Political Economy Theory Essay

The political economy in mass media theory argues that â€Å"the structure of the industry influences content.† _(Andrejevic M, 2007)._ This theory will be demonstrated by analysing an article entitled _'†Sky’s the limit† for MySpace’_, published on _News.com.au_ on August 10th 2007. The presumption of the theory is that media content is influenced by a combination of the media owners (individuals or corporations), advertisers, competitors/other media, government regulations and viewers or readers. In the case of media ownership, â€Å"Private individuals decide what information should be provided to the public based on what earns them the most money.† _(Andrejevic M, 2007)_ The _News.com.au_ article on _MySpace_ appears in the National News section and describes the firm grasp and incredible influence the social networking site, established in 2003, has on the internet and throughout the business world. The article is saturated with references to the innovations and stunning success of _MySpace_. For example the opening sentence reads â€Å"Social networking website _MySpace_ has more than 115 million members around the world and already plays a key role in launching music careers, political campaigns and the way people communicate in general.† _(Gadd M, 2007)_ At this point a discerning reader should recall that _News Corp_ bought _MySpace_ from its co founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe in July 2005. _(Malick O, 2006)_ The propaganda model developed by Edwards S Herman and Noam Chomsky asserts that information presented to the general public via mainstream media outlets will be biased in relation to the interests of the multinational organisations or media conglomerates that own them. _(Herman & Chomsky, 1988)_ By publishing an article promoting the dominant discourse that _MySpace_ is a popular, thriving production with unlimited potential, _News Limited_ are encouraging awareness of the website, which in turn provides it with traffic and publicity. Since _News Corp_ owns _MySpace_ and is a holding company for _News Limited_, this is a chief example of the  propaganda model and reinforces the political economy theory that media content is affected by media owners. The positive language used in the article demonstrates the power of linguistic controls in promoting a discourse. The writers of the article use phrases such as â€Å"it’s just the tip of the ice berg† _(Gadd M, 2007)_ to imply there is a wealth of possibilities for _MySpace_ to accomplish. The website is described as â€Å"a platform for individuals to express themselves and socialise.† _(Gadd M, 2007)_ This quote is relevant to today’s society as ideas of non-conformity, individuality and creativity are attractive to today’s youth. Of all the quotes available from the interviews with the co founders, there is a deliberate choice on behalf of _News.com.au_ to feature words such as ’emerging’, ‘prominent’, ‘innovate’, and ‘evolve’ that connote ideas of positive change and progression. This gives the impression that _MySpace_ is at the forefront of the online social networking phenomenon with millions of individuals flocking to be involved. These terms are deliberately chosen by _News Limited_ to appeal to advertisers who wish for their products to be seen and purchased by the â€Å"trend-setters† in society, and this will consequently benefit its parent, _News Corp_. The article also suggests the potential power MySpace has for advertisers in the future. â€Å"Mr DeWolfe said mobile advertising would be a lucrative fund source and video would take a more prominent place in the way people communicated and shared their art.† _(Gadd M, 2007)_ It should be noted that _News Corp.,_ along with other media conglomerates, is ultimately a commercial organisation. By using _News Limited_’s article to draw attention to the incredible infiltration ratio of _MySpace_ (four million unique accounts in Australia, and 50% of all internet users in America) _News Corp_ is securing advertisers’ interest in _MySpace_. The statement by Walt Disney Corporation CEO, Michael Eisner, is particularly powerful in demonstrating the reality of what drives media conglomerates: â€Å"We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective.† _(Andrejevic M , 2007)_ Newspapers, TV networks and magazines rely on advertisers to finance their business, so to encourage advertisers to buy space in their publication they commodify and promote their audiences. According to Dallas Smythe â€Å"audiences are bought by advertisers on the basis on income, age, sex, ethnic and class specifications.† _(Stevenson N, 2002:10-11)_ Rupert Murdoch outlined his plans for the future of _MySpace_ in a 2006 interview at the Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference. He revealed that an instant messenger client with voice capabilities, increased worldwide penetration, and free video downloads were in the works. (The free video downloads have been successfully incorporated into the website since the interview.) Following this, Mr Murdoch said â€Å"We’ve got the biggest mass of unsold inventory. We have the third most page views of the Internet in America,† and explained that _News Corp_ had met with advertising networks to â€Å"judge whether they can sell it better than we can.† _(Burns E, 2006)_ In conclusion, the political economy theory, which highlights the a link between â€Å"ownership and †¦ content of media production† _(Stevenson N, 2002: 41)_, can be applied to the _News.com.au_ article about _MySpace_ to reveal how much ownership, among other things, can affect the information the public receives from mass media outlets. As demonstrated in the way that _News Limited_ portrayed _MySpace_ in a positive light for the economic benefit of its parent firm _News Corp,_ it is important for audiences to be aware of the political economy theory, and to detect not only bias but the possible reasons behind such bias in media texts they consume. BIBLIOGRAPHY Andrejevic M (2007) _The Mass Media: A Political Economic Approach._ Lecture slides for JOUR2211 Week 2. Available from https://my.uq.edu.au/blackboard_frame.html Accessed on 12/08/07 Burns E (2006) _Murdoch discusses future of MySpace.com._ Available from Accessed on 10/08/07 Gadd M (2007) _’Sky’s the limit’ for MySpace._ Available from Accessed on 10/08/07 Herman E S and Chomsky, Noam. (1988) _Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media_. New York: Pantheon Books Malick O (2006) _Why Murdoch Really Bought MySpace._ Available Accessed on 11/02/03 McQuail D (2002) _McQuails Reader in Mass Communication Theory._ Sage publications. Stevenson N (2002) Understanding Media Cultures: Social Theory and Mass Communication. Sage publications. pp10-11

Discrimination in US Judicial system

America judicial system has been accused of discrimination especially when it comes to mandatory sentences. There has been a serious disparity as far as sentences are concerned with some groups seemingly being favored by the law while others have been treated harshly. This state of affair is sad for this country as it seems to divide the country in classes especially on racial basis. The minority groups, the African American, Latinos and women have been seriously affected making human rights groups to agitate for the change of laws to apply equally among all the groups.These inequalities in the application of the laws seem to be retrogressive as far as our endeavor to make America an all equal country is concerned. The judicial system seems to be applying the law unfairly making some feel less American than others. This does not auger well for the national cohesion as the disadvantaged group may feel that this is an attempt to sideline them on various lines and they may opt to solve the problem in whatever means available to them including violence therefore affecting the America stability.These disparities not only affect the guilty but also the innocent who are harshly sentenced for the crimes they did not commit. (Kinzie, M 2002) This may be detrimental for the fight against crime. If we continue punishing so harshly and furthermore seem to discriminate, the crime rates will only rise as people especially those who are directly or indirectly affected by this discrimination in justice register their dissatisfaction on the unfair treatment opting to use violence. To fully address the disparities in sentencing in our judicial system, causes of this unfair treatment by our system need to be addressed carefully.Police Department which is charged with the role of apprehending the law offenders has been identified as on of the areas where the discrimination is so rampant. Many Americans have reported being searched or even arrested for the crimes the have not commi tted only because they had a different color or spoke with a different accent from that of the arresting officer. I t is the police who arrest and align the suspected law breakers to the court. I f they are biased in terms of race or other aspects the suspects may not feel that they will receive a fair treatment.The treatment may further be extended to the sentencing itself, therefore making the victims lose confidence on our judicial system. (Jeremy, K. 2004) Human rights groups have reported that there have been more arrests as far as minority groups are concerned. This has created a perception that the minorities commit crime than their white counterparts, this perception has even been extended to our judicial system with our judges being biased when a case involving a person from a minority, instead of looking critically at the facts laid down the issue of race clouds the system making him or her rule a harsh treatment.We may not entirely blame the police and the judges alone fo r the unfair treatment of the subject but our law system have failed to address the issues at hand. The laws seem to be biased from the word go and this perhaps is where the problem lies. Judges base their sentences on the law; the law prescribes a certain punishment on a particular crime committed. There are some of the laws that seem to be lenient on some offenders. Althugh this may not be directly proved there exists some disparities as far as sentences prescribed are concerned.Looking at the punishment through a social perspective one may not fail to notice that there is some form of discrimination of certain groups. A good case at hand is the issue of drugs, cocaine is one of the drugs that is abused by Americans of all walks of lives be they poor, rich, black, white and Latinos. Surprisingly the sentences prescribed differ when it comes to the type of cocaine in question. There are two types of coaine; the powdered form and the crack which is cooked in baking soda. Crack is ma inly used by the black and the Latinos populations while the powdered cocaine is mainly consumed by the rich whites.When the congress was passing this law on drug abuse there was a wrong indication that crack was more addictive than the powdered form and it resulted to more violent among its users therefore heavy punishment for its users as opposed to powder users who got lesser sentences. This law based on this argument, though good to deter the drug users have not addressed the issue at hand as it has been accused of discriminating on the lines of race and social classes. (Wolf, D 2006) American society can also be largely blame for the state of affairs that prevail in our judicial system.The laws are made by our representatives whom we elect, therefore the law makers represents our views and if we do not agree with them there are channels of addressing the issue. Our society is molded in such a way that segregation in terms of race class and other aspects is embraced therefore ou r judicial system just reflect who we are as a society. This does not mean that the status quo must prevail,we should embrace a situation where all are treated equally regardless of the race, creed or even the social class one occupies.This calls for the sensitizing of the masses on the need to look at each other as either brother or sister. This will go along way in creating equality in the society which will eventually been reflected in our laws hence implementation by our judiciary system. ( Hurst, C. 2001) Judicial department has a great role as long as equality in law is concerned, this department is mandated to interpret the law made by our legislators and if they seem to contravene the supreme constitution of our land the department has a responsibility of quashing these laws and advise the lawmakers on the shortcomings of these legislations.The laws which are discriminative in nature not only cause a great division in this nation but also cause great suffering to the victims as they are subjected to harsh treatment sometimes for the crimes they may have not committed but due to their inability to hire competent lawyers they fail to defend themselves therefore being punished. The judicial department should ensure that the judges who handle cases where discrimination may be cited are competent individual and have no history of racial prejudice.The department needs to empower the judges with skills that will ensure they handle such type of cases with seriousness they deserve as it is only through this way that our judicial system will be seen to serve all equally regardless of their race, creed or even the social status they hold in the society. Selection of juries is another area that needs to handled with a lot of caution some of them may be compromised to vote on a certain way which promotes the already existing disparity .The judiciary should make sure that men and women who are selected in the jury are people of high integrity, those who are not bias ed and show high respect for the all people regardless of diversity. Judges need to set precedent on application of the law equally, precedence that should be authoritative such that the whole system will adopt to ensure all who are brought before them are treated with fairness as required by the natural justice and our constitution as well.The judicial department needs to ensure that systems are in place for those who feel they have been discriminated to register their complaints and the necessary remedies taken. The appellate court should be fully empowered to address this issue comprehensively and in a manner that all will be satisfied and justice will have prevailed in such systems. (Murray, F 2003) With the responsibility of interpreting the laws being vested on this department by our constitution.The judicial system should uphold this responsibility and advise the congress to look at all those laws which seem to apply selectively. These laws need to be changed without deviatin g from their initial course of making them, which was to fight crime. They should be applied equally to all. We should not have some groups being treated leniently yet the magnitude of the crime is the same. The judiciary system can save this nation from the agony of going through another era of discrimination in our society.If it upholds the responsibility bestowed by the citizens of America through the constitution it can cement the gains we have so far made as far as eliminating segregations in our community is concerned. Criminals need to be treated equally and fairly, no one should receive punishment which is not equivalent to the crime committed neither should be there lesser punishment for a crime committed. It is only fair application of justice that this department will be viewed in the lenses of equalizing all the America as far as law is concerned. The department cannot accept failing as this will be doom for America as a nation. References Kinzie, M (2002) Product liability and litigation. Clifton Park, Newyork. Jeremy, K. (2004) Discrimination in our laws. American perspective. Straus and Graux.Newyork Wolf, D (2006) Law and the racial politics. Harper Collins, Newyork. Hurst, C. (2001) Crime and the law: social perspective.W.W.Norta, Newyork. Murray, F (2003) American judicial system. Sierra club books, Sanfrancisco

Marketing Research Proposal for a Study about Determination of Coffee Essay

Marketing Research Proposal for a Study about Determination of Coffee Shop Franchisee Business in Western Australia - Essay Example The client management feels that the strategy to open franchisee stores in the upcoming suburban areas with considerable young population will be appropriate. However they are not sure whether it will do well. Other coffee bars have already come up in the said areas. However, it is too early to say whether they too will be successful. The client wants to gauge the demand for their products which is pizza and coffee with and assortment of snacks. They would like to find the demand for their brand of stores and the way people in the region perceive it. It wants to know whether enough opportunity for franchising exists in the region. To know whether there is enough possibility for the brand to open and run a new store in every area identified for the same in the next two years. Apart from the immediate demand, the client wants to know whether considerable business opportunity for a relatively sustainable span of time exists or not. Research problem As mentioned above, the client wants t o measure the demand for its franchisee stores in the identified areas. They have hired us for the purpose and expect us to present the report within a span of three months. The client problem warrants a thorough study of the market, with measurable outcomes. In order to accomplish the task, a study shall be undertaken to understand the underlying factors for current state of the demand and its future ramifications for the coffee industry in general. The Coffee chain store brands need to be subject to a comparative analysis and the competition from stand alone coffee stores needs to be gauged. A thorough analysis of the consumer trends and preferences towards coffee consumption needs to be done with respect to the locations identified by the client for the purpose. The locations shall be subject to separate inspection on measurable parameters which will eventually contribute to the measurement of the location wise demand for the client coffee and snacks store brand. The study will a lso seek to establish the possibility of enough franchisee ventures at the rate as mentioned by the client. The study will not only seek to measure the current demand for the Clients’ stores but also enough demand for future. The study will analyse the historical sales figures and consumer preferences. In combination with the survey of the consumer tastes it will try and arrive at sales projections for the next five years for each proposed store location. The projections will be categorized for different items on the Client coffee store menu and will suggest ways to maximize profits by better menu planning. Research Objectives Thus, based on the discussion of the research problem, the study will be directed at fulfilling the following salient research objectives: Measurement of current demand for coffee and snack stores in the region (O1) Measurement of current demand for client brand of stores in the locations specified by the client (O2). Measurement of the current and futu re demand for the client’s brand of stores for next five years, based on the Franchisee model in the specified locations (O3) The study shall first seek to do a contextual scan of the above objectives and will check the validity of the objectives against the Client’s research problem. The scan shall be performed with the help of the pre study feedbacks and interactions with the client

The harm of the banking concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The harm of the banking concept - Essay Example till exams, after which a student forgets what he had studied. ii) The confidence level in students deteriorates due to lack of exposure and the tension and nervousness of remembering all the stuff written in textbooks during exams. iii) Intense pressure of memorizing and learning the textbooks without understanding it properly may divert the interest of students away from studies. Among all the bad results, these three are the worst because the students are said to be educated when they understand what is being taught instead of merely memorizing their syllabus. But, education has now become a concept of â€Å"remembering† more than â€Å"understanding†, educators have lost the meaning for teaching students. Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator who has left a significant mark on thinking about progressive practice wrote in â€Å"The ‘Banking Concept’ of Education† his idea of two different education methods which are the â€Å"banking† concept and the â€Å"problem posing† concept. In banking education, teachers usually assume that the students know nothing at all and then take full advantage of this assumption. They just simply feed the students with information and students are forced to swallow it all up. On the other hand, problem posing education encourages the students to develop the habit of gaining knowledge by doing practical experiments and research works rather than just noting down the lecture of the teacher without pondering on the topic. This process involves an interaction between the teacher and the students, which eventually leads to a stronger teacher-student relationship. This helps a student to be more frank with a teacher to clarify all the confusions that usually evolve in a student’s brain. It also helps a student to develop keen interest in any topic that is being taught. Freire thinks problem posing is better than the banking concept, and I am also in favor of problem posing method. Problem posing enables the students to talk, think and hold discussions among each other within the class as well as even after the class timings, which no doubt can be listed among the healthy activities. On the contrary, banking concept develops the habit of â€Å"instant memorizing† just before the exams. The knowledge students gained through the method of banking concept is usually temporary in their memory and does not benefit the student in the future. This is because the teachers don’t care whether the students really understand the text or not, even if they care, they pay no attention to communicate with the students to make themselves clear. Students force themselves to accept the information and memorize it only for the sake of getting good grades instead of having a passion to learn. The students can easily forget all the memorized information

What is the purpose of fashion Does this help or harm humans Essay

What is the purpose of fashion Does this help or harm humans - Essay Example , it would be easy to get â€Å"important information (or misinformation) as to†¦occupation, origin, personality, opinions, tastes, sexual desires and current mood† (Lurie, 184). This way, fashion becomes a channel through which the individual communicates to the world, without the use of the language of words. Additionally, the purpose of fashion is to influence the world, through portraying to others, what a person would like the world to know about him/her, or the way the individual would like to be viewed by others. Consequently, since the language of fashion is understood by the world, â€Å"if clothing is a language, it must have a vocabulary and a grammar like other languages† (Lurie, 185). Further, fashion also plays the role of separating an individual from the others, considering that when an individual is dressed in a typical way that the others perceive to be different, the individual is already differentiated from the masses. In this regard, fashion se rves as a means of promoting individuality. Unfortunately, in reality, fashion has had some harm on humans, considering that rather than fashion conforming to individuals; it is the individuals who have been forced to conform to fashion. This is because; â€Å"in fashion classrooms and design studios, the human figure is proportioned to emphasize the clothing, not the body† (Herman, 2). Thus, fashion has been established by the designers with an artistic perception of people, such that it conforms to the espoused slim and model-like individuals, while the rest, who may have some extra pound, curves or weight are left out, thus lowering their self-esteem. This is more especially because, â€Å"the fashion worlds emphasis on tall, thin and young women is frequently cited as contributing to poor self-esteem, anorexia and bias against the overweight† (Herman, 1). Moreover, while fashion is a way of individual expression that differentiates an individual from the masses, extreme application of fashion serves to

Perfect Body Image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Perfect Body Image - Essay Example Thus, only some women really need perfect body image as a part of their professional occupation and life style. To these groups belong film stars and TV stars, fitness trainers and fashion models. Film and TV stars are the main groups which really needs an ideal body image. Modern people judged others, and expected to be judged by other people, as being "Fashion In" or "Fashion Out " depending on whether they met the operant criteria. Those who best portrayed the "Fashion In" look became what the people called "role models." Those women selected as role models then set the standards for what other people emulated and perceived as right and normal (Gilbert 98). The people's desires for being judged "Fashion In" could conflict with their interests in developing other characteristics they valued, such as the characteristic of individuality; however, most people remained painfully aware of the problems associated with low performance with respect to fashion. That is, they explained how an assignation as "Fashion Out" carried a heavy social cost by relegating a person to an inferior social position. When judged as "Fashion Out, " any person could expect to be considered as general ly undesirable. Gilbert (98) explained one of the indignities a person might expect to suffer when judged as "Fashion Out." "When a person is fashion out they will usually get talked about by other people to other people. Although it's not nice to talk about people, it's something that just happens" (Gilbert 91). This social reality made it important for the people to know the bases for judgments about one's fashion status. In the following excerpt from one conversation about fashion, the people tried to help me understand some of the complexities involved in distinguishing between In their images the "Fashion In" woman is adorned in name brand clothes and shoes that cost a certain amount of money. Thus if a woman does not come from a family with the required level of economic buying power, she is forced to find other means to make the appropriate acquisitions or accept a status as "Fashion Out." (Rothschild 65). Fitness trainers need an ideal body image in order to promote healthy life style and active life style. For this group of women, ideal body means health and good pussycat form. Through their approach these researchers constructed health as an individual's problem and responsibility. By continuing to individualize health and health behaviors, we are able to blame the "victim" (Gilbert 84). While individuals may certainly have power to control certain types of health-related problems, those who individualize the phenomenon of health also camouflage the social, relational, and communal aspects of health (Rothschild 65). They divert attention from much-needed discussion of society's collective influence, concern, and responsibility. Thus, rather than simply viewing health as unidimensional and personal, we might be better off to think of health as a dynamic and complex social phenomenon occurring at the intersection of individual, social, relational, and communal planes. Further, viewin g health in this way enables us to politicize the concept of health.

The Patricia Dunn Case and Ethics and HP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Patricia Dunn Case and Ethics and HP - Essay Example HP, the world leader in computer hardware technology, printers is also at forefront in propagating ethical business practices. The Business Ethics of HP are succinctly summed up in the following words of its Chairman Michael Hurd. â€Å"Winning in the market is not important; it is how you get those results. Ethics and compliance is fundamental part of a company’s work culture. Ethical leadership is about each individual’s leadership and actions with others. Just as we have responsibility to our customers, we have a responsibility to ourselves. The standards provide clarity and guidance on how HP expects all employees to operate on a daily basis. (Hurd).† The employees are encouraged to develop a sense of fairness, justice and to adopt right course on the basis of deontological principle—a result is good only as long as it has been attained through good action. â€Å"The word deontology derives from the Greek words for duty (deon) and science (or study) of (logos). (stanford.edu, 2007).† Michael Hurd sums up the Deontological ethics as the core of business principles and values of HP in the following words, â€Å"While working for the best interests of HP, you have a duty to be ethical and lawful in your dealings with customers, channel partners, and competitors, as well as with your HP colleagues.† The Article 2.1 of Standard Business Code (SBC) outlines the deontological ideal in the HP’s working.

3 questions need answers Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

3 questions need answers - Coursework Example Musical examples combining these are; Tossin and Turnin (Bobby Lewis), Hey Little Cobra (Bruce and Terry), Dream Love (Bobby Darin), The Happy Organ (Dave Cortez) and The Twist (Chubby Checker). In America in the 1950s, popular music dominated and totally defined musical trends. Earlier on at the end of the World War II, swing had been replaced by classic pop. The post war swing put emphasis on orchestration while pop focused on storyline and emotions. 1950s saw emotional delivery in pop music reaching the apex especially in the miniature psycho-drama songs by Johnnie Ray, a singer and writer. Due to the fan hysteria at this time when most of the fans were teenagers, the birth of other genres like rock n roll came to root through the original pioneers. This evolution was caused by amongst others; Jezebel (Cry of the Wild Goose), Johnnie Ray (The Four Lads), Frank Sinatra (Young at Heart), Tony Bennett (Cold) and Rosemary Clooney (Come On-a My House). These two bodies came to aid artists in their music given that radio stations had the habit of discriminating against some upcoming musicians. Moreover, even the established artists were not benefitting from the music they created and there was an inevitable move to try and harmonize conditions in the industry

Using Your adopt a Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Using Your adopt a Business - Assignment Example On that note, pre-purchase involve an awareness of the clients such as the products and services they want. Additionally, in sensitization of awareness, the retailer must learn the preferences and tastes of clients and receive a reliable feedback (Jefferson). That aspect brings us to information search. In order to gather a database related to customers, the business retailer should venture in the field and ask questions. Similarly, after information search an evaluation of alternatives and decision concerning purchase is significant. Furthermore, in a service encounter stage, an evaluation of contacts in terms of low and high should be considered. This assists in understanding of the servuction system and implications on service delivery in the business and how it affects clients. Additionally, in the post-purchase stage, a strict analysis of service performance is imperative in order to plan for future intentions. However, in Flower of Service Model there are various dimensions of how the business fits. For example, starting with business core service, payment before any delivery is extended to the customers. Furthermore, in terms of customer satisfaction, when one petal of the flower is broken such as hospitality during service, clients are bound to complain. Therefore, in applying Flower of Service Model, the retailer receives information through consultation from various sources (Mary). In addition, the retailer should consider taking orders earlier to avoid running out of stock. This will involve recording billings of stock and purchases made and profits and losses incurred. Alternatively, in terms of enhancement and facilitation of customer processes, the model, customers need to given relevant information connected to commodities and services offered by the retailer. Additionally, information should cover issues of sales, product change, warnings and reminders among others. There are numerous

Nervous System and Drug Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nervous System and Drug Use - Essay Example Many drugs are at the exposure of many students, with universities and colleges registering the highest number of users around the globe. Drugs are prohibited for a reason, mainly because of their negative effect to the health and performances of people. Majoring on the three commonly abused drugs in the world; methamphetamine, cocaine and alcohol. It remains a fact that the abuse of the three is far much below anywhere near an end to abuse. From my point of view, the question at stake remains on the remedy to these drugs in terms. Years of research and campaigns have done little in stopping the rampant use of these drugs. As a student, I am at the exposure of the same drugs with the highest risk possible since most drug addicts do refer to their college times as the commencement of their addiction. Parties are always the order of events with almost any function being characterized with the latter. Though alcohol is at the forefront in terms of use, methamphetamine and cocaine are in creasingly catching up at an alarming rate. Obviously, with a mention of increased use, college or campus life is the most affected. This calls for an inner depth study of the three drugs. Alcohol destroys the liver and affects the brain in irreversible conditions. Cocaine causes problems to hefty smokers especially in the respiratory system while methamphetamine is a popular party drug with over seventy thousand users. . Meth, crystal, ice, crank†¦ is the one drug that stops at nothing. It is capable of keeping one high for a constant twelve hours or more; methamphetamine is a super speed drug, three or even four times stronger than cocaine. It is very popular, especially among young college adults in the United States. Costing as cheap as twenty-five dollars for a quarter gram, the drug is swallowed, snorted, smoked and shot straight in the veins by use of needles. The drug originated from the western parts of the United States of America knowing no borders or social class; s preading through Nebraska to the eastern cities. As by 2008, there existed a whole bunch of 25 million users of the drug. For instance, in London, Meth is a popular party drug with over seventy thousand users. That demonstrates how much this drug is nothing near a passing phenomenon. It has and shows no signs of stopping its teeth from sinking into our society. According to police in various states, crime committers are the very victims of the drug. They steal property, assault, murder and always possess needles and fake ids. A quick glance at Portland jail reveals that for every four inmates, one is a meth addict. The victims appear ashamed and always hallucinating. Crosschecking at the digital records office, the pictures immediately reveal that the victims appear older; more like the living dead. Even individuals with strong and tough looks are not to spare, the scenario is a devastating one. They suffer many problems. Meth teeth for instance, set in when the acids and bacteria r esulting from meth corrode the gum and the teeth. Imagine ripe fruits falling on a tree; that is the fate of a crack addict’s teeth. This is because the victims rarely brush their teeth nor seek dental attention. The reason is obvious; they only have money to purchase the crystal. The brain on the other hand reacts immediately to meth. It results to euphoria, confidence and an energetic feeling; this is key attraction to the drug. The drug was originally engineered to trick the brain.

Business Types of Ownership Essay Example for Free

Business Types of Ownership Essay

Catwalk Models And The Role Model Debate Communications Essay

Catwalk Models And The Role Model Debate Communications Essay Fashion models have been under the media spot light not only for their catwalks but also for posing as a main character on the ‘size zero debate. Who is a size Zero and who is a role model? It is named to be a woman whose clothing size is a, size 2 or less in the US and a size 4 or less in the UK with a waist measurement which is less than 23 inches a size zero and a reality size model is a female who is a size 16 or above on average with a healthy body mass index, within the present sociological statistics of the UK. It has now become a trend for the teenagers and adult females to have a very skinny thin figure as a size zero where it would be equal to a waist measurement of an average 8 year old. Many health concerned organisations and pressure groups have brought forward the request of banning under weight models from the catwalks due to the loss of young models of ‘Anorexia Nervosa which has sparked a global debate. On one hand this essay will evaluate how right it is for brands to believe that the use of a reality size model in association with their brands will cheapen perceptions, make the brand less desirable and drive them down market and also on the other hand how insulting and rude it can be on a consumer when most of the lifestyle brand adverts use ‘fantasy images on their marketing and communicational materials. From the dawn of the day until we ‘call it a day we are wrapped with different marketing communicational materials. Communications are being designed ‘for the public by the public. The public opinions and view points could be strong enough to the extent of building or even tarnishing a brand image. As I see, products organisations establish themselves as brands through thoughts, emotions, and psychological relationships built with consumers either by creating a positive or negative impact. It is very important for brands to develop and maintain a positive image amongst its target audience. The prices, product quality, services offered, ethical behaviour, corporate colours, logos, staff are some thoughtful points for a brand to position them in the minds of the consumers. Marketing communications help brands to establish themselves through effective methods of communicating with the public. Most brands use human models, celebrities, opinion leaders to represent and endor se the brand image. Brand identity and brand image realms the brand culture as a necessary complement to understanding brand meaning and brand creation (Schroeder and Salzer-Morling 2006). Kelman (1961) explains the level of perceived credibility as seen in terms of perceived objectivity and expertise and the degree to which the source is regarded as attractive and message and thus recipients are motivated to develop similar association or position and the degree of power that the source is believed to possess. Brands make use of models with dynamic attractiveness who are perceived to be with likeable qualities and who blends well with the product category or organisational values and image, in order to develop a positive attractiveness towards the brand by recipients. More often as brands clearly identify the extent any society would go in accepting the appealing sense of a brand ambassador linked to the brand the more likely it is for brands to use very thin and size zero models for their advantage in creating communicational materials. According to Kahle Homer (1985), when a celebrity/models physical attractiveness is congruent with the presence and degree to whic h the product advertised enhances attractiveness (i.e., attractive model linked with an attractiveness-related product),the ‘Match-Up hypothesis would predict a positive impact upon product and advertisement evaluations Still many lifestyle brands have been accused for using skinny models for their advertisements. Should brands and fashion users use skinny models? If it is the right model and fits well with the brand identity the use of a skinny model may strengthen the brands position. I believe cutting edge Image courtesy of the advertising Archives Though it is appealing to admire skinny models in association with brands which strengthens brand identity, the public have accused many life style brands for not using reality size models over skinny models and that brands believe the use of a reality size models may cheapen its perception and drive them down market. Is it actually fare for brands to invest in reality size models as per the public request? With the much debated size zero the role model debate being wide spread Marks Spencer who sells garments for any size individual challenged the stereotype techniques of advertisements. In 2001 RKCR/Y R released a TV campaign for Marks Spencer (MS) which featured a size 16 naked woman running up a hill shouting: Im normal!. The nudity of the model suggested that the media have created another beautiful and sexual model even she is not a skinny one through the techniques of erotic creations. This advert then was heavily ridiculed by the public. MS had to withdraw this advert in order to be safeguarding its brand identity. It is the same public who request for reality size models to be featured on advertisements ridicule them, once aired.Examples as such fear any other brands in investing on reality size models as the bottom line effect would be that the public would reject the brand as a whole. However critics point out that the same firm uses more traditional images to promote its other brands as Lynx deodorant which features skinny models. The public keep appreciating this advert which is also making use of semi-nude models that are not of size zero to attract the target audience, which has been highly appreciated by the public. Why are sales on magazines and advertisements with not quite real but glamorous skinny models filled to the brim where airbrush imagery portraying in a fantasy world so high? Why do authors and doctors sell diet remedies quickly? Being thin and loosing the fatty deposits is what the public like to see. The editor of Vogue UK (Alexandra Shulman) says that ‘Magazines simply sell images that people want to see, and that the public wouldnt find even a size 14 model attractive. It is not exactly a secret that gorgeous looking skinny models help make effective advertisements. Is it not right for brands to invest on skinny models rather than inves ting on a reality size model and been driven down market? Media on the other hand which is regarded as a highly persuasive path, has been capable of developing photographic images through methods such as airbrushing, camera tricks image touch ups to create certain body types, shapes figures in to the public eyes like never before. Simply media could be named as a very sharp weapon which depicts to us with images we have to be in order to be attractive and accepted by the society we live in. So, is it truly insulting to consumers that many lifestyle brand advertisers continue to portray fantasy images? The photographers are not the only ones with a thirst for creative and artistic images in this modern world; its also the re-touches and the advance technology of Photoshop who does the trick of creating unbelievably beautiful and amazing images. Just about every image we see in magazines, adverts and most news papers will have been altered in someway to create a new level of human perfection with anti wrinkles, eye bags, pores, veins and facial hair. People in the industry always say women prefer fantasy and aspiration, but how far could this statement be true? Lizzie Miller photographed by Walter Chin in the September issue of US Glamour magazine. The first photograph (left hand) of US model Lizzie Miller has not been air brushed at all whilst the second photograph (right hand) of hers is clearly done. She describes her experience as a ‘revelation when she first went in to a fashion shoot with other skinny girls where most of them had either pimples or stretch marks which made her so comfortable with the marks she had, but by the time the photographs were published on magazines most of their real appearance had been airbrushed out. Why do females imaging that models are perfect? Its the photographers along with the retouches, publicists, models and brands who display a perfect image to enhance the brand perception. For a models fantasy image to look so amazing it takes a good photographer, good lighting, a quality makeup artist, and then a whole load of creatives to sit in front of a computer to produce an image. It may make one wonder why they bothered using a human model at all. Why has it been to the extremes of airbrushing if it is not the real models picture published? Brands have identified the degree how consumers reach towards their ideal self from the actual self image. Humans have multiple mental representations of self (Higgins 1987) namely actual self image and Ideal self image. A matured consumer would like to see herself way below the actual age, and a consumer who is of a fuller figure would like see herself with a perfect figure. This is why most beauty product rituals of feminine grooming aimed at senior female segments use air brushed. Images of models with healthy looking perfect skin and smiles and a perfect look that any matured looking female will be dreaming to have. In other words these brands seduce women in to consumption of the brand in order to be accepted by the loved once in an unrealistic manner. Potential new buyer for the brands with the use of skinny models and models in fantasy images are challenged on the grounds that if a brand can make the skinny models look so amazing the way they look on the photograph then it should be good enough for them to use it too. If there is a consumer already making use of the particular brand then the product experience will contribute to a support argument and these advertising messages can be used to reinforce previous brand choice. These technology savvy laboratories help brands establish the values of differentiating their products from the competing other brands in the market and thus helping the brands to inform, remind and persuade through quality but artificial advertisements strategies. In an ethical way of contributing towards marketing communications, I believe consumers need to be told the truth and appreciates seeing realistic images associated with brands in advertisements. Brands try to enter a consumers mind through designing the adverts emotionally and making the consumers feel guilt of how they posse in the society. The images decoded to gain brand perception are nothing but fantasy images of a dream world. With the development of technology and social networking the word of mouth spreads that these images are unhealthy and unrealistic. Consumers can no longer be fooled to believe they are real images. However as we live in an image culture we take our cues from the culture but are not taught how to deconstruct images correctly. Its like living in an audio culture and not being taught to listen. Thinking deep in to it, would a brand be famous for having models that look perfect to nothing and their by convincing the public the brand is for real? Or would t he consumers be intelligent enough to say if the brand is trying to fool its customers by using fake and airbrushed images the brand too could be simply a cover up/air brushed product which is not for real? If brands receive the prominence in the market place by the use of skinny models and as the media experts say that public keep on requesting for fantasy images what is all about the size zero Vs the role model debate? There are the more concerning fundamental and ethical issues related to this topic. In order to maintain and keep such an extra skinny figure, models have to watch what they eat. Models starve to maintain that figure and, as a result these models face the fears of ‘Anorexia Nervosa which is a physical illness that describes an eating disorder characterized by extremely low body weight, body image distortion and an obsessive fear of gaining weight (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders The world health organisations international statistical classification of Diseases and related health problems) which can easily lead in It has become the latest trend in fashion with retailers as http://www.size-0.com, ‘Outfits Etc-Mumbai, India selling garments only for the extra thin. Many major retailers in the high street as Top Shop, MS and even George-ASDA store the size zero garments as there is a growing demand for these garments. Many parents are even concern that the favourite toy item ‘Barbie doll figure could widen ups the opportunity for the kids to think that its the acceptable size at their early stages. This is not only a concern about the girls but in the broad picture of the boys too. The perfect airbrushed images they see of females, the extra thin size they see on adverts make them As a marketer, consumer and a female I see this communications issue in so many different ways. There is surely a communications issue that imprints and decodes the incorrect message to the recipients where media can be pointed a figure, but we also need to understand that from year to year, age to age and country to country the ideal body shape changes. Certainly it is very thin at the moment. We experienced the Twiggy in the 60s and the heroine chic in the 90s when being thin was the most fashionable thing. There is so much attention been given nowadays to size zero models but the ideal has always been various kinds of thin, with a different name. It is a known fact that a womans self esteem is highly connected with the way they look. However it is only the people who lack self confidence and have low self esteem sink them selves with the idea of crossing any boarder of doing anything to look good. As the managing director of Propaganda Mike Philipson, correctly said to Haymarket Business Publications Ltd Using bigger women is only a cosmetic solution to a psychological issue for women with low self-esteem, who aspire to the catwalk look. Culture, social impact, personality and many more could lead a women being skinny. Eating disorders are never the cause of just one thing. Dieting behaviours in the home environment, pressure from the loved ones to reduce weight could also draw a woman towards developing eating disorders. The editor of Vogue magazine UK, Alexandra Shulman once said ‘My dad said I will never get a husband if I didnt lose weight It is sad but honestly the truth is that when brands make use of thin models and if they are on a cover page of a magazine with fantasy images people are drawn to pu rchase. Each season when organisations and designers show off their tiring efforts of designs the size zero models are been hand picked for the mere reason of displaying the design and the true beauty of the garments more effectively to the general public. It has been identified that the use of size zero models and fantasy images destroy the minds of teenagers as well as adults like it has done with a few catwalk models in the past. The brands are responsible for informing the contemporary women how much little they have to rejoice with themselves if they do not adopt the modern style of living it approach. On one hand whilst saying that it is a more effective method for brands to use skinny models as brand ambassadors in order to keep the brands treated on the top of the consumers minds the media needs to have a great deal of responsibility on the impact it will have on the more vulnerable members of the society. Techniques as airbrushing need to be carried out without a doubt but with cer tain limitations and controls. There surely is a line somewhere between reality and fantasy when it comes to images and Photoshop has only helped to blur that line. Advertising standards and consumer watch dogs complaints should be considered more seriously when ethical and humanitarian issues are been brought up. I believe we would be just as interested and keen in purchasing magazines overtime if magazines were strong enough to advertise real size models on their pages and covers. Trustworthiness and expertise are the two principal elements of source credibility (Chris Fill 2005).It is important for the public to realise that if a women displays a size zero figure, it could be due to the fact that either she have unusually skinny genes, or she is harming her self terribly to look that way. The younger women should be given some sort of understanding to read such articles with a certain degree of scepticism and emotional intelligence, which will lead them to make their own mind up without being seduced by this type of content. Tools as public relations has been used as a means of managing communication between parties, where as now communication is regarded as a means of managing g relationships (Kent and Taylor 2002). This impact of brands and media needs to be neutralized by proper management. As consumers it is wise to think back if the relevant authorities and government bodies act positively towards saving the true victims? According to the Telegraph the proposed law in France request that all enhance photographs should read ‘photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person which would apply to all advertisements as well as press photos, art photography, political campaigns, on product packaging. The French fashion industry has come up with a voluntary solution of chartering to refraining from ‘extreme thin images prior to legal intervention.Fashion weeks in Milan and Madrid have gone up the extent of bringing up concrete campaigns against the ultra thin size zero and ev en banning the size zero models and whoever was deemed unhealthy by the body mass index from the cat walks This assignment articulates the ways in how brands perceive them selves in the top of the minds of the consumers by using size zero skinny models and also the ways of creating fantasy images with the help of advanced technology as airbrushing. Whats in reality and how consumers should look at this communicational issue in order best practise healthy living in a real world depends upon how well the consumers understand this issue, the ethical concerns and the damaging elements of it. End of the day it is worth thinking if the media is worse than it used be or if consumers are more aware of what brands do to promote. (just over Words:-3336) References * Chris Fill (2005) Marketing Communications * Schroeder and Salzer-Morling (2006):Snapshots Aesthetics in Brand Culture:Jonathan E Schoeder * Chambers, Karen S. (1999). Niche Marketing Pie in the Sky or Sweet Reality? Retrieved from http:www.annfisher.net.au. * Dunn-Cane, Kathleen, Gonzalez, Joan L. and Stewart, Hildegarde P. (1999). Managing the New Generation. AORN Journal, 69.5: 930 (1). * Featherstone, Mike. (1991) Body in consumer culture. Body: social process and cultural theory. London:Sage 170-196. * Furman, Frida Kerner. (1997) Facing the Mirror Older Women and The Beauty Shop Culture. New York: Routledge * Hakim, Catherine. 2003. Models of the Family in Modern Societies: Ideals and Realities. Aldershot: Ashgate * Hollows, Joanne. (2000). Feminism, femininity and popular culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press * Wolf, Naomi. (1991). The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are used against women. New York: Bantum * (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1185166/ALEXANDRA-SHULMAN-My-dad-said-Id-husband-I-didnt-lose-weight.html).

Critical Reflection Journalism Portfolio

Critical Reflection Journalism Portfolio The portfolio is designed to showcase my work and abilities as a potential journalist. In putting together my portfolio, I was guided by my interests; principles of journalism as taught in class and the requirements of the module. In the portfolio, I wrote about a train driver who blamed a non-existent bad weather for jumping the platform; the ‘dishonest’ and double standard manner the Cameron led coalition has handled the issue of tax avoidance involving Starbucks and the cases of looted funds from developing countries coming into the West, including Britain. I also wrote about the possibility that British universities may be turning out Islamic ‘terrorists’. There was also an interview with a Social Worker, who chose to remain anonymous, on the difficulties of effectively discharging social care work. The first thing I noticed with the module was the fast pace of activities required to meet my portfolio requirements. Ordinarily my class work tends to move fairly slowly. The truth is I was not prepared for the speed and discipline portfolio production demands. More importantly I had problems picking a news event to cover out of all the options suggested. There is a reason. In my first year at the university, for one of my journalism modules the class was asked to cover a particular lecture at the University’s Stratford campus. The whole exercise ended in agony. I ended up trying to make sense of a highly technical Science lecture and to make it relevant and interesting to an audience that was not scientific or particularly interested in how scientists go about their research. It was a nightmare. I must have done something however because I did very well with the copy. It was a difficult exercise and I believe I made a mental note to stay away from such assignments in the future. This explains therefore, my decision to write on economic and business topics. In one or two of my copies I veered to political issues but at the heart of all this was my passion for issues affecting my native African roots, the perceived injustices, inequalities, inefficient and corrupt regimes in African countries and Nigeria in particular. The general view is that such regimes are largely sustained by the patronising Western powers. I have conducted interviews before but was unprepared for an interviewee who wanted to remain anonymous. I was therefore unsure of how to retain credibility for my copy on social work without betraying the confidentiality I promised my interviewee. I decided therefore to tie the piece to the Baby P scandal. The core of the story was the burden of expectations society placed on the professionals who work in the social care work without , as they see it, â€Å"adequate resources and remuneration†, and also without making allowance for the fact that care service is not an exact science. Getting someone to speak on record for this piece was not easy and so, rather than ask around I decided to take the advice by Formichelli, Linda Diana Burrell (2003), and â€Å" found my own source†. Another advice I took to heart was to â€Å"give my interviewee a verbal ‘thanks’†after the interview. The module instilled in me a number of significant transferable skills. The first is the need to be organised. Nothing significant is achieved without detailed and thorough planning. I have also taken an ‘entrepreneurial’ attitude to work and learnt to be focused on the ‘consumer’ – the audience. Most importantly, I was learnt to have an eye for newsworthy stories, with my target audience at the back of my mind. For example I was in that Southeastern train that jumped the platform but was still able to write the story in the third party. I have learnt how to write news and features for publication. I learnt to generate ideas, to research those ideas and to produce copies based on those ideas, to a high standard. I have also been able to detail proposals to a high degree and therefore in my view in a position to pitch for commission with editors. But I am still learning The module also helped me to take advantage of new social media tools with which journalists can communicate with their audiences.I am now able to confidently upload copies to websites, where allowed. I am also able to write directly online and given the fact that the internet and social media tools can now be monitored, I am able to apply journalism principles responsibly. These principles include my obligation to truth; discipline of verification and to recognise the platform as a forum for public criticism and compromise. I am aware also that I am allowed to exercise my personal conscience and take full advantage of my blog and twitter accounts. I have come away from the module recognising the primacy of traditional journalism values, particularly that of fact verification. I recall a situation concerning the copy I submitted for publication on the risingeast.co.uk website on the looting and transfer of funds from developing countries, particularly Nigeria to the West. Dr. Andrew Calcutt, my module tutor was unwilling to publish certain parts of that copy until he had evidence that is already in the public domain on the individuals named in the piece. I went back and sourced more than thirty one pages of newspaper articles for him. I appreciated his position especially when he said he was acting on advice from the legal department. This informed my approach to all the pieces that I submitted. Additional values I picked on include: truth, clear and clean writing. These are core skills and knowledge that I believe will make me a competitive player in the contemporary media and journalism industries. I have learnt to think clearly and to make sense of the world around me; I also learnt to communicate clearly and directly; and to work co-operatively with colleagues. To be organized in my work is to be able to meet deadlines and to present my stories and their ideas to other people. The module helped me to eliminate the boundaries between print, multimedia and broadcast, and to be strong on good writing and critical thinking. It was uplifting seeing my module leader present a fresh approach to my first copy in minutes. I told myself, with time and practice, I’ll be like that. I learnt in practical terms how to identify workable and unique angles to news stories and features and how to remain focused on the message that I wish to convey. Another outcome was the how and why I should forget I have an opinion when putting a copy together. I am allowed to have an opinion but that opinion must not get in the way of the story I am telling my audience. I believed I managed that in the copies in my portfolio. I have always had an interest in following news, both serious and the mundane. This module reinforced this trait, which I consider one of my strengths. I am at home reading news online, in print and on mobile devices. One other strength I believe I have and which is essential to my programme is that of curiosity. I tend to observe and explore, asking questions, even in my everyday life. I read newspapers and magazines, watch news on television and listen to news on radio and still query them, trying to see them from different angles to see if they will come out the same way. I tend to stretch myself and to do things I wouldnt normally do, if only for the experience. This is essential to journalism. Lastly, I believe that any journalistic story must remain significant, interesting and relevant. I know I am good at this, but also mindful of the need to keep the news comprehensive and proportional. I appreciate that though I did not produce as many copies as I proposed to deliver, I am encouraged by the fact that I have picked up the necessary knowledge and skill to do so should I be able to work up the necessary discipline to effectively manage my time. I also note that I need to improve on my research efforts, particularly into the academic overview of journalism as a discipline. Nonetheless I have learnt a lot from this module. I know in practical terms what News is; I know how to recognise my audience and what it wants; how to write a story and how to pitch it to an Editor. I have picked up skills, I have met challenges which my training has helped me to get round. I have knowledge of how institutions work, and have highly developed communication skills which will work to my benefit. I am on my way. Bibliography Formichelli, Linda Diana Burrell (2003), The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success, New York: Marion Street Press Inc. Harrower, T (2007) Inside Reporting: A practical Guide to the Craft of Reporting, McGraw Hill, New York Sova, Dawn B. (2002), How to Write Articles for Newspapers and Magazines, London: Petersons,

Keeping Peace and Freedom :: Politics Political Freedom Essays

Keeping Peace and Freedom George Bush who is the President of the United States of America came and visited our small town of Flagstaff in September of 2002. As a leader of our country, he reminds the Americans that we should be grateful for our freedom. Through contextualizing, structure, and rhetorical appeals, he gets through to his listeners by reminding us all, that keeping peace and freedom is not an easy job to do. He tells us how lucky we are to have freedom, and what we have to do to keep our â€Å"homeland† safe for our children of today. He speaks on behalf of his people, and what he will do to keep his people safe from our enemies who â€Å"hate† us, because we choose to be free! As President, he is sworn to protect his people, and to keep everything in order in our country. He travels the world to try and promote peace among us and other countries. In this speech that was given by the President, he is speaking to everyone. The General Public, Professionals, Students, and every other citizen. He speaks of freedom and how to protect our â€Å"homeland†. He states â€Å"the enemies hate us because we have freedom†. (P. #3). As Americans we have the freedom to live where we want to, and how we want to. Most of all we have the â€Å"Freedom of Speech†. We voice our opinions when we feel it is necessary, without being punished by the government. In America, we stand together as one nation, to keep peace and freedom! Identifying the structure of Bush’s speech is ways to keep peace and freedom among everyone. In order to keep our freedom, we need to work together to keep our enemies out. He incorporates on how to eliminate all the â€Å"bad guys† one by one, so they will not hurt us again. Bush points out three main reasons to keep peace and freedom; 1.) Protecting our homeland! 2.) Hunting down the enemies. 3.) Preventing the killers from hurting America again. Protecting our homeland is a very difficult job to do, but it can be done when our people come together and fight for our nation.

Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People Essay -- Stephen Covey, 7 Habit

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was written by Stephen R. Covey in 1989. This book has been on the National Best Seller list for over 200 weeks. Many people have attended Covey’s seminars on the subject. Many companies have required top executives to read this book including AT & T, Dow Chemical, Ford, Deloitte and Touche, Marriott, Xerox and Ritz Carlton Hotels. This book proposes that there are seven habits that can be learned to improve one’s personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Covey describes a habit as â€Å"the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire.† Knowledge would represent the â€Å"what to do†, skill the â€Å"how to do†, and desire the â€Å"want to do†. In order to create a habit in our lives, we must have all three. Habits 1, 2, and 3 relate to Private Victory with habit 4, 5, and 6 relating to Public Victories and Habit 7 being involved with Renewal. Habit one is to be proactive. This habit says that as human beings we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We create our own destiny. The proactive person acts rather than waiting to be acted upon. According to Covey, part of increasing our self-awareness is understanding our Circle of Concern, that is, our range of concern with which we have mental or emotional involvement. A Circle of Influence resides inside the Circle of Concern reflecting those things over which we have control. Habit two is to begin with the end in mind. If we paint a visual image of what we want our life to be then we actually provide a frame of reference within which all our behaviors can be examined. We must understand where we are going. We should develop a personal mission statement. It will provide the basic direction of our lives. This statement will force us to give thought to our values and what we want to accomplish in life. In the third habit, Covey tells us to put first things first. Independence is crucial in this habit. Our personal integrity helps us to â€Å"walk our talk†. The strength of purpose enables us to do even those things we’d rather not, placing our value's first. This habit requires good time management. If the issue is not high priority, we must say â€Å"no† to reserve time for those items that are high priority. Through this habit effective management leads to effec... ... possible. This habit is making an investment in ourselves. This refers to taking care of our bodies. This includes eating right, getting enough sleep and engaging in regular exercise. Our physical well being will help us to be more proactive. The spiritual dimension of our lives must also be renewed. This is achieved through prayer, music, reading, meditation or nature. This touches the center of our beings. Sharpening the saw of the mental dimension comes through continuing education. Proactive people can figure out many ways to educate themselves. The best way to inform and expand your mind is through reading. Another tool used to sharpen the saw is through writing. Writing affects our ability to think, reason and to be understood effectively. One should spend one hour a day for the rest of your life sharpening the saw. This book is truly a work of art. The information is easily understood and is well communicated. Covey gives so many down to earth examples that it is easy to gain knowledge personally and professionally. I highly recommend this book and will definitely take the study course the next time it is offered at Columbia State. Pam Thomason

Victorian Era Fashion Essay examples -- Fashion

Introduction The Victorian Era is a remarkable time in history with the blooming industries, growing population, and a major turnaround in the fashion world. This era was named after Queen Victoria who ruled United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 1837 until she passed away 64 years later in January 1901.When Victoria received the crown, popular respect was strikingly low. The lack of respect for the position she had just come into did not diminish her confidence. Instead she won the hearts of Britain with her modesty, grace, straightforwardness, and her want to be informed on the political matters at hand even though she had no input. She changed Britain into a flourishing country. She also impacted how women interacted during this era based on her personality. Body In the time period of Queen Victoria's reign the population alone of Britain had grown from 10 million at the start of the 1800's to over 26 million by 1870. The British Empire grew and now held over a quarter of the world's population. When the empire was at its climax, it was the largest in history. The industrial revolution in Britain came with fantastic outcomes, such as huge technological revolutions and production of iron, coal, and cotton cloth increased dramatically. This increase in population and industrialization flooded the cities with peasants looking for jobs. Most of these people were living in poverty and hazardous conditions. This was when the first railway took form, allowing people to spread out and not crowd in the cities. Although people spread out, many still lived in slums and working conditions at the time were atrocious. Around 1833 through 1844 the Factory Act was finalized controlling child labor. Now children could not work... ...ation needed an inspiration, and she filled the position with ease. Works Cited Bernier, Jane, and Ruth E. Adomeit. Women's Fashion of the Victorian Era, 1837-1901. Cleveland Heights, OH: Borrower's, 1983. Print. Strachey, Lytton. Queen Victoria,. New York: Harcourt, Brace and, 1921. Print. "The Life & Times of Queen Victoria." Victorian Station-Victorian Decorating Ideas and Information about the Victorian Era. Victorian Station, 2001. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. . Thomas, Pauline W. "The Victorian EraFashion History." Victorian Era 1837-1901 Victorian Fashion History, Costume Social History. Fashion-Era.com, 2011. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. . "Victoria Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. .

Jay Gatsby Character Analysis Essay

The character Jay Gatsby, also known as James Gatz, is the key character in The Great Gatsby. He started out as a poor farmer’s son in North Dakota, and dropped out of college in Minnesota. He joined the military and during training meets Daisy, a beautiful rich woman living nearby, whom he falls in love with. Gatsby is soon shipped out for the war. Daisy then marries Tom Buchanan who is a rich aristocrat whose social standing is the same as Daisy’s, her ideal partner. Gatsby becomes rich from bootlegging after coming back from the war to impress and win back Daisy. Jay Gatsby carries a dark shroud around his past which makes him very mysterious to other characters in the book as well as to readers. Gatsby is an extremely generous man considering his roots as a poor farmer’s son. He claims to come from money but he was actually the son of a very poor farmer in North Dakota. Coming from no money he throws around his money frivolously like he always wished he could as a young boy. Gatsby throws parties every weekend, which anyone can attend and have a good time. At his parties there is always plenty of food and much to drink as well as music and dancing. At one of his parties, a woman named Lucille tore her dress on a chair, Gatsby heard of this and asked her for her name and address. Gatsby then bought her a new dress worth $265 and sent it to her within a week. â€Å"When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair†¦ I got a package from Croirier’s with a new evening gown in it† (Fitzgerald 43). Gatsby buys the dress because loves to flaunt his money for people to see how rich he is, and for Daisy to see how rich he’s become. He also offers Nick, Gatsby’s neighbor and Daisy’s cousin, a job in his business knowing he might need a little more money. Even though Nick didn’t take Gatsby up on his job offer it still shows that Gatsby trusts Nick and is a generous gesture. Gatsby is also generous in taking the blame for the death of Myrtle, Tom’s secret lover. It may not be of any monetary value but he loves Daisy enough to take the murder off her hands and take the blame himself. Gatsby’s generosity is a great attribute to his character, however most know him for the mystique and enigmatic presence. Jay Gatsby is quite the intriguing and mysterious character. Everyone attends his parties yet no one seems to really know anything about him. He makes grandiose claims of graduating from Oxford but can’t prove it, which adds a bit of mystique to his past, whether its false or real. Since many of the partygoers know little to nothing of Gatsby, many rumors are spread throughout the party. â€Å"He’s a bootlegger† and â€Å"One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to Von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil† (Fitzgerald 61) were some rumors spread about the second party Nick attended. The rumors differed from person to person but someone always seemed to have a different perspective of Jay Gatsby. When Nick is introducing Tom, Daisy’s husband, to Gatsby he disappears when Nick isn’t looking, and Nick doesn’t know why he left, or where he went. Gatsby left Nick alone with Tom because he didn’t want to meet with the man who stole Daisy from him. Nick, essentially being Gatsby’s only friend in the novel, is lied to by Gatsby about his past, but eventually after things don’t add up Gatsby lets the truth out. With years of telling lies Gatsby feels relieved to finally be able to tell someone the truth about himself. His roots of being a farmer’s son to being a rich man living in West Egg is suspicious to begin with. But saying that his money came from â€Å"some wealthy people in the middle west† (Fitzgerald 65) isn’t convincing. Gatsby uses his past to make a false social standing and to gain respect. However his facade has too many holes in it and soon his lies begin to catch up with him. His career in bootlegging has him running around with shady characters and disappearing from time to time. If his money wasn’t dirty, which he claims it isn’t then he’d have no reason to associate with gangsters such as Meyer Wolfsheim. The mystery surrounding Gatsby in the novel pales in comparison to the passion and devotion he carries for Daisy throughout the story. Jay Gatsby becomes devoted to winning the love of Daisy after hearing that she married Tom Buchanan. Even after the war and his shady business with Wolfsheim, Daisy is still the only woman in Gatsby’s heart. Gatsby becomes rich through bootlegging, which he could have gone to jail for just to get Daisy’s attention. Since Daisy is such a shallow woman Gatsby had to use riches and social standing to make her ‘love’ him. He buys a mansion in West Egg and flaunts his money and makes extravagant stories so he can be held at a high enough level to be with Daisy. Gatsby throws enormous parties every weekend in order to lure Daisy in by chance, however he never gets a reunion with his beloved until he meets Nick, Daisy’s cousin. Gatsby invited Nick to one of his parties to meet and befriend Nick, soon after he asked Nick to arrange the reunion. Nick is more like a stepping stone for Gatsby to get to Daisy than a friend, he takes Nick out as a friend but always seems distant. After Gatsby and Daisy meet for the first time in 5 years Gatsby shows her around his mansion to impress her, and it works. â€Å"That huge place there? † she cried pointing. (Fitzgerald 90). â€Å"I love it† (Fitzgerald 90). Later on after the affair Daisy and Gatsby are having gets a little more serious and Gatsby tries to make Daisy tell Tom that she never loved him. Gatsby’s only dream is for Daisy to leave Tom for him, but it is shattered because Daisy and Tom have a daughter and Daisy won’t leave Tom because he provides her with security. Tom comes from old money and he has a family with Daisy but Gatsby has new money from bootlegging, and still risks going to jail. His devotion doesn’t end there, when Daisy hits Tom’s lover Myrtle and leaves the scene without stopping, Gatsby takes the blame for the incident trying to protect Daisy. He even waits outside Daisy’s window to ensure that Tom doesn’t try to hurt her. His devotion for Daisy is so deep that he ends up dying for her, when Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, kills him thinking he ran over his wife. Gatsby’s unrequited love for Daisy eventually blossoms into an affair, but ultimately is the reason for his demise. Jay Gatsby, the main character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby holds a very large presence in the story. He is very shady in the beginning, always hiding and never being out in the open. He starts to show us a little about himself and becomes a bit understood, until his past doesn’t seem to add up. Once the truth comes out it leaves a bit of mystery around his movement in the story. The clouded past of James Gatz arouses curiosity of what he’s really up to and a mystery of what he’ll do next.

Literature Review – Work Choices of Married Women

Literature review The labour supply of women has been the subject of extensive study both in Australia and internationally. 1 Despite this, only a few international and Australian studies have examined the inter-temporal labour supply behaviour of women, and it remains a less understood area of labour supply research (Hyslop 1999). 2 However, study in this area is growing rapidly due to the increasing availability of panel data and improved computational power and techniques. This chapter reviews a selection of studies of inter-temporal labour supply of women in Australian and overseas. Past research Several international studies have examined inter-temporal persistence in labour supply. Shaw (1994) used the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) over the period 1967-1987 to measure persistence in (annual) working hours of white women in the United States. She found evidence of (statistically) significant persistence in an individual’s labour supply even after controlling for other influencing factors — such as wages, the age and number of children and individual health status. Further, the extent of persistence was found to have changed little over the 20 year period studied. Shaw also found that unobserved (time invariant) individual heterogeneity played an important role in the persistence. However, the study did not examine whether the persistence also resulted from unobserved transitory shocks (or errors) that might be serially correlated. Hyslop (1999), also using the PSID data (for the period 1979-1985), examined the dynamics of labour force participation of married women in the United States and found evidence of state dependence. While unobserved individual heterogeneity was found to contribute to the persistence of labour force participation, transitory 1 For a detailed survey of the international literature on women’s labour supply, see Killingsworth (1983), Killingsworth and Heckman (1986) and Heckman (1993). 2 A few studies also examine inter-temporal labour supply behaviour of men, such as Muhleisen and Zimmermann (1994) for Germany and Arulampalam, Booth and Taylor (2000) for the United Kingdom. LITERATURE REVIEW 5 rrors were found to be negatively correlated over time, suggesting that failing to control for serially correlated transitory errors would lead to underestimation of state dependence. The non-labour income of married women, measured by their partner’s earnings, was also found to have a negative effect on their labour force participation. Permanent non-labour income was found to be more important in affecting a woman’s labour force participation than transitory non-labour income. The age and number of young children were also found to have a significant negative effect on the labour force participation decisions of women. Inter-temporal persistence in women’s labour supply was also examined by Lee and Tae (2005) using the first four waves (1998-2001) of the Korean Labour and Income Panel Study. Without considering serial correlation of transitory errors, the authors found that both state dependence and unobserved individual heterogeneity were important in explaining inter-temporal persistence in the labour force participation of women. They also found that the extent of state dependence of labour force participation varied with education, marital status and age. State dependence was found to increase with age, and was higher for married than for single women and higher for women with a junior college level of education relative to those with other levels of education. In the Australian context, very little research exists on the inter-temporal persistence of labour market activity. One study, Knights et al. 2002), examined labour market dynamics of Australian youth (those aged 15-29 years), using the Australian Longitudinal Survey over the period 1985-1988. Dynamic labour market activity of both males and females was analysed separately, with each group being further divided into high and low education groups. High education was defined as the completion of secondary school; with the low education defined as secondary school not being completed. Only two labour force states were examined — employed or not em ployed (binary variable). The authors found that an individual’s employment status in the previous year predicted his/her employment status in the currently year for all the four gender-education groups, suggesting evidence of state dependence of employment status. They also found evidence that unobserved individual heterogeneity was important explanatory factor in the persistence of employment status for all groups examined. Like Lee and Tae (2005), however, Knights et al. (2002) did not examine whether the observed persistence was due to serially correlated transitory errors. Some studies have also examined the effect of serially correlated transitory errors on inter-temporal persistence. Tatsiramos (2008), for example, examined female employment dynamics in seven European countries (Demark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) to test the effects of fertility had on employment status. State dependence was found in the employment status for 6 WORK CHOICES OF MARRIED WOMEN: DRIVERS OF CHANGE women in all countries after controlling for observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity and serially correlated transitory errors. The magnitude of state dependence as measured by average partial effects was very similar across all the countries studied, with the probability of a women being employed being 31 to 49 percentage points higher if employed in the previous year. Like Hyslop (1999), Tatsiramos (2008) also found that transitory errors are negatively correlated over time for all countries, and only in the case of Denmark, was the serial correlation insignificant. Permanent non-labour income was found to have a significant and negative effect on labour supply for all countries except Denmark and the United Kingdom, where the effect was positive. In case of the Netherlands and Italy, a woman’s transitory non-labour income was also found to decrease labour supply. Summing up Much of the existing literature of the inter-temporal behaviour of labour supply has focused on whether or not a woman is involved in paid work — a binary choice measured as labour force participation or employment status. In contrast, the approach taken in this study is to examine working hours as a measure of labour supply, and thus treat non-employment (those with zero working hours) as a censored outcome. Further, there are no Australian (and few international) studies that have examined both the effect of observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity and serially correlated transitory errors on inter-temporal labour supply. Despite this, studies of labour force participation by Australian women, comprehensively reviewed by Birch (2005), provide a valuable guide to the choice of explanatory variables. Although the estimates vary across studies and are sensitive to model specifications and estimation techniques, some patterns emerge. The studies generally found that increases in a woman’s wages, educational attainment, labour market experience, and the cost of living, all have a positive effect on a woman’s labour supply. Conversely increases in family income and the number of dependent young children had a negative effect. 3 In this study the focus is on hours worked of individuals. The individual level measures are used to obtain corresponding aggregate indicators of labour supply such as the labour force participation rate, the employment rate and total hours worked of all employed persons, and average hours worked per employed person. LITERATURE REVIEW 7

Delayed Gratification

â€Å"The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable pre-requisite for success. † Brian Tracy, a self-help author who also makes presentations on leadership skills, sales topics, managerial effectiveness, and business strategy, is correct on the topic of delayed gratification. According to Google Dictionary, delayed or deferred gratification is the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants. This is what everyone should do so they can obtain what they want in the future, by working their hardest now.In the year 2010, young adults are having trouble grasping the idea of delayed gratification and if they don’t know what delayed gratification is they get into problems that many people don’t want to be in. People in high school must learn that delayed gratification will help them in the long run because if they do well in high school they will get int o a good college and then get a good job, but it can also go the other way too. If they do badly in high school they won’t get into college, they will work a job that doesn’t pay much and they will be unhappy because nobody respects them because they didn’t go to college.This concept also ties in with materialism because many students want the latest and greatest in technology and other gadgets and when they start to drool over the amazing things they can get, they start to take their mind off of school and onto getting a job. If they get this job and forget about school, they won’t be able to do well in the future and then they won’t be able to live by themselves, because they won’t have enough money to pay the bills, because the job they got to get the gadget they wanted, was an instant gratification job or a job that will pay small money very quickly.According to two professors of the University of Washington, in 1998, of 1000 high school students only 457 of them stayed on track through all four years of high school and were on time for graduation. This means that over 50% of students don’t do well in high school and mess up going into college, which also messes up their future. Four hundred thirty four of the 1000 dropped out, or transferred to a different school and 109 graduated later. These statistics maybe outdated but are still good to know about them so we can learn from our mistakes. These statistics are very bad for students and there is a way for them to ecome better and exceed in the future by also working hard now. Delayed gratification is a smart way to go if you want live a successful life in the future. Walter Mischel at Stanford University, conducted an experiment called, The Marshmallow Experiment. This experiment was done in the 1960s and tested what kids would do if marshmallows were sitting on a table. The idea was to see if the children that could wait would demonstrate they had the abil ity to delay gratification and control impulse, both significant and important traits for attaining wealth and being financially successful.The experiment was a group of four-year-olds were given one marshmallow and promised a second one on the condition that they wait twenty minutes before eating the first one. Some children were able to wait and others could not. The researchers then followed the progress of each child into adolescence and demonstrated that those with the ability to wait were better adjusted and more dependable, and scored significantly higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test years later. This shows that waiting is best and if you learn the ways of delayed gratification you can succeed in life.Delayed gratification is crucial to have a grand life in the future. If a person has learned delayed gratification and is able to apply it to their life, they will exceed in high school, exceed in college, get a superior job, and retire in good health. This is why people shou ld go by delayed gratification because not only will you be intelligent and will be able to speak about current topics easily, you will be respected by people you meet and have an easy life in the future.

Analysis of ‘The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life’ Essay

Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life provides a detailed description and analysis of process and meaning in everyday interaction. Goffman writes from a symbolic interactionist perspective, emphasizing a qualitative analysis of the components of the interactive process. Through a sociological analysis he explores the details of individual identity, group relations, and the movement and interactive meaning of information. Goffman’s perspective provides insight into the nature of social interaction and the psychology of the individual. Goffman employs a â€Å"dramaturgical approach† in his study, concerning himself with the mode of presentation employed by the actor and its meaning in the broader social context (Goffman, 240). Interaction is viewed as a â€Å"performance,† shaped by environment and audience, constructed to provide others with â€Å"impressions† that are consonant with the desired goals of the actor (17). The performance exists regardless of the mental state of the individual, as persona is often imputed to the individual in spite of his or her lack of faith in the performance. Goffman uses the example of the doctor who is forced to give a placebo to a patient, aware of its impotence, as a result of the desire of the patient for more extensive treatment (18). In this way, the individual develops identity or persona as a function of interaction with others, through an exchange of information that allows for more specific definitions of identity and behavior. The process of establishing social identity becomes closely allied to the concept of the â€Å"front,† which is described as â€Å"that part of the individual’s performance which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the performance† (22). The front acts as a vehicle of standardization, allowing for others to understand the individual on the basis of projected character traits that have normative meanings. As a â€Å"collective representation,† the front establishes proper â€Å"setting,† â€Å"appearance,† and â€Å"manner† for the social role assumed by the actor, uniting interactive behavior with the personal front (27). The actor, in order to present a realistic front, is forced to fill the duties of the social role to communicate activities and the characteristics of the role to other people in a consistent manner. In constructing a front, information  about the actor is given off through a variety of communicative sources, all of which must be controlled to convince the audience of the appropriateness of behavior. Believability, as a result, is constructed in terms of verbal signification, which is used by the actor to establish intent, is used by the audience to verify the honesty of statements made by the individual. Attempts are made to present an â€Å"idealized† version of the front, more consistent with the norms and laws of society than the behavior of the actor when not before an audience (35). Information dealing with aberrant behavior and belief is concealed from the audience in a process of â€Å"mystification,† making prominent those characteristics that are socially approved. This legitimatizes both the social role of the individual and the framework to which the role belongs (67). Goffman also explores nature of group dynamics through a discussion of â€Å"teams† and the relationship between performance and audience. He uses the concept of the team to illustrate the work of a group of individuals who â€Å"co-operate† in performance, attempting to achieve goals sanctioned by the group (79). Co-operation may manifest in the assumption of differing roles for each individual, determined by the intent of the performance. Goffman refers to the â€Å"shill,† a member of the team who â€Å"provides a visible model for the audience of the kind of response the performers are seeking,† promoting excitement for the realization of a goal, as an example of a â€Å"discrepant role† in the team (146). In each circumstance, the individual assumes a front that is perceived to enhance the group’s performance. As a result, disagreement can be carried out in the absence of an audience, where the performance changes and may be made without the threat of damaging the goals of the team or individual. This creates a division between the team and audience. Goffman describes the division between team performance and audience in terms of â€Å"region,† describing the role of setting in the differentiation of actions taken by individuals (107). Goffman divides region into â€Å"front,† â€Å"back,† and â€Å"outside† the stage, based upon the relationship of the audience to the performance. While the â€Å"official stance† of the team is visible in their front stage presentation, in the backstage, â€Å"the impression fostered by the presentation is knowingly contradicted as a matter of course,† indicating a more â€Å"truthful† type of performance (112). To be outside the stage involves the inability to gain access to the performance of the team, de scribed as an  Ã¢â‚¬Å"audience segregation† in which specific performances are given to specific audiences. Thus allows the team to create the appropriate front for the demands of each audience (137). This routine allows the team, individual actor, and audience to preserve proper relationships in interaction and the establishments to which the interactions belong. Though detailed and very well portrayed, Goffman’s study does not provide a complete description of interactive processes. In exploring the construction of presentation among individual and teams, Goffman does not fully explore the nature of marginalized individuals. This is significant due to the notion that these individuals and the groups could assume somewhat different roles of interaction among members due to their placement outside of major groups. The methodological approach used by Goffman was also somewhat inconsistent and the approaches to testing to gather data seemed random at times. By limiting his work Goffman also eliminates the possibility of applying the activities of the everyday to the larger social world.Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life overall provides insight into the nature of interpersonal interaction and the institutions to which interaction applies. Despite methodology, Goffman’s work displays an analytical thoroughness in dealing with an interesting area of social thought. Through an inquiry into the everyday life of humanity, Goffman’s work provides an effective foundation for understanding the nature of social   interaction and the development of the individual.