A Model for the Allocation of Value in Western and Eastern Art Markets Dissertation

A Model for the Allocation of Value in Western and Eastern Art Markets - Dissertation Example In contrast, Western art generally refers to the European style of artwork, and is less culturally diverse than Eastern artwork and draws less on myth. A significant portion of European art, particularly older art, is connected to the Christian religion, with depictions of Jesus, Mary and of angels. Modern Western artwork is often more abstract. The development of prices for artworks by artists in China can be tracked effectively and accurately using the research methodology proposed for both indigenous Chinese artists represented in local markets and also for global or Western artists imported to collections. This allows the determination of how traditional Eastern artwork fares in the Eastern art market compared to how Western artwork performs in the same market. The economical and sociological systems which drive the operation of the contemporary art market in China can be reviewed on a percentage of GDP or on a per capita basis in respect to the Western markets, allowing direct c omparison between the two. This allows it to be determined whether one form of art is traded more frequently or valued more highly in the Eastern market compared to the Western, indicating differences between the markets. 9 The Assignment of Value 13 For any commodity or service, value must be assigned to it in order for it to be bought and sold in the general market. It is not simple to assign value to art, as its worth comes from a wide variety of sources, and is not always predictable. The question of value is fundamental for art as a discipline and as an object. Art is created not simply because of the desire of the artist to create, but also as a method of communication, or through a desire to earn an income. As a consequence, the meaning of the work is important and... This dissertation outlines art as a large part of culture and tradition worldwide, but the definitions and approaches to art can vary significantly depending on the artist as well as the culture that they derive their inspiration from. In particular, artistic inspiration and art form can be divided into two broad categories, Eastern and Western art. These definitions are based on global location of the style and inspiration for the artist, although the artist themselves may not be from this global area. Western art can be defined as art that is created in the styles that are generally accepted in European countries, although it may be created anywhere in the world. Traditionally, Western art consisted primarily of paintings and sculptures, often of religious icons, although there was the development of other artistic styles such as impressionist and abstract art during the history of Western art. Current Western art also includes styles such as modern art, which is often very abstrac t, and performance art. In contrast, Eastern art is often more traditional and takes greater inspiration from local religion, practices, history, myth and legend. When interpreting art from Eastern cultures, it is important not to do so through the lens of Western art history and values, as this presents a risk of cultural imperialism or bias. The consequence of this may be the marginalization of traditional artistic expression, such as art through handicrafts, folk art, or kitsch, which are often not regarded as art from the traditional Western viewpoint.

Industry Research Completion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Industry Research Completion - Essay Example According to Domansky and Williams (2006), the global automotive industry encompasses a few principal manufacturers such as General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrylser that serve the global market. The globalization of automobile industry has resulted from the setup of overseas facilities and mergers between firms in recent times. The joint venture of General Motors and Toyota in New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. and Fiat holding an 85% stake in Ferrari are examples of such mergers. The Automobile Industry is one of the most important industries in the world, employing millions of people, generating billions of dollars in world revenues, placing more than 806 million vehicles on the roads, accelerating the business and commercial activities and linking person to person, area to area and country to country. It is more than a 100 years old. It came into existence in Germany and France and later grew in USA as a result of mass production. However, Papatheodorou and Harris (2007) state that considering the level of employment and revenue it generates, the industry is suffering from financial crisis with profit margins falling from 20% in 1920s to 5% in 2007. This may be due to the maturity of automobile markets in developed countries. According to Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2009), the Automobile Industry has tried to reduce the cost of transportation through mass marketing, mass production and globalized production. The world is headed towards the crisis of recession and economic slump which is expected to reduce automobile sales worldwide. The present economic downturn has proven to have hit the automobile industry sharply and there has been rapid decline in the sales of the industry. Political and economic instability, credit crunch, banks being more particular about auto financing and the rising prices of cars has impacted the

Effective Privatization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effective Privatization - Essay Example (Yarrow 1999, 157-168) Transfer f ownership makes credible the fact that the firm does not have limitless government backing (although governments do bail out even private companies from time to time) for example it bailed out the rail companies and rail track because transport is vital to the economy. (Vickers 1991) Selling assets at a fair price leaves government wealth unaltered. If prospects f tougher treatment in the future lead to productivity improvements in state firms the government becomes better off when the productivity improves not when (or if) the firm is sold. (Chang 1992, 31-32) Many privatised firms now face intense competition often from abroad. However, natural monopolies have aquired a new framework f regulation. This has favoured price capping, administered by independent regularity agencies (quangoes) and subject to periodic review. (Shirley 1999, 115-136) Increasingly, the UK has been driven to regulate not merely conduct but structure. This presupposes that some parts f a natural monopoly can be hived off and become suitable for competition. In practice, this has usually been down stream activities in a vertically related industry i.e. union f firms at different production stages in the same industry. (Vickers 1991) To as Recent privatisations include 1British Rail (now taken back into public ownership as a not for profit organisation) 2 British Air Ways 3 Air Traffic Control 4 British Steel 5 British Gas 6 British Telecom 7 The Water Companies 8 And most Power Companies To assess the effects f the present governments nationalisation policy we would have to take in to consideration the fact that we have a socialist government, one f whose key beliefs is that public ownership is the better way to run the country, although this government does not appear to be as hard line in that respect as previous Labour Governments. (Stiglitz 1994, 307-323) Arguments for Privatisation 1 Opening up production and consumption to market forces, increase competition, economic efficiency and consumer choice 2 Breaking down monopolies into more competitive industries and introduces competition into the goods market 3 Enables the privatised firms to compete for finance on the private capital markets both home and abroad 4 Ensures that firms become accountable to their shareholders and their desire for profit 5 Ensures that businesses are run on commercial rather than political grounds 6 Reduces the burden on the governments finances to support nationalised industries Arguments against Privatisation 1 Privatisation may simply create private sector monopolies with high barriers to new firms entering the industry. There are a number f reasons why these might exist; (a)The existing firm has significant economies f scale that new firms cannot compete as in the case f natural monopolies (b) The start up costs for new firms are prohibitive 2 Privatised firms make decisions based on commercial profit maximising grounds. Nationalised firms make decisions in the public interest. If the government want to focus on poverty reduction and development then

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 38

Reading response - Essay Example It is usually upon the branch managers and leadership to design time to ensure achievement of given targets. The strict targets compel managers to set employees on long working hours. Since the management does not provide money or measures for compensating the overtime workers, the extra service goes free. To Wal-Mart, unpaid overtime is just good for the company does its employees favor, â€Å"Working unpaid overtime equaled saving your job.† Besides subjecting workers to unpaid overtime, the business also discriminates and abuses women. Despite women being the majority employees, few hold management positions. The company also limits the freedom of workers since it counters attempts for unionization rapidly. The management is usually ready to do anything possible to prevent unionization, â€Å"Wal-Mart hired a consulting firm named Alpha Associates to develop a union avoidance program.† Olsson responds to counterarguments by presenting facts of surveys or history of Wal-Mart retail store. For instance, Olsson counters the company’s claims of training promoting women by referring to a 2001 survey conducted by Wal-Mart executive. The survey showed that female managers get lower pay than men in the same positions do. In terms of history, the management of Wal-Mart prefers delinking the different branches to crush relations. However, Olsson recommends that the workers can only succeed in their fight only if they mobilize all branches. The central theme of Mallaby for writing the article is to fault any views that seem to place Wal-Mart in bad pictures. According to Mallebye, Wal-Mart provides health cover to its workers, and plots to contain costs of health care in the future. Mallabye is so defensive to the company to an extent of proposing that Wal-Mart attack billboards, newspapers, and any press that is tarnishing its name. Mallabye claims that Wal-Mart is the best company considering its struggle towards

Prostitution in the United States Research Paper

Prostitution in the United States - Research Paper Example By identifying the most important factors surrounding the problem of prostitution, further research can be done to address each issue in more detail. This study will use the definition of prostitution provided by Murphy: â€Å"the exchange of sexual services for economic compensation† (775). To better understand the historical context and contemporary situation of prostitution in the U.S., a general review of the literature was conducted. Who becomes a prostitute? Anyone could become a prostitute, and yet the women that do tend to have some common traits. Their childhoods are often as problematic as their adulthoods, and women who choose prostitution have often suffered from specific and predictable childhood experiences. Valera et al. report that almost half of a sample of prostitutes reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact on the part of an adult during their childhood. In the same sample, 39% of women also reported having been abused by a guardian to the point of inju ry (Valera et al.). Edwards, Halpern, and Wechsberg describe both a history of child abuse and the presence of psychological distress as predictors of prostitution. In another study by Farley and Barkan, 57% of prostitutes reported suffering sexual assault during childhood and 49% reported having been physically assaulted. Clearly, the childhood experiences of these women have a staggering impact on them that is long-lasting. Unfortunately, childhood abuse is not the only abuse prostitutes experience, even if it is the first. Many prostitutes have suffered abuse and exploitation from men their entire lives, first through family members and later from pimps and clients (Carter and Dalla). These and the previously described factors seem to point toward a connection between childhood abuse and adult prostitution, so that some intervening response process to the earlier abuse puts these women at a greater risk for prostitution. There are several identifiable socioeconomic factors at wor k in the histories of women who become prostitutes (Burnette et al.). Women who become prostitutes have lower rates of education and higher rates of homelessness when compared to non-prostitutes (Burnette, Schneider, Ilgen, and Timko). Of course, without economic necessity or a drug habit, these women would not be motivated to engage in prostitution (Murphy). Given other resources for economic support, these women would not need to turn to prostitution. Socioeconomic conditions that may contribute to a woman’s continuing engagement in prostitution include a poor economy with a job shortage. Women interested in leaving prostitution and pursuing mainstream employment may be hindered by the contemporary economic climate and its shortage of new jobs. There are other attributes that can predict whether or not a woman is likely to become a prostitute. For example, women who are addicted to drugs are much more likely to become prostitutes than women without substance abuse problems (Burnette et al.). As they sink deeper into drug abuse, their ability to gain or maintain traditional employment is hindered. Through prostitution, they can continue the cycle of their addiction and make money to continue buying more drugs. They may even meet a drug dealer who is also a pimp, and get involved with prostitution through his design. Drug addicts are more

Czech Political Parties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Czech Political Parties - Essay Example The upper house, or Senate, elects members every two years for six-year terms (81 total); the lower house, or Chamber of Deputies, has 200 members who are elected for four-year terms. The political parties often join together in coalitions to form a majority or other bloc of votes in the government. Five parties have 10 or more representatives in the Chamber of Deputies; one deputy is an independent (Czechcentrum.cz). More parties hold seats in the Senate, but only two hold more than 10 seats, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Coalition of Four (tykoalice), a coalition of four smaller political parties. The country's oldest political party is the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), formed in 1878 under the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. According to the official Czech government website, the CSSD helped in the formation of Czechoslovakia after WWI and merged with the Communist Party in 1948. It favors a "social market" economy but has also led the drive to privatize former state-owned industries, including the country's large telecommunications system. It is considered left-of-center. The CSSD is most popular with working-class voters in industrial centers, trade union members and public service employees. It is similar to the Social Democratic Party in Germany and the British Labour Party and strongly in favor of the European Union, which the country joined in 2004.

How Ian Mcmillan Conveys His Attitudes Towards the Death of His Mother Essay Example for Free

How Ian Mcmillan Conveys His Attitudes Towards the Death of His Mother Essay McMillan uses harsh words throughout the poem to show his grief and remorse at his mothers death. Words like â€Å"shatters† link with how he is feeling, like everything is broken and cannot be repaired. This word makes us imagine something broken into lots of tiny pieces which cant be put back together again, and it helps us to understand how broken and jumbled up he is feeling. The word â€Å"slap† when talking about â€Å"the tears (that) slap my torn face† insinuates the idea that he is in physical pain, that the emotional pain he feels is is so strong that he physically hurts. In the first stanza, we find out about his mothers death. Enjambment is used to speed up the pace of the poem, and show how quickly someones whole live can change, like in the phraseâ€Å"In the moment it takes a life to pass/ from waking to sleeping† The phrase â€Å"from waking to sleeping† highlights the opposites in what he and his mother are doing, as she passes from life to death. The word sleeping creates quiet a gentle image, and suggests that her death was not unexpected, and perhaps was drawn out and painful. Sleep is a very relaxed and calm time, the only time when the human mind can escape from problems in the day, so perhaps the idea of his mother falling asleep is comforting, like she has now stopped suffering and can rest happy. The second stanza uses a lot of words relating to the senses, to help us understand how McMillan is feeling. The sentence â€Å"outside a milk float chinks and shines† shows that the world is carrying on as normal, despite the fact that McMillans world has personally just stopped. The rhyming pattern throughout this poem is abab, but in this stanza the words â€Å"mine† and â€Å"shines† are meant to rhyme, but the fact that they don;t fully rhyme represents the disorientation he is feeling upon finding out about his mothers death, and perhaps also shows how nothing is quite right any more. Also, the word drones when describing a plane has been used to represent the deep grief he is feeling, and makes us feel like he has completely given up. In the third stanza McMillan seems to be describing a state of shock that he has fallen in to, which is quite a normal reaction when a loved one dies. McMillan describes his tears to slap his torn face; as well as slap being a raw and aggressive word, the way he describes his face as torn perhaps suggests that it was his mother who held him together, and now, without her, he is broken. This helps us to realise how important his mother was to him, which makes us sympathise for him a lot and evokes a feeling of empathy when we put ourselves in his position. McMillan says he feels trapped, like he is trapped by his own emotion and although its up to him to find a way out of this dark place, he cant see an escape. This shows how alone and scared he is feeling knowing his motherr is no longer around and also makes us think how panicked he must be feeling, as we would be if we were trapped somewhere. The word float makes us think that McMillan is no longer in control of his emotions, that what he is feeling is unstoppable, but also it instigates the sense that nothing seems quite normal around him, and that he is detached from reality. The final stanza is a rhyming couplet that summarises the grief and emptiness and the lack of will to go on without his mother. â€Å"Feeling that the story ends just here† conveys the idea that there isnt a story to continue without his mother, showing how depressed McMillan is feeling, like he has reached a dead end in his life.