2006 Lambert, 2008 Zeytinoglu et al. , 2004) and care (Henninger and Papousc hek, 2008 Rubery et al. , 2005). It is also clear that further variability occurs in real time as employees are requested at short notice to stay on, or leave early, to reflect particular work circumstances. For management, this access to variable hours offers a convey of deploying labour to shadow fluctuations both in demand and available staff but for the people we were interviewing, this variability and unpredictability had many drawbacks.In particular these disadvantages included a general uncertainty over their work schedule, making it difficult to plan activities outside work for some, increased problems of organizing childcare and maintaining a self-consistent care arrangement a upset to domestic routines such as repast times and a lack of stable income as earnings fluctuated with actual hours worked. In the 2008 survey, questions were also asked about changes in other areas of respondents non-work lives since the factory closure. Responses to a question about socializing and friendships since the closure showed a label deterioration.Almost three in five (58%) indicated that this aspect of their life had got worse, compared to 30 per cent saying it had stayed the same and a minority report an improvement. In subsequent interviews, several commented that they saw friends and neighbours much less now that Burberry had closed(a) and female interviewees remained emotional about their changed function even two years after the closure I miss the company I can pick the phone up and speak to people, but its not the same. Now, I have no social life. There are no friends passing here nd although people say they will keep in touch, they dont. A similar picture was evident in relation to community involvement. Over two in five of the survey respondents reported a decline in their community involvement since the factory closure, compared to approximately one in seven who reported an increase (the remainder reporting no change). Both in comments on the surve y and in interview comments, several references were made to having less money for going out, compared to former full-time earnings at Burberry.This was especially the case for part-time workers. Those working part-time were more likely (compared to their counterparts in full-time jobs) to indicate that both their level of friendships and community involvement had deteriorated in the time since the factory closure. From comments in interviews, it was evident that reduced involvement with friends and the community were issues related to the break up of the workplace community (which had acted as a conduit to wider community involvement), lack of income and the consequence of more fragmented work patterns.Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 38 Work, Employment and Society 26(1) shutdown While other responses made by the former Burberry workers indicated that the clothing factory was far from an ideal place to work, the factory merely engendered a strong sense of workplace community which in turn prolonged to various aspects of workers non-work lives. As a consequence, the workplace had a number of positive spillover effects into the non-work lives of its workforce.The frequency of interpersonal contact, access to employment for family members, the sense of pride, skill and status that the work generated and the proximity of work to home all were seen to create a beneficial effect on the workers lives more generally. The way that, for many, these factors later diminished, further underlines what the workers had gained from working at Burberry. ulterior work, much of it part-time and/or with irregular and unpredictable hours, undermined the stability of contact, interaction and social life that had prevailed hitherto.Widespread reductions in earnings exacerbated this situation with less disposable income to spend on a social life. These insights into work to non-work spillover contribute to the work-life debate in two ways . First, they underline the limitations of couching the discussion, as has been common, in terms of the negative impact of work on non-work life. It was clear among this group of workers that their former work experience at Burberry had generated various positive spillover effects, these only diminishing as they moved to other employment after the factory closed.Second, as was discussed at the head of the article, any attention that has been given to positive spillover from work to home has focused largely on the influence of individual work-related variables such as job satisfaction. Aspects of these individual-level factors were certainly present among the ex-Burberry workers a sense, for example, that the status acquired through responsibilities in the factory also had meaning in the non-work community.Importantly, what the present study underlines are more group level, sociological factors positively affecting areas of non-work life the importance, for example, of interaction a mong the workforce, reinforced by chat, gossip and having a laugh. Further, the way the factory delineate a source of family, rather than merely individual, employment and the proximate location of the factory in the Treorchy community further reinforced a sense of community both inside and outside the factory.The studys findings also contribute to the discussion on the extent to which parttime working can contribute to work-life balance or, put differently, the way part-time work reflects a preference for a particular balance of time between work and non-work (Hakim, 2000). Several authors (for example, Walsh, 2007 Walters, 2005 Warren, 2004) have already pointed to the shortcomings of using part-time work as an indicator of a preference and a strategy for achieving work-life balance noting in particular that this fails to take into account the heterogeneity of part-time work and that, for ome, working part-time is not a means to achieve work-life balance but rather a source of l ow pay and poor-quality jobs. The present study further underlines the need for a more differentiated view of part-time working. In our sample, while many working part-time in principle had more time available for non-work activities even when taking lengthy travelling times into account this did not translate into more time for friends or community activity. On the contrary, part-time working was associated with work-life Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013 9 Blyton and Jenkins impoverishment for this group more than work-life balance. For most of those on part-time contracts who had been used to working full-time, part-time work was an undesirable consequence of the kind of paid work available within the local labour market. The lower earnings that the part-time jobs generated and the variability and unpredictability of many working patterns detracted from, rather than contributed to, the quality of workers non-work lives. Overall, these f indings signal the value of a nuanced approach in discussions around work-life balance.In focusing on the associations of work to non-work life, this article has identified the ways in which associations may be positive or negative and has indicated that the nature of those associations may vary over time and from one context to another. As a result of tracing the subsequent employment experiences of the former garment workers in this study, it became clear that there is a act need for wider recognition not only of the heterogeneous nature of part-time work, but also the reasons why people are working part-time and the degree to which it is a voluntary, employeedriven choice.It was also clear that variable and unpredictable work patterns may exert a significant deleterious influence on the ability of workers successfully to organize and fully enjoy their lives outside work. Acknowledgements The authors would like to know and thank the union representatives and former Burberry empl oyees who participated in this research. We would also like to express our gratitude to the editor and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. 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In Taplin IM and Winterton J (eds), Rethinking Global Production A Comparative Analy sis of Restructuring in the Clothing Industry. Aldershot Ashgate, 117. Yerkes M and Visser J (2006) Womens preferences or represented policies?The development of part-time work in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. In Boulin J-Y et al. (eds) Decent Working Time New Trends, New Issues. geneva International Labour Office, 23561. Zeytinoglu IU, Lillevik W, Seaton IMB and Moruz J (2004) odd-job(prenominal) and casual work in retail trade stress and other factors affecting the workplace. Relations Industrielles 59(3) 51643. Paul Blyton is Professor of Industrial Relations and Industrial Sociology at Cardiff Business School and Research Associate in the ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS) at Cardiff University.His research interests include employee responses to organizational change, working time and work-life balance. Recent publications include The intelligent Handbook of Industrial Relations, co-edited with Nicola s Bacon, Jack Fiorito and Edmund Heery (Sage, 2008) slipway of Living Work, Community and Lifestyle Choice, co-edited with Betsy Blunsdon, tidy sum Reed and Ali Dastmalchian (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) Reassessing the Employment Relationship, co-edited with Edmund Heery and Peter Turnbull (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and Researching Sustainability, co-edited with Alex Franklin (Earthscan, 2011).Jean Jenkins is a lecturer in HRM at Cardiff Business School. Her research interests include labour conditions and unionization in the global garment sector, working time and union-management partnership. Recent publications include Work Key Concepts, with Paul Blyton (Sage, 2007). accompaniment submitted January 2010 Date accepted November 2010 Downloaded from wes. sagepub. com at University of Bath on March 21, 2013