Ketobemidone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ketobemidone - Research Paper Example This paper explores the synonyms of Ketobemidone, its chemical structure, its discovery and synthesis, physical and chemical properties as well as its uses. Various Names for the Compound Ketobemidone is a compound with numerous names. The compound is also using other multiple synonyms such as: 1-[4-(3-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-methylpiperidin-4-yl]-1-propanone; Cetobemidone; Ethyl 4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-1-methylpiperidin-4-yl ketone; Cliradon; Cliradone; Cetobemidon; Cymidon; Hoechst 10720; Ciba 7115; Ketobemidonum; 1-[4-(m-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-methyl-4-piperidyl]-1-propanone; 1-Propanone, 1-[4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-1-methyl-4-piperidinyl]-;1-Propanone, 1-[4-(m-hydroxyphenyl)-1-methyl-4-piperidyl]-; NSC 117863; or A 21 Lundbeck1. The Chemical Structure of Ketobemidone The chemical structure of the compound is: How Ketobemidone Was Discovered and Synthesized â€Å"The history of synthetic drugs with morphine-like effect is relatively short, dating back only to 1939, when Eisleb produced the now famous 1-methyl-4-phenylpiperidine-4-carboxylic acid ethyl ester.†2 Eisleb together with his colleagues first synthesized Ketobemidone in 1942 at I.G. Farbenindustrie’s laboratory at Hoechst amidst World War II. However, for many years, research had been on-going to find synthetic substances with the same structure as morphine. Small, Eddy together with their co-workers at the United States Public Health service3 worked tirelessly to find these synthetic substances with morphine-like structure. The experiments were founded on the supposition that morphine’s analgesic effect was intrinsic in dibenzofuran, phenanthrene, dibenzofuran as well as carbazole nucleus, which were identified as components of morphine. Earlier attempts were however futile with no development of any synthetic compound with desirable analgesic effect. Organic chemistry experiments rarely yield expected results and products obtained usually come by chance. The analgesic activity of 4-phenylpiperidine s was discovered by chance in 1940s in the course of research by scientists to find antispasmodic characteristics on analogues of cocaine.4 The main focus of Eisleb and Schaumann was to find an alternative compound for atropine. The researchers discovered that the compounds had high levels of analgesic properties apart from their spasmolytic properties. Carboxylic acid exhibited the best outcomes and was later sold in Germany as dolantin, which was wrongly assumed to be non-addictive. As research intensified, several other compounds with structures like morphine were developed including methadone, which was discovered in Germany during the Second World War.5 The initial study of ketobemidone became available in print in 1946 after which it took short duration before being introduced in clinical medicine. In 1954, the Economic and Social Council urged governments to stop producing and trading on ketobemidone arguing that it is a dangerous drug.6 Ketobemidone is synthesized by alkylat ion of (3-methoxyphenyl) acetonitrile with bis (2-chloroethyl) methylamine, which is then reacted with ethylmagnesiumbromide. The resulting product is then O-demethylated with hydrobromic acid to form ketobemidone. â€Å"1-Methyl-4-(m-methoxy)phenyl-4-cyanopiperidine on reaction with ethyl magnesium bromide forms ketone intermediate, which on demethylation with hydrobromic acid affords ketobemidone.†7 Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Ketobemidone Physical Properties

How did Bobbie Ann Mason`s upbringing in the rural south influence her writing of Shiloh Essay Example for Free

How did Bobbie Ann Mason`s upbringing in the rural south influence her writing of Shiloh Essay Bobbie Ann Mason is considered as one of the great American writers from the South. Her personal background as a Southerner influenced and set a backdrop for most of her fiction stories. From a small country girl who used to read Bobbsey Twins and the Nancy Drew mysteries, Bobbie Ann Mason has become one of the Americas leading fiction writers. In 1980 The New Yorker published her first story. It took me a long time to discover my material, she says. It wasnt a matter of developing writing skills; it was a matter of knowing how to see things. And it took me a very long time to grow up. Id been writing for a long time, but was never able to see what there was to write about. I always aspired to things away from home, so it took me a long time to look back at home and realize that thats where the center of my thought was† (Bobbie Ann Mason’s Homepage). This discourse will try to map out the journey that Bobbie Ann Mason has taken from being just a country girl to being one of America’s leading fiction writers as well as how her upbringing has been manifested in her writings, especially â€Å"Shiloh†. Bobbie Ann Mason was born in 1940 in a small town in Mayfield, Kentucky. Growing up in her parents’ dairy farm, she spent most of her childhood days in the typical rural Southern setting and experiencing the Southern way of upbringing. (â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason,† Wikipedia) The first nine (9) years of her educational life were spent in a rural school. Shortly thereafter Bobbie Ann Mason attended a city school where she stayed until her graduation. It was here where she first experienced living in the city and experiencing the hustle and bustle that was absent from the rural setting that she was accustomed to in Kentucky (Webber). It was her love for literature that prompted her to pursue a degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky and eventually attain a Ph. D. in English from the University of Connecticut. (â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason,† Wikipedia) This seeming â€Å"duality† of her background, growing up in the Southern Setting and highly educated in a metropolitan setting, is reflected within most of her written works (Hunt). Rothstein describes Mason’s style as a combination of her â€Å"intellectual sophistication† (after all, she had a doctorate degree) and â€Å"the sense of isolated, yearning existence of her rural characters [is] one she has never quite shed herself. The influence of growing up in the South is clearly shown in most of her characters in her stories yet the theme and feel of the story reveals her intellect and cosmopolitan views as well. A perfect example of how Mason reveals this â€Å"duality† is in Shiloh. In Shiloh, Mason shows this through the challenges that the characters undergo; some of these changes that the characters in experience deal with the nature of human life, the changes brought on by death, the issues on disease and aging; but these changes are not so common, nor as troublesome, in Masons stories as the changes brought on by a changing society. These changes, as Edwin T. Arnold correctly observes, are brought about by the fact that the present has effectively displaced, transformed, and cheapened the traditional, and Masons characters are depicted as they lose their strengths and beliefs and find nothing substantial to replace them (136) Bobbie Ann Mason’s writings are mostly set in the South. Her version is more realistic and not romanticized; unlike the works of Faulkner or O’Connor (Hunt), she depicts small-town rural Southern living, using dialogue and settings characteristic of the South (Hunt). However, southern history and all it represents seems irrelevant to her characters lives (Fine 87). Bobbie Ann Mason occasionally reveals her talent and wit by being able to focus more on her characters and their sense of isolation and their want for something more from their lives and draw the reader towards the characters and make them empathize with the characters. These characters are not simply depicted as typical Southerners, but rather as people who are trying desperately to get into the society rather than out of it (Reed 60). Mason shows the Southern Influence by creating believable characters that are caught in the transition between the old, pastoral, rural world of farms and close-knit communities and the modern, anonymous, suburban world of shopping malls and fast-food restaurants (Shiloh: Themes). In Shiloh, for example, Leroy did not notice the change in his hometown while he was on the road as a trucker. However, now that Leroy has come home to stay, he notices how much the town has changed. Subdivisions are spreading across western Kentucky like an oil slick. Change, a theme often used by Mason in her works, shows just how much Mason is influenced by her upbringing and also reveals how she laments over how people are slow to realize the changes in southern society. In this story, it takes a traumatic event of some kind to make the characters see that the land has changed or that they no longer know who they are. In Leroys case, it is his accident and injury in his rig that make him see that the land has changed, that Norma Jean has changed, and that in all the years he was on the road he never took time to examine anything. He was always flying past scenery (2). Several of Masons characters react to the changes in their lives by trying, at least momentarily, to go back. Leroy thinks that he can hold onto his wife if he can go back to a simpler time. He decides to accomplish this by building her a log cabin for which he goes so far as to order the blueprints and to build a miniature out of Lincoln Logs. Mabel, Leroys mother-in-law, is convinced that if Leroy and Norma Jean will go to Shiloh where she and her husband went on their honeymoon, they can somehow begin their fifteen-year-old marriage anew. So does Leroy. He says to Norma, You and me could start all over again. Right back at the beginning (15). It is ironic, fitting, and symbolic that it is at Shiloh that Norma tells him she wants to leave him. By storys end, Leroy knows that he cannot go back as it occurs to him that building a house of logs is . . . empty too simple. . . . Now he sees that building a log house is the dumbest idea he could have had. . . . It was a crazy idea (16). He realizes that the real inner workings of a marriage, like most of history, have escaped him (16). The female characters that Mason brings to life are what set her stories apart from the usual literature which depicts Southern women; their dreams, goals, and their want for progress significantly differs from those of the traditional Southern belle characters such as Scarlett O’Hara and Adie (Hunt). The female characters of Mason embrace change and are not afraid of it (Kincaid 582). This seemingly feminist theme reflects the change in social relationships between men and women; how evolving and rapidly shifting gender roles affect the lives of simple people. Mason also shows how some of her women try to forge new identities in the wake of shifting gender roles and how their efforts often include a blatant shrinking of traditionally feminine behaviors or characteristics; sometimes they seem almost completely to be trading roles with the men in their lives. And since change often causes uncertainty and instability, another aspect is the way these women find some solid ground through connections with other women (Bucher). â€Å"Shiloh† is a story that symbolizes the modern woman striving to find her identity (Cooke 196). In this short story, Bobbie Ann Mason masterfully portrays the lead female character, Norma Jean, as one such woman; strong, determined and confused in a search for her identity. Mason is able to show this to the reader through the acts of Norma Jean as she tries to improve her physical appearance by â€Å"working on her pectorals† (Mason 271), enrolls in a variety of classes, from weightlifting to cooking exotic foods to English composition in an attempt to become a new woman (Thompson 3). These actions of Norma Jean actions reveal more of a strong desire for inner personal transformation, much more than anything else. However, Mason also recognizes that abrupt change in one’s personality has its own dangers (Hunt), as illustrated by Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship. Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship is a perfect example of the dangers of an abrupt change as it shows a marriage with serious problem and the effect that change has on it. Leroy and Norma Jean Moffitt, are working-class people living in the modern South, and thus they bring into their marriage all sorts of unspoken expectations of who they should be, which often contrast violently with who they are even more so with who they are becoming (Bucher). When in a twist of fate, Leroy loses the use of his leg, Norma Jean suddenly assumes the role of being the man in the family and this leads to problems. It is this sort of change that is not only abrupt but also drastic which Mason shows in Shiloh that reveals her Southern influence. She emphasizes the changing role of women in society by using the Southern setting as a backdrop. Mason is a lover of rock and roll music. This passion and preference for rock music and pop culture are frequently reflected throughout her stories as well (Webber). â€Å"Writing is my version of rock-and-roll,† Rothstein quotes her (Webber). This is aptly shown in â€Å"Shiloh,† where the main characters themselves are named after Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, popular icons of the rock and roll scene and pop culture in the early 1950s. All in all, it can be said that Bobbie Ann Mason’s personal background shows a very consistent influence in the fiction stories that she writes and provides a deeper and different perspective about living in a Southern setting and rural life in general. In the country in Kentucky, people are just amazed that anybody in New York wants to read about their lives (Rothstein). With fiction stories of Bobbie Ann Mason, however, it is not surprising that people will want to read more about Kentucky or the Southern locales of the United States, for that matter, for her stories speak of the universal human experiences that transcend physical and cultural boundaries which people can identify with. WORKS CITED: Arnold, Edwin J. Falling Apart and Staying Together. Appalachian Journal (1985): 135-141Aycock-Simpson, Judy. Bobbie Ann Mason’s Portrayal of Modern Western Kentucky Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 7 (1989) â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason. † Wikipedia: Free Encyclopedia. August 30, 2006. November 11, 2006 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bobbie_Ann_Mason â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason. † Bobbie Ann Mason’s Homepage. September 17, 2005. November 24, 2006 http://www. eiu. edu/~eng1002/authors/mason2/bio. htm Shiloh: Themes. Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes. com. January 2006. 24 November 2006. http://www. enotes. com/shiloh/32686 Bucher, Tina. â€Å"Changing Roles and Finding Stability: Women in Bobbie Ann Mason’s Shiloh and Other Stories† Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 8 (1991) Cooke, Stewart J. Masons Shiloh. The Explicator 51 (1993): 196-197. Fine, Laura. Going Nowhere Slow: The Post-South World of Bobbie Ann Mason. The Southern Literary Journal 32 (1999). Hunt, Kristina. â€Å"Mason’s Transformation of the South. † October 27, 2000. November 11, 2006.

The Media Discourse Of Youth Subcultures Media Essay

The Media Discourse Of Youth Subcultures Media Essay The cultural universe of young people is a complex and dynamic one (White, 1999) and there has always been a tendency among youth researchers to investigate the significant social changes that are being revealed through the experiences of contemporary youth (Leccardi Ruspini, 2006). Some of the earliest sociological researches on youth can be linked to the emergence of new forms of consumptions and distinct youth cultures that began to rise in the late 1950s. The changes in youth at this era were highly visible through music and fashion the young populations were consuming. This was viewed both as a result of the increase time available for leisure and personal resources (Leccardi Ruspini, 2006) as well as an attempt to create some symbolic meaning for self (White, 1999). In times of high unemployment where youth were caught in between the ideology of spectacular consumption promoted by the mass media and the traditional ideology of capitalism and the meritocratic work led to a pro liferation of empirical studies across a wide range of diverse issues from homelessness to unemployment, youth crime to street gang violence that engages in research relevant to both empirical and theoretical matters in order to stretch the conceptual boundaries in the contemporary society (White, 1993). Youth subcultures can be viewed as a response to the interaction between these different areas. This response is seen by some as an identity seeking reaction between resistance to consumerism created by the production based Puritanism and the new hedonism of post war consumption (White, 1993). This paper looks into the contemporary youth subcultures and the media discourse used in the representation of these subcultures. It is argued that such negative representations of youth subcultures would result in the popularization and re enforcement of activities rather than limiting or controlling such deviant behaviors and thereby confirming the labeling of a demonized and at risk youth groups. Further, the reports supports the idea that the media interventions in crime and social problem areas can lead to misplaced reactive political resources in mythic rather than real social problem areas resulting in amplified and exacerbated social problems generating moral panics (White, 1999). A culture can be defined as designs for living that constitute peoples way of life (Macionis Plummer, 2008:128). The five components of culture identified by Macionis and Plummer (2008: 130) include; symbols, language, values, norms and material culture. Culture has several, often contradictory meanings that carries ambiguity that can be traced in its different uses throughout history (Brake, 1985). While the classical perspective views culture as a standard of excellence (high culture), others view culture as a way of life which expresses certain meanings and values attached with a particular way of life known as the low culture'(Williams, 1961, p. 57). It is this conceptualisation of low culture that is central to the development of subcultures as an analytical concept (Brake, 1985). Subcultures can be defined as a cultural pattern that set apart some segment of a societys population (Macionis Plummer, 2008: 139) or a social group which is perceived to deviate from the normative ideals of adult communities (Thornton, 1995: 2). The earliest use of subcultural theories within sociology can be linked to its application as a subdivision of a national culture (Lee, 1945; Gordon, 1947). Culture in this context was viewed as learned behaviour with emphasis on the effects of socialisation within the cultural subgroups of a pluralist society (Brake, 1985). In most of the Western world, studies of youth subcultures have been dominated by a tradition associated with the 1970s work of the Centre of Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, England (Thornton, 1995). The Birmingham subcultural studies tend to banish media and commerce from their definition of authentic culture seen media and commerce as incorporating subcultures into the hegemony and effectively dismantling them (Hedbige, 1978). Chicago School sociologists on the other hand were concerned on researching empirical social groups by taking precedence over their elaboration of theory and were mainly focused on the shadier recesses of polite society (Nayaka, 2003:14 in Thornton, 1995). This report will look at subcultures as cultures that are labelled directly or indirectly by the media with a problematic authenticity and as media and commerce integral to the authentication of its cultural practices. Supporting this, A.K. Cohen states that a major determinant of s ubcultures among the youth as what people do depending upon the problems they contended with (Cohen, 1955, p.51). Cultural theorists argue that what it means to be young should be seen in the context of its cultural significance indicating that it is the context of cultural significance that makes been young so distinctive and not the structural focus of society (Alan, 2007). That is, the context the youth are exposed to and the issues that their exposures carry play a significant role in the construction of a youths culture. When understanding the conflicts surrounding young people and the way they use public space, the media plays a central role by constituting and shaping the principal form of the public sphere and by gathering and distributing important public information (Thompson, 1994 in Sercombe, 1999). One may argue that there is no certain measure of the direct effects of media coverage on the public. However, there are often negative and powerful cultural effects of media produced by the constant flow of its commercialized imaginary fictions and stereotypical coverages that socially construct a moral and narrative set of offerings upon which the youth attempt to build their identities on (White, 1993). Not only in building identities, the youth tend to use these social constructions by the media also as a measure for their achievements and personal worth by simply deriving an identity from a set of meanings drawn on the basis of media constructed stimulations instead of their local experiences (Baudrillard, 1983). It is important to note that the notion of identities are constructed across and by differences, and the social construction of youth identities though historically varied is tightly bound with the media representations made available at the time (White,1999). Therefore, we can argue that media is a critical component of the development and maintenance of the representation of young people which often feeds into the fears and negative attitude surrounding the presence of young people in public space as problematic or threatening (Sercombe, 1999). Moral panics in relation to youth music and subculture are not uncommon in the news and other media (Goode Ben-Yehuda, 2008, pp. 124-145, in Phillipoy 2009). Most cities in Australia like many other cities around the world housed for a large number of subcultural activities ranging from skateboarders occupying the steps and benches in the Melbourne streets to Goths congregating the inner city suburbs (Gelder, 2007). It also has a number of drag night clubs, gay and lesbian bars, a remarkable graffiti subculture; in which Melbourne has been claimed as a stencil graffiti capital (Smallman Nyman, 2005). Australia has several times witnessed its teenage subcultures clash in the streets; like the Mods and Sharpies in August 1966 (Sparrow Sparrow, 2004: 73-77). Stan Cohens classic Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1980) and the centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies Policing the Crisis (Hall et al. 1978) both indicate how mainstream media contributes to the public anxiety about youth subcultures and youth groups that are deemed to be deviant. Cohen, in his work looks at the development of conflict between mods and rockers, in a British seaside town, and particularly the escalation of conflict that arose as a result of the medias representation of these events. He argues that the media were responsible for amplifying the perception of deviance arising from a few of small-scale disturbances, which ultimately led to an escalated interventions from the police and judiciary, with the demonization and over-typification of young people involved in the mod or rocker styles. Similarly in Australia Cunneen et al. 1989, carried out a study on the disturbances at the Bathurst motorcycle races concluding that it was the over representation of the small di sturbances that led to the large scale conflicts and that the press concentrated on authority opinion while sensationalizing the material published (Cunneen et al., 1989). When analysing the literature published on the media representations of youth and youth subcultures it is evident that communications media create subcultures in the process of naming them and drawing boundaries around them in the act of describing them (Thonrton, 1995). The way media is inextricably involved in the meaning making and organization of youth subcultures will be discussed through the analysis of the representations of many recent incidents related to youth subcultures, particularly the ravers, Goths and emo subcultures. The rave subculture emerged worldwide in the late 1980s as a musical subculture and was a phenomenon in the area that attempted to invert the traditional rock n roll authenticity by remixing and creating a cutting edge disk culture with a warehouse party format and was established in Chicago, Detroit and across Britain (Thornton, 1995:4). Soon groups of young people were clustered in sites conventionally aligned with musical performance to listen and dance to electronic dance music played by djs in Sydneys alternative rock scene Unlike other musical subcultures such as alternative rock scene where performances generally took place in formal environments such as pubs and clubs the raves in Australian cities began to use spaces such as old warehouses, factories and train stations for their activities (Gibson Pagan, 2006). Since the late 1980s rave culture worldwide has increased their members and was diversified and fragmented in many aspects becoming more contradictory with various s ubcultures emerging such as the Doofs, Drum and Bass and Happy hard core. Mean while controversies and public moral panics were starting to generate over the diverged more politicized illegal party culture that were shifting itself from the mainstream (Gibson Pagen, 2006). Associations were made between these part scenes and illegal drugs such as ecstasy by the media providing the basis for a moral panic. Ravres were described as new age hippies where their activities summed up to no sex, but drugs and rock roll (Sun Herald, 15/1/1995:1995,121). Dance parties in Sydney eventually became associated with tropes of youth deviance and illegality making the rave space in the public consciousness as a site beyond the domain of mainstream, and thereby causing strong reactions from the public and a need for increased control over their events (Gibson Pagen, 2006). A major shift in the perception of the public of youth subcultures could be related to the ecstasy related death of teenager A nna Woods from Sydney at an Apache party in 1995. Her death was magnified within the media creating an unprecedented wave of media attention and public panic. With headlines such as Ecstasy agony and Ecstasy secret world running on the front pages for nearly two weeks, dramatically altering not only the rave culture but the perception of youth subcultures as a whole (See Sydney Morning Herald, 26/20/1995:1,4). The initial response of sympathy by the public to the incident soon turned into fear and anger that progressed from tension and social anxiety to a full blown social and political crisis (McRobbie, 1994) with scapegoating not only the ravers but creating fear against many youth subcultures (see Daily Telegraph, 25/10/1995:415). The death of Anna was interpreted as a symptom of the malaise affecting many young Australians (Daily Telegraph, 5/11/1995:8), with the NSW state government taking actions to close down clubs and bars which have promoted drugs in parties (Gibson Pagen, 2006). For a few months in 2007, the dangers of Emo and computer use were significant themes in many Australian newspaper coverages (Phillipoy, 2009). Emo is an abbreviation of the terms emocore or emotional hardcore which is a musical sub-genre of punk rock music, characterised by emotional or personal themes. They adopt a look that includes black stovepipe jeans, dyed black hair and side-parted long fringes, which might merely have been one of the many tribes (Bennett, 1999) that characterise this contemporary youth culture(Phillipoy, 2009). Following the deaths of Melbourne teenagers, Jodie Gater, Stephanie Gestier and Carly Ryan in year 2007, over an approximately five months period the media portrayed the two separate incidents linking the suicide and the murder to the Emo subculture and to the social networking site MySpace, presenting both as dangerous and worrying developments in contemporary youth culture (Phillipoy, 2009). These media discourses surrounding the deaths included many features of moral panic including a build-up of concerns disproportionate to the real risk of harm (see Goode Ben-Yehuda, 2002, pp.33-41). While the emo youth were viewed as straightforward folk devil (Cohen, 1972) or the enemy, the problem of emo was also framed as a product of much broader problems of youth culture (Goode Ben-Yehuda, 2002). The connections between emo and the deaths of these young girls were tenuously published over the mass media and was seen as symptomatic of what John Hartley (1998) describes in the context of r eporting on young people more generally as a profound uncertainty in the textual system of journalism about where the line that defines the boundary of the social should be drawn by the broader groups of non-subculturaly affiliated youth. The result of this according to Phillipoy, is a cultural thinking out loud (Hartley, 1998) where broader cultural anxiety are expressed and explored that can be described as anxiety about disclosure. The newspaper coverages on the deaths focused on the dangers of young peoples disclosures that made them inaccessible to adult authority that otherwise could have prevented the tragedies. Although some of these concerns were connected to the specificities of emo subcultural expression, with excessive emotions on display and the enigma associated with subcultural imagery respectively, they were on the whole linked to a broader problem in contemporary youth culture that was seen to apply to all young people, irrespective of any subcultural affiliation. T he expressions of anxieties that the private lives of young people were becoming increasingly unknowable to adult authorities, and, hence, that youth culture itself was increasingly unknowable were popular statements made by the media (Phillipoy, 2006). Reportings such as bizarre teenage goth and emo world world constructed both as dangerous (in the sense that the apparent involvement in subcultural activities was presented as disturbing and something that put her at risk of harm) and impenetrable (in the sense that subcultural affiliations and imagery was understood not simply as harmful but also as bizarre). In conclusion, the representations of young people in the media directly or indirectly depend on the interest of the newspapers and the discourse of its source. Language used by these media allows painting young people in different colors (Sercombe, 1999) and as youth subcultures are prime fare for the news media as in terms of news value they are both exotic and familiar (White, 1993) media and youth subcultures have a complex and symbolic relationship where young people are devoted consumers and producers of media and engage with media in the approval and adaptation of subcultural forms for their own context. Therefore, many of the subcultures can be argued to be reproduced and constructed through the media (White, 1999). The mainstream media however tend to represent youth subcultures mythologically as they often attempts to represent not the real world but the world that suits the advertisers, owners and the government. This leads to the constant stereotyping, reinforcing and exa ggerating issues, particularly in relation to the youth (White, 1993). Youth was been commodified and portrayed within the media as the mindless hedonism of lost youth (Brown, 2005). They were categorized as a careless generation that was only concerned with seeking pleasure and satisfaction from personal risk taking and drug use (Brown, 2005). By constructing notions of deviance and illegality, commercial media not only position youth and youth subcultures but are implicated in defining authentic underground activities that further strengthen subcultural practices that are deemed deviant (Gibson Pagan, 2006). Therefore, it is clear that media have been and is today, a major influence in fuelling and reinforcing perceptions of problem youth. Subcultures are constructed and stereotyped by the media as deviant and the media representations linked to the issues around subcultures have created an image of uncaring, hedonistic and self centered youth (Alan, 2007). Hence, this report suggest that the media is directly or indirectly responsibility for the fuelling and reinforcing of such deviant activities that they have constructed aligned to youth subcultures and that youth subcultures are a social construction mainly influenced by the national mass media. Therefore, the national media, particularly newspapers as the most commo nly used news media has a responsibility in the a discourses that are used to represent youth groups and youth subcultures as it carries an impact on the broader youth communities worldwide.

The First-generation Immigrant in America Essay -- Minorities Equality

My grandmother has a certain look in her eyes when something is troubling her: she stares off in a random direction with a wistful, slightly bemused expression on her face, as if she sees something the rest of us can’t see, knows something that we don’t know. It is in these moments, and these moments alone, that she seems distant from us, like a quiet observer watching from afar, her body present but her mind and heart in a place only she can visit. She never says it, but I know, and deep inside, I think they do as well. She wants to be a part of our world. She wants us to be a part of hers. But we don’t belong. Not anymore. Not my brothers—I don’t think they ever did. Maybe I did—once, a long time ago, but I can’t remember anymore. I love my grandmother. She knows that. I know she does, even if I’m never able to convey it adequately to her in words. The scene is always the same: the three of us sitting in a room together, talking. I see her from the corner of my eye, glancing for only a second or two, but always long enough to notice the look on her face, the expression I’ve become so painfully familiar with over the years. I am forced to turn away; the conversation resumes. She is a few feet from us. She hears everything, and understands nothing except what she can gather from the expressions on our faces, the tone of our voices. She pretends not to be bothered, smiling at us and interjecting random questions or comments in Chinese—a language I was raised to speak, a language I’ve slowly forgotten over the years, a language that is now mine only by blood. It is an earnest but usually futile attempt to break through the invisible barrier that separates her from us, and in spite of all her efforts to hide it, that sad, contem... ...weak, when their echoes fade, and in that moment, I will awake to a dark, empty silence. And the silence will be deafening. * La Gringa: Derogatory epithet used to ridicule a Puerto Rican girl who wants to look like a blonde North American. Works Cited Andalzà ºa, Gloria. â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue.† Encounters: Essays for Exploration and Inquiry. 2nd ed. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 93-101. Cofer, Judith Ortiz. â€Å"Silent Dancing.† Encounters: Essays for Exploration and Inquiry. 2nd ed. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 145-51. â€Å"History.† The Latino/a Education Network Service.14 Oct. 2002.. Tan, Amy. â€Å"Mother Tongue.† Encounters: Essays for Exploration and Inquiry. 2nd ed. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 603-07.

Neiman Marcus Case

Neiman Marcus (NM), which mainly serves the high-end retail market, is currently facing a tough future. Although it currently enjoys high profit margins and has made significant improvements in its existing brand performance, its growth has plateaued. NM believes that there is only limited potential for growth of its current full-line stores while maintaining its exclusivity. As a result, it is considering other growth opportunities. The strategic goal is to increase its revenue by at least $150 million over the next 6 years while maintaining its attractive profit margins of 15%. Of the number of possible growth options, we recommend NM to grow via the Galleries concept. We believe that this concept is in line with its current core strength of creating and maintaining customer loyalty with luxury customers. Moreover, it can benefit from its existing customer base, efficient sales force and brand name. Our financial analysis further shows that the concept has the potential to match the revenue and profit goals. However, NM needs to carefully choose the gallery locations since there are some risks associated with direct competition with existing leaders and confusion among its current customers about the shift in brand-focus. Growth Options Neiman Marcus (NM) serves the high-end retail market mostly in US. Before analyzing the range of growth options available to NM, we performed a SWOT analysis [Exhibit 2] to understand NM’s current competitive situation. NM clearly targets the affluent US population and intends to serve the luxury market. The company’s goal is to create a personal shopping experience for its customers, and that involves having a highly competent sales staff as well as setting up a unique buying experience. One of the biggest competitive advantages for NM is the customer based marketing programs and events, like the InCircle programs which enhances customer loyalty. The catalog advertising is another core-competency that NM can leverage greatly from, since it drives about 50% of the sales of the customer that also shop at the stores. NM invests heavily in training and retaining its sales forces ia programs like the â€Å"Optimum Selling Program† and competitive compensation to the employees. It leverages the sales force to create a personal shopping experience to the affluent customer with the objective of enhancing the customer relationship and increasing the average customer spend. Considering that the target consumer segment is the affluent consumer who earns over $200,000 annually, th ere is limited growth potential within this high premium segment since acquiring new customers with high buying power needs is difficult. Thus, the focus is to increase customer retention and find creative ways for customers to spend more on NM products, with the following approaches * Brand extension :â€Å"Galleries† for jewelry; Specialty store for shoes * Geographical extension: Expand into Europe; increasing retail space within stores; * Portfolio extension: Acquisition(Saks); Open Sale-price stores likeâ€Å"(Nordstrum) rack† * Relationship extension : Enhance relationship with emerging designers Brand extensions via Galleries for the jewelry category would put NM in direct competition with the likes of Tiffany’s Co. This might impact the top line (Revenues) more than the bottom line (net income), considering that it would involve higher costs for development of the stores, and heavy investments in advertisement and customer retention. Geographic extensions like expanding into Europe would not have high impact on the top line nor is bottom line, considering there 50% higher penetration of designer owned stores. Moreover, NM might need significant time and investment to create its brand name and competent sales force team in such new but fiercely competitive market. Portfolio extension: Acquisition of Saks would definitely have a positive impact on both the top line and the bottom line. However, NM would need to be careful on how this would affect its relationship with the employees and the designers. However, sale-price stores would likely dilute the brand image for NM, and alienate some of its existing consumers Enhancing relationship with emerging designers would probably impact NM most on the bottom line than on the top line, considering it would be able to leverage purchasing power with the emerging designers, and extract higher margins from the merchandise. do we need to estimate top line/bottom line impact? ] Of all these options, the Galleries and Acquisition of Saks are the ones that can leverage NM’s core competencies to the best ability. These avenues provide an opportunity for leveraging the marketing catalogues, customer relationships, and employee satisfaction and retention. The acquisition of existing brands such as Saks is subject to more extraneous factors (negotiations, stock valuations, government regulations, merger risks, brand value distortion) and therefore unclear as a long term strategy. Neiman Marcus’ Positioning. Based on our understanding, we believe NM’s current positioning statement is: For the affluent customer who takes great pride in buying only top-line luxury clothing and accessories, NM store is your one-stop place for all your fashion needs since we only stock best assortment of designer boutiques and our friendly knowledgeable staff knows exactly what you are looking for. NM’s positioning is to attract the affluent consumer, with a household income of over $100,000, by providing high-end luxury lines of women’s and men’s apparel, Jewelry, Cosmetics/fragrances, Gifts, Women’s shoes and Accessories. The core competencies that NM engages to differentiate itself in the marketplace are exclusive high-end designer merchandise, personable, knowledgeable and highly competent sales staff that aims at not only achieving a high level of customer satisfaction, but also establishing themselves as a personal shopper for the customer. The sales staff is cross-trained in multiple departments, and is empowered to build long term relationships with their customers. This enables NM to provide a customized and personal experience for its clientele, thus encouraging them to be repeat customers and increase their spend at NM. NM utilizes another core-competency of catalogs for direct marketing, thus creating avenues to increase spend by the customers. One of the differentiators for NM, an un-imitable competency that creates barriers of entry is the customer based marketing programs, and events. The InCircle program is targeted to enhance customer relationships and brand loyalty. Special events and incentives are creating for the â€Å"creme-de-la-creme† spenders via the InCircle program that provides these customers to become repeat consumers via exquisite rewards programs and one-on-one customer service. About 40% of sales at NM were estimated from these programs and events organized by NM. Direct competitors for [Exhibit 3] NM include Saks 5th avenue and Nordstrum. Saks and NM differed in their approach to store formats. While NM had primarily focused on full line stores, Saks had developed other formats like restort stores, Main street stores, Off 5th stores, thus targeting different consumer segments. Nordstrom on the other hand had similar merchandise portfolio as NM, and was known for the level of personal customer attention and service it provided by building key relationships NM on the other hand provided multiple competencies that included specialty store variety (for specific designers) and department store scale and service. Quantitative Analysis of the Galleries Concept We performed a quantitative analysis to evaluate the Galleries concept. We made some key assumptions for the analysis. First, the revenue per sq. ft. or the three lines: fashion jewelry, precious jewelry and gifts would be equal to the current NM revenues in these departments. Second, the annual percentage revenue growth for Galleria would be equal to NM’s current annual revenue growth of 7%. Third, the allocation of space within the 10,000 sq. ft. galleria would be allocated to the existing ratios within the three departments. Using these assumptions, as shown in Exhibit a, we calculated the revenue per sq. ft. for the three lines. Using these values, we computed the expected revenue (base year) for one galleria (Exhibit b). We next constructed the pro-forma (Exhibit b) for one galleria for the next 6 years. We assumed that the revenue growth would be the same (7%), the gross margin and hence the COGS would be constant (56% which is the current weighted COGS for these three department). As seen in the pro-forma, we estimate each galleria will have revenues of $10. 8 million and Cash-flow (assuming EBT = EBTDA) of $2. 1 million by year 6. Using Present Value of the Cash flows (assumed equal to EBIT) at 15% discount rate, we estimate the payback period for each galleria on the initial investment of $5 million to be 5 years (2003 assuming base year is 1998). With additional revenue per galleria in Year 6 estimated at $10. 8 million, to achieve a financial goal of $200 million in additional revenue from the galleries by Year 6, NM would need to open 19 (200/10. ) galleries. This would require an overall investment of about $95 million in capital in the current year. The quantitative analysis indicate that if the three constituent departments of the galleries can perform at least at par with current levels (mainly in terms of revenue per sq. ft. and gross margins) , NM is very likely to fulfill the goal of $200 million in surplus revenue growth by year 6. In fact, since the payback period (at 15% discount rate) is 5 years, the IRR return from the investment is expected to be more than the required 15%. Thus the quantitative analysis is definitely is in favor of the galleries concept. Qualitative Analysis of the Galleries Concept The Galleries concept is to aimed to expand the per-customer spend of the target affluent consumer, by providing specialty stores for specific merchandise category. One of the viable options is to consider a Gallery which includes the departments that provide the highest revenue per sq. ft. amely Precious jewelry, fashion jewelry and Gifts, again targeting the same affluent customer segment. This concept makes sense for NM since it can leverage from its current strengths – loyalty program, dedicated and knowledgeable staff, and its existing brand value. Moreover, expanding the gallery concept in US where it already has an established brand name and elite-status makes perfect sense. However, as discussed before, the Jewelry and Gifts gallery concept would end up going head-to-head with a Tiffany’s store. Therefore NM needs to address the following risks for ensuring significant market share capture. First, considering that the flagship Tiffany’s store has a sales/sq ft ratio of over $3000 [Exhibit 1 and 4], NM needs to either increase the retail space for precious jewelry to improve from the overall expected $721 / sq. ft revenue (this is because precious jewelry in current NM stores earn a much higher $1669/ sq ft), or decrease the store gross selling space for the gallery. Second, expanding the number of Galleries excessively might rebrand NM in the minds of customers as jewelry focused company and might affect the sales of its other flagship products such as women’s apparel and shoes in original NM stores. Therefore, NM needs to be careful in choosing the locations of these new galleria stores and try to not choose locations where they currently exist. With regards to the locations of the new Gallery stores, we believe that NM needs to choose locations that are not competitively served (by Tiffany’s) in the Jewelry category, and also locations that do not have heavy overlap with its current locations. It is also important not to deviate from the target affluent consumer with high buying power index. Thus, we recommend the ollowing top 3 locations for NM to open the initial Gallery stores to ensure impactful market share capture. Based on how the galleries perform in these markets, NM can use the same criteria to open galleries in other markets. Seattle – Top most 1996 BPI; No Tiffany presence; some overlap with NM stores Cleveland – Ranked 2nd 1996 BPI; No Tiffany presence; some overlap with NM stores Sacramento – Ranked 3rd 1996 BPI; No Tiffany presence; hi gh overlap with NM stores Conclusion Based on the analysis of NM’s current positioning and its core competencies, we believe the Galleria concept presents a good growth opportunity for NM. Quantitatively, the concept has potential to fulfill both of NM’s current goals: revenue growth ($150-$200 million revenue growth over 6 years) and profit margin (Payback period for initial investment is under 6 years at desired 15% cost of capital). However, NM needs to be careful in choosing the locations for two reasons: to avoid head-to-head competition with existing jewelers such as Tiffany’s and to avoid confusion of its brand focus in the minds of its existing rich customer base.

The Life and History of Whitney E. Houston Essay Example

The Life and History of Whitney E. Houston Essay Example The Life and History of Whitney E. Houston Paper The Life and History of Whitney E. Houston Paper THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY Shirley Carter Everest Online| [the good, the bad, and the ugly†¦]| The Good, the Bad and the ugly The lady that was known as â€Å"The Voice† stated (Winfrey, 2009 interview) was someone special above and beyond. People paid hundreds of dollars and waited in line for tickets; some bought her CD’s and soon learned the lyrics to some of her songs was this beautiful diva name Whitney E. Houston. Born and raised in Newark New Jersey (Wikipedia, 2012 para. 2 first line) Whitney was the daughter of the famous Gospel singer Dr. Cissy Houston (Vibe Magazine 2012) and is the cousin to famous song writer Dionne Warwick (VH1 Bio March, 2012). Having a Gospel mother as a singer, Whitney also had a gift that was yet to be discovered she enjoyed singing in the choir at New Hope Baptist Church (Pastor Carter Feb. 18, 2012) her passion was singing and making her mother proud. Whitney loved hearing her mother sing and once her mother saw she was also blessed with the same gift she started teaching her daughter about music. Whitney went with her mother on tour and she also did some back-up singing for other famous artists Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Chaka Kahn (Ebony 2012 April article) to name a few. Performing and doing little skits got her discovered and drew a lot of attention to other known singers and managers such as the famous CEO Clive Davis. Clive saw Whitney perform for the first time in the 80s and was blow away that he wanted to sign her to his record label because he knew the two of them would work well together but who would have know she was going to be this big. Once Whitney was able to take off there was no stopping in the early 90s she met famous Ramp;B singer Bobby Brown and in 1992 they had a beautiful daughter and named her Bobbi Kristina (VH1 Bio March 2012). Whitney Houston life changed when she signed her contract with Clive Davis with a voice as powerful as hers, she was performing on late night talk shows doing interviews for VH1 and making commercials as well. Being young and beautiful she still enjoyed life and was also introduced to new things such as Marijuana and Cocaine. In the beginning when she would perform, you could hardly tell there was anything wrong with her. When she performed, she gave her audience what they paid for but before she came out her choice of drugs starting taking a toll on her which gave outsiders looking in something to talk about. Throughout her years of making music and going on tour; When she would perform instead of getting a standing ovation she started getting booed because her performance was not what people paid for. England April 2010 CNN live) After her performance in England everyone knew that her drug use turned into drug abuse which led to questions and interviews. When she was interviewed by (Sawyer 2002 ABC) she talked about several drugs that she and her husband did together everyone remembers that interview because she was high and her voice was hoarse. During her interview she admitted to using cocaine and marijuana then was asked about using Crack Cocaine she stated that â€Å"Crack was Whack† and she made to much money to smoke such a cheap drug (Houston 2002 ABC interview). Everyone started saying that Bobby Brown was the one that introduced her to drugs but no one knew that she partied just as much as he did Being able to act and sing was a gift that everyone wanted a lot of young female artist looked up to her because her voice was so powerful and strong. As the years past by Whitney started getting tired in 2004 she and her family took a trip to Lake Tiberius to cleanse her soul she got baptized. Whitney tried to gain her strength back because she knew she was letting her fans down not only her fans her mother and daughter as well she knew it was time for her to make a comeback and that is what is did but she may have done it a little too late. When Whitney returned to the States, she started on her new journey with just her and Bobbi Kristina. The struggles of life and the drug abuse led to violence from husband Bobby Brown that led to several court dates and nights in jail but through all her abuse she stood by her husband until she was tired of living that way as well. In October 2006 she filed for divorce which did not get finalized until April 2007 and things started to go back to normal she contacted Clive told him she was ready to hit the studio and do what she loved best and was singing. Whitney started working her project which was released Sept. 2009 â€Å"I look to you† and she even got back in the movies with the remake of Sparkle which comes out Aug. 17, 2012 she look so healthy in front of the camera but she only wanted her fans not to worry about her so putting on a smile for them as well as her daughter is what she did. After a while, she was using drugs once again but she did not let that stop her from performing she appeared on the BET Awards in 2010 and she also performed on Xfactor. Oprah did an interview with Whitney in 2010 she talked about her struggles and how her daughter stuck by her every step of the way. During her interview, she stated how she was able to set the devil free and she talked about how happy she was to be singing and giving her fans back the love that some gave to her. Being a celebrity is not an easy life you have your struggles and you are going to hit rock bottom sometimes you can pull yourself out before it is too late other times you can’t and you end up with no career or something worst like death. Everyone talked about Whitney but no one really knew what was going on because we are all on the outside looking in she gave us the basics of what she wanted us to know some stood by her while other talked down on her. Being off and on with drugs and dealing with the struggles throughout her legacy, on February 11th 2012 Whitney Houston passed away at the age of forty eight. I enjoyed her good her bad and the ugly because she was fairly misunderstood. Many of her fans including myself find it difficult at times because she seemed to be doing well. Whitney Houston will always be remembered through her voice, and her beautiful heart. I love her good, bad, and ugly because she was human and I was taught to never judge a book by its cover you have to learn how to read that person and that is what I done throughout my years of following her career. Everyone has a number no one knows when it will be their time and for what it’s worth I will cherish her legacy because I have a heart and now she lives in mine