Symbolism Iconography

Symbolism Iconography The use of symbols and icons predates human spoken and written languages. In his book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud (1993) defines an icon as any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea. While a symbol is an image we use to represent concepts, ideas, and philosophies (p. 27).   He also defines Icons of the practical realm as icons of language, science, and communication (McCloud, 1993, p. 27). Each of these types of icons have varying degrees of meanings. A representational icons meaning is fluid and varies depending on the degree of realism. The second being non-pictorial icons, or as Scott McCloud calls them icons of the practical realm have a fixed and absolute meaning. Simply, their meaning does not change with their appearance such examples include the peace sign or the number 5. Finally, there are completely abstract icons. The most common being words. Words do not represent a pictorial meaning at all. Icons that have a fixed or absolute meaning are icons of the practical realm as McCloud states. These are such things as letters (A), numbers (5), punctuation (!), music notes (à ¢Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ª), and mathematical symbols like pi (à Ã¢â€š ¬). No matter how one writes or represents this icon the meaning stays the same. To visit the beginning, one would have to go back to 3300 BCE. This is the believed to be the beginning of Egyptian hieroglyphs (history-world.org, 2007). Many people believe that hieroglyphs are representational icons, in that they represent what they depict. This is not the case as it has been discovered that hieroglyphs are interpreted as sounds, much like our alphabet. For example, three birds in a row was not interpreted as birds instead it was interpreted as the sound baà ­u (McCloud, 1993, p. 12). Most of us have been taught the alphabet in grade school and that each letter represents at least one sound. No matter how one writes or types a letter, its meaning do es not change. For example, you can still read this sentence even though every word is in a different font. Some types of these icons have become pretty much universal with the advent of the digital world. Much like every word in this research paper they are completely abstract. None of these words visually represent what they mean. For example, if you read the word cat it does not represent the furry four-legged pets we know and love. A representational icons meaning is fluid and varies depending on the degree of realism. The best example, and the one Scott McCloud utilizes, is the human face (See visual example on the next page). In this example a photograph would be an icon that most represents real life. The next step down would be a realistic drawing of that face. There are many things that set these apart from actual faces Theyre smaller, flatter, less detailed, they dont move. They lack color but as pictorial icons go, they are pretty realistic (McCloud, 1993, p. 28). The third step is more abstract and looks close to the style found in most adventure comics. Continuing to simplify it we get to a face made from just lines and shapes, it looks more like a cartoon. Finally, we have a circle with two dots for eyes and a line for a mouth. The advantage to stripping down the realism is the universality of the imagery. The simpler it is the more people it could describe. Using the previous example, the picture can only describe one person while the realistic drawing could describe a few. The adventure style may represent thousands of people while the cartoon version could describe millions of people. Finally, the two dots and the line within a circle represents nearly all people. This graphic represents many gradients from complex to simple, realistic to iconic, objective to subjective, and specific to universal (McCloud, 1993, p. 46). However, this is just one side of an entire spectrum. McCloud (1993) states that the pictorial side is the received side where we need no formal education to get the message. The message is instantaneous (p. 49). The other side is perceived, as the spectrum becomes even more abstract it crosses from the representational icon to the completely abstract icon. This writing being perceived information. It takes time and specialized knowledge to decode abstract symbols of language (McCloud, 1993, p. 49). This creates an entire spectrum shown on the next page. McCloud (1993) states that when pictures are more abstracted from reality, they require greater levels of perception, more like words. When words are bolder, more direct, they require lower levels of perception and are received faster, more like pictures (p. 49). In his book, How to Design Logos, Symbols Icons, Gregory Thomas (2000) says that the oldest ideograph symbols are the circle, cross, triangle, and the square (p. 9-10). Circles were used to signify the endlessness of the universe, eternity, or God. These symbols were found on pre-Columbian caves. Open circles may represent openings such as eyes or a mouth. One with a dot in the center may represent the sun and this has been used in every cultural sphere on earth before inter-civilization communication (Thomas, 2000, p. 9). The cross predates Christianity and was one of the earliest signs traced back to the Neolithic Age. Now commonly used to signify Christianity. The triangle was symbolic due to its three even sides, used to define a multiple of triads such as birth, life and death or body, soul, and spirit (Thomas, 2000, p. 9-10). Opposite the circle, the square signifies matter, earth, restraint, solidarity, order, and safety (Thomas, 2000, p. 10). Present day a few people have come together to create standards. Seeing that everyone is now connected through the internet and many people travel throughout the world a need for a standard for symbols and signs arose. Out of this need the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was created. Its main goal is to raise public awareness of ISO graphical symbols which transmit safety messages and other important information without creating language barriers (International Organization for Standardization, 2013). With this standardization, an individual would be able to travel anywhere, even where one may not know the language, and they would still be able to understand basic signs like no smoking, parking, or restroom. With the advent of the digital era there was need for more standardization. This first came in the form of the American Standard Code for Information Interexchange (ASCII) which is a standard that assigns letters, numbers, and other characters within the 256 slots available in 8-bit code (Computer Hope, n.d.). Slots 0-31 were non-printable codes, 32-127 are considered Lower ASCII and this contains the older American systems. Then there is the Higher ASCII, codes 128-255 which is programable and is based on the language of your operating system, the program currently being used, or for foreign letters (Computer Hope, n.d.). As one may have guessed this system became very limiting very fast as the internet became an international tool and this system only has 256 character slots. Thus, a new system was established. This new system is the Unicode Standard developed by the Unicode Consortium (unicode.org, 2015). The earliest updated version was released June of 2016, Unicode 9.0 sports a total of 1,114,112 code points (the same as a slot in ASCII) with only 267,819 code points being used (BabelStone, 2016). This gives more than enough room to accommodate language variances including a multitude of oriental symbols and everyones favorite: the emoji. First, a quick clarification on the difference between emojis and emoticons. Emojis are images and symbols that are rendered on the device, for example à °Ã… ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, while emoticons are simple expressions and faces created with standard keyboard characters for example :-). Originating in Japan, emojis were developed in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita, an employee of NTT DoCoMo. They were the biggest mobile-phone operator in Japan and were under increasing pressure to support a new obsession among the Japanese people, with images. Mr. Kurita, also known as Mr. Emoji, realized that digital communication robbed people of the ability to communicate emotion (Schenker, 2016). The name emoji originated from picture (e) and character (moji). This then became a part of the Shift JIS Japanese character encoding scheme. It wasnt until Apple incorporated the emoji that it became globally popular. However, in 2007 they incorporated an emoji keyboard into their mobile operating system (iOS) to be able to sell iPhones to Japanese customers, but hid this feature on iPhones sold everywhere else. People outside of Japan soon discovered this and they found that they could unlock the emoji keyboard by downloading a Japanese language app, and emojis spread like wildfire (Schenker, 2016). It wasnt until 2011 that Apple officially supported emojis internationally with the release of iOS 5. To make this trend a reality emoji character sets were incorporated into Unicode in 2010. Therefore, no matter what operating system is sending or receiving an emoji everyone can still view them because of the great standardization in digital communication. With a clear definition of emojis versus emoticons one may wonder what the father of the emoticon thinks about emojis. In an interview with the UKs Independent, Scott Fahlman, the Carnegie Mellon University professor who invented the emoticon, said I think they are ugly, and they ruin the challenge of trying to come up with a clever way to express emotions using standard keyboard characters. But perhaps thats just because I invented the other kind (Bignell, 2012). Today we have 1,851 different emojis and they have become more multi-cultural, racially diverse, and gender diverse. As a relatively recent development it has already come a far way and has a bright future ahead of it. While words are abstract icons, the recent revolution of emojis brings rise to the use of a unified standard for non-representational icons. Icons demand our participation to make them work. There is no life [in an icon] except that which you give to it. Its been over [forty-four] years since McLuhan first observed that people à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ didnt want goals so much as they wanted roles! And thats what visual iconography is all about (McCloud, 1993, p. 59). BabelStone. (2016, June 22). How many Unicode charachters are there? Retrieved from babelstone.co.uk: http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Unicode/HowMany.html Bignell, P. (2012, September 8). Happy 30th birthday emoticon! :-}. Retrieved from Independant.co.uk: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/happy-30th-birthday-emoticon-8120158.html Computer Hope. (n.d.). computerhope.com. Retrieved from ASCII: http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/a/ascii.htm history-world.org. (2007, January). An Explanation of Hieroglyphics. Retrieved from International World History Project: http://history-world.org/hieroglyphics.htm International Organization for Standardization. (2013, January). The international language of ISO graphical symbols. Retrieved from iso.org: https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/archive/pdf/en/graphical-symbols_booklet.pdf McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Schenker, M. (2016, October 11). The suprising history of emojis. Retrieved from webdesignerdepot.com: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2016/10/the-surprising-history-of-emojis/ Thomas, G. (2000). How to Design, Logos, Symbols Icons. Cincinnati: How Design Books. unicode.org. (2015, December 1). What is Unicode? Retrieved from unicode.org: http://unicode.org/standard/WhatIsUnicode.html

Hair Braid in the Global Market

Supremely confident market registering strong growth rates. South African salons unaffected by economic downturn Chemical relaxing and African hair styling most popular services accounting for almost all salon business. Products formulated to suit new service combinations – such as colouring relaxed hair – in demand, command premium prices in salons The South African haircare market – both professional and consumer – is growing in double digits and this strong growth is expected to continue for 2010 and beyond. Hosting the World Cup may have inspired the country but the economic fundamentals are extremely positive.The economy develops and employment expands in South Africa. The number of people in image or appearance conscious workplaces – such as consumer service industries, media sector and the professions – is growing strongly. The middle classes, in particular the black middle class, are increasing in size and influence. In South Africa p atterns of consumption of hair services and products differ by consumer segment and by ethnic group. The ethnic African segment is the single largest consumer group and this market has the most potential. As one salon expert in Johannesburg explained, â€Å"There is a big market for ethnic hair.These needs have to be addressed† Chemical relaxing and African hair styling are the most popular services accounting for almost 80% of salon business. Hair relaxing is the leading service category and will continue to be the mainstay of the African professional and consumer hair care market. The complex relaxing process consists of a package of services with many procedures. A wide product range covering different formulations and packages for the various process stages is required. There is strong – as yet unmet- demand for colourants suitable for using on relaxed hair.African styling is the next most important service category in black salons. This term is used to cover a num ber of styles such as braiding, hair extensions and pieces, dreadlocks or dreads, bonding, their infinite variations and many combinations. These hairstyles can last for up to three months, during which time they require the on-going use of conditioners and treatments to prevent damage and breakage. South African consumers – for reasons of convenience and comfort – need salons and hairdressers to provide these complex and labour intensive services.Chemical relaxing and African hairstyling which require specific and different stylist skills are quite different markets. Salons must be multiservice on order to meet their clients' needs. In addition, the product range required for styling and dealing with relaxed hair is extensive. A multiplicity of brands and products is now needed because few, if any brands, can be described as â€Å"multi tasking† that is effective on the different types of hair seen by salon stylists on a daily basis. Salons are looking for mult i-platform products to be formulated. Products that deliver these goods can command double the price in salons in South Africa.The South African market is the largest in Africa, is a bridge head to the larger sub Saharan regional market, and to the descendants of ethnic Africans in other parts of the world. In this new report Professional Hair Care Market South Africa, the author quantifies the value of the salon haircare market (in South African Rand) and the number of salons and hairdressers -both formal and informal- operating in South Africa. The market is segmented in terms of price points, service categories and products used. This new research determines demand for chemical relaxing, African hair styling and colouring services in hair salons in South Africa.The research also focuses on company and brand share in this fragmented market. Findings are based on in-depth discussions conducted with salon experts in Johannesburg during November 2009. This report is also available in the following Languages Afrikaans, Sesotho and IsiXulu. The report consists of 2 parts (a powerpoint presentation and the report itself as a pdf file) Contents: (Hair care, haircut, style, African styling, braiding, weaves, wefts, hair extensions, dreadlocks, relaxing, texture, curls, colour, treatments, wet and dry products, beauty, nails, brands, salon, spa. ) REPORT STRUCTURE SECTION 1

Books for Iit Jee

Following are the recommended books for preparing for IIT JEE exam. Chemistry: 1 NCERT Chemistry XI & XII Basic Text Books 2 P. Bahadur Physical Chemistry Recommended for Physical Chemistry 3 Arihant Prakashan Organic Chemistry Recommended for Organic Chemistry, but one has to be careful as it contains several errors. 4 O. P. Agarwal IIT Chemistry Recommended for Inorganic Chemistry and reference book in general. 5 Ebbing General Chemistry Reference Book 6 J. D. Lee Concise Inorganic Chemistry Reference Book 7 R. T. Morrison, R. N. Boyd Organic Chemistry Reference Book R. C. Mukhrjee Numerical Chemistry Reference Book 9 Francis Carey Organic Chemistry Reference Book 10 I. L. Finar Organic Chemistry-Vol I Reference Book. The book is somewhat outdated but is still extremely useful. 11 Bahal & Bahal Organic Chemistry Reference Book 12 Sienko & Plane Chemistry Principles & Applications Reference Book 13 P. W. Atkins Physical Chemistry Reference Book 14 Bruce H. Mahan University Chemistry Reference Book Physics: 1 H. C. Verma Concepts of Physics Vol I and II Recommended both as text books and problem books. 2 I. E. Irodov Problems in General Physics Recommended for selected problems 3 Halliday, Resnick & Walker Fundamentals of Physics Reference Book 4 Sears and Zemansky University Physics Reference Book 5 Nelkon and Parker Advanced Level Physics Reference Book 6 A. A Pinsky Problems in Physics Reference Book 7 S. S Krotov Aptitude Test Problems in Physics Reference Book 8 L. A. Sena A collection of questions and Problems in Physics Reference Book 9 V. Zubov & V. Shalnov Problem in Physics Reference Book 10 S. L Loney Elements of Dynamics Part I & II Reference Book 11 S. L. Loney Dynamics of a Particle & of Rigid Bodies Reference Book 12 R. P. Feynman The Feynman Lectures on Physics vols 1 & 2 Reference Book 13 Chen, Min Physics Problems w/solutions Reference Book 14 Tipler Physics Vols I & II Reference Book Mathematics: 1 R. S. Agarwal Maths XI & XII Basic Text Books 2 S. L. Loni Plane Trigonometry Part I Recommended 3 S. L. Loni Co-ordinate Geometry Recommended 4 Hall & Knight Higher Algebra Recommended 5 I. A. Maron Problems in Calculus of One Variable Recommended 6 Vectors & 3-D Geometry Arihant Prakashan Recommended Vectors Shanti Narayan Reference Book 8 V Govorov, P. Dybov, N. Miroshin, S. Smirnova. Problems in Mathematics Reference Book 9 Bernard & Child Higher Algebra Reference Book 10 Dr. Gorakh Prasad Co-ordinate Geometry Reference Book 11 K. P. Basu Algebra Made Easy Reference Book 12 DoroFeev, Patapov Elementary Math's Reference Book 13 Krechmar Math's Reference Book 14 G. N. Berman A Problem Book in Mathematical Analysis Reference Book 15 W. Feller Intro. to Probability & its Applications Reference Book 16 Calculus J. Edward Reference Book

Grandamas Memories of the Great Depression Essay

The Great Depression began in October of 1929 when the stock values in the United States dropped rapidly. Thousands of stockholders lost large sums of money-or were even wiped out. Many people had to depend on the government or charity for food. Many of the stories about the Depression have been told about the large cities and their struggles to live a life of poverty after being used to the luxurious lifestyle. However, those accounts do not reflect the true damage caused by this economic plunge. The many country folk that inhabit the area around Tennessee had a somewhat different recollection of this time period. The stories told by the people who had lost all of their money in the stock market are stories of doom and despair, but†¦show more content†¦He died, the stuff crushed his insides. Before the death of her husband, Vergie had to do anything possible for money, because Jim was unable to work in his condition. She took up the job of washing and ironing for several of the CC boys. When asked how much she made from doing this laundry, she replied, I washed for nine of them (CC Boys) and uh, a dollar and a half a piece. That is a lot more money than most of the people could make during this hard time. The death of her husband brought a single check from the government for the amount of thirty seven dollars. The money that she earned was used to buy some food, mainly beans and potatoes and cornbread, milk and butter and eggs. Food was in the most part grown right there at the house. A small garden provided the necessary vegetables, a cow provided milk, and chickens provided eggs and Sunday dinner. The animals were primarily kept for the services that they provided, but when they needed food, the cows, chickens, and pigs were there for the eatin. Rita Van Amber, the au thor of Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930s, quotes a women by the name of Audrey Samplowski as saying, We didnt have beef often at all. Unless the cow didnt get pregnant or broke a leg or something.(Amber 18) The feed sacks that held the food for these animals were printed with different designs and they doubled as material for clothing, They would be cut into a pattern and stitched together by hand