Casa Batllo Essay Example

Casa Batllo Essay Example Casa Batllo Essay Casa Batllo Essay Casa Batllo At Paseig de Gracia 43, lies a sleeping giant of modernist architecture, Casa Batllo. Its appearance is as amorphous as the free flowing lines and shape of the building itself. Depending on the weather and lighting Casa Batllo may change colors and leave an entirely different impression on the viewer. One critic describes the building facade as, having the same effect as a throwing a stone into a pool of water lilies. [1] Many others believe the facade is an allegory for the Catalan legend of St. George, known for travels around medieval Spain slaying dragons. It is a testament to the celebrated architect, Antoni Gaudi, that one building could be so inspiring in so many ways. He accomplished this end by effectively sampling natural forms. The building is composed of disarming familiar natural forms, but they are arranged in a completely new and surreal way. Furthermore, these forms lend themselves to a myriad of individualized interpretations dependent upon the interpreter. All of this is just the beginning, in my opinion, of what makes Casa Batllo the premier building exemplifying the modernism movement in Barcelona. Casa Batllo was commissioned by Josep Batllo Casanovas in 1900 and constructed from 1904-1906. He employed Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, and building contractor, Josep Bayo Font. His original intention was demolishing the building and starting anew. However, Gaudi was able to convince Batllo that a refurbishment was possible. I believe the fact that Casa Batllo was a refurbishment and not a complete new construction served Gaudi well. It gave him the constraints and restrictions of an existing structure that challenged him to create the best solutions within the context of an existing problem. It also prevented some of the more criticized aspects of his designs from surfacing, as this was evident with the negative critical reaction to Casa Mila, or â€Å"La Pedrera. † It is important to understand the context of the building both geographically and historically. It rests on the corner of the â€Å"block of discord. † The â€Å"block of discord† extends down Passeig de Gracia between Carrer Arago and Consell de Cent. The block derives its satirical name from the dissimilar styles of the adjoining buildings within the block. Three buildings down from Gaudi’s masterpiece is Casa Lleo Morera, designed by Domenech I Montaner. Next door is Casa Mulleras, by Enric Sagnier Villanecchia. Continuing down the block there is Casa Delfina Bonet, by Marceliano Coquillat Llofriu. Finally, Josep Puig Caldafach designed Casa Amatller, which would later become the adjoining neighbor of Gaudi’s inspiring edifice. Casa Batllo was the last of the escalating architectural works that created a utopia of modernism. It was a â€Å"keeping up with the Jones† type of mentality. Each casa was built in attempt to upstage the neighbors. Gaudi and Battlo also had to circumvent several building codes to erect Gaudi’s vision which paid no attention to municipal building regulations. In one specific way, the bottom two floors of Casa Batllo extend an illegal sixty centimeters into the street. In 1904, Gaudi applied for building permits based on his vague plaster model of the proposed street facade. In 1906, the city ordered all work ceased due to of the lack of a construction permit. However, this was too late; construction was nearly completed. Fifteen days later, Josep Batllo was back at the city council ready to receive to permission to rent out the upper floors. The breathtaking exterior begins with the massive sandstone columns sampling from such natural forms as bones or flowers stems. The first three floors were where Gaudi concentrated most of his expensive materials, particularly the elaborately carved sandstone. The first two floors extend farther to the street than the others. Thus, this creates a leaning effect that is only accentuated the facade’s ceaseless undulations. Casa Batllo features no edges or right angles. Gaudi demolished the original bottom floors, but decided to use the existing facade of the building for the upper floors. However, it would in no way resemble the original; Gaudi had the old brick chipped away and replaced with a mosaic skin of lime, mortar, and broken pieces of tile and glass. This is a technique often used by Gaudi called Trancadis- meaning broken pieces. The balconies decrease in size as the eye ascends the edifice, and resemble eye and nose front of a human skull. They protrude from the facade’s most notable feature, its rippling covering. Each broken piece of mosaic was directed to its destination by Gaudi in the street, acting as maestro of the construction. This produces the overall effect is that of a shimmering soft underbelly of a serpent’s skin. As one critic described it, â€Å"When the sun hits the front of the building during the day, the facade magically materializes and dematerializes in a celebration of color. † [2] This is all crowned by a hard tile roof that swoops and dives with the facade. Gaudi emphasized the curves and bends of the roof by using the color and shade of the tile to specifically accent the roof’s movements. It should be noted that the roof does a superb job of capping the near formless facade by producing horizontally undulating lines that effectively run perpendicular to the other waves. This provides the necessary contrast to the free form facade; thus, giving it shape, as a beach or harbor gives shape and form to the sea. Finally, Gaudi concluded the facade on top with a medieval turret topped by a Catalan cross. The cross is the highest point of the building. The cross is also the object of some debate and speculation as to Gaudi’s message with this building. The cross is said to be the handle of St. George’s sword. This would make the turret the shaft of the blade. The roof is representative of the hard skin of a dragon’s back, and the facade is its soft underbelly. The sandstone columns are the bones of the dragon’s victims, so are the balconies, which are skulls. Thus, the entire facade is symbolic of St. George, the patron saint of Catalunya. This theory may not be as is improbably as it seems. Symbolism was a major part of the modernism movement. Gaudi was almost obsessive about the use of symbols, which will become abundantly clear in last years of his life and his work on the Sagrada Familia. The interior of Casa Batllo is equally impressive. Its greatest technical achievement is the superb use of natural light. The exaggerated windows facing the street earned Casa Batllo the nickname â€Å"the house of yawns. † Gaudi also expanded the existing patio and added huge skylight. The elevator shaft and stairwell also ran through the center of patio. All of this was part of a brilliant solution to the problem of evenly distributing light throughout the house. Beyond technical solutions, Casa Batllo instills visitors with a surreal feeling. The interior mirrors the exterior; again, Gaudi deliberately removed angled features, such as the walls, and replaced them with curved shapes. The spaces inside are open and expansive. Particularly, the living room may be even further expanded by simply opening two large wooden doors on both sides. Some specifically dreamlike features are the stained glass windows. They are framed in non-traditional shapes of beautiful metalwork, presumably connected to Gaudi’s family heritage as metalworkers, and the elaborately carved sandstone. They give off a palpable floral sensation from within the house, in addition to their obvious technical benefits. All of this in concert creates a truly dreamlike state when one is in the house itself. Gaudi speaks to us still from Casa Batllo. However, he in not speaking Catalan, but he is speaking to us in an organic language easily recognized by anyone familiar with nature. Gaudi said, â€Å"Everything that any architect could need†¦is already in natural forms in nature. † This is surely the source he referenced when designing Casa Batllo. In conclusion, Casa Batllo is the premier modernist building in Barcelona. This is because of Gaudi’s brilliant technical solutions, his use of new materials and techniques, his eclectic sampling of other architectural styles such as arabesque and medieval, his voracious quoting of natural forms, and heavy use of symbolism. However, the truly impressive thing about Casa Batllo is not the presence of these individual elements, but the unequivocal unity with which they were assembled by the all too masterful architect, Antoni Gaudi. [1] casabatllo. es/. History of Casa Batllo. [2] Grossman, Rachel. â€Å"Inside Casa Battlo†. ArchitectureWeek

How to Use Multimedia to Bolster Your Marketing Strategy [PODCAST]

How to Use Multimedia to Bolster Your Marketing Strategy [PODCAST] Some people learn best from reading, but others prefer to watch or listen to content. Although you probably put a lot of time into your blog, website, and other written marketing products, multimedia content is becoming increasingly more popular. Knowing where to begin and how to make the process more efficient just might be the key to your success as a marketer. Today, we’re talking to Ander Frischer, the marketing educator at Instapage. He’s going to share his insights on how he handles the process of creating multimedia content, plus a whole lot more. You won’t want to miss today’s episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: Information about Instapage, including their impressive conversion rate. A few tips on landing page advertising personalization and why A/B testing is so important. Why it’s so important to include multimedia content in any marketing strategy. How Ander integrated interactive multimedia content into the marketing strategy at Instapage and what he was hoping to achieve. How personalization has helped boost project results at Instapage. Some insights on the process for launching a webinar. Ander’s process for organizing a podcast. Tips for getting quality engagement from your listeners or readers. Ander’s best advice for someone who wants to get started with adding multimedia content to their marketing strategy. If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Ander: â€Å"I like to hold back from giving one-size-fits-all optimization tips because every business is different.† â€Å"A podcast is a great opportunity to cultivate relationships.† â€Å"The most rewarding thing about what I do is hearing from people.†

Contriversal Thesis on Nathaniel Hawthorne Research Paper

Contriversal Thesis on Nathaniel Hawthorne - Research Paper Example In this novel, the writer delved deeper in the sinfulness, issues, rigidity and hypocrisy of the American Society Puritanic laws during the 19th Century. Thesis Statement The Scarlet Letter in comparison to anything else, portrays the criticism of America in the 19th Century. Given the controversial statement above, the following points will be discussed for purposes of supporting the statement. The points are such as, the hypocrisy of America as illustrated through genocide and slavery of the Native Americans, the biography of Nathaniel Hawthorns clearly shows his disillusionment with the United States of America In analyzing the history of America as illustrated through the genocide and slavery of Native Americans, it is argued by historians that, racial scapegoat was vital for American state consolidation. This is because they believed that, intra-white conflict could only be resolved through institutionalizing similar prejudices against the black people (Antony 96). For instance, various reports that assessed the September attacks impact on the politics of Americans politics claimed that the attacks were significant in reordering racial divisions. As a result, nationalism has been clearly defined as† the wish to suppress the internal divisions within the nation and define people outside the group as untrustworthy as allies and implacably evil as enemies.†(Arthur 600). When individuals speak of genocide being performed against the blacks in the world, then people perceive it as white supremacy work system. Few years after the American Revolution, a policy known as the â€Å"conquest theory† was adopted by the United States towards the American Indians. As such, the Europeans viewed themselves as a culture that was superior thus bringing civilization to cultures they considered inferior. The culture of the Native Americans was viewed as having beliefs that were pagan in nature. Therefore, the conquest was viewed as a necessity evil that wou ld help in bestowing upon Indians who were heathen a moral consciousness that would help in redeeming their amorality. The world perception which converted self interest in economics into mortal, noble, motives was a Christianity notion as a religion which demanded fealty from all the available culture. This is what made the Americans ignite war with the native Americans for purposes of expanding their empire, accumulating treasure, cheap labor and land. The war resulted to incarceration of indigenous youths, slavery where the Native Americans were forced into manual labor among other evil deeds ( Mokdad 245). By looking at the Church of England and pluralism, it is evident that the quality in the life of the church differed immensely. Majority of the parish clergy were workers who were very faithful. On the other hand, some were notoriously absent and immoral. Pluralism was among the accepted abuses in the system of the parish. The main reason for such an occurrence was that distin ct amounts of income were offered to the parishes. Individuals acquired their livings for the sake of money and status. The lives of some clergy men can also be portrayed in the life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Because of his income that was insufficient as a writer, he was forced to enroll in a career as â€Å"Custom House Measure† in Boston. By bad luck, in three years time he got dismissed from his career. Through his writing, by

Social economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social economics - Essay Example Improving the social being is one of the prime concerns of the governments and devotes a lot of interest to achieve economic prosperity. But economic prosperity may not bring improved social well being for all as well being is not directly related to income. The aspects of social capital can act to reduce transaction costs and also encourage behavior and trust. The different sources within the community can be thought of as the origination of social capital. Social capital can operate and emerge in families and educational institutions and also in business and local community. Social capital can have both positive and negative impacts on the society. On the one hand it creates social division and on the other leads to social and economic well being at least for some sections of the society. There are mainly five mechanisms by which social capital can affect the outcomes. A distinction can be made between the formal and informal forms of social capital. Formal social capital refers to patterns of behavior, exchange norms, networks which are formally defined. The networks operating outside this formal system refer to informal social capital. The usefulness of this distinction lies in illustrating the problems arising in operations of social capital. The first kind of social capital can be found in the extent of civil society while the second form can be difficult to find as it requires household surveys. At the national level poverty refers to a country’s lack of resources necessary towards education, health and infrastructure. This may give rise to political unrest. In the developed countries poverty is one of the social problems. Poverty alleviation has been one of the guiding principles for most of the governments. The role of economic growth and development in creating employment avenues has clearly been recognized. Some specific sectors have been chosen by most administrations and growth oriented approach has been undertaken.

Promoting Change Essay Example for Free

Promoting Change Essay As a way of improving the level of users’ involvement and making the process an effective one, it becomes necessary that consultative mechanisms that tend to produce feedbacks to users, and the ability to integrate them in every stage of service delivery is put in place. Through their interaction with nurses and the nursing body, users would get to be informed on ways to participate in other to help nurses to deliver effective services. â€Å"Users need to get feedbacks on their participation, but this does not always happen. This can have a bad effect on how people feel about being involved in participation and the difference they can make† (Carr, 2004). Social policy- making have characteristically tended to employ consultative mechanisms to seek greater citizen involvement in generating information for policy formulation. According to Gaventa (1993), the renewed focus on agency in the politics of policy- making offers the scope for recasting the role of citizens in the policy process. Rather than simply the passive recipients of decision made by those who are presumed to know better, participatory approaches redefine ‘expertise’ in terms that both reveal the realities of power involved and assert the legitimacy of knowledge claims by those on the receiving end of policies. The imbalances of power position between the professionals and administrators of service and the users have been observed to be a basis for the relegation of users’ interest to the background. Thus, for an effective mechanism, it then requires that the gap between users and the provider of service be closed down. This can be done when some of these users, who are fit enough, can be trained to become occupiers of the administrative positions for service delivery. Also proper dissemination of information and enlightenment would go a long way in positioning the users and making them know their rights and thus, preventing intimidation and any form of coercion. The importance of proper consultation and feedbacks in users’ involvement would make the users having a sense of satisfaction and the belief that they are actually being involved in the service delivery process. This will create a sense of belonging and even encourage more participation and reduce the level of relegation and disregards of users voice in the policy outcome and decision-making during service policy formulation and implementation. In Wales, the Joint Review Team argues that new mechanisms are now in place to champion the cause of the users. The emphasis is on a culture of involvement through adequate feedbacks to users enhancing users involvement in service delivery. According to Cornwall Gaventa (1999), one form of greater accountability is through increased dialogue and consultation of core users and their involvement. This raises questions about the extent to which marginalized groups are able to articulate their concerns and about the form that dialogue takes Proper conflict resolution that manages conflicts during users’ involvement is necessary in bringing about the effective service delivery and users involvement at the long run. Some articulate service users are branded as unrepresentative therefore be in risk of being ignored. â€Å"Service users who articulate the need for changes that agencies may not be willing or able to implement have sometimes being labelled as ‘unrepresentative†¦implementing changes that require reallocation of resources becoming more difficult especially if these conflict with nationally defined service priorities†. Discrepancy between what management want of user involvement and what users want may be a major source of dissatisfaction for service users, since managers definitions tend to prevail. Some reviews note that dissatisfaction and even conflict may be an inevitable part of the user participation process (ibid). Thus, it requires as a proper resolution of areas of differences that they are adequately taken cared of. Those who usually contact the users should be trained and coached on how to interact and listen to their views and opinions in order to ward off any form of conflict breeding. As Carr (2004), puts it, â€Å"the research suggests that front- line practitioners who have most contact with service users could be usefully engaged in user participation strategies and benefit from user- led training focusing on the practice and principles of user participation†. The front liner practitioners should be equipped with the knowledge of how to handle complaints when service users forward it to them. CONCLUSION Users’ involvement in service in the nursing profession has given them the confidence and pride of having a say in the determination and outcome of what is provided to them. However, report has it that some users feel consulted rather than involved and others have a sense of powerlessness as regarding the complex and confused system in which the participation is structured on. While a sense of stereotyping is being carried out in some quarters, where discrimination and marginalization based on race, minority ethnic has hampered the proper participation of some users. Some professionals relegates users’ interest, this is mostly done due to the huge lacuna of power positioning between the managers and professionals of service provision and the users. It then requires that a proper mechanism for users involvement be put in place through their understanding of the roles of nursing in the healthcare facility and those ethics governing their profession. Hence, it is advocated that a proper feedback mechanism is available; proper conflict resolution be provided for interest clash’ the users of service should be integrated into the service provision activities, where they are perceived as getting services as rights and not privileges. REFRENCES Barnes, C. Mercer G. (2003), â€Å"Research review on User Involvement in Promoting Change and Enhancing the Quality of Social care Services for Disabled People† Center for Disability Studies University of Leeds. 30 June. http://www. leeds. ac. uk/†¦/archiveuk/Barnes/SCIEuserinvolvement2. pdf (19/01/06) Carr, Sarah (2004), â€Å"Position Paper 3: Has service user participation made a difference to social care services? † Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). March. http://www.participateinhealth.org.au

History of Paper -- essays research papers

The first historical mention of paper is 104 A.D. in China. The Empress of China at that time loved books and wanted to have a lot of them made. At the time everything was written on silk scrolls which were extremely expensive and time consuming to make. She wanted something cheaper and easier to use and so she asked one of her servants, a gentleman by the name of Tsi Lun to come up with an alternative. He worked for over nine years experimenting with different things and finally came up with hemp, mulberry tree bark, silk and old fishing nets all ground up into a mushy pulp. I wonder how he ever thought of it; the history books don't say. The Empress was very pleased and Tsi Lun was elevated to a high rank in the court. Unfortunately for him, the Empress then asked Tsi Lun to spread malicious gossip about some of her enemies at court. When the Empress fell out of power, those people were extremely angry with Tsi Lun and he was either put to death or forced to commit suicide. Strange, isn't it, how things go in the world? And, of course, all of this that I am sharing with you is just one version of history. Others will perhaps be able to give a different rendering. I have read many. I like the story of Tsi Lun. Most people agree on that one. But, as for the spread of papermaking as an art, well, there are different stories told. To gather such accounts and compare them falls within the discipline of "Historiography", the history of the writing of history. (If you ever want to scamble your brains and loose all concept of the solidity of reality, just study the hisotry writing of history.) The following, I believe, is most likely closest to the truth. Papemmaking remained a secret Chinese art until around the year 700 A.D. when, during a war with China the Arab nations captured an entire town of papermakers and took them back to the middle east as prisoners where they were forced into labor making paper. The craft was learned a couple hundred years later by Westem Europeans during the Crusades. Curiously, the Church in Westem Europe initially banned the use of paper calling it a 'pagan art' believing that animal parchment was the only thing 'holy' enough to carry the Sacred Word. That strange prejudice lasted for more than 100 years, but they got over it. In the 17th century Europeans were making paper from cotton and linen rags. When paper is made ... ...which does not add to the pollution in the environment. Natural fiber paper makers have told me that they neutralize their caustic solutions with vinegar and baking soda. After the cooking process, once it is neutralized and checked with a litmus strip, the fiber cooking water can be disposed of down the drain without any fear of adding to the toxic waste in the environment, so there is hope.) The sad tale of our time period for the health of the eco system is that just as cotton and linen rags as sources for paper making were becoming scarce in the 17th century, trees in the 21st are also dissappearing. As an example, one single edition of the Sunday New York Times requires 30,000 acres of trees. And that's just the New York Times. What about the London Times? L.A. Times? And the millions of other papers printed around the world? Experiments have begun to find alternative sources of fiber and I have recently heard the European mills are turning toward hemp. Hemp yields 4 times the amount of cellulose fiber per acre than trees and is renewable within a year or two compared to 100 years for trees. As a lover of trees, I hope the rest of the world soon follows the European example.

Airbus Strategy of Assembling an Aircraft Essay

Airbus is a multinational company, with its headquarters in Toulouse, which coordinates all activities and controls the progress in all corporate functions. Its main actions are focused on four EU members: France, Germany, UK, Spain (Airbus online: 2012) France includes four manufacturing sites and three assembly lines. As one of the founder members France has the biggest number of employees. Germany has an important role in the development and engineering of all aircrafts. Hamburg is the Centre of Excellence for cabin and cargo customisation. (Airbusonline:2012) The main contribution of the United Kingdom is the expertise in the design and manufacturing of wings. The assembling of wings for all Airbus aircrafts takes place in the UK. Spain contributes the expertise in weight-saving, composite materials and in innovative manufacturing technologies. However, non EU members like China, Japan, USA or Russia have become more and more attractive in terms of working conditions and tax policy. (Airbusonline:2012) These international collaborations emphasize the multinational thinking of Airbus and indicate the EU as an important partner in terms of creating attractive general conditions. It has to be noticed that Airbus’s operations are one before and one after the implementation of the Sup@irWorld Program. In the next, are listed some of the advantages and disadvantages of the its implementation. Pros: * Improved productivity of its operations to effectively cater to the changing requirements of its customers. * Cycle time reduction of manufacturing aircrafts from 7.5 to 6 years * Smart buying- Reduced its supply cost base: The aim of this program was sharing risk with their suppliers and thus make them more responsible for the overall performance of Airbus. * Improvements in Supply Chain * Improved efficiency through new implemented technology in the supply chain * Quality standards * Economies of scales * Better scope for interoperability between its several entities * Fewer but dedicated suppliers and service providers * Introduction of the Supply Chain Quality Improvement Program (SQIP) to achieve the best performance in the industry such as supply chain efficiency, quality and on time delivery. Cons: * Job cuts -10,000 employees out of 87,000 across its plants were fired when implementing the power8 program * Lack of standardization before the introduction of sup@irWorld. This was leading to inefficiency in its operations with its different manufacturers, ordering the same spare fro different suppliers and using several logistic providers. Airbus recently introduced a ‘maintenance, repair and overhaul’ (MRO) strategy supporting RFID adoption for â€Å"value chain visibility,† by tracing both flyable and non-flyable components over their total lifecycle. According to Carlo K. Nizam, Airbus’s head of value chain visibility, the increasingly competitive global market, and the need to reduce costs and streamline business processes in order to remain competitive has driven the firm to adopt RFID. Airbus introduced the RFID-technology to increase their overall supply chain transparency and visibility to improve their general reactivity. Its goal is to â€Å"error-proof and automate† its supply chain and manufacturing operations to reduce aircraft production and maintenance costs. †¢ Minimize unplanned maintenance and detect malfunction early †¢ Manage and reduce airline parts inventories †¢ Establish audit trails for each uniquely identified object †¢ Ensure that the correct part is being used in the right place †¢ Mechanics can access document, task, and parts data, and locate and track approved spare parts in real time †¢ Identify and track tool location, usage history, and repair requirements †¢ Improve safety and security by authenticating components Benefits of utilizing RFID to Airbus: * Visibility: getting automatic updates of events in the value chain and an unprecedented high level of information * Process Benefits: the cycle times are shorter and less inventory is needed * Business Benefits: reduction in inventory, capital assets and stock reconciliations, and an increased labour productivity and supplier monitoring Drawbacks of utilizing RFID to Airbus: * High Costs * Standardization Issues: It can be very challenging to manage multiple readers and hardware, especially across many facilities * Potential Data Interference and Overload Issues: whether multiple passive RFID devices can cause interference to aircraft systems, whether a strong and undesired signal can activate all devices simultaneously, and the corresponding effects on aircraft systems * Environmental factors: emperature, presence of liquids or metals, such as foil packaging and liquid detergents, can affect the ability of readers to work reliably * Resistance to Change from Barcode System

Inderstanding Consumer Behaviour Towards Luxury Products Essay

Studying consumer behaviour enables marketing researchers to predict how consumers will react to promotional messages and to understand why they make the purchase decision they do. Marketers realized that if they know more about the consumer decision making criteria, they can design marketing strategies and promotional messages that will influence consumers more effectively. The importance of consumer behaviour made marketers to think of a separate branch in marketing research – Consumer research, to deal exclusively for consumer related issues. The current focus of this report is on study of underlying needs and motives in taking purchase decisions, consumer learning process and attitude formation process. The study has been initiated for Club Mahindra Holidays. The purpose of this study is to analyze consumer perceptions of luxury products and the factors that influence his purchase decisions. The objective is to understand consumer behaviour towards luxury products and the steps followed while purchasing it. To achieve the above objectives, we first look at how luxury goods are different from regular goods and then go on to explore some facets and trends of the luxury goods as well as their market and consumers. We will understand the definition of luxury products through secondary research. Post secondary research we will develop few hypotheses which will give us the direction for our next step ie Qualitative Research. We will use interview method in qualitative research which will give an insight into the mindset of the consumers and their purchase steps involved and then follow it up with quantitative research (survey method). Through this we will quantify our findings for the Indian luxury consumer and their buying behaviour. We will analyze the factors that influence the consumers in buying the luxury products. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 4 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Research Abstract Scope: This project is a part of a job assigned to the planning department. This project is an initiative taken to understand the behaviour of consumers towards luxury products. Purchase of a luxury product involves lot of planning and research before taking any decision. There are number of factors that affect an individual?s decision making process as well as his choice about the product. These factors are different for different types of luxury product. A research into these aspects will give us an insight into the mindset of the consumer and will help to study the consumer better. Method: Primary research was done in two steps. ? Qualitative Research – Depth Interview Method ? Quantitative Research – Survey Method 1) Qualitative Research: For qualitative research, few high income people were asked open ended questions which were formulated based on the secondary research and in line with the hypothesis. Depth interview of 10 people were taken which gave an insight into their purchase behavior and their decision making process for a luxury good. Based on this interviews and a further review of the secondary research reports, a final survey questionnaire was prepared. 2) Quantitative Research: For quantitative research, after making the initial questionnaire it was pretested with 5 participants and was improvised. The final sample was 30 with target group being A and A+ socio-economic class people. In June 2009, the survey was conducted to observe the behavior pattern of consumers in buying luxury products. This allowed us to find out about the behaviour of the consumer towards luxury products across various income groups. Also we asked them about what all factors Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 5 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products influence them to buy such products and which brand of products do they feel are luxurious. We also understood the price range that they feel makes the product luxurious. Thus in future while designing any interactive campaign the output of this survey would be of great use for positioning the product as a luxury product. Also some secondary data was mined regarding what exactly influences an individual? s decision. Conclusion: Luxury products are high involvement products which require high thinking and are defined by their exclusivity and brand. They are mostly bought as a symbol of status. People have high emotional attachment with luxury products and are mostly influenced by their family members in decision making as most of the products are bought for family use. These products are also used as a means to gift their closed ones. Endorsing a film star or sport personality does not affect the image of a luxury product to a great extent. Luxury products give a feeling of pride and most of the purchase decision making is influenced by family members especially spouse. This entire initiative was one of its kinds and will help the INTERFACE COMMUNICATION to design its campaigns for Club Mahindra Holidays in a way to advertise them as a luxury club. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 6. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Acknowledgement I would like to give my sincere thanks to my Industry Project Guide Mr. Nilesh Talreja, Senior Executive, Strategic Planning, Interface Communications and Ms. Nahid Elavia, Account Planner, Strategic Planning for their kind support and guidance during my project and also for providing me with a great opportunity to work with such a valuable organization. I would also like to thank Mrs. Shamla Sathe, Account Planning Head for giving me this great opportunity to work with Account Planning Department. It is her visionary thinking, which has been the guiding force for whole of the division and my report. I would also like to thank Mr. Amit Dhokai, my colleague, who has provided me with the necessary information and his valuable suggestion and comments on bringing out this project in the best possible way. I would also like to thank all the faculties at SIMSR who have helped me directly or indirectly in the completion of this project. I thank Interface Communications (A part of Draft FCB+Ulka) for such a valuable learning experience. Thank you Jitesh A Sanghvi MMS – 137 (2008-2010) K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 7 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Sr. No. 1 2 2. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Company Overview Secondary Research Luxury Products: Getting to know luxury 2. 2 2. 3 Difference between regular & luxury goods Consumer Behavior: What is Consumer Buying Behaviour 2. 4 2. 5 2. 6 Stages of Consumer Buying Behaviour Types of Consumer Buying Behaviour Consumer Involvement: Causes of Consumer Involvement 2. 7 3 4 4. 1 4. 2 5 6 Models of Consumer Involvement Research Method Primary Research Qualitative Analysis Quantitative Analysis Recommendations Appendix 23 26 28 30 35 59 60 17 19 21 15 16 Page No. 9 12 14 Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 8 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS Sr. No 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 Particulars Difference between regular and Luxury goods Stages of Consumer Buying Behavior Consumer Involvement Page No. 15 18 20 Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 9 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products COMPANY OVERVIEW. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 10 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products About Interface Communications History Interface Communications is the second agency of the Draft FCB Ulka group. The Draft FCB Ulka group has a 125 year heritage of pioneering concepts which define advertising and a 40 year heritage in India. Interface has grown from a single office to 5 offices in India and is one of the 1st few Indian agencies to boast of a pan Asia network. We are a team of 115 professionals across Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai. Interface is the first Indian agency brand that has gone beyond India. Interface has opened offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, China. In 2003 we launched operations in Taiwan, Singapore. Work with some of the best known brands in each country. Business Interface is a second agency that is created to handle large scale clients. We work with some of the biggest brands across sectors from FMCG to automobiles, from real estate to finance companies, from consumer durables to holidays and many more. Majority of our clients are industry leaders and we are proud to be their strategic partners. Our clients have stuck by us as we are a process driven company. We have our share of global proprietary tools to provide a strategic edge to the clients we work with. Some of the more often used tools include: ? ? ? Mind and Mood and Moments The Wheel VIP and ICON Inspite of being process driven we are still a very people oriented organization. Our teams work together like a family and there is at all times a casual and jovial Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 11 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products. work environment maintained. We believe in an open door policy where any employee can express himself/ herself freely. As an organization we believe in constant learning and thus stress on training and development at all times. The Draft FCB Ulka group is one of the only advertising agencies in India to run a 2 month long training program for fresh recruits. This program called ‘The Star One training’ is a rigorous training ground for the future advertising biggies. This program is an annual feature and has been going strong for more than a decade. Draft FCB Ulka and Interface are some of the few agencies to have a very low attrition rate and most of the senior level management have been with the company on an average for more than 15 years which is a long time in advertising which sees constant churn. We at Interface live the values we believe in and for us our mantra is : We provide strategic communications partnership to our clients – to help sell their brands today, and build brand value over time Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 12 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Secondary Research on luxury products Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing. Page 13 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Secondary Research: Luxury Products Getting to know luxury Luxury brands have often been associated with the core competences of creativity, exclusivity, craftsmanship, precision, high quality, innovation and premium pricing. These product attributes give the consumers the satisfaction of not only owning expensive items but the extra-added psychological benefits like esteem, prestige and a sense of a high status that reminds them and others that they belong to an exclusive group of only a select few, who can afford these pricey items. The luxury sector targets its products and services at consumers on the top-end of the wealth spectrum. These self-selected elite are more or less price insensitive and choose to spend their time and money on objects that are plainly opulence rather than necessities. For these reasons, luxury and prestige brands have for centuries commanded an unwavering and often illogical customer loyalty. Luxury has never been something easy to define, yet this mystery concept is something highly desired by one and all alike. We look at delving deeper into this mystery and aura of luxury goods by way of comparing them against „regular goods? as well as highlighting the characteristics of the luxury industry. But before beginning with that, lets first attempt to understand some common terms associated in the world of high-end goods : ? Luxury and prestige brands such as Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Cartier represent the highest form of craftsmanship and command a staunch consumer loyalty that is not affected by trends. These brands create and set the seasonal trends and are also capable to pulling all of their consumers with them wherever they go. ? Premium brands are those brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger that aspire to be luxury and prestige brands but their marketing mix strategies are more attuned to a mass market, albeit a luxury mass market. They are also termed as mass-premium brands or mass-luxury brands. ? Fashion brands on the other hand are those that address the masses. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 14 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Difference between regular & luxury goods Fig 1. 1 Differences between Regular and Luxury Goods Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 15. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Consumer Behaviour What is Consumer Behaviour Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products. Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying behaviour for: ? Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firms success. ? The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 16 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Stages of Consumer Buying Behaviour Fig 1. 2 Stages of Consumer Buying Behaviour The above figure shows Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Actual purchasing is only one stage of the process. Not all decision processes lead to a purchase. All consumer decisions do not always include all 6 stages, determined by the degree of complexity†¦ discussed next. The 6 stages are: 1. Problem Recognition (awareness of need)–difference between the desired state and the actual condition. Deficit in assortment of products. Hunger-Food. Hunger stimulates your need to eat. Can be stimulated by the marketer through product information–did not know you were deficient? i. e. you see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes. 2. Information search-o Internal search, memory. Page 17 Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public sources etc. A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the evoked set. Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is o o o o Chinese food Indian food Burger king Klondike kates etc 3. Evaluation of Alternatives–need to establish criteria for evaluation, features the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy, Indian gets highest rank etc. If not satisfied with your choice then returns to the search phase. Can you think of another restaurant? Look in the yellow pages etc. Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by â€Å"framing† alternatives. 4. Purchase decision–Choose buying alternative, includes product, package, store, method of purchase etc. 5. Purchase–May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product availability. 6. Post-Purchase Evaluation–outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc. After eating an Indian meal, you may think that you really wanted a Chinese meal instead. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 18 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Types of Consumer Buying Behaviour There are four types of consumer buying behaviour which are as follows: ? Routine Response/Programmed Behaviour–buying low involvement frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack foods, milk etc. ? Limited Decision Making–buying product occasionally. When you need to obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering. Examples include Clothes–know product class but not the brand. ? Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and / or infrequently bought products (Luxury Products). High degree of economic / performance / psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes, computers, education. Spend a lot of time seeking information and deciding. Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc. Go through all six stages of the buying process. ? Impulse buying, no conscious planning. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing. Page 19 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Consumer Involvement Some consumers are characterized as being more involved in products and shopping than others. A consumer who is highly involved with a product would be interested in knowing a lot about it before purchasing. Hence he reads brochures thoroughly, compares brands and models available at different outlets, asks questions, and looks for recommendations. Thus consumer involvement can be defined as heightened state of awareness that motivates consumers to seek out, attend to, and think about product information prior to purchase. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 20 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Causes of consumer involvement The factors that influences consumer involvement include personal, product and situational. ? Personal Factors Self-concept, needs and values are the three personal factors that influence the extent of consumer involvement in a product or service. The more product image, the value symbolism inherent in it and the needs it serves are fitting together with the consumer self- image, values and needs, the more likely the consumer is to feel involved in it. Celebrities for example share a certain self image, certain values, and certain needs. They tend to use products and services that reflect their life style. They get highly involved in purchasing prestigious products like designer wear, imported cars, health care products etc. ? Product Factors The consumer involvement grows as the level of perceived risk in the purchase of a good or service increases. It is likely that consumers will feel more involved in the purchase of their house than in the purchase of tooth paste, it is a much riskier purchase. Product differentiation affects involvement. The involvement increases as the number of alternatives that they have to choose from increases. This may be due to the fact that consumers feel variety which means greater risk. The pleasure one gets by using a product or service can also influence involvement. Some products are a greater source of pleasure to the consumer than others. Tea and coffee have a high level of hedonic (pleasure) value compared to, say household cleaners. Hence the involvement is high. Involvement increases when a product gains public attention. Any product, that is socially visible or that is consumed in public, demands high involvement. For example, involvement in the purchase of car is more than the purchase of household items. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 21 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products ? Situational Factors The situation in which the product is brought or used can generate emotional involvement. The reason for purchase or purchase occasion affects involvement. For example, buying a pair of socks for yourself is far less involved than buying a gift for a close friend. Social pressure can significantly increase involvement. One is likely to be more self conscious about the products and brands one looks at when shopping with friends than when shopping alone. The need to make a fast decision also influences involvement. A consumer who needs a new refrigerator and sees a „one- day- only sale? at an appliances retailer does not have the time to shop around and compare different brands and prices. The eminence of the decision heightens involvement. The involvement is high when the decision is irrevocable, for example when the retailer does not accept return or exchange on the sale items. Thus involvement may be from outside the individual, as with situational involvement or from within the individual as with enduring involvement. It can be induced by a host of personal-product-and situation related factors, many of which can be controlled by the marketer. It affects the ways in which consumers see, process, and send information to others. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 22 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Models of consumer involvement Learn-Feel-Do Hierarchy Model Buying decisions vary according to the way there are taken. Some decisions are taken with lot of thinking; others are taken with great feelings. Some are made through force of habit and others are made consciously. The learn-feel-do hierarchy is simple matrix that attributes consumer choice to information (learn), attitude (feel), and behaviour (do) issues. The matrix has four quadrants, each specifying a major marketing communication goal to be informative, to be effective, to be habit forming, or promote self-satisfaction. Thinking and feeling are shown as a continuum – some decisions involve one or the other and many involve elements of both. High and low importance is also represented as a continuum. Fig 1. 3 Consumer Involvement ? High Involvement / High Thinking Purchases in first quadrant require more information, both because of the importance of the product to the consumer and thinking issues related to the purchases. Major purchases such as cars, houses and other expensive and infrequently buying items come under this category. The strategy model is learn-feel-do. Marketers have to furnish full information to get consumer acceptance of the product. Luxury products fall in this category. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 23. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products ? High Involvement / High Feeling The purchase decisions in second quadrant involve less of information than feeling. Typical purchases tied to self-esteem- jewellery, apparel, cosmetics and accessories come under this category. The strategy model is feel-learndo. To encourage purchases marketers must approach customers with emotion and appeal. ? Low Involvement / Low Feeling The purchases in this quadrant are motivated primarily by the need to satisfy personal tastes, many of which are influenced by self-image. Products like news paper, soft drinks, Liquor etc., fall under this category. Group influences often lead to the purchase of these items. The strategy model is do-feel-learn. It helps marketers to promote products through reference groups and other social factors. ? Low Involvement / Low Thinking It involves less in thinking and more of habitual buying. Products like stationery, groceries, food etc. , fall under this category. Over a period of time any product can fall in this segment. The role of information is to differentiate any „point of difference? from competitors. Brand loyalty may result simply from the habit. The strategy model is do-learn-feel. It suggests that marketers induce trial through various sales promotion techniques. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 24 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Research Method: The study is classified based on the consumer buying preferences and factors that influence purchase decisions. The research method adopted is exploratory as the research is still in its initial stage and the preliminary information that will be gathered will help in defining the problems and suggest hypotheses. We are set to learn about consumer behaviour across various product categories of luxury. We intend to understand the influence of various factors including family members and friends on purchase decision, emotional attachment with the product, purchase of counterfeit products and endorsing a film or sports personality for luxury product. We also want to understand purchase behaviour for car, planning of holidays and perception of holiday clubs. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 25 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products PRIMARY RESEARCH Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 26 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Primary Research: Methods Primary research was done in two steps. ? Qualitative Research – Depth Interview Method ? Quantitative Research – Survey Method 1) Qualitative Research: For qualitative research, few high income people were asked open ended questions which were formulated based on the secondary research and in line with the hypothesis. Depth interview of 10 people were taken which gave an insight into their purchase behavior and their decision making process for a luxury good. Based on this interviews and a further review of the secondary research reports, a final survey questionnaire was prepared. 2) Quantitative Research: For quantitative research, after making the initial questionnaire it was pretested with 5 participants and was improvised. The final sample was 30 with target group being A and A+ socio-economic class people. In June 2009, the survey was conducted to observe the behavior pattern of consumers in buying luxury products. Purpose Based on the existing data and the findings of the survey, it can be understood what influences a consumer to buy a luxury product and how to reach a consumer. The different perspectives of luxury products from a consumer?s point of view can be understood giving a detailed insight as to how to position a product as luxury product. Consumer? s expectations from a luxury product will help us to understand the modifications needed in a product to be categorized as luxurious product. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 27 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Sampling Sampling procedure: The sample is selected in a random way, but those having a car with nearly worth more than 5lakhs. It was collected through mails and personal visits to the known persons, by formal and informal talks and through filling up the questionnaire prepared. The data has been analyzed by using the graphical method prepared in Microsoft Excel. Sample size: The sample size of my project is limited to 30 only. This is limited due to time constraints. Sample design: Data has been presented with the help of bar graph, pie charts, stacked graphs etc. Limitation: ? Time limitation ? Research has been done only at Mumbai ? Some of the persons were not so responsive ? Possibility of error in data collection ? Possibility of error in analysis of data due to small sample size Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 28. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Analysis: In qualitative research, a personal interview was conducted of 10 people to understand the perception of luxury products and their purchase decision making process. The layout of the interview was: Warm up General details about the person, his family background, his interests and his lifestyle Luxury Product To understand their perception of luxury products and steps involved in purchasing a luxury product. Car, Holiday & Club To understand his perception of a luxurious holiday and his planning process while going on a holiday. To understand his attitude towards clubs and decision making of a car Factors influencing To understand various factors that influence his decision for buying a particular luxury product. For qualitative questionnaire see appendix 1 For quantitative questionnaire see appendix 2 Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 29 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Qualitative Analysis: The Depth Interviews conducted gave some valuable insights into the mindset of the consumer? s perception about luxury products and their decision making process during purchase. Some of the interesting responses based on which quantitative questionnaire was made are as follows: 1) What is your opinion about luxury products? â€Å"Depends, it may be different for different people. DVD, TV and other stuffs would be luxury for me. † â€Å"They are good for show off† â€Å"Luxury products are created by seller. They are not necessities for a buyer but a need has been created by the seller. The way the products are advertised, branded and presented, a need is created to buy it. † â€Å"First and foremost it gives you a satisfaction in life, satisfaction that you are making use of the dreams that are available in the market. It can also be used as a status symbol. † â€Å"If you can afford it one must consider luxury products. What is the point if you can earn so much money and still don’t spend on luxury products? † Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 30 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Observation: Luxury Products have different perceptions with different people. Some think it is a need created by buyer where as some feel these are products good for show-off. Some consider it as a status symbol. 2) Is luxury a necessity? â€Å"Today a four vehicle has become a necessity. Though a four wheeler is a luxury still it becomes a necessity. Second example is the latest technology mobile phones. We use mobile phones even while travelling, before sleeping, after getting up, checking emails. So whatever you say about these products they have become a necessity. † â€Å"It is all in the minds of the people. If they get attracted to the promotions of the product and offers, it becomes a necessity for them. As said earlier, the need is created by the seller. † 3) Name a few luxury products? Expensive Car/Bike Jewellery Club Membership Branded Perfumes Travel Holidays Expensive Car/Bike Big House Jewellery Trendy Mobile Club Membership Travel Holidays. Club Membership Travel Holidays Electronic Gadgets Branded Perfumes Branded Apparels Club Membership Electronic Gadgets Travel Holidays Branded Perfumes Branded Apparels Observation: Club Membership, Travel Holidays and Expensive Car/Bike are considered Luxury products whereas other products like Jewellery, Electronic Gadgets, Branded Perfumes and Branded Apparels are considered semi-luxury products. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 31 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products 4) Can you take us through the entire process of buying this product right from the wish to buy – actual purchase? â€Å"My process to buy a new house started 10-12 years back. I saw an advertisement in the newspaper and then went and saw the house. Once finalised, I took a loan, sold the old house and bought this new house. † â€Å"My old car was giving me lot of problem. So I decided to buy this new car. I wished to buy this a year back. I didn’t want to take loan, so saved money for a year and finally bought this. In this period, the prices went down, so it helped me. † â€Å"I had a car before I bought this new one. It took me 2 years to buy this. It was the European car of the year. I saw the ad in the newspaper and decided I wanted to buy this. Observation: Purchase of a luxury product requires lot of planning and it takes many months to buy such high value products. Proper research and information needs to be obtained about the product before finalising the product. 5) What is your opinion of holiday clubs? Would you consider them as a luxury holiday club? â€Å"If you travel around a lot, than it is worth. It is not a luxury holiday because they have different offers which are affordable by most of the people. † â€Å"I would consider it as a luxury. Most of these packages are designed in such a manner that you can get discount during weekdays. Weekends are expensive. So those are the times when you have time. † â€Å"They are good and give you the necessary relaxation. I don? t consider them entirely luxury because nowadays most of the people can afford it. † Observation: Opinions about holiday clubs are varied as there is not clear understanding of necessity. There are number of clubs providing cheap holidays and hence clubs seem to be losing on the title of luxury club. Jitesh Sanghvi – MMS -137, Marketing Page 32 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products 6) Would you buy a counterfeit Rolex watch for a cheaper price? â€Å"I am not a watch person so I would definitely go for a counterfeit. But for.

History Of The Internet Essays - Internet Hall Of Fame, Free Essays

History Of The Internet Essays - Internet Hall Of Fame, Free Essays History Of The Internet History of the Internet The Internet as we know today was not a concept that was quickly enacted when it was first thought up. It was a revolutionary process that was the result of visionary people who painstakingly brought forth the World Wide Web. These individuals saw a promising potential in allowing computers to share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. This is all started in 1962 when the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated a research program. They selected J.C.R. Licklider of MIT to head the work and develop it. Later Leonard Kleinrock of UCLA who developed the theory of packet switching, which was used to create the basis of Internet connections. His thesis was titled Communications Networks: Stochastic Flow and Delay. This thesis examined what packet-switching networking could look like. Lawrence Roberts of NIT confirmed Kleinrocks theory by connecting a Massachusetts computer with a California computer over dial up telephone lines. This proved that it could be done and when he later joined DARPA in 1966 he developed his plan for ARPANET. ARPANET, also known as the Internet was brought online in 1965 under a contract let by the renamed Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) (Howe 2). It originally connected UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UCSB, and the University of Utah. Soon after several other universities connected to ARPANET. In order for ARPANET to communicate via the telephone lines a series of protocols were developed Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) came first then TCP/IP developed from these. These protocols communicated transparently across multiple, linked packet networks. The ultimate infrastructure was designed that if sites were destroyed by nuclear attack, routers would direct traffic around the network via alternate routes. Since this was a initially founded by the government, it was originally limited to research, education, and for government use. In order to work the Internet a person had to learn a complex system. The Internet matured in the 70s as a result of the TCP/IP architecture first proposed by Bob Kahn at BBN and further developed by Kahn and Vint Cerf at Stanford and others throughout the 70s.(Howe 3). It is interesting to note that at this time at Bell Labs the Unix to Unix Copy Protocol (UUCP) was invented. Newsgroups and discussions were exchanged through this means although it did not use TCP/IP. Usenet is not considered a part of the Internet but it did help those that used the Internet. It played a big part on creating the Internet network and its community. In 1986, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the development of the NSFNET which today, provides a major backbone communication service for the Internet.(ISOC 1). In Europe, major international backbones such as NORDUNET and others provide connectivity to over one hundred thousand computers on a large number of networks. Commercial network providers in the U.S. and Europe are beginning to offer Internet backbone and access support on a competitive basis to any interested parties.(ISOC 2). In the early 90s commercial use on the Internet was allowed, before it was only allowed to serve the goals of research and education. Because of this lift commercial network use expanded beyond what anyone thought it could be. As with all growth there are pains to be dealt with. Users want quicker speed connections and wireless connectivity. The demand is heralding a response for these needs and it seems there will be no limit what to ask for. Bibliography Aboba, Bernard. How the Internet Came to Be. Addison-Wesley, 1993. Bell Laboratories. 22 Oct. 2000 . Cerf, Vint. A Brief History of the Internet and Related Networks. ISOC. 22 Oct.2000 Howe,Walt. A Brief History of the Internet. 22 Oct. 2000 0.delphi.com/navnet/history.html

Go to College Without a High School Diploma

Go to College Without a High School Diploma Don’t give up on your dream of enrolling in a college or university just because you didn’t get your high school diploma. Although most colleges require a high school diploma to enroll in any program that grants bachelors degrees, several options are available for students who lack the paper to prove that they graduated high school. 1. Community College Most community colleges assume that a certain percentage of their student body is applying without a high school diploma, and they plan accordingly. They often have programs specifically designed to help people without diplomas who show the potential to succeed. Since more and more community colleges are creating online programs, many new options have also opened up for distance learners. Check with your local schools to see what programs they offer, or search online to find a program that matches your needs. 2. GED Programs Some colleges allow students to enroll with a GED. Designed to be a high school equivalency test, the GED proves that passing students have an education comparable to the current graduating class of seniors. You can find free GED preparation courses online. 3. Nontraditional Student Status Students who have been out of high school for a long time may qualify for nontraditional student status, which generally means that the student is older than the average enrollee. Almost all online and traditional colleges have an organization dedicated to helping such students find success. You may be able to bypass traditional requirements, such as the high school diploma, by proving relevant life experience and demonstrated maturity. 4. Concurrent Enrollment If you still want to get your high school diploma, you may be able to take online college classes at the same time you’re working on your high school credits. Many colleges have special programs that negotiate concurrent enrollment, which allows a student to attend two schools at the same time. The good news? Many high schools allow students to earn double high school credit by completing college courses, which means you may be able to kill two birds with one stone- double the credits, double the diplomas! The Bottom Line Students have many motivations for attending college; one of the primary reasons is financial. As of May 2017, holders of bachelors degrees earn 31 percent more than workers with an associate degree and 74 percent more than holders of just a high school diploma. When it comes to lifetime earnings, the difference is about $2.3 million over a lifetime between bachelors degree holders and high school diplomates, and thats a good reason indeed to stay in school.

Social Media - Facebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Media - Facebook - Essay Example Facebook service, created by Mark Zuckerberg, was launched in 2004. At the time of its launch, the sole purpose of the service was to help Harvard University’s students in educational matters. However, it gradually started expanding to other universities as well. Alba and Stay mention that â€Å"Facebook is a networking platform† (24). Today, Facebook has become one of the widely used networking services, having nearly 800 million users all over the world. The name ‘Facebook’ is indebted to the university administrators in the USA, who used to provide books to their students to know each other in a better way. The thesis statement of this paper is that ‘Facebook is beneficial because it connects people’. However, some people think that Facebook does not help people establish any real relationship. My personal point of view over the issue is in accord with the statement that Facebook is beneficial for people. The influence of Facebook can be eva luated as beyond a website, but as an innovative tool to measure one’s social acceptability and the ability to mingle with the masses without any inhibition or inferiority complex. Claim 1: Facebook enables interaction between people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries. Evidence: Everyone above the age of 12 can join Facebook. There is no limitation of gender, class, race, or social status. Facebook provides facility to the people to know each other and develop healthy relationships. Facebook, like international brotherhood, extends to other spheres an innovative platform to communicate with friends and meet new people, exchange valuable information, spend leisure time in a more useful way, new experiences, view videos and games, as well as regular updating of relationships. Claim 2: Facebook enables political interaction between people. People can share information and opinions on both international and domestic politics with each other. Evidence: The recent revolutions in Egypt, Jordan, and other Islamic countries are an authentic evidence of political interaction through Facebook. Today, politicians make use of social networking websites to launch their political campaigns. Politicians address the public through these websites and communicate their passion and ideas regarding development of their specific nations. The common thought about Facebook is that these websites enable fast and secure global interactions not only for the public, but also for the politicians. Many politicians use these websites to create virtual presence and to share their thoughts and ideas with prospective voters. Social networking websites played a great role in the political success of Barack Obama. People shared their views with each other and created over 50,000 events on the websites to bring success to Obama’s campaign. Political interaction between the voters and the politicians has also become easier through social networking websites. Voters c an easily share information with each other in order to decide whom they should vote in elections. Politicians can make people aware of their political agendas in order to convince them and to get their support in elections. Almost half of the picture of the election results can be seen through the favorite politicians’ statistics available on Facebook and other social networking websites. Claim 3: Facebook establishes long lasting relationships between people, such as marriages, friendships, and business relationships. Evidence: It is evident from the social researches that Facebook helps people find good life partners to live with. People are also able to find suitable businesses partners.