Compare the Ways in Which Larkin and Abse Write About Settings in Their Poems. Essay

Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about settings in their poems. In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of at least two of Larkin’s poems. In ‘Mr Bleaney’ Larkin explores the setting of an old house, still ever present with the spirit and legacy of its last occupant. Setting is presented as impressionable on its inhabitant, restricting and institutionalising their lives. Similarly, Abse’s poem ‘Leaving Cardiff’ also displays themes regarding setting giving you an identity, which is defined by one place, leaving the persona institutionalised. Regarding setting, another of Larkin’s poems ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ also supports the theme of settings being very impressionable. However, like ‘Leaving Cardiff’, this particular poem hints at settings also contributing to a disappointing, anticlimactic and overrated journey. In ‘Mr Bleaney’ Larkin presents setting as an extremely reclusive place which has an everlasting and overpowering effect on the persona, making him very agoraphobic. The repetitive and constant ‘ABAB’ rhyme scheme throughout this poem hints at the continual and dull life the persona leads, being forced to live a constant, boring life sculpted by Mr Bleaney’s previous existence. The lexis ‘stayed’ also reiterates the lack of ambition the persona feels towards being any different to Mr Bleaney. The previous occupant Mr Bleaney relied on his house ‘the whole time’, and the persona is starting to behave similarly. The end of the poem ‘I don’t know.’, ending with a caesura displaying irony, is a powerful ending which is the personas way of justifying superiority or difference, and the irony that he is actually like Mr Bleaney, a reclusive and restrictive man. The metaphorical use of pathetic fallacy ‘frig id wind’ is hinting at the outside world trying to torpon the previous occupant to come outside more frequently, but due to his contentment with confinement, he chose never to. ‘That how we live measures our own nature’ is showing how home sculpts you to how you are and your life is evaluated based on your home. Therefore, the previous occupant Mr Bleaney is leaving an everlasting impression on his home, rubbing of onto the way the persona lives his life. In addition, the lexis ‘home’ is used when describing this particular setting. On the whole, this prison like venue is  quite the opposite of a homely environment and the irony is that evidently the setting in this poem is more like a ‘hired box’, hinting at a coffin like atmosphere created within the ‘home’. On the whole, the setting in this poem is not described very positively, and the persona should definitely not be happy within the confinement of an everlasting, dominant presence overshadowing the joy of life through obsession with imprisonment. Similarly, Abse’s poem ‘Leaving Cardiff’ also hints at setting being accountable for your identity. ‘Can I be the same man twice’ is a prime example of setting, in this poem Cardiff, defying your distinctiveness. The persona within this poem is reflecting on how Cardiff once distinctively defined who he was, and now he is leaving, he will never be the same person that Cardiff once moulded him into. To show the persona and the setting are strongly linked with a bond, the metaphorical usage of pathetic fallacy ‘knots of water flow’ is hinting at the emotional response that Cardiff has on the persona, linking them together strongly and showing how dominant setting is in his life. In addition, the materialistic use of ‘now the funnels negations blow’ shows how Cardiff was dominant in every aspect of the personas life. Due to funnels blowing out rings of smoke, they are metaphorically signifying the repetitious and vicious circles the persona will face in always being linked to Cardiff, bringing him back to where he started. Also, the rings of smoke signify the emptiness within his life, and how once he leaves Cardiff a segment of his identity will be left behind. Alternatively, setting in Larkin’s ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ is predominantly described through a journey on a train, contributing to the disappointing and overrated impression of setting. Although Larkin claims there was nothing of himself in this poem, his biographer maintains there was everything of the poet in this poem, critiquing the homogeneity of life. In one sense, the persona is experiencing a stereotypical journey within the setting of a train, on looking on the ‘houses’ and ‘streets’ surrounding him. However, in another sense the persona is looking at the mass production of newlyweds during ‘The Whitsun Weddings’, a religious festival, unprepared for their hopeful and artificial journey ahead. Phillip Larkin is very critical of marriage, believing too much credence is put on it and the  reality is that it will not last. ‘A slow and stopping curve southwards’. This is hinting at the reality of life going downhill after marriage, and the expected journey will not succeed. In regards to setting, the setting of a train is extremely significant. As the newlyweds pile on the train polluting true love, the train is symbolically signifying the deteriorative journey that will take place in their love lives. Generally, this poem is very negative towards the journey that married couples will face, symbolical of the setting of a train. However, the slight break of the ABABCDECDE’ rhyme scheme when ‘grass’ and ‘cars’ rhyme is to show a slight blip of happiness in marriage, in contrast to sorrow. This is because Larkin wanted to show how this is only his opinion on the journey of marriage. Also, the breaking of the rhyme scheme could symbolically show how in fact in later life the couples may separate and evidently their marriage could break down. The setting of a train is to also show the normalisation and journey of a marriage. Abse’s ‘Leaving Cardiff’ also uses journey to contribute to the setting, just like Larkin does. The journey that the persona is facing in this poem is that he is leaving Cardiff for good. ‘Upload and move on’. This particular metaphor is showing how the persona is leaving the setting of Cardiff, but will never forget the journey he has been on whilst he is there, and evidently the Journey he will face in the future.

Life in Elizabethan England during the Renaissance

Elizabethan England (in the mid 1500’s to early 1600’s) was dubbed the â€Å"Golden Age† because England was thriving, culturally, socially, and economically. England had earned riches from Latin America in gold and tobacco, Queen Elizabeth had resolved all international conflicts, and England was one of the most advanced countries in world exploration.Additionally, the arts were thriving, with â€Å"Shakespeare's masterpieces of the stage, Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen, and Sir Philip Sidney's Defence of Poesie† being written and performed on stage all in this period. Most everyone was financially stable, and London was the hub for fine arts. Who was Queen Elizabeth and what kind of influence did she have on English culture of the time? Queen Elizabeth I, her reign extending from 1558 to 1603, was one of the most prominent powers of the world and her legacy is still remembered today.â€Å"London became a cultural and commercial center where learning and literature thrived† while she was in power, as she believed the arts should remain intact and was even a fan of theatres being built everywhere in London. At the beginning of her reign, â€Å"there were violent clashes throughout Europe between Protestant and Catholic leaders and their followers†. She was able to resolve these issues and England rose from these conflicts to world supremacy. What was the political climate of Elizabethan England?How was this climate different than the age immediately preceding Elizabethan times? As mentioned before, there was much conflict between Protestants and Catholics, but when Queen Elizabeth came into power, she mades sure that England and all areas within control were made peaceful once more. This allowed for political tensions to ease, and thus the Golden Age began. During this time, â€Å"England was firmly established as a leading military and commercial power in the Western world†.What was the role of women in Elizabethan England, and how did it compare to the role of men? Women married quite young, the youngest average being around 17 and the oldest being around 24. They wore floor-length dresses (often times with corsets or the like), and very rarely worked. If they did, it was mostly domestic duties like sewing and tailoring. Men, on the other hand, enjoyed all areas of life: working, going to the theatre, traveling around London as they pleased, with their wives (their property) waiting for them at home  most often.However, the degree of their leisure depended on what family a man had been born into, whether it be rich or poor. Still, men were still considered above women and the social and political climates reflected as much. What were the major social classes of the time, and about what percentage of the population did these classes comprise? Within royalty, the highest in the rankings were dukes, the second highest were marquises, and then descending from there, there were earls, viscounts and barons.In normal society, however, there were the highest rankings in the social sphere: nobility, knights, esquires and clergy, the medium ranking in the social sphere: landholding commoners (freeholders, leaseholders, and copyholders), and the lower ranking: townsfolk, laborers, servants, and the lowest of lows: the unemployed or â€Å"beggars†. What forms of entertainment were most popular? Theatre was above all the most popular entertainment (even Queen Elizabeth enjoyed it). Other forms of entertainment included tennis, and bowling on the lawn, also known as just â€Å"bowls†. And of course, gossip was one of the preferred pastimes. Life in Elizabethan England during the Renaissance Elizabethan England (in the mid 1500’s to early 1600’s) was dubbed the â€Å"Golden Age† because England was thriving, culturally, socially, and economically. England had earned riches from Latin America in gold and tobacco, Queen Elizabeth had resolved all international conflicts, and England was one of the most advanced countries in world exploration.Additionally, the arts were thriving, with â€Å"Shakespeare's masterpieces of the stage, Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen, and Sir Philip Sidney's Defence of Poesie† being written and performed on stage all in this period. Most everyone was financially stable, and London was the hub for fine arts. Who was Queen Elizabeth and what kind of influence did she have on English culture of the time? Queen Elizabeth I, her reign extending from 1558 to 1603, was one of the most prominent powers of the world and her legacy is still remembered today.â€Å"London became a cultural and commercial center where learning and literature thrived† while she was in power, as she believed the arts should remain intact and was even a fan of theatres being built everywhere in London. At the beginning of her reign, â€Å"there were violent clashes throughout Europe between Protestant and Catholic leaders and their followers†. She was able to resolve these issues and England rose from these conflicts to world supremacy. What was the political climate of Elizabethan England?How was this climate different than the age immediately preceding Elizabethan times? As mentioned before, there was much conflict between Protestants and Catholics, but when Queen Elizabeth came into power, she mades sure that England and all areas within control were made peaceful once more. This allowed for political tensions to ease, and thus the Golden Age began. During this time, â€Å"England was firmly established as a leading military and commercial power in the Western world†.What was the role of women in Elizabethan England, and how did it compare to the role of men? Women married quite young, the youngest average being around 17 and the oldest being around 24. They wore floor-length dresses (often times with corsets or the like), and very rarely worked. If they did, it was mostly domestic duties like sewing and tailoring. Men, on the other hand, enjoyed all areas of life: working, going to the theatre, traveling around London as they pleased, with their wives (their property) waiting for them at home  most often.However, the degree of their leisure depended on what family a man had been born into, whether it be rich or poor. Still, men were still considered above women and the social and political climates reflected as much. What were the major social classes of the time, and about what percentage of the population did these classes comprise? Within royalty, the highest in the rankings were dukes, the second highest were marquises, and then descending from there, there were earls, viscounts and barons.In normal society, however, there were the highest rankings in the social sphere: nobility, knights, esquires and clergy, the medium ranking in the social sphere: landholding commoners (freeholders, leaseholders, and copyholders), and the lower ranking: townsfolk, laborers, servants, and the lowest of lows: the unemployed or â€Å"beggars†. What forms of entertainment were most popular? Theatre was above all the most popular entertainment (even Queen Elizabeth enjoyed it). Other forms of entertainment included tennis, and bowling on the lawn, also known as just â€Å"bowls†. And of course, gossip was one of the preferred pastimes.

The Telephone: Then and Now

Jennifer Evans The Telephone: Then and Now HUMN 303: Introduction to the Humanities Instructor E. Elliott February 11, 2011 The Telephone: Then and Now The telephone was one of the greatest American inventions. Developed in the 1800’s by Alexander Graham Bell, it quickly became one of the most used inventions in the world. The telephone had many impacts on society and the way we communicated and still plays a huge role in the world we live today. The telephone has developed from something that was not a necessity to something people must have. The telephone opened the door for communications across the world and played a part in the development of personal and business cultures by allowing people from different countries the ability to communicate with ease. Carl F. Gauss and Ernst H. Weber built the electromagnetic telegraph in 1814 and was the first step to making electrical signals travel from one device to another which influenced the invention of the telephone (Mann, 2010). Alexander Graham Bell first introduced the telephone to the public on May 10, 1876 (Shulman, 2008). Some developments had already taken place on the invention of a wait to obtain voice transmission, but a device that actually could do it had not yet been developed (Mann, 2010). The problem was developing the transmitter which is the device in the phone that actually allows each person to hear each end of the conversation (Shulman, 2008). Bell had to defend himself in several court cases because of a German inventor by the name of Phillip Reiss already developed a device like the telephone in 1816 (Shulman, 2008). Bell eventually won his patent and invented the first telephone company (Shulman, 2008). Globally, the invention of the telephone was not accepted. People in other countries viewed it as evil, or a way someone could spy on them (Mann, 2010). The telephone was mostly utilized in foreign countries for government, military, and business use only and the general public did not own them (Shulman 2008). European countries did not accept the invention of the telephone and leaders of these countries laughed at its presentation (Mann, 2010). Today, on a global level, we see that the phone did eventually become accepted worldwide and cultures of all kinds are dependent upon its use. The world no longer had to communicate through mail or other means that did not send clear messages. The telephone has evolved to a device that people cannot leave home without and this is obvious in every country around the world. Global communications are used today for government communications, business dealings, and personal relationships (Shulman, 2008). The economy grows from the use of telephones because we are able to pay bills and make business deals from anywhere. People make purchases on the phone and telemarketers use telephones to assist in sales marketing. The invention of the telephone had many impacts on society. It improved communication so that people could maintain more relationships. People had no lines of communication before its development. The mail was the only option and was a very timely process. The impact of the telephone on society when Alexander Graham Bell developed it was to allow everyone, including the poor to have communication ability through the use of the telephone (Mann, 2010). The telephone was the first device that permitted voice communication over long distances. Because of this technology our society and the world changed. It is easy to take technology, inventions, and advances in any field for granted. We accept that we have computers, appliances, and the telephones. We do not consider the impact that these technologies have on our live and they do have an impact, whether good or bad. They affect our lives in ways that we may not even know. One of the most influential, and controversial, inventions has been that of the telephone (Shulman, 2008). When the telephone was introduced it was met with some resistance and a few technical problems. As time passed it became so accepted that almost everyone in the western world had a telephone. The telephone was marketed in that it would increase revenue, employment, and an improve communication (Telephone calls for all, 2007). During World War II, the telephone systems were destroyed in the war stricken countries and the US remained intact (Farley, 2005). The military had already developed radio communications but the telephone was still just a landline. This gave the United States a jump in the invention of mobile communications (Farley, 2005). Doctor Martin Cooper developed the modern day cell phone (Farley, 2005). He invented the technology responsible for the cell phone when he was the Director of Research and Development at Motorola (Farley, 2005). Dr. Martin Cooper is also known as the first person to make a call on a cell phone and his famous first call took place in April of 1973 in New York (Farley, 2005). Cell phones and internet have become the most widely used means of communication and we are in a culture of mobile dependence. Everywhere we go people are on their cell phones or on the internet. Businesses use free access to the internet to attract customers. The telephone and mobile communications have given people access to the world and all the things the world has to offer us in the means of communication with people. The cellular phone industry has grown rapidly with major effects on the economy. People pay monthly bills and buy new phones all the time. I believe there has been a massive culture shift over time with the invention of the telephone. Culture in the earlier time of the invention of the telephone was resentful of the device. We now see a culture of dependency on the phone and the internet. Cell phones look like small computers now and internet access is easily obtainable from anywhere. From rejection to acceptation, the phone was a major invention of American history. The telephone was one of the greatest inventions in American history. Most people today do not leave their home without some type of communication device with them. In most cases, this is a mobile phone but the invention of the mobile phone was dependent upon the invention of the telephone and how to transmit voice signals. The only difference being one has wires and one does not. Communications across the globe are happening everyday and contributes to our growing and expanding culture. If we were not able to communicate with other countries, we would not have a grasp on the events or changes happening around the world. The telephone made a huge impact on the world and our ability to communicate on a global level. The culture shift with the invention of the telephone is dramatic and the economy has definitely reaped the benefits. The telephone and mobile phones were ilestones in America’s history and the we are still inventing new types of telephone devices today. References Farley, T. (2005, April). Mobile telephone history. Telektronikk,(3). Retrieved from http://www. cems. uwe. ac. uk Mann, M. (2010). The deep digital divide: The telephone in British India 1883-1933. Historical Social Research, 35(1), 188-208. Shulman, S. (2008). A game of telephone. Technology Review, 111(6), M18 Telephone c alls for all. (2007). New Scientist, (193)(2589), 14. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. an: 23996043.

Opinionated Response to Peer Comment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Opinionated Response to Peer Comment - Essay Example In response, the government implemented many tax rate reductions to appease the people’s rising disgruntlement (Friedberg, 2011). Using Keynesian economic principles, tax cuts will generate more purchasing power. With lesser taxes, the people will have more money to buy good and services. With more tax cuts, the people’s demand for products and services increases. Consequently, with more demand, the stores and other suppliers can sell more goods. With more goods sold, the government can collect more taxes. Basically, the overall effect on the government’s tax collections seems the same (Mankiw, 2008). With more sales, the companies pay more taxes to the government. With more demand for products and services, the factories hire more workers to produce the highly salable products and deliver more services. With more employees, the government can collect more salary-based taxes. As proof, During the George W. Bush Presidency, the president was beset with an economic depression. To rehabilitate and improve the economic depression, President George W. Bush spearheaded permanent tax cuts. As expected, the President Bush Tax cuts increased the public’s purchasing power, rejuvenating the ailing economy (Mankiw, 2008). Getting the substance of the above discussion, the 1940s and later years’ tax cuts met the people’s increasing requests to reduce the high tax rates. The study indicates the importance of implementing the people’s demand for lower tax rates. The study proves that the 1940s and later years’ tax cuts benefit many parties, especially the United States government. Without a doubt, the comment stating the benefits have become popular in the United States during the 1940s when the United States Congress passed tax breaks for some business entities is

The future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The future - Essay Example Thus, my analysis of the future will begin with the likely changes and trends that will emerge in the global society. One country cannot be analyzed in isolation of the larger global community. Geographical and political boundaries are being eradicated by the elimination of trade barriers and rapid integration of capital markets. The world is quickly becoming a global village which facilities the entry of products, services, people, and capital in each country. Alongside is the huge advancement in technology. Technological breakthroughs brought products which are important in promoting efficiency in business operations. These advances ripple to households and individuals in the form of luxury and convenience. I believe that these trends will continue in the future. Furthermore, these factors will have the most significant impact in the personal and family life. The rapid integration of markets in the global community will have a huge effect in my personal life specifically in my career. I know that this development, together with companies' increasing preference of having a more diversified workforce will bring me face to face with people having different cultures. The interaction with these individuals will affect me in more ways that I can imagine. It is irrefutable that a person is shaped by his immediate environment.

The history of American technology Research Paper - 1

The history of American technology - Research Paper Example Some of the key brands that the company produces include Coke, Sprite, Coffee, Dazani, Coke Zero, Fanta and Sprite among others. Being headquartered in Atlanta US; the company operates in more than two hundred countries. One of the primary aspects that have made Coca-Cola Company to enjoy strong customer support is the use of effective methods of advertisement. John Pemberton was the pharmacist behind the invention of Coke brand back in 1886 and up to now the company still produces the same brands. Coca Cola is a brand that most of people prefer and have strong loyalty towards it. Due to its well organized market strategies and advertisements, the brand still survives and competes with other companies soft brands stiffly. The Coca-Cola Company always relies on extensive advertisement to market its brands thus making it to attain a competitive edge in the market. This paper seeks to discuss how advertising technology for Coca-Cola has evolved. Technology use in Coca Cola Company adver tisements Coca-Cola Company has high value of technology not only in its production process but also in its advertisement strategies. The company realizes that based on the extensive use of technology by its competitors including Pepsi and Starbucks among others, the company has to emulate extensive technology in order to remain competitive in the international market. The company constantly changes, rebrands, and advertises the products in order to keep sales consistently high (Dev and Don, 2005). Since the start of social networking and the ability to stay inline with internet marketing, Coca Cola Company has invested heavily in new technology so as to further their brand awareness campaigns. Greener bottles Coca Cola Company introduced the technology of greener bottles and packaging and it was able to produce almost 2.5 billion products using less petroleum. The technology was successful and other companies were attracted to it since it was not expensive. One of the companies tha t borrowed the idea was Heinz which was known for food processing. The production of 2.5 billions represented four percent of the Coca Cola packaging and this makes billions of Coca Cola products to be exported globally each year. Social networking Coca Cola Company maintains good appearance in social networking sites like face book and twitter, attracting over 35 millions people in social networking thus effectively spreading the its new brands in the international market. Coca Cola Company have been campaigning, inviting people to play games to win its products. Through the use of the social networking technology, the company products always enjoy the support of young consumers who are technology savvy. Online advertising Coca Cola Company uses effective online advertising and this makes consumers to feel like the product is the only company dealing with soft drink beverage in the market. The company uses extensive advertisements on its websites that means that coca cola has a gre ater control in the market and this make the product to be top in market. Evolution of coca cola company advertisement strategies Coca Cola is among the best known brands in the world today. Dated back in 1886, the company used to offer free drinks to the customers as mode of advertisement. For instance, the company used marketers like Asa Candler to advertise its products and the budget estimate was about $12,000. Asa

'Despite the extenxive advances in integration in the European Union, Essay

'Despite the extenxive advances in integration in the European Union, the member states remain in the driving seat'. How accura - Essay Example ember States are Seen to Remain in the Driving Seat.† How Accurate is this Description of Where Power Lies in the European Union? Introduction The European Union The European Union which is more formally referred to as the European Economic and Monetary Union is essentially an economic and political Union that that comprises of 28 different countries that are seen to primarily located in Europe. The European Union (EU) is seen to primarily operate through a number of institutions that variously include; the European Union Council, the EU court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Commission as well as the European Parliament. The Union essentially serves to establish a common market for use by its different member states, a factor that caused the Union to eliminate the restive border controls that existed between the member states. This has allowed for the relatively free flow of both people and goods although there are however, random checks that are normally conduc ted to prevent drug trafficking and crime between the different members states (Staab, 2013). The common market formed by the European Union is seen to allow for the legal sale of products that have been manufactured in one country in another different country without the restrictive influence of any duties or tariffs. Taxes across the Union’s different member countries are also seen to have been greatly standardized. The EU is also seen to allow service providers in various fields such as medicine, banking, law, tourism, and insurance to freely operate across all the different member countries of the Union. While the formulation of successive treaties is seen to have helped provide the EU with an extensively elaborate foreign policy making machinery, the various member states of the EU are seen to not collectively mobilize their strength to help the Union fully realize its power. It is this position that is seen to raise question surrounding power in the European Union and t he general postulation that â€Å"Despite the Extensive Advances in the Integration of the European Union, the Member States are Seen to Remain in the Driving Seat.† The History of The Formation of the European Union The idea behind the formation of a unified Union Europe is seen to not be a new one. During the 9th Century, the Frankish emperor is seen to have made efforts towards the unification of Europe and ended up dominating much of Europe. During the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte is seen to have led France in an attempt to try and attain this objective and also ended up conquering a large part of Europe. During the 1930’s, the dream of having a unified Europe is seen to have been borne by Adolph Hitler who sparked the second world war in his attempt to conquer all of Europe. Throughout history, numerous wars

Communication in Human Behaviors and the Structures of Society Research Paper

Communication in Human Behaviors and the Structures of Society - Research Paper Example Developing interpersonal communication skills are vitally important in today’s business environment (Taylor, 2005). Even though if an individual is working in any area and contributing in the workplace, he/she will need to communicate effectively with their top management i.e. boss as well as customers. Almost all kinds of work, activities and functions of any organization require communication and interaction among their colleagues and employees. Some people communicate with their colleagues for their benefit as well as to get success at their job (Greene, 2003). When we communicate, we don't actually exchange ideas, we exchange symbols that stand for ideas. Words are just symbols that do not have basic or inherent meaning; we simply use them in certain ways to convey an idea or give it a meaning. Communication and symbols will be delivered in words and language. Our social and cultural environment also affects communication because every culture has its own language and its own way to convey or deliver messages (Streissguth, 1997). Interpersonal communication skills would be largely dependant on cultural background and unique histories. There is a reality that when two people meet each other after a long time chances will be that, they are less effective at communicating with each other than they did before. Interpersonal communication is impossible to avoid in any condition (Baxter, 2008). When we are not communicating .i.e. when we are silent towards the other person that means we are still communicating in silence.

The Methods of Anthropological Demography Assignment

The Methods of Anthropological Demography - Assignment Example On that note, the morning hours were most convenient. This implied that the study was to be performed during the morning session, from around eight o’clock to around one o’clock. The identification of this study period was based on the study patterns exhibited by the population. The students preferred to perform their study during the morning session and take a break by midday as they head for their midday meals. The senior populations also exhibited a preference of performing their study either in the morning or by the course of the day, especially from ten o’clock to twelve o’clock. The flow of traffic into the library facility offered a convenient opportunity to observe elements such as dress codes of the visiting members while a visit in the facility assisted in the identification of the rest of the behaviour. The evening session also provided an opportunity to study the behavioural patterns of the same population in the non-formal hours. WhoThe observ ation was based on the behaviours of the learning population who spend a significant proportion of their time in the facility. The observation focused on their mode of dressing of all the attendants of the facility. A comparison on the anticipated contrasts can be fetched from the variation of the population that will be visiting the facility. This ranges from the staff to the library attendants. Subsequently, the staff will vary from the staff assigned to ensure efficient flow of information across the facility and the staff assigned to ensure.... exhibited a preference of performing their study either in the morning or by the course of the day, especially from ten o’clock to twelve o’clock. The flow of traffic into the library facility offered a convenient opportunity to observe elements such as dress codes of the visiting members while a visit in the facility assisted in the identification of the rest of the behaviour. The evening session also provided an opportunity to study the behavioural patterns of the same population in the non-formal hours. Who The observation was based on the behaviours of the learning population who spend a significant proportion of their time in the facility. The observation focused on their mode of dressing of all the attendants of the facility. A comparison on the anticipated contrasts can be fetched from the variation of the population that will be visiting the facility. This ranges from the staff to the library attendants. Subsequently, the staff will vary from the staff assigned to ensure efficient flow of information across the facility and the staff assigned to ensure there exists a convenient platform for studies. Others will include, the staff who are assigned with the maintenance of the resources in the facility, as well as supplementary services. In a simplified model, these differences can be categorized as being exhibited between the employees and visitors of the facilities. With respect to the dressing code for the visitors, aspects such as a mode of logistic would be utilized to ensure their presence or access to the facility will contribute to their dressing. Those who walked would rarely compare to those who drove to the facility. Subsequently, the nature of the task that they intend to perform at the facility will determine the load that they will carry. This

IMC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IMC - Essay Example It is not easy to market an intangible place because of the conflicting interests that come as a result of it having many stakeholders. However, one marketing approach that has been highlighted in the article is the use of brochures which create favorable images of places. Marketing approaches like media advertising and public relations can also be utilized especially if the target is to maximize the impact of communication (Skinner, 2005). Marketing approaches that are often used for tangible products include sales promotions, general media advertising, and public relations. These approaches aim at making the target consumers aware of the products being produced by a particular company. Some of these approaches are the same as those being utilized in marketing intangible places. The aim of marketing tangible products and intangible places is also the same. In the case of tangible products, the aim of marketing is to attract customers to want the products while in the case of intangible places the aim of marketing is to make a place in order for it to be a traveler’s choice. When looking at services businesses, it is crucial to understand that they are different from businesses that produce physical goods. When marketing, these businesses need to focus on the people who will benefit from the services, the physical evidence that can show the quality of the service being provided, and the process of delivering the services. Service businesses face the challenge of differentiating their services making this hard to gain a competitive advantage. The alternative way is to differentiate themselves through their marketing strategies. Some approaches which can be utilizes in service businesses include sales promotion and media advertising. Sales promotion can be by including innovative features. Apart from what the customer expect, a secondary service feature can be added. For example, an accounting firm can offer free consultation to

Gender Roles And Media Portrayals Research Paper

Gender Roles And Media Portrayals - Research Paper Example Men were portrayed as dominant, strong, and independent providers. Most past television programs portrayed them as the dominant gender in the society. Men were free to choose what they felt was working for them at the expense of the opinions from the ladies. For example, in Mad Men, the executives treated their secretaries in the offices as objects rather than human beings. In fact, it is easy to observe how they disposed of them after having sexual encounters. In the end, women were not seen as having any value to the men. It is worth noting that the current television programs tend to bring out the rapid changes in the society. For example, in the television series, Modern Family, the role of the women and men in the family tends to change. Women start assuming significant roles, for example, some of them become breadwinners while men become domesticated by their wives. Rapid changes captured by these television series indicate how the society is changing. For instance, the concept of gay marriages is brought to the fore. Though it is difficult to accept at first, we eventually see a society that positions itself to accept these changes. In conclusion, there is nothing as inevitable as change. The television continues to influence the societal transformation through fostering progression of gender roles that took place in the past half century and today. In comparison to the past, there is a significant change in gender roles and various stereotypes in television today (Trier-Bieniek, 2014).

Managing Cost of Quality Essay Example for Free

Managing Cost of Quality Essay Article Reference: Schiffauerova, A. and Thomson, V., â€Å"Managing cost of quality: Insight into industry practice†, The TQM Magazine, 2006 Abstract This paper reports on the study of the quality costing practices at four large successful multinational companies. All four companies use systematic quality initiatives; however, a formal cost of quality (CoQ) methodology was only employed at one of them. This is in agreement with the literature findings arguing that a CoQ approach is not utilized in most quality management programs. The article discusses and compares the quality programs of all four companies and explains the benefits of the eventual adoption of a CoQ approach in each case. The analysis provides a new insight into company practice, useful not only for academic research, but also for use by industry. Keywords: Cost of quality, CoQ, quality costing, industrial practice Introduction Improving quality is considered by many to be the best way to enhance customer satisfaction, to reduce manufacturing costs and to increase productivity. Any serious attempt to improve quality must take into account the costs associated with achieving quality, since nowadays it does not suffice to meet customer requirements, it must be done at the lowest possible cost as well. This can only happen by reducing the costs needed to achieve quality, and the reduction of these costs is only possible if they are identified and measured. The identification itself is not straightforward because there is no general agreement on a single broad definition of quality costs. However, according to Dale and Plunkett (1995), it is now widely accepted that quality costs are the costs incurred in the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of a quality management system, the cost of resources committed to continuous improvement, the costs of system, product and service failures, and all other necessary costs and non-value added activities required to achieve a quality product or service. Measuring and reporting these costs should be considered a critical issue for any manager who aims to achieve competitiveness in today’s markets. There are several methods that can be used to collect, categorize and measure quality costs. The traditional P-A-F method suggested by Juran (1951) and Feigenbaum (1956) classifies quality costs into prevention, appraisal and failure costs. Prevention costs are associated with actions taken to ensure that a process provides quality products and services, appraisal costs are associated with measuring the level of quality attained by the process, and failure costs are incurred to correct quality in products and services before (internal) or after (external) delivery to the customer. The cost categories of Crosby’s model (Crosby, 1979) are similar to the P-A-F scheme. Crosby sees quality as â€Å"conformance to requirements†, and therefore, defines the cost of quality as the sum of price of conformance and price of noncon formance (Crosby, 1979). The price of conformance is the cost involved in making certain that things are done right the first time and the price of non-conformance is the money wasted when work fails to conform to customer requirements. Another formal quality costing approach is the process cost model, which was developed by Ross (1977) and first used for quality costing by Marsh (1989); it represents quality cost systems that focus on process rather than products or services. Several references propose CoQ models that include the additional category of intangible costs. These are costs that can be only estimated such as profits not earned because of lost customers and reduction in revenue owing to non-conformance. The importance of opportunity and intangible costs for quality costing has been recently emphasized in the literature. Dale and Plunkett (1999) describe a less formal method based on collecting quality costs by department. Another recently proposed CoQ methodology is a method based on a team appro ach, in which the aim is to identify the costs associated with things that have gone wrong in a process (Robison, 1997). No matter which quality costing approach is used, the main idea behind the CoQ analysis is the linking of improvement activities with associated costs and customer expectations, thus allowing targeted action for reducing quality costs and increasing quality improvement benefits. Therefore, a realistic estimate of CoQ, which is the appropriate tradeoff between the levels of conformance and non-conformance costs, should be considered an essential element of any quality initiative and a crucial issue for any manager. A number of organizations are now seeking both theoretical advice and practical evidence about quality related costs and the implementation of quality costing systems. A reasonable amount of detailed information on various methods of categorization, collection and measurement of quality costs can be found in the literature (Plunkett and Dale, 1987; Williams et al., 1999; Schiffauerova and Thomson, 2004). However, there are only a few published, practical examples from indus try that give specifics about the costs that are included or excluded in quality costing and about how the costs are practically collected and measured. More detailed descriptions of CoQ systems from industry can be found in Whitehall (1986), Hesford and Dale (1991) and Purgslove and Dale (1996). This paper intends to contribute to this area by providing an analysis of the quality costing practices of four successful companies. Research Intent and Methodology The objective of this research was to obtain and analyze data concerning the practices of successful companies in the area of quality management. Specifically, the main interest was to investigate if these companies collect, measure and monitor quality costs, which kinds of costs were considered in the calculations, and whether any formal CoQ approach was used. The analysis provided a new insight into company practice, useful not only for academic research, but also for use by industry. Four companies were selected to participate in the research. The main objective of the selection was to identify the organizations with well established quality programs belonging to the different industrial sectors. Companies serving the same market could have been reluctant to share details concerning their quality practices with competition. This paper keeps the company names confidential and refers to them as Company A, B, C and D. A benchmarking session took place at McGill University. The quality management programs running at the four companies were described by company representatives. The organizations utilized this occasion as an occasion to obtain new information on the practices used at other companies and to mutually compare their experiences, efforts and successes. Summary of the Benchmarking Session This section summarizes the initiatives in the field of CoQ for the four participants. A comparative analysis of their quality strategies and final remarks follow. Company A Company A is a telecommunication company. It has very complex products, and therefore, the number of opportunities for defects per unit is very high (45,000 defect opportunities per assembly). However, Company A’s customers expect zero defects. Quality initiatives therefore play an important role in the company’s product management. Company A’s model for cost of quality measurement and calculation follow the P-A-F model, where CoQ = (P + A + F (internal + external) + other costs)/cost of goods sold. Company A is well aware of formal cost of quality methods and it has clearly determined its CoQ definitions. It knows exactly what are its conformance and non-conformance costs; however, it struggles to find out the shape of its CoQ curves, and hence, an optimum CoQ tactic. The search for an optimum CoQ is difficult because the business cycle changes often (every 2 years or less); product lines are released in phases, and component obsolescence and multiple engineering changes are quite common. Every change causes a new search for an optimum CoQ; moreover, different product lines require separate review, and variable volumes reduce optimization opportunities. Company A uses an activity based management approach, which means that it uses activity-based costing (ABC) to determine cost categories. It maps financial categories into activity costs, and activities performed at cost centers are rolled up to aggregate quality costs and percentages. In this way, the company obtains exact information about every category: prevention costs, appraisal costs, as well as internal and external failure costs. An example of activity costs is given in Table I, and the resulting CoQ chart is shown in Figure 1. Table I: Example of activity costs in Company A Activity primary OPD Change Management Internal Quality Issues External Quality Issues DFX, NPI support Proto Support PLC Deliverables Mfg Tools Quality Reporting Other Cost of quality category Failure Internal Prevention Failure Internal Failure External Prevention Prevention Appraisal Prevention Appraisal Cost of Business Totals Activity % 8% 12% 17% 9% 4% 6% 22% 6% 10% 6% 100% Cost categories Salaries Depreciation Suppliers Others Company A uses other metrics for performance comparisons, such as ‘new versus mature product’ or ’part number based CoQ ratio’. CoQ is measured at individual test stages, which allows trend analysis and comparison using mature product as the benchmark for new product. Figure 2 shows the decreasing trend of CoQ for manufacturing operations. The graph shows a decrease for all CoQ components; however, it is failure costs which show the biggest reduction, about 40 % over 18 months. The breakdown of CoQ and its cost values are measured quarterly. % Figure 2: CoQ in manufacturing operations for Company A shown on a relative cost scale. Company A has been using their CoQ methodology successfully. The company declares savings in quality costs, has quality improvement in every part of their process, and achieves very aggressive improvement targets. Moreover, the end customer directly benefits from the inhouse quality initiative. As a result, customer satisfaction is increasing. Company B Company B is a multinational microelectronics company, which dedicates a lot of effort to quality improvement. Their far-reaching and successful quality improvement program is the main axis of their quality initiatives. The program includes continuous improvement focused on process as well as extensive education and training on quality for all employees. Despite the fact that there is a great interest in reducing non-conformance cost, Company B does not measure, report or chart CoQ. It does not use any formal CoQ model and does not try to optimize cost of quality. Nevertheless, it does reduce cost due to poor quality through its continuous improvement activities. The company has a strong operations and process focus, where emphasis is put on process yield and cycle time improvement. It believes that a continuous quality improvement program focused on process will provide the opportunities for quality improvement and thus reduction in cost of quality. Company C Company C is in the aerospace industry and emphasizes products with near zero defects. Company C describes its cost of poor quality model as an iceberg philosophy, where just a few categories for poor quality cost are measured and monitored. This is, however, just the tip of the iceberg, since most of the cost factors leading to poor quality are non-visible or completely hidden (and non-quantifiable). Company C has implemented a process that allows tracking of all non-quality events and associated root causes as well as corrective actions and lessons learned. It puts full attention into measuring the cost of poor quality. It has 4 main quality ratings, which measure nonconformities (scrap, rework, etc.), poor adherence to specifications (internal, external, customers’, suppliers’), number of defective parts in parts per million, and on-time delivery. Their cost of non-quality is systematically reduced through a corporate-wide initiative based on continuous improvement. It also uses a sophisticated IT system for tracking quality. Although Company C has had success in improving the value of non-conforming quality costs, it does not use any CoQ model, and it does not include the cost of quality among its calculation elements. Company D Company D is a manufacturer of home products. It has set its quality level at a fixed warranty rate, and it attempts to optimize its quality effort to achieve this target. At the time of the benchmarking session, the company did not measure CoQ; however, it was planning to do so and was building a CoQ model. The envisioned CoQ program was based on a P-A-F model. The strategy of Company D was to directly attack failure costs in an attempt to drive them down, to invest in the right prevention activities to bring about improvements, to reduce appraisal costs according to achieved results, and to continuously evaluate and redirect prevention efforts to gain further improvements. Discussion Table II shows a comparison of the quality initiatives and CoQ effort carried out by the four companies. The following discussion is focused on the relation between the quality strategies and the industrial sectors, on the kinds of CoQ models used, on the satisfaction with company efforts, the results stemming from the quality costing programs, and the recommendations by the authors of this paper. Table II: Comparison of quality initiatives of four companies Company A B C D COC CONC P-A-F ABC Quality costs CONC + COC CONC CONC CONC Formal CoQ model P-A-F + ABC none none none Quality efforts intensive intensive intensive moderate Program satisfaction high high high moderate cost of conformance cost of non-conformance traditional model including: prevention + appraisal + failure costs activity-based costing Quality Strategies The business environment, which is the industry sector and product line, dictates the strategy adopted by the companies to assure achievement of the required level of quality. Companies A, B and C all work in high-tech industries that require very high levels of quality, and therefore, they all have quite elaborate quality and productivity improvement systems with the objective to achieve zero or near zero defects. Company D, which serves home product markets, uses a fixed rate of return through its warranty policy as its quality limit. The company, however, does have a continuous improvement program. Quality Costs Table II suggests that Company A is the only one that in fact measures both kinds of quality costs, conformance and non-conformance. This allows the company to search for the right balance between the amount spent on quality and the resulting benefits. Companies B and C both regard reducing non-conformance cost as a high priority, and therefore, they exert substantial efforts in measuring and monitoring failures and other nonconformances. At the same time, they use elaborate, systematic quality improvement programs in order to reach a zero defect quality level. The direction of these initiatives is consistent with the industry quality environment, which tolerates absolutely no defect, no matter what the cost is. Conformance costs are consequently given much less attention in the quality management programs and measuring them together with the cost of non-conformance is therefore disregarded. The situation for Company D is however quite different. Even though the company also does not measure conformance costs, the nature of its own quality strategy suggests that it would benefit greatly if it started doing so. Identification and measurement of both kinds of the quality costs would certainly improve the quality policy that Company D follows. The policy has a determined rate of return as its quality limit. Being able to find an appropriate trade-off between conformance and non-conformance costs would help Company D determine an optimal level of effort towards achieving quality. Formal CoQ Methods Literature (for example, Porter and Rayner, 1992; Schiffauerova and Thomson, 2004) suggests that, if quality costs are measured by companies, then the classical P-A-F model is the one most frequently used in practice. Even within the limited sample of four companies, P-A-F was the only model encountered. Company A is currently calculating its quality costs according to the tradit ional categorization of prevention, appraisal and failure costs. Moreover, Company D claims that it is planning to utilize this model in the near future as well. The results of this research therefore confirm other researchers’ findings on the frequency of the use of the P-A-F method in industry. Focus by companies on the classical P-A-F methodology is not surprising; however, there are several other alternatives available for monitoring CoQ. Other quality costing methods, such as Crosby’s model or process cost model, are being used with success (Schiffauerova and Thomson, 2004). Every company has to choose an appropriate CoQ method that suits its needs and its situation best. For a detailed checklist of the issues to be considered when deciding on a CoQ approach, see Dale and Plunkett (1995) Activity-based costing (ABC) is considered to be more compatible with quality cost measurement systems than traditional accounting. Although most CoQ measurement methods are activity/process oriented, traditional cost accounting establishes cost accounts by the categories of expenses instead of activities. Thus, many CoQ elements need to be estimated or collected by other methods. There is no consensus method on how to allocate overheads to CoQ elements and no adequate method to trace quality costs to their sources (Tsai, 1998). The use of ABC for a CoQ calculation is therefore an appealing alternative, and Company A is benefiting from this powerful combination. The employment of a CoQ approach together with ABC enables Company A to obtain exact information about every CoQ category: prevention costs, appraisal costs as well as internal and external failure costs. Companies B and C do not utilize any formal quality costing system. This is in agreement with the common suggestion that the CoQ approach is not fully appreciated by organizations and the practical use of formal quality costing in industry is quite rare. Satisfaction with Quality Efforts The quality initiatives of companies A, B, and C are very elaborate and the amount of effort is intensive. Whether they use a formal CoQ method or they solely aim at a reduction in the cost of poor quality, the companies obtain excellent results from their quality programs. All three companies mentioned a high satisfaction with their quality efforts during the benchmarking session. Judging by the success of Company A with its CoQ program, we suggest that companies B and C would benefit from measuring CoQ, and that they would be surprised if they knew their real quality costs. These companies should select an appropriate CoQ model that suits the company’s situation and implement the quality costing methodology in order to improve the efficiency of their quality initiatives. Monitoring quality costs would allow them to better identify target areas for cost reduction and quality improvement. Moreover, sufficient savings should occur to justify CoQ measurement expenses. Company D has a continuous improvement program that brings it moderate results and is already looking to improve it by implementing a CoQ strategy. As mentioned above, the implementation of a suitable CoQ method would secure reduced costs and improved quality benefits for Company D. Summary Even though quality is nowadays considered to be a critical success factor for achieving competitiveness, the CoQ approach is not fully appreciated by organizations, and only a minority of them use formal quality costing methods. The four companies that participated in the benchmarking session with McGill University on cost of quality have systematic quality initiatives, and have been successful in improving quality and reducing the cost of nonconformance. However, the only company that measures cost of quality and uses a formalized CoQ model is Company A. Company D is at the point of starting to use this quality measur ement tool as well; however, it is at the beginning of this path. On the other hand, Company B and Company C focus their quality efforts solely on continuous quality improvement. They measure, monitor and work mostly with the cost of non-conformance, and do not formally include cost of conformance in their analysis. It was recommended that companies B, C and D set up a suitable formal quality costing system compatible with the needs and the situation of each company. For companies B and C this program will mainly facilitate identification of the target areas for quality improvement and cost reduction in quality effort. For Company D it would also help balance its quality costs and establish an optimal level of effort towards achieving quality. CoQ programs should be part of any quality management program. The methodology is not complex and is well documented. CoQ programs provide a good method for identification and measurement of quality costs, and thus allow targeted action for reducing CoQ. Further education on the practical level is needed for managers to understand better the CoQ concept in order to appreciate fully the benefits of the approach, to increase their ability to implement a CoQ measurement system and to save money. References Crosby, P.B. (1979), Quality is Free, New York: McGraw-Hill Dale, B.G. and Plunkett, J.J. (1995), Quality Costing, 2nd edition, Chapman and Hall, London Dale, B.G. and Plunkett, J.J. (1999), Quality Costing,3rd edition, Gower Press, Aldershot Feigenbaum, A.V. (1956), â€Å"Total quality control†, Harvard Business Review, Vol.34, Hesford, M.G. and Dale, B.G. (1991), â€Å"Quality costing at British Aerospace Dynamics†, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Vol.205 (G5), p.53 Juran, J.M. (1951), Quality Control Handbook, 1st edition, McGraw-Hill, New York Marsh, J. (1989), â€Å"Process modeling for quality improvement†, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Total Quality Management, p.111 Plunkett, J.J. and Dale, B.G. (1987), â€Å"A review of the literature on quality-related costs†, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol.4, No.1, p.40 Porter, L.J. and Rayner, P. (1992), â€Å"Quality costing for total quality management†, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 27, p.69 Purgslove, A.B. and Dale, B.G. (1996), â€Å"The influence of management information and quality management systems on the development of quality costing†, Total Quality Management, Vol.7, No.4, p.421 Robison, J. (1997), â€Å"Integrate quality cost concepts into team problem-solving efforts†, Quality Progress, March, p. 25 Ross, D.T. (1977), â€Å"Structured analysis (SA): A language for communicating ideas†, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Vol.SE-3, No.1, p.16 Schiffauerova, A. and Thomson, V. (2006), â€Å"A review of research on cost of quality models and best practices†, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol.23, No.4 Tsai, W.H. (1998), â€Å"Quality cost measurement under activity-based costing†, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol.15, No.6, p.719 Whitehall, F.B. (1986), â€Å"Review of problems with a quality cost system†, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol.3, No.3, p.43 Williams, A.R.T., van der Wiele, A. and Dale, B.G. (1999), â€Å"Quality costing: a management review†, International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol.1, No.4, p.441

British Standards of Sustainability

British Standards of Sustainability Abstract The following report is based on the use of British Standards to look at the impact it has on a product development process from the beginning of its lifecycle to the end when it decomposes. With the world today at the state it is, the pollution and the resources are being used up at an un-regenerate able rate. It is more important than ever to recycle and perform our manufacturing processes in an environmentally sustainable manner. Hence, the modern environmental legislations have been designed and applied in manners as such to focus on not only manufacturing process but also the end of life cycle and the recycling and upcycle options. BS8887- 1:2006 (MADE) looks at design from Manufacture, Assembly, Disassembly and End of life, the key aspects this legislation will cover and target are at remanufacture, recycling and efficient and sustainable ways to proceed to the end of life of the product. The main aim of legislations as such is to become more environmentally friendly and to cre ate a more sustainable environment for the generation of tomorrow. However, there are many such legislations that every manufacturer in the region has to follow which covers areas not covered by the particular legislation mentioned above. There are many various other legislations and regulations which ensure that the rules and regulations are followed strictly and the quality of the production is maintained at an optimum with respect to production and environment. Contents Abstract ..1 Glossary: 3 Introduction: 4 Research Methodology: .4 Principle of MADE: 4 Product Design Assessment: 5 Manufacture of Design: (MADE): .. 5 Assembly (MADE): 6 Disassembly (MADE): .. 6 End of Life Processing (MADE): .. 7 Benefits of MADE: . 7 Design for the Environment (DFE): ..9 BS887 1:.. 9 BS8900: .. 9 ISO 14001: . 9 ISO 14025: .. 10 Designing a product for the environment and how it is contributing to the sustainability: .10 4 Methods to assess a product for their impacts on the environment: .12 Reference and Bibliography ..13 Glossary: PDS- Product Design specification MADE- Manufacture, Assembly, Disassembly and End of life BS- British Standard PDA- Product Design Assessment DFE: Design for Environment FEA: Finite element analysis EIA: Environmental impact assessment LCA: Life cycle assessment MET: Material energy toxicity matrix EEA: Environmental performance indicator WEEE: Waste electronic and electrical equipment Introduction: The report shows how the idea of sustainability is implemented through various steps of production and manufacture with the help of the guidelines put into place by the British Standards. The main purpose behind these legislation and guidelines is to make the companies and the manufacturers aware of the harmful impacts of the manufacturing process as well as the effect of bad material selection during production and end of life cycle. The use of strict guidelines and fines to put these legislations and rules in place helps by maintaining the sustainability process of our environment as well as by funding the awareness programs and the research on new concepts and technology regarding sustainable environment. This report shows the impact of different legislations on the manufacturing process of the industrial fans and the different steps taken to make sure the process is environmentally friendly and supports the sustainability of the environment even during disassembly and end of life cycle. Another form of legislation which provides guidance for the company to perform their operation in a sustainable manner with respect to environment is ISO 14001, ISO 14001 however focuses more on efficient utilisation of water and energy usage with minimum wastage. Together these legislations and laws promotes the idea of sustainable environment and aids for its further research on sustainability and new technology to make the manufacturing process more efficient and environmentally conservative. Research Methodology: To gather the information and data required for the report two major types of sources were used: Research on the internet and through the British standard articles and awareness packets. The manufacturing process of the product is analysed and reviewed under the legislations and rules BS887 and MADE to find out the changes the law has made on the manufacturing process to adapt the process and make it more eco-friendly and sustainable. The legislations and sources for the research are mentioned in the bibliography and on appropriate sections. The company has also done various eco-friendly tests and published articles on its results which can and have been sourced and used as a part of research for the report. Principle of MADE: MADE: Manufacture, Assembly, Disassembly and End of life. The principle objective of the MADE standard is to make sure the product is able to be either decomposed in an eco-friendly manner or recycled after the end of its life cycle to make sure the environment is not affected by the product. The use of MADE ensures the correct materials are selected for manufacture and the idea of eco-friendly and sustainable environment is kept in mind when choosing the material for the product with respect to the impact the use of the material will have on the environment during the its life cycle and after the end of the life cycle. As of today the materials chosen in the product we see are still not very focused on making the environment clean and conservative for the future, more than half of the product we use today are still dumped in landfills after the end of its life cycle which is harming and degrading the environment. Hence the main purpose of the MADE standard is to make the companys an d the manufacturers aware of the needs of our environment and to make sure appropriate materials are chosen for the products which can be either recycled or de-composed in a conservative manner after end of its life cycle. Product Design Assessment: The product being chosen to perform the analysis on is a normal house hold blender. The theory of MADE principles is going to be used for the analysis and to find out the effects a normal house blender has on our environment. The analysis helps us find solutions and improvements for the product to be better suited for the environment and to help maintain the sustainability of environment. The image above shows example of a common house hold blender. Manufacture of Design: (MADE): The manufacturing process of the blender consist of multiple pieces being moulded and shaped and then joined together to make the blender functional and operational. The materials in use for the manufacturing of the blender are also of various combination. However, the blender is shaped in a very simple shape which makes it fairly easier to manufacture the common house hold blender. The plastic jar of the blender is composed of a material called PP (Polypropylene Plastic) shaped and moulded through a process called injection moulding process. The moulding process is performed by heating up the material to its melting point and injecting it to a cooled die where it is cooled down and moulded to its shape. The process is a very cheap method of manufacturing which also requires very low level of energy usage. The blade of the blender on the other hand is stainless steel shaped into small sharp blade like structure which cut and blend the fruits/vegetables/ spices inserted into the jar of the blender. It is essential that the blade is made of stainless steel which has no chances of forming rust in the environment where it operates since food that we eat is being blended in the machine and hence could cause potentially illness for the user. To make sure the steel being used is stainless there should be at least 10.5% chromium in the steel, the presence of the protective iron chromium oxide allows the steel to avoid corrosions and rust. In order for the blender to be considered safe for daily house hold purposes and for it to pass the British safety standard it is vital that the blade for the blenders are of stainless steel. The manufacturing method used to produce the blades for the blenders is the Spinning method. The method is performed by using machinery which is mounted on a forming block against the stainless steel which is pressed on a forming block to rotate. The process in itself is not really expensive or energy consuming but it will be more economical and financially benefitting to produce at bulk with big batches. The graph above shows how the price is affected with the batch size and shows how ordering at bulk with big numbers is more economical. Assembly (MADE): The design of the blender is pretty simple for assembly which requires very little time and knowledge to assemble and use. After the assembly of the blade in the jar all the parts are easily accessible and well fitted to make sure the blender is accessible and easy to use able to be cleaned fitted and opened making it easier to use and clean for household use. The design and the mechanism of the parts are very simple making the parts easy to access worldwide in case it needs repair or fixing. The source of the materials are all minimalistic and easy to access making it easier to be sourced locally making it easier and cheaper to manufacture. The cardboard of the packaging is also recyclable and eco-friendly making it more sustainable friendly for the environment. Disassembly (MADE): The blender consists of various different parts, which are easily constructed and assembled. The use of simple parts makes it easy to operate and assemble the blender along its life cycle. Not only that the use of simple and easy parts makes it easy to disassemble as well helps in the end of life cycle for recycle or upcycle. The use of basic and fairly simple materials for manufacturing and assembly makes it easy to disassemble and end the life cycle in a conservative manner. End of Life Processing (MADE): Due to the presence of heavy carbon emissions and the state that our environment is in it is essential that all the manufacturers have a plan for the end of life cycle to deal with the product in an eco-friendly and conservative manner. The company and the manufacturers need to have a plan for the management of the product even after the items have been sold and passed on to the customers. It is essential for the product to be able to keep up with the customer demand and meet the standards that have been placed for the products hence the End of the life processing is one of the most important steps as well. Preserving our environment and keeping it alive for the future is one of the main issues and things we deal with today in our daily life and it is essential that we respect it in order to maintain the balance in our food chain and the environment. The use of stainless steel hence makes perfect sense as it is theoretically 100 % recyclable. Another key features which promotes the use of stainless steel is that it is very durable and has a long life of several decades. However, if the product has reached its end of lifecycle or has damages in it then it can easily be replaced and separated from its housing and framework. As stainless steel has no damaging effect when in contact with soil or water it can be easily re-moulded in different kinds of moulds to reuse and recycle. Polypropylene (PP) is another material not only being used in the manufacturing of the blender but also one of the most recycled and reused material around us today. With nearly everything around us being made of some kind of plastic it is essential we recycle these materials in order to help keep our environment clean and pollution free. All the different kinds of plastic being used in production today are numbered 1-7 depending on the type of plastic and their properties. However, the body of the blender is made up of quite tough PP, which will require a special technique to recycle called the quaternary recycling process. To perform the process on such plastics which are being recycled it is incinerated at temperature of up to 900 to 1000 Degree Celsius. The use of the method can cut the waste plastic by around 80% and completely prevent pollutant escaping to the atmosphere as well. Common examples of recycled PP can be Battery Cables, Brushes, Bins, signal lights, etc. Hence the recycling and re use of every kind of plastic including the PP helps to keep our environment clean and make a more of a sustainable approach. Benefits of MADE: The use of the MADE theory of analysis help us to find out of the flaws present in the blender. Comparing the usage process to the manufacturing and the designing process there is lots of usage during the manufacturing phase comparatively to the very little usage of energy during the operational life of the blender. The graph above shows how it requires an excessive amount of energy during its production phase but very little during its operational and usage life cycle. By finding a more energy efficient method for production and design of the blender the company could be improving in its earning and the profit margin achieved through each sale. As mentioned above in the report the use of the recycling and upcycling process on the materials can be very helpful and cost effective when either purchasing or producing the blender. The use of recycling and eco-friendly components also help to create a good image with the customers and gain their trust. Also using less dense materials, recycle and remade parts for production may help to make a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach. Design for the Environment (DFE): Design for Environment (DFE) can be defined as process of designing to minimize the environmental impacts and ensuring products are sustainable and eco-friendly throughout the products life cycle. The main concepts and sections that are covered and assessed by the concept of DFE are: Sustainability in relation to its influence on industry Designing a product with respect to the environment and how it is contributing to the sustainability of the environment 4 Methods to assess a product for their impacts on the environment Sustainability in relation to its influence on industry: According to The Bruntland Commission, sustainability is a development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The BSIs overarching sustainability standard BS 8900 Guidance for managing sustainable development defines sustainability as an enduring, balanced approach to economic activity, environmental responsibility and social progress. The product life cycle of the company is assessed to find out the sustainability of a company and its products. With the help of these types of assessment performed by recognised bodies like the British Standard and other companys it adds a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach to its company and its products. The achievement of approval and recognition from organisations like BS8900 can lead to approval from other organisation as such which could give them further recognition and qualification in order to achieve greater vision and solidity as well as building trust and confidence for the company and its products. Having achieved the recognition from the organisations they can also benefit from less taxation, social and green branding and a higher level of understanding on recycling and the possible different ways possible to recycle. There are also many other types of UK/EU legislation and standards that can have influence on the industries improvement towards more sustainable earth: BS887 1: The specific standard BS887 1 is different from other standards because it does not teach or give instruction to the designers on how to design or seek the manufacturing process. The standard rather provides methodology for ordering the output of the process and maximises the possibility of the most efficient ways to manufacture, assemble and solve the problem of end of life for the product. The standard also focuses on the most efficient and cost effective ways to produce the design and the products. BS8900: This standard and legislation is based on the guidance provided to manage sustainable development and to make sure sustainable practise are taking place in the industry. The standard helps the company to grow and cut out un-necessary actions taking place in the company like bribery, abuse, oppression and corruptions, enabling the company to stand on integrity. ISO 14001: ISO 14001 is an environmental management system standard which fully focuses on the environment. ISO 14001 helps to promote the effective and efficient environmental management from the company. It also controls the management of energy, consumables and waste; enabling strict energy management system. This will help the company benefit from appropriate amount of energy being used for the corresponding purposes and limiting the level of carbon emissions into the atmosphere making it a more eco-friendly and sustainable company. ISO 14025: This standard addresses the procedures for creating environmental declarations and labels. This helps to make sure there are standardised logos which represent how green and eco-friendly the company or the manufacturer is. The standardised logos indicate the level of carbon footprint in a product and can help either gain the company a good image or a bad one depending on their performance and the stickers in the packaging. Designing a product for the environment and how it is contributing to the sustainability: Designing a product for the environment (DFE) process provides huge contributions towards making a business or a product highly sustainable and environmentally friendly. The objective of DFE in simple words is to reduce or prevent various different kinds of pollutions and also highlight the risks to humans and environment. DFE aims to improve products, processes and life cycle by approaching the design of the product it is also aimed to reduce the potential impacts the environment and humans may have to face or come up against. DFE applies its principles throughout the stage of its product life cycle focusing on making the steps more environmentally friendly and loss polluting hence resulting in cleaner and sustainable products. The direct result from implementation of DFE in the products life cycle can lead to prevention of various different kinds of pollution as well as reduction on the amount of toxic/ hazardous waste and chemical in the landfills. The picture above shows an example of a product life cycle which when under DFE legislation is focused in making the steps and their results more environmentally friendly and conservative. The extraction process of the raw materials is going to be the most energy consuming and time consuming process of all. This is where various sources are either dug or mined to retrieve the natural resources for the manufacturing process hence there is going to be large amount pollution and energy usage. However, this can be countered by making use of the recycling process heavily and by designing the product to be as recyclable as possible, hence less natural resources have to be destroyed for raw materials to make the products. During the process of manufacturing the various different kinds of production methods and techniques use different levels of energy and produce different levels of waste output. With the varying level of waste and usage it is hard to maintain and control the level of wastage for the manufacturing process however if the techniques and methods of manufacturing are used at its highest efficiency level the wastage is controlled to a limit and everything is controllable and manageable to a limit. Also using less dense material and energy efficient machinery can be vital during manufacturing to control the level of pollutants produced and to conserve the environment. Also by using local sourced raw material and making use of simple designs on the product it can help by a huge margin to control the level of carbon footprints produced and pollution being caused throughout the product life cycle. Making your sources locally based allows you to control the amount of pollutants emitted during the transportation phase the shorter the journey for the transportation the less the amount of carbon footprint emitted hence it helps a great deal to be able to source locally and produce your material from raw materials around you. Also choices can be made depending on the type of transportation chosen to export / transfer your product to the market, for e.g.: Transport through sea would probably cause less pollution than if chosen to transport through air or road. The usage period of the life cycle is when the product is operational and in use by the customer or the user. This is when the actual product that has been designed and manufactured is at it life cycle in the hand of the customer. However, there are also various ways which can help to make the product more sustainable and environmentally friendly one of them being the product is designed in a manner where it can be used more than once after it life span runs out for e.g. rechargeable batteries. Recycling is the step where the finished material at the end of their life cycle has an option to either become a useless waste / a pollutant to the environment or to be reused in either the same product or any other product being manufactured by the manufacturers. However, the step of recycling as well is affected with the mixture and materials being used in the product. A product with complex mixed materials would make it harder and the process of recycling longer to making it more harmful and un-sanitary for the environment. Also a simpler plain material would make it easier as well as less energy consuming to recycle the materials compared to a complex material which would have to be separated and grouped before the recycling process is applied to it. However, there are some products which cannot be recycled and need to be buried in landfills. Unless and until the buried product fully di composes and breaks down which it take a long time to it is not a sustainable method of end of life. Therefore, especially with products which cannot be recycled and need to be buried in the ground it is essential that there is no toxic material in the product which can harm the environment and the ecosystem where they are buried. 4 Methods to assess a product for their impacts on the environment: Method Description Advantage Disadvantage 1 Environmental impact assessment (EIA) Assess the possible impacts of a product towards the environmental, social and economic effects. Clearly shows you the negative impact on environment and sustainable issues. Only partial assessment is performed. 2 Environmental Impact of Products (EIPRO) Very research based analytical approach. Extremely detailed in its finding. Data received is accurate. Solutions for present and future problems can be accessed and planned. The impact the product has on the environment can be visualised before production. Very time consuming and financially not efficient enough. 3 Life cycle assessment (LCA) Assesses all the industrial system from acquiring raw materials right through to waste disposals. The environmental impact of the process can be measured at each stage of the cycle. Excellent results of environmental impact. Good comparison of results so that decision can be made to decide which method is best for the environment. Supports business strategy and research development Extremely costly. Extremely time consuming. 4 Publicly Available Specification PAS2050 Gives methodology to measure greenhouse gas emission throughout the products life cycle Benchmark to compare it with suppliers. Good image with the customer due to eco friendliness Could have a negative affect with the customers if the product isnt really eco-friendly. Reference and Bibliography http://www.bssa.org.uk/sectors.php?id=99. Last accessed 20 March 2015. Wrap org. (May 2010). Environment assessment of consumer electronic products. Available: http://www2.wrap.org.uk/downloads/Environmental_assessment_of_consumer_electronic_products.3d08bcb8.10214.pdf. Last accessed 13 March 2015. Standard Publications à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  BS8887-1 Design for Manufacture, Assembly, Disassembly and End of Life Processing à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   ISO 14040 Life Cycle Assessment Standard à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   ISO 14025 -Procedure of creating environmental declarations LFA. http://www.british-gypsum.com/about-us/sustainability/life-cycle-assessments Christina Goodrick. (March 2006). Design for waste minimisation within a food blender. Available: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Science-Progress/159026488.html. Last accessed 13 March 2015. JEM. (May 2009). Adaptable design: concepts, methods, and application. Available: http://www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu/NSFworkshop/Reading/Adaptable%20Design%20Concepts,%20Methods,%20and%20Applications.pdf. Last accessed 20 March 2015. Azom. (28 November 2012). Polypropylene (PP) (C3H6) Plastic Recycling. Available: http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7899. Last accessed 20 March 2015. Unknown. (June 2011). Environmental aspects of stainless steel.Available:

Suicide In Pop Music Culture Media Essay

Suicide In Pop Music Culture Media Essay Growing up is hard enough for most teenagers and music has always acted as is an important crutch for them to turn to when times are hard. Music plays a vital role in youth culture and has also become a question of morality when it comes to specific music genres that may be deemed inappropriate because of the content and message their music gives out (Zillmann and Gan, 1997; Ter Bogt, 1997). Some believe particular genres of music are potentially dangerous to young people and the music and its performers are professed as encouraging and propagating adolescent substance use, violating the law for glorification, delinquency (Christenson and Roberts, 1998). Genres which are included in this bracket are heavy metal and rap, having a particularly negative image in the media. In past and current years, the artists of these genres have felt the heat from the authorities that deem their musical content inappropriate material for the younger generation to listen to, believing it is responsible for teen suicides and other negative behavioral (Binder, 1993; Fried, 2003). The Questions Suicide is a popular theme in sub-cultural styles of music. There have been many articles in the press about artists and bands that have been blamed and targeted for the supposed responsibility of teenage fans committing suicide after listening to their music. But is it fair to be so blasà © and blame these artists because their music contains suicidal references? Should the finger be so starkly pointed at these artists? Is it justifiable and fair? If not, who is to blame? The parents? Our education system? The media? All these points will be addressed in this article and concluded thoughtfully after cross-examination and circumstantial evidence presented. The Beginning-Elvis starts it The beginning of this debate started when Rock and Roll, a new genre of music, exploded into the media in the 1950s. Elvis Presley was the forefather and the voice of this generation. He created a new of type of music that people had never heard before; a style of music the younger generation connected with. This voice represented their drive for life, their sexuality and belief in living their lives in the way they wanted, not their parents. This new way was rejected and considered by the authorities as a danger to the youth as they tried to repress this new artist by implementing bans and censorships. Perhaps one of the most famous incidents of censorship was when Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast with Presley only being filmed from the waist up, as his gyratory hip movements were deemed too obscene to air. The older generation shouted about their intense abhorrence and that they regarded this type of behavior to be damaging to the teen generation. They believed that it would create an epidemic and it needed to be stopped. Yet with all this press attention focused on Presley, all this actually did was to swell the desire in the fans for him and his music. This did exactly the opposite to what the authorities wanted and propelled him to fame. They made him into the bad-boy superstar that sold millions of records worldwide by giving him his free publicity. This was the beginning of the extremism of politics in music that would occur in the future. The 70s; a precursor to 1990s accusations In 1972, Gilbert OSullivan spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard charts with the song Alone Again. In this song, OSullivan contemplated throwing himself off a nearby tower because he had been betrayed by everyone. Leonard Cohen threatened to slit his wrists in Dress Rehearsal Rag (1971) for similar reasons. Yet because OSullivans appealed to the conservative Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences society, musical threats of suicide did not provoke anything neighboring on a moral panic in those years. The theme of suicide was incorporated into mainstream pop culture in a thoroughly romantic fashion, just as it had been in romance novels and tragic opera where suicide was common place, yet deemed acceptable in this period. MTV and radio split 1981 was a turning point for dividing the younger and older generations in musical appropriateness. On August 1st, MTV began transmission. It is fair to say that music television has assumed radios responsibility for breaking new acts (Shuker 1994, ch. 7). Radio and MTV became divided down the middle on this generation gap. Radio broadcasts the old, the familiar and the reassuring, while music television assumes responsibility for the new, the unfamiliar and the shocking. FMs audience does not seem to change its tastes or look for the thrill of the new. FMs audience listened to the Eagles in the 1970s on its record players, it tuned into FM in the 1980s so it could listen to the Eagles on its car radios, and now it is the 1990s and it still wants to listen to the Eagles perhaps so it can remember the 1970s. (Turner 1993, p. 145) Commercial radio has emerged since the 1970s as one of the most evidently sites of cultural struggle. This is especially between the baby boom generations, for whom rock radio has become a predictable asylum from the anxieties of life. Yet their children for whom hip-hop, alternative and metal stand for nothing less than the manifestation of their status as musical outsiders. Types of music to blame and court cases Rock critics no longer judge music worth on grounds of composition but instead spew careless stereotypes. Heavy metal is widely generalized to be perceived as dark, depressing music to listen to. Many of the songs are reflective of the artists I-dont-give-a-damn attitude, in visual appearance and dark lyrical content. Heavy metal is the most recent target that is attracting extremist accusations that it induces its listeners to experience occultism and Satanism ranging through to sexism and racism to murderous and suicidal tendencies. (Shuker 1994, pp.260-2). Metal evolved in the 1970s out of mainstream album-oriented rock, typified by bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple which, in turn, had their roots in the blues-based hard rock of 1960s acts like Cream and Jimi Hendrix. But because they were hardening musically at precisely the moment when radio and its coveted baby boomer demographic were softening into adult-oriented formats, metal bands were driven underground, promoting their records by means of relentless touring and by word of mouth. There is no hard evidence to support that heavy metal music is actually instructing its listeners to do bad things, just peoples perceiving this music in this way because it is not happy, bouncy music. A 1993 study showed heavy metal inspired happy feelings in most fans, with the small number of those who reported feeling worse more likely to already suffering mental health problems. Many people feel that it is a cathartic way of venting and getting rid of their frustrations. Is it right to expect the artist to take responsibility when a teen does commit suicide after obsessively listening to their music? Is there any just cause in blaming them because their lyrics contain depressive material? Some people seem to think so. The 80s saw an influx of court cases against artists and it was also the decade that introduced the Parental Advisory stickers. In 1985, Parental Advisory stickers were affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to audio and video recordings in the United States containing offensive language and/or content. Albums began to be labeled for explicit lyrics, after pressure from the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). It has become known as the Tipper sticker because of Tipper Gores visible role in the PMRC. 1985 saw British heavy metal artist Ozzy Osbourne making his first court appearance on charges that the song Suicide Solution had caused nineteen-year-old John McCullom to attempt suicide, regardless of Osbournes repeated claims that Suicide Solution was written about the death of AC/DCs Bon Scott and that, therefore, it carried a positive anti-suicide message. The case was dismissed on the grounds that song lyrics are protected speech under the First Amendment. Another court case was brought against Judas Priest in 1990, in which the song Better By You, Better Than Me was alleged to have caused the suicide of Raymond Belnap and the attempted suicide of his friend James Vance. What was different about this case was the fact that this case pivoted on the allegation that the band had hidden subliminal messages, buried into their recordings. The attorney for the accusation claimed that satanic messages could be heard when playing the music is backwards. Judge Jerry Carr Whitehead ruled explicitly at the beginning that the court was not interested in the unconcealed lyrical content of rock songs because it was protected by the First Amendment; only the so-called subliminal messages were in question, he ruled, because they did not constitute an open exchange of information. The leading sound expert for the prosecution, attempted to persuade the court that he had expose the backwards words Do it in the song and that this was a clear provocation fo r its listeners to commit suicide. This case was thrown out of court when Judas Priest, defending themselves, chose a section of the song and told the jury that they would hear a certain silly phrase when they played that particular part backwards. Sure enough, this silly phrase is what they heard and the case was thrown out of court.>> This proved that if you are listening hard enough, you can hear anything you want to hear making this claim incongruous. This case, and others like it, went a long way towards legitimizing the once-preposterous claim that subliminal messages are frequent in heavy metal music and that they exert an almost hypnotic power (Billard 1990; Henry 1990, p. 65). Lead singer, Rob Halford, noted in the aftermath of the trial, What we went through . . . we considered that simply an attack on our artistic expression. It was nothing to do with real subliminals.'(Burns 1990, pp. 100-14) The 1980s saw the biggest increase in teen suicides. Lawrence Grossbergs definitive study of American culture under neo-conservatism, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, has woven its political agenda into the mainstream of North American life, where it now manifests itself both as a moral panic. A vote from this book states: In 1940, the major problems were listed as: talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothing, not putting paper in waste baskets. Forty years on in 1982: rape, robbery, assault, burglary, arson, bombings, murder, suicide, absenteeism, vandalism, extortion, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gang warfare, pregnancy, abortion, and venereal disease (Grossberg 1992, pp. 185-8). Teen suicide had reached truly epidemic proportions, and has continued to escalate. The study concludes: Individuals born in the latter part of the twentieth century, are at far greater risk [than their predecessors] for developing [suicide-related] mood disorders and these disorders are manifesting themselves at a younger age (Birmaher et al. 1996, pp. 1,428-30). While it is easy for the conservatives to blame this epidemic on rock music, it is nothing but speculation and there is no hard evidence to back up their ideological views. A 1997 AACAP study entitled Precipitating factors and life events in serious suicide attempts among youths aged 13 through 24 years concluded that the most common occurrence of serious suicide attempts were relationship breakdowns, other personal problems, and financial difficulties. (Beautrais et al. 1997, pp. 1,543-51) Dr Barry Goldfinkel of the University of Minnesota Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division, insists: Ninety out of 100 kids who kill themselves meet a psychiatric diagnosis. Kids dont commit suicide just because theyve been treated harshly or lifes dealt them a bad hand. Its the internal process going on, not merely the fact of ones horrible existence. (Wartik 1995, p. 23) Marilyn Manson In the late 90s, Goth-rocker Marilyn Manson arrived on the scene. He was one of the biggest stars that rose through MTV and one of the most controversial to date. He stormed to the top of the charts, catapulting to worldwide fame. Manson was not your average artist. His image has been described as a brickolage of jack boots, leather, lingerie, black lipstick, eerie contact lenses and cadaverous face paint (Hebdige 1979, pp. 102-4; Thigpen 1997, p. 68). He has been arrested for exposing himself on stage and criticized for his indulgence in self-mutilation. His music was inexorably tangled up with criticism of his appearance and the visual content of his videos and he was the next scapegoat for the PMRC to target. In his opening remarks as host of the 1998 Grammy Award Show, sitcom actor, substance abuser and convicted drunk driver Kelsey Grammer promised that Marilyn Mansons skinny white ass would not be appearing on the show. It was a truly extraordinary moment. Referring explicitly to his own teenage daughter, Spencer, Grammer couched this slur in the form of an inside joke for the baby boomer parents of children with seemingly inexplicable musical tastes. In so doing, he affirmed not only the intractable conservatism of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences but also the arrogant hegemony of his own generation within mainstream musical culture. The show proceeded to reward Bob Dylan with Album of the Year, James Taylor with Best Pop Album and Elton John with Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, while lavishing unbridled approbation upon the newest crop of corporate hit-makers, including Babyface, LeAnn Rimes, Hanson and the ubiquitous Spice Girls. Mitch Miller could not have orchestrated a more thoroughgoing tribute to the pop music status quo in America. The influence of music-based subcultures on suicide has been the subject of debate for many years. The above quote goes to show the hypocrisy and the neo-conservatism attitude that has settled in society,just like the text in Grossbergs book, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place. When the Columbine High School massacre happened, it was exposed that the teenagers responsible listened to Marilyn Manson. When two girls raped a nun with a crucifix and tortured her to death, it was discovered that they too, listened to Marilyn Manson. Gesticulations were made and the finger pointed at Manson for being responsible for poisoning their minds and making them commits these murders and suicides, through his music. Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman called him perhaps the sickest artist ever promoted by a mainstream record company (Jeffrey 1996, p. 3) and put enormous pressure on his label, Interscope to cease selling his records. This was at the height of Mansons third album Antichrist Superstar. The album had reached Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at Number 3 and Manson had become the perfect scapegoat for the ethical guardians. Much like what had happened with Presley, history was repeating itself and by his position in the charts, it is obvious to see that this press was helping sell more records than ever. It is clear from his autobiography that Manson takes himself and his music very seriously, that his analysis of organized religion is both personal and ideological, and that his music is not intended to induce self-destructive behaviour but to inspire strength and independence. He told a panel for discussion on MuchMusic (Canadas music video network): I see what I do as a positive thing. I try to bring people closer to themselves. That may be further away from God but thats closer to themselves. I think thats a good thing. I think that makes people stronger. . . Im trying to tell people to believe in themselves because thats all that they have to believe in. I think thats a positive thing. (MuchMusic 1996) It seems that Manson is not just a guy with a burning ambition to be an adored Rock star. He is a man that is trying to get people to open their eyes to the conformist ideals of the neo-conservative army which he believes have been trying to brain wash a nation, into believing it needs shelter and protection from themselves. He has fought back against the machine and made his messages loud and clear. A tee-shirt for sale at his concerts summarizes his agenda concisely: Warning, the music of Marilyn Manson contains messages that will Kill God In your impressionable teenage mind, as a result you could be convinced to Kill your mom and dad And eventually in an act of hopeless Rock and Roll behavior you will Kill yourself. Please burn your records while there is still hope. Manson published an open letter on the Columbine killings in Rolling Stone in which he reiterated the critique of American society that has been so forcefully articulated in his music: When it comes down to whos to blame for the high school murders in Littleton, Colorado, throw a rock and youll hit someone whos guilty. Were the people who sit back and tolerate children owning guns, and were the ones who tune in and watch the up-to-the-minute details of what they do with them. I think its terrible when anyone dies, especially if its someone you know and love . . . This kind of controversy does not help me sell records or tickets, and I wouldnt want it to. Im a controversial artist, one who dares to have an opinion and bothers to create music and videos that challenge peoples ideas in a world that is watered-down and hollow. In my work I examine the America we live in, and Ive always tried to show people that the devil we blame out atrocities on is really just each one of us. So dont expect the end of the world to come one day out of the blue its been happening every day for a long time. (Manson 1999) The Answer In the wake of the Columbine tragedy, the authorities are franticly trying to find short term answers to the problem of teen suicides and the bloody massacres that occur along side this. This is a problem that has not been identified and many feel that they are searching for answers in the wrong place. For example, after Columbine, the teenagers were considered to be the enemy when schools in America installed metal detectors at the entrances to stop children bringing guns into school. A short term answer to a continuing problem, surely the education and up-bringing of the child are key factors, (not the tools society hands to them on a plate, ironically)? Tipper Gores Parents Music Resource Center, feels that certain music groups are to blame for the suicides and have attacked the music industry. They professed to say that because one suburban teen had written down the lyrics to Fade to Black before taking her life that this was evidence and Proof that this music was responsible and encouraged the teen to kill themselves. In the year 2007, the next new wave of music has arrived and instead of heavily metal being targeted, emo and hip hop are now seemingly liable. Over a decade on, have we learnt from our past mistakes in teaching our misguided youth? It seems not. Just weeks ago, the Virginia Tech tragedy occurred when another troubled teen went on a rampage, killing his classmates and school teachers and then turned the gun on himself. Parents and schools have renounced their responsibility to these teens. In their absence, a psychiatric empire has been created to provide easy answers through medication. A host of psychiatric drugs provided the easy solution to teen suicide. In the absence of parents and teachers who care, todays suburban teens can pharmaceutically control their feelings. But, t what price? Teen suicides may have declined, but, it seems that these medications have helped some teens externalize their depression, erupting into rage. Of course, blaming the medication for the violence is as wrong as blaming the guns, the music or the violent video games and movies. It is not what teens hear in their music or see in the movies or video games that causes the rage. Its the teens inability to handle their feelings of abandonment. But perhaps people in the public eye should take some responsibility if they are communicating with people on such grand scales, as Rock stars do. Beto Cuevas, the lead singer of La Ley, felt he had to do something when he discovered a fan had committed suicide after finding out she could not meet her idols. This was the last straw in her tragic ending but Cuevas felt he had to do something and thought, that through music, he could write a song that would reach his fans. In many ways its about people helping people, Ive talked to fans who said the song has left them thinking about options. Its a problem we have in our daily lives. Sometimes its as simple as listening to someone, your children. Troubled youths have taken comfort in the darker forms of rock music- just as music lovers of all ages find consolation in the music that seems to articulate their losses, their pain and their grief. The problem lies in lacking parent and community supports. In the wake of two Australian teenage suicides, Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, has called on parents to support their children more. I think the greatest thing that has to be said about this is that parental responsibility in the end is the key to behavior by children. Government cant educate parents if they dont have an instinct for responsibility. And while there are things the Government can do, there is a limit before you start running up against freedom of speech.