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Par yaworker-w dans Accueil le 8 Avril 2010 à 07:50
In 1977, cultural geographer Yi-Fu Tuan defined place as "a special kind of object." He called place a "concretion of value, though not a valued thing that can be handled or carried about easily; it is an object in which one can dwell" (1977:12). Since then, defining "place" has been a popular activity over the years for scholars from a number of the humanities and social sciences, but Tuan's description of place as a kind of object is a fitting introduction to this "handled or carried about easily," despite Tuan's hesitation on that point-can function as places.
Definitions of "place" have focused on a variety of qualities, the Eternal Link Cross pendant being boundaries, but also value, in the above example from Tuan, and behavior, in John A. Jakle's concept of place as "a setting that, because it contains a distinctive continuation of those interactions" (1987:4).
The ambiguous phrase "a sense of place," commonly used to refer to an individual's general awareness of or connection to a particular place, can be equally diverse in meaning. Kent Ryden proposes that "a sense of place results gradually and unconsciously from inhabiting a landscape over time, becoming familiar with its physical properties, accruing history within its confines" (1993:38). The National Trust for Historic Preservation presents the similar but a sense of place to time spent in a given locality or membership in a given community, have been critiqued for being at odds within the context of contemporary society, where technology allows for a steady increase in virtual and geographically distanced interaction (Shields 1996, 2003; Rojek 1998; Rheingold 1993) through the use of the Internet, cell phones, and other wireless communication devices.
Globalization scholars, studying the increasing pace of global interactions and processes, have noted that while people continue to live local lives, phenomenal worlds have become global, as distant events come to have an immediate impact on local spaces and vice versa (Inda and Rosaldo 2002). Knowing this, and knowing Frank Gehry Fish pendant is increasingly taking place in virtual settings, concepts such as "place" and a "sense of place" have been reconsidered.
This article explores the construction of place in the modern world by examining a contemporary custom that I refer to as serial collaboration. Serial collaboration is the process of passing an object from person to person and place to place in order to see how far around the world it can travel. Consideration of this custom reveals that it provides people with a means to temper the reality of increasingly non-tangible or abstract social connections through the creation of portable that distinguish this practice from others. I conclude by exploring how the abstract practice, in its multitude of specific manifestations, allows for an experience of place that is not tied to a particular location. If "home"-a concept often implied in the definitions of place as locations of extended habitation, such as Ryden's-is a concept that is increasingly unanchored, then concepts such as "place" and "home" must simply become things we can take with us when we travel.
CIRCULATING OBJECTS AND PASSAROUNDS
Before delving into the specifics of serial collaboration, it is important to note the custom's many small-scale relatives. "Circulating objects," or "passarounds" as they are also sometimes called, are a common custom within family and friend groups.1 The idea is simple: a pair or group of people passes or circulates an object Elsa Peretti Sevillana pendant a marker of their connection. Usually, the group or pair is one that previously shared the same geographic area (a home, a hometown, a school, etc.) but is now separated by a greater distance. The object that is passed around becomes a tangible way for members of the group to experience each other's presence and reintroduces a sense of shared physical space to the distanced relationship. A recent article in the Canadian national paper The Globe and Mail addressed the topic by explaining one family's practice:
A passaround must be small enough to secrete into an article of clothing, a pocket or suitcase without the owner's knowledge, and usually just before one leaves after a visit. Upon discovery, a passaround must never be acknowledged but instead, hidden in the luggage, pocket or some such of the original donor. (Best 2006:A20)
Even simply staying within the family, the passarounds can gain a lot of mileage:
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Par yaworker-w dans Accueil le 8 Avril 2010 à 07:47
At all times relevant to the charges, Hsu operated and was the Managing Director of two companies, Components Ltd. And Next Components Ltd. (the "Companies"), which purported to provide investment programs that extended short-term financing to businesses. Hsu recruited victims by guaranteeing high rates of return on short-term investments. After receiving money from investors, Hsu, for a time, repaid both the victims' interest and principal as promised. Believing Hsu to be trustworthy and the Companies to be legitimate and potentially profitable, victims often agreed to roll-over their invested funds into new investments with Hsu, contribute additional, larger sums of money to the scheme, or recruit friends to invest with Hsu. In reality, however, the Companies were merely vehicles for Hsu's Ponzi scheme, in which money owed as returns to older investors was paid with money received from newer investors, and Hsu the end, Hsu defrauded his victims out of more than $60 million.
In an effort Tiffany 1837 bookmark scheme, Hsu pressured investors to contribute tens of thousands of dollars to various candidates for President of the United States, the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives.
Hsu made victims believe that failure to make political contributions to candidates he supported would jeopardize their investment relationship with him, and put their money at risk.
Hsu also violated the names of others. Specifically, in 2006, Hsu asked two other individuals to make contributions, totaling more than $20,000 each, to designated federal candidates. Hsu then reimbursed these two individuals for the political contributions they had made on his behalf.
During a court-authorized search of the items seized from Hsu at the time of his arrest, FBI agents recovered extensive evidence confirming Hsu's role in the charged crimes, including, among other things: (1) thousands of dollars in cash; (2) checkbooks for Atlas pendant of checks from Hsu's victims; (4) bank receipts reflecting millions of dollars worth of financial transactions conducted by Hsu; (5) handwritten ledgers contributions to be made by specific victims on behalf of various candidates for elected federal office; (6) a Cartier watch and Tiffany jewelry; and (7) receipts reflecting Hsu's travel throughout the United States via a corporate jet service.
Hsu is charged in the Complaint with one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud, and one count of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. If convicted, HSU faces maximum penalties of 20 years' imprisonment on the mail fraud charge, 20 years' imprisonment on the wire fraud charge, and 5 years' imprisonment on the federal campaign finance charge. Hsu also faces a maximum fine of twice the gross gain or loss resulting from his financial fraud crimes, and an additional maximum fine of $250,000 on the campaign finance crime.
Mr. Garcia praised the work of the FBI in Heart lock charm pendant the investigation is continuing.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office's Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Boyd M. Johnson III, Katherine A. Lemire, Alexander J. Willscher, and Rua M. Kelly are in charge of the prosecution.
If you believe you were a victim of these crimes, including a victim entitled to restitution, and you wish to provide information to law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in the case or additional information, please contact Wendy Olsen-Clancy, the Victim Witness Coordinator at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, at (866)874-8900, or Wendy.Olsen@usdoj.gov. For additional information, go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/victimwitness.html on the Internet.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Par yaworker-w dans Accueil le 6 Avril 2010 à 08:38
Tiffany & Co. and Signet Jewelers Ltd. Tuesday added to the evidence of a meaningful rebound by the hard-pressed jewelry sector as both lifted guidance based on better-than-expected holiday results.
Tiffany's sales in November and December rose 17 percent to $799.1 million, 13 percent at constant exchange, while comparable-store sales rose 12 percent, 8 percent at constant exchange. In the U.S., comps rose 12 percent, including a 20 percent increase at the New York flagship. In the 2008 holiday period, U.S. comps slid 35 percent.
Tiffany lifted its guidance for full-year earnings from continued operations to range from $2.07 to $2.12 a diluted share, implying fourth-quarter earnings per share of between $1.15 and $1.20, on sales of $2.7 billion. Tiffany previously projected EPS of $1.88 to $1.98 Frank Gehry Fish Pendant $1.65 to $1.75.
Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance most recently had predicted full-year earnings of $1.92 a share on sales of $2.65 billion, and fourth-quarter EPS of $1.02 on revenues of $925 million.
The stabilization of jewelry coincides with the Paloma's Tenderness Heart pendant, according to analysts.
Pali Capital retail analyst Stacey Widlitz said December comparable-store sales, reported last week, showed encouraging improvement for luxury, giving her confidence that the numbers continue to move in the right direction for jewelers such as the upscale Tiffany. Widlitz pointed out 20 percent of Tiffany's sales come out of New York. She also noted the move to trade down seems to be less extreme than last year and versus the past few quarters.
Earlier this month, digital research company comScore Inc. said during holiday that jewelry and watches emerged as the leading category for online sales growth with a 20 percent rise. However, the firm added the double-digit growth rate followed a 29 percent decline during holiday 2008.
Jefferies & Co. analyst Randal Konik also pointed to the weak comparisons within luxury, which should benefit companies like Tiffany moving forward. He reiterated his buy rating for the New York-based company.
We believe Tiffany is positioned for continued Tiffany Notes Pendant 2010 on favorable gross margin tailwinds from lower product costs, market gains in a consolidating retail environment, improving luxury trends and easy comparisons, Konik said.
Despite the positive news about fourth-quarter results, shares of Tiffany fell 24 cents, or 0.5 percent, on Tuesday to $46.44.
Midtier jeweler Signet, which operates the Kay and Jared chains in the U.S., said it surpassed its financial performance objectives, including its plan for free cash flow, and now expected full-year earnings of between $1.76 and $1.84 a diluted share after it delivered a 5.6 percent increase in holiday comps. According to Reuters, analysts forecast EPS of $1.64 for the fiscal year. Holiday comps rose 7.6 percent in the U.S., which accounts for about 78 percent of annual sales, and fell 0.8 percent in the U.K. division.
The company said U.S. results benefited from the growth of differentiated [product] ranges, a strong value proposition in generic merchandise, national television advertising and superior customer service. Shares fell 39 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $28.44.
Tiffany is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on March 22, and Signet on March 25.
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Par yaworker-w dans Accueil le 6 Avril 2010 à 08:35
NEW YORK-When Tiffany & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Kowalski headed into the Alaskan wilderness to go fly fishing in Bristol Bay, wild salmon swam free, brown bears frolicked in streams and the hot new "Tiffany Keys" collection seemed a million miles away.
Yet the two industries - jewelry and fishing - are now oddly intertwined because of a mining company's plan to build what would be North America's largest gold and copper mine in Bristol Bay.
The operation promises to create jobs and pump billions into the southwest Alaskan economy, but for Kowalski, there's a deal-breaking element: The proposed site for the mine - which by its nature will be destructive to the environment - is on land that is home to Tiffany 1837 Double cross pendant national parks.
Generations of Bristol Bay natives who fear their days of reeling in salmon for a living are now on the fine have aired their grievances, grass roots style, via rallies and the sale of "No Pebble Mine" t-shirts and bumper stickers.
Kowalski, who visited Alaska to see the area for himself, thinks the fishing community is right, and after presenting his case and a documentary on the subject titled Red Gold to Tiffany & Co.'s board of directors, they agreed.
If the Pebble Mine eventually opens, Tiffany Double heart pendant gold, and the company has launched an advertising campaign within the trade to encourage other jewelers to join in. But why get involved?
"I think the question is one of risk assessment," Kowalski said in an interview with National Jeweler editors at his offices in Manhattan. "I think it's highly unlikely that there wouldn't be a severe impact on the fisheries. Is the price of developing the Pebble Mine simply too high to pay?"
The Pebble mine, proposed for state-owned land, is currently going through the requisite rounds of environmental assessments. If Alaskan voters eventually approve its opening, the Pebble Limited Partnership has vowed to run an environmentally clean operation.
While Kowalski doesn't challenge the partnership's inten- tions, he knows enough about the mining process to be concerned about how effective any mitigation plan will be.
While diamond mine waste is chemically inert, Double square pendant not. The proposal is for an open-pit mine, which requires building the world's largest earthen dam to hold back the waste, with 99 percent of the waste tonnage consisting of acid-laden rock.
"It will require containment and perpetual treatment - forever," Kowalski said. "That raises some tough questions."
For jewelers, there are additional questions that go to the heart of what it means to run a responsible business at a time when global warming, clean water and recycling are no longer fringe issues.
"In a world where [conscientious consumption of resources has become so important], consumers will legitimately ask, 'How can the jewelry industry be an island of irresponsible consumption?'" Kowalski said.
But would something like the Pebble Mine truly impact sales? Just a few years ago, jewelers fretted over Blood Diamond, a movie that starred ?-listers Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly and brought attention to the conflict diamonds that were coming out of Sierra Leone rriore than a decade ago. The film, released before the holidays, didn't put a dent in diamond sales.
But Kowalski said this doesn't mean that consumers don't care about social or environmental issues.
"It's not top-of-mind awareness, it's not as if people are coming in and asking about where our gold is sourced," Kowalski said, adding that Tiffany has a chain-of-custody system to keep track of the origins of its gold and silver. "I think it's dangerous to say 'No one's asking about it, therefore it doesn't matter.' I think you need to be careful about warily approaching a tipping point. A few years ago, no one talked about climate change. Al Gore writes a book, a few other things happen, and suddenly climate change is at the top of everyone's agenda."
While Kowalski acknowledged that the mine would create jobs, he contends they will be temporary.
"A mine, by definition, is a wasted resource ... it will be gone, it will be depleted and likely be abandoned," Kowalski said. But he points out that fisheries jobs are in jeopardy as well.
Bristol Bay produces up to 70 million salmon annually, providing as many as 4,000 fisheries-related jobs with an estimated annual value of nearly $400 million, according to Trout Unlimited, which along with a number of sports fishing and environmental advocacy groups, has aligned itself against the Pebble Mine. The federal government is also eyeing the impact on the national parks near the site, Lake Clark and Katmai.
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Par yaworker-w dans Accueil le 5 Avril 2010 à 07:53
The five-year legal battle between Tiffany & Co. and eBay Inc. moved to a federal appeals court on Thursday.
The two sides agree on at least one thing: there are counterfeits for sale at the online auction house. But they differ on whose duty it is to prevent those knockoffs from being sold, which formed the crux of legal arguments before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The court's decision, first time Tiffany Nature Dragonfly pendant counterfeit sales at online auctions. According to legal experts, and others in the intellectual property community, the case has the chance to set precedent in a field that has had little regulation.
Tiffany lost its initial case against the Web site in a U.S. District Court decision handed down a little more than a year ago. That ruling, based on a 2004 lawsuit, said it is Tiffany's duty to police eBay auctions for counterfeits and notify the Web site of any trademark infringement.
This is a new business model, Tiffany attorney James Swire said of eBay during his argument. If you're going to place that burden on brand owners, you have to consider that there's a lot of small brand owners out there.
Swire used his time before the three-judgeCupcake charm and chain business model contributed to, and sometimes profited from, the sale of counterfeit goods. Based on that general knowledge, Swire said, the Web site should be held sought to protect the consumer and protect the brand owner, he said.
That focus is not mentioned once in the district court decision, he added.
During Swire's argument, Judge Richard Goldberg interrupted to ask what more eBay could do to prevent counterfeits.
They could do a lot more if they had the responsibility to take action, Swire replied.
Bruce Rich, attorney for eBay, countered that the owners'Tiffany Aria pendant and pointed out that Vero, its own notification system, had stopped hundreds of thousands of counterfeit auctions in recent years. Rich told the court Tiffany is asking eBay to police every item labeled Tiffany on the site with tools it does not have.
Multiply that out by all the other luxury goods on sale at eBay and you would have a model that collapses, he said.
The appeals court panel acknowledged the importance of the case, allotting each side 20 minutes to make its argument, instead of the typical five or 10.
Judge Barrington Parker Jr. alluded to the historical significance of the proceedings when he referred to Inwood Laboratories Inc. vs. Ives Laboratories Inc., a 1982 case upon which the lower court based much of its ruling. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court found that those not directly responsible for trademark infringement could still be held responsible for it. Brands have used the case to target flea market owners and landlords who allow counterfeiters to sell on their property.
When Inwood was written, what we're dealing with now would have been in the realm of science fiction, Parker said.
The courtroom, normally half full, was packed with attorneys representing other Web sites and luxury brands. Yahoo, Amazon, Coty and the Council of Fashion Designers of America have all filed briefs in the case.
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