Monday, January 27, 2020

Characteristics of the Clothing Industry

Characteristics of the Clothing Industry The high quality fashion market is based on modern technology which has a relatively well paid labour force and designers with various degrees of flexibility. Many firms within this industry try to capture the market through various designs which is targeted at meeting the taste and preference of consumers. Most of the firms under the high quality fashion markets are in the developed and industrialized countries. The mass production low-quality/standard products markets are found in the developing countries. These categories are basically involved in the production of uniforms, under wears, t-shirts and many more. They are found in exporting zones working with major importers if the industrialized countries. Outsourcing in this market is basically to household productions, (Nordas, 2004). The Clothing industries operate under free import quotas. This means that both clothing and textile industries do not have to pay import tariffs when importing raw materials connected to clothing and textiles. These tariffs are made possible by the World Trade Organisation, to improve the importation of varied clothing among producing countries. As a result of the protectionism, many developing countries producing clothing were able to survive the industry. This however did not go well with the developed countries since there were great competition between the developing countries like China and the developed countries. On the part of employment, the industry has engaged the services of millions of people worldwide and also with other individuals who are not registered but work in their homes and factories. The industry was the first to trade on a global dimension, simply because of the low barriers in entering the production of clothing. The industry is governed by the international labour laws, employing the most sensitive part of the labour force with females and ethnic minority as the leading employees. Most of the employees are immigrants. The European community, and the US and UK also have blacks as the major employees of the industry. Most of the producing countries in the developing world have females as the majority of employees in the industry. As indicated above, the total labour force of the clothing industry is made up of 80% of women. This is largely due to the fact that women are immobile and therefore are able to take care of domestic chores. A greater number of the female workforce is also unskilled or semi-skilled. In the developing countries, many of the workers spend up to 12-14 hours per day and are paid with very low wages, THE PRODUCTION CIRCUIT The clothing industry is part of a large circuit which involves the production of textiles. The industry is more fragmented organisationally and less technological in nature. The industry outsource most of it components and products. The garment industry therefore produces to unpredicted consumer markets. The industry serves as a distribution point for all garments. Through retailer efforts, the organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s geography has been shaped accordingly. The industry is also known as a buyer driven industry, in the sense that they purchase most of the raw materials from producing countries worldwide. There are six stages that individual producing countries have passed through, that is from the embryonic stage to the maturity and decline stage of the development process of the clothing industry. This can be seen in (Figure 1 below). The stages indicate how raw materials flow within the industry, from the fabric production stage, design, preparation, production, distribution and consumption stage. In the reverse state is the information flow from customer orders down to the fabric production stage. There is no much technological change since inception of the clothing industry. The majority still uses the manual operations due to the complex nature of the production process. The clothing industry can be related to a supply chain function, where activities flow from raw materials to textile designs, apparel plants through distribution centers and other retail stores to consumers. The chain is seen as an integrated network of marketing from production stage to the finish product to consumers. The various activities are located where each can be able to make a contribution to the value of the finished product. The various variables considered in the industry include quality, cost, reliability, access to quality inputs and transportation cost. From the figure 2 above, the black lines represents the flow of goods whereas the white lines represent the flow of information. The arrows indicate Demand-Pull System, where the design of a product is made from customer orders, (Nordas, 2004). The supply chain indicates the interplay of several companies, where logistics and other services are coordinated. In the industrialized countries, most companies engage the ser vices of consultants or independent service providers in the provision of logistics. PRODUCTION COST AND TECHNOLOGY The clothing industry is characterized by low intensity of capital and high intensity of labour. The plant size is very small with simple technology. Figure 4 represent percentage of leading exporters of Clothing worldwide. The figure compares percentage of 2000 and 2011. Asia dominates the clothing industry in-terms of exports with over 50% of world market. China has doubled their share within 11years of operation, with approx. 37% of the total exports worldwide. Closely followed is the European Union and Euro extra with a combined total of 35% of world export share, which I a combination of intra regional exports. Figure 5 represents share in value for exporters for 2011. China leads with 38% representing 154 billion Dollars in 2011, (www.wto.org) European union closely follows with 36% of Share in value representing 144billion US Dollars including intra regional trade. Bangladesh also did better in 2011 with a share in value of 5%, representing an amount of 20billion US Dollars, www.wto.org). LEADING IMPORTERS ( SHARE IN VALUE AND PERCENTAGE) The EU is the leading importer of clothing worldwide, with combined percentage of 67.2% of total imports. The EU imports much of its clothing from China. Available records indicates that EU imports about 39% if Clothing from China, 14% from Turkey, 7.7% from India, 6.3% from Bangladesh and 3.6% from Tunisia, ( www.ec.europa.eu). It is also evidenced that China exports clothing more than imports. Whereas China leads in exporting clothing, in-terms of imports, they only imports about 0.90% of world clothing. The US is the second largest importer of clothing as evidenced on figure 4 above. The US imports about 20.5% of clothing in the country, followed by Japan with 7.6%. The remaining countries imports less than 3% worldwide respectively, (WTO 2011 chart II.69) The share in value for the leading importer of clothing (EU) is 60%, representing an amount of 290Billion Dollars. The EU is therefore the largest importer of clothing worldwide. The US is the second largest importer of clothing with about 18% share in value, representing 89 Billion US Dollars TOP TEN SUPPLIERS The clothing industry has about ten major suppliers. China plays a leading role with about 29.45million Euros in 2011 as compared to 2007 where it made a supply of approximately 21.9million Euros. Bangladesh also improved in their supply in 2011 with 7.5million Euros as compared with 2007 with a supply of 4.4million Euros. India also had a slight increase in supply for 2011 with approximately 4.5million Euros as compared to 2007 where the supply was approx. 3.8million Euros. However, Turkey had a decline in supply in 2011 with an amount of 8.2million Euros as compared with 2007 with approx. 8.9million Euros. Other countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam had their supply below 2million Euros as evidenced on figure 2. Top 10 suppliers in clothing (million Euros) Basic characteristics of the industry (share in value added and employment, structure and  characteristics of the production process) The role of trade policy (multilateral tariffs and quotas, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grey area protectionism, trade conflicts, preferential trade, etc.) Trade policies are rules and regulations governing the operations of international trade among countries worldwide. Trade policies play a major role in the industrialization of the clothing and textiles market. Regarding market access, trade policies TEXTILES AND CLOTHING AGREEMENT The textiles and clothing industry has long history in-terms of agreement for protection in trade across the US and Europe. Voluntary export restraints were agreed upon by China, Japan, Hong Kong, and India to enable them export cotton products to the US in the 1950s. The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs were incorporated in the agreement with the Long Term Agreement (LTA) on Cotton. This agreement was later replaced by the Multi-Fibre Agreement in 1974, (Nordas, 2004). The main purpose of the MFA was to open up the restricted markets so to limit the disruptions of markets. The MFA was also extended to cover all man-made fibres in-terms of restrictions. However, according to Nordas 2004, the MFA violated the multilateral system principles as follows: The most favoured principle was not adhered to Instead applying tariffs, it rather applied quantitative restrictions Developing countries were discriminated against It was not also very transparent for easy understanding By 1st January, 2005, the Textiles and Clothing were fully integrated in GATT which also gave way for quotas to be fully integrated making it easy for member countries to trade without trade barriers. In the views of Nordas, the eliminating quotas lead to welfare economic gains of about 42% of the Uruguay round liberation, and about 65% for dynamic models. In her view, Nordas indicated that much of the Welfare gains went to the importing countries where as the exporting countries made welfare loss through the static version of the model and welfare gain through the dynamic model. A tripartite committee report on promoting fair globalization in textiles and clothing indicates that phasing out quotas will benefit China, being the leader in exporting of clothing in the industry, where as the importing countries will lose market share, (www.ilo.org) . The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) ended in 2004, which led to an increase in competition in the clothing market. Some countries were affected as a result of the new entrants of the Asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, and other competitors like India and Bangladesh which are traditional exporters. This led to a decline in the importation of clothing from the affected countries by the US at an annual rate of 13.4%. With the implementation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) which were imposed by the US and EU on the importation of textiles and clothing from China, inroads were created for some developing countries to experience marginal growth in their exports. The PTAs also made it possible for small countries like Madagascar and Haiti to increase their exports by 26% and 15% respectively, (www.ito.org). THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT The US Free Trade Agreements has given the textiles and apparel industry the opportunity to enter in the world market and compete freely. The agreement enables the reduction of tariffs rates and improves the intellectual property rules and regulations, (Web.ita.doc.gov). The US has therefore signed agreements with the following countries and Institutions on textile and clothing industry. Notable among them are; Australia, Bahrain, CAFTA-DR, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Korea, Morocco, NAFTA, Oman, Panama, Peru and Singapore, (www.otexa.ita.doc). These agreements assist foreign governments to ensure that non-discriminating laws and regulations are enforced to streamline trade relations between the US and member countries, (www.otexa.ita.doc). The FTA provides that transparent measures be put in place for effective rules to be enforced. The FTA also ensures that all non-tariff barriers are removed completely, which opens the markets of the member countries to the US products. Under this ag reement, all goods that qualify are said to be duty free the US markets.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Society Does Emphasis on Phsycal Appearance

Beauty and Vibrancy It is important to take care of yourself and try to look your best. Letting your looks go or becoming unhealthy and sloppy is unappealing and disrespectful to yourself and those you love. On the other hand, when people focus exclusively on how they look in a vain effort to seek validation, they lose a certain vibrancy that comes from depth and self-confidence. In today’s society of never-ending nips and tucks, we forget that the essence of beauty stems from a person’s inner vitality and depth. Vitality often results from leading a multi-dimensional life that involves pursuing one’s passions, being creative, having purpose, and carrying on meaningful relationships. Demeanor True beauty is reflected more by demeanor than by a person’s perfect features. In his autobiography, Alan Alda describes being backstage watching an actress play the part of a hideous woman. Alda thought the actress was perfect for the part—she was ugly, had thick fingers, no neck, and a pudgy nose. He was shocked when in the last act, she transformed into a beautiful woman without any change in makeup. Her fingers and neck actually became slender and long, and her face suddenly looked regal. He realized that the most dramatic transformation comes from the way people hold themselves. Self-Assurance Attractiveness is also a reflection of how we view ourselves. I have a cousin who has a long scar down one side of his face from an accident. When he was a teenager, his father told him that he looked disfigured and pressured him to get plastic surgery. Embarrassed by his scar, he decided to get the surgery. A few days beforehand, his sister in law—a British catwalk model whom he adored—caught sight of him looking in the mirror while covering the â€Å"damaged† side of his face with shaving cream to see how it would look if it were gone. When he told her about the impending surgery, she leaned toward him and whispered emphatically, â€Å"Don’t do it. It’s dreadfully sexy. † Her comment transformed the way he viewed his physical appearance, and needless to say, he kept the scar as an asset. Why People Seek Beauty Being admired for being attractive feels good. When something feels good, it’s easy to want more of it, whether it’s beauty, wealth, popularity, fame, food, or wine. A dentist once told me â€Å"You can never be too beautiful or too rich. † Yet, there is a point where too much focus on beauty (or anything else) tragically takes away from other important facets of your life. Desperate efforts to look young or sexy sends the message that you have nothing to offer but your youth and beauty. A person with perfect features and flawless skin who feels insecure and resentful cannot, and does not, radiate beauty, only anxiety. When people start â€Å"running for their lives†Ã¢â‚¬â€i. . , running to plastic surgeons biannually, the message they send is one of fear and insecurity. There will always be younger and more beautiful people, so why not appreciate and cultivate greater depth and breadth within ourselves? How others view you does not lead to fulfillment. Too much emphasis on our looks steals from us th e enjoyment of many other pursuits—intellectual, athletic, and spiritual, for example. How we look has little to do with the fulfillment that comes from meaningful relationships, humor, and creativity, as well as from work, wisdom, solitude, and philanthropy. Skin-deep beauty, particularly if manufactured, will only attract others who are not interested in much else. Lacking depth and substance, even the most gorgeous woman or handsome man will receive only superficial and short-term interest from others, usually from people looking for a hot evening, a trophy wife, or a cabana boy. Self-Presentation Imagine being extremely beautiful or handsome, and receiving endless adulation. Although the attention may feel good, it can also create increased dependency on other people’s opinion of how you appear. This dependency develops into a tendency toward self-presentation, that is, presenting only the parts of yourself that will get a desired reaction. You become afraid of developing wrinkles—even smile wrinkles–or showing up without makeup. Your fear of losing admiration has the paradoxical impact of increasing fear of rejection about aspects of yourself that remain undisclosed—other interests and ideas. The interesting thing about beauty is that there isn’t one measure for it, even in one short lifetime. Styles of clothes change, as do the concepts of beauty. The emaciated look may be in now, but not historically so. In â€Å"Fiddler on the Roof,† one of the lines is â€Å"If I were a rich man, my wife would have a double chin. † Historical excesses in forced or artificial beauty point to the transitory nature of our own current preferences: African or South American wooden plugs in ear lobes to stretch out the lobes; the old Chinese custom of binding little girls’ feet to keep them small; the Poof, made popular by Marie Antoinette, whose hairdresser piled pads and pomades to raise the hair three feet high—all come and gone. Beauty care customs that are often viewed as â€Å"must-have† in their time can seem almost ludicrous by other cultures in a later era. But at the time, beauty products are endowed with the promise of helping us conform with current trends. Attitude In reality, true beauty is without artifice. Your character eventually shines through any amount of make up or plastic surgery. The way you treat others is remembered always, no matter how flawless your complexion. I’m all for continuing to do things that will preserve or enhance what nature has given us—that may include having work done for some. But the key lies in choosing a positive attitude about life rather than allowing desperation to take over. Knowing and accepting our aging process liberates us to pursue our life through our own lens, not someone else’s. Acceptance and confidence in yourself can sustain passion in a relationship better than liposuction and restilin. With each year, the inner self expresses itself more strongly in each line and wrinkle. It becomes impossible to hide your true self. Each person has his or her own individual passions and life experiences that are often best reflected in those very wrinkles we abhor. If we choose to have the expression of our life erased, what does that say about ourselves? Modified or not, the face becomes the true mirror of the soul. We tend to replicate objects we consider beautiful because it can make us feel better about ourselves. Surrounding ourselves with beauty and/or making ourselves look beautiful can help one boost up there self esteem and confidence. By replicating beauty it shows that one is not strong enough to show public who he/she really is. Replicating beauty is a shield to hide ones real self and personality, and modeling themselves to fit within the standards placed on them by society. Certain things such as makeup and accessories usually used by women, to replicate beauty are usually used to hide ones inner self. These items are to hide ones true beauty and to show a beauty that is more popular or fashionable to fit in with society. Society may have their own view of beauty, for example nice facial complexion, a certain body size and a certain way to act. See beauty can be judged on many bases but reality has made man perceive it as only physical. Society has gone so far in replicating objects we consider beautiful that they have gone to all extremes. Items such as a nice expensive car or a huge house are used for one to feel that they are surrounded by beauty. These items are usually used as a footstone to make someone feel better about them and also expect a certain reward or treatment from others because of the items of huge financial status. People want society to judge them on the objects they have as if these objects provide them with the beauty they have worked so hard to replicate. They are often scared that people may not like them for who they really are and instead hide behind these items.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 †A Book Analysis Essay

In his book, Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury highlights the power and importance of obtaining knowledge through books but decries the impact that technological innovations, particularly the television, pose in stifling intellectual and creative development. As a science fiction book that was first printed in 1953, many readers — particularly literary critics and students — correlate the book to state censorship and subsequent cultural decay presaging the eras following the book’s publication. Indeed, it can be easily gleaned from the main character’s occupation as a book-burning fireman that the book burning per se may be emblematic of   a common situation that most societies have found themselves grappling with – specific stages in nations’ histories whereby basic inalienable rights and freedoms were suppressed. Literary censorship, in particular, has been a recurring theme in many great works of literature. In real life, censorship is something that most governments have resorted to for varied reasons other than as a means of quelling what they categorize as rebellion or insurrection, and in almost every instance, books that echo the sentiments of many great nationalists or radical-thinking individuals have borne the brunt of censorship laws. Some analysts point out that in Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451, â€Å"The book burning is not a government mandated censorship†¦ Instead, it is a society-built degradation of the written word. Society has rejected the black and white messages bound in leather and paper† (Przybyszewski).   The author himself does not dispute this observation. Whether it is art imitating reality or the other way around, Fahrenheit 451 is a successful attempt in making readers — including those who got to read the book generations after its initial publication — ponder on key social and political issues like censorship, even if the author himself had clarified that his novel â€Å"is actually about how television destroys interest in reading literature† (Oleck, par. 1). A lover of the written word, Ray Bradbury hails from humble beginnings in Illinois, which set the stage for his profound yet realistic insights, searing views and cunning overall approach to his subject matter. He was born on August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois; studied in a Los Angeles High School in 1938, and furthered his education by working nights in the library and pounding away at   typewriter keys and selling newspapers in Los Angeles by day (â€Å"Ray Bradbury Biography†).   It can be noted that Fahrenheit 451, in many ways, pays homage to Bradbury’s Waukegan hometown.   It is in this locality that he developed an enormous and lasting appetite for books and a love for libraries, something which is continually described in his book. As Bradbury himself narrates: From the time I was 9 up through my teens I spent at least two nights a week in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   town library in Waukegan, Ill. In the summer months, there was hardly a day I could   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   not be found lurking about the stacks, smelling the books like imported spices, drunk   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   on them even before I read them (Moran). Based on the author’s personal narrative, one clearly sees how he obtained the characteristic ease in describing to readers a well-stacked library, and how he skillfully let some of his characters express forceful sentiments about books not just as a storehouse of knowledge and cultural heritage of nations, but as instruments to guide man in living and making decisions about the future. Ray Bradbury’s Waukegan roots likewise armed him with first-hand knowledge and distinct style of writing about a specific subject matter as firefighters. As another writer gathering from Ray Bradbury’s musings in writing Fahrenheit 451: Bradbury’s wary respect for fire can be traced back to his Waukegan youth, where he   Ã‚  Ã‚   would pass the firehouse on his way to and from the Carnegie Library and end up   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   writing down his descriptions (Moran). Ray Bradbury’s remarkable style is indeed something which has not escaped discerning book readers and analysts. â€Å"While a lesser writer would have to content himself with beating the reader over the head with description and exposition, Bradbury is able to make his nightmare world real with economy and subtlety. The horror never grabs you by the throat as in a Stephen King novel; instead it creeps into your soul almost unnoticed† (Wright). Content-wise, what American writer Ray Bradbury sought to impress on his readers is the fact that humanity stands to be strangled by the very forces – or trappings of modern living —   that had originally been conceived to make life better. Bradbury makes a very good point in singling out television as the piece of equipment that most people have been overly relying on, and it comes at a very huge price: a stifled intellectual development. Indeed, of all the new modern conveniences or gadgetry the world has ever seen, one medium of communications which remains all-powerful or influential to minds and attitudes of people of all ages is the television. It is evident that Bradbury possessed remarkable foresight in ascertaining early on that people are bound to be enslaved. One of many insightful reviews about Ray Bradbury and his book states: Bradbury’s novel — or novella, really — is an inspired criticism of what we now call   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the â€Å"information society,† and the yawning chasm it is creating in our collective soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In it he managed to predict with frightening accuracy such current social pathologies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   as the dumbing down of popular entertainment and education, our growing addiction   Ã‚  Ã‚   to empty sensory stimulation, the rise of random violence among youth, the increasing anomie and alienation among everyone (Wright). Indeed, it takes a meticulous eye attuned to his surroundings for a writer to realistically depict current real-life situations as well as future scenarios. One important point that Ray Bradbury stressed in Fahrenheit 451 is that most of the time, people’s enslavement, whether by societal forces or modern technological advances, do occur from their own volition or free will. â€Å"It’s ordinary people who turn away from reading and the habits of thought and reflection it encourages. When the government starts actively censoring information, most people don’t even bat an eye† (Bradbury 183). It is true, of course, that in the present society, there are many cases of jaded individuals – especially ordinary citizens who wield little or no power to go against the powers-that-be – who initially protest but end up allowing circumstances like government   restraints on media/information to prevail or take place.   It is, however, an inescapable fact that many freedoms, like free speech and expression of ideas through books, are not absolute. This is something that advocates of censorship keep harping on. Introspection will show that in many ways, people, during these increasingly complex times and informational bombardment, do succumb or let government impose controls as the latter may deem morally and socially and politically fit. In doing so, it becomes a clear case of the antagonist turning into an ally. In societies which do a good job of balancing interests and rights, this may be permissible. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. There are people may rant and do nothing, but there are some individuals who even band together to form a coalition or cause-oriented group/association to bat for what they perceive as just. To their minds, the words of 18th century political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke, of letting evil triumph if good men do nothing, may be ringing loud and clear. Reverting to the other main issue tackled by the book, which is the tendency of people to allow themselves to be enslaved by new technology and turn away from the many virtues of reading books, this is a universal problem pervading modern societies today. Ray Bradbury may have crafted decades ago a concise book about a dystopian society, but its message reverberates up to the present age, when gadget-toting new generations turn to books only when school requires them to, or when a bestselling book-turned-movie or escapist adult novels catch their fancy. In effect, the firemen’s task of burning books in the novel is actually a metaphor for the way a society’s citizens allow themselves, or their knowledge and future, to be stunted.   â€Å"The firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord† (Bradbury 87).

Friday, January 3, 2020

Observation Essay Examples

The purpose of observation essay examples is to describe different experiences of a writer through the analysis of five basic human senses. The essay reveals personal perceptions of observing certain places, individuals or being a part of any activity. A proper observation engages the readers by emphasizing on emotional appeal. The writer should be detail-oriented in order to create an illusion of readers personal involvement and complete understanding of the setting. The main peculiarity of an observation essay is the lack of inclusive structure, what provides an opportunity to be creative with the most detailed descriptions. Traveling is one of the most interesting and exciting experiences a person could obtain throughout life. My last travel destination took a turn to New Orleans that is located in the state of Louisiana in the United States. This trip was different from the others, as for the first time I decided to enjoy my own experience, rather than plan everything in advance. New Orleans is one of those cities that I have heard about, yet never wanted to visit for a specific purpose. In contrast to such popular tourist destinations as New York or Washington, New Orleans holds an incredible non-touristic atmosphere. The majority of the streets are not filled with tourists and people are generally very kind towards visitors. As I stepped off the airplane, I understood that the trip will be one of the most unusual experiences I have ever had. I traveled in April when the sun was already too hot, yet the chill was provided by the windy weather. There are few hotels in the entire city and they are located beside right across the street. It could seem unusual at a first glance. Yet, it is vital to acknowledge that they are located in the developed area of the city. Few years ago New Orleans witnessed one of the most tragic events in the United States environmental hazards. The hurricane immensely harmed the citizens at the same time physically and psychologically. Even though many years had passed, the city recovers slowly. I booked a room in the Roosevelt hotel that belongs to my favorite Waldorf Astoria network. The most exciting part of the stay was a pool at the roof of the hotel that revealed an incredible view on the city. The most stunning feature of the sight was a once gorgeous skyscraper that was torn in pieces by the hurricane and reminds people of the tragedy. However, the city should be judged by its people rather than architecture. The most unique experience was that New Orleans has its sound and it is a sound of jazz music that is literally streaming from each corner of the city. People feel comfortable taking a saxophone and playing for their own enjoyment on the main square of the city. The food in the city is too good to be even worded. For me, the taste of New Orleans can be described through macaroons offered in one of the small stores within the French Quarter. As the city lays on the river, its smell is a mixture of freshness and sultriness of the heated pavement. There are plentiful interesting sites in the city, but for me the most pleasant and delightful remembrance remain hand-made scarfs from a store located next to the main square of the city. There is hardly a city that would leave such personal connections as New Orleans. References Charters, S. (2006). New Orleans: Playing a jazz chorus. New York: Marion Boyars. Gotham, K. F. (2007). Authentic New Orleans: Tourism, culture, and race in the Big Easy. New York: New York University Press. Karlin, A., Dunford, L. (2009). New Orleans city guide. Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet. Levitt, J. I., Whitaker, M. C. (2009). Hurricane Katrina: Americas unnatural disaster. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Tucker, S. (2009). New Orleans cuisine: Fourteen signature dishes and their histories. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.