The play Lucky Spot Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The play Lucky Spot - Thesis Example It is obvious from the beginning of the play that the prospect of success for a dance hall in a poor, Southern town during the Depression, over the Christmas holidays, when people spend time with family, is unlikely. But it's Hooker's pipe dream that keeps him alive when he says, "Hey, look, it's Christmas Eve. People are so lonely out there you can smell it rotting on 'em. Here at The Lucky Spot we'll be selling hot music, fine dancing, and sweet solace of kind hearted women." The stakes are raised even higher when Whitt Carmichael, a wealthy, well-dressed man in his thirties, comes to town and informs Hooker that the property he won from his relative has a lien on it and unless he pays him three hundred and fifty dollars for it by January 1st, the property belongs to him. The prospect for success narrows even further when Lacey Rollins, 30ish with fading good looks, one of the Taxi Dancers Hooker hired to work at The Lucky Spot, emerges from the living quarters to inform the others that the rest of the dancers have fled on account of the news that Hooker's estranged wife, Sue Jack Tiller Hooker, has been released from prison early and is headed back there. Sue Jack's reputation precedes her having served time for throwing a woman over a second floor balcony when she found her in bed with her husband.

American vs Asian Happiness Essay Example for Free

American vs Asian Happiness Essay Americans associate feelings of happiness with personal achievement, the Asian associate those feelings with an entire society’s harmony. Asian people feel emotion less often than Americans. Asians tended to rate their emotional events as more neutral than Americans rated theirs. Overall, Americans were more likely to see their experiences as â€Å"somewhat pleasant.† Asians respondents more often have mixed emotions in â€Å"predominantly pleasant situations† than Americans do. One reason suggested in the paper is that Asians seem to define advancement of social harmony as more worthy than mere individual success. Positive emotions are less important to Asian-born Asians than to Americans. The American dream is all about happiness, not careers or material goods, and its within reach. That bright-eyed view comes from teenagers on the cusp of independence and their own pursuit of happiness as adults. growing numbers of Americans are unhappy, unhealthy, and increasingly pessimistic. At the same time, there are some distinct differences between them and between other Asian and American accounts. For example, the Asians seem more solemn and introspective, with more emphasis on spiritual cultivation and psychological transcendence. American’s seemed more uplifting, elated, exciting, and show more emphasis on enjoying life in the physical sense and present time. Asians appear to desire a more balanced life, with social expectations finely integrated into their sense of well-being. American’s appear to want personal happiness as the supreme value of life, and blatantly assert individual agency against social restrictions. Happiness is a dominant concern for most Americans indeed the American Declaration of Independence proclaims that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right of every individual. Happiness is not only the best reward for personal striving and hard work, as the ‘American dream’’ presents, it is also given many positive associations. For example, Americans believe that happy people are more likely to go to Heaven after death . Happiness is also closely related to health and life satisfaction. The active and explicit pursuit of happiness is one of the best ways of living out an independent personhood, which masters and controls the external environment, identifies and realizes potentials, creates and achieves goals. The Asian perspective individual’s inner attributes, the gratification of personal needs and desires, the amplification of personal achievement, the creation and protection of individual uniqueness are not important concerns: instead, the fulfillment of role obligations in interdependent social relationships, the creation and maintenance of interpersonal harmony, the striving to promote the welfare and prosperity of the family. The Asian culture exhibits a ‘‘habit of hesitation’’ towards happiness. Asians follow the theory of the ancient Yin–Yang philosophy which takes a cosmological view that everything from the cosmos to human life is a never-ending, cyc lic process of change, between good and bad, happiness and misery, well-being and ill-being. Americans view Happiness in regards to money, family, and what can give them the most, Asians to me are more focused on the family and community. We as Americans really just see ourselves as happy when we have more than what our neighbor has, and that we have the perfect job, perfect family, friends are socially accepted. But the truth is even when we are at 100 % full of happiness we are not and the truth to the fact is sometimes we see happiness in our lives and we aren’t. I took a look at my life and realized that even though I am supposed to be happy I am I really? Who really is? In a society like ours where the more we make the more we need the more we want when do we say enough is enough. My Asian friends are happy all the time they are happy with their lives because they are taught that it’s not the material it’s what you release into the world, and what you make with the information you have, spreading the world and paying it forward is what they are about and that and family bring them job, they are happy with the little things and that is what makes them happy and fulfilled with life. Asian culture engulfs the beliefs that the world is their gift and they are one with the world and what they offer to it and take from it are to be shared, and this is taught in their culture from when they are young. In contrast to us Americans that the more we have the more we want. References: Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright c 2009 by Pearson Education, inc http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/america-and-the-pursuit-o_b_941870.html http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The_Scientific_Pursuit_of_Happiness.html http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/04/why-happiness-isnt-always-good-asians-vs-americans/ http://jweinb2.wordpress.com/category/east-asian-cultures-share-similar-views-on-happiness/ http://www.adambohannon.org/crosscultural-differences-happiness-east-west/

Louis Vuitton and Gucci: Marketing Mix

Louis Vuitton and Gucci: Marketing Mix Louis Vuitton, a famous French brand, was created by a leather designer named Louis Vuitton (1821-1892). In 1837, 16-year-old Louis Vuitton left his hometown, to Paris to pack for the elite. He opened his first store in London and made the production with high-skilled. Thus make Louis Vuitton become the most delicate symbol of leather traveling articles. A century later, it is a leader in the field of leather goods and also was a favorite in polite society. It includes clothing, shoes, jewelry and so on. (Louis Vuitton inc, 2010). In 1987, Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy merging into prevent LVMH Group. In 1906, Gucci Augustine chi established the Gucci brand and named it after himself. Products of Gucci include fashion, leather goods, and watches. (Gucci inc, 2010) Gucci with its high fashion, sexy style popular around the world. As a symbol of status and wealth, it is a love of rich society. Now, Gucci is Italys largest fashion group. 1.2 Theory 1.2.1 Market Segmentation. Market segmentation can be defined as dividing different groups with similar chrematistic in the market. Business accord different features to product and services for each of them. (Hall et al 2008 p66) 1.22 Marketing Mix In order to market its products effectively and meet its customers needs. Business must consider its marketing mix. (Hall et al 2008 p75) Mastering four main parts of marketing mix plays a vital role in business, product, price, promotion and place. 1.3 Aims The aims of this report are to analyze the information of Louis Vuitton and Gucci to compare their differences. The comparison will focus on their differences in market segmentation and marketing mix, especially in Chinese market . 2. Findings 17 years ago, Louis Vuitton as one of the first luxury brands to enter Chinese market open its first store in Beijing. At that time, none of Chinese can understand why the value of a handbag worth more than 10000 RMB. But with its promotion in China and the growth of Chinese economic, the sales of handbags from Louis Vuitton rise quickly. Reasons of the success in Chinese market are also the reasons for the success of its brand, excellent market segmentation and holding well four parts of marketing market. The successful reasons of Gucci is similar to Louis Vuitton. For example, it launched a series of Chinese customs production. ( Paris Fashionable Clothing Week Day 9, 2010) and using Chinese language in its stores. For Chinese market to design the Chinese style products its its segmentation. In addition, the aim of Gucci is to open more stores in Asia and eastern Europe. (Reuters, Nov, 27) Discussion 3.1 Market segmentation Market segmentations of Louis Vuitton and Gucci are similar. The targets are promoting their brands and meeting the richs needs. The differences are that the price of most Louis Vuittons handbags is higher the price of Gucci and their different styles. à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"High quality and civility are the selling points of Louis Vuitton which focuses on its classical product leather handbags. In the other hand, Gucci adapts to the younger customersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ demands. Because of the differences of their features and prices, their market segmentations also different. Louis Vuitton targets the customers who are love high quality and noble. The young ladies who are fond of fashion, sex and convenient items will choose Gucci. 3.2 Marketing Mix 3.2.1 Product Product is a main type of marketing mix. Innovation is the secret of Louis Vuitton handbags to maintain its position, it has a series innovation with the change of generation. In order to attract young woman, Louis Vuitton cooperated with artists Stephen Sprouse, thus Epi handbags with colourful style promoted to the market. Now, in order to meet the needs of the younger generation, launch a series of graffiti handbags. (Spring and summer fashion show of LV in 2010) However, Louis Vuitton still continues its style of noble and high quality, its handbags more suitable in semi-formal occasions. Gucci pays a great attention to its design in its development of 100 years. The style of its handbags is convenient and fashion, they are also its unique selling points. But compare the quality between Louis Vuitton and Gucci, the handbags of Gucci worse than Louis Vuitton. The reason is that Louis Vuitton focus on the quality of leather and Gucci pay more attention to its fashion. 3.2.2 Price Another element of marketing mix is price. The pricing policy that a business chooses is often a reflection of the market at which it is aiming (Hall et al 2008 p75) Louis vuitton is more better in leather material, the majority of handbags of Louis Vuitton is more than Gucci. For instance, the price of flower handbag of Louis Vuitton is RMB 17800, the new style of handbag of Gucci is RMB 6800 in 2008. From these comparative results, it can found that the handbag of Gucci is cheaper than Louis Vuittons. The conclusion is that Gucci target the middle class while Louis Vuitton target upper class. 3.2.3 Promotion Nowadays, promotion plays an important role in marketing mix. Gucci and Louis Vuitton focus on the advertising on TV and fashion magazine. Sophisticated fashion magazines are their main promotion media, which help their segmentations become clear and promote worldwide. Such as >. The style of advertising of Louis Vuitton is noble and the feeling of Gucci presented to customers is sexy. Both companies promote their production with popular stars. For example,Gucci show its new style with famous Hollywood in Oscar or Canned movie awards ( 2010 Oscar Movie Award). But Louis Vuitton appears its handbags with famous models even the successful politician because it meet its practical style. Moreover, Louis Vuitton promotes its products with Chinese stars Zhang Ziyi to attracts Chinese market. ( 2010, The Waiting City) 3.2.4 Place Both of Louis Vuitton and Gucci are international brands and luxury goods, it results in their requirements on the choice of stores are very high. Therefore, they open stores in the upscale business district, such as and Champs Elysees. They divide into different level stores to meet different society classes, flagship stores and specialty stores. Flagship stores with higher level, in which not only focused the design of stores but also reflect the spirits of the brand. In this year, Louis Vuitton opens two stores in major city on the same day in China, Shanghai. ( Shanghai Daily, 2010) From this can reflect that the economy and the population of cities also are the important factors to luxury brands while they choosing places. 4. Conclusion According the comparisons between Loris Edition and Guard, getting the conclusion is that these two brands are quiet similar in market segmentations and marketing mix. It can found that differences in their styles and price, which lead their aims are different. The style of Loris Edition is noble and targets a higher line than Guard, particularly reflected in the price of a handbag. The features of handbags are convenient and sexy and it more suitable for middle class. 5. Recommendation According the information mentioned above, the line for Louis Vuitton is sophisticated line and its price is too high for the young even it innovate the new styles to meet the yongs needs. Louis Vuitton can promote its products with lower price to meet the young, it is good for the development of its market segmentation. Gucci needs to care more about its quality of handbags and it can attract more customers to buy it, especially the more richer class.

Increasing the Gas Tax Would Cause an Improvement in the Environment Es

Increasing the Gas Tax Would Cause an Improvement in the Environment Many people all over the world are concerned about pollution. Gasoline use in automobiles is one of the major causes of pollution. When gasoline is used it releases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxide. These are gasses that contribute to the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect refers to the trapping of the sun's radiation and is also used synonymously with Global Warming (greenfuels.org). Governments are trying to come up with alternatives to gasoline to improve or at least not hurt our environment as much as gasoline does. There are things we can do to help out the environment. One suggestion is better public transportation systems. For example, Des Moines has a public bus system, but not very many people use it and the busses do not reach all parts of the city. As a result, many people drive themselves to work instead of taking the bus and saving gasoline. Another way to cut emissions of vehicles is a type of vehicle that uses an electric motor or a vehicle that uses both an electric and gasoline motor which cuts gasoline use. Also there are alternatives to gasoline that do not release as many harmful agents into the environment. Ethanol and hydrogen are two examples that are more environmentally friendly than gasoline. So, if the federal government were to increase the gas tax by one dollar per gallon, the public would have more incentive to buy the alternatives that are better for our environment than gasoline because of the much higher price. Also, with the increase in the gas tax the money would g ive funds toward the environment. With the increased gas tax, there will be extra money that will enable the government to do things fo... ...ne, most of which are much better for the environment than the gasoline that we are currently using. Even if people did not look for alternatives, there would be money to help out environmental issues. Different vehicles, hydrogen, and ethanol are things that have already been proven to be safer for the environment than gasoline. Just think, if we don't give up on looking for other alternatives what we may think of and we could save our environment in the process. Sources Cited Ford Motor Company: HEV. 11 October 2001. http://www.escapehev.com/index.aps Canadian Renewable Fuels Association: Home of Canada's greenfuels. 10 January 2001. Canadian Renewable Fuels Association 11 October 2001 http://greenfuels.org Alternative Fuel Systems Inc.: Innovative Environmental Technologies. Alternative Fuel Systems Inc. 11 October 2001 http://altfuelsys.com/

Auden an the Greeks Essay

We would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become, for better or worse, fully human. † this quote is for W. H. Auden, who was a prolific writer and plat write. In this paper I will endeavor to give insight about the author of this quote, the origins of this piece, and what the author meant in writhing it. As well as examples of proof that Auden’s theory was true or not. And finally I will give my opinion whether I feel that Auden quote is correct. To start with a short back ground on the author Wystan Hugh Auden he was born in York, England, in 1907. He moved to Birmingham during childhood and was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. As a young man he was influenced by the poetry of Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, as well as old English verse,(http://www. poets. org ). Auden seem to have always had a fascination with the ancient Greeks having been educated at a young age on the teaching of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle . Auden’s love of the ancient Greeks would in later life place him in the category as a Grecophile: ( a lover of all things Greek). This love of Ancient Greek; teachings, and traditions I’m sure this led to Auden’s viewpoint of how the Greeks contributed to modern civilization. In researching Auden’s line about the Ancient Greek’s and their contributions to are modern day society I found that the line is taken from a larger writing entitled: ‘The Greeks and Us’ in Forewords and Afterwords, (W.H. Auden, New York, 1973, p. 32). The Quote is: â€Å"I can think of no better way of indicating what we owe to Greece than drawing distinctions, for of all intellectual acts, that is perhaps the most characteristically Greek. It is they who have taught us, not to think–that all human beings have always done–but to think about our thinking, to ask such questions as â€Å"What do I think? †, â€Å"What do this and that other person or people think? †, â€Å"On what do we agree and disagree? Why? And not only did they learn to ask questions about thinking, but they also discovered how, instead of giving immediate answers to suppose something to be the case and then see what would follow if it were. To be able to perform either of these mental operations, a human being must first be capable of a tremendous feat of moral courage and discipline, for he must have learned how to resist the immediate demands of feeling and bodily needs, and to disregard his natural anxiety about his future so that he can look at his self and his world as if they were not his but a stranger’s. If some of the Greek questions turned out to have been incorrectly put, if some of their answers have proved wrong, that is a trivial matter. Had Greek civilization never existed, we might fear God and deal justly with our neighbors, we might practice arts and even have learned how to devise fairly simple machines, but we would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become , for better or worse, fully human. †(W. H. Auden, New York, 1973, p. 32). In reading this text I begin to understand where Auden’s viewpoint is coming from. The main part of the text and purpose of this paper is still widely regarded as true by many citizens in our country today. That the ancient Greek society of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, still offers much to the modern world. And with out this it would be hard to imagine what our world would be like without their contributions. Auden is agreeing with this philosophy. Auden is basically saying that the ancient Greeks have contributed how we should be looking at things that affect are daily lives, however so many of us do not. This is saying that we should be looking at a subject from not only are own viewpoint, or are initial first thought on the subject, but to be introspective and take the time to contemplate how the world around us may, or may not, see the same set of circumstance. And then taking all opinions into consideration for the final outcome regardless ff that outcome is good or bad. This takes a lot of mentally thought and discipline since in modern society we tend to be less philosophical, most of us say and do what first comes to our minds regardless of what others around us feel or think of the matter, or the eventual outcome of the situation. In my opinion Auden was saying that we can and should apply this to every aspect of are lives whether it is a personal matter, a judgment call, or really anything. The Greeks felt, in my opinion, that you must always think of your fellow man first and place oneself in his shoes, how another would feel and react to a situation taking that in to consideration and basing ones thoughts and actions on that. This sets peoples apart from a reactionary society to a thinking one, and had Greek civilization not existed we may have made our way, however we would certainly not had compassion for our fellow man and their viewpoints, in other words we would have not become fully human. This school of thought can be shown in example by the relationship of the three great ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, theirs was a relationship of a teacher educating his pupils. Socrates schooled his followers, Plato, Aristotle with his vast knowledge and wisdom, the method became known as Socratic. According to Socrates an inquisitive nature was critical in understanding and solving questions. And by posing this to every one from the man on the street to authority figures and taking their opinions into consideration would compel you to the most reasonable and logical answer benefiting all involved in the situation. However not even Socrates pupils always agreed with his teachings. Both Plato and Aristotle disagreed with some of Socrates views and disagreed with one another. One thing that both did agree on was that an open forum of opinions would help you to acquire the best solution to a problem. Whether they agreed with it or not you must listen and always continue to discover from as many sources to come to the correct conclusion. In conclusion my viewpoint on W. H. Auden’s comment: â€Å"Had Greek civilization never existed†¦ we would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become, for better or worse, fully human. That yes indeed, after researching what he was referring to and the trying to look at it from the perspective of the ancient Greeks that using critical thinking, and excepting all shades of opinion whether you agree with them or not and allowing them into your decision making process this is the most effectual way of deducing a question. In this I agree, however I find the modern world we are living in that few of my fellow humans take little or any of this into consideration. Today in my opinion we speak more often before we think of what we are saying and how it effects other and these peoples viewpoints. To me this is sad, if we thought more about the views and feelings of one another and less about making sure our own voice is heard what a different society we would live in. I would have to say I agree with W. H. Auden that if not for ancient Greece we would not have developed fully in to humans. However I feel that our modern society is growing rapidly away from theses ancient principals.

Bias: Motor Control and Favorite Color

Abstract What is your favorite color and why? Do you think that simple tasks might be biased by your preferences? Find out in this science project if your color preferences will bias your fine motor skills when doing quick, repetitive tasks. Objective In this science project you will test whether color preference will affect repetitive tasks that require fine motor coordination, like picking up small objects very quickly. Do Preferences Bias Our Choices? Introduction What does it mean to have a favorite color?It may be something that you choose for no good reason, other than the fact that you like it. You may have some kind of emotional reason for choosing a certain color. Can color  preference have biological origins? When we see a color, it is interpreted in our brain by the visual cortex, where different groups of neurons are stimulated. The differential stimulation of neurons within the visual cortex might lead to color preferences. Do these preferences affect other brain funct ions, like our behavior? Our brains also coordinate the movements of our muscles.This occurs in the motor cortex of the brain. If you play sports or video games, you know that one helpful skill is  hand-eye coordination. This means that the different regions of your brain function well together, allowing you to be well-coordinated. When you catch a fast-moving ball, your eyes tell the brain where the ball is, and then the brain tells your arm and hand to catch it. If these two areas of the brain can coordinate complex  movements  and behaviors, then what other sensory responses can influence our behavior?In this science project, you will test how color can affect hand-eye coordination. You will ask participants to quickly choose different-colored M&M candies from a bowl. Will their choices reveal their color preferences? Terms and Concepts To do this type of science project, you should know what the following terms mean. Have an adult help you search the Internet or take you t o your local library to find out more. * Preference * Hand-eye coordination * Movement * Bias * Visual targeting * Differential stimulation of neurons * Biological Orgin Questions How do preferences affect sudden choices, coordination, and movement? * Will color preference influence the color of M&M's your participants pick up? * Are visual targeting and hand-eye coordination biased by our color preferences? Materials Buy  2 14-oz bags or 1 23. 1-oz bag of M;M's  and count out 50 of each color, then combine those in a bowl. * Buy  2 14-oz bags or 1 23. 1-oz bag of M&M's  and count out 50 of each color, then combine those in a bowl. * Dry measuring cup (if you bought individually colored M;M's) * Large bowl * Several participants (at least 12) Sandwich baggies (one for each participant) * Permanent markers * Lab notebook * Graph paper Experimental Procedure 1. Depending on which method you selected in the Materials and Equipment list, portion your M&M's into the large bowl. 2 . Ask your first participant to pick out M;M's as quickly as possible, using only a two-finger pinch, and with one arm behind his or her back. The participant should place them on the table next to the bowl as they are pulled out. As your participant puts them on the table, silently count the number of M&M's on the table.When you see that the participant has pulled out 20 M;M's, ask him or her to stop. 3. Put the M&M's the first participant chose into a sandwich baggie. Ask the participant what his or her favorite color of M;M ® is and write it on the baggie with a permanent marker. 4. Replace the M;M's that the participant removed with the same-colored M&M's that the participant took from the bowl. For instance, if he or she removed three red and five dark brown M;M's, replenish the bowl with three red and five dark brown M&M's, not from the participant's sandwich baggie. . Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all of your participants, replenishing the bowl with the same-colored M&M's as eac h participant removed after every trial. 6. Be sure that you have written each participant's favorite color on  every  baggie! If you forgot to write this down, the data cannot be used and the contents must be disposed of. 7. When you have collected data from several participants, sort your baggies into groups by the favorite color written on the baggies. 8. Starting with one â€Å"Favorite Color† group, tally the numbers of each colored M&M in the bags.Then move on to the next â€Å"Favorite Color† and do another tally, until you have tallied the numbers of all of the colored M&M's picked for each â€Å"Favorite Color† category. Record your data in a data table like the one below in your lab notebook: Participant| Number of M;M's Chosen of Each Color| Total Number of M&M ‘s Chosen| | Red| Orange| Yellow| Green| Blue| Brown| | Red| | | | | | | | Orange| | | | | | | | Yellow| | | | | | | | Green| | | | | | | | Blue| | | | | | | | Brown| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9. To be able to compare numbers between categories, you will need to normalize the data.Do this by calculating percentages of each color picked for each â€Å"Favorite Color† category. First add together the total number of M;Ms chosen for each â€Å"Favorite Color† in each row and insert that in your data table, like the one above. Then calculate the percentages in a new data table by dividing the number of M;M's chosen for a single color (from the  Number of M&M's Chosen of Each Color  column) by the total number of M;M's chosen (from the  Total Number of M&M's Chosen  column), and then multiplying your answer by 100.The new data table should look like this: Favorite Color M;M| Percentage of M;M's Chosen of Each Color| | Red| Orange| Yellow| Green| Blue| Brown| Red| | | | | | | Orange| | | | | | | Yellow| | | | | | | Green| | | | | | | Blue| | | | | | | Brown| | | | | | | 10. Now you want to find out if your participants chose t heir favorite color of M&M from the bowl more often than other colors. You can see this if you make a graph called a  histogram  for each â€Å"Favorite Color† M&M group.On the left side of the graph (y-axis), write a scale of percentages from zero to 100%. On the bottom of the graph (x-axis), write the series of M&M colors. Draw a bar for each color up to the matching percentage. 11. Repeat step 10 for each of the favorite M&M colors. Did your participants tend to pick their favorite color? Evaluation ( insert those graphs and table that were created ) Conclusion was I correct or not ? If so How? If Not Why? How Could You Have Inprpved This project