Defining 18th Century Gender Roles

The Renaissance spirit of inquiry renewed the debate about the role of women in society, a theme, which resonated in the visual arts of the era. Traditionally, â€Å"chastity, compliance, delicacy and modesty† were the qualities ascribed to a truly virtuous female, whom was essentially excluded from a real participation in society. Scholars and painters alike glorified male power and achievement in the social sphere, while â€Å"the greatest female accomplishment lay in obedience, rather than intellectual pursuits†. Artemisia Gentileschi, was one of the first female artists to challenge the traditional monopoly over the passive female ideal, as her life and art redefined feminine accomplishment in terms of the conventional masculine standards of achievement. Many have thus interpreted Artremesia as a pioneer of modern feminism; however, the legitimacy of this assertion is questionable. One of her most infamous paintings, Judith Beheading Holofernes, provides insight into the consequences of her bold confrontation with conventional female gender limitations. The piece explicitly depicts two heroic female subjects imbued with traditionally masculine characteristics. The women are thus afforded a position of power, which would have otherwise been inaccessible to them. While, Gentileschi thus succeeds in creating a feminine ‘power outlet', in her depiction of Judith and her maidservant, she markedly fails to acknowledge a feminine virtue which is unique and distinct from the traditional masculine ideal. Artremesia's painting does courageously challenge the conventional societal perception of the feminine role, however, her prescribed solution undermines the validity of the feminine perspective, as it asserts that ‘greatness' is achieved through a possession of solely masculine virtues. In view of the fact that Artremesia's work, undercuts the legitimacy of ‘feminine' achievement, it should consequently be denied recognition as early feminist art. This essay will provide an in depth critical analysis of Atremesia Genteleschi's Judith Beheading Holofernes within the context of the painters particular life circumstances. Firstly, the archetypes of eighteenth century femininity and masculinity will be explicitly defined, in order to determine the influence such social pressures had on women of this era. Atremesia's biography will then be placed within the context of the prevailing gender roles, as an illustration of her unique confrontation with the patriarchal societal structure of her day. Finally, an evaluation of, Judith Beheading Holofernes, will shed insight into Gentileschi's artistic challenge of traditional feminine ideals, as well as her ultimate failure to acknowledge the value of a purely feminine perspective. Defining 18th Century Gender Roles According to Bridget Hill's Anthology of Seventeenth Century Women the characteristics generally attributed to the ideal woman of Gentileschi's era were: â€Å"modesty, restraint, passivity, compliance, submission and most important of all chastity. â€Å"(17) These accepted social views were widely circulated and espoused, and would have thus been tremendously difficult to ignore or challenge. Accordingly, â€Å"The vast majority of middle class women unquestioningly conformed to the role assigned to them†(3) The first significant characteristic of the feminine ideal, worthy of discussion is that of restraint and modesty, as this trait necessitated an alienation of women from the social sphere, and even themselves. Proper ladies were expected to avoid public attention, and conversation in a social setting. Moreover, â€Å"it was indelicate for women to have to view their own naked bodies, just as all references to bodily functions and even pregnancy were taboo. â€Å"(17) The following passage constitutes a primary account of a father's advice to his daughter concerning the importance of modesty to the female temperament: One of the chief beauties in a female character is that modest reserve, that retiring delicacy, which avoids the public eye, and is disconcerted even at the gaze of admiration†¦ When a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the most powerful charm of beauty†¦ That modesty, which I think is so essential in your sex, will naturally dispose you to rather silent company, especially a large one. (19) The feminine ideal of modesty and restraint thus primarily confined women to the private sphere of social relations, allowing them little to no voice in public reality. The influence of women within the private or domestic sphere was also muted by the subsequent feminine virtue of submission and compliance. According to the constraints of this womanly asset, a virtuous wife would have been expected to obey her husband, while allowing him the authority to harmoniously govern his household. She†¦ who marries ought to lay it down for an indisputable maxim, that her husband must govern absolutely and entirely, and she has nothing else to do but please and obey. She must not attempt to divide his authority, or so much as dispute it, to struggle with her yoke will only make it gall more, but must believe him to be wise and just and in all respects best, at least he must be so to her. She who can't do this is in no way fit to be a wife. (20) The preceding passage illustrates the limitation of control, which women of this time period were expected to contend with (even within the private sphere of social influence). As, all of the decisions of the virtuous wife were expected to be in concurrence with her husband's asserted authority. Finally, the most important feminine asset was considered to be that of chastity. The particular significance of this virtue was grounded in the fact that men were considered naturally un- chaste, and unable to control their passions. Women were thus, responsible for the preservation of their innocence, and the up holding of sexual moral values. Additionally, as the following quote explicitly indicates, the social consequence incurred by a loss of honor was often drastic. A woman who has lost her honor imagines that she cannot fall lower, and as for recovering her former station, it is impossible; no exertion can wash the stain away. Losing thus every spur, and having no other means of support, prostitution becomes her only refuge, and the character is quickly depraved by circumstances over which the poor wretch has little power, unless she possesses an uncommon portion of sense and loftiness of spirit (30) Conversely, the eighteenth century masculine ideal, according to John Tosh, author of A Man's Place could be associated with the specific attributes of: â€Å"reason, authority and resolve. â€Å"(47) The public sphere of social relations and intellectual endeavourers was thus designated as the realm traditionally, and justly dominated by the influence of men. The following quote spoken by a women of the time, suggests that this conception of masculinity was embraced by both men and women alike: â€Å"Let men enjoy in peace and triumph the intellectual kingdom which is theirs, and which, doubtless, was intended for them†(47) Biography Artemisia Gentileschi's, life blatantly challenged the passive feminine ideal, as she achieved recognition in the male-dominated world of post-Renaissance art by disregarding traditional gender precepts. Laura York, author of The ‘Spirit of Ceaser' and his Majesty's servant: The Self Fashioning of Woman artists in Early Modern Europe thus, defines Gentileschi as, â€Å"no ordinary artist and no ordinary woman. She is one of handful of female professional painters in Baroque Italy, who created a successful career in the competitive, masculine world of seventeenth century artistic patronage. In the process, she constructed a self identity virtually unknown in her time: the woman artist†(1-2) Atremesia was born in 1593 to Prudentia Montone and her husband, noted painter Orazio Gentileschi. Orazio exposed his daughter to art at an early age, and supported her artistic development by providing her with a formal education normally denied to women of her time. As, she would have been unable to join guilds or study with various established masters, Artremesia's training with her father, was her only chance for a real apprenticeship. Although Orazio kept his daughter confined to the house, according to the custom among respectable Romans of the time, â€Å"the Gentileschi domicile also functioned as his studio, with its constant traffic of models, colleges and patrons. Such company allowed Artemisia contact with many influential male artists, yet it also fueled rumors that marred her reputation. On May 6, 1611, gossip turned to real injury. â€Å"Having entrusted his 17 year old daughter's supervision to a family friend, Orazio was away from the house when his business associate and fellow painter, Agostino Tassi entered the home and raped Artremesia. † At the time, rape was viewed more as a crime against a family's honor than as a violation of a woman. The virtual lack of a legal identity in women, often made it very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain any redress for wrongs committed against them. â€Å"(137) Thus, only when the married Tassi reneged on his promise to marry Atrmesia did Orazio bring charges against him. In the ensuing eight- month trial, Artremesia testified that she was painting when Tassi came into the room shouting, â€Å"Not so much painting, not such much painting. † He ten grabbed the palette and brushes from her hands and threw them to the floor. She fought and scratched to no avail, finally attacking him with a knife. To establish her truthfulness, authorities administered a primitive lie detector test in the form of torture by thumbscrews, a common practice of the time. As the cords were tightened around her fingers, she was said to have cried out to Tassi, â€Å"this is the ring you give me, and these are your promises. † She must have passed the test; Tassi was convicted and sentenced to five- year banishment from Rome (a punishment apparently never enforced). Soon afterwards Artemisia married a â€Å"well born but debt ridden† young Florentine painter named Pierantonio Stiattesi and moved to Florence with him. There in the company of luminaries such as Galileo Galilei and Michelangelo Buonarroti, she entered upon a career that would have been the envy of most male contemporaries. Gentileschi rebelled against the dominant model of passive womanhood by cultivating an image of herself as strong, active, intellegent and powerful. Traits, which would have been considered as masculine to the seventeenth century mind. The following striking statement, uttered by Artemisia herself provides revealing insight into her perception of self. â€Å"I will say no more, except what I have on my mind, that I think Your Most Illustrious Lordship will not surlier any loss with me, and that you will find the spirit of a Ceaser in the soul of a woman. â€Å"(4) Gentileschi's appropriation of Ceaser's masculine spirit, distances herself from all other woman of her time. Artremesia, does not acknowledge any value within her perception of feminity, and thus choses to conform to traditionally masculine ideals.

Frank O’ Conor – Oedipus Complex

My Oedipus Complex Frank O’Connor Question: What do you think of Larry’s attitude to his father? Do you think his behavior is justified? Explain your answer. Answer: Larry in the story â€Å"My Oedipus Complex† has a very composite character made of hardness. With very few things that he noticed and experienced in life, his conclusion to a certain topic doesn’t come up with much logic. Though he is the only child till the birth of Sonny, but due to a very coddling behavior by his mother throughout this period of his father being in the war, it became obvious to him that he is â€Å"the boss around†. When his (Larry’s fathers) back was tuned, mother let me get a chair and rummage through his treasures. She didn’t seem to think so highly of them as he did† (O'Connor) Events of his mothers lack or carelessness made him come up with the idea that may be his father wasn’t that important. Never knowing the role of his father and living with such little knowledge he keeps guttering around in his own flow. Again, his priority was considered the most as there was no one else with his mother.He hadn’t any siblings and was poised with a thought of being unable to afford a new person in the house. His very sense of freedom made his day and the time passed by along with his mother. Ever since Larry’s father arrives home after the war, he feels this very lack of superiority that he lived with. He was being less noticed and was stopped from coming up with his childish acts. All of a sudden he starts getting annoyed off the thoughts of being ignored by his mother as his mother had to spend more time with his father.He had to compromise on his own share of his mother’s reaction and her response wasn’t quite what he expected. In a very small time the changes in return of things he did earlier, was growing unbearable for him. His grab on his freedom collapses as his very little intelligence couldn’t do much good to him. He tries doing things that started to be an ignorant part of his parents. He started expecting from things that was barely a part of his daily life, now even a cup of tea would matter to him. He starts feeling he is cared less in the house.His father on the other hand was quiet calm responding to the situation, realizing that Larry is just a small child. He carried on being the quiet guy up to sometime but sooner ahead he was obvious to have lost a grasp on it. â€Å"I see he’s better fed then taught,† (O'Connor) Stated his father concentrating on larrys reaction to things. Sooner as Sonny arrives in the scene, the tables turn as Larry concentrates on his mother and accepts the fact of his father, but doesn’t easily seem to buy the fact of Sonny consuming most of his mother’s attention then.Throughout the whole time, his acts seemed childish because there was someone older who was compared more mature. Talking big word s are easy but Larry is still a child who was cared for but not in all ways. Larry had his mother to stay busy with before but as she grew busier with his father’s presence later on, he starts thinking of what he should do to prevent his father from taking his time. He came across jealousy and his expectations kept on crawling, making him emotional and irrational at times.

Air Pollution Short Essay Essay

There are several disadvantages of living in urban areas The first drawback is the high cost of living. Urban citizens have to spend a lot of their income paying their bills of electricity, water and other basic services. Secondly is traffic congestion which is a serious problem. During rush hour, vehicles get stuck in a traffic jam, this makes most road users feel uncomfortable and time-consuming. The latter point is air pollution actually the addition of any harmful substances to the atmosphere. The more vehicles move in the road, the more air pollution These substances include various gases and tiny particles that may be harmful to human health and the environment. The greenhouse effect keeps a portion of the heat received from the sun which leave the atmosphere and go back into space. If you are at ground level, the ultraviolet rays from the sun become a very powerful pollutant, in other words it makes damage not only to humans but also plants and animals are affected, too. Incre ases in air pollution have been linked to breakdowns in lung function and increases in heart attacks. The most vulnerable people that are harmed are people with asthma and other lung or heart disease because their problems will increase faster than other kind of problem.What is Air Pollution? Air pollution is actually the addition of any harmful substances to the atmosphere, which causes the damaging of the environment, human health and the quality of life. With the development in industry, came along the increase in air pollution, which occurs inside homes, schools, offices even in the countryside. Consequently there has been an increase in the death rates resulting from various diseases caused by air pollution varying from breathing problem to lung cancer. Air pollution does not only affect people but it also damages the whole ecological system in which plants and animals are harmed as well. Air pollution has reached such a critical stage where it affects the earth’s atmosphere as it lets in more harmful radiation from the sun. Consequently, our polluted atmosphere is becomi ng a better insulator, thus, preventing heat from escaping back into space. That is why there is a global rise in temperature which scientists refer to as † global warming†. As a result of this rise in temperature the world food supply and sea level will be affected, also there is the probability of increase in the tropical disease. Sources of Air Pollution I_ Human sources: If we try to investigate the major sour

Bowen Family Systems, Structual, and Strategic Models Theory Overview Research Paper

Bowen Family Systems, Structual, and Strategic Models Theory Overview - Research Paper Example According to these three theories, when one part of the system is influenced, then, the entire system is influenced, and thus the psychological dysfunction of an individual is contributed to, not by the individual factors, but by the holistic relationship and interaction of the family system (Kniskern, 165). In this respect, the three theoretical models of family systems share basic assumptions, while at the same time varying to some substantial degree regarding how the theories perceive the family system and the manner in which the society should intervene in matters of the system. Therefore, this analysis seeks to discuss the three theoretical models of the Family Systems Theory, with a view to defining the theories, explaining their development, discussing their assumptions, presenting the applications of the theories and finally assessing their criticisms. This is a theoretical model of the Family Systems Theory, which emphasizes on the differentiation of the context of the family emotional systems (Stanton, 253). Therefore, its therapeutic application requires that individuals must first differentiate/separate from their families of origin, before they embark on dealing with the present issues of their relationships or their nuclear families (Stanton, 258). Thus, the model theory is mostly applied to understand the family process, so the individual can be able to understand the present situation, based on their past roles, relationships and interactions with their families. The model was established in 1931 by Murray Bowen. The fundamental objective of the theory is to help reduce chronic anxiety within individuals, through accounting for every aspect of human behaviors (Stanton, 254). The major assumption of this theory is that; behavioral change cannot be effective, where the individual does not have adequate and deeper insight in relation to the causes of a behavior. Therefore, the model seeks to create insight into the family processes that

Shakespeares personal life and the writings of Hamlet Research Paper

Shakespeares personal life and the writings of Hamlet - Research Paper Example The rest of this essay is an exercise toward this end. First of all, in order to understand the connection between the personal and the professional, it is important to locate the exact time period in which the play was written. Given that Shakespeare lived during the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century, there are no authoritative accounts of when the play was written. So one can only arrive at a tentative date; and scholarly consensus designates the period between 1599 and 1602. (Fedderson, 2000, p.145) By this time, Shakespeare was already an established playwright and his works had acquired him critical appreciation as well as popular recognition. He was in his late thirties by this time and been married to Anne Hathaway for close to twenty years. Hence, it is fair to say that Shakespeare had seen enough of lifes challenges and travails to have gained insights into human relationships. (Ross, 1999, p.6) And the vividness with which the author puts forth emotions related to betrayal, treachery and grave indignation in the play is a reflection of his own maturity as a person. As Prof. Park Honanspents recent biography on the great artist reveals, â€Å"In addition to fresh information about the women in Shakespeares life, what has come to light is playwrights connections with more sinister matters and how his personal experiences of treachery were mirrored on stage. Using new computerised linguistic research, researchers claim that Shakespeares acquaintance with murder in his private life was not only reflected in the plots of his plays, but actually performed by Shakespeare on stage.† (The Birmingham Post, Oct, 1998, p.3) This is a relevant observation, for the central plot of Hamlet is one of revenge and murder. In it, Prince Hamlet contrives to kill his uncle Claudius, for his father was killed and the throne usurped by the latter. Shakespeare is no stranger

Blakley and Johnson Revised Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Blakley and Johnson Revised - Essay Example It can be justifiably asserted therefore that a combination of digital technologies and internet usage enables millions of people in the world rapid access of various information than any historical library, allowing people to be an innovative and creators in their own perspective. The collaborative and shared platform brought about by digitization elicits different reactions. On one hand, proponents of the idea strongly suggest that it has transformed how people share and create information, creating a platform for product innovation and how people â€Å"own† and â€Å"copy† information. On the other hand however, Governments and technological companies view low restrictions placed on IP as a potential threat to cloud computing and mobile technologies. Blakley’s model of open copyrights provides enlightening information on IP rights from a business perspective. Her elaborate ideas of the phases of technology in determining the information to be copyright protect ed and subsequent elements in ownership from a fashion industry offers additional insights into technological innovations and the kind of ownership required in a digitized economy. (Blakely) At the same time, Johnson Steven’s â€Å"Where Good Ideas come from† examines the origin of innovative ideas from a historical perspective. In his analysis of the origin of great innovative ideas, Stephen starts his journey from London’s Coffee House â€Å"Liquid Networks† through Darwinian slow ideas of the revolution towards today’s highly technological creations brought about by the internet and the world wide web. (Johnson) The concept of ownership infers having control over any form of a thing, or an idea. Sharing on the other hand implies that other persons have access to the idea or object, and can even incorporate new ideas into the existing idea to come up with a modified version. Usually, the association between ownership and balancing is often achiev ed when a person has the ability to appreciate an object or an idea without having to ask who controls the idea or object. It therefore implies that both parties derive benefits from the shared item and non existence of role confusion while enjoying that idea or creation. The balance and concept of ownership are often easily understood when referring to tangible assets like objects and things as opposed to intangible issues like ideas. There exist various issues surrounding the sharing of information and innovation and pragmatic issues of copyrights. In essence, proponents of the open creation or low IP suggests that the success of an innovation depends whether an innovation is shared by the creator, and the achievement of equilibrium is largely dependent on voluntary sharing by the owner of the idea. While supporting this theory, Johana Blakely offers insightful information into the sharing of ownership ideas. She relates the success stories from the fashion industry where the sect or has recorded tremendous gains from sharing of fashion ideas. She further argues that the sharing platform as witnessed in the fashion industry enables all fashion designers to share and enable them to incorporate other people’s ideas into their creations. The fashion industry does not have any copyright law for these ideas. The success in this approach presents high gross sales in sectors that have low IP protection as

Analytital ( compare northwest airlines and jet blue with american Essay

Analytital ( compare northwest airlines and jet blue with american airlines - Essay Example Additionally, it maintains focus city operations at Indianapolis International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. As of 2006 Northwest was the worlds sixth largest airline in terms of domestic and international scheduled passenger miles flown and the U.S.s sixth largest airline in terms of domestic passenger miles flown. In addition to operating one of the largest domestic route networks in the U.S., Northwest carries more passengers across the Pacific Ocean (5.1 million in 2004) than any other U.S. carrier, and carries more domestic air cargo than any other American passenger airline. Northwest Airlines regional flights are operated under the name Northwest Air link by Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, and Compass Airlines. Northwest Airlines is currently a minority owner of Midwest Airlines, holding a 40% stake in the company. Its frequent flyer program is called World Perks. Northwest Airlines tagline is "Now youre flying smart." On April 14, 2008, Northwest annou nced it will be merging with Delta Air Lines, subject to regulatory review. If approved, the new airline will retain only the Delta Air Lines name and brand, and become the largest airline in the world. Northwest Airlines was founded on September 1, 1926 by Colonel Lewis Brittin, under the name Northwest Airways. Like other early airlines, Northwests focus was not in hauling passengers, but in flying mail for the U.S. Post Office Department. The fledgling airline established a mail route between Minneapolis and Chicago. Northwest began flying passengers in 1927. In 1928, the airline started its first international route with service to Winnipeg, Canada. The airlines operations were expanded to smaller cities in the region by the end of the decade. In 1931 Northwest sponsored Charles and Anne Lindbergh on a pioneering flight to Japan, scouting what would become known as the Northwest Airlines Great Circle route, and proving that flying through Alaska could save as

Art and Architecture in 5th Century Athens Essay

Art and Architecture in 5th Century Athens - Essay Example Athens generated some of the most significant and lasting cultural artifacts within Western tradition at a time when it was able to subdue its enemies, and enhance its political fortunes under the guidance of statesmen and orator Pericles. Historians perceive the Athenian 5th and 6th centuries BCE to be the Golden Age of architecture and sculpture. During the period, the ornamental elements and the technique utilized did not differ significantly from the previous period (Kinzl 84). Majority of the works were religious in nature and featured temples and sanctuaries. The Parthenon represented a symbol of the Golden Mean; a time in which architecture, arts, vase painting, and sculpture thrived and every of the art forms benefited from interactions with other art forms. The patron goddess of Athens joins architecture with, and sculpture to shape a whole that mirrors the Golden Mean, the Greek pursuit of harmony, order, and balance. The entire of urban Athens features a system of huge wal ls, which guaranteed that Athens was always open to the sea, and only enemies (naval force) with superior to her unparalleled fleet could succeed in cutting the city off from vital supplies (Pedley 37). Phidias created colossal gold-plated marble statues that remain highly commemorated and admired. #2 How extensive reformation and reconstruction of the city demonstrate a return to the sanctuary and civic center designs of the 750-450 BCE? The autonomous city-state ruled by diverse aristocracy in which contacts were rich from diverse points of view social, cultural, and commercial. The restored sanctuaries feature refined sculptures, paved roads, and agora as highlighted by the temple of Poseidon and Temple of Hera. The extensive reformations and reconstruction of the city of Athens highlights a tendency to return to or a deviation from the sanctuary and civic centre designs ranging from 750-450 BCE. Examples of prominent works at this period entail reconstruction of the Temple of Pl ympian Zeus, reconstruction of the Temple of Apollo located in Delphi, and the reconstruction the Acropolis of Athens. This is most apparent at the Elymian site of Segesta, a location where the Elymians started to construct a Doric temple within the 5th century BC, whereby the reconstructions mirror the religious and civic centre designs in the period ranging 750-450 BCE in terms of (1) foot style; (2) exterior decoration; (3) underside treatment. The Corinthian foot style comprises of a flaring ring that might also be molded, whereas the Attic style comprises of a â€Å"tire-shaped† torus ring foot (Whitley 11). The decorative elements are notable owing to their conformity to the sanctuary and civic centered designs ranging from 750-450 BCE. #3 How the Athenian Acropolis and Agora reflect and Athens that considers itself part of the Greek unified world The Athenian Acropolis can be regarded as the most lavish, technically superior, and programmatically cohesive temple within Greek mainland and represents a fitting commemoration of the Athenian’s remarkable and unexpected victories during the Persian wars. Persian wars had thematic significance to the art of Classical Athens, as well as the building program on the Acropolis. The buildings and monuments also avail a broad range of testimony to the sacred character of the Late Archaic Acropolis. The Acropolis of Athens represents an ancient citadel situated on an elevated rocky outcrop within the city of Athens, and detailing the remains of a number of

Artifical Intelligence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Artifical Intelligence - Term Paper Example an important mission of artificial intelligence paradigm is to create human like intelligence in machine to reinstate and assist humans in everyday tasks. The basic purpose of this paper is to present a detailed analysis of autonomous cars with a particular focus on AI techniques used in the development of these cars. AI is a complete science which encompasses a wide variety of concepts and ideas. This paper will discuss these concepts briefly. This paper will discuss different AI techniques that are being used in these cars. Some of the well-known techniques are outlined below: Basically, robotics is a field of artificial intelligence which deals with the study of robots. In this scenario, robots refer to machines that are used to carry out tasks which can be performed by humans. In fact, some robots are made so intelligent that they can perform their work without instructions. While the majority of robots always has an instructor guiding them what to do (Dunbar, 2013). Additionally, the robot is a Czech word, which is used for robota, meaning "forced labor." In addition, this term was first used by Czech writer Karel Capek in a play in 1920. In this play, the robots ultimately take over their creators (Rouse, 2007). Physically, a robot contains the same components as humans have. In this scenario, a robot has some kind of motor, a portable physical structure, a power supply, a sensor system and a processing system "brain" that is responsible for controlling all of these components. Fundamentally, robots are human created forms of animal life but actually they are machines which are intended to replicate human and animal behavior (Harris M. C., 2010; Berlin, 2011; Harris T. , 2013). According to (Stergiou & Siganos, 2010), â€Å"an artificial neural network is a data processing model that is inspired by the method of biological nervous systems information processing.† Neural Network is also a renowned and heavily researched area of the AI. Stergiou & Siganos

Parental Involvement in Education Essay Example for Free

Parental Involvement in Education Essay Clay P. Bedford once said, â€Å"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.† It’s the 21th century and we have achieved the peaked of the brilliancy of the human race and everything is manipulated with a click of the mouse, with the aid of computer technology we can achieve a faster way of learning. However, the urgency, dedication, and quality of learning of children 20 years ago are quite different from the children of this generation. A change in the attitude towards education – a move to the life-long paradigm is currently taking place globally. The fundamental aim of building a better system of education defined the type of society built. Currently, substantial changes have taken place in the context of teaching as well as the system of education and organization of academic work. The success of our community depends upon the pace and extends of building a knowledge-based society with the realms of our school. But, â€Å"The quality of education in the U.S. today declined at a tremendous rate.† (Houig 4-10). Have we as parents contributed to the decline of our children’s learning? Could this be the psychological effect of a dysfunctional family; the types of environment our children are growing; are the children themselves don’t have the urge to study or lack of parental involvement in the child’s education? Therefore, to what point do we as parents try to get involve in our children’s life? This has been a question unanswered by all parents like us? Parental involvement in children’s upbringing plays a very vital role in their attitude and quality of learning. Well, parents go immense lengths to give their offspring the best possible start in life – from providing the first meal, to offering vigilant protection and teaching them the skills to survive on their own. And after continued reading, researching, and asking questions about would have attributed to the continued decline of the quality of education of our children, I have drawn a common t hought that child-rearing practice takes a vital role in the attitude of children towards education. And the most influential in the child’s approach to education is definitely a good child-rearing practice (Hoover-Dempsey 3-42). The techniques of child-rearing that parent are using when raising their children has a great effect on the child’s growth and development. Every society has different  child-rearing practices used to facilitate child development. The practices depend on cultures, beliefs, and socio-economic as well as environmental factors. These different factors influence child development as societies at the same time have different perceptions and expectations on child development. There are two types of child-rearing techniques introduced to us by Ms. Annette Lareau, â€Å"concerted cultivation† wherein in most cases provides the child with skills and advantages over â€Å"natural growth† wherein the children in the classroom will learn and eventually will advance to their career. Parents engaged in concerted cultivation are parenting by attempting to foster children’s talents through organized leisure activities, which teach them to respect authority and how to interact in a structured environment. Learning how to interact in structured environment much like in the classroom gives student a head start in school special emphasis on reasoning skills and language use. These parents are much involved in the following their children’s activities. Through this process children from concerted cultivation upbringing will be more productive in their academic endeavors and they feel more responsible because they know that their parents are highly involved. The second type of technique of child-rearing practice involves parents in the working class which engage their children in the accomplishment of natural growth. Children usually have more unstructured time and therefore these children create their own to preoccupy themselves. They create activities such as watching television, playing computer games, PSP, X-Box and Nintendo DS. This environment does not prepare children to survive in setting that are very structured, such as school. Accompanying the strain of not having enough time, working class parents are left with less time to get involve with their children’s schooling activities. My experience as a teacher’s assistant has thought me to judge parents’ involvement in their children’s learning with performance of each child in school. The proactive parents have their children’s homework completed, memos read and required documentation turned in the following day while half of the class still has their memos on their folders and with no homework completed. Now that coincides with the notes from research showing that when â€Å"Parents are involved in their children’s learning, students achieve more and less likely to drop out of school† (Keith, et.al. 31-40). So, how do we define parental involvement? Parental  involvement includes a wide range of behavio rs but generally refers to parents and family members use and investment of resources in their children’s schooling. After that broad definition, let us differentiate the various types of parents to fully understand and vividly portray the effects of parental involvement in each child’s quality of education. There are three main types of parents: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parents. Authoritative parents are found to be the style with more success in upbringing; they establish a balance between making demands and being responsive to their children’s specific needs. These parents provide their children encouragement which embodies positive attitudes towards work and effort. With such enthusiasm and children receive all the courage they need to pursue good grades. These children also feel secured in their personality and feel more comfortable asking for help when they need it most. Children of these parents tend to do better while in school (Cotton 1). Authoritarian parents follow a style where they simply tell their children what to do, and not to argue with them. Parents who apply this style tend to limit children’s independence and force them to follow strict rules by threatening harsh punishment for violations. They also tend to be less responsive to and a ccepting of their children. By preventing children from exercising control over their own behaviors and learning from their mistakes, authoritarian parents inadvertently may be rearing children to believe that they are not responsible for what happens to them. Children from these groups of parents tend to display loss of confidence and motivation because of there is lack of continued positive reinforcement. These are the parents that get discouraged when their children come home with bad grades. They punish their children which often cause an uneasy feeling for these children to seek for help; even worse, they may exhibit rebellious attitude towards their parental authority and ultimately towards his outlook on acquiring his education. Permissive parents are very passive and feel their child’s life should be their own responsibility and are often expressing an â€Å"I don’t care† attitude towards their achievement as well as their outlook in life. This can be very dangerous in that the child’s motivation is almost if not quite completely based on observation and peer influence, leaving a large variable on the location and condition of the child’s upbringing. These are the type of parents that are presumed not necessarily uncaring or negligent  in their child’s need; however the children perceived it as such. Ruth Nuneviller Steinem once said, â€Å"Children don’t belong to us. They are little strangers who arrive in our life and give us pleasure and duty of caring for them, but we don’t own them. We help them become who they are.† This is the true essence of being a parent and that being able to impart and bring out the best in our children, be it our own or other children that we get acquainted throughout our life time. Parents’ beliefs and perceptions on the responsibilities as parents have a big effect on their children’s interest in learning (ESU 1-3). But, numerous controversies could cloud the full implementation of programs in school to foster parental improvement in education. An article came up at one of the issues of Michigan State University paper saying, â€Å"Some are concern about parental involvement program stems from their observation that many schools and teachers use a â€Å"one-size† fits all approach to teaching. And the International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies say, â€Å"It is i mperative for teachers and school personnel to enhance their strategies for promoting parental presence.† While another article published at Education State say, â€Å"Educators need to recast the idea of partnership more one in which they parent parents.† So, everyone agree that we need to act on promoting parental involvement in education in order for the student to achieve and excel at highest potential. Our system needs to stream line and advocate the importance of parental involvement and overcome the various obstacles and stigma that permeates our society as a whole. We need to work in unison, united with one goal and dedicated to achieving the goal of improving the quality of education for our generation and the generations to come. It is imperative that these obstacles are talked and overcome so that our children will be better leaders and citizens of our country and the world. In my continued research I found that parental involvement has shown a consistent positive relationship between parents’ engagement in their children’s education and student outcomes ( Such 39-68). So, what can we do as parents? To succeed in our endeavors we as parents, need to get a partner, learn more about organizations working to boost parental involvement, attend workshop and empowering oneself. Parental involvement constitute (1) volunteering by adopting and sponsoring academic based programs, school clubs, or team – attending meetings to help enhance and support academic improvement within  the school; coach sports and supporting the clubs and teams in its advocacy. And if the school cannot get a staffer dedicated to parent engagement, parents should get together and start training parents to be reading and math tutors and even establish a welcoming committee that new parents in the school; (2) setting fair and consistent rules – homework first and foremost before anything else; (3) setting examples – parents needs to show interest in reading, discovering new things and learning and sharing ideas and (4) keeping lines of communication open parents need to encourage their children to relate how their day was. Parents should take a minute or two to answer questions that arises even in a very hectic schedule. Parental involvement is an important area o f sociology because of its significance to social capital and its positive impacts on children. It is, by itself, a social relation involving teachers, parent, and students where each play a role and function based on their own expectations, familial and social norms, and personal and social obligations. Japan for example set a high regard to parental involvement in the education of their children, â€Å"Teachers make explicit and exacting demands on parents for their direct involvement I their children’s learning† (Halloway et.al. 91-97). Japanese schools promote parental involvement (oyanokanyo in Japanese) is said to be strong because parent-school relationship is viewed as a relationship that is based on trust, deference, partnership, and cooperation. Mothers are the primary educator in the lives of their children. They are viewed as (1) audience – Japanese school provide venue where parents can interact with each other and this occur during school orientation (shinnyuugakujidoudetsumeikai) for incoming first graders done yearly during the month of Janu ary to February and parents sit in on a class and listen to the teacher’s lecture; (2) volunteers – parents are asked to fill out a form indicating interest, expertise, and experience. Information provided is used to create a â€Å"talent bank† a database containing the parents name so that they can use to fill up basic services that the school needs like safeguarding students while crossing the street or even recycling activities; (3) paraprofessional – parents acting as teachers during the summer. These work includes making sure they read to their children, make sure that summer home works are done; (4) learners – Japanese school requires parents to attend seminars to improve their efficacy in educating and rearing their children and in some  schools parents are encouraged to attend skills training like ironing, sewing, internet use, etc.; and (5) decision-makers – the school’s PTA officers in Japan meet in the city discuss matters geared to improvement in the school and their children. As my research progress, I have learned that in China compared to our public school system, parental involvement is higher. Parents in China have greater educational expectations for their children. Chinese parents place more emphasis on effort rather than emphasis on ability especially when attributing reasons for difficulty or failure. Chinese parents accept the critical role of helping their children learn concepts if they are lagging in school. Involvement of Chinese parents is â€Å"back-stage/behind the scene†- they are more engaged in home-based activities to boost their child’s ability to learn. Chinese parents make sure that their children complete their homework with perfection. In China, education ethics begins with parents. Mother will actually attend school; takes note; to observe the child-teacher relationship and the child’s behavior towards learning (International Journal of Social Sciences 26-35). Chinese parents are engaged more in cultural practice that honored the professional expertise of teachers and the need to access skills for successful access to social mobility while at the same time they sought to maintain the cultural integrity of their community. In India, the framework of the parental involvement in India’s Education System is defined as controlled by the individual parent, parental school board or the tribal council. Like in many eastern Asian countries education is of highest value that parents could provide for their children. While the authority for overseeing the whole education system lies on federal trust, the responsibility for In dian people remains with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, all agenda pertaining education is directed to include laws and regulations that impact the whole public school system (Warner 4-18). While the Middle Class Americans parents encourage their children to nurture their talent with various activities that will later give them a head start. These parents exposed their children on how to interact in a structured setting. Other parent’s get involves in their children’s life by having an open communication with their children’s teachers. They get involved in the academic process, school activities and other extra-curricular activities that the child is interested with. The Working Class American parents on the  other hand relies on the natural growth of the child, giving the child the opportunity to make their own choices to keep their time occupied, that most engaged themselves with video games and social networking media like Facebook and Twitter. These children learn at their own phase and eventually losing their focus interest in learning and in the traditional population like in the case of the Hawaiians, parents tend to provide their children a non-stimulating environment. They often are unaware that their child-rearing practices can affect their children’s cognitive and language development. They fail to appreciate the importance of playing and chatting with their children because they are unaware of the age-appropriate activities to do with their children. Many of these parents inhibit exploration putting emphasis on discipline, obedience, and respect for elders, religious beliefs and cultural observance (Sheehey 3-15). Both the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services note, â€Å"The role of mother as well as father is necessary in the development and academic success of a child.† Mothers and fathers often bring different strengths and style to their parenting roles. Children benefit significantly in many areas when fathers and mothers are actively engaged. These advantages are the building blocks for success that begins from birth and lasts into adulthood. According to research gathered by the Minnesota Fathers and Families Network some of these benefits include: (1) social skills – children grown with greater empathy , less gender role stereotyping and higher self-esteem. In cases where fathers are actively engaged children have more self-control and less impulsive behaviors; (2) excel in problem-solving – children have less hesitance and fear in new situations because, acceptance and confidence are instilled, increase curiosity to learning, increase exploration of the world around them and these children have greater tolerance for success and frustration because of the nurturing and love that they have received in their childhood; (3) cognitive benefits – higher math competence when fathers dynamically participates in the children’s homework and class activity, overall verbal competence and early literacy because parents effort to reading and story-telling leads to children’s interest towards reading and ultimately all these concerted efforts eventually leads to higher grade completion and income overall. To some parents who take time to attend meetings, conferences and participates in school activities and  events are t eaching their children the value of setting priorities and giving importance to the development of their children’s social life. These parents are teaching their children to be socially aware, responsible, and work for the betterment of the community. â€Å"Our future rest on the quality of children we are raising† (Elium 1-35). These also teach the children to value education. Seeing their parents giving up their time to be in school and get involve completes their development as a whole. For our goal in sending our children to school is for them to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually fit to the society where we belong. We raise our children to better leaders, better care-takers of our environment, better citizens of our society and better parents for our future generation. My personal experience has also convinced me that parental involvement play a vital role in education. This is the story of my medically challenged daughter; Bethany Joy who really exemplifies that role of parental involvement truly is beneficial. She was born prematurely, 29 weeks GA, with low birth weight. She suffered from an intraventricular hemorrhage Grade III meaning, the three chambers or the ventricles bleed 10 days after birth. Her neonatologist and neurologist said that secondary to the severity of the brain damage, she will not be able to walk and talk. A periventricular shunt was implanted to act as the vertebral column where her cerebrospinal fluid will flow. Knowing her prognosis, my husband and I decided that is she will pull through with all this other medical complications that I will have to quit my job. We were determined to defy all the doctors’ perceptions. We nurtured her in a loving environment, made few advances on her therapy sessions, made every effort to read, sing, and played with her and eventually she came out victorious. Talking before she turned one and walking at 13 months. She had undergone five brain surgeries and five other minor surgeries but she is in a regular school and has been one of the recipients of the Academic Honor Student for the past six years at her school. So, now it is safe to conclude that parents’ participation in their child’s education is far more vital in the success of the child’s education. â€Å"Our involvement as parents can mold the child’s interest towards learning† (Eliun 1-35). So, let’s make a difference in our children’s lives, to create a better society and life for our children in the generations to come.

Food And Beverage Analysis Marketing Essay

Food And Beverage Analysis Marketing Essay Urbanization, globalisation and agro-industrialization put increasing demands on the organization of food and beverage chains and networks. Food and beverage supply chains and networks once characterized by independence and autonomy of performers are now quickly moving in the direction of globally interrelated systems with a large diversity of difficult relationships. This is also touching the ways food is processed, produced and delivered at the market (Reardon and Barrett 2000; Van der Laan et al. 1999). Perishable food products can at the moment be shipped from halfway around the world at justly competitive prices. The market exerts a dual pressure on agro-food chains, constraining towards continuous agency coordination and innovation. Traditional price and quality issues are more significant than ever, since consumers can choose from a cumulative amount of products offered by challenging chains. Patterns of food production and consumption are at the core of all human ecology (Dietz et al.1996:181). The food production and dietary habits procedures that support them obviously have consequently affected the global environment and economy (Goodland 1997). Nearly 37% of the land surface of the Earth is used for agricultural production, including both cropland and grazing land (Harrison and Pearce 2000). Because of the environmental effects of food operation, development, production and consumption, it is important to understand both the factors that influence the human diet and the aspects of food production that are most harmful to the environment. Here we mainly focus on food and beverages operational and development issues, social and cultural factors that influence the production and consumption of food as well as how those issues influence on the production and consumption of food. Food and Beverages operational and development issues Food and beverages chains are seriously affected by consumers apprehensions regarding the quality, the safety and the sustainability of handling methods and food production. Public concerns regarding GMOs, environmental impact and chemical residues have to be met in an increasingly, competitive global environment. Greater consumer demands regarding the traceability, quality, and environmental friendliness of products and processes call for fundamentally new ways of producing, developing, and marketing products (Humphrey and Oetero 2000; Omta et al. 2001). This activates the growth of grades, agreements and standards regarding management practices and good production, over and above suitable monitoring systems to promise rapid responses and quality compliance. Supply-chain analysis is becoming an interdisciplinary activity. Distribution and production processes involve a mixture of PESTL (politic, socioeconomic, technological, legal and standards that are highly balancing in explainin g overall food and beverages chain performance (see Figure 1 below). Figure 1. Analytical perspectives on food chains Integrated logistics, production, innovation and information systems become of serious prominence for sustaining a competitive market position. In order to attain international collaboration between farmers, retail companies and agro-industries, cross-cultural alignment and strategic, compliance to national and relational trust and international regulations have become key issues. Reciprocal learning techniques and feed-back mechanisms are important to assure such global alliances. Although, in recent decades, the world has seen a cumulative integration of developing-country firms into geographically spread commodity chains or supply networks. These chains connect together traders, producers and processors from developing countries with consumers and retailers in urban centres and in the developed countries (Gereffi and Korzeniewitz 1994). Companies and firms involved in global food and beverages chains networks are facing rapid changes in the business environment, to which they must respond over continuous innovation. Practices and new procedures for organizing food supply networks with direct ties between primary producers, processors and retailers emerged to cope with health demands and food safety. Improving the specific stages in a chain typically results in sub-optimal total chain performance. Meant for this reason, agro-food companies attempt to implement regulations to all actors in the chain that become part of the global market and institutional env ironment (Jongen 2000; Van der Laan et al. 1999). Firms in developing countries face, however, particular restraints linked to limited access to (market and technical) information and reduced borrowing opportunities (Harris-White 1999). Chain integration can formerly be helpful to expand forecasts for sustainable resource management based on more stable access to information and markets that allow further investment in food quality management (Kuyvenhoven and Bigman 2001). Current studies concerning development and trade focus responsiveness on evolving barriers to agricultural exports from developing countries due to rigorous sanitary and phytosanitary necessities (Henson and Loader 2001; Otsuki et al. 2001). Liberalization of global trade is gradually accompanied by technical measures that enforce quality standards regarding residues, additives and microbiological contamination. Moreover, fast attentiveness takes place in the retail sectors for food products both in less-developed and developed countries where US- or EUowned supermarket chains such as (e.g., Royal Ahold, Carrefour, Tesco, Sainsburys, WalMart etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) control an increasing share of food supply to urban consumers. Retailers are also dedicating more shelf space to suitable high-quality fresh products (selfservice) that are critical to retain middle-class and attract customers (Fearne and Hughes 1998; Marsden and Wrigley 1996). This poses further demands on processors and producers to satisfy uniform, high quality standards and recurrent delivery requirements (Reardon et al. 1999). International sourcing of perishable products to secure year-around supply (under private label) can be assured over long-term contracts and partnerships. Presence of smallholders from developing countries into global supply chains that satisfy these conditions used to be based on processes for sub-contracting and outsourcing under strict investigation with frequent audit of local practices and facilities (Dolan et al. 1999). However, in practice a cumulative degree of vertical integration within food, beverages and agribusiness networks can be noticed, based on complex predetermined measures for monitoring process standards and product quality. Consequently, producers can only maintain their market position if credible measures are taken to enhance product quality and safety. The complex connections between the before-mentioned processes of market globalization and integration, complemented by tendencies of changing consumption patterns and growing urbanization, bring about a number of essential changes in the organization of agro-food chains and networks. The rapid growth of supermarkets in both developing countries and developed (See appendix 1:25) extremely transforms the institutional landscape of exchange and agro-food production systems. Main tests as how to assure the participation of smallholder producers in these more and new demanding sourcing networks need to be addressed. Thoughtfulness should also be given to the institutional necessities that empower smallholders to meet the more rigorous quality regulations and food safety. International competition is increasingly taking place around the implementation of (private and public) regimes of standards an d grades. Positioning the values of chain reversal in practice implies that innovative methods are required that address the required conditions for equitable integration and successful of developing countries producers into sustainable agro-food chains and networks that are capable to satisfy these changing consumer demands. Supermarket procurement regimes for sourcing of vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy intensely impact the organization of the supply chain. The market requires continuous deliveries, product homogeneity, stable shelf life and quality upgrading. Procurement dependence on wholesale markets is quickly substituted by specialized wholesales, subcontracting with preferred consolidated and suppliers purchase in regional warehouses. Supermarkets therefore increasingly control downstream segments of the private standards, chain through contracts and sourcing networks. A typical example can be seen on particular food and beverage such as fast moving consumer goods where its not surprising that this industry cite a long list of high-priority concerns for their supply chains. Reducing logistics costs is the recurrent number one goal across all industries in the Annual 3PL Study, nonetheless additional main concern speak to the particular challenges of the fast-moving consumer goods category, including perfect order completion quickly identifying and reacting to changes in consumer demand and shortening new product time to- market and supply chain integration. British foods retailer manufacturer Tesco, for example, delivers direct-to-consumer within 24 hours of when the order is placed; in some markets that means delivery to one home on behalf of a number of customers or home delivery, while other markets kindness pickup at a kiosk or service centre. Thats challenging the food production manufacturer to upturn order accuracy and work to avoid out-of-stocks while managing with the costs incurred by operating so many delivery models. Fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers are acting on growing global awareness of the need to mitigate the environmental impact of manufacturing and logistics processes, by placing first priority on structure sustainability into the supply chain. Green is no longer leading edge or pioneering; it is now a normal part of a companys operations, driving the need for manufacturers and others to develop cohesive and comprehensive earth-friendly sourcing strategies. Improving shipment density and load utilization is one of these strategies, enabling manufacturers to maximize use of shipment capacity to reduce emissions, wasted capacity and potentially costs as well. Limited Brands Logistics Services, for example, continues to work on new configurations of its carton proportions to fit as much merchandise into containers as possible. Sustainability is a mandate to do a better job in the logistics area, says one FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) executive, whose company has been testing hybr id electric delivery trucks and working to comply with emerging sustainability. Shippers want 3PLs (Third Party Logistics) to help improve shipment density/load utilization, reduce logistics costs and establish a supply chain disruption/mitigation strategy, but they consider them less often for goals such as shortening new product time-to-market and supply chain integration. Shippers are also involving 3PLs in cost-reduction strategies less often than one might expect, with the biggest gaps in improved forecasting and inventory capabilities, rationalizing SKUs and redesigning the supply chain network. 3PLs see their role as much larger in these and other services. The trust issues that have consistently slowed the evolution of shipper-3PL relationships may be a factor in these gaps. Some shippers have tested sharing warehousing and transportation as a green and cost reduction strategy, with most reporting savings of less than 5%. Nevertheless, superiority in Operations remains an illusion for most food and beverage companies. This will be lasting as long as they stay limited within the mindsets associated and the organizational structures with todays vertically combined business model. According to a McKinsey report based on problems and opportunities relating to operational excellence, the study comes out with the following findings: 1. Operations issues get deserted from top-management two main business processes of consumer management and customer management. It suggests that operations issues get a lot less than 20% of the Executive Committees agenda time. To multifaceted the problem, only around 10% of top executives in food and beverage companies have straight personal experience in operations. It is barely surprising; however, that the promise to drive radical change may not be as resilient in operations as it is in the other two business processes. 2. Around 10% of FMCG companies have a global operations director with full responsibility for both operational development and strategic resource allocation. 3. Most of the top quartile talent is tapped for handling marketing or finance functions. Operations functions are short of management talent. High potential generalists often find food and beverage operations too internally focused and too technical. At the other end of the scale, senior operations experts are often attracted to other industries such as electronics, automotive or engineering where operations is both more highly rewarded and more highly regarded. These difficulties are not new. What is new is that a possible solution the mixture of organizational separation and value chain de-verticalisation. Deverticalisation International food and beverages companies that are able to attain organizational functionally and separation organized national companies This efficiently means outsourcing your supply chain actions to a third party. Naturally this will involve selling the existing activities and operations assets, as well as manufacturing, procurement, process RD and primary distribution, a third party manufacturer, financial buyer or a joint venture with other food and beverage companies. In essence, this leaves an asset light food and beverage company and an asset heavy supply company. How will it create value? From the perception of the food and beverage Company, the supply company of its will now be in a position to address the above-mentioned operational issues. A strongly incentivized management team frequently directly responsible to the capital markets. Although it will be better able to motivate and attract talented operations managers, emphasis 100% of its attention on operational skills and operations issues. However, operational distinction will translate directly into bottom-line impact. Accordingly deverticalisation allows the management of the food and beverages company to emphasis completely on consumer and customer management the key engines of growth though sharing in progressive operations cost developments over either an equity stake or open book supply contracts. From the financial outlook this would also help the food and beverage Company get a significant bound in return on capital employed. Social and cultural factors that influence the consumption of foods Influences on Food Choices There are many factors that determine what foods a person eats. In addition to personal preferences, there are cultural, social, religious, economic, environmental, and even political factors. Cultural influences A cultural group provides guidelines regarding acceptable foods, food combinations, eating patterns, and eating behaviors. Compliance with these guidelines creates a sense of identity and belonging for the individual Kittler (1998). Within large cultural groups, subgroups exist that may practice variations of the groups eating behaviors, though they are still considered part of the larger group (Haviland, William A. 1990). For example, a hamburger, French fries, and a soda are considered a typical American meal. Schlosser, Eric (2001). Someone who is repeatedly exposed to certain foods is less hesitant to eat them. For example, lobster traditionally was only available on the coasts, and is much more likely to be accepted as food by coastal dwellers. States, however, eat veggie-burgers made from mashed beans, pureed vegetables, or soy, and people on diets may eat a burger made from lean turkey. In the United States these are appropriate cultural substitutions, but a burger made from h orsemeat would be unacceptable (Klimis-Zacas et al: 2001). Religious proscriptions choice from a few to many, from relaxed to highly restrictive. This will affect a supporters food selections and behaviors. For example, in some religions specific foods are prohibited, such as pork among Jewish and Muslim adherents. Within Christianity, the Seventh-day Adventists dispirit stimulating beverages such as alcohol, which is not prohibited among Catholics. Social influences Members of a social group depend on each other, share a common culture, and influence each others behaviors and values. A persons membership in particular peer, work, or community groups impacts food behaviors. For example, a young person at a basketball game may eat certain foods when accompanied by friends and other foods when accompanied by his or her teacher. The Social Significance of Meat Consumption While vegetarianism is on the increase in Western societies (Amato and Partridge (1989); Beardsworth and Keil (1997); Dietz et al. (1995)), meat consumption is still a central part of the Western societies diet (Beardsworth and Keil (1997)). So far there is considerable indication that meat is not only unnecessary for a healthy diet, it is a leading contributor to many health problems (Amato and Partridge (1989); Lappà © (1991); Marcus (1998); Melina et al. (1995); Robbins (1987)). Given that general meat-eating behaviour in prosperous societies cannot be readily explained by biological necessity, other factors must play a major role in defining individual dietary habits. A critical macro-level approach suggests that the production of meat cannot simply be explained as a direct response to consumer demand, since production is affected by government subventions and industry groups, such as the pork and beef councils. Political economists argue that the economic elite control consumer preferences through means of social, psychological, and cultural manipulation for example, by the use of advertising (Schnaiberg (1980); Schnaiberg and Gould (1994)). Therefore, production may generate consumption because processors, producers, and marketers have cultural hegemony, that is, control over the beliefs and values of a culture. Consequently, from this perspective, the operational power of the meat industry is expected to be a major element of stages of meat consumption. Cronons (1991) analysis of how the U.S. meat industry grew throughout the 19th Century by transforming American agriculture provides clear support for the argument that consumer habits are greatly influenced by powerful corporate interests. However, although this viewpoint may explain aggregate levels of production and consumption in a society, it does not explain variation of consumer behaviour among individuals within a shared political economic context. However, a micro-level approach to understanding consumer patterns focuses on the social psychological factors that lead to food consumption. Dietz et al. (1995) and Kalof et al. (1999) argue that social psychological factors, such as beliefs and values, have a significant influence on consumer demand for various food types. The results of their analyses suggest that values and beliefs have a greater influence on the choice of a vegetarian diet than do demographic factors. Reliable with these results, other researchers have found that social psychological factors have a more effect on consumer request than do demographic and economic factors (Breidenstein (1988); Guseman et al. (1987); Sapp and Harrod (1989)). However, social structural factors form the context in which psychological factors operate. Social structural position such as (gender, race and class) probable plays an important role in determining each individuals life experiences, socialization, and psychological attributes . Distinguishing the intertwined reputation of psychology and social structure is necessary to appreciate behaviour. Both the critical the social psychological perspective and macro -level perspective have made significant contributions to our understanding of food and beverage in general and meat consumptions. The environmental literature recognizes industrial meat production as a prominent source of many environmental problems (Durning and Brough 1991; Ehrlich, Ehrlich and Daily 1995; Goodland 1997; Pimentel and Pimentel 1996; Rifkin 1992; Subak 1999). Nowadays, intensive meat production places a problem on ecosystems as it necessitates the usage of large quantities of natural resources mostly energy, land, and water used to produce feed grain (Durning and Brough 1991; Dutilh and Kramer 2000; Fiddes 1991). Comparative to the production of other vegetables and grain, problem for human consumption, the production of meat is tremendously resource ineffective several times more people can subsist on a vegetarian diet than can on a meat centered diet (Durning and Brough 1991; Dutilh and Kramer 2000; Ehrlich, Ehrlich and Daily 1995; Lappà © 1991; Rifkin 1992). Beef production is mostly supply intensive, having an even bigger impact on the environment than is recommended by the amount of grai n and the resources that goes into generating grain that it needs (Subak 1999). Beef grazing contributes to many environmental problems including desertification, soil erosion, loss of biological diversity and water pollution, (Durning and Brough 1991; Ehrlich, Ehrlich and Daily 1995; Pimentel and Pimentel 1996; Rifkin 1992). For example, millions of acres of tropical forest in Latin America have been empty for cattle grazing (Durning and Brough 1991; Harrison and Pearce 2000; Myers 1981). Moreover, due to their digestive physiology, cattle also emit a large quantity of a greenhouse gas, a methane, and their manure expels gaseous ammonia into the air, contributing to acid rain (Durning and Brough 1991; Harrison and Pearce 2000; Subak 1999). Changing Profile and Mind Set of Consumer People are becoming aware about hygienic and health. There is a transformation in the mind-set of the Consumer and now looking at Money for Value rather than Value for Money. We have seen inclination in consumers to move to advanced products/ brands, because of shifting lifestyles, growing disposable income etc. Consumers are switching from economy to premium product even we have witnessed a sharp increase in the sales of packaged water and water purifier. Porters five forces analysis of the food and beverage Source: Valuenotes.com, (2010) The intensity of rivalry is very high among the competitor of food and beverages Industry. There is a threat for new entrants as well as for substitute. Even there is high bargaining power for Suppliers as well as for Buyers. Rivalry among Competing Firms In the food and beverages industry, rivalry between competitors is very fierce. There are uncommon customers because the industry is highly saturated and the competitors try to seize their share of market. Market Players use all sorts of activities and tactics from intensive advertisement campaigns to price wars and promotional stuff etc. Therefore the intensity of rivalry is very high. Potential Entry of New Competitors Food and beverages industry does not have any methods which can control the entry of new firms. The conflict is very low and the structure of the industry is so multifaceted that new firms can easily enter and also offer tough competition due to cost effectiveness. Therefore prospective entry of new firms is extremely viable. Potential Development of Substitute Products There are never ending and complex consumer needs and no firm can satisfy all sorts of needs alone. There are adequately of substitute goods available in the market that can be re-placed if consumers are not satisfied with one. The varied range of needs and choices give an appropriate room for new product development that can substitute current goods. Every other day there is some short of new product, design and variants. This leads to higher consumers expectation. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers of intermediate goods and raw materials is not very high. There is ample number of substitute suppliers available and the raw materials are also willingly accessible and most of the raw materials are homogeneous. There is no monopoly situation in the supplier side as the suppliers are also challenging among themselves. Bargaining Power of Consumers Bargaining power of consumers is also very high. This is because in food and beverages industry the substituting costs of most of the goods is very low and there is no threat of buying one product over other. Customers are never unwilling to buy or attempt new things off the shelf. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Presence of well-known distribution networks in both urban and rural areas Low Operational Costs Occurrence of well-known brands in food and beverages sector Accessibility of raw materials Weaknesses: Me-too products which unlawfully mimic the brands and labels of the recognized brands Lower scope of investing in technology and achieving economies of scale, especially in small sectors Low exports levels Opportunities: Large domestic market over a billion populations Unexploited countryside market Increasing income levels, i.e. increase in purchasing power of consumers Trade potential and tax duty benefits for implementing exports units Threats: Regulatory and tax structure Exclusion of import restrictions ensuing in replacing of domestic brands Temporary Slowdown in Economy can have an impact on food and beverages industry Source: Valuenotes.com (2011) Conclusions With low margins and large volumes, food and beverages companies must react fast to deliver in-demand, on-trend products to shoppers where and when they want them, to avoid getting held with unwanted merchandise. The increasing integration of local and cross-border agro-food chains can be considered both a threat and a challenge for rural development. Poor farmers in developing countries who have limited resources and scarce access to markets and a more cautious, less faithful customer has arisen in the global recession, stimulating consumer goods manufacturers and their supplier and retailer partners to develop more responsive and demand-driven. A value-conscious customer is particularly challenging for producers of food and beverages.