Urban Design Essay

Essay on Urban Design and Urbanism

"The Present City and the Practice of City Design" in Everyday Urbanism by John Kaliski

Urban design is study of the arrangement, appearance and functionality of urban areas, including the shaping and uses of urban public space. The theory of urban design deals mainly with the design and management of public space, the way they are seen and used. Public spaces are streets, squares, alleys. Boulevards and parks – places that we see every day. One of the main goals of urban design is to improve urban environment, make it more enjoyable and useful.

Urban planning is the integration of the disciplines of land-use planning and transport planning in order to explore a very wide range of aspects of the built and social environments of urban areas and communities. Regional planning deals with larger areas then urban planning, at a less detailed level. One of the main functions of urban planning is urban renewal, using urban planning methods in order to revive existing cities suffering from long-term infrastructural decay.

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We can draw a city on a map, plan the streets and buildings, however, the feeling of a city we can received only by experiencing it, walking on the streets, living its life, meeting its people. John Kaliski writes that despite of the professional efforts of the urban designers, the city lives its own everyday life.
 
The author starts the article with the words that we need the plan in order to look in the future. Later in the article, he mentions with some degree of disappointment, that many designers are behind the time and not in front of it. The designers should be ahead of their time, guessing the tendencies of city development and progress of society.
 
Most of the famous urban designers of the twenties century tried to create a conceptual city and wanted to create utopic cities, like for example, Le Corbusier, many designers wanted to create a city of order. This was characteristic to the designers of the early twentieth century. This trend has passed in the 50s, after the World War II. One of the greatest inventions of the postwar times is shopping mall. It was developed by Victor Gruen, whose childhood passed in Vienna. In the shopping mall, Gruen tried to recreate rich urban life of European cities, with its busy main streets and crowded sidewalks.

Jane Jacob, one of the key figures in American urban design, criticized the urban renewal policies of the fifties. In her famous work The Death an Life of Great American Cities she pointed out that when designing urban areas not the impression they give, but how people use things, she protected the traditional city blocks and proposed new principals of urban renewal. 
 
Edmund Bacon and Jonathan Barnett talked about architect as about “urban policy-makers.” Surprisingly enough, not the architectures and urban designers influence the appearance of the streets, but rather the officials who either approve or disapprove the design proposals. These people have power and authority to shape the way our cities look. Bacon and Barnett, for example, left greater contribution as government officials and not as individual designers.
 
Christopher Alexander thinks that designers and citizens should act collectively and residents should part in their community design together with professionals. He goes as far as suggesting that each time a new project is proposed, citizens and designers should come together and discuss the directions of the project. At the same time Alexander stresses that each time when a new building or object is planned, the next step of development should be also considered, just like a next step in a game of chess.
 
Denise Scott Brown is among the most influential architects of the twentieth century. She criticized urban designers and planners for not being able to catch up with the time and the changes. Her projects often incorporate the needs of every day city life as well as conceptual design.
 
In the United States throughout the 1990s emerged an urban design movement, new Urbanism. The goal of the movement is to change some aspects of real estate development, renewal and urban planning, from urban retrofits to suburban infill. New urbanist neighborhoods are designed to be walkable and interesting from the designers’ point of view.

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Self-Affirmation Theory Essay

Essay on Self-Affirmation Theory

Self-affirmation theory suggests that people can deal with threats to their self-identity by focusing on their self-worth and competence. This theory can be applied to many real life situations. I would like to describe the case of a friend of mine who used this theory to overcome threats to her identity and achieve success.

My friend comes from a very traditional Muslim family. Women in her family have always been limited to homemaking and child-rearing. However, my friend was inspired by feminist ideas and despised the notion that women have to be limited to private sphere, as her culture suggests. Therefore, she wanted to pursue a college education in law with a view of building a career and promoting the cause of gender equality in her work. Her family was opposed to her going to college, since they deemed it was inappropriate for a female.

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The family was well-to-do, so the girl would face no financial pressures in the future. At the same time, her desire for independence and self-actualization was very strong.

For several moths, she tried to avoid an open conflict with her parents and tried to persuade her that education and work are important for every person regardless of gender. However, her parents found a young man from the same cultural background for her to marry. At this point, the girl had to make a choice between family values and resisting the threat to her identity. The family told her they would not provide any financial or moral support if she decided to pursue education.

Knowing how competitive admission to law universities is, the girl was not sure if it was a good idea to start an independent life. However, she decided to focus on her strengths and competences in order to affirm her identity. She moved out, taken out a student loan and entered a prestigious law university. With the support of her friends and continuous self-motivation and affirmation, she was able to achieve her goal.

After seeing her succeed, her parents accepted her back. They have realized that pressure and blackmailing are not efficient in influencing their daughter’s decisions. The girl said that the most important lesson she had learned from that crisis was to follow her own dreams and fulfill her own ambitions rather than accepting authority unconditionally, even if it harms her interests. Positive thinking and confidence helped her a lot in those turbulent times when she had no one but herself to rely on. It is important to remember, however, that self-affirmation should take a realistic approach to one’s abilities. Self-affirmation should encourage continuous learning and personal development rather then discourage it. Expectations and goals should be realistic and achievable in order for this theory to work.

There are many situations in life when surrounding people try to enforce a certain identity and lifestyle on us.

Therefore, it is important to be aware of one’s own self and affirm one’s self through focusing on one’s self-worth that is derived from personal skills and strengths.

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Essay on Business Marketing

Originally Canadian agricultural enterprise Agrium, world’s third large company in the industry (Pugh, 2010), is a wholesale producer of main agricultural nutrients working through a network of retail distributors in the world market, emphasizing primarily on North and South America (Agrium Inc, 2011). The strategy of the company lies in the integrated solutions for the whole production process – from extracting the raw materials to coming up with the ready-made product. Agrium uses own certified technologies increasing the efficiency of the products and dividing the company into three business units, which develop production facilities, sales, and technological innovations. The company now expands into Africa, Asia, and Australia by acquisitions of local companies in the same sector (Pugh, 2010) and building plants for its own production (Donville, 2011). The company reacts to the global competition from the strategic perspective and is making positive contributions from the governmental perspective by investing into the economies of foreign countries.

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Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc., or PotashCorp, is the multinational company from Canada, the leader in the fertilizer industry, the competitor of Agrium. In Canada, the company is in the 100 Top local businesses, so it is recognized from the governmental perspective as a valuable employer and appreciated business. Potash is the main product and the focus of company’s business. The global presence is provided due to the operations in North and South Americas, Middle East, and Asia (PotashCorp, 2011). The strategy is based on the unique relationships with the stakeholders who are the consumers of the company’s products at the same time. PotashCorp emphasizes on the environmental approach in regard to all humanity and the planet identifying itself one of the key enterprises in promoting the world agricultural business, the main source of food on the planet.

BHP Billiton, an Australian company with headquarters in London, Great Britain, is a portfolio business in the field of mining and procession of natural resources around the world (PotashCorp, 2011). Its core business sectors are tightly connected with aluminium and other metals, diamonds, ore, coal and many others. Their strategy is supported by the two marketing hubs in Europe and Asia, based on geographic and product diversification, and seeks for business broadening and production site expansion (Taylor, 2010). That’s why in 2010, the company made a bid for the acquisition of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Having own potash development sites, BHP Billiton has seen a challenge in the expansion into the fast-growing industry of potash and crop nutrients.

Therefore, the strategy of BHP Billiton at present incorporates the purchase of the successful existing businesses, which is affordable for the company of such sizes. Similar acquisition can considerably maximize the profits and introduce the company into the new phase of relationships with the stakeholders, especially the governmental bodies. However, the bid is reported to be rejected by PotashCorp, which feels itself as a strong player in the market, and this means that BHP Billiton has to look for other opportunities in expanding into the relatively new sphere. The example of such giant as BHP Billiton proves the powerfulness of multinational corporations and its considerable impact on private businesses and government.

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Essay on Product Placement

Product Placement Essay

The influence of tobacco product placement in American TV shows on the audience

The popularity and impact of traditional television advertising have been in decline in the recent years as a result of increased costs and competition. Product placement is a substitute for the traditional TV advertising. It has been used since the invention of the small screen. Product placement is gaining more and more popularity and at the same time has turned into a huge, profitable business for both the broadcasting companies and the producers. The result of this situation is that companies exercise control with their product to such extend that shows are rejected projection or the storyline is completely altered. It is true that broadcasting companies receive large payments for placing a certain product in a movie, but the possible predicaments are much more. If there is too much product placement in a show, or the advertising is too obvious, the audience will lose interest in it.

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Product placement is not a new advertising strategy, but it has gained popularity through the new technological developments and in the last years it has become more noticeable as a common practice in TV shows. Nowadays, its effect is not so much on a subconscious level, but on the contrary - people do notice the brands displayed on the screen. The viewers associate with the characters from their favorite TV programs and that is the reason why they want to use the same brands as them. According to Bleicher and Heisinger (2008), in that way they are identifying themselves with the TV characters, feeling closer to them.

The restrictions on tobacco industry tighten more and more each day- no TV advertisement, smoking bans, bigger pictorial warnings and recently there are more restrictions on the use of tobacco products appearing on TV. Despite that fact, the tobacco industry is constantly growing and developing. The only tool that is not so strictly overlooked by the government, yet and that can be still used by the tobacco companies is the product placement on the small screen. It has a great impact on the audience even though without brand exposure. (Saffer& Chaloupka, 1999)

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the advantages of product placement of tobacco in the American TV shows, to compare it to the ordinary advertisement tools, and to investigate if it can be a good replacement. The growing restrictions and sanctions on smoking during TV time are to be presented and thoroughly examined. The current study is challenging and appealing due to the high public interest and the limited number of studies and papers conducted in this field and will be used to draw some final conclusions.

The focus of the following study is on the influence of tobacco product placement on the audience of the American shows. The survey will observe if smoking in TV shows makes people smoke more and whether tobacco placement should be restricted or banned at all. There are different studies conducted in the area, but very few present results that are not ambiguous and that can lead to general and final conclusions on the topic.

Another purpose of the study is to present valid results that will support or refuse the public opinion about tobacco use on TV. The answers to these questions will be of great use for our society, moreover the outcomes of this thesis can be easily applied to other industries different than tobacco to alter and improve their marketing strategies. The research and its outcomes will not only be useful to the public, but also to the TV producers fighting over TV ratings and tobacco companies.

      

The topic of the current study was chosen, because of multiple reasons. The matter of the subject is pressing and often spoken of in society by people working in the TV business or by government officials. The debates on the topic are intriguing due to the extreme opposite opinions of the parties participating.

Another reason for choosing the topic is the high interest in following the development and evolution of American TV shows. The ban on tobacco on Television is considered by some as violating the freedom of speech. The producers of the TV programs have to be careful to alter their stories to avoid smoking scenes. Many shows may lose their ratings or even worse may have to be removed from the air. People enjoy watching everyday life stories, so they can associate with the character. That will be difficult to happen if everyday things such as smoking cannot be displayed on TV.

On the one hand, banning the exposure of tobacco products will change the movie industry for ever. On the other hand, the exposure of minors to violence, drug abuse and excessive smoking is a serious problem and is desired by no one.

The audience intended for this research mainly is supposed to consist of scholars interested in the ways to measure the effectiveness of the placement of tobacco products in TV shows. The viewers of these TV shows will be interviewed and will be subjects to different field experiments, their perception and awareness of the product placement will be measured and described. However, as mentioned previously, the results will be of great use to all the parties involved in the tobacco business, its marketing and the TV shows managers. (Galician, 2004)

The writer’s point of view on the subject is certain. There should be various restrictions on tobacco products displayed on TV. The use of tobacco in TV shows should be also controlled. Different aspects, such as nature of the TV show, air time, audience and many more should be taken into account. The placement of tobacco in TV programs should not be banned, because then storylines and storytellers will be affected, as well as the viewers. Turning the tobacco into a forbidden topic, may have a negative result and encourage people to get involved, to object and protest against these restrictions. As a result, there is not an easy solution to this complex problem.

In the world of Television and Media, there are so many available channels to the viewers that many run away from the traditional TV advertisement, turning into real channel surfers. In that line of thought, placing a product in the TV shows, instead of placing it in the traditional commercial, increases the number of people viewing it and paying attention to it. (Galician, 2004)

The choice of TV shows instead of movies to conduct this research is due to the fact, that programs on the small screen attract a bigger audience and it is easier to estimate how many people viewed the episode with product placement and it is also easier to make the product irreplaceable part of the storyline. The problem of character smoking in TV shows has been a hot topic for quite long. There are constant debates and studies carried out to prove or disprove the impact of tobacco product placement on the audience. The purpose of the research is to investigate and to measure the impact of the tobacco products on the different viewer groups and their positive or negative attitude to such exposure. It will be explored in details which age groups are addressed by these placements, which ones are more prone to these messages and what messages are they conveying. Product placement for that kind of products will be compared to traditional advertising to point out its advantages and disadvantages and its public acceptance. (Mekemson & C.A., 2002)

The tobacco companies have a long practice of sponsoring tobacco smoking in movie productions, because they have understood its high efficiency. Although, they claim to have stopped that practice, tobacco marketing has been increasing, but becoming very difficult and innovative, developing new more complex marketing methods to defeat the restrictions and to deal with the increasing public concern about the dangers of smoking.  (Glantz, Slade, & A., 1996)

Traditional TV advertising has been in decline for the last years, however, product placement even though not a new marketing tool is gaining popularity and its uses tremendously increase. The TV shows business and product placement in TV shows has become a huge and very profitable practice, beneficial for all parties included, but the viewers. The media including movies, TV shows, magazines and internet form the everyday environment of young individual and thus have a great impact on their way of thinking. These media tools more frequently refer to tobacco products and in that way send pro-smoking messages to the public.

The tobacco industry and the motion picture industry have a long history of coexisting and working together. The product placement of tobacco is used to promote tolerance towards smoking and to increase its desirability among youngsters. The restriction on tobacco advertising mainly limits the print advertisements and promoting to children, but new means of marketing are constantly been researched and developed to balance its marketing strategies and their restrictions.

Unless more restrictions are introduced to tobacco placement in TV shows, that indirect advertising tool will remain the most powerful way to promote tobacco products, increasing the revenues of tobacco companies and endangering the public health. (Angus & Hastings, 2008)

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Standpoint Theory Essay

Essay on The Standpoint Theory

The standpoint theory itself lies in the necessity to get along with the dominant class for the reasons of survival. Therefore, the feminist theory arose on the basis of the social reality vision developed by women as a subordinate group (Swigonski, 1994, 390). In the process of formation, the feminist standpoint theory was designed by women searching for the methods to survive in the men-dominant world.

Feminism being a social movement referred to postmodern trends originally relies on the theory that there exist no differences between the two sexes, female and male, except biological ones (Harding, 2008, 14). However, it is argued that women are sometimes distinguished within the social conditions only and this causes controversies in the standpoints, while racial, economical, and historical views are often neglected and not taken into consideration (Harding, 2004, 318-321; 2005).

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According to Swigonski (2004, 391-392), the main tenets of the standpoint are developed through researches that identify the power of point and possession of knowledge as the determinative factors in choosing a role in the struggle for the feminist rights and freedoms. Education is a less powerful factor for that its impact cannot be objectively evaluated. Everyday life, however, provides deeper guidance in the relevant issues of oppression and can be the most influential source of maintaining a standpoint, especially in cases where previous factors are not easily accessible. 

  

Primarily mentioned in the 18th century, the standpoint feminist theory was accurately observed in the 1960-70s with the development of class and labor definitions and dawn of women movements (Harding, 2008, 14-15; Swigonski, 1994, 390) but not only the rich ones as originally observed. Later in the 1970s, the issue of discrimination arose involving women of virtually all races, cultures, and ethnicities.

  

In 1970s, women searched for the means of fighting inequality and dominance of the opposite sex in all aspects of human life. From diverse points of view, the movement pursued different goals.    

The following debates disclose where strengthening of the movement and improvement of confidence among the participants were originated from (Harding, 2004, 318). However, the participants were not always able to refer to the global audience because of the way how the various concepts within the feminist standpoint theory were socially situated (Swigonski, 1994, 390). 

  

As a matter of fact, the standpoints of women with different backgrounds do not coincide so unification of their experiences often fails. From the epistemological point of view, there is likely to be a group with a common interest in order to be able to struggle for this interest productively. In practice, feminists do not always share the same standpoint, and this negatively reflects on the performance of the whole movement. Harding (2004, 321) finds the right description for this calling supporters as “women who do not make up the majority of feminist theorists”. The fragmentation in terms of strategies and approaches makes the movement less attractive by blurring its main goal and idea.     

  

One of the feminism debates takes place around the position of a woman in the society. It is primarily argued that woman’s functions in terms of modern society are narrowed down to keeping household and bringing up children (Harding, 2004, 318). However, historical background identifies namely such division of roles between sexes pointing at these female responsibilities as the basic ones. Universalism theory complements this idea but emphasizes on treating any human as of universal quality, namely equally.

  

The debates also concern the context of the standpoint interpretation. Only feminist analysis observes women as an oppressed category. Social approach refers to feminists as a minority segment along with national, sexual, and other minorities that also fall under the so-called oppression. The way how the minorities are treated is virtually the same but with the only distinction in the objectivity and form of presentation, Swigonski (1994, 390) points out.  

  

Another misconception lies in the distinction between political standpoints where “female” and “feminist” refer to somewhat different meanings identifying that a feminist can be a person of any sex (Harding, 2004, 318). Therefore, it is obvious that the concept of feminist involves not only women but men as well, and there are certainly male supporters of the movement.

  

Final important issue mentioned by Brooke (2004, 99) and Swigonski (1994, 391) lies in the controversies of feminist members within the same group called “outsiders within”. The whole group of individuals can potentially have several standpoints, which should either apply to different realities or damage the integral concept.

  

Concluding the aforementioned, I would like to point out that the key to success apparently lies in the uniformity of the standpoint. If the opinions of participants and suporters differ, there is less probability that this group or community will get along. 

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Essay on Leaders

It’s incredible! One of the most notorious leaders the world has seen, Moamar Khadafi, is facing an internal rebellion and has just learned that the world is ready to take military action against him and his corrupt regime. One of the largest economies in the world, the leader in technology, innovation, medicine, education and countless other fields is facing a catastrophe of biblical proportions. After being hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, Japan currently faces a number of melting nuclear reactors. This situation has the potential to turn parts of Japan into something worse than Chernobyl, Ukraine of 1986, which is still uninhabitable. So, where is the world going and where do I see myself and humanity in the next five, ten, fifteen years and beyond?

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Based on what history shows us, there has been conflict and internal strife within societies, communities, city- and nation-states. It has been an inevitable part of our existence, the constant warfare and bloodshed. Obviously some societies have seen less than others, but all in all, humanity has yet to cleanse itself of the need to harm itself. In essence the serious conflicts started when the hunter-gatherer tribes began settling into what would eventually become cities. Thus, territorial and resource conflicts prevailed, paving the way for male-dominated societies.  (Watson 2006) But there is hope. Since the Renaissance and the Enlightenment periods, humanity has learned again how to heal, much more than it learned how to kill. The evidence is in the population boom that is currently threatening the status quo of our planet. The greater need for resources and energy is pushing us to the limit. Nevertheless, we are more than capable of overcoming this.

In the past societies have encountered great obstacles, and have overcome them. The future does seem promising, although it might appear bleak to some. Great technological strides have been made in the fields of renewable energy, medicine and the sciences in general. The Western World has moved out of the Industrial Age and is slowly, but surely, progressing into the age of ideas. One of the leaders in predicting the future of science, Dr. Michio Kaku usually gives us an optimistic picture of the future. The great advances, previously mentioned, currently include invisibility cloaks, the ability to utilize the energy of the Sun very efficiently, as well as creating a new sphere of information sharing through teleportation.  (NPR Staff 2010)

Of course, it would be very cool to beam yourself from San Francisco to New York in a matter of seconds, but most importantly is that technology is paving the way for us to sustain ourselves on this planet, as well as save lives like never before imaginable. Scientists are in the process of creating devices that will build human organs from stem cells. Imagine, a person needing a new heart, can have it made within a matter of days, thus prolonging his life. But like always, we have great obstacles ahead of us, with wars, natural and manmade disasters, famine, diseases and much more. 

That is unfortunately inevitable, yet analyzing the past, we can also see that there is great hope in humanity, that we have overcame many impossible feats, and although we will stumble again, we will propel ourselves into a brave new world where the true utopian ideals will take shape.

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