How to Increase the market share in organic product market A Case Essay

How to Increase the market share in organic product market A Case Study of PARKnSHOP in Hong Kong - Essay Example To get a feel of what marketing strategies would work for PARKnSHOP, 300 regular shoppers are surveyed at 30 of the 40 superstores controlled by PARKnSHOP all over Hong Kong. Simple analytic tools are employed to analyze their responses. And appropriate recommendations for marketing strategies are provided, based on the findings from the survey. Established in 1973, PARKnSHOP is Hong Kong’s leading supermarket chain. With its perpetual commitment to innovation, quality, service and value, PARKnSHOP is well regarded in the industry and broader community through many quality awards. PARKnSHOP started its first superstore in 1996 and giving customers a modern one-stop stopping solution. The store sells over 20,000 product categories ranging from snacks to electronics household appliances. PARKnSHOP is also linked with three other supermarkets by the names of GREAT, TSTE and GOURMET. These three high-end supermarkets cater mostly to the expatriates and more affluent clientele in Hong Kong. These stores also sell a wide variety of organic products as in some Agri-foods like instant and canned soup and noodles; plain noodles and dried pasta; processed food and seafood products; ready-made meals and drinks (PARKnSHOP, 2010). However, as the number of customers that go for ready-made organic food increases, many superstores are jostling to control a larger share of the organic product market. This study investigates the appropriate steps PARKnSHOP management should take in arriving at a good conclusion about the most effective marketing strategies to adopt in capturing a greater share of the dynamic market for organic products. As a former colony and a trading outpost of the British Empire, Hong Kong has developed itself into a formidable economic wonder, turning into a global financial center where most financial institutions, banks, credit facilities and others have decided to establish their branches (Schenk, 2001).

Economics The Russian Experience Essay Example for Free

Economics The Russian Experience Essay The economy of the Soviet Union was based on a system of state ownership and administrative planning which meant that the state was the single decision organ in economic matters. The economic growth was guided by what was then called Five Year Plans crafted by the national decision makers appointed by the state. This approach made it easy for the resources to be harnessed to achieve set objectives. The economic set up concentrated more in building capital goods, machine manufacture and the chemical industry. The economic setup was top down model that offered little option for feedback to move to the decision makers. This made it hard for the decision makers to assess the effects of their decisions with a view to eliminate destructive ones. It therefore made it hard for the decision makers to abandon earlier decisions that failed to work or that produced negative results. (http://www. answers. com/toic/history-d-the-soviet-union-1985-1991). The economic setup, otherwise called communism, often resulted into the problem of over or under production of goods. The system paid little attention to the production of consumer goods and this led to black markets thriving. This black market had a counter effect on the economic agenda of the planners. The system was also very bureaucratic delaying issues that required urgent decisions. This scenario led to a back logging of decisions, which overwhelmed the decision makers with time. Middle level managers began to agitate for freedom to deal with customers and suppliers directly for them to more effectively respond to the economic laws of demand and supply. This agitation built up to eventually break the Soviet Union because the decision makers and the political leaders of the time failed to respond to these demands responsibly. (http://www. answers. com/toic/history-d-the-soviet-union-1985-1991). The economic setup of the Soviet Union had made some big gains, which enabled them to become industrialized faster than other economic fronts. Failure to respond to arising issues was what contributed to its downfall. Strong institutions had already been setup such as the agricultural sector, foreign trade as well as the financial sector. All capital goods were collectively owned with little exceptions. Individual property ownership was minimal. The ownership controversy also contributed to the Soviet Union breakup. Since then Russia has had to undergo intensive reform program to enable them to respond to the largely capitalistic world economy (Moszczynska, undated) A key sector that is the focus of the reform process is the financial sector. The Russian economy is reliant on oil and the fluctuations of prices affect the economy adversely. To alleviate such adverse effects, the financial sector needs reforms because it offers smoother transition into the envisioned economic setup. A challenge facing Russia and other countries as they transit from command economy to the free market economy is imbalance created by foreign trade. These countries have begun to import goods that were in short supply but on the other hand exports have began to decline. This slows down the recovery process since exports spurred growth previously. When the exports are more than the imports, a country is performing well economically and this is reverse for these former Soviets. Consumption growth had for a time led to an increment is real wages but productivity growth has stagnated those gains. This again is due to the heavy reliance on the oil industry for economic growth (Barnard, 2000). In addition, there is little investment outside the oil and metal industries. This means that as much as the motive is to create wealth for the citizenly, there cannot be much success if no considerable investment is made. In fact investments in other areas has been declining over time. The investment climate in Russia is still hostile which slows down the ability of the reform process to spur growth. The economic system only favor large business establishments leaving small and medium sized enterprises struggling. The government’s authorization requirements are stringent while corruption has been rife. This has led to more resources being allocated to large firms. With the medium sized enterprises grounded, no much growth can be achieved. The banking system is also inefficient since it only lends to the large establishments. The reform of the banking sector has largely depended upon political climate but a legal framework is needed to effectively reform this sector. A better framework to regulate the banking industry has to be put in place (Kahan, 2001). The reform process of the Russian and other former Soviet countries are on the right track. There are enough challenges in the implementation process of the proposals but they are gaining ground. Under performing areas have shown indications of growth. The recovery process, though, calls for political will among the leaders to drive the process. No much progress would be realized if political will is lacking. The effects of the Cold War need to be eliminated from the fore. The Russian economy has great potential and if the strategies respond appropriately to upcoming issues, the Russian economy would perform better. The Russian economy performance had put Russia ahead of other countries. It was not entity based on wrong principles. The major problem was the bureaucratic system that had been set that made it difficult to respond to rising issues. If the economy is to acquire the envisioned status it once had, it has to respond to arising issues.

Planning a Game Show

Planning a Game Show Title: All About Women Genre : Television Game Show Logline: It is all about eight women with lack of confidence go on a trip to learning a lot of skills from playing games to reinvent themselves, from an ugly duckling to the white swan. Objectives The main objective of this show is to change people’s behaviour to makeover themselves to be more confident in their life. People nowadays are lazy to be nice on their inner and outer beauty, so this show is to make them to have the motivation of changing themselves to be better. Secondly, our objective is to increase their knowledge of beauty. Women nowadays normally they are lack of the knowledge of beauty. In this show, we invited a lot of professional make up stylist to guide those competitors to make up, diet and so on. Lastly, our objective is to change the attitude of women by making them more attractive. There are no ugly women but lazy women in this world. Some people think that natural is beautiful. But after 20 years old, it no longer works. Through the game show, they will reinvent themselves into perfect women. Synopsis Theme: fantasy fulfilment â€Å"All About Women†, is the Malaysian Television game show. It is the first television game show to offer a Royal beauty treatment to the winner. This show will air every Sunday at 8.30pm on 8tv. â€Å"All About Women† is to help those women who are lack of confidence on themselves in the Malaysia. We will seek the competitors through some interview. Program group are choose 8 competitors to our TV game show. In the beginning, competitors will have a lot of training such as makeup, dressing and so on. After that, there will have small station game to test the competitors. The participant will get marks according to their performance in the station game. These marks is helpful in semi-final as the participant will get some mysteries gift that will boost them to get marks in the semi-final. The last two episodes are our semi-final and final. In the later period of the contest the progress of the competitors is determined 70% by public voting through text messaging or social media and 30% judged by three judges, Jimmy Lee, Grace Wang and Bernard Chandran. The show is hosted by Natalie Ng. Target Audiences The primary audience that we targeted for this show is Malaysia women and men with the age range between 20 to 55 years old. This range of people is more mature in their thinking and they can understand well about the importance of take care for their outer look. Besides that, they are more affordable in buying things to make them look more beauty. After that, this show is joyful and knowledgeable. They can watch this show in weekend to release their stress and also increase knowledge. The secondary audience that targeted for this show is all teenagers that between 13 to 19 years old. The range of this teenagers are more concern about their skin condition. Teenagers nowadays are more likely to care about their inner and outer beauty. So this TV shows can attract them to watch. Besides that, teenagers like to watch something special and excite so they will choose to watch this TV show as they will felt excited when participant are playing station games. Moreover, this TV show is first broadcast during their holiday so they are free to watch the show. Host The host that we invited is Ms. Natalie Ng. (refer to appendix 1.) She had been working for the English and Chinese markets in 2007. She had confidence to take Malaysia market after she finished her Diploma in Mass Communication. She is 8TV’s Entertainment Live Show 8 E-news in year 2008 to 2013. She had also won the 2012 Golden Award for Most Popular Host. Mentor The first mentor that we invited is Mr. Wang Ming Yong (refer to appendix 2.) which will be shown in episode two. Mr. Wang Ming Yong is a healthcare professional from Taiwan. He had studied at Australian School of Herbal Medicine. He is also a well-known dietary nutrition health care consultant. Mr. Wang had be invited before to the ‘Ladies First’ and ‘Health 2.0’ as counsellor of health care. The second mentor that we invited is Mr. Robin Niu (refer to appendix 3.) and he will appear in episode three. Mr. Robin Niu is a skin care professional which is also from Taiwan. Everyone address him as ‘Beauty King’ in Taiwan. He is graduated from a medical school in Taiwan. He have 18 years of experience in investigating skin care product. He get an award by Sogua for the most outstanding contribution to beauty. Mr. Robin have his own brand name ‘Naruko’ which is favourite by billion online users in China. This is the only beauty brand that been awarded the 2009 Top 80 Most Trusted Celebrity Brands and Best New Brand 2010 in Taiwan and China. The third mentor that we invited is Mr. Jimmy Lee (refer to appendix 4.) from Melaka that will be in episode four. Mr. Jimmy Lee is a hair stylist which have 8 years of experience in the hair do industry. When he was 18 years old, he is studying at Hair Connection Academy that is located in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. He had also once been offered to be Hair Lecturer by Snips Academy in Sabah for 4 years. He now had formed A ‘Hair and Makeup Art Studio Academy’ in Sabah with Ms. Ryana Yong. The fourth mentor that we invited is Ms. Grace Wang (refer to appendix 5.) that will be in episode five. She is a makeup artist and have 5 years of experience. Ms. Grace Wang is more professional in bridal makeup. She had completed her hairstyling and makeup course in Taiwan and now all the product that she use is high quality product such as Mac, Bobbi Brown, Lancome and more. She also believes that makeup will enhance personal features and will make people feel good about themselves. The last mentor that we invited is Mr. Bernard Chandran (refers to appendix 6.) that will be on episode six. Mr. Bernard Chandran is a fashion designer and people call him as ‘Malaysia’s Prince of Fashion’. He is a former student of prestigious Paris American Academy in France. He is also the local Celebrities most favourite fashion designer. His cloths infused with bold colours and draw inspiration of Malaysia’s multicultural influences. Mostly of his collection is made up of complex, traditional Malaysian costume with modern touches. Mr. Bernard Chandran collection had been worn by Hollywood Stars and also Lady Gaga. Channel The TV games shows will be on air at 8TV, from every Sunday 8:30pm to 9:30 pm. The first episode will be on air at 15 March 2015 while the last episode will show on 3 May 2015. 8 TV is one of the free-to-air TV stations that are privately owned by Media Prime Berhad in Malaysia. The reason we choose 8 TV as the channel to broadcast this TV game show is the target audience of 8TV is similar to this show which is Chinese audiences and urban youth. Besides that, we choose to broadcast this games show at Sunday as Sunday is weekend and most of the Malaysians are not working or studying at that day. Most of the Malaysian will customarily watch the Chinese news that broadcast at 8:00pm so the show is on air at 8:30pm as we wish to attract the attention of audience after watching the news. Furthermore, this games show will start to broadcast during the school holiday of primary school and secondary school which is 15 March 2015 because we hope that student can watch this game show when they felt boring and continue to support this show. Episode 1: The first episode is an introduction about the TV game shows â€Å"All about Women† and the participant selection. The hosts, Natalie Ng will give an explanation about screening condition for choosing the 8 participant. For example, participant must be a woman at the age range of 18 to 30 who brace up to learn and change themselves into a perfect woman. The interview is held in the studio by 5 mentor of the TV show. They are Mr Wang Ming Yong, Mr Robin Niu, Mr Jimmy Lee, Mr Bernard Chandra and Mrs Grace Wang. The interviewee need to prepare a short video to introduce themselves and the reason why they want to change into a perfect woman. They also need to answer the questions asked by 5 mentors. The list of participant will deciding by 5 tutors and announce at the end of the show. Episode 2: For the first part of this episode, the participants will start to attend the training class. The mentor of this episode is Mr Wang Ming Yong who is a Taiwan health care professional. He will listen to the participant lifestyles and give a comment on whether it is healthy or not. He will also share his own experience on how to maintain a healthy life and the importance of healthy life. The second part of this episode will be a station game. This game is aims to improve cardiovascular fitness and helps them to maintain a healthy weight. In this game, participants are required to run on a 7 meters foot sole massager in a playground. They need to gain the lead in race in order to win the games. The champion of this game will get 6 marks while the first runner-up will get 5 marks and the second runner-up will get 4 marks, and so on. These marks will continue to increase in following episode according to their result in the station game. Episode 3: The first part of this episode will be the skincare training class. The mentor of this episode is Mr Robin Niu who is professional in skin care. He will explain the symptom of different types of skin condition and the way to take care of it. He also explains about which kind of skin is suitable for which type of skin product. After that, he recommends the best seller product and the right way to use it. For the part of station game, participants are given 20 minutes to memorize 10 types of ingredient that widely used in skin care product and its use. After that, a lightning round will hold by the host, Natalie Ng. A total of 10 questions will be asked and the participants need to be the first to blow a balloon in order to answer the question. Participant will get 1 mark when they give the right answer. The marks they gain in this episode will be added on into the marks they got in previous episode. Episode 4: In this episode, Mrs Grace Wang, a professional makeup artist, will be the mentor for makeup training class. She will first points out the mistake that done by the participant and shows them some basic makeup that is easy and suitable for everyone. Besides that, she will explain and show them the most suitable makeup for them. After that, participant will draw lots to decide who will be their partner in the following part of this episode. They need to help their partner to make up and it will be judged by Mrs Grace Wang. Both of the persons in one group will get same marks. The champion will get 6 marks while the first runner-up will get 5 marks and so on. The marks they gain in this episode will be added on into the marks they got in previous episode. Episode 5 A well-known hair stylist, Mr Jimmy Lee will be the mentor of this episode. He will first indicate the mistake that usually done by most of the women and show them the suitable hairstyles for them. He also shows them the latest hairstyles and the hairstyles that fit in different situation. After that, each of them will be given one picture that showing different hairstyles. They are required to complete the hairstyles same as the picture in a period of 30 minutes. Participant who be the first to complete the hairstyles will get 6 marks while be the second faster to complete the hairstyle will get 5 marks and so on. Participant who be the last or cannot complete the hairstyles in a period of 30 minutes will get 1 mark. The marks they gain in this episode will be added on into the marks they got in previous episode. Episode 6 The first part of this episode is a fashion training class and the mentor is Mr Bernard Chandran, a famous fashion designer. He will show them the wrong way of matching clothes and teach them how to matching outfit. He will then show them the newest trend of clothing. After that, they will move to a dressing room that contains hundreds of clothes. They need to match 3 outfits that suitable for working, shopping and outing in a period of 10 minutes. They will wear the outfit they choose and judged by Mr Bernard Chandra. Participant will get the marks at a range of 0 to 18. The marks they gain in this episode will be added on into the marks they got in previous episode. Episode 7 This episode will be a live semi-final. This episode is aim to select 4 participant who can continue proceed to final. In this episode, participant need to make over themselves in 40 minutes will the themes of traditional costume. They can use the marks they get in the previous episode to exchanges some preponderance for their makeover. For example, participant can use 10 marks to exchanges a chance to ask the mentor to help them and 7 marks to changes the brand of a tool. These participant after makeover, will show their picture of before and after. These picture will show in TV and open voting to all audience around the world through messaging or social media. Four participant who have higher votes will proceed to the final. The result will come out in the end of this TV show. Episode 8 The last episode of this TV shows is a live final competition. In the end of this episode, one winner will be the selectedparticipant and will be required to go inside a room full of clothes, accessories and cosmetic product. They need to make over themselves, at the same time, prepare a talent performance in 1 hour. After 1 hours, the photo of their outfit will upload to social media and let public to vote. The judgment criteria for the final is quite similar with semi-final except there are three judges in the final. They are Jimmy Lee, Grace Wang and Bernard Chandran. The criteria for the judges are 30% and the other 70% are from the public voting. The winner will be given a Royal Beauty Treatment. Conclusion In conclusion, even though we face a lot of problem during completing this assignment but we still manage to complete our assignment due to teamwork. While doing this assignment. We learned how to create a television game show. It is not easy to form an idea. We learned how to make a trailer for TV game show as well. When doing this assignment, we find out that it is difficult to invite the host to participate in our TV game show because they are very busy and maybe some are come from foreign country. The purpose for our TV game show is to let the public know more on how to makeover themselves to be more confident and pretty. We invite some famous and professional make up stylist to our TV game shows to attract more people participate in our TV show. We hope that teenagers can improve the knowledge of beauty through our TV game shows and became a person who perfect in both inner and outer look in the future.

Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby paints the picture of the way life was in the twenties. This society has the characteristics of an egotist and one who pays no attention the character of themselves. Fitzgerald's style influences the reader to portray this era as a carefree "do what feels good" society. However, Fitzgerald introduces the countless number of tragedies that take place. Through diction, imagery, and details Fitzgerald creates a morose tone. The writer evokes the reader's feelings through particular words and their meanings. In the phrase, ". . . I began to look involuntarily out the window for other cars," the word involuntarily grabs the reader. This phrase makes the reader feel melancholy for Gatsby because it it's depressing for no one to come to the funeral. It reveals how Nick and Mr. Gatz experience anticipation. Both of them know devoutly that no one will come pay their respects to Jay Gatsby. Mainly because they wait half an hour for peo ple to show up. Also, in the phrase ". . . his eyes began to blink anxiously" the word anxiously shows Nick's dolefulness for the lack of sympathy that Gatsby fails to receive. The word procession reflects the despair and lack of friendship that Gatsby witnesses in his life. The lack of companionship that Gatsby has cogitates how lonely and despondent he is. Through the uses of certain words the author helps express feelings and emotions of the morose tone. Through imagery Fitzgerald can make the reader feel like they are in the story. Water, specifically evokes the senses. It describes how the procession of cars stopped in a thick drizzle. This depicts how gloomy it appears outside. The reader can hardly see the three cars because of continuous soaking. They describe a motor hearse as ". . . horribly black and wet." A hearse normally portrays a solemn feeling, but the words horribly, black, and wet allow the reader to feel the misery and mournfulness of death. T he ground is soggy as someone splashes through it. You can smell the wet turf and feel the saturation beneath the feet. The use of water in the story aids the reader in understanding the morose setting. Fitzgerald uses certain detailed sequences to help explain the somberness of Jay Gatsby. In the first significant sequence Nick and Mr. Gatz wait for people to show up at the funeral.

Health Care Careers Diagram and Summary Essay

The role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in healthcare has become one of the main lifelines in the industry. The CIO is the most important person within an organization in regards to the collecting, organization, monitoring and securing of data. The CIO is a critical member of the executive leadership team. Charged with developing the organization’s strategy, he or she is responsible for leading the IT staff and ensuring overall compliance with all regulatory requirements. The CIO is also responsible for keeping up-to-date with the latest technology trends as well as threats and being able to adapt the organization’s strategy to mitigate those threats. The CIO also facilities and drives change within the organization (Glaser & Williams, 2010). The CIO is responsible for establishing and maintaining many key relationships within an organization’s leadership team. They work to provide valuable input that helps shape the entire organization’s vision and path to success. The CIO reports consistently on the progress and development of all information technology (IT) projects, issues, and tasks. â€Å"They are the brain of the business-body, monitoring and regulating all the data that passes through. Without CIOs, a healthcare company would collapse under the weight of unprocessed information.† (Becoming a Healthcare CIO (Chief Information Officer), 2012) The CIO focuses on updating and optimizing existing systems while utilizing new systems effectively and efficiently. They are also responsible for updating and maintaining capabilities, strengthening policies and reworking procedures on a daily basis. The CIO is the front line of defense for protecting the organization against fraud and abuse, as well as securing all electronic patient health information (ePHI). The role of the CIO has evolved as the health care industry has faced changes with the dependency on  information technology. Figure 1. Chief Information Officer’s responsibilities within a health care organization. As shown in Figure 1, a health care CIO faces many challenges on a day-to-day basis. These challenges are in the form of maintaining existing systems, optimizing new systems, and protecting PHI. The role of the CIO will continue to evolve as the health care system changes and the dependency and regulations surrounding the role of information technology increase. References Becoming a Healthcare CIO (Chief Information Officer). (2012). Retrieved from HealthcareAdministration.com: http://www.healthcareadministration.com/becoming-a-healthcare-cio-chief-information-officer/ Glaser, J. P., & Williams, R. B. (2010). The Definitive Evolution of the Role of the CIO. Journal of Healthcare Information management, 21(1), 9-11. Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/files/HIMSSorg/content/files/03_column_Leadership.pdf

Adverb Placement in English and Grammar Focus

Adverb Placement in English and Grammar Focus Adverbs provide information about how, when or where something is done. Its easy to understand what adverbs do by looking at the word adverb: Adverbs add something to the verb! Lets take a look at a few examples: Jack often visits his grandmother in Chicago. The adverb often tells us how often Jack visits his grandmother in Chicago. Alice plays golf very well. The adverb well tells us how Alice plays golf. It tells us the quality of how she plays. However, they must remember to clean up before they leave. The adverb however connects the sentence to the independent clause or sentence that comes before it. You may have noticed that the adverb placement is different in each of the three sentences. Adverb placement in English can be confusing at times. Generally, adverb placement is taught when focusing on specific types of adverbs. Adverb placement for adverbs of frequency comes directly before the main verb. Therefore, they come in the middle of the sentence. This is referred to as mid-position adverb placement. Here is a general guide to adverb placement in English. Adverb Placement: Initial Position Adverb placement at the beginning of a clause or a sentence is referred to as initial position. Connecting Adverbs Initial position adverb placement is used when using a connecting adverb to join a statement to the preceding clause or sentence. Its important to remember that these connecting adverbs take adverb placement at the beginning of a phrase in order to connect it to the phrase that has come before. Commas are often used after the use of a connecting adverb. There are a number of these connecting adverbs, here are some of the most common: However,Consequently,Then,Next,Still, Examples: Life is hard. However, life can be fun.The market is very difficult these days. Consequently, we need to focus on what works best for our customers.My friend Mark doesnt enjoy school. Still, hes working hard at getting good grades. Time Adverbs Time adverbs are also used at the beginning of phrases to indicate when something should happen. Its important to note that time adverbs are used in a number of adverb placements. Time adverbs are the most flexible of all adverbs in their adverb placement. Examples: Tomorrow Peter is going to visit his mother in Chicago.Sundays I like playing golf with my friends.Sometimes Jennifer enjoys a relaxing day at the beach. Adverb Placement: Middle Position Focusing Adverbs Adverb placement of focusing adverbs generally takes place in the middle of a sentence, or in the mid-position. Focusing adverbs put the emphasis on one part of the clause in order to modify, qualify or add additional information. Adverbs of frequency (sometimes, usually, never, etc.), adverbs of certainty (probably, certainly, etc.) and comment adverbs (adverbs expressing an opinion such as intelligently, expertly, etc.) can all be used as focusing adverbs. Examples: She often forgets to take her umbrella to work.Sam stupidly left his computer at home instead of taking it with him to the conference.Ill certainly buy a copy of his book. NOTE: Remember that adverbs of frequency are always placed before the main verb, rather than the auxiliary verb. (I dont often go to San Francisco. NOT I often dont go to San Francisco.) Adverb Placement: End Position Adverb placement is usually at the end of a sentence or phrase. While its true that adverb placement can happen in the initial or mid-position, its also true that adverbs generally are placed at the end of a sentence or phrase. Here are the three most common types of adverbs placed at the end of a sentence or phrase. Adverbs of Manner Adverb placement of adverbs of manner usually occurs at the end of a sentence or clause. Adverbs of manner tell us how something is done. Examples: Susan hasnt done this report accurately.Sheila plays piano thoughtfully.Tim does his math homework carefully. Adverbs of Place Adverb placement of adverbs of place usually occurs at the end of a sentence or clause. Adverbs of place tell us where something is done. Examples: Barbara is cooking pasta downstairs.Im working in the garden outside.They will investigate the crime downtown. Adverbs of Time Adverb placement of adverbs of time usually occurs at the end of a sentence or clause. Adverbs of manner tell us when something is done. Examples: Angie likes relaxing at home on weekends.Our meeting takes place at three oclock.Frank is having a checkup tomorrow afternoon.

How useful is the term avant-garde in explaining the development of art in Europe between

How useful is the term avant-garde in explaining the development of art in Europe between 1900-1939? Between 1900-1939 there were many different movements in art mainly due to two reasons, modernisation and the First World War. The term avant-garde does not have one single meaning and has become synonymous with the evolving modern movement of art. Although art for arts sake is a term not often used positively today this modernist sense of the avant-garde relates to that tradition insofar as art is not seen to require any external justification ethical or political for its products . However looking at the term in historical context the term has a different provenance. The term was used for the first time in the 1830s not in a debate concerning art but in the early socialist tradition as left-wing intellectuals and politicians tried to think through concepts of progress and freedom in emerging modern societies . In his book Opinions litteraires, philosophiques et industrielles Henri de Saint Simon the French Utopian Socialist philosopher used for the first time the term av ant-garde in the relation to art. Saint-Simon constructed an imaginary debate between an artist, a savant (a scie!ntific or technical intellectual) and an industrialist. The artist proposes that he, the savant and the industrialist should join forces and ensure social progress rather than relying on ruling classes to exercise leadership in society. We, the artists, will serve as the avant-garde: for amongst all the arms at our disposal, the power of the Arts is the swiftest and most expeditious. When we wish to spread new ideas amongst men, we use, in turn, the lyre, ode or song, story or novel; we inscribe those ideas on marble or canvas, and we popularise them in poetry them in poetry and in song.... If today our role seems limited or...