Systems of fashion and cycles of popularity percolate through contemporary life. Styles, conventions, and dress codes can be identified in all groups, including subcultures, ethnic groups, alternative lifestyles, workplace and leisure cultures, and in all the mundane places and institutions of everyday life.
Human communities have a variety of practices, beliefs, social roles, norms, expressions, forms of organization and conflicts (economic, political, legal, religious, expressive and artistic) that exhibit various sorts of internal coherence as well as cleavages within communities. These coherences and cleavages bear many close connections to the different historical experiences, physical and social environments in which people live.
Management research confirms that organizations that meet the innovation challenge out perform their competitors in terms of market share, profitability, growth and market capitalization (Tidd, Bessant, & Pavitt, 2005). Innovative organizations are better able to mobilize the knowledge, skills, and experiences of people, and successfully create new products, services and ways of getting things done faster, better and cheaper. Although creativity is innovation’s precursor, both are key issues for organizational survival and growth.
Aside from symmetry, males in Western cultures generally prefer females with a small jaw, a small nose, large eyes, and defined cheekbones – features often described as “baby faced”, that resemble an infant’s. Females, however, have a preference for males who look more mature — generally heart-shaped, small-chinned faces with full lips and fair skin. But during menstruation, females prefer a soft-featured male to a masculine one. Indeed, researchers found that female perceptions of beauty actually change throughout the month.
Before athletes go on to the field, they prepare their muscles for the activity they are about to participate. A pitcher will go through a series of warm up techniques that usually involve stretching before pitching. A gymnast will make sure her muscles are warm and pliable to avoid a strain that may keep her out of competition.
