Business Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Research - Essay Example The research will use a qualitative method to gather data and focus groups will be mainly used for this particular case. This proposal is expected to be complete within a time frame of about two weeks. Topshop is the most influential brand in the British Fashion community and it has distinguished itself through offering popular range of clothing, accessories and makeup and a portfolio of successful product-led marketing initiatives such as Topshop Unique and Kate Moss Design Collaboration (Joyn, 2011). The success of Topshop is not an end in itself since it is still poised for growth. As such, this research proposal has been design to establish the strategies that can be implemented by this shop in its bid to expand to overseas markets. It is important that research has to be carried out so as to be in a position to successfully establish business in a global environment. The paper is divided into various categories which are meant to highlight the stages involved in carrying out this particular research. Organizations operating in a global market ought to take a holistic approach in order for them to operate effectively. The global environment is characterized by various market forces such as competition as well as consumer choice among other factors (Everard & Burrow, 1996). Though Topshop has successfully managed to establish itself as a force to reckon with in the UK fashion industry, this might not be the case in overseas markets since they are not synonymous with the UK market. As such, this study is justified since it seeks to investigate the market forces that can affect the viability of businesses in different markets. The research is also valuable given that it helps the responsible authorities at the above mentioned shop to make informed decisions about the strategies that can be implemented in order for it to penetrate new overseas market. The research is also going to create a body of knowledge that can be used for academic purposes in as far

Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Organizational Change - Essay Example This essay discusses the issue of needed organizational change in business field. The researcher states that the often heard clarion call in every organization today is â€Å"Change or change will change you.† It is apparent therefore that an organization that does not heed this call and sticks its head in the sand like the ostrich is bound to die eventually. The researcher thinks that surviving in the present day global economy needs an organization to be flexible in addition to adapting readily to the constantly-changing global marketplace. In addition, the researcher states that there are numerous issues these days that are involved as far as change implementation is concerned. The time span for instance, that is needed in implementing the change is important. Frequently, the project team tasked with the change implementation is not given off their normal duties to execute the change program. Another big factor explained in this essay is cost, with the cost estimates consta ntly changing during the stages of implementation. Change expenditures must be estimated carefully for the change to be approved by the top management as well as tracked throughout the entire change period. It should be noted that the cost of the change must not exceed its advantages. In conclusion, the researcher sums up that a diversified functional team for change implementation brings about a common sense of responsibility cutting across every level of the organization, resulting to effective implementation.

Media Coverage of Womens Sports

Media Coverage of Womens Sports Women and Sports Introduction Media coverage of sporting activities performs a role in shaping attitudes of the society with regards to women’s sports. This is largely attributed to the thousands of hours or sports recording undertaken by the television network record each year. But for many decades, men’s sports activities have dominated the airwaves (Carlisle et al.). The domineering nature of men’s sports has led to women sports receiving little to no airplay; this is in large parts attributed to the lack of equal coverage between the two genders. A recent survey in the United States affirmed that women sports only received 1.6 percent airplay across all television network as compared to 96.3 percent given to men’s sports. This paper takes the position that the mass media is not doing enough when it comes to encouraging women sports (Messner and Cooky). The lack of adequate media coverage with respect to women sports has dealt a negative impact on the growth of the game. Even after the enactment of the Title IX legislation, women are yet to be treated in the same way as their male counterparts (Www2.ed.gov). The legislations ensure that men and women are treated equally when it comes to any activity that is federally funded, sports included. Problem definition Mass media companies don’t accord women the same prominence in their sports segments only relegating a small portion of the airtime. Some of the reasons women get little airtime on mass media companies include: Sexual Objectification Female athletes are still targets of being sexualized and objectified by the commentators. Despite the commentator not speaking about the athlete in a sexual manner, the inclusion of visual images of the women diverts attention from what is really important (Tanner). This is not an entirely new phenomenon, in the 1920s women basketball players’ pictures were used to draw the cognitive attention of the male audience to come and watch games. The women were being fitted with short shorts and tight t-shirts. Studies conducted in the United States revealed that women objectification has not changes even in the twenty-first century. The revelation was informed of the fact that most television networks were still portraying women in humorous and sexual as compared to their male counterparts. The objectification of women is further aggravated by the comments made by the sports commentators. Most of the commentators are male, as such they take most of the time to objectify women by put ting sexual visuals and making trivial jokes that demean women sports (North). Gender marking Another impediment faced by female athletes is the gender marking on their game titles. For instance, when an advert is being put up to announce the finals of the feminine game it is always marked as â€Å"Women’s Finals Tournament† (Tanner). This is in contrast to their male counterparts when men are playing there are no gender markers in the advertisements. Most broadcasters and mass media companies assert that they use gender markings to differentiate games that are being played at the same time. For instance, In the United States Tennis opens, all the games are played on the same day and at most times simultaneously. Some mass media companies use visuals that reinforce gender difference in games played (Tanner). For instance, CBS’s coverage of the 1989 NCAA basketball tournaments used the pink color to denote women’s matches while using the blue color to denote men matches. The mass media companies ought to drop the genders markers for women games sinc e it gives the notion that women games are in the â€Å"others† category (Tanner). Cause of the problem This section highlights the different reasons why women are not accorded the same prominence in the sports segment in all major media houses. Some of these reasons include: Society Society is another impediment to women’s sport and also gives mass media an excuse to reduce women sports coverage. Society defines that there are games that are lady-like which women can participate, these games include tennis and golf. But when women attempt to play games that are seen to be masculine in nature, the society shuns them. The main point as to why it is difficult for women to participate in such sporting activities is because it is seen as though they are going against social norms and customs. The stereotype with respect to the types of games women should play can be attributed mostly to media framing. Media framing can be defined as pieces or exhibits a journalist, or a news editor considers to be most important (Shaller). Through media framing, the editors bring about the most important characteristics of a story and highlight them; it is also an opportunity for both the editor and the journalist to stress the most important things they consider to be more im portant to their audience. The use of this tactic has been detrimental to women’s sports coverage; this is because most journalists and editors emphasis on masculinity as compared to femininity (Shaller). Media framing manipulates the audience’s psychology and makes the audience follow what the editor and journalist are putting across. Media framing one of the reasons why men sports are given prominence over feminine games in mass media. Another critical aspect is male hegemony; this can be defined as the process of male domination in the society. The mass media promotes male hegemonic beliefs when it comes to their domineering tendencies in the sports realm (Shaller). Commentators The field of commentators is largely dominated by men. A study of all major sports media companies indicated that there was an increasing incorporation of racial diversity in their news coverage (Messner and Cooky). But there was little progress with respect to women being given archonship positions or commentator positions. Most of the women in the sports scene are not regular anchors and used as auxiliary reporters. Despite the accomplishments that have been made with respect to women’s sports participation, there is still sexual segregation with respect to women holding influential positions on the sports desk. The commentator makes remarks that do not reflect women’s professionalism in sports. For instance, a commentator said, â€Å"the new mom Candace Parker leads the Los Angeles Sparks,† this was to reinforce the societal stereotype of women. This segregation ensures that the amounts of women sports feature being aired on these main mass media companies wou ld largely remain the same (Messner and Cooky). As already attested to earlier, having more women on board and in positions of making decisions enable them to cover women feature stories better; as they tend to give their female counterparts better airtime as compared to male reporters in the same field. Racial diversity has not yet been emphasized in with regards to women anchors. The study confirmed that women anchors were still largely white, this means that women from all different ethnic backgrounds need to join. This will ensure that women from all walks of life would be able to participate in sporting activities or develop an interest in watching sports feature, this will mirror the accomplishments that have been done by their male counterparts (Messner and Cooky). Gatekeeping A study performed in America showed that mass media companies with female reporters as editors tend to shed positive light to women’s sports. The coverage was seen to be more positive with regard to the progress women have made since the introduction of the Title IX amendment. Despite these the positive indicators, the survey also affirmed that female reporters did not offers equitable coverage to women’s sports as their male counterparts (Kian and Hardin). But women reporters were apt to giving women athletes airtime as compared to their male counterparts. The study also confirmed that when an editor wanted a women’s sport story to be aired, he/she would assign the story to a female reporter; but this assignment is largely considered as trivial as compared to male sports (Kian and Hardin). The study also expounded on the decision-making process editors embroil in when trying to make a story coverage assignment; these factors include work routine, expectation of readers, organizational demand and also the editor’s attitudes and biases with respect to the a women’s sports. All these factors encourage editors to further neglect and put aside women sports in their coverage features (Kian and Hardin). The effects of seclusion The constant neglecting of women in sports has an effect on consumer utilizing the mass media. It impairs their psychology in that they become bias with respect to what games they can watch and which ones not to. These effects can be explained through: Cultivation theory This theory explores the impact the comments made by sports commentators have on their audience (Tanner). This theory is highly applicable to those members of society that are considered to be big consumers of television content. The way these individuals experience the real world would be greatly influenced by the content they have been exposed to while they watched television. The act of cultivation occurs by the continuous accrual of images and voices they pick up while watching television; these pictures and stories that have accrued over time will thus have the ability to skew an individual to be biased against a particular social issue. With respect to sports, people are exposed to sporting actions most of the time during the day; this means they collect images and stories from commentators and store them in their minds. Most of the time, people are exposed to information that does not accurately portray the real image of female athletes. Some of the stories are exposed to sugg est women to be sexual objects and does not highlight their competencies as athletes. The continuous accumulation of negative portrayal of women in sport greatly impacts the ability of the audience to be objective when it comes to female athletes; in the end, they dismiss media coverage of women games (Tanner). Another effect of cultivation theory is the mainstreaming notion. With respect to mainstreaming, heavy consumers of television content are not affected by the gains made by women in the fields of sports. The events happening in social realities have little impact in influencing these types of individuals; factors like politics, regional differences do not resonate with their belief systems (Tanner). Over the decades, women’s participation in sporting activities has increased. But heavy television users are most time oblivious to these facts while watching television (Tanner). They hold the notion that women are sexual beings and are emotional but do not appreciate their prowess when it comes to sporting actions. These types of individuals also believe that women sports are still second tier as compared to men’s sports; this is further encouraged by the use of gender markers while advertising the sporting actions that are going on. Such individuals in society will always view women as sexual objects first before considering them as competent athletes (Tanner). Advertisement revenue Studies indicate that there is a vested interest when it comes to sports journalism. Male athletes are considered to produce the highest turnover with respect to sponsorships, advertisement revenues, and television viewership. In retrospect, mass media companies will gravitate toward covering stories that would culminate in them getting more advertisement revenues. The stories are designed to draw male viewers and increase the advertisement revenues from companies that advertise products while the sports news are commencing. This form of bias against women’s sport relegates women to waiting until the Olympics when they receive considerably better media coverage. In advertising, male athletes are usually chosen (Jones). The reason is because they are more recognized all over the world; this, in essence, means that the advertisement revenue would be higher as compared to when female athletes are on the magazine. Due to the low recognition of women as compared to their male count erparts, media companies are skewed to favor male sports as compared to women’s sports due to the advertisement revenue generated. In most magazines in the United States, men get almost 13 times more photographs in newspapers and sports journals as compared to women athletes (Jones). Agenda Building Through agenda building, mass media conglomerates advertise events they believe are important and the audience should be waiting for (Tanner). This is done by carefully choreographic what events to give airtime to and what not to. As already asserted in the earlier, they do this because they have vested interest in the game. By giving prominence to a particular game and neglect, other sends out a message to the audience that some games are far important as compared to the others. This is what happens to women’s games. The media corporations ensure that they give a lot of airplay to games like Nation Football League as compared to women’s soccer (Tanner). This undoubtedly tells the audience that women sports are second tier to men’s games, the corporations also stand to make a lot of income with respect to advertisement that would be brought to them when they will start airing the games. Another factor that leads to poor advertisements for women’s games is the general lack of interest from viewers. The mass media conglomerates assert that the production of women’s events is below average (Kane). The producers of such events do poorly with respect camera work and graphics editing; the combination of these factors renders women’s events as less attractive to the majorly male dominated viewership. They also assert that some features in men’s games are missing, features like slow motion and broadcasting prowess that is in tandem with men’s games (Tanner). Another factor that diminishes the position of women’s sports in media conglomerates is the fact that men are present in all levels of management; this means that they have a say with respect to what stories to highlight and how the stories are going to be shown. Male dominance ensures that all male sporting events are flashier and more glamorous as compared to women’s sporting events (Tanner). Possible solution For the mass media companies to make positive change with regard to women sports they need to hire more women. As already cited previously, when women are given the opportunity to interview athlete, they stand a better chance of giving fellow women more airtime as compared to their male counterparts (Kian and Hardin). The second possible solution is the media companies changing their agenda-setting strategies. As mentioned earlier, media companies turn viewers focus towards men’s games, it would be fruitful if the same tenacity is provided towards women sports. This will ensure that more fans gravitate towards women’s sports. These companies ought to invest the same amount of technology with respect to graphics like the ones in men’s sports. It has been cited that people dislike women’s sports due to poor graphics and lack of glamor. If this equipment is put in place, the game stands a better chance to gain more following both locally and abroad. Media com panies ought to hire more women commentators who should work alongside their male counterparts (Messner and Cooky). Women commentators will ensure that the use of derogatory phrases and sexually objectifying visuals while depicting female athletes (Kian and Hardin). Another front to improve women sports is the disbandment of gender makers in games. This phenomenon has been cited to relegate women’s games to the â€Å"others† category. The disbandment of gender makers would shed a positive light on women’s sports and make people more willing to watch the games. Finally, media companies have to use media framing in equal proportions; previously it has been used to incline audiences to watch male games as compared to female games. With positive media framing to women’s games, the audience’s psychology towards women’s games would be changed to a less bias one (Shaller). Conclusion Since the enactment of the Title IX act, women have made incredible strides in bringing their sports to the mainstream media. The act ensured that everyone participating in any form of sport funded by the federal government should not be discriminated against with reference to gender or race. But there is a considerable amount of resistance from the mass media companies. In tandem with other factors such as the objectification of women as sexual beings rather than considering their athletic prowess are major roadblocks. It is important and necessary that the media organizations put equal emphasis on the way the share out airtime. The media framing used for the men should also be used to women; this will ensure that the public perception of women’s games is gradually changed. This will ensure that the stereotype associated with women in sports is dispensed with, and a culture of professionalism is cultivated. Commentators are also supposed to refrain from making comments that a re deemed derogatory to women in sports and also refrain from using visuals that don’t represent the professionalism of women participating in sports. References Bernstein, Alina, and Neil Blain. Sport and the media: The emergence of a major research field.Sport in Society5.3 (2002): 1-30. Carlisle, Margaret Duncan et al. Gender Stereotyping In Televised Sports LA84 Foundation. LA84 Foundation. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015. Cooky, Cheryl, Michael A. Messner, and Robin H. Hextrum. Women Play Sport, But Not on TV A Longitudinal Study of Televised News Media.Communication Sport1.3 (2013): 203-230. Hanson, Valarie. The Inequality of Sport: Women Jones, Dianne. Womens sports coverage: online images of the 2008 Olympic Games.Australian Journalism Review32.2 (2010): 89-102. Kane, Mary Jo. Media coverage of the female athlete before, during, and after Title IX: Sports Illustrated revisited.Journal of sport management2.2 (1988): 87-99. Kian, E. M., and Marie Hardin. Framing of sport coverage based on the sex of sports writers: Female journalists counter the traditional gendering of media coverage.International Journal of Sport Communication2.2 (2009): 185-204. North, Louise. The gendered world of sports reporting in the Australian print media.JOMEC journal(2012). Messner, Michael A., and Cherly Cooky. Gender in Televised Sports.Center for Feminist Research(2010). Tamir, Ilan, and Yair Galily. Women’s Sports Coverage in Israel: Perception Versus Reality.International Journal of Sport Communication3.1 (2010): 92-112. Shaller, Jessica. Female athletes in the media: Under representation and inadequacy.Undergraduate Review: a Journal of Undergraduate Student Research8.1 (2013): 50-55. Tanner, Wendy. Marginalization and Trivialization of Female Athletes and Women’s Sports through Commentator Discourse A Study of ESPN’s SportsCenter. (2011). Womens Sports Foundation,. Womens Sports Foundation. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015. Www2.ed.gov,. Title IX And Sex Discrimination. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.

Computer Piracy in The Music Industry Essay -- mp3 file sharing music

Computer Piracy (The Music Industry) The music industry has had problems with computer piracy for many years now. There have been many programs devoted to giving out free music. Many of these programs are well know, but still very hard to stop. Napster, Kazaa, and the newest program, myTunes Redux are the most popular programs for music sharing. This essay will explain all about these main programs which allow free music to be shared all over the world. File-sharing became big right around the time the Napster file-sharing program came out. Napster is an online service which was invented by an 18-year-old college student that allows a user to see song files residing on the hard drives of other users, and to download copies of any of those songs. (DLC.org) Napster started off at a slow pace, becoming popular at colleges and then it just exploded. Everyone was using this program within a year of its creation. (DLC.org) However, it eventually got busted and the idea of free music was shutdown, or so the music industry thought. Napster continues to be around today, but with a legal persona. After Napster was told to stop there illegal program there were many other programs in the making. Programs even more advanced then Napster. The next program to come along which caused a big stir was a program known as Kazaa. Kazaa took file sharing to the next level by also allowing movie and picture files to be shared rather than just music files. The Kazaa protocol is the brainchild of the Scandinavians Niklas Zennstrà ¶m and Janus Friis and was introduced in March 2001 by their Dutch company Consumer Empowerment. (Wikipedia.org) Like the creators of Napster, Kazaa's owners have been taken to court by m... ...l and is the biggest file sharing program since Napster and Kazaa. There will most likely be a final resolution to this new program by next year. Basically, file sharing programs will always be around. They even are able to avoid law suits by explaining that it is the user who is breaking the law. The world of the music industry needs to understand that there is nothing they can do to stop it. All they can do is try to find ways to work around it. Besides, if someone really enjoys a band, they would go out and support them by buying their cd. In the end, file sharing is part of the world around us and will remain here for many years to come. Works Cited http://www.dlc.org/print.cfm?contentid=646 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazaa http://news.com.com/MyTunes+returns+for+iTunes+song+sharing/2100-1027_3- 5349272.html

Mother To Son Essay

The author, Langston Husthes, vividly showed how the African-Americans struggled and managed to live. The efforts they made to change and how much they changed their appearances were very evident in the three poems, â€Å"I am too†, â€Å"Mother to Son†, and â€Å"Negro†. The writer started the poem using a conversational tone, which easily showed its viewers that he was talking to somebody. In his poem, â€Å"Mother To Son†, the author told the story of how the African-Americans struggled to survive the harsh realities of living in a society dominated by the white people. The text included: â€Å"Life for me aint been no crystal stair. Its had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor — Bare. † This specific part of the poem showed how much the African-Americans suffered from living in a society dominated by white people. The author used a lot of metaphors in the poem to illustrate his points. The â€Å"crystal stair† mentioned in the poem, contained several meanings. The crystal may be considered to be attractive, but very fragile. The use of the crystal in the poem was somehow successful in connecting a creative story with that of reality-that the crystal stair may be used as a symbol for the way of living white people had. The poem was also told from a mother’s point of view. From the text, it can be perceived that the mother was a slave at the white house, serving white people. The reader is given contrasting images of how the African-Americans suffered, while the white and rich Americans ruled over society. Throughout the entire poem, the mother tried to show the readers the uneven treatment given to both races. Words, such as â€Å"and† were repeatedly used to emphasize the hardships endured during that time. The line, â€Å"And places with no carpet on the floor –Bare,† was also used to demonstrate how the white people unfairly treated the black people.

Healthcare Benefits Essay

Identify and discuss the various types of private and/or social insurance available in and through your state and local government. Relate the application of social insurance to consumers based on their social and economic status using the profiles listed below. For which demographic(s) do gaps exist in your area? You can use the Internet and sites such as www. cms. gov for statistical data by state to locate this information. Do you feel it’s the government’s role to provide health insurance for these individuals? Why? Support your answers with research and reasoning. 1. A child of parents who do not have private health insurance 2. An elderly WWII veteran with diabetes 3. A bank teller who has just been laid off 4. A homeless individual 5. A college student who has just graduated without a guaranteed employment I live in Richmond, VA. The various types of private and social insurances available through our state and local government are Aetna, Anthem, Carefirst, Celtic, Kaiser Permanente, Optima Health, and United Health One are some of the leading health insurances in Virginia. 6. A child of parents who do not have private health insurance: In Virginia this consumer would receive Medicaid. An elderly WWII veteran with diabetes: In Virginia this consumer would receive Medicare. 8. A bank teller who has just been laid off: In Virginia this consumer would receive unemployment benefits. 9. A homeless individual: In Virginia this consumer would receive Medicaid. 10. A college student who has just graduated without a guaranteed employment: In Virginia this consumer would receive Medicaid. Where I currently live there are gaps in the demographic when it comes to the elderly WWII veteran because there are many war veterans in my area that are homeless and are seen on the streets begging for money. In all of the places I have been, I see this predominantly in Richmond, VA. The government should have a better grasp on who is a veteran and provide these people with the benefits they deserve for fighting for our country. I do believe the government should be responsible for the people who are struggling, but not for the people who take advantage of the system. There are many people who need help, either because they are in a bad situation or because they are physically incapable of helping themselves. These people should most definitely receive aid from the government; healthcare is a huge thing not to have. People lose their lives every day from not being covered by health insurance. In our text Medicare and Medicaid are described like this, â€Å"Although the expansionist social policies of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society in the 1960s are credited with development of the largest social health insurance programs this country has ever known, now known as Medicare and Medicaid, the seeds of these programs were actually sown by Congress during the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s. At a time when private health insurance coverage was increasingly being provided for workers by their employers, the elderly had virtually no such coverage and yet were the group in society with the largest health costs and often the most limited financial resources. The ultimate passage of the Kerr-Mills Act by Congress in 1960 provided for federal matching grants to the states for a new category of â€Å"medically indigent† individuals, but still did not cover elders other than those who had become poor. However, this piece of legislation played a pivotal role as the precursor to Medicaid. It was actually President John F. Kennedy, backed by senior interest groups and supported by labor unions and nurses, who proposed the first Medicare bill to Congress in 1962 in keeping with his strong belief in the need for federal health care for the elderly. Although this measure was defeated by legislative opponents in the Senate, it did serve to raise public awareness of the issues and thus to build future public support. This set the stage for President Johnson to utilize his considerable political popularity, legislative liaisons, and persuasiveness in small groups (such as the AMA) to lead the charge for passage of the Medicare and Medicaid legislation in 1965.

Free Essays on Love In Time Of Cholera

In â€Å"Love in the Time of Cholera,† Garcia Marquez uses a love story to criticize the social inequities existing in Latino America. Moreover, he exposes the way that social institutions act together to keep the social inequities, and how the poor submit to their fortune without hope for change. The story takes place in Colombia at the end of the 19th century, in a Caribbean city next to a seaport. There are three major characters in the story. One of them is Florentino Ariza, a sentimental man whose excessive romanticism compels him to worship a woman that he hardly knows. At first sight he falls in love with Fermina Daza, a beautiful young girl, and later on he spends three years exchanging romantic letters with her; however, after returning from a long trip, she is disenchanted by Florentino’s appearance and terminates the flirtation. Fermina Daza then meets Dr. Juvenal Urbino and ends up marrying him after a short engagement. Nevertheless, Florentino Ariza is already obsessed with her and waits over fifty years for her husband to die, so he can have a second opportunity. Dr. Juvenal Urbino is a aristocratphysician who studies medicine in Europe and returnshome wanting to improve the sanitary conditions of the town in order to prevent another outbreak of cholera. The story itself develops in a society where the difference between social classes is evident. The city was once an important slave-trading center; the slave trading brought so much abundance to the town that many of the houses in the wealthy neighborhood are designed in a pretentious European style. However, the civil war and the abolition of the slavery system bring to an end the abundance of resources and the town falls into disgrace. The aristocracy holds to the memories of a glorious past that is long gone. In fact, after Dr. Juvenal Urbino returns from Europe, he is surprised by the way the aristocrats pra... Free Essays on Love In Time Of Cholera Free Essays on Love In Time Of Cholera In â€Å"Love in the Time of Cholera,† Garcia Marquez uses a love story to criticize the social inequities existing in Latino America. Moreover, he exposes the way that social institutions act together to keep the social inequities, and how the poor submit to their fortune without hope for change. The story takes place in Colombia at the end of the 19th century, in a Caribbean city next to a seaport. There are three major characters in the story. One of them is Florentino Ariza, a sentimental man whose excessive romanticism compels him to worship a woman that he hardly knows. At first sight he falls in love with Fermina Daza, a beautiful young girl, and later on he spends three years exchanging romantic letters with her; however, after returning from a long trip, she is disenchanted by Florentino’s appearance and terminates the flirtation. Fermina Daza then meets Dr. Juvenal Urbino and ends up marrying him after a short engagement. Nevertheless, Florentino Ariza is already obsessed with her and waits over fifty years for her husband to die, so he can have a second opportunity. Dr. Juvenal Urbino is a aristocratphysician who studies medicine in Europe and returnshome wanting to improve the sanitary conditions of the town in order to prevent another outbreak of cholera. The story itself develops in a society where the difference between social classes is evident. The city was once an important slave-trading center; the slave trading brought so much abundance to the town that many of the houses in the wealthy neighborhood are designed in a pretentious European style. However, the civil war and the abolition of the slavery system bring to an end the abundance of resources and the town falls into disgrace. The aristocracy holds to the memories of a glorious past that is long gone. In fact, after Dr. Juvenal Urbino returns from Europe, he is surprised by the way the aristocrats pra...