Migrations

     Most all of the largest migrations, human footprints, and industrializations of the Earth has been in the last few centuries. Lots of research has been done to shed light on the agriculture and links to race and the alteration of DNA. In my research today, I've come to the conclusion that most people start out in one place and always end up in another. Many people are capable of doing this because of their beginnings and opportunities given to them to prosper. People of all ages and wealth can strive to achieve greatness and success, and over the past two hundred years, they have. Thousands of people want to migrate to America, making it the #1 place to go and establish residency. Today I learned that no matter what your blood type, skin color, or fingerprint is, people always want to change themselves or work for more. In National Graphic it was explained that, "Shaping the land to serve human needs is a cornerstone of civilization," and I believe that, as well as the shaping of ourselves. People can change the land, water, and the entirety of the Earth to make it their own, as well as change their selves. Over the decades and centuries, the DNA of humans has morphed to suit their needs so to help them advance and grow immune to whatever difficulties and problems they face in their community. In reading about all of this today I didn't really have any questions, but I more or less came to the conclusion that the visualization of the charts and maps really helped me to see that migration has been happening, and will continue to happen for the rest of our lives. I've also come to the conclusion that in migrating, we change our surroundings, ourselves, and the land we live in.

Philanthropy Followup

Philanthropy is the act of giving. Almost always the giving leads to the foundation of an institute, foundation, company, or community, and the philanthropists receive credit for the new institute. Today in class I learned that philanthropy has more to do with money and a less hands-on theme, than charity, which I think focuses more on the giving of help and achieving hands-on tasks. Philanthropy is more of a desire to promote the welfare of others through money and donations while charity is the selfless act of volunteering. Philanthropy in my eyes is more of the giving and making sure others know that you are giving, while charity there is an aspect of anonymity. Most philanthropists help their causes and impact the problem they are trying to solve greatly, and many of todays issues are supported by philanthropic institutes. In today's society, philanthropy is greatly needed as it provides the finances, support, and the broadcasting of the topic that is needed for others, such as charity, to hear about the topic and get involved. Philanthropies and charities are great kickstarters in committing to the solving of an issue and promoting awareness, and with the help of money and volunteering, several issues and problems can be solved.

Follow Up Research on the Ball

Bradley Martin Ball

1. In the New York Times, it is considered that the Bradley Martin ball was, "the most unique and beautiful entertainment ever enjoyed." The entire front page of the New York Times is about the ball, they assume readers think they want to know about what people wore, ate, and everything they did. The New York Times covered the Bradley Martin ball so heavily because it was an extravagant event and their perspective was that it was important and exciting.
2. In The World of Society, the main perspective was about the guests. The article is all about who was there, how the hostess arrived, how people arrived, and the dances. The language is very formal in this article and it adds a hint of curiosity to the abundance of the ball, almost as if some of the excitement was "unnecessary".
3. In Dr. Rainford's Advice, the perspective on the party was that it was completely ostentatious and a useless display of wealth. The people interviewed and mentioned in Dr. Rainford's advice all have negative things to say about the Bradley Martin ball and they aren't afraid to show their dismay about the waste of money and the social upheaval it caused. The clergyman thinks that the costly manifestations and elaborate displays of wealth were unnecessary and that the money used for the ball could have just as easily helped a charity rather than just being used for a social event. The newspaper published his views because it was new and different news to hear from all the people who had only positive things to say about the event, and they published it because he was a minister, aka a reliable and reputable source of information. The clergyman saw the ball as a problem because it was a waste of money.
4. In the Echoes of the Big Ball article, society in that time period thought the Bradley Martin Ball was the biggest ball of all time and the article was written after the ball as to show that people still talked about the ball and would probably continue to talk about the ball for weeks on end because it was such an important event in that time period. Everyone wants to hear about the ball, whether they were there or not, and everybody is curious to hear and see people from the ball even hours afterwards.

Thinking About Success

1. Opportunity

2. Hard Work

3. Skill

4. Luck

I believe that in thinking about success, the four characteristics above are necessary, in that exact order. I feel that success comes greatly from the opportunities that are offered to you and that are at your disposal to take advantage of whenever necessary. What opportunities you choose to take advantage of, however, are your choice and has to be a commitment to yourself and to your community. With your choice of opportunities comes hard work and if you are willing to assert yourself in a hard working manor. It takes hard work to achieve anything which is why I placed it second. After working so hard and putting the opportunity first, you develop a skill. A skill only comes after strenuous activity and "hard work" which is why I placed it after hard work, because one comes right after the other and they are in direct correlation with each other. The last, and least important key to success, I believe, is luck. This is because luck only comes at spontaneous times and doesn't always help or hurt you. There is such thing as bad luck as well as good luck. Luck doesn't play a key role in the success of your life so I put it last as it is on a whim and not a dependable aspect, nor is it what you should base your thoughts of success on. I think opportunity can overall make or break your success in life, because whatever is at your complete and full disposal is what you will carry with you throughout life and you might not always have access to the same opportunities as others around you. 

Exploring Business / Clothing Industry / Business Innovation Research

Today in US History, I learned about the future of fashion retailing. Terms like, "supply chain", "distribution system", and "innovation" were littered among the three articles that I read. Most of those terms confused me, but it was intriguing to read about the hoops that stores have to jump through to get clothes on their racks. A supply chain is a business model that allows a store to continuously search for new clothes. In Zara's case, they are headquartered in Spain and this gives them a cultural advantage because they can filter through new clothes, pick and choose, and distribute them in a more timely manner than other franchised headquarters located elsewhere. The area of the headquarters gives Zara a "competitive advantage" as they can make quick changes to clothing and or split decisions about what to sell or whether to order more labor in Europe or in Asia. H&M, another well franchised store located in Sweden, is also considered innovative because they offer two main seasonal collections, and then smaller "sub-collections" at different times of the year. Much like Zara, H&M works greatly from their headquarters, but H&M's smaller factories and stores are all connected to their much larger headquarters in Stockholm. This allows H&M to individually notice clothing deficiencies or views of the customer from a larger number of stores and gives H&M time to react quickly in a bind. Although large franchises are leaning towards more innovative and fast paced ideas to stock their shelves, no one has found a clear answer of where the ideas came from, who started it, or what the companies will do next if and when the innovation comes to an end or fails. Those were all questions that went through my mind as I read these articles and apparently others have picked up on these questions as well. Dan Gilmore wonders the same thing and he hasn't been able to shed much light on those questions. Though the innovation seems shiny and new now, and is bringing the stores a lot of money, I want to know what they will do next in the fashion retailing business.